Fwd: Safety, School, Light Rail & Libraries

Posted on November 14, 2026 by Jim Tanner

Thanks top Mary Montgomery

FIRST HILL COMMUNITY NEWS

November 2026

Annual Public Safety Survey Open through November 30

This survey, conducted annually by Seattle University in partnership with the Seattle Police Department (SPD), is a key part of Seattle’s Micro-Community Policing Plans (MCPPs)—a program that helps tailor public safety strategies to the unique needs and concerns of each neighborhood, including First Hill.

These plans combine community input with crime data to guide SPD’s focus in ways that reflect what matters most to each community. The survey results help identify local issues, track progress, and adjust strategies based on what residents and workers share about their experiences and perceptions of safety.  You can see the 2025 survey results here. 

Your feedback shapes how public safety is approached on First Hill—helping ensure that community voices, not just crime statistics, drive neighborhood priorities. Please take the survey by November 30th .Take the Survey

Lighting up First Hill’s Dark Spots

Now that we’ve fallen back and the Seattle sun is setting early, one of FHIA’s priorities is to help make our neighborhood safer by ensuring areas are well-lit (like the sidewalk pictured above by O’Dea High School).

We need your help identifying dark spots around First Hill!  These could be intersections, sidewalks, alleys or open spaces – anywhere that a person may walk on First Hill at night that needs more light.  Maybe you’ve noticed where existing lights on the side of a building would help, but aren’t working. We want to know all the spots! 

Once your input is received, our Clean, Healthy, Safe Committee will walk the neighborhood and map out areas that need attention. Based on what we compile, we’ll work to develop a plan to get spaces better lit and feeling safer. Interested in this project?  Sign-up to help on the Clean, Healthy, Safe Committee.  

If you’ve noticed a dark spot in the neighborhood, please let us know using the link below. Thank you for sharing!  Report Dark Spots 


Light Rail Comment Period Opening Soon
Sound Transit is scheduled to release its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the Ballard Link Extension on December 11th.  Then there will be a 60-day comment period, providing opportunity for the public to give input that can shape the project.  

What is a draft EIS?  Sound Transit explains: A draft EIS is an environmental review document that evaluates possible routes and station locations, collectively called “alternatives.”  It describes the potential benefits of each alternative and identifies ways to reduce potential impacts.

FHIA’s Transportation Committee will be reviewing the document and preparing comments to help ensure the alternatives serve First Hill.  Interested in helping?  Sign-up to join Transportation Committee meetings and keep an eye out for advocacy alerts with opportunities to make our voices heard.
Historic Preservation: The Fight ContinuesOn November 9, the U.S. Senate voted to advance the American Affordability and Jobs Act (S. 5653), which includes proposed changes that could weaken the National Historic Preservation Act, particularly Section 106. 

Section 106 gives communities, the public, and Tribal Nations a voice when federally funded or approved projects may affect historic places. Weakening these protections could limit opportunities for public input and put important cultural resources at risk.  Learn more by watching this video and reading more on the Washington Trust’s blog.
  
FHIA joins our friends at Historic Seattle and the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation in following this issue closely. Protecting the places that tell our stories and connect us to our shared history matters. Stay tuned—we’ll be sure to share opportunities to raise our voices together in support of historic preservation. 

Anderson’s Celebrates 43 Years 
There’s something especially comforting about a local business that knows its community and has been here for generations of customers. Anderson’s Comfort Footwear (1012 Madison) has been helping people find comfortable, well-fitting shoes since 1983, and this longtime neighborhood favorite is celebrating with a special anniversary sale – through November 16th, take advantage of these specials: 20% off shoes and 25% off handmade orthotics!

Owner Mickell Baccas has been in the shoe business since 1977, bringing years of experience and a personal touch to helping customers find just the right fit.  Whether you’re looking for a great pair of everyday shoes or handmade orthotics for extra support, Mike and team work to ensure “happy feet where feet hit the street.”

Shop the anniversary sale this week to support First Hill’s economy and help celebrate Anderson’s decades of work in our community!

Elementary School Coming to First Hill 
Maybe you’ve noticed the colorful window clings along Madison Street between Boylston and Summit? They’re a preview of something exciting: Spruce Street School is coming to First Hill, with plans to open in the summer of 2028! 

In 2019, Spruce Street School purchased the building on Madison. Over the last 18 months they have been developing plans to transform the space into their Forever Home on First Hill. Yay! Renovations are expected to begin this spring, including the build out of an outdoor play area on the roof.   

Founded in 1982, Spruce Street School is an independent elementary school currently located downtown, with about 100 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Their small, multi-age classes offer personalized, hands-on learning rooted in curiosity and collaboration, with the city itself serving as an extension of the classroom.

Not only is the school excited to be an active and engaged part of the community, First Hill also very much looks forward to welcoming Spruce Street School families to the neighborhood!
ST. JAMES ADVENT BAZAAR- November 29th | 9am to noon –
Start your holiday shopping at the St. James Cathedral’s Advent Bazaar this year on Sunday, November 29th from 9am-noon in Cathedral Hall (910 Columbia Street).  The annual Advent Bazaar features the work of Cathedral artists and friends.  Learn more here.  New Little Free Libraries Tour     Date: November 23rd
     Time: 1pm
     Location: Starting from The Memory Hub (1021 Columbia)

Grab a friend and join us to visit three NEW Little Free Libraries around First Hill.  With help from our friends at Mortenson Construction (who are building the Swedish tower) and Stone Soup Gardens, these new libraries are currently being installed and will be ready for book sharing soon!

Join us to do a quick (15-20 minute) walk to check out these new additions to our neighborhood. We will end at The Baroness Hotel for a reception (including free snacks and refreshments) to celebrate.  Feel free to bring a book to share, and sign-up below so we have enough snacks and drinks for all.RSVP HereFirst Hill Food Drive Returns!     Date: Through November 30th
     Location: A Pizza Mart (800 Seneca St)

Looking for a way to give back this holiday season? Look no further – the First Hill Food Drive is returning this month! We are partnering with A Pizza Mart to support the community by collecting items for local food pantries! Bring tasty non-perishable items to A Pizza Mart through the end of November to get involved. Food items you can donate include:PastaOatmeal and breakfast cerealRice and other grainsSalsa, peanut butter, shelf stable dipsCanned food (fruits, veggies, beans, tuna, etc.)Snacks (granola bars, fruit cups, crackers, etc.)Breakfast items (cereal, Pop-Tarts)Any other shelf-stable items you think others would enjoy!Thank you for your help caring for one another!First Hill Final Friday      Date:  November 27th
     Time:  5:00-7:00 PM
     Location: The Hideout (1005 Boren Ave.)

What to do on Black Friday….?  Bring your friends and join neighbors and colleagues from 5pm to 7pm on the last Friday in November for socializing and to support a local, First Hill establishment. This month we’re meeting at The Hideout to enjoy delicious, top-notch cocktails and their fabulous art walls.  Enjoyfine friends, food, and fun! See you on the final Friday of the month. More Upcoming Events
Click on the events below for details:      
      November 14 – Small Frye: Story Time & Art at The Frye
      November 14 – Jazz Show at Seattle First Baptist
      November 18 – Historic Talk at the Mansion
      November 19 – Murder Mystery Dinner at Sorrento
      November 19 – Secret Concert at the Mansion
      November 23 – Little Free Libraries Tour 
      November 26 – Thanksgiving at Hotel Sorrento
      November 27 – First Hill Friday at The Hideout
      November 29 – Advent Bazaar at St. James

~ Click the button below to check out more events happening on First Hill ~
PRO TIP:  Click “Google Calendar ICS” on event listings to add events directly from our calendar to yours!NEIGHBORHOOD EVENT CALENDAR

Posted in Books, Business, Education, Neighborhood, Pets, Politics | Leave a comment

Microsoft has Macro Problem

Posted on November 12, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Click here for updates

Posted in Communication, Science and Technology | Leave a comment

Keeping up the momentum of the Blue Wave

Posted on November 11, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Hello Friends,

Last Tuesday’s election demonstrated that people across the nation agreed that the country is moving in the wrong direction.  The people have spoken decisively, indicating the need for immediate relief of bread and butter issues: food, housing and health care. There is so much more to be restored, but the people’s needs are first.

We rejoice at the election outcome and presently are suspending gatherings at 8 and Madison.  Rather, we propose writing to representatives across the country, encouraging them to pass legislation that moves along their promised agenda. At a recent Town Hall presentation Pramila Jayapal surprised her supporters, stating that legislators profit from their constituents’ communications, even on issues where it’s clear they agree.  Knowing that a good percentage of people are on your side is powerful.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW OF YOUR INTEREST IN A WRITING CAMPAIGN.

Judy Mayotte

Seniors at the Crossroads Committee

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A Patriotic Cover of Sousa’s ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’ on a Restored Dutch Street Organ

Posted on November 11, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Joan Conlon and Bob Peterson

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RFK Jr.’s Thalidomide Gambit

Posted on November 11, 2026 by Jim deMaine

RFK Jr. has transformed the medical freedom movement into freedom from federal regulation of foods, biologicals, vaccines, and drugs.

Paul Offit Nov 9 (Thanks to Ed Marcuse)

After RFK Jr. was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), he said that Americans had lost faith in public health agencies during the COVID pandemic. As the nation’s #1 health official, he promised to restore that faith.

In December 2020, COVID vaccines were available to help prevent a disease that was killing thousands of people every day. Most people rushed to get them. But not everyone. About one-third of the American public refused the vaccine. They didn’t think the disease was that bad or they feared that the vaccine was unsafe. Either way, they didn’t want to get vaccinated. RFK Jr. was right there with them. As the head of a virulent anti-vaccine group called Children’s Health Defense, he had been an anti-vaccine activist for more than 20 years. When the COVID vaccine became available, he testified in front of the Louisiana state legislature that it was “the deadliest vaccine ever made,” and argued that vaccines shouldn’t be mandated. The medical freedom movement was born.

As Secretary of HHS, RFK Jr. tried to regain the public’s trust—or at least the minority of the public that rejected vaccines—by dismantling the vaccine infrastructure. He fired all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), replacing them with people who, like him, thought vaccines were unnecessarily harmful. He reduced the number of routinely recommended vaccines from 17-11. He said that HHS would no longer recommend COVID vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. In response to RFK Jr.’s agenda, public trust in federal health agencies declined even further from 77% to 50%.

Then RFK Jr.’s quest to restore public trust took another dangerous turn. “If you want to take an experimental drug,” he said, “you ought to be able to do that. We want to respect the intelligence of the American public to decide what treatments will benefit them the most.” RFK Jr. warned the FDA not to “tell physicians what they can and can’t prescribe.”

True to his word, RFK Jr. forced the FDA to remove warnings about bogus cures for autism, such as stem cells, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and chelation. He was particularly enamored with stem cells, which he claimed had treated his voice disorder but was angry that he had to travel to Antigua to get them. Children, argued Kennedy Jr., should be able to use stem cells to treat autism even though the procedure costs $20,000, involves sedating the child with ketamine, and has been shown by Duke University researchers not to work.

RFK Jr. also 1) forced the FDA to take down it’s warnings about testosterone, 2) replaced an FDA advisory committee with members of the peptide industry so he could eliminate restrictions on peptides that were unproven or unsafe, and 3) manipulated the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee so that he could promote saturated fats over unsaturated fats in clear contradiction of the American Heart Association’s warnings that saturated fats increase the risk of heart disease—a fact supported by more than four dozen studies.

RFK Jr. was a perfect example of the 19th century German philosopher Georg Hegel’s warning that, “What we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history.” The United States has for decades benefited from federal oversight of drugs and biologicals, most notably in 1957 when the FDA refused to license thalidomide, a sleeping pill made by the German company Chemie Grünenthal because safety studies in pregnant women were lacking. Thalidomide use in other countries damaged 24,000 embryos, more than half of whom died before birth. According to RFK Jr.’s philosophy, the FDA shouldn’t have restricted thalidomide. Rather, it should have “respected the intelligence of the American public” to make their own decisions.

In RFK Jr.’s America, medical freedom has become freedom from federal regulation of drugs, foods, biologicals, and vaccines. The consequences, as forewarned by Hegel, are entirely predictable.

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A Christian, a Muslim and a Jew walk into a bar…

Posted on November 11, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Mary Jane Francis

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Elevators are Wonderful

Posted on November 11, 2026 by Mike Cory

Submitted by Mike Cory

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Veteran’s Day and poppies

Posted on November 11, 2026 by Jim deMaine
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Books, Books, Books! – The Great Book Giveaway is this Friday

Posted on November 10, 2026 by Jim deMaine

We need more books! Please donate now in the Mt. Baker Room by Thursday!

from Betsy Hansen

The Library Committee is looking for more books.  Do you have a stack of books by your bed that you’ve read and want to get rid of?  Have you just recently joined us here at Skyline and found that you’ve brought too many with you?  You can donate them to our annual collection for the Great Book Giveaway this Friday, November 13. Place your books and DVDs in the box in the corner of the Mount Baker room by November 11. We will scan them for those to be kept for our library before the event.

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Ronald Reagan by David Brooks

Posted on November 10, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Ideas matter most when they’re paired with moral clarity — from IN PURSUIT

Before Ronald Reagan’s “Morning in America,” the nation endured a long and difficult twilight. By the mid-1970s, America was experiencing overlapping economic, social, and foreign policy crises. The unemployment rate hit 9 percent in May of 1975 and inflation reached 15 percent by 1980. Between 1960 and 1980, divorce rates doubled, violent crime rates nearly tripled, and drug use exploded. The Soviet Union—far from the weak and doomed enterprise it appears in retrospect—had made communists gains from Cambodia to Angola. In 1964, 78 percent of Americans reported that they trusted government to do the right thing. By 1980, after Vietnam, Watergate, and deteriorating conditions at home, only 26 percent of voters said that. In 1979 Jimmy Carter delivered his notorious malaise speech, in which he described an American “crisis of confidence…threatening to destroy the social and political fabric of America.”

By the end of Reagan’s first term, America looked and felt very different. American society had gradually begun to shift to the right, with Congress cutting taxes and deregulating the airline and trucking industries. Reagan won re-election by one of the biggest landslide majorities in history. From 1982 to 1990 the American economy grew by about 4 percent a year. By the time he left office in 1988, Reagan’s approval rating stood at 63 percent. The Berlin wall fell a year later.

How did Reagan lead the country out of hard times and rekindle Americans’ faith in themselves? What made Reagan such a successful president?

This is not an easy question to answer. As the conservative writer Christopher Caldwell put it: “Even those who count Ronald Reagan among the handful of great American presidents have a hard time saying exactly where his greatness lay, or how it made itself felt. Reagan was an enigma: affable but friendless, a nonintellectual man of ideas, an ingenuous power politician.” Out of the riddle of Reagan, however, one lesson emerges clearly: that ideas matter most when they’re paired with moral clarity.

President Reagan grabbing handful of jellybeans with Alexander Haig and Richard Allen during a meeting with Interagency Working Committee on Terrorism in the Cabinet Room. January 26, 1981. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.

One of the keys to Reagan’s success, paradoxically, was that he was old. When he entered the White House at age 69, he was six years older than FDR was when he died in office. Reagan was born in 1911, chronologically closer to Thomas Jefferson’s presidency than to Donald Trump’s. He was formed in an earlier age, before many of the ideological currents that rocked the 20th century. (continued on page 2)

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Thank you Arizona!

Posted on November 8, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Submitted by Mary Jane Francis (see election results here)

No evidence that this was AI generated.

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Appreciation

Posted on November 8, 2026 by Jim deMaine

from “Now That Makes Sense” a compilation by Mark Ortman

Happiness is a by-product of an effort to make someone else happy. — Greta Palmer

One of the deepest secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others. — Lewis Carroll

Gratitude takes three forms: a feeling in the heart, an expression in words, and a giving in return. — Anonymous

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Decisions

Posted on November 7, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Ed Marcuse

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Breaking the Decade-Long Trump Fever

Posted on November 7, 2026 by Jim deMaine

The President’s unique brand of lurid authoritarianism has finally lost appeal, and he has lost the plot.

David Remnick, The New Yorker Editor (submitted by Charlotte Lin)

Two generations ago, in the fall of 1974, President Gerald Ford and the Republican Party approached the midterm elections with considerable dread. That August, Richard Nixon had learned that he could no longer outrun his crimes in the White House. One tape recording in particular, the so-called smoking gun, proved that he had conspired with his aide H. R. Haldeman to obstruct the investigation into the Watergate break-in. The Republican elders Barry Goldwater, John Rhodes, and Hugh Scott told Nixon that impeachment in the House of Representatives was now certain, and conviction in the Senate likely. Nixon resigned, handing over his office to Vice-President Ford. A month later, Ford issued Proclamation 4311, pardoning Nixon for any crimes that he might have committed as President. Watergate, Ford said, had been “an American tragedy, in which we all have played a part. It could go on and on and on, or someone must write the end to it. I have concluded that only I can do that, and if I can, I must.”

Until then, despite a dreadful economy, Ford had enjoyed approval ratings as high as seventy per cent. But the Nixon pardon was political poison, for both Ford and the G.O.P. His popularity plummeted by more than twenty points. And, in the midterms, the Democrats gained forty-nine seats in the House and four seats in the Senate. The incoming class of rookie Democrats—among them Gary Hart, Paul Tsongas, John Glenn, and Patrick Leahy—became known as the “Watergate babies.”

This week, some commentators, having exhausted the usual marine metaphors for midterm blowouts (a “blue wave” quickly became a “blue tsunami”), scurried to find historical points of comparison for the astonishing nationwide triumph of the Democratic Party. More than a few settled on the post-pardon midterms of 1974. (continued on page 2)

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Japanese bodybuilder, 90, flexes ageless ambition on Spanish stage

Posted on November 7, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Submitted by Charlotte Lin

Click here for the article!

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Look what else turned blue

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Pearl McElheran

Friendship displayed at Canada’s Niagara Falls and France’s Eiffel Tower

Ed note: Others have let me know that this is artificially generated and thus is spam. Nonetheless, I agree with the comment that it’s pleasant to know from the media that Canada and Europe are no doubt relieved by the election results.

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Why does tuberculosis kill 1.2 million people each year?

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Monday November 9th at 11 AM in the Mt. Baker Room

You are invited to hear Dr. David Horne discuss the problem of tuberculosis, one of the three big killers world wide–TB, HIV-AIDS and Malaria. What are origins of TB?  How did it affect cultures, art, literature and opera?  Why was Seattle considered a “tuberculosis swamp” in the early 1900’s and how did the city deal with this? Is it still a local problem?

David Horne, MD, MPH is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Global Health and Neurology at the University of Washington. He is an active clinician with a general pulmonary clinic and expertise in non-tuberculous mycobacteria and bronchiectasis. Dr. Horne is a physician-scientist with an active research program in tuberculosis, with particular interest in TB aerobiology and infectiousness, asymptomatic TB and TB pathogenesis. His current studies are based in Nairobi, Kenya in collaboration with colleagues from the Kenya Medical Research Institute. He is a  “warm-line” faculty member of the Curry International TB Center of UCSF, a CDC TB Center of Excellence, where he provides regional consultations on the TB.

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This Startup Is Freezing Bone Marrow From Deceased Donors To Save Cancer Patients’ Lives

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Submitted by Charlotte Lin

Kevin Caldwell, Ossium cofounder and CEO

Ossium Health pioneered a way to cryopreserve bone marrow and completed more than two dozen successful transplants. Now it wants to scale up its technology so anyone who needs bone marrow can access it quickly.

Montrail Moore was 48 years old when he was diagnosed with leukemia last year. His doctors hoped to do a bone marrow transplant, a procedure in which healthy donor cells replace a patient’s damaged ones. But there was no match among his family or on the living donor registry.

Then Moore learned from his oncologist about a new, cutting-edge option: He could get a transplant from a deceased donor that had been cryopreserved at a biobank in Indianapolis. In January, Moore had the procedure, and his health started to improve. He now considers the transplant date his new birthday. “It gave me a new life,” he tells Forbes.

Moore’s surgery is one of 29 procedures completed with bone marrow from Ossium Health, the startup that pioneered the technology to retrieve it from deceased donors and freeze it. All of the surgeries, which were part of clinical trials or compassionate use programs, were successful. Ossium is now preparing to commercialize its bone marrow from deceased donors for blood cancers next February, and then start building out a portfolio of other stem cell therapies.

Ossium has raised $158 million from investors at a valuation of $300 million (as of its last raise in 2023). Revenue is expected to reach $35 million this year, up 75% from last year’s $20 million. Ossium cofounder and CEO Kevin Caldwell expects the number of transplants to surpass 60 next year and reach close to 200 in 2028—on the way to eventually handling 10,000-plus patients a year as the amount of bone marrow it banks increases along with doctors’ willingness to use it.

Why It Matters
“Ossium’s cryopreserved bone marrow could solve the problems with relying on living donors,” says Forbes senior editor Amy Feldman. “At least 70% of patients that need a bone-marrow transplant don’t have a family member that matches and need an unrelated donor. While doctors can search registries for a match, not all patients will find one. The odds for Black and South Asian patients are worse because of a lack of diversity among donors. Time is also a problem. Cancer patients who need treatment may not have the two to four months it can take to find a living donor. Ossium commits to getting its bone marrow to patients within 72 hours.”

Posted in Advocacy, Health, Science and Technology | 1 Comment

Theological view of what just happened

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Jim deMaine


“Before being reduced to order, it is very common for everything to fall into confusion or seeming chaos. This allows things that cling together poorly to separate, and when they have separated, God arranges them in their place.” Emanuel Swedenborg

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Affirmation

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Jim deMaine

 ” We the People….”    INDEED!!! (thanks to Mary Jane Francis)

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Advice

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Jim deMaine

From Now That Makes Sense

I have found the best way to give advice to people is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it. Harry Truman

Everyone tells you to have a nice day but nobody tells you how. Anonymous

Distrust interested advice. Aesop

A good scare is worth more to a man than good advice. E. W. Howe

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Elephants Gather Around Their Favorite Human as She Sings

Posted on November 4, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Bob Peterson

When elephants hear music they enjoy, they often appear more relaxed and at ease. Watch closely as the elephants slowly edge closer to Lek when they hear her singing across the sanctuary grounds.

At first, only Faa Mai and Thong Ae stand nearby, quietly taking in her soft, melodic voice. But as Lek continues to sing, more elephants begin to approach, drawn by the familiar, comforting sound. They gather around her in quiet stillness, sharing a peaceful moment together at Elephant Nature Park.

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The pilot can no longer fly

Posted on November 4, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Bob Peterson

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As Thomas Paine said ….

Posted on November 4, 2026 by Jim deMaine

Thanks to Pearl McElheran

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, but we have this consolation: The more difficult the struggle, the more glorious in the end will be our victory.” —Tom Paine

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Beginning of a new era – Yee Haw!

Posted on November 4, 2026 by Jim deMaine

by Katelyn Jetelina

Dr. Katelyn Jetelina is an epidemiologist and scientific communicator. Dr. Jetelina is the founder and CEO of Your Local Epidemiologist- a public health newsletter that “translates” ever-evolving science to the public, reaching over 500 million views in over 133 countries. In addition, she is the co-founder of Healthier Together, an adjunct professor at Yale School of Public Health, and former Senior Advisor to the White House and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Jetelina has received numerous national awards, including recently being named a TIME100 Most Influential Person in Health. She has her Masters of Public Health and PhD in epidemiology and biostatistics from the University of Texas Health Science Center and an honorary doctorate from SUNY.

Last night I took to the streets of Texas. People poured out, cheering, dancing, honking, and waving Texas and American flags. I ran out with my public health friends and I just… cried.

This has been the most exhausting seven years for health in the United States in I think… ever. We have found ourselves riding an extreme pendulum through a magnetic storm. A pandemic followed by backlash followed by the absolute destruction of systems at a rate I didn’t even think possible. The result: 1.6 million people died from Covid-19; many people lost jobs and were traumatized for all types of reasons; then there were record-breaking cases of measles (and deaths), whooping cough, more hungry people, less Medicaid coverage (so more medical debt), less clean air, immense confusion, and less scientific discovery for things like cancer and heart disease. And people from all sides did not feel heard.

But last night, I saw a STEM wave. More U.S. scientists and physicians ran for state and federal office this cycle than ever before. And many won:

  • A pediatrician in South Carolina
  • A public health physician in Michigan
  • A microbiologist in Georgia
  • A nuclear engineer in Virginia
  • A physician in Ohio
  • An ER nurse in Wisconsin
  • An environmental engineer in Iowa
  • A mathematician in Illinois
  • A physician in New Jersey

The United States said clearly: Health matters. Science matters. Integrity matters. Empathy matters. People matter.

But let’s not forget: change matters. Many of these candidates weren’t focused on defense or the status quo. And rightfully so. We cannot go back to 2019. We cannot go back to 2024. The health ecosystem was not working for people. It was built for another time and has failed everyone for years. We need an alternative path forward from the one we’ve been on for the past 20 years, and the one we’re on now.

This means it’s time for something bigger than repair. It’s not just about putting the pieces back together; it’s about reimagining what’s possible, and, quite frankly, what’s needed.

This will take a lot, but two things are top of mind:

  1. An all-hands-on-deck response. Creating a more responsive, transparent, accountable, inclusive system that listens and builds a healthy health ecosystem (not just a sick system) is a complex and complicated problem to fix. Fancy doctorate degrees alone won’t solve it. It will take community expertise and lived experience. It will take prioritization and savvy and strategy and innovation. It will take historical knowledge, but also new thinkers. It will take doing things differently. People from all walks of life will have to be at the table to solve it.
  2. This is going to take time. As an 8-year-old Texan said this morning: “Breaking is faster than making.” Last night was just the first inch. And things can and probably will still get worse. I give it 10 years for this ship to turn. But the important thing is that it is turning. Let’s make sure it goes forward instead of U-turning.

After every period of darkness is a period of light. I, for one, am ready.

Love, Your Local (former Texas) Epidemiologist

Yee haw!

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