Joolz in downtown Bend has closed after 13 years. Find out more here.

Original article by KTVZ

A popular downtown Bend restaurant has closed its doors after more than 13 years. Owners were selling everything inside on Thursday.

Joolz served Middle Eastern and Lebanese-influenced food. It closed the location on Wall Street in June.

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In January 2021, there were 13 people of color in the Legislature. That number will rise to 17 next year, and lawmakers are celebrating the step toward greater diversity while acknowledging that there is more work to be done to make Oregon’s legislative body look more like the state it represents.

The Legislature will remain overwhelmingly…

The Under the Snow exhibit at High Desert Museum opens Dec. 17. Learn more here!

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — In the depth of winter, a deep layer of snow quiets the High Desert’s forests. But under the surface, a secret world comes to life. A new High Desert Museum exhibit dives into the snow, where voles, shrews, insects and porcupines build a matrix of tunnels to survive the winter and hide from the predators that lurk just above the surface.

Under the Snow opens at the Museum on Saturday, Dec. 17. The original exhibit explores the “subnivium” environment, what scientists call this seasonal habitat. In the subnivium, the temperature stays a toasty 32-degrees Fahrenheit, which protects plants and animals from the winter’s frigid temperatures.

Portland artist Katie Reim has been selected for the Old Mill District’s Winter Art Series. Learn more here.

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Natural and manufactured wonders alike dot the sweeping Central Oregon landscape. The snow-capped peak of Mount Bachelor, the winding Deschutes River, the alpine lakes at the heart of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, and — of course — the soaring smokestacks of the Old Mill District.

All get their fair share of love in the featured painting selected for the Old Mill District’s 2022 Winter Art Series. Portland artist Katie Reim, who dreamed up and created the naturally inspired piece, is the sixth artist to be honored in the series, and her work pays tribute…

High Desert Museum has a new exhibit celebrating black rodeo culture and history. Learn more here.

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Black cowboys have long been an integral part of the American West. Thousands of Black cowboys, for instance, rode in the Western cattle drives of the 1860s. Their stories are largely untold in popular narratives, but modern-day Black rodeos keep their traditions alive. A new, original High Desert Museum exhibit celebrates this thriving culture.

In the Arena: Photographs from America’s Only Touring Black Rodeo opens at the Museum on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Through the lens of San Francisco Bay Area photographer Gabriela Hasbun, this exhibit documents the exhilarating atmosphere of the Bill Pickett Invitational Rodeo—the only touring Black rodeo in the country—and the…

Prineville makes the top 10 list of the most economically dynamic towns in the country!

BEND BULLETIN – October 15th, 2022

Reporter: jsiess@bendbulletin.com

“The list was published in a report issued by Heartland Forward, a nonprofit focused on improving economic performance, which placed Prineville as number nine on the list of the Most Dynamic Micropolitans for 2022.”

“Heartland Forward ranked micropolitan areas across the United States by studying changes in key economic conditions from 2015 through 2020. The change in employment from September 2020 through September 2021, reflecting the community’s ability to rebound from the early months of the pandemic, was also a factor in the ranking.”

Energy is high on community college campuses across the state as students stream back in and presidents view the academic year’s start as a glass half-full.

Students have returned to school buildings hollowed out by the pandemic, taking advantage of ramped-up in-person class offerings. Administrators are again having to scramble for parking spaces in what Portland Community College enrollment dean Ryan Clark called “the best first-world problem to have.”

“Seeing that energy come back has been invigorating,” Clark said.

Here’s the…

The “Be More Like Millie Walk,” honoring Millie McGillivary, is on September 26th at Larkspur Community Center. Find out more here.

Be more like Millie.

Bend Park and Recreation District is planning a celebration for MillieMcGillivary — known to most simply as Millie — at Larkspur Community Center on September 26. The “Be More Like Millie Walk” starts at 11:00 a.m.

That would’ve been her 100th birthday.

Central Oregon Daily News brought you Millie’s story earlier this year after hearing about her walks around the track at the center, smiling and giving words of encouragement to others.

She passed away in June at the age of 99.

Those in attendance at the…

Eastside Safeway in Bend will reopen this Wednesday with a new look. Find out more here.

The Safeway on Bend’s eastside has been closed for more than two weeks following the shooting that left an employee and customer dead. It’s set to reopen this week — and it will look a lot different inside.

A sign posted on the side of the building in The Forum reads “Re-opening soon. Stronger Together.”

Workers at the site tell Central Oregon Daily News the store is set to open on Wednesday. They also say they’ve been busy remodeling the interior, so shoppers and workers can expect a different look.

Employee Donald Surrett, 66, and customer Glenn Bennett, 84, were killed in…

Two Bend roundabouts will have new art soon! Learn more here.

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Art in Public Places said Wednesday it has awarded two public art commissions for the sculpture designs that were recently on view for the Empire Avenue /Butler Market Road/27th Street roundabout and the Powers Road/Brookswood Boulevard roundabout.    

Michael Stutz will create his proposed sculpture Golden Squirrel’s Wondrous World for the Empire Avenue/Butler Market Road/27th Street roundabout.

The woven steel wheel connects the timber mills from Bend’s past, the rolling wheels of cars, and a hamster wheel — humorously representing the routine of daily life. Inside the wheel are silicon bronze strips in blue and green hues where the sunlight will sparkle through the openings.…