When Your Guide Loses Their Way
Q: I recently had a psilocybin ceremony that left me feeling deeply unsettled because of how my guide handled things. I’m not sure if what happened was a violation or if I’m the one out of line. How do I know if my experience with a guide was actually problematic? And if it is, what…
Practical Magic
It’s deeply frustrating to be a film critic in the midst of an endless, exhausting culture war. The moment casting choices were announced for Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s “The Odyssey,” Earth’s first trillionaire tweeted that the filmmaker had “lost his integrity” by casting Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy. Predictably, the conservative half of…
Bulgogi Cheesesteaks, BiBim Tots and Banchan, Oh My!
To me, there are only a few touchstones of Bend left anymore when it comes to the food scene. The landscape of cuisine has always been fluid and ever-shifting, but now, more than ever, it seems like we can’t take any of our favorite spots for granted. Whenever I’m showing out-of-state filmmakers around during the…
Red Light, Blue Light Therapy
The trend is so popular, you often see it in television shows, commercials and social media feeds. Blue or red light therapy masks are touted as a luxurious way to pamper yourself, unwinding the clock as you lay on a couch scrolling on your phone. Light therapy has a long-documented history. Danish physician Niels Ryberg Finsen began looking at the therapeutic effects of light on skin diseases in the 1890s. He observed that nine days…
Spilling the Tea on Testosterone
Scott Seaton, despite occupying high-octane posts that include being a firefighter with Bend Fire & Rescue and a longtime elite masters cyclist, knows what it’s like to live with low testosterone levels. Even so: nope, no way — Seaton, who’s 66, ain’t takin’ no stinkin’ testosterone replacement therapy. That, he considers, is performance-enhancing doping. So agrees the World Anti-Doping Agency and the domestic equivalent, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, which governs racing in the state and parts of Washington, has…
Bend into Balance: Interview with Dr. Kevin Jones of Flow Wellness
In 2010, I traveled with a small film crew to Monterey, Mexico to meet Manuel Uribe for a documentary on obesity I was directing for National Geographic. At that time, he was 44 years old and held the Guinness Record as the heaviest man alive at 597 kilos or 1,320 pounds. For the last 13…
Free Will Astrology, Week of July 23, 2026
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Oak trees produce far more acorns than could ever grow into trees. Squirrels bury thousands and forget many of them, preparing the way for the next generation of forest. The trees succeed through strategic overproduction. I invite you to adopt their method, Leo. In the coming weeks, overproduce. Make more than…
How Central Oregon is Staying Young
Estheticians of Central Oregon are constantly finding ways to help residents achieve and maintain the appearances they want. While their services vary greatly, many of their techniques aim to serve a similar purpose; to keep skin looking healthy and youthful. But what is currently trending in the beauty world? When interviewed, two local estheticians gave…
Supporting Community Through the Outlaw Country Tradition
Ten local artists are teaming up for a fundraiser benefitting the Latino Community Association of Central Oregon and NeighborImpact. The event on Aug. 1 is called “Willie and Friends: Unbroken Circle.” It’s a community concert inspired by the outlaw country tradition pioneered by Willie Nelson and a generation of songwriters, poets, outlaws and highwomen who…
With Fires, Every Year We Learn All Over Again
We knew it was coming, but as fire season begins its annual destruction, people are once again left wondering what we can do and if we could have done more. The benefit of hindsight already gives us much to ponder when it comes to what each of us — and our local governments — can…
Public Bus From Bend to Redmond Municipal Airport in the Works
Bend travelers flying out of the Redmond Airport may soon have an alternative to expensive Ubers, high-priced parking spaces or coordinating early morning rides with friends and family. Cascades East Transit, Central Oregon’s public transit agency, is pushing to bring a new direct bus service from Bend to the Redmond Municipal Airport. While logistical details still need to be ironed out, the agency hopes to begin the service within the next…
Deschutes County Fairgrounds Looks to Balance Wildfire Evacuation Duties as Fair Approaches
Seven horses and a pair of goats slept in barns at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center Sunday night, just a few hours after they were rushed away from the flames of a newly sparked wildfire west of Redmond. At first, it appeared the animals might soon be forced to find a different place to stay. Setup was beginning for the fairgrounds’ signature event — the Deschutes County Fair — would fill barns with award-winning livestock…
Find Your Way West
The Way West is now open on SW Industrial Way. That’s the mash-up of a deli-brewery between Sisters Meat & Smokehouse and Bend Brewing Company. The flexible concept offers grab & go options, a full-service dining room or a hang at the bar. There’s a meat market as well as a dinner menu, happy hour…
Doctor on Hantavirus Cruise is One of the Top Birders in the World
This past Friday, July 17, Dr. Stephen Kornfeld, a semi-retired Bend oncologist, was in Klamath Falls viewing a bird that he hadn’t seen before: a Least Bittern. An avid birder, he was on board the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius in April when the Andes hantavirus spread — a rare strain that can transmit person-to-person.…
Is Real Estate Becoming Too Digital?
Technology has transformed nearly every aspect of buying and selling a home — and in many ways, that’s a good thing. Buyers can browse hundreds of listings from their couch, tour homes virtually, sign contracts from their phone and receive an instant estimate of their home’s value with just a few clicks. According to the…
Letters to the Editor, Week of July 23, 2026
McKenzie Meadows/Sisters development (July 16 issue) I agree with Bill Willitts and with McKenzie Meadows for urban growth expansion. That was halted with an environmental issue of Trout Creek, which already has only a month or so with water while we live in a drought. The considered UGB east of town into 10-acre-RR Zone properties…
Commissioners Advance Ballot Language for Districting Map Critics call ‘Divisive,’ ‘Parochial,’ and ‘Unfair’
The Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners voted to place a divisive districting proposal on November’s general election ballot. After hearing heated commentary from the public during the July 15 meeting, county commissioners voted 2 to 1, approving edited language for the ballot measure. Commissioner Phil Chang was the sole opponent. To the satisfaction of word nerds and legal beagles in attendance, commissioners took pains over the meanings of “mode” versus “method,” “elector” and “voter.” With a limit of 175 words,…
Summer Reading Is a Mood
Summer reading has a look: a pastel cover, a beach chair and a sunset in the background. But the look isn’t the point. Summer reading is a mood. It’s the book you crack open at noon on a lazy summer day and then look up to find the light’s gone. The one-sitting kind, the can’t-put-it-down…
Lindsey Stirling’s Best Gift is Storytelling
When Lindsey Stirling sits down to write an album, she’s not only thinking about what she wants to play on her violin and how she’ll arrange the rest of the music around it, she keeps in mind how the song could be performed and how it will fit into her highly acclaimed show. “I’ve always…
Healthful Food Options for the Public and New Moms
Organic grocer to open in downtown Redmond The vacant JoAnn Fabrics building on SW Sixth Street in Redmond will soon be home to Natural Grocers. The City of Redmond says the Redmond Urban Renewal Agency has approved a forgivable grant of up to $500,000 to Natural Grocers for building improvements. The City says the grocery…
