Cover Story
A Tale of Two Rentals
Bend and all of Central Oregon have been in a housing crisis for years—a crisis that has only gotten worse as the pandemic unfolded. These are the stories of those seeking housing—or those looking to preserve the housing Bend does have. Not for rent Dwayne Tayles moved to Bend in 1968 when he was just…
May 2021 Election Results
Results in the May 2021 Elections begin to trickle in shortly after the polls closed at 8pm May 18. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from election night: Following the release of returns early Tuesday night, there was the defeat of four conservative candidates, who largely bucked tradition by not interviewing with local media and who espoused…
Mask Off
The more than year-long mandate requiring masks in public places in Oregon will soon be lifted for people who can prove they’ve been vaccinated, in accordance with new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. “Starting today, Oregon will be following this guidance, which only applies to fully vaccinated individuals,” Gov. Kate Brown said in…
Listen: Changing the tide of homelessness in Central Oregon with Gwenn Wysling 🎧
Gwenn Wysling has been the Executive Director of Bethlehem Inn, a non-profit providing shelter and aid to the homeless population in Central Oregon for over a decade. On April 27 it was announced that the organization would be given a grant through Project Turnkey to convert the Greenway Motel in Redmond into temporary housing for…
Listen: Source Weekly Update 5/13 🎧
A pending end to COVID risk levels in Oregon, changes for how Bend spends tourism money and a gun storage bill passes in the OR legislature, all in this week’s podcast. Source Weekly – Bend, Oregon · Source Weekly Update May 13 2021
We Tried All of the Dandy’s Shakes So You Don’t Have To
When quarantine sent us all home last year, my husband Ian and I decided our one outing each week would be Friday night dinner at Dandy’s Drive-In. Ian grew up in Sisters and I’m from Prineville and Dandy’s is our 1970s comfort food. It’s also the perfect spot during a global pandemic because you’re in…
Hard-ly Drinking
Ah, hard seltzer. In 2018, the Source Weekly went on a quest to find Zima, in an effort to bring back some of what was good in the ’90s. In 2020, the Source pegged hard seltzer as the biggest emerging trend—one that would one day, soon, fall to the annals of pop-culture history. But now,…
Light My Fire
I started the fire in our wood stove this morning. What a joy! It’s been a routine in my life for over 50 years. This winter and spring, our first in Bend, it’s been my morning duty. For many years Wendy woke up early and carefully placed the finely cut kindling over the wrinkled-up newspaper, lit…
Hail the Hardy Harlequins
Ya’ just have to admit, those Harlequin drakes are a showpiece. They look like they were posing for Roy Low when he found them all ganged up on the rocks on the Southern Oregon Coast, enjoying the crashing surf. Harlequin ducks can be found all winter hanging out along the Oregon Coast, on the western…
John Harvey’s Debut EP
John Harvey has lived in Central Oregon for 10 years and has been playing music longer than that. Even with his years of being in bands (The Django Band duo, Jupiter and Teardrop) and knowing his way around an instrument or two, there are still things Harvey wants to accomplish. One was to release a…
Wine at the Moon
Silver Moon Brewing is pairing up with an Oregon winemaker for a special summer of wine and beer in Redmond. J Wrigley, a vineyard based in Sheridan, is spending the summer introducing its wines to Central Oregonians through a pop-up at Silver Moon’s production facility in Redmond. Get tastings, glass pours and bottle sales of…
From Tacos to Burgers at Worthy
Worthy Taps & Tacos is now Worthy Beers & Burgers. Worthy’s downtown Bend location, on the Brooks Street Promenade near Mirror Pond, changed its format this week, including hanging a new sign announcing the change. The new menu includes beef burgers and fries, along with salads and a chicken sandwich, and vegetarian offerings that include…
Explore New Heights and Get Ready to Move Mountains
As the weather gets warmer and the snow season winds down, climbers are ready to tackle the towering scenes at Smith Rock State Park. If you are new to rock climbing (like me!), it may be a relief to find that there are plenty of guided tours, clinics and classes throughout the region. She Moves…
May the Source Be With You
So, for the last few months I’ve been putting together a book of poetry that compiles some of the pieces I’ve written over the last 10 years. It’s called “The Sad Bastard Chronicles” and, as you might have guessed, the book is filled with some pretty heavy memories that have, as the kids used to…
Ditch the Millenium Mansion
In today’s crazy-hot real estate market, home sale prices continue to escalate to record-high prices, making it almost impossible for many to afford to buy a home. So how can we get to a more affordable home? It’s time to reimagine the American dream. Homes grew to large proportions beginning in the 1950s and lasted…
Loot Actually & Weekend At Bernie Madoff’s
Loot Actually I’m envious of a friend whose boyfriend frequently does nice things for her: bringing her soup when she’s sick and surprising her with a weekend getaway and a pricey handbag she’d been coveting. My boyfriend is a nice, reliable, loving guy. I’d considered myself lucky to have him, but now I’m worried my…
Free Will Astrology—Week of May 13
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): A fan once asked composer Johann Sebastian Bach about his creative process. He was so prolific! How did he dream up such a constant flow of new music? Bach told his admirer that the tunes came to him unbidden. When he woke up each morning, they were already announcing themselves in…
Conservative Candidates are Stoking Needless Fear about the “Critical Race Theory” Boogeyman in Schools. That’s Fake News.
It seems the entire community is talking about the current school board elections for Bend-La Pine Schools—a strange turn for a May election, which oftentimes is barely a blip on voters’ radars. While we have already commented on the disservice rendered to local voters when candidates opt not to engage in the non-partisan forums and…
Letters to the Editor 5/13/21
Editor’s note: The Governor’s announcement this week that counties with adult vaccination rates of over 65% would be able to see risk-level restrictions lifted was, as expected, like a weight lifted. Seeing vaccination rates tied to risk levels makes sense—and with Deschutes County having over 60% of its population vaccinated, it means the end may…
“A Piece of the Puzzle”
Amid rising housing costs and stagnant wages, Central Oregon’s homeless population is growing, and shelter beds are in short supply. But, this June, at least 25 shelter beds will be added to the mix, as Bend-based nonprofit Bethlehem Inn uses state funding to convert a motel in Redmond. On April 27, Bethlehem Inn received a…
Noticias en Español
En medio del aumento del costo de vivienda y el estancamiento salarial, la población de personas sin hogar de la zona Centro de Oregon está en aumento y las habitaciones disponibles en los albergues escasean. Pero este mes de junio, se agregarán por lo menos 25 habitaciones ya que Bethlehem Inn, organización sin fines de…
Locked and Unloaded
Senate Bill 554 passed the Oregon State Senate after the Oregon House of Representatives modified the text to add storage and safety requirements. The bill would change Oregon laws to allow school districts, public higher education institutions and a few other public buildings the ability to prohibit the carrying of firearms on their property, even…
Room Tax Reconsidered
The transient room tax in Bend will soon be able to be spent on tourism-related facilities, expanding on its original function for tourism promotion. Most of the tax, 68.8% of it, goes to the City’s general fund where it contributes to roads, police and fire departments. The other 31.2% is currently restricted to a tourism…
