Yucky, ducky trouble at Lake Sacajawea
"Sinkings and sailings" lauds 10K run, autism event, blasts Tucker Carlson
It’s time for more “sinkings and sailings,” my occasional offering of short commentaries about the good and the bad.
Lake Sacajawea has too much of a good thing.
Hundreds of ducks have taken up residence at the north end of the lake, especially near the Rhododendron garden. A prodigious population of geese also has arisen. They’ve munched the grass down to stubble and created a feces minefield for pedestrians.
The explosion of waterfowl is easy to explain. Too many well-intentioned people are feeding them.
The ducks and geese are not stupid. They know where and usually when the gravy train arrives, flocking to whomever flings bread and other treats their way. (Bread is filling but not that nutritious.)
I don’t want to be a killjoy here, but something needs to be done.
City of Longview Parks Director Jen Wills says she is aware of the problem. At the very least, she’d like people to spread out their feeding efforts to disperse the waterfowl. The city is talking about reposting signs discouraging feeding the birds, but the problem appears to have grown beyond that solution.
A new parks superintendent coming aboard will have to address the problem, Wills said. Harassing the waterfowl is illegal under city code, but the birds’ prodigious pooping is likely fouling the lake water, too.
Should the city introduce predators? A pair of bald eagles is now nesting nearby, but eagles largely eat carrion and fish. This pair realistically couldn’t dent the duck and geese numbers. And the colony of cormorants are not doing the job, either.
It’s time to get quacking on this problem.
‘Awesome’ first Rainier-Longview 10K bridge run sets stage for expansion
More than 400 people — nearly half of them from outside Cowlitz County — participated in the first Rainier 2 Longview 10K Bridge Run on Sunday.
The rain mostly held off and the city of Longview got enthusiastic reviews from the participants, according to Longview Parks Department personnel.
“It was awesome … Next year we’re going to have 1,000 runners,” Parks Director Jen Wills predicted on Monday.
The route took runners from Rainier City Park, across the Lewis and Clark Bridge and through the Highlands neighborhood before concluding at Martin Dock at Lake Sacajawea.
The span over the Columbia River closed for 90 minutes for runners to safely cross and enjoy the view. Runners came from nearly 60 different cities. About 42% of the participants came from outside Cowlitz County, said Alissa Manno, community outreach and foundation specialist for the parks department. One runner came from Ohio.
No prizes were given out, but the winning men’s finisher was Nicholas Marty, 19, of Vader, who finished in 35.02. The women’s winner was Daelyn Richards, 37, of Portland, who timed 48.30.
The event was inspired by the Great Columbia Crossing, the annual 10K across the Astoria-Megler Bridge near the mouth of the Columbia River that attracts 3,500 people annually.
The new bridge run is a welcome addition to the area’s growing suite of festivals and events that attract tourists and add to the quality of life here. They include Squirrel Fest and the brew festival as well as the traditional Go 4th and Highlander festivals.
The new Bridge Run should definitely sail on.
Cathlamet hits home run for autism awareness
Baseball and bundt cake combined in a double play to benefit children with disabilities in Cathlamet on April 15.
Prior to the varsity baseball game between the Wahkiakum Mules and the Rainier Columbians, the Wahkiakum Autism Awareness group held a bake sale that raised $532 for a new sensory room at the elementary school.
“Having the ‘cool’ kids help raise awareness was worth gold,” said Sarah Lawerence, who organized the event, which occurred during Autiism Awareness Month.
“Baked goods flew off the shelves as customers were spoilt for choice. From lemon bundt cake and amish cinnamon bread to handmade sourdough and focaccia, it was a feast of the senses. The best bakers in town showed their reputations were well-deserved,” Lawrence wrote of the event.
Autistic children have social and language impairments and often have difficulty processing sensory information — as, for example, coping with the noise and ruckus of a large party or sporting event. Sensory therapies are used to moderate repetitive or disruptive behavior.
The Mules baseball team showed its support by wearing warm-up shirts sporting iron-on patches to raise awareness of the autism awareness group.
As the Longview father of an autistic son, I’ll say that the community knocked this one out of the park.
The Orwellian doublespeak of Tucker Carlson, Fox News
It’s poetic justice for Fox News prime time host Tucker Carlson. His name will appear forever in the hall of Pinocchio noses as one of most notorious liars in the history of journalism.
News Corp., which owns Fox, fired the right-wing commentator nearly a week after agreeing to pay $787.5 million to settle the defamation suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.
In settling the case, Fox admitted that it knowingly broadcast false claims that Dominion’s machines swayed the 2020 presidential election. Fox admitted to lying, and lying is not protected by the Freedom of the Press clause in the First Amendment.
I’d like to say that — if he does not understand decency and truth — at least News Corp. founder Rupert Murdoch understands money. Unfortunately, it sounds like Fox fired Carlson not because he lied but because of the nasty things he said about colleagues that were recorded in emails and messages entered into the court record
Carlson, Sean Hannity and all the other Fox “stars” who perpetuated election lies should also be hurled into the black hole of ignominy. Even now, though, Fox continues to assert that the settlement “reflects Fox’s continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.” So here we have it: Orwellian doublespeak in which bad becomes good.
Still, Carlson will join a list of infamous journalists that includes Jason Blair, whom the New York Times fired in 2003 after learning that he fabricated and plagiarized stories. He also joins Janet Cooke, who had to surrender her 1981 Pulitzer Prize after revelations that she fabricated the winning story — that of a young drug addict published in the Washington Post.
Fox faces additional defamation suits related to pushing the stolen election narrative. Perhaps firing Carlson is an attempt by Murdoch to at least appear contrite.
It’s far too late for that.
Great article