Why we should hire Michael Franti to promote tourism in Bend
Many people have probably already seen this video from Michael Franti’s website, but for those of you not in the loop, you’ve got to check this out. After Franti’s show at the Les Schwab Amphitheater on August 5 he recorded this short web-isode for his FrantiV series boasting about how awesome Bend is.
The Latest Bulletin from Tax Hell
Here’s another bit of evidence that Oregon’s tax climate isn’t as toxic to business as conservatives make it out to be: Bend’s G5 Search Marketing announced this week that it’s getting a $15 million infusion of venture capital and plans to more than double its workforce. The five-year-old company, which designs software to help businesses…
4 Peaks Jamboree Changes Venue AGAIN! Now at original festival location
OK, so I’ve written in the past few weeks about how the 4 Peaks Jamboree, featuring the music of Poor Man’s Whiskey and taking place Saturday, had moved to West Wind Ranch, and then about how that event was canceled and the show would take place at the Domino Room. WELL, now organizers have moved…
Pickathon Video Review
Have you checked out Source staffer Sara Roth’s review of Pickathon in this week’s paper? Well, if you haven’t, you should, so you — like I — can feel incredibly jealous for not having gone to the Portland-area rootsy music fest last weekend. But your jealously can be assuaged, albeit slightly, by this video review,…
Dismayed Dems Demand: Where's Dudley?
The big question Oregon Democrats have been asking this campaign season is: “Why won’t Chris Dudley play a little one-on-one against John Kitzhaber?” The former Portland Trail Blazer center who’s now the Republican candidate for governor has filled the airwaves with platitude-laden commercials (a new one was released yesterday) but has ducked opportunities to debate…
Don't Pick On Ronald
“McDonald's Super Sized Signage” (August 4), contains references to “super sized meals” and “oversized portions.” To set the record straight, we eliminated the “Super Size” option from our menu six years ago (2004) and strive to offer our customers menu choices and variety such as, Premium Grilled Chicken Salads and Sandwiches, Fruit n Yogurt Parfaits…
Goats Do Roam: Goat meat and cheeses gathers a following
Goats have a long and storied history in farming cultures. One of the first domesticated animals, goats are still vital to many cultures and cuisines around the world – except for the United States.
4 Peaks Jamboree Hits Permit Problems: Will now be at the Domino Room
OK, so last week I wrote a post about how the 4 Peaks Jamboree, featuring Poor Man’s Whiskey, was taking place at the West Wind Ranch near Tumalo on Saturday. So yeah, here’s the deal — the county has decided that the 4 Peaks party, meant to be a fundraiser party of about 150 people…
Real Estate: Is the Bottom in Sight Yet?
Has the Bend real estate market hit bottom at last? It’s too soon to say, but at least it looks like home prices here have finally reached a realistic level. IHS Global Insight, which maintains huge databases of all sorts of economic data, reported back in March that as of the end of 2009, real…
Back to the '50s…or the '80s: Returning to Brownsville for the 25th anniversary of Stand By Me
On the evening of July 25 as we drove under the iconic green bridge and into downtown Brownsville, Oregon, we were transported onto the set of Stand By Me. Unchanged since filming in 1985, seemingly unchanged since the '50s, I asked Linda McCormick, organizer of the film's 25th anniversary celebration, what attracts fans to her…
The Play “Art” and Bonnie & Clyde on stage, Evil Dead: The Musical returns
Bend's been a surprise hub for theater as of late. Currently, two shows are having successful runs and another favorite is on the books for October. Having found success on Broadway, the Tony-award-winning play Art has stormed the Greenwood Playhouse for a run that goes through next week. Originally a French-language play by Parisian Yasmina…
Book Signing: The Thin Black Line
Jim Lynch is no stranger to the Northwest. He grew up in the Puget Sound and while his career as a professional journalist took him around the country, he returned seven years ago to the Northwest where his two recent and critically acclaimed novels are set. The books are lyrical meditations on the geography of…
wRite: Life After Facebook
You can’t really know the poppy by its photo – how the blossom holds the last of sunset, how the pollen is silky on your finger. You have walked along the shining river. You are tired and a little lonely. When you discover the poppy glowing against its dark leaves, you stop. A man walks…
'I Got Him, Dad, and He Bites, Too!': My son's fearless reptile wrangling
A lot of kids, when suddenly confronted by a snake, freak out. My oldest son, Dean, from the moment he could crawl wasn’t that way – he’d go after it. His younger brother, Ross, is that way, and so are my other four, for that matter. Dean, however, was always one jump ahead of everyone…
Clearing the Air: Smoke, big time rides and more about chip seal
I used to live in Los Angeles, where every bike ride exposed me to air thick with pollution. I would try to ignore it and not think too hard about what I was breathing. Frequently, local news people would report almost gleefully that exercising for a given amount of time, say 45 minutes, when the…
Work It, Baby! Metolius-Windigo trail is good to go as COTA crews continue their high elevation work
With recent warm temps exacerbating the dusty conditions closer to town, riders would do well to focus their energy on shaded and high elevation trails where summer has been slowest to chase the moisture from the soils. The snow's recent retreat has allowed crews to ramp up their trail clearing efforts at elevation, opening up…
Cops and Jokers: The Other Guys pokes fun at the cop movie template
If you're looking for some laughs, there's no reason not to see The Other Guys. Writer-director Adam McKay and his MVP Will Ferrell are funny guys, indeed – but maybe not quite as funny here as in some of their other movies. This one begins big, with some other big-name guys. Samuel Jackson and Dwayne…
Little Bites: Eat, Drink and Be Merry: A glimpse inside the Source's new Happy Hour guide
If you picked up a copy of last week's Thirsty: The Happy Hour Guide, you know that Central Oregon has more than its share of cheap food and drink specials. In making the guide, we tried some of the best happy hours we didn't know existed. If you haven't picked up a copy of the…
Picking Away: Pickathon makes beautiful music in a beautiful setting
This year's Pickathon brought together 44 bands, covering styles ranging from folk to indie rock and Americana on Pendarvis farm in Happy Valley, OR. Originally conceived as a “better way to throw a party,” by founder Zale Schoenborn, an engineer by day, the festival, now in its 12th year, welcomed more than 4,000 people to…
The Quick & Easy Boys – Red Light Rabbit
The Quick & Easy Boys Red Light Rabbit PerCapita Records
Well, The Quick & Easy Boys have done the seemingly impossible – they've managed to make a largely funky record without coming off even the least bit corny. Those who've seen the Portland band live and wondered how the trio's energy-packed live show would translate…
Yelling Fire in a Crowded Forest: Rooster Rock spares Skyline but highlights the danger of homes in the forest
When the Rooster Rock fire ballooned from a few acres early last week to more than 3,000 acres in a matter of hours, it threatened more than just homes and trees south of Sisters. The fire, which grew to more than 6,000 acres before firefighters got the upper hand on the blaze, threatened to turn…
The Big Leak: Why an act of treason ought to wake up the country
MUMBAI–“An appalling irresponsible act.” That’s how General James Nattis, fresh at the helm of U.S. Central Command, characterizes the release of more than 76,000 classified Pentagon reports released by the website WikiLeaks. You may recall that the Pentagon, headquarters of the Department of Defense, is the same outfit that loaded $24 billion in $100 bills…
The Sights of Summer
Every summer there is an array of blockbusters vying for our attention, but only a few resonate with us and are still memorable years later. The Source editorial staff shares our favorite summer movies, which may be some of your favorites, too. Stand by Me (1986)
Filmed in Oregon, this is one of the greatest…
Goats Do Roam: Goat meat and cheeses gather a following
Goats have a long and storied history in farming cultures. One of the first domesticated animals, goats are still vital to many cultures and cuisines around the world – except for the United States. But this is changing. Goat cheese has earned a place in foodie circles and restaurants, and goat meat isn't far behind.…
Our Picks for 8/11 – 8/19: Franchot Tone, 4 Peaks Summer Jamboree, Robert Randolph and The Family Band and more
Show us Your Spokes – Franchot Tone friday 13 Franchot Tone is best known around town for his sound production work at Rage Films and his collaborations with Reed Thomas Lawrence. He's also the guitarist in Culver City Dub Collective, but now he's stepping out on his own with his solo project. The sounds are…
We Can Do Better Than This
These are really tough times for many people in this region. Big hangover from the binge party of over-building and over-pricing of houses, and really, the party itself wasn’t that hot either for most of us. So what? This is a great place to live, right? It’s not great if you can’t find a decent…
Older and Wiser: Harry Brown isn't your average vigilante
Through the last two Batman films, Michael Caine has stood in Batman's shadow as his faithful butler and confidant, Alfred. Now, in Harry Brown, Caine steps into the role of the vigilante set out to avenge his friend's death and to clean up his chaotic neighborhood. He may not be a masked avenger, set out…
I Put A Spell On You: Harry Potter makes its way onto the small screen
The behavior of tourists who persist in visiting Florida during the hottest summer on planet Earth can possibly be explained by the presence of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a Universal Orlando Resort island that boasts several wizard-themed roller coasters, a faux enchanted castle and refreshments such as butterbeer. It just opened and it’s…
The Sound of Steel: Pedal guitar genius Robert Randolph digs deep into roots rock and steps up to the next level
Robert Randolph has never really had a problem getting noticed. Musicians, critics and fans have been raving about him since he was a teenager, playing his pedal steel guitar only in church. While he received plenty of attention, he may have been considered more of a novelty than one of the most promising musicians of…
Here Comes the Judge!
I'll admit it! I've got a huge beef with American Idol. For years I have (okay, perhaps unwisely) used this column as a bully pulpit to point out Idol's numerous flaws – the worst being that I've never appeared on the show, or won. It's freaking ridiculous, guys! Their job is to choose America's next…
Happy Birthday! Birthers gone wild, a new gal on the bench and something about banks
The author is listening to Al Green far too much, mourning a lost love, watching a guy with a zoom lens sitting outside of 900 Wall take pictures of young girls at Hot Box Betty, wondering if he's an uncle or a character from “Dexter.” So You Say It's Your Birthday Happy 49th to the…
Can't We All Just Ride Along?
Today, I'm a disgruntled cyclist making the case for peace on the road. The epic saga of car vs. bike has raged on for centuries (right?) and has left in its wake unnecessary stress, turmoil, dented bumpers, cracked frames, injury, death and sadness. Recently, I've been markedly endangered by a car while riding my bicycle…
SDC Deferral: Dumb, Dumber, Dumbest
Well, they went and did it again. Two years ago, following the calamitous bust of the real estate bubble, the Bend City Council voted to give local builders and developers a break on their SDCs. SDCs – Systems Development Charges – are fees paid to help cover the cost of improvements to roads, sewer systems…
