Month: April 2015

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) on Thursday joined Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the leading Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and other Democrat senators to introduce legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020. The Raise the Wage Act would gradually increase the federal minimum wage, now $7.25

A new bill passed by the Oregon House aims to help those with a criminal history land a job more easily. The Oregon House has approved a bill that limits how employers can ask job applicants about their criminal records. It forbids putting the question on application forms. The bill is known as “Ban the

Five World War II veterans from Central Oregon are going on an Honor Flight to Washington D.C. and NewsChannel 21’s Wanda Moore will travel with them. On Thursday, four of them shared with us their war stories and their excitement about the upcoming trip. Honor Flights take a selected group of veterans to the nation’s

The Oregon House passed on a 57-1 vote Thursday a measure to let valid concealed handgun licenses in one state be valid in others. Rep. Bill Post (R-Keizer), a chief co-sponsor of HB 3093, said the bill would provide reciprocity for individuals from other states who have a valid concealed handgun license (CHL) permit from

The Oregon House voted unanimously Thursday in favor of HB 3282, a bill introduced by Rep. Knute Buehler, R-Bend, to streamline the urban growth boundary approval process for local cities. “State land use policy has not kept pace with the rapid growth in Bend and other Oregon cities,” Buehler said. “As a result, we have

Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Ron Wilkinson announced Thursday that Scott Olszewski has been selected to become the next principal at Sky View Middle School. Olszewski is currently a vice principal at Mountain View High School, a position he has served in for three years. “I just love the middle school environment. I love the energy

Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins released a report Thursday focusing on three key sectors of state government that pose critical challenges to Oregon’s progress, and urged lawmakers working to finish their session to focus on those issues. “Oregonians need our state to have strong education, infrastructure and finance systems, so we can continue to make

American consumers are now facing constant threats of their personal information being hacked, senators said Thursday in introducing legislation to tighten consumer protections. At the same time that cyber-attacks and data breaches are increasing in number and scope, so too is the amount of information consumers share with the corporations who are the target of

Workers in the Bend Metropolitan Statistical Area (Deschutes County) had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.22 in May 2014, about 11 percent below the nationwide average of $22.71, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were

The sheriff of Klamath County is mincing no words when it comes to a proposal before state lawmakers to expand background checks for private gun sales. Here’s the statement issued Wednesday by Sheriff Frank Skrah, in full: “:While I, as Sheriff of Klamath County, support keeping guns out of the hands of ” CRIMINALS ”

A Bend woman was cited for running a stop sign and hitting the side of a school bus at slow speed at a northeast Bend intersection Wednesday morning, injuring one student and prompting medics to check out 20 of the 50 students aboard, authorities said. Police responded around 8:20 a.m. to the corner of Northeast

Pacific Power workers represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are staging informational picketing near the utility’s Bend district offices this week, claiming the multi-state utility is not offering a fair contract. Spokesman Jeremy White said Wednesday Pacific Power’s parent company, PacifiCorp, is offering a below-average contract compared to other utility companies. The protesters

Wildfire fuels like brush, needles and trees are already drier than normal — more typical of what would be seen in early June — officials with Central Oregon Fire Management Services said Wednesday. “Due to the weather we’ve had so far this year, we’re anticipating an earlier fire season — and what could turn out

Given favorable weather conditions, Deschutes National Forest fuel specialists on the Sisters Ranger District plan to conduct a prescribed burn by Black Butte Ranch as early as Thursday and continuing through Friday. Up to 212 acres could be burned adjacent to Black Butte Ranch and mile south of Highway 20 in the Glaze Meadow area.

Deschutes County’s special tactical team was called out early Wednesday to a standoff at a home in La Pine that ended peacefully with the surrender of a suspect in an assault hours earlier, sheriff’s deputies said. Sheriff’s Sgt. Chad Davis said deputies were dispatched shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday to contact a man at the

The road to Newberry National Volcanic Monument’s Newberry Caldera will open to motorized travel on Friday, as will other facilities, officials said. The gate that blocks access to the caldera area of Paulina and East Lakes as well as the multitude of recreation opportunities and campgrounds in the area will open. Lava Lands Visitor Center

The nonprofit Tower Theatre Foundation’s award-winning educational programs connected with a record number of students, teachers and parents across Central Oregon during the just-completed 2014-15 season. Known as LessonPLAN (Performing Live Arts Now), and under the leadership of Education Coordinator Mollie Tennant, eight events in 21 schools reached 3,310 students. Topics included: a musical based

Bend-La Pine Schools plan to take a popular before- and after-school program for a much more expensive one. Tuesday night. parents sounded off at the school board meeting. The “open gym” program serves Miller, Highland and High Lakes elementary schools as an affordable before- and after-school program for kids, at $75 to $200 a year,

Attorneys for Mt. Bachelor Ski Resort and injured snowboarder Myles Bagley met Tuesday before Deschutes County Circuit Judge Stephen Forte, a day nine years in the making. But as is often the case in court proceedings, there was another postponement, of several months. In 2006, then 18-year-old Bagley went off a jump at Mt. Bachelor’s