Good morning team! It’s Wednesday, April 11, 2018, and time for a little 411 from the good old Daily Drip. We expect wind and rain today, with a quarter of an inch in the bucket and highs of 50. And–four days ahead of the stud removal deadline—the Cascades are in for a prolonged period of accumulating snow today and tomorrow. Sunrise 6:32 AM, sunset 7:51 PM.
Our hearts are in our throats upon hearing that a family of four has vanished on a drive from Portland, where they spent Spring Break, to their home near Los Angeles–and that a maroon Honda Pilot that sounds just like their car was swept away in a rain-swollen river along the Redwood Highway in Mendocino County last Friday. That was the same day the Thottapilly family–including a mother, father, 12-year old son, and 9-year old daughter–was due to stop over at a relative’s house near San Jose, but didn’t show. Rough water conditions in the Eel River have prevented a search for the vehicle, and the sheriff says it may have been carried a distance downstream. This is not far from where the Hart family drove over a cliff into the Pacific more than two weeks ago.
Two of the deepest pockets in Portland business are partnering with City Hall in building a sturdy green homeless shelter beneath the west end of the Broadway Bridge. South Waterfront developer Homer Williams, who developed an interest in solving the homeless crisis, and Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle, an outspoken critic of the impact of homelessness on local business, are the private money behind the new shelter, which should be open before the next winter.
Oof…Portland has zoomed from 32nd to the 6th best place to live in America, in annual rankings by U.S.News and World Report. The article doesn’t miss a single Portland cliche…the Naked Bike Ride, Voodoo Doughnuts, the terminally overplayed “Weird” thing…it acknowledges that “Portland’s average living expenses are [duh] higher than the national average”… hits the soft-pedal on the houseless situation by saying “the homeless population isn’t as high as some metro areas. But the mild winters allow for year-round camping, so displaced individuals remain a permanent fixture”… it lists as one of the city’s many recreational opportunities “the world’s smallest park (24 inches)” (I know our family plays at Mill Ends Park quite often, in the middle of the Naito Parkway traffic..how about yours?)…and literally puts the restaurants, beers, and wines here at the very end of the story. Almost sounds like they haven’t actually been here. On the bright side, Austin is #1!
The Portland Resistance today is staging a combination demonstration and coat drive in response to the police shooting of John Elifritz at a homeless shelter. They will be holding a rally at 4 PM at City Hall, and asking people to bring coats, tents, sanitary items, and other supplies for those without homes.
The world is waiting to see if President Trump attacks Syria for gassing people in a Damascus suburb, after having excoriated President Obama for not responding similarly (he asked for Congressional approval and didn’t get it). Oregon’s Jeff Merkley was on MSNBC last night saying Trump is trying to distract from his mounting legal problems. Russia has vowed to respond militarily against the US to any missile strike against Syria. Russia also blocked a UN Security Council resolution that would have set up an independent investigation into the chemical weapons attack.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked legislation that would have protected special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg seemed, to some, to robotically endure a Senate committee’s probity for more than 5 hours yesterday, but must have done OK for his investors; the company’s stock jumped almost 5%. Today a House committee takes its whacks, chaired by former Oregon radio guy Greg Walden.
Don’t know if it’s your color, but ODOT advises us that today is Wear Orange Day, as a reminder for drivers to pay attention when you see orange signs, barrels, cones or barricades. On average in Oregon, distracted drivers cause 10 crashes a day, and construction zones are particularly vulnerable.
The Portland Winterhawks were blown off their own ice by the Everett Silvertips 6-2 last night, and now trail the WHL playoff series 2-1. They’ll hopefully even it up Thursday night at the Coliseum.
The Blazers’ regular-season finale is tonight–for Fan Appreciation Night–at home against the Utah Jazz. At stake is the vital home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
From our Department of Something Good!
–“Taiwan kids find the owner of a camera that drifted for 2 years and 125 miles from Okinawa. It still works, enabling them to find the owner.”
–“‘Daisies upon daisies’ from across the U.S. sent to cancer-fighting girl in Nebraska named Daisy.”
–“Artist paints portraits of New York’s homeless, collects money for them as he does it and then donates the painting to them when he’s done.”
–“Corals, Sponges, Underwater Canyons Get New Protections off U.S. West Coast; More than 140,000 sq. miles of living seafloor safeguarded from impacts of bottom trawling.”
–“Teen foster son saves the lives of his sisters and dogs from fire caused from light switch.”
That’s the report from the DD news desk! Hope you can join us on K103 for the drive in to work, and we look forward to reading your comments and updates!
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