Well…hello! Is that you? I’ve missed you! Today is Monday, May 14, 2018, and here’s a back-in-the-USA edition of Portland’s Daily Drip, written jet-laggardly by your wayward radio daddio. We’re at the beginning of a weeklong run of sunshine and warmth; after maxing at 90 yesterday (for the first time since last September 11), we go 87 today, 77 tomorrow, and 70s thereafter. Some summer thundershowers may slip up from California and slop over from the Cascades to the valley. Sunrise 5:41 AM, sunset 8:33 PM.
All this warmth is reducing the high country snow to cold river water, pumping up the Columbia by several feet, and forcing an abnormal number of lifts of the dangerous old relic we call the Interstate Bridge. There might be a dozen a day. For your planning purposes this week: ODOT says it adheres to a prohibition on weekday Interstate Bridge lifts between 6:30 and 9:00 AM and 2:30 and 6:00 PM. Otherwise it sounds like a good week to take I-205 across the river; the view from the Glenn Jackson Bridge is so much better.
A motorcyclist was killed on that sweeping ramp from I-205 northbound to I-84 westbound.
We’re awaiting with awe what might be a spectacular eruption of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, conceivably sending boulders as big as Volkswagens sailing from the summit. Overnight the USGS there reported “lava fountaining” and “explosions of spatter bombs hundreds of feet in the air.” Dozens of homes have already been destroyed by lava bubbling up from cracks in the ground. An AP story over the weekend headlined the fact that Kilauea is part of our neighborhood Ring of Fire, and implied that any one of them could go, with Mt. St. Helens the most likely. The Cascade Volcano Observatory weekly update says they’re measuring “long-term uplift and earthquake activity, but there are no signs of impending eruption.”
The Portland Timbers won a tense 1-0 match over the Seattle Sounders in their 100th meeting Sunday at Providence Park. A packed and chanting stadium and an ESPN audience witnessed a tight defensive battle with both sides mounting threats but no one reaching the promised land until the 86th minute, when Portland’s Sebastian Blanco arched a chip shot over a sprawling Seattle goalkeeper.
Former Seahawks coach Chuck Knox has died at 86.
Tomorrow is Oregon’s Election Day, when this era’s acrid gabble takes a knee to the fact that the people have the power, if the people bother to use it. So hang on while I check the Oregon Secretary of State’s website. Oh. 16.1 percent of the ballots have been returned statewide. Thirteen percent in Multnomah County.
Upending decades of American policy, the US Embassy moves from Tel Aviv to Jersusalem today, the 70th anniversary of Israel’s declaration of independence.
The union movement in the land of rosemary fries now includes a second location, as employees at the Gladstone Burgerville voted 17-5 to organize.
Called to account for shrinking passenger numbers and stung by news coverage, TriMet is making a push to build ridership on its WES commuter train, which has plenty of empty seats as it rolls between Wilsonville and Beaverton. The agency is putting out its own feature stories on riders who see WES as a comfy and quiet alternative to fighting the slog on 217. Do we have any Dripsters riding that train? Love to hear from you.
Thank you for all who turned out for the 31st annual Doggie Dash! This was the most successful Dash ever for the Oregon Humane Society, raising $700,000 for the heartwarming work they do. Confession time: I nearly missed it. Still adjusting to the time difference, I was getting ready early on Saturday and closed my eyes for just five minutes and…and….next thing I knew, it was 8:30 AM, and Bruce Murdock was texting to ask if I was getting close. Found my coat and grabbed my hat, made the Dash in seconds flat…
It’s Commencement Day at Reed College. The speaker is a 1994 Reed graduate, Dr. Preetha Rajaraman, who is the author of more than 100 scientific papers ranging from genomic research to the atom bomb. Commencement ceremonies over the weekend included Willamette University in Salem, where speaker Thomas Lauderdale, the founder of Pink Martini, was awarded an honorary doctorate. Later in the week, Pacific University’s speaker is the lead guitarist for KISS.
“Dancing With The Stars”–including the resurgently famous Tonya Harding–is on tonight. I, John, caring not much about dancing nor stars, have never watched this show and will surely miss it tonight. So we’ll count on coverage from the Drip team!
The last episode of Seinfeld–a contrived and uncharacteristic one-hour special where they all ended up in jail– aired 20 years ago today.
Headlines for a Happy Heart!
–“Waffle House Hero James Shaw, Jr. Has Scholarship Named in His Honor at His Alma Mater, Tennessee State University
–“Mother inspired to go to college after her husband dies. She enrolls with her daughter — and they graduate together. ”
–“Teen sold a book her late mother left her, but found it again — with a message she missed”
–“A Student Uses His Engineering Skills To Save a diabetic Co-Passenger’s Life on Flight by making a custom insulin pen”
–“Woman Discovers Her Dog that Never Barks or Eats Dog Food Is Actually a Fox”
Time to point the rig to the radio studio and rejoin my partners Bruce and Janine. Tune in 103.3 at 6:20, if you’re inclined, because that’s when the Daily Drip has its own moment, to highlight a story and feature some Dripster reaction. It’ll be something different every day!
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