Local News

While many Oregon farmers pull back amid tariff worries, low crop prices and a difficult labor market, Jeff Newton plans to invest in new hazelnut trees at Christensen Farms near Amity in Yamhill County. Newton, along with other Oregon hazelnut growers, is waiting for a final tally of the volume of nuts they sold in […]

At a Dec. 15 public hearing on the Interstate Bridge Replacement project, government employees who have been working for years to replace the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River told a bistate committee of lawmakers they did not have new cost estimates for the project. Project staffers first said back in January 2024 they planned […]

“Keep the applause to a minimum, please,” Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler directed the public at the Jan. 7 Bend City Council business meeting.   Most council meeting audiences aren’t so noisy, but the community members and privacy activists in attendance Wednesday had something to cheer about. Per Kebler and City Manager Eric King, the City of Bend will commit to a de-Flock — suspending the usage of Flock Safety surveillance cameras at […]

Bendites, we’ve got our outdoor sports dialed. The means by which we sweat and socialize is so often wrapped up in our identity, we might as well introduce ourselves not by what we do for money but what we do to stay happy, healthy and outside. But what happens when those roles feel limiting? I […]

Despite a holiday season uptick, the Bend Police Department arrested fewer drivers in 2025 on suspicion of driving intoxicated than previous years.  Anticipating an increase in driving under the influence, Bend PD announced that it had “stepped up its presence in the downtown area on New Year’s Eve in an attempt to cut down on intoxicated drivers and other problems that historically […]

Half a century ago, Peter Jensen launched Project Censored, in part as a response to how the Watergate break-in was covered. Richard Nixon didn’t censor the initial reporting, but he didn’t have to. The press simply didn’t cover it with any serious scrutiny until well after Nixon was elected. The story didn’t reach the American […]

Laughter, peace and playfulness filled the room on NE Division Street in Bend that serves three very different purposes. Most of the time, it’s a chapel for daily devotions. Lately, it’s been a pre-Christmas workshop — a lively craft space buzzing with sewing machines, colorful fabric, gingerbread, icing, candies and jovial conversation. By night, it […]

Bend It’s been a busy year for the Bend City Council. An expanded meeting schedule and a focus on strategy have brought forth ambitious and community-driven goals, setting out how we’ll continue to make progress for our local community. And in 2025, we’ve been doing it all in the midst of chaos and confusion at the […]

We’re a quarter-way into the 21st Century and 2025 may have been the gnarliest year yet. Here in Central Oregon, our reporting reflected that whiplash, with reports on local houselessness, Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps and potential deregulation of the “American Dream.” Yet, along the way, we had some fun — gallows humor? — with investigations and first-person narratives about those dang fun Veo e-bikes and sketchy “magic […]