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Controversial ex-Bend liquor officer jailed in Idaho District 54 By Nick Budnick and Cindy Powers The Bulletin
In a twist to the saga of a controversial Oregon Liquor Control Commission official who sparked complaints in Bend, the agency’s former
Central Oregon regional manager, Jason Evers, is sitting in a county jail in Idaho — the subject of an apparent federal investigation. Details of the allegations against him are unknown. However, Steve
Pharo, OLCC director, confirmed Thursday evening that Evers, who was accused of abusing his power by club owners in Central Oregon before being transferred, is facing a likely federal arraignment after being investigated
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by the U.S. Department of State. “The only thing that I can tell you at this point is they are in the process of investigating some issues concerning Jason,” Pharo said. See Evers / A5
2010 • The Bulletin
Central Oregon
The stars come out for The Tradition • Fred Couples, below, and Tom Watson are among the big names expected for this year’s Champions Tour event in Sunriver, Page 4
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A guide to the courses ofthe regi need to know to play golf on on, and everything you the High Desert this year
Places to play • Event calendar • The Tradition
House race already heating up Both candidates are unopposed in the primary, and incumbent Judy Stiegler is a top GOP target By Nick Budnick The Bulletin
C
Rescuing its golf course, Redmond eyes new ideas
SALEM — In what’s widely viewed as the hottest state legislative race in Central Oregon, neither firstterm incumbent Rep. Judy Stiegler, D-Bend, nor her challenger, Republican attorney Jason Conger, face opponents in the May 18 primary for House District 54. As a result, the race for the November election is already well under way. Earlier this month, Republicans sent out an e-mail questioning a claim in Stiegler’s ballot statement that she “led the fight” against a beer tax proposed in the state Legislature last year. Around the same time, a blog aligned with Oregon Democrats, Inside called Blue Oregon, made an is• Deschutes sue of Conger’s ties to conservaDA candidates tive Christians in Central Oregon trade sharp in a post called “The company he words, keeps.” Page C1 Both candidates shrug off the respective attacks against them as ill-informed, inaccurate and unfair. And both candidates say they personally intend to run positive campaigns, even if others who are interested in the district’s outcome do not. “It’s going to be a good, hard race.” said Stiegler, noting that she’d run for her seat twice before winning, and had been attacked before. “I’m used to that,” she said, adding that, “I’ve got a record. Frankly, I’ve got a lifelong record … of service to the community.” See Election / A5
ELECTION
Rob Kerr / The Bulletin
A golfer at Redmond’s Juniper Golf Course hits his tee shot on the 11th hole last week. Recently, the course has struggled financially, forcing the city to give it about $900,000 to pay debts. A new plan calls for the Redmond City Council to take a more active role in running the course.
City pledges $900K to cover debt payment, seeks management proposals, may take more active role By Patrick Cliff The Bulletin
REDMOND — The city of Redmond may soon take a more active role in running its municipal Juniper Golf Course after pledging $900,000 to cover the course’s debt payments through next year. The city has given Juniper $450,000 and has
budgeted another $450,000 for next year’s debt payments. The city gave the money because it backed a $6 million bond in 2003 to fund course construction and so has to pay the debt if Juniper cannot. Juniper’s revenues were supposed to cover the bond payments, but income recently failed to keep up with that demand. The city began reviewing course operations
in recent months as it became clear Juniper would struggle to make its debt payments. First, the city hired the National Golf Foundation, a Florida-based golf consulting firm, to review the course and its operations. The report made several suggestions, including changing management, making the course easier to play and marketing the course more outside the area. Redmond formed a volunteer committee to review the report’s recommendations, and its plan will be presented to the City Council soon. The committee never considered selling Juniper, according to Councilor Jay Patrick. See Redmond / A5
The Associated Press file photo
Joann Weber of Midtown Realty changes the sign to “Sold” earlier this month at a home in Palo Alto, Calif. As of mid-February, nearly 1.8 million households had used a federal homebuyer tax credit, and the buying has continued through spring.
Homebuyer tax credit deadline is here, as is A containable oil spill – how’d it become a crisis? a national rush to cash in By Calvin Woodward The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Suddenly, everything changed. For days, as an oil spill spread in the Gulf of Mexico, BP assured the government the plume was manageable, not catastrophic.
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Federal authorities were content to let the company handle the mess while keeping an eye on the operation. But then government scientists realized the leak was five times larger than they had been led to believe, and days of lulling statistics and reassuring words gave way Thursday to an
all-hands-on-deck emergency response. Now questions are sure to be raised about a selfpolicing system that trusted a commercial operator to take care of its own mishap even as it grew into a menace imperiling Gulf Coast nature and livelihoods from Florida to Texas. See Spill / A2
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Vol. 107, No. 120, 68 pages, 7 sections
By Alan Zibel and Adrian Sainz
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• Spill may eclipse Exxon Valdez, Page A3
INDEX Abby
E2
Business
B1-6
Calendar
E3
Classified
F1-6
Editorial
Comics
E4-5
Family
Crossword E5, F2
Horoscope
C4 E1-6 E5
Local Movies
C1-6
Oregon
C3
Stocks
GO! 30
Science
A2
TV listings
E2
Weather
C6
Obituaries
C5
Sports
D1-6
B4-5
Real estate agents are working seven days a week, builders are staying open late and homebuyers are scrambling to get their offers in as they rush to take advantage of tax credits that expire at midnight. To qualify, buyers must have a signed contract in hand by the deadline and must complete the deal by June 30. The tax incentives — offered to both first-time buyers and some current homeowners — are fueling a strong spring selling season and helping home prices stabilize. Real estate agents hope the burst in activity, along with the lifting of general economic gloom, will propel the housing market for the rest of the year. See Homes / A5