The Seaside City Council is down two councilors after one was recalled and another resigned. At a council meeting on March 23, City Councilor Heidi Hoffman announced she was resigning effective April 15 because she is moving to Astoria. “No, I am not resigning in protest of the recall vote,” she said, referring to the…
Amid an ongoing Department of Homeland Security shutdown and heightened tensions over immigration enforcement, newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin stopped in Astoria Wednesday and toured Coast Guard facilities at the mouth of the Columbia River. Mullin visited U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Astoria in Oregon and the Cape Disappointment Motor Lifeboat…
4/13/26: This story has been updated to clarify the relationship between the Astoria Housing Alliance and the Astoria Housing Initiative. A group looking to address housing shortages in Astoria hopes to get a measure on the November ballot that would tax vacant houses. The group behind the Astoria Housing Initiative announced this week that it…
A retired corrections officer who previously ran for state office is vying for a seat on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners. Glenn Gaither is the second candidate to file for the District 5 seat held by Lianne Thompson. Thompson is not running for re-election, but Gaither will face an opponent in the May 19…
While recent efforts by President Donald Trump to limit voting ahead of the midterm elections likely won’t impact Oregon’s primary next month, election officials on the coast say they are seeing confusion among voters. Recently, Clatsop County Clerk Tracie Krevanko fielded calls from people who seem unsure about what efforts by the Trump administration have…
Hundred of people gathered on streets and sidewalks across Oregon’s North Coast and in Southwest Washington to protest the Trump administration Saturday, joining a nationwide turnout that organizers estimate was larger than previous “No Kings” protests. More than 900 people participated across two protests in Astoria Saturday. A protest in Seaside drew hundreds, according to…
Federal funding for a major hospital expansion project in Astoria was in jeopardy last year after the Trump administration abruptly announced it was shutting down the grant program that had awarded the money. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said the decision to halt the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, or BRIC, was part…
A new candidate in the race for a seat on the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners says she is running because she doesn’t believe her opponent is qualified for the job. Mitra Vazeen, a retired educator and former Job Corps center director, told KMUN she wants to continue giving back to Clatsop County. She was…
In Clatsop County, some emergency responders rely on their cellphones to communicate during an emergency — not their radios. Local officials say this is just one example of how responders have found ways to work around a fractured emergency communications system spread across two separate dispatch centers and in need of upgrades. Now city and…
The Clatsop County Board of Commissioners could see several new faces depending on the results of two upcoming elections. Three candidates are vying for separate seats on the five-member board in the May primary. Only one of them — current Board Chair Mark Kujala, trying for a third term — is an incumbent. Current District…
Three seats will be up for election on the Astoria City Council in November, including the position of mayor. Filing has yet to open, but one Astoria man has already decided he wants to run for that particular post. Sean Davis is a combat veteran and the co-founder and host of Rogue Cell, a program…
The Seaside City Council has filled the empty Ward 4 seat after a tumultuous two weeks of community debate, online and offline, about one of the candidates. The Ward 4 seat has been vacant since the end of December after former City Councilor David Posalski moved away from the area. He championed regional hotel manager…
A debate about a candidate for an open seat on the Seaside City Council has continued to rage online after leaders were split on who to appoint last week. Brandon Kraft, a regional manager for a hotel management company, is one of two candidates vying for a temporary appointment to the Ward 4 seat. That…
UPDATED 1/17/26: Since publication of this story, R.J. Marx has provided KMUN with a transcript of his interview with Brandon Kraft. Aspects of the Q&A-style interview Marx published on Substack were altered for publication — Marx appears to have consolidated some back and forth leading up to a question about a statement of support by…
A declaration of a local state of emergency in Manzanita will continue through early February because of a slope on city-owned property that was destabilized by erosion and wet conditions in mid-December. The Manzanita City Council has opted to continue the declaration through Feb.4 out of an abundance of caution. Mitigation work has been done…
At the end of a vigil in Astoria on Saturday held in part to remember people who died while being detained by federal immigration officers or while in their custody, someone accidentally knocked over a glass candle holder that had been placed at the center of the event space. It shattered loudly. “That actually feels…
Two candidates are vying for an open seat on the Seaside City Council. City Councilor David Posalski resigned in November because he was moving outside of city limits and would no longer be eligible to serve on the council representing Ward 4. His resignation was effective Dec.20. At a candidates forum Wednesday night, Padraic Ansbro…
After six people were detained by federal immigration officers in Seaside on Oregon’s North Coast in early November, some city officials jumped to respond, looking to craft resolutions decrying what they saw as secretive and aggressive tactics. Others held back. A number of resolutions and statements ended up being released, finalized or passed just ahead…
The eastern side of Astoria has a new representative. On Monday, the Astoria City Council unanimously appointed Joshua Conklin to take over the Ward 4 seat, which became vacant on Nov.1 following the resignation of former City Councilor Vance Lump. Lump announced in early October that he was resigning because he had to move from…
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…
Last week, city officials in Newport told the community they had reason to believe the federal government hoped to site an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility at the Newport airport. The future of that facility is now in question after the defense contractor behind it withdrew a letter of intent. While Oregon Coast communities…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…