• Days before Uganda’s disputed Jan. 15 election, the government shut down the internet, which hindered the ability of the opposition party to challenge voting irregularities. Incumbent President Yoweri Museven, who has been in power for 35 years, was declared winner for his sixth term.
(“Uganda’s Museveni Clings to Power – But Trouble Lies Ahead,” International Crisis Group, Jan. 19, 2021; “Uganda Accuses US of ‘Subverting’ Presidential Election,” Al Jazeera, Jan. 19, 2020)
• Wealthy Wall Street investors have targeted the Colorado River, under strain from historic droughts, forest fires and climate change. The New York Times reports that in rural Arizona, investors are buying up water rights in rural communities. Investors’ goals are to transfer water to metro Phoenix.
(“Wall Street Eyes Billions in the Colorado’s Water,” New York Times, Jan. 3 2021; “Guidelines That Have Governed Management of the Colorado River May Change Under a Biden Administration,” Colorado Politics, Dec. 25, 2020; “Is the Walmart Family Capturing the Colorado River?,” In These Times, Jan. 15, 2021)
• Across the U.S., 9,000 federally subsidized low-income housing properties in 480 cities — including hundreds of apartments and townhouses — sit within a mile of a Superfund toxic cleanup site. According to an investigation conducted by the Intercept, public housing residents receive little or no communication about these hazards from the Environmental Protection Agency or the federal Department of Housing and Urban. What’s more, the federal government rarely relocates public housing residents who live dangerously close to toxic environments.
(“Hazardous Homes,” The Intercept, Jan. 13, 2021)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
