Letters to the Editor

Re: Habitat for Humanity Purchases Surplus School District Land (12/24/25) Kudos to Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity for planning 18 townhomes for teachers (maybe). Not sure how much their mortgage payments will be, but sorry to say that it’s not going to move the needle much for affordability for most of the district’s employees. I have another […]

Re: “Implausible, Inconsistent and Unsubstantiated by Evidence” (Dec. 16, 2025) This Source news article provides Andres Portela the opportunity he wasn’t given by consultant Amy Ahrendt in her $18,685 investigation. Source reporter Peter Madsen and editors provided the balance and gave Mr. Portela the ink to personally address some of the accusations lodged against him […]

Re: Beyond the Banner: Why a Non-Partisan Approach is Essential for Deschutes County (Dec. 11, 2025) Chris Piper published a letter to the editor on Dec. 11 calling for a nonpartisan approach to local governance. We already have such a candidate in this race: Maddie McKinney.   Maddie has been quietly working in this community for […]

Deschutes County Commission’s Not So Funny Comedy of Errors Oh, the irony! Last Wednesday [Dec. 3], I watched with incredulity as Patti Adair and Tony Debone called for public comment in a room full of interested citizens they themselves had silenced. Per The Source, “Adair requested that a public hearing be held [emphasis added] before any decision-making by […]

Bend’s green energy policy Recently, the Source printed a letter arguing that Bend City Council’s measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are not worthwhile because “the world has seen the realities and moved on” from combating climate change. To support its thesis, the letter observed that China is building new coal plants. However, China has […]

Parking Problem Parking on Deschutes Market Road adjacent to the Pine Nursery dog park has been in the news recently. There used to be access to the dog park from Deschutes Market Road before the roundabout was put in. Some residents from the apartment complex Solis also used to park there. Safety may be a […]

Opinion: When Kids Are Left Behind, Our Community Loses, Too Every child deserves to feel like they belong — but for many kids with disabilities or those impacted by trauma, school can become a place of stress instead of possibility. Too often, these children are misunderstood, excluded or left behind because the system wasn’t built […]

Natural Gas causes health hazards Natural gas releases carbon emissions, causes health hazards within homes and wreaks intense environmental destruction through fracking. Geoff Reynolds’ letter to the Source claimed that in 2023, households using electricity contributed 63% of residential carbon emissions while only 29% came from gas. The link he cited, at the U.S. Energy […]

Supporting a new kind of leadership After reading a recent interview with County Commissioner candidate John Heylin, I’m convinced he’s exactly the kind of leader Deschutes County needs right now. Heylin’s background — growing up in a working-class family, serving in the Peace Corps and running a small business in Bend — has grounded him […]

Correction/Clarification for publicationIn the letter, “A Lack of Oversight” (Oct. 29, 2025), the author implies that NeighborImpact has operational oversight or involvement in the permanent supportive housing project at Cleveland Commons. This is inaccurate. NeighborImpact does not operate, manage, or provide services at Cleveland Commons. The agency’s only connection to the property is ownership of […]