Front Pages from All America 7/21

Every day, I comb through the front pages of all the daily papers in America (provided via?The Freedom Forum ) and will highlight 5-10 front page items that have national significance, with my quick commentary

The Journal Sentinel (Wisconsin)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Milwaukee Police Oversight Leaders Resign after New Law Strips Power

WHY IT MATTERS: Three years after the George Floyd riots spawned aggressive new controls on urban police departments, many cities are rethinking those moves.

THE TAKEAWAY: Many cities clearly went too far in their attempts to basically punish police departments as a form of political pandering in 2020. But now there's a danger that there won't be enough oversight for police, especially now that so many departments are desperate to attract new cops. Hysterical political reactions, from either side, don't mix well with good policing.

The Seattle Times (Washington)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Inslee, Lawmakers Blast Oil Industry for Highest Prices in the Nation

WHY IT MATTERS: Gasoline prices have started to creep up again, with a national average of $3.58 a gallon. But in Washington state, the average price is $4.92/gallon!

THE TAKEAWAY: It's always amusing to see the same Democrats who bash the oil industry every chance they get, restrict drilling and pipelines, and give every possible subsidy to alternative energy companies, turn around and complain that the oil companies are charging too much at the pump.

The Daily Progress (Virginia)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Another Restaurant with Ties to Hunter Smith Closes

WHY IT MATTERS: This story offers a rare glimpse into what it feels like to lose a service industry job.

THE TAKEAWAY: It seems like there's nothing more nefarious here other than a Charlottesville-area brewer getting in over his head with a restaurant expansion that spread him too thin. But while every newspaper will usually make the story about the entrepreneur only, this story focuses on others who have suffered because of the failed venture. It's a rare angle.

The Victoria Advocate (Texas)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: 3 Industrial Baseball Players Face Felony Assault Charges

WHY IT MATTERS: It appears this was a high school sports hazing incident, and these kinds of incidents are more in the national spotlight now because of the hazing scandal at Northwestern University.

THE TAKEAWAY: Coaches can do so much more to make sure new players on sports teams "pay their dues" in ways that don't involve assault or sexualized hazing. When they don't, they risk losing everything.

San Antonio Express-News (Texas)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: A Dozen Migrants Found in Cab of Stolen Tanker Truck

WHY IT MATTERS: This kind of incident is basically happening daily at the southern border, but it rarely makes front pages news... even in Texas.

THE TAKEAWAY: Even if you don't necessarily care about illegal immigration, this story is an example of all the other dangers involved. They include the often deadly conditions inside smugglers' vehicles, the hazards of a police chase, and the drugs and other contraband that often come along with the migrants.

The Houston Chronicle (Texas)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: A&M Head Denies Ties to Hiring Issue

WHY IT MATTERS: Texas is now seeing the effects of a political pushback against diversity programs at the university level.

THE TAKEAWAY: Someone at Texas A&M, (no one is taking responsibility just yet), clearly watered down the job offer made to former New York Times editor Kathleen McElroy to run that school's journalism department. The school's president says she had nothing to do with it, but the newly watered down offer letter was still leaked to the news media earlier this month. McElroy's journalistic focus has mostly been on matters of race, which could have cooled A&M's interest in her in light of Texas' legislative moves against Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion policies are state schools.

The Centre Daily Times (Pennsylvania)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Penn State Poised to Raise University Park Tuition Again

WHY IT MATTERS: While Penn State is raising tuition for students at its main campus, its many satellite/"junior college" campuses will see no tuition hikes at all.

THE TAKEAWAY: This tuition decision is the latest example of a smart money-saving plan a lot of students at big state schools employ: they spend their first 1-2 years of college at the cheaper satellite campus, and then transfer to the main 4-year campus.

The Standard Speaker (Pennsylvania)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Dark Money Group Pressures Lawmakers after Shapiro Vows Voucher Veto

WHY IT MATTERS: School voucher battles are ongoing in a number of states across the country right now.

THE TAKEAWAY: This article, and many like it, focus on the fact that there is an organization that uses anonymous-but-legal political donations to launch an advocacy campaign. It leaves almost completely aside the argument for or against new ideas to improve educational opportunities. It also fails to explain what ulterior motive may be encouraging anonymous donors to support school vouchers. It just casts aspersions and moves on.

The Statesman Journal (Oregon)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: As Police Try to Solve Deaths of 4 Women, Moms Hope for Answers

WHY IT MATTERS: Oregon, and crime junkies, have been focusing on the possibility recently that a serial killer has been operating in that state.

THE TAKEAWAY: A "person of interest" is being held in connection with the killings of four Oregon women, but that means that law enforcement and the news media need to be very careful about how they each proceed. There still is no proof there is a serial killer, or that these and other killings are connected. The news media in particular has failed to uphold much ethical behavior in these matters in too many past cases to mention.

The Tulsa World (Oklahoma)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Oklahoma Executes Man for 1995 Slaying

WHY IT MATTERS: Oklahoma is another state that put a moratorium on executions due to issues with lethal injection drugs, but has now resumed the practice.

THE TAKEAWAY: This is a case where a man in prison for assaulting one woman escaped and murdered another woman while he was on the loose. Both victims were involved with the killer romantically at the time of the crimes. This comes after Alabama carried out an execution early today after a long delay in that state for the same reasons as Oklahoma's capital punishment hiatus. These stories may indicate that the tide may turning again on this issue, this time against anti-death penalty advocates.