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Jonathan Bach
@jonathanmbach.bsky.social
1.3K followers 270 following 410 posts
Reporter covering housing and commercial real estate for The Oregonian

Author of "High Desert, Higher Costs: Bend and the Housing Crisis in the American West" https://osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/high-desert-higher-costs
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jonathanmbach.bsky.social
I bought the first "Morisaki Bookshop" early this year and, thanks to its breezy style and tight character focus, ripped through it.

More "Days" ahead!
The novel "More Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" by Satoshi Yagisawa
August 4, 2025 at 2:48 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Had time to kill in Salem the other day, so I went into the Book Bin. Big thanks to them for supporting "High Desert, Higher Costs"!

While it's largely about central Oregon, the book discusses Salem politics and its effect on housing.

#booksky
A copy of "High Desert, Higher Costs" on a retail bookshelf
July 27, 2025 at 7:14 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Many thanks to Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, Oregon, for making "High Desert, Higher Costs" a book club pick next month in the run-up to the Sisters Festival of Books — which I am extremely excited to attend in September.

More info: www.sistersfob.org/book-club

#writersky #booksky #housing
Book club, Tuesday, Aug. 12 at 5:30 p.m., Paulina Springs Books at 252 W Hood Ave in Sisters, Oregon
July 25, 2025 at 5:50 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
I will read from "High Desert, Higher Costs: Bend and the Housing Crisis in the American West" in Multnomah Village in just a few weeks.

Thanks to Annie Bloom's for hosting!

A recent book interview: www.opb.org/article/2025...

Details: annieblooms.com/event/2025-0...

#writersky #booksky #author
"High Desert, Higher Costs" Reading Date: Thu, 8/14/2025 Time: 7:00pm - 8:00pm Place: Annie Bloom's Books 7834 SW Capitol Hwy Portland, OR 97219-2466
July 24, 2025 at 1:55 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
There are lots of great grafs in this Hua Hsu story on AI in colleges, but this is among my favorites:
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
July 23, 2025 at 2:57 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Picked up a RAT distortion pedal today and tested it out on #alterbridge "Open Your Eyes" 👍
July 22, 2025 at 5:53 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
This is such a powerful image
July 13, 2025 at 9:29 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
A Cedar Hills Crossing @powells.bsky.social's copy of "High Desert, Higher Costs" chilling in New Nonfiction today:

www.powells.com/book/high-de...
A blue trade paperback with the title "High Desert, Higher Costs: Bend and the Housing Crisis in the American West" on a retail bookshelf
June 29, 2025 at 9:01 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Birmingham's mayor issues a statement on the news, first reported Friday on @oregonian.com, that Cornell Wesley will move to Portland to lead Prosper Portland:
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin: "Congratulations to my Morehouse brother, a true son of Birmingham. Over the past four years, you have been a steadfast ally, advocating for the citizens of Birmingham. Transitioning from the 205 to the 503, we eagerly anticipate how you will continue to prioritize the needs of the community. Cornell now has the remarkable opportunity to not only serve his hometown but also to extend his dedication to Portland for his wife's family. Wishing you Godspeed and all the best from 830 Westview Drive to North Titusville, from Paris to Pratt City—your impact is already felt and will undoubtedly continue to resonate. Best of luck, brother."
June 29, 2025 at 5:50 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Pleased to announce I'll join a stellar lineup of authors (with more names TK) at the Sisters Festival of Books in September in Sisters, Oregon 🏔️🏔️🏔️

Details 👇
www.sistersfob.org

See you there! 📚

#Authors #Writing #WritingCommunity #WriteSky #WriterSky
Author lineup: Alison Jean Cole (A Rockhound's Guide to Oregon & Washington), Maxim Luskutoff (Old King), Jonathan Bach (High Desert, Higher Costs) Kimberly King Parsons (We Were the Universe), Justin Hocking (A Field Guide to the Subterranean), Kelly Ramsey (Wildfire Days)
June 24, 2025 at 5:24 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Living the good life
An orange cat relaxes in a window sill
June 9, 2025 at 5:32 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
👀 Dudley's Bookshop Cafe in Bend says "High Desert, Higher Costs" is one of its May bestsellers!

This is particularly exciting because I worked at Dudley's in high school, pouring espresso and selling books. ☕

dudleysbookshopcafe.com/item/UoKxUqZ...
June 5, 2025 at 3:40 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
The rock face is clearly not smiling

(North Cheyenne Cañon Park)
Hiker takes a selfie in a forested canyon
May 30, 2025 at 8:32 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Heading to Colorado for a few days. Seems as good a place as any to try to finally finish this bad boy
Wilderness and the American Mind by Roderick Frazier Nash
May 27, 2025 at 10:38 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
I am especially grateful to Brent Walth and Ryanne Pilgeram, two authors I admire, for providing feedback on "High Desert, Higher Costs: Bend and the Housing Crisis in the American West."

Find the book here: osupress.oregonstate.edu/book/high-de...
“Set against the backdrop of the housing crisis in Bend, Oregon, Jonathan Bach’s book invites us into the lives of everyday people to understand what it takes to find, keep, and afford a place to call home. Meticulously detailed, High Desert, Higher Costs offers an account of the Byzantine layers of local, state, and federal policies that have led us to this crisis and examines which ones might move us out of it. Moving from discussions of urban-growth boundaries and short-term rentals to lending programs and YIMBY density proposals, this should be required reading for anyone trying to understand the many nuances of the housing crisis, how we got here, and what steps we can take to imagine a different future of housing in our communities.” —Ryanne Pilgeram, author of Pushed Out: Contested Development and Rural Gentrification in the US West “The horizon of the American West has always promised a landscape so vast that it could never be contained. But today this same topography is lined by invisible fences of exclusivity. In High Desert, Higher Costs, Jonathan Bach investigates how the infusion of affluence and a widening wealth gap has transformed Bend, Oregon, where many people who built this community—and still keep it running—can no longer afford to live there. With expertise and sensitivity, Bach unspools a story that is at once intensely personal and as sweeping as the Oregon sky—stark, unforgettable, and yet relentlessly hopeful.” —Brent Walth, author of Fire at Eden’s Gate: Tom McCall and the Oregon Story
May 25, 2025 at 8:13 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Stoked beyond belief for the legendary Andy Giegerich and the Optdemics — and my wife Makenna, the cellist in the "welcome sprinkling of strings and brass" (!!!) in this @wweek.com write-up:
"Optdemics The Atom Complex (Braxeling) From Braxeling Records, Portland’s finest purveyors of psychedelia, garage rock, and power pop, comes a sharply recorded collection of jangly, heartfelt tunes from a new trio made up of members of the High Violets, The Honus Huffhines, and the Mean Reds. As with all of those groups, the members of Optdemics lean into their vintage influences, while augmenting the jangly and at times spiky sound and literate lyrics with a welcome sprinkling of strings and brass."
May 21, 2025 at 2:41 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Thank you to every reader of “High Desert, Higher Costs,” spotted in good company at Paulina Springs Books in Sisters, Oregon!

To those who've read it, I welcome your feedback on your platform of choice like Goodreads or The StoryGraph.

(Photo by Julie Carrico)
Multicolored rows of books are aligned on shelves and stacks in a bookstore
May 21, 2025 at 2:08 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Beyond flattered by The Source Weekly in Bend, which calls High Desert, Higher Costs "a shining example of solutions journalism."

www.bendsource.com/news/a-housi...
Instagram post from the Source Weekly: "Oregonian housing journalist Jonathan Bach, who grew up in Central Oregon, investigates Bend's housing crisis in his new book 'High Desert, Higher Costs.' Published by OSU Press in April, 'High Desert' is a shining example of solutions journalism. With novelistic prose, Bach also weaves his own family's rental history with others' experiences. Available at Dudley's and other booksellers"
May 20, 2025 at 3:10 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
In a statement to @oregonian.com, Oregon Democratic House Leader Ben Bowman weighs in on proposed budget cuts at Prosper Portland, leveraging ouroboros imagery:
“The Portland City Council has a tough job. But in a time of budget cuts, defunding economic development programs that help generate revenue is like a snake eating its own tail when it gets hungry. It’s only going to make the problem worse." Statement from Oregon Democratic House Leader Ben Bowman
May 19, 2025 at 6:50 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Thank you to Dudley's Bookshop Café and OSU Press for putting on a fantastic book event yesterday at OSU-Cascades!

Loved every second of the engaging audience questions and outstanding housing panel.

And you know we got Richard's on the way outta town...

dudleysbookshopcafe.com/item/UoKxUqZ...
Doughnuts and a pastry in a white bag
May 18, 2025 at 10:59 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Did the Cooper Mountain Loop Trail in WashCo on @jamiehale.bsky.social's recent recommendation in @oregonian.com — and you should, too!

www.oregonlive.com/travel/2025/...
A pedestrian bridge at Cooper Mountain Nature Park in Washington County A path opens to a blue sky and white clouds at Cooper Mountain Nature Park in Washington County White clouds over Cooper Mountain Nature Park in Washington County
May 4, 2025 at 9:56 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Plus some strings:
A bassist plays in Central Park Cellist
May 4, 2025 at 4:43 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Some of my favorite mobile photos so far this year:

#shotoniphone
U.S. Bancorp Tower (background) in downtown Portland Orange cats American flag hangs in a yard Rainbow in Southwest Portland
May 4, 2025 at 4:42 AM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
Thanks to everyone who made the @powells.bsky.social launch last night such a blast!
April 30, 2025 at 5:17 PM
jonathanmbach.bsky.social
First sighting of "High Desert, Higher Costs" in the wild, this one at Annie Bloom's Books in SW Portland's Multnomah Village!

annieblooms.com/book/9781962...
Photo of an autographed copy of the book "High Desert, Higher Costs: Bend and the Housing Crisis in the American West"
April 27, 2025 at 7:53 PM