At the bottom of the front page of The Bulletin's Local section this morning there's a news story headlined "Study: 350 Oregonians die each year due to no insurance."
Bulletin Editorial Page Clobbers a Straw Man
Posted inOpinion
Making a List and Checking it Twice: Smith Keeping them in the garage, French men in their pants
In Washington, Golf Becomes a Handicap
Oregon Republican Sen. Gordon Smith is one of Capitol Hill's most enthusiastic and skillful golfers - so much so that he made Golf Digest's 2005 list of Washington's Top 200 Golfers.
But Gordo's name is missing from the 2007 list. Smith, whose handicap was given as 4.5 in 2005, told the magazine he hadn't been playing enough last year to determine his handicap - too busy campaigning for re-election.
Posted inCulture
In Search of the Honest Pint: A pint is 16 ounces – except (sometimes) when it’s a pint of beer
The cup never lies.It seems pretty simple: A pint equals 16 ounces. So when you go into a bar, pub or restaurant and order a pint of beer you'll get 16 ounces of beer, right?
Well, maybe. Or maybe you'll get only 14 ounces. Or 13, or even 12.
Like most naรฏve beer drinkers, I always assumed that when I paid for a pint I got a pint. It was only after stumbling across Portlander Jeff Alworth's "Beervana" blog that the hideous truth began to dawn on me.
Posted inOutside
It’s All About Water: The Oregon Water Handbook examines our relationship with the liquid of life
It's All About WaterThe Oregon Water Handbook examines our relationship with the liquid of lifeBy Jim AndersonIt seems every newscaster you watch on TV or hear on the radio seems to think that ideal weather condition in Central Oregon is clear skies. Rain and snow suggest bad news. Not in my book! Rain means water for the desert, and snow translates to water in the aquifers.
It's been said that the next war will not be over oil, but water. The hullabaloo a while back over Coca-Cola allegedly seeking control over water in India appears to support at least a corporate war over water.
Posted inOpinion
The Senate’s “Dr. No”
There are traditions that are inspiring, like laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Memorial Day. There are traditions that are fun, like trimming the Christmas tree or ridiculing American Idol.
Posted inMusic
Breaking the Mold: Heavyweight Dub’s A.P.O.S.T.L.E. takes Longfellow over Snoop
The many faces of A.P.O.S.T.L.E.Hip-hop artist, educator and social activist A.P.O.S.T.L.E's first live performance was a reading of "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He was in the second grade.
"I instinctively put rhythm to it in order to better memorize it," he said of the reading. "I started writing my own poetry a few years later."
Now, some 25 years after his first "live performance," A.P.O.S.T.L.E (real name Jeff Campbell) has become a widely celebrated member of the hip-hop community and beyond. He's done most of his touring with his former band Heavyweight Dub Champion, although he's currently on the road with the heavily hyped DJ Quest.
Posted inMusic
Time’s Up: Greg Bryce of blackflowersblacksun isn’t singing the blues about heading back to work
That’s the sort of excitement that gets you through a summer in the wild.Just as he's done every spring for nearly two decades Greg Bryce will
soon pack up and leave Bend for the remote wilderness of Alaska. With
him will go blackflowersblacksun, the blues project that he's
cultivated into a local favorite during his past couple of winters
gigging around town. It will be November by the time Bryce brings his
National guitar back to Bend, but it's likely his reputation for
down-home blues (as well as his drummer, C.J. Davis) will still be
waiting for him.
Bryce, who looks and speaks somewhat like a slightly
weather-worn Luke Wilson, spends his summers working as a wilderness
firefighter in the remote village of Galena, Alaska. And by remote, he
means honest-to-God in the middle of BFE. Bryce tells me that Galena
isn't accessible by road and that the only way to reach the town is a
200-mile trip by air, or a 400-plus mile boat ride along the Yukon
River. While he does bring his guitar in tow, there aren't any
opportunities for Bryce to bring blackflowersblacksun onstage. He does,
however, find some inspiration out in the wild.
Posted inNews
Blockbusted: What happened to the neighborhood video store?
Damian SchmittThere's no blue collars or khakis. No life-size posters of Morgan Freeman. And if it wasn't clear from the rows of indie and foreign films and the vintage VHS tapes for rent, then owner Damian Schmitt's tattoos and lamb chops could surely leave no doubt - you're not at Blockbuster.
The owner of Westside Video is talking about the store's history, which spans three decades, two locations, and several owners. It's a rich past, but the future is a little murky. Schmitt is soberly realistic about the nature of independent businesses and is hardly looking to host his own pity party as he outlines the pitfalls of big outfits like Blockbuster. He is, however, honest in admitting that he's not sure if Bend can, or will, support a locally owned, independent video store - meaning that when his lease is up in October, there's a chance that independent video becomes a thing of the past in Bend. He looks out the window out at Newport Avenue, and puts his position bluntly.
Posted inNews
City Beat: Candidates, Jobs, and Flags
Return of Eckman
Kathie Eckman, the longtime Bend city councilor and
former mayor announced late last week that she will be coming out of
retirement from city politics and again seek a spot on the city council.
Eckman,
who served on the council in spurts from 1980 until 2000, including a
stint as mayor from 1991-92, is seeking position three, which is
currently held by Councilor Linda Johnson. After retiring from the
Bend-La Pine School District's human resources department in 2001,
Eckman spent some time working for Sen. Ron Wyden.
Posted inOutside
The Importance of Erin Andrews
There are a lot of litmus tests for sports fans. There's your Superfan who can tell what years that Sandy Koufax won the Cy Young and what his ERA was in each of those seasons. There's The Schwab - ESPN's in house statistician turned game show/freak show on Stump the Schwab - who can tell you well, everything. Then there's your average fan who can tell you, given some time, who won last year's NFC title game, ALCS Championship and BCS Series.
An easier way to differentiate between guys who know about sports and guys who know of sports is to make a reference to Erin Andrews.