Even city dwellers with second homes are going stir-crazy with cabin fever, locked down in the Hamptons since March.

Many are taking crazy COVID money in the six and seven figures from renters escaping NYC and heading to locations even farther afield.

Like Maine.

Enter Noah Gordon, co-owner of House Island, which was known as a pre-COVID event space for people like Fox TV personality Jeanine Pirro, whose daughter Cristi married Zak Schwarzman there in 2017.

I was planning on adding a yacht club, but those plans are now on hold, says Gordon, who has done a massive pivot and transformed part of the island into a safe and secure haven for weekly rentals for $250,000 a week.

Gordons half of the island features three homes on 12 acres, with five beaches and panoramic views of Portland and Casco Bay.

The first home is a 4,000-square-foot five-bedroom; the second is a 3,200-square-foot three-bedroom; the third is a 900-square-foot two-bedroom.

No pool, but there is safety and security in spades, says Gordon, along with three helicopter takeoff and landing zones and deep-water anchorages for yachts.

Once you are in the bubble, you stay in the bubble, Gordon says. The listing broker is Dylan Eckardt, of Nest Seekers International.

More:

$250K/week private island is a bonkers 'bubble' from COVID-19 - New York Post

So, while many ask about the Kelly of Kelly Island hoping to hear a great Irish tale of a First Ward hero, the truth is a bit more convoluted.

The people of the Ward started calling the place Kelly Island because it was painted on the side of the Kelley Island Lime & Transport plant. KIL&T was named after Kelleys Island, which was named after Clevelands Kelley Brothers.

As far as the spelling, through the years, sometimes theres been an apostrophe and s at the end, sometimes not. Some First Ward tomfoolery comes in with the almost universal dropping of the second e in Kelley.

Kelly is definitely the preferred Irish spelling, and since the name didnt begin to make its way into official documents until after the company closed in 1963, its clear that people just went with the spelling they knew.

A 1968 view of the area that is called Kelly Island today.

The place wasnt officially christened, but about 60 years after KIL&T opened on the Island, the name made it on state and federal appropriation legislation.

In 1977, when Rep. Henry Nowak and the Buffalo Sewer Authority successfully sought federal government help in building a sanitary sewer system, it was referred to in the halls of Congress as The Kelly Island Sewer Project.

While the legislation marks the upgrade from neighborhood nickname to quasi-official designation, the yearslong sewer project also helped delineate what folks thought of as the boundaries for Kelly Island which is now generally accepted as running the length of Ganson Street between the General Mills complex and the Ohio Street Bridge.

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Who is the 'Kelly' that Buffalo's Kelly Island is named for? - Buffalo News

A local brewery is celebrating Chicagos labor history by slapping a reminder on its beer cans.

The Blue Island Beer Co. has added Massive Political Corruption to its list of amber ale beers.

The brewery made the announcement on Twitter earlier this week.

Alan Cromwell, the co-owner of Blue Island Beer Co., says the beers inspiration comes from Prohibition notably the subject of the 2011 three-part documentary series by filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick not the current social unrest.

The malty, 4.6% amber ale, which is sold in six-packs at the brewery and stores across the city (and on draft at the brewery, 13357 Old Western Ave.), boasts oats and candy syrup among its ingredients.

The cans artwork takes its inspiration from a Chicago newspaper illustration.

I think it was a very interesting piece; a very interesting time in history in Chicago and in America, said Cromwell. It seemed fitting with some of our other artwork.

The beer itself, we consider a pre-Prohibition-style amber, which means its based on a recipe from before Prohibition, which is kind of where that artwork tied into it. [Its] really coincidental that, unfortunately, some things have just been kind of ugly lately in history.

The sketch used on the beers label is from a July 3, 1894 Chicago newspaper article titled Troops to Kill It: Marshal Arnold Overwhelmed by the Blue Island Riot. The story: Local businesses refused to serve passengers of Pullmans trains in solidarity with striking workers, while strikers overturned train cars and erected barricades to keep federal troops from entering the Rock Island Rail Yards, according to the Blue Island Historical Society.

The riot was a part of the 1894 Pullman Railroad Strike, where the federal troops were called in to suppress striking workers who took umbrage at their boss, railroad magnate George Pullman, for laying off hundreds of employees and cutting wages for many of the remaining workers while refusing to lower rents in the Pullman neighborhood, where many of his employees lived. National Guardsmen opened fire into a mob, killing 30 people.

The strike was the impetus that led then-President Grover Cleveland to make Labor Day a national holiday.

Union activist Eugene V. Debs often held meetings in Blue Island where Rock Island Railroad workers were in solidarity with Pullman strikers.

So back in 1893, about a year before the strike, the American economy completely collapsed; it was the worst financial collapse prior to the Great Depression, said Paul Durica, Newberry Librarys director of exhibitions. At its height, you had unemployment up around 25%, and this impacted the whole country. But you know Chicago, being such an important center of industry, there were many, many people who lost their jobs and their livelihoods.

While Cromwell says the timing of the beer launch and the recent social unrest are completely unrelated, Durica believes the sketch for the beer and todays social justice issues go hand-in-hand.

It kind of echoes a lot of the things that were kind of grappling within the moment, said Durica. Its great to see the Blue Island Brewing Co. activating that history, to those connections to the Rock Island Railroad, but also the way in which they note their own communitys response to the strike in 1894, and then making use of these historical materials.

Read the rest here:

Blue Island Beer Co. launches beer with Blue Island labor riot sketch - Chicago Sun-Times

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The city Health Department announced Tuesday that it has detected mosquitoes carrying the West Nile virus in New York City for the first time this season.

The infected Culex mosquitoes were collected in the Bronx and on Staten Island.

As a result, the city will install additional mosquito monitoring traps. There currently are 53 surveillance sites across the city, officials said.

To combat the mosquitoes, the Health Department disperses crews to spray pesticide targeting mosquitoes where persistent West Nile virus activity is detected. The city also applies larvicide in catch basins, marshland and other areas with standing water to kill mosquito larvae before they can bite.

The Health Department has already begun catch basin larviciding this year. One helicopter-based larviciding event also was conducted in marsh areas on Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx this month

SYMPTOMS OF VIRUS, RECOMMENDED PRECAUTIONS

No human cases of West Nile virus have been detected yet this mosquito season, which typically runs from April through September.

The most common symptoms are headache, fever, muscle aches and extreme fatigue. Symptoms of more severe illness also can include changes in mental status and muscle weakness requiring hospitalization.

Anyone with symptoms of West Nile virus is advised to contact their doctor.

To reduce the chances of being exposed to mosquitoes, New Yorkers can take the following precautions:

WEST NILE VIRUS IN NYC

The West Nile virus was first detected in the city 21 years ago. Since 1999, the number of human cases has ranged from three to 47 annually. Of the 353 total West Nile virus neuroinvasive disease cases, 46 have died due to infection.

New York City has more than 40 species of mosquitos, though West Nile virus is transmitted primarily by several Culex species.

For more information about West Nile virus or to report standing water, visit nyc.gov/health/wnv or call 311.

Excerpt from:

Mosquitoes with West Nile detected on Staten Island; first time this season in NYC - SILive.com

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Comedian Kevin Hart Invests in Ellis Island Tea - BevNET.com

A Detroit-based tea company has found some growth capital from a major Hollywood celebrity.

Ellis Island Tea, founded by Nailah Ellis, has tapped comedian and actor Kevin Hart as an investor for at least part of the company's $1.7 million seed round.

While the specific amount of Hart's investment is undisclosed, Ellis, 32, told Crain's it will help the more than decade-old company increase its visibility and ramp up online sales as the brand continues to make inroads in a variety of national retailers like Walmart and CVS.

But the company also wants to build out its direct-to-consumer sales via company's the newly revamped website, said Ellis.

"Our largest pain point for consumers is the lack of accessibility," Ellis said. "We get tons of national media and every time we get a press splash, people go into these stores all over the country and they can't find it because it's at specific locations."

Ellis said she had Hart in mind as a possible investor in the company and set about tracking him down using a broad network to get in front of the Hollywood celebrity.

It was that determination and hustle that got Hart to cut a check.

"There were a lot of people pulling for Nailah," Hart said in a statement. "Her name just kept coming up and coming across my radar. So, I figured there had to be something to it."

Ellis' tea comes from a recipe passed down from her grandfather, a Jamaican immigrant who came to the United States via Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

Hart's investment into Ellis Island Tea isn't the celebrity's first endeavor into funding. Earlier this year Hart partnered with rapper Jay-Z and a handful of NFL players to lead a $20 million Series B fundraising round into food technology startup Hungry, according to a Forbes report at the time.

For her part, Ellis said she hopes to close her fundraising round by the end of the summer, and despite the pandemic and resulting economic crisis, has continued to receive "lots of interest" from would-be investors.

The rest is here:

Ellis Island Tea nabs investment from comedian Kevin Hart - Crain's Detroit Business

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- His years of being a head writer for Saturday Night Live have prepared Staten Island native Colin Jost for A Very Punchable Face, his first novel detailing defining moments of his life.

Jost, hailing from Grymes Hill and most known for co-hosting SNLs Weekend Update, mentions the borough throughout the 33 chapters of his autobiography. Chapters like Wait, Youre From Staten Island? and I Leave Staten Island and Immediately Get A Job Back on Staten Island are more straight-forward mentions of his hometown.

If youre ready for spoilers, here are all the times Colin Jost mentions his time living on Staten Island in his new book.

BRINGING UP S.I. TIES IN THE INTRODUCTION

Jost used the introduction of his book to display his anxiety about sharing his life story, and what makes him qualified to fill pages upon pages with moments from his 38 years living. In that chapter, he brings up his father, Daniel Jost, I look like a guy whos always on the verge of asking, Do you know who my father is? Jost wrote. Even though my father was a public school teacher on Staten Island. If you had Mr. Jost for mechanical drawing freshman year, then you know who my father is!

He dedicated A Very Punchable Face to his father Daniel, his mother Dr. Kerry Kelly and brother Casey Jost, a TV personality on Impractical Jokers and comedian.

In the first chapter of the book, Jost wrote about his experience being four years old and not speaking. His parents sent him to speech therapy at Staten Island University Hospital. If youre reading this and you were a speech therapist at Staten Island University Hospital around 1986, Jost wrote. Please know: I am eternally grateful to you for giving me the power of speech. It was so much more effective than the Power of Grayskull.

ADDRESSING STATEN ISLAND STEREOTYPES

Assuring readers hes not like the rest of em, Jost explained that the borough exceeds the expectations of reality TV portrayals and stereotypical Italian-American population.

In reality, Jersey Shore-types make up only a very small percentage (40 percent) of Staten Islands population, Jost wrote. The rest are grounded, hardworking, normal-speaking humans, who almost never stand outside their house shaking a rolling pin and yelling, Im a-gonna a-kill you!

Geared toward an of-Island audience, Jost explains the history of Staten Island and how some of the well-known areas of the borough got their names. He mentions Arthur Kill, Fresh Kills and The Kill Van Kull, writing that the borough was a Dutch Island before the British took it over, and the Dutch word for river is kill, which makes a lot of places on Staten Is- land sound even more violent than they already are.

THE REDEEMING PARTS OF THE BOROUGH, ACCORDING TO COLIN

Much like his co-anchoring gig with SNLs Weekend Update, Jost wrote satirically about his love for the borough (although he clearly means it, since he has spent years giving back to Staten Island after becoming successful.) He mentions loving memories of his childhood in the borough, writing that it was a good place to do regular kid stuff.

We played a lot of sports and wandered around unsupervised, he wrote. And with the exception of that Cropsey serial killer and several neighborhoods with the worst crime rates in all of New York City, it felt safe!

WORKING FOR THE STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE

This SNL personality was not afraid to shout out his humble beginnings. In the book, Jost speaks about his time working at the Staten Island Advance/ SILive.com. (Check out this roundup of his published work, pre-NBC fame.) He spent the years of 1997-2001 at a desk in the Grasmere office.

The paper I worked at, the Staten Island Advance, was actually an amazing newspaper with incredibly talented reporters and editors,' he writes. And at the time, it had a circulation of 100,000, which was roughly one out of every five people on Staten Island, he wrote. The job itself was fantastic. I was a night editor,' which meant I did whatever random stuff hadnt been done before the paper went to press: Rewriting articles, designing the layout for each section, proofreading every page, and my favorite task writing headlines.

He recounts going on crime assignments and making the front page because of a story centered around a raccoon. You know, typical Staten Island news stories. He wrote The weirdness of local news on Staten Island was one reason I loved the job.

COMMUTING AS A STATEN ISLANDER

Much of his success stories take place once Jost writes about leaving Staten Island for Manhattan. My brain was definitely my ticket out of Staten Island, because it got me into a Catholic high school called Regis that would change the course of the rest of my life, he wrote.

While still living in the borough, the comedian wrote about his woes commuting to Manhattan every day for school and riding the good ole Staten Island Ferry. In the same chapter, Jost wrote a side-note: One of my great joys in life was making a movie with Method Man, who told me he would never leave Staten Island because it was the only place in America where he could get pulled over and the cops were actually excited to see him.

Colin Jost and Method Man in the same sentence? Thats as Staten Island as it gets.

A Very Punchable Face, under Penguin Random House, is available now. You can order it at Amazon.com.

Read more:

Heres what Colin Jost says about Staten Island in A Very Punchable Face - SILive.com

Giving a fighter his first loss is not something new for Ricardo Ramos. The fun part of his next UFC bout is where its taking place.

Carcarcinha will be on UFCs second Fight Island card in Abu Dhabi on July 15, taking on undefeated featherweight Lerone Murphy. Carcacinha stopped Eduardo Garagorri inside one round in his last octagon appearance in Brazil, going 4-0 against unbeaten foes.

This is not something new for me, and I think its an extra weight on their shoulders, Ramos told MMA Fighting. They might say its not, that it motivates them, but Ive been there and I can say it is. I also believed that, so I think thats something I can explore.

Being undefeated brings a responsibility, and the fact that Ive been in that same position in the past gives me extra knowledge about them. Its an advantage for me.

Taking the zero away from someones record is a cool story to tell people, but Ramos tries not to get too involved with whoever stands across the eight-sided cage.

When I enter the octagon, thats simply me trying to impose my techniques against their techniques, he said. I try not to get emotionally connected with their stories and what they represent, but I cant say that knocking someone off the tracks doesnt have a different taste [laughs]. They are confident, they have it building after each win, and knowing that you were the guy that stopped him, that means something.

The UFC Fight Night card will take place in Abu Dhabis Yas Island, a series of four events designed to give opportunity to fighters outside the United States to compete during a global COVID-19 pandemic.

And it brings back a few childhood memories.

For me, Im going to the Mortal Kombat island, Im living something Ive played in the video games years ago, Ramos laughs. Going to Abu Dhabi Im a traveler, I love to travel, and going to Abu Dhabi and getting to know that place, sharing and learning from the people there, its going to be amazing. Were making history here. Ill be proud to tell this story to the next generation.

The end of that story will include a victory over Murphy, Carcacinha says, but the exact way it comes is not something he will even attempt to predict.

I dont know much about him, Ramos said. Hes pretty complete, much like the other athletes Ive fought before. Hes very technical on the feet, but every fight is unpredictable.

Ramos would try to envision the best path to a victory in mixed martial arts in the past, but it hasnt gone well in two of his 14 professional bouts, losing to Said Nurmagomedov and Manny Vazquez in his bantamweight days. Now, the Brazilian 145-pounder just goes with the flow.

Ive been changing the way I prepare for my fights, Ramos said. When we try to predict the future and what the other guy will do, that ends up affecting the way you prepare for a fight. Im working with the unpredictable now. I obviously watch his fights, but I try not to get too involved with it.

I have a team of coaches that break down my opponents and find patterns, but I focus more on my performances in the octagon and my physical and technical evolution. I dont wait for an opponent to look for evolution.

Murphy, who fought to a draw with Zubaira Tukhugov at UFCs only trip to Abu Dhabi in 2019, was victorious in every single one of his other amateur and professional mixed martial arts bouts. Unlike Ramos, most of his victories came by way of knockout.

You can say the submission is the best way (to win) statistically speaking, but Ive been working on other things and Ive proven to be a complete athlete, Ramos said. I can fight on the feet and on the ground. Unpredictability is always the best way. Ive seen that the ground game is a good path and submitting him would be great, but Ive seen many openings on the feet and a knockout is also quite possible.

Excerpt from:

Ramos flying to UFCs Mortal Kombat island to beat an unbeatable - MMA Fighting

WASHINGTON The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the countrys top public health agency, is being kicked around by the White House. And it doesnt have much power to kick back.

As President Trump spars with nearly all of the federal agencies that have a hand in his administrations much-maligned response to the coronavirus pandemic, hes been particularly successful at sidelining the CDC.

Theres good reason. The CDC, far more than other agencies, struggles with a slew of structural and cultural issues that have left the agency ill-equipped to fend off political attacks, or even to build up the political capital that could have helped it navigate the stark spotlight it finds itself in now.

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With nearly all of its staff including its director based in Atlanta, the agency relies on a tiny D.C. office, currently leaderless, to navigate interactions with the White House or Capitol Hill. Even when the rest of its staff are taken into account, the CDC has just a fraction of the connected political staffers that can help other health-focused agencies like the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in their Washington liaisons. And while deep-pocketed pharmaceutical companies and influential research universities often help agencies like FDA and the National Institutes of Health press Congress for bigger budgets and influence, they have little to gain by advocating for CDC.

Former staffers at the agency, at the Department of Health and Human Services, and the other agencies under its umbrella, also described a culture focused on avoiding politics one that has left the agency unprepared for the political pressure of handling the coronavirus response, or for Trumps onslaught of criticism and pushback.

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The problem that they often have is that they tend to ignore the politics, said David Rosner, the co-director of the Columbia University Center for the History and Ethics of Public Health. Theres a culture there that is conducive to being manipulated.

The agency has no experience with responding to this level of political attack, agreed former CDC Director Tom Frieden, now leader of an initiative to prevent epidemics and cardiovascular disease.

I dont know of any precedent for whats happening, he told STAT in an interview. The key to having an effective public health agency is that it is close enough to the rest of the government for its advice to be trusted and listened to, but far enough [away] for the public to trust that its valid, and for 74 years the CDC has had that role. Its an extraordinary time right now that it doesnt.

The clearest and most obvious marker of the CDCs distance from politics: its headquarters are in suburban Atlanta. Every other federal agency of its size is based in the D.C. metro area.

In a city that runs on handshakes, face time, favors, and gossip, the CDCs absence puts it at a distinct disadvantage, former CDC and HHS officials acknowledged to STAT.

The ability to do your job depends on how effectively you build working relationships and partnerships with people, said Howard Koh, who served as assistant secretary for health during the Obama administration. Logistically, its a lot easier to meet people and build relationships when youre at the [HHS] building [rather] than in Atlanta.

Nicole Lurie, who, as the assistant secretary for preparedness and response from 2009 to 2017, enjoyed an office on the sixth floor of the HHS building in downtown D.C., echoed that sentiment. The ASPR is perhaps the closest parallel position to the CDCs director when it comes to pandemic policy.

Its not only being able to walk into the secretarys office, its lots and lots of other people who surround the secretarys office that are influencers in one way or another, she said. Lurie added that it would be much harder to have done her job if her office was not based in the HHS building.

Frieden, too, said he realized quickly that the job would be easier if he spent time in D.C.

I made between 250 and 300 trips to Washington, Frieden said. I could come up for two days, I might have 15 meetings, a breakfast, a lunch, a dinner, another breakfast, another lunch, and then Id go back.

Adding some insult to the distance:Rather than reflect current practical realities, the CDCs Atlanta address apparently stems from concerns about mosquito breeding patterns back in the 1940s.

The agencys predecessor, the Communicable Disease Center, was founded in 1946 in Atlanta to quell the spread of malaria in the American South. Eventually the CDC gained a permanent foothold in the city, thanks to a land grant from Emory University and a deal struck between Coca Cola CEO Robert Woodruff and President Dwight D. Eisenhower, according to historian Elizabeth Etheridge.

The agency does have a small office in Washington on one floor of a nondescript office building a mile from the Capitol. They spend most of their time answering questions from members of Congress, and serving as a kind of surrogate at HHS leadership meetings.

The office is currently led by an acting director, Anstice Brand Kenefick. She getsrave reviews from congressional staffers, one of whom called her perhaps the only official at her level I feel I can trust in this moment and incredibly competent. But she has not been promoted to the permanent position, which has been vacant since the last director resigned in late 2016.

A CDC spokesperson told STAT that the agency is still actively recruiting for the position, although STAT could not locate a job listing online.

How well the CDC navigates Washington is largely a function of how well its director can move the levers of Washington.

Much of that job, multiple sources told STAT, is focused on doing whats best for public health, while also navigating the roadblocks often created by Washington politics.

The directors are often between a rock and a hard place, they are trying to make the case in Washington for what the evidence-based approaches would be, and encountering politics, and then trying to explain back at the agency how some of the recommendations that are being made [by the CDC] may not be possible given the political environment, said John Auerbach, the president and CEO of Trust for Americas Health and a former associate director of the CDC.

That tension has been on full display in recent days as CDC Director Robert Redfield has attempted to defend the CDCs school reopening guidelines amid calls from Trump and Vice President Mike Pence to significantly water them down. Political pressure from the White House forced the CDC to shelve similar guidelines on reopening community spaces, like churches. A senior HHS official even accused the CDC of undermining the president after it released a report on the risk of coronavirus for pregnant women.

The CDC director is also naturally a weaker figure than other agency chiefs like the FDA commissioner or the NIH head.

Unlike those and other top health positions, the CDC director is not Senate-confirmed. Even jobs like surgeon general technically below the CDC director in the HHS hierarchy go through the confirmation process.

The Senate confirmation process can be bruising, but it also builds relationships between lawmakers and officials. Most endure countless one-on-one meetings aimed at convincing skeptical senators that theyre ready for the job.

When you have a Senate-confirmed person in there it signifies a level of agreement and support from both the president and the senate about the direction of the agency, said David Lewis, a professor of political science at Vanderbilt University who studies the political appointment process. It gives the head of the agency some political clout.

That fact has even left career HHS officials scratching their heads. No one STAT spoke to could articulate why the CDC director is not Senate-confirmed.

I never understood that, Koh, the former assistant health secretary, who was himself confirmed by the Senate, told STAT with a laugh.

The CDC directors weak position often forces them to rely instead on the HHS secretary for political support.

The relationship between the CDC director and the HHS secretary is really important, because the secretary can either use their political connections in the White House to protect and support the CDC or they can take a step back and let the CDC be hung out to dry, a former CDC official told STAT. Its kind of crazy: This huge, highly influential agency and we had almost no political heft behind us.

Some of the blame for the CDCs failure to ward off political pressure this time around should fall on health secretary Alex Azar, former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala told STAT in an interview.

When the White House wants to interfere, theyll interfere not directly through the CDC director, but through the secretary, Shalala, who now serves as a Democrat in the House of Representatives, said. The secretary has to make it very clear: Do not touch.

In the case of Redfield, there are tensions with the White House beyond the usual structural ones: While Redfield was once dubbed the MAGA whisperer for his willingness to appeal directly to Trumps ultraconservative base, Trump has beaten up viciously on the CDC. Rumors have swirled for months that Redfields job is in danger because of Trumps ire.

The directors tenuous relationship to D.C. politics as well as the agencys physical distance from D.C. have trickled down to the staff, too, former staffers said. The agencys roughly 20,000 employeesignore politics far more than other federal agency staff.

When you live in D.C., you read, you converse, you breathe the political atmosphere, its not something you have to stop and think about its second nature. And thats not true in Atlanta, said the former CDC official, who added that most staffers in Atlanta had the false impression they were protected from politics.

They would rather not pay any attention to the political back and forth, remarked Lurie, the former assistant secretary.

Even Frieden, the former CDC director, alluded to the ways CDC officials had a false sense of protection from politics.

CDC scientists used to say to me, Isnt it great we are in Atlanta? We dont have to get bugged by the folks in Washington all the time. But wow, why is our budget so low? Frieden said.

Some of that is by design.

The CDC has an unusually small cadre of political appointees, the staffers who are installed by the White House and often have backgrounds on Capitol Hill or in political campaigns.

Politicalappointees across the federal government have often been accused of undermining policies for fleeting political reasons. Yet there can be advantages to integrating political considerations into an agencysoperations something that rarely seems to happen at the CDC.

Political people can help you secure the resources and political support you need to do the job youve been asked to do, said Lewis, the Vanderbilt University professor. Career people just arent as good at that.

Nearly all other federal health care agencies are chock-full of these staffers. As of August 2018, HHS had more than 30 political appointees and the FDA alone, which, like the CDC, is a sub-agency under the HHS umbrella, had at least 14, according to records obtained by the advocacy group American Oversight. They often occupy key positions like chief of staff and assistant secretary, but even schedulers and executive assistants are often also political appointees at some agencies.

But as of April 2019, there were only three political appointees currently employed at CDC, according to the records obtained by the advocacy group. That number appears to have recently increased: A CDC spokesperson told STAT there are currently six appointees currently employed at the agency.

The lack of appointees at the CDC is so striking that one former HHS official described it as a failure, and added that an agency of that size should have at least twice as many.

The lack of political appointees at CDC has caused somewhat of a culture clash between CDC and HHS officials too, officials from both acknowledged.

Theres always the balance between wanting to be well-integrated into the department, which is stocked with political [appointees], said a second former CDC official. If you stand off and you dont engage then you dont know whats going on and you arent very effective, particularly in sending things back to Atlanta.

Some of the CDCs defenders insist that the agencys cultural clashes with Washington arent entirely its fault. Some of that friction comes from the fact that public health departments are often the bearers of bad political news, they insist.

Public health departments at all levels of government are often thought of as not team players, said Trust for Americas Healths Auerbach. They make people uncomfortable because they release information that is not always politically appealing. Thats true of CDC, its true of state health agencies and city health agencies we do make people uncomfortable.

Auerbach too, however, added that he was really struck by how people [at CDC] are not politically focused.

At least some of the power and influence an agency yields in Washington comes from the industries it regulates.

Take the annual government appropriations process, in which lawmakers haggle over how much taxpayer money will go to every federal agency from the SEC to the EPA. Many of the countrys most powerful industries have a stake in making sure the agencies they rely on have the funds to be efficient. So they aggressively lobby Congress to make sure theyre well-resourced.

Pharmaceutical companies, for example, regularly lobby Congress to fund new FDA staff positions in hopes of speeding up the drug approval process or getting more attention on a certain priority. Research universities press lawmakers for new funding for NIH in hopes of eventually getting access to new federal grants and other research funding.

There is a political economy problem, Frieden said. If you look at the NIH, the NIH gives most of its money to universities, universities are in every state in the U.S., every congressional district just about, and they have boards. The boards are powerful people, they donate money to politicians.

Frieden contrasted that to the public health departments that typically benefit from CDC funding. When compared to research universities, public health departments are schlubs, basically, he said.

Even the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, which represents state health departments, wont always advocate for increased CDC funding because so many state health departments are overseen by Republican governors who oppose increasing taxes, Frieden said,adding that ASTHO is still a very good association. .

Michael Fraser, the executive director of ASTHO, acknowledged the limits of what his organization can do to boost the CDC.

Just in terms of money and influence, we are very different from the NIH that has universities and deans, FDA which has industry and consumers, Fraser said. Public health has had a much smaller advocacy voice.

Public health groups have been complaining for years over the CDCs chronic underfunding. A 2019 report from Trust for Americas Health found that the CDCs budget fell by 10 percent over the last decade, when adjusted for inflation.

The Trump administration has also proposed massive cuts to the CDCs budget, although Congress has rejected those requests. The administrations 2021 budget proposed cutting $1.2 billion from the CDCs budget and roughly the same amount in 2020.

CDC scientists used to say to me, Isnt it great we are in Atlanta? We dont have to get bugged by the folks in Washington all the time. But wow, why is our budget so low?

Tom Frieden, former CDC director

While advocates admit the agency is ill-equipped to deal with political attacks, theyre also not sure they want the agency to become more political.

Many told STAT they see the CDCs ability to ignore politics in favor of science as an achievement, not a fault.

CDC continues to be the worlds premiere public health institution and should be treated as such during this pandemic. It is a scientific organization that functions best as an apolitical agency trusted to guide the strategy of our nation to be healthier and safer. We must amplify the unfettered voice of CDC, not stifle it, nearly 350 public health groups wrote to HHS Secretary Alex Azar earlier this month.

Advocates pushed back strongly against any proposal to make the agency more politically savvy, including installing additional political appointees that potentially could help the agency navigate Washington.

To protect the science, you have to protect the professionalism, said Shalala, the former HHS secretary, who pushed back against the idea that adding political appointees would help the agency navigate Washington.

But its abundantly clear too that no one knows exactly how to help the CDC at this moment.

How do you deal with that situation politically when the leader of the country isnt following your guidance and youre trying to stop an epidemic? ASTHOs Fraser said. I dont think anybody even thought that was a possibility. Maybe we should have, I dont know.

Read more:

The CDC is an apolitical island. That's left it defenseless against Trump - STAT

KAPAA A once-bustling cafe and its owners are now on the brink of eviction facing a back rent of over $25,000 and less than 10 days to either pay that sum or turn in their keys.

Markus Boemer and his wife, Jana, own Art Cafe Hemingway.

Since leasing the property nine years ago, theyve spent over $200,000 in renovation costs, including building an outside patio; bringing gas, electricity and water up to code; and turning the upstairs into a habitable space with two bedrooms, loft and living space. This also happens to be their home.

When the first cases of the coronavirus came about, income plummeted. Under state orders in mid-March, the cafe closed its doors for dine-in service, a core draw to the business. Normally, including rent, electricity, insurance and payroll, the cafe had an overhead of about $20,000 per month.

We are not known as a fast-food pickup and go, Markus Boemer said. Customers come here, they sit here, they talk, they eat, they drink. Our goal was not turning tables; we try to create an atmosphere.

But, its what they had to do. The cafe began offering pick-up and delivery, using social media to raise awareness, but business dropped by nearly 100%. The costs of produce Jana uses to cook everything from scratch, Boemer said, was higher than the income generated by takeout.

The Boemers signed the 10-year lease in September 2011, with Jasper Properties, LLC, and was handed to 82 12 Hawaii, LCC a few years ago. Boemer could not share the lease per a confidentiality clause.

At the end of March, Boemer sent landlord Richard Jasper of 82 12 Hawaii, an email requesting a rent deferral for Aprils $6,528 rent, citing the pandemics impact on business. They offered to pay $1,000 per month going forward, more if emergency loan funding come through.

As of July, they owe a back rent of $25,287.04.

In a letter dated May 25, Jasper acknowledged the cafes hardships, but wrote that $1,000 a month was not at a level that is agreeable/manageable to the Landlord.

Markus, I also have my own financial obligations. Jasper wrote. Markus, if you truly believe that your business operations will never be viable, then the Landlord must get the premise back, and try and mitigate the overall tenant rental obligations

Jasper did not respond to requests for comment.

For the last year, the couple has been trying to sell the cafe. In a letter from Boemer to Jasper, he asks if the rent could be reduced to make the sale more appealing to a potential buyer under the current pandemic circumstances.

After the Boemers reduced the price by 50% down to $70,000, interested buyers were unable to visit the island due to quarantines. Boemer wanted to use the sale to both get out of the business and make up the rent. Theyve gone into escrow three times, most recently in June with an interested buyer from Oahu, but then received a notice of legal action on July 2.

On behalf of my client, if you do not pay back rent within 10 days of receipt of this notice, we request you turn over the premises immediately so that my client can mitigate damages by renting the premises out to a paying tenant, the letter reads from attorney Craig DeCosta.

The letter also offers the opportunity to make a substantial payment of the unpaid rent within 10 days and discuss a payment plan option for the remainder. DeCosta was unavailable for comment Monday.

Notably, the letter from the attorney informed Boemer that per the lease, furniture, fixtures and equipment on the property are considered collateral for the rental shortfalls, therefore, none of these items should be sold or removed from the premises until all rents owed are current.

Boemer wishes he and his wife never signed their lease.

Their daughter, Leilani Boemer, set up a GoFundMe, sharing her parents situation. As of Monday night, the GoFund Me had raised over $10,100 of a $25,000 goal, with over 120 donors.

Overwhelmed by the community response, Markus said one customer has retained a lawyer on their behalf, whom he is awaiting more information from moving forward.

Im still processing, Boemer said. Well see what happens, do what we can and roll up our sleeves.

Sabrina Bodon, public safety and government reporter, can be reached at 245-0441 or sbodon@thegardenisland.com.

More:

Art Cafe Hemingway facing eviction - Thegardenisland.com

Visitors and boaters are set to benefit from the construction of two new jetties at the Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park.

A tender has been released by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) for the construction of the jetties on East Wallabi and Beacon islands to improve vessel access to the islands.

The East Wallabi Island jetty will cater for larger vessels of up to 20 metres in length and the Beacon Island jetty smaller vessels up to 12 metres long.

Located about 60 kilometres west of Geraldton, the Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park was the first national park created under the McGowan Governments Plan for Our Parks initiative.

The jetty construction is part of a $10 million investment into tourism and management infrastructure in the national park. Future plans include the construction of new toilets, shade shelters, walk trails and visitor interpretation. The airstrip on East Wallabi Island will also be upgraded.

East Wallabi and Beacon islands are listed as historically significant sites for their maritime heritage values, including the Batavia and other shipwrecks. DBCA continues to consult with the Western Australian Museum and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development to ensure the jetty design and construction protects the heritage of the islands and adheres to relevant legislation.

The two jetties are expected to be completed by early 2021.

Tender information can be viewed at https://www.tenders.wa.gov.au

As stated by Acting Environment Minister Francis Logan:

The McGowan Government created the Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park to ensure the protection of the areas unique conservation values and to open it up to new tourism opportunities.

The Abrolhos Islands are steeped in history and the site of numerous shipwrecks, most notably the Batavia. We will be ensuring all development is managed in the appropriate way, with heritage and environmental protection key focuses.

By improving visitor facilities on the islands, we are creating new possibilities for nature-based tourism and recreation, resulting in new jobs and economic opportunities for the Mid-West.

Read the original post:

Improved access on cards for Houtman Abrolhos Islands National Park - Mirage News

Toronto-listed Alamos Gold is proceeding with an expansion of its Island Gold mine, in Ontario, Canada, which will significantly increase output, lower costs and turn it even more profitable.

Alamos points out that Island Gold was already one of the most profitable mines in Canada.

The Phase 3 expansion study showcases the growing value of Island Gold, says president and CEO John McCluskey.

The study focuses on expanding the operation from 1200t/d to 2000 t/d.

The expansion will require $1.066-billion in capital expenditure, comprising $514-million growth capital and the balance sustaining capital. The expansion will involve various infrastructure investments, including the installation of a shaft, paste plant, and an expansion of the mill and tailings facility. Following the completion of the shaft construction in 2025, the operation will transition from trucking ore and waste to skipping ore and waste to surface through the new shaft infrastructure, driving production higher and costs significantly lower.

The average gold production is expected to increase by about 72% to 2236 000 oz/y, while total cash costs will fall by 19% to $403/oz and the all-in sustaining cost will shrink by 30% to $534/oz.

The study calculated an after-tax net present value of $1.02-billion, at a 5% discount rate, and an after-tax internal rate of return of 17%, using a gold price of $1450/oz.

Based on a mineable resource of 9.6-million tonnes, grading 10.45 g/t gold, the expansion will ensure a 16 year mine life.

We acquired Island Gold in 2017 at a cost of approximately $600-million when it had 1.8-million ounces of Mineral Reserves and Resources. This high-grade deposit has more than doubled to 3.7-million ounces and we expect further growth yet, said McCluskey.

Alamos recently completed the lower mine expansion at its Young-Davidson mine, also in Ontario, with the commissioning of the Northgate shaft.

In addition to the Northgate shaft, the underground crusher and conveyor system have also been successfully commissioned. Mining rates are expected to ramp up through the second half of the year to 7 500 t/d by the end of 2020.

Follow this link:

Alamos announces shaft expansion at Ontario's Island Gold mine - Creamer Media's Mining Weekly

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

Bahamians are driving the "slow" resumption of hotel bookings in the Family Islands as the country gradually re-opens following the COVID-19 lockdown.

Leslie Kennedy, general manager of the Pigeon Cay Beach Club on Cat Island, told Tribune Business: "It's quite slow, but that's OK. I think we should take it slow and gradually get back to taking people. We can only be at 50 percent capacity, and I only have eight cottages."

Ms Kennedy said 12 persons have booked their vacation with her since the July 1 reopening, with domestic tourism leading the way. She added: "I had some folks come in when the domestic travellers were allowed to come after June 15. I did have some come, but just for a couple of houses.

"I still think people are still a little leery of travel, but we have seen more domestic visitors because they don't want to go to the US, which is totally understandable.

"Everybody understands, and we let everybody know what the protocols are prior to coming. We have our signage up that we are required to do, informing people of the importance of wearing face masks and social distancing. Everybody is really respectful of that, which is great."

Albert Archer, owner of the Island Seaside Suites in Eleuthera, said: "Personally, for my place, I've had quite a number of bookings, but my bookings are principally Bahamians, or Bahamians principally out of New Providence. This week I have a Bahamian family out of Atlanta.

"But based on my experience, the bulk of the tourist business works against Bahamians as the bulk of the business goes to the winter residents. The winter residents by and large have that market sewn up, and Bahamians like myself are really struggling. But since Eleuthera reopened, my bookings have been relatively good thanks to the Bahamian market."

Mr Archer said his guests are having no problems adjusting to the COVID-19 heath protocols, and added: "Generally speaking you are just trying to be careful as far as bacteria is concerned. Now you just have to combine that with a virus. I haven't found it taxing.

"Since I have reopened I have had four bookings, and that is better than what I would normally have. There is a resurgence in domestic tourism."

Janice Tolas, general manager of Greenwich Creek Lodge, Long island, said: "Things are very, very slow. I had a couple of guests come in over the last weekend and they were all Bahamians. All local.

"We had a booking for July 13 from a foreigner, and they cancelled because they said they have to quarantine when they go back home. It is fine coming this way, but when they go back they have to self quarantine - they are Americans."

Ms Tolas added: "Everything else is good. It's just the issue with people having to quarantine when they go back, because when they go back they don't get paid because they are doing that on their own, they are making the decision to travel on their own. Other than that I don't have any other issues.

"There is a lot of interest in the Bahamian 'two fly free' programme that the Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board has out. There are a lot of people calling about that. Not confirmations, but people asking about it. That's working."

See more here:

Bahamians drive Out Island tourism restart - Bahamas Tribune

Island breezes and sunny flavors of Key West are blowing into Harrisburg.

On July 11, Taste Key West arrives at 31 N. Second St., replacing Taste Buffalo Wing It & Fling It.

Owner Ron Kamionka said initially the restaurant will be open for outdoor seating during Saturday Nights in the City. The alfresco dining events are held 5-10 p.m. Saturdays along several city streets including North Second Street closed to traffic.

Last year Kamionka opened Taste as a rotating taste room where the concept will change twice a year. He kicked it off with a taco and tequila theme.

Taste Key West will play off the eclectic feel of Floridas most southern point. Along with margaritas and rum drinks, Taste Key Wests menu is heavy on seafood with steam pots, conch fritters, crab legs and key lime pie.

We are trying to keep the cool island vibe going, Kamionka said.

To kick off the opening on Saturday, the restaurant is hosting a sunset sidewalk chalk contest with 24 artists competing. Diners will vote with dollars for their favorite drawings with proceeds donated to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank.

In the coming weeks, Tastes entertainment lineup includes lawn concerts with a Jimmy Buffet tribute band and reggae group from Washington, D.C. scheduled. Kamionka said the restaurant theme continue at least through New Years Eve with festivities to ring in 2021.

Kamionka is also in the process of relocating Anna Rose Bakery & Coffee Shop to the former Pita Pit at North Second and Walnut streets in Harrisburg. He also owns several businesses in the city, including Sawyers, Bourbon Street Saloon and Hops and Vines & Spirits Tasting Room.

Taste Key Wests phone number is 717-681-3000.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.

Continued here:

Taste Key West restaurant brings flavor of islands to Harrisburg - pennlive.com

Sailors from around New England are expected to convene for the Edgartown Yacht Clubs annual Round the Island race on August 1.

The yacht clubs annual regatta and other sailing events have been canceled this year, but the 52.5-nautical mile race around the Island will go on as planned, club organizers said.

Starting in the Edgartown harbor, the race course runs around Cape Pogue, then Wasque, and then along the south shore before turning at the Gay Head Cliffs to traverse Vineyard Sound and cross the finish line back in the Edgartown Harbor. The race is an annual Island event that dates to 1938, missing only a few years during World War II.

Race co-chairman Alex Nugent said about 50 boats have signed up so far. Mr. Nugent said many teams are returning sailors, but there are some newcomers. We have a good mix, its a lot of local, southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island teams, he said.

Its going to feel very different this year, Mr. Nugent also said. Were keeping everything isolated to the boats. Its really about keeping the safety of the folks of the Island in mind. This year theres really not much to it on our end. Were setting the starting line and then giving people an opportunity to race.

The course passes seven lighthouses, starting with the Edgartown Light, then Cape Pogue, Gay Head, Tarpaulin Cove, Nobska, West and East Chop. Race participants have the option to either sail around Nomans or cut between it and Marthas Vineyard, depending on wind and tides.

Mr. Nugent, who grew up summering on the Vineyard and learned to sail at the Edgartown Yacht Club, has raced around the Island before. He said the most challenging part of the course is the turn around Wasque.

It depends on the breeze. When its super light, the current off Wasque can pull people into the shoals and that gets really tricky. Its caused issues in the past. In a light breeze thats a top concern for people, he said.

After the race, a virtual ceremony will be held to award six different trophies.

Registration is still open. To register and for more information, visit edgartownyc.org.

Continue reading here:

Martha's Vineyard News | Round the Island Race Set for August 1 - The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News

World-Herald prep recruiting specialist Mike Sautter was at the Jammin In July showcase at the Jensen Fieldhouse in Ames, Iowa, on Sunday.

Here are results from his featured games of the day:

17U

South Dakota Network 61, Lincoln Supreme 17U 59: Network opened the game on a 7-0 run. Supreme would claw back thanks in part to Lincoln North Star senior Kwat Abdelkarim. His second 3-pointer of the half gave Supreme their first lead, 28-26 with 3:30 left in the first half. Lincoln East senior Carter Glenn connected on a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in the half to give Supreme a 33-30 lead at the break. Abdelkarim scored five straight points in the middle of the second half and gave Supreme the largest lead by either team at 56-44. Network would answer with a run of their own and take a 59-56 lead with under a minute to play. Lincoln Southeast junior McGinness Schneider connected on a corner 3-pointer with eight seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Supreme had opportunities but didnt score in the overtime period falling 61-59. Abdelkarim led the team in scoring with 18 and Glenn finished with 11.

Minnesota Select 17U - Ohnstad 59, Team Factory 17U Gold 57: Factory led 33-27 at the break thanks to Creighton Prep senior guard Justin Sitti and Omaha Skutt senior Charlie Fletcher both scoring seven points in the first half. The second half didnt start as well as the first half. Factory scored only five points in the first eight minutes and their third basket of the half came roughly 10 minutes into the second half. Trailing by six late in the game Millard Souths Jack Cooper made back-to-back 3-pointers to send the game into overtime. Select would get the first and only basket in the extra session winning 59-57. Fletcher led the team in scoring with 13 and Cooper finished with 10.

All Iowa Attack 11th Red 60, Team Factory 17U UAA Rise 43: A slow start and missed 3-pointers doomed Factory. Attack opened the game with more energy and a 10-3 lead early and Attack led 38-25 at the half. Glenwood, Ia senior Ryan Blum led Factory with 14.

16U

Lincoln Supreme 16U National 70, All Iowa Attack 10th Red 57: Ashland-Greenwood junior Cale Jacobsen led Supreme with nine points in the first half. His biggest play wasnt scoring but an assist to Lincoln East junior guard Brayden McPhail for a 3-pointer as time expired in the half. Giving Supreme a 39-30 halftime lead. Grand Island junior Isaac Traudt took over in the second half scoring 15 straight Supreme points including two contested 3-pointers. Traudt finished with 22 points and Jacobsen 12 in the win. Supreme won their second game later in the day 69-35 over Minnesota Rise to finish the weekend 4-0.

Team Factory 16U UAA Rise 85, South Dakota Attack 51: Omaha Westside junior Chandler Meeks scored nine of his 13 points in the first half to give Factory a 55-37 halftime lead. Millard North junior Jasen Green had 14 and Omaha South junior Dontryl Love scored 12.

Team Factory 16U UAA Rise 69, All Iowa Attack 10th Red 51: Omaha Bryans Lam Kuany led Factory with 16 points scoring eight in each half. A 35-27 Factory halftime lead quickly turned into a double digit lead early in the second half. Factory cruised to the win and Omaha Central junior Jay Dawson scored 10.

Read more:

AAU Sunday: Grand Island's Isaac Traudt and Omaha Bryan's Lam Kuany have big days - Omaha World-Herald

In a crowded field where name recognition alone might not be enough to separate from the pack, several Big Island mayoral candidates are touting west side projects in an attempt to earn the leeward vote.

On Hawaii island, west side support can be the difference between success or failure.

Unless one of the candidates earns more than 50% of the vote during the Aug. 8 primary, the top two of the 14 candidates will advance to the general election in November, meaning every vote on an island with a population of 200,000 will be coveted.

But on the Big Island, the division between east and west is as real as it is symbolic.

The drier, sunnier Kona side in the west is a tourist and luxury-home haven that comprises 70% of the countys property tax base every year. Yet, residents often feel overlooked when it comes to projects and resources compared to the eastern side of the island, where Hilo, the more populous governmental capital, is located. Its also not lost on residents that the island has never had a west side mayor, either.

A pair of Kona-side candidates have some name recognition this year former county parks director and football coach Bob Fitzgerald chief among them but the betting favorites all hail from the east once again.

Still, theyre all pledging big projects for the west side should they get elected.

Manini Beach Park at Kealakekua Bay on the Kona side of Hawaii island. Winning the mayors race means securing the leeward vote and not just focusing on the population center in Hilo.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Prosecutor Mitch Roth, incumbent Mayor Harry Kim, community organizer Ikaika Marzo and former Hawaii County Councilman Stacy Higa are some of the early favorites.

They say that developing a $75 million Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant in West Hawaii is a top priority.

Design plans for the upgraded plant are on hold, however, while the county wrestles with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a similar case on Maui. At issue is whether the plant needs discharge permits, which the county is seeking lest it get hit with fines, because it releases treated sewage into the ground below adjacent Honokohau Harbor.

In the meantime, the county is trying to construct a system to reuse the treated, R-1 recycled water for things such as irrigation.

Candidates say developing a reuse plan and tackling the project is of utmost importance.

Theres no money out there that scares me no number you can tell me, Higa said of the price tag to upgrade the treatment plant. Because if we dont do it, the amount of fines and the amount of damage were going to do to our communities, to our ocean and our environment, its billions.

Higa, of Hilo, is CEO of Na Leo TV, a community education station. He touted his small business experience during a mayoral forum June 25 that the stations book value has increased by $5 million during his five-year tenure.

He was also County Council chairman from 2004 to 2006 and ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2008.

Born and raised on the Big Island, Higa, 57, said he also has governmental experience to push through on projects that have languished on the west side, which are many. Examples of those, he said, are adding and fixing roads.

Traffic congestion is a huge topic out west. While plans for additional connector roads, such as Alii Parkway, have been studied since his time on council, Higa said his administration will pick those up as quickly as possible, once elected.

Talk, talk, talk, Im a business guy, I just want to get them done, Higa said, describing county decision-making as analysis by paralysis.

Do it or get off the pot, he said.

One idea that Higa is championing that differs from his competitors is that he would divide his Cabinet staff with autonomous, west side representation.

Hilo lies about 80 road miles from Kona. Higa said a majority of his departments would have east and west side directors and that those Kona-based leaders would be granted wide discretion when it comes to decisions that affect the west side, contingent upon mayoral approval.

In other words, west side decisions are going to be made on the west side of the island, Higa said. I understand that 70% of the tax base is generated out there and that you guys get 30 percent of the return. Im going to shift that. Im going to shift that big time.

Roth, however, thinks that plan is problematic.

The county prosecutor credits the west side of the island with carrying him to office in 2012, but that providing too much autonomy to certain positions could run counter to governing rules.

One of our problems right now in this county is that we are inconsistent on how we are interpreting the rules and laws. That would just add to the inconsistency, Roth said. Its a nice-sounding promise, but I think its important we have consistent rules and theyre interpreted consistently. I think that makes it difficult to run two separate counties.

Roth, 55, stressed the importance of improving roads and upgrading the treatment plant plan as top priorities as well. A solution to the treatment plant, he pointed out, would also relieve the burden on Konas at-times strapped water wells.

When it comes to representing leeward interests, he pointed to his track record as a deputy prosecutor and prosecutor.Roth established numerous block watches and public safety programs out west, such as the Shattered Dreams anti-drunk driving program at Kealakehe High School that reduced DUI fatalities after it was created.

Hes also the only prosecutor to tap a Kona resident as his top deputy prosecutor, Dale Ross. And one of his biggest priorities is combating homelessness, a big issue in Kona.

More specifically, Roth wants to attack the root causes of homelessness, which can be triggered by what the judicial and medical communities classify as adverse childhood experiences. Domestic violence is a major ACE factor and can contribute to high homeless, suicide and drug abuse rates, as do mental health issues.

Instead of implementing sit-lie bans a rule against the homeless implemented in Honolulu which the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected and other candidates, such as Higa, said they would explore Roth is pushing for more substance and domestic violence treatment and prevention.

Those initiatives hed implement inside Konas Village 9 project, the emergency, transitional and affordable housing project also known as Kukuiola.

This is probably one of the biggest community issues that there is, Roth said. Unfortunately, I dont see a lot of the other candidates who are getting involved trying to be proactive rather than reactive.

Roth has outraised all the other candidates as well.

According to the latest financial disclosure reports filed Thursday with the state Campaign Spending Commission, Roth has raised $150,815 this election period. Hes spent $78,407, leaving him with $21,887.

Higa is second. Hes raised $80,993 and spent $71,929 so far.

Neil Azavedo, Hawaii Countys division chief in Public Works for the Highways Division, is third. The Hilo resident has raised $48,891 and spent $30,690.Hes followed by Marzo, who has raised $45,564 and spent $23,677.

Tante Urban, former Kailua-Kona restaurateur and businessman, has raised $8,000, good for fifth, and spent $8,780, leaving him $780 in the red.

Kim, the incumbent, has raised $2,846 and spent $1,266 this election season.

Old Kona Airport State Recreation area was turned into a temporary homeless shelter recently.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

Kim points to Village 9 as a project he is proud of on the west side of the island.

A collaboration with the state through Ohana Zones funding, its actually just one part albeit it a big part of a drive for more transitional and affordable housing for the area.

Housing and homeless issues have been consistently at the top of the local Chamber of Commerces legislative priorities every year and Kims administration has recognized that.

Just last week a temporary homeless shelter was constructed at Old Kona Airport Park for up to 30 people thanks to county, state and federal funding.

Not too far away, the Ulu Wini affordable housing complex was completed a couple of years ago, and occupant capacity was reached shortly after it opened.

Kim, 81, pledged more support for such projects should the longtime civil servant receive a fourth term, including finishing what he started with Kukuiola. Spread over 35 acres, the plan is underway although build-out is still years out.

Im proud of Village 9. Im sure people wanted it faster, God knows we did too, Kim said. Id sure like to see that through. And it will go through.

Mayor Harry Kim has no shortage of candidates trying to prevent him from winning another term.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

He also pointed to work on Konas Ane Keohokalole Highway as roadwork that was started under his administration that would continue. The major thoroughfare is expected to ease traffic congestion once completed.

The last four years have been busy for the mayor. He dealt with disasters from the get-go: the Kilauea eruption, Hurricane Lane, protests on Mauna Kea, and now, the COVID-19 pandemic.

His administration tackled major island-wide issues in that time, too, implementing short-term vacation rental regulations, cleaning up county hiring practices that played favorites internally, and is currently trying to rewrite and simplify the county building permitting process an issue that nearly every candidate says needs to be addressed.

Im proud of those changes because it goes with a theme I want and that was openly said from Day One, Kim said. I want to be part of a county government that the people are proud of.

But the mayor has also had to defend increasing a number of taxes and fees in the last four years, an increased budget, as well as concerns about the perceived lack of attention he spends on priorities outside of Hilo.

He was asked at the June 25 forum whether he felt he spent enough time in Kona, to which he answered he should be judged on the job hes done, not from where hes done it.

If you could turn things back, I would have answered it differently, Kim said of the Kona question.

Its a question he says he fields often, from practically every district outside of Hilo. He said the truth was that once the disasters started, he didnt have enough time to travel to other districts as much as he would have liked.

I should have answered that way, but I didnt, he said.

Marzo, 36, has been perhaps the most vocal about the response of Kims administration during the lava crises.

Although hes never run for office, the president of Kalapana Cultural Tours created a large following during the 2018 Kilauea eruption by posting daily updates of the lava flow online.

Lava approaches Pahoa Road, bottom frame in this file image from 2014.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

He and several others formed a grassroots community center known as the hub that distributed meals, donations and emergency items to the affected community during that time.

Marzo said the incumbents team should have been better prepared and quicker to communicate during the crisis.

We need to expect volcanic eruptions and other disasters like hurricanes based on the islands history, he said. Disasters here are not an excuse for a lack of transparency, communication, or listening to the public.

But besides the crisis response, Marzo graded the administration a C when it came to representing west side interests during the last four years something he said would change under him.

Along with sewer, road, homeless and housing improvements, Marzo said police officer retention needs to be addressed out west. More parks and keiki programs need to be added, too. Half of the mayors cabinet should be from or reside in West Hawaii, he added, and the under-used West Hawaii Mayors Office should be occupied at least weekly.

Equal representation of all districts is extremely important to me, and part of that is correcting past inequality such as West Hawaii being underrepresented for generations, he said. Kona has more people and deserves more attention than ever.

Of the four Kona-side candidates, Fitzgerald carries perhaps the most in terms of name recognition combined with governmental service.

The former Konawaena High School football coach won a slew of league football championships including at the hands of other candidates. The 67-year-old was former director and deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department under then-Mayor Billy Kenoi from 2008-14.

Hes promoting road and wastewater improvements like the other candidates, but also specific park projects for downtown Kailua-Kona. He wants to vastly improve Old Kona Airport Park and Kealakehe Regional Park, a giant greenspace adjacent to the Village 9 housing project thats getting off the ground.

Thats one of the reasons I ran, Fitzgerald said of transforming the parks. The mayor has really let that slide.

Old Airport could be a beach park akin to Honolulus Ala Moana Park. The Kealakehe park has an estimated $80 million price tag, but that doesnt mean it has to cost that much, he said. Plans for improving both have been discussed for a long time and should be further down the line by now.

Thats one of the things Im frustrated with, said Fitzgerald, who had raised about $5,700 according to the latest campaign finance report. I thought it was real close when I retired from the county and now things are just on a standstill.

But will west-side related projects resonate island-wide? Kailua-Konas population was roughly 12,000 at the last Census, whereas Hilos was 46,000.

Itll take a candidate with name recognition that earns respect across the island, Fitzgerald said. He said his coaching, government, family and senior softball ties give him that.

It will also take voter turnout. If the Hilo-based candidates split up the eastern vote, and the western block supports one of their own, it could land a leeward candidate in the runoff election after the primary.

I really need the west to come out and vote, Fitzgerald said. Traditionally, they dont.

The other candidates are: Robert Greenwell; Mike Ruggles; Tante Urban; Wendell Kaehuaea; Ted Shaneyfelt; Yumi Kawano; Michael Mikey Glendon; Paul Bryant; and Lahi Verschuur.

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Big Island Mayor's Race Could Hinge On Winning The Leeward Vote - Honolulu Civil Beat

A couple from Dublin has left city life behind to take up residence on one of Irelands most remote Islands.

The Great Blasket Island is off the coast of County Kerry and is the most westerly point in the country.

In recent years a number of the houses have been restored and tourists have been welcomed back to the island.

An advertisement for two vacancies as caretakers attracted more than 23,000 applications from around the world.

The successful candidates were Eoin Boyle and Annie Birney from Dublin.

Ms Birney says its still sinking in.

Every morning we wake up and there is a massive seal colony on the beach right on our doorstep and the next thing you look out your window and a donkey is walking past, you dont know what youll see next.

The couple will live in accommodation on the island until October and run the island's coffee shop and private cottages.

Video journalist: Niall McCracken

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'Our Irish island is the last stop before America' - BBC News

The norths longest serving MP is calling for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) to be scrapped and replaced with a body that can better respond to the economic damage caused by the pandemic.

Former Scottish Secretary Alistair Carmichael claims the Inverness-based agency is now a shadow of its former self and there is an urgent need for an organisation with the reach and influence required.

Writing exclusively in The P&J today, the Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland says he would support a return to the model of HIEs predecessor agency, the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB).

Mr Carmichael makes the call amid concern that the severe economic impact of the coronavirus crisis on tourism-dependent rural areas could hasten a return to the Highland problem of depopulation.

HIE has recently faced cuts to its budget while also attempting to repair the Cairngorm funicular railway and create the UKs first vertical-launching spaceport near Tongue.

The Lib Dem chief whip writes: There is an urgent need now for a Highlands and Islands Development Board for the 21st century.

We do not need to re-invent the wheel here. The history of the last 55 years can tell us what will work.

We need a body with the reach and influence that characterised the HIDB the reach in our business communities and the influence in government to deliver for them.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise as we currently know it has had its day. It needs to be replaced with a body that can do what we need.

In 1965, the HIDB was created to try to stem a trend of depopulation that had begun with the Highland Clearances.

The board, which was well funded and had operational freedom, was replaced by HIE in 1991, including 10 local enterprise companies, which were subsequently axed by the SNP government in 2008.

In 2016, the Scottish Government faced heavy criticism after announcing plans to scrap HIEs dedicated board and replace it with a new panel overseeing all of Scotlands skills and enterprise agencies.

Opposition parties united against the move and a series of former bosses of the agency backed the Press and Journals Keep HIE Local campaign, which eventually forced a U-turn.

But Mr Carmichael says: Today the economic fallout of the Covid pandemic risks taking us back to the same Highland Problem identified by Russell Johnston and Wille Ross in the 1960s.

The need for a renewed vision of economic development with a political and social purpose is every bit as great today as it was then.

The people who know best what will help business to thrive are the people who run the businesses themselves.

The people who know best what is good for the community in places as diverse as Shetland, Orkney, Tain, Portree or Islay (to pick a few at random) are the people who live there.

Remote control from Edinburgh (or even from Inverness) has failed these communities for years. Continue to do that and we shall continue to fail. The only difference will be the speed at which we decline.

However, a spokesman for Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said: Other than expressing general criticism its not at all clear what Mr Carmichael is suggesting by way of reform.

Through its area offices across the Highlands and Islands, HIE continues to play a critical role in helping businesses, creating economic opportunities and supporting communities as we emerge from the global coronavirus pandemic.

The Scottish Government has targeted funding at businesses in the tourism, hospitality and culture sectors which are so important to the economy of the Highlands and Islands, part of a support package worth over 2.3 billion.

We are investing up to 135 million in the Inverness and Highland City Region Deal, 25 million in the Argyll and Bute Deal and 32.5 million in the Moray Growth Deal and are also committed to a deal for the Islands.

HIE vows to continue making positive impact after criticism from MP

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MP calls for Highlands and Islands Enterprise to be scrapped and replaced - Press and Journal

A stern robotic voice came over the in-room speakers of the Royal Emporium Hotel, in Incheon, Republic of Korea, at about 7 a.m. on July 10 in five different languages. It almost sounded like a female version of Hal 9000: If you are in the hall now, you should enter the room immediately. As I have repeatedly told you, you cannot leave the room during isolation.

I just arrived in Korea the night before and, after having been run through a gauntlet of extra immigration checks, filling out piles of what seemed to me to be redundant and Kafkaesque forms, and then being herded through the airport onto a bus with other travelers from half a dozen countries, I was inside my home for the next fourteen days.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic this spring, most countries shut their borders. Now, with over twelve million confirmed cases in the world, China and Japan are still closed to almost all foreign travelers in the world. When the European Union began allowing travel again, Americans were among those still banned from entry. South Korea is one of the only countries that never enacted such wide-ranging bans.

Instead, new arrivals must quarantine for fourteen days with their cell phones tracking their symptoms and their whereabouts. This isnt some unenforced self-isolation like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo suggests to visitors to his state. The quarantine regime in Korea is strict and closely monitored.

No one is allowed to exit their room at any time to stroll outside, buy something from the convenience store, or even wander the halls, and the cameras are closely monitored (those warning announcements come on three times today when other people entered the hallway). We are only allowed to open our doors briefly four times a day: to pick up three meals throughout the day and leave trash outside every night in double-bagged orange biohazard bags. Even the retractable windows are sealed with a layer of plastic tape.

Full-time residents of Korea with a permanent address and close family members of citizens can stay at their home or that of their spouse or parents. But for people like me, who are not a resident and dont have a Korean family, we must be taken to designated quarantine hotels, a policy put into force on April 1.

The process begins upon arrival at the airport (most likely the Incheon International Airport if youre flying from the United States). Before getting to the customs line, travelers have to pass through a new quarantine checkpoint. The checkpoint is divided into lines for long-term, full-time residents with addresses and those, like me, without one.

The quarantine line was short, especially for quarantine in a government facility. But a problem soon emerged when the officer asked where I would be staying. On the form, I had simply written Quarantine. (Korea Tourism Organization numbers indicate that month-on-month global entries to Korea were down 90 percent in May.)

I didnt know what my address was, I said. Isnt that the point of the governments quarantine facilities? They are for those who dont have addresses. The hotels are assigned by the government without the travelers input.

I was told to list a friends address. After calling a friend over Kakao Chat, I had a proxy address and phone number to use. Later, I reviewed the accounts of other Americans who had quarantined in Korea and found many of them also had to list a local address.

Next, I went towards the customs line but before I could get there, I had to pass through a zigzagging maze of stanchions, with almost no people in line, before I could get to a table where I sat down across from a man wearing ROK Army garb separated from me by a transparent wall. At that point, he checked my phone and found that I had already downloaded the old health-tracking app. (Later, at the hotel, they would tell us to delete that app and download a new version.)

Officials took my fingerprints and picture, which is an ordinary part of entering Korea, but then I was taken into an immigration and customs office room and where they asked me more of the same questions and took my fingerprints and photo taken again. That is where the officer explained to me the cost of quarantine (~1,600,000 won) and the strictness of the regulationstopics I was already familiar withbefore putting a red sticker on my passport and allowing me to pass through into baggage claim.

In baggage claim, I was briefly free for unsupervised interactions with the land and culture of Korealike taking a selfie in front of the display of K-pop group Blackpink saying Welcome to Korea. After picking up my bag, I was quickly ushered through the customs declaration checkpoint, where I had to put a lanyard around my neck, and joined a group of two dozen or so foreigners headed for the quarantine facility.

I had no idea where we were going but a fellow traveler had heard it was the Royal Emporium Hotel, a three-star hotel amongst a clump of other hotels on the eastern edge of Yeongjong Island. The Incheon Airport is on the same island. The drive was no more than twenty minutes, and the island is sparsely populated compared to urban Incheon and Seoul. (Just one thousand people per square kilometer in the Jung District, compared to sixteen thousand in Michuhol, the historic city center.) The popular Eurwangni Beach is on the opposite side of the island. In short, this would seem to be a pretty good location if the government wanted to keep the quarantined travelers away from population centers and young partiers away from the temptation to try to escape to a club.

But that hasnt stopped locals from protesting. When the decision to consider the Royal Emporium Hotel as a quarantine facility was announced in May, some residents opposed it, saying there were schools and apartments in the vicinity.

This morning, another announcement came on the speaker informing us that there were protesters outside and we should put our curtains over our windows and avoid doing anything to antagonize them. There was just one elderly man outside my window holding a sign and a police officer quickly told him to move. There may have been more protesters protesting in front of the hotel; my room is in the back of the hotel, and I sure wasnt going to go outside to look.

Outside my window, there is a blue tent, the kind you often used by Korean protesters, set up in a field of gravel but there has not been anyone at the tent all day. The sign on the tent reads:

, !!

No measures for residents safety, No measures for commercial safety, Awaken the government!!

Theres probably nowhere in the Seoul Capital Area that isnt within walking distance of schools, apartments, and businesses. It is one of the most dense and sprawling metropolises in the world, home to half of South Koreas entire population. However, the residents of the Royal Emporium and the other quarantine hotels are kept inside all day for fourteen days under the watchful eyes of security cameras, cell phone tracking, and an army of workers. It would not be easy for the virus to escape the quarantine area no matter where it is located.

The Ramada by Wyndham Yongin in Jeongdae, about an hour south of Seoul, has been the site of the most raucous protests. For the past week, protesters have been banging on drums and blasting music from loudspeakers as they do in Gwanghwamun, according to the New York Times. One quarantined guest quoted in the article asked to be moved to another room farther away from the ruckus only to be told that the entire hotel was full.

Business owners and locals of Jeongdae say that domestic tourism traffic to the Everland theme park and its related businesses nearby has decreased since it was reported one of the three hundred foreign travelers at the Ramada tested positive.

There have been 736 new coronavirus cases in Korea in the past two weeks, 38.2 percent of which have been imported cases. In all, there have been 1,791 imported cases recorded, but 72.6 percent of those came from Korean citizens, who are not subject to quarantine at designated hotel facilities. Moreover, the policy of quarantining all arrivals should significantly decrease the possibility that such imported cases are later spread to others.

It cannot be said, however, that Korean protesters are xenophobic. In January, protesters in other cities in the Seoul suburbs threw eggs at officials tasked with evacuating Korean citizens from Wuhan. (The alternatives would have been to either leave their fellow countrymen in Wuhan indefinitely or to let them go free and spread the virus throughout Korea?)

As for me, I will not know for sure whether or not I have coronavirus until I check outthe results of the nasal swab and saliva samples taken in the hotel lobby are announced then. Having a six-inch Q-tip-like thing twisted around up your nose is just as weird as it sounds. It is not painful, really, but it is extremely uncomfortable and leaves a sensation that lasts for a good fifteen minutes after its removed.

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My Quarantine Experience on Yeongjong Island in South Korea - The National Interest