(We’re not necessarily saying that we agree with them, but these were the five most important decisions by City Council this year.) 1. Noise Ordinance: In 2012, the question of when (as in how late) venues can host live music and how loud they could play their music had residents so hot under the collar […]
Cover Story
Posted inMusic
Jazz Binge
The Oregon Piano Summit brings four pianists and 352 keys to The Oxford Hotel
Rarely do two pianists share the same stage. Even rarer is a performance with three. And four? That’s bonkers. Yet an ivory drubbing jazz concert featuring individual sets by four of Oregon’s premier piano artists is exactly what’s in store for Bend Dec. 27 and 28 at The Oxford Hotel. Instrumentalists Gordon Lee, Darrell Grant, […]
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Gift Guide
Shopping for Her!
Gals are different than guys. We hope that is not late-breaking news for you. Yes, Venus, Mars; among other differences. What is relevant right now, though, is that shopping for women is different than shopping for men. Certainly some gender-neutral gifts are fine, like a sub-freezing sleeping bag or bike accessories. In this week’s issue […]
Posted inNews
Let’s Call it a Draw
In the fast and furious pond-or-river debate, some are calling for both
At last Wednesday’s city council meeting, Mayor Jim Clinton held up a colorful painting of what could be. The rendering (pictured above) showed both a river and a pond—but no Newport Avenue dam, the 103-year-old, leaking structure that creates Mirror Pond. Presented to murmuring approvals and head nods at the city council meeting, this new […]
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Annual Give Guide
Click here to give! No, being a nonprofit doesn’t mean that the organization can’t “make” money. And it certainly doesn’t mean that they don’t need money. In fact, these organizations—from the Alzheimer’s Association to Warm Springs Community Action Team—probably need your money more than any for-profit company because what they are “selling” and what they […]
Posted inSpecial Issues & Guides
Snowrider’s Guide
Four ways to enjoy winter, as told by local athletes from four different disciplines
This winter season the Northwest is in line for an above-average snowfall, at least according to AccuWeather.com‘s “Expert Long-Range Forecaster” Paul Pastelok. That’s good news—if you believe in such things. As for us, well, we don’t trust a forecast that’s more than a couple days down the road, but we will take September’s record-breaking snows […]
Posted inNews
Where Have All the Eco-Saboteurs Gone?
Conditions may be ripe for a radical activist revival
In the predawn hours of July 28, a cool night with a quarter moon shining, a small band of activists cut through a chicken wire fence. They were there to release thousands of minks from their cages at a mink farm in south-central Idaho. An anonymous communiqué published subsequently on the Earth First! Newswire blog […]
Posted inNews
Where the Rubber Meets the Road
May 21 election asks voters to put their money where their mouths are
On it’s face, it’s a pretty quiet little election. Not many candidates (see our Boot on the opposite page), and no hot button measures. But though it may be humble, the May 21 election is hard working. Two major funding initiatives, the 911 levy and the school district bond, test our willingness to pay for […]
Posted inNews
Council Will Proceed with Water Project
Unclear whether public will weigh in on pipe
A majority of the Bend City Council voted last week to proceed with the pipe portion of the city's $68 million surface water improvement project. The decision may mean there will be no public hearing on the installation of the approximately 30-inch-diameter pipe along Skyliners Road, which would replace two aging pipes that currently bring […]
Posted inNews
Under the Bus
Central Oregon’s Public Transit Faces Harsh Funding Realities
L ike many Central Oregon Community College students, Tara Vanderhoof, 25, uses public transportation to get to and from school. Without it, she said she wouldn’t have a way to get to class. “I would have to walk three hours, one way,” she said as she waited for a lift at the Hawthorne Station near […]