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Harbor Freight coming to Pony Village Mall By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
Seven years after JCPenney moved out of the Pony Village Mall, a new store has signed to move as an anchor at the North Bend mall. Mall Operations Manager Kelsey Mulkey confirmed Monday that Harbor Freight is
moving into the former JCPenney location. Harbor Freight signed a lease with the mall last Friday and began work at the mall Monday. "We're really excited," Mulkey said. "We think they'll be a great addition to the community." Harbor Freight is known nationwide for having an extensive selection of tools and
other equipment, many sold at below-market value. Mulkey said the business is hoping to have a soft opening in May with a grand opening in June. Mulkey said Pony Village Mall has been working with Harbor Freight for quite a while before the lease was agreed to last week. "It's been a number of years,"
she said. "I think they first showed interest in the mall in 2015. They came back a couple of years ago and things moved pretty quickly." Mulkey said having a store move into one of the larger spots at the mall is not only good for Pony Village Mall but also good for North Bend and the region.
"We're really excited to get the anchor space filled after it's been empty for so long," she said. Mulkey said the Harbor Freight announcement could be just the start of things to come at Pony Village Mall. "We do have another couple of things we're working on, but nothing that's confirmed yet," he said.
Jeff Merkley throws support behind Val Hoyle By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
Contributed Photo
North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke shares her thoughts on progress in the city while giving the State of the City address last week.
Mayor: North Bend has made Benetti: Coos Bay is thriving and growing during pandemic great progress in a year By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
North Bend Mayor Jessica Engelke told members of the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce the city has made great strides in the year since the took office. While giving the State of the City address, Engelke said it's amazing what has been accomplished in such a little time. During her speech, she said to understand what's happening in the city, you would have to go back to early 2021. "The city councilors and I and staff met shortly after the election," Engelke said. "We sat down as a new council and we decided to do a visioning session where we could come up with our priorities. It became
very clear to me we want to make your priorities our priorities. SO we went around and as a council we came up with ideas that were important to us. "If you run for office, you run for office for a reason. A lot of us had great ideas and this was our time to formulate those. It was amazing. You can imagine the ideas that went around at first. We knew as a council we wanted to do everything we could as a council to move the city forward and make it grow." After the meeting, the council came up with a series of goals and had staff begin to work to make them reality. "We created a strategic plan to move the city forward," Engelke said. "Our first goal Please see NORTH BEND, Page A3
By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World
Coos Bay Mayor Joe Benetti said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Coos Bay is thriving, with new growth overshadowing the downsides of the pandemic. During a State of the City address to the Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Benetti said the commercial and housing growth is a sign of the goof things going on in the city. "More development and growth is going on now than at any other time I've been here the last 43 years," Benetti said. "Our community has a bright future, and I'm proud to be a part of it." Benetti said the majority of credit for the recent success should go to the city staff that turn council hopes into reality.
"If it wasn't for our staff, nothing would get done," he said. "Our council is full of goals and we keep pushing the envelope. I want to say thank you." Benetti explained much of the work being done by the city is related to infrastructure, primarily streets and wastewater. In the last year, he said the city has invested in street work on 4th Street, the entry to Coos Bay Village, several places on Highway 101 along with multiple street improvements throughout the city. "All the areas of Coos Bay were taken care of in the projects," Benetti said. "The city invested $3.4 million in 2021 on streets." Please see COOS BAY, Page A3
Democratic candidate Nick Kristof visits coast, remains hopeful he will be on May ballot Hilary Dorsey The World
Despite receiving news he is not eligible to run for governor, Nikolas Kristof is continuing to campaign while fighting the decision by the secretary of state. Kristof, who is running as a Democrat, visited Lincoln City and surrounding areas last week, meeting with city officials and local government to get a sense of challenges and how his campaign will address them. Kristof, 62 years old, was a journalist for The New York Times for many years, before moving back to Oregon and is running for governor. In an announcement earlier this month, Secretary of State Shemia Fagan announced her office was rejecting Kristof’s bid to run for governor because he
does not meet the state’s threeyear residency requirement. Kristof grew up on his family’s sheep and cherry farm outside Yamhill. In Yamhill schools, he discovered a love for journalism, reporting in the county for the News-Register in McMinnville and later interning at the Statesman Journal and The Oregonian. After college and graduate school, he worked at The New York Times, winning two Pulitzer Prizes. Kristof said he decided to run for governor because he wants to fix the problems around Oregon, including homelessness, house affordability, better education from preschool to higher education and a lack of medical health services. He said he saw devasPlease see KRISTOF, Page A3
Photo by Hilary Dorsey.
Nick Kristof stopped by The News Guard while visiting Lincoln City.
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Val Hoyle got another big boost Monday in her bid to replace Congressman Peter DeFazio in the Fourth Congressional District. Two weeks after DeFazio announced he was supporting Hoyle, Senator Jeff Merkley followed suit Monday, announcing he was throwing his support behind the state's labor commissioner. "The race for the 4th district is going to be tough and filling Peter DeFazio's shoes will not be easy. Thankfully, Oregon has the right person for the job in Val Hoyle,” said Merkley. "Val has a proven track record of fighting for working families and delivering results. From working to raise the minimum wage to ensuring Oregon workers have paid sick leave, it's clear as day who Val will fight for in Congress. I know Val will be a tremendous partner and ally in Congress and I hope Oregonians will join me in supporting her." DeFazio endorsed Hoyle, saying she was the only Democrat running who has the ties to the district and the proven ability to win big elections. Hoyle is one of five Democrats who have announced they are running for DeFazio's seat. Dr. Sami Al-AbdRabbuh, Andrew Kalloch, Zachary Mulholland and John Selker have also announced they are running. On the Republican side, only Alek Skarlatos has announce a bid. Skarlatos ran against DeFazio two years ago, receiving 46% of the vote in his losing effort. After receiving Merkley's endorsement, Hoyle said she was ready to work alongside the senator to get things done for Oregon and the country. “Jeff Merkley is a champion for Oregon and a principled leader who isn’t afraid to tackle difficult problems. From his work to crack down on predatory mortgage lending practices and rein in Wall Street speculation to his efforts to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs and expand Medicaid access, he’s proven to be one of the strongest advocates for working families in Washington, D.C.,” said Hoyle. “Since his time serving in the legislature, Oregonians have known that Jeff Merkley is a man of his word who isn’t afraid to put in the work to get the job done. I am honored to have his support and I look forward to partnering with him in Congress to support Oregon families and pass legislation that will lift up workers across the country.”
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