t’s Wednesday morning Daily Drip time, on July 31, 2019…the last day of the seventh month, and my last day riding in the radio saddle until Tuesday next. Portland’s weather begins with clouds, just visiting from the coast, clearing away to full sun and 84 degrees. But tomorrow turns cloudy, with a southerly breeze bringing light rain tomorrow night into Friday. It’ll be a short and welcome watering, and then the weekend weather returns to summertime excellence. Sunrise 5:51 AM, sunset 8:42 PM.
That wildfire burning off I-5 in southern Oregon continues to roar, and firefighters are working day and night to contain it. An Air Quality Alert remains in effect for much of SW Oregon, although overnight the air quality down there improved to moderate.
By the way, my question, which I tweeted to @NWSPortland: “Will Thursday’s shift to southerly winds bring smoke from southern Oregon to Portland, or will the rain take care of that?” Their reply: “Winds probably won’t be southerly long enough for the smoke to make it to Portland. It also looks like the winds near the fire won’t shift as much as they will further north.” I really like NWS Portland.
One year ago yesterday, here’s what appeared in the Daily Drip: “Today is Day Nine of 90-plus, as we aim for 95 to 100. Tomorrow will be Day Ten, and that will tie Portland’s all-time record for consecutive days in this sweltering stew.” And we had all that forest fire smoke permeating the air. Are we better off than we were a year ago? Oh, yeah!
School begins in Portland four weeks from today.
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Tonight is Democratic debate night #2, at 5 pm on CNN. Last night was a fairly fierce battle between moderates on one side, and progressives on the other, especially Bernie “I wrote the damn bill” Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Comments about last night, anyone?
Portland police shot and killed a man around SE120th and Ash Street, after he was seen walking around with a knife or a machete and was trying to break into cars in a Safeway parking lot, and along SE 122nd Ave.
So sad to report that search and rescue crews recovered the body of an 8-year-old boy from the Sandy River.
The algae returned to Vancouver Lake…and now so has the E. Coli. The lake’s closed.
There have been at least seven accidents on the detour route since the construction closure began on Cornelius Pass Road. The county is modifying the detour signage. I read comments from Dripsters who live around there that they’re taking the long way around to avoid that whole mess.
A 22-acre woodland next to Forest Park that was ripe for McMansions has been donated instead to the Portland Audubon Society by real estate developer Marty Kehoe and family; they were convinced of the land’s ecological value by their eldest daughter. Look for trails there in the near future.
Strike votes wrap up today for SW Washington grocery workers at the Vancouver Hilton and the Red Lion on Kelso Drive.
Construction is well underway at the In-N-Out Burger in Keizer. Framing is up, and so is the “Here Soon” sign.
The Blazers signed CJ McCollum long term. Five years. Said CJ: “It aligns me to continue to play alongside Dame & continue to help build things not only on the court but in the community. ”
Some poignantly cheeky California professors have installed seesaws along US-Mexico border “wall”–inserted between the slats–to connect people on both sides of the border, so kids in each country can play with each other, but separated by the physical and metaphorical barrier. Video is in the TMSG links below.
Clackamas County finds itself inching onto a tightrope, as commissioners announced they are considering updating their noise ordinance. It’s not clear to me what changes they have in mind beyond car horns, loud TVs, and “ongoing animal noises,” but they want everyone to know that “this issue under consideration is in no way aimed at curbing firearm rights.” I live in that county, in a semi-rural area, and have no major beeves. OK, sometimes, illegal firecrackers. Unmuffled engines roaring up the two-lane hill. But rarely gunfire. And there’s a guy who insists on whaling on his guitar on the deck at night, still trying to get Stairway to Heaven right.
Night sky geeks know this, but tonight marks a unique event called the Black Supermoon. It’s when a Supermoon (closest to Earth) occurs at the same time as a Black Moon, which is a second new moon in a calendar month, like a Blue Moon. Skywatchers have circled this date because conditions will be excellent for gazing into the heavens, particularly if you’re away from city lights. Two meteor showers are still near their peaks, and it’s on nights like this that people see fireballs.
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Another interesting variety of links, which you can find in the trusty Daily Drip coffee cup!
–“Artists installed seesaws at the border wall so that kids in the U.S. and Mexico could play together”
-“Mayor disguises as a disabled person in social experiment to find out the truth”
–“Scientists Have Developed A Contact Lens That Zooms When You Blink Twice”
–“A Kinder, Gentler Wave Of Reality TV Tries A Little Tenderness, For A Change”
–“The Cats Of Rome Make Ruins Their Home”
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And with that…off I go to Colorado for a high school reunion and visits to my old haunts and scenes of past nefarious deeds. We’ll pop in for a hello-there to start threads. Thanks, by the way, for all the folks putting November 9 on their calendars for Dripstock 3! We’ll likely ask for RSVPs as the date gets closer. Good times ahead!
Portland's Daily Drip 