Senators secure $300K for more Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project work
Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced Friday that the Deschutes Collaborative Forest Project is receiving another $300,000 in federal…
Continue ReadingGovernment-Politics
‘It all comes back to safety’: Draft Wickiup Junction plan tackles a variety of issues
The area known as Wickiup Junction sits on Highway 97, as you head into La Pine from the north, where the road turns into two lanes and there are…
Continue Reading
As Oregon nears 70% vaccination goal, Gov. Brown details plans to lift most restrictions
Gov. Kate Brown announced Friday the steps the state will take to lift COVID-19 health and safety restrictions and fully reopen the economy after 70%…
Continue Reading
Oregon lawmakers pass bill requiring health insurers to cover EMS emergency trips
The Oregon Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a measure to increase Oregonians’ access to critical health care…
Continue Reading
Oregon Senate OKs bill to let college athletes be paid for use of name, image
The Oregon Senate on Thursday passed Senate Bill 5, which would allow college athletes at Oregon’s public and private universities to receive…
Continue Reading
Bend plans removal of ‘unsafe’ NE Bend homeless campsite, but advocates ask where they will go
A new city of Bend policy to remove “unsafe” homeless campsites on city rights of way is raising questions from some homeless service providers about…
Continue Reading
Visit Bend creates Sustainability Fund to protect, create recreational resources
Much like Bend’s forests change with the seasons, its tourism industry continues to evolve. That’s the thought behind a new grant fund devoting…
Continue Reading
Bend councilors wrestle with homeless issue, OK new campsite removal policy
The Bend City Council, meeting in person for the first time in over a year due to the pandemic, were briefed on and wrestled with efforts to address…
Continue Reading
BPA adds public safety power shutoff procedure to mitigate wildfires
The Bonneville Power Administration said Wednesday it has added a public safety power shutoff procedure to its wildfire mitigation plan to protect…
Continue Reading
ODFW eyes possible emergency actions to protect native fish amid severe drought
March and April were among the driest spring months since the 1890s. Many streams are already at 25 percent of the flow that is typical for this time…
Continue Reading
Oregon Legislature passes bill to provide free state IDs to people experiencing homelessness
The Oregon Legislature gave final passage Wednesday to HB 3026, a bipartisan bill that will waive application fees for state-issued IDs for people…
Continue Reading
Advocates hopeful climate bill can pass Oregon Legislature
Oregon would adopt one of the country’s most ambitious timelines for eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from its power grid under a bill being…
Continue Reading
Oregon secretary of state issues annual report on Government Waste Hotline calls
Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and the Audits Division released the 2020 Government Waste Hotline Report Wednesday, summarizing the activity…
Continue Reading
Oregon House panel: Witt violated workplace rules with texts to Breese Iverson
An Oregon state representative violated workplace rules against sexual harassment and creating a hostile work environment with a series of texts to a…
Continue Reading
Oregon Legislature makes ‘cocktails to-go’ permanent
Oregon lawmakers have passed a bill allowing the sale of cocktails to-go to continue after the COVID-19 pandemic.…
Continue Reading
Merkley, colleagues introduce legislation to prevent child abuse, neglect in Indian Country
Sen. Jeff Merkley, along with a bipartisan group of seven senators, have introduced the American Indian and Alaska Native Child Abuse Prevention and…
Continue Reading
Bend homeless issue addressed with new year-round shelter, city campsite policy
Homeless camps have become a more common sight throughout Bend, as related issues gain greater…
Continue Reading Oregon bans guns from Capitol, mandates safe gun storage in homes
Legislators have brought guns into the Oregon Capitol for personal protection. Protesters have carried semi-automatic rifles onto the grounds and…
Continue Reading
Interior Department OKs building a new Warm Springs jail; current jail closed for past year
A year after the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department’s roughly half-century-old jail was closed, amid COVID and other issues, the U.S. Interior…
Continue Reading Bill to make displaying noose a crime of intimidation passes Oregon House, heads to governor
The Oregon House on Tuesday passed and sent to the governor’s desk Senate Bill 398 A, which makes it a Class A misdemeanor or crime of intimidation…
Continue Reading