THE INDEPENDENTS STRIKE BACK
THE MONTEREY PINE tree of California’s Central Coast has developed an ingenious method for propagating the species in a state bedeviled by irregular wildfire: The evergreen’s distinctive pine cones, sealed shut by a protective resin, open to release their seeds only in response to extreme heat. Competing brush having been newly cleared by fire, the serotinous sentinels are then better positioned to produce new growth.
Elections operate on a more regular schedule than California conflagrations, and those November Tuesdays don’t always rise to the level of catastrophe for an entire political party. But the surprise 2021 victory of GOP outsider Glenn Youngkin over heavily favored Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, along with a
