Here are excerpts from recent editorials in Arkansas newspapers:

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Sept. 23, 2019.

The Trump administration made the right call earlier this month by going after flavored vaping products with executive actions, bringing along the brass at the Food and Drug Administration. After all, these vape pens are drug delivery devices. The FDA has this authority.

Thank goodness, too. The Washington Post reports that 27.5% of high schoolers said they used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. And that number seems to jump more and more every year.

So what’s the harm? Well now, that’s the big question, isn’t it? The days of proclaiming that vaping is better than cigarettes, and looking the other way, are over. Or should be. Most doctors might advise a two-pack-a-day smoker to give it a try, but most doctors would also tell a 15-year-old to stay the hell away from these devices. They not only pump nicotine into the human blood system, and THC from dope, but who knows what else. Actually, nobody knows what else.

So far, dispatches say the number of people sickened by vaping has surpassed 500. And authorities believe at least seven people have died.

Folks have reported symptoms along the lines of pneumonia. First, shortness of breath. Then fever. And fatigue. And all the way up (down?) to respiratory failure. And, so far, the mystery illness has targeted mostly young people, who don’t usually have lung problems.

The other day, a 19-year-old was taken to a hospital in Pennsylvania because of breathing trouble. He was unable to breathe on his own because his lungs had become congested with some sort of solidified vaping oil. His name is Anthony Mayo, and his father says his son has the lungs of a 60-year-old two-pack-a-day smoker. Also, the teen’s lungs might be scarred for life.

The kid had been vaping about two years.

“It’s solidified,” Dad told the papers. “It’s caking everything inside of his lungs.” He compared it to cold bacon grease. If that doesn’t give the rest of us pause, what will?

There are theories about what’s happening:

- Maybe there are bad ingredients being added to vaping liquids on the street. You know, the dealers might be cutting it with bad stuff.

- Maybe those brewing vape recipes don’t know what they’re doing. Perhaps relying on the internet to cook up the goods. Which sounds like a disaster in itself.

- Maybe this problem has always been under the surface, and the papers are just now picking up on it.

- Maybe it’s something completely different. And tomorrow will bring the answer.

Or not.

Nobody knows at this point.

Tobacco rates had been declining in America every year, and then these e-cigarettes caught on. And why not? They haven’t been regulated much. They aren’t cigarettes. They don’t stink up your shirts and cause your parents to gripe. All the cool kids use ‘em. Anybody who’s anybody vapes, mom.

You can even find flavors like watermelon and cotton candy. What, not Skittles and Gummy Bears, too? All of this might remind you of your high school days, when your buddies masked the taste of hard liquor with some sort of cola or juice. If it tastes like a lollipop, then what’s the harm? Answer: Perhaps a lot.

The president is involved, considering a policy that would ban flavored e-cigarettes in stores and online. But better than that, the First Lady is involved. She’s said to be “deeply concerned” and has been tweeting about the “growing epidemic” of vaping among kids. That might be more helpful than anything. You know the saying about keeping Mom in a good mood: When she’s happy, everybody’s happy.

Anthony Mayo’s father told the press that his family didn’t realize the problems that vaping could cause. Not until tests showed his son’s oxygen levels at 36%. (Anything under 90% is dangerous.)

“The flavors that they’re coming out with … . It’s not for your construction worker who can’t afford to light up at a building that they’re working,” he said. “Or the executive who is walking to a meeting smoking a cigarette. No, these flavors are all targeting kids or young adults.”

He’s right.

Our considered editorial opinion:

Go get ‘em FDA.

___

Texarkana Gazette. Sept. 24, 2019.

For several months now Texans have been hearing about the possibility of the staunchly red Lone Star State turning blue - or at least purple.

Democrats are counting on a perceived dissatisfaction with President Donald to help them make some gains after years of wandering in the wilderness. They think more Democrats will turn out to vote and maybe, just maybe, they can attract some who traditionally vote GOP.

Republicans say that’s nonsense. The president is popular and the base will stay firmly in the fold.

But they aren’t taking any chances.

Legislation passed along party lines and signed into law in May makes it easier for third parties to get on the Texas ballot. Formerly, to get on the ballot, a party candidate had to get at least 5% of the vote in a statewide race in the last general election. Now they just have to get 2% and have five elections - 10 years - to do it.

Libertarians have long made the 5% cut. But the Green Party failed to do so in 2018. Now the Greens will be back before the voters. That could slice into the Democrats’ expected turnout. And in a close race that could mean all the difference.

The state’s GOP may well be confident, but it’s always prudent to take out a bit of insurance.

___

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Sept. 24, 2019.

It isn’t perfect. Nothing ever is. There is heartache. There are loopholes. If some education reformers had a magic wand, things would be different.

But hand the Board of Education this much: Its framework for Little Rock’s schools is the best that could have been put together in this environment.

The new framework for moving Little Rock’s schools back to local control can’t be described as the best of both worlds. Instead, call it the OK of both worlds. But it’s doubtful the plan could have been improved as of late September 2019, A.D.

Dispatches say the new framework for Arkansas’ largest school district will be “fleshed out” at coming meetings, starting next month. But it appears as though Little Rock will get a local school board by next year. Word around the campfire is that it will be responsible for non-failing schools in the district. And even have certain inputs into the failing ones.

According to Cynthia Howell’s story in Saturday’s paper:

“Category 3 schools would be those with a 2019 F letter grade. Those schools will be operated under ‘different leadership than the remaining schools in the district but in partnership with the district.’ “

For example, the state might handle curriculum and personnel in the failing schools, but allow the local school board to be involved in other decisions. The state will still handle its duty to provide for all students, including those stuck in the worst schools.

The Education Board’s vote on the framework was unanimous. The governor applauded the decision. Education reformers bounced emails around the state Friday afternoon praising the plan. So naturally, there was angry opposition from the teachers’ union.

“You are not putting students first,” the president of the Little Rock Education Association told the Education Board. Translation: You are not putting teachers’ unions first. Any time teachers might be held accountable, as they might in this framework, and only at failing schools at that, you can count on the union to oppose. After all, bad teachers pay union dues, too.

Which is why at its Oct. 10 meeting, the Board of Education should end the decades-old recognition of the Little Rock Education Association as the bargaining agent for district employees. That is, put students first, as somebody recently said.

Why continue to deal with a union that opposes every change? Does anybody really think the Board of Education could have chosen any responsible path and somehow received the union’s support?

This could be the beginning of recovery for the Little Rock School District. It’s going to take some guts and a heckuva lot more work, but the healing could be near. If our betters would take but a few more steps.

The state’s Board of Education took another smart step when it decided to hold elections for this new school board on Election Day. That might sound like common sense, but when it comes to education (and so much else), sense isn’t all that common.

The unions enjoy holding elections for school boards in off-months. That way, they can get their people to the polls when few are paying attention and elect a favorable slate. Then negotiate with the people they put on the local school board! Neat trick. It amounts to negotiating with yourself for things like, oh, salary and benefits.

Instead, the state board decided to hold the next election in Little Rock’s school district in November 2020. That is, when folks plan to go to the polls. And turnout should be high. After all, a presidential election will be in the works. Not to mention several folks running for Congress and, in Arkansas, the United States Senate.

Anticipate the unions being opposed to this part of the plan, too. They’ll argue that mere voters aren’t smart enough to make school board decisions when presidents and senators are on the ballot. Which says a lot about their opinions of the electorate.

All in all, the decisions made by the state Board of Education could do much good for the local district in the long run. That is, for the students in the district.

And isn’t that the point?

Or shouldn’t it be?

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