Starting June 9th, the legal age for purchasing tobacco products in California will be changed from 18 to 21. Another new California law will also raise the age to 21 for the increasingly popular E-cigarette products. With these new restrictions on smoking, it is estimated that tobacco companies will lose somewhere around $250 million in revenue.

Many questions and issues are being raised with these new laws, between both smokers and nonsmokers as well. Some are unhappy with the idea of raising the age to 21 as they feel as if it defeats the purpose of classifying an adult at the age of 18. It will also affect those who are between the ages of 18-21, who have been purchasing cigarettes legally, as some feel like they are having their privelages taken away.

The new smoking and vaping laws in California are really being directed towards young people, and to help prevent adolescent addiction. Electronic cigarettes have been becoming more and more popular for young people in schools, and the new laws aim to make it much more difficult for teenagers to become addicted to vaping, as many of the products do contain nicotine.

Many people are also upset with the new approach to E-cigarettes, as research suggests that it is a much healthier alternative to smoking, and is even used as a method to help quit smoking. The Smoke- Free Alternatives Trade Assn had this to say after the introduction of these new laws: “California took a step backwards today by reclassifying vapor products as tobacco,” the group said in a statement. “Stigmatizing vapor products, which contain no tobacco, and treating them the same as combustible tobacco while actively seeking to economically penalize smokers attempting to switch is counterproductive to public health”.

Supporters of the bills noted that tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., with as many as 34,000 Californians dying each year. It is also important to consider that  90% of tobacco users start before the age of 21, and about 80% first try tobacco before age 18, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

Did you notice the haze in the sky last week? Or was it harder for you to breathe? This was because of the wildfires in Northern Minnesota. The fires started around May 6th in the Hoyt Lakes area and burned a total of about 1,000 acres over a six day period. People were evacuated from their homes because of the fire. The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Fire safety is always an important issue but the risks are even higher in the summer months. Many people do not know how important it is to be aware of the rules that the DNR have in place for the different regions in Minnesota. Some people may think they are following the rules, but they usually aren’t.

Spring burning restrictions have been put into place in Minnesota and it is important that people look at these restrictions before they plan to have a campfire or anything of that nature. It is important to look at these rules because if you get caught breaking them, the consequences can be mighty.

If you are wondering where you can find the rules/restrictions, you can visit http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/fire/firerating_restrictions.html

On Thursday, April 21, 2016, the world lost one of the greatest musicians it has ever seen. Prince was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 7, 1958. He was involved in the Twin Cities music scene growing up, while playing with his high school’s band Grand Central.

Prince achieved great critical acclaim with the albums Purple Rain and 1999. Purple Rain had an accompanying movie of the same name, which won an academy award. Purple Rain, also was filmed in the Twin Cities, and Lake Minnetonka got famous from his line in the movie, “Purify yourself in the waters of lake Minnetonka.” 

Prince was also an extremely talented musician, who could play 27 instruments, which were all featured on his For You album. He was also known to record a new song everyday, which has led to dozens of unreleased albums.

Even with the great success Prince received during his lifetime, he still chose to live and record in Minnesota. He died in his home in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

Prince’s cause of death has a lot of speculation around it accoding to NME. There is currently speculation about the painkiller Percocet having caused his death. Five days before his death he overdosed on Percocet, and he was rushed to a hospital where he was treated with the anti-overdose drug Naloxone. No physical trauma was found on Prince’s body, so suicide has been ruled out by coroners. Prince has previously been rumored to be a heroin and/or cocaine user, but others say he wasn’t much of a drug user after becoming a Jehovah’s Witness, a religion that bans the use of drugs.

According to The Guardian, Prince didn’t have a will before he died. With no children, and both of his parents dead, his inheritance is going through court. If no past wills are found, his net worth of $300 million will be split six ways: to his sister and his five other half siblings. It’s surprising that Prince didn’t leave a will, because during his life, he was known to be in control of the legal aspects of his career. Now there is a possibility that the direction of his music may be changed to something he may not have approved of (i.e. he did not allow his music to be streamed), because he didn’t explicitly record who he wanted to be in charge of his music during his lifetime.

Prince is a music legend that will never be forgotten in Minnesota, or the world. His gender binary defying persona and the creativity that he showed in his music and in real life was rare. Through his music, we can all learn to be as eccentric as we want to be.

Teens this year are really focused on the politics & the elections this year, but do they really know what they’re talking about? We took the time to go around and ask students who attend Highland Park Senior High what they know about the politics of today.

Since this is the last year that President Obama is going to be in office, Republicans and Democrats are going to try to argue and persuade the American people, and are going to try to explain why the people of America should vote for them.

What is a Republican? According to Google, a Republican is:

1. a form of government, constitution, etc, belonging to, or characteristic of a republic.
2. A person advocating or supporting republican government,&  a member or supporter of the Republican Party.

It says here at http://2016.republican-candidates.org/ that the top Republicans left in this Presidential election include:  

• Donald Trump
• Ted Cruz
• John Kasich

There were 6 more Republicans running earliers such as:

• Marco Rubio
• Ben Carson
• Jeb Bush
• Mike Huckabee
• Rand Paul
• Carly Fiorina

Then there are Democrats: a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives (according to Google).

The top Democrats left running for President are:

• Hillary Clinton
• Bernie Sanders

We asked some fellow high school students about what they know about the politics of today, and these are some of their responses:

Dejra: I know that there are Democrats and Republicans but I know that Trump is all talk, and what he says doesn’t connect with the world’s problems.

Angel: Don’t vote for Donald Trump.

Serene: I know that Trump is a Democrat and that most of the President candidates are Republicans so Trump stands out and he thinks he is the stuff because he a Democratic.

In the end, we realized that most teenagers don’t really know about the politics of today. We found out that most of the kids that talk about the politics mostly focus on the negative remarks based on what they hear. They know the basics of what’s going on and they don’t really know the actual information disputed and what the main problem is. It’s social media that makes one situation look like the next, and then makes each and every candidate look like the bad guy when every candidate has the ability of convincing one another why they would be a good leader for our country.

Your elders are very important, they are people that have many experiences and wisdom, but are also very under appreciated. Often, we look past all the advice and love that not only our grandparents give us, but many elders like maybe your old neighbor, or someone that has helped you through a rough situation. Many times, it takes a death situation, or a near death situation to realize how much you need your elders, or how much you would miss them.

A recent picture that went viral online showed a picture of a grandfather known as “Papaw” that was photographed by his granddaughter eating a burger by himself. She captioned that photo “He made 12 burgers for all six grandkids and I’m the only one who showed. Love him.” This caused a lot of commotion online showing sympathy for Papaw. Many were upset that his grandchildren didn’t show up. Many were upset, but didn’t realize that they may not appreciate their elders either, just in a different manner.

There are many ways to appreciate your elders. One of them can be to express to them how much they mean to you at a unexpected time. By doing this you surprise them and show them you care and were thinking of them. Also, thanking your elders for the little things they do whether it’s the advice they give to you, words of wisdom, their cooking, or for simply being apart of your life. Make your elders feel like they’re needed is also appreciated. Often, older people are not able to do most things that the younger can, so do something with them that you both will enjoy and they can take part in.

Kenny “Papaw” Harmon, know as the sad grandpa, had a cookout in Oklahoma this weekend and it attracted thousands of people from all over the world. Brock (one of Papaw’s grandkids) said, “The most special moment of the day was seeing my grandpa cry.” He also added that he never saw his grandfather cry before, but there were “a couple of people telling their stories that made him tear up. He was really touched.” Brock said the event helped “make people realize that your grandparents aren’t going to be around forever and to call them up and tell them you love them. Whether it’s in whatever way or form your elders should be treated with respect and love they truly deserve.”