Braised in the South food truck has been rolling through Charleston serving mouthwatering Southern fare since 2017. Now that theyve made a name for themselves in Charleston, co-owners Steve Klatt and Brandon Lapp are settling down at a brick-and-mortar space on Johns Island later this summer.

The truck started on a whim when Klatt applied to be on Season 8 of Food Networks The Great Food Truck Race. Klatt and Lapp brought their simple but bold flavors on the road with them and secured the win. When they came back home to Charleston, they had the name recognition to be highly sought after for public gatherings, weddings and corporate events.

Once open, the restaurant will serve their barbecue and Southern staples through a walk-up window, allowing patrons to either enjoy their meal on the back patio or take it home to their family. The back patio will be comfortable, down home, with a family-style feel with the help of cafe lights, planter boxes with herbs and misting fans to fend off the heat.

For fans of the truck, Klatt and Lapp will dedicate a section of the menu to favorites like their totchos, smoked wings, and pork and mac bowl. Theyll also serve sandwiches from the truck and barbecue platters featuring your choice of protein, bread, sauces, pickles and sides. The space will be especially family-friendly with fun items like soft serve ice cream.

Although Lapp and Klatt already have a large following, they are excited to develop a group of regulars in their own community.

What I think Im really looking forward to is [our] weekly specials. We arent going to do it right off the rip, but once we get going and were in a good spot we will start doing these daily and weekly specials. Well do bone-in fried chicken, whole fish fries, smoked rib nights; things like that.

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Braised in the South food truck will settle down on Johns Island this summer - Charleston City Paper

LIHUE Governor David Ige said Thursday he plans to allow indoor gatherings of up to 50 people and outdoor gatherings of up to 100 people on Kauai, and that the whole state could reopen to trans-Pacific travel as early as late July.

The details for Kauais next steps are outlined in Mayor Derek Kawakamis Emergency Rule 13, which was submitted to the governors office for approval early this week.

As of deadline on Thursday, Kawakamis office hadnt yet received approval on the proposed Rule 13.

If approved, gatherings would still be subject to all other existing state guidelines, including physical distancing from those not in the same household. More details, including a starting date for allowing these gatherings, will be announced after governor approval.

Ige mentioned the emergency rule in Thursdays 2020 Virtual Governors Luncheon, an annual event thats usually held at a Kauai resort and is hosted by the Kauai Chamber of Commerce. Pandemic-related emergency rules forced the 2020 meeting to an online platform.

In the meeting, Ige also touched on goals for reopening trans-Pacific travel, virus testing and contact tracing capabilities, the budget crisis with officials looking at an estimated $2.3 billion shortfall in the state budget.

Were going to have to look at hiring freezes furloughs program cutbacks because we dont have the revenues to maintain this size of government moving forward, Ige said Thursday. Discussions on those next steps are currently happening at the state level.

Then he said he was planning to approve Kawakamis Emergency Rule 13 later in the day, explaining I know that it is an important part of getting our economy going and being able to see a new normal of activity for our business and organizations throughout the state.

Ige said the whole state is taking phased steps toward reopening, pointing out Kauai has been trendsetting for the rest of the state since the early days of the pandemic.

You on Kauai led the way, far ahead of other counties, Ige said, highlighting the trailblazing steps Kawakamis Office has taken, like being at the forefront of reopening the beaches, bars and other businesses.

Trans-Pacific travel

With temperature checks set up at airports, a new form required for travel and the reopening of interisland travel without quarantine on June 16, Ige said the next step for Hawaii is creating an environment that allows us to bring out-of-state travelers back in a safe way.

Current strategy to do that involves targeting communities with a low prevalence of the virus specifically opening up first to places like Japan and Korea, requiring travelers to get tested for COVID-19 before they board the plane to Hawaii, and working with the hospitality industry to monitor traveler health after they land.

The process isnt instantaneous; airlines need 2-4 weeks to gear up and add flights and hotel properties need 4-6 weeks to prep for visitors.

We are working hard to have that happen as quickly as we can, Ige said, setting a realistic goal of reopening to trans-Pacific travel sometime from late July through mid-August.

Ige said he and his team know that relying on a single pre-test for COVID-19 before welcoming travelers to Hawaii is not a zero risk game, because they could get infected after taking the test, but the probability of infection is decreased dramatically upon pretesting for the virus.

Placing public health officers in resorts and other visitor lodging to monitor travelers after they arrive helps mitigate that risk, officials said.

Ige said the state is also looking at ways to support the Young Brothers shipping company, which has asked for a 34% increase in shipping rates and a reduction in partial-load shipments; re-evaluating capitol improvement projects state wide and is considering how to strengthen internet connectivity across all of the islands.

Jessica Else, editor-in-chief, can be reached at 245-0457 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.

Link:

A phased reopening - Thegardenisland.com

On Saturday, a charitable wash-ashore gifted three individual $10,000 checks to Island organizations: Saint Elizabeths Parish, the Marthas Vineyard Public Schools system, and the Island Food Pantry.

Edgartown seasonal resident Ernie Boch Jr. and old friend Ryan Ruley of Oak Bluffs joined forces to support Island organizations that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. Boch has been a resident of Marthas Vineyard since 1966, and has had a long-term relationship with Island fundraising. He knew there was a need to support, and reached out to Ruley to help devise a plan to maximize his efforts. During my conversation with Boch, he mentioned that while teaming up, Ruley told him where the funds could make the greatest positive impact for the Island.

Although Ernie Boch Jr. could not be in attendance, his son Alex Boch was introduced to his fathers philanthropic tendencies as he was accompanied by Ruley then a candidate and now a newly minted selectman in Oak Bluffs as they put on their masks and began their philanthropic Island tour, and personally handed out the $10,000 checks from Subaru New England.

The first stop was St. Elizabeths Church in Edgartown, where the duo handed Father Michael Nagle the first $10,000 check. Nagle is pastor of Good Shepherd Parish, which includes St. Elizabeth and St. Augustine. The church has been handing out groceries every other week during the pandemic, under the direction of Joe Capobianco.

This will allow us to continue to give out food and support Island families and individuals. Since the pandemic, there is a greater demand for food as people are getting laid off. There are a lot of moving pieces when feeding individuals, and this will be a fantastic help, Nagle said after receiving the donation.

The next stop on the Island philanthropy tour was the Marthas Vineyard Regional High School, where Boch and Ruley met up with Assistant Superintendent Richie Smith and cafeteria staff.

This will be going toward supporting and feeding a bunch of kids. As of right now, we are supporting about 600 to 700 kids a week, Smith said. Even when school is no longer in session, there are still kids. Our main focus right now is to support the students and work with the community to support feeding the kids.

The last stop on the tour was the Island Food Pantry in Vineyard Haven, where the duo handed the last $10,000 check to the executive director of the Island Food Pantry, Kayte Morris.

We feed about 250 to 350 families a week; this will go directly to food, transportation, and operation costs. Because of the pandemic, we are feeding more people than ever, and running at a crazy pace. We are a privately funded, small operation that is reliant upon donations, Morris said. Before the pandemic we had 80 consistent volunteers. Since the pandemic, all but four of them had to leave due to personal or financial reasons. Because of that, I have had to completely retrain an entirely new group of volunteers. We are fortunate to have had a wonderful response by the community, as many members have been able to fill in the gaps. Now that the state is opening again, the volunteers are going back to work, which is fantastic, but we are hoping that more people will volunteer in the future.

To contact Morris about volunteering at the Island Food Pantry, you can reach her at info@islandfoodpantry.org.

Read more:

Boch provides a boost for Island charities - Martha's Vineyard Times

Lane closure schedules may change at any time without further notice. All projects are weather permitting.

MAMALAHOA HIGHWAY (ROUTE 11)

HILO

Closure of single lane at a time on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 6 and 6.5, Liilii Street and Shipman Road, in the vicinity of Hilo on Monday, June 22, through Friday, June 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., for construction of a new traffic signal.

KAU

Closure of single lane at a time on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 28 and 32, on Monday, June 22, through Friday, June 26, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., for paving work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

KAU

Closure of single lane at a time on Mamalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 60 and 66, on Saturday, June 20, through Friday, June 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both

HAWAII BELT ROAD (ROUTE 19)

HAMAKUA

Closure of single lane at a time on Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) in both directions between mile markers 23 and 27, Kapehu Road and Jardine Road, on Saturday, June 20, through Friday, June 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

HAMAKUA

Closure of single lane at a time on Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) in both directions between mile markers 36 and 38, between Paauilo Makai Road and Kaunanano Road, on Monday, June 22, through Friday, June 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for guardrail installation. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

HAMAKUA

Closure of single lane at a time on Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) in both directions between mile markers 36 and 39, on Saturday, June 20, through Friday, June 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

KAWAIHAE ROAD (ROUTE 19)

SOUTH KOHALA

Closure of single lane at a time on Kawaihae Road (Route 19) in both directions between mile markers 62 and 67, on Saturday, June 20, through Friday, June 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

QUEEN KAAHUMANU HIGHWAY (ROUTE 19)

KONA

Closure of single lane at a time on Queen Kaahumanu Highway (Route 19) in both directions between mile markers 92 and 96, on Saturday, June 20, through Friday, June 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for storm drain inspection and cleaning. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

KEAAU-PAHOA ROAD (ROUTE 130)

PUNA (24-HOUR WORK)

Lane shift on Keaau-Pahoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between Ilima Street and Ainaloa Boulevard, on Saturday, June 20, through Friday, June 26, over a 24-hour period, for construction of the Ainaloa Roundabout.

PUNA

Single lane closure on Keaau-Pahoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between mile markers 0 and 4, on Saturday, June 20, through Friday, June 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., for landscape maintenance.

DANIEL K. INOUYE HIGHWAY (ROUTE 200)

HAMAKUA

Lane closure on Daniel K. Inouye Highway (Route 200) in both directions between mile markers 29 and 35, on Saturday, June 20, through Friday, June 26, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow)..

AKONI PULE HIGHWAY (ROUTE 270)

NORTH KOHALA

Closure of single lane at a time on Akoni Pule Highway (Route 270) in both directions between Akana Place and Makapala Road, on Monday, June 22, through Friday, June 26, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for waterline installation. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

Continued here:

Big Island Road Closures, June 20 to June 26 - Big Island Now

Sat, Jun 20th 2020 07:00 am

The Town of Grand Island has partnered with two local agencies to provide a virtual, live presentation with a question and answer session about solar parks and community solar.

Golden Age Center Director Jennifer Menter, Councilwoman Jennifer Baney, Councilman Thomas Digati, University at Buffalo Regional Institute clean energy coordinator Jason Kulaszewski, and PUSH Buffalo Program Assistant Lou DeJesus have been collaborating to bring a seminar to Grand Island residents. This seminar stemmed from inquiries from residents about solar parks and the desire of residents to know more about community solar plans.

As public officials, we get a lot of inquiries, and I frequently hear from residents wanting to know more about their options to buy into existing community solar, said Baney. I reached out to some experts in the field that we have worked with before, so that our residents can feel educated and informed about solar projects that are happening in their community. There will be a focus on consumer protection and how to determine if a company is reputable, which was a very important component to me.

I look forward to joining forces with PUSH Buffalo and the Town of Grand Island and learning more about solar energy with the senior population, said Menter. Learning how solar energy works, how to be more energy efficient, how to reduce energy consumption, and how to share this information through this virtual platform is an exciting and interactive way to learn about this popular energy source. I look forward to this presentation and this partnership.

UBRI is happy to support efforts on Grand Island to educate residents about the benefits of solar energy, said Kulaszewski. The town has been a local leader in solar development, and this event will continue to build on the success of previous educational campaigns like 2018s Solarize Grand Island that helped Grand Island become a designated clean energy community.

The seminar will take place at 2 p.m. on June 30. Residents can join the interactive session by logging into the Solar Energy Zoom Meeting at the following direct link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89856153493?pwd=T08xdlpiVWpCQzM0NjJHQm1sZVZpdz09. The Meeting ID is 898 5615 3493 and the Passcode is 025688. Residents can also call in to listen to the meeting and ask follow-up questions at the following phone number: 1-646-558-8656 and entering the Meeting ID.

The meeting will be livestreamed and available for later viewing at the Town of Grand Island YouTube page. Questions can be directed to Baney at 716-622-9006.

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Town of Grand Island partners with local agencies to address questions related to solar energy - Niagara Frontier Publications

UFC's schedule for its four events on Fight Island next month is just about full.

UFC president Dana White on Thursday revealed the company's main card lineups, as well as the majority of prelims, for events scheduled on July 11, July 15, July 18 and July 25. The events will be held at UFC's Fight Island, which is located on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

A UFC 251 pay-per-view event, headlined by three title fights, will kick things off July 11. The card will feature welterweight champion Kamaru Usman defending his title against Gilbert Burns. Other top bouts on the card are a featherweight title rematch between champion Alexander Volkanovski and Max Holloway and a vacant bantamweight title fight between Petr Yan and Jose Aldo.

UFC Fight Night on July 15 will be headlined by featherweights Calvin Kattar and Dan Ige, and former lightweight champion Frankie Edgar will make his bantamweight debut against Pedro Munhoz.

On July 18, a flyweight title rematch between Deiveson Figueiredo and Joseph Benavidez will serve as the main event. Figueiredo knocked out Benavidez earlier this year but missed weight for the bout and was ineligible to win the championship.

The flurry of UFC events on Yas Island will culminate July 25 with a middleweight main event between former champion Robert Whittaker and Darren Till. That main card also will feature a light heavyweight fight between Brazilian legends Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, as well as the return of formerly retired Swede Alexander Gustafsson against Fabricio Werdum.

The concept of Fight Island includes a hotel, arena and training Octagon on the beach as well as a 10-mile "safe zone" to secure the location from outside visitors. Only UFC athletes, their respective camps and staff will be permitted in the area.

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UFC fills out first four cards for Fight Island debut in July - ESPN

From the sea, volcanic Ascension Island looks as if its smouldering. Big mid-Atlantic swell rolling up from the Southern Ocean explodes onto the rugged cinder and sand shoreline, leaving sea spray hanging in the air like steam. Inland, its all black lava and red rubble, a forbidding landscape that once earned the island the tourist-repelling descriptor of hell with the fire put out.

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The mist that collects around the islands highest peak completes the smoky illusion. Rising above a cataclysmic backdrop of dormant craters, pyroclastic deposits and lava domes, 859m-high Green Mountain is a leafy oddity on the charred island: its flourishing cloud forest is testament to both the ingenuity of humans and the resilience of nature.

Planted on a desolate hilltop less than 160 years ago, the forest that began on a whim has started attracting the notice of scientists around the world. Upending traditional ideas of conservation, Green Mountain offers the hopeful idea that man-made ecosystems can improve our environment. As the climate crisis ravages landscapes and leads to catastrophic damage such as the recent bush fires in Australia the thriving jungle on Ascension bolsters the argument that maybe we can regenerate a forest using concepts from this remote and often forgotten place.

Ascension Island erupted from the Atlantic Ocean about a million years ago. Located midway between Angola and Brazil, the island got its name when it was rediscovered by Afonso de Albuquerque on Ascension Day 1503 (it was first spotted by Joo da Nova in 1501). For a long time it was only occupied by nesting seabirds and green turtles that make the 3,000-mile journey from Brazil to breed. Its first human inhabitants came in 1815, when the British Royal Navy set up camp to keep watch on Napoleon, who was imprisoned 700 nautical miles south-east on Saint Helena.

What you see on Green Mountain is something traditional researchers wouldnt have looked twice at

Ascension went on to become a useful stopping point for ships. But during his visit in 1836, Charles Darwin pointed out the islands most obvious flaw: its treeless, naked hideousness made it a tough place to live. Inspired by his friend Darwins theories about turning the arid landscape into a garden, botanist Joseph Hooker came up with a plan: by planting seedlings from around the world, trees could catch the mist and increase rainfall over the scorched island, making it livable.

The plan was a success. In 1860, John Bell, the island's horticulturalist, supervised the planting of some 27,000 trees and shrubs, which resulted in the development of enough soil to grow crops.

It was the opportunity to visit Darwins quirky and little-known forest, along with the mid-ocean promise of fresh raspberries and bananas, that drew my family to Ascension; an island that now has a population of around 900 people made up of American and British military and their civilian contractors.

Leaving our sailboat anchored in Clarence Bay, we drove our rental car out of Georgetown, along Nasa Road and through a blindingly bright lunarscape past the nightclub, the golf course, lava flows and volcanic craters and around the feral donkeys that were foraging in a desert of mesquite and prickly pear.

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Eventually we started up Green Mountain. Here the harsh sunlight was softened by mist and then blotted out by patchy rain. Then the road took us into a casuarina and acacia forest that could have come straight out of Australia. From there we drove into a dense jungle of bananas, ginger, juniper, raspberries, coffee, ferns and figs.

After parking, we set off on a hike. Encountering the occasional feral sheep, we walked along a cool, misty trail. Overgrown with Cape yews and Norfolk pines, descendants of some of the seedlings Hooker advised the British Admiralty to transport to Ascension from botanical gardens around the world, the forest felt deceptively ancient.

According to traditional ecological principles, this hotchpotch of endemic grasses and ferns combined with more than 300 non-indigenous species should never have evolved into a thriving ecosystem. Complex forests are thought to take millions of years of careful self-selection to develop. But the man-made ecosystem on Green Mountain, where introduced species and island plants seem to have evolved together, doesnt fit that paradigm. Its neither garden, nor wilderness.

What you see on Green Mountain is something traditional researchers wouldnt have looked twice at, Dave Wilkinson, ecology professor at the University of Lincoln, UK, told me over the phone, Because its completely dominated by non-native species, it would have been of no interest.

He added: Ecologists have traditionally focused on the natural bits, not the things that arent supposed to be there. Those things were considered bad.

Until recently, conservation meant getting rid of invasive species and allowing a landscape to return to the way it was before people got involved. On isolated and treeless Gough Island, 2,000 nautical miles further south, the English house mouse offers a classic example of what goes wrong when humans mess with the environment. In his book The New Wild, Why Invasive Species Will Be Nature's Salvation, author Fred Pearce describes how house mice got to the island from passing ships and then, over decades of windswept isolation, the mice mutated and turned carnivorous. They now consume a ton of seabirds a day, threatening the local population.

A chance visit to Ascension Island in 2004 got Wilkinson thinking about this natural versus invasive perspective. Most who see the forest say, Well this is very odd, and then go study the turtles or seabirds, he said. But Wilkinson couldnt move on. Green Mountain is a very dramatic example of something quite common: in a lot of the world, non-native species are a functioning part of the ecosystem.

Its a tropical forest on a site that didnt use to have a tropical forest

Wilkinson took the idea further in his controversial 2004 essay for the Journal of Biogeography, The Parable of Green Mountain, challenging the theory that introduced species dont belong and putting forward the argument that man-made ecosystems, like Green Mountain, could play a critical role in our future.

Over the next few years this idea gained traction, and in 2006 the term novel ecosystem was developed by renowned ecologist Richard Hobbs to describe places like Green Mountain that were irreversibly changed by human intervention and may not need to be fixed.

Anna Bckstrm, senior ecologist at the ICON Science Research Group, RMIT University in Australia, says that proponents of a novel-ecosystem approach have a pragmatic view of conservation. The concept offers more flexibility, she explained. Given the realities of climate change, human impact and the small amount of funds usually available for conservation, she says that by accepting the changes humans have made, ecological restoration is more manageable. The landscape doesnt have to revert to what it was, she said. We just want diversity and balance.

This idea, that the service an ecosystem provides such as flood control, carbon sequestration or pollination is more important than a forests pristine condition is becoming embraced more widely. As ecosystems are thrown into chaos through the fires, storms and disease brought on by the climate crisis, its becoming more about resilience than anything.

If a group of plants survive, and some of them are non-indigenous, we dont want to rip them out, Bckstrm said. Diversity in the ecosystem is more important than a plants origin.

Going even further, Wilkinson says that the novel-ecosystem approach allows ecologists to account for some of the forces that might shape the ecosystems of the future. Twenty years ago conservation managers would never consider planting a non-native species, but now we know the value of having a mixture of trees on the site so if a tree pathogen, fire or storm comes through you dont lose absolutely everything, he said. With a novel-ecosystem approach, conservationists have the freedom to rebuild a now-dry flood plane with drought-resistant species or replant a fire-ravaged landscape with plants that thrive in a hotter region.

What this means is the experiment of Green Mountain, where plants were thrown together from different places and then somehow thrived, can perhaps be replicated. It tells us that controversial ideas like Chinas, to plant billions of trees to hold back the desert; or Australias push for people to plant non-indigenous fire retardant plants and trees are worth looking at closely. Darwin and Hookers novel idea tells us when it comes to survival, sometimes its okay to experiment and create something new.

Green Mountain is a very dramatic example of something quite common

The thing that struck me the most when I stood on the misty summit of Green Mountain, looking over the arid lowlands out to the sea, was the awareness that in traditional ecology there should never have been a Green Mountain. Even Hooker came to regret the forest and the damage it did to Ascensions native ecosystem, with the introduced plants eventually outcompeting the sparse growth that was there.

But luckily, there was never that much interest in digging up Green Mountain. And then time went on and longtime Ascension Island conservation officer Stedson Stroud discovered that the once thought-to-be-extinct Ascension Island parsley fern hadnt actually been wiped out by the new plants, and that some of the islands other native plants actually grew better because of the introduced species.

Wilkinson says that in the past five to 10 years, a shift in thinking meant conservationists began to see the accident of Green Mountain as something optimistic, Its a tropical forest on a site that didnt use to have a tropical forest. Were used to seeing the opposite; tropical forests are cleared and then theyre gone.

Wilkinson says while you probably cant build a Green Mountain after every fire, or whenever pests or pathogens destroy a forest, Darwin and Hooker did leave us a few clues for building a more resilient world. We live in a time of accelerating climate change, when disease moves more quickly than evolution. Just look at how Covid-19 sped around the world, he said. Green Mountain shows that you can bring ecosystems back or potentially put them into places where they werent before on a timescale of less than a century.

They wont be as diverse as a tropical forest thats been there for millennia. But theyll exist.

The World of Tomorrow is a BBC Travel series that visits ingenious communities around the world that are adapting to environmental change or who are finding new ways to live sustainably.

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The island with a key to our future - BBC News

LIHUE Tuesday was the first day for residents to travel interisland without being quarantined, and at Lihue Airport three women from Oahu took the opportunity to fly over to Kauai and pick up new, furry family members.

We came to pick up our puppies that have been waiting for us, said Oahu resident June Rae, cuddling one of the three-week-old red toy poodles alongside traveling companions Mani Woo and Christina Martinovic.

The trio has been waiting to pick up the puppies until quarantine was lifted. They said the dogs were about $2,000 each, bought through Kauai-based John Burgess, owner of Hawaiian Xotix Toy Poodles and Yorkies.

Rae said the three were planning to fly back to Oahu on a return trip later in the day, and said the interisland process was fairly smooth to navigate. The main challenge they faced was keeping their masks on.

Rae said they downloaded the newly-required inter-island travel forms ahead of time, which helped streamline the pre-boarding process. Planning ahead, they said, was the key to smooth travel.

When you first arrive the National Guard will go ahead and take your temperature, and we go through a line. Then you go to the person who is going to collect those forms, and they just review it to make sure its signed, said Maritnovic.

Rae said she even brought onto the flight a small spray bottle of hand sanitizer and they didnt say anything to me.

Martinovic, Woo and Rae said they noticed the flight from Oahu to Kauai was pretty full.

I didnt feel like there was much social distancing on the plane, Martinovic said.

Rae added: Yeah, there were people next to you if you were seated on the two-seater side.

Martinovic said Hawaiian Airlines staff was very welcoming and happy to see customers.

Sheleah Watson also arrived on Kauai on an Oahu flight on Tuesday morning, traveling with her kids. Watson works at Barking Sands on the Westside of Kauai, and was traveling for work. She said her flight was fairly empty, with chairs in between passengers.

When traveling with kids, (that) helps, she said, expressing her gratitude for the resumption of interisland flights. Im glad they are opening it between the islands. I think it makes sense. Im here for work. I work at the end of Barking Sands.

Watson said the process was easier than she thought it would be, especially if passengers plan ahead, fill forms out before arriving at the airport and follow the rules.

Hawaiian Airliness Senior Specialist for External Communications Marissa Villegas said Hawaiian Airlines is excited to greet residents once again.

We are thrilled to be able to reconnect kamaaina with their family and friends and give them the opportunity to take a much-needed staycation on a Neighbor Island, said Villegas. Given Hawaiis success in managing the spread of COVID-19, we believe that neighbor island travel will help stimulate economic activity across the state and serve as a critical indicator in the phased reopening of Hawaii.

According to Hawaiian Airlines, they want their guests to feel confident traveling to, from and between the islands, and they want Hawaii residents on every island to feel comfortable accepting travelers.

Villegas said that, During this time, we have adopted numerous measures throughout our operations to protect the health of our employees and guests and give travelers peace of mind, including frequent cleaning and disinfecting of our airport spaces and aircraft, electrostatic spraying of cabins, check-in, boarding, seating and deplaning procedures to increase personal space, encouraging travelers to check-in via our mobile app, and requiring employees and guests to wear a face covering (except for young children and those unable to do so due to a medical condition).

Weve also capped our main cabin load factors at 70%, and blocked all middle seats to ensure our guests and crew-members have more personal space, said Villegas.

I recommend you review our Keeping You Safe webpage to learn how we have adjusted our operations so the community may continue to enjoy safe and reliable transportation: hawaiianairlines.com/KeepingYouSafe, said Villegas.

Villegas said Hawaiian Airlines is encouraged by brisk booking activity since the state announced it would remove the interisland quarantine effective Tuesday.

As of today, we have increased frequencies on all of our neighbor island routes, ranging from seven to up to 11 daily round trips per market, based on demand, and will continue to adjust as needed, said Villegas.

To download the newly-required interisland travel form, visit: health.hawaii.gov/travel.

Stephanie Shinno, features and community reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.

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Interisland travelers tell all - Thegardenisland.com

Mackinac Island is continuing to open up and eager to have visitors back.

Some new things you might notice when visiting this summer include a huge pavilion that looks over the water at Mission Point Resort.They are opening back up June 25 and hope to have the pavilion done by then.

Another new addition to the Island is the Great Turtle Distillery.They have a loaded menu from food to drinks.

Another great spot to grab a bite to eat is at Marys Bistro.They are now offering a contactless menu and their same beautiful view of the water.

When visiting, if youre looking for a more private place to stay, youll want to check in at Small Point.

Its a bed and breakfast on the Island that is taking all the necessary precautions to keep their guests safe.

Of course, before you leave Mackinac Island, youll want to take a souvenir with you.Urvanas has some of the most unique gifts youll find on the Island.

They have all handcrafted things from jewelry to knives.

For more options when it comes to souvenirs, you can head over to the Loon Feather and Balsam Shop.They have everything from Mackinac Island sweatshirts to jewelry.

To get a look at everything the Island has to offer, youll want to hop on a Mackinac Island Carriage Tour to take you around.

Plus The Grand Hotel opens Sunday.

Our On The Road Crew, Gabriella and Stephanie, give us a look at all these spots!

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MTM On The Road: A Tour Around Mackinac Island - 9 & 10 News - 9&10 News

Love Island's Malin Andersson has posted a poignant tribute to her tragic co-star to Sophie Gradon two years after her suicide.

Sophie was just 32 when she took her own life back in 2018.

Two years on from the tragedy, her TV co-star Malin, 27, led tributes by sharing a picture of the pair together on the ITV dating show.

In a picture shared on Instagram, Malin and Sophie are seen in the Love Island villa alongside co-stars including Olivia Buckland, Kady McDermott and Zara Holland.

She wrote alongside the snap: "Always right beside me. Then, now. Forever. I know youre dancing with my girls. Love you Soph."

The remark about her "girls" was a heartbreaking reference to Malin's late mum, who died in 2017 after a battle with cancer, and her daughter Consy, who passed away in 2019.

Kady commented on the post by leaving a series of love heart emojis.

The islanders all starred in the 2016 series alongside Sophie, who died two years after her appearance in the show.

She took her own life in June 2018 after battling a series of personal problems.

Her death was followed by another tragedy when Love Island 2017 star Mike Thalassitis also took his own life in March 2019.

The tragedy prompted ITV review their policies regarding Love Island an implement new policies to safeguard contestants' mental health.

The show was rocked again in February this year when host Caroline Flack also died by suicide, prompting the show to be briefly taken off air.

Love Island's winter series finished but the summer show and the next season planned for January have since been scrapped due to the coronavirus outbreak.

It's now expected back on TV in summer 2020.

* Samaritans (116 123) operates a 24-hour service available every day of the year. If you prefer to write down how youre feeling, or if youre worried about being overheard on the phone, you can email Samaritans at jo@samaritans.org

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Love Island's Malin Andersson posts poignant tribute to Sophie Gradon two years after suicide - Mirror Online

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Large mass of grasses creates floating island in Muskegon - WNEM Saginaw

Island residents and businesses concerned about the number of island visitors not wearing masks in public, especially in Old Harbor District where passengers get off of the ferry and congregate in town, addressed those issues with the Town Council at its Wednesday meeting this week. As a response, the council is now considering an island-wide requirement for people to wear facemasks in public while on the island.

Several of us met with the Department of Health officials, and they were concerned about the situation on Block Island, said Second Warden Andr Boudreau.

Boudreau went on to say new regulations will be coming out shortly from the state, and the state can only do so much given our [location]. We cant rely on the state to come out here and enforce our rules. We need to have a partnership with them, and our leadership needs to take part in that.

Lacoste announced the state is doing some inspections around the state, including Block Island, to ensure businesses are in compliance with the Department of Health regulations that have been issued.

Lacoste made a motion to have town attorney Kathy Merolla draft an amendment to the town emergency ordinance requiring masks to be worn in public. Merolla will come back with a draft amendment at Wednesdays, June 24 council meeting.

Council members also gave Councilor Sven Risom the okay to move forward with his effort to meet ferry passengers at Old Harbor and provide them information and masks.

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Town Council considering ordinance to require mask wearing on island - Block Island Times

Jersey's Consumer Council is urging people to be cautious when booking travel off-island whilst advice is uncertain.

Both Easyjet and British Airways have re-opened their booking systems from early July. The government has also indicated that some commercial travel could resume in a matter of weeks, when the island hopes to move into Level 1 of its exit strategy.

Carl Walker, Chairman of Jersey Consumer Council, told ITV News people should avoid booking unless they could afford to risk the money spent.

Yes, it's very tempting but we are still in uncharted territory, we still don't know if those flights are going to go. There's still a huge question mark over whether even if restrictions are lifted, are the flights looking to obtain a certain number of seats sold before that flight will go, and if not they may cancel or move it again.

I'd advise unless it's essential, just hold fire at least a little bit longer and wait to see what happens. Flights are going to be available, airlines will be opening new routes, or re-opening routes, throughout the next six months, 12 months as we go forward. There are still going to be options there, but unless you can afford to live without that money you are going to put down now, don't do it, hang on a little bit longer.

Carl Walker, Chairman of Jersey Consumer Council

The Consumer Council have had many queries from people who have already paid deposits on holidays due to take place in August, where they are now being asked to pay the remainder.

Because the travel exclusions don't extend beyond June and July at the moment, they can't automatically get a refund. What some holiday companies are offering are credit notes or vouchers to move that holiday, which is certainly an option, but if islanders are really intent on taking the holiday, book it on a credit card.

If they haven't got a credit card, ask a family member or friend to book it for them, and they can then transfer that money across. It's really important because it gives you that extra protection should the holiday be cancelled and avoid you having to try to go through that voucher process.

Carl Walker, Chairman of Jersey Consumer Council

Condor has announced they will not resume sailings until 2 July at the earliest.

Earlier this week, Manche Iles Express, which connects the Channel Islands to Normandy, suggested holidays to France could soon be on the horizon.

In a press release they stated that although the Channel Islands did not form part of the Schengen zone (to which travel restrictions with France have already been eased), they took hope from President Macron's assurance that travel outside of Europe would become possible to places 'where the pandemic is under control'.

See more here:

Think twice before booking off-island travel, says Jersey Consumer Council - ITV News

UFC president Dana White began touting a welterweight title bout between champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal as far back as January, when a heated exchange between the fighters during Super Bowl week lit a marketing fuse that was expected to detonate a blockbuster main event on July 11.

But a lot has happened since the heat for that fight started to build, including the world changing due to the coronavirus pandemic. The International Fight Week card on July 11 has turned into the first card on Fight Island, also known as Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

And while Usman will indeed be defending his belt, it won't be against Masvidal, who has been waging a passionate battle against the UFC on social media for fighter pay after his negotiations for the Usman bout fell apart. Instead, Gilbert Burns has stepped into the challenger's role for UFC 251.

Saturday's UFC Fight Night main event features sizzling heavyweights Curtis Blaydes and Alexander Volkov, who have each won seven of their past eight fights. In the co-main event, featherweights Josh Emmett (15-2) and Shane Burgos (13-1) are set to square off.

UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Volkov Saturday, Las Vegas Prelims: ESPN/ESPN+, 5 p.m. ET Main card: ESPN/ESPN+, 8 p.m. ET

Subscribe to ESPN+ to get exclusive live UFC events, weigh-ins and more; Ariel and the Bad Guy; Dana White's Contender Series; and more exclusive MMA content.

So what now for Masvidal, the UFC's 2019 fighter of the year who hasn't fought since beating Nate Diaz for the mythical BMF title on Nov. 2?

And how does UFC 251 look without him? There will be two title bouts other than the main event, including Alexander Volkanovski defending the featherweight championship against Max Holloway, and Petr Yan facing Jose Aldo for the vacant bantamweight belt.

ESPN's expert panel of Ariel Helwani, Phil Murphy, Brett Okamoto and Jeff Wagenheim addresses Masvidal's situation, the reality of Fight Island, the UFC 251 title fights and more.

Helwani: I don't mean to be a downer, but it's a real bummer. Usman vs. Masvidal was the fight to make, plain and simple. It was the fight to make the moment Usman walked out of UFC 245 as the reigning, defending welterweight champion in December. Then they had their Super Bowl run-in, and it got even more interesting. And, you'll recall, Dana White told the media during Super Bowl week that this fight was going to happen in July. And now it's not. Of course, a lot has happened since then, but still. This card would be so much more intriguing if that were the main event. And I hope this doesn't come across like I am disrespecting Gilbert Burns. I'm really not. I have a ton of respect for the fighter he has become and for what Burns has done this year. But there are a bunch of people he could fight next. The Masvidal story is more pressing. This was the culmination of 18 years in the game -- from the backyards of Miami to the desert of Abu Dhabi, sprinkled with some real bad blood. I'm sure Usman vs. Burns will be fun and entertaining, but I'm not over Masvidal's removal from this card just yet. I wish they could have come to terms on a deal that made sense for all and we got the fight we were promised months ago.

Murphy: Masvidal has been the no-brainer booking for Usman since their verbal sparring session at Super Bowl Radio Row. The confrontation made UFC public relations seethe and its marketing team salivate. Usman-Masvidal was the biggest draw at 170 pounds by a country mile, which is saying something in a division that deep.

That's not a knock against Burns, either; he is undeniably deserving of his shot at the belt. Given the recency of his dominant win over former champ Tyron Woodley, Burns could easily have been labeled the No. 1 contender and challenged the Usman-Masvidal winner late this year.

The effect on Masvidal's future can still be minimized. Should he land opposite the Usman-Burns winner as next in line or atop the marquee against Conor McGregor, luring the Irishman out of an abrupt third retirement, the UFC 251 miss can be redeemed. I think this ultimately ends well for Masvidal.

Okamoto: It's a bummer. No other way to say it. Masvidal and Usman had heat. It's the title fight we thought we were getting all year. I love Masvidal's story. He has been hiding in plain sight his entire career, and then he caught fire in 2019. I want to see the end of that story. The Darren Till knockout, Ben Askren highlight, BMF title ... does it all lead to a UFC championship? Feels like the story isn't finished. Holdouts are a part of professional sports. Masvidal is not the first pro athlete to hold out for a better contract, nor will he be the last. I hope we see him fight for a title, but I don't know what his future holds. The UFC just showed it was willing to move on from him once. And after this fight between Usman and Burns, guys such as Colby Covington and Leon Edwards will be waiting to take the next shot. I'm apprehensive about Masvidal's future, to be honest. I hope they're able to work it out.

Wagenheim: I'd be upset about the absence of Masvidal if the UFC were shoving him aside and feeding us another bogus championship fight. (We're already getting one of those with Yan vs. two-losses-in-a-row, 0-1-at-bantamweight Aldo.) But Burns is a legit 170-pound challenger, as Edwards would have been if he had accepted the title shot. So the show goes on. As for Masvidal, his is a cautionary tale, one that has been told before and will continue to be reprised until fighters learn to act in their self-interest. I'm not even talking about them organizing. We've seen those efforts run out of steam again and again, so maybe a fighter association is simply not to be. But why do athletes let their managers negotiate long-term contracts without every nuance covered in writing?

1:06

Before he takes on Max Holloway for the featherweight title, take a look at some of the best fights from Alexander Volkanovski's career. Order UFC 245 here on ESPN+ https://plus.espn.com/ufc/ppv.

Helwani: Volkanovski vs. Holloway 2. Historically, when an ex-champion gets an immediate rematch after losing his or her belt, it doesn't bode well for the former titlist. Will the same thing happen to Holloway? Also, a second straight loss to Volkanovski would put Holloway in purgatory at 145, not that long after it seemed like he would be reigning supreme at featherweight for years. How does Holloway respond to that loss? Will he make adjustments, especially when it comes to checking those leg kicks? How will Volkanovski respond after hand surgery? And will he feel the pressure that comes with being the hunted and not the hunter for the first time? All those questions and more will be answered. Intriguing fight.

Murphy: The main event between Usman and Burns is my favorite of the three, almost by process of elimination.

Aldo is no better than the fourth-most deserving bantamweight for a shot at the vacated belt. Part of me feels like we're watching a Grand Prix semifinal, with Aljamain Sterling waiting for the winner in the championship. In the co-main event, nothing from Volkanovski piecing up Holloway for 25 minutes six months ago suggests 25 more minutes will finish any differently.

In Usman vs. Burns, though, you have former Blackzilians training partners with world-class grappling in different disciplines who share two of the longer active UFC winning streaks. The matchup is replete with a backstory that's a refreshing change from "these two don't like each other." It's top-tier MMA with scores of options in how the fight will unfold, many of which would keep fans on a knife's edge.

Okamoto: The main event. If I could only watch one of the three, it's Usman vs. Burns. Just the tear Burns has been on; and teammate vs. teammate is always an interesting storyline to me. I definitely want to see if Holloway can get back on track. If he loses to Volkanovski, he'll be 1-3 in his past four fights. That would have seemed inconceivable at the start of 2019. And, of course, I want to see who claims the vacant bantamweight championship. That's one of the most intriguing divisions in the sport right now. But that said, the welterweight main event is still the most interesting to me.

Wagenheim: I'm most looking forward to Volkanovski vs. Holloway 2. How will each man look? Prior to their meeting in December, Holloway was a dominant featherweight champion. But Volkanovski controlled nearly every second of their 25 minutes in the cage together. Was that the result of a great game plan by the City Kickboxing coaches? Or is the Aussie simply the better man? Was Holloway depleted by the beating he had taken from lightweight Dustin Poirier eight months earlier in an attempt to add a second title belt? If so, will Max be himself this time? Volkanovski feels "disrespected" by those who question his title-winning performance and says he'll knock out Holloway this time. That's even more reason to be excited for this rematch.

Helwani: I don't want to be the guy who says I told you so, but ... I told you so. I never believed "Fight Island" was going to look like everyone thought it would. But I'll tell you what, this has been some of the UFC's best promotional work in years. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked about Fight Island since the pandemic hit us here. It has truly captured the imagination of the world. So, kudos to them. I guess a lot of people never watched BodogFight back in the day. It actually held fights on a beach. It was cool and all, but nothing to get all crazy about. Anyhow, I bet some people will even tune in on July 11 because of the Fight Island name alone. The question is, will they be disappointed when they do so?

In the end, the real victory here is that the UFC figured out a way to hold events internationally so all the fighters outside of America can fight and get paid. I'm certain none of them cares if the fights are happening on a beach or not, anyway. This just opens up the matchup possibilities exponentially, and we see that with the July 11 card.

2 Related

Murphy: Is anybody not a little disappointed Fight Island is only a marketing tool? UFC president Dana White told TMZ, "I have a private island that I've secured," and he told Brett Okamoto, "We really are putting an Octagon on the beach." The picture those interviews painted is far more "Street Fighter" than the site that hosts four cards over 14 days next month.

Technically, Yas Island is hardly more of an island than the United Kingdom. In fairness, "Fight Archipelago" looks far less sexy on T-shirts. ("Fight Isthmus" has potential.)

Billed as a rogue expedition into the combat sports unknown, this is actually a third trip to a city that has hosted UFC pay-per-views as recently as September. The sealed-off, 10-mile "safety zone" is the one attribute with a Fight Island feel -- until you learn the safety zone also has a water park, Ferrari World and an Ikea.

Okamoto: I'm as guilty of over-fantasizing about Fight Island as anyone. I even wrote a (super awesome) song about it while I was stuck at home in March. A Caribbean island somewhere, with palm trees and waves crashing next to the Octagon? I pictured all of that. So, now it's in Abu Dhabi, where the UFC just was in September. So, am I a little let down? A tad. But also ... I don't care. I just want to see the sport pick up and operate at pre-COVID-19 levels, and that's what Fight Island accomplishes. It's an opportunity for international athletes who might have had trouble getting into the United States. The spirit of Fight Island will live through Yas Island, even if it's not exactly what we imagined.

Wagenheim: I'm a bit let down, honestly. Dana White sold us on Fight Island with scant details, but what we are getting is far less exotic than what a lot of us imagined -- and even less so than what the UFC's own T-shirt designers envisioned. Logistically, this is going to mean arduous travel for around 100 fighters and their teams. On the other hand, any concerns about sufficient medical care being available on some remote outpost are alleviated by the fights being on an island that's part of Abu Dhabi, a city of 1.4 million people with several hospitals. And location aside, it's good to see fighters from outside the United States having an opportunity to get back in the game.

Helwani: I'll offer two: Holloway and Paige VanZant. The former because if he loses a second straight fight to Volkanovski, he will be in featherweight purgatory, meaning as long as Volkanovski is champion, Holloway won't sniff a title shot. It's just really hard to justify giving a title shot to someone who is 0-2 versus the champ. Just ask Chad Mendes, Urijah Faber or Joseph Benavidez. And then you can say, well, he can just move up to 155 if he loses; but when Holloway fought Poirier at lightweight last year, Holloway looked really small, so I'm not sure that is the answer for him. And PVZ because this is the final fight on her UFC contract. Most expect her to leave and join her husband, Austin Vanderford, in Bellator, but you always want to enter free agency coming off a win. What if she scores an incredible win? Maybe the UFC offers her a big contract -- or at the very least, her price tag goes up for Bellator and others. If VanZant loses, she has way less leverage.

Murphy: Back-to-back wins over undisputed featherweight king Aldo moved Holloway into the conversation for best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet. A decisive loss to Poirier for the interim lightweight belt was forgiven, as Holloway was visibly smaller and trying to join the ranks of champ champs. A decisive loss to someone in his own division, though, has put Holloway's career at a crossroads. Volkanovski picked apart Holloway at UFC 245. Despite two 48-47 scorecards, there was no doubt fans would hear Bruce Buffer say, "And new," when the horn sounded after the fifth round.

Either Holloway solves a puzzle he had little success handling in December or his career takes another step along the trajectory of that of Aldo and countless other greats who string together losses without warning. With no shortage of depth at 145, two losses against the champion would mean a long road to title consideration for Holloway.

Okamoto: Volkanovski. That might sound strange, considering Holloway is the one who lost his title in December and has lost two of his past three contests. But Holloway is popular, and he will still be popular after UFC 251, win or lose. If Holloway loses, I imagine he'll move up to 155 pounds, where there are plenty of big fights for him. Volkanovski is also popular, but not to the extent of Holloway. I don't think Volkanovski would get an immediate rematch if he were to lose. Volkanovski probably would fall back in line a bit, and right now, that's a tough line at 145 pounds. Volkanovski is going to face plenty of the top talent in that division. The question is, is he going to face them as a champion making a title defense? Or will he face them as a contender, trying to get back to the title? I'm sure he'd rather do it as a champion, as the money will be much better in that scenario. Volkanovski has the most to lose at UFC 251, there's no doubt in my mind.

Wagenheim: There's pressure to go around, really. Looking at the eight fighters in the three title bouts and the rematch of former champions, I think the least pressure is on Burns (his fast rise has him kind of playing with house money) and Aldo (his legacy is set, and a bantamweight fight isn't going to tear that down). Among the other six fighters, I'd say it comes down to Volkanovski and Holloway for the most pressure. A second loss by Holloway could push him permanently out of the title picture (same goes for Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas). But I'll go with Volkanovski. He looked spectacular in winning the belt in December. If Holloway turns the tables on him in a big way, Volkanovski could be remembered as a mere blip on the featherweight radar. Another dominant performance, on the other hand, would cement the Aussie's place.

0:28

Chan Sung Jung lands a vicious punch to the head of Renato Moicano in the first round. For more UFC action, sign up here for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc.

Helwani: I want to be realistic with this choice, otherwise I'd go with something like Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz 3 or Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou. Obviously, they aren't doing those fights in July because the pay-per-view main card is already set, and there's no way they are giving those away for free. Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa is another perfect international fight, but again, it's not happening in July (though it was discussed). So, while it sounds like they are close to making this fight happen later this summer, I am going to ask to expedite the rumored but not yet officially announced Brian Ortega vs. Chan Sung Jung grudge match. Jung must defend Jay Park's honor once and for all! Jokes aside, it's been almost two years since we've seen Ortega fight, and his last fight was for the title against Holloway. I'm curious to see how Ortega looks these days, and I think Jung deserves a title shot if he wins. Plus, the backstory is just too much fun.

Murphy: Mackenzie Dern's grappling legend was built all over the world; she owns a stack of IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation) gold medals from Mundials and other elite jiu-jitsu tournaments. Abu Dhabi, though, is the site of maybe her greatest upset, a win over nine-time world champion Gabi Garcia in the Absolute division at WPJJC (World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Cup). Given the region's love for jiu-jitsu -- and Dern's legacy in the sport -- it would be great to have her represented somewhere on the four Fight Island shows.

Dern absorbed only seven significant strikes in her first-round kneebar win over Hannah Cifers last month. Dern told Daniel Cormier in the postfight interview she wants a short layoff, returning to the Octagon at some point this summer. I don't know if I have a specific matchup in mind. Any unranked strawweight grappler against whom Dern can show she is ready to climb that steep divisional ladder makes sense, including Randa Markos or a Montana De La Rosa rematch, among others.

Okamoto: We did a panel a little while back about building your fantasy Fight Island main card. And I had a featherweight fight between Zabit Magomedsharipov and Yair Rodriguez on mine. I don't think that fight is going to be anytime next month, but I'll still use it as my answer. I want to see that fight. Book it. Fight Island, Las Vegas, anywhere. I need to see it.

Wagenheim: I have no reason to believe that either Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje or Israel Adesanya vs. Paulo Costa is in peril, but I'll cite those must-see fights anyway because they are the only two championship matchups I see on the horizon that cannot be replaced. Neither has a Burns-type Plan B. For UFC title belts to mean something, matchmakers must book those fights and not stray from them.

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UFC 251 -- Which fighter faces the most pressure on Fight Island? - ESPN

This time last year Whiddy Island in West Cork was bustling with people who had caught the ferry for the short trip from Bantry to ramble the islands boreens as part of the Bantry Walking Festival. Not so this year. The very popular Bankhouse pub run by Kathleen and Tim OLeary is closed and hardly a boat pulls in to the pier.

Bantry has had a phenomenal success in recent years with its trio of international festivals that are the envy of the country: The Chamber Music Festival; the Masters of Tradition festival; and the West Cork Literary Festival. Whiddy benefits from the spillover with many visitors to the festival catching Tims ferry Ocean Star 3 across on the 10-minute trip. Throw into the mix the Fit-up Festival, the Walking Festival, and the cruise liners that have been arriving for the last few years and the region was doing very well from tourism.

However, Tim is philosophical about the turn of events brought about by Covid-19.

For years, the islanders have been ooking for recognition of how difficult it is to live on an island. Its all very rewarding too of course, but difficult to run a business. Now the HSE with their guidelines are trying to protect the islands very much.

The big opening up is on July 20 [phase 4 but not islands], theyre seeing if it will work, instead of endangering the islanders theyre giving us three weeks more and theyre hoping that when things change on August the 10 that things will be OK. If elderly people on an island got it, its nearly as serious as a nursing home, says Tim. The logistics of getting them off the island would be very challenging, he says.

Whiddys population has actually been increasing in the last few years. While some of the older residents have passed on, new people have arrived, including from Cork City, Co Meath, and Switzerland. There are now 25 people living on the island. A far cry from its pre-Famine peak of 800, but it is recovering.

Twenty years ago they said only rabbits would be living on Whiddy. A crowd makes a crowd and theres a community centre being built and we have a regular ferry service. Im not saying we have a booming community but were still there. I accept its very heard for people who have holiday homes on the islands. I have a sister in Wexford and a sister in Dunmanway and they havent seen my mother since this started. Thats very hard. But I accept its tough for everybody, says Tim.

Tim says the island has its regular visitors many of whom come over from Eagle Point Camping at Bantry.

Whiddy Island

We have people who come to Whiddy to socialise every weekend, they come to walk the island, theyre our friends and we miss them. We look on them as our diaspora. We cant wait for them to come back when things are safe. Ive had a lot of phonecalls from them in the last few months and its never when are ye getting back?, its how are ye doing on the islands, is everything all right? says Tim.

There are no Covid-19 cases on Whiddy in large part due to the care people have been taking. However, theres no getting away from the loss of business.

The festivals are a huge loss to us this year. And the passenger liners too. They were really building up. We do a lot of business with Excursions Ireland and before the liner would come in wed have tours sold to them. We were fully booked for this year, he says.

Whiddy Island Ferry

With the population on the rise, better infrastructure has followed. Tim says the authorities are much better to them now than they were. We have very good roads, good piers, a regular ferry service. We have all the amenities but not the people. Before, we had all the people but not the amenities. Maybe sometime down the line it will all balance out, he says.

As for the future post-Covid-19 he strikes a positive note.

Well have social distancing on the ferries, well be down to a third of capacity. Well get on with it. Id be positive enough. There are a lot of rewards living on an island but life is a bit harder too. Were used to challenges. If we adapt to this as we have to other challenges well be fine, says Tim.

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Islands of Ireland: Whiddy in the same boat - Irish Examiner

MACKINAC ISLAND, MI -- Both ferry lines are carrying passengers, some bikes are lined up to be rented and a handful of restaurants are opening this weekend as Mackinac Island wades carefully into its summer season with what its mayor has called a soft, soft opening.

Today is the beginning of a big, cautious exhale for Michigans top tourism destination. The island has remained closed to almost all but essential workers since mid-March as officials there followed Gov. Gretchen Whitmers stay-home executive order during the coronavirus crisis. The current statewide stay-home order has been extended to June 12.

While the governor allowed bars and restaurants to reopen in the Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan ahead of Memorial Day weekend, island officials decided to remain closed to tourists for the holiday to give themselves and businesses another week to prep new health and safety amenities.

I am still very, very concerned about keeping everyone on Mackinac safe and healthy, Mayor Margaret Doud said this week during a special City Council meeting held via video on Zoom. She said officials and island businesses have worked hard to not only keep island residents safe during the past few months, but planned diligently to set up precautions as the island begins to reopen to guests.

We cannot go backward. If we do, we know what is going to happen, she said, talking about the specter of a second shut-down that would keep tourists away from the island.

She reiterated that she wants to see a gradual, controlled opening phase where employees and tourists alike remain vigilant as far as social distancing, sanitizing and hand-washing, and wearing masks in enclosed spaces.

I think we can do it. We have to keep our eye on the ball.

The million-dollar view from the lawn of the Inn at Stonecliffe, where a new beer garden and food truck-style dining is making its debut. Photo courtesy of the Inn at Stonecliffe.

Phasing in the islands summer tourism season has a lot to do with lodging. Some of Mackinacs larger resorts wont be reopening until later in June. Grand Hotel will see its first guests on June 21, while Mission Point will reopen on June 25. Mackinac State Historic Parks attractions on the island, including Fort Mackinac, will open on June 19.

For an updated list of when specific hotels, B&Bs and attractions will open, see the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau website.

The islands public health task force distributed a set of recommendations for businesses as they work to reopen and bring over employees during this new era. Guidance on daily health checks, an initial quarantine period and best practices for keeping everything sanitized is included.

Tourism officials have been working with city leaders to roll out some public hand sanitizing stations and signage for island guests. More signs in business windows and sandwich-board style signs in public areas reminding people about social distancing and health/safety precautions are expected to be placed as more things reopen.

During the soft-soft open the only things you can do on the island are take a ferry ride, rent a bike, shop and eat, said Mackinac Island Tourism Executive Director Tim Hygh.

Mission Point's 18-acre grounds hug the Mackinac Island shoreline along the Straits of Mackinac. Photo courtesy of Mission Point.

Going forward, city leaders are looking for more ways to allow for social distancing on what can be a crowded Main Street during the summer and fall season. They are exploring ways to reduce bicycle parking on that main thoroughfare where bikers, walkers and horse-drawn carriages are often in tight proximity.

The current situation will mean changes for some favorite spots. For example, Stonecliffe Inn has temporarily closed its Cudahy Chophouse and instead opened the Mackinac Island Food Truck and Beer Garden on the inns expansive back lawn overlooking the Straits of Mackinac. Mission Point Resort is offering a wider selection of to-go meals and picnics from its kitchens, and has increased its outdoor seating options.

For more information on the islands early season, see the tourism bureaus website.

For ferry service schedules, check the Star Line and Sheplers websites.

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Mackinac Island eases into summer season with soft, soft opening - MLive.com

Rivers Cuomo has shared a cover of I Dont Know How To Love Him from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar watch it below.

The Weezerfrontman shared the rendition on Twitter ahead of this weeks episode of his Islands In The Stream sessions. It comes after his recent covers of Green Days Good Riddance and Nirvanas Heart-Shaped Box.

I Dont Know How to Love Him was originally written byAndrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice in 1970 forJesus Christ Superstar. It originally featured Yvonne Ellimans Mary Magdalene singing the song.

Sharing the cover on Twitter, Cuomo wrote: Heres my cover of I Dont Know How To Love Him from last weeks Island In The Zoom.Tune in tonight at 6:25 PST for another episode, featuring guest star.

Watch Cuomos rendition of I Dont Know How To Love Him below:

Earlier this month, Weezer postponed the release of their forthcoming album Van Weezer indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was originally set to be released last week. Speaking about the forthcoming album with Beats 1s Zane Lowe last year, Cuomo said it was all just guitars.

So far, theyve shared three of its singles: End of the Game, Hero, Blue Dream. The last of those was debuted on an episode of The Simpsons.

Meanwhile, Green Day,Fall Out Boy, andWeezer have officially postponed the North American leg of their joint Hella Mega Tour due to coronavirus.

It comes after they were forced to cancel the inaugural European leg, which was setto take place in June.

See more here:

Watch Rivers Cuomo cover Jesus Christ Superstar song for Islands In The Zoom sessions - NME

RICHMOND, Va. -- Hundreds of people gathered at Brown's Island in Richmond Sunday carrying signs and chanting in a peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd following two nights of destructive riots in the River City.

"We do not want violence today," said Sam Reed, who was one of the hundreds of protesters who took part in the nearby Justice for Black Lives Car Rally. "If you act a fool, you will be booted out."

Demonstrations were sparked across the country and in Richmond in protest of the death of George Floyd, a black man who died Monday after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck until he stopped breathing.

Signs filled the sky at the Brown's Island event, which featured speakers, artists and a march, to bring attention to the deaths of black men and women like Floyd, Ahmad Arbery, Breonna Taylor. They died at the hands of police or former police officers.

Arbery was shot and killed in Georgia following a struggle with a former police officer and his son in February, and video showed the two men block his path as he ran down a suburban road.

Floyd died in police custody in Minnesota on Monday, and video showed an officer kneeling on his neck as he struggled to breathe.

Taylor was shot in her Louisville home in March when police entered her home on a "knock-free" warrant. Thinking the police were intruders, she shot at the officers, who then responded with fatal fire of their own.

One protester at Sunday's event called Richmond a "great city full of great people."

"It's for a great cause," she said. "This is bigger than all of us."

Organizers said they were cognizant of the devastation the two night of riots caused to Richmond businesses.

"The people who live here are going to protest peacefully," Stephanie Hewlett said. "The destruction that's happening that I've seen is not of our people."

Reed said the event left her full of emotion, hope, pride and joy because "we need that in order to move forward."

"Everyone is necessary in order to win the battle," Reed added.

Community leaders are planning a call to action event Monday at 1 p.m. at the Richmond Reconciliation Statue.

Read this article:

Hundreds gather at Brown's Island: 'We are going to protest peacefully' - wtvr.com

PRESS RELEASE:The San Juan County Health & Community Services surveillance and contact tracing team is actively investigating a positive COVID-19 case with ties to San Juan Island.

The case technically belongs to another county due to both the patients residence and the testing location being on the mainland, however the patient had recently worked in San Juan County. The initial cause of transmission to the patient was due to an off-island exposure.

The County contact tracing team has been aggressively reaching out to anyone who may have had close contact with the patient. At this time, the risk to the broader community appears to be low. The patient was tested at a mainland clinic as soon as symptoms appeared, and the results were received within 12 hours.

This case is a perfect reminder of the need to remain cautious and focused. Though there is reason to think the risk with this case is low, the situation will require ongoing follow up and monitoring by public health surveillance staff to identify and prevent community spread.

As we move into Phase 2 and prepare for Phase 3, we will need to be vigilant. Whether the source be a worker or visitor coming to the island, or an islander headed to the mainland for a visit with family, shopping trip, or work the need for safety precautions is real. This is why there are strict guidelines for businesses as they open, why the face covering order is in effect, and why those who are at high risk are asked to minimize their exposure as much as possible.

San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James summarizes the situation, It is too soon to know for sure, but I think theres a good chance we have avoided community transmission on the island from this case. If so, this will be a textbook example of why the precautions were taking to keep the islands safe matter so much. The fact that the patient was tested quickly by their provider, that their employer was taking full precautions, and that our community and the patient have been covering their faces all matter. If were going to avoid outbreaks we all need to wear face coverings, social distance, and continue to wash our hands. As we move forward toward opening our economy we have a collective responsibility to do so safely.

If the early assessment of this case changes or if additional positive cases are identified, updates will provide further details as they are available.

Again, this case will not appear on San Juan Countys official count- but has certainly triggered a local response and merits increased local awareness. This disease is still a threat to our community.

END OF PRESS RELEASE

Here is a list of the cases so far in San Juan County

As of May 28, 1118 tests had been conducted and 15 people tested positive. Eight on Orcas Island, six on San Juan Island and one on Lopez Island.

The dates shown are the dates the information was released.

MARCH 20 - MORE INFORMATION

1. Orcas Island - Person

MARCH 24 - MORE INFORMATION

2.Orcas Island - Person who was close contact of first case

MARCH 26 - MORE INFORMATION

3. Lopez Island - Person

March 28 - MORE INFORMATION

4. San Juan Island - Resident who was exposed at Seattle fire station where he works. He was called while on traveling home to the islands on the ferry. Stayed in car, contacted Peace Island Medical Center, was tested by a healthcare worker while in his car. Stayed home for 14 days. MORE INFORMATION

APRIL 1 - MORE INFORMATION

5. Orcas Island resident -

6. Peace Island Medical Center staff member. Ordinarily, the county Health Department does contact tracing. PIMC is doing its own contact tracing with advice from San Juan County Medical Officer Dr. Frank James.

APRIL 4 - MORE INFORMATION

7. San Juan Island - A San Juan Island Emergency Medical Services person.

8. Orcas Island - Person who is a close household member of one of the earlier Orcas Island cases.

9. Orcas Island -A man - half of a couple who run a farm on Orcas Island

10. Orcas Island - A woman -half of a couple who run a farm on Orcas Island MORE INFORMATION

APRIL 7:

11. San Juan Island

12. Orcas Island

APRIL 10:

13: Orcas Island

APRIL 16:

14:San Juan Island

MAY 5, 2020 - ACTUAL ONSET DATE APRIL 1

15. San Juan Island

COVID 19 INFORMATION LINKS

Microsoft Interactive Global Map of COVID 19

Centers for Disease Control

Washington State Coronavirus Response

Governor Jay Inslee

Washington State Dept. of Health

San Juan County Dept. of Health

San Juan County's Hot Topic: Contact Tracing

San Juan County Case Numbers

San Juan County COVID 19 Hot Topics

San Juan County Departments' Service Status during COVID-19 Crisis

FAQs about San Juan County's Stay at Home Order

King County/Seattle Dept. of Health

Whatcom County Dept. of Health

Skagit County Dept. of Health

Original post:

New COVID-19 case with ties to San Juan Island under investigation - SanJuanIslander.com

Kumu is Hawaiis only endemic shallow-water goat fish. It occurs no where else in the world other then here in Hawaii, and it was once one of the most common fish on the reef. You often see the word kumu used in the Hawaiian language, like kumu hula or master teacher in the art of hula

This special fish is in the goat fish family, and has two barbels that resemble the goats beard. They use these barbels as little electromagnetic sensors that probe the sandy bottom to find hidden shrimp, crabs or small fish. Kumu is very good at finding small creatures hiding in the sand. and this may have lead to their decline in numbers. Kumu is such a master at finding the hidden food that other fish follow it around and try to steal the meal as soon as kumu scares it up from its sandy home. It is really fun to watch kumu hunting with two papio (jacks) on each side just waiting to steal its hard-earned meal.

Back in the 1950s the state imported the blue-stripe snapper (taape) from Marquesas Islands into Hawaiian waters, and this schooling fish exploded in numbers.

Today, over a third of the fish on the reef are taape, and they can have over 500 fish in one large school.

Now when the kumu is out feeding, hundreds of taape are in the area to steal its meal versus one or two papio in the past. The taape realized quickly that the kumu is a master at finding dinner, and they have taken advantage of this and have almost wiped out this colorful, native Hawaiian species.

Kumu are good to eat, and were one of the Hawaiians favorite food fish, but now they are quite rare and tend to live in caves where they feed at night.

Their bright-red color is actually black when they are in a cave because the red wavelength of light does not make it into the cave, so kumu are actually black, and are hard to see, so they can hide from the sharks, monk seals and large predator fish that might eat them.

You can see kumu in action in the movie The Worlds Guide to Hawaiian Reef Fish at underwater2web.com.

Terry Lilley, a marine biologist and lives in Hanalei. His websites include underwater-2web.com and http://www.gofundme.com/5urrm4zw.

Originally posted here:

Meet kumu the whitesaddle goatfish - Thegardenisland.com