STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Built in 2005, this all-brick, center-hall Colonial is located in a private wooded neighborhood at 120 College Place, Todt Hill.

It is priced at $2,888,888, as listed on SILive.com."The house has multiple large balconies and terraces, framed with columns and elaborate aluminum railings, for relaxing and enjoying the views," according to the listing on Staten Island Multiple Listing Service at SIBOR.com.

The listing mentions that the uniqueness of this property is a remarkable product carried out by the building team. For its construction, skilled masons, stone cutters, inlayers, carvers, painters and other artisans were requested and hired."

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

With the housing industry one of the hardest-hit commercial sectors during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Staten Island Realtors have developed a virtual home showing and open house process to assist home buyers and sellers.

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

120 College Place, Todt Hill

KRISTINA GERSHTEYN of ROBERT DEFALCO REALTY, INC. is the listing agent. (Courtesy Staten Island Board of Realtors)

Link:

Staten Island Home of the Week: Multiple large balconies and terraces, $2.9M - SILive.com

(Photo courtesy Kintsugi via Facebook.)

As many Canadians are learning to deal with a prolonged period of isolation, its something the only two people on Little Bay Islands opted for when they decided to remain in the small, island town.

Mike Parsons and his wife, Georgina Parsons, made the decision to be the only full-time inhabitants on Little Bay Island last year.

Now theyre some of the most isolated people in the province.

Mike Parsons says it has been surreal sitting on the outside, looking in from their own little bubble.

As someone who not only lives a life of isolation but who thoroughly enjoys it, Parsons offered some helpful advice for those not used to being alone.

He says coming up with a routine and trying to stick to it every day helps pass the time and provides a sense of purpose.

They post updates on their blog Kintsugi Little Bay Islands on Facebook.

Read the rest here:

Lone Residents of Little Bay Islands Share Tips for Living in Times of Isolation - VOCM

As the coronavirus spread rapidly through the rest of Southold Town, Fishers Island residents have banded together to avoid potential catastrophe on their remote, four-square-mile island.

Just two cases of COVID-19 have been documented among islanders, according to officials at the Island Health Project, a nonprofit formed to raise funds for Dr. Chris Ingram, the small communitys only physician.

The first patient was evacuated March 27 via marine Sea Stretcher to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., and discharged April 1. That patient and a family member who also tested positive are now both recovering at their primary residence off-island, officials said.

Southold Town Supervisor Scott Russell said Monday that the town is looking into how numbers are reported for Fishers Island.

Residents usually seek medical treatment at health care facilities in Connecticut, Mr. Russell said. I do not know if there is reporting to the New York State Department of Health of any positive cases.

Four people listed as persons of interest have completed isolation periods and Dr. Ingrams latest update on Friday noted that there are no new cases of COVID-19 to report.

The Island Health Project and Island Community Board have teamed up to urge homeowners coming to the island to abide by a strict set of protocols to limit potential spread of the virus and because limited resources are available locally.

Any residents arriving on Fishers Island are asked to self-quarantine and practice social distancing measures even if they are returning from a quick trip off-island to run errands.

Think carefully before coming, or leaving and returning, Dr. Ingram wrote in an April 10 letter.

The ferry, which is running on a reduced schedule of three round-trips per day, also has precautions in place to limit exposure, now prohibiting riders from exiting their vehicles while in line for or on board the ferry.

The Village Market, the islands sole grocery store, remains closed but is accepting orders via call or text, and the post office has restrictions in place to limit the number of people inside at any given time.

Before Gov. Andrew Cuomos mandate that New Yorkers wear masks in public spaces, Fishers Island residents were already being urged to take the precaution.

Dr. Ingram developed an unofficial health census to track COVID-19 to prepare for community needs as well as track how many part-time residents have flocked to the haven, which has approximately 250 year-round residents.

The head count currently stands at about 500 people, but he said he believes hes missed many households.

The population grew very quickly as seasonal residents moved back to their homes there to shelter from the virus, Mr. Russell said. Still, he said, the remote nature of Fishers Island and population numbers, which increase seasonally to approximately 2,000, are not ideal conditions for the virus to spread. Being on an island, theyre much less likely to frequent more densely populated areas where infection is more likely, the supervisor said.

Last week, Dr. Ingram said island organizations are working to get a supply of virus and antibody tests to Fishers Island.

A group of volunteers is helping to explore solutions for supply and funding, he wrote April 17. Testing at this point is imperfect, so its not 100% clear how testing results could be applied to our situation. Nevertheless, we believe testing protocols will be critical to maintaining safety and order on the island as the summer season approaches.

In his latest update April 24, Dr. Ingram protocols for the summer must be developed in line with state policies. This summer will be very different from normal, the physician warned residents, adding that childrens programs and institutions will likely remain closed and big parties are definitely discouraged.

Please begin envisioning your summer to be simpler and more family oriented, less social, more self-sufficient and less reliant on services of various kinds, Dr. Ingram told residents.

He said even a modest increase in population will increase the risk for an outbreak on Fishers Island. With that in mind, Dr. Ingram said they are trying to bring additional medical staff to the island but residents shouldnt take that as false hope that theyre protected.

In the meantime, all residents of Fishers Island are being urged to continue social distancing to stop the spread of the virus.

Fishers Island Justice Louisa Evans, a member of the Southold Town Board and island resident, said its heartening to see how the organizations are working to keep residents safe, even without the presence of a local governing body.

It seems like people are taking the correct precautions and following guidelines. In a small community like ours, it is important that people willingly come together to establish expectations and help and look out for each other, she said.

View post:

On Fishers Island, protocols in place to limit spread of virus - Suffolk Times

It didnt get really bad until around mile 20 when herlegs began to bother her. And then the skies opened and she was running throughhard rain and wind.

There was an upside, however. The downpour took my mindoff the pain, year-round Islander Alex Graham said.

Ms. Graham ran her first marathon on Sunday, completing a 26.2 mile course that took her from Wades Beach all the way out to Ram Island, to Silver Beach, and back through the Center and finishing at her starting point.

A few friends and family ran with her for shorter distances throughout the day, including her friend James Marshall. But I was never really alone, she said, noting that people along the way were on the sides of the roads to cheer her on. Some people had signs and cars would honk and people would yell out their windows, she said.

Last week the Reporter noted several spots along the route she would pass so people could gather to cheer and encourage her, but some took it upon themselves to cheer at other locations.

The marketing professional was supposed to run the prestigious Big Sur Marathon in California this past weekend, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the marathon and her California trip were cancelled. She had trained for over a year for her first-ever marathon.

Her race Sunday was to test herself finishing in thevery respectable time of 4 hours and 37 minutes but also for her community,she said, promoting the recently formed Shelter Island Alliance.

She and Brett Surerus created the nonprofit Alliance tohelp Island restaurants weather the economic storm brought on by the pandemic,as well as helping feed healthcare employees working long hours without breaks.The idea is to keep the restaurants functioning and also pay them to help feedthe staffs at Eastern Long Island and Stony Brook Southampton hospitals throughdonations.

The Alliance has also expanded its scope to help peoplein need on the Island.

Donors choose the restaurant they would like to supportand the amount they want to donate and then go to Venmo Shelter Island ActionAlliance (@shelterisland-actionalliance). Or checks can be made out to ShelterIsland Action Alliance and sent to P.O. Box 452, Shelter Island, NY 11964.

Donations go directly to the restaurant of choice, whichwill determine the best way to optimize the money to feed the most people.

Ms. Grahams solo race gave the Alliance a boost, she said. Many people have contacted us, she added.

So far, the nonprofit has delivered and scheduled morethan 3,000 meals.

Her start Sunday morning at Wades Beach was quiet, with afew friends, including Adam Bundy who played a recording of the National Anthemfrom his car. The weather was perfect for a long distance run, she said, cooland overcast. But that changed with the downpour when she got to the SilverBeach-stretch of her marathon.

She as asked if she ever hit the wall that distancerunners speak of, the time when energy is drained and one foot in front ofanother can be an ordeal. If there was a wall, she ran through it, she said.But she did suddenly understand the runners wisdom that a marathon doesntreally start until mile 20.

Ms. Graham credits Mr. Marshall and Mr. Bundy as her unofficial trainers, who especially helped with ideas on nutrition for the endurance sport.

Back where she started at Wades Beachfour-and-a-half-hours before, Ms. Graham was exhausted but proud of achieving along-sought goal, and doing somethingmeaningful for her home town.

She also wanted everyone to know: I finished first.

For more information on the Shelter Island Alliance, email [emailprotected] or phone 631-806-5458 (Brett Surerus) or 646-415-2792 (Alex Graham).

Read the original post:

Running for her hometown; Alex Graham completes marathon on the Island - Shelter Island - Shelter Island Reporter

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has wreaked havoc on nursing homes and adult care facilities throughout New York, with more than 3,500 deaths within the state as of Tuesday 125 of which were on Staten Island.

The stress of housing the boroughs most vulnerable population and the overflow of a strained health care system has caused concerns in multiple nursing homes across the Island, according to interviews with approximately a dozen health care workers and family members of residents.

In March, Dr. Ginny Mantello, the boroughs director of health and wellness, told the Advance/SILive.com that nursing homes were a critical piece in the puzzle to lessen the burden on hospital systems.

The least we can do is say the ones that are not critically ill and not in an ICU setting and not on a ventilator should be sent to the next step down level, Mantello said, which is not a triage tent, its not a building we stood up to take patients, its not a dormitory or a hotel its a nursing home."

That approach, according to Mantello, was executed and allowed hospitals to care for the most severe coronavirus patients throughout the height of the outbreak in the borough.

After weeks of extremely limited testing, Staten Islands 10 skilled nursing facilities, the Advance/SILive.com exclusively reported, will have all of its staff and residents tested in conjunction with a borough-wide partnership.

Mantello credits nursing home facilities across the Island for recognizing that keeping the coronavirus out of individual homes was an impossibility, and taking the the approach that it was the homes moral duty ... their obligation to the community, to the hospitals, to everybody, to be able to help decant these patients out of the hospitals in an effort to reduce hospital overload.

The extent of the role nursing homes played in reducing hospital capacity is becoming increasingly clear, with dozens of senior residents being discharged from hospitals to the care of the nursing home facilities in the borough.

Since the onset of the virus, Staten Island University Hospitals two campuses have discharged 105 COVID-19 positive patients to skilled nursing facilities across the Island. This total includes patients who were initially at the nursing homes.

The total number of coronavirus patients discharged from Richmond University Medical Center to nursing homes was not available.

37

Life on lockdown: Coronavirus in NYC

STATE MANDATES

On March 25, the New York State Department of Health issued a directive that No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the NH (nursing home) solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19.

During this global health emergency, all NHs must comply with the expedited receipt of residents returning from hospitals to NHs, said the directive.

The state Health Department did not provide the number of patients who were discharged from hospitals into nursing homes throughout New York by the time of publication.

On Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo firmly referenced the states directive and said nursing homes are required to have enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff, isolate coronavirus positive residents, only re-admit positive coronavirus residents who can be cared for properly, and notify all residents and their family members if any resident tests positive or dies as a result of the virus.

Cuomo also announced that the states Health Department will be partnering with Attorney General Letitia James to investigate violations of the mandates, saying that facilities could be fined $10,000 per violation or even lose their operating licenses.

Beginning Thursday, nursing homes must immediately report all actions they have taken to comply with state Health Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) directives. The New York State Department of Health will investigate those who have not complied with those guidelines.

Photo shows the entrance to the Carmel Richmond Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center in Dongan Hills on Friday, April 17, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/ Paul Liotta)

NURSING HOMES PERFORMED VALIANT EFFORT

In addition to re-admitted patients deemed stable by hospitals, some of the boroughs largest nursing homes, including Carmel Richmond Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, in Dongan Hills, and Eger Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, in Egbertville, have taken coronavirus patients who were not previously residents.

Carmel Richmond has admitted a total of 19 COVID-19-positive patients from the hospital as of April 22, as required by the state, according to Jon Goldberg, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, which runs the facility. As of last Friday, Eger Health Care and Rehabilitation Center had admitted the same amount, with more expected.

As ArchCare noted in its statement last Friday, the number of deaths by facility released by the state on Friday dont distinguish between infections that may have originated in a particular nursing home and those that were introduced to the nursing home by already-infected patients coming from the hospital, Goldberg said.

The statement came after a New York state survey determined at least 44 people died as a result of the coronavirus at the Dongan Hills nursing home. It was the only Staten Island nursing home on the list, which included any nursing home with more than five reported deaths.

However, Borough President James Oddo, who has called for more action to protect nursing homes, said in an interview with the Advance that hes worried that the list could paint an inaccurate portrait of how the virus is affecting the states most vulnerable.

I dont think that number, in a vacuum, and having Carmel Richmond alone on that list, is fair to those heroes that work in that facility and run that facility and are doing their very best under circumstances that they did not create, said Oddo, who added that he had only positive experiences when his loved ones were in that nursing home.

That sentiment is furthered, as some nursing homes including New Broadview Manor in South Beach have received no patients from hospitals during the pandemic, the facility said.

Without additional context, the number of Covid-related deaths in a given nursing home is a misleading statistic,'' the ArchCare statement said last week. "On their own, these figures do not accurately reflect the overall quality of care a facility provides or its diligence in trying to control the infection.

New York City announced on Thursday that it would surge supplies and staff to nursing homes across the city, including multiple borough homes.

Mantello, despite the lack of testing and PPE available, said the efforts performed by nursing homes throughout Staten Island was very valiant, to say the least."

Our nursing home partners stepping up was very brave on their part, she said, adding that the facilities were forced to stretch themselves to the limit in order to help overall hospital capacity in light of earlier projections, which forecasted long-term overflow at hospitals across the city.

Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered supplies to Richmond University Medical Center today along side him were Borough President James Oddo, Councilwoman Debi Rose and Assemblymember Charles Fall. April 20,2020. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)

OUR RESPONSIBILITY

Regardless of the new patients admitted into nursing home facilities from hospitals, borough senior living centers reported positive coronavirus cases even before the state mandate as a variety of factors, including staff with limited PPE, could cause the virus to transmit easily.

It doesnt matter if a nursing home has 20 patients or 30 from a hospital that are COVID positive -- remember, they have staff going in and out daily, said Mantello.

(COVID-19) is in every nursing home, an ArchCare spokesman said previously. Theres absolutely no way to contain it, no matter how hard they try."

Concerns about the availability of testing within nursing homes and adequate PPE have been strongly aired by facilities, officials and health care workers alike.

In an interview with the New York Times, Scott LaRue, the president of ArchCare, said: I cant test, I dont have PPE .. What am I supposed to do?

Testing for the coronavirus at individual nursing homes has been an impossibility so far, effectively handcuffing the facilities, and with larger hospital systems such as Northwell Health fighting for PPE, smaller institutions like skilled nursing facilities were left in a somewhat untenable position, Oddo said.

In the face of criticism against nursing homes and how individual facilities handled the outbreak, Oddo said: If youre going to be angry at someone, be angry at us. Be angry at us in government.

In a crisis to this degree, individual hospitals, individual hospital systems, individual skilled nursing facilities they have a responsibility, but ultimately the only entity out there that could provide the answer to the problem was government, and we didnt, because there are nurses and aides walking through skilled nursing facilities without the proper PPE, Oddo said.

A sign on Manor Road gives strength to Staten Islanders. Wednesday, April 8, 2020. (Staten Island Advance/ Jan Somma-Hammel)

PERSPECTIVE FROM THE FRONT LINE

A nurse in a Staten Island nursing home, who answered emailed questions from the Advance/SILive.com from her hospital bed in Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze, said the coronavirus continues to take a heavy toll on the health care workers in the boroughs senior facilities.

After attending to 47 patients during a single shift on April 2, the woman said she began to feel body aches, chills and headaches. The next day, the woman said she called her sister-in-law to take her 10-month-old baby in fear she could infect her child.

After heading to a City MD, a chest X-ray confirmed pneumonia, though the facility did not have enough capacity to test for the coronavirus at the time. After receiving antibiotics, her chest pain progressed and her fever rose before she was taken to RUMC.

Within days, she returned home, but ended up calling the state Health Department to have a coronavirus test conducted and was swabbed the next day at 11 a.m.

Her condition continued to stagger, with her oxygen dropping to dangerous levels. Family and friends were checking on me, urging me to go back to the hospital, she said.

After days of pain and struggling to breathe, I rushed to SIUH ER Friday April 10 around 4:30 a.m. and was admitted for hypoxia -- low oxygen, the woman said.

Days later, the woman was discharged; however, she said she felt a lack of proper PPE contributed to my illness.

We were being told to use one surgical mask during our shift,'' she said. "I was one nurse for 40-50 almost every night at work.

This photo provided by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows CDCs laboratory test kit for the new coronavirus. (CDC via AP) APAP

A CORONAVIRUS TRAGEDY

The reality within nursing homes for some families despite what some officials say has been concerted efforts to handle the pandemic proactively has been bleak.

For one woman, whose 89-year-old mother was a long-term resident of Carmel Richmond, the coronavirus situation in the facility accelerated rapidly.

Early in March, the woman said she noticed visiting protocols being changed at the nursing home. A week later, visitors were not allowed in the nursing home.

The following week, she was told patients had tested positive for the coronavirus but that her mother was not symptomatic. Then I was called and told that she had a fever, but she didnt have the virus, she said.

Just days later, she was told her mother had the coronavirus and was dehydrated. That was on Sunday, and then Monday night they called me and told me she died," she said.

See the rest here:

How Staten Island nursing homes stepped up to face hospital coronavirus overflow - SILive.com

The grizzly bear Mali, relocated a couple of weeks ago after it showed up on Hanson Island, was shot dead last week by a resident in an act of self defence.

B.C. Conservation Officer Service confirmed that the incident took place on the evening of April 20. Investigation into the circumstance concluded the shooting was in self defence and no charges were laid .

Mali was identified by the ear tags that were placed on him during the relocation operation when he was moved to a remote area on B.C.s mainland.

In a statement, the Conservation Officers Services said that the bear was killed more than 30 kilometres away from the isolated area where it was released.

The grizzly bear made headlines earlier in April due to the historical nature of joint efforts in its relocation operation. Several groups including conservation officers, First Nations and the Grizzly Bear Foundation came together to relocate Mali.

READ MORE: Young grizzly bear saved by the joint efforts of First Nations and conservation officers on Hanson Island

Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said that although the bear was successfully relocated, there was no means to trace its movements and it must have wandered off again into a residential area in search of food or a new habitat.

Unfortunately Mali wasnt collared when he was relocated since everything happened very rapidly back then, said Scapillati.

The bears death highlights deeper issues such as climate change, lack of salmon and habitat loss among other issues which may be causing bears to wander into residential areas.

Mali had previoulsly swum to Hanson Island in search of food.

Grizzly bears are moving across the Island and we need to put some science behind this issue and find out why they are moving, said Scapillati.

He also said, that on spotting a bear in a residential area, most people panic and resort to guns which often results in the death of the bear.

Conservation officials throughout the region have been advising on the use of bear spray as the most effective tool and a safer option for both citizens and bears.

Scapillati stressed on increasing awareness through educative campaigns about bear sprays and attractants so that humans and bears can live in peaceful coexistence in the future.

Malis situation could have been very different, he added.

However, the joint conservation efforts that took place in relocating Mali earlier was a positive development in conservation efforts, setting precedent for more such rescue and relocation operations.

Sad things can happen in conservation sometimes, but you learn a lot and know that more grizzly bears need to be protected.

The conservation officers will give Malis body to the First Nations who will hold a small burial ceremony for the bear.

READ ALSO: Vancouver Islands bear patrol is watching your garbage

ConservationEnvironment

Excerpt from:

Grizzly bear just relocated from Vancouver Island shot dead - Nanaimo News Bulletin

One inmate used an alcohol pad that a barber had given him after a haircut to sanitize a frequently used Rikers Island jailhouse phone. Another used a sock to hold a phone during a 15-minute call. A third said he and others have used diluted shampoo to disinfect cell bars and table tops.

In the nearly two weeks since the coronavirus seeped into New York Citys jail system, fears have grown of the potential of a public health catastrophe in the cellblocks where thousands are being held in close quarters.

Public officials have been working to release hundreds of people in jail, but while that effort is moving forward, law enforcement officials concerned about public safety have urged caution. Inside the jails, meanwhile, inmates including some of those waiting to be released have been struggling to protect themselves from the virus.

Youre on top of one another no matter what you do, said one man who was released from Rikers Island recently, who asked to be identified by his first name, Jimmy, because he feared retribution from law enforcement officials. Theres no ventilation. If anything is floating, everybody gets it.

As public officials across the country scramble to release their own vulnerable populations in jails and prisons as a result of the coronavirus, New Yorks complex on Rikers Island has provided a case study in the difficulty of balancing public safety and public health concerns.

On Monday, for instance, after weeks of cooperating with city officials, the citys five district attorneys attacked the seemingly haphazard process by which people, including some accused of violent crimes, were being released.

Even at this difficult time, our society must have the ability to safeguard those who are incarcerated, to avoid violating their rights or endangering the community, the district attorneys wrote in a scathing letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio, adding that conditions at Rikers had the capacity to meet recommendations by federal health officials.

For the past two weeks, Mr. de Blasio has been pushing prosecutors and judges to release as many inmates as possible, after dire warnings from public defenders and jail health officials about the toll the disease could take inside lockups.

On Sunday, he said about 650 people had been released, bringing the citys total jail population to under 5,000 for the first time since 1949. On Friday, the mayor had said, We know we have to do this quickly.

Still, the rate of infection in the city jails has continued to climb, and by Monday, 167 inmates, 114 correction staff and 23 health workers had tested positive. Two correction staff members have died and a low number of inmates have been hospitalized, officials said.

More than 800 inmates are being held in isolation or in quarantined groups because someone in their jailhouse tested positive for the virus, the president of the correction officers union said. A medical building that includes the only contagious disease unit on Rikers Island is now full of sick detainees, officials said. The unit has 88 beds.

Fear of the virus has grown among inmates and correction officers, several said in interviews. Some incarcerated people have refused to do the work assigned to them or have started disturbances, demanding more cleaning supplies and masks. Others said that correction officers who are assigned to taking people to clinics have ignored their requests for medical attention. Some correction officers said they did not have the necessary equipment to protect themselves from the virus, and that they had received little guidance from leadership.

Peter Thorne, a spokesman for the city Department of Correction, said in a statement that the city is doing everything we can to safely and humanely house people in our custody during the epidemic. The city correction commissioner, Cynthia Brann, declined to be interviewed.

Two weeks ago, the department put out an action plan that included stepping up cleaning of inmate housing areas and staff common areas, having detainees sleep head to toe and asking them to stay three feet away from each other and to wash their hands frequently. Jail officials also said they had given correction staff members masks and other supplies.

Jail officials have reopened a recently closed building to house other inmates, placing detainees who test positive in one part of the facility and those with symptoms a fever, cough, sore throat in another, said two people with knowledge of the inner workings of the jail. Both groups were given masks.

Yet in interviews, six jail employees and eight people either recently released or still being held on Rikers Island described a tense, crowded and unsanitary atmosphere inside the 10 jails there. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs or out of fear of reprisals from law enforcement officials.

Jimmy, who was recently released from Rikers Island, said that he and other detainees had mixed shampoo with water and used the solution to disinfect countertops, doorknobs and other areas in a dorm shared by 50 men. They had not been given cleaning supplies, he said. Feces was on the walls of some holding pens and dorm areas, two detainees said.

Social distancing is impossible, he said. In the Rikers jailhouse where Jimmy was, 40 to 50 inmates use the same toilets and share three phones to call loved ones and lawyers. During meals, the detainees sit at five tables with six stools. Thats elbow to elbow, Jimmy said. Some of the tables are caked with food from previous meals, he said.

Department officials said that phones are sanitized every two hours and that inmates have access to soap and cleaning supplies.

Several detainees and recently released people said they learned about the virus from friends and family or from watching television. The only guidance they received from correction staff was a pamphlet instructing them to cough into their arms and to wash their hands often.

Another inmate said during a telephone interview that correction staff met with a group of detainees and encouraged them to eat more fruit, and told them that the coronavirus was no worse than the common cold.

The warning to keep their distance from one another was impractical, some detainees said, as beds in jailhouse dorms are 18 to 24 inches apart.

Octavious Williams, 53, an inmate and colon cancer survivor, said, Its like Im doomed. I feel like my life is in danger.

Another inmate, Michael Herrera, said detainees were still being moved around Rikers Island from one jail to another, despite the risk of spreading the virus.

What were going through is inhumane, said Mr. Herrera, 40, who is being held at the jail on a technical parole violation. Were left for dead. Were just stuck here.

Some infirm inmates waiting to be released have been in a legal limbo, as one public defender described it.

Take, for instance, a 24-year-old who violated his parole when he was arrested on a drug charge. He tested positive for the coronavirus and was transferred to a special quarantine unit, a room with 10 people, all of whom were also infected.

Prosecutors, health officials in the jail and the parole board had all consented to a plan to release the man, who has diabetes and pulmonary disease, but as of Monday morning, he remained stuck in a thicket of bureaucratic procedures, his lawyer, Lara Belkin, said.

Some jail staff members, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs, said they do not have protective gear like masks and gloves.

They have been told to bring their own soap into work and to check their own temperature, they said. Healthcare workers who are exposed to a person who has tested positive are expected to continue working unless they develop symptoms.

Everyone is wondering how were supposed to do the job, said one Rikers civilian staff member. Its really scary how unsanitary it is.

These correction officers also described sloppy quarantine procedures. In one instance, clothes belonging to a detainee who had tested positive were left in the guards work area. In another, an inmate with flu symptoms got a test for the virus but was sent back to his cellblock to await the results.

Elias Husamudeen, president of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, said jail officials had been taking as long as a week to notify officers that they had been in contact with someone who had tested positive. He urged the department to form a task force to better coordinate a response.

When is the department going to be proactive, Mr. Husamudeen said. Are they really ready for whats coming?

About half of the 5,200 inmates who were in city jails on March 23 were awaiting trial on violent felony charges. Most of the rest were serving sentences of less than a year or were being held on nonviolent felonies, misdemeanors or parole violations.

On Friday, the State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said people detained for low-level parole violations would be released, a decision that should affect 400 people in New York City jails.

Every day matters, said Lorraine McEvilley, director of the Parole Revocation Defense Unit at the Legal Aid Society. People are just lingering in Rikers Island with no real understanding, purpose or knowledge on their part as to when they are going to get out.

Mayor de Blasios correction commissioner has the power to release people serving a year or less in a city jail into a work-release program. But the mayor has also tried to build consensus with the police and prosecutors over who should be let out. The final decision for people awaiting trial must be made by a judge or, in the case of parole violators, by state officials.

So far, law enforcement officials have approved about half of the names on City Halls list, according to the district attorneys offices. One reason is a worry about security. The police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea, for instance, has objected to releasing people charged with domestic violence and sex crimes.

Colby Hamilton, a spokesman with the Mayors Office of Criminal Justice, said, The mayor has consistently said that public safety concerns would mean not everyone would be released.

Nicole Hong and Ashley Southall contributed to this report.

Continued here:

Fears of Coronavirus Catastrophe at Rikers Jail - The New York Times

COVID-19 testing at North Hawaii Community Hospital. (PC: Lynn Scully, NHCH)

Lieutenant Governor Josh Green played a high stakes round of the on the other hand game at a press conference Monday encouraging Hawaii residents that the state could see low COVID-19 mortality rates if people follow the rules, but warning that a failure to do so would still lead to a public health catastrophe.

This is how fast it goes bad for us. If people dont listen (and practice social distancing), there will be 8% more cases in two days, Green said of the infection curve the state is currently following. Four days later, it will be 15% more cases. On the sixth day it could be 43% more.

Those 43% more cases will represent hundreds of people who will test positive for COVID-19, and they themselves will spread (the disease) he continued. That is how we lose. That is how people die in the state of the Hawaii.

Hawaii is now capable of conducting 1,500 tests for COVID-19 every day, the third-highest rate in the country. As of Monday, public and private labs had tested more than 8,700 COVID-19 swabs.

Thats part of the reason Department of Health Director Bruce Anderson said the state has seen an upswing in positive results over the last five days, with between 23% of those tested coming up positive.

Since Gov. David Iges stay-at-home Emergency Proclamation went into effect on March 26, the number of confirmed cases in Hawaii has risen to the following totals:

The most recent days tally saw 29 new positive results. One case was a child, meaning now four cases in the state have been reported in children 16-years-old or younger.

Of Hawaiis 204 cases, 165 are residents and 19 are visitors. Arrivals at Hawaiian airports have plummeted to roughly 3% of typical passenger flow last year, as fewer than 900 people flew into a Hawaiian Island Sunday.

Weve essentially eliminated cases weve seen with travel, said Anderson, adding that all but cutting off that avenue of infection has now ushered Hawaii into the phase of the curve where community spread is the paramount concern.

Anderson said consecutive days of 29 confirmed cases, 26 confirmed cases and 29 confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the weekend indicate the public is now seeing some signs of localized community transmission.

Officials dont believe theres widespread community transition yet, however, as the states sentinel surveillance program has tested 254 random samples of patients from different islands who reported flu-like illnesses but tested negative for the flu virus. None of those tests have come back positive for COVID-19.

Green and Anderson both reiterated that right now is the time when social distancing will matter the most, with Green saying he believes that roughly three weeks is a reasonable timeline for Hawaii to see peak infection rates.

The governors stay-at-home proclamation and the 14-day, mandatory self-quarantine for all travelers visitor, resident or anyone who takes an inter-island flight starting Wednesday at midnight remain in effect until April 30.

The very best thing you can do to save the lives of our kpuna, is to please stay at home and listen to what the governor has asked us to do through April 30, Green said. Only go out when you absolutely need to.

We will be able to get out of this alive.

External triage center set up outside West Hawaii Community Health Center for COVID-19 testing. (PC: Tiffany DeMasters)

So far, everyone infected with COVID-19 in Hawaii has gotten out alive. As of noon Monday, only 12 of the 204 confirmed cases had required hospitalization. However, Green said six of those individuals are in intensive care units (ICUs) and two are on ventilators.

Currently, only 37% of the states 338 ICU beds are occupied. Only 11% of its 534 ventilators are in use.

If we do not quarantine at home, those numbers go up very fast, Green said. Just 400 of 500 people needing a ventilator will exceed our capacity to keep people alive.

If a surge of hospitalizations does come, which Green suggested would most likely occur in late April or into May, the state is working on technologies to expand its healthcare capacity.

Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa are collaborating with technical experts across the country to expand ventilator capacity and possibly split one machine so it can keep two people breathing simultaneously.

If necessary, alternate sites are being examined for use as healthcare facilities. Bed overflow could extend to the Hawaii Convention Center, for instance. Green noted that the state believes it might be able to bring several hundred more hospital beds online if necessary.

But if people follow social distancing mandates, he hopes Hawaii wont have to.

Were capable of beating this, Green said.

See the rest here:

Ahead of the Curve? - Big Island Now

Each night, when the chimes rang, audience members hurried to their seats at the historic Trinity Repertory Company in downtown Providence to watch an adaptation of Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities, a production that was drawing rave reviews.

For each of these Rhode Island institutions, it might be an exaggeration to say it was the best of times. Still, each pulsed with energy and promise, buoyed by the hope and anticipation of an early spring.

But then the coronavirus struck, and for many, it felt like the worst of times.

At Saint Raphaels, where the illness first surfaced, the virus left classrooms shuttered and silent.

At the cathedral, it left Mass canceled, the pews vacant.

At Trinity Rep., it left the stage empty, the seats unfilled.

You could call it a tale of two Rhode Islands.

We were the first to experience it, said Daniel Richard, principal of Saint Raphael Academy. It came very quickly to our doorstep.

Saint Rays, as its known in its home city of Pawtucket, is a 500-student school with active drama and athletic programs. Teams compete as the Saints, proudly wearing purple and gold. The school is named for the patron saint of healing.

In mid-February, St. Rays sent a group of 38 students and chaperones on a trip to Italy, Spain, and France. The vice principal for student life, Marc Thibault, led the trip, returning home feeling lousy enough that he decided not to go back to work.

As it turned out, Thibault had COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the new virus Rhode Islands first case, which state officials announced on March 1. A Saint Rays student and a teacher also tested positive, and the school shut its doors, finding itself on the national threshold of an emerging global pandemic.

In all, about 150 students ended up in quarantine, Richard said, but the virus never spread to other students or staff. The kids, being Saints, held tight to what they needed to do which was to be good citizens, he said.

When the 14-day quarantine period was set to expire, Saint Rays began making plans to reopen on March 16. Alumni and parents helped buy purple-and-gold Saints Strong T-shirts for those returning, and administrators were planning to have heart-to-heart chats with each class about what the students had been through.

But on March 13, Governor Gina M. Raimondo closed all public schools, and private schools followed suit. Saint Rays remained shuttered.

As a cold rain came down last week, Richard sat in the Saint Rays administration building, looking out at Walcott Street and the schools college-style campus. A school bell sounded. Usually, he said, that would be the signal for hundreds of students to head down the street to their next class, moving among the schools seven buildings.

We have six parades a day thats what I always tell the kids, Richard said. And right now, you hear those bells ringing theres no one walking up and down the street. Its eerie.

And its sad, he said, because the students "bring so much energy and theyre primed for so many rites of passage.

For example, the virus has forced the cancellation of a statewide drama competition that was to include Saint Rays rendition of 101 Breakups, and it has prompted officials to call off the national cross-country championship that offered a stage for the schools record-setting track star, Darius Kipyego.

The kid ran the 800 (meters) in 1:49, Daniel said of Kipyego. I couldnt fall off a cliff that fast.

Also, this is the time of year when the school holds the Saints Olympics a competition among classes that helps raise money for a sister school in Africa and local food pantries. That effort was always led by Thibault, who recently sent an e-mail thanking the Saint Rays community.

"He knew that the community was sending him prayers throughout the whole process, Richard said. He was very appreciative. It carried him through some difficult moments.

Richard holds out hope that Saint Rays will reopen in April in time for prom night in May and graduation day in June. But he acknowledges the virus could return, and he notes that schools, restaurants, and stores remain closed throughout the state.

Every part of our normal existence has been put on hold, he said.

Also on hold are public celebrations of Rhode Islands faith life. The virus has forced churches, synagogues, and mosques across the state to cancel in-person worship.

On March 16, Bishop Thomas J. Tobin suspended all public Masses in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence. So on Sunday, March 21, the mother church of the diocese the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul canceled its 10 a.m. Solemn Liturgy with Latin Chant."

Its been a long time since Ive had a Sunday off, the Rev. Monsignor Anthony Mancini, the cathedral rector, said as he sat in the empty Gothic Revival church Sunday morning. The last time this happened was in the Blizzard of 78.

Normally, 1,000 to 1,200 people would flock to the cathedral over the course of four weekend Masses, and 350 to 400 would turn out for the solemn chant Mass, he said.

As light filtered through the stained glass of the cathedrals great circular window, row upon row of wooden pews sat empty. And Mancini noted that soon the church calendar would turn to Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter major events in the nations most Catholic state.

But he said pastors are being creative amid the crisis opening their churches for private prayer, holding Mass online, even taking drive-up confessions. And he urged Rhode Islanders to keep praying for those who are ill and for the most vulnerable.

From the empty cathedral, he offered a message of hope.

Faith reassures us that God hasnt left, despite all the dire predictions, Mancini said. This will pass. We will be back to some kind of normal.

A Tale of Two Cities was supposed to have run through March 22 at Trinity Rep.

But on March 12, Providence Mayor Jorge O. Elorza declared a state of emergency and revoked all entertainment licenses until further notice. That forced Trinity Rep. to cancel the final 12 of its 35 performances of Dickens historical novel about the French Revolution. Eventually, the theater canceled the rest of its current season, including runs of Sweat and Sweeney Todd.

This is obviously a very scary and uncertain time for everyone, Trinity Rep. executive director Tom Parrish said. It is an unprecedented situation.

Trinity Rep. will produce as much content as it can for social media and its website, such as videos with actors, but the theater finds itself with no revenue coming in and about 100 employees on the payroll.

Fortunately, we are in position to guarantee they will be paid for at least four weeks and then re-evaluate based on how the situation evolves, Parrish said. It is our full intention to produce again and get a show up as soon as we possibly can.

When the show does go on and all the restrictions, closings, and social distancing ends Rhode Islanders might find that they take fewer things for granted, he said.

"When we come through, there may be a sense of carpe diem where people dont put off going out with friends, spending time with family, he said. Its a reminder to live in the moment with the people and things that are most precious to you.

At Trinity Rep., the marquee still advertises A Tale of Two Cities. But the doors are locked, and an ominous warning is taped to the door: You cannot enter this building without your temperature being taken."

Inside the theater, though, a light still shines.

Caitlin Howle, Trinity Rep.s digital marketing coordinator, explained that theaters have a tradition of keeping a ghost light on at all times, mainly for safety reasons. And recently, Trinity Rep. participated in the national Ghostlight Project, in which artists and communities pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone.

The idea is that theater is a space for all no matter what, Howle said.

Even amid a pandemic.

The ghost light is on even now the theater is never dark, she said. Its our sign of hope.

Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com

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During the coronavirus outbreak, a tale of two Rhode Islands - The Boston Globe

A microscopic image from the first U.S. case of COVID-19.(Photo: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

City of Marco Island closed Mackle Parks playground, spray park and exterior bathrooms, according to a news release sent Monday.The beach and fishing areas located under the S.S. Jolley Bridge are also closed.

Collier County has closed parking lots andbeachaccess pointsat Tigertail Beach and South Beach. Following the county's lead, the city closed itspublic beach access by Madeiraand Crystal Shores.

"Closing public access points does not keep all citizens or residents offthe beach," according to the news release sent on March 19. "What it does accomplish islimiting the numberof beach goerswhich isconsistentwith thepublichealth guidelines regardingsocial distancing and mass gathering."

Residents Beachon Marco Island closedon March 20. "MICA agreed to close the Residents' Beach parking late this morning consistent with my recommendation that they do so," according to Marco Island City Manager Mike McNees.

The association also closed its office and Sarazen Park at 930 Swallow Ave., by South Beach.

More: Coronavirus: Easter Sunrise service cancelled; San Marco Catholic Church suspends mass

And: Marco Island tells visitors to 'stay home' during coronavirus pandemic

"Marco Island Police Department officials are patrolling the beach to ensure social distancing guidelines are being followed," according to anews releasesent on March 20."In general, the more civic responsibility there is in terms of guideline and order compliance, the less restrictive measures will have to be enacted by the government."

Following Gov. Ron DeSantis'announcementthat all airline passengers coming to Florida from New York and New Jersey will be ordered to self-quarantine for 14 days, the city of Marco Island is telling visitors to stay home.

"Under normal conditions, we would welcome visitors and part-time residents, but these are not normal conditions," the city wrote in anews releasesent on March 25."During this COVID-19 pandemic, we are putting our residents health and safety first."

What other facilities are closed?

Mackle Park'swalking path is open, according to a city news release sent on March 28. The city hall, police and fire-rescue buildings are closed to the public, the city announced on March 23.

Omar Rodrguez Ortiz is a community reporter for Naples Daily News and Marco Eagle. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram as@Omar_fromPR, and on Facebook. Support his work by subscribing to Naples Daily News.

Read or Share this story: https://www.marconews.com/story/news/2020/03/30/covid-19-whats-closed-marco-island/5087456002/

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COVID-19: What's closed on Marco Island? - Marco News

In an energy-hungry world, it is hard to imagine anyone having too much clean energy, but such is the case for Orkney,a group of islands off the northern coast of Scotland. The islands have so much wind power that wind turbines need to be switched off on a daily basis.

RELATED:NOVEL WAVE DEVICE COULD DELIVER LOW-COST CLEAN ENERGY

The islands decided to put that extra energy to good use and started producing hydrogen power, reported CNN Business. 2017 saw a world first when theEuropean Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) used tidal energy to split water and make hydrogen.

This process is called electrolysis, and it has become quite common on Orkney. A collaboration between EMEC, Community Energy Scotland, and others is using excess wind energy for electrolysis, whileSurf 'n' Turf, a project by the Scottish government, is combining excess electricity from tidal and wind turbines for the same process.

Hydrogen emits no carbon and can also be stored. As such, it provides an important clean alternative to natural gas and can be a key to the world's transition to cleaner energy.

However, traditionally the creation of hydrogen has been powered by fossil fuels releasing many harmful emissions in the process. TheInternational Energy Agency estimates that hydrogen creation results in830 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year, the equivalent of the CO2 emissions of the United Kingdom and Indonesia combined.

Luckily, Orkney is proving there is a new way to produce hydrogen, and while it's still very expensive, it could one day be done at scale.

For now,Orkney is using the gas to power vehicles and hopes one day to power a seagoing vessel. It will also be used to heat a primary school. Not bad, Orkney! Not bad at all.

The rest is here:

A Group of Islands in Northern Scotland Have Too Much Clean Energy, so They Are Producing Hydrogen Power - Interesting Engineering

Thomas Trauttmansdorff, a canoe guide from Ucluelet, B.C., who grew up on a farm in Ontario, tocks up on seeds and soil at a garden centre in Tofino.

Photography by Melissa Renwick/The Globe and Mail

After growing up on a farm in Jerseyville, Ont., Thomas Trauttmansdorff still has vague memories of running around the cow barns as a child.

As soon as he was old enough to push hay bails around, Mr. Trauttmansdorffs father, Fritz, put him to work the way his own father had done.

Working with family always has its ups and downs, said Mr. Trauttmansdorff, who later wandered in a different direction to pursue his passion for snowboarding. The 35-year-old moved to the West Coast in 2010, eventually landing in Ucluelet, B.C., after finding his niche as a kayak-turned-canoe guide.

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But as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed 230 in British Columbia this week, his life has come full circle. Self-sufficiency has been brought back to the forefront of his mind.

Were out here at the end of the road where our supply chain is a little more vulnerable than a lot of big cities, he said from his Vancouver Island community. We are very dependent on these supply chains, and just taking a few little steps toward self-reliance is never a bad idea.

At OCN Garden Centre in Tofino, seed packets are flying off the shelves. Mr. Trauttmansdorff gets some advice from Trina Mattson, the owner, on how to plant them.

At home, Mr. Trauttmansdorff writes labels to make sure he gives each vegetable seed the proper care. 'Taking a few little steps toward self-reliance is never a bad idea,' he says of his community.

With his newfound motivation and the extra time off work to put those steps into action, Mr. Trauttmansdorff got the ball rolling by planting kale, tomatoes, carrots and a variety of other vegetables that he nurses from his dining room.

Needing somewhere to keep the seeds growing, it puts a little pressure on myself to follow through on building a greenhouse, he said.

Leah Austin, co-ordinator for the Tofino Community Food Initiative, also on B.C.'s Vancouver Island, said that with widespread pandemics such as COVID-19, people are starting to think differently about where their food comes from.

Weve grown within this society where we dont have the space and time to have a garden, she said.

Recently, Ms. Austin introduced a tower garden to her living room, which has 52 holes for plants to grow from.

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Leah Austin, co-ordinator for the The Tofino Community Food Initiative, and her nine-year-old daughter, Gemma, water the tower garden inside their home in Tofino.

While businesses within Ucluelet and Tofino are shutting down, Trina Mattson has kept the OCN Garden Centre in Tofino open. She said that it was a difficult decision, but community members asked her to stay open. People are able to call in their orders, which are later passed through the gate so there is no person-to-person contact involved.

Many people retreat to their gardens to reduce stress, she said, and as anxiety around COVID-19 rises, the last thing we wanted to do was take away any type of normalcy, she said.

While Mr. Trauttmansdorff may not yield a harvest like the ones he used to grow on his fathers farm, its a minor step toward being able to provide for yourself if worst comes to worst, he said.

Ive always felt that kind of gap of not farming in my life since I moved off the family farm, he said. Theres something very satisfying about seeing your years worth of work come off the field as a nice big crop and know that [its] going to feed people."

Mr. Trauttmansdorff organizes some seeds for planting.

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In the time of coronavirus, Vancouver Islands gardeners grow resilient - The Globe and Mail

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Big Island climbed from 10 to 11 overnight, according to a Sunday morning press release fromHawaii County Civil Defense. Saturday saw a jump in cases from seven to 10, according to the state Department of Health.

Civil Defense tallied total active coronavirus cases for Hawaii Island at six, who the county said are all quarantined at home and being monitored by DOH. As of Sunday, five people infected on the Big Island had recovered. No coronavirus-related hospitalizations had been required to date.

Gov. David Iges stay-at-home directive remains in effect and will remain until at least April 30. This proclamation identifies what activities are prohibited outside the home or place of residence and what is allowed. Call Civil Defense at 808-935-0031 for any clarification on this proclamation.

Under the proclamation outdoor exercise activities such as surfing and swimming are permitted as long as social distancing requirements and gatherings of no more than 10 people are maintained, Civil Defense said.

Drive-up coronavirus testing will be offered Sunday in Hilo at the Civic Auditorium from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Go here to read the rest:

Civil Defense Announces 11th COVID-19 Case on Big Island - Big Island Now

The Solomon Islands government has extended a school closure notice, previously only for institutions in the capital Honiara and Guadalcanal, to the rest of the country.

The Solomon Star reported the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Education, Franco Rodie issued the directive, as part of the country's Covid-19 response strategy.

Dr Rodie said the mass repatriation of people from the capital to their home provinces following the declaration of a State of Public Emergency last week was causing anxiety and confusion for schools and education authorities.

Because of this Dr Rodie ordered all schools to close with a tentative return date set for the 27th of April.

Franco Rodie urged all students to return home to their parents and advised teachers to return to their home provinces if they did not feel safe where they had been posted.

He urged everyone to remain calm and listen to the official advice from the government and health authorities.

View original post here:

All schools ordered to close in Solomon Islands - RNZ

Animal Crossing

Were now a week into release for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and that means people are moving along. I saw a bunch of players post the first images of their upgraded Resident Services Center on social media today, marking the moment in the game when the beginning really ends. The music kicks in, Isabelle moves to the island, and things start really moving. We get some new customization options, as well: a new island flag, for one, and the option to design an island tune.

Designing your island tune can be intimidating if youve got no musical experience whatsoever, but you shouldnt be afraid. For one thing, its set up on a scale that means there are no wrongnotes: its like playing a harmonica or only the white keys on a piano, nothing will ever sound too dissonant. But if you want something with a little bit more flair, the internet has you covered.

As usual, there are a bunch of songs on reddit, where theres a dedicated subreddit for sharing island tunes. But if you really want to get creative, theres a cool tool that was made available even before the game launched, so its absolutely stocked with songs. Check out the island tune creator at Nook Net, where you can both create your own tunes with the relative fluidity afforded by a computer and preview others.

The website seems to be moving a little bit slowly right now, likely due to increased traffic, but you can create your own songs, check out a few highlit ones in the spotlight section, or search uploaded tunes for yourself. You can get game songs, you can get the Imperial March: if it exists, there is an Animal Crossing Island Tune for it.

So get creative. I moved pretty quickly through the early phases of this thing in my usual haste, but now Im slowing down and getting things just so. That means that Ill likely be making my own island tune soon, and that i should probably change my flag from the lame preset leaf thing Ive got going on now.

Original post:

Where To Get Hundreds Of Island Tunes For Animal Crossing: New Horizons, From Pop Songs To Theme Songs - Forbes

Poetry, these days especially, can offersolace, peace, and a meditation that takes us away from the concerns andchallenges of life.

Bliss Morehead, founder and curator of theShelter Island Poetry Project, now in its 12th year, shared some suggestions onpoems and sources to browse. Working closely with Jocelyn Ozolins, thereference librarian (the Shelter Island Library is currently closed), Ms.Morehead had been developing plans for a poetry reading at the library in April which is National Poetry Month. Since the reading is now cancelled, they haveshared some of their favorite sites for poems, in hopes they will be helpful toour readers. There are also many selections available at the National Poetry Monthsite.

I am currently re-reading The Wild Braid,by Stanley Kunitz, Ms. Morehead said. If you dont love Kunitz now, you willafter your wanderings.

She described other Kunitz poems, includingThe Testing Tree, Touch Me and Halleys Comet as poetic bouquetsinspired by the poets work in his Provincetown garden.

Ms. Ozolins suggested that readers visit a poetrywebsite, brainpickings.org, created by Maria Popova, a Bulgarian-born writernow living in Brooklyn. The site is currently featuring masterpieces ofperspective, from poets including Jane Hirshfield, Marie Howe, Mary Oliver,Barbara Ras and others.

One of them, Mary Oliver, evokes a place likeShelter Island:

When I am Among the Trees

By Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, anddaily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, Stay awhile.

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, Its simple, they say,

and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to befilled

with light, and to shine.

Ms. Morehead said there is a full selectionof shelter poems to be found at the poets.org website.

Found there, this next poem speaks to the place we are all struggling to find within ourselves in trying times:

Hope is the Thing With Feathers

By Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;

And sore must be the storm

That could abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

Ive heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

Yet, never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

This famous poem celebrates a beloved island, where the writer finds peace:

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

By William Butler Yeats

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay andwattles made;

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive forthe honey-bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peacecomes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning towhere the cricket sings;

There midnights all a glimmer, and noon apurple glow,

And evening full of the linnets wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night andday

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds bythe shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on thepavements grey,

I hear it in the deep hearts core.

And finally, a couple of lines from W.H. Auden, for those who are working from home or in self-quarantine:

In the prison of his days

Teach the free man how to praise.

Link:

For isolation, poetry is welcome relief: Island curators offer sites to browse - Shelter Island - Shelter Island Reporter

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- A 38-year-old Staten Island man was arrested over the weekend in connection with a New Jersey crash that killed two adults and an infant.

Patrick Monahan was charged with three counts of aggravated manslaughter, three counts of vehicular homicide and one count of aggravated assault in connection with the March 27 incident on Convery Boulevard in Perth Amboy, according to an NJ.com report.

According to public records, Monahan is a Mariners Harbor resident. He is accused of driving aggressively, cutting in and out of traffic, and traveling 40 miles per hour in excess of the posted speed limit seconds prior to striking a Ford Minivan, according to the report.

Police found suspected controlled dangerous substances during a search of Monahans 2018 Ram pickup truck, according to the report.

The passengers in the minivan who died in the crash were a 47-year-old woman, a 44-year-old woman and an 8-month old. Both women reportedly were residents of Elizabeth, N.J., said the report.

Authorities said the crash occurred while Monahan was in violation of an executive order issued by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy that restricts non-essential activities in the state. Monahan was charged additionally in accordance with that order.

He allegedly told police he was in town to visit friends.

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Report: Staten Island man charged in N.J. crash that killed 3 - SILive.com

A total of 42 residents and staff members at the Careage of Whidbey in Coupeville have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Island County Public Health.

The highly contagious virus spread quickly through the rehabilitation and skilled nursing facility despite prompt testing and isolation of residents who tested positive, Island County Public Health Director Keith Higman said.

I think they did the right thing early on, he said of the Careage staff, explaining that people living in such facilities are susceptible to contracting the coronavirus because they tend to have weakened immune systems.

Life Care Center in Kirkland and several other Seattle-area nursing homes have been hit hard by the virus and have been the focus of national media. At least 37 deaths were linked to the coronavirus outbreak at Life Care Center alone.

One death in Island County was caused by COVID-19 and a total of 80 positive tests have been reported to the county.

Sean ONeill, executive director of Careage, said the facilitys 49 residents and 100 staff members have all been tested and results are back on all but a few.

Immediate testing identified people who had the virus and didnt yet have symptoms, allowing the facility to quarantine them before they passed it on.

Because we tested so quickly, we know the scope of the situation, he said, and have been able to isolate people early on.

ONeill said Careage officials have maintained close contact with residents families, WhidbeyHealth Medical Center, Island County Public Health and other agencies.

ONeill said Careage offers rehabilitation services for people who are recovering from surgery, an infection or a similar issue. In addition, the facility offers long-term nursing care for residents with special medical needs.

Careage also runs a childcare facility. ONeill said the childcare was closed March 13, and no children displayed symptoms.

He said parents were informed immediately after the positive tests from the nursing home were received.

Higman said Careage contacted Public Health after learning of the positive tests, which were just two to begin with.

The source of the virus has not been identified.

Higman said it may have come from a visitor, a staff member or a resident who underwent a medical procedure at another facility.

Higman explained that Public Healths role during an outbreak is to identify what it might mean for the rest of the population.

It often involves detective work.

Higmans staff is busy identifying and notifying people who may have come in contact with those who had contact with Careage, he said.

One of the first steps was to obtain visitor and travel logs. Public Health and Careage recently agreed to a memorandum of understanding that authorizes access to records.

ONeill said residents who tested positive are in quarantine and are being cared for by staff.

Were just taking it one day at a time, he said.

This story originally appeared in the Whidbey News-Times, a sister publication to The Herald.

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42 test positive for COVID-19 at Whidbey Island nursing home - The Daily Herald

On the Maine island of Vinalhaven, an armed group allegedly told individuals to quarantine Friday amid the global coronavirus pandemic and even cut down a tree to block the driveway to their property, according to the Knox County Sheriffs Office.

Around 3:35 p.m., an individual used a VHF radio system to contact the Coast Guard for help at the residence in the area of Cripple Creek Road, authorities said.

The individual reported that several people with guns had cut down a tree and were telling them that they need to stay quarantined, the sheriffs office said on Facebook.

Sheriffs deputies, members of the Maine Marine Patrol, and a Coast Guard boarding party all responded. Vinalhaven, which has a population of just over 1,000 according to the last census, is roughly 14 miles off the coast of Rockland.

Law enforcement made contact with the complainant and discovered that a tree had in fact been cut down and dragged into the driveway to block the way, the sheriffs office said. The group had dispersed prior to law enforcements arrival.

These events do appear to be directed toward specific individuals and we do not feel there is a specific threat to the general public, the sheriffs office added.

The incident remained under investigation.

As the Bangor Daily News reported, state Rep. Genevieve McDonald, who represents the island, provided more of the alleged details on her personal Facebook page, noting, This is not something to be celebrated.

There are two guys from [New Jersey] on Vinalhaven who have been renting a house since September while working on a construction job. They went to the mainland, and were targeted because of their license plate when they arrived back on Vinalhaven.

There were some words between them and some locals, and the conversation apparently didnt go very well. I did hear the guys from [New Jersey] were fairly arrogant in their response. A group of local vigilantes decided to take matters into their own hands, and barricade these guys into their rental property. Marine Patrol and the USCG responded, along with [the Knox County Sheriffs Department].

THIS IS A TREMENDOUS WASTE OF RESOURCES.

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On Maine island, several people with guns allegedly cut down tree to block driveway and force quarantine - Boston.com

LOVE Island's Paige Turley taught Finley Tapp more Scottish lingo as they snuggled up in bed.

Finn has been spending time with his Love Island co-winner after travelling all the way to Scotland to isolate with her.

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Since then, Paige has been doing her best to teach the Milton Keynes boy Scottish words - including the one for sandwich.

The pair cuddled in bed, as Paige said:"Ayy so you have a piece. A piece in your lunch box."

Finn replied: "A piece of what."

She explained: "A piece of ham, a piece of crisp, a piece of tuna. It's a piece like a sandwich. You would say like, ya mam makes you a ham piece for your lunch box."

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Finn didn't get it, replying: "Mum can I have a ham sandwich please."

Two weeks ago she tried to get her boyfriend to understand "Scottish patter" by making him watch episodes of Still Game.

The singer, from Fauldhouse, West Lothian, recruited pesky pensioners Jack and Victorto help the Milton Keynes lad understand Scots slang.

Sharing snaps of him watching the BBC sitcom, she said: "Boy will understand Scottish patter.

"Teaching Finley Tapp the way with Still Game."

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Paige famously made Winter Love Island viewers proud for telling amateur footie star Finn not to be a bawbagduring the early days of their villa romance.

Both of the Love Island stars still haven't been paid their share of the 50,000, according to Paige.

for telling amatuer footie starFinn not to be a bawbagduring the early days of their villa romance.

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Love Islands Paige Turley teaches Finn Tapp more Scottish lingo as they snuggle up in bed - The Sun