Editorial

The Deschutes River has long been a focal point for the people of Bend. In years past, the sawmills positioned on and adjacent to the river were the centers of attention; today, those have been replaced by shopping and river recreation. What we didn’t know—or didn’t consider—back when those mills sent old-growth logs shooting down […]

In recent weeks, a conversation has been renewed about whether the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners races should be partisan. Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang, a Democrat who joined the board in 2021, believes they shouldn’t be—and we agree with him. Chang’s assertion that county commissioners should drop their party affiliation is not without precedent. […]

By now voters in Oregon’s Congressional District 2 are becoming increasingly concerned that for the next two years they’re going to be represented by a partisan politician. In the wake of the mess that was the siege at the U.S. Capitol, our new Congressman, Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario), voted against certifying Pennsylvania’s electoral votes, and […]

Over the past week, community conversations inside Rep. Cliff Bentz’s district have centered around the question, “Did Rep. Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario) fail Oregonians when he voted against the certification of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes?” Yes, he most certainly did. It was enough for us to answer that question, knowing that Bentz—our new representative in the 2nd […]

Between the rampant smoke and the screaming headlines, it was hard to miss the fact that this past September, Oregon’s forests burned like they’ve never burned before. Estimates are that this past fire season burned twice as many acres as we’d normally see in 10 fire seasons. The impacts have been devastating to the thousands […]

This week, a number of developments have served as reminders of the difference between productive and obstructive forms of governance. Let’s skip over the protracted, partisan battle that came ahead of this week’s passage of a new economic relief package by Congress and look instead at some local examples. It now appears that the Deschutes […]

Earlier this month, as news of two prospective COVID-19 vaccines began to go from a possibility to a reality, an interactive module offered by The New York Times, “Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line,” allowed people to get a sense of where they would stand in the line to get vaccinated against the virus, […]