The second installment of BAF TV. The crew hits the coast and does some sandboarding.
Local News
Making Criminals Out of Butt-Droppers
This truly was a momentous week in history: On Wednesday, The Wandering Eye attended a right-wing political rally, and today we find ourselves agreeing with Lars Larson.
Video from Weinland at McMenamins
Portland folk rockers Weinland dropped some sweet melodies and kicking rhythms on a much appreciative crowd at McMenamins on Wednesday night. Here’s a clip of the band from last night.
Bend Tea Party Sizzles, But Rhetoric Fizzles
The Wandering Eye had a nice, steaming dish of crow to eat for breakfast today. We predicted that the "Tax Day Tea Party" in Bend would fizzle, but we have to admit the tea partiers put on a pretty impressive show.
The Wind Cries Money: Finding profits and positive vibes in micro wind farms
Mike Costanti smiles as he cycles through digital images of Nome, Alaska's Banner Wind Project, completed in December 2008 by his company Western Community Energy. It's the largest wind farm in Alaska and one that will help lessen Nome's annual dependence on diesel fuel by 200,000 gallons, and Costanti is proud WCE led the development efforts.
"I didn't approach this business wearing tie-dye and corduroy saying, 'Hey man, this is cool,'" Costanti said. "I was in Seattle in the late 1990s when the tech sector was growing and it was palpable - you could feel it growing, and the same thing is happening in renewable energy right now. We're on the cusp of a new economy."
The Latest Socialist Threat: Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Looks like conservatives in Oregon have found something else to get outraged about - government-mandated carbon monoxide detectors.
Seattle Times Joins the Kick-Bend-Around Crowd
Kick us when we're down, why don'tcha? As if the situation (economy-wise and weather-wise) wasn't dismal enough in Bend already, the Seattle Times takes a brutal shot at us on today's front page.
Public Employees and the Politics of Resentment
Oregonian blogger Jeff Mapes predicts, no doubt correctly, that public employee salaries and benefits are likely to come under attack again in these tough times.
Tea Partiers Brewing a “Revolution” — They Hope
Right-wingers all over America - including little old Bend, Oregon - are gearing up for their big "Tax Day Tea Party" next week, and the rhetoric is getting pretty hot.
Will Hard Times Kill the Platypus?
Oregon State University's Cascades Campus in Bend might be near its last gasp, if our local state representatives are reading the signals in Salem right.

