Thank you for your interest in reading The Astorian. Here are a few stories that you might have missed this week:

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The Sunset Empire Transportation District will partner with the Clatsop County Public Health Department to get bus drivers and other employees trained on how to use naloxone.

The antidote can help reverse opioid overdoses.

According to the Oregon Health Authority, deaths related to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids increased 83% in the state from 2020 to 2021.

“It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for quite some time, just because we all know how bad the opioid crisis is and the introduction of fentanyl into the system and what’s that done to people,” Jeff Hazen, the transit district’s executive director, said.

See the story by Ethan Myers by clicking here.

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The schedule for the new cruise ship season calls for 18 oceangoing vessels to dock at the Port of Astoria.

Cruise ships are typically a large source of revenue for the Port, and often bring in upward of $1 million a year. Throughout the pandemic, as the cruise industry absorbed significant disruptions, the cash-strapped agency had to explore ways to mitigate the impacts.

“We’ve been able to wade through the challenges post-COVID, but there are still challenges out there for a lot of ports,” said Bruce Conner, the Port’s cruise ship marketer.

Read the story by Ethan Myers by clicking here.

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The Pacific Fishery Management Council approved the closure of the 2023 season for all commercial and most recreational Chinook fishing along the coast from Cape Falcon in Oregon to the California-Mexico border, the Associated Press reported.

Fishermen had been preparing for the news.

Earlier presentations by state fish and wildlife departments in Oregon and California had already predicted extremely poor returns to California’s Klamath and Sacramento rivers. Many in the industry were prepared for possible closures in the summer and fall seasons.

The Chinook salmon that return to the two rivers form an important part of Oregon’s ocean salmon fisheries. In the past, the California-bound fish have contributed 60% to 80% of the Chinook harvested along the Oregon Coast. Even last year, with the runs declining, they made up about 25% of the harvested hatchery Chinook stocks off Oregon, according to Eric Schindler, ocean salmon project leader for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

“It’s a painful year,” Schindler said. “It’s not the kind of year that I like to see. We’ve gone through it before, and it was painful then. It’s going to be painful again this year.”

Take a look at Katie Frankowicz’s report by clicking here.

The story is part of a collaboration between The Astorian and Coast Community Radio.

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— Derrick DePledge