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Babbini's Paninis offers family favorites in North Bend

BY BREE LAUGHLIN The World

A new restaurant in downtown North Bend stirred up so much excitement that patrons lined up outside the door to try the food during their soft opening. “It’s something we weren’t expecting,” said Anthony Babbini.

Photo by Bree Laughlin

Anthony Babbini is an experienced restaurant owner who has teamed up with lifelong-local Scott Bradley to open Babbini’s Paninis.

“People seem to really enjoy the different flavors, something new, something unique and they've been good to us,” he said. Babbini's Paninis offers a variety of panini sandwiches, smash burgers, snapper dogs, and salads as well as Babbini's Paninis continues on page 8

Oregon wildfire, smoke experts weigh in on future risks and 2024 season

ALEX BAUMHARDT

Oregon Capital Chronicle Guest Article

Oregon’s getting better at preventing and responding to wildfires, experts said Thursday, but much more still needs to be done. A panel of University of Oregon professors who study climate change, smoke and wildfire discussed the 2024 wildfire season in an online forum with journalists as the West braces for summer fires. Wildfire risk in the West and in Oregon this year is not abnormally higher than in recent years, said Daniel Gavin, a professor in the geography department who specializes in paleoecology – the study of Wildfire Risks continues on page 4

Fast Fact Experts from the University of Oregon offered generally good news about wildfire risks for the West but uncertainty for Northwest.

Courtesy photo from the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center

Wildfire risk in the West and in Oregon this year is not abnormally higher than in recent years Snowpack across Oregon is about average, and it’s been an El Niño winter and spring, meaning conditions have been wetter-than-normal..2021 file photo.

43rd Annual Prefontaine Memorial Run Coos Bay, OR—Online applications are now being accepted for the 2024 Prefontaine Memorial Run. The 10,000-meter road run is slated for a 10:05 a.m. start on Saturday, September 21 in downtown Coos Bay. For the 33rd year, a standalone high school 5K cross country team competition will be held starting at 9:45 a.m. A fun walk will be also be held in conjunction with the 10K run, with participants given the choice to walk the entire 10K route or a shorter 2-mile course. Awards for the 10K run will be given in five-year age groups. First through third place finishers in each Division will receive awards. The top three individual finishers in the high school cross country race will receive awards, as well as the first three boy’s and girl’s teams. The awards ceremony will be held adjacent to the finish line on the Prefontaine Track at Pirate Stadium, Marshfield High School. The entry fee for participants in the open 10K race and 2-mile fun walk, ages 19 and older, is $40 through September 17; $50 September 18 to race day. For runners 18 and under competing in the 10K or 2-mile fun run, the race fee is $20. Registration for teams is being handled through athletic.net. A Pre Run t-shirt is included in the entry fee. Register online by logging onto the Prefontaine Run website at www.prefontainerun.net.

North Bend Public Library readies for major renovations BY BREE LAUGHLIN The World

After years of fundraising efforts, the team at the North Bend Public Library is ready to start a list of renovations that will make the 35-year-old structure safer, more accessible and welcoming to patrons. The staff at the library have been working alongside the North Bend Public Library Foundation and other community partners to raise funds and establish goals for the project since 2017. This included strategic planning, structural assessments to the building, and public input sessions. “When we approached the improvements to the library, it started as a desire to better serve the community by enhancing our ability to do that in our physical space,” said Haley Lagasse, Director of Library Services at the North Bend Public Library. “We wanted a welcoming space that helps staff provide

the programs and services that people of all ages and abilities would like to have at their library,” she said. Library services have grown and changed since the building was opened in 1989, Lagasse said. “We provide the things that you would expect a library to provide, like books and DVDs and story times. But we also try to be creative and have programs and activities that enhance people's lives and improve their quality of life – educational programs, concerts, science programs for kids – just a really broad variety of things,” Lagasse said. The library building needs to reflect the changing needs of the community, Lagasse said. “For example, when this library was first opened, it didn’t have any computers available for public use. This now takes up physical space, staff time and other resources,” she said. And while the library has been well-used by the commu-

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nity over the years, time has taken its’ toll on the structure. “We have a lot of people who use the library every day. So when you consider the age of the facility and the fixtures and the carpeting and all those sorts of things, it really is time for a refresh,” Lagasse said. “The library has made incremental improvements along the way. But it needs a major update so that we're able to provide the services that people want into the future,” she said. Project goals include refurbishing the library entrance and lobby, as well as the community room; updating and improving accessibility in the public restrooms; updating the children’s room and teen area; and providing new lighting, paint and flooring in the building. “Less glamorous maybe, but very important, is that we are going to continue the NB Library Renovations continues on page 5

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