Today’s Mike Myer column is similar to his April column on the closings precipitated by the spread of the coronavirus: (1) it attempts to make the case for keeping things (in this case, the national parks) open, and (2) it does so by pure assertion.

Early in the column, Myer tells us:

Many national parks shut down entirely because of the coronavirus.

After a few paragraphs discussing the value of parks, Myer asks:

So, why’d the feds decide a “complete closure” was necessary? Beats me. Panic, I suppose.

Excuse me, these are national parks – wouldn’t the parks or the park service give a reason? Myer is the editor of two newspapers, and he isn’t willing to spend five minutes researching the “why”? (How sad. Is it any wonder our Wheeling papers do so little actual reporting – if the editor is not intellectually curious, how could we expect the reporters to be?)

Myer then hints that “social distancing” might have been the culprit:

Social distancing is a heck of a lot easier to practice in most parks than in, say, your local grocery store. Matter of fact, getting away from the crowds is precisely the reason many people retreat to parks.

“Getting away from the crowds”? Had Myer spent just a few minutes researching the answer, he might have found that “crowds” were the reason why the parks had closed. From an AP report about the park closures:

Social distancing wasn't working at Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the border of North Carolina and Tennessee, where about 30,000 people lured by good weather, wildflowers and spring break visited each day last week, park officials said. The visitation that was higher than at the same time last year led to congestion at popular sites like Laurel Falls, Newfound Gap and Cades Cove prompted calls by local government leaders to close.

The “bad guy” in Myer’s column is the federal government. (The "good guys"are states like West Virginia.) But if you read the AP report, the National Park Service was reacting to state and local needs. Beyond the Smokies:

The decision to close Yellowstone, the world’s first national park, and neighboring Grand Teton came after pressure from state and local officials. Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon were especially vocal about the need to close Yellowstone.

“The National Park Service listened to the concerns from our local partners and, based on current health guidance, temporarily closed the parks,” Yellowstone Superintendent Cam Sholly and Grand Teton acting Superintendent Gopaul Noojibail said in a statement.

Myer’s column also references an early-April AP story about a woman whose plan to hike the Appalachian Trail was ended by the closing of parts of the trail. Again, what our local editor does not tell you is that the fed’s decision was prompted by local concerns. From the Winchester Star:

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and 29 of the 31 Appalachian Trail maintaining clubs have requested the federal government close the trail until April 30 to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

In a letter delivered Wednesday, the clubs requested “the official closure of the 2,193-mile Appalachian National Scenic Trail (A.T.) due to the growing risk of visitors spreading COVID-19 among other hikers, nearby communities and beyond,” according to a news release from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, based in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

No curiosity, no research -- just another Sunday column.