More than Sundance, more than Berlin, Venice or Toronto, the film festival I have unshakable faith in when it comes to programming of either future cinematic classics or wildly ambitious failures is the Cannes Film Festival. Since 1946, the festival has been held at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrรจs in Cannes, France, and […]
A Momentous Year for Film on La Croisette
8am-Bend Breakfast Bliss is the latest Venture from the Owner of Dear Mom Cafe
Jattalee Chalernhinthong, who goes by JJ, is busy creating a new breakfast menu. After recently closing her first Bend restaurant, The Good Egg at The Grove, sheโs working on her new plan for โ8am-Bend Breakfast Bliss.โ Itโs an Asian-themed breakfast concept that sheโll open at her current restaurant, Dear Mom Cafe off SW Century Drive. […]
Young Hero: Brennan Breen
It’s hard out there for climate justice advocate these days. Few know how quickly your eyes glaze over when the topic turns to, say, heating pumps, than this year’s Young Hero, Brennan Breen. Breen, the campaign coordinator of Energize Bend, a nonprofit coalition advocating for electrification, however, decidedly does not live in mamby-pamby land. At […]
Water Hero: Kevin Tanskiย
Kevin Tanski is a lifelong conservationist and environmentalist, but in the past three years his attention has been laser focused on beavers. As a volunteer with Think Wildโs Beaver Works Oregon, heโs traveled to remote areas of the state, putting in countless hours restoring beaver habitat. The significance of beavers caught his attention after he read two books, โEagerโ and โBeaver Landโ which explore the profound impact beavers have […]
Earth Hero: Sakari Farms
Sakari, a word meaning “sweet” in Inupiaq, represents a loving and warm personality, which exactly describes the vibe I felt when Spring and Sam Schreiner, along with Otis, their energetic canine, welcomed me to their farm on a bright, blue-sky day in Tumalo. Spring, an enrolled member of the Chugach Alaska Native Corporation and Valdez […]
Free Will Astrology, Week of April 16
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Anthropologist and author Clifford Geertz loved to use “thick description.โ He wrote detailed reports that captured not just the surface level of what happened but the deeper levels of meaning. Hereโs an example of thin description: “He winked.” Thick description: “He quickly closed and opened his right eyelid in a culturally […]
Vote Morgan Schmidt for Deschutes County Commission, Pos. 5
Like a lot of the races for the Deschutes County Board of County Commissioners this May, the one for Position 5 is a crowded field. Voters will see four names on their ballots for this seat โ one of two seats that are being added after voters previously moved to expand the county commission. If […]
Tri-Countyย Areaย Places Burn Banย inย Effect for Late Aprilย
Central Oregon fire chiefs are placing a burn ban into effect on April 30 due to abnormally warm weather. Debris burning will remain closed in some areas until fall. An alertย sent outย by Redmond Fire and Rescueย on April 13 stated thatย because of warm and dry conditions and declining fuel moisture, the risk for wildfire has increased throughout Central Oregon. The burn banย comes one month […]
Letters to the Editor, Week of April 16, 2026
250th Proclamation The Deschutes County Commission recently passed a resolution that proports to celebrate Americaโs 250th anniversary, when in fact it is right out of the MAGA playbook, implying support for President Trumpโs policies and actions, and filled with hypocrisy. The piece was written by a right-wing group called the Taxpayers Association of Oregon.ย It passed […]
The Green Team is a Leader in Sustainability
The morning after every concert at Hayden Homes Amphitheater, employees known as the Green Team, show up to sort through the trash. They dump each bag into a plastic kiddie pool, pull on rubber gloves and meticulously pick out recyclable and compostable materials achieving a 93.5% landfill diversion rate. That accomplishment involves a multi-prong effort […]

