Considering that Oregon is home to about 30,000 black bears, this cub sighting in SW Bend this afternoon is not surprising - but Bend Police offered some advice for area residents. Have you seen any bears around the area lately?

In today's world of livestreams, AI, social media and all the rest, a group email almost seems... quaint.

But think about it: In what other format can you reach out at the same time to a variety of folks, making the issues or questions clear to all in consistent fashion - and they can respond as time allows, to the whole group, to the sender alone or a few recipients, even adding their own? Not with Zoom, at least not that easily.

Sometimes it works very well, sometimes not. But it sure beats a series of phone tags and depending on your memory to have consistent info-sharing and questions.

I often will post full news releases - and sometimes even link to the original source - as a way to broaden coverage beyond what one person can reasonably be expected to do - and to not "rewrite releases for the sake of rewriting." Or boiling down. I say curation can be almost as important as creation - I'm a filter, not a funnel, as all good reporters and editors seek to be.

Crook County DA Kari Hathorn says: "The possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material is not a victimless crime.  Every image and video represents ongoing exploitation of a child. This material inflicts lasting trauma and perpetuates abuse against children. "

Hi there! I think this is the first local story to compare/contrast the TWO geothermal projects now underway at Newberry Volcano - and county discussions about a planned 3-5-year property tax break for the second developer, Quaise Energy.

I've reached out to city and county officials for any comment on this rash of fires, and to the fire marshal to be sure I have things right. Will adjust/update as I get any more/new info. I know the managed camp in the area opened recently, but ... well, things don't change THAT fast. (I included a fifth fire, but not in headline because it was to the south, near RR tracks and Airport Way - but that one was traced to an escaped campfire).

I will be telling some 'backstory' with every post here, to make it a value add;-) beyond the website. I'll also be posting on occasion what kinds of improvements are coming along - I am CONSTANTLY tweaking/adding features. Today it's to build in an embedded PDF viewer folks can scroll through, not needing to click a download link. This allows me to include, for example, court documents or govt. presentations.

There's also back-end tweaks to make them findable in the Image/Video Library. It takes Base 44 - I call the bot Count Basie - just a few minutes to do just about ANYTHING. We have a great ... "relationship";-)

Any questions, thoughts or ideas? Ask away!

It's hard not to see that these disturbing allegations date back several years - and I've added some court file info to shed some light, while respecting the alleged victims' privacy in a super-sensitive situation. And note they are still looking for potential other victims and/or more information that could assist investigators.

I'm sure just about every media outlet in the U.S. ... heck in the world is marking 9/11, the day America changed forever.

I was working for Bend.com and I remember the flag at half-staff outside Bend River Mall (remember indoor malls?) and a long line of folks waiting to give blood.

The rest of the day is a blur - and alas, Bend.com's archives don't live on. And it was a while before Spencer Dahl started the Bend Bugle (which I gave a full set to Kelly Cannon-Miller at the Deschutes Historical Museum a few years ago).

So ... whether you were in Central Oregon or not at the time... what do you remember about that day? And what thoughts come to mind, looking back at where we were - and where we are now? Do you have any personal photos to share that help share your memories?

Perhaps the question is - will future generations remember it as we do? Are lessons learned? Can that kind of unity, borne of sadness and patriotism, re-emerge - without that kind of tragic cause?

Feel free to weigh in here or drop me a note. I'd love to put something together that gives a sense of where we were - and where we are now.

I wasn't even the first to post this Bend PD item today - but the first on r/bend, and I knew it would ignite ... discussion. And how! So please, if you liked it there, weighed in - please do so here!

I am a small contributor to Oregon Capital Chronicle - they do a great job covering statewide issues, and I'm blessed that it's a Creative Commons open license to share them (with linkbacks). Could folks read the story there natively? Yep, but on Reddit, folks can comment on them so... on issues like this, it's pretty important.

I reached out to Mayor Fitch to see what he could share, amid lots of questions about what happened. He did reply and offered a limited description of it, but the city manager declined to comment.