By NANCY STEINBERG/Oregon State University NEWPORT — The concept is so well-established that it’s almost cliché — the most important thing humans know about ecosystems is that everything in them is connected. Case in point: Gray whales in Oregon’s ocean eat small animals classified as zooplankton. Zooplankton often eat tiny microplastics or other debris […]
Archives for January 2022
“We’re doing the best we can” say lodging and restaurant managers fighting Covid-19 absences among their staff
By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com At Fresh Mexican Food in Waldport, indoor dining closed for five days in mid-January. At The Sea Note in Yachats, the co-owner has been working double shifts daily as a cook. At The Adobe Resort, the general manager recently ran the front desk and attended a virtual City Council meeting at […]
Covid-19 outbreak at Lincoln County jail sickens 25 inmates, 10 staff
NEWPORT – A Covid-19 outbreak has hit 25 inmates and 10 staff of the Lincoln County Jail, resulting in a weeklong lockdown of the facility. Sheriff Curtis Landers told county commissioners on Wednesday that four inmates in one jail pod were showing Covid-19 symptoms Jan. 19 and tested positive. Further testing the next few days […]
Oregon withholds federal funds and fines Alsea School District for dropping required mask mandate for students and staff
By AIMEE GREEN and DOUGLAS PERRY/The Oregonian/OregonLive ALSEA — The Oregon Department of Education took the rare step this week of withholding federal COVID-19 relief funds from the Alsea School District in Benton County after the small, rural district announced it would forgo the state’s school mask mandate. The federal funding, ODE Director Colt Gill […]
Lincoln County unemployment rate slowly declining, but remains higher than statewide rate
The unemployment rate in Lincoln County continued its downward trend in December, according to the latest figures from the Oregon Employment Department, but remains significantly higher than the rest of Oregon or the nation. The county’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in December, a slight drop from the 5.7 percent rate in November […]
Siletz and Grand Ronde tribes square off over proposal to open a second casino along I-5 in north Salem
Architect’s drawing shows what a casino and motel complex proposed by the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz would look like along Interstate 5 in north Salem. By WHITNEY WOODWORTH/Salem Statesman-Journal The owners of Lincoln County’s only tribal casino are pushing ahead with its proposal to build its second casino in Oregon – a $280 million […]
Rather than just complain on Facebook about illegal dump sites, Thomas McIntosh asked for help this week — and got it
By BREEANA LAUGHLIN/YachatsNews.com WALDPORT – Thomas McIntosh drives the back roads of the Coast Range as a form a stress relief. But what he saw on a forest jaunt last week did anything but that. People had turned an area along a forest road east of Eckman Lake into a large, illegal dump. “I […]
ODOT wants to hear from Oregon residents about use of $400 million in “flexible” federal funds
By PETER WONG/Oregon Capital Bureau Oregon transportation officials want to hear from the public about how the state should spend more than $400 million in “flexible funds” from the federal government over the next five years. The $400 million is part of the $1.2 billion that Oregon will receive for transportation from the federal infrastructure […]
Gov. Kate Brown and Democrats outline spending plans while GOP calls for limited action in short session that begins Tuesday
The governor wants legislative leaders to approve hundreds of millions in one-time investments, but Republican leaders said the 35-day session should be more restrained The Oregon House of Representatives on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021. (Amanda Loman/Oregon Capital Chronicle) By LYNNE TERRY, JULIA SHUMWAY and ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregonians would be better trained […]
Second round of hearings on Oregon’s indoor mask mandate brings complaints from parents, school board members
By AMELIA TEMPLETON/Oregon Public Broadcasting In two more hearings Monday, state officials heard criticism of a ‘permanent rule’ that they promise will be rescinded when pandemic conditions improve. A number of parents and some school officials weighed in Monday to oppose the state’s effort to require universal masking in schools. It was the second day […]