In the legislative session beginning Feb.1, Rep. Knute Buehler [R – Bend] will introduce a bill that would allow the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan to be obtained without a prescription. The antidote, also called Naloxone, used to be solely injectable, but a nasal spray was introduced in 2015. “The United States is in the […]
Corinne Boyer
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Barely Getting By
The cost of minimum wage
Fourteen states raised minimum wage on New Year's Day this year, and three more will do so later in the year, but Oregon’s minimum wage will not budge in 2016. Oregon lawmakers failed to agree on a minimum wage increase in 2015, with rural and urban politicians disagreeing to a one-size-fits-all number for the state. […]
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Side Notes 1/27-2/3
Gov. Kate Brown hired an interim Legislative Director to permanently serve on her staff. Ivo Trummer previously served as the Policy and Government Affairs Director for Business Oregon. In a statement Gov. Brown said, “Ivo brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the office. I am fortunate to have him on my executive team […]
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A Lasting Impact
Martin Luther King Jr. Day provides assistance for Bend nonprofits
On the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, volunteers at the Bend United Methodist Church came together to make valentines for wounded veterans at the VA Hospital in White City. “My company gave me and other employees nationwide a half day to volunteer at the nonprofit of our choice today,” says Ashley Fowler, who […]
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Burns businesses see uptick in customers during militia occupation
The media, militia, and law enforcement officers are frequenting businesses like restaurants, a sporting goods store, and hotels in Burns, Oregon. Usually hotels lay off employees during the winter, but because of the ongoing situation at the Malheur County Wildlife Refuge, hotels are seeing rooms booked at double and triple their average rates during the […]
Posted inCulture
Art Watch 1/13-1/20
If taking a break from the snowy outdoors sparks your interest, the following local arts events are creative alternatives to binge-watching Netflix or filling up the pages of your adult coloring book. Grab dance shoes, knitting needles or bits of that creative project you’ve been working on and bring them to Open Studio Nights at […]
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Trail Damage
Forest Service and OSSA split costs
In the spring of 2014, the Central Oregon Snowbusters Club and the LaPine Lodgepole Dodgers Snowmobile Club began performing trail maintenance in the Deschutes National Forest in Bend. Thirty-one miles of trails were damaged near the Wanoga Sno-Park, the Edison Sno-Park, and the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. District Ranger Kevin Larkin says a few months […]
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Side Notes 1/13-1/20
Oregon Congressman Greg Walden, (R—Second District of Oregon) voted in favor of the Restoring Americans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act of 2015 last week. The bill would cut STI testing, contraceptive funding, reproductive health checkups, and breast and cervical cancer screenings, according to a release issue by Planned Parenthood. More than 72,000 people utilize Planned Parenthood […]
Posted inCulture
Art Watch 1/6-1/13
After 9/11, muralist and fine artist Nicole Fontana says it was difficult to travel with oil paints—due to their chemical compounds—so while studying abroad in Venice, she began working with an alternative medium. “That’s when I started making collages. I used mailers and started collaging out of a budget issue,” she explains. Fontana studied at […]
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Big Money, Big Questions
Iraqi man’s unlikely Oregon Lottery win raises eyebrows
A photograph of a man wearing a gray shirt holding an oversized check made out for $6.4 million appears under the headline, Breaking News, on thelotter.com. The website calls the winner—M.M. from Iraq—its biggest winner since its founding in 2002. M.M. won the $6.4 million prize in the Oregon Megabucks game after purchasing a lottery […]