Global
The inscription on the Marvel superhero Thor’s hammer famously reads, “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Previous writers have used that hook to shake things up before by having the hammer used by other “worthy” heroes, first by the alien Beta Ray Bill, then later by familiar faces like Captain America and Storm. But for the first time, the beefy blonde Asgardian we know and love has proven himself so unworthy that he’s being not just punished but actually replaced, and the new wielder of not only the hammer Mjolnir but the very name of Thor will be a woman!
In Marvel’s official announcement of the upcoming change, series writer Jason Aaron explained, “This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it’s unlike any Thor we’ve ever seen before.”
In April residents from Youngstown’s Brier Hill neighborhood joined with Frack Free Mahoning (FFM) to appeal an order made in March by Richard Simmers, the Chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management (DOGRM) to authorize Industrial Waste Control/Ground Tech., Inc. (IWC) to operate a facility at 240 Sinter Court, Youngstown. This facility will receive potentially radioactive brine, drill cuttings, drilling mud and tank bottom sludge from shale gas fracking operations. At the location along the Mahoning River, three-fourths of a mile due west of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, the company will do tank cleaning, radioactive decontamination, radiological surveys, waste storage, waste characterization, waste treatment, waste solidification and waste preparation for shipment (i.e. down-blending of radioactive frack waste.) The ODNR received the permit application on February 7th, and the DOGRM chief ordered its approval on March 6th. Unfortunately ODNR did not release the information to the public until April 10th, after the 30-day public comment period had expired.