By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews What has 1,400 tires, a smoky blues beat and the power to pedal big bucks to the central Oregon coast? That would be the Beach, Bike & Blues Festival back for its third year Saturday in Waldport. Anchored by two bicycle races — first in Waldport and then in Yachats — […]
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It’s been a good season for Oregon’s Dungeness crab fleet with strong prices and four more months to go
By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Oregon’s 2024-24 commercial Dungeness crab season is proving quite successful five months into the season. Fishermen have hauled in 23.8 million pounds of crab so far, accounting for a catch valued at $88.9 million during a season that typically runs from December to August. Crabbers were paid $85 million in 2022-23 […]
Central Oregon Coast fire board will survey district residents on possible station, equipment bond
By QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews WALDPORT – The Central Oregon Coast Fire & Rescue board will soon be asking district residents if they would support a bond ranging from $7 million to $10 million to either remodel its downtown Waldport fire station, buy equipment and build a new Five Rivers sub-station or construct a new station […]
Yachats Ridge supporters again lobby Oregon Parks Commission to purchase, preserve its 1,100 acres
By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews Proponents of the preservation of Yachats Ridge lobbied the Oregon Parks & Recreation Commission on Wednesday to purchase the 1,100-acre property from two forest landowners. The commission met in Cannon Beach where they held an executive (closed) session to discuss real estate and legal issues before continuing with a public meeting […]
Marine mammal groups remind beachgoers to leave baby seals alone
Harbor seal pupping season has started on the Oregon coast and various animal groups are reminding beachgoers that while the seals are adorable or may appear to be abandoned — do not touch them. The baby seals use time on land to regulate body temperature and rest. However, if a young pup is onshore alone […]
News Briefs
Man wearing “Rip City” sweatshirt does just that with county bus Sunday
NEWPORT – Oops, no wonder your bus was late Sunday. Newport police said Monday that a man wearing a “Rip City” sweatshirt made off with a Lincoln County Transit bus shortly before noon as the driver was refueling it at the fuel station at Northeast Harney Street and Yaquina Heights Drive. Police said the driver […]
Siletz man killed in Friday head-on collision just east of Newport
NEWPORT – A 62-year-old Siletz man was killed and his passenger seriously injured Friday evening when their small pickup was struck head-on by a car that crossed into their lane of U.S. Highway 20 a little more than a mile east of Newport. Oregon State Police said in a news release Monday that Christopher M. […]
Coastal choir wraps up season with four concerts in May
Four choir concerts over two weekends in May will mark the end of the performance season for Coastal Voices, formerly the Central Coast Chorale. The concerts by the 50-voice community choir, themed “Spring Homage”, will take place in Newport, Yachats and Lincoln City: Saturday, May 4: Newport Performing Arts Center, $25; Sunday, May 5: Yachats […]
Nearly 70 vendors prepare for Waldport Wednesday market’s 2024 opening
WALDPORT — Almost six dozen vendors are lined up for the new season of the Waldport Wednesday Market, opening May 1 for its 2024 season. The market takes place from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m. each Wednesday through Sept. 25 in the parking lot of the Waldport Community Center. Admission is free. Some 70 […]
Waldport woman dies Monday after Highway 101 crash in Newport
NEWPORT – A 74-year-old Waldport woman was killed Monday evening when her car went into the opposite lane of U.S. Highway 101 in the South Beach area of Newport and collided with an oncoming car. Oregon State Police says Heidi Fay Rock of Waldport died after being taken to Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital following the […]
Lincoln County unemployment rate rises slightly in March
Lincoln County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has increased slightly, moving to 4.5 percent in March from a 4.3 percent rate in February, according to the Oregon Employment Department. It was 4.2 percent in January. That’s still less than the county’s unemployment rate of 5.4 percent in March 2023. The employment department said in its monthly […]
Cascade Head collective offering guided tours of Oregon’s only UNESCO biosphere
By Oregon Coast TODAY While coastal outcroppings like Cascade Head will continue to attract locals and visitors to its sweeping views, there is so much more to be found than ocean views at Oregon’s only UNESCO Biosphere Region. The Cascade Head Biosphere Explorience outings, a series of interactive, 90-minute walking tours, will guide people […]
Graamans picking up the baton to continue performing arts group’s annual Shakespeare camp for kids
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages.” — William Shakespeare, “As You Like It.” By Oregon Coast TODAY Shakespeare’s seven ages had a more lifelong […]
5 Questions and a Secret: Sherri Seaman and Joyce Adams lead Waldport church’s Saturday food program
By KATHLEEN O’CONNOR/YachatsNews Many residents of the central Oregon coast are committed to helping their neighbors and their communities in many arenas -- food, lodging, clothing, … [Read More...] about 5 Questions and a Secret: Sherri Seaman and Joyce Adams lead Waldport church’s Saturday food program
The Condor — a “little underdog of a boat” — finally met its Yaquina Bay demise in 1912
Mariners and historians estimate there have been more than 3,000 shipwrecks along the Oregon coast and in its bays and harbors. The most infamous might be the New Carissa, which ran aground … [Read More...] about The Condor — a “little underdog of a boat” — finally met its Yaquina Bay demise in 1912
Letters from Readers
Law school colleague supports Wallace in DA’s race
To the editor: I’ve known Lincoln County deputy district attorney Jenna Wallace for over a decade since we first met in law school. During those years I watched Wallace begin to develop her affinity for justice and integrity. Since that time I have litigated cases against Wallace, and while I don’t always agree with her […]
Benfield can end chaos, dissension in district attorney’s office
To the editor: Newport native Kathryn Benfield should be the voters’ overwhelming choice for Lincoln County District Attorney in the May election. With more than 35 years experience in practice, Benfield has handled both civil and criminal matters and regularly appears before juries. She has compassion and common sense. She has discernment and discretion. She […]
Former colleague supports Benfield for Lincoln County DA
To the editor: I had the distinct pleasure of working for Kathryn Benfield at her law office in Newport, and it was one of the most impactful experiences of my professional career. I first met Benfield in the courtroom, while working for the Lincoln County Circuit Court Judge Paulette Sanders. There I witnessed first-hand Benfield’s […]
Yachats council should raise concerns about Starker forest spraying
To the editor: I am a retired teacher and elementary school principal and I think that if every economic and political decision were made with kids in mind, we’d be living in a better world. I encourage Yachats citizens to be individually and collectively assertive when it comes to preventing further destruction of watersheds in […]
Oregon News
Protesting UO students set up camp on library lawn Monday, calling for university boycott of Israel
Organizers began setting up Monday morning on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene. They say the encampment isn’t intended to interfere with campus activities or classes. By NATHAN WILK/KLCC News EUGENE — Pro-Palestinian student groups created an encampment Monday at the University of Oregon, stationing themselves on the lawn in front of the […]
Oregon Republican legislators and candidates visit Arizona-Mexico border to learn about security issues
By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle Sixteen Republican lawmakers and legislative candidates from Oregon visited the Arizona-Mexico border on Monday, arguing that lax security around the southern border exacerbates the drug crisis in Oregon, 1,000 miles north. The group, which includes about one-third of the Republican lawmakers in the Oregon Legislature and three candidates, was scheduled […]
Oregon governor’s top staffers were concerned about first lady’s role and security requests, records released Friday show
By JULIA SHUMWAY/Oregon Capital Chronicle SALEM — Top staff in Gov. Tina Kotek’s office raised concerns internally about first lady Aimee Kotek Wilson’s growing role in the administration, public records released Friday show. The governor’s office began releasing thousands of pages of emails and other correspondence on Friday afternoon in response to March records requests […]
OPB may partner with California online news organization to begin operating in Eugene area
By AUSTIN FULLER/The Current A new online news source hopes to to improve local coverage in the Eugene area with a boost from Oregon Public Broadcasting. Oregon Public Broadcasting chief executive officer Steve Bass said he is in “deep collaboration” on the Lookout Eugene-Springfield digital news site with public-benefit, for-profit company Lookout Local and its […]
Southern Oregon activists claim victory after BLM changes road plans in logging area
By JUSTIN HIGGENBOTTOM/Jefferson Public Radio A logging company has canceled a proposed road within a Bureau of Land Management project in Josephine County which activists claimed threatened old-growth trees. Protesters had been staying at the location of a proposed road within the BLM’s Salmon Run timber sale, which they claim threatened old-growth trees, for the […]
Oregonians have until April 30 to register to vote or change party affiliation
Oregonians have about two weeks left to register to vote or change their party affiliation before the May 21 primary. Only registered Republicans or Democrats will be able to vote in most primary elections, including picking nominees for Congress, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general and legislative districts. Voters have until April 30 to register […]
U.S. Supreme Court justices appear to lean toward city of Grants Pass in complex homelessness case
Homeless rights activists hold a rally outside of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson and Smith v. Spizzirri, a dispute over the constitutionality of ordinances that bar people who are homeless from camping on city streets. (Kevin […]
New York legislators approve tax breaks to hire local journalists, a national first
By JOSEPH SPECTOR/Politico ALBANY, New York — The decades long struggle of local media is getting a lifeline in New York. The state budget, set to be finalized Saturday, includes the nation’s first payroll tax credit for local news organizations in a bid to encourage new hiring amid the ongoing struggles of journalism outlets to cover their […]