Oregon State University's Cascades Campus in Bend might be near its last gasp, if our local state representatives are reading the signals in Salem right.
Will Hard Times Kill the Platypus?
Posted inFood & Drink
On The Upswing
We’re not ready to call the Great Bend Restaurant Shakeout over just yet, but lately we’ve been hearing more about restaurants opening than closing. Following a wholesale massacre that brought down dining titans Merenda, Deep, as well as Volo, Bistro Corlise and, earlier, Blue Fish Bistro, the downtown scene is poised for a rebound of sorts. Over on the corner of Minnesota and Wall the former Merenda staff, led by Mike Millette, is putting the finishing touches on their new and retooled restaurant, dubbed 900 Wall. Millette said the business is tentatively scheduled to open its doors on May 6.
Posted inOpinion
Spring Cleaning: Making last tracks in the Badlands Wilderness
The Friends of the Badlands Wilderness Study Area were racing against time. Monday, March 30 had dawned, bright and crisp. The day had already promised to brighten further, as we had received word the President was going to sign the newly passed Omnibus Wilderness Bill, passing full wilderness protection to the Badlands Wilderness Study Area.
After he signed the bill, no further vehicular access was permitted in any wilderness area, for, according to the provisions of the 1964 Wilderness Act, the wording in part reads: "A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."
Working from a suggestion received from our colleagues at the Oregon Natural Desert Association, who had worked hard to ensure the passage of the Omnibus Bill, Friends of the Badlands had set ourselves the task of removing old weathered juniper fence posts, from which we had over the last year removed 3 miles and 3 tons of obsolete barbed wire.
Posted inOpinion
PD: Perfectly Dutiful
This week's letter comes from Dean Warner who reminds us of an old adage about people in glass houses. Regardless of what you think about leash laws, it's a pretty solid take.
Posted inOpinion
Resort Impacts Aren’t Covered
As reported in The Source, Thornburgh Destination Resort west of Redmond may enjoy a $46 million dollar subsidy by Deschutes County taxpayers by the time they are fully built out. The developers are denying that is the case, but the research I have done on traffic impacts in the Tumalo area tend to support the report's conclusions.
Posted inOutside
Back in the Sky: More Oregon condors going free
California Condor, Topa Topa, great, great grandaddy of all the condors flying free today. The Oregon Zoo can fly a feather in their cap on their condor recovery
program as the second group of young condors raised in the zoo's
Jonsson Center for Wildlife are on the wing.
Three California condors
from the Oregon Zoo will be released into the Vermillion Cliffs
Monument in northern Arizona March 7, soaring into the open skies that
will finally be their home.
Meriwether (No. 379), Nootka (No.
447) and Atya (No. 455) were hatched and raised at the zoo before being
transferred to the Peregrine Fund's World Center for Birds of Prey in
Boise to prepare for their release. Meriwether was transferred in
January 2007, Nootka and Atya in October 2008.
"With every
successful condor release we're another step closer to seeing condors
fly over the skies of Oregon," said Tony Vecchio, zoo director. "One
day, Oregonians may again see what Lewis and Clark saw as they traveled
along the Columbia River over 200 years ago.
Posted inOpinion
Madagascar Quip In Poor Taste
Your attempt to be clever in response to the recent coup in Madagascar was in extremely poor taste (Upfront, March 19).
There has already been a bloodbath, with over 100 people being killed by government troops, and thousands injured.
Posted inOutside
Swap and Tax: On being a gearhead in the New Economy
Dodging gates and taxes.The stock market is in the tank. Your 401K is now a 201K. A friend of
mine bought a Westside Bend house for $99,000 about 5 years ago and
sold it a year later for $175,000. That person resold it at the peak of
the bubble, for $275,000. Last week, I saw a "For Sale" sign in the
front yard–they're asking $99,000.
Given the current state of the
economy, it is no wonder that frugality is the new cool. A recent
Business Week article dubbed this the "New Age of Frugality." After an
era of gluttony, it's good to go back to the basics. But for outdoor
addicts like me, gear is an actual necessity that ranks highly on
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, probably right after food.
And, hey,
my bike can provide transportation and self-actualization all at the
same time, without polluting the environment. But why pony up $5,500
for that new carbon-fiber Orbea when you can find a screaming deal on a
slightly used titanium Litespeed listed by an ex-developer, realtor,
mortgage broker or restaurant owner on Craig's List. There's E-Bay,
too, and the used gear shops. Personally, I miss Second Season Sports
which provided me with a steady monthly income for years, which, of
course, I spent on more gear, so it was probably a breakeven
relationship at best. Repeat Performance and Gear Peddler have never
quite filled the gap for me, though I'm sure they do bang-up business
on extra large downhill boots for PPP at this time of year.
Interestingly, swap meets are popping up like daffodils this spring.
But be forewarned. Our cash-strapped government actually wants to tax
your gear!
Posted inCulture
Speak No Evil: Latest Resident Evil incarnation moves into co-op play
The last Mccain supporters are caught on tape.When the man shuffled around the corner, I knew he was infected. It was
his eyes-flooded with black as though they were bleeding ink. And like
most infected, he was slow. Before he could swing his axe, I braced
myself and trained the laser sight of my pistol in the center of his
forehead-a third, red eye opening in the middle of his black-shot stare.
After
I pulled the trigger, his head exploded in a spurt of gore. A fleshy
tentacle rose from his torso, twisting towards me before splitting open
like a spindly, fleshy flower. Later, I would see even more grotesque
things. Small, winged leathery imps climbing from men's backs,
sloughing off their carcasses like costumes. Giant centipedes
slithering out of men's destroyed heads. Dogs peeled apart like figs,
the strands of their bodies groping towards me.
Posted inMusic
On Stage: Easter Fro-Day
I was gonna lock the door, but then I got high…Easter Sunday. It's a day for crowded churches followed by crowded
brunches and topped off with a whole hell of a lot of ham followed by a
slow-moving Monday morning. This Easter in Bend you can add one more
thing to your holiday docket and that's the blunt-smoking, Colt-45
swilling goofball rapper Afroman.
That's right, the author of the
smash turn-of-the-millennium hit "Because I Got High" is just the
latest rapper to make a return appearance here in town. The party-hardy
rapper is touring in preparation of the release of his new album
Frobama (how can you avoid a golden pun opportunity like that?), slated
for a May release. The record is quintessential Afroman, plenty of
silly skits and boasting cuts about well, weed malt liquor and some
digs on his former label, Universal. And yes, most of this is hilarious.