Nicole Vulcan

Editor’s note: I think it’s safe to say that the vast majority of people are seeing their lives transformed right now. Whether it’s having kids underfoot while working from home, applying for unemployment, waiting out the COVID-19 storm from the comfort of home with loved ones around or even engaging in a daily struggle to […]

Many more school meal sites will be available in Central Oregon starting Monday, March 30. Sites were more limited over spring break, which technically took place last week—though with kids out of school in Oregon since mid-March and Gov. Kate Brown’s “Stay Home Save Lives” order in place, the break wasn’t quite as eventful as […]

Oregonians who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program can now buy their groceries online, using their SNAP cards. The change makes it possible for people to order goods through both Amazon and Walmart—though in Central Oregon, the service, at this point, is fairly limited. Just this month, the Oregon Department of Human Services began a  […]

The latest in the long list of closures around Oregon: campgrounds in the Deschutes National Forest. The closures are effective today, March 25. Forest supervisors announced the closures this morning, in response to Gov. Kate Brown’s “Stay Home Stay Safe” order issued Monday. All campgrounds in the forest will be closed through May 8, along […]

Last month, Central Oregonian Lawnae Hunter was named the Lifetime Achievement Award winner in the Women of the Year contest we held with the Bend Chamber. This month, Hunter is among eight finalists for another big award: The American Heart Association’s “Stroke Hero” award. The award, to be announced April 20, is centering around, “Honoring […]

On the heels of Gov. Kate Brown’s “Stay Home, Save Lives” order issued Monday morning, the Bend Police Department and other agencies are beginning to explain to people how it all works. Brown’s order, an attempt to further restrict activity and “flatten the curve” in the spread of COVID-19, included the forced closure of more […]

In an anticipated move, Gov. Kate Brown has ordered businesses, including retail to close. Here’s the governor’s press release, issued at 10:30 Monday: “Governor Kate Brown today issued Executive Order 20-12, directing everyone in Oregon to stay at home to the maximum extent possible and adding to the list of businesses that will be temporarily […]

This past Tuesday, the Facebook group Central Oregon Emergency Mask Makers literally didn’t exist. As of this writing, on Sunday, it had 1,041 members, after being created just Wednesday. The group’s sole goal: To get more masks, visors and other protective equipment into the hands of people who need it—but first and foremost, to do […]