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…

Work on Bend’s North corridor of Highway 97 begins this fall. Find out more here.

Realignment to the east will turn existing 97 into Third Street extension; two roundabouts, paths, bike lanes

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Work begins this fall on the long-awaited Bend North Corridor project. This $121.9 million project aims to improve safety, mobility and accessibility while relieving congestion on the north end of town from Empire Avenue to just beyond Cooley Road on both U.S. Highways 20 and 97.

Project features include;

A lithium mining project in the Alvord Desert has been called quits. Learn more here.

An Australian company is calling it quits on a lithium project in southeast Oregon’s Alvord Desert.

The Reedy Lagoon Corporation, a mineral explorer based outside Melbourne, announced Friday that it would stop work on its project near the town of Fields, Oregon, after finding out the land was off limits to new mining.

It’s the second lithium project to flop in Harney County this summer as companies look to cash in on the United States’ hunger for the mineral known as “white gold.” Lithium is the main ingredient in batteries for…

Developer of Thornburgh Resort withdraws request to purchase 400 acres of public land. Find out more here.

Kameron DeLashmutt says he doesn’t need to buy land, since he already leases it; foes call move a ‘big win’

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The developer of the controversial Thornburgh Resort west of Redmond said Monday he has withdrawn a much-criticized request to buy 400 acres of public land held in trust by the state School Fund – because he doesn’t need to, having already leased the property for 17 years.

Department of State Lands Communications Officer Liane O’Neil confirmed that “Central Land and Cattle Company has elected to withdraw their application” for the Cline Buttes Tract, so it has been removed…

St. Charles lays off two top executives and rations patient care. Learn more here.

By Joni Auden Land (OPB)

St. Charles Health System laid off two of its most highly paid executives this week, the latest departures from the Central Oregon hospital system’s leadership as staff shortages lead to a rationing of care.

The health system eliminated the positions of Chief Physician Executive Jeff Absalon and Senior Vice President Strategy Rod Marchiando this week. The layoffs were an effort to reduce costs…

Help clean up the Deschutes River at the annual clean-up event. Learn more here!

What: Annual Deschutes River Clean-Up

Who: The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, Local Partners, and Community Volunteers

When: 9am to 1pm on Saturday, July 30, 2022

Where: Volunteers will meet at Farewell Bend Park and other cleanup sites. River clean-up activities will take place in the Deschutes River at six different sites between LaPine State Park and Tumalo State Park. After stewardship activities, there will be a volunteer appreciation event at the new Black Diamond store.

How: Volunteers will need to pre-register to participate in the Deschutes River Cleanup at www.restorethedeschutes.org

The Deschutes River Clean-Up is a special day for watershed stewards of all ages to give…

When you think about classical music, the first thing that comes to mind is probably a performance in a beautiful concert hall with perfect acoustics and a large stage.

Hunter Noack, creator and pianist of In A Landscape, had other plans. Originally from Newport, the Oregon-raise musician has brought his classical performances to mountains, lakes, deserts and the coast, all with a Steinway grand piano in…

30 small earthquakes occurred beneath the eastern shore of Paulina Lake. Find out more here.

VANCOUVER, Wash. (KTVZ) — Nearly 30 shallow earthquakes — too small to be felt — have occurred in the past week and a half beneath the eastern shore of Paulina Lake at Newberry Volcano, but U.S. Geological Survey seismologists said Monday they are not a cause for alarm and are “likely the result of fluids moving in the hydrothermal system.”

In their information statement, the seismologists called it “a slight uptick in seismic activity” and said there were no signs of ground deformation or “other indications of unrest,” so the alert level for the area remains at “normal.”

It’s been a decade since Cascades…

According to a top meteorologist, the Pacific Northwest will be cool and wet this spring and summer. Find out more here.

SPOKANE — Spring and summer will be cool and wet in the Pacific Northwest as the La Nina weather pattern lingers, a top meteorologist told attendees at the Spokane Ag Show.

Art Douglas, professor emeritus of atmospheric sciences at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., presented his annual weather forecast Feb. 1.

“You guys are going to be kind of the lucky folks as we go towards the spring,” Douglas told farmers. “You all have a better sense of how well your crop is established. My feeling is, you’re going to have a pretty good turnaround with that crop because…

By Zach Urness, Salem Statesman Journal

A snowboarder who slid out of control into a volcanic vent near the summit of Mount Hood was rescued in a daring mission around midnight on Tuesday, according to the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office.

George Stevens, 26, of Idaho, was successfully extracted from the Devils Kitchen fumarole with ropes by the Hood River Crag Rats and Portland Mountain Rescue after falling onto rocks deep in the fissure and sustaining serious injuries.

He was transported down the mountain and loaded into an ambulance, according to rescuers, although his current condition is…