Sheriff: Shane Nelson The Deschutes County Sheriff’s race between appointed incumbent Shane Nelson and Eric Kozowski is one of the most heated and interesting local races. Nelson has 22 years experience with the department, having progressed through the ranks before being appointed sheriff 15 months ago, while Kozowski joined the department in 2010. Both men […]
Bend City Council
Posted inOpinion
Bend City Council Endorsements
City Council Position 1: Justin Livingston Justin Livingston and Ron Boozell make for an interesting contrast for voters. One is a soft-spoken conservative with a limited political background. The other is a forceful libertarian activist whose passion can barely be controlled when extrapolating on policy discussions. Livingston is running on a fiscally conservative platform that […]
Posted inNews
How to Handle the Housing Crisis?
As a UGB proposal is approved by the City Council, Bend 2030 works toward solutions on other parts of the home front
In 2014, Bend 2030 sent out a survey asking locals to weigh in about housing. They received 600 responses from people of all walks of life—many who have had difficulty finding housing. A Sampling of Responses: “My family had to find a new home this past April due to our landlords deciding to sell the […]
Posted inOpinion
Climate Change Resolution
Do something instead of doing nothing
As a reporter at my college newspaper I witnessed a scene that reminded me of the current wrangling over Bend’s climate change resolution. A young undergraduate was taking advantage of the open-forum hour in the school’s student center. Her topic: reducing our consumption of fossil fuels by going vegan. Surrounding her below the podium was […]
Posted inNews
Side Notes 8/17-8/24
City Dollars Fill Pothole Funding Gap In March, Bend voters rejected the gas tax that could have paid for pothole repairs—so to fill the gaps, the City is stepping up. According to David Abbas, Director of the Bend Streets & Operations Department, the City is using street preservation dollars from next year’s budget to fill […]
Posted inOpinion
It’s Time to Retire the Wild West Governance Model in Bend
Back in August 1876, Seth Bullock arrived in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, a mere one day before Wild Bill Hickok was killed while playing cards in a saloon. That quintessential Wild-West shooting prompted the local community to appoint Bullock the first Sheriff of Deadwood, right on the spot. No election, no community input. That was just […]
Posted inNews
Side Notes 8/10-8/17
Legal Pot Increases Home Prices? Since June of 2015, home prices in Bend-Redmond have increased 10.4 percent, tracking closely the 10.9 percent increase in home prices in Oregon over the past year. In fact, the Beaver State topped the list of states with the biggest increases in home prices, followed by Washington at 10.3 percent, […]
Posted inNews
Sally Russell: Re-election Bid to Bend City Council
As expected, Bend City Council member Sally Russell has announced her re-election bid. She says she wants to protect the city’s “soul” while leading the way for rational decisions about future growth. She also says she would like to be elected mayor by her peers. City Council members choose a mayor from their ranks. Her […]
Posted inOpinion
Funding for Affordable Housing: A Step in the Right Direction
One sunny summer morning not long ago, I marched across a dusty front yard in midtown Bend with a $45 rental application fee in hand. This wasn’t exactly the house I’d dreamed of living in when I knew I was moving to Bend, but it was adequate—and available, and I was going to lay down […]
Posted inNews
Businesses Warming Up to Local Climate Change Resolution
A resolution presented before the Bend City Council is looking to effect environmental change locally, but has been causing controversy due to the way it was introduced. The resolution for climate action was originally introduced as an ordinance before the city council—something that did not sit well with local business advocates. The most recent language […]
