The Wandering Eye

In general, The Eye has looked kindly on Ron Wyden during his years in the Senate. So it's with regret that we feel obligated to rip into him for his health care reform idea.

Economist Randall J. Podenza from the conservative Cascade Policy Institute makes some interesting (although totally predictable) predictions about the effects of HB 3405, which raises corporate tax rates in Oregon.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission seems to have sobered up a little, at least regarding regulation of some events in Central Oregon.

Sen. Jeff Merkley is leading a crusade to take candy away from children - tobacco candy, that is.

In a dramatic reversal of fortune, the bill to protect the Metolius Basin from potentially destructive destination resort development passed the Oregon House today by a vote of 31-28.

In The Eye's past trips to Hawaii, when other tourists asked us where we were from and we replied, "Bend, Oregon," the response would be something along the lines of: "Oh, I hear that's a real nice place."

When a 39-year-old man dies suddenly of a heart attack, it's shocking. When the man is a former professional bike racer and top-ranked endurance athlete, the shock is almost overwhelming. This kind of thing just shouldn’t happen, we think.

Got an aching back? If you live in Bend, you're more than twice as likely to have surgery for it as the average American is.

The Eye wandered back to Bend from Hawaii yesterday and was surprised to find the vegetation looking more lush and tropical in our backyard than it did on Maui, thanks to June's record-busting rainfall.

The most important piece of legislation around the Metolius Basin went down earlier this afternoon according to Blue Oregon Blogger Carla Axtman who blogged about the vote as it unfolded on the House Floor. Officially HB 3298 failed on 30-29 vote.