Hi there, friends! It’s Wednesday, November 6, 2019, and here comes the Daily Drip for the 11th dripless Portland day in a row. True, we have fog as thick as pancake batter in places, and air you can practically chew for the pollutants it’s carrying, but the NWS says you have to go back to 1957 to find a rainless first week of November. High today might reach 60. Sunrise 6:57 AM, sunset 4:51 PM.
At this point the Dense Fog Advisory expires at 11 AM, and the Air Stagnation Advisory runs out at 4 PM. As I write this, at 0400, the Portland Air Quality Index is a robust 63, which is moderate, and a good excuse for sensitive persons to ditch the outdoor chores and have an IPA by the fireplace, but with no fire in it, suggests the health department.
Let’s run down some election results, as best I can at this groggy hour. These are from unofficial totals but appear solid. And if your neighborhood passed or shot down a bond issue, or elected a particularly interesting dogcatcher, please add that in the comments.
Portland charter protection of the Bull Run Watershed–Won.
PPS levy—Winning.
Parks and nature bond for Metro-Winning.
Troutdale city hall–Losing.
Sauvie Island fire levy–Winning.
Happy Valley police levy–Winning.
West Linn/Wilsonville school bond and WL/WV levy–both Winning.
Clackamas County vector control–Winning.
Washington I-976, Tim Eyman’s latest–passing in early returns.
Camas pool bond–Lost.
Nationally…A Democrat is the apparent victor in the race for Governor of Kentucky, which Donald Trump won by 30 points. The Republican incumbent is not conceding yet. Republicans hang on to the Mississippi governorship…while Democrats take over the Virginia state legislature.
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A truck driver is accused of kidnapping a woman in Tacoma–where she’d asked him for a ride across town–and driving her to Hillsboro, where he allegedly assaulted her when she tried to escape at the Costco loading dock. The driver is also charging with having cocaine, and driving under the influence.
There’s a good reason to stay out of the Willamette River from the Morrison Bridge on down. There was a four-hour leak from a pipe on the east bank, and we’ll just leave it at that.
The water temperature is going up fast in the kettle in which Portland investor-turned-donor-ambassador Gordon Sondland is stewing: yesterday he changed his earlier testimony in the impeachment inquiry, saying that other witnesses have “refreshed his memory,” and admitting that he had, in fact, told a Ukrainian government official that their country was in danger of losing American military aid if it didn’t go along with President Trump’s demand for an investigation that, under that narrative, would undermine the Mueller report and tarnish Joe Biden just in time for election year. Something for something. Or, in Latin, quid pro quo.
And now comes the announcement that Mayor Ted Wheeler will regift the $16,000 donated to his campaign by Gordon Sondland…to local charities like Basic Rights Oregon and Transition Projects…but with the biggest chunk of Sondland’s money going to, pointedly, ImpeachNow-dot-org.
Looks like the Portland Urban League’s respected CEO Nkenge Harmon Johnson is getting ready to run for the Oregon Senate formerly held by the late Sen. Jackie Winters (R-Salem).
This was the ironic day in 1990 when Oregon voters elected Governor Barbara Roberts…and simultaneously hobbled her by passing Ballot Measure 5, Oregon’s first property tax rollback.
Today is a milestone anniversary the NW, and for all who live near and love the Columbia River. Seventy-five years ago today, plutonium was first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility, and less than a year later it was used in the atom bomb that the US dropped on Nagasaki. To this day, despite billions poured into cleanup, there are millions of gallons of radioactive water stored in underground tanks, and the Department of Energy says the cleanup will continue for fifty years or more. I’m betting a lot more.
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Click on the Coffee Cup for links to today’s good news stories!
–“Fife QB Brynna Nixon throws TD in playoff win”
–“Inside a wealthy L.A. man’s effort to help pilots fight wildfires from a remote mountain base”
–“E-mail error ends up on road sign”
–“Portland’s ‘Jeopardy’ champion donates over $10,000 to Knight Cancer Institute”
–“Why these bikers crisscross New York delivering donated breast milk”
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Have a most wonderful Wednesday!
Portland's Daily Drip 