Another Global Warming-Enhanced Hurricane; Trump to Rally in the City of Coachella–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: Oct. 7, 2024

Indy Digest: Oct. 7, 2024

Over the weekend, I spent some time working on a call-to-action writeup regarding a fundraiser the Alternative Newsweekly Foundation is about to launch on behalf of two AAN Publishers in Western North Carolina, an area that was absolutely devastated by Hurricane Helene.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton is churning in the Gulf of Mexico right now. Earlier today, it became a Category 5 storm. It’s expected to slam into Florida on Wednesday—in the same area, pretty much, that Helene hit when it made landfall two weeks before.

Hurricanes hit Florida fairly often—but it’s rare for them to wreak havoc in Western North Carolina. NBC News explained how this happened:

“As weather moves in toward the mountains, the clouds have to rise up and over the mountains, and that’s the upslope effect,” said Doug Outlaw, a National Weather Service meteorologist in the agency’s office in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina. “It tends to squeeze out more rainfall, and unfortunately, it caused extreme flash flooding, which devastated communities. It was a huge amount of water at one time being channeled and funneled through the valleys.”

The devastation in North Carolina’s inland mountain towns—thousands of feet in elevation and hundreds of miles from any coastline—may seem unexpected for an area once thought of as a safe haven from the effects of climate change, but it’s the type of far-reaching impact that will become increasingly likely, experts say.

Helene inundated parts of southern Appalachia with well over 2 feet of rain. Floodwaters carried away entire houses and washed out highways, cutting off access to towns.

“That’s about a half-year’s worth of rain coming in four days,” Outlaw said. “It’s one of the worst weather events that’s hit this area in history.”

Fortunately—for North Carolina, at least—forecasters think Hurricane Milton will head out to sea after crossing Florida.

The NBC News piece goes on to say: “Climate change is intensifying storms because higher ocean temperatures act as fuel and a warmer atmosphere allows for heavier rain over land. For every 1 degree Fahrenheit of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 4% more moisture, said Shel Winkley, a meteorologist at the nonprofit research group Climate Central. That significantly increases the chance of catastrophic flooding. A report from Climate Central in May detailed the increasing risk of inland flooding as a result of global warming. The places where remnants of Helene caused the most damage were among those the report identified as most at risk.”

Of course, many places are at increased risk of flooding due to hurricanes and tropical storms—including the Coachella Valley, a lesson we learned the hard away just a little more than a year ago.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• The former president who’s the Republican nominee this year is slated to hold a rally in the Coachella Valley this weekend—specifically, at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella at 5 p.m. on Saturday. If you want tickets, you can click this link to register. A tidbit from a KESQ News Channel 3 story about the rally: “Trump was last in the Coachella Valley in 2020 for a fundraising event in Rancho Mirage. Notably, a day after leaving the valley, Trump slammed the iconic Palm Springs wind turbines, which he has done since at least 2012.”

• Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez is less than pleased about Trump’s rally. Here’s a statement from Hernandez that was sent to the media: “The city of Coachella was proud to welcome Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2020 primary election, but news of former President Trump’s upcoming visit has been met very differently. Trump’s attacks on immigrants, women, the LQBTQ community and the most vulnerable among us don’t align with the values of our community. He has consistently expressed disdain for the type of diversity that helps define Coachella. We don’t know why Trump is visiting near Coachella, but we know he wasn’t invited by the people who live here. He ain’t like us.” Rep. Raul Ruiz said: “It’s truly appalling—and yet another demonstration of his cluelessness and ignorance—that Donald Trump would stage a rally in Coachella. Under a second Trump administration, there is literally no place in America that would be harmed more than the Coachella Valley.”

• Related to both of the above items is this piece, from The New York Times: “As thousands across the Southeast grieve the deaths and damage left by the Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Sept. 26, a torrent of conspiracy theories, rumors and lies threatens to undermine efforts to provide accurate information and crucial resources. Disinformation has been particularly rampant in Georgia and North Carolina, and the sheer number of falsehoods has alarmed officials and experts. … The conspiracy theories and rumors on X after Helene tore through the Southeast have also been circulated and elevated by high-profile figures, including Elon Musk, who has pulled back on content moderation and repeatedly amplified disinformation to his millions of followers since he bought the social media platform. Representatives for X were not immediately available to comment. Former President Donald J. Trump has also falsely claimed that disaster-relief funds were being diverted to house undocumented migrants and suggested without evidence that Democrats were not eager to help conservative residents. (Some Republican governors have actually praised the Biden administration for its response.) When asked about Mr. Trump’s role in spreading false claims, Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for Mr. Trump, reiterated the falsehood.” Sickening.

• You can read more about Trump’s lies about Hurricane Helene from CNN’s fact-checker here.

• The election is approaching, and our partners at Calmatters always do a fantastic job of explaining statewide races and ballot initiatives. General election ballots will be arriving in mailboxes any day now, so to get you started, here’s the Calmatters breakdown of all the state ballot propositions. They have even developed a quiz you can take for each initiative to determine whether you’re more for or against.

• Our friends at Dezart Performs announced new plans for a new home. From a news release: “As a result of a multi-year capital fundraising campaign, Dezart Performs has entered into (a) contract to purchase the First Church of Christ, Scientist at 605 S. Riverside Drive in Palm Springs to convert into a fully-equipped professional theater. Designed by Albert Frey in 1957, the building is a pristine, perfectly preserved architectural gem. … The space will be converted to include a 150 seat fully-equipped theater, dressing rooms, a rehearsal hall, meeting rooms, and lobby with box office and bar. ‘The transformation of this stunning Albert Frey-designed church into a state-of-the-art professional theater is not just a dream come true; it’s a profound honor,’ says founder and artistic director Michael Shaw. … Writer/producer and Palm Springs resident David C. Lee has generously pledged $500,000, which includes a $200,000 matching donor challenge to help cover the cost of a down payment to support the purchase of the building that will serve as a permanent theater home.” If you’re interested in helping, contact Gailya Brown at gailya.brown@dezartperforms.org. The goal is to be open in time for the 2025-2026 season.

• A large grocery store chain with several local stores is paying a fine for ripping off customers. The Los Angeles Times says: “Grocery titan Albertsons will pay $3.9 million to resolve a civil law enforcement complaint alleging that it ripped off customers at hundreds of its Vons, Safeway and Albertsons stores in California, authorities said Thursday. According to the complaint, groceries sold by Albertsons Cos.—including produce, meats, baked goods and other items—had less product in the package than indicated on the label. The company also is accused of charging customers prices higher than its lowest advertised price. … The case was filed in Marin County Superior Court in partnership with the consumer protection units of the district attorney’s offices of Los Angeles, Marin, Alameda, Sonoma, Riverside, San Diego and Ventura counties. The settlement will be divided among the seven counties and used to support future enforcement of consumer protection laws, according to the Marin County district attorney’s office. None of the money will be paid back to consumers.”

• And finally … it was a year ago today that Hamas attacked Israel. An expert on the Middle East, writing for The Conversation, writes about how the political climate in Israel has changed—and hasn’t changed—since the horrific attacks: “In the run-up to the first anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, there has been no shortage of dramatic events making headlines in Israel. On Oct. 1, Israelis took shelter during Iran’s missile attack. In the days leading up to the attack, Israel assassinated Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s longtime leader, in Beirut; invaded Lebanon; and saw its economic rating downgraded, to name a few. What was notably missing from the newspaper pages were the 101 hostages still held by Hamas, with about a third presumed dead. Their faces still look out at you from posters and flyers on walls, billboards, fences and bus stops, as well as in ads and banners in newspapers and news outlets. However, their stories have faded from the spotlight, where they had been for nearly a year. When Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the state was experiencing its most severe political conflict since its establishment. Many saw the right-wing government’s attempts to overhaul the judicial system as an effort to dismantle Israeli democracy, sparking weekly mass protests. For a few short weeks after the attack, the protests subsided, and it seemed as if Israel might overcome its internal divisions in efforts to retrieve the hostages. However, the hopes for solidarity soon faded. The hostages quickly went from a symbol of national resolve and unity to a symbol of the country’s preexisting divides.”

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