Today I drove by the yellow tape today. Parking lot empty, Store dark, Do Not Cross, Evil has come too close this place. Super Heroes. Well disguised at 66 years old, as a produce clerk. Why’d you bring a knife to a gun fight? Because it was all I had, to save the world for […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Oliver Tatom for Deschutes County Commissioner Pos. 1
Our choice for Deschutes County’s position 1
Oliver Tatom for Deschutes County Commissioner Pos. 1 While both of the candidates in the race for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners’ Position 1 are upstanding people who care deeply about their community, a few key points lead us to recommend a change of leadership. Tony DeBone can rest on his laurels for helping […]
Posted inOpinion
Crisis Shows Us Who Our Leaders Are
Now—not more than ever but on par with any time in the past—who we select as leaders at all levels—municipal, county, state and federal—does matter.
Between climate-change calamities, coronavirus and ongoing gun violence like the case we saw in Bend last week, we are in a world where we confront crisis on the regular. Perhaps, in the before-times, before we faced down a global pandemic, it was more palatable to see our elected leaders misstep or remain absent when a […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 09/08/2022
Amphitheater Did you ever live next door to a thoughtless neighbor? One who wouldn’t turn his music down late at night. The guy, let’s call him Hayden, blasts his stereo so loud that you can’t shut it out. As the evening progresses, he tends to turn it up louder. Close the windows, close the door, […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 09/01/2022
RE: Water at Home Feature, 8/25 All these residential and commercial water users rely on groundwater (wells). As the surface water dries up, water companies will increasingly rely on groundwater mitigation credits to turn their surface water rights into ground water rights. They have trashed the river and now they will trash the aquifer. Please […]
Posted inOpinion
The Complexities of Remote Work for State Employees
Oregon should act fast to set policies that are fair and equitable and that don’t offer special favors for those who decide not to live here.
We’ve all heard the stats here in our own community: Bend is one of the most popular places for remote workers to come and live and reap the benefits of the lifestyle while also, often, earning the higher salaries offered in places like the Bay Area of San Francisco. While that’s meant an attractive lifestyle […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 08/25/2022
Pet Owners Beware Bend Parks and Rec should be congratulated for Alpenglow Park. The finished product sets the benchmark for local parks. Unfortunately, the park has not been cleared of foxtails and cheatgrass. These dangerous weeds are everywhere including inside the dog parks, and barbs cover the walkways. I have personally witnessed the damage these […]
Posted inOpinion
In the Wake of the Safeway Shooting, We Know How This Is Going to Go
we are living in an America where shootings of this type have become so commonplace that there is a threshold for what Congress defines as a “mass shooting,” and Bend’s recent tragedy doesn’t even rate among that standard.
Although we are afraid to confront it, we have all become familiar with gun violence in our public spaces. And, if we are honest, we know how the conversation around this violence will proceed. The faction of Americans tired of the violence, the death, the senseless trauma will call, now, in the wake of a […]
Posted inOpinion
With Proposed Bend Camping Code, Enforcement is a Key Issue
The alternative—not having any guidelines in place at all—is the less-humane route in a housing, economic and cultural situation that is far from humane.
This past Tuesday, the City of Bend held the first of two open houses intended to “inform the community about how developing an unsanctioned camping code fits into the City and community response to homelessness.” Another one takes place Aug. 29. Over the past several months the Bend City Council has begun establishing “time, place […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 08/18/2022
Correction: Last week’s “Best of Central Oregon issue,” published 8/11, included lists of the winners of our annual readers’ poll. (The same list was printed twice; once as a complete list, and another broken up, with names and categories listed adjacent to stories about various winners.) One of those lists listed “Lounge” as the second-place […]
