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Gorbachev to be buried in modest funeral snubbed by Putin
MOSCOW (AP) — Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, is set to be buried Saturday in a relatively low-key ceremony snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin’s refusal to declare a state funeral reflects its uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been venerated worldwide for bringing down the Iron Curtain but reviled by many at home for the Soviet collapse and the ensuing economic meltdown that plunged millions into poverty.
On Thursday, Putin privately laid flowers at Gorbachev’s coffin at a Moscow hospital where he died. The Kremlin said the president’s busy schedule would prevent him from attending the funeral.
Asked what specific business will keep Putin busy on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the president will have a series of working meetings, an international phone call and needs to prepare for a business forum in Russia’s Far East he’s scheduled to attend next week.
Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at the age of 91, will be buried at Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery next to his wife, Raisa, following a farewell ceremony at the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions, an iconic mansion near the Kremlin that has served as the venue for state funerals since Soviet times.
Despite the choice of the prestigious venue, the Kremlin stopped short of calling it a state funeral, with Peskov saying the ceremony will have “elements” of one, such as honorary guards, and the government’s assistance in organizing it. He wouldn’t describe how it will differ from a full-fledged state funeral.
Declaring a state funeral for Gorbachev would have obliged Putin to attend it and would have required Moscow to invite foreign leaders, something that it was apparently reluctant to do amid soaring tensions with the West after sending troops to Ukraine.
The modest ceremony contrasted with a lavish 2007 state funeral given to Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first post-Soviet leader who anointed Putin as his preferred successor and set the stage for him to win the presidency by stepping down.
Putin, who once lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” has avoided explicit personal criticism of Gorbachev but has repeatedly blamed him for failing to secure written commitments from the West that would rule out NATO’s expansion eastward. The issue has marred Russia-West relations for decades and fomented tensions that exploded when the Russian leader sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
In a carefully phrased letter of condolence released Wednesday avoiding explicit praise or criticism, Putin described Gorbachev as a man who left “an enormous impact on the course of world history.”
“He led the country during difficult and dramatic changes, amid large-scale foreign policy, economic and society challenges,” Putin said. “He deeply realized that reforms were necessary and tried to offer his solutions for the acute problems.”
The Kremlin’s ambivalence about Gorbachev was reflected in state television broadcasts, which described his worldwide acclaim and grand expectations generated by his reforms, but held him responsible for plunging the country into political turmoil and economic woes and failing to properly defend the country’s interests in talks with the West.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/03/gorbachev-be-buried-modest-funeral-snubbed-by-putin/ | 2022-09-03T07:28:32Z |
Thousands flee, several hurt as wildfire scorches California
WEED, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of people remained under evacuation orders Saturday after a wind-whipped wildfire raged through rural Northern California, injuring people and torching an unknown number of homes.
The fire that began Friday afternoon on or near a wood-products plant quickly blew into a neighborhood on the northern edge of Weed but then carried the flames away from the city of about 2,600.
Evacuees described heavy smoke and chunks of ash raining down.
Annie Peterson said she was sitting on the porch of her home near Roseburg Forest Products, which manufactures wood veneers, when “all of a sudden we heard a big boom and all that smoke was just rolling over toward us.”
Very quickly her home and about a dozen others were on fire. She said members of her church helped evacuate her and her son, who is immobile. She said the scene of smoke and flames looked like “the world was coming to an end.”
Suzi Brady, a Cal Fire spokeswoman, said several people were injured.
Allison Hendrickson, spokeswoman for Dignity Health North State hospitals, said two people were brought to Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta. One was in stable condition and the other was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center, which has a burn unit.
Rebecca Taylor, communications director for Roseburg Forest Products based in Springfield, Oregon, said it is unclear if the fire started near or on company property. A large empty building at the edge of company property burned she said. All employees were evacuated, and none have reported injuries, she said.
The blaze, dubbed the Mill Fire, was pushed by 35-mph (56-kph) winds, and quickly engulfed 4 square miles (10.3 square kilometers) of ground.
The flames raced through tinder-dry grass, brush and timber. About 7,500 people in Weed and several nearby communities were under evacuation orders.
Dr. Deborah Higer, medical director at the Shasta View Nursing Center, said all 23 patients at the facility were evacuated, with 20 going to local hospitals and three staying at her own home, where hospital beds were set up.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Siskyou County and said a federal grant had been received “to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppressthe fire.”
At about the time the blaze started, power outages were reported that affected some 9,000 customers, and several thousand remained without electricity late into the night, according to an outage website for power company PacifiCorp, which said they were due to the wildfire.
It was the third large wildfire in as many days in California, which has been in the grip of a prolonged drought and is now sweltering under a heat wave that was expected to push temperatures past the 100-degree mark in many areas through Labor Day.
Thousands also were ordered to flee on Wednesday from a fire in Castaic north of Los Angeles and a blaze in eastern San Diego County near the Mexican border, where two people were severely burned and several homes were destroyed. Those blazes were 56% and 65% contained, respectively, and all evacuations had been lifted.
The heat taxed the state’s power grid as people tried to stay cool. For a fourth day, residents were asked to conserve power Saturday during late afternoon and evening hours.
The Mill Fire was burning about an hour’s drive from the Oregon state line. A few miles north of the blaze, a second fire erupted Friday near the community of Gazelle. The Mountain Fire has burned more than 2 square miles (6 square kilometers) but no injuries or building damage was reported.
The whole region has faced repeated devastating wildfires in recent years. The Mill Fire was only about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of where the McKinney Fire — the state’s deadliest of the year — erupted in late July. It killed four people and destroyed dozens of homes.
Olga Hood fled her Weed home on Friday as smoke was blowing over the next hill.
With the notorious gusts that tear through the town at the base of Mount Shasta, she didn’t wait for an evacuation order. She packed up her documents, medication and little else, said her granddaughter, Cynthia Jones.
“With the wind in Weed everything like that moves quickly. It’s bad,” her granddaughter, Cynthia Jones, said by phone from her home in Medford, Oregon. “It’s not uncommon to have 50 to 60 mph gusts on a normal day. I got blown into a creek as a kid.”
Hood’s home of nearly three decades was spared from a blaze last year and from the devastating Boles Fire that tore through town eight years ago, destroying more than 160 buildings, mostly homes.
Hood wept as she discussed the fire from a relative’s house in the hamlet of Granada, Jones said. She wasn’t able to gather photos that had been important to her late husband.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. In the last five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in state history.
___
Associated Press reporters Olga R. Rodriguez and Janie Har in San Francisco and Stefanie Dazio and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this article.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/03/thousands-flee-several-hurt-wildfire-scorches-california/ | 2022-09-03T07:28:38Z |
Gorbachev to be buried in modest funeral snubbed by Putin
MOSCOW (AP) — Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who launched drastic reforms that helped end the Cold War and precipitated the breakup of the Soviet Union, is set to be buried Saturday in a relatively low-key ceremony snubbed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin’s refusal to declare a state funeral reflects its uneasiness about the legacy of Gorbachev, who has been venerated worldwide for bringing down the Iron Curtain but reviled by many at home for the Soviet collapse and the ensuing economic meltdown that plunged millions into poverty.
On Thursday, Putin privately laid flowers at Gorbachev’s coffin at a Moscow hospital where he died. The Kremlin said the president’s busy schedule would prevent him from attending the funeral.
Asked what specific business will keep Putin busy on Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the president will have a series of working meetings, an international phone call and needs to prepare for a business forum in Russia’s Far East he’s scheduled to attend next week.
Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at the age of 91, will be buried at Moscow’s Novodevichy cemetery next to his wife, Raisa, following a farewell ceremony at the Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions, an iconic mansion near the Kremlin that has served as the venue for state funerals since Soviet times.
Despite the choice of the prestigious venue, the Kremlin stopped short of calling it a state funeral, with Peskov saying the ceremony will have “elements” of one, such as honorary guards, and the government’s assistance in organizing it. He wouldn’t describe how it will differ from a full-fledged state funeral.
Declaring a state funeral for Gorbachev would have obliged Putin to attend it and would have required Moscow to invite foreign leaders, something that it was apparently reluctant to do amid soaring tensions with the West after sending troops to Ukraine.
The modest ceremony contrasted with a lavish 2007 state funeral given to Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first post-Soviet leader who anointed Putin as his preferred successor and set the stage for him to win the presidency by stepping down.
Putin, who once lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century,” has avoided explicit personal criticism of Gorbachev but has repeatedly blamed him for failing to secure written commitments from the West that would rule out NATO’s expansion eastward. The issue has marred Russia-West relations for decades and fomented tensions that exploded when the Russian leader sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.
In a carefully phrased letter of condolence released Wednesday avoiding explicit praise or criticism, Putin described Gorbachev as a man who left “an enormous impact on the course of world history.”
“He led the country during difficult and dramatic changes, amid large-scale foreign policy, economic and society challenges,” Putin said. “He deeply realized that reforms were necessary and tried to offer his solutions for the acute problems.”
The Kremlin’s ambivalence about Gorbachev was reflected in state television broadcasts, which described his worldwide acclaim and grand expectations generated by his reforms, but held him responsible for plunging the country into political turmoil and economic woes and failing to properly defend the country’s interests in talks with the West.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/03/gorbachev-be-buried-modest-funeral-snubbed-by-putin/ | 2022-09-03T07:53:17Z |
Thousands flee, several hurt as wildfire scorches California
WEED, Calif. (AP) — Thousands of people remained under evacuation orders Saturday after a wind-whipped wildfire raged through rural Northern California, injuring people and torching an unknown number of homes.
The fire that began Friday afternoon on or near a wood-products plant quickly blew into a neighborhood on the northern edge of Weed but then carried the flames away from the city of about 2,600.
Evacuees described heavy smoke and chunks of ash raining down.
Annie Peterson said she was sitting on the porch of her home near Roseburg Forest Products, which manufactures wood veneers, when “all of a sudden we heard a big boom and all that smoke was just rolling over toward us.”
Very quickly her home and about a dozen others were on fire. She said members of her church helped evacuate her and her son, who is immobile. She said the scene of smoke and flames looked like “the world was coming to an end.”
Suzi Brady, a Cal Fire spokeswoman, said several people were injured.
Allison Hendrickson, spokeswoman for Dignity Health North State hospitals, said two people were brought to Mercy Medical Center Mount Shasta. One was in stable condition and the other was transferred to UC Davis Medical Center, which has a burn unit.
Rebecca Taylor, communications director for Roseburg Forest Products based in Springfield, Oregon, said it is unclear if the fire started near or on company property. A large empty building at the edge of company property burned she said. All employees were evacuated, and none have reported injuries, she said.
The blaze, dubbed the Mill Fire, was pushed by 35-mph (56-kph) winds, and quickly engulfed 4 square miles (10.3 square kilometers) of ground.
The flames raced through tinder-dry grass, brush and timber. About 7,500 people in Weed and several nearby communities were under evacuation orders.
Dr. Deborah Higer, medical director at the Shasta View Nursing Center, said all 23 patients at the facility were evacuated, with 20 going to local hospitals and three staying at her own home, where hospital beds were set up.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Siskyou County and said a federal grant had been received “to help ensure the availability of vital resources to suppressthe fire.”
At about the time the blaze started, power outages were reported that affected some 9,000 customers, and several thousand remained without electricity late into the night, according to an outage website for power company PacifiCorp, which said they were due to the wildfire.
It was the third large wildfire in as many days in California, which has been in the grip of a prolonged drought and is now sweltering under a heat wave that was expected to push temperatures past the 100-degree mark in many areas through Labor Day.
Thousands also were ordered to flee on Wednesday from a fire in Castaic north of Los Angeles and a blaze in eastern San Diego County near the Mexican border, where two people were severely burned and several homes were destroyed. Those blazes were 56% and 65% contained, respectively, and all evacuations had been lifted.
The heat taxed the state’s power grid as people tried to stay cool. For a fourth day, residents were asked to conserve power Saturday during late afternoon and evening hours.
The Mill Fire was burning about an hour’s drive from the Oregon state line. A few miles north of the blaze, a second fire erupted Friday near the community of Gazelle. The Mountain Fire has burned more than 2 square miles (6 square kilometers) but no injuries or building damage was reported.
The whole region has faced repeated devastating wildfires in recent years. The Mill Fire was only about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of where the McKinney Fire — the state’s deadliest of the year — erupted in late July. It killed four people and destroyed dozens of homes.
Olga Hood fled her Weed home on Friday as smoke was blowing over the next hill.
With the notorious gusts that tear through the town at the base of Mount Shasta, she didn’t wait for an evacuation order. She packed up her documents, medication and little else, said her granddaughter, Cynthia Jones.
“With the wind in Weed everything like that moves quickly. It’s bad,” her granddaughter, Cynthia Jones, said by phone from her home in Medford, Oregon. “It’s not uncommon to have 50 to 60 mph gusts on a normal day. I got blown into a creek as a kid.”
Hood’s home of nearly three decades was spared from a blaze last year and from the devastating Boles Fire that tore through town eight years ago, destroying more than 160 buildings, mostly homes.
Hood wept as she discussed the fire from a relative’s house in the hamlet of Granada, Jones said. She wasn’t able to gather photos that had been important to her late husband.
Scientists say climate change has made the West warmer and drier over the last three decades and will continue to make weather more extreme and wildfires more frequent and destructive. In the last five years, California has experienced the largest and most destructive fires in state history.
___
Associated Press reporters Olga R. Rodriguez and Janie Har in San Francisco and Stefanie Dazio and Brian Melley in Los Angeles contributed to this article.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/09/03/thousands-flee-several-hurt-wildfire-scorches-california/ | 2022-09-03T07:53:24Z |
DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- It is never too early to start planning for retirement, especially if one is considering spending their golden years abroad. The world is brimming with breathtaking destinations for retirees to choose from, and those who start setting up their foundation in the country of their choice early are the ones who get to enjoy every second of it.
When it comes to retirement planning, there are a few critical factors to consider for each destination, these are:
Standard of living
Spending free time in any country is much more enjoyable when it boasts a high living standard, obviously, as a retiree won't have to worry about the basics that can make their stay enjoyable or miserable.
Finding a country with a robust healthcare system, great infrastructure, healthy cuisine, abundant activities, and top-tier services, such as speedy internet and simple banking, allows retirees to make the most of their free time without having to constantly fix this or that.
The climate
This factor is evidently a preference, as some people like the cold while others abhor it. However, at the end of the day finding a place with a mild climate that allows a person to take advantage of every day without having to worry about moving about in the rain or getting snowed in is a major issue to consider when choosing a retirement destination.
Places with a tempered climate boasting a varied landscape, from beaches to mountains, can prove to be extremely fun and easy to manage.
Taxes
Different retirees have different sources of income; some maintain investments that yield passive returns, while others rely heavily on pension funds. But whatever the case may be, they all have one thing in common; they don't want to spend their money on taxes.
Finding a tax-friendly nation allows retirees to maximize their income and spend it on stuff that actually matters, rather than just paying half of what they make in taxes.
Living costs
No matter how much money a retiree makes, it is only sensible they find a place that provides them with the best value for their money. A country with a relatively low cost of living that boasts top-tier services and products allows retirees to spend more lavishly while maintaining a high standard of living.
Ease of access
Another important thing to consider is how simple it is to obtain a residence permit in any given country. Some nations have a straightforward path to residency, while others require more active business involvement.
Finding a country that has a simple route to residency or even citizenship can make the entire planning process, as well as the actual time spent in the country, much easier and much more enjoyable.
Another important factor to consider is how easy it is to physically get to the country, as how many flights are present? Does it have its own airport? Or does it rely on neighboring countries? Finding a place that is easy to get to ensures retirees can move about easily and even host their family members without extensive planning and travel.
The best places to consider
As mentioned at the start of the article, retirees are flush with choices in terms of destinations to consider, but here are some of the top countries to keep in mind when planning fore retirement.
Portugal
Sunny Portugal is one of the best options in the world, not only because it offers two simple residency routes for retirees to obtain legal status in the country, the golden visa and the D7 visa, but because the country itself is an amazing place to live.
With a tempered climate, amazing mix of culture, outstanding healthcare, and some of the most pleasant people in the world, Portugal is an excellent place for retirees to spend their golden years in a country that operates on the EU standards.
Not only is Portugal full of outstanding cities such as Lisbon, Porto, and the Evora to choose from, they all boast endless activities and a relatively low cost of living compared to the rest of Europe.
Portugal also has great tax exemption programs, such as the Non-Habitual Residence Tax Regime (NHR), which alleviates the tax burden on its new residents. The great news is that those coming into Portugal through the D7 or golden visa qualify for the NHR, making Portugal an overall excellent option.
Getting to Portugal through the golden visa or the D7 is extremely simple, as they only require an investment in real estate or proof of sufficient financial means, respectively, and the country's strategic location offers retirees the ability to communicate with the rest of the world easily, or even hop on a short flight to anywhere they wish, especially considering that Lisbon's airport has 115 direct destinations on its roster.
Greece
Those looking for sunny beaches with outstanding cuisine should, at one point or another, consider Greece as their retirement destination.
The country is known for its marvelous natural scenery, unique culture, breathtaking architecture, and abundance of adventure.
Whether a person chooses the sandy shores of Mykonos, the bustling agoras of Athens, the mountainous Thessaloniki, or the laid-back Cephalonia, they are in for an outstanding time.
Greece also boasts great healthcare and robust banking services, making the stay even more enjoyable. The EU country also levies a flat tax of just 7% on retirees, making it one of the best tax frameworks in the EU for those looking to lay back and get good value for their money.
Getting into Greece is also simple, as retirees can choose between the golden visa or the financially dependent persons (FIP) visa to obtain residence. Both operate on a similar structure to Portugal's options, making it a great choice for those looking for something simple and quick.
Turkiye
There is another great option for retirees next to Greece, as the Anatolian nation of Turkiye has long been a desirable destination for those looking to spend their free time in a country that boasts endless history, distinctive culture, delicious cuisine, spectacular natural scenery, and a pleasant climate.
Turkiye's massive size offers retirees various options to choose from, between the busy streets of Istanbul, the amazing shores of the Turkish Riviera, the Mountains of Trabzon, or the plains of Ankara.
However, the most interesting part of the nation could be its extremely low cost of living, especially when compared to the quality of services and products on offer. The Turbulence of the local currency, the Turkish Lira, makes it a great destination for those making their money in foreign currency.
Getting into Turkiye is also a simple procedure, and not just because Istanbul's airport has the largest direct flight roster in the world (265), but because a person can become a Turkish national by purchasing any real estate for 400,000 USD. This allows retirees to live in Turkiye as citizens rather than residents.
A lot of other options
Planning for retirement can seem exhaustive, especially considering that there are various other options to consider, such as countries in the Caribbean that offer island living as well as citizenship by investment programs so that retirees can spend their golden years on sandy shores as residents of the country.
However, we at Savory & Partners make it very simple, consulting you on the specifics of each destination that match your criteria and preferences. All you need to do is contact us today to book a comprehensive consultation with one of our experts.
Savory & Partners is an accredited agent for multiple governments where citizenship by investment is offered. Founded in 1797, the agency has evolved from pharmaceuticals to family assets and legacy protection through second citizenship and residency. The company's professional, multinational staff is made up of expert advisors who have guided thousands of clients, including many North African investors, on their journey to find the most suitable CBI program for them. The Savory & Partners team will be happy to answer your enquiries in English, Arabic, Farsi, French and Spanish.
For more information, please send an email to contact@savoryandpartners.com. You can also call +971 04 430 1717 or send a WhatsApp message to +971 54 440 2955.
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SOURCE Savory & Partners | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/03/retirement-planning-2022-good-time-start/ | 2022-09-03T08:12:22Z |
Phase 2 study to assess efficacy and safety of once daily linperlisib in patients with advanced peripheral T/NK cell lymphoma
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Yingli Pharma (the "Company" or "Yingli"), a clinical stage biotechnology company developing oral small molecule drugs for cancers with high unmet need, announced today that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2 trial evaluating linperlisib, a potent inhibitor of the delta isoform of PI3 kinase (PI3Kδ) in patients with relapsed/refractory peripheral T/NK cell lymphoma (r/r PTCL).
This single arm study will evaluate the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of orally administered linperlisib under a strategic collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Additional trial sites will include medical centers in the United States and Italy.
"We are pleased to commence this study of linperlisib in the United States in patients suffering from advanced PTCL," said Michael Hui, MBA, chief executive officer of Yingli. "Linperlisib is a next generation inhibitor of PI3Kδ with enhanced selectivity and potency to offer strong anti-tumor effect while minimizing potential adverse reactions. We are encouraged by the safety and preliminary efficacy data obtained in Phase 1 dose-finding studies in China and look forward to further evaluating linperlisib's potential in this Phase 2 study."
"Patients living with advanced PTCL, an aggressive type of lymphoma, face limited treatment options and most do not respond or stop responding to available therapies. Linperlisib may provide a solution for these patients who need an expanded treatment armamentarium, and we're excited to continue studying the drug's potential as we start the Phase 2 study."
Linperlisib, a convenient once daily oral drug, is a small molecule inhibitor of PI3Kδ, a validated target in lymphomas due to its critical role in cell proliferation and survival. This Phase 2 (NCT05274997), single arm, open-label trial will evaluate the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetic properties of linperlisib monotherapy in adult patients with r/r PTCL who have failed at least one prior line of systemic therapy. Enrolled participants will receive linperlisib 80mg once daily orally in a 28-day cycle. The primary outcome is overall response rate to treatment. Secondary outcomes include duration of response, overall survival, progression-free survival, adverse effects and pharmacokinetics parameters. An estimated 97 patients will be enrolled in the study.
About Linperlisib
Linperlisib (YY-20394) is a highly selective and potent PI3Kδ inhibitor that has shown a favorable safety profile, encouraging anti-tumor activities and promising PK and pharmaceutical properties as an oral once-a-day agent in late-stage clinical development. A Phase 1 clinical trial was completed in 2020 demonstrating linperlisib to be a safe and tolerable agent, and a recommended Phase 2 dose of 80 mg QD was established. Linperlisib was awarded NMPA Breakthrough Therapy status in China, leading to a Phase 2 study in follicular lymphoma (FL) that was completed and submitted in 2021 to China marketing authority for approval. In addition, linperlisib received FDA Orphan Drug Designations for FL, CLL/SLL and T cell lymphoma. Multiple linperlisib clinical trials in FL, PTCL, other lymphomas, solid tumors, combination with gemcitabine/oxaliplatin in r/r DLBC and combination with therapeutic PD1 antibody are underway in China. Preliminary results of single agent linperlisib from a relapsed or recurrent PTCL Phase1b study were reported at ASCO 2021, indicating an overall response rate of 70% with 33% CRs for this difficult to treat and aggressive form of lymphoma.
About Yingli Pharma
Yingli Pharma is developing oral small molecule drugs with first-in-class or best-in-class potential for cancers with high unmet need. In addition to linperlisib, Yingli's clinical stage portfolio under development in U.S. and China also includes YL-13027, a TGFbeta Receptor 1 small molecule antagonist, currently in Phase 1, and YL-15293, a KRAS G12C inhibitor in Phase 1 studies that are part of a precision medicine program targeting oncogene drivers in cancer. Yingli is advancing several early-stage precision therapy programs leading to IND-enabling studies this year. For more information, visit http://www.yl-pharma.com
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SOURCE Shanghai Yingli Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/03/yingli-pharma-announces-first-patient-dosed-phase-2-trial-linperlisib-peripheral-t-cell-lymphoma/ | 2022-09-03T08:12:28Z |
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.kitv.com/news/blood-bank-of-hawaii-in-dire-need-of-universal-type-o-blood/article_fd7f6f00-2b58-11ed-92f0-dbfa484350a2.html | 2022-09-03T09:01:16Z |
HONOLULU (KITV4) –Increasing trade wind showers to start the holiday weekend.
Tonight, scattered trade wind showers. Highest rain chances will be for O’ahu, Moloka’i and Maui. Partly cloudy skies. Lows in the middle 70s.
Saturday, scattered showers focused windward and mauka. Highest rain chances will be in the morning hours. A few passing rains possible for Central and Leeward spots. Windward spots will see partly sunny skies. Expect mostly sunny skies leeward. East winds 10-15 mph.
Highs in the low to middle 80s windward with highs close to 90 leeward. Humidity will not be as high as it was earlier in the weekend making it feel more comfortable.
Increasing trades for both Sunday and Labor Day Monday. Expect somewhat drier conditions Sunday with increasing trade wind showers for Labor Day Monday. Highs both days in the upper 80s leeward, middle 80s windward. ENE winds 10-20 mph.
No tropical development in the Central Pacific expected for at least the next 5 days.
North: 1-3 ft
West: 1-3 ft
South: 2-4 ft
East: 2-4 ft
No meaningful swells expected this week. A moderate South Swell possible next weekend Sept. 10-11.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
Chief Meteorologist Pete Caggiano forecasts for KITV4 Island News during the 5,6 and 10 p.m. newscasts Monday – Friday. He has the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association Seal of Approval. | https://www.kitv.com/weather/friday-evening-weather-forecast-september-2-2022/article_64748f8c-2b5f-11ed-bb58-13aaeaa2ad6f.html | 2022-09-03T09:01:22Z |
Micky Dolenz, the last-surviving member of the 1960s band The Monkees, is suing the FBI to get any files and reports generated by the bureau over the years, pertaining to him, his deceased bandmates, or the band more generally.
In the complaint, Dolenz's attorneys say the musician submitted a Freedom of Information Act Request on June 14. After receiving an automate notice of receipt from the agency, he has received no further responses.
Under the law, all federal agencies are obligated to respond to a FOIA request within 20 business days. That does not include notifications of receipt. However, the Department of Justice website says there is a massive backlog of requests for the FBI and that "it simply cannot" respond within the specified time period.
Dolenz alleges that during the height of the band's fame, the group interacted with other musicians and artists who were known to be tracked by the FBI, including The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix.
The FBI website does state that "references to the band appear in two places in FBI files: a 1967 Los Angeles Field Office memorandum on anti-Vietnam war activities and a second document redacted entirely."
The site includes a PDF of the latter documents, written on March 26, 1967, in reference to the band's tour in the U.S. The report states the band projected "subliminal messages" which mirrored "left wing" political leanings. These messages included "riots in Berkley, anti-U.S. messages on the war in Vietnam, racial riots in Selma, Alabama, and similar messages which had received unfavorable response from the audience."
The Justice Department declined to comment for this story. The FBI says it has no comment to offer on pending litigation.
The Monkees, was a band formed in 1966 Los Angeles and conceived for a television comedy series of the same name. It ran for two years, during which the band enjoyed several popular hits, including "I'm a Believer", and "Daydream Believer."
The four-man rock and pop band included Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones. They finally broke up in 1970.
In his complaint, Dolenz's lawyers state that whatever information is turned over from the FBI may be used in original work, including a film, book, or documentary.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/the-monkees-drummer-wants-the-fbi-to-quit-monkeying-around-and-hand-over-files | 2022-09-03T10:19:33Z |
JACKSON, Miss. — eZra Brown, owner of Soulé Coffee and Bubble Tea, starts his day differently than most other restaurant operators in the nation — traveling to neighboring cities for water and ice to serve his customers.
When Brown opened his cafe less than a month ago in Jackson, Miss., the city was entering the third week of a boil-water notice because of low pressure at the O.B. Curtis Water Plant. Then flooding at the Pearl River in early August caused the plant's pumps to fail.
Officials don't know when the health alert will end.
"If you have a boil alert, we have to get our ice from another city," Brown said. "We're rolling through 100 plus pounds of ice every single day. One-hundred-plus pounds, not including water. If you want a lemonade, if you want a green tea, that's all bottled water that we have to have.
More than 40 Jackson restaurant owners wrote a letter to Mississippi's governor and Jackson's mayor in early August, telling them that the repeated boil water orders and outages were costing them hundreds of dollars a day.
On Monday, the city's water pressure dropped so low that many people didn't have access to water at all. That prompted the city, state and federal governments to declare a state of emergency.
Pat Fontaine, executive director for the Mississippi Hospitality and Restaurant Association, said many of the 500 area restaurants are experiencing issues with the water.
"There is some fear of the water supply being fit for consumption, so they chose to go to outlying cities that do not have the boil water notice," Fontaine said.
Some owners have reported rising costs of supplies, such as canned drinks and disposable packaging, reaching thousands of dollars above normal operating costs each week. Those come on top of diminishing sales as customers aren't eating in the city as much as before.
Few have closed their doors for now, but Fontaine hopes that the state's emergency management teams as well as federal aid can solve the problem that's been threatening to occur for years: Jackson has been struggling with a crumbling city water system.
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba estimated it will cost billions of dollars to fix.
During a news conference Wednesday, Lumumba said it's not clear when people in Jackson will be able to use their water without boiling it.
"That all will be dependent upon a few things," Lumumba said. "First and foremost, restoring the pressure, the circumstance that initially led to the boil-water notice, long before we dealt with the flood waters and the challenge there was because of turbidity."
Lumumba said they fixed that problem of turbidity, or how cloudy or clear water is, but then had to do hundreds of tests on the water to make sure it was safe to drink.
"Then we had the rain, then we had the flood," he said. "Now we have low water pressure as a result of the flood. "
The city installed a temporary pump at its main water-treatment facility, Lumumba said, and once water pressure returns to normal, they'll be able to start testing the water quality again.
As of Thursday, half of the water tanks had begun filling up, and some homes and businesses closer to the plant were seeing water pressure return. Those further away remained affected.
For Brown, solutions can't come soon enough. He opened Soulé Coffee as a hub for local creatives to collaborate and dream, but he's grinding. He's the sole employee, and he said the hiring process has been slower than he expected.
Right now, he works more than 12 hours a day to make sure his first months are successful. He wants city and state government officials to cooperate so Black-owned businesses like his can thrive.
"Now I need y'all to do your job," Brown said. "Get me clean water."
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/unsafe-water-challenges-jackson-miss-restaurant-owners-who-must-look-elsewhere | 2022-09-03T10:19:40Z |
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/two-hawaii-coffee-shops-make-yelps-list-of-best-coffee-in-the-country/article_17b4bc72-2b68-11ed-b6da-abb98cb7509f.html | 2022-09-03T10:45:15Z |
Arçelik CEO Hakan Bulgurlu's keynote speech urges businesses to innovate for sustainable change to protect the natural world from environmental decline
BERLIN, Sept. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Arçelik, the global household appliances manufacturer and parent company of 12 leading home appliance brands, including two of Europe's well known brands, Beko and Grundig, keynoted at IFA 2022 calling for sector-wide action to tackle climate change.
In his keynote speech, Mr Bulgurlu spoke of the challenge facing the corporate world, highlighting that rising business innovation has led to more consumption, thus contributing to environmental stress.
Mr Bulgurlu believes that getting this balance right is the purpose of innovation, to create tailored technological solutions to the world's environmental challenges. The clean energy transition, the development of regulated, transparent carbon markets, and the phasing out of coal by 2050 were all stressed as essential climate actions the world needs to take if it is to stand any chance of keeping the 1.5C goal alive.
Arçelik's CEO spoke proudly of the corporation's steely focus on hitting many ambitious climate targets, imploring that the 2050 target date for Net Zero is not an abstract international exercise, but about the lives of every living species on the planet.
Protecting water supply has never been more urgent in a warming world
The event also saw Arçelik launch a new technology designed to tackle household water waste. The new cutting edge SaveWater technology in dishwasher and tumble dryer-washing machine couple, unveiled exclusively for the first time at IFA Berlin, has been crafted to provide perfect cleaning, while helping households use water more efficiently.
The enhanced dishwasher technology saves the last rinsing water in the cycle to be used in the beginning of the next wash. While the SaveWater technology in the tumble dryer-washing machine couple saves up to 5.2 litres of water per load, the dishwasher uses only 6.9 litres of water to wash a full load with 16 place settings capacity, saving 2.6 litres of water every wash whilst offering the lowest water consumption in the Beko range. Developed with water efficiency at heart, the new SaveWater line by Beko gives back a total of up to 7.8 litres of water at every cycle, to you and the world*.
In addition to championing resource efficient innovations, Arçelik also leverages the latest technologies across its own production operations to identify water risks and increase efficiency. Over the past 12 years, Arçelik has saved 2.17 million cubic metres of water, equivalent to the daily water consumption of approximately 2.7 million Turkish households.
Additionally, Arçelik collaborates with both global and local partners, to engage communities and promote sustainable water management. This year, Arçelik is proud to commence its partnership with Water.org, to fund water access projects in Kenya to empower local communities and make a lasting impact to provide water and sanitation solutions.
Hakan Bulgurlu, Chief Executive Officer, Arçelik, said: "Our planet is in a state of climate emergency. Humanity stands at a crossroads in the history of our planet that will define us as a generation of doers or naysayers. At a time like this, sustainability should be a mandatory business model and not merely a cost driver.
"All of us in this industry need to prioritise innovation and commit to inventing technologies that make a real difference to energy, water, and environmental issues.
"At Arçelik we want to use our global status and resources to drive the international agenda for climate protection, greater product efficiencies, and durability to help us all get richer, without making our planet far poorer. The SaveWater product line demonstrates our ambition to be the world's most sustainable brand and embrace innovative technologies that will benefit people across the world.
"It's time to step up to the challenge, the reward for our collective climate action will be our security as a viable industry operating in stable markets where people are free to grow their businesses, their families, and their communities without the risk of climate catastrophe looming large on the horizon."
Arçelik is constantly innovating to meet the challenges of the 21st century, from resource efficiency to waste management and recycling. This also includes its approach to environmentally-friendly packaging alternatives. In 2021, Arçelik used 324 tons of 100% recycled and recyclable cardboard and 40 tons of molded pulp instead of EPS in the cooker, hood, small domestic appliances, and consumer electronics categories. Arçelik is the first home appliance manufacturer worldwide to offer a major domestic appliances line-up with EPS-free packaging.
These far-reaching commitments and actions have earned Arçelik important industry accolades, including being listed as the first and only Turkish manufacturer in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the third year in a row and acknowledged by the FTSE4Good and BIST Indexes.
Notes to editors
*Disclaimer: *Tumble Dryer saves up to 5.2L of water per cycle for full load 10kg declaration programme. Dishwasher saves 2.6L of water per cycle in Eco Program compared to similar Beko Dishwashers without SaveWater Technology. Beko SaveWater Line saves up to total 7.8 Litres of water at every cycle.
About Arçelik
With over 40,000 employees throughout the world, Arçelik's global operations including sales and marketing offices in 52 countries, and 28 production facilities in 9 countries with 12 brands (Arçelik, Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, ElektraBregenz, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, Defy, Altus, Dawlance, Voltas Beko). As Europe's second-largest white goods company by market share (based on volumes), Arçelik reached a consolidated turnover of 6.5 billion Euros in 2021. Arçelik's 28 R&D and Design Centers & Offices across the globe, are home to over 2,200 researchers and hold more than 3,000 international patent applications to date. In 2021, Arçelik achieved the highest score in the DHP Household Durables category for the 3rd year in a row in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment. Through its leadership position in sustainability and credible decarbonization roadmap for achieving net zero, Arçelik became the first and only company from its industry to receive the Terra Carta Seal by HRH Prince of Wales. Arçelik's mission is 'Respecting the World, Respected Worldwide.'
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SOURCE Arçelik | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/03/arelik-responds-earths-crisis-call-ifa-keynote-with-urgent-appeal-climate-action/ | 2022-09-03T11:19:04Z |
SINGAPORE, Sept. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- XT.COM, the world's first social-infused digital asset trading platform, is thrilled to announce its new listing of Lovely Inu ($LOVELY) under the platform's main zone (DeFi). The token will be available for trading as a LOVELY and Tether (USDT) trading pair on September 3, 2022, at 10:00 (UTC).
In addition, XT.COM will embrace and push $LOVELY trading for its thriving community. Meanwhile, the $LOVELY listing is designed to provide users with a competitive trading edge while giving them a safe and limitless immersive experience. Participants are advised to begin depositing on September 2, 2022, at 10:00 (UTC) to be eligible to trade the token.
Introducing $LOVELY, the Utility Currency of Lovely Inu
$LOVELY is a decentralized utility token and utilizes the high-end BEP-20 token standard built on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). Based on the BEP-20 demonstrates that the token was created with 10X faster block speed and over 100X cheaper gas fees.
The total supply of $LOVELY in the market is 55+ trillion. The boom of meme tokens gave birth to the LOVELY token, and it is now making a mark in the crypto space. The token has a large and meaningful ecosystem of crypto products, which includes LOVELY swap, LOVELY launchpad, LOVELY wallet, and LOVELY exchange.
The $LOVELY token is used as a medium of exchange to access all the aforementioned crypto services. Holding the token also allows users to purchase products and pay fees using it on the platform.
Traders will be encouraged to practically trade LOVELY/USDT when it goes live. Meanwhile, the withdrawal option will be available for users on September 4, 2022, at 10:00 (UTC).
About Lovely Inu (LOVELY)
Lovely Inu is a meme and decentralized launchpad platform built on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) and follows the BEP-20 token standard. The ecosystem of Lovely Inu encompasses LOVELY swap, LOVELY launchpad, LOVELY wallet, and LOVELY exchange. LOVELY is the ticker symbol of the platform's utility token.
Moreover, using the BEP-20 means that the technology eliminates energy and computational waste when using LOVELY. The company is not only proposing a highly earned procedure for users to acquire and hold $LOVELY, but they can also participate in different launchpads on the platform that are vetted and proposed by their talented team of experts.
Website: https://lovely.finance/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lovely_finance?s=09
About XT.COM
By consistently expanding its ecosystem, XT.COM is dedicated to providing users with the most secure, trusted, and hassle-free digital asset trading services. Our exchange is built from a desire to give everyone access to digital assets regardless where you are.
Founded in 2018, XT.COM now serves more than 6 million registered users, over 500,000+ monthly active users and 40+ million users in the ecosystem. Covering a rich variety of trading categories together with an NFT aggregated marketplace, our platform strives to cater to its large user base by providing a secure, trusted and intuitive trading experience.
As the world's first social-infused digital assets trading platform, XT.COM also supports social networking platform based transactions to make our crypto services more accessible to users all over the world. Furthermore, to ensure optimal data integrity and security, we see user security as our top priority at XT.COM.
Website: https://www.xt.com/
Telegram: https://t.me/XTsupport_EN
Twitter: https://twitter.com/XTexchange
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SOURCE XT.com | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/09/03/lovely-inu-lovely-gets-listed-xtcom/ | 2022-09-03T11:19:10Z |
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA workers are once again getting the agency's new moon rocket ready for its first test flight, and if all goes well the rocket will blast off during a two-hour launch window that starts at 2:17 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.
"We're going to show up, and we're going to try, and we're going to give it our best," said Mike Sarafin, NASA's Artemis mission manager, during a press briefing at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the 32-story-tall rocket, with a crew capsule on top, is waiting on the launch pad.
NASA's first effort to launch this rocket had to be scuttled on Monday morning after a sensor indicated that one of the rocket's four engines didn't seem to be cooling down to the proper temperature of approximately minus-420 degrees Fahrenheit.
After studying the problem and troubleshooting, officials said it's clear the engine was actually fine and a sensor was giving a false temperature reading. "We know we had a bad sensor," said John Honeycutt, program manager for this rocket at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
It's been almost 50 years since the space agency last launched a vehicle designed to carry people to the moon. NASA has named its new moon program Artemis, after the twin sister of the Greek god Apollo, and has vowed to put the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface.
No astronauts will be on board the Artemis rocket during its long-anticipated first mission, but this flight will be a critical test of how NASA's new vehicle will perform in space and during the fiery return to Earth.
The weather forecast for this launch window seems favorable, with a 60% chance that conditions will be right for liftoff. "Basically, the weather looks good," said weather officer Melody Lovin with Space Launch Delta 45. "I don't expect weather to be a show stopper."
But if weather does prevent the rocket from flying, NASA can try again on Monday.
Once this rocket successfully lifts off, it will send a crew capsule called Orion on a journey to orbit the moon, coming within about 60 miles of the lunar surface. After more than five weeks, it will return home and splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 11.
The next flight of this rocket will carry people, but it isn't scheduled until 2024. The agency is targeting a 2025 moon landing — although most space watchers expect delays, as this rocket is already years behind its original schedule. Congress had wanted it to fly in 2016, just five years after NASA retired its aging fleet of space shuttles.
Critics say the Artemis program will be too expensive to be sustainable if NASA depends on this rocket and capsule, which come with a hefty price tag. NASA's inspector general has said that each of the first few flights will cost more than $4 billion, and that doesn't include billions of dollars in development costs.
Meanwhile, the private company SpaceX, which currently ferries astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA, is developing its own megarocket and space vehicle called Starship. This rocket is expected to have its first flight soon and is designed to be both reusable and inexpensive. NASA has already said it will rely on SpaceX to develop Starship as a lunar lander, to get its astronauts from lunar orbit down to the surface.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/take-two-nasa-readies-its-second-launch-attempt-for-its-artemis-1-moon-mission | 2022-09-03T11:52:33Z |
Brenda "Jean" Yates Phillips It is with great sadness that we share the passing of Brenda "Jean "Yates Phillips on August 18, 2022, after a nearly two-year battle with endometrial adenocarcinoma. Jean passed away in her home with her family and husband of 47 years, Scott Phillips by her side. She was born October 12, 1950 in Memphis, Tennessee. At the age of fourteen, her family moved to Klamath Falls where she graduated from Klamath Union High School (class of 1968). Although Jean spent most of her life in Klamath Falls, she never forgot her southern roots which were evident in her speech and love of southern cooking. If there was a potluck to be had, you wanted Jean and her famous recipes in attendance. Jean married the love of her life, Scott Phillips on August 15, 1975. She was a mother of three, grandmother of eight, and great grandmother of 12. Jean dedicated herself to her family, career and community. In 1975 she began her career at AmeriTitle (formerly called Mountain Title Company) and never looked back. During her 47 year career, she was an executive of the AmeriTitle Corporation, serving on the Board of Directors and as Vice President and Manager of the Klamath and Lake County operations. Jean was an expert in all land matters involving Klamath Falls and surrounding areas. Her unmatched property knowledge was a constant resource to the community. Jean was well-known and respected for her dedication and philanthropic efforts with many community organizations. She was a member of the Klamath County Rotary for over 25 years and was a "Paul Harris Fellow." When Rotary took over the 4-H Auction at the Klamath County Fair, Jean was the force behind the scenes. She diligently tracked the sales and computerized all the information so that every child received the appropriate bid amount for their animal. Jean served on the United Way for 23 years and was also on the Board of Directors, acting as both president and campaign chair. She was also awarded the United Way Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her incredible service. Jean was active in both the American Red Cross and the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce. She was very passionate about her involvement with Sky Lakes Medical Center. Jean served on the Sky Lakes Board of Directors, as well as the Board of Directors for the Sky Lakes Foundation. She served on the committee advocating for the opening of the Ronald McDonald House suite within the hospital. Jean also served on the Board of the Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center. Jean is survived by her husband Scott; daughter and son-in-law Shannon and Aaron; son and daughter-in-law Bryan and Leah; son, Jeff; sister Betty Yates; sister, Ann Yates; grandchildren Paxton (Sierra Wilson), Trevon, Hayden, Mitchell, Autumn, Colton, Sophie, Katlyn (Spencer); 12 great grandchildren; and numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and many special friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Virginia Yates and sister, Jeanette Morehead. A celebration of life will be held at the Ross Ragland Theater, 218 N 7th Street, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601 on Sunday, October 2, 2022, at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Sky Lakes Cancer Treatment Center, 2610 Uhrmann Road, Klamath Falls, Oregon 97601, in her memory. Jean will be dearly missed but never forgotten. | https://www.heraldandnews.com/obituaries/yates-phillips-brenda-jean/article_b310d956-7939-5e81-98d6-7f7720b67a15.html | 2022-09-03T12:50:11Z |
Fuel leak disrupts NASA’s 2nd shot at launching moon rocket
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s new moon rocket sprang another hazardous leak Saturday, as the launch team began fueling it for liftoff on a test flight that must go well before astronauts climb aboard.
For the second time this week, the launch team began loading nearly 1 million gallons of fuel into the 322-foot (98-meter) rocket, the most powerful ever built by NASA. Monday’s attempt was halted by a bad engine sensor and leaking fuel.
As the sun rose, an over-pressure alarm sounded and the tanking operation was briefly halted, but no damage occurred and the effort resumed, NASA’s Launch Control reported. But minutes later, hydrogen fuel began leaking from the engine section at the bottom of the rocket. NASA halted the operation, while engineers scrambled to plug what was believed to be a gap around a seal.
The countdown clocks continued ticking toward an afternoon liftoff; NASA had two hours Saturday to get the rocket off.
NASA wants to send the crew capsule atop the rocket around the moon, pushing it to the limit before astronauts get on the next flight. If the five-week demo with test dummies succeeds, astronauts could fly around the moon in 2024 and land on it in 2025. People last walked on the moon 50 years ago.
Forecasters expected generally favorable weather at Kennedy Space Center, especially toward the end of the two-hour afternoon launch window.
At the same time, the rocket’s lead engineers expressed confidence in the tightened-up fuel lines and procedure changes.
On Monday, a sensor indicated one of the four engines was too warm, but engineers later verified it actually was cold enough. The launch team planned to ignore the faulty sensor this time around and rely on other instruments to ensure each main engine was properly chilled.
Before igniting, the main engines need to be as frigid as the liquid hydrogen fuel flowing into them at minus-420 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-250 degrees Celsius). If not, the resulting damage could lead to an abrupt engine shutdown and aborted flight.
Mission managers accepted the additional risk posed by the engine issue as well as a separate problem: cracks in the rocket’s insulating foam. But they acknowledged other problems could prompt yet another delay.
That didn’t stop thousands from jamming the coast to see the Space Launch System rocket soar. Local authorities expected massive crowds because of the long Labor Day holiday weekend.
The $4.1 billion test flight is the first step in NASA’s Artemis program of renewed lunar exploration, named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology.
Twelve astronauts walked on the moon during NASA’s Apollo program, the last time in 1972.
Artemis — years behind schedule and billions over budget — aims to establish a sustained human presence on the moon, with crews eventually spending weeks at a time there. It’s considered a training ground for Mars.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/03/fuel-leak-disrupts-nasas-2nd-shot-launching-moon-rocket/ | 2022-09-03T12:50:26Z |
Minnesota Star Tribune
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’
The highly anticipated TV series, set thousands of years before J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, starts with a whimper. There’s a rock-breaking contest and a battle with the closest thing Middle-earth has to the Abominable Snowman. But for the most part, the first two episodes are all about exposition. Die-hard “LOTR” fans won’t mind. They’ll adore the Brigadoon-like settings and colorful new characters, especially Owain Arthur’s Prince Durin IV, a huggable version of Yosemite Sam. But those hungry for action will be more satisfied with this fall’s other big fantasy series, “House of the Dragon.” 9 p.m. ET Thursday, Prime Video
‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’
Michelle Yeoh’s titanic performance is only the beginning of the fun in this phantasmagorical comic adventure. She plays the operator of a drab, fading laundromat who gets sucked into multiverses where she’s a noir movie femme fatale, a superhero, a spy and more. Also starring James Hong and a virtually unrecognizable Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything” is so packed with great stuff you’ll want to watch it more than once. On-demand services
‘Fakes’
Teenage girls once again take center stage, this time in a dramedy about a fake-ID operation that threatens a friendship and their freedom. Emilija Baranac and Jennifer Tong have great fun breaking the fourth wall, flirting directly with viewers in a way that suggests that they can get away with anything – and they know it. Friday, Netflix
‘Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert’
The remaining members of Foo Fighters are uniting for a special live performance that honors the band’s drummer, who died in March. The concert at Wembley Stadium will also feature Chrissie Hynde, Stewart Copeland, James Gang, Liam Gallagher and Chris Rock. A second tribute is set for Sept. 27 in Los Angeles with high-profile Americans like Miley Cyrus and Joan Jett. 11:30 a.m. Saturday Paramount+. MTV’s YouTube channels, Pluto TV. A one-hour edited version will air at 9 p.m. Saturday, CBS
‘Elvis’
Baz Luhrmann’s flashy portrait of the troubled singer, who’s played by Austin Butler, is short on insight into what made him tick (we barely even meet wife Priscilla and daughter Lisa Marie). But you won’t be bored as it zips from his Tennessee origins to his stint as a Hollywood star to the Vegas residency the movie blames for his downfall. Well, along with Machiavellian manager Tom Parker. Played with cunning and wit by Tom Hanks, it’s Parker who is the real focus of “Elvis.” HBO Max | https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/5-shows-to-watch-lord-of-the-rings-tv-series-slow-to-unleash-its-full/article_f3b698ca-2a4c-11ed-b6f6-576d78dac2a9.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:08Z |
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
It’s just a festival, but it makes it feel like there’s something right in the world.
The Cheyenne Greek Festival is making its return on Sept. 16 by turning the Frontier Park Exhibition Hall into one big celebration of Greek culture with food, drink, dance, music and community spirit that welcomes all walks of life.
The Greek community in Cheyenne, while still lively, consists of a smaller concentration than in years past. George Costopoulis, the chairman of the Greek Festival, said the majority of attendees are of Greek heritage and are members of Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Christian Church.
Saints Constantine and Helen hosts the event as a fundraiser for the church’s general fund. Attending might seem like a step outside the comfort zone for those not familiar with traditional greek celebration, but rest assured, this is a good-times celebration.
“I kind of walked out to the cemetery and it’s like ‘little Greek town’ out there. There used to be a lot of Greeks (in Cheyenne),” Costopoulis said in a phone interview. “Just like anything else, people move away. I moved away. A lot of people after they grow up, they go to bigger cities.
“Ethnically, we’re not that large, to be honest with you. Our focus really is more on orthodoxy and the Christian aspect of it all.”
The religious and cultural aspects of the celebration go hand in hand. Neither interferes with the other, and they don’t detract from the core of the event – fostering camaraderie.
It certainly takes a community effort to put this all on, with how much food and drink must be supplied to satisfy what could be several thousand attendees. Adding to the flavor is the fact that the majority of the work is done by multi-generational Greek families and longtime members of the Greek Orthodox church in Cheyenne.
“We organize the baking with all the families that come down and help out,” Costopoulis said. “Next week we’re gonna bake, I don’t know how many loaves of Greek bread. Then we’re gonna go and bake the rosettes pastries and some of the other pastries next week as well.”
“It’s kind of a big production. It’s not Cheyenne Frontier Days, but it’s one of the next best things.”
The event has maintained the same atmosphere since its creation some 30 years ago.
Many of the members of the greek community have been attendees since it was founded, it’s that integrated as a local tradition. Costopoulis compared regional Greek festivals to a kind of Thanksgiving gathering, where family members and friends travel to meet at the gathering.
Denver has a large Greek festival that was recently held, to which many Cheyenne residents travel, but the event has a door charge. Conversely, the Cheyenne Greek Festival does not charge for entry, only food and drink, and expects that there will be a large number residents traveling from greater Wyoming to be in attendances.
Costopoulis is also expecting visitors from Nebraska and Colorado.
Jim Messer, a member of Saints Constantine and Helen, has been volunteering with the festival for 30 years and served as chairman twice.
His parents, who were Greek immigrants, played a vital role in building the church. That commitment is why he’s still volunteering today.
“We were raised in the church. It was just the way my parents raised us,” he said. “‘Go the extra yard for your church, church members are your family as well.’ The big thing is it helps fundraise for our church. The other thing is that it’s a great community that people in Cheyenne seem to love.”
Messer oversees set-up and tear-down of the event, among other smaller responsibilities. He regularly witnesses teamwork and community involvement necessary to keep the festival running, from ROTC from local high schools lending a head for tear-down to Kiwanis club members helping cook.
The most encouraging to Messer are the younger members of the church who remain heavily involved.
“Now that I’m 61, I can’t jump up into the reefer truck anymore,” he said, laughing. “But I’ve got some younger guys that are gonna just take everything out of the cooler and unload the semi truck.”
The Cheyenne Greek Festival will run from Sept 16-17. Entry is free, food and drink will be purchasable with either cash or credit card.
Will Carpenter is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter. He can be reached by email at wcarpenter@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3135. Follow him on Twitter @will_carp_. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/greek-festival-to-return-after-two-year-hiatus/article_54d6abf6-2aff-11ed-84a6-8380e8dcf318.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:14Z |
Chicago Tribune
In the three-part Discovery+ docuseries “House of Hammer,” about allegations against actor Armie Hammer, someone makes a sharp observation: “Nobody cared about anything but the word ‘cannibal.’” That’s because text messages – allegedly from Hammer (who declined to be interviewed for the series) to women with whom he was intimate – were made public last year, in which he talks about his cannibalistic fantasies. But those interviewed for the series are clear about other concerning aspects of his personal conduct they describe as manipulative, coercive, violent, abusive and possibly criminal.
“House of Hammer” also delves into the backstory of the Hammer family itself, a saga of power and wealth going back several generations. Casey Hammer, who is Armie Hammer’s aunt, provides her own account of the family’s dynamics and inner workings, and why the allegations against her nephew sound, in her words, “familiar.”
Hammer first came to prominence playing the double role of twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in the 2010 Facebook origin story “The Social Network,” later gaining a higher profile for his performance in 2017′s “Call Me By Your Name.” But by early 2021, in the wake of allegations first aired on social media, he was dropped from upcoming projects – and by his representatives as well.
The aims of “House of Hammer” appear to be similar to those of the 2019 Lifetime docuseries “Surviving R. Kelly,” giving alleged victims an opportunity to tell their stories. Sexual sadism is a recurring theme. The whiplash of effusive compliments and near constant attention – love bombing – and then pushing women to go along with situations they say they found frightening or unsafe.
Directors Elli Hakami and Julian P. Hobbs adhere to Discovery’s true-crime house style, which tends toward lurid stylistic choices. Some interview subjects are seated in front of a background that suggests an artfully lit concrete bunker. The ominous musical score is full of grinding metallic sound effects. I find it all so offensive and unnecessary because it detracts from the seriousness of the endeavor. This is an upsetting and complicated story, period – it doesn’t need window dressing to underscore any of it.
“House of Hammer” most prominently features Hammer’s ex-girlfriend Courtney Vucekovich, who is based in Dallas. Early in their relationship – long before meeting in person – Hammer was planning a cross-country road trip and wanted to stop and see her. But she had already made plans to be out of town. That apparently didn’t stop him. He went to Dallas anyway, found her building and texted her photos of it.
The series shows the ensuing conversation through screenshots of their messages, and it’s worth noting that you, the viewer, assume what you are seeing is real because it looks real. And maybe it is. But I’m uncomfortable treating the series as a journalistic endeavor, no matter how sympathetic I may personally find Vucekovich’s story.
When she saw the photo, she texted: “Leave. Why are you there?”
“Trying to find your scent,” he replied. And then: “Going in. Nothing you can do to stop me.”
He allegedly leaves a note at her building that says: “I’m going to bite the (expletive) out of you.”
Vucekovich is insightful about why, at the time, she didn’t cut off contact altogether. “As crazy as it sounds, I took it metaphorically, not literally. I thought he just wanted the intimacy, the closeness … (but) when I told my friends about us talking, I left that part out. I think that says a lot. I think when you really care for somebody, it’s kind of crazy what your mind is willing to look past or justify.”
After that, things got both better (a weekslong romantic getaway to the desert in California) and much, much worse – she’s too rattled to talk about a particular sexual encounter that she says left her so shaken, she ultimately ended things between them.
Another one of his alleged victims interviewed points out that Hammer “used BDSM as a smokescreen ultimately to hurt women and inflict pain on women, which is the scariest part.”
There is also an explicit rape allegation made by a different woman, a client represented by attorney Gloria Allred, the latter of whom is interviewed here. Allred makes the distinction that if you’re engaging in BDSM (bondage, dominance, submission, sadism and masochism), it “doesn’t mean that anyone can do anything to anyone during a sexual relationship. If she withdraws her consent and he continues, that’s a crime. Simple as that. Kinky is not against the law. Rape is.” (Hammer has not been charged with any crimes.)
The portions featuring Casey Hammer, who is in her early 60s, provide context that paints a picture of violence in the home growing up (she says her father Julian was physically abusive to her mother; that would be Armie’s grandparents), dysfunction (the men of the family were unfaithful to their wives and dog-eat-dog to one another) and includes possible statutory rape (she remembers parties her father would host in his home in the ‘70s after her parents divorced; the guests were often teenage girls and she presumes he was having sex with them). There were always loaded guns in the house, sometimes they were pointed at Casey herself. Her father shot and killed someone in 1955, but ultimately nothing came of it; Julian claimed self-defense and it is speculated the family’s influence ensured the matter simply went away.
The oil tycoon Armand Hammer – Armie’s great-grandfather – is the one who accumulated the family’s enormous wealth and exerted control over everyone in his personal and professional life. “Magnify ‘Succession’ a million times and it was my family,” says Casey. She also claims her grandfather had a file on anyone she (or other family members) dated or were associated with. He was connected to Richard Nixon’s Watergate break-in and pled guilty to making illegal contributions to Nixon’s reelection campaign. Hammer would later make sizable donations to causes championed by Prince Charles, allegedly in an effort to whitewash his reputation, before George Bush ultimately pardoned him in 1989.
“In terms of controlling people and making them dance his tune,” a former employee observes, “there is no comparison.”
While Casey gives her insight into what life was like inside her family, the series has less to say about her brother Michael, who is Armie’s father, once he got married and started a family of his own.
What were things like inside the home in which Armie was raised? No one here is able to say. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/todo/house-of-hammer-review-women-who-say-they-were-abused-by-actor-armie-hammer-speak/article_16a9daba-2b04-11ed-9ade-2b9a9caab9b9.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:21Z |
Charlie Rowe and Pablo the monkey attend a special screening of “Gigi & Nate” held at The Huffington Center in Los Angeles, California on Aug. 26, 2022. FS/AdMedia via ZUMA Press Wire/TNS
In “Gigi & Nate,” a film directed by BAFTA Award-winning Irishman Nick Hamm of the far superior 2016 drama “The Journey,” London-born Charlie Rowe (“Rocketman”) plays Nate Gibson of Nashville, Tennessee, a young man left quadriplegic by a life-threatening bacterial infection.
After attempting suicide, Nate gets a service animal, a once abused capuchin monkey named Gigi (Allie), and his mood improves dramatically. But an unpleasant encounter with an animal rights activist “Karen” named Chloe Gaines (Welker White in a thankless role) endangers Nate and Gigi’s future together. Will Gaines be able to have capuchins declared illegal as service animals in Tennessee?
One of the more interesting things about “Gigi & Nate,” which is reportedly based on a true story, is how the film fails to acknowledge some obvious things and chooses to focus on others.
Nate’s predicament is indeed dire, especially for a young man facing life as someone unable to help himself. But he has a close family to support him. His mother Claire (Academy Award-winner Marcia Gay Harden), who always seems to have come from the hairdresser, is his strongest ally. But Nate also has his “day-drinking,” 80-year-old granny Mama Blanche (Diane Ladd), his sisters Annabelle (Hannah Riley) and the older Katy (Aussie Josephine Langford). Nate also has a caring personal aide named Nogo (Sasha Compere). Nate’s father Dan (Jim Belushi) has some sort of a high-powered career. We don’t know much about it, but it appears to keep the family in very comfortable style.
When Claire realizes the seriousness of her son’s condition, she orders a helicopter to transport him like it is second nature to her. The Gibsons live in a plantation-style Nashville McMansion of dubious taste. Nate has his own private home in the back, a glass-walled modern facility and sanctuary, complete with a mechanized sling chair Nogo uses to wash him and ferry him about on a motorized rail. The family had to sell the summer home in North Carolina to build it. Boo hoo.
But honestly, does anyone even mention how much worse off Nate would be if the Gibsons weren’t rich?
Gigi and the family dog Banjo get into messy (and tedious) scrapes to the tune of bad pop music. Nate wears a colostomy bag and explains more than once that he “cannot go to the bathroom.” But we never see or hear about Gigi’s personal hygiene needs in spite of the fact that it would only be natural to wonder about them. “Karen” Chloe isn’t the only person who thinks having Gigi climb the shelves in the cereal aisle of the supermarket to retrieve Nate’s favorite brand is a bit icky.
In one sequence, Nate is invited to a raucous party by a girl he met in North Carolina (Zoe Margaret Colletti). He takes Gigi with him. They both drink. Guess how that goes. We all know that the monkey that played Crystal the smoking capuchin in “The Hangover Part II” got hooked on cigarettes, right?
Chloe has a busload of truly obnoxious protesters at her disposal. Is the point of “Gigi & Nate” to demonize animal rights protesters? Rowe is fine, if a tad generic as Nate. The actor and the monkey have a connection. But is it love or love of peanut butter that keeps them together? | https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/todo/movie-review-problematic-gigi-nate-aims-for-the-heartstrings-misses/article_9c04c314-2b04-11ed-abd0-a7fe8f2c56f4.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:27Z |
Melissa Villaseñor, Aristotle Athari and Alex Moffat are exiting “Saturday Night Live” ahead of the sketch comedy show’s 48th season.
The Los Angeles Times confirmed Thursday that the trio of comedians are the latest cast members to leave the series following the bombshell departures of Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kyle Mooney and Kate McKinnon in May.
Repertory player Villaseñor joined “Saturday Night Live” in the show’s 42nd season in 2016. The actor and musician from Whittier, California, was known during her time on the program for delivering lively impressions of Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Repertory player Moffat also made his “Saturday Night Live” debut during Season 42. The Chicago-bred comic and writer entertained fans of the series with impressions of Eric Trump and Mark Zuckerberg, as well as “Weekend Update” characters Guy Who Just Bought a Boat and Film Critic Terry Fink.
Featured player Athari just started on “Saturday Night Live” last year during Season 47 alongside fellow newcomers James Austin Johnson and Sarah Sherman. During his short stint on the program, the comedian and writer from L.A. and Texas played standout characters such as improv artist Angelo and stand-up robot Laughingtosh 3000.
Athari, Moffat and Villaseñor’s exits come several months after Davidson, Bryant, Mooney and McKinnon received warm and emotional sendoffs during the Season 47 finale of “Saturday Night Live.”
Remaining members of the “SNL” ensemble include Sherman, Johnson, Mikey Day, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Chris Redd, Cecily Strong, Kenan Thompson, Bowen Yang, Andrew Dismukes and Punkie Johnson, as well as “Weekend Update” co-hosts Michael Che and Colin Jost.
The 48th season of “SNL” is set to premiere on NBC this fall. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/todo/saturday-night-live-loses-3-more-cast-members-moffat-villase-or-and-athari/article_54d3f33e-2a32-11ed-976d-2b6b7035d38b.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:33Z |
SATURDAY
Acoustic singer-songwriter Jonathan Foster performs: 8 p.m., The Great Untamed, 209 S. 3rd St.
SUNDAY
Walk with a Doc: 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Washington Park west shelter No. 3. Bring walking shoes and a friend. For more information, email questions@ivinsonhospital.org.
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
MONDAY
WHAT’S CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY: Albany County and city of Laramie offices are closed; the landfill is closed; trash and recycling collection that normally happens on Monday will be done Tuesday; post office, closed; most banks, closed; most retail and grocery stores, open; University of Wyoming administrative offices are closed and no classes; on the UW campus, Coe Library, Half Acre Recreation and Wellness Center, the UW Art Museum, UW Geological Museum and Wyoming Union are closed, and most transit services will be unavailable; Boomerang office, closed.
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Veterans service office hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Veterans Service Center at the UW Student Union, 1000 E. University Ave.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
TUESDAY
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Reception at Wyoming Women’s History House: 4-6 p.m., 317 S. 2nd St., to celebrate 152 years since Louisa Swain’s vote in the first Wyoming election in which women voted with the same rights that men enjoyed in Wyoming. Free and open to the public.
WEDNESDAY
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Ivinson’s women’s health team hosts prenatal education: 5:30 p.m. in the Summit conference room. For more information and registration, visit ivinsonhospital.org/childbirth.
Free “American Trombone!” recital at UW: 7:30 p.m., Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall.
THURSDAY
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Business After Hours: 5:30-7 p.m., Western States Bank, 3420 E. Grand Ave.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St.
FRIDAY
NU2U street dance and costume party: 5-11 p.m., in front of the store at 5th and Garland streets in Laramie. Open for all ages.
Sept. 10
22nd annual Wyoming Buddy Walk: 9 a.m. to noon, Washington Park band shell.
Wyoming Archaeology Fair: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wyoming Territorial Prison and Historic Site. Free and open to the public, the fair will feature activities and educational booths, and the Wind River Dancers will perform traditional indigenous dance styles from 1-2 p.m.
Tailgate party for Wesley Foundation’s 100th anniversary: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tailgate Alley located in the stadium lot next to the indoor practice facility. The student ministry is marking 100 years at the University of Wyoming and First United Methodist. Free lunch picnic.
Summer Market Day at the fairgrounds: 3-6 p.m., beef barn.
Sept. 11
Special worship service for Wesley Foundation: 10 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 1215 Gibbon St., followed by a potluck. Special guest Bishop Karen Olivetto will attend and preach. All are invited to reminisce with former Wesley Foundation members and meet the recent generation of the organization.
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Sept. 12
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
Albany County Historic Preservation Board meets: 6 p.m. via Microsoft Teams. To attend and receive an invite, email a request to kcbard@charter.net.
Sept. 13
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Albany County Republican Party meets: 6 p.m., Albany County Public Library.
Sept. 14
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Ivinson’s women’s health team hosts prenatal education: 5:30 p.m. in the Summit conference room. For more information and registration, visit ivinsonhospital.org/childbirth.
Sept. 15
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St.
Sept. 16
Albany County CattleWomen meet: 11:30 a.m., location tbd. Visit wyaccw.com in the week before the meeting for location and more information.
Sept. 17
Walk to End Alzheimer’s: 9 a.m., Optimist Park, with music and food following the walk.
Higher Ground Fair: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site in Laramie. A celebration of the six Rocky Mountain states and the native first nations that also call the region home. Proceeds from ticket sales (kids admitted free) help support Feeding Laramie Valley. Fore more information or to volunteer, call 307-223-4300 or email info@highergroundfair.org.
Sept. 18
Higher Ground Fair: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site in Laramie. A celebration of the six Rocky Mountain states and the native first nations that also call the region home. Proceeds from ticket sales (kids admitted free) help support Feeding Laramie Valley. Fore more information or to volunteer, call 307-223-4300 or email info@highergroundfair.org.
Walk with a Doc: 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Washington Park west shelter No. 3. Bring walking shoes and a friend. For more information, email questions@ivinsonhospital.org.
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Sept. 19
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Veterans service office hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Veterans Service Center at the UW Student Union, 1000 E. University Ave.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
Sept. 20
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Sept. 21
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Ivinson’s women’s health team hosts prenatal education: 5:30 p.m. in the Summit conference room. For more information and registration, visit ivinsonhospital.org/childbirth.
Sept. 22
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St.
Sept. 25
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Sept. 26
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
America Sewing Guild Laramie Chapter meets: 7 p.m., United Methodist Church, 1215 E. Gibbon St.
Sept. 27
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Sept. 28
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Sept. 29
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St.
Sept. 30
Downtown Laramie Farmers Market: 3-7 p.m., parking lot north of Depot Park on South 1st Street.
Oct. 2
Walk with a Doc: 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Washington Park west shelter No. 3. Bring walking shoes and a friend. For more information, email questions@ivinsonhospital.org.
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Oct. 3
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Veterans service office hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Veterans Service Center at the UW Student Union, 1000 E. University Ave.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
Oct. 4
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Oct. 5
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Ivinson’s women’s health team hosts prenatal education: 5:30 p.m. in the Summit conference room. For more information and registration, visit ivinsonhospital.org/childbirth.
Oct. 6
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Diabetes Support Group meets: 5:30-6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Email questions@ivinsosnhospital.org for the link.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St.
Oct. 8
12th annual Kids Pumpkin Walk: Noon to 4 p.m., Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site. A fun family event featuring outdoor activities, indoor games, education, candy, treats and plenty of pumpkins. Cost is $4 for adults, 17 and younger admitted free.
Oct. 9
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Oct. 10
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Veterans service office hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Veterans Service Center at the UW Student Union, 1000 E. University Ave.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
Oct. 11
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Albany County Republican Party meets: 6 p.m., Albany County Public Library.
Oct. 12
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Ivinson’s women’s health team hosts prenatal education: 5:30 p.m. in the Summit conference room. For more information and registration, visit ivinsonhospital.org/childbirth.
Oct. 13
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St.
Oct. 16
Walk with a Doc: 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Washington Park west shelter No. 3. Bring walking shoes and a friend. For more information, email questions@ivinsonhospital.org.
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Albany County Historic Preservation Board meets: 6 p.m. the second Monday of the month via Microsoft Teams. To attend and receive an invite, email a request to kcbard@charter.net.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Oct. 17
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Veterans service office hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Veterans Service Center at the UW Student Union, 1000 E. University Ave.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
Oct. 18
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Oct. 19
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Ivinson’s women’s health team hosts prenatal education: 5:30 p.m. in the Summit conference room. For more information and registration, visit ivinsonhospital.org/childbirth.
Oct. 20
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St.
Oct. 21
Albany County CattleWomen meet: 11:30 a.m., location tbd. Visit wyaccw.com in the week before the meeting for location and more information.
Oct. 23
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Oct. 24
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Veterans service office hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Veterans Service Center at the UW Student Union, 1000 E. University Ave.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
America Sewing Guild Laramie Chapter meets: 7 p.m., United Methodist Church, 1215 E. Gibbon St.
Oct. 25
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Oct. 26
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Oct. 27
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St.
Oct. 30
Laramie Connections free Meet and Eat dinner and faith gathering: 4:30 p.m., First Baptist Church, 1517 E. Canby St.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 6:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Oct. 31
Alcoholics Anonymous meets: Daily at various times in person or on Zoom. For more information, call 307-399-0590 or visit area76aawyoming.org or aa.org.
Veterans service office hours: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Veterans Service Center at the UW Student Union, 1000 E. University Ave.
Survivors of Suicide Support Group: Meets from 5:30-6:45 p.m. at Hospice of Laramie House, 1754 Centennial Drive.
Nov. 1
Prayers & Squares Quilting Group meets: 9 a.m., Room 1 of Hunter Hall at St. Matthews Cathedral.
Nov. 2
Laramie Tai Chi and Tea meets: 1:30 p.m. outdoors at Harbon Park, North 14th and Gibbon streets. For more information, visit visit laramietaichiandtea.org.
Ivinson’s women’s health team hosts prenatal education: 5:30 p.m. in the Summit conference room. For more information and registration, visit ivinsonhospital.org/childbirth.
Nov. 3
Caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s/dementia: 3 p.m., meet for coffee, pie, understanding and comradeship at Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, 204 S. 30th St. For more information, call 307-745-6451.
Al-Anon Family Group meets: 5:30 p.m. at the Presbyterian church, 215 S. 11th St. For relatives and friends of alcoholics. For information, call Jane at 307-760-4683 or Mark at 307-760-4716.
Diabetes Support Group meets: 5:30-6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Email questions@ivinsosnhospital.org for the link.
Fly fishing rod building for veterans: 7-9 p.m., Laramie Chamber Business Alliance office, 528 S. Adams St. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/announcements/whats-happening-sept-3-2022/article_eb81ddf8-2aca-11ed-9367-a73b432f1c5b.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:39Z |
For decades, coal has been king for Wyoming’s economy and America’s energy production.
As political and economic climates continue to change toward more diverse electricity production and green energy, the Cowboy State also has become a leader in carbon research and evolution.
To that end, a group of University of Wyoming scientists is working to push Wyoming’s dependence on mining fossil fuels into using the state’s abundant carbon deposits in other ways. The researchers believe there are a range of cleaner, more efficient uses for the mineral — and they are coming closer to bringing those products into daily life.
On Friday, crews broke ground on a piece of land near Gillette that will soon become the site of a coal byproducts demonstration project. The UW Center for Carbon Capture and Conversion is leading the effort, partnering with Atlas Carbon and Wood for the leasing and engineering of infrastructure and technology.
The project will demonstrate how coal can be used to create a range of products such as asphalt, bricks and soil amendments that don’t require the pollutive burning process used in energy production.
“We’ve got some other things that we can use coal for, and I’m a strong believer in repurposing something like that,” said Trina Pfeiffer, one of the researchers on the project. “It’s a natural resource; why wouldn’t you use it?”
A refinery is the result of investigations UW researchers began in 2016 to explore ways solvent extraction and pyrolysis could be used to create other useful things from coal byproducts.
Solvent extraction is when liquids are removed from coal. These liquids can be used to make asphalt for roads and shingles.
The process of pyrolysis includes heating coal at a temperature up to 1,562 degrees Fahrenheit to remove volatile matter, or “the material you don’t want,” Pfeiffer said.
The process creates a material called coal char, which can be used to create bricks and other building materials like insulation foam and concrete. The university already has built a small house made of char bricks and grown corn and sugar beets with char soil amendment, which helps with water retention.
Once the pyrolysis unit is completed around the end of 2024, researchers will be able to demonstrate their work on a larger scale. This will mean transitioning from processing multiple kilograms of coal per day to multiple tons per day, Pfeiffer said.
The solvent extraction unit is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025.
The products can provide environmentally friendly alternatives to materials that are already in common use, Pfeiffer said. Char bricks are cured by the sun rather than in a kiln, which cuts down on carbon dioxide emissions. And unlike traditional asphalt, coal asphalt doesn’t use petroleum.
The solvent extraction process does emit some CO2, but researchers also are exploring ways to capture the harmful gas that’s produced in the project to reach a net zero emissions goal for the project.
While still in early stages, one piece of technology that could be used to capture emissions is a bioreactor that uses CO2 to feed algae. As the algae grows, it can be used as a soil amendment.
Economic impact
These new technologies come at a time when business leaders across Wyoming are scrambling to find ways to keep the state’s economy afloat as clean energy takes priority over coal.
“I think it really helps the future of coal,” Pfeiffer said. “It rebrands it into something that is not ‘evil.’”
Less than 15 years ago, coal accounted for 50% of the energy production in the United States, with more than 40% for that coming from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.
That has done a 180-degree turn, with coal now accounting for 10.5% of the nation’s energy consumption, outpaced by renewables at 12.2%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Overall, petroleum accounts for the largest slice of the U.S. energy diet at about 35%, with natural gas at 31.3%. Nuclear is the caboose on this train at about 8%.
The key to the UW project’s success will be creating a product that is affordable enough to appeal to a wide range of consumers, and doing it in a way that makes money for Wyoming, said UW economist Rob Godby.
While throughout Wyoming’s history with coal, the resource has been primarily used for one thing, Godby said — energy production. New technologies open the potential for the state to diversify its economy by offering a wide range of items that are made with the material.
“We could develop technologies that create demand for coal, but the real value in using that coal is turning it into higher-value products,” Godby said.
This could be a challenge, especially since the petroleum industry already creates so many materials with its byproducts, Godby said. Still, the effort would be well worth it in a state that relies on coal revenues for education and other services in the absence of a large tax base.
Pfeiffer said that while she doesn’t know whether or not the technology being developed and tested through the Gillette-area demonstration will keep all of the state’s large open-pit coal mines open, it has the potential to save some of the smaller ones.
“I believe in the program and the process, and I believe it could help the country, the world and closer to home it’s going to help Wyoming a lot,” she said. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/cleaning-up-coal-uw-researchers-collaborate-to-demonstrate-byproduct-production/article_f16cd254-28a4-11ed-ba89-371e7fc08b65.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:45Z |
Familiar and not always productive patterns have emerged over the past two decades for schools and communities shattered by mass shootings.
Some of those — including knee-jerk and politically motivated reactions — can actually work against solving root problems associated with school violence, according to security experts and others on the front lines of the issue.
In the immediate aftermath of a shooting, the news media, gun control and gun rights activists and mental health advocates all now routinely swoop in with dramatic images of grieving parents and memorial services, with emotional calls to action.
Federal and state lawmakers have also thrown money at the problem — often via one-time or short-term grants — to up security with more cameras, reinforced doors and more campus police and mental health professionals.
“You see the knee-jerk reactions of legislators. And it is frequently one-time, shot in the arm grants,” said Kenneth Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, based in Ohio.
For many police departments and school districts — especially smaller ones — jumping through the hoops of applying for federal and other grants is too daunting of a challenge to take on. And if they do plunge into that process and are successful at securing a grant, the pot isn’t infinite. They’ll have to figure out long-term funding after the original money runs out.
“The grant process is not simple.You can put a lot of work into it and end up with nothing,” said Martin Sayre, community engagement commander for the St. Cloud Police Department, in Minnesota. “I’m not a professional grant writer.”
The St. Cloud police force has 116 sworn officers — including school resource officers at local schools.
Sayre said new and enhanced security efforts frequently require financial and operational coordination between law enforcement and school districts.
Striking a balance
Mac Sosa, chief of police in Stevensville, Montana (south of Missoula), said his law enforcement agency agreed to a 50/50 cost split with local schools for an on-campus officer. That is a common formula among school districts with school resource officers (SROs) on campus.
Sosa said he also tries to leverage regional and national training programs and resources related to active shooters, threat assessments and behavior interventions.
But Trump said the problem is getting longer-term sustainable investment in school security and moving beyond vendors offering infrastructure and “gadgets.”
“We are running into a number of people who want to do school safety on the cheap,” said Trump. “Many would rather do a one-time shot in the arm and install a few cameras. You have to strike a balance.”
No one solution
Sayre said police and school districts need to realize that all schools and campuses are not created equal when addressing safety and the deterrence of violence.
Newer and older school buildings are unique animals — as are urban schools compared to suburban and rural counterparts.
“They are all different,” Sayre said, adding that St. Cloud police are looking at how best to secure and access classrooms and other doors after the widely-publicized school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
Sayre said secure and reinforced doors have proven effective in protecting students in past shootings. However, police had trouble entering the classroom during the Uvalde shooting.
Some police departments are making sure officers have keys, key FOBs and maps of schools as they learn the lessons from the delayed Texas response.
“That is one thing we are working on in the short-run and long-term,” Sayre said.
Political corners
The national challenge is evolving the conversation from short-term attention and funding to long-term solutions that address school violence and its underlying causes.
“Are you being proactive or are you being reactionary?” said Amy Klinger, an education professor with Ashland University in Ohio and director of programs at the Educator’s School Safety Network.
Klinger said reactionary approaches too-often center on political and media fights over guns and on active shooter drills that appease local worries but don’t actually fix anything.
“Everyone goes into their corner and screams at each other,” Klinger said of the discourse and politics.
There were 97 shootings in classrooms and on campuses nationally this past school year and 943 gunfire incidents at American schools since 2013, according to Ronn Nozoe, CEO of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
The Virginia-based group hosted a forum Aug. 22 with current and former principals from schools that have experienced high-profile shootings including in Columbine, Colorado and Parkland, Florida.
The forum focused on how school administrators who have dealt with previous shootings can help districts and communities who have suffered new violence.
In June, President Joe Biden and Congress approved a school safety package after the Uvalde shooting.
Deputy Secretary of Education Cindy Martin said the measure offers more than $2 billion to help schools hire more mental health counselors and expand behavioral health services for students.
Federal school safety grant programs are administered by various agencies including the U.S Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Education. Those streams of funding have helped grow the school security to a $3.1 billion sector, according to a 2021 analysis by consulting firm Omdia. That is up from $2.7 billion in 2017.
The measure — which lacked enough congressional support for restrictive new gun controls — also offers $750 million to help states create and implement crisis intervention plans and to enact “red flag” laws that allow police to seize firearms from individuals deemed dangerous. The new federal measure law, which could face challenges under the Second Amendment, also implements enhanced gun purchase screening for buyers under the age of 21.
Red flag laws vary from state-to-state and give police powers to potentially confiscate firearms from individuals deemed dangerous. They do face criticism from Second Amendment adherents and scrutiny from civil libertarians concerned about potential overreach and use against those with unpopular or anti-government stances.
“We know big problems take big solutions,” said Martin at the NASSP event held in Littleton, Colorado where 15 people were killed at Columbine High School in 1999.
The difficulty has been getting those “big solutions” to stick.
Same old, same old?
Gun control advocates argue that without new restrictions — particularly on the AR-15 rifles favored by many school shooters — the carnage will continue.
Others say past efforts to focus on mental and behavioral health and to address a school bullying culture that, it’s been suggested, feeds the potential for shootings, have been short-lived.
“That’s cutting it for about a week and the kids are back to the same old ways,” said Brenda High, who founded Bully Police USA. High alleges her 13-year-old son committed suicide after being mistreated at his school in Washington state.
High, who now lives in Idaho, works to set up peer councils at schools to help address bullying.
Michelle Kefford, principal at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida where shooter Nikolas Cruz killed 17 and injured 17 more on Valentine’s Day 2018, said during the Aug. 22 forum in Colorado that the focus needs to be on getting students to trust teachers and administrators enough to tell them about distressed classmates and potential threats. That, Kefford said, is violence as important as increasing spending for security and mental health initiatives.
But that requires engaging students and overcoming unwritten school yard codes and social norms against snitching.
Kefford and the other principals at the Aug. 22 event also said the scars from school violence never completely fade and memories can easily be retriggered and become retraumatizing.
In Florida, that’s happening as sentencing hearings are underway this month for Cruz, who could face life in prison or the death penalty.
“That is opening wounds for all of my staff, all of my students and the entire community,” she said. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/after-the-bloodshed-communities-endure-demand-long-term-solutions-once-media-attention-political-theater-fades/article_356e6598-2adb-11ed-b630-6f652a6e9108.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:52Z |
CONCORD, N.H. — As the sun set in Wyoming, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney described her blowout loss as the beginning of a more consequential step in her political career. She summoned Abraham Lincoln, who lost elections for the House and Senate and still went on to become one of the nation’s most accomplished presidents.
But in the days since, would-be supporters in key states have openly expressed skepticism about a Cheney presidential run, even one solely designed to block Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
In fact, Republican voters and local officials in three of the states that matter most in presidential politics — Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — believe the soon-to-be-unemployed congresswoman has little path to relevancy in a 2024 presidential primary, never mind a path to victory. Some sympathizers fear she would actually help Trump if she runs.
Such is the colossal political challenge ahead for Cheney, a Republican seeking to transform a 37-percentage-point home-state loss into a national campaign to destroy Trump’s White House ambitions. There is no precedent for what she hopes to accomplish.
“The Republican Party is a lot more diverse than it’s given credit for, and there will be some number of people who find her, and her message, appealing, but that is far from saying that there would be a warm reception, or a large reception,” said Micah Caskey, a Republican state representative in South Carolina. “I don’t see a Liz Cheney candidacy as being viable.”
In the hours after she conceded her Wyoming congressional primary to a little-known Trump acolyte, Cheney’s team transferred leftover campaign funds into a new entity she named “The Great Task,” borrowing a phrase from Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. She vowed to devote the weeks before the November midterms to defeating Trump loyalists who continue to promote the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.
“I will be doing whatever it takes to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office,” Cheney told NBC’s “Today” show. She acknowledged she is thinking about a 2024 presidential run. “I’ll make a decision in the coming months.”
Cheney, the 56-year-old daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has not ruled out running in 2024 as a Republican or an independent. But those close to her now believe an independent run would likely attract more support from Democrats than Republicans, which would undermine her goals. Therefore, if she runs, it would almost certainly be as a Republican.
Her team believes that Cheney would enter the 2024 Republican contest as the undisputed leader of the anti-Trump lane, which could include the likes of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. The Cheney name is universally known, they note, and she enjoys a national fundraising base that brought in more than $15 million for her failed reelection bid. She would also have the support of her father and maintains close ties to former President George W. Bush, who hosted a fundraiser for Cheney last fall.
She will continue to play a leading role in the House investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection, which is set to host another round of hearings in September.
Despite those factors, there has been little sign of enthusiasm for Cheney in the states most likely to decide the next GOP presidential nomination.
Voters were openly celebrating her loss at the Iowa State Fair, a must-stop for presidents and presidential contenders ever since the state began hosting the nation’s opening presidential primary contest a half-century ago.
“It’s celebration day at the Iowa Republican Party. Liz Cheney is outta here!” crowed Debra Wyna, a Des Moines-area GOP volunteer and 57-year-old retired salon owner. “Liz Cheney is a swamp monster.”
Other voters who stopped by the GOP booth were less pointed than Wyna but no less dismissive of Cheney’s political ambitions.
“I’m never going to vote for her because I believe she betrayed the Republican Party by voting to impeach President Trump,” said Janet Diers, a 67-year-old retired special education teacher from rural western Iowa.
Gentry Collins, a veteran Iowa and national Republican operative who opposes Trump, said he has “great respect” for Cheney, but he doesn’t see how she wages a viable campaign for president.
“Where do the votes come from? Maybe she aggregates the anti-Trump vote, but that’s not enough,” said Collins, a former political director for the Republican National Committee. “She’s my kind of Republican, but I don’t see an opening.”
It was much the same across New Hampshire, which traditionally hosts the nation’s second Republican primary contest.
While the state prides itself on ushering in presidential candidates every four years, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who has mocked Trump, declined an opportunity to welcome a prospective Cheney campaign when given the opportunity.
“The governor has given no thought or consideration as to who may or may not run for president in 2024,” Sununu spokesperson Ben Vihstadt said. “He is solely focused on the midterms in less than 100 days, and firmly believes every second spent speculating about 2024 is a waste of time.”
Early presidential primary jockeying has been underway for several months. And the first Republican presidential announcement could come any time. Trump is weighing whether to declare his presidential intentions before or after the midterms.
Republican presidential prospects have been flocking to Iowa and New Hampshire for months already. The visitors include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Sen. Tom Cotton and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is another frequent name discussed by local Republican primary voters, though he has yet to make an appearance.
Cheney herself delivered a speech in New Hampshire late last year, declaring that Trump was at war with the rule of law.
Caskey, the South Carolina state representative, believes Trump may be vulnerable in a small Republican field, but a large Republican field would divide the anti-Trump vote and help Trump claim his party’s nomination again.
“I think Donald Trump is the odds-on favorite to win if he runs, but I don’t think he has an assured path to victory,” Caskey said. “I think the more candidates that get involved, the more likely it is that he succeeds.”
Matthew Bartlett, a veteran New Hampshire Republican operative who worked in Trump’s State Department but quit after the Jan. 6 insurrection, said there’s plenty of buzz across the state about presidential candidates — save one.
“Not one person is talking about Liz Cheney,” Bartlett said. “I don’t think she knows what she’s doing.”
Nationally, around 7 in 10 Republicans continue to support Trump. That number may have jumped in the days after the FBI executed a search warrant at his Florida estate, though critics note that Trump’s multiple legal entanglements could ultimately damage his standing. Cheney, meanwhile, is lumped near the bottom with Pompeo and Haley, among others, in early public polling.
Voters tend to agree with the political professionals.
Claire Potter wore a Cheney T-shirt on a recent trip to Conway, New Hampshire, to “express my admiration as a Democrat” for the position she has taken against Trump. Potter, a history professor at The New School in New York, also donated $25 to the Cheney campaign.
Just don’t expect her to vote for Cheney in 2024.
“I don’t hope that she runs for president,” Potter said. “I think that could be really dicey in terms of keeping Trump out of the White House. But I trust her political instincts around what she does next.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/liz-cheney-in-2024-deep-skepticism-in-key-states/article_04dd5e92-2af5-11ed-8afd-9f8954ec7feb.html | 2022-09-03T13:05:58Z |
Small firms in Wyoming employ a much bigger share of workers in the state than do all such U.S. enterprises as a portion of the entire American workforce, new federal government statistics show.
In data posted Wednesday by the Small Business Administration, there are 132,595 small-business employees in Wyoming. That comprises 64.1% of all workers statewide, the agency added.
By comparison, 32.5 million small businesses nationwide employ 46.8% of the private workforce, the SBA noted. “The top three industries for small business employment are Health Care and Social Assistance; Accommodation and Food Services; and Construction.”
When it comes to the sheer number of small firms operating in the state, there are 72,081 of them. This comprises 98.9% of all Wyoming businesses. This is in line with the national trend, per other stats from the SBA.
During the first year or so of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, SBA found that more small firms in the state opened their doors than shuttered. There were 2,599 establishment openings versus 2,144 closings.
The jobs picture for these smaller operations was not quite so rosy, according to the government agency. “Small businesses gained 17,930 jobs and lost 24,353, for a net decrease of 6,423 jobs.”
To see the agency’s 2022 small business profiles for states, territories and the entire country, go to bit.ly/3RpJYNY.
Local business gets ARPA money to project educational videos
A Laramie small business owner has been awarded an American Recovery Program Act grant to produce a pair of educational videos that teach young people about money management and financial literacy.
Deborah Kassner, director of Studio 253,said the grant will help her provide student actors opportunities to create professional, fact-filled videos for a wide audience that target important educational goals.
She’ll collaborate on the project with Marjorie Daley, a Laramie-based author of “The New Adults’ Guide to Basic Finances.”
Both videos will be shown at locations around Laramie in November, with times and venues to be announced.
For more information, visit laramiechildrensmusicaltheater.weebly.com.
Local man joins Pinnale Bank team
Pinnacle Bank has added a familiar face as a loan officer to serve Laramie and Albany County customers.
John Murdock is versed in consumer and commercial lending services, including commercial real estate loans, commercial operating lines of credit, construction loans and home equity loans. His concentration will be on assisting with the growth of the Laramie market by providing local lending services uniquely designed to help Wyoming businesses and people thrive.
“Pinnacle Bank has an incredible reputation of strength, stability and unwavering commitment to the communities and people they serve,” said Murdock. “I look forward to helping deliver this same level of service and support that only a family-owned, community bank can provide.”
Murdock has been in the financial services industry since 2010, having served in many capacities for local financial institutions in Laramie. Most recently, he spent the past seven years with ACPE Federal Credit Union as chief financial officer.
Murdock is a Laramie High School and University of Wyoming graduate, and lives in Laramie with his wife, Julie, and their children, John and Jacqueline.
Feedback sought on interstate transit
The Colorado Department of Transportation has partnered with the Cheyenne Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Wyoming Department of Transportation to conduct a transit connection feasibility analysis between northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.
To provide feedback, and learn more about the project: https://tinyurl.com/transit-survey-2022.
This transit analysis will examine transit needs, routing, amenities and the overall benefits to communities in the two regions. It will build on recent and ongoing planning efforts, examining travel markets, population/employment growth, and other infrastructure improvements, according to the planning organization. It will also examine existing service models, such as Bustang in Colorado, and evaluate how to maximize connectivity for users through integration with local transit providers.
The primary outcomes of this effort outlined on the site are:
- An examination of transit demand, and if demand is deemed sufficient to support the new transit service.
- Evaluation and recommendation of appropriate service models (fixed route, on-demand, deviated, etc.), matched to the potential demand and potential service patterns
- Evaluation and recommendation of termini, routing, bus technology/vehicle, and stops (as applicable to the recommended service type), including examining the potential integration with other existing/proposed transit improvements, mobility hubs and major activity centers
- Conceptual-level capital and operating costs for the final recommended service. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/news/small-companies-employ-uneven-share-of-workers/article_2eef7fac-2ae7-11ed-a367-c31877cd4a64.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:04Z |
Welcome to seventh grade. How’s it going for you so far?
We are all students in this journey we call life. The entire universe is our university, and there is no accident in the similarity of words there.
I believe our time here on Earth as humans is our seventh-grade level in the University of the Universe. We have passed the grades before this and have many yet to come. We are all here at this level to learn, to teach and to love.
Do you remember your seventh grade year in junior high or middle school? Some of us had great experiences and were the rock stars, the athletic jocks, the popular peeps or the studious and brilliant academic standouts. Some of us suffered through as unpopular, who struggled, failed, flunked, skipped classes or dropped out.
This seventh grade level of our learning through the University of the Universe is no different.
We have the shining stars of music, sports, popularity and intelligence. We have the strugglers who fall victim, slip behind and never seem to get ahead or catch a break.
Guess what? I believe we are all in the space we are supposed to be to learn what we are meant to learn and teach what we are meant to teach.
We have a variety of class topics here in this version of seventh grade. If you are a star in this life you shine and share your voice and experiences with others and are in the class of teaching. If you are struggling, the course you are enrolled in is one to learn humility, patience and empathy for others.
The amazing news is there can be semesters in this seventh grade. If you begin your time struggling, you may learn your lessons and move into the next semester’s course as a star.
Conversely, if you are a star and become arrogant, ungrateful or just need to learn other lessons, the University of the Universe has the power to enroll you into a semester of struggling to teach you humility, patience and empathy.
Our task as students in this level of our life education is to understand and believe that no matter what semester we are in, class we are taking or curricula we are guided by, we are here for the lessons our soul requires.
Our report cards will grade us on our ability to learn the lessons to our highest capacity. Our assignment is to teach what we learn to others.
And our most important homework is to be grateful for the experiences, the teachers and the lessons – the joyous ones and the painful ones – and seek and share joy and love in the process.
Most of us would like to be granted a do-over for our seventh grade year. If it was fabulous, we would like to relive the glory. If it was painful, we would like to do it right the second time.
Well, you’re here now and your entire life is the seventh grade of our University of The Universe. Enjoy it, live it and dance in it to your happiest level.
Welcome to seventh grade! How’s it going for you so far?
Pennie’s Life Lesson: In the school of life, be grateful for the experiences, teachers and lessons –joyous and painful. Seek and share joy and love in the process. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/opinion/contributed_columns/we-all-study-at-the-university-of-the-universe/article_09fbf45a-2a1a-11ed-8df8-77daeae067dd.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:10Z |
“I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.”
— Part of the modern Hippocratic Oath, written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today.
When he first stepped foot in the U.S. Capitol as Wyoming’s junior senator in 2007, Casper Republican John Barrasso was seen as someone who would represent the state’s residents and their best interests well.
A board-certified orthopedic surgeon, the hope was that Gov. Dave Freudenthal’s choice to replace Sen. Craig Thomas after his death would bring his medical experience to bear in ways that would improve health care for Wyomingites and the rest of the country.
Instead, after he was elected to the position in 2008, it seems his main goal became standing in the way of anything Democrats hoped to accomplish, while working to elevate his own status and authority.
Time after time, Sen. Barrasso was pictured standing to one side of Senate President Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as the latter took questions from reporters. And he quickly became the go-to guy for Fox News, standing in the Capitol rotunda’s mezzanine and putting President Barack Obama and his goals on blast.
The irony, of course, is that throughout his ultimately unsuccessful fight against the Affordable Care Act, “Dr. Barrasso” failed to offer an alternative that his fellow Republicans could get behind. In fact, it was the senior member of Wyoming’s delegation, Sen. Mike Enzi, who presented “Ten Steps to Transform Health Care in America,” even before Obamacare became law.
Since being re-elected in 2012 and 2018, Sen. Barrasso has continued to rail against the nation’s only successful effort in recent years to extend health insurance to those who can’t afford to buy it on the open market. In 2019, he published online several of the speeches he had delivered on the Senate floor under the clever title “Dr. Barrasso’s Second Opinion.” Each time, he pointed out what was wrong with the ACA without offering any better options, other than saying Republicans were working to lower prescription drug prices.
The most telling evidence of how far the now senior senator from the smallest-populated state in the country was willing to go to gain or retain power was his failure to speak out during the COVID-19 pandemic. If there was anyone in Congress who should have challenged President Trump’s ignorant, deadly advice to shun face coverings and drink bleach to combat the novel coronavirus, it should have been the former president of the Wyoming Medical Society and member of the American Medical Association’s Council of Ethics and Judicial Affairs.
Where was he when Gov. Mark Gordon stood in front of the media to announce the cancelation of summer 2020 rodeos statewide to try to limit the virus’s spread? Where was he when the governor finally imposed a mask mandate in public places? Where was he when anti-maskers demonstrated in front of the state Capitol, and Gov. Gordon stood face to face with people shouting that he was a tyrant and destroying our economy?
Nowhere near Cheyenne, of course.
Now, two years before his next re-election bid, we learn just how far removed from his constituents’ health care needs Sen. Barrasso really is.
Recently, Casper resident Kala McWain spoke with a Wyoming Tribune Eagle reporter about her efforts to get our federal lawmakers to support the Medical Nutrition Equity Act. McWain and her husband, Jake, have been told their youngest son has a genetic metabolic disorder called phenylketonuria, or PKU, which prevents his body from processing regular foods properly.
As a result, the McWains will need to feed their son special medical food and formula for the rest of his life, at a cost well over $1,000 per month. Which is why they are pushing for this legislation, which would require private insurance providers and federal health care programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program to cover this type of nutrition when it is required to prevent severe disability or death.
Kala McWain said she met with representatives of both Sen. Cynthia Lummis and Rep. Liz Cheney’s offices a year ago, but both took information back without action. She said she was especially hopeful when she met with Sen. Barrasso around the same time, since he was a medical doctor. However, she said she left feeling defeated because although he has said every life is important, he refused to sign on as a sponsor of the bill.
In a statement to the WTE for our story, a spokesperson for Sen. Barrasso said the senator “appreciates the McWain family for meeting with him and raising awareness about this important issue and legislation. As co-chair of the Senate Rare Disease Caucus, he understands how critical it is for families in Wyoming to have access to medically necessary foods and supplements.”
If that’s true, why didn’t he immediately sign on as a sponsor? If he is so supportive, why should the McWains have to continue their lobbying efforts, as they have in the year since those initial conversations?
According to the National PKU Alliance, there are roughly 16,500 people in the U.S. who can’t eat or process regular foods. Why are Sen. Barrasso and his colleagues failing to advance this lifesaving legislation for so few people? It’s not like doing so would be the tipping point that bankrupts the federal government.
(Late Wednesday afternoon, after being contacted by the WTE for comment for this editorial, Sen. Barrasso’s office told Kala McWain the senator has decided that he will sign on as a sponsor of the Medical Nutrition Equity Act. So far, Sen. Lummis had not indicated whether she will join him, and Rep. Cheney has not signed onto the House version.)
Wyoming residents should be asking themselves at this point whether Sen. Barrasso is truly representing all of the people of Wyoming. If he won’t readily stand up for folks like the McWains, is he really looking out for you and your needs?
Long ago, we stopped being surprised by most of the unproductive, partisan comments coming from Sen. Barrasso’s office. Unlike former Sen. Enzi, who believed in working with Democrats to get things done for the American people, Sen. Barrasso seems determined to be more of a roadblock than a pilot car.
But just because we’re not surprised doesn’t mean we’re not disappointed. In a state with so few representatives elected to speak on our behalf, we believe we could do better. If the senator can’t summon the courage to “do no harm” and start supporting those who elected him, it’s time to find someone who can.
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Aug. 27 | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/opinion/editorials/we-need-wyomings-doctor-to-fight-for-our-health-care-needs/article_c0b633e2-296e-11ed-9cca-3710fb0a7012.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:17Z |
I’ve spent countless hours since the late 1970s listening to lawmakers wrangle over how much to spend on K-12 schools. The rhetoric rarely changed much, and neither did the predictable outcomes: When the Legislature fails to meet students’ needs, school districts and the Wyoming Education Association ask courts to intervene.
Last month, the WEA sued the state again. As they say, the only thing harder than learning from experience is … not learning from experience. More than four decades on, the Wyoming Legislature still insists on doing things the hard way. At least they’re consistent.
The latest lawsuit was born out of frustration, after years of watching the Legislature fail to establish a permanent, sustainable source of revenue for school districts. This wasn’t a rush to sue by the organization that represents most of the state’s teachers. WEA’s response to being repeatedly rebuffed by the Legislature was restrained.
Because the quality of Wyoming education is beginning to suffer, WEA President Grady Hutcherson said, the association was compelled to act. He cited increased class sizes, aging buildings and the need to improve school security.
Wyoming teacher salaries were once among the highest in the nation, but those days are gone. The state has not kept up with inflation in their block grants to districts for more than a decade. Salaries have stagnated, making it difficult for districts to recruit and retain teachers, especially in rural areas.
In a series of four lawsuits against the state by the WEA and school districts, the Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed the Legislature must provide a high-quality, fair and equitable education system for every student. No exceptions.
The high court ordered an exhaustive process called “recalibration” to be conducted every five years, to adjust the funding formula based on current costs.
During booms, the Legislature sometimes exceed what their consultants recommended. But whenever the fossil fuels industry struggles, lawmakers look for ways to reduce education spending.
In 2017, the Legislature ordered a special recalibration, with Senate deficit hawks admitting they wanted to use the process to justify deeper education cuts. Many senators complained Wyoming wasn’t getting the “bang for the buck” it should have, compared to the money it spends. These complaints ignored the fact that the Equality State’s standardized test scores were ranked the highest in Western states.
Much to these legislators’ chagrin, their recalibration consultant said Wyoming needed to increase K-12 spending by $70 million annually. At the Senate leadership’s insistence, school funding was cut a total of $100 million over the next three years. The decrease would have been much greater if the House didn’t force the Senate to compromise.
Then, during the 2020 recalibration, experts called for a $100 million hike – essentially restoring what was cut. But the Senate – pointing to dwindling fossil fuel industry revenue – wanted to shave off at least $100 million more. Rather than legislating new revenue sources, for several years lawmakers have used the “rainy-day fund” to pay for a large portion of school funding. In 2020, the House only agreed to cuts if a half-cent state sales tax hike would be automatic if the fund dropped below $650 million.
The Senate refused any sales tax increase, and the House wouldn’t budge. Lawmakers used federal COVID relief funds to maintain the existing budget, sparing it the $100 million cut, but not changing the state’s tax structure or providing the funding that court-mandated consultants deemed necessary.
Now, with extra federal funds drawing down, the Legislature still doesn’t have a plan to fix an estimated $300 million annual education shortfall.
In its lawsuit, WEA reminds lawmakers that lack of revenue is not an excuse the courts will accept. The state Supreme Court has also spelled out in previous rulings that it doesn’t matter that other state agency budgets have been cut significantly:
“Supporting an opportunity for a complete, proper, quality education is the Legislature’s paramount priority (emphasis added); competing priorities not of constitutional magnitude are secondary, and the Legislature may not yield to them until constitutionally sufficient provision is made for elementary and secondary education.”
Wyoming, with a Permanent Mineral Trust Fund worth more than $9 billion, is hardly a poor state. It has the resources to pay for a school system that meets the mandate. Those resources are simply being diverted elsewhere, like the rainy-day fund and assorted permanent trusts. If rerouting existing revenues doesn’t do the trick alone, the Legislature has an obligation to raise current taxes or establish new ones.
“The Wyoming Education Association is committed to seeking justice for our students,” Hutcherson said.
Sen. Chris Rothfuss, D-Laramie, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle the Legislature “lacks the political will … to do the right thing, because they know they won’t [be re-elected] if they vote to raise taxes.”
State polls consistently show residents don’t want education budget cuts. Yet they keep electing extremist, anti-tax and anti-education legislators.
This is why the WEA needed to sue the state. I hope many school districts join as plaintiffs, to again show state officials they can’t get away with underfunding education and thumbing their nose at the courts.
The Drake’s Take is a weekly column by veteran Wyoming journalist Kerry Drake, and produced by WyoFile.com, a nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/opinion/guest_column/failing-to-fund-education-state-also-will-fail-in-court-again/article_8f58986a-2a1a-11ed-b940-8315de285f61.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:23Z |
If you oppose same sex marriage, may I ask why? If you oppose abortion, why? If you oppose the use of contraceptives, why?
Opposition to all three is near universally based on religious beliefs. People are entitled to their religious convictions. In a democratic Republic governing a pluralistic society, they are not entitled to convert their religious opinions into law.
That’s what the majority-Catholic Supreme Court did when it overturned Roe v. Wade, and it is what Justice Clarence Thomas, a Catholic, wants to do by urging the court to “revisit” decisions permitting the use of contraceptives and protecting the right to marriage equality.
Religious views vary considerably. My own Presbyterian Church (USA) supports choice, as do many Jews and Muslims and most of the Catholics represented by several Supreme Court justices.
To deny women the right to an abortion, use of contraceptives, or anyone the right to marry who they love, the courts give special protection to the religious beliefs of a small sliver of Americans who adhere to minority, even fringe religious views.
If you can’t convince them from the pulpit, you shouldn’t be permitted to use courts or legislatures.
Consider how intertwined religious extremism was in the Supreme Court’s decision to jettison reproductive freedom. In 1662, an English judge sentenced 16 women to die. They were, he said, witches. The judge was Sir Matthew Hale, whose name appears in American legal history thrice.
The first time was during the Salem witch trials. The second in defense of a man’s “right” to rape his wife. The third in Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion overturning Roe.
During the 1692 religiously charged Salem witch trials, there was a thorny evidentiary issue. The prosecution wanted to call witnesses to claim they saw the Devil in the accused. A theological objection was raised by Puritan pastors who believed the permission of the Devil had to be obtained before that evidence could be considered.
The defense argued that the Devil could use anyone’s shape to afflict a person. The Court decided the Devil’s consent was not required, since the Devil could not use a person’s shape without that person’s permission; therefore, when the afflicted person claimed to see the apparition of a specific person, that was evidence that the accused was complicit with the Devil.
The ruling, which made it easier to convict those who were accused of being witches, was based on the precedent established by said Judge Matthew Hale to convict those 16 women, who were executed 30 years earlier back home in England.
Hale also believed a woman’s agreement to marry meant that she had placed her body under her husband’s permanent dominion, making him the most frequently cited legal authority in defense of the right of a man to rape his wife.
Judge Hale’s name doesn’t reappear in U.S. jurisprudence again until Justice Alito cited his name 14 times in overturning Roe.
Alito sees what he calls, “a growing hostility to religion, or at least the traditional religious beliefs that are contrary to the new moral code that is ascendant in some sectors.” It is harmful enough when a minority of conservative Christian clergy play the persecution card. It is a threat to religious freedom when a Supreme Court justice does so.
Using Hale as his anchor, Alito and other religionists on the court have just begun to impose their beliefs on all of us. It wasn’t only Roe. They approved of teacher-led prayer on public school grounds and the use of tax dollars to fund religious-based education.
Alito is a most ardent advocate of imposing his religious beliefs, casting believers as aggrieved and persecuted for abiding by their faith and claiming falsely that Christians have been persecuted for centuries. When it comes to persecution, they’ve given better than they got.
Alito and some others are threatening to salve their unearned persecution complex. Who could have predicted the least moral, most dishonest president in history would create a court hellbent on imposing judicially created Christian nationalism on all of us? | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/opinion/guest_column/justices-determined-to-impose-religious-beliefs-on-all/article_8e04c380-2af6-11ed-8912-8b4cfd0eba51.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:29Z |
This is a weekend that marks the integrity of labor. It’s not just the end of summer, but the designated time to cease work for one day and look at what it means.
The Jewish tradition is of longstanding because it marks the sabbath, the day that even God took a rest.
There are many traditions that speak to the meaning of labor. But for now, two are important to understand.
The first comes from a popular song. Tennessee Ernie Ford sang it well: “You’ve got 16 tons of No. 9 coal and the straw boss says, ‘Well, bless my soul.’ St. Peter don’t you call me ’cause I can’t go. I owe my soul to the company store.”
This is the view that sees labor only as a means to make money.
The second is much more recent. It was said by the chief of operations for a blood donor service that comes regularly to Laramie, Vitalant. Lisa, who has managed donations for 14 years, drives with her crew through blinding snow and summer heat. When asked why she does her job, Lisa simply replied, “It saves lives.”
Labor Day weekend can be another day to fish or play golf, but it also can be a time to sit back and contemplate the meaning of what we do, and perhaps why we do it.
A great booklet titled “Slow-down Therapy” offers some suggestions to discover peace in the busyness of our days.
First, it recommends, “Notice the sun and the moon as they rise and set. They are remarkable for their steady pattern, not their speed.”
Second, it advises, “When things are in chaos and you are in a frenzy, ask yourself: What is right about now? Chances are, you already know what is wrong.”
Third, “Take time just to think. Action is good and necessary, but it’s fruitful only if we muse and ponder.”
Fourth, “Listen to the song of a bird — the complete song. Nature and music are gifts, but only if we are willing to receive them.”
The pace of this weekend can teach us the meaning not just of our work, but of the gift of relationships — with ourselves, our family, our friends and our God. May this Monday teach us some wisdom for each day.
No matter what our efforts, we are all passengers on the river of time.
The Rev. Dr. Sally Palmer, a retired instructor at the University of Wyoming and pastor of nearly 50 years, is a leader in contemplative prayer and the Wyoming Interfaith Network. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/opinion/guest_column/on-the-many-meanings-of-labor-day/article_ca1c7c1a-2ad7-11ed-bb7d-e371dfe37151.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:35Z |
“There’s bad apples in whatever way you want to group people – doesn’t matter if it’s religion, political or social. The big mistake is generalizing.”
— Charles de Lint
Many years ago when I was 14, I attended an early morning, age-based Sunday school class. After the class was completed, one of my friends told me to follow him to our church’s kitchen.
When we got to the kitchen, I saw large wooden boxes filled with bottled soda. Both of us were curious about the church activity that would require so many cases of soda.
I told another one of my friends, Greg, to follow me to the kitchen. Like myself, Greg didn’t know anything about the purpose behind such a large stash of soda. My father was ready to drive me back home, so we didn’t have time to further investigate.
Just a few hours later while relaxing on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, I received a telephone call from Greg. He told me that a woman from our congregation, who I shall refer to as Karen, had just called him and asked if he was aware of anyone who knew about the soda. He gave her my name and was calling to warn me that she would likely be contacting me. I thanked Greg for keeping me in the loop.
Since we had never been introduced, all I knew about Karen was that she was married, had a baby girl and appeared to be in her mid-20s. A few minutes after my telephone conversation with Greg ended, I received a phone call from Karen.
Karen asked if I knew about the same soda that I had seen earlier in the day. Karen said that the soda was for a young women’s activity that was scheduled for later in the month. I told her that I was aware of the soda and its location.
In a very hostile tone and volume, Karen then asked why I stole the soda. I told her that I had not even touched so much as one of the bottles.
Thereafter, Karen then told me in no uncertain terms that I was both a thief and a liar. She made it very clear that people the likes of myself didn’t belong at church. I was taken aback by her anger and venom she was spewing at me.
Having already acquired a bit of an attorney’s mind, I did my best to explain to Karen that I had neither the time nor the opportunity to steal the soda. I had many alibis for the time that I was at church that morning, and my parents would corroborate that I was at home with them after the church services ended.
Also, I was too young to drive, so how did she believe I transported the soda?
My telephone conversation with Karen lasted far too long. After it ended, my father asked me what Karen wanted. I told him that she thought that I had stolen some soda from the church. Dad knew I had not stolen any soda and questioned the authority that Karen even had to investigate the theft.
Karen remained within the congregation my family attended for about another two years. However, my telephone conversation was the first and last time I ever communicated with her.
As my Savior commands, I forgave her trespasses against me and decided that the likes of Karen was not going to dissuade me from worshipping Jesus Christ.
About 25 years later, I was having lunch with one of my old high school friends who I shall call Ralph. We were discussing some of the crazy things that we did in high school. I was taken aback when Ralph confessed that he took the soda from our church building. Ralph is two years older, and at the time had a driver’s license and a car to transport the soda.
I told Ralph about Karen accusing me of taking the soda. Ralph told me that he confessed and returned the soda within just a few hours after my phone call with Karen.
I admit that my blood began to boil as I reflected upon the fact that Karen regularly saw me at church after our telephone conversation and did not have the common decency to apologize for her baseless accusations. For my own salvation, I needed to — and ultimately did — forgive her for yet another trespass.
Please know that the vast majority of those who I have met and interacted with while participating in church activities are good and productive Christian contenders who sincerely want to make our world a better place within which to live.
There does exist, however, a very small minority of dysfunctional, insincere and unproductive pretenders in all good organizations. Do not allow them to dissuade you from pursuing the righteous desires of your heart. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/opinion/guest_column/when-you-find-a-bad-apple-dont-burn-down-the-orchard/article_631de750-2ad8-11ed-93eb-3b676210d222.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:41Z |
The war in Ukraine is helping one country achieve its foreign policy and national security objectives, but it’s neither Russia nor Ukraine.
It’s Iran.
Iran is among Russia’s most vocal supporters in the war. This has little to do with Ukraine and everything to do with Iran’s long-term strategy vis-à-vis the United States.
As Russia’s war on Ukraine passes six months and continues eroding Russia’s manpower, military stores, economy and diplomatic connections, leader Vladimir Putin has opted for an unlikely but necessary Iranian lifeline to salvage victory in Ukraine and also in Syria where, since 2015, Russian soldiers have been fighting to keep Bashar al-Assad’s government in power.
Putin’s move has, in turn, helped Iran make progress in promoting its national interests.
Opposing the US everywhere
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran’s leaders have believed the United States is constantly scheming to topple Iran’s government. They view leaders in Washington as the greatest threat and obstacle to promoting Iranian national interests – achieving economic self-sufficiency, international legitimacy, regional security, power and influence.
The fears of Iran’s leaders are not irrational – the long history of U.S. meddling in Iranian affairs, continuous open hostility between the two countries and decades of U.S. military buildup in close proximity to Iran greatly concern leaders in Tehran.
The U.S. has military forces in many Middle Eastern countries, with or without invitation. To promote its national interests, Iran is working to force the U.S. military out of the region and reduce U.S. political influence there.
Iran has an even bigger aim: to overthrow what it sees as the U.S.-dominated global political order.
Iran counters U.S. influence by maintaining partnerships with an assortment of nonstate militias and governments united by their fierce anti-U.S. hostility. The country nurtures a network of militant partner and proxy groups, whose own political preferences and ambitions align with Iran’s objectives, by providing weapons, training, funds – and, in some cases, direction. Among the recipients are Hezbollah, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, friendly Iraqi militias and Ansar Allah in Yemen, better known as the Houthis or the Houthi rebels.
Through these militias and their political arms, Iran extends its influence and works to shape an Iran-friendly government in states like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. It threatens U.S. forces and antagonizes Western-allied governments in states such as Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
At the national level, Iran maintains no permanent mutual defense treaties. Its closest strategic partners include Syria, Venezuela, North Korea, China and Russia. They cooperate politically, economically and militarily to create an alternative to what their leaders perceive as the U.S.-led world political order.
That cooperation includes undermining U.S. national interests and helping ease or circumvent Western political pressure and economic sanctions.
Tehran to the rescue
Russia’s current war in Ukraine has left Moscow with only a handful of sympathetic friends.
Few political leaders understand Putin’s newfound political isolation and related animosity toward the United States more than Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Iran-Russia relations are complicated.
The two countries found common cause in helping Syrian strongman Assad defeat his country’s opposition forces, but for different national interests.
Saving Assad helps Russia reassert itself as a major power in the Middle East. For Iran, a friendly Syria is a critical link in Iran’s anti-U.S., anti-Israel coalition.
As Russia and Iran fought to sustain Assad, they also competed for lucrative postwar reconstruction and infrastructure contracts in that country, and to shape the post-civil war political environment to their advantage.
But neither country was bold enough to influence the way the other operated in Syria. Consequently, sometimes Iranian-backed and Russian forces cooperated, and at other times they squabbled. Mostly they left each other alone.
Ultimately, though, Russia’s plight in Ukraine compelled its leader to solicit Iran’s help in two ways.
First, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, a branch of the Iranian military, provided supplementary manpower to fill the void left when Russia reallocated troops from Syria to its Ukraine campaign.
Second, Russia will use Iran’s low-cost and battle-proven unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, to counter Kyiv’s Western-supported arsenal and buttress its own struggling forces and surprisingly inept warfighting capabilities.
In July, Iran hosted numerous Russian officers and conducted training on Iranian Shahed-129 and Shahed-191 drone operations. Anonymous intelligence sources and Ukrainian officials indicated that Russia already has obtained and employed Iranian drones in Ukraine. Though unconfirmed, this is consistent with a previous White House assessment that Iran would provide Russia with “up to several hundred” drones for use in Ukraine.
Ukraine war promotes Iran’s interests
This warming alliance may not help Russia defeat Ukraine. It will promote Iran’s national interests.
Russia’s Syria drawdown brought additional Iranian soldiers there to further prove their fighting abilities and entrench themselves in Syria. That then allows Iran to control territory threatened by anti-Assad forces and maintain an open corridor or “land bridge” by which Iran extends support to its network of anti-America and anti-Israel partners and proxies.
Second, Russia’s acquisition of Iranian arms will significantly boost Iran’s weapons industry, whose primary clientele right now is its own militias. Iran’s recent efforts to expand drone manufacturing and exports yielded limited success in small, mostly peripheral markets of Ethiopia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Venezuela.
Moscow is the second-largest global arms exporter, and its surprising transformation to Iranian arms importer signals the seriousness of Russia’s problems. It also legitimizes and expands Tehran’s weapons industry beyond arms production for the purpose of self-sufficiency. This one alliance moves Iran toward a more prominent role as a major arms exporter.
Lastly, Russia’s war in Ukraine extends a new avenue by which Iran might directly counter U.S.-provided weapons, as well as the opportunity to undermine U.S. and NATO influence in Eurasia. Iran’s drones could afford Moscow an effective and desperately needed response to U.S. weapons wreaking havoc against Russian forces in Ukraine – the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, the Javelin anti-tank guided missile, the Switchblade “kamikaze” or suicide drone and others.
Iranian weapons may force Ukraine’s Western benefactors to allocate additional billions for counter-drone or air defense systems, or aid to replace assets that Iranian weapons potentially neutralize.
This has already happened on the Arabian Peninsula, where Iran-equipped Ansar Allah’s drone warfare against Saudi Arabia and the UAE compels Gulf states to expend disproportionate sums on costly weapons systems and to develop other expensive solutions to counter Iran’s low-cost drones.
Zero-sum game
Limited tactical victories scored by Iranian drones may prolong and further destabilize the war in Ukraine, but they will not tip the scales of conflict in Russia’s favor.
Their greater contribution is to Iran’s national interests: They allow Iran to directly check and undermine the U.S. and NATO outside of Iran’s usual regional area of operations. They boost Iran’s profile among countries that also wish to challenge the United States and NATO’s political, military and economic power. And they strengthen solidarity among those countries.
As Iran’s fighters, advisers and weapons proliferate to new areas and empower U.S. adversaries, Iran further promotes its national interests at the expense of U.S. national interests. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/laramieboomerang/opinion/guest_column/winner-in-ukraine-war-may-not-be-who-you-think/article_984d99d4-2a2e-11ed-bdd9-33cf51a4be71.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:48Z |
Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/a_child_waits/a-child-waits-9-3-22/article_60148c40-297e-11ed-a9e9-7ff99f781b90.html | 2022-09-03T13:06:54Z |
Recently arrested by the Cheyenne Police Department:
Tyce J. Deboard, 34, transient, for misdemeanor public intoxication at 11:45 a.m. Thursday in the 1700 block of Capitol Avenue.
Edward J. Acton, 49, of Jefferson Road for misdemeanor refusing to obey, pedestrian impeding, jaywalking (pedestrian), possession of marijuana (less than 1/4 ounce) and littering at 7:19 a.m. Thursday in the 1600 block of Central Avenue.
Catherine A. Cotraro, 53, transient, for misdemeanor disturbing the peace/property at 4:02 a.m. Thursday in the 200 block of East Lincolnway.
Allan M. Hauck, 58, of Dunn Avenue for misdemeanor open container violation, on a felony warrant out of Weld County, Colorado, for failure to comply and a misdemeanor warrant out of Platte County for failure to pay at 2:10 a.m. Thursday in the 300 block of West 17th Street.
Brandon J. Toth, 40, of County Road 207 on a misdemeanor warrant for false voting (not qualified or not entitled) at 12:18 a.m. Thursday at East Second Street and Seymour Avenue.
Marvin M. Jackson II, 41, of Utah Street for misdemeanor driving under the influence (alcohol, second in 10 years) at 4:10 p.m. Wednesday at Commons Drive and New Bedford Drive.
Nathan T. Spratte, 31, of Scott Drive for misdemeanor violation of a temporary protection order at 2:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 200 block of Dey Avenue.
Anissa Kills Crow Indian, 23, transient, on a misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Laramie County jail, 1910 Pioneer Ave; and on a misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 300 block of West 17th Street.
Lance R. Parks, 59, of Laramie for misdemeanor DUI (combination of alcohol and controlled substance, first in 10 years), possession of a controlled substance (any amount), failure to maintain lane/unsafe lane change and no liability insurance at 12:37 p.m. Wednesday at Dell Range Boulevard and North College Drive.
Darryn K. Howard, 55, transient, on a felony warrant out of Texas for parole violation at 6:07 a.m. Wednesday in the 100 block of Lexington Avenue.
Lauren E. Miller, 39, transient, for misdemeanor interfering/obstructing, refusing to obey and resisting arrest at 3:10 a.m. Wednesday at Dey Avenue and West Lincolnway.
Geronimo C. Lopez, 23, transient, on a felony warrant out of Colorado for escape at 10:20 p.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of West Fox Farm Road.
Scott A. Yonker, 57, transient, for misdemeanor public intoxication at 7:24 p.m. Tuesday in the 4300 block of Friendship Circle.
Daniel L. Bolejack, 33, of West 17th Street on a misdemeanor probation/parole violation at 12:36 p.m. Tuesday at the Cheyenne-Laramie County probation and parole office, 1934 Wyott Drive.
Tamala K. Mooneyham, 60, of Fifth Street for misdemeanor unsafe U-turn, DUI (alcohol, first in 10 years) and no proof of liability insurance at 8:10 a.m. Tuesday at West Fifth Street and Patton Avenue.
Claire M. Pino, 51, of Gysel Place for misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine/amphetamine-type drug, no liability insurance and expired or improper registration, and on a felony warrant through Laramie County District Court for probation violation at 4:20 a.m. Tuesday at East Fifth Street and House Avenue.
Joseph N. Hernandez, 33, of 8th Street for misdemeanor interference with a peace officer without injury and breach of peace at 1:15 p.m. Aug. 23 at his residence.
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Recently arrested by the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office:
Kelly R. Martinez, 35, of Green River for misdemeanor domestic battery at 9:42 p.m. Thursday in the 3800 block of Polk Avenue.
Nathan M. Hilton, 25, of Sandy, Utah, on a felony warrant through Laramie County District Court for probation violation at 6:40 p.m. Thursday at the Laramie County jail.
Nikko V. Johnson, 28, of Rio Verde Street for three felony counts of aggravated assault (threaten with weapon) and one felony count of terroristic threats, and on a felony warrant out of San Diego County, California, for probation violation at 6:01 p.m. Thursday in the 800 block of East Jefferson Road.
Danielle M. Jackson, 34, of Ames Avenue on a misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Laramie County Governmental Complex, 309 W. 20th St.
Judith M. Grizzard, 50, of Williamson, Georgia, on a felony warrant for theft (shoplifting, greater than $1,000) at 4 a.m. Thursday at the Laramie County jail.
Sanjuan J. Hernandez, 50, of Gering, Nebraska, on a misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear at 4:18 p.m. Wednesday at the Laramie County jail.
Christian M. Vosler, 37, transient, on a misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear at 2:05 p.m. Wednesday at the Laramie County jail.
Adrian B. Campos-Ramos, 35, of East College Drive on a felony warrant through Laramie County District Court for a civil violation at 1:05 p.m. Wednesday at his residence.
Margaret T. Harris, 41, of Laramie on a misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Laramie County jail.
Shawna M. Ornelaz, 45, of Christine Circle on a felony warrant for burglary at 11:07 a.m. Wednesday at her residence.
George E. Wederski, 40, of Christine Circle on a felony warrant for burglary at 11:06 a.m. Wednesday at his residence.
Cody L.M. Harris, 28, of Lincolnway for misdemeanor violation of a protection order at 12:59 a.m. Wednesday in the 1700 block of Fleischli Parkway.
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Recently arrested by the Wyoming Highway Patrol:
Cody S. Stitt, age redacted, of Melbeta, Nebraska, on a misdemeanor warrant for probation violation at 1:40 p.m. Thursday at the Interstate 25 port of entry.
Darrell M. Dotson, age redacted, of Loveland, Colorado, for felony aggravated robbery, felony aggravated assault and battery, felony possession of stolen property, misdemeanor interference with a peace officer and driving with a canceled/denied license at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at mile marker 349 on eastbound Interstate 80.
Duane L. Brown, 62, of Blue Grass Circle on a misdemeanor warrant out of Weld County, Colorado, for probation violation at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at mile marker 6.5 on northbound I-25. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/police_blotter/police-blotter-9-3-22/article_dd868b8e-2a40-11ed-874f-5f51b81c2557.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:00Z |
Wyoming Tribune Eagle
CHEYENNE – While more than a third of Wyomingites who borrowed federal student loans would have their debt completely wiped out by President Joe Biden’s loan forgiveness plan, Republicans in the state remain critical of the initiative and are weighing alternatives.
Many voiced their concerns with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle this past week that it would be irresponsible spending, discriminatory and could lead to an increase in inflation. They want to find other ways to support Wyoming students through financial literacy classes, encouraging career and technical education, and pointing them toward state scholarship programs.
Forgiving loans for those who have already taken them out is not on the GOP agenda.
“The Biden loan forgiveness plan does not magically make these loans disappear, nor will it bring down the cost of higher education,” said Gov. Mark Gordon in a statement. “Instead, this new and poorly thought-through government handout transfers the debt from borrowers to hardworking taxpayers, some of whom already diligently paid off their loans or chose to forgo higher education. This, among the many other fiscal policy disasters this White House has created, will only exacerbate inflation and continue to increase the costs of everyday goods.”
Biden announced Aug. 24 that $10,000 in student loan relief would be provided to Americans who earn under $125,000 a year, or $250,000 for married couples or heads of households. He said up to $20,000 would be canceled for Pell grant recipients. There will be a final student loan pause extended through Dec. 31, and individuals with undergraduate loans can cap their repayments at 5% of their monthly income.
Biden said nearly 45% of borrowers, or close to 20 million people, would have their debt completely erased. Wyomingites would have a large percentage of its federal student loan borrowers’ debt canceled in the nation if the White House follows through with the announcement.
Lawmakers react
“While Wyoming boasts one of the most affordable post-secondary education systems in the country, half of those who attended colleges and trade schools have student debt,” Rep. Cathy Connolly, D-Laramie, told the WTE. “The Biden administration’s move to forgive a portion of student debt is a welcomed and bold gesture.”
She said since the Biden administration has already forgiven loan debt to Wyoming businesses, it makes sense to similarly forgive the debt of the state’s most valuable resource, its people. Connolly said this lets people prioritize meeting today’s bills and savings for the future – and pumps needed money into the Wyoming economy.
Some Republicans say it’s a misguided policy decision, and the challenges with student debt have to do with mismatching the number of academic programs with the actual needs for them in the job market.
Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas, said he believes the nation needs to focus on teaching useful skills in the career and technical field, instead of “doubling down on a failed policy.”
“We have been looking for ways to address this by pushing more career technical education,” he said. “Not only do you spend less time in school, but you also are going to have a useful skill set once you get out of school.”
Boner recommends programs such as Wyoming Works, or educating students on more affordable higher education choices such as community college, trade school or joining the military. The state senator said serving in the military was how he paid for school.
He wants to see reforms on how loans are given out.
“No other type of loan is treated this way, where you effectively get an 18-year-old kid to agree to such a large amount of debt with no ability to really pay it back,” Boner said. “I wish we would treat student loans more like every other type of loan, where there’s a little bit more discernment involved, and that way we can prevent these situations from happening in the future.”
Gov. Gordon backs improving financial literacy, so borrowers have a better understanding of loans’ financial terms.
Michael Pearlman, Gordon’s director of communications, said Wyoming subsidizes higher education in some ways other states do not. He mentioned the Hathaway Scholarship and the new Wyoming’s Tomorrow Scholarship, which was signed into law earlier this year.
Tuition
Scholarship availability was cited by Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne.
He said there’s a place for solutions to the cost of higher education at the state level, and Wyoming has “already done an amazing job at this point of making college very closely affordable.” He said there’s personal responsibility to apply for scholarships, because local colleges are practically begging every year for people to apply.
“Every single year that I’m in the Legislature, I continue to see new and improved ways for college to become more affordable,” he said. “I do think this state has done a very good job, and it’s even in our Constitution to be as nearly free as possible.”
The amount of student loan debt Wyomingites have is 20% lower than the national average, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s data, which Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, applauded. He said he’s glad that the state has an education system that allows debt burdens to be lower, and he’s supports Biden’s initiative.
“If you’re someone who has student debt, it means you aren’t able to buy a house, or you aren’t able to start a business,” he said. “Now those Wyoming citizens are going to be able to take those opportunities and take those risks that they haven’t been able to.”
Yin wants to address the underlying issues in higher education costs. He said $10,000 to $20,000 doesn’t solve the problem of ballooning costs.
For anyone who criticizes the student debt plan, or argues it might contribute to inflation, Yin said he would question whether the tax cuts under former President Donald Trump’s administration were seen in the same light.
Costs
Critics recognize how the student loan relief plan will benefit borrowers, saying they are concerned with the economic repercussions and moral ambiguity.
They warned there is no real plan to pay for the student loan forgiveness, or any real estimation of the cost. Some worry about inflation from higher spending by those who otherwise would use the money to repay student loans.
“This will be a multi-million dollar program, and to my knowledge they have no disclosed how the program will be paid for,” Sen. Stephan Pappas, R-Cheyenne, said in a statement. “My fear is that this will just add to our already huge national debt, which is already more than $30 trillion. We must quit spending like we have.”
Wyoming Republican U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso voiced the same concerns. Lummis sent a statement to WTE, saying that according to the Penn Wharton model, it’s a reckless decision that will add $300 billion to the national debt.
Barrasso is a co-sponsor of the Debt Cancellation Accountability Act. It would require the U.S. Department of Education to obtain a congressional appropriation to pay for any federal student loan debt.
Pappas sees the program as discriminatory, because people who have already paid their loans have no ability to participate. He noted that once program funds are expended, it may be expected in the future, and this could further discriminate against students.
“And what about parents and students who took out personal loans or took it out of their savings? Will they get any relief?” he said. “If we want to be fair, there should be accommodation for those borrowers.”
Rep. Bill Henderson, R-Cheyenne, is among those worried about inflation. He said this may lead to higher fees and tuition.
Jacob Channel, Student Loan Hero senior economist and former Sheridan resident, said inflation is a possibility. He said because federal borrowers have had a pause on their student loan payments for the past two years, the extra money is already being spent or saved. This change, he expects, won’t have as big an impact.
Jasmine Hall is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s state government reporter. She can be reached by email at jhall@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3167. Follow her on Twitter @jasminerhphotos and on Instagram @jhrose25. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/republicans-cite-alternatives-to-student-debt-forgiveness/article_102636b0-2b05-11ed-a70d-671ca8af6325.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:06Z |
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Arts Council is now accepting nominations for the 2022 Governor’s Arts Awards.
Any Wyoming citizen, organization, business or community may be nominated for a Governor’s Art Award. The deadline to submit a nomination is Nov. 7.
Noted accomplishments should reflect substantial contributions that exemplify a long-term commitment to the arts in Wyoming. Special consideration will be given to nominees whose arts service is statewide. Previous GAA recipients are not eligible for nomination, but the nomination of previously unselected nominees is encouraged. Current Wyoming Arts Council board members, staff members, contractors and members of their families are not eligible.
A new online submission form is being used this year. Online nominations will only be accepted and can be completed and submitted here: forms.gle/igQR5r5ajGWnEJ6k7.
Established in 1982, the Governor’s Arts Awards recognize excellence in the arts and outstanding service to the arts in Wyoming. These awards were first made possible by an endowment from the Union Pacific Foundation in honor of John U. Loomis.
Over the years, individuals and organizations from more than 30 Wyoming communities and statewide organizations have been honored. The 2022 recipients will be honored at a dinner and awards ceremony in Cheyenne on Feb. 24, 2023.
Find a complete list of past GAA recipients online. For more information, or if you have questions about qualifications or a nomination, contact 307-214-2701 or brittany.howell@wyo.gov. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/wyoming-arts-council-taking-2022-governors-arts-awards-nominations-till-nov-7/article_d247e168-2ae1-11ed-ae17-0349d332c737.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:12Z |
One hundred forty years ago, the first Labor Day parade almost ended before it began. On Sept. 5, 1882, thousands of union workers, police officers and gawking onlookers gathered at City Hall in lower Manhattan. Everything was in place, the route was set, and the marchers were ready to go, except for one problem: There was no band to lead the parade.
In hindsight, that seems a fitting problem. Public attention for rank-and-file workers and their issues had long been given short shrift. After all, the intent of that first parade was to draw attention to the serious problems caused by low wages, long hours and unsafe work environments. But the way that unions have since evolved has diluted their own focus on worker welfare.
The source of workers’ struggles makes sense through an economic lens. In 1870, farms employed more than half of all U.S. workers. By 1890, that number was just over 40%. Where did millions of agricultural workers go? Many left rural areas and joined newly arriving immigrants in the urban workforce. This was especially true in New York City, the “Golden Door” through which 70% of immigrants joined our growing nation.
More and more urban workers, combined with increased factory automation, gave employers greater bargaining power over wages and working conditions. This allowed them to prioritize productivity over safety, making workplace accidents more common, with only the worst incidents proving worthy of media attention. Workers’ turn toward union organizing was as understandable as it was deserved.
But that’s not where the story ends. The upstart unions of the Gilded Age could have grown into something very different from today’s bureaucratized behemoths.
Modern unions are governed by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The law forces companies to the bargaining table once a union is certified in a majority vote by workers. If we assume that unions intrinsically serve workers’ best interests, this might make workers the ones who now enjoy the outsized bargaining power that their employers once had.
But because we don’t live in an ideal world, it’s not necessarily workers who possess that power. It’s unions themselves.
Putting our economic spectacles back on, we can plainly see how the law protects unions from competition by leaving workers without choices. The NLRA grants a certified union the exclusive right to represent every worker at a given workplace, regardless of individual workers’ desires. They can’t join another union if they’re dissatisfied. The NLRA turned unions from worker-focused co-ops into the equivalent of miniature monopolies.
That’s a shame because unions could offer their members much more and become an even more important social institution. That perspective may be unexpected from an economist who champions free markets, but there’s nothing free about the laws that turned unions into monopolies.
Countless historical examples show that competition is often the best and swiftest form of regulation. Businesses’ top priority is to attract customers, and the successful ones recalibrate quickly when they fall behind. Unions’ customers are their members, but because of exclusive representation, they don’t face the same competitive pressure. The results speak for themselves: The percentage of unionized workers has been falling steadily since the 1950s.
Reforming regulations so that unions compete to serve individual workers, rather than tying unions to workplaces, could ultimately turn this around. Imagine a future, for example, where unions are a blend of individualized HR departments and insurance companies. Unions could assist with workers’ job searches, provide unemployment insurance and professional training, represent them in salary negotiations, and ensure their pay increases commensurately with their skill and experience.
These services would be especially valuable for workers who have traditionally experienced wage gaps, need a tailored work environment or simply lack the assertiveness to get what they deserve. Even better, these unions could serve as the source of workers’ fringe benefits, making Americans less dependent on their employers for health insurance and retirement savings.
This would be a sea change, but Labor Day started from humble beginnings, too, with a single parade that almost didn’t happen. The marching band from the Jewelers Union of Newark Two arrived just in time, and 10,000 allied union workers fell in step behind them to advocate for workers’ welfare.
Every worker deserves the chance to join a union, and there’s no reason, if we fix the regulations constraining unions, that the United States can’t become the most union-friendly nation in the world. That’d make a heck of a Labor Day parade.
Michael D. Farren is a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Michael D. Farren is a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He wrote this for InsideSources.com. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/counterpoint-a-free-marketeer-s-love-of-labor-day/article_54e065e6-2a5b-11ed-9129-73226967b723.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:19Z |
We have an amazing school district! On our first day of school last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to stop by many of our buildings to visit with teachers, staff and students. It was gratifying to see so many happy faces and kids who were truly engaged, even on the first day.
Throughout the fall, I will continue to tour our schools and departments, and meet with community groups to provide an update on our strategic plan progress and ask for feedback. It will be a busy first quarter.
During these visits, oftentimes, I am asked questions about the financial outlook of our school district. Luckily, our chief financial officer, Jed Cicarelli, has an informative presentation that he has provided to various community members and our Board of Trustees.
Perhaps one of the most important aspects of school finance is that following litigation based on equitable funding among the school districts in 1997, the Wyoming Supreme Court enacted a cost-based funding model. A subsequent ruling required that the system be recalibrated every five years due to changing economic conditions. This analysis is designed to look at personnel costs, as well as non-labor expenses like utilities and supplies.
For the past 10 years, the Legislature has not consistently funded the External Cost Adjustment (ECA). During years that districts received an ECA, it was enacted for one year only. What does this mean for school districts in our state? From the labor perspective, we receive the same amount of money that we did 10 years ago to pay for things like salaries, utility bills and property insurance.
At the same time, as a nation, we are experiencing high inflation, which is increasing that gap between the amount of funding we receive and how much we need to keep our district operational while providing students with the highest quality education for their future.
Many of us throughout the community are familiar with the tight labor market. It is difficult to attract and retain quality candidates across the board, and education is no exception. In Wyoming, we used to pride ourselves on the ability to attract and retain staff. Unfortunately, our competitive advantage has eroded over the last several years. Not receiving an ECA has exacerbated the problem to the point that we are finding it difficult to fill these necessary positions.
The Wyoming Legislature continues to struggle with addressing K-12 education funding, and continues to respond to the issue with significant reductions. Although K-12 funding is shared between local school district taxation and state revenue, approximately 70% of our revenue comes from the state. To address the shortfall, districts have developed fiscal reduction plans and shifted funds. LCSD1 is one of our community’s largest employers, and its economic impacts are felt throughout Cheyenne and Laramie County.
Finally, I would like to point out that LCSD1 also relies on state funding to build and replace school buildings. Right now, 11 of the top 22 school buildings needing replacement or repair are located in our district. That said, we have an amazing group of teachers who show up each and every day with a passion for teaching.
We will continue to engage with parents and our community to further the strands of our strategic plan in the areas of student readiness, community engagement and healthy environment. We continue to work with our policymakers so that we can provide that learning in a 21st century environment for all students. I will continue to report on our progress and appreciate the opportunity to serve as your superintendent of schools.
Margaret Crespo is superintendent of schools for Laramie County School District 1, which is the largest school district in the state.
Margaret Crespo is superintendent of schools for Laramie County School District 1, which is the largest school district in the state. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/crespo-legislatures-failure-to-enact-eca-impacts-k-12-districts/article_0ce6d546-29a1-11ed-9258-cbca1c46bc64.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:25Z |
Welcome to seventh grade. How’s it going for you so far?
We are all students in this journey we call Life. The entire universe is our university – there is no accident in the similarity of words there. I believe our time here on Earth as humans is our seventh-grade level in the University of the Universe. We have passed the grades before this and have many yet to come. We are all here at this level to learn, to teach and to love.
Do you remember your seventh-grade year in junior high school? Some of us had great experiences and were the rock stars, the athletic jocks, the popular ones, or the studious, brilliant ones. Some of us suffered through and were the unpopular ones, those that struggled, failed, flunked, skipped classes or dropped out.
This seventh-grade level of our learning through the University of the Universe is no different. We have the shining stars of music, sports, popularity and intelligence. We have the strugglers who fall victim, slip behind and never seem to get ahead or catch a break.
And guess what? I believe we are all in the space we are supposed to be in to learn what we are meant to learn and to teach what we are meant to teach.
We have a variety of class topics here in this version of seventh grade. If you are a star in this life, you shine and share your voice and experiences with others, and are in the class of teaching. If you are struggling, the course you are enrolled in is one to learn humility, patience and empathy for others.
The amazing news is that there can be semesters in this seventh grade. If you begin your time struggling, you may learn your lessons and move into the next semester’s course of being a star. Conversely, if you are a star and become arrogant, ungrateful or just need to learn other lessons, the University of the Universe has the power to enroll you into a semester of struggling, to teach you humility, patience and empathy.
Our task as students in this level of our life education is to understand and believe that no matter what semester we are in, class we are taking or curriculum we are guided by, we are here for the lessons our soul requires.
Our report cards will grade us on our ability to learn the lessons to our highest capacity. Our assignment is to teach what we learn to others. And our most important homework is to be grateful for the experiences, the teachers and the lessons – the joyous ones and the painful ones – and seek and share joy and love in the process.
Most of us would like to be granted a do-over for our seventh-grade year of junior high. If it was fabulous, we would like to relive the glory. If it was painful, we would like to do it right the second time. Well, you’re here now, and your entire life is the seventh grade of our University of the Universe. Enjoy it, live it and dance in it to your happiest level!
Welcome to seventh grade! How’s it going for you so far?
Pennie’s Life Lesson: In the school of life, be grateful for the experiences, the teachers and the lessons – the joyous ones and the painful ones. Seek and share joy and love in the process.
Pennie Hunt is a Cheyenne-based author, blogger and speaker who teaches how to “Love Your Life ... NO MATTER WHAT!” Visit her online at www.PennieHunt.com. Email: penniehunt@gmail.com.
Pennie Hunt is a Cheyenne-based author, blogger and speaker who teaches how to “Love Your Life ... NO MATTER WHAT!” Visit her online at www.PennieHunt.com. Email: penniehunt@gmail.com. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/hunt-we-are-all-students-of-the-university-of-the-universe/article_d7c9129e-299f-11ed-9d86-93c65bbd2dc8.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:31Z |
I had a conversation recently about one of the rising problems in American politics. My friend and I were discussing the reflexive distrust that many have toward certain types of people. During this conversation, my friend pointed me to a recent column by David Brooks that addresses part of the issue.
Brooks’ column dealt, in part, with Republican attitudes toward those perceived as “elites.” He wrote that many Republicans view America as being run (poorly) by a group of coastal elites that are corrupt and only look out for themselves.
Brooks recognized the core truth in this belief, which is that there is a lot of overlap between elite institutions in government, media, education and some corporate leadership. There is some truth in the idea that many of our decisions are made by a small group of people with a particular background, connected to particular organizations, located in particular places. However, many holding this belief take it a step too far as they equate what Brooks describes as a “social chasm” with a conspiracy against much of America.
I believe Brooks correctly characterizes this mindset. As Republicans, especially in the American heartland, it is easy to see the decisions made elsewhere and feel as if we are being left behind. We see people disconnected from our way of life making decisions with little apparent understanding or interest in the way it will impact the lives of those outside of their particular circle.
This is certainly valid grounds for anger and protest. However, I am reminded of an old maxim: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” While I would not necessarily describe the decisions made as “stupid,” I would describe many of them as ignorant. Simply put, most of these decisions are not made out of malice toward the people of middle America. Instead, because of the echo chamber that the elite institutions foster, the decisions are made without an understanding of the values, desires or impacts on those of us outside of the world of the decision makers.
Unfortunately, the result of this disconnect is that many Republicans have begun equating the attributes of the decision makers with the problem itself. They see that most of those who overlook or ignore our views are highly educated and have spent long, successful careers in government or other elite institutions, and begin to see all people who fit that description as part of the problem.
As a result, they begin also seeing people who speak about the complexity and nuance of our problems as being less trustworthy. Rather than speaking to our experiences – especially the anger that many feel as we see detrimental policies imposed against our will – nuanced explanations of competing interests and unintended consequences come across as disconnected.
This causes a “race to the bottom,” where candidates who speak solely in emotional terms are more successful than those who speak about solutions. The more emotive a candidate – and the less they speak about complexities and specifics – the more likely we are to vote for them. This merely widens the “social chasm” that Brooks spoke of. Instead, what we need is a way to narrow the gap between “elites” and the rest of America.
The solution lies in leadership. We need leaders who can bridge the gap between thoughtful nuance and the shared experience of many of us in “middle America.” We need leaders who recognize complexity and the need for solutions while understanding the anger and frustration that many of us feel.
This is a big thing to ask of those in leadership. It is not an easy path. There are many who would rather exploit the division for their personal gain. Anger and fear are more compelling motivators than patience and nuance. However, patience, nuance and, above all, courage are what we need most from our leaders.
I do not believe that the elites wish to destroy middle America. When I was in law school, I got a glimpse of the world of the elites. As a small-town Wyomingite at Harvard Law School, I was certainly in the minority. Many of my classmates came from wealthy backgrounds, had gone to elite undergraduate colleges, and were destined for prestigious jobs at international law firms, corporations and at the heights of government.
Nevertheless, I cannot recall any that had ill-will toward middle America. They may have thought that those of us in the heartland were a little backward or behind the times, but I believe the most common attitude was simply not to think about us much at all.
Instead of rejecting everything associated with out-of-touch decision makers, we Republicans must seek out leaders that can recognize the values and concerns of the American heartland without belittling or disregarding them. We also need leaders that recognize that some issues are complex and require a response based on intense and careful consideration, rather than emotive reaction.
Above all, we need leaders that can build the trust necessary to bridge the “social chasm.” Both nuance and understanding are necessary if we are going to build a successful future.
Khale Lenhart is an attorney in Cheyenne. He is a former chairman of the Laramie County Republican Party. Email: khale.lenhart@gmail.com. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/lenhart-republicans-need-nuanced-leadership/article_3db97318-299c-11ed-9487-ff0ded3cb3d3.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:37Z |
This past weekend was about anniversaries and history for Judy and me. Forty years ago, Judy and I were married in Laramie, while students at the University of Wyoming. In celebration of the many years we’ve spent together, on Sunday, we had brunch at Little America and sat at the same table as we did 40 years ago. I love that we are still friends and I look forward to spending the next couple of decades that we hopefully have together. I was also blessed to hold my grandson for the first time. Another important milestone I crossed in August was seeing 40 years in the bicycle business. Cheyenne has been great to us and our business. It was truly a great weekend.
Now for the downside of the weekend, my football teams laid eggs. I did not really expect Wyoming to beat Illinois, but I did expect them to be more competitive. I’m hoping they will bounce back this week against Tulane. We will be there in our brown and gold. You may not know this, but I was born in Nebraska, so quite naturally, I follow the Cornhuskers as well. This past week, they traveled to Ireland to play Northwestern. The favored Huskers lost a close game by three points, again! These close losses are killing me. I so looked forward to watching hours of college football on Saturday, even if it doesn’t end up the way it plays out in my mind.
Last Friday, I was still in Casper for the Corporations Committee of our legislature. I had breakfast with leadership from Casper’s public utilities to discuss water issues. We are concerned with our water situation here in Cheyenne if the Colorado River Compact ever decides to call Wyoming water. I wanted to see how they get their water, share our story, and see if we could help each other. It was a good conversation and I look forward to more discussions.
The Corporations Committee is currently looking at ways the Legislature can influence our housing shortages. I have learned from mayors in cities and towns both large and small that we all have something in common: no available housing. Workforce housing is especially tough. I appreciate the discussion and hope over time we will be able to find strategies that will make quality and affordable housing available for everyone in our state. I am proud of our housing task force. Their chairman was at the meeting testifying to solutions and advocating for folks that can’t afford a safe place to live.
Last Friday night was another new experience for me. I was given the opportunity to stand on stage at Fridays on the Plaza and thank the teams that make this great concert series happen. Again, I would like to thank all our staff, but first and foremost special thanks to our cleaning and safe crew; they are the folks who keep our downtown clean and help set up and tear down the set. Our tech, stage, and event team work so hard to make sure the sound at the concerts is perfect; our marketing and creative team makes sure all our events are of the highest quality; our public safety team from fire and police keep our events safe and family-friendly; lastly, the leadership of our Community Recreation and Event department – Jason’s team work so hard, year-round to make sure we have fun things to do. I also want to thank the nine sponsors who make the concert series possible. Our team loves putting on these events, but without sponsors, we would not be able to afford to do so. We had a great crowd that showed up for the final night of the season, and Jocelyn and Chris put on a great concert.
In other news, I have not been bitten by a mosquito for a few years now, and that is due to Steve Trowbridge and the Weed and Pest team we have working for our city. They work to stop mosquitos while they are still in the larva stage, and also the adults who fly and bite us. Weed and pest also help kill noxious weeds. It was fascinating to learn that the city uses beetles to eat specific noxious weeds. His team also works to keep flies down around Frontier Days Park, using traps, nematodes, and special wasps. We can help keep the pest population down, by not keeping standing water from sitting and giving mosquitos a place to breed. I appreciate the ability to walk my dog without getting eaten by mosquitos.
Chief Jason Coughey runs the Laramie County Fire Authority. It is a county fire district. We have met many times over the past two years to discuss the fire business and I appreciate his counsel. He is currently enrolled in the executive fire officer program and as part of his class, he interviews people about their communities. I enjoyed our conversation on Cheyenne and Laramie County. Our partnership with the fire authority and Cheyenne Fire and Rescue is so important. Neither of us has the manpower to do everything on our own.
Speaking of the fire service, Chief Kopper stopped by to give me the latest news in our effort to build the new fire stations the voters approved on the 6th penny sales tax. The bids are due to the construction manager right now. They should have our final bid pricing next week, and the final bid should go through the City Council process in September. We hope to break ground on the first station in October. We still have some details that need to be wrapped up, but we are almost ready to start construction. When we are done, our response times will be improved, making our community safer.
We have been working on the enhanced use lease (EUL) with the Air Force since 2014. It will provide affordable housing for our community and for airmen looking for a quality place to live. We met with members of the governor’s office and other state offices to learn what assets we can bring to make this project successful. I really appreciate the positive reaction and support we are getting and hope we are close to making the EUL happen.
Monday evening, the City Council held a work session to discuss the status of our current goals. We set seven goals in January, and they consist of: the 15th Street Railroad Experience, annexing county pockets, Belvoir Ranch’s trail system, procuring a gymnastics building, homeless issues, Reed Avenue Corridor, and surface water drainage mitigation. In this session, we had our city department directors report on the progress made on each goal. I find this year’s goals much more challenging than last year’s. I was pleased to hear we have made progress on each of our goals, but the reality is, that many will take more than just this year to accomplish.
We have had a Mayor’s Youth Council for 21 straight years now. This year’s class is larger than most, with 15 members. We met for the first time this week, and I enjoyed the experience. I can tell they are going to be an active group and accomplish much during the school year.
We have received a few requests for outside user agreements to get water services for county developments. I have been reluctant to support these requests because my math tells me it would be detrimental to the city. In meeting with some of the applicants, they believe the additional activity will more than make up for the perceived losses. I guess the math is too complicated for me, so we met with David Aadland from the UW School of Economics. They have an economic analysis division that will do an analysis for us to help us understand the effects of providing water to county development. I hope to have the analysis by the end of March. Stay tuned.
Later in the week, we held an after-action meeting to review this year’s Cheyenne Frontier Days. In 2021, our meeting took hours to review ways we could improve. This year took an hour and most of the comments were positive. It worked well, so let’s keep doing it this way. It is important to keep improving our processes.
As I mentioned earlier about anniversaries and history, Joseph Dolwick has worked for our street and alley department for 40 years now. I asked him to stop by so I could congratulate and thank him for his service. He has operated every piece of equipment our city owns over his years of service. I am constantly amazed at the quality of our city employees.
I hope over the holiday weekend, you all find time to spend with friends and family. Go Pokes and Huskers!!
If you have a question for me, send it to media@cheyennecity.org. I’ll continue to answer them in the following Mayor’s Minute column. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/mayor-s-minute-recapping-a-busy-week-looking-ahead-and-much-to-be-grateful-for/article_b3acca58-2ae5-11ed-987b-93632a006254.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:43Z |
If you oppose same sex marriage, may I ask you why? If you oppose abortion, why? If you oppose the use of contraceptives, why?
Opposition to all three is near universally based on religious beliefs. People are entitled to their religious convictions. In a democratic Republic governing a pluralistic society, they are not entitled to convert their religious opinions into law.
That’s what the majority-Catholic Supreme Court did when it overturned Roe v. Wade, and it is what Justice Clarence Thomas, a Catholic, wants to do by urging the court to “revisit” decisions permitting the use of contraceptives and protecting the right to marriage equality.
Religious views vary considerably. My own Presbyterian Church (USA) supports choice, as do many Jews and Muslims and most of the Catholics represented by several Supreme Court justices.
To deny women the right to an abortion, use of contraceptives, or anyone the right to marry who they love, the courts give special protection to the religious beliefs of a small sliver of Americans who adhere to minority, even fringe religious views.
If you can’t convince them from the pulpit, you shouldn’t be permitted to use courts or legislatures.
Consider how intertwined religious extremism was in the Supreme Court’s decision to jettison reproductive freedom. In 1662, an English judge sentenced 16 women to die. They were, he said, witches. The judge was Sir Matthew Hale, whose name appears in American legal history thrice.
The first time was during the Salem witch trials. The second in defense of a man’s “right” to rape his wife. The third in Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion overturning Roe.
During the 1692 religiously charged Salem witch trials, there was a thorny evidentiary issue. The prosecution wanted to call witnesses to claim they saw the Devil in the accused. A theological objection was raised by Puritan pastors who believed the permission of the Devil had to be obtained before that evidence could be considered.
The defense argued that the Devil could use anyone’s shape to afflict a person. The Court decided the Devil’s consent was not required, since the Devil could not use a person’s shape without that person’s permission; therefore, when the afflicted person claimed to see the apparition of a specific person, that was evidence that the accused was complicit with the Devil.
The ruling, which made it easier to convict those who were accused of being witches, was based on the precedent established by said Judge Matthew Hale to convict those 16 women, who were executed 30 years earlier back home in England.
Hale also believed a woman’s agreement to marry meant that she had placed her body under her husband’s permanent dominion, making him the most frequently cited legal authority in defense of the right of a man to rape his wife.
Judge Hale’s name doesn’t reappear in U.S. jurisprudence again until Justice Alito cited his name 14 times in overturning Roe.
Alito sees what he calls, “a growing hostility to religion, or at least the traditional religious beliefs that are contrary to the new moral code that is ascendant in some sectors.” It is harmful enough when a minority of conservative Christian clergy play the persecution card. It is a threat to religious freedom when a Supreme Court justice does so.
Using Hale as his anchor, Alito and other religionists on the court have just begun to impose their beliefs on all of us. It wasn’t only Roe. They approved of teacher-led prayer on public school grounds and the use of tax dollars to fund religious-based education.
Alito is a most ardent advocate of imposing his religious beliefs, casting believers as aggrieved and persecuted for abiding by their faith and claiming falsely that Christians have been persecuted for centuries. When it comes to persecution, they’ve given better than they got.
Alito and some others are threatening to salve their unearned persecution complex. Who could have predicted the least moral, most dishonest president in history would create a court hellbent on imposing judicially created Christian nationalism on all of us?
Rodger McDaniel lives in Laramie and is the pastor at Highlands Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne. Email: rmc81448@gmail.com. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/mcdaniel-justices-determined-to-impose-religious-beliefs-on-all-of-us/article_261f2770-2997-11ed-9507-e315f44566d8.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:50Z |
It began as a straightforward news story.
Attempts at media manipulation are often launched in routine situations. It sneaks up on you, which makes it all the more difficult to identify and resist.
As I have written in these opinion pages (separate from our news reports), the most recent instance of media manipulation I encountered involved a politician. Although I didn’t identify him earlier, I am now naming him as promised: Rep. Chuck Gray, Republican from Casper and candidate for Wyoming secretary of state.
It started with a news story that was posted online as an alert, and a longer version appeared in the next day’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle newspaper. Less than two weeks before Aug. 16’s primary, Rep. Gray’s main rival to become the next secretary of state alleged he wasn’t qualified because of campaign finance allegations involving his past campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Sen. Tara Nethercott, a Republican from Cheyenne, had latched onto allegations the previous campaign of Rep. Gray hadn’t fully accounted for where he got some campaign money.
Part of what makes media manipulation so pernicious is that Rep. Gray, like media manipulators before him, never responded to the substance of these and other allegations. At least not to my several inquiries, nor apparently to those from some other news organizations.
Media manipulation often occurs when a public figure throws shade at others and makes unsubstantiated allegations and rhetorical threats. They do this instead of answering questions, which would actually help to inform the public while buttressing their own reputations.
Rep. Gray appears to have a perfectly plausible explanation for how he got this campaign money. I only know this based on comments he made in Casper, which were reported by Victoria Eavis at the Casper Star-Tribune.
Back on Aug. 5, as I was writing a news alert, I sent a few emails to Rep. Gray seeking comment. This is typically how the WTE and other news organizations operate. We seek out as many sides of an issue as possible. We give those accused of misdeeds an opportunity to respond.
Puzzling email
I never heard back that day from Rep. Gray. I had also left him a voicemail message.
A few days later, I got a puzzling email from this legislator. It was sent from a different email address, one that he might’ve used for his campaign, rather than his official government one, which is the one I had used.
In this email, he claimed that he had never been contacted by the WTE. This does sometimes happen, when the subject of a story does not actually receive your messages. However, I had no information this had occurred here.
Naturally, I had some follow-up questions for the lawmaker. He again didn’t respond.
Also that same day, about five days after the initial news article was published, he called me numerous times and said similar to what he had written in his email. Again, he barely addressed the underlying allegations. He never returned my call back, either.
Showing the perils of attempting to engage in media manipulation, the response from Rep. Gray only served to keep the financing complaint against him in the public eye. Although our newspaper was not obligated to amend our old news story, I did so anyway. The article appeared online anew.
Retraction request
This updated news story didn’t please the candidate.
He finally said something that led me the write this column. Rep. Gray wrote to me that “this article is defamatory – we will send you a letter of retraction.”
This past Wednesday, instead of returning my emails seeking comment for this opinion column, Rep. Gray called WTE Managing Editor Brian Martin. The lawmaker spent most of that conversation, as well as a follow-up one with me, focusing on the campaign finance allegations, instead of the substance of this column. When he did address the substance, he seemed to be making various vague legal threats and lobbing criticisms of my professionalism.
Toward the end of our phone conversation, Rep. Gray then declared everything he had just said to be off the record. I told him that is not how this works. Beyond him accusing me of being a liar and a reporter who doesn’t do his research, he had very little to actually say besides maintaining he had not heard from me a month ago, when I first reached out. I can absolutely believe that my emails to his state legislative account may have gone to spam, or that he somehow missed my voicemails. I just can’t buy into his attack-the-media modus operandi.
When his rhetoric continued during our brief phone chat, I eventually told him the conversation was not productive and I hung up. I am thankful I have not felt compelled to do this with any other newsmaker since moving to Wyoming last winter.
Shortly after our contentious chat, Rep. Gray sent me an email. It read, in full, “This is pretty typical stuff from a DC journalist. These defamatory, false claims have all been responded to.”
Several minutes later, the legislator sent another email, saying, in its entirety, that the WTE “has still refused to correct the false claims that they’ve made.”
Even back in Washington, D.C., where I was a journalist for close to two decades, it’s rare to be accused of media malpractice in a case that is so straightforward. It got me to thinking that the public should know what happened – here in Wyoming.
Rep. Gray won the Republican primary. He is likely to become the next secretary of state.
Let’s hope he doesn’t practice media manipulation in that important government position.
Jonathan Make is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s assistant managing editor and editor of the Wyoming Business Report. He can be reached at jmake@wyomingnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @makejdm. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/my-side-of-the-story-rep-gray-appears-to-be-a-media-manipulator/article_b1f2d1bf-2a04-5fcf-87d4-2f6ca9b325b1.html | 2022-09-03T13:07:56Z |
In 2021, just 10.3% of American workers were members of unions, less than half the proportion we had four decades prior. This collapse in union membership didn’t happen in Canada; it occurred in the United States for reasons specific to this country, including unpleasant changes in labor law and the practices of corporations that have taken place here over the last 40 years.
Today, in more than 40% of union election campaigns, employers are charged with violating federal law, often for illegally firing workers for union activity.
The assault on labor has contributed greatly to soaring income inequality and stagnant living standards for workers in the United States. From 1979 to 2019, productivity (the income generated from an hour of labor) has grown by 60%; yet the typical worker’s real (inflation-adjusted) compensation rose by just 14%. But wages used to rise with productivity: From 1948 to 1979, productivity rose by 118% and real compensation increased by 108%.
Now come Republicans and opponents of labor with accusations that unions are a “tool” of the Democratic Party. Never mind that Republicans have consistently opposed legislation that would strengthen workers rights, increase their income (including increases in the minimum wage) or even provide them with health care (Medicare and Medicaid). Many unions are multiracial organizations and cannot stomach the Republican Party’s growing commitment to racism.
But at present, there is another reason for the partisan divide that labor – like it or not – must deal with. As many political experts have recognized, the current political system is one of minority rule. Republicans can capture and hold political power through elections and institutions in which the majority of the population is effectively sidelined. Republicans now control the Supreme Court by a 6-3 majority; this is perhaps the most obvious example where labor cannot ignore how difficult it will be to organize unions within a judicial system stacked by Republicans.
Think of the Starbucks workers, who have fought tenaciously to organize 326 locations, and are finding that they have to fight legal battles to force the company to negotiate in good faith – which is the law under the National Labor Relations Act.
There is currently proposed legislation in the House and Senate to expand the Supreme Court, which would help remove some of these anti-labor constraints. This may happen if Democrats win Congress and hold on to the presidency.
But other structural elements of minority rule give Republicans power far beyond their actual or potential electoral support. The current 50-50 split in the Senate has the 50 Democrats representing 43 million more voters than the 50 Republicans do. And the filibuster – which could be easily abolished – gives Republicans another huge helping of undemocratic power. Corrections of these gross injustices at the margins – statehood for D.C., which is an important end in itself for democracy – could make a big difference.
Both George W. Bush and Donald Trump came to power in elections in which they lost the popular vote. We could, with some legislative changes, elect the president by popular vote, as other democracies do.
Electoral reforms that increase turnout – such as increasing polling locations and ballot drop boxes, making Election Day a federal holiday and same-day voter registration – could also make a difference. It is unclear that Republicans could win national elections if people voted at the same participation rate as in most of Europe. But Republicans fight for the opposite. Last year, Republicans in state legislatures, beginning soon after being sworn in, introduced more than 440 bills aimed at restricting voting.
Then there is Donald Trump and many of his followers, who clearly do not think it is necessary to accept the result of a democratic election if they don’t like the result. These Republicans are trying to put “election deniers” in offices where they could possibly influence election outcomes in swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nevada, Arizona and many other places.
These are among the most serious threats to democratic elections in the United States that we have seen in decades. Two months from this Labor Day, members of unions, as well as working people throughout the country, will have some important choices to make in our national elections.
Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. He is the author of “Failed: What the ‘Experts’ Got Wrong About the Global Economy” (Oxford University Press). He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
Mark Weisbrot is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. He is the author of “Failed: What the ‘Experts’ Got Wrong About the Global Economy” (Oxford University Press). He wrote this for InsideSources.com. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/guest_column/point-unions-have-a-stake-in-ending-minority-rule-in-the-united-states/article_50d91e86-2a54-11ed-91fc-f7c5b17a5d51.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:02Z |
I very much appreciated your article about the efforts of the Campbell County Public Health Department to create a program for treatment of “long COVID.” I believe I suffer from that condition, and the opportunities for diagnosis and treatment of the condition in Laramie County are essentially nonexistent!
A recent article in the British publication The Guardian identifies certain characteristics making one more likely to develop long COVID. They include “if you’re older, if you have certain co-morbidities like diabetes, if you had acute symptoms initially, if you were in the hospital …” All of those apply to me.
The article identifies a wide range of symptoms, including fatigue, gastrointestinal disturbance, shortness of breath and brain fog. All of those apply to me, as well. My friends and family might say that the brain fog preceded the COVID, but those are, in fact, real disabilities.
I have explicit faith in my primary care physician, but my experience is that he treats the individual symptoms and not the syndrome, if you will excuse my uneducated use of that word. I sincerely wish that there was in Cheyenne a resource available for those like me to visit, have someone to talk to, and provide options for treatment of the complex array of symptoms experienced by those of us who are the victims of long COVID. I have a pretty good feeling that there are many more like me out there!
Please accept this as a plea for the medical community in Cheyenne and Laramie County, both private and public, to join forces to tackle this problem. Quite frankly, even having an accessible, knowledgeable, empathetic individual without time limitations to talk to would be of benefit. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/cheyenne-needs-a-resource-for-those-of-us-who-suffer-from-long-covid/article_fe141efa-2a51-11ed-ad6f-972b5bf6b61f.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:08Z |
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The famed, “neutral” DOJ/FBI raided “Orange-Man-Bad’s” home and found … Oh My! (Planted?) Nuclear Secrets, and more! Sorry, I don’t believe ANYTHING the Democrats/DOJ/FBI/MSM say, as I’ve found them to be rampant liars.
Merrick Garland stated he’ll prosecute anyone and follow the facts wherever they lead. Such noble words! Merrick, I believe you to be completely disingenuous in your pledge to “follow the facts” and uphold the rule of law; you couldn’t care less about following any facts.
How about investigating questionable elections, J6 committees, fraudulent FISA warrants; two false impeachments; Steele’s dossier; Mueller’s Russia-Russia-Russia hoax investigation; Hillary’s 33,000 emails on her private server; selling 20% of U.S. uranium to Russia; Bill selling advanced missile technology to China; Hillary’s Benghazi disaster, which resulted in Ambassador Stevens' death; Obama’s fast and furious gun running; VP Biden’s quid pro quo with the Ukraine government: ‘Either fire your prosecutor investigating Hunter or … NO $1,000,000,000!'
Speaking of Hunter, how about his laptop or position with Burisma? Perhaps you could investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s “Little Black Book,” hmmm? I’ll bet there’s a “nuclear plethora” of highly prominent people listed and to “follow the facts wherever they would lead” might prove quite embarrassing, wouldn’t it?
Will you investigate the antifa/BLM “insurrection/riots” which resulted in billions of dollars in damage in several cities, including the “Summer of Love” insurrection in Seattle? Any investigation there, Merrick? Weren’t the Democrat mayors/governors negligent in maintaining law and order in their cities, instead of supporting the mobs who attacked federal agents and buildings, then joined in the “mostly peaceful protests” that burned Portland, Seattle, Kenosha and other cities? Would Mayor Ted Wheeler be a trail of facts to follow?
Merrick, you, Joe and the Dems/DOJ/FBI/MSM’s hands are so filthy dirty, Satan would be hard-pressed to match your deeds, and you’re such “paragons of vice,” it’s difficult to imagine the graft, corruption and flat-out evil you’re involved in.
Pelosi stated: No one is above the law, not even presidents. However, Democrats place themselves above the law, yet all political/social opponents/prisoners are obviously beneath the law; forever guilty and never to be proven innocent. Yes, Merrick Garland, our savior! | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/merrick-garland-is-far-from-a-savior-and-is-instead-a-paragon-of-vice/article_a322e80e-2a52-11ed-8133-2f6def7c49c6.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:21Z |
UP to those who have volunteered their time, energy and resources to run for elected office this year.
Monday was the deadline for candidates to declare their intention to seek the nonpartisan, uncompensated seats open this year on the Laramie County School District 1 and 2 Boards of Trustees and the Laramie County Community College Board of Trustees. A total of 31 candidates will vie for 11 open seats on those boards, only one of which is uncontested (LCSD2 Area D).
During this brief lull as fall campaigns gear up, we wanted to take a moment to thank those who threw their hat in the ring and didn’t make it past the primary, those who are still in the running and those who are just getting started. Even if you don’t prevail, we appreciate your willingness to share your ideas, engage in open dialogue and keep an open mind as your listen to potential constituents.
After all, this is what our democracy is all about, and without you, we wouldn’t be half as good as we are.
DOWN to those who were quick to condemn President Joe Biden for announcing a plan to erase $10,000 worth of federal student loan debt for millions of people nationwide. The loan forgiveness would apply to those with incomes below $125,000 a year or households that earn less than $250,000, and another $10,000 would be written off for those who have received federal Pell grants.
Chief among the critics were U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, both R-Wyo., who sent out press releases faster that news outlets could post online stories about the announcement.
What our two senators – and others who disagree with the idea – choose not to focus on is that this is an effort to help lower-income people dig out from mountains of college debt, not a subsidy for more well-off families who chose to send their student to a school out of their price range. (Which makes Lummis’ claim that the bill is “incredibly unfair to the hardworking people of Wyoming who will be forced to foot the bill for the richest 40% of Americans who carry 60% of student loan debt” not just misleading, but completely wrong.)
It’s true that it’s “not fair” because a president 10, 20 or 30 years ago didn’t make the same offer to those of us who have successfully paid off our debts. Hey, guess what? Life’s not fair. Remember, though, that the cost of a four-year degree was a lot less – even when adjusted for inflation – than it is now.
And really, how different is this from federal farm subsidies or Paycheck Protection Plan loan forgiveness, some of which have gone to members of Congress to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars each?
Is it the ideal solution? Of course not. That would be something that truly addresses the high cost of higher education while also lifting up low-income residents, especially minorities who have struggled for equality for generations. But we know that’s not going to happen anytime soon, so this is better than nothing at all.
UP to Wyoming lawmakers on the Joint Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs Committee for voting to draft two bills that would provide incentive payments for successful referrals to the National Guard, and enhance existing state education and tuition benefits for Guard members.
Wyoming Military Department officials have repeatedly told the committee they’re having a difficult time recruiting people to fill open positions. The hope is that with a cash infusion of $525,000 from the Legislature, these payments of $500 apiece to Guard members who get someone else to join and better flexibility for existing Guard members will help alleviate the problem.
Time will tell if they’re effective, but when Guard members are likely to be needed more often in response to both natural disasters at home and conflicts abroad, it’s worth a try.
DOWN to the Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee for failing to go far enough when it comes to easing state rules related to how retail liquor licenses are issued.
We had hoped to see the committee agree to sponsor a bill to increase the number of full retail liquor licenses, as well as bar-and-grill licenses, in addition to creating a tavern and entertainment liquor license. Instead, the number of bar-and-grill licenses was the only proposal committee members decided to advance, despite testimony from Cheyenne Mayor Patrick Collins and others that failure to act has had a negative fiscal impact on communities.
We know there are some folks out there who don’t understand what all the fuss is about. Don’t we have enough places that sell booze in the Capital City? Yes, there are plenty of options for people to obtain alcohol, take it home and consume it. Others are concerned that more places selling alcoholic beverages will lead to more cases of alcoholism, more crime and more highway fatalities. We understand those concerns.
The reality, though, is that some businesses simply can’t be successful if alcohol isn’t on the menu. That’s especially true of restaurants and certain types of entertainment venues. Others want the option of opening a neighborhood liquor store as the city continues to expand. When the state’s largest city has to turn away nine potential business owners or expansion projects because they can’t get a retail liquor license, it’s obvious the “free enterprise” system is broken when it comes to alcohol sales.
We appreciate members of the committee for debating the issue, but we once again encourage them to work hard at finding a variety of solutions. This is about more than just access to intoxicants. It’s about creating new dining and entertainment options that keep Wyoming residents – and their money – in Wyoming.
WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK: Contact us via email at opinion@wyomingnews.com. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/opinion/staff_editorials/wte-offers-thumbs-up-and-down-9-3-22/article_690c78fe-2874-11ed-a76a-53cef3911b28.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:27Z |
State fights challenge of June oil and gas lease sale
CHEYENNE (WNE) — Gov. Mark Gordon has announced that Wyoming is taking legal action to “protect the oil and gas industry.”
The state has filed a motion to intervene in a pair of cases that were filed by a coalition of advocacy groups seeking to challenge the June 2022 Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease sale.
Wyoming is joining the BLM and other states to defend the lease sale.
The coalition of advocacy groups allege that the Bureau’s lease sale violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
In its opposition filings, Wyoming challenged the groups’ claims and asked the court to allow it to intervene because the state’s sovereign and economic interests will be adversely affected if the lawsuit succeeds.
The state argues in both briefings that it has a legally protected economic interest in the outcome of this case, and the legal challenge threatens the state’s interest.
The filings note that the oil and gas lease sale collected over $13 million in bonus bids, entitling the state to more than $6 million in revenue.
Park County deputy shoots, kills armed suspect
POWELL (WNE) — A Park County Sheriff’s Office deputy shot and killed a suspect who had charged the deputy with a gun Tuesday afternoon after fleeing down a canal road, according to a sheriff’s office release.
The incident occurred at 2:56 p.m. and involved a suspect with an active warrant, the release said.
The deputy attempted a traffic stop on the suspect, at which time a pursuit ensued. The suspect attempted to flee down a canal road. He eventually stopped his vehicle,
exited with a firearm pointed at the deputy, and charged at the deputy, the release said.
The deputy was forced to engage the male with lethal force and shots were fired.
The suspect is deceased, and the deputy is uninjured.
The Division of Criminal Investigation was directly notified and is currently investigating the incident with the full cooperation of the Park County Sheriff’s Office.
No more information was immediately released.
Raccoon causes power outage
CODY (WNE) — A raccoon, not a storm, is to blame for Cody’s Aug. 24 power outage, the second time in two years that a raccoon has turned off the lights. The outage lasted for approximately two hours, from roughly midnight to 2 a.m.
According to Cody Public Works Director Phillip Bowman, a raccoon entered into the Glendale substation, causing equipment to short out and knocking out all of the circuits.
The substation serves three separate circuits in the vicinity of Cody and Markham reservoirs, Bowman said.
The raccoon died during the incident, and the circuit it damaged had to be rerouted to one of the city’s existing circuits.
“The city circuits are now feeding that [area] on a temporary basis and [the] Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) is starting to test and confirm the status of the equipment where the actual short was caused by the raccoon,” Bowman said. “So whether or not it’s still operable and meets all of the testing requirements, we don’t know yet.”
This is not the first time a raccoon has gotten into the Glendale substation and caused damage.
In April of 2021, a raccoon entered and caused damage to a separate circuit at the substation.
“All the substations are fenced around the perimeter, but it’s definitely a human fence,” Bowman said. “It’s there to prevent humans from entering it, but snakes, raccoons and birds can typically dig under and get through those fences.”
During the power outage, the city worked with WAPA, which owns the Glendale substation, to get the equipment fixed and the power back on.
“We assisted them with the necessary control checks to ensure the substation was safe to power up again,” Bowman said.
Unemployment falls to 3.0% in July
CHEYENNE (WNE) — The Research & Planning Section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services reported last week that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased from 3.1% in June to 3.0% in July.
Wyoming’s unemployment rate is lower than its July 2021 level of 4.5% and lower than the current U.S. rate of 3.5%.
From June to July, most county unemployment rates followed their normal seasonal pattern and decreased.
Unemployment rates often fall in July as job gains are seen in leisure and hospitality, construction, and professional and business services, according to a news release.
The largest unemployment rate decreases occurred in Lincoln (down from 3.7% to 2.7%), Sublette (down from 3.8% to 3.2%), Uinta (down from 3.8% to 3.3%) and Teton (down from 2.2% to 1.7%) counties.
In July, unemployment rates were lower than their year-ago levels in every county.
The largest decreases were reported in Natrona (down from 5.8% to 3.7%), Campbell (down from 5.3% to 3.3%), Niobrara (down from 4.1% to 2.2%), Converse (down from 4.7% to 2.8%) and Sweetwater (down from 5.7% to 3.9%) counties. Unemployment rates were elevated in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teton County, at 1.7%, had the lowest unemployment rate in July. It was followed by Crook County and Niobrara County, both at 2.2%, and Weston County at 2.3%.
The highest rates were found in Sweetwater County at 3.9%, and Fremont County and Natrona County, both at 3.7%.
Total non-farm employment in Wyoming (not seasonally adjusted and measured by place of work) rose from 284,500 in July 2021 to 291,600 in July 2022, an increase of 7,100 jobs (2.5%).
Employment was unusually low in 2021 because of economic disruptions related to the pandemic.
Alleged stalker sent more than 100 text messages
GILLETTE (WNE) — A 43-year-old man was arrested for stalking, driving while under the influence and not having insurance after a string of stalking-related reports Tuesday.
A 32-year-old woman waved down officers at Energy Capital Sports Complex after she had made a stalking report earlier in the day. She said the 43-year-old man had violated his bond by contacting her.
He had called her 33 times and sent her 111 messages, said Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson.
She had already told him to stop contacting her. The man had also allegedly threatened her and claimed to be following her. He drove by the park while officers talked to the woman but drove off when he saw law enforcement, Wasson said.
Later Tuesday night, the woman reported seeing the man driving a blue Chevy truck outside her residence in the 200 block of Primrose Drive. The 43-year-old was spotted by Tepee Street and Sioux Avenue where he was stopped. He was found to have been drinking and was arrested, Wasson said.
State gets grant to help adults reentering the workforce
GILLETTE (WNE) — The state has received a grant to help adults who are re-entering the workforce after being released from prison.
The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, in partnership with the Department of Corrections, was recently awarded a $3.9 million Pathway Home 3 Grant.
Providing justice-involved individuals and incarcerated adults with critical skill building and support services before and after release, the grant provides the opportunity for these individuals to successfully re-enter their communities and the labor force.
The grant is job-driven and builds connections with local employers who enable returning citizens to secure employment, while advancing equity for individuals —including incarcerated women— who face significant barriers to labor market re-entry.
Robin Sessions Cooley, director of the Department of Workforce Services, said the state will teach returning citizens skills such as job readiness, employability, digital literacy and job search strategies.
“The grant also provides for additional occupational training, leading to industry-recognized credentials to reduce the likelihood of recidivism,” Cooley said in a press release.
Both agencies will work in collaboration to serve 400 participants over the three-year course of the grant.
“The Department of Corrections is very appreciative of the collaboration with the Department of Workforce Services,” said Dan Shannon, director of the Department of Corrections. “Our common goal of public safety is a key factor and this partnership will provide those confined a validated opportunity for success when returning to our communities.”
Trial begins in video voyeurism case
SHERIDAN (WNE) — The trial of Shaun Kobielusz, 38, began Monday before 6th Judicial District Court Judge Matthew Castano.
Kobielusz is accused of three counts of voyeurism, or the clandestine and nonconsensual viewing of an individual in a location in which the person being viewed has a reasonable expectation of privacy, including restrooms, baths, bedrooms and other locations.
Court documents allege the defendant installed three camera-enabled alarm clocks — including two in restrooms — to record private behaviors, without the consent of others.
Because Kobielusz allegedly used a camera to surreptitiously film three victims, the defendant is charged with three counts of felony voyeurism, each punishable by up to two years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both.
The trial has been pending for several months, after the case’s initial trial date in late 2021 was vacated due to scheduling issues. The defense also moved to suppress key evidence in the case under the Fourth Amendment, but Castano denied the motion.
After empaneling 13 jurors — eight men and five women — Deputy Sheridan County and Prosecuting Attorney Christina Cherni and defense attorney Jeremy Kisling presented their theories of the case in opening statements.
Kobielusz’s trial is expected to continue until Thursday.
Man found dead in Evanston ponds
EVANSTON (WNE) — The Evanston Police Department responded to a call Aug. 19 about what appeared to be garbage floating in the northwest area of the Bear Ice Ponds, according to a press release.
“When officers arrived on scene,” the release reads, “they noticed an adult-sized tricycle lying on its side partially in the water of the pond. They then noticed an adult male floating face-down in the water with no signs of life.”
The officers removed the body, who was identified as Brian Giovannoni of Evanston.
The Uinta County Coroner took charge of Giovannoni and performed an autopsy. The cause of death was ruled drowning with underlying medical issues.
The investigation is still awaiting lab resultsand the case remains active, the release states.
Longtime Wyoming journalist Jim Angell dies
CHEYENNE (WNE) — Lifelong journalist Jim Angell died Wednesday, August 17, at Davis Hospice Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He was 64.
Born in Spokane, Wash., on May 29, 1958, he was raised by his parents, Carol and Darrel Dean Angell, wheat farmers in Walla Walla, Wash. He graduated from Walla Walla High School in 1976 and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Washington State University in 1981.
Angell worked as a reporter at the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Wash. for several years before moving to Cheyenne in 1985 to take a job with the Associated Press, where he worked until 1998.
He began dating Mary Shannon, then a reporter for the Wyoming Eagle, during the 1989 Wyoming legislative session, and the two were married on May 5, 1990. Their daughter Amanda was born in 1997.
Angell became the executive director of the Wyoming Press Association in 1998. A stalwart champion of government transparency, he lobbied the legislature to ensure open government and educated reporters and elected officials on Wyoming’s open meetings and public records law. In 2019, he received from the WPA the Milton Chilcott Award for his “extraordinary efforts to defend access to public information.”
As WPA director, Angell planned conventions for the state’s newspaper people. He not only scheduled workshops and social functions but also wrapped up each convention by leading a jam session with his fellow journalists, encouraging everyone to sing along until late into the night.
In 2017, the Angells formed the Wyoming News Exchange, a cooperative service for the state’s newspapers that continues today.
Following his retirement from the WPA in 2018, Angell helped to found the Cowboy State Daily, an online news source, in 2019 and worked as its managing editor until his illness.
He was preceded in death by his parents and by Jeff “Kong” Shields of Walla Walla, Wash., a close family friend whom Angell considered a brother. He is survived by his wife and daughter.
Arrangements for a celebration of life will be held in Cheyenne the first part of November. When finalized, details will be posted on schradercares.com. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Wyoming Press Association Foundation at 2121 Evans Ave., Cheyenne, WY 82001.
Sheridan WYO Rodeo Queen wins Miss Rodeo Wyoming
SHERIDAN (WNE) — 2022 Sheridan WYO Rodeo Queen Reata Cook has been named Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2023.
Cook will be the fourth Miss Sheridan WYO Rodeo to hold the Miss Rodeo Wyoming title.
She has dedicated her year as Sheridan WYO Rodeo queen working to empower young women. Currently pursuing a degree in elementary education from Chadron State College, Cook partnered with Joey’s Fly Fishing Foundation to run a “Just for Girls” fishing camp this summer.
The experience, she said, allowed her to empower young girls and learn their stories.
“As a rodeo queen, I am not only an ambassador for the sport of rodeo but I like to reach out to those little girls because I was in their shoes once…” Cook said. “Now, I get to be that for little girls [across] the state of Wyoming.”
The Miss Rodeo Wyoming Association was founded in 1977 to support and guide Miss Rodeo Wyoming, a woman who promotes agriculture, professional rodeo and the Western way of life while embodying professionalism and grace, organization officials said in a press release earlier this week.
As next year’s Miss Rodeo Wyoming, Cook will receive a $2,000 scholarship from the Miss Rodeo Wyoming Foundation as well as several award items, including a saddle, silver spurs, belt buckle and several pairs of chaps. She will also accompany the current queen to the Miss Rodeo America pageant this November.
Cook’s reign officially begins Jan. 1, 2023. She is looking forward to traveling across the state, meeting with other rodeo queens and representing the Cowboy State at up to 300 regional rodeos. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/around-wyoming/article_50bf628e-2a0e-11ed-ab6b-5b6df5ba8a15.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:33Z |
Current and former college students in Wyoming report a collective sigh of relief in the wake of President Joe Biden’s move to relieve a portion of student debt.
While Wyoming politicians have nearly unilaterally condemned the decision as unfair and irresponsible, some University of Wyoming students and graduates say they see the announcement as a spark of hope after years of financial struggle. For some borrowers, loan forgiveness will offer a path to financial freedom, but for others it isn’t nearly enough.
The plan will forgive up to $10,000 for student loan borrowers who make $125,000 or less annually. Those who received a Pell Grant — a piece of financial aid geared to help lower-income families — could receive up to $20,000 in forgiveness.
“This forgiveness is going to be huge for me,” said Sandy Kingsley of Sheridan, who has more than $9,000 in debt left to pay. “I’ve been struggling for years.”
Kingsley earned her degree in family studies and human services online from Kansas State University in her 50s while raising four kids on her own. Despite receiving a Pell Grant and a scholarship, she wasn’t able to make ends meet.
“I didn’t want to borrow money,” Kingsley said, explaining that she took summer classes and did all she could to finish her degree quickly. “I almost had to drop out that summer because of keeping a roof over our heads and food.”
Whatever the reason, many college students in Wyoming end up taking out loans to pay for their education. At University of Wyoming, 43% of undergraduate first-time students take out loans averaging $23,592, according to data from the 2020-21 school year.
In 2021, about 57% of WyoTech’s revenue came from federal money, which includes loans and Pell Grants, said spokesperson Douglas Min.
Nationwide, nearly 32% of undergraduate students take out an average of $32,880 in loans to obtain a bachelor’s degree, according to the Education Data Initiative.
Since Biden announced his plan to forgive some of that debt, students have been calling the UW Scholarships and Financial Aid office in higher volumes than normal, said Anna Terfehr, the office’s director.
Students and graduates are seeking guidance on whether or not they are eligible for the forgiveness and what they need to do to receive it. The forgiveness only extends to borrowers who have had a loan disbursement on or before June 30, meaning not all current students will be eligible.
She explained that the office also is still learning about the forgiveness plan and likely wouldn’t know the impact it will have for UW students and alumni until doing an analysis.
“We’re learning something that’s still not formally approved, and it is so student specific in the totality of their loan history and loan life,” Terfehr said.
Biden’s plan also will halve required monthly repayment rates and cover unpaid monthly interest rates so long as borrowers continue to make their payments.
Debt snowball
UW graduate Ryan Sedgeley said that while he has $34,000 in debt, some of his friends have seen their debt double or reach $100,000 because of high interest rates.
“In a lot of ways, $10,000 in relief is not nearly enough to help those people,” Sedgeley said, adding it “seems like kind of a joke.”
It took Sedgeley about 10 years to receive his undergraduate degree, in part because he had to drop out multiple times to work to make enough money to go back to school. He said a young person having so much money offered in the form of a loan can find it difficult to understand its implications.
“As someone from a lower middle class background, seeing those numbers rise every month was completely terrifying,” Sedgeley said about continuing to take out loans. “It was scary, but I felt like I didn’t really have an option.”
This element of fear not only influences people in college, but those who are deciding whether or not to pursue higher education.
After graduating from KSU, Kingsley worked with Upward Bound at UW, a program that encourages and prepares high school students to attend college. One of her tasks there was to assess what barriers exist in getting first-generation students to attend college.
“One that came out over and over again is they’re scared to death of debt,” Kingsley said. “I know that that is keeping a lot of kids (in Wyoming) from going to college.”
Resources
At UW, the Scholarships and Financial Aid office works with students to help them determine which loans they should take out and for how much, Terfehr said. The amount of resources a student needs when navigating college payment largely depends on his or her background and whether or not parents have attended college.
“There’s definitely some that come in and feel like they really know what they’re doing, and others who need extra guidance and help,” she said.
At WyoTech, most students attend with financial help from their parents, Min said. He predicted that while eligible students were likely happy about the proposed $10,000 forgiveness, loans don’t have a large influence on whether or not they decide to attend the technical school.
Kingsley said that even with scholarships from universities and the government, students who don’t have familial support can struggle to pay for things like food and housing.
“There’s a lot of nontraditional students that out of necessity go back to school and there’s not a second income,” she said. “The only way to get through it is student loans.”
Sedgeley said the nation’s student debt crisis is indicative of larger societal issues, such as low wages and skyrocketing costs of education.
“The people who are complaining about student loan forgiveness and making it out to seem like it’s some kind of hand-out is just outrageous,” he said. “I’ve watched bailout after bailout after bailout for banks and corporations and rich people. It’s about time that real working people actually get a break.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/breathing-room-uw-student-loan-borrowers-react-to-federal-debt-relief/article_d70ce75a-2a02-11ed-b863-978e85725b15.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:39Z |
Even as he prepares to leave the office in mid-September, Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Buchanan is confident in the state’s election process without him, he told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Wednesday.
In July, Gov. Mark Gordon appointed Buchanan to serve in Goshen County as a district court judge in Wyoming’s Eighth Judicial District. Buchanan has indicated, including in an earlier interview with the WTE, that he might leave following last month’s primary election and before the Nov. 8 general election.
On Wednesday, Buchanan said he expects his last day in his current position will be around Sept. 19. The judiciary wanted him to start by Oct. 1, and he has to balance the responsibilities of both positions.
“I have to take into account the schedule of the retiring judge, and a docket that is ever-growing. You can’t expect people to pick up the slack forever waiting for you to take the bench,” he said. “And so, I’ve got some SLIB (State Loan and Investment Board) matters that are coming up in the middle of September, and after those are done, I think it’s a good time to make a transition.”
Buchanan has no predictions for who might temporarily replace him, nor is he concerned with them being under-qualified to serve in his absence. He said they will be in the office for such a short period of time that they will have few responsibilities, even as the general election approaches.
“Your county clerks are the ones that run elections. We at the Secretary of State’s Office play a role in supporting that, and we have a great relationship with the county clerks. We work very well together as a team,” he told the WTE. “The county clerks have the latest and greatest when it comes to physical and cybersecurity, and they have the expertise to get your elections done.”
He said election staff will be in the office the night of the general election, just as they always have been, to receive and verify the results. He said it’s a matter of waiting for the process to complete itself, and he has 100% confidence that no matter what happens, the general election will go smoothly.
Laramie County Clerk Debra Lee voiced her confidence in the election process at the local level, as well. She said there are statutes and rules that provide the legal framework for conducting elections, and many clerks have years of experience under their belt to provide the best experience for voters.
“We will certainly miss Secretary Buchanan,” she said. “He’s been a good champion for election integrity, and highlighting the misinformation and disinformation that has been circulating by providing facts, and that’s very much appreciated.”
Election commissionBuchanan weighed in on another election issue that has been discussed by lawmakers in the past week, warning that any efforts to take elections away from the Secretary of State’s Office must be thoughtfully discussed and considered. He doesn’t believe the office is too overwhelmed or incapable of handling its responsibilities, and said it has done so successfully for decades.
As the WTE previously reported, Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, brought forward a motion last Thursday at the Legislature’s Joint Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions Committee to create an election commission, which would create a separate operating agency in charge of elections.
“We have a 2024 presidential election coming up that’s going to very contentious, and I do have some concern that the most likely person that will be our next chief elections officer, secretary of state, has alleged that there may be nefarious activities in the ballot box, which I don’t agree exists,” said Zwonitzer. “I think our elections are safe and secure, probably more than any other state in this country.”
The motion to draft a bill to formulate the agency was passed amid pushback, including from Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper. He said county clerks are going to preserve the integrity of the election system, and voters who wanted primary election winner, Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, as the secretary of state would be insulted.
“The Legislature has the ability to shape the duties of certain state offices, including Secretary of State,” Buchanan said. “That’s not my decision, and I’m not going to weigh in on whether or not they should or shouldn’t. I just think if they entertain that discussion, they should do so very, very carefully.”
Among other presentations at the committee meeting, Elections Director Kai Schon told lawmakers the new-post election audit pilot was successful and showed the primary results were 100% accurate. Buchanan said it was one of the projects he plans to complete as much as possible before he leaves the office, and it was implemented well for the primary.
According to a LinkedIn post, Schon is among the staff in the Secretary of State’s Office who may be leaving. He didn’t comment.
Leadership transition
There has been speculation as to whether other members of staff will resign after Buchanan takes the bench. He said there are always such concerns after an election because.
“When I came into office, my message to the people that were here was very simple: We’re going to give 110% customer service and we will have a zero-fail mission,” he said.
He said whoever comes into the office next has to recognize that in large part, they are a member of a team now, whether it be in the office or on state boards. Buchanan added that the ultimate goal is to serve the best interests of Wyomingites.
“Hopefully, they will instill confidence in their abilities to lead this office,” he said. “And that’s the best way to approach coming into any new office.”
Interim secretary
Buchanan leaving before his term ends means the office will work under two new secretaries of state in the upcoming months.
The governor is required to choose an appointee to take Buchanan’s place until the winner of the general election is sworn into office.
Once Gordon receives the official resignation notice from Buchanan, the governor will notify the chairman of the Wyoming GOP Central Committee, Frank Eathorne, and the selection process for a replacement will begin. Gray won the GOP primary to succeed Buchanan as secretary of state, though he likely wouldn’t start until early next year, and he still must win the general election.
A state central committee meeting will be called no later than 15 days after Eathorne is made aware of Buchanan’s resignation, and committee members will choose three candidates from which the governor will select one. It cannot be any member of the Legislature, including Gray, due to state statute.
Gordon has five days to make the decision following their selection.
“I can’t over-emphasize, honestly, what a tremendous honor and privilege it’s been to serve the state in this capacity,” Buchanan said. “That’s why it wasn’t an easy decision, because I’m going to miss everyone that I’ve worked with.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/buchanan-confident-in-election-process-without-him/article_14ef5c8e-2a02-11ed-b98a-c387fc975e03.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:45Z |
The Sheridan Press
SHERIDAN — A piece of legislation designed to increase child safety on Wyoming roads is being considered by the Wyoming Legislature’s Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs committee this interim session.
The Sheridan Press
SHERIDAN — A piece of legislation designed to increase child safety on Wyoming roads is being considered by the Wyoming Legislature’s Transportation, Highways and Military Affairs committee this interim session.
Proposed legislation 23-LSO-0025 requires all children younger than the age of 2 to be placed in a rear-facing safety restraint system and increases the fine for failing to ensure young children are in the proper restraint system.
All who do not comply with this requirement will face a fine of no more than $100 for the first offense and no more than $200 for the second offense, according to the proposed legislation. The $100 fee for a first offense can be waived upon providing proof of the purchase and installation of a proper child safety restraint.
Existing Wyoming law requires children younger than 9 years of age to be “properly secured in a child safety restraint system in a seat of the vehicle other than the front seat” but does not require children younger than 2 to be restrained in a rear-facing car seat.
Currently, fines for improperly restrained children are set at $50 for a first offense and $100 for a second offense.
Car crashes remain one of the most common sources of death for children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2019, 608 child passengers died in motor vehicle crashes and more than 91,000 were injured.
Always buckling children in age- and size-appropriate car seats, booster seats and seat belts reduces death and serious injuries by up to 80%, the CDC said.
For those younger than age 2, the CDC recommends the use of rear-facing car seats as a way to absorb most of the crash forces and support the baby’s head, neck and spine in the event of a crash. When young children ride forward-facing, their heads are thrown forward, which could potentially result in spine and head injuries.
Currently, 16 states — plus the District of Columbia — require rear-facing seats for passengers younger than age 2.
The proposed changes to the child restraint legislation are not new to the Wyoming Legislature.
During the 2021 general session, the legislature considered an identical bill known as House Bill 23. While the bill failed to pass the House during third reading with a vote of 26-34, many legislators, including Rep. Kevin O’Hearn, R-Mills, expressed support for the bill at the time.
“This bill is very important, not only to Wyoming, but to the United States, as more kids are killed and severely injured in vehicle accidents than in any other matter,” O’Hearn said.
23-LSO-004 was scheduled to be considered and discussed by the transportation committee during their meeting in Rock Springs this week, but, due to a busy schedule, the committee postponed its consideration until its next meeting, which will be held from Nov. 3-4 in Cheyenne.
If the bill draft is approved during that meeting, it could proceed to the 2023 general session this spring.
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A receipt was sent to your email. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/car-seat-rules-could-be-returning-to-legislature/article_3cdf463c-2a07-11ed-a8d6-0fabc2c4cc27.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:52Z |
ExxonMobil has received a federal permit to inject carbon dioxide for permanent underground storage below public Bureau of Land Management property in southwest Wyoming.
The company will inject up to 60 million cubic feet of CO2 per day from its Shute Creek natural gas processing facility near La Barge, according to the BLM. The greenhouse gas will be stored in a briny portion of the Madison Aquifer some 18,000 feet below the surface in an area that straddles the border between Lincoln and Sweetwater counties.
The permit is a first of its kind for the BLM. The agency issued new guidance in June authorizing underground CO2 storage on BLM-managed lands as part of the Biden administration’s initiatives to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
“This project is a prime example of how the BLM can work together with industry leaders to combat climate change,” Wyoming BLM State Director Andrew Archuleta said in a press release.
The permit is a significant step forward for ExxonMobil’s plans to expand its CO2 capture and sequestration program at Shute Creek, touted as one of the largest in the world. But the Shute Creek CO2 program is not without its critics.
About half the volume of CO2 that’s been captured or separated from the raw natural gas stream at the facility – approximately 120 million tons – has been vented into the atmosphere since it began operations in 1986, according to a March 2022 report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Finance Analysis. About 114 million tons of captured CO2 have been sold for enhanced oil recovery – the process of injecting CO2 into marginal oil fields to produce more oil.
Shute Creek emitted more than 3.4 million tons of CO2 in 2020, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data. If fully implemented, the plan to sequester an additional 60 million cubic feet of CO2 per day – or 1.2 million tons annually – would cut Shute Creek’s CO2 venting by about 35%.
Shute Creek
The Shute Creek gas plant was among the first facilities in the world to separate CO2 from an industrial process for permanent underground storage.
ExxonMobil began selling CO2 to oilfield operators in Colorado and Wyoming, including the Salt Creek oil field near Midwest, in the 1990s.
The company told state regulators it sold an average 207 million cubic feet of CO2 per day in 2007 for enhanced oil recovery but still vented about 200 million cubic per day. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2008 pressured ExxonMobil to market more CO2 for enhanced oil recovery as Wyoming oil producers were clamoring to take advantage of high oil prices.
The facility still vents into the atmosphere about half the CO2 it produces, according to IEEFA’s analysis. That’s because the economic model for the Shute Creek carbon capture and utilization relies on high oil prices to shore up demand for the CO2.
“The project has been unable to capture the volumes of CO2 it was designed for, not for technical reasons but for economic reasons,” according to the IEEFA report. “For CCUS projects to be economic, it requires a high oil price, and in several cases, government subsidies.”
The Shute Creek CCUS program qualifies under the “Section 45Q” tax credit for carbon sequestration, which historically allowed for about $50 per ton for geologic storage and $35 per ton for CO2 used in enhanced oil recovery. Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act extend the 45Q tax credit and increase it to $85 per ton for geologic sequestration and $60 per ton for “utilization” of CO2, such as enhanced oil recovery.
The Shute Creek CO2 program remains anything but a climate-friendly endeavor, however, according to IEEFA. That’s because rather than capturing CO2 from industrial processes such as the combustion of fossil fuels, it’s simply moving naturally occurring CO2 from one geologic formation to another while about half is used to produce more oil resulting in human-made CO2 emissions.
“The (Shute Creek) CCUS model should mainly be seen as a subsidy harvesting scheme to prolong the life of the oil and gas industry, not an emission reduction investment,” IEEFA analysts wrote.
Some conservationists consider any additional volumes of CO2 diverted for geologic storage rather than for enhanced oil recovery or venting into the atmosphere as a positive.
“Moving from [enhanced oil recovery] to permanent geological storage on BLM lands is a pretty big shift,” said Wyoming Outdoor Council Conservation Advocate John Burrows.
WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/exxonmobil-to-store-co2-on-blm-lands/article_9b5c8828-2a02-11ed-aa5c-43b03c146a42.html | 2022-09-03T13:08:58Z |
CASPER — The Wyoming Department of Health is offering free Narcan — a temporary opioid overdose antidote — to Wyoming agencies, businesses and organizations. Narcan is meant to quickly help reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
The medication’s active ingredient — naloxone hydrochloride — can restore normal breathing in a person whose breathing has slowed, or even stopped, from an opioid overdose. Sometimes more than one dose of naloxone is needed when dealing with stronger opioids like fentanyl.
In some cases, the medication can be lifesaving.
Recent upticks in overdose deaths in Wyoming are believed to be largely attributed to an increase in synthetic opioid-involved overdose deaths, according to the department of health.
There were 94 overdose deaths in Wyoming in 2016, according to Wyoming Department of Health data. That dropped to 62 deaths in 2017. Overdose deaths then increased to 106 in 2021.
That follows trends across the nation. Synthetic opioid-involved death rates grew by more than 56% from 2019 to 2020 across the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Synthetic opioids made up over 82% of opioid-related deaths in 2020.
The free Narcan is funded through the State Opioid Response Grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
The state health department’s Substance Abuse Prevention Program previously provided free Narcan to groups in Wyoming from 2016 to last fall when the federal grant for the program ended.
The Narcan is for groups rather than individuals.
People interested in a personal supply of naloxone should ask local pharmacies or medical providers about the medication. Insurance sometimes covers naloxone prescriptions and some pharmacies can provide naloxone without a prescription.
Medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders is also available throughout Wyoming.
The Wyoming Department of Health Behavioral Health Division contracts for medication-assisted treatment services and other opioid use treatment services with community providers.
Services from community substance abuse treatment providers are available regardless of a person’s ability to pay. People can visit https://health.wyo.gov/behavioralhealth/mhsa/treatment/ to find a community or certified provider.
People can find online Narcan administration training at getnaloxonenow.org/#gettraining. The training is free for people who use a Wyoming address on the site. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/free-overdose-antidote-available/article_a02b5274-2a09-11ed-8694-1f39cc5a7251.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:04Z |
CASPER — President Joe Biden’s recently announced student loan forgiveness plan could bring welcome relief to some students in Wyoming.
“It’s going to help a lot of our students,” Brandy Payne, Laramie County Community College financial aid director, said. “We needed relief in the wake of the pandemic.”
But some are skeptical.
Wyoming’s Sen. John Barrasso said in a statement Wednesday that the plan is “an insult to every American who played by the rules and worked hard to responsibly pay off their own debt.”
“This decision is also a boon for Biden’s wealthy supporters,” he said. “Once again, the Biden administration is selling out working families to appease the far-left wing of the Democrat party.”
Likewise, Wyoming’s Sen. Cynthia Lummis said in a Wednesday statement that the plan is “incredibly unfair to the hardworking people of Wyoming,” and that it will add billions of dollars to the nation’s debt.
Biden announced the outline of his student loan forgiveness plan on Wednesday.
The plan only applies to students with federal loans who have an individual or married income of less than $125,000 and $250,000, respectively.
It will give Pell Grant recipients who fall under those criteria up to $20,000 in debt relief and cancel up to $10,000 in debt for non-Pell Grant recipients.
It’s also going to halve the cap on monthly payments for undergraduate loans from 10% of borrowers’ discretionary income (income leftover after paying taxes and essential cost-of-living expenses) to 5% of that income.
On top of that, the plan will extend the pause on federal student loan repayment through the end of the year.
There’s still a lot that has to be hammered out before it’s clear who exactly could benefit from the loan forgiveness plan; officials from several community colleges that the Star-Tribune reached out to said they can’t estimate how many students might be impacted because they don’t track student income, and there are still questions about who could qualify.
But some are already looking forward to what the debt forgiveness could mean for their own futures.
Gabe DeGraeve, a Casper native and third-year political science student at Belmont University in Tennessee, has about $15,000 in debt right now. He expects to be eligible for loan forgiveness under the new plan, based on the requirements that have been outlined so far.
“One of my big concerns is being able to find work and pay off that debt,” he said. “The chance for some of those loans to be forgiven is something that I’m very excited about and looking forward to.”
DeGraeve, who hopes to return to Wyoming in the future and work in politics, actually interned for Barrasso last summer in Washington, D.C.
“I’m not at all surprised by their reactions,” he said of Lummis and Barrasso’s denouncement of the loan forgiveness plan. “I think that no matter what happens, Lummis and Barrasso will be against policies of the Biden administration.”
Student debt is pretty low in Wyoming compared to other states. That’s because there are a lot of opportunities for students to get scholarships — like the Hathaway scholarship — or save money by going to community college.
Abby Gruner, a chemical engineering student at the University of Wyoming, said these kinds of opportunities influenced her decision to stay in state for school; she’s a Trustees’ Scholars Award recipient, meaning that her education at UW is completely covered.
Having her education completely paid for is the main reason why she chose to attend UW rather than her dream school, Pomona College, where she had also been accepted.
“Having such amazing scholarships to colleges in Wyoming is certainly a blessing, but I do feel like it inhibits new ideas from reaching the state because so many never have the opportunity to experience living outside the state,” Gruner said in a text message. “I am not sure if I would have chosen differently when deciding where to attend college had Biden’s plan been in place at the time, but I definitely would have taken it into consideration.”
For more than three years, student loan debt among UW graduates has stayed around 45%, according to the university’s spokesperson.
According to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, about 38% of students there get federal loans, and the median total debt after graduation is $18,318.
Those numbers are lower at Wyoming’s community colleges.
At Laramie County Community College, for example, about 17% of students graduated with debt in the 2021 academic year, according to data kept by the college.
The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard shows that the median total debt after graduation among students at the college is $10,500. (Remember, not everyone who graduates with debt from federal loans will have their debt canceled under the plan. They have to fall under certain criteria for that to happen).
Jessica Cowen, a second year Casper College student double majoring in psychology and musical theater, said in a text message that the plan could relieve students from “unnecessary stress.”
Although she doesn’t have any debt, she’s talked with other community college students who’ve had to take out loans.
“Classes already put a lot on our plates, and we do not need [added-on] obstacles that cause possible burnout,” she said. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/loan-plan-reactions-mixed-students-happy-politicians-not-so-much/article_f63e439e-2a02-11ed-9ade-e3c18b62964a.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:10Z |
CASPER — People in school districts across Wyoming “overwhelmingly” emphasized that addressing mental health among students and staff is crucial to school safety, according to a memo from Wyoming Department of Education Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Chad Auer.
“I think mental health is a huge component of safe schools,” Chad Blakely, a Cheyenne-based teacher, said. “It’s the basis of everything.”
The Wyoming Department of Education said that it would host school safety talks across the state following the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 kids and two adults in May.
“School safety is at the top of everyone’s mind now, and it has been for many years,” Auer said in a statement announcing the talks. “The modern reality is we, as educators and communities, must prepare for the possibility that evil might show up at our local school on any given day.”
Auer hosted the talks over the summer. The Wyoming Department of Education shared his update on the talks Monday.
Mental health has been a challenge across the board in Wyoming.
The state has the highest suicide rate in the nation, according to 2020 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the pandemic has made the situation even more challenging; suspected suicide attempts among adolescents across the country went up 31% in 2020 compared with the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Especially adolescents in middle school and high school, over the years, we’re continuing to see a larger number suffering from mental health issues,” said Andi Sommerville, executive director of the Wyoming Association of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers.
Student behavior has been more of an issue during the pandemic, too; Natrona County School District reported 17,000 recorded instances of bad student behavior district-wide this past school year, up from 12,000 instances in the 2018 school year.
Expulsions also increased from 37 in the 2018 school year to 48 this past year.
Since the pandemic, teachers have observed more incidents of aggression, according to a joint report from the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Education Association.
“When the kids came back to school after lockdown and isolation, it was like they forgot how to act in civilized society,” Blakely said. “There were a lot more fights, turning in homework seemed more challenging.”
Not all behavioral problems among students are necessarily related to mental health, but it’s a contributing factor, Somerville said.
In a state that’s so rural, providing access to mental health resources isn’t easy; Auer said in his memo that some districts are trying to connect with local professionals to meet the mental health needs of students and staff.
But not all have access to such resources, and many of them reported a shortage of counselors, social workers and mental health professionals.
“It’s absolutely the case that school districts are caught up in the provider shortage right now,” Sommerville said.
Part of the problem may be that these professionals don’t get enough compensation; the Wyoming Education Association argues in a lawsuit it brought against the state earlier this month over school funding that school personnel – including counselors – aren’t paid enough to compete with surrounding states.
There has been a lot of discussion in Wyoming, particularly since the pandemic, around providing more mental health care via tele-health. That could be especially helpful for rural communities.
But Somerville said mental health care through tele-health should be balanced with in-person services, particularly for school-aged kids.
“We really need to look toward a longer-term plan that uses both tele-health and in-person services,” she said.
There are some potential solutions to address mental health in Wyoming schools that seem promising.
For example, the Wyoming Department of Education got two Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grants to start Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) in 2021.
The program, which serves six Wyoming school districts right now, provides school-based mental health services that are meant to supplement existing mental health services in communities.
The project is showing positive outcomes so far; of the 380 kids who have used the program’s services so far, about 46.3% of them have reported higher levels of social connectedness, according to Dustin Brown, the project’s director.
It has helped reduce wait times for students in need of mental health services.
The program is also open to school staff, although there isn’t any data to show outcomes for staff who take advantage of the services. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/mental-health-tied-to-safe-schools/article_b2260e72-2a06-11ed-9860-7fad0d2c7744.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:16Z |
BUFFALO — Johnson County School District No. 1 administrators are keeping their eyes on a recently filed lawsuit from the Wyoming Education Association alleging that the state Legislature has failed to adequately fund K-12 education.
Superintendent Charles Auzqui said district administrators and the school board have yet to have any conversations about the lawsuit, but if the district — or others in the state — agree with the suit, they could join as plaintiffs.
"There's always that option for districts to join in this lawsuit, but it's so fresh off the press, other than social media (and) texts that went around, there really hasn't been a gathering of what's going to take place,” he said.
The WEA's lawsuit, filed Aug. 18 in the First Judicial District Court in Laramie County, primarily argues that the Legislature has failed its constitutional duty to adequately fund education by not providing additional funding for schools as costs have increased and inflation has ballooned in recent years.
The WEA argues that the Legislature could have provided external cost adjustments, created new revenue streams or adjusted funding during its school funding model review process, which takes place at least every five years.
By not providing additional funding through these avenues, the suit argues, the Legislature has failed its constitutional duty to adequately fund Wyoming schools.
“The WEA has exhausted possibilities for correcting the funding deficit outside of litigation,” WEA legal counsel Patrick Hacker said in a press release. “The point of the litigation is to get the Legislature to do its Constitutional duty. The goal is to enforce the Constitution to secure proper funding for safe, high-quality schools everywhere in Wyoming and to stop the deterioration of public education due to legislative failures.”
While the suit contends that the Legislature is funding education inadequately, Sen. Dave Kinskey believes otherwise.
“This (lawsuit) is asking for whole new categories of spending to be created,” Kinskey said. “And it is absolutely an attempt to try to get the Supreme Court to force the Legislature to create new taxes or raise existing taxes, and I think it'd be out of line for the court to do so.”
Kinskey pointed to multiple portions of the complaint that reference state revenue issues that have gone unresolved and how the Legislature has not made efforts to establish new revenue sources as his basis for believing that this lawsuit is more about taxes than it is about education funding.
He said he wasn't necessarily surprised that it had come to a lawsuit, describing his time in Cheyenne as “every year, for eight years, I've been hearing, 'You better give me everything I want, or we're going to sue.'" On school funding, Kinskey said that he believes Wyoming's current efforts - about $17,000 per student - is more than adequate and that the Legislature will work with the state's current revenue streams to "continue to fund education well.”
He said the Legislature takes the same view toward education funding that it does toward all others who come to the body asking for money out of a limited pot of funds.
“You make your case for what you think you need,” he said. “The Legislature looks at all the resources it has available, does the best job it can with the money it has, and not everybody goes to Cheyenne and comes back with everything they want. That's just the way the system works.”
Auzqui, however, said he understands the reason for the lawsuit, especially after the Legislature failed to provide an external cost adjustment for districts during its budget session last spring.
The education committee had proposed a $72 million external cost adjustment during that session; however, that was cut by the full legislative body to just $10.1 million before being eliminated entirely.
“What kind of stemmed it (the suit) is when you have the money to give an ECA, but put $1 billion away in savings, that probably is not helping the cause when you have some buildings and some things that need to be fixed," Auzqui said.
External cost adjustments, according to a report from the Legislative Service Office, aim “to reflect the changing costs of resources” between years when the Legislature contemplates adjustments to the education funding model.
Auzqui has been a frequent and staunch proponent of external cost adjustments, especially as the Johnson County district worked its way through its budget process last year.
He testified in front of the Legislature's Joint Education Committee in October 2021, telling the group of lawmakers that any money would help school districts adjust to what he called a “new normal,” primarily regarding employment in Wyoming communities.
“It is very hard to find the classified people we need to support our district,” he told the committee. "We're struggling with bus drivers, with paras, subs in general, how we manage things. We're competing with McDonald's, who has $15 an hour. Sure, they might not have the benefits, but the reality is we're competing with those wages.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/opinions-differ-on-wea-education-lawsuit/article_6f0ba72c-2a07-11ed-a467-ab7d48b7f569.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:23Z |
Forest Service honors pair of partners
The Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grasslands has announced that two of its partners have been recognized by USDA Forest Service Rangeland Management.
One was recognized for its research, conservation practices and collaborative efforts, and the other for implementation of an innovative virtual fencing system.
The Thunder Basin Grasslands Prairie Ecosystem Association has won the Outstanding Rangeland Management Partner Award, for promoting positive change for rangelands, and the Fitch Ranch has won the Rangeland Ingenuity Award for Forest Service employees or partners who have taken proactive efforts to adapt to changing conditions and develop creative solutions.
Along with the Fitch Ranch, Forest Service employees Marie Stiles, Rangeland Management Specialist on the Parks Ranger District of the Routt National Forest, and Dwayne Rice, Rocky Mountain Region Range Program Manager, were also honored.
Bears are back on Moose-Wilson Road
JACKSON (WNE) —Hold your horsepower. The bears are back on the Moose-Wilson Road.
The road that runs from Teton Village to Moose is seeing its annual increase in bear activity once again, since the corridor is lined with hawthorn, chokecherry and serviceberry shrubs, which produce the very berries black bears eat in preparation for hibernation.
“While there is no way to measure whether it is a 5% or 40% increase, we know activity is up because the food source there is hardy,” said Valerie Gohlke, public affairs specialist with Grand Teton National Park.
Berry production along the Moose-Wilson Road, which winds along the foothills of the Tetons, has been abundant this year, so the risk of bears on the road has increased.
The short viewing distances, dense vegetation and narrow road can make it challenging to spot bears while driving. To reduce the chance of human-bear conflict, officials with the Grand Teton National Park recommend:
- Following direction from park staff
- Remaining inside a vehicle while observing bears
- Driving slowly, since bears frequently cross the roadway
- Respecting no-parking zones
- Viewing only from zones identified with signs
- Remaining patient to allow for positive bear-viewing opportunities for all passersby and
- Reporting bear sightings to the nearest visitor center.
Park rangers may close the Moose-Wilson Road if bear activity increases to protect local black and grizzly bears.
Federal regulations require people stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves and 25 yards away from other wildlife.
To learn more about bears, safe bear viewing and how to use bear spray, visit go.nps.gov/tetonbears.
Search continues for missing swimmer
JACKSON (WNE) —Multiple agencies continued looking this week for a missing Pinedale man last seen the afternoon of Aug. 24 while swimming with co-workers and friends on Fremont Lake.
Tip Top Search and Rescue, Sublette County Sheriff’s Office and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department searched Tuesday around Moosehead Bay, on the lake north of Pinedale, for 52-year-old “Rick” De Ruiter Zylker.
The Sheriff’s Office first learned of the possible drowning last Wednesday afternoon after Zylker went underwater and never resurfaced. As of press time Tuesday, the team still had not located Zylker.
The weeklong search has had no shortage of assistance. Sublette County Sheriff KC Lehr said that he had received numerous calls to assist in the search but has enough volunteers.
Among volunteer teams Monday was John LaBrec and K9 Taz of Jackson Hole Search Dogs. Idaho Search and Rescue Dogs, Inc. out of Driggs, Idaho, also supported the search effort.
“One of the teams conducted a free air sniff search of the water as the other team concentrated on the shoreline,” Lehr said in a press release. “The teams then switched, and compared their findings. Both dog teams indicated on the water. Using their GPS waypoints, we were able to draw another box within our search area.”
Searchers have been using side-scan sonar by towing a device called a Tow Fish which is pulled on a cable to try to get close to the lake bottom.
Lehr explained that dive teams are unable to search the area due to water depths ranging from 150 to 300 feet where pressure would be well over 100 pounds per square inch and temperatures would be in the 30s with zero visibility. At its deepest, the lake reaches 610 feet.
Bear sighted in Rock Springs neighborhood
ROCK SPRINGS (WNE) — What started out as a typical Wednesday in a usually quiet neighborhood in Rock Springs turned into excitement and wonder as a black bear was spotted by a longtime resident.
Homeowners of jewel-named streets were on the lookout for wildlife as children waited for the bus at various corners of the neighborhood.
Rock Springs resident Daryl Hayes was walking his black Labrador, Obby, hoping to see deer. Hayes’ friend, Nick Roich had joined them for the morning stroll.
Between Prairie Avenue and Garnet Park, Hayes spotted something.
“At first, I asked ‘What is that?’ Then I said, ‘Oh, my, that’s a bear!’” Hayes explained. “I’ve been living here for 27 years and that’s the wildest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Rock Springs Police officers arrived on the scene to help track the bear.
“We notified Game and Fish,” said Sgt. Mathew Register. “They’re aware of the situation but we believe there’s no real threat to the public.”
Hayes agreed.
“When I saw it, he minded his own business and kept going,” he said. “He didn’t want to cause any trouble.
“I’ve seen coyotes, deer and my neighbor even had a badger in their yard, but seeing that bear was really wild,” Hayes added.
Nearly 5K gallons of fuel spilled in Yellowstone
JACKSON (WNE) — After the driver of a tanker truck lost control, the rig rolled and spilled an estimated 4,800 gallons of unleaded gasoline in Yellowstone National Park recently.
The accident happened near mile marker 16 on Highway 191, which runs through the western side of Yellowstone near the Montana-Wyoming border, according to a park news release.
The release said it was unknown if any of the fuel had spilled into nearby Grayling Creek, which flows from the Gallatin Mountains into Hebgen Lake.
National Park Service crews responded immediately, the release said, and cleanup efforts are ongoing. No injuries were reported.
The incident remains under investigation, the park release said. For up-to-date road information, visit Go.nps.gov/YellRoads, call 307-344-2117 for a recorded message, or sign up for mobile Yellowstone road alerts by texting “82190” to 888-777. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/out-and-about/article_00f8f154-29f8-11ed-a81b-7b04e9da9ba8.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:29Z |
My eyes sting as sweat drips from my forehead. I’m in the drops — the bottom level of my bicycle handlebars — and can’t readily wipe the sweat away.
I hit my groove and feel great. To an onlooker, I probably don’t look all that happy since I’m certainly not smiling. But I am actually quite pleased with myself.
I am halfway up a long hill. I’m not fast, as attested by other cyclists who inch past, but I am moving forward and even feel strong in the process.
I am a roadie. That’s the term for cyclists who pedal out on paved highways and byways via skinny-tired bicycles.
In the world of cycling there are a wide range of modes, including mountain, gravel, commuter and fat bikes. In my bike stable I have them all and enjoy the various modes. Truth is, I’m a roadie at heart. Getting in a tuck on my bicycle and pedaling the miles away on pavement is my favorite biking mode.
I’ve raced a little, mostly in the Wyoming Senior Olympics and in triathlons when I was younger.
Every time I race I prove I’m not a racer. I’m dismally slow. Instead, I prefer bike touring where speed doesn’t matter. The bulk of my vacations over the past two decades involved touring via bicycle. I call it “slow travel.”
I’m about halfway to my goal of bike touring in all 50 states.
That joy of road cycling returned this past July during the Tour de Wyoming bicycle tour. Cycling events of every stripe took a hiatus because of COVID-19. While I still pedaled the local roads during that period, I didn’t go elsewhere to explore and discover new landscapes. I missed the adventure.
I volunteer as director of the Tour de Wyoming and have since starting the event in 1997. I can’t pedal all the miles over the ride’s six days because of other duties; still, I get on my bike for at least 20 to 30 miles a day.
On this day, as we pedal from Kemmerer to Farson, the route begins with a series of rollers. These are hills that aren’t particularly steep, either going up or coming down, but get the ticker ticking.
Rollers are challenging, but with a reward once the summit is reached and there’s a breather going down the other side. It’s nothing like going up and over a mountain pass. Those climbs often last an hour or more, which is a long time to fight gravity.
Rollers are my preference with a shorter chug uphill, followed by a quick blast of delight on the descent. Up and down, up and down.
Everyone loves a downhill and a tailwind. That joy is actually accentuated when preceded by a climb or push into the wind. It is an earned reward with real satisfaction.
With road riding there’s the opportunity to tune in with all the senses. Look around, ogle the scenery and spot wildlife, smell the freshly mown hay lands, hear the birds tweet and feel the breeze. While the sense of taste is not in play much, I have swallowed the occasional mosquito.
The downside to road riding is obvious: you share the road with motorized traffic. To be a roadie, you must trust those behind the wheel to give you a little space or, if that isn’t possible, to slow down as they go by.
I was hit once while out on the road. It was not my fault, but I paid the price. Fortunately, I walked away only with bad road rash and no broken bones. I was so sore the next day I could barely move. Alas, my bicycle took the brunt of the impact and needed rather extensive repairs. It took about a year to return to the highways and trust people in their cars again.
Because of that accident and a few other rather significant tumbles, I won’t pedal without wearing a helmet even when commuting around town. I also pedal the highways wearing bright clothing and with a flashing taillight that says, “Do you see me now?”
Even with the cars, headwinds and tough climbs, there’s nothing like the freedom of pedaling down the highway via my own power. It is an addiction I can’t — and don’t want to — shake.
My fellow roadies understand and typically wave when we pass out on the highways.
It is a shared understanding of why getting out there and spinning the wheels is so enjoyable, even if we aren’t always smiling. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/road-cycling-where-all-senses-come-into-play/article_2c181a18-29f8-11ed-b81c-0bf88504a487.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:35Z |
Highway Patrol trooper arrested, charges not released
CHEYENNE — A Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper was arrested Tuesday by the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, according to a WHP news release sent out at 5:30 p.m. that day.
On May 2, the Wyoming Highway Patrol was contacted by the Cheyenne Police Department about an investigation involving a trooper, the release said. The Cheyenne-based trooper, Sgt. Gabriel Testerman, was immediately removed from service and placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.
Neither WHP spokesperson Sgt. Jeremy Beck nor a CPD spokesperson responded immediately to questions about Testerman’s charges.
An investigation is ongoing and media inquiries were directed to CPD. The Highway Patrol said in the release that it is “cooperating fully with the investigation.”
Wyoming’s second monkeypox case confirmed
JACKSON (WNE) — A Teton County resident has Wyoming’s second case of confirmed monkeypox, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.
Follow-up with the adult man showed no increased risk of the virus to the local community, said Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer and state epidemiologist.
“We want people to realize monkeypox spreads through close, intimate contact and does not spread easily like familiar viruses such as influenza or COVID-19,” Harrist said in a Monday news release from the state health department.
Monkeypox is characterized by a rash with other symptoms such as fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and tiredness.
Average gas prices decline 3.2 cents in past week
CHEYENNE — Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 3.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.94 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming.
Prices in Wyoming are 41 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand 40.9 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 7.3 cents in the last week, and stands at $5.04 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Wyoming was priced at $3.13 per gallon on Sunday, while the most expensive was $4.99, a difference of $1.86 per gallon.
The national average price of gasoline has fallen 5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.81 per gallon Monday. The national average is down 39.8 cents per gallon from a month ago, and stands 69.1 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
Governor’s education initiative prepares review
CHEYENNE — Gov. Mark Gordon’s education initiative has completed its statewide listening sessions and is currently preparing a series of policy recommendations.
Building on the momentum of a statewide survey that garnered in excess of 7,000 responses, the Governor’s Reimagining and Innovating the Delivery of Education (RIDE) Advisory Group hosted 17 listening sessions with more than 200 attendees. Participants included parents, students, employers, district employees and community members.
Some of the most common feedback received during the listening sessions included support for more individualized approaches to learning, including more flexibility for students to move at their own pace, according to a news release.
Attendees also advocated for addressing standards and expanding options that prepare students for careers and life, approaches which align well with the “Profile of a Graduate” work that the State Board of Education is completing. Additional topics that were emphasized included an increase of focus on the early years before third grade, including pre-kindergarten; increasing mental health support for students and educators; and teacher preparation, retention and recruitment.
Alleged stalker sent more than 100 text messages
GILLETTE (WNE) — A 43-year-old man was arrested for stalking, driving while under the influence and not having insurance after a string of stalking-related reports Tuesday.
A 32-year-old woman waved down officers at Energy Capital Sports Complex after she had made a stalking report earlier in the day. She said the 43-year-old man had violated his bond by contacting her.
He had called her 33 times and sent her 111 messages, said Police Deputy Chief Brent Wasson.
She had already told him to stop contacting her. The man had also allegedly threatened her and claimed to be following her. He drove by the park while officers talked to the woman but drove off when he saw law enforcement, Wasson said.
Later Tuesday night, the woman reported seeing the man driving a blue Chevy truck outside her residence in the 200 block of Primrose Drive. The 43-year-old was spotted by Tepee Street and Sioux Avenue where he was stopped. He was found to have been drinking and was arrested, Wasson said. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/worth-noting-sept-3-2022/article_4560e648-2a03-11ed-8e98-13d878797bdf.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:41Z |
President Joe Biden speaks about student loan debt forgiveness in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Aug. 24 in Washington. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona listens at right.
Wyoming ranks first in the nation for the percentage of federal student loan borrowers whose debt will be completely eliminated by a new federal loan forgiveness initiative.
Last week, President Joe Biden said $10,000 in federal student debt will be forgiven for most borrowers, and up to $20,000 for recipients of Pell grants. An additional payment pause will be extended through Dec. 31, and undergraduate loan payments may be capped at 5% of a person’s monthly income.
If the administration follows through with the plan, 37.8% of Wyomingites who took out federal student loans will have a zero balance, according to an analysis by Student Loan Hero, a student loan tool under LendingTree. It analyzed data from the U.S. Department of Education. The other two states most impacted are Nevada and Utah, both at just above 36%.
Student Loan Hero Senior Economist Jacob Channel told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle on Tuesday this is made possible in part because borrowers in Wyoming owe 20% less than the national average of $36,689. At close to $29,000 per federal borrower, only residents in Nebraska and North Dakota have a similarly low student debt burden.
“There aren’t necessarily a ton of private schools in Wyoming,” explained the former Sheridan resident, who has studied the state’s economy. “A lot of people gravitate toward either community college or the University of Wyoming, both of which are generally cheaper options that don’t require as much debt as some other institutions might. So, in that regard, I think that Wyoming is in pretty good shape.”
The average of $29,000 among such borrowers across the state is impacted by older residents with more debt.
Meanwhile, the Education Data Initiative found that as of April, the highest number of borrowers were 36 to 49 years old, and they owed an average of $40,000. This totals more than $740 million in student debt. Residents age 50 and older owed the highest amount, an average of more than $40,000 per borrower.
Channel said many older borrowers may have not been able to afford to pay back the amount requested by the U.S. Department of Education, and the debt accumulated interest.
“You do have some contingent of people who are going to school later in life for the first time, who maybe missed out on some opportunities for scholarships that might be a little bit more readily available to high school students,” he said. “Based on how student loans work, if you’re not able to make a full payment on them … your debt can quickly spiral out of control because of the interest.”
The National Center for Education Statistics found after adjusting for inflation, college tuition has increased 748% since 1963.
Although younger students are expected to pay thousands of dollars more in tuition than their elders, they are among the borrowers with the least amount of student loan debt. There are close to 8,500 Wyomingites who are 24 years old and younger and owe an average of $10,588, according to the Education Data Initiative. Those ages 25 to 34 owe an average of $26,257, and there are 17,900 borrowers.
“A lot of new borrowers, these younger groups that we often talk more about when we’re talking about student loans, they can easily find themselves in the same situation as older people,” Channel said. “Where they can’t pay their payments and then their debt can balloon.”
Jasmine Hall is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle’s state government reporter. She can be reached by email at jhall@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3167. Follow her on Twitter @jasminerhphotos and on Instagram @jhrose25. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/news/wyoming-no-1-for-borrowers-whose-student-debt-will-be-eliminated/article_51bb2f30-2a02-11ed-87c0-5b526f9c9598.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:47Z |
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), entrenched in American folklore by a bestselling book and a popular film, was one of the most famous decisions rendered by the Warren court.
In a landmark opinion that reflected the Supreme Court’s determination to create one rule for rich and poor alike, the high tribunal held for the first time that the Sixth Amendment requires states to provide for court-appointed attorneys in all felony cases.
Justice Hugo Black wrote the court’s 9-0 opinion: “From the very beginning, our state and national constitutions and laws have laid great emphasis on safeguards designed to assure fair trials. This noble ideal cannot be realized if a poor man charged with a crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist him.”
Black insisted that no person should be deprived of counsel because of his poverty. To do so, he believed, violated the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of the right counsel, as well as the promise of our democratic society to provide equal justice under the law.
The case brought to national prominence Clarence Earl Gideon, who was charged with breaking and entering the Bay Harbor (Florida) poolroom, a felony under state law. Gideon had no money and, at trial, asked the presiding judge to appoint an attorney to represent him.
The judge refused his request on grounds that Florida law granted him no such authority. Gideon protested and asserted a constitutional right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment. The trial court explained that the Supreme Court, in Betts v. Brady in 1942, had held that criminal defendants in federal cases possessed the right to court-appointed counsel, but that ruling did not extend to state cases.
Gideon conducted his own defense “about as well as could be expected from a layman,” Justice Black observed in his opinion for the Supreme Court in Gideon v. Wainwright.
Gideon was not skilled in the arts of lawyering and lacked knowledge about discovery, cross-examination and the rules governing the admissibility of evidence, among other shortcomings. He was convicted and, while in prison, in his own handwriting, appealed in forma pauperis — in the character of a pauper — to the Supreme Court, asserting denial of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
The Supreme Court appointed a brilliant attorney, Abe Fortas, who later became Justice Fortas. Fortas was asked by the court to address the question of whether Betts v. Brady should be overturned.
He was in the enviable position of drawing upon Justice Black’s dissenting opinion in Betts v. Brady. When the court unanimously agreed to overturn Betts, Chief Justice Earl Warren graciously assigned to Black the opportunity of writing the court’s opinion, which meant he could write into law his dissent in Betts.
Justice Black wrote for the court that right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment was a “fundamental” right that should be incorporated into the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment and applied to the states. Black observed that if Gideon’s was a federal case, he would clearly enjoy the right to counsel.
Why, he asked rhetorically, should a federal right, fundamental to a fair trial and equal justice under law, be denied in state court?
“It is an obvious truth,” he wrote, that “any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.”
At retrial, Gideon was represented by a court-appointed attorney. His lawyer uncovered new witnesses and evidence and won an acquittal from the jury.
The story of Gideon’s vindication was beautifully told by the prize-winning author and New York Times columnist Anthony Lewis in “Gideon’s Trumpet,” an instant classic used in classrooms across the nation to introduce readers to the landmark case and the workings of the criminal justice system. Lewis’s book was made into a movie by the same title, in which the acclaimed actor, Henry Fonda, portrayed Gideon. The book and the film reward attention 50 years after the court’s decision.
Gideon stood at the center of the Warren Court’s commitment to the principle of equality in criminal justice. The court’s rulings expanded the principle of due process of law as a means of constitutionalizing state criminal proceedings and aimed to reduce the gap between the affluent and the poor.
Its reach extended to requiring, for example, that states furnish indigent defendants in criminal trials with transcripts of a trial record in appellate cases. Otherwise, the appellate review would be inadequate.
Years later, the court, under the leadership of Chief Justice Warren Burger, named to the Supreme Court by President Richard Nixon, extended the right to counsel to misdemeanors when the defendant is sentenced to imprisonment.
Gideon is remembered as one of Justice Black’s finest opinions, in a category with his opinions in the Pentagon Papers case and the Steel Seizure case. It stands as a tribute to his persistence in the effort to extend the right to counsel to state cases, a reflection of the experiences of a justice born into poverty in Clay County, Alabama, who learned as a police court judge of the importance of legal representation for the poor who, otherwise, would be denied equal justice under the law.
David Adler, Ph.D., is a noted author who lectures nationally and internationally on the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and presidential power. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/opinion/gideon-s-trumpet-a-note-of-equality-in-criminal-justice/article_66bc4dfa-2a03-11ed-b7c5-6708768c65bb.html | 2022-09-03T13:09:54Z |
Most summer afternoons, I have a Pabst Blue Ribbon (OK, OK, usually two) next to the Medicine Bow River — up by the bridge that isn’t there anymore, and the tornado sign that isn’t there anymore either.
You can’t miss it.
Referring to things that used to be here but aren’t anymore when giving directions is one of the fun aspects of being an old timer. It’s a form of hazing newcomers. Let these young squirts figure it out like we did.
There’s an old gravel pit down the road where a seismic crew landed a helicopter about 30 years ago, and old coots like me refer to it as “the heliport.” Hasn’t been a helicopter there in decades. It isn’t even a gravel pit anymore after trees were planted there.
The bridge was taken out many years ago, probably washed out, but the approaches are obvious on both sides. A new bridge was built upstream, and if you approach it quietly, whistle pigs (aka marmots) whistle a piercing warning that dangerous humans are around (hence the nickname).
The tornado sign was erected by the U.S. Forest Service to commemorate a rare mountain tornado that roared down the valley July 4, 1976, knocking down thousands of trees.
Replacement trees were planted in subsequent years and are doing great today. But idiots shot up the tornado sign, and now all that’s left is the frame. This isn’t a surprise. A stop sign at the intersection of Forest Service roads 120 and 111 fell over 20 years ago and were on the ground for 10 years before someone finally stole them.
I ride up to the tornado sign on an ancient Yamaha three-wheeler ATV that was given to me five years ago (my wife wouldn’t let me buy one) by a neighbor who took pity on me. It was built in 1984, and runs so reliably that you wonder how we won World War II.
Three-wheelers were outlawed years ago because they can be dangerous. But not so for a slow-moving hazard to navigation like myself, who seldom gets out of second gear. The main threat for me is being hit from behind.
Someone tried to camouflage it years ago, so it’s kind of a melange of Yamaha yellow and Hershey Bar brown. The lights haven’t worked for years. But if the battery gets low, a single weak pull on the starter cord starts her right up and gets me safely back to the cabin.
I’ve been told several times by guys with fancy four-wheelers, “I wish I’d never sold my three-wheeler.”
Two years ago I was quaffing a Pabst by the river when I noticed movement on the other side. A cow moose — with a calf in tow — would grab a willow branch near the trunk and strip off every leaf and twig clear out to the end of the branch in one mouthful.
“What a cast-iron stomach she’s got,” I thought as she wandered upriver, calf trailing behind.
The river roars in June, drops in July, and lately makes a monotone that sounds like people mumbling off in the distance. In July and August after the river drops, I set up my folding chair next to the river and spend about an hour listening to the water going by. It’s good for what ails you, and a bag of pretzels goes perfectly with the Blue Ribbon.
In July, I took a picture of a fat whistle pig eyeing me from the other side of the river. My wife posted it on “Wyoming Through the Lens,” explaining that we see lots of spectacular pictures of moose, elk and deer, but precious few whistle pigs. That post got more than 1,000 views and lots of discussion about what exactly a whistle pig really is. (They call them marmots in the Tetons, whistle pigs in my neighborhood.)
We sit on opposite sides of the river, gazing at each other, enjoying the afternoon sun.
I’m a creature of habit, so most summer afternoons up high in the Snowy Range you’ll find me listening to the Medicine Bow River, keeping an eye out for moose and whistle pigs.
I’m the guy next to the tornado sign that isn’t there anymore.
Dave Simpson was a newsman for four decades working as a reporter, editor, publisher and columnist. He lives in Cheyenne. He can be reached at davesimpson145@hotmail.com. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/opinion/guest_column/you-say-marmot-i-say-whistle-pig/article_94ebdde4-2a03-11ed-b05d-af7347833ea1.html | 2022-09-03T13:10:00Z |
If you turn a blind eye to a problem, that doesn’t make it go away.
That was apparent earlier this month when the state was hit with a lawsuit from the Wyoming Education Association alleging that it failed, as constitutionally required, to adequately fund public education. As a result of that failure, the association maintains, cracks are beginning to show in Wyoming’s public school system in the form of larger class sizes, aging infrastructure, insufficient security and struggles to hire enough teachers.
The suit doesn’t seek a specific dollar amount. “But this is going to be a very substantial amount of money,” Patrick Hacker, one of the group’s lawyers, told the Star-Tribune.
None of this should be a surprise. While the governor’s office put out a statement after the lawsuit’s filing saying it would have preferred to resolve the matter outside the courts, Wyoming has known for some time that its educational bill would soon come due. But state leaders either chose to ignore that fact, quibble over the details or argue about educational issues with no bearing on our state. And now here we are.
The origins of the lawsuit date back decades. The Wyoming Supreme Court held in a series of cases between 1980 and 2008 that the state’s old system for financing schools, which was based on local property taxes, was unconstitutional. Under the so-called “Campbell County cases,” the high court defined what a quality education entailed in Wyoming. The rulings also meant the state was obligated to perform cost-of-education studies and adjust funding based on inflation, among other things.
The state paid for the studies, but lawmakers haven’t always followed the recommendations of the consultants they hired. For example, in 2018 the state spent $800,000 to perform a review of the education funding system. Lawmakers anticipated that the review would find ways to save money. Instead, the review determined that the state should be spending tens of millions more than it was. So lawmakers rejected the recommendation and moved on without a solution.
And Wyoming’s education system has repeatedly gone without solutions. The answers aren’t exactly easy. The state’s revenue streams aren’t what they once were thanks to changes in the energy industry. That leaves decision makers with two choices: raise more funds through taxes or make cuts elsewhere. With no easy answer, our politicians have opted for a third option: kicking the can down the road.
Of late, they’ve also taken to focusing on distractions. So instead of worrying about the massive funding shortfalls facing the system, lawmakers have “fought” critical race theory, which isn’t taught in the state, or fretted about girls’ locker rooms, even though there is no evidence of a problem.
But the piper must still be paid. Our leaders had time to solve this problem. They could have followed their own funding model. Now, they’ll likely spend even more money — in the form of legal bills — than they would have if they just solved the school finance issue in the first place. Ignoring problems, or looking for distractions, can only put off the inevitable for so long. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rawlinstimes/opinion/staff_editorials/state-leaders-ignored-school-funding-now-the-bill-has-come-due/article_0a5b3834-2a06-11ed-aa58-375dc441a137.html | 2022-09-03T13:10:06Z |
Laramie’s looking for a few good young people
The city of Laramie is seeking applications for Laramie Youth Council.
The council is open to young people ages 14-19 who attend school or live in Albany County. The group meets once a month or more often as needed.
The Youth Council was created to build awareness and involvement in local government, community service and relevant issues facing youth today. Successful members will share a willingness to serve their community and a desire to learn about and participate in local governance operations.
For more information or to get an application, visit cityoflaramie.org/youthcouncil. Completed applications can be emailed to clerk@cityoflaramie.org.
Celebrate an important historic milestone Tuesday
Celebrate Wyoming history and enjoy conversation with old and new friends from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday at the Wyoming Women’s History House, 319 S. 2nd St. in Laramie.
The Wyoming Council on Women is celebrating 152 years of women voting in Wyoming, which happened 50 years before women all across the United States were given the right to vote.
Louisa Swain and other historic costumed characters will attend the event, along with representations of other pioneering women.
Light refreshments will be served at this free-to-attend celebrations, and all are welcome.
City fogging for late-season skeeters
Locals in and around Laramie may have noticed growing swarms of mosquitoes over the past week or so as recent heavy rains and high temperatures have contributed to a late-season hatch of floodwater mosquitoes, according to the city of Laramie.
“While this species is not our local vector of West Nile, it can be a nuisance during outdoor activities,” the city says in a press release.
That’s why the city’s mosquito control department continues to monitor populations of the insects and has temporarily resumed evening fogging to help alleviate the problem.
For more on the fogging and other mosquito-related information, visit cityoflaramie.org or call 307-721-5056.
Local group seeks volunteers to be foster grandparents
Foster Grandparents of Wyoming is seeking volunteers ages 55 and older who want to make a difference in their community while working with local children.
Volunteers to be foster grandparents will earn a tax-free stipend for their time, along with mileage reimbursement and other benefits while tutoring and mentoring in area school settings.
A background check is required.
For more information or to learn how to become a foster grandparent, visit fostergrandparentswy.org or call 307-223-1051.
State gets grant to help adults reentering the workforce
GILLETTE (WNE) — The state has received a grant to help adults who are re-entering the workforce after being released from prison.
The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, in partnership with the Department of Corrections, was recently awarded a $3.9 million Pathway Home 3 Grant.
Providing justice-involved individuals and incarcerated adults with critical skill building and support services before and after release, the grant provides the opportunity for these individuals to successfully re-enter their communities and the labor force.
The grant is job-driven and builds connections with local employers who enable returning citizens to secure employment, while advancing equity for individuals —including incarcerated women— who face significant barriers to labor market re-entry.
Robin Sessions Cooley, director of the Department of Workforce Services, said the state will teach returning citizens skills such as job readiness, employability, digital literacy and job search strategies.
“The grant also provides for additional occupational training, leading to industry-recognized credentials to reduce the likelihood of recidivism,” Cooley said in a press release.
Both agencies will work in collaboration to serve 400 participants over the three-year course of the grant.
“The Department of Corrections is very appreciative of the collaboration with the Department of Workforce Services,” said Dan Shannon, director of the Department of Corrections. “Our common goal of public safety is a key factor and this partnership will provide those confined a validated opportunity for success when returning to our communities.”
Sheridan WYO Rodeo Queen wins Miss Rodeo Wyoming
SHERIDAN (WNE) — 2022 Sheridan WYO Rodeo Queen Reata Cook has been named Miss Rodeo Wyoming 2023.
Cook will be the fourth Miss Sheridan WYO Rodeo to hold the Miss Rodeo Wyoming title.
She has dedicated her year as Sheridan WYO Rodeo queen working to empower young women. Currently pursuing a degree in elementary education from Chadron State College, Cook partnered with Joey’s Fly Fishing Foundation to run a “Just for Girls” fishing camp this summer.
The experience, she said, allowed her to empower young girls and learn their stories.
“As a rodeo queen, I am not only an ambassador for the sport of rodeo but I like to reach out to those little girls because I was in their shoes once…” Cook said. “Now, I get to be that for little girls [across] the state of Wyoming.”
The Miss Rodeo Wyoming Association was founded in 1977 to support and guide Miss Rodeo Wyoming, a woman who promotes agriculture, professional rodeo and the Western way of life while embodying professionalism and grace, organization officials said in a press release earlier this week.
As next year’s Miss Rodeo Wyoming, Cook will receive a $2,000 scholarship from the Miss Rodeo Wyoming Foundation as well as several award items, including a saddle, silver spurs, belt buckle and several pairs of chaps. She will also accompany the current queen to the Miss Rodeo America pageant this November.
Cook’s reign officially begins Jan. 1, 2023. She is looking forward to traveling across the state, meeting with other rodeo queens and representing the Cowboy State at up to 300 regional rodeos. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/worth-noting-sept-3-2022/article_624dc0ca-2af1-11ed-885f-c73e6d3210de.html | 2022-09-03T13:10:12Z |
CHEYENNE – Despite rocky play on offense and some untimely penalties, Cheyenne Central managed to lock down a 21-3 home-opening victory over Kelly Walsh on Friday.
“They hung in there,” Indians coach Mike Apodaca said. “Wins are hard to come by and we will take it, but we have a lot of work to do.”
Both Central and Kelly Walsh struggled to find their footing on offense in the first half. Early on, Kelly Walsh had two opportunities inside the Central 30, but was unable to move the ball.
Late in the second quarter, Kelly Walsh was handed a golden opportunity. A pair of back-to-back sacks forced the Indians to punt from their own end zone. However, the drive stalled out at Central’s five-yard line and forced a field goal.
The Indians answered right back on their next drive. After a 26-yard pass to Jaxon Lobos from Keagan Bartlett, Mason Counter punched it in from three yards out to give Central a 7-3 lead.
Central had one more chance to add points at the end of the half, but a last-second touchdown pass was negated by a holding penalty.
Central opened the second half by marching down to the two-yard line, but Bartlett’s pass was intercepted on the goal line.
Despite two long runs by Trojans running back Kaden Smith, they were unable to take advantage of the turnover and the drive stalled out.
Central capitalized on its next drive, marching down the field once again. This time, Lobatos punched the ball in from two yards out to give Central a 14-3 lead.
Three minutes and 24 seconds into the fourth quarter, Miles Porwoll came up with an interception on a tipped pass from Gibson Sasser to give Central the ball back.
Central went on a methodical 5-minute, 42-second drive, capped off by a one-yard touchdown pass from Bartlett to Chase Talich to give Indians a 21-3 lead.
The score held up for the final two minutes and 54 seconds, and Central emerged victorious over Kelly Walsh in their 50th meeting.
Despite the win, it was a sloppy offensive game from Central. Turnovers and penalties at inopportune times allowed Kelly Walsh to stay in the game until the very end.
“It was not a clean game,” Apodaca said. “That’s a concern for me. We’ve had two kind of not clean games. On this one, we were able to come out on the other side of it.”
Central’s defense shined throughout the game. It held Kelly Walsh to just over 100 yards of total offense and forced two turnovers. They also limited Kelly Walsh to just three points, and none in the second half.
Lobatos credits the ability to shut down Kelly Walsh’s offense with a change they made from last year.
“We changed some stuff up this year, moving to a 3-4, and just played them straight up and did not worry about the option.” Lobatos said.
Despite the win, Central’s players still feel like they can improve on their performances over the past two games. To do this, it will start with cleaning up mental mistakes and turnovers.
“(We clean that up by) coming to work for Saturday film,” Lobatos said. “We need to be real with each other and hold each other accountable. Then come in Monday and build on every practice.”
CHEYENNE CENTRAL 21, KELLY WALSH 3
Kelly Walsh…… 0 3 0 0 – 3
Cheyenne Central…… 0 7 7 7 – 21
SCORING SUMMARY
Second Quarter
KW: Boyce 10 field goal, 5:23
CC: Counter, 2 yard run (Pedersen kick), 2:08
Third Quarter
CC: Lobatos, 2 yard run (Pederson kick)
Fourth Quarter
CC: Talich, 1 yard reception from Bartlett (Pederson Kick), 2:54
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
Kelly Walsh: Blocker 4-10, Sasser 11-(minus-4), Whitey 7-(minus-5), Smith 12-31. Cheyenne Central: Counter 7-61, Bartlett 18-84, Lobatos 5-9, Fernandez 3-11, King 4-20, Porwoll 1-3
Passing
Kelly Walsh: Sasser 3-7-1 17, Whitley 1-2 38. Cheyenne Central: Bartlett 10-16-1 109.
Receiving
Kelly Walsh: Pebble 1-38, Smith 1-4, Broadway 1-12, Walker 1-1 Cheyenne Central: Prescott 3-23, King 4-52, Lobatos 1-26, C. Talich 3-13, Porwall 1-0, Reisdorfer 1-7. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/high_school/cheyenne_central/defense-leads-the-way-for-central-in-win-over-kelly-walsh/article_feecca54-2b3a-11ed-8532-43c2b676866d.html | 2022-09-03T13:10:18Z |
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People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/high_school/cheyenne_east/prep-tennis-east-squads-fall-at-sheridan/article_b36c32b4-2b25-11ed-8028-6376a4841456.html | 2022-09-03T13:10:43Z |
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United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/high_school/cheyenne_east/prep-volleyball-east-goes-3-1-at-border-war/article_ace55fac-2b38-11ed-a249-0f4a48ab7aae.html | 2022-09-03T13:10:49Z |
Laramie High senior receiver Mason Branch celebrates in the end zone after a 62-yard touchdown catch during a game against the Campbell County on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Deti Stadium.
Laramie High junior quarterback Ben Malone stiff-arms Campbell County junior Aiden Peterson to complete a pass during a game against the Campbell County on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Deti Stadium.
Laramie High senior receiver Mason Branch celebrates in the end zone after a 62-yard touchdown catch during a game against the Campbell County on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Deti Stadium.
Carol Ryczek/for WyoSports
Laramie High junior quarterback Ben Malone stiff-arms Campbell County junior Aiden Peterson to complete a pass during a game against the Campbell County on Friday, Sept. 2, 2022, at Deti Stadium.
LARAMIE — The Laramie High football team came as close as you could get of picking up a home win in a 21-20 loss to Campbell County Friday night at Deti Stadium.
The Plainsmen (0-2) had one last chance to take the lead with 4 minutes, 5 seconds on the clock and the ball at their own 25. Junior quarterback Ben Malone started the drive with a 6-yard run. On third-and-4 Malone scrambled to escape pressure and connected with senior receiver Adrien Calderon over the middle for 19 yards to the 50. A sack by the Camels (1-1) pushed the line of scrimmage back to the Laramie 43.
With 1:05 on the clock and facing fourth-and-14 Malone and junior running back/receiver Porter Trabing appeared to pick up the first down with a pass-and-catch deep into Camels’ territory, but holding call negated the play and ended the comeback attempt for the Plainsmen.
Penalties and mishaps on special teams plagued the Plainsmen throughout the game.
The defenses for both teams dominated the start of the game, with three interceptions for Laramie in the first half — two by senior safety Mason Branch and a pick from Calderon to halt Campbell County drives.
Laramie got on the scoreboard first on a trick play in the second quarter when wideout Max Alexander got the ball from Malone on an end around and stopped to pass a strike to Branch, who was wide open behind the defense for a 62-yard touchdown reception. The point-after attempt by junior kicker Tyler Ennist was missed wide left.
The Camels took a 7-6 lead with 2:02 left before halftime on a 19-yard pass over the middle from sophomore quarterback Mason Drube to senior receiver Parker Fitzgerald.
The Camels took a 14-6 lead with 3:50 left in the first quarter when senior running back Ian Carter ran the ball in from 12 yards out and kicker Shane Duvall converted the point after. It was the first play after Ennist dropped the snap and was tackled on a punt attempt.
Laramie tied the contest on another big passing play on third-and-12 with Malone hooking up with Calderon. When he broke the initial tackle by a Camel defender Calderon sprinted down the left sideline for the 75-yard touchdown. Malone then found Alexander for a 2-point catch to tie the game at 14.
The Camels took the lead for good with 9:58 left in the fourth quarter when Drube completed a 14-yard scoring pass to senior receiver Evan Vandom. The drive began with running plays of 19 and 29 yards by Carter and Drube, respectively.
Laramie pulled to within a point for the final difference with 6:30 remaining when junior running back Kyler Roberts and the rest of the offensive line pushed into the end zone from 3-yards out. But the tying point after kick was not converted when the holder bobbled the ball disrupting the time of the play.
The Plainsmen may have suffered a significant injury when senior co-captain and starting middle linebacker and running back Mahlon Morris left the game after being tackled out of bounds late in the second quarter. He couldn’t put any weight on his right leg and did not return to the game.
David Watson is the WyoSports assistant editor. He can be reached at dwatson@wyosports.net or 307-755-3327. Follow him on Twitter at @dwatsonsports. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/high_school/laramie_high/camels-escape-with-win-against-plainsmen/article_0bed7a90-2b00-11ed-a2b6-eff164e5c727.html | 2022-09-03T13:10:56Z |
LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming volleyball team’s first match away from home resulted in a loss Friday night at the Grand Canyon Classic in Phoenix.
Santa Clara defeated the Cowgirls in four sets, 25-21, 25-20, 17-25, 25-23.
The Broncos (2-2) found success late in the first and fourth sets. They closed out the first set on a 5-1 run after trailing 21-20, and scored three straight points to finish the fourth set after falling behind 23-22.
Corin Carruth led the Cowgirls (0-4) in kills for the fourth consecutive match, as she tallied 12 in the loss and hit .323. Kayla Mazzocca had her best match of the season, tallying 10 kills on just 14 swings for a .714 hitting percentage. Mazzocca also tied for the team lead with three total blocks, while adding a pair of service aces.
UW finished with a season-best 12 aces. Carruth led the way with a career-high five aces, with Kasia Partyka and Hailey Zuroske adding two each.
Partyka had a team-high 30 assists for Wyoming, in addition to recording three blocks. Zuroske tied a match-high with 19 digs, with KC McMahon posting seven digs, six kills, three blocks and an ace for the Cowgirls.
UW hit just .165 for the match, while Santa Clara hit .239 as a team. The Cowgirls held a 9-5 edge in team blocks, however, and recorded seven more service aces than their opponent.
Wyoming will look to bounce back today with a pair of matches to close the GCU Classic. The Cowgirls are set to face Idaho at 11 a.m., followed by a matchup with host Grand Canyon at 8 p.m. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/university_of_wyoming/cowgirls-fall-to-santa-clara-in-4-sets/article_a2b3fb8e-2b00-11ed-baea-6f9fbe213a9b.html | 2022-09-03T13:11:02Z |
LARAMIE — A flurry of first-half goals led the University of Wyoming soccer team past North Dakota State Friday night at the Madrid Sports Complex.
The Cowgirls rolled to a 3-1 victory over the Bison, scoring all three of their goals in an eight-minute span on their way to their first win of the season. UW improved to 1-2-2 on the season as a result, while NDSU fell to 2-1-2.
“The message was to impose yourself on them, set the tone, dictate the pace of the game, defend your butt off and continue to make them uncomfortable,” Wyoming coach Colleen Corbin said.
Senior Jamie Tatum provided the first goal of the game, firing the ball into the net from just inside the box during the 27th minute. Junior Alyssa Bedard made it 2-0 in the 34th minute, beating North Dakota State goalkeeper Abby Wilkinson for her first goal of the season and fifth of her career.
Just 19 seconds later, Tatum netted UW’s third and final goal of the night to put the Cowgirls up 3-0. The score came on a penalty kick, giving her 16 career goals to move into a tie for seventh in school history.
The Cowgirls recorded 22 shots, compared to just 11 for North Dakota State. Freshman Alyssa Glover accounted for five of UW’s attempts, while Tatum and junior Jazi Barela had four each.
Freshman goalkeeper Allyson Fischer — who was making her first-career start for the Cowgirls — recorded four saves while only allowing one goal, which came off the foot of Olivia Lovick in the 39th minute.
“We talked a lot about wanting to prove people right, not necessarily prove people wrong,” Corbin said. “This team has had an incredible amount of support from the start of the year. Those that have paid attention know we have been inches away from getting a different result. It wasn’t coming from a place of frustration or anger but from confidence. We know we are capable of doing what we did today.”
The Cowgirls will continue their home stretch Sunday against UTEP, with the match set to begin at 11 a.m. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyosports/university_of_wyoming/strong-first-half-leads-uw-past-north-dakota-state/article_64c05cf0-2b00-11ed-b3f9-a38a3488fb65.html | 2022-09-03T13:11:08Z |
Legal experts say former President Trump won't gain any protections against ongoing investigations if he declares his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, but it could complicate the optics.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Legal experts say former President Trump won't gain any protections against ongoing investigations if he declares his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, but it could complicate the optics.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/a-2024-announcement-from-trump-would-complicate-ongoing-investigations | 2022-09-03T13:20:31Z |
Cities in the U.S. are looking for ways to adapt the designs of their parks — and their hours of operations — to keep them functional as climate change raises temperatures around the world.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Cities in the U.S. are looking for ways to adapt the designs of their parks — and their hours of operations — to keep them functional as climate change raises temperatures around the world.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/adapting-parks-to-keep-them-functional-as-the-climate-changes | 2022-09-03T13:20:38Z |
It's a busy time in Pennsylvania, with appearances from President Biden and former President Trump, underscoring the state's importance in the upcoming midterm elections.
Copyright 2022 NPR
It's a busy time in Pennsylvania, with appearances from President Biden and former President Trump, underscoring the state's importance in the upcoming midterm elections.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/biden-and-trump-underscore-the-political-importance-of-pennsylvania | 2022-09-03T13:20:44Z |
NPR's Scott Simon talks with Chilean journalist Francisca Skoknic about the upcoming vote to approve or reject a new constitution for the South American country.
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/chileans-weigh-a-new-constituation | 2022-09-03T13:20:51Z |
Before David Williams approaches his fellow Dollar General workers in New Orleans to talk about organizing, he knows the first thing they'll ask: Are you a union?
He answers with a flat no.
"Once the word union is...out of the way, that's when we all get together and come up with a plan and figure out how... to fight this," Williams said.
Dollar stores have expanded across the country and complaints about work conditions and safety have grown with them. Over the past year, workers have been organizing, protesting and striking for better workplaces — fired up by a labor movement that's led to big union victories at places like Starbucks and Amazon.
But Dollar General workers in Louisiana hope to make change without unionizing. Unions require winning elections and negotiations, which can drag on for years. The word can also be a non-starter when recruiting support, especially in places like the South — a region that's historically skeptical of unions.
Labor experts say this approach is actually healthy for the labor movement — better to have different groups with separate tactics pushing for workers' rights than relying just on collective bargaining.
"The flexibility that comes with not being a union is a really valuable tool," Mary Anne Trasciatti, the director of labor studies at Hofstra University, said.
A dollar raise isn't enough
About five years ago, Anthony Jackson was attending Southeastern Louisiana University online and found himself in a typical spot for a college student — his financial aid was running low and he needed to find a job.
He found work at a Dollar General in New Orleans, enticed by what he believed would be an easy job stocking shelves and running the cash register. But after being hired, he said he got a "rude awakening."
Beyond the bathroom and air conditioning system rarely working, he said the job was dangerous. He said one time when he tried to stop someone from shoplifting underwear the customer lifted his shirt and flashed a gun.
"I was very unhappy," Jackson said. "That's what motivated me to get my behind back in school and graduate because I saw as a young person this is not going to be a bright future."
In an emailed statement, Dollar General said it provides, "employees with the opportunity to develop and grow their careers and strive to ensure a safe, comfortable work environment."
Other low-wage jobs like McDonald's have been raising wages to around $15 an hour in response to worker demands and a tight labor market. Dollar stores have also raised wages, but Williams said the one dollar increase he received to $9.25 an hour is not enough.
"It's pretty much a slap in the face," Jackson said.
Dollar General continues to grow but faces protests
Concerns about safety, rodent infestations and low pay have followed dollar stores as they've continued growing. Dollar General predicts a net sales growth of 10.5% this year and plans to open 1,100 new stores by the end of its fiscal year.
In the face of all that growth, workers are protesting. Around 100 protesters gathered outside a Dollar General shareholder meeting in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, last May.
Most of them came with the organization Step Up Louisiana. Jackson has been training as an organizer with the group, specifically to work with dollar store workers.
Yet the group is careful to clarify that it's not a union. It has been organizing workers and supporting unions, but doesn't see unionizing as the best way to improve dollar stores.
"We're not a union," Jackson said. "I don't know if we ever will be but I do know we have momentum right now."
The labor movement is becoming more eclectic
Unions do have one big advantage over other labor groups — collective bargaining. Once unions agree to unionize, employers are required by law to negotiate with the union in good faith. However, getting to that point means winning an election, which can take years.
As long as there has been a labor movement, there have been plenty of groups pushing for workers' rights without relying on unionizing.
Some labor experts believe the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, which put legal protections around collective bargaining, led to the labor movement relying too much on unionizing.
"The labor movement is becoming more eclectic again," Cedric de Leon, a professor of sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Labor Center, said.
Alternative labor groups can rely on other tactics, including petitions, pressuring politicians and protesting — like the demonstration outside Dollar General shareholder meeting.
Going to the media achieved results
They can also go directly to the media. Kenya Slaughter, a lead sales associate at a Dollar General store in Alexandria, Louisiana, did just that.
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Step-Up Louisiana helped Slaughter get in touch with the New York Times, which published an opinion piece she wrote. Slaughter called out Dollar General for not providing protective equipment, such as masks and plexiglass. Shortly after Slaughter's story was published, Dollar General sent equipment to stores.
"(I) did not need a union to get that done and it got gone expeditiously," Slaughter said. "I had all types of people calling my phone trying to see what they can do."
Slaughter is not against unions — like the Step Up Louisiana group, she supports them. But for her, a union is a tool, not an end goal.
"Ultimately, I just want what's right," Slaughter said. "I want workers making at least $15 an hour coming in."
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration among Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Alabama and WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana and NPR.
Copyright 2022 Gulf States Newsroom. To see more, visit . | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/dollar-store-workers-in-the-south-have-a-labor-movement-just-dont-call-it-a-union | 2022-09-03T13:20:57Z |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/ezra-furman-on-her-latest-all-of-us-flames | 2022-09-03T13:21:04Z |
Burnout is affecting faith leaders, many of whom are choosing to leave their ministries. NPR's Scott Simon talks with former pastor Eric Atcheson about the reasons he quit a job he once loved.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Burnout is affecting faith leaders, many of whom are choosing to leave their ministries. NPR's Scott Simon talks with former pastor Eric Atcheson about the reasons he quit a job he once loved.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/facing-burnout-many-faith-leaders-are-leaving-their-ministries | 2022-09-03T13:21:10Z |
Rattlesnakes have a bad reputation in the West, seen as a deadly fiend that we'd be better off without. However, much like sharks, they rarely kill and often inspire far more fear than they deserve.
Copyright 2022 Boise State Public Radio News
Rattlesnakes have a bad reputation in the West, seen as a deadly fiend that we'd be better off without. However, much like sharks, they rarely kill and often inspire far more fear than they deserve.
Copyright 2022 Boise State Public Radio News | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/like-sharks-rattlesnakes-often-inspire-more-fear-than-they-deserve | 2022-09-03T13:21:16Z |
When NASA launches its mission to the moon, sitting in the commander's seat will be a "moonikin" — a mannequin. It's named for a NASA engineer who helped bring home Apollo 13.
Copyright 2022 Texas Public Radio
When NASA launches its mission to the moon, sitting in the commander's seat will be a "moonikin" — a mannequin. It's named for a NASA engineer who helped bring home Apollo 13.
Copyright 2022 Texas Public Radio | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/meet-the-moonikin-riding-in-the-commanders-chair-for-nasas-mission-to-the-moon | 2022-09-03T13:21:23Z |
New COVID-19 vaccine boosters designed to combat recent subvariants of the coronavirus are being made available to people over 12 years old. We have some guidance on who should get one and when.
Copyright 2022 NPR
New COVID-19 vaccine boosters designed to combat recent subvariants of the coronavirus are being made available to people over 12 years old. We have some guidance on who should get one and when.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/new-covid-19-boosters-to-be-available-for-those-12-and-up | 2022-09-03T13:21:29Z |
Ravil Maganov died this week. He was 67, and chairman of Lukoil, the Russian oil company. Lukoil released a statement that he "passed away following a severe illness."
Tass, the state-owned Russian news agency, says Mr. Maganov fell out of a 6th floor hospital window. They called it a suicide.
It may be pertinent to mention that shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, the board of Lukoil called for the "soonest possible end" to the conflict.
Ravil Maganov is one of several Russian energy oligarchs who have died this year under murky circumstances. Their demise may remind you of previous epidemics of "accidents. Being a critic of Russia's government can be hazardous to your health.
In May of 2020, as coronavirus cases surged, two Russian doctors and a medic, according to local media, fell from hospital windows. The doctors died.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says dozens of Russian reporters have been killed since 2000, while investigating corruption. A number of them inexplicably fell from windows. Their deaths have been ruled accidents or suicides.
"These 'accidents' are no accident," Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, told us. "Nor are these 'suicides' suicides. They are a tool of the state to silence critics and intimidate would-be critics."
Alexei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, sent a series of tweets this week through his lawyers following the death Mikhail Gorbachev, who famously released Soviet political prisoners:
"The fact that today people like me find out about his death through loudspeakers in their prison cells perfectly characterizes the transformation of my country," he said.
When Mr. Gorbachev resigned as the last president of the USSR in 1991, he might have been more popular overseas than at home. But he didn't invade Ukraine and other republics when they voted to be free of the Soviet Union. He survived a failed coup attempt, and had its leaders arrested--not thrown out of windows.
"He stepped down peacefully and voluntarily," Alexi Navalny reminded us this week, "respecting the will of his constituents."
President Putin did not attend Mikhail Gorbahev's funeral.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/opinion-it-should-not-be-a-crime-to-criticize-in-putins-russia | 2022-09-03T13:21:36Z |
Tom Goldman is NPR's sports correspondent. His reports can be heard throughout NPR's news programming, including Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and on NPR.org.
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/saturday-sports-serena-williams-dramatic-u-s-open | 2022-09-03T13:21:42Z |
Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/survivor-tova-friedmans-new-memoir-reflects-on-life-as-the-daughter-of-auschwitz | 2022-09-03T13:21:48Z |
France is far less dependent on Russian fuel than some other European countries, but the government is still urging business to conserve energy this winter to prevent the need for rationing.
Copyright 2022 NPR
France is far less dependent on Russian fuel than some other European countries, but the government is still urging business to conserve energy this winter to prevent the need for rationing.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/the-government-in-france-is-urging-energy-conservation-to-avoid-rationing | 2022-09-03T13:21:55Z |
New developments emerged this week in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over reviving the nuclear weapons agreement abandoned by the Trump administration.
Copyright 2022 NPR
New developments emerged this week in negotiations between the U.S. and Iran over reviving the nuclear weapons agreement abandoned by the Trump administration.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/the-latest-effort-to-revive-the-iran-nuclear-deal | 2022-09-03T13:22:01Z |
U.N. nuclear inspectors were finally able to access a nuclear power plant in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine this week. They say the plant faces grave risks, especially from shelling.
Copyright 2022 NPR
U.N. nuclear inspectors were finally able to access a nuclear power plant in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine this week. They say the plant faces grave risks, especially from shelling.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/the-latest-from-ukraine-u-n-nuclear-inspectors-visit-russian-occupied-region | 2022-09-03T13:22:08Z |
NPR's Scott Simon talks with David Bowles about his new novel-in-verse for young people, "They Call Her Fregona." It's the story of eighth-graders who live along the Texas-Mexico border.
Copyright 2022 NPR
NPR's Scott Simon talks with David Bowles about his new novel-in-verse for young people, "They Call Her Fregona." It's the story of eighth-graders who live along the Texas-Mexico border.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/they-call-her-fregona-reflects-on-life-on-the-u-s-mexico-border | 2022-09-03T13:22:14Z |
We look at the repercussions of President Biden's speech in Philadelphia attacking former President Trump and his rivals. Plus, why Sarah Palin lost the special election for the Alaska House seat.
Copyright 2022 NPR
We look at the repercussions of President Biden's speech in Philadelphia attacking former President Trump and his rivals. Plus, why Sarah Palin lost the special election for the Alaska House seat.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/week-in-politics-bidens-philadelphia-speech-why-sarah-palin-lost | 2022-09-03T13:22:21Z |
The pilot of a small plane has threatened to intentionally crash into a local Walmart in Tupelo, Miss., local authorities said Saturday morning.
In a statement, the Tupelo Police Department said officials first learned about the threat around 5 a.m. local time after the pilot had alerted emergency responders of his or her intentions. The aircraft, which police said is possibly a King Air type, was flying over the northeast region of Mississippi at the time.
"The pilot has made contact with E911 and is threatening to intentionally crash into Wal Mart on West Main," police said.
Police officials did not share any details about the identity of the pilot or the pilot's motive, but they said that they have been speaking with the aviator directly.
The police department said it is working with the nearby Walmart and Dodge's convenience store to evacuate the area and "disperse people as much as much as practical."
"Citizens are asked to avoid that area until an all clear is given," police said. "With the mobility of an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo."
The Federal Aviation Administration told NPR that the agency is aware of the situation and coordinating with local law enforcement.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/2022-09-03/the-pilot-of-a-small-plane-threatens-to-crash-into-a-walmart-in-mississippi | 2022-09-03T14:10:22Z |
Police: Plane circling Mississippi city threatens to crash
TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — A stolen airplane circled over north Mississippi on Saturday morning, and police said they evacuated a Walmart store after the pilot threatened to crash into it.
The Tupelo Police Department said in a Facebook post that the Walmart and a nearby convenience store had been evacuated. The plane started circling over Tupelo, Mississippi, at about 5 a.m. It was still in the air about four hours later, but had flown away from Tupelo and was circling over another community nearby.
Police said they have made contact with the pilot directly.
“Citizens are asked to avoid that area until an all clear is given,” the police wrote. “With the mobility of an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo.”
Law enforcement told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal shortly after 8 a.m. that the stolen plane had left the airspace around Tupelo and was flying near a Toyota manufacturing plant in nearby Blue Springs.
An online flight tracking service showed a looping path for the plane.
“State law enforcement and emergency managers are closely tracking this dangerous situation,” Gov. Tate Reeves wrote on Twitter. “All citizens should be on alert and aware of updates from the Tupelo Police Department.”
Leslie Criss, a magazine editor who lives in Tupelo, woke up early and was watching the situation on TV and social media. Several of her friends were outside watching the plane circle overhead.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in this town,” Criss told The Associated Press. “It’s a scary way to wake up on a Saturday morning.”
Former state Rep. Steve Holland, who is a funeral director in Tupelo, said he had received calls from families concerned about the plane.
“One called and said, ‘Oh, my God, do we need to cancel mother’s funeral?’” Holland said. “I just told them, ‘No, life’s going to go on.’”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/03/police-mississippi-walmart-evacuated-pilot-threatens-crash-into-store/ | 2022-09-03T14:21:48Z |
Ukraine’s nuclear plant goes offline amid fighting
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s and Europe’s largest nuclear plant has stopped supplying Ukrainian-held territories with electricity, Kremlin-backed authorities said Saturday, as a team of inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog continued their mission at the site.
The Russian-appointed city administration in Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhzhia plant is located, blamed an alleged Ukrainian shelling attack on Saturday morning, which they said had destroyed a key power line.
“The provision of electricity to the territories controlled by Ukraine has been suspended due to technical difficulties,” the municipal administration said in a post on its official Telegram channel. It wasn’t clear whether electricity from the plant was still reaching Russian-held areas.
Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Kremlin-appointed regional administration said on Telegram that a shell had struck an area between two reactors. His claims could not be immediately verified.
Over the past weeks, Ukraine and Russia have traded blame over shelling at and near the plant, while also accusing each other of attempts to derail the visit from U.N. experts, who arrived at the plant Thursday. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s mission is meant to help secure the site.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Ukrainian troops launched another attempt to seize the plant late Friday, despite the presence of the IAEA monitors, sending 42 boats with 250 special forces personnel and foreign “mercenaries” to attempt a landing on the bank of the nearby Kakhovka reservoir.
The ministry said that four Russian fighter jets and two helicopter gunships destroyed about 20 boats and the others turned back. It added that the Russian artillery struck the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the Dnieper River to target the retreating landing party.
The ministry claimed that the Russian military killed 47 troops, including 10 “mercenaries” and wounded 23. The Russian claims couldn’t be independently verified.
Russia reported earlier that about 60 Ukrainian troops previously tried to land near the plant on Thursday and Russian forces thwarted that attempt.
As of Saturday morning, neither the Ukrainian government nor the country’s nuclear energy operator, Enerhoatom, had commented on these allegations.
The plant has repeatedly suffered complete disconnection from Ukraine’s power grid since last week, with Enerhoatom blaming mortar shelling and fires near the site.
Local Ukrainian authorities accused Moscow of pounding two cities that overlook the plant across the Dnieper river with rockets, also an accusation they have made repeatedly over the past weeks.
In Zorya, a small village about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Zaporizhzhia plant, residents on Friday could hear the sound of explosions in the area.
It’s not the shelling that scared them the most, but the risk of a radioactive leak in the plant.
“The power plant, yes, this is the scariest,” Natalia Stokoz, a mother of three, said. “Because the kids and adults will be affected, and it’s scary if the nuclear power plant is blown up.”
Oleksandr Pasko, a 31-year-old farmer, said “there is anxiety because we are quite close.” Pasko said that the Russian shelling has intensified in recent weeks.
During the first weeks of the war, authorities gave iodine tablets and masks to people living near the plant in case of radiation exposure.
Recently, they’ve also distributed iodine pills in Zaporizhzhia city, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the plant.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to take the role of “facilitator” on the issue of the Zaporizhzhia plant, in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin Saturday, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
The Ukrainian military on Saturday morning reported that Russian forces overnight pressed their stalled advance in the country’s industrial east, while also trying to hold on to areas captured in Ukraine’s northeast and south, including in the Kherson region cited as the target of Kyiv’s recent counteroffensive.
It added that Ukrainian forces repelled around half a dozen Russian attacks across the Donetsk region, including near two cities singled out as key targets of Moscow’s grinding effort to capture the rest of the province. The Donetsk region is one of two that make up Ukraine’s industrial heartland of the Donbas, alongside Luhansk, which was overrun by Russian troops in early July.
Separately, the British military confirmed in its regular update Saturday morning that Ukrainian forces were conducting “renewed offensive operations” in the south of Ukraine, advancing along a broad front west of the Dnieper and focusing on three axes within the Russian-occupied Kherson region.
“The operation has limited immediate objectives, but Ukraine’s forces have likely achieved a degree of tactical surprise; exploiting poor logistics, administration and leadership in the Russian armed forces,” the UK Ministry of Defense said on Twitter.
Russian shelling killed an 8-year-old child and injured at least four others in a southern Ukrainian town close to the Kherson region, Ukrainian officials said.
____
Kozlowska reported from London.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/09/03/ukraines-nuclear-plant-goes-offline-amid-fighting/ | 2022-09-03T14:21:54Z |
Legal experts say former President Trump won't gain any protections against ongoing investigations if he declares his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, but it could complicate the optics.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Legal experts say former President Trump won't gain any protections against ongoing investigations if he declares his candidacy for the 2024 presidential race, but it could complicate the optics.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-09-03/a-2024-announcement-from-trump-would-complicate-ongoing-investigations | 2022-09-03T14:26:06Z |
Cities in the U.S. are looking for ways to adapt the designs of their parks — and their hours of operations — to keep them functional as climate change raises temperatures around the world.
Copyright 2022 NPR
Cities in the U.S. are looking for ways to adapt the designs of their parks — and their hours of operations — to keep them functional as climate change raises temperatures around the world.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-09-03/adapting-parks-to-keep-them-functional-as-the-climate-changes | 2022-09-03T14:26:12Z |
It's a busy time in Pennsylvania, with appearances from President Biden and former President Trump, underscoring the state's importance in the upcoming midterm elections.
Copyright 2022 NPR
It's a busy time in Pennsylvania, with appearances from President Biden and former President Trump, underscoring the state's importance in the upcoming midterm elections.
Copyright 2022 NPR | https://www.keranews.org/2022-09-03/biden-and-trump-underscore-the-political-importance-of-pennsylvania | 2022-09-03T14:26:18Z |
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