Republican Ofice Opens
Ahead of the November election the Lane County Republican party has announced the opening of their new office here in Florence. The Office will have their grand opening today to coincide with the Republican National Convention. Several members currently serving in positions in the state will be on hand. State Senator Dick Anderson, State Representative Boomer Wright will be in attendance as well as theCounty commissioner representing western Lane County Ryan Ceniga. Mayor Rob Ward, city councilors Bill Meyer and Robert Carp will also be there. The office will have information on the party as well as ballot initiatives. Candidate flyers and signs will also be available. The Event starts at noon today and the office will close at 6pm.
TeleHealth Help
Telehealth has been key to health care in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some of the flexibilities for this type of care for Medicare patients could expire soon. A new report from the Bipartisan Policy Center details how Congress can improve telehealth. Without action from Congress, telehealth provisions for Medicare expire at the end of 2024. Maya Sandalow with the Bipartisan Policy Center says telehealth is especially important for rural states, including parts of Oregon.
“We know that patients have to travel way farther than folks in urban areas to access care. Hospitals are shutting down and struggling to stay afloat. And so telehealth is really an important part of this puzzle when it comes to helping people living in rural areas to access care.”
Sandalow says Congress looks likely to give a two-year extension to telehealth provisions, but she also notes members should consider ways to ensure people can access this care.
City Council Meeting
The Florence City Council will meet this evening at 5:30 at City Hall. On the agenda for this evening’s meeting are an annexation request for a property located at 4751 s. Harbor Drive, a public hearing on the street closure for the upcoming City of Florence Block Party celebration, and a contract approval proposal for the Siuslaw Estuary Trail. The city council is considering accepting an approval for $462,309.85 for the Laskey-Clifton corporation for construction of the proposed estuary adjacent to Quince street and highway 126. The city received 6 bids for the project ranging from $462.000 to $524,000. The bid will cover all costs for the project. According to information from the city the trail would have limited to no impact on traffic in the area since the project is unimproved areas. The Laskey-Clifton bid comes in under the engineers estimate of $502,400.
