Uncertainty was its own theme at a candidates forum in Astoria this week. Candidates vying for special district seats in Oregon’s upcoming May election wrestled with variations of the question: How would they help grow and maintain stability amid uncertainty? The forum, hosted by the Astoria branch of the American Association of University Women, included…
Candidates running for the Position 4 seat on the Astoria School Board in Oregon’s May 20 regular district election emphasized a student-first approach at a forum this week. But they also said the district also faces some very big challenges. Near the top of the list: the budget. The candidates forum, hosted by the Astoria…
ASTORIA, Ore. — Important funding for a North Coast hospital has been canceled after the Trump administration ended a grant program intended to help communities prepare for disasters including earthquakes and tsunamis. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program last week. The program had been started…
ASTORIA, Ore. — Astoria leaders are holding off on an ordinance that would have temporarily banned people from a large part of downtown if they were cited or arrested for certain crimes in that area. At a hearing Monday night, City Councilors Andy Davis, Andrea Mazzarella, Elisabeth Adams and Vance Lump said they wanted more…
ASTORIA, Ore. — The Astoria City Council will consider a new ordinance tonight that would temporarily ban people from downtown Astoria and is intended to address an uptick in what police consider “quality of life” crimes. But critics argue the ordinance will not provide lasting solutions. Astoria has explored the idea of exclusion zones in…
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…
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…
ASTORIA, Ore. — Astoria leaders have agreed to cover a major city fee for a nonprofit looking to move into a former church downtown. Jenny Pool Radway, executive director of Consejo Hispano, said the decision is a huge relief. Consejo Hispano serves Latinx communities on Oregon’s North Coast and is on track to close on…
ASTORIA, Ore. — It’s a good day when you can flush the toilet without a second thought. An upcoming Astoria Public Works project hopes to keep it that way on a citywide scale. At a recent meeting, the Astoria City Council signed off on a number of items related to upcoming major maintenance work on…
ASTORIA, Ore. — Candidates vying for a seat on the Port of Astoria Commission this May agree on at least one thing so far: Something needs to be done about the East Mooring Basin. These days, its docks see more foot traffic from sea lions than from fishermen. Last year, the port removed a deteriorating…
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….
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…
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…