PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
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How a Digital Detox Day Could Help People Take Control of Downtime (Maria)
The author writes, “Haunted by a pile of unread books? Or taunted by climbing equipment lurking in the cupboard? If you are one of the … adults who spends on average five hours a day looking at screens rather than participating in pastimes, perhaps it’s time to join the offline revolution. Instead of spending those five hours staring at a screen, you could read about 300 pages of a book, climb Mount Snowdon, or — depending on your pace — run a marathon. Some are even choosing to turn off their devices for the day. … Ilya Kneppelhout, the co-founder of the Offline Club, said people have been surprised at how just a few hours offline ‘made them feel so much less stressed and more connected to themselves and to others.’”
Ohio Residents Flock To Springfield’s Haitian Restaurants: ‘They Are Family’ (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “The line down the center of the Rose Goute Creole restaurant on Springfield, Ohio’s South Limestone Street is halfway out the door. It’s been like this ever since former president Donald Trump falsely accused immigrants in Springfield of eating cats and dogs during a televised debate on September 10. … As Trump and JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential candidate and Ohio senator, continue to spread false information about Haitians in Springfield, regular people from the city and beyond are taking it upon themselves to seize back the narrative around immigrants in the Ohio city.”
The Secret Deals Whitewashing the Conduct of California Police Officers: Key Takeaways From Our Investigation (Dana)
From the San Francisco Chronicle: “For decades, California police chiefs and sheriffs have lamented how difficult it is to fire officers and deputies who act with dishonesty or brutality, blaming powerful labor unions and robust employment protections. What law enforcement leaders have not revealed, and what has remained a secret until now, is how they have repeatedly turned to an under-the-radar method of getting rid of problem officers — one that not only allows the officers to avoid accountability but, often, to quietly move on to other jobs where they are asked to protect the public. However, there is plenty of evidence that the original prosecution was flawed and unfair.”
US SEC Intends To Seek Sanctions Against Elon Musk in Twitter Probe (DonkeyHotey)
The authors write, “The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday it intends to seek sanctions against Elon Musk after he failed to appear for court-ordered testimony for the regulator’s probe into his $44 billion takeover of Twitter. In a filing in San Francisco federal court, the SEC said the sanctions motion would seek an order to show cause for why Musk should not be held in civil contempt for waiting until three hours before the scheduled Sept. 10 testimony to advise he would not show up.”
‘It’s Just No Place for an Oil Pipeline’: A Wisconsin Tribe Continues Its Fight to Remove a 71-Year-Old Line From a Pristine Place (Laura)
From Inside Climate News: “A proposed reroute of a pipeline would still jeopardize the ‘Everglades of the North,’ the EPA warns, including wild rice beds that the Bad River tribe depends on.”
Boy Abducted From California in 1951 at Age 6 Found Alive on East Coast More Than 70 Years Later (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Luis Armando Albino was 6 years old in 1951 when he was abducted while playing at an Oakland, California park. Now, more than seven decades later, Albino has been found thanks to help from an online ancestry test, old photos and newspaper clippings. The Bay Area News Group reported Friday that Albino’s niece in Oakland — with assistance from police, the FBI and the Justice Department — located her uncle living on the East Coast.”
How Republican or Democratic Is Your Name? (Gerry)
From The Washington Post: “The top perquisite [of working at The Washington Post] in our view is access to the voter file, a compendium of 212 million registered voters. … These files, buttressed by data from other sources, have proved phenomenally popular among political campaigns from school boards on up, explaining how all those canvassers and flier-mailers get your address. The Post licenses them for election modeling and polling. And apparently for goofy columns. We can (and probably will) wring dozens of columns from this one monumental file. But we’ll start by asking the simplest question: Which names are most popular within each of the major parties?”
