The sun, as seen from the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory using a Televue 102 telescope on Apr. 16, 2025 in Sunriver, Ore.
Kathryn Styer Martínez / OPB
This week is International Dark Sky Week and Central Oregon is once again joining in the celebration. For the second year in a row, Bend and Deschutes County have each made a proclamation that skies free of light pollution are important.
For DarkSky Oregon board member and treasurer, Cathie Flanigan, getting the support of Bend’s city council is one step closer to helping Bend become a “Dark Sky community.” The City of Sisters became a certified Dark Sky community in January, bringing the number of official Dark Sky places in Oregon to seven.
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A proclamation of support is different from actually becoming a certified Dark Sky community. That involves changing lighting fixtures or bulbs, using timers for certain lighting effects and measuring ambient light.
The process can take about five years, according to Flanigan. A Bend city councilor has lately become a champion of the cause, but it’s not without controversy. One county commissioner has said the effort disregards the needs of rural residents, especially when it comes to safety. But Flanigan said that educating people on how to “light the night wisely” is important.
DarkSky International is active in more than 70 countries with thousands of volunteers and supporters, according to its website. Their message is simple — to preserve the wonders of the night sky by reducing light pollution.
Flanigan said the organization promotes five basic principles of responsible lighting: useful, targeted, low level, controlled and warm colored.
When Flanigan and her husband moved to Bend in 2017, she said the lights on U.S. Highway 97 were very bright and visible from their house.
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“We said, ‘let’s do something about that.’ And so we contacted International Dark Skies,” she said.
That’s more or less the origin story of DarkSky Oregon, as well. The DarkSky Oregon chapter grew and in 2023, became a standalone nonprofit.
Now, the organization is lobbying to update Bend’s lighting ordinance. A few items Flanigan listed as priorities were string lights, LEDs and light color technology. Chris Hill, another Dark Sky Oregon volunteer, said they’re hoping to include “light pollution” as a priority for the council.
Hill met with Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler in early 2025 to address what he called “sky glow” beyond the city limits.
The quick clip of Bend’s population growth has strained affordable housing and infrastructure for water and waste, while also fueling perceptions of roadway congestion and light pollution.
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The impacts of the city’s growth ripple into surrounding communities, said Tim Merrill with the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory, located 16 miles south of Bend. He said Bend’s ambient light pollution spills over Sunriver.
“We call it the Bend-orealis,” he said.
Tim Merrill places a protective cap on a telescope at the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory in Sunriver Ore., on Apr. 16, 2025. The observatory has over a dozen telescopes for viewing celestial bodies.
Kathryn Styer Martínez / OPB
The observatory claims to be one of the largest in the nation, meaning they have the most telescopes available for public use. The largest is a 30-inch telescope, which allows people to see “galaxies far, far away,” Merrill said.
The Sunriver observatory relies on dark skies, he said, and, if light pollution were to increase, it would make it harder to give people a place to explore space.
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Over the past 12 years, he said he’s noticed some stars in the night sky have become harder to see. Objects in deeper space that were once viewable are now often occluded by light pollution from cities and towns.
Bend City Councilor Steve Platt has been joining forces with Dark Sky Oregon advocates for the past few months. Platt has been working to add Dark Sky certification to the city’s environmental goals, which councilors plan to adopt in June.
“I do hope that we can help our lovely city join many of the other communities in Oregon who have already shifted in this direction,” Platt said by email.
But not everyone supports the DarkSky movement. Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair said at a recent public meeting that she’s “not about dark skies” when it comes to her home.
Adair lives between Sisters and Redmond. A self-described “country girl,” she said in an interview that people who live in rural areas need to be able to pay attention to their surroundings, especially at night, because of predators.
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She shared concerns about the safety of her pet fish and animals. She recounted how river otters killed a giant koi fish named “Beav”, short for Beaver, that she kept in her large pond.
“I just know in my situation, and out where we live in the county, I think people have to be very aware of what else is out there,” Adair said.
Flanigan said safety concerns are often a key point of resistance to DarkSky efforts. She said a common perception is that more lighting is safer, but she said, “actually, good lighting is safer.”
She pointed out lighting that cuts glare and uses warm colored bulbs, and added that motion sensor lights are a good option for people with security concerns.
Merrill said the Sunriver Nature Center and Observatory will be teaming up with DarkSky Oregon to host a “star party” on the summer solstice, June 20, in La Pine State Park. There will be telescopes and people will be on hand to share information about preserving the night sky.
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Far away from city lights, this remote corner of Southeast Oregon provides great views of the night sky.
Amanda Peacher / OPB
For Merrill, he said some people remark that looking into space makes them feel small.
“I think it just makes my problems feel small,” he said.
The University of Oregon’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to approve a $1.55 billion operating budget for the next fiscal year.
But they asked university leadership to return with an amended proposal by Dec. 15, when more details about future budget cuts will be known.
FILE — The Board of Trustees recently approved next year’s budget for the University of Oregon. The vote comes several weeks after the school’s president announced that he wants the university to reduce its annual budget as revenues and out-of-state enrollment decline.
Brian Bull / KLCC
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The vote comes several weeks after University of Oregon President Karl Scholz announced that he wants the school to reduce its annual budget by around $65 million.
At a trustees meeting Monday, Scholz said the estimated budget shortfall for next year is just around $23 million. But he said out-of-state enrollment is below historical norms for the second year in a row, and it’s unlikely to bounce back.
“One year can be an aberration. Two years is a pattern,” said Scholz. “And I believe we have to treat it as a new reality.”
Scholz said in May that discussions about the budget would happen over a six-month period. He said no final decisions about cuts would be made over this summer.
On Monday, UO Senate President Dyana Mason told trustees that the Senate had approved a new process to allow for community feedback in the cost-cutting process.
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Mason said the provost will work with the deans on budget proposals, finding “clear rationale” for why programs are considered for elimination.
The provost would then bring those proposals to the Senate Committee for Academic Modifications—which includes staff, faculty and students—for feedback.
Once the plans are nearly finalized, the Senate could then hold a period for public comment.
Mason told trustees that a six-month timeline is better than the three months that frustrated some staff last year, but she recommended taking however much time is necessary.
“The worst situation would be rushing forward to make decisions without appropriate evidence, data, feedback from the people that are most in the know about the impact on our students,” said Mason.
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UO’s Board of Trustees Chair Steve Holwerda said that every week that university delays the decisions could cost them millions of dollars.
Nathan Wilk is a reporter with the KLCC newsroom.This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
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Oregon’s juvenile justice system has been reshaped in recent years by a sweeping reform law that changed how the state handles minors accused of serious crimes.
Senate Bill 1008, which took effect in 2020, ended automatic transfers of juveniles into adult court and eliminated life without parole sentences for juveniles. The law also created “second-look” hearings and established parole eligibility after 15 years for certain offenders who committed crimes before turning 18.
To help explain the law and its impact, KVAL’s Frannie Pedersen put together a timeline video tracing the history of Senate Bill 1008, from the passage of Measure 11 in 1994 to the reforms that later reshaped Oregon’s juvenile justice system.
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The video breaks down how the law changed, why lawmakers pushed for reform, and how SB 1008 continues to influence Oregon’s justice system today. Viewers can watch the full video for a detailed timeline and explanation of the changes.
PORTLAND, Ore. — A New Jersey man was sentenced to federal prison last Friday for conspiring to distribute fentanyl, announced U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford for the District of Oregon.
Mark T. Eager, 34, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release.
“This defendant showed a blatant disregard for human life by trafficking fentanyl across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Bradford. “My office will continue to pursue those who profit from poisoning our communities, and we will use every available resource and partnership to combat fentanyl trafficking and keep Oregonians safe.”
“This investigation brought together law enforcement agencies from across the nation,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Seattle acting Special Agent in Charge April Miller. “Homeland Security Investigations special agents from Portland, Newark, and Houston contributed to the case, along with the Portland Police Bureau and HIDTA HIT officers, who were instrumental in identifying Eager. His 11-year sentence sends a clear message: no matter where you are in the country or the world, if you attempt to sell narcotics online to Americans, we will find you.”
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“Fentanyl trafficking poses a grave threat to communities across the United States, and Homeland Security Investigations is committed to working with our partners to disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks responsible,” said HSI Houston Special Agent in Charge Lucia Cabral-DeArmas. “This case demonstrates the power of interagency collaboration under the Homeland Security Task Force initiative, leveraging resources from across the country to hold traffickers accountable and protect the American people. We will continue to pursue those who endanger lives through the distribution of dangerous synthetic opioids, and we remain steadfast in our mission to safeguard our communities from the violence and instability caused by transnational criminal organizations.”
“By following this offender’s digital trail, Homeland Security Investigations and our law enforcement partners nationwide executed federal search warrants, dismantled an active dark web fentanyl packaging operation and recovered deadly amounts of fentanyl, thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, and a trove of electronic devices and packaging materials,” said HSI Newark Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas. “This case is a powerful example of how coordinated, data-driven investigations can disrupt dangerous networks and help protect our communities from lethal synthetic opioids.”
According to court documents, from November 2023 through June 2024, Eager and his co-conspirator sold fentanyl on the Dark Net and Telegram. Eager operated as the vendor WRSEH10 and marketed the fentanyl as “China White Synthetic Heroin.”
In June 2024, HSI agents executed search warrants on two residences associated with Eager in Kearny, New Jersey, and seized over 360 grams of powdered fentanyl, counterfeit M30 pills, drug ledgers, cellular phones, two computers, and drug packaging consistent with three deliveries that were sent to Oregon.
On September 4, 2024, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Eager with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl.
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On February 4, 2026, Eager pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
HSI Portland and HSI Houston investigated this case with assistance from HSI Newark, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Interdiction Task Force (HIT). Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Kerin prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Jersey assisted the U.S. Attorney’s in Oregon in obtaining the search warrants that were executed in Kearny.
