Reading archive 2023-09-30

Ticks, Natural Gardens, & Kids

Honey Bees Compete With Native Bees

Shelley Broderick: For two years DC leaders sat on a plan to improve public safety

The MAGAmerican dream lives in Sarasota

Reading archive 2023-09-28

U.S. government tells federal employees a shutdown may be imminent: The official warnings reflect Congress’s failure to extend funding past Saturday

D.C. panel endorses Bowser’s guidelines for high-rises in historic districts

D.C. delays issuing $200 tickets to drivers blocking bus lanes: Without explanation, city officials say only warnings will be issued until further notice

Opinion  Single moms know marriage would be ideal, but how do they get one? - "Marriage should be recognized as 'the most reliable institution for delivering a high level of resources and long-term stability to children,' Kearney declares. And experts should admit that not saying so is counterproductive."

Troops stormed a prison. They found inmates had built a luxury resort.

Origins of Parkinson’s may lie in the gut. Researchers hope to prove it.: If the hypothesis that misfolded proteins start in the gut and travel to the brain is proved, it could lead to early detection and treatment of Parkinson’s

Inside the tactics that won Christian vendors the right to reject gay weddings: Opponents accuse conservative legal group behind landmark Supreme Court case of manufacturing lawsuits to advance its agenda

Reading archive 2023-09-27

Bidens’ dog bites Secret Service officer in 11th known aggressive incident

Sitting all day increases dementia risk — even if you exercise: The results underscore just how pervasive the consequences of sitting can be, and suggest that exercise by itself may not protect us. - "After adjusting for other factors, the researchers noted few improvements among people who interrupted their sitting time with breaks. If they got up and walked around, but still managed to sit for 10 or more hours a day, their risk didn’t change much. What ultimately mattered was how many hours, in total, a person spent in a chair most days."

Opinion  How to keep the most violent suspects off the streets in D.C.

Opinion  Why we shouldn’t bemoan the loss of the expanded child tax credit

Opinion  Just look at why it’s so hard to turn offices into homes

Under India’s pressure, Facebook let propaganda and hate speech thrive - "Facebook’s cautious approach to moderating pro-government content in India was often exacerbated by a long-standing dynamic: Employees responsible for rooting out hackers and propagandists — often based in the United States — frequently clashed with executives in India who were hired for their political experience or relationships with the government, and who held political views that aligned with the BJP’s.

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"The Modi administration is setting an example for how authoritarian governments can dictate to American social media platforms what content they must preserve and what they must remove, regardless of the companies’ rules. Countries including Brazil, Nigeria and Turkey are following the India model, executives say.

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The day before May’s tight election in Turkey, Twitter agreed to ban accounts at the direction of the administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, including that of investigative journalist Cevheri Guven, an Erdogan critic."

Reading archive 2003-09-26

Janelle Monáe blossoms at the Anthem: The artist’s lush new album, ‘The Age of Pleasure,’ is rooted in community and celebration

Smithsonian Acquires Major Collection About Enslaved Poet: The National Museum of African American History and Culture has purchased a trove relating to Phillis Wheatley, the first American of African descent to publish a book.

Hundreds of minks were let loose in Pa.: ‘The most friendly infestation’

New D.C. bill would boost upkeep of the city’s forested land: The District owns some 500 acres of wooded natural areas, but some have become overrun with invasive species or dumping grounds for trash

Antisemitism charges swirl after Putin denigrates Zelensky’s Jewish roots

Western officials press Ukraine to hold elections despite war

Opinion  One simple fix for our broken policing system: Hiring more women

TV rarely shows Black experiences at work. ‘The Other Black Girl’ is changing that.: Hulu’s new series ‘The Other Black Girl’ aims to meet the call for Black work-life stories in the media

Russian security, countermeasures, Secret Service: A very D.C. protest: The residents across the street from the Russian Embassy have been in an ongoing battle with their displays supporting Ukraine

How to keep junk snail mail out of your mailbox forever

Most of the world’s wind is over deep water. Floating machines can harvest it.

‘There is life after the Senate. And it’s good.’: Amid the anxiety over Dianne Feinstein, Mitch McConnell and the age of the U.S. Senate, we checked in with lawmakers who chose to step away a while ago.

Addicted to Cool: How the dream of air conditioning turned into the dark future of climate change - "Air conditioning helped spur self-reinforcing cycles of development: Developers offset the cost of central air by building cheaper, flimsier houses, which performed poorly in heat, necessitating artificial cooling, while power companies developed greater capacity that attracted industry and workers, which in turn required more housing and electricity."

Misinformation research is buckling under GOP legal attacks: An escalating campaign, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other Republicans, has cast a pall over programs that study political disinformation and the quality of medical information online

Reading archive 2023-09-25

Mythbusting: Trees and Leaf Litter

Reading archive 2023-09-20

‘Ari, don’t die’: Shooting of 10-year-old D.C. girl described in court - "According to the documents, on Dec. 19, 2021, when Gregory was 17, he was charged as a juvenile with five offenses, including possession of a prohibited weapon, carrying a pistol without a license and resisting arrest.

"Two months later, he pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of ammunition without registration. In exchange for those pleas, prosecutors in the D.C. attorney general’s office agreed not to charge Gregory with any additional crimes related to this arrest, including a carjacking offense, and agreed not to seek secure detention.

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"That was not Gregory’s first gun possession case. In 2018, when he was 14, he was arrested for armed robbery, according to the documents. D.C. prosecutors dismissed that case about a year later. No information was provided as to the reason for the dismissal."

Oakland vs. the A's: The inside story of how it all went south (to Las Vegas)

Reading archive 2023-09-19

Pennsylvania rolls out automatic voter registration: The Commonwealth became the 24th state to make voter registration an automatic part of getting a driver's license or identification.

Pinto releases plans to tackle crime as violent summer ends: Package of plans released Monday drew criticism from D.C. judges concerned about the legality of proposed searches

 At Japan’s dementia cafes, forgotten orders are all part of the service

D.C. Area Gets Tens Of Millions In Funding For ‘Tree Equity’

Are electric cars really better for the environment? - "In 2020, building the world’s wind turbines, solar panels, EVs and other clean-energy infrastructure demanded 7 million tons of minerals, estimates the International Energy Agency. Roughly half of this was destined for batteries and EVs. 

"The oil, gas and coal industry, by contrast, extracted the equivalent of 15 billion metric tons in 2019. And the industry will need to extract it year after year to keep supplying energy. Clean-energy technology can use these materials for decades or, if recycled, in perpetuity."

Opinion  This is what taking on election deniers really looks like

Ray Epps, subject of Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 conspiracy theories, charged by DOJ: Epps, a former supporter of Donald Trump, is set to enter a plea agreement. He told the Jan. 6 committee that the conspiracy theories about him ruined his life.

Betting inside a poke shop, he put D.C.’s sportsbook under attack - "'It’s pretty safe to say this has been the worst rollout of legal sports betting in the United States,' said Dustin Gouker, a veteran of gambling media and a former correspondent for The Post. 'It is the punchline of a joke at this point.'

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"In 2019, amid the national rush for states to set up sports betting operations, the D.C. Council gave the Lottery near-total control over online and in-person sports betting within District lines and awarded the Greek gaming company Intralot a five-year, $215 million no-bid contract to run GambetDC. Advocates for the deal argued that skipping the usual bidding process would allow for a quick rollout and give the District a head start competing for local customers with Maryland and Virginia, both of which had yet to legalize sports betting.

"Before the Council approved the contract, The Post reported that many of Intralot’s subcontractors had little experience with sports betting but extensive ties to City Hall. The Council approved the deal in a contentious 7-5 vote.

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"After assurances that GambetDC’s accelerated rollout would give the District a competitive advantage, D.C. bettors never took to the app. Along with its clunky interface, GambetDC imposes a 'vigorish' — the sportsbook’s advantage baked into its odds — that’s roughly twice the industry average, according to the prices posted on GambetDC and other sites. 'I tell any sports bettor to never use Gambet,' said Matt Phillips, a local betting analyst with Next Level Sports and Entertainment. 'It’s not beneficial if you want to win money.'

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"As bad as GambetDC’s standard prices are, its oddsmaking is often worse. Alex Monahan, co-founder of the odds tracker OddsJam, said D.C.’s sportsbook has “approximately three times as many inefficiencies” in its odds compared with national operators. In other words, a savvy customer could win frequently enough to overcome GambetDC’s hefty house edge."