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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
June 26, 2021
(CNN) — Venice should be added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger, advisors to the body have recommended, due to "threats" facing the lagoon city -- including the cruise ships that continue to dock in the city center.
The recommendation -- or draft decision -- was made Monday, following the production of its annual conservation report. Venice's potential addition to the list has been added to the provisional agenda for its plenary session to be held from July 16-31 .
The final decision will be taken by the World Heritage Committee.
The report produced ahead of the session resolves to "inscribe Venice and its lagoon (Italy) on the list of World Heritage in Danger" due to the city facing "ascertained and potential danger due to individual threats and their cumulative impacts."
One of those "threats" is the cruise ships which are continuing to ply the lagoon, sailing through the historic city center, despite the Italian government ruling that they should be banned. ...................(more)
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/venice-unesco-endangered-list/index.html
Venice at risk of UNESCO 'endangered' listing
(CNN) — Venice should be added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage in Danger, advisors to the body have recommended, due to "threats" facing the lagoon city -- including the cruise ships that continue to dock in the city center.
The recommendation -- or draft decision -- was made Monday, following the production of its annual conservation report. Venice's potential addition to the list has been added to the provisional agenda for its plenary session to be held from July 16-31 .
The final decision will be taken by the World Heritage Committee.
The report produced ahead of the session resolves to "inscribe Venice and its lagoon (Italy) on the list of World Heritage in Danger" due to the city facing "ascertained and potential danger due to individual threats and their cumulative impacts."
One of those "threats" is the cruise ships which are continuing to ply the lagoon, sailing through the historic city center, despite the Italian government ruling that they should be banned. ...................(more)
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/venice-unesco-endangered-list/index.html
June 26, 2021
(Detroit Free Press) Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Transportation on Saturday morning are dealing with the impact several inches of rain that began Friday had on local roadways.
Multiple freeways are still closed and first responders are searching abandoned vehicles after heavy rain caused roadways to flood.
More than 6.6 inches of rain fell in Garden City, according an Iowa State University tracker. The tracker also listed rain accumulations of 6.5 inches in Grosse Pointe and 4.4 inches in Bloomfield Hills. Detroit got 2.37 inches since Friday, according to National Weather Service.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, City of Detroit Department of Public Works, General Services Department and others are assessing the storm's impact across the city, according to a release. Later today, they will provide a hotline for residents to report street or basement flooding and detail how to make claims for damaged property. .........(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/26/metro-detroit-freeways-flooding-rain/5356741001/
CRAZY downpours in southeast Michigan last night
(Detroit Free Press) Michigan State Police and the Michigan Department of Transportation on Saturday morning are dealing with the impact several inches of rain that began Friday had on local roadways.
Multiple freeways are still closed and first responders are searching abandoned vehicles after heavy rain caused roadways to flood.
More than 6.6 inches of rain fell in Garden City, according an Iowa State University tracker. The tracker also listed rain accumulations of 6.5 inches in Grosse Pointe and 4.4 inches in Bloomfield Hills. Detroit got 2.37 inches since Friday, according to National Weather Service.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, City of Detroit Department of Public Works, General Services Department and others are assessing the storm's impact across the city, according to a release. Later today, they will provide a hotline for residents to report street or basement flooding and detail how to make claims for damaged property. .........(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/26/metro-detroit-freeways-flooding-rain/5356741001/
June 26, 2021
(Salon) Congressional Democrats have introduced a bill aimed at preventing "election subversion" after Republican state lawmakers wasted no time in using newly passed voting laws to seize control of local elections, replacing existing officials with their own appointees.
Democrats have rallied around the For The People Act, also known as HR 1 and S 1, a sweeping voting rights bill that would codify voter protections, create new election administration standards and crack down on dark money in politics. But while the bill could prevent state crackdowns on mail-in voting, driven by false claims about their security by former President Donald Trump and his allies, it would do nothing about the wide range of new state laws that strip power from election officials and will make it easier to overturn future elections.
A group of Senate and House Democrats this week introduced the Preventing Election Subversion Act, aimed at protecting election officials from political pressure by barring unjust removal of local election officials, making it a federal crime to intimidate election workers and restricting poll watchers.
"The dangers of the voter suppression efforts we're seeing in Georgia and across the nation are not theoretical, and we can't allow power-hungry state actors to squeeze the people out of their own democracy by overruling the decisions of local election officials," Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., the bill's lead sponsor, said in a statement. "This legislation is critical to ensuring the federal government has the tools to make sure every eligible voter's voice is heard and their ballot is counted to help decide the direction of our country." .........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/06/26/gop-using-new-laws-to-drive-out-local-democratic-election-officials--and-not-just-in-georgia/
GOP using new laws to drive out local Democratic election officials -- and not just in Georgia
(Salon) Congressional Democrats have introduced a bill aimed at preventing "election subversion" after Republican state lawmakers wasted no time in using newly passed voting laws to seize control of local elections, replacing existing officials with their own appointees.
Democrats have rallied around the For The People Act, also known as HR 1 and S 1, a sweeping voting rights bill that would codify voter protections, create new election administration standards and crack down on dark money in politics. But while the bill could prevent state crackdowns on mail-in voting, driven by false claims about their security by former President Donald Trump and his allies, it would do nothing about the wide range of new state laws that strip power from election officials and will make it easier to overturn future elections.
A group of Senate and House Democrats this week introduced the Preventing Election Subversion Act, aimed at protecting election officials from political pressure by barring unjust removal of local election officials, making it a federal crime to intimidate election workers and restricting poll watchers.
"The dangers of the voter suppression efforts we're seeing in Georgia and across the nation are not theoretical, and we can't allow power-hungry state actors to squeeze the people out of their own democracy by overruling the decisions of local election officials," Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., the bill's lead sponsor, said in a statement. "This legislation is critical to ensuring the federal government has the tools to make sure every eligible voter's voice is heard and their ballot is counted to help decide the direction of our country." .........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/06/26/gop-using-new-laws-to-drive-out-local-democratic-election-officials--and-not-just-in-georgia/
June 26, 2021
(Billboard) With a gorgeous, androgynous falsetto that powered futuristic disco hits “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and “Do Ya Wanna Funk,” Sylvester was a musically singular talent whose mélange of disco, soul, hi-NRG and dance made him one of the most uncategorizable talents of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
He was also an unabashedly queer presence in an era not terribly warm to LGBTQ voices, an artist who embraced the gender spectrum decades before ‘gender queer’ became part of the national conversation.
Being black and queer, Sylvester is often unfairly relegated to the status of minor footnote in pop history. But even 29 years after his death, his fearless, pioneering life remains a source of inspiration.
....(snip)....
Sylvester Turned Others’ Prejudices Into Assets
“He was black, gay and some form of gender queer before there was that term,” Gamson says. “All these things that were the basis for marginalization, he turned into superstardom for a minute. He turned things that were used to stigmatize him into assets.”
Sylvester Was One of the First Openly Gender Fluid Musicians
Sylvester’s gender identification “depended on what day you caught him,” Gamson says. “It was a fluid gender more than anything else. Sometimes he was male identified, other times Sylvester was full-on drag queen, but mostly it was some combination. When I was interviewing people, they would sometimes refer to Sylvester as she and he. Most people experienced him as male or just Sylvester. He was not easily classified in terms of gender. A lot of people first met him and thought he was a woman. But if you were at a gay bar and he was in boy drag, that's how you saw him. To him, it was all drag more or less.” ........(more)
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/pride/7850196/sylvester-pioneer-lgbtq?
Sylvester: Remembering the Inspirational Life of an LGBTQ Musical Pioneer
(Billboard) With a gorgeous, androgynous falsetto that powered futuristic disco hits “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)” and “Do Ya Wanna Funk,” Sylvester was a musically singular talent whose mélange of disco, soul, hi-NRG and dance made him one of the most uncategorizable talents of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.
He was also an unabashedly queer presence in an era not terribly warm to LGBTQ voices, an artist who embraced the gender spectrum decades before ‘gender queer’ became part of the national conversation.
Being black and queer, Sylvester is often unfairly relegated to the status of minor footnote in pop history. But even 29 years after his death, his fearless, pioneering life remains a source of inspiration.
....(snip)....
Sylvester Turned Others’ Prejudices Into Assets
“He was black, gay and some form of gender queer before there was that term,” Gamson says. “All these things that were the basis for marginalization, he turned into superstardom for a minute. He turned things that were used to stigmatize him into assets.”
Sylvester Was One of the First Openly Gender Fluid Musicians
Sylvester’s gender identification “depended on what day you caught him,” Gamson says. “It was a fluid gender more than anything else. Sometimes he was male identified, other times Sylvester was full-on drag queen, but mostly it was some combination. When I was interviewing people, they would sometimes refer to Sylvester as she and he. Most people experienced him as male or just Sylvester. He was not easily classified in terms of gender. A lot of people first met him and thought he was a woman. But if you were at a gay bar and he was in boy drag, that's how you saw him. To him, it was all drag more or less.” ........(more)
https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/pride/7850196/sylvester-pioneer-lgbtq?
June 25, 2021
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A small single-family house stands in the middle of a huge construction project in Coral Gables, Florida. The $600 million commercial development is the largest in the city’s history. The homeowner, however, says his home carries priceless sentimental value and he won’t sell it — no matter the noise, rubble or price.
Speaking of price, the owner Orlando Capote has been offered a lot, many times. “The house is my soul. So what good is it to sell your soul for all the money in the world,” he told WFOR-TV in Miami.
His home in the middle of a construction zone and is now engulfed by the most mega commercial development in Coral Gables history. “This house is like a hard drive. As I look around and live in it and move through it, I relive a lot of memories. That I could not find in another house,” said Capote.
Capote tells CBS Miami that when his father came from Cuba, he worked double to buy this home for their family. That was back in 1989. He would spend the majority of his time outside with the mango trees. .............(more)
https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2021/06/22/coral-gables-development-florida-man-orlando-capote-refuses-sell-family-house/
Florida Man Refuses To Sell Family House Now Swallowed By Massive Development
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – A small single-family house stands in the middle of a huge construction project in Coral Gables, Florida. The $600 million commercial development is the largest in the city’s history. The homeowner, however, says his home carries priceless sentimental value and he won’t sell it — no matter the noise, rubble or price.
Speaking of price, the owner Orlando Capote has been offered a lot, many times. “The house is my soul. So what good is it to sell your soul for all the money in the world,” he told WFOR-TV in Miami.
His home in the middle of a construction zone and is now engulfed by the most mega commercial development in Coral Gables history. “This house is like a hard drive. As I look around and live in it and move through it, I relive a lot of memories. That I could not find in another house,” said Capote.
Capote tells CBS Miami that when his father came from Cuba, he worked double to buy this home for their family. That was back in 1989. He would spend the majority of his time outside with the mango trees. .............(more)
https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2021/06/22/coral-gables-development-florida-man-orlando-capote-refuses-sell-family-house/
June 25, 2021
(Salon) The Biden administration is quietly engineering a series of expansions to Medicaid that may bolster protections for millions of low-income Americans and bring more people into the program.
Biden's efforts — which have been largely overshadowed by other economic and health initiatives — represent an abrupt reversal of the Trump administration's moves to scale back the safety-net program.
The moves, some of which were funded by the covid relief bill that passed in March, could further boost Medicaid enrollment — which the pandemic pushed to a record 80.5 million in January, including those served by the related Children's Health Insurance Program. That's up from 70 million before the covid crisis began. New mothers, inmates and undocumented immigrants are among those who could gain coverage. At the same time, the Biden administration is opening the door to new Medicaid-funded services such as food and housing that the government insurance plan hasn't traditionally offered.
"There is a paradigm change underway," said Jennifer Langer Jacobs, Medicaid director in New Jersey, one of a growing number of states trying to expand home-based Medicaid services to keep enrollees out of nursing homes and other institutions.
"We've had discussions at the federal level in the last 90 days that are completely different from where we've ever been before," Langer Jacobs said. ............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/06/25/biden-quietly-transforms-medicaid-safety-net_partner/
Biden quietly transforms Medicaid safety net
(Salon) The Biden administration is quietly engineering a series of expansions to Medicaid that may bolster protections for millions of low-income Americans and bring more people into the program.
Biden's efforts — which have been largely overshadowed by other economic and health initiatives — represent an abrupt reversal of the Trump administration's moves to scale back the safety-net program.
The moves, some of which were funded by the covid relief bill that passed in March, could further boost Medicaid enrollment — which the pandemic pushed to a record 80.5 million in January, including those served by the related Children's Health Insurance Program. That's up from 70 million before the covid crisis began. New mothers, inmates and undocumented immigrants are among those who could gain coverage. At the same time, the Biden administration is opening the door to new Medicaid-funded services such as food and housing that the government insurance plan hasn't traditionally offered.
"There is a paradigm change underway," said Jennifer Langer Jacobs, Medicaid director in New Jersey, one of a growing number of states trying to expand home-based Medicaid services to keep enrollees out of nursing homes and other institutions.
"We've had discussions at the federal level in the last 90 days that are completely different from where we've ever been before," Langer Jacobs said. ............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/06/25/biden-quietly-transforms-medicaid-safety-net_partner/
June 25, 2021
(WXYZ) — The Transportation Security Administration says they are dealing with a rise in unruly passengers as more people resume traveling amid the falling COVID-19 numbers.
In a press release addressing the rising number of unruly passengers, the TSA cites two separate incidents this month, one in Louisville and the other in Denver. In the Louisville incident, a passenger allegedly assaulted two TSA officials while attempting to breach the exit lane. In the Denver incident, a passenger allegedly bit two TSA agents.
The suspect in the Louisville incident is facing criminal charges. The Denver incident is still under investigation. The suspects in both incidents are facing potential civil penalties of up to $13,910 for each violation of TSA security requirements.
In the wake of these incidents, the TSA is reminding passengers that they will not tolerate such behavior and will pursue criminal charges and civil penalties if they occur. ..........(more)
https://www.wxyz.com/news/tsa-issues-warning-amid-rise-in-unruly-passengers
TSA issues warning amid rise in unruly passengers
(WXYZ) — The Transportation Security Administration says they are dealing with a rise in unruly passengers as more people resume traveling amid the falling COVID-19 numbers.
In a press release addressing the rising number of unruly passengers, the TSA cites two separate incidents this month, one in Louisville and the other in Denver. In the Louisville incident, a passenger allegedly assaulted two TSA officials while attempting to breach the exit lane. In the Denver incident, a passenger allegedly bit two TSA agents.
The suspect in the Louisville incident is facing criminal charges. The Denver incident is still under investigation. The suspects in both incidents are facing potential civil penalties of up to $13,910 for each violation of TSA security requirements.
In the wake of these incidents, the TSA is reminding passengers that they will not tolerate such behavior and will pursue criminal charges and civil penalties if they occur. ..........(more)
https://www.wxyz.com/news/tsa-issues-warning-amid-rise-in-unruly-passengers
June 25, 2021
(Guardian UK) Earlier this month, the water level in Lake Oroville – California’s second-largest reservoir – was so low that dozens of houseboats were hauled out. There wasn’t enough water to hold them.
In a few weeks, officials say, the lake’s water levels are likely to dip even lower – forcing them to shut down one of the state’s largest hydroelectric power plants for the first time since it was built in 1967.
Amid a historic megadrought, the climate crisis and energy crisis in California are about to collide, and set off a vicious cycle. The state’s diminishing water supply is cutting down hydropower, and California is relying more on fossil fuels as extreme summer heat drives up electricity use.
“This situation really highlights the ways in which climate and energy and water are all very tightly linked,” said Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate scientist at Stanford University. With meteorologists anticipating a hot, fiery summer, experts say that cuts to hydropower will increase pressure on the state’s already-stressed power grid, as residents across the region crank up their air conditioners. And as drought desiccates the west, the state’s increasing reliance on gas-fired plants could also compromise its goal of transitioning to carbon-free electricity. ..............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/24/california-drought-hydropower-fossil-fuels
'Less water means more gas': how drought will test California's stressed power grid
(Guardian UK) Earlier this month, the water level in Lake Oroville – California’s second-largest reservoir – was so low that dozens of houseboats were hauled out. There wasn’t enough water to hold them.
In a few weeks, officials say, the lake’s water levels are likely to dip even lower – forcing them to shut down one of the state’s largest hydroelectric power plants for the first time since it was built in 1967.
Amid a historic megadrought, the climate crisis and energy crisis in California are about to collide, and set off a vicious cycle. The state’s diminishing water supply is cutting down hydropower, and California is relying more on fossil fuels as extreme summer heat drives up electricity use.
“This situation really highlights the ways in which climate and energy and water are all very tightly linked,” said Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate scientist at Stanford University. With meteorologists anticipating a hot, fiery summer, experts say that cuts to hydropower will increase pressure on the state’s already-stressed power grid, as residents across the region crank up their air conditioners. And as drought desiccates the west, the state’s increasing reliance on gas-fired plants could also compromise its goal of transitioning to carbon-free electricity. ..............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/24/california-drought-hydropower-fossil-fuels
June 24, 2021
(Detroit Free Press) What started as a Friday night boat cleaning resulted in the discovery of a 95-year-old message in a bottle.
Jennifer Dowker is the owner of Nautical North Family Adventures in Cheboygan, which offers tours and charter services. When a prospective scuba diving client asked to try breathing through a regulator onshore, Dowker invited him to try it as she cleaned the windows on her glass-bottom boat.
While diving in the Cheboygan River Friday night, Dowker said she wanted to find something cool to keep her client interested.
"I went upstream a little bit further and saw the green bottle there and I'm like, 'Oh that looks kind of cool.' So I picked it up and I saw the paper inside, I'm like, 'Oh my gosh this is awesome,'" she said.
After swimming back to the boat, Dowker asked her first mate, Rob Hemmer, to take a picture of her with the bottle to help find the family. ..............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/23/cheboygan-message-in-a-bottle/5318912001/
95-year-old message in a bottle found in the Cheboygan River
(Detroit Free Press) What started as a Friday night boat cleaning resulted in the discovery of a 95-year-old message in a bottle.
Jennifer Dowker is the owner of Nautical North Family Adventures in Cheboygan, which offers tours and charter services. When a prospective scuba diving client asked to try breathing through a regulator onshore, Dowker invited him to try it as she cleaned the windows on her glass-bottom boat.
While diving in the Cheboygan River Friday night, Dowker said she wanted to find something cool to keep her client interested.
"I went upstream a little bit further and saw the green bottle there and I'm like, 'Oh that looks kind of cool.' So I picked it up and I saw the paper inside, I'm like, 'Oh my gosh this is awesome,'" she said.
After swimming back to the boat, Dowker asked her first mate, Rob Hemmer, to take a picture of her with the bottle to help find the family. ..............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/06/23/cheboygan-message-in-a-bottle/5318912001/
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit, MI
Member since: Fri Oct 29, 2004, 12:18 AM
Number of posts: 77,078
