Last Thursday, Aug. 18, the City Club of Central Oregon held a forum titled “Tourism or Tourisn’t: Is the Juice of a Tourist Economy Worth the Squeeze?” Some of the area’s most influential citizens gathered to discuss the “branding, promotion, and impact of tourism” on the local economy. Panelists included a regional economist from the […]
City Club of Central Oregon
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Too Many Tourists?
Bend grapples with the seasonal influx of visitors
When Katy Bryce sat down on the front porch of her west side Bend home last month to write a blog post, she didn’t know that she was about to voice the frustrations of thousands of local residents. Bryce, a freelance writer, wrote about walking along the Deschutes River that morning, about how she’d found […]
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Underage and Underground
Central Oregon’s hidden child sex trafficking problem
As tourists flock to Central Oregon for summer adventure, a more sinister migration is happening under the radar. While Portland has received national attention as an alleged hotbed for child sex trafficking, local advocates and law enforcement say that Bend has a growing problem with the sexual exploitation of minors. Last month, the Federal Bureau […]