Florence Receives More Accolades; Numbers Continue Decline; 101 Slide Up North; Gas Prices; Easter Treats

Florence Receives More Accolades

The City of Florence has once again made a list of top places to visit on the west coast.  Travel Author Laura Taylor’s accolades of the Florence Coast include Sea Lion Caves, Heceta Head Lighthouse and the many quality eateries as well as the gorgeous views.  Chamber president and CEO Bettina Hannigan attribute the amenities of the town and an aggressive marketing, advertising and public relations program.  Over the past 6 years Florence has been noted by 10 different “best of” publications and continues to be a destination location for those who wish to relax or to adventure.  Florence is also known as the sandboarding capital of the world.  The latest praise comes from traveloffpath.com which according to Taylor has 3 million monthly views.  Taylor is a full time traveler along with Kashlee Kucheran and have been featured on numerous TV programs worldwide as well as nationally known publications such as Reader’s Digest and USA Today.

Numbers Continue Decline

Florence is no longer seeing the large numbers of COVID-19 cases as is the case in all of Lane County, but health officials say the amount of testing is also falling off or being done in the privacy of the home.  There were no new cases reported for Florence (1501)  and 45 cases for Lane County in yesterday’s report.  Hospitalizations for Lane County have also dropped to 29.  The state of Oregon reported surpassing 700,000 COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 with 421 cases reported by the OHA yesterday.  Statewide hospitalizations continue to decrease with 24 fewer beds dedicated to coronavirus cases.  There are 224 individuals with Covid in Oregon hospitals.  34 still remain in intensive care.

101 Slide Up North

As spring break approaches travelers are reminded to plan their trips with safety in mind.  Recent rains have caused a closure of highway 101 in the northern part of the state just above rockaway Beach.  ODOT is currently assessing an active slide that has closed the highway.  It occurred yesterday around 9 am.  There is currently no known time for the road to reopen.

Gas Prices

Gas prices rose over .55 cents in Oregon last week, but Marie Dodds with AAA Oregon says the new numbers are slightly lower than the record high previous week.  Crude oil prices dropped below $96 a barrel the lowest since before the Russian war against the Ukraine.  The price of a gallon of Regular gas in Florence is $4.68 a gallon.  The average price travels can expect to pay over spring break may be lower if the current trend continues according to Dodds.

Easter Treats

If you’re looking for that high quality Easter treat, the Florence Habitat for Humanity Re-Store has a solution.  They’re just added to their typical lineup of See’s Candies for the upcoming Spring Holiday.  Habitat Executive Director Janell Morgan says See’s has been a perennial fund raiser for them but around holidays they get a “bump” in sales.  That’s why she urges folks to shop early for the best selection.  Easter is just over four weeks away so those chocolate eggs likely won’t be around for very long.  Habitat Re-Store is open Tuesday through Saturday from nine to five next to City Lights Cinemas.