Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Morning, friends, and welcome to this Wednesday, October 23, 2019! It’s the opening day of a string of beauties, with lovely sunshine after the obligatory morning clouds, and highs of 62. Sunrise 7:37 AM, sunset 6:11 PM.

Speaking of opening day! Fresh off a fairy-tale season that took the town to the brink of the NBA Finals, the Portland Trail Blazers begin the regular season at home tonight against the Denver Nuggets. Do you know the Blazers have an 18-game home opener winning streak? They haven’t lost a debut game in the Moda Center since 2000. Hopes are high although expectations are middling for the guys this year: numbers geek Nate Silver projects a regular-season record for Portland of 42-40, well off last year’s 53-29. But this is a team that makes its living feasting on the elites and sneaking up on the pundits, just like the town it represents.

Speaking of feasting! Moda Center’s culinary creations this year feature a fried chicken waffle cone, stuffed with, well, chicken, plus mashed potatoes, cheese and gravy. What, no syrup? For those of more Portlandian tastes, a plate of fried buffalo cauliflower. Rip City, baby!

And just across the brick courtyard, the Portland Winterhawks skate against Prince Albert. Put ’em in the can, Hawks! Good times in the Rose Quarter tonight.

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Oregon State University says it is questioning “the value of continuing a campus law enforcement agreement with Oregon State Police” after video shows an officer taking to ground and handcuffing an African-American OSU student who was riding her bike on the wrong side of a quiet residential street, and who became argumentative. The NAACP is involved, saying this is what racial profiling looks like.

Police confirmed that it was indeed the body of Owen Klinger that was found in the Willamette River, as his parents suspected.

A 16-year old foster child, Doug Faoa, is missing after running away from a treatment center in Happy Valley almost two weeks ago.

Environmentalists say it’s about time, as Portland City Hall has said no to Zenith Energy, which owns an oil train terminal in Northwest Portland and wants to build three new pipes under NW Front Avenue.

A surprise in the land of the Swoosh…Nike announces that longtime CEO Mark Parker is stepping down early next year, to be replaced by board member John Donahoe, the former CEO of eBay. Parker’s sticking around to head up the board of directors. The company says the move is unrelated, though it happens fresh on the heels of the Alberto Salazar doping suspension for medical experiments involving testosterone, of which Parker was allegedly aware.

The Nationals take Game One of the World Series; game two is tonight in Houston.

A tip of the Daily Drip soup ladle to Mother’s Bistro & Bar for popping up on the national radar–ranking in the top 25 restaurants in TripAdvisor’s best everyday dining category. Sometimes you just have to have yourself a good Macaroni & Cheese Of The Day…or Mom’s Meatloaf & Gravy…or their slow-stewed chicken and herb dumplings…or Five-Hour Braised Pot Roast…made under the loving watch of Mother herself: Lisa Schroeder, Executive Chef and owner of Mother’s Bistro & Bar.

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Let’s serve up some good news!

–“‘God bless Henry.’ Hiker says teenager helped save her life after she fell 75 feet” (hat tip to Kim)

–“A man’s journey from cleaning classrooms to teaching in them”

–“California Tribe Regains Island It Calls Center of Universe

–“Traffic lights worldwide set to change after Swedish engineer saw red over getting a ticket (in Oregon!)”

–“Homeowner Censors ‘Mooning’ Pumpkin Man Halloween Display After Complaints”

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Reminder: I’m taking the next few days off, and may or may not materialize in your Facebook news feed. Either Sir Z. is fiddling with the controls to keep unsavories like me out of the pristine vistas of the social media giant, or I’m being a late-snoring slug dreaming of taking a leisurely walkabout among technicolor forests and hopefully dangerously high surf!