The New Apartment

I’ve lived at my new place for about two months, and my sentiment thus far is: I love it. Moving from northeast Jackson to Belhaven, the best advantage is its location. Its about a five-minute drive from work, and within walking distance, I have access to a grocery store, my gym, a McDonald’s (which ruins all of the gym’s hard work) and Fenian’s… not too shabby.

Here’s a pic:

We live in the right-half of the house.

Wrap-up on Rhode Island

After being back in Jackson almost a month, I decided it was time to write a little bit about what I got out of my week-long journalism seminar in Narragansett, R.I. Called the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting, the workshop immersed 11 journalisms (including me) into the world of science. We learned how data was collected… for instance… we rode a boat and pulled up a net of fish to count how many species and calculate other data. Pretty cool.

The seminar fueled one big interest of mine: the effects of nutrients in water. I have written two stories about dead zones (most recent in italics below). My next plan is to write about how natural landscaping can eliminate some of the  nutrients that go into watersheds.

One big note: nutrients aren’t necessarily bad, but in excess, they can lead to a removal of oxygen in the water. The nutrients fertilize algae growth. The algae  eventually dies, sinking to the bottom. As it decays, it takes oxygen out of the water. If the water has enough dying algae, all of the oxygen can be removed from the water, killing aquatic life.

A Rankin County park recently planted a “rain garden,” which is designed to hold runoff from the parking lot, which is a source of nutrients and other pollutants. The plants can break down these elements before they are eventually flushed into the Ross Barnett Reservoir nearby. When I get my house, I’m definitely planning one of  these. A U.S. Dept. of Agriculture spokeswoman told me that a subdivision down in Gulfport is requiring each home to have its own rain garden. Not a bad idea for coastal communities.

Dead zones imperil

fisheries

•Large pocket of water lacking oxygen near barrier islands

By Justin Fritscher

jfritscher@jackson.gannett.com

Pockets of dead water off Mississippi’s coast are strangling marine life – and growing.

Dead zones lack oxygen and are caused by nutrient deposits into the Gulf of Mexico by rivers and streams, namely the Mississippi River. They typically appear each summer.

Mississippi’s biggest dead zone – often called hypoxia – is near the state’s barrier islands. Last July, it grew to nearly the size of Hancock and Harrison counties combined, researchers say.

University of Southern Mississippi marine science associate professor Stephan Howden said that already this year he has heard reports of dead crabs pulled from traps near Waveland. Researchers from USM’s marine science department have been studying hypoxia in St. Louis Bay and in the neighborhood of the barrier islands for years.

Department Chairman Steven Lohrenz said continued research is a must. “We saw an extensive region of hypoxia around the barrier islands, even extending further south,” Lohrenz said.

Howden said the state’s main area of hypoxia covered about 906 square miles last year. Other traditional places of hypoxia include Biloxi’s Back Bay and St. Louis Bay.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is funding USM’s study of the algal bloom near the barrier islands.

USM plans to visit four of its stations Thursday in the Mississippi Sound, Howden said.

The nation’s largest dead zone is caused by nutrient-filled waters discharged from the mouth of the Mississippi. It averages about 7,000 square miles and hovers off Louisiana’s coast, even reaching into Texas’ coastal waters.

Scientists have been studying Louisiana’s dead zone since the 1970s and mapping it since the mid-1980s. And what they’ve noticed: It’s getting bigger.

Key researchers R. Eugene Turner and Nancy Rabalais, both of Louisiana, predicted this year’s dead zone will be 8,456-9,668 square miles. The forecast released last week was based on nutrient levels in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers.

The Louisiana researchers will measure it at the end of the summer, when it will likely be at its peak.

In Louisiana, hypoxia has impaired some of the state’s fisheries. And it could very well affect Mississippi fisheries, too, Rabalais said.

Fishing is a crucial industry in the Gulf. Pascagoula is the Gulf’s third-largest port for poundage shipped out, 178 million pounds a year.

Rabalais said data collected earlier this month suggest dead zones are forming east of the Mississippi River and could be severe. Although the Mississippi’s flow tends to be western, during the summers it has a lower tendency to flow westward, Lohrenz said.

This means more of the nutrient-filled water – stocked with fertilizer runoff from farms upstream – is making its way into Mississippi’s coastal waters.

Nutrients such as phosphorous and nitrogen are the principal culprits, Natural Resources Conservation Service district conservationist Murray Fulton said.

Nutrients don’t have toxins, but they do stimulate phytoplankton growth. The phytoplankton dies and uses oxygen as it decays. In dead zones, all of the oxygen is depleted, killing or scattering marine life.

Rainstorms and other events cause fertilizers and other nutrients to flow down the Mississippi. At the Gulf, they act as a catalyst for phytoplankton growth.

Rivers like the Pearl or the Pascagoula have their share of nutrients, too. Fulton said his agency works with Rankin County’s 52 poultry farms to reduce the chances of large amounts of nutrients finding their way into a watershed.

Rankin County is one of the state’s biggest poultry producers. The other are Scott, Neshoba, Simpson, Smith, Clark and Leake counties. Other big agriculture in the state is corn and soybean farmers in north Mississippi, he said.

•

To comment on this story, call Justin Fritscher at (601) 961-7266.

DEAD ZONES IN MISSISSIPPI

• How are dead zones formed?

Phytoplankton, a type of algae that feeds on fertilizers, settles at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico after it dies and decays there. The decomposition of the algae consumes oxygen faster than the water can replace it at the surface, decreasing dissolved oxygen.

Harmful algal blooms can grow and alter the food web, which is harmful to local fisheries.

If no hurricane or tropical activity stirs the waters, the dead zone will remain. Storms can aerate the oxygen-depleted zone and shrink the dead zone. Dead zones peak in mid-summer and recess or disappear during the winter.

•Where do nutrients come from?

Nutrients are often fertilizers that get washed off topsoil and into the water. Common ones include nitrogen and phosphorous.

•What is the source of nutrients on Mississippi’s coast?

Nutrients end up in the Gulf from a variety of locations, the biggest being the Mississippi River. Other rivers, like the Pearl, Pascagoula, Tombigbee and Alabama also make the list. Studies show a history of dead zones along St. Louis and Back bays as well as one south of Pascagoula.

•Are dead zones just along the Gulf Coast?

No, they are all over the world. Other places in the U.S. include Chesapeake Bay and Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay.

On the Web

•For information about Louisiana’s dead zone, visit www.gulfhypoxia.net.

•For information about University of Southern Mississippi’s marine science department, visit www.marine.usm.edu.

Live from Rhode Island

We trawled for 15 minutes to see what types of sea creatures were in the area. I'm holding one of two sea stars of the almost 1,000-fish catch.

NARRAGANSETT, R.I. — Greetings from the Ocean State. For the past couple of days, I have been attending a workshop to acclimate reporters to covering coastal environments. And, honestly, the best way to do that is to get them a little wet.

So far, the one-week program sponsored by the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting (a program of the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanograpy) has been hands on. I flew in Sunday, and since then I have helped sort fish on a fishing vessel, measure water quality and kayaked around an inland lake. The purpose of the program is to build a network of sources for journalists who report on the environment — as well as teach them a little about the complex ecosystems that we find near water.

I was one of 11 journalists selected to participate in the program. For more about the program, visit Metcalf’s Web site.

I applied for the program because I have always had an interest in aquatic environments. Growing up, I loved the swamp, and it was my favorite part of going duck hunting — just looking around at the scenery. With all of this knowledge, I will need to report about the environment more.

At the end of the week, I will write a follow-up post that will go more in-depth of what I’ve learned. Tune in next week!

We collected water samples to measure the levels of nitrogren (and other possibly harmful nutrients) in the water.

A view of Narragansett Bay.

Pulling up the net of fish we were going to count and weigh.

We caught 1,000 fish total. There were about 10 different species.

Know the calories of what you eat

One of my weekly columns in Rankin Ledger…

Behind the veil of delicious General Tso Chicken or lo mein pasta are the ingredients for getting fat, and fast.

I love Chinese food almost as much as I love all-you-can-eat buffets. Last week, I did both and went to a local Chinese buffet and ate until I couldn’t move.

And from the moment I thought I would have to crawl up the stairs up to the office, I decided I would have to ration my Chinese food intake, big time.

I’m not picking on Chinese food. I ration how much fried fish I eat or passes I make through the Whataburger line. But the conundrum with Chinese food is for some reason I am often fooled into thinking it’s healthier than it is.

Let’s talk about lemon chicken. Sweet, innocent lemon chicken, coated in that delicious yellow sauce, is 1,400 calories a serving (which is equal to three McChicken sandwiches), says the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

On top of that, it has 3,800 milligrams of sodium. The average adult is only supposed to have 2,300 milligrams.

Chinese food, like the majority of cuisines in the U.S., is served in huge portions, or worse, all-that-you-can-fit-in-your-stomach portions.

And on a side note: American portions are tremendous. I lived in South America, and at first, was a little hungry after every meal. Well, then I grew accustomed to eating a little bit less and I found my appetite was not quite as whopping.

If you’re going to eat Chinese food, select the white rice and the entrees that aren’t breaded (and then deep fried), the CSPI says. The soups aren’t too calorie-filled either. Also, unlike I do, eat only one plate, not two or three.

A book published last year by a New York Times reporter, called “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles,” traces the origins of Chinese food, and not to tremendous surprise, but American Chinese food is pretty, well, American.

Our taste buds love fried chicken bathed in sauces and some carbs on the side. And well, it sounds to me like your average take-out plate from a Chinese food eatery.

Maybe it’s America’s destiny to be fat. Or to consume large amounts of horrible food.

During the rein of George W. Bush, punk rock band Greenday released an album called American Idiot. Although maybe partially true, I think one of those annoying bands needs to release a new song, maybe titled American Fatty.

That’s at least how I feel sometimes.

Trying to write a book

I have always wanted to be a writer. It’s why I originally chose journalism as a career path — it was writing that could pay the bills, well sort of (I just got a $350 water bill – don’t let your toilet run — so I’m not sure how I’m going to muster up that much money). I have written about 20 pages in the past two weeks. Most of the writing comes from about two or three years of sketching out characters.

The novel will tell the story of Augustus Storm, a Louisiana kid reared by a crazy family. His maternal grandmother can cure illness with a deck of cards. His paternal grandmother tries to fix the family curse with a dowse of holy water. His dad can start a rainstorm, and his mom prays Augustus won’t pick up the fate bound to the generations of Storms. I intend for it to be funny in a way, sort of like Little Miss Sunshine is funny. We’ll see how successful I am.

I do have a basic time line of where I want the storyline to go, but I am writing extemporaneously right now. My plan is to hash it out and then go back and repair. I’ve never done this before, but I know how I can be in journalism: get hung up at the lede and never move forward. As I’ve taught myself as a reporter, I can always go back and amend the story to make it work. The plan is to get bulk of it down on paper.

I hope I finish the book. For the people that know me closely, you know I love lavish ideas, and then to quickly abandon them a week or two later. Hopefully, this will buck that trend!

Side Note: While on the topic of recent habits/trends, I started reading again. My friend and I (he calls us Oprah and Gayle) are trying to read books together. Our first is Mississippi Sissy. I already read a 100 pages.

I’ve discovered at least one fan

Most of my columns as editor of The Daily Reveille didn’t make me the most popular man on campus. Actually, they probably made me one of the most disliked people. But last week, I discovered a blog post showing my work at the college daily did garner me one fan.

As editor of a paper at a fairly conservative campus, I tried to bring up issues that were foreign to many of our readers. One of the columns cited in the blog post has to deal with circumcision, and how in a way, it strips the baby boy of a personal choice.

It started with this:

Every day, smiling men and women slice off newborns’ foreskins – a process rarely questioned and of little benefit.

Doesn’t anyone think of the children?

Just because foreskin is not needed to survive, it does not mean it should be cut off at birth. Why not take a single kidney out of each newborn?

It violates human rights, and parents should stop an outdated tradition and cease circumcising their children at birth. Parents should let their sons decide when they reach the age of maturity.

I just didn’t write about circumcision. During the course of the year, gay issues surfaced on several occasions. It started in September, when an anti-gay column we ran caused a campus outcry, which led to a gay debate/forum the following week. About 300 people attended the forum, and following the column’s publication, we received at least 100 letters to the editor. I commented several times during the year. The first was a defense of the column. I allowed publication of the column, which used some strong language, because I felt it was a valid opinion, in who would I be to stifle it.

At the start of the new semester, I thought it would be fitting to show we have columnists on both sides of the issue. I wrote a column calling for acceptance of gay people into society.

It started with this:

It’s 2008, and our society still has made few strides to accepting everyone irrespective of their sexual orientation.

Complete acceptance of the gay community looms somewhere in the horizon, but we can get there sooner if we demand fairness.

And at the close of the semester, I wrote another column for our Graduation Guide. Gov. Bobby Jindal was the commencement speaker, and I decided it was an opportunity to show how the state and Jindal have denied minorities of some of their rights. I cited the events in Jena and Jindal’s refusal to re-sign an executive order that protects gay people in the workplace as examples. I felt LSU, as Louisiana’s main and largest university, should serve as a “beacon of equality and tolerance.”

Change will happen either way — it always does. But Louisiana could be the pioneer.

Imagine if the state proved its racist past is limited to history books. Or if the state protected all people, no matter who they wanted to call their partner. Just imagine.

But we’re far from equality, and our own university has its obstacles to hurdle, too. LSU does not offer domestic partnership benefits to its employees. Tiger fans still celebrate their LSU heritage by flying a purple-and-gold Confederate flag, a symbol that is offensive to many.

But Louisiana and LSU have a chance for something better in the future. The past two gubernatorial elections have shown all Louisiana residents have a shot at governor. Louisiana elected its first woman governor and the nation’s first Indian-American governor in recent years.

Louisiana was the 18th state to add “sexual orientation” to its hate crimes law when the state Legislature passed a revised version in 1997.

I plan to leave Louisiana in a week. Finding a job here is tough, and the state’s reputation for being dominated by prejudice and racism is one reason why job opportunities are so sparse.

But I hope this state will improve. Louisiana is a special place, and LSU could set an example the rest of the state could follow.

Louisiana needs a movement, one that will push for hope of a better future — no matter your color or who you love. For all of those who must overcome adversity, don’t settle for tolerance. Fight for equality.

I’m glad the blogger found some of my stuff. I wrote the columns not to appease the 28,000 students of LSU, but with hope to see change. Who ever knows if there will be change, but it was at least worth a try.

Note: The Daily Reveille’s Web site has migrated to an updated version of College Publisher. Because of the move, the archives are still not working. So the links to the columns aren’t working right now. It’s a pain

I wear two hats… one of a columnist and one of a reporter

I’ve since retired my college days of writing columns for The Daily Reveille about sperm, pot and circumcision. I know – “On the Fritz” was a good run. It was time to move on though… and graduate.

After starting at Rankin Ledger, I not only have the duty of reporting on the news, but also being a columnist, too. I typically write about life issues, nothing expressly related to Rankin County and its government, etc. Some columns I have written so far are about my family’s hot sauce, life growing up in a small town, and painting abilities. Check them out!

It’s a new fiscal year!

The new fiscal year in Rankin County began at the start of the October, which for city leaders (and the reporters who must track what they are doing) is budget season. Since I’m new in town, I requested two budgets from each government entity, the one from the fiscal year that ended in September 2008 and the one that began in October 2008. Rankin County has seven cities — so let’s just say I had my fill of budgets.

As a college reporter, I became familiar with university budgets. But with the budgets of seven cities, I had to study them all and pull out some commonalities (or stark differences) among them. I never thought I would be thankful for that accounting class I took in college. But those basics helped me pick up a budget and tear into it.

I wrote two budget-related stories. The first was one analyzed which cities had budgets that were slimmed down. The second one discussed how most cities were anticipating lower sales taxes and what effects it would have on the city. Neither stories are as exciting as the budget stalemate that occured in California during the summer. Enjoy! I promise either will put you to sleep… haha.

Keeping up with the times

The following post comes from notes I took at an APME NewsTrain conference I attended in May. It was a great experience, and I learned a lot!

The Web world is rapidly changing, and sometimes scary. Data shows audience members say accessibility of content is more important than quality. But quality is something newspapers don’t want to sacrifice. And in a way, quality does matter because unlike a print edition, there is no guaranteed readership. The content has to attract readers. So the challenge for the newspapers is for them to create easily accessible sites that have accurate news the faster than other outlets.

This is not an easy feat for an industry that is not doing well financially, especially when Web advertising has hit a plateau. And furthermore, the media isn’t the main conduit for advertisers anymore. It’s search engines. The top-10 sites in Web traffic received 70 percent of the money from advertisers this past year.

The model for disseminating news has changed. No longer is the press the only way for news to move to readers. Because of the Internet, the press is just one outlet for people to get information. Competitors include the government, companies and archives. Many readers access newspaper Web sites though “side doors.” The San Jose Mercury News estimates two-thirds of their audience come from Web site aggregates.

Newspapers have to be more creative. Some newspapers have paired with big name sites for presenting their content. The Miami Herald offers podcasts on iTunes, and The Chicago Tribune has its own site that’s part of YouTube.com. Other newspapers have accounts on social networking and microblogging Web sites (Facebook.com, Twitter.com, etc.), and content is continually updates. Why? Because these programs in a way serve as an editor of content, and subscribers, such as Facebook friends, could get updates on their News Feeds.

And part of this shift comes from the change in a newsroom’s focus. News is switching from a once-daily product to an always-on product. And newsrooms need to be more proactive. It’s no longer just one deadline at 4:30 p.m. I’m a fan of college newspapers, and some newspapers, like the one of my alma mater, The Daily Reveille, have done a great job of staggering deadlines to allow updates all the time.

Most readers want breaking news. But readers also look to their newspaper to watch their backs, wallets and neighborhoods. This can be a huge task on journalists, especially because they are busy as it is. Are there too many tasks being piled on reporters? It’s just not about writing a story in a crunch anymore. Now there are Web extras, such as video, audio, slideshows and interactive graphics. Will the quality suffer? Journalists are not the first profession to face these same questions, but it is interesting to look at why so much more is piled on reporters. Why isn’t more of the burden focuses on circulation teams? It’s distribution of Web news in a way.

Other cool ideas I learned or thought of while poring through my notes:

• The fear that the Web world has too many contributors is grossly unfounded. Of 100 people online, one creates content, 10 interact with content and 89 view content. 50 percent of Wikipedia.com articles are edited and written by 0.7 percent of its users. 0.5 percent of YouTube.com users upload videos.
• The comment function not only allows interactivity for readers, it also gives an easy feedback function to consumers. And in a way, these comments make us better journalists because you get a response on how consumers react to content.

TV station: Flowood has a Palin look alike

A Flowood dermatologist looks a lot like Gov. Sarah Palin. It started as a joke between her, her husband and some friends, according to a Jackson TV station. But then, when people started stopping her and commenting on how much she looks like Palin, she realized she really does resemble Palin. To read story, click here.