Check it out! Three weeks until school begins in Portland! Good morning to you, and welcome to the Daily Drip for Wednesday, August 7, 2019. A deep layer of clouds from the coast will cover the valleys in the morning hours. But we emerge blinking into the sun in the afternoon, with highs reaching the low 80s. Sunrise 6:01 AM–our first post-6-AM sunrise since April…and sunset right at 8:30 PM.
If you’d like to circle a date to stay the heck out of downtown, try Saturday, August 17. The hotheaded trolls from the far-out right and left wings are making noise about staging another of their destructive rumbles, and this time, City Hall says the police will have none of it. We might see suburban cops on the DMZ lines, and they’re even talking about bringing in the Oregon National Guard. Portland’s police chief Danielle Outlaw is telling protesters intent on violence: ‘Don’t come. We don’t want you here. I don’t care what side you’re on.’ This is going to be her show, with Mayor Wheeler looking over her shoulder. You can bet this will be on the national media radar, too.
Air Force One flies to both Dayton and El Paso today as President Trump brings his presence to communities that are staggering from the latest mass shootings. In the meantime, tales of heroism are coming to light, with the Today Show telling the story of Walmart employee Gilbert Serna. He may have saved dozens of lives by leading a hundred people out through a fire exit and then hiding them in a shipping container.
Panic broke out in Times Square late last night after a motorcycle backfired, causing people to flee what they feared was a possible active shooter.
CBS points out that “The House passed a gun control bill calling for background checks. But it’s been sitting on Mitch McConnell’s desk since February.” NBC reports that with the new school year quickly approaching, sales of bulletproof backpacks are soaring.
Senator Elizabeth Warren says “Our elections should be as secure as Fort Knox. But instead, they’re less secure than your Amazon account.”
BTW Clark County’s election was yesterday, and rather than me digging out how the Yacolt levy turned out, go to the Columbian’s nicely done new web site–which is free through Thursday. As of late last night, the school and EMS levies were leading by wide margins.
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The Weather Service in Pendleton is warning of thunderstorms with “abundant lightning” (nice phrase; they must have an English major on staff) across that side of the region the next several days, and so a fire weather watch takes effect this afternoon in eastern Oregon and Washington. Any wildfires that develop will spread like, uh, wildfire. Hey, I’m an English major too.
Saying that contract talks are in the ditch, the unions for folks who work at Kaiser Permanente begin voting today to authorize a strike that would begin in October, after the expiration of the current labor agreement.
A homeowner caught a burglar rummaging in his garage in the neighborhood across 205 from Eastport Plaza. The burglar had a machete, but the homeowner had a gun, and fired a couple of shots in the ground to prove it. The burglar held very still until cops arrived and booked him.
Car alarms started jangling before dawn yesterday at the Sylvan Heights condos on Barnes Road, where multiple vehicles were found to have their trunks and doors wide open. A neighbor saw a skinny guy running away carrying a duffel bag. A K9 tracked him down: deputies inventoried the duffel contents as “stolen cartons of baked goods, a Mountain Dew, a glass bong, several candy bars, a bag of chips, various tools, toilet paper, a GPS device, and miscellaneous electronics.” Basic provisions.
A tourist from another state, visiting the geothermally-rich Breitenbush area (named for a one-armed Dutch hunter in the 1800s), was bitten by a rabid bat.
A small but suspicious-looking cardboard box was found at a recruiting center in Salem. The bomb squad was scrambled. Turns out it contained eggs.
Clackamas County is tinkering with the idea of building a no-cars bridge over the Willamette River between Lake Oswego and Oak Grove. Right now, it’s a ten-mile drive. It’d still be a ten-mile drive…but a ten-minute bike ride.
A tantalizing fact about Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, who died Monday at the age of 88: Her publisher confirms that she was working on a new novel at the time of her passing. Will the unfinished manuscript will ever be published? Unknown.
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In the cup o’ good news today:
–“Newlyweds asked guests to bring school supplies to their wedding in place of gifts”
–“NASA worked out how to make food out of thin air – and it could feed billions”
–“New hope for people with “irreversible” deafness”
–“Guy saves a skunk!–but then gets caught littering.”
–“911 called on lemonade-selling kids in Gig Harbor. Deputies make purchases, not arrests”
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Heading in! Have an excellent Wednesday!
Portland's Daily Drip 