By DARRELL EHRLICK | Editor-in-Chief
"Creating a national voter file of U.S. Citizens is beyond any purpose contemplated by the (Civil Rights Act).” – Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s Secretary of State, on the Trump administration’s effort to create a national voter file.
State, UM, MHSA build extensive air quality monitoring system
by Jordan Hansen
Across the state of Montana, there have been wide gaps in the state’s wildfire smoke detection safety net. PurpleAirs in Schools — a Department of Environmental Quality program now in its third year — seeks to close the net with hundreds of low-cost, but effective, air quality sensors installed at high schools across the state. […]
State, UM, MHSA build extensive air quality monitoring system
by Jordan Hansen
Across the state of Montana, there have been wide gaps in the state’s wildfire smoke detection safety net. PurpleAirs in Schools — a Department of Environmental Quality program now in its third year — seeks to close the net with hundreds of low-cost, but effective, air quality sensors installed at high schools across the state. […]
State, UM, MHSA build extensive air quality monitoring system
by Jordan Hansen
Across the state of Montana, there have been wide gaps in the state’s wildfire smoke detection safety net. PurpleAirs in Schools — a Department of Environmental Quality program now in its third year — seeks to close the net with hundreds of low-cost, but effective, air quality sensors installed at high schools across the state. […]
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
In court testimony, leaders from Michigan say that the United States Department of Justice is illegally demanding from states voting lists in order to create a national registry of voters, which some states claim is illegal under the United States Constitution.
As economic times get tougher and states battle inflation, one area — state lotteries — are seeing a boom in business across the nation. Since 2008, lotteries have become big business, eclipsing more than $100 billion in sales.
GOOD READS
Note: some links may lead to stories behind a news organization's paywall
The Washington Post reports that as the Trump administration is threatening to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs throughout the nation because they believe those programs and initiatives are not in keeping with America’s values, some communities that have seen success are pushing back, urging local lawmakers not to buckle under pressure from federal leaders. However, in some places, not dismantling DEI programs comes with the threat of millions of dollars that aren’t so easily made up, leaving local politicians between their constituents and the feds.
THEY DIDN’T TEACH US THAT
With belated birthday wishes to one of our old friends and former Missoulian Editor Kathy Best, she found this gem in Tuesday’s daily Bloomberg News Washington, D.C., newsletter.
“After the president of the United States upped the ante in his war with Iran, he stepped outside the Oval Office Monday to pick up a McDonald’s DoorDash delivery, and deny that he had posted an image of himself as Jesus.
“That’s an actual, factual sentence no journalism teacher ever prepared me to write.”
THE HOOK
You may have read Jordan Hansen’s excellent story about Montana figuring out a way to monitor indoor and outdoor air quality that won’t bankrupt school districts (please see above). The program that has been developed is named “Purple Air In Schools.”
Sometimes, when editing a story, a word or a phrase may stand out in your mind and that leads to another thing and another — and then all of a sudden, I couldn’t get the song “Purple Haze” out of my head while contemplating air monitoring in high schools throughout the state. Probably not the message educators are going for.
It is an odd song to have going through your head, but because the weather is warming, there will be likely be haze in our future, created by fire.
But “Purple Haze” was a break-out hit for Jimi Hendrix in 1967. There were originally a lot more lyrics, and the lyrical meaning has been debated since the song was released. Some have said that it was a not-so-subtle drug reference to a cloud of smoke. Others said that with its Eastern musical influence that it is a Beat-poet like reference to a psychedelic trip. Hendrix, who wrote the song, always said it was a love song.
Lyrics and music are not so unlike the definition of beauty: They’re all in the eye … er, ears .. of the beholder.
If you have a song that you’d like to share, or would like to get in touch with us, please send us a note at [email protected]
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