Sherman A1
Sherman A1's JournalUniversity City to share Black history with community through 'The 1619 Project'
After the New York Times Magazine published its 1619 Project initiative, students from University City High School asked district officials to provide more information about Black history than they were learning in school.
In response, the University City School District officials expanded its curriculum in 2019 and encouraged students to produce their own projects about Black history.
On Feb. 4, the district will start a monthlong community book study of "The 1619 Project" by New York Times Magazine reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones to discuss the lived experiences of Black Americans.
The 1619 Project places slavery and its legacy at the center of American history, which has sparked opposition from some lawmakers across the nation.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2022-01-27/university-city-to-share-black-history-with-community-through-the-1619-project
Long-haul COVID comes into focus thanks to St. Louis doctor's research
Long-haul COVID-19 has proven one of the most troubling mysteries in a virus that’s caused no shortage of bafflement. Why do some people hospitalized with the virus develop symptoms that linger for months after infection? And, perhaps more bewilderingly, why do some patients who recover from mild COVID cases also end up saddled with lingering difficulties, including fatigue, shortness of breath and difficulty concentrating?
Dr. Leonard Weinstock, a gastroenterologist at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, believes the answer lies in the body’s mast cells. Those cells are activated in response to allergens or toxins. But for some patients, they seem to run amok. Even when there’s seemingly nothing to aggravate them, they go into attack mode, setting off symptoms like hives, swelling and difficulty breathing.
For Weinstock, who’s become an expert in what’s known as mast cell activation syndrome, long COVID had a familiar ring — one now confirmed by research. In a recent study published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Weinstock and his colleagues found patients suffering from long COVID had “symptoms almost identical and similar in severity to those of mast cell activation patients.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2022-01-27/long-haul-covid-comes-into-focus-thanks-to-st-louis-doctors-research
St. Louis groups launch 'banned book program' to distribute challenged books
Two local organizations are partnering to distribute free copies of controversial books in response to the recent increase in attempts to remove titles from school libraries.
In Purpose Educational Services and the St. Louis bookstore EyeSeeMe will deliver free copies of “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morisson to Missourians who request it.
The organizations raised more than $3,000 in the first few hours after launching the book program, said Heather Fleming, founder of In Purpose Educational Services.
“If you look at most of the books that they are trying to ban, they are the stories of people from historically marginalized groups,” said Fleming. “We have to grapple with some of the things that have happened in our society. Number one, to make sure that they don't happen again. But then number two, because we need to learn how to live with one another.”
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/education/2022-01-28/local-organizations-launch-banned-book-program-to-distribute-challenged-books
How a 7 p.m. Walmart run and makeshift ICU in a rural Missouri hospital saved a dying patient
For six days, Dr. Mohamed Nabeel Kuziez and his team at a small emergency room in southeastern Missouri did everything they could to keep a 67-year-old woman with severe pneumonia alive.
The day after Kathie Ganime was admitted on Jan. 12, Kuziez saw that her infection was so critical that she needed to be transferred from Madison Medical Center — a 15-bed hospital in Fredericktown — to an intensive care unit at a larger hospital.
But after calling 19 hospitals — in Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Arkansas — the staff at Madison Medical Center couldn’t find a single open ICU bed due to the surge in COVID-19 patients. In just the first 12 days of the year, Missouri hospitals admitted 1,065 people with COVID-19, and new admissions were averaging 116 per day over the previous week.
Heavy mucus was building in Ganime’s lungs, and Kuziez knew if he didn’t take action soon she would die.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/coronavirus/2022-01-28/how-a-7-p-m-walmart-run-and-makeshift-icu-in-a-rural-missouri-hospital-saved-a-dying-patient
The problem with recycling clothes and textiles
Analysis: the vast majority of textiles are made from blends of different fibres and use different chemicals so proper recycling is complex
In today's society, textiles are everywhere, from your clothes and curtains to your shoes and sandals, from household furniture and vehicle interiors to blankets, bags and much more. There is a staggering volume of textiles produced and consumed globally each year: over 100 million tonnes annually, almost the entirety of which will end up being landfilled or incinerated at the end of their lifetimes.
The story in Ireland
A recent report summarises the current state of textile consumption and disposal in Ireland. We are one of the biggest per capita consumers of textiles in Europe. At 53kg per person per year, we are well above the European average of 26kg per person and projected to rise higher still going forward. This adds up to over 300 thousand tonnes of textiles consumed in 2019 in Ireland alone.
Roughly two-thirds of textile waste generated here is simply disposed of, with the remaining third either being reused (the majority exported to the third world for resale) or down-cycled (remade into single-use and unrecyclable items). Ultimately, this "recycled" fraction will largely be disposed of in the same manner as the rest: by landfilling or incineration.
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2022/0127/1276196-recycling-clothes-textiles-fabrics-chemicals/
Australia's billion-dollar plan aims to protect Great Barrier Reef
Australia has unveiled a billion-dollar package to protect the climate-ravaged Great Barrier Reef, hoping to prevent the vast network of corals from being removed from UNESCO's World Heritage list.
Conservative prime minister Scott Morrison announced the Aus$1 billion nine-year plan, months after narrowly avoiding the reef being placed on UNESCO's "in danger" list.
"We are backing the health of the reef and the economic future of tourism operators, hospitality providers and Queensland communities that are at the heart of the reef economy," Mr Morrison said.
The move comes ahead of a general election expected in May, when Mr Morrison will have to win key Queensland seats near the reef to remain in power.
https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0128/1276357-great-barrier-reef-australia/
Metro East to share in $220 million to improve ports and transit systems
The Metro East is set to get tens of millions of dollars to improve local public transit systems and update the region’s ports.
The grant funding from the state is part of $220 million in capital improvements for downstate communities that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced in East St. Louis on Wednesday.
“We're launching funding to support Illinois ports, a critical hub for our national infrastructure and shipping logistics, as well as our three dozen transit systems outside of Chicago,” Pritzker said.
One of the projects in the Metro East is the construction of a $9.9 million public safety center in St. Clair County, which will house county sheriff’s deputies, 911 dispatching, a transit control center for MetroLink and a pilot program to assist riders with mental health, homlessness and other issues.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-01-26/metro-east-to-share-in-220-million-to-improve-ports-and-transit-systems
Missouri veterans are lobbying for more money from gaming
A state representative wants Missouri to give more of its gaming revenue to veterans projects.
Currently the Missouri Veterans Commission is primarily funded by a $2 charge for every person who visits one of the state’s casinos. The casino owners pay that fee.
That tax brought in $26.7 million to the Veterans Commission in 2014, but a drop-off in attendance saw that go down to $19 million in 2019, the last full year before the coronavirus pandemic further reduced attendance.
Efforts to increase the fee by $1 or $2 per gambler have failed.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/government-politics-issues/2022-01-28/missouri-veterans-are-lobbying-for-more-money-from-gaming
Activists call for safer conditions at Amazon warehouses following Edwardsville collapse
EDWARDSVILLE — Labor activists and faith leaders from across the Midwest gathered Thursday at the site of a deadly Amazon warehouse collapse to call for safer working conditions.
The rally came a little more than a month after six people died in the warehouse when it collapsed after being hit by a tornado.
“We said that we would be back. We would not rest until we get answers, until families get closure,” said the Rev. Darryl Gray, social justice commissioner for the Progressive National Baptist Convention.
He explained to the crowd how faith leaders and labor organizers are concerned about Amazon’s working conditions and how those may have contributed to what happened in Edwardsville.
https://news.stlpublicradio.org/economy-business/2022-01-27/activists-rally-for-better-working-conditions-following-amazon-warehouse-collapse
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