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Public Defenders Clash With the District Attorney ▶ [with video]
Deschutes County’s District Attorney John Hummel held a press conference Monday to respond to the ongoing local and national outcry against police brutality. He delivered a long list of reforms he intends to fight for in the future as well as the social justice accomplishments he’s achieved during his five years in office. It began…
A Letter to My First-Generation American Children
Ada Eunice Luna Smith was sent to the United States by her parents when she was less than 12 years old. She traveled with her older brother, who she recalled she barely knew. “He and his family were strangers to me,” she wrote in a letter to her three daughters. Smith wrote the letter last…
Sneeze and Thank You
“Have you ever sneezed while wearing a mask?” asked Tom Thurman, a server at McKay Cottage, who just recently returned to work. “It isn’t very pleasant. I understand wearing a mask at work and it really isn’t a big deal, but combine mandatory mask-wearing with the world’s worst allergy season and you’ve got a recipe…
Source Weekly Update Podcast 6/10/20 🎧
In this week’s Source Weekly Update podcast: Body cams for Bend Police, but budget cuts for other City of Bend departments—and an update on what researchers studying Bend’s sewage are finding in regards to COVID-19! Source Weekly – Bend, Oregon · Source Weekly Update 6/10/20
Playtime is Back!
Bend Park and Recreation District and the City of Redmond have announced the opening of park playgrounds starting today. The opening of playgrounds is in compliance with Phase Two guidelines for Deschutes County. Swings are meant to be swung on, not tied up in a knot. So now instead of yellow tape across slides, we…
Where Can You Watch Movies?
The smell of popcorn and a giant soda in hand seems like a piece of nostalgia from long ago. And even as Deschutes County enters into Phase Two reopening guidelines, which gives theaters the green light, there are still obstacles preventing all of the theaters in the area from opening. One, obviously, is space. Making…
Moving Forward Together 🎧 (with podcast)
Erika McCalpine, a business professor at Oregon State University-Cascades, was our 2019 Woman of the Year. This February, McCalpine and the Source launched the Love Your Neighbor project, highlighting the experiences and voices of people of color in Central Oregon. This week, I sat down with McCalpine to talk about this moment in history. Source…
Forward Progress and Upward Trends after May’s Real Estate Reports
After May’s real estate report, we’re starting to see some forward progress!
Walking the High Desert, Part 2: A good time at the Harney County bird fest
Last week, we brought you part one of chapter one of Ellen Waterston’s new book, “Walking the High Desert: Encounters with Rural America Along the High Desert Trail.” Chapter One continues this week—and stay tuned for more throughout the month of June. My drive to the bird festival that weekend not only took me across…
Not a Crapload of Data… But Some
In May, the City of Bend announced its utilities department had been participating in a study with Biobot Analytics, focused on monitoring wastewater to give a bigger picture about the spread of COVID-19 in the community. This type of study could also be used for other purposes in the future, as a way to catch…
State Approves Phase Two Reopening for Deschutes County
Twenty-six Oregon counties were moved into Phase Two of reopening on Thursday, but Deschutes was not among them. Friday afternoon at 2:40 p.m., the county commissioners finally got the call that the County was approved. Moving into Phase Two in Deschutes County means restaurants and bars can stay open a few hours later, movie theaters…
Pearl’s Puzzle – Week of June 11
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City Predicts Millions in Budget Shortfalls
Sharon Wojda, the City of Bend chief financial officer, told the City Council Wednesday night that the city might come up $14.5 million short at the end of its budget cycle in July 2021. She recommended the city aim to cut $20.5. Before the coronavirus hit, the city planned to spend approximately $128 million over…
Bandcamp is a Platform for the People
There are plenty of streaming services out there to choose from, but Bandcamp is the best when it comes to supporting independent artists and the music that helps them survive. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Bandcamp has set aside days where they waive their company’s share of purchase fees to the artist. Even just one day…
Free Will Astrology—Week of June 4
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “It’s OK to live a life others don’t understand,” writes author Jenna Woginrich. That’s a healthy attitude for an eccentric person like her, who taught herself by trial and error how to run a small farm with a meager budget while all alone in the middle of nowhere. But does her…
Ask a Pair of Experts: Environmental Policy
The Oregon Natural Desert Association hosts a number of meaningful stewardship trips throughout the year—but many of them are on hold for now, due to restrictions around COVID-19. To stay engaged in local outdoor and environmental issues, join ONDA for some upcoming online events. Two events are coming up soon, including the “Ask a Pair…
Letters to the Editor 6/3/20
Editor’s note: Minnesota is my place of birth. Minneapolis is where I studied journalism and had my first reporter job, and where I met friends from nearly every continent. Lake Street is where I rode my bike to get to work, to eat food from its many immigrant-owned businesses and to drink a cheap cocktail.…
Not Back to Normal
In January, I made plans with a lady friend to go on a little mini-vacation. We reserved three nights in May at McMenamin’s Crystal Hotel in Downtown Portland and got tickets to see Girl Talk at the Crystal Ballroom. We would have checked out the Rose Festival, spent an entire day in record stores and…
Grab-and-Go Adventure
Expensive, freeze-dried backpacking food that comes in a heavy plastic container is great and all (not really), but if you’re headed out for just a short time, why make it complicated? In honor of the Outside Issue, here are three ideas for local foods you can pick up and enjoy on the first night of…
Importance of Maintaining Your Home
Purchasing a home is most likely the largest investment that anyone will make in their lifetime and it’s important to improve and take care of the property. Besides a sense of pride and a feeling of accomplishment, there are additional reasons that homeowners should consider maintenance a necessary task and not as an option. A…
The Peaceful Protests of Central Oregon ▶ (with video)
Saturday’s Black Lives Matter peaceful protest in downtown Bend was organized in less than 24 hours. On Sunday, two more followed in Redmond and Prineville. On Tuesday, another protest started near Bend City Hall before moving from the Deschutes County Courthouse to Bond Street and back to City Hall. The death of George Floyd—who died…
St. Charles Financially Devastated
Well before coronavirus officially hit Central Oregon, St. Charles Health System took steps to plan for a COVID-19 surge and double capacity. Before Gov. Kate Brown banned “non-essential” surgeries, hospital executives stopped them to preserve personal protective equipment. Elective surgeries are a major source of revenue and help to make up for the lower reimbursement…
Tourists Won’t Stay Home
Three weekends ago, Deschutes County entered Phase One of reopening: restaurants, shops and boutiques welcomed customers inside for the first time in months. On Monday, the Deschutes County Commissioners voted to send its Phase Two reopening application to the State which would allow gatherings of up to 100 people outside. If approved, local theaters, pools,…
Reopening the Forest ▶ (with video)
The outside appeared closed up for a few months, but was it really? With trailheads and camping “closed” in the Deschutes National Forest during the COVID-19 outbreak and only partially being re-opened as of late, it would seem things out on the trails are even busier than normal. At Phil’s Trail trailhead this past weekend,…
Kudos to the Peaceful Protesters. Now, Let’s Get to Work.
Kudos to the peaceful protesters in Prineville, Redmond and Bend for showing up in numbers this weekend for the Black Lives Matter protests. Kudos to those who kept the momentum going and organized another demonstration Tuesday. Kudos to local police departments of Bend and Redmond for being proactive in speaking out against the death of…
Slow Down and Inhale
For this week’s Outside Guide, we asked local outdoors advocates to weigh in on the topic of sanctuary in the outdoors. It’s been hard. I say that, well aware I’m still employed, healthy and enjoying all the privilege of being a white, middle class male. It’s hard to imagine the stress on those less fortunate.…
The Afterwife
My wonderful stepmom died last year, and my dad was debilitated by grief. I got him to go to a support group, which really seemed to help. He’s been dating a woman he met there, and they’ve gotten serious. My brother says my dad wants to marry this woman. He’s happy for our dad, but…
Nature Is My Refuge
For this week’s Outside Guide, we asked local outdoors advocates to weigh in on the topic of sanctuary in the outdoors. I chose to live, work and play in the outdoors a very long time ago. I took a brief detour into the asylum of the big city, only to be met by ever darkening clouds…
Source Suggests These Books
‘Without Ever Reaching the Summit’ by Paolo Cognetti A wonderful little gem of a book from the author of the equally fantastic “Eight Mountains.” Cognetti follows in the footsteps of Peter Matthiessen and his trip to the Dolpo region of Nepal (made famous in his book, “The Snow Leopard”), using him as something of a…
The Epitome of Privilege
For this week’s Outside Guide, we asked local outdoors advocates to weigh in on the topic of sanctuary in the outdoors. Do you ever fall down the rabbit hole? You know the one; it feels hopeless and it’s full of stories with tragic endings to human lives. Lives that couldn’t feel farther from my own.…
Kale and Potato Salad
Despite all the blooming and greening of spring, it doesn’t offer much to eat. The corn is ankle-high, the peaches leave a lot to the imagination, and many farmers and gardeners have barely planted out their tomatoes. But you can always eat Kale Potato Salad. This salad is so transformative that even teenagers ask for…
Serenity Flows
For this week’s Outside Guide, we asked local outdoors advocates to weigh in on the topic of sanctuary in the outdoors. The outside world in Central Oregon is a paradox of hidden beauty, where the initial impression of a rugged existence in the volcanic landscape is merely a façade for the many amazingly adapted plants…
Cheers to You, Central Oregon
In this strange and uncertain time, some local businesses are leading by example, with initiatives aimed at helping the community. Deschutes Brewery – Paying it Forward 6-Pack Style The Bend staple and Oregon’s leading craft brew producer has been hard hit by the pandemic, ultimately laying off close to 300 employees as a result of…
Riding the Wilderness
For this week’s Outside Guide, we asked local outdoors advocates to weigh in on the topic of sanctuary in the outdoors. Like most people who moved to Bend from somewhere else, I came for the spaces we call “the outdoors.” The miles of empty roads and trails for bike touring beckoned. Whether it is a…
The Show Must Go On… Eventually. Maybe.
The show must go on! Unless, of course, you happen to be in the midst of a deadly global pandemic. While events hosting under 25 people are now allowed, the future of large-scale events remains uncertain. What does this mean for local theater? In December, I covered the struggle local artists were facing in finding…
Searching for the Elusive Sanctuary ▶ (with video)
For this week’s Outside Guide, we asked local outdoors advocates to weigh in on the topic of sanctuary in the outdoors. Sanctuary in the outdoors does not exist. It sounds lovely and what a better place than Bend, to be referred to as such. I do not think it is something that exists for ALL…
Planning the Future
For this week’s Outside Guide, we asked local outdoors advocates to weigh in on the topic of sanctuary in the outdoors. I live what feels to me like a busy life that until recently was continually ramping up. By February of 2020, I had developed a habit of only checking the following week on my calendar.…
Do’s and Don’ts and Maybes
As Phase One continues and Central Oregon begins to look toward a wider reopening with Phase Two, lots of questions still abound. For those who have found themselves on the trails or at the parks, trying to mind the tenets of social distancing and avoiding spreading disease can be pretty tough. In honor of the…
