NEW YORK (AP) — Gay Pride parades are set to step off around the world, in cities large and small.

In the U.S., celebrations are planned Sunday from coast to coast: in New York, Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, as well as many smaller cities. Festivals were held Saturday in France, Spain, Mexico and Peru.

New York marchers will commemorate the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots, which are credited with launching the modern gay rights movement in 1969. San Francisco’s event is in its 44th year.

The U.S. festivities come amid an eventful year since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the statute that denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages and cleared the way for gay couples to wed legally in California. Since then, seven more states legalized same-sex marriage, boosting the total to 19, plus Washington, D.C.

BY REBECCA FRENCH SMITH
On Sunday mornings, it’s quiet on my back porch. Last weekend, coffee in hand, I sat and watched my tomatoes grow. My cell phone is a constant companion, and I snapped a shot to post on Instagram. Sometimes the drone of “voices,” the electronic clamoring for my attention, can get overwhelming, so I put the phone down. It was uncomfortable in the quiet, at first. But as I looked at my tomatoes, I smiled, hopeful that they will do well this season.

Last year, the heat and drought affected my tomato crop. Honestly, those factors weren’t the only ones that contributed to my poor first attempt at container gardening. So, over the winter, I researched my quandary. Soil amending, container placement, proper containers, blossom-end rot and the benefits of netting populated my Google search on many occasions. Granted, you have to be careful where you get your information and vet carefully your sources. Not all voices on the web, or in other media, are informed, or at least informed about your particular needs. The Internet, and some local farmers’ advice, has had a positive impact on my current tomato crop —so far.

Whether we farm or not, we all have great interest in food. Consumers research foods and farming methods on the Internet using “buzz words.” Topics like “genetically modified organisms,” “organics” and “antibiotics” are dense and complicated. Opinions from multiple sides can be found everywhere. Some people are very passionate about food, while others simply know they’re hungry when they’re hungry. To trust those who grow our food is a desire I think we all share, but being trusting is easier said than done when you don’t have a direct connection with the farm to understand the choices farmers who grow your food make.

There is a famous quote — at least on the Internet — by Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you’re a thousand miles from the corn field.” This thought is particularly significant in today’s information age. It’s easy to second guess and pass judgment on farmers or farming methods from the comfort of your armchair or back porch.

Consumers have a myriad of food choices because not all farmers farm the same crops or farm the same way. Let’s appreciate and be open-minded to the experience and information farmers bring to the table. There are many voices to listen to and many opinions on how food should be grown, but I encourage you to “put the phone down” and discover the expertise of Missouri’s family farmers.

If you have a question, find and ask a farmer who has experience with your specific topic. Vet your sources carefully and listen to what they have to say.

Rebecca French Smith, of Columbia, Mo., is a multimedia specialist for the Missouri Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization.

NEW YORK (AP) — Immigration reform activists say they’re tired of waiting for Congress to act and hundreds of them have been protesting outside a federal building in New York City.

The demonstrators, chanting and carrying signs, circled 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan today.

The protesters say deportations are breaking up families and children are losing their parents.

On a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border today, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said she holds little hope that Congress will pass comprehensive immigration reform this year. She had been to a Border Patrol facility in Brownsville, Texas where unaccompanied children are being held.

More than 52,000 unaccompanied children, most from Central America, have been apprehended entering the U.S. illegally since October.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A wet summer is spawning an outbreak of mosquitoes across Kansas.

The Salina Journal reports mosquitoes are again bringing with them diseases, viruses and itching.

Last year, 91 cases of West Nile virus were reported in Kansas, seven of which were fatal. No cases have been reported so far this year in the state.

Aimee Rosenow, spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, suggests people wear long sleeves and long pants when they go out. They should also drain any standing water and protect themselves with an insect repellent that contains at least 23 percent DEET.

KDHE tests mosquitoes found in Sedgwick County for viruses, including West Nile and the new virus Chikungunya (chik-en-gun-ye) which can cause fever, joint and muscle pain in people it infects.

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City’s municipal animal shelter has taken in more than 900 animals since the start of the month and currently has more animals than ever before, forcing it to convert bathrooms, closets, locker rooms, the basement and the employee break room to find enough space for them all.
The No-Kill Advocacy Center says the KC Pet Project takes in the third-highest number of animals among all no-kill, open admissions municipal shelters in the nation. The shelter’s director, Teresa Johnson, tells The Kansas City Star the shelter needs to be three times its current size to accommodate all of the pets it holds.
The shelter is conducting its third annual “Red, White and Woof” pet adoption event through July 6, during which adoption fees will be reduced to $25.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – Kansas City police are awaiting the results of an autopsy to learn the identity and cause of death of a decomposed body three young people found while hunting for rattlesnakes.

Investigators have confirmed the remains found Friday were human, but they’re not sure if they are of a man or a woman, or the person’s age.

Neighbors in the area say they smelled what they thought was a dead animal earlier this year.

Police say a 20-year-old man, 18-year-old man and 16-year-old boy found the body about 20 feet into the woods on the city’s south side.

Police say it appears the body had been there for months.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – A 49-year-old Kansas City man accused of killing three people could be excluded from his trial next week after attacking his attorney in front of prospective jurors and prompting the judge to declare a second mistrial in two days.

The Kansas City Star reports Derek Hubbard is charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder for the deaths of his girlfriend, her cousin and the cousin’s wife in November 2011.

In two courtroom outbursts, Hubbard claimed Kansas City’s police chief – a childhood friend of one of the victims – was part of a conspiracy to kill him.

After the second incident in which Hubbard attacked his public defender, prosecutors filed a brief asking to keep Hubbard away from his trial, which begins Monday.

STRONG CITY, Kan. (AP) — Insects, weather and federal budget cuts all are plaguing the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the last year.

The superintendent of the preserve in the Flint Hills says it will survive despite an unusual number of setbacks at the 10,483-acre attraction.

The troubles started last summer when heavy rains washed out one of the roads used to carry visitors to the preserve. The rains also caused springs to bubble up in troublesome spots.

As workers were cleaning mold caused by the flooding in the ranch house, they discovered electrical problems and termites in several of the 13 historic buildings.

The Wichita Eagle reports some areas of the preserve are closed, but people can still use the visitors center, three nature trails, the schoolhouse and attend special activities.

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — Officials in Pittsburg are weighing whether to join other southeast Kansas and southwest Missouri communities in requiring prescriptions for a key ingredient in methamphetamine.

The Morning Sun reports Pittsburg Police Chief Mendy Hulvey is pushing an ordinance that would make a decongestant called pseudoephedrine available only by prescription.

Hulvey told city commissioners at a recent study session that Pittsburg is an “island” amid communities that allow over-the-counter sales of the popular cold and allergy medicine.

Those that have already adopted prescription-only ordinances include Joplin, Springfield and Branson, Missouri; and Chanute, Girard, Arma, Iola, Baxter Springs and Fort Scott plus Cherokee County in Kansas.

Hulvey says she’s not interested in pursuing low-level meth makers, but mid-level producers who obtain large quantities of pseudoephedrine, often with straw buyers commonly called “smurfs.”