Cottage Grove Sentinel

1 week ago | cgsentinel.com | Cindy Weeldreyer

A David vs. Goliath legislative battle in Salem has independent rural pharmacies, like McCoy’s in Cottage Grove, fighting for their future against the prescription drug middlemen industry, known as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). BACKGROUNDIn 2023, the Oregon Audits Division released a report on Oregon Health Authority Pharmacy Benefit Managers that addressed “Poor Accountability and Transparency Harm Medicaid Patients and Independent Pharmacies”.

1 week ago | cgsentinel.com | Jeremy C. Ruark

Nineteen people have been charged with stealing more than $500,000 from SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits cards around the country and using the money to purchase baby formula which was then sold on the black market, according to Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “This isn’t just theft – it is an assault on our most vulnerable communities,” Rayfield said. “These people took advantage of a program meant to support families in need.

1 week ago | cgsentinel.com | Jeremy C. Ruark

Oregon’s unemployment rate was 4.6% in March and 4.5% in February, after rising gradually over the past year from 4.1% in March 2024, according to the latest report from the Oregon Employment Department. Oregon’s 4.6% unemployment rate is the highest since August 2021, when the rate was 4.7%, and slightly higher than during the three years prior to the COVID recession that started in 2020. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2% in March and 4.1% in February.

1 week ago | cgsentinel.com | Jeremy C. Ruark

Weyerhaeuser has awarded $297,000 in philanthropic grants across Oregon through its Giving Fund, reinforcing its commitment to investing in the health and resilience of its operating communities. A total of 61 grants were awarded to nonprofits, community organizations and local fire and wildfire suppression districts in Albany, Cottage Grove, Eugene, Lebanon and other rural areas of Oregon.

1 week ago | cgsentinel.com | Jeremy C. Ruark

The Pacific Fishery Management Council has adopted recommendations for ocean salmon fishing along the Pacific west coast in 2025. The seasons provide recreational and commercial opportunities in northern areas of the coast but include significant reductions and commercial fishery closures in southern portions of the coast to achieve conservation goals for both Chinook and coho salmon stocks.