Editorial
Posted inOpinion

New Code Changes: Some Will be Welcome. Others Will Require a Change of Mindset.

While changes to city codes don’t often register on regular people’s radars, these code changes will be felt, slowly, by everyone in the city
by The Source Staff

This past week, the Bend City Council did its first reading—essentially one of two rounds of voting—on the changes to city code prompted by Oregon House Bill 2001. Under that 2019 bill, cities can no longer allow single-family zoning; so duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes and cottage clusters can no longer be excluded from neighborhoods zoned as […]

Posted inOpinion

This is Bike-Rack Town USA. New Efforts Might Make it a Real Bike Town.

Bendites love to tout their cycling prowess. With more planning, we may see those bike enthusiasts actually commute on bikes, too.
by The Source Staff

The information is all there: Bend, along with most other American cities—is car-centric. Our streets, like those in many towns and cities around the United States, were designed to make car travel king. In Bend, some main thoroughfares lack even the most basic of pedestrian-friendly features in the way of sidewalks. While our region has […]

Posted inOpinion

Bend’s Loss in Court Shouldn’t Stop It From Trying Again to Use Tourism Promotion Dollars Creatively

We’re encouraged to see city leaders are not shying away from trying another interpretation
by The Source Staff

Last month, the Oregon Court of Appeals sided with local hoteliers and the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association, who argued that the City of Bend violated state law when it tried to get creative with the way it spends room tax dollars. Under a state law established in 2003, the City of Bend is obligated […]

Posted inOpinion

Water Use: It’s Time to Think Differently About How Central Oregon Grows and Develops

With water resources evaporating, individuals or small-group wants cannot be prioritized over the collective good
by The Source Staff

One doesn’t need to look far to see the effects the extreme drought is having on our region. With irrigation water scarce, farmers around Madras have this year let their fields go unplanted. The Three Sisters are looking pitifully bald as the glaciers retreat. Fish and wildlife officials across the West—from Idaho to Montana to […]

Posted inOpinion

Housing, Hospitals and Health: It’s All Connected

The resurgence of COVID-19 and the Delta variant has hit Oregon once again
by The Source Staff

As much as we all wanted 2021 to look better than 2020, the resurgence of COVID-19 and the Delta variant has hit Oregon once again. It has not required entire sectors of our economy to be shut down, but our local hospital now has National Guard soldiers doing the work that hospital staffers might otherwise […]

Posted inOpinion

Like a Phoenix, We Can Return to a Better, More Selfless Version of Ourselves

The tales of persistence and creativity in this challenging time remind us of what it means to see a community at its best
by The Source Staff

Every year, as we put out our Best of Central Oregon issue, we are reminded once again of the energy and enthusiasm that this community invests in itself. From the new business owners who have taken the leap and opened their version of the American dream, the tried-and-trues who continue to improve, and the many […]

Posted inOpinion

Extremists are Winning at Local School Board Meetings. There’s One Way to Push Back.

Right now, the throngs packing these meetings nationwide are winning
by The Source Staff

As this issue goes to press, the board of directors for Bend-La Pine Schools is gathering for yet another school board meeting—this one located at Bend Senior High School, a larger venue for yet another raucous showing from local conservatives chasing a series of boogeymen they believe have infected local schools. School board meetings in […]

Posted inOpinion

DA's office, Bend PD need to be on the same page

Politics have hit a fever pitch, and that temperature extends across numerous branches of government
by The Source Staff

At this point in the year, it’s safe to say the weather is not the only thing that’s boiling hot. Politics have hit a fever pitch, and that temperature extends across numerous branches of government. Failed Bend-La Pine school board candidates who didn’t bother to speak to anyone but Fox News during their candidacy are […]

Posted inOpinion

For some, new middle housing is an inconvenience. For others, not having it is devastating. Get ready for change.

Under Oregon House Bill 2001, duplexes, triplexes and other multi-family homes must be allowed on any lot that is currently zoned for those single-family homes
by The Source Staff

Over the past several years, the discussion and then eventual passage of Oregon House Bill 2001 has had NIMBYs on hyperdrive. While each city now has the ability to shape some of the particular policies it implements, the basics of the bill mean that cities in Oregon can no longer allow neighborhoods to be built […]

Posted inOpinion

Water Wars are Here. Let’s Work Together.

It’s no longer a doomsday proposition to say that water is going to be the reason for many conflicts in the future
by The Source Staff

One year ago, the Source Weekly published an article titled “The Virus and Bend’s Sewage” that explored whether Bend’s wastewater posed a risk as it related to COVID-19. As that piece outlined, the water that drains from Bend’s toilets and sinks and showers goes through a three-step process to be cleaned… and then, it’s dumped […]

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