Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

The Food and Drug Administration recently approved an over-the-counter birth control pill in a unanimous vote, according to NBC. It’s expected to be available in 2024. The pill uses the hormone progestin, has a 50-year safety record in the U.S. and is 93% effective in preventing unintended pregnancies.

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

according to the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. Other components include changing how benefits are calculated (which the committee says would disproportionately affect women), and using “means testing benefits” that could cut retirement benefits for those with incomes as low as $40,000 a year.

By Ben Olson Reader Staff

Officials continue to monitor wildfires burning in the region, with some showing increased fire activity due to high winds and low humidity.

“We just moved into ‘very high’ fire danger yesterday,” Idaho Department of Lands Fire Warden Brian Hicks told the Reader. “The mountains have been on ‘very high’ for several weeks, but now it’s including the valleys.”

Hicks said IDL is not issuing burn permits at this time except for crop residual burns in Boundary County. Campfires are still permitted in rings.

“They need to make sure their campfires are cold to the touch when they leave,” Hicks said. “Stir them and mix with water when they leave.”

A red flag warning July 24 called for high winds, which Hicks said had minimal effect on the handful of fires in our region.

“There was some scattered isolated lightning with that event, so we’re monitoring the locations of the strikes,” Hicks said.

There are currently three wildfires burning within an hour of Sandpoint: the Consalus Fire near Coolin, the Bee Top Fire five miles up Lighting Creek Road and the Beauty Creek Fire northeast of Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The 475-acre Consalus Fire is currently listed at 40% containment, with 205 total personnel working the fire. High winds on July 24 caused some increases of fire activity in pockets of unburned fuels within the perimeter of the fire. Further containment was achieved on the northern edge of the fire and fire crews are utilizing sprinkler systems to cool the edges while working to mop up remaining hotspots in the Consalus Creek area.

The last update for the lightning-caused Bee Top Fire on July 24 indicated 30% containment, with a total size of 45 acres listed. While it had been listed at 88% contained, that number dropped to 30% as a result of spot fires that flared up July 19 in extremely steep terrain.

The 13-acre Beauty Creek Fire was reported July 21 burning in heavy timber northeast of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Due to cooler temperatures and a tested fireline, fire officials are confident in calling the fire 100% contained, with firefighters starting mop-up, working from the perimeter toward the interior. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by federal law enforcement.

There have been 141 fires reported statewide, which is 176% of the 20-year average. Of the 141 fires reported, 68 have been listed as human-caused, 33 started naturally and 40 of undetermined cause.

Within the Pend Oreille Fire District, IDL has kept tabs on 30 fires in North Idaho from the northern border of Boundary County south to Granite Lake.

Hicks urged property owners to check on burn piles they might have burned in spring to avoid having them rekindle and start a fire.

“These piles that they lit in March, April, May, they’re coming back to life,” Hicks said. “This is just a friendly reminder to folks that they can be on the hook for those suppression charges if we do have to go out and suppress those fires.”

Hicks said burning slash piles is much better in the late fall because the snow load over winter will make it very unlikely those piles come back to life.

The weather outlook for the coming week is trending hot and dry, and Hicks said he expects further restrictions as it gets hotter and drier.

A year ago, a majority of U.S. Supreme Court justices ended 50 years of constitutional rights to an abortion by overturning Roe vs. Wade. A 1972 Gallup poll showed 64% of Americans agreed that abortion decisions belonged to a woman and her doctor. A recent USA Today poll found 80% of Americans oppose a nationwide ban on abortion.

Russia has disengaged from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which had allowed safe export of Ukrainian grain and other food. According to Christian nonprofit Bread for the World, 340 million people already face acute hunger and malnutrition, and this will deepen the crisis.

The U.S. Justice Department informed former-President Donald Trump last week that he is the target of a criminal investigation regarding the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, with another indictment accusing him of conspiracy to overthrow the government being likely, according to The Week

A new media start-up, Messenger, promises “impartial and objective news.” Media critic Joshua Benton followed the Messenger’s money trail: All known investors are major Republican donors.

Recent reporting by ProPublica found that insurance agency doctors reviewing claims at one large provider — where one doctor alone in one month handled 60,000 claims — spent an average of 1.2 seconds on each claim. A former doctor with the company said that by using algorithms, 50 claims could be processed in 10 seconds. A former executive with the company said from a “cost perspective” it makes sense: “Why not just deny them all and see which ones come back on appeal?”

Raising Social Security’s retirement age to 70 is in congressional Republicans’ proposed Cassidy-King Plan. To address a projected Social Security shortfall without asking the wealthy for a fair share chip-in, Cassidy-King proposes borrowing $1.5 trillion to invest in Wall Street,

A “Super El Nino” could occur with the next El Nino cycle. There’s a 66% chance it could raise global temps past the 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit threshold warned of by the Paris Climate Agreement, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The Week reported that we saw the end in March of a particularly long La Nina, which normally is cooling, but did not cool this last time. One of the issues influencing El and La Ninas: The planet’s oceans have absorbed more than 90% of warmth generated by fossil fuels, resulting in the North Atlantic having record-high temperatures. The Pacific Ocean is also warning, with powerful hurricanes and cyclones an expected outcome. Dartmouth researchers calculate that each past El Nino has cost an average of $3.4 trillion to the global economy, which includes destruction of crops, and hindrances to services and flow of goods.

Meanwhile, a proposal from MAGA Republicans in Congress would reduce funding for the Environmental Protection Agency to its lowest level in 30 years. The League of Conservation Voters likens that to “burning down the firehouse.”

Why the growing number of suicide bereavement camps? TIME reported that suicide rates grew 37% between 2000 and 2021. More than 450,000 U.S. children lose a parent to suicide by age 18. Along with mixing with others who know their unique grief, the camps serve a preventive role: They can help survivors, who often can’t afford counseling, “so they don’t get to the same [suicide] place.”

The former wife of Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, has new plans to give away $250 million to nonprofit organizations, according to ABC News. Scott, who is worth $36 billion, has so far donated more than $14 billion to 1,600 nonprofits.

Blast from the past: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou (1928-2014), poet, activist.