Yearly Archives: 2024

Dodge Elementary gets book vending machine

Nov. 21, 2024Dodge Elementary School in Grand Island, Nebraska is receiving a book vending machine thanks to a Read-Nebraska grant, according to a KSNB 4 report.The machine will allow students to earn tokens for good behavior and academic achievement, which they can then use to purchase books. The goal is to inspire a love of reading among students.To ensure each student receives a book regardless of behavior, Dodge Elementary will also give tokens as birthday gifts. “Our plan is, at each student’s birthday or half birthday, they will get a token and they’ll be able to purchase a book from the vending machine,” Angie Eberle, principal at Dodge Elementary, told the news outlet. “That way we guarantee every student at Dodge will get a book this year.”The book vending machine is part of a larger effort by Teammates to promote literacy and mentorship in Nebraska schools.

Passages Wine And Books Opens In West Town As A Place To Gather And Unwind

WEST TOWN — A bookstore and cafe that will soon serve wine and host live events, book clubs and more is now open in West Town.Passages Wine and Books, 1911 W. Chicago Ave., opened earlier this month in a space formerly home to a delivery service staging warehouse and, before that, a martial arts studio.The store is the passion project of owner Amanda Sadowski, a former social worker who fostered a love for literary fiction, romance and other genres — as well as wine — as a way to unwind from her demanding career.Sadowski has brought reading and drinking together in one space to offer customers and neighbors a reprieve, too — with wine service set to begin when she receives her liquor license from the city.@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 320px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 90px;}}@media ( min-width: 970px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 90px;}}
“I think I was feeling a little level of burnout, which I think is common in [social work], and I felt like if I had a space that combined those concepts, I would have more joy in my career,” Sadowski said. “The books we will sell are mostly fiction, what people will pick up in their spare time as a hobby, what gives them escape or joy. And then we’ll also have nonfiction around hobbies that nourish people, like cooking, travel, gardening.” Sadowski has spent more than six months renovating the space, adding a counter and shelves. She plans to sell a mix of popular books as well as some “hidden gems.”Passages Wine and Books will soon serve wine and other beverages at its West Town space. Credit: Quinn Myers/Block Club ChicagoSadowski hopes Passages is embraced by West Town neighbors as a community space, including for people who may want to gather after local coffee shops close but don’t want to hang out at a bar.She plans to host book clubs, wine tastings, author readings, “wine and book pairings” and even Mahjong lessons.“You might not want a traditional bar, because sometimes that’s hard to navigate. It could be loud or crowded, or maybe everybody in the party doesn’t really want to drink alcohol, and so we do want to bridge that gap,” she said. “We’re just trying to form connections and host different events. And we’ll learn about my customers and what they’re seeking.” As for the wine program, Sadowski is looking to stock options that “have a tale to tell,” from diverse winemakers with interesting backstories. She will also serve non-alcoholic wines, coffee and cold brew, as well as small bites like charcuterie, popcorn and desserts.Sadowski said she’s excited to become part of West Town’s vibrant small business ecosystem, and decided to move into her current space in part because there isn’t another bookstore in the immediate vicinity. Earlier this year, Sadowski worked with the owners of the nearby Happy Hour Shop to lift an existing liquor moratorium on their stretch of Chicago Avenue, which was eventually successful.“I think the synergy with the neighboring businesses was something that I was seeking, and I think I found it here on this block in West Town,” she said. “The neighboring businesses are great. We already have a couple events that we’ll be participating in, and I’ve been welcomed with open arms.” Passages Wine and Books is open noon-6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on weekends. Sadowski hopes to eventually stay open later. More information is available on the store’s Instagram.@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 320px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 100px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 90px;}}@media ( min-width: 970px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-2{min-height: 90px;}}
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Status of books called ‘frustrating’

Dozens still remain accessible in library
By KEVIN CHIRISlidell news bureau
SLIDELL – Nearly six months since a new St. Tammany Library Board of Control was appointed, with the hopes by many to move sexually explicit books off the shelves and into a restricted section, frustration is growing from public officials and the public about the fact that little has been done to address the situation.A couple of factors could legitimately be pointed to for the early lack of action, even though Parish Councilman Jeff Corbin, who has shown great support for the work from Library Director Kelly LaRocca, claims “the problem has been fixed.”Soon after the new board was put into place, three ousted members filed a lawsuit seeking to be re-instated, claiming their First Amendment rights were violated. That led the District Attorney’s Office to tell the new Library Board to hold off on having any meetings for two months.
As the lawsuit dragged on, the board began to meet four months ago, but since that time, has not taken any serious action to address the situation.The “problem” started over two years ago when several parish moms discovered dozens of sexually explicit books in the 12 public library branches, mostly in easy reach of minors. Even the children’s section had many books supporting and educating about the gay, lesbian and transgender lifestyles.That led to an extended battle in the parish for nearly two years after a watchdog group was formed, named the St. Tammany Library Accountability Project (STLAP), which officially challenged over 150 books as being pornographic or containing sexually explicit materials. The request was to move them to a restricted section, not asking for any book bans as some media reported. The former board steadfastly refused to restrict anything other than about a dozen graphic novels that had pictures of people having sex.When the new board was appointed, it was expected that many of the challenged books would be deemed “sexually explicit,” and moved to a restricted section. Even a new state law, Act 436, was passed that supported such a move.However, a new section in the libraries called “New Adult” has instead been used for sexually explicit books, even though the section is still unrestricted from the public.Current library policy says that any challenged books must be read by a LaRocca-appointed committee, which then makes a recommendation to the full board about restricting it, moving it to a different collection in the libraries, or doing nothing.The former board passed a resolution in April of 2024 that stated all books in the previous Teen section should be reviewed for sexual content. However, the board also created the new Adult section, and even for books that have been found to have that content, they are not being restricted—only put in the Adult section. Even though LaRocca and Corbin believe they are “restricting” the books since children are not supposed to go there, the books could still conceivably be picked up by any minor who wanders into the unrestricted Adult section.Corbin said he believes the actions by LaRocca are commendable and added, “that has fixed the problem.” Since being elected last year, Corbin has defended the actions by the library director on many fronts, including a recent e-mail when he told her “Thanks for your continued service to our community.”For that matter, the new parish councilman said “I’m aggravated that we are still being told we haven’t fixed the problem. Kelly is adhering to the state law by putting them into the Adult section. If you don’t like the law, then why don’t you go and change it?”While Corbin acknowledges that some minors can wander into the new Adult section and find a book with sexually explicit materials, he puts the blame squarely on the shoulders of parents.“If you are worried about your child doing that kind of thing, then parent your child,” he said.New Board Member Carole Gillio said that one reason the board has not done more so far is “because we have so many books to review, and to do it according to current policy, it would take three to four hours per book.” Gillio said she is working on finding a way to “streamline the review process.”While there were over 150 challenged books originally, Gillio said she believes that number is down to 70 since LaRocca said they have reviewed many in the Teen section (soon to be called Young Adult) and moved them to the new Adult section.However, Parish Councilman David Cougle, who was the original private citizen who took on the fight before winning election to the council, said the real problem is that the current library policy is allowing the books to remain accessible.“We need to rewrite the policies and so far, no new board member has made a recommendation to do that,” he said.That led former STLAP leader Connie Phillips and Cougle to both suggest Slidell attorney Charles Branton, who has a Master’s Degree in Library Science, be hired as a consultant to come up with a list of recommendations for policy changes.“The Library Board has spent so much money in the past hiring all kinds of consultants so I don’t see any reason they shouldn’t be willing to hire Mr. Branton. He is very knowledge and experienced in these library matters,” Cougle said.Phillips was originally the person who filed dozens of the book challenges, and most recently said she continues to find new books with detailed sexually explicit story lines. The most recent one was “Red Hood,” which had graphic detail about a teenage girl having sex with a wolf, while she was menstruating.When Phillips brought the book to the attention of LaRocca, she said the board had not gotten around to reviewing it yet.“That is usually her excuse for so many sexually explicit books still sitting on the shelves,” Phillips said. “The truth is that Kelly LaRocca always has and always will be beholden to the policies of the American Library Association (ALA), which is on record as opposing any restrictions of books from children or minors.”Phillips believes the new state law needs toughening, perhaps with the power to fire librarians who know about the books and do nothing.“The library culture will not change voluntarily. As for me, I have completed my mission of exposing the agenda, but it’s not up to me to reform policy. I rang the bell for citizens of this parish, so now I am done with it and can only hope others will finish this,” she said.Parish Council Chair Arthur Laughlin agreed that more needs to be done to restrict the books from kids.“Even when you watch a Netflix movie it shows you what kind of content is there,” he said. “But we have books with sexually explicit material that kids can just wander in and find. Personally, I don’t want anything dangerous in the library for my kids, and I don’t want them finding books that teach them about sexuality.”

Books to help you keep your head after the election and COP29

While people everywhere, not just in the United States, were still absorbing the impact of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, their representatives began meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan to discuss the global climate crisis. In response, this month’s bookshelf is divided into two separate but related selections that might help readers better understand both events.

The first six titles address Trump 2.0, the new administration that will take office on Jan. 20, 2025. Although Trump distanced his campaign from them over the summer, the conservative thinktank the Heritage Foundation and its Project 2025 report have reemerged in the wake of his election. Senior editor-at-large of Breitbart, a far-right news and commentary website, Joel Pollak writes from a different vantage point about the agenda for a second Trump turn in the White House. Readers should remember that the descriptions of titles in YCC’s monthly bookshelves are adapted from copy provided by their publishers. The bombast is in their own words. 

The first list continues with a just-published overview of recent American politics, an in-the-trenches account of “the coordinated conservative assault on women’s freedom,” and a guide for “living in a divided nation.” 

A new history of the oil industry links the two parts of this month’s bookshelf. Trump’s nomination of Chris Wright, a fracking climate denier, to head the Department of Energy reveals, yet again, the fossil fuel industry’s influence on American politics and global climate negotiations. 

The last six titles begin with a Chatham House report on Azerbaijan and two “gap reports” from the United Nations Environment Programme, reports released for COP29, the 29th meeting of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

A fourth report addresses multinational corporations attempting, in good faith, to do “business within planetary boundaries.” And a new Oxfam report argues that addressing egregious global inequalities in wealth could “create a sustainable planet for all.” 

The final report, by a team from CAAD (Climate Action Against Disinformation), shows how fossil fuel companies, acting in bad faith, maintain their influence through the relentless production and online dissemination of disinformation about renewables, extreme weather events, and carbon-capture technologies. 

The earth-shaking events of the last month bring to mind the poem from Rudyard Kipling that begins: “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs …. ” These books and reports might just help with that task. 

Project 2025: Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, edited by Paul Dans and Steve Groves (Heritage Foundation 2023, 922 pages, free download with registration) 

Project 2025 is a historic movement, brought together by over 100 respected organizations from across the conservative movement, to take down the Deep State and return the government to the people. Its Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, published in April 2023, is a product of more than 400 scholars and policy experts from around the country. The book offers a menu of policy suggestions to meet our country’s deepest challenges and put America back on track. The 180-day Transition Playbook and includes a comprehensive, concrete transition plan for each federal agency.  Only through the implementation of specific action plans at each agency will the next conservative presidential Administration be successful. 

The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days by Joel B. Pollak, with a foreword by Steve Bannon (Skyhorse Publishing 2024, 160 pages, $24.99)

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In The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, Breitbart senior-editor-at-large Joel B. Pollak presents a roadmap for a post-conviction Trump administration, charged with a mandate for sweeping reform. Pollak outlines a strategic program of action to harness Trump’s energy for real change—and a set of executive orders and actions that can be carried out on Day One. Pollak’s astute insights and unwavering commitment to transformative change shine brightly in The Agenda, a passionate call to arms for those who champion bold leadership and decisive action. Pollak’s steadfast dedication to America’s advancement resonates profoundly, making this book essential reading for anyone invested in the nation’s trajectory.

The Path to Paralysis: How American Politics Became Nasty, Dysfunctional, and a Threat to the Republic by Donald G. Nieman (Anthem Press 2024, 464 pages, $39.95 paperback) 

How did the world’s oldest democracy lose its mojo? How did we get to a point where we face existential crises like climate change yet leaders can’t agree that there’s a problem let alone develop solutions? Political leaders bear some of the responsibility—Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, to name a few. But they are more a symptom than the cause. The Path to Paralysis examines changes in political culture during the past 60 years—conflicts over race, religion and gender; deepening inequality, hardening regional divisions; and dramatic changes in communications—that made Donald Trump possible, if not inevitable. These cross-currents came together in the early 21st century to create the perfect storm. The result is the toxic and deeply polarized politics that threaten the existence of constitutional government.

Abortion: Our Bodies, Their Lies, and the Truths We Use to Win by Jessica Valenti (Crown Publishing 2024, 256 pages, $25.00) 

In her most urgent book yet, New York Times bestselling author Jessica Valenti shines a light on the conservative assault on women’s freedom, cutting through the misinformation and overwhelm to inform, engage, and enrage. From the attacks Americans know about to the ones anti-abortion lawmakers and groups are trying to hide, Valenti details the tactics and horrors that she’s been painstakingly tracking in her acclaimed newsletter, Abortion, Every Day. Valenti gives voice to women’s frustration and outrage in a moment when they’re fed up with being talked over and diminished. She provides the language, facts, and context readers need to feel confident when talking about the attacks on their bodies and freedom. With the wit, expertise, and blunt moral clarity, Valenti offers an essential manifesto in an urgent moment.

Facing the Fracture: How to Navigate the Challenges of Living in a Divided Nation by Tania Israel (Green Books Group 2024, 232 pages, $ paperback)

Unsettled by provocative news, clashing politicians, and social fragmentation, Americans struggle to navigate the challenges of living in a divided country. Facing the Fracture offers a path out of the distress and disempowerment plaguing everyday people. Grounded in psychological research, this book offers readers strategies to foster resilience in the face of political polarization. In this valuable book, Israel moves beyond explaining the problem of polarization to demonstrate how individuals can cope with the political divide, which seems to widen with each passing day. Readers will find guidance to reduce toxic input from media, manage polarizing thoughts and feelings, and engage effectively with others. And they will learn that they have the power to improve their well-being, relationships, community, and country.

Crude Capitalism: Oil, Corporate Power and the Making of the World Market by Adam Hanieh (Verso Books 2024, 336 pages, $29.95)

This expansive history traces the hidden connections between oil and capitalism from the late 1800s to the current climate crisis. Beyond simplistic narratives that frame oil as ‘prize’ or ‘curse’, Crude Capitalism uncovers the surprising ways that oil is woven into the fabric of our modern world: the rise of an American-centered global order; the breakdown of Empire and anti-colonial rebellion; contemporary finance and US dollar hegemony; debt and militarism; and the emergence of new forms of synthetic consumption. The book provides an original and fine-grained empirical analysis of corporate ownership and control, including of refining and petrochemicals. By exposing these structures of power, Crude Capitalism makes an essential contribution to debates around oil-dependency and the struggle for climate justice.

Azerbaijan’s Climate Leadership Challenge: What’s at Stake at COP29 and Beyond by Ruth Townsend et al (Chatham House 2024, 76 pages, free download) 

Azerbaijan hosts the UN’s 29th climate Conference of the Parties (COP29), from 11 to 22 November, at a critical moment for multilateral efforts to address climate change. Climate impacts are worsening, yet action is inadequate to the scale of the crisis. Most urgently, vastly more money – in the trillions of dollars – must be mobilized to support developing countries’ climate responses. Delivering an agreement on increased climate financing is the key task for COP29 and for Azerbaijan in guiding the summit’s negotiations. But the country’s fossil fuel-dependent economy and inexperience in environmental action suggest it will struggle to provide credible leadership. Nevertheless, there is potential for Azerbaijan to engage other oil and gas producers constructively around the dilemmas of the energy transition.

Emissions Gap Report 2024: No More Hot Air … Please! by UNEP Research Team (United Nations Environment Programme 2024, 100 pages, free download) 

As climate impacts intensify globally, the Emissions Gap Report 2024: No more hot air … please! finds that nations must deliver dramatically stronger ambition and action in the next round of Nationally Determined Contributions or the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal will be gone within a few years. A failure to increase ambition in these new NDCs and start delivering immediately would put the world on course for a temperature increase of 2.6-3.1°C over the course of this century. This would bring debilitating impacts to people, planet and economies. The report is the 15th edition in a series that brings together many of the world’s top climate scientists to look at future trends in greenhouse gas emissions and provide potential solutions to the challenge of global warming.

The Adaptation Gap Report: Come Hell and High Water by UNEP Research Team (United Nations Environment Programme 2024, 124 pages, free download) 

As climate impacts intensify and hit the world’s poorest, The Adaptation Gap Report 2024: Come Hell and High Water finds that nations must dramatically increase climate adaptation efforts, starting with a commitment to act on finance. Given the scale of the challenge, bridging the adaptation finance gap will also require innovative approaches to mobilize additional financial resources. Adaptation financing needs to shift from reactive, incremental, project-based financing to more anticipatory, strategic and transformational adaptation. In addition to finance, there is a need to strengthen capacity building and technology transfer to improve the effectiveness of adaptation actions. The report provides specific recommendations for renewed increased efforts to reach the 11 targets of the UAE Framework for Global Climate Resilience.

Doing Business Within Planetary Boundaries by Beatrice Crona et al (Stockholm Resilience Center 2024, 34 pages, free download) 

This report builds on ten years of transdisciplinary science, combining sustainable finance with ecological economics, resilience science, and Earth system science. In an evolving corporate reporting landscape, it offers guidance to businesses, investors, and policymakers to significantly improve the reliability of their assessment of nature-related impacts, risks and opportunities.

The authors stress the need for a shift in perspective, from company to the planet. To support this shift, the report introduces “Essential Environmental Impact Variables,” which capture the most essential environmental impact of companies in a standardized manner. These disclosures must account for where, what, and how much impact happens. Armed with this information, companies and their investors can more accurately assess their impacts and the resulting risks.

Carbon Inequality Kills: Why Curbing the Excessive Emissions of an Elite Few Can Create a Sustainable Planet for All by Mira Alestig et al (Oxfam 2024, 41 pages, free download) 

The only way to beat climate breakdown and deliver social justice is to radically reduce inequality. This briefing paper reveals the catastrophic climate impacts of the richest individuals in the world, and proposes taking urgent action to protect people and the planet. We share new evidence of how the yachts, jets and polluting investments of 50 of the world’s richest billionaires are accelerating the climate crisis. Oxfam’s research shows that the emissions of the world’s super-rich 1% are causing economic losses of trillions of dollars; contributing to huge crop losses; and leading to millions of excess deaths. As global temperatures continue to rise, risking the lives and livelihoods of people living in poverty and precarity, we must act now to curb the emissions of the super-rich, and make rich polluters pay.

Extreme Weather, Extreme Content: How Big Tech Enables Climate Disinformation in a World on the Brink by Research Team (Climate Action Against Disinformation 2024, 63 pages, free download)  

As COP29 gets underway, the consequences of climate change are ever more extreme. So too with climate mis- and disinformation, now ubiquitous online. The digital information landscape is dangerously polluted, obscuring the truth and delaying the urgent action we need to protect our future. Big Oil and Big Tech are facilitating an ongoing reframing of extreme weather events, as well as ready solutions to the crisis, turning them into fodder for opposition to climate action. The report presents three case studies that provide snapshots of the online world of English-language climate disinformation: Opposition to Renewables (by framing them as tools of control), Weaponizing Wildfires (by decoupling them from environmental drivers), and Fossil Fuel Advertising on Meta. One final finding: accessing the necessary data is increasingly difficult.

Only 28% of U.S. residents regularly hear about climate change in the media, but 77% want to know more. Help us bring climate news to more people.

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