Cover Story
Shop Local 2019
Don’t tell the kids, but Santa isn’t the only game in town when it comes to scoring cool holiday gifts. Let these Shop Local suggestions serve as guideposts for mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and all the rest of the relatives looking to support the local economy this season. In honor of Shop Local Saturday, Source…
New Redmond Hotel Opens Friday
Following two years of renovations by Soul Community Planet, the downtown Redmond hotel will officially open December 6 as the SCP Redmond. The hotel features 49 rooms and suites, coworking spaces, a rooftop garden and conservatory, fitness center and a variety of food and beverage venues, such as the Provisions Market. “The vision of Soul…
Eileen Kiely Enters State Senate Race
Eileen Kiely (D) of Sunriver is running for Oregon Senate District 27, challenging incumbent republican Tim Knopp of Bend who has held the seat since 2013. (Knopp told the Source Weekly that he plans to run for this seat again during the 2020 election.) District 27 covers Bend, Redmond and Sunriver. Kiely ran for State…
A Progressive Approach to Health
Last week, the Source Weekly published a piece about the county’s efforts to decriminalize mental illness. Local crisis experts told stories of working within jails and police departments to identify and assist people coping with chronic mental health disorders. This week, Deputy Director Janice Garceau of Deschutes County Behavioral Health provides an inside look at…
Source Weekly Update Podcast: 11/28/19
In this week’s podcast: A look into native foodways and indigenous farmers and how to shop both local and online in Central Oregon!
Local Retailers, Found Online
It’s no secret that online shopping is gaining in popularity for Americans who want to save time shopping for everything from groceries to gifts. According to Internet Retailer, people bought $517 billion worth of retail goods online in 2018—up from $390 billion in 2016. In 2018, that accounted for 14.3% of total retail sales (which…
Spurning Curve
Spurning Curve I was feeding my meter the other day, and this guy started chatting me up outside his store and got me to take his number. He seemed sweet, but things quickly got weird when he wanted to come over the next night. I said that didn’t work for me, but I offered to…
Students, Stress and Suicide
In February, a group of Central Oregon students proposed a new bill to the Oregon Legislature—one that would allow high school students the opportunity to take five mental health days over a three-month period without academic consequences. The bill was inspired by the nationwide effort among youth to change the stigma surrounding mental health, by…
Art and Craft Fairs Galore!
When it comes to shopping local, there’s nothing quite like the holiday art and craft fairs in Central Oregon. It used to be Craft-O was the only big event, and people would come in droves to get special precious items, always happening the second weekend in December at the Old Iron Works. Now, though, the…
Farm-to-Table Thanksgiving
Every Thanksgiving, Americans consume roughly 46 million turkeys—the vast majority being factory farm-raised, spending the entirety of their short lives crammed into sheds with thousands of other turkeys. They’re force-fed a strict diet of antibiotics including tetracycline, streptomycin and ampicillin, making them more likely to carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Their beaks and toes are snipped so…
Covered Wagons and Historical Water Rights: Both Out of Date
Here’s a thing that’s just as antiquated as a covered wagon: The way Central Oregon treats its relationship with one of its most coveted resources, its water. The system that allocates water resources from the precious Deschutes River has largely been in place since those covered wagon days—and if the local irrigation districts get their…
Absinthe: Mysterious & Misunderstood
Absinthe is illegal. It’s made with opium. You’ll see the “green fairy,” because it makes you hallucinate. All of the above statements are false—but those misconceptions permeate our culture. Absinthe never had opium in it. It’s a high-proof spirit made with the flowers and leaves of Artemisia absinthium (wormwood), anise, fennel and other herbs. The…
Games For The Whole Family
Getting together with the family over the holidays is great—but to keep the good mojo going sometimes you need a little extra help, and board games are often an easy solution to bring everyone together. As with any family gathering there will be different age groups, so finding games for everyone can get tricky (especially…
Giving Thanks for What the Land Provides
This Thanksgiving, while many Americans are fussing over turkeys and emptying cans of cranberry “sauce” onto plates, Spring Olson will be cooking up a meal of pheasant stuffed with sweetgrass, topped with bison-cedar gravy and served with sides of green beans and wild rice. If that seems like a far cry from the traditional Thanksgiving…
Shop Small Matters
Small Business Saturday drops this weekend, and in case you’re wondering why it matters to support that locally owned shop down the street… •For every $100 you spend at a local businesses, $52 stays in the community •Buying local is environmentally responsible. •We know you, and you know us. Studies have shown that local businesses…
Ice Ice Lady
I don’t have kids, so my relationship to the original “Frozen” is probably different than the one parents have with the 2013 Disney blockbuster. I didn’t have to watch it a thousand times or hear “Let it Go” sung by well-meaning children until my ears screamed with the fury of a thousand better Disney songs. I…
Testing Federal Pot
In my last column, I interviewed Elvy Musikka, one of two remaining Americans to receive medical marijuana from the federal government, grown at the University of Mississippi. We were both curious about the potency and terpenes in the 6 pounds of cannabis pre-rolls the feds provide her every year, so I took a few to…
Free Will Astrology—Week of November 28
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “My greatest asset is that I am constantly changing,” says Sagittarian actress and activist Jane Fonda. This description may not always be applicable to you, but I think it should be during the coming weeks. You’re primed to thrive on a robust commitment to self-transformation. As you proceed in your holy…
Source Material
The 2020 Grammy nominees were announced last week, and as usual, the committee made one too many snubs for my liking. Granted, it can’t be an easy job to please the masses when it comes to music, but this year’s list of nominees seems extra perplexing. Let’s take a look at some of the big…
Oldies but Goodies
Nostalgia is incredibly powerful—and when that feeling is captured in a gift, it’s hard to be topped. That’s why exploring through antique shops and second-hand stores can be so fun. Either you find an item that strikes a personal chord, or you manage to stumble across something so cool that you can’t say no. That’s…
From The Fire
Atribal member from the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Scott Kalama is best known for his rapping skills—which you might have heard under the moniker, Blue Flamez. He’s an award-winning artist making strides for Native Americans, bringing positivity to his roots. Through his music, Kalama showcases an inside perspective to living life as an indigenous…
Letters to the Editor
Editor’s note: In addition to being Thanksgiving week, November is also Native American Heritage Month—declared so in 1990 by President H.W. Bush. To mark that, this week’s issue reserves some space to tell tales of local indigenous people doing important work in the community, as well as other stories of sharing in some Thanksgiving-related fun.…
A Community Thread: Shanti O’Connor
Joshua Langlais is a local photographer and the creator of A Community Thread, a project for which he interviews folks on the subject of community, its importance, and how we function as individuals within it. This is an excerpt from his interview with Shanti O’Connor in September. While O’Connor doesn’t particularly enjoy describing herself, she…
Shop for a Santa Cause
Buy an electric bike for the eco-conscious thrill-seeker and they’ll probably thank you many times over as they’re flying up Awbrey Butte without breaking a sweat. “Santa is fully on the e-bike Kool-Aid train. Kris Kringle is crushing it this month,” said Sterling McCord, owner and operator of Bend Electric Bikes on NW Hill Street.…
Looking to Buy a Home in the Winter Months?
Shorter days, the crisp air with twinges of bitterness, traces of white appearing in the Cascades and the barren trees are the annual indications that winter is tiptoeing its way into Central Oregon. Before long, as in its usual fashion, winter will no longer hold off its arrival and Central Oregon will be in full…
Must Love Beer (and Kids)
Social mamas everywhere, rejoice! There’s a new weekly gathering spot for playdates, and it’s not at a park. Boss Rambler Beer Club recently debuted its new kid-friendly event, Moms and Groms. Every Wednesday from 3-6 pm, moms, kids, toddlers and babies flock to the Galveston Street taphouse for playtime and mingling. Parents receive $1 off…
Shopping Local: Downtown Bend and Beyond
The holiday season is upon us—time to start stress-eating sugar cookies and compulsively filling/emptying our Amazon.com shopping carts! Forego stress and the fear of generic gift-giving by supporting local businesses. Bend is brimming with local artisans, entrepreneurs and unforgettable experiences. Here are just a few uncommon gift ideas for that special someone, whether they be…
A Stinging Tale
Back in the Good Old Days, I’d get a phone call at least once a month all winter from someone all in a dither about stumbling over a scorpion somewhere in the house, woodshed or chicken coop. Oh, how I loved those “Hey, Jim, look what I got!” greetings in the post office, when someone…
Decriminalizing Mental Illness
Calls to the Bend Police Department involving people who were “allegedly mentally ill” increased by 172% from 2010 to 2017. People affected by mental illness end up in prisons and jail at a much higher rate than people without a diagnosis. In response to the increase in calls, Deschutes County has created a number of…
