Editorial
Posted inOpinion

Tony DeBone Has a Dumb Old New Idea

Source Weekly

Old beliefs die hard – especially the dumb ones. Despite all the evidence, some Central Oregon public officials still cling to the faith that they can pump life into the moribund local construction industry by giving builders a break on Systems Development Charges.
SDCs are fees levied on new construction projects to help cover the costs of things like new roads, sewers and water systems. For the past three years the City of Bend has offered builders a special deal under which, instead of paying their SDCs up front, they can delay payment for nine months or until their project gets a certificate of occupancy, whichever comes first. (It's essentially an interest-free loan to the builder.) City Finance Director Sonia Andrews reports that more than $900,000 worth of fees has been deferred so far, and builders still owe the city $285,000.

Posted inOpinion

Fresh Straight Poop: Now With More Fiber and Antioxidants

Intern

Monday, Sept. 19
This is how it's gonna be: President Obama vows to veto any debt reduction package that doesn't include tax increases on rich … A choice, not an echo: Ralph Nader and other liberal leaders announce plans to field progressive slate in presidential race; Nader says idea isn't to defeat Obama but to sharpen focus on progressive issues … Blood money: Rupert Murdoch's News International Corp. reportedly offers $4.5 million settlement to family of murder victim Milly Dowler for hacking their phones … Yemen's agony: Death toll from two days of clashes between protesters and security forces in Yemen tops 50, including children … Which came first, the ducks or the beavers? Bureau of Land Management says 7-million-year-old fossilized beaver teeth found in Eastern Oregon are earliest evidence of beavers in North America.

Posted inOpinion

Telfer Takes the Axe to the Arts

Source Weekly

Oregon government can't offer many shining success stories over the past decade, but the Oregon Cultural Trust is one of them.
The brainchild of the late State Sen. Ben Westlund, in less than 10 years it's amassed an endowment of more than $15 million. It has given grants to more than a thousand artistic and cultural nonprofit enterprises, including about 30 in Central and Eastern Oregon. The Museum at Warm Springs, the High Desert Museum and the Cascade School of Music all have benefited from Cultural Trust grants.

Posted inOpinion

The Oregon GOP Gets (Almost) Rational

The Source Staff

In a month when Texas Gov. Rick “Hang 'Em High” Perry is winning applause at GOP presidential debates by talking about his 234 executions and how he'd like to abolish Social Security, it was some comfort to see the Oregon Republican Party take a step – even a tentative baby step – into the 21st
century.
Up until now, the Oregon GOP's official platform included language that condemned gay marriage and civil unions and implied that gay couples were unfit to bring up children. But at its state convention in Bend last weekend, the party – prompted by a coalition of young Turks led by Xander Almeida, 26, of Portland – voted to ditch the worst gay-bashing language.
The revised platform is hardly a ringing endorsement of progressive ideas about gay rights, marriage or reproductive freedom. It proclaims that “the traditional family is ordained by God our Creator and is the foundation of our society. A traditional family is formed through the marriage of one man and one woman. This … environment is the optimum for raising children into responsible, self-sufficient, productive citizens” – apparently implying that kids raised by same-sex couples are destined to become crack-addicted welfare bums.

Posted inOpinion

Big End-of-Summer Straight Poop Sale – Stock Up Now!

Administrator

Monday, Sept. 5
Tell us how you really feel, Jimmy: Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa Jr., warming up Labor Day crowd in Detroit for President Obama, rips into Tea Party: “Let's take these sons of bitches out” … Tea Partiers wail about “violent” rhetoric … In tepid follow-up, Obama promises to support collective bargaining, challenges Congress to pass his forthcoming jobs plan … Euro-trashed: European stock markets and value of Euro plunge on concerns over safety of banks … Postage due: US Postal Service nearing default, facing deficit of $9.2 billion … Well, at least somebody's having a good year: Hollywood scores record-breaking summer, posting box office revenues of $4.4 billion.
Tuesday, Sept. 6
Following the money: Super PAC called “Make Us Great Again” plans to spend $55 million to snag GOP presidential nomination for Texas Gov. Rick Perry … In tape obtained by Mother Jones magazine, right-wing billionaire Charles Koch tells attendees at secret seminar for fellow fat cats that “we have Saddam Hussein” in the White House and 2012 elections will be “the mother of all wars” … Speaking of dangerous reptiles: Hunters in Agusan del Sur, Philippines, catch 21-foot saltwater crocodile, think there are even bigger ones out there … Hello, goodbye: Carol Bartz ousted as CEO of Yahoo; tells employees via email, “I've just been fired over the phone by Yahoo's chairman of the board,” Roy Bostock … Calling Det. Axel Foley: Eddie Murphy, who made some funny movies in the 1980s, to host 2012 Academy Awards show, first time for him.

Posted inOpinion

Our Straight Poop Is Freshness-Dated for Your Protection

Our Straight Poop Is Freshness-Dated for Your Protection
The Source Staff

Monday,
Aug. 29
Ill winds blow Wall Street good: Lower-than-expected damage toll from Hurricane Irene pushes insurance company stocks higher … Hurricanes … in Vermont? Flooding from Irene creates worst natural disaster in Vermont since 1927; at least three killed … Shelter from the storm: Algeria gives asylum to 31 members of Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi's family and aides … Mum's the word: Redmond School District announces Redmond High Principal Brian Lemos on leave, won't say why … Encore for the Murdochs: Rupert Murdoch and son James to testify under oath about phone hacking in front of Britain's Royal Court of Justice … Let the birds keep it: Mutant bird flu strain not vulnerable to vaccines appears in Vietnam and China.

Posted inOpinion

Bend's Builders Come Begging Again

The builders in Bend have once again asked for a one-year extension of the SDC deferrals.
The Source Staff

In baseball, the rule is three strikes and you're out. But if you're part of the building and development lobby in Bend, you just stay at the plate and take as many swings as you want.
Three years ago, in the throes of the Great Recession, the local builders had the bright idea of asking the city to let them defer paying Systems Development Charges – the fees charged on new construction to help cover the cost of new roads, sewer lines, water mains and other stuff made necessary by growth. Instead of paying SDCs before starting construction, the builders wanted to wait until they applied for an occupancy permit or nine months after they submitted their initial paperwork, whichever came first. Supposedly this was going to kick-start the city's stalled construction industry.

Posted inOpinion

Time to Clear the Air in Redmond

Brian Lemos recently was placed on leave from principle of Redmond High School with no explanation.
The Source Staff

It seems safe to assume that Brian Lemos has a more colorful past than the average high school principal.
During the 1990s, when he was teaching in the Tillamook School District, Lemos had several run-ins with the law. DUI and fourth-degree assault in 1992. Fourth-degree assault in 1995. Disorderly conduct and possession of a small amount of marijuana, also in 1995.

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