News from around the nation.

President takes federal control of policing in Washington, D.C.; Bluestone's WV mining permit remains intact despite violations; USF wins $3 million grant to insure more Florida kids; As Social Security turns 90, advocates say it's still vital for Virginians.

Transcript

The Public News Service Monday afternoon update, I'm Mike Clifford.

President Donald Trump says the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. will be placed under federal control.

That from the New York Times.

The report Trump referred to a section of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act that grants him the authority to take over the police department when there are special conditions of an emergency nature.

The Times report the U.S. military is preparing to activate several hundred National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

Meantime, the mayor of D.C. says crime is down and not up.

Next to West Virginia, where environmental regulators have decided for now to keep Bluestone Coal Corporation's 600-acre Polka Mine permit intact, reversing a previous decision to hold a hearing on whether the company should be allowed to operate after it failed to correct sediment issues and uncontrolled mine drainage in the Pinnacle Creek watershed.

Willie Dodson with Appalachian Voices says he's surprised by the state's Department of Environmental Protection's willingness to reach an abatement agreement with the company.

There may be some fines.

The EPA is just going to give Bluestone more time.

And I think Bluestone is going to continue to mismanage this mine and we're going to see more of the same.

Jay Justice, the son of Senator Jim Justice, serves as Bluestone's president, CEO and chairman.

This is Nadia Ramlagon for West Virginia News Service.

Next the University of South Florida has secured a $3 million federal grant to continue its decades long work getting health coverage to Florida kids.

The Connecting Kids to Coverage Program assists families navigating Medicaid and Florida KidCare applications.

It's a critical effort in a state where almost 11 percent of residents lack insurance.

Program director, Vicki Dugat, calls the renewal a lifeline amid widespread budget cuts.

We held our breath for a solid month, a solid month and a few days, but they came through and they gave us the full $3 million, So we're able to continue our commitment to the community and community health and the welfare of our children in the state of Florida.

The program partners with six organizations statewide to provide free enrollment support.

Florida ranks among the worst states for maternal mortality, with black mothers three times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than white mothers.

I'm Trammell Gomes.

And social security turns 90 this week.

Advocates for the vast safety net system say it's vital to seniors across Virginia and the nation.

Jim Dow with AARP Virginia says, social security has been wildly successful and remains a lifeline for many.

No one is living high off the hog on social security, but for hundreds of thousands of Virginians, social security is literally the thing that allows them to put a roof over their head, food on the table for themselves and their families.

On a super hot Virginia summer day, it's what allows them to keep their house a little bit cooler.

A poll from AARP finds 65 percent of social security rely substantially on it as a key source of their monthly income.

That's up from just half 20 years ago.

This is Public News Service.

Minneapolis and St. Paul often get national praise for their parks and recreational amenities, but experts say there are barriers to accessing them among disadvantaged populations that lack transportation options.

This month, a group of organizers from around the U.S. held talks on how to get more people to embrace the Transit to Trails initiative.

Joshua Hodick with the Minnesota chapter of the Sierra Club has long pursued breaking down barriers for people in the Twin Cities Want to enjoy parks and trails but have trouble getting to them or BIPOC and low wealth families and found that one of the main barriers for these families to visiting regional parks which are like the green gems of the Twin Cities is access

Vodek says lack of a reliable car is often a roadblock.

There's a bill in Congress to provide grants that would fund access projects, but the plan is shelved for now.

In the meantime, local organizers host events where people take public transit together to an attraction to raise awareness.

I'm Mike Mellon.

And a University of New England student is working to ensure that Maine's iconic lighthouses are protected from the growing impacts of climate change.

Research indicates the Gulf of Maine is already warming faster than any body of water on the planet.

And back-to-back storms last year caused extensive damage to numerous historic sites.

Environmental science major Regina Dyer says detailed storm surge maps could help protect the buildings for generations to come.

This is where the water is going to end up.

This is what's going to be impacted.

Through the maps that I created, I was able to see where the most vulnerable lighthouses were laying.

So far, Dyer has assessed climate vulnerabilities at more than a dozen lighthouses, both on and offshore.

She says the final maps will be listed on the American Lighthouse Foundation website and could help raise funds for climate resilience efforts.

I'm Catherine Carley.

Finally, a University of Washington team has developed a groundbreaking method to get river temperature data from the Columbia River Basin from NASA satellites.

Their open source tool is called Thermal History of Regulated Rivers or THOR and offers 40 plus years of historical and current temperature data for rivers in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.

Charles Seton is with the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission who helped develop the tool.

He says they plan to use it to support salmon populations, among other things.

To be able to say, we'd like to know what was happening everywhere in the system for the last 40 years in terms of temperature, and be able to say, here's that data at all of these different places throughout the system is just a really amazing tool.

He says the data will have many uses to support salmon, including knowing where to release more water dams to cool the river down.

He also hopes to see how development of data centers along the river has affected water temperature over time.

I'm Isabel Charlay.

This is Mike Clifford and thank you for starting your week with Public News Service.

Member and listener supported.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org