Oregon

Central Oregon celebrates Dark Sky Week

Published

11 months ago

April 21, 2025

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.

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Oregon

Where Oregon Ducks rank in industry recruiting rankings for 2027 class

Published

4 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Where Oregon Ducks rank in industry recruiting rankings for 2027 class

With the winter evaluation period of high school football recruiting now behind us, we’ve seen some of the top recruiting sites update their rankings over the past few weeks and start to reset their boards for the 2027 class. In February, On3 shifted players around after getting fresh looks at the class, and 247Sports did the same earlier this week.

So with Oregon’s handful of commits getting new ratings, where does the Ducks’ class rank nationally in this cycle?

If you look at sites individually, it looks different, with 247Sports having Oregon sitting at No. 13 in the nation. At Rivals, though, they take the industry ranking, which factors in their own rankings, plus an average from 247Sports and ESPN.

In the industry rankings, Oregon sits at No. 9 in the nation, with five commitments.

Going into the summer months, the Ducks are in a great spot, leading or among the top schools for a handful of the top prospects in the nation, like 5-star QB Will Mencl or 5-star WR Dakota Guerrant. We will see what movement Oregon can make in the coming months after official visits take place early in the summer.

Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.

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Oregon

New Data Shows Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise

Published

16 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

New Data Shows Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise

Data released by the Oregon Health Authority this week suggests Oregonians are getting hurt on electric scooters more every year.

In recent years, according to OHA, an “e-scooter-specific code” was developed for health care tracking purposes.

From 2021 to 2024, annual injury reports under this code from Oregon hospitals and emergency departments jumped from 211 to 418.

And in just the first nine months of 2025, there had been 509 such reports.

“These injuries are not minor scrapes,” said Dagan Wright, an OHA epidemiologist, in a written statement. “They often involve head injuries, broken bones, and other serious trauma that requires emergency or inpatient care.”

The city of Portland signed contracts with three e-scooter rental companies in 2018, as the transportation craze spread across the country. But e-scooter injury diagnosis codes are relatively new in health care reporting, Wright said in the OHA statement.

“While the overall numbers remain smaller than for other transportation-related injuries, the rapid increase over a short period of time is a clear safety signal,” OHA added.

The agency highlighted the story of Portland e-scooter commuter Daniel Pflieger, who it says was riding a scooter home when he reportedly slid on ice. He bruised several ribs.

Sometimes outcomes are worse. OHA identified 17 deaths linked to electric or motorized scooters since 2018, and seven of those occurred in 2025.

OHA says that e-bikes raise many similar safety concerns as e-scooters. The first full year for which e-bike injuries were coded for reporting was 2023. State data shows 392 reported e-bike injuries that year, 683 in 2024, and 760 in the first nine months of 2025.

“Injuries involving e-bikes and e-scooters share common risk factors—speed, lack of helmet use, roadway design, and interactions with motor vehicles,” Wright said.

Oregon E-Scooter Injuries on the Rise (Source: Oregon Health Authority)

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Oregon

Oregon women’s basketball playing for March Madness seeding vs. Purdue

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Oregon women’s basketball playing for March Madness seeding vs. Purdue

At times, the Oregon women’s basketball team has certainly made things much harder on themselves than it needs to be. The team has also produced some miraculous comeback victories, putting itself in position to make women’s March Madness for the second straight season.

March 1, in their final regular season game, the Ducks (20-11, 8-10 Big Ten) finished on the wrong end of yet another tight game to Washington, 70-69. It’s the second time this season Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, but ended up losing to the Huskies (20-9, 10-8).

Those aren’t the only times Oregon has come back from a double-digit deficit, like it did in wins vs. Nebraska and USC. The No. 11-seed Ducks are hoping they won’t need heroics in a Big Ten tournament first-round game against No. 14 Purdue this Wednesday.

Watch Oregon basketball on Peacock

“I think our biggest weakness this year has been our inconsistency,” coach Kelly Graves said, “something we’ve battled all year. The great thing is our kids know, regardless of the score, we’ve got a chance. We’ll make it a game at some point. As a coach, it drives you nuts. Hopefully we can figure it out and play more consistent basketball.”

Oregon’s volatility has seen it earn three double-digit comeback wins this year, but also blow several games in the final moments.

Against Wisconsin, the Ducks held a 6-point lead with less than a minute remaining, but lost in overtime. Against Illinois, Oregon held a 21-point lead at halftime, blew it in the third quarter, trailed by eight with minutes to play and somehow eked out a win.

That makes UO somewhat of a wild card heading into the conference tournament this week at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“It’s definitely (been) a rollercoaster,” guard Katie Fiso said. “A lot of highs and a lot of lows. But one thing that I try to see through all games is our grittiness and our toughness. One thing that stays consistent throughout the season is our toughness and our grittiness. The game isn’t over until the last bell rings.”

The Ducks will be taking on a Boilermakers (13-16, 5-13) team that has struggled against most of the top competition in the league, but played Oregon tight in a Feb. 25 Ducks win.

Graves said when the Ducks went throughout the postgame handshake line after, the Boilermakers felt like their season would end after the regular season. Thanks to some upsets, Purdue is in the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 14 seed.

“We’re playing a team that probably feels like it’s playing with house money,” Graves said. “We’ve got to pick ourselves back up and get it done.”

What channel is Oregon vs. Purdue on today in Big Ten tournament?

Oregon will tip off vs. Purdue on Peacock, with no TV option to watch the game.

Oregon vs. Purdue start time in Big Ten tournament

Date: Wednesday, March 4
Time: Around 5:30 p.m. PT

Oregon and Purdue will play around 5:30 p.m. PT at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The first game of the day begins at 12:30 p.m. PT, with the next game 25 minutes after the first game ends, and so on. The Ducks play in the third game of the day, so no official tip time is listed.

Oregon women’s basketball schedule 2025-26

Below are the past five games of Oregon’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.

Feb. 15	Washington 51, Oregon 43
Feb. 19	Oregon 80, Nebraska 76
Feb. 22	Indiana 72, Oregon 65
Feb. 25	Oregon 71, Purdue 65
March 1	Washington 70, Oregon 69
March 4	Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament)

Purdue women’s basketball schedule 2025-26

Below are the past five games of Purdue’s 2025-26 basketball season. For the full schedule, click here.

Feb. 14	Purdue 72, Rutgers 57
Feb. 19	Iowa 83, Purdue 74
Feb. 22	Maryland 99, Purdue 66
Feb. 25	Oregon 71, Purdue 65
March 1	Purdue 67, Northwestern 62
March 4	Oregon vs. Purdue (Big Ten tournament)