Avatar photo

Jack Harvel

Jack is originally from Kansas City, Missouri and has been making his way west since graduating from the University of Missouri, working a year and a half in Northeast Colorado before moving to Bend in the Spring of 2021. When not reporting he’s either playing folk songs (poorly) or grand strategy video games, and checking out the different hiking trails in Central Oregon.

jharvel@gannett.com
Posted inNews

More St. Charles Staff Unionize

About 40 home care and hospice nurses are the latest group of St. Charles employees to form a union
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Home health and hospice nurses at St. Charles Health System voted to form a union on Dec. 8, becoming the latest cohort of St. Charles employees to become unionized. About 40 nurses across Central Oregon will now be represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, who already represent over 1,100 nurses in the St. Charles Health […]

Posted inNews

Saved Worrell Park

The 1-acre downtown park will remain intact after commissioners considered it for redevelopment
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

The Deschutes County Board of Commissioners will no longer seek to redevelop Worrell Park to add 67 parking spots at the expense of some of the land at the neighborhood park. In January commissioners asked staff to develop a $2.5 million request for proposals to create the parking spaces. Some Deschutes County residents pushed back […]

Posted inNews

RSV Surge Continues While Hospitals Struggle

A surge in respiratory viruses including RSV, flu and COVID are filling up ICU beds as the health care industry deals with staffing shortages
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Gov. Kate Brown issued an executive order on Dec. 7 to address a surge in respiratory viruses, namely the flu, Respiratory Syncytial Virus and COVID-19. Brown’s order addresses the rise in respiratory viruses in November that allowed hospitals to use volunteer doctors and nurses and designated emergency health care centers to help with the surge […]

Posted inNews

People’s Rights Takes Over Deschutes GOP

A controversial organization led by Ammon Bundy won most of the leadership positions in the Deschutes County Republican Party
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

People’s Rights formed in April 2020 at a warehouse in Emmett, Idaho, belonging to Ammon Bundy, a right-wing activist who led the occupation of the Malheur Wildlife Refuge in 2016 and a standoff at his father’s ranch in Nevada. The first meeting drew a crowd of about 70 people. Now, People’s Rights is active in […]

Posted inNews

Nurses Overwhelmed and Understaffed

Surveys of nurses in Oregon and across the country show understaffing is one of the primary causes for an ongoing crisis in health care
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Oregon nurses are understaffed, overworked and burned out, according to a new poll conducted by the Oregon Nurses Association. Less than 1% of polled nurses said their unit is always fully staffed, half say they’re caring for too many patients and 42% say they skip meals and breaks on most of their shifts. The ONA […]

Posted inNews

The Rent is Too Damn High and Getting Higher

Bend rents are rising at some of the fastest rates in the nation, despite rent control caps
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Bend’s fair market rent rose by 37.4% from 2019 to 2023, making it the ninth-largest increase in rent among small metros in the United States. The Consumer Price Index shows rents across the country have risen by 24.1% since 2019, the fastest pace since the 1980s. A study from Construction Coverage lays the blame on […]

Posted inNews

The Shroomdocks

The Deschutes County Planning Commission drafted rules for psilocybin use in rural Deschutes County, but residents are torn over their use at destination resorts
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Oregon became the first state in the country to legalize psilocybin therapy in 2020, and starting next year psilocybin manufacturers, processors and service centers will be able to apply for licenses to operate. The ballot measure passed with 56% of the voters, largely from urban areas, though since then 25 of Oregon’s 36 counties voted […]

Posted inNews

Cranston Sentenced to 10 Years

The sentence includes over a year of time served, with lesser charges running concurrent to the first-degree manslaughter charge
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Judge Beth Bagley this week sentenced Ian Cranston to 10 years in prison, including time served since he was jailed on Sept. 30, 2021, for the shooting of Barry Washington in downtown Bend in September, 2021. A jury convicted Cranston of manslaughter in the first and second degree, first-degree assault and two counts of unlawful […]

Posted inNews

Measure 110, Four Months In

Measure 110 decriminalized recreational possession and funded addiction recovery specialists, who just recently got funding to expand. Advocates says it’s too soon to call the effort a success or failure.
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Oregon became the first state in the nation to decriminalize possession of all types of drugs when voters approved Measure 110 with 58% of the vote in November 2020. Measure 110 didn’t just decriminalize drugs, it also pledged to support addiction and recovery services, partially funded through cannabis taxes. Latest results from the National Survey […]

Posted inNews

Gun Control Passes, Questions Remain

Oregon passed one of the strongest gun control measures in the country with Measure 114, but a lot of the processes called for in the measure remain unclear
Avatar photo by Jack Harvel

Oregon Measure 114, a bill that establishes a permit-to-carry system, limits magazine capacity to 10 rounds and closes a loophole allowing someone to get a gun without a background check if it takes more than three days to process, passed with 50.68% of the vote and is expected to be implemented on Dec. 8. Oregon […]

Verify your email

We'll send a verification code to .

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article