Jilly_in_VA
Jilly_in_VA's JournalWest Virginia's coal powered the nation for years. Now, many look to a cleaner future.
Growing up in southern West Virginia, Jacob Hannah was always of two minds about coal.
His father and grandfather were coal miners. Coal meant a roof over their heads and a tie to bind the small community of Wilsondale that they called home. People there found purpose in coal, proud to know their work was helping power the nation.
But Hannah, 29, also saw neighbors who grappled with nasty illnesses: bronchitis, black lung and cancer. Worksite injuries were a constant. And he began to hear more news about climate change and the role that coal and other fossil fuels played.
“The coal economy is a sinking ship,” he said, “but it’s difficult for anyone who grew up in Appalachia not to feel a sense of defensiveness and protectiveness towards coal.”
Hannah is a conservation coordinator for Coalfield Development, a nonprofit group working to revitalize West Virginia, in part through clean energy. The organization recently put in place the state’s largest nonprofit solar installation. He’s proud of his family’s legacy but traveling around the state and taking stock of shuttered storefronts and scarred land have convinced him that the need for change is clear.
“We need an antidote,” he said. “We need medicine to strengthen our communities.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/west-virginia-coal-industry-grapples-impact-climate-crisis-rcna2397
Kansas teen dies after he was restrained at juvenile facility, prompting investigation
Authorities in Kansas are investigating after a 17-year-old boy died on Sunday, two days after he was restrained by up to five corrections staffers during a physical struggle at a juvenile detention facility.
After allegedly assaulting officers called to investigate a disturbance, Cedric “CJ” Lofton, of Wichita, was taken by police early Friday morning to the Juvenile Intake and Assessment Center, according to a statement by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The KBI is leading the probe into the boy’s death.
Once at the juvenile facility, Lofton again was involved in a physical struggle, officials said.
Lofton, the KBI said, asked to use a restroom and was let out of a holding cell. But he then assaulted a staff member while being escorted back to the cell, officials said.
“Multiple corrections staff engaged in a lengthy physical struggle to get him into the holding cell and place him into handcuffs. Once Lofton was under control, corrections staff were monitoring him and noticed he became unresponsive,” according to the KBI statement from Tuesday.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/kansas-teen-dies-after-he-was-restrained-juvenile-facility-prompting-n1280352
NASA preps Lucy mission to study Jupiter's Trojan asteroid swarms
NASA is set to launch a spacecraft next month on the agency's first mission to a group of asteroids near Jupiter.
The Lucy space probe is scheduled to lift off on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Oct. 16. The 12-year mission is designed to give scientists an up-close view of the so-called Trojan asteroids that share their orbit around the sun with the largest planet in the solar system.
NASA's Juno spacecraft has been circling Jupiter since 2016 but this will be the agency's first expedition to study two swarms of space rocks at the gas giant — one group that orbits the sun ahead of Jupiter and another that trails behind the planet.
"With Lucy, we're going to eight never-before-seen asteroids in 12 years with a single spacecraft," Tom Statler, the mission's project scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. "This is a fantastic opportunity for discovery as we probe into our solar system's distant past."
https://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/nasa-lucy-mission-jupiter-trojan-asteroid-rcna2409
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My inner 10 year old wannabe astronomer is all agog!
'Never-ending nightmare': The hospitals where the ICU occupancy stayed high
Early this month, Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta delayed elective surgeries and procedures. The reason: There were so many Covid-19 patients in the hospital's intensive care unit that there was just no room for anyone who isn't seriously ill.
“We have had to postpone some nonessential surgical procedures because we did not have an inpatient bed for them after they had their surgery,” said Dr. Robert Jansen, the Grady Health System chief medical officer.
While the state of Georgia — and the United States as a whole — have been dealing with another surge of Covid cases since August, data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows that Grady’s ICU has been full for much longer. Every week, for the past 12 months, it has been 100 percent full. Before the pandemic, Jansen estimated it was full 70 percent of the time.
“ICU capacity is always a challenge,” Jansen said. “What we are now facing is that with a significant number of Covid patients requiring critical care, we are running above capacity. That is not something that is unusual for us on occasion, but right now it's constant.”
Grady's ICU is one of many across the country that have been consistently packed. While Covid cases and deaths have ebbed and flowed nationally, an NBC News analysis of Health and Human Services data shows that 20 hospitals nationwide had full ICUs for more than 52 weeks since the onset of the pandemic. And health experts say these repeated Covid surges create monumental challenges to patients and health care providers.
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-care/never-ending-nightmare-hospitals-where-icu-hospitalizations-stayed-high-n1280318
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Hoping this will not be a problem here. I had esophageal webs removed in 2019. I think they have returned.
Irreverent question
If tfg REALLY did have a colonoscopy on that stealth trip to Walter Reed, as Stephanie Grisham suggests in her book, how did they know where to put the scope?
Asking for a friend.
Mighty hunter
This morning my larger cat, Vicky, came down to breakfast clutching a plump chipmunk in her jaws. Winnie went over to investigate, at which point Vicky dropped it on the ground. Winnie sniffed at it and trotted back to her breakfast, seemingly disinterested, although I noticed she was watching out the corner of her eye as she ate.
I thought the chipmunk was defunct, but it apparently was not as Vicky dropped it and proceeded to bat it around a bit before finally dispatching it. She then came to breakfast without further ado and received her praise. Two things: I noticed that the chipmunk was quite fat (the acorn crop is bountiful) and I was a bit surprised that Vicky had caught anything as I am not sure her vision is up to par. I mean to have that checked out whenever she visits the vet. It may just be that she "plays dumb" with me.
Oh, and I received my very first ever nose boop from Winnie last night. This after being her human for almost a year. I am thrilled.
Washington Spirit Coach Richie Burke Was Fired After An Investigation Into Abuse
The former head coach of the Washington Spirit was fired by the National Women's Soccer League following an investigation into allegations of harassment and a toxic work culture. Other team representatives were also suspended from roles within the league.
"After considering the substance of the report, and taking into account prior actions of the Spirit, the NWSL's board of governors has determined that the Spirit and its ownership have failed to act in the best interests of the League," the NWSL said in its statement Tuesday.
The termination of former head coach Richie Burke follows weeks of reports by The Washington Post that alleged he was responsible for creating a toxic work culture for female employees.
The NWSL doesn't mention Burke by name in its statement, but rather says the "Washington Spirit's head coach has been terminated for cause."
The league opened an investigation into Burke and the team, which is based in the Washington, D.C. area, following an August report by The Washington Post. That report highlighted how Burke crafted a toxic and abusive environment in the team that drove players to leave in the middle of the season.
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/29/1041397913/nwsl-washington-spirit-richie-burke-fired
Washington Spirit Coach Richie Burke Was Fired After An Investigation Into Abuse
The former head coach of the Washington Spirit was fired by the National Women's Soccer League following an investigation into allegations of harassment and a toxic work culture. Other team representatives were also suspended from roles within the league.
"After considering the substance of the report, and taking into account prior actions of the Spirit, the NWSL's board of governors has determined that the Spirit and its ownership have failed to act in the best interests of the League," the NWSL said in its statement Tuesday.
The termination of former head coach Richie Burke follows weeks of reports by The Washington Post that alleged he was responsible for creating a toxic work culture for female employees.
The NWSL doesn't mention Burke by name in its statement, but rather says the "Washington Spirit's head coach has been terminated for cause."
The league opened an investigation into Burke and the team, which is based in the Washington, D.C. area, following an August report by The Washington Post. That report highlighted how Burke crafted a toxic and abusive environment in the team that drove players to leave in the middle of the season.
https://www.npr.org/2021/09/29/1041397913/nwsl-washington-spirit-richie-burke-fired
Oath Keepers Had Money Troubles After Capitol Riot
After members of the Oath Keepers appeared on the frontlines of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the organization’s inboxes were flooded with emails. Some came from prospective members looking to join the group. Others came from members who wanted out.
The would-be Oath Keepers and defectors had a common complaint: They had sent money to the far-right group and never heard from it again.
A cache of internal Oath Keepers emails was made public this week by the transparency group Distributed Denial of Secrets. The leak, first reported by The Daily Dot, includes messages from a number of Oath Keepers chapters, as well as inboxes used for the paramilitary group’s recruiting efforts. But some of those recruitment campaigns left prospective members feeling scammed.
One prospective member, Coy Castleberry, gave up on the organization before fully enrolling.
“I still haven’t heard anything on my membership package,” Castleberry wrote the Oath Keepers in March. “Last I was told is it was being put together a month ago or close to a month ago. Let me Know when I can expect it. I won’t contact my local chapter until I have my membership package. So please get that to me. If you don’t want me as a member please refund my membership fee.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/oath-keepers-had-money-troubles-after-january-6-capitol-riot-leaked-emails-show?ref=home
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How delightful!
Podcaster Fakes Address to Rage Against Trans Kids in School
Right-wing troll Matt Walsh bragged to Fox News on Tuesday night about circumventing a Virginia school board’s rules just so he could deliver a transphobic speech at a meeting, acknowledging that he pretended to be a local resident in order to deliver his attention-seeking rant.
Walsh, who hosts a podcast for Ben Shapiro’s right-wing website The Daily Wire, took to Facebook last week to proclaim that he would lead a “Protect Your Kids” rally outside Loudoun County’s weekly school board meeting on Tuesday. Over the past year, the county’s school board has become ground zero in the conservative culture-war fight against critical race theory and trans-inclusive policies.
In a press release last week, the Loudoun County School Board announced new guidelines for those seeking to publicly comment at the weekly meetings, including that commenters must be local residents if they weren’t LCPS students, parents, teachers, or local business owners.
Claiming this was an effort to block him from speaking at the meeting, Walsh announced over the weekend that he had leased a home in the area. (According to Fox News, Walsh merely rented a room from a friend for one dollar.)
“Loudoun County changed the rules so that only residents can speak at the school board,” he tweeted on Friday. “In unrelated news, I’m proud to announce that I am now a resident of Loudoun County. Just rented a home in the area. I’ll have the lease agreement. See you at the meeting!”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/right-wing-podcaster-matt-walsh-fakes-living-in-va-just-to-go-on-anti-trans-rant-at-school-board?ref=home
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Gender: Do not displayCurrent location: Virginia
Member since: Wed Jun 1, 2011, 07:34 PM
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