Month: July 2016

Responding to the soaring cost of housing in Oregon and across the United States, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at helping individuals and families purchase their first home. Under his proposal, first time homebuyers will receive up to a $10,000 refundable tax credit. This credit would equal

It’s the newest craze among gamers: “Pokemon GO.” The hot mobile app has many online game lovers exploring Central Oregon to catch those rare virtual creatures. It’s not just a walk in the park for Corey Crofoot and his friends. With smartphone in hand, they’re trying to catch Pokemon. Crofoot said didn’t think the game

The Senior Fishing Derby returns to Walton Lake next week on Wednesday, July 20, providing a fun and completely free morning of fishing and prizes for participants 55 years of age and older. Now in its 23rd year, the annual fishing derby once again offers a friendly competition for rainbow trout set on the scenic

More than 100 neighbors gathered Tuesday evening to voice their concerns about a new housing development slated for Bend’s Westside. In 2010, Central Oregon Community College signed a deal to develop 15 acres along Mt. Washington Drive south of Shevlin Park Road. But until this year, the project was put on hold due to the

There are more than 1.5 billion users on Facebook. Connecting that many people to one vast network is a huge technological challenge. That’s why the social media giant built one of its first data centers in Prineville, but many still wonder: Why Central Oregon? “We enjoy Central Oregon because of its cool climate. and the

The housing market in Central Oregon continued its upward trend in the first half of 2016, but there were wide disparities in how much prices rose — or jumped, depending on the area, the region’s Realtors reported Tuesday. The Central Oregon Association of Realtors said the median home price for the first half of 2016,

More than 800,000 Oregonians are living with a disability, and this week the attention is on making sure they have an opportunity to vote. It’s National Disability Voter Registration Week, and groups including Deaf People United and the Autism Society of Oregon are assisting with voter registration and voting efforts among the disability community. Esther

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown will visit Bend and Redmond on Wednesday to highlight how communities can prepare for natural disasters — namely, major wildfires and earthquakes.. Working with members of the Heart of Oregon Corps, Bend Parks & Recreation District, and the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal, Governor Brown will help remove excess brush

Central Oregon Veterans Outreach (COVO) is pleased to announce our newest effort to reach homeless and at-risk community members residing throughout the tri-county area through our new Mobile Community Outreach trailer, made possible through a generous donation by Pacific Source. The schedule for outreach efforts in communities outside of Bend is listed below. Locations will

Crater Lake National Park rangers said Monday they seized more than 234 pounds of illegally harvested morel mushrooms during the Fourth of July weekend. The estimated market value of the confiscated mushrooms is $7,944. National Park Service rangers worked closely with law enforcement professionals from the Oregon State Police, U.S. Forest Service and the Douglas

G5, the digital marketing company headquartered in Bend, is embarking on a company-wide competition to encourage employees to walk, bike, carpool, ride the bus or telework for the entire month of July. G5 employs 225 people at the Franklin Crossing building in downtown Bend. For the challenge, employees are divided into 26 different teams with

Prineville native Tatum Holliday is set to compete at the USA Track & Field Junior Olympics National Championships at Sacramento State University in California later this month, one of several young Central Oregon athletes to make the national event. On Sunday, Holliday competed in the 800-meter run and javelin throw at the USATF Junior Olympic

Since five officers were fatally shot and seven others wounded Thursday in Dallas, Redmond police say they’ve been heartened by support from the community, much like many police agencies around the country. “It’s been really neat to see people come out and thank people on the street. I’ve had a few individuals even give me

St. Charles Bend announced Monday it will construct a new patient tower that will significantly increase its number of critical care beds — a project that it said “positions the hospital to care for the communities it serves well into the next century.” The St. Charles Health System Board of Directors recently approved a $66

The Oregon wing of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) will be conducting its annual statewide training exercise, evaluated by the U.S. Air Force, on July 15, 16, and 17. The training will have an incident command post at Aurora airport, with aircrews and aircraft flying out of Aurora, Bend, and Medford airports. The statewide search

Salem is Oregon’s third-largest city, the state capital and what some locals jokingly call “so lame.” This capitol city is so busy with bigwig politicians and state government, that some critics say nickel and dime us every year. But if you look past the gold pioneer on top of the marble state capitol about six

A Bend man was arrested in La Pine early Sunday and his dog seized under a search warrant, to be checked and treated for injuries, after witnesses twice reported seeing him kicking and punching his dog in a southeast Bend parking lot. He later denied the allegations to NewsChannel 21. Officers were dispatched just after

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and colleagues on Monday urged the Federal Communications Commission to update the Universal Service Fund’s Mobility Fund, which is aimed at providing broadband service to rural and underserved areas. Wyden was joined by 27 senators in a bipartisan letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler calling for the agency to prioritize new

After 12 successful years serving as the regional volunteer center for Central Oregon, Volunteer Connect has decided to wind down its operations due to a lack of sustainable funding, the organization said Monday. Here’s the rest of their announcement: Since its inception in 2004 as Volunteer Insights, founder and volunteer Executive Director Betsy Warriner and

The Deschutes National Forest will host an Engineering Services Company of the Marine Forces Reserve, known as “the Oregon Marine s,” July 13 -26. The battalion members will be working with the forest on numerous local non-combat projects while camping on the Forest Service compound on Deschutes Market Road. “The Oregon Marine s” is a