Friday, June 7, 2019

Morning, friends, and welcome to Friday, June 7, 2019! Let me put on a TV-weatherman sports coat and wave my hands in front of a green screen and show on the map that Portland’s weather is under the influence of a deep trough hanging over the entire Northwest in which showers and thunderstorms are milling around and keeping things cool. Deep breath. We’ll reach a high no better than 60 today, and this evening could bring a thundery downpour on people who are camped out on the streets, for reason of parade-watching or economy. A summerward swing begins on Saturday, with a high of 70 and only pre-parade shower, with step-off temps perhaps near 60 –as a tuba-toting veteran of many a Grand Floral Sauna, I know the paradistas are welcoming a cool morning–and then we hit the “summer” button, with highs of 80 on Sunday, 85 on Monday, and 90 on Tuesday. Sunrise 5:22 AM, sunset 8:56 PM, total daylight 15:34:01, up 1:03 from yesterday.

Today was originally to be the last day of school in Portland…and then winter showed up in February. So…the last day for PPS is June 12. Today is the last day in Parkrose…except for the seniors, who graduated last night. And most districts across the area will stick a fork in their academic years next week. If today happens to be your district’s last day, let me know early, so we can give you a shout on 103.3, OK?

The school year is ending on a contentious note at the Evergreen District’s Heritage High School, where a student gave a speech–departing from his approved script–in which he accused the school of ignoring sexual assault and bullying. His speech drew applause from classmates but not so from the administration, which said his claims were second-hand and untrue, and he will not walk at the graduation ceremony.

The Rose Festival Ships are all safely at anchor along the Portland Seawall, and wasn’t that a spectacular welcome? I loved how Marilyn Clintexpressed the view from her Rose Festival headquarters window on the waterfront, as she waved toward a cloud deck that was just high enough to let the jets sneak through: “On the 75th anniversary of D Day, how perfect to have an amazing F-18 flyover peel off into a missing man formation over the Willamette River.” And tomorrow morning, Bruce Murdock and I get to help crown the Queen from among a marvelous group of young women whom we met yesterday, future leaders all.

The danger is over at the Gateway Fred Meyers, where an armed man was holed up after being confronted for shoplifting at a nearby Kohls. The Freddies’ was evacuated as the SERT team came in, the man was found hiding in a storage area with his weapon, and police say they took him in with no force being used. All clear.

So happy to report that rescuers were able to pluck four climbers off the high reaches of Mt. Rainier, four days after a mountaintop windstorm blew their tent away along with most of their gear. The men, including Yevgeniy Krasnitskiy of Portland, were airlifted off the mountain, suffering from cold and exposure after what must have been a horrible ordeal.

NBC reports that people at Oregon State University have been warned to stay alert after secretly filmed videos of women walking on campus were found on a porn website.

Oregon’s about to say “time’s up” on the twice-yearly clock change, as the House voted 37-20 to permanently ditch Standard Time if Washington and California do the same and Congress signs off.

A Russian destroyer and a United States Navy cruiser narrowly avoided a collision in the Philippine Sea on today, coming as close as 50 feet from each other.

Portland is down one performance venue, as the Acropolis has closed–although patrons of the stripperly arts are being assured it’ll open once some issues with its liquor license are straightened out.

Elsewhere on the local culture scene, Il Barbiere di Siviglia starts tonight at the Keller.

Train and the Goo Goo Dolls play at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater tomorrow evening.

Johnny Limbo and the Lugnuts, a cool little combo if ever there was one, do their 40th-anniversary gig tomorrow night at the Holiday Inn Portland airport.

And this is the weekend of the 55th Cannon Beach Sand Castle Contest…which started in 1964 as a way to bring people back to the coast after the damage and the fear resulting from the tsunami that swept down from the 9.2 Good Friday Earthquake in Alaska.

Prince would’ve turned 61 today.

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TMSG?

–“Teens rush into burning home to rescue their 90-year-old neighbor”

–“No one could open a safe for 40 years. A tourist cracked it on his first try.”

–“Nike introduces plus-size mannequins”

–“Triplets graduate as high school Valedictorians”

–“104-Year-Old Fisherman Catches 94-Year-Old Girlfriend”

(I see that one of the links didn’t post in the Coffee Cup. I’ve been having trouble with that this week. We’ll fix it soon).

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Happy weekend, friends!!