Playful Paws Cat Cafรฉ, Bendโs favorite place to relax with rescue cats, is thrilled to celebrate two paws-itively exciting milestones: its 300th successful cat adoption and its 2nd birthday! Since opening its doors in August 2023, Playful Paws Cat Cafรฉ has become a cherished Bend staple, offering guests a one-of-a-kind space to relax, recharge, and […]
2nd Birthday & 300th Adoption Press Release
Volunteer with ONDA
To improve habitat resiliency and ecosystem health, ONDA offers volunteer opportunities across the high desert. Options include hosted group stewardship trips and independent stewardship projects in beautiful and iconic central and eastern Oregon locations. We encourage people of all abilities and backgrounds to participate. New trips and projects are announced twice per year, with opportunities […]
LISTEN: Bend Don’t Break, Gabe Charalambides ๐ง
In this episode of Bend Donโt Break, Aaron sits down with Gabe Charalambides, founder of Odysseyโone of the first legal psilocybin retreat centers in the U.S. Gabe shares his unconventional journey from aerospace engineer to psychedelic wellness pioneer, driven by a long-standing passion for meditation, Buddhist philosophy, and mental health. The two dive into the […]
Shifting Priorities Around Exploitation for the Sake of Immigration Reform
Recent reporting and concern from an Oregon senator reveal a deeply troubling pattern: A focus on a quota of 1 million deportations in the U.S. per year at the federal level is resulting in other investigations, including those aimed at stopping the exploitation of children, being put by the wayside. It is ironic at a […]
Before the Moving Trucks Arrive
The ink is dry, the keys are in hand, and the excitement is palpable โ you’ve officially bought a new home! While the urge to immediately fill every room with furniture and boxes is strong, taking a breath and tackling a few key projects before moving day can save you significant time, stress, and money […]
Weed News Roundup
GLASSHOUSE RAID – California’s cannabis producer Glasshouse found itself in the national spotlight when federal law enforcement agencies raided a production facility. On July 10, Drug Enforcement and ICE raided grow warehouses in Camarillo and Carpinteria, located in California’s Central Valley. Agents served immigration and naturalization warrants, resulting in 360 arrests, 14 children taken into custody, […]
Serving the Community
If there’s one thing Central Oregon loves, it’s volleyball. The volleyball community in Central Oregon has been continuously growing, and with it, the opportunities to compete. This past year, members of the community came together to form the High Desert Volleyball Association, one of Central Oregon’s newest 501(c)(3) nonprofits. The nonprofit was born out of […]
Reggae Rise Up Oregon
For years, the Reggae Rise Up music festival has taken the rhythm and culture of reggae music to fans across the country, and this year, it is finally making its Oregon debut this August at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center. Some of this year’s headliners include Stephen Marley, Iration, Rebelution, Slightly Stoopid and many more. With three […]
Composer Chris Thomas Does It All
Chris Thomas is a composer, cellist, conductor, professor, Comic-Con sound designer, film scorer… and I could keep going on and on. He is a musical treasure in both of his two home bases: Los Angeles and Bend. A native Oregonian, from Pendleton in fact, Chris realized as a child that he had original musical ideas spontaneously springing up […]
Letters to the Editor
A Letter to Bend City Council and Deschutes County Commissioners I am again writing to demand the immediate removal of the Confederate flag currently displayed on the east side of Highway 97, between the access road to Dirt World (where the dumpsters are currently located) and the highway’s southbound-to-northbound turnaround point. This flag is especially […]

