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Wagers spice up British elections
19th Street opposition growing
Let’s see some ID
By Cindy Powers The Bulletin
By Erin Golden The Bulletin
Dozens of people who tried to hit the slopes at Mt. Bachelor with borrowed or stolen ski passes this season found themselves in trouble with staff at the resort — and in some cases, with law enforcement. Mt. Bachelor spokesman Alex Kaufman said stopping people who try to use someone else’s pass has always been a priority for the ski area. But this year, with the help of handheld scanners that display pass holders’ photos and a stepped-up awareness campaign, the resort has been putting a bigger emphasis on pass misuse and catching more scammers in the act. Since February, when the resort posted warning signs about the problem, staff members have nabbed more than 80 people, Kaufman said. Exact numbers from previous seasons were not available, but Kaufman said there’s been a noticeable increase this year, though it’s tough to say if the overall number of people misusing passes has gone up or down.
An Axess scanner displays a photo of the pass holder in the top right corner of an LCD screen. “It’s hard to tell if it has increased or decreased the fraudulent passes,” he said. “But we’ve added signs this year that let people know that if you steal skiing it’s the same as stealing milk. Our goal is to decrease it through awareness.”
In the past, staff members tried to spot pass scammers by checking passes in different locations around the mountain at different times of day. But without a photo to match to the pass user, it was sometimes hard to tell if the proper owner was using a pass. The hand-held displays, which are used by lift staff members, can quickly turn up an adult trying to use a cheaper child’s pass or any other skier or snowboarder pretending to be someone else. Staff members who catch people with the wrong pass get an incentive: $25 from the resort. Kaufman said staff members have found a wide variety of visitors trying to get away with using someone else’s pass. “It’s not limited to one demographic at all,” he said. “We have all ages, all kinds who have been stopped in the act throughout the year. Some take it better than others, but most people who are stealing something don’t appreciate being caught, and it’s a guest services challenge when that occurs.” See Pass / A4
Forbidden beverage
SUPREME COURT: Justices debate cross, petition privacy, Page A3
Since 1860, Pakistani brewery fights for survival By Nicolas Brulliard The Washington Post
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Vol. 107, No. 119, 66 pages, 8 sections
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Deschutes Junction Tumalo Rd.
Juniper Ridge industrial and mixed-use site
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19th St.
Juniper Golf Course Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center
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Greg Cross / The Bulletin
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A proposal calls for 19th Street, which starts in south Redmond near the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, to extend to Deschutes Market Road, just north of Bend. When complete, it will provide more access to the Redmond Airport, industrial land, the fairgrounds and Juniper Ridge, and serve as an alternate route to U.S. Highway 97.
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New scanners use photos to prevent ski pass theft
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Photos by Andy Tullis / The Bulletin
Mt. Bachelor lift access coordinator Jay Jones, 24, of Bend, left, uses an Axess handheld scanner to check the season pass photo of snowboarder Butch Kovach, 62, of Bend, right, as Dale Slennes, 71, of Duluth Minn., center, scoots by on his skis, at the bottom of the Pine Marten Chair at Mount Bachelor on Tuesday.
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LONDON — Midway through last week’s second British election debate, Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, made a little joke about airplanes flying only when “there isn’t too much volcanic ash around.” And somewhere around wager-happy Britain, cheers erupted from Inside the 56 people who had placed • PM’s “bigot” comment bets that Clegg has Britons would be the talking, first of the Page A3 three debaters to refer to the Icelandic volcano that paralyzed European travel earlier this month. The British will bet on anything. Online betting sites are growing fast, and at least 9,000 storefront betting parlors, in virtually every neighborhood in British cities and towns, are always busy. Businessmen in pinstripes and women in soccer jerseys wander in to place bets — mainly on sports, but also on novelty items ranging from the weather to the identity of the next “Bond Girl” to which country will make first contact with extraterrestrials. Politics is always a draw, but a national election that is suddenly and unexpectedly a rollicking, galloping political horse race is drawing bets like never before. Bookmakers expect to handle $40 million worth of bets during the one-month campaign leading up to the May 6 general election — more than double the amount in any previous British election. In addition to betting on random utterances, such as which candidate will say “rubbish” first, Britons are wagering on what color tie Prime Minister Gordon Brown will wear to the debates and whether Conservative Party leader David Cameron will faint during the televised clashes. See Betting / A4
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The Washington Post
Deschutes County officials pushing a proposal to extend 19th Street from Redmond to Bend may have a fight on their hands if a small but growing opposition to the project continues to gain momentum. More than a dozen letters opposing the plan, including an analysis by a Seattle-based transportation engineer, have been sent to county staffers in recent months. Detractors say the road is a waste of taxpayer money — noting the Oregon Department of Transportation has said it isn’t currently needed — and criticize the county for failing to consider alternative routes. The project was added to the county’s 20-year blueprint for road work last week, despite the fact that the Planning Commission voted against the proposal in January. Funding for the estimated $8.7 million project has yet to be identified, and it will need state approval to go forward. See 19th Street / A5
Deschutes Mkt. Rd.
By Karla Adam
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — This conservative city is known for its army generals and fundamentalist mosques. Yet in a cluster of brick buildings in the center of town stands a family-owned brewery that has somehow survived more than a century of adversity. Established in 1860 to quench the thirst of British troops, the brewery has withstood riots, shutdowns and severe restrictions, including laws that for more than three decades have put alcohol off-limits to the vast majority of Pakistanis. Today, Murree Brewery offers a window into the contradictions of modern Pakistan, where secular practices endure in the face of rising religious fundamentalism. “Most people, they drink beer, but they don’t tell,” said Yasin Sadiq, 47, the chief brewer, who as a Muslim is legally barred from drinking his creation. Under Pakistani law, non-Muslims and foreigners who obtain a special
government permit may buy small amounts of liquor and beer from licensed sellers, most common in the southern metropolis of Karachi, where there is a large Hindu population. But it’s common knowledge that some Pakistani Muslims drink. Empty beer cans are a common sight in trashstrewn gutters. Bars at luxury hotels don’t always demand to see permits, and Muslim drinkers can procure alcohol from bootleggers or willing Christians or Hindus. Former president Pervez Musharraf is only one of several Pakistani leaders widely known to have had a penchant for whiskey. That laxness bothers lawmakers such as Khurshid Ahmed, a senator with the religious party Jamaat-e-Islami, who says the government doesn’t do enough to enforce a ban he says Islamic law requires. In a nation where conservative Islam is gaining influence, that is the kind of stance Isphanyar Bhandara, the brewery’s 37-yearold chief executive, said he must carefully dance around every day. See Brewery / A5
6 out of 10 migrant women raped in Mexico, activists say By Tim Johnson McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Nicolas Brulliard / Washington Post
Yasin Sadiq, Muree Brewery’s chief brewer, stands next to a wort boiler in the company’s Rawalpindi plant. Muslims are legally barred from drinking Sadiq’s creation.
MEXICO CITY — As many as six out of every 10 Central American women and girls are raped as they pass through Mexico hoping to cross illegally into the United States, Amnesty International said Wednesday. The rapists include criminal gang members as well as local authorities in collusion with them, said Rupert Knox, an Amnesty International researcher on Mexico. Knox called on Mexico to take action to end a “really chilling panorama” faced by migrants passing across its borders. In irate response to the Arizona law signed last Friday, Mexico issued a travel warning alerting citizens who are traveling to or residing in Arizona that they might face harassment. See Migrants / A5