Grumpy Editor

DEADLY WASPS, GYPSY MOTHS 'BUG' WASHINGTON STATE

Washington state is going buggy these days with appearances by deadly wasps (called murder hornets) and gypsy moths, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

The wasps, world’s largest hornet species, have scientists trying to figure out how to eradicate them.  They warn that unless the insects are eliminated in the next two years, they could spread in North America and become permanently established.

 

It is unclear how the two-inch long orange and black hornets, that repordedly killed up to 50 people a year in Japan, arrived in the U.S.

 

"As long as you don't step on a nest or approach a beehive they have taken over, there is a fairly low risk that you will be stung," says a spokesperson for the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

 

Washington State's other buggy threat is the non-native gypsy moth. 

 

It is such a threat that Gov. Jay Inslee issues an emergency proclamation, noting the creatures pose an "imminent danger of an infestation” and endanger the state’s agricultural and horticultural industries, seriously threatenening "the economic well-being and quality of life of state residents.” 

 

Female gypsy moths can lay hundreds of eggs that become caterpillars and then munch through more than 500 different tree and shrub species. Because the moths can fly long distances, it's likely they can quickly spread throughout the country, officials warn. 

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

7 VETERANS OBSERVE WWII IN WASHINGTON.  Participating at a wreath-laying ceremony Friday in Washington marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe are seven World War II veterans, ages 96 to 100, along with President Donald Trump.

 

RECORD COLD SMACKS EAST.  A blast of Arctic air hits the eastern half of the U.S. over the weekend, setting near or record lows for the date in cities including Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

 

TEENAGER FINDS $135,000 AT ATM.  A 19-year-old on his way to make a bank deposit in Albuquerque spots a plastic bag on the ground near an ATM machine.  It contains $135,000 in $20 and $50 bills.  Rather than pocket his find, he calls police.  The money, meant to supply the machine, is mistakenly left outside the ATM by a bank subcontractor.  The youth wins praise and fame for his deed.

 

ERRATIC DRIVER TURNS OUT TO BE 5-YEAR-OLD.  A Utah Highway Patrol officer turns on his siren and pulls over an erratic driver on Interstate 15 in Ogden.  Behind the wheel, sitting on the edge of the seat to reach the pedals:  a 5-year-old boy who tells the trooper he is going to his sister’s house in California.  The boy tells another trooper he was going to buy a Lamborghini when he got there, then flashed open his wallet showing $3 cash to purchase his dream car.  

 

TOP N.Y. RESTAURANT MAY CLOSE.  Future of New York’s Eleven Madison Park, named the No. 1 restaurant in the world in 2017, is uncertain, chef-owner Daniel Humm tells Bloomberg.  “There is definitely a question mark over Eleven Madison Park --- if it will reopen” and “it will take millions of dollars to reopen,” he reveals.

 

LONG-HAUL TRUCKS BUSY.  While passenger travel on roads declines nearly 50 percent since lockdown measures were implemented in mid-March, long-haul truck trips only decline by 13 percent, showing that trucking industry continues delivering despite the pandemic, a new report shows.

 

MONKEY BUSINESS AT AN ATM.  Police in New Delhi are called to a State Bank of India ATM after the front of the machine is pulled off.  Video shows a monkey, believed to be a Rhesus Macaque, climbing up the front of the machine and tugging at the top. The machine then falls open before the inquisitive animal jumps up and begins to explore its inner workings. The monkey pulls off a piece of plastic and sniffs it before bouncing up and down several times on the opened lid before wandering away.

Harry Reid turns up rhetoric in Nevada cattle feud

Senate majority leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, who was mysteriously quiet during a week-long standoff involving a Nevada cattle rancher and the Bureau of Land Management that ended (at least temporarily) April 12, suddenly became quite vocal over the past week --- following the abrupt BLM pullout --- with a series of  interviews from Reno to Las Vegas, going so far as to label those who sided with rancher Cliven Bundy in the cattle-grazing feud “nothing more than domestic terrorists,” observes Grumpy Editor.

About 300 cattle in the BLM roundup were returned to Bundy after the week-long “bullying” by the feds.  

Reid’s almost daily attacks last week grabbed front-pages and broadcast news leads in the state and elsewhere, especially after the Nevada Democrat appeared at a Las Vegas Review-Journal “Hashtags & Headlines” luncheon at a major Strip hotel on Thursday.

Attendees paid $40 a head to hear Reid answer questions directed at him by a Review-Journal liberal columnist. 

While Reid received wide coverage of his “domestic terrorists” phrase, there was no mention of the range dust being kicked up when the BLM rode in with 200 armed agents, including snipers positioned in the hills plus growling police dogs along with use of tasers and helicopters at Bundy’s ranch in Bunkerville, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.  Since 1870, the Bundy family’s herd has been grazing on that Clark County land.  

The BLM and its hired “cowboys” went to the ranch to start rounding up Bundy’s 908 cattle grazing on 1,200 square miles of remote mountains and desert managed by BLM and the National Park Service.  Early reason for the roundup was triggered by supposed endangerment of the desert tortoise.  Then the emphasis switched to Bundy not paying grazing fees for 20 years.

Major media stories in the past week did not mention Reid’s close ties with the communist Chinese and the possibility of a major solar facility locating on the vast sun-bathed grazing land that also contains rare minerals along with the tortoises.  (See the April 14 Grumpy Editor on earlier developments at the Bundy ranch and mention of Harry Reid in the headline over a revealing Infowars.com story --- a day prior to the BLM pullout.)

Reid was linked to a proposed $5 billion solar plant in southern Clark County two years ago.  That operation, later shelved, involved a Chinese energy company.

Interestingly, in the same edition that reported Reid’s “domestic terrorists” description of Bundy backers, an illustrated Review-Journal feature focused on about 750 sheep dispatched to the hills on the western edge of Carson City, on the western side of Nevada, to munch on invasive grasses to reduce risk of wildfires as the fire season nears.

No comment from Reid on those grazing animals that belong to a four-year-old Gardnerville sheep farming company.

 

In case you missed these…

WESTERN POLITICAL LEADERS SEEK LOCAL CONTROL ON LANDS.  Allied with the Bundy feud with the feds in Nevada, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Friday that more than 50 political leaders from nine states convened in Utah’s capital to discuss their joint goal --- wresting control of oil, timber and mineral-rich lands away from the feds. "The urgency is now,” declared State Rep. Ken Ivory (R-West Jordan, Utah) who organized the summit with Montana State Sen. Jennifer Fielder (R-District 7).

 

LOS ANGELES GETS ANOTHER DAILY.  First editions marking the Wednesday debut of the Los Angeles Register were hawked on Los Angeles City Hall grounds --- across the street from the Los Angeles Times building. The paper will be sold at more than 5,500 retail outlets and vending machines. It’s the first new daily in the City of Angels since the Daily News turned into a daily in 1981.  The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, a long-time daily, folded in November, 1989.

  

MEDIA PEOPLE ON THE MOVE.  Fox News re-signed Chris Wallace to a multi-year deal to continue anchoring Fox News Sunday.  He has anchored the Sunday morning program and contributed to Fox News’ political and election coverage since joining the network in 2003…Radio host Laura Ingraham joined ABC News as a contributor and will continue as guest commentator for Fox News Channel, often filling in for Bill O’Reilly on The O’Reilly Factor…Dee Dee Myers, one of former President Bill Clinton’s press secretaries, was named head of corporate communications and public affairs for Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros., Hollywood’s largest studio.

 

U.S. NEWSPAPER REVENUE CONTINUES DOWNWARD.  Newspaper Association of America said the industry’s 2013 revenue slipped 2.6 percent to $37.6 billion.  Print advertising revenue last year sank 8.6 percent to $17.3 billion but circulation revenue gained 3.7 percent to $10.9 billion.

 

GET READY FOR THE LOCAL ANGLE.  A newspaper editor in the west ran a distant police beat story in yesterday's edition like it happened down the street.  A woman in Dover, N.J. --- that’s 2,300 miles from the breaking news, headline-conscious editor --- reported that on the first date with a man she met on the Internet, Joel (last name unknown), swiped her TV set and dog. 

Now the editor is hoping for a follow-up.

Did Harry Reid/solar story trigger end of cattle roundup?

Coincidence or otherwise, just one day after a story linked Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) with the “range war” involving a Nevada cattle rancher’s battle with the Bureau of Land Management, its “troops” --- including snipers among 200 armed agents --- suddenly pulled out of Bunkerville, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, notes Grumpy Editor.

It could explain why the Senate majority leader was conspicuously quiet during the week-long standoff in the state he represents.

The focus was on rancher Cliven Bundy’s 908 cattle grazing on 1,200 square miles of remote mountains and desert managed by BLM and the National Park Service.  Since 1870, the Bundy family’s herd has been grazing on that Clark County land. 

The cattle roundup originally was triggered by supposed endangerment of the desert tortoise.  Then the emphasis was on Bundy not paying grazing fees for 20 years, putting the amount owed at more than $1 million. (NOTE:  A tally by Grumpy Editor finds that based on the current federal grazing fee of $1.35 a month per head and figuring 900 cattle, the annual fee would total $14,580.) 

Then on Friday, a story by Kit Daniels on Alex Jones’ Infowars.com site proclaimed:  Breaking: Sen. Harry Reid Behind BLM Land Grab of Bundy Ranch 

Daniels wrote, “Deleted from BLM.gov but reposted for posterity by the Free Republic, the BLM document entitled ‘Cattle Trespass Impacts’ directly states that Bundy’s cattle ‘impacts’ solar development, more specifically the construction of  ‘utility-scale solar power generation facilities’ on ‘public lands’.” 

Daniels pointed out, “Back in 2012, the New American reported that Harry Reid’s oldest son, Rory Reid, was the chief representative for a Chinese energy firm planning to build a $5-billion solar plant on public land in Laughlin, Nevada.”  (That proposed facility on Clark County land later was shelved.)  See Daniels’ full story here. 

Rory Reid is a former chairman of the Clark County Commission.   

Soon after the Infowars story hit the Internet, BLM director Neil Kornze said: "Based on information about conditions on the ground, and in consultation with law enforcement, we have made a decision to conclude the cattle gather because of our serious concern about the safety of employees and members of the public.” 

Just last week, with the protest and cattle roundup under way, the U.S. Senate confirmed the BLM post of native Nevadan Kornze --- who earlier worked on public lands issues in Sen. Reid’s office. 

The cattle were being returned to Bundy after the week-long “bullying” by the feds.  Cost to taxpayers:  between $1 million and $3 million. 

 

In case you missed these…

HARRY REID ORGANIZES ENERGY SUMMIT.  Continuing his focus on solar energy, the Senate majority leader said the annual National Clean Energy Summit Sept. 4 in Las Vegas will spotlight projects where governments and private industry are cooperating on renewable energy initiatives. Booked as keynote speaker:  Hillary Clinton.

 

MILLIONS OF AMERICANS LACK IDENTIFICATION?  In the 13^th paragraph of an Associated Press story on Barack Obama’s Friday speech in New York accusing Republicans of voting restrictions, the president is quoted:  “But I am against requiring an ID that millions of Americans don’t have.”  (Normally, a revelation that millions of Americans are without identification would be stop-the-presses news, something for mainstream media to pounce on.  But now it’s ho-hum, nothing new, end of story.)  

 

MENTION ‘PING’ AND NEWSROOM GETS EXCITED.  CNN yesterday was on day 36 of almost continuous coverage of the vanished Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with on-screen headlines:

          New developments

          Search area expands for missing plane

 

STICKER SHOCK LOOMS AT THE MEAT COUNTER.  Allied with the Nevada “range war” (detailed above) and underscoring importance of the U.S. raising more cattle, backyard barbecue chefs and restaurant owners are facing the highest beef prices in almost three decades.  A dwindling number of cattle and growing export demand from countries such as China and Japan have caused the average retail cost of fresh beef to climb to $5.28 a pound in February, up almost a quarter from January and the highest price since 1987.

 

ONLINE OPERATION TO ACQUIRE ALASKA’S LARGEST DAILY.  Alaska Dispatch Publishing LLC, the parent company of the online Alaska Dispatch, said it will purchase the Anchorage Daily News from The McClatchy Co. for $34 million. The sale is expected to close in May.

 

HOUSE RENOVATION UNCOVERS VINTAGE NEWSPAPERS.  Old newspapers filled with history were found under layers of old siding at a Nashua, N.H. house.  Duplicating a time capsule, readable editions of the defunct Nashua Telegraph and Boston Post dated back to August, 1922.

Media miss storm-socked Dakotas, 12 years in Afghanistan

Grumpy Editor notes most print/broadcast media overlooked two noteworthy events last week:  an unusually early and wicked snowstorm packing hurricane force winds that smacked South Dakota and southwestern North Dakota, killing almost 80,000 cattle, and the 12^th year mark reached by the U.S. military fighting in Afghanistan --- making that conflict more than three times longer than the U.S. involvement in World War II.

With the early October storm, up to four feet of snow fell in southwestern South Dakota.

Cattle ranchers, along with farmers, faced a major problem with assistance because of the partial shutdown of the federal government, leaving them without an agency to report financial losses. 

The South Dakota Stock Growers Assn. estimated 15 to 20 percent of cattle died in some parts of the state.  Some ranchers said half or more of their herds were lost. 

A calf normally sells for about $1,000, while a mature cow brings $1,500 and up. 

Todd Campbell, executive director of the Grand River Grazing Cooperative, Lemmon, S.D., said many ranchers had difficulty getting out to their cattle.  Compounding the situation was phone service disruption.

Lucas Lentsch, South Dakota agriculture secretary, termed the early-season blizzard “devastating to our producers.”

South Dakota Cattlemen’s Assn. said the storm’s effects would be felt for years.

 

U.S. troops entered Afghanistan Oct. 7, 2001

Meanwhile with Afghanistan, one of the few newspapers reporting the dozen years of U.S. boots on the ground there was Stars and Stripes. 

Staffer Heath Druzin reported the conflict has been “seemingly forgotten by most Americans who’ve grown weary of war.”  He pointed out the U.S. launched Operation Enduring Freedom on Oct. 7, 2001 and 54,000 American troops remain in Afghanistan.

“That is more, by far, than at any time during the first seven years of the war, yet these days, they garner scant news coverage,” he added.

The S&S writer mentioned Army Staff Sgt. Mike Toole, a member of III Corps based in Kabul, said he understands the dwindling interest back home:  “After 12 years, people are going to get tired of it,” Toole said. “I mean, we’re tired of it, so it makes sense to me.”

But next year will see the U.S.’s “formal mission” in Afghanistan end as troops pull out.

So far this year 104 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan, the latest being on Sunday.

 

In case you missed these…

Also not widely mentioned with the partial shutdown of the federal government:  Important information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  That includes auto recalls and safety complaints.  Without the usual warnings, lives and property are at greater risk…Also linked to the shutdown, use of “Gestapo tactics” with harsh treatment of senior citizens --- including foreign visitors --- at Yellowstone National Park, is detailed by the Newburyport (Mass.) Daily News, one of the publications of Eagle-Tribune Publishing Co., North Andover, Mass.  Read the account here.  (For those fuzzy on the Gestapo description, it reflects the German secret police during the Nazi regime, organized in 1933 with its brutal methods and operations through World War II.)

 

Media doings:  A. H. Belo Corp. sells the Press-Enterprise (including its production facility and related land) in Riverside, Calif. to Freedom Communications Holdings Inc. for $27.25 million.  Santa Ana, Calif.-based Freedom publishes California newspapers, Daily Press in Victorville, Desert Dispatch in Barstow, Long Beach Register in Long Beach and Orange County Register in Santa Ana plus more than 30 community newspapers…Pew Research Center reports a growing number of dailies are cutting down editorial and commentary sections due to financial concerns…Jessica Yellin is leaving CNN after six years at the cable network. The move comes less than two months after she moved to “chief domestic affairs correspondent” from the White House beat…With a background of 40 years as a reporter, Ed Rabel, former television news correspondent for NBC and CBS, reveals he is setting up an "exploratory committee" to consider a run for the House of Representatives from West Virginia…Neurosurgeon Ben Carson joins Fox News as a contributor.