The Wandering Eye

Steve Novick, campaigning for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, picked up a valuable endorsement this week - that of former Gov. John Kitzhaber.

Central Oregon LandWatch and Friends of the Metolius are going to court to try to protect the scenic river from two planned new destination resorts.

Love him or hate him - and it seems that nobody's in between - you have to agree that Bill Sizemore has been a major mover and shaker in Oregon politics for the past 15 years. The anti-tax, anti-government, anti-union crusader hasn't written his autobiography yet, but if you want a comprehensive low-down on what he's been up to since 1993, Democracy Reform Oregon has it.

KBND-AM's on-line presidential poll found Republican nominee-apparent John McCain in the lead with 32% — not a big surprise, considering KBND's all-right-wing-all-the-time talk show lineup.

The contest for the Democratic presidential nomination won't be over until after the Texas and Ohio primaries on March 4 - if then - but Barack Obama already has blown Hillary Clinton out of the water when it comes to raising money from Bend contributors.

The running feud between Allan Bruckner and The Shepherd's House got nastier this week, with the executive director of the mission accusing Bruckner of waging a "vendetta" and practicing "blackmail."

A bill to make small reforms to the subprime mortgage lending industry narrowly passed the Oregon House yesterday, with no help from Central Oregon's two Republican legislators.

Members of the Central Oregon business community apparently believe they can make the real estate slump go away if they just think positive - and lean on the news media go along with their spin.

John Kroger seems to be shaping up as the environmentalists' choice to be Oregon's next attorney general.

Hunters and anglers from Oregon and across the country who went to Washington last week to lobby for legislation on global climate change got a chilly reception in Sen. Gordon Smith's office.