Eric Flowers, Author at The Source - Bend, Oregon

It’s More Than Just a Fantasy

After reading Mike Bookey’s guest Left Field rant last week, I had to pull back and contemplate the relationship between my Fantasy Fandom and my

Eric FlowersOctober 22, 2008July 18, 2024

After reading Mike Bookey's guest Left Field rant last week, I had to pull back and contemplate the relationship between my Fantasy Fandom and my real life Fandom.
What I've realized is that Books is right.

News

A Long Day for Destination Resorts

Eric FlowersOctober 15, 2008May 18, 2025

It was a long day for destination resorts Wednesday.
People who picked up their morning paper might have read today over a cup of coffee that Tetherow resort, which is located just outside Bend's city limits on Century Drive, had scrapped plans for its "luxury" hotel because of financing problems.

Culture

Northwest Crossing goes contemporary

Notice, no jumping trout or nesting eagles. It’s been seven months since Andy Wachs and Colleen Dougherty began the process of creating a contemporary art

Eric FlowersOctober 13, 2008September 4, 2024

Notice, no jumping trout or nesting eagles. It's been seven months since Andy Wachs and Colleen Dougherty began the process of creating a contemporary art gallery in Northwest Crossing.

Outside

Farewell, Kimbo

Eric FlowersOctober 8, 2008July 6, 2024

There's plenty to catch up on in the sports world.
Baseball playoffs are in full swing (no pun intended) with Boston
securing the final spot in the championship series on Monday night with
an extra innings win over Anaheim, most NFL teams are nearly a third of
a way through the season, the NHL officially starts domestic play on
Thursday night and the NBA preseason is just getting underway. But
that's not what Left Field is tuned into this week. No our attention
was fixed on the world of mixed martial arts (i.e. ultimate, i.e. cage)
fighting where former street fighter, porn industry body guard and
Internet sensation Kimbo Slice was cut down just 14 seconds into a
match with a stand-in fighter on network television.

Music

Have a Pint with Gaelic Storm: World music chart-topper pays first-ever visit to Bend

Eric FlowersOctober 8, 2008January 4, 2023

Wait, are you calling the fashion police on yourself?Ever have one of those nights where the house band in some Irish pub is
so much fun to sing along with and dance to that the night could
stretch into sunrise and not only would it be all right, the idea
actually makes sense because several pitchers of beer and that one
group of friends - you know the one - told you it would be OK?

Gaelic
Storm is that band. They're infectious. They're the definition of fun.
They're meant to be seen rather than heard. They have the ability to
make a show played at a venue the size of Bend's Tower Theatre, where
they'll perform Monday, feel like it's actually taking place inside
some hole-in-the-wall bar where the only drink choices are Guinness,
Harp and Irish whiskey. They're a sing-along, dance 'till you drop,
make-it-up-as-they-go, Celtic band whose music sticks in your head for
days after hearing it.

Culture

Reviving the Western

Somewhere in the slipstream, between nostalgia and morality, resides the American western. It’s proved to be a worthy packhorse for values clarification and sagas about

Eric FlowersOctober 8, 2008February 17, 2024

Somewhere in the slipstream, between nostalgia and morality, resides the American western. It's proved to be a worthy packhorse for values clarification and sagas about justice for generations.

Culture

Blind Man’s Bluff

Blindness is a strange movie. It’s like a diary of someone paralyzed by fear, a metaphor for socio-politico human tendencies, plus a vision of personal

Eric FlowersOctober 8, 2008June 21, 2023

Blindness is a strange movie. It's like a diary of someone paralyzed by fear, a metaphor for socio-politico human tendencies, plus a vision of personal chaos and mass insanity.

Food & Drink

The Other BBC

It’s What’s for DinnerThere’s probably been no clearer example of the changing economics of Bend’s restaurant landscape than the recent closing of fine dining favorite

Eric FlowersOctober 8, 2008January 4, 2023

It’s What’s for DinnerThere's probably been no clearer example of the changing economics of Bend's restaurant landscape than the recent closing of fine dining favorite Bluefish Bistro and the subsequent opening of Bend Burger Company on the corner of Wall and Franklin. Goodbye white linens, hello paper napkins.

Food & Drink

The Other BBC

It’s What’s for DinnerThere’s probably been no clearer example of the changing economics of Bend’s restaurant landscape than the recent closing of fine dining favorite

Eric FlowersOctober 8, 2008February 14, 2024

It’s What’s for DinnerThere’s probably been no clearer example of the changing economics of Bend’s restaurant landscape than the recent closing of fine dining favorite Bluefish Bistro and the subsequent opening of Bend Burger Company on the corner of Wall and Franklin. Goodbye white linens, hello paper napkins.

Opinion

Don’t Fall for Urban Renewal

Deschutes County Commissioners recently voted not to approve the City of Bend’s request to form an urban renewal district to fund development at the Bend

Eric FlowersOctober 8, 2008September 22, 2023

Deschutes County Commissioners recently voted not to approve the City of Bend's request to form an urban renewal district to fund development at the Bend Airport. The primary reason was that it would rob other governmental agencies, like the sheriff's department and 911, of much needed revenues.
Unlike the county's considered approach, the present City Council of the City of Bend is now promoting Urban Renewal Districts (URD's) with abandon. They ignore the problems created by URD's. The major problems with URD's are threefold. First, they are authorized to borrow large sums of money, without a vote of the people. Second, they divert taxes from other governmental taxing authorities to be spent solely on city URD projects. And third, if the new taxes in the URD are insufficient to repay the loans, they must then be repaid from the city general fund (property tax) revenues.
The City Council in August 2005 formed the Juniper Ridge URD to include the 500 acres of Juniper Ridge that was in the city and zoned for industrial uses. It also included a second area, of 200 acres west of Highway 97, and not connected to Juniper Ridge. That area includes Lowes, the Wall Mart site and neighboring properties. These were included solely to increase the tax base for the district, as they clearly have no connection to Juniper Ridge and obviously no need for assistance.

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