NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: A Win for the Helicopter – Maybe

By Representative David Gomberg, House District 10

12/8/25

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I received the news in a phone call from Senator Jeff Merkley on Thursday afternoon. The U.S. Coast Guard has agreed to permanently return the rescue helicopter to Newport after removing the aircraft without explanation in October. This development comes after a federal judge last month ordered the Coast Guard to temporarily return the helicopter while lawsuits challenging its abrupt removal proceed.

Senator Merkley and Senator Ron Wyden met together with the Coast Guard leadership on Thursday. Senator Merkley said a member of the homeland security department in attendance gave “full backup” to the Coast Guard’s statement.

“The acting commandant assured me that they had returned the helicopter because of the court action, but they had intended to return it by the start of crab season anyway, and it was back in Newport to stay,” Senator Merkley said in a video posted to social media.

Senator Wyden posted, “This is a big win to keep fishermen as well as Oregonians and tourists visiting the Newport area safe when they are enjoying the Pacific Ocean. I’ll keep watchdogging this Coast Guard commitment and battling against any move by the Trump administration to site an ICE detention facility in Newport or anywhere else on the Oregon Coast.”

I told OPB, “We’re very pleased with these assurances that have been made to our U.S. Senators. Keeping the helicopter in Newport is critically important year-round.” Last week, I reported to you that, between 2014 and 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter based in Newport was responsible for the rescue of approximately 500 people, including 30 commercial fishermen whose lives were saved at sea, according to court records.

You can also read more in the Capital Chronicle, Oregonian, or the Lincoln Chroni cle.

This is an evolving story. Just two weeks ago, DHS said, “These efforts to micromanage U.S. Coast Guard operations via lawsuit are completely intrusive, and … an insult to the hard, heroic work the men and women of the Coast Guard put in every day.” Then they say the helicopter was removed for maintenance and the plan was for it to return before crabbing season. Now court filings offer another explanation.

A Saturday story in the Lincoln Chronicle may shed a little more honest light on the situation.

It was not immediately clear what the latest news could mean for the ongoing federal lawsuit. In that complaint, Lincoln County, the state of Oregon, and the nonprofit Newport Fishermen’s Wives have all accused the Coast Guard of illegally removing the helicopter without giving proper notice. Ann Aiken, the federal judge hearing the case, appeared inclined to agree with the plaintiffs in issuing a temporary order last week requiring the helicopter to be returned.

The case is set for oral arguments today.

According to documents filed in federal court by the Oregon Attorney General’s office, the U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter stationed in Newport for decades was removed in October, not for maintenance, but to replace one in North Bend that was deployed to California for immigration enforcement. The switch was planned as far back as April and approved in May, according to memos prepared by Coast Guard officials.

The air base in Newport has not housed a rescue crew and is considered a sub-unit of North Bend. Newport has no permanent personnel, but rather each day, the Coast Guard flies a helicopter from North Bend to the facility along with its crew, according to the deposition.

U.S. Department of Justice attorneys are arguing that Newport Fishermen’s Wives, Lincoln County, and the state of Oregon shouldn’t be allowed to interfere in routine and temporary operations as to when, where, and how the Coast Guard deploys its rescue helicopters. The Department of Homeland Security says that while the Coast Guard is following a November 24 court order to return a rescue helicopter to Newport, it will remain there only through next spring, when the agency “will assess its resources for the summer season as it has for the past several years” and may request permission to consolidate resources in North Bend.

So it would seem that Coast Guard leadership is telling our senators one thing and DHS lawyers are telling the Court something else.

I’m mindful that ten years ago, the Coast Guard announced plans to close the Newport air station. Suits were filed in that situation as well. Eventually, the Coast Guard relented and agreed to keep the station open. They then asked for the court case to be dismissed since the question had been resolved.

You may remember my comments when the helicopter first disappeared. Someone somewhere is more interested in detaining people than saving people. Five hundred rescues!

I’m grateful that community pressure, a full press in the courts, and the efforts of Senators Merkley, Wyden, and Congresswoman Val Hoyle have saved our helicopter here. It shouldn’t have required a lawsuit to get this far. And while assurances are good, I’d like to see something in writing.

Watch more on this critical development on KPTV or KOIN.

Meanwhile, evidence continues to mount that plans are underway to locate an ICE detention facility in the area. The helicopter space has been addressed. But federal contractors continue making inquiries in Newport.

One asked about leasing land at the airport, another about trucking thousands of gallons of wastewater away from the area every day. By the time job postings for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement appeared, many in the city already suspected ICE may be preparing a new detention center on the coast. While some of those inquiries led nowhere, as contractors abandoned their bid to lease airport land from the city, and some job postings disappeared, there are still signs ICE may be interested in the coast. A federal contractor is inquiring about leasing hundreds of hotel rooms. Another recently indicated to state regulators that it might be submitting a project proposal from ICE to get an exception from state land use laws.

That proposal, if it emerges, would amount to the first actual details from ICE about any plans in Newport. And now there is new information that a federal contractor is seeking to staff a potential U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Portland.

DHS has declined to respond to all inquiries.

One of my ongoing goals as your state representative is to help you better understand your government.

Earlier this year, I invited Attorney General Dan Rayfield for a joint Town Hall in the District. And this week it was my pleasure to host Oregon’s Treasurer, Elizabeth Steiner, at the Lincoln City Cultural Center. She is the state’s financial leader, the custodian of public funds, and chief investment officer. It was a pleasure to hear people ask complex questions and get clear, concise answers.

The Oregon state treasurer is a constitutional officer elected by statewide vote to serve a four-year term. Our other statewide offices are the Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, and the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI). Unlike most states, we have no Lieutenant Governor.

The Treasurer administers our portfolio of Oregon investments, serves with the Governor and Secretary of State on the State Land Board to manage our natural and working lands, oversees the Common School Fund, and facilitates the Unclaimed Property Program. This office also helps Oregonians to save for retirement through the OregonSaves program, for education after high school through Embark savings accounts, and for disability related expenses with the Oregon ABLE savings plan.

Treasurer Steiner spoke about her duties as a manager of Oregon tax funds and lottery funds and about her department’s responsibility to invest pension funds for state workers. As a family physician before becoming an Oregon State Senator, and now State Treasurer, her priority is to build financial security for families because it is critical for good physical and mental health. She answered questions about investment policies and investment philosophy.

Continuing on the theme of helping help you better understand your government, I recorded a podcast this week for the Double R Show.

Here’s how our host, Roger Robertson, described the program: “Representative David Gomberg joins Double R for a two-part briefing on the issues hitting our coast hard — prospective ICE operations, the Coast Guard helicopter’s move from Newport, ODOT’s funding squeeze, and the statewide 5% budget tightening. He cuts through the noise with what’s known, what’s in flux, and what might be getting the axe.”

Please take a few minutes and listen in here. Or save it for the next drive over Cape Foulweather or from Eddyville to Blodgett.

Oregon’s state parks are proposing a host of changes aimed at bringing in more money to cover increasing costs for a system of 250 parks and 50 campgrounds. The state agency is taking public comment on their ideas from now until January 15. The proposals include increased fees, changes to the cancellation policy and a pricing model that goes up during busier times and down in quieter times.

Oregon’s state parks are facing a budget shortfall of $8 million this biennium (trimmed down from $14 million estimated last month) and an even larger shortfall in coming years.

“The shortfall is due to increasing costs, the impact of higher visitation and a decrease in projected Oregon Lottery funds for operations,” the agency said in a news release. “Visitor fees do not cover the cost of operations, and Oregon State Parks does not receive general fund tax revenue for operations.”

Public comments on the proposed rule change will be accepted through 5 p.m. January 15 and can be submitted:

Online: oregon.gov/oprd/prp/pages/prp-division 15.aspx
Mail: OPRD Department, attn: Katie Gauthier, 725 Summer St. NE, Suite C, Salem, OR., 97301
Email: OPRD.Publiccomment@oprd.oregon.gov

A virtual public hearing will be held for the public to provide comments at 5:30 p.m. December 15. Register to attend the hearing here.

A new series of proposals could mean higher Oregon state parks fees. If approved, these changes could be implemented as early as March of 2026. The most notable proposal is higher “rate ranges” for campsites, yurts, cabins and other facilities at state parks. It would be the second time in as many years that rate ranges increased, as the last was approved in 2024.

Under the proposal, a full hookup campsite could cost anywhere from $33–$80, up from $33-$52, based on whether it was a high-demand spot and time period. The proposed rate changes for a rustic yurt would go to $52-$105 per night, up from $52-$72 previously.

ORPD is also looking to change its cancellation policy, following some frustration about parks being sold out yet still having open campsites because visitors don’t show up. The new policy would include no refunds on the day of arrival, no refunds for no-show reservations. Other refunds vary based on how long the reservation was held and how close to arrival it is cancelled.

The current fee range for day-use parking at Oregon state parks is $7-$15. The rate is currently set at $10 for Oregonians and $12 for out-of-state visitors. Under the proposal, the range would go to $7 to $25. It doesn’t mean that all 46 parks would suddenly require a $25 day-use parking fee, but the director would have the option to set that higher price for peak days at the busiest parks.

Future Special Access Passes (SAP) for veterans and foster families will be exclusively for those who live in Oregon, according to proposed changes. That update, along with limiting the number of free days to 10 per year, will reduce the fees waived by $2.2 million per biennium or a 46% decrease in costs.

I’m spending today, Monday, in Portland for the Oregon Business Plan Leadership Summit. It is a gathering of business leaders, policy makers, and interest groups.

With growing concerns over major state budget deficits, stagnating population growth, rising unemployment, and new data showing Oregon businesses are looking elsewhere as they expand, Governor Kotek has unveiled a set of strategies she said would help create a stronger overall economy and improve the state’s national rankings.

Her plan relies on streamlining business regulations, better training Oregon workers, and sharpening tools like targeted tax breaks some say have become an afterthought.

It will be interesting to see how the Governor and her proposals are received on Monday. I’ll report back next week.

Other plans for the next few days include some remarks at the Lincoln City Welcome Center Open House on Tuesday. I pushed for state funding to replace the dark, smelly, and honestly, scary public restrooms there and am pleased to see progress at this busy beach wayside. Wednesday, I’ll attend a reception honoring outgoing OCCC President Birgitte Ryslinge. Friday, I hope to make the Waldport Holiday Hat Party.

Saturday, I’ll participate in National Wreaths Across America Day, setting wreaths at veterans’ graves, a memorial for Lee Frees at her Gleneden Beach Gallery, and then dress up for the Pacific Communities Health District Foundation Gala in Newport.

Sunday is the Lincoln City Cultural Center donor reception. Susie and I contributed to the endowment fund there and are pleased with all the ongoing improvements.

Monday? Monday, I hope to rest at least a little and then write you another newsletter. Thanks for reading!