Ahh….Friday, September 14, 2018….Good morning, friends! This last weekend of celestial summer has that early-fall feeling, with bright clouds, light showers, and highs in the 60s. Sunrise 6:48 AM, Sunset 7:23 PM. Daylight Time. We have seven more weekends until we change to PST.
So much going on…
Our best wishes are with the populace and first responders on the Carolina coast, who are experiencing the fury of Hurricane Florence at this very moment. It’s making landfall around Wilmington, NC, as a Category 1, but pushing days worth of water as a Cat 4. That means a storm surge of ten feet or more, rainfall of up to 40 inches, entire towns under water, millions without power. Hundreds of people are waiting for rescue because of a catastrophic storm surge in the town of New Bern, NC. As soon as the storm subsides a bit, the massive operation all up and down the SE coast will include Oregon Air National Guard members moving with Zodiac boats to help rescue people who may be trapped by high water.
A hellish scene in several Massachusett towns as overpressurized natural gas lines caused dozens of homes to burst into flames, killing at least one person.
Day 12 of the Battle Ground teacher strike. No progress to report; the two sides are in court.
ODFW agents have killed no cougars, in their search in the Zig Zag area. Yet.
The Portland State University community was shaken this summer when two campus police officers shot and killed a man–who turned out to be a Navy veteran trying to break up a fight outside the Cheerful Tortoise; his legally holstered gun fell out of his jacket, and he was shot when he went to grab it. Now a Multnomah County Grand Jury has declined to indict the officers involved. There is a growing campus demand to reverse the 2014 decision that allowed PSU officers to carry weapons.
Portland’s about to get hit with a lawsuit filed by a woman who suffered third-degree burns when police use crowd control flash-bang devices on people protesting the alt-right Patriot Prayer group in August.
Rather large development in a daily drip of a different kind: Paul Manafort is expected to make a plea deal today.
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Sunday’s the day of the Race for the Cure downtown, always a meaningful event for the survivors and families who walk, and a crucial benefit for a group that does good work in bringing breast health care to underserved populations across Oregon. I’ve been a starting line announcer for the last ten years or so, and this year I asked to hand it off to the K103 team leader, Janine Wolf, a survivor herself who will enjoy working with KOIN’s Jennifer Hoff. Bruce Murdock and I will be welcoming you at the finish line.
A li’l traffic hiccup this weekend….the ramp from I-84 westbound to I-5 northbound closes at 10 tonight…reopens by noon tomorrow…but then closes again from 10 Sunday night until 6 AM Monday. Too much info for a reader board….hope that helps you avoid a jam!
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It’s mid-September…which means, of course, it’s time for Oktoberfest! The Biergartens und Weingartens opened yesterday at Mt. Angel…today in Newberg..and next week at Oaks Park, here in PDX…
Who’s already seeing some autumn color? There are some Persian Ironwoods that are downright gorgeous…the color of Lifesavers candies…with double rainbows in the background…
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“Mork and Mindy” premiered 40 years ago today. Spinoff from….what show? Answer in the last lines of today’s Daily Drip!
This was the date in 1990 when the restaurant Zefiro opened at NW 21st and Glisan, signaling the beginning of Portland’s future as a food town, combining creative cookery with locally-sourced ingredients, and opening the door to the New York Times’ weird fixation on our town. The just-getting-started Pink Martini was the house band.
Let’s see…on the concert menu…Boy George and Culture Club, the B52s, and Tom Baily of the Thompson Twins tomorrow night at the Moda Center. The Oregon Symphony is doing the Music of U2 tomorrow night at the Schnitz. Alanis Morissette is at Ilani Sunday night.
Have you seen Margie Boulé in the one-woman show, “Ann,” about former Texas Governor Ann Richards? It’s been extended for the next two weekends, and from all accounts, it is a must-see. Margie, a dear friend for a long time, is so incredibly talented, and Ann Richards had the sharpest tongue this side of the Pecos. Info here!
Let’s give a group cheer to Portland music legends–and members of our Daily Drip community–Marv and Rindy Ross, who have announced that they’ll be retiring both Quarterflash and The Trail Band this spring. But first, they’ll do one last “Holidays with the Trail Band” concert series at the Aladdin in December, a Portland tradition that’s raised over a million dollars for Friends of Children. They say it’s time for the next chapter, and I say, thanks for decades of great music and service to the community, Marv and Rindy! We’ll miss your bands. Guess we’ll have to harden our hearts, swallow our tears….
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Hey Siri! What’s happening on the collegiate gridiron Saturday?
San Jose St. is at Oregon at 2 PM…Oregon State is at Nevada at 4…Washington’s at Utah at 7 PM on ESPN…And Washington State gets a visit from Eastern Washington at 5.
Here’s a way Portland is helping the people affected by Hurricane Florence. The National Women’s Soccer League semi-final playoff match between the North Carolina Courage and the Chicago Red Stars has been moved to Providence Park, Tuesday at 6 PM. It’ll be carried live on an ESPN channel, but tickets are just ten dollars, and it might be a cool thing to turn out and make the players feel at home. By the way, the Portland Thorns play the Seattle Reign in the other semi-final match tomorrow noon at Providence Park.
The Portland Timbers are at the Houston Dynamo at 5 PM Saturday.
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Now for something good/new/intriguing…links here..
–“Atlantic City casino offering free hotel rooms to those fleeing Hurricane Florence”
–“Beluga whales adopt lost narwhal in St. Lawrence River”
–“Scientists discovered 3 new sea creatures in the ultra deep Pacific Ocean”
–“Wikipedia Leads Effort to Create a Digital Archive of 20 Million Artifacts Lost in the Brazilian Museum Fire”
–“Young Entrepreneur Created 30,000 Jobs and Revitalized Blighted Neighborhoods In Washington DC”
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The parking lot where I work was flooded yesterday afternoon. Sounds like a water main break, not rain. I’m filled with excitement about going in this morning. The wading is the hardest part.
And that wraps the DD for the last full week of summer! We’ll pop up over the weekend as always, in between family time and satisfying chores and other delights. There might be a bit of personal news next week. For now, it’s the weekend! I hope everybody has happy days!
Portland's Daily Drip 