Local News

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 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 June 3 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 […]

Ask most people to weigh in on the current mortgage market, and the response will likely be that the market is challenging. Rates are high, making it more difficult to break into the already traditionally tough Bend real estate market. “We’re stuck in a high interest environment,” states Sam Boyer, senior mortgage advisor and branch […]

The housing market in Bend seems to be holding steady over the past few years, with a median home price in Bend around $710,000. There are more buyers than sellers right now, but buyers are riding the tide of the economy.   “There was a dip in interest rates, where it went down from 6.5 to just under 6% in February, and we had a huge […]

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 […]

The trademark dispute between drag queen Pattie Gonia and outdoor brand Patagonia has reached a boiling point in recent days, with the clothing giant’s CEO and Pattie swapping video statements since the most-recent reporting by the Source on May 28. In a widely shared video last week, Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert said the company has […]