Newport Coast Guard helicopter remains, but court fight continues

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A Coast Guard HH-65c Dolphin helicopter flying out of Newport on the central Oregon coast. Newport Fishermen's Wives, the city of Newport, the Oregon congressional delegation prevailed upon the agency to keep its air station in Newport this year.

(Associated Press)

Newport Fishermen's Wives, the city of Newport, Lincoln County and others who sued the U.S. Coast Guard to block it from shuttering its helicopter base in Newport are still battling the agency in court, even though the air base is remaining in place this year.

The plaintiffs want to suspend the case they brought until the end of the year, so they can quickly restart it if the Coast Guard moves again to close the facility after Dec. 31. The Coast Guard has argued that the case should be dismissed as the air station isn't going anywhere this year.

Each side filed opposing motions over the last four weeks. The Coast Guard sought in late January to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing in part that the issue was rendered moot because the agency had agreed to keep the air station open through the end of the year.

Newport Fishermen's Wives, the city of Newport and the other plaintiffs argued that the case should be stayed, not dismissed, because the same arguments could resurface after Dec. 31.

The Coast Guard's actions in planning and communicating the closure of the Newport air station last year, they argued, "reflect poorly" on the agency's forthrightness. They asked the court to extend the stay until Jan. 1, 2016.

A hearing on the competing motions has not been scheduled.

The groups sued the agency after it announced plans to close the air station to save money. They said the presence of Coast Guard helicopters sometimes means the difference between life and death for mariners in the chilly waters off the central Oregon Coast.

Oregon's congressional delegation worked in concert to force the Coast Guard to keep the station open, winning a one-year reprieve in December.

-- Mike Francis

mfrancis@oregonian.com
503-412-7014
@oregonianmike

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