Source Weekly, Author at The Source - Bend, Oregon

The Pharmacy Board and the Demon Weed

Source WeeklyJune 23, 2010July 8, 2024

George Washington grew it, Shakespeare might have smoked it, and its use in medicine dates back some 5,000 years. But until last week, the State of Oregon regarded it as a dangerous drug in the same category as heroin and LSD.
Bowing to scientific evidence and common sense, the state Board of Pharmacy voted to reclassify marijuana from a “Schedule I” controlled substance to a “Schedule II” one. Schedule I drugs are those that have a “high abuse potential and no acceptable medical use in the United States.” Schedule II drugs also are deemed to have a high abuse potential but are recognized as having legitimate medical uses, such as the painkiller oxycodone and cocaine, used as a topical anesthetic in some surgeries.

Opinion

The Chamber's “Donation”

Source WeeklyJune 23, 2010September 8, 2023

Like a lot of Bend businesses, we belong to the local chamber of commerce – you know the one “The Bend Chamber of Commerce, Make You A Promise… We're Taking Care of Business… Yeah, We're Taking Care of…” But we digress. And like a lot of businesses, we often find ourselves scratching our heads at the positions that the chamber takes – remember the equal rights ordinance?
So we were relieved when the chamber with its unabashedly pro-growth agenda got out of the business of endorsing local candidates. Unfortunately, since that time though the chamber has been outsourcing its politics to its political action arm, the Bend Business PAC, which has long looked like nothing more than a front for the conservative chamber board. When we got our most recent bill this week it confirmed just how little the chamber distinguishes itself from its ostensibly independent PAC.

Opinion

Toking the High Road McChrystal vs. Obama, stupid bombers, and more medical pot

The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America.

Source WeeklyJune 23, 2010January 11, 2023

The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from a gray, rainy place known as Portland where boys wear tight pants and girls very little, wondering why booze is so much cheaper here than in Bend, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and the Source Weekly.

The Bureau of Butt
A lawyer will head up the stoner coven of swinging inbreds formerly known as the Minerals Management Service, now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Other Conflicts of Interest. Michael Bromwich is the sorry reformer selected, a former assistant U.S. attorney general (remember all of those public servants politically fired during Bush-Cheney by Karl Rove without a blink?) and Justice Department inspector general who decreed, “We will move quickly and responsibly on our reforms.” Inexplicably, Bromwich then added, “Turn on YouPorn! And where's my ho's and blow? Petty cash please!” How we jest but, really, this underscores how the Obama admin reforms, invents agencies, and wants to further distance itself from BP, the largest “energy supplier” to our military with six contracts worth $2.1 billion. BP reports spending that much on half-assed fixes and cleanup, including $104 million in claims to residents, and just announced it is suspending dividend payouts to shareholders through 2010. Industry-wide, up to 22,000 workers have been idled since the government temporarily banned new offshore drilling last month only to have U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman overturn the moratorium on Tuesday.

Opinion

The Kindness of Strangers

Recently my five-year-old daughter and I rode our bikes to Ray's to do some grocery shopping. On our way out of the store, she fell down and stood standing in the parking lot crying and not wanting to ride home.

Source WeeklyJune 23, 2010February 12, 2023

Opinion

Road Cycling Nationals Championships to Increase Tourism

From June 22-27, Bend will once again be hosting the USA Junior, U23 & Elite Road Cycling National Championships and the USA Paracycling NationalChampionships.

Source WeeklyJune 23, 2010June 27, 2024

Dear Residents of Bend,
From June 22-27, Bend will once again be hosting the USA Junior, U23 & Elite Road Cycling National Championships and the USA Paracycling National Championships. Similar to last year, this event will bring more than 2,500 visitors to Bend from every state in the country and will generate nearly $1.5 million in direct tourist spending. In addition to the immediate economic stimulus, national events like this also lead to long term benefits in the form of in-migration of new residents and new businesses – both of which are critical to the long term economic health of our community.

Opinion

Hold Hotels Accountable For Room Taxes

Source WeeklyJune 23, 2010December 29, 2023

I am writing in response to the front page story in The Bulletin on June 17 regarding Wayne Purcell and Brett Evert charging their hotel guests tax and keeping the tax revenue as additional profit. Put simply, this is stealing and it is indefensible. Taxes that are charged to tourists staying in hotels are supposed to be submitted to the city to pay for public services like police, fire and water. How dare these people try to mislead their neighbors to think that they are entitled to line their pockets with public dollars?
During the city's difficult economic times, the residents of Bend are hurting. People are unemployed. The city is laying off employees and public services are being reduced. How could these hotel owners possibly think it is okay to steal from their neighbors?

Culture

The Saturday Morning Shenanigan Locomotive

There’s crap for TV this week—unless, like me, you’ve got a cop fetish.

Source WeeklyJune 23, 2010March 26, 2023

There's crap for TV this week – unless, like me, you've got a cop fetish. If so, then you may want to check out the premiere of Rookie Blue (ABC, Thurs June 24, 9 pm), which involves an impossibly hot group of rookie cops trying to survive their first days patrolling the streets. The upside? Unlike the somewhat unattractive cops I've been forced to bone (it's a fetish, not a choice), these pigs are WICKED SMOKIN'. The downside? None of them are naked. In fact, that's the problem with this series – unless these buff pieces of bacon are patrolling a nudist colony, an orgy, or the inside of my pants… NOT INTERESTED.
Anyway, on to more important subjects! LIKE ME! AND MY NEW BAND! For those who have been following my all-ukulele R. Kelly cover band (entitled “R. Kelele” of course), you will be devastated to hear that we've broken up. I left the band after discovering my co-ukuleleists were fanny holes and totally cramping my style. Besides, they refused to play any cop bars, cop parties, or cop conventions. LAME!

Food & Drink

No Frills Grill: Baldy's BBQ secrets revealed just in time for summer

Lets face it—almost anyone can grill a burger. You need only marginally better grilling skills to grill chicken (even less if you plan to eat all that blackened chicken skin), but to create a great rack of ribs is a culinary challenge.

Source WeeklyJune 17, 2010February 20, 2024

Lets face it – almost anyone can grill a burger. You need only marginally better grilling skills to grill chicken (even less if you plan to eat all that blackened chicken skin), but to create a great rack of ribs is a culinary challenge. It takes time and patience to prepare this tricky cut of meat in order to render all of its delicious, tender love. For the home cook without a giant smoker, use a flavorful spice rub, a long slow roast, and a final trip to the grill to add a flavorful glaze and a crisp exterior that will leave you with sticky fingers and the satisfied feeling that all that patience was totally worth it. It takes hours to make a great rack of ribs, so plan ahead and take your time.
I had the pleasure of visiting with Brian Dioguardi, chef and owner of Baldy's BBQ on Century Drive, and he was happy to share his rib-making secrets. Dioguardi hails from Chicago, a city that is no stranger to great food and great BBQ, and started his culinary career at the tender age (no pun intended) of 15 working in a friend's barbecue restaurant. Soon he was traveling on the competitive barbecue circuit where he spent the next 15 years. He eventually bought the restaurant where he worked and gave up competing, but never lost his true passion to make “something really good.”

Culture

They're Gonna Put Me in the Movies! A movie is being made in Sisters and the locals want a part

The life of a movie extra is filled with life-changing moments of revelation while arranging Cheetos and M&Ms at the craft service table waiting for the cameraman’s eighth lens change in the last hour.

Source WeeklyJune 16, 2010December 4, 2023

The life of a movie extra is filled with life-changing moments of revelation while arranging Cheetos and M&Ms at the craft service table waiting for the cameraman's eighth lens change in the last hour. Or, you may shine everlasting on the silver screen wielding an eggbeater as I did in my student film debut.
Thanks to a recent casting call for an independent movie filming in the Sisters area, a few Central Oregon aspiring actors will have a shot at silver screen immortality and all that goes with it, including Cheetos. The film, titled The Wait, is a quirky indie-drama revolving around two sisters who return to a small town following their mother's death. Shooting begins this week and continues through mid-July.

Outside

Use Common Sense as Riding Opportunities Expand

The urge to explore is irresistible to some people, but COTA recommends caution when encroaching upon this moving boundary. Crossing large snow drifts and negotiating downed trees can force you far off the trail where it is easy to lose your bearings.

Source WeeklyJune 16, 2010June 4, 2024

Know Your Boundaries
The urge to explore is irresistible to some people, but COTA recommends caution when encroaching upon this moving boundary. Crossing large snow drifts and negotiating downed trees can force you far off the trail where it is easy to lose your bearings. Even with modern conveniences such as Spot GPS, help can be hours away. It is always a good idea to tell someone when you intend to be back, never travel alone and carry plenty of water, extra food, clothing, a first-aid kit and repair supplies. It is a great feeling to challenge yourself, but it is irresponsible to rely on only a cell phone or GPS (as helpful as those are) in the absence of common backcountry sense. Being safe out there also means having more fun, so please be safe and know your limits.

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