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Luke Wirkkala, who was found guilty of murder in 2014, walked free on April 5 after arguing he acted in self-defense.
On April 5, frontline workers and their families, people over 16 with underlying health conditions and people living in multigenerational homes become eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon. Deschutes County was one of 23 counties, including Crook and Jefferson, that expanded eligible groups ahead of the state. After gaining approval from the Oregon […]
Luke Wirkkala is back on trial in Deschutes County, over eight years after shooting his houseguest, David Ryder, on Feb. 4, 2013. The jury will again be tasked with deciding if Wirkkala, now 40, acted in self-defense when killing Ryder, who was 31 at the time. In his first trial in 2014, Wirkkala was sentenced […]
Lucinda Torrez was 11 years old when her older sister, Lisa Pearl Briseno, went missing in 1997. Like countless Indigenous women across the country, her body was never found. “We have no closure at all for her,” said Torrez. Her family held a service for Briseno, despite not having her body, and the Confederated Tribes […]
Amid rising food insecurity due to the pandemic, one grassroots effort has gained momentum: free food refrigerators, or “freedges.” In public spaces from New York to Los Angeles to Portland, these community fridges have sprung up, and soon Bend will join the club. “We’re helping fight food waste along with food insecurity,” explained Carolyn Abernethy, […]
As families adjust to a new school year in online education, Central Oregon tutoring businesses, pod networks and child care programs are mobilizing to fill gaps in education and child care.
When Patrick Smith first envisioned owning a record store, he dreamt of outfitting the shop with stage lights, hosting local bands and making the store feel like a concert hall. Little did he know he would become a record store owner during the pandemic. In late March, Smith took over the Downtown Bend staple, Ranch […]
As rock climbing has taken off and rock gyms have skyrocketed in popularity, the number of visitors to Smith Rock State Park has doubled over the last decade, park managers say. Today, fixed hardware, or “bolts,” fill its rock faces. With so much traffic there, local climbers, historically perceived as law-defying rebels, are welcoming more […]
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