As the COVID-19 lockdown ends, what world awaits people? – The Globe and Mail

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Shadows are seen near graffiti as demonstrators fill an intersection during protests on July 26, 2020 in Seattle, Washington.

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Tessa McWatt is a professor of creative writing at University of East Anglia. Her most recent book is Shame on Me: An Anatomy of Race and Belonging.

You dont like the rain. Caribbean people, even in Canada, huddle inside at darkening skies, bracing for a hurricane. But the sound of rain here in London has started to perk me up. I get hopeful when people rush back into their homes, emptying the streets, the parks, the stoops where they have congregated over the past few months. I get to pretend were in lockdown again.

When I call you in Toronto, as I have done every day since the beginning of the pandemic, to commiserate and laugh, both of us lonely and agitated, you assure me you have your mask on. Not understanding the rules, but not wanting to worry your daughter, you continue through the gauze and say, Things are opening up here, and my heart sinks.

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I miss lockdown.

Of course I dont miss the illness, which I and many friends had, from which far too many have died, while politicians balance capital against lives, making them equivalent. I dont miss the fact that you, at 86 and on your own, have gone without being touched for more than 100 days, your memory looping tighter and tighter in the confines of your tiny house. I dont miss imagining the quarantine of those who lived in two rooms with an entire extended family, the women who quarantined with their abusers, the suffering of those without an income, or those who were forced to work because the economy had to keep running. I dont miss the news reports with faces of the Black and brown health care workers dying disproportionally, the bus drivers, the Uber drivers who didnt have the luxury of both a paycheque and isolation.

Protestors march during an anti-racism march on June 6, 2020 in Toronto.

Cole Burston/Getty Images North America

But COVID-19 is a truth-sayer. Truths previously silenced beneath the din of so-called productivity have been spooled out over the internet: A white policeman kneels on the neck of a Black man in the same week that a white woman calls the cops on a Black birdwatcher. Police drive a car through crowds of Black Lives Matter protesters. Elon Musk calls the coronavirus a cold and sends his workers back to the Tesla factory. Hawksbill turtles breed in record numbers on the now tourist-free beaches of Thailand. Arctic fires emit 60 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in one month, and the region is heating twice as fast as the rest of the planet, leading to sea ice melting faster than scientists have previously predicted. All the homeless people in London are taken off the street and given only temporary shelter.

These events are not unrelated.

As you know, mom, in my memoirs on race and belonging, I dissected the persistent racism and inequality we live in. I flayed a system born out of the scientific racism that was developed to serve the greed of capitalism. I traced the plantation economics that made you, made me. COVID-19 has confirmed that the plantation structure still governs, that some people are treated as chattel, put in cages, in ghettos, behind walls, behind bars.

Peaceful protesters march on June 25, 2020, in downtown Salt Lake City, in the latest protest decrying the death of Bernardo Palacios-Carbajal, who was shot and killed by police in May.

Rick Bowmer/The Associated Press

The profit motive requires producers to expand the reach of goods, producing cheap things at the cheapest rate, based on the cheapest labour. Cheap clothes, so we all look the same. The same but not equal. Cheap food, cheap energy, cheap care, cheap technology, cheap pharmaceuticals. The product itself does not define the plantation. It is defined by its structure and the labour done by the people upon which its cheap products rely without care or duty to the people who make them, with blind extraction from the bounty of the earth, until we go too far. Weve gone too far.

As the COVID-19 lockdown ends, what world awaits on the other side?

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Will we return to a state of mind that says theres not enough for us all that state of mind that doesnt put each other and the planet first? Will we open up to a world that seems to perpetually choose disrespect for nature, racism, extremist nationalism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, misogyny, homophobia and many other forms of hatred?

The scaffolding of how we live has been duly exposed. Why would we go back?

People take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on June 18, 2020.

JONATHAN ERNST/Reuters

A recent essay by Dionne Brand nails it: Was the violence against women normal? Was the anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism normal? Was white supremacy normal? Was the homelessness growing on the streets normal? Were homophobia and transphobia normal? Were pervasive surveillance and policing of Black and Indigenous and people of colour normal?

I refuse to get back to normal. I want off the plantation. But to where? The despicable loss of life, loss of biodiversity due to human extraction, plundering, poaching, continues everywhere. What is this space to which I might escape? It cannot be only literary, with more demand for reading lists and right thinking; it cannot be only virtual, with angry tweets and a verbal war. Because the revolution cannot only be televised.

I hope things dont get worse, you say, and I know youre thinking of the virus and not of all the worse Im imagining. Your hope is such a fundamental part of who you are, mom. Perhaps its a hope that the pause in the machinery of normal might reap something new.

It surprised me how many puppies were bought or rescued during lockdown. What a paradox to want to bring something so vulnerable into such a violent world. But I think I understand this now that hope has nothing to do with optimism. It can be brutal and paradoxical. It can even be violent.

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A worker exits a Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle at Tesla's primary vehicle factory after CEO Elon Musk announced he was defying local officials' COVID-19 restrictions by reopening the plant in Fremont, California, U.S. May 11, 2020.

STEPHEN LAM/Reuters

The hope that Im speaking of is not about asking for more inclusion into a system that is already broken, but rather about replacing it. Its a hope that we align our responsibility to ourselves with our responsibility to others. And its time for us all to engage in radical, mutual care to repair our relations with each other and the planet. As Angela Davis has said, You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.

In our dispossession and our rage, we can ask revolutionary questions. We have powerful tools language and imagination with which to reinvent realities. Everywhere, every day, there is invention, and there are new organizations that form to address structural change, to make a model for how to live differently, off the plantation. These are networks of locals, working in their own communities, but with common causes that are global. Challenging current systems, there are networks of Black activists; climate crisis groups in action-oriented disobedience; groups opposing fracking, opposing pipelines that invade Indigenous land; opposing corporate buy-outs; opposing the destruction of the ocean.

A guide walks along a winding channel carved by rushing water on the surface of the melting Longyearbreen glacier during a summer heat wave on Svalbard archipelago on July 31, 2020 near Longyearbyen, Norway.

Sean Gallup/Getty Images

La Via Compesina is a coalition of organizations in more than 80 countries that advocates family-farm-based sustainable agriculture for food sovereignty. The Wretched of the Earth is a grassroots collective for Indigenous, Black and brown and diaspora groups and individuals demanding climate justice and acting in solidarity with communities in North America, Britain and the global south, where migrants are escaping climate disasters. Torontos Activist Calendar is packed with events and news of small and large victories. Black Lives Matter, Bridges Not Walls, Queer Solidarity Smashes Borders, Unite Against Islamophobia: the placards on protests across Europe and North America say everything about how organizing is the only way forward. These small groups will need to join up to dismantle the current structure.

Because normal is toxic. Surely normal is also a failure of imagination.

In my book, I had to resort to my imagination to picture your Chinese grandmother with her bound feet and my African great-great-grandmother enslaved in Demerara, but in imagining them I brought a whole new dimension to myself. I opened up to my own body. Its this opening up that I think must happen now. Imagining what will allow us to be bigger than our bodies, to be greater than the sum of our parts. Opening up to new, physical, safe spaces for all of us who have been terrified in the street. To citizens assemblies, to universal basic income, to settled land claims, to abolition of state systems of oppression, to defunding the police, to guaranteeing and fully funding education and health care, to creating urban farms, to the end of fossil fuels and the beginning of new ways of participating with our environment. To balance. To peace.

To a postviral reconstruction that has nothing normal about it.

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In this file photo taken on Nov. 8, 2019 a homeless man sleeps in central London. Thousands of homeless people in Britain were given hotel rooms to protect them from coronavirus but as the outbreak slows, charities fear they could soon be back on the streets.

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As the COVID-19 lockdown ends, what world awaits people? - The Globe and Mail

Milk Sharing – What Milk-Sharing Communities Reveal – SAPIENS

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Heather Wascak was devastated. In 2014, within days of giving birth to a baby girl, Lucia, she was aching to be with her child.

Shes almost 5 days old, and I still havent gotten to hold her, Wascak wrote in a Facebook post. In fact, Ive only gotten about 10 minutes with her. Anyone who knows me knows that this was 100 percent not my birth plan.

Wascak had wanted an intimate home birth with a midwife, as shed had with her first child. Instead, shed needed to have a cesarean section. Wascak was fighting a rare fallopian tube cancer. And even though she was desperate to breastfeed her baby, initially she couldnt, in part because doctors transferred Lucia, who was having difficulty breathing, to another hospital.

Committed to giving her child breast milk, Wascak turned to other women who were breastfeeding and willing to share. A local breastfeeding group in Buffalo, New York, stepped up to support her, as did donors she had never met, who connected through online networking after reading her Facebook posts. Wascak recorded her thanks online: So many mamas have reached out and offered their breast milk for Lucia. I cant put into words how grateful I am for that.

Wascaks story is one of many collected by Aunchalee Palmquist, a medical anthropologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Such stories, Palmquist believes, may challenge peoples assumptions about women sharing their milk, a practice that has raised concerns among medical professionals.

These sharing groups are organized informally, most often without unified guidelines or medical supervision. Doctors have many fears about the practice, not least of all because milk can potentially carry pathogens, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Heather Wascak (center) holds her baby, Lucia, at a 2015 picnic organized by a milk-sharing group in which she participated. Aunchalee Palmquist/Anthrolactology blog

Nonetheless, an increasing number of women in the United States and around the world are sharing milk informally with other mothers. Its definitely a phenomenon among at least American women, says Melanie Martin, an anthropologist at the University of Washington, Seattle, and understanding it is part of a whole history of human milk sharing and cooperative breeding.

Some of this movement reflects a slow shift from formula back to breastfeeding in many societies. Over the last four decades, medical professionals have recognized the irreplaceable health benefits of breast milk and recommended that infants consume only breast milk (rather than formula or occasional solids) until 6 months of age. As demand for breast milk grows, peer-to-peer milk-sharing networks have flourished, as have nonprofits that bank human milk (analogous to community blood banks) and commercial efforts to capitalize on breast milks purported health benefits.

Anthropologists such as Palmquist and Martin feel theres a lot for researchers to learn from these trends, particularly the peer networks. Health risks may exist, they argue, but medical personnel need to become more involved in connecting women to solutions, rather than just rejecting the practice.

In the meantime, the trend provides insights into the complex rules that cultures construct around maternal behavior. For me as an anthropologist, Palmquist says, studying milk sharing opens up windows on racism, gender identity, having a baby, community, and what it means to be a parent.

Medical practitioners, biologists, and public health specialists have identified a slew of benefits to infants who breastfeed, including immune system protection and fewer ear infections. Women who breastfeed have a lower risk for breast and ovarian cancers. And breastfeeding facilitates psychological bonding between mother and child.

Partly because of such research, in 2002, the World Health Organization began promoting exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a babys life. In addition to breast milks benefits, the WHO recognizes that formula requires clean water and a certain level of sanitation, conditions that are not available in every community.

Marketing in the 20th century often implied that baby formula was superior to breastfeeding. Floortje/Getty Images

That 2002 guidance was a sign of how powerfully new findings have shifted opinion in recent years. In the early 20th century, the medical establishment accepted formula as scientifically safe. Aggressive marketing campaigns made it sound superior to breastfeeding. In addition, formula offered a shelf-stable option for feeding infants in a variety of circumstances. It was the first choice for infants in intensive care units in many U.S. hospitals until recently.

Even as researchers have enhanced manufactured options, the limits of these products become increasingly clear. Breast milks composition is complex and dynamic; it changes throughout breastfeeding and a babys growth, which makes it difficult for formula companies to mimic.

Still, the return to breast milk has had complicated consequences. Under the discourse of breast is best, says Beatriz Reyes-Foster, a sociocultural anthropologist at the University of Central Florida, failing to breastfeed means your body is failing you, [and] you are failing as a mother.

Mothers whose milk does not come in, for instance, may feel shamed for their inability to provide breast milk. Meanwhile super producers, who are able to provide an abundance of milk, want to help others.

The best-established system for sharing extra milk is via milk banks, many of which operate as nonprofit organizations to serve their local communities. A scattering of these groups existed in the U.S. in the 1970s. In the 1980s, the threat of HIV, which can be passed in mothers milk, led most of these efforts to shut down until after researchers found that pasteurization killed the virus. Today milk bank guidelines specify that these nonprofits pasteurize all milk.

Their donations go to babies most in need: predominantly infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), whose survival may be pinned to breast milk. The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), which considers donor milk a medicine for premature babies, reported that in 2019, its members distributed nearly 5.85 million ounces of milk to NICUs and 1.5 million ounces to babies at home, donated by 12,491 volunteers.

Milk banks are safe sources of breast milk, but they cant meet the demands of all mothers and babies.

The banks are safe sources of breast milk, but they cant always meet the demands of all mothers and babies. That limitation, anthropologists have found, is at least one reason why women seek other solutions.

From an evolutionary viewpoint, milk sharing is a very old human practice. In the late 1990s, Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, emeritus professor of anthropology at the University of California, Davis, drew upon data and observations across primates to study allomaternal care, that is, mothers helping tend one anothers children. In some cases, she found, mothers share nursing as well.

This research made two things clear. First, humans evolved to be cooperative breeders, meaning that all parents need help raising and feeding their children.

Second, the rules surrounding this behavior can be complex. Even among our primate cousins such as capuchins and other monkeys, the offspring of others are sometimes welcomed and sometimes rebuffed.

Humans are just as varied in their behaviors, practicing milk sharing in different ways across societies. For instance, infants of the Aka hunter-gatherers living in the Congo Basin may have spent nearly a quarter of their time nursing with another mother. Meanwhile, other hunter-gatherer groups, such as the !Kung of Botswana and Namibia, do not share milk.

Looking at what we see in extant hunter-gatherers today, we see variation, and we would expect that variation in the past, says Martin, who has studied breastfeeding practices in the Bolivian Amazon and elsewhere.

That diversity means that various cultures specify distinct norms or rules of behavior for motherhood. Even before women worried about how their society viewed breast milk versus formula, mothers were making choices about breastfeeding informed by these community norms.

In some Muslim communities, for example, sharing the same womans milk makes children kin, even if they are not otherwise tied by blood. That fact adds a layer of complication to establishing milk banks in certain countries.

Mary Miller, a certified lactation consultant, has organized milk-sharing groups in upstate New York. Courtesy of Mary Miller

Historically, in many countries, a woman who fed anothers child was a wet nurse, often a servant or slave. In 18th-century France, Hrdys work reveals, wealthy families recruited poor women as wet nurses. Impoverished mothers earned money for their family but could not be with their own children, often leaving sons and daughters in foundling homes. Meanwhile, some wealthy urban families sent their newborns to live in a wet nurses home in the countryside, separating mother and child from birth.

These histories cast long shadows. In 2017, historians Emily West and R.J. Knight at the University of Reading noted that the experiences of enslaved Black women who were forced to serve as wet nurses to White families in the southern United States before the abolition of slavery may contribute to lower rates of breastfeeding in African American communities today.

The movement to share milk peer-to-peer in the United States, however, differs from these stories of exploitation, in part because of its focus on building community. What might historically have been considered inherently unequalwet-nursingbecomes something else among peers.

Mary Miller started the breastfeeding group in Buffalo that Wascak joined years ago. We had the best friendship ever, Miller recalls.

The two tag-teamed to care for each others kids and cross-nursed their children. Miller, a former social worker, eventually helped with Wascaks cancer therapies and end-of-life care.

Miller loves Lucia, Wascaks daughter, and notes that cross-feeding often makes women feel connected to others childrenperhaps because breastfeeding releases the hormone oxytocin, which promotes bonding. People feel uncomfortable with cross-nursing, Miller acknowledges, but it creates a special bond with a child.

Now an international board-certified lactation consultant, Miller has helped thousands of women donate and receive breast milk. The participants in her groups are predominantly, though not exclusively, White. They tend to have at least high school diplomas; many have bachelors degrees, and some have higher levels of education.

Medical researchers have uncovered a plethora of benefits related to breastfeeding, including immune system protection for infants.

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images

The groups are socioeconomically diverse. Some women receive food stamps but share milk they can spare. Wealthier participants sometimes anonymously support others in the group, perhaps donating a car seat. They communicate online and meet in person.

Finding one another through social media is a common pattern in these groups, anthropologists have discovered. It shows how the internet has allowed women to find supportive networks when society has disrupted our efforts to find supportive kin and community, Martin says.

Across the United States, women from varied backgroundsin terms of socioeconomic status, race, or ethnicityare organizing peer-to-peer milk-sharing groups. Participants may be wealthy or poor, educated or not, or from similar or different cultural backgrounds.

They may share pumped milk, cross-nurse, or both, as Palmquist has observed. Reyes-Foster, who studied a peer network mostly comprised of educated, upper middle-class, White women, found that about 20 percent of the women breastfed another womans child directly.

These groups often explicitly state that participation must be altruistic and noncommercial. That approach differs from online milk sales or for-profit companies, such as Prolacta Bioscience, which sells milk to NICUs.

But nonprofit banks and for-profit companies come with more standards and established practices, like quality assurance and pasteurization. The fact that peer sharing lacks similar oversight has alarmed many in the medical community.

As news stories have circulated about milk sharing outside of milk banks in the U.S., the public health community has responded with concern. Doctors, epidemiologists, and microbiologists have emphasized that donated milk could carry pathogens, such as HIV, that recipients would be unable to screen. (Researchers dont know yet whether COVID-19 can be passed through breast milk.)

Even if you think you know someone, you cant be certain about their lifestyle and the medications in their breast milk, let alone illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco, herbal remedies, or the environmental contaminants theyre exposed to at their jobs. Personally, I wouldnt do it, pediatrician Diana Mahar told a reporter for the Bay Area News Group in 2011.

Doctors, epidemiologists, and microbiologists have emphasized that donated milk could carry pathogens such as HIV.

In 2017, the American Academy of Pediatrics made an official recommendation against direct, internet-based, or informal human milk sharing. The organizations concern was that such practices simply are not as safe as obtaining milk from a milk bank.

While this may feel accurate to many women, its yet to be proven. We dont have evidence that casual milk sharing is harmful, says Amy Vickers, president of the HMBANA and the executive director of the Mothers Milk Bank of North Texas. Nonetheless, she notes, donor milk bank guidelines, which include screening donors for infection and guidance on proper milk storage, ensure a higher level of safety.

Anthropologists who study peer sharing and milk banks agree that there are many ethical, medical, and scientific questions to untangle. But they also worry that the medical community has been too quick to dismiss peer sharing.

Dangers exist, acknowledges Palmquist, but what was missing a decade ago, when many doctors dismissed this practice, was an understanding of where these women were coming from and how they shared their milk. Palmquist herself became an international board-certified lactation consultant to inform her research.

Palmquists findings suggest peer sharing is safer than relatively anonymous online sales, for example, through online chat groups. She has found that women in peer-to-peer sharing groups work hard to mitigate risk. They check donors they met online through community connections. They meet in person to get their own impressions, ask about medications and eating habits, and forge close relationships to build trust in the women offering milk.

Meanwhile, people care where their milk goes, Reyes-Foster notes. Instead of donating to a milk bank, some donors want to meet the babies they feed.

In the meantime, Palmquist fears that the medical establishments messages on milk sharing are out of sync with the reality. Overall, we have to see the big picture, she says. Before we begin demonizing the way women are caring for children and infants, we have to understand all the socioeconomic contexts.

Palmquist, along with cultural anthropologist Tanya Cassidy at Dublin City University and several other scholars, have argued that milk sharing is here to stay, so the medical establishment could help women figure out how to share safely. For example, Palmquist hopes health care professionals might use the evidence from anthropological and medical research to tailor their messages to parents and caregivers. They could assist or even facilitate peer-to-peer sharing in some cases.

A just dont message will not be enough, she contends. That works as well as telling people to not have sex to avoid sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancies, Palmquist says.

Many people in the milk-sharing movement feel society needs to give greater consideration to the diverse needs of mothers in light of new discoveries on breastfeeding and breast milk. Breastfeeding may, for example, offer benefits that even pumped milk cannot deliver.

Women have been advised by medical organizations, such as the WHO, that breast milk is the healthiest option for feeding infants. UNICEF Ethiopia/Flickr

In a culture that provides little support for what was once the biological norm, breastfeeding has become something for the privileged, Miller says. She has counseled women who have decided to quit jobs because they could not breastfeed and work, even though they could not afford to miss a paycheck.

Indeed, women in many varied contexts want to breastfeed and need help. Palmquist cites the transgender parents who also want to provide children with breast milk. Meanwhile, Cassidy, a leading ethnographer of human milk banking, wants both banks and sharing networks to be considered as part of a continuum of options that are carefully vetted but available to mothers in need.

Taking a broad view, the anthropologists who study cross-feeding, milk banks, and milk sharing suggest societies require multiple solutions for varied circumstances. We cant shame women, Hrdy says. There needs to be some nuance and flexibility and tolerance.

Mothers choose to provide for their children as best they canoften in the face of great obstacles. For Wascak, her intense desire to breastfeed became a seemingly unattainable goal with her cancer diagnosis. And yet her milk-sharing community provided a bridge to it.

With thousands of ounces of donated milk, her daughter Lucia thrived, reaching 16 pounds in four months. Eventually, Wascak was able to breastfeed Lucia herself. When Wascak died of cancer in 2015, Lucia was 18 months. She had never had formula, and only had human milk, just as her mother had intended.

Editors Note: On August7, 2020, we removed a historical illustration of an enslaved Black woman breastfeeding a White infant. We had selected that image tocall out the dynamic of inequality and exploitation described in the text, in which enslaved Black women sometimes were forced to serve as wet nurses by White families. However, we have replaced it upon learningthat such imagery has contributed to longstanding stereotypes around breastfeeding among African American women.

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Milk Sharing - What Milk-Sharing Communities Reveal - SAPIENS

Five new bridges leading to Deira Islands open to traffic – The National

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Five new bridges leading to the entrance of the man-made Deira Islands have opened to traffic.

The bridges improve entry and exit from the four islands from Al Khaleej Street and Abu Baker Al Siddique Street.

The new roads can handle up to 20,700 vehicles per hour, said Dubais Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

The newly constructed bridges and roads provide access points to and from Deira Islands at the intersection of Al Khaleej and Abu Baker Al Siddique streets, said Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, RTA director general.

The bridges span 2,571 metres in length.

The Deira Islands project is a lavish waterfront development which has been years in the making.

Developed by Nakheel, it consists of four man-made islands and will span 17 million square metres along the coast of Deira.

The project is expected to attract 250,000 residents and will also be home to marinas, hotels and mixed-use buildings.

Traffic studies indicated that the project will generate about 110,000 journeys during peak hours, which requires a huge infrastructure of roads and public transport networks.

The bridges leading to Deira Islands Project is a key part of the Al Shindagha Corridor Project that stretches 13km along the Sheikh Rashid, Al Mina, Al Khaleej and Cairo Streets.

The Al Shindagha Corridor project has been split into five sections, of which the first two have been completed.

These include upgrading the junction of the Sheikh Rashid-Oud Metha streets (Wafi Junction), and the intersection between the Sheikh Rashid-Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed streets.

Work is currently underway on the third phase of the project, which will cover entry and exit points at Deira Islands at the intersection of Abu Baker Al Siddique Street.

The work will also include improvements on Corniche Street as well as the intersections at Al Khaleej and Falcon streets.

This phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

The projects fourth phase will include the construction of bridges stretching 3.4 km, tunnels that extend to 2.25 km, six surface junctions, and roads extending to 5.1 km.

The fourth phase is due to be completed by the end of 2025.

The fifth and final phase covers the construction of bridges leading to the south of Deira Islands, extending to 1.5 km.

This is expected to be completed by 2027.

Updated: August 8, 2020 06:41 PM

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Five new bridges leading to Deira Islands open to traffic - The National

Still without power? Con Ed giving away dry ice at Staten Island Mall Saturday – silive.com

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Con Edison will be distributing dry ice at several locations in the city Saturday, including one on Staten Island, for customers who remain without power due to Tropical Storm Isaias.

Personnel from the utility will be at the Staten Island Mall handing out the ice from 12:30 to 9 p.m., or for as long as supplies last, the company announced in a press release.

Instructions for safe handling and disposal of dry ice are printed on the bag. Dry ice is frozen carbon dioxide and should be used only in well-ventilated areas.

Also, Con Edison will have a mobile information center at each location until 9 p.m., where workers will be available to answer customer questions.

The company asks customers to practice social distancing while waiting on line or speaking with Con Edison representatives

As of 11:15 a.m., there were 4,468 Staten Island customers without power, up slightly from earlier Saturday morning, but down from the nearly 50,000 who lost service during the storm.

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Still without power? Con Ed giving away dry ice at Staten Island Mall Saturday - silive.com

Head of island police station to be removed over lax virus checks | Kathimerini – www.ekathimerini.com

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The head of the police station on the Saronic Gulf island of Poros is expected to be removed after the local mayor accused him of not doing enough checks among local businesses for compliance with the safety measures against the coronavirus.

In comments made to broadcaster Skai on Friday, mayor Giannis Dimitriades said the municipality had to impose the measures because local police was not doing its job and that there was a general attitude of not intervening among officers serving on the island.

Sources in the Hellenic Police (ELAS), which started the procedure for his removal, said on Saturday thatthe head of the Poros police station has filed a complaint against his transfer on Saturday, which is expected to be assessed by the competent police bodies.

Health authorities have confirmed more than 30 infections on the island which have led Civil Protection to impose a series of restrictive measures to contain the spread of the virus.

These include a curfew shutting down all businesses from 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. the following day, a ban on public and private gatherings of any kind involving more than nine people, the suspensions of farmers markets, villages festivals and other such public gatherings, as well as a cap of four (or six if they belong to the same household) on the number of people allowed to sit at the same cafe or restaurant table.

Masks have also been made mandatory in all public spaces, indoor and out.

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Head of island police station to be removed over lax virus checks | Kathimerini - http://www.ekathimerini.com

Big Island Weekly Road Closures: Aug. 8-14 – Big Island Now

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Hawaii Department of Transportation announced weekly road and lane closures for Aug. 8-14. Lane closure schedules may change at any time without further notice. All projects are weather permitting.

KA

Closure of single lane at a time on Mmalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 28 and 32, near Crater Rim Drive and Mauna Loa Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., for paving work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

Single lane closure on Mmalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 66 and 67, Kaulia Road and Mamalahoa Highway, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance.

SOUTH KONA

Single lane closure on Mmalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 84 and 87, Ohana Road and Kapua Mauka Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance.

KONA

Single lane closure on Kuakini Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 117 and 119, Walua Road and Kuakini Highway, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., for traffic camera installation and paving work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

Single lane closure on Kuakini Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 118 and 122, Laaloa Avenue and Palani Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscaping work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

HILO

Closure of single lane at a time on Volcano Road (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 6 and 6.5, Liilii Street and Shipman Road, in the vicinity of Hilo on Monday, August 10, through Friday, August 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., for construction of a new traffic signal.

Closure of single lane at a time on Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) in both directions between mile markers 15 and 17, Old Mmalahoa Highway and Peleau Stream, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

HILO (NIGHT WORK)

Closure of single lane at a time on Puainako Street (Route 2000) in both directions between mile markers 0.7 and 1, Klauea Avenue and Maikai Street, on Saturday, August 8, from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., for paving work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

HMKUA

Closure of single lane at a time on Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) in both directions between mile markers 36 and 38, between Paauilo Makai Road and Kalopa Road, on Monday, August 10, through Friday, August 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for guardrail installation. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

Closure of single lane at a time on Honokaa-Waipio Road (Route 240) in both directions between mile markers 0 and 4, Hawaii Belt Road and Mauka Cane Haul Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

PUNA

Single lane closure on Keaau-Phoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between mile markers 2.3 and 3, Opukahaia Street and Keauu-Phoa Road, on Monday, August 10, through Friday, August 14, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., for utility work.

Single lane closure on Keaau-Phoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between mile markers 10.8 and 14.1, Kahakai Boulevard and Leilani Avenue, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., for paving work.

Single lane closure on Keaau-Phoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between mile markers 11 and 16, Phoa Bypass Road and Kamaili Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for landscaping maintenance.

PUNA (24-HOUR WORK)

Lane shift on Keaau-Phoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between mile markers 7.5 and 7.9, Ilima Street and Ainaloa Boulevard, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, over a 24-hour period, for construction of the Ainaloa Roundabout.

NORTH KOHALA

Closure of single lane at a time on Akoni Pule Highway (Route 270) in both directions between mile markers 22 and 27, Iole Road and Waikama Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for striping work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

Closure of single lane at a time on Akoni Pule Highway (Route 270) in both directions between mile markers 24 and 25, Akana Place and Makapala Road, on Monday, August 10, through Friday, August 14, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., for utility work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

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Big Island Weekly Road Closures: Aug. 8-14 - Big Island Now

Hallmarks Love on Harbor Island: Where It’s Filmed & Cast – Heavy.com

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Hallmark is premiering a new movie on Saturday, August 8, 2020 called Love on Harbor Island. The movie stars Morgan Kohan, Marcus Rosner, and Brenda Matthews. Read on to learn all about the cast in the Hallmark film, where it was filmed, and see behind-the-scenes photos. This article will have minor spoilers in terms of photos from the movie, behind-the-scenes pictures, and film locations.

Love on Harbor Island premieres Saturday, August 8 at 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. Central.) Encores will air August 9 at 7 p.m. Eastern, August 11 at 8 p.m., August 15 at 5 p.m., August 16 at 1 p.m., August 27 at 6 p.m., September 11 at 6 p.m., and September 23 at 12 p.m. Eastern.

To find out what channel Hallmark is on for you, click here to go to TV Guides listings. Then change the Provider (right under TV Listings) to your local provider. Youll be able to scroll down to see what channel Hallmark is on for you.

The synopsis for the movie reads: When Seattle interior designer Lily Summers returns to her hometown to help her Aunt Maggie run her bed and breakfast by the marina, she meets Marcus, the handsome seaplane pilot whose lifes work delivering rescue dogs helps Lily discover that home really is where the heart is.

Love on Harbor Island(originally filmed asTake Off to Love and also called Love at First Flight) was filmed in Canada. The movie was likely not ultimately called Love at First Flightbecause theres a reality series by the same name.

Rosner told My Devotional Thoughts that the movie was filmed in late October/early November of last year. He told My Devotional Thoughts that the movie was filmed just outside Vancouver at Rowenas Inn.

It seemed like a golf course/AirBNB situation. We shot basically the whole thing there.

HallmarksWedding March 3andWedding March 4 were also filmed at Rowenas Inn on the River.

Rowenas on the River is a 160-acre estate that was built in the 1800s. It was originally owned by the Pretty family (hence why its called Pretty Estates Resort), and now it features an inn, four cottages, a restaurant, and a golf course. Kerry from Ive Scene It On Hallmark interviewed the owners of the estate to get more details aboutWedding Marchand the location (and actually stayed on the property too, so youll definitely want to visit her articlefor more details.). Kerry learned that the Pretty couple originally bought the land in 1924. Charles Pretty built a dam to produce electricity for the property on the land. Kerry wrote that the property was just as beautiful in person as it looks on TV.

Rowenas Inn on the River is also referred to as the Pretty Estates Resort.And yes,they offer wedding packages.

Heres a photo Rosner shared during filming:

Rosner told Moments with Mercy that his favorite film moments were the many sabotaged by dogs.

He said: Dogs are like the ultimate improv actors. They are as natural as you can be (because they dont know theyre shooting a movie) and as unpredictable as you can imagine (because they dont know theyre shooting a movie). It was a lot of fun to work around them.

Heres a photo from filming that Rosner tagged in Vancouver.

Andrea Shawcross co-wrote the movie with Lucie Guest just a year ago, Shawcross shared. She found out the movie was picked up while traveling in Europe.

Heres another behind-the-scenes shot:

Rosner tagged this one in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, with one of the dogs featured in the filming. Maple Ridge is in the northeastern part of greater Vancouver.

A kitchen scene with Marcus and Lily was shot at Golden Ears Cheescrafters in Maple Ridge, according to this post from Rosner.

He joked that the movie wasOn Golden Pond: The Prequel.

Vancouver was also one of the filming locations.

Morgan Kohan stars as Lily. She currently stars in Hallmarks seriesWhen Hope Calls, a spinoff toWhen Calls the Heart. Her many credits includeJades Asylum, Creeped Out, The Bold Type, Ransom(Evie),The Black Widow Killer, Alice Alone, Blink Twice, Star Trek Discovery(Weapons trader), and more.

Marcus Rosner stars as Marcus. His previous credits includeValentine in the Vineyard, Poinsettias for Christmas, UnREAL(Warren Johnson),Christmas in Evergreen, A Harvest Wedding, Infidelity in Suburbia, Summer Dreams, A Christmas Detour, When Calls the Heart(Charles Kensington),Once Upon a Time,and more. He starred in LifetimesSweet Mountain Christmaslast year.

Rosner told My Devotional Thoughts that his character has the same first name that he does because one of the writers had him in mind when writing the movie. Rosner said: once I received the script, I just saw that my characters name was Marcus, and I was like, Uh, thats me, I guess. I dont even remember if there was a conversation about changing my name. I thought it was funny and that it would be funny to keep it. And we just went with it. I think it sort of had this effect where I just felt like myself, so I think I actually come across as just myself more in this movie than just about any other movie Ive done.

Brenda Matthews stars as Aunt Maggie. Her credits includeTimmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, The Last Bridesmaid, DCs Legends of Tomorrow, Take Two, iZombie, Supernatural, Girl vs. The City, When We Rise, Travelers, A Christmas to Remember, Backstrom, Vice,and more.

Crown MediaMorgan Kohan, Jeff Gonek

Jeff Gonek stars as Bradford. His credits includeStolen By My Mother, Lured, Funhouse, Victoria Gotti: My Fathers Daughter, Road to Christmas(David Wise),Van Helsing, Fake It Till You Make It(Simon), and more.

Crown MediaJeff Gonek, Shawn Ahmed

Shawn Ahmed stars as Dan. His credits includeSupergirl, Siren, The Twighlight Zone, The Expanse(Lt. Boyer),Fare Trade, Open Heart Burglary(Kahlil),Unbury the Biscuit, Orphan Black, MsLabelled(Gus),Touring T.O.(Omar),Ryan Gosling Must Be Stopped(RGMBS Support Group Guy), and more.

Also starring in the movie are:

Here are some more photos from the movie.

READ NEXT: The latest COVID-19 deaths, cases, and updates

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Hallmarks Love on Harbor Island: Where It's Filmed & Cast - Heavy.com

Access granted: Halifax harbour’s Georges Island opens to the public – Global News

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For decades, Georges Island has been a bit of a mystery.

Nestled in the heart of the Halifax harbour, the island can be plainly seen from the waterfront. But because of a lack of infrastructure, like water and electricity, the island has been closed to most of the public.

But on Saturday, that all changed.

On Thursday, the federal government announced the public will be able to visit Georges Island throughout August on weekend boat tours.

READ MORE: Georges Island: public granted access to historic island in Halifax harbour

Saturday marked the first day of its reopening, and for history buffs alike, it was a long time coming.

If youve never gone here, you have to come, said visitor Rachael Ingles. The tour of the tunnels are eerie but cool. The prison house is cool, its just oh so cool.

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The tunnels were actually really neat, going on the guided tour through all the tunnels. And nice views of Halifax, said visitor James Pearson.

The island was designated as a historic site in 1965. It was fortified by the British military in 1750 and served as a detention centre during the deportation of Nova Scotias Acadian population between 1755 and 1763.

Its military installations include Fort Charlotte, which is known for housing two seaward-facing artillery batteries, and an underground tunnel complex.

Plans to open the site date back to the 1990s. There was intent to open it to visitors earlier in the summer, but that was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Saturdays and Sundays throughout August, Ambassatourss Harbour Queen is ferrying passengers from Cable Wharf for Georges Island. The boat leaves every 40 minutes from noon to 5 p.m.

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READ MORE:Passenger ferry to Halifaxs Georges Island on deck for this summer

Tickets cost $25 and Parks Canada recommends booking early, as theyre selling quickly.

Wed really like people to visit the website, make sure theyre well prepared, said Theresa Bunbury with Parks Canada. So you get your ticket, you come on the boat, youll come across weve got guides stationed around on the path up at Fort Charlotte, and just wander around a little bit and enjoy the views.

The island will remain open until Labour Day, when it will once again close until next season.

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2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Access granted: Halifax harbour's Georges Island opens to the public - Global News

Public records lawsuit against city of Bainbridge Island dismissed – Kitsap Sun

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BAINBRIDGE ISLAND A public records lawsuit accusing the city of Bainbridge Island of mishandling text messages from a City Council members personal phone has been dismissed.

The lawsuit, filed last June in Kitsap County Superior Court, centered on the destruction of council member Rasham Nassars personal iPhone in June 2018 and text messages islanders David Dunn and Brian Wilkinson had sought as part of records requests with the city.

Both sides agreed to dismiss the claim in June, according to court documents. In an interview with the Kitsap Sun, Dunn and Wilkinson said their move to end the lawsuit was a financial decision.

They just outspent us, Dunn said.

According to city filings in the case, the phone was accidentally destroyed when Nassars young son soaked the device in the contents of a can of olives on a road trip. Nassar said that attempts to revive the device were unsuccessful and the ruined phone was turned in at an Apple Store after she was told by a technician that no data was recoverable from the device.

The city couldnt produce the messages because, it said in a filing, Council member Nassars iPhone was accidentally destroyed nearly three months before the requests that are the subject of this lawsuit were made. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to Council member Nassar, she had not backed up her iPhone for more than six months before it was accidentally destroyed. Thus, notwithstanding her and her familys valiant efforts to retrieve the text messages from her iPhone through Apple and Verizon, any messages on the iPhone were ultimately unrecoverable.

I feel empowered by the verdict, Nassar said in an interview with the Kitsap Sun. Everything I did was consistent with the law, and the verdict affirms that.

Nassar said she felt she was targeted because of a vote she cast in favor of controversial updates to environmental codes that protect critical areas, what she described as a minor land use violation at her home and because of her background.

Do I believe I was repeatedly targeted? Yes. Primarily because of who I am. I openly campaigned as the Palestinian daughter of immigrants. But also because of my commitment to stopping the island from being overdeveloped.

Said Dunn: (Nassars) insinuation that this had anything to do with who she is highly defamatory and completely untrue, he said. This is all about transparency in government.

My hope is moving forward, and I think something came of this, is that it made them very aware that some citizens are paying attention, some citizens are watching, some citizens are concerned, Wilkinson said. I think thats a good thing, because that is basically the only kind of checks and balances in government. That and the media covering these things. Other than that, its the fox minding the henhouse, and that is kind of terrifying.

Nathan Pilling is a reporter coveringBainbridge Island, North Kitsap and Washington State Ferriesfor the Kitsap Sun. He can be reached at 360-792-5242, nathan.pilling@kitsapsun.com or on Twitter at @KSNatePilling.

Consider supporting local journalism in Kitsap County:Sign up fora digital subscription today.

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Public records lawsuit against city of Bainbridge Island dismissed - Kitsap Sun

From Manus Island to Melbourne: we do not even know what we are being punished for – The Guardian

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With patience and perseverance a mother bird holds food from her mouth and shares it with her baby birds. The babies are raising their heads and poking out their little beaks for something to eat.

I do not know which insect she had caught. I cannot see from here. From where I stand I see the little bird and the nest she has made, but they are far away. It is as far away from behind the tall fences that keep people imprisoned.

In my opinion motherhood is a symbol of sacrifice, whether it is a mother bird or the mother of a human being. It is difficult, and it is rare, to care for someone more than you care for yourself.

The mother of Alan Kurdi, the Kurdish Syrian child, must have loved him in the same way. Just imagine it makes me choke with sorrow. In order to escape war, and in hope for a decent future for her child, that mother had to flee her homeland. She left the rest of her family behind in Syria and confronted the sea, she journeyed on a decaying boat that split apart along the way. Everyone in the boat ended up in the water. Alan lost his future, and his father will never see him grow up. The mother also perished.

She had promised him a future as she packed his belongings, no doubt while the bombs were dropping and the bullets were firing. She had told him about a better place, a place where Alan would be happy. But the final images Alan saw before his life ended were the massive and furious waves that merciless swallowed him.

I think to myself that if Alan were to have survived would he be leading a happy life now?

War never brings happiness; in my view it is terrible for both sides. No one wins in the end. A good victory is one where no lives are lost in the process; no one wins when either superpowers or smaller nations sacrifice lives.

Refugees lose their lives to war, political persecution or economic exploitation they flee their homelands and no one knows whether they end up living a happy life or not. The future is unknown, no one knows what the future holds.

Like me, I have not been able to feel the touch of my mothers hands. I have not been able to hold her for all these years. It has been years since I have had the chance to see her wrinkled face, to see her fading smile, to see her staring back at me. This is what I dream for while incarcerated, locked up without ever having committed a crime. I have been imprisoned without charge, just like the young Arab man who used to sit on the dirty floor. Or the Afghan man who used to lean on the palm tree looking at the photo of his child; he would spend his time like this for six years. His child is growing up and probably does not recognise his father.

The story of each refugee is a tragedy in itself. None of these stories have an ending. Sometimes when we board those boats those floating coffins they never reach their destination.

I do not understand the contradictions, this discrimination. The land that God has bestowed on us and which we struggle over, lands from which me and people like me are banished. I am a prisoner now because I dared to dream; these dreams I will never realise.

I wanted to escape war, I wanted to flee hardship I had these dreams, I at least wanted to avoid these things in life. These are not luxuries or fancy things. I wanted a peaceful life. I still have these dreams.

The mother bird takes flight. The baby birds are still eating. Life continues. Out there, beyond the fences, where we could be leading a life of our own. But we are still in here.

A remote and isolated island surrounded by water as far as the eye can see. Where else could we go from here? I remember when we left the prison camp the sun was shining. We were restless as we sat in the bus, we were smiling. We had a reason to smile.

We thought that after six years we would be able to live a free life. That was not to be the case. We entered a city, but we would not experience freedom. Instead, we entered a multistory hotel Mantra Bell City hotel in Melbourne. This is our latest prison.

I always think to myself, what crime did I commit that I have to pay with this form of punishment? I am a simple person who just wants to live my life. I want a good life. But after what I have gone through I now have to spent months confined to a single floor, in a hotel and in a room with a few people; my world is limited to the narrow corridor of the third floor of this hotel.

Just imagine it, that your whole life and all your interactions are restricted to that one floor and that one corridor. I just want you to picture this life for yourself. You cannot go for a walk, you cannot go on a trip. Oh God, what does going for a walk even mean?

In my view, it is easier for a prisoner who knows they are making amends in prison for their wrongdoing in contrast to us who do not even know what we are being punished for.

Mardin Arvin is a Kurdish Iranian writer who has been imprisoned by the Australian government since 2013: Manus Island (2013-2019), Port Moresby (2019), and Melbourne (2019, ongoing). He works in four languages: Kurdish, Farsi, English and Tok Pisin; and he is conducting research and writing a book while incarcerated. His writing has been published in Meanjin.

Translated by Omid Tofighian, an award-winning lecturer, researcher and community advocate. He is adjunct lecturer in the School of the Arts and Media at the University of New South Wales and honorary research associate for the Department of Philosophy, University of Sydney. His published works include Myth and Philosophy in Platonic Dialogues (Palgrave 2016) and he is the translator of Behrouz Boochanis multi-award-winning book No Friend But the Mountains: Writing From Manus Prison (Picador 2018).

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From Manus Island to Melbourne: we do not even know what we are being punished for - The Guardian

Big Island Weekend Closures: Aug. 7-9 – Big Island Now

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Hawaii Department of Transportation announced weekend road and lane closures for Aug. 7-9. Lane closure schedules may change at any time without further notice. All projects are weather permitting.

KA

Closure of single lane at a time on Mmalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 28 and 32, near Crater Rim Drive and Mauna Loa Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., for paving work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

Shoulder closure on Mmalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 66 and 67, Kaulia Road and Mamalahoa Highway, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance.

SOUTH KONA

Shoulder closure on Mmalahoa Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 84 and 87, Ohana Road and Kapua Mauka Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance.

KONA

Single lane closure on Kuakini Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 117 and 119, Walua Road and Kuakini Highway, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., for traffic camera installation and paving work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

Single lane closure on Kuakini Highway (Route 11) in both directions between mile markers 118 and 122, Laaloa Avenue and Palani Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscaping work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

HILO

Closure of single lane at a time on Hawaii Belt Road (Route 19) in both directions between mile markers 15 and 17, Old Mmalahoa Highway and Peleau Stream, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

HILO (NIGHT WORK)

Closure of single lane at a time on Puainako Street (Route 2000) in both directions between mile markers 0.7 and 1, Klauea Avenue and Maikai Street, on Saturday, August 8, from 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., for paving work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

PUNA (24-HOUR WORK)

Lane shift on Keaau-Phoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between mile markers 7.5 and 7.9, Ilima Street and Ainaloa Boulevard, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, over a 24-hour period, for construction of the Ainaloa Roundabout.

PUNA

Single lane closure on Keaau-Phoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between mile markers 10.8 and 14.1, Kahakai Boulevard and Leilani Avenue, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., for paving work.

Single lane closure on Keaau-Pahoa Road (Route 130) in both directions between mile markers 11 and 16, Pahoa Bypass Road and Kamaili Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for landscaping maintenance.

HMKUA

Closure of single lane at a time on Honokaa-Waipio Road (Route 240) in both directions between mile markers 0 and 4, Hawaii Belt Road and Mauka Cane Haul Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., for landscape maintenance. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

NORTH KOHALA

Closure of single lane at a time on Akoni Pule Highway (Route 270) in both directions between mile markers 22 and 27, Iole Road and Waikama Road, on Saturday, August 8, through Friday, August 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., for striping work. Traffic flow in both directions will be maintained through alternating traffic control (contraflow).

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Big Island Weekend Closures: Aug. 7-9 - Big Island Now

Heritage Museum launches a walking tour exhibit – Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

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Starting on Friday, islanders can feel time bend backward on a stroll through town.

Thats the opening day of Main Street Vashon: A Walk through History, a new, self-guided walking tour presented by the Vashon Heritage Museum.

The show is made up of 11-inch by 14-inch interpretative photo panels installed in the windows of 34 businesses on both sides of the original block of what became the town of Vashon, from Bank Road to the corner of S.W. 178th Street.

The photos in the panels show the earliest original building on any given spot on the walking tour or buildings that had replaced the original building. Text is added to each panel, describing the lives that were lived inside them from 1890 to the 1970s.

Laurie Tucker, head of collections for the museum, said that the highly visible historical material, displayed in so many buildings in the town core, will add context to everyday interactions on the island.

Knowing the history of the buildings causes us to look at them with fresh eyes, imagining the way the community functioned in a different era, she said.

The exhibit is a work in progress more photo panels will be added to other blocks as time and resources allow, said Elsa Croonquist, executive director of the museum.

The walking tour/exhibit has been in the works for some time but was delayed by the pandemic.

According to Croonquist, planning for the show began in the fall of 2019, with a timeline of opening the exhibit in town by April 2020.

Then came COVID, the closing of town businesses and state mandates not to promote crowds.

Now, Croonquist said, the timing is more right to unveil the work of the many volunteers who contributed to the project and to celebrate the Vashon businesses that are enthusiastically partnering to present the exhibit.

The hope is that the community can enjoy history and stories while wearing masks and practicing safe social distancing, she said. Our goal is to help promote safe reopening of businesses and allow our community to take a look at our history out in the open air.

The exhibit, she hopes, will be on permanent display. Brochures for the walking tour will be available at the museum when it reopens to the public, and at the businesses where panels are displayed.

Croonquist also suggested that viewing the exhibit during a pandemic might lend perspective to current hard times.

Weve been through other disasters, she said, mentioning four fires that have taken place in downtown Vashon including one in the 1970s sparked by the bombing of a King County courthouse.

Brian Brenno, an avid amateur historian, fourth-generation islander and well-known glass artist, is the curator of the show.

In some ways, the exhibit is a companion piece to Brennos recently published book, Town of Vashon 1890-1960, which is chock-full of old Vashon photos and settler history culled from newspaper articles, oral histories, memoirs by island residents, and O.S. Van Olindas History of Vashon-Maury Islands.

Brennos book is available for sale and order at Vashon Bookshop.

The walking tour, he said, is a tribute to the building owners and businesses that all contributed to create the Vashon that we see now.

His curatorial statement details his fascination with the settler history of Vashon, which was passed down to him by his father and grandfather, and his subsequent search to find all the information he could find about the town where he was born and raised.

This is a gift to Vashon a reminder that we are walking through our history, said Sue Hardy, co-curator of the exhibit and vice president of the Heritage Museum.

Viewers will be able to learn more about the buildings that were important in stopping the spread of the fire of 1933, the cabin that housed the Vashon Offices of King County Ferry District #1 (established by the State Legislature in 1949), the first general store built in 1890, and George McCormicks Hardware Store, which could be considered the islands longest-running family-owned business.

Which building housed updated refrigeration for meats and the first self-service counter for dry goods? Where were the locations of Vashons first hotel, meat market, telephone company and auto repair shop? Where was the movie theater built?

Find out, starting Friday, on the walking tour.

In other news from the history museum, a speaker series will continue at 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 7, with a Zoom talk, Virginia V: Restoring a 100-year-old Ship to Glory. The speaker, longtime Heritage Museum champion Greg Beardsley, will share the history of the historic Steamship Virginia V, from her launch in Maplewood in 1921 to her service in the Mosquito Fleet, to her years bringing campers to Camp Sealth, to her years-long restoration. For more information, visit vashonheritage.org.

Night is a twofer for artist

Brian Brenno, the curator of Vashon Heritage Museums Main Street Vashon: A Walk through History, describes himself as being obsessed with island history.

That passion will be reflected in the Museums new history exhibit in windows downtown, but also, in another exhibit of Brennos artwork called In the Heart of Town, in the window Gather Vashon. Both shows open on Friday.

Well-known as a glass artist, Brenno also creates works with recycled materials. These works, first shown in the Blue Heron Gallery in 2011, include historic images of Vashon made from cut-up beer and soda cans, nailed to plywood.

His new show at Gather a continuation of his body of work made with tin was created by Brenno during the pandemic, after the publication of his recent book, Town of Vashon 1890-1960.

The show, he said, is a tribute to his grandfather and father.

My dad and grandfather were town businessmen, beginning in 1937 when my grandfather opened Brenno Service, Brenno said. Hearing them talk about the old days fostered my interest in local history. In honor of Harold and Bob Brenno, town mechanics for many years, there is a car in [most] of these images they probably worked on many of them.

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Heritage Museum launches a walking tour exhibit - Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber

Top 10 Money Making Apps To Use In India For Additional Income – Inventiva

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Everyone wants to make money these days. Thewhole world is driven by the idea of making moneybecause it provides them with self-satisfaction and growth from all around. Nowadays, it is not a problem anymore because, with the help of your smartphones, you can make money anytime that you want. You need to have an active internet connection. Working for the 9 to 5 jobs can be hard because it can cause a lot of problems in your life. And this is why you need to have a primary or additional income so that you can get the money from the side.

Top money making apps in India

Here are some of the top cash, making apps only in India.

One of the most intriguing apps where you can make some money on the side. You can get around Rs.50 instantly and earn up to Rs.7 in your PayTM wallet.

Install this app into your phone and then earn Rs.50 instantly. You need to login through this app via Google or other social media accounts. You can even earn coins for which you can convert them to cash. You can share the referral code with your friends and earn Rs.6 per system. You can share the 4Fun videos and earn Rs.6 accordingly.

It is one of the most trending money, making an app in India. It can help you to get around Rs.100 per day if you wish to convert the coins that you have earned.

2. RozDhan

This is another excellent money-making app available in India. There are some of the tasks that you have to do to earn money from here. You can either make money by sharing the videos with your friends on your social media groups. You can upload any exciting video that you want through which you can get some cash.Plus, there are around Rs.0.5, which you can earn by referring it to your friends. You can even get Rs.50 for registering your name for the first time or having a signup bonus.

3. Pay Box

You can earn about Rs.100 with the new registration and about Rs.50 for every bonus of referral that you make to your friends. Click on the register link, and you will be instantly paid with Rs.100 in your wallet. You can create various accounts with different names that you want so that you can get about 100 for every registration that you made. Pay Box is an excellent app for people to earn extra cash. If you want to have real-time Paytm money, then Pay, Box is the one for you. There are daily activities which you can do with the help of which you can earn thousands. Like there are polls which you can take and make the selected money.

4. Data Buddy

This is a fantastic money-making app for the people who want to earn huge. This means that with the help of this app, you can make around Rs.2000 for every 100 new users daily. If you first install this app into your phone, then you can get around Rs.220 into your PayTM wallet. You have to link your wallet through this app so that the money can be transferred there. You can even invite your friends to and then win the regular bonus if you want. Furthermore, there are chances through which you can get in Rs.2000. Data Buddy is an excellent site for people who wants to earn the use of their PayTM wallet.

5. True Balance

With the use of this True Balance mobile/Android app, you can get and earn up to Rs.10000. Open the app and then follow the instruction which is set onto this app. Now you can sign up for this account and then get around the amount transferred to your account. If you verify your mobile number, then you can get Rs.5 with the help of this True balance app. If you want to share this app with your friends, then you have to copy the entire link and then use it for the reference.

6. Google Pay

One of the best apps out there in the market. Invite up to your friends on Google pay, and you can get Rs.51 directly to your bank balance. Download the bank account and get Rs.1 transferred to your account.

You need to register your bank name and your bank id as well. You can spend around money and then get the referral code. With the use of the referral code, you can get around Rs.51 directly into your bank. Plus, there are scratch cards that you win from the payment that you get to the others. This means that if you pay to someone with the help of Google Pay, then you can get scratch cards, which are up to Rs.1000.

It is a leading phone app that can help you to transfer and get money directly to your bank.

7. PhonePe

Get Rs.100 instantly transferred to your bank account with the use of PhonePe. After downloading this app, then you have to open your mind and then get the referral link, and then you have to add your bank account. It is a fundamental and fast money earning app in India in the current year.

PhonePe has been used for a long time now. Very similar to the other apps that you can get for yourself, PhonePe will help you to get the instant money to your account transferred per week if you want. If you get a referral link to use this PhonePe app, then you can get an immediate amount of Rs.100 to your bank. There will be a UPI ID that will be given to you. With the help of this address, you can do all the transactions that you want.

8. Magic pin

This is another site through which you can get a smart deal and earn up to Rs.150. When it makes making hundreds out there, then MagicPin is the one solution for you. You need to install the official app, and then you have to sign up with your correct details. You can get Rs.50 into your wallet if you use a referral code for signing up for the first time. There are bills that you need to upload over here. You can upload your first bill and get around Rs.100 in your wallet. There are other things you can do, like uploading selfies, getting offers to the nearby restaurants, and get the cashback based on the same. There are other sources and types of vouchers you can opt for. For example, you can get a Rs.500 coupon for the big bazaar and other places.

9. MobiKwik

The best app out there to make some quick cash if you want. This app can let you invite your friends and then get a Rs.100 referral code to your balance. There are around Rs.5000 that you can earn for yourself with the help of this app. you need to download this app and use a referral code if you have. If you use that code, then there will be an instant payment to your account. Then you can verify your mobile number. This will add Rs.50 into your UPI or another card that you have linked. This is one of the best app out there which can help you to earn easy money on the go.

10. Cred

If you want to get or earn around 150 per month then Cred is the perfect app for you. Download this app and you will get an instant credit of about Rs.10. Redeem your voucher that you can get via this app like with other conjoined apps of Uber, Swiggy, etc. install this app and then register with your official login details. You can link your bank account with the help of this app so that you can get instant credit. If you need to have a cred membership, then you can go for the formal verification method. If you verify in some way, then it can make you a long-time member here.

Earn while sitting at home

We know that you might not be making a whole lot of money with the help of these apps, but you will surely make some. Like some of the apps which are presented in the above list can give you or make you earn about Rs.100 in a row. If you are bored at your home and want to get some easy side cash, then these apps are the perfect fit for you.

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Top 10 Money Making Apps To Use In India For Additional Income - Inventiva

GILLIAN PHILIP informs just how she was TERMINATED by her author after backing J.K. Rowling – D1SoftballNews.com

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The very first indicator of difficulty was the uncommonly high variety of brand-new Twitter notices that had actually sounded over night on my smart phone, composes Gillian Philip, that is imagined over

The very first indicator of difficulty was the uncommonly high variety of brand-new Twitter notices that had actually sounded over night on my smart phone.

As an effective writer with a developed social networks account, Im made use of to a constant stream of messages, yet this went to hundreds. And also the tone of them was various badly so.

As opposed to conversation from book-lovers, there was an assault of violent tweets confidential, naturally which contained amongst them hazards of fatality as well as sex-related physical violence.

If was as well refined, numerous factors embellished their messages with photos of weapons. Im mosting likely to punch u in the throat stated among those that are .

It was much from a positive begin to my day yet, if Im straightforward, I had actually been anticipating at the very least some adverse response.

The factor? I had actually risked to supply assistance on Twitter for J.K. Rowlings stand versus enabling transgender individuals to self-identify as male or women.

What did shock as well as ravage me was the disastrous after effects over the following 24 hrs of uploading the straightforward hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling. I could not have actually risked to picture the damages that it was feasible for a faceless crowd of giants to bring upon.

However a lot more of a shock was the spineless manner in which my authors capitulated when faced with this foam-flecked online demonstration.

They peremptorily sacked me as well as, in doing so, ruined my resources without making any type of effort to hear my side of the tale.

My composing job started in the very early 2000 s when my doubles, currently aged 19, began at college.

I at first created young person publications under my very own name as well as was after that welcomed to help what is called a publication product packaging business.

These are the intermediaries of kidss literary works that develop a concept for a collection of publications, collect a group of writers to create under one pseudonym and after that provide the completed item to an author.

After a couple of years I was employed by London-based Working Allies as well as signed up with a group composing pet dream books for kids matured in between 8 as well as 12 under the name Erin Seeker.

What did shock as well as ravage me was the disastrous after effects over the following 24 hrs of uploading the straightforward hashtag #IStandWithJKRowling. I could not have actually risked to picture the damages that it was feasible for a faceless crowd of giants to bring upon. J.K. Rowling is imagined over

I enjoyed the job as well as soon it pertained to stand for 80 to 90 percent of my earnings. I bear in mind the age of my visitors as well as it was necessary to me that more youthful individuals had the ability to experience various lives as well as place themselves right into other individualss heads via my publications.

I performed 8 advertising trips of the United States for Erin Seekers author HarperCollins. The brand name is substantial in America as well as I would certainly take a trip from The golden state to Kentucky conference young followers in institutions as well as bookshops as well as showing them my love of composing.

I currently had a specialist Twitter account as well as was quickly being complied with by numerous Erin Seeker followers.

Nevertheless, a couple of years earlier, as well as prior to the J.K. Rowling conflict, I tweeted my viewpoint on the self-identification concern something that my representative discouraged.

Im not from another location transphobic, yet the concept that a male can merely proclaim himself to be a lady, completely undamaged, without surgical procedure or hormonal agents, as well as be permitted right into ladiess jails or medical facility wards is an insane circumstance that I in some cases intend to yell around.

So I established a confidential account as well as made use of that to reveal those point of views, leaving my expert make up advertising my publications.

After that, late in 2014, a good friend of mine, the poet Rachel Rooney, was charged of transphobia. She had actually created a truly wonderful photo publication called My Body Is Me concerning body positivity as well as just how nobodys body is incorrect.

Her criminal activity was that she created guide to combat what she referred to as an surge of titles advertising the concept that kids that really felt baffled concerning their sex might be caught in the incorrect body .

She obtained such a ferocious reaction not just from protestors, yet likewise various other writers that she in fact quit kidss composing.

I was upset concerning that as well as informed my fans as a lot, yet likewise routed them to my confidential account must they want to hear my sights for grownups.

Then, the handling editor of Working Allies, James Noble (even more of him later on), that was currently a fan of my expert account, merely followed my individual account also.

After That the J.K. Rowling conflict blew up in June. As individuals will certainly remember, she retweeted a post describing individuals that menstruate as well as doubted why it stayed clear of utilizing words ladies.

It was welcomed by an avalanche of objection from the trans entrance hall, together with several of the stars that had actually delighted in a lot success as an outcome of the Harry Potter movies, consisting of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson as well as Rupert Grint.

After she created an essay in reaction, disclosing that she was a survivor of residential misuse as well as suggesting that enabling trans ladies accessibility to single-sex areas was a threat to ladies, I really felt ethically incapable to remain quiet, so included #IStandWithJKRowling to my Twitter take care of.

I understand a great deal of authors that differ with the hardest line of trans belief that any person can legitimately self-identify as whichever sex they please yet are much as well terrified to speak up. However I wished to have the ability to check out myself in the mirror in the early morning.

Nevertheless, no degree of angry reaction that I might ever before have actually prepared for matched the poison I obtained.

I attempted obstructing the abusers, yet they switched over to various other accounts as well as maintained seeking me in better as well as majorities.

Some individuals would certainly have disregarded it yet I really felt that I might not. I was obtaining irritated as well as retweeted several of the remarks, including my very own returns such as, Not extremely initial.

Yes, I was snarky as well as snippy yet no even worse than that due to the fact that a great deal of my fans are minors (although there was no other way of informing if my browbeaters were kids or 30- year-old guys staying in their mums cellars).

Quickly e-mails started to show up on my site as well as Facebook web page. I took a screenshot of one violent e-mail as well as tweeted it.

To my remorse, I neglected to empty out the senders address, triggering a fresh wave of hostility from individuals declaring that I would certainly doxed [published private identifying information of] a small. As a matter of fact, as I later on found out, it was a phony e-mail address.

That evening, I crept worn down right into bed at 5am as well as woke a couple of hrs later on to discover numerous missed out on phone calls from my representative. When I called her back, she claimed that Chris Snowdon, the taking care of supervisor of Working Allies, wished to talk with me.

He was rather thoughtful, yet clarified that he really did not understand just how HarperCollins would certainly respond as well as we would certainly need to wait till 9am New york city time (2pm in London) for their reaction.

I was worried, yet not unduly, considering that individuals at HarperCollins had actually constantly applauded my writing as well as I would certainly two times finished United States publication trips for them in spite of household clinical emergency situations back house.

In Addition, I would certainly never ever been specifically struck by indicators of wokeness at the business. They are, nevertheless, component of Rupert Murdochs realm as well as will certainly later on this year release Piers Morgans brand-new publication Get up, billed as an assault on the extremely terminate society of which I will come to be a sufferer.

Nevertheless, the information from New york city was ruining. HarperCollins state youre out, Chris informed me.

They do not desire you associated with any one of guides as well as do not desire your name on any one of guides.

I was practically rejected by Functioning Companions instead of HarperCollins, as my agreement was with them, not the US-based author. However although HarperCollins urge that they played no duty in the choice, I think they were foretelling.

At first I was informed the factor for my termination was as a result of the tone I would certainly taken with those that had actually abused me on Twitter. Some could suggest that reacting with remarks such as Bring it on, homophobes as well as lesbian haters kicked the hornets nest.

I can just ask to picture just how they would certainly really feel coming under unrelenting, hate-filled strike for hrs at a time.

My representative informed me that HarperCollins would certainly be releasing a public declaration. Rather, it was James Noble at Working Allies that sent out an e-mail to those that had actually grumbled. As quickly as I saw it, it was clear it was my sights, instead of my practices, that had actually caused my termination.

The globes produced by Erin Seeker are suggested to be comprehensive for all visitors as well as we intend to allow you understand that Gillian Philip will certainly no more be composing any type of Erin Seeker books, he created.

Confusingly, I was offered a completely various factor by Functioning Companions, using my representative, a couple of days later on. This time around, they declared I had actually vouched at a follower throughout the Twitter row.

I have no memory of this as well as do not think that it occurred. Already, I would certainly removed my accounts, yet requested for proof to sustain their assertion. Functioning Companions responded that doing so would not be useful.

If, momentarily of craze, I did vouch (as well as I do not think that I did), it promises to me that a person or even more of the giants would certainly have happily taken a screenshot to plaster throughout the net as well as I have actually never ever seen it.

When The Mail on Sunday released a tale concerning my sacking, HarperCollins offered a remark to the paper that made me seem like a remote loved one, instead of a person that had actually created much of their effective publications.

I attempted obstructing the abusers, yet they switched over to various other accounts as well as maintained seeking me in better as well as majorities. Some individuals would certainly have disregarded it yet I really felt that I might not. I was obtaining irritated as well as retweeted several of the remarks, including my very own returns such as, Not extremely initial[File photo]

(****************** ) HarperCollins UK does not have an agreement with this writer, we have no straight partnership with her as well as we have actually not sacked her, it specified.

(****************** )This containers with a letter I have actually consequently obtained from Functioning Companions specifying they were educated by the main author'(**** )that they were no more able to continue with publications 8 as well as 9 of Erin Seekers Bravelands collection with me as the writer.

(****************** )Both HarperCollins as well as Working Allies decreased to comment to The Mail on Sunday concerning my instance last evening.

Currently, as I ponder composing once more as myself instead of Erin Seeker, I remain asking if termination has actually come to be the default company reaction to crowd stress.

In spite of a document of great as well as commitment, I had not been gotten in touch with by HarperCollins prior to the axe dropped. Rather, they picked to pay attention just to a confidential band of giants.

Certainly we should be educating kids just how to believe as well as just how to participate in reasoned disagreement to make sure that they pay attention along with yell? Rather, the message is, Sign up with a Twitter pile-on as well as obtain a full-grown terminated within 24 hrs.

Pleasure principle for young key-board warriors, yet what a disappointing lesson forever.

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GILLIAN PHILIP informs just how she was TERMINATED by her author after backing J.K. Rowling - D1SoftballNews.com

Giant panda conservation is failing to revive the wider ecosystem new study – The Conversation UK

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At a time when we crave good news, the giant panda is a beacon of environmental optimism. Since becoming an icon for the conservation movement in the 1980s, 67 panda reserves and countless wildlife corridors have been created in the bamboo forested mountain ranges of central China. The most recent census suggests all that effort has paid off. There are 1,864 pandas living in the wild today, up from 1,000 in the late 1970s.

But in a new study, researchers discovered that whats good for the panda may not necessarily be good for the rest of the ecosystem. After studying images from camera traps over ten years, they found that large carnivores the leopard, snow leopard, wolf and dhole (an Asian wild dog) have retreated from where giant pandas have thrived. Their numbers appear to have fallen significantly in these panda reserves, and the researchers note that the wolf and dhole may be functionally extinct within them, while the tiger has already been driven to extinction here. Panda conservation doesnt appear to be benefiting other species, or the wider ecosystem.

These findings shake the foundations of one of conservations most enduring ideas that investing time and money into protecting particular large, influential species can pay dividends for the other species and habitats they coexist with. In the aftermath of that revelation, what do we really know about how to protect ecosystems and save wildlife from extinction?

Single species conservation was the dominant idea during the latter half of the 20th century. Conservation groups and governments identified particular species in need of urgent help and used their images to raise public support to help save them from extinction.

The poster children of this approach were the giant panda and the tiger. Both of which have been success stories, for the target species at least.

But while lavishing these charismatic species with attention and resources, this approach tends to overlook less attractive species, such as worms, despite them potentially having more ecological value.

Today, conservationists place much greater emphasis on protecting ecosystems and entire landscapes. The logic being that you can more effectively maintain an areas ecology if you treat it as a functional system.

A useful analogy is to compare an ecosystem with an organism, such as the human body. Each is made up of many working systems, whose roles are maintained by species in the case of the former, and organs in the latter.

A respiratory system needs healthy lungs, but both depend on the rest of the bodys systems. The lungs need healthy arms and legs to find and collect nourishment. The digestive system needs to be able to process that food to unlock the nutrients for the rest of the body, while the circulatory system needs to transport them to the lungs so they can do their work to keep the organism alive.

Alternatively, replace our organism with an aeroplane. For the aeroplane to fly and land safely, all the components need to work. If an engineer only maintains one component, like the engine, and ignores the wings, wheels and navigation system, the flight is going to end badly.

The lesson from both analogies is that all components and the roles they perform are necessary for keeping the whole functional and healthy. An aeroplane may only tolerate the loss of so many rivets, before losing one thats vital, or losing enough to cause mechanical breakdown. Losing the function of one organ can cause multiple systems to fail within the body.

Focusing on a single species in conservation isnt necessarily wrong, though. A focal species can act as a flagship, an ambassador that raises support (and money) for conservation of an entire area. Pandas are very good at this.

But there are also umbrella species. For example, beavers modify their habitats so extensively that they create numerous niches for other species to occupy. In that sense theyre like an umbrella, that if protected, will provide shelter for other species.

So why did panda-targeted conservation fail to revive populations of large carnivores in central China? Well, a pandas habitat requirements are small compared to a wolfs or a leopards, and the threats facing them in the wild are very different. Pandas are also famous for their specialised diet a carnivore turned herbivore and so their needs differ greatly from your average large predator. Put simply, a habitat catered to sedate, bamboo-munching pandas isnt likely to help a nomadic, meat-loving leopard.

Read more: How conserving nature's 'umbrella' species could benefit whole habitats

Large carnivores dont have it easy worldwide. They need large areas of suitable habitat and lots of prey. In most areas they once occupied, humans have destroyed habitat, removed native prey species and killed large carnivores by gun, trap or poison, either because they hunt livestock or because they are seen as a danger.

The tiger is one of the few large carnivores whose populations have increased in recent years. India has seen its tiger population grow by a third since 2014. Considering the challenges of coexisting with these large predators animals that occasionally kill humans this success is impressive.

Indias approach to tiger conservation prizes tolerance, education and working closely with the communities that live alongside this species above all else. Part of that education is recognising the tiger as just one part of the ecosystem, all of which needs protection.

What the panda study tells us is that we cannot assume a flagship species will also be an umbrella species. While individual species are important, some are more important than others for maintaining a healthy ecosystem.

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Giant panda conservation is failing to revive the wider ecosystem new study - The Conversation UK

Diversity & Inclusion in Capital Formation – The National Law Review

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On August 4, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee (Committee) held a public meeting (Meeting) by video conference. The Meeting was prompted by the Committees recognition that businesses need capital to grow and survive, yet many underrepresented founders, including minorities and women, struggle to access investor capital, which impacts opportunities to grow their businesses. During the Meeting, the Committee heard from five underrepresented founders and investors of small businesses on their experiences and perspectives on capital raising and subsequently discussed ways to enable a more inclusive capital formation ecosystem. In the first in a series of alerts that will discuss diversity and inclusion issues in the investment management space, we take a close look at the Committees discussion and proposed recommendations for the SEC.

The Committee was established by the SEC Small Business Advocate Act of 2016 pursuant to Section 40 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Committee was designed to provide advice and recommendations on SEC rules, regulations and policy matters relating to small businesses and has adopted seven recommendations to date. The Committee, currently consisting of 20 members of various expertise and backgrounds, holds quarterly meetings which are open to the public.

The Committee began the Meeting by presenting statistics on minority-owned businesses and investors. Since 2007, there has been an increase of almost 40% in the number of minority-owned businesses. However, minority-owned businesses start with almost three times less overall capital when compared with new White-owned businesses, which disproportionately impacts profitability of minority entrepreneurs. Among businesses that are backed by venture capital, 77% are White founders, while there are 1% Black, 2% Latinx, 2% Middle Eastern and 18% Asian founders. On the investor side, only 5.3% of angel investors are minorities while women make up 29.5% of angel investors and 11% of venture capitalists across the industry.

Data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small business owners show that small businesses owned by minorities were disproportionately impacted. Compared to an overall decline of 22% of small businesses between February and April of 2020, there was a 26% decline in women-owned businesses, 41% decline in Black-owned businesses, 32% decline in Latinx-owned businesses and 26% decline in Asian-owned businesses.

The Committee heard from five underrepresented founders and investors who shared their experiences and perspectives on capital raising and support for underrepresented founders. The speakers included CEOs and founders with experience in software development, wealth creation platforms, the venture capital industry and seed acceleration.

Drawing on the speakers perspectives as well as the Committees expertise, the Committee discussed potential regulatory solutions to enable a more inclusive capital formation ecosystem. The discussion included the need to:

After the discussion, the Committee unanimously voted on a resolution to submit the following observations and recommendation to the SEC:

The Committee recognized that this was just a starting point and that changes to the capital raising ecosystem will require long-term structural changes. The Committee expressed desires to continue discussing ways to improve capital formation participation for underrepresented founders in its future meetings. The next meeting of the Committee is set for August 8, 2020.

We agree with the Committee that in the midst of the recent renewed focus on racial injustice and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is an opportune moment to push for equality in the capital formation ecosystem. We are enthusiastic about the Committees efforts to allow underrepresented founders equal access to capital and to increase diversity among investors and fund managers. We will continue to monitor developments in SEC rules and regulations that would impact capital formation for small businesses and underrepresented founders and would promote a more diverse and inclusive financial industry.

2020 Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP. All Rights Reserved.National Law Review, Volume X, Number 220

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Diversity & Inclusion in Capital Formation - The National Law Review

Harlem Tech Summit to showcase emerging ecosystem while promoting a more inclusive future – The Sociable

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The Harlem Tech Summit announces that the 2020 edition will be held on August 12, when a community of tech and business leaders will showcase Harlems emerging tech ecosystem while promoting a more inclusive future.

Blacks and Hispanics make up around 80% of the population in Harlem but only have access to 6.4% of loaned capital. With 54% of Harlems population being women, some 24% of its residents have access to only .2% of raised capital, according to the Harlem Tech Fund.

Founded by Derrick Lewis and Eddie Cullen, the Harlem Tech Summitwill look to address strategies to promote more inclusion for marginalized communities, and the event will be the first in a series of national tech summits put on by the Impact USA Group.

Communities who have been historically marginalized are not accepting the status quo anymore Derrick Lewis

At the Harlem Tech Summit we recognize that our society is facing unprecedented challenges, said Lewis, in a statement to the press.

Communities who have been historically marginalized are not accepting the status quo anymore.

All leaders need to review their strategies now, and to collaborate to find the right solutions to create more inclusive environments in the times ahead, he added.

With free admission, the Harlem Tech Summit will be held both virtually and in-person at the Harlem Collective.

The event will count on the participation ofmultiple stakeholders, including notable tech industry professionals who will share their ideas, experiences, knowledge, and resources with the Harlem community.

Notable speakers include:

The conference aims to support Harlems emerging tech ecosystem while highlighting innovations and best practices for integrating technology in the Harlem community.

When we bring our national community together, the skys the limit. We can accomplish anything Eddie Cullen

It is time we change the narrative for an inclusive future, said Co-Founder Cullen.

In order to achieve change, we must have actionable economic outcomes. When we bring our national community together, the skys the limit. We can accomplish anything, he added.

The Harlem Tech Summit will be held from 9AM to 5PM Eastern Standard Time on August 12.

Collaborating partners for the event include Purdue University, Univision, The Harlem Collective, NYC/EDC, Harlem Capital Partners, the Universal Hip Hop Museum, Cadre, Work School, Planet FWD, SAM, Common Good, Pastors Walk Enterprises, America Media, Knowledge House, and Hillcrest Venture Partners.

The Impact USA Group was founded by Lewis and Cullen in January, 2019 as adevelopment firm for modern social, educational and economic initiatives.

Both Cullen and Lewis recently signed a joint pledge to supportentrepreneurs that are building impact companies that address the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations.

The joint pledge was launched by the worlds largest pre-seed startup accelerator, the Founder Institute.

Founder Institute unveils joint pledge to support entrepreneurs building impact companies for UN SDGs

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Harlem Tech Summit to showcase emerging ecosystem while promoting a more inclusive future - The Sociable

Mercedes-Benz production system MO360 working in Tuscaloosa – AL.com

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Mercedes-Benz is employing a new digital production system in Tuscaloosa which it looks to implement throughout its auto plants around the globe.

MO360 uses Internet of Things (IoT) technology, along with artificial intelligence, to give the most thorough, up-to-the-minute data picture of what is going on in vehicle production, company officials say.

Its all about data, Jrg Burzer, member of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz AG, responsible for production and supply chain management, said. We can already see high efficiency gains on the assembly lines.

MO360, which is already partially in use at more than 30 plants around the world, is described as a digital ecosystem using hardware and software. The new Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, Germany, which will open in September, is employing the full system. The idea is to use a platform that will track the production of individual vehicles on the line, providing real-time numbers, with the simplicity of a smart phone app.

It does this using a single control software language - Integra - from sensors up to production control.

All teams systematically utilize continuous feedback from production to optimize and enhance the digital tools, Jan Brecht, chief information officer for parent company Daimler and Mercedes-Benz, said. All teams systematically utilize continuous feedback from production to optimize and enhance the digital tools.

For example, the system keeps an eye on production and control issues. If a problem develops on the production line, the systems artificial intelligence can look at the problem, comparing it with comparable information from other plants, and propose a solution to workers on the line.

AI is not magical, Michael Goebel, president and CEO of MBUSI, said. AI is basically the recognition of patterns in a large amount of data. We gather data from all quality-related incidents, and AI can find similar patterns in the past and deduct the proper step to alleviate that problem. Its not just drawn from the individual experience of one person. The algorithm can draw on experience from all plants.

Other aspects of MO360 include repairing or replacing equipment and improving logistics between plants. One other facet of the program is the paperless factory, where information, including quality inspections, is given in digital form. The company estimates that this will save 10 tons of paper a year at the Sindelfingen factory alone.

Goebel said parts of the system, such as digital shop floor management, have already been implemented in the Tuscaloosa County plant.

The system can also be eventually integrated into auto suppliers. Mercedes-Benz believes the system will increase production efficiency by more than 15 percent by 2022.

We are ensuring the complete digital support of each member of the production staff, Burzer said.

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Mercedes-Benz production system MO360 working in Tuscaloosa - AL.com

Rebuilding the humanitarian ecosystem in South Africa – Next Generation – Bizcommunity.com

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The Covid-19 pandemic is forcing non-profits to reinvent their interventions and business models at lightning speed, and many donors, philanthropists, foundations and corporate social investors are rising to the challenge and supporting them ad-hoc. But when the dust settles, the humanitarian sector will need to take strategic steps to restore and strengthen its capacity to contribute effectively to a post-Covid world.

When the sector turns its attention to rebuilding, an important part of the way forward will be revisiting how to create systems change. When grantmakers, investors and donors review how Covid-19 has affected their partners and grantees operating models, as well as their ability to deliver impact, liquidity and solvency, it will become clearer than ever that viewing social change from a simplified perspective is insufficient.

To create, support and maintain systems change will require funders to invest in organisations that act on different levels, including direct service delivery, research into new solutions, innovating to take advantage of technological opportunities, capacity building and advocacy. Indeed, starting now, all actors in the sector need to begin thinking about what a vibrant, post-Covid-19 humanitarian ecosystem could look like; which actions are conducive to rebuilding it; and how to finance its different elements, including innovation, research and development, capital investment and operating support.

The sector will also need to revisit its legitimacy. Even before the pandemic, there were many critical voices about the efficacy of the sector, which many influential voices called unaccountable, non-transparent, donor-directed, perpetual and tax-subsidised.

Going forward, the sector will need to demonstrate the value it delivers much more clearly, as well as show greater transparency and prove that it is using scarce resources effectively to drive measurable impact.

The big redesign

When the emergency stage of Covid-19 has passed, the sector will face massive additional social need, depleted government coffers, a reduction in donations and additional uncertainty in financial markets. However, the rebuilding also offers four opportunities that - if approached holistically and strategically - can enhance the vitality and resilience of the entire humanitarian ecosystem.

These opportunities include rethinking financial incentives, improving transparency, investing in technology and taking collaboration to the next level.

Although the sector is still responding to the emergency, it has become critical for all of us to start preparing to rebuild. There are eight things the ecosystem can do collectively to lay the groundwork for integrated sustainable socio-economic development.

By optimising the conditions that contribute to sustainable development, by taking advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead, by restructuring outdated financial models and ineffective interventions, by leveraging technology for development, by being more transparent and accountable for our work and by backing the next generation of forward-thinking leaders with the right resources, we can ensure the humanitarian sectors future survival.

About the author

Reana Rossouw is the owner of Next Generation a specialist consultancy that assist organisations to achieve high impact through social innovation that leads to sustainable and shared value.

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COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market Projected to Garner Significant Revenues by 2025 – Levee Report

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Ample Market Research has added a detailed study on the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market which provides a brief summary of the growth trends influencing the market. The report also includes significant insights pertaining to the profitability graph, market share, and regional proliferation and SWOT analysis of this business vertical. The report further illustrates the status of key players in the competitive setting of the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market, while expanding on their corporate strategies and product offerings.

Further, the report also takes into account the impact of the novel COVID-19 pandemic on the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market and offers a clear assessment of the projected market fluctuations during the forecast period.

The research study concisely dissects the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market and unearths valuable estimations pertaining to the profit projections, market size, sales capacity, and numerous other crucial parameters. Also, the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market report appraises the industry fragments as well as the driving factors impacting the remuneration scale of this industry.

The report is an exhaustive analysis of this market across the world. It offers an overview of the market including its definition, applications, key drivers, key market players, key segments, and manufacturing technology. In addition, the study presents statistical data on the status of the market and hence is a valuable source of guidance for companies and individuals interested in the industry. Additionally, detailed insights on the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and market shares for key vendors are presented in the report.

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Competition landscape

-Business Strategies of Leading and prominent market players in COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem.

-Product offering and development analysis.

-Market share & positioning analysis.

-SWOT analysis of the prominent market players.

-Industry-wide business strategies and trends.

Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers: Chubb Limited, AmTrust International Underwriters, Pitzi, Asurion, Conecta, American International Group, Inc., GoCare Warranty Group, Brightstar Corporation, Apple Inc., Assurant.

The COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market has been segregated into various crucial divisions including applications, types, and regions. Each market segment is intensively studied in the report contemplating its market acceptance, worthiness, demand, and growth prospects. The segmentation analysis will help the client to customize their marketing approach to have a better command of each segment and to identify the most prospective customer base.

Market Analysis By Applications:

Mobile Operators, Device OEMs, Retailers & Others

Market Analysis By Type:

Physical Damage, Theft & Loss, Others

Market Analysis By Regions:

North America (Covered in Chapter 7 and 14), United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe (Covered in Chapter 8 and 14), Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Russia

Some important highlights from the report include:

-The relevant price and sales in the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market together with the foreseeable growth trends for the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market are included in the report.

-The report also covers the market share accumulated by each product in the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market, along with production growth.

-Extensive details pertaining to the market share garnered by each application, as well as the details of the estimated growth rate and product consumption to be accounted for by each application have been provided.

-The report also covers the industry concentration rate with reference to raw materials.

-The report also suggests considerable data with reference to the marketing channel development trends and market position. Concerning market position, the report reflects on aspects such as branding, target clientele and pricing strategies.

-Impact Analysis of COVID-19 on COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market

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Reasons for Buying this COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market Report:

-Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market.

-Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.

-The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long-term strategies.

-Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.

-Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.

-Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation, and industry verticals.

To conclude, the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market report will provide the clients with a high-yielding market analysis assisting them to understand the market status and come up with new market avenues to capture hold of the market share.

If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report at a customized price.

Request a discount on standard prices of this premium research: https://www.amplemarketreports.com/discount-request/covid-19-outbreak-global-mobile-phone-insurance-ecosystem-industry-1882453.html

Major Points Covered in TOC:

Overview: Along with a broad overview of the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market, this section gives an overview of the report to give an idea about the nature and contents of the research study.

Analysis on Strategies of Leading Players: Market players can use this analysis to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market.

Study on Key Market Trends: This section of the report offers a deeper analysis of the latest and future trends of the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market.

Market Forecasts: Buyers of the report will have access to accurate and validated estimates of the total market size in terms of value and volume. The report also provides consumption, production, sales, and other forecasts for the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market.

Regional Growth Analysis: All major regions and countries have been covered in the report. The regional analysis will help market players to tap into unexplored regional markets, prepare specific strategies for target regions, and compare the growth of all regional markets.

Segmental Analysis: The report provides accurate and reliable forecasts of the market share of important segments of the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market. Market participants can use this analysis to make strategic investments in key growth pockets of the COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem market.

You can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report versions like North America, Europe or Asia or Country like US, UK, China and other.

About Ample Market Research

Ample Market Research provides comprehensive market research services and solutions across various industry verticals and helps businesses perform exceptionally well. Attention to detail, consistency, and quality are elements we focus on. However, our mainstay remains to be knowledge, expertise, and resources to make us industry players.

Our end goal is to provide quality market research and consulting services to customers and add maximum value to businesses worldwide. We desire to deliver reports that have the perfect concoction of useful data.

Our mission is to capture every aspect of the market and offer businesses a document that makes solid grounds for crucial decision making.

Contact Us

Ample Market Research & Consulting Private Limited

William James

Media & Marketing Manager

Address: 3680 Wilshire Blvd, Ste P04 1387 Los Angeles, CA 90010

Call: +1 (530) 868 6979

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Website: http://www.amplemarketreports.com

Johnathan is Sr.Content Writer in Levee Report , He Expertise in Business Research

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COVID19 Outbreak Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem Market Projected to Garner Significant Revenues by 2025 - Levee Report