Asking what the reporter didn't (and perhaps didn't want to). Class is in session: the first meeting of Remedial Groundwater 1A. And lastly, the Sun learns what many already knew about women in Ag.
Asking the things that the reporter didn't (and perhaps didn’t want to).
The story linked below is from the Sun and nominally about a homeless man who is suing the city of Lafayette CO for a variety of things, alleging that the city is not providing enough indoor shelter to the homeless and that they're preventing him from camping in public (which, according to the lawsuit, violates a number of constitutional rights).
I'll leave it up to you to read up on the suit and come to your own conclusions about the issues involved here (e.g. the state's obligation to provide housing and/or to allow people to live outside in public spaces if they choose).
As I read the article, I found myself wondering (and this is what I want to discuss here) a few things that weren't entirely readily apparent.
Broadly, how did this man end up in the situation he's in now (unless I misunderstood, he's now living on the streets with his son)? Was there some sort of criminality? Drug use? None of either?
Is the gentleman working now? If not, why not?
Rather than making his son homeless too so that they can be together, was there no other family that could care for the young man and provide a home and education?
I am not asking to heap more trouble upon the man. Sounds like he's got some already. But, and I'm open to other thoughts here, these questions strike me as reasonable and important things to ask.
I say this in particular about that last question. How could any reasonable father not be doing anything and everything in his power to get his child under a roof and in school? Why has that not happened here?
Questions like these go not just to how credible this man in his accusations, but they also speak to something fundamental that the reporter either missed or didn't want to discuss: how on earth is it that this man ended up homeless with a child and what has he done to provide a situation less dangerous than the one he is putting his child in now. Alternatively, is he not of sound enough mind to consider that his child shouldn't be homeless with him?
While we can debate the proper way to handle homelessness, while we can debate whether and what the state should do, while we can write articles so the voices of the homeless can reach the ears of the populace, can we also not ask the basics about the health and safety of a child? Can we not ask for details that provide more context and give a fuller picture?
I wrote the reporter an email and asked some general questions about the above. It's been a bit and I haven't heard yet. If I do, I'll update.
https://coloradosun.com/2023/08/09/lafayette-homeless-people-lawsuit-colorado/
Remedial Groundwater 1A.
This is part of what will be an ongoing series of posts about water in Colorado and we're starting out with some prerequisite material.
The videos below are from an excellent and informative YouTube channel about engineering. I've found his videos both entertaining and pretty accessible to someone not familiar with whatever aspect of engineering he's covering (really enjoyed his video on packed earth construction--now I have a good handle on how they build those packed earth approaches to bridges and etc.).
Before we talk water laws and policy, let's start off with the basics and look at how water moves under the earth and how wells/aquifers work.
Enjoy and, if you're like me, you'll be really interested by some of the odd behavior that groundwater displays.
More to come.
The Colorado Sun (and the organization that funds a reporter there so stories can get put in the paper) discover that ...
<<drum roll>>
--Not only are there women who work in Ag
--But also these women are seen as just as able
I don't work in Ag myself, I never have, but earlier generations of my family did and, when I moved out to a rural community college, I am now surrounded by people who do.
I don't know about those that write for the Sun or the Colorado Trust (the organization that funds a reporter at the Sun and thus gets the chance to insert their "articles" in the paper from time to time), but I was not really ever surprised to learn that there are women who work in Ag and who are just as able and capable.
My own grandmother used to tell me stories all the time about the work she did helping. I have personally seen feedlots staffed mostly by women (there were men there, but they drove the trucks, the women were on horseback and did the hard work of managing the cows). I know lots of women who have spent their lives working alongside their husbands and children in their operations.
So why in hell is it noteworthy that women can farm and that they're seen by their peers as just as able and hardworking?
Maybe if you grew up in a city, knew no one in Ag, and had a focus on diversity and equity such that this was your main (only??) lens through which you saw the world it would be noteworthy.
Or, presumably, if you read a paper geared toward same it would be noteworthy too.
https://coloradosun.com/2023/08/12/women-farmers-colorado-inclusion-education/