Opinion
Posted inLetters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor, Week of Sept. 24

Support for local candidates, commentary on our “mad man” in the White House and more in this week’s Letters
by The Source Staff

Our Mad Man We have a mad man in the White House — mad on power, greed and grievance. He’s dismantling our federal government. He’s rebuilding Washington, D.C. in his image. He’s waging war without our consent. He’s ruining our economy and our financial system. He has the audacity to claim ownership of other countries […]

Posted inElections

Congressional Cage Match: Janelle Bynum vs. Patti Adair

A Central Oregon county commissioner is battling a Portland-area incumbent for Oregon’s Congressional District 5. What are the odds?
Avatar photo by Peter Madsen

Ladies and gentlemen…boys and girls… and debate fans from around Congressional District 5 and throughout the land! The moment you’ve been waiting for the entire election cycle is almost here. On Oct. 14, U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, a first-term member of Congress, will show up and throw down against Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair for […]

Posted inElections

Vote Emerson Levy for House District 53 ▶ with video

Vying for her third term, the Bend-Redmond state representative has advocated for meaningful change for the people of her district
by The Source Editorial Board

Representing a “purple” district like House District 53 is no easy task. With Democrats currently holding the majority in both chambers of the state legislature as well as the governor’s office, it could be easy for a Democrat like Emerson Levy to simply fade into the blue and go along for the partisan ride. But […]

Posted inElections

Vote Colvin, Osborne, Tate for Redmond City Council ▶ with video

Voters will select three candidates among five running
by The Source Editorial Board

Redmond’s city council elections operate slightly differently than other elected positions in the area, using a “multi-seat contest” format in which a pool of candidates run to fill a certain number of seats. This year, three seats are up for election, with two current City Council candidates not running again. Five people are in the […]

Posted inOpinion

Vote No on Deschutes County Measure 9-185

Voters have the chance to decide whether to elect Deschutes County commissioners by geographic district, using a new five-district map. We have serious reservations.
by The Source Editorial Board

It’s that time again — time for our editorial board to weigh in on important issues facing local people in the coming November election. The calendar has just rolled over to September, and while it feels early to start sharing our endorsements for races in early November, the autumn goes fast, and before you know […]

Posted inOpinion

Why Are We Still Treating Homelessness Like a Five-Alarm Fire?

State’s approach still feels like a sudden crisis
by The Source Editorial Board

Even if you don’t pay close attention to public dollars like we do, you may have a general sense of how things are going in terms of funding for state and local governments. Due to a combination of federal cuts and the end of some pandemic-era funding sources, the budgets for area governments are going […]

Posted inOpinion

Some You Sign Up for, Some You Don’t, But Emergency Alerts Warn of Danger

Signing up for local alerts is one way to keep abreast during fire season
by The Source Editorial Board

We are in the middle of a raging fire season. Let’s hope you’re already subscribed to Deschutes Alerts or the notifications on the Watch Duty app to help you stay abreast of fires that may crop up near you. Most alerts come because you subscribed to that system. As fires get bigger and hotter and […]

Posted inOpinion

Ron Wyden, Spitting into the Wind

Outrage over the Epstein files — and a recent revelation about big banks’ complicity — hasn’t yet moved the needle in Congress.
by The Source Editorial Board

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) was in Bend this week, holding a press conference with local elected officials to express dismay over the federal government’s handling of fire management and public forests. Considering that the smoke map of the greater Northwest is currently glowing bright red due to all of the fires in the region, it’s […]

Posted inOpinion

Beware the Election Misinformation Complex

Hawkers trying to profit off supposed chaos have created their very own cottage industry
by The Source Editorial Board

When the pandemic worsened our housing crisis, national and local governments, and nonprofits, began to address the tent cities that were popping up. At that time, a term began to be thrown about: “the homeless industrial complex.” Using words borrowed from a critique of American military spending, it was meant to indicate that people were […]

Posted inOpinion

Federal and State Homeless Funds are Drying Up. Use Some General Funds.

With shelter funding soon to end, are we headed right back to where we started?
by The Source Editorial Board

Government officials and service providers were thrilled to announce this year that the number of unhoused individuals in the community went way down compared to the previous year’s count. According to the annual Point in Time Count, the numbers were reduced by a staggering 19.1% — a figure that felt almost too good to be […]

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