'Life Is At Stake': Another Lead Crisis Erupts Not Far From Flint

ACROSS AMERICA — Good morning! It's Friday, Oct. 15. Finally, the weekend is here. Before you head out, catch up on the stories we're following:

• Amid the Flint water crisis, the mostly Black city of Benton Harbor in Michigan is without tap water.
• Boynton Beach in Florida agreed to pay a female Black firefighter $80,000 after she was depicted as white in a city mural.
• It's time for California residents to Google "electric lawnmowers" after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will eventually ban gas lawnmowers, trimmers, leaf blowers and other equipment with small gas-powered engines.
• A barber in Hoboken, New Jersey, hung up his scissors after 59 years. "I have literally, since birth, only had my haircut by Nick at Gino's," said one customer.

No Tap Water In Benton Harbor

Another water crisis has hit Michigan, this time in the mostly Black community of Benton Harbor in the southeast part of the state.

Benton Harbor sits by Lake Michigan, its water source, and has a population of about 10,000. The city is three hours from Flint, which has had a water crisis for years.

Residents as of Thursday were ordered not to use water from the tap and use bottled water instead. The problem is lead has seeped out of old pipes into the city's water supply. Only 5 percent of the old pipes have been replaced, according to CBS. » Another Michigan Water Crisis In Mostly Black Benton Harbor, via Flint Patch

Black Firefighter Depicted As White

The city of Boynton Beach has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a trailblazing Black firefighter who was depicted as white on a mural commissioned by the city.

The city was embroiled in a racial firestorm after the June 2020 unveiling of the mural, based on a photograph of Latosha Clemons, who is Black, and two white female firefighters. Clemons, who retired last year after 26 years, was the city's first and only Black female firefighter. » Black Firefighter 'Whitewashed' On Mural Settles Lawsuit: Report, via Across America Patch

California's Coming For Your Leaf Blowers

Californians need to start weaning themselves off gas-powered lawn equipment, including lawn mowers and leaf blowers, under a new law aimed at curbing air pollution.

The law, signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, bans landscaping equipment, including but not limited to lawn mowers, leaf blowers, string trimmers and chainsaws, perhaps as soon as 2024. It applies to home gardeners and professional landscapers. » CA Is Coming For Gas Lawn Mowers, Leaf Blowers: 5 Things To Know, via Sacramento Patch

Barber Hangs Up Scissors After 59 Years

Another longtime Hoboken business, Gino's Barber Shop on First Street, has closed.

Beneath the giant shade trees of First Street — where small mom-and-pop shops sell their wares among newer enterprises — a sign in the window said "GINO'S CLOSED, Nick has retired. Thank you everybody."

"I have literally, since birth, only had my haircut by Nick at Gino's," said a customer from Pennsylvania. "As you enter into the old school shop, you get the feeling that you are really about to experience something special. Sit in the antique chairs, and enjoy the sensation of a master at work." » Beloved Hoboken Barber Hangs Up His Scissors After 59 Years, via Hoboken Patch

Where Is Brian Laundrie?

It's been more than one month since Brian Laundrie, on of interest in the death of his fiancee, Gabby Petito, fled his parents' home. » Where Is Brian Laundrie? Gabby Petito's Fiance Fled 1 Month Ago, via Sarasota, Florida, Patch

Real Estate

If you're a boater, consider this $1.3 million home in Lindenhurst, New York, that features five bedrooms, a 150-foot custom pier and 55,000-pound boat lift that can accommodate a 60-foot yacht. » Waterfront Property Lists for $1.3 Million, via Lindenhurst, New York, Patch

This Day In History

On this day in 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 733.08 points or 7.87 percent — the second-worst drop in the exchange's history.

Around 'The Patch'

• Permanent Gabby Petito Memorial Planned In North Port; Search For Brian Laundrie Continue, via Sarasota Patch
• Film Industry Is Rebounding In New Jersey; $500M Expected To Be Spent In 2021, via Newark Patch
• A Lawmaker Banned By Alaska Airlines Over Masks Tests Positive For COVID-19, via Seattle Patch
• Ricotta Pumpkin Spice Pancakes: Cooking With Courtney, via Santa Cruz Patch
• Cher Sues Mary Bono Mack, Widow Of Sonny, via Palm Desert Patch
• No Arrests 1 Year After Fatal Devil's Lake Stabbing, via Wauwatosa Patch
• Bill Cosby Drugged, Raped Actress At NJ Hotel: Lawsuit, via Galloway Patch

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