Monthly Archives: June 2020

In the concert halls, stadiums and bars across the U.S. that have fallen silent during the coronavirus pandemic, an unusual problem has emerged: what to do with the vast quantity of beer that's gone past its sell-by date.

In March, even before the lockdowns became widespread, about 10 million gallons of beer held by retailers had already expired, according to estimates from the National Beer Wholesalers Association. As thousands of kegs are now being returned to distributors daily, Vanguard Renewables in Wellesley, Massachusetts, is among companies seeking to make use of it by turning the beverage into natural gas for electricity generation. Others will use it to make hand sanitizer, but a great deal of the beer will simply be decanted and dumped.

"This is a tsunami of kegs," said John Hanselman, chief executive officer of Vanguard, which will take about 60,000 gallons a week to feed expired beer to micro-organisms in biodigestors that release methane, the primary component of natural gas.

Coping with a waste of beer is just one of the many unforeseen knock-on effects of pandemic-related lockdowns that have shut down swathes of the global economy.

The headache for the beer industry goes beyond lost revenue, with challenges like finding environmentally safe ways to dump the beverage, trying to prevent the theft of their kegs and managing a supply chain that wasn't prepared for such an unprecedented recall. Molson Coors Beverage Co. is offering "keg relief programs" to reimburse bars for flat beer.

Venues had been loading up on beer ahead of big events such as NASCAR, basketball championships and concerts just as the virus hit. Sales were crushed during Memorial Day, the largest holiday caught up in the pandemic, along with Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick's Day and Spring Break, according to NBWA rankings. July 4th is next.

"We have an entire supply chain from brewers to distributors to retailers who all have beer at risk in various stages of the supply chain," said Lester Jones, chief economist for the NBWA in Alexandria, Virginia.

Potential losses could reach $800 million to $1 billion for all industry players in the U.S., Jones said.

The pandemic wasn't such a bad thing for the entire beverage industry. Home confinement actually accelerated the consumption of cocktails.

Unlike bottled wine or hard liquor, beer has a relatively short shelf life of about 90 to 180 days depending on whether it's more of a craft beer that hasn't been fully pasteurized, Jones said.

On-site premises account for about a fifth of all the beer sold every year and half of retail sales dollars, Jones said. He estimates that 30% of the lost volume from these on-premise retailers may come back in June as lockdowns ease.

Hillebrand, a logistics company that collects empty kegs and decants expired beer for disposal, already has orders to handle a record 1 million gallons of recalled beverage this year. In addition to shipping some of that beer to Vanguard, the firm has lined up other biodigestors across the country, according to Prabh Hans, vice-president of business development and strategy at Houston-based Hillebrand. Some of the beer could end up being used as fertilizers by hop growers, he said.

For the agricultural industry, global malt demand will likely drop by 2 million metric tons over the next 12 to 24 months, said Andries de Groen, managing director for Evergrain, the barley unit of Germany's BayWa AG. That's just under 10% of global demand.

"It will have quite an impact," de Groen said by phone. "Farmers have already harvested or planted for this season, so some of this malting barley will have to go to feeding animals. That will reduce the malting barley premium over feed going forward in places like Europe, Argentina and Australia."

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Millions of gallons of stale beer is one hangover from lockdown - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Boudin announcing another policy change back in February

For years, district attorneys working hand in hand with police have looked the other way and minimized police officers with spotty to bad records on officer misconduct and use of force. This despite the fact that many DAs offices carry private Brady Lists of officers with a history of serious misconduct.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Monday took a step toward rectifying the situation by announcing a new policy that would prevent the charging and prosecution of cases relying upon the word of officers who have previously been found to have committed serious misconduct.

The directive is aimed at ensuring that no one is falsely prosecuted as a result of the word or actions of officers with a known history of excessive force, dishonesty, or racial bias. Officers who fit the criteria for having sustained prior serious misconduct will be tracked to ensure cases depending on those officers are not filed.

We have seen across the country repeated instances of police violence inflicted upon people of color and the Black communityoften by officers with prior known misconduct, yet whose words prosecutors continued to trust in filing charges, said District Attorney Boudin. This directive ensures that members of the public are not wrongly or unfairly accused by officers whom we know have displayed the kind of misconduct that permanently damages their credibility or the trust we place in them.

The policy prohibits the charging of any criminal case when an officer has a record of misconduct because of excessive force; racial bias; discrimination based on race, national origin, sexual orientation or gender; dishonesty regarding a crime; or other serious misconduct that taints the reliability of that officers testimony. Lawyers in the District Attorneys Offices Trial Integrity Unit (TIU) will compile a list of officers falling within those misconduct categories and the list will be updated regularly. No charges can be filed based on the allegations of an officer on that list without approval by District Attorney Boudin. The District Attorneys Office will also continue, as is its practice, to track data regarding the impact of this policy directive on dismissals or discharges. The TIU will regularly request police officer personnel records that are discoverable pursuant to Penal Code section 1421.

The policy directive follows yet another instance of a police officer killing of a Black man: Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta. His death at the hands of police officers follows a series of high-profile murders by police, including the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. In recent weeks, District Attorney Boudin has implemented a series of reforms aimed at police accountability; prevention of police violence and racial biases by law enforcement; protections for victims of police violence; and internal policy directives to ensure the integrity of prosecutions in cases highly dependent on police officers words.

The directive does not implicate cases where charges can be filed based on another officers account or where there is additional corroborative evidence that deems the affected officers testimony unnecessary. Instead, the directive is limited to cases where an officer with a known record for abuse, bias, or significant dishonesty is the only source of a material, necessary fact relevant to potential charges. A material fact is one that is reasonably germane to a decision, the suppression of which would result in a different decision. Cases with material, necessary facts that can be proven through another form of corroboration can still be prosecuted.

Police accountability advocates praised this new policy. Prosecutors must not only hold accountable officers who commit serious misconduct but also should not rely on their word in charging cases, said John Crew, longtime police reform advocate and retired ACLU police practices expert. I commend DA Boudins leadership in preventing unfair prosecutions that depend on the untrustworthy accounts of problematic officers.

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Boudin Will Not Charge Cases That Rely on Officers with Serious Prior Misconduct - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis

As many workers face a variety of financial uncertainties, anupdate to Vanguards 2020 How America Saves study finds that their overall behavior in retirement plans has not wavered.

Both participation and deferral rates held steady during the first four months of 2020, and two-thirds of contributing participants saw their account balances rise, the firm notes in its update.

From January through April 2020, 7.2% of participants increased their payroll deferral percentage, while only 6.9% decreased their deferral rate. Vanguard notes that this data excludes participants who had their deferral percentage automatically increased through an autopilot design.

In addition, the research found that for the 12 months ended April 30, 2020, median account balances of continuous participantsthose with an account balance in both April 2019 and April 2020increased by 5%, while average total returns dropped 1.6%.

Because of ongoing contributions, account balances will appear to be less negatively impacted during falling markets, the report explains. This contribution effect may mask the psychological impact of falling stock prices on participants, it states. In addition, the report notes that, while equity markets decreased during the first four months of 2020, domestic bond markets were positive and helped offset negative equity returns for well-diversified participants.

The2020 edition of How America Saves was based on 2019 data from approximately 1,800 qualified plans and 5 million DC plan participants across the firms recordkeeping business. But considering the first quarter volatility, Vanguard has nowreleased thesupplemental update examining plan design and participant behavior during the first four months of 2020.

Stay the Course

The update notes that automatic plan features and professionally managed allocations helped nearly 95% of participants stay the course. Less than 2% of target-date investors traded during the recent market volatility, a rate five times lower than other Vanguard investors.

Participants portfolio allocations remained consistent throughout the market turmoil. Only 5.3% of DC participants traded between Jan. 2020 and April 2020. In addition, less than 1% of participants abandoned equities through a trade. Vanguard notes that this is partially attributed to participants increasing adoption of TDFs and other professionally managed solutions.

Loan issuances declined through April 2020, as did both hardship and nonhardship withdrawals, the report further observes. And while a small percentage of participants accessed their retirement savings through the CARES Actwhich eased retirement plan distribution and loan rules for those impacted by COVID-19most participants have not accessed their retirement plans.

Participants remained unflappable and focused throughout the recent market volatility, Martha King, managing director and head of Vanguard Institutional Investor Group, noted in a statement.

Underscoring the long-term importance of continued participation in 401(k) plans, the median account balance increased 71% among participants with a 401(k) account between April 2015 and April 2020.

Ongoing Trends

The firm notes that, while market and economic conditions look much different in 2020 than they did last year, the data reveals trends they expect will continue. For example, 50% of plans are now using automatic enrollment, more than triple the percentage in 2007.

The average total saving ratewhich combines employee and employer contribution ratesis 56% higher in plans with automatic enrollment compared with plans where enrollment is voluntary. And participant use of managed allocationsincluding TDF and managed account advisory servicesrose to 62% in 2019.

Other key findings from the 2020 edition of How America Saves include:

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Here's How Americans' Savings Behavior Changed During the 1st Quarter - National Association of Plan Advisors

National AssemblyBy Tonnie Iredia

Nigerias 9thfederal legislature, the National Assembly (NASS) was a year old some 4 days ago. One hopes that in addition to the many perspectives on the performance of the Assembly, its members would on their own undertake a vigorous introspection to map out their future posture. That may further strengthen their cordial relationship with the Executive branch of government which has earned them the commendation of President Muhammadu Buhari. In truth, they made a positive move at collaborative federalism which is a veritable hallmark of good governance.

The timely passage of the 2020 budget is a good example of the gains of the said collaborative spirit. We join the President in saluting the legislators especially their leaders who initiated and sustained the approach all through the last one year of the life of the Assembly. Hopefully, introspection may also aid them to appreciate that cordiality between branches of government though desirable, is not all that is required to move a nation forward.

The principle of separation of powers presupposes that each branch of government would be autonomous and never teleguided by the other. With the benefit of hindsight, it is doubtful if anyone would readily accept that the 9thNASS ever planned to be autonomous. Cynicism over the subject was caused by a number of developments which included the role of the executive in the emergence of the principal officers of the legislature as well as statements by some members of the Assembly.

For example, although President Buhari left no one in doubt that he had no interest in serving more than the approved two terms in office, there were legislators such as Senator Lawal Yahaya Gumai (Bauchi South) who reportedly vowed to help amend Nigerias constitution to allow Buhari to be president for the remaining years of his life. Statements like this only helped to create the impression that some if not many legislators would at best be a stooge in the hands of the executive.

One issue which suggests that the much talked about collaboration is not mutual is the attitude of many members of the executive to the legislature. For instance, a few days ago, the public accounts committee of the senate threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against the Minister of Information, Culture and National Orientation, Lai Mohammed and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva over their failure to honour its invitation to answer audit queries issued against them by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation.

Others who were similarly indicted included Ministers of Power, Women Affairs, and Solid Minerals. If the NASS promptly passes the budget and allows appointees of the executive to go through seamless screening exercises, why would Ministers and other officials of the executive disrespect the legislature within the template of collaboration? Or how else do we explain the outcry of Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila on the frustration of the House to get the Foreign Affairs Minister to provide a briefing on the Xenophobic attacks in South Africa which involved some Nigerian victims?

Lack of evidence of a two-sided collaboration may have encouraged the allegation that the allocation of N37 billion in the budget for renovating the NASS was the reward for legislative rubber-stamping. Put differently, enlightened self-interest may have informed the posture of the NASS making it difficult to locate where the legislature places its duty to the public whom its members claim to represent.

At a difficult socio-economic era, such as we are in, many Nigerians have become apprehensive about the continuing approvals which the legislature has been giving to several requests for foreign loans made by government. The posture is worsened by the speed of the approvals as the NASS does not even pretend to have employed some procedures to thoroughly examine the expedience of the loans before approvals.

There is also the other argument that even the pandemic did not deter the lawmakers from embracing projects that are not persuasive to the people. Shouldnt the renovation of the NASS have been stepped down at this point? How come allocation to health at this crucial period has remained so meagre in our budget compared to some not too urgent or precarious sectors?

Perhaps the best evidence of loss of public confidence in our federal lawmaking architecture was the inexplicable emergence of a controversial disease infection bill that no one is happy about. Although some persons may have been temperate in accepting that there was perhaps some sense in updating our antiquated Quarantine Act, no one is impressed with either the provisions of the bill or the speed with which the sponsors sought to smuggle it into our system.

Labour, Ministry of Health, Nigerian Medical Association, Civil Society organizations are unanimous that the bill is ill-advisable. Even the Director General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control NCDC, that the bill sought to over empower is against the concept. How can the Assembly pretend to be happy with itself on its first anniversary against the backdrop of an overwhelming public reproach?

When government was compelled to institute a lockdown on the society to contain the spread of covid 19, the first set of public spirited individuals and organizations that sought to provide palliatives were business and private society groups. Our representatives did not only keep mute in their privileged corners, they also did nothing about monitoring and supervising the government agencies mandated to provide palliatives to people. As a result, the palliatives were diverted to politicians and their friends.

During the period, the hitherto daily emphasis on we are the peoples representatives vanished thereby confirming that our lawmakers may not be our saving grace at the hour of need. Indeed, they had always shown lack of interest in public matters as exemplified by their insistence on shrinking Nigerias social media space through legislation. Even the argument that both the social media and hate speech bills were a mere replication of existing laws fell on deaf ears.

With the devastating consequences of our rancorous party primaries and general elections, the promise by government that electoral reforms would be a priority in the post 2019 election era has not seen the light of the day. We are yet to see any effort at bringing such reforms to the front-burner of political developments. In other words, the coming Edo and Ondo governorship elections may follow the same pattern of the disasters we saw in Kogi and Bayelsa states as the legal framework has remained unchanged. Is there nothing our legislature can do to empower our electoral body to allow our votes to count?

Many who are saying happy anniversary to our legislators are probably being conventional, but a patriot should in earnest charge our legislators to become more public spirited. Not many are happy with their show of self-interest in everything such as insisting on imported official cars instead of locally made vehicles in these hard times. On our part, we urge our legislators to keep in mind from now onwards, the words of Albert Einstein the famous German philosopher that reputable leaders are those who are ready to live their lives for others.

VANGUARD

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Happyanniversary to Nigerias 9th National Assembly - Vanguard

Google George Floyd Mural images and the first thing youll see also the second, third, fourth, tenth, fifteenth, fiftieth, ad infinitum will be the mural painted at Cup Foods at 38th and Chicago by artists Xena Goodman, Cadex Herrera and Greta McLain, with help from Niko Alexander and Pablo Hernandez. You might ask Who? because most articles, Facebook posts, tweets, retweets and TikTok videos that feature the mural dont include the artists names.

George Floyd murals are everywhere. CNBC noted, Murals have sprung up in Germany, Kenya and even in the bombed out ruins of Syria. Stars and Stripes found one near Kabuls Green Zone. CNN gathered images of several in Montreal, Manchester, Belfast, Berlin, Los Angeles, Oakland, Houston, Pensacola, Belgium; Nantes, France; and Naples, Italy.

But who owns them? Who gets to acquire them, collect them, show them, store them, sell them? People have been asking these questions of each other and on social media. Museums are interested, including the Minnesota Museum of American Art, aka the M.

Robyne Robinson is board chair at the M. We spoke with her by phone on Monday night.

I said to them, Listen, if we are going to do this, we need to do it in a respectful way, and we need to do it with the help of the community, Robinson explained. Lets talk about it first. Lets talk about what comes with acquisition of these pieces. We dont want to be trapped in the situation of commoditization.

Former TV news anchor, longtime arts supporter and current public art consultant, Robinson has put together a virtual conversation that will take place Thursday night (June 18). Black Art in the Era of Protest will convene a cross-generational panel of educators and artists: Chioma Uwagwu and Todd Lawrence of the Urban Art Mapping Project at the University of St. Thomas, Precious Wallace of King P. Studio, Reggie LeFlore, Roger Cummings of Juxtaposition Arts, Seitu Jones, Ta-Coumba Aiken and Bobby Rogers.

I think its really important that we have this discussion, because its on everyones mind in the arts community, in the African-American community as well as other communities of color, Robinson said. Its better to hear from artists themselves about what they think should happen.

The idea won widespread support. The African American Interpretive Center of Minnesota, AIA Minnesota, Juxtaposition Arts, King P. Studio, KMOJ Radio, MCAD, the M, National Organization of Minority Architects, Public Art Saint Paul and the Rae Mackenzie Group all stepped up as in-kind sponsors.

As the response to George Floyds death made history, so, too, in its own way, might Thursdays event. Its an important conversation for the Twin Cities. This is the right place to do it. We are the center of all creative art activity in the Upper Midwest. What we determine will have an effect on many art communities of color to come.

This is the second chapter of what the Black Arts Movement and AfriCOBRA were trying to do 50 years ago, Robinson said. Were revisiting something that didnt have an answer back then, because it was all about educating the community and getting them to understand the power of what art can bring.

It says a lot about our community that we want to immediately start talking about helping each other, protecting each other, rebuilding, communicating and moving forward.

Black Art in the Era of Protest will take place Thursday from 6-8 p.m. Register here. Registration is capped at 500, and hot-topic webinars fill up fast.

Hennepin Theatre Trust has announced new dates for the Broadway musicals Come From Away and Disneys Frozen, both originally part of this years Broadway on Hennepin season, both bumped by the virus.

Come from Away will arrive on Sept. 14, 2021, for 16 performances, closing Sept. 26. Frozen has been rescheduled for Oct. 7 to Oct. 24, 2021. FMI. Oh, and remember that Hamilton has been moved to July 28-Aug. 29, 2021.

Over the past two decades together, Osmo Vnsk and the Minnesota Orchestra have recorded all of Beethovens symphonies, all of Tchaikovskys music for piano and orchestra (with Stephen Hough) and all of Sibelius symphonies. They are now nearing the end of their Mahler symphonies cycle. Recorded at Orchestra Hall in Nov. 2018, Symphony No. 7 has just been released on the exacting Swedish label BIS. Plans are to perform and record Symphony No. 9 in June 2021.

Two new films have been added to MSP Film Societys Virtual Cinema. Ian Cheney and Sharon Shattucks Picture a Scientist spotlights three women scientists a biologist, a chemist and a geologist and offers new perspectives on how to make science more diverse, equitable and open to all. Watch a live panel discussion with the three star scientists on Wednesday, June 17, at 7 p.m. Directed by Michael Murphy, executive produced by Terence Blanchard, Up from the Streets explores the culture of New Orleans through the lens of music, with appearances by luminaries including Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Aaron Neville and Bonnie Raitt. FMI including times, tickets and trailers at the links above.

Courtesy of the MSP Film Society

Ian Cheney and Sharon Shattucks Picture a Scientist spotlights three women scientists a biologist, a chemist and a geologist and offers new perspectives on how to make science more diverse, equitable and open to all.

Jeff Daniels

Ranee Ramaswamy immigrated to Minneapolis in 1978. Today Ragamala Dance Company is internationally known and still based here. The new 18-minute film, Lineage is a window into Ranees relationship with the ancient, intricate, demanding and expressive art form of Bharatanatyam dance and her teacher, Alarmel Valli; the work she does with her daughters, Aparna and Ashwini; and her mission to amplify South Asian stories within todays world. Watch the online premiere Thursday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m. on Ragamalas Facebook page or YouTube.

Vijay Iyer

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What should happen to the George Floyd protest art, and who should decide? - MinnPost

National cabinet has agreed to replace limits on the number of attendees at non-essential indoor gatherings with the one person per four square metres rule, a move designed to help reopen larger entertainment venues such as cinemas and theatres.

New South Wales has announced it will bring in the change on 1 July, along with a 25% attendance limit on venues with 40,000 seats or less.

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has said that from 22 June restrictions will ease somewhat in the state to allow indoor cinemas, concert venues, theatres and auditoriums to reopen for the first time in months to 50 seated patrons per enclosed space, the four-square-metre rule withstanding.

Cinema Nova, an independent arthouse theatre in Melbournes Lygon Street, is one such venue. The chief executive, Kristian Connelly, said the theatre would only be able to admit about one-third of the patrons it normally would in each cinema.

All the evidence seems to point towards the fact that we are looking at a lot of people being very enthusiastic to return, Connelly said.

Cinema Nova sold more than 1,300 choc-tops during two takeaway sales events run during lockdown, and has been very encouraged at how quickly tickets are going for the 22 June reopening.

But reopening a cinema is not as easy as it was pre-coronavirus.

In addition to the increased hygiene and social distancing requirements, cinema owner Eddie Tamir says Australian venues have to deal with the problem of Hollywood studios withholding new titles until more cinemas reopen worldwide.

Tamir, the co-owner of Moving Story Entertainment, runs the Classic, the Lido and the Cameo cinemas in Melbourne, and the Ritz in Sydney, which are set to reopen in June and July.

Even though the venues play an eclectic mix of blockbusters and arthouse films, Tamir says the Hollywood machine is important to all cinemas.

There is a huge traffic jam of films searching for healthy dates and we just hope that the world health situation improves. Just because Australia and New Zealand are fine, that isnt that relevant to the major studio system who, for various reasons of scale and commerciality, want to release everywhere in the world at the same time to reach that critical mass, he said.

Connelly, of Cinema Nova, adds that owners are also flying blind when it comes to how many screens to dedicate to each film they show, a decision normally based on ticket sales from the previous weekend. Right now we are not working on that knowledge, its just gut instinct, he said.

While cinema chains such as Event Cinemas and Palace Verona also have plans to open, the incoming four-square-metre rule will prevent some smaller venues from admitting enough patrons to make reopening financially viable.

The spirit of always being open to the public is the overriding driver for us

Adam Cousins, the co-owner of Mount Vic Flicks, a single-screen cinema in the Blue Mountains in NSW, said we have a relative short period each week in which we make most of our income. The four-square-metre rule restricts us to around 20% capacity, which isnt quite enough for those few sessions to cover us.

As an arthouse-leaning cinema, Cousins said it would have to reconsider its programming if it reopened as we like to give independents and Aussie films more of a chance, understanding that theyre not always going to be huge earners for us and may even run at a loss, which is OK when other films that week are filling the cinema.

With reduced sessions (for extra cleaning time) and severely limited capacity, we would unfortunately not be in a position to show the range of films we normally enjoy.

Distancing rules have similarly made it financially impossible for many Australian theatre companies and live-music venues to reopen.

Under the four square metre rule, the Red Rattler in Sydneys inner west would only be able to host up to 30 people in their performance space, making it impossible for performers to recoup the costs of running and event and financially unviable for the venue to reopen.

Other venues have pivoted, with many theatres moving to screening live and recorded performances online.

The Vanguard, a live-music venue in Sydneys Newtown, reopened two weeks ago, with sit-down dinners and bands playing two sets for groups of 50. With one of its staff members qualifying for jobkeeper, and the owner, Arash Nabavi, working as an orthopaedic surgeon by day, the venue is making ends meet.

Sydneys Golden Age Cinema, part of an industry that the chief executive, Barrie Barton, says relies on bums on seats and advertising revenue, has added extra strings, including online screening sessions and home delivery drinks.

Despite the uncertainties that lie ahead, cinema owner Eddie Tamir said the spirit of always being open to the public is the overriding driver for us.

You know, we always remained optimistic [during the lockdown]. Give and take some time, we knew that that spirit of shared experience, and the natural kind of urge of human beings to share experience, would prevail, and we would open successfully.

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'Making ends meet': how Australia's cinemas and theatres will tackle the four-square-metre rule - The Guardian