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In this week’s podcast, we discuss the plan for returning to school as the hybrid learning program starts up and take a look at the swearing-in of new Bend City councilors.

For this week’s “Bend Don’t Break” podcast we spoke with Isabel and Fiona Max. These fraternal twins are record-breaking runners from Bend who started their Freshman year at Princeton University this fall… remotely. They often finish within seconds or split seconds of each other in races, though Isabel is known for wins in shorter sprints, while Fiona has excelled in longer cross-country races. They are the daughters of Sarah Max, who won the Pole Pedal Paddle four times here in Bend. Their father Kevin Max, is the editor and founder of 1859 Magazine.

This week, we talk about a campaign launched by OHA to help the effects social distancing has been having on mental health, and take a look at a nonprofit organization run by women and queer people of color.

As the Source puts out its last issue of the year, Editor Nicole Vulcan joins Publisher Aaron Switzer for a chat about the paper's top-viewed stories, and the "Boot/Slipper" editorial, giving their take on some of the biggest issues of 2020. See more podcasts, video and news coverage at https://www.bendsource.com.

This week, we look into Governor Kate Brown's decision to let school districts decide locally when to resume in-person education. What will the district officials choose to do?

This week, we talk about COVID restrictions and determine whether they are enforceable. Will legal action be taken if indoor dining continues? We also look into the body cam evaluations being done by Bend officers.

For this week’s episode of “Bend Don’t Break” we spoke with Rys Fairbrother of What If We Could, and Aaron Switzer, the Source Weekly’s publisher and founder of Central Oregon Gives. Both Switzer and Fairbrother have been working to help nonprofits for years through sponsorships, marketing and storytelling. The Central Oregon Gives program combines all three strategies within a simple digital platform that connects local nonprofits with new potential donors with the help of small businesses. Each time someone makes a donation, they receive a “perk” or free prize like a beer or a cup of coffee. Last year, the program raised over half a million dollars for 72 local organizations ranging from children’s advocacy groups to environmental watch dogs.

The first doses of the coronavirus vaccine are headed to Bend, and details on the upcoming session of the Oregon legislature, aimed at helping renters and businesses affected by the shutdowns, along with wildfire victims, all in this week's podcast.

Anthony Broadman was recently elected to Position Two on the Bend City Council. He's recently helped lead an effort to get Bend-LaPine students back in school as soon as possible. Broadman, along with all of Bend’s current City Councilors, newly elected City Councilors, the County Commissioner-elect Phil Chang and some members of the school board, sent a letter to Gov. Kate Brown and the Oregon Department of Education Director Colt Gill asking that they make in-person education a higher priority. The letter asked for resources to test teachers, students and staff who want to return. The signatories also asked that elementary school students return to school by January 4, regardless of local testing statistics.

Plans for COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Bend and Central Oregon and assessing Gov. Kate Brown's new framework, in which Deschutes County and 24 other counties are in the "extreme" risk category. How do we move out of "extreme?" We suss out the details.

For this week’s episode of “Bend Don’t Break” we talk with Ryan Houston, who has been serving as executive director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association since 2018. Growing up in California, Houston developed an early interest the desert environment and eventually earned a master’s in ecology from the University of Arizona. He has a reputation in Central Oregon as a collaborator and coalition-builder and spearheaded dozens of efforts to conserve the Deschutes Basin during his work with the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council where he was the executive director for two decades. Houston framed the conversation by describing the work of the Bureau of Land Management, why it was founded and what it is empowered to do in its current form. One of ONDA’s primary goals is keeping this agency accountable, as the BLM oversees millions of acres in Oregon alone. Over the next few years, the BLM will be updating its management plans for some vital high desert regions in Eastern Oregon.

In this week's update, we're reviewing the conditions of the extended state shut down and reporting on city policing of Thanksgiving and other social gatherings.

In this week's update, we're discussing the conditions of Oregon's unemployment payments and the push to extend the eviction moratorium.

For this week’s episode of “Bend Don’t Break” we spoke with Judy Stiegler who served in the Oregon State Legislature for House District 54 from 2009-2011 and is now an instructor of political science at OSU - Cascades. (This district covers the City of Bend and was won by Deputy District Attorney Jason Kropf in the recent election.) Stiegler and her husband Mike Dugan have been involved in Bend’s political scene for the past 42 years and we wanted to hear her historical perspective on the results of the state and local elections.

In this week's update, we're discussing the new, temporary warming shelter that has opened in response to the tragic death of a Bend citizen. Also, we are taking a look into the guidelines of the two week statewide shut down.

For this week’s episode of “Bend Don’t Break” we spoke with Tyler Neese, the government affairs director for the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, also known as COAR. After the recent election, we wanted to catch up with some local PACs that had an impact on the political process. COAR was one of the biggest contributors to candidates in local races. During this discussion, Neese described the state of the real estate industry which has been booming as Bend continues to attract droves of remote workers from affluent West Coast cities. We also asked him about the politics of expanding Bend’s urban growth boundary and how Oregon laws may be contributing to the housing shortage. Finally we dove into policy changes at the state and local level which affect the real estate industry such as inclusionary zoning and real estate taxes to support social programs. Listen to more from Tyler Neese of the Central Oregon Association of Realtors on this week's episode of “Bend Don't Break,” hosted by the Source Weekly’s publisher Aaron Switzer and co-hosted by Laurel Brauns. Every week, we feature a guest from the community with a new perspective on living through the COVID-19 pandemic including mental health professionals, economists, educators, artists, business people, local leaders and historians. Subscribe on iTunes, Soundcloud or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this week's update, parents express anger towards extended school closures and the Bend City Council announces a tax proposal to supplement affordable housing.

For this week’s episode of “Bend Don’t Break” we talked to Luann Abrams who is the Treasurer of the Strengthening Central Oregon Political Action Committee, a new community PAC designed to support underrepresented candidates who will bring diversity, fresh perspectives and nonpartisan solutions to the issues facing the region. The PAC had a lot to celebrate on election night: Most of their candidates won their races. These include future City Councilors Anthony Broadman, Rita Schenkelberg, Megan Perkins and Melanie Kebler and future County Commissioner Phil Chang. The 2020 election was the biggest blue wave in Bend’s history and we wanted to find out if SCOPAC’s influence had something to do with it.

In this week's update, we're reviewing the Bend City Council election results and talking to the winning candidates.

Joel Wirtz is the co-executive director of the Deschutes Defenders, the public defense firm for Deschutes County. The agency handles two-thirds of all cases involving people who can't afford a defense lawyer. Wirtz has tried cases from shoplifting to murder, but he said he's most proud of his work as a defense attorney for Mental Health Court, helping people with a history of trauma, mental illness and addiction. We invited Wirtz on to the podcast to talk about Measure 110, the proposal on the general election ballot which would decriminalize hard drugs and shift money from state marijuana taxes towards addiction treatment. Wirtz brings nearly two decades of experience working with drug offenders to explain how the current system of drug convictions and jail time shuts people out of opportunities for employment and housing. He also talks about the success of decriminalization programs in Switzerland and Portugal where the government takes a health-based approach to people struggling with addiction.