Last month, the City of Bend began accepting applications for local land use approval for cannabis businesses. Continuing the tradition of making things as difficult as possible for cannabis business owners, the city’s regulations required existing business owners to get in line early and beat would-be competitors to the clerk’s office or risk losing their […]
Columns
Posted inCulture
Take Me Home 2/17-2/24
Renters Pay a Mortgage, Just Not Their Own
Among middle aged Americans, 40 percent do not own homes, with just under one-third of renters saying not being able to afford a down payment is the main reason. Furthermore, 44 percent of younger millennials surveyed said they do not want to buy a home at this time. This may be due to a need […]
Posted inCulture
Smoke Signals 2/17-2/24
The cancer-suppressing properties of THC, CBD and cannabinoids
What if cannabis can prevent and/or cure cancer? This is not a question that comes only from the wide-eyed rantings of stoned hippies. There is a substantial and growing body of research published in scientific journals after peer review that indicates this is a reasonable question informed by the best evidence available on the topic. […]
Posted inCulture
The Green Gold Rush
Keeps on Rushing
Legal cannabis could be America’s fastest growing industry. Americans bought $4.6 billion worth of legal cannabis in 2014, $5.4 billion in 2015, and this year, Americans are expected to spend $6.7 billion on legal cannabis. See where this is going? Sales are expected to hit $21.8 billion just four years from now, in 2020. Nonmedical […]
Posted inCulture
Take Me Home 2/10-2/17
Good Things in Small Packages Downsizing is a popular trend manifesting right now in millennials’ and baby boomers’ penchant for smaller and alternative homes. Retirees downsizing may look to purchase a smaller home with the equity in their existing homes. Budget-conscious millennials look to smaller homes for affordability. With the two largest segments of the […]
Posted inNews
Take Me Home 1/27-2/3
The affordable housing crunch and ways of alleviating it have been on my mind these past few weeks. In Bend, some have suggested that we need to expand the urban growth boundary, providing more land for development and then build more affordable housing. There are both advantages and disadvantages to consider in taking this approach, […]
Posted inCulture
Take Me Home 1/20-1/27
Affordable Housing for Bend From tiny homes to micro homes to co-housing, the objective seems to be people trying to create affordable community housing solutions. The lack of affordable housing appears to be an issue in many communities and very much so in Bend. It seems that when a person chooses to work in our […]
Posted inCulture
Take Me Home 1/13-1/20
Cohousing – A Place for Community A viable alternative to the dilemma of placing a tiny house is found in creating a permanent cohousing community of small homes that are larger than the typical tiny homes on wheels. According to the Cohousing Association of the United States (cohousing.org), there are 158 established communities in the […]
Posted inCulture
Smoke Signals 1/13-1/20
Medical Marijuana
The new year saw the first medical marijuana dispensaries open in the state of New York with a total of eight establishments opening statewide to serve approximately 20 million residents. The rollout was decidedly undersized by any standards, much less New York standards. Dispensary locations include Manhattan and Westchester County in the New York City […]
Posted inCulture
Whatever, Mom
Maternal Adaptation
Adaptive. I can’t think of a better word to describe a mother’s role. From the time her belly starts to show to the day her child leaves the nest, a mother is constantly adjusting to new conditions—always molding to her (and her little one’s) environment. Take the attachment theory, for example. For those first few […]
