News

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has placed three employees on paid administrative, stemming from allegations of misconduct, as of June 5. According to a press release similar to the email Interim Sheriff Ty Rupert sent to DCSO staffers earlier in the day, the allegations stem from two formal citizen complaints related to the same incident. […]

A planned $15.4 million project will bring two new roundabouts and two new traffic lights to Olney Avenue and Revere Avenue in midtown Bend, with an estimated completion date in 2028.  The project includes swapping a pair of four-way-stop intersections for traffic signals along Fourth Street, and another at Eighth Street and Revere. At Eighth and Olney Avenue, the City tentatively plans to replace a stoplight with a roundabout. Those […]

Kate Sinner, a director at Business Oregon with connections throughout state government, was selected Wednesday to take over as the executive director at Travel Oregon, the state’s tourism promotion agency. Greg Willitts, chair of the Oregon Tourism Commission, said in a statement: “Kate strikes the right balance between government executive leadership and private-sector acumen. She […]

Bend — one of Oregon’s fastest-growing cities — became the second in the state Wednesday evening to pass fees on natural gas appliances in new home construction, a controversial policy meant to curb greenhouse emissions in buildings to meet the City’s climate goals and help combat the effects of climate change.  The Bend City Council during a Wednesday meeting voted 5-1 in favor of the natural gas fees, named the Climate Pollution Fee. A second vote […]

Deschutes County commissioners unanimously granted the Sheriff’s Office a $2.4-million, five-year contract with Axon, a surveillance technology company, on June 3. The inventory will include 100 in-vehicle cameras, 105 body cameras and 90 smart tasers. But not included in the department’s wish list for surveillance tech is automated license plate reader capabilities, owing to public […]

Federal legislation introduced in Congress could be the first step toward building a second road to access a High Desert canyon south of Prineville, where a growing number of residents have expressed concerns about emergency access, particularly in a wildfire.   U.S. Rep Cliff Bentz, who represents Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District across eastern and southern Oregon, introduced a bill May 21 to give Crook County an 80-foot right […]

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has appointed her chief of staff to temporarily lead the state’s transportation agency. Chris Warner, who has worked with Kotek since 2023, will serve as the Oregon Department of Transportation’s interim director until the agency finds its next director. He is taking over Lisa Sumption’s interim position so she can return to role […]

A coalition of 38 Central Oregon builders, architects,  employers and civic, economic-development and nonprofit groups is working synergistically to address the need for affordable housing in Central Oregon Partners for Affordable Housing This is a nonprofit created by members of the Central Oregon Builders Association in 2010 to help provide safe, affordable housing while also […]