Fire Closes Deschutes River
Boaters planning to launch on the Deschutes River for the Labor Day weekend may need to rethink their plans after a wildfire forced BLM officials to close the river to rafters and anglers on Tuesday afternoon. The BLM announced today that it was closing the entire Segment 1 of the river from Warm Springs to…
Mt. Bachelor Announces Season Pass Pricing
This afternoon, Mt. Bachelor made their annual announcement as to the prices for the upcoming winter’s season passes.
Big Wheels: While not for everyone, 29ers are earning their place on local trails
It wasn't that many years ago when mountain bike makers started rolling out models with big (29-inch versus the standard 26-inch) wheels. This, we were told at the time, was the dawning of a new era in mountain biking with bikes that were the answer to every rider's need. And while the new bikes promised…
Meet Your Farmer: The Common Table brings you face to face with your food's producer
As dusk approached on the day that the front page of The Bulletin featured an article about the financial woes of the Common Table, a line of people formed out the door of the downtown nonprofit restaurant. The room was full, booming with conversation, exclamations, and introductions. “Apparently people in this town actually read the…
The Traveling Camera: Crazy Horse
The Black Hills of South Dakota are a spiritual center for the Lakota people. One of their greatest leaders was the famous warrior, Crazy Horse.
My Smokey Drive from Portland to Bend: Wildfires in Central Oregon continue
Traveling past Mt. Hood en route to the Source office this morning, I drove through the most post-apocalyptic looking scenery you can imagine (the above picture was taken days ago).
Shakespeare in the Park: A Preview
I just got back from a dress rehearsal of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is being performed tonight and twice tomorrow as part of the Shakespeare in the Park event. A limited number of tickets are available at the gate for tonight’s show.
Bachelor Unveils Upgrades
Bachelor is quietly having a busy off-season and on Thursday it let the proverbial cat out of the bag when it announced a bevy of upgrades at the resort, including expanded seating and amenities at nearly all of the mountain’s lodges. Perhaps most intriguing is the announcement of a new “umbrella bar” at the Sunrise…
Garrison Keillor is in Town Tonight
Tonight at the Les Schwab Amphitheater, Garrison Keillor and the entire Prairie Home Companion gang will be recording a show live. Tickets are still available at the gate for this show, which begins tonight at 7pm.
Bon Iver & James Blake Collaboration A Reality
After a Twitter post by UK electro star James Blake last week alluding to a collaboration between Bon Iver founder Justin Vernon and himself.
Bulletin’s Bankruptcy Becomes National News
Yesterday, as we wrote on this blog, The Bulletin filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. That news did not go unnoticed by the national media, including The Wall Street Journal, which published this piece online today, not just about the bankruptcy filing, but the public response on behalf of The Bulletin’s publisher and editor.
One Tweet Over the Line: How social media is breeing a new brand of tech addicts
Diana Adams dreamed in Tweets. One hundred and forty characters at a time, the Atlanta-based computer consultant’s subconscious bubbled up. ‘Sometimes I am literally sending someone a message on Twitter and sometimes the ideas just kind of come out that way,’ she said recently. On most nights Adams woke up two or three times to…
Kanner Fired, Buses Roll
Bus System Rolling Along Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council (COIC) Deputy Director Karen Friend last week presented a one-year update to the Bend City Council on the transfer of Bend Area Transit operations from the City to COIC. The transfer of grants marks the “second phase” of the shift, which began on Sept.
COBA's Creative Acounting
The Central Oregon Builders Association (COBA) has a long history of contesting the city of Bend's fees. So it's no surprise that COBA took an early interest in the city's recent effort to update the street construction fee assessed to builders.
Warm Fuzzies
On Monday, County Commissioners abruptly and unexpectedly dismissed County Administrator Dave Kanner after five years on the job, citing a difference in management style. The firing comes on the heels of a contentious contract negotiation with county staff and a prolonged pissing match with the district attorney's office.
Out of Work, Out of Office: Obama's inaction on the economy will be his undoing
As a pundit, it’s my job to explain why politicians do the things they do. Every now and then, however, a pol behaves so irrationally that I have to throw up my arms and ask: What the hell is this guy thinking? That’s what Obama has me doing. For over two years. Why isn’t he…
CrossFit Critique Was Way Off
The biggest misconception about CrossFit is that it is “too intense” or “too hard” for “normal” people. I don’t know how many times I’ve talked to people and had them tell me they are scared to try it…obviously the writer of this blurb fits into that category and hasn’t done the research to back up…
Shut Up and Drive
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Bike Letter Was Right On
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Bend, Briefly
Deep in Leonardo da Vinci's Codex is the sketch of a siege machine. Pedal-powered by a dozen warriors, seeing this monster isn't the true terror – it's the screams. Joshua's horns fell Jericho yet the drunken beast that encircles Bend daily may topple High Desert society. Neighbors cringe and traffic crawls, add mescaline and a…
Market Move Benefits All
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Questions for Ben: Things we would have asked Ben Harper about his excellent new album and his show in Bend
On Friday night, Ben Harper will appear at the Les Schwab Amphitheater for his first Central Oregon show in five years. Touring in support of the classically rock and roll album, Give Till It's Gone, which came out in May, we wanted a chance to chat with Harper – one of the most skilled guitarists…
Working Out, Eating Out: Scalon's offers a fitting new menu at the Athletic Club of Bend
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Little Bites: Brew in Review: The best of the Bend Brewfest
They came. They drank. They agreed that the beer was delicious. That, in short, is what happened over the weekend at the bigger, bolder Bend Brewfest, which ramped up its number of participating breweries this year, and, in turn, had a huge turnout. I made my way down to the fest for a few hours…
The Bard in the Park: A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to life in Drake Park this weekend
It will still be Drake Park and Riverside Boulevard will still wrap around the edges, but with the Deschutes lazily snaking through Mirror Pond and the pines towering over the stage, things will feel very much like a fairyland William Shakespeare set out to create almost 500 years ago. OK, so that last sentence wasn't…
On Mountains and Oceans
I've always lived in the mountains, or at least near them. And when times got tough and I needed to get away that's where I go. Up. Up high where there were long views, clear air and perspective, where the eye and the mind could roam unimpeded, where the birds spent their days. I can't…
Suspicious Minds: Old school remake of Fright Night exposes its humorous fangs
Being on vacation can change the way you think. After being nestled in the tiny comfortable city of Cianciana, Sicily for a week, all calm, relaxed and really hot, a chance to take an hour bus ride to visit the ruins of Agrigento sounded cool. But it was even hotter there so the opportunity to…
I Hate Hitler
Let's talk… TIME TRAVEL. (And no, it's not just a subject for bespectacled nerds who furiously masturbate to crudely sketched drawings of Princess Leia.) Though often a complete and utter waste of time, the subject of “time travel” can also tell us a lot about ourselves. Example: This Saturday, August 27, at 9:00 p.m., the…
Shooting in the 23rd Century: Children of Eden provides futuristic arm waving and little more
Behold the Internet, circa 2200. It looks a lot like the 1992 movie The Lawnmower Man imagined “virtual reality” would look – lots of whirling fragments of light and color, like an exploded disco ball seeking to reassemble itself into some new form. Long, twisting, circular tunnels of light flow past, as though I’m commuting…
A Senior Moment: Masters Road Nationals blows into Bend with MTBs in tow
Don't let the elegant title of “masters” fool you. These sinewy-legged racers of a certain age are here to play. With more than 650 people already registered for the road race alone, the upcoming Masters Nationals Road Cycling Championships, which also include criteriums and time trials, will be luring hundreds of racers of a certain…
Clean Football: Want less corruption in the college game? Just get rid of the d-bags
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Bulletin Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
The Bulletin announced on the front page of this morning’s paper that its parent company, Western Communications, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a federal court yesterday. The article, which ran alongside a lengthy front-page editorial by editor John Costa, insists that the company, and in turn, The Bulletin, would continue to operate and…
Why the Haze? Wildfires near and nearer send smoke into Bend
Wondering why your lungs burn and eyes itch? While the second juniper bloom is around the concern, it’s a small handful of forest fires that are to blame for the burning, hacking and itching sensations you’ve no doubt experienced over the last couple of days. The smokey haze is especially evident in south and west…
