This weekend we had breakfast at Bella Cucina down in the Old Mill District, and I was suitably impressed to write about it.

In fact, Bella Cucina has been down in the Old Mill for quite some time and until Saturday I'd always avoided it. Why? Because of a really bad dining experience we had at their previous location (on Franklin and Third, the lava rock old Mexicali Rose building) under their previous owner years ago. Bad enough that I couldn't get rid of the tainted association.

That's all changed, and I'm sorry it took so long. I can't speak to their full menu, but BC has a good and really affordable breakfast menu (here)—I had the Italian breakfast wrap (think breakfast burrito) for only $5. That's an amazing deal, especially with the way restaurant prices have been rising out of control in Bend lately. And it was worth it—it was tasty and filling.

The space is a bit small, but comfortable, and colorful. Much more inviting than I would have guessed from the outside.

If you don't mind dealing with parking in the Old Mill District, I'd definitely recommend BC, at least for breakfast.

This weekend marks the end of Riverfest, and today is the Deschutes River Clean-Up—I'm writing this right under the wire as the event starts at 9am (view the events here):

Deschutes River Clean-Up
Come and join the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council to keep our river and its riparian area clean! Do your part during the Deschutes River Clean-Up and feel great about contributing to the health of the river. Meet at the Les Schwab Amphitheatre at 9:00 AM for bagels, coffee, & juice. Learn about all of the different clean-up sites, and then head out at 10:00 AM with a team leader for a few hours of service, smiles, and stewardship. Presented this year by the Oregon State Lottery and made possible thanks to valuable assistance from the Deschutes County, the City of Bend, and many dedicated site hosts.
Time: 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Information: 633-3765

My friend Simone is having a big garage sale this weekend:

There's a Bowflex (you've seen 300 and of course always wanted to own one since), a 12' Lund fishing boat, Men's and Women's Golf Bag and Clubs, Bicyles and Bike Rack, assorted Camping Gear, a large Mosquito Tent, Snowboard Gear & a rolling travel bag for your boards, a Badminton Set, and more!

Plus ... Household stuff, Christmas Lights and Ornaments, Clothing (Alpaca Sweater anyone?), Shoes, Jewelry, Framed Art and Paintings... the list goes on.

We have Table Saws, Compressors, Nail Guns, Chop Boxes, Drills - the list goes on. How about a chain saw, maybe?

For the Office: a Portable Air Conditioner, Heater, Document Shredder, Swivel Chair, Mini-Fridge, Computer monitor, brandnew Epson Printer, assorted computer accessories, etc...

So come see us Saturday - 9am - 4pm and Sunday 9am - 3pm

53705 River View Drive, La Pine (just south of State Rec Road)

There's also a bunch of beer brewing equipment that may be enticing to homebrewers:

• Primary Fermenter (5 gallon carboy)
• Stainless Steel Soda Tank (5g)
• Aluminum Keg (5g)
• Bottling Kit
• Black Metal Wart Cooker (5g)
• Copper Coil (wort chiller)

She's nearly but not quite in La Pine, but it's a nice drive and it will be totally worth it.

This is pure press release, and may or may not have been something I'd ordinarily run, but the picture made me laugh. In a creepy kind of way. Plus, it's just unusual enough that I figured, why not.

Join BMC’s Eris Craven, MS, RD, LD on a shopping tour

On this shopping tour, get hands-on experience by separating fact from fiction when it comes to getting nutritious foods!

This tour will take you to Safeway & Whole Foods for a 2 hour educational tour

WHEN: Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 10 a.m.
WERE: In front of BMC (walk over) or at Safeway in the Forum Shops
COST: $10 per person

Please fill out the section below, detach and send it with your payment (make checks out to “Bend Memorial Clinic”) to:

Eris Craven, MS, RD, LD
c/o Bend Memorial Clinic
1501 NE Medical Center Drive
Bend, OR 97702
Call Eris Craven at 318-3072 for questions and/or reservations!

[The form they referred to was an attachment to the original flyer; it's basically asking for Name(s), Birthdate, Number of Participants, and "What would you like to learn on this shopping tour?" I'm sure if you just typed that up and sent it in with the payment, it would be accepted.]

In addition to the May art I blogged earlier at Thump Coffee, here are this month's events:

CUPPING: Sunday, May 25 1:30pm-2:30pm

Can you taste the difference between a washed process and dry process coffee? Join our public coffee cuppings and taste coffees side-by-side. Discover personal preferences, likes and dislikes, and begin to taste and describe your personal and subjective sensory experience. You'll appreciate how many variables and steps along the coffee's path to us can influence how it tastes in the cup. Cuppings are usually the third Sunday of the month at 1:30pm - get details at www.thumpcoffee.com.

Click for full goings-on

Yeah, I'm running a bunch of press release type stuff recently, I know—people keep sending me stuff that I'm actually interested in posting. (For the record, I don't post every single thing I receive—only stuff I think is interesting or that I think readers would like. And sometimes I just get behind and something doesn't get posted at all.)

Anyway, Wednesdays this month at the Blacksmith are "May Martini Tastings"; it's basically their wine tastings that I blogged about but kicked up a notch for May. And I blogged this just in time, too: tomorrow's (May 7) tasting is themed "Martinis of the '20s."

Here's the clipped section from the press release—note the price and time!

Great Gatsby! During May, the Blacksmith Restaurant + Bar + Lounge mixes up its Wednesday tastings with the swankiest of cocktails, the martini. Join the Blacksmith’s own intoxicologist, John Hansen in the Anvil Room this week for “Martinis of the ’20s,” a journey through the martini’s history, including John's antique shaker collection.

Here’s the line-up for May:
May 7: Martinis of the ’20s
May 14: Post-Prohibition Martinis
May 21: Disco Martinis
May 28: Modern Martinis

Martini tasters will be served cocktail party-style, with appetizers included. Price is $25 per person. Party starts at 5pm.

So a bit spendy, but it still sounds like fun.

Photo credit: Copyright © by (my friend) Simone Paddock of Emerald Bay Photography.

Up until May 15th, that is. The 4 Peaks Music Festival is in its second year this year and is taking place July 25th and 26th.

The tickets are two-day passes which include camping (and parking), and right now you can pick them up for $64.50. After the 15th they'll go up in price $12, and another $12 after that.

Here are the details from the press release:

Bend’s 4 Peaks Music Festival returns bigger and better this year, with 20 bands and 80 acres of music, food, beverages, crafts, kids fun and camping. But the biggest discount on festival tickets ends Thursday, May 15. Festival-goers can save up to $24 by purchasing specially priced Early Bird tickets now for $64.50, which includes two-day festival admission and camping. Prices will then bump up to $76.50, and climb finally to $88.75 without notice as the festival nears on July 25-26.

:: THE DETAILS
For details, visit www.4peaksmusic.com. Tickets are available at Ranch Records in downtown Bend, or at www.frontgatetickets.com. Vendors interested in reserving booth space should contact Will Nash at 541-788-0314 or will@4peaksmusic.com. The 4 Peaks Music Festival information hotline is 541-382-8064.

:: THE BANDS
Bands are still being finalized, but the line-up promises even bigger headliners than last summer, while still featuring local acts. Tentatively, the band roster consists of Tea Leaf Green, Zilla, Hot Buttered Rum, Everyone Orchestra, Blue Turtle Seduction, Poor Man's Whiskey, Flowmotion, Moon Mountain Ramblers, Izabella, Acorn Project, State of Jefferson, Brent Alan and His Funky Friends, The Grain, Swampthang, Masala Mostest, Rising Tide and Black Strap.

The website for the Festival was redesigned and cleaned up quite a bit, too. Except for all the text content being giant graphics, that sucks. I know that's an arbitrary thing to comment on, but hey, that's what I do.

This month is marks the two year anniversary of Hack Bend! So my retrospective will cover 2006 and 2007.

In 2006:

• Newport Market's Thirsty Thursdays were covered;
• Deschutes Brewery was giving away beer in exchange for blood (with the American Red Cross);
• Sam Waterston was in town;
• I wrote about Alpenglow Café and Palmer's Café;
• A preliminary roundup of local restaurant guides;
• The mystery(?) of Sugarbowl Park;
• A preliminary roundup of WiFi hotspots.

In 2007:

• We found out pfundamentals was closing;
• Some first looks at Mary Jane's Park;
• Checking out nearly-hidden Riverside Market;
• Bend made Inc. Magazine's top Boomtowns;
• A really early review of Greg's Grill;
• Longboard Louie's showed up on the east side;
• A really early review of La Costa Azul;
• I discovered a Bend Brewing beer I'd never seen before;
• I declared (and still stand by) the Victorian Café the best breakfast in Bend.

May New Exhibit: Shelby Leigh

According to photographer Shelby Leigh, her work is an extension of sometimes-quiet observations and how she sees tiny moments in time. In her travels near and far — the exhibit includes photos from Oregon, Morocco and Chile — she likes to "notice the little things and bring them to others so that they too can see the beauty and intricacies that this world has to offer." Though she says her stories are infused in each image, she invites you to "let your imagination take you on your own journey to find peace, simplicity and wonder."

Read on (with an image, too)

It's confirmed; Duncan first reported it yesterday and it appears in today's paper (E-edition online only; no link). They've been downtown on Minnesota Avenue for 35 years (though not at the exact same location). 35 years! I don't even know what to say.

(And before anybody points an accusative finger as to supposed lack of community support, yes, I have bought books from them.)

On the bright side, they plan to continue to exist online (and take phone orders starting June 1). I hope that works out for them.

The Bend Bulletin has rolled out their new and improved website today (announced the other day here). Overall it's a much, much better interface, with better use of space and design and flow. The default fonts—at least on Firefox—might be a bit large for my tastes; it's possible to be well-designed and yet use too much space (six screenfuls on the home page), but by and large the site now looks like a current news site.

They still have the E-edition problem, as Jake points out—the very fact it exists is, essentially, the "problem." Another problem is the comment system: the fact that they are willing to accept and post user comments online is great, but—you have to be a subscriber (either E-edition or print) to do so. Ouch.

Still, it's a step in the right direction. Hopefully not the last.

Last month I had been invited to be on media panel at the Deschutes County offices, as the resident blogging expert representing how blogging and "new media" are becoming more prevalent in news and reporting and such. (The "expert" notion is up for debate, of course. I just do what I do.) The panel was to supplement media communications training for County employees and was held today—and I have to say, it was interesting and enlightening, and definitely something I'd do again if asked.

With me on the panel were Barney Lerten, of KTVZ; Heather Roberts, of KOHD; Heidi Hagemeier, of the Bulletin; and R.L. Garrigus from the Bend Radio Group. I've known Barney from back when he was still Bend.com, and had known of the others but not met them before. All very nice folks, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out they were already familiar with Hack Bend(!).

For the most part, it was as much a learning experience for me as for the County employees, I suspect; I talked a bit about the blogging aspect of things as it pertains to media and reporting and communication, but to a large extent I just listened to the others, all of whom come from more established channels with much more background than I.

And a big thanks to Anna Johnson, the Public Communications Coordinator with the County, for inviting me and arranging it all. Thanks!

Yes, it's a bit short on notice, but this Wednesday, April 30th, is another local blogger get-together. This time it's being held at the The Summit Saloon and Stage, downtown in the old O'Kane Building at 125 NW Oregon Avenue.

It starts at "5:30ish" and the "official" description I have to pass on is:

The first blogger meetup was a big success! Since then there's been a lot of growth and new folks have popped up in our local "blogosphere". Meetups like this are a nice chance for all of us to gather, unwind, and put some faces together with the blogs.

This event is primarily intended for bloggers who wish to meet other bloggers. If you don't have a blog, then this may not be the get-together for you. So, if you just can't stand not being there and don't already have a blog... what are you waiting for?!

I'll be there for sure. Will you?

Women who undergo routine mammograms at Bend Memorial Clinic now have the latest diagnostic technology available to them, digital mammography. BMC’s Mammography Department features a state-of-the-art system, Selenia™ digital mammography machine from Hologic®.

BMC is very excited to be able to offer the newest technology for breast cancer detection. Digital mammography is different from conventional mammography in how the image of the breast is viewed and, more importantly, manipulated. The radiologist can magnify the images, increase or decrease the contrast and invert the black and white values while reading the images. These features allow the radiologist to evaluate microcalcifications and focus on areas of concern.

Digital mammography feels identical to conventional screening from a patient’s perspective, though women may notice shorter exam times and a reduction in call-backs to obtain additional images. Demand for digital mammography is high, and women are excited and pleased that BMC offers this state-of-the-art technology.

To schedule a digital mammography at BMC call 541-382-4900.

About BMC:
Bend Memorial Clinic includes over 80 providers representing 15 branches of medicine and 30 service specialties. It is the largest multi-specialty group east of the Cascades and functions as a comprehensive referral center for physicians and communities throughout the state. The clinic has provided primary and specialty care since 1946.

Tuesday, April 29th, is Free Cone Day from Ben & Jerry's. From noon until 8pm, you can head down to Ben & Jerry's down in the Old Mill District and snag some ice cream.

Also on hand will be Healthy Beginnings, answering questions about their free medical screenings for kids.