Thursday’s greetings to you! It’s April 26, 2018, one more wonderful 80 degree day, maybe even 85, and then the high pressure that’s been pleasuring us all week–we hit a record 84 yesterday–will shift to the Rockies (you’re welcome, Denver!), and damp low pressure from the ocean sweeps in, serving us showers and 25-degree cooler air. The way the temperature will dive on Friday, we could get the bends. Maybe even the La Pines, Redmonds, and Sisters! Sunrise 6:06 AM, sunset 8:11 PM.
There’s a good chance your Oregon ballot will arrive in the mail today. Though it’s under nefarious attack, voting is our sacred right. Let’s fight back by getting informed about every item on the ballot, and voting whatever way we think is right.
A standoff with a suicidal veteran near SW 149th and Farmington Road ended with an officer-involved shooting. That’s not how Beaverton police wanted it; they said they could have waited, trading texts with him, a lot longer. But they say he fired a weapon at them and they fired back. The veteran survived and is in the hospital. Without knowing the specifics of the man’s life, it’s a good time to put a reminder out there that the very best help anywhere is available right here in Portland at Lines for Life, which operates a 24/7 military help line at (888) 457-4838. From their web site: “Answered by veterans and others trained in military culture, our crisis lines offer compassionate, non-judgmental support and, where appropriate, connect people with the referrals, resources, or treatment they need through tough times.”
Admiral Ronny Jackson’s nomination to run the VA has run aground, with new charges that he handed out Percocet like candy, and wrecked a government vehicle while drunk. He says he never wrecked a car, and be he has withdrawn his candidacy.
Today’s the day for EPA chief Scott Pruit to answer to Congress about the many reports you’ve heard of his spending habits and apparent conflicts of interest. Both sides of the aisle have tough questions for him, but his defenders say no one can deny that he’s effectively undoing what he was brought there to undo.
Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump may have a personal rapport, but the French president broke sharply with his US counterpart on Iran, trade, international cooperation, and climate change, during an address to a joint session of Congress. Said Macron, “I am sure one day, the US will come back and join the Paris Agreement. Let us face it: There is no planet B.”
Tonight is the night former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, the highest-ranking woman in American government history, comes to Portland’s sold-out Revolution Hall to discuss her timely new book, “Fascism: A Warning.”
A generation-old mystery is solved by DNA evidence, as an ex-cop was arrested in the case of the Golden State Killer, the serial murderer and rapist who terrorized California in the 70s and 80s.
It’s a surprise…but many Pacific Crest Trail hikers say the most dangerous stretch of the entire trip from Mexico to Canada is the Bridge of the Gods over the Columbia River. There’s no sidewalk. You’re lugging your backpack and tattered copy of “Wild” in the actual traffic lane being used by cars and trucks. An effort is underway to fix that, by hanging a bike/pedestrian lane alongside the structure, and both Republicans and Democrats in Congress from the Northwest are fully behind it.
National Geographic is out with a gorgeous spread on the “Best Spring Trips of 2018″…and leading off is a beauty shot of sunrise in the Columbia Gorge. Anybody taken a river cruise up that way?
If you’d like a valid excuse to let somebody else cook, today is the annual “Dining Out for Life” event. Just chow down a participating restaurant, and between 20% and 35% of your bill goes directly to vital programs and services for thousands of our fellow humans living with HIV. McMenamin’s are participating, and so are many others listed on the Dining Out for Life Portland Facebook page.
A tug on the earlobe to Carol Burnett, born this day in 1933.
And now today’s News That Won’t Make You Cuss, Cry, or Cringe (hat tip for today’s title to Renee Bryant)
–“World War II pilot Ron Walesby still going strong and inspiring future generations at 100 — His advice: ‘Eat well, Pray, love.'”
–“Ontario men save skunk with head trapped inside a pop can”
–“Homeless Veteran in Indianapolis Receives Gift of Childhood Home Rebuilt by 70 Volunteers after Tragedy”
–“‘That Dog Saved the Family’: Hero Puppy Warned of Va. Fire”
–“TCU frat holds BBQ fundraiser for special needs cheerleader”
–“Officer gives firefighter apology cake: ‘Sorry I tased you’”
Say, it’s “Take Your Daughter to Work Day,” or at least it was when it started out in 1993, sponsored by the Ms. Foundation for Women, to demonstrate to girls that they have a future in the workplace just like everyone. That’s why you heard a 10-year old girl reading the weather on K103 back then! It’s morphed to include boys, and now it’s a gender-free career day, for kids to see what their Moms and Dads do all day. So grab your kids and hit the workplace! Even if they’re grown and have jobs–they’ll love it!
Away we go into a Thursday. V-2. We’ll talk about what that’s all about tomorrow morning.
Portland's Daily Drip 