A8 The BulleTin • Friday, June 11, 2021
Federal COVID-19
safety rules exempt
most employers
Rentals
Continued from A7
There are more than 200
vacation rental permits in the
unincorporated parts of the
county. Of those, more than
50% are located in Cove Beach
and Arch Cape. Clatsop Plains
also makes up a large share.
Host Compliance, a com-
pany that provides vacation
rental monitoring and enforce-
ment services, found that the
median nightly rental rate for
vacation rentals in the unin-
corporated parts of the county
is $277. More than 75% were
for single-family homes. The
others were for a single room
or portions of a home.
A housing study conducted
by the county in 2019 found
that while there is technically
an oversupply of housing,
much of the housing is eaten
up by vacation rentals and sec-
ond homeowners.
The situation is most pro-
nounced in beach communi-
ties in the southern part of the
county.
Commissioner Lianne
Thompson, who represents the
southern part of the county,
said she wants the board to set
a collaborative tone as the pro-
cess rolls ahead.
Thompson, who has lived
in Cove Beach since the late
1990s, said she has had con-
cerns about vacation rentals for
nearly two decades.
“What I saw was that the
character of a neighborhood
was changing, and I wanted
to do something about it,” she
said. “We’ve all been working
— I want to say, groping — to-
ward a solution since then. I’ve
BY ALEXANDRA OLSON
The Associated Press
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
Vacation rentals have caused divisions in communities such as Arch
Cape and Cove Beach.
seen some things that have
given me hope. I’ve seen some
things that have given me cause
for concern. I think there is no
doubt that county government
in Astoria and the commission-
ers all around Clatsop County
understand that there’s an issue
with transient occupancy. That
gives me hope.
“What gives me enormous
concern is that the character of
the interactions that I see in my
neighborhood are heartbreak-
ing to me,” she said.
“We live in a beautiful place.
We are privileged to live part
time, full time as owners, as
renters in a beautiful place. But
here’s the thing about Oregon
law. Everybody can come and
visit that place. They are public
beaches. With the increase in
Jobs
Continued from A7
Medline will be holding an outdoor hiring
fair on June 23 at the Redmond facility, 1500 NE
Hemlock Ave. Employees hired before Aug. 31
will be eligible for a $1,000 signing bonus, said
Jesse Greenberg, Medline Industries public af-
fairs director. Salaries begin at $14 an hour, he
said.
The goal of the in-person and drive-thru
job fair at Walmart is to hire 400 workers. The
job fair is in partnership with Express Employ-
population, we are going to see
more and more people coming
to the coast.
“We’re going to see them
coming to state parks. We’re
going to see them coming all
over the place. So they’re going
to be coming to our neighbor-
hood. To the idea that we can
control other people’s access to
our little piece of paradise and
make whatever our opinion is
into law just doesn’t work. And
I’ve seen that become what I
think is an increasing dynamic.
What also gives me cause for
concern is I would say the cru-
elty, the malice that has been
involved, the idea that if some-
one is unkind enough to an-
other human being they can
work their will on them. That’s
not positive.”
ment and Bigfoot Beverages. It will be held from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Bend Walmart
parking lot, 20120 Pinebrook Blvd.
Express Employment will be taking applica-
tions for office services, light industrial, skilled
trades and professional positions.
“The well of people looking to hire right now
is at an all-time high,” Petty said. “I’m usually
looking for more companies to sign up, now I’m
looking for workers. For every one person look-
ing for work right now, there are 20 jobs avail-
able.”
e
Reporter: 541-633-2117, sroig@bendbulletin.com
NEW YORK — The Biden
administration has exempted
most employers from long-
awaited rules for protecting
workers from the coronavi-
rus, angering labor advocates
who had spent more than a
year lobbying for the protec-
tions.
The Labor Department in-
cluded only health care work-
ers in its new emergency
temporary standard pub-
lished Thursday.
The rules require em-
ployers to draw up a virus
protection plan, and tighten
requirements for recording
and reporting COVID-19
cases among workers. They
also require employers to
provide workers with paid
time off for COVID-19-re-
lated absences, including
getting vaccinated and re-
covering from the shot’s side
effects.
Rather than issue man-
datory rules for other
workplaces, the Biden ad-
ministration released new
nonbinding guidance that
relaxed some recommenda-
tions. Most workplaces where
people are fully vaccinated no
longer need to provide any
protection from the corona-
virus, according to the guid-
ance issued by Occupational
Health and Safety Admin-
istration, the federal agency
responsible for protecting
workers.
In separate order, the gov-
ernment also lifted a 25% cap
of employer capacity inside
federal buildings, though it
kept in place flexible remote
work policies.
The decision comes as
many stores and other com-
panies are already relaxing
mask and other protection
policies in response to new
guidance from the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention. But it also rep-
resents a step back from
President Joe Biden’s earlier
indications that he would re-
verse the Trump administra-
tion’s refusal to issue man-
datory protection rules for
workers.
Indulge
in Self Care
CALL TODAY TO BOOK
YOUR SPA EXPERIENCE!
HAIR•NAILS•LASHES•SKIN•BROWS
405 NE 3RD ST.
541-385-8060
Homes
Continued from A7
Single-family homes
spent an average of four
days on the market in
Bend, a trend that has
been consistent since De-
cember.
Nationally, housing in-
ventory levels increased
in April to 4.4 months,
the highest level since
May 2020 when it was
5.3 months, according to
the Federal Reserve eco-
nomic data. Freddie Mac
reported Thursday that the
average interest rate for a
30-year fixed-rate mort-
gage was 2.96%.
In Central Oregon,
prices have marched up
higher month over month
due in part to low supply
and competition among
buyers, according to the
report.
The median sales price
in Sunriver was $907,000
in May, according to the
report. The average num-
ber of days on the market
was four in May, according
to the report.
e
Reporter: 541-633-2117,
sroig@bendbulletin.com
Robert Roy Breen
of Bend, OR
July 1, 1953 - June 3, 2021
Arrangements:
Niswonger-Reynolds
Funeral Home is honored
to serve the family.
541-382-2471 Please
visit the online registry for
the family at www.nis-
wonger-reynolds.com
Services:
Graveside Service at Pilot
Butte Cemetery, Saturday,
June 19, 2021 at 1:00 p.m.
OBITUARY DEADLINE
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