As 2023 comes to an end, take a look through some of this year's most impactful stories, exploring topics such as child care, housing, addiction, transportation and more.
Coming... To A Pipeline Near You
In February, the Source Weekly wrote about Canadian energy company, TC Energy, which plans to pump 50 million additional cubic feet of Canadian methane per day through a pipeline that goes through Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California. The pipeline, Gas Transmission Northwest, divides the planned communities, Stevens Ranch and Stevens Road Tract, in east Bend.
Several politicians weighed in on their support or against. Concerns with the pipeline included pollution and risk of leaks. Political support for the project is split along political lines, with Republican elected officials in Idaho supporting the expansion and Democratic officials in Oregon, Washington and California opposing.
Further reporting: Subsequent reporting covered a delayed decision from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on TC Energy's Gas Transmission Northwest Xpress after several people and organizations asked the commission to deny or delay the decision.
In October, FERC approved the pipeline expansion, prompting environmental groups to request a rehearing in November, urging FERC to reconsiders its approval of the controversial project.
In March, the Source Weekly reported on the all too familiar story of child care scarcity. An Oregon State University found that for every five children in Deschutes County, only one spot is available in an accredited child care business.
Central Oregon qualified as a child care desert by having fewer than 33% of children with access to child care. A lack of child care workers, due to high qualifications and low pay, makes child care expensive and hard to come by. The cost of facilities made it more difficult to meet the demand.
Oregon Senate Bill 599 required housing providers to allow child care services in rental homes. Subsequent bills also help provide funding through grants to providers.
Reporting from nearly a year prior, found that several child care facilities were forced to shut down due to COVID.
Nearly a year before this story, the Source Weekly reported on several child care facilities that were forced to shut down due to COVID, which experts suggested would lead to years-long waiting lists for children needing to be enrolled in after-school programs or preschool. Parents also noted some facilities taking advantage of the shortage, charging more for less.
In March, the Source Weekly reported on the increasing prices of kids sports and activities in Central Oregon. The story covers the importance of play and sports for children. There are a number of barriers to entry to play sports. However, reporting found that there are some resources available to overcome those barriers.
The easiest way for kids to access organized sports is through schools. However, many schools have a pay to play fee. At Caldera High School in Bend, high schoolers must pay $100 per sport and middle schoolers, $40 per sport. Many local organizations strive to help make sports and outdoor activities more accessible for everyone, such as handing over debit cards that cover costs of recreational sports and programs outside of schools and work by Latino organization, Vamanos Outside, which helps kids and families who identify as Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color get outside and have fun.
In May, the Source reported on the state of the restaurant industry after COVID, seeing some rebounds while the number of restaurants remained stagnant. The number of hospitality workers declined, while job vacancies and the cost of hiring new employees rose significantly following the pandemic. Rent prices remained high and food prices went up due to chain disruptions, labor shortages and inflation.
Rising costs forced many restaurant owners to increase prices.
Additionally, in-person restaurant going went down 22% compared to 2020 and nearly 40% of all restaurant traffic was drive-through. With fewer people sitting in restaurants, restaurants felt the effects when it comes to revenue from alcohol and soft drinks.
While the restaurant industry had a lot of struggles following the pandemic, some owners started to see positive trends.
It's Time to Talk About E-Bikes
In June, a fatal collision between a minivan and e-bike took the life of a 15-year-old Bend teen, who was riding an e-bike with a passenger on the back. The tragic event, along with growing concerns about the safety surrounding the use of e-bikes, prompted the Source Weekly to report on the importance of more education on e-bike safety, usage and ways to coexist with other modes of transportation.
Biking is very popular in Central Oregon, so it's no surprise that the popularity of e-bikes is growing with it. However, the increasing usage concerned many residents in the area. Bend PD began receiving more complaints regarding young kids riding them, going against traffic rules and not wearing helmets. Deaths among child pedestrians rose 11% since 2013. Senior walkers told the Source they didn't feel comfortable walking on popular trails and routes in Bend due to high speeding e-bikes on paths. Educational messaging and programs from local nonprofits have grown, giving residents more useful information regarding the safety and usage of e- bikes in Bend.
In July, the Source Weekly reported on Central Oregon's homeless population under the age of 18. Over 10%, a conservative estimate, of Central Oregon's homeless population was under 18 at the time of publishing.
Central Oregon has seen a 28% increase in people experiencing houselessness from 2022. Additionally, Bend-La Pine Schools has twice as many students reporting homelessness than was reported in the point in time count, which covers Deschutes, Jefferson and Crook counties.
Additionally, over 40% of unaccompanied youth, those ranging from ages 18 to 24, are LGBTQ. Studies also show that homeless children are more likely to become homeless adults.
Kids without a home often are less likely to go to school and families are warier of interacting with service providers. The count is oftentimes inaccurate due to greater risk factors for accessing support, like worries about getting families in trouble or about going into the foster care system. Families also worry about their children being removed.
Homeless youth have more needs with education, which is an important consideration and the number one factor for preventing future homelessness. The McKinney-Vento Act guarantees kids experiencing homelessness the same right to public education as other students, offering help with things like transportation.
It was a shock to all that beloved Central Oregon TV personality, Bob Shaw announced he was retiring in July. Known for his trademark slogan and 20 wins for Best TV personality, Shaw sat down with the Source Weekly to talk about his career in meteorology and what's next for him.
Shaw went through several career paths before finding meteorology. He was in the Navy during the Vietnam era, worked in RV sales and service, and as a restaurant waiter while back in school at Central Oregon Community College. As he became interested in becoming a weather caster, Shaw attended Mississippi State University to complete his meteorology training.
Shaw talked about his slogan, "Have a sparkling day," which he confessed was taken from an old coworker at a dealership he previously worked at.
As for Shaw's plans for retirement, he announced that he would be teaching meteorology at COCC a couple days a week, giving him a slightly more relaxed schedule.
As Central Oregon's population and housing prices continue to grow, many in Bend are forced to leave due to the cost of living. In July, the median home price in Bend reached a new high at $800,000. Three years before, it was $464,000. While "Zoom towns," in the West like Bend and Bozeman, are growing as highly desirable places, the communities surrounding these cities are actually growing even faster.
People are migrating out of Bend due to being priced out, moving to nearby communities, seeking more affordability and smaller towns.
A Bend Chamber of Commerce poll from October found that 95% of business owners are limited in their ability to hire qualified candidates due to housing prices, and that their current workforce and company growth was negatively impacted by the cost of housing.
With rising prices, Bend has seen a rise in high-earners and a decrease in those who make below $50,000. With migration out of Bend to nearby areas, prices are beginning to rise in other areas like Redmond and Sisters.
Big Pharma's Lasting Impact on Oregon
In September, The Washington Post released data showing the magnitude of prescription pain pill use across states and counties in the U.S. In October, the Source Weekly reported on how the lasting effect of prescription pain pills devastated the state of Oregon. 2011 saw the highest number of pain pills distributed across the country. However, in later years, as providers began proscribing less, people hooked on pills began moving to deadlier, more easily available street drugs. The amount of fentanyl seized in Oregon went up from 690 pills in 2019 to more than 2 million in 2022.
With a rise in fentanyl, overdoses skyrocketed from 2019 to 2022. Oregon is struggling to keep up, with a need for more treatment beds and detox facilities. Treatment providers, nonprofits and health organizations hope to see more services, fulfilling measure 110, which many providers think will take time.
Exploring Climate Friendly Communities
The Source Weekly's most recent feature story covered a new city initiative to designate walkable, mixed-use areas in Bend to reduce dependence on cars and help the city and state meet its climate and housing goals.
Climate-Friendly Areas came out of the state's Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities rules, adopted in 2022, which applies rules to Oregon cities with populations over 50,000. These rules encourage the creation of denser areas that allow people to live, work and meet most of their daily needs without having to rely on a car, attempting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Reporting found that nearly 36% of climate pollution comes from transportation. Cities aiming to designate CFAs are asked to find locations that are best suited for this type of development, with access to public transit and good pedestrian and bicycle transit connectivity.
The main changes to allow for this type of development will be land use changes, allowing for a mix of uses in an area. These rules attempt to make more affordable housing by encouraging dense buildings, as single-family detached homes on larger lots are the most expensive housing products available.
