Grace Kelly: Prepare for the arrival of a colorful and messy Asian invader

Spotted lanternfly

— Photo by Lawrence Barringer/Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

From ecoRI News (ecori.org)

A tiny, winged invader is making its way up the Mid-Atlantic Coast. Rhode Island is holding out, but only just so. The Spotted Lanternfly has already reached other states — Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York — and experts are worried that it could make its way here.

“There was one interception in Massachusetts and one in Connecticut,” said Cynthia Kwolek, senior environmental planner at the Rhode Island Department of Management’s Division of Agriculture. “An interception is when they find an insect but they don’t find any additional insects or infestations. But it’s usually an indicator that there are shipments going to this area from the infested area, and they usually find more infestations within a few years after an interception.”

Hailing from Asia, the Spotted Lanternfly made its first documented U.S. appearance in 2014, when a female snuck onto some imported building materials that were brought to Berks County, Pa.

“They are very good travelers, and their egg masses are relatively inconspicuous, so they lay their eggs on pretty much anything,” Kwolek said. “So if somebody is moving to another area from the infested area, they might not notice that they have egg masses laid in some of their tire wells, or in the undercarriage of the car.”

With the Spotted Lanternfly comes swarming, sap sucking and general unpleasantry.

“They swarm and aggregate on trees,” Kwolek said. “So there could be a tree with 500 adult insects. They also excrete honeydew, which is a byproduct of their feeding from the sap in the trees. It’s sticky and can attract ants and wasps.”

Kwolek also noted that this can be a nuisance for homeowners. During one of her visits to Pennsylvania, she saw backyard decks coated with the sticky substance.

Another issue the Asian insects bring is their choice of food. While their main target is another invasive species, the Tree of Heaven, the Spotted Lanternfly doesn’t stop feeding there. They seem to also like grapevines.

“In the past five years in Pennsylvania, they’ve seen a reduction in grape yield,” Kwolek said. “And here in Rhode Island, we have a couple of hot spot vineyards that are great tourist attractions and if this insect was to come here and target those vineyards, it could be harmful to the growers’ income and our tourist economy.”

While there has yet to be a sighting of a Spotted Lanternfly in Rhode Island, the Division of Agriculture is hosting information sessions — the next one is expected to be held in January — to inform the public on what these tiny invaders look like and what to do if one is spotted. In the meantime, Kwolek asks that the public keep an eye out.

“If you see one, take a photo, and if possible, try to catch and freeze the insect, and then we would be able to identify it,” she said.

Grace Kelly is a journalist with ecoRI News.

Ocean Spray invents four cranberry-herbal blends

Harvesting cranberries

From The New England Council (newenglandcouncil.com):

“Ocean Spray has launched its first ever new brand — ‘Atoka,’ a line of healthy, plant-based drinks. Founded in 1930, Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry farmers in the United States, Canada and Chile. {The heart of New England’s cranberry production is southeastern Massachusetts.}

The new brand’s products were developed by the Lighthouse, the cooperative’s innovation incubator in Boston’s Seaport District. Ocean Spray founded the Lighthouse to incite creative collaboration that would help keep their cranberry products modern, unique, and wellness focused. The cooperative’s farmer-owned structure inspired the Lighthouse team to create sustainable, nourishing food products. Atoka will introduce four cranberry-herbal blends in January of 2020 as Tea Tonics, Oatmilks Elixirs and Herbal Shots.

“Atoka is the first new brand to be incubated here in Boston at the Lighthouse, indicative of our emphasis on an intensely innovative, agile approach to product development and cultivating a culture of innovation throughout the organization,” said Rizal Hamdallah, global chief innovation officer at Ocean Spray. ‘Atoka brings Ocean Spray into an entirely new category of wellness drinks.”’

The Council congratulates Ocean Spray on their new brand, Atoka, and celebrates its mission of providing nourishing, wellness-focused products

‘Your time’

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

A sign of the greatness of America: A friend, the Rev. Paul Zahl, showed me the gravestone of famed screenwriter and director (All About Eve, etc.) and producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz in, of all places, among the Wasps buried in the graveyard of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Bedford, N.Y. (The building of the church, in 1807-09, was aided by Founding Father and first U.S. Chief Justice John Jay.) Mr. Mankiewicz’s last wife was Episcopalian; he came from a German Jewish background. On his gravestone are these words:

“TIME is finite! It’s your TIME now – no longer just God’s TIME – your TIME. Make it good to live in!’’

-- JLM’’

Mellow there, too

“Autumn Moon on the Tama River’’ (woodblock), by Ando Hiroshige, ln the show “Ando Hiroshige Woodblock Prints,’’ through Nov. 17, at the Southern Vermont Arts Center.

Andō Hiroshige, born Andō Tokutarō in 1797, has been revered as one of the great Japanese masters of the color woodblock print, so much so that an estimated 10,000 copies were made from some of his woodblocks.

Pressure tactics

“Waiting’’ (monotype), by Deedee Agee, in the show “Pressing Matters: The Unique Print,’’ at South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, Mass., through Nov. 3.

This exhibit features an array of monotype prints made by members of the Coastal Print Makers.

Brian Wakamo: NBA's China fiasco shows what's most important to business

From OtherWords.org

The NBA has gotten itself into a bit of a situation.

On Oct. 4, acclaimed Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of the continuing protests in Hong Kong. His simple, two-sentence tweet (which has since been deleted) has prompted an unlikely controversy

The owner of the Rockets, Tilman Fertitta, quickly denounced his general manager’s tweet, saying it does not speak for the organization and emphasizing that the Rockets are, resoundingly, not a political organization.

Why did Fertitta condemn his own manager? The replies to his tweet offer a clue.

Nearly all come from Chinese nationals warning that if Morey isn’t fired, the Rockets will lose the entire Chinese market. Fertitta himself may agree, as evidenced by his liking Instagram comments calling for Morey’s ouster. Reports suggest the Rockets have internally discussed this option.

Firing one of the most successful general managers in the NBA over the past decade may seem absurd. But the Rockets are the most popular NBA team in China — and, as many businesses have found, that market share can put a lot of pressure on political speech well outside of the country.

By now the Rockets have lost business deal after business deal in China, drawn a condemnation from the Chinese consulate in Houston, and jeopardized their status in the country.

The NBA hasn’t exactly been supportive of Morey either. In a bland statement, Commissioner Adam Silver offered only very tepid backing.

Meanwhile ,Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai — a co-founder of Chinese retail giant Alibaba — put out a long statement describing Hong Kong’s protests as a “separatist movement.”

In an especially disappointing statement, superstar LeBron James seemed to suggest Morey — who has been doing business in China for over a decade — was “misinformed” about the situation in Hong Kong.

American politicians from across the spectrum, on the other hand, have been much more supportive.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz tweeted in support of Morey, while fellow Republicans Rick Scott and Josh Hawley demanded answers from the NBA. Democratic presidential candidates Beto O’Rourke, Julián Castro, and Elizabeth Warren all condemned the response from the league as well.

Yet this groundswell of support from American politicians will likely only inflame the critical response from China.

China has long been attempting to regulate foreign free speech via economic pressure.

Many movie studios, like Disney’s Marvel outfit, have altered scripts to prevent films from being boycotted in the Chinese market. Google has repeatedly censored its searches to appease the Chinese government, while Twitter has suspended accounts which are critical of China.

This pattern extends even further. China’s government often pays Chinese student associations on college campuses to boost Chinese state visits — and to criticize any sentiment seen as anti-China. In many cases, the Chinese government has harassed even non-Chinese academics who criticize the state.

Among major sports leagues, the NBA often brands itself as the most woke. LeBron James has consistently stood up for the Black Lives Matter movement, and once called President Trump a “bum.”

But the league has long been happy to take Chinese money and sponsorships, especially since Yao Ming was drafted by the same Houston Rockets years ago. And progressive politics hardly dominate there besides — Tilman Fertitta has even proclaimed his support for Trump’s policies.

Still, the obvious prioritization of commercial ties with a government that’s attacking demonstrators in Hong Kong and putting millions of ethnic Uyghurs in concentration camps is a damning statement about what the league — and the economic system it operates in — truly values.

Brian Wakamo is a researcher on the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies.

The good old days

'The sky pungent'

Aspens

“I’m fire in the leaves, obstreperous as a New England farmer. I see fear in the eyes of his children. They walk home from school, as evening falls like an advancing trickle of bats, the sky pungent as bounty in chimney smoke. I read the scowl below the smiles of parents at my son’s soccer game, their agitation, the figure of wind yellow leaves make of quaking aspen.’’

— From “Thinking of Frost,’’ by Major Jackson, a poet and a professor of English at the University of Vermont

Face it: History can be awful

The Columbus statue in Providence, way before it was vandalized

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

t would be briefly satisfying (but not legal) if Providence City Councilor Kat Kerwin could be removed from office for defending the vandalism involved in the splattering of red paint across the beautiful statue of Christopher Columbus, on Elmwood Avenue, with a sign “Stop Celebrating Genocide’’ placed against the pedestal, on which “Genocide’’ was also painted. She said: “I think the statue should be removed – I think healthy civil disobedience is really good for society.’’ Would she be willing to go to jail herself for such disobedience? I doubt it.

Education blogger Erika Sanzi had a good response, in a post entitled “Providence City Councilor is Wrong to Defend Vandalism."

“This is arrogant and dangerous talk from an elected official. First of all, she does not get to have the final word for other people on what does and does not oppress them.

“And secondly, vandalism and destruction of public property are not only against the law but can escalate quickly and turn dangerous. Taken to its logical conclusion, her argument could be used to justify vandalizing and destroying private property, including hers."

If the people’s representatives want to remove (and move to, say, museums) such statues, let them take a vote to do so.

On Columbus: The arrival of Europeans in the so-called New World brought much death to the Native Americans, mostly in the form of diseases for which they had no immunity but also in being killed directly by the far better armed Europeans. Colonialization brought huge technological advances – some good, some menacing -- to the Americas. And Native Americans showed themselves as sanguinary and brutal, indeed as “genocidal,’’ as the colonists, though they lacked the Europeans’ firepower. Indeed, “genocide’’ has long been a business model for groups around the world.

Which reminds me that the African slaves captured and brought to the Americas were purchased from – Africans. I suppose this should go under the heading “People are terrible.’’ And history can be very, very disturbing and complicated.

To read more, hit this link.

They know where they're going

“Night Journey,’’ Dancers from the Martha Graham Dance Company (dye sublimation print on aluminum), a picture in the solo exhibit at Lanoue Gallery, Boston, through Nov. 30, of photos from the new book The Style of Movement: Fashion and Dance, by Ken Browar and Deborah Ory

Invasive plants filling up New England's lakes and ponds

Purple loosestrife (whose leaves turn red in the fall) invade a pond.

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

“When nature is overridden, she takes her revenge.’’

-- Marya Mannes (1904-1990), American writer

Kudos to WGBH for its story describing many lakes and ponds in Massachusetts (and by implication all over southern New England) being filled up/ruined by the growth in them of such invasive plants as Eurasian Milfoil, Water Chestnut, Curly-leaved Pondweed and Purple Loosestrife.

Their expansion is being intensified by the overuse of phosphorous-based lawn fertilizers as well as by polluted-water runoff. The environmental damage done by the American obsession with hyper-green lawns is immense; and the rainstorm flow from so many square miles of parking lots ain’t a happy thing either. The warming climate also speeds invasive-plant growth.

These invasive plants have ruined fishing and swimming in many ponds and lakes. The solutions, at least in preventing more lakes and ponds from being ruined, include better monitoring of boats that might be bringing in invasive species, creating more local nonprofit organizations to help monitor, and enforce, protections, including more rigorously limiting fertilizer use and runoff from roads and parking lots near lakes and ponds.

To see the WGBH report, please hit this link.

From to delicate to heavy

“I had loved Portland . It was a clean city, with weather so delicate that at night you had to look at the streetlights to tell whether it was raining or snowing. Everything was heavier near Boston: air, accents, women.”

― Elizabeth McCracken Boston-born writer, from her short-story anthology Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry

'Water-painting' in Greenwich

“The End of Spring,’’ by Sun Wenzhang, in the show “Contemporary Artists/Traditional Forms: Chinese Brushwork,’’ through Dec. 8, at the Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Conn.

This exhibition shows 15 contemporary Chinese brushwork pieces for the first time in the U.S. The pieces, gifted to the Town of Greenwich through the 2019 U.S.-China Art and Culture Exchange, introduce viewers to the tools and concepts of brushwork. Chinese brushwork painting, also called water-painting, was developed in China during the Han Dynasty (220-589 A.D.) from calligraphy.

Sharon Jayson: The benefits and challenges of making your home a site for 'aging in place'

Via Kaiser Health News

“Currently, a lot {of houses} do not have single-floor living — especially in certain parts of the country. There are lots of stairs and multistory homes when land is more valuable … and many households and homeowners don’t necessarily have the funds to do aging in place.”

— Abbe Will, associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University

AUSTIN

Chris and Dennis Cavner, in their early 70s, are preparing to move less than two blocks away into a 2,720-square-foot, ranch-style house they bought this year. But first a renovation is underway, taking the 45-year-old property all the way back to its studs. When the work is completed, these baby boomers are confident the move will land them in their forever home.

“We wanted to find a house that we could live in literally for the rest of our lives,” he said. “We were looking specifically for a one-story house — and one that had a flat lot, to age in place.”
Aging in place is a major financial commitment, one that

may be at odds with retirees’ plans to downsize their lives and budgets and squirrel away cash in anticipation of rising health care costs. The Cavners are rebuilding this house — assessed at $700,000 around the time of the sale — from a shell. The updates will easily cost $300,000 in the hot Austin market.

Leaving nothing to chance, the Cavners are making a number of modifications they might never need. For instance, neither uses a wheelchair, but contractors are making all doorways 3 feet wide for accessibility throughout — just in case. The master bath roll-in shower, flat and rimless, will provide room to maneuver and the master bath vanity is also at wheelchair-accessible height. Kitchen drawers, rather than cabinets, will allow easy access in a wheelchair. The Cavners are closely watching details of the renovation, but it wasn’t a hard decision.

The Cavners are remodeling a guestroom with a private bathroom which could serve as caregiver quarters if they need assistance as they age.

For some seniors, aging in place might amount to simple home modifications, such as adding shower grab bars and handrails or replacing a standard toilet with one that sits taller. But many seniors anticipate a financial crunch as they try to plan for their future on a fixed income, uncertain their savings and retirement funds will last.

With an average 10,000 people a day turning 65, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 65-and-older segment of the population is the nation’s fastest-growing: By 2050, almost one-quarter of Americans will be at least 65. A host of surveys conducted over the past decade show that older adults overwhelmingly want to age in their homes. Two in 5 U.S. homeowners are baby boomers, according to a 2018 report released from Fannie Mae.

But for many people, aging at home isn’t in the cards. Abbe Will, associate project director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, said that many houses aren’t suited to “aging in place.

“Currently, a lot do not have single-floor living — especially in certain parts of the country. There are lots of stairs and multistory homes when land is more valuable,” she said. And “many households and homeowners don’t necessarily have the funds to do aging in place.”

Home modifications and costs vary widely — starting with those simple safety features in the bathroom or lever doorknobs throughout the house — to more extensive changes, such as widening doorways to accommodate wheelchairs, replacing kitchen cabinets with drawers or lowering light switches to wheelchair height. Will said simple retrofits, such as grab bars and railings, “could be several hundred dollars,” but a “whole bathroom remodel would be in the thousands or tens of thousands.”

And a lot of people won’t have the money for extensive modifications. A new survey of 1,000 people age 65 and older by the California-based nonprofit SCAN (formerly the Senior Care Action Network) found 80% of respondents were concerned about their ability to age in place. The driver appears to be financial: About 60% said they have less than $10,000 in savings (including investments and retirement plans), while 28% reported minimal or no retirement savings.

A study in the journal Health Affairs published this spring illustrates the shaky situation for middle-class aging adults who can’t afford modifications to stay at home but who have too much money to qualify for federal housing assistance. Over the next decade, the researchers expect the number of middle-income seniors 75 and older to more than double to over 14 million. And, of that group, more than half (54%) won’t have the assets they will need to cover the projected average yearly cost of $60,000 for assisted living and other out-of-pocket medical costs.

“We don’t know what’s coming down the pipeline as we age,” said sociologist Deborah Thorne of the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho, lead author of a study that found skyrocketing bankruptcy rates among those 65 and older.

The research, recently published in the journal Sociological Inquiry, finds the share of older Americans filing for bankruptcy has never been higher. “And bankrupt households are more likely than ever to be headed by a senior — the percent of older bankrupt filers has increased almost 500 percent since 1991,” the study found.

The Harvard report also cited the burden of debt among those ages 65 to 79, with nearly half of those homeowners carrying a mortgage in 2016. And people are carrying substantially more student loan and credit card debt into retirement as well

James Gaines, an economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, attributes the increase “to the labor market and employment downsizing and letting older people go first. It can force them into retirement whether they’re ready for it or not. Retirement income may not be enough to carry their debts, and they don’t have enough savings.”

“The leading edge of baby boomers has not hit 75 yet,” said Jennifer Molinsky, lead author of the Harvard report. “When you think about the next five, 10 or 15 years when they’re in their 80s, you’re really going to see the needs shift.”

Molinsky said just what financially challenged seniors should do about housing “is a good question and is a tough question.” Many states have loan and grant programs for home modifications if individuals have a documented disability, she said, yet “what we need more of are programs that help you do this before you need it.”

Molinsky said communities need to create housing near city centers so seniors don’t have to drive. And in the suburbs, communities need to offer more multifamily options, including condos and apartments to buy and rent.

“We just need options,” she said. “It’s important to think about housing options that help people stay in that community. Low-income people need housing that’s affordable. Some people want to trade that single-family home for a condo. Others want to reassess their money and sell their home for a rental. Not everybody wants the same thing.”

Don and Lynn Dille, both 75, built their Austin home with the intention of staying there for a long time. After living in California, Virginia and elsewhere in Texas, they moved to Austin in 2012 and, within a year, began drawing plans with an architect for an energy-efficient home to age in place. Their home was featured this summer in Austin’s annual Cool House Tour for its design making the most of natural light, cross-ventilation and solar panels, as well as wider-than-normal doorways and level floors for a wheelchair.

One key feature of the construction acknowledges that they might need live-in help down the road to avoid long-term nursing care. Just as the Cavners may convert a bedroom and bath on the opposite side of their new home into caregiver quarters, the Dilles constructed a second floor above their detached garage that could easily convert into living space.

“We think having a separate apartment where we could have a caretaker or part-time help to maintain our property makes us able to stay where we’d like to be and be independent,” said Don Dille, who retired from the federal government.

But, as adults consider whether to plunge ahead with simple modifications or undertake more extensive renovations, there are always unknowns.

Cavner, an investment adviser and co-founder of a new health care startup, said he believes what they’re spending to renovate the house for the years ahead will prove a sound investment. “The modifications we’re making are not going to make it less desirable. It will feel more spacious.

Sharon Jayson is a journalist with Kaiser Health News

Sharon Jayson: @SharonJayson

At the PCFR: What's next in the long Venezuela crisis?

Political protest in Altamira, Venezuela

From The Providence Committee on Foreign Relations (thepcfr.org; pcfremail@gmail.com)

Our next speaker, for our Wednesday, Oct. 23, dinner, will be Patrick Duddy, formerly the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela, under the title “Venezuela: A Regional Crisis With No End in Sight.’’ (He'll use PowerPoint.)

New England, by the way, buys a lot of oil from Venezuela for winter heating.

Mr. Duddy, currently director of Duke University’s center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, served as American ambassador to Venezuela in 2007-2008, during the George W. Bush administration.

The late President Hugo Chavez expelled him but eight months later he returned as ambassador in the Obama administration. He finished that assignment in 2010.

Before his ambassadorships, Mr. Duddy served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (DAS) for the Western Hemisphere, responsible for the Office of Economic Policy and Summit Coordination, which included the hemispheric energy portfolio, as well for the Offices of Brazil/ Southern Cone Affairs and of Caribbean Affairs. During his tenure as DAS, he played a lead role in coordinating U.S. support for the restoration of democracy in Haiti.

Our venue is the Hope Club, at 6 Benevolent St., Providence. Members may bring guests.

Schedule: 6:00 - 6:30 PM -- Cocktails; 6:30 - 7:30 -- Dinner (salad, entree, dessert/coffee); 7:30 - 8:10ish – speaker, followed by Q&A with speaker. Evenings end no later than 9.

Please let us know if you're coming. You can register for the dinner on our Web site -- thepcfr.org -- or send an email to pcfremail@gmail.com

For all information on the PCFR, including on how to join, please see thepcfr.org and/or call (401) 523-3957

Exile on the beach

“I shall go back again to the bleak shore

And build a little shanty on the sand,

In such a way that the extremest band

Of brittle seaweed will escape my door

But by a yard or two; and nevermore

Shall I return to take you by the hand…’’

— From “I Shall Go Back,’’ by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1897-1950), a native of Maine

Building a Worcester theatre district

The Hanover Theatre entrance. Photo of interior below.

From The England Council (newenglandcouncil.com)

Bank of America has donated $250,000 to the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, in Worcester, to build an outdoor theater. The bank has been a long time benefactor of the theatre and will have the honor of naming the new outdoor plaza next to it.

Bank of America’s generous donation brings the Hanover Theatre closer to achieving its goal of transforming its neighborhood into Worcester’s Theatre District. The $250,000 donation comes in collaboration with the City’s Main Street Reimagined project to restore the street’s public space, including new sidewalks, traffic lights, lighting fixtures and more. Hanover Theatre President and CEO Troy Siebels has prioritized a strong collaborative relationship with the City of Worcester and their respective downtown projects.

“The Hanover Theatre touches well over a quarter million patrons every year and is a staple in the local arts community,” said Ed Shea, Bank of America’s Central Massachusetts market president. “In addition to the positive impact that performing arts has on the community, the improvements to the theater also play an important role in the rebirth of downtown Worcester.”

Chris Powell: Prosecute kids for wearing blackface? Perpetual poverty in New Haven

Promotional poster for Spike Lee’s 2000 film Bamboozled, about a disgruntled black television executive who reintroduces the old blackface style in a series concept to try to get himself fired, and is instead horrified by its success.

Kids can be horrible -- stupid, cruel, hateful, sadistic, reckless, and worse. But in spite of the indignation lately contrived by the Connecticut chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, wearing blackface is not high on the scale of youthful offenses.

The other week, at a press conference outside a middle school in Shelton, Conn., one of whose white students recently posted on the Internet a photo of herself wearing blackface, the NAACP suggested that kids deserve to be shot for that kind of thing or at least criminally prosecuted for a "hate crime."

On top of that, according to the Valley Independent Sentinel, the NAACP demanded that Shelton authorities account to the organization for the progress of the "investigation" of the incident and include the organization in a mandatory discussion with students and school staff about racial diversity.

Make wearing blackface a "hate crime"? That's fascism. For no matter how offensive the blackface-wearing student was, and no matter what she meant, if anything, she did it on her own time to her own looks in her own life. A school can disapprove of certain things that rise to public attention, and of course a school always should be teaching decent behavior, but First Amendment freedom of expression in one's personal life is and must remain inviolate. The government has no authority to punish it.

In peacefully protesting racial oppression in the segregationist South, the civil rights advocates of a half century ago struggled and even died for freedom of expression. The NAACP was part of that struggle. Now the organization wants 12-year-olds prosecuted for putting on makeup and making faces.

But it's even more ironic. Lately the NAACP has supported Connecticut's new laws increasing leniency for juveniles who commit crimes like car theft. So now in Connecticut juveniles can get caught stealing cars twice before a court can impose any punishment on them. Many of those juveniles are black. But the NAACP thinks wearing blackface is worse than car theft.

Most kids grow up. The premier of Canada wore blackface when he was young. So did the governor of Virginia. They lately were caught through old photos and repented. Blackface is not who they are now. Most of the kids in Connecticut who lately have advertised themselves wearing blackface have been reprimanded and likely will grow up too. With luck many of Connecticut's young and coddled car thieves will not only grow up but stay out of prison.

The NAACP should grow up as well. There are far more serious things to be indignant about.

* * *

WHY THE PERPETUAL POVERTY? Fresh from his victory in New Haven's Democratic primary for mayor, Justin Elicker has urged Yale University students to devote some time to civic life in the city. According to the Yale Daily News, one student snarked back, "We're a university, not a soup kitchen."

Elicker replied that some city residents "can't put food on the table" while Yalies enjoy an all-you-can-eat dining hall.

But despite that snarky student, Yale is not quite the bastion of privilege it once was. Now about half Yale's students receive the university's own scholarships under "need-blind" admissions policy so that even kids who grew up dining at soup kitchens and don't have much money can get into the university.

Also the other week CTNewsJunkie reported that Connecticut is the only state in which poverty recently increased. So Yale students and Elicker himself might perform a great civic service if they could ever determine why poverty and urban policies are failing so badly.

Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer, in Manchester, Conn.

Depends what you mean by 'hope'

“Hope, which lay at the bottom of the box, remained.’’ Allegorical painting by George Frederic Watts, 1886

“Do you have hope for the future?
someone asked Robert Frost, toward the end.
Yes, and even for the past, he replied,
that it will turn out to have been all right
for what it was, something we can accept,
mistakes made by the selves we had to be….’’

— From ‘‘Thanks, Robert Frost,’’ by David Ray

'Lighted on'

"There is no season when such pleasant and sunny spots may be lighted on, and produce so pleasant an effect on the feelings, as now in October."

— Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), one of New England’s greatest novelists.