They don’t always ask, but teens need our help with so many things: homework, learning to drive, dating—and, yes, avoiding unintended pregnancy. While the teen pregnancy rate has declined significantly over the past two decades, it’s still a serious issue in Central Oregon. May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, and it’s a good reminder […]
Source Weekly
Dear Tenant, You Must Vacate the Premises
In a quickly gentrifying neighborhood in northwest Bend, just a few blocks from Newport Avenue Market, the 44 people who call the Fireside Lodge Condominiums home will soon be without a basic human need: shelter. Bend’s affordable housing crisis is no longer down the road somewhere in the distant future for them. As market values […]
Competitive Strategies for Bend’s Tight Market
As all of us in Bend know, homes are selling quickly, prices are rising, and we have an inventory shortage. Like many parts of the country, Bend is truly a seller’s market. It is not uncommon to have multiple offers and occasionally bidding wars. With competing buyers for the same property, it’s necessary to act […]
Legal Cannabis is a Boon to Oregon’s Economy
Legal sales of so-called “recreational” cannabis have been ongoing in Oregon for only about eight months. Non-medicinal cannabis became legal on July 1, 2015, but sales through existing medical marijuana dispensaries did not begin until Oct. 1, 2015. Data from those initial sales are starting to become public, and show that Oregon’s new legal cannabis […]
Evie Ladin Band “Jump the Fire”
Evie Ladin opens for the Stray Birds on May 24 at the Old Stone Performing Arts Center (previously the Old Stone Church). The Stray Birds is an acoustic trio on a coast-to-coast tour, stopping by Bend between gigs in Ashland and Eugene. The Evie Ladin Band just released its new album, “Jump the Fire,” earlier […]
2016 Woman of the Year: Alice Elshoff
As co-founder of Friends of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Alice Elshoff’s patience with the armed occupation near Burns unraveled on Jan. 9. She had patiently watched the armed takeover of the 188,000-acre preserve, admitting that she didn’t take it seriously at first. On that early Saturday in January, however, all that changed. She fired […]
Liz Lawrence
On a recent ride along with Sgt. Liz Lawrence of the Bend Police Department, the integrity, honesty and caring nature of the officer comes across clear as day. Lawrence, who has been a part of Bend's police force for 25 years, makes herself available 24/7 to help people, leading BPD’s mental health unit, called the […]
Molly Troupe
Molly Troupe took a very interesting path to becoming the lead distiller at Oregon Spirit Distillers. After studying forensic science and chemistry at Southern Oregon University, she then headed to Scotland for a master’s degree in brewing and distilling. Troupe is now blazing a trail through a traditionally male-dominated profession, and her story is a […]
Sally Russell
Sally Russell says she is ready. Having served as Mayor pro tem, she tells the Source Weekly that she wants to be Bend’s mayor. Russell was first elected to the Bend City Council in 2012 and will soon announce her re-election bid. Unlike many other cities, those who are elected Bend City Councilors choose a […]
Around the USA in Cannabis News
This week brings sad news from Hawaii, where Woody Harrelson’s application to open a medical marijuana dispensary was rejected by state officials. The state approved eight applications out of 60 submitted. The eight stores permitted under state law in Hawaii will consist of three in Honolulu, two on the Big Island, two on Maui, and […]

