We are searching data for your request:
Upon completion, a link will appear to access the found materials.
Groceries, including mustard, were delivered to eager astronauts aboard the International Space Station
The condiment drawer at the International Space Station had been looking worse for the wear.
On Monday, January 12, SpaceX’s company supply ship, known as Dragon, brought a long-awaited supply of groceries to astronauts at the International Space Station, as well as a shipment of belated Christmas gifts, reports The Associated Press.
The full delivery, totaling 5,000 pounds of cargo and collected via the space station’s robotic arm, was a welcome sight for the station’s six astronauts, whose last expected supply ship was destroyed in a launch explosion in October. SpaceX’s Dragon was also delayed by at least a month.
Later this year, Russia and Japan will send additional supplies that we imagine include some critical snacks.
There are currently three Russian crew members on board, two Americans, and one Italian.
Details on the presents and groceries were sparse, but U.S. astronaut Butch Wilmore told The Associated Press that the delivery of mustard was particularly welcome.
"We're excited to have it on board," said Wilmore. "We'll be digging in soon."
The Best Restaurants in Hong Kong Right Now
Roji is a Japanese izakaya infused with French accents, neatly tucked away from the chaos of Lan Kwai Fong down an unassuming backstreet. Its Japanese namesake, roji ura, befittingly translates to alleyway hideout, while the relaxed and laid back atmosphere makes for a welcome escape from the madness of the city. Dishes range from raw, fresh small bites to hot plates and rice boxes, while notable highlights include the hamachi topped with salmon roe, grated bottarga and crispy garlic chips, and a delightful, unassuming tomato dish, the fresh and sweet oxheart, cherry and jubilee tomatoes energised and perfectly balanced with a zesty yuzu dressing, pickled onions and shiso. Drinks are also an unmissable part of the experience – the classic highball fuses bonito umeshu and sherry with Miyagiko whisky from Sendai, the drink exuding smoky apple and floral aromatics while the bonito umeshu adds a unique savoury hit. The Nori elevates flavours from Japan with seaweed sous vide with campari, jalapeño, lime and strawberry for the perfect balance of sweet, salty, sour and spicy.
50. ‘Gimme Shelter’ — The Rolling Stones
For a song that Keith Richards wrote in 20 minutes, “Gimme Shelter” made a big impression. The opening track to the 1969 Rolling Stones album “Let It Bleed,” it was never released as a single but has been included in many compilation records and has been a staple of the band’s live gigs. During their 50th anniversary tour in 2012, the Rolling Stones sang this song with Lady Gaga, Mary J. Blige and Florence Welch.
12-1-20 Articles
LOS ANGELES (AP), Nov 20 – California authorities have arrested 50 members of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang and the Fresnecks street gang in Fresno County as part of a statewide crackdown, officials said Friday.
Law enforcement authorities allege the violent criminal organizations have “significant resources” that members use to buy and sell guns and drugs. The members are also accused of perpetrating murders, home invasions, kidnappings, large-scale identity theft and fraud, as well as other violent crimes within Fresno County and across California.
The Fresnecks worked under the direction of the Aryan Brotherhood, authorities said during a news conference.
Police executed 26 search warrants and 65 arrest warrants on Thursday in five counties, officials said. Fifty people were arrested, and authorities found four guns, methamphetamine, heroin and more than $40,000.
The overall investigation, including Thursday's operations, has resulted in 102 arrests as well as the seizure of 47 firearms, 89 pounds (40.37 kilograms) of methamphetamine, 5.75 pounds (2.61 kilograms) of heroin and $136,156 in cash.
November 23
At 5:49 p.m. Officers contacted Carmichal, Therren (12/01/78, Oakland) at the Fremont Station. Carmichal was found to have five outstanding warrants. Carmichal was arrested on the warrants and booked into Santa Rita Jail.
BART Police Log
Submitted by Les Mensinger and BART PD
Monday, November 23
• At 5.49 p.m. a man identified by police as Therren Carmichal was found at the Fremont Station. Carmichal was found to have five outstanding warrants. He was arrested on the warrants and booked into Santa Rita Jail.
California analyst forecasts one-time $26B windfall
By Adam Beam
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP), Nov 18 – California overestimated what it thought would be a jaw-dropping $54 billion budget deficit, creating a one-time $26 billion windfall for lawmakers to spend next year, the state's nonpartisan legislative analyst said Wednesday.
The state's spending plan was upended this year by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced the closure of many businesses and prompted millions of people to file for unemployment benefits.
Unsure of the virus's economic impact, the state Legislature approved a 2020-21 spending plan that tapped its savings account and relied on a combination of tax increases, spending cuts and deferrals to make up what policymakers believed would be a $54.3 billion deficit.
Legislative analyst Gabriel Petek said the state did too much, with the economic fallout from the virus so far not being as severe has lawmakers had feared.
While the pandemic has put millions of people out of work, most of them have been low-wage workers who earn less than $20 per hour. Petek said the people who earn more than $60 per hour and account for most of California's tax payments have been largely unaffected financially, with many continuing to work from home.
The budget that lawmakers approved in June anticipated a 15% drop in tax collections because of the pandemic. But so far, tax collections are 9% higher than last fiscal year, with the state bringing in $11 billion more than expected. The result is a one-time windfall Petek estimates at $26 billion but said could fluctuate between $12 billion and $40 billion depending on what happens.
He warned that the money could only be spent once. Going forward, the state's spending commitments are still more than its projected revenue, leading to a small operating deficit in 2020-21 that is expected to grow to $17 billion by 2025, Petek said. State revenue in 2021-22 would need to be $5 billion higher than projections to eliminate that deficit.
California's budget year runs from July through June.
Adding to the uncertainty is the recent surge in coronavirus cases that prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to impose tighter restrictions on most businesses and contemplate a statewide curfew that could trigger another round of job losses.
“Current unknowns about the economic outlook create an unprecedented amount of uncertainty about this fiscal picture,” according to an analysis released by the Legislative Analyst's Office.
Petek recommended Newsom and the Legislature put half the expected $26 billion windfall into the state's savings account and use the rest to address fallout from the pandemic.
Newsom will release his spending plan in January. Monday, he said his top priority will be “to support our small businesses that are trying their best to weather this storm.”
Democratic legislative leaders welcomed the news of the windfall but said they would be cautious. Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins said “challenging times are not behind us.”
Phil Ting, Democratic chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, said that while the improved outlook gives lawmakers “a little breathing room,” the state still needs help from the federal government to help with recovery. He said he would release a summary of the Assembly's budget proposal next month.
“We cannot take our eye off the ball,” he said. “While the wealthiest individuals and corporations have gotten richer during the pandemic, there are millions more struggling Californians and businesses that need support to weather ongoing economic uncertainty.”
GM flips to California's side in pollution fight with Trump
By Tom Krisher
AP Auto Writer
DETROIT (AP), Nov 23 – General Motors says it will no longer support the Trump administration in legal efforts to end California's right to set its own clean-air standards.
CEO Mary Barra said in a letter Monday to environmental groups that GM will pull out of the lawsuit, and it urges other automakers to do so.
She said the company agrees with President-elect Joe Biden's plan to expand electric vehicle use. Last week, GM said it is testing a new battery chemistry that will bring electric-vehicle costs down to those of gas-powered vehicles within five years.
Barra sent the letter after a call with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the company said.
“We believe the ambitious electrification goals of the President-elect, California, and General Motors are aligned, to address climate change by drastically reducing automobile emissions,” Barra said in the letter.
Mary Nichols, the head of California's Air Resources Board, called GM's announcement “good news,“ saying Barra told her about it in a telephone call Monday morning. The board is the state's air pollution regulator.
“I was pleased to be in communication with Mary Barra again,” she said. “It's been a while since we had talked.”
Dan Becker of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the environmental groups Barra wrote to, said GM was wrong in trying to stop California from protecting its people from auto pollution.
“Now the other automakers must follow GM and withdraw support for (President Donald) Trump's attack on clean cars,” he said in an email.
The White House had no immediate comment Monday.
Last year General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Toyota and 10 smaller automakers sided with the Trump administration in a lawsuit over whether California has the right to set its own standards for greenhouse gas emissions and fuel economy.
The companies said they would intervene in a lawsuit filed by the Environmental Defense Fund against the Trump administration, which has rolled back national pollution and gas mileage standards enacted while Barack Obama was president.
The group called itself the “Coalition or Sustainable Automotive Regulation” and also included Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Subaru, Isuzu, Suzuki, Maserati, McLaren, Aston-Martin and Ferrari.
“With our industry facing the possibility of multiple, overlapping and inconsistent standards that drive up costs and penalize consumers, we had an obligation to intervene,” John Bozzella, CEO of Global Automakers and spokesman for the coalition, said at the time.
Toyota, one of the big automakers in the coalition favoring the Trump standards, said Monday it is reconsidering its position.
In a statement, the company said it has supported year-over-year increases in fuel economy standards, and it joined the coalition because most other automakers agreed there should be a single U.S. standard.
“Given the changing circumstances, we are assessing the situation, but remain committed to our goal of a consistent, unitary set of fuel economy standards applicable in all 50 states,“ Toyota said.
The initial move put the coalition automakers at odds with five other companies – BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Volvo, and Honda – that backed California and endorsed stricter emissions and fuel economy standards than proposed by the Trump administration.
But the coalition's stance was not so straightforward. For instance, although it opposed California, it still wanted Trump and the state to compromise on one national regulation.
In September of 2019, Trump announced his administration would seek to revoke California's congressionally granted authority to set standards that are stricter than those issued by federal regulators.
The move came after Ford, BMW, Honda and Volkswagen signed a deal with the California Air Resources Board, which had been at odds with the Trump administration for months.
Many automakers have said in the past that they support increasing the standards, but not as much as those affirmed in the waning days of the Obama administration in 2016.
Under the Obama administration requirements, the fleet of new vehicles would have to average 30 mpg in real-world driving by 2021, rising to 36 mpg in 2025. Those increases would be about 5% per year. The Trump administration's plan increased fuel economy by 1.5% per year, backing off an earlier proposal to freeze the requirements at 2021 levels.
Automakers say that because buyers are switching to larger trucks and SUVs, many companies would not be able to meet the stricter standards.
––––
Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento, California, and Aamer Madhani in Washington, D.C., contributed to this story.
Bison plan for California's Catalina Island stirs debate
AP Wire Service
AVALON, Calif. (AP), Nov 08 – The nonprofit organization that owns a majority of California's Santa Catalina Island plans to boost eco-tourism by adding more bison to existing herds, recharging a debate over the environmental impacts of the shaggy beasts.
The Catalina Island Conservancy said there has not been a bison calf born on the island in seven years and the herd size has dwindled to 100, The Los Angeles Times reports.
The conservancy board is working with the Laramie Foothills Bison Conservation Herd to bring two pregnant bison to Catalina Island, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) south of Palos Verdes Peninsula.
The descendants of 14 bison left by a movie crew in 1924 attract eco-tourists roam Catalina's 76 square miles (197 square kilometers) of mountains, valleys and grasslands. Homes in the community of 4,000 permanent residents are festooned with painted bison images and gift shops sell bison figurines.
The conservancy runs eco-tours priced at $79 for two hours and $119 for three hours. The Catalina Island Company also offers “Bison Expedition” tours priced around $90 for adults.
“The number one thing that tourists want to see when they come to Catalina is bison and people want to see them running wild rather in a fenced enclosure,“ Catalina Island Conservancy President Tony Budrovich said.
Bison sighting has been increasingly difficult since 2009 when the conservancy launched a $200,000, five-year program to limit the population. The program aimed to use inoculation to reduce herd size to about 150, which would be healthier and less environmentally damaging.
A 2003 study, when there were 350 bison, concluded the animals trampled native plant communities, altered tree canopies by rubbing against tree trunks and dispersed nonnative grasses through their droppings.
Conservancy officials said bison health improved after the herd was reduced significantly in 2005 by sending some bison for slaughter or to breeding programs. The program was supposed to have been reversible once inoculations ceased.
Former conservancy biologist Calvin Duncan said the island's bison remain in poor health, which may contribute to their inability to produce calves. Blood analysis revealed nutritional deficiencies, while there were observations of broken and brittle horns and emaciated animals.
Eco-tourism customers follow the same assigned routes each day, but bison herds stay on remote, isolated patches of grass, Duncan said.
“Simply adding more bison will not result in more bison sightings,“ Duncan said.
Final Cocktails & Conservation of 2020
Submitted by Oakland Zoo
Join the last session of this virtual happy hour series featuring conservationists from around the world. For December’s meetup, our guest is Dr. Patricia Wright, one of the world's foremost experts on lemurs and founder of Centre ValBio in Madagascar. Pat has dedicated 30 years to studying the lemurs of Ranomafana National Park—a park she helped establish and the site for her discovery of a previously unknown lemur species. Join Oakland Zoo and this award-winning wildlife hero!
As always, the episode will feature a custom cocktail, so we can toast to a safe world for wildlife. Look out for the recipe, mix your cocktail, and join us live! Let us know what you loved about Cocktails & Conservation and what we can do better for 2021 by filling out the short survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8N2JWFW.
Final Cocktails & Conservation of 2020
Wednesday, December 9
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
https://www.oaklandzoo.org/programs-and-events/cocktails-conservation
Colleen Janis (Cech) Peters
Resident of California
1940-2020
After 80 years, friends and family will say goodbye to Colleen Peters at services to be held at Irvington Cemetery in Fremont, California on December 2nd. Colleen entered into rest on Sunday, November 22nd, 2020, in Arizona. Colleen was born in Hendricks, Minnesota, to Joseph and Ione (Olson) Cech. After graduating from Canby High School in 1958, she attended Mankato State University. Colleen and Charles (Chuck) Peters were married in 1961 at St Peters Catholic Church in Canby, Minnesota. Colleen loved the outdoors and was an avid horsewoman. Colleen worked for Annabelle Candy Company and retired as Vice President after 30 years. For the past two years, Colleen and her daughter Carie have resided in Arizona. Colleen was devoted to her family and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Joseph Cech, and her husband, Charles Peters. Colleen is survived by daughter Carie Peters, her sister, Sandra Eberle, and her brother, Jon Cech. She will be greatly missed! For more information, please contact Berge Pappas Smith Chapel of the Angels.
COVID-19 testing center requires health insurance or personal identification
Submitted by City of Hayward
City of Hayward’s COVID-19 Testing Center is now requiring people to provide health insurance or other identifying information to allow the center to seek third-party reimbursement for its testing costs. The change has been made so Hayward can continue to afford providing COVID-19 testing for everyone 12 years of age and older, regardless of place of residence or immigration status and without charging a fee.
Insurance and other identifying information—a driver’s license or California ID card number or Social Security number—collected by the center will be used only for seeking test cost reimbursement from private health plans or public health insurance systems, such as Medicare and Medi-Cal. As a Sanctuary City, Hayward does not gather, maintain, or share any information with other governmental agencies for or participate in the enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
While the center does not require a physician referral or private health insurance coverage to be tested, it does recommend conferring with health insurance plan administrators regarding individual plan requirements before making a COVID-19 test appointment.
Advance registration and appointments are available through the city’s testing partner, Avellino Labs of Menlo Park, at www.avellinocoronatest.com/info-patient/. For more information on health insurance coverage and COVID-19, visit State of California COVID-19 website at www.covid19.ca.gov.
COVID-19 Testing Center
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday, except holidays
1401 Golf Course Rd., Hayward
www.avellinocoronatest.com/info-patient/
www.covid19.ca.gov
Mayors celebrate Diwali
Submitted by Milind Makwana
To address the problem of Hunger, many organizations, mayors and mayor-elects gathered at a special Diwali event on November 22nd. The event showcased Indian cultural performances of dance and music. Event organizer Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh provided an update of volunteering efforts for COVID-19 service in partnership with Sewa International.
Through a unique program – “Sewa Diwali” (Sewa translates to selfless-service) -, hundreds of organizations and volunteers came together to address the problem of Hunger, both nationally and locally. Throughout the Bay Area, over twenty cities and fifteen partner organizations have participated in the Sewa Diwali initiative and to date, have collected over 7,000 pounds of food.
Over 4,000 families in the Bay Area were served and 5,000 masks were distributed with the help of more than 150 dedicated volunteers.
The “Community Diwali” event was attended by mayors Bob Woemer – Livermore, Sanjay Gehani – Foster City, Lily Mei- Fremont, Alan L Nagy – Newark, Barbara Halliday- Hayward, Melissa Hernandez- Dublin, Dave Hudson- San Ramon, and Karla Brown- Pleasanton and representatives from local school districts, Indian community organizations and Jewish communities, among others.
Livermore Mayor Bob Woemer told the gathering, “I am happy to be part of this celebration Livermore appreciates the Indian community for their service efforts”. He presented a Proclamation on behalf of the City of Livermore. Foster City Vice Mayor Sanjay Gehani mentioned the spiritual aspect of the festival and, in accordance with Hindu philosophy, that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite and eternal aatma. Diwali is an event to light the inner light of our mind. All mayors echoed similar sentiments.
Esteemed guest Dr T.V Nagendra Prasad (Hon. Consul General of India – San Francisco) shared his thoughts regarding Diwali and the importance of helping local communities. Other notable attendees included Mr.Sarvajna Dwivedi, President, CEO and Co-Founder of AngioSafe Inc and Mr. Ved Nanda, Distinguished University Professor of Law at the University of Denver and President of HSS America Zone.
After a year lost in the woods, dog reunites with owner
AP Wire Service
ARNOLD, Mo. (AP), Nov 16 – Nearly a year after Walter the dog went missing in suburban St. Louis, apparently wandering the woods behind an industrial park, the golden retriever is back with his owner.
KSDK-TV reports that Kate Olson of New Hampshire was in Arnold, Missouri, visiting relatives last Thanksgiving when Walter slipped out of his collar and took off. Olson stayed in Missouri for weeks searching for the dog and printing and distributing fliers.
She eventually returned to New England but got calls about sightings. She returned in January to search again. No luck, so she created a “Where's Walter?” Facebook page and enlisted animal rescue groups in the search.
Finally, on Friday, Olson got the call she had been waiting for. A group based in Belleville, Illinois, called Lost Paws Trapping was able to capture Walter. Olson immediately got on a plane and was reunited with Walter Friday night.
“He has been such a little love,” Olson said. “He is the same sweet boy he was before and maybe even sweeter because he has missed getting loved on!”
Donations Needed for the Winter Shelter and CleanStart
Submitted by City of Fremont Human Resources
A variety of items is needed to prepare for the Winter Shelter, opening on December 1st, and for the CleanStart mobile hygiene unit:
• Winter Clothing
• Hygiene Kits
• Supplies
• Undergarments
For more specific list of items, visit: Volunteer & MOnitor Training (constantcontact.com). All donated items must be brand new. Contact Paula to schedule your drop off: 510-574-2049 or [email protected]
Double stabbing in the Ardenwood neighborhood.
Submitted by Geneva Bosques, Fremont PD
On November 23, shortly after 6:00 p.m., Fremont Police Dispatch received a report of a stabbing in the 5000 block of Amberwood Drive. When officers arrived, they located two juvenile boys in their teens with stab wounds. One boy was transported via ambulance in stable condition to a trauma center with a major injury, while the second boy was taken to a local hospital for an injury to the hand.
Officers are currently gathering evidence and taking statements from witnesses and those involved to understand the circumstances that led to this assault. We believe the involved parties are known to each other. No additional information is being released at this time due to the ongoing investigation.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to please contact the Fremont Police Department’s non-emergency phone number at 510-790-6800 and select option 3.
Invasive beetles pose threat to many forests
From the Editors of E — The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Where I live in Southeast Michigan, an invasive insect called the Emerald Ash Borer is wreaking havoc on our forests. Are other parts of the country dealing with this pest or others that are killing large numbers of trees?
— John D., Sterling Heights, Michigan
In a growing number of U.S. states, residents have been dealing with a different kind of quarantine that began back in the early 2000s and continues on today. But this one involves wood, not people, and the perpetrator is a beetle, not a virus.
The problem started in 2002 when the Emerald ash borer, an exotic green beetle that probably hitched a ride to the U.S. with wood materials from Asia, began decimating ash forests in Michigan. Since then, this little invader has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees across 35 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces. Ecosystems where these ash trees play a pivotal role are decimated, while forest products industries and property owners in these areas are also worse off. And wood coming out of affected regions is being quarantined to make sure it isn’t harboring the invasive pest before being shipped out to other parts of the country or world.
While the Emerald ash borer is found almost exclusively on ash trees, several other invasive bugs are also plaguing other types of forests across the continent. Asian long-horned beetles, Spotted lanternflies, Banded elm bark beetles, Brown spruce long-horned beetles, Common pine shoot beetles and European oak bark beetles are just a few of the bugs preying on our native forests.
A new Asian gypsy moth strain is another emerging threat to U.S. coastal forests. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warns, “If established in the United States, Asian gypsy moths could cause serious, widespread damage to our country’s landscape and natural resources.” In May 2020, Washington governor Jay Inslee issued an emergency order in response to the infestation. These moths have wrought havoc before, and scientists have offset infestations using a special kind of moss on different East Coast strains. Hopefully similar measures can counteract impacts on the West coast soon as well.
There are many factors driving the spread and growth of harmful species to trees in North America. Clothing imported from China, wood brought from Canada, sugar transported from Brazil, and much else of what we consume here that comes from abroad brings with it the transport of species, whether on purpose or by accident, with potentially catastrophic effects.
Climate change is also a factor. Insects live in specific environments based on weather, and their ranges expand and breeding seasons increase as global temperatures rise. Mountain pine beetle numbers, for example, have grown rapidly in recent decades due to the warming climate. Cold winters that usually drive beetles to hibernate, protecting pine forests for a spell, are growing shorter. Beetles can now complete two reproductive cycles in the expanded warm seasons, leading to increased tree mortality in affected regions. If warming continues at the current rate, trees won’t be able to adapt fast enough to survive.
There’s not much individuals can do to prevent the spread of invasive tree pests except by buying wood products produced by local logging operations or wood lots. Likewise, procure firewood from local sources, as many pests hitchhike into new terrain on firewood in back of the family station wagon.
EarthTalk is produced by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss for the nonprofit EarthTalk. See more at https://emagazine.com. To donate, visit https//earthtalk.org. Send questions to: [email protected].
BUDGET ‘21
By Dennis Waespi
As 2020 winds down, the East Bay Regional Park District looks toward 2021 with optimism that it will be a better year. That’s not a high bar to clear.
Overall, the mission of the East Bay Regional Park District is to preserve natural and cultural resources, and provide open space, parks, trails, recreation, and environmental education for 2.7 million residents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties and over 25 million annual visitors from the Bay Area and beyond.
The district is now working on next year’s proposed budget. The new budget includes a variety of projects that were necessarily delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The 2021 Budget recommends $232.1 million in total appropriations, which is $11.6 million (4.8%) less than the 2020 adopted budget of $243.7 million. It is balanced, taking into account challenging financial circumstances and uncertainty surrounding the future economic outlook. The proposed budget presents a balanced financial plan to guide the agency during the coming year and maintain support in areas of importance to the public.
The 2021 budget includes a variety of goals, several carried over from 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Among them are the openings of some new facilities: Brickyard Cove in McLaughlin Eastshore State Park Dumbarton Quarry Campground at Coyote Hills Regional Park Lone Tree Point extension of the San Francisco Bay Trail, and the remodeled Rocky Ridge Visitor Center at Del Valle Regional Park.
Environmental restoration-related goals include restoration of McCosker Creek in Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve completion of the Jewel Lake sediment reduction feasibility study planning for Hayward Marsh improvements and continued studies to improve the water quality of Park District swimming lakes.
You can look through the entire document at the park district website, http://www.ebparks.org/about/budget#budget-docs. The park district board of directors is scheduled to discuss and approve it at its meeting on Dec. 15, which is open to the public online.
Ira Bletz and Mark Taylor are now each marking 40 years of employment at the park district.
Ira began his career at the district as a temporary naturalist aide in 1979, and was hired as a regular employee seven months later. He served as a naturalist at Tilden Regional Park, Coyote Hills Regional Park and Ardenwood Historic Farm. In 1990 he was promoted to supervising naturalist at Ardenwood. In 2015 he became interpretation and recreation services manager, his current position. Ira’s profile on LinkedIn has him listed as “Grand Poobah” at East Bay Regional Park District. As a nationally recognized interpreter, inspirational leader, and beer aficionado (he has organized home brewing workshops), this is a very fitting and well-deserved title!
Mark Taylor began his career at the district in 1977 as a three-month seasonal park worker at Redwood Regional Park. He then transferred to Coyote Hills and became a regular six-month park worker in 1980. Three months later he moved to Hayward Regional Shoreline. He has been park supervisor there since 1987.
Congratulations and many thanks to Ira and Mark for all their years of service to the district and the public.
White pelicans have been spotted at Quarry Lakes in Fremont, Lake Del Valle south of Livermore, and other park district waterways. White pelicans nest in saline lakes of the intermountain west, then migrate to the coast to overwinter.
Brown pelicans catch fish by diving. The white ones catch them by surrounding and herding them in a tightening ring. Keep an eye out you may see these beautiful birds in action.
There is one holiday that is distinctively American, carrying with it, substance and style. It sends a message of charity and selflessness at least once a year. A unique American writer, William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910), better known under his pen name, O. Henry, captured the charitable aspects of the Thanksgiving holiday and its irony as well.
Porter led a checkered life that illustrated the vagaries of life and was well positioned to understand the nostalgia and contradictions of an annual observance filled by many with generosity and plenty, segregated by hundreds of days of neglect.
The short story, Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen (1907 collection, The Trimmed Lamp), focuses on the traditional aspects of a relationship between destitute Stuffy Pete and an acquaintance – “the Old Gentleman” – who, every Thanksgiving Day for the past nine years, provides a lavish restaurant meal. The main character’s name is appropriate as the yarn unfolds and, with a characteristic O. Henry twist adherence to a well-meaning tradition leads to an ironic conclusion. For the curious, the story can be read online at: https://americanliterature.com/author/o-henry/short-story/two-thanksgiving-day-gentlemen.
As introduction to the story, O. Henry narrates that Thanksgiving is a day of reminiscence, going back home to “eat saleratus [baking powder] biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to.” He pokes a bit in reference to the Puritans who initiated the tradition, saying that although we may not remember who they were, “Bet we can lick ‘em anyhow if they try to land again.” Tongue in cheek, he adds a barb at the self-absorbed City of New York and, by extension, others: “The big city east of the cranberry bogs has made Thanksgiving Day an institution. The last Thursday in November is the only day in the year on which it recognizes the part of America lying across the ferries.”
Many individuals and organizations do address the needs of less fortunate fellow residents throughout the year. O. Henry recognizes this and illustrates the contrast between a tradition, its practices and its origin. Although the characters in Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen are filled with well-intentioned thoughts and actions, the results are a dramatic contrast. Bound by tradition, Stuffy, usually hungry and ignored, suffers from overindulgence while the Old Gentleman suffers from starvation. The friendly Thanksgiving Day gesture reveals a flawed result and an important lesson… strict adherence to tradition without reasonable reflection can lead to undesirable results.
Traditions are important. They pave a path from past accomplishments toward future goals. We have just celebrated an important component of our American heritage and, even in troubling times of pandemic and political chicanery, paused to reflect on the blessings of our existence and humanity. In the midst of this holiday season, it is important to consider what we can do throughout the rest of the year. Although this season of holidays is muted by COVID-19, there is light in the darkness. As solutions to our trials and tribulations emerge, hope and optimism can replace fear and negativity. It is in that spirit that upcoming holidays and those just past, including Thanksgiving and Diwali, guide our thoughts and actions toward a sensible and bright future.
Whimsical wonderland of lights coming to Golden Gate Park
Submitted by San Francisco Recreation & Parks
An art installation coming to Golden Gate Park will transform Peacock Meadow into an enchanted forest of otherworldly shapes and ever-changing light, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and San Francisco Parks Alliance announced in October. “Entwined,” by San Francisco artist Charles Gadeken, will honor Golden Gate Park’s 150th Anniversary.
The installation will run from December 10 through February 28 with a possible extension to June 1. The project is paid for through private donations to the Park Alliance’s Golden Gate Park 150 campaign and does not use city funds. Peacock Meadow sits in the park’s east end between McLaren Lodge and the Conservatory of Flowers and across from the new pop-up Welcome Center on JFK Drive.
The Entwined installation creates a whimsical wonderland where visitors can explore paths and sit under a grove of three entwined sculptural trees while practicing social distancing. The trees range from 12 to 20 feet tall with illuminated canopies as large as 30 feet, filling the meadow with changing light. Sculptures comprised of 2,000 LED lights cluster into small flowering bushes at varying heights, further filling the green space with peaks and valleys of radiating light. The variety of lighting effects are inspired by nature and build a sense of awe: Raindrops on the pavement, lighting and thunderstorms, wind blowing tall grass and flowers, and ripples on a pond.
“As the days get darker, this dazzling installation will light the way for park lovers to experience Golden Gate Park in a new and creative way as we close out its 150th Anniversary,” said San Francisco Recreation and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg. “A twilight stroll through the park’s east will be truly magical this winter. People can visit the City’s official holiday tree in front of McLaren Lodge before exploring Entwined, marveling at the Conservatory’s annual light show, and enjoying the 150-foot Observation Wheel and illuminated bandshell in the Music Concourse.”
Entwined is a new concept designed for Golden Gate Park, although parts have been installed previously including at Electric Daisy Carnival Vegas and Canada’s Toronto Light Festival. The public art project is ADA accessible.
“The installation is my latest exploration of this question, blending timeless natural objects with abstract forms and modern technology to evoke wonder, magic, and joy,” Gadeken, said.
For more information, the public can email [email protected].
‘Entwined’ art installation
Thursday, Dec 10 – Sunday, Feb 29
Peacock Meadow, Golden Gate Park
240 John F Kennedy Dr., San Francisco
sfrecpark.org
Fatal collision involving bicyclist: investigators seeking witnesses
Submitted by San Leandro PD
On Tuesday, 11/24/2020 around 5:20 am, the San Leandro Police Department received 911 calls regarding a vehicle collision involving a white van and a bicyclist at the Davis Street overpass near Interstate 880.
Officers arrived and located an adult male laying on the ground. Life-saving measures were attempted however, the paramedics pronounced the male deceased. The driver of the van remained at the scene and cooperated with our investigators. During the initial phases of this investigation, it appears that after the first collision with the van, two additional vehicles may have struck the bicyclist as he lay on the roadway.
We are looking for any witnesses who may have been in the area, including a Good Samaritan who stopped to deter other motorists from hitting the bicyclist but left before our officers arrived.
We would also like to speak with the driver of a dark-colored early 2000’s Ford or Chevrolet pickup and a driver of a dark-colored sedan who was in the area moments after the collision.
If you have any information you can provide, please contact Traffic Investigator, Officer Daryl Pasut at 510 577-0464 or [email protected]
Suspect Arrested in Possession of a Firearm
Submitted by Geneva Bosques, Fremont PD
On Monday, November 23, at approximately 11:56 p.m., a reporting party contacted Fremont PD regarding a subject at the Mission Peak Lodge who attempted to enter her room. She reported that the subject eventually left and entered a parked vehicle which was still in the parking lot. Officers arrived on scene and located the vehicle with a subject asleep in the driver’s seat. Officers also observed a handgun on the front passenger seat within immediate reach of the subject.
Officer’s repositioned and waited for the arrival of the BearCat armored vehicle before attempting to wake up the suspect. Once the BearCat was on scene, officers used the armored vehicle as cover while calling out to the suspect to surrender. The suspect eventually awakened and surrendered to officers. A subsequent search of the vehicle recovered a loaded handgun.
41-year-old Robert Robles of Fremont was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm in a vehicle/public. Robles has prior arrests for burglary, evading, identity theft, possession of stolen property, and possession of drugs for sale. Robles is on probation for possession of drugs for sales.
Robles was booked at Santa Rita Jail where he is currently held. Robles’ arraignment is scheduled for November 30.
Fremont Police Log
Submitted by Geneva Bosques, Fremont PD
Grand Theft
On 11/18 officers responded to a report of a grand theft at Dick's Sporting Goods, 43923 Pacific Commons Blvd.
On 11/22 Latrell King (23) out of Fairfield was identified, located and arrested in Solano County.
Mail Theft
On 11/19 officers responded to a report of a man and woman breaking into an apartment mailbox at 39639 Leslie St. The reporting party was able to take a picture of the vehicle involved. Officers located the vehicle a short time later and arrested Christopher Summerill (26) out of Fremont.
Robbery
On 11/17 a man and woman were interrupted attempting to steal mail from the Pathfinder Apartments, 39800 Fremont Blvd. When confronted by the victim a man pointed a pistol at the victim which led to struggle. The man eventually fled the scene, the victim was uninjured.
On 11/17 officers responded to the 7-11, 39450 Fremont Blvd for a robbery. A man had initially stolen a pack of cigarettes, after approximately 20 minutes the same man re-entered the store in attempt to steal beer. The clerk blocked his escape, at which time the man pushed the clerk out of the way and fled. Antonino McCormick (56) homeless out of Fremont was located, identified, and arrested.
On 11/18 a man stole items from Lowe's, 43612 Pacific Commons Blvd. An employee asked to validate the receipt after noticing merchandise in the cart had security devices affixed. The man grabbed the employee cell phone from her hand and fled.
On 11/23 a man broke into a vehicle parked in front of Chik-Fil-A, 5245 Mowry Ave. The victim walked out to find the man taking a bag from his car, the victim chased the man and a struggle ensued. The man was able to break free from the victim and fled.
Stolen Vehicle
On 11/23 officers responded to the 37000 block of Fremont Blvd, after a Door Dash delivery driver reported his vehicle was stolen while dropping off food. The victim’s vehicle was located on 11/24 in San Bruno, CA.
Book some time in the garden
Article and photos by Daniel O'Donnell
New technology often kills its predecessor. Records were replaced by cassette tapes, which were replaced by CDs, which were replaced by digital music files. Sometimes, the predecessor adapts. Such was the case when encyclopedias went from book form to digital. Every now and then, even though there might be a new technology, people like to stick what came before it. Gardening books are one of those things.
There is no doubt that the Internet has greatly expanded the amount of information a person can access. Adding wireless devices such as phones and tablets to the mix has made access to knowledge available almost anywhere at any time, including the garden. However, many gardeners still rely on books to get expert advice, inspiration, and enjoyment. Information in gardening books can be more reliable than information available online because they were reviewed before publishing. Gardening books also provide detailed information on specific topics that a gardener might not have known to ask about. Books have a limited scope that can narrow the focus in a helpful way when compared to the overwhelming amount of information available online.
Gardening books have some physical advantages over electronic devices. The text of a book is easier to read in bright sunlight than on a mobile screen. It is easier to focus and absorb the information from gardening books because there are no distracting advertising or banners popping up repeatedly. Reading a page from a book puts less strain on the eyes and since many gardeners are “hands-on” people, holding a book to look up gardening advice may feel better. Furthermore, it is less likely and far less expensive to ruin a book by accidently dropping it, getting it wet and dirty, or having a tree branch fall on it than it is for the same thing to happen to an expensive phone or tablet.
Here are some books that make great companions in the garden. Some are inspirational, some informative, some historical, and some simply enjoyable to read.
Sunset Western Garden Book. This book, which is described as the “Last Word on Gardening in the West,” has more than 8,000 plants listed. Along with stunning photos or impressive drawings for each plant, there is an encyclopedic amount of knowledge, expert advice on plant care, and tips on essential gardening techniques. There are also 30 plant selection guides to find the perfect plant for any situation.
Let It Rot. For the composting geek, The Rodale Book of Composting is probably the most comprehensive book on the science and methods of creating compost. Let It Rot is the best easy to read and follow guide to making compost at home for the average home gardener who would like to turn their kitchen scraps and yard trimmings into compost without being overly laden with science.
American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn. This opinion-altering book takes the reader through the history of the American obsession with the lawn. It explains the reasons for lawn’s explosion in popularity after World War 2 and subsequent decades of manic devotion. This book changes how people view their garden through historical data, irony, and humor.
The House Plant Expert. The world’s best-selling book on house plants and the must-have sequel, The House Plant Expert Book Two, are beautifully illustrated and two of the most comprehensive guides for growing and maintaining house plants. Both books provide detailed information about different varieties of particular house plants as well as secrets of success and special care instructions.
The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible. There are countless books on growing vegetables, but few consistently show up as consistently on garden publications’ best of lists. The book is designed to be a roadmap for growing vegetables from seed to harvest. The high-yield W-O-R-D System, wide rows, organic methods, raised beds, and deep soil along with all of the other design, infrastructure, scientific processes, and technical information will steer anyone to success and drive up the vegetable production yield.
The Drunken Botanist. This book blends history, botany, biology, chemistry, booze, and bartending into an intoxicating creation. The book looks at the wide range of plants that alcoholic drinks are created from around the world both in the past and in the present. It includes numerous cocktail recipes that can be enjoyed just as much as reading the book.
Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul. Anyone who enjoys gardening already knows that this book must be uplifting. However, this book lets non-gardeners know the joy of gardening as well, via – as stated on the cover – gardening themed stories that “sow seeds of love, hope, and laughter.” Although the book can be read quickly, the stories will be remembered for a long time.
Much of the enjoyment from gardening comes from hands-on work. Touching the plants and feeling the soil are just two ways that a person’s hands physically connect them to their garden. Having a book in those hands mentally connects them as well.
Daniel O'Donnell is the co-owner and operator of an organic landscape design/build company in Fremont. www.Chrysalis-Gardens.com
Report: Millions of full-time US workers get government aid
By Martin Crutsinger
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP), Nov 19 – Millions of Americans who are working full-time jobs still rely on federal health care and food assistance programs because of low wages, a bipartisan congressional watchdog says.
A report from the Government Accountability Office found that about 70% of adult workers participating in Medicaid, which provides health care to low-income Americans, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps, are working full time.
The report was requested by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, who said its findings show an urgent need to raise the federal minimum wage.
“At a time when huge corporations like Walmart and McDonald's are making billions in profits and giving their CEOs tens of millions of dollars a year, they're relying on corporate welfare from the federal government by paying their workers starvation wages.,“ Sanders said in a statement. “This is morally obscene.”
He said it was long past time to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15.
In the report issued Wednesday, the GAO analyzed data from 15 state agencies covering 11 states, with each agency reporting the employers in their states with the largest numbers of Medicaid and food-stamp beneficiaries.
Among the 15 agencies overseeing the Medicaid and food-stamp programs, Walmart was among the top four employers with beneficiaries in each of the 15 programs. McDonald's was among the top five employers whose workers received federal benefits from 13 of the 15 state agencies.
Other companies that appeared frequently were Dollar Tree and Dollar General.
Sanders said an analysis of the GAO data showed that across nine of the states reviewed – Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington – the largest number of recipients of foods stamps were employed at Walmart and McDonald's.
Asked for comment on the GAO report, Anne Hatfield, a Walmart spokesperson, said, “If not for the employment access Walmart and other companies provide, many more people would be dependent on government assistance.”
She said that a small percentage of Walmart's workforce is on public assistance when hired by Walmart. The company strives to “remove employment barriers and create opportunities for individuals that too many overlook,” she said.
McDonald's USA said in a statement, “The average starting wage at U.S. corporate-owned restaurants is over $10 per hour and exceeds the federal minimum wage. ”
City receives recognition in environmental action
Submitted by City of Hayward
Hayward is among just 88 cities worldwide and only three in the San Francisco Bay Area to receive a grade of A in 2020 for leadership on environmental action from the nonprofit organization CDP.
The designation recognizes the city for moving Hayward electricity customers to entirely carbon-free sources of power for municipal investment in on-site renewable energy generation and recycled water infrastructure for commitment to zero-net-energy facilities development strategic planning to respond to rising sea levels and for new building standards to phase out reliance on natural gas.
CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, is based in the United Kingdom and runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Every year, more than 600 cities report their climate data through CDP’s environmental disclosure platform and in so doing demonstrate commitment and transparence in climate protection.
In 2018, CDP began to score cities from A to D based on their disclosures for how effectively they are managing, measuring, and working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and for adapting to climate risks. All disclosed data available on CDP’s Open Data Platform -https://data.cdp.net/.
History Column: Native Plants
By Phillip Holmes
Originally ran December 24, 2013
Pioneer farmers had their share of difficulties trying to earn a living from the soil. The soil was rich, but it sometimes sprouted plants that created special problems. Wild mustard made it hard to harvest grain because all the stalks had to be separated.
There was a market for mustard seed so Erastus Johnson decided to gather and thresh it. He got a canvas, hired a man, hauled the mustard after grain harvest and separated the seed with horses and a roller. He shipped the seed to New York and netted about $1,000. His success became known, and neighbors saved their own seed after that. His brothers, Charles and George, came from the mines the next year and, needing something to do, joined the mustard harvest.
They decided to try harvesting mustard on the uncultivated prairie lands owned by non-residents. They took a team and reaper and began harvesting mustard. In about three weeks all the mustard in reach had been harvested. The price had fallen, so they only netted about $600.
Erastus got lost one night in “the mustard forests.” Even when he stood up in the saddle he could not see lights from settler’s houses. His pony finally groped his way out of the mustard about midnight. The pony was apparently in no hurry because he nibbled at the grass along the way.
About this time, Rufus Denmark and his wife came from the East to Irvington. Mrs. Denmark had procured a package of mustard seed to plant here because “mustard was so good for greens after the snow melted.” The mustard seed was ruined when it got wet while they were crossing the Isthmus, and Mrs. Denmark deeply mourned her loss. The party reached San Francisco, crossed the Bay and rode the stage 30 miles to the “Corners” through the most luxuriant wild mustard ever seen. The stage road wound through mustard so tall one could not see the stage.
The authors of the History of Washington Township wrote in 1904 that in pioneer days, the country was covered with acres and acres of wild oats, tall enough to tie over the head of a man on horseback. Wild mustard from six to fifteen feet high rolled in golden billows over the valley and up the hillsides, and birds nested and sang among the blossoms. They decorated the Town Hall for their “Golden Jubilee” in 1904 with great branches of golden mustard blooms, California poppies and wild oats in luxuriant profusion.
The writers observed some changes in the 1950 edition. “Wild poppies and mustard still color uncultivated places, but the mustard and wild oats no longer can be tied above a man’s head.”
Mustard continued to appear in writings. The first students at Centerville School noted that they “cheerfully walked three long miles of lonely road with tall mustard growing high above their heads on either side.” Another writer wrote about a lost gravel yard. “Wild mustard grew like the veritable tree of the Bible and covered everything with its rank growth,” until destroyed by fire.
A few native plants became part of local government. Fremont’s original City Seal was designed with a poppy on the left side, but at the suggestion of Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Marks, the Fremontia was chosen as the city’s flower. The Fremontia with five petals, just as Fremont had five communities, is a golden native California plant discovered by John C. Fremont.
Charles Shinn wrote that the Todd and Proctor flower gardens were the most noted of pioneer days:
“Grandma” Todd’s garden had roses, lilacs, oleanders, jasmines, spring bulbs and English irises. All family members were proud of the garden which furnished seeds and cuttings to hundreds of gardens. People sent flowers to them and it became a mass of lovely old-fashioned flowers.
Mrs. Proctor’s garden had the finest collection of native wild flowers in California. She gathered flowers and shrubs from canyon and hillside, and they grew for her as never before or since. There were plenty of gardens all over the broad valley by 1890, but no successor to that marvelous collection of wild California violets, lilies, irises, vines and shrubs of Mrs. Proctor.
Shinn noted that these two gardens belong together in valley history as “a sweet and royal memory.” Glenmoor residents carried on this tradition in later years.
Niles was a favored spot for gardens but also became known for its flower shows. The Niles School students staged wild flower shows in the late twenties and the Chamber of Commerce sponsored their first wild flower show in 1929 to encourage conservation of the 76 varieties they displayed. The family of George Roeding, Jr. started an annual outdoor bulb show in 1932. Thousands of friends and customers came from all over to see the flowers in bloom. Workers planted 164 varieties of tulips and there were over 200 varieties in the rose garden. The Niles Wildflower and Art Festival, sponsored by the Main Street Association, continues the tradition which now includes a quilt show.
Home Invasion leads to Pursuit
Submitted by Geneva Bosques, Fremont PD
Early morning of November 23, at approximately 4:53 a.m., patrol units responded to a home invasion robbery in progress in the 44000 block of Ibero Wy. A victim reported suspects forced their way into their home and at least one suspect was armed with a handgun. The suspects robbed the victims of personal property including their vehicle. Responding officers located the stolen vehicle northbound on Mission Blvd. and pursued it until it crashed into a building near Mission Blvd. and Mayhews Rd.
One suspect was caught after a short foot pursuit. The second suspect was initially believed to be trapped in the vehicle. The vehicle and building sustained significant damage which required police and fire personnel to coordinate a plan to check the vehicle for the outstanding suspect. The second suspect was not located within the vehicle. Shortly after, a community member called dispatch about a suspicious male that was waiting at a nearby bus stop.
Patrol units responded and detained the subject who was then identified as the outstanding suspect. Detectives were called out and responded to assume the investigation.
19 year-old Keshavsharan Virk of San Jose, and a 17 year-old juvenile were arrested for armed home invasion robbery, burglary, possession of a firearm, felony evading, and possession of a stolen vehicle. A loaded handgun was recovered in the stolen vehicle.
Detectives learned that the suspects also committed a separate residential burglary and were casing the neighborhood prior to the home invasion. A separate stolen vehicle was also found in the neighborhood. Detectives believe that the suspects arrived in the neighborhood in the stolen vehicle before committing the burglary and home invasion robbery.
Detectives are also working with the San Jose Police Department regarding potential related home invasion robberies and burglaries in their jurisdiction.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to contact Detective Ryan Lobue at 510-790-6900 or [email protected].
CONTINUING EVENTS:
Monday – Saturday
Free COVID-19 Testing
M-F: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Sa: 9 a.m. – 12 noon
Drive through, drop-in, and walk-up testing by appointment
Bay Area Community Health
39500 Liberty St., Fremont
(510) 770-8040
Mondays and Wednesdays
Parenting During COVID R
Tue: 12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Wed: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Virtual support group to help families cope with challenges encountered during COVID
To register: www.fremont.gov/3060/Caregiver-Support
(510) 574-2100
Tuesdays
Free Virtual Sing-Along
7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Zoom choir meeting hosted by Mission Peak Chamber Singers
https://www.chambersingers.org/
Contact: [email protected]
Wednesday – Saturday
Free COVID-19 Testing
11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Drive through and walk-up testing by appointment
Make appointment at: https://ac.fulgentgenetics.com/
Glad Tidings Church
1000 Glad Tidings Way, Hayward
Wednesdays and Sundays
McNevin at The Mudpuddle
6 p.m.
Dinner time tunes, oddservations, and bad jokes
Via Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/mudpuddlemusic
Thursdays
First Presbyterian Church of Newark Virtual Youth Group
6:30 p.m.
Youth and young adults, students welcome
Contact: [email protected] for Zoom Meeting ID#
www.newarkpres.org
Sundays
Southern Alameda County Buddhist Church Family Service
10 a.m.
Via ZOOM
For link, call (510) 471-2581
https://sacbc.org/
Sundays
First Presbyterian Church of Newark Virtual Sunday School
11:00 a.m.
Sunday School, Ages K – 6th grade
Contact: [email protected] for Zoom Meeting ID#
www.newarkpres.org
Saturdays
Virtual Town Hall
3 p.m. – 4 p.m.
With Supervisor Dave Cortese
Via Facebook Live: www.facebook.com/davecortesegov
Saturdays
Virtual Telescope Viewing R
9:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Free on Facebook Live
Join resident astronomers live from Chabot’s observation deck
https://chabotspace.org/calendar/
Saturdays
Online Comedy Shows R$
8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Made Up Theatre’s interactive comedy has gone to YouTube!
Wednesdays and Thursdays, November 4 – December 17
Coping With Grief
W: 12 noon – 1:30 p.m.
Th: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Grief group hosted by SAVE
Via Zoom
W: https://bit.ly/2KkGwa9
Th: https://bit.ly/2UFjdcX
(510) 574-2250
Fridays, November 6 – December 4
OSHA Compliance Training $
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Learn everything you need to know to receive your OSHA certificate
DeVoe Construction
2278 American Ave., Unit 5, Hayward
(800) 433-9819
Thursdays, November 12 – December 10
Virtual 4-Part Book Series $
1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Spiritual Guides for Today – Winter Grace: Spirituality and Aging, by Kathleen Fischer
Register by 11/10: http://bit.ly/2020_WinterGrace
(510) 933-6360
Friday, November 20 – Sunday, January 17
Glowfari at Oakland Zoo $R
5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Stroll among towering glowing lanterns of penguins, giraffes, elephants, and butterflies
Oakland Zoo
9777 Golf Links Rd., Oakland
(510) 632-9525
Timed entry: purchase tickets in advance
https://www.oaklandzoo.org/programs-and-events/glowfari
Saturdays, November 21 – December 26
Free COVID-19 Testing
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Los Cerritos Community Park
3377 Alder Ave., Fremont
Call (510) 735-3222 for appointment or visit https://www.color.com/AHS
Sunday, November 29 – Saturday, January 16
FirstPres Advent StoryWalk
Follow a guided trail featuring laminated pages of a children’s Christmas book
FirstPres Church Hayward
2490 Grove Way, Castro Valley
https://bit.ly/2IRU78a
Tuesday, December 1
Financial Aid Information Session
10 a.m. – 11 a.m.
In-depth look into the world of Financial Aid
cccconfer.zoom.us/meeting/register
Wednesday, December 2
Multimedia, CNET & You
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Learn about two popular programs at Ohlone College
Via Zoom
https://bit.ly/36T8rWb
Friday, December 4
Car Cinema: Elf $R
6:30 p.m.
Lot opens 5:30 p.m.
Watch Elf from your car on an outdoor screen
Central Park Sports Complex
1110 Stevenson Blvd., Fremont
Contact Jimmy Dilks at [email protected] or (510) 790-5529 for details
https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/fremont/activity/search/detail/950
Saturday, December 5
Sunnyhills Neighborhood Association
8:30 a.m.
Virtual annual meeting to celebrate our community
Via Zoom
Contact: [email protected]
Saturday, December 5
It’s a Wonderful Life $
Radio-style performance by the talented Chanticleers cast
Livestream available for 24 Hours
www.chanticleers.org
Saturday, December 5 – Sunday, December 6
Niles Canyon Railway Train Rides $
9 a.m.
Photographer’s special: historical freight train
www.ncry.org
Monday, December 7
Biotechnology & Smart Manufacturing Technology
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Learn about two popular programs at Ohlone College
Via Zoom
https://bit.ly/32ZJ6Je
Tuesday, December 8
How to Manage and Forecast Cash Flow in a COVID World R
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Free business webinar hosted by the Alameda County Small Business Development Center
https://nc.ecenterdirect.com/events/47474
Tuesday, December 8
Financial Aid Information Session
6 p.m. – 7 p.m.
In-depth look into the world of Financial Aid
cccconfer.zoom.us/meeting/register
Wednesday, December 9
Final Cocktails & Conservation of 2020
6 p.m. – 7p.m.
Make a custom cocktail and learn about Centre ValBio in Madagascar
https://www.oaklandzoo.org/programs-and-events/cocktails-conservation
Thursday, December 10
Heart to Heart Conversations R
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
How to respond during difficult family discussions
Via Zoom
https://bit.ly/3kMpHRZ
Friday, December 11 – Saturday, December 12
Parrhesia 2020: A Community of Voices, Identities, and Diversity
8 p.m.
Online theatrical piece about COVID based on local interviews
www.ohlone.edu/parrhesia
Wednesday, December 16
Overview of Student Aid Programs
4 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Learn about financial aid options available at Ohlone College
Via Zoom
https://bit.ly/36T94Px
Saturday, December 19
An Afternoon at the Opera $
4 p.m.
Music at the Mission virtual concert: Michael Graham, cello, and Bill Everett, double bass
www.musicatmsj.org
Monday, December 21
Longest Night Service R
7:30 p.m.
Niles Discovery Church offers meditative service
Via Zoom
https://bit.ly/3nBaULV
Plethos Productions presents COVID-safe musical, The Last Five Years
Submitted by Plethos Productions
As theatres throughout the Bay Area are currently shuttered due to the ongoing pandemic, Plethos Productions, based in Castro Valley, has continued offering online entertainment since March. Digital Open Mic nights, virtual standup comedy shows and livestreams of their production of Much Ado About Nothing have brought in hundreds of audience members and performers from around the world.
Currently they are rehearsing and filming the musical The Last Five Years. This show features a fun pop-jazz score by Tony Award winning composer Jason Robert Brown. The show features two characters – Cathy played by Kristy Aquino and Jamie played by Ben Stevens. Audiences may recognize the pair from Plethos’ musical Next to Normal last fall at Smalltown Society. The pair are in the same social bubble, which allows them to safely perform together for this high quality, multi-camera filmed live production.
The award-winning musical is an emotionally powerful and intimate show about two people – Jamie, a rising author, and Cathy, an aspiring actress – who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. The unique story is told starting from both the beginning and the end of the relationship. It explores the brutally honest perspective of both characters as they illustrate the highs, lows and messy middle of love. It was named one of TIME Magazine’s ten best shows of 2001.
The Last Five Years will be available to stream On Demand any time between December 4-13. Tickets are on sale now at Plethos.org. Get $5 off using code L5Y2020
The Last Five Years
Friday, December 4 – Sunday, December 13
Plethos.org
Tickets: $20
Letter to the Editor
Outdoor Parks can Slow the Pandemic
The onset of colder weather has accelerated the pandemic, and Fremont residents are not immune. Though a quarter million Americans have died since last spring, health officials have been able to learn some important lessons.
In an interview with NPR, an epidemiologist at Boston University (https://bit.ly/3kdPLWO) says the most important lesson is that the virus spreads easily through the air. Indoor gatherings at workplaces, prisons, retirement homes, restaurants and bars present the highest risk While the virus can survive on surfaces, surfaces do not appear to be a major mode of transmission.
The epidemiologist also says that local governments can encourage safer gatherings. “Outdoor gatherings, especially ones that are really outdoors in the fresh air — we're not talking those tents or bubbles — and people have space to spread out, that is the lowest risk possible situation. And that should really be the last thing that we're putting regulation in place to stop.
” Furthermore, a lot of governments in the summer were closing beaches and closing parks, and those are actually where we should be encouraging people to go instead of restaurants and stores and things like that.”
This demonstrates that city officials were wrong to demand closure of the hiking trails at Mission Peak last spring. The city politicized the park closure. We'd urge city officials to listen to our County Health Dept, and keep parks like Mission Peak open to give people a place to walk outdoors. City officials should rely on science to slow the current surge, instead of politics.
Wm. Yragui
Co-Founder, Mission Peak Conservancy
A true space oddity: Local NASA ambassador takes award-winning seminars online
By Hugo Vera
With the number of COVID-19 cases skyrocketing in the United States this fall, the case for independent scientific research and growth continues to gain momentum. Amidst the chaos, NASA Solar System Ambassador Kailash Kalidoss is on a mission to educate willing minds about the boundless real-world applications of space-related research. For him, failure is not an option.
Immigrating to the United States from India in 2016, Kalidoss began his career at an aeronautics firm in Sunnyvale, CA before enrolling in the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), a coeducational program spearheaded by the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary. His experience as a CAP cadet (and later as a second lieutenant), coupled with NASA research, led him to presenting a series of seminars that engage audiences of all backgrounds and educational levels on a plethora of space and STEM-related topics.
“The great thing about CAP and NASA training is that now I can choose which topics to talk about and I can work with any audience level,” states Kalidoss. “While the initial training program was tailored for cadets, I can engage students all the way from high school to college as well as people of all abilities.”
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Kalidoss led a series of in-person classes in which he shared everything from his own “astrophotographs” of Mars to footage of satellite launches and taught students how to chart constellations in neighboring galaxies. On November 14, Kalidoss was awarded the 2020 CAP Frank Brewer Memorial Aerospace Education Award for Senior Member of the Year because of his program’s popularity and accessibility.
“There are definitely pluses and minuses to having to switch to teaching remotely,” adds Kalidoss. “While my in-person reach is now limited, I can still use tools such as Zoom to set up online meetings, and now I can network with anyone. Instead of just spending all their time playing video games or using virtual reality, people can learn something useful and stay updated as to what’s going on in aerospace.”
In addition to an increased social media reach due to his participants being homebound, Kalidoss states that the pandemic has made it easier to work his own set hours and spend more time at home with his seven-month-old daughter.
Some of Kalidoss’ current endeavors include his work on the Artemis Project, described in a mission statement by NASA as having the goal of “landing the first woman and the next man on the moon.” Kalidoss was also invited to the Ames Research Center in Mountain View to assist a joint-operation between NASA and the German Aerospace Center called the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or ‘Project SOFIA.’ Project SOFIA launched a modified Boeing 747 plane carrying a reflecting telescope capable of telling the age of stars into orbit.
Despite recent breakthroughs in aerospace, Kalidoss wants to remind pupils old and new that you don’t have to become an astronaut just to learn something of value from his program.
“Many people want to become an astronaut, but not everyone will. However, you can learn so much from aerospace and it can help you go into so many other careers such as engineering, mathematics and molecular biology,” concludes Kalidoss. “You get out what you put into learning and you’ll be surprised by how high the prospects can be.”
For more information on Kalidoss’ NASA advocacy, visit http://kailashkalidoss.mystrikingly.com.
Newark Artists Open Studios & Holiday Boutique Goes Virtual
Submitted by Adriane Dedic
This year Newark artist Adriane Dedic is opening her art studio to everyone, near and far, by turning the popular annual Open Studios event into an online open studio holiday boutique, open now through New Year’s.
You can browse her wearable art, new gift items, and wall art, posted on her web pages, safely, at your leisure, any time of day or night at www.myartiststudio.com. It’s an easy, safe way to shop for gifts. If anything catches your eye, email: [email protected] to schedule a day/time to stop by her studio (mask required) and get a closer look at the item, and process the transaction if you decide to make a purchase. She can also mail items and process virtual payments securely. Here’s a peek at some of her unique, artist-designed gifts.
Adriane simplified her Flag Of Humanity 24”x36” textile art quilt and transformed it into a tote that has the words and design on both sides. Her Flag of Humanity was displayed in many local galleries. You can read the heartfelt story about its creation on her website.
Who doesn’t love butterflies? Dedic designed an Imperial fan for the new Emperor of Japan and used the colorful purple Emperor Butterfly and Peacock Butterfly (indigenous to Japan) as the motif. She was one of six artists in the world whose design was selected to be made into an Imperial Fan in honor of the new Emperor for his Enthronement. The beautiful butterflies seem to flutter on the silky 30”x80” scarf she designed, making it a perfect holiday gift. She also has the design on leggings.
Her popular Geisha art is on gorgeous pillows as well as scarves, totes, and marble tile plaques. A new item is a small 5’x7” shoulder clutch with geisha, cranes, butterflies, and even a red dragon. There is also a men’s t-shirt with a proud Kabuki warrior.
The jewel-toned art of Gustav Klimt is Dedic’s most recent inspiration. See her interpretation on designer pillows and plaques as well as an eye-catching sweatshirt.
You can see these items and more on her website. She has limited quantities in her studio, so email her if something catches your eye. Orders are taking longer than normal. It’s not as much fun as chatting in person and watching her demo some of her creative techniques, but hopefully all that will take place next year at the 21st Annual Newark Artists Open Studios in 2021.
Virtual Newark Artists Open Studios
NOW – December 31
www.myartiststudio.com
Newark Police Log
Submitted by Newark PD
Sunday, November 1, 2020
5:49 p.m.: Officer Quinonez and Officer Riddles responded to the 200 block of Newpark Mall Rd for a report of a shoplifter in custody. Officers contacted and arrested a 49-year old female out of San Jose for theft. The subject was cited and released.
Tuesday, November 3, 2020
12:05 p.m.: Officers investigated two package thefts that occurred in the south end of Newark.
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
4:54 a.m.: Officer Slavazza investigated a burglary that occurred in the 34000 block of Newark Blvd. Loss was an empty cash register.
7:58 a.m. Officer Damewood investigated a burglary in the 39000 block of Cedar Blvd. Loss was two boxes and cash.
3:42 p.m.: Officer Johnson on-viewed a vehicle weaving in and out of traffic on northbound Cherry Street near Central Ave as well as excessively speeding. Office Johnson made contact and arrested a 25-year old male out of Newark for reckless driving. He was booked at Fremont Jail and his vehicle was towed.
9:52 p.m.: Officer Hernandez made contact and arrested a 26-year old male out of Newark in the area of Sycamore Street and Beutke Dr for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was cited and released.
Thursday, November 5, 2020
6:33 p.m.: Officers investigated a burglary that occurred in the 6000 block of Fair Ave. There was no loss.
Friday, November 6, 2020
3:04 p.m.: Officer Palacio made contact and arrested a 40-year old female out of San Jose in the 200 block of Newpark Mall Rd for shoplifting. She was cited and released.
10:15 p.m.: Officers responded to a report of a single vehicle collision in the area of Cedar Blvd and Thornton Ave. Upon arrival officers made contact with a 36-year old male out of Union City for DUI. He was booked at Fremont Jail.
Saturday, November 7, 2020
1:48 a.m.: Officer Herrera made contact and arrested a 28-year old female out of Patterson in the area of Thornton Ave and Magnolia St for DUI, driving with no license and no proof of insurance. She was booked at Fremont Jail.
9:18 a.m.: Officers investigated a cold residential burglary that occurred within the last week in the 5000 block of Lake Blvd. Loss is currency and jewelry. This incident is being investigated by Officer Kapu.
9:11 p.m.: Officers responded to the 36000 block of Newark Blvd for a report of a subject trespassing. Upon arrival officers made contact and arrested a 26-year old male out of Newark for loitering on private property. He was cited and released.
Sunday, November 8, 2020
2:28 a.m.: Officer Riddles made contact and arrested a 27-year old female out of Union City in the area of Thornton Ave and Birch St. for DUI. She was booked at Fremont Jail.
7:52 a.m.: Officers responded to the 35000 block of Newark Blvd for a report of a battery that had just occurred. Prior to officer arrival, the subject fled. Officers located the subject near-by and placed a 32-year old male out of Fremont under arrest for felony battery. He was booked at Santa Rita Jail.
Monday, November 9, 2020
2:41 a.m.: Officers investigated a report of a stolen vehicle in the 6000 block of Joaquin Murieta Ave. Victim vehicle was a 1998 Honda Civic. Shortly after, officers located and recovered the vehicle in the 7000 block of Mowry Ave.
9:25 p.m.: Officers responded to a report of a robbery at knifepoint in the area of Cedar Blvd and the railroad tracks. Loss was cash.
Tuesday, November 10, 2020
7:28 a.m.: Officer Fredstrom investigated a burglary that occurred in the 36000 block of Newark Blvd. Loss is unknown at this time.
9:08 a.m.: Officer Frentescu investigated a burglary to a storage unit in the area of Brush Rabbit Ave and Cherry St that occurred overnight. Loss was tools.
10:18 a.m.: Officers investigated two thefts of catalytic converters that occurred in the south end of Newark. Both incidents occurred overnight.
‘Longest Night Service’ moves online
Submitted by Niles Discovery Church
For many, Christmas time is a bittersweet time of year. For people who are dealing with grief, significant life changes, sobriety, family dysfunction, and other challenges, this time of year can be especially difficult. Niles Discovery Church has addressed this need by offering a “Longest Night Service” on December 21.
“This is the time of year with the longest nights and that can be challenging all by itself,” noted the Rev. Jeffrey Spencer, senior pastor, Niles Discovery Church. “When one is dealing with the loss of a loved one, family dysfunction or, say, a pandemic, we have reasons not to feel so cheery at this time of year. That's why, on the longest night of the year, our congregation offers a special meditative worship service that makes time for remembering, sharing our hurting places with God, and preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ.”
Due to the pandemic, this service is moving online this year, onto the Zoom platform the public is invited to register at bit.ly/longnite2020. Traditionally, this service has been interactive, with people coming forward to light candles in the quiet. While trying to keep the service interactive, modifications have had to be made for the online environment.
“I’m hoping people will create a worship space at home by their computers,” Spencer said. “Ideally, people will have a central candle (wax or electric) that we will light at the beginning of the service. In addition, I hope they have seven additional candles or seven stones (they don’t have to be big) nearby to gather around that central candle as the service progresses.”
‘Longest Night Service’
7:30 p.m.
Monday, Dec 21
bit.ly/longnite2020
Local preschool closes after 40 years
By Stephanie Gertsch
Our Savior Lutheran (OSL) preschool has been a beloved part of Fremont since 1979 with a unique play-based approach to early childhood education. In fall of 2019, OSL was absorbed into Prince of Peace Christian School (POP), but parents and teachers looked forward to retaining OSL’s identity intact within this larger community. However, 2020, brought unexpected changes.
OSL transitioned to remote learning in March. Parents received a tuition discount for the change in instruction, and many enrolled for the 2020-21 school year, scheduled to start in August. Teachers were paid through June, and families received a few email updates from the administration. As far as anyone knew, OSL would follow Fremont Unified School District and reopen with social distancing when safe.
On Monday, July 6, at a routine group Zoom meeting with administration, teachers were informed that their positions had been terminated and the school would be closing permanently. They were given until July 15 to remove toys, books, and supplies from their classrooms. Some teachers holding volunteer summer sessions were given permission to break the news to parents the following day. Parents were devastated to hear that their beloved school would close.
An official communication from POP administration did not explain that teachers were being laid off or that the school was closing permanently, only that it would be closed for the fall semester. OSL students would not be added to the waitlist for POP.
One parent, Lily Toy, organized a core group to reach out to Tom Zelt, Senior Pastor at Prince of Peace Church, for more information and, if possible, find a way to keep OSL open. Their communication of July 17 was answered by Zelt on July 22 stating that the decision was final. Requests for an in-person Zoom meeting were denied.
An OSL teacher commented: “We’d been carrying on. We’d been sending material out to the students. We’d also been holding zoom meetings with the kids and trying to continue as normal, as normal as you could get.” She stated, “No one was expecting to hear what we heard.”
Parents and the teacher interviewed agreed that the pain of the school closing could have been mitigated if administration had allowed parents and teachers access to the decision-making process. Toy explained, “They didn’t believe that a play-based preschool could be run virtually, and it was costing the school money to keep the teachers employed which we completely understand.” However, parents were willing to pay more in tuition to compensate for under-enrollment, and teachers were researching ways to hold in-person learning safely.
One parent shared, “It’s a church for us, not just a business.” At OSL, Parents and teachers saw themselves as members of a community, not merely customers and employees. The abrupt change in attitude has caused some to question POP’s motives in acquiring OSL – whether POP had alternate plans for the property, even pre-COVID.
The teacher interviewed reflected on the OSL’s play-based philosophy: “How can you be an engineer if you haven’t played with Lego, or a civil engineer if you haven’t dug in the sandbox?”
Closure of OSL is a loss for local families seeking holistic early childhood education. Speaking for the entire OSL community, one of the teacher’s commented, “I miss them all. It was a good time.”
[Tri-City Voice reached out to Prince of Peace administration for comments but did not receive a response.]
In cities across US, voters support more police oversight
By Andrew Welsh-Huggins
Associated Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP), Nov 21 – Voters in communities across the country approved measures on Election Day toughening civilian oversight of law enforcement agencies, including some that took years to reach the ballot but grew in urgency after global protests over racial injustice and police brutality.
The measures take aim at a chronic sore point in many communities, particularly among Black residents: that police departments traditionally have little oversight outside their own internal review systems, which often clear officers of wrongdoing in fatal civilian shootings.
“Recent events opened up people's eyes more to how much this type of oversight is needed,” said Monica Steppe, a San Diego councilwoman who championed a successful proposal predating the protests that will dissolve the city's current police review board and replace it with a more independent body with investigative powers.
However, the oversight boards don't address other points of contention, such as the lack of diversity in many departments, and the perception of a different standard of police for Black residents than white.
In San Jose, California, voters approved an expansion of an independent police auditor's powers, including the ability to undertake investigations even without a citizen's complaint.
The proposal was in the works for three years, but the City Council voted to place it on the ballot in the wake of protests that erupted after George Floyd died in May after a police officer pressed a knee against his neck for several minutes while Floyd said he couldn't breathe.
“It ended up being great timing for us because as the national spotlight shined on police excessive use of force and police brutality and certainly demands for oversight, we already had everything in the works,” said Councilmember Raul Peralez, a former full-time San Jose police officer and now a reserve officer.
And in Los Angeles, voters approved a measure requiring that at least 10% of county general fund revenue be set aside for alternatives to incarceration. But statewide, voters rejected a measure to replace cash bail with a system based on public safety and flight risk.
Critics of cash bail say it discriminates against poor people, including the disproportionate number of minorities in the criminal justice system. New Jersey in 2017 essentially eliminated cash bail.
In Portland, Oregon, voters approved a City Council-backed measure that gained momentum after the spring protests to create an independent commission overseeing misconduct investigations of Portland police officers. The measure already faces a police union grievance trying to stop it.
In Seattle, voters gave the King County Council the ability to specify the sheriff's public safety powers. The goal was providing an alternative to some policing practices, such as expanding the use of social workers to respond to emergency calls of people in crisis. The referendum grew directly out of the reckoning that followed Floyd's death, said Councilmember Girmay Zahilay.
A successful Philadelphia ballot issue creates a new civilian review commission and places it under the control of the City Council in the hopes of making it more independent. In Pittsburgh, a charter amendment requiring police officers to cooperate with the city's civilian police review board passed overwhelmingly.
“If you're going to have oversight of police actions, then you need the officers who have performed those actions to be transparent, and for other officers who witnessed it to bring their testimony,” said Rev. Ricky Burgess, a Pittsburgh council member who pushed the measure. “Right now neither is required.”
The law enforcement community remains concerned that such oversight boards – which often don't involve police input – are punitive and automatically assume wrongdoing by officers based on their prejudices, said Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police.
“Because they come from a flawed premise, in many instances they're going to lead to flawed conclusions and therefore the remedies they would propose are going to be equally flawed,” he said.
In Columbus, voters approved the city's first-ever police review board. The measure was strongly supported by Democratic Mayor Andrew Ginther, who made its passage a top priority.
The Columbus police department had already faced criticism after a number of episodes, including the 2016 shooting of Henry Green, a Black man, by two undercover white police officers working in an anti-crime summer initiative.
Later in 2016, a white officer fatally shot a 13-year-old Black teenager during a robbery investigation. In 2017, a video showed a Columbus officer restraining a prone Black man and preparing to handcuff him when an officer who was also involved in the Green shooting arrives and appears to kick the man in the head. The city fired that officer, but an arbitrator ordered him reinstated.
Columbus police have a “significant disparity of use of force against minority residents” that the city must address, according to a report by Matrix Consulting Group last year for a city safety advisory commission.
The Columbus review board and an accompanying inspector general's office will have the ability to pursue parallel investigations of police misconduct alongside the police department's own internal affairs bureau.
The board wouldn't have the authority to discipline an officer, but its report would end up on the desk of the city's safety director, who does.
Details of the Columbus review board will be worked out in upcoming negotiations with the police union representing the department's 1,800 or so officers.
Many officers want the process to be fair and don't feel as if they were treated fairly by the city during the months of unrest, said Keith Ferrell, executive director of the union representing Columbus officers.
“Fair to the officers, fair to the citizens, and quite honestly doesn't put the citizens at risk because officers are afraid to do their jobs,” Ferrell said.
The Columbus review board is not about demonizing the police, but is instead about accountability and restoration of trust, said Nick Bankston, the measure's campaign manager.
“We heard loud and clear from the community that we currently have a system where it's the police policing the police,” Bankston said. “That just doesn't make sense, and there's not trust that's there.”
–––
Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus in Portland contributed to this report.
Results of zero-emission Tesla Patrol Vehicle Pilot Program
Submitted by Kayla Harper
On November 19, 2020, the Fremont Police Department (FPD) released the results of one of the nation’s first Electric Patrol Vehicle Pilot Program that tested a Tesla Model S 85 electric vehicle (EV) customized for patrol operations from March 2019 to March 2020. Results found that the pilot vehicle exceeded performance and operational objectives, withstood the rigors of police use requiring minimal maintenance, and proved cost-effective when factoring in overall cost of vehicle with maintenance and fuel savings.
Not only did the Tesla Model S 85 result in a lower total annual cost of energy/fuel, maintenance, and repair, it also demonstrated the effectiveness of electric vehicles in helping the City of Fremont meet its goals to reduce 2005 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and achieve long-term carbon neutrality by 2045.
It is also expected that the Tesla’s average annual maintenance and repair costs will decrease over time as more data is available and the sample period is extended, with a roughly 50% reduction (approximately $2,910).
Additionally, initial statistics from the City of Fremont’s Electric Patrol Vehicle Pilot Program have indicated that the reduced maintenance needs of electric vehicles will likely result in an expected lifespan of longer than five years (the expected lifespan for patrol vehicles), leading to additional cost savings.
In terms of performance, the Tesla Model S 85 met or exceeded expectations. The 265-mile range of the Tesla easily accommodated the 40-70 mile range that patrol vehicles drove on average per day.
“The final results from the one-year Electric Patrol Vehicle Pilot Program have been encouraging as the City of Fremont continues to look for cost-effective ways to help make Fremont more sustainable,” said Fremont Police Captain Sean Washington. “With an average of 27 fewer days of downtime per year, a savings of $2,147 in the total annual cost of energy/fuel, maintenance, and repair, and no operational carbon dioxide emissions, the pilot program results have prompted Fremont PD to move forward with plans to expand its fleet of electric patrol vehicle alternatives.”
To date, the Fremont Police Department has acquired two out of the three additional electric/hybrid patrol vehicles it has budgeted for the last two fiscal years: the 2020 Tesla Model Y (purchased for $57,126.83) and the 2021 Ford Hybrid Explorer (purchased for $48,223).
The newly purchased Tesla Model Y has many advantages over the Tesla Model S 85, including a lower starting price, an increased range of over 300 miles, more rear cargo and storage space for police equipment, and higher ground clearance to allow the vehicle to traverse a wide variety of terrain.
Comprehensive TCO calculations derived from the 388 City vehicles studied in the City of Fremont Municipal Fleet Electrification Study from May 2020 indicated EV replacement results in $3,156,000 of savings to the City over the next 20 years, with $2,457,000 of these savings directly related to Police vehicle replacement.
Additionally, the current City fleet’s greenhouse gas emissions impact is approximately 2,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, more than half of which comes from Police vehicles alone. If the City were to electrify according to the above parameters, it could reduce its greenhouse gas impact from fleet vehicles by 53% by 2030.
To download the full-length report for the Tesla pilot project, visit http://www.fremontpolice.gov/ElectricVehicle.
Judge nixes lawsuit challenging California home pot delivery
By Michael R. Blood
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP), Nov 19 – In what could be a temporary victory for California's legal cannabis industry, a judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to overturn a state rule allowing home deliveries statewide, even into communities that banned commercial marijuana sales.
The court challenge raised a fundamental question in the nation's largest legal pot market: Where can you buy it? The state earlier ruled a licensed delivery can be made into “any jurisdiction“ within California.
But a group of local governments behind the court challenge argued that the state was usurping their authority to regulate marijuana sales within their borders.
While the cities argued that the state rule “removes local regulatory power,” Fresno County Superior Court Judge Rosemary McGuire agreed with the state that the regulation and local ordinances “do not occupy the same field and are not in conflict.”
Without a conflict, “this matter is not ripe for adjudication,” she concluded in a Tuesday order.
McGuire agreed with the state that the regulation applies to state cannabis license holders, not local governments that filed the lawsuit.
The state regulation “does not command local jurisdictions to do anything or preclude them from doing anything,“ she added. “It does not command local jurisdictions … to permit delivery. Nor does it override their local ordinances prohibiting or regulating delivery.“
With the case dismissed, marijuana deliveries will continue under the umbrella of the state rule.
But attorney Steve Churchwell, who represented the local governments, said the ruling did not affect the rights of cities and counties to regulate – or prohibit altogether – cannabis deliveries within their borders.
McGuire noted the state rule “does not impact the rights of any of the (local governments) to regulate cannabis or cannabis delivery.” She added, “Local jurisdictions can impose regulatory and health and safety standards that are stricter than state laws.”
The judge's reference to the case's “ripeness” appeared to suggest that the debate might not be over.
Reaction to the ruling – and its potential effect on the market – was mixed.
Ellen Komp, deputy director of the California arm of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, known as NORML, called the decision a victory for recreational and medicinal users. “It's an overreach of local control for a city to say that someone living there can't receive a delivery from a licensed business,” she said in an email.
Cannabis attorney Hilary Bricken said the ruling preserves the status quo. Cities remain free to prohibit delivery, but if a licensed service delivers into a city that bans it, state regulators will not be involved in enforcement. That would fall to local authorities, she said.
The ruling “doesn't really do anything to advance industry interests or increase access to state-legal cannabis for consumers,” Bricken said in an email.
Josh Drayton of the California Cannabis Industry Association said the delivery issue would continue evolving, along with the marketplace.
“It's going to be up for interpretation moving forward. I don't think we're done having this discussion,” Drayton said. “It's not settled. We are still in the midst of a cultural shift with cannabis.”
The state Bureau of Cannabis Control declined comment.
When the state adopted the delivery rule in 2019, the League of California Cities and police chiefs complained that unrestricted home deliveries would create an unchecked market of largely hidden pot transactions, while undercutting local control guaranteed in a 2016 law broadly legalizing marijuana sales.
Marijuana companies and consumers had pushed for home deliveries because vast stretches of the state have banned commercial pot activity or not set up rules to allow legal sales, creating what's been called pot “deserts.” Residents in those areas are effectively cut off from legal marijuana purchases.
Reward for Unsolved Murder in Fremont
Submitted by Governor’s Office
Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the availability of a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators of an unsolved murder in Fremont.
The money is being made available as part of the Governor’s crime tip reward program under Penal Code § 1547. This law allows the Governor to offer a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of perpetrators for certain unsolved crimes, and up to $100,000 for certain crimes against first responders or for arson upon a place of worship. The Governor may issue the reward only upon a recommendation from law enforcement officials.
A $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction for the murder of Emerson Zuniga. On January 25, 2007, Mr. Zuniga, 20, was attacked by three suspects while walking down the street. One of the suspects impaled Mr. Zuniga with a metal object, fatally injuring him. The Fremont Police Department has exhausted all investigative leads and requested that a reward be offered to encourage any individuals with information about this murder to contact law enforcement.
Anyone with information on this case is requested to contact Fremont Police Department Cold Case Detective Jacob Blass at [email protected] or 510-790-6900. An anonymous hotline is also available: 510-494-4856.
$50k Reward Announced in Unsolved Homicide
Submitted by Geneva Bosques, Fremont PD
A $50,000 reward is being offered after new details in the 2007 homicide investigation of Emerson Zuniga have recently become available. Detectives believe that a new sketch of the suspect as well as details regarding an involved vehicle, may help solve this case.
On January 25, 2007, at approximately 2:15 p.m., Emerson Zuniga, was found suffering from a life-threatening injury in the front yard of a house located on the 4300 block of Stevenson Blvd. During the initial investigation, witnesses told officers they had witnessed Zuniga fighting with two other men just before finding him. Witnesses indicated the fight was brief and ended with one male suspect embedding a large metal object into the top of Zuniga’s head.
Following the altercation, the two suspects left the area in a late 1980's or early 1990's metallic blue minivan with factory rims, that was possibly two-toned in color. This information has never been shared with the public, and a photograph of a similar matching vehicle is attached.
Emerson Zuniga was transported to a trauma center and later succumbed to his injuries.
The suspects that had been seen fighting with Zuniga were described as two Hispanic males, late teens or early 20's, both approximately 5'8″ to 5'10” with medium builds. The suspects were wearing baggy t-shirts and slightly loose fitted pants, possibly jeans. One of the suspects was wearing a black ball cap that said Raiders. Both suspects had medium to short dark colored hair. One of the suspects possibly had facial hair, described as a goat-tee and thin mustache. A third involved suspect, and driver of the vehicle, was described as a Hispanic male in his early 20s.
In recent months, new investigative tips have prompted the Department’s Cold Case Detective, Jacob Blass, to re-open and examine the evidence in this case. The new leads have provided the ability to develop a composite sketch of the primary suspect who caused Zuniga’s fatal injury.
Over the last several years, the Department’s Cold Case Detective, Jacob Blass, has re-opened several investigations. Although we have some information based on witness accounts, this case has remained unsolved for almost 14 years. We believe that there are people who have information about this case and are hopeful that by re-sharing the details, someone will come forward.
On November 24, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the availability of a $50,000.00 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects wanted in connection with the murder of Emerson Zuniga. The reward is being made available as part of the Governor’s crime tip reward program. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/11/24/governor-newsom-announces-reward-for-unsolved-murder-in-fremont/
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to please contact the Fremont Police Department’s Cold Case Homicide Detective, Jacob Blass at 510-790-6900 or via email at [email protected]. The Fremont Police Department also accepts anonymous tips.
To remain anonymous:
• Text: Please text TIP FREMONTPD followed by your short message to 888-777
• Phone: Silent Witness Hotline 510-494-4856
• Web: https://local.nixle.com/tip/alert/6216337.
Rudolph, Santa figures soar to sale of $368,000 at auction
AP Wire Service
LOS ANGELES (AP), Nov 14 – And how the bidders loved him!
A buyer shouted out with glee that they would pay $368,000 for the Rudolph and Santa Claus figures used in the perennially beloved Christmas special “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”
Bidding for the figures soared past the projected sale price of between $150,000 and $200,000 on Friday at the Icons & Legends of Hollywood Auction held in Los Angeles by Profiles in History.
The buyer was not identified. The seller was Peter Lutrario, 65, of New York, who told The Associated Press before the auction that he thought he would never part with the dolls but wanted to be able to take care of his children and grandchildren with the money.
The figures were among several used to make the 1964 stop-motion animation television special.
The 6-inch-tall Rudolph and 11-inch-tall Santa were made in Tokyo of wood, wire, cloth and leather, and are still malleable. Rudolph's nose still lights up. Santa's beard is made from yak hair.
Other highlights from the two-day auction include Marilyn Monroe's tiger-striped gown from “The Seven Year Itch,” which sold for a whopping $593,750. Another Monroe gown that she wore when she met Queen Elizabeth II at a London film premiere went for $294,400.
A Scarlett O'Hara dress that Vivien Leigh wore in “Gone With the Wind” and Gene Kelly's rain suit from “Singin' in the Rain” sold for $150,000 apiece.
Ruff story: Picture book to honor Biden dogs Champ and Major
AP Wire Service
NEW YORK (AP), Nov 19 – The publishing world has a new pet project: A picture book about the Biden family dogs, the German shepherds Champ and Major.
Dial Books for Young Readers announced Thursday that “Champ and Major: First Dogs” will be published Jan. 19, the day before Joe Biden is to be sworn in as the next president. The book was written by National Book Award longlist nominee Joy McCullough and illustrated by Sheyda Abvabi Best.
“I learned to love dogs during an extremely difficult time, and have had one in my life ever since,” McCullough said in a statement. “Their boundless devotion, affection, and unconditional love is essential to my mental health. My pets have always been (and always will be!) rescues, and I was delighted to learn that with President Biden's election, there will finally be a rescue dog living in the White House. I celebrated by writing this story!”
Books about White House animals have a long tradition, notably then-first lady Barbara Bush's “Millie's Book,” a day in the life of the presidential dog, and Hillary Clinton's “Dear Socks, Dear Buddy,” about the Clintons' cat Socks and dog Buddy.
Here comes Santa Claus – with face masks and plexiglass
By Joseph Pisani
AP Retail Writer
NEW YORK (AP) – Santa Claus is coming to the mall – just don't try to sit on his lap.
Despite the pandemic – and the fact that Santa's age and weight put him at high risk for severe illness from the coronavirus – mall owners are going ahead with plans to bring him back this year.
But they are doing all they can to keep the jolly old man safe, including banning kids from sitting on his knee, no matter if they've been naughty or nice.
Kids will instead tell Santa what they want for Christmas from six feet away, and sometimes from behind a sheet of plexiglass. Santa and his visitors may need to wear a face mask, even while posing for photos. And some malls will put faux gift boxes and other decorations in front of Saint Nick to block kids from charging toward him.
Other safety measures include online reservations to cut down on lines, workers wiping down holiday-decorated sets, and hand sanitizer aplenty. Santa's hours are also getting cut to give him a break from crowds.
Macy's canceled its in-person visits this year, saying it couldn't provide a safe environment for the more than 250,000 people that show up to see Kriss Kringle at its New York flagship store.
But malls, which have struggled to attract shoppers for years, are not willing to kill a holiday tradition that is one of their biggest ways to lure people during the all-important holiday shopping season.
“You have to give them a reason to come or they'll stay home and shop online,“ says Michael Brown, who oversees the retail team at consulting firm Kearney.
More than 10 million U.S. households visited Santa in a mall or store last year, according to GlobalData Retail's managing director Neil Saunders. Nearly 73% of them also spent money at nearby restaurants or stores, he says.
“Santa is the magnet that attracts people to malls and without that attraction, malls will struggle more to generate foot traffic,” says Saunders.
Mall operator CBL, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, plans to bring Santa to nearly 60 malls at the end of November, about three weeks later than last year. The company decided against a plexiglass barrier because it didn't look right in photos. But Santa will be socially distanced and wear a face mask. He may also put on a plastic shield to protect his face.
“We're doing everything possible so that he stays healthy,” says Mary Lynn Morse, CBL's marketing vice president.
Mall owner Brookfield started planning in-person Santa visits at 130 of its shopping centers in April, opting for sleighs and gift boxes where visitors can sit away from Santa. At one of its malls, The SoNo Collection in Norwalk, Connecticut, a round piece of plexiglass will be placed in front of Santa so it looks like he's inside a snow globe.
But the precautions may not be enough to convince some shoppers.
“It just seems like such a bad idea, just being in a mall,” says Emma Wallace of Alexandria, Virginia, who decided against taking her toddler to his first visit with Santa this year.
“We're just so sad,“ she says. “We were really looking forward to that picture that seems like every parent has, where they're sort of terrified or just bemused by the whole Santa thing.”
Malls realize many people may stay home. Cherry Hill Programs, which will bring Santa to more than 700 malls, is also offering Zoom calls with him for the first time in its 60-year history. And Brookfield teamed up with virtual Santa company JingleRing, giving people a way to chat with Santa from home.
Ed Taylor, a Santa who typically spends several months in Los Angeles filming TV spots and making mall appearances, will stay at home in southern Oregon this year.
“When you think about the high risk profile for COVID, you're kind of drawing a picture of Santa,” Taylor says.
He'll be doing video calls with families and has been holding online classes to get other Santas camera-ready. Meeting kids virtually means getting them to speak up more, since the calls usually run seven minutes – about twice as long as mall visits, where the main objective is to snap a good picture.
Going online gives Santa a chance to experiment with his attire. Some may ditch the formal red suit for vests and rolled up sleeves, since Santa is presumably calling from the North Pole and running a toy workshop full of busy elves.
“Up at home, we're working,” says Taylor. “We have presents to make. We've got reindeer to feed.”
But there's some parts of Santa's look that can't change. JingleRing, which has signed up more than 400 Santas, held online training sessions on how to use at-home bleaching kits to transform gray hair and beards into Santa's snow white hue. They were also advised to buy teeth whitening strips.
“Santa can't have smoker's teeth,” says Walt Geer, who co-founded JingleRing this year after realizing people may need a new way to meet Santa.
Stephanie Soares is sticking to the old way. She brought her daughter, Gia, to a Bass Pro Sports store last week in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to take a picture with Santa, who wore a clear plastic face shield and sat behind a glare-free acrylic barrier that sometimes made it hard to hear what the kids were saying. A worker sprayed down the barrier after each visit.
“Even though we're in a pandemic, it's important that the kids are still able to be kids and still keep up with the regular traditions,“ says Soares.
–––––
Associated Press video journalist Ted Shaffrey and staff writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report.
Private community camera workshop
Submitted by Fremont PD
Join us in a virtual workshop to discuss private community cameras for your neighborhood on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 7 p.m. We will discuss:
*Effective Placement
*Storage & Quality
*Privacy Concerns
*Cameras as a Deterrent
*Camera Registration
*Surveillance Signs
https://ZOOM.US/J/93382831948? PWD=REE2WG9WB2LPC0XVDTVWTY9HMCTWZZ09
Meeting ID: 933 8283 1948
Passcode: 500620
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
www.Fremontpolice.gov/videosurveillance
Will social distancing weaken my immune system?
Nov 19
By The Associated Press
In short, no. Some worry a lack of contact with others will weaken their immune system by reducing its active contact with germs.
But even when we are staying 6 feet from others or spending most of our time at home, our bodies are continuously responding to plenty of bacteria and other germs that inhabit indoor and outdoor environments.
“We're constantly exposed to microbes,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immune system researcher at Yale University. “Our immune system is always being triggered.”
The effects of childhood vaccines and other built-up immunity are also long-lasting, Iwasaki said, and will not disappear overnight because we're keeping our distance from others during the pandemic.
Experts say anyone looking to boost their immune health during the pandemic should practice habits such as stress management, healthy eating, regular exercise and getting enough sleep.
“These are the things that actually affect the immune system,“ Iwasaki said.
A seasonal flu shot will also help protect you from one more potential illness.
Social Security Matters
Ask Rusty – Claim Now and Invest it, or Wait to Claim?
By Certified Social Security Advisor Russell Gloor
Association of Mature American Citizens
Dear Rusty: I am 66 now and will be 67 in December and my question is this: Should I take Social Security now or wait? I am still working full time and plan to work for a few more years, at least until I’m 70 but maybe longer. I was told by a friend that I should take my Social Security now and put the money into savings, invest it or use it. And, since I’m still working, I’m still contributing to Social Security, so that when I reach 70, I should get the full amount. I am not sure if this is accurate so would like to hear your advice. Signed: Uncertain Lady
Dear Uncertain Lady: By taking your Social Security benefit now you will be locking into a benefit amount that is smaller than it would otherwise be if you wait longer to claim. You’ve already reached your Social Security full retirement age (FRA) of 66 and, since then, have been earning delayed retirement credits (DRCs) at the rate of 0.667 percent per month of delay past your FRA. You will continue to earn those DRCs – an 8 percent higher benefit for each year you delay – until age 70 when your benefit will be 32 percent more than it would have been at 66 and 24 percent more than at age 67. Can you do better than that by taking a smaller benefit now and investing it? That depends upon what type of investing you intend to do. I cannot answer that for you, but a guaranteed 8 percent increase in your benefit amount for each year you delay, resulting in a much higher benefit for the rest of your life, is hard to beat.
It is true that continuing to work now may help increase your Social Security benefit, but that is true regardless of when you claim. Your benefit will be based upon the 35 highest earning years over your lifetime (adjusted for inflation) at the time you claim. If, after your benefits start, your current earnings are higher than any of those used to originally compute your benefit, you will get credit for those higher earnings and your benefit will increase. Even after you claim benefits, Social Security examines your new earnings every year to see if you’re entitled to a higher benefit. And you will get credit for your current earnings even if you wait and continue to earn those DRCs for a much higher benefit later.
In the end, when to claim Social Security is a decision that should consider your current and future financial needs, and your health and estimated longevity. If you are working and don’t need the extra money right now, and like the idea of a higher benefit later, after you are done working, then waiting to claim makes sense, especially if you’re in good health and expect at least average longevity. Average life expectancy today for a woman your age is about 87, and if you attain at least the average, you will collect much more in cumulative lifetime benefits by waiting longer to claim. Conversely, if your longevity outlook is less than average and you need the money now, claiming earlier is a perfectly good strategy.
One last thing to consider: if you are married and your husband is collecting benefits, you are eligible to file a “restricted application for spousal benefits only” which would let you collect a spouse benefit equal to half of your husband’s FRA benefit amount, while allowing your own benefit to continue to grow until age 70. You can do this because you were born in 1953, before the cutoff date of January 2, 1954. The option was eliminated for anyone born after that date.
This article is intended for information purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. It presents the opinions and interpretations of the AMAC Foundation’s staff, trained, and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-security-advisory) or email us at [email protected].
SpaceX launches 2nd crew, regular station crew flights begin
By Marcia Dunn
AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP), Nov 15 – SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company.
The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center with three Americans and one Japanese, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top – named Resilience by its crew in light of this year's many challenges, most notably COVID-19 – reached orbit nine minutes later. It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring.
“By working together through these difficult times, you've inspired the nation, the world, and in no small part the name of this incredible vehicle, Resilience,” Commander Mike Hopkins said right before liftoff.
Once reaching orbit, he radioed: “That was one heck of a ride.“
Sidelined by the coronavirus himself, SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk was forced to monitor the action from afar. He tweeted that he “most likely” had a moderate case of COVID-19. NASA policy at Kennedy Space Center requires anyone testing positive for coronavirus to quarantine and remain isolated.
Sunday's launch follows by just a few months SpaceX's two-pilot test flight. It kicks off what NASA hopes will be a long series of crew rotations between the U.S. and the space station, after years of delay. More people means more science research at the orbiting lab, according to officials.
The flight to the space station – 27 1/2 hours door to door – should be entirely automated, although the crew can take control if needed. SpaceX had to deal with pressure pump spikes once the capsule reached orbit, but resolved the issue.
The three-men, one-woman crew led by Hopkins, an Air Force colonel, named their capsule Resilience in a nod not only to the pandemic, but also racial injustice and contentious politics. It's about as diverse as space crews come, including physicist Shannon Walker, Navy Cmdr. Victor Glover, the first Black astronaut on a long-term space station mission, and Japan's Soichi Noguchi, who became the first person in almost 40 years to launch on three types of spacecraft.
They rode out to the launch pad in Teslas – another Musk company – after exchanging high-fives and hand embraces with their children and spouses, who huddled at the open car windows. Musk was replaced by SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell in bidding the astronauts farewell.
Besides its sleek design and high-tech features, the Dragon capsule is quite spacious – it can carry up to seven people. Previous space capsules have launched with no more than three. The extra room in the capsule was used for science experiments and supplies.
The four astronauts will be joining two Russians and one American who flew to the space station last month from Kazakhstan. The space station soared over the launch site a mere half-minute before liftoff.
The first-stage booster is expected to be recycled by SpaceX for the next crew launch. That's currently targeted for the end of March, which would set up the newly launched astronauts for a return to Earth in April. SpaceX would launch yet another crew in late summer or early fall.
Man arrested after Tesla crashes, sends batteries flying
AP Wire Service
CORVALLIS, Ore. (AP), Nov 19 – An Oregon man crashed a Tesla while going about 100 mph (161 kph), destroying the vehicle, a power pole and starting a fire when some of the hundreds of batteries from the vehicle broke windows and landed in residences, police said. Dylan Milota was driving a 2019 Tesla S Tuesday night when he lost control, left the road and traveled more than 300 feet (91 meters) before stopping, according to Corvallis Police Lt. Ryan Eaton.
The car sheared off a power pole at the base, knocked down two trees and a telephone junction box, police said. Batteries tossed from the Tesla in the collision landed in a person's lap and on a bed in a nearby residence, causing the bedding to ignite, police said. Police said hundreds of batteries used to power the vehicle were strewn around in the crash.
A tire ripped from the car also struck the siding of a nearby apartment building with such force that it ruptured the water pipes in the wall, destroying part of an apartment, police added.
Milota, 21, fled the crash scene on foot and police arrested him about three blocks away, Eaton said. Milota was taken to a hospital for minor injuries and is facing misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of marijuana, hit and run, criminal mischief, reckless driving and reckless endangering, Eaton said.
Police urged residents to be aware of potentially hazardous batteries that could still remain in the area of the crash. The batteries could cause burns, release toxic fumes and could leak harmful substances, police said.
Police stumped by theft of rare tree in Wisconsin capital
AP Wire Service
MADISON, Wis. (AP), Nov 12 – Police are stumped by the theft of a rare pine tree from the University of Wisconsin Arboretum.
The 25-foot Algonquin Pillar Swiss Mountain pine was sawed down sometime between Nov. 5 and Nov. 9, University of Wisconsin-Madison police said Thursday.
The stolen tree was about 30 yards (30 meters) from a street that runs through the arboretum, which is a popular spot for walkers, joggers, bicyclists, and nature lovers.
The tree was planted in 1988, and a twin tree next to it was left unharmed.
However, a company white fir located nearby that was planted in 1981 had a 12-foot section cut from its top, police said. That was left behind.
Arboretum staff estimated the cost of the stolen and damaged trees to be at least $13,000, police said.
Police said they are hoping for help from the public in identifying the thieves, given the size of the tree and the manpower it would take to remove it. They urged people to call if they “witnessed a large tree being transported from this area – or noticed a large tree that's now part of someone's holiday display.”
Pandemic has taken a bite out of seafood trade, consumption
By Patrick Whittle
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – The coronavirus pandemic has hurt the U.S. seafood industry due to a precipitous fall in imports and exports and a drop in catch of some species.
Those are the findings of a group of scientists who sought to quantify the damage of the pandemic on America's seafood business, which has also suffered in part because of its reliance on restaurant sales. Consumer demand for seafood at restaurants dropped by more than 70% during the early months of the pandemic, according to the scientists, who published their findings recently in the scientific journal Fish and Fisheries.
Imports fell about 37% and exports about 43% over the first nine months of the year compared to 2019, the study said. The economic impact has been felt most severely in states that rely heavily on the seafood sector, such as Maine, Alaska, and Louisiana, said Easton White, a University of Vermont biologist and the study's lead author.
It hasn't all been doom and gloom for the industry, as seafood delivery and home cooking have helped businesses weather the pandemic, White said. The industry will be in a better position to rebound after the pandemic if domestic consumers take more of an interest in fresh seafood, he said.
“Shifting to these local markets is something that could be helpful for recovery purposes,” White said. “The way forward is to focus on shortening the supply chain a little bit.”
The study found that Alaska's catch of halibut, a high-value fish, declined by 40% compared to the previous year through June. Statistics for many U.S. fisheries won't be available until next year, but those findings dovetail with what many fishermen are seeing on the water.
Maine's catch of monkfish has dried up because of the lack of access to foreign markets such as Korea, said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association.
“The prices just went so low, they couldn't build a business doing that this year,” Martens said.
The study confirms what members of the seafood industry have been hearing for months, said Kyle Foley, senior program manager for the seafood program at Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Foley, who was not involved in the study, said the findings make clear that the seafood industry needs more help from the federal government.
The federal government allocated $300 million in CARES Act dollars to the seafood industry in May. The government announced $16 billion for farmers and ranchers that same month.
“It helps to make the case for why there's a need for more relief, which I think is our industry's biggest concern across the supply chain in seafood,” Foley said.
The study concludes that “only time will tell the full extent of COVID-19 on US fishing and seafood industries.” Gavin Gibbons, a spokesman for the National Fisheries Institute in McLean, Virginia, said the short-term findings reflect the difficulties the industry has experienced this year.
“The closure of restaurant dinning has had a disproportionate effect on seafood and a pivot to retail has not made up for all of the lost sales,“ Gibbons said.
Five-year contract okayed by Union City and Alameda County Fire Department
Submitted by Lauren Sugayan
The City Council unanimously passed a resolution on Tuesday, November 24 authorizing the Mayor to execute a five-year agreement between the City of Union City and the Alameda County Fire Department (ACFD) for continued fire and emergency response services.
The new contract includes, but is not limited to:
• A commitment by the ACFD to explore a new model for providing emergency medical services with the aim to create added efficiency in response to medical calls for service, a majority of all calls.
• The operation of three fire stations in Union City staffed by three personnel per shift and two and half positions that administer fire inspections, prevention and code compliance.
• A response time standard to arrive on scene after dispatch within 8 minutes and 30 seconds at least 90% of the time.
• A continued minimum payment by the City to the ACFD of $201,688 annually to help pay down about $9.1 million in retirement liability costs. As of today, the City has contributed just over $1.5 million towards this liability.
This signing of the contract marks a major achievement between the City and ACFD ACFD has been operating on a month to month basis since September 2015 when the previous contract expired. The City first entered into a contract with ACFD in July 2010 and ACFD has provided outstanding service to the Community since contract inception. A couple notable achievements include successful property conservation and rapid suppression at the Gem Street apartment fire, and swift, effective containment and perimeter control of a 30-acre grass fire. The regional approach to the fire service has provided the promotional opportunity of Battalion Chief for two personnel serving Union City.
When the City began facing a long-term structural deficit to its General Fund, it became a top priority of the City’s strategic plan to significantly reduce all departmental costs within the City including the contract with ACFD, as a fiscal responsibility measure. Both the City and ACFD are satisfied with how far they’ve come in their negotiations and are confident that the residents and businesses of Union City will continue to receive a high-quality service, while keeping costs down.
City Manager Joan Malloy commented: “This is a great display of how two sides can work through the tough issues and ultimately, bring forward a solid plan to continue the exemplary services provided by the ACFD. We are truly thankful for our partnership with the ACFD and we know that the residents and businesses of Union City deeply appreciate their professional services.”
In response, ACFD Chief McDonald stated: “On behalf of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, I am pleased that we may continue providing services to the Union City community. As a partner in service, the ACFD recognizes the need to be innovative and collaborative despite the fiscal obstacles we all face. Our regional service model is the backbone of the Department’s ability to provide cost-effective and comprehensive services which would not be possible for an independent city to do on their own. Thank you for entrusting this important civic duty to the ACFD for another five years.”
Police Department Awarded 50K Grant
Submitted by Union City PD
The safety of everyone traveling is the focus of a grant awarded to the Union City Police Department. The $50K grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) will assist in Union City Police Department’s efforts to reduce deaths and injuries on Union City roads.
“These are trying times, and now more than ever, it is important that we are at the forefront of traffic safety,” Union City Police Department, Sergeant, Stan Rodrigues said. “This funding allows us to educate and enhance the safety of all residents.
We are excited to partner with the California Office of Traffic Safety to provide intervention and enforcement in an effort to keep our community safe. Our goal for these interventions is both a short- and long-term reduction in fatal, serious, and overall number of collisions in Union City,” said Chief Jared Rinetti.
The one-year grant is for the 2021 federal fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2021. The grant will fund a variety of traffic safety programs, including:
• Patrols with emphasis on alcohol and drug-impaired driving prevention.
• Patrols with emphasis on awareness and education of California’s hands-free cell phone law.
• Patrols with emphasis on education of traffic rights for bicyclists and pedestrians.
• Patrols with emphasis on awareness and education of primary causes of crashes: excess speed, failure to yield, failure to stop at stop signs/signals, and improper turning/lane changes.
• Community education presentations on traffic safety issues such as distracted driving, DUI, speed, bicycle and pedestrian safety.
• Officer training and/or recertification: Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST), Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE).
“Through education and behavior changes, we hope to create an environment that is safe and equitable for all road users in our community,” Sergeant Rodrigues said.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
What Waste Goes Where: 2020 Holiday Edition
Submitted by City of Hayward
Holiday season in the era of COVID-19 means fewer gatherings, smaller guest lists – and a greater risk than usual for food waste. Check out these tips for sustainably navigating your holiday festivities in 2020.
Love your Leftovers
Fewer friends and family enjoying the same number of classic dishes is a recipe for food waste. Even if leftovers are part of your holiday tradition, tools like Sustainable America’s portion estimator can help you size your feast with intention. Properly storing any leftovers you do generate in your freezer will help ensure that food doesn’t go to waste. Bought too many of your nonperishable favorites? Consider sharing your surplus with the community. Check out StopWaste’s Recycle Where? Tool for more information about opportunities for local food donation.
Don’t Pour Turkey Grease, Oils, or Fats Down the Drain
A pan of turkey grease is an unavoidable part of any oven-baked bird. If you end up with more than you can soak up with stuffing or whip up into gravy, be sure to discard it properly. Once cooled, pour all grease into a sturdy paper container like an empty box or egg carton. Be sure to capture as much grease as possible by wiping greasy pans and dishes with a paper towel or newspaper. Then, place all soiled paper items directly into the green organics bin. Fats, oils, and greases should never be directly poured down drains or garbage disposals.
Broken Glass Goes in the Trash
No holiday party is complete without a few party fouls. A broken plate, cup, wine glass, or baking dish is fine, but these types of glassware are not recyclable and should be placed in the trash.
Personal Protective Equipment
If your gathering involves disposable masks and gloves, remember to dispose of them in the trash bin, not the recycling.
For a more comprehensive list of sorting dos and don’ts, view Waste Management’s recycling guides.
Portion estimator:
https://ivaluefood.com/resources/cooking-eating/portion-size-guide/
Proper storage:
https://savethefood.com/articles/the-art-of-freezing
Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame
Submitted by Susan S. Muranishi
As an extraordinary year ends, we are thrilled to see Kamala Harris make history as the first woman and as the first person of color elected as Vice President. The Bay Area born Senator turned Vice President-elect is a shining example of what is possible for our nation and the world when women rise to the top. As we conclude this extraordinary year, we look forward with renewed energy and take this moment to congratulate the Vice President-elect of the United States of America, Kamala Harris!
During this historical moment for women, we would like to announce that nominations are being accepted for the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame, honoring exceptional women making a difference in our community. Honorees will be celebrated in 2021 during an event co-hosted by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors and the Alameda County Commission on the Status of Women.
The Women’s Hall of Fame is now accepting nominations in 13 categories: Business & Professions Community Service Culture & Art Education Emerging Leader Environment Health Justice Non-Traditional Careers Philanthropy Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Sports & Athletics and Youth. We strongly encourage you to nominate a community leader in any of these categories by visiting acgov.org/whof/nominations.htm.
More than 250 women have been inducted into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame since its inception in 1993. In addition to honoring exceptional women leaders from Alameda County, the annual event raises funds for youth scholarships and supports local nonprofit community partners serving women, youth and families.
“As we honor the remarkable 13 inductees, we also celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote,” states County Administrator Susan S. Muranishi. “In the past 100 years, we have seen women become mayors, governors, Congresswomen, and now elected as Vice President of the United States of America. We commend the trailblazing women who came before us and make the way for female pioneers to lead us through the next 100 years.”
Visit our website at acgov.org/whof/ to learn more, or call (510) 272-6984.
2020 Youth Art Contest
Submitted by Tiffany Yee
In November, Fremont Unified Student Store (FUSS) supported Youth Art Foundation’s charity art contest to support victims of the California wildfires. Submissions were accepted from students grades K-12, and entry fees were donated to support those affected.
On behalf of Youth Art Foundation, I wanted to express our gratitude to those who participated in our first charitable Youth Art Contest. We have seen incredible and inspiring artworks submitted in this process, and an overwhelming, heartwarming response for those impacted by the fires.
Through this competition, a total of 231 students from various states all over America – California, New York, Florida, Virginia, and Minnesota – submitted their pieces. More than 400 works were collected, and in total, we raised about $4,200. We will donate 100% of these proceeds to the California Fire Foundation. These proceeds will be split evenly between support for our hardworking firefighters in the California Firefighters Endowment and the community hard-hit by the fires, Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency.
2020 is a year of unpredictable changes – to our day-to-day lives, our communities, and the world. We responded to these changes with our foundation’s purpose, which is for students to use their love for art for the greater good of the community. Through this competition, many high school students dedicated their invaluable time and energy to organizing the logistics, from planning, making forms, scouting judging teachers, making award certificates, and creating the structure that made this event possible. These students exercised their leadership abilities and accomplished huge milestones for the community.
We would also like to thank FUSS for supporting and publicizing our competition – their promotions were instrumental in our success. Thank you again to everyone who participated and made our contest a resounding success. I hope that everyone will continue to support our activities in the next year, and for us to continue using our love for art and abilities to support our communities!
Moon Day or, A Secret History of Neil Armstrong
Today will be “Moon Day” when we finally wise up and make it a holiday. Actual Moon Day was on Wednesday, but if it were a ‘legal’ holiday, this would be the Friday for the three-day weekend. Because, whether anyone else on Earth goes along with me, July 20th is a humankind holiday. It is, perhaps, a holiday that transcends species entirely. The shared recombinant DNA of the entire planet can celebrate the moment perhaps, if the Gaia Hypothesis is correct, it is a sacred day for the entire, living, sentient planet.
And for the last two days, I’ve been trying to write this column. By Wednesday’s end, I had a middling-piece, but it just was all wrong. It tried to weave various histories, but it was missing the personal piece.
A funny thing about my writing: ever since I started writing in college, I have had a little technique that I call ‘composting.’ I read the material, or, in the case of fiction, think about the characters, and immerse myself in the subject, and then I just drop it. I forget about it, but I’ve always felt that terra incognita towards the back of the brain, perhaps the subconscious, perhaps the soul (but then, what is the subconscious, if it’s not the soul in scientific drag?) churning and doing SOMETHING, but what, I don’t really know.
And then, at some mysterious point (usually a deadline) the oven timer goes off there is a silent, mental chime, and whatever it was I was going to write about is “done.”
For the past two days, the oven’s been baking, and no words have been present.
The moon landing was a very personal experience for me. You know the landing itself: either you witnessed it, or you heard about it, or you read about it.
But it was one of those 9/11 moments: everyone knew where they were when it happened. It is a secret music that each of us carries. We all know the song playing on the radio, but each of us has a “secret” version: we remember a moment that is associated with that song, with that moment.
My secret moment was a life-long fulfillment: I am old enough to remember Sputnik, barely. Mostly I remember the tremendous agitation among the giant adults who supervised me.
I had just learned to walk, recently, and I only really remember the emotions: the USA was behind the USSR. They were in space, and shortly thereafter, a month later, the USSR launched Sputnik II, with a dog named Laika.*
Sputnik 2 was launched into outer space on November 3, 1957. Sputnik 2 was not designed to be retrievable, and Laika had always been intended to die. Laika died a few hours after launch, presumably from stress and overheating, probably due to a malfunction in the thermal control system. The true cause and time of her death was not made public until 2002 instead, it was widely reported that she lived for several days.]
The USA was in a state of total shock (here, in Oregon, the Eugene Astronomical Society was founded that year as a Cold War Sputnik watching group — who knew what perfidy the Soviet Communists would rain down from space. It bore watching).
The USA rose to the symbolic challenge: we launched our reply, Explorer 1, four months later. (Explorer 1 discovered the earth’s magnetic “shield” against the deadlier elements of the solar wind, the Van Allen belts.)
Apollo 11 Image captured by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Camera (LROC) between July 11 and 15, 2009 [NASA] click to enlarge
Thence the launching of monkeys and dogs, and then the USSR sent the first man into space: Yuri Gagarin. I well remember the consternation that caused. I was living with my grandparents in their Victorian Gingerbread house, in Kearney, Nebraska. If you’ve been to Harry Truman’s house in Independence, Missouri, you’d recognize my grandparents’ house, a slightly less accessorized version of the same model, but eerily similar in design, ornamentation and layout.
A lot of people used to tell my grandfather that he looked a lot like Harry Truman — a “compliment” that he hated, having married into being a life-long Republican Protestant working for the Union Pacific Railroad. (He had been born a Catholic Democrat.)
The KEARNEY DAILY HUB had a picture on the front page, and the long discussion about the “space race” would continue for years thereafter.
The first Mercury shots were sources of unalloyed wonder, but through the ‘Sixties, our space program was continually a day late and a dollar short.
In 1963 or 1964, a college buddy of my Dad’s stopped by at our little ranch-style house (painted fuchsia, to the consternation of the neighborhood), on his way back to his job at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. He had a thick three-hole punch binder filled with Ranger Mission photos: Slow motion deliberate crashes into the moon, trying to find the best landing site trying to understand that enigma that has fascinated ever since eyes have existed to see it. Taking photos right up until the moment of impact.
Throughout my elementary school education, I was stricken with regular bouts of Gemini Flu. No one ever noticed that I went into my “sick” routine (“I don’t feel good. Do I have a fever?”) on the day of Gemini shots. I never had many sick days, and usually, dutifully attended school and only had the very occasional tardy — invariably because of some Emergency Beyond My Control: my bike got a flat, or a group of Laramie bullies (my age) I cornered me, and proceeded to stomp my schoolbooks, stomp my bike, and then stomp on me.
My illness was inevitably accepted — especially in later years when I made sure that I heated up the mercury at the bottom of the thermometer to around 100 F by using the bedside lamp.*
[* I only burned my tongue the first time. After that, I knew if I just held it to the bulb for a couple of seconds, it would rise in a delayed reaction to about 100 degrees F.]
And I would follow the non-stop coverage of the Gemini mission from the fold-out hide-a-bed in the study, while remaining ‘too sick’ to go to school. Usually, Walter Cronkite would explain the goings-on. There were no remote controls in those days, and you had to manually switch the channel. I thought Huntley-Brinkley on NBC were boring, and ABC’s string of anchors were pretty dull, except for Jules Bergman, who really did the science explanations better than anybody else.
Jules Bergman 1929 – 1987
When Grissom, Chafee and White died in the fire on the launchpad simulation (Apollo 1), I grieved with the rest of the nation.
When we began to pass and pull away from the USSR, I was patriotically thrilled.
And then the flights around the moon: The famous Christmas Eve reading from Genesis, which was very, very cool. The Madeline Murray O’Hare law suit, which I agreed then and agree now was correct. It was definitely an “establishment of religion” but it sure as heck was totally cool. Ironically, we were back at my grandparents’ home for Christmas that year, and I watched the Earth as seen from lunar orbit on Apollo 8 in the same place I’d seen the newspaper announcing Yuri Gagarin’s space flight what seemed a million years earlier.
‘In the beginning …‘ December 24, 1968
I had been watching the space race from earliest childhood. And the landing on the moon seemed within our grasp.
It WOULD happen. It wasn’t just crazy science fiction.
It’s hard to remember that there was a time (reported to me, because I wasn’t there) when all sober, reasonable people knew that the idea of going to the moon was sheerest lunacy.
And, until 1969, they were entirely correct.
Little Green Man by the late, great Kelly Freas
But those who dreamed of going to the moon were either wildly imaginative, dangerously delusional or suffering from delerium tremens, or all three.
The science fiction writers who came of age in the 1940s have reported that it was not uncommon for them to be accosted by total strangers — seriously sober and reasonable people — who were happy to share their unshakable opinion that anybody who wrote stories about going to the moon was a couple sandwiches shy of a picnic basket.
It was a shameful thing to write science fiction (or sci-fi), because the idea of traveling in space was nutty. So only kids and nuts would read the stuff. Many parents issued blanket prohibitions against their kids reading SF, considering it a sort of literary pornography. It enfeebled the mind, it was immoral — possibly due to the profusion of exceptionally busty women on the covers, usually wearing the skimpiest spacesuits this side of Frederick’s of Hollywood.
Promo illustration for “Forbidden Planet” MGM 1956
And, happily, when they landed on the moon, the science fiction writers were honored guests. They had weathered the long trek from outcast status to hero status.
I read a lot of SF. It only seemed natural in a “Space Age.” And, I read a lot, anyway. I had a subscription to SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, and thought I was going to be a scientist “when I grow up.”
At the time, he still was
So I was keenly aware of just what a profound moment in the life of a species, in the life of a planet that the moon landing represented.
In Arthur C. Clarke’s novelization of 2001-A Space Odyssey , he makes the point (using different language) that the Black Monolith buried on the moon was the perfect pons asinorum . Pons asinorum literally means “bridge of donkeys” and it was a test meant to separate the teachable from the idiots.
It’s an idiot test. If a species can’t develop space travel to their nearest neighbor, then they’re not interesting to us. The test of the black monolith is a sort of galactic SAT on a pass/fail system.
2001- A Space Odyssey MGM 1968
To have actually travel the terrible void that separates the Earth and the Moon in a series of tin cans powered by special lighter fluid was a lot more than just a symbolic “war” between the world’s two super-powers. It was a happy accident that their vanity had channeled the post-World War Two rivals into a strange quest — John Kennedy’s stated goal of landing a man on the moon and bringing him safely back by the end of the decade (the 1960s).
For awhile, it looked like we were going to make it easily. And then came the Apollo 1 fire.
Here is my secret history of the Moon Landing:
Grandpa had died the previous winter. The whole extended family had taken over the Fort Kearney Hotel, then. The joke made the rounds about when our Great Aunt Marg had asked my Grandfather if all that weight wouldn’t make the moon fall out of the sky. And he’d just looked at her, disgusted. (You had to have been there.)
We had moved to our new, dream house the summer before, during the Mexico City Olympics. My brother and I occupied the basement, with our own bathroom and a pool table. We had a two car garage. I was about to enter the ninth grade, the “senior class” of Laramie Junior High. We’d be the high men on the totem pole, as the then-current colloquialism went.
And “we” were landing on the moon. By “we” it was hard to pin down: was it us kids? we USA folks? Americans, North and South? Or was it everybody? By the end of the day, I would realize that it was everybody. But at the time, I was in an exultation of State: The United States of America had won the “race to the moon.”
Now, it can be argued — and I will do it one day — that the specter of Nuclear Annihilation forced us back into a kind of mock warfare, as is often seen in tribal societies, since victory in a real war would probably destroy both tribes. On a certain level, a huge chunk of the support for the space program was to “Beat The Russians!” and would swiftly vanish after Apollo 11 — as NASA was about to learn.
We’re Number One! But it was far more than that. I wouldn’t realize it until Apollo 13, but even then, I had a feeling that this was a Day for the Ages.
And, indeed it was. Generations to come will be jealous of us, that we were there to see it.
Here is my secret music of that first Moon Walk:
It was a perfect summer day, with clear blue skies and gentle sunlight. It was “hot” for Laramie, by which I mean that it might have been in the eighties. I had finished my Pony League season, the highest point of my baseball career. In the last game of the season, at my last at-bat, I had hit the center field fence halfway up — which would be the best I ever got. I never hit a home run, and I have often reflected on the little twist of fate involved: had that ball carried another couple of feet, I’d have won the game for my team, and we’d have been in the playoffs. Three feet higher and our season would not have ended, as it did, at the end of the inning.
It would have been Michael Jordan moment. Instead, I only managed a stand up single, and was thrown out (sprinting was never my forte) on the only stolen base attempt I was ever given the sign for by any Third Base Coach. Such is life.
I didn’t know it then, but that’s as close as I’d ever get. It was the best summer of my childhood, but I wouldn’t know that until much, much later.
It’s funny how we never realize that the best moments of our life are happening when they’re happening. Only years later do we understand that we’d been on a mountaintop but never realized it.
My brother had finished his career in little league, and the sponsor of the team, the “Circle S” motel across from the Wyoming “War Memorial” stadium, invited all the families to his cabin near Jelm, Wyoming, thirty miles west of Laramie.
They had a bar-b-que, and the obligatory gallons of potato salad, the beans, the hamburgers and hot dogs, the relish and mustard, and lots and lots of catsup. They spelled it “catsup” but everyone pronounced it “ketchup” for reasons that were mysterious then, and remain so today.
There was a mini-bike that all the kids were supposed to take turns riding, but the line was too long, so I hiked out in the woods, through the Ponderosa Pine and the sagebrush, with the meadowlarks calling, along the dusty dirt road the minibike roared back and forth on. I was always looking for arrowheads, but I never found one. instead, I found a couple of those old green-glass insulators from a nearby power pole, which I took as a souvenir. The linemen had probably just dropped the old ones and replaced them.
And the clock ticked. There was a radio on in the cabin, and I listened to the reports from the moon. The men were playing penny-ante poker, joking and yakking above the tinny sound of the radio, and the mothers were in the kitchen, cleaning up the remains of the day, chattering about this and that. The only subject that was missing from the day, oddly enough, was baseball, or the team, or the little league season.
When it was time for us to get back for the moonwalk, I told my parents, neither of which were very much interested.
This was, perhaps, the most profound piece of history I’d ever witnessed, far more profound than any voyage of Columbus or Magellan mor important than wars or elections. And the adults were oblivious.
Buzz Aldrin
Perhaps it was because I was peculiar — I’ve always been a “collector” of history — or just because this was the final payoff of a national odyssey that had begun barely after I’d been born. It was that home run I’d missed weeks before, but in a much larger sense.
What was astonishing to me was that, in a room, full of businessmen, civil servants, professors from the University of Wyoming, housewives, filling station owners, etcetera in this whole cross-section of Laramie society, what was important was penny-ante poker and sharing recipes for potato salad.
The strange sense of disillusionment that I felt then is still with me: they didn’t know, and they didn’t care. Just another day, another picnic in the woods.
So, I took that youthful stratagem that we all learned so well: I began to pester them, a gadfly stinging their good time, just at the edge of being swatted, until they finally became so annoyed, or disgusted, and reluctantly left the party.
We drove east, back to Laramie, in the sunset of a perfect July day. We got back in plenty of time, and I watched the CBS Eye himself, Walter Cronkite, as he wiped a tear away and, later, after Neil Armstrong blew his line: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
At the time, I simply accepted its absurdity. It was profound BECAUSE of where it had been spoken. It didn’t matter what Neil was actually saying. We got it. It was supposed to be “one small step for A man” but Neil was evidently so nervous that a couple of words dropped out.
Neil Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012)
We can forgive him for that. Here was a fundamentally NON-stage center person in the sharpest spotlight, with the biggest audience in the history of “mankind,” and he had just enough stage fright that he flubbed his line.
Neil was that fellow we’d been looking for all those centuries: he was the Man in the Moon.
If Cyrano de Bergerac had beaten him to it, Cyrano was hiding that day. Green cheese suddenly dropped out of our lexicon. The mystery had vanished in the face of the majestic fact.
Cyrano travels to the Moon
We’d made it. We’d gone from the savannas of Africa, domesticated animals, learned agriculture, built civilizations and empires that rose over and over again, and the cumulative effort, the collective effort of millions living and dead had placed two fragile human beings on the face of the moon that had inspired our wonder and curiosity ever since we first looked at the heavens and asked: What is that?
And, in the years since, I have celebrated that moment every year for the past thirty-six summers, and like those parents, oblivious and happy with their beer and their potato salad, we have still not embraced the epiphany of that moment.
So I spent the last several years celebrating Moon Day. It is my holiday until a large enough plurality accept it that we celebrate it as a “holy” day.
Because such moments come very few times in the life of a species, and, if one is very, very lucky, once in our brief lifetimes.
And, in a sense, it is a holiday on a par with the solstices and equinoctial celebrations. The DNA of Earth touched its lost piece once more. Pretty impressive day for Gaia.
Official Apollo 11 Portrait: Armstrong, Collins, Aldrin
I think that the mythic explanation of the last forty years might be something like this: Gaia reached out to touch that lost piece of herself, torn from her billions of years ago. And on the way back, Gaia saw herself, and has been staring at herself ever since. Yes, the Hubble telescope has looked into deep space, but look at all the effort on satellites to look AT the Earth. Even the mighty Space Station is focused on the Earth.
But that’s just myth and balderdash, much of which died on that day that Neil and Buzz hiked the Sea of Tranquility. Thousands of years of myth and legend from every tribe in the family of Man.
And I don’t blame the adults. They didn’t realize that it was a peak moment, just as I never realized that I’d gotten as close to a home run as I’d ever get.
Each of us, who was alive then, has their own secret music: we have personalized the moment we remember where we were and what we were doing. We remember, but our memories are seldom jogged. And it’s a shame.
Now, as we watch the weather satellite images to see whether we should evacuate, or when storms are rolling in as we use our “space-age” materials and computers when we’re hooked to bio-telemetry devices to do computer diagnostics on our bodies when we see a satellite catch the sun, far above the sunset, when we watch old episodes of “Leave it to Beaver” on our satellite dish service’s basic channels, we don’t really remember that moment when we first touched the man in the moon.
Home again, home again, jiggedy jig
Back to the present time, 2016.
We have completed the International Space Station now. The mission is in the sky. Michael D. Griffin writes, in the Washington Post Let’s Reach for The Stars Again (2009), and that is surely a noble sentiment.
Tom Wolfe (author of The Right Stuff, and the various Merry Prankster books) notes how the moon program was already being dismantled, even as the Apollo 11 astronauts were being toured to promote the American triumph!
But, at the Atlantic, Megan McCardle rather ineffectually whines that we ought to kind of go back — which may well be the reason that space got shunted to the back burner in the first place: an amorphous, passionless advocacy might well be worse than no advocacy at all.
Space station: Predicted -2001- A Space Odyssey MGM 1968
Actual – NASA 2011
The world is finally remembering Moon Day. This year, at least. But it all will depend on who runs the world. I know how it works right now, today in 2016. The shuttle is retired, we have no American way up to the station, and Vladimir Putin hates our guts, but needs our cash. Just this week [2016], TWO supply missions were launched, one from Russia, and one via Elon Musk’s SpaceX Dragon cargo ship:
SpaceX Dragon cargo ship 2016 (photo: NASA)
But space isn’t much of a priority in a dumbed-down America. Sadly, the penny-ante poker players run the world, and not those who thought that landing on the moon was a pretty cool thing, indeed.
2012: Rest In Peace, Neil Armstrong. An era has passed before us.
Last week (2014), his vorpal sword saw its 2000th post.
A writer, published author, novelist, literary critic and political observer for a quarter of a quarter-century more than a quarter-century, Hart Williams has lived in the American West for his entire life. Having grown up in Wyoming, Kansas and New Mexico, a survivor of Texas and a veteran of Hollywood, Mr. Williams currently lives in Oregon, along with an astonishing amount of pollen. This is cross-posted from his blog his vorpal sword..
RELATED ARTICLES
Thousands of civilians were dead, many were homeless, while 200,000 children had been parted from parents again, and even more men had been waved off to war by loved ones. Even as the countdown to Christmas began, there was no let-up in the Luftwaffe’s relentless campaign that saw night-time bombing wreak havoc on Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton and Liverpool. Newspaper headlines suggested the festive season would be a gloomy one, with an anticipated shortage of turkeys, the cancellation of the Boxing Day bank holiday for those involved in war work and confirmation that leave for troops – still on alert against invasion – would be extremely limited. Finally came the Government’s plea to make this a ‘stay-where-you-are Christmas’ to keep the roads and railways clear for the transport of war supplies.
After all the tragedies of the year, not everyone felt like making merry. But even those who craved a Christmas-sized slice of normality found festive feeling hard to conjure in the run-up to the big day. Twinkling tree lights in town centres, carollers and after-work window shopping were all casualties of the blackout, which left streets pitch black from early evening. Gift buying was a test of patience, as author Anthony Richards discovered when he delved into the Imperial War Museum’s archives for its new book, Wartime Christmas.
Gas masks couldn’t shut out mistletoe’s magic
‘I shopped under difficulties as there were incessant raid warnings,’ a complaint from Londoner Mrs Barnicot reads. ‘The roof spotter rings a violent bell and the lights are turned off and everybody marches. to the basements. till the danger is past.’
Yet, in spite of everything, there remained an irrepressible determination to carry on with Christmas as usual. ‘If Hitler thinks he’s going to prevent me from buying my Christmas presents, it just shows that he doesn’t know me!’ an elderly lady was overheard saying in one of London’s stores – all resolutely open, unlike during this November’s lockdown. The same resilient spirit echoed across shop counters countrywide. ‘People were really willing to embrace Christmas,’ Anthony says. ‘If you look at the accounts from the time, sometimes it’s almost as if they’ve forgotten we’re at war. People have questioned the [reality of the] Blitz spirit in recent years, but it’s true, the evidence is there.’
Naturally, some elements of a traditional Christmas required adjustment – such as greetings cards. The Royal Family opted for one reflecting national stoicism: the King and Queen in front of a bomb-damaged Buckingham Palace. Quickly dubbed a ‘Blitzmas’ card, the American press reported that jokey variations on the theme bearing messages such as ‘Wishing you anything but a Jerry Christmas’ were proving popular.
A deluge of festive parcels at a london sorting office
Presents were also more practical – woollen sleeping bags and warm dressing gowns for nights in the shelter, or small luxuries like soap and for children, soldiers or soft toys knitted while underground. The Post Office reported a record Christmas in many areas as brown-paper parcels winged their way to evacuees and absent relatives.
Decorations migrated down to cellars and out to Anderson air-raid shelters in gardens. London Transport wanted to ‘turn the tube shelters into a Christmas fairyland with coloured lights and seasonal decorations’, according to The Daily Telegraph, while local councils encouraged communities to deck the halls of their local shelters, awarding prizes for the best.
Christmas 1940 looked different but not dismal. The message from the Daily Mirror urged its readers, ‘Stay Put – but not Stay Glum’. For the people of Manchester and Merseyside in particular that was no small request – both areas were hit by particularly fierce bombing campaigns during Christmas week itself. Incendiaries and high-explosive bombs rained down over Manchester city centre on 22 and 23 December, destroying 8,000 homes and killing around 700 people, many Christmas partygoers among them.
Yet somehow, the Christmas spirit survived. Last-minute shoppers were out in force on Christmas Eve. ‘Incendiaries have burnt my house roof and finished off my turkey at the shop – but that’ll not get me down,’ Mrs Boardman, shopping for a new hat, told the Manchester Evening News, while two men were observed searching a windowless shop for silk stockings. And when Christmas Day dawned, the Northwest, like the rest of the nation, forged on with the festivities – differently, but by no means cancelled.
For many across the country the celebrations began at church. The blackout regulations lent an especially Christmassy atmosphere to the traditional 8am Communion services, which went ahead by the light of altar candles – though, disappointingly, without the triumphant yuletide peal of church bells, which were reserved for use as an invasion warning.
At lunchtime, families tucked gratefully into turkey substitutes such as roast beef or rabbit, with Christmas puddings and plentiful wine and beer – two things not yet in short supply. Many were joined at their dinner tables by servicemen from local bases following a successful appeal for civilians to give a merry Christmas to those unable to go home. ‘Somebody’ll be doing it for my lad, so say nowt abaht it,’ a Yorkshire woman told her guests, speaking for many a mother in The Bradford Observer that December.
Communities rallied round to ensure no one went without. The newly homeless were offered Christmas dinners with all the trimmings at rest centres or communal kitchens run by the Women’s Voluntary Service (now the Royal Voluntary Service).
In rural areas, parties for evacuees were hosted in town halls – in Bedford, 400 evacuees of all ages were entertained with games and singing round the piano. In London, 80 children from badly blitzed Paddington were given a happy holiday courtesy of the newly opened American Eagle Club, the haunt of US servicemen – one of whom gamely played Santa.
Santa hands out presents to evacuees from South London
Closeted away in an unidentified countryside location (actually Windsor Castle), the Royal Family couldn’t make their annual appearance at Sandringham church, but King George VI still gave his radio broadcast live at 3pm. ‘Remember this,’ he urged Britons. ‘If war brings its separations it brings new unity also – the unity which comes from common perils and common sufferings willingly shared.’
Generally agreed to be the highlight of the BBC’s Christmas programming, though, was the exchange of messages between children evacuated overseas and their parents back in Britain. Listening in to little boys respond to questions about Canada with characteristic nonchalance – ‘oh, it’s all right’ – and give parents the measure of their Christmas with the news that they’d had stomach ache three times, brought a much-needed warm and fuzzy feeling into the nation’s front rooms.
For many, it was the little things that provided the most seasonal cheer: a whole day without depressing headlines or lengthy news bulletins a telegram that brought tidings of comfort and joy from a loved one miles away. In Birmingham, one little girl simply relished the chance to play in ‘the unaccustomed space of the living room’ in the evening, while the air-raid sirens stayed curiously silent. The complete absence of Luftwaffe activity in the skies overhead was a pleasant surprise – it was, the papers almost universally agreed, ‘a quiet Christmas – in the best sense’.
Even so, 120,000 people chose to descend underground to London’s tube stations as dusk fell, ‘still wearing paper caps’ and, as writer Stephen Spender wryly observed, ‘armed against the terror of possible air-raids with Christmas crackers’.
At Liverpool Street, ‘500 children sat down in two relays to a first-class tea… with fruit and cream, bread and jam and various cakes’ and, as at other stations, they came away with gifts paid for by donations from well-wishers. ‘Family parties… overlapped and intermingled’ reported The Times, as seasoned shelterers enjoyed Christmas puddings from government-sponsored canteens and games of charades under the glow of the coloured lights, while ‘girls in party frocks whirled on the platforms to dance music’. The strains of Christmas carols even echoed along the tunnels as Salvation Army singers toured the capital’s stations.
Cracker Time around the table in the air-raid shelter
After months of turbulence on the home front, peace and goodwill reigned. Briefly. The celebrations provided only a short respite from the realities of the war the bombers were back with a vengeance on 27 December, and so ferocious was the attack on the capital two nights later that it came to be known as the Second Great Fire of London.
But, however fleetingly, Christmas 1940 had provided a welcome opportunity to forget the present, to remember happy times in the past and look forward to a brighter future. And it can do the same for us this year.
Featured Galleries
Copyright © 2021, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.
Material from the Associated Press is Copyright © 2021, Associated Press and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing. All rights reserved.
MTV Movie Blog – http://moviesblog.mtv.com/ Sample Blog ‘The Raid’ And ‘Blair Witch Project’ Directors Join ‘V/H/S 2’ Posted 27 mins ago by Terri Schwartz in News Considering how terrifying the found footage horror anthology “V/H/S” is, it should come as &hellip Continue reading &rarr
Brilliant Culture blogs http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/cultureblogs/roundup Sample Blogs Webfeed Music blog What would a Mitt Romney presidency mean for popular music? 1 Nov 2012: Having a Republican in the White House might at the very least give our musicians a much-needed sense &hellip Continue reading &rarr
Drugs and Alcohol
With few exceptions, Sheldon refuses all drugs, including alcohol and caffeine, as a promise to his mother (though it's suggested in "The Codpiece Topology" that he drinks Red Bull, which contains caffeine). In addition, when Penny mixed alcohol into his drink making it "slutty", he began to play the piano and sing "To Life" from the musical Fiddler on the Roof in front of an audience. A small amount of coffee made him extremely hyperactive, but unproductive in another episode. Taking Valium also affected his behavior. Probably the most infamous time of him being drunk was when he had to give a speech in "The Pants Alternative" and he acted like a comedian due to the abundance of wine he drank to calm his nerves. The scene was uploaded on YouTube where it is revealed Sheldon also took off his pants and mooned the audience. Howard once drugged him with his mother's sleep medication to get him to stop talking, but was unsuccessful. He exposed Penny's secret about her college career to Leonard.
While it's argued that Sheldon drank beer in the Pilot, it's actually an orange soda (clearly seen when Leonard holds up his bottle in the hallway).
He does enjoy a Mountain Dew in "The Vengeance Formulation", one of the more caffeinated sodas, even calling it "refreshing". He also likes "diet virgin Cuba Libres", which is essentially a Diet Coke with a slice of lime. It appears that he can drink caffeinated beverages to a certain point, but not to the extent of coffee, which he considers a drug.
In "The Habitation Configuration" Penny serves him numerous glasses of Long Island Iced Tea, which he enjoys however, he's unaware of the fact it's alcoholic (and not actually tea as he genuinely believes) and Penny makes no move to correct his assumption. This drastically affects his behavior to the point where he attempts to "beat" an apology out of Wil Wheaton.
In "The Thanksgiving Decoupling" he drinks beer with Bernadette's father since his own father died before they could do so. As a result, he became drunk and did numerous things, like burping pi, or as much as he could without throwing up, making fun of Howard's mother and her "bathroom clowns" by saying you could only fit one of her in a car, and insulting Howard, calling him the "clown that came out of her". After apologizing for his behavior, he sent Amy to get him and Mike beers and slapped her on the butt, much to her pleasure. Later, he threw up on the clowns in the bathroom.
In "The Dependence Transcendence", the Flash appears to a sleeping Sheldon and tells him that all superheroes use energy drinks and take performance-enhancing chemicals. The Hulk uses steroids and Batman stalks the night looking for fights because he drinks scotch. He gives Sheldon his first energy drink free because he invested his money in Marvel Comics, the rival comic book company. He goes hyper while working on their gyroscope miniaturization project and then drives everyone crazy thinking that he was addicted to energy drinks.
- Ascot will be taking place behind closed doors amid coronavirus pandemic
- Usually more than 240,000 afternoon tea cakes are eaten at the set-piece event
- Head chefs exclusively revealed to Femail how to make nine top recipes
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Published: 11:15 BST, 15 June 2020 | Updated: 11:37 BST, 15 June 2020
Royal Ascot will not take place as a public event this month, meaning thousands of racegoers will miss out on afternoon tea and the upmarket event.
In a regular year, top chefs hand-craft 240,000 afternoon tea cakes to be enojyed over the five day event, while 56,000 bottles of champagne are consumed.
Other treats include 120,000 buttermilk scones and more than 60,000 finger sandwiches.
As this year's events will take place behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ascot's Head Chef Ben Dutson and Executive Chef, Gemma Amor shared nine of their favourite recipes from the event exclusively with FEMAIL.
VICTORIA SPONGE
Serves 10 | Prep 20 mins | Bake 20 - 25 mins
- 225g/8oz butter or margarine, softened at room temperature
- 225g/8oz caster sugar
- 4 medium free-range eggs
- Jam, whipped cream,
- fresh berries or lemon curd
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 225g/8oz self-raising flour
- Milk, to loosen
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
2. Grease and line two 18cm/7in cake tins with baking paper.
3. Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
4. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, and stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Fold in the flour using a large metal spoon, adding a little extra milk if necessary, to create a batter with a soft dropping consistency.
6. Divide the mixture between the cake tins and gently spread out with a spatula.
7. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
8. Remove from the oven and set aside for five minutes, then remove from the tin and peel off the paper. Place both cakes on a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Sandwich the cakes together with jam, whipped cream, fresh berries or lemon curd.
CHOCOLATE ROULADE
Serves 16 | Prep 30 mins | Bake 20 - 25 mins
- 175g/6oz good-quality dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 6 free-range eggs, separated
- 175g/6oz caster sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 300ml/10fl oz double cream
- Icing sugar, to dust
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°F/Gas 4. Lightly grease a 33cm x 23cm/13in x 9in Swiss roll tin then line the base and sides of the tin with a large sheet of greaseproof paper, pushing it into the corners.
2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water.
3. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and whisk until stiff but not dry.
4. Put the egg yolks in a separate bowl with the sugar and whisk on high speed for 2-3 minutes or until thick and creamy. Pour in the cooled chocolate and gently fold together until well combined.
5. Gently stir two large spoonfuls of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture to loosen the mix, then fold in the remaining egg whites using a large metal spoon. Sift the cocoa over the top and lightly fold it in. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and gently move the tin around until the mixture is level.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes until the sponge is risen and its top feels firm and slightly crisp. Remove from the oven, leave in the tin (expect the roulade to fall and crack a little) and set aside until cold.
7. Whip the cream until it just holds its shape. Lay a large piece of greaseproof paper on the work surface and dust it lightly with icing sugar. Turn the roulade out onto the paper so its lining paper is on top, then carefully peel off the paper. Spread the roulade with the whipped cream, leaving a border of about 2cm around the edges. With one of the shortest edges facing you, make a cut along it with a sharp knife, going about half way through the sponge. This will help to start the rolling up. Now roll this cut edge over tightly to start with and use the paper to help continue the tight rolling, by pulling it away from you as you roll.
8. Finish with the join underneath then lift the roulade onto a serving plate or board using a large wide spatula or two fish slices. Dust with icing sugar.
