Greetings, fellow sleepy person, and welcome to the Daily Drip for Thursday, September 27, 2018. Weather here is wonderful. Portland is sunny with 80 to 85 tops; the Oregon coast is sunny and 70 to 75, and even the high country is sparkling and warm, with a freezing level of 16,000 feet, and highs of 75 degrees at Government Camp. Wish we could bottle this and stick it on a shelf where we can grab it in February! Sunrise 7:04 AM, sunset 6:58 PM.
Local news first:
A registered sex offender is jailed after entering a not guilty plea to a murder charge in the death of 89-year old Marcine Herinck, a longtime volunteer at a Portland Adventist food pantry and thrift shop who was remembered as a “ray of light” at a memorial service last night.
Mayor Wheeler delivered a pointed message to police after a Parkrose business leader came to City Hall demanding that officers enforce laws that are routinely broken by homeless people who deal drugs, relieve themselves, and intimidate people; she said that officers tell her that their hands are tied. The mayor said, “If a police officer or a firefighter ever tells you that I tied their hands, they are not telling you the truth…If an officer ever tells you that, get their name. Get their name. I want to know.” And he added, “The laws will be enforced, and I’m directing they be enforced.”
The City of Portland is writing a $7,000 check to an Irvington couple whose door was kicked in by police–accidentally. They had the wrong house. The gentleman says the officers were very nice about it, and came back later to apologize and tell them how to file a claim with the city. “Mistakes happen,” he shrugged. And then he added, “Lucky I wasn’t black, who knows what would have happened?”
If you happen to have some hamburger meat in the freezer that you bought over the summer, check it out: an E. coli recall has expanded nationwide, including meat sold at Albertson’s, Safeway, and Target stores in Oregon. If you find “EST. 86R” on the inspection label, pitch it.
Well, darn, we’re about to say good-bye to Beaverton Bakery, which is closing after 93 years of wedding cakes and maple bars and frosted Christmas cookies. The family says it’s time. They’re working personally with brides and grooms to connect them with other bakers and “make sure nobody is left in the lurch.”
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The historic and pivotal Ford vs. Kavanaugh showdown–as the Senate Judiciary Committee hears from just one of three sworn accusers, with two others out there–starts at 7 AM Pacific. But there was a handy pre-game release of the prepared testimony of both sides. Some highlights from Dr. Ford:
“I am here today not because I want to be. I am terrified. But I believe it is my civic duty to tell you what happened to me. I drank one beer that evening. I went upstairs to use the bathroom. I was pushed from behind into a bedroom. Brett and Mark (Judge) came into the bedroom and locked the door behind them. I was pushed onto the bed and Brett got on top of me. He groped me and tried to take off my clothes. I thought he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. This is what terrified me the most, and had the longest lasting impact on my life. I thought Brett was going to accidentally (underlined) kill me.”
And from Judge Kavanaugh: “These false and uncorroborated accusations are last-minute smears, pure and simple. I spent most of my time in high school focused on academics, sports, church, and service. I was not perfect then, or today. I drank beer with my friends on weekends, sometimes I had too many. I said and did things in high school that make me cringe now. But I never did anything remotely resembling what Dr. Ford describes. The record of my life shows I have always promoted the equality and dignity of women.”
Speaking of readily available documents…the third accuser’s affidavit is public, a Michael Avenatti client who swears that she attended parties where Kavanaugh spiked punch and participated in gang rapes. And there are two more accusers out there.
Trump, in a bombastic news conference yesterday, dropped a hint that he could pull this nomination, and that it all depends on the believability of the two people testifying. Some observers, if it goes badly for him, can see Trump dropping Kavanaugh like a sizzling french fry.
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Some scary local history: This was the day in 1955 when over 100,000 Portlanders evacuated the city for an all-hands-on-deck nuclear bomb drill, an event was filmed and turned into a CBS-TV movie titled, “The Day Called X,” which opened with these words: “Ladies and gentlemen: enemy planes are approaching. In less than three hours, an H-bomb may fall over Portland.” It’s chilling to reflect how serious the threat of nuclear annihilation was to the generation growing up then.
The International Cannabis Business Conference returns to Portland today, where it was first held four years ago. It’s at the Hilton. Sen. Jeff Merkley is the keynote speaker. As the event description says, “Oregon is home to one of the oldest cannabis communities in the United States and has long been a leader in progressive cannabis policy.”
It’s the 20th birthday of a tool we use so often that we’re not even conscious of it: Google launched its search engine on this date in 1998.
Happy Birthday to Randy Bachman of The Guess Who and BTO, and Meat Loaf of, well. Meat Loaf.
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Let’s see if we can cook up something good!
–“Rare tree kangaroo rediscovered after 90 years..and it’s adorable!”
–“Meet the Dog Who Knows How to Ice Skate — and Is Trying to Attract the Attention of the NHL”
–“Finally reconnecting habitats, new wildlife bridge over I-90 in Washington State nears completion”
–“Woman bee-friends wingless bumblebee.”
Details are up at the link farm!
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We’ll see subtle changes in the weather on Friday, and then the weekend turns cooler and wet at times. Have you been able to knock out some chores while the sun shines? I’ve stuffed the yard debris bin with blackberry runners that have proliferated lately on the toboggan run behind our house, but that’s a neverending battle. Time to head in, have some fun on the radio, and see what happens today. Could be anything!
Portland's Daily Drip 