The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Friday, March 3, 2023
Oregon Beach Weather
Active Weather Alerts – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM PST SUNDAY... ...GALE WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 10 PM THIS EVENING TO 7 AM PST SATURDAY... * WHAT...High and steep northwest swell 12 to 16 feet 16 seconds through this evening. Tonight into early Saturday winds become south and increase to gales 25 to 35 KT with gusts to 40 KT and seas become very steep and chaotic. * WHERE...For the small craft advisory: All areas. However, the steepest seas today will be north of Cape Blanco. For the gale warning: the strongest winds and steepest seas are expected 5 NM to 30 NM from shore. * WHEN...For the Gale Warning, from 10 PM this evening to 7 AM PST Saturday. For the Small Craft Advisory, until 4 PM PST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Strong winds and very steep seas could capsize or damage vessels. Low visibility conditions are expected. * View the hazard area in detail at https://go.usa.gov/x6hks
Experts Gather In Portland To Discuss Offshore Wind Power In Oregon
Sometime in the not-too-distant future, Oregon’s coast could be home to some massive new structures. That wind energy future was the subject of the Northwest Offshore Wind Conference, held over two days this week in downtown Portland, where nearly 300 of the country’s top experts in the field came together to take stock of the process.
Wind turbines, some close to 1,000 feet tall and capable of producing up to three gigawatts of power, are planned for two areas about 12 miles offshore. There’s a long way to go before the blades start spinning and generating electricity to power Oregon homes, but the decisions being made now will shape what the projects will look like when they are constructed in the years to come.
“You’ve got national labs, universities, regulators, stakeholders and a fair amount of supply chain folks who are starting to realize there’s enormous opportunity here if they position themselves well,” said Jason Busch, executive director of the Pacific Ocean Energy Trust, a nonprofit that sponsored the conference. Industry leaders say offshore wind development will be a key piece of the puzzle for Oregon to hit 100% renewable energy production in the future.
The process of siting, permitting and constructing offshore wind turbines is not a short one. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management began looking at areas off the west coast several years ago and identified two areas in Oregon waters that would be suitable, off the coast of Coos Bay and Brookings.
The coast off of southern Oregon and Northern California is known for having some of the highest potential for wind energy production due to strong, reliable and consistent wind.
Federal regulators have been analyzing the two plots, referred to as “call areas,” which encompass more than a million acres, with the intention of identifying the best areas to offer to lease to developers through an auction early in 2024.
One of those developers is Deep Blue Pacific Wind. Peter Cogswell, government affairs director for the company, said it was more than just wind quality that drew him to Oregon.
“What makes Oregon unique is that first you have a world-class resource off the Southern Oregon coast,” Cogswell said. “You combine that with Oregon’s historic strong support for clean energy policies and decarbonizing our electric supply, and there’s a lot to like about offshore wind and how it fits into that environment.”
Offshore wind power will also be a necessary addition to the northwest power generation portfolio as Oregon works toward its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040.
“A lot of people like to think of offshore wind as kind of an either/or while comparing it with land-based renewables, but the reality is, is that we need everything,” Cogswell said. “If Oregon is going to achieve its 100% clean energy goals and some of its other decarbonization goals, offshore wind is a critical part of achieving that.”
Offshore wind is already in use around the world, including off of the east coast of the U.S. with more than 6,000 turbines providing clean electricity.
Wind power on the west coast comes with some unique challenges compared to other areas. East coast turbines can be anchored to the ocean floor in the relatively shallow waters off the eastern seaboard, but the continental shelf off the Oregon coast drops off to deeper waters much more quickly, so the turbines will need to be mounted on floating platforms like at some European installations.
That’s only one of the challenges facing developers hoping to tap into the power of Oregon wind. Large infrastructure upgrades would be needed at the deep water ports in Coos Bay, and high voltage transmission lines would need to be built to bring all that power onshore.
Wind energy proponents point to all of those challenges as sources for new jobs, but there are other potential hurdles to overcome before offshore wind energy becomes a reality in Oregon.
Fishermen worry that the towers could interfere with their livelihoods. Environmental advocates are concerned that vulnerable marine species could be put further at risk. Tribal groups fear that their cultural resources could be put in jeopardy and that they won’t be given the chance to offer any meaningful input on the siting of the turbines.
In an op-ed for the publication CalMatters, Frankie Myers, vice chairman of Yurok Tribe, wrote that Indigenous people have often been ignored when outsiders come to extract resources from their lands.
“Offshore wind presents an opportunity to develop the clean energy America needs,” Myers wrote. “But unless offshore wind truly engages with the Native American tribes that suffered the impacts from previous natural resource extraction, it will be as dirty as the rest of them.”
And all those potential conflicts are one of the reasons that winning the lease auction is just the beginning of a lengthy process. After that, developers will go through a roughly 7-year period of environmental impact studies, site analysis and surveys of the areas where they plan to build.
That extended period will also provide ample opportunity from all the groups that will potentially be impacted by the development to have input on the process.
Busch said he hopes that the conference in Portland this week will provide a chance to address the concerns of fishermen, environmentalists and tribal members early in the planning process.
“We have something called the Oregon Way, and that means that people have to come to the table and have a dialogue and build trust about how we deal with the controversial or difficult decision making,” he said. (SOURCE)
Thousands Without Power in Warrenton Area
Thousands of customers in the Warrenton area lost power Thursday because of a damaged line, according to Pacific Power.
The first report of an outage was at about 4:30 p.m. The outage involves more than 4,300 customers.
“The feeder lines are down to the City of Warrenton and their location is very difficult to access,” Mayor Henry Balensifer said via Facebook. “The power outage is very likely to last a couple of hours.” https://www.facebook.com/HenryBalensifer
Mayor Balesifer kept making updates all through the situation. Then he updated: “Power was restored around 4:45am. 12 hours after the outage.”
Fire Destroys High Life Zip Line Building in Warrenton
A quick-moving fire destroyed a building at the High Life Adventures zip line facility in Warrenton early Thursday morning.
The building included the High Life Zip N’ Sip Restaurant and a workshop.
The Warrenton Fire Department responded to the fire just after 1 a.m. and had to call in the Astoria Fire Department for backup. Crews were still addressing hot spots later in the day Thursday. No one was in the building at the time of the fire and no injuries have been reported.
Warrenton Fire Chief Brian Alsbury says the building — a heavy timber, pole barn construction — is a total loss. By the time fire crews arrived on the scene most of the building was considered fully involved and the fire moved quickly through the rest of the building.
An investigation determined the fire was accidental. “It’s accidental of some sort and nothing to really define what the cause could have been,” Warrenton Fire Chief Brian Alsbury said. “There’s so many different variables in that shop.”
The building was filled with wood and wooden elements. Some tables in the restaurant were made from thick slabs of wood and the building also included a wood stove among other materials and items that may have been factors in the blaze
Overnight Shooting In Charleston Fire Dept. Parking Lot
Authorities in Coos County are investigating an overnight shooting that happened around 12:38 a.m this morning. The Coos County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center received a call of shots fired in the parking lot of the Charleston Fire Department at 92342 Cape Arago Hwy in Coos Bay.
A deputy in the area arrived on scene “almost immediately,” the Sheriff’s Office said, and located one subject shot.
The deputy was instrumental in rendering lifesaving aid until medical personnel arrived on scene, CCSO stated. No information was released on the person’s condition.
“The Coos County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an investigation into the incident,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “All parties involved in the incident have been identified and there is no risk to the general public. At this time no arrests have been made as the investigation is on-going.”
Governor Kotek Urges Legislature To Give $7.5 Million To Oregon Food Bank As COVID Benefits End
The Oregon Food Bank offers an assortment of food, including frozen vegetables like these beans.
As hundreds of thousands of Oregonians face a 40% decrease in their food budgets, Gov. Tina Kotek urged the Legislature to give millions to the Oregon Food Bank.
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, covers more than 720,000 Oregonians. When the COVID pandemic hit in spring 2020, the federal government increased monthly SNAP benefits, to an average of $450 per household each month.
Find food —- To find food resources go to or call:
- Needfood.oregon.gov
- Foodfinder.oregonfoodbank.org
- www.caporegon.org/find-services
- www.211info.org (211)
The emergency funding ended in February, slicing aid to households receiving benefits to an average of $270 per month. Local food pantries and the Oregon Food Bank, which serves 1,400 free food markets, pantries, meal sites and delivery programs, have been preparing for increased demand .
Kotek, who started her career as an advocate at the Oregon Food Bank, sent a letter to the chairs of the budget-writing Joint Ways and Means Committee this week asking for an immediate $7.5 million allocation to the Oregon Food Bank for food purchasing.
“Without an immediate investment, Oregon Food Bank will be forced to reduce the level of food support it provides to its regional food banks, and local food pantries will be unable to feed Oregonians who need help,” Kotek wrote.
The proposed $7.5 million is included in a 42-page amendment to the Legislature’s “budget rebalance” bill, a wonkish measure the Legislature passes every two years to reconcile the state’s accounts. The bill will be considered by a subcommittee of the budget-writing Joint Ways and Means Committee on Friday and by the full Legislature later this month.
Oregon Food Bank CEO Susannah Morgan told the Capital Chronicle the money would be enough to ensure the nonprofit can purchase enough food through the end of June. The food bank is also anticipating more federal aid later this spring or summer, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture spends $2 billion announced last fall to buy domestically produced food for food banks and school meal programs.
“Part of our hope for the summer would be that the federal commodities will start flowing in at a higher rate again as we are finishing up spending the additional very welcome grant from the state of Oregon,” Morgan said.
The legislative Emergency Board gave the food bank $5 million last September, but that money’s gone. Like consumers who have grappled with higher prices at grocery stores in recent years, the Oregon Food Bank is paying more for food than it did before the COVID pandemic.
“Pre-pandemic, a 40,000-pound truckload of peanut butter, a whole lot of peanut butter, would have cost $32,000,” Morgan said. “It’s now costing us over $40,000.”
Morgan said the food bank hasn’t seen an increase in demand because of the end of expanded SNAP benefits, but that officials expect increases in the second or third week of March. People typically ask for food assistance when SNAP benefits run out part way through the month, she said.
Eighteen states, mostly Republican-run states in the South, Midwest and Mountain West, already opted out of the additional federal funding. Food banks in those states reported a surge in demand when the extra benefits ended.
Morgan said the most important thing Oregonians can do is make sure their friends, family and neighbors know how to find resources at oregonfoodfinder.org . After that, the food bank is seeking monetary donations , which go further than food donations because the food bank buys food by the truckload and can turn $1 into three meals worth of food. Volunteering time at a local food pantry or regional food bank also helps, she said.
“This grant from the state of Oregon is amazing and really will help us get through June,” Morgan said. “The need will not go away in July. Our neighbors will still need help in July.” (SOURCE)
Advocates From Oregon Urge President Biden To Issue An Executive Order Protecting Beavers On Federal Public Lands
A group of scientists, nonprofit organizations and advocates from Oregon and around the country have asked President Joe Biden to issue an executive order protecting beavers on federal public lands.
Their letter was sent to the White House on Monday, signed by over 200 scientists, wildlife experts and activists. It says beavers are important for fighting climate change, biodiversity loss and water shortages.
Oregon’s state animal, beavers were once common here and across the continent. Scientists estimate that there were as many as 200 million beavers in North America before colonization. Widespread trapping in the 19th century brought beavers to the brink of extinction in many areas, and though they have recovered somewhat, current estimates are around 15 million, a reduction of more than 90%.
Beavers are natural engineers. They build dams, slowing down and spreading water that would otherwise run off – and that makes them a natural ally for Biden’s climate agenda, said Suzanne Fouty, a retired U.S. Forest Service hydrologist who co-authored the letter.
“It turns out that wetlands, which beavers are capable of creating very effectively, are a tremendous carbon storage zone,” she told the Capital Chronicle.
Wetland soil can store up to 10 times more carbon than the same amount of forest soil, and up to 35 times more than grassland, the letter said. Carbon in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels is the primary driver of climate change, and scientists say we have to both reduce our emissions and pull more carbon out of the atmosphere to stabilize the climate.
Beyond storing carbon, wetlands created and maintained by beavers have been shown to improve water quality, improve and expand fish and wildlife habitat and act as natural firebreaks during wildfires. They also help to mitigate the effects of drought like the one that’s affected the West for several years.
The letter proposes an executive order with three parts: a near-total ban on beaver trapping on federal public land, a directive to land management agencies to prioritize beaver conservation and funding to federal agencies to expand beaver numbers. It said money should be allocated to the U.S. Forest Service, the federal Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management along with the Civilian Climate Corps, a climate-focused jobs program that was cut from the Inflation Reduction Act to pass the Senate in 2021.
Until now, beaver management has been left mostly to state wildlife agencies, but the letter’s authors claim that these agencies, funded primarily by hunting, trapping and fishing licenses, are more beholden to hunters and trappers than to the public or the wildlife. The letter mentions Oregon as an example of a state which has been unable to adequately protect beavers, noting that attempts at regulation have failed in both the state Legislature and Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in the last three years.
“Beaver hunting and trapping is open in most states right now,” Adam Bronstein, Director for Oregon and Nevada at the Western Watersheds Project, told the Capital Chronicle. “In a lot of cases, there are no quotas and no seasons.” This means that managers have no way to set sustainable limits on trapping, and scientists have no reliable count of how many beavers are being taken off of public lands.
Many of the co-signers of the letter are Oregonians and leaders of Oregon-based nonprofit organizations, including representatives of several local Audubon societies, the Urban Greenspaces Institute and WaterWatch of Oregon. Professors, retired and active, from both Oregon State University and University of Oregon, joined the effort. Several fishing advocates signed the letter as well, including David Moskowitz from the Conservation Angler and Bob Rees of Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, highlighting the value that beavers can provide to healthy fish habitat.
Bronstein points out that beaver trapping is only one use that actively competes with the other services that wetlands with beavers can provide. In Oregon, fewer than 200 people actively trap and hunt beavers to sell their fur or because some landowners consider them pests. Others hunt them recreationally. “Public lands belong to all Americans, and wildlife is in our collective trust,” says Bronstein. “We want our public lands to provide the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people.” (SOURCE)
Black Market Stash Found in Jacksonville After Double Murder Of Two Jackson County Cannabis Entrepreneurs In Houston
Law enforcement in Jackson County Oregon discovered an illegal marijuana stash this week on the property of one of two Oregon cannabis entrepreneurs killed earlier this year in Houston.
WW The February 22 story wrote about two Oregon men, Dana Risdal and Jimmy Martin. Police found the bodies of the two men five days apart, but believe both men were shot to death at the townhome where authorities first found Risdal’s body. Officers found 10 pounds of hash oil, 129 pounds of hashish and $36,000 in cash.
Both men had deep ties to the Oregon cannabis industry, and Martin was a part-owner of Rogue Valley Cannabis, which operates three dispensaries in Southern Oregon. (Friends of Martin said it was recently attempting to sell its portion of the business; it is unclear whether it has ever done so.)
According to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, shortly after the double murder, the agency obtained a search warrant for a Jacksonville home that was owned by Martin. Inside they found an indoor grow, 572 marijuana plants, 275 pounds of handpicked marijuana, and two guns.
The authorities arrested and booked a man connected to the operation, whom they identified as Baron Erich Munchausen. (It is unclear whether this is a pseudonym, but Baron Munchausen is the name of a fictional character in a 1700s German novel.)
As WW noted in last week’s story, the overabundance of cannabis flowers and federal prohibition have lured some legal business owners into the black market.
Friends of Martin, 37, and Riesdal, 35, described them both as big, fun-loving personalities. Ryssdal loved to travel and spend time in Las Vegas, Colorado, and Washington. Martin had a small child.
Based on social media, it appears that their friendship is at least four years old. Based on business registry records, it does not appear that there was any formal business partnership between the two.
“Dana’s superpower was making people feel,” Mike Reeves, a longtime friend and former business partner of Raisdal’s, said earlier this month. “He was the guy in the room everyone was attracted to. He had a laugh that we’ll remember.
Martin’s friend and former business partner, Richard Roth, said: “He lit up every room he ever walked into. He was as at ease meeting Fortune 500 CEOs as he was at a Biggie concert.” Source: www.wweek.com
83-year-old Clarence Edward Pitts walked away from his home in Bandon on Tuesday, January 31 at around 1:00 p.m. Pitts is described as:
- 6′ 00″
- 150 lbs
- Gray hair
- Brown eyes
- Last seen wearing an orange beanie, plaid jacket, tan pants and white shoes
- May have a walking cane
- Has dementia and PTSD
Pitts may be in a vehicle that was also found to be missing from the home:
- 1999 Toyota Van
- White
- Oregon license plate: WYN 788
If you see Clarence or have any information pertaining to where he may be, please call the Coos County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Center at 541-396-2106 or the Bandon Police Department at 541-347-3189.
