Protest Group Attends City’s Work Session
A group of Florence residents in opposition to the construction of a year-round homeless facility gathered outside of city hall this morning to show solidarity against the proposed project. The large crowd attended the special work session at 8:30 this morning as city councilors discussed several aspects of the project including location. Bob Sneddon was on hand to get some reactions from the group and spoke with local businessman Terry Tomeny.
“We’re worried that this is being fast-tracked through the City Council without hearing the voice of the people also we are here this morning to sit in on the working session and will also be here on Monday if they are going to take a vote on Monday.”
The board of directors of the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce also drafted a letter to the City Council to ask for a comprehensive study before moving forward. The letter outlines several concerns of the potential negative impact on the local economy that could occur were such a facility to be located in the city. No public comment is allowed in work session meetings. The City’s involvement is still early in the process and not much information has been released to the public. But according to information received there will be an agenda item for Monday’s City Council meeting.
Dunes City and Westlake Issue
The roots of a group of Westlake residents that take issue with many of the current actions of the Dunes City Council go deep. Jeanne Jackson says hers, and her neighbor’s opposition to the local governmental body goes back to its incorporation 60 years ago this month. It was in response to an effort by the National Park Service to create a new park centered on the Oregon Dunes and threatened to exercise imminent domain over much of the private property on the west side of Woahink and Siltcoos Lakes. The effort to derail that plan was created by what she refers to as a – quote – “group of Florence business men and real estate people who saw an opportunity to make a lot of money.” Jackson remembers the time and says promises of public services like water and sewer have long been broken. That’s why she’s happy to hear that the current Mayor and Council will discuss whether or not to ask residents if they want to pursue disincorporation.
“Nothing would make us happier. That’s what we have all been hoping for all these years and trying to do.”
Jackson, un-ironically, says the council, when it meets, will be in a building that formerly belonged to the Western Lane Sportsmen’s Association. A group that she says was not compensated when it became the Dunes City Hall. That meeting will be at Dunes City Hall, Wednesday, August 9th at six PM.
OHA Urges Identity Protection for Those Affected by Breach
A notification from a company that monitors company’s data health says that individuals that are on the Oregon Health Plan should take steps to protect their personal information. Performance Health Technologies is a private vendor that provides services to many Coordinated Care Organizations. The company said a security vulnerability from Progress MOVEit software resulted in a breach that allowed attackers to access personal information on more than 1.7 million Oregon Health Plan Members. Dave Baden is the interim director of the Oregon Health Authority and he says they are strongly urging those in the plan to activate credit monitoring.
