Editorial

Bend’s next super subdivision? Most folks have lost track of how long the Bend City Council has been working to expand the city's UGB - long enough for the anachronistic term "UGB" to actually resonate with any partially informed observer of local politics. Earlier this week the city council put the finishing touches on what it hopes will be a blueprint for the next 20 years of growth in Bend - a roughly 8,500-acre expansion of the city's geographic footprint which is intended to add more land for housing and commercial development.

By a 4-2 vote councilors opted to finalize the plan known as Alternative 4A, which Upfront likes to think of as the "kitchen sink" alternative - as in it includes everything that landowners and developers wanted plus the kitchen sink for good measure.
The plan has no shortage of critics, including some skeptical state regulators that have balked at the size of the land grab, which they see as a recipe for sprawl.

It's no trade secret that any story or report related to Mt. Bachelor, good or bad, has a built in readership in this town. So it was with more than a passing interest that Upfront listened to a recent tipster who told us that Mt. B brass were getting ready to enforce a long-posted — but never adhered to — ban on sack lunches at Mt. B's slopeside lodges. Upfront didn't wait for the receiver to cool before putting in a call to Mt. B's marketing director, Alex Kaufman, who set the record straight on sack lunches. Contrary to what we had heard, Mt. B is not cracking down on brown baggers at Sunrise or Pine Marten lodge, Kaufman said. Quite the opposite, he said, the staff at Bachelor have actually added microwaves to allow more skiers and boarders to reheat food on the lower level of the main lodge. In addition, he said Bachelor has revamped the menu at the lower level café to focus on wallet-friendly foods like hot dogs and sandwiches.

Voila PR disaster averted.

As a newspaper supported entirely by local advertisers (i.e. mom and pop businesses) we're not huge fans of Internet shopping, which serves as a giant cash vacuum, siphoning dollars out of the local economy to some faceless corporation. The notable exception is our annual Charity Auction, which turns the whole Internet cash vacuum model on its head.

Each year the Source, working with local businesses that donate all of the items for the auction, donates all the proceeds from the annual bid-fest to a local non-profit. This year the auction raised almost $4,000 for the Partnership to End Poverty, a local umbrella group that works to coordinate and fund local initiatives aimed at addressing the root of poverty in Central Oregon. It's an issue that's come into sharp focus as of late as the local and national economy falters, unemployment climbs to double digits and families are having a hard time making ends meet.

So Shoe Me!

The face that launched a thousand shoes.In a Los Angeles Times article this week, former Secret Service agent Patrick J. Lennon was quoted as saying, "Thank God, Bush apparently played a little dodge ball when he was younger."
You probably know what this former agent is talking about, but if somehow you missed this, Upfront will fill you in with a one-sentence recap: Some Iraqi journalist removed both of his shoes during a press conference and tossed them at President Bush on Sunday - and this is actually a sign of severe disrespect in the Arab world.
This was all during a "surprise visit" to Iraq by the president and very likely the last trek of his waning presidency to the embattled nation. The only "surprise" to be seen was the look on Bush's face as he somewhat deftly dodged each shoe toss…but this look of surprise soon melted into the same sly little smirk we've come to love to hate over the past eight years. Bush subsequently likened the shoe missles to a campaign heckler or one driver flipping off another. Oh President Bush! Not even a size 10 loafer whizzing past your temple can dampen your reckless disregard of public opinion.

Opening Day - Finally?
Most of Upfront's friends have given up their
snowdance routines out of frustration and re-focused their energies on
other more productive activities like tree trimming, recreational
drinking and couch surfing, but we have word from reliable sources that
snow is in fact on the way - finally.
While the powers that be
at Mt. Bachelor say they still don't know if they will be able to open
this weekend, they're planning to hold a "Snow or No Snow" party from
noon to 4pm Saturday at the mountain with all pass holders receiving a
free beverage and a chance to hit the tubing or rail jam parks - snow
permitting. It's been a frustrating non-start to the season for the
mountain's staff and legions of seasonal employees who are still
waiting to start work.