The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Oregon Beach Weather
Marine Toxin Keeps All Razor Clamming Closed In Oregon Coastwide
The Oregon Department of Agriculture and ODFW closed all razor clam harvesting from the Washington border to the California border. Recent lab results indicate the marine biotoxin domoic acid exceeded the closure limit along the entire Oregon coast.
Mussel harvesting remains closed from the Columbia River to the north side of the Yachats River for elevated levels of paralytic shellfish poison, a marine biotoxin. Mussel harvesting remains open from the south side of the Yachats River to the California border.
Recreational bay clam and crab harvesting remain open.
ODA will continue testing for shellfish toxins twice per month as tides and weather permit. Reopening an area closed for biotoxins requires two consecutive tests with results below the closure limit. Both domoic acid and paralytic shellfish toxin are produced by naturally occurring algae.
For more information call ODA’s shellfish biotoxin safety hotline at (800) 448-2474, the Food Safety Division at (503) 986-4720, or visit the ODA Shellfish Biotoxin Closures webpage – Contact ODFW for recreational license requirements, permits, rules, and limits.
Astoria’s ‘Love Your Streets’ Event on Saturday
Join us for our Fall Love Your Streets event on Saturday, October 15th from 9am-noon and help us beautify Downtown Astoria! Sign up here – we’ll be prepping planters for winter, removing graffiti, cleaning up our streets, and more – everyone is welcome!
The City Of Florence Is Still Seeking Input On It Housing Implementation Plan
Florence City Manager Erin Reynolds says the information gathered will help the city to decide how to adequately meet housing needs in the future. And it is not just for residents of the Florence City proper. Reynolds says that you have a stake in the planning if you are a commuter that works within the region or are planning to live or work in the City at some point.
Newport To Host Lincoln County “Economic Summit” Oct. 20th
The first Lincoln County Economic Summit on Thursday, Oct. 20th in Newport will focus on work, recreation and diversity. The summit, a collaboration between the Economic Development Alliance of Lincoln County and the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce, is intended to emphasize the reasons why people choose to live, work and play in Lincoln County.
“Housing matters to you, you want to live here or you are in the area or if you commute here from somewhere else for whatever the reason are we want to hear from you.”
There are a couple of surveys attached to the project, Reynolds says it just takes a few minutes to fill out. The final day for submitting is Monday the 17th of October. The link to the surveys can be found at http://ci.florence.or.us
“Make no mistake – this isn’t just for Newport Chamber members,” said Paul Schuytema, the Economic Development Alliance’s executive director. “We truly believe this summit will deliver valuable insights for business and community leaders all across Lincoln County.”
Three panels, themed “Work,” “Play,” and “Live,” will focus on the natural resources, tourism experiences and business opportunities that organizers say are critical to the county’s long-term success.
The “Work” panel will discuss topics such as engaging remote workers, reinventing a resilient rural economy and local food entrepreneurship.
Travel Oregon executive Scott Bricker is the keynote speaker for the “Play” section of the summit. He is expected to share his thoughts on how area businesses can advance tourism-related projects.
The final panel, “Live,” will touch on community and economic resilience.
The summit will be held at the Best Western Agate Beach Inn located at 3019 N Coast Highway, Newport. Registration for the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. event, including lunch, is $40 for Newport Chamber members and $45 for non-members. More event details are available on the Newport Chamber’s website: https://business.newportchamber.org/events/details/2022-economic-summit-october-20-2022-11651?calendarMonth=2022-10-01
Oregon Secretary of State Launches “Voting in Oregon Feels Good” Public Education Campaign to Pre-bunk False Election Information
Secretary Fagan announced a new public service announcement campaign today called Voting in Oregon Feels Good. The PSAs aim to “pre-bunk” false election information by proactively reaching voters with accurate information from an official, trusted source.
“I want the characters in these videos to be to Oregon elections what Smokey the Bear is to wildfire prevention,” Secretary Fagan said. “This campaign is as fun as it is informative, with Oregon-focused animations that stand out from other government messages. When you see the videos and social media posts, I hope you’ll take a moment to remember why Oregonians are very proud of vote-by-mail.”
The campaign is animated in a 1970’s style, featuring dozens of Oregon landmarks, characters and scenes from across the State. The first spot, Journey of a Ballot, explains the features of vote-by-mail that protect the integrity of our elections. Subsequent spots will focus on increasing voter turnout and educating voters about the new postmark rule.
“Research shows that once a person forms a belief about elections it’s very hard to change their mind,” Secretary Fagan said. “That’s why it’s critical for elections officials to get ahead of false information by sharing the fact that Oregon has had free and fair elections through vote-by-mail for over 20 years. When Oregonians know all the steps elections workers take to protect the integrity of our elections, it completely undercuts the conspiracy theories from proponents of the Big Lie.”
To produce Voting in Oregon Feels Good, the Oregon Elections Division used a competitive bidding process to hire Oregon-based creative agency Happylucky. The budget for the project is $350,000 — allocated from one-time funding approved during the 2022 short session by the Oregon Legislature. The campaign will target low turnout voters with ad buys on social media, CTV, broadcast TV and podcast platforms. The ads will be produced in English, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese and Somali. The first ads launched on Monday, October 10. https://www.oregon.gov/newsroom/pages/NewsDetail.aspx?newsid=76278
Police Find Two People Dead In Car From Apparent Shooting In Clackamas County
The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said they found two people dead in a car southeast of Portland early Wednesday morning after it appeared the vehicle had been shot at, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office said.
Deputies were called out at about 2 a.m. on reports of a car that had hit a fire hydrant in the 16000 block of Southeast 122nd Avenue, which is in unincorporated Clackamas County.
Two people were found dead inside the car, and deputies said it appeared the car had evidence of “being involved in a shooting.”
The sheriff’s office is working with Portland Police to determine whether it is related to any other shootings, like one that took place at about 1:30 a.m. on Southeast Stark Street just east of I-205. Law enforcement also conducted a rolling slowdown at about 6 a.m. Wednesday.
If you have any helpful information in this case, the sheriff’s office asks you to contact them at (503) 723-4949 or submit a tip online. They ask you to reference CCSO Case # 22-023139.
Cedar Creek Fire Smoke Throughout Region
Size: 122,706 acres |Contained: 38% | Weather: High pressure will remain over the fire area the rest of this week, resulting in a warming and drying trend with temperatures at least 5-10 degrees above seasonal averages. These conditions combined with increased winds will lead to critical fire weather conditions today and tomorrow. Temperatures will range from 70-80 degrees across the fire area today.
Operations: Firefighters completed fireline around 100% of both pockets of “slopover” fire on the southern fire perimeter near Lucas Lake yesterday. Both slopover areas are now surrounded by a combination of dozerline and handline and firefighters are finishing construction of a network of fire hoses to deliver water directly to containment lines. Firefighters were again assisted by water bucket drops from heavy helicopters to cool areas of active fire. Fire crews will work today to secure and strengthen these control lines.
Firefighters will be vigilant with today’s critical fire weather conditions as they patrol and defend existing control lines around the fire. Fire crews are continuing repairs around much of the fire, grading roads and clearing culverts and ditches. Along the northern fire perimeter, firefighters are patrolling for heat sources near control lines and are working to hold the fire south of the 19 Road. Firefighters are working to keep the fire north of the 4290 Road in the eastern portion of the fire, and chipping operations are ongoing near Cultus Lake to remove woody debris left over from fire suppression. There are numerous interior pockets of unburned fuel that will readily burn as the temperatures rise and the humidity drops, continuing to produce smoky conditions.
Suppression repairs on the Big Swamp and Potter Fires are ongoing as firefighters add water bars to former containment lines and restore natural drainage to areas impacted by firefighting, reducing the potential for sediment from containment lines to impact local streams and rivers.
Smoke: Air quality conditions due to smoke are expected to be Good to Hazardous within the forecast area. Continued Unhealthy to Hazardous conditions persist in Oakridge. Much improved air quality conditions from Good to Moderate are predicted today for Bend, La Pine, Crescent Lake and Crater Lake. Increasing smoke is predicted this afternoon to evening for Eugene. For current conditions, see Fire.airnow.gov, oakridgeair.org, and LRAPA – Today’s Current AirQuality. Smoke Forecast Outlooks are available at https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook.
