Wait — wasn’t there already a plastic bag ban? There was, in 2020, on single-use plastic bags. This time, the thicker, 4-millimeter-thick bags meant to be reused several times — you know the ones — have also been nixed. Gov. Tina Kotek signed Senate Bill 551 into law on June 5, mandating that retailers, grocers and […]
Peter Madsen
Peter is a feature & investigative reporter supported by the Lay It Out Foundation. His work regularly appears in the Source. Peter's writing has appeared in Vice, Thrasher and The New York Times. Recently, Peter worked on the Canadian Screen Award-winning film “It’s Not Funny Anymore: From Vice Magazine to Proud Boys." He's also the author of Dealers, published by powerHouse Books.
The Dust is Settling on a More-Supportive Juniper Ridge
Tim Cheney took a morning walk where he lives in Juniper Ridge on June 2. Neighbors took a break from home-improvement projects to greet him and chat. Dogs, some fenced and others loose, barked and played while their owners swapped notes about the area’s influx of new residents. Monday morning, Juniper Ridge, better known as […]
Have You Been Following The Embezzlement Scandal At The ‘Eugene Weekly’ — As Reported By The ‘Eugene Weekly’?
If we tracked watercooler topics here in the Source newsroom, the story of the “Eugene Weekly” embezzlement would certainly be topping the chart. A certain reporter — when informed by an editor that the “Eugene Weekly” bookkeeper accused of embezzling more than $100,000 (closer to $300,000, considering unpaid debts) was released from an Ohio jail […]
The Gay Show
Did comedian Jamie Shriner ever tell you about the time she put gum in her older sister’s hair, right before the pair were set to audition for a production of “Beauty and the Beast”? And the crazy part? By the end of this funny-ass anecdote, Shriner, astoundingly, isn’t the villain. “That’s another one of those […]
Bias In Our Backyard
He was an Immigration & Customs Enforcement agent. Or that’s at least what the uniformed man said when he boarded a Cascade East Transit bus at the Hawthorne Station in Bend on April 28. He walked down the aisle, asked passengers their immigration status and rummaged through one passenger’s bag. Then he left. An hour […]
Updated: Deschutes County Sheriff Kent van der Kamp May Lose Police Certifications For Life
Deschutes County Sheriff Kent van der Kamp experienced his latest setback May 22, when a state police policy committee voted unanimously to recommend a lifetime revocation of his police certifications to the Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training board. The board will review and vote July 27 on whether to take the committee’s […]
‘Get Innocuous!’ LCD Soundsystem and TV On The Radio Bring NYC Dance Punk to Bend
Judging by LCD Soundsystem’s packed show at Hayden Homes Amphitheater last year, it might seem impossible that the group, fronted by James Murphy, was destined for anything but greatness. But flashback 23 years ago to a period shortly after 9/11: Murphy was having a creative — if not full-blown identity — crisis. The founder and […]
This Ain’t Netflix
Matt Rife. Trevor Noah. Jerry Seinfeld. No. You’re not scrolling through your favorite streaming platform’s list of stand-up comedy specials. This short list of comedic all-stars is bringing distinct styles to Hayden Homes Amphitheater this summer in Bend. It’s tempting to imagine what spontaneous crowd work or social observations these wry commentors might have for […]
No Man’s Land Film Festival
“You’re so amazing!” “No. I’m an average person with a lot of problems.” The exploration of this sentiment is too often stifled in the pursuit — and documentation — of outdoorsy adventure and achievement. Since 2015, however, the No Man’s Land Film Festival, has sought to fix that. The festival visits Volcanic Theatre Pub on […]
‘High Desert, Higher Costs: Bend And The Housing Crisis In The American West’
The growing cost of keeping a roof over one’s head — or owning said roof — isn’t lost on many folks in Central Oregon. At what point will non-wealthy people simply not be able to afford to live here? Jonathan Bach can’t predict the future, but the journalist analyzes some potential solutions to our region’s […]

