Local News

With the Nov. 3 general election about one month away, candidates running for Redmond City Council and mayor discussed growth and development, water use, data centers and more at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters Sept. 30 at the Central Oregon Community College technology education building in Redmond.   Candidates had a […]

Based on historical snowfall data, folks with Mt. Bachelor Ski Area are hopeful an unusual climate event will bring above-average snowfall to the mountains near Bend this winter. But climate scientists say this season’s weather pattern is shaping up to be like nothing we’ve seen before.   All signs point to a “very strong” El Niño […]

The Deschutes County Voters’ Pamphlet provides a window into the heated battle over political districting in Deschutes County.  The guide includes bios and information on candidates for sheriff and county commissioner, plus city council and mayor candidates in Bend, Redmond, La Pine and Sisters.   But nearly half of the 56-page guide is dedicated to […]

Thousands of people on Medicaid in Central Oregon — and hundreds of thousands more across the state — are getting notices this fall about new requirements for the Oregon Health Plan, mandated by the federal government. That could bump some people off Medicaid coverage, and be a struggle for others, which has local organizations working to […]

A recent report by an independent investigator concluded that James “Mac” McLaughlin, a detective lieutenant and SWAT commander with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, was dishonest with top brass about misconduct stemming from a February SWAT raid that heated up the sheriff race between McLaughlin and Interim Sheriff Ty Rupert. Jim Band, a third-party investigator […]

Deschutes County is offering a total of $50,000 to help with neighborhood-scale vegetation removal to reduce wildfire risk, the County announced in a press release Thursday.   The funding comes from the annual Fall Fuel Reduction Grant Program. Applications opened Sept. 1 and are due by Sept. 30, although late submissions might be considered if […]

Ezra Oncken, a recent intern for the Source, is going places. A senior at Cascades Academy in Bend, Oncken was named a National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist, along with classmate Angel Morriss. Oncken and Morriss are two of only four Bend high school students to earn that distinction this year. It’s a big deal: about 1.2 […]

Teaching staff at Central Oregon Community College say they’re ready to go on strike after nine months of bargaining for higher salaries.   Dozens of members of the Central Oregon Community College Faculty Forum picketed on campus in Bend on Wednesday, chanting and waving signs while circling the streets outside the Coats Campus Center.   […]