Good morning to you, homebodies and travelers alike! Here’s Portland’s Daily Drip, a quick way to plug into the day, or go right back to sleep, on Thursday, August 30, 2018. We get an early fall preview today, cloudy and cooler with a chance of drizzle mainly north of Salem. But then we reinstate the sun for the Labor Day weekend, with highs in the just-right upper 70s for the valley, but just 60s for the coast, where there’s a possibility of drizzle on the holiday. Sunrise 6:29 AM, sunset 7:51 PM.
No snow swirling in the air, but here I am logging into the school closure network…Vancouver closed…Evergreen closed, Battle Ground closed…Washougal closed…Hockinson closed, Ridgefield closed….Longview closed…some but not all of these are for the rest of the week. This is remarkable. We have seven simultaneous teacher strikes in one area code. They’re still talking, but settlements are elusive, and now both sides will cancel any plans they had and spend their Labor Day weekend ironically engaged in labor negotiations. And wishing they’d knocked this out over the summer, and hoping to get things on track for an opening next week. We all do.
Oh, crap, I heard someone say…bacteria counts are elevated at some favorite spots on the Oregon Coast: Nye Beach, Agate Beach, Harris Beach…and Cannon Beach, for crying out loud. I’ll spare you the customary recitation of symptoms; just keep your tootsies out of the foamy surf, or stick to the bar.
Here comes some money for your pocket…the Oregon economy is doing so well, and collecting so much tax, that a personal and corporate “kicker” rebate is all but certain in the first half of 2020. The average will be several hundred dollars, knocked off your taxes, but for those in the six-figure range, the kicker will be in the thousands.
Oregon’s US Attorney has promised to tolerate Oregon’s legalized marijuana status–except where it’s clearly a criminal enterprise. That’s why he’s indicted six people for what he calls “two vast conspiracies to traffic marijuana grown in Oregon to Texas, Virginia, and Florida.” It doesn’t help that growers are harvesting way more pot than the market needs.
Public records released to KGW show Portland Police did, in fact, respond to calls from ICE employees during this summer’s protests at the agency’s HQ on Macadam.
The last heart transplant cardiologist is leaving OHSU, after the announcement that the program is suspended until they can recruit some more doctors. The thirty or so patients on the wait list will look to programs in Seattle or San Francisco.
Portland spends more money on its park system per capita than any other city in the nation, according to a new report. The Trust for Public Land says for every resident in Portland, the city spends $382 on parks. The national average is $83. We’re second in dog parks and second in community gardens.
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A church service in Arizona this morning for the late John McCain–including a eulogy by Joe Biden–is followed by the casket’s departure for Washington, D.C. About fifteen thousand people lined up in Phoenix to pay their respects.
Aretha Franklin’s funeral is tomorrow in Detroit, with Bill Clinton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Faith Hill, Stevie Wonder, Ariana Grande, and more. It’ll be televised.
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The Portland Timbers are back in the win column with a 2-0 skunking of Toronto FC at Providence Park last night.
Kind-hearted people have pledged $6,000 to the wandering minstrel whose van and trailer were swallowed up by the ocean. He says in his GoFundMe plea that he’s a 62-year old veteran with health issues, trying to make his troubadour dreams come true.
Lotta folks will be stretching their arms in a semaphore starting with “Y”…the Oregon State Fair tonight features Kool and the Gang with Special Guest The Village People!
Look who’s married: Neil Young and Daryl Hannah. Friends say there was a ceremony in Atascadero, California (on 101 midway betwixt LA and SF) over the weekend, following one on a sailboat off the San Juans earlier in the summer, presumably with a mermaid of honor.
Family members say the story about a bride calling off her dream wedding because guests refuse to chip in $1500 apiece, then breaking up with her fiance because he suggested a quick trip to a Vegas instead…is 100% true.
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This was the day in 2005 that Hurricane Katrina laid waste to the Gulf Coast.
The Late Show with David Letterman premiered on CBS this night 25 years ago. His first guests? Bill Murray and Billy Joel.
It’s the 100th birthday of Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, Williams is forever associated with the Boston Red Sox–but he was a Californian, born in San Diego. He spent lots of time in Oregon, playing against the Pacific Coast League Portland Beavers, and visiting with his best buddies and teammates Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky, both Oregonians.
The Beatles released “Hey Jude” in the UK 50 years ago today. I’ll always remember how the Moda Center arena shook when the crowd sang the chorus along with Paul McCartney last year.
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Let’s see if we can reel in some positive headlines:
–“A blind dog named Fly was rescued by a team of lifeguards and a helicopter crew after his owner tried and failed to save him from the sea”
–“Goats Like It When You Smile at Them, Extremely Heartwarming Study Says”
–“Baby in Tiny Cap and Gown ‘Graduates’ From NICU at Alabama Hospital”
–“Boy swept in sewer sticks finger out of manhole and is saved”
–“A Wisconsin DJ is living in a DOG CRATE to raise money for local animal-related charities” I oughta do that! I’m right at home in the dog house!!
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Two more days and then Labor Day weekend!
Portland's Daily Drip 