Oregon Democrats and Republicans are dividing along classic ideological lines in response to the state's calamitous predicted budget shortfall.
Local News
Mike Dugan: Pick Josh Marquis, Not Me
Mike Dugan has been mentioned as a likely choice for US Attorney for Oregon, but it seems the Deschutes County District Attorney isn't too interested in the job.
A Flock of Applicants for Friedman’s Job
The Eye will never be able to understand why anybody would want the job, but 15 people have applied for the late Bill Friedman's seat on the Bend City Council.
At What Cost? Record-breaking contributions raise questions about the role of campaign cash
If money, as the Supreme Court tells us, is the equivalent of free speech in politics, then some of the local special interests were doing a lot of talking this past election.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, the Central Oregon Builder's Association (COBA) and the Central Oregon Association of Realtors (COAR) poured more than $100,000 into local elections in Deschutes and Crook County.
Obama Looking at Kitzhaber for Cabinet Post?
Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber says he'd be interested in a Cabinet post in the Obama administration, but so far the Obama transition team hasn't contacted him about one, at least publicly.
The Associated Press reported last week that Kitzhaber "has been mentioned as a possible secretary for either of two departments: Health and Human Services or Interior."
Kitzhaber, an avid fisherman and a former emergency room physician, has an intense interest in both the environment and health care reform. Putting together an Oregon salmon recovery plan and expanding the Oregon Health Plan were two of his biggest achievements in the Legislature and as governor, and he has continued to push for national health care reform through his Archimedes Project.
Kitzhaber told The AP he hasn't been contacted by Obama's transition team but would be open to taking either job if it was offered.
Badlands Bill Must Wait for Next Year
Lovers of Bend's Badlands Wilderness who have been waiting for years to see it designated as a federally protected wilderness area will have to wait a little longer: Congress won't be able to get around to it during the current lame-duck session.
Badlands Bill Must Wait for Next Year
Lovers of Bend's Badlands Wilderness who have been waiting for years to see it designated as a federally protected wilderness area will have to wait a little longer: Congress won't be able to get around to it during the current lame-duck session.
Merkley “Hurt” by Lieberman’s Disloyalty
We may never know whether Oregon's new senator-elect voted for or against letting renegade Sen. Joe Lieberman keep his key committee chairmanship. But Merkley's office made it clear to Huffington Post blogger Sam Stein that Merkley wasn't happy about it.
Grape (of Wrath) Expectations Downtown
Wandering around downtown Bend the other day, The Eye dropped in at a local business we have been patronizing for the past five years or so and asked whether the local real estate bust and the national Great George W. Bush Depression were affecting business.
Keller Williams Video
Our review of the Keller Williams with Moseley, Droll and Sipe show from last week won’t be in the paper for another few days, but we couldn’t wait any longer to get this to you. Here’s some video of Keller rapping about the importance of getting up early for a day of snowboarding.

