I concur with the 5/8 Boot opposing cuts to the BAT and Dial A Ride.
I am a daily commuter on BAT, and what you can call a "choice" rider.
Take The Long View with Transit
Gone to the Dogs?: Ultimate players and dog owners clash on use of Sawyer Park
The field at Sawyer Park where ultimate players have been tossing the disc for years could soon be Bend newest off-leash dog area.The sight of a dog chasing down a Frisbee is pretty standard, something
you'd expect to see on a greeting card accompanied by the phrase: "Keep
your eyes on the prize!" or something equally corny. But currently in
Bend, dogs and Frisbees, or perhaps more accurately dog owners and
ultimate Frisbee players, are butting heads as the two groups vie for
use of the scenic grass field at Robert W. Sawyer Park.
The 45-acre
park, which spans the Deschutes River at the Northwest end of town, was
on the short list of parks up for consideration for Bend's next
off-leash dog area. The other options included High Desert Park and the
soon-to-be completed Pine Nursery Park, both of which are on Bend's
eastside. Currently, park district staff has recommended to the parks
board that the field at Sawyer be considered as the site of the new
off-leash area, according to Director of Park Services Ed Moore.
Potty Talk: CTC delivers Urinetown in style
feeling flush at CTC’s urinetown. Dystopia, the opposite of utopia, is not an uncommon a sight in American drama. Think of plays such as Waiting for Godot and films such as Bladerunner. Think of the spectacle of the current Bush administration. Briefly. My point is, Americans conscious of the forces that have spawned such work would hardly expect a drama titled Urinetown: The Musical (UTM) to paint a vision of paradise. So, the fairest question that can be put to The Cascades Theatrical Company's current production of UTM (playing at the Tower Theater) is: "How well does it paint its particular vision of dystopia – given the expressive possibilities of the stage, as opposed to the screen, and of musical comedy, as opposed to, say, 'straight' drama?"
Urinetown: The Musical is a Tony-winning work that, according to
Wikipedia, "rejects musical theatre convention, parodying . . . shows
such as Les Misérables . . . and West Side Story." Pu-leez. UTM's book,
like "Les Mis's," pits have-nots against haves, and, like West Side
Story's, heightens dramatic conflict to the plane of life and death.
But when leads Bobby Strong (Ricky Johnson) and Hope Cladwell (Briana
Jayne Hinchliffe) harmonize unreservedly about "love," "peace" and
"tomorrow," what's "shattered," if anything, is the pretense that even
such a hoary convention as poor-boy-and-rich-girl-meet-and-fall-in-love
are interrogated, much less demolished, by UTM.
The High Desert Museum’s helping hand: HDC gives the Spotted Owl a boost
Adult Northern Spotted Owl going home with breakfast. The Bush administration has proposed cutting 1.5 million acres of Northwest forests considered critical to the survival of the Northern Spotted Owl. On the brighter side, however, the High Desert Museum is helping to save the owls.
As if the administration's bungling of wildfires and old-growth forest mismanagement are not enough, even Mother Nature has thrown a rock through the spotted owl's window in the form of the Barred Owl, a close relative and fierce competitor. They are so closely related that mixed breeding has been reported, which has professedly produced a bird known as the "Sparred Owl."
It’s a Spring Thing: Straightening up at Smith Rock, PPP training and The Chainbreaker
Team Leader Ed Roberts and crew test their newly installed staircase.The 16th annual Smith Rock Spring Thing was a huge success on Saturday. 177 volunteers came together to improve trails, build new stairs, replace old stairs, plant trees, replace bolts and anchors for climbers, pull noxious weeds, and more. Local rock climbers, visiting climbers from the Valley and around the world, hikers, and Smith Rock State Park enthusiasts were all involved in the Spring Thing. Ian Caldwell, a Smith Rock State Park employee and hard-core rock climber, organized the event. After the volunteers completed what Caldwell figured to be $20,000 worth of work, it was time for many involved to pull out their ropes, quickdraws, and gear to ascend the welded tuff faces in the Park. That evening the crew feasted on tasty burritos and brews. Raffle prizes, throw out shwag, and auction items took Caldwell well over an hour to disperse to the crowd. Amanda Stuart and Rebecca Larsen from Altrec were instrumental in pulling together over $13,000 worth of prizes from numerous outdoor companies. Slide shows by Sonny Trotter and Steve House capped off the fun-filled and productive day at Smith Rock.
Postcards from the Edge: Supersize Me director goes global
Nope, not over there. From the beginning scene of a high-tech animated version of director Morgan Spurlock battling Osama Bin Laden to the ending credits of smiling head-shots set to Elvis Costello's "What's So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding?", this movie pummels humanity down our gullet. The message is poignant, the trip around the Middle East is entertaining, but Spurlock himself is distracting and irritating as the somewhat perplexed interviewer - teaching us nothing really new.
Believing the world will be a better place for his yet-to-be-born child, Spurlock sets out to find Bin Laden, or at least shed some light on his whereabouts. He leaves behind his pregnant wife, resulting in some unnecessary interludes of cuteness. Soon he's in the Middle East doing the-man-on-the-street shtick, coming off as a somewhat bewildered news journalist. For the most part, he seems at a loss for words and charisma. His monologue in the rubble of a recently blown-up classroom teeters on sheer ignorance - although entering this dangerous territory may qualify him as the bravest dweeb around. Even with his dopey monologues and annoying laugh, he manages to get a positive message across - that we're all in this together, aren't we?
A Change Of Heart: Iron Man a surprising success in superhero genre
Talk to the Hand. Nobody wants him
He just stares at the world
Planning his vengeance
that he will soon unfurl
– Iron Man, Black Sabbath
Like the Tin Man, Tony Stark needs a heart - both figuratively and literally. The genius son of a billionaire, who made his money creating weapons of mass destruction, Tony (Robert Downey, Jr., ) possesses a beating heart that pumps real blood - yet he lusts only for women, booze and more money. Only when he loses the function of his anatomical heart, requiring a battery-operated model, does he begin to feel love and loss. This double "change of heart," together with a James Bond-meets-Batman characterization of its superhero, makes Ironman the most stylish, entertaining and imagination-fueling film of the year so far.
Quick Bites: Let’s Make An Omelette: Jake’s Diner gets a makeover
Truck stops and interior design makeovers don’t exactly go hand in hand. But then again, Jake’s Diner isn’t trafficking in diesel anymore either.
So when owners Lyle and Judy Hicks wanted to change the interior design of Jake’s dining room to make it more customer friendly, they called on remodeler Andy Barrow of Let’s Make A Space, who redesigned the dining room into what Lyle called an “unbelievably beautiful” atmosphere.
Cabinetmaker Duane Schiedler, owner of The Wood Awakening, fashioned maple topped tables for the dining room as his part of the makeover.
Quick Bites: Let’s Make An Omelette: Jake’s Diner gets a makeover
Truck stops and interior design makeovers don't exactly go hand in hand. But then again, Jake's Diner isn't trafficking in diesel anymore either.
So when owners Lyle and Judy Hicks wanted to change the interior design of Jake’s dining room to make it more customer friendly, they called on remodeler Andy Barrow of Let's Make A Space, who redesigned the dining room into what Lyle called an "unbelievably beautiful" atmosphere.
Cabinetmaker Duane Schiedler, owner of The Wood Awakening, fashioned maple topped tables for the dining room as his part of the makeover.
Two out of Three Ain’t Bad: Phoenix Café foray into fine dining needs refining
The lamb chops at phoenix. When the Phoenix first opened, it was immediately recognized as a gastronomic oasis in the Old Mill office area. Weekdays bustle as the restaurant serves solid breakfasts and lunches to desk jockeys. Recently, this little out-of-the-way spot started serving dinners, hoping its daytime success would cross over to the nighttime meal.
With this in mind I set out sample the new menu. My dining partners and I arrived at 6:30 on a Saturday night. I was glad to see the large houseplants had been moved, as palm fronds tickling the back of your neck is nice in some instances, but not during dinner.
There were three specials and three house soups. The menu offered beef, seafood, poultry and pork prepared in a variety of semi-international ways. I opted for the Medallions of Pork served with a sauce “au poive” (a misspelling of the French word for pepper or peppercorn sauce, which should have read “au poivre”). My dining companions both went for specials – one chose the lamb chops with a Dijon demi-glace, and the other opted for the filet of salmon with a Mediterranean tomato-based sauce. We took a gander at the wine list. Finding nothing but below average house wine by the glass, we stuck with water.

