Bend, Oregon Next Steps? – Has Anyone Gamed This Out? 4/4
I am not sure our town leadership have had the time to dive into the future of Bend, but from where I am standing I have grave concerns.
And it’s not limited to Bend, so let’s explore this.
Elsewhere in the world with COVID19 smart but albeit authoritarian governments have shut down entire countries to stop the spread of this unique virus which, by any accounts, has a terrifically high transmission rate for a COVID strain.
The USA has chosen a different path. Governors and mayors have taken direct action to isolate hotspots like Washington and Oregon.
Travel by car, rail, train and aircraft is not limited. In fact I can book a flight to NYC right now if I wanted, I checked. If I wanted to I could fly to JFK and back for $325.
Here’s the problem.
Bend is a town of 100,000 that adds over 900,000+ regional tourists each summer and another 900,000+ in the winter.
Almost 20,000 people visit Bend every day of the year on average.
Currently we have NO WAY of certifying that these bodies are COVID free and unless we test every single person coming into Bend we need to continue to isolate. A single COVID case could lead to 240 cases in three weeks and those 240 compound or double every 4+ days.
Add to that the Southern Problem and it’s huge.
Right now the northern states are sacrificing literally everything to bring down transmission rates while most southern states have been willfully ignorant and unable to stop their people from breaking transmission. The southern states are the sickest in the nation with the most underlying conditions, a literal playground for COVID19.
You begin to see the problem. One family group, sick with COVID from Florida and visiting Bend this summer or fall could start the process all over again.
For a mountain town with 100,000 that swells yearly to 2.3 million we are in deep trouble.
Very deep trouble.
Short of a vaccine we need to stay tourism free until the rest of the USA breaks transmission. And even if we get a vaccine, 45% of Americans do not trust them, and will not take them.
So, to the leadership here #inbend NOW is the time to start gaming out the future of our town. We are in the crosshairs, and it’s going to take more than reactionary leadership to see us move forward.
It’s going to take visionary leadership. Now.
Moving forward I want to see and hear our leadership.
I want to know they understand the gravity of the situation.
I want to know they are planning for the long term.
I want them to speak the words the rest of us know, that this is a true existential threat to everything we have built here and that are FIGHTING for every Federal and State dollar there is to deploy into this town.
I need to know that Bend is in the hands of folks who see the light at the end of the tunnel and are moving us there.
One day at a time. Can we do this?
– Patric Douglas
We’re all in this together? 4/9
Regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been hearing from officials and the media that we are all in this together and we all need to do our part, but this does not apply to everyone.
I totally support the Governor ordering social distancing and closing non-essential businesses, but allowing elitist special interest golf courses to remain open is a slap in the face to skiers, hikers, skaters, OHV riders and small businesses. Recently we learned we can’t use Sno-Parks and trailheads or use OHV trails. This sounds like something Donald Trump would do, not a Democratic governor.
If you have ever seen the Sunriver airport on a busy summer weekend, you’ll see many private planes and jets. I don’t think that poor people are landing there, putting their luggage in their vacation homes and then playing a few rounds of golf.
It all comes down to the rich waging class warfare against the poor and middle class. Of course they spin it to suggest they are being attacked.
Lincoln should have ended the Gettysberg address with “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the rich, by the rich, for the rich, shall not perish from the earth”.
If you think we really are all in this together, call and email the Governor and tell her golf courses are non-essential businesses and should be closed now.
-Ben Goodin
Made in Bend or China?
Silipints and Drink Tanks are just two Bend companies that make all of their products in China. In light of the egregious behavior by China regarding the Coronavirus, these companies should bring production AND jobs to Oregon!
– Clark Aungst
Distribution of Money from Congress to U.S.
We need big structural changes. Our government structures are hopeless. It has been WEEKS since Congress signed the Relief Bill into law and people are STILL encountering “difficulties” in qualifying for unemployment checks.
Here is how things MUST work: You know how SIMPLE it is to transfer funds from your bank to another bank, right? Routing and account number are all you need, and the transfer happens.
Here’s the progressive improved way to get money out of Washington D.C. to us:
The Congress should instantly transfer funds to the Treasurer of each State and Territory by proportion of people in each one.
The State Treasurer then instantly transfers blocks of money to each Employment Office in proportion to population in their Service Area.
Then, people simply get in line at the Employment Office ( maintaining social distancing ), and approach the Service Windows to be handed their Checks.
The entire operation needs to happen this morning and be carried out like a benign military operation.
Go to your Employment Office and get your Relief Check now.
We are all completely fed up with the way “Government” works. These people are not working for us, or we would already have our checks.
You know I’m accurate and you know the way government should work has to IMPROVE. I just spelled it out and you know COMMON SENSE acknowledges you already use money transfers all the time.
There is no reason government can’t use the method above to instantly accomplish the DISTRIBUTION OF MONEY FROM GOVERNMENT TO US.
If you have a better way, please speak.
Thanks.
-Tom Fosdick
This article appears in Mar 25 – May 20, 2020.
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Yeah, and that’s another thing that ain’t gonna happen.
All excellent commentaries. The people of Central Oregon need to wake up and take action to protect themselves and their community.
Greg Walden, we could use that #BetterHealthcareForLess you promised.
Ben must not play golf.
How do you equate all the plane owners in Sunriver are on the golf course, and that golf is the reason that they fly in.
Golf is played by all sorts of people, rich, poor, old, young, good player and bad players.
It is very easy to practice social distancing when walking the golf course.
Why would you not want people to find a way to exercise and get out in the fresh air in our current situation.
The golf courses have only the course open, not the restaurants or areas where people congregate.
Maybe Ben needs to learn how to play golf, so he can get education on how golf works in the social distancing environment. Instead of slamming something he knows nothing about.
Social Distancing is a medieval way of battling this so called pandemic! Sun disrupts viruses through uv rays, vitamin d boosts immune systems. So does vitamin c and zinc keeps viruses from replicating. But instead you’re told to stay inside, eat fast food and binge watch t.v. and internet! If you have a compromised immune system then by all means stay inside but those who are healthy get outside and enjoy life!!!!!!!
Tom, I am totally a fan of just cutting everyone a check, period. We can tax it back next near for those earning above X$$. But it’s state unemployment software this isn’t working or wasn’t ready for this number of people looking for unemployment. Federal government is putting direct into bank accounts where they have the info. If we all go to the unemployment office to pick up a check, doesn’t that turn the office into one massive point of viral load. Even if 6 feet apart, the lines would be insane.
Patrick, some of the souther states haven’t done as well. Places like Knox Country Tennessee has done amazing while Nashville was slow. But I don’t understand what you are think is going to happen. We all shelter until we don’t get it? Sheltering is a great strategy until we have better test and trace methods, better treatment methods, etc. But the disease is going to spread. Most our tourists are from the i5 corridor, you don’t need to be scared of a southerner, it’s going to come from Seattle and Portland. Or locals going on trips and coming back. Do you intend to block all roads in and out of town? Let the data play out, and we can do what’s best when we know more. This is a threat to all Americans, no need to separate regionally. And we have already told tourists not to come, we should know much more about this disease in a month or so. It’s good that city council isn’t saying, we must do something, this is something let’s do it, but waiting to actually see what works and what doesn’t.