On this day, May 5, 1903, James Beard, US culinary expert, author (Delights & Prejudices), was born in Portland, Ore.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing Mrs. Elsie Mitchell, the pregnant wife of a minister, and five children after they attempted to drag it out the woods in Lakeview, Oregon. The balloon was armed, and exploded soon after they began tampering with it. They became the 1st and only known American civilians to be killed in the continental US during World War II.
Also on this day, May 5, 1945, Bly minister Archie Mitchell, his pregnant wife Elsie, and five children from Mitchell's Sunday school class were on a Saturday morning picnic. Thirteen miles northeast of Bly, or about sixty miles northeast of Klamath Falls, Mitchell parked the car, and Elsie and the children headed to Leonard Creek. Mitchell later remembered: "As I got out of the car to bring the lunch, the others were not far away and called to me they had found something that looked like a balloon. I heard of Japanese balloons so I shouted a warning not to touch it. But just then there was a big explosion. I ran up there--and they were all dead." It was a Japanese balloon bomb. They were 70 feet tall with a 33-foot diameter paper canopy connected to the main device by shroud lines. Balloons inflated with hydrogen followed the jet stream at an altitude of 30,000 feet.
“Political gerrymandering in Oregon is illegalâ€
As a hopeful Secretary of State Shemia Fagan most certainly noted, the Oregon House passed what has been touted as highly-partisan
redistricting maps with the minimum 31 votes needed to pass and just hours before the court-imposed deadline. House Republican Leader Christine Drazan (R-Canby) blasted the plan, which passed over her "no" vote. “These partisan maps are a wake-up call for Oregonians. They know Democrats had to cheat to get these maps across the floor.
The passage marks a black mark for Oregon House Speaker -- and now gubernatorial candidate -- Tina Kotek, who was all too happy to get concessions from Republicans to provide quorum and stop requiring bills to be read in their entirety only to renege on he promise to give Republicans equal representation on the redistricting committee.
Drazan continued, "Democrats in Oregon have passed rigged political maps that will guarantee super-sized majorities in the legislature and immediate control of more than 80 percent of Oregon’s congressional seats. They should be ashamed that they have gerrymandered Oregonians out of their shot at fair elections for the next decade.
"This is by no means over. The illegal congressional map adopted today, clearly drawn for partisan benefit, will not survive legal challenge. Political gerrymandering in Oregon is illegal and drawing congressional lines to ensure 5 out of 6 seats for your party long-term is gerrymandering.
Representative E. Werner Reschke (R-Klamath Falls) said, "I have no doubt that these maps could have been even worse if they went to the Secretary of State. That’s why this process has failed the people."
After the vote, the bill had to return to the Oregon Senate where the Senate concurred in House amendments which, according to Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod (R-Lyons) "seek to cement Democrat dominance in Oregon for the next decade."
The Senate vote was 18-6, with all Republicans voting no. The plan now goes to the Governor for her signature.
--Staff Reports| Post Date: 2021-09-27 17:16:11 | Last Update: 2021-09-27 17:40:56 |
