Top 10 Local Stories: Looking back at the year we went for broke (The Source Weekly)

Bank Bust The fallout from the national housing market implosion was the financial story of the year. Billions of dollars in bailout money for big banks and foreclosure notes for families with leaking adjustable rate mortgages. And the story dominated headlines, certainly for the first half of the year. Closer to home, local banks, many of whom were heavily leveraged in Bend’s volatile housing …

Fallen Idols [News Bits] (Austinist)

Obama: Afghanistan needs 34,000 more of our troops. Seattle police shooting suspect has been killed. Now the White House party-crashers are denying their crash? Feel like expatting? Try Canada, Thailand, or Australia, but not Britain. Tiger Woods still dealing with fallout from Friday’s car crash. (Literary) Bad Sex prize announced. Still care about Harry in a post-Twilight world?