Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Hello Drip buddies! It’s Tuesday, June 26, 2018, with a sunny day ahead and highs of 75 for Portland, and mid 60’s at the coast. Sweet! Sunrise 5:23 AM, sunset 9:03 PM. Full Strawberry Moon tomorrow!

Firefighters are jumping on a blaze at the east end of the Columbia Gorge, where a trailer park and several homes have been evacuated.

Homeland Security showed up at the scene of the #OccupyICEPDX tent city on Macadam, distributing flyers threatening arrest. Protestors responded with taunts–and recordings of crying babies on the Mexican border. Meantime the 121 asylum-seekers from 16 countries detained at the federal prison in Sheridan will finally have access to legal assistance, under a judge’s ruling in an ACLU suit on their behalf. That’s been denied since they arrived almost a month ago. And there’s a chicken pox outbreak at the ICE prison for immigrants in Tacoma.

It’s primary election day in seven states, including Utah, where Mitt Romney’s expected to win the GOP Senate nomination.

Harley Davidson motorcycles to be sold in Europe will no longer be made in the USA, a result of the president’s tariff initiative.

They’ll try it again in Omaha today at 4 Pacific, after Game One of the College World Series finals was washed out last night. Today’s weather looks partly cloudy and 80 at game time.

In a U-turn gone horribly wrong, a semi loaded with 5000 live chickens crashed at Dollars Corner in Clark County. Amid the poultry in motion, and not, animal rights people arrived, were interviewed on TV, and one was arrested for trying to come away with a rescue chicken.

Today’s the beginning of fire season in NW Oregon. Let’s hope for a good one, without any thoughtless kids tossing firecrackers. Just got this timely email: “The City of Vancouver would like to remind residents and visitors that the sale and use of all types of fireworks are completely banned on all days within the city limits.”

Love it when there’s even a whisper of positivity out there in the rancorous wind….one of the CBS stories last night: “How a teen stepped up to help blind and deaf man in random act of kindness during a flight to Portland.” Same thing you read in the DD yesterday. It feels like we’re on the brink of a fracture; stories like this nudge the clock away from midnight.

Blazer star Damian Lillard turned up at Portland’s Irving Park last night, literally giving away a truckload of shoes.

It’s the last day of Safeway’s “Stuff the Truck” event to benefit the Oregon Food Bank. You can grab a pre-filled bag of grocs at the checkout line, and they’ll scan it for a $5 or $10 donation. That can make a huge difference for a family in need.

A toast and a high five to Maryhill Winery, a longtime friend of the Daily Drip and official vino provider our first two Dripstock events, for scoring a slew of awards from the prestigious Indy International Wine Competition, including Winemaker of the Year for Richard Batchelor–his second time.

Best wishes to KATU reporter Jackie Labrecque, who’s back at work and recovering well after surgery to remove a melanoma on her upper right arm. She confesses to having canceled a skin check twice, and added that Oregon’s melanoma rates are among the highest in the country: “Since a large percentage of people in Oregon are of northern European descent, the genetic background makes one more at risk for melanoma.”

Enemy combatants a few decades ago…best buddies today…Bill Clinton paid a visit to George H.W. Bush in Maine yesterday. Bush Sr. tweeted out a picture of himself wearing Clinton socks. (NOT related to the Clinton cat of the same name). Bush Sr, by the way, has a new service dog–named Sully, after the pilot who landed on the Hudson.

Ex-Led Zeppelin leader singer Robert Plant and his backup band the Sensational Space Shifters play a Concert on the Lawn at McMenamins Edgefield tonight at 6:30. They do some covers, they do some originals, and yep they do some Zep. including a finale that fans will enjoy every inch of. Say, as long as he’s in town, there’s a true Portland story about Robert Plant that you might not have heard. He did a show at the Aladdin a few years back, and hopped in his rental car to head for Lincoln City to catch Highway 101 for a drive down to California. On the way, he’s punching around the radio, and comes upon KBOO, a non-profit listener-supported station. They were in the middle of a fund drive, Plant heard the announcer say, “For a donation of $10,000, we promise that KBOO will never play “Stairway to Heaven.” So what did Plant–the singer who co-wrote and sang that incredible but overplayed song–do? He pulled over, found a phone, called in, and pledged the 10 grand. Using the record company’s credit card. True story.

Happy birthday to Portland rock star Rindy Ross! I’ve been a fan since I first saw her and Marv with Seafood Mama at the Ft. Vancouver Bicentennial, and still a fan of the Trail Band and all their other work today!

The late Portland Trail Blazer Jerome Kersey, one of the nicest guys you’d ever meet, was born today in 1962.

On this day in 1975, Cher divorced Sonny and married Greg Allman four days later. Elvis made his last stage appearance on this day in 1977; the last song he sang was “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

A little good news, for ourselves here?

–“Pair Of Detroiters Use Ax, Bat To Save Teen From Plane Crash On Their Street”

–“Saudi woman drives Formula One car to mark end of ban”

–“Firefighters respond to crash, finish pizza delivery in NY”

–“Stranded fox rescued from iceberg by fishermen who fed him Vienna sausages”

–“Bob Dole’s final mission – greeting veterans at the National World War II Memorial”

Off we go into a wild blue Tuesday!