A low-barrier shelter in downtown Astoria is pushing back at how Clatsop County distributed state money meant to fund beds for unhoused people. LiFEBoat operates the lowest barrier shelter in Clatsop County. Guests can’t use drugs or alcohol while inside the 22-bed shelter, but LiFEBoat does not require them to commit to sobriety and does…
Law enforcement agencies on Oregon’s North Coast are changing their approach after federal immigration enforcement officers detained at least 6 people in Seaside earlier this month. Before, Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said the stance adopted by police departments and the sheriff’s office in Clatsop County was that if officers saw ICE, they should go…
Oregon brewery Rogue Ales and Spirits abruptly ceased operations at all of its facilities Friday morning. Employees learned about the closure that same morning. The company operates pubs in Astoria, Newport, Portland and Salem. In Newport, Rogue maintained a large production brewery on land it leased from the Port of Newport. The Lincoln Chronicle reported…
At least six people were detained by federal immigration enforcement officers in Clatsop County over the weekend. One of those people has since been allowed to return home, but community members say they do not know the whereabouts of the other five people. It is the first major raid on Oregon’s North Coast since the…
At least five people have been detained by federal immigration enforcement officers in Seaside as of early Saturday afternoon. According to people familiar with the situation, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were reportedly running people’s license plates then pulling them over and taking them into custody. The stops started around 8 a.m. Saturday…
Judy Mattson was late because of peanut butter. In her defense, it was on sale at Fred Meyer and she was able to layer her senior discount on top of the sale price. Then there was cereal on a top shelf in the clearance aisle that she had to grab. “Everything I want is either…
Two people have officially applied to represent the eastern side of Astoria on the Astoria City Council. Joshua Conklin, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2020, and retired Costco executive Mike Brosius are both looking to land the Ward 4 seat previously occupied by Vance Lump. Lump was elected in 2024. He campaigned on…
Incumbents faltered in key elections in Pacific County, Wash., Tuesday night. Preliminary unofficial results for the mayoral race in the small city of Ilwaco show 24-year-old challenger Eddie Hillard with more than 70 percent of the vote, well ahead of incumbent Mike Cassinelli, who was seeking a fourth term. Hillard is the owner and operator…
Thousands of people on Oregon’s North Coast are poised to lose access to food stamps beginning Nov.1 and local food banks say they won’t be able to fill the gap. The Trump administration has refused to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, during the ongoing government shutdown. If nothing changes, the program will…
Clatsop County has settled with two former employees from the district attorney’s office for more than $114,000 amid an ongoing investigation into workplace conduct issues. The county confirmed the settlements had happened, but declined to comment on them or on any aspects of the investigation. In the settlement documents, the county does not mention the…
ASTORIA, Ore. — Hundreds of people turned out for No Kings protests on Oregon’s North Coast, joining massive nationwide protests against the Trump administration and its policies on Saturday. In Astoria, an estimated 1,600 to 1,800 participants gathered along city blocks from 15th Street to 23rd Street, with clumps of protesters also near Safeway, on…
A new healthcare clinic in the small city of Wheeler increases capacity and services in northern Tillamook County at a time when local leaders expect to see a growing need for care under certain Trump administration policies. The Nehalem Bay Health Center & Pharmacy opened for patients this week. The new facility is nearly three…
A new program to help people in Astoria pay their utility bills is officially accepting applications. At a meeting this week, the Astoria City Council approved the six month pilot program which will be administered in partnership with Clatsop Community Action. Over the next six months, the city hopes to collect more information about who…
A wildfire in the Clatsop State Forest is still burning but partially contained as of Wednesday afternoon. The Knob Point fire began early Monday morning at a site about nine miles southeast of Knappa on private timberland. It has burned an estimated 100 acres. Ami Kreider, wildland fire supervisor with the Oregon Department of Forestry’s…
An Astoria city councilor who made housing his top priority says he will need to resign because he can’t afford to continue living in the district he represents. At a meeting on Monday, Vance Lump declined to reveal personal details about his situation but told the Astoria City Council he is in a situation where…
At a town hall in Seaside on Saturday, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici spoke about the government shutdown and healthcare costs and fielded questions about actions by immigration officials and concerns about humanitarian aid to Gaza. Then Troy Bowers from Manzanita asked an unanswerable question. He had attended public events with Bonamici months earlier where she…
Columbia Memorial Hospital is about to jump into the next phase of construction for a major expansion project at its Astoria campus even though federal funding for key parts of that work remains in limbo. Hospital leaders aren’t sure if the push forward will jeopardize access to that money in the future, but they say…
The cause of a fire at one of the tallest coastal Douglas fir trees in the world is still under investigation. The Doerner Fir Tree in Oregon’s Southern Coast Range is black from its bottom to its top following a mysterious fire first reported in its canopy in mid-August. Investigators ruled out lightning strikes. Now,…
The Clatsop County Animal Shelter is at capacity after dogs and cats seized in an animal neglect case arrived last week. While the shelter still must respond to reports of animals at large and continues to work to connect stray animals with owners, it is not able to take pets being voluntarily surrendered by their…
A small red and white sign bolted to a metal post warns: “Danger. Do not jump from rocks.” Above it, a larger brown sign tells people not to camp or park overnight. The signs are posted in the gravel parking lot for the popular Youngs River Falls recreational site outside of Astoria and they are…
Last week, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Russia produced a tsunami that spread across the Pacific Ocean and triggered a tsunami advisory on the West Coast. For communities on Oregon’s North Coast and in Southwest Washington, it didn’t amount to much. Emergency managers said they saw tsunami wave heights of about half…
Still struggling with how to address issues tied to homelessness in downtown Astoria, city leaders say they plan to take another look at Astoria’s camping ordinances. This comes on the heels of the failure of another ordinance that would have temporarily banned people from downtown Astoria for up to 90 days if they committed certain…
An investigation into workplace conduct issues at the Clatsop County District Attorney’s Office is ongoing, but several current and former employees attended a Clatsop County Board of Commissioner’s meeting last week to draw further attention to the matter. During a public comment period, Kaelee Kinney, a trial assistant, said district attorney staff have been bringing…
A tsunami advisory has been cancelled for the coastal areas of Oregon and Washington state following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake Tuesday off the coast of Russia. Earlier Wednesday morning the Pacific County Emergency Management Agency confirmed they were seeing wave heights that were well below a foot.
A tsunami advisory remains in effect this morning for the coastal areas of Oregon and Washington state following an 8.8 magnitude earthquake yesterday off the coast of Russia. While this does not mean massive flooding or a full tsunami for the area, local emergency management agencies warn we could continue to see higher than normal…
A tsunami watch for the coastal areas of California, Oregon and Washington state as well as British Columbia and Alaska has been upgraded to a tsunami advisory. Tsunami waves can be expected between 11:40 and 11:55 p.m. Wave heights on Long Beach, Wash., are expected to be less than a foot, according to the National…
It started with bagpipes. John Goff, a volunteer programmer with KMUN, wandered Exchange Street between 14th and 15th streets, pipes under his arm, to open the community radio station’s block party on Saturday. Along the block, nonprofits set up tents and tables and were prepared to talk to all-comers about their organization and engage them…
In the weeks after a tragic hit-and-run accident in Astoria, there have been calls for city leaders to address safety issues along a tricky and dangerous stretch of Irving Avenue. On Tuesday, the Astoria Planning Commission, acting as the Traffic Safety Advisory Committee, promised to follow up with city staff on ways to ease problem…
City leaders have approved a new program meant to provide clearer guidance on how people might be able to land grant funding and loans through Astoria’s urban renewal districts. In the past requesting funds through the districts was a fairly informal process: a group or individual would come to the Astoria City Council, acting as…
An investigation into workplace conduct issues at the Clatsop County District Attorney’s office has left the office short-staffed, causing confusion and consternation for those dealing with the fallout. Two employees were placed on indefinite leave at the end of June, tied to an ongoing investigation ordered by the county, according to people familiar with the…