Dude with Cascadia Forest Defenders climbed 80 feet up a flagpole outside the Capitol building in Salem today, hung a banner and camped out for about an hour and a half.

Perry Thompson Graham, 23, from Eugene, was promptly arrested by Oregon State Police after descending the pole voluntarily.

The banner he left behind reads "Schools vs Trees? We want both!"

The legislature is not currently in session and it's not clear exactly to what Perry was referring.

He’s been charged with disorderly conduct, criminal trespass and criminal mischief and booked in the Marion County Jail.

Good day to be an American.

We're putting together a full page of your Bend summer concert photos, but we need help.

In an effort to create the most baddest-assed Summer Concert Guide possible (on stands May 17) we're asking you to send us your favorite photographs. And we've bumped the submission deadline to Friday, May 11 at 10am.

This all we require of your pictures: 

-actually taken at a concert in Central Oregon (that includes 4Peaks, Sisters Folk Festival, LSA shows, etc.) The date is irrelevant. If you have a photo of you puking on your brother-in-law at a Springsteen show in Bend in '88, send it to us!

-high resolution This is self explanatory, right? If you're unsure, send it anyway. What the hell.

Whoa, that's a lot of pot.

Still, we feel for Brandon James Manger, 23, who was caught with it all in his SUV last night just north of Klamath Falls by Oregon State Police. Manger is from the Bend area, according to OSP.

I mean, maybe he gets really bad headaches and that's his medicine. Definitely looks like he might have a headache.

Expensive medicine, though. Troopers estimate the herb's value at $250,000 minimum. 

So, last week we threw up that blog about police potentially cutting back critical services if the department didn’t get more money. Read it here.

You all jumped on the “that’s total bs” bandwagon and dished left and right about your frustration with government, etc.

I had a talk with Bend Police Chief Jeff Sale after all that and we agreed that the information we posted was incomplete.

I didn’t do a good enough job of telling you all why they needed more money.

Here’s the deal: Bend Police Department staff believe requests for help will increase at a rate of around seven to nine percent each year in the coming years. But the city is budgeting only a two percent increase in money for BPD each year over that time frame, hence the need for more money or a reduction in services, said Sale. 

A controversial logging project along the McKenzie River faces a potential lawsuit from a trio of Oregon-based environmental groups.

The so-called Goose project on the Willamette National Forest will adversely impact endangered species habitat and unnecessarily targets old growth trees along the McKenize River in addition to expanding logging operations into the Lookout Mountain area, a potential wilderness, according to Doug Heiken of Oregon Wild, which joined Cascadia Wildlands and the Western Environmental Law Center in opposition to the 2,100-acre logging project near the small community of McKenzie Bridge.

More than 5,000 people have signed a petition opposing the project since it was publicized recently, largely because of neighbors who rallied against the project, which they say was kept under wraps by the Forest Service and only scrutinized after the 45-day comment period had lapsed.

The Forest Service has since acknowledged that its notification process, which included a notice in the local paper, Eugene Register Guard and mailers to roughly 70 property owners could have been more robust. Or as McKenzie River District Ranger put it, “We dropped the ball.” The Forest Service said it has since made adjustments to the project to address the public's concerns.

Opponents including Oregon Wild say the Forest Service had a option that put more focus on restoration but opted for a more aggressive approach that shoehorns old growth logging into the plan, despite public objections. 

That wasn’t necessarily the gist of the Times Seattle bureau chief William Yardley’s feature story on Bend’s booming beer business, but he did use the “B” word to describe bend’s craft brewing and he wasn’t talking about the creamy foam head. The article was the second in just a few weeks in the Times that spotlights the local beer boom. Yardley, who covers the Pacific Northwest for the Gray Lady, focuses on the economic impact of Bend’s brewing industry at a time when Bend’s other economic engines, including construction and high tech, have sputtered. The article includes references to Bend's beer-related ventures, including, of course, the cycle pub, the silipint, and the Ale Trail. The combination of which probably isn't the foundation of an economic recovery for the region. However, beer is a bright spot, according to Yardley who points out Deschutes Brewery's 400 plus jobs in the state.

Yardley correctly notes that the influx of well-off retires has largely dried up, or greatly diminished since the boom years. However, Bend still retains many of the attributes including climate and recreation that it had before and during the halcyon days. Yardley quotes State Economist Carolyn Eagan who observes that, “What we did for so long was take advantage of the land we have… Well, you can’t export land, but you can export beer,” Eagan told Yardley.

But is there a ceiling for this booming industry? Yardley seems to dismiss the notion. We hope he’s right, but we’re stockpiling pints and 22 oz labels from all the start-ups as commemorative items just in case the Times fails to forecast another Bend bust.

It's warm out there. And it's Monday. So we're going to cool off and mellow out at Deschutes' "Toast to Twilight & Hop in the Dark" party. It's also locals night at the downtown pub, so we can afford a pint or two. The summer ales couldn't have been released on a better day.

The special pouring starts at 4:30pm. We'll see y'all there.

You also might see a New York Times reporter at the downtown pub. First this story on April 20 and now this: An Economic Lifeline of Barley and Hops, a piece about how beer  saved Bend.

They love us beer swilling Oregonians.

On May 16^th, California band Social Distortion will be in Bend to rock the Midtown Ballroom. I talked to Social D. guitarist Jonny Wickersham last week for a SOUND piece that will be on newsstands this Wednesday. Check out a little extra coverage from that interview and watch the music video Social D. did for “Machine Gun Blues”, their biggest hit off last year’s release Hard Times & Nursery Rhymes. Each band member played a spirited role in bringing the song to life.

Jonny Wickersham:

On his 12 year (so far) experience as a guitarist for Social Distortion…

“It’s cool to play music that a lot of different people respond to… different walks of life, different ages. It feels good to play in a band that has the capacity for that as opposed to being a band that only one generation likes or one demographic.”

On writing songs with Mike Ness…

“My contribution to the stuff is purely musical. On Sex, Love, and Rock ‘n’ Roll, I brought a few tunes to the table that were more mapped out. Mostly I might come up with an arrangement and a few working lyrics and Mike will do a rewrite [of the words]. He’s not the kind of guy who would want to sing someone else’s lyrics because the songs are deeply personal to him. I bring in guitar parts and melodies and then Mike will shape up the structure of the tunes.”

Ultra-artsy Portland band Swansea will launch their May tour tonight at the Horned Hand, 8pm. Their first full length album “Old Blood” is due out June 5^th and it sounds like it’s going to be pretty darn great.

With heavily lyrical songs that build into a dramatic clash of keys, drums and vocals the three-piece will effortlessly give you goose bumps. You can preview two tracks from their upcoming album here. 

Their slow melodic tunes should be a refreshing change form the gypsy-punk and bluegrass that dominate live music in Bend. Plus, it’s free. 

If you’re looking to tap your toes tonight check out the show.