“They’re not leaving their home; this is where they were born, this is where they will die.”: Key Informant Perspectives From the U.S. Counties With the Greatest Concentration of the Oldest Old

The “oldest old,” age 85 and older, constitute one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population. Yet, surprisingly little is known about the characteristics of U.S. counties with the highest percentage of the oldest old, nearly all of which are rural. We used qualitative analysis of key informant interviews ( n = 50) with county commissioners and other county-level representatives from rural counties with the highest prevalence of the oldest old, targeting the 54 rural counties with ≥5% of the population age 85+. We found that the rural counties with the highest proportion of residents age 85+ face unique challenges to supporting successful aging among the oldest old, including resource constraints, limited services, isolated locations, and widespread service areas. Still, interviewees identified particular reasons why the oldest old remain in their counties, with many highlighting positive aspects of rural environments and community.

Factors Influencing County Commissioners’ Decisions about Burn Bans in the Southern Plains, USA

Woody plant encroachment in North American rangelands has led to calls for greater use of prescribed fire to reduce fuel loads and restore grazing productivity and grassland biodiversity. However, the use of prescribed fire during periods when woody plant mortality is maximized has often been limited by temporary restrictions on outdoor burning enacted by regional or local governmental entities. This study reports the results of a survey assessing the familiarity with and attitudes toward prescribed fire in Texas and Oklahoma, USA, of officials tasked with implementing restrictions on outdoor burning and how these attitudes influence their decisions. Most responding officials considered prescribed fire to be a safe and beneficial land management tool that should be used more frequently. Self-reported familiarity with prescribed fire was the most significant explanatory variable for this attitude. Further, familiarity with prescribed fire was influenced by respondent participation in or being invited to participate in a prescribed fire. Such invitations came mostly from private landowners. Landowners wishing to use prescribed fire may benefit from building trust with local officials by demonstrating they are qualified to conduct such fires safely. This could help reduce the frequency of burn restrictions and may increase the likelihood that officials will grant burn ban exemptions to qualified burn managers. Additionally, because officials’ primary sources of prescribed fire information were reported to be local fire departments and emergency services, educating those entities about the benefits of prescribed fire for reducing wildfire risks could help reduce pressure on officials to enact or maintain burning restrictions. These findings highlight opportunities for reducing the frequency of burning restrictions, increasing opportunities for land managers to effectively halt or reverse woody plant encroachment.

Fighting mosquito bite during a crisis: capabilities of Florida mosquito control districts during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background The stay-at-home orders imposed in early April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in various states complicated mosquito control activities across the United States (US), and Florida was no exception. Mosquito control programs are the first line of defense against mosquito-borne pathogens. The purpose of this study was to examine the capabilities of Florida mosquito programs to implement key mosquito measures during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Methods Using a self-administered online survey, we examined the capabilities of all Florida mosquito control programs (both state-approved mosquito districts, N = 63; and open programs, N = 27) at a time when the state of Florida was still under heightened awareness of, stay-at-home orders and planning a phase 1 reopening over the COVID-19 pandemic (June to July 2020). The final sample included mosquito control programs structured as the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) (n = 42), independent tax district (n = 16), municipal (n = 10), and health or emergency department (n = 5). We used descriptive statistics to summarize information about the characteristics of responding programs, their implemented mosquito control and surveillance activities. wWe used bivariate analysis to compare the characteristics of responding programs and the self-reported mosquito measures. Results Of the recruited mosquito control programs, 73 completed the survey (81.1% response rate; 73/90). Of these, 57.5% (n = 42) were Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) mosquito control programs, 21.9% (n = 16) were independent tax district programs, 13.7% (n = 10) were municipal mosquito control programs, and only 6.8% (n = 5) were either health or emergency department mosquito control programs. Except for arbovirus surveillance, most programs either fully or partially performed larval (61.8%) and adult (78.9%) surveillance; most programs conducted species-specific control for Aedes aegypti (85.2%, n = 54), Aedes albopictus (87.3%, n = 55), Culex quinquefasciatus (92.1%, n = 58), and Culex nigripalpus (91.9%, n = 57). Conclusions Findings underscore the importance of ongoing mosquito control activities, and suggest that Florida mosquito control programs are vigilant and have significant capability to handle potential mosquito-borne disease threats, but arbovirus surveillance systems (laboratory testing of mosquito pools and testing of human and nonhuman specimens for arboviruses) are needed during pandemics as well.

Fighting the Bite during a Crisis: Capabilities of Florida Mosquito Control Districts during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The national wide lockdown order imposed in early April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic complicated mosquito control activities across the United States (US), and Florida is no exception. Mosquito control programs are the first line of defense against mosquitoes-borne pathogens in the state of Florida. The purpose of this study was to examine the capabilities of Florida mosquito programs to implement key mosquito measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: In a self-administered online survey, we examined capabilities of all Florida mosquito control programs during the COVID-19 pandemic (both state-approved mosquito districts (N=63) and open programs (N=27). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize information about the characteristics of responding programs, as well as the implemented mosquito control and surveillance activities. We used bivariate analysis to compare the characteristics of these responding programs and the self-reported mosquito measures.Results: Of the recruited mosquito control programs, 77 completed the survey (85.6% response rate; 77/90). Of these, 57.5% (n=42) were Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) mosquito control programs, 21.9% (n=16) were independent tax district programs, 13.7% (n=10) were municipal mosquito control programs, and only 6.8% (n=5) were either health or emergency department mosquito control programs. Except for arbovirus surveillance, most programs either fully or partially performed larval (61.8%) and adult (78.9%) surveillance; and for Aedes aegypti (85.2%, n=54), Aedes albopictus (87.3%, n=55), Culex quinquefasciatus (92.1%, n=58), and Culex nigripalpus (91.9%, n=57).Conclusions: Findings underscore the importance of ongoing mosquito control activities and suggests that Florida mosquito control programs are vigilant and have significant capability to handle potential mosquito-borne disease threats, but arbovirus surveillance systems; laboratory testing of mosquito pools and testing of human and nonhuman specimens for arboviruses are needed during pandemics as well.

Differential Opportunity for Men from Low-Income Backgrounds across Pennsylvania

This study examines the place-based differences in opportunity experienced by men from lowincome backgrounds across U.S. and Pennsylvania counties. Our quantitative findings suggest that U.S. and Pennsylvania counties are very unequal in terms of how men raised in low-income families fare in adulthood on measures of upward mobility, household income, college graduation, incarceration, and marriage. A variety of county-level measures of concentrated disadvantage were associated with these outcomes, including county household income, poverty rate, degree of racial segregation, college graduation rate, single parenthood rate, social capital rate, and job growth rate. Additionally, anonymous qualitative data from phone interviews with county commissioners from some of the Pennsylvania counties that struggled the most in our analysis helped to confirm our findings with valuable on-the-ground perspectives. We discuss these findings and their implications for equality of opportunity in the U.S. and the state of Pennsylvania.

Effects of the Inter Clan Conflicts in Mumias East Sub County Kenya

Inter-clan conflicts are widely spread in the world Africa leading in such cases. Conflict management and peace building in Kenya continues to face challenges in the current national and regional environments. Clans in Mumias East Sub-County have been in conflict from time immemorial. Strategic coordination amongst key actors has been seemingly lacking in conflict management and peace building. The objective of the study was to assess the effects of inter-clan conflicts on socio-economic development in Mumias East Sub-County, Kenya and; evaluate the strategies put in place to reduce inter-clan conflicts in Mumias East Sub-County, Kenya. This study adopted a conceptual framework: Theories employed were; Intergroup Contact theory and linear stages of growth theory. The study employed descriptive, Evaluation, Historical, Ranking and cross sectional research designs. The study population comprised Assistant-Chiefs, Clan Chairpersons, MCAs, Ward Administrators, CBOs, Religious Leaders, deputy County commissioners, Assistant County Commissioners, Sub-County Administrator, Police, Probation Officer, Village Elders, Chiefs and Households Heads totaling to 475 respondents. This study adopted stratified random sampling for sampling Sub-locations, proportionate random sampling, and simple random sampling to sample Households Heads and purposive sampling for Assistant Chiefs, Clan Chairpersons, MCAs, ward Administrators, CBOs and Religious leaders. The study population was derived from (9) selected Sub-locations in Mumias East Sub-County. Primary Data collection was done using Questionnaires, Interviews schedules, Observations checklists, and focus Group Discussion (FGD) guides. Secondary sources included relevant documents and reports. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic narratives. Quantitative data was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft excel to obtain measures of central tendency, Ranking was done and Charts were used to present data.

A Refundable Volunteer Tax Credit

The depopulation of small towns and rural communities could be ameliorated by a Refundable Volunteer Tax Credit (RVTC) that allows mayors and county commissioners to authorize reimbursement of citizens who volunteer to provide essential services, such as public safety, libraries, building and road maintenance, etc. Pegged at the minimum wage, RVTCs would ensure minimal support for schools, police and fire departments, ambulance services, and the like. In so doing, an RVTC would correct for the disproportionate advantage that cities have enjoyed in charitable contributions, which are encouraged by the tax code, in favor of rural America.