Editorial

STATE KILLS THORNY OLD MILL LAND DEAL
Officials with the Department of State Lands confirmed publicly this week that they have nixed a deal for a roughly half-acre property along the bluffs in the Old Mill area. The deal was called into question earlier this year after The Bulletin reported that the owners of the property happened to be the parents of the official who oversees land purchases for the Department of State Lands (DSL), the agency that was mulling the acquisition. The sale was to be the first purchase under a new, yet mysteriously unannounced, program in which the DSL, which typically manages larger rural acres for the benefit of the Oregon school fund, would begin investing in Central Oregon, a move that state officials deemed – amazingly – to be a good bet. Gov. Ted Kulongoski, who sits on the state land board that oversees DSL, ordered the deal be put on hold in October after it was reported that the owners, Dennis Staines and his wife, Virginia, were the parents of DSL manager James Paul IV. It was Paul who put his parents in touch with one of his subordinates, none other than Bend's former urban renewal manager, John Russell, aka the man who “built” Juniper Ridge, about selling the property to the state before recusing himself from the deal. Russell later recommended purchasing the site, despite failing to secure an appraisal for the property.

DA Office Drama Drags On
A deal that would have traded some salary and benefits for deputy prosecutors in exchange for short-term job security appears to be crumbling on the eve of DA-elect Patrick Flaherty's tenure. An attorney representing deputy district attorneys who have banded together in a state-certified collective bargaining union notified Deschutes County administrators on Monday that her clients are rescinding their proposal unless the county commissioners vote on the deal before Jan. 1 when Flaherty is scheduled to take office.

his Week's Sign That Things are Just Fine: Tornados in Oregon
If you're like us, you probably watch those television programs that feature unkempt young men chasing after tornados in armored Ford Escapes and think of the people living in those often-storm-ravaged Midwest locales and say something like, “Isn't it great we live in Oregon where we don't have to worry about tornadoes?” Well, think again.

Jurassic Park, Bend Edition
This past Thursday, Source staffers received an alarming press release from the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office. Apparently, an emu, the flightless bird usually found in Australia, was captured in northwest Redmond. This not only prompted staffers to declare “Second Wayward Emu Located” the best e-mail headline of the day, but also, upon reading the press release, to realize that the emu is not just a flightless bird, but a capable assassin.

Goodbye Goomba's, Hello Bond Street Bar and Grill
The restaurant casualties continue in downtown when longtime operator Peggy Falcaro announced on Monday that she has sold Giuseppe's after a 20-plus-year run on Bond Street.
Longtime locals remember Giuseppe's as one of the places to enjoy a good meal and a glass of wine before the boom. However, like many downtown establishments Giuseppe's struggled to find its niche in the new downtown scene where customers have rewarded novelty, innovation, and, well, newness – none of which Giuseppe had in any great quantity. With this week's closure, Giuseppe's joins, Ernesto's and Bella Cucina on the list of locally owned Italian eateries that haven't survived the recession shake-out. Meantime, chains and franchises like Portland's Pastini Pastaria, Carino's and Olive Garden have moved in, creating additional competition.

It's been a busy week over at Bank of the Cascades, which raised a much needed $177 million in private capital to keep the bank afloat in the face of regulatory sanctions. The injection headed off months of speculation that federal officials would move to shutter the once high-flying local institution that hemorrhaged hundreds of millions of dollars during the real estate bust. Over the past two years, BOTC has reported more than $200 million in losses as it continued to write down its portfolio, albeit more slowly over the past few months as the economy has begun to stabilize and the Bend real estate market slows its free fall.