If you owe money on your home equity line of credit or if it feels like you have a gazillion payments left on an adjustable rate mortgage, you are probably feeling the pain of higher interest rates. Perhaps you obtained your loan when lenders were bragging that rates hadn't been so low since the Cuban missile crisis. Unfortunately, the killjoys swept up the confetti many months ago. Yet many homeowners are surprised at how quickly their once-great ... [full story]

FYI TRAVEL          An annual summer adventure for 14 years, Hungary's Sziget Festival is a temporarily constructed city in Budapest, a place to spend a week of self-abandon where the national language is decadent revelry and the party runs 24 hours a day. With more than 1,000 different programs of entertainment spread across more than 60 venues ranging from circus entertainment to classical music, this festival is guaranteed to satisfy even the most eclectic of tastes. ... [full story]

Carbon fiber, volcanic ash and Kevlar might seem odd ingredients for a tire, but Goodyear has called on that recipe to improve grip and handling in some of its tires. Representatives from the tire maker were in San Diego recently to run service employees and the media through tests of two new tires, the Eagle ResponsEdge performance touring tire and the Fortera TripleTred for minivans and SUVs. The event at Qualcomm Stadium featured an open-air classroom and ... [full story]

The president of a major union is, in essence, a politician beholden to his members. Like all politicians, he survives by delivering good news, not bad. So, it's notable that Ron Gettelfinger of the United Autoworkers Union left the sugar-coating off his annual address at the union convention in Las Vegas. "The challenges we face aren't the kind that can be ridden out," he warned his membership. "They're structural challenges, and they require new and farsighted solutions." He ... [full story]

A 53 year old Lapine resident, Kenneth Wagner, was shot and critically injured at about 11 pm on Tuesday, June 20th. The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office responded to 16022 Strawn Road to find Wagner outside the residence with a gunshot wound to the torso. After deputies secured the scene, Wagner was treated by fire personnel of the Lapine Fire Department and transported by Airlife to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend. As of Wednesday morning, Wagner was ... [full story]

The Deschutes County Road Department announced today that on Wednesday, July 5th, construction will start on the widening and realignment of Huntington Road and 1st Street. The project consists of the following: 1.      Widen Huntington Rd with a left turn lane and extending the bicycle lane along the west side. 2.      Replace sidewalks around the Medical Center and the Public Library. 3.      Install sidewalks around the block at Ace Hardware and the Fire Department. 4.      ... [full story]

West Coast Collegiate Baseball League Bend Elks at Wenatchee AppleSox - Play-by-Play Jun 20, 2006 at Wenatchee, WA (Paul Thomas Stadium) Score by Innings R H E ------------------------------------------- Bend Elks........... 002 000 000 - 2 3 2 Wenatchee AppleSox.. 000 001 000 - 1 7 2 ------------------------------------------- Bend Elks starters: 30/lf Dean; 34/rf Wentzell; 14/1b Yates; ... [full story]