Clayton Franke

People who use Wilson Avenue for cross-town travel will soon have to find a new route.   The City of Bend announced Tuesday that an estimated three-month closure of the Wilson Avenue railroad crossing near 9th Street will begin April 27 to replace track and signal equipment. It’s the final phase of work on the Wilson Avenue corridor, where the City has piloted new protected designs for roundabouts and intersections.   The Burlington Northern […]

Rick Martinson can summon the Latin name for almost any High Desert plant on a whim.   Ask for the common name, and it may take him a few seconds to conjure up.   That’s because, in the world of native plants, common names are far less important.   Take genus Arcostaphylos, commonly known as manzanita. It’s the mid-sized tree or shrub with smooth, deep-red bark, brooked branches and […]

For patients in north Central Oregon, a new Redmond cancer center is making care closer to home.   The St. Charles Health System this week is opening a new $65 million, two-story, 53,000-square-foot cancer center in Redmond, offering nine times the space of its current facility. The new cancer center will offer radiation, chemotherapy, surgery and other services, matching the capabilities of St. Charles’ cancer center in Bend 17 miles to the south.   It’s a big step for […]

An action-packed primary race for Position 3 on the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners features six candidates and a diverse set of backgrounds, including a teacher, a tribal member and a former Marine.  The seat is currently held by Commissioner Patti Adair, who announced last fall her bid for the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving her […]

As Chris Moor cycled toward the crest of 5,320-foot-high McKenzie Pass on a recent ride, he was stopped by a patch of snow shaded by walls of black lava rock flanking the road.  “I was not willing to trudge through the snow 100 feet,” Moor told the Source. “It was kind of cold, and I didn’t want to descend with wet feet and get […]

A state office focused on spurring housing production is intervening in a set of code changes proposed by the City of Redmond that developers say would make development of townhomes more difficult and costly.   Redmond is the first city in the state to face this kind of enforcement from the Housing Accountability and Production Office, or HAPO, the body created by Gov. Tina Kotek and the Oregon Legislature in 2024 to help knock down regulatory barriers […]

The race for Position 4 on the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners is the only contest on the jam-packed May 19 ballot that’s all but certain to be decided without moving on to the November general election. The leader of a prominent homeless housing nonprofit, Rick Russell, and a former firefighter and emergency responder in his third try for local office, Chet Wamboldt, are vying for the seat — one […]

People in Central Oregon have a chance this month to hear from a state-appointed task force driving the effort to bring a universal health care system to Oregon.   Members of the Universal Health Plan Governance Board, a nine-member body created by the Legislature in 2023 and appointed by the governor, will be in Bend April 19 as part of a nine-stop […]