Jennifer D. Swain
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thisjenisonfire.bsky.social
Jennifer D. Swain
@thisjenisonfire.bsky.social
Former news reporter/photog, ICU tech, FF/EMT. Plus a bunch more formers. Current mom, wife, cat mom, and vintage reseller. Loves books.
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
"OptumRx, the group’s pharmacy benefit manager, along with its two main peers, Express Scripts and CVS Caremark Rx, have pocketed an extra $7.3 billion over cost thanks to price gouging, according to the findings of a report by the Federal Trade Commission."

Lina Khan really is That Girl.
UnitedHealth, employer of slain exec Brian Thompson, found to have overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%
The report is the latest indictment of America’s broken healthcare system.
fortune.com
January 15, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
I wrote about Neil Gaiman, and the women accusing him of sexual coercion, assault and abuse. www.vulture.com/article/neil...
There Is No Safe Word
How the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades.
www.vulture.com
January 13, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
Today’s glimmer of hope brought to you by the creator of Watch Duty, LA’s nonprofit fire map that’s been such a lifeline for so many. More of this, please! www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/dig...
January 14, 2025 at 3:41 PM
I’m a small hobby seller of vintage items and I’m currently ticked off with UPS as a shipper. I use exact dimensions and weight on my packages and if they are very large items, I get them verified when I drop them off to be shipped. But UPS frequently makes a shipping charge “adjustment” to 🧵
January 14, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
Gift link to this long article about California home insurance.

Again: it's only in politics that climate change is considered a "debate." Where people actually have to deal with its effects, such as in the insurance industry, it's simply a fact. It'll be bad; what's unknown is just how bad.
Climate Change Risks Cracking California’s Insurance Market Wide Open
As the fires continue to rage, the disaster threatens to forever alter home insurance.
www.bloomberg.com
January 13, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
The number of #books banned at the school district level. via NYT & Pen America📚
January 12, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
FEMA has issued a guide on how to apply for federal aid if you've been impacted by the wildfires.

Aid may include money for food, water, baby formula, breastfeeding supplies, medication, or even with basic home repairs and personal property losses. www.huffpost.com/entry/southe...
Impacted By The Fires? Here’s How To Apply For FEMA Assistance
www.huffpost.com
January 10, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
The tl;dr here is, "if you want to help after a disaster, send money, not stuff."
A THREAD on how disaster donations can be extremely harmful instead of helpful to communities experiencing a disaster.

I'll be using the movie Clueless to illustrate this issue but there is also decades of disaster research about this and plenty of first-hand accounts. #GreySky
January 11, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
I don't know if the LA fire department is properly funded or not but the claim that the city cut its budget last year — which is circulating widely on the right — is false.

As Politico notes, the budget actually INCREASED by $50 million. A portion of the funding was approved in a separate bill.
January 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
These extraordinary photos of the LA fires have been shared widely on social media, often without crediting the photographer.

These are all the work of Ethan Swope, an LA-based photojournalist working for AP.

You can follow his remarkable reporting here👇
www.instagram.com/ethanswopeph...
January 9, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
Not lost on me that it's nonprofit tech, app.watchduty.org, showing up & actually working in the midst of the LA fires (donate to them!)

Meanwhile platforms fail to surface key news, vital info is paywalled...

As I've been saying, we need a new tech paradigm, yesterday!
Watch Duty - Wildfire Maps & Alerts
Real-time information about wildfire and firefighting efforts nearby
app.watchduty.org
January 9, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Reposted by Jennifer D. Swain
"Our analysis of the EPA’s own data showed that in every census block in the U.S., the risk of getting cancer from a lifetime of exposure to formaldehyde in outdoor air is higher than the goal the agency has set for air pollutants." @propublica.org
EPA Report Finds That Formaldehyde Presents an “Unreasonable Risk” to Public Health
The report was published weeks after a ProPublica investigation found that the chemical causes more cancer than any other toxic air pollutant and can trigger asthma, miscarriages and fertility problem...
www.propublica.org
January 3, 2025 at 10:46 PM