Destination Resort Reforms

Posted inOpinion

Destination Resort Reforms

Eric Flowers

In the beginning - actually in 1969 - there was Sunriver, and a couple of years later there was Black Butte Ranch.
And Sunriver and Black Butte Ranch attracted thousands of tourists, and that created jobs and brought millions of dollars into Central Oregon, and that was very good.
And when the Oregon Legislature looked at Sunriver and Black Butte Ranch and all those tourist dollars it said: "We need to loosen up the state land use law to allow more places like Sunriver and Black Butte Ranch, because the economies of rural areas like Central Oregon are really hurting and they could help a lot."
And so a peculiar animal unique to Oregon - the "destination resort" - was created, and the legislature decreed that destination resorts could be located outside of urban areas in places that otherwise would be reserved for farms or forests.
But the destination resort loophole turned out to be wide enough to drive an 18-wheeler through, and as time went on "destination resorts" began to look less and less like resorts and more and more like expensive residential communities built around golf courses.

Posted inOpinion

Dog Owners Have Rights

Eric Flowers

Letter of the Week

I know just how Mr. Orr feels about dogs in Sawyer Park because I feel the same way about kids. Children demand so many things these days: swing sets and slides; basketball and tennis courts; baseball and soccer fields; running tracks and pools; even skate parks. When I was growing up that problem didn't exist. For toys we had a box of dirt and some lead painted blocks of wood. Going outside to play meant just that - running around vacant lots in the dirt amongst rusty nails and broken bottles. If we wanted to get wet we would have to wait for it to rain and play in the puddles. So what if we came back bleeding occasionally or broke out in some ugly rash. I tell you we were happy!

Posted inOpinion

Out With The Truth

Eric Flowers

Cognitive dissonance can be defined as an irresolvable conflict between what we hold (or wish) to be true and what we know to be true.
There is an old saying that one should never discuss religion or politics. Perhaps this is because these subjects conjure up large amounts of cognitive dissonance.
People hold that their particular brand of religion is true, even knowing it is based on faith. Americans hold that our political system is judicious, while knowing that it is full of corruption.
We hold that our politicians (typically lawyers) are telling us the truth or actually care about us, knowing that most of them don't have an honest bone in their bodies, or give a rat's patuti about the common people.
Some hold that patriotism is never questioning your government's authority, when reality dictates that responsible government requires constant vigilance and demand for accountability by a country's citizens.

Posted inOpinion

The Hatchet Falls At Mt. B.: POWDR Corp clears house

Mike Bookey

A Dump of Snow Can’t fix EverythingJust days after the end of an embattled season that saw near record snowfall but a dip in visitors at Mt. Bachelor, the brass at POWDR Corp. is apparently clearing house in Bend.
A tipster told Upfront that several front office folks at Mt. Bachelor got their walking papers on Tuesday, including President Matt Janney.
Mt. B's former marketing director, Carly Carmichael, confirmed that she had been let go by her employer on Tuesday, just one day after the season ended on the mountain.
Carmichael said she couldn't comment on anything related to her departure.
"They told me they were restructuring," she said.

Posted inOpinion

Time For Badlands Wilderness Is Now

Eric Flowers

As a little girl growing up in the desert east of Bend, nothing escaped my inquisitive eye. Everything from the blue summer sky to the warm sand under my bare feet, each unique attribute of my desert world, was observed, touched, smelled, heard, and occasionally tasted. My childhood memories are speckled with the scent of sage leaves crushed between my fingers, the carefree songs of finches and chickadees, the rough feel of juniper bark, and the mesmerizing activity of an anthill. Every blue-bellied lizard and lichen-painted rock told me its story, and I was fortunate enough to be in the right place and time to hear it. The desert molded my childhood life and has a large influence on the person I am today.

Posted inOpinion

Lay Off the Park

Intern

As a longtime resident and active member of this community, I take offense at The Bulletin's attack on the Bend Metro Park and Recreation District. Once again The Bulletin is misguiding readers with inaccurate and misleading information. As a neighborhood representative, I attend 99% of park district meetings and have heard first-hand the plans for the new administrative building and adjacent park complex as well as those for the Pine Nursery and multiple other projects. The district has revised plans in response to the slow down in local construction which funds SDC's, (System Development Charges), the funds used for growth related projects. Because of this slow down, SDC's, citywide have dropped by 67%. In regard to the new office building, it sits on the upper end of the 14-acre Riverbend Park land, near, not next to the river.

Posted inOpinion

tSW Primary Primer: For President… Barack Obama

Intern

It will take an extraordinary president to heal the wounds inflicted upon America and the world by the disastrous George W. Bush regime. Both Democratic candidates say they can do the job. And both basically have the right ideas about how to do it.
 
But only one seems able to unite and inspire the nation to bring about the kind of fundamental change in our corrupt and dysfunctional political system that we urgently need. That is Sen. Barack Obama.
Hilary Clinton has touted her superior experience. It's true she's been around Washington longer than Obama - eight years as First Lady, seven as a senator. But in these times, is that really a plus?
Hilary and Bill Clinton have been in Washington so long they are woven into the fabric of its culture and politics. Our worry is that a Hilary Clinton presidency would mean more triangulation and temporizing, more sacrificing progressive principles to accommodate corporate contributors, more going along to get along.

Sign up for newsletters

Get the best of The Source - Bend, Oregon directly in your email inbox.

Sending to:

Gift this article