Zuckerberg, Bezos, Other Tech CEOs Testify on Competition – The New York Times

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WASHINGTON Four Big Tech CEOs Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg, Amazons Jeff Bezos, Google's Sundar Pichai and Apple's Tim Cook will answer for their companies practices before Congress at a hearing Wednesday by the House Judiciary subcommittee on antitrust.

The panel has conducted a bipartisan investigation over the past year of the tech giants market dominance and their effect on consumers.

Its the first such congressional review of the tech industry. It has aimed to determine whether existing competition policies and century-old antitrust laws are adequate or if new legislation and more funding for enforcement are needed.

The four CEOs are expected to testify remotely.

The hearing originally was set for Monday. It was rescheduled to allow lawmakers who are committee members to participate in commemorations at the U.S. Capitol on Monday and Tuesday for Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights icon and longtime Georgia congressman who died July 17.

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Zuckerberg, Bezos, Other Tech CEOs Testify on Competition - The New York Times

Podcast of the Week: Land of the Giants – 9to5Mac

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Land of the Giants season one was a very interesting look at how Amazon is impacting our daily lives. Season 2 is now underway, and its looking at Netflix.

9to5Macs Podcast of the Week is a weekly recommendation of a podcast you should add to your subscription list

Facebook. Apple. Amazon. Netflix. Google. These five tech giants have changed the world. But how? And at what cost? Netflix now has nearly 200 million subscribers, and the biggest companies in media and tech are racing to catch up. In our new season, The Netflix Effect, Recodes Peter Kafka and Rani Molla examine the unique ways the company has disrupted entertainment and completely changed the way we watch

In episode two, Netflixs culture is discussed at length. One of the discussions I really enjoyed is how Netflix looks at employees like football teams do their players: if you can get a better player, why would you not?

Is working on a team of all-stars, excellent pay, and unlimited vacation worth the stress of constant criticism from co-workers and the knowledge that your boss is considering whether to replace you? Netflix execs will tell you that their internal culture is the key to their success.

Ive posed that question to a number of people in the weeks since, and while I dont agree 100%, I do think its an interesting question to answer. Netflix changed a lot with how TV shows and movies are created and consumed, so looking at their past is very interesting.

Subscribe to Land of the Giants on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Castro, Pocket Casts, Spotify, or RSS.

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Podcast of the Week: Land of the Giants - 9to5Mac

TikTok lures Google and Facebook employees to fuel aggressive expansion plans – CNBC

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TikTok has been raiding the offices of U.S. tech giants on both sides of the Atlantic as it looks to significantly increase the size of its global workforce.

Despite the threat of a U.S. ban from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, TikTok announced this week that it plans to hire 10,000 people in the country over the next three years. Its largest U.S. offices are in Mountain View, California, and New York.

The Chinese-owned video sharing app, which already employs 1,400 people in the U.S., has hired dozens of staff from Google and Facebook including several high-profile executives. TikTok and Facebook declined to comment. Google did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Worldwide, TikTok employs 172 ex-Googlers and 165 ex-Facebookers, according to analysis on LinkedIn. Breaking out the U.S. numbers, TikTok employs 79 people who used to work at Google and 79 who used to work at Facebook. Some of them left Google and Facebook years ago but many of them have recently quit the Silicon Valley firms to join TikTok, which has become wildly popular in the last year.

Notable hires include Blake Chandlee, who was Facebook's vice president of global partnerships until recently. He left in January after more than 12 years at the company to become TikTok's VP of global business solutions, based in New York.

There's also Chen-Lin Lee, who left Facebook last year after nine years and now works as TikTok's director of partnerships in Mountain View. Prior to Facebook he worked at Google.

TikTok is also hiring recruiting professionals from U.S. tech giants to help it expand in the country. Kim Louie, a recruiting manager at Facebook until March, is TikTok's head of talent acquisitions, based in New York. Louie was a technical sourcer at Google before she joined Facebook.

Raymond Chen left his technical recruiter role at Google's New York office last month to join TikTok's talent acquisition team and hunt out security talent.

It's a similar story in Europe, where Facebook lost another veteran to TikTok recently.

Trevor Johnson, who spent over 11 years at Facebook before becoming Instagram's director of market operations in EMEA, joined TikTok as head of marketing and global business solutions in Europe this year.

Theo Bertram, Google's senior manager of public policy in Europe, left in December to join TikTok, where he is now director of government relations and public policy for Europe.

David Hoctor, who worked in Facebook's global accounts team in London, joined TikTok in April 2019 to work on building the company's partnerships with brands.

None of the TikTok hires immediately responded to CNBC's request for comment.

Timothy Armoo, chief executive of Fanbytes, a company that helps brands advertise through social video, told CNBC that people at Google and Facebook have the playbook for building a large advertising business.

"TikTok is at this crucial position where it's opening up commercially to the brand world, and they need people who can execute on this vision," he said.

Armoo also noted how Facebook has "been through the privacy rite of passage" that every dominant social network goes through. "By equipping themselves with people who understand this dynamic, they are making sure they are future proof," he said. "With the level of momentum they have, I think they can be a real challenge to the duopoly."

Elsewhere, TikTok has hired 57 people who used to work at Amazon and 40 who used to work at Apple, according to LinkedIn analysis.

TikTok has a total of 4,658 employees, according to LinkedIn. However, the actual number could be slightly more or slightly less than this.

TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, which reportedly made a profit of $3 billion on $17 billion of revenue last year.

ByteDance, which employs over 60,000 people worldwide, said in March it wants to have 100,000 by the end of the year.

Staff at the U.S. tech giants are paid some of the best salaries in the world.

However, TikTok is also offering big salaries. The company is willing to pay a lead machine-learning engineer an annual basic salary of 200,000 ($246,000), according to a tech worker who claims to have been approached for the role and spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions.

Matthew Brennan, a China-based social media analyst, told CNBC that aggressive hiring practices and poaching of staff from rivals is the norm in the Chinese tech industry.

"Yet,even within that environment, ByteDance is notorious for its persistence and assertiveness," he said. "In the company's early years, the key technical talents were all poached from Baidu,the Chinese search equivalent of Google. The company is well known to offer generous above-market compensation to lure away those it wants."

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TikTok lures Google and Facebook employees to fuel aggressive expansion plans - CNBC

Tech Is About Power. And These Four Moguls Have Too Much of It. – The New York Times

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But a focus on the wealth also obscures the unprecedented accumulation of power by tech giants and the lack of any significant regulation or incentives for real accountability. They are always going to be very rich, so get used to it, but they dont necessarily have to be as powerful if we act now.

And this must be the main topic of a congressional hearing on Monday when the House Judiciary Committees antitrust subcommittee questions the four top tech leaders: Mr. Bezos, Mr. Zuckerberg, Tim Cook of Apple and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, owner of Google and YouTube.

The gathering of all four chief executives is a big deal, even if some think that appearing as a group will give each individual leader cover, resulting in less substantive questioning. And there are worries that the event will lack the usual drama, since it is likely to be largely remote, due to the coronavirus.

But its critical that lawmakers block out all the noise that has grown around the industry and aim at only discussing the repercussions of unfettered power. All the major problems related to tech stem directly from this, whether it be privacy violations or hate speech and misinformation or unfair market dominance or addiction or fill in the blank.

We must think of it all as systemic, fueled by complete control over certain areas by tech companies, without adequate guardrails from publicly elected officials, which every other major industry has been subject to. Tech does not play by the rules only because there are no rules to speak of. So why shouldnt they do as they please?

Tristan Harris, a former design ethicist at Google who more recently co-founded the Center for Humane Technology, put it perfectly in a podcast interview with me last year: We need to move from this disconnected set of grievances and scandals, that these problems are seemingly separate: tech addiction, polarization, outrage-ification of culture, the rise in vanities, micro-celebrity culture, everyone has to be famous. These are not separate problems. Theyre actually all coming from one thing, which is the race to capture human attention by tech giants.

And it has become a completely fixed race. Because of their heft, these behemoths block every lane and there is no space for innovative small companies to pass them, especially those that are faster or with better ideas. The debate about breakup or levying fines or writing regulations should also be a debate about innovation. What about all of the useful inventions that do not happen when there is only one or maybe two real games in town in social media, in search, in online video, in apps and in e-commerce.

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Tech Is About Power. And These Four Moguls Have Too Much of It. - The New York Times

Anti-trust hearing into Tech giants spoils market, Microsoft and Tesla continue to drive forward and IT is a big mover – Finfeed

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Tech Giants, Anti-trust and ESG – Morningstar

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On July 27 the chief executives of four of the worlds most prominent technology companies,Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook (FB.), will appear before the US Congress as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation into their market power.

This is the latest in a series of developments that includes federal and state-level investigations in the US into the market practices of these companies. Back in 2018, as part of the Sustainalytics publication, ESG Risks on the Horizon, it was noted that the antitrust related scrutiny of major technology companies is likely to persist given the market concentration these companies had established within the digital economy.

While there is significant uncertainty as to the ultimate regulatory response, given the outsized position of these four companies in the S&P 500 and sustainability indices, this type of regulatory and market scrutiny is an area that is important for investors to examine in terms of long-term risks to the enterprise value of these companies.

Apple has just pledged to go carbon neutral across its entirebusiness, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030 (it's already carbon neutral in its global operations).

Businesses have a profound opportunity to help build a more sustainable future, one born of our common concern for the planet we share,says its chief executive Tim Cook. This covers the "E" of ESG, but how do these tech companies score on the social and governance aspects of their business?

When it comes to online business models, the European Commission became the first regulatory agency to look into the market practices of tech companies when it launched a formal investigation into Google in 2010. Starting in 2017, the EC levied three multi-billion-dollar fines against Google totalling more than $9 billion, along with requiring changes to how it does business in certain segments.

The crux of the European regulatory view was and remains that Googles dominance has a negative effect on the online ecosystem as it prevents smaller competitors from offering comparable goods and services and reduces consumer choice. A similar view did not take hold in the US until recently as the existing antitrust regulatory framework there largely relies on pricing as a signal to determine abuse of market power.

Over the past year, tech companies have been at the forefront of several controversies related to anti-competitive behaviour. Indeed, 2019 marked the start of major anti-trust investigations led by both the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the European Commission. The hearing on July 27 is the first time that chief executives from all four tech companies will be in front of US lawmakers and marks the first time that Amazon boss Jeff Bezos takes part in a congressional hearing.

All four companies have to been able to leverage the network effect to secure leading market positions for their offerings making it increasingly challenging for smaller players to succeed in the digital ecosystem. The network effect refers to the economic concept that states that a service becomes more valuable as more people utilise it, a characteristic that is particularly valuable in the digital ecosystem.

For example, Alphabets Google has established a competitive economic moat from network effects as the gateway to the internet through its online search offering. As a result, it has been able to secure leading positions for its comparison shopping, online advertising, and mobile offerings. This has, without doubt, created benefits for consumers in terms of convenience and cost, a point that is hard to argue against. However, there are implications to the market.

Our research indicates that all four companies have weak management of business ethics-related risks, which includes anti-competitive practices along with issues such as taxation. This, in part, stems from a combination of inadequate management systems to mitigate antitrust concerns over the long term but also the frequency of investigations, fines and lawsuits associated with their exercise of market power.

As part of the broader business ethics assessment, we also examine issues such as taxation, which is another area of where these companies are facing significant regulatory pushback. A case in point is Alphabet and its main subsidiary Google. Google has been the subject of regulatory scrutiny in the EU since 2010 and while it has attempted to address the ECs concerns, it has so far been unsuccessful and continues to appeal the three penalties that have been levied against it. Fundamentally, Google and most tech companies have a philosophical difference in what they view as anti-competitive behaviour. In Googles view, they have simply built better solutions that have resulted in its market dominance.

Source: Sustainalytics, 2020

Despite their lacklustre performance on business ethics management, the share price of all four companies experienced positive momentum in the past few months and often were a haven from market volatility caused by Covid-19. For example, Amazons share price has increased by almost 25% since the beginning of the year, driven by its position as the leading e-commerce solution in developed markets like North America. While these companies are attractive investments and rightfully so given their market positions and scale, we think that it is important to examine the implications associated with their market power and how they manage it. They all have the financial resources to absorb major penalties, it is this social licence to operate that may be subject to erosion from expanding regulatory and civil society scrutiny.

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Tech Giants, Anti-trust and ESG - Morningstar

Covid-19 and technology: This time has shown me that analogue life has its advantages – The Guardian

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Julia Carrie Wong, senior technology reporter, Guardian US: Good morning from Oakland. To kick us off, Id love to hear how tech reporting has changed for you since the lockdowns began?

Alex Hern, UK technology editor: Well, on the positive side, its got a lot more efficient. Stripped of the ability to invite me halfway across the city for a friendly chat, the largest companies in the world are now easier to get hold of on the phone, which saves everyone some time and me the cost of a tube fare.

Thankfully, for me at least, offline reporting has never been that important for tech. I probably have more trusted sources whose names, let alone faces, I dont know than the average journalist, but at least theyre as easy to get hold of as ever.

There have been a greater-than-normal number of tech stories that break out of the bubble in this period, too. First we had the wave of concern about Zooms security problems, and then the focus on the UK governments test and trace app first positive, as everyone wanted to know when it would come and how it could save us, but gradually turning sour as it became clear that the Department of Health had embarked on a costly, hubristic mission to build its own app instead of relying on technology provided by Apple and Google. More recently, the Facebook ad boycott and the renewed fears over TikTok, Huawei and Chinese influence have also become front-page news.

The biggest problem for me has been immersing too deeply: its easy to forget that the whole world isnt deeply obsessed with the text-generation capabilities of the new GPT-3 AI when you havent met a normal human being for several months.

How about you? Does Oakland feel as central to the tech world when you cant leave your home? And more generally, do you think all these new normals around tech hours on Zoom, a newfound reliance on online shopping, an awful lot more time on video games are they going to stick around?

JCW: Before the pandemic, I often felt that Oakland (where I live and where the Guardians west coast bureau is located) was very much not in the centre of the tech world. Its not on the straight line from San Francisco to Silicon Valley and while there are a few startups and tech companies here, its generally better known as a place where tech companies dont end up coming (eg Uber) than a place where they do.

Now that were all working from home, that feels incredibly silly. The centre of gravity has shifted to where people live instead of where they would commute for eight hours a day, and that has really thrown into relief how stark the differences between the places where we live are and how much we live on the internet. Different counties, let alone states and countries, are having completely different material experiences of the coronavirus, and talking to friends or family a few hundred miles away really reinforces how local our lives have become. At the same time, I think it has really thrown into relief how important digital spaces are, and raised the stakes for the debates and battles over how those digital spaces should be governed.

Has this experience changed your perspective on any aspects of the tech industry or tech reporting? What have you been most surprised by?

AH: Im surprised at how much of the tech backlash seems like a distant memory. The first few months in lockdown really opened up a well of goodwill towards the largest technology companies: from Amazon delivering Covid tests in the UK, to Google, Microsoft, Apple and Zoom becoming cornerstones of our social lives, it feels like the idea that we could ever feasibly boycott these companies is from a different era.

That early period was one of wild growth in the most unlikely areas. Im usually the one introducing my friends and family to new services, but the viral growth of services like Houseparty took even me by surprise. Our lives were turned upside down in a moment, and everyone was willing to try new things as a result. Some of those were, in hindsight, flashes in the pan (Ive not used Houseparty in two months) but others look like theyll stick around.

That said, the shine is clearly starting to wear off now. Where Apple and Googles exposure notification service was once welcomed with open arms, for instance, its now starting to raise uncomfortable questions about the two companies desire to overrule elected governments. And the BLM protests in the US threw Facebook in particular back into crisis.

Oakland has obviously been heavily involved in that wave of dissent. Does it make tech feel like a distraction, or are there links between the movement and our beat that youve enjoyed drawing out?

JCW: I dont know that the goodwill that tech giants were able to accrue during the early days of the pandemic was as pronounced here in the US, though perhaps my memory is clouded. Certainly our reliance on tech giant services has increased, but I also think that there has been some shine coming off the idea that tech companies are competent. We tend to be more suspicious of government than private companies in the US, so when Trump announced that Google was going to fix all our testing woes in the early weeks, it seemed like a classic American solution to a massive societal challenge: let the private sector innovate our way out of this mess. But the reality of what Verily was able to provide was far from what was promised, and five months later testing here is still a mess that neither Alphabet nor our government has fixed.

Meanwhile, Facebook courted good press with its supposedly aggressive stance toward coronavirus misinformation, but I think weve all seen that even when Facebook is willing to set aside its (supposed) principles about free expression, the companys enforcement is so lacklustre that misinformation is as bad as ever.

As for Oakland and Black Lives Matter, its been interesting to reflect on the roots of the movement, both locally and in social media. The phrase #BlackLivesMatter was coined in a Facebook post by Alicia Garza, a local activist, seven years ago this month. I used to do some activism work with Alicia back in those days (before I was a journalist), and its truly incredible to see how her influence has grown and how her words have helped define and propel this global movement. Part of that is down to the revolutionary power of the internet, but a huge amount of it is down to the organising work and sustained struggle of activists like her and so many others.

During the early days of the George Floyd uprising, I covered a youth protest in downtown Oakland that ended when the police, with almost zero provocation, deployed a huge amount of teargas against an overwhelmingly peaceful crowd. I ended up walking a long way through Oakland that evening to get back home, while helicopters overhead blared an announcement that I was subject to arrest for breaking curfew. It was an uncanny and somewhat frightening experience, and one that pushed me to try to tease out all the different ways that the internet and social media have created this new reality.

Has the social unrest around BLM and coronavirus changed how you think about tech?

AH: How could it not? One of the biggest, and scariest, examples for me was seeing what happened when an entire nation got forced into living an Extremely Online life. I, and I would imagine you as well, have spent a good chunk of my spare time communicating on the internet since I was about 11 years old, and I like to think Im quite good at it. But for a lot of people objectively, people with a healthier social life than me, really online socialising is just a small part of their life. Or was, until lockdown hit.

Misinformation online is nothing new, and Ive been covering the hoaxes and scams around 5G for well over a year now, but the whole thing kicked into a new gear in April, and it was upsetting to see. I spoke to some telecoms workers who had been attacked in the street for poisoning people with 5G (they werent actually working on 5G of course) and we saw a spate of firebombings across the nation.

I had thought that the more people were online, the better. Even despite all the ills weve both reported. But this period has shown me that, well, the analogue life has its advantages too.

But if Im looking for an upside, BLM has shown one obvious one: handing every single person in America a camera that they carry on their persons at all time is transformative in holding power to account. Black people have been killed by police for years. But it took the killings being caught on camera again and again and again and again for a nation, and a world, to finally admit that these werent one-off events, but were signs of a serious, and deadly pattern, that needed to be confronted and ended.

One last question for you: whats been your ray of light in the past four months?

JCW: Im grateful for the resilience and strength of the people who continue to protest. I also joined Nextdoor expressly to follow the intense drama over an aggressive wild turkey that menaces visitors to a local rose garden and well, that was worth it.

How about you?

AH: The most low-tech pleasure imaginable: I set up a bird feeder in the window next to my desk. I was worried it would be for nothing, because its so close to me that I assumed no bird would brave it while I was sitting there, but so far Ive had blue tits, robins, sparrows and even helped fledge a family of great tits. Ive even entertained thoughts of moving out of the city for good, on the assumption that some level of homeworking becomes the norm as we move out of this period.

Though Ive also become extremely good at the battle royale video game Apex Legends, so its not all pastoral loveliness.

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Covid-19 and technology: This time has shown me that analogue life has its advantages - The Guardian

8@eight: ASX set to rise as tech giants surge on Wall Street – Sydney Morning Herald

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The US VIX fell to 24 to trade at two-month low, aided by reports from Oxford University and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca that their COVID-19 vaccine has shown early signs of producing anti-bodies. Though the initial rally on that news was faded by market participants, its added to hopes that the path out of the virus crisis is becoming slightly clearer.

3. EU leaders inch towards compromise on recovery fund: For the most part, it was all eyes on Europe overnight. European leaders have inched closer to an agreement on an economic recovery package for the bloc, after several days negotiations and brinkmanship.

Once again with the North-South divide apparent, reports have emerged that the EU will agree to 750 billion ($1.22 trillion) package, that will include a watered-down 390 billion, rather than 500 billion, in grants. The news underpinned a further push higher in the Euro in overnight trade, with European yield spreads narrowing significantly.

4. FX markets show a bias towards risk and growth: Price action in broader currency markets proved bullish, too. The stronger Euro pushed the Dollar down, and the general risk-on mentality of market participants bolstered growth currencies.

The Pound led the charge higher, making a foray into the 1.26-handle, while the safe-haven Japanese Yen was the major underperformer. The AUD/USD continued to grind its way higher, to push above the 70-cent handle, and eye down a challenge of technical resistance at Junes highs around 0.7050.

5. Bond yields and gold signal some degree of caution: There were perhaps some concerning signals in price action overnight. Despite the lift in risk-assets, and amidst talk of more economic stimulus in the US and Europe, sovereign bond yields continued to push lower last night.

Perhaps a reflection more of future monetary policy than economic fundamentals, the benchmark 10 Year US Treasury yield fell to 61 basis points overnight. The broad-based decline yields gave gold prices another boost, which fetched as much as $US1820 in US trade, to record a new 9-year high.

6. ASX200 to open higher, as focus remains on COVID-19: The ASX200 ought to follow Wall Streets positive lead this morning, with SPI Futures implying the index will open roughly 0.8 per cent higher.

Local investors will remain on virus-watch, as Australias COVID-19 second wave remains preciously at a crossroad. Intraday volatility has proven greatest around the times of the Victorian and New South Wales daily COVID-19 updates. The trend held true again yesterday, with yesterdays bank and energy 0.53 per cent drop in the ASX200 precipitated by the addresses.

7. RBA to highlight the calendar in the day ahead: Local trade will be highlighted by RBA news today. The central bank releases the minutes for its July meeting, while RBA Governor Lowe will deliver a speech shortly after that release titled COVID-19: The Labor Market and Public-sector Balance Sheets.

As always, the markets will searching for clues from the RBA about the changing outlook for the domestic economy, along with potential signs of greater and/or new policy support the central bank may ply if the countrys recovery begins to peter-away.

8. Market watch:

ASX futures up 42 points or 0.7% to 6012 near 7am AEST

This column was produced in commercial partnership between The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and IG

Information is of a general nature only.

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8@eight: ASX set to rise as tech giants surge on Wall Street - Sydney Morning Herald

Next on ballot: A cut in Ascension library taxes could redirect funds to more infrastructure – The Advocate

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PRAIRIEVILLEWhen Ascension Parish voters head to the polls Aug. 15, they will be asked to weigh in on an uncommon question whether to reduce a property tax.

Ascension Parish Library officials want voters to consolidate and renew the longstanding property taxes for the 60-year-old library system but at a rate 15% below current levels.

If approved, other parish officials say that could allow them to reroute money to improving roads without raising overall taxes.

Library officials say rising land values, new construction and an expanding industrial base will allow the four-branch library system to afford the cut in tax revenue and, along with reserves judiciously preserved by past leaders, continue previous expansion plans that include a new branch in St. Amant and big upgrades in Donaldsonville.

"We're hoping that this will be a good will gesture in our community and also show people that we are responsible with their tax money," said Jennifer Patterson, the library director.

This table shows the difference in revenue growth for the Ascension Parish Library system from 2021 to 2030 between the existing millage rate and a reduction proposed on the ballot Aug. 15. Library officials are seeking a tax renewal that would lower the current millage rate by .99 mills, from 6.59 mills to 5.6 mills. The library has rolled back its millage rate in recent years to the current level but retains the legal authority to levy up to 6.8 mills. The ballot measure would reduce the maximum levy to 5.6 mills. Ascension library and Assessor's Office officials developed this graphic.

In a parish that has roundly rejected new taxes for parish government over the past decade, some parish officials are now saying they may pursue the millage capacity the library could surrender to use for roads or other infrastructure.

"You know, I have had more than one councilman say to me, 'I would like to see it be utilized for roads,'" said Councilwoman Teri Casso, the council chair and a member of the library board. "I don't know of anything that is more needed in Ascension Parish than (roads) and that needs a dedicated revenue source."

If approved by voters, the library's two property taxes would be consolidated and reduced from a combined 6.59 mills to 5.6 mills. The tax is for 10 years. In 2020, 1 mill is projected to generate about $1.53 million.

A family with a $250,000 home would save $17.33 per year if voters approve the property tax reduction. Their annual tax bill for the library would drop to $98. Businesses would save considerably more.

The current library leadership has been willing to cut their tax levy before. During the 2016 reassessment year, the library board agreed to permanently give up 0.21 mills from the traditional 6.8 mills in combined property tax the system had collected for years beforehand with voter approval.

But, considered from a longer term view, the library's more recent push to trim its own tax rate represents a 180-degree turn from the past.

GONZALES Improving roads, drainage and other infrastructure in Ascension Parish and finding a way to pay for that work without new taxes wer

In 2010, as the council was then considering whether to put the library tax renewals on the ballot, then-Parish Councilman Chris Loar gave voice to an idea quietly discussed among some in the parish's political and business leadership at the time.

The parish library system and some other parish entities with longstanding dedicated property taxes were over-funded, they argued. Those taxes could be partially reprioritized toward the parish's ailing roads and other infrastructure needs without a tax increase and little pain to the entities that lost the revenue because of continued growth in land values and construction.

Loar proposed a 38% cut in the library's millage rate that could be rededicated later to roads. But he encountered opposition from the library's leadership and their patrons, who argued the reduction would gut services and expansion plans. Library officials prevailed in convincing a majority of the council to put the existing millage rates on the ballot that fall. Voters endorsed them more than 2-1.

A decade later, with those taxes back up for renewal, new leadership at the library system had gone into a two- to three-year dive into their finances and worked with the Assessor's Office before proposing the cut.

"We pretty much went down line by line and looked at expenses and what can we control and run better," said Henry Schexnayder, the chairman of the library board and a banker.

With the reduction, the library's annual revenue would drop by $1.5 million to $2.2 million annually. Based on the assessor's projections, the library would need six years to surpass what it would collect in the first year if the existing rates were renewed, when revenues are projected to hit nearly $11 million.

Large industrial tax exemptions granted in the late 2000s and early 2010s, when plants like CF Industries underwent major expansions, are expected to end in the mid-2020s.

Even with the downturn caused by the novel coronavirus shutdown, Assessor M.J. "Mert" Smiley Jr. said, the 10-year projections remain solid: "I dont have any doubt, unless the economy would just take a huge dive, and we're recovering already. I dont see those (revenue projections) as unrealistic at all."

The push to cut the library taxes has come as library officials are charting a more modern vision for the system. While plans include adding new buildings with plenty of books, the board has shifted from large stand-alone libraries toward a community center concept that joins them with other government entities and recreational amenities. These branches would also expand on electronic and other offerings to specific communities and younger generations more geared to online information.

"So, the library had to acknowledge, recognize and appreciate that it continues to have a role in this new way of gathering knowledge, but it has to be relevant. It could not continue to be the library of the '50s and '60s. It can't," Casso added.

GONZALES A debate over how much property tax voters should be asked to support this fall for Ascension Parish public libraries heads toward

Parish and library officials say the library's decision to seek a reduction in the rate is independent of the discussions to use the leftover millage for roads at some future date. Ideas about using that taxing capacity for infrastructure are in the discussion stage.

Traffic has been a chronic complaint in Ascension for more than two decades. The parish's top-ranked schools and booming industrial sector have allowed Ascension to flourish into a Baton Rouge suburb. The parish population has grown by 65% between 2000 and 2019, hitting an estimated 126,604 people in July 2019, census data show.

Parish government has adopted road impact fees, created special new taxing districts for maintenance of new neighborhood roads, and established the nearly $70 million Move Ascension road program to match local dollars with state and federal resources for smaller-scale capacity upgrades.

But the parish only has a two-thirds of a half-cent sales tax dedicated to road construction. Approved by voters in 1994, the sales tax generates around $8 million per year, which officials say isn't enough to finance major capacity road projects.

Councilman Aaron Lawler, who followed Loar in representing one of Ascension's high-growth Prairieville districts, said he is open to using the forgonelibrary millage for roads. He would prefer, however, a new sales tax because it generates more money and, he says, is more broadly shared. But Parish President Clint Cointment opposes the idea of a new sales tax.

"Right now, we're not keeping up," said Lawler, who is the council transportation chairman. "Not just with growth, but with what has happened in the past. We need improvements."

Ascension Parish Councilman Chris Loar didnt receive a lot of plaudits for form last week from some councilmen when he suggested taking a por

Early voting for the library tax renewal starts Saturday and ends Aug. 8

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Next on ballot: A cut in Ascension library taxes could redirect funds to more infrastructure - The Advocate

Ascension Via Christi offers tips on how to properly wear and take off a face covering – KSN-TV

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WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) Ascension Via Christi on Tuesday demonstrated how to properly wear and take off a face covering.

Karen Bailly says there are a variety of masks out there, from cloth masks to paper masks, to disposable to reusable. The key she says is finding one that fits.

Anything that will cover your nose and your mouth really makes a good mask. Its all about the fit and how it works for your face type or style, she said. You dont want to wear it under your nose. I see that a lot when Im out and about in the public. Another mistake I see if people taking the mask and wearing it under their chin. Because it gets hot, theyre having difficulty breathing and thats another no in mask-wearing is you always want to make sure you have it tightly fitted on your nose and under your chin.

Bailey says dont touch the front of the mask because that is often the area that is most contaminated.

So when you go to put on a mask or take off a mask, you want to grab it by the ears or ear loops or grab it by the strings in the back, and be able to take it off and lay it upright on a flat surface, she added. Anytime you grab the front, youre at risk of contaminating yourself, and its best to grab it from behind, and then, as soon as you take it off, the number one rule is always handwashing.

It is recommended that you wash your cloth masks daily by hand or in a normal washer using a detergent like Tide or ERA. Dry them on high heat to kill any viruses.

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With new disturbance in Gulf of Mexico, pumps to kick on again in Ascension – The Advocate

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Ascension Parish plans to begin drawing down water levels in some bayous and other waterways on the parish's east bank Wednesday morning in preparation for a tropical wave expected to enter the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Parish public works officials said Tuesday the access gates at the Marvin J. Braud Pumping Station in the McElroy Swamp will be closed 8 a.m. Wednesday so pumping can begin.

Parish officials use the pumps to lower water levels before storms hit to build in storage capacity for heavy rainfall and mitigate potential flooding.

In a statement Tuesday, the National Weather Service office in Slidell said that the tropical wave headed into the Gulf has a40% chance of developing into a tropical system in the next five days.

"Regardless, an enhancement of rain and storm coverage can be expected late-week along with above-normal tides," the statement adds.

Ascension Parish's regional pump station continued operations on Friday as more thunderstorms are expected through the weekend after heavy rai

The seven pumps at the Marvin Braud station send storm water into the Blind River swamp to the south and east. Officials and residents in next-door Livingston and St. James parishes have often complained the station can worsen their flooding.

The station went back up to full capacity earlier this month after the parish completed a three-month refurbishment of one of the station's original five pumps.

When open, the pump station's gate serves as a boating access way along the New River Canal. When closed, the gate helps somewhat seal off the St. Amant and Gonzales areas and eastern Sorrento from tidal influences and storm surge in Lake Maurepas that can flood lower eastern Ascension.

Once the gate is closed, parish officials then turn on the big station's pumps to drain waterways in the watersheds of Bayou Goudine, Bayou Francois and the New River Canal that are inside the parish's flood protection system and include Gonzales, part of Prairieville, St. Amant and part of Sorrento.

The station's pumps, which sit at the confluence of the New River and Saveiro canals, largely don't affect waterways in the Prairieville, Galvez, Lake, Burnside and Darrow areas, all of which rely more on natural drainage.

Thunderstorms popping up near each other and tracking back to join previously formed storms in Ascension and East Baton Rouge parishes Monday

Parish officials said crews will also turn on the pumps near the town of Sorrento and at Henderson Bayou as needed, but those stations don't easily allow for proactive pumping efforts as the Marvin Braud station does.

The Sorrento pumping station doesn't move water downstream, as the Marvin Braud pumps do, but handles localized storm water runoff in town that is collected in a man-made reservoir. The pumps move water from the reservoir to Conway Bayou.

In the Henderson Bayou watershed in northeastern Ascension, the parish has a floodgate designed to halt backwater from moving upstream in the bayou from the Amite River. A pumping station also at that gate is designed to be used only when the floodgate is closed and water levels inside the protection system have risen due to rain.

Parish officials urged residents to monitor updates on the Ascension Parish and Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Facebook pages. Residents may also sign up for emergency bulletins using the Ascension Parish Community Alerting System, Everbridge, by going online to http://www.AscensionParish.net.

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The Speedy ascension of Mark ‘The Young’ Pope – The Daily Universe – Universe.byu.edu

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In just one season as head coach, Mark Pope has proven himself as the best thing to happen to BYU Basketball since Jimmer Fredette

By Nate Schwartz

It didnt take long for Mark Pope to seal his name in the annals of BYU Basketball history.

In his debut season as head coach, the man who Fox Sports Tate Frazier refers to as Young Pope led the Cougars on a 24-8 campaign that, if not for the novel coronavirus, would have culminated with BYUs 30th-ever March Madness appearance.

By elevating the Cougars to their first AP Top 25 ranking since Jimmermania in 2011, Pope accomplished something that BYU fans have been waiting on for nearly a decade: he ushered the team back into college basketball relevance.

Pope, however, doesnt see himself as the impetus behind the Cougars sudden resurgence. He directs all the praise to the team he inherited, which included four returning starters.

They were so hungry and willing to set it all aside, Pope said in an interview on the Titus & Tate podcast in April. Nobody really sets aside their personal agenda, but what our guys were willing to do was try as hard as they could to trust the game. If they gave themselves to the game, then the game was going to pay them back double than their own agenda.

Of course, the players redirected that praise right back at their coach.

Hes brought so much to this program, but he just has so much energy and he works so hard. You never really see him taking days off or taking time off, starting guard TJ Haws told The Salt Lake Tribune in February. Hes always up in his office. Hes always working. Hes always trying to figure out what to do next and that kind of energy is contagious to all of our guys.

In addition to earning his players respect through his work ethic, Pope also managed to win over the hearts of the Cougar fan base with his enthusiasm. After BYUs surprising 91-78 victory over No. 2 Gonzaga in February, the coach invited fans to celebrate with him at a local eatery where he picked up a $1,800 tab.

Some may chalk up Popes impressive first year to beginners luck, and he could be in danger of a one-hit-wonder label if the 2021 season doesnt mirror success in 2020. While only the future can truly reveal Popes legacy as a coach, a closer look at his recent track record before BYU shows this might not be a fluke.

During his four years as head coach at Utah Valley University, Pope led the Wolverines to a 17-win season in 2017, a 23-win season in 2018, and a program-best 25-win season in 2019 before signing with BYU the following April. Pope isnt lucky, hes methodical.

Under Popes offense, BYUs three-point percentage jumped from 33.0% in 2019 (240th overall) to 42.3% in 2020 (first overall) notwithstanding that this year the three-point line was pushed back from 20 feet, 9 inches to 22 feet, 1 inches. At the seasons close, BYUs offense ranked third overall in efficiency according to teamrankings.com.

Popes scheming doesnt stop at the chalkboard either, as some of his most notable successes have occurred during the offseason. He has quickly built a reputation as a fierce recruiter.

In May, he landed Purdues star center Matt Haarms, a player who was being pursued by both Kentucky and Texas Tech. BYU was also in the conversation to pick up Georgetowns firecracker guard Mac McClung, who ultimately signed with Texas Tech. Before Pope, BYU was not known as a destination for high-profile transfers, but this offseason is showing signs that players are starting to see the program in a new light.

Theres a clear reason why Pope was a finalist for the 2020 Naismith Mens Coach of the Year Award and was labeled CBS Sports No.1 Most Rewarding New Hire, the first wave of what will surely amount to many accolades during his (hopefully) lengthy tenure at Brigham Young University. As a BYU student (probably) once said, Long live the Young Pope.

Nate Schwartz is a guest contributor for the Daily Universe. He is a BYU alumnus and recent graduate of the masters of journalism program at Northwestern University.

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Around 3,800 new cases reported this weekend as hospitalizations fall – WBRZ

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CLICK HERE TO WATCH LIVE BREAKING NEWS REPORTS

WEEKEND UPDATE: Just more than 3,800 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Louisiana this weekend, bringing the total cases since March to 107,574. Hospitalizations dropped to 1,557 and patients on ventilators also went down to 184. Forty-eight people died from virus-related complications this weekend, increasing the death toll to 3,651. The data updated Sunday is from both Saturday and Sunday as the state no longer updates virus information on Saturdays. The next update is at noon Monday.

Data released Sunday is made up of information from Saturday and Sunday. The state will no longer update virus information on Saturdays.

The below map is provided by the state and is updated at noon daily; Cases released by hospitals or local governments during the day are not reported in the map until the next reporting deadline.

The tabs at the bottom of the map can be used to navigate limited information about the patients, including age groups.

Cumulative case counts by parish, as of Sunday (7/26):

Ascension: 2,249 cases / 65 deaths

Assumption: 493 cases / 18 deaths

East Baton Rouge: 9,636cases / 306 deaths

East Feliciana: 458cases / 35 deaths

Iberville: 1,026cases / 46 deaths

Livingston: 2,298 cases / 47 deaths

Pointe Coupee: 623cases / 29 deaths

St. Helena: 214cases / 1 death

St. James: 582cases / 30 deaths

Tangipahoa: 2,777cases / 56 deaths

West Baton Rouge: 545cases / 33 deaths

West Feliciana: 319cases / 15 deaths

The state has launched a hotline to answer the public's questions about the virus. Anyone looking to use the service can dial 2-1-1 to be connected to the network. Written answers can be answered online at http://www.la211help.org.

Click here for more information from the CDC and LDH

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Ascension Parish not making pre-k and head start students wear masks, social distance – BRProud.com

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Whether or not parents will send children to school in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic has been a very controversial topic. Martika Jordan says sending her daughter wasnt an easy decision.

I wasnt going to [send her to pre-k] but I feel like I would be taking away from her childhood if I dont try to send her into some type of school atmosphere, Jordan said.

According to Ascension Parish Public School guidelines, under phase two teachers are required to wear a mask but kids in pre-k arent and they dont have to social distance. Teachers must comfort or hold children when they get upset but are encouraged to protect themselves by washing their hands, wearing protective clothing and more.

Jordan says in order to protect her daughters teachers, here daughter will wear a mask while in school even though it isnt required.

If it means saving a life she will use it, jordan said. She has two different ones, she has a lady bug and frozen and she loves it.

Other parents like kelsey small say they wont be making their child wear a mask.

I do believe the whole covid thing is blown out of proportion a little bit, Small said.

As for teachers, Small says she doesnt believe wearing a mask is necessary for all.

I think if the teachers are in good health then I think they shouldnt need a mask and if they are in any way high risk for the disease then they should be relieved of their job, Small said.

Both mothers agree this may not be the easiest transition for their children but theyre hoping its one that keeps them happy and safe.

Ascension Parish schools begin on August 10.

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National school examinations suspended in Bahamas | News – Jamaica Star Online

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National school examinations suspended in Bahamas | News | Jamaica Star

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July 22, 2020

Prime Minister of Bahamas, Dr. Hubert Minnis

NASSAU, Bahamas, Jul 22, CMC The Bahamas has suspended national school examinations following a spike in the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in the country in recent days.

The Ministry of Education said that Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis had on Sunday announced the lockdown of the island of Grand Bahama until August 7, due to the recent spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The ministry said that in an effort to ensure the safety of all concerned and to protect the integrity of the national examinations, the 2020 sitting of the Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) and the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) examinations is temporarily suspended effective immediately until further notice.

It said that it was advising students to continue their preparations for these crucial examinations as they will be held at a later date in accordance with the advice of the competent authority guided by Ministry of Health officials.

Last Sunday, Minnis said that he understood the frustration and the disappointment of many Bahamians and residents that may ensue as we re-implement certain restrictions.

But as a country we have to do what is right and necessary. If we do not take these measures now, we will pay a higher and deadlier price later, he added.

Bahamas has recorded 153 confirmed cases of the virus and 11 deaths.

We want to hear from you! Email us atstar@gleanerjm.comand follow @thejamaicastar on Instagram and on twitter @JamaicaStar, and on Facebook: @TheJamaicaStar.

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The Bahamas is banning commercial flights from the US but you can still go on a private jet – MSN Money

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Leon Neal/Getty Images A couple wear protective masks and goggles as they prepare to board a flight to the Bahamas at terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport on March 16, 2020 in London, England Leon Neal/Getty Images

Americans aren't welcome in the Bahamas due to the United States' failure to contain its coronavirus outbreak unless they come in a private jet.

"International commercial flights and commercial vessels carrying passengers will not be permitted to enter our borders, except for commercial flights from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in a national address Sunday.

The new rule is yet another blow to American passports, which are now unwelcome in the European Union, Iceland, Canada, Japan, and many other countries.

There's a catch for the Bahamas though: "Private international flights and charters for Bahamians, residents and visitors will be permitted," he said.

So far, the island nation has largely avoided an outbreak as severe as the United States, but cases have seen an uptick since the reintroduction of international flights after a three-month hiatus, Minnis said.

While the move to bar most visitors could likely prevent new spread of the virus to the island, the loophole for private flights could prove a vulnerability. Wealthy Mexican travelers including the chairman of the country's stock exchange contributed to the spread of the virus after a ski trip to Colorado, according to the LA Times. Elsewhere, a Bollywood singer who refused to quarantine after a trip to London and wealthy college students returning to South Korea contributed as vectors for the pandemic's spread, StarTribune reported.

As commercial flights were hobbled amid the virus' initial spread, private jets saw a surge in demand for repatriation flights. Florida, the largest source of Bahamas-bound tourists, remains the US' top hotspot for the virus, with more than 24,000 new cases reported over the July 18 weekend alone.

"I must tell you, if cases continue to spike and increase, my Government is prepared to implement more restrictive measures," Minnis said. "This is not our wish. But if it has to be done it will be done."

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College Football Island: Can the NCAA make it happen? – Land-Grant Holy Land

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I hate how excited I am for college football to come back.

The second half of July is traditionally when fans start getting excited about the prospects of their teams upcoming season. Even with the country and much of the world in a turbulent state, college football remains within a month of finally returning.

Typical fans are frothing with anticipation given the enormous hiatus of traditional American sports. For others, such as those of Big Ten and PAC-12 teams, the ongoing pandemic has already compromised the early season. Further cancellations could come from anywhere at any time.

Its hard to remain hopeful that we will get to watch the efforts of so many student athletes play out this fall, and yet I find myself counting down the days to the first kick as I do every time this year.

This limbo that the college football world finds itself in only becomes more of a concerning uncertainty as the season draws closer and major conferences continue to find themselves not on the same page. With different states and areas of the country needing to address the pandemic in various ways, the likelihood that FBS schools are able to come up with a unified strategy to play games from September through the end of 2020 remains low.

Even when games do come back in a month or two, fan experience will be limited to potentially non-existent if cases of COVID-19 surge across the country again in the near or distant future. Right now, I am absolutely dreading the thought of an Ohio State-Michigan game with no fans in attendance.

So much of what defines this sport are the annual inter-conference meetings and rivalries, and the fans that generate game-day atmosphere are critical to that experience. How much pride can players take from a season where people are expressly forbidden from witnessing their glory in person? Whos really going to feel good about Ohio State winning the Big Ten this year if none of the students or alumni are able to support the team directly for three months? Would a win this season over Michigan in an absent Ohio Stadium really provide the same level of gratification for Buckeye fans as it does when Columbus fills up the Shoe?

Above all else, the most important objective of every college football season should be to crown a rightful champion, and that rings true now perhaps more than ever. The College Football Playoff has thankfully done so since its inception, and with bowl season starting five months from now, the NCAA would have plenty of time to implement a plan that upholds safety and fairness for all involved in a postseason of any kind.

Which leads me to the main point of this piece, a wild proposal to finish off a phenomenally wild start to this decade. Cancel the upcoming college football season, schedule a 65-team single-elimination tournament to start in December, and play every single game on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas.

To put it another way...

Theres a lot to unpack here, and a lot of concerns to address if something of this scale is going to pan out successfully. First, lets go over rankings and choosing which schools get to play in this.

The Coaches Poll wont release for another month assuming the season remains intact, which means slotting teams for a hypothetical tournament will rely heavily on estimation. I used ESPNs latest Way-Too-Early Top 25 (unfortunately from February) to build out the top teams in each bracket. From there, I looked at all the teams that finished with winning records last season to fill out remaining spots, with the exception of Navy and Air Force. The military academies and mid-major independents can go play on their own football island.

These selections are not perfect, but they do reward schools across college football with recent success as opposed to favoring middling Power 5 members. Miami (FL) fans are likely enraged that Miami (OH) will be heading to the Bahamas instead of the nearby Hurricanes, but thats the price to pay for getting shut out against Louisiana Tech to end last season. In a year when time is of the essence, college football only has room for winners.

The lone exception comes with a play-in game that begins the tournament. To determine the 64 seed that will face the #1 overall team in the first round, the two best Power 5 teams with losing records from the previous season will face off on December 5th.

In this case, Florida State will take on TCU from Thomas Robinson Stadium in the Bahamian capital of Nassau. Had I stuck to the structure of only allowing teams with winning records, the play-in game would have been Charlotte vs. Arkansas State. With respective apologies to the Niners and Red Wolves, FSU/TCU figures to be a much more exciting game for welcoming back the sport.

The following week, the First Round will commence on Dec. 9 with the eight games in the Orange Bracket. The next day, the Fiesta Bracket will play its slate of games, and this will continue into the weekend with the remaining two brackets. The entire Queen Elizabeth Sports Centre that houses Thomas Robinson Stadium includes two fields suitable for American football games, allowing four games each day on each field. The map below provides a view of the entire QESC, with the two stadiums in question designated by the numbers five and six:

The second round of College Football Island begins Dec. 16 and follows the same order of bracket play as the first round to allow each team an equal rest of one week. The Sweet Sixteen occurs a week later, but takes Christmas off to respect the NBA the holiday, which results in the Cotton and Peach Brackets playing their remaining games on December 26th. This means for the first time in American history, people will look forward to the day after Christmas.

The Elite Eight begins on New Years Day, lasts through the following evening, and represents the four bowls not scheduled for rotation in this years College Football Playoff. This allows some of the oldest traditional bowl games in college football to continue their streak of taking place annually, even if the sites will not be the same. Additionally, each brackets name represents the bowl attached to its Elite Eight contest.

The Final Four takes place on Jan. 9 and consists of the Sugar and Rose Bowls, playing out exactly as the College Football Playoff would in a conventional season. A week from the following Monday, the National Championship game commences on Jan. 18.

That represents the basic framework for this tournament, and it sounds dreamy in theory. However, some key issues still require addressing if an event of this magnitude is to take place while the world continues to deal with the realities of COVID-19.

Doesnt Thomas Robinson Stadium have a reputation for chaos when hosting American football games? How will the Bahamas accommodate an influx of nearly 7,000 football players in addition to coaches and miscellaneous school staff? And didnt the Bahamas just ban travelers from the United States due to COVID-19 concerns?

The Bahamas Bowl has always been something of an obscure game between Conference USA and MAC opponents since its inception in 2014. However, it wasnt until about two and a half years ago that the event became a legend among dedicated college football fans.

Thanks to a hilarious thread on the College Football subreddit, the 2017 Bahamas Bowl lives on forever in the annals of the Internet. The Ohio Bobcats took on the UAB Blazers at Thomas Robinson Stadium back then, but none of the important parts of this bowl game happened on the football field. Instead, fans noted a lax security presence that allowed a series of extracurricular shenanigans to take place while the game went on.

For example, only half of the twenty entrances to the stadium had active patrol on watch, which not only meant almost anybody could wander into the stadium, but nearly anyone that wanted to could bring in alcohol. Fans responded by walking out onto the circular track while the game was going on, drinking heavily, and high-fiving the security staff.

By the way, the security staff in question was the Royal Bahamas Defense Force. The countrys military personnel were allowing fans to chug beer on the track, hi-five players during the game, and enter Ohios locker room. Yet, with the exception of four-year-olds practicing archery outside of the stadium as part of the game-day festivities, the lax security did not result in an uptick of violence or mayhem.

But the infrastructure of the stadium itself had its own problems as well. The venue only had one working scoreboard at the time, and the game clock it displayed for the contest was actually just the ESPN feed. This meant fans and officials alike had issues viewing the stadium clock in the bottom right corner of the screen for the length of the game.

Additionally, fans reported one of the funnier sports-related stadium soundboard mishaps in recent memory. The person in charge of the music apparently played Sandstorm by Darude three times in a row at varying volumes to start the game before finally giving up and abandoning music for the event entirely. Since that fateful day in December 2017, Popeyes ditched their sponsorship of the bowl, and Elk Grove Village, IL assumed their place before declining to renew for the upcoming season.

Given where Ive proposed College Football Island to take place, I felt the need to bring up this colorful and obscure tale from recent college football memory. However, I do believe the NCAA would be able to resolve most of Thomas Robinson Stadiums issues with little effort or resources.

The fact that these games will go on without anyone in attendance other than staff and security personnel will thankfully mitigate most of the issues surrounding fan behavior. As for locals, there will surely be interest among the Bahamian populace as there has been at every Bahamas Bowl. Even so, with a national directive in place to limit the spread of COVID-19, one has to imagine the RBDF will do a much better job of turning people away three years following their turnstile performance in 2017.

As for infrastructure issues, theres nothing too extreme that the NCAA and its resources wouldnt be able to account for. Functioning field clocks for officials are an easy solution for faulty scoreboards, and a stadium sound system isnt totally necessary unless referees feel the need to announce penalties to the press box and viewing audience at home.

But something that needs outfitting more than Thomas Robinson Stadium would be the nearby practice field that hosts a second game in tandem with the main venue. While the track & field stadium did host the inaugural Bahamas Bowl as well as the HBCUX Classic in 2014, it has not hosted an American football event since. Event organizers would need to ensure all the resources are in place to host, play, and broadcast games on a field with far less sophistication than its Thomas Robinson Stadium counterpart.

Alright, so the Bahamas can play this thing out, but New Providence has a population just short of a quarter million people. This leaves not much room for 65 FBS player rosters along with coaches and staffs on an island with roughly the same square miles of land as Toledo. How does the Bahamas host these teams?

The answer is it doesnt.

Putting roughly 7,000 football players on the same island in the Atlantic Ocean likely isnt going to pan out well for anyone involved, especially when theres a pandemic afoot. But if all the players arent able to reside in Nassau at the same time, how will the tournament deliver 32 college football games in the four days of the First Round?

If only there were another massive landmass reasonably close by with the hospitality support to handle massive influxes of people during cold months of the year. But where in the world can one find such a pl

Oh, Florida.

The flight from the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area to Lynden Pindling International Airport in the Bahamas lasts roughly 45 minutes. From there, its a less than 15 minute drive to Thomas Robinson Stadium. With enough logistical personnel and parameters in place, teams could conceivably fly to the Bahamas in the morning for their games, with some returning to their hotels in the United States before sundown.

This sounds like a great deal of unnecessary effort to uphold the idea of playing a college football tournament on an island, but in the context of keeping all involved safe from the ongoing pandemic, it makes more sense.

A plan should be in place to have all student-athletes of schools invited to College Football Island done with semester coursework prior to Thanksgiving, or at least grant them the ability to take finals digitally. The following week, teams can start making their way to their respectful hotels along the southeast coast of Florida prior to the inaugural game on Dec. 5.

Teams stay in their bubbles until their respective game-days, travel to New Providence in the morning, play their football, and come home later in the evening. Winners reside in their bubbles for another week while eliminated teams get to return home for winter break immediately. The southeast coast bubble system remains intact until the Elite Eight, when the Bahamas can create new unique bubbles for each team at their local resorts/hotels.

Installing a bubble of roughly 10,000 people along the coastline of a state thats had as controversial an experience dealing with COVID-19 as any probably sounds ludicrous to many. But there are a few ongoing factors to consider that make this a much more plausible strategy than one would initially believe it to be.

For one, there would not be a singular college football bubble consisting of thousands of people. There are roughly 58,000 hotel rooms in the Miami area alone, which gives teams more than enough vacancy to set up their own bubbles on a school-by-school basis that consist of roughly 150 people each. Thats a far easier total to manage and puts significantly less pressure on those in charge with preserving the health of participants.

Furthermore, a 150-person bubble wouldnt even match half the total of the most impressive sports-related one in the state of Florida this year. Earlier this week, the NBA announced it tested 346 players alone for COVID-19 with zero confirmed cases after finding two such positives in their previous round of testing. If the NBA can preserve the health of its players as it seeks to finish its season at the Disney campus in Orlando, that would provide a significant vote of confidence towards the Floridian elements of the previously laid out strategy for executing College Football Island.

As for the Bahamas recent banning of U.S. travelers, its highly unlikely this hold lasts to the point that it would jeopardize College Football Island in December. Even as commercial flights to the country prepare for suspension, private travelers from the U.S. remain allowed to enter. In addition, the Bahamas will still allow commercial travel from Canada, the U.K. and E.U. countries. There is absolutely no way that a country reliant on tourism to fund 60% of its economy and employ half of its population is going to shut out America forever.

Finally, given the impact the pandemic has had on global travel, its hard to imagine the Bahamas would turn down the eyeballs and promotion that come with hosting an event of such unprecedented scope in American sports. The most significant sporting event Thomas Robinson Stadium has hosted was the IAAF World Relays in 2017, so this would be a significant step-up with respect to establishing a prominent sports complex in a country dearly dedicated to attracting visitors.

There are certainly other factors that need ironing out for College Football Island to take place, but hopefully the above information provides a glimpse into how such an event could become a reality should the motivation exist to do so. Of course, some optimism remains that the college football season will take place in the fall on American soil, and with many professional sports set to return in the coming days and weeks, that hopefully will be the case.

But as nearly everyone on the planet navigates the insane unpredictability and tempestuousness of 2020, its best to start considering alternatives now if retaining college football is a must. Assuming the infrastructure, resources, and health statuses are all in place, would you really say no to ending this hell of a year with a viewing of what would be the most highly anticipated event in the history of college sports?

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College Football Island: Can the NCAA make it happen? - Land-Grant Holy Land

Spintec’s innovative roulette on the Riviera – Casino Review

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Monte-Carlo Socit des Bains de Mer, one of the most distinguished casino operators in Europe, have found an elegant way of bringing the classic French Roulette game to new players.

At the Casino de Monte-Carlo, Live French roulette can now be played for lower denominations in the comfort of stand-alone play stations, without compromising on the excitement of the live game.

Spintecs Electronic Table Game (ETG) solution integrates individual stand-alone play stations with a live French roulette table, which allows people to play at lower stakes, but also meeting the social distancing requirement by allowing a safe distance between the players and the croupier.

As the Casino de Monte-Carlo is one of the oldest and most renowned casinos in the world, their interior is extremely impressive and well designed. It was therefore very important to design the cabinets completely in line with the interior design requirements. Spintecs ETGs are not only innovative and technologically advanced, but also completely customisable design-wise.

Our Live French Roulette is very important to us, so we are quite pleased to be able to offer our guests an enjoyable way of playing. Our French Roulette tables are unique in the way that they can accommodate players at different levels of skill, but also in larger numbers and at a safe distance from one another, says Boris Donskoff, Managing Director of the Casino de Monte-Carlo.

We are extremely excited to have been chosen by the Monte-Carlo Socit des Bains de Mer to become their ETG supplier for Le Casino de Monte-Carlo, which was voted Casino of the Year 2020 and Best Gaming Operator UK & Europe 2020 at ICE London this year. This installation is also one of the best-looking ones we have done so far, and we are certain that the players will enjoy it. We started out with the intention of providing an innovative and attractive solution, which upon completion proved even more valuable under the circumstances brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, says Goran Sovilj, Managing Director of Spintec Nederland B.V.

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Spintec's innovative roulette on the Riviera - Casino Review

Jim Cramer: We Have Now Developed a Truly Roulette Market – TheStreet

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The market's child-like in its tempestuous demands, lack of discipline and euphoria or disappointment.

I say that because of how the Cramer-Covid 19 is roaring on the news that the Oxford University/AstraZeneca (AZN) drug trial didn't produce something that will save us all and do so next week. Only a child would be disappointed in that news and the buying of all the stocks of companies that do well in an endless pandemic is childlike, too.

That doesn't mean it will be wrong, however. There is money that is put to work every day based on inputs involving the coronavirus and it is incredible how binary things have become even when I could argue they shouldn't be binary at all.

Let's take today's news about the Oxford University/AstraZeneca's experimental vaccine. Today we got an analysis of the Phase One trial of the drug in a magazine called Lancet. Fortunately it didn't kill anyone or make anyone sick beyond headaches and fatigue. Other than that, the genetically engineered virus did create a positive immune response meriting further study before it is given broadly to any population as the vaccine was given to relatively healthy people who were recruited through local advertisements. Who knows how the infirmed those with pre-existing illnesses and the elderly will react to it? Which is why larger tests must be authorized.

Somehow, that very positive news was viewed as negative. I think the buyers all last week, the buyers of the recovery stocks, were expecting much, much more and quickly threw a tantrum, dumping all the cruise line, hotel, airline and mall based REITs, and heading right into all the techs that do well in a protracted pandemic.

Before I go into this I want to say that the buyers and sellers are not politically motivated. They are not making a bet that the administration will get it wrong. In fact, the furious way they are buying the stocks of companies that do well has more to do with the need to stay at home and work - which will be prolonged - than it does whether the president or the states get it right.

At this point it is too late to stop the virus in this country. It is out of control. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the winds blow. We haven't gotten it under control because either we don't want our civil liberties impinged by masks or because we don't think it's that dangerous anymore. I get that. The case rate is soaring, the death rate is falling.

But I would contend that until you know enough people who have had it and either didn't go to the hospital early enough or couldn't get a test quickly enough, you are nuts if you think that we are winning. This is a really, really bad disease and it cannot be minimized and will not be minimized by anyone who has had it. Do you hear people get it and say "hey, it was like a two-day bad cold?" I don't.

We aren't going to do contact trace because we don't have enough tests anyway. Who's fault is that? Who cares? We need to do something to make more tests. By the time we get the results it's too late to matter. And, of course, once again, people act as if letting the government know where you are - integral to contact tracing - is a violation of your civil liberties. I am beginning to believe that this disease is ill-fitting to our culture and proclivities for states rights.

Unlike pretty much every country in Europe and Asia, we need a vaccine to resume any kind of normal as they have elsewhere.

That's why the whole notion of the disappointment about the "results" of the vaccine is so fatuous. We are not going to get a study that says "hallelujah, while we were checking this vaccine for safety it turned out to be so effective that it is time for everyone to line up and take it." That's the childlike fantasy that we have to deal with.

So what gets bought on this disappointment?

First, tech ETFs take off as they always do. That means FAANG, although no matter what Mark Zuckerberg does, anything short of the total repudiation of the president doesn't seem to appease his critics. It is amazing to me that the company has really cleaned up much of what it is said to be doing wrong. I wonder if Disney (DIS) , said to be the largest advertiser, told Facebook (FB) what it wanted to have done to keep their ads. Or did it just presume that Zuckerberg is a bad guy. Frankly, it doesn't matter. As legendary internet pioneer Gary Vaynerchuk said in our Town Hall last week, Instagram is the single greatest ad bargain on earth for small and medium sized businesses. So, the stock didn't get hit. It advanced. Meanwhile, Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN) got pushes from a major firm with a $800 target boost from Goldman for Amazon, from $3000 to $3800. It amazes me how price target boosts have such an impact these days. I have never seen anything like it.

Plus confidence is crazy high. Microsoft (MSFT) reports on Wednesday. Normally some would be circumspect. But a combination of ETF buying and aggressive taking by individuals pushed it up dramatically.

Many are saying that this is just like 1999 and therefore will lead to a crash of epic proportions. I am not so sure. I am much more from the school that money has to go somewhere and last week it went to the normalcy stocks, the ones from companies that benefit from an instant vaccine that works for all, and this week it's the opposite.

That's why beyond FAANG there's much more buying in the stay at homes: The cloud kings, plus Zoom (ZM) , Ring Central (RNG) , Fortinet (FTNT) , Palo Alto Networks (PANW) , and so many others that make it so you can do business at home without being hacked. They are almost old hat. It's so knee-jerk, but do you think children are any different?

Remember we have now developed a truly roulette market. You can bet on black, which is instant vaccine, the equivalent of passing go and collecting $200 because you bypass that stodgy meddlesome stage three, or you can bet on red which is the shutdown non-economy.

Both have variants. You can bet black, instant vaccine, or you can put money on specific numbers, such as airlines all of which got hit today on soft numbers, or on cruise ships because they are truly double or nothing, or, of course, on Simon Properties (SPG) , the daytrader's dream because it stands for brick and mortar shopping.

Or, you can hedge, and put money on Shopify (SHOP) , Tesla (TSLA) , Lululemon (LULU) and Amazon, while keeping an ETF bet on stocks that do well if the economy reopens.

Of course, those who believe that the economy's going to shut down and there will be stimulus can hedge by buying Walmart (WMT) , Dollar General (DG) , Target (TGT) and Dollar Tree (DLTR) as well as some calls on the Dow Jones Average.

Now for those who think this is all fanciful what you need to do is get up at 3:30 am and watch the crawl underneath at the bottom of your screen. You will see voracious buying of the economy-wide-open stocks as well as a smattering of buying of tech stocks like Zoom that zoom on anything but perfect vaccine news which we are never going to get.

Remember the Cramer-Covid 19 index, represents close to half of the S&P but, more important, when you lump in financials and healthcare you pretty much get 70% of the market that is either going to go up or do nothing on news like we had from Britain.

And that's exactly what happened.

(Disney, Facebook, Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS member club. Want to be alerted before Jim Cramer buys or sells these stocks? Learn more now.)

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Jim Cramer: We Have Now Developed a Truly Roulette Market - TheStreet

Paul Andersen: As city life wanes, it’s ‘to the mountains!’ – Aspen Times

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I caught up to a couple hiking a wilderness trail a few weeks ago and stopped to talk. In the course of exchanging pleasantries and sharing our Aspen connections, the man said he has been a trombonist with the Aspen Music Festival for 30 years.

We did the usual name-dropping of musicians we know at the festival, which is canceled this year due to COVID-19.

So, youre here visiting? I asked.

No, we just bought a place at Willits, his wife said. We made the decision to stay here.

Welcome to the neighborhood! I said, feeling like a Walmart greeter. Later, I wondered at my authenticity.

How many is too many when the Roaring Fork Valley feels like its in a constant rush hour this summer? When trailheads are jammed with single-occupancy vehicles? When grocery store checkout lines loop around the aisles? When the airport is stacked wing-to-wing with jets? When facemasks are recklessly hung around one ear like an afterthought?

Its not just about having more people, but more good people who can enrich the community. So, its hard to begrudge the choice this couple made when their urban lives are on hold, when the cultural and social institutions that make cities attractive, vibrant and entertaining are shut down.

Concert halls are empty. Art museums are restricted. Theaters are shuttered. Schools are closed. Parks are subdivided into 6-foot circles. Restaurants are roulette wheels of risk. High-rise apartments are prime for contagions. With the advent of virtual work from home, urban office buildings seem archaic. No longer are they incubators for style, innovation and productive creativity; they are now incubators of disease.

The social magnetism of urban life is no longer an allure; its a liability. Cities are suddenly danger hot spots rife with COVID and civil unrest. Urbanity has become more of a stigma than a mark of prestige. Today, getting out of the city is a sign of status, especially if you have a place in a mountain resort like Aspen. And the wealthier the getaway, the wealthier the people getting here.

Aspen is swarmed by urban flight. Those with means have decided they would rather endure whatever the pandemic brings in Aspen than shut themselves away in the urban density of high-rise apartments and secluded neighborhoods bereft of the usual menu of cultural enrichment.

So they come to Aspen, feeling like theyre on permanent vacation. Here they flout COVID protocols by bumping shoulders with those who want to believe that Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley are somehow immune.

Business is brisk here with brimming restaurants and thronging streets. Real estate developers and contractors are rubbing their hands together as demand spikes and development blooms. Ironically, developers will answer this demand by building this valley into a city as quickly as possible.

I recently wrote that trail popularity can be viewed as a benefit, that more people getting back to nature means more support for land conservation. Now that trailheads are nearly unmanageable, someone asked me how I feel about such generosity of spirit. The answer is: conflicted.

The trombonist and his wife deserve the beauty they hike to see. And doesnt everyone? Sure, as long as they stay off my trail and stay away from my favorite places. As long as social distancing mean miles instead of feet.

The elephant in the room is whether the ski resorts will open. Yet, even without lift-served skiing, this valley could still be inundated as cities remain stigmatized by COVID and racial strife and are stultified from a lack of what once was so bright and shining and pulsing with vitality.

Maybe its time to reverse the trend and reevaluate the latent promise of New York, Chicago and LA. Maybe now is the time to bargain hunt properties for that tony pied--terre on Michigan Avenue or Central Park.

Once there is a vaccine, the exodus from urbanity will turn around and flood right back. Once the bloom is off rural living, then maybe we can generously share the coveted sense of place to which so many aspire.

Paul Andersens column appears on Mondays. He may be reached at andersen@rof.net.

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Paul Andersen: As city life wanes, it's 'to the mountains!' - Aspen Times