Rural Reporters Making Waves
International Women’s Day—March 8—is a global celebration of women’s social, economic, cultural and political achievements. You can also mark the occasion March 28, when Writing With Fire airs on PBS.
The documentary, a selection of the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, profiles Khabar Lahariya, a newspaper in rural India run by an all-women newsroom. The paper, whose name translates to “waves of news,” employs journalists from Dalit, tribal, and Muslim communities, whose members have historically been marginalized.
Their coverage of rural issues, corruption and gender violence earned a Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women’s Media Foundation in 2021.
“[Khabar Lahariya] has broken barriers to establish women as journalists in small towns and villages where newsmakers have long been men, upper caste and well-connected to the political system,” the foundation wrote.
Selena on Celluloid
Selena, the film about the Tejano music star from Lake Jackson, came out 25 years ago this month. Jennifer Lopez played Selena in the movie, released March 21, 1997.
An Olympian’s Flames
Simone Biles stands alone with her trove of gymnastics medals.
This month, she collects 25 candles.
Biles—the most decorated women’s gymnast with 32 Olympic and world championship medals—turns 25 on March 14.
She became a crusader for mental health awareness after anxiety caused her to pull out of most of her events at the Tokyo Olympics last summer. Biles lives in Spring after moving to the Houston area when she was 3.
Worth Repeating
“Wildflowers are the stuff of my heart!”
— Lady Bird Johnson
Bringing Broadband
More than 200 electric co-ops in the U.S. are developing or planning to deploy high-speed internet services for their members, giving them better access to telehealth services, online learning and remote work and attracting new families and businesses.
Water holes dug by wild donkeys and horses help nourish desert ecosystems.
Pilensphoto | Stock.adobe.com
Burrowing Burros
Scientists have recorded wild donkeys and horses digging wells in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona to reach groundwater to quench their thirst.
The animals use their hooves to carve out holes up to 6 feet deep, and researchers report in Science that the wells serve as oases that provide water for dozens of other species, including songbirds, deer and mountain lions.
