A Sighting at 12 O’Clock: Kid’s Bend CBC 2008

Posted inOutside

A Sighting at 12 O’Clock: Kid’s Bend CBC 2008

Jim Anderson

The Birdies"Hey, Jim, there's a flock of birds over there…"

"Where?" I asked.
"Over there!" Ellie shouted, "I can see them plain as day!"
That was the way the first Bend Kid"s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) started out Saturday morning, December 20th - enthusiastic confusion. I met Kim Long of Bend with her three children, two Cub Scouts and one scout mom to see if it was going to be possible to keep 8 to 11 year olds on track to observe, know, remember and list every bird they spotted that one day. That"s the way the CBC works. As it worked out, Ellie Long kept the tally - and did an excellent job!

Posted inOutside

Flee to Ski?: MBSEF’s Nordic program in upheaval

Pam Stevenson

Happier days in the MBSEF Nordic camp.BANG! That wasn't the sound of avalanche blasting at Mt Bachelor. That was the sound of the MBSEF Nordic program imploding like a bad New Year's firecracker over the holidays. Unfortunately, the proverbial Swix hit the fan for the Bend Nordic skiing community.

To some degree, the drama began on December 6, when MBSEF Nordic coach Brenna Knowles presented a written statement to MBSEF Executive Director Chuck Kenlan regarding her working relationship with her supervisor, MBSEF Nordic Program Director Ben Husaby.
According to Knowles, "Mr. Kenlan and I met in the fall of 2007 to discuss ongoing issues with Mr. Husaby. Over the course of the year, I was not satisfied with the way that Mr. Kenlan handled my concerns. So, when Mr. Kenlan called me into his office in early December and encouraged me to list all of my issues with Mr. Husaby, I was glad that he was taking another look at my work environment. Unfortunately, a few days later, Ben and I had a disagreement. That night, I hastily drafted a letter containing seven years' worth of complaints and presented it to Mr. Kenlan the next day."

Posted inFood & Drink

Wrap and Roll: Parrilla Grill makes for dependable dining

Eric Flowers

Hustle and bustleWhen I first moved to Bend I had a hard time trying to figure out what exactly was going on at the Parrilla Grill, located at the 14th Street and Century Drive roundabout. It looked like a neighborhood bar, but outside in the parking lot there was a massive clothing sale going on, so for a few days there last year I thought it sold skiing apparel.

A couple of weeks later, when I peered through the windows and noticed people were eating inside, I decided to venture into Parrilla and see what the place with the "Sorry, We're Open" neon sign was all about. After spending the better part of seven years living in North Carolina, where good Mexican food is about as easy to come by as good home-made fried chicken is in Bend, I was pleasantly surprised to learn Parrilla offers an experience of epic proportions.

Posted inFood & Drink

Wrap and Roll: Parrilla Grill makes for dependable dining

Eric Flowers

Hustle and bustleWhen I first moved to Bend I had a hard time trying to figure out what exactly was going on at the Parrilla Grill, located at the 14th Street and Century Drive roundabout. It looked like a neighborhood bar, but outside in the parking lot there was a massive clothing sale going on, so for a few days there last year I thought it sold skiing apparel.

A couple of weeks later, when I peered through the windows and noticed people were eating inside, I decided to venture into Parrilla and see what the place with the “Sorry, We’re Open” neon sign was all about. After spending the better part of seven years living in North Carolina, where good Mexican food is about as easy to come by as good home-made fried chicken is in Bend, I was pleasantly surprised to learn Parrilla offers an experience of epic proportions.

Posted inNews

The Man In The Middle : The Source Weekly Q&A with soon-to-be former Mayor Bruce Abernethy

Eric Flowers

Abernethy describes the last 15months as “low-grade” burn outMayor Bruce Abernethy steps down this week after an eight-year run on the Bend city council that has spanned four city managers and just about every major issue that's worth recalling, from the Bill Healy Bridge to an equal rights ordinance for the LGBT community, to Juniper Ridge and the current urban growth boundary imbroglio.
A Harvard management school grad, Abernethy ran almost a decade ago for city council on a slow growth platform, but has carved out a legacy for himself as a principled moderate who could work with all councilors on both sides of the aisle. In the process he alienated some of his ardent supporters on the Left but earned a reputation as an accessible and reasoned politician. We sat down with Abernethy to survey where the city has come during his tenure and what his plans are for the near and not so near future.

Posted inOpinion

Big, Bad, Bend: Council approves kitchen sink UGB, |Bend Living lay-offs

Eric Flowers

Bend’s next super subdivision? Most folks have lost track of how long the Bend City Council has been working to expand the city's UGB - long enough for the anachronistic term "UGB" to actually resonate with any partially informed observer of local politics. Earlier this week the city council put the finishing touches on what it hopes will be a blueprint for the next 20 years of growth in Bend - a roughly 8,500-acre expansion of the city's geographic footprint which is intended to add more land for housing and commercial development.

By a 4-2 vote councilors opted to finalize the plan known as Alternative 4A, which Upfront likes to think of as the "kitchen sink" alternative - as in it includes everything that landowners and developers wanted plus the kitchen sink for good measure.
The plan has no shortage of critics, including some skeptical state regulators that have balked at the size of the land grab, which they see as a recipe for sprawl.

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