RE: your un-bylined “On Stage” feature, The Source Weekly, 8/13/2009, p. 23
The writer says that Joan Baez “still holds the title of the 'female Bob Dylan.
I remember learning as a late teenager of then-President Ronald Reagan's plan to destroy Nicaragua by funding a group of mercenaries known as the “Contras.” With CIA money, they killed, rampaged, and blew things up.
Coming soon to a theater near you.
The Central Oregon restaurant merry go round continues as new bars and restaurants are jumping at what they see as a window of opportunity to get in prime lease space even as others drop off.
If you've lived in Bend for more than a year or two, you've probably had one of those days when you head up to Bachelor hoping for 6-8 inches of untracked powder only to find that the rain in town translates to rain on the mountain. And unless you're a season pass holder, you've either outright asked or wondered why you couldn't get a refund.
This year it's going to be a little different on our local ski hill, according to Mt. Bachelor officials who announced their new pricing structure for next year. And while the mountain won't be giving out refunds, it has announced a radical and, from what we can tell, unprecedented, tiered pricing structure for daily lift tickets this coming season. This winter, guests will pay on a sliding scale depending on the weather and lift operations. On the worst of non-holidays, Bachelor will charge guests $49 to ski or ride. Average days will be $59 and optimal conditions with full lift operations will be $69.
The new pricing is designed to pair the cost of skiing with the conditions, which can be widely variable at Bachelor, said Alex Kaufman, marketing director.
"If it's ugly, it's going to be the cheap rate. If it's an average day, it's going to be the middle rate. If it's a bomber day, it's the high rate. We're trying to match the number to the experience," Kaufman said.
Other major changes in store for next year include a long-overdue multi-day pass that's available to locals.
The colorado spillway at present. Deschutes River drownings and close calls have become a grim summer ritual around Bend when a combination of tourists and well-lubricated locals descends on the urban waterways. And it isn't just the waterfalls and whitewater that have been causing headaches for rescuers and others charged with public safety. Man-made obstacles around Bend are responsible for many of the accidents and several deaths.
One of the major culprits has been the nearly 100-year-old Colorado Avenue spillway, which can send an unwitting rafter plunging into a garden of sharp rocks and churning whitewater - if the boater isn't first pinned against the steel reinforcement bars under the bridge.
The spillway, which sits smack in the middle of a popular summertime inner tube float between Farewell Bend and Drake parks, has claimed one drowning victim and seen several near misses in the past few years. The section, which otherwise meanders lazily through the Old Mill, has grown increasingly popular with floaters since the opening of Farewell Bend Park in 2004.
But as summer rolls on in Bend, it appears that a plan to make the dam safer for floaters will have to wait at least another season while details of the proposal are hashed out between stakeholders, including the park district, local paddlers, dam owner Bill Smith and conservationists.
If you've lived in Bend for more than a year or two, you've probably had one of those days when you head up to Bachelor hoping for 6-8 inches of untracked powder only to find that the rain in town translates to rain on the mountain. And unless you're a season pass holder, you've either outright asked or wondered why you couldn't get a refund.
This year it's going to be a little different on our local ski hill according to Mt. Bachelor officials who announced their new pricing structure for next year. And while the mountain won't be giving out refunds, it has announced a radical and, from what we can tell, unprecedented, tiered pricing structure for daily lift tickets this coming season. This winter, guests will pay on a sliding scale depending on the weather and lift operations. On the worst of non-holidays, Bachelor will charge guests $49 to ski or ride. Average days will be $59 and optimal conditions with full lift operations will be $69.
The new pricing is designed to pair the cost of skiing with the conditions, which can be widely variable at Bachelor, said Alex Kaufman, marketing director.
No Harm, No Fee
Following what Forest Service staff described as complaints and confusion, the agency quietly decided this week to eliminate a new day use fee at concession run campgrounds on the Deschutes Forest, a supervisor confirmed last week in an interview with the Source.
Ronda Bishop, special use coordinator for concessionaires and resorts on the forest, said that the agency informed Hoodoo Recreation that a newly instituted day fee that amounted to half of the camping fee (roughly $5-6) would have to be temporarily rescinded because of complaints about the policy that was instituted this past spring without public input. Bishop said the Forest Service initially signed off on the fee in order to help Hoodoo cover the maintenance cost at the campgrounds where day visitors use toilets and trash facilities but traditionally have paid no fee for those privileges. The impact of those users adds up for the concessionaire.
Perhaps only in the obscure world of cave exploration could a relatively cave rich area like Bend find its foremost expert in the form of a pizza delivery driver. But that's what seems to be the case, at least as it relates to the Horse system and local caver Matt Skeels, who has dedicated a huge amount of his free time to exploring and inventorying the network of lava caves that stretches from the flank of Newberry Caldera to the industrial area on Redmond's east side.
The caves are no secret, most people who have been around Central Oregon for a few years have either heard of, or poked around in some of the Horse system lava caves. But lately they've been getting a little more attention - at least from cavers like Skeels who are keenly aware that urbanization can quickly degrade cave habitat for bats and other - sometimes rare - creatures. Yet, in some ways the growth can be a mixed blessing for cavers and conservationists who know that with increase exposure will come more opportunities for preservation, but also more risk of degradation.
A plan for a transitional men's housing shelter just north of downtown Bend on Division Street has hit another legal snag. Neighbors are asking the city council to overturn a recent decision that would have allowed Shepherd's House to expand its operations from 32 to 60 beds.
The homeless shelter has been trying for several years to grow its operation, but has been dealt several legal setbacks even as the economy worsens and the need for its services grows. Earlier this month, a Bend hearings officer ruled that the non-profit had met all the city's requirements in its most recent bid to expand, but neighbors maintain that the city has not adequately considered the impact it will have on their businesses.
"It should be noted that appellants recognize and appreciate the social utility of the Shepherd's House," the appeal states. "Such facilities serve an important need. However, this facility, in this location provides benefit to the community it serves at a disproportionate expense to the neighborhood, the district and the businesses and residences that are located there."
Using a razor-thin majority, Oregon House Democrats pushed through the cornerstone of their effort to protect the Metolius River basin from destination resort development. With a bare minimum 31 votes, Dems, under the leadership of Brian Clem (D-Salem), rallied after a narrow defeat last week to pass the HB 3298, which designates the Metolius basin as an "Area of Critical Concern." The move puts the area around the revered river effectively off-limits to destination resorts, including a pair that had been endorsed by Jefferson County, the local planning authority in the basin.
"This is such a momentous vote. It was such a complex issue…we're thrilled to see this pass," said Erik Kancler, executive director at Central Oregon Landwatch, which lobbied aggressively in favor of the bill.
The vote was a dramatic reversal from last week when House Democrats were unable to find the critical 31st vote to pass the bill. Rather than let the bill die, Clem orchestrated a second vote on Monday while the party leadership lobbied some of its members who had initially voted against the bill, including House Speaker Dave Hunt. They found the vote in Rep. Larry Galizio (D-Tigard) who said he was convinced to change his vote after getting a phone call from the bill's architect, Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who ironically squelched a similar protection bill sponsored by Ben Westlund in 2007, but then had his own change of heart.
Wake up seven days a week with the Cascades Reader. Get local news, event information, podcasts, discounts and more. Sign up now!
We'll send a verification code to %EMAIL%.
Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.
Sending to:
