News-media roundup: Ark. sunshine; Okla. local-news study; week-long series on Neb. paper's role in community

Open-government advocates in Arkansas quashed efforts to carve large loopholes in the state's Freedom of Information Act, in a special session Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called to do that and to make secret information about her security arrangements. The latter measure passed. Rejected were open-records exemptions for attorney-prepared documents and the "deliberative process" leading to "governmental decisions and policies" and attorney-prepared documents, and a change that would have "made it harder for people to recover legal fees for lawsuits filed under" the act, reports Neal Farley of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Another rejected bill "would have shielded 'records reflecting communications between the governor or his or her staff and the secretary of a cabinet-level department'." The outcome showed "the power of citizen action," writes longtime FOI leader Sonny Albarado, editor of the Arkansas Advocate.

Counties in study (To enlarge the map, click on it.)

"Oklahomans statewide primarily rely on social media and local word of mouth for local news," and "rarely subscribe to local newspapers," media and political-science professors say in a study report after interviewing 352 news consumers in seven diverse counties in the state. The study is the "first qualitative observational study of both news deserts and under-served metro communities statewide in Oklahoma," says the Oklahoma Media Center, a nonprofit that funded the work by Rosemary Avance, assistant professor in the media school at Oklahoma State University, and Allyson Shortle, associate professor of political science and co-founder of the University of Oklahoma’s Community Engagement and Experiments Lab. They say "Small-town residents express more trust in local news when a local person is in charge of it."

"Final edititon of the Norfolk Daily News," trumpeted the main headline in the Aug. 17 edition of the Nebraska paper. "Or is it?" a subhead teased. Under it Kent Warnecke wrote, "The primary role of a headline is to attract a reader’s attention. Chances are, the headline on this story did just that. To be clear, this is NOT the final edition of the Norfolk Daily News. The Daily News will be published tomorrow, next week and into the future. But that isn’t the case elsewhere in the nation, and, as a result, it’s not an exaggeration to say our freedom as citizens is at risk." The story was part of a week-long "Protect the Pillar" series, referring to the news media as the fourth pillar of democracy. One story noted the demise of 16 Nebraska newspapers since 2004. Looks like good material for National Newspaper Week, Oct. 1-7.

How rural hospitals are fighting Medicare Advantage

Medicare Advantage plans may offer more benefits but also
have rules that can limit patients' choices. (Anthem website)

St. Charles Health System in central Oregon has "threatened to cut ties with all Medicare Advantage plans next year, a move that would leave an estimated 26,000 local beneficiaries without access to a hospital less than 100 miles away," reports Nona Tepper for Modern Healthcare.

"A program intended to promote seamless and higher quality care has instead become a fragmented patchwork of administrative delays, denials and frustrations," St. Charles CEO Steve Gordon said in a news release last month.

Tepper reports, "Health systems nationwide appear to share Gordon's consternation, especially those similarly located in rural areas. Rural healthcare providers tend to be disproportionately affected by factors such as reimbursement cuts or denied and delayed payments from Medicare Advantage plans because Medicare enrollees make up most of their patient populations. Cutting off Medicare Advantage plans, or at least declaring that to be a possibility, is a response to the growing market power these carriers have, especially over rural providers.

According to Tepper, "Rural Medicare Advantage enrollment is growing faster than overall enrollment: Since 2010, the share of rural beneficiaries who choose private plans over the traditional program has more than quadrupled, to 40% from 11%, according to KFF survey results published this month.

"Among the 58 publicly known contract disputes between insurers and providers this year, 35—more than half—involved Medicare Advantage carriers, according to data compiled by FTI Consulting. 

"Most conflicts center on how health insurance companies do business more than on reimbursements, said FTI Consulting Managing Director Adam Broder."

Tepper reports: "At Aspirus Health, some Medicare Advantage insurers deny as many as 35% of claims, said Matthew Heywood, CEO of the Wausau, Wisconsin-based nonprofit health system. In response, the 17-hospital chain is renegotiating contracts to include provisions regarding prior authorizations and claims processing times, he said."

The public vs. private power battle revives as some Mainers, sick of poor service and reliability, push for a takeover

A worker inspects a Central Maine Power electricity corridor.
(Photo by Robert F. Bukaty, AP via The American Prospect)

In the 1930s and 1940s, one of the greatest political battles at the state level was between investor-owned utilities and public power, which had as its best allies member-owned rural electric cooperatives. Now, the battle has been rejoined as customers of investor-owned utilities in one of the most rural states try to make them public. "Investor-owned utilities are hardly known for being adored by the public," reports Lee Harris of The American Prospect. "Even so, Maine has two of the least popular in the Northeast. For the past two years, Maine's two privately owned utilities, Versant Power and Central Maine Power, have ranked last in a customer satisfaction survey evaluating utilities' performance in the Eastern United States." (Of note, the ratings for rural electric cooperatives are dominated by large co-ops near cities, suggesting that data on smaller co-ops was too limited to rank them.)

Mainer voters will get to weigh in on a "ballot initiative up in November, backed by Mainers who are fed up with that status quo, aims to take back the monopoly privileges granted to those private utilities and convert them into Pine Tree Power, a nonprofit authority that an independent board would run," Lee writes. "Backers say it would improve reliability and bring down rates. They argue this is a critical time to take back public control of utilities, as Maine embarks on a mass electrification drive that will transform its energy system. . . . Opponents, including some Democrats and utility workers, are skeptical that the authority can deliver the savings it promises, and worry about the risks involved in overthrowing incumbent utilities."

Buying a private electric utility is complicated; however, some communities have succeeded. "Winter Park, Florida, formed a public power utility in 2005, after 69 percent of residents voted in favor of the plan. Since then, it has laid the majority of its electric lines underground, strengthening storm resiliency," Lee explains. "But other cities have struggled to pull off similar de-privatization. Boulder, Colorado, recently gave up on its decade-long struggle to take over its private utility. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, vetoed a similar utility buyout plan in 2021, after the legislature approved a bill that would have taken the proposal to Maine voters."

Enmax and Avangrid have "poured millions into a campaign to prevent Pine Tree Power's proposed takeover," Lee writes. The initiative also faces union resistance. "Workers' biggest concern is that the PTP initiative would cause them to be classified as public employees, potentially weakening the union. Since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Janus, public employees have not been required to pay dues to unions representing them, even when the union bargains on their behalf."

Hardrock mining companies pay 'a pittance' for minerals mined from public lands. Some say taxpayers need more.

A copper mine shaft 1,100 feet below the surface near
Superior, Ariz. (Photo by Tamir Kalifa, The New York Times)

Since 1872, mining companies have taken stores of gold and other metals from public lands without paying royalty fees to the federal government. The Biden administration says lawmakers need to "fix the Gold Rush-era General Mining Law so it can better manage the mineral resources buried under millions of acres of public land," reports Lisa Friedman of The New York Times. "A top priority: require companies to pay something in exchange for what they take. Unlike companies that extract oil, gas and coal from federal lands, hardrock miners pay no royalties to the federal government."

Initial plans suggest a 4 to 8 percent fee of the net value of mined materials, which "could translate into as much as $97 million annually and drew sharp opposition from mining operators," Friedman writes. Tommy Beaudreau, the deputy secretary of the Interior Department, told Friedman: "The biggest takeaway from our report is that our 150-year-old-law, the 1872 mining law, needs to be reformed and brought into the 21st century."

Beaudreau heads up a "working group of officials across federal agencies who reviewed policies and regulations for hardrock mining," Friedman explains. "The group found the law did not do enough to steer mineral exploration away from sensitive resources or to promote 'early and meaningful' engagement with tribes or other affected communities. . . . And the law should require mining companies that take resources from public lands to pay something for that privilege. . . .The report stated, [the law] 'fails to provide the American taxpayer with any direct financial compensation for the value of hardrock minerals extracted from most publicly owned lands.'"

While mining operations pay state royalties and taxes, operators on federal land "only pay the U.S. government one-time claim processing fees totaling $60. Many companies also pay an annual $165 maintenance fee per site, according to the report," Friedman writes. Mining companies oppose the change. Rich Nolan, chief executive of the National Mining Association, told Friedman that the changes would "throw additional obstacles in the way of responsible domestic projects and would-be investment, forcing the U.S. to double-down on our already outsized import reliance from countries with questionable labor, safety and environmental practices."

Environmental groups praised the proposed change. Chris Wood, the president of Trout Unlimited, a conservation group, told Friedman, “It’s the only commodity produced off of our public lands where there is no tax or royalty." Friedman reports, "Wood added that money raised from federal royalties could help to clean up an estimated half a million abandoned mines scattered across the American West."

Most people have end-of-life wishes, but don't talk about it; planning for death is less likely in rural areas, study finds

St. David's Foundation graph; click on it to enlarge.

As America ages, more families face end-of-life decisions, and rural Americans are less likely to have their wishes known or followed by family members, reports Liz Carey of The Daily Yonder. "A new study found that while most people have end-of-life wishes, only a little over a third of them actually get them fulfilled. That is even more true with rural residents, researchers said."

Researchers from St. David's Foundation in Texas found that when it comes to end-of-life care, most Texans want to die at home (76%) and not be a burden to their families (77%). "But only one in three people surveyed said their loved one's wishes were honored," Carey writes. "Of those who are least likely to have their end-of-life wishes followed are rural residents, the study found. . . . Only 37% of the survey respondents said their loved ones died at home. Close to half of them (47%) said their loved one faced challenges related to their care – from problems with insurance coverage to facing cultural or language barriers."

Honoring a person's wishes begins with knowing what they are. Andrew Levack, senior program officer with St. David's Foundation, told Carey: "One of the interesting things the study found was how few conversations respondents had with their doctors around plans for end of life. I think people have an idea of what they would like, but it takes some active planning and advocacy to make that happen."

Study researchers noted a common thread of disconnection across the state -- people have end-of-life care desires, but don't voice them. "Most Texans, even older adults, are unprepared for decisions about end-of-life care. The vast majority believe it is important to have their wishes in writing, yet over half have not done so. Similarly, many say they would like to discuss end-of-life planning with their health care provider if they were faced with a serious illness, yet only 17% have had a provider initiate a conversation about it."

Geographical isolation and a lack of health care access make rural populations more likely to not have end-of-life plans or discussions. Dr. Kate Tindell, medical director for Austin Palliative Care and Hospice, told Carey: "People have really disjointed health care now. We've sort of lost that sense that there is a captain of the medical ship who is aware of all the moving parts and is giving the patient that guidance. I think that really causes people to not have the kind of relationship that would allow them to have that kind of conversation (about end-of-life wishes) the way they would if they had seen the same provider every single time for 10 years."

October is for estate planning: Start thinking about it, get a free kit and 'plant the first seed'

Photo by Imso Gabriel, Unsplash

Each year, October is designated National Estate Planning Awareness Month, highlighting individuals' need to outline financial and inheritance plans alongside future health decisions. A person doesn't have to be rich to need an estate plan, and although planning may take a bit of time, many resources are free and, once completed, offer peace of mind for individuals and families.

The ETV Endowment of South Carolina website has free resources and encourages everyone to take time to "Plant the First Seed" of their plan: "It is estimated that more than 120 million Americans do not have proper estate plans to protect themselves or their families in the event of sickness, accidents or untimely death. This costs many families wasted dollars and hours of hardship each year that could be minimized with proper planning. . . . No matter your age or income, now is a great time to get started on your plans."

Many Public Broadcasting Service affiliates, public universities, colleges and Cooperative Extension Service offices offer free planning tools with online discussions, attorney guidance, resources and tips to make the process less intimidating. For people who like pen and paper, some PBS stations will mail an estate planning kit to homes for free. Most sites emphasize that you don't have to be wealthy to need a plan, and once completed, people are glad they took the time.

Goldman Sachs commits $100 million to help rural businesses raise capital and expand

Photo by Andrew Kelly, Reuters via ASBN

In a win for rural entrepreneurship, global investment leader Goldman Sachs has committed $100 million to help "rural small business owners raise capital and grow their enterprises" through its 10,000 Small Businesses initiative, reports Colin Velez of America's Small Business Network. "According to the Goldman Sachs website, the company plans to divide the new $100 million among three groups: community lenders funding rural small business owners will receive $75 million; community college courses hosted by the 10,000 Small Businesses organization will receive $15 million; local entrepreneurs will receive the remaining $10 million in the form of grants."

The rural initiative will launch in North Dakota and Arkansas.

The investment will seed entrepreneurship and business growth that addresses rural businesses' unique challenges and vital role in rural community economics and overall health. The release noted how a lack of capital prevents rural business owners from growing their businesses. It cites an "accompanying survey that found only 7% of rural entrepreneurs felt they received adequate support from non-government entities. Limited access to child care, healthcare and labor were also cited as obstacles to expansion," Velez writes. "Noting such individuals employ roughly 65% of their local workforces, the company argued that these conditions are also holding back economic growth."

Rural enterprises often struggle with investment dollars and are "naturally neglected by typical lenders and education institutions, as they represent a smaller portion of the national economy than competitors in more populous states," Velez reports. "If more entrepreneurs were to leverage private and government programs that prioritize small business growth in underserved areas, this could help reverse these tendencies and ultimately ensure wealth is distributed more evenly between different parts of the country." 

The loss of timber jobs left this county awash in poverty, violence and tree poaching

The Guardian illustration

Illegal tree harvesting is not ordinary in some parts, but it can become a person's primary source of income in lands where national parks and environmental concerns have ebbed out timbering employment. "Timber poaching exists at a confluence of this rural economic decline and environmental policy," reports Lyndsie Bourgon of The Guardian. "A number of poachers in Orick, California, detailed their motivations as an alchemy of poverty, lack of opportunity, drug misuse and resentment toward national parks, the federal government and environmentalists. . . . It's a snapshot of how rural communities across North America face de-industrialization, the ways they have failed to transition away from those dependent economies, and the people who remain rooted through the change."

Bourgon writes about Danny Garcia, a man who grew up in Orick, a Humbolt County town along California's Redwood Coast. Garcia was born into a beleaguered rural economy and became a tree poacher. Bourgon writes, "Redwoods National Park was instituted in the 1960s, then expanded in the 1970s, and in the late 20th century, the town was not spared from the Pacific north-west's timber wars. Orick's logging industry began to shrink, then all but disappeared as mills and lumber companies closed or moved." 

Alongside life in rural Orick, Garcia lived with the violence and trauma that often accompanies poverty. "By the early 1990s, Garcia's mother had died by suicide. His grandfather and many of his uncles were killed in logging accidents, traffic accidents and by drowning. Some spent time in prison; some used hard drugs. One of his aunts told me about the assaults she and her friends had experienced in the town from husbands, boyfriends, and other family members."

The sociologist Jennifer Sherman, a professor at Washington State University, studies unemployment's effects on rural communities in California and Washington. She told Bourgon, "Domestic violence is a huge part of my work. It seems to accompany poverty wherever poverty goes." Bourgon reports: "Humboldt leads California in violence against women; in particular, Indigenous women (close to 50% of Indigenous women in Humboldt are victims of domestic violence, according to Humboldt county domestic violence services). . . . Humboldt County averages 50% more domestic violence-related police calls per capita than the rest of California, and of those, close to half include a weapon."

Be prepared for the storms: Journalists must plan now to cover severe weather

Reporter Emily Foxhall works during Hurricane Harvey.
(Photo by Godofredo Vásquez,Houston Chronicle)

Environmental journalists covering weather disasters are having a hectic year. "New government data revealed that the U.S. has already experienced more billion-dollar weather disasters in 2023 than in any other year since authorities started tracking such data 40-plus years ago," reports Lydia O'Connor of HuffPost. "The catastrophes include 18 severe storms, two floods, a tropical cyclone, a winter storm and the deadly wildfire event that struck Maui last month." Reporting on weather disasters like these takes planning, reports Emily Foxhall for the Society of Environmental Journalists. Foxhall shares these tips:

Prepare supplies and food well ahead: My guiding principle for reporters in the field: Be prepared to rely on yourself for everything, as if you were spending a week camping.

Step one happens before disaster hits. Newsrooms need to organize go-bags for reporters with essential supplies. Reporters who will be assigned to disaster coverage should get stipends to purchase nonperishable food to last however long they will be there.

Some supplies I've found especially helpful include a power inverter to charge devices in your car, a flashlight or lantern with extra batteries, a first-aid kit, sunscreen and bug spray, quick-drying clothes, rain gear, waterproof bags for a phone and notebooks, thick-soled shoes to walk safely in debris-strewn floodwater — and lots of extra socks.

Make a reporting plan when the disaster looms. Meteorologists know when a hurricane is approaching, giving newsrooms time to plan. Other disasters might not have the same lead time. No matter how rushed you are, before leaving to cover any emergency, try to take the time to do the following:

• Fill your gas tank.
• Be sure your spare tire is full of air.
• Charge devices and backup power banks.
• Download Maps. Me for offline map access.

Talk with those in your newsroom about how they can help while you're on the scene reporting. While you're focused on the victims and the survivors, reporters in the newsroom can help you figure out where to go next or provide helpful context about a certain city or neighborhood where you're spending time.

Colleagues can also help by watching news conferences, quickly filing the necessary public information requests and finding you a safe place to stay (this could be with first responders early on; hotels will need to be booked quickly because they fill up after disasters). They might also pull needed context on how climate change affects what happened.

Know this will still be hard, and that's OK. Being ready will help make disaster coverage as smooth as it can be. I've found it's still important to give myself patience and grace when working through it.

By the time I covered Hurricane Laura in 2020, I thought I had all of this down. I'd covered several disasters by that point. I'd trained younger colleagues on how to cover hurricanes. I had my supplies ready. I knew contacts in the area who could help me get around flooded spots.

I still faced difficulties.

I'm glad to hear editors talk about prioritizing the well-being of reporters and how to support them through this type of work. If that conversation isn't happening in your newsroom, it may be time to get it started. Climate change is only making this kind of disaster coverage more necessary. We owe it to ourselves and our industry to be ready.

Flora and Fauna: Steer rides shotgun; beans are back; beavers inherit the world; this dog has a home

It's a Howdy Doody ride. (Washington Post snapshot)

Some things are just way too fun not to share -- like Howdy Doody. "Howdy Doody, (is) a 2,200-pound, 9-year-old Watusi-longhorn mix steer who's more doglike than fierce fighting bull," reports María Luisa Paúl of The Washington Post. "His owner, Lee Meyer, said Howdy Doody enjoys going on walks on a leash, getting treats and, yes, feeling the wind rush past his face when they go on rides. Howdy Doody also knows some commands, such as 'back up' and 'come here.'" Link to the delightful video.

Beans have made a comeback. "The chaotic availability of food during the pandemic, coupled with a growing interest in plant-based nutrition and home cooking, helped boost bean sales by as much as 400 percent in 2020," reports Shleby Vittek of Ambrook Research. "But even before the novel coronavirus started making headlines that March, causing people to panic-purchase shelf-stable grocery staples like beans, flour, and yeast, consumers were revealing a budding obsession with the humble legume."

Scientists say beavers are truly busy. (Mongabay photo)

"If humans went extinct tomorrow, who would rule the world? Beavers. Well, at least in the Northern Hemisphere. These tree-felling, water-slowing, wetland-creating rodent engineers have a massive impact wherever they live," reports Jeremy Hance of Mongabay. "Indeed, when it comes to their power over water flow," biologist Cory Mosby told Hance, "I'm not aware of another species that does this (save humans) on the scale that a beaver population can." Who else is watching beavers? NASA.

Not all bugs are good bugs. "Scientists are experimenting with new ways to kill the spotted lanternfly, a worrisome threat to plants such as wine grapes and beer hops," reports National Geographic. "Native to China, this striking, black-and-red planthopper showed up in the U.S. for the first time in 2014, perhaps stowed away on an international shipment of decorative stone bound for Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania. . . . The invasive species has damaged agricultural crops since its arrival."

Vanessa and her favorite human, Ellie
(Photo by Danielle Carter via the Post)

Some good news: "Vanessa, a senior pit bull, was dropped off at the Louisiana shelter in 2012 when she was a puppy, and her owners didn't want her anymore." The dog was finally adopted after 11 years at a shelter, reports Cathy Free of The Washington Post. Paramedic Ellie Mitchell saw Vanessa's picture and submitted her application to adopt. Now Vanessa has found her forever home.

Montana has long been a fly-fishing haven, but climate change, industry and over-fishing "along the state's rivers like the Big Hole appear to be contributing to alarmingly low numbers of the state's renowned rainbow and brown trout," reports Jim Robbins of The New York Times. "Clouds of insects no longer hover in such big swarms, and some key species, like the salmonfly, that are critical sources of food for fish are less abundant. . . .State biologists report that the numbers of brown and rainbow trout in the river have plummeted over the last seven years to historic lows, with strange maladies afflicting some of the most sought-after fish."

Rural election voting processes have improved since 2020; the election denial movement could pose a threat

As the country gears up for November voting as well as a future presidential election, experts are voicing concern over the election denial movement, which threatens to disrupt improvements in how votes are cast, counted and reported in rural America, reports Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder. "Civics experts say rural communities have the most to lose from the pressures of the election denial movement. . . . Rural America already has lower voter turnout rates, which some researchers argue is due to inadequate election infrastructure. One 2022 study found that voting-by-mail restrictions hurt rural voters the most because there are fewer rural polling locations than urban ones, increasing the distance a person must travel to cast a vote."

U.S. voter engagement has trended steadily upward, "The 2020 presidential election saw the highest turnout in the 21st century with 66.8% of citizens age 18 or older casting a vote, according to the Census Bureau," Carlson writes. "Former President Donald Trump's unfounded attacks on the U.S. election system and the resulting election-denial movement put these gains in jeopardy."

La Plata County Clerk Tiffany Lee in the county elections
office (Photo by Ilana Newman via The Yonder)

The election-denier movement focuses its suspicion on rigged voting machines, for which the only antidote is  manual counts. Carlson reports, "[There are a] growing number of counties–rural, suburban, and urban–where election deniers have successfully urged local governments to recount election results or throw out electronic voting machines altogether." Justin Grimmer, a political science professor at Stanford University who studies election denialism, told Carlson, "We're at this period that I think should be being celebrated as a sort of high point of participation in American democracy." Carlson reports, "reversing improved election infrastructure – the use of equipment that more accurately counts votes and ensuring better access to voting through absentee and mail-in ballots, for example – could set back civic participation."

Carlson reports, "After Trump left office, the election denial movement morphed into a "core group of 'influencers. . . .These influencers have made it a full-time job traveling the country to spread the election denial movement's primary message: elections are being stolen, and it's the government's fault."

Charles H. Stewart, a professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, published research earlier this year exploring election-denial roots. He told Carlson, "The thing that we're seeing in 2020 that we didn't see in 2016, or in 2012, or other times when these sorts of [election integrity] questions arose, is that we now have about a half-dozen of these traveling road shows." Carlson reports, "In La Plata County, Colorado, an influx of open records requests have poured in since 2020, challenging the county's election tools, including Dominion Voting Systems, an electronic voting hardware and software company, and mail-in ballots. The county has relied on mail-in ballots since 1992." La Plata County Clerk Tiffany Lee told Carlson: "What's happened to us is people from the outside and different organizations that don't have anything to do with our local communities are attacking us because ‘Oh my gosh, you have Dominion or you use mail ballots, and we don’t trust you.'"

U.S. consumers throw away 90 billion pounds of food a year; confusion over expiration dates is a big reason

Wall Street Journal graph, from ReFED Food Waste Monitor data

Food-safety people hate "best by" food labels because consumers mistakenly think once a product is past the date, it's longer safe to eat, which wastes tons of decent food, reports Josh Zumbrun in his opinion for The Wall Street Journal. "Food experts broadly agree that the expiration dates on every box of crackers, can of beans and bag of apples waste money, squander perfectly good food, needlessly clog landfills, spew methane and contribute to climate change." No oversight body regulates product "best by" labels. Martin Wiedmann, a professor of food safety and food science at Cornell University, told Zumbrun: "Those dates are not about safety, that's not why they're there, that's not what they're doing. . . For many foods, we could completely do away with it."

Most date labels on food don’t claim that anything is
expiring or unsafe. (Photo by Alexander Cohn, WSJ)

What are they for? "The dates originated as a coded system for manufacturers to communicate to retailers when to rotate stock," Zumbrun explains. "Consumers clamored for information on the freshness of food, and in the 1970s and 1980s consumer-facing dates became widespread, though never standardized. . . . Food manufacturers have tried, largely in vain, to explain that these are mostly general indicators of when food is at its peak quality. Most foods, properly stored, remain edible and safe long after their peak. . . . This misunderstanding is one reason Americans waste a colossal amount of perfectly good food. The Department of Agriculture has estimated that 31% of the available food supply goes uneaten. . . . Retailers discard 43 billion pounds of food annually, consumers a further 90 billion."

Andrew Harig, vice president at the Food Industry Association, a Washington trade group representing food retailers and producers, told Zumbrun, “It’s intended as a sort of consumer guide to be helpful. It’s just that it morphed into less of a guide and more of a rule, and that’s one of the challenges. Food technologists and food-safety people, they absolutely hate these labels.” Zumbrun reports, food-safety experts prefer using just two labels: "'Best if used by,' which indicates the product might not taste quite as good after that date but is still safe, and 'Use by' for those cases where the food might actually be unsafe, such as meat from the deli counter."

"U.S. consumers are wildly confused about the labels’ intent. In a 2019 paper, researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard University found 84% of consumers threw out food at the package date 'at least occasionally' while 37% did so always or usually, though that wasn’t what most labels recommended. Over half thought date labeling was federally regulated, or were unsure," Zumbrun adds. "In fact, with the exception of infant formula, the labels aren’t federally mandated and the food isn’t unsafe. Safety concerns usually arise from food that is contaminated or improperly stored. If you care about food safety, Wiedmann advises you to ignore 'best by' dates and just set your refrigerator no higher than 37 degrees. Keeping food too warm is a real safety risk that has nothing to do with an expiration date."

As flood risk changes and homeowner's flood insurance premiums are recalculated, sticker shock is a sticking point

More accurate flood data has changed insurance rates.
(Photo by Kellly Sikkema, Unsplash)

As the Federal Emergency Management Agency recalculates national flood insurance premiums to include more accurate data, insuring property in places like Valley City, Illinois, which was recently underwater because of another flood from the Illinois River, may not be financially possible for some residents," reports Kery Murakami of Route Fifty. "After FEMA made changes to how it sets premiums for the 5 million policyholders in its National Flood Insurance Program, homeowners in Valley City, an area that's hit a major flood stage seven times since 2002, will be seeing a major jump in their premium to cover their damages. . . . Over roughly the next ten years, the 91 single-family homeowners in Pike County, where Valley City is located, will see their premiums rise six-fold from $699 to $4,933."

FEMA's new way of setting flood insurance premiums will "more accurately reflect how much flood risk properties are facing. But in many areas around the country, homeowners will see their premium payments multiply several times," Murakami writes. "Up until now, the premiums had not considered how often an area was expected to flood in the future and didn't consider many types of flooding, like that from heavy rainfall. That's led to an unfair situation in which many owners of properties at risk of flooding have been paying 'peanuts,' said Chad Berginnis, executive director for the Association of State Floodplain Managers. And indeed, Pike County's single-family homeowners had been paying among the lowest rates of any county in the country, according to FEMA data examined by Route Fifty."

Lawmakers say flood insurance only helps if homeowners can afford to buy it. "Some members of Congress from areas where premiums will jump are balking at the prospect of NFIP policyholders paying thousands more for federal flood insurance. Raising premiums so sharply, they say, could discourage people from buying insurance and leave them vulnerable if a flood damages their home," Murakami reports. Federal law caps premium increases at 18%. "Those who are not paying as much as FEMA's new risk assessment says they should be paying will be on what the agency calls a 'glide path' until they reach their new premium level. . . . The agency estimates that the percentage of people paying the amount FEMA believes they should be paying will rise from about a third to 90% over the next decade."

Using a more accurate picture of where flooding has or is likely to occur to set premium costs has supporters. "Some changes should be made, said Berginnis. . . . The new premiums, for example, will not take into account steps property owners take to reduce the threat of flood damage," Murakami writes. "Still, he said, the new flood insurance rates will 'send people the correct signals about flood risk.'

Some Eastern Oregonians look to join Idaho, saying they have little in common with people in their current state

Map by Amanda Hernández, from Stateline research

Amid ongoing tensions and political disagreements, Eastern Oregon residents from 12 counties look to secede from Oregon and join Idaho. "At a meeting late last month, 25 people packed into a stuffy conference room in the Wallowa County Courthouse—35 miles west of the Idaho state line and 260 miles east of Portland—to hear county commissioners debate a single agenda item: leaving Oregon," reports Matt Vasilogambros of Stateline. Known as "The Greater Idaho movement," the idea to leave Oregon for Idaho had "sputtered along for years, gaining little traction. But then, the coronavirus hit in the spring of 2020."

Disagreements over Oregon's Covid management became the tinder that reignited the Greater Idaho movement. "Quarantines and remote learning inflamed residents' anger with the state government for shutting down schools and businesses," Vasilogambros explains. "This tension invigorated the effort to join Idaho, a state whose government reacted wholly differently to Covid than Oregon did. . . . Secession is a long shot that would require approval by Congress; so far, there have been ballot measures, and there has been a lot of talk. But the fact that the movement has gotten even this far illustrates the growing tear in the American fabric."

Greater Idaho has reached succession benchmarks other states, such as California and Illinois, have failed to meet. "If supporters here achieve their goal, it could mean a paradigm shift nationally, proponents say, inspiring more states to split along cultural and political lines," Vasilogambros writes. "County by county, Eastern Oregonians have voted on similar measures over the past three years, securing much of the large rural region for the secessionist movement. In June, Wallowa County became the 12th to pass a ballot initiative in support of joining Idaho."

Wallowa County is 6 hours, 55 minutes from
Oregon's capital in Salem. (Geology.com map)

"Stateline traveled more than 1,000 miles of Eastern Oregon, where supporters of the movement to join Idaho said they feel unheard by the decision-makers in Salem," Vasilogambros reports. "Would-be secessionists freely recognize that their communities represent less than a tenth of the state's population, but they also asked: Don't we matter? Their grievances are many: They dislike rules that restrict tree-cutting, protect coyotes and promote electric vehicles. They oppose transgender rights, classroom discussions of gender and race, and limits on guns. They detest the taxes and regulations they believe have devastated the region's economy. And they hate what became of Portland, a city many of them look back on with nostalgia."

For Eastern Oregonians, there's "a sense of desperation, as if all options have been exhausted and all that remains is joining Idaho," Vasilogambros reports. Mike McCarter, who leads the Greater Idaho movement, told Vasilogambros: "I have people come at me and say, 'Well, what can we do to change it?' It's gone too far over the top to change." Vasilogambros adds, "Whether they can succeed is another story."

Quick hits: Burning Man's footprint; affluence and affordability; adaptive gardening; books to read on child-welfare system

Photo via The Daily Yonder

"As a retired child-welfare professional, I no longer spend my days working with abused and neglected children, but they are never far from my mind. Certainly not after the three excellent books that I've read recently," recounts Charlie Baker for The Daily Yonder. "The Pulitzer Prize-winning Demon Copperhead is a novel set in southwest Virginia. Lucky Turtle is a love story that begins in a wilderness reform camp in Montana. And Invisible Child, also a Pulitzer winner, is a nonfiction account of 'poverty, survival, and hope in an American city.'"

The Burning Man ends up burning the equivalent of a lot of fossil fuels. What began as a movement for climate change might leave much more "than a trace" behind, reports Zoya Teirstein of Grist. "The festival generates around 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year, the equivalent of burning over 100 million pounds of coal."

Matt Scheer bought a house 11 years ago when the price was
more affordable. (Photo by Joanna Kulesza, The Post)

Places that are attractive to live are also getting to be pricey. "The outdoorsy lifestyle of Colorado mountain towns has become a magnet for the new remote-worker class, upending life for those already rooted there," reports Talmon Joseph Smith of The Washington Post. "Job growth has severely outpaced the stock of shelter throughout Colorado. Median rent in Frisco—which a decade ago was considered a modest 'bedroom community' for commuting employees—is about $4,000 a month, according to Zillow, and 90 percent above the national median."

If you call 911, your first point of contact is a dispatcher who will stay with you through your call, answer your questions, and help keep you calm. But what about those dispatchers? How many calls have they taken? Have they been up all night? "Through long days and mentally taxing calls, dispatchers work to maintain a helpful demeanor that keeps citizens calm and engaged on the line as they work with complex tracking and dispatching technology," report Mike Brewer and Steve Cover of Route 50. "Recognizing the toll the position can take on mental and physical health, Jeffcom911 in Jefferson County, Colorado, has invested in technology to ease workloads on emergency dispatchers by reducing the number of non-emergency calls they receive."

America is struggling with a divisive culture. In his essay for The Atlantic, George Packer writes that the country has split not two ways but four. "People in the United States no longer agree on the nation's purpose, values, history, or meaning. Is reconciliation possible?"

Illustration by Sonaksh, The Washington Post

Gardening can bring joy, fresh food and healing. "For Rosemary McDonnell-Horita, a 29-year-old with multiple disabilities, gardening gave her an opportunity to be a caregiver rather than a care receiver. Taking care of plants shifted the way she thought about her own body," reports Amanda Morris for The Washington Post. McDonnell-Horita told her: "Over the years, gardening has made me feel more confident in every aspect of my life. I'm planting what I want to grow, and there's a lot of power in that."

Marion County Record raid shows rural newspapers' vital role in government; International Democracy Day is Sept.15

Friday, Sept. 15, is International Democracy Day, a day the United Nations set apart to remind everyone living in a democratic society to celebrate their hard-won freedoms and to refocus on each citizen's responsibility to protect those liberties.

For rural newspapers, this year's raid on the Marion County Record's newsroom was a sobering reminder of how mutable democracy is without the free press. Our community newspapers are the first voice of the people, and pushing to maintain your local presence is a service to your community and, more broadly, your country.

"We all need to speak out. . . . The recent raid on The Marion County Record in Kansas was a shockingly flagrant disregard of the Constitution and, unfortunately, underscores a deeply concerning trend of governmental overreach and attempts to intimidate the press in the U.S.," Tim Regan-Porter, CEO, Colorado Press Association, told Gretchen A. Peck of Editor & Publisher. "Such interference in the press' ability to hold government accountable threatens democracy itself and should concern not only members of the press but all citizens. As champions of free speech and democracy, it's imperative for the industry to unite against such unconstitutional strong-arm tactics and safeguard the essential role of the press in society."

According to a statement from The Committee to Protect Journalists' President Jodie Ginsberg, "Local news providers are essential in holding power to account—and they must be able to report freely, without fear of authorities' overreach." Peck adds, "News publishing advocates also expressed support and solidarity with the local news publisher."

Part of the Sept. 15 celebration can be recognizing that in the case of the Record, the U.S. press stood behind a community newspaper as it pushed fearlessly onward to do its job--supporting democracy with good community journalism.

Overdose is now the No. 1 cause of death for people under 40 in most states. Street fentanyl is mostly to blame

 

In most states, the number of Americans under 40 who died from accidental drug overdoses has exceeded any other cause of death. "It's now the top cause in 37 states," a new Stateline analysis shows. Death rates for Americans under 40 "were up by nearly a third in 2021 over 2018, and last year were still 21% higher," reports Tim Henderson of Stateline. "Covid-19 was a small part of the increase, causing about 23,000 deaths total between 2018 and 2022 in the age group. . . . Vehicle accidents and suicide (about 96,000 each) and gun homicide (about 65,000) all took a cumulative toll from 2018 to 2022, according to a Stateline analysis of federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. . . . Overdose deaths, however, took almost 177,000 lives in that time."

A lethal dose of fentanyl
(FDA fentanyl fact sheet photo)

The number of unintentional overdose deaths shows fentanyl's deadly presence in U.S. street drugs. The "fresh wave of overdose deaths is different from the first three," Henderson writes, . . ."driven by drugs spiked with powerful fentanyl." Daliah Heller, vice president of drug use initiatives at Vital Strategies, an international advocacy group that works on strengthening public health, told Henderson: "Somebody might think they're getting a Xanax [for anxiety], or methamphetamine or cocaine. . . They have no experience with opioids; it's not what they're expecting, and now they have a much higher risk of overdose and death." According to the Food and Drug Administration, fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin.

To lessen fentanyl's impact, states "are responding with 'harm reduction' strategies that can include warning of the new danger of recreational drugs laced with deadly fentanyl, training and equipping people to counteract overdoses when they see them," Henderson explains. "Nationally, accidental overdoses dominated the increase in deaths in residents under 40 across racial and urban-rural divides, but many disparities exist. The increase in young overdose death rates was 154% for Black Americans, 122% for Hispanic residents and 37% for white people, yet even for white residents, they represented the largest increase. . . The largest urban areas saw increases in overdose death rates of 70%, and rural areas 64%—the largest increases in both areas for any cause of death."

'Recovery-friendly' employers can help both those healing from addiction and the broader community

Cafes and catering businesses can offer flexibility and
support for people in recovery. (Photo by K8, Unsplash)

By providing a job and a supportive structure for people transitioning into drug-free living, employers are helping their broader community, reports Kristi Eaton of The Daily Yonder. "Rural communities ravaged by substance misuse could benefit from people in recovery being active members of the local workforce, say experts in criminal justice, substance misuse, and labor studies." Sometimes called "second-chance workplaces," these businesses offer employment and a place of meaning without drugs.

Kristina Brant, assistant professor of Rural Sociology at Pennsylvania State University, told Eaton, "[These are] employers hoping to adopt specific policies and practices that are going to be supportive of people who are in recovery from substance use disorder. They want to create an environment that's structurally and culturally going to help people in recovery thrive." Eaton adds, "Stable and meaningful employment is a goal for many people in recovery – not everyone, but many people, she said."

Drug misuse recovery can be harder in rural places because of stigma and a culture of "everybody knows everybody's business." Eaton reports, "Being in recovery can still hurt peoples' chances at getting a job, acquiring a place to live and even making friendships, Brant said. . . . Logistics also play a role. Someone in treatment court may be required to attend court several times a week, and a recovery-friendly workplace would be conducive to that."

Black Sheep logo

Some business models are flexible and can adjust to addiction recovery needs. "Brant said there are many examples of recovery-friendly workplaces. Cafes are popular options. One example is Black Sheep Brick Oven Bakery and Catering, located in Jackhorn, Kentucky," Eaton reports. "The restaurant hires. . . folks emerging from incarceration created by the opioid crisis." Brant told Eaton: "You're serving this dual purpose of creating a place that people know will be a supportive work environment, but also bringing something positive to the community. I think that's a really nice model to focus on."

Douglas Swanson, associate extension professional in the Labor & Workforce Development Program at the University of Missouri Extension, said, "Rural communities and employers have greater challenges due to the shallower pools of available workers." Swanson told Eaton: "You can't hire workers who aren't there. This dynamic puts rural employers in the position of needing to look at the potential an employee may have instead of their past."

Scourge of invasive plants and animals is an 'extinction event on par with the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs'

Brown tree snakes were accidentally introduced in Guam. It ate
many native birds into extinction. (Photo by David Clode, Unsplash)

Black rats, brown tree snakes and water hyacinth are only a few of the more than 3,500 invasive species "wreaking havoc across the planet, destroying crops, disseminating pathogens, depleting fish people rely on for food and driving native plants and animals toward extinction, according to a major report backed by the United Nations," reports Dino Grandoni of The Washington Post. "The landmark assessment found harmful invasive species cost society more than $423 billion a year. . . .A tally only expected to grow as the modern age of global trade and travel continues. . . . The result is a great scrambling of the planet's flora and fauna, with dire implications for humans and the ecosystems they depend on."

Continental globe-trotting "is one of the main causes of Earth's ongoing biodiversity crisis, an extinction event on par with the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs," Grandoni explains. Invasive species are playing a role in 60 percent of extinctions, according to the report, which was created by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, a body made up of more than 140 countries that provide policymakers with scientific assessments to help protect Earth's biodiversity and prevent extinctions. Aníbal Pauchard, a professor at the University of Concepción in Chile who co-chaired the group behind the report, told Grandoni: "It's normal that species move. It's not normal that a species crosses the Atlantic. . . . Not normal that it goes from Australia to Chile."

The report names the black rat as "most widespread invasive animal, which spread by stowing away on ships and scurried its way not only into dense cities but onto far-flung islands as well, where it has decimated ground-nesting seabirds and other animals," Gradoni reports. "The impact of land-dwelling rats on islands is so profound that even nearby reef fish can feel it after the rodents alter the flow of nutrients into the ocean. . . . . On the island of Guam, the voracious brown tree snake has already driven several native birds to extinction."

An innocent-looking water hyacinth floats in a pond at the
Memphis Zoo, Tenn. (Photo by Joshua J. Cotten, Unsplash)

Aquatic systems are facing epic invasions with dire outcomes. "In the Caribbean, venomous lionfish are driving down the numbers of native fish. In the Great Lakes, zebra mussels are clogging the intake pipes of drinking water systems and power plants," Grandino writes. "But one of the most devastating aquatic invaders is a delicate-looking flower," a free-floating plant that spreads so aggressively, "it can cover entire ponds and lakes, leaving a matted mess that impedes boat traffic and fishing. . . . The plants suck up so much water that they render lakes dry and leave communities without drinking water. The report lists the water hyacinth, "which is popping up everywhere from Africa to Australia, the most widespread invasive plant on Earth."

Researchers list prevention as the best solution "through border monitoring and import control," Grandino reports. "In December, nations agreed to try to reduce the spread of harmful invasive species by at least half by 2030 as part of an international agreement."

Opinion: In a country obsessed with youth, how can America face old age?

New York Times illustration

In a little over a decade, America won't be a beacon of youth and strappy upstarts. It will be old. "By 2034, there will be more Americans over the age of 65 than children. . . . It's time to prepare," advises The New York Times editorial board in its opinion piece, "Can America age gracefully?"

"Thanks to falling birthrates, longer life expectancy and the graying of the baby boomer cohort, our society is being transformed. This is a demographic change that will affect every part of society. Already, in about half the country, more people are dying than being born, even as more Americans live into their 80s, 90s and beyond. In 2020, the share of people 65 or older reached 17 percent, according to the Census Bureau. By 2034, there will be more Americans past retirement age than children.

"The challenge the country faces transcends ideology, geography and ethnic or racial category, and American leaders, regardless of their party, need to confront it with the appropriate urgency. . . . Places like Japan, with the highest proportion of people 65 or older in the world, offer a hint of what the near future might look like for America. In Japan, especially in rural areas, schools shut their doors because there are no longer enough children to fill them; births fell below 800,000 in 2022, and about 450 schools close every year. With fewer young people working, revenue for retirement programs is shrinking, and there is a chronic labor shortage. Japanese people increasingly work into their 60s, 70s and beyond, often in physically demanding but low-paid jobs such as making deliveries and cleaning offices."

A country with a significant aged population has particular needs, but American politicians and policy writers need to be faster to address the shift. The Board writes, "The strains are showing in everything from health care and housing to employment and transportation. With an average of 10,000 boomers turning 65 each day, these pressures are steadily intensifying and will continue to do so, especially if current immigration policies hold. . . . By 2053, more than 40 percent of the federal budget will go toward programs for seniors, primarily Social Security and Medicare . . . .

"A demographic shift this significant calls for a broad-based response, and the longer the challenges go unaddressed, the more formidable they become. . . . There are many pieces to this puzzle, including who will care for older people, where they will live, how our cities are designed and how businesses will adapt. Many older people in the United States say they feel invisible in a country that has long been obsessed with youth, avoiding the inevitability—and possibilities—of old age."

California House is managed by its first rural speaker in decades, who faces big tests in holding Democrats together

California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas visits Paicines, a farmworker community where he lived as a child.
(Photo by Jason Armond, Los Angeles Times)

California has a vast rural landscape and is the nation's leading producer of agricultural products, but is one of the least rural states in population. Now the leadership of its main legislative chamber, where the membership is determined by population, is rural.

"Robert Rivas, the first Assembly speaker in decades from a rural area, aims to unite a party long dominated by big-city liberals" and "hopes small-town charm wields big political power," say the hedlines above a Los Angeles Times profile of Rivas by Laurel Rosenhall.

She writes, "Rivas is from San Benito County, a land of "golden hills, cow pastures and rows of grapevines [where] a sign inside the roadside Paicines General Store makes the point clear: 'Welcome to the country.' . . . Rivas grew up in farmworker housing on the fields east of the store. On Fridays, he recalls his grandfather driving the boys up the road to join the picket lines outside a supermarket during the United Farm Workers grape boycott. Rivas and his family still live nearby in suburban Hollister, where shopping centers crawl with a mix of gleaming sport utility vehicles and mud-spattered pickups."

To the west is Monterey, home of Leon Panetta, ex-secretary of defense, CIA director, White House chief of staff and congressman, who has long known Rivas and told Rosenhall, “For too long, it’s been basically Los Angeles and San Francisco that have determined political leadership. It’s really important for him to bring that [rural] perspective to Sacramento, which too often basically listens to the loudest voices, and not always the most important needs.”

San Benito County (Wikipedia map)

San Benito County has "a quirky reputation as the state's political bellwether," and Rivas ousted the previous speaker, Anthony Rendon of L.A. County, "by pulling together a coalition of Democrats who hail from districts both north and south, urban and rural, coastal and inland," Rosenhall reports. "His supporters included some of the Legislature’s most ardent progressives, as well as some of its most conservative Democrats." That reflects his support of liberal measures like a local ban on hydraulic fracturing as a county suprevisor, and his early support from "more moderate, business-aligned Democrats" and his brother's lobbying and "donor network largely made up of Silicon Valley venture capitalists that seeks to counter the sway that public employee unions have in California politics. . . . So far, Rivas has managed to navigate California’s varied political universes largely by playing nice. He emphasizes his role as a listener more than a speaker. He’s been cautious about laying out a political agenda. In a Capitol full of swagger, Rivas’ vibe is decidedly aw-shucks. . . . But as the Legislature heads into the chaotic final stretch of the 2023 session that ends Thursday, Rivas will be put to the test. Lawmakers must decide the fate of numerous controversial proposals" in a Legislature controlled by Democrats but riven by factions, Rosenhall notes. "Rivas used his small-town charm to build power. But will he be effective in steering a caucus dominated by big-city liberals?"