Laurel Brauns
Posted inNews

Saying Goodbye to Bend Police Chief Jim Porter

Porter brought yoga, mindfulness, mental health and family supports to Bend’s police officers, and transformed the morale of the department in just six years
Laurel Brauns

After 20 years with the Bend Police Department, including six years as chief, Jim Porter retired last month, leaving behind a legacy of innovation that improved his officers’ physical and mental health, and garnered the department national recognition. When Porter was hired on as interim chief in 2014, morale was really low among officers, he […]

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Blue Wall of Silence

The Bend Police Association and Oregon state law protect officers from getting disciplined or fired, and hide police disciplinary records from the public
Laurel Brauns

As the Portland protests against police brutality rage for the 10th week straight, legislators met in Salem Monday to discuss incremental police reforms. Chokeholds, tear gas and tweaks to the new statewide police disciplinary database were all on the table. Ultimately ,only House Bill 4301 passed, which tightens rules around chokeholds and limits the use […]

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Q & A With New Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz

Krantz says he wants to continue build on the strengths of the BPD. As a former Portland police leader, he said he has no intention of tear gassing peaceful protesters
Laurel Brauns

Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz had his first day on the job Aug. 10. The Source sat down with Krantz last week to learn more about his background, what drew him to Bend and his vision for running the BPD. Krantz comes from the Portland Police Bureau, the largest department in the state, where he’s […]

Posted inNews

Saying Goodbye to Bend Police Chief Jim Porter 🎧 [with podcast]

Porter brought yoga, mindfulness, mental health and family supports to Bend’s police officers and transformed the morale of the department in just six years
Laurel Brauns

For this week’s “Bend Don’t Break” podcast, we talk with to Former Bend Police Chief Jim Porter. After 20 years with the BPD and six years as the head of the agency, Porter retired a few weeks ago. We cover a lot of ground in this episode: Beginning with Porter’s program to improve officer wellness, […]

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It’s a Go: Bend City Council Votes for Transportation and Revitalization Projects

Transportation GO Bond, Bend Core Area funding and hotel regulations get “yes” votes Wednesday
Laurel Brauns

The Bend City Council voted Wednesday to move forward with some major transportation and development proposals that could change the face of Bend in the coming decades. Transportation After voting to delay a public vote on the May ballot, the Bend City Council voted Wednesday to put the General Obligation Transportation Bond on the November […]

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Financial Cliffhanger

As the federal government waffles over extending the $600 a week unemployment benefit, Oregon’s employment system has finally caught up
Laurel Brauns

On Friday, more than 11,000 unemployed people in Deschutes County lost the additional $600 a week they had been receiving from the federal government since the pandemic began. Meanwhile, some gig workers in Bend still haven’t heard back from the Oregon Employment Department since they filed four months ago. And then there’s the group that […]

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Tourism in the Time of COVID: Kevney Dugan, CEO of Visit Bend 🎧 [with podcast]

Where is the fine line between saving the economy and keeping the community safe?
Laurel Brauns

For this week’s “Bend Don’t Break” podcast, we talk with Kevney Dugan, CEO of Visit Bend, the destination marketing organization for the City. Dugan worked in the fly fishing industry before coming on as the group sales manager for the agency 10 years ago. He was then promoted to President, taking over for Doug LaPlaca. […]

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What We Lose When We Lose Live Music

Three local event organizers weigh in on the loss of community gatherings, and bringing people safely together again
Laurel Brauns

Reporting on COVID-19 has become a numbers game: How many cases? How many deaths? How many people unemployed? How many ventilators? How many hospital beds? But lost within these statistics are the emotional and social costs of forced isolation. Music events and festivals were the first on the chopping block when the COVID-19 pandemic began, […]

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Broken Pipes, Broken Promises

The tribes at Warm Springs deal with both a water shortage and a dramatic spike in COVID-19 cases
Laurel Brauns

As the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs try to manage one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the state, thousands of people who live there don’t have usable tap water and can’t flush their toilets. The situation has been going on for more than a month, but it’s not the first time a boil-water […]

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