Thank goodness for gas leaks: Were it not for a reported leak at a building on (the) Ohio State University's campus Monday morning, a campus police officer likely wouldn't have been on scene when a student barreled into a crowd with his car, then emerged with a butcher's knife to stab people. As it is, officer Alan Horujko took down the assailant, Abdul Razak Ali Artan, mere moments after he attacked. Artan was killed. Eleven people he injured are all expected to survive.
Weirdly, OSU's student newspaper had interviewed Artan earlier this year, in a short conversation that dwelt largely on his Muslim faith. Check page 5.
Locally, news dropped yesterday that downtown jazz staple Jimmy Mak's won't be moving, as planned. Instead, owner Jimmy Makarounis says a downturn in his health means it's closing for good at the end of the year. Sounds like there's an investment opportunity, if you'd like to see the club carry on.
In these dire times, all I can say is Thank God For the Forest Grove Police Blotter: "The caller was apparently upset with a veterinarian for sharing medical information about a dog with her family, which ruined her Thanksgiving."
A far, far worse Thanksgiving was had by the three people who died of food borne illness contracted at a Bay Area American Legion Hall's celebration. A local church was running the show.
Today in Conifers: RIP, Big Tree, one of the northwest's oldest and grandest ponderosa pines. You actually were declared dead last year, but no one really noticed.
Also: Your Christmas tree might be damn spendy this year, Portland.
Welp, it's official: My home state went for Trump by more than 10,000 votes (pending a potential recount).
Speaking of: Trump's picked a new Health and Human Services secretary, longtime Georgia Congressman Tom Price, who's a staunch opponent of Obamacare and will now be in the driver's seat for dismantling it.
Also: The NYT offers this brief, 3D guide to Manhattan's Trump Tower, which it's calling "White House North" since Trump apparently plans to split time between it and the White House (costing taxpayers millions of dollars in the process).
Tragedy: A plane has crashed in Colombia, killing 76 people (including a Brazilian professional soccer team). Five people survived.
Is that gross snow I see on the horizon?
