Jack Ryan Greener grew up in San Diego – active, athletic, riding waves, working as a surf instructor in Nicaragua. He loved Brazilian jujitsu and had a beginner’s white belt. But on Nov. 29, 2018, his life changed. latimes.com/travel/story/2…
Shortly before Greener was scheduled to graduate from San Diego State in fall 2018, an accident during a jujitsu class left him with a broken neck. “Old Jack died Nov. 29,” he later wrote. latimes.com/travel/story/2…
His spinal cord wasn’t severed, meaning that Greener had enough brain signals and activity to regain some mobility. How much? It’s frustratingly unpredictable.
He was flown to Craig Hospital, which specializes in spinal injuries. A year later, he contacted members of the San Diego hospital team – he was back in town, could he take them out?
Over drinks with this team of doctors, Greener revealed his plan to hike Mt. Whitney, a peak he had had his eye on before his accident. He hoped to be the first person to survive such a severe spinal cord injury and reach the summit. latimes.com/travel/story/2…
He assembled a team to hike Mt. Whitney. They were the Brotherhood of Jack, a quickly forged troop of young men who didn’t really know what they were getting into, following a guy who thought he did. latimes.com/travel/story/2…
The route was harder than he'd expected. The miles felt long. Greener was trapped in a hell of his own making. He could do nothing but trudge on, double down on the pain and tweak his mantra: "Rage the f— on. Stay focused. Believe." latimes.com/travel/story/2…
Read Jack Ryan Greener’s story about recovering from a spinal cord injury and his quest to summit Mt. Whitney here 👇 latimes.com/travel/story/2…
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With an election just behind us and another beckoning a year from now, political pundits are dusting off their perennial observations about a “polarized” America.
Actually, these observations don’t need to be dusted off because they’re never put on the shelf, no matter how wrong they’re proven by actual facts. The truth is that America is nothing like a polarized country.
Polarization suggests a 50-50 split on a topic, not 60-40. In the first situation, it’s hard to find a common ground; in the second, a common ground has been reached — it’s the ground where that 60% majority lives.
Twin blazes continued to threaten California’s towering sequoia trees and create new miseries for nearby residents, spewing smoke and worsening air quality across central California on Wednesday.
From Fresno to Tulare, the air was hazy and ash-filled from the Windy and KNP Complex fires. Officials in the San Joaquin Valley and the Bay Area issued air quality alerts warning residents to take precautions. latimes.com/california/sto…
The National Weather Service said air quality would be affected in at least eight counties Wednesday: San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Tulare, Kings and the valley portion of Kern County. latimes.com/environment/st…
“About half our city firefighters and police officers have refused to vaccinate.”
“The Firefighters 4 Freedom Foundation, a group of more than 500 members of the city’s Fire Department, has sued the city in state court, declaring themselves ‘pawns in a political chess match.’”
Simone Biles’ schedule last week began with enviable glamour.
Her week also took a somber turn.
Keeping all parts of her life in balance is infinitely more difficult than the routines she performed to win seven Olympic and 25 world championship medals.
Despite an appeal by Gov. Gavin Newsom for all Californians to voluntarily cut water use by 15%, Southern California has lagged in conservation efforts and water usage has slightly increased in Los Angeles and San Diego, according to newly released data.
On average, Californians reduced water use by just 1.8% statewide during July as compared to the same month last year. In Southern California, however, water use hardly changed among the region’s 19.7 million residents. latimes.com/california/sto…
According to the new data, water use across much of Southern California dropped by just 0.1% overall, and rose by 0.7% in Los Angeles and 1.3% in San Diego. latimes.com/california/sto…
“What is a COVID-19 vaccine mandate worth if it includes exemptions for ‘sincerely held religious beliefs’? Very little, if anything at all,” writes the L.A. Times editorial board for @latimesopinion. latimes.com/opinion/story/…
“If the definition of religious beliefs were contained to major, established religions, there would basically be no exemptions because no major religion bans vaccination against COVID-19 or other diseases.”
“Given how large a loophole religious exemptions create, no one should be remotely surprised that thousands of Los Angeles employees are lining up to claim religious exemptions from the city’s vaccine requirement for its employees…”