OPB’s First Look: What’s ailing whales

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Good morning, Northwest.

If it seems like lately you’ve seen a lot of headlines about whales stranded on the Oregon Coast, you’re correct.

OPB reporter April Ehrlich starts today’s newsletter with a look at what’s causing whales, particularly gray whales, to end up on Oregon beaches.

In other news, people gathered in a Portland park over the weekend to bid farewell to TriMet’s original MAX train design.

Here’s your First Look at Monday’s news.

— Bradley W. Parks

Gray whales are starving. Some have died off Oregon Coast

Last Tuesday, a 40-foot gray whale floated ashore on Seaside Beach, its long tail bobbing in the ocean waves.

A necropsy on Friday revealed the whale was emaciated, indicating it may have been starving. It was the third dead whale to beach off the Oregon Coast so far this year, among at least 19 that have appeared off the entire West Coast.

Then on Friday, another whale was found stranded on Southwest Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula.

These strandings reflect the growing strain whale populations face as a warming planet affects their access to food, and more could follow in the coming weeks. (April Ehrlich)

Note: This story contains pictures of stranded whales.

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3 things to know

• Thousands of people gathered at Portland’s Holladay Park on Saturday to say goodbye to TriMet’s remaining Type 1 MAX train, which was in service since 1986.(Joni Auden Land)
• Grant High School and Lincoln High School, both located in Portland, finished in third and sixth place, respectively, at this year’s Constitution team national finals.(Malya Fass)
• Southern Oregon University has again raised tuition to the maximum allowed before the state must approve it. Total tuition and fees for in-state undergraduate students will increase by just under 5% next year.(Roman Battaglia)

‘At Work With’ a food pantry worker, a park ranger and a fitness coach

This week, “The Evergreen” meets a worker at a market-style food pantry specializing in Latino cultural foods, a park ranger at Oregon’s Tryon Creek State Natural Area, and a coach focused on making fitness more welcoming and inclusive for everyone. (Jenn Chávez, Lillian Karabaic, Julie Sabatier and Mia Estrada)

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Northwest headlines

• Trail Blazers open playoff series with 111-98 loss to Spurs (Raul Dominguez)
• 6 Democrats compete to unseat Bentz in Oregon’s 2nd Congressional District (Justin Higginbottom)
• UO Museum of Natural and Cultural History presents a new exhibit for the US Semiquincentennial (Macy Moore)
• ‘Hurricane Hunter’ crew spent 6 weeks at PDX, studying atmospheric rivers (Kristian Foden-Vencil)
• ‘How worlds are created’: University of Washington astronomers find evidence of planets clashing (Izzy Ross)

Booklover’s Burlesque Festival brings seductive storytelling to Portland and Salem

If you attend a Booklover’s Burlesque performance, you’re likely to encounter many strange and beautiful stories: from James Baldwin partying in Paris to a heartbreaking remembrance honoring and celebrating lives lost during the Salvadoran civil war.

Literary creatures grace the stage in many seductive forms: an owl man with long black talons, a fairy who really flies into the air lifted by her own hair, and witches in cowboy hats and fringed black leather vests.

Burlesque, which usually includes a performer taking off at least some of their clothes, can be a fun escape, a form of protest or an expression of complex emotions ranging from grief and anger to joy and sexual liberation — just like literature.

The Booklover’s Festival pairs burlesque performances with literary readings. (Jess Hazel)

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