The big news, locally, is that Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith essentially bounced herself from any further involvement with the district yesterday, right after the release of a report detailing the many, many flaws in school officials' non-plan for dealing with lead in the water. Smith had already announced her retirement, but said she'd stay on through the end of next school year. Nope. She's taking three months of vacation, then retiring.
Should be noted that the federal government is pressuring the City of Portland ever so quietly to remedy the corrosive water supply, which can leach lead and copper from old nasty pipes.
Nationally, many eyes—too many eyes, it could be argued—were on the first day of the Republican National Convention. There was some juicy drama, including angry taunts, but it dissipated when any chance for delegates to vote their conscience—and therefore overthrow Donald Trump—was taken off the table.
Washington delegates were game to try and fight a Trump nomination. Oregon delegates, not so much
The first keynote speech of the convention? Melania Trump, who lifted whole passages from a speech Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. But since words mean nothing in this presidential race, the Trump campaign clearly got offended over the warranted accusations of plagiarism.
What else? Well Iowa Congressman Steve King said white westerners were the only "sub-group" to have meaningfully contributed to civilization, which you may be surprised to hear some are taking issue with.
And only slightly related (in the sense that no one apparently gives a damn what they're spouting these days), a (twice-failed) candidate for the State House and Mt. Hood Community College board member decided it was a good idea to post a photo of President Obama in a noose on his Facebook page. State Republicans want him out of the race.
Enough of all that, though. Happy Bike Share Day, Portland! Biketown launches this morning, the product of nearly a decade of striving. BikePortland's got a good rundown of what you need to know.
Give Ryan Bundy credit: Jail guards busted him with like 12 feet of braided bed sheets secreted beneath his mattress and he's insisting it had to do with his adherence to the ranch life, not an escape attempt. Bravo, Bundy.
This woman has shark eyes. Technically, the story's about how she embezzled from the City of Molalla back in the day and now might have embezzled from a Portland church. More pressing story: Those shark eyes.
In Germany, a heinous public ax attack on four people on a German train that is terrible, but almost certainly better than whatever its American counterpart would have looked like because: Ax =/= easy-to-obtain-gun.
The Rio Olympics may be Russia-less, after a report confirmed the government helped administrate an illegal doping scheme. The International Olympic Committee could make the call to ban all of the country's athletes.
You heard about this guy in Pennsylvania who was apparently keeping a human brain around allegedly so he could sprinkle embalming fluid onto his pot? Something about this rings false.
Don't believe the widget. This July is all clouds. Only ever clouds.
