When winter arrives in Central Oregon, no two snowfalls are quite the same, just like no two homes. From powder snow dusting Cascade Mountain cabins to glistening hoarfrost on Tumalo ranch properties, the type of snow that settles around a home says everything about the lifestyle it offers. Powder Snow: The Adventurer’s Haven Light and […]
What Kind of Snow Falls on Your Dream Home?
Posted inMusic
Two Decades of Joy
The Central Oregon Mastersingers are celebrating 20 years. The choir, made up of 40 to 60 members, depending on the performance, is preparing for it’s next event, “Rooted in Song,” featuring vocalist and composer Moira Smiley. Her music is described as a blend of traditional folk, classical and jazz. “For this concert, we’ll have […]
Posted inColumns
Under-the-Radar Reads for Spooky Season
I admit to being a coward when it comes to the horror genre. I don’t even watch horror movie previews. But I can’t deny that this time of year, with the longer, colder nights, Halloween lights flickering from houses and the urge to stay cozy, safe and warm inside, there’s something about a bone-chilling tale […]
Posted inColumns
Where There Is Fire, Manifest Lake
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 […]
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 […]