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

•••

The R/V Atlantis is a distinctive sight in Astoria in the summer.

With its easy-to-spot dome and huge A-frame at the stern, the research ship brings in a crew of 23 people and can take two dozen scientists and about a half-dozen technicians aboard.

On occasion, the crew also talks to the International Space Station from thousands of meters below the ocean surface.

The U.S. Navy ship is operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

The institution, located in Massachusetts, owns three different research ships outside of the Atlantis. The organization is dedicated to learning more about the oceans in connection with the planet.

With careers across science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the institution also partners with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create a program for students interested in oceanography related STEM careers.

See the story by Audrey Saiz by clicking here.

•••

Two months after a passionate public comment period, the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Astoria District Office has moved the Mothball Hill timber harvest to the alternate list for its annual operations plan.

The decision marks a slight change of course — but some neighbors argue it’s not enough.

In Oregon, the Department of Forestry and local governments in Forest Trust Land Counties rely on revenue generated from local timber harvests. Annual operations plans help local districts outline where those timber harvests will be each fiscal year. While the plan itself is nothing unusual, this year’s process brought an unprecedented public response over two proposed harvests close to neighborhoods: Mothball Hill and Davis Ridge.

According to the 2025 annual operations plan and preoperations reports, the Mothball Hill operation would allow for a clearcut harvest on 99 acres across two units east of Astoria and generate an estimated $1.2 million, while the Davis Ridge operation would allow for a 168-acre clearcut on two units in Brownsmead with an estimated $2.2 million net value.

Dan Goody, the Astoria district forester, said the district intends to proceed as planned with the Davis Ridge harvest, but is pressing the brakes on Mothball Hill — temporarily, at least. While the operation is on the alternate list for fiscal year 2025, Goody said it likely will still be a primary option in fiscal year 2026.

“There was lots of interest in the sale, and I felt like we hadn’t had a chance to actually engage with the landowners,” Goody said. “And this will give us some more time to engage with the landowners, and we’re doing that. So deferring that a little bit gave us that time to engage with them directly.”

Read the story by Olivia Palmer by clicking here.

•••

Starting in the fall, high school and middle school students in Seaside will have to remember one more thing to add to their backpacks and bring to school each morning: a pouch designed for locking away their cellphones.

The pouch, made by Los Angeles-based company Yondr, is a key component of the Seaside School District’s effort to restrict phone use throughout the school day, part of a nationwide trend of schools rethinking the role of technology in classrooms.

Florida and Indiana have already passed laws restricting cellphone use at schools, and other states, such as California, are looking to follow. In Oregon, however, the choice of how to regulate cellphones on campus is largely left to school districts.

Seaside is the first district in Clatsop County to take action.

Jeff Roberts, the principal of Seaside High School, began thinking seriously about a cellphone ban in December, driven by clear signs that students were increasingly disengaged from their academic work and from face-to-face connections with teachers and peers.

“Having a child myself and just being in schools for the last 20 years, it’s saying, what are some things we can do to reconnect with our kids, and to really get our kids back after the pandemic?” Roberts said.

Take a look at the report by Rebecca Norden-Bright by clicking here.

•••

We invite you to help sustain local journalism on the North Coast. Please consider subscribing. We have several options available at: www.dailyastorian.com/subscribe-now/

— Derrick DePledge