🌱WashCo Minimum Wage To Increase July 1 + Fitness In The Park Returns

Hello Beaverton. I'm glad you're here today. We have some changes at city council, a couple of places to catch fireworks on the Fourth and find out that the Forestry Department is adding some big water-carrying planes to its summer firefighting efforts. I'm Merlin Douglass, your regular guest Patch curator, and here's what's going on around Beaverton today.

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First, today's weather:

Partly sunny and nice. High: 80 Low: 55.

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Here are the top five stories today in Beaverton:

1. Here's an update from City Hall: Beaverton City Councilor, Marc San Soucie, is leaving at the end of August instead of at the end of the year, and the council will decide at the July meeting whether to hold a special election to replace him. Meanwhile, the most recently elected council person, Edward Kimmi, was sworn in on Tuesday. Kimmi was elected in May to finish out Mark Fagin's term after he resigned Jan. 1.
2. As the new county program to recycle difficult-to-recycle materials in a program called Recycle+ goes live, Ridwell, the private recycling firm that had previously collected those items, is suing Washington County for a second time. At issue is whether or not the county approved trash haulers can charge extra for the hard-to-recycle items. There is currently a $2.50 monthly fee for customers who opt into the Recycle+ program, even though Ridwell maintains that the state prohibits trash haulers from charging extra for recycling services. (Sherwood Gazette)
3. If you're looking for a local spot to watch the fireworks this Fourth, look no further. Oak Hills Recreation Center fireworks are back this year after a pandemic hiatus with a show at 10 p.m. If you're attending the Hillsboro Hops game with the Eugene Emeralds on the Fourth, stick around after the game for a fireworks show to follow. (KOIN.com)
4. The Oregon Department of Forestry has a couple of new tools it is trying out in Forest Grove. They are firefighting aircraft, called Fire Bosses, that can pick up 800 gallons of water from a lake in 15 seconds and drop that water on a nearby forest fire. The two additional Fire Bosses bring the number of firefighting aircraft in the forest service to 28. (KPTV.com)
5. The minimum wage in Washington County, like the rest of the state, is going up July 1. In a three-tiered system, Washington, Multnomah and Clackamas counties' minimum wage is going up to $14.75. In much of the rest of Northwest Oregon, called "the standard zone," the minimum wage will increase to $13.50 an hour. Finally, rural Oregon will see a minimum wage of $12.50 an hour. The move places Oregon among the highest minimum wage states in the nation. (Beaverton Valley Times for readers with a Washington County library card; Beaverton Valley Times for readers with a subscription.)

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Today in Beaverton:

• Don't sit around all summer wishing you were making some money. There's a virtual job fair in Hillsboro today for entry-level workers today. The job fair runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration required.
• Need to get your bike in shape for all your summer riding plans? The City of Beaverton is offering a bike maintenance workshop today at the City Library from 4 to 5 p.m. The workshop is free and open to all ages, sponsored by Westside Transportation Alliance.
• If you're a fan of chamber music, you won't want to miss Chamber Music Northwest at the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts this Thursday and every Thursday through July. Tonight at 8 p.m. Folk Ingenuity will perform two works by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and one by Josef Suk. Tickets cost between $10 and $62.50 a piece.

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From my notebook:

• Fitness in the Park is back this year, and you can join friends and neighbors in scheduled walks at various locations listed here. Each of the walks begins at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays, July 6 and runs through August 24. The walks last about an hour.
• Read and discuss books with other readers at one of the many book clubs offered at Washington County libraries this summer for adults and students by grade level. And there really is something for everyone, for instance, Tigard library has a hybrid walking and reading club, Murray Scholls has a group for LGBTQ+ teens and a Cedar Mills club meets online. Check out all the clubs available here.

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There you are! You're up to date now. Tomorrow Ash DeMello will be back with her special brand of newsy notes. Thanks for reading and now, the sun is calling.

—Merlin Douglass

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Beaverton Daily? Contact me at ash.the.copyartist@gmail.com.