LISTEN: Grand Craft Beer – Premiere Episode with beer buyer/Certified Cicerone Franklin Gordon 🎧
Franklin Gordon got into craft beer in the early 2000s, and after years in the bar & restaurant industries, at beer distribution companies, and as a production brewer. He became a Certified Cicerone and started his own consulting company, Beer Wise, to plan beer dinners, develop menus for restaurants and tap rooms, and train bar…
To Increase Councilor Pay, We Could Decrease Their Numbers
In the City of Bend, leaders recognize that in order to offer sound governance, you’re going to have to lay down some cash. City Manager Eric King earns a healthy salary that’s well over $200,000 a year. Many other city jobs pay at least six figures. These are the salaries that allow Bend to attract,…
Is Sex Therapy for Us?
We’ve been married for a long time — it’s 30 years this summer. Our relationship has been rocky at times, but it’s pretty good right now — with one exception. When the kids were little, we saw a couples’ counselor. We learned to communicate better and that was important. Now, even though we communicate well,…
Too Many Brain Cells, Not Enough Time
I try not to describe movies along the lines of, “super fun if you just shut off your brain.” Sure, there are movies that exist solely to entertain without creating an internal dialogue about humanity or getting people to face their own mortality, but no film should treat its audience like they’re stupid. There’s something deeply…
Come as a Stranger, Leave as a Friend
The poet Robert Burns nailed it when he lamented in his poem, “To a Mouse,” back in 1785, about, “the best laid plans of mice and men” going awry. This week’s plan to write about a certain breakfast/lunch establishment in the area took an unfortunate turn so I was left scrambling for a last minute…
Exploring Indian Classical Music Traditions
Within the first five minutes of my interview with local Indian classical musician and sarod player, Ross Kent, I felt like I was in an advanced history course on Indian classical music and the teachings of gurus like Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan. I can now confidently say I know the difference between the…
Over a Pint with GoodLife’s Tyler West
In a continuing effort to get to know brewers (or anyone who makes our lives tastier) more holistically, I sit down with them and get to know them better. Over a pint. To do this, I invite someone out for beers — but just not the ones he or she makes, because this isn’t about…
Más autobuses entrando y saliendo de Bend
Después que la línea de autobuses Pacific Crest se asoció con Megabus Bend ya está usando autobuses que conectan con 24 ciudades en Oregon y California. En la zona centro de Oregon, Pacific Crest opera líneas de autobús entre Klamath Falls y Redmond, Bend y Eugene, y Bend y Portland teniendo una parada en Salem.…
Hello, Kitty!
The last thing my wife said to me before I left to go visit the Playful Paws Cat Café was, “Don’t bring a cat home.” Don’t get it wrong, we are both cat people, even though we’ve been “empty nesters” since the first week of February, when we had to say goodbye to our 19-year-old…
From Land to Home
Most people at some point, whether actively looking to purchase a home, or just daydreaming, have thought about what building their own home would be like. For the sake of simplicity and the need to keep this story’s word count low, we will assume we are building on a city lot, zoned residential. Before ground…
What We Lose When We Leave
You hear it all the time: Bend is constantly growing. Just 30 years ago Bend was a small logging town with a population just above 20,000. Last year, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Bend’s population reached the low six figures. Running parallel to this narrative are stories of people having to leave the area, priced…
Outside Voices Film Festival
Central Oregon BIPOC is organizing the Outside Voices Film Festival. The screening is showcasing three films, all centered around culture, identity and representation in outdoor recreation. “The Outside Voices Film Festival celebrates diversity in the outdoors and the transformative power of adventure as a vehicle for discovery, wonder and belonging,” Dan Ling, the secretary of…
Local Jam Band is “Grateful” for Bend
Local band, The Hasbens, transplanted itself one-by-one to Bend and into its music scene. The group describes itself as a funky, psychedelic jam band, and the group members certainly look the part. The Hasbens consists of an outdoorsy bunch with improvisational, high-energy shows. For over a year, the band has performed at various local venues…
Horoscope Week of August 10, 2023
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Now and then, there comes a time when I acquire an uncanny knack for seeing the totality of who you really are. I tune in to everything you do that few others know about or appreciate. I behold the big picture of your best possible future. One of those magic moments…
Letters to the Editor 08/10/2023
Inflation Reduction Act Throughout U.S. history, we’ve joined across races and classes to ensure our loved ones have what they need to thrive. Unfortunately, Big Pharma prioritizes profits over everyday people. Between 2019 and 2022, many drug companies registered their largest profits in history. To partially counteract this, the Biden Administration passed legislation to make…
Downtown Barrio Becomes Bar Rio
The downtown restaurant formerly known as Barrio is now a cocktail and tapas bar named Bar Rio. Owners Steven and Amy Draheim, who also operate the Barrio and Shimshon food trucks and the Shimshon restaurant in The Grove, revamped the space on Wall Street and reopened it under its new name early this month. “We…
A Speakeasy at Blissful Spoon
One of Bend’s newest bars — and there are many of them opening this summer — might take a little time to find… but that’s kind of the point. Cellar 65 is the new speakeasy opened by the owners of Blissful Spoon, which operates as a European-inspired breakfast and lunch spot upstairs along Newport Avenue…
What is the Future for the American Avocet?
Its large size and conspicuous colors could hardly be overlooked, even if it were shy and retiring,” wrote renowned ornithologist Arthur C. Bent in “Life Histories of North American Shorebirds.” The American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) is one of the most distinctive shorebirds in the Great Basin. Known as waders in the avocet and stilt family,…
More Buses In and Out of Bend
Bend is getting bus connectivity to 24 cities in Oregon and California after Pacific Crest Bus Lines partnered with Megabus. In Central Oregon, Pacific Crest runs bus lines between Klamath Falls and Redmond, Bend and Eugene, and Bend to Portland with a stop in Salem. Megabus’ routes run across the entire United States, but the…
DCSO Deputy Under Investigation
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office announced that deputy Kyle Pettit is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation and a criminal investigation being conducted by the Oregon State Police. DCSO sent the release on Aug. 7, but Pettit has been suspended since April 20. DCSO spokesperson Jason Wall said the sheriff’s office is investigating whether…
Scammer Foiled at Manzanita
On Aug. 1 a person rang up Manzanita Grill at 1125 Ne Second Street to complain that they found a piece of plastic in their meal and requested a refund. Jade Sellers, the owner, got in touch with the caller, who claimed they paid in cash for their whole family while vacationing in Bend. Sellers…
