Harry Potter waves his wand and cries, "Aperio!"

And with that, it's Tuesday, April 1, 2025. Our weather is cool and showery, but thunderstormless, with highs of 55 today and tomorrow too. Then, as if by magic, the NWS says "Upper level ridging will bring an extended period of dry weather from Thursday onward, with temperatures gradually warming each day." Seventies by the weekend! Sunrise 6:50 AM, sunset 7:39 PM, twilight until 8:09.

("April" comes from the Latin word "Aperio," meaning "to open," like a rosebud. "Aperio" is an incantation used in Harry Potter's world to, say, crack open a trunk with a blast of white light).

It's unlikely to ever get out of committee, but a Republican bill in the Oregon legislature could dump Oregon's system of voting by mail, which was approved by a landslide in 1998. SB 210 would ask voters, in 2026, whether to "Make in-person voting on the date of an election the standard method for conducting an election." A hearing was held Monday, and public opinion--overwhelmingly favoring vote-by-mail--practically crashed the legislature's website. Eugene Democratic Sen. James Manning wondered aloud, “I’m trying to figure out: Is this an issue looking for a problem? Because I don’t see it here in our state. This is something that’s a national movement to try to make something of nothing.”

Folks with waterfront property are none too pleased, but the Lake Oswego City Council last night decided not to appeal a court ruling requiring that the general public be allowed to swim, fish, and boat on the namesake lake. The city had fought the notion of public access for years, but after passionate testimony at a public hearing, the council voted 5-2 to discontinue the battle, and instead, to develop measures including hours of access, limits on boat sizes, and other safety measures. (Fun fact: back in the 70s, a buddy and I plopped an inflatable raft into the lake and went paddling, clueless about its private status. A friendly officer on a police patrol boat deposited us back on dry land, like, pronto).

Our thoughts are with our fellow Oregonians in Harney County, where flooding in the Burns area and on the Burns Paiute Reservation is so severe that schools are closed, roads are underwater, and sewage is threatening to back up into homes. The area experienced heavy late-winter snow, followed by a heat wave that melted it all, overwhelming local dams and levies. By the way, the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival is still on for April 10-12, but a final decision will be made Friday whether it'll scrubbed because of the worst flooding in 75 years.

We remember Kevin Duckworth, who was born on this day in 1964. He was part of the Portland Trail Blazer teams that went to the NBA finals twice in the 90s, but the big guy is remembered as well for being the Blazer you'd most likely see around town in real life. He lived across the street from an elementary school in Beaverton. Moved out to the country where I'd see him filling a cart at Haggens in Oregon City. Duckworth was part of the 1990-91 Blazers, regarded by some as one of the greatest teams in NBA history not to win a title. They went 63-19, but lost in the Western Conference Finals to Magic Johnson and the LA Lakers.

The current Blazers are on the road today against the Atlanta Hawks.

Happy 52nd birthday to MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow, a Rhodes scholar with roots in radio, born in 1973.

It's April Fools' Day! Here on the Drip, we're generally fool-free, though we're not above a minor leg-pull, and I'd love to hear stories of any good pranks you've pulled. I carried off a good one on Craig one year. We had separate studios, and I did newscasts on the hour and half hour, finishing with the weather and temps, and we'd do Stump the Jock or whatever. One year I prerecorded the weather...and while Craig watched, waiting for his cue, I was actually just lip-syncing it...and I got up and walked away while I was still talking on the air. Craig was speechless. First time ever!

That's the Tuesday Daily Drip update and thread-starter. I'm off for a swim (in a pool, not a lake), then family time. Maybe another hairstyle makeover by the little ones? Love to hear what you're up to, over on Facebook!