Shriners Open never considered allowing fans to attend – Las Vegas Review-Journal

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His name is Bronson Burgoon, and the hope among Shriners Hospitals for Children Open officials is that he becomes the answer to a one-time trivia question.

When Tony Finau, the worlds 16th-ranked player who finished eighth at the U.S. Open, tested positive for COVID-19 under PGA protocols this week, it opened a spot for Burgoon, whose previous claim to golfing fame was hitting a wedge shot within 2 inches of the final hole to clinch the 2009 NCAA championship for Texas A&M.

Finau was the 13th player or caddie to test positive since play resumed in June after shutting down in March.

It also showed why it still isnt totally safe to allow even a small percentage of spectators to roam TPC Summerlin despite Gov. Steve Sisolak recently having eased restrictions on allowing them at Nevada sporting events.

The PGA Tour has yet to permit fans to attend tournaments. Tournament director Patrick Lindsey said through a spokesperson that the governors announcement had no impact on tournament planning but that COVID-19 would affect its bottom line.

Our expenses have decreased, but in turn, so has our revenue, Lindsey said. In previous years, we have welcomed over 70,000 fans, which would benefit the amazing work of Shriners Hospitals for Children through ticket and concession sales, corporate sponsorships and more.

Missing Alec

Las Vegas resident Kevin Na, the defending champion, said he is going to miss spectators flanking the hills around the closing holes at this years tournament, and one spectator in particular.

Na said he met Alec Cabacungan, a national Shriners spokesman who lives near Chicago, last year on the practice green, where the teenager described Na holing a long putt.

to take the lead from l-o-n-n-g range. Oooh oooh there it goes! the teenager exclaimed in a voice-over that would have done Jim Nantz proud.

Hes a great guy, and I know his dream is to become a sports announcer, Na said during a videoconference call Wednesday about writing a $50,000 check to Shriners Hospitals after winning last year. I hope his dream comes true.

Whats up Doc?

Rickie Fowler, the former wunderkind still seeking his first major championship, said he was looking forward to playing exclusive Shadow Creek in North Las Vegas next week after the CJ Cup was moved from South Korea amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Its a special place; Ive only actually played it twice, Fowler, 31, said Wednesday. One of the times I played was (with) Doc Rivers.

The former Oklahoma State phenom said hitting the links with the longtime NBA star and coach was a memorable experience.

He was awesome; hes like, Man, Im a big fan I was kind of shocked, Fowler said. It was cool to see someone who is big in another sport who is a lot taller and bigger than me complimenting me about my game and stuff like that.

19th hole

Two former UNLV stars worth keeping an eye on at TPC this weekend are Charley Hoffman (three top-10 finishes in 14 starts) and Ryan Moore (2012 champion with a record-tying 72-hole winning score of 260). Sergio Garcia, winner of last weeks Sanderson Farms Championship, missed the cut in his only prior Shriners Open start in 2003 and has never won back-to-back PGA Tour events. The recent Safeway Open at Napa, California, was delayed by fog, which wont be a problem at TPC Summerlin. Sunny skies and high temperatures of 95, 91, 90 and 84 degrees are forecast Thursday through Sunday, though it could get breezy for the final two rounds.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.

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Aces cant weather Storm, swept in WNBA Finals – Las Vegas Review-Journal

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Seattle Storm star Breanna Stewart went to the bench with three fouls early in the second quarter of Game 3 of the WNBA Finals on Tuesday.

It was the opportunity the Aces had been looking for the entire series, but they couldnt take advantage.

The Storm outscored the Aces 16-9 the rest of the quarter with Stewart watching. She returned in the third quarter and finished with 26 points to lead Seattle to a 92-59 victory and a three-game sweep of the Aces at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Stewart won her second finals MVP award for the Storm, who claimed their second championship in three years. They have won a record 11 straight finals games and joined Houston and Minnesota as the only franchises with four titles.

Jewell Loyd added 19 points for the Storm. Sue Bird, who has been with Seattle for all four titles dating to 2004, had seven assists and finished with 33 for the series.

The Storms average margin of victory in the three games was almost 20 points.

I just want to say congratulations to Seattle, Aces guard Kayla McBride said. Theyre a great team. They have a lot of experience winning together. Stewart was on a mission, and Sue was Sue.

Stewart, also the finals MVP in 2018, has scored 20 or more points in a record six straight finals games. She averaged 28.3 points and 7.7 rebounds against Las Vegas and shot 62.7 percent from the field, including 65 percent (13 of 20) from 3-point range.

Aces star Aja Wilson scored 14 of her 18 points in the first quarter and added six rebounds and four assists. She was the only Aces player to reach double-figure scoring until the fourth quarter, when Jackie Young joined her with 11. Carolyn Swords had 10 rebounds.

Angel McCoughtry, the Aces second-leading scorer, finished with seven points. She was making her fourth finals appearance but is 0-12 in those games.

Here are three takeaways from the loss:

1. Turnovers doom Aces

One reason Stewarts absence in the second quarter didnt hurt the Storm was a rash of Las Vegas turnovers.

The Aces had five in the final 2:31 of the first half and six during the 7:13 that Stewart was on the bench in the quarter.

That was basically the end point of the game, Aces coach Bill Laimbeer said. We didnt take advantage of our opportunity. Like Angel said in one of the huddles, it just sucks the life out of you when you keep turning the ball over.

The Aces, the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, finished with 18 turnovers, their second straight game with at least 15.

2. Closing out quarters

Wilson has talked all season about the importance of closing out quarters.

The Aces had leads of 7-0, 11-2 and 13-4, but the Storm went on an 11-2 run in the final 3:58 of the first quarter, then scored the first four points of the second.

That was a huge deal, Wilson said. That can switch up a game.We knew we were going to have to close out quarters, but its not easy to do.

The Storm, the No. 2 seed, put the game away by outscoring the Aces 32-14 in the third quarter for a 75-48 lead.

3. Let the confetti hit you

The Aces roster was full of players making their first finals experience, and they vowed to learn from it and come back stronger.

The biggest thing I learned from this is sometimes you have to let the confetti hit you, Wilson said. Ive been in a lot of situations where the confetti fell on me, and it was in my favor. The confetti hit me, and Im like, OK, thats not for us. Were going to try it again. Sometimes you have to feel that to know its not easy.

Contact Jason Orts at jorts@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2936. Follow @SportsWithOrts on Twitter.

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Toys for Tickets offers alternative to paying parking tickets – Las Vegas Review-Journal

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The city of Las Vegas will allow people to pay for some parking tickets by donating childrens toys ahead of the holiday season.

The Toys for Tickets program will cover non-public safety parking tickets issued between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15, the city said in a statement Wednesday morning. Tickets may be resolved by donating a new, unwrapped toy of equal or greater value than the fine through Dec. 15.

Drivers must bring the parking ticket and a receipt for the toy to the Parking Services Office, 350 S. City Parkway, within 30 days of the ticket date. Office hours are 7:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Parking tickets for public safety and handicap-related violations such as parking on a red curb, double parking and blocking traffic are excluded from the program.

The toys will benefit the nonprofit HELP of Southern Nevada.

Contact Jannelle Calderon at jcalderon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @NewsyJan on Twitter.

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Lonely Planet’s new Ultimate Travel List reveals the world’s unmissable travel experiences – Lonely Planet Travel News

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Increasingly, more of us are making wish lists ofdestinations we're determined to see once it's safe to spread our wings again. So to help with our bucket-list plans, Lonely Planet has ranked the world's top 500 unmissable travel experiences and put them all together in one handy book: Ultimate Travel List.

Ultimate Travel List is the second edition of Lonely Planet'sbestselling coffee table book. Designed to be a companion to your armchair travels or the tool to refuel your wanderlust, it features more than 200 new destinations in a picture-perfect wish-list of 500 places, each ranked in order of brilliance.

The list contains "a mix of knock-out new openings, sights that have upped their game, or places more relevant to the way we travel now," says Lonely Planet. And as the pandemic changes our travel priorities, the company has changed how it calculated the list. For this edition, we awarded extra points to destinations and attractions that are managing tourism sustainably, says Lonely Planets VP of Publishing, Piers Pickard.

Outdoor adventures and classic backpacking experiences feature heavily in the book, but overall the list is a mix of thrilling, memorable and interesting travel experiences, with something for every travelerin every corner of the globe.

The longlist was compiled by highlights found through Lonely Planet's expansive archive of guidebooks, before being carefully whittled down to a shortlist. Everyone in the Lonely Planet travel community was asked to vote on their top 20 experience to create a well-rounded mix of adventures. Weve all got a list of places that we want to see for ourselves: places friends have enthused about, places weve read about, dreamed about. This is our list, says Lonely Planet'sChris Zeiher.

"After seven months of staying at home, now's the perfect time to start thinking about where and how to travel once normality returns, Pickard adds. "In putting together this book, we were excited by changes in both the where and the how."

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4 Travelers on Life Around the World: Women Who Travel Podcast – Cond Nast Traveler

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You can listen to our podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify each week. Follow this link if you're listening on Apple News.

Seven months into the pandemic, we wanted to take a look at what lifeand travel, for that matterlooks like for those living abroad. In our latest episode, we catch up with four women based in very different cities to find out. Lale chats with travel writer Julia Buckley about her decision to ride out the pandemic in Venice, and Meredith compares notes with illustrator Lindsay Arakawa about cycling in New York versus Tokyo. Meanwhile, associate editor Megan Spurrell talks to content creator Lee Litumbe about life returning to normal in Dakar, and director of strategic projects Lauren DeCarlo speaks with travel writer Imani Bashir about juggling work and parenting in her temporary home of Cancun.

Thanks to Julia, Lindsay, Lee, and Imani for sharing their stories and thanks, as always, to Brett Fuchs for engineering and mixing this episode. As a reminder, you can listen to new episodes of Women Who Travel on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, every Wednesday morning.

Meredith Carey: Hi, everyone. You're listening to Women Who Travel, a podcast from Cond Nast Traveler. I'm Meredith Carey and with me as always is my co-host, Lale Arikoglu.

Lale Arikoglu: Hello.

MC: This week we're doing something a little different. As travel editors, we move around a lot, but this year has been different and we've relied on the women we admire around the world to give us a glimpse of what's going on where they live.

LA: In this episode, we called up a few of those women, based everywhere from Cancun to Tokyo, to get a glimpse of what their life and travels look like right now. We talk about missing being on the road, finally having the time to explore where we live, and much, much more.

MC: First, Lale caught up with travel writer, Julia Buckley, who we spoke to in an episode at the very onset of the pandemic, who recently relocated to one of the most visited cities in the world, Venice. I'll let Lale take it away.

LA: Hi Julia. Thanks for joining us.

Julia Buckley: Hi, thank you for having me.

LA: So the last time that you came on the podcast was pretty early on in the pandemic and you had gone through somewhat of a travel odyssey to get back to the U.K. from Uruguay. Talk me through how you were feeling when we last spoke, now that you've had a little bit of time to look back on it.

JB: Oh, well, I don't even know where to start with that. I think I was in a very weird state of mind without really realizing it. I hadn't quite realized what the next few months were going to be like, even at that stage. I was still kind of looking back at my trip and thinking how amazing it was and looking at the headlines of what was going on in Italy and how terrible it was there. We'd just gone into lockdown in the U.K., I think, and it hadn't quite exploded here and I still hadn't realized what was about to happen.

So now I feel exhausted by the last few months, but I also feel like I'm coming out the other side now. I feel like it's easier for me to see or to start guessing what travel is going to be like. I've just this week gone on my first trip since March and it's been really weird adjusting to it. So I've started to kind of look to the future now, instead of... I spent the last few months being absolutely terrified, but I'm coming out the other side.

LA: So when you talk about taking this first trip, you're not actually in the U.K. right now, right? You went to Italy once the borders opened up and you've been there ever since, correct?

JB: Yeah. So one of my realizations during lockdown, and I think it was one of the things that made me realizeit was bursting into tears on your podcast last time that I was on hereis just how much Italy has meant to me. It's my life and my beloved, basically, since I was a student, since I did Italian at university. Until now, [I was] going over there and traveling there all the time, like every month I would be there, has been enough and I would always be really sad going home, but then being separated from it for five months, I felt so heartbroken.

It was like I was in a long-distance relationship and we'd been separated and it was awful. So yeah, as soon as the borders opened, I realized I needed to be there back in June. So as soon as we were allowed to fly in July, I just flew straight to Venice, rented an apartment, and last week had an offer accepted on another little mini apartment, like the cheapest apartment in Venice. And I've spent all this week trying to sort out a mortgage, which is less exciting, but very exciting for the future.

LA: Wait, so are you saying that you, in this time, have made the decision to move to Italy?

JB: Yes. I haven't really talked about it yet or told people. I felt the minute that I got there, it felt like coming home. I felt so happy to be there. It's just, I walk out just to do the grocery shopping and I do the grocery shopping in an old theater from the 19th century with all these frescoes on the walls. Just everywhere in Venice is just a dream and I've never, ever lived anywhere where it's actually pleasurable to step outside your front door and go and do a really boring errand. It's amazing. I didn't realize that you could be so happy living in a place. So yeah, I'm staying.

LA: Obviously, Venice is usually filled with tourists and it's probably the only way that you've actually known Venice. How are you getting to know the city now without those hoards of people? What does it feel like to walk around?

JB: Well, it's definitely more empty than it normally is right now, but this is the thing about Venice is that it's always been like that. If you just go one block off the main street, there's always been empty streets, empty canals, places where you could be suddenly 500 years ago because there's no cars, no people, nothing. It's just you and the buildings. So I don't want to make myself sound like I'm not a tourist, I'm a traveler, but I think people who come for a couple of days haven't experienced that before, because obviously, you're going to see the main sites and tick off the main sites.

But I think people who know better, it feels more normal for them. It's been interesting watching it change. When I arrived in the middle of July, it was completely empty and the main street going down to St. Mark's Square past the Rialto, it was just me and five other people on it. But now it's, I think, because everyone's been talking about how empty Venice is all summer, everyone who can come has come. And so now it's kind of rammed and now I'm getting totally Venetian and like, Oh, these people are so annoying, as I'm walking down the street.

LA: It's interesting because I feel like the impression I've got is that everyone in Venice, or the assumption that's being made is that everyone in Venice is like, We're so traumatized by the levels of overtourism, we don't want those volumes of people coming back. Do you think that's the case or do you think that people do just want the money again?

JB: No. I think it's definitely the case because the problem with overtourism, she says getting on her Venetian high horse as a local now, the problem with overtourism in Venice is that it's not the people who were coming and staying overnight and eating in the restaurants that's the problem. It's not the tourists like us who go and stay there and go and have a break in Venice. The problem is the people that come on day trips and there are, I've forgotten the figures, but I think of the around 26 to 30 million visitors a year, I think about 16 to 20 million are day trippers. So those are the people that they don't want back. They don't spend any money. They leave their rubbish, so they're actually costing the city money. So they'd be really happy if they don't come back. But as for normal tourists, it's been really interesting talking to people because they all say, We don't hate tourists. We really love visitors.

And Venice has been based for centuries on international trade and welcoming people who don't speak our language and showing them our culture, and we want to do that again. So this image of Venetians hating tourists, I think, just I'm not sure if it was ever true, but I really don't think it's true now. I think they don't like a certain type of visitor as you wouldn't like someone that came to, I don't know, Fifth Avenue and just sat down on the sidewalk and started eating a sandwich. Nobody in New York would tolerate that. And that's what people do to them in their city. So they don't like that behavior, but that's what's been amazing for me, finding how easy it is to fit in and how welcoming everyone is. I feel like an honorary Venetian already because everyone's just so friendly and welcoming and easy and sharing their, I don't know, their city with me and it's like that for everyone if you just speak to them.

LA: I love that. And so you mentioned that you've just taken your first trip and you started to dip your toes into traveling around Italy a little bit now. Beyond the obligatory social distancing, have you noticed any changes in your behavior as a traveler? Are you moving around differently? Are you paying attention to different things or prioritizing different things?

JB: I would say I'm a lot more cautious. I'm a lot more wary. I've had to get two trains and one coach so far, so I'm not doing what I would normally do, which is, I don't know, drink something and get my laptop out. So I guess it's made me more thoughtful like that. I think if I went to a big city, which I'm not planning to do for a while, but if I did, I think I'd be a lot more cautious about where I went into. It's definitely made me appreciate it more, even tiny things like the tea bags I'm sitting next to in the hotel right now in their little pots and hotel toiletries. I didn't realize how much I'd missed them. And just the idea that someone else has made the bed for me and I don't have to wash my towels and stuff. I'm clinging to that a lot more than I ever thought I would.

LA: Looking ahead, which obviously is a very difficult thing to do right now, so tentatively looking ahead to 2021, what do you think your travel priorities are going to be and what do you hope to get out of that year?

JB: I think it all depends on whether there's a vaccine and I don't want to be a Debbie Downer about everything, and I also say this with a caveat that I am high risk. I had pneumonia and bronchitis and recurring nastiness last year, so I know that if I get this, I'll get it badly. I think I'm going to dial down my traveling a lot next year because I don't want to get it and I don't think things will have gone back to normal next year. Also, I'm in a place where I'm traveling every day now, so I can travel around Italy. It's fine. I really, really wanted to get back to Uruguay where I was right before the lockdown, and to Brazil, where I was supposed to be going afterwards, and Argentina. I'm not sure that I can see myself going to any of those places next year now because Uruguay and Argentina are being really good about not letting people in and Brazil, I just wouldn't want to go to right now.

So I think I'm going to stay closer to home, enjoy here while there aren't so many people enjoying it with me. And I think, maybe I'll wind back to a point where travel is a massive, massive treat rather than an everyday thing of, Oh God, I've got to get on this plane to go to this different continent today. Oh, it's okay, I'll only be there five days and then I can get home and see some friends and then I've got to go off to another place. I think that will be... It's kind of scary. Someone said to me, Oh, your life's changing massively. You're settling down and you're not going to be the same person anymore, and that's terrifying to think of it that way. But I think also, I do want to be really responsible and until this is under control everywhere, I don't, even if I feel safe, I don't want to be part of a movement of people hopping on a plane and traveling halfway across the world and potentially taking something to people whose healthcare system isn't as good.

So I think, I mean, personally, I think it's everyone's responsibility to think like that, but I don't want to be part of a wave of the first people going to Bali or whatever. I'd love to go back to Bali, but it's not going to be next year I don't think.

LA: Bali will be there way beyond 2021.

JB: It will and when I finally make it, it's going to be so much better because I'll have been waiting for it for so long. I'm going to put my purity ring for Bali on and we'll see when it gets taken off.

LA: Well, that feels like a very nice note to wrap things up on. If people want to follow your travels around Italy and get a peek at life in Venice, where can they find you on the internet?

JB: They can find me on Twitter at @juliathelast, but you can also follow Instagram for my Italian food business supporting farmers who were devastated by the pandemic. You can follow that on Instagram at Mangiare Bene, as I say my best English accent. So M-A-N-G-I-A-P-E-R-B-E-N-E and it means... It has lots of meanings, but it means eat for good, eat up, eat well, everything.

LA: Love it. And we will make sure to pop that in the show notes so you can find it there as well. And you can follow me along at @lalehannah.

MC: Next up, Lauren DeCarlo, Traveler's director of strategic projects and a previous guest host on the podcast, chatted with travel writer Imani Bashir, who was on vacation in Malaysia in December when the coronavirus hit Wuhan, where she was living at the time. Since then, she's been trying to find a place to call home with her husband and three-year-old son, traveling from the Czech Republic to London to the U.S. and finally settling in Cancun, Mexico, at least for the time being. She's had a whirlwind couple of months, but like the rest of us she's figured out a way to make it work.

Lauren DeCarlo: So Imani, thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today. I know as a mom, time is not something we have a lot of, so I really appreciate it. So tell me, you recently moved to Mexico. What is it like settling into a place, a new place during a pandemic?

Imani Bashir: You know what, it's interesting because I feel like this is the first time we've actually settled because we'd lived in Wuhan and we had to make that transition from like, not being able to get back into China, not being able to get our things. So in the process from like January until now, we've been in like five countries, like making our way back home, trying to figure out where we were going to go, because we've been expats for yearsmy husband since 2013 and myself since 2015. So coming here, actually it's finally like a breath of fresh air. Like I was explaining to my husband, I'm like, it's so interesting that we can finally take clothes out of our bags. We've been living in Airbnbs for months Airbnbs, hotels. And so to actually I'm like, wow, this is really like a form of self-care to actually put my underwear in the drawer.

LDC: It must be difficult though, to get like a true sense of like the vibrations of a place when everyone is not fully 100 percent living out in the open. Right?

IB: Yeah.

LDC: Unless, or they are, maybe they are there. I don't know what it's like there now.

IB: Well, here it's so interesting because it's like, coming from Asia and seeing how it is that we had to be there, and how things were so locked down and how from that side of the world, we're watching Americans and everybody's just going about their day and then jettison to now, we're like, Wow, now America is completely like still in lockdown and stuff. So Mexico, well, where we are specifically in Cancun, it's been pretty open. We still have to, like, they don't allow like little children into stores like Walmart or big supermarkets. Only over a certain age. They still have mass policies. They're still taking temperatures. Still have to hand sanitize. So there's still that luring of COVID-19 in the air. In some parking lots, they literally block out spaces so you can park every other parking space.

And so there's still the fact that some things aren't open and obviously I wasn't here, like in the midst of when it was like really heightened here. And so we kind of came when it was a little bit more open. I mean, obviously, you can't get on the beaches. You can only go like, possibly if you're staying at a resort. So there's still like stipulations. A lot of the archeological sites aren't open, the tourist sites aren't open. And so it still has that linger of this pandemic, but it does still give us a sense of normalcy. Our community is enclosed, it's gated, but it's so many expats and also Mexican families that live in here. So my son's made a ton of friends and they all speak different languages. And so it's just interesting to watch how the community has really come together and it's just a good feeling.

LDC: That's interesting because it seems like maybe the opposite of what I was saying before, like it may be difficult to get a sense of what the city is like, but maybe it's somehow easier or you get like a more authentic feel because there's not many tourists mulling about. It truly is the locals on the streets and

IB: Oh yeah, and it's fantastic. Like, I mean, literally we do go to the Walmarts. We do go to the bigger stores, but for the most part, we love getting our tostadas like right on the street corner. My husband literally just got some fajitas from a local guy who's like my husband goes there very often. So it's like, it's very communal and like you said, you get that very localized feel of a place because you're not jumping into just all of the tourist attractions and all of that stuff, which we've always been that way in all of the countries that we've lived.

We're street food eaters. We love going to get the authentic food, not necessarily the sit down restaurants, but those hole-in-the-wall-type mom and pop spots or just open grill outside. And so we do have our key spots that we get fresh juice and fresh fruit and it's good and it feels enclosed a little bit. It feels like just our little corner of the world even though obviously this is a big tourist destination, we haven't felt the brunt of what it would probably look like normally around this time of year. So it feels really good to feel like we've like been ingratiated into the neighborhood.

LDC: That's amazing. What is it like? I mean, I'm sure we could talk for hours about this, but what's it like being a mom right now having just moved to a place, surviving a pandemic. Being a working mom, how are you managing? How are you holding up?

IB: I'm doing much better. Now, time management is something that's very nonexistent to me. I don't know what that means. So we're still trying to work on that. But thankfully, I mean, my husband's been amazing. We've kind of had to flip flop; whereas before he was like the full-time worker, I was like freelance writing, and then pandemic hit. It's like, boom, he's unemployed, I'm working full time. And so he stepped up a lot as far as like being 24/7 dad and just keeping our son occupied and things of that nature. And we were able to find a daycare that's open from 9 a.m. So now we have that time, where he can go there and it's absolutely secure. They've done health checks every morning. He has to get sprayed down with his little self and his little book bag, but it's completely sanitized and they're only allowed a certain amount of kids per classroom.

And so it's good now, but before it was so hard to explain to him that certain things are closed because he's used to just going out to play or going to the pool. Like, my son loves to swim and he's only three and a half, but he can swim the length of an adult pool. And so when we first got here, the pool was closed and he just didn't understand, like, but it's right there. I can see it. What do you mean it's closed? It's right there. And so now we just kind of, we've explained to him people are sick and so we can't go to certain places because people are sick.

And so that's been the thing and so he knows now to wear his mask, he's got his Mickey mask and he's got all different other characters. And so thankfully, like I said, it's not as locked down here as it was when we first got here. And so now he can go swimming and he can do other activities to where he's not locked in the house. Because having a toddler and trying to like get work done and trying to eat and just do basic stuff like take a shower. Yeah. It can be very tough.

LDC: Are you thinking about traveling? Is that something that you're talking about doing, you've already started doing? Like, what does the fall winter look like?

IB: So for us, it's more, just anything like in this Quintana Roo area. So we've been to Playa del Carmen, I've been to Tulum. My husband and I, we went to Playa del Carmenwent to an amazing resort there for his birthday, just a couple of days because my mom actually flew in. So she was able to watch our son and so we're kind of keeping it as local as possible. I mean, although, like Playa is like maybe an hour from here and Tulum is like about two hours. So, we try to keep it like that. As far as like possibly getting on another plane before December or January, probably not. I would say the only reason that we would possibly do that is to have to go and apply for our residency visas. But other than that, I don't really foresee us making any like drastic trips anytime soon, anytime before 2021.

LDC: Imani, this feels like a good place to wrap up. But before we go, can you let everyone know where they can find you on social?

IB: Absolutely. I'm @sheisimani be everywhere, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. That's @she S-H-E Imani, I-M-A-N-I-B, sheisimanib. And you can find me on all social media platforms. Say hello, don't be afraid.

LDC: That's so great. And I'm Lauren DeCarlo. I'm @ldecarlo on Instagram. That's L-D-E-C-A-R-L-O and thank you, Imani. Thanks for joining us.

IB: Thank you so much for having me.

LA: Then we traveled to Dakar, over Zoom of course, with associate editor Megan Spurrell who chatted with Lee Litumbe, a Dakar based content creator, who is usually jet-setting all over the world and sharing her travels on Instagram. But over the last few months, she's been taking the time to explore and appreciate Senegal and take care of her new kitten, Miso, who she recently rescued.

Megan Spurrell: Hi Lee, thanks for joining us from Dakar.

Lee Litumbe: Thank you. Happy to be here.

MS: So to start, can you tell us a little bit about what the city looks and feels like these days? What is the sentiment in Senegal right now?

LL: Ooh, Senegal. I would say, so like I said, I'm in Dakar and it's a coastal city, very cosmopolitan, and the whole time throughout COVID, there was this strange element because it's such a busy city and there's so many people who live day to day. There's like markets, it's a very lively place and to kind of see it kind of get quiet and like buses no longer running, that was a little bit eerie. Nowadays, things are almost back to normal. I think that the government here has done quite a good job of managing things and so I mean, we're required to wear masks when we leave home. At one point during the height of the quarantine, there was a curfew here. But now there's a semblance of back to normalcy, but of course, hand sanitizer when walking into any establishment, masks are required, and everyone seems to be perfectly fine with wearing them here.

MS: And are you able to like go out to restaurants now and kind of really do all the normal things you usually do?

LL: Yes and no. So I want to say that only just this past weekend were the beaches officially opened up again. [But] restaurants, yes. Again, even though there isn't a huge element of that still happening here, I still like to kind of pay attention to [social] distance and all of that. But for the most part, there really is a semblance of normalcy, which sometimes feels okay but then other times it kind of feels like, hold on, you're actually too close to me. Could you take a step back? So yeah, so it's on the day-to-day, especially going back to grocery stores, it feels like normal because at the beginning it was so strange to see the long lines and like people, I mean, no one was hoarding toilet paper like it sounded like what's happening in a lot of places worldwide, but there definitely were people who were like stocking up and all of that, but now it's like you go to the grocery store, it's back to normal. Yeah.

MS: I mean, I've loved following you on Instagram for a while because it feels like, before all this, you're always on the go. You share photos of beautiful boutique hotels that you find in Tanzania or your trips to Morocco but I feel like, I mean, from everything you just said, it sounds like the past few months have been a lot more, I mean, quite different. Have you been managing to do any kind of exploring beyond or within your neighborhood or within the city?

LL: I have. So I have to say it's been, and I know there's a lot of problems around the world that are much bigger than this, but it has been quite a challenge because I genuinely love to travel. I feel like my best self when I'm traveling, and so it's been an adjustment, to say the least, to go from constantly being on the go to really having stillness. One of the main questions I got at the beginning of everything was, So how are you? What is your routine? How are you getting back into routine? I'm like, Well, my routine is travel, so I have to create a whole new one. I don't know, I have to literally cultivate a new routine, but I think that also having this stillness has also been great. There's the other side of the coin of traveling all the time is you never really have a break and you never really cultivate relationships with where you're based, and so that's been also a really positive outcome of not being able to travel, is focusing on building a life in one place, which is not as easy to do as one would think.

MS: No.

LL: Locally, I've been doing a lot more exploring in surrounding areas. So lucky for me, again, we're on a coast, and so we're also bordering on Mauritania, and so there are some places that have desert. So there are places that I have been able to go to safely, but at the beginning, there were limitations for how you could move from place to place. Now it's fine, so I'll do like a long weekend here, I took a girls trip, things like that.

But mostly, even though I'm taking trips locally, it's still not to the same extent. So if I go somewhere, I'm not exploring areas, I'm more so booking a villa and staying by the beach in a private space, so that is something that I normally wouldn't do say pre-COVID where I'm someone who really loves to get into like the culture of the place and mingle with people, and that's not really what I'm doing these days.

MS: It's an adjustment for all of us, and I just can only imagine, given the extensive travel you did before. But with these smaller trips, renting a villa and exploring the coast, have you had any experiences that have really stood out or at least been a nice glimpse of travel again during this time? Are there any trips in particular that you really enjoyed?

LL: Yes. I recently did two different trips. I did one with some girlfriends and then one with just a group of friends. And it was really nice to discover, because they were both in parts of Senegal that I hadn't been before. I went to Popenguine as well as Nianing, and both of them are still coastal, but very, very quiet. So it's not as busy as the city where I live, and it's also a lot more green. So something about Dakar that doesn't really stand out until you live here is how much there is an absence of green spaces, and particularly with COVID, you really... Of course, we have the ocean and it's always nice to go to the beach, but there's something about just being able to go to a park and read a book and just see gardens and all of that. So there isn't really a green space in Dakar, and so to go to both of Popenguine and Nianing and see how lush and green they were along the coast, it was just so nice. Also, seeing a lot of fishermen take their boats out to, just back to their day to day as well, because the thing about... I can talk a lot about how my life has shifted, but living in an area where there are so many communities that depend on day-to-day interaction with sales, again in markets, it's quite beautiful also for their benefit to see how they are able to go back to that normal. And so watching the fishermen take their pirogues, which are these massive canoes, colorful boats, out was just also very nice and cool. And yeah, again, I'm a lover of travel, so even if I'm just traveling to the grocery store after being forced to stay at home all day, it's just nice to get out of bit.

MS: How are you thinking about carving out moments like that in the months to come, where we are in this limbo where it's returning to normal, but people are unsure of when it'll be 100 percent back? How are you thinking about spending the fall?

LL: Ooh, it's an interesting question for a few different reasons for me. So on the one hand, because my platform is so influenced by travel, and my audience is primarily American, I feel a huge ethical obligation to be cautious the way I document travel, because I don't want to incite people to forget that this is a very real and serious thing. And yes, I am an American, but I'm living in a completely different country, and so the people consuming my content are mostly American, and I'm just always trying to straddle the fence of sharing hopeful and exciting content for them to be able to look forward to travel, but then also, I don't want to influence anyone to travel, particularly in the U.S. where things are particularly in limbo.

So I'm very aware of that responsibility and I'm trying to navigate that responsibly. However, from a personal standpoint, I would like to explore traveling. I don't know if internationally, or maybe even further away than where I've been traveling, and maybe around maybe October, November, and just seeing how that goes. I'm not sure again how my responsibility to be a positive reinforcement online, how is going to play into it, but it's something that I'm always thinking about and I'm always aware of.

MS: Yeah. And I'm sure it's hard when your travels are the content you create and produce and share with everyone. It must feel hard to separate that from your personal life, but is there space for you to maybe take a trip and not post about it, find a trip that feels responsible in the context of where Senegal is at right now and maybe just do it for you? Is that something you could see yourself doing?

LL: Oh, that's something I'm dying to do. My happy place is Tanzania. Like I always love to, there's just something about being in Zanzibar that makes me feel at ease, makes me feel inspired, and I would go there with no camera, with no anything, just to be able to feel like I'm being refreshed and rejuvenated because this year has been a lot. And again, trying to do that in a way that also doesn't put myself in harm's way as well as other people in harm's way. So it's a strange thing, but I definitely am eager to get back into the skies and into exploring and documenting the beauty of the world.

MS: Well, Lee, I think that's a pretty good note to end on. Where can people find you online?

LL: Thank you. You can find me @spiritedpursuit across all platforms.

MS: And I'm @spurrelly on Instagram. Thanks so much.

LL: Thank you so much.

LA: And finally, Meredith caught up with Honolulu-born, Tokyo-based creative Lindsey Arakawa whose psychedelic Instagram illustrations have brought us plenty of joy these last few months. She's been using the travel pause to explore the capital city and perfect her Japanese, and like many of us, she's now grappling with holiday travel and what family visits will look like this year. I'll pass it over to Meredith to kick things off.

MC: I would love for you to just give us a snapshot of what your life looks like on a day-to-day basis right now. What are you doing in your free time?

Lindsay Arakawa: Yeah. So I feel like my day-to-day recently has been a little bit different than what it looked like in the beginning half of the year, just because I had so much free time in the beginning half of the year that I wanted to do something with it because I'm a freelancer. So I signed up for these intensive language courses, which are in Japanese obviously, because I'm in Tokyo, but it's every weekday from 9 to 12, so it's three hours a day, five days a week, I'm in this intensive language course. And then afterwards, if I'm feeling lazy, I'll just lay around, watch TikTok for the rest of the day. Or if I want to be productive, I'll get on my bike and ride to somewhere nearby to run an errand or something, but pretty simple looking life right now I think.

MC: What pushed you to enroll in the Japanese courses?

Lindsay Arakawa: Yeah, so there's a couple different reasons I think. When I initially moved to Japan, that was my big goal that I wanted to achieve. I had taken Japanese language courses throughout my life, but it's a lot different when you're living in it, and you're now in a classroom setting, and you have to learn how to gossip in a different language and talk about, I don't know, there being a bug in your food, not that there are bugs in my food or anything like that, but just things like that that you wouldn't ever think of before.

And so, I wanted that too, it was a major goal of mine when I first moved here, but then this is like, I'm coming up on my second year of being in Tokyo and the longer I'm here, I thought... In the beginning, I thought I could get away with speaking more English, but that really isn't the case here, I'm finding, at least through my experience, especially because if I'm wanting to work with like local clients or go on interviews, Japanese is a necessary must, or it's a required skill. So that's what pushed me.

MC: Makes sense.

Lindsay Arakawa: Yeah.

MC: The other thing, you mentioned your bike. Having a bike has given me, and I've talked about this on the podcast before, but having a bike has given me so much freedom this year because I have not had one before, and being able to move about the city on my own has been a real blessing, especially when I'm not taking public transportation and everything else. What has that been like for you?

Lindsay Arakawa: Did you buy a bike because of the pandemic?

MC: I had my bike from high school shipped from my parents' house.

Lindsay Arakawa: Nice.

MC: Simply because I can only get so far on my own two feet.

Lindsay Arakawa: Yeah, for sure. Having a bike in Tokyo has been a major game changer for me just because I relied so heavily on the trains in Tokyo to get me from point A to point B because they're so convenient, in the previous year that I lived here, but Tokyo is a really easy city to bike through, especially with the type of bike that I bought secondhand. It is called a mamachari, which is the type of bike that all the moms ride around with their kid in the front and the kid on the back.

I don't have any kids, but I mainly got it because it has an electronic battery that you attach to it, so it makes going up hills very effortless. And so it's been really great. I just installed a basket on the front and the basket on the back so I can carry a bunch of things if I decide to go grocery shopping or something like that. But yeah, it's been great. I love it.

MC: I think I need to get baskets. That's my downfall right now, is that my backpack is not quite big enough to fit the things that I need it to. So I've been following you on Instagram for a while now, and it's been really nice while I've been staying in my home through everything that's been going on in the U.S., for me to be watching your stories while you're exploring Japan. How have you been traveling around and what has it been like for you to explore when there aren't the international tourists that would usually be there as well?

Lindsay Arakawa: So I only started to venture out recently. In the beginning half of the year, I don't think I left my house at all, and I'm sure everyone can relate to how stir-crazy you go, but that's just what we have to deal with at the moment. But Japan, as a country itself, has kind of started to loosen up on a lot of the restrictions, and they even put into place something called a go-to travel campaign, which encouraged locals to go to different parts of Japan to help revitalize the economy in different cities. So they would pay, I think, for a percentage of all of your travel fees, which was really nice. In the beginning, it didn't really apply to Tokyo because we have the highest case numbers. But I think in October, so now, maybe the last time I checked, it applies to people who are currently based in Tokyo. But it's been interesting because it is nice that there aren't a lot of tourists everywhere.

Where I live in Tokyo is very close to Shibuya, it's maybe a 15 minute walk for me, or 10 minutes, and so not having the crowds around has been really nice. Just because Shibuya Crossing or Shibuya Scramble can get so dense, I guess, or it's normally very dense. And so seeing the city a little bit more cleared up has been really nice to kind of just see from my bike and ride around and stuff. Recently my partner and I went down to Kyoto just as we want to see it when it's not super-duper packed with tourists because it's a major travel spot, I think whenever anybody comes to visit. And we also rented bikes when we were down there, so we kind of avoided all public transportation and that was really nice to kind of just see the city when there weren't tourists every which way you look.

MC: What did you guys prioritize seeing when you were in Kyoto? What was on your must see list? Must eat list, probably.

Lindsay Arakawa: It's a little strange, or it felt very weird and it was something that we talked about like a couple of days into our trip there, where we were like, Oh, vacations are meant to feel very like relaxed, but I kind of feel on edge the entire time. Because we weren't going to restaurants that we would have normally have gone to, if there wasn't a global pandemic, because we always tried to eat somewhere that we could sit right by the door that was open or a window that was open or somewhere that was outside. So we couldn't go to a lot of the bars or the restaurants that we had on our list, which is fine. I think it's kind of just nice in itself that we get to kind of like go outside of Tokyo still.

But initially we had planned to go see all the major tourist spots, like Kinkaku-ji, which is the golden temple, or Fushimi Inari temple, which it has all of these red gates that lined up. Just the super hot tourist spots. But we went on a four or five day weekend and I think everybody else in Japan had the same plan as us. And so it ended up being a little bit more crowded than we expected. So we ended up avoiding the super touristy areas. And luckily enough, there was a photo festival that got pushed back from the springtime called Kyotographie to the weekend that we were there. And so we just rode our bikes from the different locations to kind of see the different art installations, which is really nice, and we got lucky.

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4 Travelers on Life Around the World: Women Who Travel Podcast - Cond Nast Traveler

President Trump positive is a red alert for World Travel and Tourism – eTurboNews | Trends | Travel News

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President Donald Trump and his wife Melanie Trump are both positive for Coronavirus. President Trump may have been positive at the debate with the Democratic Presidential Candidate Vice President Joe Biden Luckily Vice president Biden was tested negative twice, and so was US Vice President Pence.

What is National Security Implementation? This is a true Red Alert considering the people a president meets.

Open Florida for business, specifically tourism business. Making masks not required and reopening US travel destinations. This was all election talk and overnight may move to a different dimension.

We all know the tweets, we all know the background.

US President Trump getstested for COVID-19 constantly. Anyone who wants to talk to him gets tested. Itwas the reasoning the president didnt think he needed to be worried.

This all changed today. The United States failed in keeping the most protected person safe. COVID 19 has no boundaries that can be set by men.

Breaking news is President Donald Trump and the First Lady are COVID-19 positive and so is a growing list of people close to the president and the White House.

This is shocking not only for the US government and the American People but an eye-opener to political leaders in the United States and anywhere in the world. It may give a second thought when focusing on restarting an economy. Will it go so far to put health over financial gain, most likely not.

It will be seen if also the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis may get up and make wearing a mask is the law in Florida. It didnt happen yet.

Will this situation delay the reopening of Hawaii Tourism again? It doesnt look like it will.

Just days ago President Trump claimed were at the end of the epidemic and now he, his wife, staff, and others connected him are diagnosed with Coronavirus.

This is bad news for tourism, or perhaps good news for the travel and tourism industry encouraging leaders to put health over economics.

Juergen Steinmetz is the founder of rebuilding.travel , a free global discussion with tourism leaders in 120 countries. More details on http://www.rebuilding.travel

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After six months, Germany eases world travel restrictions – The Tribune India

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Berlin, October 1

Germany lifted its blanket warning against travelling to all countries outside the European Union (EU) early on Thursday, although little is likely to change for most travellers under the new regulation.

The cautious reopening, agreed by the German cabinet three weeks ago, comes as Europe faces an uptick in Covid-19 cases, with many warning the continent is on the cusp of a second wave of the Covid pandemic.

Germany imposed a global travel warning in March, when the virus was raging in northern Italy, but lifted it for most European countries in June. In September, Berlin began reissuing warnings for regions within Europe when infections rose above the level of 50 cases per 1,00,000 people over a week.

In future, the same standard will be applied to the rest of the world. This means that provided the prevalence of the virus is below that threshold, travellers will be able to return to Germany without going into quarantine pending a negative test.

At present, entry and exit without restrictions will only be possible in parts of Europe and Georgia.

But with more warnings being lifted in the near future, the change could prove significant for non-European tourist destinations that have traditionally received large numbers of visitors from the EU's most populous country. Reuters

Italy to extend stateof emergency till January

Rome: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Thursday he would ask Parliament to extend the country's Covid-19 state of emergency to the end of January, as the government tries to avoid the surge in cases seen in other European countries. The state of emergency, due to expire in mid-October, gives greater powers to the Central government, making it easier for officials to bypass the bureaucracy that smothers much decision-making in Italy. "We will propose toPparliament to extend the state of emergency, probably to the end of January 2021," said Conte. Reuters

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After six months, Germany eases world travel restrictions - The Tribune India

The world’s 10 coolest neighborhoods, according to Time Out – CNN

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London (CNN) This year we've all been spending more time than expected in our own neighborhoods.

While lockdown and safety measures have hit our city centers hard, in many places local communities have been thriving.

Proclaiming that "It's cool to be kind," the magazine's focus this year is on places where neighborliness is king, and communities and businesses have pulled together and prospered during this toughest of years.

Here are the top 10.

10. Marrickville, Sydney

Marrickville doesn't hold the monopoly on Australian cool, though: There's another Aussie entry later in the top 10.

9. Haut-Marais, Paris

Not to be confused with Marais proper -- delightful, of course, but rather touristy, darling -- Haut-Marais is the northern, bleeding edge of this historic district.

8. Dennistoun, Glasgow

The highest point of Alexandra Park offers views north to Ben Lomond mountain.

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In the East End of city, bordering the Necropolis -- Glasgow's Victorian-built "City of the Dead" -- the historically working-class neighborhood of Dennistoun has seen its young student population grow in recent years.

"Yet the tide of redevelopment is coming in slow," says Time Out, "and its charming blonde and red sandstone tenements remain affordable to most."

Editors single out the Zero Waste Market, "a refill grocery shop that prepped handy boxes of food essentials during lockdown," and Alexandra Park's Food Forest: "where locals of all backgrounds meet to plant and grow."

7. Shaanxi Bei Lu/Kangding Lu, Shanghai

Once part of the Shanghai International Settlement -- a Western enclave until 1941 -- this formerly sleepy neighborhood is "quickly morphing into a buzzing destination of new cafs, bars and restaurants," says Time Out.

6. Wedding, Berlin

No, don't have bridal gowns on the brain. Wedding is a neighborhood in the northwest section of Germany's capital.

Though the city is known as a place for 24-hour partying, Wedding's side streets are quiet enough to guarantee you'll get a good night's sleep once you're done hitting the beer halls.

By day, you can enjoy the great outdoors at Pltzensee lake and woodsy Volkspark Rehberge.

5. Yarraville, Melbourne

Yarraville: "The cross-section of food, drink and things to do here is pretty remarkable," says Time Out.

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Two lockdowns may have put Melbourne's culture scene into hibernation, but, says Time Out, "Melbourne's community spirit has never been stronger, and the neighborhood that best embodies that is the westside suburb of Yarraville."

Skater Belle Hadiwidjaja has been roller-skating through the neighborhood in an array of costumes to keep families entertained on their daily strolls, while local Lee Smith-Moir cheered up residents by adding "happy signs" on the area's walking tracks.

4. Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York

This Brooklyn neighborhood of Victorian brownstones this year became, according to Time Out, "New York's greatest incubator of the future."

During the Black Lives Matter protests, it served as a main hub, and as the city was gripped by the Covid-19 pandemic, "it gave birth to mutual aid networks like Bed-Stuy Strong to protect its most vulnerable members."

3. Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

Sham Shui Po is one of Hong Kong's oldest working-class neighborhoods. Its rustic vibe is attracting creative souls, from street artists to coffee artisans.

CNN Travel called it back in 2018, when it described this working-class neighborhood, whose rustic vibe had been attracting creative souls from street artists to coffee artisans, as "Hong Kong's new cultural capital."

2. Downtown, Los Angeles

"This became the most painful year in L.A.'s recent history," says Time Out, "and in a city with no single, central gathering place, Downtown became its supportive soul."

It was in this resurgent city center that shocked residents gathered to mourn after the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

And it was here that Angelenos came to make their voices heard after the death of George Floyd. "It wasn't without strife," says Time Out, "but there was a palpable pivot toward unity the day that thousands streamed through Downtown's streets."

1. Esquerra de l'Eixample, Barcelona

Catlan enginer Ildefons Cerd was a pioneer of urban planning.

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Eixample is Catalan for "expansion" and this sprawling neighborhood, on a strict grid pattern, falls into two distinct sections: The luxurious and touristy Dreta de l'Eixample, and the more down-to-earth, residential area, Esquerra de l'Eixample.

"During Barcelona's strict lockdown," says Time Out, the courtyards of Esquerra's apartment blocks "became focal points for the city's energy -- as in the pop-up Hidrogel Sessions, in which residents dressed up in costumes and organised mass dance parties from their balconies."

Time Out's full list of 40 coolest neighborhoods

1. Esquerra de l'Eixample, Barcelona

2. Downtown, Los Angeles

3. Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

4. Bedford-Stuyvesant, New York

5. Yarraville, Melbourne

6. Wedding, Berlin

7. Shaanxi Bei Lu/Kangding Lu, Shanghai

8. Dennistoun, Glasgow

9. Haut-Marais, Paris

10. Marrickville, Sydney

11. Verdun, Montreal

12. Kalamaja, Tallinn

13. Hannam-dong, Seoul

14. Bonfim, Porto

15. Ghosttown, Oakland

16. Chula-Samyan, Bangkok

17. Alvalade, Lisbon

18. Noord, Amsterdam

19. Centro, So Paulo

20. Holeovice, Prague

21. Lavapis, Madrid

22. Opebi, Lagos

23. Narvarte, Mexico City

24. Uptown, Chicago

25. Little Five Points, Atlanta

26. Wynwood, Miami

27. Phibsboro, Dublin

28. Nrrebro, Copenhagen

29. Bugis, Singapore

30. Gongguan, Taipei

31. Soho, London

32. Binh Tanh, Ho Chi Minh City

33. Melville, Johannesburg

34. Kabutocho, Tokyo

35. Porta Venezia, Milan

36. Taman Paramount, Kuala Lumpur

37. Allston, Boston

38. Bandra West, Mumbai

39. Arnavutky, Istanbul

40. Banjar Nagi, Ubud

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The world's 10 coolest neighborhoods, according to Time Out - CNN

Travel agents wait for the world to reopen from COVID shutdowns; heres how theyre staying afloat with trave – MassLive.com

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NORTHAMPTON The DRI-Voyage, as travel agent Martha S. Borawski describes it, is the travel option for people who normally like a cruise but are not getting on a plane much less a cruise ship anytime in the foreseeable future due to the risk of coronavirus.

Its a three-night hotel stay package you can drive to in your own car and Ive got great deals lined up with hotels and resorts in the northeast, says Borawski, president of Pioneer Valley Travel in Northampton, of the mini-vacation concept she originated in the midst of the pandemic.

Shes been working at the family-owned business for 50 years.

The DRI-Voyage is one option for travelers concerned about venturing out amid the pandemic, focused on destinations within two- to three-hour drives from Western Massachusetts. So, too, are deals shes worked out with RV rental companies for driving tours in the United States and, once travel restrictions are lifted, in Europe.

I have a great rate for a river cruise on the Columbia and Snake rivers for May of 2021. We are encouraging people to travel to Alaska in 2021 which I truly believe will be a hot destination and there are so many wonderful deals out there, Borawski adds.

She says shes also talking with groups about trips to Portugal and customers are inquiring about Alaska, saying they want something exotic without leaving the United States.

Borawski adds that customers keep telling her they have postponed, not canceled their trips into 2021. I think it is going to come back gangbusters, she predicts of the travel business.

But is anyone taking the deals?

The trade group the U.S. Travel Association said recently that travel spending is running about 45% below last years numbers. And the airline industry is pressing Congress hard for another bailout to avoid layoffs.

Whats going on with the industry is not very good, Borawski acknowledges.

Shes traveled herself in recent weeks, taking one of those three-day dry-cruises to an inn in Vermont, where it was a relief to check out a bustling little village and see some new scenery for change.

People want to get away, she says, but they want to do it safely. Showing people that proper precautions are being taken will build confidence.

There are lots of things changing in the travel industry, including at Borawskis business.

In response, shes now partnered with two other travel industry veterans. Barbara Burati, whose father started Carroll Travel in Springfield many years ago before selling it, has brought her agency, Burati Travel, with offices in Avon, Connecticut, and East Longmeadow, into the fold.

Debbie Wilcox, of Cruise and Travel, in Turners Falls, who has been in the travel business for more than 36 years, is also part of the partnership.

The arrangement allows the three travel agencies to combine back-office operations like computer systems, while also allowing all three businesses to keep their individual identities, Borawski explains.

Hopefully this will be a really good fit, Borawski says. We all feel the same way about travel and a passion for travel.

As time passes, she adds, if any of the partners decide to retire, then they can transfer clients to the other partners.

COVID-19 and its disruptions have also pointed out the utility in having a travel agent, Borawski adds. People who booked online either directly or through third-party websites had trouble getting refunds this spring when coronavirus restrictions canceled trips. Some of those would-be travelers came to the travel agents in search of help.

(When you book online), there is nobody you can talk to, Borawski says. Were here. Were local.

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Travel agents wait for the world to reopen from COVID shutdowns; heres how theyre staying afloat with trave - MassLive.com

Amazon Prime’s Global Child "Travel with Purpose" & Netflix’s Down to Earth with Zac Efron bring hope to audiences through a new breed…

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Efron travels the world with health guru Dan Olien trying to find new perspectives to common problems as they explore sustainable living practices. On the other hand, Augusto Valverde, the host and creator of Global Child, explores the world through the best experiences as he shares positive life lessons and gives back with the top influencers of the world. The success of both shows in connecting with audiences signals that despite a nation torn by toxic political discourse, people still love to travel even if through a screen and welcome a message of hope, purpose and unity.

"People love travel; it's the number one goal for millennials and that hasn't changed I think what's changing is the awareness of the good we can all do when we visit places. I love to see celebrities like Zac using their influence for good. We created Global Child almost four years ago to team up with the top influencers to yes, enjoy the world, but to also make it a better place by taking a moment to give back by leading by example. Doing good in twenty three countries, from providing food for a leper colony in India for a year, to protecting sharks in Fiji and supporting orphanages in Greece it's a blessing to use our influence for a greater good. What's the point of being on earth if we're not going to at least try to make it a better place?" Says Augusto, a former host for NBC, Theologian and volunteer Christian Jail Chaplain.

As Covid lockdowns closed International boarders, Global Child's Season 1 streaming numbers skyrocketed 10x to over 220,000 streaming hours in two months. Down to Earth also achieved success as both shows continue trending with audiences desperate for a getaway and a reprieve from the toxic political discourse.

"Perhaps people can't travel like they used to for the moment, but hopefully we can bring some laughter and great travel ideas so that when the world re-opens everyone is ready to travel with purpose and help this world get back on track. Besides, it's not every day that one gets to dive with 35 bull sharks, no cage and risking their life to promote ocean conservation I'm sure my exes loved that Fiji episode." Quips Augusto.

Down to Earth is streaming on Netflix and Global Child "Travel with Purpose"Season two launched this week on Amazon Prime Video.

About Global Child Global Childhas been featured on American Airlines and another 13 major airlines and on Amazon Prime with a reach of almost one billion viewers. Valverde also hosted this year's Miss New York USA beauty pageant and leads BIG Foundation a 501c3 that has all religions working together to help those in need.He recently completed a book for a major publisher about his travels. You can see Season 1 & 2 of Global Child on Amazon Prime Video and connect with Augusto via Instagram @GlobalChildTV and find out more on: http://www.GlobalChildTV.com

SOURCE Global Child

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Amazon Prime's Global Child "Travel with Purpose" & Netflix's Down to Earth with Zac Efron bring hope to audiences through a new breed...

The world of travel is (slowly) reopening | Opinion – ECM Publishers

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Since my last column in these pages, theres been a subtle but definite change in the travel landscape. More and more people are dipping their toes in the travel waters again, eager to resume traveling safely, of course. Where the month of March was characterized by the world slamming its doors shut, August and September have been characterized by an ever-increasing number of destinations reopening their doors and travel companies resuming service, all with new and comprehensive health and sanitation measures in place. While not everyone is eager to explore the world again, more and more people are venturing out and bookings are rebounding more quickly than many expected.

So, whats it like to travel internationally to the popular warm-weather destinations like Mexico, Hawaii, and the Caribbean islands in this new environment?

Depending on the destination, your travel experience is likely to start with a requirement that you produce a negative COVID-19 PCR test within three to five days of travel, which youll then need to upload to your destinations immigration authorities or travel provider. Not all destinations require a negative test Mexico and the Dominican Republic, for example, do not. You may encounter additional screening upon arrival, or in some cases, there may be random screening of arrivals. Some destinations may require that you remain on the property of your resort either pending the return of a negative test result or for the entire duration of the trip. Others have no such requirements.

I discussed the airport and flying experience in my last column, so I wont repeat that here. Once youve arrived in your destination and completed the immigration process, youll find a lot of things that look familiar to you. Resorts have incorporated social distancing into their operations, with a goal to reduce crowding. Most resorts have limited capacity to 50-60% of normal, and have removed tables in restaurants to allow more space between diners. Dining reservations, while always recommended, are now required in many places. Staff undergo frequent health screening, including routine COVID-19 testing and temperature checks, and all wear marks and/or gloves throughout their daily work. Masks requirements may vary, but typically track fairly closely with what we are used to here in Minnesota.

Importantly, the destination experience remains as incredible as ever, even with the implementation of these protocols. The sun shines, pools and outdoor lounge spaces are open, the food is great, and the service friendly. Attractions are mostly open, with distancing and sanitation protocols in place. And perhaps most importantly, the palpable sense of relaxation and well-being that washes over us when we go on vacation is still there! And after a year like this, who wouldnt look forward to that?

Its been personally rewarding for me to talk with recent returning travelers and to hear the incredible amount of relief in their voices as they describe their vacations and the impact on their overall well-being. While travel looks a little different right now, those of us who are ready to go can indeed experience more and more parts of the world with a high level of safety and return home refreshed, invigorated, and ready to face todays challenges.

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The world of travel is (slowly) reopening | Opinion - ECM Publishers

Is One of the Most Overtouristed Cities in the World Better Off Without Them? – Fodor’s Travel

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All Photos Courtesy Of Lisa Bernardi

I may not be the last American in Barcelona, but it certainly feels like it.

Months have passed since Spain entered a national lockdown that would become one of the strictest in the world. For eight weeks, residents were forbidden from leaving their homes except to buy essentials. Those who broke the rules faced severe fines, some even prison time.

My life in Barcelona came to a screeching halt in less than 72 hours. On a Thursday evening, I met friends for drinks after work as usual. We even made plans to go out that weekend, blissfully unaware that these drinks would be our last social interaction for months. It wasnt until noon on Friday that a nationwide panic began as news of the pandemic broke. Within hours, supermarket shelves had been stripped bare. The city was mostly shuttered when I woke up on Saturday, the few bakeries that remained open so desperate to get rid of their pastries they were giving them away for free. By Sunday, Barcelona had become a ghost town.

Of course, the lockdown didnt last forever. The Spanish government finally began easing restrictions in mid-June once positive cases had dwindled. Within a few weeks, life almost felt normal again, just with masks. But as residents began to reemerge, there was still one thing missing: tourists.

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Its hard to argue with the idea that Barcelona is one of the most overtouristed cities in the world. The city council recorded 9.5 million overnight visitors in 2019, a figure that doesnt include the thousands of cruise passengers who arrive in Barcelonas port every day to spend a few hours sightseeing. Multi-day tourists outnumber the citys population of 1.6 million by nearly six to one.

This is where things get tricky. On one hand, tourists visiting Barcelona spend 22 million euros every day, accounting for 12% of the regions GDP. One out of every dozen residents is employed by the tourism industry, jobs that wouldnt exist without that steady flow of cash. But tourism workers earn just half the average annual salary in the city, scraping by on less than 17,000 euros ($19,800 USD) per year. With the growing number of tourists entering Barcelona straining the citys physical capacity, residents have questioned whether the financial benefits are even worth it.

The first major anti-tourism protests in Barcelona started in 2014 when residents of the beachfront Barceloneta neighborhood finally had enough of rowdy parties and illegal vacation rental properties. Locals all across the city soon joined in expressing their frustration as they watched their neighborhoods rapidly gentrify. Luxury hotels and high-end restaurants drove out small businesses and sent rent prices skyrocketing, forcing many residents to relocate to nearby cities and commute in for work.

By the end of 2019, authorities in Barcelona had put several measures into place in an effort to curb tourism. The city stopped issuing new licenses for hotels and cracked down on vacation rental platforms like Airbnb. Plans for an airport expansion were curbed; the mayor announced that there would be a cap on the number of cruise ships allowed to dock in Barcelonas port. It may not have been a total solution, but there was at least some hope that the city had taken a step in the right direction.

And then COVID-19 arrived. In three short days, a deadly virus did more to curb tourism than five years of legislation. A government that had been actively working to reduce the number of tourists just weeks prior now desperately wanted them back.

Walking through Barcelonas streets, however, there was a noticeable sense of calm. Most residents didnt seem to mind that the tourists were gone. As news headlines cried major financial losses, I had to wonder: Was the loss of tourism all bad? Or could this, somehow, be the citys chance to save itself?

Ive called Barcelona home on and off since 2016. Living here as an expat, Ive always felt determined to distinguish myself from the throngs of anglophones who crowd the citys beaches, overpay for cheap sangria, and throw raucous parties that have been known to end in drunken streaking. It wasnt until a friend pointed it out that I realized Id developed a habit of issuing a blanket apology anytime someone asked where Im from. Im Americansorry!

Nowadays, being an American in Barcelona is somewhat of a novelty. Prior to the pandemic, it was just as common to hear English on the street as Spanish or Catalan in certain neighborhoods. I didnt fully appreciate how drastically things had changed until I passed two strangers speaking English one day and immediately did a triple take.

With no foreigners around to fill them, former tourist strongholds, like Las Ramblas, remained mostly empty for the first several weeks after the lockdown was lifted. But slowly, locals began taking tentative steps into the streets they had long avoided for fear of being trampled by hungover, board-short-clad Yankees. Restaurants took down English-language signs and replaced them with menus more tailored to local tastes. While foot traffic remains at a small fraction of the typical high season, its now fairly commonplace to hear Catalan being spoken on the terraces of establishments that once catered to foreigners.

Once the restaurant industry began to fill seats, major tourist attractions followed closely behind. Popular destinations that would normally be booked far in advance this time of year turned their attention to city residents that had never visited the cultural attractions in their own backyard, enticing them with generous discounts.

1. With a large majority of their customer base still barred from entering Europe, most souvenir stalls along Las Ramblas remain shuttered despite getting the green light to reopen months ago.2. A Barcelona resident follows a self-guided audio tour through Casa Vicens in Barcelonas Grcia neighborhood. Casa Vicens, one of several attractions designed by famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaud, has discounted tickets by 35% in an effort to attract local visitors.

As a legal resident with a local identification number, Im fortunate enough to be allowed in on these deals. Recently I joined a Spanish friend at Casa Vicens, one of the many buildings designed by famed Catalan architect Antoni Gaud. Our 35% reduced entry price included a complimentary glass of cava and a scoop of ice cream in the museums tree-lined courtyard. Gaud is better known for the Sagrada Familia, which started offering its 26 tickets to residents for free in July. I managed to score mine for October before they sold out.

While attractions are fun to visit, they barely scratch the surface in encompassing local culture. The more time Ive spent here, the more Ive come to realize that there are two Barcelonas. The first is a faade created solely for the benefit of tourists. It evokes images of paella and Picasso exhibits, neither of which actually come from the region. And yet these stereotypes are what continue to draw tourists from all corners of the globe.

The second, the one which I consider to be the authentic Barcelona, cant be found printed on a mug in a souvenir shop. Its beginning every conversation with How are you doing today? before diving into business. Its spending a sunny Sunday afternoon sipping vermouth with friends. Its bumping into an acquaintance on the street and sitting down for a coffee instead of rushing to your next destination.

With overtourism pushing locals out of Barcelona, some fear that the Catalan way of life is becoming endangered. Curious about whether the absence of tourists could help bring this culture back, I reached out to Jose Mansilla, Ph.D. in social anthropology and member of the Observatori dAntropologia del Conflicte Urb (OACU), a research group based in Barcelona.

You cannot take a photograph of Catalan culture, says Mansilla. It is not simply a spectacle or a production. As a whole, Catalan culture aligns with Mediterranean culture: enjoyment and socialization in public spaces. In short, this is how overtourism has most impacted the local way of living. Gentrification has essentially acted as cultural deforestation, choking out the physical spaces in which local communities can congregate.

The silver lining, Mansilla says, is that the travel bans resulting from COVID-19 have already begun reversing some of the damage. If the streets become empty of tourists, then yes, there is an opportunity for Barcelonans to reclaim them. We saw this over the summer when children were playing in the streets of the Gothic Quarter like they hadnt in years.

As Barcelonas quietest summer in decades comes to a close, I realize how fortunate I am to be among a small handful of Americans experiencing the rare and beautiful resurgence of Catalan culture firsthand. But the real challenge will be turning these short-term trends into permanent changes. How can the city continue to preserve its identity once travel restrictions are lifted and tourists return in full force?

1. Small groups of European tourists feed the pigeons in Plaa Catalunya.2. Locals play a game of beach volleyball in Barceloneta. With fewer vacationing beachgoers, residents have had more room to enjoy social activities like sports.

We have to change the type of tourism, says Josep Maria Raya, head of the Tecnocampus School of Business at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, a public Catalan university. This has been heavily discussed during government efforts to tackle the overtourism problem; Barcelona has a worldwide reputation as a cheap vacation spot, and the average tourist only spends $158 every day. Shifting the focus to business, educational, and medical tourism could bring in the same amount of revenue while reducing the number of people who visit the city.

Even if this is successful, the citys residents need to figure out how to coexist with some level of tourism. Like it or not, tourists will always be a part of life in Barcelona. The only way to return to 10 or 15 years ago is to change the area to one where tourism and local citizens can live together, says Raya. This will require prioritizing locally owned businesses and making sure short-term vacation rentals dont wipe out the supply of affordable housing.

At the same time, the pandemic has brought to light a pre-existing need to create opportunities for tourism workers to earn a living wage. Conditions for these employees have always been very, very uncomfortable, as Mansilla puts it, working long hours with contingent contracts, many times for fewer hours than they actually worked.

Thanks to the pandemic, says Mansilla, the city has an opportunity to pursue economic diversification by bringing in more sustainable industriesand jobs along with them. The employees who previously worked under poor conditions in the tourism industry now have the opportunity to find a different job with more dignified conditions. That would be the start of a solution.

Its a tall order, and only time will tell what the government will do once tourism demand returns in full force. In the meantime, all sides remain focused on attracting enough tourists from within Europe to survive the rest of the pandemic.

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Is One of the Most Overtouristed Cities in the World Better Off Without Them? - Fodor's Travel

This hotel was named the best in Boston and among the top in the world – Boston.com

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A luxury boutique hotel in Boston described as a tucked-away haven of serenity and relaxation was just named the top accommodation in the city and among the best hotels in the world, according to Conde Nast Traveler.

The publication revealed its list of best hotels on Tuesday as part of its 2020 Readers Choice Awards and XV Beacon ranked No. 1 among the 10 best hotels in Boston, No. 3 among the 10 best hotels in the U.S., and No. 13 among the 50 best hotels in the world. Olema House Point Reyes in Olema, Calif. ranked No. 1 in the U.S., and Baur Au Lac in Zurich, Switzerland ranked No. 1 in the world.

Some hotel stays are utterly forgettabledecent food, standard sheets, and a middle-of-the-road location, wrote CNT editors. But some, youll remember for the rest of your life.

Heres what the publication wrote about XV Beacon:

Located just a few minutes walk from Beacon Hill, the Massachusetts State House, and the bustling financial district, XV Beacon is truly transportive, a tucked-away haven of serenity and relaxation. The vibe is sexylots of dark-stained woods, crimson accents, and contemporary furniturebut the ethos is entirelyBoston. The fact that each room comes with its own fireplace speaks to the degree of cozinessand luxuryyoull find here. With only seven guest rooms per floor, XV Beacon has a distinctly residential feel, and the rooms themselves are spacious, but still intimate.

Other New England hotels were recognized as well.

Twin Farms in Barnard, Vermont ranked No. 2 among the top 10 resorts in the U.S. and No. 6 among the 50 best resorts in the world. LHorizon Resort & Spa in Palm Springs, Calif. topped both of those lists.

The Vanderbilt, Auberge Resorts Collection in Newport, R.I. claimed the No. 1 spot among the 20 best hotels in New England, and Canyon Ranch in Lenox ranked No. 8 among the 20 best destination spa resorts in the U.S. The top-ranked destination spa resort in the U.S. is The Ranch Malibu in Malibu, Calif.

Editors compiled the Readers Choice Awards based on the results of an online survey available to CNT readers between April 1 and June 30, 2020. The awards rank the best hotels, resorts, destination spas, countries, cities, islands, trains, airlines, airports, and cruise lines in the world.More than 715,000 readers submitted ratings, according to the publication.

View the results of the 2020 Readers Choice Awards.

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This hotel was named the best in Boston and among the top in the world - Boston.com

New Zealand passport is now the most powerful in the world; India secures 58th position – Happytrips

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Earlier, New Zealand shared the top position with Japan. However, it has now claimed the position solely, and has secured a definitive top spot. In fact, a New Zealand passport can now get you visa-free access to more than 120 countries.

The second spot is shared by passports of Japan, along with Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Luxembourg, South Korea, and Australia. The third spot is shared by Sweden, France, Spain, Belgium, Italy, and Finland. Meanwhile, India secured 58th position on the list, and shares the position with Algeria, Jordan, Benin, and Gabon.

Also, European countries manage to be in the top 10 list majorly, because most retain access to the Schengen 'free movement' zone with few COVID-19 restrictions.

By securing the numero uno position, New Zealand is expected to be in a better position to attract talent, as well as lure tourists post-COVID.

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New Zealand passport is now the most powerful in the world; India secures 58th position - Happytrips

Why future missions to Venus will not be as easy as they look – Mint

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The discovery could be a hint of life, a biomarker, on a planet known for its hellish environment and volcanic surface. While a great deal of research will have to be conducted before anything can be confirmed, the announcement has come as an added bonus for the many missions that could explore one of Earths closest planetary neighbours in the near future.

But first, a look at the missions that have tried something similar in the past. Every country and agency, from the European Space Agency to those of the erstwhile Soviet Union and the US, has sent missions to Venus over the last few decadesthere have been more than 40 such missions. In 1962, US space agency Nasas deep space probe Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to conduct a successful planetary flyby. It also sent back temperature readings and other information about Venus.

The Soviet Unions Venera programme saw a series of unmanned planetary probes to Venus being launched between 1961-84. While some of these probes never made it past Earths orbit, others crash-landed on Venus, like the Venera 3. Other missions analysed the chemical composition of the planets upper atmosphere. Venera 9 and 10 sent back the first black and white images of Venus surface in 1975; Venera 13 was the first lander to transmit colour images in 1982.

The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agencys (Jaxas) Akatsuki, launched in 2010, is currently orbiting the planet. It studies weather patterns and signs of active volcanism on the planet through high-speed imagery, radio science and camera instruments.

Everything we learn about the atmosphere of Venus, and the chemical cycles there, broadens our knowledge of how Earth-like planets in the universe evolve, and how other planets have diverged from Earths path. Thus, if we really want to deeply understand climate change, geological history and the nature of planets in general, we need to understand how we should interpret these findings," says David Grinspoon, a senior scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, a US-based non-profit that focuses on planetary science and exploration of the solar system. Grinspoon, who studies surface-atmospheric interactions on terrestrial planets, atmospheric evolution and habitability, says the discovery of phosphine offers additional impetus for more missions to the planet and seek answers to some fundamental questions. We already had a lot of important reasons to further explore Venus. But now we have even more reason to go," he adds on email.

One proposed mission is Indias Shukrayaan-1an Indian Space Research Organisation orbiter that will aim to study the planets surface and atmosphere. It has a tentative launch date of 2023, which could be extended to 2025, and will carry science instruments from India and other countries. One such instrument could come from the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, which announced in July that its Venusian Neutrals Analyzer (or VNA), which would be aboard Shukrayaan-1, would study how charged particles from the sun interact with the atmosphere and exosphere of the planet.

Nasas VERITAS (short for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) mission is under consideration for its Discovery programme, a series of missions to explore the Solar System that has been running since 1992. According to an official statement, the VERITAS spacecraft, proposed for a 2026 launch, would orbit Venus and peer through the planets obscuring clouds with the help of a powerful radar system to create 3D global maps and a near-infrared spectrometer to figure out what the surface is made of. It would also measure the planets gravitational field to determine the structure of Venus interior. Together, the instruments would offer clues about the planets past and present geologic processes, from its core to its surface," the release explains. The last mission that studied Venus surface was Magellan, which ended in 1994.

Like VERITAS, the DAVINCI+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging Plus) mission is another candidate for studying the planets atmosphere and trying to decode whether Venus ever had an ocean.

Studying our sister planet" is one of the most important topics in modern-day comparative planetology but any future missions will not be without significant challenges, says Siddharth Pandey, head of the Centre of Excellence in Astrobiology, Amity University, Mumbai. You need high-temperature electronics because when you are moving towards the sun, the energy levels are quite high. All the probes that normally go towards the suneither Mercury or Venusthey tend to have very strong thermal protection systems, which take up a lot of space inside a spacecraft," says Pandey. For anything that is going towards Venus, it will need a similar kind of thermal insulation as well as electronics, systems like cameras, communication units that can operate in that high-energy environment," he adds.

While the surface environment of Venus is extremely hot, dry and harsh, the clouds are made of concentrated sulphuric acid. So any vehicle we send there has to be made to withstand the acid environment," explains Grinspoon, describing the announcement on phosphine as an exciting development". It needs to be confirmed with follow-up observations," he adds. But if it is really phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus, then it is telling us something we dont know about the processes occurring in the atmosphere. Even if it is not a sign of biology, we stand to learn something from this, and it will be important to sort it out since we are hoping to use similar observations to test for the presence of life on exoplanets around other stars."

*****

Phosphine Fact-Sheet

What is this molecule?

Phosphine is a colourless, toxic gas made of phosphorous and hydrogen.

What makes the discovery so interesting?

On Earth, phosphine is generated through natural processeslightning and volcanic activitybut only in small amounts. The only known processes that produce phosphine on Earth in similar quantities are biological in origin. The amount of phosphine detected in the Venusian clouds is relatively large.

Whats next?

To understand whether this is happening biologically through the possible presence of micro-organismsby taking measurements in the planets atmosphere and potentially bringing back samples to Earth for further analysis.

Source: Royal Astronomical Society

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Another Mass. school district to drop its mascot of Native American origin – Boston.com

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Another Massachusetts school district is retiring a mascot that references Native Americans, citing harmful Native American stereotypes.

The Pentucket School Committee voted to retire the districts Sachem mascot during a meeting Tuesday night following a presentation back in late July by Sag8tmo Paul Pouliot and Denise Pouliot, leaders of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People.

At that presentation, the couple discussed Native American history in the area, and how the Sachem mascot, which has been in use at Pentucket since 1958, impacts them, according to a news release.

Pentucket is the latest school district to retire a mascot of Native American origin, or one with problematic history. In June, Walpole school officials unanimously decided to drop its Rebels mascot. At the state level, Charlie Baker has said hes open to discussions of removing and redesigning the states seal and flag, which feature an illustration of a Native American person.

From the meeting in July, school officials learned that Native Americans who lived in the area near the school district did not have Sachems, though other nearby tribes did. Sachems were either heads of families, or served as the speakers for a tribe. Officials also learned about the problematic use of Native American headdresses, which the districts mascot has used in the past, the release said.

A lot of thought and consideration went into this decision, and ultimately the School Committee has decided this is the right path for our district to take, schools Superintendent Justin Bartholomew said. When the mascot first was selected it was done so out of respect for what they believed a Sachem represented. We know today that there are myriad reasons why it is not appropriate to have a Sachem mascot, and this is an opportunity for Pentucket to start a new chapter.

For now, the school district will refer to its sports teams simply as Pentucket. Current school uniforms will continue to be used until the time comes to replace them, and the high school gym floor, which has Sachem on it, will be changed when the new Pentucket Regional Middle High School building opens, scheduled for 2022.

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Clerks to send out mail-in ballots by midmonth – The Daily News of Newburyport

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NEWBURYPORT Localcity and town clerkswill soon send out mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election, but Greater Newburyport residents will also be able to head to the polls in less than two weeks.

Voterscan cast ballots by mail and will have the option to do so in person during a 14-day early voting period or on Election Day.

Earlyin-person voting in Massachusetts runs from Oct. 17to Oct. 30.

Newburyport City Clerk Richard Jones said his office will send mail-in ballots to voters by midmonth, about a week after they are received by the city. He added that his office will have "close to 7,000 (ballots) to collate, package, label, seal and send."

Jones urged residents to "please be patient" as the city mails out the ballots, noting the time it may take for all of them to be prepared.

Jones said he expects the election to have a similar turnoutas the September primary, which saw an unexpectedly highnumber of voters at the polls following a slow early voting period.

In September,3,125 city residents voted early by mail, while only 451 people voted early in person. On primary day, 3,196 city voters went to their polling places. Overall, the primary drew 44% of the citys roughly 15,000 registered voters to the polls.

"We thought that a lot of people had already voted by mail or early in person, but then all of a sudden, a lot of people showed up on Election Day ... I expect it to be the same (in November)," Jones said. "There are a lot of people concerned about early voting and mail-in voting, so they're going to go the tried-and-true route."

Amesbury City Clerk Amanda Haggstrom said the city saw a large turnout inSeptember compared to past primaries because of the mail-in ballot option.Haggstromsaid she isn't quite sure how Amesbury residents will prefer to vote in November.

"I'm expecting a high turnout for this election, but I can't guarantee if it will be more mail-ins or in-person," Haggstrom said, adding that she has beenreceiving lots of questions from residents about the city's voting options.

In Newburyport, early voting will be at the Senior Community Center, 331 High St., during the following dates and times:

Saturday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.;Sunday, Oct. 18, 10a.m. to 2 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 19, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 20, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 21, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.;Thursday, Oct. 22, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 23, 8 a.m. to noon; Saturday, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 26, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 27, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 28, 8 am to 4 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 29, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 30, 8 a.m. to noon.

On Election Day, polling places across the state are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

In Amesbury, Election Day voting takes place at Amesbury City Hall on Friend Street.

Voters can head to the polls for early voting at Amesbury High School, 5 Highland St., during the following dates and times:

Saturday, Oct. 17, andSunday, Oct. 18, 8 a.m. to noon; Monday, Oct. 19, throughWednesday, Oct. 21, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 22, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 23, 8 a.m. to noon;Saturday, Oct. 24, 8 a.m. to noon; Sunday, Oct. 25, 8a.m. to noon; Monday, Oct. 26, 8 a.m.to 4 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 27, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday, Oct. 28, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, Oct. 29, 8a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 30, 8 a.m. to noon.

Salisbury voters may cast ballots early atSalisbury Town Hall in the Colchester Room, 5 Beach Road, during the following dates and times:

Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 19, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 20through Thursday, Oct. 22, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 23, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 24, and Sunday, Oct. 25, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Monday, Oct. 26, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, Oct. 27, through Thursday, Oct. 29, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 30, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Staff writer Jack Shea covers Newburyport City Hall. He can be reached via email at jshea@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3154. Follow him on Twitter@iamjackshea.

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Clerks to send out mail-in ballots by midmonth - The Daily News of Newburyport

Global and Asia Pacific Myristyl Alcohol (CAS 112 72 1) Market to Witness Huge Growth by 2027 Best Companies included in report KLK OLEO, KAO…

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Global Coronavirus pandemic has impacted all industries across the globe, Myristyl Alcohol (CAS 112 72 1) market being no exception. As Global economy heads towards major recession post 2009 crisis, Cognitive Market Research has published a recent study which meticulously studies impact of this crisis on Global Myristyl Alcohol (CAS 112 72 1) market and suggests possible measures to curtail them. This press release is a snapshot of research study and further information can be gathered by accessing complete report. To Contact Research Advisor Mail us @ [emailprotected] or call us on +1-312-376-8303.

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Some of the key players operating in this market include KLK OLEO, KAO Corporation, Emery Oleochemicals, Mosselman, Sea Land Chemical, VMP Chemiekontor, P&G Chemicals, Ecogreen Oleochemicals . Manufacturers are facing continued downward pressure on demand, production and revenues as the COVID-19 pandemic strengthens. Manufacturing in the Euro-area experienced a substantial deterioration in its business cycle as the impact of COVID-19 hit both the demand and supply sides of the technology industry.

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The business is particularly defenseless given that the greater part of its workforce is utilized on location employments that are impossible remotely. Also, given the idea of the business, manufacturers should be creating social distancing in workplaces that are typically worker-dense (e.g., manufacturing plants, warehouses, material movements and logistics, etc.). Furthermore, manufacturers should be prepared for major supply chain disruptions. This will influence the OEMs, however will likewise wave all through flexibly chain, influencing manufactures by driving reduced demand for materials and parts.

There is hardly any place in the world that has remained unaffected by the brutality of the Covid-19 pandemic; almost every manufacturing company is suffering from ruthless Novel Coronavirus Disease. To encompass the pandemic, many nations and Governments around the world has imposed a lockdown, restricting the gatherings and the movement of people. Lockdown has multiple consequences, which further stretch the troubles for various sector like reverse migration, disruption of supply chains, manufacturing sector. As the government have close down shops, stores and malls that helps to slow the spread of the virus, which is the major factor that is affecting the industry.

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Global and Asia Pacific Myristyl Alcohol (CAS 112 72 1) Market to Witness Huge Growth by 2027 Best Companies included in report KLK OLEO, KAO...

The Ancient City of Ur – HeritageDaily

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Ur is an ancient city-state of Mesopotamia located in the Dhi Qar Governorate of southern Iraq.

The earliest period of occupation dates from the prehistoric Ubaid period sometime between 6500 to 3800 BC, when the landscape was flooded regularly by the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers, which some scholars suggest is the source of the Mesopotamian floods from mythology.

During the 4th millennium BC, the region was settled by the Sumerians, a non-Semitic and non-Indo-European agglutinative language isolate that developed a close cultural symbiosis with the East-Semitic Akkadians by the 3rd millennium BC.

The first royal dynasty of Ur was established during the Early Bronze Age, with Ur becoming the capital of southern Mesopotamia around 2500 BC. The city would come under Akkadian influence with the rise of the Akkadian Empire between 2400 and 2200 BC, before coming under Gutian rule with the empires collapse during the mid-22nd century BC.

Image Credit : Hardnfast CC BY 3.0

Ur would once again come under Sumerian rule with the founding of the Third Dynasty of Ur, also called the Neo-Sumerian Empire by King Ur-Nammu around 2047 BC. This period would see a renaissance of Ur, reaching a population of 65,000 inhabitants and an empire that controlled the cities of Isin, Larsa, and Eshnunna, and extended as far north as Upper Mesopotamia.

The state was organised into a highly centralised bureaucratic system in which the Code of Ur-Nammu was written, the oldest known law code that survives today. Various large-scale building projects were also constructed, most notably the Ziggurat of Ur in dedication to Nanna/Sn, and an intricate system of irrigation channels to improve crop yields.

By the late Bronze Age, the city came under the first dynasty of (Amorite) of Babylonia, but fell to the native Akkadian ruled Sealand Dynasty for over 270 years, and was reconquered into Babylonia by the successors of the Amorites, the Kassites in the 16th century BC.

Over the centuries, the rulers of Ur would change hands several times, but the power and wealth of Ur would eventually decline around 530 BC with the fall of Babylonia to the Persian Archaemenid Empire, and was abandoned by the early 5th century BC (possibly as a result of the changing river patterns in the region).

Header Image Credit : M.Lubinski CC BY-SA 2.0

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The Ancient City of Ur - HeritageDaily

‘Realpolitiks II’ To Be Released In November – Entertainment Focus

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Timed nicely around the US Presidential elections 1C Entertainment have just announced that their real-time grand strategy game Realpolitiks II will be launching on PC on 5th November 2020. You can already add the game to your wishlist on Steam.

Realpolitiks II puts you in the shoes of a modern-day world leader as you attempt to take your nation on a journey of world dominance. The road to supremacy is filled with modern world issues as you manage your nations economy, command armies, conduct diplomatic and espionage actions, and tackle global threats such as terrorism, pandemics, famine, and more.

Watch the Realpolitiks II announcement trailer below:

Realpolitiks II expands its gameplay with a set of new features, tools and strategies that you can use in order to achieve your goals. Intelligence mechanics have been enhanced with the addition of spy units that can play a crucial role in knowing what your opponents are up to, a redesigned combat system that provides even more options to plan your military actions, an advanced management system, and a lot more.

Modding tools have also been added allowing you to create your own content, campaigns, scenarios, units, even new nations.

Realpolitiks II key features:

Check out some screenshots in our gallery below:

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'Realpolitiks II' To Be Released In November - Entertainment Focus