Judge won’t make the state resume bottled water distribution in Flint
A federal judge won’t force the state to immediately resume giving out bottled water to Flint residents affected by the city’s lead-tainted tap water crisis.
The decision Friday concerns the case of Flint resident Allen Bryant Jr. A recently filed lawsuit says that Bryant and other residents still have dangerous levels of lead in their tap water.
The state announced it was ending the program earlier this month and closed its remaining distribution sights last week.
Following the hearing, Hunter Shkolnik, the plaintiff’s lead attorney, said he felt that the judge had looked at the facts and determined that Bryant may not be "the right plaintiff" to request the injunction.
"But there are a lot of other people [in Flint] that have homes that have lead levels that are hundreds of times higher than they should be," Shkolnik said.
Shkolnik said that a lot of people in Flint don’t trust the filters that the state has provided.
However, attorneys for the state argued that there’s "submitted proof" that the the filters are effective for lead removal.
They said state had the right to stop providing bottled water.
Earlier this week, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said she was exploring "legal options" following an unsuccessful meeting with Gov.
Snyder about restarting the water distribution program.
Dreading ‘Day Zero’ as California drought resumes
On hearing that Day Zero just got pushed back a couple of months, the casual news consumer might be forgiven for confusing this with a bulletin from the Doomsday Clock scientists who predict the likelihood of worldwide nuclear devastation.
But no, that metaphorical clock is still set at two minutes to midnight.
Day Zero is the coming time when Cape Town, South Africa will essentially run out of municipal water for its 4 million residents — and for the visitors, too, who have long flocked to the beautiful, cosmopolitan city with a Mediterranean climate startlingly like our own.
Thanks to climate change, the annual rainfall there — never a huge amount in the first place — has diminished sharply in recent decades.
But there has been plenty of political bungling, too, and a remarkably short-sighted inability of local, regional and national government agencies to use engineering innovation to lessen the parched blow to people and to agriculture.
There are lessons for sure for Southern Californians to learn from this looming dry-as-dust scenario on the other side of the world.
The good news is that the predicted Day Zero was pushed back from sometime in April to sometime in June precisely because citizen conservation efforts are paying off.
But those efforts are pretty awful to ponder for those of us in California who thought last year’s mighty downpours might signal an end rather than an anomalous blip in our drought.
They will have to line up in the streets at just 200 water stations.
So are the days when we can afford to irrigate parkways and golf courses with expensive drinking water.
Classes to resume at JPS as water woes continue
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Justin Sellers/The Clarion-Ledger Jackson Public Schools is resuming classes Monday on a regular schedule despite continuing water woes.
Recent bouts of subfreezing temperatures have led to nearly 300 water main breaks across the city since Jan. 1.
The breaks have affected businesses, state agenices and schools.
Most recently, JPS dismissed Friday due to little or no water pressure.
Fire stations and Hinds County will be supplying water at various school sites with inadequate water pressure, according to a JPS news release.
The city will also be providing cases of bottled water to schools across the district, and JPS will have drinking water stations set up.
More: Jackson water main breaks since start of year: 226 and counting Portable restrooms for schools experiencing low or no water pressure have also been secured.
Students will continue to be served sack lunches at all schools for the next few days, and hand sanitizer will be available, the release said.
The following schools are currently experiencing no or inadequate water pressure: · Boyd Elementary · Dawson Elementary · French Elementary · Isable Elementary · Johnson Elementary · John Hopkins Elementary · Key Elementary · Lester Elementary · Marshall Elementary · McLeod Elementary · Oak Forest Elementary · Raines Elementary · Smith Elementary · Sykes Elementary · Timberlawn Elementary · Van Winkle Elementary · Walton Elementary · Wilkins Elementary · Brinkley Middle · Chastain Middle · North Jackson Middle · Peeples Middle · Whitten Middle · Forest Hill High · Lanier High · Wingfield High · Career Development Center · Morrison Adult Education
Caddo schools to resume class after water main break
Five Caddo Parish schools will resume classes Friday after they were closed due to a water main break.
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Mary Wood, spokesperson for Caddo Schools said that Green Oaks Performing Arts Academy, Pine Grove Elementary, Northside High School, Cherokee Park Elementary and North Highlands Elementary will resume classes as regularly scheduled Friday morning.
The schools were closed following a water main break in the school’s neighborhood that happened on Wednesday.
Customers who live in areas north and east of Hilry Huckaby Drive and north and west of North Hearne Avenue were placed under a boil advisory as crews worked to repair the issue.
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Keep usables out of trash use the Choose to Resume website
Keep usable items out of the trash and obtain quality items without buying new with the Hennepin County Choose to Reuse site (http://www.hennepin.us/choosetoreuse).
Choosing to reuse helps us live sustainably by reducing waste, saving natural resources, conserving energy, preventing pollution, and saving money.
The main feature of the Choose to Reuse site is a tool that directs you to the best reuse businesses for your needs.
This is where the Choose to Reuse website comes in to help.
The site can help you with common searches, such as where to buy quality used clothes near you.
Lastly, the site covers all 145 zip codes in Hennepin County, so you’ll be able to find information whether you live in Minneapolis or Independence.
There are benefits of reducing and reusing for our environment, in our communities and our homes.
The process of making new items uses natural resources and raw materials, which can harm the environment for future generations.
Reuse retailers provide residents the option to save money while still getting quality items, instead, of buying new items at a much higher price.
All of these are important reasons to check out the new Choose to Reuse website and start taking action to reuse today.