When a tree falls in the forest, Mike Ross sees décor, not debris. The Bend-based craftsman uses salvaged timber—typically culled from parks and lawns across the Pacific Northwest—to fashion thoroughly modern furnishings inspired by the wood’s natural curves, knots, and quirks. He sells his one-of-a-kind pieces out of a showroom attached to the eastside workshop […]
Erin Rook
Erin was a writer and editor at the Source from 2013 to 2016.
Posted inNews
Wrapping Up Business
City Council’s final meeting of year considers AirBnB
In its last work session of the year, City Council received the results of an audit of vacation rentals—and the results were better than anticipated. The audit had been sparked by a perception that rentals of private homes through sites like AirBnB were not largely ducking out on the transient room tax code, explained City […]
Posted inNews
Vacation Rentals Get Audited (and Other City Council News)
Some vacation rentals aren’t paying into the Transient Room Tax, a city audit reveals. City Council got the results of an audit of vacation rentals during its work session Wednesday and the results were better than anticipated. The audit was sparked by a perceived widespread noncompliance with the transient room tax code and concerns about […]
Posted inOutside
What to Give MacGyver
Sometimes going natural means going hi-tech
For some, tech gadgets may seem antithetical to an authentic back-to-nature experience. After all, isn’t the point of hitting the trails, slopes, and peaks to unplug and enjoy the natural world? Perhaps. But even the backpacker who revels in starting a fire with friction or creating a shelter out of twigs and buckskin understands the […]
Posted inNews
Bend City Council Votes to Pursue Preservation of Mirror Pond
Photo by Corbin Gentzler. Mirror Pond—before the leak—at sunset. The Bend City Council added its voice to a growing chorus of support for the preservation of Mirror Pond when it voted at the Dec. 4 council meeting to move forward along a pro-pond path and continue discussions with Pacific Power about the future of the […]
Posted inNews
Hailing a Job
Denial of taxi permit for ex-offender highlights re-entry challenges
In the last 8 months, Suzette Delancey says she has applied for 43 jobs and received 42 rejections. When she’s had the opportunity to interview, employers have said that her felony convictions—for delivery and attempted delivery of a controlled substance, methamphetamine, in 2009 and 2011—are too recent. Only one employer is willing to take a […]
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Safe Space
One women’s journey from survivor to supporter at Saving Grace
Becky Winters is working off a debt of gratitude. In 2001 Saving Grace provided the housing deposit she needed to help her family start a new life in Redmond.
Posted inNews
City Council Roundup—Nov. 20
Water issues were center stage once again at last night’s city council meeting. During the public work session, council made progress on the Sewer Extra Strength Charge Program—a rate program on hold until December that would charge non-residential customers more based on the strength and flow of their contributions to the sewer system. The Extra […]
Posted inCulture
Freedom on Two Wheels
Breakthrough film Wadjda gives voice to Saudi women
There’s something uniquely liberating about riding a bicycle, a fact that is not lost on Wadjda, despite the fact that she has never ridden one. But that doesn’t stop the free-spirited Saudi 10-year-old and namesake of the 2012 feature film Wadjda from devising schemes to raise money for the forbidden item. Whether by selling handmade […]
Posted inNews
Gearing Up
Bend Bikes advocates for more
infrastructure improvements
At last Wednesday’s City Council meeting, more than a dozen cyclists crowded into the chambers to say something elected officials may not hear often enough: Thanks. Organized by Bend Bikes, a recently formed group advocating for urban cyclists, the contingent spilled into the hallway outside the council chambers and sent nine people up to the […]
