Editor’s note: When we conceived the theme for this year’s Best of Central Oregon issue—crafted by the ever-talented graphic designer Euiijin Gray—we were hoping to be in a moment of triumph, in a time when society had beaten this virus and we could give one big thank-you to the heroes who helped us through it. […]
Letters to the Editor
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 8/12/21
Vaccines, Parking Pains, DA’s office & Bend PD and Emerson’s Cleared
Editor’s note: I feel like I’ve said, “just before this issue went to press” a lot recently—probably due to the fact that the governor and state agencies have seemed to enjoy issuing statements late in the afternoon all throughout the pandemic, and also due to the fact that we’re a weekly paper with just one […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 8/5/21
Happy Trails, Everyone Who’s Been Suffering, and New Middle Housing
Editor’s note: I don’t think I am alone in being astounded that it’s August already. It seems like all of 2021 has involved waiting for something—waiting for a change in leadership, for a vaccine to arrive, for a summer that looked more like ones we have known in the past… and then August arrives and […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 07/29/21
Water Wars, Les Schwab Amphitheater, New School Board and Voting Rights
Editor’s note: In the moments before this issue went to press, the Oregon Health Authority recommended we all go back to indoor mask-wearing once again. Every day for the past week or more, the number of COVID-19 cases in the state has continued to go up, and as of this writing, St. Charles hospital had […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 7/22/21
Guest Opinion: My Home is For Sale, and I Want to Cry
Editor’s note: Every time I hang out in Redmond, I get the feeling that Bendites must have gotten in the late ’90s, when the population graphs started to show a massive spike upward. Now at over 32,000 people, the Hub City is growing every day and adding more culture, nightlife and activities—all reasons we’ve opted […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 7/15/21
Guest Opinion: Redmond City Council needs to take a strong stance against the Confederate flag
Editor’s note: Summer is in full swing! The return of events like Munch and Music and Summer Fest this past week was a marker that things are more “normal” than they’ve been in the past year—but beyond that feeling of normalcy was just the plain joy that comes from hearing live music, from seeing the […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 7/8/21
What. The. Fireworks., Library Expansion, The Gallon Smashing Prank and more
Editor’s Note Whether you’re an employer or an employee (or you own your own business), chances are you’ve discussed the current worker shortage with someone at least once over the past several months. This week’s feature story aims to get a sense of why it’s happening, and the impacts on not just business owners, but […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 7/1/21
Guest Opinion: Support for the Central Library
Editor’s note: It’s a week like no other. As I write this, the National Weather Service is clocking a temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit in Bend—brutal temperatures that appear to be related to the deaths of two men over the weekend. On Wednesday, restrictions that have been in place around the pandemic will be lifted […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 6/24/21
Guest Opinion: About Those Mirror Pond Bread Crumbs
Editor’s note: Fires are already burning across the West. Record-setting temperatures are anticipated over the weekend. Festivals are starting to pop up around the region. Seems like a pretty average summer week in Central Oregon, right? As much as we’d rather not see “summer season” become ever known as “smoke season,” this year’s dry conditions […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 6/17/21
Central OR Drought?, Bend City Councilors “Sit” for Pledge, Don’t Forget Worrell Wayside and Short-Term Vacation Rentals
Editor’s note: Riding along the Cascade Lakes Highway recently, it was surprising not to see the typical line of cars precariously parked near the Green Lakes trail. With a permit system now in place for that and other popular trails in that area, this week we wanted to know how that permit system is going. […]
