Item #1: He apologized
The red marker is on a driveway that leads between apartment buildings to parking areas for residents. New cables had to go under the driveways along the street. 
Prince Edward Island – Oops!
The plan was to do horizontal drilling under the driveways, but the machine broke. The crew chief called in a backhoe. No time to warn people. Sorry folks. Walk!
Item #2: Changes
While I wasn’t paying attention, Smokey has been changing.
woods/forest/wild
Fires need Oxygen, an ignition, and fuel. Smokey grew out of the War effort of WWII. The War Advertising Council dreamed up the bear, the hat, and the dungarees. In August of 1944 (I’m 7 months older) the first “cartoon” of Smokey pouring water on a fire appeared. See the left image, above. The Council did not want fires distracting from the war.
The link is to a Smithsonian Magazine article on the campaign and how it changed. The problem is that Smokey dealt with the “ignition” part of fire. An unintended consequence of the campaign is that the natural process of growth of trees, woody plants, and grasses was interrupted. Fire no longer episodically burned some of the fuel and made space for meadows and other clearings, a patchwork of natural communities.
The fuel is overly abundant, Oxygen is there, and there will be ignitions. 84% or more fires have started because humans were involved, either accidentally, being stupid, or deliberately. Likely, for the next 30 years there will be uncontrollable Megafires.
Item #3: What’s the message?
A slow moving storm, Hurricane Sally, came ashore this week along the Gulf Coast. This one moved slowly over the warm water of the Gulf and picked up plenty of moisture. The wind at the Mobile Downtown Airport gusted to 67 mph, while the claim is that Sally had 105 mph wind.
In any case, the image above shows a church steeple that did not handle the wind, whatever it was. On the right side is the Flora-Bama restaurant and bar. No problem here.
There has to be a message, and as soon as I figure it out, I’ll let you know.
Item #4: Speaking of bears 
For at least the second time this summer bears have contacted humans. Not long ago a woman was hiking and a large bear approached her. In the accompanying photo a bear visits a man taking a nap by his pool.
Years ago we were at a camp site in Jasper National Park in Canada. One morning I was splitting wood and a girl, about 6, was running water into a pot at the center of the camp. Her folks and many others were in a covered cooking area not far away. A large bear wandered into the clearing, walked to the girl and sniffed her arm. A dozen people watched, the girl stood very still, water ran into the pot, and the bear ambled away.
Item #5: Funny stuff; unrelated
In 30 years when your grand kids ask about the 2020 toilet paper shortage, tell them of the hardship. Say you had to drag your butt across the lawn.
In the snow.
Up hill. Both ways.
And that, for this week, is the not so nasty news.
John