Month: July 2016

At the 2016 Netroots Nation Annual Conference, Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley announced Friday his plan to introduce legislation that would require 100 percent of American energy to come from renewable sources by 2050. Merkley made the announcement during a panel he hosted at the Netroots Nation Conference titledKeep It in the Ground: Getting the Federal

Access to the Sparks Lake area is reopened with the completion of a traffic bypass, which had closed access to the area. Construction of the bypass was needed to allow single lane traffic access into the Sparks Lake area while a bridge is constructed over Soda Creek. The installation of the Soda Creek Bridge is

A significant milestone is occurring next week at the Farewell Bend Bridge over the Deschutes River, when the new bridge sections will be hoisted into place by crane after the remaining bridge center is removed. The Deschutes River will be closed to river users at the bridge — both upstream and downstream access – beginning

The city of Redmond unveiled plans this week to build a new regional interagency wildfire dispatch center that will be leased out to the U.S. Forest Service next year. The 7,000-square-foot facility will be the new home for the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center, which serves the U.S Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and

Governor Kate Brown on Friday will announce “Oregonians United to End Gun Violence,” a plan to address gun violence in Oregon and across the country. Brown will be joined at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Portland by faith leaders, advocates for gun safety, Sen. Ron Wyden, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill and

The Bend City Council is holding a special meeting at 4:30 p.m. onThursday, July 21, at Council Chambers, City Hall, 710 NW Wall Street, to hear input from interested stakeholders and individuals on the creation of aClimateActionPolicy for the city of Bend. The proposed resolution can be found in the “spotlight” section on the front

Last Friday, Redmond police officers responded to a report of a fawn caught in a fence off Highway 97. They helped free the fawn from the fence, and she’s now being cared for at Wildside Rehabilitation. “His mother had just gone through the five lanes of traffic. The fawn tried to follow and got caught

Backed by a broad coalition of voting rights groups, Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and David Cicilline, D-R.I., introduced legislation Thursday to expand Oregon-style vote-by-mail nationwide and cut through bogus obstacles to voting. “Too many states are making working Americans, people of color, young people and those with disabilities go

An 11-year-old boy fell into a Wichita, Kansas, creek in late May, and a Central Oregon company sprang into action after getting a special request. When the Loch family learned of the death of Devon Cooley, they were heartbroken. To honor the young skateboarder’s memory, they dedicated an item from their own merchandise to his

Gov. Kate Brown saw and learned about the preparations Central Oregon community leaders are making in case of a natural disaster during a visit Wednesday. The Heart of Oregon Corps has teamed up with Bend Parks and Recreation at Discovery Park in NorthWest Crossing in Bend to create a defensible space by clearing brush, reducing

Deschutes National Forest fuels specialists on Thursday burned piles of woody debris left over from commercial thinning operations for the construction of a new lift , Cloudchaser, on Mt. Bachelor. These piles were at 7,600 feet elevation and located in a rocky area with snow drifts. The remainder of the lower elevation piles will be

Members of Oregon’s congressional delegation introduced Thursday the bipartisan Community Protection and Preparedness Act (H.R. 5786), legislation that creates a new trust fund to help communities prepare for accidents involving rail cars transporting flammable liquids, including crude oil and ethanol. Thelegislation was sponsored by Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Peter

Bend’s most famous brewery is going virtual. Deschutes Brewery released a new virtual reality experience Wednesday for its 28th anniversary. The 3D film will allow viewers to experience special places in Central Oregon — the home of Deschutes’ beer — without ever having to leave their home. The first film is a 3D virtual tour

A grant from the U.S Department of Agriculture could enable planners at Oregon State University–Cascades to move closer to achieving net zero energy usage across the future campus by studying the potential of integrating a woody biomass thermal energy system and campus-wide biomass district energy to provide heat to campus buildings. The $193,910 grant was

During these dog days of summer, a new poll from PEMCO Insurance reveals that Northwest residents are more likely to help a canine cooped up in a car than they are to lend a hand to a fellow driver in distress. According to the latest PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll, nearly three-quarters (71 percent) of Washington

Legislation by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., to provide much-needed certainty for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) test sites in Oregon and nationwide to continue their economic growth was approved Wednesday by the Senate. The inclusion in a larger FAA bill of Wyden’s legislation extends congressional authorization for the test sites in Pendleton, Tillamook and Warm Springs

St. Charles Foundation and St. Charles Health System invite members of the community to nominate outstanding local physicians for this year’s North Star Award. Presented at the Foundation’s signature annual event, the Saints Gala, this award recognizes an actively practicing physician in Central Oregon whose work has been defined by compassionate patient care, professionalism and

Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Wednesday that his plan to remove gray wolves from the federal endangered species list has been approved by the U.S. House by a vote of 223-201. “Oregon’s wolf population has grown by more than 40 percent, and yet we have this divided management strategy in the federal government where in

Bend fire crews doused a small brushfire along the Deschutes River on Wednesday that investigators said was caused by an abandoned campfire on Bend Park and Rec District property – where the agency is working to reduce that threat. Firefighters responded around 10:20 a.m. to the report of a small fire along the east side

There are still active telephone scammers working the Central Oregon area, saying they are calling from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office or other local law enforcement agency, officials said Wednesday. This person will say that there is a warrant or some kind of fine related to a missed court date. Most recently, victims are instructed