A Labor Day Look at ‘Deregulation’; DirecTV and Disney Have a Beef–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Sept. 2, 2024

Indy Digest: Sept. 2, 2024

We just published the latest pieces in our election-season Candidate Q&A series.

Here’s how it works: We come up with a slate of questions for all of the candidates for a particular office; we ask the candidates those questions; we publish their complete answers, edited only for style and clarity. Trust me: Publishing these answers in their entirety can be quite revealing.

Anyway, in the Q&As with Assembly District 47 candidates Christy Holstege and Greg Wallis, and Senate District 19 candidates Lisa Middleton and Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, both of the incumbent Republicans (especially Ochoa Bogh) speak out against government regulations.

Trust me: I get it. When you become a business owner, you become subject to all sorts of fees, filing requirements and rules—some of which make sense, and some of which definitely do not.

Many of these calls for decreased regulation come from a honest, truthful place. However, at lot of others come from a place of greed, thanks to the disconcertingly huge role money plays in our political system.

We’ve written about the horrendous listeria outbreak involving Boar’s Head liverwurst, which has led to at least nine deaths and 57 hospitalizations. Well, Vice says that one possible culprit for this outbreak is (not-so) good ol’ deregulation:

It should be noted that in 2019, the Trump administration relaxed safety standards and reduced oversight across the entire pork processing industry. Pork processing companies were suddenly allowed to start policing themselves with federal inspections being fewer and far between. Of course, they said it was all to cut costs and boost production.

Then, just a few years later, there was a massive listeria outbreak at a pork processing plant, lots of hospitalizations with some deaths, and black mold and bugs were found in the plant of one of the biggest producers of deli meat in the United States. Maybe a coincidence, maybe a direct result. Who knows. But it sure is an interesting connection.

Vice links to a 2019 NBC News piece about that change. It explains the reasons for the change, the amount of money it would save the government, the fact that the pork industry was THRILLED with the change, and concerns by safety advocates that the new rule “puts industry profits ahead of public health.”

So … what’s the truth here? On this Labor Day, it’s hard to imagine that corporate greed—which is so pervasive today—didn’t play at least a partial role in this “reduced oversight.”

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• Gov. Gavin Newsom has called a special legislative session in an effort to address gas prices—in his own specific way. His fellow Democrats in the Legislature are less than thrilled. Our partners at Calmatters report: “Hours before the Legislature prepared to wrap up for the year, Gov. Gavin Newsom tonight called a special session to address gasoline prices—giving him more time to persuade lawmakers to act on a package of energy bills that he failed to jam through in the final weeks of the regular session. But the special session may already be in jeopardy, after the leader of the state Senate immediately rejected the governor’s call for the Legislature to meet this fall, during what would normally be a crucial campaign period for lawmakers leading up to the Nov. 5 election. In what has become a frequent move, Newsom earlier this month proposed sweeping plans to bring down energy costs for Californians just as the annual legislative session was drawing to a close, leaving lawmakers little time to react or negotiate with the governor. Increasingly frustrated with the strongarm tactics, the Legislature split this time in its response, sinking Newsom’s measures as the Assembly refused to take them up.”

• The next big SARS-CoV-2 variant may be starting to emerge. The Los Angeles Times says: “The summer surge of the coronavirus subvariants nicknamed FLiRT has given way to ever more contagious strains, a key reason behind the current high levels of COVID in California and nationwide. And doctors and scientists are keeping an eye on yet another subvariant—XEC—that could surpass the latest hyperinfectious subvariant, KP.3.1.1, now thought to be the most common nationwide. XEC was first detected in Germany and has since seized the attention of doctors and scientists worldwide. XEC ‘is just getting started now around the world and here,’ said Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla. … ‘XEC is definitely taking charge. … That does appear to be the next variant,’ Topol added. ‘But it’s months off from getting into high levels.'”

• If you have DirecTV, you don’t currently have ESPN or ABC. NBC News says: “ESPN has gone off the air on a major carrier for the second straight year during the U.S. Open tennis tournament and in the midst of the first full weekend of college football. Disney Entertainment channels went dark on DirecTV Sunday night after the sides were unable to reach a new carriage agreement. The move angered some sports fans, who posted their displeasure on social media. And the U.S. Tennis Association wasn’t pleased with another carriage dispute. ESPN was showing the fourth round of the U.S. Open when it went off the air on DirecTV at 7:20 p.m. ET.“

• Today’s recall news involves … Fords! Reuters says: “Ford will recall 90,736 vehicles as engine intake valves in the vehicles may break while driving, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said on Saturday. The recall impacts certain 2021-2022 Bronco, F-150, Edge, Explorer, Lincoln Nautilus, and Lincoln Aviator vehicles equipped with either a 2.7L or 3.0L Nano EcoBoost engine, the NHTSA said.”

• The New York Times reports on some new evidence that the drug Wegovy has some pretty amazing potential: “Wegovy, the popular obesity drug, may have yet another surprising benefit. In a large clinical trial, people taking the drug during the pandemic were less likely to die of COVID-19, researchers reported on Friday. People on Wegovy still got COVID, and at the same rate as people randomly assigned to take a placebo. But their chances of dying from the infection plunged by 33 percent, the study found. In addition, the death rate from all causes was lower among subjects taking Wegovy, a very rare finding in clinical trials of new treatments. The result suggests that lower life expectancy among people with obesity is actually caused by the disease itself, and that it can be improved by treating obesity.”

• And finally … a journalism great whose reporting you’ve almost certainly read has passed away. The Associated Press reports: “Linda Deutsch, a special correspondent for The Associated Press who for nearly 50 years wrote glittering first drafts of history from many of the nation’s most significant criminal and civil trials—Charles Manson, O.J. Simpson, Michael Jackson, among others—died Sunday. She was 80. Deutsch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022 and underwent successful treatment, but the cancer returned this summer. She died at her Los Angeles home, surrounded by family and friends, said nurse Narek Petrosian of Olympia Hospice Care. … One of America’s best-known trial reporters when she retired in 2015, Deutsch’s courts career began with the 1969 trial and conviction of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s assassin, Sirhan Sirhan. She went on to cover a who’s who of criminal defendants—Manson, Simpson, Jackson, Patty Hearst, Phil Spector, the Menendez Brothers, ‘Night Stalker’ Richard Ramirez, ‘Unabomber’ Ted Kaczynski and the police officers charged in the beating of motorist Rodney King. … ‘When a big trial loomed, AP’s assignment editors didn’t have to ask who should get the assignment. No, the instant question was, “Is Linda available?”’ recalled Louis D. Boccardi, who served as AP’s executive editor for a decade and as president and CEO for 18 years. ‘She mastered the art of celebrity trial coverage and, in the process, became something of a media celebrity herself.’”

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