Annika's Current Events Blog

With well known booming companies like Walmart and Amazon, another store had to file for bankruptcy like Toys ‘R’ Us, a popular kids store. Sears, a well-known retail store filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Sears was flooded with debt with $134 million dollars to pay.  Sears closed 142 stores, but after months they survived through the bankruptcy auction and 400 stores are being kept open. Eddie Lampert, a billionaire, and the companies chairman along with the largest shareholder, won the auction. Lampert ended up raising his offer to $5 billion to keep 400 stores open in the nation. This move will not only save 400 stores but 45,000 jobs. Bankruptcy is definitely one of the worst things that could happen to a business. As we have seen the well-known crash of Toys ‘R’ Us because of Amazon. This also happened to Sears. Like what's the point in going out to buy something when you could get it delivered to you with a click of a button? I do think Lampert's move was wise to help...

Islesboro a town on an island is three miles away from the mainland. They have to pay for a ferry round trip to leave. Most residents are having a problem with the increase of the ferry price. The change in price went up last May but since then some are really struggling because of it. Maggy Willcox, the publisher for the Islesboro Island News, wants to see her granddaughter but for a round trip, it costs her $30. She can only manage one trip a week. Every time she leaves the island she has to add $30 to whatever she's doing. Many people that live there have spoken out to the Maine Department of Transportation. I think that the Maine Department of Transportation should’ve taken this matter into consideration before they actually did anything. They should’ve thought about the people who don’t have access to the mainland by car or walking. With the ferry prices up some people can’t leave the island very often. It's disappointing when people can't leave to do the things th...

The beloved 74-year-old song, a classic, that would be on heavy rotation during winter time has now caused controversy. Now radio stations are taking the song down and won't play them. The song is about a man trying to convince a lady to stay with him but she repeatedly says “no”, but he still persists. Some interpret the song to sound like date rape. There has been criticism in the past but it took until this year for the topic to skyrocket. The song was originally written as an act for a party. Frank Loesser wrote it for him and his wife to sing as a party. The song ended up being a hit and they started to sing it everywhere. I can totally get where people are coming from especially with the #MeToo movement this year, but with the song being a Christmas classic and being around for more than 70 years then what's the point in criticizing it now especially if it’s been so popular. Why address the problem after years and years of being on the charts? In earlier times things l...

Recently a couple in New Jersey started a GoFundMe for a homeless man, except that this wasn’t for a good cause like it seemed. This whole thing had started on a lie and proceeded to be completely fake. Kate McClure made up a story about how Mr. Bobbitt gave her his last twenty dollars for gas. She said she “wanted to give back” and made a GoFundMe for him which raised $402,706. Apparently, all of the money was spent. Over $100,000 was being used for Casino play, but only 20,000 was actually spent on casino play. In March the couple exchanged texts about how they only had $10,000 dollars left. After a couple of months, Mr. Bobbitt sued the couple claiming they kept it for themselves. The couple and homeless man are now being charged with conspiracy and theft. I know things like this don’t happen very often but when it does it's very disappointing. In this case, Mr. Bobbitt was an actual homeless man and the couple set this up for themselves. Knowing that some people just pulled ...

Recently a bridge connecting Macau and Hong Kong was finished. It spans a long 34 miles making it the worlds longest sea bridge.  The bridge ended up costing more than a whopping $20 billion. It started 9 years ago, but it ended up going way over budget and they had to delay it for two years, but finally, it was finished this year. The structure required more than 400,000 tons of steel. The sea bridge is raised enough so ships can pass underneath. They made it so there was easier access in the area and hopefully have it lead to potential growth. I think this bridge could really change and improve some things. With Macau, and Hong Kong connected more people would be willing to travel because of the cheaper cost and easy access. More people could populate in the land and bring growth to improve the areas. Some say the bridge was to help China more politically than economically by bonding Macau and Hong Kong more. Luckily the 34-mile bridge still leaves access for boats so they c...

In Detroit, Michigan water with high levels of lead and copper is being used in schools. Some schools have stopped having water at their school. Water fountains have been replaced with water coolers. Parents are outraged and disappointed that this has been pushed off. They want the problem to be addressed. A test had been done by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services that children under six had a higher percentage of lead in their blood in Detroit -- almost nine percent, above the statewide average of four percent. Some are saying that this is becoming a lot like the Flint incident which started in 2014. Officials and water quality experts say that the problem might just be of aging pipes. They say they’re decades old. Something very similar to this happened only a couple of years ago in Flint. The lead levels in the water were very high and exposed over 100,000 residents. If this exact problem has happened in the same state and only a few years later why hasn’t it bee...

In Vermont, Kiah Morris announced her resignment. She was the only African-American woman in the House of Representatives in Vermont. A month ago she ended her re-election bid because of the racial harassment she was getting. She posted something on facebook saying that she originally hoped she would be able to serve the rest of her term, and that “this time has proven to be one of significant challenge for my family.” Her term was supposed to end in January, but she shut down her re-election August 24. “I step away now to focus on caring for and supporting my family during this time of transition and ensure our health, safety, and well-being are prioritized.” She says. Not only was there harassment but she even had some cases of vandalism and home invasions. “We found there were swastikas painted on the trees in the woods near where we live. We had home invasions.” “It has come and gone and in different waves, but then it picked back up again and of course we are back in an election ...