Month: July 2013

“Do you support marriage equality?” Friday’s hot weather wasn’t stopping Bend resident Nate Lund from canvassing downtown Bend, asking people to support same-sex marriage in Oregon. It’s a question asked dozens of times in Bend, and echoed thousands of times across the state as Oregon United for Marriage launched an effort to collect signatures needed

Residents in Deschutes River Woods are hugging each other a little tighter on Saturday and sifting through the damage left after a fast-moving fire ripped through the wooded subdivision south of Bend on Friday. One home was completely lost to the fire, while another family waits to learn the fate of its home that’s still

Five people received minor injuries and a driver was cited on several charges in a two-car crash on Highway 20W in Sisters Saturday afternoon, Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies reported. Deputies and Sisters Fire medics were dispatched around 12:40 p.m. to the crash at Hwy. 20W and West Barclay Drive, said Sgt. Troy Gotchy. Arriving deputies

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lightning started a handful of small wildfires in southeast Oregon, and officials worry there could be additional flare-ups this weekend. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Tara Martinak says Harney County got 170 lightning strikes late Friday afternoon. The largest wildfire sparked by the lightning was the 125-acre Standcliff Creek fire, and

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lightning started a handful of small wildfires in southeast Oregon, and officials worry there could be additional flare-ups this weekend. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Tara Martinak says Harney County got 170 lightning strikes late Friday afternoon. The largest wildfire sparked by the lightning was the 125-acre Standcliff Creek fire, and

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lightning started a handful of small wildfires in southeast Oregon, and officials worry there could be additional flare-ups this weekend. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Tara Martinak says Harney County got 170 lightning strikes late Friday afternoon. The largest wildfire sparked by the lightning was the 125-acre Standcliff Creek fire, and

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lightning started a handful of small wildfires in southeast Oregon, and officials worry there could be additional flare-ups this weekend. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Tara Martinak says Harney County got 170 lightning strikes late Friday afternoon. The largest wildfire sparked by the lightning was the 125-acre Standcliff Creek fire, and

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Lightning started a handful of small wildfires in southeast Oregon, and officials worry there could be additional flare-ups this weekend. Bureau of Land Management spokeswoman Tara Martinak says Harney County got 170 lightning strikes late Friday afternoon. The largest wildfire sparked by the lightning was the 125-acre Standcliff Creek fire, and

It was a sight sure to fill many with dread – a tall, black smoke column rising from Deschutes River Woods as a home in the heavily wooded subdivision south of Bend burned on a hot Friday afternoon, quickly spreading to nearby trees and grass and threatening other nearby homes. And indeed, Shane and Jennifer

Textbooks are old school — iPads are the future for five Bend and La Pine schools. “We struggle to keep current, relevant, rigorous content in front of our students,” Shay Mikalson, the district’s executive director of curriculum and instructional technology,said Thursday. By arming students with iPads, the district hopes to change that. This fall, a

Climate change is expected to amplify both droughts and wildfires across the western United States. A new study shows that the effects of drought and fire work in combination, such that forests experiencing drought will see more dead trees in the aftermath of wildfires. “There is a lot of research showing that climate change is

After a 5-day battle, the 330-acre Stagecoach Fire northeast of Gilchrist in northern Klamath County was declared fully contained Friday evening, though local firefighters will continue to mop up and patrol until the blaze is fully out. R.D. Buell was never so glad to be wrong as he was when he got back into the

Rep. Greg Walden was at St. Charles-Bend for over an hour Friday morning talking to a dozen health professionals. That includes, doctors and psychiatrists, all with their own issues they face and changes on the horizon with the affordable care act. “Its a great education to be able to sit down with these professionals in

The Deschutes National Forest on Friday issued a revised environmental assessment and notice of a draft decision to issue a revised special use permit for a controversial city of Bend project to replace deteriorating water pipelines and do other Bridge Creek water system improvements. The city submitted a new proposal for the project to the

The City of Bend is seeking applicants for one position on the Planning Commission. Committee members are appointed by the City Council to review and make recommendations regarding land use matters. Applicants must be residents of the City of Bend. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, August 9. For applications or questions,

An audit released Thursday found significant duplication, overlap and fragmentation throughout 120 state programs that help low-income Oregonians obtain safe and affordable housing as well as other needed services. “Obtaining affordable housing is critical for Oregonians trying to escape the cycle of poverty and become self-sufficient,” said Secretary of State Kate Brown. “Oregon cannot afford

A new report projects that by the middle of this century, there will be an average 56 percent drop in the amount of water stored in peak snowpack in the McKenzie River watershed of the Oregon Cascade Range – and that similar impacts may be found on low-elevation maritime snowpacks around the world. The findings

The City of Bend Police Department conducted a Pedestrian Safety Detail on Wednesday . The operation was held at the intersections of SE 15th Street and SE Riviera Drive. The primary focus of this detail was to raise pedestrian safety awareness of drivers and pedestrians through education and enforcement of pedestrian right of way laws.

Recent bee deaths across the country have Congress and farmers paying close attention to a declining part of the U.S. economy. But what exactly makes bees crucial to the ebb and flow of Central Oregon’s ecosystem? The warmer temperatures have the bees of the High Desert buzzing. And when the bees are happy, Allen Engle

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and John Thune (R-S.D.), members of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced legislation Thursday to prevent what they call discriminatory and duplicative taxes on digital goods and services, including online downloads of music, literature, movies, mobile apps and cloud computing services. Their bill would clarify federal rules related to the taxation of