Daily Archives: March 31, 2021

A student of philosophy, 1974 MSU alumnus Tim Richardsons personal philosophy of self-fulfillment and the pursuit of internal satisfaction has shaped and guided his life and career.

From a small rural town of Chesaning, Michigan, Richardson said he is the only person to work restoration on the aftermath of both the Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez oil spills, the two largest in United States history.

But that's now how it started. Thinking that teaching was the best route for him after graduation, Richardson had secured a teaching assistantship in Ohio.

I lived in the sticks, you could say, Richardson said. People were farmers, they were auto plant workers, they were teachers or any number of service industries.

But after three years, he wasnt enjoying academic life. This, as well as a lack of jobs, pushed him to pursue something else.

He moved to Texas in 1979 and began doing freelance work for local newspapers, and in 1983, he started his own political newsletter called the "Quorum Report" while his wife worked and went to school.

It wasnt a wealthy existence, but it was freedom and exciting, Richardson said.

Five years later, in 1988, Richardson was hired to work on former Democratic Sen. Lloyd Bentsens reelection newsletter. After Bentsen was selected as running mate to Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis, Richardson suddenly found himself involved in high-level politics. In 1989, he became chief of staff to Democratic Congressman Greg Laughlin. It was here that Richardson came to work on the Exxon Valdez spill.

The spill happened in 1989, when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck Bligh Reef, tearing open the ship's hull and releasing about 11 million gallons of oil into the water. It was the worst oil spill in history. Laughlin had oversight on the spill, and Richardson went to work as a consultant for small native corporations and tribes.

I traveled to Alaska ... and met native corporations who were on Kodiak Island, Richardson said. They were in the path of the spill, and I went to work for them.

The spill had caused a considerable amount of damage to humans and the natural environment. Richardson worked with the team to repair this damage while helping communicate between the natives, the government, their lawyers and the media.

Richardson described his work as a consultant as similar to running a presidential campaign.

"I would go out and get positive name IDs for the bear-native dilemma and Kodiak Island, he said.

According to Richardson, he would find a variety of angles on the same issue in order to garner as much interest in an issue as possible.

He described this approach as like a wheel with spokes. The center of the wheel is the central issue like the oil spill in Alaska and each spoke is an audience that has a different reason to care about the issue.

Richardson's experiences working in Alaska led him to publish a book titled "Kodiak Bears and the Exxon Valdez."

He did similar work when the Deepwater Horizon spill occurred.

The Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in 2010, killing 11 people and leaking over 205 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, passing the Exxon Valdez spill as the worst in U.S. history. Richardson helped coastal counties in Texas reach a settlement.

Now, Richardson works as a multi-client consultant for similar conservation issues. Currently, he is working to repair a 140,000 acre marshland located on a beach in Jefferson County, Texas.

Richardson said that the tall grasses in the marshland can reduce the storm surge of a hurricane as it hits, making them an important asset to Jefferson County.

This summer, we're going to be rebuilding the beach," he said. "... It's probably the biggest beach nourishment project in the United States."

Richardson regards his career path as proof that people interested in the liberal arts can still carve out a successful existence for themselves. His background in philosophy and experience writing about it enabled him to work in journalism, and it also prepared him to work in conservation, what he considers a highly ethical enterprise.

Richardson suggests that young people should look for a place that needs them.

"You might have to look at the country," he said. "Where is a place that needs young people?"

Much of Richardsons career approach is based in philosophy.

Richardsons personal philosophy is informed, in part, by the idea that people should be able to marvel at themselves, to be pursuing something immaterial in life that gives them personal satisfaction.

You got to have the material, got to have food, clothing, shelter, you got to have an ecology that doesn't kill you, but it's this interior life, that is where the gold is, Richardson said.

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"It was a surprise to me that people thought it was a surprise because I know the reality of the situation," Bowen-Jallow said.

PROSPER, Texas Dr. Kanika Bowen-Jallow finished four years of undergraduate school and four years of medical school before she met another Black surgeon.

It wasnt until I jumped into actually learning how to perform surgery that I met other Black surgeons, which was phenomenal for me," Bowen-Jallow said.

Dr. Bowen-Jallow is a pediatric surgeon at Cook Children's new hospital in Prosper. Last month, the American Pediatric Surgical Associationrecognized heras the ninth Black female pediatric surgeon in the US.

"I always knew I wanted to be a surgeon since I was in second grade," Bowen-Jallow said.

It started with the board game Operation. She got it for Christmas from her parents. She would spend hours delicately putting the pieces they belonged, trying hard to be meticulous enough not to hit the sides of the game board and set the buzzer off.

She graduated from that to doctor-themed playsets to pretending to operate on her siblings and parents.

"That's when I knew," Bowen-Jallow said. "I just knew I was going to be a doctor."

While she's achieved her childhood dream and found a passion and career in caring for children, Bowen-Jallow said she wasn't surprised to learn of just how few Black women are in her field.

"It was a surprise to me that people thought it was a surprise because I know the reality of the situation," Bowen-Jallow said.

She attributes her success to her village: parents, who pushed her to get an education and gave to her dreams, and a supportive husband.

"I am extremely blessed in that I came from that kind of background," Bowen-Jallow said. "But I know not everyone has that same opportunity."

While the lack of diversity in the medical field is not a new issue, COVID-19 illuminated the disparities in access to care and the lack of trust that exists when it comes to medical care and communities of color. Dr. Bowen-Jallow said she's witnessed it firsthand in the pandemic.

"When I got my COVID vaccine I took a video of it, and I sent it out to my friends and family because I had been getting is it safe? Is it OK? Are you going to take it?" Bowen-Jallow said.

Along with providing outreach to her community, she said mentoring young people is one of her top priorities.

"It shouldnt be that you get to college before you realize that there are Black people in medicine," Bowen-Jallow said.

She celebrates reports from medical schools across the country that are seeing an uptick in Black and LatinX applicants in the pandemic.

"I am extremely happy that were going to have more representation within our medical schools," Bowen-Jallow said. "Right now we are underrepresented. Minorities across the board are underrepresented in medicine.

She said the ripple effect from this uptick in applicants could not only help mend trust but also save lives.

There are studies that have proven, when youre treated by a physician who looks like you, your outcomes can be better," Bowen-Jallow said.

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Prosper surgeon makes history as the 9th Black female pediatric surgeon in the US. Ever. - WFAA.com

Published: March 30, 2021 Author: Staff reports

Ohio Universitys Division of Diversity and Inclusion will host Black Greek Life 101: A Conversation with Dr. Robert Mock on Tuesday, April 13 at 6 p.m. via Zoom.

Dr. Robert Mock, Jr., Ed.D., will discuss the history and legacy of Black Greek life during this virtual event. Registration is required to attend.

Dr. Mock is the executive vice president and chief of staff at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He previously served as the president of Johnson & Wales University Charlotte Campus in North Carolina. Earlier he served as vice president for student affairs at the University of Kentucky where he held teaching appointments in the College(s) of Communications and Education.

His prior position was vice provost for student affairs at the University of Arkansas and tri-level appointments with the University of Arkansas- Fayetteville, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Dr. Mocks education includes a bachelors degree in engineering with minors in physics and mathematics from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. His masters degree in interpersonal and organizational communication and doctorate in higher education administration are from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and has taught a course on Black Greek life.

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Dr. Robert Mock to discuss history and legacy of Black Greek life - Ohio University

Slim Princess in storage shed. (Photo by Deb Murphy)

Trains played a major role in both the development of the West and then again in the Western movies during the 50s. But, even for those of us who were religious Western movie lovers, the size and scope of the Slim Princess, currently living in her own home at the Eastern California Museum, is impressive. Shes huge and shes back in the news with the Inyo Board of Supervisors update on plans to extend the track at the Independence museum site.

The story of how the Princess, aka the No. 18, ended up in Independence is almost the stuff of movies itself. Randy Babcock played a role in bringing the Princess back to life and chronicled the Slim Princess story in a book, SP Narrow Gauge 18 Steams Anew. Babcocks book and his virtual appearance at the Supervisors meeting were the source of this story.

Southern Pacific No. 18, also known as the Slim Princess, is an oil-fired 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler type narrow-gauge steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1911. (Wikipedia)- (Photo by Deb Murphy)

Built in 1911 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the Slim Princess worked the Nevada California Oregon line for 15 years, eventually sold to the Southern Pacific narrow gauge line. Mining, timber and farming in east California, Nevada and points west kept railroads companies going since the 1880s. The Carson and Colorado Railroad Company was incorporated in 1880 running on the narrow gauge lines.

Locomotive controls. (Photo by Deb Murphy)

The arrival of big diesel-fueled engines heralded the end of the narrow gauge lines and sidetracked the Princess in 1953 after making its last run from points north to Keeler. That would have doomed the Princess to junk metal had it not been for Anna Kelly and others in the Owens Valley with a long history with and a love for trains.

Kelly requested an engine for Inyo County. Her first clue her request was about to be granted was the news Southern Pacific crews were pulling old rails. The 18 was hauled up to Bakersfield to get cleaned up then brought back to Lone Pine. Kelley hit up Sid Paratt with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to secure a designated spot at Dehy Park, then wrangled an assortment of locals to get the Princess to Dehy. There she sat.

The next player in the Slim Princess resurrection was Myron Alexander. Hed been cruising past the engine in the park on trips from Lone Pine to Bishop, got discouraged by the volume of bird droppings on her and checked with museum staff. He was handed a box of dirty rags and pretty much told to have at it. Alexander and a growing crew of railroad buffs went to work in what Babcock describes as an on-again, off-again schedule.

Additional railroad track will be added. (Photo by Deb Murphy)

In January 2001, enough work had been completed to light the firebox, get the steam pressure up to 50 psi and blow the whistle to salute the recently deceased Alexander.

Seven years later, the crew realized if the Slim Princess were ever to reclaim her heritage, they needed not just a plan, but the support of Inyo County. The planners referred to the Federal Railroad Administration to define the standards to which the Princess should be restored. Dave Mull and Babcock made the presentation and the Supervisors gave the crew six years to get the job done.

[Note from the articles author: Sierra Wave isnt normally in the business of plugging peoples books or projects, but to be painfully honest, Im not up to the task of explaining the mechanical machinations it took to get the Slim Princess in running shape. Mechanics is not my long suit. As a writer, the Princess is an enchantress, not because of her mechanics but because of the community that brought her back to life.Deb Murphy]

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Slim Princess and the Owens Valley has a long history - Sierra Wave

Representative Lori Ehrlich, of the 8th Essex district, is a champion for the environment and local press. (Julia Hopkins)

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When state Rep. Sally Kerans was elected to serve the 13th Essex District in 1991, she was the first woman from Danvers ever to hold the position.

I dont think that was ever reported, really, Kerans, who left the House in 1997, said of her wins significance. Certainly it wasnt mentioned much as I recall.

Now 60 years old, the Democratic legislator made history once again last November when she followed in her own footsteps to also become the second woman from Danvers to be elected to the post following a landslide victory over Republican Robert E. May of Peabody.

In many ways, the win was bittersweet.

Its interesting, Kerans said. I was the first woman ever elected from Danvers and now 30 years later, Im the second woman elected from Danvers.

Make of that what you will.

The number of women especially women of color currently represented in local and state governments still remains low compared to the general population.

Although Kerans said shes seen significant improvements since her first round in the legislature, the percentage of women in the House of Representatives still hovers at roughly 27 percent, proving theres still work to be done to achieve equal representation.

Were half of the population, Kerans said. Women need to see other women leading and need to see that leadership is life experience and lived experience, and that is invaluable as we shape our local, state, (and) national priorities.

Marblehead Democratic Rep. Lori Ehrlich, who has served the 8th Essex District since 2008, agreed that representation in government is critical for women of all backgrounds, noting the historical significance of Vice President Kamala Harris election alongside President Joe Biden last November.

She added that seeing women in positions of power can be just as important for men.

Any minority that is underrepresented stands to benefit from seeing themselves in their own representation, said Ehrlich, 57. (Harris) is the first woman VP, the first Asian VP, the first Black VP, that this countrys ever had.

In the way girls and women look at me and say I could do that, shes impacting the entire nation, and thats important.

Having women directly involved in the decision-making process is also especially crucial for creating sensible, informed solutions for problems that often disproportionately affect women, Kerans said.

There are women (in government) saying, were not earning the same amount, or we need to have policies that are more attentive to the needs of working mothers, Kerans said. Childcare is like infrastructure. People cannot work without childcare, so from the perspective of the working mother who needs good, reliable, safe childcare in order to have her job, for the person providing it oftentimes a woman working as a childcare provider out of her home its an economic issue as well.

I think were finally beginning to see these issues framed in a way that is intuitive to women.

Ehrlich added: I think we have different life experiences and that gives us different perspectives. If were not part of the conversation, that perspective is lost.

While theres a long way to go until government bodies begin to resemble the constituents they serve, Kerans still holds out hope that times are changing.

Since rejoining the House, Kerans said shes seen what she considers to be a national reckoning when it comes to Americans acknowledging the importance of allowing everyone a seat at the table to give their input regarding issues affecting their own communities.

I think were in this moment of recognizing the importance, the preeminence, of equity, and I think women are very attuned to that, she said. Were in a time when we see that government plays an incredibly important role. Look at what the last four years have shown us. Weve seen how the numbers of women in Congress, and women of color in Congress, have made the conversation so relevant to peoples daily lives.

Women frequently understand the importance of running for office at the local level, Kerans said, which is the first step toward making a change in their communities.

Women look out for their community. They run at the local level because they want to get something accomplished. Oftentimes, a woman will run because of a particular issue, like Lucy McBath in Congress, who lost her son to gun violence, Kerans said. Thats why its powerful for women to see other women saying heres my experience. Theres an inequity to address. Im going to run and Im going to make sure we deal with this issue.

Its vital that we have women who understand that experience, as only women can, in the halls of power.

Elyse Carmosino can be reached at ecarmosino@itemlive.com.

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Women's History Month: A look at women in government - Itemlive - Daily Item

Neither history nor the high wind gusts were going to stop the Pampa girls' soccer team from getting past the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.

The Lady Harvesters held on to win 3-2 against the Mineral Wells on Monday atMemorial Stadium inWichita Falls.

Head coach Hugo Aguillon said he took the wind into account in his game plan, opting to use the gusts to his squad's advantage in the first half.

Three goals in the first half put the Lady Harvesters in the driver's seat, but it meant Pampa had to defend against it for the second half. Aguillon told his players this heading into the second half as the wind picked up even more.

"It was a struggling second half, pretty much," Aguillon said.

Mineral Wells pulled a goal back via a free-kick outside the box aboutmidway through the second half. This put Pampa on high alert for the rest of the game.

"Those last 15 or 20 minutes was just fighting to stay 3-1," Aguillon said.

Then, the Lady Ramsscored a second with about eight minutes to play, putting the Lady Harvesters under even more intense defensive pressure. Aguillon said at that point the team was defending for its life and survive the final few minutes.

Aguillon creditshis group of seniors, which includes players such as twin pairing Annamarie and Christiana Murray. Annamarie is the team's leading scorer with 24 goals, while Christiana is a defensive midfielder who holds down the center of the pitch.

Center back pairing Aubrey Dorn and Jaqueline Jaime were crucial in the win, said Aguillon.

Pampa held on to win and broke a 20-year drought ofnot advancing past thesecond round of playoffs. Aguillon said that stretch wore on them mentally, especially since last year his team won the Region I-4A District 2 but the pandemic canceled all playoffs.

With that hurdle now cleared, Pampa is set to face the winner between San Elizario and Brownwood in the next round of playoffs.

CLASS 5A

BOYS

Del Valle 2, Amarillo High 1

Randall vs. El Paso Bowie, (n)

GIRLS

Amarillo High vs El Paso Bel Air,(n)

CLASS 4A

BOYS

Borger vs Graham, (n)

Dumas vs Stephenville, (n)

GIRLS

Canyon vsSan Angelo Lake View, (n)

Dumas vs Stephenville, (n)

CLASS 5A

BOYS

Palo Duro 2, El Paso Bel Air 1

CLASS 4A

GIRLS

Pampa 3, Mineral Wells 2

EDITORS NOTE:Coaches and staffs, please submit results by either sending pertinent stats from your game/match, or taking a photo of the scorebook, and emailing sports@amarillo.com.

The Amarillo Globe-News will accept score submissions and those will run that night on amarillo.com/sports and the following day as space allowsin the printed sports section.

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Lady Harvesters make history, advance past second round with win over Mineral Wells - Amarillo.com

Nuns may be the very coolest people in the world today.Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist

In their book, Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,Nicholas Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn, tell stories of challenge and individual triumph, arguing that the paramount moral challenge of this young century is the struggle for gender equality in the developing world.

In one study after another, they show that educating girls is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty and that the emancipation, empowerment and education of girls and women will advance peace and prosperity for all.

The book takes its title from a Chinese proverb: Women hold up half the sky.

Kristof and WuDunn are not alone in thinking this way.And, seeing a prominent role for women religious in meeting challenge makes sense, of course, because that is what they have done for centuries.Their role, however, rarely is acknowledged.

Women religious, at 700,000 plus in the world, and 40,000 strong in the United States, are prominent instruments of the change the world needs. Not by their numbers, the positions they hold or the titles they carry, but by their works and their wisdom, their compassion, talent, and leadership.

In short, they save lives, they educate children, they lift people from poverty, and often, as noted, they toil in obscurity.

Nuns continue their work, on the frontlines, despite threats to their safety. Now, its COVID infection. But their work helping the poor, ending capital punishment, reducing unemployment, advocating for a just wage, resisting waroften has been done in daunting conditions.

Nuns have built and managed hospitals, orphanages, and charitable institutions that served millions of people in this country long before similar positions were open to lay women. The scope and quality of the institutions they created and sustained, and, indeed, their acts of mercy, manifest courage, conviction, and selflessness, have been nothing short of extraordinary.

We have a very special localand globalexample in Assumption College for Sisters, the only degree-granting institution for women religious, in formation, in the world.

Founded by the Sisters of Christian Charity, in Mendham in 1953, ACS now is in Denville. Among its current students are young women from Asia and Africa. They often held responsible positions at home yet lacked any genuine chance for advanced education despite their motivation and abilities.

These women will return to their native lands, or to mission assignments, to educate children, administer orphanages, manage hospitals and other institutions as well as fill community leadership positions.

Countless thousands of lives will be touched by them, according to ACS President Joseph Spring. Thus does the tradition of Catholic Women Religious continue.

Womens History Month rarely mentions these lilies of the field, their contributions, or, their struggles.Its time it did.

Linda Stamato is the Co-Director of the Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Brunswick. She is a Faculty Fellow there as well. Active in the Morristown community, she serves on the trustee board of the Morristown and Morris Township Library Foundation and is a commissioner on the Morristown Parking Authority.

Opinions expressed in commentaries are the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.

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Commentary: The Lilies of the Field and Women's History Month - Morristown Green

Former President Donald Trump slammed Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birxon Monday, accusing the infectious disease experts of "trying to reinvent history" in televised interviews detailing their roles in combating the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump spoke out after Fauci and Birx, who both served as key members of his administrations coronavirus task force, were interviewed for a CNN special titled "COVIDWAR: The Pandemic Doctors Speak Out."

During the special, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, described the push to develop a COVID-19 vaccine as "the best decision that Ive ever made with regard to an intervention as director of the institute." Birx, the former White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said she had a "very difficult" phone call with Trump after she spoke candidly about the severity of an outbreak last August.

FAUCI SAYS COVID-19 PUSH COULD BE 'BEST DECISION' HE'S MADE

In a lengthy statement, Trump accused both of his former colleagues of being "self-promoters."

"Based on their interviews, I felt it was time to speak up about Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx, two self-promoters trying to reinvent history to cover for their bad instincts and faulty recommendations, which I fortunately almost always overturned," Trump said. "They had bad policy decisions that would have left our country open to China and others, closed to reopening our economy, and years away from an approved vaccineputting millions of lives at risk."

Trump has long taken credit for the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines under "Operation Warp Speed," a partnership between federal agencies and private companies. To date, three vaccines have received emergency use authorizations in the United States.

The former president said Fauci and Birx "moved far too slowly" on vaccine development and touted strict lockdown measures that would leave Americans "locked in our basements."

"Operation Warp Speed" was first announced in May. In his interview with CNN, Fauci said the decision to go "all in" on vaccine development was made far earlier.

"When I saw what happened in New York City, almost overrunning of our health care system, it was like, Oh my goodness," Fauci said. "And thats when it became very clear that the decision we made on January the 10th to go all out and develop a vaccine may have been the best decision that Ive ever made with regard to an intervention as director of the institute."

Trump described Faucis remarks as a "fake interview." He mocked Faucis first pitch at a Washington Nationals game last July, saying the doctor "was an athlete in college but couldnt throw a baseball even close to home plate," adding, "It was a roller."

He added that Fauci "tried to take credit for the vaccine, when in fact he said it would take three to five years, and probably longer, to have it approved."

"Dr. Fauci was incapable of pressing the FDA to move it through faster. I was the one to get it done, and even the fake news media knows and reports this. "Dr. Fauci is also the king of "flip-flops" and moving the goalposts to make himself look as good as possible. He fought me so hard because he wanted to keep our country open to countries like China."

Trump also targeted Birx in the lengthy diatribe.

The former response coordinator described a "very uncomfortable" phone call with Trump after she warned in a television appearance last August that COVID-19 was "extraordinarily widespread."

"It was a CNN report in August that got horrible pushback," Birx told the network. "That was a very difficult time, because everybody in the White House was upset with that interview and the clarity that I brought about the epidemic."

In response, Trump called Birx a "proven liar with very little credibility left."

"Many of her recommendations were viewed as "pseudo-science," and Dr. Fauci would always talk negatively about her and, in fact, would ask not to be in the same room with her," Trump said. "The States who followed her lead, like California, had worse outcomes on Covid, and ruined the lives of countless children because they couldnt go to school, ruined many businesses, and an untold number of Americans who were killed by the lockdowns themselves. Dr. Birx was a terrible medical advisor, which is why I seldom followed her advice."

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"There was no 'very difficult'phone call, other than Dr. Birxs policies that would have led us directly into a COVID caused depression," he added. "She was a very negative voice who didnt have the right answers. Time has proven me correct. I only kept Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx on because they worked for the U.S. government for so longthey are like a bad habit!"

Trumps critics, including President Biden and top members of his administration, have accused the former president of overseeing a chaotic nationwide vaccination campaign. In January, Biden described the campaign as a "dismal failure."

Meanwhile, prominent Republicans, including former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have accused the Biden administration of taking credit for a vaccination drive that was already well underway prior to his arrival.

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Trump accuses Fauci, Birx of 'trying to reinvent history' on COVID-19 response - Fox News