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Pelican Harbor Food Bank facing serious threat By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

What is likely the largest food bank in Coos County could be weeks from having to close its doors. Pelican Harbor Food Bank is facing the threat of closing after it was informed it could no longer use the Pony Village Mall to store its food. The mall told the food bank it would need to move after a company signed a lease to take over at a least a part of the old Macy’s store the food bank has been using. Laurel Broman with the Pelican Harbor Food Bank approached the North Bend City Council last week looking for options, asking the city council if the food bank could use the community center as a shortterm solution.

“We are in a predicament,” Broman said. “ We need to move out of the Macy’s building. There’s a lot of repairs that need to be done, and we can’t afford them. We’ve been looking and looking for a place to move to, and there’s nothing.” Broman told the council when looking for options, she thought of the community center. “Is it possible we could rent it for a reasonable price for a year and half or two years,” Broman asked. “We’ve been trying to get property donated. But I think we’re going to try to get grants to buy a property and more grants to build a warehouse.” Broman said last week, the food bank served 821 families. “We had to keep gong back and getting more food out of the warehouse,” she said. “Last year, in 2021, we did 2,053,000

Photo by David Rupkalvis/The World

A group of volunteers for Pelican Harbor Food Bank work to give food to people in Coos Bay and North Bend. pounds of food. That’s very sizable. We keep getting a lot of donations and a lot of families are being blessed. We have never asked for help from anybody.

We’ve always been independent. At this point, though, we need some help.” Please see FOOD BANK, Page A3

Qualifying Oregonians to receive $600 By JEREMY C. RUARK Country Media

The Oregon Department of Revenue will begin distributing one-time assistance payments of $600 to more than 236,000 qualifying households later this week. The payments are being made following the direction by the Oregon Legislature through House Bill 4157, which provides a one-time $600 payment as part of a program to address negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Payments will be received by direct deposit or by check by July 1, 2022. To qualify households must have received the Earned Income Tax Credit on their 2020 tax filing and lived in Oregon the last six months of 2020. The One-Time Assistance Payments will be deposited directly to the bank accounts of 136,640 recipients and checks will be mailed to 99,647 recipients. Households that receive a direct

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The $600 payment are part of a program to address negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 public health emergency. deposit will also be mailed a letter explaining the payment. Households that receive a paper check will include information about the payment on their check stub. A total of nearly $141.8 million is expected to be distributed to 236,287 qualifying recipients. As directed by the Oregon

Legislature through House Bill 4157, the Oregon Department of Revenue will begin distributing One-Time Assistance Payments of $600 to more than 236,000 qualifying households later this week. Payments will be received by direct deposit or by check by July 1, 2022.

To qualify households must have received the Earned Income Tax Credit on their 2020 tax filing and lived in Oregon the last six months of 2020. The One-Time Assistance Payments will be deposited directly to the bank accounts of 136,640 Please see PAYMENT Page A3

Fireworks returning July 3 and July 4 File photo

After two years of COVID restrictions, a full Fourth of July celebration, with two fireworks displays, is on tap in the coming days,

By DAVID RUPKALVIS The World

Coos Bay and North Bend will celebrate America’s independence with two days of music, fun and fireworks this week. After COVID restrictions cut back much of the Independence Day celebrations the last two years, things will return to normal beginning July 3, when The Mill Casino Hotel and RV Park

hosts its traditional Blast by the Bay fireworks show. The casino will have a variety of special events throughout the evening of July 3, but the fireworks are the big attraction. Only VIP guests will be invited to watch at the casino, but the display can be seen throughout the area. The fireworks show July 3 is set to begin at 10 p.m., with the fireworks being shot over the

bay. Traditionally, spectators line up on both sides of the bay to see the spectacular show. On July 4, the city of Coos Bay will host its traditional Fourth of July celebration at Mingus Park. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be a variety of fun events planned to entertain all ages. The event will feature the Boy Scouts’ fundraiser hamburger stand, Coos County Posse and

their horses, Coos Forest Protective Association with Smokey the Bear, ODF&W fishing, Front Street Community Bike Works and many others. That night, the Coos Bay Fire Department will be resuming its traditional fireworks display over the bay. The show will kick off at dusk, and the community is invited down to the bay to enjoy the spectacle. OBITUARIES A4 OPINION A5 CLASSIFIEDS A6

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Governor candidate Betsy Johnson talks independent campaign By HILARY DORSEY Country Media

Former Oregon State Rep. Betsy Johnson is running for governor of Oregon as an independent in the November election. Her campaign is focused on improving public schools, affordable housing for workers and make Oregon appealing to job creators. Johnson served in the Oregon House and Senate for more than 20 years, retiring as chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee to run for governor. She has a reputation as an advocate for her constituents. Johnson has also served on the boards of numerous local, regional and national organizations, including the Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Oregon Public Broadcasting Foundation and the High Desert Museum. She also ran a commercial helicopter company for 20 years. She is currently on the Board of Visitors of Northwest School of Law and serves as president of the Samuel S. Johnson Foundation, named after her late father. Johnson said she decided to run for governor because she has had a front row seat to the deterioration of the state she loves. There are issues of homelessness, crime, lawlessness in Portland, the education system lowering standards for students, lack of affordable housing, and more. “I believe we cannot continue in this way,” Johnson said. “And nothing is more disruptive to the status quo than having a nonaffiliated governor.” Johnson is running as an independent. She left the Republican Party because she felt they became too extreme. As a Democrat, she felt the party went too far to the left, especially with issues such as defunding the police. She said she is running as an Oregonian. One of the main things Johnson plans to do as governor is support law enforcement and make them accountable. “They have to be responsible and professional, but we need to augment the amount of sworn officers that we have,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to get a hold of the lawlessness that has plagued Oregon.” Johnson said she has maintained that Oregon cannot succeed if Portland fails. She said something must be done to get people off the streets and into affordable homes. “Lincoln City is probably not atypical of what we’re seeing all up and down the coast where people that work in the hospitality industry especially are being forced to go farther and farther away from their job and commuting longer and longer distances,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to get more housing in the pipeline.” Johnson believes there needs to be more accountability in Please see JOHNSON, Page A2

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