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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.

Recent changes to Transient Lodging Tax allocations could give more money to the City of Bend — and also reduce tourism numbers.
by The Source Editorial Board

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 inNews

Listen: Bend’s Arts and Culture Scene with Cate O’Hagan 🎧

Cate O’Hagan is best known for serving as executive director of Arts Central for more than two decades. She shares insights on state and local arts funding and the tensions between authenticity and appealing to tourists.
Laurel Brauns

For this week’s “Bend Don’t Break” podcast we talk with Cate O’Hagan, a longtime champion of the arts in Central Oregon and the chair of the Deschutes Cultural Coalition. O’Hagan and her board helped decide how to allocate nearly $1 million that recently flowed into the county to support the arts from a fund the […]

Posted inNews

Tourism in the Time of COVID: Kevney Dugan, CEO of Visit Bend 🎧 [with podcast]

Where is the fine line between saving the economy and keeping the community safe?
Laurel Brauns

For this week’s “Bend Don’t Break” podcast, we talk with Kevney Dugan, CEO of Visit Bend, the destination marketing organization for the City. Dugan worked in the fly fishing industry before coming on as the group sales manager for the agency 10 years ago. He was then promoted to President, taking over for Doug LaPlaca. […]

Posted inOpinion

Portland is Finalizing a Deal to Use Tourism Dollars to Battle Homelessness.

It’s a Precedent Central Oregon Should Follow.
The Source Staff

Just about one year ago, this editorial page highlighted the efforts underway in Portland to direct some of the money collected through tourism-related taxes to a fund supporting people on the verge of homelessness. It was a novel idea that caught our attention then—and now that the arrangement, as reported by the Portland Tribune last […]

Posted inOutside

Trail Lovers Unite

The Deschutes Trails Coalition is partnering up to foster a future of sustainable trails in C.O.
Chris Miller

It’s a group you may not have heard of, but if you love the trails in the Deschutes National Forest—and in Central Oregon—it’s a group to have on your radar. Formed about two and a half years ago, the Deschutes Trails Coalition is a partnership of environmental groups, the outdoor industry and trail stewardship organizations […]

Posted inNews

Game of Groans

Locals, get ready for another summer of sun, fun…& roadblocks?
Chris Miller

Locals, these pages are for you. As the summer—and summer events—season kicks into high gear navigating Central Oregon becomes like a high-stakes game of “Life” mixed with “Sorry!” Here’s some info you might want to know, delivered with a little local humor. (Look for this week’s print edition to play this in real life!) So […]

Posted inBend Nest

Circle Time

A “Roundabout Art” Road Trip Guide
Howard Leff

Seen a giant red flaming chicken lately? Or how about a massive grizzly bear lounging around town? Would it alarm you to learn that we’ve spotted both of these striking creatures in the middle of busy Bend intersections? Fear not. Neither one signals the beginnings of an environmental calamity. At least not yet. Instead, they’re […]

Posted inNews

Bucking Tourism Bucks?

The City of Bend gets a big budget boost from hotel taxes. What happens if the well runs dry?
Chris Miller

You’ve probably seen them: people wandering up Bond Street, nearly running into other people, smartphone in one hand, scoop of Bonta in the other, trying to find the Deschutes pub. They’re called tourists—and like it or not, they’re an important part of Bend’s economy. Tourism is Central Oregon’s second-largest economic provider, accounting for 15 percent […]

Posted inOutside

On Stewardship

At the intersection of loving the outdoors and “loving it to death” is one big buzzword. We explore what it means
Avatar photo K.M. Collins

In a Bend area Visitors Survey conducted for summer 2017 by Visit Bend, 69 percent of tourists reported visiting Bend for outdoor recreation, leisure, sightseeing and brewery tourism. Those surveyed were asked to comment on the question, “If you could change one thing about Bend, what would it be?” The most common responses involved dissatisfaction […]

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