On this week's Source Update, we are discussing the raging Oregon wildfires. How were they originated? How can we prevent them? What will happen to the locals?

John Hummel has been serving as the Deschutes County District Attorney since he was first elected in 2014. Before that, he served on the Bend City Council for six years, and then resigned in 2007 to earn his Masters in public policy from Johns Hopkins University. He then worked in Liberia, Africa, for two and a half years as the Country Representative for the Carter Center, the former president’s peace and health organization.

Hummel has taken a proactive stance on criminal justice reform and created a number of programs designed to reduce rates of crime recidivism in Deschutes County. He began with a collaborative approach, bringing community members together into a committee to discuss ways his office could prevent crime before it happened. Out of those meetings, Hummel made it a priority to help people suffering from addiction by providing an opportunity for drug offenders to see a doctor who would then determine the right pathway to treatment or mental health interventions.

Hummel discusses this and more on this week’s episode of “Bend Don’t Break” hosted by the Source Weekly’s publisher, Aaron Switzer.

On this Weeks Update, The Bend City Council moves forward with an ordinance to create a restricted parking district in a small section of the Old Bend neighborhood.

For this week’s Bend Don’t Break podcast we talk with Stefanie Garber, the superintendent and elementary school principal for the Culver School District. Garber recently wrote a letter to Gov. Kate Brown arguing that local communities and school boards should decide when to open schools in their own communities. She asked that the state eliminate the “one size fits all” mandates for schools.

In this week's Source Weekly update we're discussing what this semesters online learning will look like. Learning pods rise as a refined method of focused Education. Bend Parks and Recreation district as well as the Boys and Girls Club offer programs for families struggling with online schooling.

For this week’s Bend Don’t Break podcast we speak with Tammy Baney, the executive director of the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council. COIC is a group of representatives from each city and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs who work together on economic development, housing, job training and. Most notably, COIC oversees Cascades East Transit, the regional public transit provider for all of Central Oregon.

We asked Baney if she felt like public transit was neglected in the Bend Transportation System Plan and in the transportation bond measure that will go to voters in November.

A recap of the anger and frustration at Bend's City Council meeting; and moving forward on a transportation bond in this week's Source Weekly Update.

In this week's Source Weekly update: A new OSU-Cascades diversity lab, three protestors arrested in Prineville, and a drive for supplies for the tribes at Warm Springs. All in this week's Source Weekly Update.

For this week’s “Bend Don’t Break” podcast, we talk with to Former Bend Police Chief Jim Porter. After 20 years with the BPD and six years as the head of the agency, Porter retired a few weeks ago. His successor has big shoes to fill.

We cover a lot of ground in this episode: Beginning with Porter’s program to improve officer wellness, we move on to discuss the challenges of answering mental health calls and being charged with managing people without homes. We then dig deeper into the “Defund the Police” movement, the purpose of School Resource Officers, and then end with Porter’s powerful take on the murder of George Floyd. For those interested in police issues and constructive ideas about reforming the system, you won’t want to miss this episode!

In this week's Source Weekly update: A man dies at Bend's new high school, a local Fred Meyer employee charged with harassment after allegedly shoving trump supporter, and two Bend first responders test positive for COVID. All in this week's Source Weekly Update.