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'A great transformation' / Off, Wisconsin? / Lego enlightened

‘A great transformation.’ ProPublica:Climate Change Will Force a New American Migration.”
 Maps illustrate habitability evolving across the country and let you search for the climate crisis’ impact by county.
California’s wildfires endanger winter lettuce and other produce for the rest of the continent.
“The worst, most unhealthy air on the planet” will linger in the West for days …
 … and now you can see it in Chicago’s skies.
President Trump, displaying the same keen insight he’s brought to bear on the pandemic: “I don’t think science knows” about climate change. (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
Joe Biden: Trump is a “climate arsonist.”

‘Arctic’ redefined. The National Center for Atmospheric Research concludes the Arctic is shifting from a predominantly frozen state into an entirely different climate.
A chunk of ice larger than the city of Paris has crashed off Greenland into the sea.
The Northern Hemisphere is coming off its warmest summer on record.
On the plus side: Scientists have discovered a sign of life on Venus, whose average surface temperature is 880 degrees Fahrenheit—high enough to melt lead.

Off, Wisconsin? The state may return to Chicago’s quarantine travel advisory list because of “huge concern” about growth in its COVID caseload.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will be something completely different in the pandemic.
Match’s CEO says COVID-19 is bringing “long-lasting” changes to dating.
An online comic book, Totally Under Control, illustrates what went wrong in the U.S. response to the pandemic.

‘Extraordinarily shocking.’ Stephen Colbert was taken aback as journalist Bob Woodward aired audio of Trump describing his fearful reaction to someone’s sneeze in the Oval Office.
See the interview here.

An L of a plan. Mayor Lightfoot is launching a push for more apartment buildings near CTA lines on Chicago’s South and West Sides.
A city task force is calling for overhauling affordable housing policy to create more places low- and moderate-income Black and Latino Chicagoans can actually afford.
Artist Chris Ware’s filed an Oak Park- and pandemic-inspired cover for the latest New Yorker.

Judicial jeopardy. In a once-rare diversion from its historic blanket backing of all Cook County judges seeking retention, the county Democratic Party is declining to endorse two.
Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown: “It sure does” look like retaliation in one of those two cases …
 … although that judge has been under a shadow since the revelation of his membership in an investment club with an indicted Chicago alderman (Sept. 11 link).
The other blackballee is under investigation on charges of sexual harassment.
Bewildered by all those judges’ names on the ballot? Check VoteforJudges.org, which lists all the candidates’ bar association ratings. (Not populated at Square’s email deadline, but results were to be ready before the end of the day.)

‘The uterus collector.’ A whistleblowing nurse’s complaint condemns a gynecologist working at a Georgia immigrant detention center: “Everybody he sees has a hysterectomy.”
She says she was demoted and reprimanded after reporting deplorable practices there.

Lego enlightened. The toy company says it’ll replace plastic bags in its packaging with paper.
Amazon says it’s hiring 5,500 new employees in the Chicago area, with signing bonuses of up to $500.

What the Bears taught us Sunday. Columnist Rex Huppke says the team’s diverse protests during the national anthem constituted a story bigger than their defeat of Detroit.
A veteran host on The Score radio is under fire for “blatant sexism” in a quickly-deleted tweet about an ESPN sideline reporter.

‘Great information delivered in a great way.’ That’s unsolicited reader praise for Chicago Public Square. You can help keep Square coming with a one-time tip or a recurring pledge of as little as $1.

Charlie Meyerson, September 15, 2020

But wait—there’s more!

Previously in Square:
'We will be leaving' / 6 months later / 'Cataclysmic'
'Our country is on fire' / Naked city / Chicago's Halloween
Bluegrass wait / 'Wear a tie' / Blown away
The Legion of Chicago Public Squarians
Back to school / Vote without fear / 'You don't get paid enough'

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