Michael Franti has a discography that numbers nine studio albums with his current band, Spearhead, as well as one album with his first group, the Beatnigs, and a pair of titles with the influential group that preceded his solo career, the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. But he’s never had a recording experience quite like the […]
Bend Oregon News
Posted inFood & Drink
Portland’s Beer-Driven Summer
Craft events on tap all over the Rose City
There are few better places to witness the size and scope of Portland’s beer scene than the Oregon Brewers Festival, which took place over the last weekend in July. The largest outdoor event of its kind in the US, OBF is spread out across the waterfront between the Morrison and Hawthorne bridges, offering hundreds of […]
Posted inNews
Think a Pot Prosecution Can’t Happen to You? Think Again.
Cannabis prosecutions of two Warm Springs tribal members shed light on a double standard in the state. Native Americans have been subject to centuries of discrimination and mistreatment in the United States—and unfortunately, that legacy lives on in today’s cannabis laws. Cases in point: two recent prosecutions of Central Oregon tribal members. According to federal […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Little Bites 8/3-8/10
Riverside Market Is No More The Riverside Market…you either loved it or you hated it; you went to it or you avoided it. If the Riverside Market were a person, his name would be “Frank,” and he would be your embarrassing college roommate. Frank would be constantly getting super wasted during the day, would never […]
Posted inMusic
Acoustic Souls
Rodrigo y Gabriela play well together
Rodrigo y Gabriela don’t just make beautiful music together, they are beautiful music together. As an acoustic guitar duo out of Mexico City, their guitars complement each other flawlessly and create a wall of sound in which to get lost. Their acoustic guitars feel propulsive in a way acoustic guitars rarely have the chance to […]
Posted inMusic
Drink, Dance and Soak Yourself Silly
Music festival + hot springs = perfection
In a perfect world, all music festivals would include not just beer and live music, but natural beauty and a chance to soak yourself into oblivion. It might not be the combination you get other places, but at the Broke Down Soakdown at Summer Lake Hot Springs this August, you get all that and more. […]
Posted inCulture
Part of Our World
“The Little Mermaid” swims to shore
Disney is good at a lot of things: fostering childhoods, making billions, building theme parks, handling lawsuits and turning an existing intellectual property into spun gold again and again. Whether they are turning one of their classic films into a new theme park attraction, making direct-to-video sequels to 50-year-old cartoons or molding beloved animated movies […]
Posted inNews
Cannabis Bliss
A CBD product that treats animal ailments
Many Benditos are familiar with “runner’s high,” the feeling of euphoria that people experience after intense exercise. Runner’s high is caused by the brain releasing endocannabinoids into the blood stream. That six-syllable term is a portmanteau of “endogenous,” meaning “coming from within” and “cannabanoids,” meaning “chemical compounds of the cannabis plant.” Yes, the human brain […]
Posted inCulture
The Only Local Nature Guide You Need
Bend author’s new book covers the spectrum of local nature, with humor, facts and stunning photography
Let’s say you’d like to know more about the Central Oregon outdoors. Before you head out on your next adventure, you might drop a field guide for birds into your backpack. Plus one or two for wildflowers. Then one more for mammals, and another for trees and shrubs. Or you could take just one book. […]
Posted inOpinion
Funding for Affordable Housing: A Step in the Right Direction
One sunny summer morning not long ago, I marched across a dusty front yard in midtown Bend with a $45 rental application fee in hand. This wasn’t exactly the house I’d dreamed of living in when I knew I was moving to Bend, but it was adequate—and available, and I was going to lay down […]
