Looking east from Bend’s Pilot Butte, the large arrays of solar panels near Neff Road stand out. So do Oregon’s major environment, energy and climate-related efforts, as they keep chugging along regardless of recent actions from the federal level. To renewable energy proponents, the solar projects popping up around the Bend region offer a bright […]
Bend Oregon News
Posted inCulture
Source Spotlight: Forging a lifestyle
Central Oregon retiree carves his own niche
“When I start carving wood, I can lose track of three hours and not know what even happened. I just get zoned into it.” — George Blackman On a recent breezy morning, volunteers gathered at the Central Oregon Veterans Ranch in the high desert backcountry between Bend and Redmond to hang a new sign to […]
Posted inMusic
Beautiful Scars
Tom Wilson and his band LeE HARVeY OsMOND hit Bend in support of their new album
Ontario, Canada’s Tom Wilson—who you’re more likely to know as the frontman of band Lee Harvey Osmond—is venturing into the west coast leg of his American tour. Touring in support of his third studio album, “Beautiful Scars,” the “acid folk” project has a sound that Elmore Magazine says “brings to mind the imagined alliance between […]
Posted inCulture
Artwatch: Sarah More & Eva Ferrell
The Space Whisperer
Colors, patterns and Sarah More have a history together. Judging by her work, it’s probably not hard to guess that this week’s cover artist has a longtime interest in both. “As a kid,” she says, “I used to make these crazy abstract coloring pages for myself, which is not so different from what I do […]
Posted inFood & Drink
The Search for a Candy Factory
Finding a home rental can be tough in Bend—and the trend continues in commercial kitchens
If the availability of commercial kitchen space is an indication, Bend likes its sweets, treats and eats. A combination of the popularity of locally made food products, food trucks and the legalization of marijuana are making it tough to find a commercial kitchen space in Bend. It’s not tough to see why; in the last […]
Posted inCulture
Mind Your Music
Drumming class beats an unlikely path to inner peace
We’re three music students, in the middle of Bend, in the middle of Oregon, but our rhythm’s planted firmly in West Africa. To be more precise, we’re inside instructor David Visiko’s home studio, part of which is filled with exotic-looking drums. The three students, Linda Balsiger, Judy McAlpin and I, sit in a neat row […]
Posted inCulture
Source Spotlight: John Schweiter
Need a job in Central Oregon?
John Schweiter hires a couple dozen of employees every week—and he’s just getting started
“What I look for most is empathy and heart, because those are things you can’t teach. My whole passion in life is to to employ people in good jobs.” — John Schweiter As a youth, John Schweiter rode his bicycle around what was then a much smaller Bend. As a young adult, he ran a […]
Posted inNews
Rent Control Coming?
Repealing Oregon’s ban on rent control and restrictions on a landlord’s ability to evict tenants
On March 30, House Bill 2004A passed the Oregon House Committee on Human Services and Housing. The bill’s provisions include the repeal of Oregon’s ban on rent control and restrictions on a landlord’s ability to evict tenants, namely in the case of no-cause evictions. If this bill passes, cities and counties will be allowed to […]
Posted inCulture
Pulp Friction
Hollywood-tinged dark comedy makes world premiere
Two sisters. One boyfriend. And a harrowing family dysfunction on full boil—one that’s growing ever hotter with each passing moment. Throw in a loaded .357 magnum and you have more than enough ingredients for a darkly comedic trip through Los Angeles’ already pressurized Hollywood Hills – where dreams go to die on all those narrow […]
Posted inNews
The Black Market Business of Daycare
3 year waiting lists, unlicensed carers and an unsupported middle class spells a very troubling child care situation
Last month, Bend police say they found seven children in an unlicensed day care, and their caregiver at a local tanning salon. It may be an extreme case, but it’s part of the ongoing problem of finding quality childcare in Central Oregon. The waiting lists can be upward of three years. The costs average $750 […]