New West Book Review
Rigged: Alexandra Fuller’s “The Legend of Colton H. Bryant”
The Legend of Colton H. Bryant
By Alexandra Fuller
The Penguin Press
202 pages, $23.95
In her extraordinary new book, The Legend of Colton H. Bryant, Alexandra Fuller does a cruel thing. She makes readers fall in love with a Wyoming boy in the space of a few pages, carries us through his life, which leads inevitably to a dangerous job on an oil rig, and makes us stand as witnesses to his end, however much we wish we could turn our heads away. I still feel heartsick a few weeks after finishing it. Fuller writes with simple grace and a cowboy twang, taking a rather unconventional approach for nonfiction by composing the book of the private conversations and intimate scenes that are the turning points of Bryant's short life, and though she must have spent months with his family and friends, the author stays offstage, disappearing into a bracing, honest voice that is motherly in its tenderness toward her subject.
Fuller will discuss her book at the Tattered Cover (LoDo) in Denver on Monday, May 12 (7:30 p.m.), at Borders in Portland on May 13 (7 p.m.), and in Evanston, WY at the Uinta Library on May 16 (5 p.m.)
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Featured Photo
View of Three Sisters from Broken Top. Photo by Joe Friedrichs
LET'S GET OUR WORDS STRAIGHT
Wilderness is Multiple Use
Have you ever heard somebody say they prefer "multiple use" over Wilderness? I have what seems like a thousand times, and every time I hear it, I say to myself, wrong!
So, it seems like a good time to say it out loud because the words, "multiple use" have been lost in the Wilderness.
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Two Weeks To Oregon Primary
Obama, Clinton, Nader Plan Oregon Visits Before May 20th PrimaryBe prepared Oregon political junkies, you’re bound to ingest vast amounts of information regarding Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton during the next two weeks.
And if that won’t be enough to satisfy your political receptors, how about a little Ralph Nader to boot?
All three candidates have announced they will visit Oregon before the state’s primary on May 20, and in the case of Nader it’s tough not to ask “why, man, why?”
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CLASS ACTION SUITS TO BE FILED TUESDAY IN ARIZONA, COLORADO
Public Land Owners Taking RAT, Forest Service to Civil Court
Enough is enough, say the owners of our national forests. And they may have finally found a way to spike the Recreation Access Tax or RAT.
After years of working through cumbersome administrative channels and several rounds in criminal court, people interested in reasonable and free access to their public land have dragged the Forest Service (FS) into civil court. In addition to asking for injunctions against collecting "illegal" fees while the case is being litigated and if successful the fee program terminated, the plaintiffs in the class action complaints--to be filed tomorrow morning in Arizona and Colorado--want all fee collection signs removed and all fees collected through the years under the program returned to the people who shouldn't have had to pay them.
Suffice to say, it's panic time in the FS offices back in Washington, D.C.
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Trappings To Be Suspended
Columbia River Sea Lions Shot DeadBoth state and federal officials are taking a step back this week from their bid to protect salmon by capturing sea lions on the Columbia River.
The move comes after six sea lions were shot dead in traps designed to capture the creatures for transfer to Sea World parks. The shootings are under investigation, but it is believed that someone shot the sea lions late Saturday night.
It’s difficult to comprehend why someone would want to blow away a caged sea lion, and it’s downright creepy that they would do it in the dark.
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Beer News
Deschutes Brewery Opens In Portland
Deschutes Brewery opened its doors for the first time outside of Bend today when its new pub in Portland officially opened for business.
The Portland Deschutes Brewery & Public House is located in the downtown Pearl District. And while many in Bend are slightly saddened to see our most popular brewery expand beyond city limits, it’s tough not to be proud of what a once-tiny brewery has been able to accomplish.
Make sure to check out this video link The Oregonian put together for the Portland grand opening.
As for the results from the official NewWest.Net investigative analysis of Deschutes beer: It's delicious.
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Both Democratic presidential candidates have posted online how they will help Oregon if they are elected to office.
For Sen. Barack Obama’s link, click here. For Sen. Hillary Clinton, click here.
Both candidates discuss wilderness issues, renewable energy and the economy, specifically about federal timber payments to rural counties.
Polls continue to show Obama is ahead in Oregon. The state’s primary is May 20 and ballots will start being mailed out early next week.
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2008 COMMENTS WORTH REPEATING III
The Wilderness Drought and How the Green Group Feud Keeps it Alive
Over the past two years, I've been periodically posting selections of my favorite comments from readers of my columns and articles. I plan to continue doing this, but differently. Instead of listing comments chronologically, I've edited them into general subject areas. In this case, here are a few insightful comments that came in over the past few months on several articles on the wilderness drought and the green group feud that keeps it alive and if not endless. Enjoy.
Editor's Note: For a complete list of Comments Worth Repeating, click here.
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Snow, snow and more snow
Central Oregon’s Never-Ending WinterA snow advisory has been issued for portions of the Oregon Cascades, with up to 6 inches of snow expected to drop by Thursday. Click here for the complete forecast.
Snowfall will also dabble into Bend, as snow will drop in all areas above 2,000 feet. In a very mind-blowing experience for many in Central Oregon, it has been snowing and sunny at the same time the past several days.
When will winter finally be over? Apparently not any time soon.
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News From Oregon
Changing Views Of Ethanol In Oregon
Monday’s must read story from Oregon comes from Gail Kinsey Hill regarding ethanol use and production in the West.
Although the article details declining support for the alternative fuel, it’s summed up beautifully with this paragraph from Hill:
“This year, in a fearsome recoil, ethanol has been blamed for a host of ills, mainly that its production -- in growing and transporting corn, and in the fuel burned to distill it -- uses more energy than it saves. The most recent, and perhaps most dramatic criticism: The headlong rush into ethanol production has jacked up corn prices and deepened the global food crisis.”
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