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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As someone who’s spent decades researching the Western Pacific leatherback turtle, Scott Benson knows a thing or two about the species: they’re ancient, massive and tricky to spot.

Benson, a research fish biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has spent plenty of time on the water to understand leatherbacks’ dwindling populations, but recently, he’s also been doing research from a more unexpected location.

This week, his work began 650 feet in the air.

On Wednesday, Benson and a team of fellow researchers made their way across the tarmac at the Astoria Regional Airport in Warrenton toward a NOAA Twin Otter — a modest-sized plane set to fly them up to the northern tip of Washington state for the last in a series of aerial surveys this season.

The surveys, which are supported by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and nonprofit partners at Upwell, give researchers a bird’s eye view of the waters along the West Coast, helping them chart the locations of leatherback turtles and other species like whales, dolphins and ocean sunfish. The work is done in tandem with a boat to search for turtles, tag them and release them back into the ocean.

“The aerial survey data is very helpful, and we can’t find turtles without the help of the airplane — even though they’re large animals, they’re very cryptic,” Benson said. “But really what we’re primarily after is trying to put our hands on one so we can put a transmitter on and then learn more about how the animal is using waters of the Pacific Northwest.”

See the story by Olivia Palmer by clicking here.

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After a flood of public comments Tuesday, a reimbursement agreement that would have funded sanitary sewer improvements near S.E. Jetty Avenue in Warrenton is not moving forward.

An advanced financing district is a tool sometimes used by cities where adjacent property owners reimburse private contractors for public infrastructure improvements. Earlier this year, Latitude 46 LLC and Palmberg Properties LLC submitted a request to establish an advanced financing mechanism for a public mainline pipe added during the construction of the Latitude 46 and Jetty Stone apartment complexes, and seven sewer laterals. The pipes run adjacent to U.S. Highway 101 Business and extend to the intersection of S.E. Jetty Avenue and S.E. 13th Place.

The proposal asked just over a dozen property owners to pay up to nearly $410,000 to the city over the next 10 years to reimburse the two companies. Seven property owners — primarily on septic — would also have to connect their properties to the new system. The asks have drawn heat from neighbors in recent months, citing concerns over what they saw as an unfair financial burden, especially for retired residents or those on fixed incomes.

Read the story by Olivia Palmer by clicking here.

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Encore Dance Studio’s new location on G Street in Gearhart will offer morning preschool and after-school dance classes for children.

The space, which opens on Sept. 9, is a return to South County for owner Denele Sweet. She started her dance studio in Seaside in 1996 but closed the location during the coronavirus pandemic.

Over the past few years, Encore has concentrated on a private performing arts school in Warrenton and recently announced an expansion of preschool slots.

“I missed the kids,” Sweet said of the investment in South County. “And knowing that they haven’t had dance in South County since I left made me sad. Also, I have such an amazing faculty that we were able to get together and decide that, yeah, this sounds like a great thing.”

Take a look at the report by Jasmine Lewin by clicking here.

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— Derrick DePledge