Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • $1.50 Saturday • April 10, 2021 ROSS TO RETIRE FROM SKIING WORLD CUP ALPINE SKI RACING • SPORTS, B1 BEND REDMOND AIRPORT Low-cost flights to Burbank to take off Protecting pollinators By JaCKSON HOGaN The Bulletin For $19, you could buy two six-packs of craft brew in Bend. Once Central Oregon theaters reopen, that would also get you in to see a movie and get a small popcorn, too. But starting May 13, $19 will get you all the way to Burbank, California. Avelo Airlines — the first new major U.S. airline in about 15 years — introduced itself to the public Thursday with 11 new routes, including one from Redmond Airport to Hollywood Burbank Airport. Avelo says the ticket price is part of a temporary, introduc- tory offer. Local tourism and business leaders see this new option as a win for Central Oregon. “There’s just more options, which both visitors and locals appreciate,” said Julia Theisen, president and CEO of Sunriv- er-based tourism nonprofit Central Oregon Visitors Association. “It’s both convenient, and expanding the (Los Angeles) market for us, which is already strong.” Avelo flights from Redmond to Burbank will fly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Satur- days, according to Zachary Bass, director of Redmond Airport. Ryan Brennecke/The Bulletin a honeybee collects nectar from a cluster of blooming flowers Friday in an east Bend neighborhood. Resident creates Pollinator Pathway, which seeks to add plants that will help bees, butterflies See Flights / A4 By KyLE SPurr • The Bulletin A fter years of planting a home garden to attract endangered pollinators like bees and butterflies, Bend resident Justices: Oregon lawmakers can have first crack at redistricting Basey Klopp had a vision to create more spaces for the threatened species. Klopp, a 48-year-old mother of two boys who worked for a native plant nursery, launched Bend Pollinator Pathway, a volunteer-led initiative that will start this month. The project is work- ing with the city of Bend, Bend Park & Recreation District and local residents and businesses to plant pol- linator gardens across the region. The goal is to rebuild habitats for the hundreds of bee, butterfly, moth and hummingbird species throughout Bend and Cen- tral Oregon, Klopp said. Worldwide, more than 40% of insect species are facing extinction due to pesticides and habitat loss, according to international studies. “The great news is that we know exactly what we need to do,” Klopp said. “We need to plant native plants.” As residents start plan- ning spring gardens, Klopp hopes they consider adding native plants such as milk- weed, buckwheat and west- ern wallflower. Milkweed is especially important for monarch butterflies, which lay their eggs on the native plant. The monarch butterfly population is in crisis. A count in 2017 showed the population fell to fewer than 29,000 in North Amer- ica, down from 1.2 million counted in 1997, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Klopp uses the distress- ing statistics as motivation. “This is a critical point that we have reached, and I am fueled and I am not get- ting bummed out,” Klopp said. “It’s past time for ac- tion.” By PEtEr WONG Oregon Capital Bureau A decision by the Oregon Supreme Court will enable lawmakers, not Secretary of State Shemia Fagan, to get first crack at re- drawing legislative district boundaries de- spite a pandemic-caused delay in federal census data. The court, in an opinion issued Friday, gives legislators until Sept. 27 to come up with a plan — even though the Oregon Constitution sets a deadline of July 1. “The great news is that we know exactly what we need to do. We need to plant native plants.” Basey Klopp, Bend Pollinator Pathway creator See Pollinators / A4 See redistricting / A7 Former Sen. Gordon Smith stepping COCC’s business development down as head of broadcaster group center accepts GI Bill benefits Former U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Oregon, announced this week that he will step down two years early as head of the National Association of Broadcasters. Smith, 68, made the announce- ment in a video to the more than 8,300 radio TODAY’S WEATHER Cooler High 46, Low 24 Page a8 and television stations in the group. “It has been my great honor to give the lion’s roar for broadcasters — those who run into the storm, those who stand firm in chaos to hear the voice of the people, those who hold to account the powerful,” Smith said in the video. See Smith / A7 INDEX Business Classifieds Comics A5-6 B7-8 B4-5 Dear Abby Editorial Horoscope A6 B6 A6 By JaCKSON HOGaN The Bulletin Since 2014, Shawn Haw- kins has attended occasional business classes at Central Oregon Community College’s noncredit business program, Local/State Lottery Nation/World A2-4 B2 A7 Obituaries Puzzles Sports A7 B5 B1-2 the Small Business Devel- opment Center. He believes these courses helped him get his company, Tiger Town Brewing Co. in Mitchell, off the ground in 2017. The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper We use recycled newsprint Vol. 117, No. 329, 16 pages, 2 sections But when Hawkins signed up for a Quickbooks Online class at the Small Business De- velopment Center, he noticed something odd: It was free. See GI Bill / A7 DAILY By Gary a. WarNEr Oregon Capital Bureau U|xaIICGHy02329lz[ Get your copy in The Bulletin today! 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