My Page: Joseph Friedrichs
Open House At 7 p.m.
Obama To Open Field Office In Bend
Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign opened five field offices throughout Oregon Thursday, including one in downtown Bend. The Obama camp also announced they have plans to open more offices in the near future.
The campaign will hold opening events today in Portland, Beaverton, Oregon City, Eugene and Bend. Tonight’s opening in Bend will go down at 7 p.m. The office is located at 117 N.W. Oregon Ave., with Mayor Bruce Abernethy and Judy Stiegler, candidate for House District 54, as the featured speakers.
And in case you were wondering, yes, Obama’s office is the former Hillary Clinton headquarters in Bend.
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Seven Years And Seven Rules
In Memory Of A Montana Friend
Carley Spielman was killed in a traffic accident on the outskirts of Missoula July 23, 2001. Not long after the accident her mother discovered a word document tucked away in the files of Carley’s computer. The list contains seven rules Carley, apparently, felt everyone should live by.
I had the pleasure of knowing Carley during her freshman year of college at the University of Montana. Five years ago Carley's mother sent me the list conjured from her daughter's mind.
And 7 years after her death, I would like to share the seven rules Carley Spielman conducted her life by, with you.
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Too much too soon?
Patience Key To Success With Renewable Energy In The West
Although the push for increased amounts of renewable energy continues throughout the West, a recent assessment from a federal power administration finds that demand could be exceeding supply when it comes to wind farms.
It’s likely that developers in this region will triple the amount of wind power by erecting dozens of new wind farms in the coming years. However, the assessment from the Bonneville Power Administration also reveals that unless more power lines are added with the new farms, transmission networks won’t be able to handle so much wind so quickly.
As it stands now, BPA says it has only enough space on the grid for just one-third of the anticipated 4,716 megawatts.
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Accident At Sunriver Airstrip
Plane Crash Near Bend Kills Calif. CEOOne of the busiest private airport facilities west of the Mississippi River was the site of a fatal plane crash Wednesday afternoon.
Douglas J. Sharratt, 50, the top official of a California high-tech company died when his small aircraft crashed and exploded into a ball of flames when he attempted to land at the Sunriver Resort’s airstrip, located fewer than 30 miles from Bend.
Because the airstrip is surrounded by walking and biking paths, as well as numerous homes, at least several people witnessed the crash and follow-up explosion.
Apparently Sharratt had trouble with the landing, as one woman who captured the incident by photograph reports.
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No Money, Mo Problems
Oregon County Faces Impending Doom
Unless money literally starts growing on trees, which could only occur on timber that is federally protected because of an owl and thus proves impossible to cut, several Oregon counties are soon to face absolute extinction.
Staggering statistics raging against both Curry and Josephine counties as a result of the demise of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (not to mention the Endangered Species Act) has left county, state and federal officials scrambling to find a way to save schools, law enforcement agencies and other means of public service in each respective county.
Curry County, tucked away in the far southwestern section of the state, is petering on the brink of extinction. Beginning next month, Curry is set to lose about two-thirds of its $6.1 million general fund.
As my old pal Georgia Nowlin, the newest Curry County commissioner, said last July: “What’s wrong with our county?”
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Ten Of Oregon's Finest Warm Water Holes
Where To Get Your Soak On In Oregon
Although scorching summer days may not seem as the perfect opportunity to soak in one of Oregon’s many natural hot springs, truth is this time of year can provide some of the best soaking settings there are.
The trick to enjoying a summertime soak is to wait until darkness blankets the earth. Evening temperatures are typically perfect soaking weather throughout Oregon. Clear summertime skies offer optimal views of the lands beyond this planet. Then there’s the added feature of not having to go through a mad scramble when exiting the warm waters of a hot spring. Granted, soaking in the winter can be immaculate, but using a stiff towel crusted with ice chunks to dry off is not. It’s also terrible having to put on frozen socks and boots.
In the summer it feels glorious occasionally hopping out of a hot spring and feeling the cool night air. Feel free to do some bending exercises. Enjoy being alive on the planet!
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Ernesto's, Free Pizza No More
Bend Loses Best Happy-Hour Venue
The first time I was told Ernesto’s Italian Restaurant in Bend dished out free pizza during Happy Hour so long as one ordered a cocktail that costs more than $3 my response was this: Can I order two?
My friend and informant of the free pizza nodded that indeed, you could.
“Hell,” he said, “you can order as many drinks as you want. So long as you don’t pass out or blackout and start smashing things.”
Well, dear reader, the free pizza is no more. Ernesto’s officially closed for business this week.
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Fire Sparkes Near Bend
Fire Season Arrives In Oregon
Despite hundreds of inches of precipitation dropping in the Cascades already this year, fire season has officially arrived in Oregon.
More than a thousand lightening strikes since the weekend have bolted Oregon’s fire season into reality, sparking several blazes near Bend.
The Tumalo Creek Fire, burning just north of Bend, has already charred more than twenty acres and forced several evacuations. The fire was 60 percent contained as of Monday.
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Jeopaaaardy!
Talk Like A Pirate Day Inventor Defeated On Jeopardy
There are only three people in the world, who if they appeared as contestants on Jeopardy!, would I wish for them to fail miserably. That list, in no particular order, would include the following: Jared the Subway mascot; James Dobson the evangelist guru; and Oregon’s own John Baur, the inventor of Talk Like A Pirate Day.
A sanction of my Jeopardy! contestant loserdom was fulfilled Thursday night when Baur appeared on the greatest game show ever created. And although Baur was neither crushed nor maimed on the program, Baur did lose, providing me with a great sense of comfort. In fact, I slept better last night than I have in a month.
I first reported on the dreaded Talk Like A Pirate Day last September when the annual “holiday” came around. In case you were wondering how I felt about the holiday, allow me to sum it up real brief like: It’s the stupidest thing ever conjured by a human brain.
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Notes From The Summer Tour
Finding Glitter And Doom With Tom Waits
My thoughts haven’t been clear these past few days. It’s not the exposure to an excess of sunlight, or the lingering flavors of barley and hops each morning that are clouding my brain cells. What are swimming through my thoughts are the following lyrics from the Tom Waits song “Lucinda”:
"I thought I'd broke loose of Lucinda
The rain returned and so did the wind
I was standing outside the Whitehorse
Oh but I was afraid to go in"
After following Tom Waits on the first three nights of his current “Glitter and Doom” tour, I have found it a staggering impossibility to shake those strange lyrics from my thought process.
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