Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Well, hi there! We’re all together in this Tuesday, January 9, 2018. Rain spread over the Portland area last night but will shut off abruptly after the morning commute; I just popped out the door to send a stinkbug to its reward, and was met with a chilly dousing. We’ll get to 45 degrees today. More light rain tomorrow, then heavier rain and a vigorous breeze will take the stage on Thursday. Sunrise 7:49 AM, sunset 4:46 PM.

Heavy rain is washing Southern California, where there is now a flood watch for burn areas. Residents living in the canyons of Ventura County are sandbagging their homes.

Last night’s college football championship game was super-exciting, and painful to watch for Oregon fans. The freshman quarterback who came off the bench and led Alabama to a 26-23 overtime victory, including a pro-calibre touchdown pass to win it, could have been a Duck. Should have been a Duck. Tua Tagovailo grew up in Hawaii and was literally mentored from childhood by Marcus Mariota, and when bigtime recruiters started sniffing around while Tua was lighting up the scoreboard as a high school sophomore, the one college he was interested was Oregon–but coach Mark Helfrick refused to talk to players until their junior year. Tua finally got an offer from Oregon–a month after he’d committed to the Crimson Tide.

World tension is just a little less this morning, as North and South Korean leaders have been communicating like adults, and the North has agreed to send athletes to the Winter Olympics in Seoul.

Famous/notorious in Oregon just two years ago, the Bundy family of cowboys and sagebrush rebels has beaten another federal rap…as a Nevada judge tossed out the case of cattleman Cliven Bundy and his sons Ammon and Ryan, after a federal-lands standoff in 2014. Those same sons were among the defendants acquitted by a Portland jury after the Malheur Wildlife Sanctuary takeover back in ’16. The Nevada case was thrown out because of what the judge called flagrant misconduct by the FBI and prosecutors in not revealing evidence to the defense. Cliven, who continues to graze cattle on federal land without paying the required fees, says the first thing he wants is a good steak.

The Consumer Electronics Show is underway in Las Vegas, with self-driving cars transporting attendees between Caesar’s Palace and the Convention Center, where they’re seeing such futurist wonders as self-folding laundry.

Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone on this day in 2007.

Care to guess how many food carts we have in Portland? No hidden clues today…the answer is 900…spread out among 80 different pods. You can get anything you want, from Kim Jong Grillin’ Korean BBQ to El Taco Yucateco to Mystical Bulgarian…and there’s hardly a neighborhood that doesn’t benefit from the wafting fragrance of a sizzling grill. But: they attract critters. County vector control people say some of the pods don’t have adequate waste disposal…making them rat magnets…and today, health authorities will outline regulatory solutions to the Multnomah County Commission.

A quarter of a million people who took shelter in the US after an earthquake shattered El Salvador in 2001 may be forced to return, now that the Trump administration has ended their protected status.

Political numbers guru Nate Silver says Oprah Winfrey is now the second-most-likely person to win the presidential election in 2020…after Donald Trump.

The BBC says Trump appeared to forget the words of the National Anthem, as he stood and sang with service members at midfield ahead of last night’s game.

New Portland Timbers head coach Gio Savarese, introduced to the media yesterday, says his first goal is to earn the respect of the fans.

The Blazers are making their four-game road trip minus their play-by-play announcer Brian Wheeler, who’s back on the sick list. Best wishes to Brian. Lucky that KEX and Channel 8 veteran Scott Lynn is on standby to fill in.

A tip of the hat and a wave from the elbow for Rose Festival CEO Jeff Curtis, who’s adding duties as chair of the International Festival and Events Association.

A few headlines …for a happy heart….

–“Whale saves unsuspecting snorkeler from shark by hiding her under fin”

–“NASA: Hole in Earth’s Ozone Layer Finally Closing Up Because Humans Did Something About It”

–“Gym chain bans cable news networks because ‘politically charged content’ doesn’t mesh with a ‘healthy way of life'”

–“Army Ranger, cancer survivor helps save truck driver after i-85 crash”

–“People Raised $175,000 for the Roy Moore Accuser Whose House Burned Down”

–“Missing cat found after 15 years”

–“Mother and son go from homeless to college”

–“Dog goes to the vet himself and knocks on the door for treatment”

–“Santa Rosa Woman has been catching cats lost in the Northern CA wildfires to reunite them with their owners.”

Out the door, then, and into the morning. Thanks for finding this and joining in!