Teens as young as 14 years old will be allowed to operate certain e-bikes under a recently changed law. On March 5, an amendment to HB 4007 passed the Senate with 28 “ayes.” The amendment changed the age of class 1 e-bike operation from 16 to 14. The changes to the bill also introduced a definition to the term “micromobility device,” and outlined fines imposed in accordance with regulations to that definition. The staff measure summary of HB 4007 states that the amendment, “modifies […]
Recently passed bill updates age restrictions, prohibits sale of imposter e-bikes
Posted inLocal News
South Deschutes County Water has a Nitrate Problem. County Commissioner Candidates Offer Solutions
Southern Deschutes County has a lot going for it: postage-stamp lots tucked into expanses of Lodgepole pine, lesser-glimpsed views of the Cascades and backroads to many lakes and access points along the Deschutes River. Its unincorporated areas, where about 18,000 people live, have also long suffered high levels of nitrate in the groundwater. The shallowness […]
Posted inLocal News
Redmond High Student Competes in Poetry Out Loud
Redmond High School senior Arianna Morris just returned from the state finals for the 2026 Poetry Out Loud contest. She’s the only student from Central Oregon to make it that far. Eleven high schoolers from around the state competed on Saturday, March 7. Morris read two poems: “To My Dear and Loving Husband” by Anne […]
Posted inColumns
You Haven’t Lost It. You’ve Just Stopped Looking.
Dear Dr. Jane, My wife and I have been married for close to 10 years, together for 15. In general, we get along really well, but sex is almost non-existent at this point. I can count on one hand the number of times we were intimate in 2025. When we first met, we were both incredibly […]
Posted inBusiness News
The Quiet Value of Maintenance
Homeownership is often talked about in emotional terms. It’s the place where holidays happen, where dogs scratch at the back door, where friends gather around a kitchen island long after dinner is finished. A home is where life unfolds. But financially speaking, a home is something else entirely. For most people, it is the single […]
Posted inCulture
Free Will Astrology, Week of March 12
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Can you compel acts of grace to intervene in your destiny? Can bursts of divine favor be summoned through the power of your will? Some spiritual scholars say, “Absolutely not.” They claim life’s wild benevolence arrives only through the mysterious tides of fate—impossible to solicit and impossible to predict. But other […]
Posted inLocal News
Outdoor Liability Bill Reaches the Summit
Get smashed by a snowmobile driven by ski hill employee? That’s gross negligence — you’d have a liability lawsuit on your hands. Break your foot because a kettle bell slipped from your grip? That’s ordinary negligence — maybe the gym owner should have a glove policy — and you’re outta luck. Outdoor recreation and fitness providers, along with volunteer organizations, will enjoy a heightened protection against liability lawsuits, once Gov. Tina Kotek signs Senate Bill 1517 into law. Oregon lawmakers passed […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Central Oregon Locavore is Expanding
Central Oregon Locavore is getting ready to open a new location on the west side of Bend. Founder Nicolle Timm-Branch says it’s in direct response to surveys and listening sessions the nonprofit conducted in 2025. It wasn’t water rights, labor costs or weather that were top of mind. Timm-Branch says they heard from “farmers, ranchers […]
Posted inOpinion
Locals Say They Want Tourists to Pay More of Their Fair Share for City Services. A Tweak to Room Tax Rules Could Do That.
Every time a conversation about funding the streets or local cops comes up, some in the community will use it as an opportunity to ask, “How can we get tourists to pay more of their fair share?” In Bend, the City Council tried in 2016 to increase the local gas tax to make that happen. […]
Posted inBusiness News
Free screening of the Oscar nominated film, “The Voice of Hind Rajab”
Local screening of the Oscar nominated film, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” by local Palestine Solidarity organizations. ● Followed by a livestream Q&A with Omar Alqam, the Red Crescent worker who is depicted in the film. ● All proceeds will be donated to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund – PCRF Description and trailer of the film, “The Voice of […]