Las Vegas Valley is making major changes to its landscape to keep up with its fast-growing population — here’s what’s happening
Mary Swansburg – July 9, 2023
The Las Vegas Valley is working with its citizens to help them ditch their grassy yards and embrace Nevada’s natural landscape instead.
The news was shared in an article by ProPublica that was reposted on Reddit.
Photo Credit: u/WhoIsJolyonWest / Reddit
The effort will conserve water and allow the population in Vegas to continue growing.
Community members have already done their part to conserve water indoors, and Nevada treats and recycles all indoor water. Outdoor water, however, cannot be recycled in the same way because it evaporates or settles into the ground.
Because of this, the state is turning toward grass reduction because growing grass in the desert climate requires a significant amount of water.
A similar plan has been utilized before and helped the conservation effort, but it encountered some pushback from homeowner associations (HOAs.) Also, some citizens want to preserve the aesthetic of green lawns, so the state is making an effort to find a compromise.
The state is targeting “nonfunctional” grass first, like grass that lines roadways and lakes, with the goal to get rid of all of it by 2027. Citizens upset about grass removal can submit an exemption request — many of which are approved — making the pushback from HOAs minimal.
In addition, some companies like Par 3 Landscape and Maintenance are offering ideas for alternative plantlife that is native to the area, such as evergreens and desert-friendly shrubs.
Families that choose to embrace the natural landscape will lower their water bills while leaving resources for the addition of new residents and businesses. On top of that, they’ll be helping to fight rising global temperatures.
Princeton reported that 800 million gallons of gasoline, which releases planet-warming gases, are used by lawn equipment each year, and an additional 17 million gallons are spilled in the process.
Plus, the Natural Resource Defense Council reported that lawns are responsible for consuming almost three trillion gallons of water each year. And when grass is grown outside of its natural habitat, it doesn’t benefit the local wildlife either.
One Redditor echoed this in the comments. “Lawns do NOT belong in the southwest,” they wrote.
Luckily, the Las Vegas Valley is setting a great example for communities looking to conserve water.
“If everyone else takes on similar initiatives, we’ll be able to sustain our community and communities across the Colorado River Basin for future generations,” said Howard Watts, Nevada state representative.
Investigation Uncovers More of Clarence Thomas’ Undisclosed Freebies from Wealthy Pals
Peter Wade – July 9, 2023
Clarence Thomas’ connections to wealth and expensive vacations run deeper than billionaire businessman and Nazi-enthusiast Harlan Crow. The New York Times reports that Thomas has milked relationships with the rich he made through the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, a scholarship association, to benefit himself and his wife.
Because of their Horatio Alger connections, Thomas and his spouse, Virginia, have been invited to join luxurious vacations and parties in addition being granted V.I.P. access to sports events. Thanks to the association, Thomas also rubbed elbows with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Ed McMahon during a lavish three-day Montana birthday party for billionaire industrialist Dennis Washington.
But the connections Thomas made through Horatio Alger have benefitted him beyond lavish trips. Thomas’ Horatio Alger contacts — including Washington as well as investor David Sokol, formerly of Berkshire Hathaway — helped fund a documentary that painted him in a heroic light after the premiere of an HBO movie that depicted Anita Hill during his confirmation hearings making sexual harassment allegations against Thomas. The Sokol family also hosted Thomas and his wife at their Montana ranch and their waterfront Florida estate. According to the Times, Thomas has not reported many of the benefits and gifts he has received from his rich and well-connected allies. The justice also declined to answer questions from the paper about the matter.
Early in his SCOTUS tenure, Thomas did report a number of personal gifts he received, including flights on private planes, cigars, and clothing. But after 2004, when TheLos Angeles Times reported on his disclosures, Thomas ceased reporting to the court certain gifts and benefits he received. A ProPublica investigation in 2023 uncovered the justice’s close relationship with Crow, a GOP megadonor with a large collection of Nazi memorabilia and Hitler paintings, including trips on Crow’s private jet and yacht totaling tens of thousands and Crow’s purchase of the house where Thomas’ mother lived. Crow even paid tuition for Thomas’ nephew, who the Thomases were raising. After his relationship with Crow came to light, Thomas justified his lack of disclosures, claiming that “colleagues and others in the judiciary” advised him he did not need to report trips of “personal hospitality” from friends.
Thomas has not only accepted benefits that granted him access to places he otherwise may not have gone, he also hosts the Horatio Alger Association’s induction ceremony for new members in the Supreme Court’s courtroom, which the Times notes is “unusual access” for an outside group. The association has parlayed the access Thomas gives them to fundraise for scholarships and events, per fundraising records reviewed by the Times.
The court this year updated its disclosure rules to mandate justices report private jet travel and comped stays at hotels and resorts, but there is an exception for “personal hospitality,” meaning food, accommodations, or entertainment that is not related to business.
“The Horatio Alger Association has been a home to Virginia and me,” Thomas said when he received the association’s highest honor in 2010, adding that the association “has allowed me to see my dreams come true.”
If his dreams were of undisclosed fancy vacations and V.I.P. access, then that’s probably the case.
Tensions between the West and China show no sign of easing. Interdependence and mistrust continue to mix uneasily. Triggers are many and varied including; human rights, relations with Russia vis-à-vis Ukraine, microchip manufacturing and the big one, Taiwan.
Then there is the rhetoric. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in Beijing for talks aimed at easing some of these tensions. It’s ironic, but not unprecedented, that at the exact same time, President Xi is telling the troops of the Eastern Theatre Command – the one that faces Taiwan – that they need to step up their combat readiness and “… persist in thinking and handling military issues from a political perspective, dare to fight, be good at fighting, and resolutely defend our national sovereignty, security, and development interests.”
This is not the first time Xi has timed an info-ops stunt like this to coincide with a diplomatic visit and neither is he the first Chinese President to do it.
Hu Jintao did something similar in 2011 telling his military to “make extended preparations for warfare”. It has happened many times since. One can make a case that this constant need to posture in this way masks a lack of confidence.
Xi’s military numbers and rate of build might be eyewatering but what experience underpins them? Russia’s efforts in Ukraine have shown repeatedly that spectacular parades do not equate to hardened fighting competence. His message is timed with Yellen’s visit to create maximum international effect but internally it is as likely to be a kick aimed at his generals than an immediate call to arms.
In the longer term, is war with China inevitable? General Mike Minihan of the US Air Force says it is; a hawkish stance that I suspect is shared by quite a few in the US military. But, as is the way, there are plenty who believe that the situation will continue to be managed by ongoing diplomatic efforts and the deterrent effect of our combined militaries.
Certainly, the ongoing importance of both conventional and nuclear deterrence cannot be underestimated right now. This, coupled with maximum diplomatic effort, soft and hard, should sit alongside military operations and exercises designed to demonstrate what it could look like if these efforts fail.
One thing we can be sure of is that US Pacific Command will be planning for all ‘fighting’ eventualities with a high degree of granularity. Having been part of a US led contingency plan myself (thankfully not one that was put into action in my time) I know that the level of detail that goes into American wargaming is exceptional and the algorithms they use to determine levels of damage and casualties are sophisticated.
Having said that, the quirk of taking a kicking from Enemy X during a wargame but then telling the General in the final debrief that ‘we issued a beat down’ was interesting to watch from close up. Nevertheless, PACOM’s planning for a war with China will be reassuringly comprehensive.
So what for the UK? Well, we will feature in the plan. Somewhere in the chapter marked ‘assets’ will be what we could offer in a ‘fight tonight’. That’s zero right now, with apologies to HMS Tamar and HMS Spey, the almost unarmed patrol vessels which are all we have in the Indo-Pacific area at the moment. Then there’s what ‘best effort’ would look like if we sent everything we have across Defence, and a reasonable middle ground with associated deployment timelines.
We Brits will be a footnote in terms of overall combat power with two exceptions. Our aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (with a full outfit of US/allied jets) would be a noticeable piece on the game board if she was out there.
Secondly our nuclear powered attack submarines, armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles, are a threat to worry any Chinese admiral. There will be other areas where we can contribute such as intelligence, cyber, special forces etc, but the carrier and the submarines will be front and centre of the conventional plan.
In QE and the Astute class submarines, we have cutting-edge capabilities. The carrier herself has redundancy (which has proven useful recently with HMS Prince of Wales in drydock to replace a broken shaft) but everything beneath that is wafer thin: we have very few F-35 jets to put aboard her, very few escort ships to send with her and not enough ammunition (including Tomahawks), support helicopters or supporting logistic ships.
Much of this will be ameliorated by operating in the sort of allied task group that would be assembled for a fight like this but every time you have to put a star by your asset (*needs US support) you degrade your usefulness until eventually they look at you across the room and ask ‘are you in this or not?’ This is happening.
And, of course, neither of those assets are there right now. HMS Queen Elizabeth made a significant impression during her 2021 deployment there but isn’t due back until 2025. Similarly, our attack subs are already fully assigned elsewhere. Someone will have worked out how quickly both these things could get there but it isn’t ‘soon’.
The Aukus alliance between us, the US and Australia is an outstanding political and military collaboration but is going to take an age to come online and a lot could happen in that time. There has however been talk of sending one of our submarines to the Indo-Pacific early.
If this happens, and is coordinated with US attack submarine deployments to the region, and we buy more Tomahawks, then that would be a significant UK contribution to both deterrence and the fight. There are a lot of unfunded assumptions in there though.
More broadly, the Integrated Review Refresh is complete and still suitably ambiguous as to whether Continental Europe, the North Atlantic or the Indo-Pacific should constitute ‘main effort’. All eyes are therefore on the imminent Defence Command and Balance of Investment Papers to allocate resources to these areas and thus provide some answers.
While this turn of the handle won’t have the slash-and-burn effect of the 2010 process there also won’t be any more money: probably less in real terms. We remain almost the only country in Europe steadfastly opposed to increasing Defence expenditure just now.
Meanwhile, the situation in Taiwan feels like a ‘circling press aircraft’. Let me explain.
I was in a naval exercise off the north of Scotland some time ago when a light aircraft claiming that it was neutral and full of press approached the ship. We spoke to it and then ‘warned’ it ranging from ‘hello who are you?’ to ‘turn away now or you will be fired on’.
Then at the range where the Rules of Engagement would have allowed me to start shooting, five miles, it turned 90 degrees and started circling the ship. We carried on talking to it and reading ‘warnings’ but they protested, stated their peaceful intentions and continued to circle. But now they were at four miles. My bluff had been called. We had intelligence to suggest a light aircraft threat but they weren’t closing us directly and so we were not allowed to engage. Now they were at three.
It was a brilliant scenario, because when do you pull the trigger?
This is what is happening with China and Taiwan. China continues to circle, getting ever closer but never pointing directly at the target. Aggressive exercises, encircling, drone overflights and encroachments will continue until they become ‘normal’, then they will tighten a little more.
My working theory is that they will keep closing in and wait for a natural disaster such as an earthquake or tsunami to provide cover for a final move under cover of Humanitarian and Disaster Relief. It’s hard to say ‘no’ to assistance and before you know it Chinese presence on Taiwan has also become ‘normal’. I could be wrong. I hope I’m not because many of the alternatives are far, far worse.
In the meantime, the diplomatic, information and deterrent efforts from both sides will continue apace. Xi will carry on building equipment and posturing aggressively and the West will continue to try and decide where to sit between appeasement, essential cooperation and aggression.
The UK will continue to contribute where it can, whilst hoping that no one notices the smallness of the stick with which we are walking softly.
To finish the story, I was out of ideas with the ‘press aircraft’ until I heard our American exchange officer in the Operations Room. He was a little bemused when I put my headset on him and told him to say, ‘turn away or we will fire on you’ but did as we was asked.
There was then a five-second pause before a new voice appeared on the radio, “British warship, this is the aircraft pilot. Can I just check this is still an exercise?”
Texas considered a bill that would severely limit residents’ use of solar power: ‘[It] would turn all of Texas into an HOA’
Laurelle Stelle – July 8, 2023
The Texas legislature recently considered a bill to heavily restrict the generation of wind and solar energy, University of Texas at Austin research scientist Joshua D. Rhodes revealed in a tweet.
The bill in question was Texas SB 624, co-sponsored by Senators Lois Kolkhorst, Mayes Middleton, and Bryan Hughes. It would have established new permit requirements for affordable “renewable energy” — not for dirty energy sources, such as coal. In a win for clean energy, it failed to get out of committee.
According to the latest version of the bill (as of late May), any Texas resident with a large solar or wind system who wanted to connect to the grid would have needed a permit. The lengthy permitting process would have required a public meeting to allow comments, multiple surveys and assessments, and a website with information about the project.
SB 624 would also have required that wind turbines be placed a whole 3,000 feet — more than half a mile — away from the property line, except with the permission of neighboring property owners.
“Texas #SB624 would turn all of Texas into an HOA where your neighbors are now going to be able to tell you what you can and can’t do on your own property,” tweeted Rhodes.
As written, the bill applied to facilities with a capacity of 10 megawatts or higher to connect “with a transmission facility.” That wouldn’t include small residential systems, which are usually between one and four kilowatts (0.001 to 0.004 megawatts), according to Yes Energy Solutions.
However, it would have applied to the many wind farms set up by rural property owners across Texas, Rhodes said.
“Our current and expected fleet of renewables are set to pay landowners tens of billions of dollars over their lifetimes, but those Texans might get less if their neighbors protest,” he said in a comment.
Power Up Texas said the new bill would not only have harmed Texas landowners financially but would also have made the energy grid less stable and raise the cost of electricity for everyone.
According to state legislators, the bill’s purpose was to protect wildlife, water, and land from the effects of energy generation. But it’s telling that the proposed law applied only to nonpolluting wind and solar, rather than heavily polluting energy sources like coal and oil that have a much harsher impact on our air and our planet.
Lawsuit seeks to end new law signed by Greg Abbott banning water breaks after Texas heat wave deaths
Tatyana Tandanpolie – July 7, 2023
Greg AbbottBrandon Bell/Getty Images
Officials in Houston, Texas, filed a lawsuit on Monday looking to keep the state from enforcing an oppressive law critics have dubbed the “Death Star” bill.
House Bill 2127 is set to go into effect on Sept. 1 after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed it into law on June 6, according to MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” blog. The new law restricts local governments by preventing them from passing certain ordinances if they contradict state laws in eight key areas: agriculture, finance, business and commerce, insurance, local government, labor, natural resources, property or occupations.
In the newly filed lawsuit, lawyers representing the city argue that, in broadly pre-empting local laws, the bill violates the state Constitution, and ultimately call the measure “hopelessly vague.” The city, thus, asks the court to make the law “void and unenforceable.”
“Because of HB 2127’s vagueness, Houston will not know with any certainty what laws it may enforce, and its residents and businesses will not know with certainty what laws they must obey,” the suit reads. “This high level of uncertainty and confusion concerning the validity of virtually all local laws in important regulatory areas and those concerning health and safety themselves constitutes a concrete injury.”
Arguing that the bill will incite confusion, the lawsuit cites the so-called Death Star law’s lack of a requirement for local legislation to actually conflict with state laws in order for it to be prevented from taking effect.
“Under HB 2127, if the State regulates anything in an unspecified ‘field,’ local regulation is arguably entirely precluded in the undefined area unless there is express legislative authorization,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also comes after a deadly heat wave wracked the state last month, resulting in a public health crisis, the deaths of 11 people between the ages of 60 and 80 in Webb County since the bill was signed, and a surge in emergency department visits related to the record-breaking, 100-degree temperatures.
In Texas prison facilities without air conditioning, at least nine incarcerated people, including two men in their 30s, died last month from heart attacks or unknown causes. Another harrowing incident saw a teen and his stepfather die after the 14-year-old lost consciousness during a hike in Big Bend National Park and the stepfather crashed his car while racing to find help. Plus, at least four workers have died in the state after collapsing in three-digit heat, the Texas Observer reports: a Dallas post office worker, an East Texas utility lineman and two Houston construction workers.
While the nature of the worker deaths is still under investigation, the Observer notes that hyperthermia is likely the cause. Considering climate scientists told the Tribune that heat waves will become increasingly severe and common due to climate change, the risk to public health will only rise.
Once HB 2127 goes into effect in September, local ordinances mandating water breaks for workers outdoors in cities across the state, which the Observer writes contributed to a “significant decrease in annual heat-related illnesses and heat deaths,” will be overturned and localities will be barred from passing new ones.
A spokesperson for Abbott said that “ensuring the safety of Texans is a top priority as our state experiences high summer heat,” in a statement, noting that overriding local laws won’t keep workers from taking breaks under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) standards.
But some workers fear that the lack of local protections will mean bosses hoping to increase production will eliminate breaks, the Observer said.
The city of Houston’s lawsuit also calls out the possibility of widespread, city deregulation sparked by individuals and businesses pursuing their own interests and justifying the acts under the law.
“Houston will have to defend against a likely barrage of lawsuits brought by trade associations or individuals essentially to deregulate their industries or businesses at the local level,” the suit claims, adding an accusation that Texa’ Republican legislators are creating “a public/private enforcement regime that will penalize and raise the risk of Houston’s exercising its clear and expansive constitutional authority.”
If successful, the suit will protect the water mandates and other measures like the Houston program providing 30,000 uninsured people with healthcare, Mayor Sylvester Turner noted.
“HB 2127 reverses over 100 years of Texas constitutional law without amending the Constitution,” Turner said in a public statement. “Because Texas has long had the means to preempt local laws that conflict with State law, HB 2127 is unnecessary, dismantling the ability to govern at the level closest to the people and therefore punishing all Texas residents. Houston will fight so its residents retain their constitutional rights and have immediate local recourse to government.”
Biden said he decided to send Ukraine controversial cluster bombs because Kyiv is ‘running out of ammunition’
Alia Shoaib – July 8, 2023
Biden said he decided to send Ukraine controversial cluster bombs because Kyiv is ‘running out of ammunition’
Joe Biden has agreed to send Ukraine deadly cluster munitions.
He defended his decision and said Ukraine needed them because they were “running out of ammunition.”
The controversial weapons are banned under an international treaty signed by 123 countries, but not the US.
President Joe Biden defended his decision to send Ukraine controversial and deadly cluster munitions, explaining it was because Kyiv was “running out of ammunition” after 500 days of war.
“It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies, I discussed this with our friends up on the Hill,” Biden told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Friday.
“The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition,” he added.
The US finally agreed to send the weapons as part of a new $800 million security assistance package on Friday, following months of requests from Kyiv.
The cluster munitions will be compatible with US-provided 155mm howitzers, which have been a key piece of artillery for Ukrainian forces, CNN reported.
Cluster bombs are particularly dangerous because they break apart into multiple little bombs when fired, some of which do not always explode upon impact. The unexploded ordinance can put civilians at risk for years to come, like landmines.
Experts say cluster bombs will be useful for Ukraine’s forces against well-dug-in Russian trenches amid a grueling counteroffensive.
However, the lethal weapons are highly controversial and are banned under an international treaty signed by 123 countries – but not the US, Russia, and Ukraine.
A casing of a cluster bomb rocket lays on the snow-covered ground in Zarichne on February 6, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images
Biden told Zakaria that the weapons were being sent to Ukraine during a “transition period” until the US is able to produce more 155mm artillery.
“This is a war relating to munitions. And they’re running out of that ammunition, and we’re low on it,” Biden said.
“And so, what I finally did, I took the recommendation of the Defense Department to – not permanently – but to allow for this transition period, while we get more 155 weapons, these shells, for the Ukrainians.”
Ukraine launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive to take back territory occupied by Russia in early June, but gains have so far been slow.
Biden said it took him a while “to be convinced” to send cluster bombs, but he ultimately decided Ukraine “needed them.”
Former chief of general staff for the British Army Lord Dannatt said that Biden’s move risks “fracturing” NATO harmony, considering so many NATO countries have banned them.
Responding to Biden’s decision, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak noted on Saturday that the UK was a signatory of the international treaty banning and discouraging their use but said his government would continue to support Ukraine in other ways.
Ukraine told to investigate its use of banned ‘butterfly’ antipersonnel mines
18 PFM-1 in cluster dispenser. Also known as ‘butterfly’ mines.German Army Combat Training Centre Letzlingen 2019/Wikicommons
Last week, Human Rights Watch told Ukraine to investigate the use of banned land mines by the Ukrainian military after new evidence that they had caused civilian casualties was discovered.
The group called for Ukraine to investigate the use of Russian-made PFM-1 antipersonnel mines around the eastern Ukrainian city of Izium between April and September 2022. It said it had evidence of 11 civilian casualties from the mines, including one fatality.
The miniature PFM-1, also known as “butterfly” or “petal” mines, are fired from rockets and scatter indiscriminately on a wide area.
DeSantis’ veto of electric cars bill cost taxpayers $277 million, critics say
Jeffrey Schweers, Orlando Sentinel – July 7, 2023
Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis was more concerned about Iowa corn farmers than Florida taxpayers when he vetoed a popular bill that could have saved the state $277 million by adding electric vehicles to state and local government fleets, a Democratic critic says.
More EVs would mean less of a demand for ethanol, which is processed from corn grown in states such as Iowa, the expected home to the first presidential caucus next year.
It’s another example of DeSantis putting his own political ambitions to be president over the needs of Floridians, said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando.
“The Iowa caucus voters who are all about ethanol don’t see electric vehicles as something that is economically in their favor,” Eskamani said. “DeSantis is catering to his Iowa voters, not passing policy for Floridians.”
The electric car bill, SB 284, sponsored by Sen. Jason Brodeur, R-Lake Mary, would have required all state and local governments, colleges and universities to buy vehicles based on their lowest lifetime costs. Current law requires such purchases to be based on fuel efficiency.
It ordered the Department of Management Services to make recommendations by July 1, 2024, to state agencies, colleges, universities and local governments about buying electric vehicles and other vehicles powered by renewable fuels.
“It allows us to look at procuring electric vehicles,” Brodeur said. “It doesn’t mean you have to purchase any.”
The governor’s veto last week was perplexing, supporters said. Both the Florida Natural Gas Association and the Sierra Club supported the measure, along with the Advanced Energy United and Electrification Coalition, a group that supports increasing the use of alternative-fuel vehicles.
“It was a common sense, good governance bill. There is nothing in this bill that any person in America should be against,” said former Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Tampa Bay Republican who tried getting similar legislation through last year.
The law could have saved state and local governments $277 million over 15 years by adding more electric vehicles to their fleets, said Michael Weiss, the Florida state lead at Advanced Energy United, a trade association of clean energy companies.
Advanced Energy United and the Electrification Coalition calculated the bill would have saved governments an average of $18,000 per vehicle by switching to an all-electric vehicle fleet, Weiss said. Using the state’s vehicle data provided by the Department of Management Services, they conducted a total cost analysis of the state’s fleet.
“This veto is a baffling decision that will cost Florida taxpayers millions of dollars,” Weiss said. “The Florida Legislature saw the clear economic and taxpayer benefits of a modern and efficient state fleet, but Gov. DeSantis somehow didn’t get the memo.”
It was only a few years ago that DeSantis touted the benefits of electric cars at a news conference announcing the construction of EV charging stations at rest stops along Florida’s Turnpike.
“It’s amazing how much cheaper it is to just charge a vehicle than to fill up a gas tank,” DeSantis said at the time. “And so as technology evolves, we hope that that’ll be reflected in people’s pocketbooks. So we want to make sure we have the infrastructure in place to make that a reality.”
His staff didn’t respond to a request to explain the veto.
The bill passed both chambers of the Legislature with just a single no vote, by Rep. Yvonne Hinson of Gainesville. But it is not likely anyone would even suggest trying to override the veto because of the governor’s immense grip on Tallahassee.
“That’s not going to happen,” Eskamani said.
Eskamani said DeSantis also has put personal politics first with culture war laws such as sexual orientation in schools, banning gay-themed books and drag shows, and making it harder for unions to collect dues.
She and other Democrats have pointed out problems such as soaring insurance premiums and a spike in housing costs that go unsolved.
“Not a single part of his agenda that passed is helping Floridians,” she said. “His agenda is tailored to the needs of Republican [primary and caucus voters].”
As an Idaho Republican, I yearn for a return to the party’s true conservative roots | Opinion
Idaho Statesman – July 7, 2023
Idaho GOP
As a common-sense Republican, I find myself increasingly disheartened by the actions and direction of the Idaho Republican Party. What was once a party rooted in conservative principles, fiscal responsibility and limited government has seemingly veered off course. Instead of focusing on the core values that initially attracted me, I witness a growing inclination toward extreme ideologies, divisive rhetoric, and attention to issues that do not matter. It is disappointing to see a lack of collaboration, compromise, and a willingness to engage with diverse perspectives, which includes members of their own party. The party should be a platform for inclusive and effective governance, but it seems to be losing sight of its purpose. As a Republican, I yearn for a return to the party’s true conservative roots and a renewed commitment to serving the people of Idaho with integrity and thoughtful leadership.
William Moylan, Caldwell
Maternal mortality
On July 1, Idaho became the only state without a legal requirement or specialized committee (Maternal Mortality Review Committee) to review maternal deaths related to pregnancy.
Idaho stands alone with this “achievement,” and disbanding the committee at this point comes exactly at the time when maternal rates in the U.S. are rising (and are much higher than maternal deaths in other high-income countries such as Canada and Germany). We know how many people die from heart disease; we know how many graduate from high school, how many people have disabilities, total food service sales, and the average travel time workers commute. Mothers seem to be important only while they can birth babies (evidenced also by our lack of societal support for mothers). If a woman dies due to pregnancy, we don’t appear to care enough to try to prevent the next death. We don’t even want to know. Shame on us and particularly, once again, shame on the Idaho legislature.
Donna M. Carlson, Boise
Beavers
An excellent article on beavers by Julie Jung.
People are the problem, not the beaver. One quote from the article “sometimes a beaver will just try to make a home in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Apply this quote to people and look no further than the Boise/Treasure Valley, where people have made homes in the wrong place at the wrong time replacing crop/agricultural land with rooftops, pavement and concrete. There is a day coming when this land will be needed to feed a growing population.
Les Sweeney, Payette
Fireworks
How is it possible to sell illegal fireworks to someone as long as they sign an affidavit? It’s like selling alcohol to a minor and them saying they won’t drink it in Idaho. Maybe instead of distracting people about which kid can use which bathroom we actually solve real problems? The fire trucks were going up and down 10th Avenue putting out fires from illegal fireworks from people saying they won’t use them in Idaho. It was like a war zone in Caldwell, and no cop in sight.
Douglas Badger, Caldwell
LGBTQ attacks
My brother-in-law used to quip that “Everybody needs someone to look down on, and there is nobody lower than a hippy, that’s why all hippies have dogs.” For decades Idaho GOP leadership has fought against equal rights for LGBTQ+ citizens. I have to think that is either because “everybody needs someone to look down on,” or because they are not above putting this entire group of people down for their own political gain. Presently, the RINO extremists making the loudest and most destructive noise in the Idaho GOP leadership are not above putting down this whole group of people for their own personal gain, but they are doing so in a very reckless and dangerous way. Displaying a belief that God made only some people in his image, and that man is to love only some of his neighbors, they are hell bent on demonizing all LGBTQ+ people, jeopardizing their lives, their families, and Idaho. Are they doing so out of pure evil, hatred, or only for political gain? No matter why, this needs to stop!
Tom Newton, Caldwell
Caucus
Idaho accidentally got rid of its presidential primary, so we had to find another way to have our say. The Idaho GOP decided a caucus was the best option. Some people think this takes away our rights, but I think it’s a chance to come together as a community and have some fun.
Caucuses have been around for a long time in America, even before we started voting with ballots. At a caucus, you get to meet your neighbors and folks from your community. You can talk openly and debate the presidential race, and then decide who you want to support.
Candidates often send representatives to caucuses to speak on their behalf. It’s a good way to learn about the different players and make an informed choice.
Voting can sometimes feel ordinary and sterile. You just fill out a ballot and that’s it. But a caucus is more like a county fair than an election. It’s supposed to be enjoyable.
I hope every Idaho Republican takes part in their county caucus on March 2. You can make your voice heard and meet your neighbors at the same time.
Brian Almon, Eagle
Affirmative action
It’s interesting that the Supreme Court has prohibited affirmative action policies by colleges, the purposes of which are to provide admission because of the value to the schools and to the students of racial diversity, while voicing no objection to other similar admission policies. Schools have policies that value athletics, geographic diversity, arbitrary tests of intelligence, leadership abilities, legacies (children of graduates), cultural diversity, particular extracurricular activities, socioeconomic diversity, first-generation college attendance, large parental donations, unusual perspectives, sexual orientation diversity, artistic talent, musical ability, and high school academic performance. But the Court says they are prohibited from placing any value on racial diversity. Perhaps the Court just hasn’t gotten around to dealing with these other college admissions policies. Quick, let’s find someone to bring lawsuits against schools for these reasons as well, so that we can get these cases up to the Court before anything happens to its conservative majority.
‘Woke’ isn’t going to die in DeSantis’ Florida. It’s just taking its dollars elsewhere | Opinion
The Miami Herald Editorial Board – July 7, 2023
Katie Goodale/USA TODAY NETWORK
Think of a dystopian, polarized country, where Americans are not only divided based on political beliefs but also on where they live and shop, what beer they drink, what doctors they visit, whether they are vaccinated, where they go on vacation and attend professional conferences.
This is what politicians who want to inject extremism (from the right or the left) into governing seem to want to accomplish: to reshape their communities so that only like-minded people feel comfortable co-existing.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has made no secret that his approach to governing is “You’re either with me or get the heck out.” He has signed laws and used state power against: teachers; transgender people; African Americans; women’s bodies; teachers and unions; university professors and academic freedom; universities that want to diversify their student body; immigrants; LGBTQ people and drag queens.
Most recently, DeSantis defended a bizarre and homophobic video his campaign shared on Twitter, calling it “fair game” to attack Donald Trump for past statements in support of LGBTQ rights. Not surprising coming from the governor of the state “where woke goes to die.”
The governor probably doesn’t lose sleep over the few conferences that Florida has lost recently as professional organizations take their dollars and thousands of attendees to states with less extreme policies. That blue parts of the state, Broward and Orange counties, lost the opportunity to host those events fit right into the governor’s strategy. DeSantis’ motto is to “own the libs.”
Two organizations canceled events that were planned in the Orlando area in coming years. AnitaB.org, a group of women and nonbinary tech workers, canceled a 2027 event that normally draws about 16,000 visitors. The group told the Orlando Sentinel it will no longer hold events in the state after this year’s conference at the Orange County Convention Center. The reasons are Florida’s abortion ban, its easing of gun regulations and the state’s efforts “to erase the identities and dignities of people from historically marginalized and excluded groups, including Black, Brown, LGBTQIA+, and Indigenous people.”
Broward County has lost more than half-dozen conferences, thanks to Florida’s political climate, organizers told the county’s tourism agency Visit Lauderdale, as the Sun Sentinel reported Friday. Among them is the 2024 National Family and Community Engagement and Community Schools Conference, which would have needed more than 2,000 hotel rooms. The organization “decided to pull out of Florida due to concerns about what the Governor is doing in the education/schools and that he will likely run in 2024. They do not want to lose attendees due to this,” according to a list of cancellations Visit Lauderdale put together.
The governor’s office told the Sun Sentinel the cancellations are “nothing more than a media-driven stunt.” His administration recently released numbers that show the number of tourists visiting the state is up compared to last year. Florida also welcomed nearly 320,000 new residents from other states between 2021 and 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. DeSantis claims credit for those new residents but Florida benefits from a series of factors, such as the longstanding lack of state income taxes and the rise of remote work during the pandemic
Have DeSantis’ policies caused widespread financial ruin in Florida? No, though the hotels and conference centers that lost business might see it differently.
The bigger question is who DeSantis thinks Florida is for. Nonbinary tech workers are not his intended demographic. Neither are college professors, who have warned that the state’s crackdown on what they can teach regarding race is causing a brain drain. Nor are the undocumented workers who are leaving the state after DeSantis signed into law one of the most draconian immigration laws in the country (it requires, among other things, that immigrants disclose their citizenship status at hospitals).
Are these people leaving in big enough numbers to make a difference? We bet that’s the governor’s goal.
The Florida Blueprint he’s trying to sell to presidential primary voters doesn’t concern itself with having a diverse workforce, attracting the best and brightest or ensuring that Florida’s agriculture has enough people to work its fields. Its myopic focus is fighting the outsider — and there are more and more of those — and rewarding those who fall in line.
1 million Florida buildings will be overrun by sea-level rise by 2100, study shows
Jim Waymer, USA TODAY NETWORK – July 5, 2023
Storms that ride in on seas rising due to global warming will displace millions of Floridians in low-lying areas by century’s end, according to a new analysis by a flood-risk research group.
Well before then, a higher ocean will force many to elevate their homes, similar to stilted homes on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, or else endure deadly surging floodwaters and sky-high insurance costs.
The lure of living beachside has long been Florida’s biggest draw. But with sea levels expected to rise one foot by 2030 and another three feet by the end of the century, many dream homes could become nightmares.
“If nobody acts, if nothing changes, by the end of the century there are approximately 1 million buildings that will be inundated in Florida,” said Adrian Santiago Tate, CEO/cofounder of HighTide Intelligence, a flood-risk data company that spun out of a research group at Stanford University. About 90% of those buildings are single-family homes. “We wanted to make this abstract idea of flooding mean something to people.”
Don’t believe it? Search your address on HighTide Intelligence’s platform Arkly.com and see for yourself. The site’s a work in progress, so not every home is there but if your home is, and at low elevation, it likely will pop up as at “high-risk” of flooding and property damages.
Derrick Lockhart, owner of Airboat Rides at Midway on the St. Johns River just over the Brevard County line, says the flooding that followed Hurricane Ian last fall was the worst he had ever seen in the area.n(Credit: TIM SHORTT/ FLORIDA TODAY, TIM SHORTT/ FLORIDA TODAY)
Floridians already are feeling the pain. After last year’s hurricane season, Florida homeowners watched their premiums double or triple or got letters cancelling their policies. More than a dozen insurance companies either went belly up or just bailed on Florida altogether.
Satellite Beach and other coastal cities for years have been warning residents in the most vulnerable spots to start planning countermeasures now. To bring concrete data to those warnings, Satellite Beach hired HighTide Intelligence to do a $295,000, three-year study to assess flood risk from rising seas. The analysis was paid for in part by a $275,000 grant the city received from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to study ways to make the city more resilient to flooding and sea-level rise. The city chipped in $20,000.
Sparked in part by the Satellite Beach project, HighTide decided to make its statewide dataset of building-level flood risk available to the public in a new user-friendly website, Arkly.com.
Insurers and risk managers use the term “hundred-year storms” when assessing flooding risk. Such storms have about a 1% chance of striking in any given year based on historical data.
But don’t think such storms only roll around every 100 years. With global warming, such storms are striking with increasing frequency.
Statewide, HighTide found that within Florida’s 35 coastal counties, a once-in-a-century storm would:
Flood at least 1.28 million buildings, with potential for $261 billion in losses (2020 dollars).
By 2030, as the sea levels rise, it’s 1.3 million buildings and $270 billion.
By 2050, it’s 1.6 million buildings and $321 billion in losses.
Then by 2100, it’s 2.4 million buildings and whopping $624.5 billion in losses.
“Satellite Beach gets some credit for this,” Santiago Tate, CEO/cofounder of HighTide Intelligence, said of the city’s proactive stance on planning for sea-level rise. “They really wanted us to focus on the element of communicating risk.”
And for thousands in this small city of just 11,200 residents, that risk is mounting. Unless the city prepares, rising seas and powerful storms will put 2,200 households in Satellite Beach — half the city’s total — at risk and could inflict $142 million in flood damages to buildings by 2050, according to HighTide’s study.
During the run-up to Hurricane Ian in October 2022, many teenagers decided to have some fun in the flooding. Rising sea levels are expected to make flooding a more common problem in Florida even in the absence of hurricanes.n(Credit: MALCOLM DENEMARK/FLORIDA TODAY)
Local governments can get insurance discounts for residents from Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) by conducting floodplain management activities that qualify for points in what’s called the Community Rating System (CRS). Part of Satellite Beach’s effort is to improve the city’s rating.
Most of the vulnerable homes and infrastructure are on the city’s west side, along the low-lying banks of the Indian River Lagoon.
Lee Corbridge describes how this flooding near his family’s home on Lantern Drive, north of Titusville, in late September, early October 2022 was the worst he has ever seen. Rising sea levels are expected to make flooding a more common problem in Florida even in the absence of hurricanes.
On average, sea levels rose about 6 to 8 inches worldwide over the past century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But the rate of rise has more than doubled since 2006.
Sea levels along the southeastern and Gulf Coasts already are rising faster than climate models predicted, the UCF researchers note, causing coastal erosion, high-tide flooding, saltwater contamination of freshwater aquifers and higher storm surges in Florida.
Hurricanes exacerbate the problem. Even a Category 1 storm could inundate more than 40% of Satellite Beach, according to a 2010 study for the city by Florida International University, and as sea level rises, it’s only going to get worse.
Governments usually opt for large-scale infrastructure projects to prevent flooding, such as levees, the Satellite Beach report notes. Those aren’t always best, though, because costs exceed benefits and can take decades for Congress to appropriate funds.
Meanwhile, property owners are left susceptible to storm flooding.
A truck makes its way down Milford Point Drive on Merritt Island after heavy rains pounded Brevard County in September 2022, flooding streets and yards. Rising sea levels are expected to make flooding a more common problem in Florida even in the absence of hurricanes.
HighTide’s study builds on two previous flood studies of Satellite Beach, including the one by Florida International University. At the time, the researchers in that study anticipated the tipping point toward “catastrophic inundation” — a 2-foot sea-level rise — in just 40 years for Satellite Beach. Now that’s less than 30 years away.
“I don’t really know how you get ahead on this,” said Randy Parkinson, the coastal geologist at Florida International University who coauthored the 2010 study.https://flo.uri.sh/story/1950403/embed
Complacency about flood risk jumped out at him during a recent drive down State Road A1A in south Brevard and into Indian River County, where the barrier island thins to just a few hundred feet wide.
“I couldn’t believe the number of new single-family homes still going in,” Parkinson said. “The real wakeup call is sadly when we get a Cat. 4 or Cat. 5 and it’s moving slow.”
Time will tell how many structures Satellite Beach and other Florida coastal cities will have to move to higher ground or elevate.
“It really depends on the timescale,” Santiago Tate said. “There’s only so much you can do to hold back Mother Nature.”
Contact Environment reporter Jim Waymer at jwaymer@floridatoday.com.
