Sorry No Pickleball For You! BPRD Closes and Cancels Programs Due to Air Quality
Bend Parks and Recreation District (BPRD) has canceled some of its programs and activities due to air quality. Here is their press release in full: “The District canceled its youth sports programs, adult pickleball, tennis and softball programs, and closed the outdoor pool at Juniper Swim & Fitness Center. Some cancellations are for the day…
Highway 20 back open; More fires reported in the region
Highway 20 at the Santiam Pass is back open this morning, after the Oregon Department of Transportation closed it last night due to wildfire. Here’s the update we received from ODOT this morning: “One lane is open on U.S. 20 between mileposts 75 to 88 with two way traffic being flagged with a pilot car.…
Traveler Alert: Fire Closes Highway 20
Traveling to the Willamette Valley or into the Cascades today? Avoid Highway 20. The Oregon Department of Transportation released this notice less than one hour ago, alerting drivers to the closure of Hwy. 20: “U.S. 20 remains closed because of a wildfire about 5 miles west of Santiam Pass. Eastbound traffic is being stopped at…
Little Bites: Tour Italy in Sunriver
P iatto ricco, mi ci ficco! You say this in Italian when you have an inviting meal in front of you and it will be a pleasure to eat. You’ll also be saying it if you attend the Tour of Italy Tasting Dinner hosted by Carson’s American Kitchen at the Sunriver Resort. Carson’s award-winning culinary…
Debbi Wise
A workplace injury with a meat cutter led Debbi Wise to her vocation as a victim advocate for Deschutes County — a position in which she has excelled for more than 20 years. After sustaining the injury at Wagner’s in Redmond, she underwent a placement test that landed her in the county’s victims’ assistance program…
Three Creeks’ Nasty Beer
A ll of Central Oregon might be growing, but there’s still something a little timeless about the outer reaches of Sisters—high trees, slower pace, large numbers of livestock about. That’s how things still roll at Three Creeks Brewing on the southeast side of town, which has provided steaks, sandwiches, and taste-over-trends beer for nearly a…
Are Remarks About a New Housing Bubble Founded or Unfounded?
As the housing market continues to recover from the great meltdown, we hear concerns from many people that we are approaching another bubble. According to a recent article in Forbes, 58 percent of the respondents to a survey felt that there will be a housing bubble—and correction—in the next two years. Considering that housing price growth…
Wetlands Are Enticing – Checking out the Crooked River Wetlands Project
T omorrow morning, when you tumble out of bed, grab your bicycle, lunch, binocs and camera and head for the Crooked River Wetlands off O’Neil Road between Terrebonne and the city of Prineville. The Crooked River Wetlands Project is one of the most wonderful things to happen to Central Oregon in a long, long time.…
Smooth and Seamless
Warnings of severe traffic, calamity, fuel and food shortages never really materialized in Central Oregon during the Great American Eclipse on Aug. 21 — but sometimes it’s better to over-hype than be unprepared. Bumper-to-Bumper “T he biggest traffic event in Oregon history,” as predicted by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) didn’t quite come to…
Eclipse: Yes, it was hectic.
H ere on the light side of the sun again, we can stop and reflect for a moment about what just happened. Some people got stuck in some traffic. An RV toppled over near Madras. A few cars broke down. Some restaurants may have over-prepared. In the grand scheme of things, the apoc-ecliptic predictions for…
What’s What?
J ason’s Wave (Beginner) is the most down-river feature, best suited for people learning whitewater sports or refining their skills. Conditions this season: Double Dragon. Dual directional waves with surfable center face. Named for local Jason Mitchell, 1974 – 2010, who loved nature, photography, snowboarding, traveling, guiding on the river and, most of all, family…
Picks of the Week: Aug 23-30
Thursday 24 Sourcers Tour featuring Milo with Randal Bravery HIP-HOP — We talk to rapper Milo about what inspires him and why he loves being an artist. “I like spontaneity because it seems closer to the source than necessarily rehearsed materials,” Milo says of freestyle rapping. Milo celebrates the release of his latest, eclectic hip-hop…
Oceans 7-11
D o you have a critic you hate so much that you instantly know what your opinion of a film will be just by yours always being the instinctive opposite? My least favorite film critic is Rex Reed, who has actually walked out of movies in the first 20 minutes and then had the gall…
Hometown Throwdown
Since inception, the four standing waves of the central channel at Bend’s landmark Whitewater Park have ushered and welcomed rivergoers from novice to expert. On Aug. 30, the Bend Paddle Trail Alliance invites one and all to the first of what’s hoped to be an annual Whitewater Festival in which paddlers can celebrate and showcase…
Blood on the Snow
I ‘m not sure if this is a description someone has used before, but if not, I would like to coin it now: In describing films like “Fargo,” “A Simple Plan,” “In Order of Disappearance, “The Snowman,” “Wind River” and the rest of the genre of red blood on white snow in a darkly humorous…
Science Advice Goddess: Yawn Juan — Do We Want What We Can’t Have?
Yawn Juan My friend and I are debating why it is that men don’t want you when you want them yet they’re all gung-ho when you aren’t interested. She believes that we just want what we can’t have. Could it be that simple? —Pondering I n looking for love, a number of people confuse “the…
Milli Fire Expands
The Milli Fire near Sisters expanded over the Aug. 19-20 weekend to approximately 11,236 acres as of Tuesday morning. The fire, located about 9 miles west of Sisters, prompted evacuations of people in the Crossroads, Edgington/Remuda, Wildwing and Peterson Burn Road areas, as well as people along both sides of Three Creeks Road. In addition,…
Artwatch This Week: Art in the High Desert, Stuart’s of Bend Anniversary and Bright Place Grand Opening
Art in the High Desert O ver 100 artists from around the country will descend on the banks of the Deschutes River in the Old Mill over the Aug. 25 weekend for the Art in the High Desert. Find an impeccably juried selection of painting, sculpture, mixed media and more. Meet the artists in their…
Nena Springs Fire and Evacuation Notices Lifted
The Nena Springs fire on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation has not grown in size since Aug. 20, fire officials said Tuesday. That fire had grown to about 68,135 acres, and prompted evacuations at the Charley Canyon, South Junction, Culpus Bridge and Wolf Point subdivisions of Warm Springs. The Nena Springs fire is thought to…
Starka: A Liquid Fairy Tale
O nce upon a time when a beautiful, bright-eyed baby was born, a barrel was buried to honor the occasion. The cask, left over from wine production, was made of oak staves and bound by wooden hoops. The baby’s father would fill it with homemade spirits, usually vodka, and seal it with beeswax. He’d then…
Court Denies Appeal from PGE in Deschutes River Alliance Lawsuit
The Deschutes River Alliance scored a victory in court last week in its lawsuit against Portland General Electric. The lawsuit, filed last year, alleges that PGE is violating some tenets of the Clean Water Act via its facility at the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project. In that suit, DRA alleges that PGE’s facility was responsible,…
FESTIE LYFE: A Tale of the Symbiosis Global Eclipse Gathering
“My stomach filled with butterflies and goosebumps enveloped my skin. The brilliant gleam of the corina began to sparkle and tears started to stream down all of our faces. Two minutes later it was over. Two minutes and there was a sense of renewed energy and celestial mysticism. It was over, but we all had…
Christ on a Cannabis Crutch
B y most any standards, I would be considered a Heathen. The wormhole for word nerds, dictionary.com, defines Heathen thusly: Noun, plural heathens, heathen 1) (in historical contexts) an individual of a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a person who is neither a Jew, Christian, nor Musum; a pagan. The…
Letters to the Editor: Aug 14-21
Eclipse Hype “T he eclipse hype. I don’t get it. It will be darker for a few minutes. I saw the last one as a kid and it did not change my life.” This was written by a facebook “friend” recently. I pondered that thought on the way to the eclipse, getting out of bed…
Sky’s the Limit
T ribute bands have been around about as long as popular music —and while some of them capture the true essence of the original music, others flounder. The best tribute bands take the original songs and truly make them their own. A love for the music and a desire to do the songs justice fuel…
Little Bites: Farm to Table Feast with Smith Rock Views
S avor an outdoor feast sitting at a table on the DD Ranch farm while taking in the stunning expansive views of the Terrebonne countryside and Smith Rock National Park. The six-course fall harvest menu, from Chef Nick Ragazzo of the Blackened Dragon food truck, includes roasted corn bisque, seared beef short ribs, cumin roasted…
Boundaries and Permissions
W hen I first heard Milo, I instantly knew I wanted to talk with him. His eclectic hip-hop style reminded me of local rapper Mosley Wotta, but more experimental. Milo’s lyrics inspire fresh thought while his beats allow you to relax and chill or get up and dance. The way he manipulates sound and incorporates…
