Heavy

Dangerous surf conditions close clamming. Learn more here.

(Seaside, Oregon) – Razor clamming at Seaside to Warrenton remains closed this week, although it was scheduled to open on October 1. Every July, Clatsop Beach goes through a clamming conservation closure to maintain the thick population, and then is supposed to reopen on October 1. (Photo Seaside Aquarium)

SEE THE ENTIRE OCBC ARTICLE HERE

See the screening for a new documentary, The West is Burning. Learn more here.

Article and photograph by Cascade Business News

The West is Burning examines the history of forest management and social conflict that has contributed to current forest conditions, causing longer fire seasons and unprecedented destruction. The film emphasizes the need to act now to generate positive change in our forests, watersheds, and communities. Click here to watch a trailer of the film.

SEE THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL CBN ARTICLE HERE

Portland police prevented 138,000 fentanyl pills from hitting the streets in a recent bust. (Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office)

By Stephen Sorace| Fox News

Deputies in Oregon made the largest fentanyl bust in their county history last week, seizing tens of thousands of pills and powder packed into gallon-sized plastic bags, authorities said.

The bust happened Tuesday as investigators were watching a wanted person in Portland’s Goose Hollow neighborhood, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies took the person into custody “at the opportune time” after watching him walk to a vehicle.

Deputies with the sheriff’s Special Investigations Unit obtained a search warrant for the individual’s car and apartment, finding gallon-sized plastic bags stuffed with fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder, a manual-operated pill press, a commercial grade pill press, $5,000 in cash and a stolen handgun, the sheriff’s office said.

The bags held approximately 58,000 individual fentanyl pills and 16 pounds of fentanyl powder, according to authorities.

Deputies determined that 10 of the 16 pounds of powder was ready to be pressed into an estimated 50,000 pills using the machines. The remaining six pounds of powder, which would have yielded about 30,000 additional pills, was meant to be sold in powder form, officials said.

In total, deputies estimate that their effort prevented approximately 138,000 pills from hitting Portland-area streets. The combined street value of the seizure was estimated to be between $320,000 and $400,000.

SEE THE ENTIRE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Cape Lookout Beach on the Oregon coast.

You can now book same-day camping reservations on the Oregon coast. Find out more here.

SALEM, Ore (KTVZ) — Visitors hoping to camp last-minute at the coast can now check online to view and book same-day openings when sites are available, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said Wednesday.

Previously, visitors could only make online reservations 24 hours or more in advance of their arrival. Now coast visitors can make online reservations on the same day that they plan to camp.

The new option is part of a pilot program at the coast. The goal is to offer campers the security of knowing they have a site booked before they leave home, and to give park staff more time to offer interpretive opportunities and maintain park facilities and landscapes and provide a safe camping experience.

“Same-day reservations at the coast give those traveling the peace of mind that there is a place ready for them when they arrive,” said Coastal Region Director Dennis Comfort.

The coast is the busiest region in the Oregon State Parks system, with an estimated 1.9 million camper nights reserved each year across the 17 campgrounds. A camper night is one camper for one night, so a group of four camping two nights totals eight camper nights.

SEE THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE BY KTVZ HERE

The minimum wage is set to increase July 1st. Learn more here.

ByAmanda Arden, KOIN

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Anyone who works a minimum wage job in Oregon will get a raise starting July 1.

In all parts of the state, the minimum wage will increase. However, in Oregon, the minimum wage is not equal across the state.

Oregon’s minimum wage is divided into three areas: the Portland metro area, the “standard” area, and the non-urban area.

In the Portland metro area, minimum wage will top $15 per hour for the first time. On July 1, 2023 it will jump from $14.75 to $15.45 per hour.

The standard minimum wage will increase from $13.50 to $14.20.

The non-urban minimum wage will increase from $12.50 to $13.20.

SEE THE ENTIRE ARTICLE BY KOIN HERE