Monthly Archives: June 2022

This is why Modoc County enlists the help of hunters for pest control.

CEDARVILLE, Calif. In April of 1918, the State Horticulture Commission enlisted the help of California school children to help reduce the population of invasive ground squirrels which were decimating farmers' fields at a staggering rate. The commission estimated that $30 million annually was lost due to the ground squirrels.

The hungry rodents caused food shortages across the nation and ultimately impacted the war efforts. The horticulture commission paid out thousands to kill ground squirrels and held a contest known as Squirrel Week, the Spring Drive, which urged kids to poison or kill ground squirrels by any means possible and bring their tails in for a prize.

The war on squirrels was not a joke. It was an actual part of California history, and a version of that history lives on today in the eastern most edge of Modoc County.

Every spring, hunters from all over the state travel to the little town of Cedarville for the annual squirrel war, "Squirrel Roundup."

In Modoc County, the ground squirrel problem never went away. In fact when poison was outlawed, the population exploded. Now, the only humane way to manage the population is by hunting them, and farmer Jon Arreches family has been welcoming hunters onto their land for generations.

In the 1980s, they got really thick here. My grandfather has fought them forever, Arreche said.

Not to be confused with tree squirrels, these are Belding ground squirrels, a rodent that lives underground burrowing holes in farmers fields and then eats their crops.

Id say we lose 30% in these fields. Some fields like our dry land fields, our grains, we lose 50% to 70%, Arreche said.

Dirt mounds made by ground squirrels also damage expensive farm equipment, and the holes injure the legs of cattle.

Ground squirrels can have upwards of 15 babies a year. Predators like coyotes and birds cannot keep up with the population in Modoc County.

Under special circumstances and under the watchful eye of the state, ground squirrel-specific poison is an option. With state approval, licensed herbicide providers like Chris Wilson can apply approved poison to kill the squirrels.

We are coming in and putting in zinc phosphide. Its a powdered poison, Wilson said. So if a raptor came and ate the squirrel after the squirrel ate the poison, it wouldnt kill it.

Farmers like Arreche have had great success with the poison. There is, however, one problem. If your neighbor doesnt do it, then the squirrels just come back.

Theres no license needed to kill ground squirrels, and there is no limit on how many you can kill, which makes hunting them the most viable option for population control right now.

Unfortunately, kill rates arent recorded, and if you attend the annual Squirrel Roundup BBQ, you will hear lots hunters talk about how many they killed, but the white lies are all in fun.

In reality, the modern-day squirrel wars is more of an economic boost for Cedarville and Modoc County.

We may never know if hunting is really putting a dent in the ground squirrel population, but the tradition continues on.

If you want to read more about Modoc Countys battle with squirrels, check out local author Jean Bilodeaux's book Squirrel Wars.

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Squirrel Wars! | The brutal history behind these hated rodents - ABC10.com KXTV

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

One of the many cool little features on Android is the ability to view your notification history, allowing you to view a reverse-chronological log of all the alerts on your smartphone.

Is this something that Android Authority readers actually use, though? We tried to find out the answer to this question by running a poll earlier this week. Heres what you told us.

Over 2,500 votes were counted in our poll as of writing, and it turns out that 46.2% of respondents said theyve enabled the notification history option on their smartphones. Interestingly enough, a few readers noted in the comments that they forgot the feature existed (or didnt know it existed) and subsequently enabled it.

Opinion: The notification LED needs to make a comeback

Meanwhile, 31.21% of polled readers said they didnt have it enabled on their phones. Were guessing that people who vote for this option are happy to deal with alerts in the notification shade and forget about them once theyve been swiped away.

Finally, almost 23% of respondents said theyre not sure whether the feature was enabled on their phones. Its not exactly the most visible feature around, so were not surprised if some readers chose this option. Its also worth pointing out that those who voted no and Im not sure accounted for just over half of all votes.

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You told us: Do you enable notification history? The answer is complicated. - Android Authority

The center is housed in a 16,000 square-foot space outlining the story of Airstream, from its 1931 founding to well beyond.

A look inside the new Airstream Heritage Center. Contributed

A look inside the new Airstream Heritage Center. Contributed

The center has 15 vintage Airstreams, including a 1938 Clipper, which is an example of the first riveted aluminum model.

For years weve been looking for the right way to celebrate our history, and our new Heritage Center is a testament to the products that inspired generations of travelers, and the people who built this brand into an American icon, said Bob Wheeler, Airstream president and chief executive. The vintage models, mementos, journals, and films on display vividly illustrate how an Airstream is more than simply a recreational vehicle its a vessel that holds the stories accumulated over years of travel and adventure.

Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday, excluding holidays, at the Airstream headquarters, 1001 W. Pike St., Jackson Center, about an hours drive north of Dayton.

Admission is: Adults $5; seniors $3; military $2; children 12 and under: free.

With 1,200 Ohio employees, Airstream, Inc. is a subsidiary of Elkhart, Ind.-based Thor Industries, Inc.

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This iconic Ohio manufacturer is shining a light on its history - Dayton Daily News

The Challenge has spanned 37 seasons and upwards of 500 episodes -- plus more than a few free/double agents, rivals, exes, bloodlines and many others. But the untold history of the iconic MTV program has not been told -- until now.

The Challenge: Untold History, explores the MTV program's conception, evolution and legacy, all while enlisting competitors, producers, media analysts, and famous fans to reveal the true story (sound familiar?) of the greatest competition series on television. A first look will be unveiled during the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards, airing on June 5. What. A. Tease!

Known for its ability to reinvent the wheel and heighten the competition season after season, Challenge icons -- including Wes Bergmann, Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio, Aneesa Ferreria, Mark Long, Chris "CT" Tamburello, Darrell Taylor, Laurel Stuckey and Kam Williams -- will return to share behind-the-scenes stories from their extraordinary time competing in "America's fifth major sport." Kim Kardashian, Vernon Davis, and Lindsey Jacobellis will also be featured.

Stay with MTV News for more on The Challenge: Untold History, coming soon to MTV. And do not miss the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday, June 5 for a glimpse of the show!

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A Brand-New Series Will Tell The Untold History Of The Challenge - MTV

PHILADELPHIA, PA - OCTOBER 22: ESPN NBA Commentators Mark Jackson and Mike Breen seen prior to a game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers on October 22, 2021 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

David Dow/Getty Images

On Thursday night, ESPN will make sports TV history with its broadcast for Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Front Office Sports has reported that Thursday's coverage will mark the first all-Black broadcast team for the Finals. Mark Jones will be the play-by-play announcer, Mark Jackson will be the lead analyst, and Lisa Salters will be the sideline reporter.

ESPN had to make a few adjustments to its broadcast team for the Finals due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy and Adrian Wojnarowski are all on the bench because they tested positive.

Jones has been covering for Breen since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

As for Jackson, he's in the same role. The only difference now is that he doesn't have his sidekick in Van Gundy next to him.

It's unclear when Breen and Van Gundy will return. At this rate, they might have to miss Game 2 as well.

Until an update is provided, NBA fans can expect Jackson, Jones and Salters to run the show.

Game 1 will tip off at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

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ESPN Will Make Sports Television History Thursday Night - The Spun

History can be a powerful tool, particularly in a high-inflation environment like this one in which no suitable economic model seems to apply.

Inflation running at 8.3% as of April, near a four-decade high has stayed stubbornly persistent for a full year to the surprise of virtually everyone who tracks it. Now theres a risk that price gains could take much longer than expected to fall back down, even when the Federal Reserve is aggressively hiking interest rates.

That risk was highlighted on Thursday by BofA Securities strategists Vadim Iaralov, Howard Du and others, who point to the period between 1974 and 1988 as the most comparable time in which the annual headline U.S. consumer-price index was rising at a pace similar to the U.S.s pandemic era of 2019-2022.

In 1980, with the Feds main policy rate target already above 10% for most of that year, the annual headline CPI, also in double digits, still did not fall back below 3% after 36 months even on the back of unprecedented rate hikes enacted by Fed Chairman Paul Volcker, they said.

This was also the case during the pre-Volcker years, when the Fed was led by Arthur Burns and G. William Miller. In July 1973, when the annual CPI rate was hovering near 6% but poised to keep climbing, a Burns-led Fed pushed the fed-funds rate above 10%, FactSet data shows. Policy makers brought interest rates down to 9% for six months, then pushed them back up again to 10% or higher through mid-1974. But the CPI rate didnt fall back below 6% until the second half of 1976.

Under Millers short term from 1978 to 1979, inflation came roaring back until it was in the double digits again. Policy makers returned to pushing rates above 10% again, even before Volcker took the helm.

No one is suggesting the Fed is about to resort to double-digit interest rates right now, particularly when the fed-funds rate target is only between 0.75% and 1% with two more 50-basis-point hikes on the way for June and July. But if a similar stubborn-inflation dynamic plays out this time around, it would likely come as a rude surprise for financial markets, putting equity valuations further at risk.

Economists like those at BofA Securities are expecting the year-over-year CPI rate to fall to 3.3% by year-end. Traders have also been projecting the rate will fall into early next year, to around 5% or lower. And the Feds vice chair, Lael Brainard, told CNBC on Thursday that bringing inflation down is the Feds No. 1 challenge; shes looking for a string of lower readings to feel more confident the central bank can get back to its 2% target.

Read: Feds Brainard says she doesnt support a pause in interest-rate hikes in September

There are aspects of the historical pattern that are very relevant: Namely, that inflation took a number of years to develop, kept growing, receded, then came back and was hard to get rid of, said Mace McCain, chief investment officer at San Antonio-based Frost Investment Advisors, which manages $4.7 billion.

That is also probably true today, we just have to be a little careful about drawing direct comparisons, McCain said via phone. In the past, the U.S. labor market had stronger labor unions, which he says contributed to the wage-price spiral of the 1970s and 1980s.

For now, his base-case expectation is that annual headline CPI readings will fall toward 4% or 5% by year-end from Aprils level of 8.3%, an environment which will still be very damaging to peoples real earnings. The next CPI print for May is due on June 10.

Financial markets remained relatively sanguine after Brainards remarks. Treasury yields were little changed, with the 10-year rate TMUBMUSD10Y, 2.968% at 2.92% as of Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, all three major U.S. stock indexes SPX, -1.53% DJIA, -0.89% COMP, -2.38% were moving higher, shrugging off earlier weakness.

If inflation falls at a slower-than-expected pace, BofA Securities strategists said the U.S. dollar and crude oil would be set to outperform for the rest of the year. A sharp contraction in Russian oil exports could even trigger a full-blown 1980s-style oil crisis and push Brent well above US$150/barrel, they said in a note.

And in a non-base-case scenario in which inflation stays closer to its current levels into year-end, McCain said he would expect the most damage to be done to 20- TMUBMUSD20Y, 3.345% and 30-year Treasury yields TMUBMUSD30Y, 3.123%, as investors sell off those bonds. If inflation doesnt moderate, historic P/E ratio comparisons indicate that the market would need to revalue lower, he said.

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Investors may be in for this rude surprise: History shows inflation can take years to return to normal even when Fed hikes above 10% - MarketWatch

Michael Grove's MLB debut continues recent run of success for WVU players in pro baseball

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. When Michale Grove made his Major League Baseball debut last month, he became just the 32nd former WVU baseball player to appear in a Major League Baseball game.

Even more notable, hes just the 12th West Virginia native to play in the MLB since the start of the 21st century.

The Wheeling native became the third different former Mountaineer to play in the big leagues this season, joining Toronto Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah, and injured Baltimore Orioles hurler John Means.

It makes the 2022 MLB season memorable and adds it to a shortlist in WVU lore.

1902 was the first time three different WVU alumni appeared at the MLB level in the same season.

One hundred and three years would pass before it happened again in 2005. Nearly a full decade would go by before it happened a third time.

In all, the 2022 season marks just the eighth time that at least three former WVU players have played in a Major League Baseball game in the same year.

Below is a list of all of those seasons.

2019 is the only time that more than three Mountaineers played in the big leagues in the same season.

However, 2022 is the only season in which every WVU product that has appeared in The Show has been a pitcher.

Manoah, Means and Grove have combined for a 5-1 record and 62 strikeouts on the mound. The majority of that production comes from Manoah.

Randy Mazeys tenure at WVU, which has now spanned 10 seasons, has not only been highlighted by two trips to the NCAA Tournament, but also by five of his former players now having played in the bigs.

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Threes company: Grove adds 22 to shortlist in WVU history - WBOY.com

TOPEKA, (KSNT) Monkeypox, a rare disease usually occurring in West and Central Africa, is spreading to some states in the U.S.

In Kansas, no cases have been detected yet, but a spokesman for the states health department, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, told Kansas Capitol Bureau that plans to train healthcare providers on identifying and treating the disease are underway.

KDHE is communicating with health care providers as information becomes available through CDC. We are also planning a training webinar for providers that will discuss identification and treatment. Any provider who suspects a case of monkeypox should contact the KDHE Epidemiology Hotline.

The silent spread of the virus is prompting contact tracing efforts in neighboring states, like Colorado, where a case was recently identified. While health experts say the virus is not a cause for fear, they are encouraging people to be aware of the symptoms and how to prevent it.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, an infectious disease specialist with the University of Kansas Medical Center said that while the virus is not as severe as the coronavirus, it can take a toll on people who are immunocompromised. Hawkinson said, overall, anyone could be at risk of getting the disease.

We have to understand, anybody can get this diseaseit is obtained by people who have the disease, Hawkinson said.

Unlike coronavirus, the virus spreads primarily through direct contact with a person infected with the virus, contaminated materials or even an infected animal.

In 2003, Kansas was one of six states in the U.S. impacted by an outbreak of Monkeypox. All people infected during the outbreak came into contact with pet prairie dogs. The pets were infected after living near small animals imported from Ghana.

At the time, lab testing and smallpox vaccines were used to prevent the virus from spreading. Since the U.S. already has certain preventative measures in place, Hawkinson said the country may be able to respond and contain the disease quickly.

I believe the process will be an offering of the smallpox vaccine we know that has been done in Nigeria we know that has been done before in the United States, Hawkinson said. Vaccination will continue to have a preventative activity even up to four days after the exposure.

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Monkeypox has history in Kansas; Heres what to know - KSNT News

Malak Bouraeda is making history this week at her first U.S. Womens Open presented by ProMedica. She is the first golfer woman or man from Morocco and the Arab region to play in a major in the United States. Bouraeda follows the steps of another Moroccan woman, Maha Haddioui, who played the AIG Womens British Open in 2016 and 2021.

Helping grow the game in Morocco and the region is a big thing and I love the community that is supporting me. It is fun to uphold the fact that women golfers are doing better than men, said 21-year-old Bouraeda, who recently completed her senior year at the University of Colorado and is planning to return to the golf team as a fifth-year senior while pursuing a masters degree in Strategic Communications.

Bouraeda, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri to a Moroccan father and American mother, made it to her first major by winning her qualifier at Walnut Creek Golf Preserve in Colorado. I did not even play a practice round and I went in with no expectations. It was a nerve-racking day, said Bouraeda, who finished at 143 for 36 holes, enough for a trip to Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club.

I got here pretty early on Saturday. I think this course suits me quite well and I just need to hit the ball in the right spots, said Malak while practicing the course for the fourth time along with her caddie and her dad Zach, easy to spot with a Moroccan flag on his backpack.

My grandmother used to cook a lot for me, and I fell in love with Moroccan food and culture. I take a lot of pride in being Moroccan and it is a fun motivation when I am in situations like this one, said Bouraeda, whose grandparents moved in for a few years with her and her dad in Texas after she lost her mom at 10 years of age.

Around that time, Bouraeda, who has been told she started playing golf when she was three, began to experience big competitions as a junior in the Pinehurst area. A lot of my memories of important events originate in this part of the country. It feels very special and pretty full circle to come back here for my first major, she said.

I think shes a great golfer and has the potential to achieve a good ranking this week, Im sure she will do her best and enjoy the experience as much as possible, said her fellow countrywoman and golfer Lina Belmati, who is representing Morocco at an LET Access tournament in the Czech Republic this week and hopes to join Malak on the LPGA Tour one day.

I met Malak three years ago when we played a LET Access tournament together in Switzerland. She is a great girl full of ambition and has a great work ethic, added Belmati, another promising young golfer who has benefited from the junior programs of the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation.

I havent been back in a few years, but the connection I have to that part of my culture seems to be stronger than ever, said Malak Bouraeda, referring to her relationship with Lina and other women golfers from Morocco and the strong support she is receiving from her dads home country and the Arab region as she readies for her first major appearance.

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Bouraeda makes history for golf in Morocco and the Arab region - LPGA

Is there anything sweeter literally or figuratively than biting into the plastic-wrapped chemical compound of luxuriously spongey cake with vanilla cream that is a Twinkie?

Perhaps not. But the original Hostess delicacy was once something else entirely. The preservative-filled dessert that many once believed could withstand nuclear war got its start as a banana cream shortcake, until World War II changed everything.

In 1930, a baker named James Dewar began experimenting while serving as manager of Continental Baking Companys Chicago area plant in River Forest, according to the Chicago Tribune. He wanted to prove that shortbread could serve a purpose outside strawberry shortcake.

The economy was getting tight, and the company needed to come out with another low-priced item, he told the paper. We were already selling these little finger cakes during the strawberry season for shortcake, but the pans we baked them in sat idle except for that six-week season.

While in St. Louis on a work trip, Dewar saw a billboard for Twinkle Toe Shoes, and thus found the name for his compact confections.

But they werent stuffed with a chemical vanilla-cream center. Dewars desserts were made with real bananas and cream no preservatives or artificial flavors.

Bombing during World War II made the shipping of bananas and oranges across oceans particularly treacherous. As a result, Dewar was forced to alter his recipe from banana to the much more accessible vanilla.

As time went on, the commercialization of packaged desserts proliferated, and Twinkies became a lot more popular but much less... homemade. And even though bananas became widely available again after the war, Dewars delicacies didnt deviate from the vanilla cream flavor that has become so well-loved by the zeitgeist.

In 2007, Hostess briefly reintroduced the banana Twinkie, but the novel treats had a short run one that certainly didnt stand the test of time or a nuclear holocaust.

Observation Post is the Military Times one-stop shop for all things off-duty. Stories may reflect author observations.

Sarah Sicard is a Senior Editor with Military Times. She previously served as the Digital Editor of Military Times and the Army Times Editor. Other work can be found at National Defense Magazine, Task & Purpose, and Defense News.

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How a WW2 banana shortage changed the course of Twinkie history - Military Times