The idea for this weekend’s Yachats conference on race was born during Saturday vigils on the sidewalks of Highway 101

July 18, 2023

By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews YACHATS – The conversations started after the first year of their weekly Saturday Black Lives Matter protests along U.S. Highway 101 in Yachats. “Is there something we could do to have a greater and longer-lasting impact,” several group members began asking. Then Karla Scott, an author, consultant and professor of communication at St. Louis University and

Number of West Coast gray whales continues seven-year decline, say NOAA researchers, but there are some promising signs

July 17, 2023

By NOAA NEWS SERVICE and YACHATSNEWS The number of gray whales that migrate along the West Coast continued their decline this winter from a high seven years ago, but researchers have found clues suggesting their numbers may soon start to rebound. Researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration counted whales migrating south off the coast of California from

Shortage of defense attorneys in Lincoln County leaves 160 indigent defendants without court representation

July 13, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews The passage of emergency legislation providing $96 million to restructure Oregon’s public defense commission may take a while to impact a shortage of public defenders and a significant backlog of criminal cases in Lincoln County. What kind of impact the infusion of money from the 2023 Legislature will make, when that will happen and whether it

A real “Monuments Man”, staff, volunteers and public support keep 101-year-old Waldport library busy, busy busy

July 13, 2023

By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews WALDPORT — George Clooney and Matt Damon don’t hang out at the Waldport Public Library — but a tribute to someone responsible for one of their movies does. And in a way, it symbolizes how regard for the past is helping propel the library into the future. Mark Sponenburgh of Oregon was one of the real-life heroes

Will Yachats’ next city manager have to walk on water to get the job? Council, recruiting firm go over long list of attributes

July 13, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – The next full-time Yachats city manager needs to be a good communicator and facilitator who is in step with the environmental and cultural sensitivity the town prides itself on. Those were crucial qualities the mayor and two council members stressed to Jensen Strategies staff as they reviewed the documents the Portland-based recruiting firm had

New study by OSU researchers warns of increasing incidental catches of salmon in big Pacific hake fishery

July 13, 2023

By MICHELLE KLAMPE/OSU News Service NEWPORT – Rates of incidental catches of Chinook salmon in the Pacific hake fishery rise during years when ocean temperatures are warmer, a signal that climate change and increased frequency of marine heatwaves could lead to higher bycatch rates, new research indicates. During years when sea surface temperatures were higher, including during a marine

Attempts to save martens from extinction may include U.S. Highway 101 warning signs on the Oregon coast

July 12, 2023

By DANA TIMS/YachatsNews For decades, scientists assumed that trapping and loss of critical habitat had led to the extinction of the marten population that once inhabited much of Oregon’s central coast. In recent years, however, painstaking, on-the-ground surveys have shown that two subgroups of martens are alive and well on the coast. They are separated by the Umpqua River

In aftermath of massive Ziggurat House fire, group of Tenmile residents approach Yachats Fire board about annexation

July 11, 2023

By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS – A contingent of Tenmile residents attended the Yachats Fire Protection District’s regular board meeting Monday to request the area be annexed into the agency’s fire protection zone. The request comes in the wake of the devastating fire Thursday that left the neighborhood’s iconic Ziggurat House in ruins and laid bare the fact that Tenmile

Newport mayor Dean Sawyer resigns Monday after revelations Friday and protests Saturday over years of hateful Facebook posts

July 10, 2023

By JONATHAN LEVINSON/Oregon Public Broadcasting NEWPORT — Mayor Dean Sawyer resigned Monday, three days after OPB revealed he has been posting offensive content in a private Facebook group for current and former law enforcement officers. Sawyer notified city manager Spencer Nebel and city council president Jan Kaplan of his resignation in an email just before 9 a.m. “I am sorry —

53-year-old Sitka Center in Otis takes a fresh look at art through youth programs, residencies, and Indigenous fellowships.

July 10, 2023

By OREGON ARTSWATCH OTIS — Jonathan Case may best be known as an award-winning cartoonist, the author and the creator of the graphic novel Little Monarchs. But once upon a time, he was just a bullied kid growing up in rural Tillamook County. Case didn’t have many friends, but he did have a passion for art. That passion led him