The Hook Has Landed
Steve Novick, the Portland progressive activist who's fighting Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, has beaten his rival to the punch by launching the first TV ad of the campaign - and it's a real grabber.
Not an Honor Roll Performance
Rep. Chuck Burley of Bend has been making noises like a moderate since he was narrowly elected to the state legislature two years ago, but according to SEIU Local 503 he's voted like a Republican, at least on four issues the public employees' union rated the lawmakers on.
Hawks Singing in Harmony
The day before the New Hampshire primary resurrected John McCain's faltering hope of winning the Republican presidential nomination, Oregon Democratic Party Chair Meredith Wood Smith challenged Gordon Smith to drop his support for the Senate's most prominent Iraq war hawk.
Get Your Yumm
Café Yumm! has it down. Once a typical college town eatery, it has now turned into a viable franchise supporting six thriving locations with a business plan to include 50 more in the next five years. Founders Mary Ann and Mark Beauchamp have been able to blend their crunchy aesthetic of serving rice and beans…
Get Your Yumm
Café Yumm! has it down. Once a typical college town eatery, it has now turned into a viable franchise supporting six thriving locations with a business plan to include 50 more in the next five years. Founders Mary Ann and Mark Beauchamp have been able to blend their crunchy aesthetic of serving rice and beans…
Make You Shake Your Head “No” Music: Back Door Slam and Smokin’ Trainwreck
It's unfortunate we have to start things off on a negative note here, but there's something wrong with the blues in 2008. This isn't at all to say that there was something wrong with the blues acts Sound Check saw on Monday night. No sir-ee. In our estimation, though, there is indeed something wrong with…
Quit Yer Bitchin!
Although the angry hordes of beanie-topped ski bums, ski junkies, and ski snobs were bitching (even more than they normally do) a month or so ago about the somewhat late arriving snow this season, the snow has arrived. With one dump after another coating the mountains and foothills, there's not too much else to crow…
Taking the World by Greyhound: Emma Hill isn’t just another girl with a guitar
If you're not watching and listening carefully, the Emma Hills of the world can slip right past you. Like so many other young artists, Hill finds herself in the often crowded and sometimes vanilla-flavored waiting room known as the female singer/songwriter genre. But thankfully, Hill is toward the front of the line and there's a…
Not That Kind of Cross Country: Local H.S. Nordic Teams Are Among Elite
My winter sport of choice as a senior at Whitefish High was basketball. I worked incredibly hard in and out of season, but found myself on the end of the bench come game time. My gluteus maximus was the only fatigued muscle on my body after the game due to the prolonged time 'riding the…
Charlie Wilson’s War
Pretty Woman II: Dirty DebutantesEarly in Charlie Wilson's War, a speaker intones that without Charlie Wilson, history "would be largely and sadly different." Whether history would be largely different without Wilson – a U.S. Congressman from Texas for 25 years – is debatable but probably accurate, but the reference to sadness caught my attention. Wilson,…
Hanging on the Line: One Missed Call is laughably bad
Bark at the MoonHere we go with another Japanese remake to accompany The Ring, The Grudge, Dark Water, and Pulse. The original versions have always achieved a creepy ghost story atmosphere, perhaps due to the fact that the Japanese have been telling these "possession" stories for centuries. Now, the tales have become a loose-cannon commodity,…
A Historic Lay Off: City of Bend cries poor, lays off historic preservation watchdog
Pat Kliewer had been called the historic preservation "sheriff" for her dogged efforts to protect Deschutes County's historic and cultural resources. And she's been called other things too - not all of them flattering - for her unwavering enforcement of the county's sometimes strict historic codes. But come March she's being called something else -…
New Year, New Problems: City Council tackles budget and ethics laws
In a unanimous vote last week, the City Council authorized adjustments that cut back on funding for fire and police service, as well as road maintenance, while backfilling a shortfall in planning revenues that will temporarily stave off additional layoffs. The council has previously discussed how the slumping housing market is the reason behind a…
The Perverted Initiative Process
Oregonians have a long and proud tradition of being ahead of the curve when it comes to social and political reforms. One of the most important of those reforms was the creation of the initiative process back in 1902. The idea was that if the legislature was too stupid, cowardly or corrupt to pass laws…
Basic Fairness, Basic Rights. It’s About Time
Last March, I took my 3-year-old daughter to Salem to lobby for two laws that would increase the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the state of Oregon. Both laws - an anti discrimination law and a domestic partnership law passed during the 2007 legislative session. As the director of Human Dignity…
Scanned into History
Much of Bend's rich history centers on its early sawmill days. Fortunately the Brooks-Scanlon company kept meticulously detailed records about its inner workings - much of which is currently on loan at the Deschutes Historical Society. While it's here, historical society volunteers have been scanning the entire archive to creative a massive digital exhibit. The…
My Top 10 Predictions for 2008
10. I will have a wildly successful year, dadgummit! 9.
Get Big Business Out of Health Care
The United States "health care" system is a national disgrace. Two changes in the current "Privatized For Profit" mess would guarantee a fair and just system of health care for everyone from womb to tomb. First…insurance companies must be totally excluded from the health care system. Insurance companies must not be allowed to insure people…
Video & photos: Back Door Slam & Smokin’ Trainwreck
Back Door Slam’s Davy Knowles, cold workin’ it.Much like Costco and Burger King, the Blender Shakycam Alliance always brings you more of what you want — bonus photos and video clips of your favorite hometown and worldwide artists rockin’ and/or rollin’ local venues. Use them to torture yourself for missing the show, or to reinforce…
