School countdown is on...thunderstorms stir...farewell to a role model...
Tuesday's update is here
Tuesday’s here, friends! It’s July 29, 2025. Portland’s weather is sunny with a high of 90—much cooler at the coast—and we hear there’s potential for thunderstorms boiling up in the Lane County Cascades tomorrow and Thursday, which could spill into the valley as they slide north. Sunrise 5:51 AM, sunset: 8:41 PM, twilight until 9:16 PM.
Portland Public Schools open four weeks from today! Parents know that means it’s time to start gently nudging those bedtimes earlier (and good luck with that) so mornings aren’t a struggle when the bell rings.
A parochial school in Sellwood is getting pushback for revoking the admission of a same-sex couple’s children. Their parents said the pastor of St. Agatha Catholic Church explained that he "wanted to protect young children from seeing families like ours." The Oregonian reports that some other parents are considering pulling their children from the school, and at least one donor has paused her contributions “until a more inclusive and compassionate approach is restored.”
The FBI used facial recognition technology to track down a Reed College graduate who's now charged with hitting an ICE officer in the head with a rock. Agents compared a photo in The Oregonian with a Reed photo from two years ago and identified 24-year-old Robert Jacob Hoopes. He was arrested at gunpoint at his home Friday. He’s pleading not guilty and has been released with an ankle monitor.
Did you hear that a 54-year-old man disappeared in the Columbia River off Vancouver Sunday night after saving the life of a 5-year-old child? It’s only half true. Turns out that no child was involved, but the unidentified man did, indeed, go into the water to “recover some property,” and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Dive Team recovered his body last night.
Some of those Shari’s Cafe & Pies restaurants that shut down last year will be opening again soon—as Elmer’s! The Shari’s near PDX, as well as in Hillsboro, Tualatin, and Bend, will open their doors under the Elmer’s banner this fall.
Pink Martini's lead singer China Forbes is taking a two-year sabbatical. “After three decades of traveling the world with Pink Martini, I have decided to take some time off. I’m going to spend the next two years at home, enjoying life with my son while he finishes high school,” Forbes said in a statement from the band. In her place, they’ll call on Storm Large, Ari Shapiro, and maybe some others.
A couple of born-on-the-same-day birthdays: Singer Patti Scialfa of the E Street Band, married for 34 years now to Bruce Springsteen, is 72. So is documentary maker Ken Burns. They were born 30 miles apart in the New York metro area. Burns was in Portland two weeks ago, calling President Trump’s defunding of public broadcasting “foolhardy” and “misguided.”
Our Cub-fan family was saddened to hear that Ryne Sandberg, the Hall-of-Fame second baseman, had died of prostate cancer complications at just 65. Among the greatest ballplayers to come out of the Pacific Northwest, Sandberg was born and raised in Spokane, was drafted by the Phillies out of high school, and made a lasting mark at Wrigley Field. One of my treasured baseball memories was sitting with my son behind home plate at the Friendly Confines—grateful to K103’s then-owner Jeff Trumper of WLS for the astonishing tickets!—and following a ball that Ryno launched, sailing high and wide and bound for Waveland Avenue. During his induction ceremony, he directly called out the showboat players of the steroid era:
“If this validates anything... learning how to bunt, hit-and-run, and turn two is more important than knowing where the little red light is on the dugout camera. When did it become okay for someone to hit home runs and forget how to play the rest of the game?”
Historical marker! Oregonians had to get up at 3 in the morning to watch it, but the grand spectacle was well worth it, as a worldwide television audience witnessed the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London on this date in 1981.
With that... I have laps to swim, people to see, chores to knock off, and a beautiful summer day to enjoy. Join the chat over on Facebook, if you like! Either way, have a wonderful day!