West
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis pokes fun at Trump with official 'South Park' portrait in April Fools' Day post
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis poked fun at President Donald Trump with an April Fools’ Day post seemingly aimed at the commander-in-chief’s anger regarding his official portrait at the state Capitol, which was eventually removed.
“No one likes an unflattering photo or painting of themselves, which is why I went in a different direction for my official portrait,” Polis said in a post on X that featured an animated image of himself as a character in “South Park” on his official portrait.
Polis, a Democrat, said he supports Colorado art and that “this portrait was an exciting opportunity to do exactly that while embedding my image into the fabric of Colorado’s history.”
TRUMP PORTRAIT HE CLAIMED WAS ‘PURPOSEFULLY DISTORTED’ TO BE TAKEN DOWN FROM COLORADO CAPITOL
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis is shown as an animated image of himself from “South Park.” Police posted the image on X while poking fun at President Donald Trump, who heavily criticized his portrait that was taken down from the Colorado state Capitol last week. (Colorado Gov. Jared Polis)
South Park, which revolves around four friends, is set in Colorado.
Last month, Trump demanded that his portrait be taken down from the state Capitol in Denver after he harshly criticized the painting and its artist.
“Nobody likes a bad picture or painting of themselves, but the one in Colorado, in the State Capitol put up by the Governor, along with all other Presidents, was purposefully distorted to a level that even I, perhaps, have never seen before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.
Last week, state House Democrat said the oil painting, painted by artist Sarah Boardman during Trump’s first term, would be taken down at the request of Republican leaders in the state Legislature.
President Donald Trump’s portrait hangs in the Colorado Capitol after an unveiling ceremony, Aug. 1, 2019, in Denver. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)
Despite Trump’s criticism of Polis, the Democratic governor wasn’t in office when the portrait was commissioned in 2019.
On March 16, Polis shared an image of himself in South Park, along with the comedy duo Terrance and Philip, who are also featured in the show, while touting Colorado’s relationship with Canada.
“Our relationship with Canada brings vast benefits to Coloradans—from good-paying jobs to robust trade partnerships, tourists, and even prominent fictional characters in Colorado’s famous show, @SouthPark,” he wrote. “Ike Broflovski, Kyle Broflovski’s adopted brother, is from Canada. Don’t forget the comedy duo Terrance and Philip, beloved by our favorite fourth graders, and don’t “blame Canada!”
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Hawaii
University of Hawaii study finds San Andreas Fault stress at 1,000-year high | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
LOS ANGELES >> Stress on the San Andreas Fault system has reached a 1,000-year high, according to new research from the University of Hawaii.
Higher stress on a fault means the pressure that causes earthquakes is building.
“Our results show that stress levels on multiple fault segments are now at or above the highest values seen in the past millennium and that the region may be capable of a large through-going rupture involving both fault systems,” said lead author Liliane Burkhard, research affiliate in the Hawai‘i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the UH-Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology and a scientist at the University of Bern, Switzerland.
“We also found that Cajon Pass may act as an ‘earthquake gate:’ sometimes blocking large ruptures from crossing between the faults, and sometimes allowing them to pass through and involve both systems in a single event,” Burkhard said in a UH news release.
Multi-fault ruptures, where earthquakes continue from one fault to another, have occurred in multiple recent earthquakes, including the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake and became a part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake forecasting model in 2015.
This type of quake would be possible if the Cajon Pass, which is between the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountains in Southern California, allows an earthquake to pass through it, meaning rather than affecting the area along one fault line, a quake could continue along a second fault and affect a larger area.
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But Kate Scharer, a co-author of the study and a seismologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Pasadena, said there’s no reason for California residents to be significantly more concerned than they were before hearing about the study.
While the stress has reached a milestone, the pressure was already high and the fault has been overdue for a large earthquake for some time, according to the study.
It has been over 100 years since a major tectonic rupture has affected the greater Los Angeles area, which means stress on the tectonic plates has been building, according to the study.
The 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake was the most recent “big one” to affect Southern California, while the San Jacinto Fault saw moderate earthquakes in 1918, 1968 and 1987, according to the study. A long period without seismic activity “raised concern that the next slip event in this region could be both large and complex,” the study says.
As more time passes, an earthquake becomes more likely because built-up energy needs to be released.
“We know for the southern San Andreas and the San Jacinto fault that they were just a little bit over the average (time between earthquakes) from looking at the geologic record,” Scharer said.
Those two faults are at highest risk for an earthquake because they are the fastest moving, she said.
The study looked at a geologic record of earthquake activity across the past 1,000 years, giving a new perspective on the total stress the San Andreas and San Jacinto fault systems are under. Tectonic plates are always moving and accumulating stress, save for those few seconds where an earthquake is happening.
When an earthquake releases built-up stress from hundreds to thousands of years of an interseismic period, energy is felt in the form of an earthquake, Scharer said.
Earthquake forecast models from the U.S. Geological Survey are “a reminder that damaging earthquakes are inevitable for California,” and the new study highlights just how much stress the fault systems are under as Californians prepare for the “big one,” according to the USGS.
The study’s importance is with the calculations of stress the researchers did. After a geologic record, which looks at prehistoric earthquakes and is assembled by digging trenches across faults and looking at layers that have been offset in the past, is created, the researchers were able to determine that the stress on the San Andreas fault is at a 1,000-year high.
The stress level could influence if the Cajon Pass facilitates an earthquake spreading from one fault to another, or if it stops an earthquake from doing so. When the stress levels on both faults are similar, both faults appear to rupture jointly, according to the study.
Using a physics-based computer model, the researchers found that that the stress that would normally be released in large earthquakes has continued to accumulate and is at unprecedented levels.
The Cajon Pass, the study suggests, could facilitate a joint rupture of both the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults simultaneously, which could be “significantly more damaging than a single-fault event,” affecting densely populated areas including Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and the Coachella Valley, according to the UH news release.
“This is not a prediction of when an earthquake will happen,” Burkhard said. “However, studies like this are important contributions to national and global earthquake hazard research in that we are using rigorous, quantitative science to better understand the risk facing millions of people. What we can say is that the system is critically stressed, and that physics-based models like this one give us a clearer picture of the range of scenarios we should be prepared for. That information matters for hazard assessments, infrastructure planning, and emergency preparedness.”
Honolulu Star-Advertiser staff contributed to this report.
What began as a handful of calls from Treasure Valley residents has grown into a rat problem that is exposing gaps in Idaho law and leaving homeowners to handle infestations largely on their own for at least another year.
Rats have been reported in the Treasure Valley since 2022, when Eagle residents started spotting Norway rats and roof rats in yards, under decks and near canals. Residents have also shared videos showing the rodents in their neighborhoods.
As the reports mounted, it became clear that no agency in Idaho is legally responsible for dealing with rats. The issue traces back to an 1868 legal doctrine known as Dillon’s Rule, which limits Idaho cities and counties to powers specifically granted by the state. Because rats are not mentioned in state law, local governments have no authority to act and no funding to do so.
During this legislative session, state lawmakers tried to change that. Senate Bill 1271 would have directed the Idaho Department of Agriculture to map infestations and coordinate a response across the Treasure Valley. The bill passed the Senate but later died in the House, with opponents arguing it was a local problem, not a state one.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says rats can spread diseases such as Plague and Salmonella through droppings, urine and bites.
With the Legislature out of session until next year, Sen. Nichols and Rep. John Gannon are pushing for action without waiting for a change in state law. This week, they sent a letter to local officials across the Treasure Valley urging cities, counties, irrigation districts and parks agencies to each designate a point person to help coordinate a response now.
The letter describes the situation as a public health, safety and property concern and warns that a coordinated effort now would be far less costly than a crisis later.
In the meantime, residents are being urged to seal vents, secure trash and call an exterminator if they see signs of rats. Nichols has said she fears that when lawmakers return next January, the problem will be harder and more expensive to solve.
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