Heavy consumer demand increases prices and acreage Consumers want them, Oregon growers are providing them. Blueberry harvest is underway with another year of expected good prices and record-breaking production putting a smile on the industry's face. How long will the good times last is anybody's guess, but the state's 300 or so blueberry producers are going to enjoy it while they can."It means we can actually farm and make a profit," says St. Paul blueberry grower ... [full story]

Existing-home sales were essentially unchanged in May, according to the National Association of Realtors. Total existing-home sales -- including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops -- eased by 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate(1) of 5.99 million units in May from an upwardly revised pace of 6.01 million in April, and are 10.3 percent below the 6.68 million-unit level in May 2006. Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, said the market softness is understandable. "I ... [full story]

After jumping sharply between mid-May and mid-June, mortgage rates have now declined in each of the past two weeks. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate retreated to 6.74 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.26 discount and origination points. The average 15-year fixed rate mortgage, popular for refinancing, dropped by a similar amount, to 6.40 percent. With larger loans, the average jumbo ... [full story]

FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Robert Jordan has announced he is retiring, effective the end of July. SAC Jordan has been an FBI Agent for more than 27 years, and he has supervised FBI operations in Oregon since August 2003. Prior to his time in the FBI, he served as a local police officer in New Jersey for 3 years and as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia for one year. "My family and ... [full story]

The Oregon Department of Transportation is encouraging motorists, during the busy summer traveling season and beyond, to practice safe driving — and conserve fuel at the same time. Studies show the faster you drive, the more fuel you use: and speed is the number one factor in crash fatalities in Oregon. So "slow down" is the phrase everyone is using. "With the Fourth of July falling on a Wednesday this year, we’re anticipating heavy traffic on the ... [full story]

SALEM, Ore. —The last major bill of the 74th Legislative Assembly cleared the Oregon House of Representatives yesterday on a 40-18 vote. The Oregon Ethics Reform Act, SB 10, sets strict limits on gift to public officials and increases the penalty for violations. The new ethics requirements apply to all public officials in Oregon, not just to legislators. “Restoring the public’s faith in their elected leaders starts with a strong ethical standard,” said House Speaker ... [full story]

Bend Police are looking for the person or persons responsible for burglarizing five vehicles and two homes in a northwest Bend neighborhood Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. Lt. Ken Stenkamp said that in the NW Terra Meadow Drive area, five unlocked vehicles were entered, and two homes were entered - one through an open garage door and the other via an unlocked door leading into a garage. According to a news release, some of the ... [full story]

MONTGOMERY, Md. - School Superintendent Jerry D. Weast of Montgomery, Md., says the Bush administration's No Child Left Behind law is making public education too easy. Weast said the federal law has made it so leaders in education are "shooting way too low" and statewide tests are now too easy, the Washington Post reported Thursday. Weast said that No Child Left Behind pushes for 100 percent proficiency on state tests, causing some states to lower ... [full story]

Bend Police have arrested a 26-year old transient in connection with the theft of copper pipe from a Bend plumbing company after a nearby resident phoned in a tip when he saw the suspect throwing twenty-foot-long pieces over a fence.   Jeffrey Scott Sernett - DCJ photo About 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, a resident who lives across the railroad tracks saw someone tossing lengths of pipe over the rear fence of Pine Valley Plumbing at 375 SE Logsden ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the execution of a mentally ill Texas killer. Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the majority opinion, said a lower court used too restrictive a standard when deciding whether Scott Louis Panetti's mental illness prevented him from understanding why he was to be executed. Panetti killed his estranged wife's parents in front of his wife and daughter in 1992, Kennedy's decision said. A dissent by Justice ... [full story]