Author Archives: Danzig

The innocents at home, anti-mask tales of purity – Greensburg Daily News

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The conservative politicians who oppose Gov. Eric Holcombs statewide mandate that Hoosiers wear masks while in public have the purest histories and the cleanest hands one could imagine. They wouldnt dream of endangering their fellow citizens lives and creating dissension in a time of crisis out of personal pique.

No, no, no.

These guys have unblemished reputations of selfless, unimpeachable devotion to serving both the state and its citizens, uncorrupted by baser considerations or loyalties. They are above such crass motivations.

Take Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill, for example.

Hill issued an opinion at the request of several conservative state lawmakers that Holcombs order exceeded his authority. The attorney general devoted at least 15 or 20 seconds of research and analysis to this carefully reasoned argument.

One would expect such diligence and creativity from a man who argued with vehemence that he should remain as attorney general even though his license to practice law had been suspended and Indiana law requires that one be an attorney in good standing to hold the office.

The demands that Hill resign his office came from every corner. The chorus calling for him to leave included most Hoosier Republican officeholders.

But Hill recognized that to honor his duty to the law he must ignore, even break, the law. To do otherwise would be to violate his oaths both as an officer of the court and as the states highest-ranking defender of the law.

So, Curtis Hill stayed fought tooth and nail, in fact, to hold onto his office in the face of unending criticism and censure from the Indiana Supreme Court because his devotion to the law knows no bounds. He knew it would be wrong to deprive Indiana of such a paragon of principled commitment to the rule of law.

No, none dare call them hypocrites.

Then theres Indiana Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour.

Lucas recently found himself on the receiving end of a spanking from his own partys leadership. He lost several key committee assignments because he had posted a racist meme on Facebook a picture of a laughing Black child in what appeared to be a diaper chortling, We gon get free money.

After his trip to the woodshed, Lucas said he was going to leave social media and try to strike a more respectful tone.

That lasted about 90 seconds.

The day after the governor announced the mask mandate, Lucas offered the following calm and reasoned post on Facebook:

Starting Monday, the governor wants to lock me in a cage for 180 days and fine me $1,000 if I dont wear a mask that has no published standards for effectiveness.

What if I dont comply, Governor Eric Holcomb?

The words sat atop a photo of a gun and a pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution.

Many people who saw the post called it a threat to the governor and thus a violation of the law. Lucas denied that.

He always does.

Thats because Lucas is like the kid in the band who just knows that everyone but him is marching out of step.

His devotion to the Constitution is depthless. Thats why he likes to berate and shout down citizens who want to exercise their First Amendment right to petition government for redress of grievances. Thats also why he tried to waive gun owners Fourth Amendment rights a few years back so he could make it possible for them to bring their guns to school.

Hes just following the wisdom of the Vietnam War general who said, In order to save the village, it was necessary to destroy the village.

Lucas knows that, to save the Constitution, sometimes one must destroy the Constitution.

No, none dare call them hypocrites.

Eric Holcombs motivations arent nearly so high-minded and complicated. Hes requiring Hoosiers to wear masks because, selfishly, he wants to see fewer of us getting sick and dying.

What a cad.

What a tyrant.

Hill, Lucas and the others who oppose the governors mandate have one other thing in common.

They all say theyre pro-life.

No, none dare call them hypocrites.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

John Krull is director of Franklin Colleges Pulliam School of Journalism.

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The innocents at home, anti-mask tales of purity - Greensburg Daily News

Offshore Wind: The Missing Link in California’s Energy Mix? – Natural Resources Defense Council

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If youve ever driven a car, youve certainly read the phrase objects in the mirror are closer than they appear. California law requires the states electricity to be zero carbon by 2045 and the economy to be carbon neutral by then as well. The goal is appropriate, ambitious, and the challenges are novel. Because of the scale of change required, just like that object in the mirror, 2045 is closer than it appears.

As a renewable source, offshore wind can help California to solve its carbon reduction puzzle. However, its development has a unique set of challengesenvironmental, regulatory and economic.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has kicked off the federal Outer Continental Shelf leasing Process by identifying three Call Areas where offshore wind could be built: Humboldt on the North Coast, and Morro Bay and Diablo Canyon on the Central Coast. If developed fully, the Call Areas have a potential of around 8 GW. Yet, there is more work needed to identify the best locations within those Call Areas to balance technical and economic feasibility and minimize environmental and stakeholder conflicts.

Through this two-part blog, we explain why California needs to seriously consider offshore wind as an option to meet its zero-carbon goals and why it needs to commit to building the first 100 MW within the next year. Lessons learnt from this first commitment will help the industry scale up smoothly.

While trying to meet its zero carbon goals by 2045, California is also increasing its electric demand. With a wave of cities passing building electrification legislation, electric vehicles growing popularity and the recently adopted Advanced Clean Trucks rule, the trend is clear.

To address the question of how to supply this increasing demand with clean and affordable electricity, the California Legislature passed the Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act (Senate Bill 350). A key part of this bill is for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), California Energy Commission, and the states electricity providers to figure out how to cut these emissions in a least-cost manner.

California gets almost 35 percent (100 GWh) of its electricity from gas fired power plants. To move away from these fossil plants and to meet the states climate action goals of carbon neutrality by 2045, new sources of clean electricity need to come online. And while the current go-to renewable resourcessolar, onshore wind and battery storageare technically capable of helping us get to zero-carbon electricity, it would be cheaper and easier to reach that goal with a broader range of technologies. So, Californias electricity providers should invest in renewable sources of electricity that are a good complement to solar, onshore wind, and batteries.

Offshore wind can be an important complement because it can meet Californias renewable energy needs during rainy and cloudy winter months when less solar is energy available. Even more appealing from an energy planners perspective is that offshore winds ramp up in the afternoon and evening when the sun goes down. This means that offshore wind could reduce the need to build expensive storage, and the need to retain gas power plants.

While offshore wind operates under the same premise as onshorecapturing energy from the wind to generate electricity turbines on the ocean present a unique set of challenges. Depending on the oceans depth, turbines could be fixed at the bottom of a shallow seabed or float on deeper oceans. The vast majority of offshore wind exists in shallow waters where the bottom of the turbines can easily reach the seabed.

Many states off the East Coast have taken advantage of shallower waters and kickstarted offshore wind development through public policy. For instance, in 2016, Massachusetts signed the Act to Promote Energy Diversity to spur the building of 1.6 GW of offshore wind energy by 2027the target was later doubled in 2018. New York and New Jersey both committed in 2019 to a goal of 9 and 7.5 GW by 2035. With five metal giants standing on the horizon, the Block Island wind farm in Rhode Island can produce more than 125,000-MWh of electricity annually, enough energy to power 17,000 homes.

Compared to the East Coasts Atlantic seashore states, Californias continental shelf drops off steeply meaning that relatively novel floating turbines are the only option. However, the novelty of floating offshore wind technology shouldnt be prohibitive. Hywind Scotland, the first floating offshore wind development globally, was brought online in 2017.

California has the wind energy resource technical potential to power at least 110 GW of offshore wind. However, environmental, stakeholder, regulatory and economic considerations mean that only a portion of that total can be feasibly built.

Before the state commits to power the first few houses from these floating metal-turbines, it needs to make sure that offshore wind development can be conducted in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective manner. Specifically, the states regulators and legislators need to figure out the following concerns:

Our next blog in this series will propose a solution to help Californias policymakers answer these questions and chart a path forward to a clean electricity future powered (in part) by offshore wind.

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Offshore Wind: The Missing Link in California's Energy Mix? - Natural Resources Defense Council

Coronavirus on the Decline in UK Offshore Sector – The Maritime Executive

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By The Maritime Executive 07-28-2020 09:24:49

Oil and Gas UK (OGUK), the industry association for Britain's offshore oil and gas sector, reports that the number of possible coronavirus cases requiring medical evacuation is on the decline in the UK North Sea rig workforce.

OGUK confirms that the number of medevac flights for potential COVID-19 cases accounted for only 0.03 percent of total persons on board offshore installations last week. "The reduction in c-med flights is a recognition of both industry-imposed barriers and UK measures being effective," said Trevor Stapleton, OGUKs health, safety and environment director. It is worth noting that a Cat-C passenger is only symptomatic of COVID-19 and may not be a positive case, therefore the percentage figure is the worst-case scenario. However, now is not the time for us to become complacent and we will be paying close attention to the figures going forward."

"Category C" evacuees are workers who display non-life-threatening symptoms consistent with coronavirus. The industry's standard medevac protocol calls for the use of a CMED or SAR helicopter and a maximum of three passengers on board.

From late March through late May, a total of about 200 individuals had to be evacuated due to potential COVID-19 symptoms, according to UK industry outlet Energy Voice. In early April, the count peaked at 56 flights in a week, and it has declined significantly since.

As we move into the recovery phase which will mean increasing [persons on board] offshore a missing piece of the jigsaw is still asymptomatic testing for our offshore workforce, carried out using the NHS UK test centers. We continue to make the case for this with both the UK and Scottish governments," Stapleton added.

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Coronavirus on the Decline in UK Offshore Sector - The Maritime Executive

Hampton Roads Alliance Announces Offshore Wind Supply Chain Development Initiative – Yahoo Finance

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To lead the effort, regional expert Matt Smith will join the Alliance as its first Director of Offshore Wind Business Development

NORFOLK, Va., July 29, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Hampton Roads Alliance (the Alliance) is pleased to announce a new initiative to develop a comprehensive supply chain to serve the east coast offshore wind industry. This effort is made possible largely thanks to a Department of Housing & Community Development GO Virginia grant of $529,788 that will help fund the first two years of this effort. This initiative will position Hampton Roads as the premier destination for offshore wind companies to invest, while also creating new economic prospects for existing businesses, attracting new investments to the region, and sparking new permanent job creation.

"The Alliance is proud to be a key partner in the collective effort to bring offshore wind to the Hampton Roads region. We would like to sincerely thank Governor Ralph Northam and these Virginia General Assembly for leading the charge to bring renewable energy to the Commonwealth of Virginia, and GO Virginia for awarding the Alliance a grant which will be used to kick off our supply chain development initiative," said Doug Smith, President & CEO of the Hampton Roads Alliance.

This initiative will entail efforts to both recruit offshore wind companies to establish operations in the region, while simultaneously identifying opportunities for existing Virginia businesses to become part of the supply chain. This effort will involve significant coordination and collaboration with local, regional and state partners, including the Virginia Division of Offshore Wind within the Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (DMME) and the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP). In support of this new initiative, the Alliance is pleased to announce the hiring of Matt Smith as the Director of Offshore Wind Business Development. In the spirit of collaboration, a hiring committee comprised of representatives from the Hampton Roads Alliance, Virginia DMME, Port of Virginia, Virginia Maritime Association and Portsmouth Economic Development conducted the search and selection of this new hire from a wide pool of candidates. The committee unanimously recommended Matt for the role and is excited to welcome him to the Alliance team.

Before joining the Alliance, Matt served as the Senior Regional Planner at the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission (HRPDC) and worked in the areas of strategic, environmental and comprehensive planning. Matt led efforts at the HRPDC on issues ranging from offshore wind to site development readiness. Matt came to the HRPDC from the City of Hampton's Community Development Department where he helped begin Hampton's resilience planning program.

Prior to his career in community development, Matt worked for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and for a research and consulting firm. Matt, a native of Hampton Roads, earned a Master's Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University and a B.A. in American History from Washington and Lee University.

"We are very excited to have Matt Smith join our team as our first Director for Offshore Wind Business Development," said Brian K. Skinner, Chief Banking Officer for TowneBank and Chair of Alliance Board of Directors. "Matt comes to the Alliance with a history of serving the 757 region, and we look forward to the experience and passion he will bring with him to this inaugural role."

"The Virginia Department of Mines Minerals and Energy is pleased to have the Alliance as an important partner in the State's burgeoning offshore wind industry," commented Jennifer Palestrant, Chief Deputy, DMME. "Matt's experience, along with his knowledge of the local business community and regional development opportunities, will serve this emerging industry well."

"Virginia is positioned to be a leader in the offshore wind energy industry, and we are excited to partner with the Hampton Roads Alliance, DHCD and DMME on these initiatives to expand Virginia's offshore wind supply chain," said Stephen Moret, VEDP President and CEO. "It is through collaboration among state, local and regional organizations that we can recruit new business, growing this industry and creating economic opportunity in the Hampton Roads region and throughout the Commonwealth."

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"As offshore wind energy production and its supporting supply chain begin to take footing along the U.S. East Coast, the Hampton Roads Harbor and the existing maritime cluster is poised to be a key hub in this emerging industry," remarked John F. Reinhart, CEO and Executive Director, Virginia Port Authority. "The Port of Virginia is pleased to see the Alliance establish an offshore wind supply chain development program, as well as the addition of Matt Smith as the Director of Offshore Wind Business Development. The Port of Virginia and the Alliance are strategic economic development partners, and we look forward to working with Matt to grow the offshore wind industry here in Virginia."

"We are very happy to have Matt join the Alliance. His in-depth local knowledge, planning expertise and regional network will be invaluable in establishing our region as a major player in the East Coast offshore wind supply chain," said Will Fediw, Vice President of Industry & Government Affairs, Virginia Maritime Association.

"From economics to workforce to infrastructure and industry planning, offshore wind will be a major aspect of our region's future," commented Robert D. Moore, Director, Portsmouth Economic Development. "The City of Portsmouth is excited to collaborate with our local, regional and national partners to ensure that the 757 is the preferred East Coast hub for the industry. Matt's knowledge of the region and technical background will support those efforts."

To further this new initiative, the Alliance is also establishing a European-based offshore wind economic development office. Located in Frankfurt, Germany, the Hampton Roads Alliance Offshore Wind Office will be staffed by experts who will engage with European-based companies and promote the assets of the region.

"We as the European arm of the Hampton Roads Alliance are thrilled to represent this initiative. As one of the first pioneers to help European offshore wind companies navigate through the U.S. and Hampton Roads, the Alliance will start by opening an office in Frankfurt," said Andreas Paulicks, Director Europe, Hampton Roads Alliance Offshore Wind Office. "This decision is based on the fact that Europe and especially Germany are among the leading nations within the renewable energy industry and in particular offshore wind. The strong presence of renewable energy in Europe will bring great opportunities to support investments from Europe to Hampton Roads."

Hampton Roads is uniquely positioned to support the growing $100 billion East Coast offshore wind industry. The region boasts unmatched port infrastructure, America's largest and most skilled maritime workforce, no overhead bridge restrictions between key port facilities and the open ocean, and abundant waterfront land. Dominion Energy also recently completed installation of the first two turbines in Federal waters as part of its Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project.

"Offshore Wind represents a once in a generation opportunity to bring an entirely new industry to the region," said ReInvent Hampton Roads CEO & President, Jim Spore.

For further information or to secure an interview with Alliance President & CEO, Doug Smith, please contact Jillian Goodwin, Director of Marketing & Communications at jgoodwin@757alliance.com.

About the Hampton Roads Alliance The Hampton Roads Alliance is the leading regional economic development organization for Hampton Roads, VA. It is a nonprofit, public-private partnership representing 11 localities and over 70 private sector investors. With the support of its community and business partners, the Alliance serves as the region's single point of contact for regional economic development to assist domestic and international companies who are considering expansion or relocating to the Hampton Roads region. Its mission is to work collaboratively to attract, grow and retain higher-wage industries and talent to create a more resilient, inclusive and diverse region of choice.

SOURCE Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance

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Hampton Roads Alliance Announces Offshore Wind Supply Chain Development Initiative - Yahoo Finance

U.S. Offshore Wind Keeps Spinning in July Legislative Update – JD Supra

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While offshore wind has been on the radar for many years in the United States, there has been a palpable surge in the momentum behind the industry over the past several months. For example, earlier this week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a massive renewable energy solicitation that included a record breaking 2,500 MW offshore wind procurement. In conjunction with the solicitation, the state will require offshore wind generators to partner with one of 11 prequalified New York ports to stage, construct, manufacture key components, or coordinate operations and maintenance activities. Funding for port investments will include $400 million in both public and private funding.

Despite the surge in new activity, questions regarding one of our countrys oldest laws still loom over the industrys development. The Jones Act celebrated its 100th birthday last month (and original requirements for use of U.S. flagged vessels for transportation between U.S points date back to legislation introduced in the first Congress). The Jones Act prohibits the transportation of merchandise between U.S. points on a vessel that isnt U.S. flagged and coastwise qualified (i.e., owned, operated, and controlled by U.S. citizens). Of particular significance to offshore wind, regulatory and legislative activity at the end of last year and the early part of this year called into question the extent to which foreign flagged heavy lift vessels will be authorized to conduct installation operations in U.S. waters. This issue is critical to the industry because there are currently no U.S. flagged heavy lift vessels capable of performing certain aspects of offshore wind projects. This fact, in addition to the long lead time required to secure the use of these vessels, means that any uncertainty regarding whether use of a U.S. coastwise qualified vessel is or will be required in the future has the potential to present significant complications for project owners.

On February 17, 2020, a previously issued decision of Customs and Border Protection (the agency responsible for interpreting and administering Jones Act requirements) to broaden the scope of activities that a foreign flagged vessel could undertake as part of lifting operations went into effect. Specifically, CBPs decision revoked prior CBP interpretative rulings that prohibited any movement of a foreign flagged vessel with merchandise aboard during a lifting operation. Instead, under its revised interpretation, CBP indicated that it will permit a foreign flagged vessel to engage in lifting operations that include certain lateral movements when the movement is necessary for the safety of surface and subsea infrastructure and/or the vessels and mariners involved. CBP clarified that this interpretation applies to all lifting operations (i.e., not just heavy lift).

Concurrent to that action by CBP, legislative efforts to define the scope of permissible foreign flagged vessel involvement in lifting operations were also underway. In July of last year, the House of Representatives passed the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2019 (H.R. 3409). The House version of the bill included provisions that would have essentially overridden CBPs revised interpretation of lifting operations with respect to heavy lifts by instead prohibiting use of foreign heavy lift vessels unless there has been a finding by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation that there are no available qualified U.S.-flag vessels. A companion bill introduced in the Senate (S. 2297) did not contain these provisions. Neither version was ultimately enacted into law as negotiations on this language appeared to have stalled. Thus, the question of whether CBPs interpretation would be allowed to remain in place by Congress remains largely unsettled.

That changed, at least in part, last week when the House passed the Elijah Cummings Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2020 as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for FY2021. The 2020 version of the Houses Coast Guard Authorization Act did not contain the heavy lift waiver language. The bill now heads to the Senate to be reconciled in conference with the Senate version of the NDAA. Given that the Senate did not adopt the heavy lift waiver language last year, it would seem that CBPs more permissive reading of the Jones Act will continue to apply. Obviously, all eyes in the industry will be watching this legislations progress closely.

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U.S. Offshore Wind Keeps Spinning in July Legislative Update - JD Supra

NJBPU issues solicitation guidance for second offshore wind project in NJ – Daily Energy Insider

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NJBPU issues solicitation guidance for second offshore wind project in NJ

Published on July 27, 2020 by Dave Kovaleski

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The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) issued solicitation guidance on the states second offshore wind project.

The solicitation guidance document includes information on the timeline for the second solicitation, the application requirements, and the criteria for evaluating applications.

The states first offshore wind solicitation was for 1,100 megawatts (MW) of energy. The states goal is to have 7,500 MW of offshore wind energy by 2035.

Using lessons learned from our first successful solicitation of 1,100 MW, we are very excited to move forward with our second offshore wind solicitation which could bring the state up to a total of 3,500 MW of offshore wind energy, NJBPU President Joseph Fiordaliso said. Offshore wind is the linchpin of our clean energy program and will help us reach Governor Murphys goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050, build an innovation economy, and combat the impacts of climate changes.

The board also scheduled a virtual public meeting on Aug. 5 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., which will feature a presentation by NJBPU staff on New Jerseys offshore wind goals and activities, as well as information on the requirements of the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act. Staff will also summarize the content of the solicitation guidance document for the second project, with public comment to follow. NJBPU also will accept written comments on the solicitation guidance document by Aug. 19.

After this meeting, NJBPU expects to consider the second solicitation at its September board meeting. Applications would then be accepted in December 2020 with a final decision by the board in June 2021.

In June 2019, NJBPU approved an application for a 1,100 MW offshore wind generation project submitted by Ocean Wind. The project is currently underway and should be operating in 2024.

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NJBPU issues solicitation guidance for second offshore wind project in NJ - Daily Energy Insider

ADNOC adds China’s CNOOC as new partner in two offshore concessions – Offshore Technology

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]]]]]]>]]]]>]]> ADNOC transfers rights in major offshore concessions from CNPC to CNOOC. Credit: Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.

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UAEs Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has announced the transfer of ownership rights in two offshore concessions to China National Offshore Oil Corporations (CNOOC) subsidiary CNOOC Limited.

ADNOC will transfer the rights in Lower Zakum, and Umm Shaif and Nasr offshore concessions from China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to CNOOC.

Transfer of rights in these concessions was approved by Abu Dhabis Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC).

CNOOC will join a consortium, which includes ONGC Videsh, INPEX, CNPC, Eni, and Total as participants in the two concessions, in which ADNOC holds a 60% stake.

ADNOC Group CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: The transfer also illustrates ADNOCs strengthened access to international markets and partners and our commitment to generating sustainable returns for the UAE.

CNOOC joins our other international partners in the Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr concessions and bring world-class expertise and technology to help us continue to maximise value from the concessions as we create a more profitable upstream business and deliver our 2030 strategy.

CNOOC will acquire a 40% stake of CNPCs majority-owned subsidiary PetroChina Investment Overseas, which, in turn, holds a 10% interest each in the Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr concessions.

Post the transfer of rights to CNOOC, PetroChina will retain a 6% stake in the concessions.

CNOOC chairman Wang Dongjin said: We are very pleased to participate in the Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif and Nasr concessions. This further strengthens the strategic relationship with ADNOC and PetroChina.

Last month, ADNOC reached a $20.7bn gas infrastructure deal with a consortium of investors. The group consists of six investors, namely Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Brookfield Asset Management, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board, Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC, NH Investment & Securities, and Snam.

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ADNOC adds China's CNOOC as new partner in two offshore concessions - Offshore Technology

ScottishPower completes 2.5bn East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm – Energy Live News – Energy Made Easy

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Image: ScottishPower Renewables

ScottishPower Renewables has announced the completion of the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm with a total capacity of 714MW.

Located 43km off the Suffolk coast, the 2.5 billion wind farm consists of 102 turbines, capable of producing enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of more than 630,000 homes.

Almost 3,500 jobs were created during the construction phase, which began in 2017, while 100 long term skilled jobs have been created at the operations and maintenance base in Lowestoft.

ScottishPower suggests more than half of the wind farms supply chain came from the UK market over the course of the project.

Charlie Jordan, East Anglia ONE Project Director at ScottishPower Renewables, said: The final commissioning of East Anglia ONE is an incredible milestone for us and our project partners, as well as our wider stakeholders, the East Anglian region and the whole of the UK. And it comes at a crucial time as the UK takes it first steps towards a green economic recovery.

Reaching this point was always going to be an extremely important moment for us heralding the start of full production of green energy from a major site that will play a real part in the UKs path to net zero I am delighted East Anglia ONE will play a leading roll in the regions green energy production and will also become a hub of industry, investment and skills as we continue to build the green energy sector thats so important for our future.

The project is a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Macquaries Green Investment Group (GIG), with the completion of this project bringing the total capacity of UK offshore wind supported by the latter companies to more than 5.7GW across 14 projects.

If you enjoyed this story you can sign up to our weekly email for Energy Live News and if youre interested in hearing more about the journey to net zero by 2050, you can also sign up to the future Net Zero newsletter.

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ScottishPower completes 2.5bn East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm - Energy Live News - Energy Made Easy

Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2020 to 2025 – AlgosOnline

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Global Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry Market 2020 report focuses on the major drivers and restraints for the global key players. It also provides analysis of the market share, segmentation, revenue forecasts and geographic regions of the market.

The Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry market report is an exhaustive assessment of this business space and provides crucial insights with regards to development trends of the market during the estimated timeframe. Additional details including regional scope of the industry and various policies are outlined in the report. Moreover, the report encompasses numerous parameters such as the impact of current market trends on investors.

Details concerning the Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry market scenario such as advantages and disadvantages of products launched by industry players are mentioned in the report. The study further offers a summary of the competitive scenario as well as a complete analysis of the raw material and downstream buyers matrix.

Request a sample Report of Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry Market at:https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/2819610?utm_source=Algosonline.com&utm_medium=AN

COVID-19, the disease it causes, surfaced in late 2020, and now had become a full-blown crisis worldwide. Over fifty key countries had declared a national emergency to combat coronavirus. With cases spreading, and the epicentre of the outbreak shifting to Europe, North America, India and Latin America, life in these regions has been upended the way it had been in Asia earlier in the developing crisis. As the coronavirus pandemic has worsened, the entertainment industry has been upended along with most every other facet of life. As experts work toward a better understanding, the world shudders in fear of the unknown, a worry that has rocked global financial markets, leading to daily volatility in the U.S. stock markets.

Revealing a gist of the competitive landscape of Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry market:

Explicating the geographical landscape of Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry market:

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Additional takeaways from the Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry market report:

Research Objective:

This report considers the below mentioned key questions:

Q.1. What are some of the most favorable, high-growth prospects for the global Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry market?

Q.2. Which products segments will grow at a faster rate throughout the forecast period and why?

Q.3. Which geography will grow at a faster rate and why?

Q.4. What are the major factors impacting market prospects? What are the driving factors, restraints, and challenges in this Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry market?

Q.5. What are the challenges and competitive threats to the market?

Q.6. What are the evolving trends in this Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry market and reasons behind their emergence?

Q.7. What are some of the changing customer demands in the Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry Industry market?

For More Details On this Report: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/covid-19-outbreak-global-offshore-oil-pipeline-industry-market-report-development-trends-threats-opportunities-and-competitive-landscape-in-2020

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Offshore Oil Pipeline Industry Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2020 to 2025 - AlgosOnline

Export Cable Laying Soon to Begin at Moray East Offshore Wind Project – Offshore WIND

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The boulder picking operations have begun at the export cable route of the Moray East offshore wind project in Scotland.

The boulder picking work started on 24 July using Olympic Triton, while the export cable laying and trenching operations are set to begin circa 28 July.

NKT Victoria will be laying the three export cables between the project site and the cable landfall, via three separate drilled HDD ducts near Boyndie Bay.

The vessel Havila Phoenix will undertake operations to bury these subsea power cables. Cable laying is expected to be completed by approximately 3 October.

According to the projects weekly notice of operations, ten jacket foundations have so far been installed at the site some 22km off the Aberdeenshire coast.

The 950 MW Moray Eastwill consist of 100 MHI Vestas 9.5 MW turbines and three offshore substation platforms expected to be operational by 2022.

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Export Cable Laying Soon to Begin at Moray East Offshore Wind Project - Offshore WIND

Rocket Arena’s first season fires off with new hero Flux – Rock Paper Shotgun

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Its time to get very, very serious about shooting your pals with rockets. Rocket Arenas first season takes off today, bringing a heap of newness to EAs bouncy battle arena a new battle pass, new ranked season, a series of new limited-time events thatll bring in new maps, and a dorky new hero who blows up baddies by tossing interdimensional cat-heads at them.

Rocket Arenas headline addition is Flux, a child prodigy who reckons getting punted by high explosives is a small price to pay for extracurricular curiosity.

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Annoyingly, the Season One update post doesnt give us much on Flux beyond her being excitable, effusive, and easily distracted by anything that tickles her scientific fancy. At least the video gives us a look at some of her abilities, with largely appear to involve robot cat heads at folks to blow them up / compress them into a horrifying singularity. She can also dimension shift to sneak about, sorta like Wraith off of Apex Legends. Importantly, you wont have to pay a penny to play as Rocket Arenas nerdy murderchild.

Season 1 also brings in Rocket Arenas first battle pass (sorry, Blast Pass), your standard affair with 117 levels of rewards split across free and paid tiers. But itll also feature two time-limited events, permanently adding new maps along with brief, themed gamemodes to show off the new locales. The first, Blast In Paradise, kicks off on August 12th by adding Grand Harbor and Lagoon of Doom to the games map pool.

Rocket Arenas core premise wot if Super Smash Bros but with rocket launchers is a goodun, though Ill admit I havent heard much buzz around the game since its release two weeks ago. If youre up for giving it a bash, Rocket Arena is currently available on Steam and Origin for 25/$30/30.

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Rocket Arena's first season fires off with new hero Flux - Rock Paper Shotgun

The Investor | Blockchain was set to transform real estate. What happened? – The Investor JLL

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An apartment in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, made history in 2017 when it became the first real estate asset to trade via blockchain, changing hands for US$60,000.

The buyer, TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, paid for the property with a combination of two digital currencies and the transfer took place entirely online using smart contracts.

The deal was struck at the height of the hype around blockchains potential to make real estate more tradable and transparent.

But beyond a subsequent flurry of small-scale residential transactions and a number of government-backed pilot programs to bring land registries online, blockchain has failed so far to live up to the commercial property sectors expectations.

Its been very slow going with blockchain in real estate, despite it being touted as a game changer for a number of years now, says Matthew McAuley, director, global research at JLL.

As groups started to pursue blockchain-lead solutions, hurdles that emerged from the technological and regulatory, to the systems sheer permanence have yet to be overcome, despite concerted efforts.

The route to more transparent transactions

In its simplest form, a blockchain is a database of recorded transactions. Each step in a transaction is a block. Each new block is added to the previous one to form a chain. With no single party in control, the system was designed to be completely secure, with even administrators unable to change the information recorded in each chain.

The benefits could be wide ranging for real estate, not least the systems ability to authenticate and track transactions in real time without the use of a third party, such as a bank. For example, every part of a lease or sale agreement could be automated, with payments received instantly even outside of business hours.

As well as making real estate deals more efficient, this would remove some significant barriers for investors by making commercial assets more liquid and transparent.

Governments around the world are trialling the use of blockchain within land registries in the hope that recording this information digitally could reduce costs, save time and increase security across the transaction.

These trials are at a fairly preliminary stage in most cases, says McAuley.

Dubai and Sweden are home to some of the worlds most advanced applications of blockchain in real estate.

The Dubai Blockchain Strategy is actively working on a process to record all real estate transactions on blockchain and is part of a wider blockchain ecosystem that spans utilities and telecommunications. In Sweden, the government is testing transfer of property ownership via blockchain.

Elsewhere, JLLs 2020 Global Real Estate Transparency Index has identified 31 territories where there is some government engagement with the technology. Among these, the UKs Digital Street program is testing a blockchain prototype that supports the digital transfer of a property in a system that automatically updates the land register.

Putting the pilot schemes into practice, however, poses significant challenges.

Its just very difficult to implement as all of the technological, logistical and regulatory building blocks need to be in place, McAuley says.

The onset of blockchain fatigue

A Google Trends analysis shows worldwide interest for blockchain emerged in 2013, and began to grow in earnest in early 2016. It peaked at the end of 2017. Interest has since fallen back to early-2017 levels.

Outside of real estate, mass implementation of blockchain across supply chains has struggled to live up to the initial enthusiasm. A Gartner survey labelled this blockchain fatigue, citing immature technology, lack of standards and overly ambitious scope as contributing factors.

Even moving land registries online and setting up contracting systems is a major logistical challenge that relies on multiple markets having robust regulatory frameworks in place.

For blockchain to be adopted more widely, you need three things: the computing power to run it, legislative frameworks to police it, and a practical workaround for immutability, McAuley says.

One of blockchains major drawbacks is its permanence actions cannot be undone and remain forever etched into the system.

Anything involving humans will never be error free, McAuley says. But with blockchain it becomes more difficult to enforce regulatory oversight or legal judgements.

Keeping the systems that rely on blockchain free of fraud and error human or otherwise has deterred the industry.

I find it difficult to believe blockchain will be as used, or as useful, in real estate as was thought initially, McAuley says.

That said, efforts continue undeterred. COVID-19 could go some way to accelerating blockchain initiatives as the imperative for faster, remote transactions increases.

But the industry will continue to approach the technology with caution as it develops over the years ahead.

The potential is still there, McAuley says. But so are the challenges.

Click to read about what the world will look like in 2030.

Originally posted here:

The Investor | Blockchain was set to transform real estate. What happened? - The Investor JLL

Rescue operation fails to find any sign of Bribie Island couple after boat sinks in stormy seas off African coast – ABC News

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Dangerous conditions have hindered the search for a missing Bribie Island couple after their boat sank off the coast of Tanzania in East Africa.

Del and Craig McEwan were sailing across the Indian ocean to the Seychelles archipelago when their boat began to sink after encountering stormy seas on Monday night.

It's unclear whether or not the couple successfully boarded a life raft while waiting to be rescued by the Seychelles Coast Guard.

The couple had been travelling the African coast in a catamaran named Ohana-Uli and were planning on returning to Australia.

In a statement, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said a distress beacon registered to an Australian catamaran was detected in the Tanzanian search and rescue region on Monday evening.

"AMSA identified and contacted the closest and only available merchant ship, the tanker Atlantic Lily. The Atlantic Lily diverted to the location," it said.

"Upon arrival on scene the next morning, the ship's crew encountered extremely challenging conditions, including rough seas and strong winds in darkness and attempts to recover survivors were unsuccessful.

"AMSA would like to express its condolences to the families involved and its gratitude to the crew of Atlantic Lily who attempted to provide assistance as per their international obligations in highly challenging conditions."

The sailing community have expressed their concern for the couple with many posting to a Facebook group.

One member, Nikki Loolah said search and rescue teams were sent out on Wednesday to find the couple but were unsuccessful.

"Sadly there was no success finding Del and Craig yesterday," Ms Loolah posted on Wednesday.

"No sightings or debris, last sighting was at 6:00am Tuesday morning and I can confirm the damage to the life raft was significant enough that they were in the water heartbreaking."

Another member, Graham Gower said he had been in contact with the Seychelles Coast Guard who told him a military plane also searched the area on Wednesday.

Jeffrey Cheffers met the couple five years ago when he and his partner's boat was moored next to theirs in the Darwin marina.

"They were living permanently on their vessel and were travelling the world when this accident happened so they're extremely experienced sailors," Mr Cheffers said.

"I can't imagine this would be human error, put it that way."

"The last sighting is that they were sort of floating in the water in very rough conditions off the Seychelles and the word from the Seychelles [Coast Guard] is the conditions were too rough and too dangerous to search for them," Mr Cheffers said.

"So it's all looking a bit tragic for our friends.

"They would have been left floundering and if it was really rough seas and dark it would be catastrophic there wouldn't be worse conditions to find yourself in.

"So it doesn't look good if they're 250 miles off the coast you can't see land, you can't swim for assistance and there's no one there to help."

Mr Cheffers described his friends as seasoned sailors who were friendly and helpful to newcomers on the sailing scene.

"I can remember six or eight of us sitting on the rear deck [of their boat], all lounging in the sun, joking, laughing, having a chat [and] probably a glass of wine.

"Hopefully a miracle occurs and they're rescued."

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been providing the couple's family with consular assistance.

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Rescue operation fails to find any sign of Bribie Island couple after boat sinks in stormy seas off African coast - ABC News

OSF Healthcare named one of best employers for women in America – week.com

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(WEEK) -- Forbes Magazine has named OSF Healthcareone of the best employers for women in the country for 2020.

Ranked #20 on the list, 77 percent of OSF Healthcare leaders (manager and above) are women, and more than 41 percent of OSF Healthcares cabinet of senior vice presidents and above is comprised of women leaders.

OSF Healthcare was the top Illinois health care system named to the list, and also ranks second highest nationally out of the 23 health care organizations included.

According to a release from OSF, Forbesteamedup withmarket research company Statista to survey more than75,000 U.S. employees45,000 of which are women. The independent survey focused on issues relevant to women in the workplace and was designed to shed light on their experiences.

I think it is well-deserved, said Michelle Conger, OSF Healthcarechief strategy officer and chief executive officer for OSF Saint Gabriel Digital Health. As an executive, I think its fabulous because we want women to feel empowered as they work for OSF."

"That culture can be great to attract talent, whether thats young women, or wherever you are at in your own career journey. This is a great honor, and I am really proud to be a leader here at OSF.

Participants of the survey assessed their companies according to important criteria including discrimination, family support, flexibility, parental leave, pay equity, representation and career growth opportunities.

Additionally, participants were asked to evaluate other employers in their respective industries that stand out either positively or negatively with regards to gender issues, from which only the recommendations of women were considered.

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OSF Healthcare named one of best employers for women in America - week.com

Letter from the Editor: Highlighting racial disparities in mental healthcare – Medical News Today

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As a white person living in the United Kingdom, Ive been blind to the glaring racism that continues to happen all around us.

Were in the 21st century, and Ive been going about my day-to-day life wearing rose colored glasses. While racism should be a thing of the past, the sad reality is that its very much the present.

In the United States, Black people are almost five times more likely to report being unfairly stopped by the police because of their race or ethnicity than white people.

Black people in the U.S. are also up to 2.5 times more likely than white people to be killed by police. This is shocking, and the sad truth is that statistics like these will come as no surprise to Black communities.

On a personal level, these past few weeks have made me realize that I need to do much more to help address systemic racism. It starts with educating myself on the issues that Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) are facing every day.

As a health media company, we have to do more. We need to bring the problem of health inequity to the fore. Weve neglected to do this in the past, but its something weve vowed to address going forward.

In line with BIPOC Mental Health month this July, one of our main focus areas has been raising awareness of the disparities that these people face when it comes to accessing mental healthcare.

Earlier this month, we investigated the issue of racism in mental healthcare and why its preventing marginalized ethnic groups from receiving the care that they need.

According to Nathan Greene, Psy.D. one of Medical News Todays expert advisors African Americans, Latinx, and Asian Americans receive treatment of mental health challenges at 5070% lower rates than white Americans in this country. This is the result of failures on individual and systemic levels.

In another article, we looked at how postpartum depression is disproportionately affecting women of color and why these women have lower rates of treatment.

As Prof. Tiffany Green, an assistant professor in the Departments of Population Health Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told MNT, greater stigma associated with mental health in communities of color and lack of patient-provider racial/ethnic concordance are likely causes of this issue.

Other topics weve covered this month include racial trauma and anxiety in Black communities.

By highlighting these topics, were hoping to raise awareness of them and build conversations around them. We want to play our part in breaking down the racist barriers to mental healthcare and all areas of healthcare.

To all our readers of color: Were here for you, and we want to do more. Is there a health topic youd like us to cover? Send us an email at editors@medicalnewstoday.com. You can also reach out to us on Facebook and Twitter.

Ill be back next month with the latest on what weve been doing at MNT.

Until then, we wish you a happy and healthful August.

Honor Whiteman, Editorial Director

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Letter from the Editor: Highlighting racial disparities in mental healthcare - Medical News Today

Local health care workers and community leaders write letter to community asking people to take preventative measures to stay safe during the COVID-19…

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Posted: Jul 29, 2020 / 10:55 AM EDT / Updated: Jul 29, 2020 / 01:33 PM EDT

Local health care workers and community leaders have teamed up to write a letter to the community asking people to take preventative measures to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter to the community, signed by eight physicians and leaders representing the regions various health systems, as well as Melissa Lyon from the health department, asks people of the region to do the following:

Wear protective masks whenever youre around others and wear them correctly (cover your nose and mouth) do it for yourself, and do it for others.

Wash your hands and clean high-touch surfaces often make it a habit.

Practice physical distancing everywhere, staying six feet apart.

If you have symptoms that you think could be COVID-19 or a respiratory illness, stay home and call your doctor.

If you feel you may have been exposed to COVID-19, but have no symptoms, stay at home and call your doctor. That allows the best planning for possible testing and care.

Finally, be kind to each other. A little more thoughtfulness, understanding, and tolerance for the inconveniences we are experiencing may be the best medicine of all.

You can download the full letter below:

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Local health care workers and community leaders write letter to community asking people to take preventative measures to stay safe during the COVID-19...

This isnt Nazi Germany: Health care prover lets patients choose whether to wear masks – BRProud.com

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by: Brady Wakayama, KRQE and Nexstar Media Wire

(Credit: Courtesy of Andre Hunter)

ROSWELL, N.M. (KRQE) In shocking defiance of a statewide mandate, a New Mexico health care provider has posted a sign outside his clinic saying patients do not have to wear a mask.

Krasimir Hristov, a nurse practitioner who owns and runs Reinecke Medical and Chiropractic in Roswell, compared the current public health order to Nazi Germany and said he believes masks are useless against the virus.

The sign outside the clinic reads, This isnt Nazi Germany and we arent the Gestapo. If you do or do not want to wear a mask you are still welcome here.

When we enforce our rule on people, that is a dictatorship, said Hristov. When we have the freedom to inform people so they can make an educated decision, thats democracy.

Hristov, who has owned the medical center since 2013, said his own research shows masks are proven useless against airborne viruses.

Your eyes are very much exposed regardless of what kind of mask you have, said Hristov. So when people come in and they have a mask and their eyes are exposed, basically what that means they still have an open portal of entry where the virus could get in.

That advice goes against the guidance from the World Health Organization,the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and New Mexicos top doctor, Dr. David Scrase.

Scrase, New Mexicos human services secretary,said wearing a mask both protects people and helps prevent the spread of COVID-19.

If you had to have an upcoming surgery, how comfortable would you feel with your operating team not wearing masks or not wearing gloves, said Scrase. I havent run into anybody yet who would feel comfortable with that kind of scenario.

The New Mexico Human Services Department responded to Hirstovs sign by email, saying in part:All New Mexicans are required to wear masks at this time, especially when visiting medical clinics. It is shocking that a medical provider would encourage their patients not to wear masks and blatantly put them at risk of contracting COVID-19.

The department said violators could face criminal and/or civil penalties.

Hristov still doesnt think masks should be a requirement. People are exposed to the virus or to peoples germs no matter where they go, he said.

Last week, the city of Roswell voted not to enforce the states mask requirement. However, the New Mexico Department of Health and the State Police are still enforcing the mandate.

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This isnt Nazi Germany: Health care prover lets patients choose whether to wear masks - BRProud.com

VA Health Care: VA Needs to Continue to Strengthen Its Oversight of Quality of State Veterans Homes – Government Accountability Office

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What GAO Found

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pays over $1 billion a year to state veterans homes (SVH)homes owned and operated by the statesto provide nursing home care to approximately 20,000 veterans. In fiscal year 2019, VA paid SVHs $1.17 billion for an average daily census of 20,072 veterans (51 percent of the total veterans receiving nursing home care through VA). Further, VA projects its payments to SVHs will continue to increase; VA projects it will pay $1.7 billion to SVHs to provide care to veterans in fiscal year 2022.

VA oversees the quality of care veterans receive at SVHs mainly through annual inspections that VA hires a contractor to perform. In its July 2019 report, GAO found that VA's SVH contractor performed the required annual inspections for all SVHs in 2018, but VA needed to take action to enhance its oversight of SVHs and to ensure that information on quality of care provided in this setting is publicly available to veterans. Specifically, GAO found the following:

Veteranslike over a million other Americansrely on nursing home care to help meet their health needs. For eligible veterans whose health needs require skilled nursing and personal care, VA provides or pays for nursing home care in three nursing home settings: the VA-owned and -operated community living centers, public- or privately owned community nursing homes, and state-owned and -operated SVHs. In fiscal year 2019, VA provided or paid for nursing home care for over 39,000 veterans. The majority of these veterans received care at SVHs.

This statement summarizes the GAO's July 2019 report, GAO-19-428 , with a focus on issues related to SVHs. Specifically, it describes the: (1) use of and expenditures for SVHs, (2) inspections used by VA to assess the quality of SVH care and VA's oversight of the inspection process, and (3) information VA provides publicly on the quality of SVH care. As part of that work GAO analyzed VA data on expenditures for SVHs and interviewed VA officials. For this statement GAO reviewed expenditure and utilization data for fiscal year 2019.

In its July 2019 report, GAO made three recommendations related to SVHs, including that VA require that all failures to meet quality standards are cited as deficiencies on SVH inspections. VA concurred with two recommendations and concurred in principle with the third. VA has addressed one recommendation and continued attention is needed to address the two remaining recommendations.

For more information, contact Sharon M. Silas at (202) 512-7114 or silass@gao.gov.

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VA Health Care: VA Needs to Continue to Strengthen Its Oversight of Quality of State Veterans Homes - Government Accountability Office

Envision Healthcare Releases New Policy White Paper: The Future of Virtual Health – Business Wire

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NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Envision Healthcare, a leading national medical group, released a new policy white paper today on virtual health. The white paper details Envisions rapid escalation of virtual health services in response to COVID-19, the benefits of this technology as the healthcare system navigates patient care going forward, and the need for policymakers to adopt permanent reforms that allow clinicians to deliver safe and effective care through virtual health services.

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, and as healthcare providers, its our job to adapt to the new normal so we can continue providing high-quality care to patients, said Matthew Bush, MD, President of Integrated Markets and Virtual Health at Envision. During this pandemic and beyond, virtual health services will be critical to protecting patients and providers, increasing access to specialists, reducing costs while maintaining the quality of care, and reducing healthcare disparities for underserved patients. Virtual health is a tool that should be available to every provider, and we need the policies that allow clinicians to best care for patients to become permanent.

Prior to COVID-19, virtual health has been largely inaccessible in the U.S. According to the American Medical Association, only 15 percent of physicians routinely used virtual health technology in 2016. In response to COVID-19, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services adopted temporary reforms to expand virtual health. Envisions white paper calls for those reforms to be made permanent.

Since the expansion of virtual health services enabled by CMS, Envision clinicians and health professionals have delivered more than 118,000 virtual health visits in the acute setting (e.g., emergency, intensive care, surgical) and more than 100,000 virtual office visits.

The full white paper is available here.

Virtual health has been a significant part of Envisions commitment to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Envision has taken a series of actions to respond to sharp increases in COVID-19 patients and protect and support its clinicians on the front lines that also include:

About Envision Healthcare Corporation

Envision Healthcare Corporation is a leading national medical group that delivers physician and advanced practice provider services, primarily in the areas of emergency and hospitalist medicine, anesthesiology, radiology/teleradiology, and neonatology to more than 1,800 clinical departments in healthcare facilities in 45 states and the District of Columbia. Post-acute care is delivered through an array of clinical professionals and integrated technologies which, when combined, contribute to efficient and effective population health management strategies. As a market leader in ambulatory surgical care, the medical group owns and operates 257 surgery centers and one surgical hospital in 34 states and the District of Columbia, with medical specialties ranging from gastroenterology to ophthalmology and orthopedics. In total, the medical group offers a differentiated suite of clinical solutions on a national scale with a local understanding of our communities, creating value for health systems, payers, providers, and patients. For additional information, visit http://www.envisionhealth.com.

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Envision Healthcare Releases New Policy White Paper: The Future of Virtual Health - Business Wire

PDH health care provider shares her COVID symptoms and remedies – Plumas County Newspapers

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Editors note: This is the story of a health care provider who works at Plumas District Hospital. She tested positive for COVID-19, but is not included in the Plumas County case count, because her primary residence is in El Dorado County. She agreed to share her story so that others could learn from her coronavirus experience and what she did to fight it. She declined to be named out of privacy concerns for herself and others who travel to work at the hospital. She is a woman in her mid-40s, who, for the purposes of this story, will be called Mandy. Plumas News conducted a phone interview with her Sunday, July 26, roughly a month after her first symptoms and diagnosis.

By Debra Moore

[emailprotected]

It was a typical Monday morning, June 29, when Mandy took a bite of a nectarine while driving to work at Plumas District Hospital. Thats strange, she thought. I cant taste it. Nor could she taste her strong espresso coffee.

She called the hospital to report what she knew could be a symptom of coronavirus, and was told to come in and she would be assessed. Staff met her at the entrance to the emergency room where she was screened, tested, and sent home to await her results. Late that afternoon, she received the news: Positive.

Mandy at that time had no fever, no cough, no chest congestion none of the classic symptoms except for the lack of taste and extreme exhaustion. She had fallen asleep as she awaited the results in her studio apartment in Quincy, and didnt realize it until the phone rang.

Mandy works seven days on at the hospital (she works a shift, and is on call 24 hours) and seven days off. On her off days she resides in South Lake Tahoe and thats where she headed when she received the news. Because her primary residence is in El Dorado County, Plumas County handed her case off officially to that county, but local staff remained in contact with her. I had everyone checking on me, she said. There was lots of communication.

Once home, she prepared to battle the virus. She said the unsettling part of this disease is that its progression can vary so widely. During the worst of it, she wrote a will of sorts.

Mandy called a friend and asked him to go grocery shopping for her. Her list included: veggies, fruit, garlic, fresh ginger, tissues, orange juice, green juices, Echinacea, soup, oatmeal, a thermometer which he left on her front porch.

Her freezer already contained her favorite remedy homemade flu soup a bone broth made with onions, fennel, thyme and garlic.

I went full hippie, she said of her approach to fighting the virus. She downed elderberry syrup every three hours and copious amounts of garlic (both cooked and raw) and drank lots of juices infused with fresh ginger.

I did the silver, she said, as well as Vitamins D and B, fish oil, zinc, spirulina, calcium and matcha green tea. (A supplement that she used ACF Buried Treasure included the zinc, silver and more.) She also used Mucinex to relieve congestion in her lungs and sucked on Smith Brothers lozenges.

When asked if ingesting all of the vitamins, supplements and other items bothered her stomach, she just laughed and said, I have an iron stomach, and then named some of the countries that she has visited and the odd foods that she has eaten. In addition, during her three-year stint in the Navy, she took the SERE (survival, evasion, resistance and escape) training required for those going behind enemy lines, which led to her eating some interesting things also without issue.

As a healthcare provider Mandy is used to charting, and she logged her own symptoms to view their progression.

The Monday onset came with the losses of taste and smell, ear ringing and extreme fatigue.

On day two, those symptoms persisted and then came the body aches. I woke up with the most excruciating pain in my hips and legs, she said. She also noted that her temperature was 96.3 degrees. (She never recorded a high fever. In fact her temperature dropped to the 96-degree range for a few days before moving into the 97-degree range.)

Wednesday, after taking some pain relievers, she slept for 13 hours.

By Thursday, she had a little more energy and described having a tiny bit of taste.

On Friday she had a little more energy, but developed a slight cough. She could smell cinnamon and hot sauce.

But by Saturday, I couldnt get off the sofa, she said. She used a neti pot (a device to clear sinuses) and slept all day.

Sunday she rebounded. I felt good, could taste better.

Monday she was exhausted. I tried walking my dog, but could only go three doors down, she said.

After that setback, she began to slowly improve and recover her energy. (Many who contract coronavirus say that the trajectory to recovery is not linear; that it tracks up and down just as Mandy experienced.) As her initial symptoms began to resolve, her respiratory issues emerged with a slight cough that persists. While she considers herself one of the lucky ones with fairly mild symptoms, she doesnt want to experience this again.

Darker moments

When asked if she had been scared, Mandy admitted that she had been at times. She had read the stories of people who seemingly improved only to crash and need hospitalization. She put some of her personal affairs in order ensuring her mother would be cared for and developing a plan to send her friends to some of her favorite places around the globe.

While she didnt experience the delirium and hallucinations that some virus victims do, she did admit to fuzzy thinking.

During her illness she relied on a website for healthcare workers with coronavirus and on her friends who continued to put food on her doorstep and take her dog for long walks.

Immunity

Now that Mandy has had the virus, she is curious about her immunity. To date, available research has shown that immunity might not last for more than a few months and that worries her.

The lab director at Plumas District Hospital has taken an interest in her case and is drawing Mandys blood on a regular basis to test it for types and levels of immunity.

Mandy is also participating in a study for antibodies being conducted at Renown Medical Center in Reno.

Where did she get it?

Mandy points to three times when she thinks it could have been possible. I was a little lax with the mask on June 20 and 21, and 23, she said, explaining that the first two days she was at the beach trying to social distance, and on the latter she attended a patio lunch with friends. I wore a mask until my food came, she said, and as far as she knows, she didnt pass it to anyone else.

She knows contracting the virus depends on level of exposure, and though she still isnt sure where she contracted it, she suspects it was during one of those three occasions.

Final thoughts

Mandy is back at work and her energy level has returned. She is extremely grateful for all of the health care professionals from El Dorado and Plumas who checked in on her during her illness, as well the staff at Plumas District Hospital. Plumas (the hospital) has the most supportive people, she said and described all that they did to ensure that she continued to be paid and that her symptoms improved.

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PDH health care provider shares her COVID symptoms and remedies - Plumas County Newspapers