By KENNETH LIPP/YachatsNews YACHATS — During a crowded meeting Wednesday, the Yachats City Council began plotting a course to keep municipal projects moving as well as maintaining basic services with the upcoming departure of its city manager and several key city hall staff. Most of Wednesday’s agenda was prompted by the April 6 bombshell […]
Archives for April 2023
Eugene’s climate activists and natural gas industry ready to square off this fall over gas stove ballot measure
By ANNA PHILLIPS/The Washington Post EUGENE — The liberal stronghold of Eugene might seem like an unlikely place for the fossil fuel industry to flex its muscles. But in the months ahead, the gas industry is preparing to pour millions of dollars into a campaign to overturn Eugene’s ban on gas hookups in new homes, […]
Staffing issues forces PeaceHealth to close beds at two Eugene-area hospitals
By the Eugene Register-Guard PeaceHealth will close dozens of hospital beds at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart RiverBend in Springfield and PeaceHealth Sacred Heart University District in Eugene. The hospital group also plans to shut down an entire medical unit at Riverbend. This brings the total closed beds at both hospitals to about 87 out of the […]
Jurors in $1.6 billion class action lawsuit against PacifiCorp hear opening arguments about blame, cause of 2020 wildfires
By TED SICKINGER/The Oregonian/OregonLive PacifiCorp’s reckoning over its alleged culpability for Oregon’s catastrophic Labor Day 2020 wildfires arrived Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Opening arguments began in a $1.6 billion class action lawsuit against the utility, with victims of four fires accusing PacifiCorp of being responsible for much of what they’ve called […]
Yachats Planning Commission OKs change to commercial/residential project along Highway 101
By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews YACHATS — Thirteen months ago, Luke and Jocelyn Glaze of Salem bought two commercial lots along U.S. Highway 101 downtown Yachats that had been an unfinished, foundation-only eyesore for more than a decade. As real estate investors and developers, they planned to continue with the idea originally planned by former owner […]
After three years, Oregon Health Authority officials hold last regular Covid-19 briefing as virus wanes
By GARY A. WARNER/Oregon Capital Bureau The impact of COVID-19 on Oregon is in a steady decline that makes it possible to end emergency steps put in place after the virus arrived in February 2020. The Oregon Health Authority on Thursday held what officials said would be the last monthly media briefing on the virus. […]
Clatsop County judge will rule by end of month on legality of vacation rental ballot measure vote
By NICOLE BALES/The Astorian ASTORIA — A Clatop County circuit court judge is expected to decide by the end of the month on the legality of a referendum on the May ballot that, if approved by voters, could threaten vacation rentals in nearly all of unincorporated Clatsop County. The referendum — Measure 4-221 — seeks […]
Oregon governor says OHSU and state will stockpile a 3-year supply of abortion drug in advance of court ruling
By KELCIE MOSELEY-MORRIS/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announced Thursday the state will secure a three-year supply of mifepristone, one of two drugs used to terminate a pregnancy and manage miscarriages, amid lawsuits and an expected U.S. Supreme Court ruling on access to the medication. “By challenging the FDA’s authority over mifepristone, […]
Washington Legislature OKs ban on 50 gun models, opponents vow immediate court challenge
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OLYMPIA, WASH. — A ban on dozens of semi-automatic rifles cleared the Washington state Legislature on Wednesday and the governor is expected to sign it into law. The high-powered firearms — once banned nationwide — are now the weapon of choice among young men responsible for most of the country’s devastating […]
On 100th day in office, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek Kotek presses to divert money from reserves
Gov. Tina Kotek speaks at a press conference Wednesday about her first 100 days in office. By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Gov. Tina Kotek and legislative Democrats clashed Wednesday over spending, amplifying their first major conflict since she took office in January. At a press conference marking her 100th day in office, Kotek […]