🪂It’s Thursday. Sunny and 76 today, the first real taste of what's coming. Friday hits 80, then the weekend bakes toward the mid-90s with an extreme heat watch starting Sunday. Enjoy the comfortable evening while it lasts. Tonight: the Fire host the Aces, and a free park shuttle launches Friday.
🚨 THE NEWS
Triple Digits Incoming: Heat Watch in Effect This Weekend
Portland is about to get cooked. The National Weather Service expanded its extreme heat watch, now running from 11 a.m. Sunday through Tuesday evening, with temperatures forecast to climb into the triple digits. Some areas could hit 105. Saturday stays in the low 90s, but by Sunday and Monday conditions could break regional records. NWS meteorologist David Bishop says to stay inside and find air conditioning. The 2021 heat dome killed more than 100 people in the Portland metro, so this isn't just weather small talk. Cooling centers will likely be activated. Watch the city's website for locations. OPB
Meieran Jumps Into County Chair Race, Calls Out Both Frontrunners
The Multnomah County chair's race just got a third major candidate, and she's not being quiet about it. Former Commissioner Sharon Meieran announced Tuesday she's running, calling out frontrunners Julia Brim-Edwards and Shannon Singleton for having no actual plan. "They seem more interested in talking about being elected than doing what's needed," Meieran told OPB. An ER physician who served on the commission from 2017 to 2024, Meieran has long pushed for systemic changes to how the county handles homelessness and behavioral health. She ran for the seat in 2022 and lost to Jessica Vega Pederson, who is not seeking reelection. Race is in November. OPB
Free Shuttle to Forest Park and Washington Park Launches Friday
If you've ever skipped Forest Park because you don't own a car, parking is a nightmare, or you live on the east side and it just felt far, Portland Parks & Recreation has something for you. The Forest & Washington Park Express Shuttle starts Friday, running Fridays and Saturdays through August 22. It's free, funded by an ODOT grant, and operated by EcoShuttle. Pickup spots include the Charles Jordan, St. Johns, Peninsula Park, and East Portland community centers, plus Gateway Transit Center. The inner-park loop hits the Lower Macleay Trail, Pittock Mansion, and the Oregon Zoo area. Service animals welcome, pets are not. Portland Tribune
🌲 SALMON RIVER TRAIL SPOTLIGHT
photo by Tom Kloster
The Salmon River Trail is one of the best hikes on Mt Hood. It’s stretch of path the logging road bypassed after WWII, left alone among some of the best old-growth forest near Portland. Flat, kid- and dog-friendly, open most of the year. Ten-foot cedars, swimming holes, the river always within earshot. Watch the salmon swimming, look for bats in the big hollow tree trunk, swim, meditate, enjoy. Great way to beat the heat this weekend. Good info HERE but better directions to the trailheads HERE
📚 ON THIS DAY
This week in 1959, the Oregon Centennial Exposition opened at the Expo Center in Portland's Kenton neighborhood, where the giant Paul Bunyan statue was first unveiled.
🥳 UPCOMING EVENTS
🌧️ Well…
The heat comes Sunday but the Fire is here tonight ❤️🔥
by Michael Simpson Contact: [email protected]