Front Pages from All America 8/15

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 Valley News (Vermont/New Hampshire)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Report Criticizes Juvenile Facility

WHY IT MATTERS: With youth violence soaring across the country, the need for juvenile detention centers is rising, and so is the scrutiny of those centers.

THE TAKEAWAY: The need is so great that states like New Hampshire sometimes send juveniles to out-of-state facilities. In this case, it was a place in Tennessee where ethics were allegedly not upheld. This problem is going to get worse until states and cities do the things to keep kids from committing crimes in the first place.

The Courier News (New Jersey)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Middlesex Water 31% Bill Price Increase

WHY IT MATTERS: Average water bill costs are rising nationally. The 31% figure in this part of New Jersey is typical of the hikes elsewhere.

THE TAKEAWAY: Aging pipes and other infrastructure problems are contributing to this, in addition to suburban sprawl which has always strained delivery systems.

The Alamogordo Daily News (New Mexico)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Biden Criticized on Energy, Climate Policy after Visit

WHY IT MATTERS: The President's "Bidenomics" tour was meant to promote the economy. It's not clear this will provide him a bump in the polls.

THE TAKEAWAY: It is always a dicey thing for a president to tout the economy because there will always be people who aren't feeling economically secure even in the best of times. But it appears the Biden team sent the president to some places where his message needed to be more nuanced to have the best effect.

The Albany Times Union (New York)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Boxes, not Books at UA Move-In Day

WHY IT MATTERS: Colleges across the country are welcoming students back to campus this week.

THE TAKEAWAY: I love the wording of this headline because it gets to the heart of the matter when it comes to college life nowadays. College has become more like an expensive summer camp for families as they spend billions on dorm room accessories, etc. The educational focus of the experience seems secondary.

The Staten Island Advance (New York)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Teachers Fired over Vaccine Refusal Rally at Courthouse

WHY IT MATTERS: School districts and other government agencies across the country are still having trouble filling the vacancies created by the firing of those who refused to get COVID vaccines.

THE TAKEAWAY: At this point, it just seems mean-spirited to keep these fired people from getting their jobs back. The vaccines' effectiveness was clearly over-hyped, and we need these positions filled.

The Cincinnati Enquirer (OHIO)

THE FRONT PAGE STORY: Archbishop: Abortion Amendment "Is Extreme"

WHY IT MATTERS: State-by-state battles over abortions laws continue to shake out across the country in the wake of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, which put the matter up to each state.

THE TAKEAWAY: The Archbishop is worried a new amendment proposed in Ohio would result in no restrictions whatsoever on abortion, and he has a point. Of course, there are many activists who believe any restriction is a slippery slope to a ban. This is another example of how "slippery slope" political activism is the enemy of common sense law.