Last week’s British vote to exit the European Union may have beneficial effects on our real estate market because of the effect on mortgage interest rates. Various blogs from the National Association of Realtors, Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, to name just a few, are reporting some optimistic news. The Wall Street Journal on June […]
Bend News
Side Notes 7/6-7/13
Drones and Wildfires Don’t Mix Recreational drone enthusiasts looking to get an aerial shot of a blazing wildfire should stay far, far away, according to Oregon officials who point out that operating an unmanned aerial vehicle in a Temporary Flight Restriction zone—such as in an active wildfire area—is punishable under state and federal law. In […]
Behind the Mask
Writing a story about Buckethead is like trying to do an expose on the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot. People know Buckethead exists and that he has a real name, but he hasn’t done an interview in a decade and doesn't talk to many people in general. I knew a phone or Skype interview would […]
Latinos Rising
Locals shouldn’t be surprised by recently released U.S. census data showing consistently growing Latino populations in Bend, Deschutes County, and Oregon. After all, Spanish-speaking peoples settled this region in the-mid 1800s, long before other European cultures. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Latino population in Deschutes County increased by 18.6 percent between 2010 and […]
Murder Party 2016
You had one job, “The Purge: Election Year,” just one. You either needed to be a schlocky gorefest that painted America as a candy-colored nightmare of xenophobia and fear or a smartly satirical look at the worst case scenario of Trump’s America. You failed at both, “Purge,” and I hope you feel bad about it. […]
Irreverent Commentary Makes Bad Movies Hilarious
Bendites who miss Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) are in for a real treat. For those few unfortunate individuals who have never seen the cult classic television show, it starred Joel Hodgson as a janitor trapped on The Satellite of Love by a couple of mad scientists who wanted to rule the world. Along with […]
Mercury in Our Air, Water, Soil and Fish
In April of this year the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) issued a warning about consuming too many bass found to be contaminated with excessive amounts of mercury in fish tissue sampled from a number of water bodies across the state. Dave Farrer, Ph.D., toxicologist in the Environmental Public Health Section at the OHA Public Health […]
Ninth Annual Harvest Writing Contest
This year, Oregon writers of all ages have the opportunity to have their work recognized. On June 1, Central Oregon Writers Guild (COWG) began accepting entries for its annual Harvest Writing Contest. With the contest heading into its ninth year, the guild decided to make some changes and is inviting writers 18 years and younger […]
Letters 7/6-7/13
Bend DMV Scam Is your paper interested in the fact that Bend DMV purposely gives an extension of an expired driver license past the one-year cut-off in order to obtain more money and require you to take the written and driver test over? It has happened to me, and I am insisting they waive the […]
“A Community of Artists” Gives Back to the Local Art Community
Central Oregon is a region rich with artistic talent, and now visitors to the area will be able to browse the work of local creative types in a new 64-page catalogue. Sisters Folk Festival (SFF) recently launched “A Community of Artists,” a new print publication featuring 100 artists who work in a wide variety of […]

