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Portland Region Forecast (Oregon City): Air Quality – Bad, Temps Below 100 Degrees – Good

As the heat wave begins to wind down into the lower 90s this week, Oregon City residents will still contend with air quality issues caused by Pacific Northwest wildfires. The National Weather Service issued an air quality alert for the region through 7 p.m. Tuesday, after which forecasters expect the smoke to dissipate some.

More details on air quality and the smoke situation can be found at the links below:

Temperatures this week will hang in the low 90s through Thursday, with the first dip back into daytime 80s coming Friday — though the dip will be slight. Friday’s temps will still hover around the upper 80s.

Unfortunately Mother Nature doesn’t care about normals. High temperatures inland expected at or above 90 most of the next week. https://t.co/jJUoARcAW5— NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) August 6, 2017

Cloud cover is also expected to return Wednesday, though no precipitation is being forecasted until (maybe) Friday. The chance for rain is low, but there’s still a chance we could see our 50-plus-days (and counting) without measurable rain come to an end. The last time it rained more than 0.02 inches at PDX was June 16.

Forecasters are calling for rain in the Cascade Range through Thursday, so perhaps we’ll see some too.

Today, partly cloudy until this afternoon.

Tuesday August 8

Clear throughout the day. High 95, low 62.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 3 mph from the NNW

Wednesday August 9

Clear throughout the day. High 96, low 63.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 3 mph from the NW

Thursday August 10

Mostly cloudy overnight. High 95, low 63.

Chance of precipitation: 2%. Wind 2 mph from the NW

Friday August 11

Light rain starting in the evening. High 90, low 66.

Chance of precipitation: 17%. Wind 2 mph from the WNW

Data provided by darksky.net.

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Portland’s official city bike map is now digital and interactive

For the first time ever the City of Portland’s official bike map is available in an interactive online version.

This is great news for anyone who wants to learn more about how to get around town on a bike using the safest, most efficient routes.

The map is very detailed and allows you to zoom in for fine-grain analysis and inspection. Layers can be turned off and on and include helpful symbols that tell you the the location of: bike shops, one-way streets, climbs, caution areas, and more. Click on a bike shop symbol (blue wrench) and a window pops up allowing you to go directly to the shop’s website. Both satellite and basic map view are available. The mobile version works very well so I recommend adding a button to map on your home screen.

This latest GIS-powered version sure has come a long way since PBOT’s 1975 “From here to there by bicycle” map.

This is a very useful tool for journalists and advocates who need to understand where problems and opportunities lie. I like to zoom into different quadrants and neighborhoods to see how dense the bike infrastructure network is — or how much it’s lacking.

Take a look at downtown (they still have some bugs to work out as it appears the street names are a bit off):

Then just across the river in the Central Eastside, notice the huge gaps and lack of north-south routes (and lack of bikeways in general!):

And here’s what our bikeway network looks like east of 82nd between Halsey and Division:

Southwest Portland sure has a lot of caution areas:

Having this map online also means we don’t have to wait for reprints to see the latest updates to the network. Hopefully PBOT maintains this so it shows the most recent additions and changes to our streets.

Bookmark the map page for quick reference, and add the online version of Metro’s Bike There Map too while you’re at it.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org

BikePortland is supported by the community (that means you!). Please become a subscriber or an advertiser today.

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Portland Utility Board: Water Treatment Decision Needs More Time

Portland’s Utility Board has officially requested the City Council ask for more time to research whether ratepayers are better served by a water filtration plant or an ultraviolet light facility to treat its drinking water.

In a letter addressed to Mayor Ted Wheeler, city commissioners and Water Bureau Commissioner-in-Charge Nick Fish, the board urged council members to advocate for an extension before deciding on treatment technology. They added that without complete information at this time, PUB unanimously believes water filtration — the more expensive of the two options — best meets the city’s needs.

“This is a complex and very costly decision for the residents of the city and the city should not be forced into a rushed process,” the letter reads. “The city must take the necessary time to gather and analyze the data to come to an informed decision on which treatment technology it will use.”

The Portland City Council is scheduled to vote Aug. 2 on how it will treat the city’s drinking water for the parasite cryptosporidium in the Bull Run water reservoirs.

The options are a $105 million ultraviolet light treatment plant or a water treatment facility that could cost anywhere between $350 million and $500 million.

At a PUB meeting on July 18, Fish warned the board that they could shut themselves out of the decision-making process by asking for more time.

“My only fear on the fourth option is that if that is the consensus with PUB, and the Oregon Health Authority refuses to extend the clock, you would be taking yourself out of the game,” Fish said at the meeting. “And you would have to weigh that against not having a voice in the decision-making.”

The oversight board says regardless of which treatment option the city council chooses, “there needs to be more frequent and more complete public engagement.”

Fish has said that the city council needs to select a treatment option by early August to comply with an Aug. 11 deadline set by the Oregon Health Authority.

Fish did not immediately respond for comment.

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Portland Region Forecast (Oregon City): Clear, Sunny Week

We’re now well over 30 days without any rain in the Portland metro region. For some, this is a nice change of pace — a break from the same weather we see around here roughly eight or nine months out of the year. For others, it’s looking like the next sun break the area will get might just be the eclipse on Aug. 21.

The rainless streak looks to continue through this week, as forecasters with the National Weather Service — Portland Office call for sunny but partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid to low 80s all week.

Beginning Sunday, July 23, through Tuesday, July 25, forecasters have warned of the potential for thunderstorms to set fires in the Cascade range, noting more than 120 active fires are currently burning more than 1.27 million acres of forests across the nation.

Today, partly cloudy starting tonight.

Tuesday July 25

Partly cloudy until evening. High 88, low 58.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 5 mph from the NNW

Wednesday July 26

Partly cloudy overnight. High 84, low 59.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 5 mph from the NNW

Thursday July 27

Partly cloudy until afternoon. High 85, low 57.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 5 mph from the NNW

Friday July 28

Clear throughout the day. High 85, low 57.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the NNW

Data provided by darksky.net.

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Portland’s fossil fuel infrastructure limits overturned

Opponents of Pembina Marine Terminals’ proposed propane export terminal in North Portland protested in 2015 outside a public hearing at the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission. (TED SICKINGER/STAFF)

Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals on Wednesday unanimously rejected Portland’s limits on the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in the city, saying the ordinance violated the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.

The ordinance was passed last December and was the signature legacy of Portland Mayor Charlie Hales. The ordinance was born after the city decided against making zoning changes to accommodate a $500 million propane export terminal proposed by a Canadian energy company, Pembina Pipeline Corp., at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6.

Hales originally supported that project, but reversed course after a groundswell of public opposition.

The Portland Business Alliance joined fuel suppliers to appeal to the state Land Use Board of Appeals. They cited a number of grounds for the appeal, but Wednesday’s decision was based on a violation of the commerce clause, which gives the federal government the right to regulate trade between states and other nations.

Representatives of the Portland Business Alliance could not be reached for comment.

The city is considering an appeal to the State Court of Appeals.

"This decision is disappointing and goes against the interests of our community," according to a statement issued by Mayor Ted Wheeler. "It is incumbent upon us to protect our residents from the enormous risks posed by fossil fuels. The City is reviewing the ruling and exploring our options, including an appeal. Additionally, we will continue to work with environmental, energy, and resiliency experts to ensure Portland remains a leader on these issues."

The ordinance was a major victory for local environmental groups, which also expressed disappointment Wednesday.

"The people of Portland overwhelmingly supported this policy and strong climate action," Dan Serres, conservation director for Columbia Riverkeeper, said in a news release. "We will not be dissuaded by the fossil fuel industry’s attempt to put our communities and climate at risk."

"The Portland Business Alliance should be ashamed at their attempt to undercut Portland’s role as a leader in moving towards green energy and a safe community," said Micah Meskel, Conservation Field Coordinator with the Audubon Society of Portland.

"Although some of their members claim they to want to see the Paris Climate Accord upheld, the PBA chose to align itself with extreme fossil fuel interests."

– Ted Sickinger

503-221-8505; @tedsickinger

President Donald Trump points towards GOP Senators during their luncheon, Wednesday, July 19, 2017, in the State Dinning Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Portland on track to pay $8 million for hydroelectric plant operations with risk of losses

Portland has two dams at the Bull Run drinking water reservoir, where a hydroelectric facility generates power.(

Portland is prepared to pay a Washington energy agency at least $8 million to operate a hydroelectric project at a city-owned Bull Run facility for the next five years with no guarantee that the city will make a profit. It’s possible that taxpayers would actually lose money on the deal.

The City Council was scheduled to vote on the contract Wednesday but postponed the item by one week after The Oregonian/OregonLive questioned the Water Bureau about potential risks and benefits.

For decades, Portland paid Portland General Electric to operate and maintain the facility, then sold the utility the resulting electricity. The city made an average of $300,000 in annual profits from this agreement for the last four years.

But that deal expires in August, and PGE decided to stop operating the hydropower plant. The power company doesn’t have the same nearby staff and facilities to assist with operations that it did when it started running the facility in 1982, PGE spokesman Steve Corson said.

"It’s no longer that same no brainer for us," he said.

Corson said PGE still intends to purchase power from the project, which produces up to 36 megawatts of power per hour.

Commissioner Nick Fish’s Portland Water Bureau oversees management of the Bureau of Hydroelectric Power responsible for the project. The utility office has asked the City Council to okay an $8 million, 5-year agreement with Energy Northwest to operate the facility.

The operating and maintenance contract is one of four new contracts the city must finalize to ensure continued operations and power sales from the plant, according to city documents. The city must also pay contractors to coordinate the delivery of power and to keep up transmission of the power. The only aspect the city stands to profit from is selling the power, which it is still negotiating with PGE.

The water bureau asked the council to consider the $8 million agreement on July 5, three weeks before bureau leaders planned to bring the council a proposed sales agreement. Fish introduced the $8 million plan at the early July meeting, which Mayor Ted Wheeler did not attend.

Water bureau officials insist the city will profit from the operating agreement.

But because the city has yet to finalize a sales deal with PGE, "it is uncertain whether the (hydroelectric project) will have sufficient revenue from power sales to cover the estimated total cost," a financial analysis by the City Budget Office concluded.

Bureau officials refused to acknowledge the uncertainty identified by the budget office, saying revenue "will" exceed expenses over the life of the contract.

Bureau officials said they asked the council to OK the $8 million deal before PGE agrees how much it will pay for the electricity to give Energy Northwest time to hire and train employees in time to start operations in September.

"We let (the city) know…we’ll need 60 days to hire people to run the project and basically ramp up the operations," Energy Northwest spokesman John Dobken said. "We’re already within that 60 day window on that, so I don’t know if that’s driving them to move quickly on it."

David Peters oversees the hydroelectric project as a principal engineer for the Water Bureau. He told the council on July 5 that negotiations with PGE have "been going positively." They "indicate we’ll have a positive outcome through the life of this contract," he said.

However, energy consultant Robert McCullough said the price of energy next year is the "lowest price in history" due to a surplus of energy. Wind and solar power continue to increase, and most experts believe energy costs will continue to trend downward, he said.

In reaching its deal with Energy Northwest, however, the city relied on its own estimates showing that, in every possible scenario, it will reap substantially more from electricity sales in 2021 and 2022 than it did this year.

"It’s unlikely the city of Portland will make out like bandits because PGE will have many options," McCullough said. "It makes perfect sense for PGE to say to Portland, "’Sure we’ll buy your power. Look at how low the prices are all over the region.’ "

If PGE purchases the same amount of power next year that it has over the last four years at the rate that McCullough says wholesale power buyers are paying in the coming year, Portland will lose $300,000 next year, an analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive shows.

Peters on Tuesday presented projected revenues to the Portland Utility Board, a citizen body that oversees the bureau. The figures he provided, which vary as widely as from $2.1 million to $4.9 million in the same year, estimate the city would lose more than $3 million over the next five years in the worst-case scenario or make around $9 million in the best-case scenario.

Peters, in a statement provided by Water Bureau spokeswoman Jaymee Cuti, wrote that the high, low and median sales estimates he presented to the utility board "represent the modelled range of revenues that could be anticipated under the conditions of the proposed contract. The model incorporated information about the historical generation and market prices…We cannot predict future weather or market conditions, which is why we have a range based on what we have experienced in the past."

"The financial forecast is still a work in progress," Peters added. "Output from the forecast will be available by the time we present to council."

Peters said the bureau is "still working to create a narrative of the risk," which he said the bureau will provide to council July 26, a week after the council is scheduled to vote on the contract.

The City Budget Office’s financial analysis this week noted: "If revenue is not sufficient to cover unmet hydropower liabilities, then the general fund may be liable under the new agreements."

Commissioner Amanda Fritz urged the water bureau to make sure they protect the general fund during last week’s meeting.

"That should be a bottom line in your negotiations," Fritz said. "The general fund should not be at risk to bail out these operations."

–Jessica Floum

503-221-8306

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Portland Metro Monday Traffic: Willamette Park entrance at Nebraska closed for paving

The entrance to Willamette Park is closed to all vehicles. (

Portland Parks & Recreation closed the Nebraska Avenue entrance to Willamette Park on Monday morning to all vehicles for the re-paving of the main entrance road. There will be no ramp access for boats on trailers. The park can still be entered on foot or by bicycle. The closure lasts through Wednesday, July 12.

BANFIELD 6:45 a.m.; Brush fire has the right lane closed I-84 eastbound near 12th Avenue. Expect delays from the ramps from I-5 northbound.

***

Over the weekend, ODOT closed the ramp from Interstate 5 northbound to OR 217 northbound. The closure caused a long backup on I-5 and even a crash on Sunday morning in the detour zone. Crews were grinding the flyover ramp deck and adding new signs and new double white lane dividers. Drivers should be aware that lane changes are now illegal on the flyover ramp.

Read about legislative approval for funds for road work and bridge building.

Daily traffic reports

Check back throughout the morning for the latest commuting updates and follow us on Twitter: @trafficportland

#pdxtraffic Tweets

Spring road construction is in full swing on Portland area roads.

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Have you seen him? Portland man goes missing after trip to Southern Oregon

Photo of Eric Todd McClelland from Portland Police

PORTLAND, Ore. — Officers are asking for the public’s help finding a Portland man who went missing about two weeks ago while on a trip to Southern Oregon .

Police officials say 46-year-old Eric Todd McClelland left the Portland area in June for a trip to Grants Pass.

Family members said he was supposed to be heading home June 22. They reported him as missing on July 1 when he still hadn’t returned.

McClelland might be suffering from a mental health crisis, police said.

Relatives say McClelland is an avid outdoorsman who "can easily live off the land."

He’s described as a white male, 5’9" tall, 190 pounds, with short brown and gray hair.

If you see him, call 9-1-1 so police can conduct a welfare check. Anyone with helpful information in the case should call Detective Heidi Helwig at 503-823-0797, heidi.helwig@portlandoregon.gov.

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Portland Metro Monday Traffic: OR 212 westbound travelers flagged through sinkhole area near 202nd

OR 212 is closed westbound at the site of a sinkhole from Sunday. Crews are flagging traffic through on the eastbound lane.(

A water main break and nearly 20-foot sinkhole has OR 212 down to one lane westbound as crews repair the road from Sunday’s collapse. Traffic is being flagged through on the eastbound lane near 202nd Avenue in the Damascus-area. Expect delays and take it slow through the work zone.

The two outside traffic lanes on the Broadway Bridge close at 9 a.m. Monday for a six-month project that will replace four large steel wheels that open and close the drawbridge. The project will replace the four original wheels and the tracks. According to a release from Multnomah County, each wheel is eight feet in diameter and weighs 88,000 pounds.

The two inside traffic lanes and both sidewalks will remain open at most times. Streetcar and bus service will continue during construction. Some weekend and night bridge closures will be needed.

TriMet MAX and Streetcar lines will regular Saturday schedules on July 4. Buses will be on Sunday schedules. Note too that the ticket machines have had off-and-on problems processing credit card payments. Not a bad idea to bring cash if you’re looking to buy tickets at platform machines.

The annual Fort Vancouver National Trust July 4th fireworks show on Tuesday will have many streets closed to traffic or be under traffic control that day. Take public transportation when possible. A shuttle will be available all that day from Vancouver Mall (Westfield Mall).

All day street closures:

Evergreen Blvd. closed from U Street west to I-5 Evergreen Blvd. at West Reserve East Reserve south from Mill Plain 9th Street at East Reserve 8th Street at T Street 5th and 6th Streets at U Street Mill Plain at Fort Vancouver Way (Fort Vancouver Way from Mill Plain south will be closed all day)

For more details on traveling to and from the fireworks show, click here.

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Portland hits 100 degrees for first time in 2017

PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland hit 100 degrees for the first time in 2017 on Sunday afternoon.

After a record-setting hot day Saturday, Sunday saw temperatures hit 100. Sunday’s record is 101 set back in 2006.

Temperatures at the coast will cool down thanks to some onshore flow, but inland temperatures will be back up around 100 again.

Kickoff for the Portland Timbers home game against the Seattle Sounders was moved from Sunday afternoon to Sunday night due to heat concerns, but temperatures will be near 90 degrees at the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

The Hillsboro Hops also moved their Sunday game, to 6:05 p.m.

TriMet says buses and MAX lines may be delayed through the weekend due to the extreme heat.

All areas will cool off Monday and Tuesday.

“Hot weather fills the Gorge, and pushes all the way to the Coast Friday and Saturday, before an onshore breeze kicks in and cools off the beaches,” said KGW meteorologist Chris McGinness. “We’ll have to wait until Monday for that cooler air to reach the valley.”

Portland reached a high of 98 degrees on Saturday, breaking the previous June 24 record of 96 degrees. Friday’s high was 91 degrees, which at the time was the second 90-plus-degree day in Portland this year. The previous one was on May 22 when it was also 91 degrees.

The National Weather Service issued an excessive heat watch from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening.

Cooling centers open this weekend

Multnomah County cooling centers will open Saturday and Sunday at the following locations:

Multnomah County Walnut Park Building, 5325 NE MLK Jr. Blvd., Portland, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Multnomah County East Building, 600 NE 8th St., Gresham, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Hollywood Senior Center, 1820 NE 40th Ave., Portland, 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Transportation to cooling centers can be arranged by calling Ride Connection at 503-226-0700.

Washington County has more than a dozen locations where people can stay cool this weekend. View the list here

Clackamas County also has more than a dozen cooling centers open. Click here to view the full list

Salem announced the following cooling center locations:

Main Salem Public Library, 585 Liberty Street SE, Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sunday 1 – 5 p.m. West Salem Library, 395 Glen Creek Road NW, Friday and Saturday Noon – 6 p.m., closed Sunday Center 50+, 2615 Portland Road NE, Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., closed Sunday

Keeping pets cool

The Oregon Humane society is warning pet owners about the dangerous heat this weekend. Here are some tips to keep your animals safe:

Keep your pets inside with plenty of water. Give outside pets lots of shade and plenty of water to drink if it is not possible to bring them indoors. Don’t leave your pet alone in the car. The inside of a car heats up to dangerous temperatures in minutes. On an 85-degree day, a car’s interior temperature can climb to 120 degrees in 20 minutes, even with the windows slightly open. Don’t walk, jog or play fetch with your dog during the heat of the day. Instead, walk and play with your pets in the cool of the evening or in the morning. Don’t let your dog ride in an uncovered pickup bed during the heat of the day. The sun heats up the metal truck bed and can burn a pet’s paw pads.

Symptoms of heatstroke could include restlessness, excessive thirst, heavy panting, lethargy, lack of appetite, dark red tongue or gums, vomiting and lack of coordination. Contact your veterinarian if your pet exhibits these symptoms.

If your pet is overcome by heat exhaustion, immediately immerse or spray the animal with cool running water (avoid cold water as that could cause shock) and continue until the body temperature lowers.

© 2017 KGW-TV

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Portland Region Forecast (Oregon City): Warm, Sunny Week Ahead

Easy forecast this week: It’s going to be warm and sunny throughout the Portland metro region, beginning Monday with highs near 90 degrees. Monday is currently expected to be the hottest day, though, with temperatures hovering around 75 degrees in the day and in the low-to-mid 50s at night on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Friday will see another increase in temps, with highs in the upper 80s heading into the weekend.

Good weather for riding a bike!

Today, partly cloudy throughout the day.

Tuesday June 20

Partly cloudy throughout the day. High 76, low 57.

Chance of precipitation: 1%. Wind 5 mph from the NW

Wednesday June 21

Partly cloudy until afternoon. High 78, low 48.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 5 mph from the NNW

Thursday June 22

Clear throughout the day. High 79, low 51.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 6 mph from the NNW

Friday June 23

Clear throughout the day. High 85, low 52.

Chance of precipitation: 0%. Wind 4 mph from the NNW

Data provided by darksky.net.

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Be Weird In Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon is getting more and more popular. It is a haven for hipsters and hippies and anyone who is a little bit unique. Portland is a beautiful city with river and water access and gorgeous homes. If you love cafes, galleries, art, and music, you will find a home that you love in Portland.

Portland is a great place to live if you are an artist, musician, or work for yourself. The city is full of parks and places to enjoy yourself and there are lots of outdoor activities that you can take advantage of. If you enjoy walking or running, you can find many places to do that in Portland.

The cost of living is reasonable in Portland. It isn’t cheap, since so many people are moving there, but it isn’t outrageous either. You can still find affordable housing if you are willing to live on the outskirts of the city in a neighborhood that is gentrifying.

Portland is safe overall, though you can find plenty of drug use there. If you love being around creative people in a beautiful environment, you can find plenty of things to keep you happy in Portland. If you have a job lined up before you go or you can work from home, you will be better off because it can be challenging finding a job in Portland since so many people are moving there and the competition for existing jobs can be high.

Portland is a unique place that is filled with art and culture and when you move there you are not going to want to leave. You are free to be yourself in Portland and no one judges you when you express your creativity. Portland is a liberal city, and it is full of free-spirited people.

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Madison County Courier

Oneida’s Kelly Downes graduates from Emerson College in Boston

Kelly Downes of Oneida graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre and Performance at Emerson College’s 137th commencement ceremony, held on May 14, 2017.

Approximately 975 bachelor’s degrees were conferred during the undergraduate exercises and nearly 270 master’s degrees were conferred during the graduate exercises.

Bestselling novelist and TV writer Dennis Lehane received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree and delievered the undergraduate commencement address. Associate Professor Emeritus John Dennis Anderson, who retired last summer after teaching in Emerson’s Communication Studies Department for 27 years, gave the graduate address. Also awarded with honorary degrees were civil rights advocate Anita Hill, Pulitzer Prize-winning author David McCullough, and 2016 MacArthur Foundation “Genius Grant” winner and poet Claudia Rankine.

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Portland Metro Tuesday Weather: June gloom continues with cloudy skies and possible drizzle

Clouds and possible drizzle for Tuesday. More clearing and sun breaks expected Wednesday. (

Tuesday morning repeats the weather pattern from yesterday with occasional drizzle and/or brief light rain at times. Skies will remain mostly cloudy through the afternoon, but the rain should taper off. High for Tuesday of 63 degrees.

The front that brought a strong onshore flow into the metro area both Monday and Tuesday will weaken by this evening and into Wednesday. High pressure will build on Wednesday morning to quickly push out the early clouds and leave partly-to-mostly sunny skies for the afternoon.

With the return of sunshine, we’ll also see temperatures closer to what is expected for mid June, with mid to upper 60s on the coast, and lower 70s inland. Wednesday’s high is expected to reach 72 degrees.

The warm and sunny skies don’t last long, however. The next cold front spreads rain into the valleys early Thursday morning. This system is very wet and the coast is expected to see about an inch of rain. The National Weather Service says the interior valleys could see 0.50 to 0.75 inches of rain by Thursday evening. Thursday’s high is 66 degrees.

At this point, Friday looks wet as well, especially in the morning. Forecasters are looking at a drying and heating trend beginning on Saturday.

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12 cheap things to do in Portland this summer

Some people think of the Pacific Northwest as a rainy, gray and eternally muddy part of the States. There are four-months (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter) when the Northwest in general, and Portland specifically, become the most heavenly places to be on Earth. The City of Roses stands out for its over — abundance in all things Summer — many of them absolutely free.

Here are some of the best:

1. Fountain Hopping Photo: PublicDomainPictures-14/

Portland has its public pools, as well as swimming in the Willamette River, but another sweet way to cool down in the summer is to hop into one or more of the eight interactive public fountains that double as some of our city’s best works of art. Check out the cascading Ira Keller Forecourt Fountain; the isolated and serene Lovejoy Fountain; the waterfront’s popular Salmon Street Springs and Bill Naito Legacy Fountain; the bring-your-toddlers Jameson Square fountain; and the cool-down-after-shopping Teacher’s Fountain.

2. Bridge Tour One of Portland’s biggest quality-of-life successes is also one of the best ways to enjoy the Willamette River- the heart of Portland. Good for kids, especially if you rent the frilly quad bikes at the end of Salmon Street #hiking #playground #biking #waterfront #touristspots #parks

Renting 4-person Surrey Bikes has long been a popular way for tourists to see the city’s bracing waterfront parks, but you can also walk or ride your own bike along the West Side’s Waterfront Park and on the East Side’s Esplanade. You can take a dip in the Willamette at certain points on the East Side, which also offers some of the best views of Downtown, or simply enjoy riding alongside and across Portland’s five unique and bike-able downtown bridges. (BTW, Kerr Bike Rentals in the Naito Waterfront Park offers standard bikes for $7 per-hour and Surreys for $25).

3. The Grotto

The National Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother may be most famous for its Christmas light festival, but during the hot months this Catholic shrine doubles as the perfect place to cool down and meditate among the statuettes, gardens and visitors from every corner of the globe. The Grotto is free to all, but the upper-level gardens and viewpoint will cost adults $6.

4. Sauvie Island Summer/fall playground for locals. Sandy river beaches, hay rides, pumpkin patches, berry patches and pear picking with the chance to see stellar sunsets over skyline ridge. #outdoors #nature #farm #river #beach #fruit #veggies #summervibes #bargins

Sauvie’s Island lives in the childhood memories of every local who remembers hay mazes in the fall and berry picking in the summer. Check out the Bella Organic, Columbia U-Pick and Kruger farms for strawberries, blueberries, marionberries, raspberries, blackberries and more. Get some full-frontal sun on the clothing-optional Collins Beach (there are other non-nude beaches if you so choose) and watch the massive tankers and fishing boats float by. Berry picking season typically runs from June to August, and most U-puck farms charge by the pound. At Bella Organic, strawberries ate $3.50/lb while raspberries go for $5.00/lb.

5. First/Last Thursday

Both year-round, monthly open-air art and food events are as common as they are unique from each other. First Thursday, which takes place mainly on NW 14th in the Pearl neighborhood, offers the best of Portland’s local art galleries and beer flights, whereas Last Thursday is a more chaotic and whimsical, full of unscripted performances, people on stilts and everything that gives credence to Portlandia. Both are free to enter and worth just a walk through.

6. Oregon Historical Society and Portland Art Museum

These peaceful and air-conditioned spaces offer the best history and/or art exhibits in the state. The OHS museum is in the heart of Downtown’s Cultural District. Visitors can learn about everything from Lewis and Clarke to Vanport to President Kennedy’s adventures in the state and more. OHS is free to all Multnomah County residents while adult tickets cost $11. The chic and impressive Portland Art Museum lies across the street, with a collection that rivals those found in much bigger cities, and has no admission fees on the first Thursday of every month between 5-8PM.

7. Movies in the Square (Flicks On The Bricks)

This cinema event captures why Downtown’s Pioneer Square is nicknamed “Portland’s Living Room.” Every Summer the public square/amphitheater is turned into a cozy outdoor movie theater for five Friday nights in a row (late July-late August). Get to know a few locals while taking in classic fare such as Grease or The Three Amigos, for free.

8. Swim in the Willamette at Sellwood Park

One of the most popular docks for river-bodies to suntan and practice for a float down the Clackamas or Sandy rivers lies just a frisbee’s throw away from Oak’s Park. Admire our brand new Sellwood Bridge or fall for one of the hundreds of hot pups in need of a cool down (and a belly rub from a new friend). Just like all of Oregon’s beaches, this park is free to all.

9. Picnic at Pittock Mansion

Built by Henry Pittock, a newspaper magnate and one of Portland’s first multi-millionaires, the hundred-year-old French Renaissance-styled Pittock Mansion rests on one of the highest West Hills overlooking Portland – and provides stunning views looking to the north and east of the city. To get an excellent workout before lunch, walk up to the mansion via the Pittock Mansion Hike. Enjoy an afternoon picnic in the gardens for free and/or take a tour of the opulent mansion for $10.

10. Find your way in Ladd’s Addition Or Laurelhurst

Portland is renowned for its quaint and colorful homes, and these two streetcar-era planned neighborhoods offer some of the best examples. Both neighborhoods renounce the East Side’s massive and irregular grid plan for two oddball systems that minimize through traffic for the perfect neighborhood stroll.

11. International Rose Test Garden and Washington Park Summer Festival

The namesake for the Rose City, these public gardens are home to more than 7,000 plants producing the sweet-smelling flower that blooms all Summer long. Try to time your visit for the Festival, with its operas, taiko drumming, flamenco and other performances for free between August 4th and 7th.

12. Leif Erikson Trail or Springwater Corridor

If you have a day to spare these are two of best long bike rides in the county. The Springwater Corridor is a mostly flat, paved, 40-mile trail that takes you from the heart of downtown to the edge of the metropolitan region at Boring, Oregon, and is one of the more interesting ways to see a dense urban core fade into rural countryside. The Leif Erickson trail is a 11-mile long, gravel fire-road that winds through most of Portland’s gigantic Forest Park, and offers countless views of the city as well as the region’s local flora and fauna. Both of these trails are free to access, and if you don’t have a bike you can always go for a run or walk.

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Portland Killings Dredge Up Legacy of Racist Laws in Oregon

PORTLAND, Ore. — The fatal stabbing of two good Samaritans who intervened when a man on a commuter train shouted slurs at two women — both African-American, one in Muslim dress — has reawakened bitter memories of this state’s past and revived a debate over what people here call the “two Oregons,” where islands of tolerance abut places awash in frustration and rage.

“Oregon hasn’t resolved its history,” said Dani Ledezma, the interim executive director of the Coalition of Communities of Color, a group based in Portland. And the harsh language and tone of national politics, she said, are now exacerbating old wounds. “The xenophobia, the racism, the caustic narrative that has been fomented at the national level are also having an impact here and adding to that legacy here in Oregon,” she said.

The Pacific Northwest’s historical attic is full of artifacts that residents would just as soon forget, like the “lash law.” The legislation was passed in 1844, when the Oregon Country, as it was called then, was bigger than Texas — encompassing what is now part of five Western states. The law said that any black person, free or slave, would be “whipped twice a year until he or she shall quit the territory.” Later, leaders prohibited black people from coming to the territory.

Until the early 2000s, Oregon’s constitution still contained language excluding blacks from residency, though its legal clout had been eliminated decades earlier. The template from the early days helped foster a volatile political climate in which extremists of all kinds could find a home, and pick a fight. Along with racists, utopian communities were drawn to the region, advocating everything from socialism to free love, and they found converts and hiding places in remote coastal coves and mountain reaches. In the 1920s, Oregon’s Legislature, dominated by members of the Ku Klux Klan, barred Japanese immigrants from owning or leasing land.

By the 1970s, groups like the Aryan Nations had arrived, spinning out the idea of a mythic Cascadia where the old flames of racial purity would be kept alive and multiculturalism kept at bay. Anarchists dug in, too, and still have a deep presence, regularly turning out — black-shirted and usually masked — to denounce and often clash with the police.

While many Americans may think first of the South as the region where the burden of racial strife weighs heaviest on the nation’s soul and psyche, recent events in Portland serve as a reminder that old battlefields are everywhere.

“The lid is off,” said Detective Elizabeth Wareing, the bias crimes coordinator at the Seattle Police Department. She added that alcohol, drugs and mental illness often played a role in the interactions she investigates.

But she and other experts said that at the same time, there is less and less evidence that any extremist group — old or new — is shaping the messages that are being expressed. Free-form self-radicalization, picking this or that from the heaping smorgasbord of hate on the nation’s plate, is becoming the norm.

The suspect in the train attack, Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, fits no obvious mold in the white-supremacist world. Last year, Mr. Christian ardently supported Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a socialist-leaning Democrat, in the presidential primaries, according to his Facebook posts, before turning to support President-elect Trump in December. On the train and after his arrest, according to a police affidavit, Mr. Christian raged against immigrants, Saudi Arabia and liberals, and he called himself a defender of free speech who could “die in prison a happy man.”

“He was all over the map,” said Randy Blazak, the chairman of the Oregon Coalition Against Hate Crime, a partnership of community groups and government. “There isn’t really a flow chart that fits how people like Jeremy Christian come about,” said Mr. Blazak, who is also a professor of criminology at the University of Oregon.

On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators gathered in downtown Portland, some for a long-planned rally by supporters of President Trump, and many more for a counterdemonstration.

Fearing violent clashes, Portland police officers were supported by the Oregon State Police, county sheriff deputies and federal agents. Tensions ran high through the afternoon, and at least 14 people were arrested as the opposing camps jeered and chanted at one another across a street barrier. Officers confiscated numerous weapons, including sticks, knives and bricks. But the two groups were kept separate, and mostly dispersed peacefully when their rallies ended.

At a moment in which many immigrants and Muslims feel uneasy, here and across the nation, and racial slurs spew across social media, the attack on the train has put a broader discussion of race in the Pacific Northwest back on the agenda. Of the nation’s 30 largest cities, Portland remains the whitest, according to the Census Bureau, with 72.2 percent of its population classified as non-Hispanic white. Seattle is not far behind, at 66.3 percent white.

“It’s economic, it’s criminal justice, it’s segregation,” said Ms. Ledezma, of the Coalition of Communities of Color, describing the legacy of racism in Oregon. “If you look at the housing patterns, there is this lasting legacy of disparity that’s been essentially baked in.”

Law enforcement agencies have begun looking at the ways that hidden racial attitudes can spill out. Police officers in Seattle track encounters that on the surface do not appear to be about race or religion, like traffic accidents that grow to include “bias elements” as tempers flare. The number of these events, police figures show, is up. Instances of hateful graffiti are on the rise, too. Portland residents reported more bias-fueled vandalism in the three months after the presidential election than in any other similar period in at least five years, according to figures compiled by the city.

The short explanation, said many people in law enforcement and civil rights groups who track hate crimes, is a collapse of inhibition. More open hate speech in politics, street demonstrations and social media, they said, loosens the floodgates, diminishing the sense of impropriety or social taboo.

“The nature of radicalization is changing,” said Oren Segal, the director of the Center on Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League, a national civil rights group. “People are borrowing, picking and choosing elements of various extremist ideologies and tactics and movements or what have you, and creating their own sort of worldview.”

International terrorist groups also use social media and other digital tools to influence and recruit followers, but the stark difference with what some scholars have called “postmodern hate,” is that there is no unifying philosophy to draw from.

“Today’s hate is splintered,” said Brian H. Levin, a professor of criminal justice and the director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. “People are dipping in the ladle and scooping out what they want.”

The geography has shifted, too, he said: The rise of the alt-right — the racist fringe movement with online roots — has destabilized the old extremist groups that once flourished in the Pacific Northwest by disavowing the idea that geography matters at all.

“Their message has been, ‘Why do we have to settle for one region?’” Professor Levin said.

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Portland Metro Friday Weather: Slight chance of morning showers then on to mostly sunny day

A weak front off the Oregon coast will usher in an increase in clouds to the Portland metro area with some chance for showers and light drizzle in the morning. The coast will see spotty rain for sure. But once the cloud cover moves east Portland should see mostly sunny skies and a high of 75 for Friday.

It’s been a nice start so far for what forecasters call meteorological summer. Astronomical seasons, where summer officially starts on the summer solstice – June 21, are based on the position of Earth in relation to the sun. Meteorological seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle.

This from the NOAA website: Meteorologists and climatologists break the seasons down into groupings of three months based on the annual temperature cycle as well as the regular calendar. Meteorological spring includes March, April, and May; meteorological summer includes June, July, and August; meteorological fall includes September, October, and November; and meteorological winter includes December, January, and February.

We’ll continue to ease into meteorological summer with cloudy mornings and cool days for Saturday and Sunday. Expect highs in the high 60s to low 70s for the weekend and plenty of clouds for Saturday – more sun breaks on Sunday.

Forecasters are looking at a good chance for a new high pressure system to build into our area early next week and bring warmer temperatures into the 80s by Tuesday.

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