WACD Reading List

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was expected to backpedal Tuesday on its masking guidelines and recommend that even vaccinated people wear masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging, a federal official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss details of the new policy. The CDC was expected to make an announcement later in the day.

WASHINGTON – Democrats and Republicans who represent Western states in Congress called on the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday to provide more aid to farmers and ranchers battling historic heat, drought and wildfires across the region. In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, lawmakers from nine states asked the USDA chief to “explore all potential flexibilities for additional relief,” noting that some Northwest berry growers have reported losing up to 80% of their crops to the heat wave that saw temperatures in the region reach as high as 120 degrees in June. “Although the extent of damages relating to the extreme heat has yet to be fully determined, agricultural producers expect these impacts to be severe,” the lawmakers wrote. “As producers continue to assess losses over the next 18 months, it is likely that the total impact of the heat wave will be much higher than current estimates.”

CNN — The US could see nearly four times the current rate of Covid-19 cases in the next four to six weeks as the Delta variant spreads and the population hits a wall on vaccinations, a former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told CNN. That warning comes as the CDC is expected to change its masking guidance Tuesday – by recommending that vaccinated people in certain parts of the country resume wearing masks, and that everyone in K-12 schools wear masks regardless of vaccination status – according to sources familiar with the decisions.

The Washington state Department of Health reported 3,073 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths Monday. Statewide totals from the illness caused by the coronavirus are 469,308 and 6,089 deaths. Those numbers are up from 466,235 cases and 6,078 deaths as of Friday. The case total includes 39,971 infections listed as probable. DOH revises previous case and death counts daily.

A pair of bills seeking to expand broadband access in Washington state went into effect on July 25. The bills, HB 1336 and SB 5383, will allow not-for-profit, community-owned public utility districts (PUD), ports, and counties to provide retail broadband service directly to customers. Under previous legislation enacted in 2000, PUDs have been able to build out the infrastructure for broadband internet, but were required to let private internet service providers deliver service.

NESPELEM — All evacuation levels at the Chuweah Creek Fire in Nespelem have been removed. The towns of Nespelem and Keller, as well as several surrounding areas, were under varying evacuation levels since a lightning strike started the fire July 12. On Monday, Level 1 notices — be aware — were lifted, according to a news release from Northwest Incident Management Team 12.

The situation is much the same all around Puget Sound. Providence Medical Center in Everett is operating at capacity. Harborview Medical Center is as well. As the region's level one trauma center, Harborview is receiving patients from other states -- people with serious burns and complex injuries. Ambulances have been forced to wait up to 90 minutes, at times, to unload their patients.

OLYMPIA — The Public Broadband Act, HB 1336, took effect Sunday to help ensure families and businesses throughout Washington state have access to high speed internet. “Washington state now joins the majority of states that allow unrestricted public broadband. This is long overdue. It will help people across the state have cheaper and better options for internet access,” said bill sponsor Rep. Drew Hansen (D-Bainbridge Island).

Due to extreme fire danger and ongoing drought, The Nature Conservancy is temporarily closing all recreational and public access to lands it manages in Eastern Washington, effective July 23. This includes Central Cascades Forest lands on both sides of I-90 around Cle Elum and stretching south to Highway 12, the Moses Coulee/McCartney Creek, Beezley Hills complex of preserves, and other preserve lands scattered through Eastern Washington.

The eruption of COVID-19 last year caused the proportion of people working from home in the U.S. to nearly double, with the shift most pronounced among college graduates and workers in such fields as finance and professional services.

A significant and far-reaching heat wave is poised to build across much of the continental U.S. during the next few weeks, and it could be the most expansive in the country so far during this unusually hot summer, aggravating drought and wildfires.

There are more than a dozen fires burning in Eastern and Central Washington, Idaho and Montana. According to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center, Washington state had six large wildfires on July 19, 2020. But as of July 19, 2021, it's reporting 17. That means fire crews are responding to more large fires, earlier in the season.

How do those rejected employees respond? They respond poorly, at least in the short term. After all, no one wants to be turned down for a job, and the sting is often greater when you are told “no” by your current employer. Studies have shown that internal rejection leads to reduced job satisfaction and reduced commitment to the organization. Rejection can also engender feelings of envy toward the workers who “beat them out” for the job or lead employees to engage in counterproductive work behaviors, such as stealing from their companies. If employees stick around a few months after rejection, however, these negative attitudinal effects tend to fade away.

Dorman Products‘ constant detective work to see which automotive parts are failing in large numbers on which models has allowed them to grow into a big operation—where they know exactly which parts on your car are likely to break first, why, and how to make them better, giving consumers not only cheaper prices at the garage, but the freedom of DIY.

NESPELEM – The Chuweah Creek Fire, burning northeast of Nespelem on the Colville Indian Reservation, had charred about 36,690 acres of land as of Thursday morning, July 22. Containment was at 40 percent, according to Northwest Incident Management Team 12.

The Grant County Health District issued an air advisory Thursday in response to several wildfires in Central Washington causing the air quality to deteriorate. “The smoke is kind of in the area and lingering,” said Misty Aguilar, Public Information Officer. “We want folks to pay to what’s going on in their surroundings and plan accordingly.”

MAZAMA, Wash. - A 20-mile stretch of the North Cascades Highway is likely to remain closed at least through the end of the month by the Cedar Creek Fire burning in north central Washington, officials say. The highway, also known as State Route 20, is closed from milepost 185, seven miles west of Winthrop, to milepost 165. It is the only U.S. roadway across the Cascade Mountains north of Highway 2.

A fire that started early Thursday morning in Whitman County north of Colton ballooned to approximately 2,000 acres and was still growing. The blaze, officially titled the Steptoe Canyon Fire, is zero percent contained and has prompted Level 1 evacuations, according to a news release from the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Demand for COVID testing is seeing a major uptick for the first time in months. Many more people are testing positive for COVID too, with most of the cases caused by the Delta variant. The surge in demand is also leading to slower turnaround for test results at some locations. The city of Seattle’s website says: “We are currently experiencing longer turnaround times than usual that will continue through the weekend. Expect results in 24-48 hours.”

Living in a perpetual state of disruption, uncertainty and grief can test anyone's mental health. And events of the past 16 months have delivered all of those in spades thanks to a steady stream of horrors, including but hardly limited to the deadly pandemic, George Floyd's murder, the January 6 Capitol insurrection and attacks against Asian-Americans. They've also catapulted employee mental health to the top of many employers' list of concerns and priorities.

There’s an increase of evacuation notices in the Cedar Creek Fire which continues to grow near Mazama in Okanogan County. It includes several Level 2 (GET READY) and one Level 3 (Evacuate NOW ) alerts. A Red Cross shelter is available at Methow Valley Elementary School. The fire covers more than 8,400 acres and is 11 percent contained as of Wednesday morning. There are 351 people working the fire.

OLYMPIA, Wash. — The upswing in COVID-19 cases around Washington and the increased danger from the variants is causing some of the state's health leaders to mask up, including those who are fully vaccinated because of breakthrough cases that are being reported.

From Oregon to the Dakotas, hay stocks for hungry cattle are low and ranchers say summer pastures are already dry from the widespread drought. It leaves them little choice but to cut herds now. “People are just scared that we’re not going to have any fall green up [rains that grow grass] either — so it’s not looking good,” Clark says.

PORTLAND — Wildfires in the American West, including one burning in Oregon that’s currently the largest in the U.S., are creating hazy skies as far away as New York as the massive infernos spew smoke and ash into the air in columns up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) high. Skies over New York City were hazy Tuesday as strong winds blew smoke east from California, Oregon, Montana and other states. Oregon’s Bootleg Fire grew to 616 square miles (1,595 square kilometers) — half the size of Rhode Island.

NESPELEM – Rising temperatures, gusty winds and low relative humidity challenged firefighters July 19 on the Chuweah Creek Fire northeast of Nespelem. Lines held, but there was some spotting and fire slop-over, according to Northwest Incident Management Team 12, which is coordinating the fire fight.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ecologists in a vast region of wetlands and forest in remote Oregon have spent the past decade thinning young trees and using planned fires to try to restore the thick stands of ponderosa to a less fire-prone state. This week, the nation’s biggest burning wildfire provided them with an unexpected, real-world experiment. As the massive inferno half the size of Rhode Island roared into the Sycan Marsh Preserve, firefighters said the flames jumped less from treetop to treetop and instead returned to the ground, where they were easier to fight, moved more slowly and did less damage to the overall forest.

Farmers are among the most likely to die by suicide compared with any other occupation, according to a 2020 study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With COVID-19 fallout, record debts, drought, wildfires and a lack of access to counselors, the need for a conversation about mental health and solutions in rural America is more urgent than ever, experts said. "Therapists may not fully get that a lot of these farmers literally would rather die than lose the farm that has been in their family for 100 to 120 years," said McConkey. She said it's vital to provide an understanding of mental health to everyone associated with agriculture. Crop consultants, agronomists, crop insurance salesmen, seed salesmen and elevator employees should all know the warning signs of someone struggling with mental health issues.