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Thursday Market returns to Rockaway Beach Succulent Bowl by Heather Irace sold by Grumpy Gnome Gardens. Photo by Katherine Mace See page 8
Scott Vaughan artwork on display at Cannon Beach Gallery See page 7
Reimagine Your Home & Garden with Heart of CARTM
One-of-a-kind and local art available at affordable prices. See page 9
Friday, July 4, 2025 | Vol. 49, Issue 7
www.cannonbeachgazette.com
TLT reform push ends in senate committee WILL CHAPPELL Gazette Editor
A week after passing through the Oregon House of Representatives, a bill seeking to change the state’s transient lodging tax allocation formula reached the end of the line when it was not voted on in the Senate Finance and Revenue Committee on June 24. The bill was cosponsored by Representative Cyrus Javadi and Senator Suzanne Weber, along with Representative Jules Walters, and Javadi said that he plans to bring a similar piece of legislation in the 2026 short session. Javadi’s attempts to reform the spending restrictions of House Bill 2267 that passed in 2003 and established the current regime for TLT spending were a focus throughout the long session. Javadi and leaders in counties that receive high levels of tourism argued that the current restrictions requiring 70% of funds from the TLT go towards tourism promotion or facilities leave jurisdictions without sufficient revenues to meet the cost of serving visitors, especially as it relates to emergency services. Initially, Javadi introduced two bills, one proposing a change in the percentage of funds restricted for tourism use from 70% to 50% and the other proposing a change to the definitions of tourism-related spending to add law enforcement and tourism facility maintenance in the allowed expenditures for the restricted funds. Both of those proposals fizzled and died in the general government committee early in the session, but Javadi continued his quest and in early May, Democratic Representative Jules Walters revived the discussion, dedicating one of her five priority bills to redefining the allowable uses of restricted TLT funds.
Teams at work on their sandcastles in the afternoon rain.
Cannon Beach hosts 61st annual Sandcastle Contest
Castles in a storm
STAFF REPORT
Competitors and crowds of spectators braved a significant summer storm on June 21, for Cannon Beach’s 61st annual Sandcastle Contest. The event stretched over three days, with a live demonstration on Friday and a 5k race on See CASTLES, Page A3
Members of team Winecastlers doing detail work on their sculpture in the large group division.
See TLT, Page A3
Steeped in Community Buskers in the Park Local Favorites Celebrate 30 Years Is Back for Year Five at Bald Eagle Coffee House Laurie and Tom Jiruoudek celebrate 30 years of owning the coffee house this month PIERCE BAUGH V for the Gazette
July 9 is a special day for Tom and Laurie Jiruodek. It’s when they became the owners of the Bald Eagle Coffee House, though it was called the Espresso Bean when they first became the owners. This year is extra special, marking 30 years of their ownership. When the coffee shop became available, the Jiroudeks, who wanted to be their own
bosses and had had previous food industry experience from owning a vegetarian restaurant in Salem, thought, “Why not?” For the first five years, it was called the Espresso Bean, but wanting to get back to the town’s roots, the Jiroudeks wanted to take over the name of a previous coffee shop that was popular in the ‘70s called Bald Eagle. The Jiroudek contacted Bald Eagle’s previous owner, who was honored that they wanted to continue the name, and in 2000, the Espresso Bean became Bald Eagle Coffee House. The Jiroudeks had lived in Cannon Beach for six years before they had the coffee house. Moving from Salem, they felt Cannon Beach would be a great place to raise their children, all of whom have worked at
the coffee shop, and their son, Flynn, is still working with his parents. “They’ve all learned how to make lattes,” Laurie says. The Bald Eagle Coffee House is open from Wednesday to Sunday, but it’s a seven-daya-week job, with the Jioudeks buying supplies on Mondays and Tuesdays. Bald Eagle Coffee House is known for its soups and a customer favorite is the marionberry scones. The coffee shop also has a unique distinction. When the Jiroudeks first became its owners in ‘95, Starbucks would regularly allow mom-and-pop shops to brew its coffee. Now, Bald Eagle is one of the few coffee shops that still
See COFFEE, Page A3
Buskers in the Park is making Thursdays special in Cannon Beach this summer season PIERCE BAUGH V for the Gazette
Gordon Lightfoot, Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon and Garfunkel, these are just a few of the musicians that inspired Paul Dueber, who describes himself as a “wannabe guitarist” and has been singing all of his life. His passion for music includes his band Thistle and Rose, but it also includes the creation of Buskers in the Park, which is in its fifth year. Starting in 2020 as a way to combat the loneliness brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Buskers in the Park arose to connect people while still adhering to health guidelines for social distancing. City manager Bruce St.
Denis, who is also a guitar player, reached out to Dueber, wanting to find a way to get people outside. Despite all that was happening with the pandemic, the first year of Buskers in the Park was a success. In its fifth year, the weekly summer event, on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the City Park Band Stand, will be serenading the town once more. This summer’s lineup includes local favorites like Floating Glass Balls, Brownsmead Flats and The Horsenecks. Dueber is glad that Buskers in the Park can support local musicians. “It’s $250, which makes a difference to the bands that are traveling here, because they’ve got to pack up. They don’t have roadies. Most of the guys are doing it themselves, but it helps to offset some of the costs of get-
See BUSKERS, Page A3