"Many police departments are giving out masks instead of fines for scofflaws amid coronavirus" by Emily Sweeney and Travis Andersen Globe Staff, May 14, 2020
Roughly one week after Governor Charlie Baker’s statewide order requiring people to wear face coverings in public when they can’t socially distance to combat the spread of COVID-19, many police departments are reluctant to fine violators, preferring instead to distribute masks and educate the public on the need to wear them.
Boston Police Sergeant Detective John Boyle, a department spokesman, said Thursday that Hub police haven’t issued any fines or citations.
“We’re all about education and compliance,” Boyle said, adding that when officers spot people in public without masks, “we explain to them the dangers of this virus and how highly contagious it is and advise them to wear a mask for their safety, for their loved ones’ safety, and for everybody’s safety.”
Tyrannical guilt trip!
Cambridge police are taking a similar approach.
“At this stage, our Officers have distributed more than 25,000 masks and educational materials and no fines,” said Jeremy Warnick, a spokesman for the Cambridge Police Department, in an e-mail message Thursday morning.
Lawrence Police Chief Roy P. Vasque said the department assigned two extra patrols Monday through Friday during the daylight hours to make sure people are wearing masks. The officers have informational brochures that explain the benefits of wearing masks in public. If a police officer sees someone without a mask, the officer will give the scofflaw a flyer.
It's not an actual law, it's an edict from the dictator, 'er, governor, and I'm glad there are no rapes, robberies, murders, mugging, or drug overdoses in Lawrence. You know, serious crime and not citizens exercising their God-given Constitutional Rights!
Related: Silence is Security
You know what they say about Freedom and Liberty: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow.
Also see: Philip Kahn, 100, dies; Spanish flu took his twin a century ago
All of us will be part of the haircut (??).
“We’re taking an educational approach,” Vasque said in a telephone interview. “We’re trying to get the word out. Our regular officers will also be looking, educating the public, and when we receive a supply of masks, distributing them," he added.
Some would call it brainwashing!
Vasque said he doesn’t anticipate any fines will be issued because most people in Lawrence are already following the rules. Some residents are even taking it a step further, and being extra cautious for the sake of public health. “I see people driving in their cars by themselves and they’re wearing masks,” he said.
Now it is a "rule," not a law, and those DRIVING IN A CAR with a MASK ON are IDIOTS!
Probably have the windows rolled up, too. I sure as hell hope they don't pass out at the wheel due to lack of oxygen.
People in Chelsea have also gone above and beyond when it comes to wearing masks, according to Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes.
“The residents have been exceptional from 'Day One' back in mid-March,” he said in an e-mail. “Initially they were never required to wear a mask yet they ALL did. If I saw someone without a mask as I drove around the city quite honestly I was shocked. It quickly became the social norm here in Chelsea weeks before there was any order issued either locally or by the state. I am very proud of the way they have been dealing with an incredibly difficult situation here on the ground where the virus is so prevalent. It has not been necessary for the police or the local Board of Health to issue any warnings or fines because the level of compliance is so high.”
One community that has issued fines is Chicopee, according to Chicopee police Officer Michael Wilk, a department spokesman.
“One was an individual at our Walmart who was extremely belligerent and refused to put any kind of face cover on for the security officer and for employees,” Wilk said in an e-mail. “He basically forced his way into the store, left before we arrived, and he was issued a $300 citation. We also issued citations for people not wearing facial coverings when they were at the dugout Café in a basement makeshift bar. The [six] people without face covers were also issued $300 fines.”
I like the idea of a SPEAK EASY these days, and I'm a prohibitionist when it comes to alcohol.
Baker’s order requires people to cover their nose and mouth if they can’t maintain a 6-foot distance from others in any “place open to the public.” The requirement does not apply to children 2 years old and younger or those with medical issues that would prevent them from wearing a mask.
The medical issue exception will come up again at the end of this post.
Those who don’t follow the protocol can face fines up to $300 under the order, but enforcement’s largely left to local officials, who until Baker’s mandate had issued a patchwork of rules for face coverings throughout the state, some of which carried the potential for far heftier penalties.
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The reason they are using a soft touch is because Ma$$achu$etts courthouses expect to physically reopen this summer amid the coronavirus, with jury trials possible in September -- just in time for the second wave and resurgence of COVID-19 if what the Globe has been telegraphing is true.
After that, you will be jailed; after all, why do you think they are letting out the prisoners?
Otherwise, they would have to swim to safety:
"Kite-surfing and social distancing, but no Sullivan’s at Castle Island" by Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff, May 14, 2020
No parking, no Sullivan’s, no crowds, no lines, no sea gulls poaching French fries.
That’s the new abnormal at Castle Island, usually one of the city’s favorite destinations for strolling, running, cycling, and simply enjoying the harbor views from a large blanket spread on the lush grass, but these aren’t usual times, and the crowds have dwindled outside Fort Independence and on the walkway circling Pleasure Bay. It’s a jarring contrast to the way things were, a reminder of what’s been lost. Now, nearly everyone is wearing a mask, and those who do not are getting a wide berth.
“It would be nice if we could go to some other country until this is over," said Brendan Gilroy, a 58-year-old construction worker who has been off the job for two months. “I guess we just have to make the best of it."
Yeah, don't dissent, resist, or fight it! Just accept the demonic fate in store for us.
Gilroy sat with his back to the granite fort, an Australian labradoodle at his feet and Logan Airport across the water in front of him. Overhead, the roar of jet engines was absent, and the only barrier to a conversation at normal volume was a brisk wind off the harbor.
I've been told the jets are running regular schedules out of Logan even if nearly empty.
The adjacent playground was unused, not a single child clambering about while parents rested on the benches. Near the playsets, stacks of overturned hulls from the Harry McDonough Sailing Center waited to be launched in better times. Still, a small but steady stream of people walked around Pleasure Bay.
No play, no fun, no freedom.
Mike Doucet, a 62-year-old Lexington man known as Kiter Mike, was not letting the coronavirus keep him from his sport. The sport is kite-surfing, and Doucet was zipping around Pleasure Bay, rising dozens of feet in the air and splashing back in the water with a yelp of joy that, for a moment anyway, seemed to signal all was well with the world.
The in$ulting eliti$m of the Bo$ton Globe is sickening.
Doucet and a few buddies in wet suits gathered on the beach near Day Boulevard, which has been closed to cars on the ocean side of Marine Park. One friend is originally from Morocco, another from Ukraine, a third from France, They joked with each other, gauged the changes in the wind, and rode a breeze that blew from 15 to 25 miles per hour.
They did not wear masks. They also didn’t get closer than 6 feet to anyone.
The Jewi$h $upremaci$t paper always talks to foreigners, ever notice that?
More on the closed to cars situation later.
“You’re social distancing anyway because you’re out on the water and away from each other,” Doucet said. “You get in your car, you get your suit on, and you get in the water. Afterward, you get in your car and go home.”
You wearing a mask in the car?
Doucet, who sells seafood, said kite-surfing has helped fill the empty spaces in his schedule.
“I still wake up at 4 a.m. without an alarm clock,” said Doucet, shrugging as he stood in the sand. "So you’re up, you make coffee, and there’s not so many things you can do around the house. This is a godsend.”
That's the same thing I do; however, I always seem to end up here for 10 hours a f**king day!
Gary Pikovskay, 41, a native of Ukraine, beamed as he prepared to take to the water for the first time in more than two months. Pikovskay had been quarantined in his Cambridge home, but with a broken leg, not because of the pandemic.
“This is my first day outside since I had surgery,” Pikovskay said. “The whole virus thing has kind of passed me by. In a way, it’s good timing.”
UGH!
It isn't over for any of us, jerk!
Good timing, however, does not extend to other parts of the group’s routine: the hot dogs, fries, and Cokes at Sullivan’s. The stop afterward at Santarpio’s across the water in East Boston. And the camaraderie over a post-surfing beer, Doucet said.
It’s all about adaptation in the age of the coronavirus.
Still.....
Yeah, it's all about compliance, 'er, adaptation.
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Related:
"It’s no surprise business is booming for companies that take a virtual approach to outdoor activities. Pre-pandemic, Hydrow’s mission initially was helping to give people a fresh way to work out at home, but at a moment when people are spending more time at home than they might like, the company is helping people to connect with a larger community, said Sera Moon Busse. Another startup, Somerville-based Rendever, talks about providing “shared experiences” using virtual reality headsets. Its focus is senior living communities and other health care facilities, where it enables activities coordinators to guide residents through the same virtual reality experience all at once, so there’s no tech-savvy required. “Right now, corporate and community teams are dedicating most or all of their time to keeping residents safe and healthy, as they need to be,” said chief executive Kyle Rand. Whether it’s with a virtual reality headset or a rowing machine, helping people battle isolation is a winning proposition in 2020....."
What, no mask?
So now BEING OUTSIDE is to be done VIRTUALLY!
It doesn't get any more MATRIX than that, folks.
Or maybe it does:
"Should the NFL season begin on time, Joe Buck — Fox Sports' lead play-by-play announcer for football — believes we might be looking at a campaign without fans in the stands. In an interview with SiriusXM's Andy Cohen, Buck said that Fox is exploring a few routes to provide for a more normal viewing experience should these fan-less games come to pass. "There's probably going to be a season in doing games with no fans, which will be difficult," Buck said. "I think Fox and these networks have to put crowd noise under us to make it a normal viewing experience at home. When pressed by Cohen, Buck said he was certain crowd noise will be added to potential broadcasts without fans, and went as far as to say "I know they'll do it" and that it's "pretty much a done deal." Buck also said the network is looking into ways to at least simulate a packed house for viewers at home. "On top of that, they're looking at ways to put virtual fans in the stands, so when you see a wide shot it looks like the stadium is jam-packed and in fact it'll be empty," Buck said....."
I stand corrected, so I better get rowing!
Are you flipping kidding me?
I would rather not have it back at all, and damn sure won't want to be watching it with this in-your-face insult as they scan the "crowd."
Hopefully, you will have a home to watch the game in:
"The state’s top law enforcement official has stopped dozens of illegal evictions in Massachusetts in recent weeks amid the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities said this week. Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s office said it has received about 15 complaints of illegal evictions since a statewide moratorium went into effect, and has secured the withdrawal of almost 50 evictions that were filed against tenants in court before the state law went into effect. Her office said this week that some of the unlawful actions involved so-called self-help evictions, where a landlord tries to circumvent the court process and attempts to forcibly remove a tenant by locking them out or shutting off utilities....."
What do you mean your key doesn't work?
"Baker says Mass. will significantly bolster coronavirus testing as death toll continues to rise" by Danny McDonald and Jaclyn Reiss Globe Staff, May 14, 2020
Facing an economy gut-punched by the pandemic and a death toll that continues to rise, Governor Charlie Baker said Thursday that the state plans to significantly bolster testing for COVID-19 in coming months to the point where Massachusetts would have the highest testing rate for the disease in the world.
Related: Contact Tracing Group Funded By George Soros and Bill Gates, Chelsea Clinton on Board of Trustees
That is who Baker hired to conduct Coronavirus “contact tracing.”
Just something you needed to know.
Just days before Baker’s administration is set to announce more details for reopening, other local leaders outlined aspirations for a slow thaw. The court system said Thursday that courthouses are expected to physically reopen this summer, with caveats. Judicial authorities hoped that jury trials could resume in September.
Thye second surge of infection will end jury trials forever. It will be 1984-style justice now, dispensed over a telescreen.
Speaking at a State House news conference, Baker said, "If we actually pull this off, this will be the largest testing program, on a per capita basis, anywhere."
Evil creature from the depths of the global health mafia.
Currently, the state has the lab capacity for about 35,000 daily tests, according to the governor. The state reported Thursday that more than 14,300 people were tested. Baker’s plans also call for faster turnaround times for tests, so that health care providers can make same-day or next-day decisions based on results. The state is also working with labs to prepare for a potential surge in testing this fall, he said.
Massachusetts continues to be among the states hardest hit by the pandemic, a point Baker emphasized Thursday, when the state’s death toll reached 5,482, an increase of 167 from the previous day. “We’re top 4 or top 5 in every awful category you can think of,” he said.
WTF?
Then HIS STRATEGY has FAILED MISERABLY!
The surprise is we are not the worst or second-worst, because that is usually where Ma$$achu$etts comes in regarding damn near anything.
Still, there are hopeful signs. The daily positive rate among those tested statewide has decreased significantly since mid-April highs of 33 and 34 percent.
I'm sick of having my hopes raised with jerk-job "journali$m."
On Thursday, the daily rate was 12 percent, a slight dip from Wednesday. The seven-day average for positive test rates, a number closely watched by public health experts, stayed stable at 12 percent, continuing a downward trend from April highs.
Remember when they said they would let us out and things would go back to normal when the curve was flattened?
You remember that?
What happened, huh?
Government kept its power and wants total control now!
The number of confirmed cases in the state stood at 82,182 on Thursday, an increase of 1,685 from the previous day, and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 also dropped below 3,000 for the first time since mid-April.
The state said 781 cases were in intensive care units, a figure Baker said he pays close attention to because “it’s really important with respect to our ability to help people get better.”
F**k you, you evil cretin.
Baker’s order closing nonessential workplaces is set to expire on Monday, the day a report from an advisory board is expected to offer more detail regarding the reopening. The governor has unveiled a four-phased approach that will mandate steps businesses would have to take to reopen.
The state may have already met one of the thresholds laid out in mid-April in the White House guidelines for reopening. The nonbinding document calls for, among other things, a “two-week downward trajectory of documented cases or positives as a percent of total tests.”
Dr. Thomas Tsai, a surgeon and health policy researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said last week that decisions about easing up on business closures “need to be based on the data.” Transparent metrics, according to Tsai, are important.
“Massachusetts has a very transparent dashboard on the daily progress” the state is making against the virus, Tsai said, “and I think that’s a good template” for how a similar dashboard could inform how the state phases in reopening.
He says that after weeks of complaints regarding opaque and limited state data.
The clarity around the metrics guiding the decision-making process is important because restrictions are going to have to be tightened again at times as flare-ups in the virus occur, Tsai said. Clear communication is necessary to avoid confusion and to ensure the public trusts that any changes are being driven by the data, not arbitrary decision-making or a sign government officials are changing their minds.
He says this after they have been working off their wildly inaccurate models!
What a bunch of f**kers!
“This is going to be a very dynamic process. There may be peaks and valleys in terms of the pandemic. The big question is how will the state respond to that. If we see cases rise” in two weeks, or four weeks, after the economy starts opening up, “what should people expect?” Tsai said.
“This is going to be hard. There’s going to be two steps forward, one step back for the next weeks and months,” he said.
While testing is crucial to the state’s reopening, the governor said the state will not be pursuing universal testing, which would be extremely difficult in a state of nearly 7 million people.
That is what he says now, but I'm sure he intends to do just that after the second surge.
As the testing capacity in Massachusetts is expanded, the Baker administration plans to prioritize locales with low-testing availability, hot spots with high positive rates, and high-density areas.
Baker also highlighted new self-swab-and-send testing sites located at 10 CVS drive-through locations throughout the state.
Put the car in reverse.
Massachusetts court authorities, meanwhile, are considering a reopening of their own. The state’s courthouses, which have been physically shuttered for the last two months are expected to reopen for in-person proceedings this summer, with caveats. Jury trials could possibly return in September if children can return to school.
The update on state courthouses, which have been hearing emergency matters and more routine proceedings such as arraignments remotely during the health crisis, came in a letter from a trio of top judges to members of the bar.
That's the THIRD TIME they have mentioned that!
Gaming regulators are also looking toward reopening but said casinos will remain closed until at least June 1.
You lost that bet when you threw in with the globali$ts and $hutdown.
Other states, meanwhile, continue to wrestle with the reopening process.
Although there won’t be graduation ceremonies for the high school class of 2020 in Rhode Island, Governor Gina M. Raimondo said that the local PBS station will air a special televised graduation ceremony on June 15.
Raimondo said Rhode Island is “more than holding our own" as it battles the coronavirus, and she will speak Friday about how the state will move into phase two of reopening the economy.
“I feel confident about where we are and where we’re going," Raimondo said Thursday. "That in no way minimizes the challenges Rhode Island is facing . . . but we are on the road to recovery.”
Still, she said, “the situation is fragile right now . . . please be flexible and patient.”
The T-shirt sales not cutting it?
In Maine, officials said Thursday that lodge operators and innkeepers can begin accepting reservations starting June 1 for Mainers and out-of-state residents who comply with the state’s 14-day quarantine requirement.
New Jersey's governor announced that beaches there will be open for the Memorial Day weekend, with social distance guidelines in place.
Wisconsin has been thrown into chaos after the state Supreme Court threw out the stay-at-home order of Governor Tony Evers. Crowds descended on some bars that opened immediately after the court’s decision.
I will be hopping over there next.
--more--"
Related:
Only COVID-19 Vaccine Can Save Economy
Also see:
Mass. business groups show guarded optimism as reopening of economy approaches
One poll shows a majority of employers plan to hire all of their displaced workers back because it is as EZ as 1, 2, 3.
I don't want to be pe$$imi$tic, but....
Job losses in Mass. surpass 1 million during pandemic
That is as Wall Street calls the tune.
"After Wisconsin court ruling, crowds descend on bars" by Meagan Flynn Washington Post, May 14, 2020
I'm told they were packed wall to wall with standing room only.
It was sometime after 10 p.m. when ‘‘Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress’’ by The Hollies came over the loud speaker and a bartender took out his camera. In a Twitter broadcast, he surveyed the room of maskless patrons crammed together, partying like it was 2019.
A few were pounding on the bar to the beat. Some were clapping their hands in the air and some were fist-pumping, a scene so joyous they could have been celebrating the end of the worst pandemic in a century.
They were celebrating freedom!
Instead, as Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers knew, they were just celebrating the apparent end of his power over them — at least for now.
FOR NOW?
‘‘We’re the Wild West,’’ Evers told MSNBC’s Ali Velshi on Wednesday night, reacting to the state Supreme Court’s ruling — which President Trump called a “win” — and the scenes of people partying in bars all across Wisconsin. ‘‘There are no restrictions at all across the state of Wisconsin. . . . So at this point in time . . . there is nothing compelling people to do anything other than having chaos here.’’
Chaos it was.
Right after the Supreme Court’s conservative majority issued a 4-3 ruling, invalidating the extension of the stay-at-home order issued by Evers’s appointed state health chief, the Tavern League of Wisconsin instructed its members to feel free to ‘‘OPEN IMMEDIATELY!’’
With Evers’s statewide orders kaput, local health authorities scrambled to issue city — or countywide — stay-at-home orders, creating a hodgepodge of rules and regulations all across the state that are bound to cause confusion, not to mention some traffic across county lines. It’s a situation unlike any in the United States as the pandemic rages on, but most of all, Evers feared that the court’s order would cause the one thing he was trying to prevent: more death.
Wisconsin has seen more than 10,900 COVID-19 cases and 421 deaths.
That justified a lockdown?
The state’s high court sided Wednesday with Republican legislators who sued the Evers administration in April, finding that the Democratic governor ‘‘cannot rely on emergency powers indefinitely’’ as the pandemic drags on for months.
They may have something there!
Get 'em into court before getting them into jail!
In a concurring opinion, Justice Rebecca Bradley cited Korematsu v. United States, in which the Supreme Court allowed the internment of Japanese Americans as a way to ‘‘remind the state that urging courts to approve the exercise of extraordinary power during times of emergency may lead to extraordinary abuses of its citizens.’’
Not may, it always does!
One conservative justice joined the other two liberals in dissenting.
I'm tired of the labels. You are either for freedom or for fa$ci$m now.
Republican lawmakers wanted the state Legislature to have a say in the drastic public health measures that Evers’s administration, as in other states, have demanded that residents follow. The Supreme Court agreed, believing an unelected state health chief shouldn’t have such sweeping power over millions of people.
Evers said as far as he knew the Republicans did not have a plan.
‘‘We have no authority right now,’’ he said on MSNBC. ‘‘It’s been taken away.’’
GOOD!
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Oh, yeah, don’t sidle up to the bar without a reservation.
Related:
"Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will ask the Michigan Legislature to provide at least $94.4 million to Detroit’s public schools to settle a lawsuit that describes the city’s schools as slumlike and basically incapable of delivering access to literacy. The settlement agreement comes weeks after a federal appeals court issued a groundbreaking decision recognizing a constitutional right to education and literacy. Under the settlement, Whitmer must propose legislation to fund literacy-related programs and other initiatives for the Detroit Public Schools Community District. The state must also provide $280,000 to be shared by seven students named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, to be used for a literacy program or other ways to further their education."
I could only shake my head when I read the brief. Not only was the water bad, but now we find out the schools were "slum like and incapable of teaching kids to read."
The ABSOLUTE FAILURE that OOZES from the state and the NEGLECT of its CITIZENS is an ABOMINATION!
I gue$$ the governor has other concerns and priorities.
"About 200 people angry or frustrated about Michigan’s stay-at-home order protested again outside the State Capitol Thursday, braving heavy rain to call for a loosening of restrictions and for business owners to reopen in defiance of Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The demonstration was smaller than previous rallies. It was led by Michigan United for Liberty, a conservative activist group that has sued the Democratic governor and organized or participated in several protests since early April. People in the crowd held signs declaring “Every worker is essential,’’ “Make Michigan work again,” and “Stop the tyranny.” “We can get some businesses back open,” said David Saxton, a 40-year-old IT specialist from Alma. He said he lost his job, is receiving unemployment benefits, and noted that a COVID-19 vaccine may not be ready for 18 months. “Staying shut down that long is not practical. You will kill the state. You just will.’’ Though state police and Michigan’s attorney general had warned they’d enforce bans on brandishing guns or ignoring directives to stay six feet apart, there were no arrests. Some carried guns even though lawmakers from both parties criticized certain demonstrators for intimidating and threatening tactics two weeks ago, when they carried semi-automatic rifles into the Capitol."
The lawsuit in Wisconsin was a good idea, and Michigan needs to follow suit.
"White House is open to state aid despite opposition from conservatives" by Robert Costa, Jeff Stein and Seung Min Kim Washington Post, May 14, 2020
WASHINGTON — White House officials have signaled privately that they are willing to provide tens of billions of dollars in relief to states as part of a bipartisan deal with Democrats in the coming weeks, despite President Trump’s reluctance and strong opposition from conservative groups, according to seven people familiar with the internal deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
Although that position probably will anger some Republicans, who have warned that Democrats want ‘‘blue state bailouts,’’ many White House officials now believe that providing new funding to states to deal with challenges related to the coronavirus will be necessary if they want to secure their own priorities, such as tax breaks and liability protections for businesses, the people said.
He is really pigging out (with all due apologies to pigs) as the Globe argues that business immunity for coronavirus is not the solution for Trump’s reopening fiasco, and that Joe Biden’s strengths match the nation’s needs in these troubled times -- as they compare him to an angel.
‘‘The White House is moving to set up where a deal could be,’’ a veteran Republican close to Trump said. ‘‘The first thing is getting Republicans in Congress to come around on some money for states, and that’s happening. It’s progress, for sure, but it’s only the first part of bringing it all together in a deal.’’
Senate Republicans are broadly opposed to the payroll-tax cut for workers that Trump has repeatedly pushed.
Two White House officials said they have made it clear to business leaders and conservative allies in recent days that Trump is ‘‘not willing to provide a blank check’’ to states but is ‘‘open’’ to negotiating whether he can win concessions from Democrats on taxes in exchange for an influx of cash — and they have told conservative leaders that they will make sure any new cash is directed only toward problems sparked by the pandemic. An announcement of the White House’s tax proposals is expected in the coming days.
This f**king blowhard is big on the Twitter, but then he reverses course and backs down so f**k him!
States have asked for an enormous level of fiscal support, with the National Governors Association reiterating on Wednesday its call for $500 billion in aid to address budget shortfalls and other things.
The discussions in the West Wing and among Republicans comes as lawmakers are intensifying their jockeying over the next congressional aid package, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, on Tuesday unveiling a more than $3 trillion package aimed at arresting the downturn.
That was her setting down a political marker as both parties are positioning themselves for elections.
While conservatives in and outside Congress have urged White House officials to be cautious and ensure that any money to states is directed toward pandemic-related items, budget experts say it will be difficult, if not impossible, to prevent funding from being redirected by state leaders or used for unrelated programs.
‘‘We’re weighing in heavily, saying ‘Don’t spend trillions on Nancy’s wish list,’ ” David McIntosh, the president of the Club for Growth, a conservative advocacy group, said. He and others on the right will be closely watching to ensure that states with budget issues that preceded the pandemic are not given a major federal lift, McIntosh said.
The White House said in a statement that it remains focused on tax cuts and cutting regulations.
‘‘The federal government and American taxpayers are not bailing out anyone,’’ said Judd Deere, a White House spokesman.
Those we needed it got it.
‘‘As President Trump has said, we are going to continue to take bold, aggressive action to help those most impacted by this unforeseen enemy so that we emerge from this challenge with economic prosperity, which is why the White House is focused on pro-growth, middle-class tax and regulatory relief.’’
White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters on Thursday that the administration is studying additional state aid but has not reached a ‘‘firm conclusion’’ on how to proceed.
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Maybe someone could sue him.
"Burr steps back from Senate intelligence panel as FBI probes his stock sales" by Katie Benner and Nicholas Fandos New York Times, May 14, 2020
They are restructuring the committee.
WASHINGTON — Senator Richard M. Burr temporarily stepped down as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, a day after FBI agents seized the North Carolina Republican’s cellphone as part of an investigation into whether he sold hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of stocks using nonpublic information about the coronavirus.
The seizure and an accompanying search of his electronic storage accounts, which were confirmed by an investigator briefed on the case, represented a significant escalation of the inquiry by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission and suggest Burr, one of the most influential members of Congress, may be in serious legal jeopardy.
A $capegoat?
Given the sensitivity surrounding the decision to obtain a search warrant on a sitting senator, the move was approved at the highest levels of the department, according to a senior Justice Department official. The warrant to obtain Burr’s phone was served to his lawyer, and investigators took Burr’s phone from him at his home, according to the official who, like the investigator, was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
That would be Bill Barr.
With the investigation progressing, Burr said Thursday that he wanted to limit distraction to the Senate and informed Senator Mitch McConnell, the Kentucky Republican who is majority leader, that he would step aside. He will remain a member of the committee.
“This is a distraction to the hard work of the committee, and the members and I think that the security of the country is too important to have a distraction,” Burr told reporters in the Capitol. He declined to discuss the case further but said he was cooperating with the authorities.
McConnell, who had yet to pick a temporary replacement for Burr as chairman, said that he agreed “this decision would be in the best interests of the committee and will be effective at the end of the day tomorrow.”
I smell a cover up!
Burr sold the stock in mid-February before the market cratered and while President Trump and some supporters were downplaying the threat of the virus. At the time, Burr was receiving briefings and involved in conversations suggesting the country faced a burgeoning health crisis that could hurt the economy.
Nothing illegal about in$ider trading when Congre$$ does it.
The Justice Department declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Burr declined to comment, and his lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The senator has denied he did anything wrong, insisting that he based his trading decisions exclusively on publicly reported information that he had read in financial news media accounts out of Asia.
PFFFFFFT!
Paul Shumaker, a longtime adviser to Burr, said the senator is adamant that he has done nothing wrong and would not resign. “He has no choice but to fight this. He has to clear his name,” said Shumaker, adding that for Burr to quit would amount to “an admission of guilt.”
Barr will not prosecute!
The Los Angeles Times first reported the existence of the search warrant. Federal investigators have also scrutinized stock trades by other senators around the same time, including Senator James Inhofe, Republican of Oklahoma; Kelly Loeffler, Republican of Georgia; and Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, according to a person briefed on those cases. All three have said they did nothing wrong.
I saw Loeffler on Fox recently, and Fein$tein is the worst of the bunch!
In April, law enforcement officials asked Feinstein “basic questions” about stock transactions made by her husband during the time period in question, her spokesman, Tom Mentzer, said Thursday. He said Feinstein complied and provided documents that showed she had no involvement. A spokeswoman for Loeffler said federal authorities had not contacted the senator.
Burr is the primary target of the investigation, and his case is more advanced, according one of the investigators. Unlike other senators under scrutiny, Burr has not denied that he initiated the sales himself or that they were related to concerns about the coronavirus. He has asked the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate.
Some of Burr’s allies in the Senate privately questioned Thursday why the search warrants became public if Burr was cooperating.
“I don’t believe he did anything criminally wrong,” Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, told reporters. “Maybe he used poor judgment, I guess, but I know Richard, and he is the one guy I can tell you who actually does watch CNBC Hong Kong.”
Why not drop and give him fellatio, too?
Burr, whose term ends in 2022, has already said he does not intend to run for reelection, but the specter of North Carolina’s senior senator facing an FBI inquiry could further complicate Republican prospects in what is perhaps the most pivotal state on the electoral map this year.
Democrats in North Carolina renewed their calls for Burr to resign his Senate seat.
“If he has any sense of decency left, Burr will resign immediately, and if they have any regard for the rule of law, Republicans across this state and all over our country will demand the same,” said Wayne Goodwin, chairman of the state Democratic Party.
The investigation stems from Burr’s decision Feb. 12 to sell 33 stock holdings worth $628,000 to $1.7 million collectively. The sales liquidated a large share of Burr’s portfolio, and they came in the days following a series of senators-only briefings on the spreading coronavirus that Burr received both as chairman of the intelligence committee and a member of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.....
I wonder if they will investigate Bezos.
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Related:
"The Senate on Thursday adopted a package of surveillance reforms its backers say will help rein in abuses, following an inspector general report that found fault with the FBI’s handling of an investigation into a former Trump campaign aide. The 80-16 vote paves the way for final House passage of the bill to renew the USA Freedom Act. The House could take it up as soon as Friday. The law expired in mid-March, leaving the FBI without several surveillance tools it considers crucial. The bill had become a flash point for conservatives angry at the FBI’s handling of an investigation into a former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. At the same time, liberals have seen the bill as a vehicle to push for deeper surveillance reforms to protect civil liberties. The amendment requires judges with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to appoint a third-party observer in any case involving a ‘‘sensitive investigative matter’’ as long as the court does not determine it to be inappropriate."
The important brief was placed at the bottom of page A2, and it gives the impression that the bill is a good effort at reform when all it is doing is giving the government warrantless search power for the coming surveillance grid.
Before the vote on surveilance reforms, Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, (second from left) spoke to a member of the press as Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, passed by (Alex Wong/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Paul isn't wearing a mask because he has antibody immunity.
Get your letter yet?
Louis DeJoy, the incoming postmaster general, is a Trump ally, as well as a longtime Republican donor. (Elon University via The New York Times)
His first job is to raise delivery fees.
"The United States has the largest coronavirus outbreak in the world by far: 1.39 million infections and more than 84,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, the virus has infected more than 4.3 million people and killed some 297,000. And experts say that the actual numbers are probably far higher. Even as some states lift lockdowns, the virus persists. From a hospital on the edge of the Navajo Nation to the suburbs of the nation’s capital, front-line medical workers in coronavirus hot spots are struggling to keep up with a crushing load of patients. The head of a hospital system in Maryland’s Prince George’s County, a majority-black community bordering the nation’s capital, said the area’s intensive care units “are bursting at the seams.” The hospital in Gallup, N.M., is on the front lines of a grinding outbreak in the Navajo Nation that recently prompted a 10-day lockdown in the city, with police setting up roadblocks to discourage non-emergency shopping. Medical staff last week staged a street protest to complain about inadequate staffing and urge the chief executive of Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital to resign. The departure last week of the hospital’s lung specialist has limited its ability to treat COVID-19 patients, as people with acute respiratory symptoms are transported to Albuquerque facilities about two hours away. About 17 nurses were cut from the hospital’s workforce in March, at least 32 staff have tested positive for the virus, and its intensive care unit is at capacity. In Georgia, the state provided a network of hospitals with extra nurses so its exhausted employees could take some time off and recover. The Northeast Georgia Health System, which operates four hospitals, is still struggling to buy as many disposable protective gowns as it needs. It has assigned workers to collect and sanitize the suits so they can be reused. Community volunteers are sewing gowns and masks. “That’s our most critical need,” said Tracy Vardeman, the health system’s chief strategy officer. “We’re going through as many as 6,000 a day.”
Not to worry, Trump says US medical stockpile will be replenished as the ex-detective charged in death of Ahmaud Arbery lost his power to make arrests after skipping use-of-force training.
"Large swaths of central and northern New York state that appear to be at low risk of a COVID-19 surge are poised to start to reopening Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo said, urging businesses to prepare plans to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. While central New York, the Mohawk Valley, the Finger Lakes, the North Country, and the Southern Tier are expected to begin reopening Friday, Cuomo said New York City, its suburbs, and western and eastern counties have yet to meet the state’s criteria. Cuomo’s plan allows construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, manufacturing, and wholesale trade businesses to start reopening in the first phase. Retail stores can provide curbside or in-store pickups or drop-offs. The state is still advising residents to wear masks, practice social distancing, and avoid contact with vulnerable individuals, and prohibitions on large gatherings of any size remain in effect. Cuomo urged New Yorkers to proceed with caution. “There is no law or regulation that tells you how to interact with your personal relationships,” he said. ‘‘That’s up to you. I hope you do it smartly.” The state reported another 157 people tested positive for COVID-19 in nursing homes and hospitals died Wednesday. The overall number of hospitalizations is continuing to gradually decline, but the average of new COVID-19 patients entering hospitals has ticked up for a third day to 420, from 401."
Time to nurse this blog home:
"A plea for video calls, a lifeline to those living and dying in nursing homes" by Shelley Murphy Globe Staff, May 14, 2020
When Marie MacDonald was dying from the coronavirus in April, her family could not be by her side. The Norwell nursing home where she lived had stopped allowing visitors, to protect residents from the pandemic, but her five children and eight grandchildren wanted desperately to see her.
As her condition declined, the staff arranged several video calls for the family, and when it was clear she didn’t have much longer, they hoped to connect one last time, but at a time when many nursing homes are consumed by COVID-19 outbreaks, it took some persistence. MacDonald’s daughter, Madelyn Foster, said workers at Southwood at Norwell Nursing Center told her nobody could set up a FaceTime call that weekend, and the facility had only one iPad. After she couldn’t reach the home’s administrator, she made a frantic call to a state emergency hot line, where a worker agreed to reach out to the facility on her behalf.
On a Sunday, the family got to visit MacDonald from afar, saying their goodbyes and telling her they loved her. She died the next day, at 94.
“I just wanted her to hear our voices when she took her dying breath, to know we were there,” Foster said. “It was very heartbreaking to all of us this is how it ended.”
OH, MAN!
Southwood’s administrator, Lindsey Starr, said she arranged the last call between MacDonald and her family minutes after she learned Foster had requested it.
“We recognize just how difficult the social isolation requirement is for both residents and family members,” Starr said in a statement. “The Southwood staff has spent countless hours FaceTiming with residents and their family members, putting their health and safety at risk in doing so with COVID-19 positive residents.”
Recognizing the need for video calls to bring families together, a number of nonprofit organizations, businesses, state officials, and volunteers are working to help facilities meet the demand.
Attorney General Maura Healey and the Massachusetts Senior Care Association said this week they will provide 730 tablets to nursing homes across the state. Tablets were donated by Amazon, Walmart, Teel Technologies, and Acer, while a financial contribution was made by Personable Inc.
That is the only way you will be able to "see" your beloved elderly once they are placed in a nursing home, so avoid placing them there at all costs!
Related: "Amazon is mass-producing face shields for health care workers using engineering tools and expertise borrowed from its drone unit, the latest retooling of the retailer’s resources to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The company says it will sell the face shields on its website at cost, at a price to be announced, starting “in the next few weeks.” Amazon has already given some 10,000 units of its newly designed face shields to health care organizations and plans to donate an additional 20,000, Brad Porter, a vice president with the company’s robotics group said in a blog post on Thursday."
Gonna get you an iPad, too.
“We hope that by seeing your loved ones, it gives you joy, it gives you reassurance, and makes this whole difficult experience a little bit easier,” Healey said in an interview Tuesday.
The initiative was proposed by Megan McLaughlin, a prosecutor in Healey’s office. Her mother-in-law was in a nursing home, unable to see her family as the virus spread, and recently died, Healey said.
Tara Gregorio, president of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, said nursing home operators are eager to obtain more tablets, and more donations are being sought.
"I think everybody is committed to making sure families and residents are connected personally as much as possible,” she said.
No getting near them, though, meaning no hugs! :,(
At the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke, where 74 residents have died from the virus as of Tuesday, some relatives have found it difficult to reach residents, with calls limited to certain hours, but in the past week, Brighton Marine, a nonprofit organization that supports veterans, donated 350 iPads to the Soldiers’ Homes in Holyoke and Chelsea to help residents stay in touch with family and friends.
“Unfortunately, there were situations where the veteran died before they could say goodbye to a loved one," said Tom Lyons, chairman of the board of trustees at the Chelsea Soldiers’ Home and a member of Brighton Marine’s board of directors. “That’s what really broke my heart, that someone who served this nation honorably and proudly was dying alone.”
Who knows when the investigation by Mark Pearlstein, a former federal prosecutor, will be complete.
Related:
Cleaners unwrapped their protective gear as they left the Soldiers' Home in Holyoke last month (Jessica Rinaldi/Globe staff).
Just covering, 'er, cleaning things up!
The organization initially donated 25 iPads to the Chelsea home but expanded its effort after seeing the impact the video calls had on residents who have been isolated since visits were halted in March.
Mikey Murphy-Tapanes said she has been able to FaceTime with her father, Phil Murphy, a couple of times on one of the new iPads since he returned to the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke last week after spending 20 days in the hospital with COVID-19.
“It’s hard because he’s not a tech guy at all," said Murphy-Tapanes, adding that her 78-year-old father needs help to make calls. “He’s like, ‘What is this?’ and I’m like, ‘It’s me. I’m in a computer.'”
When he was in the hospital, they briefly communicated by video, and his face would light up when he saw his children and grandchildren on a screen that nurses rolled into his room, and they played his favorite songs, such as “God Bless America.”
Now the recreation staff and National Guard are helping residents communicate with their families, easing the strain on nursing staff who have been consumed with caring for patients, Murphy-Tapanes said. She was relieved to see her father, who seems to be doing better but still needs physical and occupational therapy to help him get back on his feet.
That the military is so deeply involved in all this is disturbing!
In mid-April, after not being able to visit his mother at a Newton assisted living facility for a month, Daniel Rosen bought a pair of Echo Shows. He asked staff to put one of the Amazon smart speakers in her room at the Falls at Cordingly Dam so they could chat by video.
And be monitored with data collected.
Their first call “was like meeting someone who had been in jail for five years,” Rosen said. It was a relief to see and hear his mother, Judith, who is 84 and sometimes has difficulty communicating because of Alzheimer’s. During their daily calls, he reads to her and plays her favorite music or radio stations. The voice-activated calls don’t require staff to initiate them.
Now I see why this of chosen concern to the Globe.
Last week, with the arrival of warmer weather, the Falls started allowing residents and family members to have socially distanced visits outdoors. Rosen said he donned a mask and waited as a staffer, dressed in protective gear, led his mother outside. She, too, wore a mask.
They sat on a bench for the first time in months, just talking. The video calls have been a “communications lifeline,” but they can’t compete with meeting face to face, he said.
“It’s a gift just to sit together in the sunshine and to breathe a little and relax a little," he said. “Just to be together is amazing."
That last part is SICKENING!
It's a GIFT from the STATE that they can be outside when it is nothing of the sort.
It is your GOD-GIVEN RIGHT, readers, and the state is trying to take it away and keep us apart.
EVIL!!
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At The Falls at Cordingly Dam, an assisted living facility, staff arranged for resident Judith Rosen to have the Friday night candle lighting and prayers over challah to mark the start of Shabbat or Sabbath. She was joined by her son Daniel Rosen and Shayla McDermott, the music therapist, brought the candles. (Suzanne Kreiter/Globe staff)
Another printed photograph was of a McDermott in the Shabbat suit, but with her Star of David necklace on the outside of the hazmat suit.
Related:
Members of the Massachusetts National Guard are assisting nursing homes with COVID-19 testing. (Stan Grossfeld/Globe Staff).
I'm told “more money needs to be funneled into these poor nursing homes.”
100-year-old World War II veteran battles coronavirus and wins
That's better than the nursing home social worker dies of coronavirus after working 10 days straight because of the poverty wages being paid in nursing homes that have accelerated the coronavirus outbreak.
Dr. Elinor Fosdick Downs, memoirist and early World Health Organization physician, dies at 108
Related:
"In the space of just three days, the Amaral sisters and Juvenalia’s daughter, Grace Amaral-Dias, died from COVID-19, a family tragedy that has touched off an outpouring of grief across the city and beyond. The sisters, born in the Azores, were passionate about church and ran Amaral’s Market for many years with other family members. “They were mighty women of God,” said Pastor Jack Silva, senior pastor at Christ the Rock Assembly of God...."
One was 82 and the other 76, and “elders are looking at the death numbers in our state, and they’re getting increasingly concerned by the day,” even though the coronavirus is not necessarily a death sentence, but it can feel like one as the fear spreads and cemeteries see a large increase in burials due to coronavirus:
Paul Harris has been a gravedigger for the City of Boston for 15 years. He helped dig a new grave at the veterans section at Mt. Hope Cemetery for an upcoming burial (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff).
There will be more mass graves later, and not even God can help us:
"Two Catholic priests have died after contracting the new coronavirus, according to reports from the Archdiocese of Boston. The Rev. Emilio S. Allué, retired Auxiliary Bishop of Boston, passed away April 26 after becoming seriously ill with COVID-19, according to an article in The Boston Pilot. He was 85 years old. The Rev. Francis J. McGann, 95, who was a longtime fixture at St. Joseph Parish in Needham, died after a "recent hospitalization due to the COVID-19 virus,” the Rev. Peter L. Stamm said in a e-mail message to St. Joseph parishioners on April 24....."
It's a good thing the Catholics got a bailout!
"State elder affairs office shelved citizens advisory council before coronavirus crisis; Panel offered feedback on conditions in Massachusetts nursing homes" by Robert Weisman Globe Staff, May 8, 2020
For over a decade, a citizens advisory council gave feedback to the state’s Executive Office of Elder Affairs on a host of aging issues, including conditions in nursing homes, but last October, the new Massachusetts elder affairs secretary, Elizabeth Chen, suspended the longstanding practice of quarterly phone calls with the panel, telling one member she was “pausing the regular meetings” to consult with a broad range of seniors across the state.
Now, as the coronavirus ravages Massachusetts long-term care facilities, some former members of the advisory council say state officials responding to what’s arguably the worst crisis for the elderly in state history may be missing out on the grass-roots perspective it provided on crucial issues, including staffing, funding, and isolation in senior care sites. More than 2,700 long-term care residents have died from COVID-19, about 60 percent of all Massachusetts deaths.
Almost as if they KNEW the DRILL was COMING!
“In the current pandemic, we could have made a contribution on some of the most important issues," said Penny Shaw, an aging and disabilities advocate who lives at Braintree Manor nursing home and quit the council when the quarterly calls were halted. By sharing their experiences, she said, “we could have helped create the agenda” for state leaders scrambling to help hard-hit senior care sites.
They do not want your help!
Shaw, a retired college professor who uses a powered wheelchair because she has Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare neurological disorder, served on the panel for seven years. Its last meeting was shortly after Chen was named secretary last June.
Penny Shaw rode her powered-wheelchair near Braintree Manor, where she is a resident. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)
My first thought was the SWINE FLU VACCINE!
In an e-mail to Chen last fall, Shaw resigned in protest after the elder affairs staff deflected her queries about when the panel would next meet. “We have important issues we would have liked to raise with you that you did not give us the opportunity to,” Shaw wrote.
We need more leaders like that!
Other council members, who remain on the dormant advisory body, said it was Chen’s prerogative to change how she received feedback, but they agreed with Shaw that the council had been a valuable forum, providing voices from the field that officials might not hear in their typical rounds of meetings with lawmakers, lobbyists, advocates, and service providers......
Now they are not hearing those voices!
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By the grace of God, there is defiance is in the air!
That's why Bo$ton is now BLOCKING OFF STREETS!
"Walsh hints at a street makeover for Boston — by taking away space from cars; Business districts will need room to spread out to accommodate social distancing" by Adam Vaccaro Globe Staff, May 14, 2020
More commuters biking to work downtown. Pedestrians giving one another a wide berth on city sidewalks. More travel lanes dedicated exclusively to buses. Restaurant tables spilling out past the sidewalks and into the streets.
To accommodate social distancing as the economy lurches back, business districts are going to need a lot more room outside, while city planners see an opportunity to make biking, walking, and riding the bus safer before Boston’s soul-crushing traffic returns.
Never let a good crisis go to waste!
Mayor Martin J. Walsh is hinting at just such a makeover for parts of the city, largely by taking some street space away from car traffic and redeploying it.
There they go again with the WAR TERMINOLOGY!
Boston’s chief of streets, Chris Osgood, said taking street space could serve several objectives: accommodating lines of people outside businesses with capacity limits, creating outdoor seating for restaurants, adding more bus-only lanes to help the MBTA improve service and cut down on crowding, and making more room for walking and cycling.
As if people will be riding it.
Closing some traffic lanes, Osgood noted, could also help solve another alarming issue that has emerged during the pandemic: speeding, which has resulted in crashes that are more violent and deadly.
?????
Osgood said the city’s plan is still in development. Some locations may seem like obvious fits; Newbury Street, for example, is already closed to cars a few days a year, but at a City Council hearing Tuesday, transportation officials named a few potential strategies and locations, many of which are far from downtown.
Traffic cones could be used to block travel or parking lanes and add bike lanes on roads such as Malcolm X Boulevard or Commonwealth Avenue, or to create more space in busy commercial areas like Centre Street in Jamaica Plain and Meridian Street in East Boston. Officials said they’re also considering closing some residential streets.
Closing residential streets?
You can NEVER GO HOME in Bo$ton!
So far, officials in and around Boston have been mostly cautious about changing how streets are used, but the region has not been nearly as aggressive as Oakland, Calif., or Denver, for example, which have closed many miles of streets to cars to allow more socially distant walking and biking.
Cambridge has actually gone in the opposite direction: not only resisting a recommendation from its City Council to close DCR-owned Memorial Drive to vehicles, but keeping it open to cars on Sundays — when it is supposed to be pedestrian-only under state law. Officials have said they’re concerned about drawing too many people to one area, but Osgood said that as Boston returns to some semblance of normalcy, its needs will change from keeping people at home to making more space for them as they come out.
Public health "is something we can facilitate by using our streets well,” he said.
Other cities have already announced major changes for their roads, including Cincinnati and Tampa, which are turning over many key streets to restaurants.
Kick you out of your home so the restaurant can have it?
I suppose that is the plan after they exterminate most of us.
The restaurant industry is lobbying officials in Boston and beyond to take similar action. Outdoor seating may make customers feel more comfortable as the virus continues to circulate. Moreover, it would help businesses recoup lost revenue if they are faced with limits on indoor dining, said Frank DePasquale, the owner of eight North End restaurants, including Bricco and Mare Oyster Bar.
“The idea is basically to find alternative seating,” said DePasquale, who wants the city to close much of Hanover Street for restaurants. “A lot of restaurants in the North End have 50 to 60 seats, so you take away 50 percent of that and it’s impossible to make it. It’s just impossible to make it, especially with the [cost] of rent.”
Never mind that, where will the supplies come from?
Walsh on Monday suggested that it would be tricky to close Hanover Street because a firehouse is located there. DePasquale said it would be possible to make the street one-way to let emergency vehicles in and out while essentially expanding the sidewalks for more seating.
Cutting down on street space for cars may also be a defensive maneuver against the very traffic congestion that has confounded the Boston area for so many years. London and Milan, for example, plan to make significantly more space for biking and walking, worried that many weary transit riders may otherwise take to cars and push traffic to unsustainable levels.
You will have the road all to yourself.
The MBTA expects greatly diminished ridership for a year or longer but plans to run trains and buses more frequently to lessen crowding. That’s one reason transit officials are pushing for more bus lanes on city streets: If buses can complete their routes sooner, they can turn around and run again more frequently — essentially boosting capacity, but some riders won’t be returning to the T and will instead turn to other modes.
How will that help the environment?
“I’m using this as an opportunity to get used to the roads around here,” said Nicole Eigbrett of Somerville, who was given an old bike by a friend near the start of the pandemic. She’s not planning to resume using the Red Line to commute to the State House, where she works as a legislative aide. “I know how crowded and uncomfortable these trains can get. And even then, knowing how frustrated and emotional people can get, if we layer the pandemic on top of that, to me that just sounds awful.”
This is f**king gross!
Look who they talk to!
Mark Vautour, the manager of Landry’s Bicycles in Boston, has seen a sharp uptick in bike sales. Other customers have dusted off old bikes and asked for tune-ups. Some are turning to bikes for recreation, others for commuting, and many for both. In any case, he said, the city may want to accommodate all these new riders with more protected bike lanes.
I'm too old to ride a bike, sorry.
City Councilor Michelle Wu noted that some of the debates about how to best use streets were already underway prior to the pandemic, but said that easing the shutdown should accelerate the solutions.
OMFG!
“Transportation was a challenge long before the pandemic,” Wu said. “Now’s the time to be reallocating street space so we are putting public health, mobility, and safety first. That’s the same solution we’ll need during the pandemic and in the recovery.”
That means the "redesign" is meant to be PERMANENT, readers!
What EVIL have they PLANNED?
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They will be DANCING in the STREETS:
"It seems safe to say that the City Council has never seen anything like this. As the continuing pandemic takes its toll on Boston, both economically and psychologically, City Councilor Julia Mejia is trying to lift constituents’ spirits, but not just by brainstorming civic solutions and convening virtual gatherings. She’s also busting moves on TikTok. Every night for the past 30, Mejia has posted video of herself dancing with her 10-year-old daughter, Annalise Cooper....."
That is SO GODDAMN INSULTING and OFFENSIVE it DEFIES WORDS!
“Our kids are watching us. We have to set the tone in how we handle stress," said City Councilor Julia Mejia. (Erin Clark/Globe Staff).
Yeah, what, and why are photos no longer dated?
No mask and no social distancing!
Some don't need to wear masks:
"Cambridge man says he was turned away from grocery store without a mask — even though he is exempt; Exceptions include those with breathing, behavioral concerns" by Felicia Gans Globe Staff, May 14, 2020
It was just hours after the Massachusetts mandate had taken effect this month requiring people to cover their faces in public, when Paul Cohen ventured outside without a mask.
It really is a $elf-centered jew$paper.
The 48-year-old Cambridge man has severe asthma, and wearing a mask makes breathing near-impossible. The first couple of times he tried wearing a face covering while walking, he had terrible headaches — “eyes bulging out of my head,” he said — and he almost passed out.
Think of how many brain cells the lack of oxygen is killing in us healthy folk.
So he left his mask behind last Wednesday when he went to his local H Mart for groceries. Normally, his wife would have done the shopping, Cohen said, but he was trying to help out while she was working from home.
The H Mart employees wouldn’t let him inside, he said.
“I think everyone that can wear a mask should wear a mask. I’m just one of those people who can’t," he said, "but it’s embarrassing to have to stand there and explain myself to someone.”
Cohen is one of countless people who fall under the state’s certified exemptions for wearing a mask — an exemption he said not enough people seem to know about.
The mandate signed by Governor Charlie Baker, which went into effect on May 6, requires anyone above the age of 2 to wear a face covering when they’re in public and cannot maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from other people, but according to guidance from the state Department of Public Health, people can be exempt from wearing a mask if they would not be able to breathe safely, have a behavioral health diagnosis that makes them unable to wear a mask, are accompanying someone who relies on lip reading to communicate, or need supplemental oxygen to breathe.
“I want people to understand that we’re not doing something wrong," Cohen said. “We’re not bad people.”
Another poor, Jewish victim!
In the days since the incident, Cambridge officials have met with managers at H Mart to discuss the exemptions. A spokesman for the city said they “will continue to follow up with other local grocery stores, pharmacies, and retail stores regarding this order and to ensure they are aware of the medical exemption.”
Oh, to be a member of the tribe! We should all self-identify as Jews!
A representative for H Mart said company leaders are looking into the incident and “plan to make any appropriate actions.”
Local groups that assist people with various health conditions and disabilities say it’s important for everyone to have their rights protected, even — and especially — during a pandemic.
This as our CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS are being TRAMPLED!
For some with behavioral health diagnoses, such as autism, wearing a mask simply isn’t possible, said Leo V. Sarkissian, executive director of The Arc of Massachusetts, which works with people who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. “There’s some people who physically can do it but behaviorally can’t,” he said. “We should try to make accommodations in those situations. It’s not like someone’s doing it on purpose because they’re being obstinate.”
How do you think they contracted that, huh?
I'll tell you: VACCINES!
Rick Glassman, who has worked on issues regarding access to public accommodations for the Disability Law Center, said Cohen’s story is a good reminder that “one size fits all does not always work. It’s often the case that an individual, an employee, or a place of public accommodation who tries to treat everyone exactly the same ends up engaging inadvertently in discrimination,” Glassman said. “The disability rights laws continue to apply during this period right now. There’s no pandemic exception to the [Americans with Disabilities Act].”
What chutzpah from Glassman(!)
Cohen said the employees at H Mart were respectful to him despite the “unfortunate situation,” but he hopes his story can educate business owners about the exemptions to the mask mandate so other people don’t experience what he did.
More edjewkhazion!
“You really can’t see what’s wrong with someone if they’re walking down the street," he said. “That’s the whole basis of discrimination.”
So says the paper of Jewi$h $upremacy!
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