Using discarded bones, OSU researchers use DNA to suggest commercial whaling led to loss of genetic diversity

October 3, 2023

By MICHELLE KLAMPE/OSU News Service NEWPORT – Commercial whaling in the 20th century decimated populations of large whales but also appears to have had a lasting impact on the genetic diversity of today’s surviving whales, according to new research from Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Researchers compared DNA from a collection of whale bones found

EPA issues $1 million fine to Seattle seafood company and 5 ships for improper waste discharges off Oregon coast

October 2, 2023

By TRACY LOEW/Salem Statesman Journal The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has fined Seattle-based American Seafoods Company and the owners of its fish-processing vessels nearly $1 million for significant violations of the Clean Water Act committed while harvesting and processing fish in the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon and Washington coasts. EPA cited the companies for hundreds of violations, including discharging waste

With the help of two churches, Lincoln County prepares to open first emergency winter shelter for the homeless Tuesday

September 28, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews The first all-weather emergency shelter for the homeless in Lincoln County will open at 6 p.m. Tuesday – alternating between two Newport churches until a permanent site is up in running in late December or early January. A second shelter planned by Lincoln County is expected to open Nov. 1 in Lincoln City. But it will

Southwest Lincoln Water District manager leaving Oct. 20 for job in New Zealand

September 28, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews The Southwest Lincoln County Water People’s Utility District is looking for a new manager. Tui Anderson, who has been district manager for nearly three years, is moving with his family to New Zealand, where he will work for a company that manages the water system for the city of Whangarei. His resignation is effective Oct. 20.

Colleen Nickerson — Waldport’s expert on area’s history and genealogy — passes away Sept. 24

September 27, 2023

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews WALDPORT — Colleen Nickerson, a longtime Waldport resident, founder and curator of the Waldport Heritage Museum and president of the Alsi Historical and Genealogical Society, died Sept. 24, 2023 after a short illness. She was 82. Born Colleen Ruth Cochran on Nov. 26, 1940, in Twin Falls, Idaho, she moved to Waldport as a teen-ager with

Yachats bird group expanding its successful swallow nesting program to Lincoln County parks, purple martins

September 27, 2023

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews YACHATS — Since their start two years ago, a group of Yachats bird-lovers have aided hundreds of migrating species with specially constructed nesting boxes. Now, their success has prompted the Lincoln County Parks system to ask for help too. SWIFTY – the acronym for Swallows in Flight to Yachats – recently issued an end-of-season report on

New analysis using NASA satellite data shows impact of forestry operations on coastal watersheds

September 25, 2023

By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon’s coastal communities that rely on drinking water from forested rivers and creeks have lost substantial tree cover during the last 20 years, a recent NASA analysis found. That can be not-so-good news for residents and the environment. Forests not only improve the quality of surface waters, but also the quantity. They prevent erosion, and

Newport’s Nye Beach prepares to welcome a new ‘Ambassador’ Saturday as the city expands its public art offerings

September 25, 2023

By Oregon Arts Watch It’s not exactly a secret that Newport’s Nye Beach is home to nearly 20 pieces of public art, some as obvious as a park bench, others almost hidden in grassy nooks – all accessible and open to touch.The pieces — created by artists renowned for their work in wood, glass, bronze, concrete, and mixed media

Central Coast fire board defends chief, calls out critics — and asks for public support following investigation of July 2 incident

September 24, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews WALDPORT – The board of the Central Coast Fire & Rescue District has issued a strong statement of support for its chief after receiving an investigator’s report about an on-duty dispute during a July 2 traffic accident involving his wife. The board’s statement also admonished a small group of residents using social media “indulging in inflammatory,

Chamber director, a current city manager and Washington state employee are finalists for Yachats manager job

September 22, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – The executive director of the Yachats Chamber of Commerce, the administrator of a small but growing Eastern Oregon community, and a Washington state government employee are the finalists for Yachats’ city manager position. The city and the recruiting firm Jensen Strategies announced the finalists Friday after meeting in executive (closed) session Tuesday to discuss eight