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| | The Longview Paper Mill Disaster, Explained | Last week’s chemical spill at a Longview, Wash., paper mill was the state’s deadliest workplace accident since a mining incident almost a century ago. A 900,000-gallon-capacity tank ruptured at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co. mill, spilling a caustic chemical used in papermaking. Eleven workers were killed. [The Seattle Times / OPB] | - Contamination: The site is about an hour north of Downtown Portland, right on the Columbia River. During the disaster, tens of thousands of gallons of the chemical escaped — some into a storm drain that leads to the Columbia River. [OPB]
- Safety precautions: State officials are monitoring with tests, and potentially contaminated water is being pumped away from rivers and drinking water. As of Friday, local officials say the surrounding neighborhood's drinking water and air quality are unaffected. [OPB]
- Community impact: Longview, Wash. has under 40,000 residents — many of the first responders have "direct ties" to the paper mill. The paper mill is mostly shut down for now, and local leaders are concerned about its future as a major employer for the region. [OPB]
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| | | PaintCare makes recycling leftover paint easy, and there are simple ways to reduce paint waste in the first place. Buy only what you need, use up what you have, and if you still have some paint leftover, recycle the rest at a PaintCare drop-off site near you. | |
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| What Portland's Talking About |
|  | Crater Lake on a clear day. (John Notarianni / City Cast Portland) |
| Protecting A Species Only Found At Crater Lake | The Crater Lake newt (aka the Mazama newt) is one step closer to being protected under the Endangered Species Act, after a local environmental group settled its lawsuit with the federal government. The small, rough-skinned, bright-yellow and dark-orange newt is found only in Crater Lake in southern Oregon. If approved, this would be the first species listed by the second Trump administration – which has a backlog of about 400 species waiting for a federal listing decision. [Oregon Capital Chronicle] | | New Rules At Portland's Public Pools | Until now, Portland parents with kids 11 and older could drop them off at the pool without an adult. This year, the rules have changed: Minors under the age of 14 must be supervised by an adult aged 18 years or older. These changes, among others, came after the tragic drowning death of a 12-year-old girl at a Montavilla pool a few years ago. [Oregonian] | | Is the Best BBQ in Hood River? | Grasslands — a food truck in the Columbia River Gorge — might serve some of the Pacific Northwest's best Texas-style barbecue, according to Oregonian food critic Michael Russell. If you make the trip, Russell recommends the black pepper chicken, pulled pork, or deep-fried pork belly burnt ends. It’s open seasonally and only on weekends. Expect to wait in line. [Oregonian] |
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Summer in Portland means an excuse to make any city park your living room. One idea: Join the weekly dances around the city led by the Mount Tabor Dance Community. Latin night last week was jam-packed 💃🏻 |
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