Hi there! Have you found me? Have I found you? Facebook is playing hide-and-seek with the Daily Drip lately! Did we offend thee, Sir Z? Anyway, welcome to this Wednesday, October 16, 2019. Weather for Portland and surrounding hamlets is wet, wet, wet, as the first series of the good ol’ fall storms is upon us. Today we expect Rain. Highs 55 to 60. Gale warnings and hazardous seas warnings are in effect for the entire coast; it’ll be beautiful to watch from a safe remove. Sunrise 7:28 AM, sunset 6:23 PM.
Oy what a mess…I-5 southbound is (as of 0400) still shut down at Exit 278 (north of Woodburn) after a truck sideswiped another yesterday afternoon and both went up in flames. The pavement suffered significant damage, and while ODOT hopes to reopen the left and center lanes for the morning commute (tune in 103.3 for updates), the right lane needs repaving and ODOT can’t even think about beginning it until the weather dries out. The main detour is 99E south, then rejoin 5 at Woodburn, but the various back ways will be jammed as well.
The stork of good fortune will flap your way soon, if you’re an Oregon taxpayer, as the state Department of Revenue confirms a surplus of more than $1.5 billion, meaning it’s a done deal: taxpayers will get a kicker next year. To figure out how much, just grab your 2018 Form OR-40, and multiply the amount by 16%. Or for English majors like me, a “What’s My Kicker?” calculator goes live on the department’s website when the merry filing season opens in January.
Ballots go out in the mail today for Oregon’s off-year November 5 election. The main item on my local ballot is mosquito control. I shall cast my vote in favor of the Deet State!
It’s day 1,000 of the Trump presidency.
Caught half of the debate. It still feels like preseason baseball to me. Wish Mayor Pete was 15 years older with 15 years of experience as something bigger than Mayor of South Bend. Wish Elizabeth Warren would answer the damn question, wish Joe Biden would pick a direction and stay with it, wish Kamala Harris was Attorney General. Comment if you wish.
The Trump pullout of troops from Syria is causing anguish within Portland’s Mercy Corps, already reeling from last week’s news. Calling the American withdrawal “our nightmare scenario,” the group has suspended operations there and is now evacuating staff. Tens of thousands of refugees are on the run and the humanitarian situation will dramatically worsen, according to the Mercy Corps leaders in the region. But “we just cannot effectively operate with the heavy shelling, roads closing, and the various and constantly changing armed actors in the areas where we are working.”
Women and people of color who work at Intel in Hillsboro may have a smile today at the news that the company has agreed to pay $5 million to compensate victims of systemic pay discrimination.
Launch time is near for Oregon Lottery sports gambling. After beta-testing it for months, the lottery says it’s “watch-this-space” ready, almost, to start taking your money via the ScoreBoard app, which allows in-state residents to roll the metaphorical dice on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NASCAR, soccer, golf, tennis, heck, even snooker, darts, and MMA. Not college, not yet. One thing you cannot do is bet from the app on an Indian reservation: your phone’s GPS knows when you’re on tribal land, and there, you need to go to a casino to lay your money down. Spirit Mountain just started sports betting this year.
The Blazers are at the Utah Jazz tonight, near the end of the preseason friendlies before the real dance begins next week.
Half of the World Series matchup is set, as the Washington Nationals–formerly the Montreal Expos, who toyed with Portland about moving here before winding up in DC–swept the stunned, favored St. Louis Cardinals. Now they wait for the Yankees and Astros to sort out the AL side; Houston is up 2-1
The Cuban Missile Crisis began on this day in 1962, four days after the Columbus Day Storm. Weird times, man.
People wept with joy on this day in 1987–I know I did, being a parent of little ones–when rescuers freed baby Jessica McClure from the 22-foot-deep abandoned well where she’d been trapped for 58 hours in Midland, Texas. She’s now a stay-at-home Mom in Midland….delivering well-baby care to little ones of her own!
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Let’s see if we can pull up some stories that’ll give a smile, and link them in the good old Daily Drip Coffee Cup!
–“Trial vaccine wipes out breast cancer in Florida patient”
–“Firefighters let “very scared” little girl paint their nails after she was in a car crash”
–“Cat reunited with worried owner during live interview outside fire”
–“Enormous Dog Rescued in Utah”
–“85-year-old Michigan cowgirl still drives cattle across Wyoming”
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Wednesday! Watchcha got?
Portland's Daily Drip 