KMUNA landslide that state geologists describe as large and complex closed a portion of U.S. Highway 101 near Wheeler for nearly two days. The highway reopened to one-lane traffic near milepost 47 late Wednesday afternoon, but flaggers could be guiding traffic through for several weeks to come. State road crews will need to clear vegetation…
Giants are passing by the Oregon Coast right now: Gray whales migrating north, heading to the Bering Sea from calving grounds in Baja California, Mexico. After several years of seeing “skinny” gray whales — whales apparently not finding enough food en route — and varied improvement since amid shifting ocean conditions, researchers have been concerned…
Anyone who has spent time in Astoria or considered buying property in the city, often learns one thing very quickly: It is a landscape prone to sliding. The evidence of past slides can be as subtle as oddly slanted trees on a hillside, but the scar of one slide visible just beyond two major tourist…
Photo courtesy of ODOT U.S. Highway 101 is closed south of Wheeler tonight and through tomorrow morning because of an active landslide. The landslide began early this morning near milepost 47 in Tillamook County. State road crews tried several times to reopen a lane on the highway today only to have more rocks and material…
A challenger has emerged in the race for a seat on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. Nathan Pinkstaff has announced he will run for the District 3 seat currently held by County Commissioner Pamela Wev. Pinkstaff works as deck mechanic for Tidewater Barge Lines and has worked in the timber and commercial fishing industries…
Flaggers stop traffic in both directions and the Astoria Bridge falls silent. Until the fireworks begin. The pyrotechnics go off in lone bursts with long gaps in between, each one leaving a thin trail of smoke that hovers over the Columbia River. Angela Beers-Seydel, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, leans against the…
Expect loud noises and intermittent traffic delays on the Astoria Bridge today as crews test out techniques to clear double crested cormorants from the bridge. The bridge is scheduled to be under construction for protection work and painting this summer and the increased presence of cormorants on the bridge has become a problem. Traffic today…
A high wind warning is in effect for Oregon’s North Coast beginning tonight through late Monday afternoon. The warning also applies to the south Washington coast. The National Weather Service says people should expect south winds of up to 35 miles per hour with gusts of 45 to 60 miles per hour. Winds will be…
The announcement that Oregon officials will lift the state’s indoor mask mandate ahead of schedule on March 19 was welcome news for people who had pushed for an easing of masking requirements in schools — or at least, for local control so districts could make such decisions on their own. To mask or not to…
Astoria city leaders are planning to get out of the childcare business. At a work session Wednesday afternoon, city councilors said they couldn’t support continuing with the city’s Sprouts Learning Center daycare. The daycare center, one of the larger facilities in Clatsop County, is run through the Astoria Parks and Recreation Department, serves 21 families…