washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Nurses fear what's to come: 'Walk down our unit for a day'

LOS ANGELES ( AP ) - The nurses of California are afraid .
It ’ s Christmas Eve , and they aren ’ t home with their families .
They are working , always working , completely gowned up - and worn down .
They ’ re frightened by what people are doing , or not doing , during a coronavirus pandemic that has already killed more than 320,000 nationwide and shows no signs of slowing down .
They ’ re even more terrified of what ’ s next .
“ Every day , I look into the eyes of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said nurse Jenny Carrillo , her voice breaking .
A charge nurse at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles ’ San Fernando Valley , Carrillo is haunted by the daily counts of COVID-19 patients .
Dark shadows circle her eyes .
By Tuesday evening , the hospital had 147 coronavirus patients - a record for Holy Cross but a tiny fraction of the nearly 2 million cases recorded in California since the pandemic began .
Close to 18,000 people were hospitalized in the state Tuesday , and models project the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ - unimaginable for medical systems that are already running out of room .
More than 23,000 people with COVID-19 have died in California , and the number is only expected to climb .
Dr. Jim Keany , associate director of Mission Hospital ’ s emergency department in Southern California ’ s Orange County , wonders how much more they can handle .
“ Are we going to have the resources to take care of our community ?
” he said .
The first COVID-19 case in California was confirmed Jan. 25 .
It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million infections on Nov. 11 .
Just 44 days later , the number was closing in on 2 million .
On Tuesday , Holy Cross had 147 coronavirus patients across its 377 beds , more than double the record seen at the hospital in the first wave of the pandemic earlier this year .
“ If you had told us in April that we ’ d have 147 patients ?
” said Elizabeth Chow , Holy Cross ’ executive director of critical care and a nurse leader .
“ Never in my wildest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get worse .
Despite health officials ’ pleas that people stay home , millions of Americans are traveling ahead of Christmas and New Year ’ s , much like they did last month for Thanksgiving .
Hospitals in California - and elsewhere - already have been pushed to the brink .
They have hired extra staff , canceled elective surgeries and set up outdoor tents to treat patients , all to boost capacity before the cases contracted over Christmas and New Year ’ s show up in the next few weeks .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ holiday decorations throughout the hallways : poinsettias perched on counters , scraggly miniature trees in patients ’ rooms , caricatures of the Grinch doodled at nurses ’ stations .
But the bright colors don ’ t distract from the constant cacophony : ventilators belching like foghorns , monitors beeping , machines whirring - all trying to keep even one more person from adding to the death toll .
Still , there are hopeful moments .
On Monday , Mission Hospital celebrated a milestone : 100 patients who had been in the isolation intensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the sick - have survived and gone home .
In Holy Cross , “ Here Comes the Sun ” by the Beatles plays throughout the hospital when a COVID-19 patient is discharged .
The new pandemic tradition has happier roots - hospitals often sound a lullaby each time a baby is born .
It ’ s a few seconds of respite , but it ’ s not enough .
For every patient who goes home , more are admitted .
Holy Cross charge nurse Melanie LaMadrid tends to her patients in 12-hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purple gloves .
“ It ’ s all we can do , ” she said .
“ Watching them suffer is hard.
” These nurses are not only exhausted , they are angry with those who flout pleas to stay home , stay safe .
“ It ’ s not some selfish person who doesn ’ t want to wear a mask , ” Carrillo said .
“ I wish they could just walk down our unit for a day and look at the faces of some of these patients.
” You can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tells her patients when - or if - they get discharged .
Dawson , who has a scar forming on her nose from the tight masks , begs them to spread the word .
“ Now you know how it is , ” she tells them .
“ You were one of the lucky ones .
”

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The nurses of California are afraid.
It’s Christmas Eve, and they aren’t home with their families. They are working, always working, completely gowned up - and worn down.
They’re frightened by what people are doing, or not doing, during a coronavirus pandemic that has already killed more than 320,000 nationwide and shows no signs of slowing down.
They’re even more terrified of what’s next.
“Every day, I look into the eyes of someone who is struggling to breathe,” said nurse Jenny Carrillo, her voice breaking.
A charge nurse at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, Carrillo is haunted by the daily counts of COVID-19 patients. Dark shadows circle her eyes.
By Tuesday evening, the hospital had 147 coronavirus patients - a record for Holy Cross but a tiny fraction of the 2 million cases recorded in California since the pandemic began.
Close to 19,000 people were hospitalized in the state Wednesday, and models project the number could top 100,000 in a month - unimaginable for medical systems that are already running out of room. More than 23,000 people with COVID-19 have died in California, and the number is only expected to climb.
Dr. Jim Keany, associate director of Mission Hospital’s emergency department in Southern California’s Orange County, wonders how much more they can handle.
“Are we going to have the resources to take care of our community?” he said.
The first COVID-19 case in California was confirmed Jan. 25. It took 292 days to get to 1 million infections on Nov. 11.
Just 44 days later, the number hit 2 million.
On Tuesday, Holy Cross had 147 coronavirus patients across its 377 beds, more than double the record seen at the hospital in the first wave of the pandemic earlier this year.
“If you had told us in April that we’d have 147 patients?” said Elizabeth Chow, Holy Cross’ executive director of critical care and a nurse leader. “Never in my wildest dreams.”
And the nightmare is expected to get worse.
Despite health officials’ pleas that people stay home, millions of Americans are traveling ahead of Christmas and New Year’s, much like they did last month for Thanksgiving.
Hospitals in California - and elsewhere - already have been pushed to the brink. They have hired extra staff, canceled elective surgeries and set up outdoor tents to treat patients, all to boost capacity before the cases contracted over Christmas and New Year’s show up in the next few weeks.
Holy Cross and Mission Hospital have sprinkled holiday decorations throughout the hallways: poinsettias perched on counters, scraggly miniature trees in patients’ rooms, caricatures of the Grinch doodled at nurses’ stations.
But the bright colors don’t distract from the constant cacophony: ventilators belching like foghorns, monitors beeping, machines whirring - all trying to keep even one more person from adding to the death toll.
Still, there are hopeful moments.
On Monday, Mission Hospital celebrated a milestone: 100 patients who had been in the isolation intensive care unit - reserved for the sickest of the sick - have survived and gone home.
In Holy Cross, “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles plays throughout the hospital when a COVID-19 patient is discharged.
The new pandemic tradition has happier roots - hospitals often sound a lullaby each time a baby is born.
It’s a few seconds of respite, but it’s not enough. For every patient who goes home, more are admitted.
Holy Cross charge nurse Melanie LaMadrid tends to her patients in 12-hour shifts, holding their hands in her purple gloves.
“It’s all we can do,” she said. “Watching them suffer is hard.”
These nurses are not only exhausted, they are angry with those who flout pleas to stay home, stay safe.
“I wish they could just walk down our unit for a day and look at the faces of some of these patients,” Carillo said.
You can be our messengers, nurse Genyza Dawson tells her patients when - or if - they get discharged. Dawson, who has a scar forming on her nose from the tight masks, begs them to spread the word.
“Now you know how it is,” she tells them. “You were one of the lucky ones.”


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--California to become 1st state to top 2 million virus cases

LOS ANGELES ( AP ) - California ’ s Christmas Eve was marked by pleas to stay home for the holidays and a grim milestone as it was poised to become the first state to top 2 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus .
Johns Hopkins University was expected to report Thursday that the state reached the mark , barely six weeks since hitting 1 million cases .
California ’ s infection rate - in terms of number of cases per 100,000 people - is lower than the U.S. average but its 40 million residents means it outpaces other states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Californians have died since the pandemic began .
The state has seen its number of cases climb exponentially in recent weeks , followed by soaring rates of hospitalizations and deaths that have overwhelmed intensive care units and prompted hospitals to put emergency room patients in tents and treat others in offices and auditoriums .
Pleas to avoid social gatherings for the holidays rang with special desperation in Southern California .
Los Angeles County is leading the surge , accounting for one-third of the COVID-19 cases in the state and nearly 40 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emergency is our darkest day , maybe the darkest day in our city ’ s history , ” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said as he urged people to cancel plans for holiday gatherings .
On Wednesday , the county reported its highest death toll and hospitalizations in a single day since the pandemic began , with 145 deaths and more than 6,000 people in hospitals .
More than 9,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the county .
Thanksgiving gatherings where people ignored mask-wearing and social-distancing rules have been blamed for spreading @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Christmas holidays could push stressed medical systems over the brink , officials said .
Medical workers are discouraged and outraged over scenes of crowded outdoor malls , packed parking lots , and parents and children walking around without masks , county Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said .
If L.A. County continues to see the same growth in COVID-19 infections in the next two weeks , hospitals may find themselves having to ration care because of a lack of medical staff , Garcetti said .
“ That means the doctors will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dies , ” he said .
Santa Clara County near San Francisco was down to 35 ICU beds , putting hospitals dangerously close to rationing care , said Dr. Ahmad Kamal , the county ’ s director of health care preparedness .
“ We are talking about people in gurneys without a bed to go to .
We are talking about people not getting hospital care ; we are talking about rationing what scarce resources our exhausted health system has left to those who would benefit the most , ” he said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ second-highest number of deaths , at 361 .
The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care units nearly doubled in just three weeks , to 3,827 cases , while the state ’ s ICU capacity fell to 1.1 % , down from 2.5 % just two days ago .
The number of hospitalizations jumped to 18,828 patients , more than double since Dec. 1 , with 605 new patients in one day .
Yet there were slight but encouraging signs of hope .
The transmission rate - the number of people that one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been slowing for nearly two weeks .
The rate of positive cases reached a new high of 12.3 % over a two-week period , but was starting to trend down over the last seven days from a peak of 13.3 % to 12.6 % .
The number of new positive cases dropped to a relatively modest 39,069 , given that California has been averaging nearly 44,000 newly confirmed cases a day .
The state also had nearly 1,000 health workers assisting at 91 facilities in 25 of the state ’ s 58 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ alternative care site in San Diego County .
The California National Guard was setting up about 200 beds on vacant floors of the Palomar Health Center near San Diego , within the existing hospital complex , said Brian Ferguson , a spokesman for the Governor ’ s Office of Emergency Services .
It could begin accepting patients Christmas Day , relieving overburdened hospitals particularly in nearby Imperial County .
California expects more federal medical workers to arrive by the weekend , and Gov .
Gavin Newsom said he expects more of the 3,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeking to arrive after the holidays .
The governor also said more than 128,000 doses of vaccines had been administered as of Tuesday , in another encouraging sign beyond the modest decline in the transmission rate .
But Newsom also warned that any progress could dissipate quickly , leading to the nearly 100,000 hospitalizations some models project in one month if people don ’ t heed calls to avoid holiday gatherings , particularly indoors .
“ This virus loves social events , ” Newsom said .
“ This virus thrives in that atmosphere.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sacramento , Janie Har in San Francisco and Daisy Nguyen in Oakland contributed to this story .

LOS ANGELES (AP) - California became the first state to record 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases, reaching the milestone on Christmas Eve as nearly the entire state was under a strict stay-at-home order.
Gov. Gavin Newsom warned that hospitalizations could soon double if people don’t change their behavior for the holidays.
A tally by Johns Hopkins University showed the nation’s most populous state has recorded 2,010,157 infections since January. At least 23,635 people have died from the virus.
The first COVID-19 case in California was confirmed Jan. 25. It took 292 days to get to 1 million infections on Nov. 11.
Just 44 days later, the number topped 2 million.
The California Department of Public Health separately tallied 2,003,146 cases and a one-day bump of 39,070 infections that was down from the one-day peak of nearly 54,000 cases at mid-month. The state’s death toll climbed by 351, also down from the record high set last week. Another 427 people were hospitalized, raising the total to 18,875. The 3,962 in intensive care units was a record high, as is the number of those hospitalized.
“We’re projecting that our hospital number will double in just the next 30 days, and our projections have gotten much more solid,” Newsom said in a video posted on his social media pages from his home, where he remains in quarantine for the second time after a potential exposure. “I fear that, but we’re not victims to that if we change our behaviors.”
California’s infection rate - in terms of the number of cases per 100,000 people - is lower than the U.S. average. But its nearly 40 million residents mean the outbreak outpaces other states in sheer numbers.
The crisis is straining the state’s medical system well beyond its normal capacity, prompting hospitals to treat patients in tents, offices and auditoriums.
“In most hospitals about half of all of the beds are filled with COVID patients and half of all the ICU beds are filled with COVID patients, and two-thirds of these patients are suffocating due to the inflammation that’s in their lungs that’s caused by the virus,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
“They’re suffocating to the point that they can no longer breathe on their own, and they have to have someone put a tube down their throat, in order to oxygenate their organs. Many of these people will not live to be in 2021,” she said.
The county on Thursday reported new records for deaths - 148 in a single day - and hospitalizations, at nearly 6,500 people, 20% of whom were in ICU.
The state has seen its number of cases climb exponentially in recent weeks, fueled largely by people who ignored warnings and held traditional Thanksgiving gatherings, health officials say.
“Our systems are being overwhelmed, and the virus is spreading everywhere,” a coalition of 10 neighboring Southern California local health departments said in what they termed an urgent holiday message. “We cannot continue on our current path without facing serious consequences.”
Los Angeles’ Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels planned indoor Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses, with Archbishop José Gomez set to lead two of the four services despite advising in a letter to priests and pastors Wednesday that it is safer to keep celebrating Masses outdoors.
Dozens of physically spaced worshippers removed their masks only to take communion at arms’ length from clergymen, and there was none of the singing that health officials warned could increase the spread.
Father David Gallardo held a copy of the children’s book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” in a midafternoon service as he taught that “darkness doesn’t win,” likening the coronavirus to the Grinch.
Meanwhile, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to lift lower court orders blocking indoor Christmas services at churches in Pasadena and Chula Vista, though attorneys said they would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.
Los Angeles County health officials said flatly in a statement that “attending an indoor service will result in transmission of COVID-19 … that the healthcare system cannot handle at this time.”
It was among new warnings that the state’s medical system will be overwhelmed and unable to provide proper care if people don’t avoid gathering for the holidays or at least take precautions like meeting outside in masks at a safe distance or opening windows and turning on fans if they meet indoors.
California Hospital Association president and CEO Carmela Coyle said the 2 million tally “means that thousands of Californians will spend this holiday season in a hospital. On Christmas Eve, Californians can still make a choice to avoid unnecessary travel and gatherings on Christmas Day.”
In a rare ray of hope, a statistical model that state officials have been using to project hospitalizations predicts more than 71,000 patients in one month’s time - still an unsustainable four times the current number of patients but roughly 40,000 fewer than the same model had been projecting just days ago.
The transmission rate - the number of people that one infected person will in turn infect - has been slowing for nearly two weeks, and it is nearing the point that would bring fewer infections from each person who contracts the virus.
In addition, the rate of positive cases reached a new high of 12.4% over a two-week period, but it was starting to trend downward over the last seven days from a peak of 13.3% to 12.6%. The seven day rate was 12.1% on Thursday.
“Some encouraging signs, in terms of it seems some stabilization in the rate of growth,” Newsom said Thursday. But he said that is counterbalanced by the soaring cases and deaths.
Newsom on Wednesday credited stay-home orders for nearly the entire state that imposed an overnight curfew, shuttered many businesses and restricted most retail to 20% capacity. Restaurants may only serve takeout.
Pleas to avoid social gatherings for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays rang with special desperation in Southern California. Los Angeles County is leading the surge, accounting for one-third of the state’s COVID-19 cases and nearly 40% of deaths.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti called Wednesday “maybe the darkest day in our city’s history,” as the county reported its highest single-day death toll and hospitalizations - 145 deaths and more than 6,000 people in hospitals. More than 9,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the county.
If LA County continues to see the same growth in COVID-19 infections in the next two weeks, hospitals may find themselves having to ration care because of a lack of medical staff, Garcetti said.
“That means the doctors will be forced to determine who lives and who dies,” he said.
____
Thompson reported from Sacramento. Associated Press Writer Stefanie Dazio and AP Photographer Ashley Landis in Los Angeles contributed to this story.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--AG backs Ethics Commission's power to clarify key terms

BISMARCK , N.D. ( AP ) - North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says the state ’ s Ethics Commission @ @ @ @ @ rules defining “ lobby ” and “ lobbyist.
” Stenehjem ’ s opinion Wednesday came @ @ @ @ @ to clarify its authority to expand the definitions relating to gifts .
The Bismarck Tribune @ @ @ @ @ across conflicting language in state law and the constitution .
Voters approved the five-member commission @ @ @ @ @ with a lobbyist gift ban that takes effect Jan. 5 .
Stenehjem wrote that the @ @ @ @ @ and “ lobbyist ” in state government ethics law limit the reach of the board @ @ @ @ @ are inconsistent with the board ’ s constitutional directive and authority .
He said it @ @ @ @ @ the board has the power to expand the definitions in order to fulfill its mandate @

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says the state’s Ethics Commission has the power to write rules defining “lobby” and “lobbyist.”
Stenehjem’s opinion Wednesday came after the commission asked him to clarify its authority to expand the definitions relating to gifts. The Bismarck Tribune says the commission has come across conflicting language in state law and the constitution.
Voters approved the five-member commission two years ago, along with a lobbyist gift ban that takes effect Jan. 5.
Stenehjem wrote that the definitions of “lobby” and “lobbyist” in state government ethics law limit the reach of the board’s gift rules and are inconsistent with the board’s constitutional directive and authority. He said it’s his opinion that the board has the power to expand the definitions in order to fulfill its mandate.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Epicurious is righting cultural wrongs one recipe at a time

NEW YORK ( AP ) - With a new Black editor in chief and promises to do better , a little corner of the Conde Nast universe is taking racial and cultural injustice one recipe at a time .
Since July , the small staff at Epicurious , a resource site for home cooks , has been scouring 55 years ’ worth of recipes from a variety of Conde Nast magazines in search of objectionable titles , ingredient lists and stories told through a white American lens .
“ It came after Black Lives Matter , after a lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” said David Tamarkin , the white digital director for Epicurious .
“ It came out of conversations that we had about how we can do better , where are we failing and where have our predecessors failed ?
” Called the Archive Repair Project , the work is also an outgrowth of complaints and controversies at Conde Nast .
But it ’ s just one effort on a full plate of initiatives , said Sonia Chopra , who ’ s been executive editor of Bon Appetit and Epicurious for about four months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ chief , Dawn Davis .
In all , the 25-year-old site ( with a staff of 10 ) is a repository of a massive 35,000 recipes from Bon Appetit , Gourmet , Self , House & Garden and Epicurious itself .
They stretch back to 1965 .
“ The language that we use to talk about food has evolved so much from , sure , the 1960s but also the 1990s , and I think it is our duty as journalists , as people who work in food media , to make sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Chopra said .
Epicurious and Bon Appetit have been at the center of accusations that also plague others in the food world : undervaluing staffers of color , perpetuating structural racism , racial and gender discrimination , and more .
Some of those issues led several Bon Appetit employees to leave earlier this year after Editor-in-Chief Adam Rapoport resigned over a 2004 Halloween “ brownface ” photo and amid allegations of racial discrimination .
While Conde Nast studies pay equity , and has issued apologies and pledges to do such things as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ diversity plans , the Archive Repair Project rolls on .
The bulk of Epicurious site traffic goes to the archive , mostly recipes but also articles and other editorial work , Tamarkin and Chopra said .
“ Being such an old site , we ’ re full of a lot of ideas about American cooking that really go through a white lens , ” Tamarkin said .
“ We know that American cooking is Mexican American cooking and Indian American cooking and Nigerian American cooking , that that ’ s the kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this country every day.
” One of the first issues “ repaired , ” he said , was use of the word “ exotic.
” “ I can ’ t think of any situation where that word would be appropriate , and yet it ’ s all over the site , ” Tamarkin said .
“ That ’ s painful for me and I ’ m sure others.
” Another word requiring removal was a lime reference that included a racial slur directed at Black Africans , particularly in South Africa .
Other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ ethnic , ” are also among repairs .
The work , Chopra said , is “ certainly something that I think not just Conde Nast brands but all over food media and media in general are really thinking about.
” Since July , when Tamarkin outlined the project on Epicurious , he and his staff have fixed about 200 recipes and other work .
Some repairs are more complicated than removing a single word , such as an entire story about the “ ethnic ” aisle at the grocery store .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ that fail to properly credit the inspirations for the dish , or degrade the cuisine the dish belongs to .
We have purported to make a recipe ` better ’ by making it faster , or swapping in ingredients that were assumed to be more familiar to American palates , or easier to find .
We have inferred ( and in some cases outright labeled ) ingredients and techniques to be ‘ surprising ’ or ` weird.
’ And we have published terminology that was widely accepted in food writing at the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always been racist , ” Tamarkin wrote .
He noted : “ Certainly there will be times when our edits do not go far enough ; some of our repairs will need repairs.
” For Bon Appetit , that ’ s exactly what happened when an outcry among readers led it to make multiple changes including the headnote and references to Haiti on a pumpkin soup recipe put forth by Chef Marcus Samuelsson , a guest editor .
The magazine referred to it as soup joumou , a beloved Haitian staple that symbolizes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its French colonizers .
It was not soup joumou , but was intended by Samuelsson as an homage .
The magazine adapted an entry from one of his cookbooks , “ The Rise : Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food.
” Both Bon Appetit and Samuelsson , who is Black , apologized after calls of erasure and cultural appropriation .
Much of food media is facing race and ethnicity fallout that can be traced to white dominance in the highest echelons of the field .
On the Epicurious repair project , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people identifying and fixing the archive are staff of color .
Chopra said broader plans are in motion .
“ We ’ re committed to building teams that are inclusive and thoughtful , and that means always assessing and reassessing our policies and processes .
As we transition into 2021 with new leadership , we are examining these across the board , from hiring best practices to making sure we are communicating and working collaboratively and holistically across teams and platforms , ” Chopra added .
In the meantime , Tamarkin and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their archive repairs at Epicurious , where “ Asian ” is no longer the name of a cold rice noodle salad , and a vadouvan spice blend has lost its mention as “ exotic.
” “ A lot of these problems happened because there was a lack of thoughtfulness , ” Tamarkin said , “ so the solutions require that we be thoughtful now .
”

NEW YORK (AP) - With a new Black editor in chief and ambitious promises to do better, a little corner of the Conde Nast universe is taking on racial and cultural injustice one recipe at a time.
Since July, the small staff at Epicurious, a resource site for home cooks, has been scouring 55 years’ worth of recipes from a variety of Conde Nast magazines in search of objectionable titles, ingredient lists and stories told through a white American lens.
“It came after Black Lives Matter, after a lot of consciousness-raising among the editors and staff,” said David Tamarkin, the white digital director for Epicurious. “It came out of conversations that we had about how we can do better, where are we failing and where have our predecessors failed?”
Called the Archive Repair Project, the work is also an outgrowth of complaints and controversies at Conde Nast. But it’s just one effort on a full plate of initiatives, said Sonia Chopra, who’s been executive editor of Bon Appetit and Epicurious for about four months, working under the new editor in chief, Dawn Davis.
In all, the 25-year-old site (with a staff of 10) is a repository of a massive 35,000 recipes from Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Self, House & Garden and Epicurious itself. They stretch back to 1965.
“The language that we use to talk about food has evolved so much from, sure, the 1960s but also the 1990s, and I think it is our duty as journalists, as people who work in food media, to make sure that we are reflecting that appropriately,” Chopra said.
Epicurious and Bon Appetit have been at the center of accusations that also plague others in the food world: undervaluing staffers of color, perpetuating structural racism, racial and gender discrimination, and more. Some of those issues led several Bon Appetit employees to leave earlier this year after Editor-in-Chief Adam Rapoport resigned over a 2004 Halloween “brownface” photo and amid allegations of racial discrimination.
While Conde Nast studies pay equity, and has issued apologies and pledges to do such things as expand unconscious-bias education and create inclusion and diversity plans, the Archive Repair Project rolls on.
The bulk of Epicurious site traffic goes to the archive, mostly recipes but also articles and other editorial work, Tamarkin and Chopra said.
“Being such an old site, we’re full of a lot of ideas about American cooking that really go through a white lens,” Tamarkin said. “We know that American cooking is Mexican American cooking and Indian American cooking and Nigerian American cooking, that that’s the kind of cooking that’s really happening in this country every day.”
One of the first issues “repaired,” he said, was use of the word “exotic.”
“I can’t think of any situation where that word would be appropriate, and yet it’s all over the site,” Tamarkin said. “That’s painful for me and I’m sure others.”
Another word requiring removal was a lime reference that included a racial slur directed at Black Africans, particularly in South Africa.
Other terms, such as “authentic” and “ethnic,” are also among repairs.
The work, Chopra said, is “certainly something that I think not just Conde Nast brands but all over food media and media in general are really thinking about.”
Since July, when Tamarkin outlined the project on Epicurious, he and his staff have fixed about 200 recipes and other work. Some repairs are more complicated than removing a single word, such as an entire story about the “ethnic” aisle at the grocery store.
“We have published recipes with headnotes that fail to properly credit the inspirations for the dish, or degrade the cuisine the dish belongs to. We have purported to make a recipe `better’ by making it faster, or swapping in ingredients that were assumed to be more familiar to American palates, or easier to find. We have inferred (and in some cases outright labeled) ingredients and techniques to be ‘surprising’ or `weird.’ And we have published terminology that was widely accepted in food writing at the time, and that we now recognize has always been racist,” Tamarkin wrote.
He noted: “Certainly there will be times when our edits do not go far enough; some of our repairs will need repairs.”
For Bon Appetit, that’s exactly what happened when an outcry among readers led it to make multiple changes including the headnote and references to Haiti on a pumpkin soup recipe put forth by Chef Marcus Samuelsson, a guest editor. The magazine referred to it as soup joumou, a beloved Haitian staple that symbolizes the country’s bloody liberation from its French colonizers.
It was not soup joumou, but was intended by Samuelsson as an homage. The magazine adapted an entry from one of his cookbooks, “The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food.” Both Bon Appetit and Samuelsson, who is Black, apologized after calls of erasure and cultural appropriation.
Much of food media is facing race and ethnicity fallout that can be traced to white dominance in the highest echelons of the field. On the Epicurious repair project, for instance, just 31% of the people identifying and fixing the archive are staff of color.
Chopra said broader plans are in motion.
“We’re committed to building teams that are inclusive and thoughtful, and that means always assessing and reassessing our policies and processes. As we transition into 2021 with new leadership, we are examining these across the board, from hiring best practices to making sure we are communicating and working collaboratively and holistically across teams and platforms,” Chopra added.
In the meantime, Tamarkin and his crew are slowly pressing on with their archive repairs at Epicurious, where “Asian” is no longer the name of a cold rice noodle salad, and a vadouvan spice blend has lost its mention as “exotic.”
“A lot of these problems happened because there was a lack of thoughtfulness,” Tamarkin said, “so the solutions require that we be thoughtful now.”


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Commission chair cites health for quitting amid probe

SCOTTSBORO , Ala. ( AP ) - A county commission chairman who resigned during an investigation into a surveillance camera that was found inside an Alabama courthouse says he quit because of his health .
The Jackson County Sentinel reported that Tim Guffey issued a statement Wednesday addressing his departure a day earlier as chairman of the Jackson County Commission .
Guffey ‘ s statement said he quit for health reasons , but the paper reported a resignation letter said it doesn ’ t take effect until April 11 .
The commission said Guffey will be on administrative leave until @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one day after the four other commissioners issued a statement saying the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency was investigating “ inappropriate surveillance ” of a worker at the courthouse .
A previously unknown video camera was discovered on Dec. 15 and has since been removed .
Guffey said he ordered the installation of cameras at the courthouse in Scottsboro after a shooting inside the building .
He said he didn ’ t consult with other commissioners about the installation , and the cameras were only meant to observe command areas .
“ I am @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well-being of our employees and citizens were my reasons for their placement , ” he said .

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (AP) - A county commission chairman who resigned during an investigation into a surveillance camera that was found inside an Alabama courthouse says he quit because of his health.
The Jackson County Sentinel reported that Tim Guffey issued a statement Wednesday addressing his departure a day earlier as chairman of the Jackson County Commission.
Guffey’s statement said he quit for health reasons, but the paper reported a resignation letter said it doesn’t take effect until April 11. The commission said Guffey will be on administrative leave until his departure takes effect.
Guffey quit one day after the four other commissioners issued a statement saying the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency was investigating “inappropriate surveillance” of a worker at the courthouse. A previously unknown video camera was discovered on Dec. 15 and has since been removed.
Guffey said he ordered the installation of cameras at the courthouse in Scottsboro after a shooting inside the building. He said he didn’t consult with other commissioners about the installation, and the cameras were only meant to observe command areas.
“I am sorry about the confusion but only the well-being of our employees and citizens were my reasons for their placement,” he said.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Off-duty Detroit officer, man wounded in highway shootout

DETROIT ( AP ) - An off-duty Detroit police officer and a man were wounded in a shootout early Thursday after the man rammed her vehicle against a highway construction barrier , pinning it there before he left his vehicle and opened fire , police said .
The female officer , who returned gunfire and drove from the scene after the shooting , was hospitalized in stable condition with a graze wound , while the 34-year-old man was listed in critical condition with a gunshot wound , police said , citing preliminary information .
The off-duty officer was traveling shortly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ along Interstate 75 on the city ’ s southwest side when her vehicle was rear-ended by a pickup truck driven by the man , police said .
The officer tried to drive away from that truck but the man followed and rammed her vehicle , pinning it against a construction barrier wall before he exited his truck and the two exchanged gunfire .
Sgt .
Nicole Kirkwood , a spokeswoman with the Detroit Police Department , said the wounded man is known to the officer , but the circumstances of the incident remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all we know at this point .
It ’ s still early in the investigation , ” she said Thursday morning .

DETROIT (AP) - An off-duty Detroit police officer and a man were wounded in a shootout early Thursday after the man rammed her vehicle against a highway construction barrier, pinning it there before he left his vehicle and opened fire, police said.
The female officer, who returned gunfire and drove from the scene after the shooting, was hospitalized in stable condition with a graze wound, while the 34-year-old man was listed in critical condition with a gunshot wound, police said, citing preliminary information.
The off-duty officer was traveling shortly after midnight Thursday in her personal vehicle along Interstate 75 on the city’s southwest side when her vehicle was rear-ended by a pickup truck driven by the man, police said.
The officer tried to drive away from that truck but the man followed and rammed her vehicle, pinning it against a construction barrier wall before he exited his truck and the two exchanged gunfire.
Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood, a spokeswoman with the Detroit Police Department, said the wounded man is known to the officer, but the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.
“That’s all we know at this point. It’s still early in the investigation,” she said Thursday morning.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--2 Kingston men charged in fatal shooting of 12-year-old girl

KINGSTON , N.Y. ( AP ) - Authorities have charged two Kingston men in the fatal shooting last week of a 12-year-old girl .
Gilbert Thomas , 24 , and Robert James , 46 , also face charges of first-degree assault and first-degree criminal use of a firearm , the Poughkeepsie Journal reports .
Police said both men were involved in the Dec. 17 shooting that killed D ’ Janeira Mason and injured her 10-year-old brother .
It was not clear whether the men had defense attorneys who could comment on the charges .
Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multifamily house on Van Buren Street .
The children were standing in a bedroom inside their apartment at the time .
Police did not give a motive for the shooting and said an investigation was ongoing .
“ As we continue to grieve and mourn , we must at the same time ensure swift and sure justice for this heinous crime , ” Ryan said in a statement .
D ’ Janeira ’ s grandfather said she had a lot of character .
“ She was just herself , ” Timothy Kenner said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sweet girl .
”

KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) - Authorities have charged two Kingston men in the fatal shooting last week of a 12-year-old girl.
Gilbert Thomas, 24, and Robert James, 46, also face charges of first-degree assault and first-degree criminal use of a firearm, the Poughkeepsie Journal reports.
Police said both men were involved in the Dec. 17 shooting that killed D’Janeira Mason and injured her 10-year-old brother.
It was not clear whether the men had defense attorneys who could comment on the charges.
Ulster County District Attorney David Clegg said nine shots were fired into a multifamily house on Van Buren Street. The children were standing in a bedroom inside their apartment at the time.
Police did not give a motive for the shooting and said an investigation was ongoing.
“As we continue to grieve and mourn, we must at the same time ensure swift and sure justice for this heinous crime,” Ryan said in a statement.
D’Janeira’s grandfather said she had a lot of character.
“She was just herself,” Timothy Kenner said. “She was a good and sweet girl.”


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Forecast calls for heavy rain, possible Christmas flooding

MONTPELIER , Vt. ( AP ) - Heavy rains starting Thursday and lasting into Christmas Day could produce flooding in @ @ @ @ @ Hampshire and Maine , the National Weather says .
The forecast for the region calls @ @ @ @ @ rain beginning late Thursday and lasting into Christmas Day .
Heavy winds are also forecast @ @ @ @ @ .
Vermont Emergency Management is urging people to prepare for power outages .
The flood @ @ @ @ @ receive up to 3 inches of rain or more by the end of Friday .
@ @ @ @ @ release an additional 1 to 2 inches of water .
Water levels in some rivers @ @ @ @ @ level .
Flooding is also possible in low-lying areas and areas with poor drainage .

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Heavy rains starting Thursday and lasting into Christmas Day could produce flooding in parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the National Weather says.
The forecast for the region calls for rising temperatures and heavy rain beginning late Thursday and lasting into Christmas Day.
Heavy winds are also forecast for parts of the region. Vermont Emergency Management is urging people to prepare for power outages.
The flood watch says some areas could receive up to 3 inches of rain or more by the end of Friday. The unseasonably warm temperatures could release an additional 1 to 2 inches of water.
Water levels in some rivers are expected to exceed flood level. Flooding is also possible in low-lying areas and areas with poor drainage.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Israel arrests Palestinian suspect in West Bank killing

JERUSALEM ( AP ) - Israel ’ s internal security agency said Thursday it detained a Palestinian suspected of killing an Israeli woman near a West Bank settlement earlier in the week .
The Shin Bet said a Palestinian suspect from the vicinity in the northern West Bank was apprehended as part of a joint operation with the Israel police and military .
Other details of the case remained under a court-issued gag order .
Esther Horgen , 52 , a mother of six from the West Bank settlement of Tal Menashe , was found dead in a nearby forest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a day earlier .
Israeli officials have called her death a murder , and settler leaders have charged that she was killed in a Palestinian attack .
Israel ’ s figurehead president , Reuven Rivlin , visited the family Thursday and offered his condolences .
Nearly 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank , which Israel captured in the 1967 war .
The Palestinians want the West Bank to be part of their future state and view the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace , a position shared by most @ @ @ @ @

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel’s internal security agency said Thursday it detained a Palestinian suspected of killing an Israeli woman near a West Bank settlement earlier in the week.
The Shin Bet said a Palestinian suspect from the vicinity in the northern West Bank was apprehended as part of a joint operation with the Israel police and military.
Other details of the case remained under a court-issued gag order.
Esther Horgen, 52, a mother of six from the West Bank settlement of Tal Menashe, was found dead in a nearby forest on Monday after she had gone missing a day earlier.
Israeli officials have called her death a murder, and settler leaders have charged that she was killed in a Palestinian attack. Israel’s figurehead president, Reuven Rivlin, visited the family Thursday and offered his condolences.
Nearly 500,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 war. The Palestinians want the West Bank to be part of their future state and view the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace, a position shared by most of the international community.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Chelan County considers limits on short-term rentals

LEAVENWORTH , Wash. ( AP ) - Tourists may soon find it harder to book an Airbnb near Leavenworth , Lake Chelan and other popular areas in Chelan County , Washington .
The Seattle Times reports county commissioners are considering new limits on short-term rentals and could approve restrictions as soon as next week .
Though final details are still being debated , the rules could create a new permitting scheme and limit the number of short-term rentals starting in three years .
The debate has raged on town Facebook pages and in community councils that usually would be busy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( canceled this year because of the pandemic ) .
Locals pushing for the new rules say the explosion of Airbnb , VRBO and other rental sites is transforming their residential neighborhoods and squeezing the local housing market .
A consultant hired by the county estimated at least 1,200 rentals operate in unincorporated areas of Chelan County , up from t 76 in 2014 .
Rental owners counter that their properties help fuel the region ’ s tourism-dependent economy and create jobs .
An analysis by a Central Washington realtors group estimated that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 560 per party daily on food , recreation and shopping .
The proposed rules would affect only unincorporated areas of the county , bypassing cities like Leavenworth that already have their own limits .
Many rentals are listed outside city limits , like those nestled along Lake Chelan and the Chumstick Highway .

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. (AP) - Tourists may soon find it harder to book an Airbnb near Leavenworth, Lake Chelan and other popular areas in Chelan County, Washington.
The Seattle Times reports county commissioners are considering new limits on short-term rentals and could approve restrictions as soon as next week. Though final details are still being debated, the rules could create a new permitting scheme and limit the number of short-term rentals starting in three years.
The debate has raged on town Facebook pages and in community councils that usually would be busy planning events like the annual Santa Breakfast (canceled this year because of the pandemic).
Locals pushing for the new rules say the explosion of Airbnb, VRBO and other rental sites is transforming their residential neighborhoods and squeezing the local housing market. A consultant hired by the county estimated at least 1,200 rentals operate in unincorporated areas of Chelan County, up from t 76 in 2014.
Rental owners counter that their properties help fuel the region’s tourism-dependent economy and create jobs. An analysis by a Central Washington realtors group estimated that people staying in short-term rentals spent about $560 per party daily on food, recreation and shopping.
The proposed rules would affect only unincorporated areas of the county, bypassing cities like Leavenworth that already have their own limits. Many rentals are listed outside city limits, like those nestled along Lake Chelan and the Chumstick Highway.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--5 arrested outside Rhode Island governor's home

PROVIDENCE , R.I. ( AP ) - Five people demanding better COVID-19 protections for state prison inmates have been arrested outside Rhode Island Gov .
Gina Raimondo ’ s home , state police said .
The protesters with the group Code Black RI were arrested outside the Democratic governor ’ s Providence home on Wednesday night after blocking the roadway .
The group , which says it is made up of medical professionals , health care workers , and trainees , said they were holding a vigil in response to the recent death of an Adult Correctional Institutions inmate who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the death of an incarcerated person who died from COVID complications last week , and hold vigil for all those still at risk for untimely death at the ACI , ” the group said in a statement .
The group wants the state to release as many inmates as possible on parole and into community confinement , especially those who are older and medically vulnerable , while providing safer conditions inside the prison .
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told WLNE-TV that the agency is doing everything it can to control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seeking comment was left with the governor ’ s office .

The governors of four New England states are offering a Christmas greeting and plea to avoid spreading the coronavirus.
Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, joined Republican Govs. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, Chris Sununu of New Hampshire and Phil Scott of Vermont in recording a message posted on social media Wednesday night.
“We know this about the virus, it doesn’t care who you are, where you’re from, whether you’re young or old, rich or poor, Democrat or Republican,” Baker said.
“It’s a threat to all of us,” Scott continued. “That’s why until everyone can get vaccinated, it’s so important to take precautions to protect us all especially right now.”
That means mask wearing, hand washing and “If you’re thinking of having a holiday gathering as usual this year, it also means reconsidering that,” said Mills.
Sununu led the group off with a message all four repeated: “Mask up, and Happy Holidays.”
In other coronavirus developments around New England:
___
CHRISTMAS SERVICES
Roman Catholic churches in the Boston area are preparing to celebrate Christmas Mass in person under strict coronavirus safety measures.
Cardinal Sean O’Malley said this week that churches in the Archdiocese of Boston will be operating under significantly reduced capacity, and that registration will be required to attend services.
Social distancing and mask wearing will also be required, and there will be no singing of Christmas carols. O’Malley also advised attendees to dress for warmth because church windows may be left open for ventilation.
Some churches, he added, will not be offering in-person services, but most will be offering livestreamed masses.
He also said the archdiocese will be offering a full slate of Christmas Masses and other holiday programming in English and Spanish on Catholic TV.
Episcopal dioceses in Massachusetts, meanwhile, have urged their churches to suspend in-person services for the rest of the year, including Christmas.
“It will be a year for small, quiet, contemplative possibilities - perhaps not unlike the lonely stable in Bethlehem shared by that little family at the Incarnation, where Christ first came to meet all our hopes and fears,” Massachusetts Episcopal bishops wrote last month in a joint statement. ___
RHODE ISLAND
Five people demanding better COVID-19 protections for state prison inmates were arrested outside Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s home, state police said.
The protesters with the group Code Black RI were arrested outside the Democratic governor’s Providence home on Wednesday night after blocking the roadway.
The group, which says it is made up of medical professionals, health care workers, and trainees, said they were holding a vigil in response to the recent death of an Adult Correctional Institutions inmate who had the coronavirus.
“We mourn the death of an incarcerated person who died from COVID complications last week, and hold vigil for all those still at risk for untimely death at the ACI,” the group said in a statement.
The group wants the state to release as many inmates as possible on parole and into community confinement, especially those who are older and medically vulnerable, while providing safer conditions inside the prison.
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections told WLNE-TV that the agency is doing everything it can to control the spread of COVID-19.
An email seeking comment was left with the governor’s office.
___
VERMONT
State Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine says officials are working out the logistics of how Vermonters will be vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19.
Levine, speaking Thursday during a Christmas Eve virus briefing along with Gov. Phil Scott, says by the end of next week, Vermont is on track to receive 34,000 doses of the two vaccines that have been approved for emergency use.
So far, the state has received about 21,000 doses of the vaccines and about 30% of those doses have been administered to people in the top priority group, which includes health care providers and residents of long-term care facilities.
“It’s a huge and logistically complex undertaking, perhaps the most complicated nationwide, never mind statewide, immunization effort since the early 20th century,” Levine said. “Nonetheless, we will vaccinate Vermont as fast as possible.”
The Vermont Health Department reported 92 new cases of the virus Thursday, bringing the statewide total since the pandemic began to more than 6,780. Three new deaths were reported, for a total of 120.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Vermont decreased over the past two weeks, going from 117 on Dec. 9 to 95.86 on Dec. 23.
___
CONNECTICUT
Trinity Health of New England received its first delivery of COVID-19 vaccine from Moderna on Thursday for its Connecticut hospitals.
The health system said 5,500 doses had been delivered. On Tuesday, the system’s Connecticut hospitals had received an additional shipment of 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Trinity launched its vaccine program on Dec. 15 after it received its first shipment of Pfizer vaccine. As of Tuesday, 2,200 health care workers throughout Connecticut and western Massachusetts had received their first dose. The system expects to vaccinate all of its health care workers who choose to be vaccinated by the end of July or early February.
Trinity Health of New England operates four hospitals in Connecticut, including one rehabilitation facility, and one in Massachusetts.
As of Thursday, 161 of Connecticut’s 169 cities and towns are now in the state’s red zone alert level, the highest of the four levels. The only municipalities not in the red zone this week are Salisbury and Woodbridge, which are both in the orange alert zone; and Canaan, Colebrook, Cornwall, Scotland, Union and Warren, which are in the gray alert zone. Red zone communities have an average daily case rate of more than 15 per 100,000 population.
The number of positive COVID-19 cases statewide increased by more than 2,000 since Wednesday, while the number of hospitalizations climbed by 45, to 1,200. There have been 5,791 COVID-associated deaths, an increase of 55 since Wednesday.
___
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nearly 39,000 people have tested positive for the virus in New Hampshire, with 417 cases announced Thursday that included results from several previous days. The state announced 13 additional deaths, bringing the total to 690.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Hampshire decreased over the past two weeks from 751 on Dec. 9 to 725 on Dec. 23.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--2 more men charged in deadly southwest Missouri shooting

LAMAR , Mo .
( AP ) - Two more men have been charged in a deadly July shooting in @ @ @ @ @ said in a news release that Tre Ackerson , 26 , of Joplin , and @ @ @ @ @ of Duenweg , were charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in the death of Terry Harless @ @ @ @ @ .
Police said Ackerson already was jailed on Jasper County on unrelated charges when the @ @ @ @ @ are looking for Morris .
A third man , Lane Bronson , 27 , of @ @ @ @ @ charged last week and is jailed without bond in Vernon County .
Police are urging @ @ @ @ @ forward .

LAMAR, Mo. (AP) - Two more men have been charged in a deadly July shooting in southwest Missouri.
Lamar police said in a news release that Tre Ackerson, 26, of Joplin, and David Morris, 33, of Duenweg, were charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in the death of Terry Harless, 51, of Lamar.
Police said Ackerson already was jailed on Jasper County on unrelated charges when the warrant was served. Authorities are looking for Morris.
A third man, Lane Bronson, 27, of Webb City, was formally charged last week and is jailed without bond in Vernon County.
Police are urging anyone with information to come forward.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--PUC signs off on $750 million Xcel wind energy project

MINNEAPOLIS ( AP ) - Minnesota regulators have approved Xcel Energy ’ s $ 750 million wind farm “ repowering ” project , one of several proposals from the utility to help speed up the state ’ s economic recovery from COVID-19 .
Xcel plans to retool several existing wind farms , projecting that ratepayers will save $ 160 million through efficiency gains .
The Public Utilities Commission unanimously agreed on Wednesday despite opposition from the Minnesota Department of Commerce .
“ I believe the record shows this will lead to substantial customer savings and ratepayer benefits , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Star Tribune reported .
Xcel ’ s project involves rebuilding wind-power plants with new technology and bigger blades that will extend their life spans by about 10 years .
“ Modernizing our wind farms with new technology will increase the amount of low-cost , carbon-free wind energy we deliver to our customers , while saving money and putting people back to work , ” Minneapolis-based Xcel said in a statement .
The project primarily involves four larger wind farms in southern Minnesota , which together have the power generation capacity of 651 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ same capacity as a large coal generator , except that wind power is variable .
Xcel said the projects will create about 700 construction jobs .
Xcel came forward with the proposal after the PUC , in early May , asked state utilities to offer plans that could aid in the state ’ s economic recovery from the pandemic .
The PUC put an emphasis on projects that would create jobs and more carbon-free energy , the Star Tribune reported .
Environmental and clean-energy groups supported the wind project .
The Commerce Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , had raised concerns about the bidding process for the wind project and whether the forecast savings were accurate .

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Minnesota regulators have approved Xcel Energy’s $750 million wind farm “repowering” project, one of several proposals from the utility to help speed up the state’s economic recovery from COVID-19.
Xcel plans to retool several existing wind farms, projecting that ratepayers will save $160 million through efficiency gains. The Public Utilities Commission unanimously agreed on Wednesday despite opposition from the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
“I believe the record shows this will lead to substantial customer savings and ratepayer benefits,” said Matt Schuerger, a PUC member, the Star Tribune reported.
Xcel’s project involves rebuilding wind-power plants with new technology and bigger blades that will extend their life spans by about 10 years.
“Modernizing our wind farms with new technology will increase the amount of low-cost, carbon-free wind energy we deliver to our customers, while saving money and putting people back to work,” Minneapolis-based Xcel said in a statement.
The project primarily involves four larger wind farms in southern Minnesota, which together have the power generation capacity of 651 megawatts. That’s about the same capacity as a large coal generator, except that wind power is variable.
Xcel said the projects will create about 700 construction jobs.
Xcel came forward with the proposal after the PUC, in early May, asked state utilities to offer plans that could aid in the state’s economic recovery from the pandemic. The PUC put an emphasis on projects that would create jobs and more carbon-free energy, the Star Tribune reported.
Environmental and clean-energy groups supported the wind project. The Commerce Department, which does research for the PUC, had raised concerns about the bidding process for the wind project and whether the forecast savings were accurate.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Family of Alabama woman missing since 2018 seeks answers

MONTGOMERY , Ala. ( AP ) - Donna Calloway ’ s children didn ’ t bother with making Christmas lists this year .
They aren ’ t concerned with presents and they aren ’ t really excited about the holiday .
Not if it ’ s spent without their mom .
They told their aunt , Kawonna Abner , who is raising them , to use money for presents toward hiring a detective to help find their mother .
This will mark the third Christmas that Calloway ’ s children have spent without her .
They ’ ve grown and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time has gone by .
Calloway hasn ’ t been seen or heard from since June 2018 , although police wouldn ’ t allow Abner to file a missing person ’ s report until August 2019 , Abner said .
In the past few weeks , the investigation into Calloway ’ s disappearance has ramped up , but the years-long delay and lack of interest in finding her sister is unforgivable , she says .
Abner has always raised her older sister ’ s eight children .
A provider by nature , she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them access to the same opportunities other children have .
Calloway , who was 39 when she went missing , has an intellectual disability , Abner said .
She ’ s had different cleaning jobs , is able to cook and was able to help with household tasks , but is easily persuaded .
If she were in a bad situation , she wouldn ’ t stick up for herself .
Despite not having the children full time though , she saw them on a regular basis .
When talking about their mom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ kind , quiet and funny woman who was great at making breakfast .
“ I ’ d tell her that I hope she comes back and that I miss her , ” Willie Calloway , 11 , said he ’ d tell his mom if he could talk with her .
“ I want my momma.
” She would not have left them without a word , Abner said of her sister , although that is what she said investigators wanted her to believe .
“ They said they thought she just left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because there were eight of them , ” Abner said .
She said police required her to prove her sister has a disability before a report was finally filed more than a year after Calloway had been gone .
“ My sister loves her children , ” she said .
“ I don ’ t care where she ’ s at , she ’ s going to call and talk to them .
She wouldn ’ t just leave her children.
” She believes her sister was forced into human trafficking .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Abner and her husband are also raising the son of another sister .
Their days start early , stay busy and end late .
Despite so many tiny humans in one home , everything is tucked away neatly .
Children ’ s clothes , shoes and toys are situated inside all closets , including the kitchen ’ s , and bunk beds line the walls of the boys ’ room .
“ It ’ s hard , it ’ s hard every day , ” Abner said of raising her niece and nephews @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what ’ s happened to their mom .
“ No one knows what it ’ s like not to know where your momma is at.
” Calloway is one of 13 people listed as missing from Montgomery on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System - six of whom are Black women .
Research shows Black girls are often classified as runaways rather than missing persons ; shifting the focus from public safety to personal responsibility .
Investigators this month called Abner in to speak with her about Calloway ’ s disappearance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she and Calloway ’ s eldest son could submit their DNA , to confirm a match if Calloway is found .
These developments though , sparked by a community leader ’ s interest in the family ’ s story , come too late , Abner said .
Their mother passed away in May .
She would have been a stronger match for Calloway ’ s DNA than what her sister and son provided .
“ My sister is missing and she doesn ’ t even know my mom is dead , ” Abner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t have family that cares , nothing is going to be done .
If you don ’ t have an education , nothing is going to be done .
If they think it ’ s going to take too much time or money -look what they did to my sisters case.
” Despite the pain and frustration of the unknown , Abner is thankful to be in a position to help - regardless of how tired she is some days .
“ We all have a purpose here on earth and I guess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ using me , ” she said .
“ I don ’ t want to complain because I ’ m thankful for being able to keep them together , most of all .
”

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Donna Calloway’s children didn’t bother with making Christmas lists this year. They aren’t concerned with presents and they aren’t really excited about the holiday.
Not if it’s spent without their mom.
They told their aunt, Kawonna Abner, who is raising them, to use money for presents toward hiring a detective to help find their mother.
This will mark the third Christmas that Calloway’s children have spent without her. They’ve grown and progressed in school. A lot of time has gone by.
Calloway hasn’t been seen or heard from since June 2018, although police wouldn’t allow Abner to file a missing person’s report until August 2019, Abner said. In the past few weeks, the investigation into Calloway’s disappearance has ramped up, but the years-long delay and lack of interest in finding her sister is unforgivable, she says.
Abner has always raised her older sister’s eight children. A provider by nature, she’s centered her world around giving them access to the same opportunities other children have.
Calloway, who was 39 when she went missing, has an intellectual disability, Abner said. She’s had different cleaning jobs, is able to cook and was able to help with household tasks, but is easily persuaded. If she were in a bad situation, she wouldn’t stick up for herself.
Despite not having the children full time though, she saw them on a regular basis. When talking about their mom, the kids described her as a kind, quiet and funny woman who was great at making breakfast.
“I’d tell her that I hope she comes back and that I miss her,” Willie Calloway, 11, said he’d tell his mom if he could talk with her. “I want my momma.”
She would not have left them without a word, Abner said of her sister, although that is what she said investigators wanted her to believe.
“They said they thought she just left her kids to start a new life because there were eight of them,” Abner said. She said police required her to prove her sister has a disability before a report was finally filed more than a year after Calloway had been gone.
“My sister loves her children,” she said. “I don’t care where she’s at, she’s going to call and talk to them. She wouldn’t just leave her children.”
She believes her sister was forced into human trafficking.
In addition to Calloway’s children, Abner and her husband are also raising the son of another sister. Their days start early, stay busy and end late. Despite so many tiny humans in one home, everything is tucked away neatly. Children’s clothes, shoes and toys are situated inside all closets, including the kitchen’s, and bunk beds line the walls of the boys’ room.
“It’s hard, it’s hard every day,” Abner said of raising her niece and nephews while not being able to tell them what’s happened to their mom. “No one knows what it’s like not to know where your momma is at.”
Calloway is one of 13 people listed as missing from Montgomery on the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System - six of whom are Black women. Research shows Black girls are often classified as runaways rather than missing persons; shifting the focus from public safety to personal responsibility.
Investigators this month called Abner in to speak with her about Calloway’s disappearance, and also set up an appointment so she and Calloway’s eldest son could submit their DNA, to confirm a match if Calloway is found.
These developments though, sparked by a community leader’s interest in the family’s story, come too late, Abner said.
Their mother passed away in May. She would have been a stronger match for Calloway’s DNA than what her sister and son provided.
“My sister is missing and she doesn’t even know my mom is dead,” Abner said. “If you don’t have family that cares, nothing is going to be done. If you don’t have an education, nothing is going to be done. If they think it’s going to take too much time or money -look what they did to my sisters case.”
Despite the pain and frustration of the unknown, Abner is thankful to be in a position to help - regardless of how tired she is some days.
“We all have a purpose here on earth and I guess this is God’s way of using me,” she said. “I don’t want to complain because I’m thankful for being able to keep them together, most of all.”


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--North Carolina probes million-gallon hog waste spill

RALEIGH , N.C. ( AP ) - An investigation has begun into the failure of a hog lagoon which led @ @ @ @ @ 1 million gallons of untreated animal waste , North Carolina environmental officials said Wednesday .
@ @ @ @ @ Quality ’ s Division of Water Resources said the spill occurred at a farm in @ @ @ @ @ A news release from the department said it was notified on Dec. 21 and immediately @ @ @ @ @ The department said the spilled animal waste reached Tuckahoe Creek , which is approximately 300 @ @ @ @ @ flows into the Trent River .
Division staff members performed an on-site inspection and collected @ @ @ @ @ analysis .
They will continue to monitor nearby waters for environmental impacts , the news @ @ @

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - An investigation has begun into the failure of a hog lagoon which led to the spill of approximately 1 million gallons of untreated animal waste, North Carolina environmental officials said Wednesday.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources said the spill occurred at a farm in Trenton in Jones County. A news release from the department said it was notified on Dec. 21 and immediately conducted an on-site inspection.
The department said the spilled animal waste reached Tuckahoe Creek, which is approximately 300 feet from the lagoon and flows into the Trent River.
Division staff members performed an on-site inspection and collected water samples for testing and analysis. They will continue to monitor nearby waters for environmental impacts, the news release said.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--AP poll:  A look at the top 10 Tennessee stories of 2020

NASHVILLE , Tenn. ( AP ) - A look at the top 10 Tennessee stories of 2020 , according to an Associated Press survey of reporters , editors and broadcasters .
1 .
COVID-19 : The global COVID-19 pandemic hit Tennessee in March and has since caused hundreds of thousands of confirmed infections , with thousands of Tennesseans killed .
Republican Gov .
Bill Lee has favored a policy that made Tennessee one of the last states to establish a stay-at-home order in the spring and one of the first to reopen its economy , while leaving mask requirements up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Overnight before the state ’ s presidential primary in March , at least six tornadoes carved through Middle Tennessee during storms that killed 25 people , including 19 in Putnam County and two in Nashville .
President Donald Trump surveyed damage on the ground in Putnam County .
During a mid-April Easter , storms in the Southeast produced a tornado on the other side of the state , killing three people in and around Chattanooga .
3 .
RACIAL INJUSTICE : George Floyd ’ s death and the subsequent demonstrations against racial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effects on the state .
Lee recommended moving the bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest out of the state Capitol and into the state museum , and officials cast the first of multiple votes needed to move the bust .
Meanwhile , GOP lawmakers passed and Lee signed into law stiffer penalties against certain protesters .
4 .
VIRUS-VOTING : After COVID-19 hit , Tennessee election officials refused to make it easier to vote by mail as other states had done .
The resistance drew prolonged legal challenges , resulting in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ absentee voting widely available .
The ruling held during the August primary , but the state Supreme Court overruled it for the November election after the state promised that voters more susceptible to COVID-19 , their housemates and their caretakers would still be eligible .
Additionally , a federal judge blocked a requirement that requires first-time voters otherwise qualified to vote by mail to vote in person in their first election , or show ID at their local election office to vote absentee .
5 .
ABORTION RESTRICTIONS : Lee announced support in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tennessee has since faced numerous court losses over abortion prohibitions , including the fetal heartbeat restriction of Lee ’ s law ; a 48-hour waiting period enacted five years ago ; a COVID-19 restriction that deemed abortion an unallowable nonessential procedure ; a required message from doctors to mothers seeking abortion that the procedure could be reversed ; and a ban on abortion based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome or fetal race or gender , which an appeals court allowed to take effect while the court case proceeds .
6 .
SCHOOL @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blocked the state from implementing the governor ’ s contentious school voucher program , ruling it violates the state Constitution by only targeting Nashville and Shelby County .
An appellate court agreed , and the case is now ready for the state Supreme Court ’ s consideration .
7 .
ALEXANDER ’ S IMPEACHMENT SPOTLIGHT : Retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander drew the national spotlight as one of the few publicly undecided Republicans during President Donald Trump ’ s impeachment trial .
Alexander ultimately voted against having witnesses and against impeachment .
8 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ held their ground in Tennessee in 2020 , with President Donald Trump and Sen.-elect Bill Hagerty winning easily in November , and only one net red seat in the GOP-supermajority Legislature flipping to Democrats .
In the race to replace Alexander , Hagerty defeated Vanderbilt trauma surgeon Manny Sethi in the Republican primary , then cruised to a win over Democrat Marquita Bradshaw , the first Black woman nominated by either major party for statewide office in Tennessee .
9 .
DEATH PENALTY : Tennessee executed Nicholas Sutton in the electric chair in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ executions .
Then COVID-19 hit .
Four other death row inmates who were scheduled to die have since been granted reprieves , either by the governor or the state Supreme Court .
But in late November , appellate judges ruled that a Tennessee trial court judge improperly reduced a Black inmate ’ s death sentence to life in prison .
The trial court judge ’ s ruling was based on claims that prosecutors had illegally excluded African Americans from the jury pool .
10 .
PILOT CONVICTIONS TOSSED : A split U.S. 6th @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tossed convictions for the former president of Pilot Flying J and two of his former employees related to a rebate scheme to cheat trucking companies out of millions of dollars .
The three-judge panel ’ s majority reasoned that jurors should not have heard recordings of racist language by the former president , Mark Hazelwood .
Prosecutors have appealed .
Here is a look at the top stories of the previous five years : - 2019 : Rep. Glen Casada resigned as House speaker in August amid multiple scandals , including explicit text @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confidence from fellow House Republicans .
The move prompted an August special session in which Rep. Cameron Sexton was voted in as speaker .
- 2018 : Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry revealed in January that she had a prolonged extramarital affair with her former bodyguard .
The two pleaded guilty separately to felony theft charges related to the affair , and Barry resigned .
- 2017 : Republican Bob Corker engages in a war of words with President Donald Trump and retires from the Senate after two terms .
- 2016 : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mountains National Park , torching hundreds of buildings and leaving 14 people dead .
- 2015 : Four Marines and a sailor are shot and killed in Chattanooga .

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A look at the top 10 Tennessee stories of 2020, according to an Associated Press survey of reporters, editors and broadcasters.
1. COVID-19: The global COVID-19 pandemic hit Tennessee in March and has since caused hundreds of thousands of confirmed infections, with thousands of Tennesseans killed. Republican Gov. Bill Lee has favored a policy that made Tennessee one of the last states to establish a stay-at-home order in the spring and one of the first to reopen its economy, while leaving mask requirements up to counties.
2. DEADLY TORNADOES: Overnight before the state’s presidential primary in March, at least six tornadoes carved through Middle Tennessee during storms that killed 25 people, including 19 in Putnam County and two in Nashville. President Donald Trump surveyed damage on the ground in Putnam County. During a mid-April Easter, storms in the Southeast produced a tornado on the other side of the state, killing three people in and around Chattanooga.
3. RACIAL INJUSTICE: George Floyd’s death and the subsequent demonstrations against racial injustice in Tennessee and worldwide had divergent effects on the state. Lee recommended moving the bust of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest out of the state Capitol and into the state museum, and officials cast the first of multiple votes needed to move the bust. Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers passed and Lee signed into law stiffer penalties against certain protesters.
4. VIRUS-VOTING: After COVID-19 hit, Tennessee election officials refused to make it easier to vote by mail as other states had done. The resistance drew prolonged legal challenges, resulting in a state judge’s ruling that made absentee voting widely available. The ruling held during the August primary, but the state Supreme Court overruled it for the November election after the state promised that voters more susceptible to COVID-19, their housemates and their caretakers would still be eligible. Additionally, a federal judge blocked a requirement that requires first-time voters otherwise qualified to vote by mail to vote in person in their first election, or show ID at their local election office to vote absentee.
5. ABORTION RESTRICTIONS: Lee announced support in January for a sprawling anti-abortion bill. Tennessee has since faced numerous court losses over abortion prohibitions, including the fetal heartbeat restriction of Lee’s law; a 48-hour waiting period enacted five years ago; a COVID-19 restriction that deemed abortion an unallowable nonessential procedure; a required message from doctors to mothers seeking abortion that the procedure could be reversed; and a ban on abortion based on a diagnosis of Down syndrome or fetal race or gender, which an appeals court allowed to take effect while the court case proceeds.
6. SCHOOL VOUCHERS: A Tennessee judge in May blocked the state from implementing the governor’s contentious school voucher program, ruling it violates the state Constitution by only targeting Nashville and Shelby County. An appellate court agreed, and the case is now ready for the state Supreme Court’s consideration.
7. ALEXANDER’S IMPEACHMENT SPOTLIGHT: Retiring U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander drew the national spotlight as one of the few publicly undecided Republicans during President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Alexander ultimately voted against having witnesses and against impeachment.
8. HAGERTY WINS SENATE RACE: Republicans held their ground in Tennessee in 2020, with President Donald Trump and Sen.-elect Bill Hagerty winning easily in November, and only one net red seat in the GOP-supermajority Legislature flipping to Democrats. In the race to replace Alexander, Hagerty defeated Vanderbilt trauma surgeon Manny Sethi in the Republican primary, then cruised to a win over Democrat Marquita Bradshaw, the first Black woman nominated by either major party for statewide office in Tennessee.
9. DEATH PENALTY: Tennessee executed Nicholas Sutton in the electric chair in February, continuing its quick pace of executions. Then COVID-19 hit. Four other death row inmates who were scheduled to die have since been granted reprieves, either by the governor or the state Supreme Court. But in late November, appellate judges ruled that a Tennessee trial court judge improperly reduced a Black inmate’s death sentence to life in prison. The trial court judge’s ruling was based on claims that prosecutors had illegally excluded African Americans from the jury pool.
10. PILOT CONVICTIONS TOSSED: A split U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in October tossed convictions for the former president of Pilot Flying J and two of his former employees related to a rebate scheme to cheat trucking companies out of millions of dollars. The three-judge panel’s majority reasoned that jurors should not have heard recordings of racist language by the former president, Mark Hazelwood. Prosecutors have appealed.
PREVIOUS YEARS
Here is a look at the top stories of the previous five years:
- 2019: Rep. Glen Casada resigned as House speaker in August amid multiple scandals, including explicit text messages, after a vote of no confidence from fellow House Republicans. The move prompted an August special session in which Rep. Cameron Sexton was voted in as speaker.
- 2018: Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry revealed in January that she had a prolonged extramarital affair with her former bodyguard. The two pleaded guilty separately to felony theft charges related to the affair, and Barry resigned.
- 2017: Republican Bob Corker engages in a war of words with President Donald Trump and retires from the Senate after two terms.
- 2016: Wildfires roar out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, torching hundreds of buildings and leaving 14 people dead.
- 2015: Four Marines and a sailor are shot and killed in Chattanooga.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--COVID-19 is top 2020 Tennessee story; tornadoes No. 2

NASHVILLE , Tenn. ( AP ) - The top story in Tennessee in 2020 was the new coronavirus and its crippling grip on every facet of life , while a string of deadly tornadoes in March came in at No .
2 in an annual Associated Press survey of reporters , editors and broadcasters .
The COVID-19 pandemic has sickened hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans this year , and thousands are now dead .
The easily spread virus prompted wrenching fights over the government ’ s role in people ’ s lives : whether to keep kids in school , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ operating at a reduced capacity , and whether to require people across the state to wear masks to stop the virus ’ s spread .
First-term Gov .
Bill Lee , a Republican , approached the health crisis with a focus on minimizing how long Tennessee ’ s economy would remain shuttered .
He pushed for students to return to the classroom and let individual counties decide on their own whether to require masks .
Six metro counties have been able to impose stricter limits on businesses and gatherings than the state .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ dollars worth of planned spending out of fear it could lose up to $ 1.5 billion in revenue due to the pandemic , then ultimately saw revenues begin to grow .
Officials laid out emergency plans to care for COVID-19 patients in temporary medical centers , only to see that sufficient health care staffing , not space , would be the bigger issue .
The virus spread through prisons , homes , bars , churches and nursing homes .
Legendary folk-rock singer-songwriter John Prine and country music stars Charlie Daniels and Joe Diffie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who died in Tennessee .
Heading into 2021 , the recent pace of Tennessee ’ s outbreak has hovered at or near the worst in the country per capita , with serious concern about how the hospital system could handle a prospective holiday outbreak coupled with the ongoing post-Thanksgiving surge .
“ There ’ s no denying that the pandemic - and how Tennessee has navigated it - is the top story for our state this year , ” said Allison Collins of the Chattanooga Times Free Press .
“ With the state @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the confusing balance of power put real pressure on local newspapers to accurately and thoroughly explain how that affected their communities.
” Those affected by the Middle Tennessee tornadoes in March didn ’ t have much time to sort through the wreckage before the global pandemic and its restrictions bore down on them .
They were forced to rebuild their property , homes and lives as the world around them was rapidly closing down to slow the suddenly spreading virus .
The twister-producing storms struck overnight before Tennessee ’ s presidential primary in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 25 people , including two in Nashville and 19 in Putnam County , where President Donald Trump surveyed damage on the ground .
Only a few weeks later on the other side of the state , mid-April Easter storms in the Southeast produced a tornado , killing three people in and around Chattanooga in the early phase of the pandemic .
The No .
3 story this year was the national outcry for racial justice in the wake of George Floyd ’ s death , which played out on several fronts in Tennessee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stance to recommend moving the bust of former Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest out of the state Capitol and into the state museum , and officials cast the first of multiple votes needed to move the bust .
Acting under an arduous state law that makes it difficult to move Confederate and other historical monuments , another state panel could vote next year to move the statue as early as February 2021 .
Meanwhile , reacting to persistent protests against racial injustice near the Capitol , Republican lawmakers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a felony offense to camp out on state ground .
Anyone convicted of a felony loses the right to vote .
Supporters of the new penalty were angered by a demonstration in late May in which a few people set fires inside Nashville ’ s historic courthouse and toppled a statue outside the Capitol honoring Edward Carmack , a state lawmaker and newspaper publisher who espoused racist views .
Opponents noted that such acts were already against the law , and argued there was no need for the crackdown on camping .

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The top story in Tennessee in 2020 was the new coronavirus and its crippling grip on every facet of life, while a string of deadly tornadoes in March came in at No. 2 in an annual Associated Press survey of reporters, editors and broadcasters.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sickened hundreds of thousands of Tennesseans this year, and thousands are now dead. The easily spread virus prompted wrenching fights over the government’s role in people’s lives: whether to keep kids in school, how long to keep businesses closed or operating at a reduced capacity, and whether to require people across the state to wear masks to stop the virus’s spread.
First-term Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, approached the health crisis with a focus on minimizing how long Tennessee’s economy would remain shuttered. He pushed for students to return to the classroom and let individual counties decide on their own whether to require masks. Six metro counties have been able to impose stricter limits on businesses and gatherings than the state.
The state chopped hundreds of millions of dollars worth of planned spending out of fear it could lose up to $1.5 billion in revenue due to the pandemic, then ultimately saw revenues begin to grow. Officials laid out emergency plans to care for COVID-19 patients in temporary medical centers, only to see that sufficient health care staffing, not space, would be the bigger issue.
The virus spread through prisons, homes, bars, churches and nursing homes. Legendary folk-rock singer-songwriter John Prine and country music star Joe Diffie were among the thousands of COVID-19 patients who died in Tennessee.
Heading into 2021, the recent pace of Tennessee’s outbreak has hovered at or near the worst in the country per capita, with serious concern about how the hospital system could handle a prospective holiday outbreak coupled with the ongoing post-Thanksgiving surge.
“There’s no denying that the pandemic - and how Tennessee has navigated it - is the top story for our state this year,” said Allison Collins of the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “With the state leaving many decisions up to counties, the confusing balance of power put real pressure on local newspapers to accurately and thoroughly explain how that affected their communities.”
Those affected by the Middle Tennessee tornadoes in March didn’t have much time to sort through the wreckage before the global pandemic and its restrictions bore down on them. They were forced to rebuild their property, homes and lives as the world around them was rapidly closing down to slow the suddenly spreading virus.
The twister-producing storms struck overnight before Tennessee’s presidential primary in March, causing massive damage and killing 25 people, including two in Nashville and 19 in Putnam County, where President Donald Trump surveyed damage on the ground.
Only a few weeks later on the other side of the state, mid-April Easter storms in the Southeast produced a tornado, killing three people in and around Chattanooga in the early phase of the pandemic.
The No. 3 story this year was the national outcry for racial justice in the wake of George Floyd’s death, which played out on several fronts in Tennessee.
The governor broke with his previous stance to recommend moving the bust of former Ku Klux Klan leader and Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest out of the state Capitol and into the state museum, and officials cast the first of multiple votes needed to move the bust. Acting under an arduous state law that makes it difficult to move Confederate and other historical monuments, another state panel could vote next year to move the statue as early as February 2021.
Meanwhile, reacting to persistent protests against racial injustice near the Capitol, Republican lawmakers, backed by Lee, made it a felony offense to camp out on state ground. Anyone convicted of a felony loses the right to vote.
Supporters of the new penalty were angered by a demonstration in late May in which a few people set fires inside Nashville’s historic courthouse and toppled a statue outside the Capitol honoring Edward Carmack, a state lawmaker and newspaper publisher who espoused racist views. Opponents noted that such acts were already against the law, and argued there was no need for the crackdown on camping.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--2-year-old dies of gunshot wound in St. Paul apartment

ST. PAUL , Minn. ( AP ) - A 2-year-old boy died in a shooting in a St. Paul apartment @ @ @ @ @ child died Wednesday in an apartment in a neighborhood north of downtown .
Police were @ @ @ @ @ 1:12 p.m. by someone in the apartment who called to say that a boy had @ @ @ @ @ Spokesman Steve Linders said police were questioning three juveniles who may have been in the @ @ @ @ @ off .
They were also trying to determine if any other people had been in @ @ @ @ @ this time , we don ’ t know if this was accidental , self-inflicted or @ @ @ @ @ .
Linders said the boy was pronounced dead eight minutes after paramedics reached the scene @

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A 2-year-old boy died in a shooting in a St. Paul apartment, police said.
The child died Wednesday in an apartment in a neighborhood north of downtown. Police were called to the scene about 1:12 p.m. by someone in the apartment who called to say that a boy had “hurt his head.”
Spokesman Steve Linders said police were questioning three juveniles who may have been in the apartment when a gun went off. They were also trying to determine if any other people had been in the apartment.
“At this time, we don’t know if this was accidental, self-inflicted or intentional,” Linders said.
Linders said the boy was pronounced dead eight minutes after paramedics reached the scene.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Ex-data analyst demands Florida police return computers

TALLAHASSEE , Fla. ( AP ) - A former Florida Department of Health data analyst who says a raid on her home by state investigators was payback for speaking out about what she describes were efforts to falsify COVID-19 figures is demanding that they return seized computer equipment and cell phones .
Rebekah Jones said in a court filing on Wednesday that what the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is accusing her of doing isn ’ t a crime , according to the Miami Herald .
Jones hasn ’ t been charged with a crime , but state investigators raided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a search warrant that they had probable cause to believe Jones was behind an anonymous message sent on Nov. 10 to Jones ’ former colleagues at the Florida Department of Health using the emergency operations ReadyOps system .
The message read : “ It ’ s time , to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead .
You know , this is wrong .
You don ’ t have to be part of this .
Be a hero .
Speak out before it ’ s too late.
” Since the raid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and password to the private email system was posted in at least seven pdf files that were widely available on the Internet to anyone who had the address , according to the Herald .
Bennett Cyphers , a technology expert with the the Electronic Frontier Foundation , a San Francisco-based nonprofit , said in Jones ‘ court filing Wednesday that the FDLE failed to provide “ sufficient evidence ” linking the IP address of the unauthorized message to Jones ’ home .
An IP address “ can not be used to identify a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ IP addresses used by one customer in one week “ may be used by a different customer next week , ” Cyphers said .
Jones helped develop the state ’ s COVID-19 dashboard , but she was later fired for insubordination and has since publicly questioned the accuracy of the data .

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A former Florida Department of Health data analyst who says a raid on her home by state investigators was payback for speaking out about what she describes were efforts to falsify COVID-19 figures is demanding that they return seized computer equipment and cell phones.
Rebekah Jones said in a court filing on Wednesday that what the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is accusing her of doing isn’t a crime, according to the Miami Herald.
Jones hasn’t been charged with a crime, but state investigators raided her house earlier this month, saying in a search warrant that they had probable cause to believe Jones was behind an anonymous message sent on Nov. 10 to Jones’ former colleagues at the Florida Department of Health using the emergency operations ReadyOps system.
The message read: “It’s time, to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know, this is wrong. You don’t have to be part of this. Be a hero. Speak out before it’s too late.”
Jones denies writing the message.
Since the raid, evidence has emerged that the username and password to the private email system was posted in at least seven pdf files that were widely available on the Internet to anyone who had the address, according to the Herald.
Bennett Cyphers, a technology expert with the the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, said in Jones’ court filing Wednesday that the FDLE failed to provide “sufficient evidence” linking the IP address of the unauthorized message to Jones’ home.
An IP address “cannot be used to identify a particular device or person,” since IP addresses used by one customer in one week “may be used by a different customer next week,” Cyphers said.
Jones helped develop the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, but she was later fired for insubordination and has since publicly questioned the accuracy of the data.


washingtontimes--2020-12-24--Boat capsizes between Uganda and Congo, killing more than 30

KINSHASA , Congo ( AP ) - More than 30 people have died in an overnight capsizing on Lake Albert @ @ @ @ @ Congo from Uganda , according to a civil society group .
Most of the victims @ @ @ @ @ to Congo to avoid coronavirus restrictions , said Vital Adubanga , president of the Wangongo @ @ @ @ @ s Ituri province .
Traffic between the countries is officially at a standstill as part @ @ @ @ @ .
The dugout canoe capsized near the town of Kolokoto , he said .
“ @ @ @ @ @ caused this incident , ” he said .
“ We have so far recorded a @ @ @ @ @ dead people and seven survivors.
” He said owners must respect regulations that prohibit night @ @ @ @ @ traders have been forced to be confined in Uganda following the COVID-19 pandemic , ” @ @ @ @ @ wanted to return to their country … We deplore this behavior which often leads to @ @ @ @ @ to be discouraged .
”

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) - More than 30 people have died in an overnight capsizing on Lake Albert while trying to return to Congo from Uganda, according to a civil society group.
Most of the victims were trying to return illegally to Congo to avoid coronavirus restrictions, said Vital Adubanga, president of the Wangongo chiefdom in eastern Congo’s Ituri province. Traffic between the countries is officially at a standstill as part of the fight against COVID-19.
The dugout canoe capsized near the town of Kolokoto, he said.
“A strong wind blew and caused this incident,” he said. “We have so far recorded a balance sheet provisionally of 33 dead people and seven survivors.”
He said owners must respect regulations that prohibit night boats.
“More Congolese traders have been forced to be confined in Uganda following the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. “They wanted to return to their country … We deplore this behavior which often leads to deaths. Night boats are to be discouraged.”