Clayton Franke

A long-awaited street renovation project on a beloved — and busy — commercial corridor in west Bend is expected to commence this summer.   Speed bump-like pedestrian crossings, concrete islands and new pavement are some of the changes slated for Galveston Avenue, stretching from the Deschutes River west to 17th Street. The City of Bend hopes to keep two-way traffic open throughout most of the project and limit full closures to a few days for […]

Hanging from the wall of Josh Wedding’s office is a black and white photo from 1954. It shows how the City of Redmond used to pull water from the Deschutes River, storing it in a pond and piping it downhill using gravity to homes and businesses. When demand grew following World War II, the City began supplementing its water supply with a Central Oregon Irrigation District diversion canal […]

A relatively unknown candidate for the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners is under investigation by the state’s elections office after a complaint accused her of illegally using AI-altered images of herself on a campaign website.   The candidate, Brooke West, was a last-minute entry into the race for Position 1, entering the race six days before the filing deadline in March. By that time, longtime incumbent Commissioner Tony DeBone and challenger Jamie Collins, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran, had already built […]

The Bend City Council on Wednesday voted 4-2 to advance a proposal to add new fees for commercial property owners in the Bend Central District, with hopes revenue will prod a vision for redevelopment that’s seen a sluggish start.   The fees would provide money for anything from new lighting and landscaping, marketing and promotions, events, security, cleaning and infrastructure maintenance. […]

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 […]