Since 2012, the Indiana Division of Forestry has increased logging of state forests by 400 percent, says Anne Laker of the Indiana Forest Alliance. In this guest column, Laker talks about the dangers facing our publicly owned forests and an Indiana Senate bill that could protect them. She also previews the upcoming Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Bloomington. Click here to read the full story
The premise of our healthcare system without the Affordable Care Act? If you can’t afford healthcare, you don’t deserve it, writes Rob Stone, a local physician, healthcare activist, and one of the founders of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan. Stone and others are fighting to protect Hoosiers from this “medical caste system.” Click here to read the full story.
They’re a centuries-old assault on our environment, but eradicating invasive plants requires more than pulling them out by the roots — especially since big box stores still sell them and red tape in the governor’s office still allows those sales. Writer Susan M. Brackney explains this weedy predicament, and how people can help. Click here to read the full story.
Several diverse groups have mobilized in recent months to oppose logging in Yellowwood State Forest. The resistance comes to a head this week, as forest advocates, including hundreds of scientists, are asking Gov. Eric Holcomb to call off the plan to cut down trees in Yellowwood’s backcountry and old-growth forest areas. Click here for the full story and how to get involved.
For Kate Hess Pace, founder of the progressive grassroots group Hoosier Action, voting matters, but there are also “many, many other ways for people to build power for change.” She spoke about empowering people with Michael G. Glab on his WFHB show Big Talk, and here, in Glab’s LP column Big Mike’s B-town. Click here to read the full story.
Much has been written on the impact of a Donald Trump presidency on national politics. But what about in Indiana? Is the balance of power tilting within conservative circles? IU political scientist Luke Wood looks at a potential clash between a moderate Indiana Republican party and the Trump administration, on both economic and social concerns. Click here to read the full story.
