Nearly 23 years ago, I was living and studying in Zimbabwe. A week after I arrived, there were two items on the radio: First, Mike Tyson had lost a title bout and, second, after 27 years, Nelson Mandela had been released from prison. A week later, I met him. He was visiting Harare, Zimbabwe—his first […]
Editorial
Posted inOpinion
One Day at a Time
MONDAY 2 Soooo… how are things going financially for you? A bit tight this year? Well, you’re not the only ones! So many are struggling to make ends meet—especially when it comes to holiday spending. Except of course, the modern day version of the Gorgons, the Kardashian family who spent a whopping $250,000 on their […]
Posted inOpinion
Process Poopers
November has been a cruel month for public process in Bend. Last week, we reported on the continued drama surrounding the City of Bend’s major $69 million project to modernize Bend’s water delivery and treatment system. Namely, city council's Nov. 6, city council approval of a membrane filtration system to keep the city’s water safe. […]
Posted inOpinion
One Day at a Time
MONDAY 18 Formerly adorable pop star turned major-league douche Justin Bieber has brought his international reign of terror back to his poor, beleaguered neighborhood. On Friday, Das Biebs threw a loud, all-night rager at his Calabasas, California mansion—inviting approximately 100 guests that reportedly included such celebs as the multi-named Snoop Lion, boxer Floyd Mayweather, “woman […]
Posted inOpinion
A House Divided
Two weeks ago, in a somewhat muddy 4-3 vote, Bend’s City Council approved a $30 million water treatment facility, an important puzzle piece of a larger project, a $69 million modernization of Bend’s water delivery and treatment infrastructure. At its core was a debate about whether to use membrane filtration technology—essentially, a high-tech sieve—to keep […]
Posted inOpinion
One Day at a Time
MONDAY 11 Okay, we’ll admit it…we now can appreciate and love buck-toothed hillbilly Miley Cyrus. Sure, we’ve had our differences of opinion in the past… remember when she tried to convince us she had been smoking salvia? Oh girl, please. And while she may not yet be the perfect feminist dreamboat, we’ve been gazing at […]
Posted inOpinion
Pipe Dreams
When something as unglamorous as a water pipe attracts such attention as Bend’s Surface Water Improvement Project (SWIP) has, it is prudent to ask: Why? Why has the City so doggedly pursued a project that has opposition from both conservative developers and conservation-minded environmentalists? Why have City staff championed a project that has never had […]
Posted inOpinion
One Day at a Time
MONDAY 4 Kids…who needs ’em? However, it’s come to our attention that some people actually enjoy parenting…even if they’re not very good at it. AT ALL. Case in point: The increasingly tangled trio of Charlie Sheen, and his ex-wives Denise Richards, and Brooke Mueller. Denise shocked the world today by sending a letter to the […]
Posted inOpinion
Transient Room Tax: A Beginning, Not An Ending
On Tuesday, voters wisely approved two tax-the-tourists measures that will, in theory, bring even more tourist dollars to the region. Measure 9-94 will ratchet up the transient room tax (TRT) in the City of Bend from 9 to 10.4 percent; and, in the process (and based on current residence rates), pull in roughly $450,000 in […]
Posted inOpinion
One Day at a Time
MONDAY 28 Yesterday, Chris Brown was in jail on a felony assault charge, and the world was once again a beautiful place where rose petals fall from the sky. Today, it’s raining shit—because not only has his felony charge been knocked down to a misdemeanor, it looks like the abusive Mr. Teflon is going to […]
