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.

In this week's Source Weekly Update, a look back at clashes between Black Lives Matter and Trump supporters, and a change in city policy that allows for a new type of housing.