Bulletin Daily Paper 08/29/12

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Serving Central Oregon since 1903 • 75¢

Wednesday • August 29, 2012

PacAm: Small, but still popular

*/4*%& D N O M D Inside RE 2012, VOLUME 3

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Art Takes Flight Trick or Treat on Sixth Street Chamber Dinner, Dance & Auction

SPORTS • D1

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bendbulletin.com

AT THE CONVENTION

Romney wins easily but Paul’s supporters aren’t happy

PERS hike hits schools hard By Lauren Dake The Bulletin

TIGARD — School districts and government agencies will pay more to fund the state pension plan with the Oregon Public Employees Retirement System rates on the rise again. The average public employer will be hit with an approximate 45 percent rate increase for the 2013-15 biennium, according to numbers unveiled Tues-

TAMPA — Convention or coronation? The question lingered on the minds of delegates who remained steadfastly loyal to Ron Paul on Tuesday, even Inside as the Re• Paul Ryan publican gets ready for National an important Convenspeech, A4 tion of• Bus trouble ficially for Oregon’s nominated delegation, A4 Mitt Rom• Wrap-up of ney as Tuesday’s its candiactivities, A5 date for president. Romney sewed up the nomination in the primary elections long before the convention even began. But Paul, the one primary candidate who had not conceded and released his delegates to the former Massachusetts governor, represented the only threat — however remote and improbable — to Romney’s nomination. As it turned out, Romney cruised to an easy victory on the first ballot, going over the top as New Jersey cast its 50 votes for Romney. The 177 votes cast for Paul, a congressman from Texas, ended up being largely symbolic. See Convention / A4

Hard-hit cities show rebound in home prices

Rob Kerr / The Bulletin

Rise Up director Jesse Roberts stands in an outdoor entertainment area Tuesday at Good Life Brewery at Century Center. Rise Up is a nonprofit community arts group that puts on the Bend Roots Revival music festival.

• An annual music festival has been canceled by a dispute over redeveloping the event’s venue By Hillary Borrud

New York Times News Service

The Bulletin

Even some of the cities that suffered the most in the housing bust are showing signs of improvement, with prices beginning to recover in places like Miami, Atlanta and Detroit, according to the latest housing data. In fact, there is improvement across the board, with home prices nationally inching up over their levels a year ago for the first time since 2010, when sales were fueled by a temporary tax credit for home buyers. The data is contained in the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks prices nationally and in 20 major cities. Both showed gains over the past year, from June to June — 1.2 percent nationally, and 0.5 percent in the 20 cities. See Housing / A6

A music festival that was canceled Monday appears to be a casualty of the conflict over redevelopment of an old industrial building on Southwest Century Drive. The Century Center, the site of the Bend Roots Revival for the past two years, will not host the event as planned on Sept. 21-23, owner Dave Hill said Tuesday. Hill said he recently decided not to hold this or any other outdoor event until he receives final approval of several land-use applications. Nosler, a bullet and firearms manufacturer behind the Century Center, filed notices on Aug. 13 of its intent to appeal two of Hill’s development applications to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals.

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ployers must make up the difference to keep the fund stable. This will be the second spike in rates due to the 2008 downturn in the economy. Rates will likely remain high or even increase in the foreseeable future. They will vary from district to district and likely be higher for school districts compared to general government. See PERS / A5

Getting away from our Roots

By Shaila Dewan

We use recycled newsprint

until September. But Bend-La Pine Schools Superintendent Ron Wilkinson said he estimates that the percent increase would translate into an approximately $4.7 million increase the district pays into PERS for the 2013-14 school year. The district’s total budget is about $120 million. Much of PERS’ revenue comes from its investment fund. When that fund doesn’t do well and earnings fall, em-

BEND ROOTS REVIVAL

By Andrew Clevenger The Bulletin

day at a PERS board meeting. For the Redmond School District, that could mean a $2.3 million budget shortfall for the 2013-14 school year. That’s the equivalent of 30 teachers or 13 school days. “That is a big hole to for us to fill,� said Kathy Steinert, director of fiscal services with the Redmond School District. Exact numbers won’t be available

Ryan Brennecke / The Bulletin file photo

Tim Coffey & Friends perform in front of Back Porch Coffee House during the 2011 Bend Roots Revival music festival.

“The appeals just happened,� Hill said. “I didn’t anticipate those.� Steven Hultberg, a lawyer for Nosler, said the company appealed two landuse decisions by the city of Bend be-

cause of concerns about increased traffic from the Century Center. An exit road from the center runs through Nosler’s employee parking lot. See Festival / A5

“I don’t feel like we have adequate notice for them to cancel on us with less than a month to go. . .I’m still hopeful Century will change their mind.� — Jesse Roberts, director of Rise Up, organizer of the revival

The Bulletin An Independent Newspaper

Vol. 109, No. 242, 34 pages, 6 sections

INDEX Business Calendar Classified

E1-4 B3 F1-6

Comics B4-5 Crosswords B5, F2 Editorials

C4

Local News C1-6 Obituaries C5 Shopping B1-6

TODAY’S WEATHER Sports D1-6 Stocks E2-3 TV & Movies B2

Mostly sunny High 74, Low 37 Page C6

States hope Isaac brings a little relief from drought By Josh Funk The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. — The remnants of Hurricane Isaac could bring welcome rain to some states in the Mississippi River valley this week, but experts say it’s unlikely Inside to break the • Isaac hits drought Louisiana as gripping the a hurricane, Midwest. A3 Along with the deluge of rain expected along the Gulf Coast when Isaac makes landfall, the National Weather Service predicts 2 to 6 inches of rain will fall by Sunday morning in eastern Arkansas and southeast Missouri, much of Illinois and Indiana and parts of Ohio. Those areas are among those hard hit by the drought that stretches from the West Coast east into Kentucky and Ohio, with pockets in Georgia and Alabama. The rain that falls inland likely will ease, but not eliminate, drought because those areas are so dry, said Mark Svoboda, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center. Arkansas rancher Don Rodgers said his area is short 17 inches of rain this year. He said even a couple of inches from Isaac would make a significant difference because he would have water for his cattle and might be able to grow some forage for this winter. “I’m very sorry for the people in the path of this hurricane. I’m just praying we can get some of the benefit from it up here,â€? said Rodgers, who lives in Crawford County, a rural area near the Oklahoma border. Heavy rain, especially if the storm pushes into the Ohio River Valley, would improve traffic on the Mississippi River, where low water levels have been a problem for weeks, National Weather Service hydrologist Marty Pope said. Pope said any rise in the river would help clear clogged shipping channels, which have caused temporary closures. “If that happens, it would help us out quite a bit,â€? Pope said. The low water levels also have prompted companies to reduce loads on barges carrying goods ranging from grain to gasoline, which can mean big losses for shippers. See Drought / A6

TOP NEWS ISRAEL: Court rejects Corrie suit, A3 YOSEMITE: Hantavirus death, A6


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