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Dear EarthTalk: Isn’t it foolish to rebuild millions of homes in areas ravaged by floods or wildfires given the likelihood that this extreme weather will keep occurring? — Mike Aspen, Baltimore, MD
In recent years, the continued global prevalence of climate change has increased the number of weather-related catastrophes. In fact, eight of California’s 10 largest wildfires have occurred in the past five years, resulting not only in the loss of lives but also significant property damage. Due to this repeated phenomenon, many climate experts suggest that towns at a high risk of weather-related catastrophes should be abandoned, not rebuilt. Financial, logistical and safety factors indicate that rebuilding in low-hazard areas can be significantly more beneficial than rebuilding in high-hazard areas.
Building new homes in areas at high risk of flood or wildfire contributes up to $3 billion to disaster-related costs annually. At the current rate, experts predict that some 220,000 homes could be built in locations exposed to high wildfire hazards by 2030, making for unprecedented financial loss from property damage. In the case of Greenville, California, for instance, rebuilding is predicted to cost around $1 billion, yet most residents do not plan to return, largely because experts think the area could be destroyed again in the next 30 years. “Governments can save billions of dollars each year and keep people safe from disasters by building just a small percentage of new homes away from the highest-risk areas for wildfires and floods,” says Ryan Ness, Director of Adaptation at the Canadian Climate Institute.
To make matters worse, the use of fire-resistant material to rebuild is costly and thus not required by law, leading to increased risk. Though urban planners stress the need for fire-resistant design, officials often push for rapid reconstruction, thus waiving environmental permits and zoning regulations.
Beyond the lack of fire-resistant material, the location of rebuilt homes increases the dangers that residents face as the frequency of weather-related disasters such as droughts, floods and wildfires has increased fivefold since 1970 and have led to the deaths of 2 million people globally. Furthermore, wildfires do not just destroy homes—they degrade air quality, water supply and forests, causing permanent detrimental effects.
The Canadian Climate Institute recommends building housing and infrastructure in low-hazard areas, moving away from high-risk zones. Another recommendation is to create, maintain, and make publicly available maps that show where hazardous areas are to warn potential residents. Moreover, the Institute also suggested reforming disaster assistance programs as a way to deter risky urban development.
EarthTalk® is produced by Roddy Scheer & Doug Moss for the 501(c)3 nonprofit EarthTalk.
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The president was correct last week when he stated that the cost of a Thanksgiving meal at Walmart will be lower this year. He neglected to add that this year’s dinner contains six fewer products than its 2024 basket and only 22 items, compared to 29. I guess that is no surprise.
By this time, shrinkage is everywhere among products. This is a common tactic used by manufacturers to give the appearance of a larger product, when in fact, you’re getting less.In the food category, it is running rampant, so why not at Thanksgiving? Cans are smaller. There are fewer items in smaller packages, and, of course, the ‘fool you’ trick of keeping the package size the same but filling it with air.
Walmart, among other grocery stores, has announced a 25% drop in its 2025 Thanksgiving basket, serving 10 people. This means you, the savvy shopper, can save money this year and still provide a hearty meal for your family.
Wells Fargo’s Agri-Food Institute provides an annual run-down of the year’s prices for the typical Thanksgiving meal. This year, they predict that consumers will pay 2-3% less for their Thanksgiving meal, despite food-at-home prices increasing 2.7% so far in 2025. The latest Consumer Price Index report indicated that beef, bananas, and coffee were responsible for much of that increase, and (Praise Be) none of them are Thanksgiving staples.
As always, those numbers will depend on a shopper’s strategies and food choices. For example, if you exclude beef and eggs from the menu, chances are the dinner will be cheaper. If you stick to store brands, a typical menu will come in at $80 versus $95 for a meal of national-name brand items.
Some national brands, however, use certain loss-leader items to keep in the running for your holiday dollars. Cranberries and frozen vegetables, for example, may be cheaper than store brands, so do your homework. As for dessert, stick with pumpkin pie, which is down about 3% in price from last year,
The dinner’s pièce de résistance, the turkey, will also drop in price this year. Retail turkey prices are down 3.7%. Additionally, keep an eye out for sales. As of last weekend, I scored a $.67/pound frozen turkey and a $.87/pound ham at my local supermarket chain. Given that I am a bit of a skinflint, I usually buy several turkeys during the holiday season.
It is not that I especially crave the taste of a 20-pound big bird, but my dog loves them. At the current price of a 12-ounce can of dog food (between $2-$3), or a premium brand ($3-$7), the price of a turkey is a steal. I throw it in the oven, often while I am writing this column. Once done, I chop it up into bite-sized chunks and freeze it in baggies, except for the drumsticks, which my wife loves. But I digress.
Donald Trump has claimed that the only grocery item that has increased in price is beef. We all know that is not true. Why would the nation’s president try to pull the wool over our eyes when dozens of food items continue to increase in price? One word—affordability.
He knows that consumers are faced with the rising cost of everything. It is an increasing hardship that has become even more difficult lately. Millions ofRepublicans as well as Democrats depend on SNAP to eat. The same can be said for those enrolled in Obamacare who face massive premium hikes.
Tariffs, immigration, and peace deals may be nice, but they only go so far. The opposition is aware of this. Increasingly, Democrats have used this issue effectively, as evidenced by last week’s elections. I suspect that this message of affordability is beginning to ring loud and clear in the Oval Office.I’ll leave it at that because my oven (and my dog) are telling me my first roast turkey of the season is done.
Bill Schmick is a founding partner of Onota Partners, Inc., in the Berkshires.Bill’s forecasts and opinions are purely his own and do not necessarily represent the views of Onota Partners, Inc. (OPI).
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125 years ago — November 1900
In the game between the overshoe and the sidewalk, the overshoe gets “stuck” every time these days.
SHARON — No services were held last Sunday in the Episcopal Church, the rector not being able to reach Sharon in time. As usual the services will be held next Sunday, the Rev. Mr. Phillips of New Haven expecting to preside.
Lots of people are fond of swearing at the telephone, but they realize how important it is when a storm comes along and puts it out of business. Yes “blessings brighten as they take their flight.”
A.B. Landon returned Tuesday from Vermont with over thirty fine cattle. He was in Vermont throughout the storm of last week and says he just about froze to death — thought he would thaw out when he got back to Lakeville, but found the climate here about as severe as in Vermont.
Harry Gill is working in the forging room of the Holley M’f’g Co. for a short time.
100 years ago — November 1925
The garage of the Canfield Motor Sales Co. at Canaan was practically destroyed by fire on Saturday afternoon. The garage was formerly a livery stable and being of wood it burned with amazing rapidity, seeming to be ablaze all over almost at once. The fire started when a backfiring Ford ignited oil and gasoline. One of the workmen, John Fallon, was overcome with smoke and had to be carried out. In the building was a large number of cars some of which were saved, although about 21 cars were destroyed a number of them being new Fords in which the company dealt.
The portrait of the late Dr. George H. Knight has been finished by Miss Emmet, and is to be placed in the new building called the Knight Hospital at the Institution at Mansfield. The portrait will be on exhibition at Heaton & Co.’s store for a few days in order to give Dr. Knight’s friends an opportunity to see it.
It was announced recently by the highway commissioner that a concrete road will be constructed from the bridge at West Norfolk to the Norfolk green, a distance of about two miles, the cost of construction being estimated at about $125,000. The present highway is narrow and in places it is difficult to pass large trucks, the drivers of which apparently do not wish to get too near the edge of the road alongside the fence, for fear of cave-ins. The new road will thus require considerable filling to widen it.
LIME ROCK — H.V. Eggleston has rented a house in Lakeville and moved there for the winter.
The work of remodeling the interior of Robert’ Store to provide quarters for the post office has been started. The former dry goods section of the store will be used as the post office, a partition being installed to separate it from the rest of the store.
Clifton Tripp has finished his duties at the Journal office and has returned to his home in Pine Plains.
The coal strike thus far has caused no distress in this section. Most of our home owners laid in supplies for winter before the strike occurred. Some soft coal is being used, but practically everyone has been able to secure coal for immediate needs. Meanwhile the coal operators and miners have lost friends, almost everyone feeling that these coal strikes come with altogether too much regularity about every two years and each time coal gets a substantial boost in prices. The dear public as usual is the goat.
50 years ago — November 1975
New car sales are on the rebound, according to several Tri-State area dealers, after a bad 1975 sales year. Not all dealers report a sales spurt, however, as some find little change from last year’s pattern and say sales are down.
The Lakeville Water Company which provides water service to some 860 customers in the Town of Salisbury, Monday filed a formal application with the Connecticut Public Utilities Commission for a 34 per cent rate increase. Should the full amount of the $21,900 annual rate increase be granted, the quarterly bill of a typical residential customer using 10,000 gallons of water would rise from $7.38 to $9.90. No increases have been requested for water companies in Canaan, Norfolk or Cornwall, which also are owned by the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company.
Salisbury selectmen decided Tuesday night to defer action on a proposal by Resident State Trooper Robert Smithwick to make Academy and Library streets each one-way in an effort to relieve entrance and exit congestion at the new Market Place of Salisbury. Instead they decided to ban parking on Academy Street for some distance back from Main Street to determine whether this will alleviate the problem at the corner.
The promotion of David N. Parker to vice president and executive editor of The Lakeville Journal was announced this week by Journal Publisher Robert Estabrook. Parker has been managing editor for the past 3½ years.
Members of the Canaan Volunteer Fire Company gathered at the Main Street firehouse last Friday to take down the communications tower. The tower was taken down with the help of Tony Ghi’s crane and moved in one afternoon to the new firehouse. Other firefighting equipment was also relocated on Friday.
The American Farmer Degree, the highest degree of membership in the Future Farmers of America, was conferred last week on Robert Wood, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Clark Wood of Falls Village. Wood joined 703 other FFA members, representing about one per cent of all FFA members, in accepting the honorary degree at the 48th FFA national convention in Kansas City, Mo. Wood is a student at Housatonic Valley Regional High School.
A heretofore nameless road off of Route 7 in Falls Village has been designated as Stein Lane in honor of Arthur D. Stein Jr. The little roadway was named both to honor Stein and to aid travelers seeking homes located along the road. The road was part of a development started several years ago by Ralph Sandmeyer of Cornwall. Initiative in naming the road stemmed from Edward Woebse of Route 7, a nearby resident. Woebse said that many persons would stop at his home seeking directions to the road. Woebse decided upon a name for the road, got Sandmeyer’s agreement to posting the name, and arranged for a bold-faced sign. The post office and other town agencies have been notified of the new name.
The newest resident of Cornwall Bridge arrived on Nov. 14 at 10:13 p.m. Expected in December, the newborn son confounded his parents, Dorothy and Philip Wolfe, by his sudden arrival Friday night. Dr. Josephine Evarts had planned to be on hand to deliver him at home, as she had his sister Catherine. But there was no time. The young father, who had assisted at the earlier birth, delivered the child himself. When “Dr. Jo” arrived she found mother, son and father doing nicely. Having caught his parents unprepared the baby has not yet been named. He is the grandson of Jean Wolfe of West Cornwall and of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Clarke Jr. of Cornwall Bridge. He is the great grandson of the founder of the Dark Entry Forest Association, the late Dr. William C. Clarke.
25 years ago — November 2000
While strongly affirming its support of Essent Healthcare’s purchase of Sharon Hospital, the Ombudsmen for Sharon Hospital met with some questions and concerns at a meeting Friday. About 100 people attended an informational meeting at Sharon Center School to hear the group, which formed to help disseminate information to the public about the proposed sale. James Buckley, former senator and retired federal judge, who serves as chairman of the ombudsmen, opened the meeting, emphasizing that everyone in the room has the same objective: to keep Sharon Hospital as a viable acute care facility.
At last, the town of Lakeville has a new postmaster, Drew Ohmen, most recently the postmaster in Falls Village, took over the position Oct. 21. Mr. Ohmen was stationed in Falls Village from 1993 until this year. He was postmaster in South Kent from 1987 to 1993 and he has worked for the U.S. Postal Service since 1973. In his years as a civil servant, Mr. Ohmen has seen and taken part in major changes in the way mail is sorted and delivered. “The major change is automation, the way the mail is sorted,” he said.
CANAAN — A $22,000 technology grant has been awarded to North Canaan Elementary School. Principal Thomas Gaisford made the announcement at last week’s Board of Education meeting. A portion of the state funding, he said, would go toward updating computer equipment in the school library and increasing capacity in a couple of hubs. Most will be spent to purchase new computers to replace older models.
Falls Village resident Betsy Howie will read from and sign her novel “Snow” Saturday Dec. 2 at the D.M. Hunt Library in Falls Village from 4 to 6 p.m. The reading, signing and reception, which will follow the library’s monthly book sale, will also be a fundraiser for the library. Copies of “Snow” will be available at the library for $15 each. Five dollars from each book sold will be donated to the library.
These items were taken from The Lakeville Journal archives at Salisbury’s Scoville Memorial Library, keeping the original wording intact as possible.
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Thanks to Cahill for his service to Sharon Ed.
Before the recent municipal elections get too far in the rear-view mirror, I wanted to say a word of thanks to retiring Sharon Board of Education chair, Doug Cahill. Doug served for 12 years with unfailing diligence, judgment, integrity and good humor, as I can attest from having served for eight of those years with him.
There is one achievement from his tenure on the Board which is often overlooked: if you look at the last eight years of actual spending — the years covered by the budgets available on the town website — you will see that Sharon Center School’s spending has been virtually flat. This year’s budget of $4.166 million is up only 1.5% from actual spending of $4.103 million in 2017-18. By contrast, the Consumer Price Index has risen 32%. Even more remarkably, the school is up to date on all major maintenance: new roof, new boilers, air handling system, paving, etc.
But most impressive is that his primary concern has always been squarely where it should be: making sure that Sharon school students receive the quality education mandated by the state and the supports they need to prepare for a healthy, productive life. It is a fitting coda to his time on the board (and kudos to Sharon teachers, administrators and staff) that the school recently received Connecticut “School of Distinction” status based on performance and progress.
A huge vote of thanks to Doug for his years of dedication to the children of Sharon.
Anne Vance
Sharon
We are North Canaan
I would like to offer my most meaningful and sincere appreciation to Rosemary and Patricia Keilty (Registrars of Voters), as well as to the highly dedicated group of election staff who were able to assemble for North Canaan’s recount. Their collective resolve to ensure that each ballot was meticulously vetted and accounted for was obvious with each step that was taken. I fully accept the results as they have been presented.
I would like to congratulate Jesse Bunce on his victory, and I wish him all of the very best as he prepares to lead us through the 2025-27 term. I now look forward to serving as your Second Selectman, alongside Melissa Pinardi-Brown, who will begin serving as Third Selectman.
Having served in a variety of political positions since 2015, I have had the honor of taking on a host of different roles, all with varying levels of responsibility. Each role, no matter the title or scope, has been a profound privilege of mine, creating opportunity after opportunity to serve you. That is what has been the one common denominator that has guided me through all of these selfless experiences. Service. An act performed by someone who values the greater good, while seeking to help and provide assistance to all, regardless of the effort or will it will take to complete such an act. In just two years, we changed the landscape of North Canaan for the better. In just two years, we transformed our municipal government so that it was more accessible, affordable, transparent, and operationally more efficient. We did all of this together. For that, I am so proud of the changes that we were able to make and the solid foundation that has been set in place so that we can continue along this pathway of progress.
The future of North Canaan is bright. No matter how you may have voted in this election, I hope you all are able to find some comfort in knowing that each board and commission will continue to take on their respective missions, knowing that they are all charged with serving the amazing people of our beloved town. It is also my hope, now and forever, that our differences will be rooted in a soil that has the nutrients needed to balance out any tensions or tribulations. May any perceived red wave or blue wave eventually evaporate up into a cloud of collegial consensus, which will then fall back down upon us as a unifying and healing purple rain. This is my hope and this is my promise. Now is not the time to wish failure or misstep upon any elected official. We will all serve each other and our town, just as your votes intended them to do. It has been an immense honor to serve as your First Selectman. I look forward to all of the wonderful accomplishments that we are able to continue achieving together. We are North Canaan.
Brian M. Ohler
North Canaan
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