Front Pages from All America 6/29

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

Today's News Herald (Arizona)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Birth Control soon to be more Accessible in Arizona

WHY IT MATTERS: The Supreme Court's decision last year opening up abortion and birth control legislation to more individual state control is leading to some interesting new policies and rules.

THE TAKEAWAY: I'm among those who have been calling for over-the-counter birth control pill access for many years now. This is a very positive development in the abortion wars, as unwanted pregnancies should be reduced in all states and cities that allow OTC birth control access. By the way, remember when President Bill Clinton neutralized a lot of the abortion debate by saying we should make abortion legal but RARE? I miss those days. They've been replaced by leaders on both sides calling for either complete abortion bans or 9-month/partial birth abortion "freedoms."

The Gazette (Colorado)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: United Travel Woes Persist at DIA

WHY IT MATTERS: Massive flight cancellations and delays plagued most of the U.S. in the first half of this week.

THE TAKEAWAY: Once again, the airlines are using "bad weather" to deflect from pilot shortages and likely soft labor actions that are the real cause of these flight problems. This is what happened last year on a larger scale as pilots unions made sure to inflict the most pain on airlines and customers during the peak return of travel demand post-COVID. Summer flight schedule shenanigans like this will continue until someone gets honest about the real cause.

The Decatur Daily (Alabama)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: 7 Arrested in Gambling Raid

WHY IT MATTERS: Illegal gambling continues to be a common crime all across America.

THE TAKEAWAY: Do not fall for the arguments that legalized gambling will cut down on illegal operations that not only evade taxes, but foster other crimes like drug trafficking. Again, decriminalizing some common vices is one thing and it makes sense in many cases. But full-on legalization eventually leads to more activities that harm economies and communities.

The Fresno Bee (California)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Feds Award $20 million to Restore Old Fresno Train Depot

WHY IT MATTERS: Where is all that money going in the domestic infrastructure and renewal plan pushed by the Biden White House? Here's one example.

THE TAKEAWAY: One of the great follies in urban planning is spending big money on improving existing spaces in hopes that a new attraction or two will bring crowds back to those places. This rarely works because the conditions of the buildings and other structures have decayed because the people left. It's not that the people left because the buildings were decaying. California is also still not dealing with reality when it comes to its planned high speed rail dream, which is already way over budget despite being greatly scaled down. There are probably 20 million better ways to spend this $20 million.

The Connecticut Post (Connecticut)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Mayor's Sister Sues City, Claims Injury from Broken Sidewalk

WHY IT MATTERS: This story provides some insight into how people with knowledge of the inner workings of government can take advantage of it,

THE TAKEAWAY: There is definitely a disproportionately high number of elected officials, bureaucrats, and their spouses who sue their local governments. It's not a mystery why; they know more about where the legal liability funds are and for what kinds of cases they are most easily released to the plaintiffs. This malfeasance is bipartisan and you might be shocked to see how many politcians and their families have done this over the years.

The News Journal (Delaware)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: First State Eyes Climate Goals: Seeks to Drastically Cut Greenhouse Gas Net Emissions

WHY IT MATTERS: There's an arms race of sorts going on in blue states to pass the most aggressive environmental laws and adopt the most dramatic targets.

THE TAKEAWAY: I could probably use just this article to teach an entire semester of a college journalism class on what NOT to do. The fact is that no state really cares about cutting net emissions; they only care about legislating or punishing certain industries that may or may not produced more emissions than others. We know this because of the still almost universal opposition to building new nuclear power plants and the resistance to more natural gas options. There's also just way too much of the political grandstanding taken for granted as genuine by the reporter in this story.

South Florida Sun Sentinel (Florida)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Florida Legalizes Fentanyl Test Strips

WHY IT MATTERS: Florida becomes the latest state to allow the use of special strips that test if a drug or other substance a person may use contains fentanyl.

THE TAKEAWAY: The old thinking about test strips was that using them may be a form of condoning use of other illegal drugs. It may be a form of acceptance in a way, but it's not like handing out free needles to heroin users which actually encourages the continued used of an already very dangerous drug, Until we get a handle on the massive amounts of fentanyl being deliberated flooded into this country by our political enemies, this kind of tactic will be necessary.

Tampa Bay Times (Florida)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Analysis: Ballpark Could Bring more than 17,000 Jobs

WHY IT MATTERS: Yet another city is feeling pressure from some developers and sports teams owners to use public money for a new stadium.

THE TAKEAWAY: Whether it's the train station in Fresno or a new stadium in Tampa, you have to remember that improving or replacing existing facilities will not bring more people and continued economic boosts to the same site. The Tampa Devil Rays consistently draw some of the lowest attendance numbers in all of baseball despite the team being very competitive on the field most years. A new stadium will not do anything to justify the massive price tag that comes with it.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution (Georgia)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Ga. Medicaid Expansion Starts July 1

WHY IT MATTERS: 14 years after Obamacare was enacted, there are still a significant amount of Americans without health insurance coverage. Many states are trying different ways to cope with it.

THE TAKEAWAY: The reporter in this story goes a long way to pour cold water on the program; noting that due to work requirements and other rules, it won't help most of the uninsured people in the state. It's a great example of how journalists routinely let the "perfect be the enemy of the good," as long as the politician behind a certain plan is not from the preferred partisan side.

The Lewiston Tribune (Idaho)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: UI to Plans to Destroy Kings Road Home

WHY IT MATTERS: The Bryan Kohberger murder case is putting a spotlight on how Americans respond to major crimes, and what is the best way to manage that.

THE TAKEAWAY: This is a wise decision by the University of Idaho. Any future sale or rental of this house would either be made very difficult because of its history, OR it would likely be used by a future owner to somehow profit off of "crime tourists" wanting to take pictures at the home and thus disrespecting the victims and their grieving families.