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...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM WEDNESDAY TO 11 PM
PDT FRIDAY...
* WHAT...Temperatures up to 102 expected.
* WHERE...In Washington, Eastern Columbia River Gorge of
Washington, Simcoe Highlands, Kittitas Valley and Yakima
Valley. In Oregon, Eastern Columbia River Gorge of Oregon.
* WHEN...From 11 AM Wednesday to 11 PM PDT Friday.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out
of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young
children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles
under any circumstances.
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When
possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or
evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat
stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when
possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent
rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone
overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.
&&
Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. | https://www.yakimaherald.com/obituaries/death_notices/lauren-larry-blaine-rice-76/article_4acbd832-1d96-11ed-80f8-37c182f14abe.html | 2022-08-17T06:51:24Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/obituaries/death_notices/lauren-larry-blaine-rice-76/article_4acbd832-1d96-11ed-80f8-37c182f14abe.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
...HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM WEDNESDAY TO 11 PM
PDT FRIDAY...
* WHAT...Temperatures up to 102 expected.
* WHERE...In Washington, Eastern Columbia River Gorge of
Washington, Simcoe Highlands, Kittitas Valley and Yakima
Valley. In Oregon, Eastern Columbia River Gorge of Oregon.
* WHEN...From 11 AM Wednesday to 11 PM PDT Friday.
* IMPACTS...Hot temperatures may cause heat illnesses to occur.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out
of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young
children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles
under any circumstances.
Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When
possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or
evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat
stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when
possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent
rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone
overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location.
Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1.
&&
Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death. | https://www.yakimaherald.com/obituaries/death_notices/norma-jean-benzel-93/article_b14e78ce-1d93-11ed-a135-bf614e0d8ac4.html | 2022-08-17T06:51:36Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/obituaries/death_notices/norma-jean-benzel-93/article_b14e78ce-1d93-11ed-a135-bf614e0d8ac4.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Instead of forcing the Angels into another ninth-inning implosion of mistakes, the Mariners turned the ninth inning into an explosion of hits and runs.
And as the Angels fans, at least the ones that decided to stay after Seattle scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning, vented their anger at the Mariners players and their frustrations with their own team, the Mariners basked in their best offensive showing in an 8-2 drubbing of their American League West rivals.
Adam Frazier’s two-run triple and Julio Rodriguez’s line drive of a two-run homer to right field highlighted the explosion of runs off veteran reliever Jesse Chavez in the top of the ninth inning, turning a one-run lead into a rout.
With the victory, the Mariners guaranteed a series win and will go for a three-game sweep of the Angels on Wednesday afternoon.
Seattle returned to 10 games over .500 at 64-54 and into a tie for the first American League wild-card spot with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The eight runs is the most the Mariners have scored since their July 4 victory over the Padres that was also 8-2.
For the first five innings scoring a run or even getting a runner on base was an impossibility.
For the those first five innings, Jose Suarez was perfect. Using an assortment of sliders and change-ups, the stocky left-hander retired the first 15 Mariners he faced. The Mariners didn’t have much in the way of hard-hit balls in that stretch.
But after Suarez retired Curt Casali on a pop-up, Frazier ended his hopes of history with an infield single deep in the hole to shortstop.
With one out of the way, the Mariners added three more in a row. Sam Haggerty slashed a line drive into left field and Rodriguez, who was hitless in his previous 16 at-bats, dumped a single into left-center to load the bases.
The fourth consecutive single of the inning belonged to Ty France, who was 1 for 19 on the road trip. France laced a 3-2 fastball from Suarez past first baseman Jared Walsh for a single that scored a pair of runs to tie the game. Jesse Winker followed with a fly ball to right field that was deep enough to allow Rodriguez to tag up and race home for the go-ahead run.
Seattle got a quality start from lefty Robbie Ray, who wasn’t always efficient in his six innings of work, allowing two runs on six hits with two walks and 10 strikeouts. He allowed a solo home run to Luis Rengifo in the first inning and an RBI single to Rengifo in the third inning. But Ray didn’t allow another run the rest of the way. And given a lead in the bottom of the sixth, Ray worked around a leadoff single from Taylor Ward and error from Winker that allowed him to advance to second on the play. He came back to strike out Max Stassi and Jared Walsh and end his outing on a weak ground out to short from Magnerius Sierra. | https://www.yakimaherald.com/sports/professional_sports/mariners/mariners-go-wild-again-in-9th-stun-angels/article_c23d4c16-1de6-11ed-9eb4-cb4aeda9f093.html | 2022-08-17T06:51:42Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/sports/professional_sports/mariners/mariners-go-wild-again-in-9th-stun-angels/article_c23d4c16-1de6-11ed-9eb4-cb4aeda9f093.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The knee-jerk reaction over the past few months has been to equate higher inflation with more aggressive central banks. But amid the recent subtle shifts by the Fed, RBA, and BOE, it is clear we are now into the second-half of the tightening cycle where the previous rules stop applying.
As the tightening cycle reaches a stage where it is slowing down considering that economic conditions are worsening, higher inflation can work as a double-edged sword in some sense.
There is a balance that needs to be struck between central banks continuing to throw everything to douse the fire and central banks needing to back off as the economy is set to run head first into the ground. Policymakers want to achieve a 'soft landing' and that won't be helped by further aggressive rate hikes as the economy grinds towards a recession.
In the case of the UK, they are arguably one of the worst hit economies by all this amid a worsening cost-of-living crisis and high energy prices - not helped by the spillover impact from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
As much as the over 10% print is likely to vindicate another rate hike by the BOE, I don't see that as being as much of a game changer as compared to the weight of such a figure on consumer sentiment.
In other words, markets are comfortable with this as it fits with rates pricing for the BOE but the adverse impact on the economy from the data has more potential to threaten to derail the central bank from its tightening path instead. As mentioned earlier:
"As much as this vindicates more rate hikes by the BOE, I don't see much upside to that considering that markets are well prepared for what the BOE has to offer in the months ahead. Instead, if the staggering weight of inflation crushes consumption activity, I can see this print being worked to be a negative for the pound instead."
For GBP/USD, key support continues to hold closer to 1.2000 for now while topside momentum is very much limited by the trendline resistance at 1.2192 currently. | https://www.forexlive.com/news/sterling-does-the-rise-and-fall-as-uk-inflation-hits-40-year-high-20220817/ | 2022-08-17T06:52:43Z | forexlive.com | control | https://www.forexlive.com/news/sterling-does-the-rise-and-fall-as-uk-inflation-hits-40-year-high-20220817/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Officials in a school district near Fort Worth, Texas, have directed school staff and librarians to temporarily remove books that have been challenged through the district's formal complaint process in the past school year, including the Bible and an illustrated adaptation of Anne Frank's diary.
The Keller Independent School District Board of Trustees adopted policies last week that set new standards for how books and other instructional materials are chosen for schools, including putting books up for 30 days of public review before they are purchased by libraries and removing challenged materials from shelves while they are being reviewed.
"Right now, Keller ISD's administration is asking our campus staff and librarians to review books that were challenged last year to determine if they meet the requirements of the new policy," the school district said in a statement after an email sent to principals about the policy was obtained by the Texas Tribune newspaper.
"All of the books included in Tuesday's email have been included on Keller ISD's Book Challenge list over the past year. Books that meet the new guidelines will be returned to the libraries as soon as it is confirmed they comply with the new policy," the statement said.
The Keller school district allows parents, employees and district residents to file formal objections, or challenges, to books and instructional materials used in schools. A committee then considers whether the materials are educationally suitable and makes a decision on whether the material will remain in schools, the district website says.
The group may also decide to limit use of the materials to particular grade levels or students who get parental permission.
Books that were challenged in the past year include some that explore LGBTQ experiences, such as "All Boys Aren't Blue" by George M. Johnson, which the committee decided to keep in high schools, and "Gender Queer" by Maia Kobabe, which was removed from the district's campuses, according to the district website. Toni Morrison's novel "The Bluest Eye" was also challenged and kept by the committee.
The new library and educational materials policies were approved unanimously by the board on August 8. The decision came as discussions over school library books and curriculum have become key issues across the country. An April analysis from PEN America, a literary and free expression advocacy organization, found 1,586 books were banned in 86 school districts across 26 states from July 31, 2021, to March 31, 2022. Texas led the country with the most book bans at 713, the analysis found, followed by Pennsylvania and Florida.
"We are very pleased that our new unwoke school board has made these changes," one speaker said during the public comment portion of the August 8 Keller school board meeting. "This is just the beginning, I hope."
Wednesday is the first day back to school for the district.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.local3news.com/regional-national/a-texas-school-district-is-removing-and-reviewing-dozens-of-challenged-books-including-the-bible/article_4756ba17-de01-5e8e-b8f8-570aa659ff19.html | 2022-08-17T07:07:09Z | local3news.com | control | https://www.local3news.com/regional-national/a-texas-school-district-is-removing-and-reviewing-dozens-of-challenged-books-including-the-bible/article_4756ba17-de01-5e8e-b8f8-570aa659ff19.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
California residents are being urged to conserve energy Wednesday between 4:00 p.m. and 9 p.m. as much of the state is expected to see extreme heat through the end of the week.
The California Independent System Operator on Tuesday issued a statewide Flex Alert, which is a request for residents to voluntarily conserve electricity.
The move by the operator that manages 80% of California's power grid comes as high temperatures are expected to increase demand and strain the available power supply, the agency said.
Heat advisories are in effect across parts of California, with some remaining in place through Friday.
"In these alerted areas, temperatures can reach as high as 109 degrees. Temperatures that high cause strain on electrical systems due to over usage," CNN Meteorologist Robert Shackelford said.
The areas under heat alerts are mostly in the central portion of the state, beginning as far south as Bakersfield and stretching up to California's northern tip near the Oregon border.
"Several daily high temperature records are expected to be either tied or broken on Wednesday throughout central/northern California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington," the National Weather Service noted Tuesday.
The California Independent System Operator recommends residents pre-cool their homes prior to 4:00 p.m., avoid using appliances during the designated alert time and turn off all unnecessary lights.
The flex alert, which is the first one issued this year, comes as the western US grapples with drought conditions intensified by the effects of climate change.
As of last week, the entire state of California was under various drought intensities, with more than 45% of the state experiencing two of the most extreme drought categories, according to the US Drought Monitor.
The severe drought has been draining Lake Mead in Nevada and Arizona and Lake Powell in Utah and Arizona -- the nation's largest reservoirs as the Colorado River is seeing its water dry up.
On Tuesday, the federal government decided the Colorado River will operate in a Tier 2 shortage condition for the first time starting in January. The Tier 2 shortage means Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will have to further reduce their Colorado River use beginning in January.
California will not yet see cuts made to the water it receives from the Colorado River.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.local3news.com/regional-national/california-residents-urged-to-conserve-electricity-wednesday-as-temperatures-could-soar-to-triple-digits/article_bb59bc90-02c9-599d-9b84-c7c0b6741cac.html | 2022-08-17T07:07:15Z | local3news.com | control | https://www.local3news.com/regional-national/california-residents-urged-to-conserve-electricity-wednesday-as-temperatures-could-soar-to-triple-digits/article_bb59bc90-02c9-599d-9b84-c7c0b6741cac.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The new V25 series enables new dimensions of creativity with flagship-level camera technology, and stylish appearances with eye-catching colors
SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- vivo has unveiled the latest additions to its stylish V series: V25 and V25 Pro. With superior photography features, the smartphones have been designed for users who express themselves through photos and videos. The new V25 series will give users the power to embark on a self-expression journey with its stunning camera, powered by high-performance, energy-efficient hardware, all cased in an exquisite body.
The new V25 series follows V series' heritage of capturing exquisite moments with its superior camera capabilities and cutting-edge imaging technology. The flagship-level 64MP OIS ultra-sensing camera on the back minimizes blurry shots and supports a longer exposure time, creating clearer and brighter images and videos even in dim lighting conditions. With an eye-catching design, the Color Changing Fluorite AG Glass[1] covering the rear panel changes its hue when exposed to UV light, reflecting the dynamic personalities of users. Below its beautiful appearance lies a powerful processor with high energy-efficiency ratio and great capacity. Coupled with the newest cooling technology and fast charging capabilities, it offers a long-lasting and smooth mobile experience in various scenarios.
"vivo V series has always been about being innovative and technologically advanced, while exuding style and encouraging users to create, have fun, and explore. The new V25 and V25 Pro continue to embody this concept and provide users with fresh tools and features," said Spark Ni, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at vivo, "vivo understands that users want a smartphone that is aesthetically pleasing and has excellent functional attributes. With the carefully designed new devices, users can capture the best moments in life with their family and friends anywhere, any time with intuitive camera technologies, while expressing their creativity and emotions through the unique color-changing design."
Light up portraits in the night with intuitive imaging technology
Equipped with a 64MP OIS ultra-sensing rear camera that boasts upgraded OIS and EIS capabilities and an 8MP wide-angle camera, V25 and V25 Pro deliver an excellent imaging experience and allow users to capture high-quality, super-wide shots with ease.
V25 Pro is setting new standards in night photography with the upgraded Super Night Mode feature, which accurately restores the colors and brightness of highly saturated images at night. Coupled with the new Real-Time Extreme Night Vision feature, users can manually adjust the exposure intensity when they preview an image, further improving the brightness, noise control and details of photos in real-time even in low-light environments. This gives users the freedom to play with the rear camera portrait features at night.
Easy and fun video filming experience with style
V25 Pro creates more possibilities for users to easily film and record fun and playful moments with families, friends, or pets at night. The Super Night Video feature is excellent at brightening and noise reduction in dark environments, enabling users to shoot brighter and clearer videos at night. The front cameras of V25 and V25 Pro both have the Natural Portrait video mode, which enhances the overall skin texture and clarity. Furthermore, the Hybrid Image Stabilization (OIS+EIS) feature makes video shooting clearer and more stable[2].
V25 and V25 Pro also come with a new Vlog Movie feature that improves the filming experience with video templates and tutorials to guide users on how to shoot in different scenarios, such as night, food, city and more, as well as an upgraded Multi-Style Portrait feature in the front camera that provides fun filters, enhancing the video experience. The Multi-Style Portrait feature also allows users to unleash their creativity with the Motion Blur effect, a new style which innovatively separates people from the background for a better portrait creation experience.
Clear selfies powered by auto-focus capability and leading AI algorithms
Clarity is a key consideration and an ever-growing demand of users when it comes to taking great selfies and videos. Therefore, V25 and V25 Pro have 50MP and 32MP HD front cameras respectively with autofocus and eye focus capabilities, enabling users to take clear images and videos any time of the day or night. In addition, the front cameras are equipped with AI HD Algorithm that optimizes sharpness. Moreover, V25 Pro's industry-leading AI Skin Retouching Algorithm provides users with the airbrushed look when needed.
Spark creativity and fun through innovative color-changing design
V25 has a thin 2.5D body that is 7.79mm, while the slim body of V25 Pro is 8.62mm[3] and features an elegant 3D Curved Screen with a punch hole centered at the top of the front camera[4] . The lightweight and slim body makes both devices a comfortable fit in the hands of users. To ensure the phones stand out, vivo incorporated vivid colors into its newest models. V25 Pro comes in Surfing Blue and Starlight Black, while V25 is decked out in Aquamarine Blue, Sunrise Gold, and Diamond Black.
In addition, vivo designed the smartphones to spark creativity and fun in users with the revolutionary Color Changing Fluorite AG Glass, which enables the rear panel of the devices to display different colors at different angles when exposed to UV light. The Surfing Blue edition of V25 Pro changes from light sky blue to deep ocean blue; the Aquamarine Blue edition of V25 switches from ocean blue to bluish green; while the Sunrise Gold edition of V25 shifts from gold to reddish orange.
Powered by energy-efficient and high-performance chipsets
The new V25 series delivers robust performance and high-power efficiency to support various daily uses of its users. V25 Pro is equipped with a quasi-flagship octa-core CPU, MediaTek Dimensity 1300, with 8GB/12GB RAM + 8GB extended RAM[5], which powers exceptional 5G capabilities[6] and provides greater AI imaging capacity to effortlessly produce stunning 4K videos and ensure a smooth gaming experience. Its performance and user experience are improved thanks to the new, industry-leading Bionic Cooling System. In addition, featuring a 66W FlashCharge capability and a 4830mAh large battery, it can power up the large-capacity and high-density battery cell from 0% to 71% in 30 minutes[7].
V25 features a MediaTek Dimensity 900 processor with a high energy-efficiency ratio and 8GB/12GB RAM + 8GB extended RAM, enabling users to seamlessly play demanding games and multitask across various apps. V25 supports 44W FlashCharge that can recharge the 4500mAh battery cell from 0% to 61% in 30 minutes[8].
Pricing and availability
Starting from today, the V25 and V25 Pro are available in more than 20 markets across Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and more, including India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Pakistan, Mexico, and the UAE. The availability, pricing and specifications of each model will vary according to local market conditions and consumer preferences.
PR Contacts
About vivo
vivo is a technology company that creates great products based on a design-driven value, with smart devices and intelligent services as its core. The company aims to build a bridge between humans and the digital world. Through unique creativity, vivo provides users with an increasingly convenient mobile and digital life. Following the company's core values, which include Benfen*, user-orientation, design-driven value, continuous learning and team spirit, vivo has implemented a sustainable development strategy with the vision of developing into a healthier, more sustainable world-class corporation.
While bringing together and developing the best local talents to deliver excellence, vivo is supported by a network of R&D centers in Shenzhen, Dongguan, Nanjing, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Xi'an, focusing on the development of state-of-the-art consumer technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence, industrial design, imaging system and other up-and-coming technologies. vivo has also set up an intelligent manufacturing network (including those authorized by vivo), with an annual production capacity of nearly 200 million smartphones. As of now, vivo has branched out its sales network across more than 60 countries and regions, and is loved by more than 400 million users worldwide.
*"Benfen" is a term describing the attitude on doing the right things and doing things right – which is the ideal description of vivo's mission to create value for society.
Stay informed of latest vivo news at https://www.vivo.com/en/about-vivo/news
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE Vivo | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/vivo-launches-new-high-performance-color-changing-v25-v25-pro-with-enhanced-photography-features-creative-expression/ | 2022-08-17T07:11:50Z | witn.com | control | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/vivo-launches-new-high-performance-color-changing-v25-v25-pro-with-enhanced-photography-features-creative-expression/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
CHEYENNE – Laramie County voters seem to support those elected officials currently serving them at the state, county and city levels, based on Tuesday's preliminary primary election results.
Based on unofficial final results, only one incumbent member of the Wyoming Legislature from Laramie County – John Romero-Martinez – lost their primary race. All three incumbent county commissioners retained their seats. And all three Cheyenne City Council members seeking re-election advanced to the general election.
Senate District 7
Rachel Bennett and JC Manalo entered the running looking to unseat incumbent Sen. Stephen Pappas, R-Cheyenne. However, it appeared Pappas would advance to face Democratic candidate Marcie Kindred in the general election on Nov. 8.
With 4,081 votes tallied, Pappas led Bennett 1,848 to 1,109.
Pappas has represented House District 7 since 2015. He wants to continue to address deficits, create a healthy business environment and find stable revenue.
Senate District 31
In one of the more competitive races of the Legislature, Evie Brennan was leading challenger Janet Marschner by a margin of 1,488 to 1,070 to represent the one of the newest districts in the Wyoming Legislature.
Brennan is pro-life-pro-Second Amendment rights, is for education freedom and is a proponent of fiscal responsibility, according to her campaign website, eviebrennanforwyosenate.com.
“I will also consider not just how (each) bill will affect us today. But how it will affect the next generation,” Brennan told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. “I will work hard to leave a better legacy for Wyoming’s next generation.”
House District 7
Prior to redistricting, Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, served in House District 8 since 2011. In pursuit of re-election in his new district, Nicholas was leading Republican challenger Rick Coppinger 1,260 to 1,009.
A businessman and attorney, Nicholas announced his candidacy for re-election in May. His top priorities include finding new solutions for property tax payers, balancing the state budget and conserving taxpayer dollars.
The winner will go on to face Democratic candidate Jordan Evans in the Nov. 8 general election.
House District 8
One of the more tightly contested races in this year’s primary election comes from the district encompassing northeast Laramie County. As of press time, former Republican lawmaker Dave Zwonitzer, father of Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, was leading Lily Sharpe by a margin of 988 to 825.
Stephen Neal Johnson and Brian Tyrrell were coming in third and fourth, respectively.
Zwonitzer has been a businessman in Laramie County for four decades and previously represented House District 9 from 2007-2017. He considered the top issue in the state to be water, education, economic development, civility, the mineral industry and finances.
House District 9
Out of HD 9 rose a personal rivalry spurred by challenger Dean Peterson’s opposition to incumbent Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, in regard to Brown’s voting history. As of press time, Brown was leading a three-way race with 975 votes to Alan Sheldon's 460 and Dean Petersen's 398.
The winner will move on to face Democratic candidate Stephen Latham in the Nov. 8 general election.
Brown has held office since 2017. His priorities are to continuing to advance K-3 literacy, working to balance the state’s fiscal profile through economic diversification, broadening the tax base and lowering taxes, and decreasing regulation on businesses to encourage economic development.
“I’ve lived in this district for 30 out of the 35 years I’ve been alive, and I know the people that I’m representing," Brown told the WTE.
Peterson decided to run after Brown sponsored a failed bill to legalize marijuana in 2021. He criticized Brown's support of Medicaid expansion and COVID-19 vaccines, as well.
“His voting record does not match up with the needs and wants of the people I know and am meeting in our district,” Peterson said in an interview with the WTE.
House District 10
Incumbent Rep. John Eklund, R-Cheyenne, was handily beating former Republican House District 12 Rep. Lars Lone by a margin of 1,321 to 474.
Eklund will not have a challenger in the Nov. 8 general election.
Eklund assumed office in 2011 and chairs the House Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee. Before this, he spent his life working as a rancher.
House District 11
Former House District 44 Rep. James Byrd and current Laramie County School District 1 Trustee Marguerite Herman were in a tight Democratic primary in House District 11. As of press time, Herman led 106 to 52. The winner will face incumbent Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, on Nov. 8.
Byrd, 68, previously told the WTE he decided to run for the seat again after some pushed for constituents to return to the Legislature. He feels there is unfinished business to address, such as the diversification of jobs in the state and the energy market.
The candidate said while his opponent is up to speed on issues, he does not believe she can execute the job at his level. He cited his experience with developing the state’s natural resources into new markets, and developing a strong economic plan.
“This is a pivotal election to determine Wyoming’s survivability and the economics for the next 50 years,” he told the WTE. “We can either choose to go and develop our own autonomy, or we can be owned by somebody else and take orders from outside the state.”
Herman, 71, has been involved with the League of Women Voters. She advocates for issues such as health care.
“I have established my commitment to the community,” she said.
She previously told the WTE that her record of service on the LCSD1 board, as well as in other community boards and agencies, demonstrates her ability to listen, have an open mind and come to solutions. She hopes to use these skills to pass legislation that ensures maximum access to the ballot box, to expand Medicaid and to develop strong education funding.
House District 12
Rep. Clarence Styvar, R-Cheyenne, was leading Republican challenger Derek Goldfuss 739 to 378 as of press time.
Styvar, 58, has held the office since 2018.
House District 42
Republican Ben Hornok, 47, was leading Linnaea Sutphin, 46, by a tally of 1,148 to 948 as of press time. The eventual winner will not have a challenger in the general election.
The current holder of the seat, Rep. Jim Blackburn, R-Cheyenne, is not seeking re-election. He has represented the district since 2015.
House District 43
Republican incumbent Rep. Dan Zwonitzer was leading challenger Clayton “Leroy” Mills in House District 43 race, 795 to 671 as of press time. There is no Democrat in the race.
Zwonitzer, 42, has represented the southeastern district since 2005. Although he has served for nearly two decades, he previously told the WTE he's excited to have the opportunity for the first time in eight years to be in the Legislature during a budget surplus. He said lawmakers will be able to invest money for the future, to make up for cuts undertaken in the past six years and to put funds toward infrastructure.
His priorities also include fighting for Laramie County to receive school capital funding, and bringing back civility to the chamber floors. He believes there's a need for stable leadership, and with his tenure in the House, he can provide it.
“We need to be having productive conversations that are moving the state forward, and that requires some basic decorum and civility that we haven’t seen lately,” he told the WTE.
House District 44
As of press time, Tamara N. Trujillo was leading incumbent Rep. John Romero-Martinez, R-Cheyenne, 371 to 277, with challenger Michael Reyes receiving 235 votes. The HD 44 winner will face Democratic candidate Sara Burlingame in the general election.
Burlingame previously represented the district from 2019-2021.
Trujillo cited her experience in procurement and accounting. Her background has allowed her to handle contracts, budgets and both internal and external audits. She wants to reassess how the government is spending, and tighten the proverbial belt.
“HD 44 needs help with their schools, fixed income property owners with rising taxes and sewer issues which cause flooding in some areas,” she said in a statement. “I need to get in and find the funds for our schools, but also need to push for school choice and have those taxpayer funds follow the students to the best education the parents see fit.”
House District 61
In another three-way Republican primary, Daniel Singh was leading with 511 votes to 308 for Matt Malcom and 254 for Don Odom in the newly-added House District 61. There is no Democrat in the race.
County commissioners
Despite having four Republican challengers, it appeared the three incumbent Laramie County commissioners would retain their seats.
As of press time, Gunnar Malm, Troy Thompson, and Linda Heath were the top three vote-getters, in that order. Malm had 9,637 votes, Thompson had 9,417, while Heath had earned 7,506 votes.
Challengers were Bryce Freeman, who was coming in fourth with 5,493 votes; Brian D. Casey, who had received 4,812; Abbie Mildenberger, who had earned 4,487, and Sam Eliopoulous, who had 4,067 votes.
With no Democratic candidates having filed for the general election, barring a strong write-in campaign between now and the Nov. 8 general election, the incumbents will retain their seats in January.
Malm will serve his second term on the Board of Commissioners. He also serves as the public policy chair for the Wyoming Association of Realtors, the president of the Cheyenne Board of Realtors, and Currently in the vice chair of the Cheyenne Planning commission.
Among his priorities are ensuring sixth-penny sales tax projects are completed on schedule, and continuing a policy of fiscal conservatism that, Malm said, has allowed Laramie County to be the only local government in Wyoming that didn't lay off workers during the pandemic.
Thompson is the current chairman of the board. He was first elected as a commissioner in 2010. Thompson is also the a member of the National Association of County Officials and serves on the executive board of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association.
In a previous interview , Thompson emphasized his love for being a county commissioner, and said that he hopes to continue his work on economic projects and following through on sixth-penny sales tax projects. His priorities are to have a conservative budget, keep a strong relationship with LEADS and the local business community on economic development, as well as help manage the residential growth.
Heath, former vice-chair of the Laramie County Republican Party, has served on the commission since 2014 and spent 27 years as a precinct committee member.
In a questionnaire, Heath said that she strives to "decrease regulations (where) possible within the county." She also wants to encourage the public to become more involved in local government.
City Council
All three incumbents on the Cheyenne City Council seemed likely to advance to the November general election.
In the two contested primary races, incumbent Scott D. Roybal and Cameron Karajanis were leading in Ward 1, while incumbent Mark D. Rinne and Lynn A. Storey-Huylar were leading in Ward 2. Since there were only two candidates in Ward 3, both incumbent Ken A. Esquibel and Joe Shogrin will advance.
These candidates will now face one another in the Nov. 8 general election.
City Council member Scott Roybal is seeking a third term representing Ward 1. After first being elected in 1996 and serving until 2000, he ran for re-election in 2014 and as served ever since. He is currently the council president.
Cameron Karajanis will join Roybal in the Ward 1 race. He has experience serving on committees and boards within the Cheyenne Police Department, Downtown Development Authority and Cheyenne Frontier Days.
In a questionnaire published online at WyomingNews.com, Karajanis said his priorities as councilman would be to "continue Cheyenne's path forward while continuing to work with current city council members." Of the utmost importance to him as are community members feel safe cared for and engaged.
Dr. Mark Rinne is the longest tenured member of the City Council, having served six terms representing Ward 2 and as council president nine times. He is a local dentist.
His Ward 2 challenger, Lynn Storey-Huylar, is a lifetime resident of Cheyenne, and wants to continue to be a part of the city's development on the level of local government. She previously served on the Laramie County School District 1 Board of Trustees for eight years, and was a chair member for two of those years.
Ward 3 incumbent candidate Esquibel previously served in the 41st district of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 2007-17. He was elected to City Council in November 2018 and will maintain his position with the conclusion of this election cycle.
Joe Shogrin relocated to Cheyenne in 2010 and has since run for City Council twice before. Before entering local government, he worked as a high voltage lineman, and now works as a real estate agent. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/elections/most-incumbents-advance-in-state-county-and-city-races/article_148e9c98-f1d0-5a0a-b160-f56629552392.html | 2022-08-17T07:17:36Z | wyomingnews.com | control | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/elections/most-incumbents-advance-in-state-county-and-city-races/article_148e9c98-f1d0-5a0a-b160-f56629552392.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Steven Stroud, a metal worker with 3rd Maintenance Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Group (Experimental), 3rd Marine Logistics Group, fires an M4 carbine during a table three through six and combat marksmanship program range at Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan, Aug. 16, 2022. The purpose of the range was to improve the battalion's organic combat marksmanship capabilities and to train the core position safety officers for subsequent company ranges. 3rd MLG based out of Okinawa, Japan, is a forward-deployed combat unit that serves as III Marine Expeditionary Force’s comprehensive logistics and combat service support backbone for operations throughout the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Sydni Jessee)
This work, 3rd Maintenance Battalion Conducts Table 3-6, Combat Marksmanship Range [Image 25 of 25], by LCpl Sydni Jessee, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright. | https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7373667/3rd-maintenance-battalion-conducts-table-3-6-combat-marksmanship-range | 2022-08-17T07:35:33Z | dvidshub.net | control | https://www.dvidshub.net/image/7373667/3rd-maintenance-battalion-conducts-table-3-6-combat-marksmanship-range | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Hello and welcome back to our season preview for Marquette women’s soccer! If you didn’t catch our rundown on everyone returning from last year’s squad for head coach Frank Pelaez, then scoot yourself over here and go do that. It’s important to get through that before reading this article, as we’re building off the returning players to see how the 10 newcomers on the roster this fall might fit in to what the Golden Eagles are doing on the field.
This is going to be one of our more interesting look at newcomers, as Pelaez and his staff are welcoming five freshmen to Milwaukee in addition to five transfers. Transfers in soccer are somewhat rare, most likely because most players are paying at least something to go to school wherever they are due to the NCAA’s equivalency scholarship rules. If you’re paying to go to school at College A, you have to take a good hard look at transferring to College B if it’s going to set you back in terms of losing credits you’ve already paid to take. As we’ll get into, most of these situations aren’t players taking their bonus year of eligibility due to COVID relief policies, they’re just players looking for a fresh start somewhere new.
Let’s get into it, as we have two forwards, six midfielders, and two defenders to chat about.
FORWARDS
All that discussion of transfers, and we start out with the position group that only adds two freshmen to the MU roster this fall. Go figure, huh?
Since we’re talking about forwards, I have to say that neither of MU’s newest attackers have particularly inspiring team bios hyping up their prep career accomplishments. Abby Ruhland (#12, 5’10”, Lakeville, MN) has the better of the two, noting that she had 12 goals and six assists as a senior at Lakeville North High School and ended up earning all-state honors. Neat! That’s also all that it says, even though she lettered in soccer for all four years of high school. Josie Bieda (#8, 5’9”, Downers Grove, IL) appears to have taken the somewhat common approach of not playing for her high school soccer team but instead focusing on her club team. Cool, I suppose, but when you’re a forward on the roster and your bio doesn’t say a single thing about how many points you accrued in your club career, I develop an eye twitch.
Marquette is kind of stacked up with quality returning forwards, so it might be hard for either Ruhland or Bieda to get onto the field much this season. With that said, Marquette does not have a clearly dominant offensive player, and if either of these women can show a nose for putting the ball in the net or putting it in front of someone who puts it in the net, there’s definitely a place for them on the field.
MIDFIELDERS
Let’s start with the transfers, since by default they’re the ones most likely to make an impact on the team immediately. You don’t transfer to just sit around and do nothing on game day, y’know?
We’ll lead off with Elizabeth Bueckers (#18, 5’7”, Milwaukee, WI), as she appears to have had the most productive collegiate career so far. In four seasons at IUPUI, she has tallied 19 goals and four assists while starting every single match since her sophomore year and 13 of 19 appearances in her freshman campaign, too. Bueckers was named to the Horizon League First Team in both of the seasons played in the 2021 calendar year, which is made more impressive by pointing out that the Jaguars went just 9-13-5 in that stretch. That’s how much the HL coaches liked what she brought to the table. Since this is her COVID bonus season of eligibility, I’d imagine that she’s looking to end things on a high note with the added bonus of getting to play in front of her friends and family on the regular.
Isabella Cook (#15, 5’3”, Elmhurst, IL) presents an interesting conundrum for figuring out what she’s going to be at Marquette. Coming into Tennessee, she was hailed as one of the top players in the country, ranking #24 amongst midfielders and #49 nationally in a top 150 recruiting list that IMG Academy put together. On top of that, Cook was part of Top Drawer Soccer’s Preseason All-Freshman Team. Things started out well, as she scored three goals and posted two assists while starting in 13 of the 18 matches she played. More of the same playing time followed in her sophomore year, although she logged just one assists. The 2021 fall season had Cook coming off the bench for all 14 of her appearances, and she was on the field for the Vols for just under 400 minutes total for the entire year. Curious, obviously, and so we wonder how she fits in to what Frank Pelaez wants to do.
Aislinn Boyle (#9, 5’6”, Burlington, Ontario) and Molly Keiper (#3, 5’5”, Whitefish Bay, WI) aren’t quite exactly in the same boat as each other, but they’re pretty close to that. Keiper went from the north Milwaukee suburbs to Villanova for her first year of college soccer, where she appeared in 15 matches and made four starts....but played less than 700 minutes for the Wildcats. When you record 51 goals and 31 assists and win a state title in high school and then can’t get on the field regularly for a 7-11-0 Villanova team AND THEN your coach resigns, yeah, you can see how maybe you want to transfer back home. Boyle ended up at Nebraska for her freshman year of college, and didn’t play a single second for the Cornhuskers as the team went 7-9-2. She doesn’t have the kind of prep credentials that Keiper does, perhaps merely because Canada’s prep soccer scene is wildly different that the one in the US, but you can get the idea as to why she was looking for a change of scenery.
Marquette isn’t particularly deep in experienced midfielders, at least not ones experienced at playing for Pelaez, so there’s likely to be quality opportunities to grab hold of playing time this season. That’s probably good news for the four transferring midfielders, but maybe not so much for the two freshmen. Neither Adrianna Alberts (#13, 5’9”, Brookfield, WI) nor Cate Downs (#17, 5’7”, Geneva, IL) have knock you over type information in their official Marquette bios, which could mean one of two things. The first is that they’re scoring midfielders who just didn’t actually do a lot of scoring in high school and on the club circuit... which would be not great. The other is much more optimistic, which is that they’re possession minded or perhaps even defensive midfielders, and thus the lack of eye-popping prep stats. As we talked about with the returning players, taking up a defensive role on the field could be a quick path to playing time for both Alberts and Downs if they’re up to the challenge.
DEFENDERS
And now we come to the most fascinating part of our tale today, as we have to talk about Katie Koker (#20, 5’5”, Racine, WI) and her pathway back to Wisconsin. I don’t just mean that because she’s a graduate of The Prairie School and is transferring to Marquette from Minnesota. No, the astute minded amongst you will be remembering Koker from her time with the Golden Eagles in 2018. She played in every match that season for then-head coach Markus Roeders, earning a spot in the starting lineup for 14 of them. Koker ended up seventh on the team amongst field players in minutes played and tallied a goal and an assist along the way. My memory of her is that while she didn’t quite fit into the physical template for a Roeders defender at just 5’5”, Koker was an active defender and more than up to what was being asked of her on the field. I’m not sure what prompted her transfer to Minnesota, but I’d imagine that MU’s 4-11-3 record in 2018 didn’t help. With the Gophers, she appeared in 24 contests and started 11 times across the 2019 and timeshifted 2020 season.... and then did not appear on the Minnesota roster in the fall of 2021.... perhaps because head coach Stefanie Golan left for the Missouri job.
If Koker is healthy and up to the performance level that she was at in 2018 for Marquette, then she can probably step right into a starting job for the Golden Eagles. That has more to do with Marquette having more than enough available playing time on the backline than anything else, of course. If not playing an organized match since April 2021 is going to have an impact on her fitness, well, it still makes Koker one of MU’s most experienced defenders on the roster anyway. We’ll have to wait and see. That’s a phrase we can attach to Erin O’Keefe (#2, 5’3”, Shrewsbury, MA) as well. Her Marquette bio gives her an incredible list of prep and club accolades before joining the Golden Eagles, and that’s good news given that Marquette needs talented defenders next to Bonnie Lacey this year. The question, of course, is how well can she defend at the collegiate level while standing just 5’3” tall? I’m not doubting her ability, after all, there’s a reason why Pelaez recruited her. It’s just not something you see very often, and to put it bluntly, having a larger physical presence is beneficial when playing defense because you just take up more space. If O’Keefe is one of MU’s best options on the backline, then so be it, because as we discussed yesterday, Marquette needs to be better defensively than they were in 2021. | https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2022/8/16/23286481/marquette-golden-eagles-womens-soccer-season-preview-newcomers-freshmen-transfers-koker-bueckers | 2022-08-17T07:36:29Z | anonymouseagle.com | control | https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2022/8/16/23286481/marquette-golden-eagles-womens-soccer-season-preview-newcomers-freshmen-transfers-koker-bueckers | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
UK inflation has soared to more than 10 per cent in a 40-year high, bringing further squeezes to ever-tightening household finances. It has risen to 10.1 per cent from 9.4 per cent in June and stands at five times the Bank of England's two per cent target.
It is rising at an even faster pace than expected and the official figures released on Wednesday morning (August 17) are the highest since February 1982, when inflation hit 10.2 per cent. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the biggest contributor to the rise was food costs, The Mirror reports.
Bread and cereals increased in price the most, followed by milk, cheese and eggs. Vegetables, meat, sugar, jam, honey, syrup, chocolate and confectionary all rose in price as well.
Read more: Bread and cereals increased in price the most, followed by milk, cheese and eggs
ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said: "Food prices rose notably, particularly bakery products, dairy, meat and vegetables, which was also reflected in higher takeaway prices.
"Price rises in other staple items, such as pet food, toilet rolls, toothbrushes and deodorants also pushed up inflation in July. Driven by higher demand, the price for package holidays rose, after falling at the same time last year, while air fares also increased.
"The cost of both raw materials and goods leaving factories continued to rise, driven by the price of metals and food respectively." It is feared inflation could rise even further to 13.3 per cent in October, with the UK expected to plunge into a recession.
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- Boyfriend of tragic soldier dies just weeks after her death at army base | https://www.kentlive.news/news/uk-world-news/inflation-soars-new-40-year-7473708 | 2022-08-17T07:36:29Z | kentlive.news | control | https://www.kentlive.news/news/uk-world-news/inflation-soars-new-40-year-7473708 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Well, someone in the Big East loves Ryan Theis’ ability to coach volleyball much more than I expected.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Big East released the results of the preseason poll of the league’s coaches in women’s volleyball. As expected, Creighton is the preseason favorite in the league. They have the preseason Player of the Year in outside hitter Norah Sis and three of the 12 women — a full one-quarter! — on the preseason all-conference team.
The surprise doesn’t kick in at second place, which is where YOUR Marquette Golden Eagles turn up. While I don’t agree necessarily in putting the Golden Eagles second given how little offense they return from last season, I’m not going to fault anyone who voted them into their seemingly traditional second place spot behind Creighton. Can’t even fault CU head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth for voting MU at the top of the league, since she can’t vote for her own team.
HOWEVER
Someone who is not KBB voted Marquette in first place, as the Golden Eagles snagged not one, but two first place votes to come in just nine points behind the Bluejays.
1 - Creighton, 99 points (9 first place votes)
2 - Marquette, 90 (2)
3 - DePaul, 72
4 - Connecticut, 71
5 - St. John’s, 66
6 - Villanova, 54
7 - Butler, 47
8 - Xavier, 42
T9 - Georgetown, 25
T9 - Providence, 25
11 - Seton Hall, 14
Someone — presumably the same someone who shamefully did not vote for Creighton’s Jaela Zimmerman or Kendra Wait on the all-conference team even with 12 spots available — has Marquette in front of Creighton heading into the season. Marquette, who loses both sides of their setter rotation and all of their top three attackers from last season, is better in this coach’s mind than Creighton, who returns two of the top three attackers in the league last year and the most prolific setter in the league and returns five of their top seven attackers from a team that went 31-4 overall and 16-2 in the league to tie with Marquette for the regular season title a year ago.
I don’t see it, and I don’t know what this coach sees, either. Sure, it’s a huge compliment to MU head coach Ryan Theis to say “yeah, your teams keep winning no matter what, I trust you to figure this year’s roster out and dethrone the Bluejays.” Can’t knock someone for having that much confidence in Theis...... but that doesn’t mean I can’t possibly see how you can actually justify it through logic and reason.
Heck, Marquette lost so much from last season that I picked Marquette to finish third in my preseason picks. Then again, I have MU behind UConn, and the coaches collectively put the Huskies in fourth, so what do I know?
As for the all-conference team, Marquette does have one representative on the 12 woman roster. That’s junior middle blocker Carsen Murray. While she’s not MU’s leading returning attacker from last season, Murray is still definitely deserving of the honor when you extend the all-conference team out to twice as many players can get on the court at once. Here’s the Marquette write up on her accolades:
Murray started all 32 matches last season at middle blocker while leading the squad with a .336 hitting percentage. She also notched 95 blocks for an average of 0.86 per frame and posted 169 kills (1.54 per set). The native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri finished second in the conference in hitting percentage in 2021 and was recognized as the league’s defensive player of the week on Oct. 4 after helping MU to wins over UConn and DePaul. She also earned all-tournament recognition at the Red & White Invitational on Sept. 3-5 for her play in wins over Illinois State, Ohio and UIC.
Creighton and Connecticut are the only two teams in the Big East to put multiple players onto the preseason all-conference team. Seton Hall and Xavier are the only two teams that don’t have anyone honored on the all-league team to start the year. Here’s the full list, with asterisks noting the unanimous choices:
Jaymeson Kinley, Butler, Jr., L
Kennadie Jake-Turner, Connecticut, Grad, MB
Caylee Parker, Connecticut, Grad, OH*
Norah Sis, Creighton, So., OH*
Kendra Wait, Creighton, So., S
Jaela Zimmerman, Creighton, Sr., OH
Jill Pressly, DePaul, Jr., OH*
Carsen Murray, Marquette, Jr., MB
Shaliyah Rhoden, Providence, So., OH
Rachele Rastelli, St. John’s, Grad., RS*
Riley Homer, Villanova, Jr., OH*
Carrigan O’Reilly, Xavier, Sr., S
All seven — six on the floor plus a libero — of my picks for an all-Big East team are on this list, and three of my picks ended up as unanimous choices. One of the five I didn’t have at all is Rachele Rastelli, and that one is completely on St. John’s for the error on someone that was on the ballot of every single coach in the league. Had the Johnnies put up a roster before late July, I wouldn’t have had to guess that last year’s Big East Co-Player of the Year wasn’t on the roster after going through Senior Day festivities last fall. Feels like I can’t be blamed for messing that up.
I also have to say that I’m completely shocked by Villanova’s Riley Homer being on every single ballot. Not that she didn’t deserve to be top 12 right now after finishing 7th in the Big East last season in kills per set.... it’s just that at least one coach voted for Homer but did not vote for Creighton’s Jaela Zimmerman who was third in kills.. If you go by points, Zimmerman was actually more integral to the Bluejays last season, beating out Sis 4.30 to 4.25 per set. But she got left off a ballot. Again, I presume this is the coach that has Marquette in first place, but that’s still insane if you’re picking a 12 woman team.
You can check out the entire Big East press release right here. | https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2022/8/16/23309054/marquette-golden-eagles-volleyball-big-east-preseason-poll-voting-carsen-murray | 2022-08-17T07:36:33Z | anonymouseagle.com | control | https://www.anonymouseagle.com/2022/8/16/23309054/marquette-golden-eagles-volleyball-big-east-preseason-poll-voting-carsen-murray | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
SPOKANE, Wash. — Warning: The following story contains disturbing accounts of alleged sexual assault from court documents. Reader discretion is advised.
In October of 2019, a man walked into the public safety building to report that his daughter had been raped by a Spokane police officer.
That woman called 911 earlier that month, saying her boyfriend tried to strangle her. According to court documents, former officer Nathan Nash responded to the call and followed up a week later, saying he needed to "document her injuries."
Court documents say the victim was alone in her apartment when she lowered her pants to show Nash her bruises. The woman says that's when she was sexually assaulted.
Nash was put on administrative leave before being arrested nearly a month later in November 2019, charged with second-degree rape and two counts of misconduct. The following day, he was released from jail without bond.
Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl provided a statement shortly after Nash's arrest saying the alleged conduct is completely unacceptable.
Fast forward to August 2021, Nash is arrested again after a second victim comes forward. According to court documents, the victim called police after being assaulted by her neighbor. Nash investigated the crime and, according to court documents, told the victim he needed to take pictures of her injuries and asked her to put on a dress.
The woman said she was raped and also told police that days after the sexual assault, she had consensual sex with Nash. According to documents, the woman identified as being disabled, having a learning disability and reported suffering PTSD and trauma from the rape.
Nash posted a $50,000 bond and was once again released from custody in Aug. 2021. Now, a year later, his trial begins.
Nash was hired by Spokane police in 2018. Prior to that, he spent 13 years with a federal law enforcement agency. He continues to deny the charges against him. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
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To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com. | https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/timeline-former-spokane-police-officers-sexual-assault-trial/293-70ab9f68-3684-4500-be0e-ffff76df07f9 | 2022-08-17T07:37:04Z | krem.com | control | https://www.krem.com/article/news/crime/timeline-former-spokane-police-officers-sexual-assault-trial/293-70ab9f68-3684-4500-be0e-ffff76df07f9 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Child found in hot car dies in Fort Smith
A child found in a hot car died Tuesday after being rushed to a Fort Smith hospital, police said.
About 2:10 p.m. Tuesday, police went to a hospital to take a report about the death of a child. Officers were told the child had been left in a car.
A person reportedly broke a window to free the child from the car parked in the driveway of a home in the 3600 block of Boone Avenue on the north side of the city near Midland Boulevard and Spradling Avenue, police said.
The person took the child to a hospital, but the child was pronounced dead at the hospital.
About 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, neighbors, friends and family members gathered on the lawn of the brick, single-story home as investigators worked. People in the yard did not want to talk to reporters.
Police did not release the age of the child who died.
The investigation was continuing into what happened Tuesday afternoon. | https://www.swtimes.com/story/news/2022/08/16/fort-smith-police-investigating-death-child-hot-car/10343025002/ | 2022-08-17T07:41:38Z | swtimes.com | control | https://www.swtimes.com/story/news/2022/08/16/fort-smith-police-investigating-death-child-hot-car/10343025002/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Price at the pump drops for Arkansas motorists
Average gas prices down to $3.46 a gallon in Arkansas
What a difference a month makes.
Gas prices in Fort Smith and the rest of Arkansas have dropped as the end of the summer travel season nears.
The average cost in Sebastian County Tuesday was $3.52 for a gallon of regular unleaded. The statewide Arkansas average was $3.46 while the U.S. average fell to $3.94 a gallon, according to AAA gas price.
Fort Smith prices dropped. The price was $3.37 a gallon at a Rogers Avenue station near S. 46th Street Tuesday.
Across Fort Smith, the average price per gallon Tuesday was $3.51. That was 14 cents less than the previous week of $3.64.
Prices in the River Valley peaked before the July 4 holiday weekend.
The statewide gas price average of $4.50 on June 10 for a gallon of regular unleaded fuel was a new record high, according to the AAA Arkansas.
That price in June was $1.73 more per gallon compared to last year.
In Oklahoma on Tuesday, Aug. 16, the average price was $3.51 a gallon. It was $3.63 a gallon in Le Flore County and $3.55 in Sequoyah County.
In Arkansas, the average Tuesday in Crawford County was $3.49; Franklin County, $3.50; Logan County, $3.58; and Scott County, $3.44. | https://www.swtimes.com/story/news/2022/08/16/gas-prices-drop-end-summer-travel-season-nears/10336505002/ | 2022-08-17T07:41:44Z | swtimes.com | control | https://www.swtimes.com/story/news/2022/08/16/gas-prices-drop-end-summer-travel-season-nears/10336505002/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
BEIJING, Aug. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday afternoon inspected the city of Jinzhou, northeast China's Liaoning Province, stressing importance of accelerating industrial restructuring and taking solid measures for flood control.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, paid a visit to the Liaoshen Campaign Memorial to review the history of the Chinese People's War of Liberation in northeast China.
During his inspection in Donghu Forest Park, Xi told the local people that China's modernization is one that is meant to achieve common prosperity for everyone, not just for a few people.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee has implemented the strategy of deepening the revitalization of northeast China, urging people to continue to accelerate industrial restructuring, and meet the requirements of reform and development in the new era.
During his inspection tour of two local rivers to see the comprehensive environmental improvement there, Xi listened to the report on flood control and disaster relief in Liaoning this year, and asked the local authorities at all levels to take solid measures for flood control and disaster relief, make sure to put them in place, properly allocate the people affected by floods, ensure the safety of people's lives, make plans for post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, and help the affected people return to normal work and life as soon as possible.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHo2bS4neEE
View original content to download multimedia:
SOURCE CCTV+ | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/cctv-xi-visits-northeast-chinas-liaoning-stressing-industrial-restructuring-flood-control/ | 2022-08-17T07:42:20Z | wbko.com | control | https://www.wbko.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/cctv-xi-visits-northeast-chinas-liaoning-stressing-industrial-restructuring-flood-control/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The NASCAR Pinty’s Series went dirt track racing for the first time at Ohsweken Speedway on Tuesday, an event won by Treyten Lapcevich in a last-lap overtime battle with NASCAR Camping World Truck Series regular Stewart Friesen.
Lapcevich started fifth and led the field for 53 circuits en route to his second career victory in the series and second of the year. The 18-year-old from Grimsby, ON, scored his first career victory in the season opener at Sunset Speedway back in May.
“It was an awesome night. I’m happy we were able to get it done,” said Lapcevich after the race on FloRacing. “With all those restarts I was getting a little nervous as it’s not easy having Stewart Friesen on your heels.”
Lapcevich also praised Ohsweken Speedway and owner Glenn Styres for the event put on Tuesday. The track has two years left on its three-year agreement with the NASCAR Pinty’s Series.
“I also just gotta say a big thank you to Glenn Styres and Ohsweken Speedway for making this happen!” said the race winner after finishing his victory interview with television. “I think most of the series was leery when we heard we were going on dirt, but this was a blast, and can’t wait to do it for the years to come!”
Camping World Truck Series regular Stewart Friesen battled Lapcevich on the final lap, even clearing Lapcevich in turn three for the lead before Lapcevich re-took the top spot in four. Friesen takes home the second spot sitting 0.219 seconds behind the winner in his Pinty’s debut.
“It was awesome for team 22,” said Friesen. “He (laughing) did everything he needed to do and probably a little bit more but it is what it is. I knew if I could just control his exit a little bit off of two and off of four we could inch ahead. We were until he crossed me up and it was what it was. Wild finish. Pretty cool to have an awesome finish here!”
Jake Sheridan finishes third behind the wheel of the No. 64 Chevrolet in a car that was supposed to be driven by NASCAR Cup Series regular Christopher Bell. Bell couldn’t make the trip to Canada due to travel issues.
Sheridan, also making his Pinty’s series debut, started 10th.
Pole sitter Marc-Antoine Camirand, who led 48 of the 101 completed laps in the overtime event, and Alex Tagliani rounded out the top five finishers.
D.J. Kennington, Andrew Ranger, Ken Schrader, Gary Klutt, and Brandon Watson took home top 10 finishes.
Camirand and Kennington are tied in the driver points standings leaving the event. Lapcevich, Tagliani and Lacroix hold down the top five in the standings through 10 events.
The race featured 11 cautions and had an elapsed time of 1hr, 33 minutes, and 54 seconds.
The next event for the NASCAR Pinty’s Series will be at Circuit Icar on August 27th. | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/racing-news/72115-nps-treyten-lapcevich-wins-first-ever-nascar-pinty-s-event-on-dirt-at-ohsweken-speedway | 2022-08-17T07:51:18Z | speedwaydigest.com | control | https://www.speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/racing-news/72115-nps-treyten-lapcevich-wins-first-ever-nascar-pinty-s-event-on-dirt-at-ohsweken-speedway | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Actor Nazriya Fahadh, who was last seen in Anta Sundaraniki, a romantic comedy opposite actor Nani, recently took to Instagram hitting out against the services of the Thai airways.
In her post, she said that she would never be taking Thai airways again due to the bad experience she faced from the airline and staff.
She also said she has never under gone a similar experience till date flying other airlines. As per the post, the actor's bag went missing during the flight. However, when she reached out to the staff, they did not care enough.
'@thaiairways the worst! I've never had such an awful experience with an airline n staffs. missing bags n when you try to reach for help, they really don't care . Never taking the amazing @thaiairways in my life again :)," she wrote in her Instagram story.
Recently, the actor had posted a couple of pics celebrating Fahadh's 40th birthday with the couple's friends. Nazriya received rave reviews for her performance in her Telugu debut 'Anta Sundaraniki, though the film did not do very well in the box office. She has not yet revealed if she will soon be part of any upcoming projects. | https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2022/08/17/actor-nazriya-thai-airways-flight-service-bad-experience.html | 2022-08-17T07:55:27Z | onmanorama.com | control | https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2022/08/17/actor-nazriya-thai-airways-flight-service-bad-experience.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Mumbai: On a day when the media was invited to a screening of his directorial, the mystery drama 'Dobaaraa', Anurag Kashyap did what Aamir Khan is famous for doing -- let everyone know that he's still good friends with his ex-wives. 'Dobaaraa' is awaiting its big-screen release on August 19.
Kashyap posted a happy picture on Instagram of him with his two ex-wives: Aarti Bajaj, the film editor whom he was married to between 2003 and 2009, and Kalki Koechlin, the actress and author who made her Bollywood debut with his 2009 film, 'Dev D'. He called them his "two pillars", to which his daughter Aaliyah responded with one telling word: "Iconic".
Kashyap, as Aaliyah told the world, had a happy Sunday brunch with Aarti, who, incidentally, is the editor of 'Dobaaraa' and has been associated with her ex-husband since the time he made his first film -- the short thriller 'Last Train to Mahakali' for Star Plus -- in 1999. Among the many projects the two have worked on together, 'Sacred Games' is the more notable recent collaboration.
Kalki most recently worked with Kashyap on the second season of 'Sacred Games'. They married in 2011, separated in 2013 and divorced in 2015.
Thereafter, Kalki married her Israeli boyfriend, Guy Hershberg, and in 2020, they had a daughter they named Sappho. She has recounted her experience of being pregnant and then becoming a first-time parent in her delectably funny book, 'The Elephant in the Womb'.
Another of Kashyap's 'Sacred Games' associates, Kubbra Sait, meanwhile, took to Twitter to give a glowing review to 'Dobaaraa', calling it "a mad mad maddddd film".
Kubbra wrote: "It's crazy ... and blew me away with a gripping storyline and the performances. A film that kept me on the edge of my seat till the last moment."
Will that be how audiences will respond to 'Dobaaraa' at a time when even Aamir Khan's much-hyped 'Laal Singh Chaddha' did not get crowds even on an extended holiday weekend? And will it end its main star Taapsee Pannu's long dry spell at the box office? That, as they say, time will only tell. | https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2022/08/17/anurag-kashyap-aarti-bajaj-kalki-koechlin-happy-picture-post.html | 2022-08-17T07:55:40Z | onmanorama.com | control | https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2022/08/17/anurag-kashyap-aarti-bajaj-kalki-koechlin-happy-picture-post.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Actor Mammootty, who arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday to shoot for the Netflix anthology based on M T Vasudevan Nair's short stories, is expected to spend three days in the island nation, as per reports.
Mammooty will be seen in 'Kadugannawa Oru Yathra', the last story in the 10-part anthology series. The story is being helmed by director Renjith.
According to local newspapers, Mammootty will spend three days in Sri Lanka and the film will be shot in popular sites in Sri Lanka, including Kandy and Kadugannawa. Kandy, is famous for its Buddhist sites and is one of the most popular tourist spots in the country. The Kandy lake is known for its scenic beauty.
Kadugannawa reportedly boasts of a tunnel which passes between Kegalle valley and Kandy valley. It has a rich history. The story was written by M T Vasudevan Nair, who had visited the country several years ago. Mammootty plays P K Venugopal, who is in search of a girl whom he had befriended when he was a child.
Though Lijo Jose Pellissery initially planned to direct the movie, he had to back out since he was busy with several other projects, including Nanpakak Nerathu, starring Mammootty himself.
After his arrival in Sri Lanka, Mammooty called on legendary cricketer Jayasuriya who was recently appointed Lanka's tourism ambassador amid the unprecedented turmoil the island nation has been witnessing following an economic crisis. | https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2022/08/17/mammootty-sri-lanka-visit-film-schedule-kadugannawa-oru-yathra.html | 2022-08-17T07:55:54Z | onmanorama.com | control | https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2022/08/17/mammootty-sri-lanka-visit-film-schedule-kadugannawa-oru-yathra.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
KENNEWICK, Wash -
NBC is partnering with local animal shelters for 'Clear the Shelters' for the entire month of August.
Benton Franklin Humane Society is seeing the influx of people coming to make adoptions empty out some of their cages.
Executive Director of BFHS Autumn White says the amount have pets being adopted has been standard, but they have seen more people coming in during the week to adopt.
"We moved about 12 to 15 cats and dogs over the last weekend which is currently a standard adoption weekend, but we're seeing people coming in during the week," says White. "This has helped open up space for those animals who are waiting to come in. We do have a waitlist of about 100 animals."
The slight increase in adoptions has helped give more animals a chance to find their forever home, but there is still plenty more adoptions to be made.
White tells me the public is pretty understanding when it comes to turning away the pets being given to the shelter.
"Most people know that we are pretty full so putting them on a waitlist isn't too much of a surprise," say White. "We give them other alternatives through social media, recommend other shelters even give them what they need to foster their own pet essentially until we have room for it here at the shelter."
White tells me they offer whatever resources might be needed to help you keep your pet temporarily until the shelter has room to take it.
"What can we do to help you keep your pet? Do you need some food, do you need a vaccination, something in that line we can help you keep your pet as well," says White. "We want to give your pet the same amount of time for adoption as the ones we currently have in here."
White also mentions the animals in the shelter are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and come with an ID tag and a collar. Dogs come with a leash and cats come with a litter box.
White says, "The pets come with a sort of starter package to help you feel prepared to bring them home."
White says if you can't adopt, but still want to help, you can volunteer or make donations.
"Donations are always accepted especially right now for our free food bank or blankets and towels," says White. "The necessities that puppies and kittens go through daily." | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/clear_the_shelters/clear-the-shelters-benton-franklin-humane-society/article_a13744e2-1de4-11ed-a202-2ba9c0cd89fc.html | 2022-08-17T08:07:43Z | nbcrightnow.com | control | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/clear_the_shelters/clear-the-shelters-benton-franklin-humane-society/article_a13744e2-1de4-11ed-a202-2ba9c0cd89fc.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
YAKIMA, Wash. — A memorial will be held August 17 in honor of officers who died in 2021, an annual remembrance that will include a police officer from the Yakima Police Department for the first time ever this year.
Sergeant Joe Deccio died in August 2021 after having a medical emergency and collapsing at work. A fellow officer took him to the hospital.
The Yakima Police Department will honor Deccio and other fallen officers at 6 p.m. on August 17, a change from the normal remembrance held during Police Week. In honor of Sergeant Deccio’s death, YPD moved the memorial to August this year.
Everyone really misses Deccio, according to Captain Shawn Boyle, who was a close friend of Deccio’s. He said they had a good friendship outside of work and would joke around often.
“He’s missed by the organization, especially family, and we appreciate everything he did for all of us,” said Boyle.
The memorial will also honor Deccio’s family and recognize his accomplishments at the department. You can watch the memorial online starting at 6 p.m., or in person at the West Side Church on Summitview Avenue. | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/yakima-police-hold-memorial-for-officer-who-died-on-the-job/article_1b8028ea-1def-11ed-a4b4-e34a135a8052.html | 2022-08-17T08:07:49Z | nbcrightnow.com | control | https://www.nbcrightnow.com/news/yakima-police-hold-memorial-for-officer-who-died-on-the-job/article_1b8028ea-1def-11ed-a4b4-e34a135a8052.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Airline giant American Airlines, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAL) has revealed that the company has agreed to buy 20 ultra-fast planes from the aerospace startup Boom Supersonic. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The shares of American Airlines were up 1.1% to close at $15.50 during normal trading hours.
American Airlines is Optimistic About Ultra-Fast Planes
The airline company remains bullish about the prospects of ultra-fast planes in the future as they are expected to travel at a speed twice as fast as commercial planes can fly today. In fact, Boom expects its Overture aircraft to fly over 600 routes in half the time commercial planes take and at prices comparable to current business-class prices.
Notably, American Airlines has deposited a non-refundable sum for the initial purchase of these 20 aircraft, with options to purchase 40 more.
Meanwhile, American Airlines joins its competitor, United Airlines (UAL), in ordering Boom’s Overture planes. Last year, United ordered 15 Boom Overture jets.
Is American Airlines a Good Stock to Buy?
Top investors seem convinced about the company’s prospects and are loading up on its stock.
TipRanks’ Stock Investors tool shows that top investors currently have a Very Positive stance on AAL. Further, 14.3% of the top portfolios tracked by TipRanks, increased their exposure to AAL stock over the past 30 days.
Overall, the consensus among analysts for American Airlines stock is a Hold based on seven Holds and two Sells. The AAL average price target of $15.25 implies a downside potential of 1.6% from current levels. Shares have declined 19.9% over the past year.
Key Takeaways
The airline industry has revived its interest in supersonic travel speed. American Airlines’ move to fortify its ultra-fast plane fleet is in line with the industry’s recent trend. The company is confident that these ultra-fast planes will result in shorter travel times for customers at cost-effective rates.
Read full Disclosure | https://www.tipranks.com/news/american-airlines-aims-to-strengthen-its-fleet-of-ultra-fast-aircraft | 2022-08-17T08:18:16Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/american-airlines-aims-to-strengthen-its-fleet-of-ultra-fast-aircraft | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Apple (AAPL) has laid off about 100 contract workers as it slows new hires and spending. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reports that the tech giant let go of contract-based recruiters. Apple stock fell a tad bit by 0.09% after the news.
Apple Targets Contractual Workers
The company employs contract workers for technical support and customer service tasks. Contractors are also tasked with localizing products and improving the mapping service. Unlike full-time workers, contract workers receive fewer benefits and have fewer protections.
Apple has retained recruiters who were full-time employees. Additionally, it did not fire all of its contractors. Terminated workers were to receive pay and medical benefits for two weeks. The layoffs affected workers across many regions, including the company’s offices in Texas and Singapore.
The tech giant is moving slowly with new hires after years of staffing up. It currently employs more than 150,000 people. However, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook has already confirmed that the iPhone maker intends to be more deliberate in its spending even as it invests in new areas.
The iPhone maker is not the only one to slow down new hires. Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Oracle (ORCL) are some of the companies that have suspended new hires. The pause is in response to a slowdown in tech spending.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell Now?
Yesterday, Credit Suisse analyst Sami Badri upgraded Apple stock to a Buy from a Hold. The analyst has an Apple target price of $201, implying 16.16% upside potential to current levels. According to the analyst, Apple’s services and software offerings are well positioned to enjoy increased adoption. Backed by a 1.8 billion base of installed devices, the company should benefit from stickier customer relationships. A large cash balance also leaves the company in a good position to pursue organic investments.
The Street is optimistic about the stock, with a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 23 Buys, four Holds, and one Sell. The average Apple price target of $182.07 implies 5.2% upside potential from current levels.
Key Takeaway for Investors
Apple laying off contractual workers underscores its focus on keeping operating costs low amid a challenging macro environment. Consequently, it should be able to bolster its margins. The company’s assurance that it will be deliberate on new hires should avert any concerns about future investments.
Read the full Disclosure | https://www.tipranks.com/news/apple-stock-remains-undaunted-amid-contractual-recruiters-layoff | 2022-08-17T08:18:22Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/apple-stock-remains-undaunted-amid-contractual-recruiters-layoff | 0 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | 1 |
Apple (AAPL) has laid off about 100 contract workers as it slows new hires and spending. Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg reports that the tech giant let go of contract-based recruiters. Apple stock fell a tad bit by 0.09% after the news.
Apple Targets Contractual Workers
The company employs contract workers for technical support and customer service tasks. Contractors are also tasked with localizing products and improving the mapping service. Unlike full-time workers, contract workers receive fewer benefits and have fewer protections.
Apple has retained recruiters who were full-time employees. Additionally, it did not fire all of its contractors. Terminated workers were to receive pay and medical benefits for two weeks. The layoffs affected workers across many regions, including the company’s offices in Texas and Singapore.
The tech giant is moving slowly with new hires after years of staffing up. It currently employs more than 150,000 people. However, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook has already confirmed that the iPhone maker intends to be more deliberate in its spending even as it invests in new areas.
The iPhone maker is not the only one to slow down new hires. Meta Platforms (META), Tesla (TSLA), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), and Oracle (ORCL) are some of the companies that have suspended new hires. The pause is in response to a slowdown in tech spending.
Is Apple a Buy or Sell Now?
Yesterday, Credit Suisse analyst Sami Badri upgraded Apple stock to a Buy from a Hold. The analyst has an Apple target price of $201, implying 16.16% upside potential to current levels. According to the analyst, Apple’s services and software offerings are well positioned to enjoy increased adoption. Backed by a 1.8 billion base of installed devices, the company should benefit from stickier customer relationships. A large cash balance also leaves the company in a good position to pursue organic investments.
The Street is optimistic about the stock, with a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on 23 Buys, four Holds, and one Sell. The average Apple price target of $182.07 implies 5.2% upside potential from current levels.
Key Takeaway for Investors
Apple laying off contractual workers underscores its focus on keeping operating costs low amid a challenging macro environment. Consequently, it should be able to bolster its margins. The company’s assurance that it will be deliberate on new hires should avert any concerns about future investments.
Read the full Disclosure | https://www.tipranks.com/news/apple-stock-remains-undaunted-amid-contractual-recruiters-layoff | 2022-08-17T08:18:22Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/apple-stock-remains-undaunted-amid-contractual-recruiters-layoff | 1 | 0 | green-iguana-35 | 1 |
Cyber attacks have been on the rise amid increasing digitization and the rapid transition to the cloud. As per Check Point (CHKP), the average weekly cyber attacks increased 32% year-over-year globally in the second quarter of 2022. Also, ransomware impacted one out of 40 organizations worldwide in Q2. While macro challenges are expected to impact IT spending, spending on cybersecurity is expected to be more resilient than other categories. With this backdrop, we used the TipRanks Stock Comparison tool to place Zscaler, Palo Alto, and CrowdStrike against each other to pick the most attractive cybersecurity stock.
We’ll look at the analysts’ outlook for these stocks as these companies are scheduled to report their results in the weeks ahead.
Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS)
Zscaler is one of the leading players in the zero-trust security space, with its Security Service Edge (SSE)-based Zero Trust Exchange product distributed in over 150 data centers worldwide.
Zscaler’s revenue grew 63% to $287 million in the third quarter of Fiscal 2022 (ended April 30, 2022). Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increased by 13% to $0.17. The company’s market-beating results reflected solid demand for its cloud-native Zero-Trust platform.
It’s worth noting that Zscaler’s dollar-based net retention rate has exceeded 125% for the past six quarters. The net retention rate reflects the company’s ability to retain and expand the recurring revenue from its existing customers. What’s more, Zscaler continues to focus on acquiring business from large enterprises. At the end of fiscal Q3, the number of customers contributing annual recurring revenue (ARR) of over $1 million increased 77% to 288 customers.
Zscaler is expected to report its fiscal fourth quarter results on September 8. Analysts expect the company’s adjusted EPS to rise 50% year-over-year to $0.21.
Last week, Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci initiated coverage of Zscaler with a Buy rating and a price target of $233. DiFucci is confident that Zscaler will deliver Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $5 billion in just over four years. The analyst sees upside potential to revenue consensus estimates, both in the near-term and long-term, with or without the inclusion of revenue from the recently launched products or future launches.
All in all, Zscaler scores a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 20 Buys and three Holds. At $208.18, the average Zscaler stock price prediction implies 16.56% upside potential from current levels.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW)
Palo Alto has rapidly evolved from an on-site firewall provider to a company offering a suite of cybersecurity solutions across the cloud, networks, and mobile devices.
Palo Alto’s revenue for Q3 FY22 surged 29% to $1.39 billion, with billings rising 40%. Adjusted EPS grew 30% to $1.79 as the company’s productivity efforts helped it mitigate the impact of higher costs. The company raised its full-year guidance following its stellar Q3 performance.
Palo Alto continued to win large contracts in Q3, with the number of million-dollar-deals signed in the quarter increasing 65% year-over-year. Also, the number of $5 million deals grew 73%.
Palo Alto will announce its fiscal fourth quarter results on August 22. Back in May, the company guided for Q4 revenue growth in the range of 25% to 27%. Further, it expects adjusted EPS between $2.26 and $2.29. Wall Street analysts expect Palo Alto’s Q4 adjusted EPS to come in at $2.28, up 42.5% year-over-year.
Earlier this month, Wolfe Research analyst Joshua Tilton initiated coverage of Palo Alto with a Buy rating and a price target of $700. Tilton stated that Palo Alto stock is a “consensus long as investors look to hide out in security names that can deliver both growth and free cash flow margins at an attractive valuation.”
Tilton finds Palo Alto stock attractive at current valuation levels. The analyst believes that the company is “so much more than just firewall, and it’s not getting credit for it.”
Overall, the Street has a Strong Buy consensus rating on Palo Alto stock based on 23 Buys and one Hold. The average Palo Alto price target of $630.63 implies 20.22% upside potential from current levels.
CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ: CRWD)
CrowdStrike is a leading cloud-native cybersecurity company that delivers endpoint and workload protection through its Falcon platform.
For the first quarter of Fiscal 2023 (ended April 30, 2022), CrowdStrike’s revenue surged 61% to $488 million. Adjusted EPS jumped 210% to $0.31. The company ended the quarter with an ARR of $1.92 billion, up 61% year-over-year.
CrowdStrike is scheduled to announce its fiscal second-quarter results on August 30. Analysts expect the company’s adjusted EPS to come in at $0.28. Meanwhile, the company’s guidance indicates Q2 adjusted EPS in the range of $0.27 to $0.28, compared to $0.11 in the prior-year quarter.
Recently, Stifel analyst Brad Reback completed an annual survey of CrowdStrike’s customer base, which included nearly 50 enterprises of different sizes.
Based on the survey, Beck concluded that customers were “very satisfied” with CrowdStrike’s product portfolio and a major chunk of the respondents expect to boost their spending on the company’s products in the upcoming quarters or years.
Beck stated that the annual survey strengthened his “confidence in CrowdStrike’s multi-module adoption trajectory” and the rising demand for the company’s products for endpoint security and non-traditional workloads, mainly cloud.
In line with his bullish thesis, Beck raised his price target on CrowdStrike stock to $220 from $205 and maintained a Buy rating.
Other analysts also agree with Beck, with CrowdStrike scoring a Strong Buy consensus rating based on an impressive 22 unanimous Buys. The average CRWD price target of $230.41 suggests 14.97% upside potential from current levels.
Conclusion
Despite a tough macro backdrop, Wall Street analysts are bullish on Zscaler, Palo Alto, and CrowdStrike due to the solid demand for cybersecurity solutions. So far this year, Palo Alto and CrowdStrike stocks have fared better than Zscaler. Currently, analysts see slightly higher upside potential in Palo Alto stock. | https://www.tipranks.com/news/article/ahead-of-earnings-which-is-the-best-cybersecurity-stock | 2022-08-17T08:18:28Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/article/ahead-of-earnings-which-is-the-best-cybersecurity-stock | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Once touted as the next Tesla (TSLA), Rivian Automotive (RIVN) ran out of steam. Its shares have fallen off the cliff since the beginning of 2022, owing to multiple macroeconomic factors and internal issues. It recently delivered a mixed bag in its second quarter, and it seems to have a long way to go towards profitability. It’s best to tread with caution with RIVN stock. Hence we are neutral on RIVN stock.
Rivian’s investors have been on a rollercoaster run since its IPO. With a massive IPO, the EV pure-play was able to build its cash war chest and switch on the afterburners with its production.
However, production troubles and the resultant low volumes have resulted in massive losses for the company. Though its order backlog remains impressive, the tough supply-chain environment worries us. If it nails its objectives, we could be looking at the next EV juggernaut, but it still has lots to do.
Rivian’s Positive Trait — Impressive Top-Line Growth
Rivian’s stock fell after earnings despite posting $364 million in sales during the second quarter, comfortably beating analyst estimates of $338 million. Moreover, its sales increased by $95 million sequentially, as the enterprise delivered close to 4,470 vehicles in the second quarter, a massive bump from just 1,230 in the first quarter.
Demand shouldn’t be much of a problem, as the company boasted 98,000 pre-orders of its R1 pickup truck. Moreover, it also has 100,000 delivery vans ordered by Amazon (AMZN).
One of the most encouraging aspects of Rivian’s second quarter was that it maintained its 25,000 production forecast. On top of that, it ended with a quarter with close to $15.5 billion in cash, excluding its borrowing capacity. With its robust financial position, the company is confident that it will launch its R2 platform in 2025.
However, it’s been burning cash at a fast pace. It burnt through a whopping $1.6 billion in cash in the second quarter alone. Therefore, there’s no guarantee that the firm won’t run out of capital.
Rivian’s Negative Trait — Huge Net Losses
During the second quarter, Rivian experienced a hefty net loss of $1.7 billion as it continued to ramp up spending to expand its operations. Moreover, its GAAP net loss came in at ~$4.70 for every dollar of sales recorded, so there’s a long and winding road ahead toward profitability.
The rapid growth in operating expenses has been a major problem for Rivian. During the second quarter alone, it lost $1.7 billion, $116 million more than the first quarter. Additionally, future investments and inflationary pressures will continue to pressure the company’s bottom line.
Moreover, its management has cut adjusted EBITDA guidance by a substantial $700 million due to high inflation rates, supply-chain issues, and greater-than-expected expenses. Hence, its adjusted EBITDA is expected to come in at a negative $5.45 billion for 2022.
Furthermore, headwinds from the new climate and energy plan introduced by the U.S. government could be a major cause for concern for RIVN. The prerequisites for a $7,500 tax credit have become more stringent, which should hurt RIVN.
According to the company’s head of customer engagement, “an electric pickup truck or SUV must be priced below $80,000, and the buyer must fall below certain income thresholds to qualify”. In terms of income requirements, an individual income-earner must make less than $150,000. Hence, those interested in purchasing a Rivian car will likely see its tax credit disappear.
Is Rivian Stock Expected to Go Up?
Turning to Wall Street, RIVN stock maintains a Moderate Buy consensus rating. Out of 12 total analyst ratings, there are eight Buys, three Holds, and one Sell rating.
The average RIVN price target is $48.17, implying 26% upside potential. Analyst price targets range from a low of $27 per share to a high of $75 per share.
Conclusion: Rivian Has a Lot to Prove
Rivian was one of the hottest IPOs of the past couple of years, but its stock has shed a ton of value in the past few months. The company faces multiple headwinds in its effort to push forward with its production plans. Moreover, it continues to lose cash at an alarming pace, which will likely result in massive liquidity issues down the line.
On the flip side, its revenue growth is impressive, and its growing order backlog is a testament to the quality of its product. Revenues came in well ahead of analyst estimates in the past few quarters and are likely to perform well in that regard. Moreover, it maintained its production forecast, which shows the depth of its productive capacity.
At this point, the company’s market cap is just a fraction of Tesla’s and has plenty of room to grow. Nevertheless, it faces tough competition from a string of traditional and up-and-coming automakers. Factor in the climate and energy bill downer, and it’s probably best to watch RIVN from the sidelines. It has the potential to become a major player in the EV sphere, but it still has a lot to prove to investors. | https://www.tipranks.com/news/article/why-its-best-to-be-cautious-with-rivian-stock | 2022-08-17T08:18:35Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/article/why-its-best-to-be-cautious-with-rivian-stock | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Markets ended on a high yesterday amid strong performance from miners Glencore, Rio Tinto (RIO) and Anglo American and rumours of buyout deals for fashion brand Ted Baker and Cambridge-based cybersecurity firm Darktrace.
Britain’s top share index the FTSE 100 ended up by 0.42%, an eight-week high, with miners the top gainers as European power prices hit a record high.
BHP (BHP) shares leapt 5.3% on its full-year results, with an 173% jump in profits thanks to soaring prices of commodities such as coal, and the news drove gains for miners such as Glencore (GLNCY).
Fears around recession and inflation continue to weigh on the British economy, with real wages down by 3% in the last quarter, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics and unemployment at 3.8%. Inflation in UK supermarkets hit 11.6% in the four weeks to August 7, according to research by Kantar.
Two large deals also boosted stocks, with Ted Baker (GB:TED) soaring 17.3% on news of its acquisition by Authentic Brands Group, and Darktrace (GB:DARK) gaining 23.8% on news of a takeover bid by U.S. private equity firm Thoma Bravo.
Business headlines in UK papers today: Record wage drop signals more cost of living pain for UK households (Financial Times)
Ted Baker: A story of ‘forced hugging’ and stock market turmoil (The Times)
Elon Musk says he is buying Manchester United (Telegraph) | https://www.tipranks.com/news/british-stock-market-today-wednesday-17-august-what-you-need-to-know | 2022-08-17T08:18:41Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/british-stock-market-today-wednesday-17-august-what-you-need-to-know | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Cannabis products maker Halo Collective Inc. (TSE: HALO) has reported weak results for the second quarter of 2022, due to challenging market conditions.
What Is Halo Collective?
Headquartered in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Halo Collective’s operations cover the complete value chain of cannabis production. The company cultivates, extracts, produces and sells cannabis flowers, concentrates, edibles, vape carts, and pre-rolls. Its brands include Budega, Winberry Farms, and Hush.
A Snapshot of HALO’s Q2 Results
Revenue: Revenues declined 24.8% year-over-year to $6.9 million as a result of the economic downturn in Oregon and California. Total sales slipped 59.4% to two million grams.
Gross profit: Gross profit stood at $2.1 million, compared to $2.2 million in the second quarter of last year. However, the gross margin increased to 31.9% from 24.1% in the previous year.
Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA loss amounted to $4.1 million, narrower than the loss of $4.4 million a year ago.
Cash & debt: The company ended the quarter with unrestricted cash of $1.6 million and repaid debt worth $7.7 million.
The Executive Chairman and CEO of Halo Collective, Katie Field, said, “During the quarter, we ramped up efforts in our brand sales business, specifically Hush and Budega which are resonating with West Coast consumers and continued the retail rollout in Los Angeles where we opened the second of three planned dispensaries. Meanwhile, we de-emphasized other areas such as bulk wholesale flower and trimmed sales which generated good revenue but yielded lower profitability.”
Is Halo Collective a Good Stock?
On TipRanks, the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on a single Buy. However, the analyst did not provide a price target.
Corporate insiders, too, look cautious. They have sold HALO shares worth C$27,600 in the last three months. TipRanks’ Insider Trading Activity tool shows that Insider Confidence Signal is currently Neutral for Halo Collective.
What’s Ahead for Halo Collective?
The company has opened two Budega dispensaries in Los Angeles this year. Further, it plans to open a flagship store in Hollywood in the third quarter. These stores will help Halo Collective boost awareness and distribution of cannabis products in California.
Even though the current market conditions are not favorable for the company, it is on track for long-term growth. It is expanding its presence in the wellness and health segments through acquisitions. Additionally, Halo Collective has purchased numerous software development assets, with the aim of reorganizing them into a subsidiary.
Read full Disclosure | https://www.tipranks.com/news/challenging-market-conditions-hurt-halo-collectives-q2-performance | 2022-08-17T08:18:47Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/challenging-market-conditions-hurt-halo-collectives-q2-performance | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Global-e Online (GLBE) shares jumped almost 25% on August 16 after the company registered impressive second-quarter revenue growth and raised its guidance for FY2022, beating analysts’ expectations.
Based in Israel, Global-e Online Ltd. provides e-commerce solutions that enable and accelerate global, direct-to-consumer cross-border E-Commerce.
A Snapshot of Q2 Results
During the quarter, revenues of Global-e Online totaled $87.3 million, up 52.4% year-over-year. It easily surpassed the average prediction of $83.5 million. In particular, Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) grew 64% to $534 million.
Despite strong revenue figures, the company posted a loss of $0.31 per share that fell one cent short of analysts’ expectations of $0.30 per share. The company had reported a loss of $0.25 per share in the same quarter last year.
Adjusted gross margin grew an impressive 580 bps year-over-year to 41.8% versus 36.0% in the year-ago quarter.
However, at the end of the second quarter, the company reported cash and cash equivalents of $268 million, lower than $394.4 million at the end of the prior-year period.
The CEO of Global-e Online, Amir Schlachet, said that the results “illustrate the continued momentum of our business, as evident from top-line growth, improved profitability and the strong new bookings pipeline.”
Global-e Online Updates FY2022 Outlook
Based on robust second-quarter results, management has updated its financial guidance for FY2022.
The company now forecasts FY2022 revenues to be in the range of $406-$426 million, higher than the consensus estimate of $390.4 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $41-$46 million.
For the third quarter, revenues are projected to be in the range of $99.5-$102.5 million versus the consensus estimate of $93.81 million. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $8.5-$11.5 million.
Is GLBE Stock a Good Buy?
According to TipRanks, Global-e Online commands a Strong Buy consensus rating based on eight unanimous Buys. GLBE’s average price forecast of $34.88 implies 2.59% upside potential.
Following the company’s second quarter results, Brian Peterson of Raymond James increased his price target on Global-e Online to $40 (17.65% upside potential) from $25 and reiterated a Buy rating.
Final Thoughts
GLBE is one of the stocks that has made a speedy recovery on Wall Street. Shares of Global-e Online are already up 50%, after losing half of their market capitalization over the past year.
Management looks confident “to tap the massive global direct-to-consumer opportunity,” as evident from its most recent major partnership with Disney (DIS) to support its direct-to-consumer efforts globally.
Further, TipRanks data shows that financial bloggers are 100% Bullish on GLBE stock, compared to the sector average of 66%.
Read full Disclosure | https://www.tipranks.com/news/global-e-online-stock-gets-a-major-boost-post-q2-results | 2022-08-17T08:18:53Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/global-e-online-stock-gets-a-major-boost-post-q2-results | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
There isn't anything significant to take note of for today. As such, the focus will be on risk sentiment as well as the releases in North America trading where we will get US retail sales and the FOMC meeting minutes.
As for the coming days, just take note of some larger expiries for EUR/USD between 1.0145 to 1.0250 that will be rolling off tomorrow. That might stir up some interest depending on where price action lands in the coming day.
For more information on how to use this data, you may refer to this post here. | https://www.forexlive.com/Orders/fx-option-expiries-for-17-august-10am-new-york-cut-20220817/ | 2022-08-17T08:24:03Z | forexlive.com | control | https://www.forexlive.com/Orders/fx-option-expiries-for-17-august-10am-new-york-cut-20220817/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The dollar is nudging a little higher across the board now as bond yields are also on the move to start European trading. 2-year yields in the UK have surged higher after the highest inflation in 40 years, moving up to 2.36% - its highest since 2008. That is prompting a push elsewhere in European and US yields as well.
But in the major currencies space, it is the dollar that remains solid this week with USD/JPY seen pushing up by 0.4% to 134.80 on the day. That said, the pair remains confined by resistance at 135.00 and support from its 100-day moving average at 131.66 currently. The technical predicament was outlined yesterday here already.
Meanwhile, EUR/USD is seen down around 0.2% to 1.0150 but downside momentum is still limited closer to 1.0100. As for GBP/USD, it has backed away from a high of 1.2140 from the UK CPI data earlier to 1.2080-90 levels now:
The rejection at the key hourly moving average keeps sellers in near-term control but any major downside momentum remains limited closer to 1.2000 for the time being.
Elsewhere, USD/CAD is up 0.2% to 1.2873 while AUD/USD is starting to dip back under 0.7000 as sellers look to extend the recent decline in an attempt to target the 61.8 Fib retracement level at 0.6962:
Looking ahead today, US retail sales data and the FOMC meeting minutes will be key risk events to be mindful about as they may shake up dollar sentiment for the remainder of the week. | https://www.forexlive.com/news/dollar-holds-slightly-firmer-to-start-the-session-20220817/ | 2022-08-17T08:24:10Z | forexlive.com | control | https://www.forexlive.com/news/dollar-holds-slightly-firmer-to-start-the-session-20220817/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
- Eurostoxx +0.2%
- Germany DAX +0.1%
- France CAC 40 +0.2%
- UK FTSE +0.1%
- Spain IBEX +0.3%
I wouldn't look too much into this as overall risk sentiment remains rather disinterested. S&P 500 futures are down 0.1% so we're not getting much in terms of direction to start the session. US retail sales data later today might provide something for broader markets to work with, so we'll have to wait until then for a better sense of things. | https://www.forexlive.com/news/european-equities-a-little-higher-to-start-the-day-20220817/ | 2022-08-17T08:24:11Z | forexlive.com | control | https://www.forexlive.com/news/european-equities-a-little-higher-to-start-the-day-20220817/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
2022
- Summer 2022: The Urban Issue
- Spring 2022: The Earth Issue
- Winter 2021/22: Where to Go in 2022
2021
- Fall 2021: Travel as a Force for Good
- Summer 2021: The Future of Hospitality
- Spring 2021: The Creativity Issue
- Winter 2020/21: Where to Go in 2021 | https://www.afar.com/about-afar/afar-magazine-issue-archive | 2022-08-17T08:26:34Z | afar.com | control | https://www.afar.com/about-afar/afar-magazine-issue-archive | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
American Airlines this week became the second major U.S. carrier to put in an order for high-speed Overture aircraft with Denver-based aerospace company Boom Supersonic.
Following a similar move from United Airlines last year, American has agreed to purchase up to 20 of the Overture planes, with an option to purchase an additional 40. In 2021, United committed $3 billion for 15 of Boom’s Overture airliners with an option to buy an additional 35 planes once they’re built—for a total of 50. American has paid a nonrefundable deposit on the initial 20 aircraft.
Boom Supersonic’s Overture jets—which first debuted as concept drawings and wooden mock-ups in 2016—promise speeds of Mach 1.7, or 1,300 miles per hour, which is twice the speed of today’s fastest commercial planes. Flying at 60,000 feet, double that of today’s commercial aircraft, the 65 to 80 passengers aboard each plane will get curving views of the globe below. (Because the jets fly so much higher up, passengers can literally see the curvature of the Earth.)
The result will be greatly reduced flying times—San Francisco to Tokyo in less than six hours (versus the current average of 10), New York City to London in only three (compared to the approximately six hours it takes now), or three hours from Los Angeles to Honolulu (versus up to six hours now). Overture is being designed so that it can service more than 600 global routes with a range of up to 4,890 miles.
Under the terms of the agreement, Boom must meet performance and safety requirements prior to the delivery of any Overtures. And then it must also obtain certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)—it’s currently illegal to fly a commercial plane over Mach 1 in the United States. Provided the necessary standards and requirements are met, the first Boom Overture aircraft are expected to be built by 2025 and carry their first passengers by 2029.
When the Boom Overture jets do launch, it won’t be the first time commercial passengers will get to experience supersonic flight. Developed in the 1970s, the Concorde was the world’s first and only commercial supersonic plane at the time, crisscrossing the Atlantic at record rates. It officially retired in 2003 after the tragic crash of Air France Flight 459 in July 2000 and prohibitively expensive operation costs.
But Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl has said that one big difference between the Concorde and his company’s supersonic aircraft is that Boom is building with an eye toward ultimately making high-speed air travel available to the masses. Scholl’s vision for Boom is supersonic travel that is “affordable for passengers, profitable for airlines, and capable of reaching economies of scale with tens of millions of passengers.”
In addition to United and American making a pact with Boom, the Virgin Group and Japan Airlines preordered their own supersonic, all-business-class jets in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
As for the environmental impact, Boom has committed to operating on 100-percent sustainable aviation fuel—jet fuel produced from sustainable sources such as plant oils, municipal waste, and agricultural residue that generates up to 80 percent fewer carbon emissions than conventional fossil fuel–based jet fuel.
Jenny Adams contributed reporting. | https://www.afar.com/magazine/american-to-buy-supersonic-jets-that-will-half-flight-times | 2022-08-17T08:27:06Z | afar.com | control | https://www.afar.com/magazine/american-to-buy-supersonic-jets-that-will-half-flight-times | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Late afternoon is a mystical time of day when you’re sitting on the bow of a fishing boat, rod in hand, during the height of Alaska’s brief summer. The low-hanging sun chisels the mountains into high definition, accompanied by the smells of pine, salt, and sunscreen. The water looks like beveled glass, disturbed only by the otters floating by with a clutch of mussels on their bellies.
No sooner than I thought, man, it can’t get any more peaceful than this, I felt the distinct tug of a rockfish taking my bait—fish on.
Keeping a bend in the rod, I reeled in, coaxing the fish skywards. Just as it surfaced, it spat out the hook and landed on its back in the water. It fluttered its appendages like a shell-side-down turtle before an eagle descended from the top of a nearby spruce tree, snatched it in its talons, and disappeared into the mist toward the opposite shore.
“Huh,” said a boatmate. “That’s not quite what I pictured when I imagined the one that got away.”
Like the rockfish, I, too, am one that got away. I lived in Alaska for most of my 20s, just shy of seven full years. Recently, I moved to Colorado, and this summer fishing adventure was during my first trip back.
One of the great traveler dilemmas is deciding where to go next. Do you launch yourself into the unknown, seeking newness in the customs, food, dress, and language of a place you haven’t been? Or do you spend time sliding back into the relaxing comfort of a destination you already know?
Typically, if given the option, I’d usually choose to go somewhere new over somewhere I’ve been before. Yet, this past July I was back in the 49th state on a fishing boat, in the Alaska panhandle on a return trip to secluded fishing lodge Waterfall Resort.
In a past life, the resort was a salmon cannery, so it makes sense that the waters outside it are rich in omega-3-carrying fish. Guests stay in converted staff quarters and spend their days reeling in as many salmon, halibut, rockfish, and ling cod as fishing limits and luck allow. The most coveted, however, is a species of salmon known as king or Chinook. They’re prized for their rich, buttery flavor and size (they can weigh over 50 pounds, but most fall in the 15- to 20-pound category).
Though I’d been a card-carrying Alaskan for many salmon seasons, I’d never caught a king. This would be the year.
“I call this spot Jurassic Park,” Tony, the captain, announced on our second full day of fishing. My three boatmates and I dropped our bait—which immediately got four bites. Every time the hook hit the water, a rockfish, red snapper, or vermilion was on it within seconds. In under 20 minutes, the vessel’s floor was littered with fish. But still no kings.
Later that evening, I swapped fish tales at Waterfall’s bar with a gentleman from Texas. This was his 12th summer visiting Waterfall Resort. The feat was impressive, until he said his dad had been coming for more than 20 years. The resort, it seems, attracts a lot of returners. The Texans had already been on the property for three days and had each reached their limit on kings (nonresidents are only allowed to bag two kings in July), much to my envy.
If I were to land a king, it would be due to our parallel fates of being called home by some invisible force. A salmon’s whole lifespan is a round-trip venture from river to sea and back again. A year after hatching in Alaska’s freshwater lakes and streams, the young fish surf the current downstream until they’re discharged into the sea, often hundreds of miles away. For the next two to seven years, they putter around the ocean, eating smaller fish and putting on mass in preparation for their return trip.
At some point, a flip switches, and their sole mission is to journey back to the spot, almost exactly, where they came into the world. Over the course of many weeks, the salmon leave the ocean to fight their way up an unrelenting stream until they find the area where they themselves hatched to find a mate, spawn, and perish. Their bodies are consumed by insects, which will feed the young salmon when they emerge from their eggs. It’s that journey that brings them past our waiting bait, and with any luck, into our cooler.
On the final morning, we headed south—the only boat to do so. “It’s hero or bust,” said Captain Tony. “Either you’ll catch nothing, or we’ll catch everything.”
We’d caught just one king between the four of us in the last three days. While it was the second largest of the season at 33 pounds and enough for each of us to enjoy several meals, it was far short of our Department of Fish and Game mandated limit. If we went north, the chances of getting a salmon were slim. We decided to bet big.
Though we navigated to a spot directly above the kings we’d hoped to catch—they presented as boomerangs on the ship’s depth monitor screen—they just weren’t biting. (There’s some truth in the adage that it’s called fishing, not catching.)
I didn’t land a king. Stack that on top of my recent move from Alaska, and a trip back seemed all the more important. After floundering through a new life in Colorado—making a new set of friends, buying a house, learning how to get around—there was comfort in returning to the familiar repetition and patience required on an Alaskan fishing trip.
Soon after, back on the dock, another angler shared his story of a salmon that got away. “It was this big,” he groaned, holding his hands about three feet apart. And, having been there myself many times over the years, those hands will move further and further apart with each return to that story.
If you go
Waterfall Resort
Book now: Waterfall Resort; rates start at $2,775 for three days, two nights
Waterfall Resort operates from June to September each season. Boats allow for four passengers apiece, and captains are equipped to work with anglers of every skill level. All accommodations are fit for two people and include rooms in the main lodge and stand-alone cabins. The resort includes a dining room, bar, seating areas overlooking the water, and a tackle and gift shop. All tackle, including rods, bait, waders, and boots, are provided. | https://www.afar.com/magazine/seeing-travel-differently-after-a-return-to-alaska | 2022-08-17T08:27:12Z | afar.com | control | https://www.afar.com/magazine/seeing-travel-differently-after-a-return-to-alaska | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Bad gun laws have claimed yet another victim, but not the kind you might be thinking of. This year’s Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta was recently canceled because the organizers believed Georgia law did not allow them to prohibit firearms at the event. The cancellation might have saved lives, but it cost the local economy an estimated $50 million. And there may have been a way to hold the festival while still allowing organizers to prohibit firearms at the event.
The cancellation of the Music Midtown Festival occurs at the intersection of two legal truths regarding gun law restrictions: Private landowners can exclude people with firearms, but cities and counties in Georgia cannot restrict firearms on public land. The music festival fell somewhere in between. It was going to be held in a public park that festival organizers had rented for two days. According to the lease, the festival could exclude people without tickets, but under recent Georgia case law, the festival could not exclude people carrying guns.
We can derive several important lessons from the cancellation of the festival. The first lesson is narrow: Georgia case law is plainly wrong. Any time the government temporarily transfers to a private party or entity the right to exclude others from a public space, that right should include the right to exclude people with firearms (no less than wedding crashers). The space is private, not public, for the duration of the lease.
The broader issue extends well beyond Georgia. State laws severely limit the ability of local governments to regulate firearms. In nearly every state, cities and counties are preempted from regulating guns — only the state can do that. This preemption principle hamstrings cities such as Atlanta that are located in more conservative states from enacting ordinances that restrict gun use.
However, partial privatization of public land in this circumstance can provide a solution to this problem. Private landowners are not pre-empted by state law from prohibiting firearms on their property. My right to bear arms stops at your property line.
Short-term “privatization” through a lease could have solved Atlanta’s music festival problem. Although the Atlanta City Council cannot decide to ban guns in its parks because of state law, it is free to enter into a short-term lease — renting the park to a private party.
The council could have made it clear that the rental also transferred to the festival organizers the right to decide who could enter the event. Even in Georgia, with its misguided case law, cities have the right to transfer short-term ownership rights in land to private parties. The privatization approach has already been applied in Missouri.
In 2017, the entertainment district of Westport, a small neighborhood in Kansas City, was facing a public safety and public relations nightmare. The number of gun-related weapons offenses had risen from 16 in 2016 to 65, and consumers were shying away from the district’s concentration of restaurants and bars. To make matters worse, a new Missouri state law allowing anyone to carry concealed weapons without a permit in nearly every public space had gone into effect earlier in 2017. Westport’s restaurants and bars could prohibit patrons from carrying weapons onto their premises, but there was nothing they or the City Council could do to keep armed pedestrians from carrying weapons on the public sidewalks and streets.
Westport used the tool of privatization. The district’s businesses lobbied the City Council to sell them a two-block stretch of sidewalks in the core entertainment district. While state law allows pedestrians to carry weapons on public streets and sidewalks, Westport businesses could prohibit weapons on private sidewalks by requiring visitors to pass metal detectors on weekend nights and during festivals. After the “sidewalk privatization” proposal went into effect in late 2018, gun-related offenses in that area dropped dramatically when the security screenings were in place.
The Westport example shows that privatization doesn’t have to mean excluding the general public from an area. It just gives a private party a sufficient property interest to make a decision about whether guns are allowed there.
The privatization approach has added importance after the Supreme Court’s recent Second Amendment decision. New York is trying to defend its ban on firearms in Times Square by arguing that it is a “sensitive location” sufficiently analogous to the kinds of laws “forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings,” for which the Supreme Court has signaled its approval. But there is uncertainty over whether the Supreme Court will uphold as constitutional gun bans in entertainment districts.
Partially privatizing these public spaces avoids this uncertainty, by giving a private party the final say. The Second Amendment stops government from unduly infringing the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It doesn’t stop private property owners from choosing to keep their spaces — even if temporarily leased — gun free. | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/commentary-what-can-cities-do-when-bad-gun-laws-are-hurting-the-economy/article_64e707fa-1cf1-11ed-9bd5-aba77f842731.html | 2022-08-17T08:35:10Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/commentary-what-can-cities-do-when-bad-gun-laws-are-hurting-the-economy/article_64e707fa-1cf1-11ed-9bd5-aba77f842731.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
To the editor — As we look forward to the new school year, I would like to thank our high school teachers from West Valley and college professors from Central Washington University for their work to expand “College-in-the-High-School” course offerings.
West Valley offers over 40 classes for dual credit. Administrators at both institutions worked to align these classes so that students can earn the 54 college credits needed to fulfill all of the CWU general education requirements as a prerequisite to choosing a major. West Valley teachers partner with CWU professors to ensure the curriculum maintains college-level rigor and options are available for various career pathways.
This new program, which we are calling “Ram-to-Wildcat” — named for our mascots — is a great way for students to plan for college and for families to save thousands of dollars. All of these classes are available without leaving the high school campus.
This new opportunity builds on our previous work with CWU to offer on-site admission as well as guaranteed admission for students with a 3.0 GPA in required courses.
I am grateful for all of the educators who worked together to make these amazing opportunities available for our students in the upcoming school year.
PETER FINCH
West Valley School District superintendent
Yakima | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/letter-expanded-college-program-benefits-west-valley-students-parents/article_ead95dfe-1aa8-11ed-8abd-eb0780f78aa6.html | 2022-08-17T08:35:22Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/letter-expanded-college-program-benefits-west-valley-students-parents/article_ead95dfe-1aa8-11ed-8abd-eb0780f78aa6.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
To the editor — Has the Republican Party lost its mind?
I voted for Trump the first time but soon realized his lack of character.
Facts:
- During his debate with Biden he said the Proud Boys should "stand down and stand by."
- Trump continued with his lies that the election was stolen even after every legal effort proved otherwise.
- The Proud Boys were there when Trump gave his speech Jan 6.
- After his supporters broke into the Capitol, Trump refused to ask them to leave for over three hours. When he finally did, he told them that he loved them and that they were special.
- Per testimony, Trump said “He deserves it” when protesters chanted ”Hang Mike Pence.” He took the 5th Amendment when questioned about his tax returns.
- He took home documents when he left office, refusing to return many of them, including some marked "Top Secret."
This being said, most of the Republicans in Congress still stand beside him, making things worse with their comments. The reason they are doing this seems obvious to me. They are more interested in hanging onto their jobs than our country.
What I don't understand is why so many people blindly follow Trump.
JOAN HOEFT
Yakima | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/letter-how-can-republicans-still-support-trump/article_fcda6dce-1c31-11ed-81af-e3c2b7198d1a.html | 2022-08-17T08:35:28Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/letter-how-can-republicans-still-support-trump/article_fcda6dce-1c31-11ed-81af-e3c2b7198d1a.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
To the editor — Every Sunday morning as I drive up Pecks Canyon on my way to the Downtown Farmer's Market I pass a man in a fluorescent shirt picking up garbage along the side of the road.
Kudos to this good neighbor!
It's heartening to see selfless goodness in our community.
BETSY MARTIN
Selah | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/letter-the-man-in-the-loud-shirt-quietly-does-good-deeds/article_e6faf08e-1cf2-11ed-86d8-03530123b8bb.html | 2022-08-17T08:35:34Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/letter-the-man-in-the-loud-shirt-quietly-does-good-deeds/article_e6faf08e-1cf2-11ed-86d8-03530123b8bb.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
We’ve been driving gasoline-powered cars for so long that it’s jarring to think of a world without them.
For many of us, the thrill of a V8 engine’s low rumble is almost part of our DNA. The irresistible call of an open highway, the indescribable sensation of stepping on the accelerator and seeing the slight rise of the hood, feeling the surge of power press our backs into the front seat.
It doesn’t get much more American than that.
But change is in the air, and sadly, that air desperately needs some changing.
Decades of exhaust fumes have contributed to atmospheric changes that mean warmer temperatures and rising sea levels — the climate-altering greenhouse gases that researchers have been warning us about for years are boiling over.
As the Yakima Valley braces for another stretch of triple-digit temperatures this week, much of the world is experiencing apocalyptic wildfires, droughts, floods, storms. News over the weekend that the ice in Antarctica is apparently melting even faster than scientists thought hasn’t helped.
It’s almost as if someone’s trying to tell us something.
Well, yes. And that clear message is that in the not-too-distant future, we’re going to have to park our beloved gas-powered vehicles and switch to rides that don’t contribute to all this climactic chaos.
Electric vehicles — EVs — are the logical next step.
Washington state lawmakers want to eliminate fossil fuel emissions by 2040, and this past spring they approved legislation to phase out sales of new gas-powered vehicles by 2030. The plan sets aside $25 million worth of incentives for people who buy EVs instead.
Meantime, in “the other Washington,” the ink is still drying on the federal government’s sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, which extends through 2032 tax credits of up to $7,500 for people who purchase new EVs and up to $4,000 for buyers of used EVs.
The incentives might take the edge off, but these new vehicles still aren’t cheap. On the other hand, if you’ve done any tire-kicking lately, you know that they aren’t exactly giving away gas-powered rigs, either.
Incentives or not, converting everyone to EVs will be a sharp turn. As of July, just 1.3% of the vehicles on Washington’s roads were electric. Only 553 were registered in Yakima County.
It’ll take a lot of persuading — along with improved technology and lower prices — to coax more people behind the wheel of an EV.
The time has come, though.
Inevitably, it seems, we’ll all have to learn how to plug in our cars, figure out where the charging stations are and somehow get comfortable with how an entirely different type of vehicle behaves.
No, it won’t be the same. Generations to come probably won’t ever feel the rush of running through the gears on a long, flat piece of pavement.
We can give those future generations a better gift, though: a habitable planet. | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/opinion-buckle-up-for-change-evs-are-headed-our-way/article_7dc83fd0-1cd0-11ed-b02a-63df5c6cd90c.html | 2022-08-17T08:35:40Z | yakimaherald.com | control | https://www.yakimaherald.com/opinion/opinion-buckle-up-for-change-evs-are-headed-our-way/article_7dc83fd0-1cd0-11ed-b02a-63df5c6cd90c.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Man dies after drawbridge raised while he was walking across
MILWAUKEE (AP) - A Rhode Island man vacationing in Milwaukee fell to his death after a drawbridge was raised while he was walking across it.
Richard Dujardin, 77, of Providence, Rhode Island, was crossing the Kilbourn Avenue Bridge in downtown Milwaukee on Monday afternoon with his wife, according to a Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office report.
Rosemarie Dujardin made it across the bridge, which spans the Milwaukee River, but her husband was about halfway across when it began to open. He grabbed onto a side rail as the bridge sections rose to a 90-degree angle, but he lost his grip and fell about 70 feet (21 meters) to the pavement below, the report states.
He suffered a head wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, investigators said.
The bridge is controlled by the city’s Department of Public Works and its two halves are raised and lowered for boat traffic by someone working remotely who has two camera views of the span. The lights and bells were operational as the two sections were raised and crossing arms came down at each end of the bridge, according to investigators.
Rosemarie Dujardin told investigators that her husband was hard of hearing and wore glasses. The medical examiner’s report said he was looking at an iPad while walking.
Police said in a statement that there is no suspicion of a criminal act, but that the investigation continues. Interim Public Works Commissioner Jerrel Kruschke said the employee who operated the bridge is in his fourth year and has conducted hundreds of bridge openings. He said the employee has been put on leave and offered counseling.
The department said in a statement that about half of the city’s 20 bridges are operated remotely, calling it “a safe and standard industry practice.”
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wave3.com/2022/08/17/man-dies-after-drawbridge-raised-while-he-was-walking-across/ | 2022-08-17T08:37:18Z | wave3.com | control | https://www.wave3.com/2022/08/17/man-dies-after-drawbridge-raised-while-he-was-walking-across/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Nestor Cortes navigated his final six innings without a run crossing the plate, but his slumping Yankees teammates never recovered from one big swing in the All-Star lefty’s initial frame.
Randy Arozarena jumped Cortes for a three-run homer in the first inning of a 3-1 loss to the Rays at the Stadium, the skidding Yankees’ 11th loss in 13 games.
Yandy Diaz and Isaac Paredes opened the game against Cortes with singles before Arozarena clubbed an inside 1-1 four-seamer into the left-field seats for a quick 3-0 lead.
“I gave up two singles to start the game, and he beat me with my best pitch,” Cortes said after his record dropped to 9-4 on the season. “I have to tip my cap. He was hunting it, and he got the pitch to hit. I think it was a ball off [the plate], if I can remember. I couldn’t do anything about it. I gave him my best pitch.”
Cortes didn’t allow another hit until Harold Ramirez’s infield single toward third base with one out in the fifth. But the Yankees’ only run — and first in three games following two consecutive shutouts — came when Andrew Benintendi ripped a one-out triple in the fifth and scored when Miguel Andujar reached on an error by Diaz at third base.
“The good thing is we got another really good starting pitching performance. Nestor gives us seven strong,” Aaron Boone said of Cortes, who has given up three runs or fewer in 19 of his 22 starts this season. “Obviously, Arozarena clips him on not a terrible pitch. He goes up-and-in off the plate there with that heater, and Arozarena, to his credit, sold out to it and was able to keep it fair.”
Those three runs represented more than the output the Yankees’ offense has averaged over its past 12 games (2.75), as compared to 5.4 runs per game over the team’s first 105 contests. The starting rotation has posted a 2.83 ERA over the past eight outings, but the Yanks are 2-6 in that span.
“It’s a little surprising obviously with the kind of hitters we have and the guys in that lineup. I think it’s shocked everybody,” Cortes said. “But these guys are capable of doing a lot of good things, like they have in the first half. I don’t think it’s a problem for us. I think we’re gonna turn it around soon.” | https://nypost.com/2022/08/17/yankees-nestor-cortes-undone-by-bad-pitch-bad-inning/ | 2022-08-17T08:37:30Z | nypost.com | control | https://nypost.com/2022/08/17/yankees-nestor-cortes-undone-by-bad-pitch-bad-inning/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Top news and notes from around Northern Virginia and beyond.
5. School board candidate
Jaylen Custis, 18, is choosing campaign fliers and headshots as he prepares to be the youngest candidate running for the Prince William County School Board in 2023.
4. Bringing back the guild
Supporters of Northern Virginia’s opera scene are hoping to reanimate the dormant Opera Guild of Northern Virginia, which through the years has raised funds and provided other support to opera organizations.
3. Pleasant day
It will me a mostly sunny day with a high near 82 and a chance for showers in the afternoon and evenings? Click here for a detailed forecast by ZIP code.
2. Cooling market
The cooling local and national homes market is taking a chunk out of home-appreciation rates, but in the Washington area they remain on an upward trajectory.
1. School security
As Virginia’s students begin the 2022-2023 year, Attorney General Jason Miyares said safety and security are at the top of his — and parents’ — list of priorities.
InsideOut
The Prince William County Fair, now in its 73rd year, continues through Aug. 20 at the fairgrounds in Manassas. Click here for all the details. | https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/infive-body-found-young-school-board-candidate-and-showers-possible-this-evening/article_06f4866c-1e00-11ed-968b-471e1887f399.html | 2022-08-17T08:42:29Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/infive-body-found-young-school-board-candidate-and-showers-possible-this-evening/article_06f4866c-1e00-11ed-968b-471e1887f399.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
BANGKOK, Aug. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand, a long-standing leading producer, and net exporter of food is gearing up to provide the world with volume and nutritive quality in a sustainable manner, and to meet global consumer demand for unique tastes with its food of the future offerings.
The country promotes itself as the "Kitchen of the World' on account of its strength in the food industry, arising from its abundant natural resources, continuing investment in food innovation and commitment to food safety standards. In 2021, Thailand ranked 13th largest food exporter in the world, with exports valued at USD30.5 billion.
However, the country is not resting on its laurels and is pushing ahead to meet the growing global demand for healthier food, and so-called food of the future, such as plant-based proteins and meat alternatives. Presently, Thailand is the world's 25th largest exporter of alternative proteins, with USD1.21 billion worth of food of the future in the first quarter of 2022, up 26% on year. Major markets include US, China and Vietnam.
With an increasing number of conglomerates, SMEs and food tech start-ups entering this segment, Thailand's future food offering is increasing in both quantity and quality. To compete producers not only aim to create the taste and texture of traditional meat products but also explore the use of new primary ingredients such as chickpea, mushrooms, and barley instead of soy, corn and wheat. Exotic seasonings from fruits, spices and herbs are inventively added to make future food products from Thailand stand out.
Smith Taweelerdniti, the producer of Let's Plant Meat said the key to success is to find a balance in the flavor, health and environmental benefits. "Whoever that could skew the consumer demand toward more sustainable and more healthy, I think, is a boon for the planet," he said in an interview to CNBC Asia. "It's about creating the flavor and aroma, this is the key."
Scaling up innovation is part of the Thai government's plan to promote the sector as a key economic driver. Thaifex, the largest food and beverage trade show in Asia steadily offers food innovators chances to showcase their ideas. A food tech team from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University won the ASEAN Food Innovation Challenge 2021 with "The Marble Booster", plant-based Wagyu-style marbled-meat slices infused with immune-boosters, turmeric and black-pepper extracts. The product will soon be sold at convenience stores.
Thailand's other alternative proteins, namely edible insects, a well-known local delicacy, and protein sourced from insects have long made inroads into markets including US, UK, Germany, and South Korea. Popular insects like crickets and grasshoppers are used as ingredients in preparations including canned food, pastry and candy. As growing concerns about food security and sustainability are boosting global demand, Thailand aims to step up sales of edible insects and insect protein powders and its current rank of 17th largest exporter of live insects.
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SOURCE DITP | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/thailand-reinforces-kitchen-world-status-with-healthier-tastier-food-future/ | 2022-08-17T08:44:26Z | witn.com | control | https://www.witn.com/prnewswire/2022/08/17/thailand-reinforces-kitchen-world-status-with-healthier-tastier-food-future/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
For those who like to rock: The most interesting rock formations on the planet
Take a look at a staggering variety of weird rocks from around the world.
Think of a rock. It’s angular, grey and on the ground, right? Wrong. Rocks come in a staggering variety of shapes and colours, which help us decipher the stories of their geological lives. Here are just a few of the fantastic rock formations found on this planet…
Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah, New Mexico, USA
“The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness can feel like an alien planet, with its strange shapes, colours and lack of vegetation,” says Stan Allison, of the Bureau of Land Management Farmington Field Office. The hoodoos – irregular columns of rock – dotted around the landscape also help create that otherworldly quality.
Hoodoos are a lesson in differential erosion: the stronger sandstone resists the erosion that acts on the softer surrounding rock to create spires and precariously balanced capstones. Elsewhere, the ground is so soft that rain cuts vertical sinkholes into hills, carving mazes of ravines and gullies.
The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness is also home to fossilised turtles and crocodiles – a lurking reminder that the parched desert was a humid swamp only 75 million years ago.
Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, Madagascar
This vast field of rocky spires is the spectacular remains of a lagoon from the age of the dinosaurs. The clints and grykes (patches of limestone pavement separated by cracks) are enhanced by a subterranean labyrinth of caves that collapse and deepen the grykes.
The structure began to form 200 million years ago when calcium carbonate built up on the bottom of the lagoon. It was compacted into limestone before being exposed by tectonic uplift and falling sea levels. In the millennia since then, monsoons carved out the soft rock while acidic rain etched scalloped edges along the jagged needles.
The rocks create microclimates and isolated biomes filled with a rich diversity of life, and scientists have documented endangered and unique species within the harsh landscape.
Luray Caverns, Virginia, USA
Almost half a billion years ago, ancient tidal flats and a warm, inland sea filled the Shenandoah Valley. The sediment of the flats hardened into limestone, shale, sandstone and dolomite, only to be crumpled into the Appalachian Mountains as the North American and African plates collided.
For millions of years since then, rain has been dissolving the softest of these rocks, infiltrating its way deep underground to create rivers that hollowed out vast caves.
As mineral-rich water dripped into Luray Caverns, it created thin deposits of crystallised calcite that formed into fantastic shapes called speleothems, some tinted red, yellow or brown by the iron oxides of ancient red ocean clays. The walls are coated in huge, sheet-like flowstones where water trickles down corrugated cave walls.
The shapes continue to evolve, with deposits and crystallisation adding, inch by slow inch, to the dangling spikes.
Rainbow Mountain, Peru
Hidden high in the Peruvian Andes and only recently revealed by melting glaciers is a 20-million-year-old mountain of many colours. Vinicunca (‘rainbow’) Mountain is part of the range formed by the Nazca plate subducting under the South American plate.
The slopes owe their brilliant colours to traces of metals and minerals. The warmer hues are from iron oxide clays and iron sulphides, while the lavender colours come from mudstone and opal. Green layers of phyllite sparkle with mica blended with chlorites.
While now protected from miners that were tempted by the metals in the soils, Rainbow Mountain is still under threat. The soft soils compress easily underfoot, so to preserve it, the mountain is currently closed to tourists.
Mono Lake, California, USA
Dammed by ancient lava flows, Mono Lake is where nearby streams and rivers come to an end. Without any outflow, minerals and salts build up as water evaporates. Calcium dissolved in spring water erupting from the lake’s bed reacts with the high concentrations of carbonate in the alkaline lake, crystallising to form tufa towers.
Originally forming underwater, the tufa towers have been exposed by falling lake levels. Their intricate forms contain secrets of their environmental history, with different minerals reflecting the changes in temperature over the millennia. The towers’ locations tell stories of former lake levels over tens of thousands of years, and how that may be linked with greater climatic events, such as changing sea levels, ice ages and the movement of the polar jet stream.
While the exposed towers are slowly weathered and eroded by the elements, new towers continue to form below the water, currently revealed only by trails of bubbles breaking the surface.
Reynisdrangar, Iceland
During the last Ice Age, Reynisfjall, a volcano located beneath a glacier, erupted. Lava quickly cooled as it hit the ice, hardening into dark, basaltic rock. The rock contracted as it cooled, causing web-like cracks to form. This created the towering hexagonal columns of Reynisdrangar sea stacks that loom over Reynisfjara beach.
Fierce winds and waves from the Atlantic cut away at the cliffs, with salt crystals helping to open those cracks further until rocks break free. Relentless waves grind those rocks even smaller, replenishing the black sand of Reynisfjara beach.
Geologically, the Reynisdrangar sea stacks visible from the beach are the most resistant rocks that survived while the rest of the cliffs eroded away. But local folklore tells a tale of trolls wading into the ocean to chase a ship, only to get caught and turned to rock by dawn sunlight.
While spectacular, the ongoing erosion makes Reynisfjara a treacherous destination, prone to sudden rockfalls and powerful waves.
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Coyote Buttes, Arizona/Utah Border, USA
Back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, wind blew sand across vast dunes in what is now Arizona. As the winds changed direction, the sand built up one way then another, gradually forming rippling, cross-bedded layers.
Dinosaurs crossed the dunes, leaving footprints in the muddier slurry, along with swirled sediment from tiny landslides.
Over the years, water rich with iron and manganese salts cemented the dunes into bright red rocks, petrifying their dramatic, swirling shapes. As the supercontinent Pangaea broke apart and tectonic forces lifted the rocks, rain and wind carved troughs between the dunes, funnelling greater airflow into the gaps that increased the erosion even more and helped create the formations we see in Coyote Buttes today.
“The dunes are frozen in time, capturing the shape of the ancient slopes that, in some places, are slumped and contorted,” explains University of Utah geoscientist Dr Brenda Brown.
“The rocks here tell a marvellous and complex story of changing environments that are affected by so many factors: climate, life, chemistry and time,” Brown says. “We can see how the chemistry of groundwater has changed through time and how those changes are recorded in the colourful minerals that cement them together.”
Hyden Rock, Australia
The 110m-long, 14m-tall granite outcrop of Hyden Rock looks like a petrified wave crashing in the desert. The structure is an inselberg, an isolated mountain of hard rock, that jutted above the flat plains of the outback desert 60 million years ago. Exposed like this, the rock has been carved by rain, blasted by sand, cracked by frost and smoothed by rivers to create the distinctive shape.
During the wet season, runoff stains the rock face with stripes of iron oxides and carbonates in red, brown, yellow, and grey.
The indigenous Ballardong people of Western Australia say that the ‘wave rock’ was formed by the wake left by the Rainbow Serpent’s crossing after she’d swallowed all the water of the land.
Bryce Canyon, USA
Bryce Canyon is home to the world’s largest hoodoo field. According to the Southern Paiute people, hoodoos are individuals that were transformed to stone by the trickster god Coyote, as punishment for bad deeds. Geologists have a different explanation for the origin of these strange stone columns. Water from rain or melted snow seeps into cracks along the crater rims and expands as it freezes overnight, before thawing again as temperatures climb. This freeze-thaw cycle is repeated until eventually the rock breaks. Slightly acidic rain falling onto the limestone and calcium carbonate also eats away at these weaker rocks, while stronger rocks remain untouched, enhancing the dramatic shapes.
The hoodoos of Bryce Canyon are a temporary sight – once broken free of the canyon rim, the hoodoos continue to erode at an average of 60 to 130cm per century. In about three million years the canyon will have backed into the Sevier River.
- This article first appeared in issue 380 of BBC Science Focus Magazine - find out how to subscribe here
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- Receive every issue delivered direct to your door with FREE UK delivery. | https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/most-interesting-rock-formations-on-the-planet/ | 2022-08-17T08:45:53Z | sciencefocus.com | control | https://www.sciencefocus.com/planet-earth/most-interesting-rock-formations-on-the-planet/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
As the ember months are getting closer, so is the 2023 general election fast approaching. The elections are about six months away, that is, February 2023. As usual, every election period in Nigeria always takes new dimensions, coupled with a series of preparations by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders.
Asides INEC, political parties, civil society organisations and security agencies are also involved in the plan to ensure smooth conduct of elections. Unarguably, election is a serious business in the Nigerian democratic system, hence the need for stakeholders to be actively involved in the electoral process, ahead of the poll.
It is well over a month that major political parties in the country, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) concluded their presidential, governorship, National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly primaries.
After the exercise, the two major parties are still battling with issues that arose from the primaries. Irrespective of their seeming irreconcilable differences of political actors, the general election will hold as expected by February next year. In PDP for instance, there are issues yet to be resolved on the outcome of the presidential primary, and the choice of Vice Presidential candidate of the party.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who lost the presidential ticket of the PDP to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is embittered over the choice of Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as vice presidential candidate, as ratified by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party.
Governor Wike had lobbied for the vice presidential slot after losing the presidential ticket but was also denied for Okowa’s emergence. Okowa’s choice didn’t go down well with Wike and his camp. The governor did not only fault the process, he also accused the party of sidelining the Southern part of the country in its arrangements.
Recently, a 14-member reconciliation committee was constituted by the party to settle the rift between Atiku and Wike’s camps. The committee is expected to look into Governor Wike’s grievances and that of the leaders in his camp and make recommendations on how the candidate of the party and the NWC will address the issues.
The key demand of Governor Wike’s camp is the resignation of the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, whose resignation is described as important in addressing the alleged marginalisation of the south in the leadership position of the party. As a political analyst and supporter of PDP, I need to state categorically that the feud between Atiku and Wike’s camps are unhealthy for the PDP, a party that is willing to wrestle power from incumbent.
By now, members of the party in their various units, wards, local and state should have begun sensitisation towards 2023 general elections, but the national working committee which is expected to provide leadership for that task is not settle yet, because of the crisis. Till date, some serving and past governors are on the side of Governor Wike, while some drum support for Atiku. Issues like these are not only dangerous for the party, but also demoralising party members. The candidate of PDP should find a way to effectively manage Governor Wike and other aggrieved Governors in the interest of the party.
Going by the voting pattern and records, in the entire South after Lagos, Rivers is next in terms of voting strength. Also, the votes in Rivers State will cover some states in the South-South. This time, nobody is inferior, if truly PDP and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is ready to wrest power from All Progressives Congress at the federal level.
Another issue that deserves urgent attention is reshuffling the NWC. Going by the zoning method,if presidential candidate comes from North, chairman of the party should be zoned to another region.
Currently, national chairman, Board of Trustees chair and presidential candidate are from the northern part of the country. Therefore, there’s need to reshuffle the NWC for the progress of the PDP.
There is no doubt that Nigerians are tired of the APC government under President Muhammadu Buhari, hence the need for the PDP to get it right and embark on “reset Nigeria” agenda. It is obvious that nothing is working in Nigeria anymore; the economy has collapsed and the security of lives and property is no longer guaranteed. The onus is on Atiku and the NWC of the PDP to get it right and save the country from total collapse.
The PDP leaders must bury their ego and work collectively for the advancement of the PDP. This is a golden opportunity for the party to return to power at the federal level and it must not be missed.
Oluwole–ALA writes from Ibadan, Oyo State.
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The Managing Director, Benin Electricity District Company (BEDC) PLC, Funke Osibodu, has disclosed that the company lost N750 million in one month due to what she described as illegal taking over of operations of the company.
Osibodu disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin, while addressing journalists on her alleged apprehension by the police over the leadership tussle of the company.
It would be recalled that on July 8, 2022, Dr Henry Ajagbawa, had taken over the management of BEDC as the new Managing Director of the company.
Osibodu said despite a valid court order barring Ajagbawa and his group from taking over the BEDC, they still brought the police from Abuja to obstruct the company’s operation and tried to apprehend her.
“We resumed last week because we have a court injunction against them and during the period of the alleged forceful take over of BEDC, we lost N750 million in the collection in one month. The collection went down and if you don’t have money, you can’t purchase power for distribution.
Speaking on her alleged apprehension by the police from Abuja, she said she was taken to the Edo Police Command headquarters for questioning and that when police discovered the law was on her side they couldn’t do anything.
“The police who claimed they came from Abuja said I have committed threat to the life of Ajagawa, unlawful restrain and trespass. They invited me to the police headquarters in Benin for questioning”.
She said after showing police the restraining court injunction of July 8, from an Abuja Federal High Court against Ajagbawa and his group, the police could not do anything.
Osibodu said, “till date, I have not received any official document from the BPE or BEDC Board mandating anybody to take over BEDC affairs, but somebody just marched to the office and said, I have been asked to take over, this is not the law”.
“From the records, there is no official document, written to the Board of BEDC that I have been removed, but what we see was in pages of newspaper that we have been removed and that is not how the law works”.
She alleged that somebody was using his office to suppress the rule of law, adding because they didn’t succeed in the initial takeover, they resorted to self-help through any means.
“The case is that some time ago, there was supposedly take over of five DISCOs announced by the BPE. Three of them were because Fidelity Bank claimed that they are going to exercise their right over shares and BPE knows that Fidelity doesn’t have the shares of BEDC as the cover investor never pledged BEDC shares,” she stressed.
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- Imo govt up-to-date with salary payment ― Finance Commissioner | https://tribuneonlineng.com/bedc-loses-n750-million-to-forceful-takeover-of-operation/ | 2022-08-17T08:50:16Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/bedc-loses-n750-million-to-forceful-takeover-of-operation/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has issued two Full Business Case (FBC) certificates to the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation for the concession of a Satellite Internet Broadband project as well as a museum and planetarium project.
The projects, which would be executed through the National Space Research and Development Agency (NARSDA) are expected to generate over N48 billion in revenue, create over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs and also aid the fight against insecurity, while providing internet penetration to rural areas.
In a statement, Manji Yarling, the Acting Head, Media and Publicity, said the FBCs, which were presented by the Director-General of the ICRC, Michael Ohiani, were received by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Adeleke Mamora.
A planetarium is a domed building in which images of stars, planets, and constellations are projected for public entertainment or education.
Receiving the FBCs, the Minister commended the DG of ICRC and his counterpart in NARSDA, Dr Halilu Shaba, for the work that had been put in to get the projects to that point
“It is not over; it will not be until the Federal Executive Council (FEC) gives the approval. These are very critical projects that will enhance our development as a nation in all ramifications,” said Dr Mamora.
Sighting an example with Dubai, he said the planetarium and museum projects are some of the projects deployed by the United Arab Emirate in Dubai to generate a pool of funds through tourism.
He said that with as little as 0.2 per cent broadband penetration in Nigeria, the government under President Muhammadu Buhari was now in a hurry to bring the satellite broadband project to completion in the next six months.
“We told the agencies and the directors when we came that one of the things we are looking at are how we can deploy technology to solve the most critical challenge of this country at this time which is insecurity.
“With satellites, you can monitor movements and gain intelligence. It is very critical and this will also provide a lot of employment.
“There is nowhere in the world that the government does it alone and that is why we need the buy-in of the private sector through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs).
“We will take these projects to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and defend them robustly and our expectation will not be cut short,” the Minister said.
While presenting the certificates, the ICRC DG, Ohiani, said that the two projects would bring a lot of employment opportunities to Nigerians, generate revenue and also support the government’s fight against insecurity.
“In terms of the broadband, we are expecting 10,000 direct and indirect jobs for the 15 years of the concession. The project will also bring revenue of N28 billion to the country.
“Also, in respect of the museum and planetarium, we are expecting that we will be receiving over 2,160 visitors weekly, and it will generate an estimated N20 billion revenue.
“It will also enhance tourism, capacity building, education, innovation and also address security challenges,” Ohiani said.
Giving more insight into the broadband project, Ohiani stated that the concession also targets the deployment of over 7,000 Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSATs) all over Nigeria over the next two years.
He said that the proposed concession, which was derived from an unsolicited proposal through Messrs Gilat-Eleo Consortium (GO360) as the preferred bidder, would utilise a Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Transfer (DFBOT) PPP model.
For the planetarium and museum, he said that the Equip, Operate and Maintain PPP model is being adopted, with 2,160 visitors expected every week, out of which 360 would engage in the sky diving section and 1,800 visitors for other tourist activities.
For Ohiani, the projects would also curb capital flight and increase non-oil revenue to the government.
The DG NARSDA, Dr Halili Shaba, recalled that in 2021, President Buhari tasked the space agency to seek out avenues to generate revenue, pointing out that the two projects provided such an opportunity.
He said that the planetarium had been built for a while but was yet to be equipped due to paucity of funds, prompting the move to concession the project for private sector investment and operation.
For the broadband project, he stated that Nigeria’s venture into space technology was majorly for socio-economic development which was why it was leveraging on the project to reach all Nigerians in rural areas.
“Some of the facilities that will be used will be assembled here in Nigeria; it is going to create jobs, it will bring more financial inflows into the country and it will enhance research and development within Nigeria,” he said.
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- Imo govt up-to-date with salary payment ― Finance Commissioner | https://tribuneonlineng.com/fg-to-earn-n48bn-revenue-create-over-10000-jobs-from-broadband-planetarium-projects-icrc/ | 2022-08-17T08:50:29Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/fg-to-earn-n48bn-revenue-create-over-10000-jobs-from-broadband-planetarium-projects-icrc/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
As the 2023 general election approaches, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has approved the redeployment of two of its Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and the reposting of eight other staff.
The redeployment was contained in a press statement issued on Tuesday by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee of INEC, Festus Okoye.
Mr Okoye said the redeployment and posting, which was also done earlier this year, will become a routine exercise which will continue from time to time.
The statement reads in part, “The public may recall that on March 24, 2022, the Commission redeployed 385 staff nationwide. On that occasion, the Commission announced that this will be a routine exercise which will continue from time to time.
“In line with the extant policy, the Commission hereby redeploys two Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and eight directorate level staff as follows.
“The two redeployed residents’ electoral commissioners (RECs) are Dr Cyril Omorogbe and Dr Alalibo Johnson Sinikiem.
“Dr Omorogbe who is the current REC of Cross River State has been redeployed to REC Akwa Ibom state, while Dr Johnson, the current REC of Edo state will be moved to REC, Cross river state.
“The eight directional level staff posted to new positions include:
“Paul Omokore, the current Director, Planning and Monitoring Department, Headquarters, Abuja, has been redeployed as Director, ICT, Headquarters, Abuja; Chindi Nwafor, Director ICT, to Administrative Secretary, Enugu State; Chima Duruaku, Administrative Secretary, Anambra State, to Director, Planning and Monitoring Department, Headquarters, Abuja; and Mr Jude Okwuanu Administrative Secretary, Enugu State to Administrative Secretary, Anambra State.
“Others are Usman Musa Wase, Acting Director, Human Resource Management, Headquarters, Abuja, who had been redeployed as the Acting Administrative Secretary, Nasarawa State; Mr Salisu Garba, Director in the Electoral Operations Department, to Director Procurement, Headquarters, Abuja; Waziri Zanna, Acting Administrative Secretary, FCT to Acting Director, Human Resource Management, Headquarters, Abuja; while Godwin Wada Edibo, Acting Administrative Secretary, Nasarawa State had been redeployed as the Acting Administrative Secretary, FCT.”
According to INEC, the redeployment/postings take immediate effect and all the affected staff must ensure to conclude all the necessary handing and taking over before Friday, August 26, 2022. | https://tribuneonlineng.com/inec-redeploys-two-resident-electoral-commissioners-8-other-staff/ | 2022-08-17T08:50:42Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/inec-redeploys-two-resident-electoral-commissioners-8-other-staff/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Bart Atkins has worked on thousands of fur coats, but he has only ever made one coat for himself, out of long beaver fur. He doesn’t wear it anymore because he didn’t like the attention it got in the grocery store – everyone wants to touch fur when they see it.
Atkins, 64, keeps the coat in a temperature-controlled basement vault filled with thousands of others. The vault adjoins his workshop at Overland Park-based Alaskan Fur, where he’s worked for more than 40 years.
As a furrier, he designs coats and accessories, made to customers’ measurements, out of notoriously difficult and expensive material. He’s done it long enough to call himself a master at the trade.
“How to sew, how to cut, how to design patterns — you can’t just know how to do one thing,” Atkins said. “There’s so many parts of this that you have to learn.”
It’s a rare skill, and getting rarer. He doesn’t like to blow his own horn, but Atkins thinks he’s one of the few people in the U.S. still doing this kind of intensive, custom work with furs. He’s traveled the country to design for customers.
As people buy fewer fur items, much of his work involves repairing or recycling family heirlooms into new clothes, accessories or even teddy bears.
“You can't put a price on sentimental,” he said. “I think that's why my business is so good. You wouldn't believe it, I always have more work than I can do.”
How to make a fur coat
A coat begins with cutting, wetting and stretching furs. Atkins can stretch a six-inch-by-eight-inch mink skin into a strip 51 inches long and two inches wide. The entire process can take two weeks. Wet furs must be stapled to a table, sometimes with thousands of staples that are inserted and later removed by hand.
After that, the strips are sewn together to make a coat. Unlike fabric sewing machines, which hold and sew pieces horizontally, fur sewing machines hold pieces vertically between two wheels. The sewer must move the wheels at the same pace, or the fur will wrinkle.
And unlike cloth, fur pieces require more precision because they must be sewn together at their very edges. Then, the seams must be rubbed by hand until they’re flat.
Atkins says it took him two years to learn to sew fur properly. The workers who help him finish the coats use needles with a triangular point much sharper than those on regular sewing needles. The process is laborious and sometimes dangerous.
“You have to learn to use a thimble so well, or you’ll put that needle straight through your fingers,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of people come here to work that sewed their whole life. They didn’t make it a week because the material that you’re sewing through is very hard.”
Atkins estimates he works on 60 to 120 coats a year, many of them mink. A typical price for his work is $1,600 to $1,800. Many younger people want to transform outdated coats inherited from their grandparents into contemporary pieces. Atkins declines to work on heirlooms that are in complete disrepair.
“If he thinks the coat won't hold a stitch, he won't take the job,” said Phil Wang, whose grandfather founded Alaskan Fur almost 100 years ago. “So he has a lot of integrity.”
Instead, Atkins offers to remake worn-out pieces into accessories like cuffs or decorative items like blankets or pillows.
He did the same with a fur coat from his mother, who died 20 years ago.
“She didn't have much money. She just had a little muskrat coat, but I made a throw and a blanket out of it to go across the couch in my living room,” Atkins said. “It means the world to me. Every time I feel like I need Mom, I can go stick my nose in it, and I still smell Mom.”
Beginnings
Atkins grew up in Kansas City, Kansas, where he currently lives in his childhood home. His mother worked for the Social Security Administration and was one of the few Black women at the time to have a master’s degree. His father ran the Standard Club, where Atkins began mopping the floors at age 9.
“My dad trained me,” he said. “I don’t think I had a childhood because I always worked.”
He went to Kansas City, Kansas Community College, where he trained to be a tailor, but quickly realized he couldn’t make much money sewing. Through the Standard Club, Atkins met an owner of Alaskan Fur, Myer Finkel, who offered him a job in 1981.
Atkins spent his first year as a cleaner before being trained under furriers like Oscar Donahue.
“The only reason why I’m as good as I am today is because the original furriers I worked with were master furriers, and they knew every bit of the business,” Atkins said. “And at that time, it was the most difficult work to do – the big Joan Crawford shoulders, the big puffy sleeves.”
Atkins credits his time at Alaskan Fur with paying off a mountain of medical debt and putting his two daughters through college. He used to work about 70 hours a week for the company because they paid him hourly.
Now, he’s pared that down to a more standard workweek, although he still comes into work around 6 a.m. and leaves in the early afternoon. What kept him going, he said, was the work ethic he learned from his mother.
“My mother always told me, no matter who you work for, you give a hundred percent,” he said. “If you don’t like where you work at, you don’t own the company. Go somewhere else and give a hundred percent.”
A declining industry
There’s not much information about the American fur industry readily available to the public. The country’s leading fur industry group, the American Fur Council, did not respond to interview requests.
But Vogue Business reports that sales of real fur have declined in recent years as faux fur and other vegan products gain popularity. The New York Times reports that many major fashion brands have stopped using fur entirely.
A November 2021 report from market research group IBIS World states the decline is a result of “the public's concern over the welfare of fur-bearing animals” and “competition from inexpensively produced artificial fur products.” For decades, animal rights activists have called fur garments cruel and unnecessary.
In 2019, there were about 1,500 fur workers remaining in the U.S., with about two-thirds of them in the New York area, said Charlie Ross, general manager of auction house Saga Furs North America. He’s not sure how that number has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Compare that to about 10,000 fur workers in New York alone in the ’80s, when Ross started in the fur business. But the rise of cheap overseas labor during that decade moved most fashion manufacturing abroad, including furs.
Ross estimates the average fur worker is now in their 50s or 60s and is nearing retirement.
“We do regular outreaches to students because we need to bring down the average age of the labor,” he said. “The entire fashion industry is in the same crisis.”
There are very few places in the U.S. for people to learn how to sew and design fur, said Kylee Alexander, a designer and professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
At her design company, Alexander has taught people to work with fur, often vintage or repurposed. Some only want to work with fake fur, but that still requires the same tools and skills as working with real fur. Because real fur is both long-lasting and biodegradable, Alexander sees it as more environmentally friendly than made-made fur.
“We think about it as a luxury, but there’s a lot of use for discarded fur garments that can be repurposed,” she said.
Alexander learned fur design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the only school she knows of that still teaches the subject. She says the only other opportunities to learn are directly from working furriers, many of whom have closed up shop in recent years.
“It’s really kind of scary that these traditions aren’t being passed on,” she said. “I think we’re going to see an industry largely disappear.”
Futures
In the ’80s, Alaskan Fur had three stores in Kansas City. The vaults were full of customers’ coats. Now, the company has one store in the area and the vaults sit half-empty.
Atkins doesn’t know who will replace him when he retires. Right now, he’s so busy that he doesn’t have time to train someone new.
“I’m in a trade that is a dying trade,” he said. “As long as I stay healthy, I’ll continue to do it because I enjoy it.”
But he has arthritis in both hands. He got COVID-19 in 2020, and he’s worried about getting it again because he works so closely with customers. He wants to play golf and spend more time with his grandchildren.
For now, he’ll stay at Alaskan Fur, because he still loves working with customers and figuring out what makes them happy.
“And that just comes from trial and error,” he said. “I’m no better than anyone else. All the things that I do very well come from just doing it for so long.” | https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-08-17/one-kansas-city-man-has-dedicated-his-life-to-the-dying-art-of-fur-coats | 2022-08-17T08:54:30Z | kcur.org | control | https://www.kcur.org/arts-life/2022-08-17/one-kansas-city-man-has-dedicated-his-life-to-the-dying-art-of-fur-coats | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas’ proposal to increase the production of affordable housing is being met with harsh criticism from housing advocates, public school representatives and social service providers.
“Kansas City's been taking from the poor and giving to the rich for a long time, and this is going to step it up a couple of notches,” Bruce Eddy, executive director of the Community Mental Health Fund, said at the KCPS Government Relations Ad Hoc Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Kansas City officials are considering major changes to the city's policies on housing and tax incentives for developers. Among the most hotly contested issues are a provision that would cut the City Council out of the decision making process for tax breaks and a measure that would ease requirements on developers to build affordable units.
The goal of these ordinances, Lucas has said, is to further incentivize development and meet the city’s housing goal of 10,000 affordable units by 2027.
“The real story is, right now, our economic development policy of Kansas City is, if not totally abandoned, it certainly is insufficient right now to answer the real needs of housing production and job production in the core of the city,” Lucas said.
But housing advocates, representatives from Kansas City Public Schools and other entities funded through property taxes say the proposals are a step backwards. They accuse the mayor of prioritizing development at the expense of poor and working class residents.
Defining “affordable” housing
A housing policy that went into effect last year mandates that developers seeking incentives must set aside 10% of units for households making 70% of the median family income — about $68,390 — and another 10% for households making 30%, which is $29,310.
Those numbers were generated using median family income from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, updated for 2022.
The new ordinance eases those standards, only requiring developers who request incentives to make 20% of their units affordable for those making 60% or below of the median family income, which is about $58,620. That breaks down to about $1,300 per month on rent.
Critics argue that’s not truly affordable. Kansas City Public Schools officials pointed out that the city’s affordability standard is more than the starting salary for a teacher in the district, which is $43,100.
“(It) doesn't feel truly affordable,” said Jennifer Wolfsie, chair of the KCPS Government Relations Committee.
Leaders from city-wide tenants union KC Tenants said the definition of “affordable” should come from tenants, not developers.
“We know what we need, and why should anyone other than tenants get to say what is affordable for tenants?” asked KC Tenants leader Sabrina Davis. “We should be using a definition of affordable that is affordable to us to live, not affordable for a developer to build.”
Tax incentive reform
The ordinances also aim to streamline the incentive-granting process.
There are a handful of different agencies in Kansas City that have the power to provide incentives for companies who say they can’t afford to build in certain parts of the city. Many of those agencies have different rules and standards for giving out tax breaks, which Lucas says encourages developers to go “incentive shopping” for the best deal.
Lucas says his plan aims to simplify that process by adopting a uniform set of standards across all the agencies who grant tax breaks that simultaneously support the city’s affordable housing goals.
“And then saying, all agencies, you have to live by these rules,” Lucas said. “Do not approve projects, pursuant to Kansas City economic development policy, unless you actually find yourself in a position where you're following these rules.”
Dan Moye, executive director of the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority, one of the agencies that can grant incentives, says the reforms allow the city to set priorities and benchmarks for the development it wants to achieve.
“We cut the red tape and say, ‘These are the types of projects we want to work on. We're not going to add a bunch of extra steps. We're going to make it easier to do this,’” Moye said.
Another major change, Lucas said, is that the City Council will not have final approval for tax incentive packages, as they do now for some incentive programs. Lucas said giving City Council final approval would sometimes lead to backroom dealings between developers and city officials.
But KC Tenants leader Jenay Manley says that robs residents of the change to testify before their elected officials about proposed projects in their neighborhoods.
“This policy was intended to work for wealthy developers while silencing the people,” Manley said.
The ordinance would also waive the requirement for a third-party financial analysis that determines how much a developer actually needs from the city in order to complete a project.
Angie Lile, chair of the District Advisory Committee for KCPS, called that “ridiculous.”
“There's no way that you would call a plumber in your house without getting another opinion on something,” she said. “And so for the city to say that they could just hand this money out without a third-party financial analysis is ridiculous.”
Kansas City Public Schools loses out on millions of tax dollars when the city grants tax abatements to developers.
The district says it lost out on $37 million in tax revenue in 2021 as a result of tax abatements. A 2021 study from the national policy group Good Jobs First found that, out of the 226 school districts in Missouri, KCPS took the biggest hit from tax abatements.
The Kansas City Public Library and community mental health funds also rely on money collected from property taxes.
“What this plan appears more than likely to do is to increase inequity,” Eddy said. “KCPS and the Community Mental Health Fund serve a lot of the same families. “What we need is affordable housing. We need stability for our families.”
Yet another ordinance standardizes incentive packages for residential, commercial and industrial development, based on targeted areas identified by the city.
For example, residential development under “Tier 1” covers most of downtown Kansas City, Midtown and neighborhoods east of Troost. Developers requesting incentives could receive a 100% tax abatement for 10 years, then a 50% abatement for 15 years.
But critics say that pits the Country Club Plaza, a desirable spot for development, against blighted areas east of Troost, the city’s racial and economic dividing line.
“It essentially is a turbo boost to the tendency that the city has toward inequitable development,” Eddy said.
Next Steps
A proposal to put a bond question to voters in November to raise money for the city’s affordable housing trust fund, has not been controversial.
The city council will hear the four ordinances in committee meetings on Wednesday. The ordinance proposing a $175 million bond issue will be heard by the Finance, Governance and Public Safety Committee at 10:30 a.m. The other three ordinances will be heard in the Neighborhood, Planning and Development Committee at 1:30 p.m.
Members of the public will be able to give public testimony on the proposed policies. KC Tenants said the group will ask the council not to support the ordinance on the tax incentive policy.
“There is no version of this policy that is intended to limit the public ability to engage in the incentive approval process that should be supported or considered,” Manley said. “We will not negotiate our voices away.” | https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-17/kansas-city-mayors-new-affordable-housing-plan-sparks-widespread-opposition | 2022-08-17T08:54:36Z | kcur.org | control | https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-17/kansas-city-mayors-new-affordable-housing-plan-sparks-widespread-opposition | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, Donald Trump’s fiercest Republican adversary in Congress, was defeated in a GOP primary Tuesday, falling to a rival backed by the former president in a contest that reinforced his grip on the party’s base.
The third-term congresswoman and her allies entered the day downbeat about her prospects, aware that Trump’s backing gave Harriet Hageman considerable lift in the state where he won by the largest margin during the 2020 campaign. Cheney was already looking ahead to a political future beyond Capitol Hill that could include a 2024 presidential run, potentially putting her on another collision course with Trump.
Cheney described her loss as the beginning of a new chapter in her political career as she addressed a small collection of supporters, including her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, on the edge of a vast field flanked by mountains and bales of hay.
“Our work is far from over,” she said Tuesday evening. Hinting at a presidential bid of her own, she later added, “I have said since Jan. 6 that I will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office — and I mean it.”
Four hundred miles to the east, festive Hageman supporters gathered at a sprawling outdoor rodeo and Western culture festival in Cheyenne, many wearing cowboy boots, hats and blue jeans.
The results were a powerful reminder of the GOP’s rapid shift to the right. A party once dominated by national security-oriented, business-friendly conservatives like her father now belongs to Trump, animated by his populist appeal and, above all, his denial of defeat in the 2020 election.
Echoing Trump, Hageman, a ranching industry attorney, falsely claimed the 2020 election was “rigged” as she courted Trump loyalists.
Such lies, which have been roundly rejected by federal and state election officials along with Trump’s own attorney general and judges he appointed, transformed Cheney from an occasional critic of the former president to the clearest voice inside the GOP warning that he represents a threat to democratic norms.
Cheney’s defeat would have been unthinkable just two years ago. The daughter of a former vice president, she hails from one of the most prominent political families in Wyoming. And in Washington, she was the No. 3 House Republican, an influential voice in GOP politics and policy with a sterling conservative voting record.
But after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, Cheney voted to impeach Trump and made it her primary mission to ensure he never again serves in the Oval Office. She pushed past GOP censures and death threats to serve as a leader on the congressional panel investigating Trump’s role in the insurrection.
Cheney will now be forced from Congress at the end of her third and final term in January. She is not expected to leave Capitol Hill quietly.
She will continue in her leadership role on the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6 attack until it dissolves at the end of the year. And she is actively considering a 2024 White House bid -- as a Republican or independent -- having vowed to do everything in her power to fight Trump’s influence in her party.
So far, it is a one-sided fight.
Tuesday’s primary contests in Wyoming and, to a lesser extent, Alaska demonstrated the enduring strength of Trump and his brand of hard-line politics ahead of the November midterm elections. So far, the former president has helped install loyalists who parrot his conspiracy theories in general election matchups from Pennsylvania to Arizona.
In Alaska, another Trump ally, former Gov. Sarah Palin, hoped to step into the national spotlight Tuesday as well.
The 58-year-old 2008 vice presidential nominee was actually on the ballot twice: once in a special election to complete former Rep. Don Young’s term and another for a full two-year House term starting in January.
On the other side of the GOP’s tent, a periodic Trump critic, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, had an opportunity to survive the former president’s ire, even after voting to convict him in his second impeachment trial. The top four Senate candidates in Alaska, regardless of party, will advance to the November general election, where voters will rank them in order of preference.
With Cheney’s loss, Republicans who voted to impeach Trump are going extinct.
In all, seven Republican senators and 10 Republican House members backed Trump’s impeachment in the days after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol as Congress tried to certify President Joe Biden’s victory. Just two of those 10 House members have won their primaries this year. After two Senate retirements, Murkowski remains the only such Senate Republican on this year’s ballot.
In Wyoming, Cheney had been forced to seek assistance from the state’s tiny Democratic minority. But Democrats across America, major donors among them, took notice. She raised at least $15 million for her election, a stunning figure for a Wyoming political contest.
But the makeup of Wyoming’s deeply Republican electorate was too much to overcome. As of Aug. 1, 2022, there were 285,000 registered voters in Wyoming, including 40,000 Democrats and 208,000 Republicans. Trump earned nearly 70% of the vote in 2016 and 2020.
If Cheney does ultimately run for president — either as a Republican or an independent — don’t expect her to win Wyoming’s three electoral votes.
“We like Trump. She tried to impeach Trump,” Cheyenne voter Chester Barkell said of Cheney on Tuesday. “I don’t trust Liz Cheney.”
And in Jackson, Republican voter Dan Winder said he felt betrayed by his congresswoman.
“Over 70% of the state of Wyoming voted Republican in the last presidential election and she turned right around and voted against us,” said Winder, a hotel manager. “She was our representative, not her own.”
There was no sign that the FBI’s recent search of Trump’s Florida estate played any role in Tuesday’s elections.
Just eight days ago, the FBI recovered 11 sets of classified records from Trump’s home. Some were marked “sensitive compartmented information,” a special category meant to protect the nation’s most important secrets. Republicans across the country initially rallied behind the former president, although the reaction turned somewhat mixed as more details emerged.
Anti-Trump Republicans across the country cheered Cheney’s willingness to challenge Trump even as they expressed disappointment in her loss.
“What’s remarkable is that in the face of almost certain defeat she’s never once wavered,” said Sarah Longwell, executive director of the Republican Accountability Project. “We’ve been watching a national American figure be forged. It’s funny how small the election feels — the Wyoming election — because she feels bigger than it now.” | https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/trump-foe-liz-cheney-defeated-in-wyoming-gop-primary/article_e8527958-1dd7-11ed-b4a5-ff688917af6d.html | 2022-08-17T08:56:48Z | lockportjournal.com | control | https://www.lockportjournal.com/news/trump-foe-liz-cheney-defeated-in-wyoming-gop-primary/article_e8527958-1dd7-11ed-b4a5-ff688917af6d.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
“Patriotism: love for or devotion to one’s country” (Merriam Webster Dictionary).
What does it mean to love one’s country? What does it mean to defend the nation’s most important values, like democracy and justice? News events over the past week have gotten me thinking about these questions in a more urgent way.
Patriotism is one of those things that you know when you see it, and it comes in different forms.
The other night my wife and I had a long talk with a young man working at Lock 34. He enlisted in the Marines at 21 and now wants to be a Niagara County Sheriff. He told us, “I want to serve the community where I was raised.” That’s patriotism.
Last year I went to the ceremony that renamed our community’s middle school after Aaron Mossell, a Black brickmaker who led the effort to desegregate our schools more than a century ago. The people who worked for years to make that renaming happen did that so something brave and noble would be remembered and taught to our children. Working for justice and honoring those who do, that is patriotism as well.
It is acts of genuine patriotism like these that help us see more clearly what patriotism is not. and this has been a big week for examples of what patriotism is not.
It is not patriotism, for example, for a former President to cart boxes full of the nation’s top security secrets to his vacation home, where those documents become a threat to national security. It is an act of putting our country’s safety in needless danger.
Nor it is an act of patriotism when members of Congress race in to attack law enforcement officials for doing their job to protect the country. Yet this is exactly what two New York congresswomen have done recklessly all week. Unwilling to wait even a day to see what investigators actually found in those boxes, they began launching their attacks on the FBI with all the hyped-up anger they could muster.
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik called the FBI’s search for highly classified documents “an actual threat to democracy.” She denounced it as “un-American.” Congresswoman Claudia Tenney, who represents a district east of Syracuse but is now seeking election in a more Republican district here, joined in.
Speaking in the apocalyptic language that obscure politicians use to get themselves on Fox News, Tenney declared, “Biden’s DOJ [Department of Justice] has been weaponized in an unprecedented way.” She admitted that she made this declaration not based on any evidence but “based on what I have seen on the Internet.”
The actual evidence — a copy of the court warrant authorizing the search and a list of what was found — was released 48 hours later but Stefanik and Tenney couldn’t wait, nor did they stop once the evidence was made public. What is important to them is not the facts but to get on TV and whip up the most extreme elements of their party, as a way to advance their political careers.
One result of this fact-free attack on the FBI by politicians like Stefanik and Tenney is that the men and women who serve in the FBI have had to face down armed supporters of Mr. Trump, including the gunman who assaulted the FBI office in Ohio last week, and a cascade of new threats.
Real patriotism does not put the advancement of your political career over the safety of both the country and the men and women who put their lives on the line to enforce its laws.
I have been thinking about how the actions of these two New York politicians stand in such contrast to the recent actions of our current representative in Congress, Chris Jacobs. Like Ms. Tenney and Ms. Stefanik, Mr. Jacobs is a Republican, conservative and ambitious. He worked hard to win his first term in Congress two years ago and seemed well on-track to keep that job for many years.
Then, in May, he committed a stunning act of raw political conscience. Two weeks after a white supremacist armed with a military style assault rifle rampaged through a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, targeting Black shoppers, and days after a similar attack killed 19 students in their Texas elementary school, Jacobs did the politically unthinkable. He announced that he would support legislation to ban future sales of military-style assault weapons like those used in those massacres.
Within a week his once-promising political career was over. The most extreme elements of the gun lobby went after him. Republican politicians, including Stefanik, started lining up behind candidates to oppose him. In the current version of the Republican Party an act of conscience following the needless massacre of men, women and children is not a virtue, it is a sin.
Is that patriotism?
“What happened in Buffalo profoundly affected me,” Jacobs said later. He personally knew some of those killed at Tops. He responded to a tragedy as a human being instead of a calculating politician, and he paid a high price.
Real patriotism and fake patriotism. Acts of political conscience and acts of political calculation. If democracy is going to survive in our country we need to be smart enough to spot the difference in those who seek power. I’m sure that congresswomen Stefanik and Tenney love their country. But their actions this past week tell us that they love pandering to extremists even more.
Jim Shultz is a father and grandfather in Lockport. He can be emailed at jimshultzthewriter@gmail.com. | https://www.lockportjournal.com/opinion/jim-shultz-patriotism-genuine-and-false/article_428b3fa0-1d8c-11ed-8d1c-f3e51e8f1194.html | 2022-08-17T08:56:54Z | lockportjournal.com | control | https://www.lockportjournal.com/opinion/jim-shultz-patriotism-genuine-and-false/article_428b3fa0-1d8c-11ed-8d1c-f3e51e8f1194.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
With a new school year right around the corner, student transportation has been on a lot of people’s minds.
Particularly the lack of qualified school bus drivers. Across New York state, some 2.3 million children rely on buses to get to and from schools each day.
According to an audit by the office of state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, about one third of those children ride on school buses owned by their local districts. Another third get to school on contracted buses, while the remaining third rely on public transportation.
To get more bus drivers on the road, both local and state officials have pushed programs to address the shortage. Niagara County officials held School Bus Driver Career fairs at the three Department of Motor Vehicles offices in October. The month prior, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced several initiatives including opening new testing sites for CDL applicants and expediting the testing and permitting process. The state DMV would remove the 14-day waiting period between permit test and road test, and county-run DMV offices would increase capacity to administer the written and road tests.
The lack of drivers is impacting local district’s in different ways. In Niagara Falls, for instance, the district has shifted its school day at the high school level to allow what bus drivers it has to make double runs throughout the day.
Ridge Road Express contracts with many local districts including Lockport, Starpoint and Roy-Hart. Traditionally a shortage in one district has been covered by shifting employees where they’re needed.
The transportation director at Roy-Hart, Sue Cheasty, says that’s not always so easy to do. “There’s not as many extras,” she said.
Gary Woodcock, who works for Ridge Road Express in the Lockport district, said there are enough bus drivers in Lockport right now, but the company is still hiring — but even then it’s no quick fix.
School officials say new bus drivers must complete a training program and veteran drivers must do refresher training. According to Cheasty, drivers who don’t have a commercial driver license (CDL) must go through a six-week program — one week in a classroom and five weeks on the road — before they’re allowed to transport students.
In addition, state auditors are urging the state Department of Transportation to ensure bus programs used by school districts have drivers who are qualified and properly trained.
State law directs each school district to certify that its school bus drivers have completed an established training program and to make an annual report on the effectiveness of the program. A total of 1,400 instructors provide the training to drivers, attendants and monitors, according to the auditors.
We’re thankful for the oversight and the assurance that drivers transporting our local students have been properly prepared.
The big question still remains — what more can be done to get qualified drivers behind the wheel of local school buses? | https://www.lockportjournal.com/opinion/our-view-school-bus-driver-shortage-tough-to-solve/article_7a66065c-1dab-11ed-8c5f-d3e500997b01.html | 2022-08-17T08:57:00Z | lockportjournal.com | control | https://www.lockportjournal.com/opinion/our-view-school-bus-driver-shortage-tough-to-solve/article_7a66065c-1dab-11ed-8c5f-d3e500997b01.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
For the first time in 20 years, the Internal Revenue Service is increasing the deduction limit for the amount of money teachers spend on school supplies, the agency has announced.
Teachers will now be able to deduct up to $300 of out-of-pocket classroom expenses in 2022, up from the $250 that has been set since the incentive first started in 2002.
"The limit will rise in $50 increments in future years based on inflation adjustments," the IRS said.
Eligible educators include K-12 teachers, principals, teachers' aides or counselors who spend more than 900 hours at the school during the academic year. Public and private school educators can benefit.
Eligible educators who are married to another eligible educator and file a joint tax return can deduct up to $600 in qualifying expenses, but still no more than $300 per spouse. Educators who do standard deductions also qualify.
The limit is still $250 for those who are filing their 2021 taxes.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.klcc.org/npr-news/2022-08-17/the-tax-deduction-limit-for-educators-will-increase-for-the-first-time-in-20-years | 2022-08-17T09:00:33Z | klcc.org | control | https://www.klcc.org/npr-news/2022-08-17/the-tax-deduction-limit-for-educators-will-increase-for-the-first-time-in-20-years | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Incumbent Wyoming Republican House Rep. Liz Cheney was defeated Tuesday after she broke from her party to criticize former president Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 insurrection.
She lost the race for Wyoming's at-large congressional district to Harriet Hageman, an attorney who supported Cheney in her race toward the House in 2016.
While there is not extensive official information on Hageman, this is what we know:
She has a background as an attorney
Hageman, a Wyoming native, received both her undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Wyoming.
She began her career as a law clerk for federal appeals judge James Barrett, and went on to practice law privately in Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska, according to Iowa State University.
Her specialty as an attorney was natural resources and water litigation. She also represented the federal government in many private property cases and eventually opened her own firm, according to Wyoming Public Media.
She first ran for public office in 2018
Hageman, whose father Jim Hageman was a Wyoming state representative for more than 20 years, first joined the political sphere when she unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018.
Hageman said in a statement that she decided to run against Cheney in the House because Cheney "betrayed Wyoming, betrayed the country and she betrayed me."
Cheney was ostracized by senior members of the Republican Party for voting to impeach him and later criticizing him for his handling of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Roughly 70% of Wyoming voted for Trump and Cheney's repudiation of him became the red line for so many GOP voters who enthusiastically backed her not long ago.
Trump eventually officially endorsed Hageman, a former Republican National Committee member for the state of Wyoming.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. | https://www.klcc.org/npr-news/2022-08-17/who-is-harriet-hageman-the-woman-who-beat-liz-cheney-in-the-wyoming-house-race | 2022-08-17T09:00:34Z | klcc.org | control | https://www.klcc.org/npr-news/2022-08-17/who-is-harriet-hageman-the-woman-who-beat-liz-cheney-in-the-wyoming-house-race | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
...FLOOD ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 AM HST WEDNESDAY FOR THE
ISLAND OF OAHU IN HONOLULU COUNTY...
* WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall continues.
* WHERE...The island of Oahu in Honolulu County.
* WHEN...Until 200 AM HST.
* IMPACTS...Minor flooding on roads, poor drainage areas, and in
streams.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
- At 1040 PM HST, radar indicated heavy showers redeveloping in
the same areas along portions of the windward coast extending
north from Kaneohe to Kahuku. Rain was falling at a rate of 1
to 2 inches per hour.
- Some locations that will experience flooding include...
Punaluu, Hauula, Kaaawa, Laie, Waikane, Kahuku, Waiahole,
Kahaluu, Ahuimanu, Kahana Valley State Park, Kualoa,
Malaekahana State Park and Turtle Bay.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Stay away from streams, drainage ditches and low lying areas prone
to flooding.
&&
This advisory may need to be extended beyond 200 AM HST if flooding;
persists.
HONOLULU (KITV4) –Light winds and hot temperatures Wednesday.
Tonight, a few passing trade wind showers windward and mauka. Partly cloudy skies. Lows in the middle 70s.
Wednesday, a passing shower windward and mauka in the morning. Sunny in the morning with partly sunny skies in the afternoon. A pop up shower will be possible for leeward spots in the afternoon hours. Light winds will be variable at 5-15 mph.
Highs near 80 windward with middle to upper 80s central/leeward.
Lighter winds will make it feel hotter in the afternoon.
Trades build back in Thursday and into the weekend.
North: 1-2 ft
West: 1-2 ft
South: 1-3 ft
East: 1-3 ft
A moderate South swell builds over the weekend into next week.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com
Chief Meteorologist Pete Caggiano forecasts for KITV4 Island News during the 5,6 and 10 p.m. newscasts Monday – Friday. He has the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association Seal of Approval. | https://www.kitv.com/weather/tuesday-evening-weather-forecast-august-16-2022/article_588adeaa-1dff-11ed-95c4-f7bd35801cb0.html | 2022-08-17T09:09:20Z | kitv.com | control | https://www.kitv.com/weather/tuesday-evening-weather-forecast-august-16-2022/article_588adeaa-1dff-11ed-95c4-f7bd35801cb0.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Country
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People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/lifestyle/gracelynn-belle-garrison/article_feeda36c-1d8d-11ed-bb9e-fb3474f21c8f.html | 2022-08-17T09:09:51Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/lifestyle/gracelynn-belle-garrison/article_feeda36c-1d8d-11ed-bb9e-fb3474f21c8f.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Seven candidates have now filed to run for positions on the Fergus Falls City Council.
Two incumbents, one former council member and four newcomers have filed with the city as of Aug. 15.
Scott Kvamme for Ward Two, an incumbent whose term expires in December of this year has filed paperwork to run for reelection.
Krista Hagberg, Ward One incumbent has also filed to run for reelection, as her term also expires in December.
Former council members Scott Rachels has filed for Ward Four and Nate Kunde has filed for Ward Three. Kunde is the operations manager at Otter Tail Power and is originally from Rugby, N.D.
Rachels is a local business owner and served on the council from 2011 to 2018. Rachels owns and operates Scot’s Machine Shop, on Pebble Lake Road.
Newcomer Spencer McGrew has thrown his hat in the ring to challenge for the Ward Four seat. McGrew is currently the Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist for Otter Tail County.
In the last couple of days, two more first time candidates have filed including Mark Leighton for Ward Two and Laura Job for Ward One
Aug. 16, at 5 p.m., was the deadline for filing. Assistant to the city administrator, Lynne Olson, said while there is a two day window for candidates who have already filed to change their mind until Aug. 18, any new filings must have been by the end of the day on Aug. 16, with no exceptions.
Incumbents that have not filed yet include Justin Arneson, for Ward Three, who also fills the seat of Interim Mayor, in the event current Mayor Ben Schierer is unable to attend a meeting and Karoline Gustafson, for Ward Four.
Discuss the news on NABUR, a place to have local conversations The Neighborhood Alliance for Better Understanding and Respect ✔ A site just for our local community ✔ Focused on facts, not misinformation ✔ Free for everyone | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/city-council-candidates-must-have-filed-to-run-by-aug-16/article_3ea9e388-1d63-11ed-8f35-db651f99391e.html | 2022-08-17T09:09:53Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/city-council-candidates-must-have-filed-to-run-by-aug-16/article_3ea9e388-1d63-11ed-8f35-db651f99391e.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Congenital heart disease is a physical heart defect that begins in the womb and affects around 40,000 children born in the U.S. each year.
According to Lake Region Healthcare, medical professionals are still unclear as to what exactly causes abnormal heart development. Some possible causes that are being investigated include drinking alcohol and smoking during pregnancy, using certain medications while pregnant and genetics.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School recently partnered with the product design team at the College of Design and through their collaboration the team created a product for teaching children about CHD.
Varying from mild to severe cases, CHD can manifest in several different ways, from valve complications to an upside-down heart. These variations make the condition especially difficult for children and their parents to understand and manage, particularly as CHD patients age and become more independent.
“There is a tendency to try and protect children from information,” says Amr El-Bokl of the U of M Medical School. “This continues as they grow, then all of a sudden they’re leaving for college or starting their first job and have only a vague idea of their heart condition.”
“Slow and early introduction is one of the best ways to become familiar with the medical information, but we don’t have many child-friendly tools,” El-Bokl mentions.
To help address the gap in education and outreach, El-Bokl and undergraduate student Levi Skelton embarked on a design process project with a vision to create a better educational tool for children and their parents.
“I started by researching what CHD is, how it can manifest, be managed and sometimes corrected. Dr. El-Bokl was both my client and mentor and while he was teaching me about CHD he was also telling me what he wanted out of the product,” says Skelton.
After conducting his research and speaking with a child life specialist, Skelton decided that an animal companion toy would be the most effective way to meet the project’s goals.
Studies have shown that children who simulate a doctor and patient interaction with themselves and a toy of some description end up feeling more comfortable during real visits to the doctor.
“Once I decided on creating a toy, I researched animals with unique hearts and chose the octopus because it has three of them,” Skelton says.
The resulting CHD toy is a plush octopus named Octo and is designed with a removable 3D-printed heart. The toy also comes with an accompanying digital app for kids to administer checkups and learn about cardiovascular functions.
Skelton comments on the merging of the seemingly disparate disciplines of medicine and design: “I think designers have a lot to bring to the medical field, especially for children.”
More information about congenital heart disease can be found here: mayoclinic.org. | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/congenital-heart-disease/article_1d641284-1c2d-11ed-9a9b-4b43fbdafa6a.html | 2022-08-17T09:09:54Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/congenital-heart-disease/article_1d641284-1c2d-11ed-9a9b-4b43fbdafa6a.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Man tries to lure child
A woman on Riverside Court contacted Fergus Falls police on Aug. 11, at approximately 12:50 p.m. to report that her 7-year-old son told her a man tried to lure him into his car sometime within the previous two weeks. An officer spoke with the child’s mother who stated that a black sedan with blacked out windows by the Concord Street bridge asked her son if he wanted any candy. She stated her son walked away and told the man “no.” It was also reported that the party looked like a male, but sounded like a female with slicked black hair. Extra patrol was requested for the area.
Speeding reported in residential area
An anonymous driving complaint was received by Fergus Falls police dispatch on Aug. 15, at approximately 7:56 a.m., near 1800 South Court Street. The anonymous party stated that vehicles were traveling through at a high rate of speed in the residential area. Officers will be providing extra patrol.
Juveniles break into former Regional Treatment Center
A city employee contacted Fergus Falls police on Aug. 11, at approximately 8:05 p.m. reporting two 17-year-old juveniles that had broken into the former Regional Treatment Center complex possibly trespassing on the first floor near Door 1. When an officer arrived the two juveniles were located leaving the RTC grounds and matched the suspect descriptions and they also admitted to being inside the building. The pair were both issued trespassing citations and their parents were notified.
Man harasses woman in bank line
A woman who had been harassed by someone in a drive thru lane at a bank contacted Fergus Falls police on Aug. 10, at approximately 10:22 a.m. reporting that a male driving an orange pickup pulled up behind her honking his horn and yelling insults. Upon speaking with the woman, she indicated that the man had called her a “cow” and was telling her to get off of her phone. She admitted that she swore back at the male and eventually left the drive thru. The woman did not file charges, but wanted the suspects name documented in case there were other issues.
Person injured after crashing into power pole
A call from a passing motorist to 911 prompted Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office deputies and an officer from the Fergus Falls Police Department regarding a vehicle that was in some power lines, upside down and unknown at the time of the call if there was a person inside. Upon arrival by law enforcement, it was determined that the vehicle was traveling on the 24000 block of County Highway 111, when a male party lost control of the vehicle he was driving and crashed into a power pole. The unidentified male was transported to Lake Region Healthcare by Ringdahl Ambulance with non-life threatening injuries.
Woman doesn’t like people
An Otter Tail County Sheriff’s deputy made contact with a woman on July 12, at approximately 1:43 a.m., that was traveling to Washington State from Ohio and was parked by the side of the road on 570th Avenue, about four and a half miles southeast of New York Mills. She stated to the deputy that she didn’t like sleeping at campgrounds as she didn’t like people. The deputy advised the woman that she may continue to get more law enforcement visits if she continued parking at places like that along her route. | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/from-the-record-aug-9-15-2022/article_ba26b350-1d73-11ed-860d-7fd678033f81.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:01Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/from-the-record-aug-9-15-2022/article_ba26b350-1d73-11ed-860d-7fd678033f81.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The Fergus Falls Kennedy Secondary School is undergoing a process to shift from a seven period schedule to a five period day slated for implementation in the fall of 2023 along with the addition of “otter time,” a 30 minute guided study hall that will aid in realizing long-term academic and professional goals.
Mark Anderson is the principal of Kennedy Secondary School and discusses some of the finer points to certain changes underway in the school system: “What guided study really is, is advisory. Helping students to be organized and encouraging them to ask the questions they may have – basically teaching kids to be advocates for themselves.”
Guided study hall will take place on Mondays along with personal learning plans taking place twice a month on Tuesdays.
“All of our students undergo a four or five year process where they organize all of the things they have to do to prepare for graduation as a senior,” Anderson says.
With a student body approaching 800 students serviced by three counselors, Anderson explains how the allotment of dedicated time in the school day to review personal goals and career visions will help students, academic staff and family members, “When a kid leaves us, they know exactly what they have in their portfolio per say and what they want to do after high school, whether that be military service, college or work and travel.”
Anderson says the rest of the week will consist of study hall as well where students will take the initiative to see teachers for extra support, make up work and undertake any retests that need to happen: “They’ll take these opportunities to meet our expectations on our guaranteed curriculum.”
“We heard the same message from all of the students we engaged with concerning our current schedule,” Anderson continues. “That message was, we need time in the day to do the things we are being asked to do.”
Anderson emphasizes that the new shifts in the school day structure are a result of the widespread input and collaboration of students, student family members, academic staff and associated school personnel.
Anderson explains that these programs and ideas are inspired from national conferences observing schools that were leaders in best practices: “I had the opportunity to meet those presenters and principles and actually see these things in action – it works.”
“It’s certainly a culture shift and takes time,” Anderson explains. “There are expectations and guidelines that must be followed, students don’t get to disappear during those times as attendance is taken and all of those things.”
The otter time study hall offering will help students complete much of their homework and associated school commitments before they leave each day.
Anderson says that students are now asked to do more than have in the past and this extra workload paired with heightened standards sometimes cause difficulties outside of the school setting: “We need to figure out how we’re going to make sure the students are going to have the necessary time while they’re present with us to give them those skills to move forward.”
While the shift to a five period school day would mean changes in the amount of credits required for graduation and an initially heightened administrative burden, the transition would ultimately result in a more efficient day of classes for both students and teachers: “One of the things that we know is that seven periods each day is lot of transitions for kids.”
“Right now we have teachers who see nearly 180 kids per day,” Anderson states. “There’s no way you make a relationship that’s impactful.”
The five period structure would see teachers interacting with roughly 120 students per day, greatly increasing one-on-one time and in turn fostering meaningful student-teacher relationships.
“Obviously, going from a seven period to five period day, we’re going to be ensuring that our scope and sequence is still completed,” Anderson mentions.
More information on current events and initiatives occurring at KSS can be reviewed here: fergusotter.org. | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/kss-assesses-five-period-school-day/article_9e362888-1d87-11ed-8d3e-a70c179b0fcf.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:07Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/kss-assesses-five-period-school-day/article_9e362888-1d87-11ed-8d3e-a70c179b0fcf.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Becoming a master gardener can be a very rewarding experience.
Longtime local master gardener Bev Johnson, who shares her wisdom in the pages of the Fergus Falls Daily Journal every week, empowers those wanting to get into gardening for the first time, or just enjoys answering questions about planting conditions or locations or what fertilizer is best for a specific plant.
The volunteer position is offered through the University of Minnesota.
While most would think that it might be a solitary backyard type job, it is not. There are quite a few public events and facets of the job.
“I’ve always been a bit of a loner and when you’re a master gardener you don’t get to be one,” said Johnson. “You have to contribute to the group and I get a lot of calls from people that make me concentrate on what I’ve learned and be able to pass it on.”
Johnson keeps a simple philosophy when imparting her wisdom to initiates or advanced gardeners.
“One thing we do is teach people about gardening as much as we can and how to do it properly, what to plant, where to plant, when to plant.”
It is a very public position. Johnson stated that at first she was surprised at the amount of time spent out in the public and the time commitment itself.
“People know my name and they know me, I walk down the street and they recognize my voice and they say, “You’re Bev, can I ask you a question?” which is a little disconcerting sometimes. It certainly made me come out of my shell,” added Johnson.
Johnson said that during the first year of being a master gardener you have to have 50 hours of volunteer time, after that it’s 25 hours and five hours of education. Some education takes place at the University of Minnesota Morris.
The job comes with unexpected perks as well, as Johnson has learned over the years. She shared that most of the time, she gets regular gardening type questions, but sometimes, very rarely she will get some off the wall inquiries. One in particular was about a spider.
“A lady called the extension office and said she had a spider she wanted us to identify. I said you’ll have to bring it in so we can look at it. She said I can’t, I just flushed it,” exclaimed Johnson.
The application period to become a University of Minnesota Extension master gardener volunteer is open through Oct. 1.
Training is all online and is spread out over a 14-week period. The University of Minnesota states that to become a master gardener, individuals commit to complete online training and mandatory volunteer time; however, many choose to devote more time to the program.
The U of M has trained thousands of master gardeners from all walks of life; each year, the university said in total, they contribute more than 140,000 hours of service in the Minnesota communities they serve.
To learn more about the program or apply to become a master gardener, visit z.umn.edu/MG_info or call 612-625-9864. | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/realities-of-master-gardeners/article_a25d1674-1cbf-11ed-b688-ef179cc890f2.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:11Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/realities-of-master-gardeners/article_a25d1674-1cbf-11ed-b688-ef179cc890f2.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Catherine (Kitty) B. Loeffler passed on November 18, 2021 due to Covid-19 and pneumonia. She was born June, 1919 in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada to Thomas and Mary Kearsey. She was the sixth of seven children and graduated from High School in 1936. When WWII began, American soldiers were trained in St. John’s in preparation for the invasion of Europe. She married Lawrence Lundgren, an American soldier from Vining, MN. Before he was sent overseas, he suggested that she should live with his family. The marriage didn’t last, and she moved to Fergus Falls, MN with her daughter.
She worked at Montgomery Wards and then O’Meara’s Department Store where she was also a buyer. She married Earl (Sparky) Otnes, and they had many happy years with their double decker raft on Long Lake and dances at Sunblad’s Resort with Sparky’s musical friends. They also built a cabin there. After Sparky’s death in 1962 she moved to Minneapolis and took a job with security at Dayton’s Department Store. Her grandchildren enjoyed hearing stories about her catching shop lifters. She worked hard all her life and made sure her family had everything they needed and then some. Kitty took many trips visiting her siblings in St. John’s, Ottawa, and Montreal. Hawaii was a favorite place in the winter, and she also traveled to several countries in Europe.
When she retired from Dayton’s, she moved back to Fergus Falls and married Earl Loeffler. They enjoyed the cabin in the summer and going to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas for the winter. Kitty loved dogs, gardening, baseball, football and especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She always had a big smile for everyone and she was a terrific mother and grandmother. She is survived by her daughter Carol Michealson (Butch); her grandson Greg Michealson (Kathleen), granddaughter Maren Anderson (Lance); great grandsons Erik and Evan Michealson and great granddaughter Nicole Michealson; and great granddaughters Brynn and Ava Anderson.
The family would like to thank the staff of Keystone Bluffs for their outstanding care.
Memorials are preferred to Animal Allies or the Humane Society.
Funeral to be held 11 AM Saturday, August 20, 2022 at Glende-Nilson Funeral Home with a visitation a half hour prior.
Interment 4:00 at St. Otto’s Cemetery, Fergus Falls, MN.
Discuss the news on NABUR, a place to have local conversations The Neighborhood Alliance for Better Understanding and Respect ✔ A site just for our local community ✔ Focused on facts, not misinformation ✔ Free for everyone | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/catherine-loeffler-1919---2021/article_e5c86f16-1cd9-11ed-8f48-9feedd87a38c.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:17Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/catherine-loeffler-1919---2021/article_e5c86f16-1cd9-11ed-8f48-9feedd87a38c.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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Dianne Preston
1940-2022
Dianne (Rowley) Preston went to Heaven, Saturday, August 13th ending her battle with Lewy Body Dementia. She was born February 27th, 1940 to Lyle and Ruth (Oleson) Rowley in Menomonie, WI. Dianne was an “only child” which she told everyone with regret but pride at the same time. Dianne went to North Grade school in Menomonie and then to Junior and Senior High School “downtown”.
Upon graduating from high school in 1958, she enrolled in the Luther Hospital School of Nursing in Eau Claire. At that time, she and Wayne “Butch” Preston became a “lifetime” couple. They were engaged while they were in school at Eau Claire. They married April 1, 1961 at the Methodist Church in Menomonie. Both graduated from their respective nursing school-(RN degree) and college in August 1961. Dianne began her nursing career at Luther Hospital: Butch his teaching career at Eau Claire Central Junior High School.
Scot, their “first-born”, arrived June 3, 1962 and Gregg, August 4th, 1965. Their lives were forever changed in 1968 when Dianne accepted Jesus as her Savior at a Christian Women’s Club meeting in the fall and Butch after hearing an evangelist speak in December. Together the 4 Preston’s began the abundant life together that Jesus promised in John 10:10.
Dianne is survived by her husband Wayne “Butch”, sons Scot (Maple Grove, MN), Gregg (Marie) Fergus Falls, MN: Brothers-In-Law Charles (Annette) Preston, Mesa, AZ, Lynn Preston (Cape Coral, FL.), Gary (Linda) Mondovi, WI, half-sisters-in- law, Susan Preston (Eau Claire), and Clarice Koening (Waupun, WI) and grandchildren: Tony and (Paola) and great granddaughter Brisa, Daniel (Anna), Susana, and Gabriel.
Dianne was a wonderful, warm, loving person, and her infectious laughter, smile, and friendliness will never be forgotten. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. The Preston’s would like to thank the entire staff at Park Gardens and Red River Hospice for their kind, gentle, and professional care and to all our friends for their prayers and encouragement.
Memorials can be sent to Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (Fergus Falls), Fellowship of Christian Athlete’s (FCA), or a Christian Organization of your choice.
Visitation: Wednesday, August 17, 2022 from 6 – 8:30 P.M. with a prayer service at 7:00 P.M. at the Glende-Nilson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls and resuming for one hour prior to the service at the church.
Memorial service: Thursday, August 18, 2022 at 1:00 P.M. at Bethel Lutheran Church in Fergus Falls.
Burial: Halvorson Cemetery in Menomonie, WI at a later date.
Funeral Home: Glende-Nilson Funeral Home of Fergus Falls.
Condolences: www.glendenilson.com. | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/dianne-preston-1940-2022/article_f29d04ea-1d83-11ed-a973-c343828786a6.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:30Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/dianne-preston-1940-2022/article_f29d04ea-1d83-11ed-a973-c343828786a6.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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Junell Robley
1930-2022
Junell Robley, 91, died on Sunday, August 14, 2022, at the PioneerCare Center in Fergus Falls, MN.
Junell Orpha was born October 15, 1930, in Pelican Rapids, MN the daughter of Oluf and Alida (Jenson) Christianson. Junell grew up in Pelican Rapids and graduated from Pelican Rapids High School in 1948. On September 30, 1950, she was united in marriage with Donald Robley in Badger, MN. For many years Junell worked as a cook at the Pelican Rapids High School. Donald died on July 1, 2006.
She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and active in circle. Junell also volunteered for the United Way and Meals on Wheels. Junell collected spoons, cross-stitched, traveled, and will be remembered for taking many photos of the family. She especially enjoyed spending time with her grandchildren and attending their activities.
Memorials preferred to the Pelican Rapids Food Shelf, Trinity Lutheran Church, or donor’s choice.
Junell is survived by her children: Dale (Sheila) Robley, Faribault, MN; Loreen Wares, Fergus Falls, MN; Jeff (Gwen) Robley, Eden Prairie, MN; Janice (Dave) Cossette, Fergus Falls, MN; David (Sandy Tubbs) Robley, Alexandria, MN; Jean (Kevin) Mills, Fergus Falls, MN; grandchildren: Jenny Paul; Justin (Nicole) Paul and their children: Kylee & Ayianna; Megan (Havi) Amedi; Kelly Paul and her children: Dane, Tosh, & Noah; Todd Robley and Rose Crutcher; Angie (Darren) Pauly and their children: Anna, Jacob, & Amelia; Sarah (Ryan) Snetting and their children: Cecelia, Stella, & Harper; Dustin (Ashley) Cossette and their children: Payton, Jaxton, & Dash; Jeremy (Kari) Cossette and their children: Ella, Anika, Levi, & Cullen; Josh (Becca) Cossette and their children: Lily, Emma, & Logan; Jennifer Robley; Brian Robley; and Sean Mills; sisters-in-law: Joyce Davis, Eileen Robley, Margaret Robley, and Ruby Christianson; and many nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by husband, Donald; sisters: Ardis Christianson and Ruth Tucker, brother Donald Christianson; and numerous sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.
Visitation: Friday, August 19, 2022, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, Pelican Rapids, MN.
Memorial Service: 11:00 a.m., Friday, August 19, 2022, at Trinity Lutheran Church, Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, with Pastor Eric Schwirian and Allen Westby, S.A.M. officiating.
Interment: Pelican Valley Cemetery, Pelican Rapids, Minnesota.
Funeral Home: Larson Funeral Home, Pelican Rapids, Minnesota.
Online memories and condolences may be shared at www.larsonfuneralpelicanrapids.com. | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/junell-robley-1930-2022/article_498cde98-1d88-11ed-8ecf-9fde5ac3ba31.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:38Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/junell-robley-1930-2022/article_498cde98-1d88-11ed-8ecf-9fde5ac3ba31.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Lois Stroud, 81, of Fergus Falls, passed away Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at Lake Region Healthcare in Fergus Falls.
Lois Amy Marsh was born July 3, 1941, to Nicholas and Pearl (Willard) Marsh in Willow City, ND. She graduated from Minot High School in 1959.
On January 13, 1962, Lois married Rodney Stroud in Minot.
She worked as personal secretary to a division manager at MDU from 1959-1962 and was the secretary/receptionist for Marsh Heating and AC from 1983-1985.
Lois was a very devout Christian her entire life. She loved gardening, playing piano, singing, cooking, baking, playing with her grandchildren, and reading.
Preceding her in death were her parents, Nicholas and Pearl; four brothers, and three sisters.
Lois is survived by her husband, Rodney Stroud of Fergus Falls; her children, Scott (Sue) Stroud of Fergus Falls, Shawn (Amy) Stroud of Salinas, CA, Steve (Diana) Stroud of Dickinson, ND, and Shannon (Shauna) Stroud of Duluth; two sisters; a brother; 14 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.
Visitation: 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday, August 19, 2022, at Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls and resume one-hour prior to the service.
Service: 11:00 a.m. Saturday, August 20, 2022, at Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls.
Clergy: David Bergh and Jake Nelson.
Interment: Oak Grove Cemetery, Fergus Falls, MN.
Arrangements provided by Olson Funeral Home in Fergus Falls.
Discuss the news on NABUR, a place to have local conversations The Neighborhood Alliance for Better Understanding and Respect ✔ A site just for our local community ✔ Focused on facts, not misinformation ✔ Free for everyone | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/lois-stroud-1941-2022/article_626ea8ea-1d85-11ed-94fd-87b181ea7f9c.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:44Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/lois-stroud-1941-2022/article_626ea8ea-1d85-11ed-94fd-87b181ea7f9c.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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Margaret Eleanor Eckhardt, 93, of Fergus Falls, died Sunday, August 14, 2022, at her residence in Park Gardens, Fergus Falls.
Margaret was born on April 20, 1929, in Fergus Falls, the daughter of Haldor and Beatrice (Bredeson) Sander. She grew up in Aurdal Township and attended school in Fergus Falls, graduating in 1947 from Fergus Falls High School.
On June 12, 1948, she married Arthur Eckhardt. The couple lived and farmed in the Fergus Falls area until retirement.
Margaret loved crafting and was known for her knitting and quilting. Margaret was an avid gardener and always had lovely flowers growing outdoors. She and Art were the ultimate hosts, frequently entertaining and feeding the many neighbors, friends, and relatives who would stop by their home. Margaret’s musical abilities were exhibited in many ways including playing accordion, piano, and organ. She was an active member of the Stavanger Lutheran Church including playing the organ at worship services and singing in the choir. Margaret took great joy in her family and grandchildren. She enjoyed traveling with Art out West and enjoyed meeting people wherever they went.
Preceding her in death were her parents; husband, Arthur; sons, Wayne and Mark; siblings, Orville and Harold Sander, Bernice Mueller, Lucille Langseth, Doris Langseth, and Elaine Hanson.
Survivors include children, Peggy (Sterg) Katirgis of Farmington, NM, Michael (Mary Pat) Eckhardt of Mahtomedi, MN, and Susan (Brian) Schlueter of Fergus Falls; daughter-in-law, Kimberly Eckhardt; grandchildren Jon Schlueter, Jason Schlueter, Erin Schlueter, Kathryn Eckhardt, Rose Eckhardt, David Eckhardt, Jonathan Eckhardt, Hannah Coslett, and Matthew Eckhardt; great-grandchildren Avery Schlueter, Ethan Schlueter, Amiliano Schlueter, Ivana Schlueter, and Noah Eckhardt.
Memorials are preferred to Stavanger Lutheran Church.
Visitation: One hour prior to the service at the church.
Funeral Service: 11:00 a.m., Friday, August 19, 2022 at Stavanger Lutheran Church, Fergus Falls.
Discuss the news on NABUR, a place to have local conversations The Neighborhood Alliance for Better Understanding and Respect ✔ A site just for our local community ✔ Focused on facts, not misinformation ✔ Free for everyone | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/margaret-eckhardt-1929-2022/article_40f40aa0-1d87-11ed-84e5-4f62defb051a.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:51Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/obituaries/margaret-eckhardt-1929-2022/article_40f40aa0-1d87-11ed-84e5-4f62defb051a.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Action continued for the 2022 season on Aug. 12, at the I-94 Sure Step speedway, with six different races on the Advantage RV Modified tour presented by Watertown Ford and Chrysler.
Fergus native, Sam Zender, finished in first place after 15 laps in the Viessman Late Model A Feature. Ben Wolden, also of Fergus, was second and Derek Quinn, from Brandon, third.
In the Short Tracker A Feature, Wahpeton’s Shane Beto took home the checkered flag, moving up four spots over the 12 laps. Kevin Wahl, Fergus, finished as runner up and Madison Swenson, from Alexandria, finished in third place.
The other four races were WISSOTA features. With the Late Models, Don Shaw, from Ham Lake, started in first place and after 20 laps, finished in first place. In second place was Cole Searing, from Huron, S.D. Rounding out the top three was Hawley’s Cole Schill.
With the Midwest Mods, Shane Howell, from Buffalo, moved up five spots to finish in first place. Behind him was Brendan Blascyk, of Hoffman and then Ron Saurer, from Dalton.
The WISSOTA Modifieds saw the biggest move up in positioning to capture the checkered flag. Johnny Broking, from Grand Rapids, moved up nine spots. He was followed by Lowry’s Zach Johnson and Villard native, Brady Gerdes.
Lastly, the Street Stocks. Capturing first was Kyle Dykhoff, from Starbuck. In second place was Dent native, Ryan Satter and then it was Cory Dykhoff, from Perham.
The upcoming schedule includes a regular race night on Aug. 19, race of champions on Aug. 26, followed by the season championships on Sept. 2. WISSOTA 100 returns to I-94 on Sept. 13-17.
Discuss the news on NABUR, a place to have local conversations The Neighborhood Alliance for Better Understanding and Respect ✔ A site just for our local community ✔ Focused on facts, not misinformation ✔ Free for everyone | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/sports/thunder-returns-to-i-94-sure-step-speedway/article_60ef6532-1d98-11ed-82ea-2b14628c9ce4.html | 2022-08-17T09:10:58Z | fergusfallsjournal.com | control | https://www.fergusfallsjournal.com/sports/thunder-returns-to-i-94-sure-step-speedway/article_60ef6532-1d98-11ed-82ea-2b14628c9ce4.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Today's Good Morning Britain saw a money saving expert issue a clear warning to consumers about "getting into the traps" of certain businesses. This came after the announcement that the Consumer Price Index had hit a staggering 10.1%.
Saleem Shafi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Money Buddies, explained that people struggling under the cost of living crisis might be susceptible to loan sharks. The expert insisted that the current state of inflation was a "nightmare scenario" but pushed for viewers to seek "free, independent and local advice" rather than becoming ensnared by such businesses.
Loan sharks are illegal companies that loan, often vulnerable, people money at extremely high rates of interest. Mr Shafi explained that his company work closely with an illegal money lending team to prevent consumers falling prey to these businesses that make people's lives "slavish" to them.
Read more: Exactly when and how you'll get your £400 to pay for energy bills
He said: "Loan sharks are illegal money lenders, they should not be able to loan money to people. Working with illegal money teams is a great way of stopping people getting into the traps of loan sharks, who really make people's lives slavish to them."
Stand-in host Rob Rinder assured the expert that he would be posting information about loan-sharking to help people's understanding and the host's compassionate approach left fans begging for him to become a permanent fixture.
Shafi made clear that there is "no shame" in reaching out for help but that the best solution for people is to speak to independent companies who will offer specific local advice. He explained that these businesses will be completely "non-judgemental" in the help they give.
"There is no shame in it whatsoever. What I would say is pick up the phone or email an organisation like Money Buddies and what you'll see is many organisations available to you who offer free, independent and local advice.
We're all in this together. So many people feel guilty about the decisions they've made or for some reason think that it's their fault.
There's lots of non-judgemental help out there."
Fans of the show were quick to praise the segment and Rinder's approach, with one social media user @suzyglitter1 tweeting: "Dear GMB, please could you offer Robbie Rinder a permanent position on the show!"
Another, @Speedqueenie added: "Rob Rinder has been epic this week!"
Another, @bethmaybztweets, speaking about the advice and cost of living crisis, continued: "watching GMB and can not believe we're at the point that people are looking to take out loans to pay for their food shop. This government should be ashamed."
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Cost of living crisis help from Iceland as supermarket launches interest-free loans for shoppers | https://www.kentlive.news/news/celebs-tv/good-morning-britain-fans-praise-7473720 | 2022-08-17T09:11:10Z | kentlive.news | control | https://www.kentlive.news/news/celebs-tv/good-morning-britain-fans-praise-7473720 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The ongoing cost of living crisis is a real problem for families across the country. Energy prices are set to hit record highs later in the year and heading into 2023 meaning saving cash is even more important.
However, sometimes household appliances can cost more money than you first expect. Many families will be looking at how much certain appliances cost this month.
In a bid to help people with how much electricity they are using on appliances, especially white goods, the experts at Radiators Online have shared the appliances which are most energy-intensive with the Mirror Online.
READ MORE: Popular Jerk n’ Tingz in Dover announces it is opening a second restaurant
Air conditioning and heating
The experts at Radiators Online said: "Your HVAC [Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning] system is the biggest consumer of energy in your home. Most HVAC systems run 24 hours a day; therefore, depending on the efficiency of your unit, on average, it may use 72kWh in a day, costing you a staggering £4,967.65 a year and £13.61 every day.”
If you wish to save money they have suggested that you should invest in a programmable thermostat. They said: "If you assumed the energy costs of running a fan are minimal, you’d be right.
"Consider direct current fans. They use so little energy that operating one at full speed for 24 hours a day would cost between £24.83 and £164.25 a year."
Water heating
The experts have also said that water heaters cost you around £828.55 over a year if you use it every day. In a bid to save money the experts have said that they recommend using heat pumps that use electricity to heat transfer the heat by using around 500 watts.
Fridge Freezer
Speaking about fridge freezers the experts said: "A refrigerator must run 24 hours a day to keep your food fresh. This appliance needs 180 watts per hour to run, which means it requires 4.32 kWh to run for 24 hours.
“Multiplying this by 365 days at the average price per kWh, we find that your fridge is costing you £299.30 per year.”
Dishwasher
Many households use a dishwasher for convenience despite the fact they can cost a fortune to run. For a dishwasher to run for an hour it takes about 1800 watts even though the average dishwasher runs for two hours.
The experts have said: “This means it uses 3.6 kWh per average, costing you about £240.20 if used daily for a year.”
Oven
Everyone needs and uses an oven and although it is not the most expensive if you open and close the door that can end up costing more. The experts have said that doing that affects how much electricity the oven uses.
They explained: “We estimated that an oven is used, on average, for about an hour a day. It takes about 2400 watts for an average oven to run, therefore, it requires 2.4 kWh for one hour of use and costs about £164.25 to use daily for a year.”
READ NEXT: | https://www.kentlive.news/news/cost-of-living/home-appliances-using-most-energy-7473797 | 2022-08-17T09:11:20Z | kentlive.news | control | https://www.kentlive.news/news/cost-of-living/home-appliances-using-most-energy-7473797 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A raft of new road laws for cyclists are reportedly being considered by the government, meaning that those who choose to travel by bicycle could be made to have insurance and number plates. Earlier this year, changes aimed at increasing cyclists' safety were made to the Highway Code.
Now, the Mirror reports that leading government officials want to introduce new legislation for cyclists as more and more people opt to travel on two wheels. Among the proposals are laws requiring cyclists to abide by the same speed limits as motorists and comply with traffic lights.
The Daily Mail has reported that the new legislation would see cyclists liable for fines or penalty points for speeding or other road infringements, with enforceability ensured by requiring those on a bicycle have a number plate. Insurance would be required in the event of injury.
Read more:I walked the A21 cycle path and now I want a bicycle
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has reportedly said he is seeking to introduce a “death by dangerous cycling” law. Earlier this month, Mr Shapps is believed to have said that such legislation is needed to “impress on cyclists the real harm they can cause when speed is combined with lack of care.”
The move would close a legal loophole which means that cyclists who kill pedestrians can only be jailed for two years. It comes four years after the government ran a consultation on proposals for new offences of causing death or serious injury while cycling.
Mr Shapps wrote in the Daily Mail earlier this month that a "selfish minority" of cyclists believe they are "immune" to red lights. "We need the cycling equivalent of death by dangerous driving to close a gap in the law and impress on cyclists the real harm they can cause when speed is combined with lack of care," he said.
"For example, traffic lights are there to regulate all traffic. But a selfish minority of cyclists appear to believe that they are somehow immune to red lights. We need to crack down on this disregard for road safety. Relatives of victims have waited too long for this straightforward measure."
The Cabinet Office has been approached for comment.
READ NEXT: | https://www.kentlive.news/news/uk-world-news/cyclists-may-need-number-plates-7473707 | 2022-08-17T09:11:40Z | kentlive.news | control | https://www.kentlive.news/news/uk-world-news/cyclists-may-need-number-plates-7473707 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
New Three‑Parent Fertilization Technique Could Help Trans Men Have Children
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While the world grapples with rollbacks on reproductive rights, there’s a scarcely discussed aspect of it: reproductive rights of trans people. The issue is arguably even more fraught when it comes to trans men who wish to have their own children. The process typically involves invasive and dysphoric fertility treatments that clash with gender-affirmative treatments. But a new advancement could change that.
Researcher Antonia Christodoulaki from Ghent University in Belgium found evidence of a three-parent fertilization technique that could help trans men reproduce sans traditional IVF treatments. Presenting her findings at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, Christodoulaki said that the method could help affirm trans men’s rights to have their own children. “Every person should have the right to reproduce,” she told the MIT Technology Review.
At present, trans men who wish to have children undergo treatments that stimulate their ovaries to release several eggs at once. This requires them to either pause gender-affirming treatments like hormone therapy, or postpone it until their eggs are collected and frozen. Testosterone — the hormone administered as part of gender affirmative treatment — can hamper egg production.
While this method works on a technical front, it can be dysphoric to experience the side effects of fertility treatments that stimulate ovaries — these include cramps, breast tenderness, and others. Moreover, the process of collecting eggs is laden with medical processes that over-emphasize the gendered body — like vaginal exams.
The new technique then involves a combination of two processes that are already practiced by many clinicians. It works by removing a portion of the ovary altogether, and administering fertility treatments outside the body — in other words, coaxing egg production from the portion of the ovary that’s removed. Next, the researchers tested the fertility of the eggs of trans men as compared with cis women, by fertilizing them with sperm. Results showed a lower success rate of fertilization and a lower survival rate of fertilized embryos with trans men’s eggs than with a cis woman’s.
Here is where the three-parent technique comes into play. It involves transplanting the nucleic material, containing DNA, from trans men’s eggs into cis women’s eggs where the same material had been removed. This is a result of the hypothesis that the problem lay in the cytoplasm — or the cell contents outside the nucleus. The resulting embryos were found to survive more than five days at a greater rate than trans men’s embryos. They’re also the product of reproductive cells of three people: eggs from two different people, and sperm.
Related on The Swaddle:
What a Transgender‑Friendly Health Care System Would Look Like
The method isn’t yet available for clinical use, but it could revolutionize reproductive health for trans men — importantly, for the way it recognizes dysphoria as an avoidable health issue. Even though recent studies have shown that trans men’s ovaries can yield eggs at a rate comparable to cis women even after transitioning, it involves stopping testosterone for months at a time. “[T]he thought of stopping testosterone or going through hormone treatments is very daunting for them, so they frequently will not pursue it because of that,” according to Dr. Samuel Pang, a reproductive endocrinologist from Boston IVF. This means that many trans men who may have otherwise wanted to have their own children are opting out of doing so — and medical barriers to a safe, affirmative way to do so, are a big reason why.
Moreover, three-parent babies already exist. A process called mitochondrial transfer involves replacing mitochondrial DNA from a parent with a genetic disorder with healthy mitochondrial DNA from a third person. “This term is slightly misleading, as the child does not have an equal proportion of DNA from each parent. Rather, the majority of the child’s DNA is from his parents, with only a small fraction coming from the mitochondria of the donor egg or third parent,” a Harvard University blog noted. But while this particular procedure is fraught with ethical concerns — pertaining to eugenics, for instance — the three-parent fertilization method doesn’t have the same issues. For one, it doesn’t swap DNA for a gene-editing purpose; the intent, rather, is to replace faulty cytoplasm in trans men’s eggs.
The procedure, if it can be implemented, then expands the scope of reproductive rights to account for the diversity of healthcare needs across individuals. At present, many trans men and non-binary individuals already report feeling excluded from conversations about reproductive rights. It’s a frontier that reproductive science is also beginning to catch up with. One review studied the case of Sam, a trans man who delivered a stillborn baby on account of practitioners ignoring his abdominal pain as a non-urgent condition — since they registered him as a man. “Inclusive clinical care and research that addresses the relationship between sex assigned at birth, gender identity, and social determinants of health are crucial to achieving health equity,” it concludes.
When we begin to understand reproductive rights as fundamental to the bodily autonomy of all human beings, experiences of pain and overall wellbeing begin to be included in the conversation. The new technique that can reduce dysphoria among trans men seeking to have biological children then affirms the importance of seeing reproductive rights as beyond the realm of procreation — but expands its scope into one that’s rooted in bodily autonomy and freedom. | https://theswaddle.com/new-three-parent-fertilization-technique-could-help-trans-men-have-children/ | 2022-08-17T09:11:55Z | theswaddle.com | control | https://theswaddle.com/new-three-parent-fertilization-technique-could-help-trans-men-have-children/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Top news and notes from around Northern Virginia and beyond.
5. School board candidate
Jaylen Custis, 18, is choosing campaign fliers and headshots as he prepares to be the youngest candidate running for the Prince William County School Board in 2023.
4. Bringing back the guild
Supporters of Northern Virginia’s opera scene are hoping to reanimate the dormant Opera Guild of Northern Virginia, which through the years has raised funds and provided other support to opera organizations.
3. Pleasant day
It will me a mostly sunny day with a high near 82 and a chance for showers in the afternoon and evenings? Click here for a detailed forecast by ZIP code.
2. Cooling market
The cooling local and national homes market is taking a chunk out of home-appreciation rates, but in the Washington area they remain on an upward trajectory.
1. School security
As Virginia’s students begin the 2022-2023 year, Attorney General Jason Miyares said safety and security are at the top of his — and parents’ — list of priorities.
InsideOut
The Prince William County Fair, now in its 73rd year, continues through Aug. 20 at the fairgrounds in Manassas. Click here for all the details. | https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/infive-body-found-school-security-and-thunderstorms-possible/article_06f4866c-1e00-11ed-968b-471e1887f399.html | 2022-08-17T09:21:36Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/infive-body-found-school-security-and-thunderstorms-possible/article_06f4866c-1e00-11ed-968b-471e1887f399.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The playing sites are opposite from last fall, but the 2022 schedules are otherwise the same this season for Arlington’s three varsity public high-school football teams.
The Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots are busy preparing for their upcoming campaigns, which kick off the nights of Aug. 25 and 26. On Aug. 25, W-L (2-8 last season) hosts the Marshall Statesmen in a Liberty District clash at 7 p.m.
On Friday night, Aug. 26 in 7 p.m. contests, Wakefield (5-5) hosts the Fairfax Lions in non-league action and Yorktown (7-4) visits the Langley Saxons in a Liberty game.
The preseason is well under way for the teams, with Washington-Liberty playing its first scrimmage Aug. 11, Wakefield on Aug. 12 and Yorktown Aug. 13. All three have second and final scrimmages with Aug. 18 showdowns.
Since all three Arlington teams play in the Liberty District, the league schedules are against the same opponents, including contests between the three teams.
The squads, though, pretty much play different opponents in their four non-league contests.
In those games, in addition to Fairfax, Wakefield faces West Potomac, W.T. Woodson and Centreville. Washington-Lee takes on Westfield, Chantilly, West Springfield and Justice. Defending Liberty District champion Yorktown meets Westfield, Wilson, Madison and Oakton.
Of the three Arlington teams, Washington-Lee might have the toughest schedule. Seven of its regular-season opponents in 2021 qualified for the region playoffs, including Wakefield and Yorktown.
* In private-school football, Arlington’s Bishop O’Connell Knights (5-6 last season) open their 2022 season Saturday, Sept. 3 at home against the St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes Saints of Alexandria in a non-league contest. O’Connell was a playoff team last season, losing its lone postseason contest.
NOTE: One scrimmage of note on Thursday, Aug. 18 has the Yorktown Patriots hosting the defending Class 5 state champion Stone Bridge Bulldogs at 7 p.m. in Arlington. | https://www.insidenova.com/sports/football-teams-play-same-schedules-but-at-reversed-sites/article_e3f52f4c-1dc6-11ed-b81e-cf66b1a9a919.html | 2022-08-17T09:21:42Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/sports/football-teams-play-same-schedules-but-at-reversed-sites/article_e3f52f4c-1dc6-11ed-b81e-cf66b1a9a919.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
By carding a personal-best 18-hole high school score of 71, Max Vadas finished third individually and helped the McLean Highlanders team place sixth at the recent Stallion Invitational tournament.
The even-par 71 actually tied for the second lowest score of the competition, played at Laurel Hill Golf Club in Lorton. Vadas received the third-place award because of a tiebreaker with other players. Josh Duangmanee of Fairfax High school shot 66 to win.
Vadas has scored well in all four of McLean’s tournaments so far. Before shooting the 71, he had a 73 in an earlier tourney.
McLean’s team score was 325 at the Stallion Invitational. The host South County Stallions won with a 302 total, with Lake Braddock and Fairfax tied for second at 307. Chantilly and Robinson each had 318.
Also in the tourney for McLean, Max Irish shot 82, Lauren Wood 85, Liam Park 87, Colin Manzel 88 and Ellie Wormser 89.
The defending state champion Langley Saxons shot 338 as the team was missing many of their top players.
Leading Langley at the Stallion Invitational was Sarah Wang with a 75 (tie for 10th) and Emily Wang with 77. Beomseok Kang shot 92 and Mateo Albolote 94. | https://www.insidenova.com/sports/mclean-golfer-shoots-71-team-finishes-sixth/article_7df2599e-1dc7-11ed-90ba-230354d31906.html | 2022-08-17T09:21:48Z | insidenova.com | control | https://www.insidenova.com/sports/mclean-golfer-shoots-71-team-finishes-sixth/article_7df2599e-1dc7-11ed-90ba-230354d31906.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
In the history of Nigeria, lives have never been this worthless with the increasing state of insecurity in the Country. The situation may only be compared to the Nigerian civil war period. Every day the traditional and social media are replete with news of kidnapping by bandits and gunmen. Murder and kidnapping are no longer news in Nigeria. The security agencies are obviously overwhelmed and have nothing tangible to justify the billions of naira expended on security. It is being speculated in some quarters that some persons have turned the worsening security situation into a goldmine. Are the military and security agencies compromised? And unbelievably, the President of Nigeria is a retired Army General. Major General Mohammadu Buhari (Rtd) anchored his campaign on the tripod of economic development, security and anti-corruption. On all these, the federal government of Nigeria has woefully failed to fulfill. Nowhere in Nigeria, even Daura (the town of the President) is no longer safe.
The naira is now on a free fall and has been bastardized by the economic policies of the federal government, with a dollar exchanging for N720 last week. Our President sees nothing wrong in always rushing to Europe for medical check-up and rest while our hospitals lack drugs and adequate medical personnel. Billions of naira are budget every year for Aso Rock Clinic but it is not good enough for our President. Sadly too, the Central Bank of Nigeria saw nothing wrong in the dollarization of campaigns and primaries of the major political parties, which is an illegal act. Which sane country would retain a partisan politician as its Central Bank Governor? Mr. Godwin Emefiele, violated the sacred provisions of the Central Bank Act by campaigning to be Nigerian President, and even went to Court to be allowed to contest for the office of the President of Nigeria while remaining as the CBN Governor. Buhari cared less. How long more can this impunity continue in this Country?
Corruption is now rife in many government Ministries and departments. The civil service is enmeshed in unbridled corruption. Members of the political class are busy acquiring and looting for their 10th generation. There is nothing anyone can do in government without being asked to bribe. The past National Chairman of the APC, “comrade” Adams Oshiomole once said on a campaign ground that any politician that decamps to the APC will have his sins forgiven. Every day we read of billions of naira stolen by public servants. A former Accountant General of the Federation was alleged to haves stolen N88 Billion naira. He was charged to court and escorted by armed security guards; and was smiling in court during his trial while a petty thief would be handcuffed and leg-chained. It seems that in this administration the big thieves certainly have privileges. ASUU has been on strike for more than 5 months now because of lack of adequate funding of the universities but billions are being looted by government officials. Plea bargain is now a façade. Steal billions and return whatever you can, and get a light sentence, and then return to enjoy the loot. Two State Governors who were convicted of looting public finds were pardoned by the President, and not told to return the billions they stole. Corruption is now winning the war. NNPC imported bad fuel into the country that caused fuel scarcity for almost 2 months and put Nigerians to unmitigated torture. No one was arrested and prosecuted. No government official was penalized. We continued business as usual.
This country cannot continue like this. The essence of government is to provide for the security and welfare of Nigerians. Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, provides that “The security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”. That is the contract Nigerians have with President Buhari and the federal government. By virtue of section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution, which provides that “Sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this Constitution derives all its power and authority” Nigerians have the right to call on the President to account for the powers that have been vested on him by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and as donated by the people of Nigeria.
It is on this premise that I commend the recent motion by some Senators for the impeachment of the Nigerian President. I understand that the impeachment call is supported by majority of the Senators. The impeachment call should not be lightly treated. It is a call to save Nigeria from the mess that it is in presently. It is even a call to save President Buhari from himself, since it is obvious that after almost 8 years in power there is nothing extraordinary that the President can do to convince Nigerians to continue to repose their confidence in him. Nigerians are hungry and dying. Nigeria is now in a state of emergency. It is therefore unfortunate that immediately the motion for impeachment was presented on the floor of the Senate, the Senate President, Ahmed Lawanrejected it which led to many of the Senators walking out of the Senate chambers.Whose interest is the Senate President serving? The interest of Nigerians or his own personal interest? Surprisingly, the Senate has gone into recess and may not resume after a month’s time. Why? Was it because of the threat from the bandits whoa are already closing in on Abuja?
Yesterday, President Buhari directed the security agencies to go all out and deal with the bandits. Mr. President, you need to walk your talk yourself. Lead the battle like a military General. A comedian is leading a war in Ukraine and has hardly left his country since Russia invaded his country. Mr. President, stay at home and lead your Generals into the forest to fight the bandits.TheZamfara State Governor has directed his citizens to acquire weapons to protect themselves. Yes, self defence is legal. Since the Federal Government has frustrated every move for the establishment of State Police, citizens should take reasonable measures to protect themselves and their communities. The Police are no longer interested in investigating kidnapping cases except they are appropriately “mobilized” by the victims’ family. All Nigerians, including traditional rulers, religious leaders, community leaders, Youth leaders should defend their communities. Things are falling apart and the centre is confused.
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- Imo govt up-to-date with salary payment ― Finance Commissioner | https://tribuneonlineng.com/calls-for-the-impeachment-of-nigerias-president/ | 2022-08-17T09:25:05Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/calls-for-the-impeachment-of-nigerias-president/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Nigeria’s telecoms service provider, 9mobile, has lent its voice to the global call for collaboration among generations to build an equitable, peaceful, and prosperous society while emphasising the importance of building a society that encourages more youth representation.
The telco made the call while marking this year’s International Youth Day themed ‘Inter-generational Solidarity: Creating A World for All Ages’, during an Instagram live session, hosted by Olorisupergal and graced by Ace comedian and actor, Atunyota Alleluya Akpobome (Ali Baba), to discuss the relevance of youths in the society.
According to Akpobome, to promote inter-generational solidarity in society and bridge the gap between the older and younger generation, the culture of shared values must be entrenched to accommodate both the young and the old at home and in the workplace. This would promote the convergence of understanding on the need for mutual respect among all.
He said: “Tolerance and understanding is a way to strike a balance between age groups. The older generation must have an open mind to today’s realities in dealing with the differences in values and behaviour of today’s youths. In other words, tolerance, respect and culture are the prerequisites for dealing with the culture shock among the elderly and the younger generation.”
Noting that there was an urgent need to create platforms where youths can be properly and productively engaged in order to harness their God-given potentials for the benefit of society, Akpobome added that youths must be well represented in the affairs of politics, education and the economy.
Commenting on the significance of the theme, Executive Director, Regulator and Corporate Affairs, 9mobile, Mallam Abdulrahman Ado, noted that for a society to experience progress in its developmental goals, the youths must be engaged and adequately empowered to be leaders and problem solvers. He said: “ At 9mobile, we are a youthful brand and very particular about the growth and development of young people because they are the future we see today and as such we must encourage and give them a sense of belonging which will invariably inspire them to thrive and contribute to the sustainability and growth of the society.”
He called for stakeholders to be more strategic in driving initiatives that promote inter-generational solidarity, embrace youth inclusiveness and guarantee a peaceful and progressive world for all.
International Youth Day is designated by the United Nations to highlight issues affecting youth and draw the attention of the international community while also celebrating the potential of youths as partners in today’s global society.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
- ‘39.6 percent of unmarried university students use sexual performance-enhancing drugs’
- Tips on building a happy and healthy relationship
- Safety precautions to observe at the airport
- Safety tips to observe when boarding a ride from a ride-hailing app
- Imo govt up-to-date with salary payment ― Finance Commissioner | https://tribuneonlineng.com/iyd-2022-9mobile-advocates-more-youth-representation-in-society/ | 2022-08-17T09:25:38Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/iyd-2022-9mobile-advocates-more-youth-representation-in-society/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) recently announced the launch of the second phase of Global Memoranda of Understanding (GMoU) for its pipeline host communities to actively support community-driven sustainable development.
The new agreements are with Okrika, Kalabari, Egi, Ogba, Abua and Ekpeye clusters. The implementation of the first phase of the GMoU comprising Ogbum-nu-Abali, Ubeta and Rumuji clusters is underway with the commencement of several projects in areas of road construction, scholarships (64 awarded), renovation and equipping of markets, construction of police stations or NYSC’s’ lodge, among others.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the first phase agreements were signed in 2021 and under the GMoU framework, clusters would ultimately be created to drive community-initiated projects through a Foundation that will have a Board of Trustees (BoT), steering committees and community trusts.
It was also learnt that NLNG will provide funds for the clusters and would encourage them to seek additional funds from other donors to finance development initiatives in the respective communities
In his remarks during the launching, NLNG’s General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Andy Odeh, said the GMoU was targeted at promoting a harmonious relationship between NLNG and the clusters of communities.
He added that the GMoU was framed to ensure that the company’s host communities were carried along in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility projects and that the communities were empowered to take the lead in driving their development with support from NLNG and other key development stakeholders.
“The GMoU builds the capacity of community stakeholders in managing projects and self-sustaining outcomes as well as promoting a safe and secure environment within and between communities, in which they can collectively work to fulfill their development potential.
It will give communities leverage over developmental projects unique to their needs and will contribute to improving the socio-economic life of the citizens. Let me assure you that we, at NLNG, are enthusiasts of participatory sustainable development where the community takes on a leadership role to drive its growth with our support. The communities will generate their development needs and they will work out implementation plans through partnerships and physical oversight of the projects.
“We intend to mentor the communities by encouraging non-government organisations and international development agencies to build the community stakeholders’ capacity in managing projects and sustaining outcomes. This development of the communities by the communities and for the communities is a win-win situation for everyone,” Odeh said.
He commended the Rivers State government for its support in setting up the GMoUs, adding that government’s provision of a congenial atmosphere for NLNG and its enthusiasm for the development of the rural communities were enablers for the programme.
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- Imo govt up-to-date with salary payment ― Finance Commissioner | https://tribuneonlineng.com/nlng-launches-phase-2-of-gmou-to-develop-pipeline-host-communities/ | 2022-08-17T09:26:11Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/nlng-launches-phase-2-of-gmou-to-develop-pipeline-host-communities/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
AMAECHI OKONKWO writes on the ongoing dramatic alliances in Rivers State, especially in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as hitherto loyalist and allies of Governor Nyesom Wike, embark on an apparent revolt against their principal.
Governor Nyesom Wike of River State is a veteran in political battles. The battles have come in various shades and forms since he took a plunge into the murky waters of politics in the country in 1999. From being the chairman of a local government, he became the chief of Staff and minister of state for education before his election as governor in 2015.
In the course of his political journey, Wike succeeded in creating his own team of like-minds, especially in Rivers, a few of whom are highly exposed politicians, with many of them unrepentantly loyal to him at the height of his political fight with his hitherto godfather, ex-Governor Rotimi Amaechi, the immediate Minister of Transportation. His soldiers made sure that not even the ex-minister could threaten the political fortress Wike was able to establish since he became governor.
On August 14, 2022, the governor declared that there was a gang-up against him by Rivers elders, due to the outcome of primaries conducted by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his state. At reception marking the 74th birthday of one of his predecessors, Dr Peter Odili, Wike alleged some of the elders decided to take their own pound of flesh by working to ensure that he failed to secure the post of running mate after he lost the bid for PDP presidential ticket.
In the views of some major stakeholders in Rivers politics, the bubble has burst in the Rivers chapter of the PDP and Wike. Men and women strong but long-disenchanted members of the party have finally decided to engage the governor in brinkmanship in events that will lead to the 2023 general election. But Wike, who wants to remain in charge and unchallenged, would not accept that and is threatening and kicking. The result is that the once strong and united Rivers PDP is tearing into shreds. Many strong and fierce loyalists to the governor have now fallen out of favour with him, In fact, they are no longer hiding the disagreement but are beginning to quarrel openly to the surprise of many in the state.
It was discovered that the mutual suspicion, which was hitherto discussed in hushed tones, assumed serious altercations reflecting deep-seated anger and frustration by some of his acolytes following the conclusion of the presidential primaries of the PDP and the choice of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as the running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for 2023 presidential election.
Having lost out in the primary and was by-passed in the choice of running mate, the Rivers governor has been pointing accusing fingers to certain individuals and groups for the current development. However, the situation is polarised his supporters, many of whom had before now been looking for avenues to assert themselves within the political space in the state and at the national level. Thus, the scism between him and Atiku has further widened the scope of crevices in Rivers PDP, with those that are opposed to the leadership of the governor ready to face the consequences of their actions. Some of them expressing their support to Atiku or any other candidates of their choice. So, Wike removed those he was no longer sure of their loyalty from whatever positions they were occupying. He also sacked those he gave one form of appointment or the other. For example, in a move to get at Senator Lee Meaba, he dissolved the board of the Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Port Harcourt headed by the former senator. Others affected by the move by the governor to preserve his political dynasty include a former governor of the State Celetine Omehia; ex-deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Austin Opara and many others whom he relinquished of their leadership of the party in their local government areas. There were claims that the governor threatened to strip other high profile politicians of certain privileges due to political differences. the list is said to include a former national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, whom the governor facilitated his emergence as PDP boss as a political ally. Wike was also said to have played a major role in the events that culminated in the premature exit of Secondus from office in Wadata Plazas, Abuja.
But unlike before when they would always cringe at Wike›s directives, those loyalists have chosen to challenge his actions. In a recent interview, Senator Maeba claimed that the reason behind Wike›s dissolution of the board of the polytechnic was because of his (Meaba›s) closeness to Atiku. The view of the senator came against the background of the political intrigues that threw up the former vice president as the standard-bearer of PDP for next year’s presidential election. He said: “We have a candidate of the party who has the capacity to lead Nigeria out of crisis. So nothing can deter us from supporting Atiku to save Nigeria. Wike is not hiding that he is fighting Atiku. He is ready to fight to the finish. We don’t know what he (Wike) is planning to do because when campaigns start, we are qualified to campaign too. We are waiting to see how he will do it. This is a joke taken too far.”
Maeba also confirmed the removal of former Governor Omehia and ex-deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Opara, as leaders of their party in Ikwerre and Port Harcourt City LGAs respectively. Meaba added: “Yes, he (Wike) called them before their people because we went to pay a solidarity visit to Atiku which we are supposed to do. All of us knew Atiku before him. Austin Opara has been in the House of Representatives since 1999. He was the deputy speaker when Atiku was vice-president. That time, Wike was struggling to be a local government chairman. So, if Austin Opara has to take permission from him today to go and see Atiku, then something is wrong,” the ex-lawmaker said. Maeba also took a swipe at Wike, saying nobody was in charge of Rivers’ votes. His words: “There is nobody that is in charge of any vote. Vote is individual business now. For somebody to be boasting that he is in charge of votes, means he has a rigging plan.“Why are you in charge of votes? You cannot be in charge of votes, because everybody has individual votes to cast. If Adegboyega Oyetola was in charge of votes in Osun State, he wouldn’t have lost election,» he stated. “for somebody to be boasting he is in charge of votes, people should ask him where do you want to get the votes? How many voter cards does he have? On the allegations of politicians holding meetings in Abuja against him, Maeba said the governor was talking as if he was ‘superhuman.’ “Let me tell you something. When you apportion so much right to yourself, then you are superhuman. Austin Opara was the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives when Atiku Abubakar was the Vice President. They attended caucus meeting together and National Economic Council Meeting. So, does it mean that Austin Opara, who has been friends with Atiku for over 20 years ago, will now start to beg Wike to go and see Atiku? I met Atiku first in 1992 in Jos for the Social Democratic Party (SDP) campaigns. We started working together in 2003 when I became senator. That time where was he (Wike)? When Austin Opara was working with Atiku, holding meetings, Wike was struggling to come into limelight.” Maeba opined that the governor does not allow the strengthening of institutions in the tradition of democratic ethos. Maeba said: “If you continue to call yourself, I am a strong Governor, we need strong institutions not strong men. The best way to democracy is strong institutions not strong men. There are no strong men anymore. What we need are strong institutions to strengthen our institutions.” Some sources said the frosty relationship between the governor and his former allies and associates could soon crystalise in broad-based coalition. This because of the raging hide and seek between him and PDP presidential candidate (Atiku).
Vintage Wike
Meanwhile, Wike believes some political gladiators from Rivers run to Abuja to plot against him. He listed aggrieved members of the PDP who were not successful at the party primaries conducted in the state to pick candidates for the general election. However, the governor seems poised for any eventuality. For instance, some of his critics, his decision to reach out to governors of other parties to inaugurate some projects in his state was meant to spite those forces. He has also warned that anyone that believed his base was not that important in the next election would be deceiving himself. His words: “If you say Rivers State does not matter, Rivers State will tell you that you don’t also matter at the appropriate time. If you don’t like us, we will not like you. If you like us, we will like you. Nobody will use our votes for nothing. Our votes will matter and Rivers State must benefit from anybody that we are going to support. Politics now is no longer just voting for somebody; it is about what you will do for the people of Rivers State.”
He says he is averse to people with questionable character becoming Rivers governor. “Those who looted the treasury of the state will not come here to be governor of Rivers State and I have challenged them. I am fully in charge. I am not that kind of governor people will go to Abuja and hold meetings against. I am fully in charge here,” he said. Wike also berated the critics of his style of leadership, saying he had no apology to offer; “First of all, let me state, if there is one state that pays salary regularly, it is Rivers State. Let me also state, every month we pay pensioners. Let me also state since we have been paying gratuity, have you been hearing anybody talking on radio?” he added.
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A former Chairman of the Nigeria Legal Aid Council, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (SAN), has paid glowing tribute to the late legal icon, Chief Olatunji Ayanlaja (SAN), who passed away on Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at the age of 77.
Ayorinde in a statement described the late Ayalanja as a legal colossus, adding that he was among the best legal minds Nigeria has produced.
According to him, the late Ayanlaja was a hugely sought after lawyer by many private individuals and corporate organisations within and outside Nigeria, who relied on his legal advice and counsel.
“Olatunji Ayalanja was a legal colossus, a giant amongst lawyers and easily one of the true giants of the profession in the mould of J.C. Taylor, Rotimi Williams QC, SAN, H.A Lardner, Molajo SAN (father of Tani Molajo SAN), Kehinde Sofola SAN (father of Kayode Sofola SAN) and his mentor, the indefatigable Chief G.O.K Ajayi SAN also of blessed memory.
“When the news of his passing broke, a friend remarked spontaneously ‘Oh dear, all that knowledge gone.’ Indeed, Tunji Ayanlaja was a foundation of knowledge. He knew the law in its purest form. The library at Ayanlaja, Adesanya & Co where he practiced his profession with his partner Prince Bambo Adesanya SAN, and other colleagues for several decades remains a reference point for the profession.
“He was a life force and hugely sought after lawyer and many private individuals and corporate organizations within and outside Nigeria relied on his legal advice and counsel. Indeed he was a most successful lawyer and he will be remembered not only for his sharp intellect but also for his impeccable appearance in and out of court.
“I personally will miss not only a professional leader but a social captain whose life was worthy of emulation. Even though he passed on at the age of 77, his demise was still shocking and unexpected. His lifestyle was decent and he lived a fulfilling family life. My dear wife, Adeola and I will miss his sincere counsel but this will be incomparable to the vacuum created in his immediate family and my condolences go to his amiable wife and daughters who have lost a dear father.
“My condolences also extend to my senior brother and his partner, Prince Bambo Adesanya SAN who has lost a brother and a friend. Olatunji Ayanlaja will be remembered as one of the best and finest legal minds that Nigeria has ever produced.”
Also, his alma mater, the University of Lagos Alumni Association, described the exit of Ayanlaja as a great loss to the association.
A statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Regina Chris-Ogbodo says “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing to greater glory of one of the ambassadors of our great alma mater – Chief Olatunji Ayanlaja, SAN, a foremost lawyer who was regarded as one of the top 100 lawyers in Nigeria in his lifetime.”
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- Imo govt up-to-date with salary payment ― Finance Commissioner | https://tribuneonlineng.com/unilag-alumni-ayorinde-pay-tribute-to-ayanlaja/ | 2022-08-17T09:26:24Z | tribuneonlineng.com | control | https://tribuneonlineng.com/unilag-alumni-ayorinde-pay-tribute-to-ayanlaja/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
DELMARVA FORECAST
Wednesday: Mostly sunny and comfortable. Highs in the low 80s. High rip current threat at the beaches.
Wednesday night: A chance of some showers or thunder in the evening, then mostly clear. Areas of patchy fog possible. Lows in the low 60s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Thursday: Mostly sunny and seasonably warm. Highs in the mid 80s.
Friday: Mostly sunny and seasonably warm. Highs in the mid 80s.
Saturday: Increasing clouds with a chance of afternoon showers. Highs in the mid 80s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Sunday: A few showers or rumbles of thunder. Highs inthe mid 80s. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Monday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Tuesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, Highs in the mid 80s. Chance of rain 50 percent.
FORECAST DISCUSSION
Pleasant weather continues Wednesday!
As high pressure remains in charge over the Mid-Atlantic, we'll expect mostly sunny skies across Delmarva on Wednesday, with comfortable afternoon temperatures in the low 80s. A gusty northwest breeze over the Atlantic Ocean has the rip current threat "high" on all of the Delaware and Maryland beaches. There are also Small Craft Advisories on the Atlantic, and on much of the Chesapeake Bay.
Wednesday evening, expect a few more clouds to roll through, and some of our high-resolution guidance is suggesting a weak shortwave over Pennsylvania may slide into the Mid-Atlantic and trigger some showers or thunder across Delmarva. However, this shortwave will be weakening as it approaches, so much of Delmarva might not see any rain.
Otherwise, the rest of Wednesday night will be mostly clear and cool with lows in the lower 60s. Some areas of patchy fog are possible around sunrise Thursday, especially where any rain does fall on Wednesday evening.
The high pressure will pull off to the east Thursday, and we'll continue to see mostly sunny skies, but we'll also notice an increase in the humidity as temperatures climb to seasonable mid 80s.
A coastal low will develop late in the week, and will possibly trigger some showers or brief thunderstorms this weekend, but at this point the weekend is not looking like a washout. The chance of rain each day is only about 30 percent, and temperatures will remain seasonable in the mid 80s.
Our weather pattern will turn more unsettled as we get into the next work week as a cold front approaches from the northwest. Expect more widespread showers and thunderstorms next Monday and Tuesday.
In the tropics, a tropical wave off the east coast of Nicaragua has a low chance of developing as it moves across Central America and into the Bay of Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico. This disturbance is not a threat to Delmarva at this time. | https://www.wboc.com/weather/nice-wednesday-evening-thunder/article_766ae7ba-1e01-11ed-adfa-2b537cd2711b.html | 2022-08-17T09:31:40Z | wboc.com | control | https://www.wboc.com/weather/nice-wednesday-evening-thunder/article_766ae7ba-1e01-11ed-adfa-2b537cd2711b.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Afghans' long wait
Tens of thousands of Afghans who helped the U.S. military, as interpreters or in other roles, remain desperate for a new home a year after the U.S. left their country.
The big picture: Thousands haven't been able to leave Afghanistan. Thousands more are stuck on military bases in Qatar or the United Arab Emirates. Others are newly arrived to American neighborhoods — but still struggling to adjust to life in the U.S.
Why it matters: The Biden administration has confronted the limits of a slow and outdated immigration system and the challenges of vetting the sheer number of Afghans who might be eligible for some type of resettlement in the U.S.
- At almost every step of visa and travel processes, Afghans remain in limbo as the administration tries to carry out its promise to care for those who aided the U.S. during its longest war.
- That's forced innovations — including the launch of a program allowing private citizens to help sponsor refugees — but left tens of thousands waiting nonetheless.
By the numbers: More than 81,000 Afghans have begun new lives in the U.S. over the past year. About 1,300 have been resettled in the U.S. and granted refugee status, which comes with a pathway to citizenship.
- Most of the rest are in the U.S. under a short-term mechanism known as parole. It only offers protection for two years and does not guarantee a permanent stay.
- The State Department estimates that more than 74,000 Afghans — some potentially in the U.S. — are at various stages of the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) process, a program specifically for Afghans who assisted U.S. war efforts.
- Most of those people, along with their family members, are still in Afghanistan; some are in other countries, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
"I can't think of a client who is here, who is Afghan who doesn't have someone else stuck in Afghanistan who is a close family member," New Jersey attorney Jason Scott Camilo tells Axios. "It is very frightening for them to try and figure out how to get people out because you really can't right now."
Reality check: Afghans who get to the U.S. face other challenges. A recent government survey found more than a third of Afghans who had found a job since arriving in the U.S. were working below their skill level, according to select results provided to advocacy groups.
- There is also a need for affordable housing and essential home goods.
Zoom in: Zarifa Adiba conducted the first all-female orchestra in Afghanistan before the Taliban takeover. After the group’s return to power, she was stranded in Kyrgyzstan, where she had been in school. Broadway director Sammi Cannold and others helped her obtain an employment visa to come to the states.
- Adiba's mother, three brothers and sister managed to escape their home in Kabul and arrived in the U.S. on parole in January.
- They are currently in Queens. But only Adiba speaks English, and the family is unfamiliar with the culture. They've struggled to find affordable legal assistance to navigate the immigration process. Adiba only recently discovered her family was eligible for food assistance.
- She said in an interview that it's important for Americans to understand that refugees are not coming to the U.S. because they want to lean on the system, but because they have no choice. "They are forced to leave their homeland."
What we're watching: Non-governmental organizations such as No One Left Behind and Human First Coalition have proliferated to help with evacuations and resettlements.
- About 800 Afghan refugees were welcomed to the U.S. by groups of American citizens who signed up as private sponsors through a new program called Sponsor Circles, said Nazanin Ash, CEO of Welcome.US
- That served as a model for the Biden administration's United for Ukraine efforts, which have brought in roughly 30,000 Ukrainians through private sponsorship and more than 100,000 Ukrainians total, through various pathways.
- While government systems have been stretched thin, Ash said they have learned "we do have just extraordinary capacity if we're tapping into the broader willingness and compassion and energy of our American communities." | https://www.axios.com/2022/08/17/afghanistan-allies-biden-refugees-siv-immigration | 2022-08-17T09:35:30Z | axios.com | control | https://www.axios.com/2022/08/17/afghanistan-allies-biden-refugees-siv-immigration | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
CHEYENNE – Gov. Mark Gordon defeated his two Republican opponents in the primary election for another term in a landslide Tuesday.
In another key race, Rep. Chuck Gray, R-Casper, was chosen to become the next secretary of state, in an open race because the current office-holder is becoming a judge.
Around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, all 23 counties had reported their unofficial results to the Wyoming Secretary of State's Office.
Gray and Gordon were among the candidates in five key Republican primary state races, including the secretary of state, state treasurer and state superintendent of public instruction. These races were highly contested.
Gordon won with 101,092 votes in the gubernatorial campaign, among GOP members. Rival Brent Bien had 48,549, while Rex Rammell earned 9,373 votes and James Scott Quick got 4,725. There were 533 write-ins.
Gordon will face Theresa Livingston, the winner of the Democratic primary, in the general election, after she defeated Rex Wilde. Livingston garnered 4,989 votes from Democrats, while Wilde had 2,016.
The incumbent Gov. Gordon said he will fight for a second term heading into the general election, and that he and his wife, Jennie Gordon, take nothing for granted.
“We’re very encouraged by what we’re seeing, and it feels good,” said Gordon from his election party in Buffalo. “I really want to thank all the supporters for doing such an incredible job.”
He faced Rammell and Bien in the Republican primary, both of whom accused Gordon of not standing by the Republican Party’s platform strictly enough.
Bien told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, before polls closed at 7 p.m. local time, it was an incredible experience to campaign throughout the state. He said he was privileged to meet so many Wyoming residents. He said because Wyoming is geographically so vast, and the incumbent, by virtue of being in office, has an advantage, it’s hard to overcome.
“It’s a challenge, but it’s very rewarding at the same time,” he said.
Bien and Rammell
Bien also faced backlash from Rammell in the weeks before election night, and accused him of running in the race illegally because he hadn’t lived in the state long enough.
Bien retired from active duty in the Marine Corps in 2019. He has repeatedly said he kept his residency throughout the entire time he served.
The Committee to Elect Rex Rammell Governor of Wyoming stated that outgoing Secretary of State Ed Buchanan did not say Bien was eligible to run for governor when Rammell’s camp made the complaint.
Rammell told the WTE Tuesday afternoon that he felt he ran a good campaign, but Buchanan should have never allowed Bien to run for governor. He said if Bien was not on the ballot, the votes would not have been split between the two of them.
“Mark Gordon was probably the weakest incumbent,” Rammell told the WTE. “And I really feel like I could beat him if Bien wasn’t in the race.”
Secretary of State
Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne, Rep. Gray and Mark Armstrong were the three candidates vying to be the secretary of state.
According to the unofficial results from the Secretary of State's Office, the winner of the race was Gray. Wyoming voters cast 75,938 votes for him, and Nethercott received 63,044.
Buchanan had earlier dropped out of the race. He later was appointed by Gordon to be a district court judge for the Eighth Judicial District serving Goshen County.
The secretary of state race was contentious leading up to primary election night as Nethercott and Gray made accusations against one another.
Nethercott said more than a week in advance that Gray should be disqualified following a complaint to the Federal Election Commission against him. The complaint was filed by former Secretary of State Max Maxfield, who questioned the financial disclosure from Gray when he previously sought the U.S. House seat for Wyoming. Gray, in turn, says he got the money legitimately, and an expert told the Casper Star-Tribune the candidate was free to contribute the money to his own campaign.
Maxfield endorsed Nethercott, alongside other political leaders in the state who said they doubted the qualifications of Gray and his stance the 2020 election was stolen.
Neither Nethercott or Gray commented Tuesday night.
Gray was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, and has made claims of his own against the Cheyenne attorney. WyoFile reported Monday that text messages paid for by the Committee to Elect Chuck Gray said his opponent was being sued for lying and slander, investigated for violating state campaign law and gave herself a $30,000 taxpayer-funded raise, which Nethercott denied.
Armstrong reflected on the campaign Tuesday before polls closed. He said it had been a long battle against Nethercott and Gray, and he didn’t have the funds they did.
“The other two have spent over $800,000 on their campaigns,” he told the WTE. “I don’t want them anywhere near public money.”
Armstrong garnered 14,292 votes, syphoning a significant portion from Nethercott. Dan Dockstader, who withdrew his candidacy after ballots had been printed, received 3,465 votes, and there were 410 write-ins.
There were no declared Democrats for secretary of state.
State Superintendent
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Brian Schroeder was seeking a first full term in office, and lost to challenger Megan Degenfelder by more than 3,500 votes.
He was appointed to the office by Gordon after the former state superintendent, Jillian Balow, went to serve in a similar job under newly elected Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Degenfelder received 59,301 votes across the state. Schroeder followed closely behind with 55,746.
He told the WTE his campaign did everything humanly possible and left no stone unturned. He said he did the very best to get across the state to every event. He also received an endorsement from Trump.
The two other contenders in the Republican primary were Jennifer Zerba and Robert White III, who together received just over 18,000 votes.
Degenfelder will face Democratic candidate Sergio Maldonado Sr. in the general election, who received 6,690 votes in an uncontested primary.
Other statewide races
Incumbent State Treasurer Curt Meier also won his primary election for against challenger Bill Gallop, and was recently endorsed by Trump. According to unofficial results from the Secretary of State's Office, Meier received 97,489 votes to Gallop's 40,643.
Kristi Racines is currently the Wyoming state auditor and was the only candidate in the Republican primary. She received 133,724 votes. She doesn’t face an opponent in the general election for a second term, according to the Secretary of State’s Office. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/elections/gov-gordon-wins-gop-primary-gray-and-degenfelder-also-win/article_62d36a2c-f792-5a5c-b522-a23906b0328c.html | 2022-08-17T09:39:53Z | wyomingnews.com | control | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/elections/gov-gordon-wins-gop-primary-gray-and-degenfelder-also-win/article_62d36a2c-f792-5a5c-b522-a23906b0328c.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
CHEYENNE – Laramie County voters seem to support those elected officials currently serving them at the state, county and city levels, based on Tuesday's preliminary primary election results.
Based on unofficial final results, only one incumbent member of the Wyoming Legislature from Laramie County – John Romero-Martinez – lost their primary race. All three incumbent county commissioners retained their seats. And all three Cheyenne City Council members seeking re-election advanced to the general election.
Senate District 7
Rachel Bennett and JC Manalo entered the running looking to unseat incumbent Sen. Stephen Pappas, R-Cheyenne. However, Pappas easily advanced to face Democratic candidate Marcie Kindred in the general election on Nov. 8.
In unofficial final results from the Laramie County Clerk's Office, Pappas led Bennett 2,199 to 1,283. Manalo earned 717 votes.
Pappas has represented House District 7 since 2015. He wants to continue to address deficits, create a healthy business environment and find stable revenue.
Senate District 31
In one of the more competitive races of the Legislature, Evie Brennan bested challenger Janet Marschner by a margin of 1,869 to 1,418 to represent the one of the newest districts in the Wyoming Legislature. No Democrat filed to run in this district.
Brennan is pro-life and pro-Second Amendment rights, is for education freedom and is a proponent of fiscal responsibility, according to her campaign website, eviebrennanforwyosenate.com.
“I will also consider not just how (each) bill will affect us today, but how it will affect the next generation,” Brennan told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle. “I will work hard to leave a better legacy for Wyoming’s next generation.”
House District 7
Prior to redistricting, Rep. Bob Nicholas, R-Cheyenne, served in House District 8 since 2011. In pursuit of re-election in his new district, Nicholas beat Republican challenger Rick Coppinger 1,514 to 1,150.
A businessman and attorney, Nicholas announced his candidacy for re-election in May. His top priorities include finding new solutions for property tax payers, balancing the state budget and conserving taxpayer dollars.
Nicholas will face Democratic candidate Jordan Evans in the Nov. 8 general election.
House District 8
One of the more tightly contested races in this year’s primary election comes from the district encompassing northeast Laramie County. Former Republican lawmaker Dave Zwonitzer, father of Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, beat second-place finisher Lily Sharpe by a margin of 1,267 to 1,021.
Stephen Neal Johnson (692 votes) and Brian Tyrrell (611 votes) finished third and fourth, respectively.
Zwonitzer has been a businessman in Laramie County for four decades and previously represented House District 9 from 2007-17. He considered the top issue in the state to be water, education, economic development, civility, the mineral industry and finances.
House District 9
Out of HD 9 rose a personal rivalry spurred by challenger Dean Petersen’s opposition to incumbent Rep. Landon Brown, R-Cheyenne, in regard to Brown’s voting history.
Brown won a three-way race with 1,192 votes to Alan Sheldon's 545 and Petersen's 489.
Brown will next face Democratic candidate Stephen Latham in the Nov. 8 general election.
Brown has held office since 2017. His priorities are to continuing to advance K-3 literacy, working to balance the state’s fiscal profile through economic diversification, broadening the tax base and lowering taxes, and decreasing regulation on businesses to encourage economic development.
“I’ve lived in this district for 30 out of the 35 years I’ve been alive, and I know the people that I’m representing," Brown told the WTE.
Peterson decided to run after Brown sponsored a failed bill to legalize marijuana in 2021. He criticized Brown's support of Medicaid expansion and COVID-19 vaccines, as well.
“His voting record does not match up with the needs and wants of the people I know and am meeting in our district,” Peterson said in an interview with the WTE.
House District 10
Incumbent Rep. John Eklund, R-Cheyenne, handily beat former Republican House District 12 Rep. Lars Lone by a margin of 2,133 to 743.
Eklund will not have a challenger in the Nov. 8 general election.
Eklund assumed office in 2011 and chairs the House Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee. Before this, he spent his life working as a rancher.
House District 11
Current Laramie County School District 1 Trustee Marguerite Herman defeated former House District 44 Rep. James Byrd in the Democratic primary in House District 11. Herman had 162 votes to Byrd's 90.
Herman will face incumbent Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne, on Nov. 8.
Byrd, 68, previously told the WTE he decided to run for the seat again after some constituents pushed for his return to the Legislature. He feels there is unfinished business to address, such as the diversification of jobs in the state and the energy market.
Herman, 71, has been involved with the League of Women Voters. She advocates for issues such as health care.
“I have established my commitment to the community,” she said.
She previously told the WTE that her record of service on the LCSD1 board, as well as in other community boards and agencies, demonstrates her ability to listen, have an open mind and come to solutions. She hopes to use these skills to pass legislation that ensures maximum access to the ballot box, to expand Medicaid and to develop strong education funding.
House District 12
Rep. Clarence Styvar, R-Cheyenne, easily defeated Republican challenger Derek Goldfuss 831 to 412.
Styvar, 58, has held the office since 2018.
House District 42
Republican Ben Hornok, 47, bested Linnaea Sutphin, 46, by a tally of 1,291 to 1,082. Hornok will not have a challenger in the general election.
The current holder of the seat, Rep. Jim Blackburn, R-Cheyenne, is not seeking re-election. He has represented the district since 2015.
House District 43
Republican incumbent Rep. Dan Zwonitzer eked out a victory over challenger Clayton “Leroy” Mills in House District 43 race, 1,084 to 913. There is no Democrat in the race.
Zwonitzer, 42, has represented the southeastern district since 2005. Although he has served for nearly two decades, he previously told the WTE he's excited to have the opportunity for the first time in eight years to be in the Legislature during a budget surplus. He said lawmakers will be able to invest money for the future, to make up for cuts undertaken in the past six years and to put funds toward infrastructure.
His priorities also include fighting for Laramie County to receive school capital funding, and bringing back civility to the chamber floors. He believes there's a need for stable leadership, and with his tenure in the House, he can provide it.
“We need to be having productive conversations that are moving the state forward, and that requires some basic decorum and civility that we haven’t seen lately,” he told the WTE.
House District 44
In the only Laramie County legislative race resulting in an incumbent's ouster, Tamara N. Trujillo defeated incumbent Rep. John Romero-Martinez, R-Cheyenne, 404 to 293, with challenger Michael Reyes receiving 261 votes.
Trujillo will face Democratic candidate Sara Burlingame in the general election.
Burlingame previously represented the district from 2019-2021.
Trujillo cited her experience in procurement and accounting. Her background has allowed her to handle contracts, budgets and both internal and external audits. She said she wants to reassess how the government is spending, and tighten the proverbial belt.
“HD 44 needs help with their schools, fixed income property owners with rising taxes and sewer issues which cause flooding in some areas,” she said in a statement. “I need to get in and find the funds for our schools, but also need to push for school choice and have those taxpayer funds follow the students to the best education the parents see fit.”
House District 61
In another three-way Republican primary, Daniel Singh won with 618 votes to 375 for Matt Malcom and 336 for Don Odom in the newly-added House District 61. There is no Democrat in the race.
County commissioners
Despite having four Republican challengers, the three incumbent Laramie County commissioners easily retained their seats.
Gunnar Malm, Troy Thompson and Linda Heath were the top three vote-getters, in that order. Malm had 12,536 votes, Thompson had 12,305, while Heath had earned 10,171 votes.
Challengers were Bryce Freeman, who came in fourth with 7,424 votes; Brian D. Casey, who received 6,332; Abbie Mildenberger, who earned 6,024, and Sam Eliopoulous, who got 5,302 votes.
With no Democratic candidates having filed for the general election, barring a strong write-in campaign between now and the Nov. 8 general election, the incumbents will retain their seats in January.
Malm will serve his second term on the Board of Commissioners. He also serves as the public policy chair for the Wyoming Association of Realtors, the president of the Cheyenne Board of Realtors, and Currently in the vice chair of the Cheyenne Planning commission.
Among his priorities are ensuring sixth-penny sales tax projects are completed on schedule, and continuing a policy of fiscal conservatism that, Malm said, has allowed Laramie County to be the only local government in Wyoming that didn't lay off workers during the pandemic.
Thompson is the current chairman of the board. He was first elected as a commissioner in 2010. Thompson is also the a member of the National Association of County Officials and serves on the executive board of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association.
In a previous interview, Thompson emphasized his love for being a county commissioner, and said that he hopes to continue his work on economic projects and following through on sixth-penny sales tax projects. His priorities are to have a conservative budget, keep a strong relationship with LEADS and the local business community on economic development, as well as help manage the residential growth.
Heath, former vice-chair of the Laramie County Republican Party, has served on the commission since 2014 and spent 27 years as a precinct committee member.
In a questionnaire, Heath said that she strives to "decrease regulations (where) possible within the county." She also wants to encourage the public to become more involved in local government.
City Council
All three incumbents on the Cheyenne City Council advanced to the November general election.
In the two contested primary races, incumbent Scott D. Roybal and Cameron Karajanis prevailed in Ward 1 with 2,010 and 1,176 votes, respectively, while incumbent Mark D. Rinne and Lynn A. Storey-Huylar, with 2,956 and 1,787, respectively advanced in Ward 2. In Ward 1, Michael Blakeley finished third with 789 votes, while in Ward 2, Matt Miller earned 1,203 votes, and Brian Eicholtz got 796.
Since there were only two candidates in Ward 3, both incumbent Ken A. Esquibel and Joe Shogrin will advance.
These two candidates in each ward will now face one another in the Nov. 8 general election.
Roybal is seeking a third term representing Ward 1. After first being elected in 1996 and serving until 2000, he ran for re-election in 2014 and as served ever since. He is currently the council president.
Karajanis will join Roybal in the Ward 1 race. He has experience serving on committees and boards within the Cheyenne Police Department, Downtown Development Authority and Cheyenne Frontier Days.
In a questionnaire published online at WyomingNews.com, Karajanis said his priorities as councilman would be to "continue Cheyenne's path forward while continuing to work with current city council members." Of the utmost importance to him as are community members feel safe cared for and engaged.
Dr. Mark Rinne is the longest tenured member of the City Council, having served six terms representing Ward 2 and as council president nine times. He is a local dentist.
His Ward 2 challenger, Lynn Storey-Huylar, is a lifetime resident of Cheyenne, and said she wants to continue to be a part of the city's development on the level of local government. She previously served on the Laramie County School District 1 Board of Trustees for eight years, and was a chair member for two of those years.
Ward 3 incumbent candidate Esquibel previously served in the 41st district of the Wyoming House of Representatives from 2007-17. He was elected to City Council in November 2018 and will maintain his position with the conclusion of this election cycle.
Shogrin relocated to Cheyenne in 2010 and has since run for City Council twice before. Before entering local government, he worked as a high voltage lineman, and now works as a real estate agent. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/elections/nearly-all-incumbents-advance-in-state-county-and-city-races/article_148e9c98-f1d0-5a0a-b160-f56629552392.html | 2022-08-17T09:39:59Z | wyomingnews.com | control | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/elections/nearly-all-incumbents-advance-in-state-county-and-city-races/article_148e9c98-f1d0-5a0a-b160-f56629552392.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
The old saying in the market is that if something can't go up on good news, then..
That might very well be the case for the kiwi as it is feeding off risk tones more so than the hawkish RBNZ from earlier today. In case you missed it, the central bank moved to hike rates by 50 bps as expected but provided some hawkish undertones in its messaging.
For one, they revised higher their OCR track by 30 bps to 3.70% by the end of this year and sees the terminal rate at 4.10% as opposed to 3.95% previously. They also made mention that:
“Core consumer price inflation remains too high and labour resources remain scarce.”
The fact that they are stressing on inflation being "too high" pretty much says that they are going to keep up with the aggressiveness. As such, no subtle shifts from the RBNZ just yet (unlike what we have seen from the Fed, RBA, and BOE).
That said, all of this is still not enough to lift the kiwi as NZD/USD has seen its earlier advance erased and is now falling to the lows for the day as risk sentiment remains on edge. Higher bond yields look to be biting at equities as S&P 500 futures are down 0.4% on the day and European indices are also marginally lower, weighing on the risk mood.
For NZD/USD, price is now testing the 38.2 Fib retracement level at 0.6312 with trendline support (white line) holding nearby at 0.6292 before dropping towards the 50.0 Fib retracement level at 0.6264. Those are key levels to watch in order to see if buyers are to make a stand but the fact that even a more hawkish RBNZ isn't cutting it is rather ominous.
However, there might be some good news as the focus will soon shift towards dollar sentiment instead with the US retail sales and FOMC meeting minutes coming up later today. But that could also work against the kiwi if the releases signal a more bullish sentiment for the greenback to close out the week. | https://www.forexlive.com/news/kiwi-fails-to-find-comfort-from-hawkish-rbnz-20220817/ | 2022-08-17T09:55:44Z | forexlive.com | control | https://www.forexlive.com/news/kiwi-fails-to-find-comfort-from-hawkish-rbnz-20220817/ | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
For New Mexico state Rep. Micaela Lara Cadena, the arrival of a new abortion clinic in Las Cruces, the city she represents, is surreal. Over the years, there hasn’t been consistent access to the procedure as providers came and went.
But now — weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court revoked the constitutional right to an abortion — the clinic at the heart of that decision has relocated from Mississippi to the city just across the Texas border of El Paso. It’s one of several clinics to announce its move to New Mexico in recent weeks.
It has quickly become Texas’ only neighboring state to protect abortion access and one of the few “haven” states in the southwest. People there have been preparing for a deluge of abortion-seekers — and those who want to stop the state from offering the procedure at all.
“Now people are coming from across the country — at great stress, great exhaustion, great trauma — to arrive in our community, where likely they will be met by a handful of angry protesters, so that they can access health care,” Lara Cadena told The Texas Tribune.
Close behind those traveling to Las Cruces for care are activists like prominent anti-abortion advocate Mark Lee Dickson, who helped Texas towns ban abortion before Roe. v Wade was overturned. The ordinances he championed served as the model for Texas legislation that severely limited when an abortion could be performed, which the Supreme Court declined to block.
Now, Dickson hopes to eliminate some of the next closest options as he tries to expand city abortion bans to conservative-leaning New Mexico towns.
“Southeast New Mexico feels a lot like Texas,” Dickson told the Tribune.
Aware of the looming threat, local leaders and abortion clinics opening in New Mexico remain confident that protections in the state constitution will prevent Dickson from gaining ground.
“We don’t need any outsiders coming here to try to mess with our autonomy and our capacity to shape our own families,” Lara Cadena said. “So when I hear all these activists coming over, I say, ‘Bring it.’”
Dickson isn’t oblivious to the legal and political barriers he’ll face in a state that leans Democratic.
“No matter what state we’re looking at, there’s a way to do this. And sometimes it’s a matter of challenging laws. I mean, that’s how we’ve gotten where we’re at today,” he said.
[…]
In addition to the opening of Pink House West — the new iteration of the now-closed Jackson Women’s Health Organization — New Mexico communities along the Texas border likely will see another health care clinic providing abortions with the arrival of Whole Woman’s Health. The provider recently closed the doors to its four clinics in Texas. Whole Woman’s Health plans to open somewhere just across the border to serve Texans traveling for abortions.
Amy Hagstrom Miller, the organization’s president and CEO, told The Texas Tribune that the continued efforts to curtail abortion rights have provided her team with lots of experience on how to best combat anti-abortion regulations.
And she has some advice for New Mexicans who can anticipate the full force of Texas’ anti-abortion advocates: Do “not concede any small thing.”
She pointed to Texas’ previous six-week ban and 24-hour waiting period that Republican legislators once presented as compromises.
“It’s a strategy to make the next restriction they decide to introduce sound reasonable,” Hagstrom Miller said.
See here for some background. The rest of the story goes into some history and the lay of the law in New Mexico, which offers some firm protections for pregnant people, including a prohibition on cities passing their own anti-abortion laws. I’m nobody’s expert on New Mexico, but if the folks there are confident in their ability to maintain their current course, I have no grounds to disagree. That said, let the record show me in full agreement with Amy Hagstrom Miller: Don’t concede an inch to these bastards. Fight them every step of the way, and send them home losers. It’s the only way to be sure. | http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=106554 | 2022-08-17T10:05:58Z | offthekuff.com | control | http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=106554 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Citing threats and even stalking, all three employees at the Gillespie County elections office have resigned from their positions, leaving the office empty with less than three months before the primary election in November.
The Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post first reported the wave of resignations last Wednesday, after staff say they received numerous threats and in some cases, even stalking. Now former Gillespie County Elections Administrator Anissa Herrera told the Standard that after the 2020 election she was threatened, stalked and called out on social media.
“The year 2020 was when I got the death threats,” Herrera told the Post. “It was enough that I reached out to our county attorney, and it was suggested that I forward it to FPD (Fredericksburg Police Department) and the sheriff’s office.”
[…]
Josh Blank, director of research at the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, says that with the threats election workers are facing — coupled with an already difficult job — it is more surprising that additional election workers have not yet resigned.
“You’re asking people to do more work under greater scrutiny, and now, threats of physical violence. So it’s not so surprising that this sort of, you know, election workers has decided to resign.” Blank said.
Gillespie County voter Victoria McClurd says that she was both shocked and not shocked that resignations occurred.
“If they’ve been receiving death threats, then I would too, because we’ve gotten to a point where the threats are not benign,” McClurd said. “[In] the last election I was going to be a poll person, and they were talking to us about what to do if someone comes in and is violent. That’s not what happens in a civilized society.”
Sam Taylor, the assistant secretary of state for communications, said the state is already working with Gillespie County officials to help them move forward and prepare for the upcoming election.
“We have already committed to sending trainers from our office to ensure that the County will have the tools and resources they need to conduct a successful election in November,” he said in an email statement.
As we know, it’s not just in Gillespie County that election workers are being terrorized. These folks were just the highest profile to date to say screw it, my life and my family’s life aren’t worth this shit. Note that Gillespie County voted 79% for The Former Guy in 2020. At the risk of trying to impute rational thought on these idiots, what exactly do you think was going on there?
Obviously, the bulk of the blame here lies with our felonious ex-president, but it certainly doesn’t stop there. Every statewide elected Republican that has ever dabbled with election conspiracies, unsubstantiated claims about voter “fraud”, casting suspicion on mail ballots or ballots cast in Democratic counties, they all share the blame for this. State Rep. Kyle Biederman, who “represents” Gillespie County, is one of the worst offenders out there. If they would like for their own elections to be handled in a smooth and competent manner, now would be a good time to say something to push back on the paranoia and rage that they’ve been stoking. Greg Abbott could ask the Texas Rangers to step in and investigate the threats made against Anissa Herrera and her colleagues. Ken Paxton could personally vow to prosecute whoever gets arrested to the fullest extent of the law. Dan Patrick could promise to pass a law that would offer more protection to election workers and provide harsher penalties for making these kinds of threats. That won’t undo their damage but it ought to make the jackals doing the threatening think twice about it. It would also be the right thing to do, and might help turn the temperature down a bit.
This is a five-alarm fire. For once, the arsonists have a chance to try to atone for their sins. What are they going to do about it?
UPDATE: From the Express News, as carried by the Chron:
Gillespie County Judge Mark Stroeher told the Standard-Radio Post that the entire staff resigned for similar reasons, leaving the county in a dire situation for the upcoming November election.
He said that the county has “some people who are pretty fanatical and radical about things” and drove out Herrera and the staff. Stroeher said that the job became more difficult than it probably should be “because of some individuals who are continuing to question how they are doing things,” according to the Standard-Radio Post.
“Elections are getting so nasty and it’s getting dangerous,” Stroeher said to the Standard-Radio Post.
Stroeher told the outlet that he will be contacting the Texas secretary of state for guidance about holding the November elections.
“It’s unfortunate because we have candidates that need to be elected, and we have voters who want their voices to be heard by the ballots,” Stroeher said. “I don’t know how we’re going to hold an election when everybody in the election department has resigned.”
And what have you been doing to combat that fanaticism and radicalism you mention, Judge Stroeher? This is your responsibility, too. | http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=106618 | 2022-08-17T10:06:06Z | offthekuff.com | control | http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=106618 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Republicans in Texas are proud to stand and announce local grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The problem is they all voted against it. All of them.
For the second time in two weeks, Houston scored a big grant from the Department of Transportation, and for the second time in two weeks, Republicans were quick to show up for the ribbon cutting. The back-to-back $21 million announcements, first for the Telephone Road Main Street Redevelopment project and then for 20 new electric buses, were celebrated by local Houston officials, even Republicans who opposed the projects.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia, both of whom proudly supported the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act back in 2021, talked about how these funds make needed investment in often overlooked communities. Both programs will serve low to moderate income communities by providing cleaner and more efficient public transportation as well as safer streets.
The announcement also attracted representatives of the “C” team – Cornyn, Cruz, and Crenshaw – who lined up to show support. Staffers from all stood with METRO Chairman Sanjay Ramabhadran and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to make Monday’s announcement.
Earlier this year, Texas Republican Representative Ronny Jackson claimed an “instrumental” role in securing funding for a water purification project in his district despite vocal opposition to the infrastructure bill, which is funding the project. Jackson voted against the measure and mocked it as “bloated,” but apparently not too bloated for his pet project.
Newly-elected Congresswoman Mayra Flores of Brownsville also opposed the infrastructure bill, but is now touting the federal largesse pouring into South Texas without revealing that she vehemently opposed the enabling legislation as “wasteful” and smearing Republicans who voted for the bill “the RINO Bunch.”
She joins a long list of Republicans who have recently “voted no and taken the dough,” in refusing to support investments in their communities to please their far-right base, but then being the first in line to take credit.
See here for the background. The “C” team (great name, btw) also voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill. Sometimes, all you can really do is laugh at the sheer absurdity of it all. But if you’re going to laugh, it’s best to point fingers at the objects of your laughter as well. | http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=106621 | 2022-08-17T10:06:14Z | offthekuff.com | control | http://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=106621 | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
As racing driver Sam Schmidt tears around the historic Goodwood Racetrack in a McLaren 720S, reaching speeds in excess of 150 miles per hour, from the outside this looks like an ordinary practice session.
He navigates the tight corners with ease, gliding around even as the heavens open to make the tarmac slick and slippery. Step into the car, however, and it is immediately obvious just how remarkable this track session is.
Schmidt is quadriplegic and completely paralyzed below the neck, making the use of a steering wheel and peddles impossible.
Instead, McLaren teamed up with American electronics company Arrow to produce the Semi-Autonomous Mobility (SAM) Car, which allows the former NASCAR driver to accelerate and brake by blowing and sucking on a tube -- called the "sip and puff" function -- and to steer by turning his head.
After his life-changing injury in 2000, the thrill of racing was something Schmidt never thought he would experience again.
"For 22 years, I really had to rely on other people to do most of my daily tasks," Schmidt tells CNN Sport at Goodwood, UK. "So when I first drove the car, it's like: 'I'm actually controlling 100% of these functions.'
"I have the gas and the brake and the head movements and so there's nothing more in my life that makes me feel that normal -- and that's pretty spectacular."
'Roller coaster of emotions'
Schmidt says he is "fortunate" to not remember much of the crash that turned his world upside down.
During a testing session in Florida ahead of the 2000 Indy Racing League season, he lost control of the car during what should have been a routine practice lap and smashed into a concrete barrier at around 180 miles per hour.
Schmidt and his team had gone into that season with high hopes -- so high, in fact, that he had real aspirations of winning the title -- but the following year would become very different to the one he had envisioned earlier that afternoon.
Schmidt spent six months undergoing a grueling rehabilitation program in hospital, often for more than five hours a day, before being discharged to begin his new life at home.
"A lot of people say: 'How did you overcome it?' But the reality is, it affects the family members sometimes more than me because of their lives and their expectations," Schmidt says. "I mean, it wasn't my family's goal in life to beat the Indy 500. That was my dream and, because of my dream, I sort of messed up their plans.
"It's such a roller coaster of emotions. All this positiveness and thinking we're looking forward to the 2000 season, I've got a six-month-old, a two-and-a-half-year-old and it's really just a photo of perfection here.
"We've got everything going, my beautiful wife and I'd just won my first race in IndyCar. Just all kinds of positive stuff going on and then to have it all turned upside down."
The doctor's initial prognosis was bleak; in the beginning, they said Schmidt only had a matter of weeks to live. Then, they said he would likely be on a ventilator for the rest of his life.
At the time, the idea of Schmidt one day driving a racing car again would have certainly seemed impossible.
In the early stages of his recovery, Schmidt used his father's own recovery from paralysis as inspiration to continue defying the odds, as well as picturing his children growing up.
"He had intensive rehabilitation for two years to get back the ability to walk and talk," Schmidt says of his father, who was paralyzed when Schmidt was 11. "So that's always been one of my motivating factors: he did it, so I why can't I do it?
"But I also had two kids that were six months and two-and-a-half when I was hurt, so I wanted to be around to see them grow up and become adults, and that's all happened in unbelievable, unbelievable fashion."
Once Schmidt and his family had adapted to their new way of life, their thoughts turned to what he could dedicate himself to next.
Alongside his wife, Sheila, Schmidt founded the racing team Sam Schmidt Motorsports which competed in Indy Lights, the series below IndyCar. As a team owner, Schmidt enjoyed great success, winning 75 races and seven championships, before moving into IndyCar in 2011.
Sam Schmidt Motorsports can boast pole positions, race wins and a second-place finish at the Indy 500 -- but a win at the prestigious Indy 500 still eludes them, something Schmidt is adamant to change as he looks forward to his team's new partnership with McLaren.
"At some point it's like: 'What do you do with the rest of your life?' Prior to that, I'd been on the road 152 days a year. My wife's like, 'You need to find something to do cause you're driving me nuts,'" Schmidt laughs.
"So a year after the accident, we decided to start a race team -- completely naively, we didn't know [that we'd] get that involved -- but it was just a matter of, it takes two hours to get up in the morning, so what do I have a passion for to make that all worthwhile?"
'What's your dream?'
Even while he was lying in hospital and struggling to come to terms with his condition, there was still something that made Schmidt realize how lucky he was.
"Being in a spinal cord injury hospital ... most of the patients there didn't have good insurance, didn't have a supportive family, didn't have all these people rallying behind them like I did," Schmidt recalls. "So that's why our group decided to start this foundation."
While Schmidt says his Sam Schmidt Paralysis Foundation, which was set up in the months after his accident, aims to find a cure for paralysis, its main goal is to help the millions of people like him around the world to find their sense of "purpose in life."
"How can we make their lives better? How can we show them that through just perseverance, I've been able to continue on following my life's dream?" Schmidt says. "So we challenged them: 'What's your dream and how can you make?'
"How can we make it so you can achieve it? What is your passion? Let's see if we can figure out how to get you there -- and that's really what the foundation does day in and day out."
Schmidt quickly realized his dream was to one day be back in the driving seat of a racing car, a seemingly impossible ambition that was made a reality by a team of engineers at Arrow; in 2014, Schmidt drove a specially modified Corvette Stingray, the first version of the SAM Car, at 100 miles per hour at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Over the years, a number of Corvettes were modified with various versions of the technology until Schmidt became so accustomed to the system that he began racing competitively again, even taking on the Pikes Peak challenge in Colorado, a daunting 12.42-mile climb with 156 turns and 14,110 feet of elevation.
Schmidt finished the course in 15 minutes, just six minutes behind the winner who drove with conventional driving controls. It was a remarkable feat of engineering and one that took a relatively short period of time to accomplish.
"From the time we got the [first] car, we had the whole thing developed in three to five months, from no modifications to driving at speed with all of our systems running," Arrow mechanical engineer Grace Doepker tells CNN Sport.
"When developing for Sam, it was probably a little bit different than another disabled person or one of our engineers, what we thought would be optimal. Sam is a racing driver, comes from a little bit of a different perspective and he wants a different level of performance.
"So it really pushed our engineering capabilities to sort of match what he was able to do as a racing driver and then, because of his disabilities, we had to make sure he was comfortable and he had the best driving experience possible.
"It was definitely a labor of love -- a lot of long nights in the lab and at the garage putting everything together and sometimes we forget why we're doing this. Then once we get Sam in the car, it's really nice to see: 'Okay, this is what it's all about -- this is what it's for.'"
But Arrow's work with Schmidt was not limited to the track. Last year, he was able to walk his daughter down the aisle and dance with her at her wedding thanks to an exoskeleton suit, a moment that still makes Schmidt emotional when he talks about it.
Schmidt still sounds somewhat incredulous when speaking about the technology that has helped him achieve things he wouldn't have thought were possible just a few years ago.
"It's phenomenal," he says. "It's really hard to describe because for 15 years I never thought I'd drive again and then now to get to drive not only on the street, but on a racetrack [like Goodwood] that is so iconic, it's a bucket list item. It's a dream come true."
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.local3news.com/its-phenomenal-how-remarkable-engineering-allowed-a-quadriplegic-former-nascar-driver-to-race-again/article_b6dd3f9d-f242-51cb-8bcf-ec59cfad48c4.html | 2022-08-17T10:10:06Z | local3news.com | control | https://www.local3news.com/its-phenomenal-how-remarkable-engineering-allowed-a-quadriplegic-former-nascar-driver-to-race-again/article_b6dd3f9d-f242-51cb-8bcf-ec59cfad48c4.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
A tour plane carrying six French tourists and a pilot crashed into Lake Powell in Utah Saturday, killing two people and injuring five others, officials said.
Witnesses called the National Park Service Dispatch to report the crash around 5:20 p.m., the Kane County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Monday.
The pilot of the tour plane out of Page, Arizona, reported an engine issue before the crash, according to the sheriff's office.
The pilot and people nearby who saw the plane go down were able to get four of the passengers out of the wreckage. Three of the injured were flown to a hospital with serious injuries.
Two of the passengers died in the submerged plane, the sheriff's office said. The names of the victims have not been released.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, the sheriff's office said.
CNN has reached out to the NTSB and FAA for more information and to the French consulates serving Arizona and Utah for comment.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.local3news.com/regional-national/2-killed-5-injured-when-a-plane-carrying-french-tourists-crashed-in-utahs-lake-powell/article_331f0bcd-8413-573f-b362-c98b10dbd9eb.html | 2022-08-17T10:10:18Z | local3news.com | control | https://www.local3news.com/regional-national/2-killed-5-injured-when-a-plane-carrying-french-tourists-crashed-in-utahs-lake-powell/article_331f0bcd-8413-573f-b362-c98b10dbd9eb.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Billionaire Elon Musk is up to his best again! Humoring Twitterati with his colloquial comments. This time, Musk joked that he was buying the professional football club Manchester United Plc. (NYSE: MANU) team. When asked by one of the followers if he was serious, Musk replied, “No, this is a long-running joke on Twitter. I’m not buying any sports teams.”
Musk also quipped about his political inclinations by saying, “To be clear, I support the left half of the Republican Party and the right half of the Democratic Party!”
As usual, Musk’s tweets received a lot of replies and likes. Initially, some MANU fans got excited about the idea but were upset to hear that Musk was just joking. A few even pleaded with Musk to buy the team, stating that only he could save a falling team.
Meanwhile, some suggested that Musk should buy Liverpool instead or invest in a Formula 1 or F1 team. And a few poked the fact that he doesn’t have money to buy the social media site Twitter (TWTR), let alone buy another company.
Is Manchester United a Good Stock?
On TipRanks, MANU stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on two unanimous Buys. The average Manchester United stock prediction of $17 implies 33% upside potential to current levels. Meanwhile, the stock has lost 12.3% so far this year.
The English football club is scheduled to report its fourth quarter Fiscal 2022 results on September 14. The consensus for earnings is pegged at a loss of $0.13 per share. In the meantime, MANU stock is up nearly 4% in pre-market trading at the time of writing, probably owing to the tweets about Musk’s buyout.
Manchester United has not been performing well in the Premier League. Its owners, the Glazer family, are receiving a lot of hatred with slogans of “Glazers Out” making rounds. The Glazers also own the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. | https://www.tipranks.com/news/musk-humors-twitterati-again | 2022-08-17T10:10:27Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/musk-humors-twitterati-again | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
U.S. stock market futures dipped early Wednesday morning as investors await more retail earnings announcements after solid quarterly results from retail giants Walmart (WMT) and Home Depot (HD).
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) inched 0.25% lower, while those on the S&P 500 (SPX) lost 0.38%, as of 5.15 a.m. EST, Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) futures dipped 0.50%.
At the end of the regular trading, the Dow gained 0.71% and the S&P advanced 0.19%. The Nasdaq 100, however, lost 0.23%. Interestingly, the S&P 500 is up about 18% from its lowest traded points in June.
Strong quarterly numbers from Walmart and Home Depot also lifted the prices of other retailers like Target (TGT) and Lowe’s (LOW), both of which are set to report earnings later on Wednesday. The upbeat results from two of the biggest retailers reflected solid resilience of consumers to market conditions, and thus lifted the sentiments of investors.
Will the U.S. Stock Market Fall Further?
However much reasons there are to cheer, many experts are suggesting that the market volatility is expected to continue, given a lot of undercurrents that have not broken the surface yet.
Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting are set to be released later on Wednesday, giving us an idea about its direction for the upcoming rate hike round in September, but nothing beyond that. It might still be too early to draw a clear picture of the inflation situation a few months from now and how the Federal Reserve will step in to manage that.
Meanwhile, the U.S. housing market appears to be in a recession. As high costs, prices, and high mortgage rates have made homes unattainable, new construction slowed down significantly in July. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that new home construction in July was down 9.6% from June. Moreover, building permits also fell 1.3% month-over-month in July.
The U.S. manufacturing sector also slowed in July, rising more concerns that the economy might not be able to skirt a recession after all.
On Tuesday, bond yields moved up on the back of the housing and manufacturing data from July. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.813%, and the yield on the 2-year note climbed to 3.272%.
Rising bond yields might put pressure on growth stocks further, giving another reason for the volatility in the market to continue. | https://www.tipranks.com/news/stock-market-today-wednesday-aug-17-what-you-need-to-know | 2022-08-17T10:10:33Z | tipranks.com | control | https://www.tipranks.com/news/stock-market-today-wednesday-aug-17-what-you-need-to-know | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who since the insurrection at the Capitol has become the Republican Party's most forceful critic of former President Donald Trump, was ousted from her House seat by Trump-backed Harriet Hageman, CNN projected Tuesday.
In Alaska, voters were casting ballots in another race the former President is focused on, with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski squaring off in the first of what's likely to be two rounds against the Trump-endorsed Kelly Tshibaka.
Former Gov. Sarah Palin, meanwhile, is attempting a political comeback in a special election for the state's lone House seat.
Here are six takeaways from Tuesday's contest in Wyoming as Alaskans wrap up their voting:
Trump caps his purge of intra-party rivals
Trump and his allies have spent the spring and summer turning Republican primaries across the political map into bitter fights in which loyalty to the former President was the central factor.
He lost some high-profile battles, including in Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger held off Trump-back challengers.
But in most open-seat races, Trump's candidates triumphed. And on Tuesday in Wyoming, Trump, who had endorsed Hageman on the day she entered the race against Cheney, claimed his biggest victory yet.
Cheney is now the eighth of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump following the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol to exit the House. Four have opted not to seek reelection, and four more have lost GOP primaries.
Cheney chose to go down fighting Trump
In the lead-up to Tuesday's primary, Cheney insisted she was trying to win.
But her strategy -- attempting to convince the Republican electorate in a state the former President won by a margin of 43 percentage points in 2020 to turn on him -- suggests she'd made a different choice: to go down swinging.
She infuriated Republicans by urging Wyoming Democrats and unaffiliated voters to switch their party registration and vote in Tuesday's GOP primary.
Surrounded by US Capitol Police officers on the campaign trail, Cheney opted for small, private events over rallies. She lambasted Trump in television interviews.
Her campaign's closing message was a TV ad featuring her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, calling Trump a "coward" who lies to his supporters and "tried to steal the last election" using violence.
Her election night event, on a ranch in Jackson Hole with the sun setting over the Grand Tetons in the background, didn't feature any television screens for supporters to watch results tabulated in a race Cheney was all but certain to lose.
She told supporters that she could have cozied up to Trump and did what she'd done in the primary two years earlier: win with 73% of the vote.
"That was a path I could not and would not take," Cheney said. "No House seat, no office in this land, is more important than the principles that we are all sworn to protect. And I well understood the potential political consequences of abiding by my duty."
Cheney's decision to use the spotlight of her high-profile House primary to tee off on Trump was never a winning one in Wyoming. But it did endear her to a segment of anti-Trump donors and position her as the GOP's most strident critic of Trump.
What's next for Cheney?
The three-term congresswoman has not said what her next political move will be -- including whether she'll run for president in 2024 as a foil for Trump.
But she used her speech to preview a continued fight against Trump, without laying out exactly what that means.
"I have said since January 6 that I will do whatever it takes to ensure that Donald Trump is never again near the Oval Office, and I mean it. This is a fight for all of us, together," she said.
"I'm a conservative Republican. ... But I love my country more. So I ask you tonight to join me: As we leave here, let us resolve that we will stand together, Republicans, Democrats and independents, against those who would destroy our republic."
As she left the stage, Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" blared over the event's speakers.
Waiting on Alaska results -- but how long?
Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee who has not run for office since then, is attempting a political comeback in the special election to fill the remaining months of the late Rep. Don Young's House term.
But it will take weeks to sort out whether she wins the runoff election against fellow Republican businessman Nick Begich III and Democratic former state lawmaker Mary Peltola.
The special election is Alaska's first using the state's new ranked choice voting system. CNN projected that none of the three candidates will receive more than 50% of the vote in the first round, meaning that the state will tabulate second-choice votes on August 31.
The ranked choice system could prove problematic for Palin, whose decision to quit midway through her one term as governor in 2009 still angers many of the state's voters. Begich III, the Republican scion of Alaska's most famous Democratic political family -- his grandfather Nick Begich was the state's congressman until his plane disappeared in 1972, and his uncle Mark Begich was a senator -- is seeking to capitalize on that hardened opposition to Palin.
The top four candidates from a wide-open June special primary advanced to the runoff. But one of those candidates, independent Al Gross, has since dropped out of the race, a decision likely to boost Peltola, who is seeking to make history as the state's first Alaska Native in Congress.
A second race for the same seat
At the same time Alaska is filling its at-large House seat in Tuesday's special election, the state held a primary for November's general election for a full term in the same seat. Palin, Begich III and Peltola will all advance to another top-four runoff, CNN projected. The fourth spot has not yet been projected.
Republican Tara Sweeney, an Alaska Native backed by the state's powerful Native-owned corporations, was the fifth-place finisher in the June special primary and could be best positioned to win the fourth spot in the November general election for a full term.
Other key races to watch in Alaska
Trump has also set his sights on Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who was among the seven Republican senators who voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial. Trump is backing former Alaska Department of Administration commissioner Kelly Tshibaka; he traveled to the state to hold a rally for Tshibaka in July.
However, Alaska's non-partisan primary system -- like the House race, the top four finishers, regardless of party, advance to the general election -- means that both Murkowski and Tshibaka will advance to the general election, CNN projected. Democrat Patricia Chesbro will also advance, and a fourth candidate has not yet been projected.
In another competitive top-four primary in Alaska, the current governor, Republican Mike Dunleavy, and his independent predecessor, Bill Walker, will both advance to the general election, alongside Democrat Les Gara, CNN projected. The fourth candidate has not yet been projected. Walker, who was elected in 2014 but dropped his 2018 reelection bid to back a Democrat who lost to Dunleavy, is supported by some Democrats and moderate Republicans who tout his decision to expand Medicaid and his opposition to restrictions on abortion rights.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. | https://www.local3news.com/regional-national/six-takeaways-from-primaries-in-wyoming-and-alaska/article_d1e3cdfb-227f-532c-a4b6-8cab9158629f.html | 2022-08-17T10:10:37Z | local3news.com | control | https://www.local3news.com/regional-national/six-takeaways-from-primaries-in-wyoming-and-alaska/article_d1e3cdfb-227f-532c-a4b6-8cab9158629f.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
It’s Not (Always) the Students’ Fault
Eric Vanden Eykel describes how he learned firsthand how faculty members’ failings can become opportunities for positive change.
One of the most important things my students have taught me is the importance of acknowledging when I have failed them. It all started with the first class that I taught. The class was in the six-week summer term, and I was a Ph.D. student. I chose readings and assignments carefully and overplanned our time together down to the minute. I was ready—or so I thought.
Two weeks in, this course was well on its way to becoming one of the worst ever taught in the history of higher education. At least that’s how it felt. Students seemed bored and disengaged. They came to class barely prepared, and their assignments were … not great. The first couple of days had been lively, but things went downhill fast after that.
At the end of the first week, I was frustrated, but I concluded that it was probably just timing. The class fulfilled a general education requirement, and who wants to take one of those in the summer? Plus, we met every day of the week. Surely that was it.
But by the end of the second week, I had started to blame the students. I was doing everything in my power to make things interesting, after all. They were just slackers and were probably taking the class in the summer because they failed it during the regular academic year. I had high standards, and it was the students who were failing to reach them. Certainly, none of this could be my fault.
As I marinated in my frustration over the weekend, however, I began to think: What if it’s not them? What if I’m doing or not doing something that’s preventing them from connecting with the material? What if it is, in fact, me?
When I arrived to class the following week, I started by telling them that I was disappointed by how things had been going as of late. When I saw a few nods around the room, I realized I was not alone. I reminded them that we were only a third of the way into the term and that there was plenty of time left for us to do things differently, at which point the nods intensified.
“So,” I asked, “what would it look like for us to do things differently?”
Piercing silence.
But then a hand went up. “I liked when you split us into small groups on the first day of class and had us discuss a few things and then share our answers. Could we do more of that?” This was met with more nods from around the room.
Another hand. “I’m confused by the reading assignments. I feel like if we had more specific questions, and more specific things to look for, that would be helpful.” More nods.
Yet another hand went up. “I think if we had more frequent short quizzes on the material, it would keep us accountable and give us feedback so we’ll know if we are on the right track.” I was actually surprised at how many nods this received, and I promise I am not making this up.
I assured the students that I would work on implementing those things, and I encouraged them to let me know if they had other ideas. I thanked them for their patience with me and for their willingness to vocalize their frustrations.
The transformation that followed over the next few days and weeks was noticeable. The class wasn’t perfect (as if there is such a thing), but we learned together what that particular classroom experience should look like. And we did that by being honest about our successes and our failures and by being open to new approaches.
New Expectations, Priorities and Questions
Students have quite a bit to teach their professors about what the college classroom can be, and the experiment I’ve described has been as formative to my pedagogy as any other I’ve tried. I am a huge proponent of holding students to high standards, and I want everyone to leave my classes with a sense that they have accomplished something. (It’s also good if we try to have a bit of fun along the way.) But what this experiment convinced me of, and what it continues to remind me of, is the importance of realizing that when students are not performing in the way that you want them to, the best way forward may be to: 1) create a space where students feel comfortable sharing what they need from you and then 2) actually listen and respond accordingly.
It goes without saying that the college classroom isn’t the same as it was 20, 10 or even a few years ago. Reading and writing expectations have evolved. Students are consuming and producing new types of media. The traditional final exam and the end-of-term research paper—hailed for decades as the gold standards by which learning is ultimately measured—are now painfully antiquated in so many ways.
The COVID era has also introduced new challenges and exacerbated old ones, and student motivation and learning styles have undergone particularly drastic shifts since the start of the pandemic. It is possible to blame lockdowns and poorly conceived and implemented virtual learning for some of what’s happened, but it is also the case that students are coming to college with new expectations, new priorities and new questions. In fact, they have been for some time. To pretend that their needs are the same now as they were five years ago—much less 10 or 20—is to bury one’s head in the sand.
“Because that’s how we did it when I was in college” is a fairly common sentiment in certain corners of higher education, but it is not a logical or compelling reason to justify doing something. In the face of the new challenges, questions and needs that students are bringing to the classroom, we need to interrogate many of the tried and true pedagogies that have worked in the past and, in many cases, replace them with more relevant approaches.
To be sure, there is no one size fits all for the college classroom, and so what works in one context may not work in another. And what works for one group of students may make little sense the following year. Such is the challenge of education in the context of our rapidly and persistently changing world.
But new semesters present chances for fresh approaches to old material. They also present chances for failure as well as the opportunities that such failure brings. When a student “fails” at an assignment, a good professor will help them understand what they did wrong and then provide timely, clear and encouraging feedback to help them improve. This is the type of space where learning can happen.
But it is unwise to speak of failure as if students have a monopoly on it. They don’t. Faculty fail as well, and we do so in ways that are often glaringly obvious. And just as students are expected to learn from their failures, and to adjust their approach accordingly, we likewise should be open to acknowledging and learning from those moments where our own pedagogy falls flat.
Creating Space for Meaningful Feedback
The feedback that students provide to us as faculty is obviously of a different sort than what we provide to students. Most students will not be comfortable approaching their professor after class to let them know that the comments on their last writing assignment made no sense, or that they lecture too quickly or assign readings that are too long or too advanced. End-of-term course evaluations are famously fraught with difficulties of various sorts, and they also arrive after it’s too late to make changes for that term.
Some institutions flag classes with habitually and abnormally high failure rates and then collaborate with faculty who teach those classes on more appropriate and realistic learning outcomes, as well as more current and effective pedagogies. Yet that approach assumes adequate funding of support staff and other resources to facilitate such things—not to mention good faith on the part of the administrators who are doing the flagging. As a result, in many contexts, final responsibility for cultivating a sense of self-awareness and also creating a space for meaningful student feedback lands on the professor.
So what does it look like for a professor to create a space for meaningful student feedback during the semester? Answers to this question should and will differ in light of a number of factors, including your own positionality and employment status, as well your institution’s climate. The experiment I described at the start of this piece, for example, will not work everywhere. In hindsight, I’m actually a bit surprised it was as successful as it was. At the time, I was a contingent faculty member at a research university where many students had been conditioned to not voice opinions on such matters—especially not to the person who was in charge of determining their grade. I’ve tried to start similar conversations in other class settings with mixed results.
But public conversations aren’t the only way to elicit student feedback. Some faculty have adopted the practice of a midsemester check-in, in which students respond to questions on a survey. You can administer them in class or virtually, and your LMS will probably allow anonymous responses, which may encourage some students to respond more openly and honestly. You can also, of course, administer such surveys sooner in the semester and more often.
Regardless of how you go about eliciting student feedback, making the effort conveys to students that you are invested not in faceless, hypothetical, idealized learners but in those who are actually enrolled in your class. It shows them that you see them for who they are, with all of their interests, abilities, strengths and, yes, even shortcomings. Because change is hard, and because many people are convinced that they already know what is best for their students, such conversations can be difficult and messy things. Yet whatever form they take, these conversations play an essential role in the process of learning, which is neither a one-way street nor a formulaic, simple affair.
Eric Vanden Eykel is associate professor of religious studies and the Forrest S. Williams Teaching Chair in Humanities at Ferrum College.
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- Professors are leaving academe during the Great Resignation | https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2022/08/17/facultys-failings-class-can-be-opportunities-improve-opinion | 2022-08-17T10:13:26Z | insidehighered.com | control | https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2022/08/17/facultys-failings-class-can-be-opportunities-improve-opinion | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
Kasaragod: The police on Wednesday took into custody the prime suspect in the murder case of a 22-year-old youth near Infopark in Kakkanad, Kochi.
Arshad, a roommate of victim Sajeev Krishnan, was apprehended from Kasaragod. He had gone missing since the crime came to light on Tuesday, police said.
Malappuram-native Sajeev lived in a flat on the 16th floor of Oxoniya Infocity apartments in Kakkanad's Edachira with four other friends.
The incident came to light when three of his roommates returned home from a trip to Kodaikanal. Sajeev's friends contacted the caretaker of the flat as he was not responding to their calls. The body was found after they inspected the flat.
The body, which was wrapped in a bedsheet and blanket, was found shoved into the garbage duct on the balcony of their apartment. There were deep cuts on the head and body.
Sajeev's friend Amjad told Manorama News that Arshad was the childhood friend of another roommate. He came to stay with him two weeks back. Amjad said Arshad used his bike to flee.
Meanwhile, Arshad's father P K Razaq said his son had left home two months ago. Even though he asked his wife for Rs 500 to return home, he never came back, Razaq said. He said he would cooperate with the police investigation. | https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2022/08/17/infopark-murder-suspect-nabbed-roommate-arshad.html | 2022-08-17T10:13:32Z | onmanorama.com | control | https://www.onmanorama.com/news/kerala/2022/08/17/infopark-murder-suspect-nabbed-roommate-arshad.html | 1 | 1 | green-iguana-35 | null |
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