National

The Jewish Home | JUNE 2, 2022 Lessons from the Primaries

After three months of primaries so far, both of the U.S. parties are facing uncertainty, CNN notes. In the Republican Party, it is still not clear how much power former U.S. President Donald Trump holds over the midterms. Democrats, on the other hand, are concerned that the midterms will wipe them off the political map.

Among the key lessons are that Trump has hit his limits with Republican voters: multiple Trump-endorsed candidates lost their races, although in West Virginia and Ohio, his preferred candidates did win.

Among Democrats, leaders preferred to stick with their most conservative member, with Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar holding a 177-vote lead after a May runoff.

Meanwhile, both dark money and redistricting are prominent in the early Democratic House primaries. And though Democratic Senate hopefuls seem to be doing well in the primaries, they still face the November election – and lately, voters are only deciding on their candidate weeks before the polls, potentially stripping the Democrats of their early advantage. This is even more significant since the Senate is equally divided between the two parties.

Inside the Democratic Party, the criteria for electability are changing, with racially diverse and first-time candidates redefining what a good candidate might mean – a trend that is likely to continue.

But the focus is now on governors, after a leaked Supreme Court document showed that it planned to overturn Roe v. Wade, the nation’s only across-the board abortion rights law. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion would be left entirely in the hands of the individual states.

A worsening drought has forced millions of Californians to face mandatory water restrictions. Despite the water shortages, San Diego County has largely shielded itself from water supply issues by diversifying its water supply over the course of three decades.

During that time, the county increased conservation and invested in big-ticket water infrastructure – including the largest desalination plant in the Western hemisphere. As a result, the county believes it is now able to avoid restricting residents’ water supply, at least until 2045.

All that upgrading comes at a price. San Diego County’s water is among the most expensive in the country, costing about 26% more last year than the water serving Los Angeles and its environs. And now, two irrigation districts in the county want to break away, claiming they can purchase cheaper water elsewhere. If they do break away, the county’s water may become even more expensive.

Michael Hanemann, an environmental economist at Arizona State University who recently was commissioned to study the region’s water costs for a California agency, opined, “San Diego’s situation is very surprising, very striking. I think this is a harbinger of something that’s going to happen elsewhere in California and elsewhere in the U.S.”

He added, “In round terms, it’s twice as expensive as imported surface water. On the other hand, it’s a very reliable supply because it’s not affected by drought and low flows in rivers in Northern California or the Colorado.”

Sandy Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, explained that after the previous drought, “Our community came together and said, ‘We’re not going to be in this situation again. We need to plan for our own reliability.’”

“There’s no more cheap water available,” she added.

Although San Diego County today says it is no longer searching for more water, the county still has fixed costs to cover – costs which account for 90% of the water agency’s annual expenses.

“You’re [messed up] if suddenly you deliver fewer gallons of water since your costs don’t go down,” Hanemann noted.

Harvard Grads Lean Left

A Harvard University student newspaper survey found that just 6.4% of respondents lean conservative after attending the institution.

The email survey, conducted by The Crimson and including 1,269 graduating seniors, saw a response rate of nearly 40%. Among the findings: 4% of 2022 graduates lean conservative, along with 2.4% who lean “very conservative.” Prior to attending Harvard, 7.1% of the graduating class had identified as conservative.

The survey also showed that 40.7% of students identified as “progressive” after attending Harvard, compared to 44.7% who had identified that way prior to attending the institution. Another 27.9% of graduating students identified as “very progressive” – a significant increase from the 20.9% who said they had identified that way prior to attending Harvard.

The Crimson added that 1.4% of graduating students identify as “apolitical.”

Politically, 93% of graduating students view former U.S. President Donald Trump unfavorably, while 51.8% view U.S. President Joe Biden favorably; just 30.1% view Biden unfavorably.

Questioned on the anti-Israel Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, 33.8% of the graduating respondents said they support the movement, while 21.1% said they oppose it.

Who Leaked SCOTUS Draft?

officials are trying to get to the bottom of the breach. As such, they may require law clerks to provide cell phone records and sign affidavits in connection to the leak.

Some clerks are alarmed about these demands, with some wondering if they should hire outside counsel to represent them.

The court’s moves are unprecedented and the most striking development to date in the investigation into who might have provided Politico with the draft opinion it published on May 2. The probe has intensified the already high tensions at the Supreme Court, where the conservative majority is poised to roll back a half-century of abortion rights and privacy protections.

Chief Justice John Roberts met with law clerks as a group after the breach; it is not known whether any systematic individual interviews have occurred.

The young lawyers selected to be law clerks each year are regarded as the elite of the elite. (Each justice typically hires four.) They are overwhelmingly graduates of Ivy League law schools and have had prior clerkships with prominent U.S. appellate court judges.

Their one-year service becomes a golden ticket to prestigious law firms, top government jobs or professorships. Six of the current nine Supreme Court justices are former clerks.

Gail Curley, the court’s marshal, was designated by Chief Justice Roberts on May 3 to lead the probe.

Curley, a lawyer and former Army colonel, oversees the police officers at the building. She is best known to the public as the person who chants, “Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” at the beginning of the justices’ oral argument sessions.

The draft opinion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was written by Justice Samuel Alito and appeared to have a five-justice majority to completely reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. That landmark ruling made abortion legal nationwide and buttressed other privacy interests not expressly stated in the Constitution.

Americans were on the move during the pandemic, with the trend seeing them leave large cities for the suburbs of red states.

Georgetown, Texas, was the state with the largest rate of growth during the past two years, expanding 10.5%. Two other cities in the Lone Star State – Leander and New Braunfels – also grew, with the second and fifth highest rates of migration respectively. Two Arizona cities, Queen Creek Town (8.9%) and Buckeye (8.6%), round out the top five at the third and fourth-highest rate of migration.

The top 15 cities by rate of population growth between July 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021 were concentrated in red states such as Texas, Florida, Arizona, Tennessee, and Idaho, according to an Axios analysis of Census Bureau data released on Monday.

The growth of suburban areas comes at the same time as an exodus has occurred from America’s largest cities, with New York City seeing a population decrease of 3.5% during that time span, a net loss of 305,000 people.

The nation’s most populous city was not the only urban area to see its population shrink considerably, with San Jose (-2.7%), Chicago (-1.6%), Philadelphia (-1.5%), Dallas (-1.1%), and Los Angeles (-1.0%) all seeing a decrease in population of at least 1% during the pandemic.

During the pandemic, much of the workforce shifted to working remotely, which helped as people sought to live outside of urban centers. Major cities in the U.S. also experienced a surge in violent crime throughout the pandemic.

Cities in Tennessee and Florida were also part of the group that saw rapid expansion during the pandemic, with Fort Myers, Fla. (6.8%), Case Grande, Ariz. (6.2%), Maricopa, Ariz. (6.1%), North Port, Fla. (5.5%), Spring Hill, Tenn. (5.4%), Goodyear, Ariz. (5.4%), and Port St. Lucie, Fla. (5.2%), nabbing spots 6-12 in population growth.

Three suburbs of Boise, Idaho rounded out the top 15, with Meridian (5.2%), Caldwell (5.2%), and Nampa (5.0%) all coming in at least 5% population growth.

FiNAL CALL

Don't miss the opportunity to give your child the summer of his dreams.

• Sunday: 10:30 - 4:00 • Mon-Thurs: 9:30 - 6:00 • Friday: 9:30 - 1:00 • Optional early dismissal • Transportation • 3 warm meals a day Enroll your child today.

OPWDD Eligible

• Individual OT, PT, Speech Therapy • Heimish atmosphere • Great program • Warm, experienced staff • Heated pool • Large outdoor playground

Enroll your child today.Did you register yet? Summer is fast approaching and so are the smiles. Register your child today for a summer to remember.

Respite Center

Enroll your child today. OPWDD Eligible.

718.503.1318 Sunnysmiledaycamp@gmail.com 25 Carrier St. Liberty, NY Director: Mayer Lieberman