Wisconsin legislators call it quits at near-record pace (Associated Press)

What’s troubling about who is retiring - Republicans who upheld the 2020 election results, leaving open seats for members of their party who keep upholding Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

“Somebody called (from) my district frustrated with the 2020 election,” Steineke recalled. “As we walked through all the issues he believed were wrong in the election, I explained every single one of them and what the reality was. He still couldn’t accept that and then inferred elected officials are agents of foreign governments . . . There’s a segment of our citizenry that is incredibly frustrated and looking for an outlet and often times elected officials become an outlet for that frustration.”

Your local and state governments - and who serves in them - have a more significant impact on your life than who represents you in Congress and in the White House. This is my reminder and plea to pay attention to and vote in your local and state elections, and stay up-to-date on local news.

The Coastal Grandmother Aesthetic Is a Lifestyle, Not Just a TikTok Trend (Glamour)

My pedamma in Canada is the OG of coastal grandmother aesthetic.

She exclusively wears brightly hued collared blouses, and dons a wide-brimmed hat every time she steps outside. She’s the most incredible cook and sitting at her dining table is a joyous experience. Her hands are always busy, whether she’s cooking her world-famous pizza or tatting or crocheting beautiful homewares or toys for all her grandkids and grand-nieces and nephews. Her own couches are filled with pillowcases she’s tatted, knitted, embroidered, or crocheted.

I’m obsessed with her. I want to be her.

This is the first article I’ve found about this trend that includes women (and men!) outside the Nancy Meyers-WASP aesthetic, and for that I am grateful because all of us can find ourselves in a life that prioritizes comfort, grace, and the pleasure of doing what you please regardless of your reproductive status. Brava, Jenny Singer, for writing such a thoughtful piece on the trend I’m wholly embracing.

Known to be toxic for a century, lead still poisons thousands of Midwestern kids (NPR)

It’s 2022. And this is still happening.

And no matter how vigilant a parent is to protect their kids, thousands of children in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska have excessive lead levels in their bloodstream. If those kids are Black, they are twice as highly to suffer from lead poisoning than their white peers.

“Parents often blame themselves for their children's lead poisoning, Lanphear said. And there are steps families can take to avoid lead and other contaminants: adding landscaping to bare soil, dusting surfaces, avoiding plastic and canned foods. But he said it's primarily up to federal health officials.”

We’ll Have What Daphne Oz Is Having (Romper)

Did I order Daphne Oz’s new cookbook after reading this article? Yes, especially since I’m focused on lowering my A1C levels and this cookbook’s thesis (no refined sugar, specifically) helps support that.

Will I take the nutritional advice with a grain of salt (and a healthy pinch of cayenne and paprika)? Also yes, and that’s a testament to Sara Petersen’s measured writing of this feature.

Petersen goes there and asks Oz about her father (whose celebrity rise came from promoting health solutions with limited evidence, and is currently the Trump-endorsed candidate in the Pennsylvania Senate primary). She confers with nutritionists and endocrinologists about the clinical benefits of Oz’s reset rules.

A celebrity feature can be flattering and address the elephants in the room - and I hope to see more like these.

The 3 pandemic metrics that could tell us what’s next (Vox)

For some experts, case counts are no longer the most critical metric in tracking COVID. In this phase of the pandemic, these three are taking precedence:

Hospital data (with a focus on severe illness in a given area and the impact on the local health care system)
New data on emerging variants
Data on long COVID

We will be living with COVID-19 from here on out, and understanding these numbers and investing in mitigations and vaccine design against new variants and investing in clinical studies and therapeutics to treat long COVID is what we need, in addition to making sure hospitals and health systems have what they need to treat all patients.

On a personal level, I hope you do continue to take measures for yourself and your own family to keep them and your community safe. For us, that means continuing to mask in crowded areas and on transit, testing regularly, and opting for outdoor gatherings whenever possible.

#5SmartReads

#5SmartReads - May 3, 2022