The cost of staying in jail; marine reserve prep; gas prices fall; and halibut season closes until August.

Jail stay in Florence will now include financial consideration…

Beginning next month, overnight visitors to the jail at the Florence Justice Center could be paying part of the way. The Florence City Council approved a booking fee that will be charged to prisoners serving a court-ordered sentence.
215 – “If somebody is actually convicted, and that will be collected by the court and so that won’t put any administrative burden on the jail staff.”

No estimate was given as to how much money might be raised by the fee, but it is one way for the city to recapture some of the costs of law enforcement. City Manager Bob Willoughby says having the court collect the one-time $50 fee during sentencing is a more efficient method than charging a daily fee.
216 – “I think it increases the chance of reimbursement and decreases the impact on the police staff in terms of trying to implement it.”

That’s because the booking fee would be included with other charges ordered by the court and jail employees would not have to add another administrative duty.

Work on how to turn marine reserves into a reality has begun in Oregon. In Coos Bay tonight, an advisory committee to the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay will meet. The Marine Reserves Recommendation Committee is holding informational discussions on the impacts of reserves on commercial fishers. In Florence, the Port of Siuslaw also has an advisory committee… the Florence Oregon Ocean Resources Coalition will meet at the Port of Siuslaw office tomorrow at five pm.

The local average for a gallon of regular unleaded dropped by six cents this week to $2.60… that’s eight cents more than the national average, but still 12-cents less than the average price in Oregon. Marie Dodds with Triple-A of Oregon says this is the third week in a row that prices have fallen in the state. Indeed, the average price in Florence is ten cents a gallon less than last month… and one-dollar and sixty-cents less than it was a year ago. Dodds said wholesale crude oil prices and reduced retail demand have combined to hold prices down.

The all-depth sport halibut season has been closed off the Central Oregon Coast between Cape Falcon and Humbug Mountain. The next all-depth halibut fishery is set to begin August seventh and will run through October 31st or until a quota of 165-thousand pounds is reached.

TAKING A LOOK INTO COAST RADIO SPORTS:

Triathlon:

The annual Ocean Festival is set to open later this week in Reedsport. When it does, it will sport a new event. The Gardiner-Reedsport Lions and the Reedsport-Winchester Bay Chamber of Commerce have organized a Triathlon for Saturday. Registration opens at 6:30 AM at Coho Point in Winchester Bay. The race includes a four-mile kayak race, eight-mile bicyle circuit and a four-mile run.

American Legion Baseball:

The Three Rivers Sandblasters continued their ‘mid-july’ slump last night, losing 19-9 to the Corvallis Richey’s in eight innings at home. Coach Ben Johnson was ejected from the game in the fifth inning for arguing a call at second base. Three Rivers put up 19 hits, but committed five errors and left 12 runners stranded in the loss. They have a day off today and will face the Eugene Challengers tomorrow in Eugene for a nonleague game.

Northwest League Baseball:

It’s back to work after the All Star Break… the Eugene Emeralds are in Keizer for the first of a three-game series tonight against the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.