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Submitted By: spblat@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Hello friends. Here’s an update on the month’s goings on at North Coast Pinball.

In this update:

– tournament 3/15 5pm
– teen night 3/20 6-8pm
– game of the month prize opportunity
– NKNHS field trip to NCP
– tech day, free 3PM Tuesdays
– pinball tastings are back
– AA meeting on hiatus
– politics

Sunday, March 15 at 5 PM is Tournament Night; we do this every month on the third Sunday. I doubt that our brand new Pokemon pinball machine will be here by then, but if it is, you can be sure that it will be in the mix. Last month we had nine players join us; congrats to Tim for taking home the trophy. Will it be you this month?

And then Friday March 20th from 6-8 PM is Teen Night! Free pinball, free soft drinks, free activities, free space to just sit on one of our oversized beanbags. Last month there was a really interesting craft project. What will it be this month? Thanks as always to Christy Kay of Rising Hearts Studio in Nehalem for her hosting and fundraising efforts to keep this going. You can contact her with questions or make a donation at (503) 800-1292.

Our “Game of the Month” this month is Who Dunnit (1995). This is a special game that–together with the incomparable Tales of the Arabian Nights (1996)–is on loan from Michael Long, of A Coastal Lock-N-Key. If you take the best score on Who Dunnit and it holds until April 1, you’ll get a prize. (And if you beat my personal best of 8.6 billion points, you’ll also get special bragging rights.) Congratulations to Gabe for his outstanding February score of 542,278,560 on Avengers Infinity Quest. As of this moment, The Who Dunnit leader is Kurt at 4.8 billion. We love our friends from Portland but let’s get a local in here to take the prize. Will it be you?

There was a field trip here from NKNHS last Tuesday! We’ve been doing these for a few years and it’s always a pleasure. The kiddos spent some time behind the scenes and “under the hood” of the machines, learning to diagnose and fix problems, learning about the history and culture of pinball, and–most importantly perhaps–playing the games. This month a student replaced a melted diverter coil on Tales of the Arabian Nights.

Speaking of which, Tech Day at North Coast Pinball is every Tuesday from 3:00 to 5:30 PM. RSVP by Monday evening by texting (503) 343-4783 to join me in servicing the games and learning what makes them tick. It’s free and no experience is required!

And in related news, I’ve resumed our daily “pinball tastings” at 10:00 AM after taking a 1-year break. This is a really fun private event where you can experience your own version of the NKNHS field trip. Learn more and book online at AirBnB.com/x/pinball.

The weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that has been happening here on Thursdays is–just for now–suspended. I believe and hope the meetings will resume in the near future. I have been invited to privately share the contact information of the person who has been organizing these meetings, so if you would like more information please reach out to me personally and I can put you in touch.

On Tuesday, March 10, Nehalem’s City Council will consider a resolution similar to those considered by other nearby towns recently. The resolution affirms the “humanity, dignity, and constitutional principles; condemning the use of aggressive and unwarranted tactics, racial profiling, lack of due process, use of unmarked vehicles, masked agents and unidentifiable personnel in immigration enforcement activities and deem[s] such tactics as harmful to public trust, community safety, and constitutional protections.” Regardless of their decision, I’m asking you become more actively involved in the affairs of local government, where your opportunity to make an impact is highest. You are needed; learn more at runforoffice.org.

Another opportunity to get involved is to visit Nehalem on Saturdays from noon to 2 PM at the corner parking lot to join a weekly gathering of folks protesting the warmongering and escalating abuses perpetrated by the current administration. They and I will be glad to see you there.

That’s all I can think of for now. Ask me anything and stay tuned in the coming months for book updates. Teaser here– mysterytoken.pub.
See you in April!

Will Irace
northcoastpinball.com
WillFromNehalem.substack.com
March 9, 2026

1. _

Submitted By: mkuestner10@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

I wanted to add my voice to the many who have expressed their appreciation to our departing city manager, Leila Aman for a job well done.
I began writing a list of how much has been accomplished in Manzanita over the last five years, but it got too long. Much of the progress we’ve seen has been in large part due to Leila’s tireless professionalism, both in front of residents at meetings, and behind the scenes, advising our multitudes of volunteers, writing grants, re-organizing administrative functions, balancing budgets, a new city hall, Short Term Rental updates, new water lines, Classic St. improvements, annexation, affordable housing, Comprehensive Plan updates, SB 406 compliance, etc.

So, long story very short:
Thank you Leila and good luck
Sincerely,
Mark Kuestner

Submitted By: rkinor@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Several weeks ago, I had requested and the Mayor agreed to publicly answer questions on the Classic Street project at Wednesday’s Council meeting. 
Significant numbers of visitors both now and in the future will use Classic Street. The current FY General Fund Contingency and Unappropriated Ending Fund Balance is $3.7 million dollars. A substantial portion of that $3.7 million consists of TLT revenue collections from visitors. Not a single dollar of TLT revenue representing visitor contributions  was included in the budget to construct this project. Both the opportunities and funding was available to adjust the FY 25-26 Budget to supplement Classic Street  construction with available General Fund TLT revenue. The opportunity to build  the project that could have been completed by November 2025 with all of the vehicle and pedestrian/biking safety features as recommended by the City’s consultants and as presented to the community in March 2025 quietly disappeared from public view.
My Question: Why did the Council not provide citizens the opportunity to hear and ask questions  as to why the project presented in March 2025 would not be constructed, if citizens would support visitor TLT revenue being used to supplement the construction budget and why the Council claims it had no role to play in how these decisions were made?  
The Mayor’s response if nothing else was succinct when she stated “We didn’t”. No attempt was made to further answer the question; instead the Mayor went on a  confusing explanation that suggested that visitors and tourism dollars are indeed helping fund the project.
 Had the Mayor reviewed the City Budget, she would know that the City’s contributions to supplement the State grant funding for the project comes from System Development Charges (SDC’s).  Page 71.”The capital outlay funds included in the Water and Stormwater SDC funds are for the Classic Street Connection”. The Mayor must have forgotten that SDC revenue is collected predominantly from the building of new homes in Manzanita. The folks writing the checks for the City’s water and stormwater SDC’s used in this project are the new full and part time residents of our community, not visitors as the Mayor mistakenly attempted  to describe. 
As the Mayor delivered her explanation, it’s worth noting that neither the City Manager nor a single Councilor attempted to correct the misinformation being presented. 
The Mayor concluded by stating ” I don’t know that’s particularly going to answer the question, but that’s my response”.  You’re right Mayor Stock, giving  nonsensical  answers to citizen’s questions that are at odds with facts is never a satisfactory response.
With the resignation and imminent departure of our City Manager, it becomes concerning that a project already beset with administrative problems will now be left in the hands of a Mayor and Council that seem to lack even a basic understanding of what City funds are being used to construct Classic Street. 

Submitted By: kirbygus1010@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Move – Heavy Lifting – Pressure Wash – Yard Work – Lawn Care – Process Wood – Other

Hi! My name is Gus. I am 17 years old and I am currently attending Neah-Kah-Nie High School. I’m trying to support the Nehalem and Manzanita communities through odd jobs. I can’t do everything, but I can be of help to you somehow. I charge $20/hour but if the job is less than an hour the charge is whatever you think is fair. Proceeds will be going towards my college fund as well as lunch. Thank you!

(503) 440-4484

Submitted By: mkuestner10@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Our totally excellent local newsletter’s March 2026 issue is just out:

www.manzanitatoday.com/

Submitted By: dwieb1@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization with thousands of reporters. Subscriptions are only for other news outlets to republish AP stories, not for consumers. I think AP does excellent reporting.

A recent AP story titled “State actors are behind much of the visual misinformation about the Iran war” was picked up and published by outlets including MSN, Yahoo, Breitbart, The Economic Times, ABC News, AOL, US News, The Independent, West Plains Daily Quill, Madison Courier, SRN News, Santa Maria Times, and Bozeman Daily Chronicle. This attests to the reliability of AP.

By now most of us must be aware click bait and malicious disinformation litter the internet like micro-plastics in our environment. My reason for this post is the article includes some helpful information about methods state actors use to manipulate everyone for their purposes. I think the following paragraph from the article shows the sophistication of their operations:
– Dave

“An ongoing Russia-aligned influence operation called Operation Overload, also referred to as Matryoshka or Storm-1679, has been posting videos designed to impersonate intelligence agencies and news outlets, undermining people’s sense of safety in an effort to sway their behavior — a tactic the network has previously used during election cycles. For example, it shared a warning falsely attributed to Israeli intelligence telling Israelis in Germany and the U.S. to be cautious when in public or to not go outside at all.”

Submitted By: babbles@nehalemtel.net – Click to email about this post

an excerpt from Heather Cox Richardson:
(CAPITALIZATION IS MINE)
March 7, 2026

In Need to Know, David Rothkopf today called out the madness of the fact world trade and global security is being shattered by a single man. “Not since Adolf Hitler blew his brains out in a bunker beneath the garden of the German Reich Chancellery on April 30, 1945, have the lives of so many people around the world been so buffeted by the psychosis of a single man.”

Why has Trump launched a war against Iran on a whim, attacked other countries, and upended world trade, Rothkopf asked. “Because he’s insane. Because he’s venal. Because he’s a malignant narcissist. Because he’s a sociopath. Because he has a fragile ego. Because those around him exacerbate and play to those traits to advance their own interests. Because CEOs and investors do likewise to fill their coffers. Because to some people, WHETHER HE IS INSANE OR MALEVOLENT OR REPUGNANT OR NOT MATTERS LESS THAN WHETHER HIS ACTIONS WILL FEATHER THEIR NESTS, INCREASE THEIR POWER.

“BECAUSE THEY, THE BILLIONAIRES…PLAY THEIR GAMES AND THE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE LITTLE PEOPLE DOWN BELOW, THE CONSEQUENCES FOR US, HARDLY MATTER A WHIT.”

Submitted By: jettkeyser@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

Let us remember the children…

All the Children

With thoughts of her gift,

a beautiful painted tie

from Save the Children,

the morning light arrives.

Almost weightless, the tie

now rests over my shoulders,

a small, ritual vestment

carrying the immense vision

of this 15 year old artist.

Sourcing hope, white clouds

gather and flowers rise up

in every color, a vintage apple,

crooked and bent, still brings

ripening fruit, the sun too

is offering as it can, warming

a valley and the spring field

where two children stand

tethered to a kite. Held in

mystery, one child is black

the other white. As I breathe in

the promise of what is imperfect,

I cherish what continues to grow,

grateful for a mother’s gift.

Submitted By: kat4house@gmail.com – Click to email about this post

If anyone read my last post and was interested in the special segment airing on XRAY FM about the Equal Rights Amendment, that program time has changed to Monday at 12 PM PST. See the schedule for all programming here: xrayfm.wordpress.com/2026/02/24/amplify-women-2026/
You can stream live online at xray.fm or dial in at 91.7 FM if you’re in Nehalem, Manzanita, or Rockaway Beach.

Submitted By: barbaraandchuck@nehalemtel.net – Click to email about this post

Are you a subscriber to the North Coast BBQ or the Tillamook County Pioneer daily news summary and have a nehalemtel email?

Have you been missing your BBQ and daily news summary? It’s come to our attention that the Pioneer’s server (which hosts the North Coast BBQ) has encountered an issue with the security setting for nehalemtel.net emails. We are working with RTI Nehalem to resolve the issues, and hope to have it corrected soon.

In the meantime, you can always go to the websites – www.northcoastbbq.com or www.tillamookcountypioneer.net to see the latest posts.

We’ll get your email summaries back to all subscribers as soon as possible.
Thanks so much for your support of the North Coast BBQ and the Tillamook County Pioneer.