Cover Stories
2020 Women’s Issue
The Source Weekly has had a Women’s Issue for as long as we can remember. It’s our place to highlight some of the many stories of Central Oregon women doing important work—but this year, a new partnership sought to amplify women’s voices even further. The Source partnered with the Bend Chamber—which has had its own…
Mirror of Sand
Bend has been talking about Mirror Pond since the last time it was dredged in 1984. Yes, you read that right. The cover of the Source this week shows the debate was in full swing 20 years ago, and while the stars of this never-ending story change as the decades go by, the same debates…
Congrats to All the Nominees in our Women of the Year Awards!
It’s been a huge honor participating in the Women of the Year awards, a partnership this year between the Source and the Bend Chamber. What a ride! After being nominated, each nominee was asked to submit a personal statement and other information about them. They then participated in a “meet and greet” with the panel…
Oregon’s Novel Coronavirus: Updated Numbers Here
Updates: Monday, 3/2, 10:15 am: Oregon health officials announced Monday that a third person has been id’d as having a “presumed case” of COVID-19. The person lives in Umatilla County and is in the hospital in Walla Walla, Washington. OHA said the person attended a youth basketball game at Weston Middle School in Weston, Oregon…
The Leaflet — Spring 2020
In an industry like this one, it’s perhaps more apt to ask not, “what’s changed?” but instead, “what hasn’t changed?” From rules around CBD testing to an explosion of farms growing hemp, keeping up can be a full-time job. Inside this issue, we give you a bird’s eye view of some of that hemp farm…
VertFest celebrates the trudging up as much as the gliding down
Before you dive full-force into the magic that is spring, take at least one last weekend to fully bask in the beauty of winter (or just toggle back and forth between winter and spring sports, like lots of Central Oregon outdoor enthusiasts do). Mt. Bachelor’s VertFest, which celebrates the love of backcountry snow sports, is…
Grisly Bare
Grisly Bare I hooked up with a really good friend a few times. We both agreed to forget about it to preserve our friendship, but he’s been really distant. I don’t want to be the one to reach out and say something. How do I get things back to normal? —Upset Woman Sure, they say…
May the Source Be With You
First spring is always something to behold in Central Oregon. Usually nestled snugly in between first and second winter, it’s a lovely few weeks of blue skies, cold nights and possible random snowfall that makes the weather here so truly unpredictable. In case you’re an indoor kid and need a few more things to binge…
Small Grants Aim to Do Big Things
Sometimes it only takes a little bit to inspire and create something bigger. The small grants awarded by the Deschutes Cultural Coalition may not exceed $3,000, but the organizations receiving the money have big ideas for it, making for some interesting upcoming events and creative opportunities. One of the goals for the grant money is…
Why the Black Market Persists
The rapidly growing cannabis industry has a complicated relationship with a competing market segment, often described with a loaded term: the Black Market. “Black Market” references exchanges in which seller and buyer deal in illegal goods and/or avoid taxes and regulations by conducting their business “in the shadows,” hence the “black market.” It’s both an…
Future Gardening: Dining Room to Table
A wheel filled with lettuce and herbs rotates and glows in my dining room. It’s there because my partner backed the Kickstarter for OGarden, a technology-driven indoor gardening system from Quebec that got funded in six minutes. “I thought it would be fun to grow stuff in the house,” he explained. “It seemed to be a…
Source Material
February is kind of a weird month where you’re stuck in limbo between winter and spring. It’s definitely not my favorite. But this year it seems that musicians sought to kick out those February blues, because there were a ton of good tunes put out this month. Let’s take a look at some of my…
Foraging the Forest
Maybe it happens after a u-pick berry outing or a mushroom hunting trip in which you finally discover a stash of morels. However it comes on, foraging can be addictive. If you’ve ever surfed or skimboarded, you know what it’s like to watch the waves curling toward you, deciding whether they’re worth catching. When you…
Polecat’s Last Hoorah
Ten years is a long time to be doing anything. Even only after a year in, that thing can become an integral part of your life. For Polecat, a folky-bluegrass band from Bellingham, Washington that thing was performing music for people that made them happy. Now, after a decade-long run as a beloved group up…
R.I.Bee.
After a poolside bee sting sent me into anaphylactic shock several years ago, I quickly labeled all stinging insects my mortal enemies. Since then, whenever a honey bee or yellow jacket stopped by a picnic to say “hello,” I’d head for the hills, screaming at the menacing party-crasher to go back home. But as I…
Growth + Rising Costs vs. Affordable Housing
The pace of growth in Central Oregon is simply staggering, drawing people from all over the U.S. because of the high desirability. Homebuyers moving here refer to Central Oregon home prices as “affordable” compared to where they’re coming from—mostly metropolitan areas where sales prices have soared. Zillow states that median home prices in San Francisco…
Free Will Astrology—Week of February 27
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): If you’re like most of us, you harbor desires for experiences that might be gratifying in some ways but draining in others. If you’re like most of us, you may on occasion get attached to situations that are mildly interesting, but divert you from situations that could be amazingly interesting and…
#InDaCouch
It’s Friday night. You get home from work, kick off your shoes and begin to carve the perfect spot out in your couch—then the notifications start coming in. “Hey, dude, let’s grab a beer!” “*Insert band here* is playing at Volcanic! Let’s go!” You read these texts and consider the fun it might be, but…
Letters to the Editor
Editor’s note: Several months ago, a press release came across my desk, alerting us to a stat regarding the Bend/Sunriver area being the nation’s fourth-highest area per capita for short-term rentals. That was interesting enough—and it was reported elsewhere—but the release didn’t paint the full picture. With an audit forthcoming and Airbnb guarded about its…
Make Cannabis Fun Again
Lindsey Pate, the current president of the Cascades Cannabis Association, realized years ago that major changes had to be made within the local cannabis industry. The co-owner of a cannabis farm right outside of Terrebonne, Pate was extremely active in political advocacy for cannabis growers and distributors before joining the association. “It was and is…
C.O. Breweries Win Big at Oregon Beer Awards
Central Oregon brewers took home a host of awards at last week’s Oregon Beer Awards. Best New Brewery went to Boss Rambler Beer Club of Bend, while Sunriver Brewing got a nod for its Excellence in Brewing Operations, representing Oregon’s Central region. Small Brewery of the Year went to Bend’s Immersion Brewing. And 23 Central…
Your Budtenders’ Favorite Products
Weed has evolved quite a bit since its earliest usage, and you can find THC in a multitude of products. You can drink it, bathe in it and basically find it in about any product of your preference. They aren’t just used for fun, either. Many people are finding products to fit their specific needs—whether…
Homes for Birds and Bats
OK, good people, now’s the time! Head out to the nearest housing construction project, and if they’re using plywood (not particle board), ask the builders to put leftovers aside. Bring a box of donuts, give it to the builders and bring the plywood home to build bird house nesting boxes. I’ve been building nesting boxes…
Hemp’s Central Oregon Explosion
If you’ve driven around rural Central Oregon lately and have taken note of a rise in farms growing stuff that looks like marijuana, you’re not imagining things. Those outdoor fields aren’t marijuana, however (plants containing THC have to be grown in greenhouses around these parts), but hemp—the stuff that goes into all those CBD products…
Where Do Marijuana Taxes Go?
Oregon state cannabis tax revenue continues to grow, with no ceiling in sight: the State brought in $102 million during the 2019 fiscal year (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019), according to the Oregon Department of Revenue. This is a 24.2% increase over the $82.2 million collected in 2018. The state taxes retail sales…
Room Tax Rift
Data from market research firm AirDNA reveals that the City of Bend may not be getting all the tax dollars it’s entitled to from vacation rental operators. AirDNA listed 1,411 active rentals on Airbnb or VRBO within Bend city limits as of last month. Eighty-five percent, or 1,200, are reported as whole-house rentals. City of…
Plants Over Pills
A new study of British Millennials found that 50% of them would rather use CBD to manage their mental health over prescription drugs, according to Eos Scientific. But are the headlines about CBD’s uplifting effects just a bunch of hype? We dove into the scientific literature to find out. Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is a…
BCD zoning changes were needed. But affordable housing should still be the priority
The area just east of Bend’s downtown, dubbed the Bend Central District, has long been heralded as the area holding the most promise for redevelopment, and for adding more housing and commercial space close to the center of town. But in the few years since the City of Bend adopted special development standards for that…
What is CBG?
Legal cannabis has been heralded as the “next big thing” over the past decade or so—but inside this changing industry, the “next big thing” among “next big things” is CBG. It’s just one of over 100 molecules found in cannabis, but found in very small amounts in most cannabis strains. Like CBD, CBG is showing…
Chasing The Sun
Usually this is a strange time of year for the rock-climber population. It’s still pretty cold out, and often, there’s that pesky snow and ice to deal with. But this year? Winter has almost been too ideal for climbers. “We’ve been lucky with a winter like this. This winter has been prime conditions,” says Mike…
