The 10 Barrel Brewing Company has just put the finishing touches on its new 50-barrel brewhouse in northeast Bend. It's a big facility with gleaming, polished steel tanks and just the latest in a series of recent expansions of the booming industry. Next on deck is a new Boneyard Beer brewhouse up the street from 10 Barrel and within the year, at least two more brewhouses are slated to open not far away.

But just as the industry prepares to cement Bend’s standing as a darling in the microbrewing world, city staff are eyeing the goods, too, and preparing to expand an heretofore obscure and sporadically administered sewer fee to breweries across the city. Breweries aren’t the only industry likely to be hit with the charge, which could generate $2 to $3 million a year for the city and is based on the concentration of waste dumped into the sewer system by commercial businesses. But of the potentially affected businesses, breweries will take some of the biggest hits.

Monday, Jan. 16

Dropping like flies: Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman drops out of GOP presidential race, endorses Mitt Romney … Meanwhile supporters of Texas Gov. Rick Perry urge him to drop out too … Wikipedia Shrugs: Popular online encyclopedia and other websites to go dark Wednesday to protest legislation they say will kill internet freedom … Meanwhile US Federal Trade Commission probing Google for possible antitrust violations involving new social media site Google Plus … Idol worship: Lifelike 12-inch action figure of the late Steve Jobs withdrawn after “immense pressure” from his family and Apple lawyers … Call it Bootylicious Beyonceous: Australian researchers discover new species of horsefly, name it in honor of Beyonce because of its beautiful golden butt … Down and out in Buckingham Palace: British government tells royal family it can’t afford to spend $92 million for new royal yacht … Congratulations, you survived it: Psychologist determines that third Monday in January is most depressing day of entire year.

Rep. Greg Walden’s office in Bend probably looks a lot like you would imagine. The American and Oregon flags line a door that leads to a basic office with a few desks, a conference room, a water cooler, chairs and a bank of windows that reveal a view of Greenwood Avenue. On this particular evening, the work traffic is steadily rolling through downtown Bend.

It’s good to be the boss: Mitt Romney stirs controversy by telling business execs in New Hampshire, “I like being able to fire people who provide services to me.” (He was talking about health insurance companies) … Buddy who? Poll shows Buddy Roemer (he’s former congressman and Louisiana governor) has pulled ahead of Rick Perry in NH. “It's a lead of eight people versus six people, but still,” says one blogger … Homesick: White House Chief of Staff William Daley quits after less than a year in job, says he wants to go back to dear old Chicago … Tensions escalating: Iran’s Revolutionary Court sentences US citizen Amir Mirza Hekmati to death for spying; US says charges false … BFFs: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Iranian Premier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad meet, ridicule US, vow to “unite forever” … Back to cold turkey: Study finds nicotine patches and gum don’t help smokers quit permanently, may even make things worse … Twitterin’ Tebowers: Fans of Denver QB Tim Tebow send record number of tweets following Tebow’s dramatic overtime defeat of Pittsburgh.