The Beacon

 
Okay, so maybe that’s a little misleading. But Tyler and the gang over at Silver Moon are discounting pints of Bandlands Bitter this afternoon as part of ONDA’s Badlands Bash at the pub.

The effort to curtail downtown parking violations by instituting a new pay as you go system in two popular downtown parking lots was rebuffed again on Wednesday by downtown Bend merchants who object to the loss of free parking for customers.
It is the second time in the past six months that retailers have revolted over a plan to revamp downtown Bend’s parking system which is by many accounts plagued by problems, namely shop owners and employees who hopscotch between the free two-hour spaces to avoid tickets.

Former Bend Chamber President Mike Schmidt announced today that he is dropping out of this year’s Bend City Council race just a few weeks after announcing his candidacy.
Schmidt, who came to Bend from California to replace controversial ex-Chamber President Gary Peters, charted a new more progressive direction for the chamber before splitting ways with the Bend business group.

A group of conservation groups including the Bend-based Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) wants to Gov. Kulongoski to tighten windpower rules that allow companies to skirt rules that could lead to greater oversight and scrutiny of the massive wind power projects that have invaded Oregon.

 
If you don’t know Mike Schmidt, it’s worth pointing out that whatever assumptions that you might have about his former career as a “chamber guy” are probably off the mark. In fact it’s probably more telling that Schmidt is no longer with the Bend Chamber than the fact that he was –since he’s spent a good deal of his post-Bend Chamber career working on behalf of causes that the chamber has either actively opposed (a local business tax) or at least remained totally ambivalent about (Bend Transit and disabled access).

In the greatest piece of military marketing since the Marine’s coined, “The Few. The Proud.

The impending Civil War has been bringing plenty of national media attention to Oregon over the past few days, mostly from ESPN which is carrying the game tonight at 7 p.m.

How hot are Civil War tickets this year for the nationally televised Oregon – Oregon State game that will likely determine which of the two teams goes to the Rose Bowl? So in demand that the Attorney General wants you to be aware of ticket scams.
AG John Kroger issued a media alert this morning advising Beavs and Ducks to be on the look-out for bogus ticket deals, offering a list of tips for fans who want to protect themselves.

We just got word that Mt. Bachelor has pushed tomorrow’s opening day start time back about three hours from 9 a.

 
The Oregon Lottery cleaned up its act, eliminating its NFL Sports Action pick ‘em ballot four years ago to appease the NCAA when the state was trying to land an NCAA men’s hoops regional tournament bracket, which it ultimately did. However, the Oregon Lottery, despite its problem gambling PSAs, continues to rake in a huge amount of revenue by exploiting gambling addicts, according a recent piece by The Oregonian.