Years in development, Samaritan Health celebrates opening of county’s first inpatient addiction treatment center

Supporters of a $12.5 million Samaritan Health Services project that brings the first inpatient addiction treatment center to Lincoln County will hold a ribbon cutting, celebration and tours on Monday at Samaritan's new facility on Biggs Street in north Newport.

Uh oh, it’s that time of year again. Property tax statements will be arriving in the mail this week

October 20, 2025

Record crowds line Highway 101 Saturday in “No Kings 2.0” rallies in Newport, Lincoln City and Yachats

October 18, 2025

Up to 5,000 seniors in Lincoln County begin hunt for new Medicare plans after Samaritan drops out of market

October 16, 2025

Community News

Yachats council’s review of city’s vacation rental ordinance brings out owners who want ability to transfer to family

October 16, 2025

A public hearing by the Yachats city council to clarify vacation rental policies was attended by license holders who favor one particular change -- to be able to pass licenses on to family. That’s something the current policy does not allow.

Routine Lincoln County commission session takes a chaotic turn during end-of-meeting public comment period

October 16, 2025

A seemingly routine mid-month Lincoln County commission meeting Wednesday was both chaotic and tearful during heated public comment and after District Attorney Jenna Wallace was not allowed to speak because of a technicality.

Coho salmon numbers on the coast are rebounding, so ODFW extends fishing seasons on three local rivers

October 16, 2025

A rebound in the numbers of federally endangered Oregon coast coho salmon and a slower than expected start to the fall fishing season has led the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife to extend the coho season on three Lincoln County river systems.

Lincoln County school board appoints Yakona Nature Preserve leader to replace Liz Martin in Zone 2 vacancy

October 15, 2025

The Lincoln County School District board is back to five members after appointing Yakona Nature Preserve executive director Natalie Schaeffer on Tuesday to fill the vacancy left by the board’s longest serving member.

Yachats Fire board begins hearing the details — and the tax implications — of merger with Central Coast Fire

October 15, 2025

The devil will be in the details but talks are underway whether fire districts in Yachats and Waldport should unite or continue as interdependent but separate entities.

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News Briefs

Individual drowns Sunday in surf near mouth of Siletz Bay

October 19, 2025

A person drowned Sunday afternoon near the mouth of Siletz Bay after being pulled out to sea by a strong current, according to North Lincoln Fire & Rescue.

Cable company finishes $4.6 million, 55 mile fiber optic project in Newport

October 19, 2025

A cable company has finished construction of Newport’s first fiber optic internet network.

Lincoln County offering $185,000 in 2025-26 grants for local nonprofits

October 19, 2025

Lincoln County is opening its 2025-26 community and economic development program to award $185,000 to local nonprofits.

Recreational group holding “Crabbing Mania” Oct. 25 in Newport

October 12, 2025

A land-based recreational crabbing group founded by a Portland-area man is staging a "Crabbing Mania" Oct. 25 in Yaquina Bay for some of the 76,000 members of his Oregon Coastal Crabbing and Shellfish page on Facebook.

Oregon Coast Aquarium reaches 3,000 mark in license plate orders

October 12, 2025

A new Oregon license plate featuring a colorful tufted puffin is closer to being on cars around the state. The Oregon Coast Aquarium says the plates are now in production thanks to 3,000 Oregonians who purchased the $40 vouchers.

State looking for suggestions on which beaches to monitor for pollution

October 12, 2025

The Oregon Health Authority is seeking the public’s ideas about which beaches it should monitor the next two years. Already there are seven beaches it monitors in Lincoln County.

Oregon Cultural Trust awards grants to two local organizations

October 6, 2025

Two Lincoln County arts organizations and one local government have received grants as part of the Oregon Cultural Trusts annual awarding of money to cultural nonprofits and organizations.

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Quick Links

Oregon Coast Today

Shakespeare’s comedy “Twelfth Night” begins a three-week run Friday at Newport PAC

The Newport Performing Arts Center will be filled with tales of mistaken identity, unrequited love and merry mischief when the Red Octopus Theatre Company presents a production of William Shakespeare’s timeless comedy “Twelfth Night,” opening Friday, Oct. 17 and running through Sunday, Nov. 2.

Dinner and a piano concert Saturday help support Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln County’s housing work

A performance from international concert pianist Jim-Isaac Chua will be the key event in a suite of fund-raising efforts for Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln County, taking place at the Pacific Maritime Heritage Center and Local Ocean Seafoods in Newport on Saturday, Oct. 18.

Coastal Events and Entertainment

Looking for something to do, some place to go, something to learn, something to enjoy? Inside this section are public events for the next seven days on the central Oregon coast as part of a partnership between the Lincoln Chronicle and Oregon Coast TODAY.

Go here for events

5 Questions and a Secret

5 Questions and a Secret: Seal Rock gallery owner Rose Estes famous for her Dungeons and Dragons series

Rose Estes of Seal Rock published her Dungeon of Dread book in 1982 and it became an instant best seller. In 2022, she was inducted into the gaming hall of fame, and her fans – mostly men that were kids in the 1980s – still come to visit her Hauser Gallery to have their books signed and to tell her how much her stories impacted them.

A Picture Tells the Story

Want to fill a town in October? Yachats did by staging a mushroom festival

Yachats was filled to overflowing this weekend with people attending the 26th Yachats Mushroom Festival, which featured displays, a mushroom-themed crafts fair and walks and talks to appeal to novice and expert mycologists. An outdoor tent – the Yachats pavilion is closed for repairs -- was filled with displays and there were speakers, a crafts fair and talks at various locations around town. Click on the photo or headline for more photographs and details.

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Oregon/NW News

9th Circuit Court of Appeals rules that Trump administration can deploy National Guard to Portland

October 20, 2025

A divided federal appeals court ruled Monday that President Trump can send members of the National Guard to Portland. But it is unclear what impact this ruling will immediately have on the ground. The Ninth Circuit’s decision only applies to one of the two temporary restraining orders U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut issued earlier this month blocking deployments both

Oregon’s travel promotion agency gives $200,000 no-bid contract to its own commission member

October 17, 2025

An Oregon Tourism Commission member has received a two-year no-bid contract worth up to $200,000 from Travel Oregon to help with promotional groups the agency brings to the state.

Federal judge in Oregon extends temporary block on National Guard deployment to Portland

October 15, 2025

U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut has extended temporary rulings blocking the Trump administration from federalizing and deploying members of the National Guard to Portland.

Oregon GOP’s annual Reagan dinner next month includes speakers who might be looking at governorship

October 13, 2025

The Republican Party of Oregon’s 11th annual Reagan dinner Nov 1 includes a big-name keynote speaker but the party faithful may have just as much or more interest in two other speakers -- former Portland Trail Blazer Chris Dudley and onetime University of Oregon wrestler and MMA fighter Chael Sonnen, a West Linn native.

Premiums for Oregonians who buy their own health insurance policies going up by 10 percent in 2026

October 12, 2025

The state’s final health insurance rates for thousands of Oregonians who buy their own coverage but are not on Medicare are going up next year by as much as nearly 13 percent.

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