News

High water users in Redmond might pay more in the future as the City looks to incentivize conservation amid declining groundwater levels and rapid population growth.   The Redmond City Council began a discussion Monday about adopting a tiered water rate structure, which would apply increasingly higher rates to each portion of water used beyond a certain threshold.   Those exact thresholds still need to be hashed out […]

When the Bend City Council voted to turn off its four Flock Safety stationary Automated License Plate Readers on Jan. 7, Bend Police Capt. Brian Beekman said the department would look for an alternate vendor that could provide similar technology in fighting crime. Several months later, the department is eyeing cameras from Axon, the same […]

Two Democrats are in position to win seats for the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners after an initial tally of ballots Tuesday evening, while two other races appear to be headed to the general election in November.   Should those results hold, it could mark the dismantling of the board’s longtime Republican majority as it expands from three members to five in November.   That includes the likely upset of incumbent Deschutes County […]

After dozens of people packed La Pine City Hall on May 13 in an uproar against a proposed data center, it’s unclear where City leaders and developers stand on the project.   The public comment period at the meeting took nearly three hours, with most people in opposition, citing fears the facility would guzzle water, push up power costs, hurt wildlife habitat and […]

The fledging “competitive bicycle group ride” that mewled to life last summer returns bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready for meow-r.  Now entering its second season, The Bent Alley Cat Races — yup, “bent” as in “outta shape,” for example — will resume its fun and slightly chaotic checkpoint-structured competition on May 21.  The Bent Alley Cat series is an ode to the bicycle messenger races popularized in urban places like San Francisco, New York City and […]

A new regional airline now offers “charter-like” flights that will connect Redmond to select locations in the Pacific Northwest. And you can even skip security checkpoints and lines. SeaPort Airlines, based in Juneau, Alaska, began offering business flights last year. The limited service runs weekdays and connects Roberts Field at the Redmond Municipal Airport to […]

Affordable housing developers are planning a four-story, 64-unit apartment building in a mixed-use area in the heart of Bend’s west side, a project that would bring lower-cost housing to a highly desirable part of the city.   The proposed development would occupy a vacant 1-and-a-half-acre parcel on the corner of Columbia Street and Commerce Avenue — a stone’s throw from concerts, breweries and shops and a short walk from the Deschutes River.   “This location was intentionally chosen by […]

A few years into her dream job as an elementary schoolteacher in her tiny hometown of North Powder (pop. 563), Ronda Fritz found herself disheartened. Not by the low pay or lack of resources at her tiny school. Rather, Fritz blamed herself for failing each year to teach all of her students how to read. […]