OPB’s First Look: Heat wave on the horizon

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Good morning, Northwest.

Extreme heat is in the forecast for the Portland-Vancouver area this weekend into the start of next week.

The region’s hottest temperatures of the year so far could be on tap. OPB’s Amanda Linares leads off today’s newsletter with the latest forecast.

Also this morning, Eastern Oregon University students in La Grande take sledgehammers to stress.

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

— Bradley W. Parks

Top story

Portland and Vancouver could see their hottest weekend of the year so far

Across the Willamette Valley, residents could see record-breaking heat this weekend, as temperatures are expected to climb into the triple digits.

The National Weather Service has issued an extreme heat watch from 11 a.m. Sunday morning through Monday evening for the Portland-Vancouver metro area, parts of the Columbia River Gorge, and east Clark County.

Starting Saturday, forecasters say, temperatures could reach into the 90s and could climb above 100 degrees on Sunday and Monday. Some areas could see temperatures as high as 105 degrees.

David Bishop, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said people should avoid going outside if possible and instead find an air-conditioned building to cool off. (Amanda Linares)

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3 things to know

• A federal judge has cleared the path for a lawsuit accusing the Port of Morrow, a power company, and agricultural businesses of polluting the groundwater in the Lower Umatilla Basin to move forward. (Alejandro Figueroa)
• Les Schwab Tires is laying off 70 employees at its headquarters in Bend. In a statement, a company executive said the changes were not driven by short-term business challenges, but were instead to better support stores moving forward. (Kristian Foden-Vencil)
• Former Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran has entered the race for the county’s top job, joining current Commissioners Shannon Singleton and Julia Brim-Edwards. (Alex Zielinski)

Northwest headlines

• As Portland teachers receive layoff notices, union raises objections (Elizabeth Miller)
• Bandon School Board appoints 2 members, starts search for interim superintendent (Jane Vaughan, JPR)
• Summer food benefits now available to many Oregon families with kids (Mia Maldonado, Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• New Oregon state forester says ‘zero tolerance’ for issues that led to predecessor’s ouster (Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle)
• Kotek won’t expand restrictions on undercover Oregon plates to agencies helping ICE (Shaanth Kodialam Nanguneri, Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Listen in on OPB’s daily conversation

“Think Out Loud” airs at noon and 8 p.m. weekdays on OPB Radio, opb.org and the OPB News app. Today’s planned topics (subject to change):

• How dredging has changed the Columbia River’s ecological, economic functions
• New president of Metro says Portland’s regional government must plan for the future, prioritize housing and jobs

One more look

Pencil, paper, sledgehammer? The unique way EOU students handle finals stress

Students at La Grande’s Eastern Oregon University have a unique tradition to combat finals week stress: the “Car Smash.”

One day every June in the central quad, EOU students can grab a sledgehammer or baseball bat and wail on a couple of windowless but otherwise intact cars.

For three hours, stressed-out students inflict their anxieties in a smash fest that transforms the defenseless sedans into something straight out of a demolition derby. (Jule Gilfillan)

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