New Podcast: Keys to the County with Patti Adair 🎧
Check out the latest episode of the Source’s Weekly’s “Bend Don’t Break” podcast hosted by our publisher Aaron Switzer. This week our guest is Deschutes County Commissioner Patti Adair. She held the fate of the county in her purse as she drove a paper copy of the region’s reopening application directly to Salem last month.…
Another Bump in the Road
Decreased traffic resulting from COVID-19 could lead to delays in Bend’s road construction and maintenance
Another COVID Outbreak at Warm Springs
The Oregon Health Authority reported 11 positive cases of COVID-19 in Jefferson County on Monday. The spike is connected to another small outbreak within the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, for a total of 35 positive cases among local tribal members. As of June 3, 27 tests from the Warm Springs Health and Wellness Center…
Source Weekly Update Podcast 6/3/20 🎧
In this week’s Source Weekly Update podcast: The tourists are coming out in numbers, a recap of local Black Lives Matter protests and St. Charles’ financial woes. Source Weekly – Bend, Oregon · Source Weekly Update Podcast 6/3/20
Outside Guide: On Sanctuary
Under normal circumstances, our annual Outside Guide is chock-full of events and suggestions for where to go and what to do in the outdoors. With social distancing guidelines still in place, sending all of our readers to one locale, or even a handful of them, seemed tone deaf. Instead, we asked some locals who work…
Phase Two Reopening… Already?
The Deschutes Board of County Commissioners voted on Monday to send its Phase Two application to the State. Big changes like gatherings up to 100 people outside—and indoor gatherings of 50 people—may be enough to restore some summer traditions like BBQs and neighborhood Fourth of July parties. It also might save some weddings and family…
Juniper Swim & Fitness is Back!
Bend Park and Recreation District announced it will be reopening Juniper Swim & Fitness Center on Monday, June 8. After evaluating the popular fitness center’s spaces and rearranging fitness equipment to encourage social distancing, BPRD will also be implementing an advanced reservation system for classes and activities to keep capacity where it needs to be.…
Triple Whammy
Eric Leadbetter’s son was born on April 1. From there he and his wife Briana were stuck quarantining at the hospital for the next five or so days due to COVID-19. The local musician was given a front row seat to see just how hard the staff at St. Charles was working and the conditions…
Bend Women Convicted of Killing Her Own Son
Tashina Jordan, 30, pleaded guilty Monday to killing her 7-year-old son Mason in 2018. The Deschutes County Circuit Court reduced her conviction to first-degree manslaughter because she was enduring emotional disturbance during the time of the murder. Now she will go to the Oregon State Hospital for the next 20 years. On the evening of…
Rick Steber’s Giant Toilet Paper Emporium
COVID-19 has impacted the majority of Central Oregon businesses, and business owners are reacting in different ways. Some have yet to reopen; some have found themselves sneaking in customers for stealthy haircuts. And some, like Prineville’s Rick Steber, are changing the names of their businesses in order to stay essential. A prolific, self-published author, Steber…
Walking the High Desert: Encounters with Rural America Along the High Desert Trail
Editor’s note: All through June, we’ll be excerpting portions of local author Ellen Waterston’s new book, “Walking the High Desert.” Here’s Chapter One. First of all, it’s “Orygun,” not “Orahgone.” And it’s “Malhyure” out here. Not the French pronunciation “Mal-uhr,” although the French trappers who came through Oregon’s high desert in 1819 were plenty unhappy.…
Hundreds Gather, Largely Masked, for a Black Lives Matter Rally in Downtown Bend
The death of George Floyd—who died after a now-former Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly 9 minutes—has been a tipping point in the U.S., causing many to rally, and some to lash out violently across the U.S. over the past several days. In Portland, people broke into the Portland Justice Center and…
![The Spanish Flu in Bend and Beyond 🎧 [with podcast]](https://i0.wp.com/www.bendsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/seattle-police.webp?resize=400%2C300&ssl=1)
The Spanish Flu in Bend and Beyond 🎧 [with podcast]
As Americans desperately seek to forecast the future of the coronavirus pandemic, some look to history, and to the 1918 flu pandemic especially, to make sense of a world which has become unpredictable and chaotic. Two Oregon historians share local and national stories of the “Spanish flu” and how somethings still haven’t changed a hundred…
Guest Opinion: Let’s Talk Optics ▶ (with video)
BLACK PERSON! BLACK PEOPLE! BLACK! BLACCCKKKKKK! Oh did I scare you? What, are you afraid now? BLACK! Does this topic make you uneasy, fearful, ashamed? Now that I have your attention—Let’s Talk Optics. The headline reads: POLICE KILL ANOTHER UNARMED BLACK PERSON Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and others would be with us today if one…
Pearl’s Puzzle – Week Of May 28
Download and print the puzzle here:
Cell Tower Wars… Continued
Last fall, a group of parents and kids from Elk Meadow Elementary School stormed Bend City Hall for weeks, demanding the City stop Verizon Wireless from building a cell tower next to the school. Verizon built the tower anyway, and Bend City Council said cell tower infrastructure is under federal jurisdiction, so there’s not much…
LIVE! From the Volcanic Theatre Pub
On Friday night, the first concert the Volcanic Theatre Pub has had in months will take place. Thing is, no one will be in the building except the artists, crew and Volcanic workers. Instead, the audience will be right at home. Volcanic owner Derek Sitter spoke to the Source this month about the state of…
A Bend Photographer’s Mission to Document Resiliency, from the Sidewalk
Many family owned businesses are torn between doing what’s right and doing what’s necessary to keep their business from flatlining. Most are trying to find the balance between keeping their business somewhat active and closing down. This is the where the challenge lies. Bend photographer Megan Baker reached out to a few families and small…
Virtually Together ▶ (with video)
Roger Ebert was once quoted as saying that movies are like a machine that generates empathy. Lately, it seems like that’s something in short supply, with patience reaching an all-time low. Between the dearly departed Pilot Butte Six and the thriving Tin Pan Theater, I’ve spent five years working at art house movie theaters (and…
Smells Like Quarantine Spirit & Trial By Fireworks
Smells Like Quarantine Spirit I started seeing a guy right before quarantine. In fact, we’ve broken quarantine a lot to be together at his place. I really like him, but I’m worried because our entire relationship has taken place indoors (watching movies, playing video games, sex). We have no experience together in real life, and…
Raising the Bar
Some bar owners are throwing caution to the wind, letting people pack their locales. Meanwhile, other downtown Bend staples are removing barstools and hiring bouncers dedicated to enforcing guidelines in every way they can. It’s an interesting time for the bar scene, no question about that. Venturing out for a nightcap could be considered brave…
Cans-To-Go: The Beverages of May
When things shut down during the pandemic, many people missed the atmosphere of going to a brewery or bar and getting a beer poured for you. I took this as an opportunity to go out and buy four- or six-packs of beers I had never tried before—something I usually enjoy doing when going out to…
Empty Stages
As we enter the Riverhouse on the Deschutes and step down into the basement, it’s eerily empty. All that exists right now, besides hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment, is hope. According to locals Courtney Latham, owner of Flip Flop Sounds, and Kimi Chassie of Curated Event Rentals, their new reality is shifting…
Free Will Astrology—Week of May 28
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I’ve got a message for you, courtesy of poet Lisel Mueller. I think her wisdom can help you thrive in the coming weeks. She writes, “The past pushed away, the future left unimagined, for the sake of the glorious, difficult, passionate present.” Of course, it’s always helpful for us to liberate…
Letters to the Editor 5/27/20
Editor’s note: As is always the case in times of upheaval, some things that once felt like strongholds are now teetering on collapse. Other things are emerging as more important than ever. This week’s Feature section showcases just a few examples of how some local businesses are winning—or sometimes losing—due to the changes afoot. Here…
El Sancho Heads West
This actually happened: I was at a stop light, half a Oaxacan cheese taco in my mouth, when the light turned green. There I was, attempting to finish the taco while maneuvering a left turn, to-go box falling, while also shifting into second with my stick shift. I was going to share one of my…
Boxing Up Owls
One of the things I enjoy about growing older is that I still have the get-up-and-go to join old friends who not only share what I love to do, but never miss the opportunity to do so. Like when Dick Tipton sent me an email about a saw-whet owl using one of his kestrel nesting…
The High Desert is Calling, and It Wants Its Local Music
Bend Roots Revival and Bend Music Collective have brainstormed a project to bring the music community back together after a time of long isolation. The idea? A compilation album featuring the talents of many Central Oregon musicians, titled “High Desert Calling.” The album will showcase the variety of sounds the music scene has here and…
Is the Market Going to Experience a Downturn the likes of the Great Recession?
The weather is warming, the signs that summer is afoot are all around us and we are officially living a new “reality.” Historically, spring and summer months in the real estate market are bustling with energy and excitement. As we know, nothing about 2020 has been typical or could even be described as remotely normal.…
The Pandemic Helps Us Win the War on Cars! Maybe…
At the Bend City Council meeting May 20, city staff and councilors discussed allowing restaurants and retail locations to expand into private parking lots in downtown Bend. Some businesses want to spread out on the sidewalk beyond their immediate storefronts—provided their neighbors are OK with it. Meanwhile, there’s still discussion of whether or not to…
Sorry Folks, We’re All Sold Out… of Baby Chicks
Since the early days of the pandemic, some grocery store shelves were bare for days as supply chains slowed. Around the same time, Americans heard stories from abroad of strict lockdowns: People couldn’t even leave their homes. Who knew if the store would even stay open? The combination of shortages and pandemic panic spiked interest…
Cycle Pub(lic humiliation)
One of five stories that are part of this week’s cover story, “Counting Change: Winners and losers in the rocky restart to the economy.” After such an extended hiatus from normalcy, I’m surprised by the things I miss. Children laughing joyfully as they run around playgrounds. The humble dumpling cart parked outside of The Capitol,…
Winning: Holy Ship!
One of five stories that are part of this week’s cover story, “Counting Change: Winners and losers in the rocky restart to the economy.” Whether it’s a letter from family or a treat-yo-self present ordered on a whim, opening up a new package is a pretty great feeling. And while the United States Postal Service…
Cases Spike Right After Reopening
As Central Oregonians braced for an influx of coronavirus-carrying visitors this Memorial Day Weekend, a spike in cases revealed that COVID-19 carriers may live among us. Deschutes County contact tracers found many cases were spread at parties, and the majority were people under 29. Cases in Redmond are also on the rise, according to Morgan…
![‘The Church is Not a Building’ ▶ [With Video]](https://i0.wp.com/www.bendsource.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/church-scaled.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
‘The Church is Not a Building’ ▶ [With Video]
On Friday, President Donald Trump officially declared that all houses of worship were to be considered essential services. “Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics essential, but have left out churches and houses of worship. It’s not right. So I’m correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential,” Trump said. While he…
