In the news

Central Oregon Daily, December 20, 2021

"Someone had plugged a 250 foot extension cord into the outlet of their business sign. That outlet ran down 2nd Street to a group of tents and was ultimately unplugged, and Donnell assumes this is why the carts were left." 

KTVZ, November 15, 2021

“I think for some people it was like, 'Yeah, this is only a matter of time before things like this start to happen,'” Hendrix said. “I think for others it was more a sense of, ‘God, I didn’t realize it was getting this bad’.”  

Central Oregon Daily News, November 15, 2021

Edelblut says he participated in the city’s recent emergency meeting about homelessness and didn’t get any responses that address his concerns. “They never answered my questions. They sent me a message stating, hey, that’s for another time. Right now we are trying to come up with a five year plan for the homeless. I’m like, in five years, if this keeps happening to my business, I may be out of job because no one wants to come here. It takes both sides to make this work. We need to come together.”

KTVZ, November 14, 2021

Four people – a 20-year-old woman, two men, ages 25 and 59, and a juvenile female – were in the struck vehicles but were not hurt, he said. Two people were in one car, one person was in each trailer and the other car was unoccupied... Anyone with information is urged to contact police through the Deschutes County non-emergency number at 541-693-6911. 

Central Oregon Daily News, October 27, 2021

Around 3:40 p.m., officers responded to shots fired call on Hunnell Road in Bend. Officers recovered a .22-caliber revolver and ammunition, which were seized as evidence.

Source Weekly, October 14, 2021

Source Weekly Publisher Aaron Switzer and Editor Nicole Vulcan chat with Eager about the effectiveness of adjudication for houseless individuals, the impact of a 9th Circuit Court decision in enforcing (or not enforcing) camping on public lands in Oregon and much more. 

Bend Bulletin, October 2, 2021

"... Homelessness increased 13% a year for years before this council set our goals. We’re committed to reversing this trend. By serving the city and our community members with compassion, cooperation, and data, we’re confident we can."

Bend Bulletin, October 3, 2021

It is not the case that Bend only faces a choice between allowing homeless camps all over the city or spending millions and millions to provide services and housing. 

KBND, September 17, 2021

According to the City of Bend, there are about 1,000 people who are experiencing homelessness in Central Oregon on any given night. City Manager Eric King says the unsafe conditions in many homeless camps prompted the creation of "outdoor shelters" to provide safe parking areas. He says Council would like to provide more options for the homeless and has directed staff to search for any suitable city owned property. 

Bend Bulletin, August 15, 2021

They’d heard gunshots, found unwanted trash and sometimes had unwelcome  visitors knock on their doors or sleep in their yards or on their decks.  But neighbors rallied around one concern in particular: wildfire  danger. 

Bend Bulletin, June 28, 2021

“Whether someone lives on Emerson or Hunnell here, the bottom line is  that no one should die on the streets of Bend,” said Bend City Councilor  Megan Perkins. “It is a societal failure and it has been ignored for  way too long. The City Council is working every day to solve this issue,  but it’s going to take some time. In the meantime, we are trying to  provide as many resources as we can to make sure everyone is safe in  this heat.” 

KTVZ, June 2, 2021

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 one of the city's most challenging issues: the growing ranks of homeless, many living in campsites on the streets. They later unanimously approved the city manager's campsite management and possible removal policy in city rights of way, with added direction to staff on other steps to take.