The latest news stories across the state of Oregon from the digital home of the Oregon coastal cities, OregonBeachMagazine.com
Monday, December 6, 2021
Oregon Beach Weather
Today– Occasional rain. High near 51. Windy, with a south wind 9 to 14 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tuesday– A 30 percent chance of rain, mainly after 4pm. Cloudy, with a high near 55. South southeast wind 7 to 10 mph becoming west southwest in the afternoon.
Wednesday– Rain, mainly before 10am, then a chance of showers after noon. Snow level 4000 feet lowering to 2500 feet in the afternoon . High near 51. Northwest wind 9 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Thursday– Showers. Snow level 2500 feet. High near 48. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Friday– A chance of showers. Snow level 2500 feet rising to 3000 feet. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 49.
National Weather Service Satellite Captures Images of Oregon Coast Crabbing Boats From Space
Commercial crabbing on the Oregon coast opened on time for the first time in several years, and the state’s crabbing fleet makes an impression in outer space.
A satellite from the National Weather Service (NWS) managed to capture an enormous pattern of glowing dots skirting the edge of the state’s shoreline, turning out to be a spectacular shot of Oregon crabbing boats from several miles up just beyond our atmosphere.
The NWS sent out the photo this week after checking its satellite feed, finding not just the usual, unmistakable glow of city lights in the valley towns, but a bundle of dots just offshore. “Sometimes our #satellites can see more than clouds,” the NWS office in Medford said in a Tweet.
The highest concentration of lights is happening right off Lane and Lincoln counties, in the middle of the satellite image. The largest seems to be a bundle of them right outside of Florence, on the central Oregon coast.
The image was taken on the evening of Thursday, December 2 – one day after crabbing season opened for commercial vessels.
This image itself is an appropriate celebratory instance for crabbers along the Oregon coast, who are pleased that the season opened on time this year, the first time it’s done so in about seven years, since the 2014-15 season. Previous years had seen serious delays, because of reasons such as crab sizes not being right yet, marine toxin levels or price negotiations still happening.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) tested crabs out of Oregon’s six major crabbing ports beginning in early November. They found Oregon’s crab harvest areas had high meat yield and were well below domoic acid alert levels.
Crab boats were allowed to set their pots on November 28 to allow for a December 1 opening. Recreational Dungeness crab harvest in the ocean off Oregon also opened December 1 in all areas, as scheduled.
Recreational crab harvesting in bays, estuaries, and on beaches, docks, piers, and jetties is currently open coastwide. Recreational crabbers should always call the Shellfish Hotline (800-448-2474) or visit the ODA Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures webpage before crabbing: https://myodfw.com/recreation-report/crabbing-clamming-report/marine-zone
Cannon Beach Food Tax Vote Faces Recount
The food tax voted on in November is headed for a recount.
Patrick Nofield, who owns Escape Lodging in Cannon Beach, cited the contentions surrounding the tax proposal, the close margin after election night and concerns about city officials opening a ballot drop box in October in asking for a recount.
“I just think it’s reasonable and appropriate,” Nofield said.
The 5% tax on prepared food passed in November by only four votes — 379 to 375.
The recount will be done by hand and will take place on Wednesday at the Judge Guy Boyington Building in Astoria.
The food tax would apply to prepared food sold at restaurants and similar businesses. It is expected to generate around $1.7 million annually, revenue that would be split between the city and the Cannon Beach Rural Fire Protection District.
The city hopes to use the money to fund infrastructure projects, including a new City Hall and police station. The fire district wants to use its cut to help fund operations as calls for emergency services continue to rise.
Nofield feels the tax was pushed through and is especially concerned about an incident where Karen LaBonte, the city’s public works director, opened a ballot box at City Hall prior to the election.
LaBonte had come under a state ethics probe earlier this year related to the city’s use of a design company she and her husband own to make signs during the coronavirus pandemic. The state found LaBonte should have informed the city of a potential conflict of interest in writing ahead of any transaction with Cannon Beach Design Co. LaBonte was fined $1,000. City Manager Bruce St. Denis has called the violation a technicality.
But the implications are big for Nofield.
“Frankly, I feel like the integrity of the election should be questioned,” he said. Given how contentious the tax proposal has been, he doesn’t know why a city official did not seek guidance from the county elections division before opening the ballot box.
St. Denis said voters had not been able to access the ballot box at City Hall over a weekend in October and had stuck their ballots into a crack in the access door. City officials worried the ballots could be damaged by heavy rainfall that weekend. They did not have a way to reach county elections staff outside of normal business hours, so they decided to unlock the box with a key provided by the county and put the ballots inside the drop box.
St. Denis was present with LaBonte when the drop box was opened. St. Denis notified city councilors, the city attorney and the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office and later discussed the matter with county elections officials.
“The county noted that the city was correct to have two persons present when the box was opened and stated the city did not violate any rules,” St. Denis wrote in an email to the City Council explaining what had happened.
The food tax was a divisive issue for the city.
Many people who testified at City Council meetings against the tax said they supported finding a new source of revenue for the fire district. However, they did not trust the city and questioned the timing of the tax as businesses continued to reel from the upheaval caused by the pandemic and related supply chain issues.
If the tax still passes following the recount, it will not begin to appear on customers’ bills until July.
Oregon reports 1,352 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases, 16 new deaths
There are 16 new COVID-19 related deaths in Oregon, raising the state’s death toll to 5,243, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) reported OHA reported 1,352 new confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 bringing the state total to 394,569.
The new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases reported today are in the following counties: Baker (3), Benton (21), Clackamas (95), Clatsop (7), Columbia (21), Coos (40), Crook (45), Curry (8), Deschutes (74), Douglas (45), Grant (6), Harney (8), Hood River (14), Jackson (63), Jefferson (19), Josephine (35), Klamath (22), Lane (181), Lincoln (16), Linn (92), Malheur (2), Marion (105), Multnomah (150), Polk (55), Sherman (2), Tillamook (4), Umatilla (3), Union (12), Wallowa (1), Wasco (9), Washington (159) and Yamhill (35).
The likely arrival of the new omicron variant and questions about its strength and speed are clouding an otherwise cautiously optimistic outlook of the course of COVID-19 in Oregon, according to a new state report.
The forecast from Oregon Health and Science University, released late Thursday, shows the delta variant spike that hit Oregon over the summer and peaked around Labor Day continues a steady if the stubbornly laborious decline in the state.
New infections, hospitalizations and deaths are falling, if not as quickly as forecast a month ago. But projecting trends into the future is more difficult with the arrival of the omicron variant.
First reported by South African researchers on Nov. 25, it has now been found in more than 20 countries. No cases have been reported yet in Oregon, though it’s unlikely the virus would somehow skip the state. But continuing delta’s drop is the main focus of public health officials until more is known about omicron.
“We don’t think it’s a big threat in Oregon because we don’t yet have a confirmed case and it will take time for it to spread,” said Peter Graven, director of OHSU’s Office of Advanced Analytics.
Scientists have been rushing to find out if the new variant is more contagious, more severe and can get around vaccinations or natural immunity from earlier exposures.
“It really comes down to vaccination,” Graven said. “If the vaccines work, we’re fine. If they don’t work at preventing hospitalizations, we may have to go back to protecting our vulnerable populations until we get a booster that effectively neutralizes the omicron variant.”
South African researchers reported Friday that omicron spreads twice as rapidly as the delta variant. But they differed on whether the cause was just rapid contagion or that omicron was getting around defenses of vaccines and earlier natural exposures.
Graven said that the infection situation in Oregon was quite different. About 82% of Oregonians have immunity, which includes both those vaccinated or recently infected. At about 85%, Graven estimated the delta variant would be unable to create another spike because of the low number of unprotected people.
The Oregon Health Authority reported this week that about 28.7% of new infections were in people who had been vaccinated — so called “breakthrough” cases. But the vaccines have kept the percentage of severe cases and death much lower than in unvaccinated people.
Those who have been inoculated account for about 4.4% of cases requiring hospitalization and just over 1% of deaths. The deaths of vaccinated people were primarily in those over age 80.
The delta variant, which drove a spike in infections, remains the main threat to Oregonians who are not vaccinated or were exposed naturally to the virus.
Several new high-volume COVID-19 vaccinations sites are opening up across the state of Oregon, including one in Jackson County.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, the site at the Jackson County Expo will be open Monday through Thursday from noon to seven at night. On weekends, the site will be open on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. along with a family fun clinic.
On top of that, several of sites including the site of the former Multnomah Greyhound Park in Wood Village will be running as a high-volume Oregon Health Authority COVID-19 vaccination site starting today
The site is one of nearly a dozen high-volume COVID-19 vaccinations sites OHA has opened, or will be opening, around the state this month – in partnership with local public health authorities and community-based organizations – as part of its effort to increase immunizations against the virus.
All three approved COVID-19 vaccines – Pfizer, Modern and Johnson & Johnson – will be available, as well as booster and pediatric doses (younger children are only eligible for the Pfizer vaccine). The clinics are walk-in/drive-in only, and no appointment is required. All vaccines are offered at no cost, and no medical insurance coverage required.
Plane Crash Bursts into Flames at Valley Chevrolet Across From Rogue Valley-Medford International Airport
One person is dead after a plane crashed and burst into flames near the Chevrolet dealership in Medford across from the Rogue Valley-Medford International Airport early Sunday evening.
Medford Police officers, firefighters, and rescue personnel responded to the crash site in a parking lot adjacent to Airport Chevrolet, 3001 Biddle Road
Initial information indicates that one person was aboard the plane when it crashed, and they did not survive.
The Medford Airport tower notified its fire department just before 5 p.m. that an “Alert Three” had been issued, which usually means that a local plane had experienced an incident.
Airport Fire Chief John Karns told reporters that he believed the plane had just taken off from the airport with only one person on board immediately prior to the crash. Karns said he believed that the plane was not a local aircraft.
Karns said he understood the plane to be a Piper Navajo, which is a twin-engine, gas-powered aircraft. First responders had described it as a 9-passenger propeller plane. Karns said that the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified of the incident.
The fire chief for the Medford Fire Department, Eric Thompson said the call came about a possible explosion which was then upgraded to an ‘Alert Three’. Thompson said the alert indicates there is an aircraft emergency and a possible crash.
“Upon arrival, we had at least 20 vehicles that were fully involved,” Thompson said. “We know that the aircraft took off from the Medford airport, they just filled up with fuel they had 128 gallons of fuel onboard, and the incident occurred only a few minutes after they took off.”
Major news channels across the country have covered the story too. This is an ongoing story and additional details will be posted once they are available.
With the holiday shopping season in full effect after Black Friday, it’s also that time of year that brings a rise in robbery and shoplifting cases nationwide.
Law enforcement officials encourage several tips for shoppers to keep in mind before heading to stores especially now as the days get darker earlier in the day,
Preferably park your car in a well-lit area, as well as close to the store or shopping center as possible.
Place shopping bags or any packages in the trunk rather than upfront, to prevent people from looking through the windows and finding the urge to break in.
Make sure to have you’re car keys and phone in an accessible place as you make you’re way from or to the car in case something were to happen.
The FBI in Portland is warning shoppers to beware of fake shipping notices.
They often contain links that can download malware on computers or cell phones. The FBI says that if you’re expecting a delivery to use the website where you bought the item to track its location.
Gov. Brown wants Oregonians to quit wasting food to help reduce greenhouse gases.
Gov. Brown wants Oregonians to quit wasting food to help reduce greenhouse gases. The initiative to do so took Brown halfway around the world to the United Nations l Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, last month.
The Oregon governor explained the state’s drive to cut down on food waste as a panelist at the international gathering called COP26. For Brown and the state, reducing food waste isn’t about clearing out the refrigerator crisper. It’s about paring back on carbon emissions by not growing and transporting food that won’t get eaten.
Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge Finally Getting Water
After a summer spent drying up, Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge finally began receiving a measurable flow of water, thanks to the start of the winter irrigation season on December 1.
The refuge can receive up to 11,000 acre-feet of water between December and February depending on how Upper Klamath Lake is filling.
Water began flowing into the refuge’s Unit 2 wetland through the Ady Canal on Wednesday and was flowing at around 60 cubic feet per second at 5 p.m. Friday. It was the only significant inflow to the refuge since last winter other than roughly 750 acre-feet transferred from the Wood River Valley by the California Waterfowl Association in September.
However, 2021’s disaster of a water year continues to wreak havoc on Water Year 2022. In August, the Bureau of Reclamation had to ‘borrow’ 9,300 acre-feet from the flow of the Klamath River to stabilize the only remaining wetland unit on Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
The agency must now pay that water back to Iron Gate and Copco Reservoirs, which were drawn down to facilitate the transfer while keeping lake levels and Klamath River flows in line with Endangered Species Act requirements. Reclamation says that means water must once again stop flowing to Lower Klamath (and to the adjacent
Klamath Drainage District, where farmers flood irrigate their fields during the winter) — at least temporarily.
The agency has directed all diversions from the Klamath and Lost rivers to cease by December 6, according to a statement posted on the Klamath Basin Area Office’s website Friday.
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