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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Two Astoria nonprofits will receive $60,000 as part of a $1.2 million statewide investment into organizations that serve the Latino community.

The Latino Partnership Program of the Oregon Community Foundation distributed the record amount through 86 different grants that prioritize education, leadership development and wealth building. Two of those grants went to Consejo Hispano and Clatsop Community Action.

Mirna Loreli Cibrian, who manages the Latino Partnership Program, said it grew from small, local beginnings in the northern Willamette Valley over 20 years ago. This is the first year that the grants have been distributed statewide, and the first time they have reached the Oregon Coast.

“I think one of the things that has helped is honestly just seeing the need in public education, hearing directly from grantees, from nonprofits, about their needs and how the needs have shifted from COVID to wildfires to everything in between,” she said. “Being responsive to those needs has been really important for us.”

Consejo Hispano, a local nonprofit that serves the Latino community through a variety of programs focused on economic empowerment and cultural enrichment, received $50,000 that will be utilized to support their Mujeres Empoderando Mujeres (Women Empowering Women) program.

Jenny Pool Radway, the executive director of Consejo Hispano, said the program is designed to assist women in various ways, including helping them become better advocates for their children’s education.

“Through resources, training, and a supportive network, we aim to empower these women to take active roles in their communities and contribute to the educational success of their families,” she told The Astorian in an email.

See the story by Jasmine Lewin by clicking here.

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Improved lighting is planned for the Astoria Riverwalk from Mill Pond to Uppertown, emphasizing a need for safety and visibility on the city’s signature waterfront trail.

But the construction will only extend to 34th Street.

David House, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said the grant-funded project, which was initially supposed to illuminate the Riverwalk to 39th Street, has been scaled back due to budget constraints.

“An additional phase of lighting beyond 34th Street would rely on funding for a new phase of the project,” he wrote in an email to The Astorian.

The project’s limitations have been a sore spot for advocates in Uppertown and the east side, who see the lack of better lighting east of Safeway as a letdown and potential safety risk. State grant funding has brought bollard lights to the west end of the Riverwalk in Uniontown and the stretch of trail from the Columbia River Maritime Museum to Mill Pond.

Former City Councilor Tom Hilton, who represented the east side, has described the budget constraints as a “broken promise” and repeatedly pushed to extend the improved lighting as far east as possible.

“We’ll definitely continue to explore ways to do that,” said Jonah Dart-Mclean, the city’s parks director. “It is a little bit challenging in this last section that won’t be completed through this grant effort.

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

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— Derrick DePledge