Well…hello there! The good old Daily Drip has popped up in your news feed on September 11, yes, a Tuesday, and Portland’s weather sure has that early-fall feeling; we’ll get scattered showers and possible thunderstorms, with highs of 68. Sunrise 6:44 AM, Sunset 7:29 PM, our first pre-7:30 sunset since before Easter.
News items: Longview schools begin their fall term today, following the settlement of their teacher strike. Battle Ground schools remain closed, as bargaining shifts today to Olympia. There’s a lot of bitterness there, and it was on display at the school board. (Katie Gillespie of The Columbia. tweeted, “There’s a metric butt load of teachers showing up to tonight’s Battle Ground Public Schools meeting).
Perhaps we’ll learn eventually what happened to Diana Bober of Gresham; a body that was likely hers was found by searchers yesterday afternoon in the Mt. Hood National Forest.
There are dangerous rogue waves at the Oregon Coast; one tragically swept away a couple from Lake Oswego, in view of their 10-year old daughter, as they hiked a trail near Otter Crest. They had recently come to America from China.
The East Coast is in for a major pummeling from Hurricane Florence, which is projected to make landfall anywhere from South Carolina to Virginia on Thursday or Thursday night. People in coastal areas are fleeing inland. Latest readings have the storm under a thousand miles off Cape Fear, barreling northwest at 140 MPH, a fierce Category 4 level. Destructive winds and a life-threatening storm surge are likely, followed by days of drenching rain once it comes ashore. Florence is being tailed in the Atlantic by two other storms, Helene and Isaac. And the smaller Pacific Hurricane Olivia is tracking toward Hawaii, potentially delivering rain and wind starting this weekend.
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On a Tuesday, just like today, the events we call “9/11” pierced our hearts. It was 17 years ago, which means that for almost anyone in school now, this all happened before they were born. They didn’t live through it, didn’t experience how stunned and agape we were on that morning, eyewitnesses to, please, God, the worst cataclysm of our lifetimes. Pearl Harbor was far more recent for elementary-age Baby Boomers than 9/11 is for today’s young students. What we can do for them is what our parents tried to do: teach your children, and create for them a safer and more peaceful world.
This morning at 11, the Portland Firefighters Association hosts a 9/11 memorial on the Eastbank Esplanade, near Fire Station 11, honoring the 343 firefighters who were killed on September 11, and reminding us that, to date, 36 Portland firefighters have lost their lives in the line of duty. Moreover, 37 Portland firefighters have died of service-related illnesses–including cancers, which the PFA says occurs in firefighters at a greatly elevated rate.
Hundreds of veterans, many from post-9/11 wars, who’ve fallen on hard times are getting help today at the 2018 Veterans Stand Down, with everything from employment opportunities to medical care, pet services, housing, even haircuts. A special focus this year is on women veterans. It’s from 9 AM to 2 PM at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
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Say, a bit of media news! Let’s give a Portland welcome to a husband/wife package coming soon to KGW from Dallas: anchorman Dan Haggerty- no, not Grizzly Adams–who will fill The Ocho’s vacant anchor chair (Miss you, Joe!). Plus! Dan’s wife Cristin Severance, cool name for a consumer/investigative reporter; they’ve been similarly teamed at the CBS-owned station in Dallas. They’re not the first married duo to waltz into or out of the oaken doors of 1501 SW Jefferson. KGW’s been able to make that work. But moving from Dallas to Portland will be a major culture shock for this pair, to which they will adjust if they are to succeed. Plus they have two-year-old twin boys. They know about changing.
It’s prime time for the swirling swifts, flittering into the chimney at Chapman School, as they rest during their fall migration since so many old-growth trees are gone. By the way, a hawk was spotted stalking them the other night. They prefer small mammals, but they won’t turn up their beaks at a tasty snack of small bird. So that could add some drama to the sight-seeing at Chapman!
Florence and the Machine–the band, not the hurricane–play the Moda Center tonight.
Tweet from a local fire department: “Canby Fire lost an ax off our Fire Engine (as) we were going on an emergency call on New Era rd. We think it came off on 99E if you picked it up please return it to Canby Fire Main Station, Thank you.”
Timbers news: owner Merritt Paulson is telling people he wants to have natural grass in Providence Park by 2020.
Look what’s brought home an Emmy: the Netflix documentary about Rajneeshpuram, “Wild Wild Country.” That was compelling viewing–especially for the archive footage of Tracy Barry and Jeff Gianola as teenagers, practically.
Spotted in Ashland this week, taking in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Jane Fonda. (hat tip to Kristi Turnquist of The Oregonian/Oregon Live).
There are now Pumpkin Spice Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes. They’re grrrrr….I can’t say it.
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We need to hear the news. Including the good stuff!
–“92-year-old woman orders food straight from delivery guy, he obliges and helps her out”
–“California musician–set to release album titled ‘Mind of a Hero’– Jumps in Front of Woman to Prevent Starbucks Stabbing”
–“Teen praised for rescuing crying 7-year old boy on wrong school bus”
–“Homecoming Queen also nails game-winning extra point”
–“Coral reef defies expectations and regenerates after fish farming damage”
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Oh look at the time! My puppy requisitioned my breakfast smoothie while I was writing this morning, and now I’m running late. I’ll clean up typos later. Lots of things to keep track of in the news today; lots of reasons to be kind to puppies and people and other living things. Let’s hang out on the radio, 5-9AM, on K103, OK?
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