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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
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Where’s That Weed Money?

A moratorium on new marijuana facilities made Deschutes County unable to collect its share of taxes. A new bill could change that.
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A bill that would bring back taxes gathered from marijuana sales in Deschutes County has passed the Oregon state house and is awaiting a vote from the Senate. The County voided its ability to collect 10% of the taxes levied on marijuana sales when commissioners placed a moratorium on permitting new marijuana production facilities in August […]

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Fire in Warm Springs

A fire on the Warm Springs reservation reached over 6,000 acres; crews called in for backup during a hot weekend
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A fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation spread to an estimated 6,200 acres at the start of the week. The S-503 fire was first spotted on Friday, June 18; by Saturday morning it had spread to an estimated 250 acres and grew rapidly over the hot and windy day. By the end of Saturday Warm […]

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Permits Required: How’s that Going for Ya?

There’s been enough to go around during the early hiking season, but that could change
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As trail lovers likely already know, the U.S. Forest Service changed how to access the most popular trails in Central Oregon this year to limit the widening of paths and the destruction of wilderness. The new permitting system introduces a $1 fee for day use in 19 of Deschutes’ National Forest’s 79 trails, and a […]

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Pedestrian Avenue

A proposal from Downtown Bend Business Association could change Minnesota Avenue into a walkable plaza
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The 300-foot-long stretch of Minnesota Avenue between Bond and Wall Street is host to about a dozen businesses at the center of Bend’s historic downtown. A proposal could transform it from a through street to a walkable community gathering space. The Downtown Bend Business Association was commissioned by the City to create plans for the […]

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Just Kids

A new Deschutes District Attorney program will attempt to reduce recidivism for younger offenders
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Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel is rolling out a pilot program to address a trend that’s been observed since criminology emerged as a field during the 1800s—that young people are much more likely to commit crimes than older people.   Criminal acts become more common starting around age 10 and less common after 25, according to Penn […]

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Dam Drought

The Deschutes Basin Habitat Conservation Plan was approved in December with the goal of increasing instream flows in the river. Then another drought year happened.
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Last summer the Wickiup Reservoir dried to just 1% of its capacity, the lowest it has been since it was built in 1949. In an average year the reservoir, which stores Deschutes River water, would be at about 25% of its capacity at the end of irrigation season, with just over 63,000 acre-feet. Last year’s […]

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Too Hot To Handle

Oregon’s fire season is starting earlier than it has in recorded history. How are agencies preparing?
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With the entire state in some form of drought, Oregon’s fire season is starting earlier than it has in recorded history. The season could be as devastating as last year’s wildfires that swept over 1 million acres and destroyed thousands of homes, officials say. The potential for disaster has spurred public officials across the state […]

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Can’t Camp Here

Bend City Council adopts a policy for the removal of houseless camps on public right of ways. With shelters at capacity, where will they go?
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The Bend City Council unanimously approved a new policy on campsite removals for camps in City right of ways at its meeting June 2. The Council tailored the conversation to one of the City’s most visible camps, on Emerson Avenue. On Monday social service providers received the notice to engage with camp residents to prepare […]

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Ghost Towns of Central Oregon

The area’s population is exploding. But a host of abandoned communities are sprinkled across the high desert.
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Central Oregon’s population has grown massively in the last three decades, transforming Bend from a small lumber town into one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Its humble beginnings and quick growth contrasts the numerous settlements that formed concurrently near the turn of the century, but became abandoned over the years—some still standing […]

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Tumalo Fails

Vandals target a portion of Tumalo Irrigation District pipe amid piping resentment by local landowners
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Vandals targeted a segment of pipe belonging to the Tumalo Irrigation District near Pinehurst Road, causing around $78,000 in damages for heavy construction company Taylor Northwest and more than $15,000 to the irrigation district. Seven holes were drilled into a pipethat was to be used in the irrigation district’s project to replace open-air canals with […]

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