Seeing stars in Sunriver
Soccer’s the ticket
It’s Astronomy Week at the Nature Center • COMMUNITY LIFE, E1
SPORTS, D1
to Sweden for Bend players
WEATHER TODAY
TUESDAY
Partly cloudy, cooler High 77, Low 35 Page C6
• June 29, 2010 50¢
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Bend cafe is aiming to feed everyone
PROPERTY TAXES
Paying on time is a taxing issue for a few local officials Most are up to date; city, county planning commissioners are among the exceptions By Hillary Borrud, Patrick Cliff, Scott Hammers and Cindy Powers The Bulletin
Government officials in Deschutes County are paying their property taxes on time, with a couple of small exceptions and one large one. A Bend planning commissioner owed about $3,000 until contacted by The Bulletin earlier this week, while one Deschutes County planning commissioner owes approximately $2,800 and another commissioner’s company owes nearly $200,000, according to county property records. Deschutes County Planning Commissioner Keith Cyrus owed the most — $199,441 — primarily for property he owns through Wildhorse Meadows LLC. He owns 40 percent of the company, his daughter Pam Mitchell owns 20 percent and his son Matt Cyrus owns 40 percent, Matt Cyrus said. The property is Aspen Lakes Golf Course, which the Cyruses have said they want to convert to a destination resort, along with other land they own. The Bulletin examined the property tax records of city councilors, planning commissioners, county commissioners, city managers, the county administrator and other positions such as treasurer and justice of the peace. The search included companies owned by these public officials. The examination did not turn up any property tax delinquencies for officials in La Pine, Redmond or Sisters. See Taxes / A6
Nonprofit set to open in August will use paying customers’ donations to provide meals for those in need Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin
Hunter Peterson, left, reads in the sun while camping with her family in a busy campground along the shores of Wickiup Reservoir on Friday. Campsites are expected to fill up this weekend.
Need a campsite for 4th of July? 1FSSZ 4PVUI $BOEMF $SFFL -PXFS #SJEHF 1JPOFFS 'PSE 4IFFQ 4QSJOHT )PSTF $BNQ "MMFO 4QSJOHT +BDL $SFFL -PXFS $BOZPO $SFFL 1JOF 3FTU #MVF #BZ (PSHF 4NJMJOH 3JWFS 4PVUI 4IPSF "MMJOHIBN 20 $BNQ 4IFSNBO -JOL $SFFL 3JWFSTJEF 126 4DPVU -BLF *OEJBO 'PSE $PME 4QSJOH
Source: Deschutes County Deputy Tax Collector Dave Lilley
Correction In a story headlined “Audit alleges OLCC problems,” which appeared Sunday, June 20, on Page A1, government auditor Julie Ratcliff’s history of state employment was inaccurately characterized. Though she has worked under contract to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, she has never been an OLCC employee. The Bulletin regrets the error.
MON-SAT
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Sites are filling up fast, but there’s still room
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By Kate Ramsayer
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What happens to tax scofflaws Deschutes County property owners who fail to pay their property taxes are charged interest on the delinquent amount. The county begins foreclosure proceedings after three years’ worth of taxes go unpaid.
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ampers hoping to find a prime site by a mountain lake this Fourth of July weekend might want to start packing up the tents and sleeping bags — campground officials predict that sites will fill up this holiday weekend throughout Central Oregon. “It’s just about the first nice weekend, so I’m expecting it to be a busy one,” said Chuck Shepard, CEO of Hoodoo Recreation Services, the concessionaire for campgrounds in the Deschutes National Forest. Some of the Deschutes campgrounds do take reservations — but many of those spots have already been snapped up. So for most people, the best strategy would be to show up early. All of the campgrounds have at least some “first come, first served” sites, and many are completely that way. See Camping / A4
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Diabetes drug’s safety questioned FDA likely to consider recalling Avandia By Rob Stein
The Washington Post
Inside • China’s efforts to become
The Washington Post
SHENZHEN, China — Last year, Zhao Bowen was part of a team that cracked the genetic code of the cucumber. These days, he’s probing the genetic basis for human IQ. Zhao is 17. Centuries after it led the world in technological prowess — think gun-
a scientific superpower, Page A4 powder, irrigation and the printed word — China has barged back into the ranks of the great powers in science. With the brashness of a teenager, China’s scientists and inventors are
The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper
Vol. 107, No. 180, 42 pages, 7 sections
driving a resurgence in potentially world-changing research. Unburdened by social and legal constraints common in the West, China’s trailblazing scientists are also pushing the limits of ethics as they create a new — and to many, worrisome — Wild West in the Far East. See China / A4
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WASHINGTON— Two teams of researchers have produced powerful new evidence that the diabetes drug Avandia increases the risk for heart problems and strokes, renewing questions about the safety of the medication. One analysis, involving more than 35,500 patients, found Avandia significantly raises the chances of a heart attack. The second, a federal analysis of more than 227,500 Medicare patients — the largest such study to date — found the drug boosts the risk for strokes, heart failure and death. The new research, released Monday, should prompt the Food and Drug Administration to remove the drug from the market, according to the researchers and several drug-safety advocates. See Avandia / A5
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A group of Central Oregonians is planning to open a nonprofit restaurant in downtown Bend in August that will use excess funds from its sales to provide free meals to low-income and homeless community members. The cafe, to be called Common Table and run by a group with the same name, is opening in the space on Oregon Avenue formerly occupied by Cork, a fine-dining restaurant that sold its assets to Common Table and closed earlier this month after nine years in operation. The cafe’s premise is to create a space for both privileged individuals, who pay for meals, and the underprivileged, who will receive donated meal vouchers, to dine together, said cafe organizer Zach Hancock. “We wanted to value humans, humanity, and highly value the Earth (on) which we live,” Hancock said. “We have a high priority to be a good contribution to Bend.” To operate as a nonprofit, Common Table must donate a certain amount of its revenues, about 15 to 20 percent, according to group members. It will do that through the vouchers, which work like gift cards and allow individuals to use them as if they were cash. Common Table signed a three-year lease Friday for the former Cork space, and is now renovating the restaurant. The group is in discussions with other nonprofits, such as NeighborImpact and the Family Access Network, which may distribute the vouchers, said Bob Pearson, a group founder and Bend resident who moved here nine years ago after retiring from a career in California’s Silicon Valley. See Cafe / A5
— Zach Hancock, cafe coordinator for Common Table
China pushes limits of science – and ethics By John Pomfret
The Bulletin
“We wanted to value humans, humanity, and highly value the Earth (on) which we live. We have a high priority to be a good contribution to Bend.”
Sites available as of Monday Reserved sites full; others first come, first served First come, first served
Crescent
By David Holley
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OBITUARY: Robert Byrd was U.S. Senate’s elder statesman, Page C5