81st Azalea Festival this weekend in Brookings See special section inside for details
FRIDAY, JULY 17, 2020
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Brookings, Oregon
Governor orders more masking The Pilot
In response to the alarming rise in COVID-19 case counts across Oregon over the last several weeks, Governor Kate Brown on Monday announced new requirements for face coverings and limits on social get-togethers. Effective, July 15, Oregon’s face covering requirement was expanded to apply to outdoor public spaces when six feet of distance cannot be maintained. Amber Nalls of the city of Brookings said she does not believe the new order will be a problem for this weekend’s Azalea Festival because all events are held outside and signage will remind people of the need for social distancing and wearing face masks when six feet of distance between people can’t be accomplished. In addition, the Governor on Monday banned indoor social get-togethers of more than 10 people will be prohibited. The gathering limit applies only to indoor social get-togethers. This new rule does not change the operation of businesses or churches at this time. Governor Brown noted that failure to comply with the new requirements would lead to more outbreaks of COVID-19 and more restrictive closures with greater impact on Oregon’s economies, communities, health care systems, and families. “We need to do absolutely everything we can to reduce transmission in ways that do not require us to close down businesses again,” said Governor Brown. “The proof here will be in the numbers. Either people will adhere to this requirement and be a positive force for
Photo courtesy of CDCR, Pelican Bay State Prison
Staff at Pelican Bay State Prison were tested for COVID-19 earlier this week as part of statewide testing of employees of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Any confirmed positive tests will be reported to Del Norte Public Health. stopping COVID-19, or I will be forced to take more restrictive measures.” “It all depends on you. Your choices determine our future.” The governor shared the following facts about COVID-19 in Oregon: Oregon reported more cases in the past week than in the entire month of May. The last time Oregon had less than 100 cases in a single day was more than a month ago. Half of all cases in Oregon are from people under the age of 40 and one third of all cases are from people under the age of 30. Currently, people in their 20s and 30s are the most likely group to get sick with COVID-19. Two Oregonians in their 30s have died from COVID-19.
However, Curry County has reported only four cases since May 26. Sherrié R. Ward, Public Health Administrator for Curry County Public Health, reported three confirmed positive cases on July 2 and another on July 7. The county’s total confirmed positive cases is now at nine with none requiring hospitalization and zero deaths. Two of the cases reported in Curry County on July 2 were out-of-state residents and the report on July 7 was of a person who had just relocated to Curry from Lane County, Oregon. Del Norte County Del Norte County had a setback Monday when Califonria Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered dine-in restaurants, bars and
some other businesses to shut down statewide, after many had only recently reopened following months of closure. The county’s latest numbers show much lower rates of infection than the rest of California. Part of the reasoning for the California’s new order this week is the new surge in confirmed active cases and hospitalizations in other parts of the state, including within a number of state prisons. As reported last week, there has been a significant outbreak at San Quentin. Although staff from some other facilities of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation have been sent to help out at San Quentin, as of last week no staff had been sent from Pelican
Bay, according to Lt. Del Higgerson. Earlier this week, Higgerson reported, PBSP staff had mandatory COVID-19 testing. Results were expected within 76 hours and will be sent to employees. If there are any confirmed positive tests, they will be reported to Del Norte County. Daily updates online Earlier this week, the Pilot and sister newspaper Del Norte Triplicate began publishing a daily online COVID-19 update to round-up the latest news and statistics in the neighboring counties, including Pelican Bay State Prison. The reports will appear on www.CurryPilot.com and www. Triplicate.com at about 6 p.m. each weekday.
Discount gift cards offered to help keep restaurants afloat BY CLAUDIA ELLIOTT Editor, The Pilot
Business closures and modifications during the pandemic have been touch on everyone. But those businesses that rely on tourism have had an especially difficult time. With this in mind a few Curry County residents got togeth-
er to create a program to generate public awareness about the importance of supporting local business. And with assistance from local government and economic development funding, they have created a really sweet deal for restaurants and customers. One of the creators of the program, Leslie Wilkinson, Please see Cards, Page A2
Affordable housing shortage continues to plague Curry The Pilot
Curry County continues to face a shortage of affordable housing according to the latest information released by the Oregon Employment Development Department. Oregon compiles data on a regional level and the EDD considers Curry County to be part of Southwestern Oregon, along with Coos and Douglas counties. Kelvin Valdovinos, workforce analyst for the three-county region uses the latest data (from 2018) to tell the story. Data from the American Community Survey showed an estimated 82,106 occupied housing units, he said, with renter-occupied units accounting for 33 percent of all occupied housing
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units in the southwestern region of Oregon. Curry County leads the region in median rental prices, costing households $870 per month, sitting $76 above both Douglas and Coos counties, Valdovinos said. “As expected for rural counties, monthly housing costs are lower than Oregon’s median ($1,050),” he said. “The monthly median cost is also a reflection of the price range that renters are willing or able to pay. All three counties have more than half of renters paying rent within the $500 to $999 range. Comparing that across Oregon, 38 percent of renters paid rent within the same range.” Prior to the unexpected pandemic surrounding COVID-19, Oregon was experiencing fast
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growth in home prices across the state, strongly affecting housing affordability, the EDD analyst said. “In order to understand what ‘affordability’ entails, we must have a better understanding of the affordable housing rental market,” he continued. He made three points to help people have a better understanding of how information is derived: • Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) is Oregon’s housing finance agency. The Area Median Income (AMI) is the midpoint of a region’s income distribution – half of the families in a specified region earn more than the median and half earn less. •The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment (HUD) sets income thresholds relative to the area’s median income to identify households eligible to live in income-restricted housing units and the affordability of those units to low-income households. •HUD has set three levels of affordability based on AMI — at or below 30 percent (Extremely Low Income), 50 percent (Very Low Income), and 80 percent (Low Income). Depending on household size, HUD also defines and calculates the different levels of AMI for a geographic location. OHCS then uses HUD’s data to set rental limits for each of the three groups mentioned, separating Oregon by counties. “There is a golden rule in budgeting of spending around 30 percent of your income on rent,
and is highly suggested to not go over that share,” Valdovinos said. “So what income percentage are Southwestern Oregon residents paying towards their rent?” As is true across Oregon, he said, half of renters are paying more than 30 percent of their household income to rent. “With median household income in Southwestern Oregon sitting at $45,569, we can estimate that half of the region’s housing renters pay more than $1,139 towards their rent,” he said. And although HUD requires so-called “affordable housing units” to stay under their designated AMIs for their county, there are not enough affordable housing units to fill the high demand in Southwestern Oregon. Please see Housing, Page A6
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