Well, here we are together, sharing a cup of the Daily Drip on this Thursday, September 13, 2018. Though it was hit-and-miss, the heart of Portland was pelted with .82″ of rain late yesterday, a record for the date, causing flooded intersections and MAX delays. That was the wettest day since last April. Today looks showery and 65 to 70, and meteorologists can’t rule out thunderstorms, though not like yesterday. The snow level in the mountains is 6000 feet. Sunrise 6:46 AM, Sunset 7:25 PM.
Ever been through a hurricane? They can be sheer hell, I was warned during a year in Texas, where people know what it’s like. And that’s what the Carolina coast is in for. Florence looks raggedy on the map, now a cat 2 with 110 MPH winds, its distinct eye dissipating as it comes into shallower water and loses some fuel, but that doesn’t diminish the watery blow this storm will deliver. Tremendously wet, as the president advised. And the storm is massive–as big as North and South Carolina combined. Landfall late tonight or tomorrow morning. Oregon Air National Guardsmen are on their way to help.
Battleground schools are out for the 11th day of the teacher walkout. The school board voted last night to file an injunction to force them back to work, but teachers say they’ll defy it.
The story has gone around the world about the hiker who was mauled by a cougar on the Hunchback Mountain Trail near Mt. Hood. Today the ODFW will begin searching for the animal; yesterday was too wet, but crews used the time to staple closure signs at the trailheads–and to install surveillance cameras. Today ODFW will hit the trail with bloodhounds, and though the cougar involved could be many miles away by now, they say they will kill any cougar they find.
Signs have now gone up alongside the name of SW Stark in downtown Portland–with the new name, SW Harvey Milk St. The new name applies only to the downtown stretch, which angles between Burnside and the waterfront. It’s a multi-year phase-in, under the unanimous City Council vote back during Pride Week. GPS needs time to adapt, and so do people. When is the last time you called Naito Parkway “Front Avenue?”
Want a free helmet? Five hundred of them will be given out today by Skip, Lime, and Bird–the outfits that are blessing us all with those electric scooters you see skipping and birding about. Helmets are required, but not always worn, and today’s giveaway, from 10:30 to 1:00 at the corner of SW Broadway and Oak–is a gesture in the direction of legality. It’s part of a PBOT Electric Scooter Safety Event.
Today is the day the Burgerville button ban begins. Starting right now, Burgerville employees are not allowed to wear buttons expressing their personal beliefs. This is after 10 employees were sent home from the 82nd and Glisan Burgerville for wearing buttons that said, ‘Abolish ICE,’ ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and ‘No One Is Illegal.’
Here comes the New York Times again, finding something new and loveable about Portland to show the readers back east. This time it’s the story of a wealthy young showbiz-related couple who decided to trade their LA lifestyle for the awakened Northwest. They bought a 111-year old Craftsman home on Mt. Tabor for just under a million, then spent another half mil gutting the interior and inserting modernistic cubes, skylights, open spaces, and a “light well.” They sound like nice enough people, but they’re getting some mocking on social media.
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From this morning’s New York Times: “The U.S. is holding a record 12,800 migrant children in detention, a fivefold increase from May 2017, data obtained by The Times show.”
Apple has unveiled its latest: the $1,100 iPhone XS Max, with the biggest screen so far, a longer battery life, and proudly boasts that it can survive being dropped into water… or beer. On sale September 21.
Tina Fey’s first appearance as Sarah Palin was ten years ago tonight on SNL.
The Seattle Storm won the WNBA championship last night.
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From our Department of Something Good!
–“Caterer turns officiant after wedding official breaks leg”
–“HMS Queen Elizabeth sailors praised by Florida Uber driver for fixing her car”
–“Supermom stops running during a 106-mile race to breastfeed her son”
–“Toronto couple’s wedding vows included gift of new life to refugee family”
–“Cheese Actually Reduces Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Provides a Lot of Health Benefits”
Lynx here!
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It’s a chilly 49 this morning. Winter’s coming. A woman up the street has packed two cords of wood in the shed. A guy across the way was chain-sawing wood for three hours yesterday. Amazon is advertising seven-foot Christmas trees, only 115 bucks, and just ten days from harvest. Fresh!
Heading in now. Your turn!
Portland's Daily Drip 