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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
July 27, 2021
The Potomac Yard Metrorail Station in Alexandria, Va., will be delayed a minimum of five months due to a needed redesign of the Automatic Train Control (ATC) systems.
The $370-million project is expected to provide walkable access to regional transportation systems for residents of Alexandria when it opens, which will now be fall 2022 rather than April 2022.
Engineers from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) determined the original design of the ATC system do not meet all the safety requirements to ensure the safe operations of the trains. The specifications for the ATC systems were written by WMATA and the transit agency recognizes it is accountable for the delay due to its project management decisions.
WMATA says it is working with the contractor to reduce delays and ensure system safety. Construction will continue on the station, but there are track-related construction elements that are dependent on the completion of the ATC design. .............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/railroad-signals-ptc-control-systems-and-products/article/21231953/potomac-yard-metrorail-station-delayed-at-least-five-months-due-to-inexcusable-mistake
DC/VA/MD: Potomac Yard Metrorail Station delayed at least five months due to 'inexcusable' mistake
The Potomac Yard Metrorail Station in Alexandria, Va., will be delayed a minimum of five months due to a needed redesign of the Automatic Train Control (ATC) systems.
The $370-million project is expected to provide walkable access to regional transportation systems for residents of Alexandria when it opens, which will now be fall 2022 rather than April 2022.
Engineers from the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) determined the original design of the ATC system do not meet all the safety requirements to ensure the safe operations of the trains. The specifications for the ATC systems were written by WMATA and the transit agency recognizes it is accountable for the delay due to its project management decisions.
WMATA says it is working with the contractor to reduce delays and ensure system safety. Construction will continue on the station, but there are track-related construction elements that are dependent on the completion of the ATC design. .............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/railroad-signals-ptc-control-systems-and-products/article/21231953/potomac-yard-metrorail-station-delayed-at-least-five-months-due-to-inexcusable-mistake
July 27, 2021
New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) will require its more than 800 employees to be vaccinated by providing valid proof of vaccination. The mandate goes into effect July 26 with unvaccinated employees required to receive their first shot no later than July 29 and a second dose as instructed by the vaccination administrator.
“Providing a safe environment for our RTA employees and transit riders is the board’s top concern,” said Flozell Daniels, Jr., chair, RTA Board of Commissioners. “Since March 2020, we’ve implemented data-informed and community responsive policies to mitigate disparate impacts and best protect all members of our team and the riding public from exposure to COVID-19 and its variants - known and unknown.”
CEO Alex Wiggins says the vaccine mandate is being implemented “out of an abundance of caution.”
“This decision was made to protect the health and safety of our transit operators, administrative employees and our ridership as the region sees increased COVID-19 transmission rates among the unvaccinated individuals,” said Wiggins. ..........(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/safety-security/article/21231699/new-orleans-rta-to-mandate-vaccines-for-all-employees
New Orleans RTA to mandate vaccines for all employees
New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) will require its more than 800 employees to be vaccinated by providing valid proof of vaccination. The mandate goes into effect July 26 with unvaccinated employees required to receive their first shot no later than July 29 and a second dose as instructed by the vaccination administrator.
“Providing a safe environment for our RTA employees and transit riders is the board’s top concern,” said Flozell Daniels, Jr., chair, RTA Board of Commissioners. “Since March 2020, we’ve implemented data-informed and community responsive policies to mitigate disparate impacts and best protect all members of our team and the riding public from exposure to COVID-19 and its variants - known and unknown.”
CEO Alex Wiggins says the vaccine mandate is being implemented “out of an abundance of caution.”
“This decision was made to protect the health and safety of our transit operators, administrative employees and our ridership as the region sees increased COVID-19 transmission rates among the unvaccinated individuals,” said Wiggins. ..........(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/safety-security/article/21231699/new-orleans-rta-to-mandate-vaccines-for-all-employees
July 27, 2021
(Salon) Subway's tuna sandwiches may not be their most famous product, but some (including this author) would argue they are one of their tastiest. Needless to say, it was alarming to read a report that a New York Times investigation into the sandwich's tuna found "no amplifiable tuna DNA," suggesting that the so-called tuna sandwich was not, in fact, tuna fish. Subway later questioned the reliability of the DNA tests, claiming in a statement that it "is simply not a reliable way to identify denatured proteins like Subway's tuna, which was cooked before it was tested."
The viral "fake tuna" debacle has undoubtedly hurt Subway's brand, and heightened a popular perception of corporations as shifty and untrustworthy. Yet regardless of the mystery meat's provenance, the saga highlights a larger industrial supply chain problem — namely, that fish fraud, as it is known, is prevalent. That means that if indeed some of Subway's tuna is "fake," it may not entirely be their fault.
....(snip)....
Tuna isn't the only fish that has fraud problems. Oceana, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ocean conservation group, began to investigate seafood fraud in 2011 and has since uncovered troubling patterns. In 2016 the group released a report about the worldwide scope of seafood fraud that detailed a pervasive, stomach-churning cheat of unsuspecting consumers. On average, one out of five of the more than 25,000 samples of seafood that they tested from 55 countries were mislabeled, with the trend occurring at every stage of the supply chain.
In the United States, studies released since 2014 found the average fraud rate (weighted by sample size) to be 28 percent. Worldwide, Asian catfish, hake and escolar were the fish most commonly substituted; more than half of the replacement fish (58 percent) were from species that could get certain consumers sick. In Italy, 82 percent of the 200 swordfish, grouper and perch samples tested were revealed to have been mislabeled; nearly half of the substituted fish have been labeled "threatened with extinction" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/07/26/fish-fraud-is-rampant-and-subways-tuna-scandal-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/
Fish fraud is rampant -- and Subway's tuna scandal is just the tip of the iceberg
(Salon) Subway's tuna sandwiches may not be their most famous product, but some (including this author) would argue they are one of their tastiest. Needless to say, it was alarming to read a report that a New York Times investigation into the sandwich's tuna found "no amplifiable tuna DNA," suggesting that the so-called tuna sandwich was not, in fact, tuna fish. Subway later questioned the reliability of the DNA tests, claiming in a statement that it "is simply not a reliable way to identify denatured proteins like Subway's tuna, which was cooked before it was tested."
The viral "fake tuna" debacle has undoubtedly hurt Subway's brand, and heightened a popular perception of corporations as shifty and untrustworthy. Yet regardless of the mystery meat's provenance, the saga highlights a larger industrial supply chain problem — namely, that fish fraud, as it is known, is prevalent. That means that if indeed some of Subway's tuna is "fake," it may not entirely be their fault.
....(snip)....
Tuna isn't the only fish that has fraud problems. Oceana, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ocean conservation group, began to investigate seafood fraud in 2011 and has since uncovered troubling patterns. In 2016 the group released a report about the worldwide scope of seafood fraud that detailed a pervasive, stomach-churning cheat of unsuspecting consumers. On average, one out of five of the more than 25,000 samples of seafood that they tested from 55 countries were mislabeled, with the trend occurring at every stage of the supply chain.
In the United States, studies released since 2014 found the average fraud rate (weighted by sample size) to be 28 percent. Worldwide, Asian catfish, hake and escolar were the fish most commonly substituted; more than half of the replacement fish (58 percent) were from species that could get certain consumers sick. In Italy, 82 percent of the 200 swordfish, grouper and perch samples tested were revealed to have been mislabeled; nearly half of the substituted fish have been labeled "threatened with extinction" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). .............(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/07/26/fish-fraud-is-rampant-and-subways-tuna-scandal-is-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/
July 25, 2021
CORUNNA, Mich. — Elected officials in a Michigan county gave themselves $65,000 in bonuses with federal relief money related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The money, described as "hazard pay," included $25,000 for Jeremy Root, chairman of the Shiawassee County Board of Commissioners.
The mostly rural county, between Lansing and Flint, has a population of 68,000.
Commissioners — all Republicans — last week voted to award money to county employees. It ranged from $25,000 for administrators to $2,000 for cleaning staff. All workers got at least $1,000. .........(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/07/22/officials-shiawassee-county-covid-funds-bonuses/8058147002/
Republican officials hate federal covid relief funds...unless they can steal them
CORUNNA, Mich. — Elected officials in a Michigan county gave themselves $65,000 in bonuses with federal relief money related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The money, described as "hazard pay," included $25,000 for Jeremy Root, chairman of the Shiawassee County Board of Commissioners.
The mostly rural county, between Lansing and Flint, has a population of 68,000.
Commissioners — all Republicans — last week voted to award money to county employees. It ranged from $25,000 for administrators to $2,000 for cleaning staff. All workers got at least $1,000. .........(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/07/22/officials-shiawassee-county-covid-funds-bonuses/8058147002/
July 25, 2021
A silver lining – perhaps the only silver lining - to a global pandemic can be found within the Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee’s fourth annual report, which found reduced service hours helped Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) accelerate work on its massive Measure RR system rebuilding program.
Measure RR is a $3.5 billion bond measure that was approved by voters in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties in 2016. The report examines the progress made on BART’s rebuilding efforts in each of the major program categories including Track, Power Infrastructure, Tunnels and Structures, Mechanical, Station Modernization, Station Access and Relieve Crowding.
BART is more than 25 percent complete with work included in the Measure RR program, which the report says exceeds projections made by the transit system when Measure RR was put before voters. At the end of March 2021, approximately $866 million of Measure RR funds have been invested, 126 rebuilding projects were in the planning, design or construction phases and an additional 22 projects are complete.
Highlights of the work include:
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/article/21231601/report-barts-reduced-service-hours-allowed-for-acceleration-of-infrastructure-projects
SF Bay Area: BART's reduced service hours allowed for acceleration of infrastructure projects
A silver lining – perhaps the only silver lining - to a global pandemic can be found within the Measure RR Bond Oversight Committee’s fourth annual report, which found reduced service hours helped Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) accelerate work on its massive Measure RR system rebuilding program.
Measure RR is a $3.5 billion bond measure that was approved by voters in Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco counties in 2016. The report examines the progress made on BART’s rebuilding efforts in each of the major program categories including Track, Power Infrastructure, Tunnels and Structures, Mechanical, Station Modernization, Station Access and Relieve Crowding.
BART is more than 25 percent complete with work included in the Measure RR program, which the report says exceeds projections made by the transit system when Measure RR was put before voters. At the end of March 2021, approximately $866 million of Measure RR funds have been invested, 126 rebuilding projects were in the planning, design or construction phases and an additional 22 projects are complete.
Highlights of the work include:
• The replacement of 34 miles of worn rail.
• The replacement of 31 track switches.
• The installation of 27 miles of 34.5kV electrical cable to ensure trains have a reliable source of power.
• Platform edges at seven stations have been upgraded to improve safety.
• The enhancement of 58 miles of third rail coverboards, which reduce failures that cause train delays.
• BART has completed four major station modernization and station access projects.
..................(more)
• The replacement of 31 track switches.
• The installation of 27 miles of 34.5kV electrical cable to ensure trains have a reliable source of power.
• Platform edges at seven stations have been upgraded to improve safety.
• The enhancement of 58 miles of third rail coverboards, which reduce failures that cause train delays.
• BART has completed four major station modernization and station access projects.
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/article/21231601/report-barts-reduced-service-hours-allowed-for-acceleration-of-infrastructure-projects
July 25, 2021
An American Airlines passenger was detained on Friday after refusing to wear a mask or to exit a plane at a New Orleans airport, the New Orleans Advocate (Nola) reports.
American Airlines Flight 1768 was preparing to leave Louis Armstrong International Airport for Dallas but was delayed for up to an hour due to the mask incident, according to the report.
American Airlines spokesperson Derek Walls told the outlet that the plane had to return to the gate after the passenger refused multiple requests to wear a mask.
But after being removed, the passenger could be heard screaming for approximately 10 minutes as officials hauled her away on the passageway until the plane taxied again. .........(more)
https://www.businessinsider.com/american-airlines-maskless-passenger-screamed-police-new-orleans-arrest-report-2021-7
American Airlines passenger who refused to wear a mask screamed for 10 minutes during her arrest...
An American Airlines passenger was detained on Friday after refusing to wear a mask or to exit a plane at a New Orleans airport, the New Orleans Advocate (Nola) reports.
American Airlines Flight 1768 was preparing to leave Louis Armstrong International Airport for Dallas but was delayed for up to an hour due to the mask incident, according to the report.
American Airlines spokesperson Derek Walls told the outlet that the plane had to return to the gate after the passenger refused multiple requests to wear a mask.
But after being removed, the passenger could be heard screaming for approximately 10 minutes as officials hauled her away on the passageway until the plane taxied again. .........(more)
https://www.businessinsider.com/american-airlines-maskless-passenger-screamed-police-new-orleans-arrest-report-2021-7
July 24, 2021
Panpsychism, the idea that inanimate objects have consciousness, gains steam in science communities
An expanding notion of what "consciousness" is could have profound repercussions
By MATTHEW ROZSA
PUBLISHED JULY 23, 2021 4:09PM (EDT)
(Salon) Dr. Martin Picard is an associate professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, specializing in both psychiatry and neurology. Together, expertise in these two fields suits one well to understanding the essence of what makes one human. Picard is particularly knowledgable about mitochondria, a structure found within nearly all cells that have a nucleus. They provide most of the chemical energy that cells use in their various biochemical tasks, and are sometimes likened to batteries.
Picard sees something else in mitochondria, too. Last year, he and a Swiss scientist named Dr. Carmen Sandi published a paper in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, which posited that mitochondria do not merely keep us alive, but in many ways, have lives of their own. And, perhaps, are even "social" creatures.
"Sociality has profound evolutionary roots and is observed from unicellular organisms to multicellular animals," Picard and Sandi write. "In line with the view that social principles apply across levels of biological complexity, a growing body of data highlights the remarkable social nature of mitochondria."
They continue: "Similar to individuals among social networks, mitochondria communicate with each other and with the cell nucleus, exhibit group formation and interdependence, synchronize their behaviors, and functionally specialize to accomplish specific functions within the organism. Mitochondria are social organelles."
Of course, if mitochondria are conscious beings, that would mean we have trillions and trillions of these brainless beings chilling throughout literally every cell of our bodies. That idea may seem absurd until you consider a scientific concept which could explain it: Panpsychism, or the idea that consciousness is inextricably linked to all matter and simply grows stronger as a physical object become more complex. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/07/23/panpsychism-the-idea-that-inanimate-objects-have-consciousness-gains-steam-in-science-communities/
Panpsychism, the idea that inanimate objects have consciousness, gains steam in science communities
Panpsychism, the idea that inanimate objects have consciousness, gains steam in science communities
An expanding notion of what "consciousness" is could have profound repercussions
By MATTHEW ROZSA
PUBLISHED JULY 23, 2021 4:09PM (EDT)
(Salon) Dr. Martin Picard is an associate professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, specializing in both psychiatry and neurology. Together, expertise in these two fields suits one well to understanding the essence of what makes one human. Picard is particularly knowledgable about mitochondria, a structure found within nearly all cells that have a nucleus. They provide most of the chemical energy that cells use in their various biochemical tasks, and are sometimes likened to batteries.
Picard sees something else in mitochondria, too. Last year, he and a Swiss scientist named Dr. Carmen Sandi published a paper in the journal Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, which posited that mitochondria do not merely keep us alive, but in many ways, have lives of their own. And, perhaps, are even "social" creatures.
"Sociality has profound evolutionary roots and is observed from unicellular organisms to multicellular animals," Picard and Sandi write. "In line with the view that social principles apply across levels of biological complexity, a growing body of data highlights the remarkable social nature of mitochondria."
They continue: "Similar to individuals among social networks, mitochondria communicate with each other and with the cell nucleus, exhibit group formation and interdependence, synchronize their behaviors, and functionally specialize to accomplish specific functions within the organism. Mitochondria are social organelles."
Of course, if mitochondria are conscious beings, that would mean we have trillions and trillions of these brainless beings chilling throughout literally every cell of our bodies. That idea may seem absurd until you consider a scientific concept which could explain it: Panpsychism, or the idea that consciousness is inextricably linked to all matter and simply grows stronger as a physical object become more complex. ...........(more)
https://www.salon.com/2021/07/23/panpsychism-the-idea-that-inanimate-objects-have-consciousness-gains-steam-in-science-communities/
July 21, 2021
( Detroit Free Press). LANSING – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will report next week that she has more than $10 million in cash in her campaign fund, following a record-setting fundraising stretch, her campaign said Tuesday.
The Whitmer campaign previewed her fundraising numbers as former Detroit Police Chief James Craig is expected to officially announce his Republican candidacy for governor as early as Wednesday. ........(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/07/20/governor-whitmer-michigan-campaign-cash-fundraising/8030434002/
Whitmer has $10M for reelection campaign after record fundraising
( Detroit Free Press). LANSING – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will report next week that she has more than $10 million in cash in her campaign fund, following a record-setting fundraising stretch, her campaign said Tuesday.
The Whitmer campaign previewed her fundraising numbers as former Detroit Police Chief James Craig is expected to officially announce his Republican candidacy for governor as early as Wednesday. ........(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/07/20/governor-whitmer-michigan-campaign-cash-fundraising/8030434002/
July 20, 2021
(NYT). A towering cloud of hot air, smoke and moisture that reached airliner heights and spawned lightning. Wind-driven fronts of flame that have stampeded across the landscape, often leapfrogging firebreaks. Even, possibly, a rare fire tornado.
The Bootleg Fire in Southern Oregon, spurred by months of drought and last month’s blistering heat wave, is the largest wildfire so far this year in the United States, having already burned more than 340,000 acres, or 530 square miles, of forest and grasslands.
And at a time when climate change is causing wildfires to be larger and more intense, it’s also one of the most extreme, so big and hot that it’s affecting winds and otherwise disrupting the atmosphere. ......(more)
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/climate/bootleg-wildfire-weather.html to
How Bad Is the Bootleg Fire? It's Generating Its Own Weather.
(NYT). A towering cloud of hot air, smoke and moisture that reached airliner heights and spawned lightning. Wind-driven fronts of flame that have stampeded across the landscape, often leapfrogging firebreaks. Even, possibly, a rare fire tornado.
The Bootleg Fire in Southern Oregon, spurred by months of drought and last month’s blistering heat wave, is the largest wildfire so far this year in the United States, having already burned more than 340,000 acres, or 530 square miles, of forest and grasslands.
And at a time when climate change is causing wildfires to be larger and more intense, it’s also one of the most extreme, so big and hot that it’s affecting winds and otherwise disrupting the atmosphere. ......(more)
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/19/climate/bootleg-wildfire-weather.html to
July 19, 2021
(Detroit Free Press) After nearly a year-and-a-half of being closed for nonessential travel, the Canadian border will reopen for fully vaccinated U.S. citizens starting Aug. 9.
In Michigan, that includes the land border crossings at Detroit's Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge.
But there's plenty to know first before you plan your next trip to Canada. We answer your frequently asked questions:
When is the Canada border opening?
Starting 12:01 a.m. Aug. 9, Canada will open its border to U.S. citizens for nonessential travel. Travelers must be fully vaccinated 14 days prior to travel and show proof of vaccination in order to cross the border.
Entry to the country will be denied to U.S. travelers who are not fully vaccinated and all other foreign nationals. .............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/07/19/when-is-canada-border-opening-date/8018142002/
Canada border opens to vaccinated US citizens Aug. 9: Everything you need to know
(Detroit Free Press) After nearly a year-and-a-half of being closed for nonessential travel, the Canadian border will reopen for fully vaccinated U.S. citizens starting Aug. 9.
In Michigan, that includes the land border crossings at Detroit's Ambassador Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron and the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge.
But there's plenty to know first before you plan your next trip to Canada. We answer your frequently asked questions:
When is the Canada border opening?
Starting 12:01 a.m. Aug. 9, Canada will open its border to U.S. citizens for nonessential travel. Travelers must be fully vaccinated 14 days prior to travel and show proof of vaccination in order to cross the border.
Entry to the country will be denied to U.S. travelers who are not fully vaccinated and all other foreign nationals. .............(more)
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/07/19/when-is-canada-border-opening-date/8018142002/
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