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Uncertainty around federal funding, Medicaid complicates outlook for Astoria hospital

A continued freeze on federal funds and uncertainty about the future of Medicaid have put a North Coast hospital in a wait-and-see situation. Columbia Memorial Hospital, or CMH, is in the middle of a massive expansion and renovation project at its Astoria campus. The hospital is due to receive a $20 million resiliency grant through…

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Fishery managers worry about effects of NOAA cuts

Updated 3/2/25, 3 p.m. The long term impacts of recent staff cuts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are still unknown, but fishery managers on the West Coast called the situation troubling.  On Thursday, NOAA laid off more than 800 workers as the Trump administration continues its push to reduce the federal workforce. West…

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Nonprofit looks to city for help with system development charge

ASTORIA, Ore. — After 20 years of serving Latinx communities on Oregon’s North Coast, Consejo Hispano is poised to close on a former church in Astoria next month, a move that would give them a permanent home downtown and enough space to expand operations and services.  There’s just one unexpected — and expensive — snag….

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Astoria continues to monitor slide

CLATSOP COUNTY, Ore. — A portion of Commercial Street in Astoria continues to be closed between Fourth and Fifth streets due to a shallow landslide.  At a meeting Monday night, Public Works Director Jeff Harrington told the Astoria City Council that city staff are continuing to monitor the area. No structures appear to be in…

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Proposed refinery lands key permit

CLATSKANIE, Ore — State environmental regulators approved a key permit for a controversial refinery project near Clatskanie this month. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality had previously denied water quality permit applications submitted by Houston-based NXT Clean Fuels, also referred to as NEXT, in 2021 and 2022 “due to insufficient information to evaluate the permit…

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Friends House, a transitional housing experiment, goes on the market

ASTORIA, Ore. — When it sells, a weary-looking, three-bedroom house on Bond Street could help bring more housing to Astoria. The nonprofit Friends of the Unsheltered purchased the house in 2020 to provide low-cost, temporary housing to people emerging from homelessness and trying to rebuild their lives. Nelle Moffett and Rick Bowers, the couple behind…

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Racing tradition continues at Tillamook County Fairgrounds

TILLAMOOK — The rodeo queen and her court have made some calculations. In their hands are 2-pound blocks of medium cheddar cheese, Tillamook County Creamery Association brand.  Between horse races at the Tillamook County Fair in August, they carry the cheese from their seats in the arena to the paddock where jockeys and horses gather…

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Child care center to close in Astoria

ASTORIA, Ore. — It’s official: Peace First Early Learning Center in Astoria, one of Clatsop County’s larger child care centers, will close this summer. The early learning center, which operates out of buildings owned by Peace First Lutheran Church, looked for alternative locations after the church decided it would list the property for sale —…

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With church buildings going up for sale in Astoria, a critical child care center hangs in the balance

The fate of one of Clatsop County’s larger child care centers is in question. Peace First Early Learning Center serves more than three dozen children — ages 12 months to 12 years old — out of buildings in downtown Astoria owned by Peace First Lutheran Church. Now, the church plans to put the property on…

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Astoria prepares for Halloween

ASTORIA, Ore. — For years, kids in Astoria have known you get the really big candy bars at Coast Guard housing. The South Slope neighborhood attracts a truly astonishing crowd of trick-or-treaters to a relatively small area on Halloween: an actual sea of people surging together up and down the sidewalks. Often many families in…

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More details released about Rockaway Beach shooting

ROCKAWAY BEACH, Ore. — More details have been released about an officer-involved shooting in Rockaway Beach. The shooting on Sept. 7 left one Rockaway Beach man dead and the community with lingering questions. The two officers involved — a Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office deputy and an Oregon State Police trooper — have both been placed on…

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Nurses picket in Astoria

ASTORIA, Ore. — Nurses at Columbia Memorial Hospital are not on strike – at least not yet.  But on Tuesday they held an informational picket in front of the Astoria hospital — a sort of prelude to a possible strike. The demonstration was an attempt to sway administration as the labor union, which represents around…

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Fire destroys High Life zip line building

WARRENTON, Ore. — A massive, 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…

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Shelter options remain scarce in Astoria

Astoria, Ore. — Winter hit Oregon’s North Coast especially hard in the last half of February. For homeless people in the Astoria area, the dip in temperatures and the snow, ice and windstorms came at a time when there were even fewer than usual options for shelter. The Astoria Warming Center, which would typically provide…

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City eyes erosion issues on Riverwalk

ASTORIA, Ore. — It is Astoria’s most-used park and one of its iconic attractions, but the Astoria Riverwalk along the Columbia River took a beating during storms this winter. Created in the mid-90s, the Riverwalk has never seen so much damage in terms of the number of locations affected. City staff met with officials from…

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Crab fishermen weather mixed season

It was a dream season for Oregon’s Dungeness crab fishery last year. Fishing began on the traditional Dec. 1 opener for the first time in years. Domoic acid, a marine toxin that has hampered the valuable commercial fishery time and again in recent years, was almost nowhere to be seen in Oregon or Washington state waters….

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Portland brewery eyes Astoria

ASTORIA, Ore — Breakside Brewery, one of the dominant player’s in Oregon’s craft beer industry, plans to open a location in Astoria. The city confirmed the Portland-based business is discussing the logistics with city staff of opening an eating and drinking establishment — not a brewery — in a building that formerly housed the Astoria Co+op grocery…