Oakland Raiders fans have a pretty terrible reputation. Fights are common at games—so much so that even home fans are choosing to stay away, which is affecting ticket sales. There was that terrible stabbing incident from a few years back, in which a Raiders fan knifed a Chargers fan during a scuffle. Still, the Raider […]
James Williams
Posted inFood & Drink
Now (But Briefly) Serving: Fresh Hops
McMenamins rolls out easy-drinking, hyper-local fresh hop beer
Mike White, brewmaster at Old St. Francis School, McMenamins, knows taste buds. “Once people hear the words ‘fresh hop,’ they tend to go for it,” explained White (aka “Curly”). Astute readers may notice that this is our second fresh hop preview in as many weeks. We won’t apologize for redundancy. Fresh hop season is upon […]
Posted inCulture
Art for All
Base Camp Studio looks to provide an open door to creative expression
Two weeks ago on First Friday, artists happily painted at Brooks Street Plaza well into the night. Darlene Becker remembers the thumping music at nearby Dojo, and the passing crowds who, at 2:30 am, asked about her work and that of her two nearby comrades, each intently working on their own five-by-six-foot canvas. After Becker’s […]
Posted inNews
Lipstick on a Pig
The OLCC wants to modernize with beer and wine sales. Critics just want them gone.
In a deceptively simple administrative change, Oregon residents may soon be able to buy a cold six-pack along with their favorite bottle of booze. Last week, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) approved a policy change to commingle beer and booze, which traditionally have been housed in separate retail outlets—one private, the later managed by […]
Posted inOutside
Surfin’ USA
After years of effort, local surfboard shaper Conway Bixby has made it
Conway Bixby makes surfboards. It sounds like a dream job and it is, says Bixby, a 31-year-old Oregon native. Shaping, as the practice is called, recently became a full-time job for the Bend resident who spent this summer often cranking out one board a week to fill custom orders. Working at home on his own […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Crux Gets Fresh
A short trip from hop harvest to brewing kettle
The boys at Crux Fermentation Project didn’t travel far to collect their hop harvest this season. Sticky hop cones growing on tall green vines were climbing all over Crux’s chain link fence. On Labor Day, the owners and about 10 others picked bushels full of hops without ever leaving the property. “We already have a […]
Posted inNews
Washington is a Window into Our Future
A state-to-state comparison
Last year, Washington state voters approved same-sex marriage, legalized marijuana and ended the state’s decades-long liquor-sale monopoly. While such changes may seem like some fantasyland for progressives, rife with dancing unicorns and hookah-puffing caterpillars, in fact, the legislative changes really are more mainstream than radical. As part of a swelling trend, Washington joined 13 other […]
Posted inNews
Masters Nats: The guy who we said might win, did
Alex Chiu Phipps won today’s road race, despite the gnarly conditions. Chris Phipps, a ridiculously fit 43-year-old Bay Area racer who we highlighted in last week’s issue, won today’s road race, which ended at Mt. Bachelor. The race is part of the five-day USA Cycling Masters Road National Championships. Reports from the finish line are […]
Posted inNews
The Race is On
Former city councilor will take on Patrick Flaherty in the 2014 district attorney election
John Hummel, 44, has just announced that he’ll run for Deschutes County district attorney against Patrick Flaherty in the May primaries. Hummel, a former Bend city councilor, has worked as an attorney, professor, and, from 2008 to 2010, he helped rebuild a justice system in war-torn Liberia. Today he’s the director of the Oregon Primary […]
Posted inNews
Uproar at the OLCC
The state’s liquor control agency remains under fire
The past few weeks haven’t been kind to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s Bend office. Last week The Oregonian highlighted a pending case that alleges the OLCC Bend regional manager and human resource director recorded internal meetings without the full consent of those present. The Bend police department is investigating the complaint, which was filed […]
