Our neighbors to the north are not a problem

• Share on
• 
• 
• 
• 

Donald Trump has lumped Canada in with Mexico as a source of drugs and undocumented immigration and threatened to impose tariffs as a consequence.  Jerry Zremski of The Buffalo News debunks the claim. Twenty-four times more drugs have been seized at the southern border than the northern one. Undocumented immigrants: 11 times greater crossing from Mexico than Canada so far this year.

Buffalo police want to use artificial intelligence as a crime fighting tool. The ACLU cautions of the potential for abuse when police are given AI tools without proper guardrails.

Niagara Falls is starting to smarten up when it comes to redeveloping its frayed Main Street commercial district. 

Here’s something I’m not reading about: the continued inability – or unwillingness – for the Buffalo Bills to clear its stadium of snow after a storm. Sorry, but scrambling to hire people off the street at $20 per hour doesn’t cut it. Fans should not have to put up with unshoveled seats and stairs. Is there a reason why the Bills can’t hire a contractor to call on when necessary to clear seats and isles of snow?

Here’s your chemistry lesson for the day, courtesy ProPublica: “Formaldehyde causes more cancer than any other toxic air pollutant. It is emitted from cars, trucks, planes, industrial facilities and many other sources. It’s also formed in the atmosphere when other chemicals are cooked by sunlight.”

ProPublica has published a Formaldehyde tracker. Type in your home or work address and find out if you’re at risk. I didn’t like what I found out.

New York Focus published an insightful primer on the state’s highest court.

By one measure, Rochester and Buffalo are among the most affordable cities in the nation for older people to age in place. Housing expenses and cost of living have a lot to do with it.

The Pew Research Center posts its findings on 14 noteworthy developments of 2024. Among them: six in ten Americans say they won’t get the updated COVID-19 vaccine in the coming year. How soon we forget.

So far, Trump has announced his intention to appoint at least 13 billionaires to the senior ranks of his administrations. Axios noted: “The top of the Trump administration’s net worth is likely higher than the GDP of hundreds of countries, including Finland, Chile and New Zealand.” By comparison, the net worth of Joe Biden’s initial cabinet was $118 million. The Guardian also offers a take.

National Public Radio produces a lot of good reporting. For example, the longer the career of a National Hockey League player, the more likely it is he’ll eventually suffer brain damage.

I’ve already had it with winter, and we’re just getting started. Here’s a pick-me-upper.

Jim Heaney