Good morning, good people, and welcome back to the Daily Drip for Friday, December 15, 2017! The weather takes a bend in a rainy direction, today, with a light wetness sweeping over us and depositing a tenth of an inch, not much at all; highs of 45 degrees. We’re hoping to avoid the freezing rain that often accompanies the transition from dry to wet in the winter. The NWS says if some very light rain or drizzle arrives in the valley before 9 AM, we could see some patches of it freezing. But they don’t expect any significant or widespread impacts, with warming following shortly. The change means the Columbia Gorge wind will relent at last. Yesterday’s peak gust in Corbett was 77 MPH. Sunrise 7:44 AM…sunset 4:27 PM. Tomorrow it’s at 4:28. That’s right…as of this weekend…sunsets are actually getting later. A corner has been turned.
These cold nights are brutal for people who live on the streets. In Salem, the agency that operates the warming shelters doesn’t open them until the temperature drops to 27. So the local Yellow Cab company is allowing people to hop in a cab for a ten or fifteen minutes to warm up.
A new report says eighty homeless people died on Portland streets last year. Eighty. Their average age was 49. Most were white, most were men, half were killed by the powerful and abundant hard drugs of the street. All were somebody’s child.
A fully-loaded grain ship has run aground in the Columbia River just down from Longview. About 20 people are on board, including a Columbia River pilot.
A 32-year old firefighter–father of a little girl with another on the way–lost his life battling one of the California wildfires.
The under-new-management Federal Communications Commission, by killing the Net Neutrality rules, has deemed that the quality of your Internet should be according to your ability or willingness to pay. Legal challenges from states led by Washington are underway.
The final version of the Republican tax bill is expected to be revealed today. Florida’s Marco Rubio is threatening to vote no unless the bill’s child tax credit is expanded.
Reality star and budding tell-all author Omarosa is already on morning news shows having been abruptly dumped from the White House.
Portland’s quaint and lovely Peacock Lane opens tonight. The displays of Christmas lights there have always been best seen by foot, the more the merriment. And you get cocoa. It’s open to pedestrians only tonight through Sunday. For those concerned about the carbon footprint of so much electrical consumption, it’s really not so much. Most of them switched to LED lighting long ago.
Yesterday was the seventh anniversary of the tornado that ripped through the Willamette Valley town of Aumsville.
Best of luck to the Oregon Ducks, who play Boise State University in the Las Vegas Bowl tomorrow, minus star running back Royce Freeman. He’s sitting it out to avoid an injury that could derail his NFL hopes. It’s the debut for new Head Coach Mario Cristobal, with kickoff at 12:30 PM Saturday.
The new Star Wars movie, “The Last Jedi,” is out. Critics like it. Darker, more original, unexpected. Sadly it’s the last we see of Carrie Fisher.
Scientists have discovered a star, 2500 light years away, with eight planets orbiting it.
Let’s roam around and find some headlines to happy up the heart…
–“Irish judge excuses 54-year old man from jury duty after he explains he’s in love for the first time.”
–“A 16-year-old boy from Louisiana accepted to Harvard”
–“Local couple survives three wars, two kids, and 75 years of marriage”
–“Man Leaves Wall Street Job to Start Ride Service for Chemo Patients”
–“Squirrel keeps coming back to visit the family who saved her eight years ago”
–Venture County man re-proposes to wife after finding her wedding ring in ashes of fire-struck home”
Cheryl’s doing great. I give a really fine foot rub.
And now I’m out the door, tuba in hand, ugly sweater on bod, for the annual K103 Christmas Show, officially starting at 6, although we’ll be in the performance studio at 5 to work out the bugs. If you’re there, or if you’re listening on the radio, or happen upon a Facebook Live feed, be sure to say hellooo!!!
Portland's Daily Drip 