🎢 Axios PM: Theme park extremes

Plus: $3 turns into $1M | Tuesday, August 01, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Aug 01, 2023 ☀️ Happy Tuesday! Today's PM — edited by Erica Pandey — is 507 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit.     🎢 1 big thing: Theme parks face the heat Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios   Theme parks are battling record temperatures with misters, more iced drinks on menus, water balloon fights and extended hours, Axios' Hope King writes. Why it matters: Extreme summer weather is starting to reshape the industry — prompting more investment in construction, water parks and indoor rides too, The Wall Street Journal reports. 💼 Case in point: Premier Rides, a company that has built roller coasters for Six Flags and other amusement parks, is using more steel in designs to make them last longer in hotter and more extreme conditions. Silver Dollar City, a park in the Missouri Ozarks, is holding daily water balloon fights to make the triple-digit temperatures bearable for visitors. At SeaWorld San Antonio, staff set up kiddie pools for otters and are giving other animals frozen Jell-O. They're also keeping their chilling equipment on overtime to maintain a 55°F water temperature for orcas. The bottom line: The heat is affecting foot traffic at amusement parks, which has yet to bounce back from pre-pandemic levels. Share this story.     2. 🎰 Worthy windfall A lottery ticket vendor chats with a customer in Kerala, India, last year. Photo: R.S. Iyer/AP Eleven women who work as sanitation laborers in Kerala, a state in South India, have hit the jackpot, The New York Times reports. The co-workers pooled their money in June to buy a $3 lottery ticket. Last week, they won $1.2 million. Why it matters: "Lottery drawings are famous feel-good stories because they make people rich overnight, but these winners may be among the most deserving in history," The Times writes. "Most were in debt after taking out loans for medical treatment, their children's education, dowries or other essential expenses that they could not afford on a wage of roughly $3 a day." Read on.     A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports Protect regional access to our nation's capital     Regional airports are critical for connecting communities and supporting local economies. Okay, but: One group is pushing for changes to DCA's slot and perimeter rules that threaten these communities' access to our nation's capital. Take action.     3. Catch me up Data: National Weather Service. Table: Axios Visuals 🌡️ Snapshot of America's heat wave: Phoenix in July became the first major U.S. city to reach an average monthly temperature higher than 100°. The city's average July temperature of 102.7° marked its hottest month on record, shattering the previous record of 99.1° in August 2020. Go deeper. 🕯️ Sheila Oliver, New Jersey's lieutenant governor, died today after a sudden hospitalization for an undisclosed medical issue yesterday. Oliver was a trailblazer — the first Black woman to hold statewide elected office in New Jersey. She was 71. More on her life. ⚖️ The estate of Henrietta Lacks settled a lawsuit against a biotechnology company that allegedly profited from cervical cells that were taken from her in the 1950s without her consent, her family's attorney said today. Read on.     4. 🥧 Dessert meets drinks Butter Together, a new beer, is a rich golden ale with flavors of "caramel, creamy butter, and vanilla." Photo: The Blue Barn   Sips that cater to your sweet tooth will hit taps, cups and coolers at the 2023 Minnesota State Fair, Axios Twin Cities co-author Torey Van Oot writes. The lineup includes an "Apple Pie Cider," a "Boozy Salted Caramel Milkshake," and beers inspired by butterscotch, blueberry pancakes, cherry pie, strawberry shortcake and tiramisu. Pair the sweet drinks with any of the pickle-heavy new foods that'll be sold at the fair, including pickle cheese curd tacos, pickle fudge and pickle popsicles.     A message from The Coalition to Protect America's Regional Airports DCA is at capacity     DCA has America's busiest runway and adding more flights will increase safety issues, delays and cancellations. What you need to know: Congress has a choice. They can vote to protect passenger safety and convenience — or vote to make travel worse. Learn more.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. Axios HQ, a powerful platform, will help you do it.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. To stop receiving this newsletter, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: