The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality smoke advisory for Central Oregon residents Tuesday.  Concern about haze and unhealthful levels of smoke in Sisters and Bend caused by the Black Crater and Maxwell fires prompted the Advisory. Smoke is made up of tiny particles (particulate matter) that can be harmful to breathe, especially for children, older adults and those with asthma and other lung or heart conditions. This particulate matter also reduces ... [full story]

Augustine Flores has lived a life of great diversity.  At the mere age of 32 he has gone from serving as a juvenile correctional counselor to owning multiple successful businesses in Bend.   Flores at his store, LA Hookup    Flores is part owner of The Grove Restaurant & Nightclub, 1033 NW Bond St.    LA Hookup, 1740 NW Pence Lane, # 4   The East Los Angeles native is the owner of LA Hookup, part owner in The Grove Restaurant & ... [full story]

Tenants Invited to Join Agencies for Informational Meeting After three out of 34 Bend mobile home parks received closure notices this year, tenants have been left with a few months to decide what to do next.   The Bend closures follow on the footsteps of Portland area mobile home park closures where tenants were provided with resource fairs to answer those questions.   (left) State Representative Chuck BurleyState Representative Chuck Burley (R-Bend) is sponsoring a similar resource ... [full story]

Movie Review of "The Night Listener" "The Night Listener" is advertised as a psychological thriller.  Psychological, yes.  Thriller, no.  After the first two-thirds of the movie, after a constant barrage of such time-honored devices as creaking stairs, spooky cellars, and furtive expressions on bit players, I finally surrendered the edge of my seat for the much cushier center.  Question:  Is it still considered foreboding, if there's ultimately no boding? Robin Williams stars in 'The Night ... [full story]

Some say that baseball is the national pastime, while others believe it is watching celebrities have nervous breakdowns. As that debate rages on, we will focus on baseball.  Baseball dates back to 1845, when Alexander Cartwright created an actual rulebook with page numbers and everything. He convinced players to stop throwing the ball at the runner, and he replaced the upright poles with soft, harmless bases (the kind of forward thinking inspired by impalement). Not ... [full story]

They're called "cringe moments." Those things that we've done in our past that make us squirm uncomfortably like a Baptist at "Brokeback Mountain" as we remember them. We die a thousand deaths as we recall our past cringe moments and break into a cold sweat at the first sparkle of memory. No one likes to talk about them, but everyone has them, me included. Big surprise, right? Believe it or not, most of my moments come ... [full story]

One person died and three were injured in a fiery vehicle crash on Highway 97 south of NW Canal Boulevard in Redmond last Saturday night.  According to a news release from the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office, initial investigation indicates that a 1989 GMC Sierra swerved into oncoming traffic and crashed into a pickup when the driver was unable to stop behind a line of other vehicles that had been stopped to allow a car to ... [full story]

“Summer Swarm” Sale Expands Umpqua Experience With Lifestyle Products Including Mobile Phones and Vacation PackagesUmpqua Bank, a pioneer of the retail banking model, recently announced a new take on its annual summer sale, "Summer Swarm," which began July 31 and ends August 31. With inviting comfortable stores, in-store events like yoga classes and movie nights, offerings of outstanding music from local artists and world-class customer service from Ritz Carlton trained associates, Umpqua has made banking ... [full story]

Joe Smith has been named interim Executive Vice President for Cascade Healthcare Community, the parent organization of St. Charles Medical Center – Bend and St. Charles Medical Center — Redmond.  CHC president and CEO Jim Diegel made the announcement Thursday, August 3.  Smith will fill the role until a permanent EVP is recruited.  That recruitment is currently underway and the goal is to have a permanent EVP in place by the end of the year. ... [full story]

A man was killed early Tuesday morning when his car drifted into the oncoming lane of traffic and hit a semi tractor-trailer on Highway 97 south of La Pine, closing both highway lanes for hours. The victim, Bryce Douglas Jansen, 35, of La Pine, Oregon was driving a 1992 Chevrolet Beretta northbound when he drifted into oncoming traffic shortly before 2:30 am August 1st.  Robert Brown, a 32 year old Eugene, Oregon resident was at ... [full story]