PORTLAND DRIZZLE

Wednesday okay. Clouds roll back in today with a high of 67 and a 35% chance of rain- is this the super El Nino beginning? Fleet Week is here: Navy ships docked along the waterfront last night with bridge lifts to prove it. And Governor Kotek drew a hard line on ICE undercover plates.

Fleet Week is officially underway. Ships from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and Royal Canadian Navy began arriving at Tom McCall Waterfront Park on Tuesday afternoon, including the USS Chafee, a destroyer that made its way up from Astoria. Bridge lifts on the Steel and Burnside bridges disrupted MAX service and bus routes Tuesday evening , TriMet advised patience. Public tours of the ships run Thursday through Sunday, June 4–7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They're free, no tickets required, but bring a government-issued photo ID (Real ID rules apply). Ships are a federal facility. I’ll be there- you know I love ships! KATU

Three U.S. Army soldiers checked into a downtown Portland hotel on October 29, 2025, midway through a two-day helicopter-transfer mission. Their rental car, parked overnight at the Moxy Hotel, was broken into. More than $33,000 in military equipment was stolen, including survival radios capable of reaching soldiers anywhere on earth. The gear sat in limbo until March 2026, when Portland police spotted a Facebook Marketplace listing for what appeared to be a stolen pilot helmet. The man posting it was already in the Clackamas County Jail. He told investigators he was selling items on behalf of a man named Steven Reginato, whose eBay listings included three pilot helmets and an aircraft tracking device, both marked sold to buyers outside Oregon. On May 20, Army investigators served a search warrant on Reginato's Clackamas apartment. KGW has just recently obtained the court records on this matter, which is why we’re talking about it now. KGW

Governor Tina Kotek ordered the Oregon DMV on Monday to permanently stop issuing undercover license plates to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to keep that ban in place even after a review of the program wraps up. The state paused plates for all 45 federal agencies back in April. Under Kotek's new directive, most agencies get them back. ICE doesn't. "ICE agents have repeatedly engaged in illegitimate activities, causing unwarranted chaos," Kotek said. Oregon DMV administrator Amy Joyce cited the state's sanctuary law and legal risk to taxpayers. The Trump administration has already sued Oregon over the plates, along with three other Democratic-led states. Oregon Capital Chronicle

As You Wish: This year's official Rose Festival bloom is "As You Wish" — a hybrid tea rose with fragrant clusters of coral and soft buttercup blooms, chosen for its beauty, resilience, and what the Rose Festival Foundation calls "romantic charm." It was deceloped by Christian Bédard. You can only find it at Portland Nursery, where $2 from every purchase goes back to the Foundation. WEBSITE

On June 3, 1889, the first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States was completed — running from Willamette Falls to downtown Portland.

It’s a great day to smell the roses.

by Michael Simpson Contact: [email protected]