The year 2025 saw something cannabis workers and users have been advocating, working for, and hoping to come to pass – rescheduling cannabis. It’s a big deal. Here’s what that will mean…probably. What’s the Schedule? The Controlled Substance Act is overseen by the Federal Drug Administration and Drug Enforcement Administration, and lists all controlled substances […]
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Posted inLocal News
Confronted by a Grassroots Backlash, Democrats Consider Repealing Unpopular Gas Tax Hike
Repealing the controversial bill could deprive Republicans of a powerful campaign issue in an election year
At politically oriented holiday parties all over the state, the hot topic is what Democrats will do in the face of a remarkably successful Republican effort to refer a gas tax increase to the November 2026 ballot that lawmakers passed in September. The option that’s getting the most serious consideration, according to numerous Democrats speaking […]
Posted inLocal News
Crush Your Opponents in Pickleball to Support Foster Care Advocacy
Courtside for CASA Pickleball Classic returns to Redmond in 2026
The sport of pickleball has come a long way. Even some hardcore players may not be aware of its Pacific Northwestern past. The sport was created in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a ferry ride away from Seattle, and came to exist as something of an athletic hybrid: a mix of tennis and badminton, played with a wiffleball and short paddles. Humble backyard beginnings turned […]
Posted inLocal News
In 2026, Central Oregon Occupational Therapists May Lose Their Occupations
Major insurer and regional CCO PacificSource is changing its reimbursement rates
An upcoming adjustment to how much behavioral health providers get paid through Oregon’s Medicaid infrastructure could put some, specifically occupational therapists, straight out of business. Occupational therapy, like physical therapy, is intended to help disabled or injured people work past their medical issues and return to normal life. Through OT services, everyday actions that feel out of reach can gradually […]
Posted inLocal News
Budget Cuts Threaten Oregon Program for Helping People Get Jobs After Prison
Oregon prison career program will run out of state funding
Thomas Van Hoose had been here before. Nearing the end of his third stint in an Oregon correctional facility on drug charges, he was thinking about what life on the outside would be like yet again. His first two times exiting prison went about the same way: He got a minimum-wage job, but soon found […]
Posted inLocal News
Mountain View Community Village Takes Off With a $3 Million Grant
A needed boost to Central Oregon’s supportive housing stock
In January 2025, the Homeless Leadership Coalition counted 1,611 people experiencing homelessness in Deschutes County. Of that number, at least 374 were homeless in Redmond, said the HLC, which is Central Oregon’s designated Continuum of Care – a federal program designed to oversee resources to address homelessness regionally. Getting even one person off the street, […]
Posted inLocal News
Oregon Parents Disproportionately Exempt School-Age Children From Vaccines
Oregon has the nation’s third-highest opt-out rate, leaving more than 50,000 children vulnerable to serious disease
Oregon’s already low kindergarten vaccination rates may worsen after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month stopped recommending the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. Public health experts decried the controversial decision, which overturned 30 years of guidance that cut rates of liver disease and cirrhosis. Oregon is part of a new public […]
Posted inSmoke Signals
High Quality Highs
VITAE bongs elevate the game
As time passes, an inevitable assessment of the choices made in one’s younger years comes to pass. This review allows you to reflect and respond on the roads taken, both good and bad, with an eye toward doing a better job. For many, this involves partners, career choices, and things said or done while under […]
Posted inLocal News
Audit Finds Measure 110 is Far From Achieving Its Goal
The report finds that Oregon lacks stability, coordination and clear data
Measure 110 is still far from achieving its promise to help Oregonians struggling with addiction due to frequent policy changes and a lack of stability, coordination, and data at the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), according to an audit released today by the Secretary of State Audits Division. “Oregon has struggled to respond to substance use […]
Posted inLocal News
Powerhouse Under Pressure
Behind its record attendance and booming events, the Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center faces growing costs, needed repairs and a search for new leadership
The Deschutes County Fair and Expo Center has been coined the “premier facility of its kind” in the Northwest, boosting the region’s tourism economy and drawing impressive crowds with its year-round events. With a focus on providing a variety of opportunities for residents and visitors, the campus holds more than 400 events annually on its […]
