At a recent event, I chatted with a consultant whose area of focus and expertise intrigued me. Long a practitioner of martial arts, he now travels the country to instruct organizations, from corporations to churches, to employ verbal martial arts techniques to create more fruitful communications outcomes between adversarial groups. From what I gathered, an […]
Where There Is Fire, Manifest Lake
Posted inOutside
Mateo Paez cycles his way across the world as an elite competitive bikepacker
As a college student, Mateo Paez commuted on his Vespa up, down and around the hills of San Francisco. However, a collision with a car pulling out of a parking spot set Paez on a path to cycling up mountains, across the globe, that he never saw coming. “I didn’t have any major injuries, but […]
Posted inMusic
Black Sabbath Cover Band Coming to Bend
If music was the magical elixir that got Zakk Wylde off the gridiron and on a stage when he was a teenage linebacker, the guitar was the vehicle that got him to the dream gig as Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist when Wylde was barely 20. The next three-and-a-half decades have seen the Jersey native not only […]
Posted inOutside
Halloween Haunts for the Brave
Literary Ghost Walk Returns Ghosts of famous authors will be roaming the Downtown Bend Library the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 29. Visitors of all ages can take a haunted stroll through the stacks to meet the spirits of Edward Gorey, Dorothy Parker, Shel Silverstein, Toni Morrison and more. Visitors will receive a Ghost Walk Passport […]
Posted inLocal News
The Battle Over Canned Cocktails Enters Another Round
Ben Brewer’s Bend distillery, Forth Distilled Goods, is selling a lot of ready-to-drink cocktails in Idaho grocery stores. But in Oregon, only the state’s 285 liquor stores are allowed to carry Forth’s products. By law, the state’s 792 grocery stores may not sell them, even though Forth’s products are 5% alcohol by volume. Meanwhile, those […]
Posted inLocal News
Federal Grant Supports First-Generation College Students in Bend
Central Oregon Community College received a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide low-income, first-generation students with specialized support to help them graduate and transfer to a four-year university. The TRIO Student Support Services grant will help 140 students per year over the next four years, pending congressional approval after the […]
Posted inLocal News
Falling through the Cracks at Cleveland Commons
By most appearances, Cleveland Commons, Central Oregon’s newest permanent supportive housing facility, was built for someone like Shawn Snyder. A retired professional rock climber and an SUV-dweller before the lifestyle became socially acceptable, Snyder, 55, has lived his life mostly on his own terms. He’s also been a divisive personality in the climbing community, banned […]
Posted inMovies
Revolution and Other Lovers
Let me get the hype out of the way right from the jump so it doesn’t seem like I’m hyperbolically gushing over this movie for too many paragraphs in a row: “One Battle After Another” isn’t simply just an instant classic (which it is). Neither is it just another great Paul Thomas Anderson movie in […]
Posted inMusic
Travel to Taizé in France Without Leaving Town
When I entered the dimly lit St. Helen’s Hall in downtown Bend on the first Thursday of October for the monthly Taizé meditation service, I was somewhat familiar with the music that originated in Taizé, France. These short and melodic spiritual songs are repeated several times as instruments and perhaps a solo voice are added over the […]
Posted inFood & Drink
A New Kind of Corner Store: Bend Roots Mercantile Sprouts on the East Side
A new kind of local love is taking root on Bend’s east side. Bend Roots Mercantile, a fresh new co-op-style market founded by local entrepreneur Merrideth Lindsey, is set for a soft opening in mid-October with full daily hours launching in November. The space will feature a curated selection of local foods, artisan goods and […]