Clayton Franke

Pulling into a street parking space in downtown Bend with his family of four on a recent Tuesday afternoon, Rory Howland was pleasantly surprised to not see any parking meters.   “Our downtown is all meters, $2-and-something cents an hour,” said Howland, who was visiting from Santa Cruz, California. Unlike Howland’s town, Bend offers two hours of street parking for free. “It’s nice to see a sign that says ‘free parking,’” he said.  It’s a sight that […]

Travelers at the Redmond Municipal Airport will have their choice of Central Oregon favorites including Sisters Coffee, Bend Brewing Company and Sparrow Bakery when an expansion project wraps up there in late 2027.   The Redmond City Council signed a contract with Tailwind Hospitality, LLC, a national airport concessions company that will facilitate the local restaurants at the airport. The vendor plans to create a new food hall with walk-up counters, self-order kiosks, express areas and a grab-and-go market.  That […]

A new analysis shows property near Pilot Butte may be the most feasible for a new Bend City Hall project, but city councilors are holding on to the vision that the future headquarters will anchor a planned urban core closer to the Bend Parkway, the Bend Central District. The Bend City Council backed a staff […]

Sharlene Wills ran her fingers over the small arrow on the crosswalk button for her first hint. She squared up to the crosswalk, stepping out slowly until she felt the bumpy surface under her feet. She heard the cars to her left roll to a stop and the chime of a robotic voice in the air.   “Walk sign is on to cross Division Street.”  “Forward,” Wills told her yellow lab guide […]

A proposal to create a new service “hub” in east Redmond for homeless people to connect with housing resources, mental health programs, food and other services is gaining support from the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners.   The service center would be part of a burgeoning campus of homeless assistance projects in east Redmond, close to where hundreds of people are living in RVs, tents and trailers on government-owned lands slated for future industrial development.   Deschutes County commissioners on June 3 approved a letter […]

A planned $15.4 million project will bring two new roundabouts and two new traffic lights to Olney Avenue and Revere Avenue in midtown Bend, with an estimated completion date in 2028.  The project includes swapping a pair of four-way-stop intersections for traffic signals along Fourth Street, and another at Eighth Street and Revere. At Eighth and Olney Avenue, the City tentatively plans to replace a stoplight with a roundabout. Those […]

Bend — one of Oregon’s fastest-growing cities — became the second in the state to pass fees on natural gas appliances in new home construction, a controversial policy meant to curb greenhouse emissions in buildings to meet the City’s climate goals and help combat the effects of climate change.  The Bend City Council during a June 3 meeting voted 5-1 in favor of the natural gas fees, named the Climate Pollution Fee. A second vote […]

Federal legislation introduced in Congress could be the first step toward building a second road to access a High Desert canyon south of Prineville, where a growing number of residents have expressed concerns about emergency access, particularly in a wildfire.   U.S. Rep Cliff Bentz, who represents Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District across eastern and southern Oregon, introduced a bill May 21 to give Crook County an 80-foot right […]

Deschutes County may have found a service provider to support people in a developed homeless campground in East Redmond, but it’s unclear how much money will be left over for other operations like security, trash removal and porta potties.  In March, Deschutes County and the City of Redmond completed construction on a 36-site fenced campground with gravel roads, campsites, power and water. But it’s been sitting vacant after initial calls to run it went unanswered by Central Oregon’s largest homeless service nonprofits, which said the County was asking too much for […]

A policy to make Bend home builders pay more for installing natural gas appliances in new construction is almost to the finish line.   The Bend City Council is set to vote Wednesday on the proposed Climate Pollution Fee, designed to fight climate change by encouraging builders to power homes with electricity instead of natural gas, which contributes to global warming.   If adopted, Bend will become the second city in Oregon, behind Ashland, […]