The Downtown Anti-Panhandler Crusade

Posted inOpinion

The Downtown Anti-Panhandler Crusade

Eric Flowers

When you fall on hard times, it's always tempting to look for someone other than yourself - your financial adviser, your banker, the brother-in-law who told you to put all your money in GM stock - to blame the fall on. Now that Bend's downtown is hurting, the search for scapegoats is on. The latest candidate: panhandlers.
The Bend City Council has asked City Attorney Mary Winters to look into legal ways that the city can deal with the perceived panhandling problem. This came in response to a complaint from a local merchant who thought people standing out on the sidewalk asking for money could be hurting business.
Some councilors agreed with her, including Tom Greene, who was quoted as saying, "I've had a lot of people say it makes them uncomfortable to go downtown."

Posted inOpinion

Earthquakes, Outbreaks and Fly Overs: The Flu Pandemic, NFL Draft, Specter vs. Spector, and more!

Eric Flowers

Suck on this, swine!The author has been sent on the road to discover a lost country formerly known as America. He is reporting far from you, civilization, and other swine, hoarding water and Ramen Noodles, hoping Brad Pitt arrives soon (with Angelina) so they may build the prettier, more humanitarian yet sexy society we all deserve, on assignment for Or-Bust.com and The Source Weekly.
Empty Soccer Stadiums, Facemasks, 12 Monkeys…
Pity the pigs, forever linked to the contagious flu that utterly destroyed mankind in late April 2009. Better yet, blame the Mexicans, who we've been scapegoating so well and so long for taking the jobs we suddenly want and ingesting our pollution. Our finest export since Agent Orange, Corporate Agra has really pulled a doozy this time (note: Monsanto did not approve this column) as the death toll is climbing into the hundreds (though 3,000 die each day from Malaria); Mexico City resembles the set of 28 Days Later, schools are closed till early May, and New York is now an incubator for the rage virus. Adding insult to injury, a major earthquake struck near Acapulco on Monday, then a look-alike of Air Force One buzzed New York Harbor (see below). On a conspiracy-related note: How convenient is it that an exotic and rapidly mutating virus is said to be spreading, just as GM announces it will close factories for over a month and kill Pontiac, Pakistan is about to fall to the Taliban (nukes included), the Jets draft another dud while my Bills took two solid Oregonians, and Ashton Kutcher keeps getting in the news for Twittering? Ask yourself, are these mere coincidences or divine intervention?

Posted inNews

Emma Hill Video

The Source Staff

Portland songstress Emma Hill stopped off at the Tower Theatre last weekend to celebrate the release of her new disc, Clumsy Seduction, along with her band, thus creating Emma Hill and Her Gentlemen Callers. Hill played both older material and cuts from the new disc showing how she’s risen from simple girl-with-a-guitar to a Neko Case-style band leader.

Posted inNews

Last Night’s Comedy

The Source Staff

If you weren’t one of the folks who crammed themselves into the second level stage of the Summit last night, you missed a wacky comedy show straight from Los Angeles. Redmond native Randy Liedtke hosted and headlined a  homecoming show that was opened by Kyle Kinane – a guy Liedtke refered to as his "favorite comic right now.

Posted inFood & Drink

The Spitter

Mike Bookey

There are some things that are never OK, for example spitting on the floor in a public place. I make reference to the gentleman on Saturday night who convincingly hucked a huge loogie high into the air so that it landed in a slimy spat in the middle of the bar area. Instantaneously, I told him that he had to leave and when I came round to show him the way out he replied, “I’m not drunk! I haven’t even been drinking.” Which is unfortunate because then he would have an excuse for his absolutely insolent behavior.
This isn’t the first time I’ve had to kick someone out of the bar for spitting on the floor. The other time was many years ago when I had a guy from Oklahoma who kept expectorating on the floor for no apparent reason other than he clearly thought that our wood floor would be more pleasant with a good spit-shine. When I told him that if he hucked on the floor one more time he would have to leave, he quickly proceeded to spit again, as obviously he was accustomed to dribbling as he pleased, much like a slobbering bulldog. On his way out he excused himself by stating he was from Oklahoma. Which don’t get me wrong, we all know that Oklahoma has more than its fair share of rednecks and hicks, however I have never met another Oklahoman who thinks that it is OK to spit inside.

Posted inFood & Drink

Home at Last: Chloe at FivePine shines in its new digs

Alice Finer

Dishes go global at Chloe. In the year and a half that Chloe was open in Redmond, the restaurant
gained a considerable reputation and loyal following despite its
strip-mall location. Chef Jerry Phaisavath and his wife Elaine,
however, sought a new space that would be more compatible with what
they envisioned, where they could take Chloe to the next level. They
have found it in Sisters. Opening in January at the FivePine complex
just as you enter town from the south on Highway 20, Chloe has really
come into its own. From the menu to the décor to the service, it's hard
to imagine that the restaurant was ever anywhere else.

The room,
awash in earth tones, wood and stone, stands out from its
white-tablecloth, New-American brethren. Stylized scenes, shapes and
materials taken from nature are cleverly incorporated into every
surface and accessory. There's a terrarium built into the wall by the
host stand. The ceiling above the clover of semicircular booths in the
center of the room features tiny twinkling lights against a black
background emulating the night sky. Upholstery is modern, but if you
look closely you'll find a geometrical pattern of oblong leaves. By far
my favorite touch is the basket-woven moose head mounted over the
fireplace in the cozy bar area. From the light fixtures to the cutlery
(the knives have flat handles perpendicular to the blade so it stands
up straight when set down), you can tell that every detail was
carefully considered.

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