Front Pages from All America 6/26

Every day, I comb through the front pages of just about every daily paper in America (provided via?The Freedom Forum) and will highlight 10 front page items that have national significance, with my quick commentary

The Times-News (Idaho)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Gag Order in U. of Idaho Slaying Case Narrowed

WHY IT MATTERS: The Bryan Kohberger murder trial will be one of the most watched cases in years, and every development connected to it is important to how it will proceed.

THE TAKEAWAY: Forget what the prosecution, defense, or the "experts" say, the gag order is absolutely the most important aspect of this trial right now. That's because the amount of live and open coverage of the case from pre-trial motions to the verdict will dictate just how justice is served. For example, Kohberger is already getting a legal defense worth many times more than his net worth or could ever hope to earn. This is because his attorneys are hoping for lots of publicity for their work and possibly some kind of book or TV deal. Meanwhile, the prosecution is trying to gauge just how much scrutiny it will face based on the amount of open coverage of the case. Sadly, this is not how justice should be served but if you remember the O.J. trial you know this is how it goes.

The Arizona Republic (Arizona)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: AHCCCS Suspends Rehab Centers

WHY IT MATTERS: With the drug addiction crisis spreading across the country with intensity, scammers are going to try to take advantage of the government money being made available to fight it.

THE TAKEAWAY: Whether its Native Americans in Arizona, or new immigrants in New York City, scammers know that government money is always less carefully spent and watched than private funds. There are some countries that have figured out how to bring more private sector caution and accountability to public sector spending, but not the U.S.A.

The San Francisco Chronicle (California)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Parks May Face Cuts, Closures at Tahoe

WHY IT MATTERS: State and federal government job vacancies are enduring even long after the COVID lockdowns ended. Many states and cities are dealing with service cutbacks because of the shortages in everything from cops to park rangers.

THE TAKEAWAY: Blue collar and government jobs vacancies will continue to be a problem and get worse until we offer young people options other than four-year colleges. The average American with hefty student debt cannot seriously consider some of the lower-paying government jobs, even with the great benefits and job security. Meanwhile there aren't enough places to train properly for essential and often lucrative blue collar jobs.

The Tribune-Star (Indiana)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: State Program Looks to Hoosiers with Disabilities to Curb Worker Shortage

WHY IT MATTERS: Here's yet another story telling us about that blue collar/service worker shortage that is enduring in America. At least this is a story about a positive solution being tried.

THE TAKEAWAY: I would expand any program that strives to get people previously considered to be "unemployable" into the workforce. The benefits are immeasurable, especially if these programs can be tied to cutting off anti-work welfare program for non-disabled people who need to be introduced or re-introduced to the world of work.

The Daily Sentinel (Colorado)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: City Rolling out e-Bike Ownership Program

WHY IT MATTERS: There always seems to be state and federal money available for programs meant to cut down on car traffic. Grand Junction, Colorado got $134,000 from the state to provide 40 e-bikes to people making less than the city's median income.

THE TAKEAWAY: If you have to give out welfare, welfare that gets people out and about to go to work, look for work, or just not stay in all day is a pretty effective kind of welfare. Remember, almost all other forms of government assistance effectively pay people to stay home and not work. Whether this makes an impact on the environment or not, this isn't the worst use of that $134K.

The Connecticut Post (Connecticut)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Connecticut Billionaires Donate $5M for MDMA Research

WHY IT MATTERS: With marijuana now virtually legal all over the U.S., the next logical step for many is to make pyschedelic drugs legal as well. Just as it was with the legalization process for marijuana, the key to this legalization process will be arguments for the medicinal qualities some of these drugs may have for some people.

THE TAKEAWAY: As we've come to learn with vaccine studies, billionaires rarely make donations for purely charitable reasons. Many pharma experts believe some form of a legalized psychedelic market will be a multi-billion dollar bonanza one day. Steve Cohen may simply be doing some R&D and getting a charitable donation tax deduction out of it too.

Citrus County Chronicle (Florida)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Seniors Adapting to Development and Influx of Younger Families

WHY IT MATTERS: Areas of Florida once dominated by retirees are seeing lots of young families moving in as a result of Florida's attractive business, tax, and political climate.

THE TAKEAWAY: Population surges in retirement areas usually end up forcing retirees to find other areas to live where the cost and pace of living are more suited for them. This push and pull scenario will continue as long as we don't find better ways to fund our schools besides property taxes. It's those rising property taxes that come with the need for more schools that often serve as the final straw before retirees feel forced out.

The Telegraph (Georgia)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Hundreds Gather to Support Synagogue after Antisemitic Rally

WHY IT MATTERS: A neo-Nazi/white supremacist demonstration took place outside a 163-year-old synagogue in Macon, Georgia Friday, prompting a rally in response on Sunday. Antisemitic incidents continue to rise, nationwide.

THE TAKEAWAY: Rallies against hate are fine, but here's a question we all must ponder: why would you NEVER see an anti-black, racist demonstration outside an African-American church in an urban area? I promise you it's not because the haters are worried about a rally the next day. Until my fellow American Jews learn how to inspire real physical FEAR in the hearts of anyone who attempts to mess with them, this will get worse.

West Hawaii Today (Hawaii)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Green, BISAC Tout Medical Kauhale

WHY IT MATTERS: Hawaii is yet ANOTHER state dealing with so many more drug addicts that new ideas are needed to cope with them. Kauhale are Hawaiian versions of "tiny houses" which the state wants to use to house recovering addicts while they are in drug rehab programs.

THE TAKEAWAY: It's not clear how much this kind of program will help relative to the cost. But at least this is miles ahead of asinine ideas like we see in Los Angeles and San Francisco that simply invite more drug addicts to come to open-air/no arrest using areas, etc.

The Des Moines Register (Iowa)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Private Colleges Face Tough Decisions

WHY IT MATTERS: Iowa is another state seeing its private colleges dealing with budget issues as enrollment at non-elite schools has not recovered from the COVID lockdowns.

THE TAKEAWAY: The college tuition bubble is bursting all over America. With the exception of elite schools who continue to have pricing power, the smaller private colleges across the country are having a hard time arguing their case for their price tags. Most of the "reporting" on this problem will focus on economic pressures for families trying to pay tuition, but a harder look at just why tuition is so high at these schools is needed. A good case study on the greed that went into this disastrous scenario can be found by reading up on what happened to Vermont's Burlington College under the leadership of Jane Sanders, wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders. Here's what I wrote about that six years ago for CNBC.