Opinion

It's hard to believe that an agency as "upstanding" as ODOT would hire a spokesman who is more arrogant than Peter Murphy. But then again, the person who is your spokesman is your mouthpiece, so it stands to reason that Mr. Murphy's comment that Sen. Ben Westlund is "just another person" is also how ODOT feels.
The arrogance of these people is astounding! The fact that Sen. Westlund was the head of the Senate Ways and Means Committee that ODOT has to go to for money makes him NOT "just another person." Mr. Murphy should be referring to an elected official with much more respect. The implication here is that Sen. Westlund has no more credit than Joe Blow down the block, and he's "just another person."

Saddle Up, Bend

Recently an article about how to save money in Bend during the summer months caught my eye. Another bike rider was hit pretty hard by the craigslist rants and raves, as is typical from those overly large humans out there who drive their SUVs. All the person was saying to those people who live close to work, burn some calories, get the heart racing, make less visits to the overpaid doctors, etc. I run into so many overweight women who complain that gym rates are too high. They have no time to work out but they have time to go to their favorite bar and eat. OK, let's work out the math people. The average car holds roughly 16 gallons of gasoline and medium unleaded costs $3.33 and this equates to $53.28 per fill. Now if you were to use a tank of gas per week this will run you $213.12 per month now multiply this by 12 and it will be in the ballpark of $2,557. This kind of extra income could be used for a vacation for your family, schooling, bills, food etc.

I just wanted to respond to your "WTF" article in your most recent (edition). Northwest and Pine Marten will be closing on the 20th. However the important part that you left out of your story is that the mountain will remain open until its "traditional closure" operating out of Sunrise Lodge and running the Sunrise and Summit lifts.

I'm so tired of road bikers. They holler "Share the road," but when they ride in their little packs the last thing they care about is sharing.
You bikers ride six or seven deep across the middle of the road, completely blocking traffic. We are forced to swerve into on coming traffic to avoid you. If we honk, you laugh. Some of us have things to do and places to be. Sorry if that interferes with your leisure time, but please shows some consideration to what the roads are primarily for: cars.

The next time the Source asks people on the street about racism, you might want to ask one or two members of a racial minority who might have experienced racism and pure hatred first-hand. You might get some more informed opinions.
I am an Asian-American. For those new to the lingo, that means I was born in the US and my parents are from China. I have experienced racial prejudice and racism as long as I can remember.
On Saturday, March 29, I was exiting my vehicle on Bend's oh-so-trendy and affluent Westside. A man I have never seen before in my life, who was stopped at a gas station, said something about shooting "commies," pointed at me with an imaginary rifle and pretended to shoot me. I almost called the police. He was dead serious. THAT is what racism is.

Shall it be the function of the state to spread sexually transmitted diseases?
In its Hardwick decision the Supreme Court inadvertently assigned to the function of the state the transmission of sexual diseases.
Writing for the majority, Sandra Day O'Connor asserted that the state should continue, by criminal sanction, to uphold anti-sodomy laws to suppress homosexual sexual activity to impede the spread of venereal diseases. Consequently, to escape detection homosexuals continued to find it easier to conceal a thousand brief, anonymous encounters than a single long-term relationship.
The court learned nothing from the failure of the Inquisition to eradicate homosexuality. So overwhelmingly powerful are biological drives that compel organisms. Not even the fear of the most gruesome of tortures could destroy the human appetite of sexual attraction and involvement.

A few weeks ago the Source reported on the status of Bend's last independent video store, Westside Video. I was reminded of the importance of such small businesses when my daughter and I recently rode our bikes to Westside Video to rent a movie. Locally owned businesses such as Devores Good Foods, Ranch Records, The Book Barn, Westside Video and others add diversity, independence and flavor to a commercial market that could soon be made up of nothing but sterile, national chains such as Blockbuster, Barnes & Noble and other big box stores.

When you placed "Third Street Moses" in the paper, did you take into consideration:
* The individual's history and who he is.
* The fact that he did not consent to his photo being taken.
For those of us who are familiar with this individual, it is disappointing that the Source would lower itself to mocking.