Ballots Coming
The Lane County Elections Office has officially placed ballots in the mail for the November 5, 2024, General Election. All 21 ballot drop boxes across Lane County will be available 24/7 until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. In Florence, the drop box is located in front of the Justice Center on 9th Street. A full list of drop box locations is included with every ballot and can also be found at www.LaneCountyOR.gov/elections. Lane County Clerk Dena Dawson encourages voters to return their ballots by Election Day to ensure their vote is counted. Ballots can be mailed, deposited in a drop box, or delivered to the Lane County Elections Office. For questions, contact elections@lanecountyor.gov or call 541-682-4234.
Walktober 2024
The City of Florence is participating in Walktober 2024, organized by the Lane Council of Governments and We Walk Lane! Throughout October, you can join over 35 walks across Lane County, including art walks, nature hikes, historical tours, and the Coffee Shop Hop. Yesterday in Florence, the Community & Economic Development Departments, along with the Public Arts and Transportation Committees, hosted the Florence Art Walk on Local coffee shops like River Roasters and Bridgeport Market participated in the Coffee Shop Hop.
Seafood Month
October is National Seafood Month and the fish on your plate might not be coming from where you think. The U-S imports 90 percent of the seafood it consumes. Offshore fish farming has come to dominate wild harvest in recent decades, with farmed salmon making up 80 percent of global salmon supply. Oregon doesn’t have regulations that stop the practice. And Johnny Fishmonger with Wild Salmon Nation says legislation proposed in Congress could make fish farming more prevalent in federal waters. He compares large-scale fish farming practices to dairy and poultry farms.
“It’s like on land – concentrated animal feedlot operations, CAFO – so concentrated aquaculture feedlot operations where the fish are farmed intensely in high densities.”
Fishmonger notes that sea lice infestations are common and devastating problems for fish farms. The AQUAA Act would allow aquaculture companies three miles offshore in federal waters. The SEAfood Act would create aquaculture assessment and grant programs. Supporters of large aquaculture operations say they’re needed to feed the world’s population.
Medicaid Payments to Increase
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) will increase monthly payments to Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) by 3.1% in 2025 to provide Medicaid benefits. As a result, OHA will pay an average of $529.89 per-member-per-month for CCOs to coordinate medical, dental, and behavioral health services for most Medicaid enrollees. OHA Director Sejal Hathi emphasized that this funding ensures access to quality care as pandemic-era supports phase out. Oregon’s Medicaid program covers about 1.4 million people, including low-income adults, children, and people with disabilities.