Rodeos and Animal Cruelty: Tradition Shouldn’t Excuse Violence The phrase, “if you don’t like it, don’t go,” is a common response to those who speak up for animals abused in rodeos. This phrase is problematic when referring to a tradition that involves participants who have no choice and face injury or death. Non-human animals in […]
Opinion
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Oregon Water Use Is Moving In the Right Direction
We’d love to see Oregon’s historical water-rights laws to be more closely examined altogether, and the “use it or lose it” approach be swapped for a more conservationist one.
There’s a reason we devote an issue each year to water. Not only is it the most basic of human needs, but the issues around it only continue to grow. In recent years, the farmers who actually grow crops in the region have suffered from shortages of irrigation water. A longstanding drought — which has […]
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Letters to the Editor 06/20/2024
RE: A Beautiful Five Feature, 6/13 I have lived and worked in this area for 35 years, 8 of which were on the McKenzie River. Blue Pool, (aka Tamolitch Falls), Sahalie and Koosah Falls are all beautiful and well loved, but as our population increases and people are drawn to these delights, it is troublesome […]
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Public Lands Rule: A New Era for American Land Management
We may not see the effects of this change for quite some time, but we’re betting our grandchildren will thank us
You may not have heard much about it, but a massive change just happened on public lands — one that might begin to reverse a trend of over-extraction and land degradation in the United States. Our grandchildren may one day thank us. On June 10, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management put its Public Lands […]
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Letters to the Editor 06/13/24
Bend’s identity crisis Bend’s identity crisis is self evident when it cannot complete a tree preservation code. Trees are vital to carbon sequestration and cool cities of concrete. Bend spouts it needs housing but then stalls the housing to build a second windowless big box Costco on a site with extraordinary mountain views now scraped […]
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A Lot is Riding on Drug Deflection. As It Gets Going, We Have Questions.
On drug treatment, let’s hope this time we’re sharing a success story
Over the past several years, Oregon has gotten a great deal of attention for its attempt at drug decriminalization, which was plagued by a shortage of treatment beds, no real “teeth” to push people into treatment and the surge of fentanyl that saw our state having the highest rate of increase in fentanyl overdose deaths […]
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Letters to the Editor 06/06/2024
Donald Trump is not above the law By now, we’ve all heard the news that Donald Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts of falsifying his company’s business records to keep information from voters that he knew would harm his 2016 presidential campaign. This isn’t just about “hush money” payments. It’s about breaking […]
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A Change in Groundwater Allocation Rules is Long Overdue
This year has been better than many, but the effects of years of drought are still among us
You’ve likely heard the doom-tales: aquifers depleted, rivers low, wells going dry. Over the past 20 years or so, the West has experienced a megadrought that hasn’t been matched in 500 years. And this time, unlike the 1500s, the problem is made worse by the advent of human-caused climate change. This year has been better […]
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Letters to the Editor 05/30/2024
RE: Endorsements Matter. Opinion, 5/16 I think the Source has done an amazing job, not only with the candidate analysis and primary endorsements this year, but with the breadth and depth of journalism covering local issues throughout the year. Bend is very fortunate to have such a weekly publication. —Dwight Gaudet Primary elections conclusion Another […]
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It’s Smoke Now or Smoke Later… and Hopefully Not Both
You’re not imagining it: there’s been more smoke in the air this year
You’re not imagining it: there’s been more smoke in the air this year. Where once locals would joke about swapping the name for “summer” with “smoke season,” that unwelcome season appears now to include spring. As Jennifer Baires’ May 23 feature story, “Treating the Forest,” outlined, a pilot project happening around Bend is allowing for […]