Morning, friends! Welcome to Thursday, December 5, 2019. The weather in Portland and the surrounding valleys is cloudy, foggy, and smoggy, too, with no rain, and highs 50. Sunrise is pushing later to 7:34 AM, while sunset remains stalled out 4:27 PM.
An air stagnation advisory runs like a big orange smudge on the map from Castle Rock clear down to Cottage Grove, as cold air is hugging the ground below 1500 feet elevation, and all the noxious output of cars, trucks, buses, leaf-blowers, and fireplaces is sealed in one mass where we people are huddled. It’s tolerable for most folks, but bothersome and even hazardous for others. That’s why we’re asked to keep our pollution footprint as low as possible for the next couple of days until some relief blows in. Portland’s latest Air Quality Index, at 0400, is a grim 127, which comes with this Health Message: People with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.
Southern California’s getting belted by heavy rain; LA and San Diego could experience flash floods, and debris flows on burn-scarred hillsides.
Just days ahead of December 7, an American sailor opened fire at Pearl Harbor, killing two civilian workers and wounding a third before taking his own life.
A chill went through the hearts of many of my neighbors, on word that a 16-year-old student at Oregon City High School brought a handgun, ammunition, and a knife to school yesterday. Somebody smartly tipped off the cops that the kid had a gun in his waistband; he was quickly found and detained. Police don’t think he meant to hurt anybody, but they haven’t figured out why he did what he did.
A final vote is scheduled this morning by the Multnomah County Commission on tripling vehicle registration fees–from $19 to $56–to pay for improving the Burnside Bridge so it won’t do a bellyflop into the Willamette River when the big one hits.
This is the day our town comes together to bid farewell to Gert Boyle, whose Columbia Sportswear products have kept us warm for decades. A celebration of life begins at 10 AM at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Just one year ago today was the funeral for President George H.W. Bush. The DD’s coverage ended with the words of his son George W. Bush: ‘“So through our tears, let us know the blessings of knowing and loving you, a great and noble man, the best father a son or daughter could have.’ And the younger President Bush sobbed, and America understood.”‘
Today is Walt Disney’s birthday. Born in 1901.
The US Capitol Christmas Tree was illuminated last night. And the famous red nose on the Oregon sign’s been on for a week. It’s lit every year on the day before Thanksgiving. I remember one year when K103 carried the lighting live, with Bruce and me on the waterfront, ready to give the signal to a kid with a fake switch that would cause the guy on the rooftop to hit the button. We coordinated with Channel 8 (since my wife was on the desk), and their helicopter came and hovered with a live camera trained on the sign…and the designated moment came…but one of our dignitaries was speechifying and speechifying…the TV anchors were padding, and coming up on a network join…KGW was telling me, come on dammit! So, boom! we just hit it. Merry Christmas, Portland!
Spotted this while reviewing old DDs for a purpose I’ll reveal soon. One year ago today: “What a zoo at PDX, where construction crews severed a water line at 2:45 PM, cutting off water to the entire Portland International Airport for 3 hours. No bathrooms! No restaurants! No water fountains. But mainly…no bathrooms!!”
This was cool…Singer Alanis Morissette and TV’s Jimmy Fallon shocked a New York City subway when they went undercover as buskers and sang “The Little Drummer Boy”….then whipped off their disguises and performed her hit “You Oughta Know.”
The Blazers beat the Sacramento Kings last night 127-116. And from the Winterhawks’ web site: Portland netted three power play goals on Wednesday night to help mount a 5-4 overtime comeback against the Prince George Cougars.
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Good news stories for Thursday!
–“Group of hikers find missing wedding ring on mountain”
–“Officers Make Correct Decision To Let Dog Take Over Search For Missing Hunter”
–“Pro Golfer Forgives Fan With Down Syndrome Who Yelled During Crucial Putt”
–“Scientists can now teach birds to sing new songs”
–“India farmer paints dog to look like tiger to protect coffee crop from monkeys”
Portland's Daily Drip 