TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Soil biologists say a teaspoon of productive soil may contain billions of living organisms. These bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematode work in cooperative networks, generating a hidden abundance that ensures everything above ground thrives. Your immediate future has this quality, Taurus. Beneath the visible surface of your life, beneficial processes are […]
Culture
Posted inCulture Features
Community Leader Set to Open Brick-and-Mortar Witchcraft Store
Josie Stanfield ports a connection to nature into a store in downtown Redmond
It started with making mud potions in the forests of Northern Idaho, and now Josie Stanfield, activist, community leader and self-proclaimed witch, shared her story inside her Redmond store — WitchCrafting with Josie — just weeks from opening. Growing up in a predominately white family — and state — as a Black woman, Stanfield often wandered the outdoors alone, feeling a deep spiritual connection to nature. And that extended to witchcraft, too. […]
Posted inCulture
Redmond Has a Thriving Art Community
A downtown gallery is expanding to add more classrooms
The Dry Canyon Community Art Center is flourishing six months after opening on SW Sixth Street in downtown Redmond. The gallery has hosted three exhibitions showcasing local artists. The featured art display changes monthly and items sold in the gift gallery rotate on a regular basis. Art educators teach classes in rooms at the back […]
Posted inColumns
Feeling Comfortable After a Gap in Dating
Advice on starting a new intimate relationship
Dear Dr. Jane, I’m a regular reader and really appreciate your advice. I’ve noticed that many people who write in are married or in long-term relationships struggling to communicate about intimacy — and your guidance on talking openly and compassionately really resonates with me. But my situation is a little different. I’m a 42-year-old woman […]
Posted inFilm
Streep, Hathaway, Blunt and Tucci: Still a Perfect Combo
The “Devil Wears Prada 2” is a welcome return to a different world
As someone who has dressed like a color blind retiree since childhood, I know next to nothing about couture, modern fashion, or why one designer brand outranks another. Watching “The Devil Wears Prada” all the way back in the year of our lord 2006, I knew the film really wasn’t “for me,” yet I still […]
Posted inCulture
Free Will Astrology, Week of May 7
Taurus will be able to absorb new clues from life
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): When lightning from a cloud hits sand or soil, the current travels down into the ground. It melts material along its path and forms tubular, branching glass structures that can penetrate deep below the surface. I believe that metaphorically similar phenomena will soon happen in your life, Taurus. Sudden insights or […]
Posted inCulture Features
Pages of Possibility: A Student Writing Showcase
The second edition of The Thread literary journal at COCC is out at the end of May
Students at Central Oregon Community College have revived a literary tradition that hasn’t been around for nearly four decades. The Thread, featuring student poetry, prose and art is an online journal curated and edited by students in the Advanced Creative Writing: Publishing class. Associate Professor Eileen Sather, who teaches the class, says COCC had similar […]
Posted inColumns
Big Moves for Plant Medicines
Cannabis rescheduling has begun
I wrote about this last December, but now that (some) cannabis has actually been rescheduled, from Schedule I to Schedule III, let’s revisit. President Biden started the ball rolling in 2022 and in 2024; the Justice Department formalized the process of moving cannabis from Schedule I to III. Last year, President Trump directed the DOJ […]
Posted inColumns
Bad Moods, Self-Criticism and Love
Keep heading toward the light
I’ve been on a love roll… Last month’s Inner Heroes message was entitled “Democracy & Love. ” A few of my earlier titles were: “Love Your Demons,” “Love Wisdoms from Heaven” and “A Few Random Love Stories.” Another one was “How to Make Love,” not the erotic kind, but the day-to-day kind of love. Let’s all […]
Posted inCulture
Three Comedians with Bend Ties Reunite for a Night of Snappy Wit, Shared History & a Bit of Family Drama
The Tower Theatre Foundation presents Helen Keaney with Shanan Kelley and special guest Chelsea Woodmansee
Central Oregon audiences will get a three-for-one comedy lineup May 16 when Helen Keaney, Shanan Kelley and special guest Chelsea Woodmansee take the stage at the Tower Theatre. Expect laughter, a little unpredictability and a few jokes that hit suspiciously close to home — possibly while someone’s in-law sits in the front row, taking mental […]
