Cascade Bancorp was ranked #16 in the annual Seattle Times Northwest 100 ranking. Cascade Bancorp is the highest ranking bank in the Top 100. The annual ranking of successful companies by The Seattle Times newspaper includes all publicly held companies of Washington, Oregon and Idaho.The Seattle Times NW 100 is designed to measure performance over a two- year period. The proprietary ranking system considers Return on Equity, Sales per Employee, Stock Price Appreciation and Operating Income over ... [full story]

A tenant accidentally started a fire to his detached garage when he was heating resin-impregnated fiberglass in a cardboard box with a heat gun. According to Captain Chuck Goss of the Bend Fire Department, when units responded to the alarm at 19242 Indian Summer Road about 5:30 pm on July 5th, they found that Michael Seeley had already extinguished the fire with a garden hose -- but not before causing an estimated $11,000 in damage to ... [full story]

The annual summer pet adoption fair will be held Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16, in the main conference rooms in the Deschutes Services Center, 1300 NW Wall St. in Bend (located off the Parkway at the Lafayette exit).  “Furry Friends in Need” is jointly sponsored by the Bend Spay & Neuter Project and SNIP House, and the Humane Societies of Redmond, Bend (Central Oregon) and the Ochocos.  The Deschutes Services Center location provides people ... [full story]

With the national unemployment rate hovering around 5 percent, many Americans are seeking new career opportunities. Career experts point to several fields where employment and compensation opportunities are set to boom. It's no surprise that financial services, information technology, and medical careers make everyone's list - from FastCompany.com to CareerBuilder. There's a new entry, however, to lists of fastest-growing professions in 2006 - landscape architect. For increasingly environmentally conscious job seekers, the profession can be the ... [full story]

No reasonable person would deny that a government and a country at war against international terrorism must cloak some of that war in secrecy. That's especially true on the vital matter of intelligence gathering, the decisive front in identifying and defeating an unconventional, hidden enemy that operates by stealth. We also have a cherished Constitution whose Bill of Rights begins with a First Amendment guaranteeing a free press, an institutional bedrock of American liberties. That free press ... [full story]

Inflation has spooked Wall Street. Fearful of inflation, the stock market has lost its traction and is behaving like a kid careening down a slip and slide. These inflation worries have prompted plenty of 60-somethings to wonder if a box of Raisin Bran will someday cost them $49.99. Not everyone, however, is perspiring at the prospects of price spikes. The inflation willies have opened up a new marketing opportunity for investment firms and insurers that would ... [full story]

If you often have to stand by the window or go outside to talk on your cell phone, then you are among the 35 percent of cell phone users who experience reduction or loss of their cell phone signal inside the home or office. But new technologies are available that amplify the signal and improve the quality of the call. Trees, certain building materials, wall density, the number of windows in a building and building ... [full story]

ANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: Opportunities for carryover rainbow trout from 10-18 inches are good; however anglers are reporting mixed success. BIG LAVA LAKE : Angler success has picked up. Anglers fishing the bottom with powerbait or worms are having success along with those anglers trolling lures and fly anglers. The fish being caught are in excellent condition. CLEAR LAKE : Clear Lake , located about 20 miles west of Maupin, has been stocked with keeper trout ... [full story]

A $253 million budget has been unanimously adopted by the Deschutes County commissioner’s office for 2006-2007.  The budget, passed on June 28, allows for additional staff, including three more sheriff's deputies.  However, this years budget officer, Commissioner Mike Daly pointed out that growing demands in the county are still likely to outpace resources due to a lack of state funding.   Commissioner Mike Daly, Commissioner Bev Clarno, Board Chair and Commissioner Dennis Luke The recommended budget is ... [full story]

Sales of existing homes nationwide experienced a minor decline in May with home prices rising to near normal rates, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Total existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – eased 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.67 million units in May from a pace of 6.75 million in April, and were 6.6 percent below the 7.14 million-unit level in May 2005. “There’s now ... [full story]