Joe Ditzler
The Bulletin
Bend, OR, United States
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Past articles by Joe:
Humm Kombucha joining Deschutes in Roanoke
Humm Kombucha LLC, which recently expanded into a bigger brewery in Bend, is building a second facility in Roanoke, Virginia, the company announced Tuesday.The company, begun by two women in a home kitchen eight years ago, plans a 100,000-square-foot facility in the same industrial park where Bend-based Deschutes Brewery is also building a second production brewery. The new Humm Kombucha plant… → Read More
Maine brewer in trademark dispute with 10 Barrel
A phone call from a Bend brewer Friday morning to another in Maine may have averted an apocalyptic trademark battle.Chris Morley, owner of Mason’s Brewing Co., of Brewer, Maine, said he talked man-to-man with Bend-based 10 Barrel Brewing co-founder Jeremy Cox about a notice sent to Morley by lawyers for 10 Barrel. Morely said the letter demanded that he stop calling Mason’s India pale ale… → Read More
Oregon making first pot tax distributions
The Oregon Revenue Department is making the first distribution of tax money from recreational marijuana sales, nearly $85 million, to state agencies and to cities and counties, the department announced Friday.The Revenue Department collected $108.6 million in state and local taxes between Jan. 4, 2016, and Aug. 31, of which $94.55 million is available for distribution. The payments are expected… → Read More
Silver Moon rising again in Bend
Silver Moon brewpub, the familiar nightspot at 24 NW Greenwood Ave. in Bend, is coming back online Monday after a five-month hiatus for renovations.The place has expanded, and incorporates a collection of work, decor and furnishings by local craftsmen and designers, according to Silver Moon partners James Watts and Matt Barrett. With a new kitchen and increased occupancy in the bar and dining… → Read More
Eclipse drives Oregon gas prices to highest jump in nation
The average price of gas spiked across Central Oregon in the last week — as much as 21 cents per gallon in Madras — as thousands of eclipse travelers drove through the region.The trend was felt across Oregon, where a gallon of gas increased an average 10 cents in the past week, the biggest weekly jump in the nation, said Marie Dodds, spokeswoman for AAA in Oregon and Idaho. Oregon reached the… → Read More
Eclipse makes for spotty sales
Whether the eclipse boosted or stifled business in Central Oregon depended a lot on what was for sale and where. Tourists snatching up eclipse souvenirs drove up sales at The Bend Store downtown four-fold, owner Delia Paine said. “We had a phenomenal week,” she said. “We were open until 10 every night.”But other shops owners were disappointed that the crowds didn’t materialize, at least not in… → Read More
Long lines, dry pumps and high gas prices in Central Oregon
It’s no dream. Gasoline in Central Oregon is more expensive and in short supply, thanks to solar-eclipse traffic.The average price for a gallon of regular gas in Bend on Thursday was $2.83, according to the AAA Fuel Price Finder. That’s 10 cents higher than the Bend average Aug. 11. The area average Thursday rose three cents in about five yours.In Bend, locals looking to fill their tanks… → Read More
Famed auto racer has a stake in Central Oregon
A corporate acquisition in May brought a number of Central Oregon service stations and convenience stores into the portfolio of racing legend Mario Andretti.Andretti Petroleum in May acquired Colvin Oil Co., of Grants Pass, which owns gas stations and convenience stores in Central Oregon, from Sunriver to Madras. The acquisition more than doubled Andretti Petroleum’s gas station inventory and… → Read More
Airports in Madras, Bend bring in extra help for eclipse
Only 35 slots remained Thursday out of 400 available to pilots expecting to arrive at the Madras Airport for the total solar eclipse Aug. 21 — and they were going fast, said Airport Manager Rob Berg.The airport’s fixed-base operator, Berg Air, also operated by Berg and his wife, Tracy Berg, sold out reservations for aircraft to park the day of and the day before the eclipse. Spots went for… → Read More
Bend land price slashing no sign of a trend
At first glance, the two lots for sale at the corner of Northwest Crossing Drive and NW Skyliners Road look like prize property.The 3 acres have high visibility on well-trafficked streets in an upscale subdivision with some of Bend’s best-known businesses as prospective neighbors. But the owner, West Bend Property Co., the developer of NorthWest Crossing, recently reduced the combined asking… → Read More
Deschutes unemployment increased in June
The unemployment rate in Deschutes County rose by 0.4 percent in June, to 3.9 percent, the first statistically significant increase in eight years, the Oregon Employment Department reported Tuesday.That means the long recovery from the Great Recession may be catching its breath, said Damon Runberg, regional economist for the Employment Department. Deschutes County is still at a very low… → Read More
Bend cannabis start-up trimming its way to success
A well-manicured piece of dried marijuana flower doesn’t just happen. It takes a steady hand, a practiced eye and a reliable scissors. A reliable presence and a professional attitudehelp, said Patrick Todd, owner of Green Cross Specialties, an indoor cannabis grower in Bend.“It’s a cosmetic process, and you’re trying to get a quality product, as well,” he said.That’s where the Happy Harvesting… → Read More
Bend’s Locavore makes fundraising plea
An 8-year-old exercise in marketing locally sourced meat and produce in Bend is on the ropes, thanks to a harsh winter and a recent move, and is looking for help — $25,000 worth of help.Central Oregon Locavore, which relocated in May 2016 from NE First Street to NE Third Street, in Bend, is foundering now due to expenses related to the move and the dent on finances made by heavy snowfall this… → Read More
Rainbow Gathering: ‘A town without a mayor’
The U.S. Forest Service expects 1,000 or so people will have arrived already at Flagline Meadow in the Malheur National Forest, site of the Rainbow Family of Living Light gathering in Grant County.Another 19,000 or more are expected by the time the gathering culminates with a July 4 communal prayer for peace. Among them will be Garrick Beck, 68, a gemstone merchant in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Beck… → Read More
Liquor and cannabis stores stocking up for eclipse
Craig Palmer, owner of the OK Garage and Grocery, in Long Creek, Grant County, is bracing for a human tsunami.His gas station-grocery-liquor store lies along the path of totality for the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, where the disc of the moon will completely cover the face of the sun for about two minutes. Normally a town of about 100, if that, Long Creek looks forward to thousands of visitors… → Read More
No federal charges for Kitzhaber, Hayes
After an influence-peddling inquiry that dragged on for 28 months, federal prosecutors said Friday they have pulled the plug on the investigation of former Gov. John Kitzhaber and his girlfriend, Cylvia Hayes.Kitzhaber resigned as governor in February 2015 following revelations Hayes has received more than $200,000 worth of consulting contracts because of her connection to Kitzhaber and others… → Read More
No federal charges for Kitzhaber, Hayes
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland will not seek criminal charges against former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and his fiancee Cylvia Hayes, according to a news release Friday.“The investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service into the alleged misuse of… → Read More
Central Oregon economy cooler in Q1
In simple terms, the Central Oregon economy has picked nearly all the low-hanging fruit.The result is that local economic growth has cooled, as measured by the Central Oregon Business Index, which slipped 0.2 percentage points in the first quarter to 139.4.Still, the first-quarter index is higher by 2.9 percent than first quarter 2016. The index is calculated by Tim Duy, professor of economics… → Read More
Deschutes unemployment at new low
Business is good at Deschutes County Title, a title and escrow company based in Bend, said Curt Stafford, area sales manager.The company hired six people this year to staff a new office in Redmond, he said. With real estate sales still strong, the summer promises to be busy.“The perception is that business is better than last year,” Stafford said Tuesday. “I would say we’re anticipating a great… → Read More
Wyden, Merkley, Walden question FEMA denial
Oregon’s senators and a congressman have questioned a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deny a request for a presidential disaster declaration for the January snowstorms that brought parts of the state to a crawl.FEMA denied the March 9 request from Gov. Kate Brown, D-Oregon, for a disaster declaration in 10 counties, including Deschutes, that would have brought state and… → Read More