Top o’ the morning to you! Here’s a fresh Daily Drip for Tuesday, September 18, 2018. Portland’s weather is a copy-and-paste of yesterday’s morning fog, then sun with a high of 70. Maybe not as much fog, or not as dense, which should result in fewer dents. Sunrise 6:52 AM, sunset 7:15 PM.
Bye-bye, fire season! All fire restrictions have been lifted for the Mt. Hood National Forest. Campfires? Good to go!
An early morning tweet from the Clackamas County Sheriff says a 13-year old boy named Jakob ran away yesterday afternoon, and was last seen at Alder Creek Middle School. He has a zipup brown hoodie, glasses, and had recently dyed his hair purple.
That banner hanging off the Glisan overpass above I-205–in the unlikely event that traffic was moving too fast for you to read it–says, “Hey Wheeler! #EnoughisEnoughPDX.” It’s a message from Gateway neighbors who say the city has given up on drug addicts taking over public space, like parks where their kids played. Past tense.
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Showdown at the #MeToo corral: The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing next Monday with Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the woman accusing him of sexual assault at a beer party in high school. It’ll be high drama involving powerful and smart people in a hearing that will either crash or save the nomination of a Justice who would influence American law in a certain direction for decades.
Stock markets are poised for a selloff today as tariff tensions with China are escalating. China’s stock market opened at a four-year low.
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The soon-to-be-abandoned Multnomah County Courthouse has been sold for $28 million to brother-and-sister investors backed by an international philanthropist billionaire. Their plans for the historic building, which they say they intend to preserve, refer vaguely to “various creative uses.” Some of their previous ventures have revolved around Oregon’s cannabis industry, so there might be an ironic future for this building, whose history includes being Portland’s central spot where confiscated alcohol was poured into the ground during Prohibition.
Speaking of which…one of the early entrepreneurs in the Portland pot biz–“Cannabliss” owner Matt Price, who also sat on an OLCC advisory committee about marijuana regulatory issues–will be sent away for 7 months in federal prison for not filing taxes for four straight years. I mean, for four years in a row. At one point, the guy was pulling in $590,000 a year. The feds make zero secret about wanting to pounce on slip-ups like this.
Here’s a story that happened in August, and is just now hitting the news…a couple and their son out on a boat in the Columbia had their engine conk out and they called for help, but no luck…so the mom went on Facebook and posted, “Help!! My husband and I are stuck in our boat at the mouth of the Lewis River, won’t start, tried all options, no boats gone by, no marine sheriffs on duty, phone dying, and tow is $500…” And minutes later, who should come motoring up….but the Mayor of St. Helens, Rich Scholl. He towed them to shore and wished them well, explaining to KGW that “I’ve lived on this river all my life and we don’t leave a fellow boater stranded. We just don’t. It’s an old code.”
The real-gold-adorned pioneer statue on top of the Oregon Capitol turns 80 years old today. There’s a celebration from 2 to 5 that includes making Christmas Tree ornaments to go on the US Capitol Christmas Tree, which is coming from Oregon this year.
The Seahawks go oh-and-two to begin the season. as a 4th quarter comeback against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football was derailed by a pick-six, then doomed by a QB fumble.
The Emmys were on TV last night, Game of Thrones and HBO and a Netflix comedy series were big winners as usual, and there was a heartwarming surprise marriage proposal.
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Let’s see if we can spot a handful of gems amid the gravel of news…
–“Chicago Bears’ Trey Burton donating $1,000 per catch, $2,500 per TD to human rights organization”
–“The Number of Youth in Juvenile Detention in California Has Quietly Plummeted”
–“Cherokee County firefighters rescue deer trapped in retention pond”
–“Clydesdales keep nursing home residents company, and bring back happy memories”
–“7th-century Buddha statue restored after being dynamited by Pakistani Taliban in 2007”
Links here.
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Happy birthday to musician Michael Franks, a University of Oregon graduate known for: “Popsicle Toes.” That sounds right: temps have been below normal for a week, and I don’t see that changing. Leaves are turning. An early Fall! So I’m going to head out and warm up the car, and read up on what you’re thinking and doing. Have an excellent Tuesday!
Portland's Daily Drip 