Arizona
State promotes efforts to protect people from extreme heat
TEMPE – Arizona’s new heating official said May 3 that he is working with local governments and nonprofit groups to open more cooling centers and ensure homes have working air conditioners this summer in a more unified effort to avoid another horrific number of heat-related deaths. which surpassed 900 statewide last year.
“We don’t want that to happen again,” Dr. Eugene Livar said of last year’s deaths. “We can’t control it, although we can control our preparedness in response.”
Livar, a physician with the Arizona Department of State Health Services, was appointed to his position by Gov. Katie Hobbs earlier this year, making him the first U.S. state heating official in the nation. The new position recognizes the serious public health risks posed by climate-induced extreme heat, which has increased in recent years.
Last summer, Phoenix experienced the three hottest months since records began in 1895, including the hottest July and the second-hottest August. The daily average temperature of 97 F in June, July and August surpassed the previous record of 96.7 F set in 2020. Phoenix also set a record in July with a 31-day streak of highs of 110 F or higher.
Among the new measures the state is introducing are at least half a dozen mobile cooling centers made from shipping containers that are solar-powered and can be moved to wherever needed.
The city of Phoenix, for the first time this summer, will open two 24-hour cooling centers, one at a downtown public library and the other at a senior center.
Maricopa County has set aside nearly $4 million to expand evening and weekend hours at cooling and respite centers where people can escape the heat outside, rest in an air-conditioned space and drink plenty of water. It is also working to help people with limited resources get help paying their utilities and repairing or replacing their air conditioners.
UTAH
Transgender Activists Flood Hotline With False Reports
SALT LAKE CITY — Transgender activists have flooded a Utah tip line created to alert state officials to potential violations of a new bathroom law with thousands of false reports in an effort to protect trans residents and their allies from any complaints. legitimate that could lead to an investigation. .
The attack has led the state official charged by law with managing the tip line, Utah Auditor John Dougall, to lament that he was stuck with the cumbersome task of filtering out false complaints while also facing a backlash for doing so. comply with a law in which he did not participate.
In the week since its launch, the online tip line has already received more than 10,000 submissions, none of which appear legitimate, he said. The form asks people to report public school employees who knowingly allow someone to use a facility designated for the opposite sex.
Utah residents and visitors are required by law to use bathrooms and locker rooms in government-owned buildings that correspond with their birth sex. Starting May 1, schools and agencies that do not enforce the new restrictions can be fined up to $10,000 per day for each violation.
Within hours of its publication, trans activists and community members across the United States had already widely spread the Utah tip line on social media. Many shared the spam they had sent and encouraged others to follow their example.
The auditor’s office has found many reports that Dougall described as “total nonsense,” and others that he said appear credible at first glance and take much longer to leak.
Despite efforts to obstruct the law enforcement tool they had outlined in the bill, sponsors Rep. Kera Birkeland and Sen. Dan McCay said they remain confident in the tip line and the ability of the auditor to filter out false complaints.
“It’s no surprise that activists take the time to submit false reports,” Birkeland said. “But that doesn’t distract from the importance of the legislation and the protections it provides to women across Utah.”
NEW MEXICO
Feds take over investigation into burning train derailment
MANUELITO — The Federal Railroad Administration is now leading the investigation into a recent fire train derailment in New Mexico.
National Transportation Safety Board officials said May 16 that the FRA will determine the probable cause of the April 26 derailment.
NTSB investigators have examined the tracks and derailed tank cars and will focus on tank car performance and emergency response actions.
The derailment of a BNSF Railway freight train forced the closure of a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 40 and prompted two days of precautionary evacuations for 52 Manuelito residents who lived within a two-mile radius of the derailment site.
No injuries were reported, McKinley County officials said.
The train had left Bethlehem, New Mexico, and was headed to Phoenix and was traveling about 53 mph at the time of the derailment, well below the maximum permitted speed of 70 mph near the derailment site, NTSB investigators said. .
Of the 35 cars that derailed, six tank cars were carrying non-odorous propane, the NTSB said.
Four of the six tank cars were broken into and their contents released, which ignited, investigators said.
According to investigators, each derailed tank car was carrying about 30,000 gallons of liquefied petroleum gas.
Top water official to retire as Rio Grande decision nears
ALBUQUERQUE – New Mexico’s top water official will leave office in June, concluding a four-decade career that has included work on water projects from New Mexico and Colorado to Texas.
Mike Hamman has served as state engineer for the past two years and previously ran an irrigation district spanning thousands of acres in the most populated area of New Mexico. He also worked with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, managing federal water projects from the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado to Fort Quitman in Texas.
Hamman was recently among those involved in negotiations that led to a three-state consent decree aimed at resolving a long-running dispute with Texas over management of the Rio Grande. That case is pending before the United States Supreme Court.
Hamman said in a statement issued May 8 that he will continue to support efforts to improve New Mexico’s water security while also paying more attention to his family’s small farm in the Middle Rio Grande Valley.
The state engineer is charged with managing New Mexico’s water resources and has authority over the measurement and distribution of all surface and groundwater, a task that has become increasingly challenging as the arid state grapples with ongoing drought. and the effects of climate change.
New Mexico earlier this year released its latest water plan, which expanded on recommendations developed by a water policy task force that Hamman chaired in 2022. The water plan noted that some systems in New Mexico are losing between 40% and 70% of all drinking water treated due to breaks and leaks in old infrastructure.
WYOMING
Radon data available online on an interactive map
The Wyoming State Geological Survey has added new layers to its Interactive Wyoming Geological Hazards Map that make it easier to visualize radon potential across the state.
Radon is a colorless, odorless and tasteless radioactive gas that can accumulate to dangerous concentrations in closed spaces. Exposure to radon over time can cause lung cancer and is the second leading cause of the disease in the United States.
Radon gas comes from the natural decay of uranium and can be emitted from rocks, soil and groundwater. The radon layers shown on the WSGS online map show locations, such as Casper, where the presence of radon may be high due to geological conditions. These layers were created using data from a previous WSGS publication and observational statistics provided by the Wyoming Department of Health.
Test results have shown elevated radon levels in all 23 Wyoming counties, although radon concentration can vary widely from building to building due to local and non-geological factors. Areas not represented in these map layers may have high radon potential and not all parts of the areas represented will have high radon levels. The only definitive way to assess radon exposure is to perform site-specific testing on the building.
The Wyoming Department of Health offers free and discounted home radon test kits for Wyoming residents at health.wyo.gov/radon for more information.
Feds plan to restore grizzly bears in North Cascades
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