Laurel Brauns
Posted inNews

Bend Women Convicted of Killing Her Own Son

Tashina Jordan pleaded guilty except for insanity to the death of her disabled child
Laurel Brauns

Tashina Jordan, 30, pleaded guilty Monday to killing her 7-year-old son Mason in 2018. The Deschutes County Circuit Court reduced her conviction to first-degree manslaughter because she was enduring emotional disturbance during the time of the murder. Now she will go to the Oregon State Hospital for the next 20 years. On the evening of […]

Posted inNews

The Spanish Flu in Bend and Beyond 🎧 [with podcast]

What was Bend like back in 1918? How did Americans respond to the Spanish flu?
Laurel Brauns

As Americans desperately seek to forecast the future of the coronavirus pandemic, some look to history, and to the 1918 flu pandemic especially, to make sense of a world which has become unpredictable and chaotic. Two Oregon historians share local and national stories of the “Spanish flu” and how somethings still haven’t changed a hundred […]

Posted inNews

Cell Tower Wars… Continued

A second wave of activists protest 5G cell towers in Bend; cite studies of alarming health risks.
Laurel Brauns

Last fall, a group of parents and kids from Elk Meadow Elementary School stormed Bend City Hall for weeks, demanding the City stop Verizon Wireless from building a cell tower next to the school. Verizon built the tower anyway, and Bend City Council said cell tower infrastructure is under federal jurisdiction, so there’s not much […]

Posted inOutside

Sorry Folks, We’re All Sold Out… of Baby Chicks

The pandemic ignited an interest in backyard gardens and raising animals
Laurel Brauns

Since the early days of the pandemic, some grocery store shelves were bare for days as supply chains slowed. Around the same time, Americans heard stories from abroad of strict lockdowns: People couldn’t even leave their homes. Who knew if the store would even stay open? The combination of shortages and pandemic panic spiked interest […]

Posted inNews

Cases Spike Right After Reopening

After a spike in local coronavirus cases, Deschutes County gets an F from state health authorities
Laurel Brauns

As Central Oregonians braced for an influx of coronavirus-carrying visitors this Memorial Day Weekend, a spike in cases revealed that COVID-19 carriers may live among us. Deschutes County contact tracers found many cases were spread at parties, and the majority were people under 29. Cases in Redmond are also on the rise, according to Morgan […]

Posted inNews

Coronavirus Study Coming to 30 Bend Neighborhoods

Researchers from Oregon State University may knock on your door this weekend and offer a free COVID-19 test
Laurel Brauns

A team of researchers from Oregon State University will descend upon Bend and fan out through 30 neighborhoods to offer confidential coronavirus tests to 650 people through May 30 and 31. TRACE, or Team-based Rapid Assessment of Community-level coronavirus Epidemics, is a study designed to get an overview of how the virus has spread in Bend, […]

Posted inNews

Old industrial neighborhoods will (eventually) get a facelift

Bend City Council moves forward with plans to revamp the Bend Core Area
Laurel Brauns

The plan to revitalize Bend’s urban core surpassed another hurdle during the May 20 Bend City Council meeting. The Core Area extends about three blocks both east and west from NE Second Street. The north end of the core almost reaches the Riverhouse on the Deschutes and stretches south just beyond Crux Fermentation Project. City […]

Posted inNews

The Glass is Half Empty

Restaurants cannot survive on 50% of previous revenues for long. Demand for food delivery and the challenges of rehiring add insult to injury
Laurel Brauns

One of five stories that are part of this week’s cover feature, “Counting Change: Winners and losers in the rocky restart to the economy.” Restaurants have faced some of the most devastating challenges since the coronavirus hit: Gov. Kate Brown closed down table service altogether, and now that it’s back and in Phase One, restaurants […]

Posted inNews

A PAC for the People ▶ [With Video]

New bipartisan political action committee works to support progressive candidates
Laurel Brauns

Many elected officials in Central Oregon are independently wealthy or retired. It’s expensive to run campaigns, and most positions don’t pay a living wage. Meanwhile, Deschutes County has grown into an urban hub with an increasingly diverse population—not necessarily reflected by the people who hold power. A new political action committee, Strengthening Central Oregon PAC, […]

Posted inNews

Downtown Street Closures: Cool Idea, Lots of Cooks in the Kitchen

In the coming weeks some restaurants and shops will expand onto sidewalks and parking lots, but moving forward on true pedestrian district may be wishful thinking
Laurel Brauns

Downtown pedestrian districts—so commonplace in Europe—have brought both charm and economic prosperity to some of America’s favorite cities. College towns including Boulder, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; and Burlington, Vermont have thriving car-free zones filled with cafes, restaurants, bars and specialty shops. These areas have become novel tourist destinations that stand out in contrast to many American […]

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