Hello, friends!–especially the diminishing number of us who are still punching into work on this final week before Labor Day! It’s Tuesday, August 28, 2018, and Portland’s making one more excursion into the sticky zone, with highs of 85 to 90. Should be ten degrees cooler tomorrow. Sunrise 6:27 AM, sunset 7:55 PM We’re subtracting three minutes of daylight a day.
As the day begins, we have teacher strikes underway on what was supposed to be the first day of class in the Evergreen and Washougal School Districts in Clark County. We’re likely to see the same tomorrow and in coming days in Vancouver, Battleground, Ridgefield, and Hockinson, and the following week in Camas, where teachers voted last night to strike. The legislature allocated money, but the school boards say it’s not enough to cover what the teachers want.
Devastating news for people on the waiting list: OHSU is suspending its heart transplant program for at least 14 days, and potentially much longer, because of the departure of several doctors. Other organ transplants are not affected.
A 25-year old woman is jailed for grabbing a 6-year old girl from her family’s apartment, claiming she was her daughter, and trying to take her to the Springwater Corridor Trail. The girl’s mother punched the attacker in the face. The suspect describes herself as homeless and suffering from bipolar disorder; she’s been arrested five times in a month.
Our friend Felicia Heaton–weekend host on K103–tweets this morning: Huge thx to the @Oregonian delivery guy who spotted fully engaged dumpster10 ft from my bldg & alerted us w/car horn, @PDXFire 4 putting it out, @911BOEC for dispatching the crew & neighbor Matt for knocking on doors. That *could’ve been* real bad. #teamwork
The project went into overtime, but the I-84 ramp closure at I-5 is over at last, along with all the ramps feeding the Banfield, in time for this morning’s commute.
****
President Trump announced the conclusion of a new trade agreement with Mexico, and is threatening Canada with car tariffs if they don’t get on board fast. The stock market likes this, with the Dow gaining 259 points yesterday, but manufacturing groups don’t, saying millions of American jobs depend on the free flow of raw materials between all three North American countries.
We see by dawn’s early light that our flag is still there, at half-staff at the White House, where strong words from the American Legion among others led this administration to finally grant John McCain the honor of lowering the flag, like the rest of the country.
The mid-term election is ten weeks from today.
***
Yup, that’s a pair of mules pulling a covered wagon through the streets of downtown Portland. Starting today, free wagon rides are being offered by the tourism group Travel Oregon, calling attention to the 175th anniversary of the Oregon Trail. Just go to Oregon Historical Society headquarters on Park Ave and hop aboard, if you’re in a rut.
Somebody, a student, posted thanks online to the anonymous individual at the DMV who handed over his wait number fifteen minutes before closing time on Friday—enabling the student to get a license before leaving for college. Someone else posted that outside another DMV there’s a guy who runs in every fifteen minutes and takes a number–then sells it to people as they arrive.
Today is the 55th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s glorious “I Have A Dream” speech. It’s also the 20th anniversary of the dedication of the 8-foot bronze statue of Dr. King outside the Oregon Convention Center, titled simply, “The Dream.”
Fifty years ago today, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, cops in riot gear beat protesters who were demonstrating against the Vietnam War.
*****
In the words of Chaka Khan…Tell me something good…tell me that you like it…
–“Body camera captures officer rescuing North Texas family from a fire”
–“Girl, 15, survives spending more than two weeks alone in Arctic”
–“Pakistan and India conduct a joint anti-terror drill for the first time”
–“Boy Who Sits Outside Hoping Trucks Will Blow Their Horns Gets The Surprise Of A Lifetime” (fun video on the link page)
***
Let’s close with the last words of John McCain to the American people.
“We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls rather than tear them down…
“Do not despair of our present difficulties, we believe always in the promise and greatness of America because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit, we never surrender, we never hide from history, we make history. Farewell fellow Americans. God bless you and God bless America.”
Tomorrow, he would have turned 82.
Portland's Daily Drip 