Stanfield population set to increase by half
Permits are in, dirt is turning and houses are going vertical, making way for roughly 450 new homes around Stanfield over the next few years, with more on the horizon. According to City Manager Benjamin Burgener, that represents a roughly 50% population gain to the city of 2,400, which has already increased a little more than 10% since the 2020 U.S. Census. Stanfield is one of several communities in west Umatilla County that’s seen a burst of development with industry, including Amazon, moving in as home prices across the Columbia River in Washington go up. (Laura Kostad/Hermiston Herald)
Nurses and St. Charles hospital are at odds over staff shortage
The nursing shortage at St. Charles Bend is so severe that each day 123 nurses miss their lunch break during a 12-hour shift. And nearly every morning Erin Harrington, a St. Charles Bend intensive care nurse, said she wakes to a text message asking for nurses to work on their day off to fill a critical shift. “It overburdens the nurses,” said Harrington, who is a member of the Oregon Nurses Association and the bargaining committee negotiating a contract with St. Charles Bend. Nurses said the staffing shortage is a result of wages that have lagged behind other health systems statewide. The hospital system says it’s the result of a national shortage of nurses. Wages and staffing have become the key issue in contract negotiations. (Suzanne Roig/Bend Bulletin)
Grand Ronde Tribe commemorates long-awaited opening of Wapato Lake refuge
It took nearly 10 years, but Wapato Lake National Wildlife Refuge has officially opened to the public. Approximately 200 people, including several Grand Ronde tribal members, attended a grand opening event over the weekend in Gaston to celebrate the milestone. The tribe has been involved with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, helping to reclaim the lake as a source for the traditional first food it is named after. Tribal members helped plant some 3,000 wapato bulbs at the lake last year. Wapato Lake became a designated wildlife refuge in 2013, but has been slow in opening to the public due to the lake and the land surrounding it needing rehabilitation, including the restoration of the wetland, lake bed and native vegetation. (Danielle Harrison/Smoke Signals)
Grassroots effort stops planned logging along Clark County trail
In January, the state approved a land transfer of roughly 80 acres southwest of Yacolt to Clark County, marking the end of a yearslong effort to preserve the dense woods from proposed logging. But the work from hundreds of advocates who made the transfer possible otherwise went unnoticed, left in the tangle of bureaucratic ribbons tying up the success. And it all started with one voice. “There were so many red flags for me,” Linda Lorenz of Vancouver said as she walked along Hantwick Trail recently, stopping to look at the collection of trees that were initially proposed for clear cut. “I just said to myself, ‘This can’t happen.’ So, I sent up the alarms, you know? I just started calling people.” (Lauren Ellenbecker/The Columbian)
Ashland youth push city to ban fossil fuel infrastructure in new buildings
A group of young climate activists in Ashland is pressuring the city to ban fossil fuel infrastructure in new construction. The Ashland Youth for Electrification campaign is supported by the climate change-focused nonprofit Rogue Climate. Members of the Rogue Climate Action Team spoke during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, where they proposed an ordinance similar to one in Eugene, which in February became the first city in Oregon to require 100% electric construction in most new homes. (Roman Battaglia/JPR)
