“Northwest News: Yes, Virginia, a tiny tornado did touch down in Toledo, Wash.; Portland may get a pay-what-you-choose ...”

Northwest News: Yes, Virginia, a tiny tornado did touch down in Toledo, Wash.; Portland may get a pay-what-you-choose ...

Posted: 28 Oct 2010 07:56 AM PDT

Published: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 7:42 AM Updated: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 7:47 AM

Good morning, readers of Northwest News.

On this, the last Thursday before Halloween, we bring you a pair of seriously un-scary headlines, from a story about a national bakery chain that may open a payment-optional pastry shop in Portland to news of one of the smallest ever recorded tornadoes, which spent 20 seconds on the ground in a tiny Lewis County, Washington town.

But first, don't forget how things work at Northwest News: first, we scour newspapers, television networks, online magazines for articles of interest to folks around the Pacific Northwest. Then we collect snippets of articles (below in italics) from our fellow reporters for you to enjoy. Finally, we invite you to A., click the links to read the full stories for yourself and 2., click back to leave your comments and feedback. So click through, read up and then come back and share your thoughts with your community here on OregonLive. Remarks on topic and in good taste are always appreciated.

And now, onto the news.

Forget Kansas, Toto. Toledo, Wash., became part of U.S. weather history this week when what may go down as one of the weakest tornadoes ever briefly touched down Monday in a field behind John Houk's home on the Cowlitz River.

The National Weather Service confirmed the tiny tornado sighting (and damage), reports komonews.com:

The National Weather Service said the tornado spanned 110 yards and had an estimated width of a mere 5 yards. It's maximum wind speed was estimated at 65 mph.

That puts it in the lowest EF0 rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, and I suppose if they had an EF(-1), this would qualify. And I'm sure any friends you have in Texas or other parts of Tornado Alley would scoff at calling this a tornado, instead referring to it as a "light breeze."

And in case you've never experienced a Texas tornado firsthand, take a peek at this. (And yes, that sure looks like a power line arc at the :17 second mark.)

Now, ask yourself: Will what worked in St. Louis, Mo., work in Portland? The Panera Bread Foundation, which successfully converted one of its bakeries into a pay-what-you-can charity, has plans to continue the effort at a Panera shop in Portland, according to KATU.com:

"The bet we're making is on humanity," said Ron Shaich, Panera's executive chairman of the board told St. Louis television station KSDK after launching its first "Cares" cafe there. "The bet we're making is that enough people will come in who will give enough that this cafe can sustain."

At the new "Cares" cafe in St. Louis, "we looked for a perfect mix of people that can support it, but where it's accessible to people who need it," Panera Bread Spokesperson Kate Antonacci told us Wednesday. St. Louis, she said, "was really just a test ... to prove that we could keep it open."

Five months later, two new "Cares" cafes are planned.

Just one note about this story: in Missouri, a state we know well, Panera stores are known as the Saint Louis Bread Company.

Check out more news with a Northwest focus:

» Front pages from 18 newspapers in Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Washington and British Columbia.

» Stories from today's edition of The Oregonian.

» More of our headline picks from Northwest news sources.

-- Kimberly A.C. Wilson

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Thursday, October 28, 2010