Environmentalists rejoice! Oregon's pre-eminent statewide conservation group 1,000 Friends of Oregon is kicking of its renewed commitment to Central Oregon with an open house this evening at its new regional office, conveniently located above the Summit Saloon and Stage. Festivities begin at 7 p.
1,000 Friends Friends Bend Again
Posted inNews
Yes, I'm That Jackass: How I horribly underestimated “spring” in the Cascades
I was that guy. You know, the idiot that you read about who gets into a situation way over his head and you're left wondering, “How the hell could anyone be so friggin' stupid?” Yeah, well, what started out as a nice spring ride through Oregon's Cascade mountains almost exactly one year ago was followed by me, a little lycra-clad bike racer, hiking uphill through five-feet-deep soft snow, road bike in tow, before hitching a ride on the back of a snowmobile. This tops the list of absurd things that I've encountered while cycling – or, generally, have done in my life.
Just the day before I'd done a nice, controlled ride from Sunriver up to Mount Bachelor. It was a lovely, steady climb to the base of the ski area with a gain of maybe 4,000 feet. Conditions certainly changed en route; I was greeted by a lot more roadside snow than I'd anticipated and a biting snow squall to boot. The end result was a 40-some-odd mile round trip, a good little workout, the mandatory shot of my bike perched in a big snow pile in front of a chairlift, and a nice, albeit tame, story of adventure.
Posted inNews
We're No. 35 (and That's a Good Thing)
The Daily Beast blog has ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia in order of corruptness, and Oregon came in at a respectable – well, pretty respectable – 35th place.
The Beast looked at data going back a decade and weighed five factors on a per capita basis in determining each state’s rank: public corruption (convictions of public officials), racketeering and extortion (organized crime convictions and investigations), forgery and counterfeiting, fraud (arrests for false statements or documents) and embezzlement.
Posted inOpinion
Bookstores Do More
Heading home from work last night, I happened to turn my head while passing Dudley's bookstore. The store's lights were off. If I hadn't glanced, I wouldn't have seen the candles lighting up the darkened room and the Argentinean Tango Dance group whirling around in pairs, well after 9 p.m.
It was a sight of unusual beauty en route to home, but more than that, it is one small sign of the goodwill that local bookstores promote in our community. Garden readings (Between the Covers), music, entertainment, meeting space, tango…Rick Steber's book release party (Camalli).
Posted inNews
Want to See Some People Jump Off Some Crazy Stuff? It’s called free running
If you haven’t had a chance to get your hands on the print edition of the Source yet this week, you should pick it up soon to take a look at our annual Sports and Recreation Issue.
Rather than write about mountain biking and rock climbing and kayaking and trail running and .
Posted inNews
Hush Money: Undisclosed legal settlement hangs over DA race
District attorney candidate Pat Flaherty has attacked incumbent Mike Dugan on his politicking, his criminal-charging protocol and his handling of the high-profile David Black case. Recently, he opened up a new front that Dugan may not be able to ignore in the final stretch of his reelection bid.
Two weeks ago, Flaherty used the League of Women Voters candidate debate, a usually tame event, as a forum to hammer his former boss, 20-plus-year incumbent Mike Dugan on an issue that Flaherty had been pushing only privately in his campaign to unseat his former boss. Answering an audience question about his views on governmental transparency, Flaherty, a fomer chief deputy prosecutor, accused Dugan of allowing a prosecutor in his office to sexually discriminate against young female employees and then promoting that prosecutor.
Posted inCulture
Don't Watch It!
Guys! What… are… you… doing? Are you seriously thinking about watching TELEVISION this week? Dudes, if you're going to pick ANY week to watch TV, for the love of god, don't make it this one! This is the absolute WORST week to sit in front of the tube, and it's not just because there's a bunch of absolute crap on (even though there is, and you love watching absolute crap). The problem is that next week is going to be the busiest television-watching week of your entire life – and if you don't conserve your energy, you're gonna totally shoot your wad (in a bad way), and have no wad at all for next week! GUYS! You gotta save your wad!!
Posted inOutside
PPPredictions: The Pole Pedal Paddle is so sick that you basically have to call a doctor!
Have you seen that hilarious xtranormal cartoon about the Pole Pedal Paddle that made the rounds of the Internet last month (http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6369207/)? If you haven't, then you have definitely been under a rock or on a deserted island without Wi-Fi.
In the video created by JoeBlackCoffee (I'm dying to know who that really is, by the way), a typical Bendite explains the PPP to a long-haired poet: “It is such a Bend thing to do. If you don't compete in the Pole Pedal Paddle, you might as well not live in Bend. I do it every year and I get a mug every year. The Pole Pedal paddle is so sick. It is so sick that you basically have to call a doctor.”
Posted inOutside
There's Life in Dead Trees: Why that snag is more valuable than you think
The title of this week's column comes right from the U.S. Forest Service ad people, a slogan they created to let everyone who uses our forests know that dead trees are vital to forest health.
And with that statement, a word about the above photo. Those little pine chipmunks are having a party. They're imbibing a liquid that resembles “white lightnin'.” And they are only a small number of an incredible array of wildlife foodies I found running up and down that old cat-faced wildlife tree getting smashed. Honest! Read on…