Oregon
Oregon congressional members ask feds for more comment time on offshore wind energy sites • Oregon Capital Chronicle
Three of Oregon’s congressional members are pushing the federal government to extend the comment period on two proposed wind power projects off the southern Oregon Coast.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced last month it was moving forward with plans for offshore wind power installations off Coos Bay and Brookings. As a first step, the agency said on Feb.14 it would conduct an environmental assessment and gave the public 30 days to comment. The comment period ends on Friday.
Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, all Democrats, said residents need more time according to input they’ve received. In a letter on Tuesday, they asked the agency’s director, Elizabeth Klein, to extend the comment period to give Oregonians who would be affected by the offshore sites a chance to fully engage in the process.
“Tribes, the fishing community and others throughout Oregon’s coastal communities are currently working to develop comments that will inform the environmental assessment for the wind energy areas, including impacts to the ocean ecosystem, environment, fisheries, viewsheds and other important resources,” they said. “We request an extension of the comment period to allow for robust comments that will set the most complete stage for future analysis. We believe that an extension will serve the tribes, coastal and fishing communities, and ultimately BOEM by allowing ample time to prepare meaningful scoping comments.”
The sites are part of the Biden administration’s plan to build up 15 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy capacity by 2035, with a total of 30 gigawatts deployed by 2030. Oregon and California on the West Coast are among nearly 20 states nationwide – including states on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean – that the bureau is working with to develop wind energy sites. As of mid-November, the agency had approved six sites, all on the East Coast. The most recent approval was for a project to power 700,000 homes in New York and New Jersey.
Last year, the Bureau of Ocean Energy and Management gave Oregonians several months to comment on the agency’s plans, and nearly 1,000 people weighed in. Agency officials also visited Brookings, Gold Beach and Coos Bay last fall to talk to fishing groups, officials and residents about installing wind turbines offshore. But those meetings did not give everyone who would be affected by the installations enough time for “a full and healthy exchange of ideas and concerns,” the letter said.
Electric utilities favor the installation of wind power sites off Oregon to help them meet the state’s electricity needs and climate goals by reducing emissions. Wind power is currently the second cleanest energy source in Oregon after hydropower and makes up nearly 12% of Oregon’s electricity generation and accounts for nearly 5% of the state’s energy consumption, according to state data.
The two wind energy areas would add 2.4 gigawatts of clean power – enough to power about 830,000 homes – with the installations covering more than 195,000 acres in total. The Coos Bay site would span about 61,200 acres and be located more than 30 miles from shore, while the Brookings site would cover about 133,808 acres and float about 20 miles from shore.
Bureau officials said in developing plans for sites nationwide, it maps where the strongest winds are; the location of shipping lanes, undersea cables and submerged platforms; areas where commercial and recreational fishing are concentrated; areas that are home to wildlife and fragile habitat; and the impact on views.
Still, some fishing groups and tribes are against the development of wind energy in the area. Trawlers are worried the sites could affect their livelihood by restricting trawling, and local tribal members whose ancestors have lived along the southern Oregon coast for centuries are also worried about fishing. In November, the Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians passed a resolution saying it opposes offshore wind energy development because the agency had failed to respond to its concerns.
“The tribe has consistently raised concerns about wind energy development. These comments include a request that important, cultural viewsheds be excluded from the (wind energy sites) and that wind development avoid areas critical to resident and migratory species, including important areas for fishing,” the council said.
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ROSEBURG, Ore. — The push to redraw the Oregon-Idaho border has gained support in parts of Eastern Oregon in recent years, even as some counties have reversed course and the effort remains stalled in Salem.
The Greater Idaho Project is a movement that has been covered for years. Thirteen Oregon counties have voted to consider expanding the Idaho border to cover much of Oregon. Two of those counties — Harney and Wallowa — later voted to repeal their decisions to side with Greater Idaho.
In Douglas County, voters rejected a Greater Idaho-related measure in the May 2022 election. Measure 10-185 asked Douglas County voters to consider expanding the Idaho border. The measure was defeated with 52.6 percent of the vote, meaning more than 47 percent voted for consideration of expanding the Idaho border.
Greater Idaho effort seeks federal help as Oregon lawmakers keep border plan stalled
After that vote, David Jaques, identified as the leader of Greater Idaho in Douglas County, said in 2022, “I’m a lifelong Oregonian. I don’t wanna move to Idaho. Well the good news is we don’t have to move. We’re just gonna draw the line around here.”
The movement’s executive director, Matt MacCaw, said the effort has support from Idaho but remains blocked by Oregon lawmakers.
“We have Idaho as a willing partner saying, hey, all these people in eastern Oregon want to be a part of Idaho. We will take them. We would love to have that conversation,” MacCaw said. “We have the people of Eastern Oregon voting and saying, we want to just peacefully secede from Oregon and join Idaho. But the Oregon Legislature, Western Oregon, is holding eastern Oregon captive against our wishes. The Oregon Legislature refuses to take up the issue, refuses to to have any conversation about letting us go.”
Greater Idaho has now turned its focus to the Trump administration, asking the federal government to fix the standstill.
WEST LINN, Ore. (KOIN) — For some 30 years, locals and boaters along a popular spot on Oregon’s Willamette River have been staring at a 50,000-plus-square-foot home, unsure of what to think.
It’s unfinished, fenced in, and the open-air structure towers over 31 acres that include 2,700 feet of prime riverfront in an area affectionately called “Peach Cove.”
“Being a kid, I would drive the boat and look at it from the river,” said Jason Mendell.
The high-profile realtor never thought he’d actually list the home, yet now he’s fielding calls from all kinds of folks trying to figure out the property’s potential.
“Entrepreneurs, pro-athletes, business owners, and people trying to figure out what you could do with this,” he told Nexstar’s KOIN on a recent summer day.
The home’s specs are massive, and Mendell said if it’s ever completed, it would be the largest mansion in Oregon by far.
The listing includes nine bedrooms, 18 bathrooms, multiple garages for dozens of show cars and other toys. There’s a massive gymnasium or event space, too, which could include a full-size basketball court. Original plans called for two pools.
“There’s obviously only a certain amount of people that can afford a home like this, and they’ve got to have the vision to be able to finish it off,” says Mendell.
Ask around, though, and it doesn’t take long to learn there’s much more to the larger story.
“He said, ‘Would you like to build a home for me?’” says Tom Avgerakis.
The longtime home builder is referring to Mark Wattles, the founder and one-time boss of Hollywood Video, which grew to be the second-biggest video store chain in the country in the 1990s and 2000s.
Avgerakis remembers when Wattles first showed him the architectural sketches.
“He rolled them out, and I went ‘Oh, okay.’ The challenge was thrown out, and we can do it,” he said.
At first, Avgerakis said construction moved swiftly, with 50-plus workers on site moving dirt and using high-grade Oregon lumber to erect the frame.
Then, as 1996 became 1997, construction stalled, and “We anticipated a short amount of time off, but it just grew and grew and grew.”
He said that as the owner moved on to other businesses and eventually moved away, they kept up general maintenance and even planted acres of berries.
The property was eventually unloaded at auction, and it has changed hands a couple of times over the years, but no one has ever fully built it out.
“It’s a diamond in the rough. It’s just incredible,” said Avgerakis.
He hopes to be involved if the project is ever completed, and said much of the original woodwork remains in good condition even if other elements have deteriorated over the years. The current owner recently installed a new roof.
Mendell said they’re talking to potential buyers about “what could be,” whether it’s a private estate, high-end senior living facility or even a vineyard.
“It’s 31 acres of prime real estate that’s unique,” he said.
The asking price is $4.7 million.
The property is deemed Exclusive Farm Use (EFU), according to Clackamas County records.
A spokesperson told Nexstar’s KOIN that it’s approved for the one home but that anything like a larger care facility wouldn’t be allowed unless there was a zoning change.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Multiple illicit massage businesses in Washington County were shut down on Friday following action by multiple law enforcement agencies.
The Office of Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said it worked alongside Sherwood police, Tigard police, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office to execute multiple warrants at illicit massage businesses.
Following months of surveillance into two of the illegal massage parlors in Sherwood, investigators conducted searches at four locations in total on Friday: a home in Southwest Portland, Goji Foot Spa and Aroma Spa in Sherwood, and Tigard’s Sunny Massage.
More than $45,000 of cash and evidence of prostitution was seized during the operation. Three people were also arrested for alleged prostitution-related charges and two were cited for operating a massage business without a license.
The investigation was carried out as part of the Oregon Department of Justice’s partnership with Washington County law enforcement agencies through the program Special Projects: Investigate, Respond, Enforce.
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