Many people lack sympathy for landlords jacking up rents to the max in areas with close to zero vacancy rates. Housing involves real people with real lives, and the current housing environment is not very healthy for affordable home ownership or rental. The argument can be made that home affordability is important because homeowners and […]
Pacific Northwest
Picks 2/22-3/1
Riff Raff with DJ Afterthought, Dollar Bill Gates, Owey and Peter Jackson Friday 24 RAPโ Riff Raff first made it onto the scene when he tattooed MTV onto his neck so that he could legally go by MTV Riff Raff. Flash forward a few years later and the zigzag bearded rapper is still as off-the-wall. […]
Oscar Sunday Returns
It’s time once again for the Superbowl Sunday of Cinema: The 89th Annual Academy Awards. Since it’s so much fun to predict which way the Academy will vote, only to get mad when the things you love lose horribly, this year we’ll look at the movies and people we WANT to win, versus the things […]
Side Notes 2/15-2/22
Central Oregonians Pack Sen. Wyden’s Town Halls As he walked onto the stage at Sisters High School Monday to introduce Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D), Sisters Mayor Chuck Ryan said the high school’s auditorium was the largest space they could obtain for the event. With a large turnout, it was clear that bigger spaces […]
Weed Jobs 101
As a weed columnist, the most frequent question I hear is “How the hell did you get this job? Of whom do you have compromising photos that allowed this to happen, and may I see them? I mean, seriously, you?” (My answer: “Mom, we’ve gone over this. Eat your space cake and settle down.”) The […]
Art Takes a Village Too
You’ve seen galleries. And you’ve seen street fairs. But you haven’t seen this. It’s a new, large open space in Bend where the two seamlessly blend together. Artist Stuart Breidenstein’s longtime passion project, 9th Street Village, has finally set a launch date. This rather ambitious project, pulled off with the close collaboration of the adjacent […]
A Cure for the Pain
People who see Tommy Castro and the Painkillers on his tour but have yet to hear his album, “Method To My Madness,” will get a good idea of what to expect from this latest release by the time the show is over. For starters, guitarist/singer Castro plans to play upward of eight or nine of […]
Makin’ Soup in the Maker’s District
A small history lesson for you, Benditos: It was 1958 when Japanese company Nissin rolled out the first iteration of the instant noodleโthat phenomenon now well-loved by college students with only a microwave to feed them, and middle schoolers whose parents haven’t quite taught them to cook anything else. Fast forward, and behold! Instant noodles, […]
Let’s Talk it Out
If there’s one thing people can agree on, it’s that the 2016 election revealed a divided nation. With little to no sign of closing anytime soon, many are looking for a way to bridge the chasm that exists between social and political circles. In partnership with local nonprofits and community groups, Oregon Humanities is working […]
The Many Faces of Homelessness
Get a job, they say. Find a home, people shout. But for Central Oregon’s homeless population, every story is unique, and the ultimate solutions far from black and white. Each Monday, volunteers head out to Bureau of Land Management lands near Redmond with water and propane donated by St. Vincent de Paul. The volunteers estimate […]

