News Briefs - Page 73

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

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

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

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,

The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season will remain closed until at least Jan. 15, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Thursday. The third round of pre-season testing showed crabs still remain too low in meat yield on the southern and northern coasts, the agency said in a news release. Elevated domoic acid is still detected in some

NEWPORT — Lindsay Aylesworth, a long-time ocean researcher, has been named to lead the state’s Marine Reserves program. Aylesworth, who had been serving as interim program leader since June, takes over for Cristen Don, who left the program earlier this year. Oregon has five designated marine reserves, which fall under the purview of the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Lincoln County has received $2 million to speed recovery in areas impacted by the September 2020 wildfires with a focus on affordable housing for low- and medium-income survivors. An agreement with Oregon Housing and Community Services was on Lincoln County commissioners’ consent agenda Dec. 14, allocating money from more than $150 million authorized by the 2021 Oregon Legislature. House Bill

Both houses of the U.S. Congress have authorized $60 million in funding for Newport’s dam replacement project as part of an omnibus bill. The Senate passed the $858 billion National Defense Authorization Act last week, which included an amended 2023 Water Resources Development Act. Both the U.S. House and Senate passed versions of the Water Resources Development Act last July.

Lincoln County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate continues to rise, reaching 5.5 percent in November – a full percentage point higher than the statewide rate and almost 2 points higher than the national rate. The county’s unemployment rate is up from 5 percent in September and 5.2 percent in October. A year ago, the county’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent. The