Bend’s Urban Growth Boundary Plan Approved by State
Today, Nov. 15, the City of Bend’s Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) expansion plan was approved by the Oregon Department of Land Conservation. The Urban Growth Boundary that Bend has today was first established in 1981 and has been amended since then—but this is the first comprehensive update to the plan. The plan will guide how…
Protoje Sets His Sights on Bend
Modern reggae music has some sprawl to it. Whether it be dancehall, roots, dub, ragga or some tiny sub-genre in-between, there is enough diversity to the sound to keep the genre fresh even amid oversaturation. Protoje manages to do the genre one better by bouncing between dancehall, hiphop, R&B and good old-fashioned reggae with ease.…
Racial incidents reported at a Bend middle school
The Source is currently working this story for publication in the Nov. 17 print edition. Stay tuned for the latest. Students at High Desert Middle School in Bend are reporting a number of racial incidents, seemingly prompted by the outcome of the recent presidential election. While the administration at Bend-La Pine Schools has not confirmed…
Honoring Bend’s Veterans – Source Weekly Video
Large crowds spanning blocks turned out in Bend to honor Central Oregon veterans. The Bend Veteran’s Day Parade is one of the state’s largest. Here’s a two-minute reel of some of the highlights. Please share as an honor to all veterans.
Eleven Oregon Counties Follow Lead of Multnomah County Lawsuit Against MERS
Many of us who own homes have seen MERS appear on real estate documents. MERS stands for Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems. Whenever a mortgage is sold, Oregon law requires that the transfer is recorded in county records. As mortgages were sold and bundled into securities, banks came up with their own system to expedite and…
Theatre Events: Christmas in November
Whelp, Halloween is over, which means we get two solid months of all things Christmas related. Over the coming weeks, we’ll preview many of the holiday events happening across Central Oregon. This week, we’ll take a look at some of the upcoming Christmas and holiday theatrical productions happening around town. It’s A Wonderful Life- The…
2016 Give Guide
Source Weekly, Give Guide – November 10, 2016
Passing on a Sound Pedigree
“We grew up on the South Side of Chicago during the ’80s, when the crack epidemic was at its highest. And we were exposed to the tragic deterioration it imposed on our community,” describes trumpeter Gabriel “Hudah” Hubert. “But we had an escape because our parents offered us many gifts. Through teaching us bits and…
The Science of Cannabis
“Science!” So sang English new wave crooner Thomas Dolby way back in 1982. Back then, cannabis was practically a different plant. Its potency averaged just three percent THC by weight. Now, the cannabis that any adult can buy at a store in Bend is around seven times more powerful. Most commercially-available cannabis strains today are…
Way to do just OK, U.S. of A.
If you voted during this election season, thank you. As a citizen of this great (and flawed) nation, you’ve done the minimum that all of us should do this season. Way to do your part. As we write this, it is Tuesday afternoon—mere hours before the ballot boxes close. As you read this, some of…
The Prodigal Sons Return
Larry and his Flask have shifted and evolved as a band in the nearly 15 years they’ve been together. Bend’s favorite local band several years running started out leaning more punk, then eventually more bluegrass, until finally finding a perfect symbiosis of both. As they exploded on the music scene playing the Warped Tour and…
Private Wars
Mel Gibson has been mostly out of the Hollywood limelight for the last few years, pretty much since the recordings of his drunken, racist, sexist and abusive behavior came out. “Hacksaw Ridge” feels like the first stop on his apology tour, and it’s another assured directorial effort on the part of the troubled Aussie. “Hacksaw…
People Are Strange
Marvel really should have failed at some point by now. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was launched in 2008 with “Iron Man” and leads all the way up to this week’s “Doctor Strange.” Aside from 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk,” all 14 films have been critical and financial successes and have painstakingly been weaving a larger story…
Picks 11/9-11/16
Friday 11 Manic Focus ELECTRONIC—Straight out of Chicago, Manic Focus drops atmospheric, head-nodding beats. He bounces between straightforward dance, dubstep hip-hop, funk and soul with the ease of a longtime producer/DJ. With guest stars rapping over his beats, Manic Focus doesn’t have two tracks that sound remotely the same. // 9pm. Volcanic Theatre Pub, 70…
Fire ‘Em Up
Every February, the Deschutes River glows orange in the light of the fire pits and fire-themed artwork that’s part of Oregon WinterFest. The fire pit competition began five years ago and continues to grow in size and talent every year. If you’re a metal artist (or another creative type), this is your chance to shine…or…
Inside the Malheur Trial
Reaction to the acquittal of all seven defendants in the high-profile Malheur trial ranged from relief and glee to disappointment and outrage. But along with the emotional responses triggered by the not-guilty verdict came questions about the case itself. For insight into the trial, the Source Weekly spoke with Tiffany Harris, court-appointed counsel for defendant…
“Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians But Were Afraid to Ask”
At a time when Native American rights are being trampled on even as I write this, Dr. Anton Treuer’s presentation is more important than ever. His book, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask,” focuses on helping redefine how Americans view Native American culture in 2015. We had a chance…
Little Bites: Stock Up for Winter
This column is titled “Little Bites,” but this week, the content is a bit bulky. Right now, countless mice are busy storing up goods for the long cold winter ahead. (OK, all except that naughty poet-mouse Frederick, who only stores up colorful poems to tell to his friends in the dead of winter. If you’ve…
Italian Food: Central Oregon Style
One thing that makes Pasta House interesting: It’s trying something different in an area mostly known for chain restaurants and retail. Situated in the Bend Factory stores mall, Pasta House has moved in where a Mexican restaurant that didn’t stick around long enough to register used to be. The ambience is relaxing and the space…
Little Bites: Helping Homeless Youth
We didn’t need much convincing to attend this beer and food pairing event at Revolvr, but helping a good cause didn’t hurt… As someone inclined to attend events that do more than simply satisfy a desire to party, I often find myself asking the question: Where can a gal get a five-course meal paired with…
Where Old Soldiers Go to Roam
One way to deal with the trauma of combat is to enter therapy. Yet another way: Scooping piles of pig crap. On a 19-acre spread between Bend and Redmond, a group of Central Oregon military veterans are establishing their own non-traditional support group. Rather than receiving assistance in a clinical fashion, the vets have found…
2016 Election Results
Candidates Governor Kate Brown Bend City Council Position 1 Justin Livingston Bend City Council Position 2 Bill Moseley Bend City Council Position 3 Sally Russell Deschutes County Sheriff L. Shane Nelson Oregon Senate District 27 Tim Knopp Oregon House District 54 Knute Buehler U.S. Senate Ron Wyden Deschutes Co. Commissioner Phil Henderson U.S. House 2nd…
Local Storytellers Take a Risk “To Tell The Truth…”
Some say variety is the spice of life. In Central Oregon, Two Twisted Sisters Productions is aiming to prove that true—especially when it comes to live theater. Their second installment of “To Tell The Truth—a Gathering of Local Storytellers” hits the stage at the Old Stone Church Nov. 12, promising to take the audience and…
2016 Give Guide
Feeling helpless about the state of our nation? Help those helping others, right now. During a presidential election year, the issues plaguing our country, our state and our smaller communities tend to get thrown in our faces with extra fervor. We know the issues are out there all the time, but as we’ve just seen,…
From the Coast
Bend may slow down a considerable amount once fall kicks into gear, but that doesn’t mean the scene for one of the city’s most well-loved exports is growing desolate. The Bend Ale Festival, happening this Saturday at Northwest Crossing, will offer 40 beers from 20 brewers that encompass quite nearly everyone active in Central Oregon.…
Housing that Won’t Break the Bank
One of the biggest issues facing Bend today is the lack of affordable housing. At the root of the problem: the large discrepancy between the median income and the median home price. According to the 2015 American Community Survey released by the U.S. Census, the median household income in Bend is $57,373. That’s $2,000 above…
Septic Shock
Owning a home typically has its payoffs. Pay the mortgage for 20 or 30 years, take care of the place… and then cash in when it’s finally time to sell. But in Bend’s Old Farm District, owners of some older established homes are getting some harsh news from the City of Bend—tossing that typical homeowner…
Building Skills and Stimulating Economic Growth
As reported in the Source Weekly Oct. 19, Oregon’s graduation rate improved from 2014 to 2015, increasing from 72 to 73.8 percent. But even with that increase, our state still ranked third-worst in the nation. Meanwhile, local employers continually lament the lack of tangible job skills among Oregon graduates. Adequate funding for our public schools…
Letters 11/9-11/16
Trapping Doesn’t Make You Credible In Jim Anderson’s article on “Killing Wildlife for Fun,” he describes himself as a hunter and trapper before stating his case against sport killing animals for fun. I understand the tactic of presenting yourself as “one of them” but let’s be very clear: trapping is one of the most vile,…
A Place to Call Home
Affordable housing continues to be a major issue plaguing many cities in Oregon. Whether it’s through no-fault evictions, rent increases—or, in the case of the area’s young people—conflicts within the home, Central Oregon’s less-than-1-percent vacancy rate for rental housing can mean difficult times for some of the area’s youngest homeless, who typically don’t have high-paying…
Going Underground
She’s gone underground in exotic locales such as Slovenia and West Virginia. She’s slogged through caverns with water up to her chin. And this week, she’s ready to tell you all about it. On Saturday, Nov. 12, Gilly Elor, a woman who’s done more in her mere six years of caving then anyone can imagine,…
Counting Women In
This past September, for the first time in 20 years, the Women’s Foundation of Oregon released Count Her In—a comprehensive, data-driven report about Oregon’s women and girls. The findings were sobering and revealed inequities that pose immense challenges for girls and women in the state. Two of the more startling issues included wage disparity and…
