Thursday’s thumbs

West Fork gets sewer ills under control

It’s Thursday and another chance to fire off a few up or down thumbs about some news developments in our neck of the woods and elsewhere:

It wasn’t that long ago that West Fork was literally causing a stink because of its sewer treatment inadequacies. So it’s great news, published in this paper last Monday, that the town south of Fayetteville is doing much better now that it’s invested in a connection to Fayetteville’s treatment system. It’s taken millions of dollars — and more still left to invest — but the town now has room for growth and is protecting Northwest Arkansas’ ecology. Beyond the efforts of local leaders to ultimately resolve the situation, this is one of those circumstances in which the oversight and power of state government to enforce accountability has made a great difference.

The governor’s continued expansion of categories eligible to receive covid-19 vaccines is welcome news in the shared eagerness to get Arkansas past this pandemic. It’s unfortunate that his ability to expand the categories is due, in part, to a less-than-robust response from those already eligible. But it’s long been understood that some people would choose not to receive the vaccine, so the faster the governor responds by expanding categories, the better for those who indeed want to be protected. The end of the all-consuming nature of this pandemic will come as a result of those who take seriously the call to be vaccinated and who get their shots as quickly as possible. There’s no sense lingering on any category waiting for those who are qualified but hesitant. Expand those categories aggressively so that those eager to receive vaccinations can get them and build the so-called “herd’s” resistance to covid-19. Then circle back to encourage those who are more hesitant.

Say what you will about that interview with Meghan Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, we credit and applaud her for the bold efforts she described in her desire to seek out help when she recognized her mental health had been compromised to the point that she felt suicidal. Although she says her pleas were rebuffed by people within the monarchy, she’s nonetheless set an example for those who find themselves in circumstances that, through a mind not thinking clearly, seem hopeless. Reaching out for help is the right step. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

To Polk County, Iowa, prosecutor John Sarcone and his pursuit of criminal charges against a Des Moines Register reporter who was pepper sprayed and arrested by police as she covered a protest last year. After a three-day trial, a jury acquitted reporter Andrea Sahouri of charges of failure to disperse and interference with official acts. The charges were more than an accusation against Sahouri; they were an attack on the free press’ ability to report on what’s happening in local communities, particularly when the “authorities” want to discourage that reporting.

For all the criticisms some in the GOP have made over the years for public efforts to spread civic information through languages other than English, it’s ironic to discover hard-right activists strategically casting misinformation through the use of — you guessed it — Spanish language social media. Researchers have found a trove of political and public health misinformation translated to target Hispanic people in places like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Apparently, reaching out to Spanish speakers in their native tongue works. Who knew?