The Wandering Eye

Central Oregon LandWatch has come out with a detailed study of the fiscal impacts of destination resorts, and resort developers and advocates aren't going to like it one bit.

State Sen. Chris Telfer has put forward what she's billing as "a community-based solution to the health care crisis." It looks to us like an idea worth exploring - but whether it's the "solution" is another story.

The conservative members of the Taxpayer Association of Oregon held a wingding at Dorchester last week, and one of the surprises was the overwhelming consensus in favor of allowing states to lower the drinking age.

Portland's much-vaunted "livability" took a heavy hit this week as Business Week magazine ranked it the unhappiest large city in America.

Update from The Loony Bin, aka the Republican congressional delegation: The House on Friday rejected a move to fight the current economic crisis by imposing a freeze on federal spending.

Now that Dr. Sanjay Gupta has taken himself out of contention for the job of surgeon general in the Obama administration, Kari Chisholm of Blue Oregon is thumping the tub for - of course - Oregon's own Dr. John Kitzhaber.

Central Oregon LandWatch is pushing legislation that would go further toward restricting resort development near the Metolius - as well as other areas in Jefferson County - than the plan developed by the state Land Conservation and Development Commission.

Homeowners in Deschutes County are defaulting on their mortgages at the rate of 10 a day, according to a report by OPB's Ethan Lindsey this morning.

On Feb. 20 The Eye reported that Orestar, the Oregon state campaign finance database, showed that The Bulletin had given a $4,000 in-kind contribution to the Bend Business PAC, the political arm of the Chamber of Commerce, before the last election.

Gordon Smith's being talked up as a candidate for governor again - but the guy who's doing the talking is a Democrat.