Art in the Neighborhood
There are some people who take the time to make sure days are better. Krayna Castelbaum is one of those people. A self-described poetry enthusiast and artist, this local instigator does her share to bring a bit of art to her neighborhood. She takes the time to print and post a poem every month, accessible…
Bend Lady Roughriders are PNRFU Champions
Roughriders, Bend Lady Roughriders, Rugby, Oregon Rugby, Bend Rugby, Roughriders Rugby, Pacific Northwest Rugby Football Union, PNRFU, Rugby Regional Playoffs, Playoffs, Regionals
Voting in Oregon—Register to Vote by Tomorrow!
Oregon’s turn to vote is almost here and luckily for us Oregon has one of the most convenient voting systems in the country—vote-by-mail. Properly registered voters receive a ballot two to three weeks before the election, giving individuals time to research candidates and issues. The key phrase in that sentence is properly registered. Ballots will…
Umpqua Hot Springs Becomes Day-Use Site
TOKETEE, OR – The Umpqua Hot Springs, 70 miles east of Roseburg on the Umpqua National Forest, has been designated as a day-use only site with parking restricted to the trailhead parking area. The hot springs will remain open for use between sunrise and sundown. This change in use will be effective beginning April 19…
Kids to Parks
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has joined a bipartisan effort in introducing a measure to encourage active lifestyles for children by designating May 21 as National Kids to Parks Day. “A love of the outdoors is rooted in the hearts of Oregonians at an early age, and children who grow up enjoying Oregon’s wondrous…
Mt. Bachelor Announces New Lift to Open December 2016
“Mt. Bachelor and Powdr Corp are excited to announce that we have signed a contract with lift manufacturer Doppelmayer to install the new east side chairlift, named Cloudchaser, in time for the 2016 holiday season! The high-speed detachable quad chairlift, which represents a capital investment of approximately $6 million, provides greater protection from the elements…
Smooth Beast
Whenever good hip-hop music passes by, it is hard not to compare it to Bend’s own Person People. With members including Mike Fish, KP, MOsley WOtta, Mez, Sorski and Adam Bomb, they were one of the most explosive hip-hop collaborations far and wide. Several years after their untimely breakup, Fish is back with a new…
Side Notes 4/20-4/27
Saving Monarch Butterflies in Central Oregon Monarch butterflies are declining drastically with 80 percent of the population of eastern monarchs lost in the last decade. Central Oregonians can learn how to protect monarch butterflies at two upcoming events in May. May 10 ~ Tom Landis from the Southern Oregon Monarch Advocates will present “Bringing Monarchs…
Sci-fi Chase Film Runs Short on Depth
“Midnight Special” is an art-house science fiction/thriller/road movie with a stellar cast, interesting director and a script that unpeels layers of mystery throughout its running time. As entertaining and enthralling as the film is, however, all of the disparate pieces don’t add up to a satisfying whole. “Midnight Special” tells the story of a boy,…
Ochoco Creek Restoration
The young student from the Powell Butte Community Charter School exudes pride as he successfully plants a willow tree along Ochoco Creek east of Prineville. Along with about 30 other students from the Crook County School system in Prineville, he is participating in field day activities helping to restore a quarter-mile section of Ochoco Creek…
Life in the Remake Jungle
The story is already well known. “The Jungle Book” is about Mowgli, a man cub (human boy) raised by a family of wolves in a jungle. When an angry tiger decides Mowgli must die, the boy begins an epic journey through the dangerous and deceptively beautiful jungle to live with the rest of the humans.…
The Green Issue: Earth Day
Earth Day is coming, Friday, April 22, and this day and the weekend that follows have become a global effort to make the world a better place. Founded in the U.S. in 1970, Earth Day is now celebrated by 193 countries. It’s traditionally a day for education, awareness and volunteering to help with the environment…
Picks 4/20-4/27
Thursday 21 Keith Harkin LUCKY CHARMS—This Irish-born singer-songwriter has been in the public eye performing since the wee age of 4, with no signs of slowing down. He is probably best known for his part in the group Celtic Thunder, but is easily recognizable by his heart-warming/lusting melodies on the guitar, along with his heartthrob…
Women’s Rugby Gains Momentum
“Rugby? I didn’t even know it existed in Bend,” says Mara Burnell in summarizing the common response when the sport is brought up in conversation. There is women’s rugby competition in Bend – and at a high level thanks to the Bend Lady Roughriders, whose following is growing as the sport becomes more popular. They…
Spiders in the Northwest
Judging from the phone calls, emails and text messages, things have gotten out of hand in the spider world, especially regarding those thought to be dangerous. Hence, right from the get-go, let’s put the real “Bad One,” the brown recluse, also known as the violin spider—behind us. One, it does not and cannot live in…
Go Here 4/20-4/27
High Desert Naturalist Hikes Bend Park and Recreation District is offering two sessions of hikes May 16 to 23 and June 6 to 13 that explore the region’s geology, wetlands, birds, and flowers. Each hike is 4 to 6 miles and runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. In-district cost is $50 and out-of-district cost…
Taking a Stand for Wilderness
In some social circles the term “great old broads” might be considered offensive. However, the Great Old Broads for Wilderness are proud of the label. The organization was formed in 1989 as a protest to Utah Sen. Orin Hatch who opposed a wilderness proposal in his state, declaring that wilderness is inaccessible to the elderly…
Letters 4/20-4/27
Preserving our trees There has been interest lately in preserving vs. removing large, old trees in Bend. My neighbors recently had two very large Ponderosa pines removed, because they were “messy.” They might well have been 200-years-old or more. The New York Times review of the new book, “Lab Girl” by Hope Jahren, included the…
Oregon’s U.S. Senators Urge Removal of Barriers to Cannabis Research
On April 15, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer and 24 other members of Congress urged President Obama to remove barriers to research on medical marijuana. This would facilitate new medical research on cannabis and its derivatives that has not been possible in the U.S. under current federal law…
U.S. to Sign the Paris Agreement on Earth Day
When Earth Day began in 1970, the world was a different place. Pollution was getting increasingly worse and even Portland had 50 percent more smog than the national recommendation. The rivers and roads had so much litter that cattle were choking on it. In Bend, the mill was running 24/7, Troy Field Laundry was leaking…
Cajun Meets Asian
Nick Ragazzo is a 33-year-old chef who decided one day that he no longer wanted to work for anyone but himself. A native of the East Coast and well-traveled, Ragazzo wanted to put his own spin on creative cooking. That’s where the Blackened Dragon comes into play. The passionate chef is now the sole owner…
“Bikes vs. Cars”
The idea of a battle between cars and bikes is an interesting one because there does seem to be a rivalry between the two modes of transportation. In Bend, a day doesn’t go by (especially downtown) without bicyclists and car drivers cursing each other. Yet it should be easy to understand the common purpose of…
Big IPA, Little IPA
Deschutes Brewery is growing—opening a new production facility in Roanoke, Virginia, as announced a few weeks ago—and it’s fair to say that Fresh Squeezed IPA is a major driver of that growth. Since Bend’s biggest brewery started bottling it in 2013, and especially once it became an all-season beer the following year, the Citra and…
Oregon Spotted Frog
A group that has worked to restore upper basin flows in the Deschutes River says short-term steps must be taken immediately to improve habitat for the endangered spotted frog. The Coalition for the Deschutes was formed in 1985 as a not-for-profit corporation to protect the economic, recreational and environmental future of the Deschutes River basin.…
Jacob J. Norris
Jacob Norris is a plein-air oil painter, meaning he paints in the open air. His portfolio is filled with owls, trees, power lines, scenes and colors of Central Oregon, but there is also a magnificent transcendent nature to his work, beyond the range of mere human experience. It is as if he is able to…
Under the Ice
When Brent McGregor and Eddy Cartaya, of the Oregon High Desert Grotto (OHDG) cavers, took on the gigantic project of exploring Snow Dragon glacial cave on Mt. Hood, they didn’t know where it would lead. They took Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Oregon Field Guide crew in to film their under-the-ice adventure, and the success of the…
Raising Global Citizens
Bend International School recently celebrated its first year serving the students and community of Bend. Tucked away off of O.B. Riley Road on the north side of town, BIS is a public charter school teaching kindergarten through eighth grade (K-8) using a world language immersion program. It makes well-rounded education the main focus for its…
The Greener Side of Life
Founded in Bend in 2008 by Judy Petullo, VegNet Bend is a local nonprofit that raises awareness about the benefits of a plant-based diet for reasons including health, animal rights and Earth preservation. It all started six months after Petullo lost her daughter in a car accident. “I was walking downtown and saw a pamphlet…
Portland Restaurants Come Down to Meet Housing Needs
More than 50 percent of Oregonians spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing. Thus, it is not surprising that affordable housing has become a hot issue from the governor’s office to the Portland Development Commission and very much so here in Bend. Even though more affordable housing is desperately needed in Portland…
SUSTAIN Central Oregon
Central Oregon Community College’s Sustainability Committee and The Environmental Center co-present “SUSTAIN Central Oregon.” The environmental education series focuses on food, agriculture, energy, transportation, water, consumption and waste. The following events are free and open to the public, though some have limited space. Please RSVP at www.envirocenter.org. Wednesday, April 20 Tour: Redmond Wastewater Treatment Facility …
Retro Majestic Laney Jones
Laney Jones is the front for the band Laney Jones and the Spirits, a group based out of the boot of Florida. It is important not to underestimate the power of this disarmingly petite, young and downright adorable 24-year-old. What she is offering to the music world, or even the world as a whole, is…
SOLVE IT for Earth Day April 22 and 23
Earth Day is celebrated all weekend with many volunteer opportunities available in Central Oregon. Hundreds of volunteers are being coordinated through Volunteer Connect for SOLVE IT, Oregon’s largest environmental service event. Community members of all ages are encouraged to join more than 6,000 volunteers across the state on Friday and Saturday, April 22-23. Below are…
