Grumpy Editor

NOAA PREDICTS RISING SEA LEVELS WITHIN TWO DECADES

Sea levels on coastlines in the U.S. are forecast to rise about a foot on average within two decades, notes Grumpy Editor.

The prediction comes in a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The report also notes sea levels around the globe are up about 0.55 feet in the past 100 years.

In the same time period, water along the East Coast will rise a few inches more compared with West Coast and Hawaii shorelines, adds the report.

Gulf coasts are predicted to be hit the most — with seas up about 1.5 feet.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

WHERE WERE CALIFORNIA AVOCADOS?  Widely circulated news reports last week mention scarce avocados in U.S. grocery stores because they are imported from Mexico with delivery suspended after an American inspector working in Mexico's state of Michoacan receives threats.  Not mentioned, however, is that avocados also are produced in the U.S. making them not as scare as reported. But all is well now after the U.S. on Friday lifted its temporary ban on imports of Mexican avocados.

CONDE NAST TURNS PROFIT. Condé Nast, publisher of Vogue, Bon Appetit and the New Yorker, says its publications turned a profit last year for the first time in years.  It attributes that to strong digital-revenue growth and cost savings from reorganizing global operations.  The publisher says it recorded nearly $2 billion in revenue last year, a double-digit-percentage increase from 2020.

 

CARGO SHIP ADRIFT IN ATLANTIC.  A massive cargo ship, transporting thousands of luxury cars, including 1,000 Porsches among 4,000 from the Volkswagen Group, is left floating in the Atlantic Ocean after it caught fire near Terceira Island in the Azores.  The ship was enroute from Emden, Germany to Davisville, Rhode Island.  The 22 crew members are safe after being lifted from the burning ship by helicopter.

TOP PAY FOR CITIGROUP CEO. Banking’s Citigroup, based in New York, is paying Chief Executive Jane Fraser $22.5 million for her first year in that position. The figure includes salary, cash bonus and restricted stock tied to performance metrics.

BLACK BEAR ENTERS 28 HOMES.  A 500-pound black bear has been roaming the streets in the Tahoe Keys area of South Lake Tahoe, about 100 miles east of Sacramento, for seven months. In that period it causes extensive damage at 33 properties and forcefully enters 28 homes, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

 WOMEN SOUGHT FOR SAUDIA ARABIA POSITIONS.  A Saudi Arabia rail company, seeking to recruit 30 female candidates to drive high-speed trains between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, receives 28,000 applications.  It marks the first time such roles have been advertised for women in the conservative Muslim kingdom.  

 SUPER BOWL GAMBLING SOARS. Gambling on the Super Bowl this year soars to records after legalized sports betting surges across the country with a report noting betting transactions are more than double last year’s total.

 

Most editors miss solo paddle boarder crossing Atlantic

Grumpy Editor asks: If someone crossed 4,500 nautical miles of the Atlantic Ocean solo, unassisted and unsupported on a stand-up paddle board, should that make headlines?

Well, South African watersport pro Chris Bertish did just that --- and received limited U.S. media coverage of that amazing adventure that took 93 days on a custom-made, 1,360-pound, 20-foot-long paddle board fitted with a small cabin and solar panels.

CNN and the New York Times ran stories on the accomplishment. But most other major media were busy detailing and analyzing Washington happenings.

Bertish paddled off from Agadir, Morocco, on Dec. 6 and arrived at English Harbour, Antigua, on March 9.

Also, Bertish set the record for the farthest distance traveled solo, unsupported and unassisted over open ocean in a day, 72 miles.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

Global warming? A major northeaster storm threatens to shut down travel today and tomorrow due to heavy snow and strong winds from Washington, D.C. to Boston and beyond. Government workers in Washington are hoping for another “snow day” off from work…A month after the death of North Korean Kim Jong Nam, victim of a nerve agent attack at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, stories continue to appear daily in U.S. newspapers…Student editors at The Crusader newspaper at College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., are debating whether to change the paper’s name after being confused with a Ku Klux Klan publication with the same title…Palms Casino Resort, just off the Strip in Las Vegas, advertises rooms as low as $39 per night.  But fine print adds $31.99 as a daily resort fee, making the daily tab (before other taxes) a penny short of $71...A CareerCast, Carlsbad, Calif., jobs report puts broadcast and sound engineering technician among the 10 best freelance, part-time, and contractual jobs for 2017…Creating a howl: A Maine lawmaker’s bill requiring dogs to be harnessed or tethered in moving vehicles didn’t go over well. It would have eliminated happy dogs sniffing surroundings while hanging out car windows with their ears flapping in the breeze. A flap by constituents caused state Rep. Jim Handy (D) to withdraw his bill.

On last week’s “A Day Without a Woman” protest, WUHT, a Birmingham Cumulus Media radio outlet, followed through by taking women hosts off the air and playing only songs by men.