Over the past month and a half the Source editorial board has interviewed every Bend City Council candidate and most every other person running for a race in Central Oregon. 

While our full slate of endorsements won't be released until next week, we thought we'd share videos of these chats with you now.

Check out our videos at our YouTube channel.

This year we chose to interview candidates in a forum style. In most cases, all candidates for a race came to speak to us at the same time.

This led to some great discussion. We were particularly pleased with the level of debate between Nathan Hovecamp and Jason Conger, who are running for House District 54, and the four people running for Council Position 2, including Doug Knight, Ed Barbeau, Ed McCoy and Charles Baer.

Happy voting and viewing!

Half a dozen people shared their concerns about a new noise ordinance at a Bend City Council work session Wednesday.  

But ultimately the council did not make any changes to the law passed earlier this summer. 

The main concern of citizen speakers such as Wesley Ladd, owner of The Horned Hand, and other people in the local music and live events community was not so much the parameters of the law, but its enforcement. 

"How it's written I don’t think it’s a problem," said Ladd, whose business has received the only citation for noise since the new law was passed in June. "It's more about the enforcement of it. It leaves a lot of officer discretion."

Jason Schweitzer, a member of local band The Rum and the Sea, said police officers should be required to gauge noise with decibel meters and not leave things up to the way an officer might interpret a situation. 

Council members said they were receptive to concerns about noise ordinance and want to promote a vibrant live music community in Bend. 

"Our intention with this was not to disrupt business any more than necessary," said Mayor Jeff Eager. 

At times, the roughly hour long conversation become heated as people described the chilling effect the law has had on live music. But the tone remained civil throughout the discussion. Ultimately, council members decided they would allow the ordinance, and enforcement of it, to play out for a few more months before considering making changes to the law. 

"Lets see how the enforcement goes," said Eager. "Let's just gather more data on this."

In the meantime, Bend Police Chief Jeff Sale and several citizens agreed to get together to discuss how the department is enforcing the ordinance. 

Heads up if you're headed to the valley tonight.

A serious injury crash has shut down Highway 20 near Santiam Pass, according to state emergency officials.

Here's a link to a nearby webcam. Loooong line of cars...

After a 36-hour marathon negotiation session, months of tense negotiations over a new three-year contract for nurses at St. Charles in Bend have drawn to a close.

Contract negotations, which began in May, appeared at times to near complete breakdown. In September, nurses took to the streets to protest St. Charles proposals. Shortly thereafter, St. Charles hired a firm to assist in hiring temporary nurses should the union go on strike.

But the hospital and the local branch of the Oregon Nurses Association union announced Friday that they had reached a tentative agreement. 

Here’s an overview of that agreement:

• Charge nurse positions will remain intact, though those nurses will focus more on working closely with patients and less on administrative duties, said Lisa Goodman, communications director for St. Charles.

• The critical care float nurse positions will be cut through a pilot program, which will help determine whether those rapid response positions should be eliminated permanently, said hospital communications staff.  

• Nurses will receive a two percent raise each year for the three-year term of the contract, according to a joint press release from the hospital and ONA.

• Nurses accepted changes to their healthcare options, which were requested by the hospital, said a spokesperson for ONA.  

Though the agreement must still be ratified by the nursing union, representatives from the union and the hospital said both sides were pleased with the outcome.

“This offer is fully recommended by the ONA bargaining team,” said Alison Hamway, labor representative for the ONA in Bend in the press release sent Friday. “We believe it is a fair contract that does much to support our nurses and enhance patient care in Bend.”

Dear Huffington Post,

There we were, minding our own business, when BAM. This happened.

Please take care of this as soon as possible.

Dear Huffington Post,

There we were, minding our own business, when BAM. This happens.

Please take care of this nastiness cluster as soon as possible.

Greg Garretson was dangling 150 feet off the ground. The wind was pushing and spinning him in his climbing harness as he fought to keep his lens steady.

Below him Ryan Palo was fighting to become the first local guy to climb Just Do It, one of Smith Rock's most difficult routes. Garretson knew there might not be another chance to capture a successful attempt, so he steadied himself on his fixed rope, fought the vertigo and kept his eye to the camera. Then—free fall.

Palo let out the familiar scream of muscle failure. Garretson followed the climber with the lens until the rope stopped Palo's fall, dozens of feet below, snapping a dozen great shots of the stellar climber. 

So begins our Outside story this week, written by local climberTaylor Roozen, which takes a look at the rad new branch of photography a core group of skilled climbers are pioneering at Smith Rock. 

Check it out on stands today.

The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals has denied Central Oregon Landwatch’s request to temporarily halt the city of Bend’s surface water improvement project.

Construction is slated to begin tomorrow on the controversial project. The city plans to lay a roughly 9.5-mile pipe between its surface water source at Bridge Creek, near Tumalo Creek falls, and a water storage facility west of town. The new 30-inch pipe replaces two smaller, aging pipes.

In the decision released today, LUBA determined that allowing the city to proceed with the construction of the pipe would not cause irreparable damage to Landwatch, according to a document that outlines the decision of the land use board.

LUBA notes that the even though trees must be removed and some wetlands in Tumalo Creek will be disturbed, the city has a plan to mitigate the effects of its construction and return to area to its natural state over time. Therefore, Landwatch cannot claim irreparable harm.

“Petitioner has not established that the trees and the wetlands that it seeks to protect are resources that, if destroyed or injured, cannot be practically restored,” according to the LUBA order outlining the board’s decision. 

The land use board will likely rule in November on an appeal of the entire water project by Landwatch. If LUBA rules in Landwatch’s favor on that appeal, the city will likely have to halt construction and revisit its decision to approve the water project.

Tomorrow, the U.S. District Court in Eugene will hold a hearing on a separate request from Landwatch for an injunction, which would also halt the water project.

Landwatch filed a complaint in that federal court in late September that essentially appeals the decision of the U.S. Forest Service to grant the city of Bend a special use permit to construct the pipe, which runs across some Forest Service land.

Landwatch requested a temporary injunction to prevent the city from constructing the pipe until the court makes a decision on the Forest Service permit.

Check back here tomorrow for an update on that hearing.

Bend City Council Candidate Doug Knight is facing possible revocation of his engineering license after a state board found he did not tell the truth on a license renewal form.

Knight, who has held an engineering license in Oregon since 1997, was informed earlier this summer by the board of its intent to revoke his license and assess two civil penalties, totaling $2,000, according to a letter sent from the board to Knight on July 9.

The board, called the State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying, found that Knight had lied about taking 30 units of continuing professional development courses after a random audit of his most recent renewal paperwork, according to a legal notice of intent drafted by the board earlier this summer.

“Being truthful is an issue that the board takes really seriously,” said JR Wilkinson, an investigator with the licensing agency overseen by the board.

Knight, who is running for council position 2 against three other candidates, certified on the form that he had taken the classes and even listed their names. Wilkinson said he did not actually take any of the courses.

Knight, who is a local developer and the current chair of the Bend Planning Commission, is the first engineer to face legal action and potential revocation of his license since the agency revamped its renewal certification requirements in the last few years.

In an interview with the Source on Tuesday, Knight said the agency’s recent changes to its renewal form requirements led to confusion, which he hopes to clear up in an upcoming hearing conducted by the Oregon Office of Administrative Hearings. No date has been set for that hearing. 

 “This is a simple matter regarding continuing education credits,” said Knight. “I will say that they haven’t been applying [rules] consistently.”

Of the 12,000 engineers in Oregon who renew their licenses every two years, Knight was part of the three percent also selected for an audit in 2008, said licensing agency staff.

At that time, Knight had also certified he had taken his required continuing education credits, but had not done so. He was granted leniency to take the credits after the 2008 audit discovered the discrepancy, said licensing agency staff.

Knight said he was under the impression that he could, again, take the credits if he was audited.

“That precedence that was created in 2008 was what predicated my actions,” said Knight, who added that he is also licensed in New York, California and Idaho. “I don’t consider it to be a big deal because it’s continuing education. It’s difficult to keep up with these licensure requirements in four different states.”

Knight said he would still be an effective councilor despite this issue.

“This doesn't change me doing good things for Bend,” he said.

After the upcoming hearing, a recommendation will be made to the licensing board about whether to, indeed, pull the license and assess the fines, said Allen McCartt, also an investigator with the state agency.

Knight then has the option to appeal the decision through the Oregon appellate courts.

A revocation of his license would be permanent, said licensing agency staff.

Bend City Council Candidate Doug Knight is facing possible revocation of his engineering license after a state board found he did not tell the truth on a license renewal form.

Knight, who has held an engineering license in Oregon since 1997, was informed earlier this summer by the board of its intent to revoke his license and assess two civil penalties, totaling $2,000, according to a letter sent from the board to Knight on July 9.

The board, called the State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying, found that Knight had lied about taking 30 units of continuing professional development courses after a random audit of his most recent renewal paperwork, according to a legal notice of intent drafted by the board earlier this summer.

“Being truthful is an issue that the board takes really seriously,” said JR Wilkinson, an investigator with the licensing agency overseen by the board.

Knight, who is running for council position 2 against three other candidates, certified on the form that he had taken the classes and even listed their names. Wilkinson said he did not actually take any of the courses.

Knight, who is a local developer and the current chair of the Bend Planning Commission, is the first engineer to face legal action and potential revocation of his license since the agency revamped its renewal certification requirements in the last few years.

In an interview with the Source on Tuesday, Knight said the agency’s recent changes to its renewal form requirements led to confusion, which he hopes to clear up in an upcoming hearing conducted by the Oregon Office of Administrative Hearings. No date has been set for that hearing. 

 “This is a simple matter regarding continuing education credits,” said Knight. “I will say that they haven’t been applying [rules] consistently.”

Of the 12,000 engineers in Oregon who renew their licenses every two years, Knight was part of the three percent also selected for an audit in 2008, said licensing agency staff.

At that time, Knight had also certified he had taken his required continuing education credits, but had not done so. He was granted leniency to take the credits after the 2008 audit discovered the discrepancy, said licensing agency staff.

Knight said he was under the impression that he could, again, take the credits if he was audited.

“That precedence that was created in 2008 was what predicated my actions,” said Knight, who added that he is also licensed in New York, California and Idaho. “I don’t consider it to be a big deal because it’s continuing education. It’s difficult to keep up with these licensure requirements in four different states.”

Knight said he would still be an effective councilor despite this issue.

“This doesn't change me doing good things for Bend,” he said.

After the upcoming hearing, a recommendation will be made to the licensing board about whether to, indeed, pull the license and assess the fines, said Allen McCartt, also an investigator with the state agency.

Knight then has the option to appeal the decision through the Oregon appellate courts.

A revocation of his license would be permanent, said licensing agency staff.

Felix Baumgartner is jumping to Earth from 120,000 feet up in just a few minutes. He hopes to be the first human to break the sound barrier with nothing more than his body.

He has a special space suit but this mission is super dangerous, as in life threatening.

Watch the jump live on this website.

Ina May Gaskin may be one of my top five favorite people in the world. This super bright, well-spoken and wise midwife has been the face of non-hospital births in this country for decades.

I’ve seen her speak in documentaries before, but Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives was a behind-the-scenes look at Ina’s personal life and her advocacy I’d never come across.

[video:http://vimeo.com/47116003 500x281]

Her book, Spiritual Midwifery, first printed in 1976 and now in its 4^th edition, was my guide to pregnancy and childbirth when I had my first daughter four years ago with Motherwise Community Birth Center.

The movie is the real life version of so many of the kinds of stories that appear in that book. Gaskin attends breech births, births where the baby’s shoulder is stuck, water births, and births where the mother delivers her baby herself with midwives simply around for support. All this is shown in the film in graphic real life birth scenes.

The other interesting this about this film is the real look it takes at The Farm, the chunk of rural land in Tennessee where Ina May Gaskin and her husband Stephen started an intentional community (read commune) where people were permitted to come and stay for free then have their babies with Ina May and her team of farm midwives. Not everyone was happy with how things went.

But much more than all that, the movie is a powerful reminder that almost all women have the strength and their bodies have the knowledge to deliver babies safely—no hospitals necessary. Strongly recommended for anyone who cares about having real and powerful life experiences without the influence of the modern healthcare machine.