Clayton Franke

For the second time since 2024, the committee tasked with choosing a new landfill site for Deschutes County is getting ready to make a final recommendation.   The County’s Solid Waste Advisory Committee went back to the drawing board last summer after property negotiations stalled over a 440-acre gravel mine called the “Moon Pit” 15 miles southeast of Bend. Now, the County is banking on a different site working out. Any further delays […]

Snowpack has mostly vanished from mid-elevation forests in Central Oregon, meaning logs, trees and shrubs are drying out earlier — one factor that could result in a boisterous wildfire season.   That was part of the report from a preseason wildfire briefing held Monday morning at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District station in Sisters. Elected officials from Bend, Redmond and Sisters, along with state and local fire officials from departments in Redmond and the Sisters area, met at a […]

The Redmond City Council took its first stab at curbing unruly e-bikes in parks by passing an ordinance April 28 banning “motorcycles” from City parks.  The new rule, which passed unanimously, defines motorcycles as an electric or motorized two-wheeled vehicle without pedals. Anyone who uses one in a Redmond park will now be subject to a Class B violation and a $250 fine.   City officials hope the ban will deter speeding e-bike riders that have spurred a […]

Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners candidate Ron “Rondo” Boozell was arrested Thursday evening for trespassing at a Bend candidate forum he wasn’t invited to participate in.   Bend Police arrested Boozell on trespassing charges at Open Space Event Studios on Lafayette Avenue in the Bend Central District. According to Lieutenant Aaron Wells, organizers called police around 4:30 pm — half an hour before the forum was set to begin — and asked to trespass Boozell for causing a disturbance. Wells said officers […]

Looking back, the achievements of Rolling Stone as a countercultural beacon in the 1970s may be taken for granted. But a closer look reveals how unlikely it really was.   That’s part of what writer Peter Richardson hopes to show with his new book, “Brand New Beat: The Wild Rise of Rolling Stone Magazine.” Richardson, a San Francisco-based author of previous books about the Grateful Dead and Rolling Stone writer Hunter S. Thompson, takes a deep […]

A game-winning slapshot sends a sold-out crowd into a frenzy. A dramatic performance captures an audience at the theater. A band’s rocking encore leaves fans wanting more.   Building new indoor venues to facilitate these types of events has been on the minds of visionaries in Bend for years, especially as the City’s growth has exploded. Now, a new effort exploring a multi-use indoor venue has public backing from the City and its tourism agency, Visit […]

After clearing a major funding milestone last year, Central Oregon’s first residential treatment facility for youth in acute mental health crisis is moving ahead with a new anticipated opening date of summer 2027.   Local health providers and advocates say the 15-bed child psychiatric facility planned for Redmond will be a lifeline for Central Oregon youth with acute mental health issues. That’s because they’ll no longer have to wait days or weeks […]

In its quest to add affordable housing, the City of Bend has made a habit of waiving costs like infrastructure fees or property taxes that might make development more expensive.   Yet when it comes to the City’s impending fee on new homes powered by natural gas, builders of lower-cost homes won’t be off the hook.   The Bend City Council made that decision on Wednesday following a lobbying effort that split developers […]

Bend is in the process of compiling five years of traffic crash data to help inform future safety plans and wants the public to help point out problem areas.   The City of Bend launched a new survey and an interactive comment map for people to say which areas they think need safety improvements and share challenges of traveling around Bend. More than 800 people have already […]

In March, Deschutes County and the City of Redmond completed construction on a 36-site campground for people transitioning out of homelessness, complete with new gravel roads, water and power infrastructure and a black slatted chain link fence.   More than a month later, the campground remains empty, a padlock and chain latching the gate shut.   Meanwhile, hundreds of […]