Source Warmup

Point in Time Count Begins

The Homeless Leadership Coalition announced Jan. 22 it will conduct its annual Central Oregon 2024 Homeless Count and Survey from Jan. 23 to Jan 30. The count identifies the number of sheltered and unsheltered individuals experiencing homelessness across Deschutes, Jefferson, Crook Counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

“With PIT data, the Homeless Leadership Coalition, local governments and public agencies can better target services and develop plans to address the crisis of poverty and homelessness in Central Oregon,” said Eliza Wilson, HLC chair.

OSU-Cascades Receives Funding Award

An Oregon State University- Cascades professor received a $623,000 award from the Oregon Department of Education to expand computer science education for K-12 students. This award is part of a statewide plan to provide computer science education to public school students on an equitable basis and broaden participation for all students.

According to a press release, the award will focus on equity and inclusion, building support structure that create systematic changes. “This award will enhance Oregon K-12 teachers’ ability to familiarize every student, including underserved students, in their classrooms with computing,” said award administrator Jill Hubbard.

Free Days at High Desert Museum Return

Free admission days at High Desert Museum return this year, happening on Jan. 27 and Feb. 24. The Mid Oregon Credit Union Free Family Saturdays offer visitors a chance to experience the museum’s latest exhibitions, wildlife encounters and an opportunity to meet a non-releasable raptor in the Museum’s care during the Bird of Prey Encounters happening every hour between 11am-3pm.

“Mid Oregon has partnered with High Desert Museum for over 20 years to provide free days at the Museum,” said Kyle Frick, vice president of marketing. “We are proud to be able to continue this tradition and provide access to thousands of Central Oregonians who can experience this world-class Museum.”

—Julianna LaFollette

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EVERY 10-15 MINUTES

— The frequency the Anna’s hummingbird must eat so as not to starve. From this week’s Natural World, “Winter Wonders: Caring for Wintering Hummingbirds”

“Strength is a gift to be lent, not a power to be wielded.”

— The “message for the year of the wood dragon,” as described by the New York Post, and mentioned in this week’s Culture story, “2024, the Year of the Dragon.”

Skyline Forest Part of Massive Holding by Foreign National

The Chinese billionaire who owns the Skyline Forest owns the second-largest tract of land held by a foreign owner in the U.S., according to a report in the Oregon Capital Chronicle that cited findings from The Land Report, a Dallas-based quarterly magazine.

Chinese billionaire and entrepreneur, Tianqiao Chen, became the second-largest foreign owner of U.S. land following the purchase, through his investment company, of nearly 200,000 acres of forestland in Klamath and Deschutes counties nearly a decade ago, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported. That land includes the Skyline Forest west of Bend.

The topic drew the ire of Rep. Lori Chavez-Deremer, the Clackamas County Republican who represents Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Bend. She expressed concern this week about a Chinese national owning this much land in her district. Chen has owned the land for a number of years, and reportedly hopes to sell it.

— Compiled by Nicole Vulcan

This article appears in Source Weekly January 25, 2024.