Eighteen COVID deaths in two weeks EyeWitness News – EyeWitness News

Posted on by

NASSAU, BAHAMAS There have been 18 coronavirus deaths confirmed in The Bahamas over the past two weeks, propelling the countrys death count to 58.

An additional 16 deaths are under investigation.

The deaths include men and women between the ages of 20 to 99-years-old.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Health confirmed two more deaths in New Providence: an 80-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman.

The ministry said an additional death was under investigation.

As of yesterday, the number of COVID-19 cases stood at 2,546.

On August 28, the Ministry of Health updated its daily dashboard to reflect the number of deaths under investigation, before they could be properly classified.

The number of deaths reflected at the time stood at 40 with 10 deaths under investigation.

Since then, there has been a steady increase in the COVID-19 death toll, with fatalities being confirmed nearly daily.

On August 29, officials confirmed the death of a 63-year old man and a 53-year-old man, along with a 99-year-old man who died on August 26 all of whom were from New Providence.

On August 31, a77-year-old man of New Providence died from the virus.

On September 1, a 50-year-old woman of New Providence died and officials confirmed the death of a 60-year-old woman who died on August 25.

On September 2, the ministry of health confirmed the death of a 58-year-old woman who passed away on August 26.

Three additional deaths were confirmed in Grand Bahama on September 3.

Those deaths included a 66-year-old woman who died on August 21, a 62-year-old woman, and an 81-year old man, who both died on August 25.

Five new deaths were recorded on September 4, including a 58-year-old woman of Long Island who died on August 28; a 71-year-old woman of New Providence, August 14; a 54-year-old woman of New Providence, August 20; a 67-year-old man of New Providence, August 30; and a 20-year-old woman of New Providence, August 26.

The death of a 53-year-old woman from New Providence on September 4, was confirmed in Saturdays update.

Health officials confirmed 30 new cases of COVID-19 in The Bahamas on Saturday.

Of the confirmed cases, 23 were on New Providence, three were on Long Island, three were in Exuma and one was on Andros.

An additional 40 new cases were confirmed yesterday 39 in New Providence, and one with the location still pending.

There were1,629 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Providence, 584 in Grand Bahama, 85 in Abaco, 54 in Bimini, 23 in Exuma, 15 in the Berry Islands, 13 in Inagua, eight in Cat Island, eight in Eleuthera, eight in Long Island, seven in Acklins, three in Andros, two in Crooked Island and two in Mayaguana.

There were 105 confirmed cases still pendinglocations.

Go here to read the rest:

Eighteen COVID deaths in two weeks EyeWitness News - EyeWitness News

Bahamian native finds entrepreneurial success with Toronto’s largest black-owned hair and beauty supply store – EyeWitness News

Posted on by

NASSAU, BAHAMAS A Bahamian native has found entrepreneurial success with the successful launch of the largest black-owned hair and beauty supply store in Toronto, Canada.

Zhorrah Grant, the daughter of national sports icon, the late Tom The Bird Grant, told Eyewitness News that she had been shocked by the turnout at the opening of her business Hair Granted Beauty Supply Incin late August.

In Canada the beauty supply industry is primarily dominated by Asians and for me to open the largest black-owned beauty supply store in Toronto is something amazing, said Grant.

I didnt expect to have a grand opening with people literally lined up around the plaza. My landlord called me and said you really have a lot of people out here. It was truly a shock.

The business woman who holds a degree in criminology explained that she spent time researching the industry and even worked part-time with a beauty supply store starting as a customer service representative and then a supervisor to learn the tricks of the trade.

I always had a passion for hair and beauty. I always told my mom I wanted to own a beauty supply store. It was a dream but something that really was in the background for me, said Grant.

For Grant, who moved to Canada at age 14, the journey was not easy and compounded by the loss of both of her parents within the past decade.

Her father passed away in 2012 and her mother, retired Sr. Nursing Officer Hannah Grant, passed away in 2018.

Grants mother was the countrys first trained and certified dialysis nurse.

I have been living in Canada for the past 16 years, completed high school in Canada as well as university, Grant said. In 2012, just two weeks prior to the end of final exams in university, my dad passed away. I found out about his passing on Facebook.

She continued: His death really came as a shock. That was devastating. I returned home planned my fathers funeral, completed my Bachelors degree, graduated Summa Cum Laude from St. Marys University in Halifax, said Grant.

Grant recalled that after completing her studies she returned home where she spent some 10 months searching for a job with no success.

I wanted to be a youth probation officer, she said.

I never found a job. I returned to Canada and took up a teaching job in New Brunswick at a boarding school for a year before moving to Toronto.

It was while pursuing an advanced diploma in 2018 that her mother died.

After her mothers passing, she subsequently got a job with the Ontario government as a youth probation officer.

She also took on a part-time job as a with a hair and beauty supply store, beginning as a customer service representative, before eventually becoming a supervisor and ultimately deciding to launch her own hair and beauty supply store.

I just was expecting to have a grand opening, some people would come and it would be just another day, she said.

I didnt expect expect the turnout that I did. I just have kept my head down, put in the work and it has manifested into this.

Read the rest here:

Bahamian native finds entrepreneurial success with Toronto's largest black-owned hair and beauty supply store - EyeWitness News

Dive ‘institution’ closed over $9m court award – Bahamas Tribune

Posted on by

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A 55 year-old Bahamian diving "institution" has been forced to permanently close its doors with the loss of 15 full-time jobs after a $9m judgment was enforced against it over a customer's drowning.

Matthew Whiteland, owner of Bahama Divers, which was founded by his father in 1965, told Tribune Business that court bailiffs arrived to seize the company's assets within 48 hours of its re-opening following the first COVID-19 lockdown.

Branding the company's fate "a big mess", he argued that it would be impossible to even come remotely close to recovering the full $9m award from Bahama Divers' liquidation as the company's annual gross sales "barely turned" $2m per year.

Suggesting that liquidation/receivership costs might exceed the company's net worth, Mr Whiteland said he was leaving the deceased US diver's family and their Bahamian attorneys, Higgs & Johnson, to "figure out" who gets what with the court plus Bahama Divers' bank and landlord - both of whom are claiming that monies are owed to them.

Describing the East Bay Street-based dive and snorkel operator's closure as "a sad day", he added that he "feels horrible" for his father who put a lifetime into the business as well as its now-redundant staff, many of whom had worked for Bahama Divers for 20 years or more.

Mr Whiteland said he hopes to re-enter the dive business via a new venture, and pledged that ex-Bahama Divers staff would have "first spot", but suggested this may take some time due to the likely difficulty in attracting investment/financing for a tourism-related business amid the industry's ongoing COVID-19 shutdown.

Disclosing that efforts to enforce the judgment against the company first began in the Supreme Court in 2008, he added that he was repeatedly told over the course of a 12-year legal battle that an award to the extent of $9m "can't happen".

That, though, was before the shock delivered in early July. "Everyone was excited to re-open on July 1. And on July 2 the bailiff official shows up and told us they were seizing everything as a result of a Supreme Court order," Mr Whitehead told this newspaper.

Explaining how Bahama Divers found itself in that position, he said: "I don't know if it was 2001 or 2003, but in the early 2000s a US guest went out with us, a certified diver, diving with some buddies. It was a shallow dive, 25 feet or less. He signalled he was going back to the boat, never made it and was later found dead.

"It was unfortunate and very sad, and I guess his wife.... I know they tried to sue a bunch of people in the US. That didn't go anywhere, and they found a loophole to sue us in the Florida courts. They got a judgment for $9m, came to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court enforced it. That's what it was over.

"Everyone kept telling me that cannot happen. When they liquidate everything, it's nowhere near $9m. We couldn't pay the rent, and we have no inventory, no boats". Mr Whiteland said Bahama Divers obtained a significant "chunk" of its inventory "on credit" from US-based suppliers, raising questions as to whether these assets can be sold in a liquidation or if the vendors must be paid what is owed.

"The bank is mixed up in this. They have a debenture on the overdraft," he added. "The landlord of the rental unit we were in is saying he's keeping it all [the company's property] because of unpaid rent. We were closed since March because of COVID-19, and not able to pay rent at Nassau Yacht Haven.

"It's a big mess, and I don't know how they're going to figure out all of it, who's going to get paid and who isn't. They might have seized everything, but it's far from over for whoever has to liquidate everything and recover the money."

Despite reassurances from Department of Labour officials, Mr Whiteland voiced misgivings over whether Bahama Divers' staff would receive the full severance pay due to them. He affirmed that the company was closed "for good" and had ceased trading under that name, adding: "Even if I make it work as Bahama Divers every dollar of profit will go to them."

Tourism industry sources yesterday voiced dismay at Bahama Divers' closure, as it further depletes an increasingly shallow pool of operators in a dive/snorkelling market that will be a key attraction in enticing tourists to return to this nation once the border restrictions and other COVID-19 limitations are lifted.

"That's an institution," one source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of Bahama Divers. "They've been around since the early 1970s. They've been around a long frigging time. It hurts all of us.

"It was one of the giants in the dive industry, which is so fragile, especially with COVID-19. While they didn't have many staff, they had two to three boats. It's a crying shame. Their paperwork must not have been up to snuff in terms of liability release forms."

Mr Whiteland, meanwhile, questioned the logic of seizing Bahama Divers assets and shutting it down. He argued that the timing, especially, coming after the business had been starved of revenues for three-and-a-half months due to the COVID-19 lockdown made no sense if the objective was to maximise recoveries.

"We've never made that kind of money," he said of the $9m award. "I never knew where we'd get $9m from. The moment they said $9m we were done, as there's no way we could ever pay that off. The whole company closed in on itself. There was no working capital, no inventory and no boats. What am I supposed to do? There's no way out of it."

Mr Whiteland added that Bahama Divers was allowed to operate until August 1, and used the month to generate funds to pay off its bank overdraft. "We stayed open until Higgs & Johnson were ready to do something. They told us to keep operating as normal," he said.

"We've been telling them this for years, giving them the company's financials and saying: 'We don't know what you guys are after'. By sending in the bailiffs I don't know if they were hoping I would panic. Why pressure us on July 2? What possible money could we have? We have gone three months without any revenue and you think July 2 is a good time to squeeze me for money?

"Nine million dollars is kind of absurd from a company that barely turned $2m a year in gross sales. When you take out expenses we were barely getting by, like most companies."

Declining to name either his landlord or bank, Mr Whiteland said Bahama Divers finally ceased operating after the former provided him with an eviction notice on August 1. He added that the closure of a business which was formally incorporated in 19767, having been started in his father's garage in 1965, was "a sad day for everybody" - especially the couples among the staff who relied on the business for their entire income.

"It's a blow to everybody," Mr Whiteland told Tribune Business. "My dad, who is 84, he's pretty much bankrupted himself to pay the legal fees to continue the court work. The lawyers kept saying don't worry, it's too much money to wind you up.....

"We've been around for a long time. I feel horrible for my dad as he put 55 years of his life into it, and his partner, Leroy Lowe, who is retired in Abaco. Lots of the staff put their life into it to. That's why I'd like to get back into it if I can figure out how to fund it.

"That will be a while, and until we know what's going on with tourism who's going to be interested in funding a tour operator?"

Mr Whiteland voiced optimism that Bahama Divers would have been able to survive COVID-19 and continue in business had it not been for enforcement of the $9m award, although this might have required it to find an alternative to Nassau Yacht Haven where the rents are "pretty steep".

Excerpt from:

Dive 'institution' closed over $9m court award - Bahamas Tribune

Getting the First Amendment wrong – The Boston Globe

Posted on by

Think of the last time you changed your profile picture on Facebook or Instagram. When you uploaded that photo, did you assume you were agreeing to let anyone do anything they want with that photo, including putting you in a facial recognition database to track your location and every photo of you on the Web? Facial recognition company Clearview AI seems to think so. The company is bolstering its legal team to build a First Amendment argument to help justify its dubious and dangerous facial recognition business. All of our privacy hangs in the balance.

Clearview AI scrapes billions of photos from the Internet, adds facial recognition, and sells them to government, law enforcement, and immigration agencies. Clearview AI apparently wants to assert a free-speech right to disseminate publicly available photos. It also wants to gut Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, arguing that enforcing the statute against the company would violate the First Amendment. BIPA is the most important biometric privacy law in America because it allows people to sue companies directly for violations. If Clearview AI were to succeed in its legal challenges, it would actually inhibit free expression in general and eviscerate many of Americas already limited privacy protections.

Clearview AI is wrong about privacy and wrong about the First Amendment. It would have you believe that the moment you post a photo of yourself on Facebook or walk outside your house, you abandon any privacy interest in your image or your whereabouts because they are now public. This is the case whether you are going to the grocery store or to a Black Lives Matter rally. Clearview AIs position isnt just wrong as a matter of common sense, but as a matter of law as well. Nevertheless, its legal team is sure to point to language in pre-digital court cases about how there is less privacy in public and to appeal to vague notions of publicly accessible information. Theyll wave this concept of public information like its a talisman that lets them do anything they want.

But the word public is essentially meaningless in the law. It has no set definition and few consequences. Its like asking whether Clearview AI does innovation or big data. The in public debate is a red herring that distracts from more important issues like how Clearview AIs unregulated data practices rip data out of context to harm people, relationships, and public institutions. Clearview AIs argument boils down to the idea that nothing you expose to anyone else is worthy of protection, but that everything they do with their technology is above the law. Thats a remarkably dangerous position to take in a world where virtually every action we take online and out and about in society leaves us vulnerable in ways we can scarcely imagine.

Facial recognition doesnt just jeopardize our privacy; its a tool for shutting down expressive activity as well. Imagine every single person who protested against racial injustice this summer being identified and tagged as a troublemaker in government systems. Imagine every random photo of you taken at a party, restaurant, or event logged to reconstruct your geolocation history. Facial recognition is a tool for stalking, a tool for shaming people who may have made mistakes, and a tool for government oppression. Clearview AIs decision to make this claim at a time of both rising authoritarianism and an overdue national reckoning on racial justice sadly reveals which side it is on.

Theres also a rich irony to Clearview AI arguing that government regulations protecting ordinary people from a technology of oppression are an affront to civil liberties. As for the First Amendment, the Supreme Court has carefully balanced privacy and free expression in a series of cases, recognizing that both privacy and free expression are essential civil liberties for any free society. Nor are free speech and privacy always in conflict. Our laws have long recognized that a special kind of privacy intellectual privacy is essential to free expression by allowing us to experiment with new ideas and beliefs. The core of the First Amendments commitment to free speech is protecting individual speakers like protestors and journalists from government oppression, not giving constitutional protection to dangerous business models that inhibit expression and give new authoritarian tools to governments.

If Clearview AI were to prevail and foist its dangerous reading of the First Amendment on our law, the rest of us would all be worse off, including the technology sector as a whole. A few weeks ago, the European Court of Justice ruled that Americas weak privacy laws raised serious questions about whether European data could be processed in the United States. The European Court was particularly concerned about the extent to which government surveillance in the United States was unchecked, and whether privacy rights were enforceable in American courts. Yet Clearview AI is trying use the First Amendment to ensure a freedom to surveil at will. The European Courts decision has imperiled a multibillion-dollar trade in data every Google search and every Facebook status update made by Europeans, for starters. If Clearview AI were to get its way, the only winner would be Clearview AI. And our privacy, our free speech, and American industry as a whole will be the losers.

Woodrow Hartzog is a professor of law and computer science at Northeastern University. Neil Richards is the Koch Distinguished Professor in Law at Washington University School of Law and co-director of the Cordell Institute for Policy in Medicine & Law.

Read the original post:

Getting the First Amendment wrong - The Boston Globe

New First Amendment Center to House Law and Religion Clinic – UT News – UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

Posted on by

AUSTIN, Texas The School of Law at The University of Texas at Austin is opening the Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center, which will be dedicated to advancing the discussion, education and scholarship of the First Amendment.

Among the centers main projects will be a new experiential education opportunity, the Law and Religion Clinic. It is the first clinic at a university in the state dedicated to representing clients in cases that involve challenges to their religious liberty and will allow students to learn about the parallels between the First Amendment and religion.

We live in times when measured conversation between people with different viewpoints has often become difficult sometimes even scarce, said Ward Farnsworth, dean of the School of Law.As the flagship public law school in a diverse state, I believe its important for us to show commitment and leadership on this issue.

Students will serve as advocates for clients who would otherwise be unlikely to find representation.These include individuals denied benefits or opportunities because of their religious exercise or beliefs, religious institutions discriminated against in municipal land-use decisions, and individuals seeking to practice the tenets of their religion in restrictive environments, such as prison and educational settings.

At a moment where our nation is divided on so many issues, our constitutional right to free speech is one of the most important tools we have to facilitate needed discussions, find common ground and continue making progress, together, said UT Austin interim President Jay Hartzell. The First Amendment Center will provide incredible experiential learning opportunities for UT law students while helping serve Texans in need of legal counsel and representation.

The center opens immediately, and the clinic will be offered to students during the spring 2021 semester. The center is named for Doug Bech, J.D. 70, and Samuel Loughlin, J.D. 98, who have partnered to pledge an $8 million gift to endow the centers activities and staff.

Our First Freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly are central to human flourishing, liberty and a healthy society in America and across the earth, said Bech and Loughlin. It is best secured through a civil public square where all discussion is respected equally in accordance with our rule of law. We believe that this Center and Clinic will provide UTs law students with the educational foundation to protect and embrace these vital constitutional rights for all persons.

View original post here:

New First Amendment Center to House Law and Religion Clinic - UT News - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

Pompeo’s Right About One Thing: Diplomats Deserve First Amendment Rights – Lawfare

Posted on by

Last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo kicked off a firestorm of controversy by giving a speech at the Republican National Convention, making him the first sitting secretary of state to engage in such an unmistakably partisan political act in recent memory. Some officials have claimed that, because Pompeo appeared in his personal capacity and at no cost to the State Department, he did not violate relevant ethics laws. But the message Pompeo delivered was prerecorded while he was on an official trip in Jerusalem, in seeming contravention of long-standing State Department policies that severely limit the political activities that U.S. citizen employees and their families can engage in while overseasa policy that Pompeo himself had reiterated in a department-wide message just weeks earlier.

Pompeos actions are undeniably hypocritical, and his willingness to mix his official duties with partisan politics is without a doubt alarming. But if there is a silver lining to this story, its that hes unwittingly brought attention to the problematic restrictions that the State Department puts on the political activities of its overseas personnel. However well intentioned, these restrictions are at best overbroad and at worst unconstitutional, as they infringe on an important set of political rights protected by the First Amendment. Diplomats who spend much of their careers overseas deserve to be able to engage in political activities as much as any other government employee. Its time for the department to recognize this and change its policies accordingly.

The policy at issue has been on the books since 2003, though it reflects norms that have been in operation for much longer. In its current form, the policy categorically prohibits both U.S. citizen employees and their family members who are assigned overseas from engag[ing] in partisan political activities abroad, other than authorized activities pertaining to U.S. electionsa category largely limited to nonpartisan voter registration drives. As a December 2019 legal memorandum secured by congressional investigators makes clear, this means that neither overseas employees nor their family members can attend political events and meetings or so much as display a pin or sign supporting their preferred candidate, even when at home and in their off hours. When it comes to partisan elections, overseas department employees and their families may donate money and vote, but thats about iteverything else is prohibited. (A separate policy that Pompeo also ignored puts similar restrictions on the speech of Senate-confirmed State Department political appointees but doesnt raise comparable concerns.)

The State Departments policy toward overseas employees and their families goes well beyond the limits usually imposed on federal employees political speech. The federal Hatch Actwhich also applies to State Department personnelonly prohibits federal employees from running for partisan office or using any government resources in relation to partisan political activity. Some federal employeesincluding many who work on national security mattersare further restricted under the law, meaning that they are also prohibited from volunteering for or coordinating with any partisan political campaigns or organizations. But even these employees can still attend political events and express their political views in their private timeand their family members arent subject to any restrictions whatsoever. Members of the armed forces arent covered by the Hatch Act, but a separate policy makes them subject to the same basic restrictions as other federal employees. The State Department stands alone in imposing such draconian restrictions on its employees.

And these restrictions come with real costs, as Ive witnessed firsthand. During the 2012 presidential election cycle, I was the legal adviser for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, where part of my job was to remind my colleagues about the limits that department policies put on their political activities. Many had strong feelings about the election and wanted to find ways to express their views and engage in the political process. A good number were understandably disappointed and even angered to find out that State Department policies basically require that they not do so while overseas. After all, we were the ones living and working on the front lines of American foreign policythe idea that we would have less say in who guides that policy than those back at home seemed fundamentally unfair.

More than that, it may also be unconstitutionalsomething that should give department officials serious pause. The Supreme Court has made clear that Congress and the executive branch can impose substantial restrictions on employees political activities in order to promote a fair and effective civil service (or, presumably, foreign service), but this authority is far from absolute. Federal employees still have First Amendment rights to engage in political speech and activities, meaning that the governments interest in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees has to be balanced against the interests of the [employee], as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of public concern[.] The department may find it hard to argue that its current policies strike such a balance, given that Congress has adopted a less restrictive stance even for federal employees working in the most sensitive of positions elsewhere in government. Nor is it clear what legal authority the State Department has to impose equal restrictions on the constitutionally protected political speech of department employees family members, who do not even work for or represent the U.S. government. And the fact that many professional diplomats spend most of their careers overseas means that the current policy can result in lost decades of political participation for State Department employees and their familiesa deprivation that the courts will take seriously, even if the department does not.

This does not, of course, mean that the State Department should impose no restrictions whatsoever. As Pompeos own department-wide message ably described, [t]he Department works to advance the national interest abroad on behalf of all Americans in a non-partisan fashion[,] and restrictions on the political activities of overseas employees can help to avoid any confusion or misperception in this regard[.] This is why individuals representing the United States abroad need to be exceptionally diligent about keeping a sharp divide between their political views and their official dutiesa lesson that Pompeo himself appears to have lost sight of this past week.

But the Hatch Act does this quite effectively for the rest of the federal government, including for those further restricted employees who work on foreign relations and national security at other agencies. So why should overseas State Department employees and their family members be subject to restrictions that are so much more onerous? Theres no basis for believing that allowing overseas diplomats and their families to attend political events and express political views in their private time will be any more damaging to U.S. foreign relations than when these other employees do the same. And the fact that American diplomats can hold divergent political views in their private lives yet still work together to advance the national interest is a strength of American democracy that should be celebrated, not hidden behind a sanitized, apolitical veneer.

Fortunately, the departments policies are not written in stone. Pompeo has the authority to change them, as will his successor. Judging from his behavior this past week, Pompeo seems to have decided that the rule as it currently stands is too onerous to apply to him. Now he need only extend the same courtesy to the thousands of diplomats working beneath him.

Original post:

Pompeo's Right About One Thing: Diplomats Deserve First Amendment Rights - Lawfare

SAF and Defense Distributed win Fifth Circuit case on First Amendment and 3D – AmmoLand Shooting Sports News

Posted on by

Defense Distributed Liberator Pistol

U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- On 19 August 2020, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a Federal District court. The three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit found the Attorney General of New Jersey is under Texas jurisdiction for this case. The case is Defense Distributed v. Grewal.

The finding allows a lawsuit filed against the New Jersey AG for violation of Defense Distributed First Amendment rights to publish computer code for 3D printed guns, to go forward.

Presumably, the discovery of Grewal's records on any discussion relevant to stop Defense Distributed from publishing will be allowed to continue.

AG Grewal can ask for an en banc hearing at the Fifth circuit. Failing that, he can appeal the ruling of the three-judge panel to the Supreme Court.

The ruling is a highly technical discussion about whether Grewal's conduct is sufficient to generate jurisdiction in Texas. All three judges agree that it is.

The dissent argues that Grewal, as an Attorney General, should be exempt from being sued in such a case. The case will continue.

With the resources of the State of New Jersey at his command, it is expected AG Grewal will use every opportunity to delay and derail this case. There will probably be a request for an en banc ruling, it will probably be denied and the case will be appealed to the Supreme Court. That will buy another year's delay for Grewal in his scheme to deny Defense Distributed First Amendment rights. A presidential election will take place before then.

If President Trump wins, Grewal's scheme will likely fail. AG Grewal has consistently worked to stop the settlement which was hammered out between the Trump administration and Defense Distributed.

If President Trump loses, a Biden-Harris administration will do everything they can to reinforce Grewal in his bid to stop Defense Distributed from exercising their First Amendment rights. A Biden-Harris administration will stop the settlement from going into effect, if it has not already been put in place.

The Fifth Circuit is saying AG Grewal of New Jersey may be personally liable for attacking the First Amendment rights of Defense Distributed.

It is an important finding. We will not know the results before the election, but the results may be of great significance for the nation.

Here is a timeline of Defense Distributed attempts to exercise its rights:

The precedent for the protection of computer code as a freedom of speech issue is fairly clear, established in the encryption debates in 1995, in the Ninth Circuit.

The Supreme Court has not directly ruled on the issue. At some point, a Supreme Court ruling is almost sure to happen.

You cannot stop people from obtaining guns unless you stop them from having the information on how to make guns.

The First Amendment says the government is not allowed to do that.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

Read the original:

SAF and Defense Distributed win Fifth Circuit case on First Amendment and 3D - AmmoLand Shooting Sports News

Protests go on: Smaller group kept to paved area at courthouse – Gainesville Daily Register

Posted on by

The support at a Sunday evening protest in downtown Gainesville might have been less than usual, but PRO Gainesville founder Justin Thompson said the activist group isnt going away anytime soon.

We had a lot of support that didnt feel comfortable coming out today [Sunday, Sept. 5] because of the reports of them [law enforcement] trying to do mass arrests on us, Thompson said.

Sundays protest was the first major PRO Gainesville event since Thompson, Torrey Henderson and Amara Ridge were booked into the Cooke County Jail on Class B misdemeanor charges of obstructing a highway or other passageway. The charges stemmed from a march Sunday, Aug. 30. All three organizers and Gainesville residents bailed out Thursday, Sept. 3, not long after they were booked in that same morning.

PRO Gainesville has been calling since June for the removal of the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument that stands on the northeast corner of the Cooke County Courthouse, 101 S. Dixon St.

Thompson said some of the backers of the Gainesville-based activist group didnt feel safe coming out this past weekend and he understands their decision.

Safety is No.1 priority, he said.

He also thinks a recent order unanimously approved by the Cooke County Commissioners Court is a tactic to deter the groups protests.

According to the order, which went into effect Friday, Sept. 4, a person or persons may not cause or authorize any signs, symbols, structures, contrivances or devices to be placed, installed, affixed or maintained on or over county property including the placement or installation of any signs, structures, contrivances, devices used for commercial or noncommercial purposes, except for items approved by the commissioners court.

We feel like this is just one way that they are trying to use to silence us, Thompson said. We will not be silenced. We have a First Amendment right, freedom of speech and freedom to protest, and we will continue that. We will do our best to obey their rules that they want to set forth with the understanding that what they are doing is clearly to disrupt our First Amendment rights.

Allen Zoeller, a Woodbine resident, said Sundays protest was his first to attend. He was sitting on the opposite side of the street where counter-protesters often gather and said he was in favor of keeping the Confederate monument.

My issue is they need to get the facts straight first, Zoeller said. Blacks fought in the war and whites fought in the war same way in WWI they did and in WWII they did.

Zoeller said hes lived in the community for 30 years and he though the statue hasnt been an issue before this year.

The statue is not the issue really, theyre just making it an issue, he said. Its OK that they voice their opinion you can learn from your mistakes but destroying your history isnt going to help one bit, thats my opinion.

Gainesville Police Chief Kevin Phillips said his department didnt make any arrests during Sundays protest.

He said there were maybe 40 protesters on the PRO Gainesville side and counter-protesters came and went so he didnt get a good count of how many there were.

There were 24 Gainesville Police Department officers dedicated to the Sunday evening protest, according to Phillips.

He said there were no reported assaults and it was overall a successful event.

Cooke County Sheriff Terry Gilbert said his department didnt make any arrests either. There were 18 personnel from the Cooke County Sheriffs Office at the event, he said.

As far as I know everything went peacefully, Gilbert said.

Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety were only at the protest to assist, according to Texas Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Tackett.

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

Read the original post:

Protests go on: Smaller group kept to paved area at courthouse - Gainesville Daily Register

Save the Stars and Stripes – Lowell Sun

Posted on by

The future of Stars and Stripes, the militarys independent newspaper, is uncertain, despite President Trumps Hail Mary pass of a Friday Tweet vowing to keep the publication funded.

The paper had been ordered to cease publication by Sept. 30, by order of the Pentagon, according to the Associated Press. This crucial publication is an important resource for those in uniform and costs pennies on the dollar compared to other spending the Department of Defense engages in.

Nobody does what we do, Stars and Stripes ombudsman Ernie Gates told CNN.

According to The Hill, a Washington, D.C., publication, Stars and Stripes funding is about $15.5 million annually, or 0.000022% of the Pentagons $705.4 billion fiscal 2021 budget released in February.

And yet, the Defense Dept. deemed it dispensable in order to bolster funding for other programs.

To their credit, some in Congress stepped up and senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper urging him to reinstate the $15.5 million in funding for the paper to the departments budget.

Both Republicans and Democrats signed the letter, which read, in part, Stars and Stripes is an essential part of our nations freedom of the press that serves the very population charged with defending that freedom.

Gates told The Associated Press on Friday that shutting the paper down would be fatal interference and permanent censorship of a unique First Amendment organization that has served U.S. troops reliably for generations.

The paper is published by the Defense Department but its real value is that it is editorially independent from the Pentagon, the importance of which was noted in the letter sent to Esper.

It was Stars and Stripes that revealed the Defense Departments use of public relations firms that profiled reporters and steered them toward favorable coverage of the war in Afghanistan, the letter read. Most recently, the paper brought to light the failure of schools on U.S. military installations to shut down during the pandemic, despite Japanese public schools doing so. These stories illustrate why Stars and Stripes is essential: they report on stories that no one else covers.

Cue Trump, who tweeted late Friday afternoon The United States of America will NOT be cutting funding to @starsandstripes magazine under my watch. It will continue to be a wonderful source of information to our Great Military!

Unfortunately, its not that easy.

Ultimately, Congress is the arbiter of the budget, said Gates.

It has yet to finalize the the Pentagons 2021 budget the House plan calls for continued funding for Stars and Stripes, the Senate version does not. Those plans need to be hashed out and signed by Trump.

The publication has a rich history with its original incarnation being briefly produced during the civil war.

It was published in earnest during World War I and went dark at the end of the war before returning until in 1942 during World War II, providing wartime news custom curated for troops and by troops.

Let us hope that the letter to Esper can move the needle on this or that the Senate can do the work the House did to make the publication whole in the budget again.

Further, those with influence should exert it now to save the paper. A good example would be Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) who wrote a separate letter to Esper. As a veteran who has served overseas, I know the value Stars and Stripes brings to its readers, it read.

They have the presidents support its time to complete the mission.

Read the original:

Save the Stars and Stripes - Lowell Sun

First Five: Right to peacefully protest needs better supporters – McDowell News

Posted on by

To start with, some of the commenters might be surprised to learn about what, exactly, constitutes a federal offense. As documented by the Prosecution Project, in many cases the charges that federal prosecutors are pursuing against protesters dont involve violence or even property damage.

For example, a Texas man was charged with civil disorder for trying to barge through a police line and then passively resisting arrest by placing his arms underneath his body as he lay on the ground. Six individuals were charged with inciting riots, not because of actions they took at protests, but because of posts they made on social media. (As the blog Lawfare reports, the federal statute that they are charged with violating has long been criticized for infringing on First Amendment rights because it broadly prohibits a class of speech without tying that speech to any imminent action.)

But even when it comes to federal offenses that are truly violent and destructive, I have an instinctive skepticism about laws that do nothing but take acts that are already illegal and make them even more illegal.

If you are convicted of, say, destroying government property because you vandalized a police car, you will already be facing jail time and/or heavy fines. So why should vandalizing a police car at a protest incur an extra layer of punishment over doing the exact same thing on a regular day? If anything, its a lot more difficult to ascertain who did what at a protest than it is at almost any other time its very easy for peaceful protesters to be swept up in charges for violent acts they had nothing to do with.

More here:

First Five: Right to peacefully protest needs better supporters - McDowell News

BREAKING: Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay Theme Parks All Currently Closed at Capacity – wdwnt.com

Posted on by

We anticipated heavy crowds as we entered into the long weekend for Labor Day, and we watched as additional queue space was set up around the Universal Orlando Resort theme parks during the week in preparation for guests.

It seems the additional measures were warranted, as all three Universal Orlando Resort theme parks: Universal Studios Florida, Universals Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay, are now currently closed due to capacity.

Crowds were heavy as we got through the security checkpoints and made our way to Universal CityWalk Orlando.

At the time of publishing, we were able to enter into Universal Studios Florida, despite being at capacity, but we anticipate the park will try and stop guests from coming to the resort and park entry may be cut off for those who already arrived at any time.

Will you be trying to visit a Universal Orlando Resort theme park this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!

Related

Continued here:

BREAKING: Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, and Volcano Bay Theme Parks All Currently Closed at Capacity - wdwnt.com

OBITUARY: Janice Elaine Austin Lee, 85, of Merritt Island Passed Away on August 27 – SpaceCoastDaily.com

Posted on by

Arrived in Merritt Island after Husband Dick accepted a job offer with RCA at Cape Canaveral Air Force StationJanice Lee of Merritt Island passed away on August 27, two years and one day after her husband, Darell Lee, passed away. Jan was a longtime teacher at Lewis Carroll Elementary School on Merritt Island.Jan was a Brevard Public Schools teacher for 31 years, teaching at Edgewood Junior High (now Jr./Sr. High), Gardendale and 28 years at Lewis Carroll Elementary

BREVARD COUNTY MERRITT ISLAND, FLORIDA Janice Elaine Austin Lee of Merritt Island passed away on August 27, 2020. Jan Lee was born on December 27, 1934, in Richland Center, Wisconsin, to Ethel Shell Austin and Byron Austin.

After a few moves to Illinois, Boca Raton, Florida, and Biloxi, Mississippi, Jan graduated from Biloxi High School.

Having met a handsome young man serving in the Air Force at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi at a church function during high school, and upon the advice of her parents, she immediately enrolled at The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg.

She completed all course work and graduated in 3 years! The weekend following her graduation, Janice Austin married Darell (Dick) Lee. They were married for 63 years.

Dick and Jan made a couple of moves, finally settling on Merritt Island after Dick had accepted a job offer as a Communications Engineer with RCA at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Jan returned to college, receiving her Masters of Education degree at Florida Technological University now known as the University of Central Florida. Jan began her teaching career at that time, following in her mothers footsteps.

Jan is survived by her daughter Karen Lee Smink, son-in-law Jack Smink, daughter-in-law Debbie Lee, grandchildren John Smink (Abby), Kristal Smink-Medzius (Tim), Samantha Lee, and Stefan Lee.

She was predeceased by her husband Darell (2018) and her son Gary (2012).

Jan was a member of Grace United Methodist Church on Merritt Island, Grace Methodist Church Choir, Red Hats, and several fun clubs crafts, church circles, and Central Brevard Retired Educators Association for which she held several offices after her retirement from teaching in 1996.

A private Christian memorial is planned for Jans immediate family due to our current public meeting restrictions. Her family hopes to hold a public memorial at a later date.

She loved a good party and held many parties at her home. Her family hopes to gather with church friends, school friends, neighborhood friends, and family for a barbeque next summer.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to a childrens charity, Breast Cancer charities (Jans mother died of breast cancer), Veterans Groups, or organizations who care for families in need.

View post:

OBITUARY: Janice Elaine Austin Lee, 85, of Merritt Island Passed Away on August 27 - SpaceCoastDaily.com

Fixer uppers: Used bike project to benefit Caribbean island – GazetteNET

Posted on by

NORTHAMPTON Hundreds of donated, discarded and abandoned bicycles stacked inside a large shipping container behind the Florence Community Center over Labor Day weekend will soon be making an Atlantic Ocean voyage to Trinidad.

After twice spending weeks volunteering on a rural farm, growing crops like hot peppers and wild yam, RuthyWoodring of Florence saw firsthand how getting more bicycles to the island nation known as Trinidad and Tobago could better the lives of families.

Its transportation, its health, and its an economic benefit to have people making a living by fixing bikes, Woodring says of what she has dubbed the Trinidad Bicycles Osmosis Project.

The project began in spring 2019 when Woodring got back from Moruga, a region on the south coast of Trinidad where she had used a machete as a primary farming implement during the international work exchange Workaway program.

Woodring, a co-founder of the Pedal People in Northampton, said the bicycles arent perfect, but are ideal for her project. Some have broken brake pads or are missing the brake set altogether. Many have flat tires, and others have frozen seat posts so they can no longer be adjusted up or down to meet the size of the rider.

Most of the bikes have all their parts, they just need a little labor, Woodring said.

That will come when the shipping container arrives around Oct. 1. I have an import partner there who will store them and fix them up and then sell them at affordable prices, Woodring said.

The bicycles have been collected since May 2019 and have arrived in a number of ways, such as being left in downtown Northampton, or spared just before being turned into scrap metal.

Hey, can I have that? Woodring recalled shouting when seeing bicycles about to be thrown out.

Woodring also organized a formal bike drive at Smith Vocational and Agricultural School last November and worked with officials at Mount Holyoke and Amherst colleges to obtain some bicycles not taken home by students. However, on the University of Massachusetts campus last year, she got into trouble with police for unauthorized removal of bicycles after students took off for the summer.

In addition, she attended a bicycle auction by Springfield Police, bidding $888 to buy 65 bicycles, which came at the same time she was fending off the larceny charges from UMass, she said.

Since she obtained the bicycles, they have been kept with a friend in Holyoke, who allowed her to store 160 of them. Another 140 bicycles were stored in the basement of friend Paige Bridgens, and another 70 made it to a barn off Sylvester Road.

Though the project was long planned, until late August Woodring had no idea where she would be able to fill the shipping container, learning that it was impossible to park it on a residential street. It was fortuitous, then, that while discussing her project on a Valley Free Radio program, Robert Gougeon, who owns Florence Towing and the community center building where the stations studio is, was willing to have it parked at the back of the lot, a perfect spot due to the space it provided and the shade.

About 30 volunteers have helped her over the course of three days to get the bicycles into the 40-foot-long Mediterranean Shipping Co. cargo vessel.

As each item is loaded, a careful inventory is taken. For the bicycles, seats, which could be damaged in transit, are removed, as are the pedals, which could get hung up.

For Stan Pollack, who dropped off a trailer filled with bicycles that came from the Bike Lab on Northern Avenue, Woodrings project is ideal.

It amazes me how were such a throwaway society, Pollack said, before heading out to get more bicycles.

Chase Walker and Carson Smith met Woodring on the farm in Trinidad and came up from Georgia to participate in the final step.

She said she needed help, and here we are, said Walker, who is from Atlanta.

Walker said a best friend at the farm biked all the time, illustrating that the bicycles will be put to great use.

Smith, of Marietta, Georgia, said that in her three months at the farm, she saw small children riding bicycles that were too big for them.

It will be really awesome. People will enjoy these bicycles, Smith said.

Smith said the generosity locally is remarkable.Its really inspiring to see the community give to this, Smith said.

Jon Liebman of Northampton said he had talked to Woodring for months about the project and assisted in breaking down the bicycles and packing them. People need bikes around the world, Liebman said.

Woodring said she finds it unfortunate that American culture doesnt value repairing bicycles.

If I spend five hours working on a bike, this bike can last me 15 to 20 more years, she said.

In addition to the bicycles, household goods, such as a refrigerator, washing machine and mattresses, are being put into the shipping container.

A tractor-trailer truck will drive it to the port of Boston where it will be loaded onto the RONIT container ship. Once docked in Trinidad, her import partner 15 minutes from the farm will manage the distribution of the items. She hopes to use sales of bikes there as seed money, and reimbursement, for the next shipping container that will go out.

Woodring said there are significant costs to the project, including $1,200 to get to Boston, and possibly more than $10,000 to complete the mission. While she did a GoFundMe fundraiser, she is covering a sizable portion of the project from an inheritance after paying off her house mortgage, she said.

She also got assistance from the Bikes Not Bombs organization.

Im super grateful for their support. People have donated a lot of bikes, Woodring said.

Read this article:

Fixer uppers: Used bike project to benefit Caribbean island - GazetteNET

Five forgotten Greek islands to visit right now – Telegraph.co.uk

Posted on by

Alonnisos

Skiathos and Skopelos are hardly the most overcrowded of islands but Alonnisos, their companion in the Sporades, builds in even more distance from the beaten path. Overarchingly agricultural, alive with vineyards and fig trees, it is also the centrepoint of Alonnisos Marine Park the largest such protected space in Europe, which encompasses six other islets (including Gioura, Kyra Panagia and Skantzoura), and a population of Mediterranean monk seals. A seven-night break at the three-star Atrium hotel, flying out of Gatwick (to Skiathos) on Sept 25, costs from 625 per person (including breakfast and ferries) through Olympic Holidays (020 8492 6868).

You can forgive Karpathos its relative lack of fame. While it may be the second largest of the Dodecanese, it sits almost equidistant between two big beasts of the Aegean, Rhodes and Crete, and is dwarfed in holiday profile by both. No matter. With its wildflower meadows, and a safeguarded space of its own (the Regional Marine Park of Northern Karpathos), it is a perfect place for simple strollings. Responsible Travel (01273 823700) sells an eight-day walking break that charts the island on two feet, from 697 a head flights extra. Olympic Air flies in from Athens.

Historical reputation deems this steep-sided Ionian outcrop the one-time home of warrior-monarch Odysseus although recent research (and its more majestic size) suggests that next-door Kefalonia may have been the mythological wanderers home. But if Ithaca was too little for a king and a court, it is ideal for unassuming late-season relaxation, whether in the nominal capital Vathy (within reach of the lovely Filiatro Beach) or more northerly Kioni. A seven-night stay in the latter at the Eleni Apartments, flying from Manchester (to Kefalonia) on Sept 26, starts at 762 per person, including ferry transfers and car hire with Ionian & Aegean Island Holidays (020 8459 0777).

Whip your eye across the map of the Aegean, and you may fail to notice Skyros a lost shard of the Sporades, adrift in the south of the archipelago. Skyros is lushly forested in parts, while hard and elevated in others, where the highest mountain Kochila hits 2,598ft, it revels in a version of Greece so classical that Achilles is supposed to have set sail for Troy from its shore. You can pick up a week in Antigoni, a two-bedroom apartment (reference 450910) on the east coast, for 817, arriving on Sept 26, via HomeAway (020 8827 1971) again, Olympic Air offers flights via Athens. Alternatively, if you can wait for 2021, Skyros Holidays (01983 865566) runs residential learning holidays on westerly Atsitsa Bay, and will begin its first week-long break of the year with a focus on yoga and photography on June 20. From 695 per person (flights extra).

Pressed into the shadow of the Peloponnese just five miles to the south of the peninsula Kythira has, until recently, been something of a tourism secret. Increasingly, though, British travellers are discovering its gentle beauty whether that be the ghostly ruins of the village of Paliochora, or the discreet arc of Kaladi Beach. A seven-night stay at the three-star Porto Delfino Hotel in Kapsali, flying from Gatwick (via Athens) on Sept 24, costs from 1,057 per person, via Cachet Travel (020 8847 8700).

Go here to see the original:

Five forgotten Greek islands to visit right now - Telegraph.co.uk

‘They’re so vulnerable’: Coronavirus hits tribes of isolated Andaman Islands – NBC News

Posted on by

An indigenous tribe on Indias Andaman Islands, whose population hovers just over 50 people, is now threatened by the coronavirus and experts fear uncontacted people on nearby islands could be next.

At least 10 people from the Great Andamanese tribe have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday and were being monitored in hospital, according to Anvita Abbi, a New Delhi-based linguist and social scientist who in contact with the community.

It is spreading like fire, Abbi told NBC News by phone. What I gathered from them was that none of them had really serious symptoms. In fact, they all seem to be asymptomatic.

Those who are appearing to be ill are younger in their late teens in some cases and live in the archipelagos largest city of Port Blair, she said. But concerns are rising over the possible exposure of the tribes elders who live on the remote Strait Island, which has some contact with the general population.

At least 3,160 people have tested positive for the virus across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to local officials. Located southeast of Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal, they have a combined population of more than 400,000,

Cases are on the rise with 28 more cases confirmed Tuesday. Forty-six people there have died during the pandemic so far.

Dr. Avijit Roy, who is leading the fight against the outbreak in the islands, told Reuters last week that tests given to the Great Andamanese living on one of the coral reef islands confirmed four men were positive.

They have been moved to hospital, Roy said. Officials believe the men may have traveled to the main Andaman islands and caught the disease.

Indias Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.

Survival International, a British-based charity advocating indigenous rights worldwide, also said it received reports that at least five people among the Great Andamanese were infected.

Its a huge concern because theyre so vulnerable, they've got so many already existing health problems, Sophie Grig, a senior researcher for Survival International, said.

The tribes population has significantly dwindled from an estimated 5,000 people when the British colonists arrived in the 1850s, she said. Exposure to new illnesses such as influenza, measles and syphilis that came with colonization decimated its numbers.

The community continues to struggle with cases of tuberculosis, she added.

They've already lost so much as a community, she said.

The tribe along with its ancient language and culture are at risk, and losing them means losing a window into human history, Abbi said.

They represent one of the most ancient civilizations, she said.

The ancestors of the Great Andamanese traveled from Africa to settle off the Indian coast some 70,000 years ago, Abbi said. Other tribes in the archipelago have similar ancient roots, and unlike the Great Andamanese, they are not integrated.

The nomadic Jarawa tribe of an estimated 400 people live relatively isolated in forests. But they risk being exposed to the virus by poachers, travelers and even welfare workers encroaching on their territory, according to Survival.

Despite being among the most isolated tribes in the world, the uncontacted Sentinelese are also at risk of exposure by poachers fishing off their remote island of North Sentinel. Survival International is calling for strict protections to ensure outsiders remain away from their territory which linguist Abbi agreed with.

The best thing is to leave them alone, she said.

Theres no evidence yet to suggest any ethnic group is at greater risk of complications from the coronavirus because of a lack of immunity since the virus is new to all humans, said Dr. Jehan El-Bayoumi, founding director of the Rodham Institute at the George Washington University.

But other social and economic factors such as nutrition, access to health care and poverty do increase the risk of complications in indigenous and minority communities, El-Bayoumi said.

We know that 80 percent of the outcomes related to any illness actually has nothing to do with access to health care, it is really the social determinants of health, she said. Those include water that you drink, the air that you breathe, the food that you eat, your education, your economic background, (or) systemic racism.

Download the NBC News app for the latest news on the coronavirus

In the United States, Native Americans are the group at the highest risk of death from the virus, she added.

Similar concerns can be seen around the world from increasing infections among indigenous groups in Brazil to starvation due to the pandemics disruption of food supplies for indigenous communities in Bangladesh, according to the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization.

Whats needed is better adherence to public health guidance as well as more representation from indigenous communities at all levels of government, so they can advocate for their needs, Ralph Bunche, general secretary of the organization, said.

All too often, indigenous communities are suffering from greater impacts from things like coronavirus, Bunche said. It's just showing to a greater extent these imbalances that have had already existed.

See the rest here:

'They're so vulnerable': Coronavirus hits tribes of isolated Andaman Islands - NBC News

Staten Island Mall reopens Wednesday: What you need to know – SILive.com

Posted on by

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- After nearly six months of being shuttered, the Staten Island Mall will reopen at 50% capacity on Wednesday, confirmed the New Springville malls management.

The governor made the announcement Thursday that New York City malls, which are the last shopping centers in the state allowed to open during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, could reopen Sept. 9 at half capacity.

While this pandemic is far from over, our numbers have remained steadily low, so we know our phased, data-driven approach to reopening is the right one, Cuomo said. Thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers, we are at a point in our fight against this virus where we can safely reopen malls in New York City as long as they adhere to strict health and safety protocols. Masks, enhanced air ventilation systems, and social distancing will be mandatory. This is good news and the right step forward.

Senior Mall manager James Easley said the Mall will operate with reduced hours, and will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

Heres what you need to know:

*** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK ***

FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER

Continue reading here:

Staten Island Mall reopens Wednesday: What you need to know - SILive.com

Small Demonstration Against Temptation Island Filming Urges Government Leaders to Protect Hawaii – Maui Now

Posted on by

+

Another demonstration is planned today in Wailea against the planned filming of Temptation Island during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A small sign waving demonstration was held on Aug. 29 by the same group, calling the approval a double standard saying they would like to see the same protocols available to Maui residents, ideally all people traveling to Maui. It should have first been an option to residents before it was ever offered to off island people.We have sacrificed too much to witness special treatment and privileges for only the politically well connected elites, said participant Cara Flores.

The event is organized by concerned citizens whose common interest is to protect Hawaii by keeping COVID-19 out of the community.

According to Maui Mayor Michael Victorino, the production will bring back 140 workers to the Andaz during the filming over the course of two and a half months. But demonstrators say the film shoot will provide less than 100 full-time temporary jobs. We need plans to get much more of our island back to work in a safe way, said Flores.

Hawaii State Film Commissioner Donne Dawson noted that theproductions roughly $7.5M spent on Maui, would equate to about 4,500 visitors on the island. Tuiaana Scanlan, President of IATSE Local 665 said, For this specific project, they have gone above and beyond anything weve seen before. Far and away some of the most robust and comprehensive COVID safety protocols and guidelines across the board, and thats not even for our industry. Youd be hard pressed to find any industry outside of clinical or medical facility that tests with the same regularity that this production is planning to do.

According to industry officials, all cast and crew flying to Maui will be required to take a COVID-19 test 72 hours prior to their flight and only cast/crew who test negative will be permitted to fly to Maui. Guidelines also call for all cast/crew to be tested on day 5 and 6. Once both PCR test results return negative and they complete a modified seven-day quarantine, they will be allowed to work on the production.

Flores said, It is a slap in theface to see it offered to this very small and exclusive group but no one elseIf it is a safer protocol than the current 14 day protocol then it should be available to the people of Maui, and all of the people of HawaiiIf this is the safest way for us to open to travel then lets not just provide 70-100 jobs. If this protocol is more widely available it can provide thousands of permanent jobs.

Floressaid she hopes to see the state Department of Health approve and adopt more accessibletests quickly so our economy can open in a smarter and safer method We hope the state of Hawaii has a comprehensive plan that includes being strategic in obtaining a surplusof testing supplies. Thus making sure we will be well supplied and prepared to open up safely and not have to return to stay at home orders.

The Mayor has maintained Mauis current status of response and has refrained from re-instituting closures of businesses.

During a press conference on Aug. 28, he announced approval of the production saying, The production company will be shooting entirely on the property of Andaz and if they decide or want to request outside of Andaz, to do something in the communities I will definitely hold a Zoom meeting to ensure the communities are aware that they are coming and if they feel comfortable having them there.

Production is set to start on Tuesday,Sept. 8. Trade Winds Productions who is doing the filming of Temptation Island is the first show to receive approval and authorization here in Maui County.

The Mayors office notes that the company has secured exclusive use of the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort property, which does not include the beach. The beach will continue to be open and accessible to the public, according to the mayor.

Protest against Temptation Island. PC: Cara Flores (8.29.20)

Protest against Temptation Island. PC: Cara Flores (8.29.20)

Protest against Temptation Island. PC: Cara Flores (8.29.20)

Protest against Temptation Island. PC: Cara Flores (8.29.20)

Protest against Temptation Island. PC: Cara Flores (8.29.20)

Here is the original post:

Small Demonstration Against Temptation Island Filming Urges Government Leaders to Protect Hawaii - Maui Now

South Padre Island businesses picking up over Labor Day weekend – KGBT-TV

Posted on by

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (KVEO) County beaches are set to remain closed until Tuesday, however, business at South Padre Island picked up this Labor Day weekend.

Saturdaywe were definitely booked, it was over 100 percent, said Jaime Guadalupe Molina, a receptionist at Suites at Sunchase. Fridaywe were about 90 percent.Today,were about 91 percent. Thatsbeen the weekend that we had.

He adds about this time last year, rooms would be completelyreserved.At 90 percent76 of the 84 rooms are occupied,with visitors coming from theRGV,Austin andSanAntonio.

We were at probably 20 percentat the beginning of the week,and then everybody booked aroundWednesday,Thursday,he said.

The holiday weekend also attractedRobertLermaand his family tothe islandfor the first time in over a year.

As long as we follow regulations, weve got germ-x everywhere, a box of masks, take precautions,he said, addingthey havent had any issuesand are doing their best to avoid the crowds.

We were at the island, he said. As soon as we started seeing people gather around and bunchup,we just packed up and left, over here.

EdwinAlvarado withOne-StopRentals saidthese visitorsare welcome since businessfor themhasalsobeen a bit slow all summer.

Ibelieve tomorrowitsgoing to stay about the same,and as soon asTuesdayhits,itsjust going to die completely,he said.

One major business at the islandwithzeroguests?Bars.

Though theybriefly reopenedinMay, theyhave since been declared leading transmission zonesand are not to reopen until cases across the state drop below 10percentperGovernor Greg Abbottsorder.

Read the rest here:

South Padre Island businesses picking up over Labor Day weekend - KGBT-TV

Love Has Won escorted to airport – Thegardenisland.com

Posted on by

LIHUE After three days of nearly nonstop protests at their Wainiha rental property, 15 members of Love Has Won received a police escort to Lihue Airport Sunday in two waves.

Members of the religious nonprofit exited a rental house in Wainiha around noon on Sunday en route to the airport with a Kauai Police Department convoy, including leaders Amy Mother God Carlson and Jason Father God Castello, who were later observed arriving on Maui.

Eleven additional members were escorted by police from the Kauai Inn in Niumalu to the airport, including members who were still completing their 14-day, state-mandated quarantine, at 4:41 p.m.

Applause rang out from protesters and neighbors in Wainiha and Niumalu who sat down across the street to watch as the escort drove off.

Mahealani Chandler had been out protesting since Friday on the North Shore.

Ive been up for three days, Chandler said, tired. Shes part of a core group of protesters, mostly women, concerned for the safety of their ohana and island community. We remain in kapu aloha.

Protesters have found the groups ideology to be predatory of vulnerable populations, vulgar and offensive in its appropriation of Hawaiian culture, with the groups leader claiming to be the Hawaiian goddess of fire, Pele.

Word spread through the coconut wireless last week and Sunday about the group, and protesters first came out in force Friday to surround the beach-front rental.

However, peaceful protests turned rowdy Friday night, with reports of a firework being shot toward the house and damage to a brand new Honda Pilot that sat in the driveway. It is unclear whether the damage to the car and residence were done by protesters or members of the group.

Mayor Derek Kawakami arrived in Wainiha Saturday evening, telling protesters the county was negotiating with Love Has Won to leave the island. Five of seven members from the rental property left later that evening.

Protesters were relieved to see the group leave Sunday afternoon when Love Has Won leaders were escorted out of the North Shore by KPD. A smaller group of protesters then quickly turned their attention to Niumalu.

For over two and a half hours, protesters stood, viligiant, outside the Kauai Inn.

Around 4 p.m., one Love Has Won member changed in the parking lot from shorts to jeans behind a towel draped over an open car door. Protesters called out indecent exposure.

A KPD officer said, People change on the beach all the time.

Michael Dahilig, county managing director, stood with KPD officers, facilitating. Dahilig told protesters he was trying to make sure the group could leave the island safely.

Dahilig said he was there on a personal basis, and directed questions to county public information officers, who did not respond to requests for comment by presstime.

The brand new Honda Pilot, with a cracked front windshield and no back window, was towed away with nonessential belongings from the Kauai Inn, as it was deemed too dangerous to drive.

The 11 members were said to be boarding a 6:55 p.m. flight to Honolulu Sunday, and as heard on the police scanner around 5:36 p.m., officers were ensuring members boarded the flight.

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

Read more:

Love Has Won escorted to airport - Thegardenisland.com

Opinion: Want to Re-Think New York City? Start with Rikers Island. – City Limits

Posted on by

We can indeed come back stronger. But this moment at history requires more: It needs us to be better than our past self. Renewable Rikers is how we improve the soul of our city.

USGS

Look, we can litigate whether New York City is dead, over, or gone until were blue in the face. Or, we could finally have an adult conversation on what the city looks like after this crisis. Because, lets face facts: New York City always sees it through.

Thats been true no matter what terror attacks, viruses, or whatever else brings. Did the New York we knew before those catastrophes come back the exact same way? Of course not, but we still boasted more than 66 million tourists in 2019 so obviously we still did something right.

So lets instead focus on how clean energy can help lead the newly envisioned New York. Just as manufacturing was replaced by a widening finance industry after World War II, which in turn has been replaced by the tech sector after the Great Recession, jobs in renewable energy can be the industry that brings us back stronger.

With the prospect of a Biden administration executing an ambitious plan to fight climate change, we can create jobs for those who need them most in one of the least expected places: a renewable energy hub on Rikers Island. New York City can have the future it deserves if we are bold enough to confront this flashpoint in history by fixing the shortcomings of our past selves with a fairer, cleaner future.

Because right now Rikers Island has sadly survived every past iteration of New York. When the rest of the city went through historic changes, this plot of land carried on as a house of horrors. As we removed tenements over 80 years ago, we landfilled Rikers to its current 413 acres where every day detainees often not convicted of a crime breathe in toxic methane gas from the rotting garbage and decaying ash that make up this land.

And on either side of the East River from Rikers, we havent moved to close the dirty peaker plants that kick on in Black and Brown communities when white neighborhoods need more electricity. No, this was forgotten every time fate has hit reset for New York City. While our City has thrived in recent years, children in the Queensbridge Houses, Americas largest public housing complex, have choked on toxin-filled air coming out of one of the states dirtiest plants.

This is the story of western Queens and the South Bronx, home to many of those men and women sitting on Rikers for months at a time, where federal dollars are low but the asthma rates are high. These are the neighborhoods where cops are used as a Band-Aid for every problem. As New York has always come back stronger, with the bravado of the richest city on Earth, these neighborhoods have been weakened.

Even today, at the former epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, an energy company seeks to build a new peaker plant in my native Astoria, Queens. We know now this virus struck neighborhoods like ours because our predecessors did little to stop peaker plants or the pollution they brought. Yet the construction of this new facility will marry us into more fossil fuel infrastructure no doubt leaving another generation of diverse children behind in a silent public health crisis.

Or, we can take the bold step to tear down those jails to make way for solar energy generation and storage, along with other 21st Century infrastructure. This will be the downpayment on a new green economy. The median annual salary for solar installers is $52,880, which could be a stepping stone for a public housing resident whose average family income is $25,007. Emerging technologies have the opportunity to lift all boats, but only if policies are in place to make sure no one sinks. Its imperative these jobs we create on Rikers go to the communities most marginalized by what Rikers represents.

Such a project will also finally allow us to close those dirty power plants. Afterall, many were built 20 years ago based on bad policies and scare tactics against the protests of those who lived near them. Renewable energy on Rikers will finally justify their closure. New Yorkers pushed to the margins will finally get a say in what their community looks like.

We can indeed come back stronger. But this moment at history requires more: It needs us to be better than our past self. Renewable Rikers is how we improve the soul of our city.

Costa Constantinides represents western Queens asthma alley in the New York City Council, where he serves as Chair of the Committee on Environmental Protection.

Read more:

Opinion: Want to Re-Think New York City? Start with Rikers Island. - City Limits