Berkshire Eagle, Seven Days, Vermont Standard, Nantucket paper big rural winners in New England newspaper awards

Slide from awards presentation

The Berkshire Eagle scored big in the New England Newspaper and Press Association awards, which were announced Thursday during the group's semiannual online conference.

The Eagle, of Pittsfield, Mass., was judged the best small daily (less than 9,000 print circulation), with The Keene Sentinel of New Hampshire and the Record Journal of Meriden, Conn., as runners-up. 

The Eagle was judged to have the best editorial, "chastising the Catholic diocese in western Massachusetts for trying to subpoena a reporter's notes which would reveal confidential sources" and calling on legislators to pass a shield law like most other states have to protect reporters. 

And the Eagle won two of NENPA's Publick Occurrences awards, named for America's first newspaper and honoring 13 pieces that were judged to be the best in New England journalism in the past year. The rural or rural-impact winners included the Eagle's reports on nursing homes and hazardous-materials shipments on trains that go through its region; projects by Seven Days of Burlington, Vermont, on child care and the pandemic's impact on housing in the largely rural state; the Lewiston Sun Journal's "Homeless in Maine" series; the Concord Monitor's series on police spending and policies all over New Hampshire; and CT Mirror's "Elder Care Reckoning" series that prompted reforms in Connecticut.

The best small weekly newspaper in New England was judged to be the Vermont Standard of Woodstock, with runners-up the Milton Times of Massachusetts and the St. Albans Messenger of Vermont. The best large weekly (over 4,000 circ.) was the Inquirer and Mirror of Nantucket, Mass.; runners-up were the Martha's Vineyard Times and sister papers in Maine, the Mt. Desert Islander of Bar Harbor the Ellsworth American. The best mid-size daily (circ. 9,000-20,000) was The Day of New London, Conn., with Massachusetts' Daily Hampshire Gazette of Northampton and the Greenfield Recorder runners-up. The Concord Monitor was judged best small Sunday paper.

American farmers are getting old, and there aren't enough younger farmers to replace them

Lack of younger farms means aging farmers have to work
  harder. (Photo by KT Kanazawich, The Washington Post)

American farming has a problem -- its labor force is aging, and there's no clear pipeline to fill the eventual need. "The average American farmer is 57 and a half years old, according to the most recent data from the Department of Agriculture. That's up sharply from 1978, when the figure was just a smidge over 50, report David R. Buys, John J. Green and Mary Nelson Robertson for The Conversation, a platform for journalism by academics. "As researchers who study well-being in rural areas, we wanted to understand this trend and its implications. So we dug into the data."

"We found that the average age of farmers was fairly consistent across the country, even though the general population's age varies quite a bit from place to place," the researchers write. "For example, the average Maine farmer is just a few months older than the average farmer in Utah, even though the average Maine resident is more than a decade older than the average Utahn." Their data also showed a countrywide trend of "amber waves of gray" and noted that if farmer recruitment or industry adaptations aren't implemented, America's food supply could be at risk.

Buys, Green and Robertson asked, "Why is this happening?" They cite several barriers younger would-be farmers face, including how much money it takes to start a farm, agricultural consolidation, and the profession's overall stresses from weather to politics.

The lack of younger farmers increases workloads for current farmers. Researchers explain, "Without younger people to leave the work to, farmers are left with intense labor — physically and mentally – to accomplish, on top of the ordinary challenges of aging. . . . The U.S. needs to increase opportunities for younger farmers while also supporting farmers as they age."

The good news is that the USDA already has some programs within the Farm Bill designed to "aid new farmers, as well as farmers of color and female farmers, and those who operate small farms," Buys, Green and Robertson explain. The upcoming Farm Bill could expand those programs to "help bring new talent into the field. . . . The farm bill also includes nutrition aid and funds for telehealth training and educational outreach for farmers, all of which could help meet the needs of young and aging farmers alike. Notably, the Cooperative Extension Service offers programs that range from 4-H and youth development, including introduction to agriculture, to providing on-site technical help."

Researchers point to the 2024 Census of Agriculture, which will provide "new insight into America's farming workforce. We expect it will show that the average age of U.S. farmers has reached a new all-time high." 

Government officials have 'unqualified access to private land;' hunters sue to change Open Fields doctrine

The Open Fields doctrine has allowed government officials access
to private land. (Photo by Institute for Justice via Farm Journal)

Sometimes private land isn't private, and in states such as Pennsylvania, the question, "How much power does the government claim on private land?" is answered by a court ruling, reports Chris Bennett of Farm Journal. On Sept. 29, a "court ruled against two hunting clubs in their lawsuit accusing the Pennsylvania Game Commission of private property rights violations. . . . In its ruling, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania noted the government's absolute power to 'roam private land without consent, warrants, or probable cause.'"

The hunting clubs, Pitch Pine and Punxsutawney sued PGC "after game wardens consistently entered club lands without permission or warrant, and secretly monitored club members, including photo collection via installation of a hidden game camera," Bennett writes. "The wardens' behavior, the lawsuit asserted, was a direct violation of Pennsylvania's state constitution, which explicitly protects 'persons, houses, papers, and possessions.'"

The Open Fields doctrine allows state and federal officials "unqualified access to private land" without requiring a warrant to "enter or surveil private land," Bennett reports. "The Commonwealth Court detailed the alarming powers and 'unfettered discretion' assumed by the government via Open Fields: To ensure their members' privacy, the Hunting Clubs have posted their properties with no trespassing signs and have installed gates at all entrances to exclude nonmembers and intruders. However, the Entry Statutes empower game wardens with unfettered discretion to enter upon and roam private land without consent, warrants, or probable cause."

"Six states place state constitutional authority above the Open Fields doctrine: Mississippi, Montana, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington," Bennett writes. The Institute for Justice represents Pitch Pine and Punxsutawney is appealing the decision. "Arguments before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court should take place in 2024, with a decision likely in 2025. IJ is litigating similar Open Fields cases in Virginia and Tennessee about warrantless intrusions on private land."

(For more on Open Fields, see How Much Ag Property Is Protected From a Warrantless Search?)

90% of U.S. iron ore travels through the Soo Locks, and the system needs expensive upgrades

Map by Marine Cadastre, Army Corps of Engineers via 
The Wall Street Journal

It isn't just the mighty Mississippi River that moves U.S. commerce. A system of locks, known as the Soo Locks is also vital to trade, but the neglected system needs ongoing, long-term repairs.

"About 10,000 ships pass through the Soo Locks each year to bring iron ore, grain, limestone and other staples across the Great Lakes and Canada into the Midwest and beyond," reports Ken Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. "The navigational system allows large ships to bypass rapids below Lake Superior. . . . Every few decades, the locks were upgraded — until recently."

The pandemic gave Americans a first-hand look at the havoc supply chain disruptions can cause, helping projects like the Soo Locks repairs become a national priority. "Now, construction crews are working to complete a modernization of the locks," Thomas writes. "The question is whether the upgrades can get the funds they need in time." And while the Biden administration has increased funding, more will be needed through 2030 when the upgrades are slated for completion.

In 2015, a Department of Homeland Security study "found that the aging network serves shipping vessels carrying nearly 90% of the nation's iron ore, a critical component of the steel used to make cars and refrigerators," Thomas explains. "The study estimated that if it closed for an extended period, it would also disrupt steel production, cost millions of jobs, and reduce U.S. gross domestic product by $1.1 trillion. . . . John Walsh, the chief executive of the Michigan Manufacturers Association, said trade associations as well as congressional delegations from the Great Lakes states are working to keep the funding a priority.

"The locks are the only effective way to transport the raw materials because distributing iron ore and other supplies by trucks or trains would be cost-prohibitive. Supporters noted that 13 of 14 North American integrated steel mills are dependent upon the Soo Locks to transport iron ore from Minnesota and Michigan," Thomas adds. "The system is nearly as old as the U.S.: The first lock, about 40 feet long to handle canoes, was built on the St. Marys River in 1798 by the Northwest Fur Co. to enhance the fur trade."

Flora and Fauna: Reconsider rats; farm-to-school lunches; spawning salmon; a 7,000 mile migration; give up raking

Illustration by Sarah Gilman, Hakai

Many people describe rats as dirty, disease-carrying rodents. But do they deserve the bad rap? "Rats are less pestilent and more lovable than we think," writes J.B. MacKinnon of Hakai magazine. "Can we learn to live with them?"

Hey, kids! What's for lunch? Farm fresh potatoes? How does that work? Some states have launched "Farm-to-school programs that prioritize getting locally produced, minimally processed products onto students’ plates in states like Maine, Minnesota, and New York," reports Shea Swenson of Ambrook Research. "Now, Oklahoma has launched its own Local Food for Schools program — but with a twist." Link here to find out more.

A trip to Salmon River offers a breathtaking experience: "I visited Salmon River in Mount Hood National Forest hoping to see my favorite Pacific Northwest inhabitants, Coho and Chinook salmon, on their way home to spawn, Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder writes. "This is a long, difficult, and always deadly undertaking – a hero’s journey, through and through, and it’s absolutely worth seeing if you can."

A male humpback whale swims off Maui, Hawaii.
(Photo by Ralph Pace, Whale Trust)

His name is Frodo, but he's not trekking through Middle-earth to Mordor. "He's a battle-scarred male humpback whale who completed the longest-known movement for his species," reports Ralph Pace of National Geographic. "Between 2017 and 2018, the animal swam nearly 7,000 miles from Saipan, in the Mariana Islands, to Sayulita, Mexico, according to a new study published in Endangered Species Research. . . . It shows that whale migration patterns are more complex than we thought."

Hikers and animal lovers alike take heed -- it's flea-borne typhus season. FBT still lives in humid pockets of the South, California, Texas and Hawaii, reports Claire Panosian Dunavan for MedPage Today. "In fact, just last month, a letter to local physicians cited Los Angeles County's record-high count of 171 verified cases and three deaths in 2022."

Photo by Matt McClain, The Washington Post

Dread raking leaves? Don't. This year, leave the leaves, advises Allyson Chiu of The Washington Post. David Mizejewski, a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation, told Chieu: "The fallen leaf layer is actually really important wildlife habitat. All sorts of creatures rely on that for their survival as a place where they can find food and cover. . . and even complete their life cycle.”

In a county with glaring wealth disparities, one reporter looks at how rural is defined and where higher education fits

The Grand Teton Mountains separate Teton County, Wyoming
from Teton County, Idaho. (Photo by Leslie Cross/Unsplash)

About 30 miles and a mountain pass separate Teton County, Wyoming, from Teton County, Idaho, but the county is divided by more than geography: Teton County, Wyoming, has a whopping average $318,297 per-capita income, and Teton County, Idaho, claims a $35,000 average. Higher education reporter Nick Fouriezos of The Daily Yonder discusses three things he learned while visiting the Teton Counties.

Fouriezos writes, "I encourage you to read the piece, which deals with a number of issues being felt across rural America, from how educational institutions and state governments are trying to address workforce gaps to deepening concerns about affordable housing."

When making choices about rural areas, go where the people go. "Earlier this year, the College of Eastern Idaho teamed up with the nonprofit Education Design Lab. . . to design, test, and scale rural postsecondary programs. The college wanted to get feedback from residents of Driggs, a mostly working-class rural town in Teton County, Idaho, which is quickly seeing its own costs rise as people move there while leaving behind its neighboring counterpart in Wyoming.

"To start, the education nonprofit and the college conducted interviews at the local farmer's market. . . . But after spending more time talking to educators in the area, they realized that anybody who could afford to be buying fresh veggies at 2 p.m. on a Thursday probably wasn't their target demographic.

"They shifted gears, doing their next round of interviews while handing out gift cards at the Broulim's grocery store, a popular lunch haunt for construction and service workers in the Driggs area. . . . That moment was a good reminder: If you really want to hear from rural America, don't rely on outliers of the rural experience.

Amid shifting costs, rural communities are feeling pressure to change. Almost every year, Powell Symons says she gets approached by the Jackson Hole Chamber of Commerce to bring the Teton Valley Balloon Rally from Idaho over to the Wyoming side. Even though the offer has become more tempting as the region's disparities deepen, she has resisted so far. . . .To Powell Symons, it would end a four-decade tradition here in Driggs, one that draws Idahoans from all over the state each year. And having had the chance to share their love for those balloons personally, that would be a tragedy."

Higher ed can't attract students who don't feel like they have choices. "For a time, Luna dreamed of going to cosmetology school. Then she could work at a salon, doing the face masks and other lux cleansing rituals people in Jackson are willing to pay so much more money for than in Driggs. . . . Now, those plans seem far off. She has to make payments on the truck and to fix its transmission. She has to pay her share of rent on the mobile home she shares with her uncle and her grandma, who is now 82 and needs just as much help as ever.

"These are the types of decisions many rural students face across the country. It's not just whether a degree will pay off four years from now, or over a lifetime. . . It's more often about whether they can get by today. Not just for themselves, but for those who rely upon them."

As pandemic-era funding runs dry, many rural nursing homes are closing -- a loss for families and local economies

Bloomberg map, from CMS and Census Bureau data

Amid increasing medical costs, depopulation and a national nursing shortage, hundreds of rural nursing homes are closing, leaving economic losses and care deserts behind, reports Lauren Coleman-Lochner and Martin Z. Braun of Bloomberg. "Across the country, almost 690 nursing homes have shut their doors since 2020, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The American Health Care Association, an industry trade group, expects the number to keep ticking up in the coming years because of a combination of rising labor costs, falling enrollments and government reimbursements that fall far short of paying the bills."

Many rural places already face depopulation and staffing shortages across several sectors, so the struggles for a small long-term care facility are amplified. "America's elder-care deficit is particularly acute in the Midwest and parts of the South, where a larger portion of the population age 65 and older resides in rural counties; in North Dakota, it's 46%, double the average nationwide, according to Census Bureau data," Coleman-Lochner and Braun write. Residents in these regions face further stress because finding a new nursing home, which may be hundreds of miles away, "causes families to splinter and can become yet another contributor to depopulation."

In smaller towns, a care facility is often the largest employer, so when it closes, the economic domino effect begins with job losses and trickles down. When a long-term care facility closed in Mott, North Dakota, pop. 700, "Business at the town's drugstore dropped 40% . . . , according to owner Chuck Oien. His wife's grocery store also saw a decline," Bloomberg reports, "as did restaurants and hotels that catered to out-of-town family members when they visited."

The pandemic "didn't cause the troubles at hundreds of U.S. nursing homes, but it sure didn't help," Bloomberg reports. "The number of workers in nursing homes and residential-care facilities dropped by 210,000 between February 2020 and June 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as nurses and caretakers sickened or quit, feeling burned out. CMS estimates that nursing homes lose more than half their workers each year. . . .The federal aid directed at hospitals and nursing homes during the early part of the pandemic temporarily covered up the fundamental problems with the industry's economics, says Kelly Arduino, head of the healthcare practice at advisory firm Wipfli. With government assistance winding down, there will be more financial distress and closures." Arduino told Bloomberg: "It's only going to get worse. We all see it coming. We don't see a mechanism for how to fix it."

Medicare Advantage plans are growing in popularity, but their payment tactics hurt smaller hospitals

Photo via Mesa View Regional Hospital

Medicare Advantage plans have become increasingly popular with seniors, but for small, rural hospitals, the plans are too risky, which can leave local plan participants unable to go to their town's hospital. "Medicare Advantage insurers are private companies that contract with the federal government to provide Medicare benefits to seniors in place of traditional Medicare," reports Sarah Jane Tribble of KFF News. "The plans have become dubious payers for many large and small hospitals, which report that the insurers are often slow to pay or don't pay."

Enrollment in private Medicare plans "has increased fourfold in rural areas since 2010. Meanwhile, more than 150 rural hospitals have closed since 2010, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina. States such as Texas, Tennessee and Georgia have had the most closures."

The slow or no-payment tactics of Advantage plans disproportionately hurt "small, rural hospitals that Medicare has designated as 'critical access," Tribble explains. "Under the designation, government-administered Medicare pays extra to those hospitals to compensate for low patient volumes. Medicare Advantage plans, on the other hand, offer negotiated rates that hospital operators say often don't match those of traditional Medicare." 

Medical providers can face a no-win situation when rural residents enroll in Advantage plans. For example, Mesa View Regional Hospital, a rural hospital about 80 miles east of Las Vegas, has "a high percentage of patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans," Tribble reports. The hospital has "21 Medicare Advantage contracts with multiple insurance companies. . . . Mesa View's CEO, Kelly Adams, says he has trouble getting the plans to pay for care the hospital has provided. They are either 'slow pay or no pay, he said. . . . It would be a 'tough deal' to be forced to reject patients because they didn't have traditional Medicare."

"At Mesa View, patients must drive to Utah to find nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities covered by their Medicare Advantage plans," Tribble reports. Adams told her: "Our local nursing homes are not taking Medicare Advantage patients because they don't get paid. But if you're straight Medicare, they'd be happy to take that patient."

What is being done? "In June, a bipartisan group of Congress members, led by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, sent a letter urging federal agencies to do more to force Medicare Advantage insurers to pay health systems what they owe for patient care. . . . In an August response, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure wrote that a final rule issued in April made 'impactful changes' to speed up care and address concerns about prior authorization — when a hospital and patient must get advance permission for care to ensure it will be covered by an insurer," Tribble reports. Brooks-LaSure noted another proposed rule that, once finalized, "could mandate that insurers provide specific reasons for denying care within seven days."

The Washington Post's first Freedom of Information Act director explains how to find important information

Image by Marissa Vonesh, The Washington Post

Nate Jones of The Washington Post reveals how he finds the materials others don't want found in his "Revealing Records" series. Below is an excerpted version of his first installment.

"Few things make a journalist happier than receiving a manila envelope full of internal government records. These days, a large email attachment is pretty good, too.

"As the Post's first Freedom of Information Act director, I work to ensure that our entire newsroom receives as many of those envelopes and email attachments as possible. Those documents have helped us publish stories that have exposed government waste and wrongdoing, and led to congressional hearings and new laws. Successful requests take strategy, creativity and a tenacity for overcoming bureaucratic resistance. Now, I'm writing a periodic column about how I do it.

"The federal Freedom of Information Act is one of a reporter's most powerful tools. Commonly known as FOIA, this law requires federal agencies to release records to the public upon request — unless the records are exempt for privacy, national security or other reasons. Each state also has its own version of the federal law that applies to state and local governments. When agencies refuse to produce the records, the laws allow those making the requests to sue.

"Unfortunately, the Post has had to turn to the courts to force state and federal agencies to follow FOIA laws. As a newly barred attorney, I research the chances of succeeding in a lawsuit, then work with The Post's legal counsel and outside lawyers to file a suit.

"Generally, the Post only sues when we believe we can make a strong case. When we do prevail, the agencies often have to pay our attorneys' fees. That is a cherry on top of any records the agencies are ordered to produce. 

"More often, we are able to use public records laws to obtain documents without going to court. After Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011, many people saw the famous photo of President Barack Obama and his aides tensely watching the raid on bin Laden's compound, one of just nine photos taken by the White House photographer that day and released on the official Flickr page. But I wanted to see what else was photographed that day, including pictures that might counter the official White House narrative.

"The Freedom of Information Act doesn't apply to records of presidents still in office. . . . At the time of the bin Laden raid, Obama was running for reelection. If he won, I would have to wait until 2017 to start the five-year clock to request his presidential records. So I marked my calendar. . . . On Jan. 20, 2022, five years to the day after Obama left office, I filed a slew of requests — including one for all official White House photographs taken the day bin Laden was killed. . . .After a year, the National Archives processed the request and provided a 161-page PDF of thumbnails and file names for all White House photographs taken between May 1 and 3, 2011. . . . These photographs — like all internal government records — are powerful because they help reveal what actually happened within our government, not just the view officials want to present.

"These manila envelopes and email attachments do not always come easily. Post reporters are constantly thinking and inquiring about the government documents behind public statements and official actions. I've helped them file requests for records in the federal government and every U.S. state, district and territory. Without public records laws, they would not be able to tear open the envelopes, download the attachments and share the stories of the documents within."

Rural haunts: Halloween's origins; spooky season humor; dark doll decor; creepy AI; a most satisfying scary tale

Snap-Apple Night, painted by Irish artist Daniel Maclise in 1833, based on an
Irish Halloween party. (Wikimedia Commons photo via Modern Farmer)

Who started Halloween anyway? Farmers. "It’s believed the Halloween’s origins lie in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), which was celebrated from Oct. 31 into Nov. 1, marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter," reports Andrew Amelinckx of Modern Farmer. "It all began with the celebration of agriculture. . . . Maybe this year you should get back to basics and dress up as the goddess Pomona or perhaps a zombie farmer to give a nod to Halloween’s real roots."

How do you know "spooky season" is here? Kerry Elson of The New Yorker casts a spell with her quirky brew of signs. "A spider will descend from the ceiling on a single thread. His eyes are red, but they are kind. Could he be your friend? (The answer is yes! During spooky season, spiders will be excited to make plans.) . . . The spooky-season warbler will emerge. This bird is known for its orange, brown, and yellow coloring and its distinct call, which typically sounds like bones clattering around, in a fun way. . . . Nothing says spooky season quite like a scarecrow holding an origami snake that it made all by itself."

Dolls can be creepy.
(Photo by Rose Maura Lorre, Wirecutter)

This summer Propstore sold the clown from 1982s Poltergeist movie for $650,000. That's a lot of loot for something freakishly terrifying. Wirecutter has a cheaper solution that will still give your friends chills -- Creepy Doll Decor. "I started turning dolls into haunting Halloween decor because the dolls started haunting me first," writes Rose Maura Lorre. "It all began about 10 years ago when my husband randomly texted me a photo of a discarded doll he’d walked past that was clearly refusing its fate as refuse."

Speaking of creepy, AI can scare. "What does it mean to be human? When a robot asks that question, it might elicit feelings of unease — indeed, when artificial beings start acting or looking a little too human, you might experience the uncanny valley phenomenon," reports Natalia Mesa of National Geographic. "Although the concept of the uncanny valley has existed for half a century, scientists still debate why fabricated people cause us so much discomfort."

There's so much to love about fall, but one of the season's most iconic candies can lead to arguments. "Halloween is a time for all things spooky, but it can also be quite divisive," reports Michael Beausoleil for Medium. "On one side, we have the group of people who love candy corn. On the other side, we have people who hate the stuff."

Illustration via The History Reader

With rural breadth and depth, Washington Irving gives Americans one of the best "haunted" rural stories of all time in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The "Rosie Posie Reads" website muses: "Is it the dreamy pastoral town of Sleepy Hollow, with its quaint residents, candlelit parties, and bone-chilling ghost stories? Is it the mystery of what really happened to Ichabod Crane on the covered bridge? Is it the faint possibility that the ghost of a Hessian soldier scours the land in search of a head?"

Efforts to help rural communities obtain grants for climate change didn't help much; awards skewed urban and coastal

Despite the Biden administration's focus on grant access for rural communities, many areas still struggled to apply for or win government funding, according to a new analysis, reports Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder. "Most of the funding in a recent round of climate-change grantmaking went to high-capacity communities located in coastal states, according to a report by the nonprofit Headwaters Economics. Less than a fifth of the grants went to 'low-capacity' communities, which tend to be rural, according to Kristin Smith, author of the study."

Smaller community governments often have staff members doing multiple roles, and funding additional people to apply for grants isn't financially doable, so their capacity to find, research and apply for federal money can be severely hampered. Looking at the most recent round of grants made through FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, "Smith said low-capacity communities that did not fare well in the competition lack the staff and expertise necessary to create competitive proposals for federal grant programs," Carlson writes. "Match requirements, which is money awardees must contribute themselves to a grant-funded project, can also be a barrier for rural communities with small budgets or less access to philanthropic funding, according to Smith."

A  rural-urban disparity "played out in this year's BRIC funding, which is paid through an apportionment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund: Only 3% of the counties that received grants are low-capacity, as defined by Headwaters Economics' Rural Capacity Index," Carlson reports. "High-capacity counties – which have the staff, resources, and expertise to apply for and win federal grants – were chosen 83% of the time. . . . FEMA is aware of these findings. A FEMA spokesperson said that the agency is 'currently in the process of reviewing the findings in the Headwaters Economics article and is open to engaging.'"

BRIC funding differs from many other federal programs, which could be particularly important for rural areas. Carlson adds, "There is no expiration date for the BRIC program. It's funded through an earmarked 6% of estimated disaster expenses every year through FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund, so even for the communities rejected funds, there is time to reapply. . . . Whether rural communities are prioritized in future funding awards remains to be seen." Smith told Carlson: "I do think FEMA is taking the issue seriously, and I also think there's a lot of work to do."

Newly released data reveals a 'virtual opioid belt' developed over about 15 years in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky

Average number of pills distributed per person per year, ranked by county from 2006 to 2019. White is equal to zero pills and scarlet is 120+ pills; shades of pink are ranges between those two. (Post via Openmap, with DEA Automation report data)

America's battle with pain-pill prescriptions might be tapering off, but deaths spawned by its spin-offs, heroin and fentanyl, have increased, and deeply affected regions are still clawing toward a recovery.

A database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration shows how the use of pain pills increased dramatically, particularly in Appalachian counties. The database "tracks every single pain pill sold in the United States, tracing the path from manufacturers and distributors to pharmacies in every town and city," reports Steven Rich, Paige Moody and Kevin Schaul of The Washington Post. "These records provide an unprecedented look at the surge of legal pain pills. . . which resulted in more than 210,000 overdose deaths during the 14-year time frame ending in 2019. It also sparked waves of an ongoing and raging opioid crisis first fueled by heroin and then illicit fentanyl."

The information can help people "understand the impact of years of prescription pill shipments on their communities," the Post reports. "A county-level analysis shows where the most oxycodone and hydrocodone pills were distributed across the country over that time — more than 145 billion in all."

The DEA's database, known as ARCHOs, was not willingly shared with the public. The Post and HD Media, which publishes the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia, "waged a year-long legal battle for access to the database, which the government and the drug industry had sought to keep secret," Rich, Moody and Shaw add. "The initial release of data covered 2006 to 2012, and was later updated through 2014. . . . The Post analysis shows that the volumes of the pills handled by the companies climbed as the epidemic surged, increasing by 52 percent from 8.4 billion in 2006 to 12.8 billion in 2011."

Appalachian counties have maintained that their regions were targeted by pharmaceutical companies' greed. The maps show how those areas suffered more than other areas of the country. The Post reports, "Comparing county-level maps of prescription opioid overdose deaths and pill shipments reveal a virtual opioid belt of more than 90 counties stretching southwest from Webster County, W.Va., through southern Virginia and ending in Monroe County, Ky. This swath includes 18 of the top 20 counties ranked by per-capita prescription opioid deaths nationwide and 15 of the top 20 counties for opioid pills distributed per capita."

The maps show a 'virtual opioid belt' through Appalachia. (Post map, from DEA and CDC data)

Veterinarians face pet owners who reject vaccinations; research shows fewer vaccinations could be dangerous

Forty percent of dog owners distrust vaccines, new research
shows. (Photo by Karsten Winegeart, Unsplash)

New research shows that more pet owners are resisting traditional vaccines, which could cause disease outbreaks in animals and people. "Researchers who have studied vaccine hesitancy since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic say a growing body of evidence shows a surprisingly high level of mistrust among pet owners over vaccines for cats and dogs," reports Stephanie Armour of The Wall Street Journal. "Almost 40% of dog owners believe that canine vaccines are unsafe, more than 20% believe these vaccines are ineffective and 30% consider them to be medically unnecessary, according to a new study published in the journal Vaccine."

Commenting on the study's anti-vax skew, its lead author, Matthew Motta, an assistant professor of health law, policy and management at Boston University, told Armour, "We were shocked. In a world where mandates are being dialed back, and more pets go unvaccinated. . . .That’s a threat to our pets but also a public health threat to you and me.”

If fewer animals are vaccinated, the chance for previously controlled diseases such as rabies to return dramatically increases. Rena Carlson, a veterinarian and president of the American Veterinary Medical Association, told Armour, "We’re going to see more and more disease as we see vaccine compliance drop. . . . Vaccines can really prevent severe disease.” Armour reports, "Seventy percent of dogs in a population should be vaccinated against rabies to prevent outbreaks, according to the World Health Organization."

Social media postings about the potential harm vaccines "could do" has contributed to the anti-vaccine movement. Armour writes, "A pet owner in California with a Chihuahua said she always takes her dogs 'off the system' because she said vaccines can cause cancer, seizures or death. . . . Misinformation and misperceptions are driving a lot of the skepticism, veterinarians say. Thirty-seven percent of dog owners believe vaccines could cause cognitive problems such as autism, according to the study in Vaccine. No scientific data exists that validates the risk for people or animals."

Monarch migration has begun. They're 'marathon runners.'

Monarch butterflies fly thousands of miles, often starting in
Canada, to overwinter in Mexico. (Photo by Ron Holmes, FWS)

As summer tips into fall, much of nature shifts with it. Alongside breathtaking leaf foliage and the harvest, autumn includes the monarch butterfly migration from the Northern United States to Mexico.

"Sometime in August, the monarchs from Wisconsin and the upper Midwest start to migrate south. Traveling as far as 50 miles each day, it will take them a month or more," reports Julie Belschner for AgriView. "They often roost at night on trees or bushes. The generation floating on the Midwest winds – as much as a quarter-mile or more high – are those that will overwinter in Mexico for the next six to eight months."

Explaining how monarchs know when to migrate and how they endure the long journey, P.J. Liesch, with the University of Wisconsin Department of Entomology, told Belschner, "It turns out that monarchs have a way to read the earth's magnetic field; essentially metals interact with the earth's magnetic fields, and they use those clues. . . . .Compare the butterflies to a marathon runner. They need carbs. Those butterflies are going from nectar source to nectar source – pit stops, if you will. Have a pit stop ready for them, so if they're passing through, they can pick up what they need." Belschner adds, "Farmers can make a difference by limiting use of pesticides, creating windbreaks and planting nectar plants."

The Fish & Wildlife Service has marked five monarch "super stops" along their journey, reports Julie Morse of the National Wildlife Refuge System.

Iowa
Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge held its first Monarch Madness Day in 2006. Ninety people caught and tagged 250 monarchs during the day; almost 500 were tagged over the season.

Kansas
The butterflies tend to come in waves based on weather patterns. Migrating monarchs feed on asters goldenrods and other wildflowers that bloom throughout the refuge in the central Kansas wetlands. If winds frustrate butterfly hunters, visitors can catch monarchs inside an enclosed butterfly pavilion.
During the day, look for monarchs in wildflower areas. Toward evening, the best viewing areas are sheltered places that are cool and damp. Monarchs typically visit Kansas in mid-to late September. Check out Quivira National Wildlife Refuge.

Texas
In late September/early October, when conditions are favorable, thousands of monarchs a day may flutter through the prairies and oak savannas of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge in the Hill Country of central Texas.

Virginia
Each year during monarch season (from early September to late October), the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory counts and tags monarchs at the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, at the tip of the Delmarva Peninsula between the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay. Visitors are welcome to watch. Taggers record monarch size, condition and gender.

Florida
People start calling St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge as early as August to ask when the monarch butterflies are coming. The refuge is the last refueling stop for thousands of migrating monarchs before they fly over the open water of the Gulf of Mexico.

Help your community 'know their risk and protect their money' by raising public awareness with this media kit

To increase the public's awareness of deposit insurance and how it can protect people's money in the event of a bank's failure, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation developed a national consumer campaign, "Know Your Risk. Protect Your Money."

The campaign reaches people who may have lower confidence in the U.S. banking system or do not use a bank, as well as those who use mobile payment systems, alternative banking services and financial products that may appear to be FDIC-insured but are not.

The FDIC is asking financial institutions, community organizations, government agencies, and others who serve the public to help raise awareness of deposit insurance protections.

Tips on how to spread the word:

• Link to FDIC's Deposit Insurance page from your website (also available en español).
• Publish posts on your own social media channels using the materials on our social media toolkit page and including the hashtag, #IsYourMoneyInsured.
• Review the campaign launch press release to learn more.

To make the topic less daunting, FDIC offers several "Saving Pigs" in English and Spanish to get the conversation going.
                 
           

Should I stay or should I go? One author's deep struggle to decide if she should move back to rural Appalachia

"The reason for my indecision is not clear to me."
(Photo by Ricardo Alfaro, Unsplash)

When home and holler beckon, author Kathleen M. Jacobs struggles to decide if she will move back to rural Appalachia. In her commentary for The Daily Yonder. Jacobs presents her emotional yearning for home alongside the practical worries of leaving the city.

"Thinking of returning to live once again in a rural area of West Virginia where I grew up tugs at my heart repeatedly, as if to remind me of a possibility that never leaves — has not left me since I considered it a number of years ago. The reason for my indecision is not clear to me. Perhaps that’s part of the problem.

"Certainly, the people I know in the area — have known for many years — play a vital role in my consideration to return, but in the end, it is not so much about them as it is about how I might find a way to bring something of value to the table. Because unless I can identify that crucial element, I would only be in the way, and if you know anything about rural Americans, you know there’s little appetite for that. They would wish me well and then get on with the important work to be done, and there is plenty: health care, education, jobs, housing, infrastructure, addiction treatment, the list goes on.

"Part of the calculus I am doing revolves around the housing piece, in particular. Affordable, yes, until you factor in the costs of renovations: plumbing, electrical, and structural. The beauty of the area remains untarnished, but the ever-growing number of folks leaving for more equitable employment landscapes, better health care and a stronger educational system are often not in a financial position to make these necessary repairs to their property. If they could, they might not be leaving in the first place. It’s a catch-22 for certain and a heart-wrenching one as well.

"The lack of certain access to high-speed internet service also gives me pause. It’s not an impossible situation to live with, but its challenges are pervasive and prevent so many who want to return to their rural roots from actually returning. It’s this ever-present struggle between the heart and the head. 

". . . . I retrieve from my bookcase a work that reminds me time and again why I need to take a deep breath and jump into the far end of the pool, knowing that passion for a place that struggles against all odds for a rebirth just might be enough for me to take the leap. And as I turn to read each page from Cynthia Rylant’s Appalachia: The Voice of Sleeping Birds, knowing the clock is always ticking, I am reminded of why those hills keep beckoning: a reverence for the natural world, a certain endurance in the face of adversity, a dedication to family and an unquenchable belief in a Being greater than ourselves, a reveling in the ups and downs of seasonal challenges, a people continuing to live with 'no sourness about them.' That’s when one question rises to the top: 'What are you waiting for?'”

Postal Service plans 7.3% price increase for in-county newspaper delivery; NNA chair calls that rate 'punitive'

The U.S. Postal Service is proposing a 7.3 percent increase in the cost for newspapers to mail to in-county subscribers next year – a rate described as “punitive” by a representative of the National Newspaper Association.

The large increase for in-county mail, to take effect Jan. 21, is almost four times higher than proposed increases for other types of mail, including first-class delivery, according to an NNA press release.

The proposed increases come at a time when some daily newspapers are considering switching or have already switched from carrier delivery to the mail, including a recent announcement by three Gannett Co. papers in South Carolina that they would move to USPS delivery on Oct. 10.

“It certainly seems as if the Postal Service wants to discourage newspapers from using the mail,” said John Galer, chair of the NNA board and publisher of The Journal-News in Hillsboro, Illinois. “At a time when local journalism is already in peril and more newspapers are using the mail to reach subscribers, this increase is simply punitive.

“We expect both our subscribers and other stakeholders in our community to push back at the subscription increases that will be made necessary by the Postal Service’s action,” Galer said in the NNA release.

According to the NNA, proposed increases for other types of mail – including those used primarily by other competitors to newspapers – will be much smaller. Those average increases include 1.9 percent for first class and advertising mail, and 1.59 percent for mail delivered outside of a publishers’ home county, which is a rate used for some local newspaper subscriptions but also for national publications.

“Ironically, the Postal Service’s principal justification for the steep increase is that the PRC (Postal Regulatory Commission) now requires USPS to share more of the savings created when publishers do some of the work that postal workers would otherwise have to do, such as presorting the mail and transporting it to destination post offices,” NNA said.

“Raising our prices so it can claim it is creating a fair discount is the sort of math we associate with shady deals,” Galer said. “Our industry has been doing a lot of mail preparation work for years to help keep postal costs down. For us to now be punished for that work simply adds outrage to our disappointment.”

Steven Waldman, head of Rebuild Local News, said on LinkedIn, "Amidst a democracy-threatening crisis in local news, the federal government is now actively making the local news crisis worse. . . . Maybe the Postal Service doesn't want to listen to James Madison and George Washington (subsidize the press!), but at least don’t penalize it. The Founding Fathers believed subsidizing postal rates was crucial to building up the free press and therefore the Republic. Instead, the Postal Service actively undermines the press's survival."

California's new climate laws are set to have a global impact; the state is the fifth-largest world economy

Lily Hsueh, Associate Professor of Economics
and Public Policy, Arizona State University

Under California's new climate laws, corporate behemoths like Apple and Exxon that do business in the state will have to track and report "almost all their greenhouse gas emissions -- including emissions from their supply chains, business travel, employees' commutes and the way customers use their products," reports Lily Hsueh for The Conversation, a platform for journalism for academics. "That means oil and gas companies like Chevron will likely have to account for emissions from vehicles that use their gasoline, and Apple will have to account for materials that go into iPhones."

The mandatory disclosure laws are "a huge leap from current federal and state reporting requirements, which require reporting only certain emissions from companies' direct operations. And it will have global ramifications," Hsueh explains. While other places have similar laws, "California is the fifth-largest economy in the world. So, the state's new laws are poised to have substantial influence worldwide."

Despite the change in rules, many corporations knew mandatory reporting was coming and prepared, and some were already doing a portion of it. "Close to two-thirds of the companies listed in the S&P 500 index voluntarily report to CDP, formerly called the Carbon Disclosure Project. CDP is a nonprofit that surveys companies on behalf of institutional investors about their carbon management and plans to reduce carbon emissions," Hsueh reports. "Many also face reporting requirements elsewhere, including in the European Union, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore and cities like Hong Kong."

Research is unclear if mandatory disclosures work.
(Photo by Robin Sommer, Unsplash)

What changes do mandatory disclosures make in terms of lowering greenhouse gas output? Hseuh writes, "My research shows that voluntary carbon disclosure systems like CDPs that focus on reporting corporate sustainability outputs, such as having science-based emissions targets, tend not to be as effective as those that focus on outcomes, such as a company's actual carbon emissions. . . . For example, a company could earn an A or B grade from CDP and still increase its entity-wide carbon emissions, notably when it does not face regulatory pressure.

"In contrast, a recent study of the U.K.'s 2013 disclosure mandate for U.K.-incorporated listed firms found that companies reduced their operational emissions by about 8% relative to a control group, with no significant changes to their profitability. When companies report their emissions, they can gain important knowledge about inefficiencies in their operations and supply chains that weren't evident before. . . . Ultimately, a well-designed disclosure program, whether voluntary or mandatory, needs to focus on consistency, comparability and accountability. Those traits allow companies to demonstrate that their climate pledges and actions are real, not just a front for greenwashing."

Opinion: The case for the death penalty's 'nearly perfect method of execution'

Kenneth Smith's Alabama execution failed in 2022.
(Alabama Dept. of Corrections photo via Newsweek)

While the death penalty is a contentious topic, it's a fact that some executions have been botched by methods that promise to render the convicted unconscious and then induce death, only to have the person still living in extreme pain at the end of a failed termination. Stuart A. Creque explores Kenneth Eugene Smith's case in Alabama and the death penalty's new "painless drug" in his opinion for The Wall Street Journal.

Kenneth Eugene Smith was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder-for-hire slaying of 45-year-old Elizabeth Sennett, whom Smith and another man, John Forrest Parker, beat to death with the promise of payment from her husband of $1,000 apiece. Parker was also convicted in the killing and was executed in 2010.

On Aug. 25, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall "filed a request with the state Supreme Court for a date to execute Mr. Smith. If the state does so, it may mark a fundamental shift in the method of capital punishment in the U.S.

"In 2007, Smith amended his 2006 appeal of his capital sentence to object to lethal injection as his method of execution, alleging that it could subject him to substantial pain. As if to prove his point, Smith’s scheduled execution on Nov. 17, 2022, had to be cancelled after technicians failed to place intravenous needles into his veins before his death warrant expired.

"Smith’s lawsuit demanded that the state use a different method: nitrogen anoxia. . . .The 2018, Alabama law approved this method. . . . Nitrogen anoxia is painless. It requires no drugs, poisons or medical procedures, and its effects are well-understood, consistent and reliable. Its first symptom is loss of consciousness.

"The electric chair, the gas chamber and lethal injection were all invented with the goal of making executions more humane by instantly inducing unconsciousness. The hope was that the condemned wouldn’t feel pain. But none of those methods reliably cause unconsciousness as an initial effect.

"Marshall has stated in his Supreme Court filing that Alabama intends to execute Smith by nitrogen anoxia. Smith’s lawyers have already filed an appeal based on their argument that using this method is 'human experimentation.' . . . Inevitably, there will be delays due to this and other litigation, but the method’s first use may come as early as 2024.

"Society doesn’t view it as morally acceptable to inflict the same suffering on a murderer that he inflicted on his victim. Nitrogen anoxia will inflict no physical pain; a murderer such as Smith will merely forfeit the balance of his natural life span." 

Flora and Fauna: Meishan pigs; goats for hire; new rules for an insecticide; clam gardens; how do you like them apples?

Meishan piglets in their pen at Blue Hill Acres in Tower
City, Pa. (Photo by S. Spreicher, Lancaster Farming)

This little piggy is for dinner. "With a squishy face and long ears, the Meishan pig certainly has a unique look. The pig's disposition and meat quality add to its specialty," Stephanie Spreicher of Lancaster Farming reports. "But you can't find too many Meishans around. . . . Meishans have more fat than typical pork breeds. While breeding for leaner pigs has been common in the pork industry, [Meishan owners] see a demand for fattier cuts."

To protect 78 threatened and endangered species, the Environmental Protection Agency modified its rules on using malathion, a common insecticide used to eradicate mosquitos, boll weevils and fruit flies, reports the Food and Environment Reporting Network. The skunk-smelling spray can damage habitats critical to at-risk species.

Did you know that more than half of the apples available for U.S. consumption are used in juices? Thirty-four percent are gobbled up in lunch boxes, pies, cobblers and crisps. The Department of Agriculture even tracts all the ways apples are sliced, diced and devoured.

Medicinal plants can offer healing, but the practice takes know-how. Mimi Prunella Hernandez has spent years garnering herbal knowledge and has created a book to help others put it to use, reports National Geographic. Andrographis "is rich in flavonoid compounds, which may help ease allergies and alleviate congestion. . .taken as a tonic, goldenrod can remarkably boost resistance to allergens by strengthening the integrity of leaky mucus membranes."

Goats aid in fire prevention by munching up noxious weeds.
(Photo by Dave Marston, Writers on the Range)

When it comes to fire prevention and eating, goats are here to help. "Unlike a horse or cow that leaves noxious weeds behind, goats eat the whole menu of pesky weeds, bushes and small trees. That means goats can be one of the answers to the growing problem of tinder-dry, highly flammable forests," reports Dave Marston for Writers on the Range. "In northwestern Montana, former journalist David Reese has a business called Montana Goat. His herd moves daily, and once the animals strip leaves off small trees and gobble up the cheatgrass and knapweed, he said, it's quick work to chainsaw small trees and dead branches."

The American clam garden is about to make a comeback! The what? Clam garden. The Swinomish Tribe in western Washington state is "reviving the ancient practice," reports John Ryan of KUOW in Seattle. "It's believed that a clam garden — a traditional, Indigenous way of boosting shellfish production — hasn't been built in the United States for close to 200 years. . . . Clam gardens grow four times more butter clams and twice as many littleneck clams as unterraced beaches do, according to a study of dozens of ancient clam gardens around Quadra Island, British Columbia. Young littleneck clams planted in the centuries-old terraces grew nearly twice as fast, making more local protein available to shellfish harvesters."