Powder To Go: Surveying Mt. Bachelor's RV scene

Posted inOutside

Powder To Go: Surveying Mt. Bachelor's RV scene

Eric Flowers

High-elevation camping in a January snowstorm isn't most people's idea of a good time, but Chris Justema didn't get that memo.
A self-confessed ski bum who happens to oversee a successful group of brew pubs and restaurants in Central Oregon, Justema is a fixture at Mt. Bachelor, logging some 75 days on the hill last year by his own estimate. Though he jokingly confesses that it's a sliding number; it goes up or down depending on who is asking. Family or business partners? The number slips downward. Fellow tele-addicts? The number might inch up a bit.

Posted inOutside

What's New?: Bachelor goes wireless, slides the scale, educates and more for 2009-2010

Mike Bookey

The last couple years have been changing times for Mt. Bachelor with a shift in the management team to kick off last year and then big price changes again this off-season. This year has seen other shifts for our local mountain, so here's a rundown of the changes you'll see on the hill:

Telecommuters Rejoice
There's nothing more jealousy enducing on a powerdy January morning than being stuck at your desk and reading e-mails sent from the chairlift via your telecommuting friend's Blackberry. Now, those mobile workers can spend whole days on the slopes thanks to Bachelor's new partnership with BendBroadband that brings WiFi to its lodges. Crank out a few runs, then in turn crank out a PowerPoint presentation or a spreadsheet or whatever it is you business folks do.

Posted inNews

Flushed Away: City hydro project could be a drain on Tumalo Creek

Eric Flowers

You wouldn't guess it from the rain soaked streets this week or the water gushing down Tumalo Creek, but there are signs aplenty that the upper Deschutes basin is running out of water to meet the demand of farms, cities and fish – all of which have legal, as well as historical and biological, cases for getting their share of water, especially during the parched summer months.
Recent data indicates that well owners are drilling deeper to hit groundwater, hinting that population growth and other high-intensity uses like golf courses may be negatively impacting the aquifer – something that just a few years ago experts said wasn't likely to happen under the current rules. Meanwhile, pending applications for new groundwater withdrawals are approaching the ceiling the legislature set up when it crafted a series of special rules to stave off a potential development moratorium.

Posted inOpinion

Election: “Yes” On COCC Bond

Source Weekly

Voters again have an opportunity to provide much-needed funding to Central Oregon Community College by checking “Yes” on their ballots in next week's election. By doing so, voters will impose a miniscule tax increase on themselves (roughly $2 per month for the average homeowner in Deschutes County) while collectively providing a significant boost to the college, which has seen its enrollment numbers swell recently as unemployed workers and recent high- school grads make the best of the economic slowdown by getting additional education under their belts, that's a base of knowledge that will strengthen our area's workforce as the recession ebbs, positioning Central Oregon for recovery.

Posted inOpinion

A Sweet Deal on the John Day

The Source Staff

It's a rare thing in human affairs to put together a complicated deal that makes everybody happy. But the Oregon Natural Desert Association, Young Life and the BLM seem to have pulled it off.
Young Life is an organization that runs a non-denominational Christian camp for young people. The camp is located near the remote town of Antelope not far from the John Day River. The site probably is most famous (or notorious) as the former home of the Rajneeshee cult commune.

Posted inOpinion

Northwest's Ghost Flight

The Source Staff

By now everyone has heard the story of the Northwest Airlines flight that overshot Upfront's hometown by 150 miles. The flight reportedly turned around only after a stewardess alerted pilots that they appeared to have missed their approach to Minneapolis and by that point they were probably closer to Milwaukee than MSP. This week the FAA announced that is was suspending the license of the two pilots, one of whom was from Salem, pending an investigation into the mishap. While people initially speculated that the pair had dozed off at the controls, a new explanation surfaced this week. The pair was reportedly working on a laptop – multitasking if you will.

Posted inOpinion

What Happens In Kabul… NFL in denial, Obama vs. Fox, Scientology on trial and more!

Source Weekly

The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting from a party, surrounded by murderers and ghosts, Palins and Obamas, wondering if it's already 2012 or only Halloween, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
SWINE!
In case you haven't heard, don't go looking for any H1N1 vaccines because they grow it in eggs. Yep, that's right, protection from the “swine flu” is created in chicken eggs – Our nightmares of mutant Wilbur-Henny-Pennys will soon be reality. This shouldn't be a headline, nor should any flu be declared a national emergency (surely another of Obama's Muslim-Socialist attempts to control our lives and take away our guns) with winter approaching. Relax, wash your hands often, and watch “28 Days Later.”

Posted inOpinion

The Truth About Marriage: Civil rights expert to take on marriage equality in Bend

Source Weekly

I can't put the book down and I can't stop talking about it. Let me share with you one of my favorite quotes from Evan Wolfson's Why Marriage Matters, America, Equality and Gay People's Right to Marry:
“It was so cool,” said Gabriel, thirteen, who served as the ringbearer, after standing in line overnight with his parents. “I always accepted that 'Yeah, they're my moms,' but they were actually getting married. I felt thick inside with happiness. Just thick.”

Posted inOpinion

A Friendly Local Habit?

Source Weekly

This week's letter comes from Kim G. who reminds us that, even in a recession, customer service seems to be a lost art. Thanks for the letter Kim, you can pick up your winnings, a bag of Strictly Organic coffee, at our office, 704 NW Georgia.

I'm all about “making local habit,” but I have really been put off recently by the way some local businesses don't seem to care a lot about the customers walking through their doors.

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