Eric Flowers

Lingering tensions surfaced this week between Deschutes County brass and embattled District Attorney Pat Flaherty. County administrator Dave Kanner, whom Flaherty had clashed with over personnel issues, including the hiring of Flaherty's chief deputy, Traci Anderson, told county commissioners this past week that he was no longer willing to support a budget proposal that preserved a 16th deputy prosecutor position in Flaherty's office. Kanner said that he was reversing course on the staffing issue because Flaherty failed to provide him with the documentation showing that the position was needed.

It was necessity, that mother of ingenuity, that prompted Brian McLaughlin to start a private gym 10 feet below street level in a former furniture shop with no windows or sidewalk visibility. A mental health counselor by trade, McLaughlin needed a place where he could pursue his other interest, competitive weight lifting, after his south side gym closed.
While many gyms and health clubs frown on grunting and prohibit the use of chalk, McLaughlin embraces the unvarnished ethos of competitive weightlifting at Resilience Strength Training, or RST. McLaughlin's rules consist of a power lifter's code printed off the Internet and taped to a wall. It includes provisions such as, “Don't smell like shit. Use deodorant,” under the hygiene section. Or this helpful tidbit, “If blood splatters on the bathroom floor, clean it up.” A nearby poster that hangs behind a medieval looking rack draped in thick chains, announces “Squat till you puke.” It's what passes for a motivational slogan around here.

A little-known fact: a year from now, barring any unforeseen setbacks, the capacity of the Central Oregon brewing industrywill increase by about 60 percent.
All of a sudden, six of the region's ten breweries are expanding,twobig newbrewhousesare opening and Deschutes Brewery is upping capacity by 30 percent.
After all the changes (see the What's Happening sidebar for details), we are talking about Central Oregon being capable of putting out 350,000 barrels, or more than 10 million gallons, of beer per year.
That's a lot of beer. In fact, that’s more microbrew than the entire state of Oregon consumed in 2008, according to the 2010 Oregon Brewfest fact sheet.
All theselocal companiesare trying to grab a share of the ever-growing national microbrew industry. They are betting that the Bend brand will help them do it and, regardless of a coming battle for Central Oregon's tap handles, brewers in this town say there is room for more.
Beer industry analyst Bump Williams isn't surprised at their optimism. Last year alone, and during a recession, craft sales increased somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 to 13 percent, said the former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher who is now a beer industry consultant and regularly prepares reports for The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
There are also more breweries in America than ever before, according to The Brewers Association, the trade organization that represents breweries around the nation. As of March, the association estimates that there are more than 600 new breweries in the planning stages around the country.