By ALEX BAUMHARDT/Oregon Capital Chronicle Nancy Matela co-owns a vacation home in a wildfire zone northwest of Bend that has a new, annual property insurance premium of $9,000. It’s more than nine times what the company Safeco charged her a year ago. That policy remains her only option as well: Her broker couldn’t find […]
Archives for February 2024
Siuslaw forest’s conservation groups gathering Thursday in Yachats
YACHATS — The Siuslaw National Forest and the non-profit Cascade Pacific organization are meeting Thursday in Yachats to recognize and celebrate stewardship groups. The meeting in the Yachats Commons is to celebrate accomplishments of the Siuslaw stewardship watershed restoration program. The event from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m is free and open to the public. […]
New OSU study says fish exposed to some pesticides — even briefly — can display adverse effects
By MOLLY ROSBACH/OSU News Service NEWPORT — Fish exposed to some pesticides at extremely low concentrations for a brief period of time can demonstrate lasting behavioral changes, with the impact extending to offspring that were never exposed firsthand, a recent study found. The findings raise concerns not just for fish, but for all vertebrates […]
Coastal county leaders grill Oregon forestry officials Friday on harvest plans after three sawmill closures
By APRIL ERLICH/Oregon Public Broadcasting Three sawmills have closed in Oregon within less than two months, prompting several counties’ leaders to grill state forestry officials about a plan that would limit logging in western Oregon forests. The mill closures in Philomath, Banks and Springfield resulted in a loss of 183 jobs, as reported by the Salem […]
Tweaks to recreational immunity law approved by Oregon Senate
SALEM — A bill that could help reopen a number of hiking trails on the coast passed the Oregon Senate on Thursday and now heads to the House. Senate Bill 1576 passed the Senate 25-2. Shepherded by Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, the civil omnibus bill includes an amendment that would temporarily restore the legal power of […]
Lawsuit accuses Central Oregon hospital system of sending poor patients to debt collector
By JAKE THOMAS/The Lund Report A new lawsuit claims that St. Charles Health System in Deschutes County routinely sent poor patients to a debt collector instead of helping them access the free care they were legally entitled to. Filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene on Thursday, the lawsuit was brought on behalf of Kristine […]
Yachats council holds initial hearings on fireworks ban, homeless camping and expresses concern about Post Office operations
By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews YACHATS –Yachats moved closer to passing a fireworks ban and getting an ordinance on the books to keep homeless people from camping wherever they want within city limits during the first of two public hearings Wednesday. The Yachats city council also agreed during its monthly meeting to move forward with applying […]
First Yachats “state of the city” address in four years outlines 2023 work and 2024 plans
By GARRET JAROS and QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews YACHATS – An annual “state of the city” address traditionally given by the mayor of Yachats had not happened since former mayor John Moore gave one four years ago. That changed Thursday when first-term Mayor Craig Berdie was joined by commission chairs and the city manager in giving […]
Arch Hamilton of Yachats
Arch Hamilton, Yachats Jan. 5, 1951 – Jan. 22, 2024 Arch Hamilton, who found a little slice of paradise in Yachats in the 1970s and made it his home for four decades, died Jan. 22, 2024. He was 73. Hamilton was born Jan. 5, 1951, in San Mateo, Calif. and lovingly adopted by Warren […]
Environmental advocates from around the world visiting Yachats area Tuesday
More than 100 environmental advocates from 40 countries will get a day-long introduction to Yachats and the central Oregon coast during field trips Tuesday sponsored by the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide. The Eugene-based alliance is hosting the advocates as part of its weeklong annual meeting that begins Sunday. That meeting is followed March 1-3 by […]