Editor's Note: What's What This Issue

Here at the Source, we are going out of minds with summertime. We are flooded with press releases and information about all the good/great concerts and festivals and activities (we have a great profile of an emerging sport of “high lining” in our Outside section this issue). Really, it is like trying to drink water from a fire hose. We are doing our best to sort it all out for you—pick up our Picks for a selected list of Fourth of July activities.

But we are also asking you to help us select the region’s “Best Of.” Yes, our annual ballot is this week’s centerfold. Submit your choices on-line. Voting only lasts until July 15.

Oh sure, it is fun to interview to interview our favorite musicians (see Brianna Brey’s interview with Blitzen Trapper this issue) and, yeah, it does brighten the day to have Austin-based blues legend Ira Walker randomly call on the phone to sing a song (like he did on Tuesday), but one of the true joys of our job is “discovering” new bands. At last week’s editorial, we clicked on a YouTube clip of a San Francisco band we’ve never heard of before, but who are coming to town this week—the San Francisco-based Be Kind Honcho. It took, oh, about three seconds to be charmed by the young band’s quirky ‘60s throwback songs. We immediately called them for an interview and review. Count us fans!

One of the tough parts of our job, though, is learning about and reporting on some of the darker shadows in our community. This week, reporter Erin Rook provides a stark look at the unattended problem of sex trafficking in Central Oregon. Check out the story in our news section.

This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 3, 2014.