Month: July 2014

Natural gas prices are likely headed higher this fall, according to officials with Oregon’s three regulated natural gas providers. That was the message they delivered to the Commission during the annual Gas Outlook on Tuesday. Pressure is being put on natural gas prices by an extremely cold winter that has depleted reserves, and a shift

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., fought back against last week’s Supreme Court decision in the case of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby by announcing Wednesday that he is cosponsoring legislation that would restore employees’ access to birth control coverage. “It’s unacceptable that the Supreme Court has put contraceptive coverage in jeopardy for millions of women, and this

The Two Bulls Fire: a moment Bend held its breath, firefighters went to work, and homeowners crossed their fingers. A month later, there’s nothing more than blackened trees and brush, but one Bend fire ecologist said the region just got lucky. “I caution people to not get a false sense of security from all that,”

About 1,800 Pacific Power customers in the Culver area will be without electricity during the early-morning hours Friday so crews can safely connect some newly upgraded substation equipment. Utility officials say the upgrades will provide for more reliable system operation with the addition of renewable power generation in the Culver area. The outage is scheduled

Shopko announces that it is again partnering with The Salvation Army to launch its annual “Tools for School” campaign. The two organizations have worked together on the “Tools for School” program since 2005. This year, from July 12 through August 8, customers can help local students in need by dropping donated school supplies in collection

Join the city of Bend from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 12, during the Bank of the Cascades Bend Summer Festival to see city equipment, experience interactive displays and learn more about your City. Geared towards families and fun, the city’s displays will include Police K9 dogs, fire engines, snow plows and

Business Oregon will lead an Oregon delegation of five outdoor gear and apparel companies, including Bend’s Hydro Flask, to an outdoor trade show in Germany this week, officials said Wednesday. Another 13 Oregon outdoor firms will also either appear at the show or promote themselves in the Oregon Outdoor booth. The OutDoor Friedrichshafen show takes

Central Oregon law enforcement agencies said Wednesday they made 19 DUII arrests during their five-day High Visibility Enforcement campaign dedicated to DUII enforcement over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. The Bend Police Department dedicated officers to both grant funded overtime and straight time enforcement over the holiday weekend resulting in eight DUII arrests, two

A 55-year-old Oakridge man was killed late Tuesday afternoon when his pickup truck crossed the center line and collided with an oncoming semi-truck on Oregon Highway 58 12 miles east of Pleasant Hill, Oregon State Police said. Troopers on Wednesday identified the driver of the Dodge pickup as Timothy David Fine. Two occupants of the

Family Access Network Foundation (FAN) announces that Victoria Malendoski has accepted a position on the Foundation Board. The mission of the Family Access Network is to improve lives by ensuring all children in Deschutes County have access to basic-need services. Victoria Malendoski is a Sr. Mortgage Specialist for Directors Mortgage. She was born in New

Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., called on Congress Tuesday to pass a White House proposal for more funding to fight the catastrophic wildfires already raging in states across the West. President Obama asked Congress to include an additional $615 million dedicated to wildfire suppression costs as part of an emergency spending request. The

Summer has finally arrived on the High Desert, and with it the heat. With temperatures in the 90s, it’s important to look out for small children and pets, especially in cars. “You should never ever, ever leave your kids in the car,” said Dr. Caroline Gutmann from the Central Oregon Pediatrics Association. It does happen

” It feels hotter in the blazing sun, but yeah, it’s hot,” Josh Brown, an employee with Mountain Sky Landscaping, said as the temperatures rose in Bend Tuesday. ‘Hot’ might be an understatement, especially when your office is outside. “We go through a safety training to make sure the crew is looking out for themselves

Deschutes County health officials issued an advisory Tuesday about reported cases of “swimmer’s itch” at Cascade lakes and said warning notices would be posted at the lakes where incidents have been reported. However, the county advisory did not specify which lakes, and said the reports had not yet been confirmed. “The problem is for us

More than 1,401 quilts and 1,600 quilters have made their way into Central Oregon, specifically Sisters, for the 39th annual Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show. Nearly 40 years ago, it all started with a few quilts that were handed down to a woman named Jean Wells and her sister. They wanted to show people their quilts

About 2,000 Central Electric Cooperative members in the Tumalo area had a very warm Tuesday afternoon after a 69,000-volt power line that feeds the Tumalo substation went out, sending repair crews on a challenging, hours-long hunt for the cause. The power was back on around 4:10 p.m., nearly three hours after it began, after crews

Maybe you have been thinking about trying compression or maybe you own some and know of its magical powers. Either way we have all debated over whether to get socks or sleeves when buying compression. Well fear not as FootZone in Bend can walk you through your different compression options and choose which will suit

Delicious summer pasta with a no cook sauce from Giada De Laurentiis,Everyday ItalianIngredients12 ounces penne pasta1 (8.5-ounce) jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil2 garlic clovesSaltFreshly ground black pepper1 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Parmesan ReggianoDirectionsCook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender butstill firm

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, sent a letter Tuesday urging Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to create critical buffer zones to protect endangered gray wolves in or around our national parks. In 2011, Congress legislated a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal to prematurely delist the gray wolf in

The Downtown Bend Business Association announces record occupancy for 2 nd quarter of 2014. For the second straight quarter a record was broken. The highest leasing rate in five years was set at the end of the quarter as 98% of the available spaces are occupied. The occupancy rate is based on the number of