Month: April 2017

Greater sage grouse, a bird that been the subject of intense conservation efforts in recent decades, do better in areas where juniper trees have been removed, new research suggests. The four-year study is the first to link sage grouse demographics with tree reduction and supports the idea of conserving sage grouse by controlling conifer expansion

JACKSONVILLE, Ore. (AP) – A southern Oregon vineyard that is tied to a nationwide subscription fraud lawsuit is up for sale. The Mail Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2pDy0ra ) Bellinger Lane Vineyard Estate hit the market last week for $13 million. The property’s former trustee, Jeffrey Hoyal, is facing a suit from the Federal Trade Commission accusing

Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), along with Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), introduced landmark climate legislation Thursday that would transition the United States to 100 percent clean and renewable energy by no later than 2050. The “100 by ’50 Act” lays out a roadmap for a transition to

On Wednesday, April 26, the Crook County Sheriff’s Office completed is 4 th annual Citizen’s Academy with 22 new graduates. This year’s class had a good mix of participants ranging from high school age to retirees. The thirteen week academy met on Wednesday nights for two hours at the library Broughton Room. During this year’s

OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) – Authorities have arrested a suspect in the sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl. The Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office says 48-year-old Santiago Martinez-Flores was taken into custody in Southern California. Martinez-Flores has a criminal record dating back to 1994. The sheriff’s office said he was deported to Mexico in March 2001

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – A judge has dismissed a $4 million lawsuit filed by a relative of four people who drowned in a northwest Oregon lake in 2014. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports (https://goo.gl/1UkOeT ) Judge Andrew Erwin dismissed the suit after Washington County argued it was entitled to immunity. The county argued immunity under a state

A man wanted on a felony arrest warrant ran when Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies came to his southern Bend house early Tuesday evening, then dove into an irrigation canal to try to escape. But it didn’t work, as they tracked him downstream for a few minutes until he eventually got out, cold and wet, and

A man walking on a northwest Redmond street holding what turned out to be a realistic looking Airsoft-type gun early Wednesday morning prompted worried calls to Deschutes County dispatchers. Sheriff’s deputies said they cordoned off the area, stopped traffic for a time and talked with the man, eventually taking him to the hospital for evaluation.

The Champions for Children Luncheon is scheduled for noon on Wednesday, May 24 at The Riverhouse Convention Center. The event is an annual fundraiser/friend-raiser for Healthy Beginnings in support of its screening services for children in Central Oregon. An important component of the luncheon is to recognize local Champions for Children. In recognition of the

In a week, on May 4, Central Oregonians will be able to open up their smartphone’s Uber app and request a ride under regulations recently adopted by the city of Bend. The Sisters City Council also adopted a city code for taxis and transportation network companies on Wednesday evening, and Redmond took similar action recently.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Leaders in the Oregon Legislature are forming a temporary, bipartisan committee that’ll spend the next several weeks hashing out a business tax-overhaul plan that may go to voters for final approval in a special election. In a memo Wednesday, House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney, both Democrats, said

A large plot of land just east of the Madras Municipal Airport will hold 1,500 RVs for a late-summer special event like no other. You can stay for $125 a night or $300 for the whole weekend leading up to the Monday, August 21 solar eclipse. Preparations for the eclipse have been going on for

Voters in the Bend-La Pine Schools district are about to get mail ballots and decide on a record $268.3 million school bond in the May 16 special election. With more people moving into the area every day, schools are again bursting at the seams, and the district thinks something needs to be done. At Lava

It’s a landmark land–use decision for Deschutes County. County commissioners on Wednesday denied a permit for a proposed recreational pot grow east of Bend. Neighbors filed the appeal in January, making this the first time a marijuana-related land use appeal has been brought before the commission. Applicant Roy Rubio’s attorney, Lisa Klemp, spoke on his

A bill that could slow if not block a proposed proposed footbridge over a state-designated scenic stretch of the Deschutes River won unanimous passage from the Oregon House on Wednesday. Rep. Gene Whisnant, R-Sunriver, introduced House Bill 2027, would would prohibit any public body, person or local service district from construction a bridge on a

A 59-year-old inmate from Portland died of a “serious medical issue” Wednesday morning at the Jefferson County Jail as paramedics were administering CPR, Sheriff Jim Adkins said. It was the first inmate death at the jail, he added. James Eugene Wippel was arrested Monday by Warm Springs police on charges of heroin possession and delivery

SALEM, Ore. (AP) – Lawmakers in the Oregon House have approved a bill that would require public universities and community colleges to respect people from all cultures, races and sexual orientations. The lawmakers spoke, at times emotionally, on Wednesday about the state’s racist history, about continuing discrimination, and about their desire for inclusiveness. The bill,

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) – Aggravated theft charges have been filed against a bookkeeper accused of stealing $250,000 from the drug and alcohol treatment that employed her in Eugene. An arrest warrant affidavit written by a Eugene police detective says 60-year-old Melodi Ann Sappe used some of the money to purchase Visa gift cards worth tens

(Update with Democrats’ statement defending Cascade-Siskiyou Monument expansion) Oregon’s lone Republican congressman hailed President Trump’s executive order Wednesday directing a review of national monument designations over the past 21 years, while Oregon’s Democratic leadership defended President Obama’s January order expanding the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. First, here’s Walden’s statement. in full: ” Today ‘s action sends

The best culinary paths to better health are not always paved with cash, new research shows, and cooking at home can provide the best bang-for-the-buck nutritionally as well as financially. A study by Arpita Tiwari, a health systems researcher at Oregon State University, and collaborators at the University of Washington confirms what many mothers and