Eric Flowers

editor@tsweekly.com
Posted inOpinion

Singing the Praises of Joe

In response to your article about Trader Joe’s: No – people in Bend or Portland or California are not crazy … they just LOVE their
Eric Flowers

In response to your article about Trader Joe's: No – people in Bend or Portland or California are not crazy … they just LOVE their Trader Joe's!!!
Maybe it's a little bit of nostalgia on the part of California ex-pats (of which I am one), but it's also the fact that the company has been able to offer – on a consistent basis – the most diverse, interesting and healthy foods around – at incredibly low prices!

Posted inOpinion

ODOT’s Got a Lot of ‘Splainin’ to Do

Way to go Source! You really scooped the “other Bend publication” with your story about Ray Perry, the ODOT employee who was fired for coming
Eric Flowers

Way to go Source! You really scooped the "other Bend publication" with your story about Ray Perry, the ODOT employee who was fired for coming forward with the misdeeds of ODOT.
I'd like to let Sen. Ben Westlund know he earned my vote for his bid as state treasurer. I am so happy to see that there is an elected official out there who will stand up for the little guy.
And what is up with ODOT's spokesman, Peter Murphy? He referred to Sen. Westlund as "just another person"! I don't ever recall Sen. Westlund implying that he is any better than the rest of us, but I do believe he was elected by a majority of us taxpayers - twice - to represent and look out for our best interest. I think his testifying at Mr. Perry's hearing is proof he is living up the taxpayers' expectations.

Posted inOpinion

The Epitome of Hypocrisy

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible,
Eric Flowers

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" – except homosexuals! Hypocrisy epit-omized.
Article I, Section 1, Oregon Constitution: "Natural rights inherent in people. We declare that all men, when they form a social compact are equal in right" – except homosexuals! Hypocrisy and prejudice epitomized.

Posted inNews

KTVZ Gaffe Cont.

For those who missed the 10pm news on KTVZ last night, you weren’t alone. News Manager and Anchor Lee Anderson was conspicuously absent from last
Eric Flowers

For those who missed the 10pm news on KTVZ last night, you weren't alone. News Manager and Anchor Lee Anderson was conspicuously absent from last night's broadcast along with his co-anchor Molly Hendrickson.

Posted inNews

KTVZ’s idle gaffe

One of our staffers was watching American Idol (for research purposes) last night on the local Fox affiliate when the screen went blank on his
Eric Flowers

One of our staffers was watching American Idol (for research purposes) last night on the local Fox affiliate when the screen went blank on his set as the show ran over into the time slot designated for the nightly news cast, which is beamed over from sister station KTVZ (both stations are owned by the News Press and Gazette Co out of St. Joseph Missouri.

Posted inOpinion

ODOT’s Astounding Arrogance

It’s hard to believe that an agency as “upstanding” as ODOT would hire a spokesman who is more arrogant than Peter Murphy. But then again,
Eric Flowers

It's hard to believe that an agency as "upstanding" as ODOT would hire a spokesman who is more arrogant than Peter Murphy. But then again, the person who is your spokesman is your mouthpiece, so it stands to reason that Mr. Murphy's comment that Sen. Ben Westlund is "just another person" is also how ODOT feels.
The arrogance of these people is astounding! The fact that Sen. Westlund was the head of the Senate Ways and Means Committee that ODOT has to go to for money makes him NOT "just another person." Mr. Murphy should be referring to an elected official with much more respect. The implication here is that Sen. Westlund has no more credit than Joe Blow down the block, and he's "just another person."

Posted inNews

Road to Nowhere: Former ODOT employee says failing roads got a free pass

You don’t have to be an engineer to see that many of Central Oregon’s highways are falling apart. The roads are scarred with wheel ruts
Eric Flowers

You don't have to be an engineer to see that many of Central Oregon's highways are falling apart. The roads are scarred with wheel ruts and littered with potholes and haphazard patch jobs. Exhibit number one being the Bend Parkway.
Conventional wisdom tells us that Oregon's practice of allowing studded tires on its roadways is the reason that our streets are in such sorry shape. And there's a good amount of scientific evidence that says that particular piece of conventional wisdom is right on. One estimate put the annual bill for studded tire damage on Oregon roads at $11 million.
There is another theory that has circulated among certain circles, one that I came across early on in my reporting career here in Central Oregon that has never been substantiated - at least to my knowledge. This theory, really more a rumor, held that some of the damage to our roads could be chalked up to lousy materials.
But even those who never heard whisper of an "asphalt conspiracy" would have been interested to hear what a former Oregon Department of Transportation employee had to say during a sparsely attended hearing in Bend last week. Michael Ray Perry told an administrative law judge that he personally tested hundreds of road projects that failed to meet state standards, some of which have already started to fall apart. Moreover, Perry said supervisors routinely dismissed his findings in an effort to keep projects steaming along.

Posted inCulture

Ancient Gore: The Ruins plays the horror genre just right

It wouldn’t be horror flick without the obligatory hot chicks.Yep, The Ruins gets ruined, taking a huge turn for the worse-for the characters, not the
Eric Flowers

It wouldn’t be horror flick without the obligatory hot chicks.Yep, The Ruins gets ruined, taking a huge turn for the worse-for the characters, not the audience. I actually let it bypass my "despise-o-meter" entirely.
It starts off in a formulaic manner: the four main vacationing characters (med student, geek-girl, slut, surfer-dude) are all white, yuppified and overtly nauseating, making you wish they could be killed within seconds. But oddly enough, the director (first-timer Carter Smith) doesn't waste a bunch of time forcing these people down your throat and had the foresight to add some nudity almost immediately.

Posted inCulture

Paradise Gained and Lost: Welcome to (high tech) Fantasy Island

Little Miss Sunshine goes tropical.Feeling the need to escape the desperate last gasp of winter, I decided to go to the one movie with the
Eric Flowers

Little Miss Sunshine goes tropical.Feeling the need to escape the desperate last gasp of winter, I decided to go to the one movie with the word "island" in its title. The film Nim's Island sets sail in the Pacific, stowing away somewhere near the Cook Islands in a tree house resembling a high tech version of the classic dwelling in Swiss Family Robinson. Surrounded by a tropical paradise (punctuated by the occasional storm), friendly animals and good books, I could have spent the entire 135 minutes there. Alas, such serenity soon dissolved as if it were a sandcastle.
 
Life on Nim's Island initially seems idyllic, and although there wouldn't be much of a story if it stayed that way, the film's identity clearly suffers from having two directors (Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin) and four screenwriters. It gets mired in at least three different genres; is it a cutesy adventure movie, a high tech/deserted island survival story, or the charming tale of a child who lives with her marine biologist dad while using her wits and imagination to create an exciting and richly self-sustaining life? The film is most successful when in the latter mode, wading in the turquoise waters of Nim's (Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine) imagination, while fending off the intermittent intruder.

Posted inFood & Drink

Whiskey 101: You don’t know Jack

inside JD’s house. As a Southerner with Irish roots, I’ve always had a particular fondness for whiskey. In my neck of the woods, whiskey soothes
Eric Flowers

inside JD’s house. As a Southerner with Irish roots, I've always had a particular fondness for whiskey. In my neck of the woods, whiskey soothes the gums of teething babies. My family's cough syrup consisted of whiskey and honey, in roughly equal parts. By the time I was seven, I had developed an appreciation for my father's favorite cocktail: Seagram's Seven and Seven-Up.
 
So, when I found out about the 9th Annual Whiskies of the World Expo in San Francisco, I signed up for a 2½ hour seminar called "Grain to Glass."

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