There was a recent comment on Bendbubble2 of someone who was suspicious of Paul-doh's motivations. Personally, I think he's just an opinionated bastard who wants to world to hear his opinion. Just like the rest of us.

Anyway, the writer implied that only "disgruntled locals" were reading his blog.

I plead guilty to "disgruntled local" .

But not for the reasons you might think. I'm not disgruntled because of the growth and the congestion and the attitudes. Like I've said before, without all that I probably wouldn't have a business or a livelihood.

No, I'm disgruntled because this growth can't be sustained. Because it was built on hype and promotions, instead of real jobs. Hype permeates this town; from over-blown businesses (and too many of them); to overblown developments with overbuilt houses with unnecessary gates; to a city council who has overreached in public transportation and Juniper Ridge; to residents who have pristine hummers and SUV's that are twice the size they need to be.

Meanwhile, Mirror Pond will be allowed to fill with silt; the roads will be hastily patched; free parking will be taken away; white elephants like the Tower Theater will continue to sit; money is going toward lawsuit settlements instead of police and fire services and so on.

Because the self-important, over blown exceptionalism that pervaded this town, by people who made no real effort to understand the history or ethos of the area.

You tell me every time you sing the praises of Trader Joes that you would really want to live in Bend, California.

Everyone of you who says this is coming from a town that had a Trader Joes. Which means that you want to turn Bend into the town you left. You want to move to Bend, and pull the mass market in here after you.

That's what makes me disgruntled.