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Flu Vaccination Rate Continues to Drop Across Oregon

Some public health officials say ICE activity and federal vaccine actions have caused confusion and fear, leading to fewer shots
by Khushboo Rathore Oregon Journalism Project

Oregon’s flu season is closing in on its brutal end, which left many family members dodging each other at holiday gatherings to stay safe. Nationally, less of the population is getting flu vaccinations, and Oregon followed that trend. This season, only 30.7% of Oregonians got the flu vaccine, 10,000 fewer than last year—a rate about […]

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Deschutes County Asks Redmond to Pause Homeless Camp Sweep 

As homelessness on undeveloped land stifles industrial growth, County officials fear evicting dozens of campers will only result in more problems
Avatar photo by Clayton Franke

Deschutes County asked the City of Redmond to pause the eviction of dozens of homeless campers from undeveloped land in a City-owned industrial park, saying the move would add chaos to an effort to remedy homelessness in the area and make way for development.   The Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners approved a letter detailing the request at a meeting March 18. That came one week after the Redmond City Council agreed to start notifying people living in tents and trailers on […]

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High Desert Museum Breaks Ground on $40 Million Expansion  

New classrooms, community gathering spaces, a 3,225 square-foot art gallery and a reinstallation of indigenous plateau cultural material are expected
Avatar photoBy Jesse Coronado

The High Desert Museum broke ground Thursday on an expansion project that will bring more classrooms, community gathering spaces and a new art gallery to the museum. Estimated to cost around $40 million, the project is slated for a December 2027 completion date.   “We’ve been working on this for several years, from the initial concept design to the fundraising,” HDM Executive Director Dana Whitelaw told the Source. “I think it’s astonishing that […]

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Unprepared: The Broken Pipeline Teaching Oregon’s Teachers

How our education leaders have failed the classroom
by James Neff, Oregon Journalism Project

Jim Green says one solution for Oregon’s worst-in-the-nation reading scores is a governor’s executive order away. Green should know. For 25 years, he worked the halls of the Capitol, first as a lobbyist and then as executive director of the Oregon School Boards Association, which represents 1,400 elected members across the state’s 197 school districts. […]

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State Clears Hurdle for 450-Home Mixed-Income Community in Northeast Redmond

Oregon lawmakers continue to test whether bending urban growth boundary rules can spur affordable housing construction
Avatar photo by Clayton Franke

A state land use policy board agreed to tweak the rules of a 10-year-old affordable housing experiment that should help lift a 450-home development in northeast Redmond off the ground.   Utilities are set and new streets will be paved this spring at a 40-acre site in northwest Redmond, slated to become a new community called Northpoint Vista. But much of the home building […]

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New Adaptive Cycling Center Expands Access   

Oregon Adaptive Sports receives $63,747 to complete adaptive cycling center at Pine Nursery Park, becoming the third facility of its kind on the West Coast.
Avatar photoBy Jesse Coronado

A new adaptive cycling center, the third of its kind on the West Coast, is coming to Bend’s Pine Nursery Park.   Visit Bend’s Bend Sustainability Fund, which gets its money from the transient lodging tax imposed on visitors who stay in Bend short-term, is granting Oregon Adaptive Sports $63,747 to complete the center.   “It’s aligned with a lot of […]

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The Foilies 2026

Recognizing the worst in government transparency
by Electronic Frontier Foundation, MuckRock News and Illustrations by Shelby Criswell

For the last six years, a class of journalism students at the University of Nevada, Reno, has kicked off each semester by filing their first Freedom of Information Act requests. The assignment: Request copies of complaints sent to the Federal Communications Commission about their favorite TV show, a local radio station, or a major broadcast […]

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Brush Fire Causes Evacuations in La Pine

The Riverview Fire spread to 20 acres by Tuesday afternoon. This story has been updated to reflect the fire is in mop up stage as of 6pm.
Avatar photo by Nic Moye

A brush fire, named The Riverview Fire, spread to 11.8 acres by 4pm Tuesday, March 17 in the 52800 block of Timber Lane Loop in La Pine. People living in the area north of Burgess Road and west of Huntington Road and along the Little Deschutes River were ordered to leave immediately. A temporary shelter […]

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Oregon Elections Chief Weighs in on Deschutes County Races, Campaign Finance and Voter Reform

Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read visited Central Oregon this week
Avatar photo by Clayton Franke

Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read — a state elected official responsible for running elections  — swung through Central Oregon this week to meet with high school students, local and state politicians, elections officials and local media. In an interview with the Source Tuesday morning, Read discussed campaign finance reform, election integrity, his pushback to federal legislation seeking to toughen […]

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The Redmond School District Is Adjusting School Boundaries

Two elementary schools are on track to reach 120% capacity within four years
Avatar photo by Nic Moye

The Redmond School District is reviewing its school attendance boundaries as the city grows and enrollment patterns change. The district, which has a total of 13 schools, says uneven housing development throughout the area has resulted in a higher enrollment at some elementary schools than others. Current projections show that Sage Elementary School is expected […]

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