Around noon heading west towards Santiam. It’s giving a vv eerie vibe

The photo in the story below was taken yesterday at the Box Springs fire north of Prineville. The fire was sparked by lightning.

And the lightning continues. A Red Flag Warning is in effect until 11 p.m. tonight.

Here’s the latest on the fires burning in that neck of the woods — all sparked by bolts from the sky

As it says on the tin. Petitions are silly but i bet we can pull this one off. https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/rename-cesar-e-chavez-boulevard-after-ursula-k-leguin?just_launched=true

They were coming around every 30 minutes or so refilling to fight the Burnt Creek fire I’m told! Pretty cool to see. Firefighters are real heroes 🫡🫡🫡

Original article here but it is behind a paywall.

Here is the first little bit of the article:

The average American family has about $268,300 in individual retirement accounts. Gregory Baszucki’s holds at least $68 million—and possibly a whole lot more.

Baszucki, 61 years old, is one of hundreds of people who bought stakes in promising startups when the shares were worth peanuts, stashing them in retirement accounts and watching their values balloon to eight figures or more. What they are getting, essentially, is the mother of all tax breaks.

IRAs and workplace retirement accounts were created to help working Americans save for old age by providing tax incentives for doing so. The accounts have been supercharged by startup founders, hedge-fund managers and Silicon Valley insiders who have access to investment opportunities unavailable to most Americans.

Those entrepreneurs and their financial backers are increasingly using that strategy to pile up giant retirement-account balances, all subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, The Wall Street Journal determined by analyzing regulatory filings, government data and other documents. The number of people with giant retirement accounts has soared in recent years, aided by booms in both stock prices and startup formation.

More than 1,000 individuals had IRA balances of at least $25 million in 2024, the latest year for which figures are available, according to new data prepared by the nonpartisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. That was more than double the number with similar-size accounts in 2019. 

Those with $10 million or more in IRAs also rose, to about 11,600 people in 2024, from 3,625 in 2019, the joint committee found in its analysis of anonymized tax-return data. About 200 Americans had balances of $100 million or more in 2024, counting both IRAs and 401(k)-type accounts, the committee estimated.

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“We aren’t talking about saving enough for your needs in retirement,” said Steven Rosenthal, a corporate tax lawyer who recently retired after about a dozen years at the nonprofit Tax Policy Center. “This isn’t keeping you off the dole in old age. This is yacht financing or dynasty building.”

Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, and Rep. Richard Neal, a Massachusetts Democrat, plan to introduce a bill this week that would require annual withdrawals from accounts over $10 million for individuals of any age. The planned legislation stemmed in part from long-running concerns that some investors might circumvent annual contribution limits on retirement accounts by undervaluing shares in companies that aren’t public, “thus substantially increasing their tax benefits,” the Government Accountability Office wrote in 2014.

“This is an egregious loophole we’ve got to close,” Wyden said. “Congress created tax-advantaged retirement accounts to help more Americans save for a dignified retirement, not to help the ultrawealthy dodge taxes on insider deals and build titanic fortunes.”

There's a bad thunderstorm happening rn and the power went out due to it so I'm wondering if it's also effecting other people as well

Hello All,

I am going to a conference in a few weeks and need to bring some individually wrapped, Oregon specific, treats for a table at the conference. Any thoughts?

Thank you!

I already posted this in r/Snow, but posting it here too, after today's heat.

It was peak times for me driving across the Cascades in the winter, as long as there wasn't much traffic and the snow was fluffy and not too deep on the road. Even the sound was muffled by the snow. I took this with a digital camera.

Was just wondering if anyone else knew of a movie or tv show being shot I saw about an hour out from ohallie lake on the way to estacada either on clackamas hwy or forest service road 46, looked like a somewhat big thing going on with tents and trailers and all that probably going down to the river to shoot a scene.

Carlo P. Bringetto, 66, of Albany, OR left this world on November 10, 2023 after battling cancer for 3 years. He was born April 1st, 1957 in Fresno, CA. He grew up to be a cabinet maker and enjoyed working at his family's cabinet shop.

In 2002 he moved his family to Oregon. He enjoyed camping, hiking, and especially spending time with his family. He cared deeply about his family & would do anything for them. He had a passion for making things, playing the keyboard, and preforming. He was the most smart, talented, hard working, loving, & caring person you'd ever meet.

Carlo is survived by his loving wife Colleen of 45 years & his children Carlo, Adam, Lisa, & his 6 grandchildren. He will be sadly missed & will always hold a place in our hearts.

Took this last night shot 1/30 f5.6 1600iso
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T6
Lens: EF50mm f1.8 STM

I live in baker city on the east side of the state, and my little brother is visiting. I need to drive him home to portland on the 26th

My car is old and doesn't have an AC or good air filters, and with the current state of everything being on fire, and air quality being bad, I wanted to ask if it'll be safe to drive the I84 this weekend.

I'm poor and on snap, and don't have enough money to feed him indefinitely if I can't get him home. I had just enough to make it through one month with him over.

If you have Headphones or a Bass speaker please use them. We are in a small valley, sounds like canons going off then echoes. I really didn't know I'd be so excited over the audio I recorded with my tiny Gopro 9, but gosh it's delicious. Hope you enjoy!

Hi all! We are visiting the coast (staying in Glenenden Beach) in two weeks, and I am looking for recommendations for local pottery shops or studios. As a potter myself, I like patronizing local ceramicists :) We plan to drive up the coast through Cannon Beach and Astoria. Generally willing to go 30-40 min south of Gleneden Beach as well.

I know the rats will rule the world someday but I hate to witness them in my space lol

Hope these photos taken in Amity,Or helps everyone keep cool 😎 lol

Grab a box fan and a MERV 13 or higher air filter. Slap the filter on the back of the fan and turn it on. The fan’s pressure will keep the filter in place.

Keep safe out there y’all. And wear an N95 when you go out in 200+ aqi. Otherwise your lungs are the filter!