Hi there, friend! It’s Friday, August 24, 2018, and oh! Portland! There you are! The smoke took its sweet time blowing away, but this morning, I punch up the EPA site, and in place of the angry red that’s glowered at us all week, we see a pure green light, our sign to go ahead and breathe and frolic outdoors as we wish. As of 0300, the Portland AQI is a perfectly acceptable 24. Southern Oregon continues to suffer under smoke from nearby fires: both Ashland and Klamath Falls are at an unhealthy 165. Portland has a 20% chance of showers today and tomorrow, with highs of 70, and a good shot at rain on Sunday. Sunrise 6:22 AM, sunset 8:02 PM.
The timing is perfect for the greening of the air, because thundering down the mountain today will be thousands of runners in the Mother of All Relays, the Hood to Coast. And more are treading the distance for the Portland to Coast Walk, along with support vans and a wee bit of partying along the way. We’ll keep our eyes open for you, runners and walkers. Have a blast!
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It’s a mystery what happened to 27-year old Meighan Cordie, who was found dead several miles from where she left her mother’s car, barefooted, following an argument at a wedding in Yamhill County. There will be a vigil for her at Courthouse Square Park in Dayton tonight at 7.
Looks like a lot of weekend plans are out the window for educators in Clark County, as the 26-thousand student Evergreen district has joined most others in the county, including the 23-thousand student Vancouver district, in having teachers approve a walkout by very wide margins. School is supposed to begin next week, but that’s currently in doubt. Teachers are painting strike signs, even as bargaining continues.
*****Today our best wishes are with our friends in our soul-sister state of Hawaii. The latest on Hurricane Lane is that the storm is a powerful Category 3, with 120 MPH sustained winds, 160 miles SW of Kona and plowing north at a slow 6 MPH. Hurricane warnings are posted for Maui and Oahu, including Honolulu, where the storm will make its closest approach overnight tonight into Saturday.
The DEA has found a 600-foot drug tunnel stretching between Mexico and a former KFC in Arizona.
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The Pendleton citizen who taunted a bison in Yellowstone, and was globally mocked for the video, has been sentenced to 130 days in jail. In court, he apologized to the “buffalo.”
Pity, now, the soul who drove his Chevy van and a trailer onto Del Ray Beach over by Gearhart in the evening, and found himself panic-dialing the sheriff at 4:30 in the morning to report that he was taking on water. He must have been fit to be tide. By the time a tow arrived–no hurry, apparently, a few hours later–the rig was hopelessly submerged. But what do you do with a sunken trailer? The sea is pounding it into a junkyard cube.
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What else do I know…
Tomorrow would have been the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday. He wrote all of that haunting music for “West Side Story.”
Tonight, tonight….Portugal, The Man plays their current hometown tonight at Edgefield, including their Grammy-winning smash “Feel it Still”–which I think is about the adjustment a young adult makes to being a new parent. Otherwise I have no clue.
Pink Martini plays at the Oregon Zoo both Saturday and Sunday evening.
Smashing Pumpkins are at the Moda Center tomorrow night. The elephants will be happy to eat the pulpy remnants.
The Oregon State Fair opens today…with a Styx concert tonight. Half the band was there in the heyday, which is pretty good!
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Well, I’m sailing away into the weekend, but first I think today I will put the link to the link farm at the top of the comment section, rather than in the main body of the Drip, to see if that appeases the cranky algorithms of Facebook. Let me know!
TMSG
–“Raccoon Rescued After Getting Its Face Stuck in Tiny Tin Can”
–“Chicago Radio DJ Moonlights as Animal Rescue Pilot, Brings Family Their Second Special Needs Dog”
–“Accident-Prone Koala Rescued For Third Time After Getting Stuck In Fence”
–“Former President Jimmy Carter lives in a $167,000 house and shops at the Dollar General”
–“The Ice Man of India is solving water scarcity by building artificial glaciers”
For more, click on the link in the comments below! (And please do).
https://k103.iheart.com/featured/john-ericksons-daily-drip/
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That’s the DD for another week! As always, we’ll inevitably pop up here over the weekend, in whimsy or outrage or a need to hear what you think about something. Travelers, post pics! Many of us are in need of some vicarious getaway, although being right here in a dear, clear Northwest may be the best trip of all.
Portland's Daily Drip 