The folks at Chow are gearing up to try their hands at something new soon. Local Slice Pizza is scheduled to open by the last week of April on Amber Meadow Drive off of Brookswood.

With new construction on its way to completion and a liquor license already approved, feel free to let your anticipation build. The Local Slice Facebook Page describes the new venture as “A Locavore Pizza Joint in Bend Oregon showcasing the best of Bend, local beers, and good times!” The menu at Local Slice will include salads, appetizers and, of course pizza, using fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients while continuing to offer an awesome array of gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options.

There will be thirty seats inside with table service, as well as ten patio seats for soaking up summer outside. They will also be offering delivery, which should delight south-town neighbors.

Get ready, because tonight is the midnight release for Part 1 of Twilight Breaking Dawn.

You wont find me there, but you can bet to find hundreds of screaming prepubescent girls camped out for this movie. I have never gotten into the series maybe it was how drawn out and boring the story is or how everyone looks like a Portlander who's had way too much botox.

The series' hotties, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart, will all make as much as  $41 million each for the pair of upcoming movies. Wow.

Four of the six midnight shows here in Bend are soldout, but there are still some tickets available for the last two.

In case you were thinking of camping out, here's what you might expect from your fellow campers.

The Bend City Council is holding a public hearing as they consider extending the system development charges (SDC) deferral program for builders in the City of Bend, a measure which offers builders and developers some economic incentive. The council will also hear a staff recommendation on a request from the Central Oregon Builders Association (COBA) to keep street improvement fees that are designed to help the city add capacity to meet the demands of population growth. The fees are unpopular with builders but a key source of revenue for cash-strapped cities like Bend, which recently convinced voters to approve a street construction tax to chip away at the backlog of projects. Council is expected to hold open the public comment period on the street fee until September.

Among the other issues to be covered during Wednesday night’s City Council meeting and work session is homelessness in Bend. The Council is to receive a presentation entitled, “10-Year Plan to End Homelessness.” The many homeless in Central Oregon have been gaining more of a voice recently thanks to such organizations as Central Oregon Veterans Outreach, who recently helped build a mobile shower truck for those in need.

Also on the Councilors’ plates is the official transfer of transit to the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council — a local entity that strives, in part, to identify and serve the regional transportation needs of residents.

The Council is also expected to approve an agreement with Knife River Corporation for street restoration on such heavily trafficked roads as stretches of Newport Ave., Portland Ave., Reed Market and Wilson Ave. If the $315,884 contract is approved, the work will begin this year.

You can find the complete agenda for tonight's meeting right here.

The injuries from Chris Horner’s violent crash in last month’s Tour de France continue to surface. Although Horner’s most obvious trauma following the crash appeared to be a concussion, he can now add a blood clot to the growing list of injuries. The professional cyclist, who races for Team Radioshack, was hospitalized last night with a blood clot in his lung.

He also suffered a broken nose, fractured rib and deep bone bruising due to the crash. Fluid on his ankle and leg tendons have caused pain and prohibited him from riding since his return to Bend until only a few days ago. The 39-year-old Horner is being treated with blood thinners and his season is more than likely over.

Horner’s high-speed crash during Stage 7 of the Tour threw him from a narrow French road into a deep ditch, where he laid motionless for many seconds, while he was assisted by his team managers. Ultimately he remounted and finished the stage, but was obviously disoriented and taken to the hospital immediately following the finish. He was unable to continue racing, and returned to Bend to recuperate.

Although he was upbeat just a few days ago when interviewed for an upcoming story in the Source Weekly, this is definitely an unwelcome setback for the veteran racer. Still, he is known for his tenacity and optimism, and is planning a return to the highest level of professional cycling in 2012. Asked if he’s planning another run at the Tour de France, he responded emphatically.

“Absolutely,” Horner says. “The crash doesn’t put any fear in me to avoid (racing). It comes as part of the job. Do crashes put some kind of hesitation in racing? Absolutely. But does it keep me off the bike? No.”

The Northwest Community Balloons Over Bend Children’s Festival kicked off Friday morning at Riverbend Park.

Hundreds gathered in the early morning to watch the balloons launch on what was a beautiful and cloudless Bend morning. One by one, starting at around 6:15 AM, all seven balloons safely took to the sky and headed out Northeast over the Deschutes River, flying towards Redmond. Winds at altitude were brisk, making it a challenge for ground crews to keep in front of their respective balloons. Shortly into the morning’s flight, several balloons touched down at the Skyview Middle School’s sports fields and re-launched shortly after to follow the pack.

Wow. Just wow. LSA (les schwab amphitheater) is back for 2010 in a big way with last night's Band of Horses show. That was some unapologetic, unbridaled rock and roll that managed to make half the audience swoon. And, oh yeah, there was a full-on Fourth of July fireworks dispaly over the river BEFORE the encore, which-btw-on Rd. 3 was Yo La Tengo.

Sorry did my face just melt off?

Long live wild horses.

REJ.

Our own Anne Pick was one of the few freezing spectator's at last night's Oregon Civil War. In the event that you inexplicably use this website for all your college sports news and haven't heard yet, the Ducks won a hard-fought game 37-33. That's why in the photo above, Oregon students (and many non-students) charged the field in celbratory revelry. Here's some more photos from Anne's bus trip to Eugene.

Years ago when I aspired to become a professional tennis player, I worked at a Colorado resort hotel's tennis facility. My job included cleaning the place, gathering balls for the pro during his lessons, playing with resort guests who needed a partner and stringing rackets. In my off-hours I devoured everything I could read about the game.

The player I most admired at that time was Jack Kramer. Kramer who died this past week at age 88, was a Wimbledon and U.S National (now U.S. Open) singles champion in the late 40s and won dozens of national and international doubles titles. Plagued by an arthritic back, Kramer retired from amateur tennis in 1954 and started a successful pro tennis tour that traveled the country giving exhibitions.

Like a lot of aspiring players of the time I played with a Jack Kramer autograph model Wilson racket, which was the best selling racket worldwide for close to three decades. I went a step further salting away a portion of my monthly earnings to buy a pair of white Jack Kramer signature tennis shorts.

So when my boss the tennis pro walked in one day and announced that Jack Kramer and part of his touring company would be staging an exhibition at the resort, I was ecstatic.