Ex-Bend Chamber Pres Drops out of Council Race
Former Bend Chamber President Mike Schmidt announced today that he is dropping out of this year’s Bend City Council race just a few weeks after announcing his candidacy. Schmidt, who came to Bend from California to replace controversial ex-Chamber President Gary Peters, charted a new more progressive direction for the chamber before splitting ways with…
Games On: A Look Back at One Winter Olympic Game’s Non-Medal Moments
As the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games approach, memories of the five games I've worked came flooding back. And like most memories, those from my very first (winter 1980) Olympic Games are still the most vivid.
Check Out the New Track from The Thermals – “Canada”
One of Portland’s most solid rock bands, The Thermals, have released a new, timely titled single called “Canada.” ‘Cause, ya know, the Olympics and all.
Innovation Theatre Works Opens Performance Facility in Bend
With the fate of 2nd Street Theater still up in the air (although there’s rumors of a potential buyer for the location) there’s some good news to be had in the local theater world today with the announcement just minutes ago that Innovation Theatre Works will be opening a theater facility. Most know Innovation for…
Cash’d Out Walked the Line at the Domino Room Last Night and Here’s Some Video
My friends and I had been pretty pumped since finding out Cash’d Out, a Johnny Cash tribute band, was coming to Bend and finally last night we got to enjoy the Man in Black’s tunes, live. Cash’d Out has been called the next best thing to Cash himself, and I imagine that’s pretty on par,…
There are No Trilobites in Oregon: Well, maybe…
Now that I’ve reached that “ripe old age” of over 80, I find myself enjoying fossils more than I did years ago. Do you suppose someone’s trying to tell me something? Be that as it may, for more years than I care to remember, I’ve heard the old axiom, “Some day, someone will find a…
Alaskan Bluegrass Act Bearfoot in Sisters
The Sisters Folk Festival Winter Concert Series kicks off tonight with a show from Anchorage bluegrass/Americana quintet, Bearfoot. The band, which fuses traditional roots music influences with modern country flavors, is quickly on the rise over the past couple years.
Big Adventure: going high, going solo, saving your neck, and some boozing.
Here in the dog days of winter it's fun to learn how some adventurous people have been spending or plan to spend their time. For starters alpinist Apa Sherpa is planning to go for a record twentieth successful ascent of Mount Everest this spring.
Hear Johnny Cash Tonight in Bend With Cash’d Out
Devotees to the late, great Man in Black can shimmy to the sounds of the legendary country singer tonight at the Domino Room tonight when Cash’d Out, a San Diego-based Johnny Cash tribute act hits the stage. While I’m always weary of tribute bands, this one does, in fact, do justice the Cash’s music.
Lights Out for Colorado Springs
Four years ago, Money magazine ranked Colorado Springs one of the 10 best places to live in America, and Number One among large cities. Now the joke is that the last person to leave will have to turn out the lights.
Video (Including a Dancing Toddler) From Last Night’s Ruins of Ooah Show
Another Wednesday, another crowded show at McMenamin’s Old St. Francis School.
Roaming the Aisles: A marathon a day, sexy robots and other dispatches
I sure wish that headline read, “Roaming the Isles” and this column was coming to you from a sea kayak in Fiji or a sailboat in the Bahamas. Instead, I just returned from the aisles of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida where I make an annual pilgrimage to the Surf Expo Trade…
Teetering on the Edge of Salvation: Mel Gibson proves surprisingly entertaining in Edge of Darkness
Mel Gibson has been hiding behind the camera, producing and directing since starring in 2002's dreadful Signs, perhaps a wise choice since he spent equal time revealing weird religious philosophies and actively shocking us with his crazy off-screen persona. But now Gibson makes his somewhat triumphant return to the screen in Edge of Darkness, yet…
The Crime Bowl
I have a deeply rooted psychological problem, and… wait. What do you mean, “No shit, Sherlock”? For all you know, YOU'RE the one with a deeply rooted psychological problem, and I'M the one who's AWESOME… and NORMAL! Now I'll happily admit that my feelings toward the Super Bowl (CBS, Sun Feb 7, 3 pm) run…
Phoenix Rising: The Phoenix re-opens with a fresh menu and new locale
To state how The Phoenix rises from the ashes in rejuvenation and rebirth would be obvious, but what isn't so obvious to many in Bend is that The Phoenix Café has reopened as The Phoenix in the old Kayo's Roadhouse location. With the moniker, “A Restaurant for Everyone,” The new Phoenix menu sets no boundaries…
Phoenix Rising: The Phoenix re-opens with a fresh menu and new locale
To state how The Phoenix rises from the ashes in rejuvenation and rebirth would be obvious, but what isn't so obvious to many in Bend is that The Phoenix Café has reopened as The Phoenix in the old Kayo's Roadhouse location. With the moniker, “A Restaurant for Everyone,” The new Phoenix menu sets no boundaries…
Keeping the Discussion Open: Some of Bend's biggest bands (and some out-of-towners) team up to send Help to Haiti
It's been more than three weeks since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, taking 170,000 lives (and possibly many more) and decimating the infrastructure of the already poverty-stricken island nation. There's been an outpouring of donations and other support from not just the neighboring United States, but also from around the world, to help the country.…
Dudley Tries to Get in the Tax Game
Republican Chris Dudley, the former Portland Trail Blazer who wants to be Oregon’s governor, is challenging Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to go one-on-one – but it’s not clear what game he wants to play. Daley has gotten attention over the past week by predicting he’ll be able to lure businesses away from Oregon to Chicago…
Our Picks for 2/3 – 2/11: Art Walk, Cash’d Out, Slightly Stoopid and more
First Friday Art Walkfriday 5After taking January off, the First Friday Art Walk is back on with all the usual suspects (downtown, Old Mill, Northwest Crossing and beyond) showing off local, regional and national artists. Hit our Local Arts listings for a complete gallery guide. Cash'd Out friday 5Tribute bands can sometimes wander into dangerously…
A Pet Problem: A Bend couple turn their dog's injuries into a chance for change
Zoe was the runt of the litter. Of the 10 collies she was born alongside in Southern California, she was the smallest, often fighting with her siblings for food and was the last puppy of the brood to leave the breeder. It was John and Caren Burton who took Zoe into their home just east…
Ripped From The Headlines: Torn gets ripped, Obama woodsheds Congress and more!
The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from the Super Bowl (really his couch, a bottle and bookie only a reach away), hating the guy who loves the commercials – on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly. Busted Piggy Banks President…
Holy Didjeridu! Ruins of Ooah Playing for Free Tonight in Bend
Ruins of Ooah, as those hip to the local music community know, is, well, weird. When I wrote about the band this fall, I outline how the band consists solely of drums, harmonica and the didjeridu work of Tyler Spencer.
Oregon's Priorities
It's no secret that Oregon's prison spending has been spiraling out of control. Now comes the latest evidence that Oregon has its priorities backward at a time when it's slashing spending on education, healthcare and other social safety net programs.
Mayor Daley's Raid on Oregon
When you're the mayor of a decaying Rust Belt city, you naturally are inclined to grasp at any straw of hope that seems to present itself, so we probably shouldn't be too hard on Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. His Honor has been bragging loudly about how Oregon's passage of Measures 66 and 67, which…
Letter of the Week: Democracy loses
This week's letter come from Sue Bastian who takes direct aim at the recent Supreme Court decision that removed campaign spending restrictions on corporations in federal elections, a move that is expected to increase Corporate America's influence on our government. Thanks for the letter Sue. You can pick up your winner's spoils, a bag of…
The Fallacy of Freedom
Freedom is a funny thing, or maybe not. It takes on gravity when we are told that America was attacked on 9/11 because, “they (whoever they might be) hate our freedoms.” Funny that what most citizens hate is the erosion of individual freedoms in the USA after 9/11. As someone said, 'If freedom was the…
The Bully's Sour Grapes
That's what the editorial in the January 28 editorial sounded like to me. Over these past months, I have increasingly wondered what was driving the Bulletin's almost hysterical opposition to the ballot Measures 66 and 67. I understand the loss of people's confidence in government, in part because of the influence of lobbyists. Government has…
