PORTLAND DRIZZLE

Tuesday. What can you do? We’re looking at high of 85 today with possible smokey smoke. Yes sometimes it seems like the world is on fire, but we will persevere. The new Foster Theater just ran a dance fest. Hillsboro might be getting a data center right next to a high school. Algae blooms in the Willamette could be unsafe for you and your pets. Reminder that I 5 southbound will be closed for 5 weeks beginning Sept 11. Traffic will detour on 405. And finally, today I published at 6:30AM instead of the usual 8:30. Just trying it out. Please write in if you hate it or like it better.

There's a dance festival quietly turning East Portland into a global stage, and it's easy to miss unless you're paying attention. Union PDX, the contemporary dance fest run by local company push/FOLD, just wrapped its 2026 edition inside the brand new Foster Theater on SE Foster Road. What started in 2019 as three artists and a $5,000 grant now livestreams to viewers in dozens of countries, and about 30 percent of past participants have gone on to land bigger grants or commissions elsewhere. This year's lineup pulled in choreographers from LA, Houston, and Salem for two world premieres. Founder Samuel Hobbs recently learned he was born two blocks from the theater. East PDX News

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Just before Hillsboro's new 120-day data center moratorium kicked in, Texas-based Digital Realty snuck in a land use application anyway, for a data center just under 200 feet from Liberty High School. We're talking 15.7 acres and nearly 500,000 square feet, valued north of $5 million, right across the street from teenagers. Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai is now pushing a countywide pause on data center permitting, up for a vote Tuesday. Hillsboro's Planning Commission meets Wednesday to weigh distance rules from schools and parks. The timing raised eyebrows. KATU

Portlanders want to swim in the Willamette this week, and who could blame them with highs pushing 90. The thing standing between you and the river isn't old sewage fears, it's algae. Cyanobacteria blooms breed in the stagnant Ross Island Lagoon, left from gravel mining, then spread downstream and can trigger rashes, stomach trouble, even neurological symptoms, plus they're dangerous for dogs. River advocates say the fix is restoring flow through the lagoon itself, now the top priority for groups like Human Access Project. Check OHA advisories before you jump in. Portland Mercury

Fruit Forest Initiative is on a mission to replace our lawns with edible plants. The nonprofit maintains eight sites citywide and counting, plus gives away free fruit trees each spring for your parking strip, as long as you agree to prune it and share the harvest with neighbors. You can set up a consultation on the website, where they can come to your land and help you plan and plant a sustanaible and delicious forest.

On this day in 1946, Ben Hogan won his first major, the PGA Championship, right here at Portland Golf Club, beating Ed "Porky" Oliver 6 and 4.

See you tomorrow, or maybe I’ll take a day off IDK.

by Michael Simpson Contact: [email protected]