Month: November 2015

Faculty in the Oregon State University College of Agricultural Sciences have submitted an application to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration seeking permission to conduct research on industrial hemp. OSU faculty members believe there is interest within Oregon for industrial hemp production and related research, as well as potential to promote the crop’s agricultural and economic

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department said Thursday it has extended the public comment period on a request from the Bend Park and Recreation District to amend rules for the Upper Deschutes State Scenic Waterway. The amendment would remove language prohibiting crossings between Mile 171 and 174.6, and instead allow applications for bicycle/pedestrian crossings. The

Neighborhood complaints of drug activity and a string of traffic stops led to a police raid on a northeast Bend house Wednesday morning and the arrest of four people, one who jumped out a window and over a fence before his arrest in a neighbor’s yard, police said. Bend police and the Central Oregon Drug

Central Electric Cooperative will ceremonially launch Oregon’s first “community solar” project with a “panel-hanging” next week near its service center in southeast Bend. A ceremonial mounting of the first of 704 photovoltaic panels to be installed at Oregon’s first community solar project is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 12, at 1:30 p.m. at 61090 SE 27th

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., joined by leading environmental advocates, introduced on Tuesday the “Keep It in the Ground Act,” major new legislation to help accelerate the transition to clean energy by ending all new federal leases for oil, gas or coal extraction on public lands and waters. “Climate change is already impacting our world through

A photo of a Bend father/son duo is taking the Internet by storm — a trick that’s fast become a Halloween treat for millions around the world scratching their heads over who is who. Two years ago, Paul and Bobby Evers decided to swap identities for Halloween.The catch is, the photo was posted just a

Two local high schools are hosting all-school events to honor local veterans, in conjunction with the Veterans Day holiday. Summit High School will host its first ever Veterans Honor Day on Friday, Nov. 6 and Bend Senior High School will host a Veterans Assembly on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Summit High School: The celebration — the

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., promised to dig into the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement between the United States and 11 Asian Pacific nations, which was released Thursday. “I look forward to digging into the details of what was released today. In the days and weeks ahead I will be talking with Oregon workers, farmers

Affordable housing was the hot topic during the Bend City Council meeting on Wednesday. They first debated whether to raise the affordable housing fee charged to new developments back to its original pre-recession level — 1 percent of the value of building permits — an issue the council is likely to decide early next month.

The Oregon High School Solar Car Team at Bend’s Trinity Lutheran School has been around for nine years, but Tuesday almost turned into its bleakest day ever — until it wasn’t. “You get to build a solar powered car and race on the NASCAR Speedway,” Sam Anderton, solar car team member Sam Anderton said Wednesday.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D – Ore.), Edward J. Markey (D – Mass.) and nine of their Senate colleagues on Wednesday introduced the Help Americans Never Get Unwanted Phone calls (HANGUP) Act, which protects student loan and mortgage borrowers, veterans, farmers, taxpayers and others from unwanted robocalls and texts. The HANGUP Act strikes Section 301 of

Forone of Oregon’s top agricultural commodities, the 2015 holiday season is wellunderway. Between now and the middle of December, up to 7 million Oregon Christmas trees will beharvested and sold locally, nationally andinternationally. Some of the early trees are already on their way to distantexport markets, with the bulk of activity just around the corner.

It’s the season of frosty windshields. Viewers have been e-mailing us photos of their frosted cars, raising familiar questions as to how to best get the snow and ice off their windshields without damaging their cars. There are many rumored solutions floating around town and online, such as rubbing onions onto your windshield to prevent

Legal indoor marijuana growing operations are a new electrical safety concern in both Oregon and Washington, as they can overload the power grid and even cause blackouts, Pacific Power officials said Wednesday “What most people don’t realize is that growing marijuana is a very intense power use,” said Roger Blank, Pacific Power’s director of safety.

The U.S. Forest Service will waive fees at day-use recreation sites in Oregon and Washington on Wednesday, November 11th in honor of Veteran’s Day. “We honor our veterans each November 11th and every other day of the year,” said U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell. “We hope that this time will serve as a way

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and several colleagues called on the Pentagon Wednesday to conduct a full U.S. Army Inspector General investigation into recent allegations that the U.S. Army has, since 2009, wrongfully dismissed more than 22,000 soldiers after they returned from deployment and were diagnosed with mental health disorders. Colleagues also signing onto the letter

Jefferson County Treasurer Deena Goss submitted her resignation on Wednesday, less than a week after a jury convicted her on 36 counts of theft, forgery and official misconduct. A jury took about an hour of deliberation last Thursday to convict the treasurer on all of the charges against her, finding her guilty of altering checks

A fire that burned a fence between two homes in Deschutes River Woods on Wednesday morning was caused by improper disposal of woodstove ashes, a Bend Fire Department investigator said. Firefighters responded around 9:20 a.m. to the reported fire at 59728 Navajo Road, said Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Derlacki. Crews arrived to find a fence

State Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, on Wednesday released the results of his 2016 session legislative survey for the constituents of Senate District 27. Constituents were asked to share their top priorities for the 2016 session, and two pieces of legislation were chosen for Knopp to introduce in February. The top priorities for Central Oregon residents

Following a record-setting fiscal year, the board of the nonprofit Tower Theatre Foundation voted to extend the contract of Executive Director Ray Solley through June 2017. While celebrating its 75 th anniversary during 2015, the Tower has grown into Central Oregon’s leading performing arts organization, it said in Wednesday’s announcement. Under Solley’s leadership since 2009,