Former state Sen. Betsy Johnson prepares to submit 17 boxes with 48,214 signatures to the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Betsy Johnson’s months-long campaign to make it on the November ballot culminated Tuesday with volunteers stacking 17 boxes of signature sheets in a set of wire cage shelves […]
Archives for August 2022
Oregon’s chief justice plans to remove all members of the Public Defense Services Commission this week
By PETER WONG/Oregon Capital Bureau Oregon Chief Justice Martha Walters is planning to remove all the members of the Public Defense Services Commission, the state panel that oversees legal representation for indigent criminal defendants. Walters disagreed with the outcome of commission proceedings last week that left Stephen Singer as executive director of the Oregon Office […]
Three Otis men die Monday in Highway 101 crash near Salishan
GLENEDEN BEACH – Three men from Otis were killed Monday when a small SUV collided with a dump truck on U.S. Highway 101 just south of Salishan. Oregon State Police said Matthew Phillips, 31, of Otis was southbound about 10:40 a.m. in his Chevrolet S-10 Blazer when it crossed into the northbound lane and struck […]
Lincoln County needs to calculate cost of vacation rentals, not just income
To the editor: Short term rentals create and destroy value. Those affected include permanent residents, long term tenants, and the county. The accounting is not simple, but the issues are clear. I look at the issues from several decades as a real estate appraiser, a frequent expert witness on values, and instructor on valuation for […]
Insurance rates will not rise due to new Oregon wildfire risk map, state regulators now say
By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Concerns that a new map showing wildfire risks across Oregon will lead to property insurance hikes are unfounded, state financial regulators said Friday. Insurers have not filed the paperwork to raise rates for high-risk properties and have told officials at the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, which regulates […]
With many Oregon hospitals in crisis, state will seek ‘significant’ funds for stopgap measures
Many emergency rooms, like the one at Oregon Health & Science University, are packed. (Christine Torres Hicks/OHSU) By LYNNE TERRY/Oregon Capital Chronicle The hospital crisis in Oregon is playing out in emergency rooms around the state. Patients in pain wait in lobbies for hours. Some end up on gurneys in hallways while waiting for a […]
Waldport council gives city manager initial OK to pursue ideas to possibly help housing crunch
By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews.com WALDPORT – The Waldport City Council has given its city manager the OK to begin gathering information on two ideas to potentially help ease the city’s housing crunch – allow people to live in recreational vehicles alongside someone’s home and going to a single zoning system for all residential areas. The […]
Unaffiliated gubernatorial candidate Betsy Johnson spent $200,000 to help gather signatures for Oregon governor race
Initiative & Referendum Campaign Management Services used Craigslist to hire petition circulators for Betsy Johnson’s campaign for governor. By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle Betsy Johnson has counted on her “Betsy Brigades,” groups of volunteers circulating petitions, to gather the nearly 24,000 signatures she needs as a nonaffiliated gubernatorial candidate to make it on the November […]
Lincoln County should look at other areas to find vacation rental solution
To the editor: I recently retired as a realtor in Waldport after 54 years. I think the vacation rental phase out under Ballot Measure 21-203 was not only poorly written but defeats the purpose of our coastal communities. LUBA’s decision was just a small technicality. The bigger issue is property rights and this hasn’t been addressed […]
Solutions to affordable housing crisis in Lincoln County will benefit everyone
To the editor: It’s been a busy summer in Lincoln County, with lots of visitors returning to the Oregon Coast and supporting so many of our locally owned small businesses while they vacation. My colleagues and I in the vacation rental industry take pride in helping families and groups of friends enjoy their precious vacation days […]