Nudge nudge…wake up time…it’s Tuesday, January 23, 2018, and it’s going to be really rainy today, an inch or more in the ol’ bucket, and a mild high of 48. But with sunrise at 7:40 and sundown at 5:04 PM, we’ll have two minutes more daylight than yesterday, and every raindrop brings us closer to a green and blooming springtime. Skiers are gleefully aware that the best powder of the year is coming in the next week or two. And big waves coming to the coast today, not like last week’s, but still dangerous. Crab guys, we’re thinking of you. They just went out yesterday, and today this storm is hitting, and that’s not all:
The entire West Coast has been under a tsunami watch after a 1:30 AM earthquake in the Gulf Alaska that measured a mighty 7.9. There could be elevated wave action starting at Seaside around 5 AM.
A volcano erupted unexpectedly, raining rocks on a ski resort in Japan, killing 1 skier and injuring 15.
Firefighters are watering down embers after a 3-alarm fire at a Nike storage facility that sent up an afternoon plume of smoke from its campus in Beaverton.
The government shutdown is over, for the next few weeks. Oregon’s two senators were among the 18 who voted no on the continuing resolution because it doesn’t help DACA recipients or address other issues of concern to them. But Washington’s senators voted yes, and President Trump today is tweeting that “Dems caved” and “Trump wins again.”
It’s election day across Oregon for Measure 101, a tax on hospitals and insurance companies to fund Medicaid for Oregonians. As of yesterday, an unimpressive 28.4% of us have our ballots counted in. Too late to mail, but there are many dropboxes in libraries, etc.
Portland’s new police chief Danielle Outlaw was ceremonially sworn in at the Oregon Historical Society, and used the occasion to deliver some hard truths. Excerpts: “Racism still lurks in the undercurrent of a very progressive city.” “How can we begin the healing process without first acknowledging what it was?” ” An intentional focus on officer safety and wellness is paramount to achieve our goals.” “You have my word that I will carry out my duties the best of my ability each and every day, and it will be done with grace, with mercy, with kindness, with compassion, with courage, with honor, and integrity.” Core values, well said.
Portland’s in the movies again, only this one is different. One of the must-see films at Sundance is “Leave No Trace”–based on the true story of a father and daughter who were discovered in 2004 living comfortably at a campsite dug into a hillside in a corner of Forest Park. A kindly officer set them up with a friend who has a horse farm in Yamhill County–but they ran away, and nobody knows what became of them. PPB Sgt. Pete Simpson–a good guy if ever there was one–is in that movie.
Oscar nominations, for those who follow such, come out this morning. It’ll be streamed on the Academy’s website, and you can get the full list at Oscars-dot-org. Go Allison Janney!
The woman who inspired the famous Rosie the Riveter poster during WWII–Naomi Parker Fraley–died in Longview over the weekend at age 96.
Portland Timbers training camp opens today in Tucson. #RCTID is such an existential commitment.
The Hillsboro School Board tonight will consider getting rid of a policy banning contraceptives from being prescribed at high school health clinics. Tigard/Tualatin is considering the same change.
We all know that public input is the Oregon way. Two things today. ODOT begins drop-in open houses on “congestion pricing”–code for freeway tolls–from 4:30 to 7 at Clackamas Town Center. And today is the final day for public comment on a Corp of Engineers plan to help fish passage by draining Detroit Lake for up to two years.
A Massachusetts couple accidentally donated a soup can with $2,500 inside.
The great Chicago Cub Ernie Banks died three years ago today. Quoth good old #14, whom I grew up watching at Wrigley and finally met at an old-timers game at Civic Stadium, as he stood by himself under the first base stands looking relaxed and friendly. “You must try to generate happiness within yourself. If you aren’t happy in one place, chances are you won’t be happy anyplace.”
Tell me something Good?
–“After Denver hired homeless people to shovel mulch and perform other day labor, more than 100 landed regular jobs”
–“Chicago Will Give Hotel Workers Panic Buttons To Prevent Sexual Assault
–“Juice Company was invited to dump composted orange peels in a deforested area of Costa Rica. 16 years later, it’s no longer deforested”
–“Local cops and firefighters who saved a girl’s life then supported her family through weeks of recovery”
–“These kids started a book club for minority boys. It’s the most popular club in school”
It’s going to rain a ton today, and so we might as well head into it. This is familiar territory. Certain sartorial rules are suspended; we just try to keep our hair dry and unplastered. And: Happy birthday to someone who knows who she is, and all that she means to me!
Portland's Daily Drip 