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.