#1 Shutter Company in Florida

[mortagesbycheryl]

What to Expect After the Hurricane

Florida is no stranger to hurricanes. Over the last few decades, countless Floridians have faced the traumatic aftermath of powerful storms like Wilma, Ivan, Ian, Irma, Andrew, Charlie, and Helene. Many of which reached Category 3 to 5. Each storm has left its mark, causing not just physical damage, but also deep emotional scars. Many residents now carry the weight of anxiety and trauma from these experiences, making the aftermath of each new storm even more daunting. You are not alone. While we do our best to prepare, stocking up on food, canned goods, batteries, and securing shutters, there are always a few crucial items or steps that may slip our minds when disaster strikes due to the panic and anxiety. As you gather supplies and prepare, here are some additional tips to consider, along with important contacts to keep handy: What to Expect After the Storm 1. Assessing Damage: Before the storm hits, take photos of your property and save them in a secure folder on your phone or cloud storage. After ensuring your safety post-storm, assess the damage to your home. Document everything with photos for your insurance claim. 2. Contact Your Insurance Provider: Reach out to your insurance company as soon as possible to report any damage and initiate the claims process. Having documentation ready will expedite this process. Be sure to file the claim yourself. Do not have attorney's, adjusters or the insurance agent file for you. Your agent can help walk you through filing the claim, but it is important for you to do it yourself to assure all is explained and documented correctly, leaving nothing left for questioning to avoid delays. 3. Stay Informed: Stay updated with local news for recovery efforts and safety advisories. If power and internet are down, use Viber, Zello Walkie Talkie, or WhatsApp as an easy form of communication as these do not require internet to use them. Also, if you have an iPhone, you can also activate the satellite options on your for-emergency connectivity when outdoors. Your car can also serve as a charging station for your devices. Do not run the car or generator in an enclosed space to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Safety First. Resources for Assistance - FEMA Assistance: If you’ve been affected, you may qualify for federal assistance. Visit FEMA’s Disaster Assistance website or call 1-800-621-FEMA (1-800-621-3362) for more information. - Shelter and Safety: For immediate shelter needs, contact the Red Cross by visiting redcross.org or texting "Shelter" to 43362. - Local Community Resources: Many organizations are stepping up to offer support. Check with local churches, community centers, and non-profits for food, supplies, and temporary housing. As you navigate the aftermath of the storm, remember that you are not alone. The community is here to rally around you in your time of need. Our hearts and prayers go out to all those affected by recent hurricanes, those facing hardship and devastation, and those in the path of upcoming storms. Together, we can support one another through these challenging times. Stay strong, and don’t hesitate to reach out for help. We’re all in this together. Read the full article

[transition-with-the-torah]

For Jewish communities in areas battered by Helene, High Holidays take a backseat to basic safety (originally published 30 Sept 2024, shared here on 1 Oct):

(JTA) — It’s been days since Hurricane Helene struck her community, and the CEO of Jewish Greenville still doesn’t know who is OK and who still needs help. “It’s very much a crisis situation for many people here,” Courtney Tessler told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, about the Jewish community she serves in South Carolina’s upstate region. “Our focus right now is just confirming the safety and identifying the immediate needs,” she said. “Without power and without Internet, and with spotty cell service, it’s been tough to do that.” Tessler’s community was in better shape than many in the storm’s path. The Jewish community in hard-hit Asheville, North Carolina, remains largely cut off from communication, with the timeline for restored electricity and running water stretching in some places until after Yom Kippur nearly two weeks from now. The local Jewish Family Services canceled its planned delivery of Rosh Hashanah meals owing to unsafe road conditions but reopened its offices Monday as a donations center.

Helene charted a path of destruction north from the Florida Gulf late last week, doing particular damage to Asheville but also lashing nearby cities including Greenville. Entire cities have flooded; roads have been rendered impassable; utilities failures are widespread; and the death toll topped 121 across six states on Monday, a number expected to rise. Hundreds of thousands of people may not have access to running water for days.

Also not helping matters: Widespread Verizon cell-phone outages the company reported Monday, affecting not just the regions hit by Helene but also other parts of the country.

For the thousands of Jews in the storm’s path, Helene and its “biblical devastation” also hit days before Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the calendar. It’s an added stressor that, for some, is now taking a backseat to personal safety.

“As much as I would like to say High Holidays are the priority, for a lot of these people it’s being able to get access to hot water or a shower,” Tessler said of the region she serves, where days of rain prior to Helene meant that centuries-old trees in the region were uprooted by the storms and caused massive damage.

Her federation serves between 4,000 and 5,000 Jews spread across 11 counties, making the simple act of trying to verify their safety when communication lines are cut a daunting task. South Carolina is also prioritizing getting businesses back on the grid before residential neighborhoods, meaning that Greenville’s synagogues are currently without power — and may not be up and running by Wednesday evening, the start of Rosh Hashanah.

“It is still up in the air, and we may not know until Tuesday if services will go on on Wednesday,” Tessler said, adding that some pockets of the area aren’t expecting to regain power until Oct. 14 — after Yom Kippur. In communication sent this week, she wished her hard-hit community a happy Rosh Hashanah.

Synagogues in other hard-hit regions also shuttered in the face of the storm, the fiercest inland storm in recent U.S. history and part of a trend of intensification that scientists associate with climate change. Several synagogues in eastern Tennessee and northwest Georgia reported power outages and canceled services over Shabbat on Friday and Saturday.

But as bad as the situation is in those areas, it’s far worse in Asheville and its environs. Entire neighborhoods and small towns in western North Carolina — a region of around 3,400 Jews, according to a 2010 demographic survey commissioned by the regional federation — have been washed away by Helene. Most Jewish communal leaders in Asheville remained unreachable Monday.

The website of the city’s Jewish community center displayed the same message on Monday that it had since Thursday: “Due to roadway flooding and forecasted continued rain with a possibility of tornado warnings, ALL JCC programming, Aquatics included, will be closed tomorrow Friday, September 27. We hope everyone stays safe.”

Asheville’s Jewish community includes a handful of congregations, a Jewish Community Center and a Chabad house; a handful of lay-led synagogues dot the surrounding area. The region’s Jewish population has grown in recent years.

While the synagogues are located some distance from the Swannanoa River, which swelled far beyond its banks during the storm, a current flood map on Monday suggested that at least one, Temple Beth Israel, remained within the boundaries of the flooding. The synagogue typically holds Tashlich, the Rosh Hashanah ceremony in which Jews away cast symbols of their sins, at a stream on its property.

Local Jewish organizations, including Jewish Family Services of Western North Carolina and Chabad of Asheville, were mobilizing online in their efforts to provide food, water and other basic needs to the region’s Jews.

“We are heartbroken for Western North Carolina and all those impacted by the devastation, but we will get through this together,” JFS wrote on Facebook Sunday. “Please continue to stay safe.”

Chabad of Asheville posted photos of hot meals and water bottles its rabbi planned to deliver to Jews across the region, asking followers to share details about elderly family members to check up on.

A few hundred Jewish college students also attend school in western North Carolina, most of them at the University of North Carolina-Asheville and Appalachian State University, in Boone. Those schools closed their campuses this week.

A staffer at North Carolina Hillel who oversees Jewish life on those campuses in an advisory capacity told JTA those students “had been looking forward to celebrating Rosh Hashanah in their communities,” but were now pivoting to seeking out volunteer opportunities.

“It has been inspiring to see students using our Hillel group chats to find places they can volunteer, share resources with one another, and offer each other support; our Hillel students are amazing and, like every Jewish community, shine when things look the darkest,” Ginny Vellani, director of NC Hillel Link, wrote in an email Monday.

Jewish communities from nearby and farther afield are stepping up to organize relief efforts. Temple Beth El in Charlotte, 120 miles east and largely unaffected by the storm beyond sporadic power outages, had begun to organize a fundraiser for Asheville’s Jews. The temple’s senior leadership was not yet able to share details about its concrete relief efforts Monday.

Farther-flung Jewish groups have launched fundraisers for Helene relief, including the Greensboro Jewish Federation further to the east in North Carolina and the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, which has also grappled with catastrophic weather attributed to warming seas and worsening storms.

The High Holidays have always fallen around peak hurricane season, which is growing longer and more volatile. Two years ago, small Jewish communities along Florida’s west coast were battered by their own “biblical” storm just before Rosh Hashanah.

The affected Jewish communal leaders are also in touch with each other, with Tessler telling JTA she has spoken with Asheville’s JFS — although “we just don’t know enough at this point” about the extent of the storm’s impact on the city’s Jewish community.

Yet hopes of celebrating a sweet new year in the region haven’t entirely dimmed. Vellani is planning to drive a truck full of supplies, including challah, honey cakes, apples and honey, to Boone on Tuesday. There, she says, students will hand out the holiday goods to Jewish community members using the area’s synagogue, Temple of the High Country, as a distribution spot.

“We hope to bring holiday joy, even in the midst of this incredibly difficult time,” she said.

[homeremodeladvice]

10 Best Home Remodeling Ideas for Florida Homes

Welcome, Floridian friends! Home remodeling in the Sunshine State is not just about style and aesthetics, it's also about functionality and making the most out of our unique tropical climate. From Miami's art deco flair to the casual, beachy vibes of the Gulf Coast, your home can be a reflection of all the beauty that Florida has to offer. So, whether you're looking to increase your home's value or simply want to refresh its look, here are the top 10 home remodeling and renovation ideas to consider.

1. Open Up for Natural Light Nothing says Florida living like abundant natural light. Consider large, impact-resistant windows that not only let in the sunshine but also stand up to our sometimes-fierce weather. Skylights are also a fantastic way to brighten up your space.

2. Optimize Outdoor Living Spaces Expand your living space to the outdoors by creating a seamless flow between indoor and outdoor areas. Think large sliding doors that open to a screened patio or deck. An outdoor kitchen or bar can be a fantastic addition for entertaining, and don't forget a comfortable seating area for those balmy evenings.

3. Coastal-Inspired Flooring Ditch the carpets and go for easy-to-clean and cool flooring options. Large, light-colored tiles or laminate flooring can give your home a coastal feel while also keeping it cool underfoot.

4. Embrace a Beachy Palette A fresh coat of paint can do wonders. Choose colors that reflect the seaside—soft blues, warm sands, and gentle greens. These hues not only lighten up your space but also create a calming atmosphere that pays homage to the Florida coast.

5. Update Your Kitchen with a Focus on Function The kitchen is the heart of the home. Add a touch of Florida with a backsplash that features sea glass colors, upgrade to modern appliances for energy efficiency, and consider an island that doubles as a dining space.

6. Incorporate Smart Home Technology With Florida's hot summers, smart thermostats and energy-efficient lighting can make your home more comfortable and save on energy bills. Automated hurricane shutters can provide peace of mind during storm season.

7. Refresh Your Bathroom with a Spa Feel Turn your bathroom into a personal spa with a rain shower head, a deep soaker tub, and natural stone or tile. Think about installing a skylight to bathe your bathroom in natural light.

8. Landscaping for Curb Appeal and Climate Invest in landscaping that not only boosts curb appeal but is also drought-resistant and suited to Florida's climate. Native plants will thrive and help to conserve water.

9. Create a Mudroom or Drop Zone With the beach close by, a designated space to drop towels, sandals, and beach gear can keep the rest of your home sand-free and organized. A mudroom with built-in storage can be a game-changer.

10. Energy-Efficient Additions Consider solar panels for a greener footprint and lower energy bills. Florida's sunny days can be harnessed to power your home, and many solar companies offer installation with little to no upfront cost.

Conclusion Florida homes have the unique advantage of being located in a beautiful, diverse state with weather that allows for year-round enjoyment of outdoor spaces. Whether you're making small changes or undertaking a major remodel, these ideas can help you make the most of your Floridian home, combining style, functionality, and sustainability. Remember, a successful remodel not only adds value to your home but also enhances your lifestyle. So, embrace the Florida charm and make your home a personal paradise!

[plantationshutterfl406]

Plantation Shutters - Florida Plantation Shutters

Plantation Shutters – Florida Plantation Shutters

Plantation Shutters of Florida Inc Featured on Houzz PLANTATION SHUTTERS FOR SLIDING DOORS

7-Days Wood Plantation Shutters made in the USA for Florida Doors

 Installing plantation shutters over sliding glass doors is a great idea. Plantation shutters provide “Top” privacy, block the exterior light and add’s a beautiful, sophisticated look to your Florida’s home. But before you make a…

[newstfionline]

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Florida Keys faces stark reality as seas rise (The Guardian) Long famed for its spectacular fishing, sprawling coral reefs and literary residents such as Ernest Hemingway, the Florida Keys is now acknowledging a previously unthinkable reality: it faces being overwhelmed by the rising seas and not every home can be saved. Following a grueling seven-hour public meeting on Monday, held in the appropriately named city of Marathon, officials agreed to push ahead with a plan to elevate streets throughout the Keys to keep them from perpetual flooding, while admitting they do not have the money to do so. If the funding isn’t found, the Keys will become one of the first places in the US—and certainly not the last—to inform residents that certain areas will have to be surrendered to the oncoming tides. “The water is coming and we can’t stop it,” said Michelle Coldiron, mayor of Monroe county, which encompasses the Keys. “Some homes will have to be elevated, some will have to be bought out. It’s very difficult to have these conversations with homeowners, because this is where they live. It can get very emotional.” The islands’ porous limestone allows the rising seawater to bubble up from below, meaning it just takes high tides on sunny days to turn roads into ponds, while global heating is also spurring fiercer hurricanes that can occasionally crunch into the archipelago.

Death toll in Florida collapse rises to 4; 159 still missing (AP) With nearly 160 people unaccounted for and at least four dead after a seaside condominium tower collapsed into a smoldering heap of twisted metal and concrete, rescuers used both heavy equipment and their own hands to comb through the wreckage on Friday in an increasingly desperate search for survivors. As scores of firefighters in Surfside, just north of Miami, toiled to locate and reach anyone still alive in the remains of the 12-story Champlain Towers South, hopes rested on how quickly crews using dogs and microphones could complete their grim, yet delicate task.

Study: 29% of tourists are looking forward to enjoying Mexico City’s beaches (Worldcrunch) A quick look at a map of Mexico will tell you that its capital, Mexico City, lies pretty much smack dab in the middle of the country. With the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico a five-hour drive in either direction, Mexico City is as landlocked as they come. Unlike many other major cities, it doesn’t even have a river. So this may come as a bit of a surprise that a study on tourism in the Mexican capital, conducted by the city’s business association COPARMEX, found that almost 30% of potential foreign visitors to the bustling megalopolis said they were particularly looking forward to enjoying "its beaches." As daily Publimetro reports, most respondents to the study, hailing from 17 different countries, even named names—citing "Cancún and Acapulco" (respectively 1,600 and 400 km away) as the beaches they couldn’t wait to go to. Alberto de la Fuente, the head of Moratti Strategic Business which compiled this “Macro Study on Reactivating the Tourist Economy” study, said the results showed the "potential" of tourists who know very little about Mexico but could be attracted with the right advertising campaigns.

Helicopter carrying Colombia’s president attacked; all safe (AP) Colombian President Iv��n Duque said Friday that a helicopter carrying him and several senior officials came under fire in the southern Catatumbo region bordering Venezuela, in a rare instance of a direct attack on a presidential aircraft. Duque said everyone on board the helicopter was safe, including himself, Defense Minister Diego Molano, Interior Minister Daniel Palacios and the governor of Norte de Santander state, Silvano Serrano. A video released by the presidency showed several bullet holes in the Colombian air force helicopter. Duque did not provide the time of the attack or say who he believed carried it out, but several armed groups are known to operate in the area.

3 dead, hundreds injured by rare tornado in Czech Republic (AP) A rare tornado tore through southeastern Czech Republic, killing at least three people and injuring hundreds, rescue services said on Friday. The tornado formed late Thursday as strong thunderstorms hit the entire country. Seven towns and villages have been badly damaged, with entire buildings turned into ruins and cars overturned. Over 120,000 households were without electricity.

Russia’s northern passage (WSJ) Melting ice in the Arctic Ocean is bringing a centuries-old dream closer to reality for Russia: a shipping passage through its northern waters that could put it at the center of a new global trade shipping route. After one of the warmest years on record, the Kremlin is near to realizing its controversial plans for a global shipping route in its high north—plans that have put Moscow at odds with the U.S. and could create friction with China, two countries that also have designs on the Arctic. Warming in the Arctic is happening twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Last year, ice coverage reached some of the lowest levels ever recorded, and it is only expected to shrink further in 2021. That is pushing Moscow to build infrastructure along the route, which can cut the distance of trips between Europe and Asia by a third compared with shipping through the politically fraught South China Sea or congested Malacca Straits currently used for cargo.

Russia vs. U.K. in the Black Sea (Foreign Policy) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said his country would respond aggressively to any attempts by other countries to enter waters off Crimea that it deems Russian territory. Referring to Russia’s allegation of measures it took to deter the HMS Defender, a British ship that sailed close to Crimea on Wednesday, he said Russian forces “may drop bombs and not just in the path but right on target.” Speaking to the BBC, the Defender’s captain, Vince Owen, said the vessel’s path was deliberately taken to uphold its right to navigation in an area it deems part of Ukraine’s territory. Ukraine and the United Kingdom deepened naval ties on Wednesday, when the two countries signed an agreement to boost Ukraine’s naval capabilities and create new naval bases in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov.

Russia mandates vaccinations for some as virus cases surge (AP) They tried grocery giveaways and lotteries for new cars and apartments. But an ambitious plan of vaccinating 30 million Russians by mid-June still has fallen short by a third. So now, many regional governments across the vast country are obligating some workers to get vaccinated and requiring the shots to enter certain businesses, like restaurants. At east 14 Russian regions—from Moscow and St. Petersburg to the remote far-eastern region of Sakhalin—made vaccinations mandatory this month for employees in certain sectors, such as government offices, retail, health care, education, restaurants, fitness centers, beauty parlors and other service industries. Moscow authorities said companies should suspend without pay employees unwilling to get vaccinated. As of Monday, all Moscow restaurants, cafes and bars will admit only customers who have been vaccinated, have recovered from COVID-19 in the past six months, or can provide a negative coronavirus test from the previous 72 hours.

Myanmar fighting since coup has displaced 230,000 people, UN says (Reuters) An estimated 230,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Myanmar and need assistance, the United Nations said on Thursday, as a major armed ethnic group expressed concern about military force, civilian deaths and a widening of the conflict. Myanmar has been in crisis since a February 1 coup ousted an elected government, prompting nationwide anger that has led to protests, killings and bombings, and battles on several fronts between troops and newly formed civilian armies. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said relief operations were ongoing but were being hindered by armed clashes, violence and insecurity in the country.

Parts of Sydney going into lockdown as virus outbreak grows (AP) Parts of Sydney will go into lockdown late Friday as a coronavirus outbreak in Australia’s largest city continued to grow. Health authorities reported an additional 22 locally transmitted cases and imposed a weeklong lockdown in four areas, saying people could leave their homes only for essential purposes. “If you live or work in those local government areas, you need to stay at home unless absolutely necessary,” said Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of New South Wales state.

WHO warns of ‘humanitarian disaster’ in Syria if no cross-border aid renewal (Reuters) Failure to renew a cross-border aid operation into Syria which expires next month could result in a new “humanitarian disaster” for the country’s rebel-held region in the northwest, a World Health Organization spokesman said on Friday.

Child soldiers carried out attack that killed at least 138 people in Burkina Faso, officials say (Washington Post) The deadliest massacre that Burkina Faso has suffered since extremists invaded the West African nation was perpetrated by mostly children, officials said, injecting fresh tragedy into the six-year conflict that has killed thousands. A group of young boys helped carry out the early June attack that claimed at least 138 lives in the northeastern village of Solhan, government spokesman Ousseni Tamboura said. “The attackers were mostly children between the ages of 12 and 14,” he told reporters this week in the capital, Ouagadougou. The announcement comes as 10 percent of Burkina Faso’s schools have shuttered due to rising insecurity.

The art of Belgian zen (The Economist) Allowing a soldier to go AWOL is a misfortune. Allowing a soldier to go AWOL armed with stolen machineguns, four rocket-launchers and a pledge to “join the resistance” and kill Belgium’s top virologist looks like carelessness. The tale of Jurgen Conings, a 46-year-old army sharpshooter, who disappeared in May, has diverted Belgium. A month-long manhunt featuring special forces from five countries, drones and sniffer dogs turned up nothing. Instead, Mr Conings’ body was found on June 20th by a local mayor. He was mountain-biking nearby and noticed a smell.      Stuff happens in Belgium. From the outside, it is a grey country famous for fries, Magritte, chocolate and as the home of the EU—a project whose entire ethos is making European history one of dull process rather than bloody war. From the inside, it is chaos, to the point that a tooled-up anti-lockdown terrorist nicknamed “Belgian Rambo” roaming the woods seems par for the course. This is, after all, a country where someone sabotaged a nuclear-power station in 2014, without causing too much of a stir. Sometimes the disorder is merely amusing—trains being delayed because of a fire at a waffle factory, for example. Or when officials blamed the destruction of blueprints for Brussels’s tunnel system on hungry (and undiscerning) mice.      Surviving Belgium requires a certain state of mind. Call it Belgian zen: an ability to cope with a way of life that is sometimes disturbing, sometimes wonderful, but always weird. The country has survived happily without a federal government for up to two years at a time. It is the world’s most successful failed state. Belgians are almost as rich as Germans and better off than Britons or the French. Their health care is excellent. Property is cheap; wages are high. A Belgian life is, on average, long and prosperous. In such circumstances, a heavily armed soldier roaming the woods can be brushed off with dark jokes. As long as Belgium avoids true tragedy, nothing will disturb Belgian zen.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Pluralistic: 22 Mar 2020 (Preppers in times of crisis, work-from-home vs smart speakers, scientist's coronavirus painting, DNA Lounge needs help, City Council showdown, Tlaib's trillion dollar coins, plutes are hoarding pandemic supplies)

Today's links

How prepper media is coping with the crisis: Fantasy meets reality while grifters pick up the pieces.

Law firm tells work-from-homers to switch off smart speakers: Bugging your own house is not compatible with attorney-client privilege.

Gorgeous painting of coronavirus from a molecular scientist: Free to use, too.

Slim's is shut, but DNA Lounge needs your help: It's not a business, it's a community.

Florida mayor ducks accountability for threatening power disconnections during the pandemic: Mayor Pam Triolo has permanently disqualified herself for public office, and commissioner Omari Hardy has the receipts.

Rashida Tlaib proposes minting two trillion-dollar coins: A people's covid bailout.

How "concierge doctors" supply the "worried well" with masks, respirators and tests: Pandemic capitalism is guillotine capitalism.

This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

How prepper media is coping with the crisis (permalink)

I just listened to the most interesting coverage of the pandemic I've heard so far: On The Media's deep reporting on how preppers are coping with the Current Situation.

https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/why-preppers-werent-really-prepared-pandemic

I admit I felt some schadenfreude when I heard prepper media trying to reconcile their hair-trigger belief in the apocalypse with blind loyalty to Trump and his deny/spin tactics. Not to mention some smugness when I heard about all the scammy products grifters are pimping out to preppers. There's even a fucking Kardashian flogging own-brand prepper gear.

But what made the segment amazing – and not just amusing – was the interview with Richard Mitchell, an ethnographer who embedded with preppers for years.

http://people.oregonstate.edu/~mitchelr/

He wrote the canonical book on the prepper movement, Dancing at Armageddon: Survivalism and Chaos in Modern Times.

https://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo3637295.html

As Mitchell explains it, prepping is NEVER about actual preparedness. It's about imagining a scenario in which you will uniquely be poised to thrive, irrespective of the likelihood of that scenario. For example, a chemist he profiles in the book is totally prepped for a future in which terrorists poison the water supply and has stockpiled antidotes, water purification chemicals, etc.

The most important thing about this possibility is not that it's likely, but rather than he'd shine if it were to come to pass.

Prepping is a way of playing out a fantasy in which you are elevated to savior status, not an exercise in disaster-mitigation. And the thing is, coronavirus is not a thing anyone can individually prepare for. Individuals in bunkers don't invent novel viral therapies, vaccines, or field-expedient ventilators. That's done by society: labs, research institutes, universities, makerspaces.

The problem with actual prepper-level crises is that they demand social responses, not individual ones. The prepper's quest for individual meaning and supremacy means that he can never be actually prepared, because the way to solve a crisis is run towards it, not away.

Cowering in a luxury bunker trying to unstick the pages of your beloved copy of The Turner Diaries is a hell of a way to while away the end of the world.

Law firm tells work-from-homers to switch off smart speakers (permalink)

Mishcon de Reya is an elite UK law firm whose partners are – like so many others – working from home. The company has issued guidance to staff about shutting down their "smart" speakers while at home, to avoid leakage of sensitive client information

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-20/locked-down-lawyers-warned-alexa-is-hearing-confidential-calls

The guidance – to power off these devices – comes from Joe Hancock, the partner in charge of the firm's cybersecurity, and covers all IoT devices with cameras/mics, including baby monitors, smart speakers, Ring doorbells, etc.

Gorgeous painting of coronavirus from a molecular scientist (permalink)

David S. Goodsell is a molecular scientist and artist at the Scripps institute. His latest "Molecular Landscapes" piece is "Coronavirus".

http://pdb101.rcsb.org/sci-art/goodsell-gallery/coronavirus

You can tune into some of the process notes here: "he emphasizes that molecular processes in our body don't stand on their own (despite how they're usually shown in textbooks), but that all these components are part of a crowded environment."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/evaamsen/2020/02/10/what-does-a-coronavirus-look-like/#2b4337f03c7f

Goodsell has declared it "free to use." You can get a high-rez here:

https://cdn.rcsb.org/pdb101/goodsell/tif/coronavirus.tif

Slim's is shut, but DNA Lounge needs your help (permalink)

Two years ago, the billionaires who operated San Francisco's beloved blues club Slim's flogged it off to the predatory venue operator Golden Voice, who have now shuttered it.

https://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2020/03/21.html

As JWZ points out, the fact that Slim's wasn't operated to turn a profit is in no way exceptional. Clubs are labors of love, "We facilitate the creation of culture: You push money in, turn the crank, and what comes out the other side is art, community, music and stories."

He knows. He's run the wonderful DNA Lounge for 30 years: "It isn't some whim of dilettante plutocrats. It's not some hobby I toy with when I'm not private-jetting off to my luxurious doomsday bunker. This is all I do. I didn't expect this to be my life's work, but it is."

He's just about run out of his tech money, and he's had to close during the pandemic, but he's still paying staff and still wants to continue providing a service to his community. He's seeking donations:

https://www.dnalounge.com/donate/

"The 'two or three rich dudes' model is not sustainable, because two or three people, billionaires or not, are not a community."

Florida mayor ducks accountability for threatening power disconnections during the pandemic (permalink)

The city of Lake Worth Beach, Florida was brutally slow to recognize the seriousness of the pandemic. Not only did the Mayor Pam Triolo fail to take action to limit the spread of the virus, her administration also continued to send power disconnection notices to the city's poorest residents.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20200320/watch-coronavirus-florida-lake-worth-beach-meeting-gets-ugly-and-heated-about-emergency-powers

Her administration refused to agendize or properly debate the response for far too long, provoking commissioner Omari Hardy to call her and city manager Michael Bornstein out for their inaction and their cruelty to the city's poorest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bgCCXSrwHA

The commissioner's righteous – and technically excellent – intervention during a council meeting is a masterpiece, as he bulls through cack-handed attempts to silence him using mishandled parliamentary procedure, while dogging the mayor as she ducks responsibility.

Forcing people in the worst economic downturn in living memory to choose between spending their last check on power or food, during a once-in-a-century pandemic, is an act of permanently disqualifying depraved indifference and mismanagement.

Rashida Tlaib proposes minting two trillion-dollar coins (permalink)

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib has revived an idea from the 2011 debt crisis to finance the stimulus, pulled from the #ModernMonentaryTheory playbook: having the Federal Reserve mint two "one trillion dollar coins" and deposit them in its Fed account.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/tlaib-proposes-minting-two-1-trillion-platinum-coins-to-finance-monthly-coronavirus-debit-cards

Doing so would avoid federal debt strictures and immediately give the USG $2T to spend on reviving the economy, which it would do by sending every person in the USA a $2K prepaid credit card that would receive $1K/month until a year after the crisis's end.

Each person – children, adults, documented, undocumented, rich, poor – would get the card and the deposits, and progressive taxation would rake it back from those who don't need it (far more reliable than means-testing, which is a persistent failure).

Trillion-dollar coins are a well-theorized and documented proposal. You can read more here:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3536440

(Image: Merrick Mint)

How "concierge doctors" supply the "worried well" with masks, respirators and tests (permalink)

One big difference I observed between my life under Canadian medicare (30 years), and UK NHS (13 years) is that in the former, there is no private option, so rich people have to advocate for everyone's care in order to improve their own. I think the relative fortunes of the NHS and OHIP can be largely explained by this difference. Allowing the rich to opt into a private system reduces the political costs of slashing the public system.

In the US, this process proceeds on steriods. Those in the USA lucky enough to have "insurance" find that their massive premiums buy them little-to-no healthcare, with endless bureaucracy and denials.

https://twitter.com/doctorow/status/1240411901055492097

Meanwhile, wealthy Americans buy their way out of the system altogether with "concierge doctors." In good times, this is merely an injustice. During the pandemic, it's an invitation to start building guillotines.

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/03/19/nelson-schwartz-coronavirus-inequality

Concierge services have finagled all kinds of pandemic unobtanium: respirators, tests, swabs and masks. These are not going to unwell people, they're going to the "worried well": rich people who just want to be on the safe side.

This could make us all much sicker. We need tests for exposed people, masks for health-care workers, respirators for emergency cases. The fact that these are piling up in mansions in the Hamptons and other wealthy enclaves is proof that markets are not efficient allocators.

We're supposed to tolerate inequality because it is an unavoidable consequence of efficient market allocations, making us all better off in the long run. But when inequality allows plutes to hoard pandemic supplies and endanger every human on Earth, the pretence runs thin.

There's a great book about this, The Velvet Rope Economy: How Inequality Became Big Business, by Nelson Schwartz: "In every realm of daily life–from health care to education, highways to home security–there is an invisible velvet rope that divides how Americans live."

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/561374/the-velvet-rope-economy-by-nelson-d-schwartz/

This day in history (permalink)

#15yrsago EFF appeals Apple versus Online Journalists https://web.archive.org/web/20050323164233/http://www.corante.com/copyfight/archives/2005/03/22/eff_files_for_appeal_in_apple_v_does.php

#10yrsago Delusional EU ACTA negotiator claims that three strikes has never been proposed at ACTA http://www.michaelgeist.ca/2010/03/eu-acta-consultation/

#10yrsago Teacher's heartbreak and anger at No Child Left Behind http://lilysblackboard.org/2010/03/nclb-science-of-making-up-stuff/

#5yrsago Taxonomy of theme park narrative gimmicks <a href="https://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-theme-park-trope-list.html>https://passport2dreams.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-theme-park-trope-list.html

#1yrago Gollancz has published its first anthology of South Asian Science Fiction https://factordaily.com/gollancz-south-asian-science-fiction-anthology/

#1yrago After fatal crash, Boeing reverses sales policy that locked out some safety features unless airlines paid for an upgrade https://apnews.com/140576a8e9d4449eae646c8c479fdc3a

#1yrago Philadelphia city council candidate says his secret AI has discovered disqualifying fraud in the nominations of 30 out of 33 candidates https://www.inquirer.com/politics/clout/council-at-large-petition-challenges-devon-cade-allan-domb-nick-miccarelli-20190322.html

#1yrago This Could Be It: Key Polish Political Party Comes Out Against Article 13 https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/03/could-be-it-key-polish-political-party-comes-out-against-article-13

#1yrago Unnamed stalkerware company has left gigabytes of sensitive personal info unprotected on the web and can't be reached to fix it https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j573k3/spyware-data-leak-pictures-audio-recordings

#1yrago Wireless vulns in Medtronic's implanted defibrillators allow remote shocks, shutdown, denial-of-service battery attacks and data theft http://www.startribune.com/750-000-medtronic-defibrillators-vulnerable-to-hacking/507470932/

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: Slashdot (https://slashdot.org/). Hugh D'Andrade (http://hughillustration.com/), Late Stage Capitalism (https://www.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/), Naked Capitalism (https://nakedcapitalism.com/).

Currently writing: I've just finished rewrites on a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I've also just completed "Baby Twitter," a piece of design fiction also set in The Lost Cause's prehistory, for a British think-tank. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel next.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: The Masque of the Red Death and Punch Brothers Punch https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/16/the-masque-of-the-red-death-and-punch-brothers-punch/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250757531

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583

[antoine-roquentin]

On a Wednesday afternoon in late March, dozens of striking metalworkers gathered outside the gates of a steel factory three miles south of the Texas border. “Get out corrupt unions!” a banner read. The event was broadcast on Facebook Live, receiving over 10,000 views within hours. Messages of support streamed in from across Mexico, and the Mexican diaspora as far away as Texas, Florida, France, and Dubai. It was a calm day—workers grilled chicken thighs and sausages over charcoal in the shade of palm trees; a reporter asked for interviews. Four days later, on March 31, state police in riot gear would show up outside the plant, beating workers and tearing apart their encampment. The metal workers, who earn roughly $2 an hour, had been on strike over their wages for 55 days without pay. 

The strike is part of an ongoing struggle between workers and U.S. manufacturing suppliers in Matamoros, a Mexican border city of half a million, known to many in the U.S. only as a migrant checkpoint. Since January 12, around 50,000 workers have gone on strike in Matamoros—including those employed by or supplying to Walmart, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Ford, Telsa, and Auto Zone. Another 15,000 non-union workers have staged illegal work stoppages. It’s the largest strike the city has seen in 30 years in a country with a long history of endemic, and at times violent, worker suppression. The so-called maquiladora industry workers in Matamoros, some of them deported migrants from the U.S., have demanded a 20 percent raise and a onetime bonus of 32,000 pesos ($1,655), calling themselves the “20/32 movement.” In recent weeks, 90 out of 95 factories in Matamoros have conceded to workers, leading labor analysts to predict, at long last, an upheaval of traditional labor relations in Mexico—what has been called “a labor spring.”

For decades, pro-government unions in Mexico have suppressed workers’ collective bargaining rights by colluding with factories to keep wages low—enticing U.S. industrialists to move their manufacturing operations south of the border. But now, the country has its first leftist, labor-friendly president in modern Mexican history. And the United States has offered another stimulus to union activity: Amidst the new protections for the pharmaceutical industry, provisions that require more car parts to be made in the United States, and the tightening of intellectual property laws, the Trump administration’s overhaul of the North American Free Trade Act (NAFTA) in 2018 also included provisions that require Mexico to recognize independent unions, hold democratic union elections for contracts and leadership, and establish independent labor courts. “It’s been 30 years of union suppression. Thirty years without real raises for workers,” said Alfonso Bouzas, a labor expert at the Universidad Nacional Autónomo de México in Mexico City. “Now we’re going to have more and more labor movements in Mexico.”

The trigger for the strikes, odd though it may sound, was a wage increase. On January 1, Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador doubled the minimum wage on the U.S.-Mexico border to $9.20 a day (the rest of Mexico received a 16 percent increase to $5.30 a day). Most manufacturing workers in Matamoros already earned this amount. They soon became aware of a provision in their union contracts—unique to Matamoros—that requires companies to match federal minimum wage increases.

Two weeks later, “wildcat” strikes, i.e. those not authorized by union leadership, broke out in 45 maquiladoras across Matamoros—mostly auto-parts manufacturers, including Adient, which claims to make one in every three automotive seats in the world. Soon, workers at grocery stores like Sam’s Club, Walmart, and even the city’s main milk distributor, Leche Vaquita, went on strike. Within 10 days, Matamoros’s maquiladora association estimates that companies lost $100 million. Employers across the city threatened to call in federal forces, shut down operations, and leave the city. This week, the Tamaulipas state police were called in to break up encampments at steelworks factories, and a human resources manager at a Coca-Cola bottling plant ordered non-union employees to attack striking workers, including a pregnant woman. But only two plants have shuttered to date, and the federal police have not been deployed.

The movement has also travelled over social media to the industrial cities of Reynosa, Agua Prieta and Ciudad Victoria in northern Mexico, where workers have staged their own wildcat strikes. “We consider this a battle definitively won by the workers,” said Susana Prieto Terrazas, a labor lawyer who lives in El Paso, Texas and the unofficial leader of the 20/32 movement, who has amassed over 80,000 followers on Facebook. In recent weeks, she’s received phone calls from workers in the border cities of Reynosa, Tijuana, and Ciudad Juárez, asking her to replicate her movement in their cities.

Over the past several decades, vast swaths of manufacturing areas in the United States have suffered the loss of unionized jobs to Mexico, where labor is one-tenth of the cost. Less discussed is that those jobs, once outsourced, do not support a middle-class lifestyle for Mexican workers, either. In 1992, before the passage of NAFTA, maquiladora workers earned the equivalent of nearly $19.50 a day. Today, they earn just half of that. Many peddle goods, like used clothing, sweet bread, or tamales to survive, as the price of basic goods in the Mexican borderlands is much higher than the rest of the country, sometimes even surpassing those in U.S. border cities: A pound of Serrano chilies in Matamoros costs $2.84, over half the daily minimum wage before the recent increase. A maquiladora worker I met in 2017 who worked for the German electronics company Bosch in Ciudad Juárez, another border city, told me it took him a month to save up enough money to take his family to the movie theater.

But the revamping of the free trade agreement between the United States and Mexico, at the urging of Donald Trump, could reverse some of the post-NAFTA trends, if its terms can be enforced. In part, that’s because Trump is more protectionist than prior Republican presidents. Trump’s U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, one of his more progressive appointees who grew up in a depressed blue-collar town in Ohio, fought tooth and nail for the new deal to include increased labor protections for workers both in Mexico and the United States, much to the ire of other Republican legislators. These provisions also helped induce Democrats and their union allies to back the NAFTA revision, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Such protections tend to appeal to U.S. unions for two reasons, somewhat in tension with one another: First, they would improve labor protections for Mexican workers. Second, the increased cost of labor in Mexico might keep manufacturing jobs from fleeing to Mexico in the first place, an outcome that would satisfy both unions and Trump. “Our unions have pointed out problems in Mexican labor law for many years,” said Finnegan, the global worker’s rights coordinator at the AFL-CIO. In theory, the new deal addresses some of those. “The big question remains enforcement. We have lots of doubts.” On Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi said that the House will not pass the USMCA unless Mexico implements labor reforms first. “We have to see that [Mexico passes] the legislation, that they have the factors in place that will make sure it’s implemented and they demonstrate some commitments in sincerity, because it’s a big issue how workers are treated in Mexico,” she said.

In recent years, under international pressure, the Mexican government has shown some willingness to enact reforms. The killed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) required Mexico do away with corrupt labor courts and give workers a vote in union elections. Last year, Mexican government ratified constitutional reforms, including Convention 98, of the International Labor Organization, to guarantee free and independent unions. These reforms now sit before the Mexican Congress, and are expected to pass in April.

[handeaux]

Penny Slots Sparked A War Between Hartwell And Cincinnati’s Saloons

How did Hartwell end up leading the charge against the Cincinnati political machine of Boss Cox?

Hartwell’s involvement was all about booze. In the long campaign to outlaw alcohol, the forces of Prohibition employed a variety of tactics to nibble away at the Empire of Demon Rum before the Eighteenth Amendment was finally ratified in 1919. Among the weirdest schemes attempted in Hamilton County led to a war between Hartwell – then an independent village – and Cincinnati’s saloons.

In  1905, public opinion was still very much opposed to Prohibition, at least in the cities. Rural counties, especially in Ohio, had already voted themselves dry. The “dry” element in urban areas took aim at easy targets, such as saloons that stayed open after midnight or served liquor on Sunday or promoted gambling.

Usually church-based, the dry organizations included the Ministerial Alliance, the Citizens League and others. Their modus operandi was to send spies into targeted saloons, observe post-midnight or Sabbath-day drinking or back-room gambling, then swear out warrants. They found an ally in Hartwell Mayor James A. Lowes.

Although there were at least four saloons inside the Hartwell village limits, Hartwell was considered a dry town and Mayor Lowes wanted to keep it that way. The saloons inside Hartwell and those in neighboring Carthage, St. Bernard and Springfield Township irritated him and so the Ministerial Alliance organized reconnaissance. It didn’t go well, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer [10 February 1905]:

“The attempts of the Ministerial Alliance to close the roadhouses along the Springfield pike almost culminated in a riot yesterday, and four alleged agents of the alliance left the vicinity of Hartwell pursued by an angry mob that threatened to give them a bath in Millcreek. The men were badly beaten up and left a trail of blood in the snow near White Hall as they fled from the place.”

Despite the setback, Mayor Lowes issued warrants for the arrest of four Springfield Pike saloonists – Charles Martindill, Oliver P. Naylor, Harry Schulte and John Wagner. Lowes fined Naylor and Schulte $75 and costs for being open on Sunday; Wagner and Martindill got $50 for hosting games of chance.

Emboldened by this success, Mayor Lowes decided to go after bigger game in the big city. On the invitation of a “Citizen’s Anti-Gambling Committee” financed by the ironically named James N. Gamble, president of Procter & Gamble, Lowes went looking for a Cincinnati saloon to bust. The target would be penny slot-machines. These so-called “silent salesmen” boosted saloon business because they paid out in tokens – not cash – that could be used only for drinks and cigars in the saloon itself. It was estimated that Cincinnati saloons employed some 6,000 to 10,000 of these machines.

How common were penny slots in Cincinnati? Around 1900 a popular vaudeville act had two comedians piloting a balloon around a fog-shrouded stage. One asks if the other can see where they are. “No,” the other replies. “I can’t see a thing, but we must be flying over Cincinnati because I can hear all the penny slot machines.”

Gamble’s committee recruited the Hartwell mayor because no other magistrate would act against saloons and gambling joints and risk the wrath of Boss Cox’s machine. In 1904, Gamble’s team compiled an air-tight case proving that Cincinnati City Councilman Joseph Schweninger ran a gambling joint at 1714 Vine Street. They showed the affidavit to J.B. Matson, Justice of the Peace for Delhi Township. Squire Matson refused to issue a warrant for Schweninger’s arrest. According to the Post [17 December 1904], Matson was afraid of reprisal:

“[Cox’s minions] have the police court, they have the criminal courts, and they will soon have the Insolvency Court. I am an attorney and expect to practice law here, so I cannot afford to incur their enmity.”

Hartwell’s Mayor James A. Lowes had no such qualms. The wealthy vice president of the John H. Hibben Dry Goods Company, Lowes had to answer only to his constituents for a position that paid no more than a few dollars a year.

When Gamble’s committee came knocking with a case against Meyer Silverglade’s Hub Café on Fountain Square, Mayor Lowes was all in. Silverglade, the committee claimed, had several penny slot-machines in his saloon. Lowes issued the warrant, had Silverglade arrested, and fined him $50. According to the Cincinnati Post [11 March 1905]:

“The Mayor of a village such as Hartwell has the power of a Justice of the Peace throughout the county, hence his authority to dispose of the slot-machine cases.”

All of the saloonists paid their fines under protest and appealed their convictions. It took almost a year, but Judge Frederick Spiegel of the Common Pleas Court, upheld Mayor Lowes’ authority in a ruling on 17 February 1906.

It appears Silverglade, at least, could afford the fine. He sold his saloons and bought the Crown Brewing Company. After Prohibition shuttered that business, he retired to Florida where, on his death, he left an estate valued at more than $500,000.

The Hartwell ambush lit a fire under the Cincinnati city administration. Mayor Julius Fleischmann, who may have already decided not to run for a third term, gave the word of Police Chief Paul Milliken:

“Chief, the slot machines are doomed. All slot machines, of all kinds, must be out of all stores of all characters by April 1.”

The raid did not satisfy everyone. Hartwell Village Council met to rein in their mayor, contending that he left the village open to criminal activity while sending police officers out of town on gambling raids. One Cincinnati City Councilman orated against Fleischmann’s order in favor of an “open” town.

Cincinnati annexed Hartwell in 1912. It turns out Hartwell’s citizens were more interested in the cheaper streetcar fares they would pay as a Cincinnati neighborhood than in keeping their village alcohol-free as an independent municipality.

[clientbuilders4-blog]

The Way Your Florida Business Could Flourish All Year Round

business management consulting

There is an expression in Florida:"The colours  Of the leaves do not change -- the colours of these license plates " Every autumn near Labor Day, the roads become crowded with automobiles from New York, Massachusetts, along with other northern countries, all sporting orange and yellow license plates.

business management consulting

The tourists bring company and an influx Of money to local companies. While most company owners advised the boom of tourism, so many also want that visitors was steadier and earnings were equally as large throughout the year.

No matter how effective your Business is, you will probably encounter a surge during autumn and winter. Nevertheless, the fantastic news is, it is possible to grow your business and boost your yearlong earnings.

Before we analyze how to maintain Your Company  Going strong throughout the off-season, let us take a peek at why Florida companies have unique benefits in comparison to companies in different states.

Business Advantages at Florida

Popular attractions such as Disney World and Universal Studios draw audiences all through the year. The most significant influx of tourism, however, occurs along both coastlines when autumn and winter pay in.   Favorable tax principles, supportive politicians, and pro-business political conclusions make Florida a haven for companies.  The comparatively mild climate aids as well. Outstanding Modeling. Not many different nations have railroads, ports, and well-funded street systems out there for the transport of products. Businesses utilize the accessible transport to reduce freight costs and do business around the globe.

So, even when seasonality of company can look a bit daunting, Florida is complete a fantastic place to be. Since the North Central Florida Business Report says ,  There are methods to maintain the momentum moving out of seasonal bursts of action -- and they do not involve shuttering your company to the summer.

1) Hire a company adviser

A Business adviser is proficient at identifying the strong and weak points in your small business, and the best way to capitalize on both.  When it's streamlining your procedures or assisting you to find ways to strengthen your company's growth, a fantastic adviser can discover exactly what is necessary to keep up a solid business presence all through the year.

2) Possessing a promotion strategy (and promote early!)

If Your advertising is irregular, your customers will be, also. Strong, consistent marketing is essential for swaying local people which may help your organization stay strong during the summertime. Furthermore, if you create the majority of your cash around a seasonal occasion or vacation, advertisements early can produce a more consistent flow of earnings, drawing early shoppers that wish to beat the crowds.

3) Attempt new advertising stations

If You are not utilizing mobile advertising, neighborhood SEO or programs like Groupon, you might be missing out on potential clients. As an increasing number of people migrate into being"smartphone " shoppers, it is essential for smaller companies to meet them .  A company adviser can help you select which opportunities will likely be successful, and which ones will be crap.

4) Use downtime to enhance Your Company behind doorways

Even With consistent advertising, lulls are anticipated in a seasonal country like Florida. Rather than mourning, use a consultant to locate weak areas which you could improve on. It is a better use of your time, and places you to get higher earnings once the tourists show up.

Looking For quality business advisers? Client.builders is your sole  Consultancy that produces fully customized, customized solutions for your business. If you are ready to grow, contact us .

[garagedoorprosroodepoort-blog]

Garage Door Repair Pros

Creswell Park, Roodepoort, Gauteng,  1724

074 039 0515

Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/2i6d6o9ZJyH2

Website: https://garagedoorpros.co.za/roodepoort/

Welcome to Garage Door Repair Pros Roodpoort Gauteng. Established in Creswell Park the Roodepoort section is administered by Gill Martin who you can reach out to on 074 039 0515 or roodepoort@garagedoorpros.co.za. We are here to help any householders and companies who have garage door troubles. We carry all the spares and springs that are really needed to fix most of the usual garage door types including roller shutter doors, sectional doors and roll-up garage doors. We also deal with garage door motors of all brands. You can read more about us on our website and Google my business page (GMB):.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Garage+Door+Repair+Pros/@-26.1706388,27.6238015,10z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xe770843ef78b4be0!8m2!3d-26.1096758!4d27.8946647?shorturl=1&shorturl=1.

https://garagedoorpros.co.za/roodepoort/.

We are available to help anybody in the Roodpoort area which boasts Johannesburg's most famous botanical garden, Witwatersrand National Botanical Gardens including:. Bromhof, Bush Hill, Constantia Kloof, Douglasdale, Fairland, Florida, Florida Hills Johannesburg North, Jukskei Park, Northgate, Northriding, Olivedale, Roodepoort Weltevredenpark, and Zandspruit.

We also service garage doors to make sure that they work correctly for several years to come. It is essential to service your garage doors if you need to avoid them breaking and requiring to get repaired. The last thing you want is to be late for work and you can not get your car out the garage. If you do get stuck give Garage Door Repair Pros a telephone call and we will be there to help you.

At Garage Door Repair Pros we carry a good supply of recognized common parts (springs, rollers, hinges, weatherstripping and motor operators), to ensure we can tend to prevailing problems immediately.

Garage door automation is also incredibly popular in South Africa because it is more safe to use a automatic door opener rather than getting out your car. For this reason, we also carry a series of garage door motors and automation that we can set up new or repair on site. If you do want to protect against your garage door from having repair services give these 5 tips a try:.

1 - Listen to the Door in Operation. Troubles with your garage door and automatic opener are displayed by jerky movements and rubbing, squeaking sounds. A well-maintained, well-tuned garage door is reasonably quiet at it moves up and down, and you should not see wobbles in its motion. Take a look at both sides of the system-- the springs, pulleys, and cables-- and make sure they look symmetrical.

2 - Check the Tracks the door goes on. Examine the tracks on each sides of the door to ensure that they are free of debris and rust. You can also use a level to check to make certain the tracks are plumb on their vertical sections. Small realignments can be made yourself, but big track adjustments are a job for a competent technician.

3 - Tighten up the parts you can reach. Because the typical garage door goes up and down many thousands of times each year, the movement and vibration can loosen up hardware. Check out the brackets holding the door tracks to and the garage door opener unit to the framing, and use a socket wrench to secure up any loosened bolts you discover.

4 - Take a look at and upgrade the rollers. The rollers along the edge of the garage door should be checked at least twice a year and replaced every 5 to 7 years. During your inspection, switch out any rollers you find that are chipped, cracked, or obviously worn. Except for the bottom rollers that may be attached to cables, the other rollers can be removed by removing the brackets holding them.

5 - Check the door balance. If your garage door is not properly balanced, the garage door opener will have to work harder, and it won't last as long. The door should be so well balanced by its springs that only a few pounds of force is required to lift it. Test this by pulling the release handle on the automatic opener, then manually lift the door so it is about halfway open. The door should linger in place without your help. If it doesn't, the door is poorly balanced or the springs are growing old and well-worn. Work on the garage springs should be delegated to a professional service technician.

Give us a call today. Garage Door Repair Pros. Creswell Park, Roodepoort, Gauteng, 1724. 074 039 0515.

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[newstfionline]

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

For democracy, it’s a time of swimming against the tide (AP) The old Nicaraguan revolutionary, with his receding hairline and the goatee that he had finally let turn grey, spoke calmly into the camera as police swarmed toward his house, hidden behind a high wall in a leafy Managua neighborhood. Decades earlier, Hugo Torres had been a revered guerrilla in the fight against right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza. In 1974, he’d taken a group of top officials hostage, then traded them for the release of imprisoned comrades. Among those prisoners was Daniel Ortega, a Marxist bank robber who would become Nicaragua’s elected president and later its authoritarian ruler. And on this hot Sunday in mid-June, amid a weekslong clampdown to obliterate nearly every hint of opposition, Ortega had his old savior arrested. In the last few months, the growing ranks of dictators have flexed their muscles, and freedom has been in retreat. The list is grim: a draconian crackdown in Nicaragua, with laws that now let the government paint nearly any critic as a traitor; a military takeover in Myanmar, with bloody repression that the United Nations says has left more than 850 people dead since Feb. 1 and more than 4,800 arbitrarily detained; a tightening grip by Beijing on Hong Kong, the semi-autonomous enclave where activists and journalists have been harassed and imprisoned under a sweeping national security law. 2020 was “another year of decline for liberal democracy,” said a recent report from the V-Dem Institute, a Sweden-based research center. “The world is still more democratic than it was in the 1970s and 1980s, but the global decline in liberal democracy has been steep during the past 10 years.”

Companies Target a New Market: The Stressed Out (WSJ) Drivers climbing into the new Lincoln Nautilus enter “a sanctuary,” Lincoln declares in the car’s ads. Seats offer massage, vents emit refreshed air and sound-dampening materials eliminate outside ruckus. Long before Covid-19 hit last year, rising stress was identified as one of Americans’ major concerns. Now, more than a year into the pandemic, consumers’ stress levels have been soaring. In June, nearly one-third of Americans reported experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to a survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2019, only 11% of Americans reported such symptoms, according to a comparable survey from the National Center for Health Statistics. With so much of the population stressed out, more consumer product companies see soothing anxiety as an opportunity. Makers of everyday goods from cars and note paper to makeup, cereal and beverages are framing marketing messages and launching products to target worried consumers. Many consumers say they are receptive to mental health advice coming from companies. They are looking for support for their emotional well being, and many say they welcome products that promise to make them feel better. Younger consumers especially report having a new perspective on managing their mental health. Some 50% of consumers ages 18-24 reported that they have changed their approach to mental health, compared with 28% of people ages 57 to 75, an Ernst & Young survey of 1,001 U.S. adults conducted earlier this year found.

Residents in Florida Condos Fear They Could be Next (NYT) In the days since the collapse of the Champlain Towers South condominium complex in the town of Surfside, residents of other condos are increasingly worried that their homes could also be at risk. The Champlain Towers collapse has brought rattling uncertainty to the long line of high-rise residences that abut the South Florida coastline. At Crestview Towers in North Miami Beach, seven miles from the collapse in Surfside, residents had just hours to go in and recover their belongings on Friday, a week after an evacuation was ordered to make way for long-delayed repairs. A second condominium in the city also evacuated its residents last week, while a private engineering firm warned officials of dangerous conditions in a condominium in Kissimmee, south of Orlando. The problem was not only with residences: Miami-Dade County officials on Friday announced the full evacuation of the old Dade County Courthouse after an engineering survey identified safety concerns that warranted an immediate closure of the upper floors.

In Honduras, it’s raining fish (El Heraldo) “Sunny with a chance of fish...” In one area of northern Honduras, weather forecasters await the unlikely arrival of a kind of “fish storm” in the summer months, which allows locals to feast on small silver pesces. It’s a phenomenon with no clear scientific explanation. The most recent “Lluvia de Peces” (“Fish Rain”) happened in Yoro, the department along the country’s Caribbean coast, as the Honduran daily El Heraldo reports. Locals say it has been observed in parts of Yoro since the 19th century. After a strong rainstorm subsides, they go out with buckets to collect the fish—experts have compared them to sardines—and enjoy them collectively; in many places the bounty is distributed equally and it’s looked down on to profit from the harvest. Indeed, many in this religiously devout region see the bizarre event as a blessing. Many locals believe that the fish began to appear after Catholic missionary Manuel de Jesús Subirana prayed to God to alleviate the poverty he saw in Yoro when he arrived in 1858. It seems he got his loaves and fish, and then some.

Cubans Denounce ‘Misery’ in Biggest Protests in Decades (NYT) Shouting “Freedom” and other anti-government slogans, hundreds of Cubans took to the streets in cities around the country on Sunday to protest food and medicine shortages, in a remarkable eruption of discontent not seen in nearly 30 years. Hundreds of people marched through San Antonio de los Baños, southwest of Havana, with videos streaming live on Facebook for nearly an hour before they suddenly disappeared. As the afternoon wore on, other videos appeared from demonstrations elsewhere, including Palma Soriano, in the country’s southeast. Hundreds of people also gathered in Havana, where a heavy police presence preceded their arrival. Hundreds of people marched through San Antonio de los Baños, southwest of Havana, with videos streaming live on Facebook for nearly an hour before they suddenly disappeared. As the afternoon wore on, other videos appeared from demonstrations elsewhere, including Palma Soriano, in the country’s southeast. Hundreds of people also gathered in Havana, where a heavy police presence preceded their arrival. The protests were set off by a dire economic crisis in Cuba, where the coronavirus pandemic has cut off crucial tourism dollars. People now spend hours in line each day to buy basic food items. Many have been unable to work because restaurants and other businesses have remained on lockdown for months.

Gangs complicate Haiti effort to recover from assassination (AP) Gangs in Haiti have long been financed by powerful politicians and their allies—and many Haitians fear those backers may be losing control of the increasingly powerful armed groups who have driven thousands of people from their homes as they battle over territory, kill civilians and raid warehouses of food. The escalation in gang violence threatens to complicate—and be aggravated by—political efforts to recover from last week’s brazen slaying of President Jovenel Moïse. Haiti’s government is in disarray; no parliament, no president, a dispute over who is prime minister, a weak police force. But the gangs seem more organized and powerful than ever. While the violence has been centered in the capital of Port-au-Prince, it has affected life across Haiti, paralyzing the fragile economy, shuttering schools, overwhelming police and disrupting efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. “The country is transformed into a vast desert where wild animals engulf us,” said the Haitian Conference of the Religious in a recent statement decrying the spike in violent crime. “We are refugees and exiles in our own country.” Gangs recently have stolen tens of thousands of bags of sugar, rice and flour as well as ransacking and burning homes in the capital. That has driven thousands of people to seek shelter at churches, outdoor fields and a large gymnasium, where the government and international donors struggle to feed them and find long-term housing.

In symbolic end to war, U.S. general to step down from command in Afghanistan (Reuters) The U.S. general leading the war in Afghanistan, Austin Miller, will relinquish command on Monday, U.S. officials say, in a symbolic end to America’s longest conflict even as Taliban insurgents gain momentum. Miller will become America’s last four-star general on the ground in Afghanistan in a ceremony in Kabul that will come ahead of a formal end to the military mission there on Aug. 31. While the ceremony may offer some sense of closure for U.S. veterans who served in Afghanistan, it’s unclear whether it will succeed in reassuring the Western-backed Afghan government as the Taliban press ground offensives that have given them control of more territory than at any time since the conflict began. Biden acknowledged on Thursday that Afghanistan’s future was far from certain but said the Afghan people must decide their own fate. “I will not send another generation of Americans to war in Afghanistan with no reasonable expectation of achieving a different outcome,” he said.

Jordanian ex-royal court chief sentenced to 15 years for alleged plot (Reuters) A Jordanian court on Monday sentenced a former royal confidant, Bassem Awadallah, and a minor royal to 15 years in jail on charges of attempting to destabilise the monarchy. The court said it had confirmed evidence backing the charges against the pair and that they had both been determined to harm the monarchy by pushing former heir to the throne Prince Hamza as an alternative to the king.

Frenchman starts hunger strike by Tokyo Olympic Stadium in desperate bid to see his kids (Washington Post) Frenchman Vincent Fichot began a hunger strike this weekend close to Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium in a desperate bid to regain access to his two young children, who were taken away by their mother three years ago and whom he hasn’t seen since. Japan is unique among developed nations in not recognizing the concept of joint custody. In practice, its courts almost always award sole custody to whichever parent is physically looking after the children at the time. The policy creates a cruel incentive for parents—flee a marriage with your children at your side and you will almost certainly win custody of them, without any enforceable obligation to grant the other parent access. Lawyers say that is exactly what happens in tens of thousands of Japanese families every year, and it’s exactly what happened to Fichot: When his marriage broke down and he sought a divorce, his Japanese wife simply took off with their nearly 3-year-old son, Tsubasa, and 11-month-old daughter, Kaeda. That was Aug. 10, 2018. “My children were kidnapped three years ago and since then I haven’t heard from them,” Fichot said in an interview on Sunday, on the second day of his hunger strike. “I don’t know where they are. I don’t know if they are healthy, or even that they are alive.”

6 dead in South Africa riots over jailing of ex-leader Zuma (AP) Rioting triggered by the imprisonment of former South African President Jacob Zuma escalated Monday as shopping malls in Johannesburg were looted, major roads were blocked by burning tires and the police and military struggled to contain the violence. The unrest started last week in KwaZulu-Natal province after Zuma was imprisoned for contempt of court. What began as fairly small-scale blocking of roads in Zuma’s home area intensified and spread to Gauteng, South Africa’s most populous province, including Johannesburg, the country’s largest city. At least six people have been killed and more than 200 arrested, according to a police statement issued Monday. Soldiers have been deployed to help the police.

Oh Deer (WSJ) North America’s got a deer problem. Having killed or removed pretty much all of their natural predators, white-tailed deer in the Eastern U.S. have exploded in population. Prior to European settlement, there were about two to four deer per square kilometer. Once that density passes eight deer per square kilometer, they eat everything, and that significantly harms the ecosystem, with songbird populations declining and native plant species in free fall. In some developed parts of the U.S., there are 50 to 114 deer per square kilometer.

[emeraldnebula]

Thoughts on the comic book industry, Part 5

In my last rant about the state of the comic book industry, I talked about how completely out of touch the Big 2 publishers are with reality, both creatively and politically. And naturally, it's going to beg the question: "Why not support other publishers?"

It's not an invalid question on its face. But it is a very difficult question to answer, because of the way the industry has changed over the last 26 years. Again, the Big 2 are acting like it's still 1992-1993, when the industry was at its peak thanks to the '90s comic book boom. And at that time, the industry had expanded to such a point that smaller publishers were growing in prominence and new publishers were showing up in droves. But over the last two decades, the industry has massively atrophied, with many smaller publishers dying out, distribution channels shrinking to a monopoly benefitting DC and Marvel, entry into the industry perversely becoming harder at a time when digital media should be leveling the playing field, and the remaining other publishers making their living on wares that have a limited shelf life.

Simply put, it's not so easy to ignore DC and Marvel when the current comics market doesn't allow for any true competition to emerge.

Let's go back to the early '90s and see what was going on at the time. DC and Marvel were obviously still the market leaders. But you also had Image, founded by several of Marvel's biggest and most popular artists, launching their own creator-owned properties and making a huge splash based on star power alone. You had Valiant, founded by former Marvel editor Jim Shooter, which relaunched several vintage comic book properties in addition to their own, more modern superhero/vigilante books. You had Dark Horse Comics, which made its name with both high-profile creator-owned material (Hellboy, Sin City, The Mask), classic mnaga books, and high-end licensed comics (The Shadow, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Alien, Predator). You had Topps Comics, which did licensed books like Zorro (and its spinoff Lady Rawhide) and Bram Stoker's Dracula. You had Defiant, another Jim Shooter company. You had Malibu, a superhero-themed outfit that eventually became a Marvel brand. You had special imprints from the major publishers, like DC's Vertigo, Helix, and Paradox Press and Rob Liefeld's Maximum Press. You had Fantagraphics doing everything from classics like Usagi Yojimbo to off-the-cuff indie material. You had Penthouse, of all people, launching their own comics line that included fully-painted adaptations of Bible stories. And tons and tons of indie publishers were available, with long-standing cult books like Zen: Intergalactic Ninja getting new attention (and movie deals, too).

There was a lot to choose from at the time, and much of that was due to their being a big range of distributors. I recall one of my all-time favorite catalogs, Advance Comics, whose parent company used to be my local comic shops' distributor of choice until 1996 or so. Every issue of that catalog was like a comic book adventure in its own right, because there was so much to see, so much that I was unaware of previously. The comic book industry at that time was so much bigger than I could have imagined, and to see it all brought together in one monthly catalog with news articles was always a treat. And because there were still a lot of distributors to work with at the time, the barrier for entry to the comics industry was wide open for anyone who had the talent...and admittedly, for some who probably shouldn't have been let in. One of Wizard Magazine's Top 20 best-selling comics of 1994 was Double Impact, an indie comic ripoff of Andy Sidaris' tits-and-guns flicks. So yeah, there was definitely some drek that slipped thru the cracks. But that aside, the state of the industry was that of a wide playing field where anybody and everybody could be part of it.

But to the surprise of absolutely nobody, the greed of the Big 2 was what brought it all crashing down. Marvel was at a high at the time not just because they were a breeding ground for the hottest artists in the industry, but because they had the #1 comic book franchise in the world: the X-Men books were always Top 10 sellers. So they not only bought their own toy company (Toy Biz), but they also bought their own distributor – Heroes' World – and went exclusive thru them. Not to be outdone, DC went exclusive thru Diamond not long afterward. This obviously impacted the other distributors, who now had to deal with losing a ton of business as a consequence. Gradually, the other larger publishers joined up with Diamond as well, killing off all the other distributors completely. And when Marvel suffered financial problems near the end of the '90s, they too joined up with Diamond.

Thus we ended up with the distribution monopoly we have now, and it was a sad thing to see play out. Not only was it a shame to see things like Advance Comics slowly lose more and more content before finally being snuffed out, but it also led to (a) comic book fans and shops having to deal with a single distributor they had problems with and (b) a greatly increased barrier for entry into the industry. If you don't get into Diamond's Previews catalog, you're screwed. And in an age where digital media dominates, for the comic book industry to be so closed off not only limits your choices for what's available, but it also cuts off any real chance for there to be legitimate challengers to DC and Marvel.

Again, let's look at what's changed between 1992-1993 and 2018. Image, which initially looked to be a real competitor to the Big 2, has splintered and shrunken. Jim Lee sold out his portion of the company to DC (and is currently helping to run DC into the muck), several of its artists have returned to DC and Marvel, Todd McFarlane doesn't draw anymore, and the properties it was hyping so hard died out with the '90s. (Seriously, does anyone even remember Spawn anymore, much less care about it?) Most of Image's output now is small creator-owned projects, with The Walking Dead being known far more for its TV incarnation than for the comic it originally was. Dark Horse lost many of its licensed properites to Disney-Marvel as a result of Disney acquiring Lucasfilm and the 20th Century Fox library, and many of its big creator-owned properties have ended. It's a shadow of what it once was. Valiant got bought out by Acclaim Entertainment and suffered financial issues that shuttered it for years, and has only been making a comeback in recent times. Malibu got shut down after Marvel bought it out. DC shut down all of their imprints besides Vertigo, which went from being one of their crown jewels to being a non-entity. Topps, Warren, Defiant, NOW Comics, Maximum Press, Awesome Entertainment, and countless other publishers have bitten the dust over the years. CrossGen, the Florida-based publisher that tried to take on DC and Marvel in the early 2000s, died a swift death a few years later and got bought out by Disney (and their artists picked up by Marvel). Really, the only publishers of note that have shown any real endurance are three fairly recent ones: Zenoscope, Dynamite and IDW. Beyond that, it's gotten much, much harder for new companies to get any traction or really develop into powerhouses in the current market.

It should also be mentioned that companies like Zenoscope, IDW, and Dynamite are getting by in large part by emulating what made Dark Horse such a force in the '90s. Creator-owned material. Licensed comics. And in Zenoscope's case, reinventions of public domain fairy tales. All of this is well and good in and of itself, but it's not really the stuff of major players in today's market. Don't get me wrong: properties like Star Trek, He-Man (currently split between DC and Dark Horse), Transformers, GI Joe, My Little Pony, Flash Gordon, The Shadow, The Lone Ranger, Zorro, and The Green Hornet are deservedly iconic and long-lived, and I'm all in favor of them being comic book staples. But those properties frequently go into periods of hibernation from version to version, and no one version lasts indefinitely. It's all well and good that IDW's made its fame with My Little Pony, but what happens when it's time for that property to go back to sleep? What happens to Dynamite when their versions of The Shadow and The Green Hornet run their course? You can't build your brand purely on licensed material. It's partly why Dark Horse got hit so hard by Disney buying out Lucasfilm and the Fox library. And in today's smaller, more monopolistic comics landscape, the '90s Dark Horse model isn't enough to make you a powerhouse on par with the Big 2.

(And if current rumors of IDW possibly shuttering its comic book operations and going full Hollywood end up coming true, it'll be yet another publisher going down...and again, more attrition for the comic book industry.)

Now, it can be argued that part of the reason Image and so many other companies fell off when the comic book boom ended is that they'd banked themselves too much on popular trends of the era. Big Titty Bad Girls, Big Gun Pouch-Wearing Vigilantes, trading on flashy art over quality writing, attempting DC/Marvel-style event-gimmicks with characters nobody knew or cared about...all of that's true. I can't and won't make excuses for that. But in an age where digital and social media dominate, there's no excuse for comics to be so closed off, so hard to find, or so hard to break into. The equal parts country-club-and-echo-chamber setup of the current comics industry certainly benefits the major publishers and their major players of choice, but it also curtails any real chance of new blood making a splash and reinventing the game. It's not uncommon for indie or small-press creators to make their living hustling on social media and on the convention circuit. And sometimes it pays off; husband-and-wife team Adam Withers and Comfort Love (The Uniques, Rainbow in the Dark) have been very successful at that, even racking up Harvey Award nominations. But again, it's the artificially high barrier to entry imposed by the Diamond monopoly that's the issue. Not everyone can get in, and unless you can get into Diamond's Previews, you're going to have a hell of a time getting your comics out there. And since the industry is still staunchly brick-and-mortar, that's another added hurdle.

And it's not just small-press or indie creators who face these problems. Established industry talent who've been shed by DC and Marvel often have trouble getting their books published, often turning to crowdfunding instead. Sometimes it pays off handsomely (Tom Grummett's upcoming Section Zero, Steven Butler's John Aman: Amazing Man), sometimes it hits the skids (Kieron Dwyer's proposed West Portal). Unless you're the current flavor of the moment, it's far from a given that long-standing comics creators can see their projects to fruition. Again, that's down to the atrophy of the comics industry and the impact of the distribution monopoly. Because it's shrunken so much, become so biased in favor of the major publishers, and abandoned any notion of being accessible to a wider audience, even industry talent with years – hell, decades – of work to their name have a difficult time getting a green-light for their projects, and have to rely on the crapshoot that is crowdfunding. And even at that, while you might get some really good individual works, it's still not going to be nearly enough to challenge the Diamond monopoly, much less present an alternative to the dominance of the Big 2.

So much of the state of the industry makes little sense when viewed in context of today's digital age. There shouldn't be such a huge barrier to entry for new creators. It shouldn't be so hard for established talent to get their projects green-lit. It shouldn't be so damn hard, especially in the age of digital media, for indie and small-press works to find wide distribution. And it definitely shouldn't be impossible for a new comics company to rise up and take the industry into the future, since DC and Marvel won't. But that's where we're at. Even the distribution model is over two decades out of date, and as a monopoly it's unfairly stacked against anything but entrenched industry players. No real opportunity for growth, no real opportunity for change, just the prolonging of an ever-shrinking echo chamber stuck decades in the past.

[lbddigital]

Synergy School offers fast-track to careers or college

Culinary arts are just one track that students may follow at the Synergy School of Tomorrow.

The Synergy School, an innovative vocational and college preparatory educational institution in Fort Pierce, prides itself on being on the leading edge — of technology, of education, and of ideas.

School founder Donnelyn Khourie and her team bought the former Virginia College property at 2810 S. U.S. 1 in Fort Pierce in 2019 after its parent company, the Education Corporation of America, shuttered it, along with 70 other properties. The school had just undergone a $3 million remodel, including a full commercial kitchen, state-of-the-art classrooms, and even a medical operating theater.

“We’re the only high school that I know of in the United States with an operating theater,” Khourie said. “Incredible.”

The plan was to do more than just provide vocational training, as Virginia College had done, she said. “We’re watching the trends — what are the future jobs going to look like? Things are evolving so quickly.”

The campus’s 700 or so students can certainly plan on acquiring the knowledge and skills to find a good-paying job right after graduation, Khourie said. Or they can take what they’ve learned from about 100 full-time faculty members and expand on it at college. They can even do both — dual enroll at the school and in classes at Indian River State College so they can leave Synergy with an AA or AS degree or with credits they can apply at another college.

The school is accepting students in grades 6–12. Its feeder school, Florida State Christian Academy, located on Oleander Ave. in Fort Pierce, accepts students grades K-5. It is nationally accredited and its teachers are certified in Florida, Khourie said.

Vocational pathways include the culinary arts, pre-med, construction, cosmetology, multimedia production, technology, and esports — a burgeoning multi-billion-dollar industry in which millions of competitors from around the world face off in video games at live online events in real time.

Argent Associates will be partnering with the school to create and beta test a smart kiosk at the school, Khourie said. “Our students will create a game with Argent instructors that will connect with smart technology and be interactive in the community.”

The school also provides apprenticing programs so students can get hands-on experience not only at the school but in the field.

“It’s totally workforce — we even hire alumni,” Khouri said. “There’s no doubt that the buzzwords are vocation training and apprenticing. Not everyone is going to college.” The school places many of their students into jobs using CareerSource Research Coast in St. Lucie County, she said.

Synergy’s construction program is accredited by the National Center for Construction Education and Research . They’ll be adding a track in auto mechanics this fall, as well, Khourie said. “Right now there is a shortage of diesel mechanics. Right now you can just name your price,” she said.

For those students who do wish to go on to college, the Synergy is articulated with the Historically Black Colleges and Universities network as well as IRSC. “Our kids are really blessed,” Khourie said.

Tuition is $9,700 per year but there are state and private scholarships available and 90% of Synergy students qualify for some form of assistance, Khourie said. Donations from foundations and other supporters provide financing for students in need, she said.

For more details about programs, scholarships, and applying, click here .

[orbemnews]

Local Alliances Put Some Cities on the Fast Track to Recovery As vaccination rates increase and businesses start to reopen, cities across the country are cautiously moving forward with economic recovery plans to coax workers back into offices and revive real estate markets pummeled by the pandemic. Some midsize cities — like Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; and Portland, Ore. — may be poised to rebound faster than others because they have developed strong relationships with their local economic development groups. These partnerships have established comeback plans that incorporate a number of common goals, like access to affordable loans, relief for small businesses and a focus on downtown areas. The partnerships are also encouraging investments in infrastructure as lures for new business activity. Last Wednesday, President Biden announced a $2 trillion infrastructure plan to modernize the nation’s bridges, roads, public transportation, railways, ports and airports. “Recovery plans create an agenda for rebuilding the metropolitan area,” said Richard Florida, professor at the University of Toronto, who helped prepare a plan for northwest Arkansas. In Tucson, the revitalization plan, which goes into effect this month, calls for assessing the effect of the pandemic on important business sectors, including biotech and logistics. Other provisions advocate recruiting talented workers and preparing so-called shovel-ready building sites of 50 acres or more. Demand is high for industrial sites in Tucson. More than 80 percent of requests about real estate in the city are geared toward industrial facilities, according to Sun Corridor, the regional economic development agency that sponsored the recovery plan. And 65 percent of the inquiries deal with space for new factories. City leaders are building on a five-year, $23 billion growth plan in industrial and logistics development in the Tucson region that resulted in 16,000 new jobs before the pandemic, according to Sun Corridor. Caterpillar and Amazon moved into the region, while Raytheon, Bombardier and GEICO were among the many prominent companies that expanded operations there. “In hockey terms, we’re not playing where the puck is; we’re trying to skate to where we anticipate it is going to be,” said Joe Snell, Sun Corridor’s president and chief executive. “We’re making sure that we have the inventory of building sites so when they do come knocking, we can fill the order.” Other cities are struggling to recover after pandemic restrictions emptied their central business districts. The question is how much these downtowns will bounce back when the pandemic ends. “The pandemic caused big changes in how we work, and the geography of where we work,” Mr. Florida said. “The office as we know it, a space to work, is dead.” Experts disagree about what comes next. Several economic trends, like growth in hiring and the acceptance of remote work, are colliding, said Richard Barkham, global chief economist at CBRE, the commercial real estate firm. After a 3.5 percent decline in economic activity in 2020, the U.S. economy is expected to grow 6.5 percent in 2021, he said, which bodes well for construction. But CBRE also projects that office employees will spend 36 percent of their time working remotely, up from 16 percent before the pandemic. Today in Business Updated  April 6, 2021, 8:30 a.m. ET “We see a temporary downturn in demand for new offices,” Mr. Barkham said. “We also see that being whittled away over two or three or four years until centers come back.” Travel and entertainment sectors were shut down during the pandemic, but companies that engaged in innovation, technology and information boomed, said Tracy Hadden Loh, a fellow at the Brookings Institution. Growth in the development of office space for tech jobs was especially strong in Austin; Charlotte, N.C.; Phoenix; and San Francisco, she said, adding that office construction for the knowledge economy would revive after the pandemic. But she tempered her prediction because of another trend: “The number of square feet per worker has declined really dramatically since 1990,” she said. Couple that with recent announcements from companies like Google, Microsoft, Target and Twitter about remote work, and some cities could see less office construction activity. These challenges are not limited to midsize cities. Larger metropolitan areas like Los Angeles and New York are certainly in distress, but they have shown the capacity in the past to rebound from calamity. In San Francisco, municipal authorities said that there was no way to predict postpandemic construction activity but that expectations were high. “This isn’t the first recession here,” said Ted Egan, San Francisco’s chief economist. “We’re expecting people to come back to the office.” But the cities that have a strong alliance with business development agencies are expected to recuperate faster. For instance, the Downtown Austin Alliance, a business development group, is convening focus groups and workshops, and conducting interviews and surveys to stir fresh interest in its downtown office market. Before the pandemic, 11 buildings encompassing roughly 3.5 million square feet were under construction, nearly half of all downtown office space. Boise established a 16-member Economic Recovery Task Force made up of city officials, academics and executives of professional organizations. In September, it issued recommendations to “enhance economic resilience and agility.” And the Greater Portland Economic and Development District formed a partnership with the Metro Regional Government to prepare a plan to recover from the economic shock of the pandemic, which wiped out 140,000 jobs and shuttered 30 percent of the region’s small businesses. Among their recommendations is to direct funds and technical assistance to small businesses through local Community Development Financial Institutions, part of an affordable-lending program from the Treasury Department. Some cities are already seeing success. A year ago, Boston abruptly suspended construction for nine weeks in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus. During the moratorium, the Boston Planning and Development Agency prepared a recovery plan that focused on reviewing permit decisions for major projects remotely. With its 250-member staff working from home, and in some cases outfitted with new software and digital equipment, the planning agency held 220 virtual public meetings and digitally reviewed architectural plans and land-use proposals. “We identified a methodology to conduct our reviews and resume public participation,” said Brian P. Golden, the agency’s director. “Honestly, it worked better than we could reasonably have expected.” The city approved 55 significant development projects last year encompassing 15.8 million square feet and valued at $8.5 billion, the most in Boston’s history. The largest was $5 billion Suffolk Downs, a 10-million-square-foot, mixed-use development with 10,000 housing units rising on a shuttered horse-racing track. Tucson is also intent on resuming construction. Along with identifying sites for industrial development, the Sun Corridor recovery plan calls for resuscitating the city’s downtown. The pandemic closed 85 downtown restaurants, eliminated 10,000 travel and tourism jobs and cut revenue in the sector by $1 billion. The antidote is to persuade city and county leaders to make loans and grants available to small businesses tied to the tourism industry, the focus of commercial space in central Tucson. Mayor Regina Romero said the city was investing $5 million — $2 million more than last year — in the city’s tourism marketing group. Tucson also distributed $9 million from the federal relief legislation passed in March 2020 in grants ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 to small businesses, many of them in tourism. “We’re working together as a region,” Ms. Romero said. “That’s one of the most important steps that we can take for the recovery.” Source link Orbem News #Alliances #Cities #Fast #local #put #recovery #Track

[brucetemmis]

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: small business relief

President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law Thursday, March 11. The new legislation comes as a follow-up to the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), and the Consolidated Appropriations Act. 

The $1.9 trillion relief plan from the federal government includes benefits for individuals in the form of

Increased unemployment compensation funds

$1,400 economic impact payments

Increased child tax credits

Earned income tax credits

There are also several provisions that aim to help small businesses. The provisions place an emphasis on relief for restaurants and bars that have been severely impacted by COVID-19. 

Note: The government has mentioned that there might be further negotiations and additions to what’s available under the new legislation. We will update this article as more information becomes available. 

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Restaurant Revitalization Fund 

One of the biggest small business resources in the American Rescue Act is the establishment of the $25 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which provides grants to make up for a restaurant’s pandemic-related revenue losses of up to $10 million, limiting the grant per physical location to $5 million.  

Restaurants may use the funding for:

Payroll costs 

Mortgage and rent payments 

Utilities and maintenance expenses

Operational expenses 

Paid sick leave 

Supplies 

The fund, which will be administered by the SBA, allocates $5 billion to restaurants whose gross receipts in 2019 were less than $500,000. During the first 21 days of the program, the organization will prioritize women- and veteran-owned restaurants. The SBA will also prioritize socially and economically disadvantaged individuals who own businesses. 

Public and government-managed businesses, entities, and affiliates with more than 20 locations are not qualified to receive the grant. You also are not eligible to receive the grant if you applied for a shuttered venue operator grant. 

The SBA is planning on accepting applications in the next few weeks. We’ll update this article with a link when it becomes available. 

Shuttered venue operator grants

Funding for shuttered venue operators grants increased by $1.5 billion. The grants are meant to help the following businesses whose revenue decreased by at least 25% during any quarter of 2020: 

Live venue operators

Theatrical producers

Live performing arts organizations

Motion picture theater operators

Museum operators

Talent representatives 

Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, businesses that received a PPP loan after December 27, 2020 were not eligible to apply for the grant. However, the American Rescue Act removed that restriction.

Instead, the SBA will deduct the PPP loan amount from the amount a business can receive in shutter venue operators grant funding. 

Tax credits

Paid family and medical leave

The American Rescue Plan Act extends and increases the paid leave tax credits that were made available to employers under the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act. 

Between April 1, 2021, and September 30, 2021, employers who voluntarily offer paid leave to eligible team members will receive a tax credit. The limit on the credit increased from $10,000 to $12,000 per employee. Providing leave is not required. 

The tax credits are available to employers who provide paid sick and family leave for employees who are:

Getting the COVID-19 vaccine

Recovering from any injury, disability, or condition related to the vaccine

Awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test or diagnosis 

The new law added a non-discrimination clause, meaning employers who discriminate against highly compensated employees, full-time employees, or employees with tenure when providing the leave will not receive the credit. 

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Employee retention 

The government originally set the Employee Retention Credit to expire on July 1, 2021 under the Consolidated Appropriations Act. But the American Rescue Act extended the provision availability to December 31, 2021. 

The Employee Retention Credit encourages employers to keep their team on their payroll even if they aren’t working due to COVID-19 during the covered period. If you do keep your employees on your payroll, you can claim a credit for paying qualified wages to your team. 

Businesses that saw a 50% decrease in gross receipts are eligible for a 50% refundable payroll tax credit against the employer portion of Medicare tax on wages paid up to $10,000 during the pandemic period. 

Businesses with more than 100 employees can claim the credit for team members who are retained but not currently working. For businesses with 100 or fewer employees, the credit can be claimed for all employees. The new relief plan also extends eligibility to new startups that have annual gross receipts of up to $1 million. 

The new rules also include a provision for “severely financially distressed employers.” If you experienced a gross receipts reduction of more than 90% when compared to the same quarter in 2019, you can consider all wages paid to employees as qualified wages, regardless of how many full-time employees you have. 

Visit the IRS’ page on the employee retention credit to learn more about how to claim it. 

Additional loan program funding

The American Rescue Act added resources to certain loan funds, including the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. 

Paycheck Protection Program

The new act added $7.25 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provides loans to small businesses that can be fully refundable as long as they are used correctly. 

While the American Rescue Act did not extend the deadline to apply for the PPP from its current date of March 31, 2021, the legislation did decrease the eligibility standards for nonprofit organizations, digital media companies, sole proprietors, independent contractors, and people who are self-employed. 

Learn more about the program in our articles about how to apply for the PPP and what it takes to receive full forgiveness. 

Economic Injury Disaster Loan 

The government also increased funding for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) by $15 billion. The program aims to provide aid to businesses who are experiencing loss of revenue due to COVID-19. 

The SBA administers the loan and provides enough funding for businesses to cover financial obligations and operating expenses that they otherwise would have been able to pay for under normal circumstances. 

The organization is targeting ⅓ of the funding to businesses that: 

Have fewer than 10 employees

Suffered a revenue loss of greater than 50%

Are located in low-income areas

Learn more in our article about how to receive an EIDL. 

The post American Rescue Plan Act of 2021: small business relief appeared first on Homebase.

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