Flu / Becoming a Citizen

Missoulian: Time for flu vaccine, updated after misery of last winter

Influenza
“Influenza is a contagious, upper-respiratory disease caused by many different strains of influenza viruses. While many people use the imprecise term "flu" to describe 24 or 48 hour bouts of illness, real influenza can interfere with normal daily activities for as long as a week.”

Missoulian: Obama urges legal permanent residents to become US citizens
Stand Stronger
“If you’re a permanent resident considering becoming a naturalized American citizen, take the first step toward giving those dreams a chance to grow. Not only will you enjoy all the rights and freedoms afforded all U.S citizens both here and abroad, you’ll be building toward a stronger tomorrow for yourself and for generations to come.”

Civics Practice Test!
“The civics practice test is a study tool to help you test your knowledge of U.S. history and government. The actual civics test is NOT a multiple choice test. The civics test is an oral test.”

Suicide/ Poverty Rates

 

Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Statistics, Programming and Economics Branch

Missoulian: 81% of Montana suicides in 2014 were males; nearly 25% were veterans
CDC: Suicide Prevention
Montana: Suicide Prevention Information and Resources
U.S.A. Suicide: 2013 Official Final Data

 
Missoulian: Census: Income, poverty numbers stay just about the same
Income, Poverty, Health Insurance Coverage, and the Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2014
“In 2014, there was no statistically significant change from 2013 in either real median household income or the official poverty rate.”

Flight Dangers/Oil and Gas Wells

Missoulian: Controllers reveal risk that could cause plane collisions
FAA Confirms Whistleblower Disclosures of Flight Safety Risk
“The whistleblowers raised concerns about the FAA’s failure to adequately address the safety risks associated with multiple aircraft flight plans. Multiple flight plans can provide conflicting information to air traffic controllers and flight crews. They occur when pilots, air traffic control centers, and dispatch centers make revisions to flight plans, such as to departure times, altitude, flight speed, etc. According to the FAA, “when multiple flight plans are filed for the same flight, there is the potential that a controller can clear the flight for departure based upon a flight plan that is different than the one most recently filed by the operator, which could result in the crew flying a route not anticipated or planned for by the” air traffic controller.”

Missoulian:  Interior Dept.: High-risk oil, gas wells checks lack funding

Onshore Oil and Gas Operations; Federal and Indian Oil and Gas Leases; Site Security
“The changes proposed as part of this proposed rule would allow the BLM to strengthen its policies governing production verification and accountability by updating Order 3's requirements to address changes in technology and industry practices that have occurred in the 25 years since Order 3 was issued, and to respond to recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) with respect to the BLM's production verification efforts.”

Threatened Eels

Missoulian: Decision soon on listing eels under Endangered Species Act
The American Eel
“The American eel, found in freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats from Greenland to South America, has been extirpated from portions of its historical freshwater habitat during the last 100 years, mostly resulting from dams built through the 1960s. Eels lose habitat and migration corridors when waters are obstructed by dams and other mechanisms. Localized population declines are also attributed to mortality in hydropower plant turbines, degradation of current habitat, and overharvest.”

American eel (Anguilla rostrata)