Trial for man accused of killing former Yachats resident scheduled Jan. 23

January 5, 2023

The man charged in the beating death of former Yachats resident Martin Baker is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 23 in California. Eugene Focarelli, 39, is facing first-degree murder and other charges in connection with an assault in February 2021 of Baker, a formerly homeless man who found shelter and friendship through Yachats Community Presbyterian Church. Baker died a

Two Lincoln County lawmakers receive assignments for 2023 Legislature

January 5, 2023

SALEM – The two lawmakers who represent Lincoln County in the Oregon Legislature have received their committee assignments for the 2023 session, which begins Monday. Sen. Dick Anderson, R-Lincoln City, has been appointed to the budget-writing Joint House-Senate Committee on Ways & Means and it’s natural resources subcommittee. He is also vice chair of the Ways & Means subcommittee on

Owner of south county’s only public laundromat says repairs are almost done and should reopen within weeks

January 5, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews WALDPORT – After weeks of frustration and months of waiting for repairs, the only public laundromat in south Lincoln County should reopen by the end of January. Sweet Homes Vacation Getaways, which bought the SudSea laundromat two years ago, was forced to close it in December after repeated breakdowns, trouble finding contractors to do repairs, and

Wyden schedules in-person “town hall” meeting Monday in Newport

January 4, 2023

NEWPORT – Lincoln County is on the stop-over list for Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. during town halls he has scheduled between Saturday and Jan. 20. Wyden on Wednesday announced the schedule for 11 open-to-all, in-person town halls between in Lincoln, Clatsop, Tillamook, Clackamas, Linn, Lane, Polk, Marion, Yamhill, Multnomah and Washington counties Heading into the first town halls of 2023, Wyden

With more help on the way, Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies return to 4-day, 10-hour patrol shifts

January 4, 2023

By KENNETH LIPP/YachatsNews With nine new deputies in training or at the state police academy, Lincoln County patrol deputies returned to their old shift schedule this week after a year-long experiment meant to account for a depleted workforce. Since February, Lincoln County Sheriff’s patrol deputies have worked 12-hour shifts — three days on, two days off, two days on,

After some cold and hot, some wet and dry, weather on central Oregon coast in 2022 turned out to be fairly normal

January 3, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews YACHATS – A cold spring, a rainy June and December, and a warm, dry September and October all ended up combining to make 2022 a very average weather year for the central Oregon coast. But when it comes to weather, average can be OK. A wet end to the month of December brought yearly rain totals

Lighting the way for 150 years: Yaquina Head Lighthouse spruced up in preparation for sesquicentennial

January 2, 2023

By TOM BANSE/Northwest News Network/OPB NEWPORT — The stewards of Oregon’s tallest lighthouse are sprucing up the popular landmark on Oregon’s central coast for its 150th anniversary this year. The 93-foot tall Yaquina Head Lighthouse was completed in 1872, but the lamp on top wasn’t lit until the following year because of a 19th-century version of, get this, supply chain

OSU student missing for two weeks found dead on Marys Peak

January 1, 2023

A 22-year-old missing Oregon State University student was found dead on Marys Peak in Benton County on Sunday, the Corvallis Police Department said. Just before 5 p.m., volunteers helping with the search for Steven Mainwaring found a Ford Bronco the student was believed to be driving in a remote area of Marys Peak near Philomath. Police found Mainwaring‘s body nearby,

Oregon Supreme Court rules that hundreds of people convicted by non-unanimous juries deserve new trials

January 1, 2023

By RYAN HAAS and CONRAD WILSON/Oregon Public Broadcasting In a series of rulings Friday, the Oregon Supreme Court found that hundreds of people in the state’s prisons who were convicted by non-unanimous juries have a right to a new trial. The opinion offers clarity for people convicted in trials where not everyone on the jury agreed the convicted person was

Housing will be Oregon Legislature’s top focus in 2023, Democratic leader says

January 1, 2023

Oregon needs more construction and public sector workers to increase its housing stock. (Getty Images) By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle Housing will remain a top focus when the Oregon Legislature returns to work in January, a top Democratic lawmaker tells the Capital Chronicle. Rep. Julie Fahey, D-Eugene and the House majority leader, recently met with White House officials and more