Local News

One of the most contentious issues in the current legislative session revolves around an issue called “bonus depreciation.” It’s a tax break that business groups hope could spur purchases of everything from tractors and commercial fishing boats to high-tech machinery and new housing. To progressive groups, it’s a giveaway to businesses that were going to […]

Oregon is in a housing crisis. The state needs to build 95,000 housing units to compensate for years of underdevelopment and to house its growing homeless population, according to a recent state report. Multifamily units—from duplexes to large apartment buildings—are one of the most efficient ways for Oregon, or any region, to quickly increase housing, […]

After some much needed sunlight on its operations, Travel Oregon is looking for a new chief executive — at a significantly lower salary. Not long into a meeting last September of the Oregon House Committee on Economic Development, its chairman quoted from an OJP investigation about dysfunction at state-funded Travel Oregon and the oversized salary […]

In the interest of cutting down on fossil fuel emissions and encouraging electrification, the Bend City Council approved a policy proposal on Feb. 18 that would add a scaled fee to the installation of natural gas equipment in residential homes. The fee, which the councilors will vote in April whether to implement, would be set […]

If you are looking for a volunteer organization that truly supports women, Soroptimist International of Bend may be the group for you. One of the longest-standing women’s clubs in Bend, the organization has been serving the community since 1943. With a mission of providing women and girls with access to the education and training they […]

Nancy Clark says there’s a picture of her, taken just after she finished her first-ever rock-climbing route, that makes her smile every time she sees it. “I had never rock climbed before because I was told, ‘Don’t do it. It’s not for you.’ You know, that story we get told sometimes as women,” recalls Clark, […]

Bend architect Heidi Slaybaugh was often met with a request. Male colleagues in leadership positions would reach out to ask if she would mentor their female staff. “The male leaders couldn’t address the questions they were hearing from female colleagues,” recalled Slaybaugh, principal at Cole Architects. “Most architecture firms are run by men, and they […]

Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch calls it “vision impossible.” The City of Redmond is looking at potentially expanding its Urban Growth Boundary by 1,270 acres on the east side in the coming years to accommodate future population growth. It’s a project Fitch is passionate about. The city’s population is around 38,000 and growing. Fitch wants the city to get ahead of and plan now for future growth.  “It’s hard to get […]

The Bend City Council is moving forward with an ordinance that would ban all firearms in at least three city-owned buildings, removing an exemption for concealed carry license holders.   In June 2025, an Oregon state law, Senate Bill 243, was passed, banning gun modifications that allow rifles and handguns to be fired at a much […]