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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Every other Tuesday for the past few months, a determined band of prospective business owners have gathered at Clatsop Community College for specialized classes devised by the Clatsop Small Business Development Center.

Dubbed the Start-Up Boot Camp, the course consists of five sessions focused on teaching key business skills, with one-on-one advising between each class. The most recent course, which ended Tuesday afternoon, featured topics such as “Getting to Know Your Market and Customer,” “Developing Your Financial Forecast” and “Preparing for a Successful Launch.”

Advisers Meyer Freeman and Eric Stromquist teach the classes together. Freeman said the term “boot camp” came about as a way to emphasize the commitment that comes with enrolling in and participating in the course, which he described as “a journey that requires work and emotional investment.”

See the story by Jasmine Lewin by clicking here.

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A code amendment package intended to provide flexibility for Columbia Memorial Hospital’s expansion project has been approved by the Astoria City Council.

The changes include exempting the hospital campus off Exchange Street from design requirements under the city’s Gateway Overlay. Instead of having to comply with a maximum 45-foot height standard, the hospital would be able to build over 90 feet.

The new rules also allow the $175 million project to roll forward without review by the city’s Historic Landmarks Commission.

Read the story by Nicole Bales by clicking here.

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Kelcee Smith stared into the water at Big Creek Hatchery one recent November morning, watching as dozens of chum salmon circled below.

Chum return to Big Creek from the ocean every fall to spawn, but for these fish, something else also lay in store: a road trip.

Working a dozen or so at a time, Smith’s small crew lifted the fish in a metal elevator and emptied them into a large bin of water, sending splashes across the concrete floor. From there, the striped swimmers made their way from one set of hands to the next and into a tank at the back of a white Chevrolet pickup headed for Gnat Creek.

“It’s kind of like TSA,” Smith said, crouching down in her rubber boots and bright orange raincoat. “The fish have to move through all the security checkpoints before they get to their final destination, which is the truck.”

Smith is the coordinator of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s chum salmon reintroduction program. Her team of four, along with people from the community and nonprofit partners like the North Coast Watershed Association, are working to recover one of the state’s most overlooked fish species.

Take a look at the report by Olivia Palmer by clicking here.

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— Derrick DePledge