“We have a historical funding problem with street maintenance,” explained Mayor Jim Clinton at the City Council meeting on August 5. “The only solution I see is to ask voters if they want to use a fuel tax to solve that structural problem.” Over the past several weeks, the idea to implement a gas tax […]
Erin Rook
Erin was a writer and editor at the Source from 2013 to 2016.
Posted inNews
Donald Trump Tops Polls Following First Debate
Local Rep. Knute Buehler calls the polarizing candidate “out of touch”
Thursday’s Republican debate, hosted by FOX News, could have just as easily been a stand-up comedy routine headlined by Donald Trump, and featuring a long list of opening acts. Trump got the majority of the airtime, and many seemed to tune in just to hear what might come out of the gaffe-prone candidate’s mouth. At […]
Posted inNews
City Moves Forward with SDC Exemptions for Affordable Housing
Side Notes 8/12-8/19
At its August 5 meeting, Bend City Council voted to move forward with an incentive plan aimed at encouraging the development of more affordable housing units. In its second and final vote, Council approved an ordinance that will waive some system development charges—the fees that help pay for infrastructure costs associated with new developments—for affordable […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Reason to Attend a City Council Meeting
Barb Campbell and Casey Roats
Unless there’s a particularly hot topic on the agenda (like, oh, vacation rentals), attendance at bimonthly City Council meetings can be pretty sparse. Especially when you subtract the people required to be there—select City staff, people testifying on agenda items, reporters. But sometimes, things get a little spicy. And for that, we can usually thank […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Waste of Public Process
Mirror Pond
If we were to ask Franciscan friar and philosopher William of Ockham for advice (as in “Ockham’s razor”), he’d probably tell us the simplest solution, the one that relies on the fewest assumptions, is best. In this case, that would probably be taking out the failing Newport Dam and letting Pacific Power pay to restore […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best New Recreation Opportunity
Bend Whitewater Park
Nothing puts a kink in an otherwise lovely summer day like having to take a land-based detour on your float down the Deschutes. Of course, it’s better than the serious bodily harm that can come from freefalling over the dam. So we’re pretty psyched about the approaching completion of the Bend Whitewater Park (aka the […]
Posted inBest Of Central Oregon
Best Dinner in Sunriver
Sunriver Brewing Company
Whether Sunriver is your destination or you’re just passing through, chances are good you’re making a stop at Sunriver Brewing. How do we know? This year, the budding brewery claims the lunch, dinner, and bar categories. Though it only started production in January 2014, the brewery is already expanding, doubling its capacity to 5,000 barrels […]
Posted inNews
Downtown Bend Business Association welcomes Albany’s Rod Porsche as new director
Last May, we talked to Chuck Arnold about his tenure as executive director of the Downtown Bend Business Association and his plans for the future. Today, the DBBA has officially announced Arnold’s replacement: former director of the Albany Downtown Association, Rod Porsche. “I’m incredibly excited to be joining the Downtown Bend Business Association and look […]
Posted inNews
“Save Troy Field” petition asks City to keep public facilities designation
A petition is making the rounds online and in town asking the City of Bend to maintain Troy Field’s public facilities designation.
Posted inNews
Building Bend’s Future
Does the Urban Growth Boundary hold hope for affordable housing?
Bend has a housing problem—or, more precisely, with rental vacancy rates less than half a percent, an affordable housing shortage. And some city leaders believe that loosening up the Urban Growth Boundary could provide some relief from that chokehold. It is a basic theory that makes sense: Opening up more land for development will provide […]
