ASTORIA, Ore. — The question of whether to allow vacation rentals at the historic Gilbaugh Building in downtown Astoria is back before the city. In December 2023, a hearings officer upheld a city staff decision to let Bob and Cindy Magie use the fourplex on Exchange Street for vacation rentals. Housing advocates appealed to the…
COLUMBIA, Co. — In the small of Clatskanie, east of Astoria, there is only one candidate and four open positions for the City Council going into the November election. The one name on the ballot is incumbent City Councilor Jeff Horness. He is running unopposed to retain his seat — a seat he is all but…
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…
What goes up must come down. A covered structure complete with chairs and a bar top that was built over a parking space next to the Street 14 Cafe in downtown Astoria on Saturday has been declared a nuisance. At a meeting Monday night, the Astoria City Council said it was not authorized by the…
ASTORIA — After 15 years with the city, Astoria City Manager Brett Estes is stepping down. He said Wednesday that he will be taking on the role of North Coast regional representative with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, a job previously held by Lisa Phipps. Estes’ last day is July 4. The…
ASTORIA — City leaders have amended Astoria’s abandoned vehicle ordinance in a move they hope will help address growing concerns about RVs and other vehicles abandoned on city streets. The update to the ordinance is part of several so-called “livability” ordinances the city has considered in recent months with a direct link to homelessness-related issues…
PACIFIC COUNTY — Voters rejected a $96.2 million bond proposed by the Ocean Beach School District this week. Several hundred ballots remain to be tallied since Tuesday night’s election, but the bond needed a supermajority of 60% to pass. With the recent count as of Thursday sitting at only 22.7% in favor of the bond…
CLATSOP COUNTY — Housing is one of the main talking points for candidates vying for the District 5 seat on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners in the May primary election. District 5 is massive. It stretches from the southern part of Seaside to the Tillamook County line and east to include communities like Jewell and…
CLATSOP COUNTY — The issues of housing and childcare top the list for two candidates vying for the District 3 seat on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. Ballots for the May primary election go out in the mail this week. Voters in District 3, which now encompasses most of Astoria after the lines were…
The Astoria City Council signaled today that it will be stepping back from a proposed downtown workforce and affordable housing project. During an executive session earlier this week, city councilors learned exactly how much Portland developer Edlen & Co. was asking the city to contribute to get the proposed housing project at Heritage Square off…
Clatsop County is looking to develop housing at foreclosed properties the county owns in several North Coast cities. Monica Steele, assistant county manager, told members of Astoria’s Homelessness Solutions Task Force at a meeting Thursday that the county is talking with nonprofits and private developers to see what interest there might be to create various…
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…