Those assembling Oregon’s official economic forecast have told Governor Ted Kulongoski that the state’s tax revenue picture continues to worsen. Instead of an earlier projected $577 million bucket of red ink, it’s likely to be nearly twice that. If that happens, the latest federal aid to states for schools and medicaid may do little good other than to put Oregon back to where it was 30 days ago with forecasted teacher layoffs and required reserve spending for medical aid to the poor.

Full story from the Oregonian:

http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/08/oregons_state_budget_hole_is_g.html

The Dungeness Crab season has just wrapped up an 8 and a half month season with the third biggest haul in recent history – more than $44 million waiting for fishermen on the docks of Oregon Coast communities. Here’s the full story in the Eugene Register Guard:

http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/cityregion/25188727-41/guard-register-startstoryhere-writername.csp

Rob McKinney, Seaport Air CEO

When Newport City Councilor Richard Kilbride asked Seaport Air CEO Rob McKinney point blank “Will you be here after the Connect II subsidy runs out?” McKinney replied politely, “I’ll look you in the eye and tell you I’m confident we will be here after the subsidy ends, but it’ll take a lot of work to get there. Using more creative marketing and a less expensive airplane will help.” Kilbride added, “and dropping the Astoria flight will help some, too, I imagine.” The number of passengers flying to Newport far exceed the number flying to Astoria. Seaport is predicted to drop the Astoria route once the Connect II subsidy money runs out next March.

McKinney said, while briefing the Newport City Council Monday night, since taking over the helm at Seaport Air, he’s put more emphasis on non-traditional marketing like “first flight $49” promotions as well as harnessing the power of Google to target people surfing the internet looking for places to stay and things to do along the central coast. As they do, a Seaport Air ad pops up on the screen to tell them that Newport has scheduled airline service, Seaport Air. Continue reading »

GP outfall a mile offshore

Newport City Manager Jim Voetberg told his City Council on Monday that they’re still looking for a few more volunteers to sit on the town’s Georgia Pacific (GP) Effluent Outfall Technical Advisory Committee. The committee will work with experts to determine how the outfall monitoring will be conducted and what kinds of effluent signatures and/or pollutants affect sea life in the water and along the beaches of Newport. GP recently signed a franchise agreement with Newport for continued use of a long effluent pipeline from the GP plant in Toledo to Newport, and then to a point about a mile offshore where the effluent is released into the open ocean. The Oregon State Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) monitors the effluent as it enters the pipe in Toledo and twice a year releases a report on water quality conditions around the effluent outfall, offshore. Another report is due around the first of the year.

The city council has set all committee applicant interviews for September 20th at City Hall, so those with an interest should submit their applications quickly.

Citizens of Newport have grown suspicious of DEQ’s monitoring reports and so have insisted that the city launch its own water quality monitoring in the outfall area, which is a mile offshore straight out from Nye Beach. The city’s monitoring effort will be put out to bid once it gets an official range of data the city council wants collected from areas around the outfall.