FOR FIREFIGHTERS, solar panels are a new form of trouble.

Panels and wiring stay energized even when panel breakers are open, Reuters notes, so a panel poses a risk even when a circuit is ostensibly turned off. And if firefighters need to make holes in the roof, panels can impede fire crews in fighting a fire. A case in point, reports Reuters: “In Delanco, New Jersey, volunteer fire crews rushed to a burning meat warehouse on Sunday and discovered the roof was covered in solar panels, forcing firefighters to change tactics. It took 29 hours to put out the flames at the Dietz & Watson warehouse, which was left gutted and smoldering in ruins.” Deputy Fire Chief Robert Hubler said, “Do I think we’d have had a different outcome if we could get on the roof? Sure.”

Hadn’t thought of that. I wonder if solar buildings’ fire insurance rates will go up.

IT’S LIKE WE’VE BEEN FED A BUNCH OF POLITICALLY USEFUL LIES, OR SOMETHING: ‘Almost Everything You Think You Know About the Matthew Shepard Narrative is False.’ “How do people sold on one version of history react to being told that the facts are slippery — that thinking of Shepard’s murder as a hate crime does not mean it was a hate crime? And how does it color our understanding of such a crime if the perpetrator and victim not only knew each other but also had sex together, bought drugs from one another, and partied together?”

YES. NEXT QUESTION? Is It Time To Get Rid Of The DEA?

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BUDGET CUTS: Armed EPA raid in Alaska sheds light on 70 fed agencies with armed divisions.