Monthly Archives: March 2020

Ongoing Events and Classes:Monday

Willits Library: Wiggle Time every Monday from 11 to 11:30 a.m.at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Local Food Pledge Group:Second and fourth Mondays at 6:30 p.m. For more information, email localfoodpledge@gmail.com.

Mendocino County Museum Advisory Board: Meets the second Monday of every other month at 10 a.m. in the Wonacott Room at 400 E. Commercial St., Willits. 459-2736.

Willits Garden Club: Meets the second Monday of the month at 12:30 p.m. at Golden Rule Mobile Village, 16100 N. Highway 101. Potluck lunch and social time is followed by program at 1 p.m. For more information, visit willitsgardenclub.org.

AlAnon Meeting: Mondays from 6 to 7 p.m. at Howard Memorial Hospital in the Seabiscuit Conference Room. 456-3591.

German Conversation Class: Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at St. Johns Lutheran Church, 24 Mill Creek Drive. Free class. 456-9246.

Willits Library: Play group every Tuesday from 11 to 11:45 a.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Amateur Radio License Course: Every Tuesday for five weeks starting March 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. at MCOE, 2240 Old River Road in Ukiah; Willits High School 299 N. Main St.; Fort Bragg High School, 300 Dana St.; Point Arena High School, 270 Lake Street. $15. 467-5021.

Willits Library: Storytime every Tuesday from 2:30 to 3 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Willits Library: Lego Club every Tuesday, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial St., Free event. 459-5908.

Willits Library Presents:The Storyteller every Tuesday, 3:30 to 4:15 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Fun, interactive and entertaining stories for the whole family. Free event. 459-5908.

Awana Club: Tuesday nights from 6:15 to 8 p.m. at Agape Bible Church, 290 S. Lenore Ave. Cubbies-Pre-K, Sparks/k-2nd, 3rd/4th, Ultimate Challenge/5th-6th, Teen Ministries/7th-12th.

Brooktrails Township Community Service District Meeting:Second and fourth Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at 24850 Birch St. at Community Center.

American Legion Post 174 Veterans Meeting: Be informed of many issues that affect Veterans by attending the meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at the Veterans Memorial Building in Willits at 7 p.m. For more information contact Commander Bob Ireland at (707) 272-1997 or Adjutant Roger Ham at (707) 456-9858.

Little Lake Fire Protection District Board Meeting: Second Tuesday of the month at 5 p.m. at Willits City Hall.

Marijuana Anonymous 12-Step Program: Every Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Back Alley building on Catherine Lane, behind the United Methodist Church on the corner of School and Pine streets, across the street from the Grange.

Soroptimists International of Willits: Second and third Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. at the St. Johns Lutheran Church, 24 Mill Creek Drive. Free.

Roots Engine House Tours: Ever Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Docent-led tour of the engine house.

Willits Library: Play Group every Wednesday from 11 to 11:45 a.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Willits Library: Storytime every Wednesday from 2:30 to 3 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Willits Library: Lego Club every Wednesday from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Shanachie Pub: Open Mic Night every Wednesday at 8 p.m. at 50 S. Main St., Willits. Free event.

Willits City Council Meeting:Second and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Smoking Cessation Program: Every Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. at AHHMs Roots Restaurant, 1 Marcela Drive. Free class. 540-4208.

Emandal Chorale: Wednesdays from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Little Lake Grange, 291 School St. 367-1573.

Free Herb Talks: Every Thursday at 4 p.m. at Willits Famers Market at the Little Lake Grange during winter hours.

Dancing in Willits: Every Thursday from 7 to 8 p.m. at Willits Charter School, 1431 S. Main St. $10 per family. 530-647-6512.

Willits Library: Movement for Kids every Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to noon at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Life Drawing Classes: Every Thursdays from 1 to 4 p.m. at 71 E. Commercial St., Willits. $12. 459-1726.

Willits Library: Story time and more on Thursdays from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial. Free event.459-5908.

Willits Library: Movement for Kids every Thursdays from 11 to 11:30 a.m. at 390 E. Commercial. Ages 4-7. Free event.459-5908.

Willits Library: Teen Advisory Group: Every Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial. Ages 13-19. Free event.459-5908.

Sherwood Firewise Communities:Second Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m. at Brooktrails Community Center. 459-2595.

Willits International Folk Dance Class: On Thursdays from at 7 p.m. at Willits Charter School. Learn recreational dances from around the world. No experience or partner needed. $5. 530-647-6512.

Willits Farmers Market: Every Thursday from 3-5:30 p.m. at the Little Lake Grange in the winter and from 3-6 p.m. on Main Street and Van Lane during the summer. 459-7910.

Parkinsons Discussion and Support Group: Every Thursday from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. at the Willits Senior Center Conference Room. 459-1941.

New Dancer Class: Every Thursday, from 7 to 8 p.m. at Willits Charter School. Ages 16 and up. $5 per class. 530-647-6512.

Willits Library: Mini-Dance Workout every Thursday from from 5:30 to 5:50 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Munchies and Music: Every Friday night from 6 to 10 p.m. at Northspur Brewing Company, 101 N. Main St., Willits. Free event.

Friday Night Live: Every Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. at 1722 S. Main St. Vendors, food and entertainment.

Willits Library: Therapeutic Coloring every Friday from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Friday Potluck Bingo: Friday nights at 5 p.m. at Harrah Senior Center. Minimum bingo buy in is $5. 459-6826.

Willits Library:Calming Stretches every Friday from 5:30 to 5:50 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial. Free event.459-5908.

Community Emergency Response Team Training: On Saturday, March 14 and 21 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Brooktrails Community Center, 24850 Birch Street. Free training. 462-1959.

Free HeartSaver CPR AED Class: On Saturday, March 15 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Adventist Health Howard Memorial in the Seabiscuit Conference Room. Spaces are Limited. 456-3156.

Willits Library: Saturday Write Live every Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Roots Engine House Tours: Ever Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Docent-led tour of the engine house.

Brown Bag Lunch Program: Every Saturday at 1 p.m. in the city park across from the Police Station. 459-3333.

Drop-in Knitting Circle: Every Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Willits Library, 390 E. Commercial St. 456-9037.

Willits Library: Prompting Creativity every Saturday from 11 a.m. to noon at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Willits Library: Sit-N-Sew on the second Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial. Free event.459-5908.

Willits Library: Drop-in knitting every Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 390 E. Commercial St. Free event. 459-5908.

Read the original post:

Ongoing calendar - The Willits News

Whats the meaning of life?

Its the biggest question anyone has ever asked, and there is no easy answer. Its even harder to answer if you consider this possibility: That this life the here and now is all we have. There is no heaven nor hell, no eternal beyond, no consciousness of any kind after death. We are thrown into existence, we live for a while, and then we pass away into nonexistence.

If all of thats true, how should we spend our time? What should we care about? And most importantly, what do owe each other?

A new book, called This Life, by Yale philosopher Martin Hgglund somehow tackles all of these questions and much more. For Hgglund, the best religious and philosophical traditions all implicitly recognize that the highest good, the thing were really after, is this life that we share together. And that means we have to think about meaning and commitment with this truth in mind.

This is Hgglunds point of departure, and it leads him through the history of religious and political ideas and finally to a deep critique of capitalism and the values that undergird it. In the end, Hgglund argues that some form of socialism is the only political project that takes the human condition seriously because, unlike capitalism, it allows us to devote ourselves to projects that we actually care about as opposed to selling our labor and time for the sake of profit and survival.

This excerpt is part of a much broader conversation Hgglund and I had on The Ezra Klein Show. To hear the full version, click here or find it wherever you get your podcasts.

Why is How should we spend our time? the most important question humans beings can ask?

Because that is the question that underlies and informs all the other questions were asking. Everything we commit to is inseparable from this question of what we think we should do with our time and what our priorities are. We show our valuation of things by devoting our time to them. And, of course, sometimes it turns out that we were wrong. That something wasnt worth our time. That it was a waste. But all that just shows that every question about value and worth goes back to this question about whats worthy of our time.

Youre focused on time in part because death plays such a huge role in the argument you want to make. Now, most people, even most atheists, concede that heaven would be lovely if it existed, but you reject this. Why is the possibility of life after death, however unlikely, a bad thing?

I dont think death is a blessing; I think life is a blessing. I dont want to die, but its only by virtue of being mortal, of running the risk of death, that things can matter at all. So the reason I dont think heaven or eternity or Nirvana is desirable is precisely because it would be the same thing as death. Built into any meaningful life is the reality that it can be lost.

Couldnt we spin this argument the other way: If death is final, why does any of it matter? I agree with you that death makes life all the more sacred, but I understand why someone might stare into that abyss and find it unbearable.

Absolutely, and Im not dismissing these sorts of feelings or dispositions.

What you were just recounting was this very familiar existential trope of thinking, Well, when I contemplate that all of this is going to get lost, I fall into despair. But very interestingly, the despair at the prospect of dying wouldnt even exist if you didnt already believe in the significance of the thing that was going to be lost, which is your life.

So a distinction Im trying to make is that the desire not to die, which makes the prospect of death so terrifying, actually comes not from a desire for eternity but from a desire for what I call living on. So the impulse for eternity is really better understood as a commitment to prolonging and sustaining life. And not just living longer but living better, living fuller.

Theres an interesting paradox here. If youre right that death is what gives life its meaning and shape, and I think you are right, then why is it that death is something almost everyone refuses to think about? Most people live their lives as though it will go on forever, which is to say we take so much of it for granted. The things we waste our time on, the way we use our attention, is absurd in light of the fact that one day this will all end.

How do you make sense of all that?

Its not that death gives life meaning; its just that its only in light of death that we can even be gripped by the question of whether our lives are meaningful or meaningless. Questions like Am I wasting my life? or Is my life worthy or good? require a relation to death because otherwise it wouldnt matter.

Do you think that the religious belief in eternity or the hereafter prevents people from doing what is necessary to improve this life right now?

I want to be careful here because obviously people can derive a sense of meaning and purpose from their religious beliefs and their religious commitments. But the big question Im trying to ask is, what is required for us to recognize our life together as the highest good? I argue in the book that what truly matters is how we treat one another in this life and that the highest good is the communities we build and the way we recognize and take care of one another.

The problem with many religious traditions is that they consider the highest good not to be this fragile life we have together but a state of being that would transcend that.

I want to show that the best insights and practices in these traditions can be better understood in secular terms, and if we develop that fully, we will develop the resources to recognize that the highest good is this life that we share and we should think about meaning and commitment in those terms. Where is the love? Its between us. Wheres the responsibility? Its between us. Its not vertical; its horizontal.

You actually go further than most in the book and argue that moral responsibility would be impossible without a secular understanding of freedom.

What Im calling secular faith is something that is shared by everyone implicitly in practice. These fundamental notions of moral responsibility, the golden rule, are only intelligible in terms of what Im calling secular faith because it requires both that you believe in the intrinsic value of yourself and others as ends in themselves, so that they should be treated as ends in themselves. Thats a condition for taking responsibility.

But that also means that we must grasp that they are finite and fragile because if they werent then it wouldnt be of such deep and profound and irrevocable importance how we treat one another. So I think our sense of responsibility, our sense of care, is already built into our understanding of ourselves and of others. I just want to make that explicit.

Youre not interested in disproving God or championing capital-R Reason. Youre saying that lurking in every well-meaning religious believer is actually a secular humanist who doesnt yet recognize herself as such. What do you want a religious person who comes to your book in good faith to take away from it?

The first thing to say is that a helpful way of thinking about what Im doing in the book is deepening Karl Marxs understanding of religion. Marx was faced with the question, Why do we have these various religious ideas of heaven or eternity? His answer was that our actual historical form of life is unsatisfying and not what it ought to be. But if we had a satisfying form of social life, then those religious ideas of something beyond our fragile social historical life would wither away.

I think thats right, but Marx doesnt give an account of why it is right. To ground Marxs argument one has to counter the religious idea that we dream of something beyond this life because its inherently unsatisfying to be a finite, fragile, vulnerable human being. On the religious conception, regardless of how satisfying and emancipated our shared life becomes, were always going to long for something beyond this world, for eternal rest, whether the emptiness and stillness of nirvana or the harmony of heaven.

So one thing Im trying to show is that those visions of an eternal life cannot actually fulfill what we desire and what were committed to in leading our lives. My argument thus provides the ground for Marxs claim that if we transform our social conditions we will be able to let go of religious ideas of eternity and we will be able to recognize that our life together is the highest good.

Capitalism values time in the sense that someone has to pay us for it, but it doesnt value the ability to spend our time in ways that arent connected to survival or money. Everything turns on wealth and profit and property, and youre defined by what you own, what you possess. Its the most spiritually impoverished way of being I could possibly imagine.

Yes, but the thing about Marx is that, even though hes very critical of capitalism and thinks it has to be overcome, he also thinks it was a form of progress compared to previous forms of life. And the question of time is at the center of that.

Theres a contradiction here because, on the one hand, capitalism is the first social form of life which recognizes that everyones time is valuable in the sense that you have to pay someone to do something rather than just enslave them. What youre saying to the enslaved person is that you dont own your time at all; I own you and your time.

So capitalism, at least minimally, recognizes that our time is important. Even if youre not a capitalist or dont own any property, you at least own the time of your life. In other words, theres a negative recognition that your time is valuable because it costs something to buy it, and this is a qualitative shift that capitalism makes possible.

Can you say a little more about Marxs critique of capitalism and why it was both a necessary step on the way toward something like socialism and why it had to be discarded in order for us to really own our time in the way you think we should?

Well, Marx asked, how did we come to embrace this idea of everyones right to freedom and equality? And the answer is that capitalism helped gives us this language, this way of thinking, because this mode of production, of buying and selling our labor on the market, couldnt be justified by race or caste or any of these things.

But this is where the contradictions emerged for Marx. While were all formally equal under capitalism in terms of our rights to sell our labor, were still unequal because we have different amounts of capital. So were minimally free in that no one can just enslave us or force us to do something, but were only free to sell our labor in order to survive.

This is progress over the old feudal system, and it helps to establish the importance of freedom and equality, but it cant really deliver it in any meaningful way. Because if I dont have sufficient capital, then I have to sell my time to a capitalist who employs me and who decides the purposes of production.

And even if youre a capitalist producer, youre not really free to ask, What would be the best thing for me to produce given the actual commitments and values I have and what would be good for our society? Instead, you have to create something that is profitable.

The distinction between actual democratic socialism and social democracy is crucial to you why?

It has to do with the depth of our critique of capitalism and whether its limited to how wealth is distributed, or the more fundamental question of how wealth is actually produced under capitalism. What we need is the transformation of the very measure of value in our society such that we would actually produce and work, not for the sake of profit, but for the sake of what we can recognize and affirm as the common good.

As long as were just talking about redistribution of wealth, then we will always be beholden to the production of capital and the priority of making profits, which generate the wealth that you can then tax and redistribute.

I agree with you for the most part, but by the time I got to the end of your book, I felt ... stuck. You diagnose these problems and they all seem true to me. All we have is this life and so much of it is wasted on pointless drudgery, which means in a very real way that our lives are being stolen from us. And yet this is the world we have, even if its not the world we want, but I dont know how to get from this world to the world you imagine, and Im not sure you do either.

Well, like Marx, Im trying to show that theres a contradiction in the form of life we have, and we have to understand why its a problem before it can be overcome. But youre right about the uncertainty about the transition. I dont pretend to have an answer to that in the book.

I consider a book like this groundwork for approaching that question in a new and better way. Because if we dont have a rigorous account of what capitalism is and how it works, and why it is inimical to our freedom, and if we dont have an account of why we need a revolution and what the principles of that revolution would be, then we have no chance of achieving that transformation.

Whats interesting about our historical moment is that for the first time in a long time, these fundamental questions about how we should organize our economy, how we should live and work together, are being reopened in a profound way. And theres a vague sense that there is something called capitalism that theres something wrong with and theres something called socialism that we need. But theres very little clarity about what we mean by capitalism and what its contradictions are; and what we mean by socialism and why it would be a better form of life. Those are questions I am providing answers to in the book, and in light of those answers I want to open the further question of how the transformation could be possible.

Read more from the original source:

Socialism and the meaning of life - Vox.com

In a few hours polls will begin closing in states participating in Super Tuesday, the mega-primary when 14 states vote on the Democrat nominee to meet President Trump in the general election this November. Korey Te Hira explains why Super Tuesday matters, and breaks down the complicated rules that govern which candidate emerges a winner.

The Democratic presidential primary could effectively be over today if front-runner Senator Bernie Sanders amasses a delegate lead so large it would be practically impossible to erase. On the other hand, a drawn-out political death match between two opposing visions for the future of the Democratic party could just be getting started. Which path the primary takes and who President Trumps general election opponent will be depends on which campaign can best take advantage of the arcane rules that govern how delegates are apportioned on Super Tuesday.

Following former Vice President Joe Bidens strong win in South Carolina (the final of the four so-called early-voting states), the Democratic nominating race has winnowed out most of the poorer performing candidates just as the race expands from a sequential state-by-state battle to a quasi-national one on Super Tuesday. Today 14 states (and one territory) are voting in the primary, including delegate-rich California and Texas. With more than one third of all delegates awarded on this single day, Super Tuesday is a crucial step on the way to amassing the 1,991 delegates needed to become the Democratic nominee.

Senator Sanders core of passionate, progressive supporters and strong performances in the early states makes him the favourite to build a delegate lead today over Biden and former New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg. If he can open up a 200 or so delegate lead, the nomination will be his to lose by virtue of the golden rule of the primary process: Its hard to get delegate lead, but its also hard to catch a delegate leader.

So, why is this the case? The number of delegates offered by each state is roughly based on their population. And in each state, there are two types of delegates awarded: about one-third are awarded at-large (AL) (that is, statewide) and about two-thirds of delegates are awarded by congressional district (CD). In order to be awarded a share of the AL delegates, candidates must clear a 15% threshold in that state. Similarly, candidates must get at least 15% in a congressional district in order to win any CD delegates.

This means there is a strategic imperative to cross the 15% threshold in as many states and districts as possible. This gives a clear advantage to candidates like Sanders who can count on their loyal supporters turning out for them no matter what. The cost of missing out on AL delegates is obvious California alone is awarding 144 this way, so not getting above 15% statewide would be a major lost opportunity and a gift to other candidates who are viable.

But CD delegates are arguably more important due to roughly two-thirds being awarded this way (271 in California). There are hundreds of districts across the U.S. and on Super Tuesday any given district will have around 2 to 10 CD delegates to award. To build a lead over their opponents, candidates must net CD delegates by winning by big enough margins such that the resulting proportional allocation of delegates means they are entitled to more than other campaigns.

Heres a quick example: say a medium sized district has five CD delegates to award, and out of field of four candidates only Sanders and Biden clear 15% of all votes cast. In order for Sanders to get a favorable 3-2 split (and net one delegate over Biden) he would need to win a simple majority of the combined vote total he and Biden (that is, only the viable candidates) got in that district. But to really begin separating himself from Biden with a 4-1 delegate split, Sanders would need to win more than 70% of his and Bidens combined vote. And simply due to the maths, getting favorable delegate splits is even harder in districts with an even number of delegates and when multiple candidates meet the 15% threshold.

So when thinking about delegates, the name of the game is to be viable in as many states/districts as you can and to try to put together landslide performances where possible to begin separating yourself from the pack. Consistently doing this across 50 states, in more than 400 districts, and over many months of a campaign is a daunting challenge. Add in hundreds of millions of dollars in attack ads and a current President laser-focused on re-election and it gets even tougher. But the very fact it is so hard to do is why if anyone can generate a big delegate lead on Super Tuesday, it may be impossible for others to catch them.

Left-wing Democrat Bernie Sanders waving his arms around (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

You now know why there is such a freak out from establishment Democratic politicians and officials over Sanders chances at winning the nomination. He has a loyal, core group of supporters that will likely propel him above 15% in many states and districts. And although former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar have dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden, likely helping push him and possibly even Bloomberg over the viability threshold in more districts and states, the fact that both Biden and Bloomberg are drawing on a similar pool of moderate Democratic voters still makes it more difficult for each to consistently reach 15% of the vote. And even if they do cross the 15% threshold, they may not win by enough to net significant delegates over Sanders.

On the other hand, if Sanders lead is kept narrow, then its game on. This is especially true with Biden staking a claim to be the main Sanders alternative following his blowout South Carolina win. For those not wanting a Sanders vs. Trump general election to start on Wednesday March 4th, there are three more reasons it mightnt be all over yet. First, theres billionaire Bloombergs unprecedented war chest of money to spend on ads, field staff, or anything else he could conceivably want between now and the end of the primary, either promoting himself or tearing down Sanders. Until now Bloomberg has been treated like the Night King from Game of Thrones an ominous and inevitable threat that everyone has yet mostly ignored due to the focus on their immediate political squabbles. He may be about to make his moneys presence felt.

Then theres one-time front runner Senator Elizabeth Warren, who also appears determined to stay in the race until the convention, accumulating delegates to hopefully use as leverage over whoever the nominee ends up being. And seeing as she shares many voters with Sanders, many of the delegates going to her are lost opportunities for him. But, most importantly, the news media loves a dramatic horse race, with come-from-behind performances and dramatic final stands. Sanders being declared the de-facto nominee Tuesday would deny them months of ongoing juicy speculation and commentary, so they are incentivised to pump up a challenger and Biden can play the role well.

But forget the spin. Whether Sanders can all-but win the nomination on Super Tuesday or whether the primary is set for a long slog all comes down to hard maths and delegate apportionment rules.

Korey Te Hira graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2019 with a Master in Public Policy. He writes aweekly newsletter on US politics.

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Super Tuesday: The day that could decide the Democratic challenger to Trump - The Spinoff

This story was originally published by Yale Environment 360 and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration

In May 2010 I went to the Gulf of Mexico to report on what oil from British Petroleums blown-out Deepwater Horizon rig was doing to migratory birds and other marine life. On barrier islands I saw brown pelicans, laughing gulls, black-crowned night herons, great blue herons, tricolored herons, snowy egrets, great egrets, roseate spoonbills, Forsters terns, and royal terns all black with oil. The lucky ones couldnt fly. Some of those were captured and washed. A few survived.

The saddest scene was the royal tern colony on Queen Bess Island. Virtually all 150 chicks were fouled. If they werent evacuated and washed, theyd die from overheating by day or hypothermia by night. If they were evacuated and washed, theyd die because the parents wouldnt be able to teach them to fend for themselves.

Back then Americas landmark environmental/conservation statute the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) made it illegal to kill migratory birds either intentionally or accidentally. Congress enacted the law in 1918 as part of a treaty with Canada and Mexico (later Russia and Japan) to protect shared bird species.

For killing at least a million migratory birds BP paid $100 million. This and other such fines have been used to repair some of the damage wreaked by MBTA violators. But if a rule proposed on January 30 by the Trump administration is finalized, violators like BP wont have to pay a cent.

The proposal came in the form of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) release. But according to all the wildlife professionals I interviewed, the agencys staff had nothing to do with it. The release included no word from any wildlife advocate, only gushing approbation from people and organizations given a heads-up in advance of the proposal and speaking for energy, mining, utilities, agribusiness, land development, and other interests that find the MBTA inconvenient.

The proposal would codify a bizarre 2017 opinion hatched by the Interior Departments then-deputy solicitor Daniel Jorjani (now its top lawyer), who had been employed by fossil fuel moguls Charles and David Koch before joining the Trump administration. In addition to legalizing unintentional but predictable and preventable killings of migratory birds i.e., incidental take it would contravene the will of Congress, abandon 102 years of MBTA application and violate a five-nation treaty.

Migratory bird conservation is organic to the USFWS, declares Dan Ashe, who directed the agency under President Barack Obama. If the proposal is finalized, the end result will be millions of dead birds.

In 45 years of writing exclusively about wildlife Ive seen dozens of MBTA violations. Maybe the second worst, after the BP spill, was migratory bird mortality caused by gas- and oil-well wastewater stored in uncovered pits and tanks.

On the high plains of eastern New Mexico, excretions from oil-eating bacteria bubbled through a witches brew of toxic metals, hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds, filling the windless air with the stench of rotten cheese. The croaks of Chihuahuan ravens drifted down from a cloudless sky. Western kingbirds harassed an orbiting Swainsons hawk, and roadrunners dashed through mesquite. All were in danger from the exposed wastewater.

Wildlife agent Rob Lee, center, pulls birds from an oil-fouled pond in eastern New Mexico. Courtesy of USFWS

When oil and gas gets pumped from the earth, saltwater comes with it. In this wastewater, residual oil creates a sheen resembling the surface of a sunlit pond. Often theres no natural water for miles. Insects, reptiles, amphibians, and waterfowl are drawn in and get fouled if the wastewater isnt covered. Their struggles attract raptors, which also get fouled. Songbirds and bats swoop down to snatch thrashing insects, then die. Any bird able to extricate itself ingests toxins when it preens, thereby destroying its kidneys and liver. And, if its incubating, oil on its feathers poisons the eggs.

My guide, Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Rob Lee, used a perforated serving spoon to extricate rib cages, legs, feathers, beaks, bones, and unidentified body parts from uncovered pits and tanks. Everything was cooked in sun-blasted brine.

The Trump administrations rule would legalize such bird mortality. But under historical MBTA policy it was easily and cheaply prevented. When the Fish and Wildlife Service discovered exposed wastewater it informed operators that they faced criminal prosecution unless they covered the hazards with screens or netting. Almost always they complied.

Former Fish and Wildlife deputy chief for law enforcement, Gary Mowad, explains that based on the 2017 Jorjani Opinion, the agency no longer conducts flyovers of oil and gas production areas to identify potential threats to migratory birds, such as uncovered oil and waste ponds and is precluded from even going out to discuss voluntary bird protection measures.

In May 2018, when Mowad and another former agent conducted their own aerial surveillance of oil fields in Montana and Wyoming, they observed: Dozens of open, uncovered waste ponds with surface oil on them. At some fields, the surrounding wetlands and streams also clearly had oil in them. We also saw some waste ponds that had avian exclusionary netting which had not been maintained. These are exactly the kinds of conditions that would have been remedied prior to the Jorjani Opinion.

Remedies had been very much the norm, according to Ashe. The administration paints a picture of death struggles between the energy industry and the service over bird conservation, he told me. Thats a false narrative. It was an extremely cooperative relationship. If we couldnt show U.S. attorneys that wed made every effort to encourage compliance, they wouldnt take the case because any judge would throw it out. Our folks would go out of their way to work with industry. If they saw an oil pit that wasnt covered, theyd advise the operators that they were likely killing birds and ask them to put up nets or screens. If they came back and it hadnt been done, theyd issue a notice of violation. A third time theyd refer it to the Justice Department.

In central Colorado, Fish and Wildlife Special Agents Roger Gephart and Leo Suazo once showed me what happens to raptors when they perch or nest on uninsulated power poles. See that pole, said Gephart. Its new. A great horned owl had incinerated the old pole along with itself when it had touched two live wires. We found copious raptor bones and feathers under other poles.

Piled in the back of Gepharts truck were electrocuted birds hed recently picked up, including a golden eagle with its feathers burned off, a bald eagle with a melted beak, and a red-tailed hawk still clutching a coachwhip snake. Near the snakes head was a charcoal-ringed hole where the current had entered.

For such MBTA violations PacifiCorp paid $1.41 million in fines and restitution and $9.1 million to retrofit its power poles this after it had repeatedly ignored Fish and Wildlife Service warnings and attempted to deceive it by secretly burying electrocuted birds. Under the Trump administrations rule PacifiCorp would have gotten off scot-free.

Dominic Domenici, retired USFWS Special Agent in charge of law enforcement for Wyoming and Montana, remarked: After our prosecution of PacifiCorp, power companies did an incredible job of retrofitting. Electric lines had been killing the hell out of raptors. We worked with companies that would work with us and aggravated ones that wouldnt. It took 20 years, but we kept at it. If you dont rattle your sabers, youll never get anything done.

Utilities wont have to retrofit if the Jorjani Opinion is codified. And, without the threat of prosecution, there will be no incentive to do so.

The Jorjani Opinion has already caused severe bird mortality because it became guidance for enforcement. In January 2018, for example, a tugboat spilled oil in Great Harbor, Massachusetts, killing at least 29 seabirds. When the Coast Guard contacted the Fish and Wildlife Service, it was informed thered be no enforcement action because the kill was incidental take. The following June the agency issued a memo stating that an individual or entity may destroy an active nest while conducting any activity where the intent of the action is not to kill migratory birds or destroy their nests or contents. The same month it okayed logging in a heron rookery, explaining that since the intent and purpose of the activity is to harvest trees, not to take MBTA birds, nests, or eggs, theres no enforceable prohibition.

A golden eagle perched on an uninsulated, high voltage power pole. Sky deLight via USFWS

Bird advocates arent giving up. On January 8, Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) introduced the Migratory Bird Protection Act (H.R. 5552) that would prohibit incidental take of migratory birds except by special USFWS permit based on best management practices. At this writing there are 48 cosponsors, including bipartisan support from three Republicans. In the Senate, Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is working on similar legislation.

Maybe the best hope to save the MBTA issues from a motion for summary judgement against the Jorjani Opinion filed on January 17 in the U.S. District Court of Southern New York by eight states and six environmental groups. Signing on as amici curiae were Ashe and 10 other wildlife professionals who served at Interior under Republican and Democrat administrations as far back as 1972.

As the motion states, the Jorjani Opinion is inconsistent with the treaties that the MBTA implements, which mandate that the United States and other signatories regulate incidental take. Canada and Mexico have expressed outrage and a sense of betrayal.

The timing of the proposal was as bizarre as the Jorjani Opinion it seeks to codify. Less than four months earlier, the journal Science published a study revealing that there are 2.9 billion fewer birds in Canada and the U.S. than in 1970, a decline of 29 percent.

Also bizarre was the 45-day public comment period. For such major rules, comment periods often run twice that long. This tells me theres urgency on the part of the administration to finalize the rule 60 days prior to the election, says the USFWSs former MBTA administrator, Paul Schmidt. That way it cant be automatically suspended and reviewable by a new administration.

The public has until March 19 to comment. To submit a comment, click here.

In central Wyoming, I saw what wind farms plunked in the wrong places do to birds and other wildlife. The once-beautiful Shirley Basin has been rendered an industrial park by PacifiCorp. Turbines marching across dwarf forests of sage, mixed-grass prairies, and saltbush flats have trashed the native ecosystem. Among the many victims of habitat loss are sage thrashers, greater sage-grouse, sagebrush sparrows, black-footed ferrets, elk, mule deer, pronghorns, and sagebrush lizards. Killed directly by turbine blades in this and other ill-sited wind farms are bats and birds.

Because wind power is perceived as green, the Fish and Wildlife Service takes it easy on the industry. Still, in 2013 it prosecuted Duke Energy Renewables for dicing golden eagles and other migratory birds in east-central Wyoming, winning a settlement of $1 million in fines and mitigation. That prosecution inspired advances in bird- and bat-friendly turbine technology. But such advances wont happen if the Trump administrations proposal succeeds. Whats more, it would allow utilities to build wind farms in the middle of flyways and kill with impunity.

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IN the rich pantheon of people nobody will care about one year from now, Curtis Pritchard and Maura Higgins are right at the top.

But after Maura finally called time on their transparent seven-month romance on Monday, I thought it only fair to tell you all whats really been going on behind closed doors.

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Curtis and Maura, if you hadnt already guessed, have been faking their relationship and were urged to stay together for work commitments by cash-hungry management teams, who warned them it would be bad for their brand if they split.

After coupling up on last years Love Island, the pair were told they would make millions if they stuck together and kept the illusion alive.

Despite Maura quickly falling out of love with Curtis, insiders told me she first felt pressured into sticking with him like so many other couples who are paired up on the ITV2 series at the end of last year.

The cracks in their relationship were grossly evident at the National Television Awards in January, when three reporters on my team witnessed Maura cowering in a corner of the smoking area as Curtis who was so drunk he struggled to stand shouted at her.

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An insider told me: Maura felt pressured to stick with him. They had booked jobs together, parties they had to attend.

When they met in Love Island it was genuine.

But when the showbiz treadmill started on the outside, it was a sham.

The NTAs was the last straw.

Maura has star quality and is a professional.

Curtis showed his true colours that night.

Curtis was seen cosying up to another woman in a nightclub in January.

Over the weekend he was linked to sexy dancer Amber Pierson, who is on his brother AJs dance tour.

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Last week, former Love Island contestant Montana Brown admitted stars are put under pressure to stick together and Curtis and Maura were a prime example of this fakery in action.

Inside the swanky NTAs after-party at Londons O2 Arena, Curtis had downed glasses of white wine and was filmed acting like a lout, even though hed been paid to host the red carpet with Maura.

Male friends of Mauras warned him to leave her alone and he had to be helped out of the building by fellow islander Joe Garrett.

Maura said afterwards she was furious Curtis had drunk so much and was being so irrational.

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When faced with the video of him staggering and being pushed away by Maura, Curtiss smarmy rep begged me not to use it for fear it would ruin a deal he had struck between Curtis and the BBC.

I understand young stars make mistakes so I agreed not to run the footage.

In return, and as part of a deal that is a regular occurrence in showbiz reporting, Curtiss team promised they would be honest about the moment the couple ended their relationship and said Curtis would speak to us about this.

Instead, both their teams lied about the break-up and denied it just hours before Maura posted a po-faced statement on Instagram on Monday night.

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Curtiss slippery flunky went to ground when asked when his client would be available to speak about the break-up.

So Im revealing the couples sham relationship and telling the truth about what a grim man Curtis can be when hes on the sauce and away from the watchful eye of those he pays to keep bad stories out of the limelight.

If you go back on the deal you so were desperate to strike, mate, dont think I wont either.

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IF you thought there was nothing Kim Kardashian and Kanye West would not do to push their showbiz and business agenda, youd be absolutely correct.

The shameless couple launched their daughter North as a pop star aged just six on Monday night in a bid to get some publicity for Kanyes fashion brand.

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She performed a song called What I Do on stage at his Yeezy Season 8 show as part of Paris Fashion Week and she looked terrified until her dad joined her halfway through the performance.

Meanwhile, Kim dressed in new gear from the collection filmed her.

A school nativity play is one thing, but being put on stage in front of hundreds and streamed to thousands more is something else entirely.

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bizmeter

AFTER five decades in the industry, there cant be anybody more familiar with theatre etiquette than Andrew Lloyd Webber.

But still, it was the legendary composer of musical smashes including The Phantom Of The Opera who broke the golden rule of the West End on Sunday night when he started using his phone to film the stars on stage during a show.

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He was in the audience at the Gillian Lynne Theatre during the final performance of School Of Rock which he wrote the music for when he was told off by an usher.

But it was only after she had snapped at him that she realised who the famous culprit was.

The usher, musical theatre graduate Hayley Baldwin, tweeted: So today I accidentally told THE Andrew Lloyd Webber off for filming his own show... Guess there go my chances of ever being in any of his shows in the future.

"To clarify, I was working FOH [front of house], I wasnt just in the audience.

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During his phenomenal career, Andrew has written the music for Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats and Joseph And The Amazing Techni- color Dreamcoat and is now worth an estimated 820million.

If he really wanted a video that much, booking out the whole theatre would have been no issue at all.

KYLIE Minogue must be feeling really loved up, because shes been making music with the man behind hits including Sexbomb and Horny.

The Aussie singer, who is dating GQ mag boss Paul Solomons, was photographed at the Rosewood London hotel on Monday night, hours after having a session in the studio with German producer Mousse T.

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He tweeted a photo with Kylie and tagged in another top DJ, Alex Gaudino, who is responsible for dance tunes including Destination Calabria and What A Feeling featuring Kelly Rowland.

Speaking about her new music last week, Kylie said: Ive already started work in the studio.

Were not quite sure what it is yet, but we feel like Thats good, thats good this is the direction were heading.

I wont be doing [country] again, but what I learned in that period will stay with me however the songwriting pans out.

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I CALLED out Radio 1 on Monday for failing to put Lady Gaga's incredible new single Stupid Love on its playlists and now bosses have finally seen sense.

Last night the station announced the latest set of weekly playlists and the song has been added to the B list. Perhaps the change of heart was forced by drivetime presenter Nick Grimshaw.

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He was away in Namibia on a Sport Relief fundraiser last week when the decision to snub the song was made.

But on his first show back on Monday, Nick posted two Instagram stories dancing to the tune, so clearly hes a fan even if his bosses arent.

Stupid Love was at No2 in the midweek chart update.

It is from Gagas upcoming album Chromatica.

That is sure to be just as successful as it is rumoured to feature a collaboration with Ariana Grande.

I cant wait to hear it.

bizbit

SISTER Sledge, Lisa Maffia and Artful Dodger have been added to the line-up for South Londons Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park on June 6. Cheryl Tweedy, Atomic Kitten and Eve are also on the bill.

HIT producer Max Martin's pop musical & Juliet leads the pack for this years Olivier Awards with nine nominations.

I gave it a five-star review when it opened in the West End in November and clearly audiences agree.

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The modern retelling of Romeo & Juliet, set to some of pops most famous songs, is up for the most gongs including Best New Musical and Best Original Score.

Fiddler On The Roof has eight nominations while Dear Evan Hansen has seven. Phoebe Waller-Bridge has a Best Actress nod for her stage version of Fleabag while James McAvoy is up for Best Actor for Cyrano de Bergerac.

Jason Manford will host the ceremony on April 5.

DAMNING VERDICTLove Island's Demi and Luke M will be the first to split up, says Callum

on same paigePaige Turley reveals ex Lewis Capaldi congratulated her after Love Island

Exclusive

FREEZE A CROWDMaura and Curtis split over her closeness with hunky DOI partner Alexander

Exclusive

CASH & CORRIELucy Fallon 'makes her 100k Coronation Street salary with Insta ads'

Exclusive

NEES-UPCoronation Streets James Burrows gets first role since quitting soap as Ali Neeson

CURT REPLYMaura posts cryptic comment about 'giving up on you' after split with Curtis

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Curtis Pritchard and Maura Higgins faked their romance for three months and were forced to stay together for - The Sun