News

A proposal to create a new service “hub” in east Redmond for homeless people to connect with housing resources, mental health programs, food and other services is gaining support from the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners.   The service center would be part of a burgeoning campus of homeless assistance projects in east Redmond, close to where hundreds of people are living in RVs, tents and trailers on government-owned lands slated for future industrial development.   Deschutes County commissioners on June 3 approved a letter […]

The commission conducts random checks as well as targeted operations prompted by community complaints. So far in 2026, the agency has made 125 decoy visits, down from 845 over the same period in 2025. It says it is rebuilding its undercover program, and by 2027 plans to have the same number of minor decoy operations […]

James “Mac” McLaughlin outed himself as one of three Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office employees Interim Sheriff Ty Rupert placed on paid administrative on June 5, stemming from allegations of misconduct. He calls it “political theatre.” A DCSO Lieutenant and the SWAT commander, McLaughlin published a social media post on the subsequent evening of June 6, […]

The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office has placed three employees on paid administrative, stemming from allegations of misconduct, as of June 5. According to a press release similar to the email Interim Sheriff Ty Rupert sent to DCSO staffers earlier in the day, the allegations stem from two formal citizen complaints related to the same incident. […]

A planned $15.4 million project will bring two new roundabouts and two new traffic lights to Olney Avenue and Revere Avenue in midtown Bend, with an estimated completion date in 2028.  The project includes swapping a pair of four-way-stop intersections for traffic signals along Fourth Street, and another at Eighth Street and Revere. At Eighth and Olney Avenue, the City tentatively plans to replace a stoplight with a roundabout. Those […]

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 […]