Top 10 Stories of 2018 | The Source Weekly - Bend, Oregon

Top 10 Stories of 2018

A recap of the Source's top stories, ranked by views on Bendsource.com

Top 10 Stories of 2018
Submitted

No. 1 Clothing Wars 10/26

Apparel giant Under Armour sends a cease and desist to local business

By Chris Miller

Under Armour sent a cease and desist order to Bend-based Cascade Armory Oct. 24, claiming Cascade Armory is creating brand confusion and that Under Armour is suffering from it. Short said he and his business partner/wife have vowed to fight the clothing giant. They've hired a film crew from San Diego to make a documentary on "how bad of a company Under Armour is," Short says, and have a game plan for a social media push.

"We're going to ride it out and hold our ground," Short told the Source.

Short said his attorney fees have run about $4,000 per month, and that's before any real legal battles have started. He said trademark court will cost about $50,000. However, Short said the community support has been great and he's even getting emails and orders from people in Europe—all because of the Source story, he said.

Update: Alex Short told the Source on Dec. 19 that Under Armour applied for another extension that runs out on Jan. 6.

No. 2 Dateline NBC reports on murder of Kaylee Sawyer 4/27

Dateline NBC's "Into The Night" airs Friday, April 27

By Keely Damara

Update: After Kaylee Sawyer was murdered by former Central Oregon Community College safety officer Edwin Lara two years ago, her family is trying to change Oregon law. And the legislation has been named "Kaylee's Law."

If passed, it would take steps to prevent any confusion between campus safety officers and police officers.

According to a story on KTVZ, advocates of Kaylee's Law want campus safety officers to have less power. That would include: elimination of stop-and-frisk abilities, elimination of blue and red lights on campus safety vehicles, different uniforms from those of Oregon police departments and a requirement to report incidents to the Bend Police Department.

No. 3 12 People are running in Bend's City Council/Mayor Race 8/29

Here's who's running

By Nicole Vulcan

Update: After the final votes were tallied, Sally Russell will be sworn in as Bend's first elected Mayor in January. Barb Campbell retained her seat over challengers Sarah McCormick and the frequent overnight guest in the Deschutes County Jail—Ron Boozell, aka Rondo. Gena Goodman-Campbell won her first term as City Councilor, defeating Andrew Davis and Victor Johnson. The Council is currently taking applications for the open Council seat vacated by Russell. They expect to name the new councilor Jan. 16.

No. 4 Suspect in Missing Woman Case Dies 3/12

Bryan Michael Penner died of apparent suicide by asphyxiation

By Chris Miller

Recap: Bryan Michael Penner died March 12 at St. Charles Medical Center of an apparent suicide, said the office of District Attorney John Hummel.

According to that office, Penner was the sole suspect in the disappearance of Sara Gomez.

Sara's body was found May 25 in Deschutes County, approximately 20 miles east of Bend. Her body was found wrapped in a tarp, comforter, blanket, foam mattress and an inflatable raft that were all bound around her body with duct tape. The Medical Examiner further noted that Sara's body was in "an advanced state of decomposition."

No. 5 2018 Midterm Election Results 11/7

By The Source Staff

In the November election, all state measures were defeated, except Measure 102 which removed restrictions on financing for affordable housing. Democrat incumbent Kate Brown won the governor's race against Republican Bendite Knute Buehler. Republican Cheri Helt won Bend's Oregon House 54 race. Democrat Jamie-McLeod-Skinner lost to Republican Greg Walden in the Congressional District 2 race. Sally Russell will become Bend's first directly elected mayor. Patti Adair defeated James Cook to become Deschutes County Commissioner, and Tony DeBone won re-election against challenger Amy Lowes.

No. 6 2018 Real Estate Forecast 2/28

Expect more of the same: high prices, low inventory

By Chris Miller

Recap: At a real estate forecast breakfast in February, put on by the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, presenters said the same factors that have affected area real estate for the last few years—limited inventory and an influx of new people to the area—are still in play. According to Business Oregon's website, which gets its information from the Bureau of Labor, Bend's current median home price is $404,000 and the median household income is $60,404.

No. 7 McLeod-Skinner's Feat in Deschutes County 11/9

Greg Walden lost Deschutes County for the first time. A political science expert theorizes why.

By Chris Miller

Recap: Although Jamie McLeod-Skinner didn't win the election in Oregon's 2nd Congressional District, she did accomplish something that no Democrat has ever done before—getting more votes than Greg Walden in Deschutes County. According to unofficial county elections results from the Deschutes County Elections, Democrat McLeod-Skinner garnered 45,020 votes in Deschutes County, to Republican Walden's 44,392.

To put that in perspective, the closest anyone's gotten to beating Walden was in 2006, when Carol Voisin lost to Walden by nearly 17,000 votes. In 2016, Walden defeated James Crary 63,565 to 31,539, a difference of 32,026 votes.

No. 8 New Allegations Emerge Against Boddie 7/6

Local woman accuses candidate of groping in 2012

By Nicole Vulcan

After losing support from House Democrats, House District 54 candidate Dr. Nathan Boddie came under fire from a local woman who says Boddie groped her at a bar in 2012. In a report published by OPB, Moey Newbold, a local community activist who works for Central Oregon LandWatch, said, "He slipped his hand down my pants, under my underwear, and I froze," she said. "He was touching my butt cheek."

During the election, FuturePAC, which represents the Democrats in the Oregon House, pulled its support of Boddie, accusing the candidate of using a "homophobic slur and promoting the illegal consumption of alcohol." Boddie—a Bend city councilor whose term ends in January—denied those accusations, and said he had been given very little information about what happened. He also told OPB he was unaware of the incident Newbold described.

No. 9 Sorry to see it go: French Market Closes 4/4

After a brief stint, the Riverside Boulevard spot is now closed

By Nicole Vulcan

After less than a year in business, the French Market closed its doors. The restaurant opened in May 2017 in the former Riverside Market location on Riverside Boulevard.

"The slow season is too slow for us to stay profitable," co-owner Phil Lipton told the Source. "We met many friendly patrons. We thank them for their support and wish we could continue to refine our service and menus."

No. 10 Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch 7/5

It was once an over-grazed range that became the home of Rajneeshpuram. Now another type of religion occupies the space, along with ranchers committed to land restoration

By Brian Jennings

Madras area rancher Ron Ochs, 88, says it was the most bizarre time in Oregon history. He's one of many Oregonians who recently re-lived the Rajneesh era, between 1981 and 1985, by watching the popular Netflix documentary series, "Wild, Wild Country."

When we met up with Ochs at his ranch, he was more than willing to talk about the influx of thousands of followers of the Indian guru and mystic, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh—later known as Osho—at the Big Muddy Ranch near Antelope. The guru preached peace, goodwill and free love, and attracted a large following of Westerners, starting with his days in Puna, India.

The Bhagwan died on Jan. 19, 1990, in India.

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