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underthewingsofthblackeagle · 4 years

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Foto: Panorama Helsinki / Finland - Dom und Parlamentsplatz (by tap5a)

“We only do this for Fergus!” is a short Outlander Fan Fiction story and my contribution to the Outlander Prompt Exchange (Prompt 3: Fake Relationship AU: Jamie Fraser wants to formally adopt his foster son Fergus, but his application will probably not be approved... unless he is married and/or in a committed relationship. Enter one Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp (Randall?) to this story) @outlanderpromptexchange

Chapter 1: Life offers you many surprises

Berlin, Französische Straße Friday, 25 July 2025, 8.50 a.m.

Five minutes earlier, Claire Elisabeth Beauchamp had entered the large, light gray house, built in the neo-Renaissance style that dominated the whole Forum Fridericianum. In the lobby, which was dominated by marble and dark wood, Claire was greeted by a receptionist. She was asked to sit down for a moment in one of the dark leather armchairs, of which four were grouped around an elegant round table. As she waited, her eyes wandered up the high walls of the entrance hall. A few steps of a staircase led out of the hall through a large glass door that ended in a round arch at the top, reminiscent of a gate entrance. Above it was a large ornament of dark stones inlaid in the light marble. The ornament showed a circle, which, as it seemed, was formed from a belt. The words "Je suis prest" could be read in the curve of the circle and in the center of the ornament was the head of a stately stag, which looked directly at the observer.

“Französische Straße Berlin” by Jörg Zägel / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Claire knew that the French motto meant "I am ready!", but just as she was wondering what the sign meant, an older lady approached her. She introduced herself as Mrs. Fitz-Gibbons. This employee, whose blue costume gave the impression of a uniform, led Claire down various small staircases and long corridors to the room where she was now sitting. Wherever they had gone in this house, it had been extremely quiet. The heavy, dark red carpets that covered all the stairs and hallways, had swallowed every sound of their footsteps. Now she sat in a room whose furnishings were characterized by dark wood and light brass and whose dimensions were more like those of a hall. But it was the antechamber of the CEO’s office of "Fraser & Son International" and behind the large double-winged door that Claire was now looking at was the study of Dr. James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser, one of the country's leading business owners. Until two weeks ago, Claire did not know the man's name or that of his company. She didn't care about the gossip press, which also reported on the local "high society" in Berlin. But then Geillis Duncan, her best friend, came by one evening and showed her a job ad from the "Wirtschaftswoche" newspaper. At first Claire was completely surprised. How did Geillis, who loved to read the gossip press, come to show her an ad from Germany's leading weekly magazine for managers?

"Dave left it on the kitchen table, and since I didn't have anything else at hand, I looked into it while having breakfast. But now take a look at this job ad!"

Geillis had emphatically pointed to an ad that featured the same ornament as the one she had seen in the lobby. Claire had started reading. A pedagogically trained caregiver was needed for an almost seven-year-old child. The woman should speak fluent German, English and French. Further foreign language skills were welcome but not required. Furthermore, an extensive general education and an impeccable curriculum vitae (i.e. no entries in the Federal Central Crime Register) were expected. Special emphasis was placed on the knowledge and practice of the literature written by Adolph Freiherr Knigge. Three times the current monthly salary was offered, 30 days paid vacation, free board and lodging, private health insurance 1st class.

"Just imagine Claire!" the girlfriend had exclaimed enthusiastically, "If you got this job and worked there for a few years, all your problems would be solved!”

Geillis was right, well, almost. Surely not all her problems would be solved. But the financial problems she had to deal with could at least be significantly reduced by this job. She had to acknowledge that and so Claire, Geillis and her friend Dave met that very evening to write a letter of application. Dave, who worked for a large media company at Potsdamer Platz, immediately agreed to help her with his knowledge. The next day, Claire had sent off the application. Then she had bought an updated edition of "The Knigge" and started reading it. Shortly after, Geillis came and brought her a large pile of current newspaper clippings so Claire could learn all she needed to know about the person of James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser and the family business he ran.

She learned a lot about the company from various business magazines, but the person of James Fraser seemed almost like a phantom. It seemed to her that this man also didn't care about the so-called "high society" and obviously he didn't deliver any headlines to the gossip press. There was neither an article about him nor a photo of him on the company's homepage. Even a Wikipedia article with his name only gave the basic data (birthday, place of birth, family, studies) and otherwise dealt more with the globally active company. "Fraser & Son International" was one of the few family-owned companies that to this day had no shareholders and, having invested in a wide range of economic sectors, not only survived the financial crisis of 2008 well, but had even emerged from it stronger. In this Wikipedia article, however, there was a photo by James Fraser. It showed him with a group of business leaders at a national conference. However, this picture was over eight years old and also very pixelated. At some point everything turned in Claire's head and she hoped that she had not learned all this information for nothing. If she would at least be invited for a job interview. Ten days later, she hadn't dared to hope that she would ever hear of Fraser & Son International, and to her surprise, her smartphone rang just before the lunch break began. A Dr. Ned Gowan called on behalf of the company, explained that he was the lawyer for "Fraser & Son International" and asked if she could come for an interview at the company's headquarters two days later at 9:00 am. She told him that she had to ask her department head to give her time off first and would call back. As the summer vacation period was over, it was no problem to get a day off and so she called Dr Gowan fifteen minutes later and agreed to meet him (and Dr. Fraser!) two days later. Claire had to be extremely restrained not to cheer out loud. This would have immediately drawn the attention of her colleagues in the department, and she definitely did not want to tell them about it. During lunch break, she left the clinic and sat down on a bench in a nearby park. From there she called Geillis and told her the good news. Right after the end of her shift, the friends met in the parking lot of the clinic to go into town together and pick out a suitable "outfit" for Claire's job interview. Geillis, who had worked as a freelance fashion consultant for many years before she met "the rich Dave", dragged her friend directly to the fashion department of the KaDeWe. There, after a while, they found a muted dark green business costume that emphasized Claire's figure but still looked respectable.

“Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) - Foto by Avi1111 dr. avishai teicher / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

"That's perfect," exclaimed Geillis as Claire stepped out of the dressing room. "Yes, perfectly too expensive for me. Have you seen the price?" "Don't worry about that," Geillis replied. Then she whispered: "I'll pay for it. If the job doesn't work out, we'll just give it back afterwards. And if you get the job and want to keep it, you'll give me the money back when you get your first salary.”

They bought the costume and also a matching blouse and shoes. Claire was not allowed to think about the amount of money they had spent within a few hours or she would get sick. But that was all forgotten at that moment. Now it was time to concentrate and make a good impression. Mrs. Fitz-Gibbons had led her into this room and instructed her to use one of the twelve large brown leather armchairs. With the words "You will be called in when it is your turn," she had said goodbye. Claire had taken a seat and scanned the room as inconspicuously as possible. Seven other women sat in leather armchairs of the same type, which were set up on three side walls of the room, each separated by a small table. On the tables were glasses and bottles of mineral water, but none of the other women had made use of them. Claire had not intended to drink anything either. She was far too excited to drink, and she was afraid that she might have to go to the bathroom in the middle of her upcoming job interview. Slowly, her gaze wandered across the light-colored carpet to that large, two-winged mahogany wooden door. On each of the wings was a coat of arms, divided into four sections. On the upper left and the lower right quarter were three white flowers on a blue background. The upper right and the lower left quarter each showed three red, pointed crowns on a white background. Behind this door, Claire assumed, must be the director's room. What would she expect there? She did not know. Why had she only gotten involved in this thing that Geilis Duncan had suggested to her? Out of desperation? She wasn't sure. Only one thing was sure: she had never thought that she would have to have another job interview at the age of almost 30. But that was her life. Much of what had happened in her life had not been planned, nor had she ever expected her life to be like that. Claire Elisabeth Beauchamp, almost divorced Randall, had lost her parents in a car accident when she was five years old. For the next fifteen years she was raised in the loving care of her uncle 'Lamb'. Dr. Quentin Lambert Beauchamp, an archaeologist and Egyptologist whose research focus was on the Old Kingdom of Egypt and who was highly revered by his students, came to Berlin in 2015, where he taught at Humboldt University in the last years before his retirement. There Claire had also met her future husband, Dr. Frank Randall. He had been assigned to her uncle as a research assistant. Randall had courted her like no man before and they had already married in May 2016. The first four years of their marriage had gone in a way that Claire would still describe as happy today. Although, she was no longer quite so sure. What did happiness actually mean? Was there a definition for this term? And even if there was a definition for the term "happiness", was it really valid for all people? In any case, the first four years of her marriage had not been very negative. Together they had made regular trips to Paris, Madrid, Prague, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Palermo, Venice, Turin, Marseille, Amsterdam, Florence, Milan, Barcelona and Bruges.

“Palermo/Sizilien” by nataliaaggiato

Claire enjoyed getting to know these cities and experiencing their cultural particularities. When Lambert Beauchamp died unexpectedly in February 2019 as a result of a stroke, Frank had been kind and, in her opinion, very sensitive to her needs. But in the spring of 2020, a strange development had set in with him. At first Claire had blamed it on the effects of the corona pandemic. After the start of the lockdown, Frank was mainly at home, giving lectures via Zoom and otherwise writing a new book on the history of the Scottish Jacobite uprising in 1745. Claire, on the other hand, was working as a nurse in the children's clinic of Berlin's Charité hospital, as she had been before the crisis. Frank had insisted that Claire should give up her job. The possibility that she could become infected with the virus seemed too high to him. But Claire could not bring it over her heart to leave her fellow nurses alone, especially in such a severe time, and thanks to the strictly observed precautions she got through this difficult time without any problems. While she could be happy about the successes in her profession, the problems in her marriage with Frank seemed to become bigger and bigger. At some point, she felt that Frank was becoming more and more monosyllabic and that they were drifting apart rapidly. But evem then she thought this was a temporary phase that would end after the pandemic at the latest. At least she hoped so. When a vaccine against the virus was finally found in July 2021 and became available in December 2021, Claire breathed a sigh of relief. She and Frank would get vaccinated and then they could travel again. This would change Frank's mind and make her marriage blossom again. But it all turned out differently. Once they were vaccinated, Frank suddenly didn't feel like traveling anymore. Again and again he put off his work. Regularly he worked until late at night at the university and sometimes he spent whole nights there. It was always about important analyses, which he published in specialist publications and for which there were tight deadlines. Even on evenings when Claire was off, he was rarely at home, and whenever she tried to initiate a little marital tenderness, he was too tired for that. In the spring of 2022, they had slept together for the last time. A few months later, Frank had stopped kissing her goodbye, as he usually did when he left the house. What happened then had the potential to throw her completely off track. By the fall of 2022, a hunch that Claire had suppressed again and again had been confirmed. Frank had a mistress. When she returned from her work at the children's hospital one evening in October, she saw Frank saying goodbye to a slender blonde at the door of their shared house, kissing her intensely. She stood there frozen. Everything inside her urged her to turn around and run away. But then the anger that built up within her gained the upper hand. Like a burning ray that shot out of her stomach through her whole body, he took a breath. She ran to the front door, unlocked it and found Frank standing at the sink in the kitchen, where he was just rinsing out two wine glasses. He turned to her in surprise, but before he could say a word, Claire's purse hit him in the left half of his face with full force. Frank had lost his balance and had fallen over. His glasses had come off his head and had broken when he hit the kitchen floor. Claire no longer knew what insults she had used to call him. Frank had picked himself up and collected the parts of his glasses. He had not even set out to explain the situation or apologize.Claire would not have listened to him either. She had turned on her foot and had run into the shared bedroom. When she arrived there, she had taken Frank's bed linen, run back downstairs with it and threw it all into his study. Then she ran back into the bedroom again and locked herself inside. She did not know how long she had cried angrily. But before she had fallen asleep, she had made a plan. The next morning she went on the morning shift. During a break she called a lawyer and that same afternoon she went to see her to discuss the formalities of a divorce.

“Brille” by jottbe

Frank had had the injuries Claire had inflicted on him treated, but had not reported them to the police. It was only later that he let it show that he had orchestrated the whole situation. He had simply been too cowardly to have a conversation with her about a divorce, as two adults normally do. He probably wanted to make her feel guilty, too. Claire was convinced of that, at least. Frank had always been against her going back to work. When she accepted the job at the children's hospital a year after their wedding, he had expressed himself very negatively about it. What kind of impression would it leave on his colleagues if the wife of a prospective professor went to work? And in the last year of their marriage he had not missed any opportunity to tell her how much he felt neglected. It took three months before Claire was able to move into a small room in one of the Charité nurses' homes. During these three months she did everything she could to avoid Frank as much as possible. Anything she couldn't take with her to the nurses' home, she stored in her friend Geillis Duncan's basement. Claire hoped that the divorce would be finalized in October 2023 after the obligatory year of separation and that she could finally start a new life. But this time, too, everything turned out differently than she had hoped. It was a rainy autumn day in September 2023 and it was to be the last day in the life of Dr. Frank Randall. On a country road near Lübeck, where he had attended a conference for historians, Frank's car skidded for some unknown reason. The car broke through the barrier and then came to a halt in a field. There it was discovered the next morning by a farmer. When the police arrived at the scene of the accident, Dr. Frank Randall was strapped in the seat belt and sat in the driver's seat as if nothing had happened. He was uninjured and even still wearing his hat. But Frank Randall was dead. An autopsy performed later revealed that Frank had had a heart attack that caused him to lose control of the car, causing it to veer off the road. It was, as the police later said, very lucky that no other car had been hit. Claire was shaken.

“Lübeck” by scholty1970

But an even greater shock struck her on the day of the reading of the will. On that day, the notary told her that she would not inherit any money, only debts from Frank. Her still-husband had bought a condominium for his mistress for 250,000 euros, which he had signed over to her. For this gift Frank had gone into debt and Claire, who was still married to him by law, inherited his debts. It was one big nightmare. Although Claire had also inherited the rights to Frank's books, these reference books sold only in very manageable numbers and brought in little money. With her salary as a pediatric nurse, it would take her decades to pay off Frank's debts. Meanwhile, Sandy Travers, this bleached ...., was sitting in her apartment, probably enjoying herself with her next lover. Once again the anger about Frank rose in Claire's heart, but before she could think about him any further, a familiar voice tore her from these thoughts.

#Outlander #Outlander Fan Fiction #James Fraser #Claire Beauchamp #lambert beauchamp #Frank Randall #Fergus Fraser #Geillis Duncan #Ned Gowan #Berlin #Germany #Modern AU #Outlander Prompt Exchange

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brajeshupadhyay · 4 years

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Two days before learning that she would lose her job, Lissa Gilliam spent hundreds of dollars online on baby products. A 37-year-old expectant mother, Ms. Gilliam had planned to ask local parents in Seattle for used strollers and secondhand onesies in a bid to reduce waste. But as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the area, new items delivered in boxes seemed a safer bet. She figured she could afford the splurge, earning $50 an hour as a full-time contractor designing educational curriculums for a nonprofit. But then, on April 2, her employer slashed her hours and told her that her contract would end in early May — a few weeks before she is to give birth. Suddenly, like many others, Ms. Gilliam became hyperaware of her expenses. She and her husband, a high school physics teacher, now take a painful daily tally of their financial priorities: Is that $5 monthly web magazine subscription really necessary? How much does watering the garden cost? When will they need to tap their paltry savings? “We’re OK for now,” she said. “But the bottom may fall out from under us.” As millions of Americans lose jobs, take pay cuts, close businesses and absorb family members into their homes, they are being forced to rethink where their money goes. Even before the scramble for new jobs can begin, people are cajoling creditors, looking for gig work or simply cutting back to get through the first few disorienting weeks. “An economic shock like this could have a long-term impact on people who have traditionally felt like they were being cautious, that they weren’t profligate with their money, but didn’t have to worry about paying for rent or affording food,” said Stephanie Aaronson, the director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution. “They might have more debt, which will make it harder to spend in the future, or they might just feel less secure, which could boost savings and potentially dampen the recovery.” Ms. Gilliam and her husband are waiting for Washington State to make jobless benefits available to contractors through a federal assistance program, and hope to take advantage of a state program for maternity aid once their daughter is born. A $15,000 construction project planned for the rear of their house is on hold. They canceled their gym membership, their Hulu streaming service, multiple newspapers and even the Adobe Acrobat software that Ms. Gilliam uses for design work. On the whole, Ms. Aaronson said, household finances “were in relatively good condition as of six weeks ago — they were actually pretty healthy.” Now, she said, “a much broader swath of households are experiencing a complete loss of income compared to what we typically see in a recession.” Before the pandemic, Carol Cruz’s private health insurance plan cost her $840 a month — up from less than $500 four years ago. The bill ate up most of her $1,200 monthly paycheck, exceeding even the $600 monthly payment on the house she shares with her husband and their 17-year-old granddaughter in Tulare, Calif. On March 29, she was furloughed from her part-time job as a mental health therapist until at least the end of May. Other than the state unemployment benefits she hopes to receive soon, Ms. Cruz, 62, no longer has an income. So she got on the phone for at least three hours a day, asking for leniency from the health insurance provider, her mortgage lender and the credit union that holds the loan for her husband’s Chevrolet truck. All offered her more flexible terms, including 90-day grace periods and pay-what-you-can options. (Some creditors, she said, were less willing to negotiate.) The adjustments help keep the bills manageable, Ms. Cruz said. But her grocery costs have doubled, now that the price of eggs has soared and her granddaughter is no longer having free lunches at school. “I don’t know about my future,” Ms. Cruz said. “I’m not letting myself think about tomorrow, just about whether we have food today and money in the bank.” But some people, many of whom have never seriously budgeted, are now mapping out strict spending schedules for the next few months. After being furloughed in mid-March from her bartending and serving job at a Minneapolis concert hall, Krissy Calbert, 26, went from earning $300 in tips some nights to having no income as she waited for government aid. “It was two weeks of just panic — I was just going off the groceries I already had, trying to ration until money came in,” she said. “You get really creative. You eat little half meals, and you experiment with your seasonings and condiments to try to forget that you’re eating the same thing over and over.” Earlier this month, Ms. Calbert began receiving a weekly infusion of $1,100 from the state. She is now trying to reschedule when monthly bills are due so she can space out the payments: $600 for rent, $75 for her phone, up to $120 for utilities, $60 for streaming services, $200 for credit cards, plus other expenses. “I’m trying to get all of my credit card payments into the same week, so I can have a credit card week, a rent week, a phone week,” Ms. Calbert said. She has switched her grocery shopping from Target to Aldi, where, she said, she can afford to splurge on fresh produce and protein. Without health insurance, she is willing spend an extra $30 or $40 on fruits and vegetables in hopes of keeping her immune system strong, she said. “I can’t take the risk,” Ms. Calbert said. “A hospital bill right now would ruin me.” More than half of lower-income adults in the United States say they will struggle to pay bills this month, compared to a quarter of their middle-income counterparts and 11 percent of those in the upper-income tier, according to a survey of nearly 5,000 adults by Pew Research Center. Researchers defined a three-person household earning $37,500 to $112,600 annually as middle-income. Over all, more than half of those who expect a federal stimulus infusion will use most of the money to cover essential expenses, while one in five say they plan to save the funds. To create a financial buffer, many people are hunting for freelance or part-time work. Searches for work-from-home jobs rose 126 percent in March on FlexJobs, while traffic to the site has boomed 58 percent from a year ago. On Upwork, companies are looking for people to provide tech support for their homebound employees and to draft corporate messages about the coronavirus. Lonn Dugan, a digital marketing specialist in Sylvania, Ohio, has seen many clients scaling back their promotional efforts, such as one nonprofit that cut its budget by 90 percent after a major annual event was canceled. But another client, an agricultural supply company, commissioned a major website update, while a local mental health group wanted to ramp up its virtual support groups. The pressure on Mr. Dugan, 60, is intense. His workday is three hours longer than it used to be, between his existing clients and his attempts to drum up new business. He and his wife lost a third of their incomes; neither is eligible for government aid. “We’re completely overwhelmed by the shortfall. We can afford groceries and maybe the house and car payments, and that’s it,” he said. “But we’re not alone, and we’re focusing on acceptance as opposed to hand-wringing. We’re taking care of necessities, and that’s enough for right now.” Still, Mr. Dugan admits being stretched thin emotionally. He misses his wife, even though they are in the same house and she no longer needs to make a two-hour round-trip commute to her health care job. But the couple are so busy trying to stay afloat that they have stopped cooking fresh meals and turn instead to frozen dinners and fast food. “We just don’t have time,” he said. “We’re exhausted at the end of the day.” The post Finances – The New York Times appeared first on Sansaar Times.

http://sansaartimes.blogspot.com/2020/05/finances-new-york-times.html

#SEO #Local SEO training #daily news paper #daily news india #daily news newspaper #technology news a

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bhavyalatha · 3 years

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Ten Things That Will Disappear

In Our Lifetime ???

1. The Post Office

Get ready to imagine a world without the post office. They are so deeply in financial trouble that there is probably no way to sustain it long term. Email, Fed Ex, and UPS have just about wiped out the minimum revenue needed to keep the post office alive. Most of your mail every day is junk mail and bills.

2. The Cheque

Britain is already laying the groundwork to do away with check by 2022

. It costs the financial system billions of dollars a year to process checks. Plastic cards and online transactions will lead to the eventual demise of the cheque This plays right into the death of the post office. If you never paid your bills by mail and never received them by mail, the post office would absolutely go out of business.

3. The Newspaper

The younger generation simply doesn't read the newspaper. They certainly don't subscribe to a daily delivered print edition. That may go the way of the milkman and the laundry man. As for reading the paper online, get ready to pay for it. The rise in mobile Internet devices and e-readers has caused all the newspaper and magazine publishers to form an alliance. They have met with Apple, Amazon, and the major cell phone companies to develop a model for paid subscription services.

4. The Book

You say you will never give up the physical book that you hold in your hand and turn the literal pages I said the same thing about downloading music from iTunes. I wanted my hard copy CD. But I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I could get albums for half the price without ever leaving home to get the latest music. The same thing will happen with books. You can browse a bookstore online and even read a preview chapter before you buy. And the price is less than half that of a real book. And think of the convenience! Once you start flicking your fingers on the screen instead of the book, you find that you are lost in the story, can't wait to see what happens next, and you forget that you're holding a gadget instead of a book.

5. The Land Line Telephone

Unless you have a large family and make a lot of local calls, you don't need it anymore. Most people keep it simply because they've always had it. But you are paying double charges for that extra service. All the cell phone companies will let you call customers using the same cell provider for no charge against your minutes.

6. Music

This is one of the saddest parts of the change story. The music industry is dying a slow death. Not just because of illegal downloading. It's the lack of innovative new music being given a chance to get to the people who would like to hear it. Greed and corruption is the problem. The record labels and the radio conglomerates are simply self-destructing Over 40% of the music purchased today is "catalogue items," meaning traditional music that the public is familiar with. Older established artists. This is also true on the live concert circuit. To explore this fascinating and disturbing topic further, check out the book, "Appetite for Self-Destruction" by Steve Knopper, and the video documentary, "Before the Music Dies."

7. Television Revenues

To the networks are down dramatically. Not just because of the economy. People are watching TV and movies streamed from their computers. And they're playing games and doing lots of other things that take up the time that used to be spent watching TV. Prime time shows have degenerated down to lower than the lowest common denominator. Cable rates are skyrocketing and commercials run about every 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I say good riddance to most of it. It's time for the cable companies to be put out of our misery. Let the people choose what they want to watch online and through Netflix.

8. The "Things" That You Own

Many of the very possessions that we used to own are still in our lives, but we may not actually own them in the future. They may simply reside in "the cloud." Today your computer has a hard drive and you store your pictures, music, movies, and documents. Your software is on a CD or DVD, and you can always re-install it if need be. But all of that is changing. Apple, Microsoft, and Google are all finishing up their latest "cloud services." That means that when you turn on a computer, the Internet will be built into the operating system. So, Windows, Google, and the Mac OS will be tied straight into the Internet. If you click an icon, it will open something in the Internet cloud. If you save something, it will be saved to the cloud. And you may pay a monthly subscription fee to the cloud provider. In this virtual world, you can access your music or your books, or your whatever from any laptop or handheld device. That's the good news. But, will you actually own any of this "stuff" or will it all be able to disappear at any moment in a big "Poof?" Will most of the things in our lives be disposable and whimsical? It makes you want to run to the closet and pull out that photo album, grab a book from the shelf, or open up a CD case and pull out the insert.

9. Joined Handwriting (Cursive Writing)

Already gone in some schools who no longer teach "joined handwriting" because nearly everything is done now on computers or keyboards of some type (pun not intended)

10. Privacy

If there ever was a concept that we can look back on nostalgically, it would be privacy. That's gone. It's been gone for a long time anyway.. There are cameras on the street, in most of the buildings, and even built into your computer and cell phone. But you can be sure that 24/7, "They" know who you are and where you are, right down to the GPS coordinates, and the Google Street View. If you buy something, your habit is put into a zillion profiles, and your ads will change to reflect those habits.. "They" will try to get you to buy something else. Again and again and again.

All we will have left that which can't be changed.......are our "Memories".

Logic is dead.

Excellence is punished.

Mediocrity is rewarded.

And dependency is to be revered..

When crooks rob banks they go to prison.

When they rob the taxpayer they get re-elected

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vsplusonline · 4 years

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Lockdown has made us realise the value of locally-grown food

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/lockdown-has-made-us-realise-the-value-of-locally-grown-food/

Lockdown has made us realise the value of locally-grown food

Spudnik Farms is a community of local farmers growing and supplying organic vegetables directly to consumers. During the lock-down, Spudnik Farms is providing pesticide free, fresh, local vegetables. A typical box would provide six to seven seasonal vegetables such as beans, carrot, brinjal, capsicum, pumpkin; staple vegetables such as tomato, potato and onion; two to three greens and herbs such as spinach, amaranthus and coriander. Free-range eggs are available as add ons.

Sumeet Kaur who founded Spudnik Farms says. “On Tuesday, we deliver to Ulsoor, Indiranagar, Domlur, a few locations in Hebbal such as Kempapura, Kamanhalli, HRBR layout, Kalyan Nagar, and Lingarajapuram. On Friday, we deliver to MG Road, Vittal Mallya Road, Koramangala, and Bellandur. We have split deliveries to Cooke Town, Frazer Town, Richmond Town, Benson Town, Langford Town, Richmond Town, Vasanthnagar, and Cox Town between Friday and Saturday. On Saturday we have started our new delivery route to Malleswaram, Sadashivnagar, Sanjay Nagar, and RMV extension.”

Orders have been pouring in and Sumeet is ensuring that she delivers to as many customers as possible. “I have been receiving distress calls. There was a husband and wife in Bellandur, who just had a baby. The husband ate potatoes so that his wife could get to eat other vegetables. We received a request to deliver there. We could make a small deviation and distribute there. We have also received requests to distribute to parents staying in Bangalore.” She ensures that her delivery personnel and the customers are both safe. “We had already begun working under lock-down restrictions three weeks before lockdown was announced. We rolled out contact-less delivery, we do temperature screenings, we focus on sanitation, providing sanitisers in bulk to wash hands, we also ask our workers to keep us informed on how they are feeling, and not to come into work if they are unwell.”

Desperate times comes with lessons. With the lock-down, we are finally asking important questions: where does our food come from? Why we should be consuming locally-grown food? Sumeet offers an insight: “In a sense, the lockdown has been a huge validation of what we believe in. You should be eating locally grown food because there is less chances of pesticides being used. With lock-down, people are now understanding the value of food. They are also seeing the connection to food, which has been lost, such as the knowledge of which vegetable to eat in which season. For example, carrots, peas, broccoli and cauliflower are winter vegetables, but they are eaten the whole year round. The downside of this is that diverse native food has been forgotten, especially native greens. They are easy to grow. For example, purslane, a cultivar from the portulaca family, which is native to the Indian sub-continent, is rich in nutrients. There is also clove beans and star fruit.”

The lock-down has led to obstacles in demand and supply. “Enough vegetables and fruits are being grown, but demand and supply has been distorted. The wholesale sellers don’t know how much quantity is to be given by the farmers, because nobody can estimate demand. Also the farmers are confused whether they should get their produce or not. Local grocers don’t know how much of the produce is going to be sold. There are also organic fruit farmers who supply their fruit inter-state or even export them, but with the lock-down that has been disrupted. I know a sapota farmer who boards passenger trains to sell sapota to Delhi and north India. So for farmers like him we are buying their fruit in as much bulk as we can and putting it in our baskets,” says Sumeet.

While these are big challenges, she even has to contend with seemingly small issues. “I have stocked packing material, which I was earlier running out of. It is difficult to source things like markers and stickers, which I use for the logo and put the names of my customers with the name of their apartments and flat numbers on the baskets.”

Sumeet is a graduate of National Law School of India University. In 2013, she left law to get into agriculture. “Between June and July of 2013, I made my first attempt at agriculture. Spudnik Farms was among the 100 start-ups by women entrepreneurs incubated at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore. I realised that I needed to learn more on how to scale up my business and make it profitable. I am a part of Atal Incubation Centre (AIC), supported by Sangam Ventures, which is an acceleration programme, supported by NITI Aayog, for eight start-ups in the agri tech and clean energy space. I got a cold storage through contacts at the acceleration programme, which has been of great help during this time,” concludes Sumeet.

The box being delivered is available on a monthly subscription. There will be weekly contact-less delivery, currently available is Spudnik’s standard vegetable box (₹3,000 for four weeks). Whatsapp or call 9900606698 or visit: www.spudnikfarms.com or www.instagram.com/spudnikfarms.

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The Chase Files Daily Newscap 5/30/2019

Good MORNING #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Thursday 30th May 2019. Remember you can read full articles for FREE via Barbados Today (BT), Barbados Government Information Services (BGIS) or by purchasing a Daily Nation Newspaper (DN).

WHITE OAK – The Government has allowed an unusual amount of transparency with the White Oak contract. The recent (May 12, 2019) Financial Times article reported that White Oak would receive an “absurd” fee of US $27M. I assumed that they meant US $2.7M since the calculations were done by Financial Times’ staff, and the error could have been missed by the editors. Avinash Persaud responded to the Financial Times article, but surprisingly, he did not challenge the reported fee. Rather, he claimed that Barbados got value for money. Then Clyde Mascoll provided a similar endorsement, with the shocking claim that no Barbadian could have done the job. Their uncritical and fawning endorsements of White Oak should demand an unbiased examination of this no-bid contract. In their contract, White Oak specifically state that they are not providing any accounting or legal services. They are mainly giving advice, for which they are to be paid a monthly retainer fee of US $85,000. They also get a success fee of 0.45 per cent on foreign debts that they can get cancelled or amended, and 0.40 per cent on any local debt that they can get cancelled or amended. The total Barbados debt was approximately $BBD15B, with about $12B in local currency and $3B in foreign currency. The BERT restructuring of the local currency debt resulted in a $BBD2B reduction of our debt. We were told that White Oak were working on the foreign currency debt. If White Oak can save Barbados from paying 25 per cent of the foreign currency debt after one year of negotiations, then they stand to earn a success fee of approximately US $1.7M plus a retainer of US $1M. This total fee of US $2.7M led to my assumption that the decimal point was mistakenly omitted from the Financial Times’ article. The only way that White Oak can earn anywhere near the reported US $27M, is if their success fee rate is applied to the total local currency debt, instead of just the amount that they can successfully negotiate to avoid us paying. Clearly, that could not be the intent, since success fees are normally applied to the amount that the consultant can save the client from paying. If White Oak’s success fee rate is misinterpreted to be applied to the total debt, then White Oak can ludicrously get creditors of Barbados’ $15B debt to agree to a one-month delay of payment. For that lunatic advice, White Oak can legally earn US $30M, and we would still have to pay the entire $15B of debt. No political administration could be foolish enough to sign such an unfair contract. The retainer is also badly arranged, since White Oak can simply make US $1M each year by doing absolutely nothing. After approximately one year, they still have not completed renegotiating our foreign currency debt, which is what they were reportedly contracted to do. This confusion could have been avoided if the Contractor General, who should be able to identify weaknesses in contracts before the Government signs them, had been appointed. The BLP promised to address political corruption by appointing such a person, but has yet to do so. The listed services that White Oak are contracted to provide should be well within the competence of any accounting firm in Barbados experienced in liquidation or judicial management. If such local accounting firms agree with Clyde Mascoll’s assessment of their competence, then they should be ashamed of themselves for their incompetence, cowardice, or both. Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer and President of Solutions Barbados. He can be reached at [email protected]. (BT)

STIGMA, DISCRIMINATION ‘BIG HIV/AIDS POLITICAL ISSUE’ – Politicians will need to overcome the huge obstacle of stigma and discrimination and political implications if they are to deliver on Government’s goal of eradicating HIV and AIDS by the year 2030. Over a dozen Government Ministers, MPs and religious leaders responded to the call of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP), which hosted a sensitization Wednesday workshop and forum at the Radisson Aquatica. While PANCAP president Derek Springer praised the efforts of previous governments to address the alarming prevalence of discrimination he noted that most countries, including Barbados, had still not adopted a model CARICOM anti-discrimination bill since 2012, considered to be critical to the fight. Springer told the parliamentarians: “While we are aware of your legislative, representational and your oversight roles, we are also aware that you come from families who come from communities and you are constantly engaged with your constituencies and are therefore aware of the issues and challenges faced by your constituents. But in a keynote speech, Minister of People Empowerment Cynthia Forde pledged Government’s commitment to tackle the challenge head-on. She said: “Stigma and discrimination will really retard the progress of what we are doing in the Caribbean and unless we get hold of it and unless my parliamentary colleagues become a little more familiar with the problems. “As a ministry, we take our mandate seriously. We look forward to a transformed social landscape that provides equal opportunities for all citizens to achieve a sustainable and acceptable standard of living and the ability of all persons to fully participate in the development of this country.” Forde added that Government would continue to provide free healthcare services for all Barbadians, but stressed that this alone could not eradicate the disease. The Minister said: “As you know, access does not always translate into uptake of services, just as knowledge does not always translate to behaviors, especially if we cannot get beyond some of our prejudices and our judgments. “It is in this regard that we must recognize that the Ministry of Health and Wellness cannot do it alone and that successfully combatting HIV begins with empowering households and communities.” Ambassador Daniela Tramacere of the European Union’s delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, which sponsored the programme, identified the fight against stigma and discrimination as a human rights issue. Tramacere said: “This is a matter of human rights… This is a matter of ignorance of those who discriminate and don’t understand what the problem is, where it comes from as if it was related to a specific group of people or sinners or whatever you may call them. “This is a matter of general concern because we all are exposed to HIV and AIDS, we all are ignorant about the risks we take in our social relations, when we go to hospitals for blood transfusions, when we don’t know what HIV is and we don’t pay attention to the preventative measures.” (BT)

REGIONAL CO-OPERATION NEEDED IN MEDICAL CANNABIS APPROACH – Barbados and other Caribbean countries are being encouraged to form partnerships to tap the lucrative medical cannabis industry. At the same time, one industry expert is predicting that with Barbados having the highest consumption rate of cannabis per capita in the region, this could result in tremendous economic benefits for the country. However, Dr Machel Emanuel, Teaching Assistant in the Department of Life Sciences at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, warned that developing the “right legislative framework” would be critical in how much the country benefits. “We always say we need to understand the strengths and weaknesses, meaning that Belize and Guyana being mainland and having a history of producing stuff like sugar cane and rice on a very large scale, they could be more privy to growing hemp, whereas Jamaica and St Vincent and the Grenadines could grow the more psycho active component, and we have that indigenous knowledge to enhance that,” Emanuel told the May luncheon of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Wednesday under the theme Medical Marijuana: The Next Major Growth Sector. “Whereas Trinidad being the more production and manufacturing hub with low energy consumption, they could focus more on manufacturing,” he added. Emanuel, who has participated in extensive research on marijuana, told his captive audience that data recorded from the police force in the Windward Islands showed that cannabis contributed more to the domestic economy than bananas did. “Barbados now being a country in the Caribbean that has the highest consumption rate per capita, which translates to the highest domestic value, meaning that cannabis fetches the highest price locally, higher than prices globally,” he added. As such, he said, Barbados was in a unique position to develop “the right legislative framework to encapsulate that domestic consumption”, which would help to grow the island’s gross domestic product (GDP). “So Barbados is very unique too because we can understand the cross linkages across the various sectors from agriculture to health, to wellness tourism, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, to really ensure that the sustainability can be maximized and really get the true earning potential from cannabis as a commodity,” he pointed out. Government has already indicated that it was keen on building out a medical cannabis industry here, and recently added five cannabis-based prescription drugs to the drug formulary. Emanuel said how regional governments strategise, develop and integrate a formal cannabis industry, should include the cultivation, processing, transportation and distribution of products. He said it should also examine the historical and cultural experiences and how it would be marketed. “So there needs to be an inter-disciplinary approach to understanding cannabis business within the region,” he added. As a result, Emanuel said private and public sectors, and academia should partner to facilitate research and funding, which would “maximize” the region’s true earning potential. Pointing to the different impacts and strains of weed, Emanuel warned that as Barbados looked to develop the industry, careful research and testing would be critical. Past head of the National Council on Substance Abuse Tessa Chadderton-Shaw raised questions relating to prevention and risk reduction, suggesting that more focus seemed to be on the potential for economic investment and returns than the protection of the island’s future human resource, “our at-risk females and males and university students”. However, while Emanuel said legislation and regulation of the industry would help in that regard, Founder and Executive Chairman of Medicanja Dr Henry Lowe said while he understood the concern “we have to move on”. “Some people have been damaged, some will continue to be damaged, but it is when we create new opportunities . . . new insight and they realize they can do this legally and they understand the problems, you can eventually get people to go where we need them to go,” said Lowe, who is also one of the founding members of the National Council on Drug Abuse in Jamaica. “We can’t dwell on that and destroy a potential that we have to do far more than anything else we have been focused on for a while,” he added, while pointing out that it will take government, private sector, academia and other stakeholders to provide the needed training, education, guidance and resources needed. (BT)

‘FARMERS DISCOUNT’ ON GSC COMING, SAYS ABRAHAMS – Farmers paying the Garbage and Sewage Contribution (GSC) levy, which is set at 50 per cent of their water bill, are to receive a discount, said Minister of Water Resources Wilfred Abrahams. Government is in the process of putting a cap on the levy, said Abrahams, who did not reveal the extent of the cap but stressed that Government was determined to apply the tax more equitably. He said: “The Barbados Water Authority is working hard with the Minister of Agriculture and for the farmers we accept that some people may be disadvantaged because of the increased rates. “Some of these people cannot manage to recover their input cost and this would largely include farmers. But the Minister noted that Government was not in a position to grant any further reduction on new commercial use rates. Abrahams said: “So, we are looking at a cap on the GSC. We may not necessarily be able to make an adjustment on the water rate for them, but we are looking at finding a cap for the GSC that would be a bit more equitable to those who have to use a certain amount of water.” Commercial entities, including farms using water from the BWA supply, are expected to pay $4.66 per cubic metre up to 40 cubic metres. The rate moves to $7.78 for every cubic metre above 40 cubic metres of water, up 12,000 cubic metre, after which the rate reverts to $4.66 per cubic metre. But even as he promised relief, Abrahams suggested that Government was seeking to make farms that go off the BWA grid pay for water they privately draw from underground wells for irrigation. He said: “There is private abstraction from the systems that we are all supplied from and these persons are not paying a cent for it. “There are a lot of farmers that benefit from that water and we are looking at ways to regulate that because every drop of water has to be accounted for and in a way that provides equity to as many people.” Last August, the head of the Barbados Agricultural Society James Paul revealed commercial farmers fear that the tax would make it virtually impossible for them to compete against international producers. In terms of livestock farmers and those who use a lot of water for processing at their farms, the impact is going to be severe for them,” Paul, the BAS general manager and former Government backbencher in the Freundel Stuart administration, said. “Any farmer who is registered commercially is worried because it carries up the price of the product and they have to compete with international producers,” he said last year. Paul further contended that farmers were being taxed for waste disposal services that they do not use as they were levied the Garbage and Sewage Contribution at 50 per cent of their total water bill. (BT)

ST PHILIP FARMERS WILT UNDER WATER SHORTAGE – Vegetable producers in the east have now joined farmers in the north complaining that water shortages are destroying their businesses. Farmers at the River Plantation Land Lease Project in St Philip, told Barbados TODAYthat after harvesting the current crop they will be forced to abandon the plots until the rains return. The wet season begins on June 1. Farmers explained that while they have been experiencing water shortages on the project for years, the water levels at the pond which feeds the Barbados Agricultural Development & Marketing Corporation’s (BADMC) pumping station, is critically low and drying up. Anthony Singh said he has already lost more than $50,000 to drought. Now he is in a race to save his current crop of tomatoes to prevent even more losses. “We don’t get consistent water, but it is worse this time around and right now we are losing all of our crops. “We would like to plant but all of the time we keep getting losses. Between last year to now, I have lost about 50 to 60 thousand dollars,” he said. Antonio Pilgrim said he is unable to re-plant his cucumbers even though market prices are quite good. “Right now, I have cucumber seeds at home burst and ready to plant but I can’t because they will just die like the last set,” he said. With the BADMC’s irrigation pump out of action, farmers have invested in their own pumps to drain the remnants of the pond, but this exercise is proving quite costly, as these individual pumps can utilise as much as $80 per day in fuel, depending on the farm’s water needs. Some growers have resorted to the even costlier exercise of using their own connection to the Barbados Water Authority supply just to see their current crop to harvest. Others are trucking water from their homes. But like their counterparts at the Spring Hall land lease project in St Lucy, the St Philip farmers revealed that they too are being pressured by the BADMC to pay their outstanding water bill arrears and quarterly lease payments. Singh told Barbados TODAY: “We don’t get water from the BADMC pump, but we are still getting a bill and we can’t afford to pay the bill because we are not getting any money. “We have written to the BADMC telling them that we cannot pay because of the pressure that we are feeling right now. “Right now, I have a contract to supply melons to a supermarket but I can’t plant any and I have to import melons to keep that contract. Singh revealed that even during the months that the BADMC is unable to provide water, there is still a $20 monthly service charge that must be paid. He added: “[BADMC] sent letters to us this week telling us to come in make arrangements to pay them by the end of this month. We can’t afford this right now because we just not making money from the farm.” On Monday, Spring Hall farmers told Barbados TODAY that they are growing increasingly worried that critically low water levels in the wells that feed the irrigation system, are threatening their yield and would inevitably result in the scarcity of certain crops on the market. Farmers also complained that they are being threatened with eviction by the BADMC, as several of them have been unable to pay their bills due to low production, which they claim is as a result of the long-term water supply issues. (BT)

OFF PLAN – The farm charity for at-risk youth has had its water supply cut off for failing to keep up with a plan to pay its water bill to the Barbados Water Authority, said to amount to $25,000, BWA general manager Keithroy Halliday said today. In a statement issued a day after Barbados TODAY reported the story of the Nature Fun Ranch’s padlocked pipeline, at Bruce Vale, St Andren Halliday said: “The Nature Fun Ranch has been and continues to be in arrears to the [BWA] for several thousand dollars over a protracted period of time. “BWA facilitated Corey Layne representing Nature Fun Ranch to meet with Minister Wilfred Abrahams, Chairman of the BWA Board of Directors, Leodean Worrell and myself Keithroy Halliday several months ago. “Mr Layne presented his story and was told that we would work with him. He was allowed to determine his own payment terms so that we could be assured that he would honour them. In good faith we restored the water without receiving any payment. “We also went as far as to advice Mr Layne that if he could not manage the payment plan which he had proposed, then he should contact us.” Halliday further stated Layne had not made any payments to the BWA since the payment plan was reached therefore the BWA’s disconnection. Halliday added: “It is important to note that no payment towards the outstanding balance was ever made from the date of that meeting to date. “To my knowledge, Mr Layne also made no attempt to contact any agent of the Authority nor to alert them, as instructed, that he was experiencing any continued difficulties in meeting his commitment. “Regrettably, the BWA had no choice but to follow its disconnection policy, once the agreed payment terms were breached.” But in challenging the BWA GM, Layne told Barbados TODAY that he entered into a payment plan agreement with the Water Authority back in March after his water was turned off. He said: “They cut the water since the 15th of March so that part is totally false. Totally, totally false. The first time I got a meeting with them was in March. I never had a meeting with them before in my life. The first meeting I had with them was in March.” He further revealed the agreement which was verbal required him to pay $1,000 by March 15, after which he would have to pay $9,000 by March 31 which would be followed by monthly payments of his current bill plus $500.00. Layne declared: “I did not sign any agreement. No signature contract, just a word of mouth thing and that was really pending the approval of the board. They said they needed to get approval from the board.” He said in the interim the farm was using a backup emergency water supply as well as towing water from the neighbourhood standpipe. (BT)

‘FOOD SCAM’ – “Career feeders”, who are “greedy, lickerish and wicked” working people, are scrounging off feeding programmes for homeless people, a leading advocate has revealed to Barbados TODAY. The Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society has been watching a scam develop for several months, president Kemar Saffrey revealed. Meals prepared by individuals or groups for vagrants and the homeless were being collected by others often dressed in work clothes, some even working very near to feeding sites, he said. “Some people just greedy and lickerish and wicked. There are about five feedings a day in Bridgetown, from us with breakfast and there is still another lady who does breakfast in Jubilee Gardens. Then there is still the Salvation Army that does lunch; there is still churches that does lunch around the same 12 o’clock, 1 o’clock. “Then there is a feeding at 5 o’clock; then there is a feeding at 8 o’clock. So these guys get sometimes five to six square meals a day, sometimes ten because some of them get two servings at the various feeding agencies.” The homeless advocate said he believes that some of those providing the meals were not moved by the development, because they were more focused on recording numbers. “They don’t look at if the person is really in need. They are not delving in a little bit more to see if this person is homeless; [saying] ‘let me refer them to BVHS, if this person was retrenched; let me refer them’. “But if you go into the food line today and you get away with somebody giving you food, you would obviously try again tomorrow, by the next person Friday, and that is how then you become what you call a career feeder. “You just go into every line that there is food and nobody is stopping you, nobody is telling you anything so obviously you see this as another way of surviving.” Some individuals and groups who carry out the feeding programmes have formed an online chat network to share information about feeding times and new developments, he said. Saffrey said his charity has created a system where clients were issued with tickets so that they can access meals from feeding organisations and individuals. He said that whenever it was the BVHS’s turn to feed the needy, an inquiry was made into those who were not registered with the society or who appeared to be in an economic bracket that would allow them to finance their own meals. “We assess you, and if you don’t want the assessment then you can’t come to our feeding. The fact that you are not government funded, you are helped by corporate Barbados or by the general public, you have to save every single dollar that you get. “There are people getting serious benefits for invalidity, NIS, pension or welfare money; then they would not be in my line. “So my line numbers would be 60 and I don’t mind it being 60 because I know it is 60 people that deserve it and not because I am trying to say to you I feed 120 people and I feel good with those numbers. You can’t feel good with numbers when it comes to helping people. So you have to be able to cut it out. “Don’t get me wrong. There are people who come into the line for the first time that you don’t know and you feed them. But then we would just direct them to our office so that we could do the back ground research on them, so we could do the investigations.” (BT)

RECALLING THE FATEFUL FALL - The 34-year-old mother of two who had a brush with death last Friday when she fell into a 32-foot deep limestone well at Inch Marlow, Christ Church, is thanking all those who played a role in saving her life. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Tynicya Rollins told Barbados TODAY that though her body was aching from cuts, bruises and a broken leg, she was nothing but grateful that her life was spared for her beautiful daughters, ages 13 and 10. “When I was falling I thought I was going to die. I really thought this was it,” she recalled. The National Conservation Commission (NCC) worker fell into the well around 10:30 a.m. while on the job. She was rescued by a team from the Barbados Fire Service (BFS), and transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) by ambulance. During the interview at her Sayes Court, Christ Church home, Rollins said she was happy to be alive to tell the tale. “I can’t walk. Even sitting up takes a toll on me. I can’t put no weight on my broken leg. I was treated the Friday and sent home but I had to go back on Sunday because of how I was feeling I knew that something was wrong.” The young woman said she vaguely remembers the moments leading to the fall. She said she was in the process of raking clippings that her colleague Adrian Williams had cut from a hedge. The next thing was the feeling that the fall would never end. “I thought I would have never stop falling. I can’t remember tripping. All I could remember is picking up clippings and then I was going down. All I knew I was going down the hole. Adrian tell me I wasn’t hollering but I swear I holler for Adrian. That is the truth. “Going down, all I was telling myself is that I hope down in there ain’t got no water because I can’t swim. I could remember seeing my children flashed before my eyes. I was studying my children and just grabbing to grasp anything.” Though she was in the well for just about an hour, Rollins said she felt as though the time was much longer. She prayed and asked God to keep her body intact and for her to get out alive. “I also told him that if I am going to die He knows best. I asked Him to make sure that He protects my children. And after a while I felt calm and I felt at peace,” she recalled as the tears continued to fall. Rollins’ fellow workers, who were at the scene, were shaken up by the ordeal, which they described as a scary experience. They said they admired how the injured woman kept her composure though they knew the fall had taken a toll on her emotionally and physically. The workers did their best to keep Rollins alert until emergency officials arrived. They also sent down beverages to keep her hydrated. She heard their voices and saw the light, but she said she knew that they could not see her because the hole was complete darkness. “Adrian asked me if I want water, if I want mauby. I had to keep telling him ‘Adrian move from by the well, the rocks dropping in’ and was hitting hard. But I know he didn’t mean no harm he was just there to try to keep me awake and aware. “They were good to me and that is the truth. Every day they message and ask me if I am okay. They kept talking to me, telling me not to fall asleep. Now hoping for a full recovery, Rollins also has much praise for the officer from the BFS who ventured into the dark hole to take her to safety. Rollins said she would forever remember the empathetic look on the face of the officer as he introduced himself and walked her through the steps that they would be taking to get her out. “He was more frightened when he see me than anything else. But he was so gentle he actually didn’t want to touch me because he looked and he saw the cuts on my body. “He told me he putting this harness on me and it’s going to hurt me because I have cuts all on my bottom, all on my back. I told him it is okay and I started helping him to put it on because he didn’t even want to touch me. So he told me I putting it on wrong and eventually he started putting it on,” Rollins said. Rollins said she believes that every experience should teach a lesson. She noted that the lesson she learnt from her near-death experience was that she must continue to encourage her children to pray for guidance, protection, knowledge, wisdom and understanding, and to always be spiritually and mentally prepared for the unexpected. “I was telling my friend “Birdie” we going partying the Saturday night, and then look what happen. Actually just before I fell, that same morning, I was telling my supervisor that God don’t give a man more than he can bare. “I was telling her whatever problems you have you just have to throw it behind your back and try to be happy,” she added. Rollins also thanks her relatives and friends who have been at her side since last Friday’s tragedy. “I thank everyone. I thank all of your readers who sent their prayers and their blessings. I thank all of them and ask them to keep praying for me. (BT)

‘ROOM FOR DOUBT' – Queen’s Counsel Andrew Pilgrim, Q.C., today asked the Crown to state its case against his clients, businessmen Arthur Charles Herbert and Christopher Glenn Rogers who are both before the court on drug charges. The prominent lawyer made the call in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court this afternoon on the grounds that the file handed to him and attorney-at-law Kamisha Benjamin on the matter “does not disclose any case” against his clients. Pilgrim revealed that he had already written the clerk of the court and the Commissioner of Police on the issue. “Our position is that if the Crown is of the view that there is some aspects in this evidence, which disclose as a case, we urge them to point to it. Or, if the court is of the view that there is some aspect of this evidence that touches and concerns our clients, and implies some sort of either knowledge, control or possession or any of those things, of its own motion, we invite the court to point us in that direction,” Pilgrim stated. Herbert, 62, of Redland Plantation, St George and Rogers, 56, of No. 27 York Road, Navy Gardens, Christ Church are charged along with Walter O’Neal Prescod, 55, of No. 107 Emerald Park East, St Philip with possession, possession with intent to supply, trafficking and importation of 267 pounds or 121.4 kilogrammes of cannabis on July 23, 2018. The illicit substance has an estimated $534,160 street value. According to police the charges against the trio allegedly stemmed from a drug bust aboard the Ecstasy, a private yacht owned by Goddard Enterprises. All three men are currently on bail. The Queen’s Counsel went on to state that if there was any doubt “at all” it could be resolved by calling witnesses but if the court shares the defence team’s position and there was no need to call those witnesses then “we are happy”. “Because if the court wants us to specify why we think we could run into error if we commit this matter without a hearing of those witnesses, if there is a scintilla of evidence that points to knowledge of any of the parties whom we represent, we are anxious to be heard on those points. It may be a starting point to invite the Crown to indicate what their case is,” the lawyer told Magistrate Douglas Frederick as the trio sat in the dock. He however stated that there was an easier way for his side to put its case forward. “At least the simplest way to state our position is to say that parties other than us, in statements disclosed to us, point to this case happening in one particular way which does not involve us, that in our view those statements are statements which we are entitled to rely on in our defence pursuant to the Evidence Act,” said Pilgrim who conceded that he was not making a no case submission on the case against his clients “as yet”. In response, prosecutor Assistant Superintendent Trevor Blackman told the court: “I have requested a directive from the Director of Public Prosecutions in relation to this matter . . . so I am awaiting a response from her in relation to this matter.” Magistrate Frederick however informed Pilgrim that his submission may be “misplaced” as Prescod had now retained a new attorney-at-law. Today attorneys-at-law Shadia Simpson and Arthur Holder formally withdrew, with the court’s permission, as Prescod’s legal counsel. He is now represented by Verla DePeiza. Magistrate Frederick said DePeiza now needed time to read the file on the case against her client and take instructions from him. The case will continue in the No.1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on June 19. (BT)

STATELESS NO MORE – A Barbadian version of the Tom Hanks movie in which a man is stranded in an airport with no nationality entered its final scenes today as the once-stateless man prepares to return to his native Dominican Republic. Like the 2004 film The Terminal, Juan Abraham Ramirez Rijo, 35, has been caught in legal limbo, a non-national who was unable to return because he had no travel or identity papers and his homeland would not accept him back until he could provide them. But unlike the movie, in which Hanks’s character was stuck at the airport terminal, the construction worker was moved from the airport detention centre to Her Majesty’s Prison Dodds pending repatriation to the Dominican Republic by weekend. The Immigration Department has finally obtained travel documents for the stranded Ramirez who was among 13 people rescued by a passing cruise ship en route to Barbados on December 20. He was picked up from a small vessel which was adrift 47 nautical miles from Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Immigration Officer Terry Simmons today told the District ‘A’ Magistrate Douglas Frederick: “We have received the travel documents… and the next available flight is Saturday.” Simmons told the court the department could purchase his ticket home as early at today to facilitate his one-way flight to Santo Domingo. The magistrate agreed and ordered Ramirez brought to the court tomorrow from Dodds to break the news to him officially. The stranded 13, including a pregnant woman, were medically examined, found to be in good health, and were housed “in a secure location” here until they were identified, the court was told. They were also allowed to contact family and friends in an effort to return home. After being held here for two weeks, all but Ramirez has secured documents for their return. Thus began a wrangle with authorities in Santo Domingo who refused to admit Ramirez unless he could prove his identity and nationality. Ramirez’s frustration reached boiling point in a violent outburst two months ago when Ramirez, who had listed his address as Calle Sanches, Casa 112, San Pedro, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was remanded to Dodds for almost two months for criminal damage he admitted he did at the airport detention centre where he was being held initially. He admitted to damaging an external door, two door locks and hardware, a washroom doorframe and drywall were damaged as the stranded man became belligerent, the court was told. It was revealed on his first appearance in court on April 6, that Ramirez had defecated in the room and placed some of the faeces inside a Styrofoam container and pushed it under the door. He also held onto the door and shook it until it was damaged. His actions were caught on CCTV camera. Magistrate Frederick ordered Ramirez to be transported from the St Philip prison directly to the airport and deported once the arrangements are completed. (BT)

PHONE CHATS DISCLOSED TO COURT – A forensics examiner today presented conversations that were “pulled” from a Barbados Defence Force (BDF) cellular phone assigned to Coast Guard Lieutenant David Harewood. The evidence was presented by Sergeant Emille Jacobs, who took the stand today on the third day of Harewood’s court martial at the BDF’s St Ann’s Fort headquarters. The senior military officer, who is represented by Vincent Watson, is charged with between August 7 and 10, 2018, without lawful authority knowingly communicated with Akem Waithe, alias Ellis, while using a cellular phone belonging to the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and that on an unknown date in January 2018, he communicated with a well known drug trafficker. Harewood also faces a charge that on an unknown date in January 2018, being a commissioned officer in the BDF, having knowledge of a threat to the life of a junior member, neglected to inform his superiors of such a threat. Additionally, he is charged with conducting unauthorised information gathering operations, conduct unbecoming of a commissioned officer in the BDF. Jacobs presented the report that was prepared by his colleague Station Sergeant Candacy Maynard, who was absent due to sickness. Both Jacobs and Maynard work with the Regional Security System (RSS) forensics lab. Under examination by prosecutor Lieutenant Jamar Bourne, Jacobs explained that Cellebrite software was used to retrieve the data from the cellular phones. He said in addition to the BDF phone assigned to Harewood, data was also extracted from a phone belonging to Ordinary Seaman Terrell Gibbons. Jacobs said the BDF phone assigned to Harewood had outgoing WhatsApp calls to 230-7875, a number attributed to Akem Waithe. It also had incoming calls from that number, as well as one WhatsApp message which read, “Yo bro”. However, Jacobs admitted that no name was attributed to 230-7875 on Harewood’s BDF assigned cellular phone. Jacobs said data retrieved from Gibbons’ cellular phone revealed a group chat and a personal conversation. On that cellular phone, Gibbons had contacts saved as Shrek Lord, Boss HWood and World Boss. In the group chat in which Boss HWood was a member, persons had conversations where they spoke about “juices”. However, in another chat, World Boss sent a message to Gibbons saying, “I want to see your boss.” A screenshot of a subsequent conversation was pulled from the phone which Gibbons sent to Boss HWood. Boss HWood then responded by saying, “I am not about meeting anybody else so he can speak through you, you know the procedure.” Gibbons then relayed that message to World Boss who said he did not deal with informers. When the forensics examiner was cross examined by defense counsel Vincent Watson, he admitted it was possible that although the phone was assigned to the accused someone else could have had access to it. Under further cross examination, Jacobs said while he was not the person to perform the tests on the phones, from all accounts the machinery used was in good working order. Jacobs denied the machinery used could track and monitor cellular phones as well as intercept and manipulate data. The prosecution is expected to wrap up its case when the matter resumes at 9 a.m. (BT)

TEENAGER ACCUSED OF HURTING HIS MOTHER – A 17-year-old male who allegedly wounded his mother is out on $2,000 bail. Absalom Abejeh Francis-Hunte, of 3rd Avenue Gills Gap, Eagle Hall, St Michael is accused of unlawfully and maliciously committing the criminal offence against Michelle Francis on May 27. The teen is also accused of damaging a cellular phone belonging to his mother on the same day. He pleaded not guilty to the charges when he appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick today. Sergeant St Clair Phillips objected to bail for the accused based on concern for the safety of both the accused and the complainant since they lived in the same house and there was fear that the matter could escalate further. However, his attorney Harry Husbands put the prosecutor’s fears to rest informing Magistrate Frederick that the accused would stay at his father’s residence at another location. Bail was granted with one surety and Francis-Hunte will reappear before the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on October 23. (BT)

WOMAN TO RETURN TO COURT IN JULY – A 37-year-old woman was released on bail after spending a few days on remand at Dodds. Ianthe Rita Marley Marshall, of 2nd Avenue Alleyne’s Land Bush Hall, St Michael was granted $2,000 bail today when she appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant. She was remanded last week after she had no surety. The unemployed woman is accused of assaulting Lamar Francis on April 12 occasioning him actual bodily harm. She has denied the charge. The case against her will continue in the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on July 18. (BT)

ALLEGED TRESPASSER ON BAIL – The District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court released a 28-year-old man into the custody of his surety today following a successful bail application. Rasheed Kamalh Prescod, of Beckwith Street, Bridgetown, St Michael was granted $2,500 bail on the charge of entering the house of Maria Asgil as a trespasser on May 22 with intent to steal. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge after Magistrate Douglas Frederick read it. Sergeant St Clair Philips objected to bail on several grounds including the strength of the evidence “linking the accused to the crime”. “There are witnesses who connect him to this case and based on his antecedents,” the prosecutor submitted. Officer Phillips also stated that the accused had another matter pending before the court and had failed to adhere to his reporting conditions. Prescod however stated that was not the case saying that he previously had a number of charges before the court, which were eventually committed to the High Court. “I think that is where the confusion is. It’s for a burglary case . . . I do two years for it,” Prescod stated adding that he had been reporting to the Worthing Police Station “every single day” as required by the Supreme Court but had fallen ill as a result of his diabetes but had informed officers at the station of the development. After making the necessary checks the magistrate granted him bail and gave him an October 21 date to return to court. (BT)

WORLD CUP BEGINS – The premier global cricket extravaganza gets underway tomorrow when England and South Africa contest the opening fixture of the 2019 International Cricket Council’s World Cup. The ten best teams in the world – England, Australia, West Indies, Pakistan, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, England and Bangladesh – will seek to bring joy and honour to their respective countries in the tournament. West Indies won the first two editions of the World Cup in 1975 and 1979 but have since endured four decades of frustration. Odds are for that frustration to continue with their One-Day International record making for abysmal reading in the past few years. But their showing against the top-rated England in the Caribbean where they drew the series has given West Indies fans reason for guarded optimism. Talismanic West Indies batsman, Chris Gayle, has made a rallying call for fans to get behind the team and show their support during the ICC Cricket World Cup. Speaking on Monday night at a social event attended by scores of West Indians living in the United Kingdom, Gayle made a passionate speech and asked members of the audience to join him on the journey towards winning the biggest prize in the sport. “This is my last World Cup and I want to go out on a high. We want to give it our best shot … we want to win the world Cup for the third time,” the veteran opener told the audience. “We want to win it for people like you here tonight who support West Indies cricket every day, everywhere and we want to win it for the millions around the world who love us.” Gayle, who is playing in his fifth World Cup, was the guest speaker at the specially arranged function in Bristol, where the team is currently based for their official warm-up matches. The event was held at the Bristol West Indies Cricket Club and hosted by Steve Stephenson, a Jamaican who has been a sporting administrator and senior social worker for over three decades. Along with honouring Stephenson, the West Indies also made a donation towards the Winston Davis Charity, as they offered support to the former West Indies fast bowler, who is wheelchair-bound. Davis still holds the record for the best figures for West Indies in World Cup history with seven for 51 against Australia in 1983. “I travel the world and I meet a lot of great people like any of you here tonight and they always say ‘Chris Gayle we love you and we love the West Indies brand of cricket’”, Gayle said. “We want to play that kind of cricket and entertain the fans. I do it for the fans, they are the ones that keep me going. “So tonight, I’m reaching out to each and everyone of you to let you know that we value your support and to keep the support going strong. We want to reach that final at Lord’s and we want to win that World Cup.” West Indies start their campaign on Friday against mercurial Pakistan at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. This is perhaps an ideal opportunity to begin the World Cup on a winning note against a team whose unpredictability and inconsistency are perhaps only matched by their own. West Indies showed great batting form in their last warm-up match and it is expected that big scores will be the norm in the competition. Bowlers are expected to be under pressure throughout the World Cup on batsman-friendly tracks. West Indies allrounder Carlos Brathwaite noted that scores over 300 would be crucial with totals in excess of 400 even being the desired target. “Hopefully, we can get 325 consistently. That is probably about par in these conditions. And then, the odd day we can get 400 and give the bowlers a little bit of leeway,” he noted. Brathwaite said he wanted the West Indies to show up and show off in the tournament. “ If we can win, we can be looked upon in the way that the team of ’75 and ’79 was looked upon, as heroes of sorts. Once we do the things we’re supposed to do often, we should go far enough in the tournament. It’s one of our better chances in the last 40 years or so to win the World Cup, so it’s time for us to show up and show off. On our day, in semi-finals and finals we have some guys who can win it on their own,” he said. West Indies ODI star batsman Shai Hope also acknowledged the importance of the team aiming for in excess of 300 and stated that West Indies had the firepower to achieve this goal. Hope noted that it was vital that West Indies made totals over 300 in all their matches. “It is just the style of the game in these recent times, we know that,” said Hope, who averages 51 from 54 ODIs. “Three-fifty is almost par in these times, so you have to really keep up with the run-rate. It is just about trying to adapt to the style of play these days,” he said. Captain Jason Holder has urged his men to enjoy their cricket, to play with freedom and compete to bring smiles to Caribbean faces. He said that not really enjoying the cricket had had a negative effect on team performances in the past. “I think one of the things that has hampered us sometimes in the past is that we’ve not really enjoyed it to the extent that I think we should be. It’s our living, our job,” he pointed out. “We have put so many smiles on people’s faces back home in the Caribbean and for me, I just want to continue to do that. I think we’re at our best when we play with freedom and a smile,” Holder stressed. The World Cup’s first encounter starts at 5.30 a.m. Barbados time. (BT)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 216 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles# dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

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idontevenwannaknow · 5 years

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Tribal Loans

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ericfruits · 8 years

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A church-state case may be an early test for Neil Gorsuch

A RECENT ruling by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Ohio could set up the first major religious-liberty case Neil Gorsuch may help resolve if the Senate confirms his nomination to the Supreme Court this spring. The Sixth Circuit case concerns a dispute over legislative prayer, a topic Mr Gorsuch has never weighed in on. But in other cases touching on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee has shown little inclination to buttress America’s wall of separation between church and state.

A few years into his stint as a judge on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, Mr Gorsuch gave his view on a challenge to a ten commandments display on a courthouse lawn in Oklahoma. The plaintiff in Green v Haskell County said he feared that the county board of commissioners—the body that gave the go-ahead to erecting the monument at the site—would treat him “differently and more harshly” because he did not “subscribe to a particular faith that is represented by [the] monument”. After a three-judge panel sided with the plaintiff, finding the ten commandments display to violate the Establishment Clause, the Tenth Circuit judges voted not to re-hear the case en banc as a full court. But Mr Gorsuch dissented from that decision. There is, he wrote, no reason to think a suitably informed and reasonable observer would construe the monument as a government establishment of religion. The ten commandments “can convey a ‘secular moral message’”, he wrote, “about the primacy and authority of law”. They symbolise “the ‘history and moral ideals’ of our society and legal tradition”.

Recasting religious rites and imagery in secular terms is a line conservatives often take when liberals complain that America’s church-state wall has been breached. It was precisely the defence offered by the commissioners of Jackson County, Michigan when Peter Bormuth, a Pagan and Animist, objected to the prayers that launch the board’s monthly meetings. Mr Bormuth felt uncomfortable when, in the summer of 2013, he attended two board meetings to discuss environmental issues. The July meeting began with a call from the board chair to “rise” and “assume a reverent position”. The chair then offered a prayer:

Bow your heads with me please. Heavenly father we thank you for this day and for this time that we have come together. Lord we ask that you would be with us while we conduct the business of Jackson County. Lord help us to make good decisions that will be best for generations to come. We ask that you would bless our troops that protect us near and far, be with them and their families. Now Lord we wanna [sic] give you all the thanks and all the praise for all that you do. Lord I wanna [sic] remember bereaved families tonight too, that you would be with them and take them through difficult times. We ask these things in your son Jesus’s name. Amen.

Mr Bormuth’s discomfort with this supplication led him to pursue another line of inquiry during the following month's meeting. After attendees debated whether county employees should be able to carry concealed handguns at work—they should, the board voted—Mr Bormuth tried to move the discussion from the Second Amendment to the First. But the commissioners would not hear of Mr Bormuth's objection to the Christian prayers they delivered month after month. According to the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Bormuth v County of Jackson, “[w]hile Mr Bormuth was speaking, one of the commissioners ‘made faces expressing his disgust’ and then turned his chair around, refusing to look at Bormuth while he spoke”. This reaction “confirm[ed] [Bormuth’s] fear” that his dissenting voice would spur retaliation from the board. That wasn’t all. After Mr Bormuth filed his lawsuit, one commissioner told a local newspaper that he was “attacking us and...my Lord and saviour Jesus Christ”. Another commission added, “all this political correctness, after a while I get sick of it”. The reaction was not confined to a war of words. Mr Bormuth was turned down in his quest to serve on a new committee handling the county’s solid waste plan despite having three years’ experience in the field. The county board apparently did not want a pagan for the job.

The district court rejected Mr Bormuth's constitutional challenge, finding him to be “hypersensitive”. But on February 15th the Sixth Circuit appeals court overturned this decision, ordering the board to suspend its Christian-only prayer tradition. While the Supreme Court held in Marsh v Chambers (1981) and Town of Greece v Galloway (2014) that legislative prayer is deeply entrenched in the nation’s history and is constitutionally kosher as a tradition that "solemnifies" public discourse, the court drew the line at prayer that “denigrate[s], proselytise[s] or betray[s] an impermissible government purpose”. By singling out and effectively silencing Mr Bormuth, calling him names (including “nitwit”) and denying him a seat on the solid-waste board, the Jackson county commissioners, the panel ruled, leapt over that line.

With the justices accepting only about 1% of the cases they are asked to hear, it is no sure bet that Bormuth v County of Jackson will make its way to the Supreme Court. Gregory Lipper, a lawyer who argued the case on Mr Bormuth’s side for Americans United for Separation of Church and State (he has since moved on to another job), explains that a full panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear a similar case from North Carolina. If that ruling meshes with the Sixth Circuit’s stance, “there will be agreement in the lower courts that Jackson County-style practices go beyond what was considered in Town of Greece and do in fact violate the Establishment Clause”. Since the justices tend to weigh in most often when circuit courts are in disagreement, such a ruling “would make Supreme Court review less likely”. But if the Fourth Circuit reaffirms its three-judge panel decision upholding a controversial regime of legislative prayer, or if four justices decide they'd like to restore a Michigan county tradition, County of Jackson may well earn a date at the Supreme Court—and by that time, Mr Gorsuch will likely be ensconsed in Antonin Scalia’s old seat.

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brajeshupadhyay · 4 years

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Finances – The New York Times

Two days before learning that she would lose her job, Lissa Gilliam spent hundreds of dollars online on baby products.

A 37-year-old expectant mother, Ms. Gilliam had planned to ask local parents in Seattle for used strollers and secondhand onesies in a bid to reduce waste. But as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the area, new items delivered in boxes seemed a safer bet.

She figured she could afford the splurge, earning $50 an hour as a full-time contractor designing educational curriculums for a nonprofit. But then, on April 2, her employer slashed her hours and told her that her contract would end in early May — a few weeks before she is to give birth.

Suddenly, like many others, Ms. Gilliam became hyperaware of her expenses. She and her husband, a high school physics teacher, now take a painful daily tally of their financial priorities: Is that $5 monthly web magazine subscription really necessary? How much does watering the garden cost? When will they need to tap their paltry savings?

“We’re OK for now,” she said. “But the bottom may fall out from under us.”

As millions of Americans lose jobs, take pay cuts, close businesses and absorb family members into their homes, they are being forced to rethink where their money goes. Even before the scramble for new jobs can begin, people are cajoling creditors, looking for gig work or simply cutting back to get through the first few disorienting weeks.

“An economic shock like this could have a long-term impact on people who have traditionally felt like they were being cautious, that they weren’t profligate with their money, but didn’t have to worry about paying for rent or affording food,” said Stephanie Aaronson, the director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution. “They might have more debt, which will make it harder to spend in the future, or they might just feel less secure, which could boost savings and potentially dampen the recovery.”

Ms. Gilliam and her husband are waiting for Washington State to make jobless benefits available to contractors through a federal assistance program, and hope to take advantage of a state program for maternity aid once their daughter is born. A $15,000 construction project planned for the rear of their house is on hold. They canceled their gym membership, their Hulu streaming service, multiple newspapers and even the Adobe Acrobat software that Ms. Gilliam uses for design work.

On the whole, Ms. Aaronson said, household finances “were in relatively good condition as of six weeks ago — they were actually pretty healthy.” Now, she said, “a much broader swath of households are experiencing a complete loss of income compared to what we typically see in a recession.”

Before the pandemic, Carol Cruz’s private health insurance plan cost her $840 a month — up from less than $500 four years ago. The bill ate up most of her $1,200 monthly paycheck, exceeding even the $600 monthly payment on the house she shares with her husband and their 17-year-old granddaughter in Tulare, Calif.

On March 29, she was furloughed from her part-time job as a mental health therapist until at least the end of May. Other than the state unemployment benefits she hopes to receive soon, Ms. Cruz, 62, no longer has an income.

So she got on the phone for at least three hours a day, asking for leniency from the health insurance provider, her mortgage lender and the credit union that holds the loan for her husband’s Chevrolet truck. All offered her more flexible terms, including 90-day grace periods and pay-what-you-can options. (Some creditors, she said, were less willing to negotiate.)

The adjustments help keep the bills manageable, Ms. Cruz said. But her grocery costs have doubled, now that the price of eggs has soared and her granddaughter is no longer having free lunches at school.

“I don’t know about my future,” Ms. Cruz said. “I’m not letting myself think about tomorrow, just about whether we have food today and money in the bank.”

But some people, many of whom have never seriously budgeted, are now mapping out strict spending schedules for the next few months.

After being furloughed in mid-March from her bartending and serving job at a Minneapolis concert hall, Krissy Calbert, 26, went from earning $300 in tips some nights to having no income as she waited for government aid.

“It was two weeks of just panic — I was just going off the groceries I already had, trying to ration until money came in,” she said. “You get really creative. You eat little half meals, and you experiment with your seasonings and condiments to try to forget that you’re eating the same thing over and over.”

Earlier this month, Ms. Calbert began receiving a weekly infusion of $1,100 from the state. She is now trying to reschedule when monthly bills are due so she can space out the payments: $600 for rent, $75 for her phone, up to $120 for utilities, $60 for streaming services, $200 for credit cards, plus other expenses.

“I’m trying to get all of my credit card payments into the same week, so I can have a credit card week, a rent week, a phone week,” Ms. Calbert said.

She has switched her grocery shopping from Target to Aldi, where, she said, she can afford to splurge on fresh produce and protein. Without health insurance, she is willing spend an extra $30 or $40 on fruits and vegetables in hopes of keeping her immune system strong, she said.

“I can’t take the risk,” Ms. Calbert said. “A hospital bill right now would ruin me.”

More than half of lower-income adults in the United States say they will struggle to pay bills this month, compared to a quarter of their middle-income counterparts and 11 percent of those in the upper-income tier, according to a survey of nearly 5,000 adults by Pew Research Center. Researchers defined a three-person household earning $37,500 to $112,600 annually as middle-income. Over all, more than half of those who expect a federal stimulus infusion will use most of the money to cover essential expenses, while one in five say they plan to save the funds.

To create a financial buffer, many people are hunting for freelance or part-time work. Searches for work-from-home jobs rose 126 percent in March on FlexJobs, while traffic to the site has boomed 58 percent from a year ago. On Upwork, companies are looking for people to provide tech support for their homebound employees and to draft corporate messages about the coronavirus.

Lonn Dugan, a digital marketing specialist in Sylvania, Ohio, has seen many clients scaling back their promotional efforts, such as one nonprofit that cut its budget by 90 percent after a major annual event was canceled. But another client, an agricultural supply company, commissioned a major website update, while a local mental health group wanted to ramp up its virtual support groups.

The pressure on Mr. Dugan, 60, is intense. His workday is three hours longer than it used to be, between his existing clients and his attempts to drum up new business. He and his wife lost a third of their incomes; neither is eligible for government aid.

“We’re completely overwhelmed by the shortfall. We can afford groceries and maybe the house and car payments, and that’s it,” he said. “But we’re not alone, and we’re focusing on acceptance as opposed to hand-wringing. We’re taking care of necessities, and that’s enough for right now.”

Still, Mr. Dugan admits being stretched thin emotionally. He misses his wife, even though they are in the same house and she no longer needs to make a two-hour round-trip commute to her health care job. But the couple are so busy trying to stay afloat that they have stopped cooking fresh meals and turn instead to frozen dinners and fast food.

“We just don’t have time,” he said. “We’re exhausted at the end of the day.”

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jaxstuart · 4 years

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Lockdown in Trieste day 12

Heartbreaking news. In the past 24 hours 793 people have died of Coronavirus in Italy, bringing the total so far to 4,825. There are 6,557 new infections and now over 53,500 people infected. When will this end? The peak was predicted to be tomorrow but the commissioner responsible for the emergency said today that it might be next week or the following week.

We have 135 new cases in our region, and 5 new deaths, bringing the total infected to 790, and the total deaths to 42. There are 37 patients in intensive care.

The regional government will give every citizen two washable masks soon, to prevent the spread of infection. It has not been stated, but I assume use of the masks will be obligatory outside the home. The masks will be produced locally, and will be a different quality from those used by health workers.

Our beloved Barcola is closed for the first time in history. It is a 4km stretch of seafront, lined with pine trees. No walking, jogging or sunbathing will be permitted until 3rd April. Barcola is an icon in Trieste, and this is a truly sad moment for the city.

I was planning to go to the supermarket today. Even though only a few people are allowed in at once it is still an unnerving experience, particularly in the small convenience stores found on every street corner in Italy, with narrow aisles, and little space. But in the end the queues outside were so long I decided to make do with what I have until Monday.

I have to find tiles and timber for the floors in my new house which the builders expect to lay next week. Obi is closed so this could be hard. I will have to try to find a supplier that is open, get there to choose what I want, and get it delivered by Thursday. This is a tall order in locked down Trieste, particularly as it is prohibited to leave the house except to buy food or walk the dog. I was so surprised to see a girl yesterday walking four dogs. I am sure she could rent each dog to people desperate to get out of the house for a break.

My cleaning lady lives in another part of Trieste, and like all Triestinis is not able to travel outside her neighbourhood at present. So I had to roll my sleeves up and do it myself today. I decided that because I have to spend so much time at home, I want it to be clean and tidy. It occurred to me that maybe I would actually like my life to be a bit more like it is now. To have time to clean my house. To have time to look up new recipes and cook something delicious every day. I wonder how many other people on lockdown are getting insights into how their lives could be different?

Terrible news from Slovenia, which is an export driven economy. Unemployment is expected to be 50% by the time the health crisis is over. The government has so far done little to help businesses and individuals. They will pay 40% of the salary for workers temporarily laid off. There is no help for the 200,000 self employed workers except deferred social security payments. This will have to change otherwise families will suffer real hardship.

I write a monthly column for the daily financial newspaper in Slovenia, on different subjects related to commercial real estate. My Editor Vasilij asked me to write something this month about the likely effect of coronavirus on the market. I have been so shell shocked at world events that I did not know where to start. However I did make a start on it and will work more on it in the next days. My initial thoughts are that without a debt moratorium, free utilities for a period of time, some kind of universal basic income, and changes in regulations regarding laying people off; few companies will survive. Does anyone seriously think that any airline could survive 4 months with the world locked down? Commercial real estate relies on occupiers, and if there are none it is clear what we can expect.

It occurred to me that I might not see my family for many months. My trip to Morocco in April with my Son is just a dream now. And probably also my trips to Scotland to visit my Mum in May, and later in the month to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Spain. I felt so sad, but then I thought about the families of the 793 people who died in Italy today. They will never see their loved one again.

The Economist is advertising its latest edition on Facebook. The magazine’s cover is an image of planet earth, covered with a sign saying, ‘Closed’. What is interesting is the comments below the post. One says ‘The planet is thriving on this. Capitalism as we know it is the thing going for a deep renewal. Let's make things easier by sobering up’. Another says ‘I think planet Earth is rebirthing actually. If we stop, Earth lives’. And another ‘Wrong message Economist. There is BC /AC. BC Before Corona profit at any cost was the rule. AC - After Corona cooperation, sharing and build common value and future. So release the contents for free and for making what is most important for your readers. Accurate information without cost. Or you focused only on profits? Shame on you!’ Another comment, ‘Planet earth is not shutting down, the ecosystems are flourishing as the human systems are shutting down and as the pressure of human driven pollution and human movement decreases’; and ‘The world is not about humans and their money. Without these two elements, the world would be perfectly fine.’ Many commented that the Economist should stop offering subscriptions and offer the content for free. Very clear to me that the world is on the cusp of huge change. The black death that lasted from 1347 to 1350 marked the end of an era in Italy, and the changes led to the Renaissance, one of the greatest times for art, architecture and literature in human history.

#lockdownintrieste

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immuhumed · 5 years

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Why print is the new digital

By Stuart Howie

Director

Flame Tree Media

Sydney, Australia

Connect

It was a bold enough statement for me to take note — and to recount now more than 20 years on.

While on a study tour of the United States in 1996, I was talking to a senior media executive in Chicago who emphatically declared, without a hint of self doubt: “In 10 to 15 years, people will look at a newspaper and laugh.”

Sure enough it’s been a rollercoaster ride, but print still matters — not just to news folk, but also to those in the communications business finessing their media ecosystems.

The power of print was evident to me in the first week of my job as a cadet journalist at a small weekly newspaper in rural Australia.

One of my duties — as well as writing — was to deliver the newspaper to news agents, hot off the press. The editor lit up another cigarette and kept the motor running while I delivered bundles of newspapers, outlet by outlet.

This was in 1984, and people milled around the counter to get their hands on their weekly digest of local news to check if their kids’ sports results were published and to catch up on the town chit-chat.

It was tremendous validation as a journalist that the work I did had value.

In the past decade or so, newspapers have been under siege. Across the globe, newspaper advertising revenue and circulation have plummeted dramatically. Australia and Oceania (including New Zealand) have experienced among the steepest declines, a loss of towards 25% over five years, according to the WAN-IFRA World Press Trends survey.

But there is life left in the old girl yet. In China, India, and other parts of Asia, newspapers remain a booming business. The slide has been arrested in other countries, and even in my neck of the woods, some publishers are meeting and beating their circulation budget.

Over more than 30 years working in the industry, I have seen all the ups and downs of newspapers, and I remain an optimist about print. I continue to work with companies with significant print holdings, and my mission is helping them to save their newspapers — or at least make them stronger for longer.

This is not just because I am romantic about newspapering, but because print does things digital cannot.

And for anyone who thinks print is just ink on dead trees, here are five reasons why print still matters:

1. Print = trust.

Research shows even Millennials, who have no affinity with traditional media, trust print more than other sources, particularly social media.

The Yellow Social Media Report 2018 (Australia) found 73% of those surveyed trusted traditional news sources, including print media — well above what appeared from news sources on social media (16%) or from friends and family posts on social media on what was happening (11%). As well, one-third of respondents admitted to reacting to something on social media that they later discovered was untrue.

Digital gets our attention, but print gets our respect.

2. Print is tactile.

The tangibility of print ignites senses in a different way to what we see on a screen. A marketing colleague of mine tells the story of how she was pitching an idea to a prospect. It was hard going, until she presented him with a brochure that succinctly described the package on offer. Sold.

Print provides us with a comforting lay-back experience. Nothing better than a macchiato and the morning newspaper.

3. Print is utilitarian.

Newspapers, magazines, and brochures have proven to be enduring formats. The mobile phone is the ultimate utilitarian device, but you can do a lot with paper, too. The best print products curate what we need to know and enlighten us about the world without us having to trawl across the world wide Web and mentally piece it together.

4. Print is permanent.

We process, retain, and recall information better via print. A Temple University (U.S.) study found paper beat digital in a host of areas, including for creating an emotional reaction and a desire for a product or service. The study found print marketing activated the ventral striatum of the brain more than digital media.

Another study found physical material was more real to the brain and hence could be categorised and processed. Print has impact and permanency.

5. Print is swag.

Print is the new digital. It has fresh currency in a digital world where everyone has a Web site and lives out their personal and business existences ostentatiously on social media. The Economist honours the written word in its beautiful formulaic weekly news magazine. Monocle is a monthly magazine that exudes a strong internationalist, hip personality.

A HarperCollins executive told our 2017 INMA New York study tour that Amazon’s online sales of print titles had soared 15% year on year. Why the resurgence? Printed books hold people’s attention and are permanent. And 18- to 29-year-olds were most likely to read books.

The above is an excerpt from my new book, The D.I.Y. Newsroom. It may not be lost on you that, for all these reasons and more, I committed to putting my best thinking down on paper. In print. In a book.

In the digital world, everyone can be a publisher. But print can offer quality and cachet that elevates it above the usual media noise.

Whether you are a media outlet, business, council, educational institution, non-profit or elite sporting body, bespoke printed products can connect organisations to their target market. With print, you can put yourself, your organisation, in the hands of existing customers and prospects.

You can use print in a targeted and creative way for rebranding, campaign launches and histories and anniversaries. Print is a magnificent third-party tool. Provide books (like I’m doing) to your clients as a value add. Tell your stories in a photographic compendium — in print.

In print, consider:

Regular direct mail newsletters, newspapers, and magazines.

High-quality brochures, flyers, and booklets.

Yearbooks or annual reports.

Artistically designed infographics, wall charts, and posters.

Artwork.

Informative books or coffeetable books.

Calendars.

Print can be beautiful. And it punches above its weight category in a world where digital is fleeting and so often vacuous in nature.

INMA members can receive a 15% discount on Howie’s latest book. Go to diynewsroom.com and on checkout, use the coupon code DIYINMA.

#The power of Print

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kennethherrerablog · 5 years

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39 Fun and Easy Ways to Make Money Right Now

Nobody has a money tree in their backyard that grows dollar bills you can pick on-demand. However, you can still get free money right now if you’re dealing with an unexpected bill, home repair, medical expense, or whatever it may be that is causing you to scramble for a quick money WITHOUT having to borrow it.

With a little hustle and creativity, you can begin implementing these ideas today to quickly increase your cash flow.

Believe me, my wife and I have had to raise cash quickly without paying late fees or borrowing money. Even if you have enough money in your emergency fund to cover a surprise expense, you can quickly replenish your balance with these earning hacks as well.

I Need Money, Where Can I Get it Fast?

The good news is if you really need money right now, you can get money right now. Whether you want to make money from home, from an app on your phone or you’re willing to put your skills to work, here are some great ways to start earning income today.

Table of Contents

I Need Money, Where Can I Get it Fast?

1. Get Money Sent to Your PayPal For Your Opinion

2. Become an Airbnb Host

3. Complete Mini-Online Tasks

4. Get $10 with Ebates

5. Trim Automatically Gets Rid of Your "Gray Charges"

6. Get Paid to Play Games

7. Become a TaskRabbit

8. Freelance Online with Fiverr

9. Cancel Your Cable TV Subscription

10. Become an Uber or Lyft Driver

11. Deliver for Uber Eats

12. Scan Grocery Receipts and Get $10

13. Switch to a Health Sharing Plan

14. Redeem Coupon Codes with Honey

15. Refinance Your Debt

16. Rent Out Your Car

17. Make a Lump-Sum Loan Payment

18. Sell Unwanted Gift Cards

19. Sell Unused Clothing

20. Sell Your Old Books

21. Sell Movies, Music, and Video Games

22. Sell Old Electronics

23. Sell Used Furniture

24. Sell Your Car

25. Have a Yard Sale

26. Sell Locally on Craigslist

27. Donate Plasma

28. Babysit

29. Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

30. Picking Up Dog Poop

31. Clean Houses

32. Mow Lawns

33. Shovel Snow

34. Clean Gutters and Rake Leaves

35. Pressure Wash Houses

36. Paint Houses

37. Become a Handyman

38. Collect Scrap Metal

39. Deliver Newspapers

40. Deliver Phone Books

41. Cut Firewood

Summary

1. Get Money Sent to Your PayPal For Your Opinion

This is a great place to start because cash can be deposited into your PayPal account, or you can get paid out via Amazon or Target gift cards for simply giving you opinion online.

Our Top Pick: Survey Junkie has been around since 2005 and is the most trusted in the survey industry with a Trustpilot Rating of 8.8/10.

You can start making money today by checking out Survey Junkie here.

We also have a full list of all different types of survey companies who are looking to pay people for their opinions on different products and brands. You can see the full list of the top survey companies here.

2. Become an Airbnb Host

There are many of benefits to being a homeowner, including the option to rent out your unused rooms for cash. By becoming an Airbnb host, travelers stay in your spare bedroom, basement, or second house.

Real estate is one time-tested approach to earning passive income and Airbnb can be less stressful than being a full-time landlord or trying to fix and flip houses for a profit. And, you get to interact with visitors coming from all corners of the world!

3. Complete Mini-Online Tasks

In addition to paid online surveys, you can also get paid to complete tasks such as reading emails, surfing the web, playing games, shopping online and using mobile apps to name a few.

Our Top Pick: The most widely known company is Swagbucks, with a Trust Pilot Rating of 8.5/10.

With Swagbucks, you earn swagbucks that can be redeemed for cash via your PayPal or through gift cards to places like Walmart, Amazon, Express, or even Bass Pro Shops.

BONUS: One thing I really like about Swagbucks is the option to donate to one of the many charities they work with.

4. Get $10 with Ebates

Let’s be clear, unnecessary shopping is one of the last activities you need to do if you need to get money fast, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a smart shopper for those unavoidable purchases. My wife and I shop with Ebates and get up to 40% back on nearly every online purchase.

Ebates cashback arrives once a quarter via PayPal or mailed check and you can get a bonus by referring your friends to shop with Ebates too. Using Ebates is like getting paid to shop.

Also, you can get a free $10 when you create an account with eBates today.

5. Trim Automatically Gets Rid of Your “Gray Charges”

Trim makes it easy to “work smarter and not harder.” For free, Trim monitors your spending, account balances, and can even reduce your monthly bill amount in the following categories:

Cable, cell phone, and internet

Car insurance

Unwanted subscriptions

With a single text message or Facebook Messenger request, Trim works on your behalf to find discounts on your current monthly bills or cancel the services–streaming plans including Hulu and Spotify, insurance, and gym membership– you no longer use but are still paying for.

You will realize the savings the next time you get ready to pay your bills and realize there’s more money in your bank account than usual; and you never lifted a finger.

Read our full Trim Review to learn about all of Trim’s benefits to save you money.

6. Get Paid to Play Games

Yes, you can actually get paid to play games. Online game creators need to have their games tested by real people before they launch it out to the market. One of the best places to get started is with MistPlay.

Mistplay is an app for both Anroid and iOs which also pays you to play games to earn money. For testing out their games on you mobile device, Mistplay will pay in return via credits. These credits can then be cashed out in the form of different gift cards, including Visa or Amazon gift cards.

We also put together a full list of places that will pay you to play games here.

7. Become a TaskRabbit

There are people who need simple tasks completed but simply don’t have the time. Whether it’s putting together furniture from iKea, delivering a dresser across town, or trimming some overgrown bushes in the backyard – people will hire you.

Here are the top three places to find work using your phone:

TaskRabbit

OfferUp

Facebook Marketplace

Simply create a bio about yourself and then start looking for the task requests to pour in. I personally can tell you I utilize one of these three apps a week to find someone to do tasks for me!

8. Freelance Online with Fiverr

Freelancing online with Fiverr is another great way to make money online. With Fiverr, you use your talents online without performing manual labor. Here are some of the possible gigs you can perform:

Writing blog posts

Graphic design

Website design

Creating YouTube videos

Translation

Proofreading

Voice Over

Jingles, sound effects, and songs

Similar to Fiverr, Upwork is another great platform for aspiring freelancers.

I have been freelancing online for the past two years and it’s been an excellent source of supplemental income because you can truly work from anywhere in the world with an internet connection and get paid.

9. Cancel Your Cable TV Subscription

The average household cable TV bill is over $120 a month and most people only watch 20 of the 100s of channels to choose from. We dumped our cable years ago and use services like Hulu for our favorite shows with SlingTV for a total of $26/month (and no contracts).

By cutting the cord, you instantly save $100 a month on cable TV by streaming live and on-demand programming over your high-speed internet. Sling TV can be watch with any flat screen TV, computer, or mobile device.

BONUS: If you’re a fan of the 90’s TGIF shows like me, Hulu now offers Full House, Family Matters, Step by Step, Perfect Strangers and Hangin with Mr. Cooper.

10. Become an Uber or Lyft Driver

Uber is a great option if you have a car and like interacting with people. There are two additional reasons to consider driving for Uber:

Flexible hours

Weekly pay

Signup incentive for new drivers

Another reason to consider Uber is for their schedule flexibility; you drive when you have time and aren’t beholden to a specific shift or having to be available at least X hours a week.

You can find more information here to determine if driving with Uber is right for you.

In addition to Uber, you can also drive for Lyft. As an independent contractor, you can join both ride sharing companies to double your ride opportunities. Like Uber, Lyft pays weekly and lets you name your own driving hours.

11. Deliver for Uber Eats

Depending on the city you live in, Uber Eats allows you to deliver food to people via your car, bike, or scooter. Turn on the app in the morning before work, when you get home, or whenever you have some extra time to make money on your terms.

Uber Eats still lets you deliver food instead of people across town. The driver qualifications are less stringent for Uber Eats. In case you don’t meet the age and vehicle requirements to be a full-fledged Uber driver, you can be an Uber Eats driver until then.

12. Scan Grocery Receipts and Get $10

Some apps pay you to scan grocery receipts. A trip to the supermarket is one of those unavoidable expenses because food is our gasoline and another easy way to get cash weekly.

Our Top Pick: Although they have Trustpilot Rating of 6.6 out of 10 we still like Ibotta because you can redeem digital offers plus your regular coupons for many food items at most supermarkets and even discount stores like Walmart and Target, and you also get a $10 sign-up bonus. When your rewards balance reaches $20, you can request PayPal payment or a gift card.

13. Switch to a Health Sharing Plan

You may not realize it, but health insurance is one of the largest monthly expenses. Switching to an affordable health sharing plan saves my family 75% in health insurance premiums compared to traditional health insurance. Honestly, it’s probably one of the best financial moves we made when I became self-employed.

Our Top Pick: There are many great health sharing options, but our favorite is Medi-Share because of the affordability AND their own MDLive program: a FREE add on that gives you 24/7 access to a doctor visit via your smartphone, which saves you time and money on co-pays!

14. Redeem Coupon Codes with Honey

By reducing how much you spend, you won’t have to earn as much money from these side hustles. Honey makes it easy to save money when you shop online by automatically applying every known discount code to your order when you checkout.

If you shop at Amazon, Honey also compares the prices of third-party sellers to the current Amazon price to quickly spot the lowest price so you pay less for the exact same product.

With no additional effort, Honey saves you money on products you are going to purchase regardless. Now, make sure you put your savings to good use!

Read the Honey App review to discover Peach’s triple savings online shopping trick.

15. Refinance Your Debt

High interest rates on unsecured debt like credit cards will cause you to pay thousands of dollars more than the original amount borrowed.

Our Top Pick: Credible is the company we recommend because they tell you right away what your new rates will be. Unlike some other personal loan companies, Credible does not have any origination or application fees, and they make it simple to get started with only one form to fill out which should only take about 2 minutes. They also have a Trustpilot Rating of 9.5/10.

Instead of paying 15% – 24% interest rates on your credit cards, you may be able to lower your interest rate down to 4.99%!

Not a bad way to spend 2 minutes at all if it can save you thousands of dollars in interest to the bank.

16. Rent Out Your Car

If you don’t drive your car every day or have the time to be an Uber driver, you can make some extra cash by renting your car on Turo. You can earn approximately $541 a month ($6,501 a year) when your car is worth $20,000 and it’s borrowed 15 days a month. This income can easily cover your monthly insurance premium and car payment.

Considering most cars are depreciating assets that lose value every day and cost money to maintain, renting your car on Turo is one of the very few ways your car can actually make money for you.

You will receive payment within five days after a rental period ends.

17. Make a Lump-Sum Loan Payment

Depending on your financial situation, you might have enough money sitting in the bank to pay one of your loans off early. If you can afford to part with this money, pay off the loan with the highest interest rate first –this is call the Debt Snowball strategy– to eliminate one monthly payment.

You should apply your lump sum to these debts first:

Tax liens

Credit card debt

Personal loans

Auto loans

Student loans

Home mortgage

By paying your loan off early, you instantly liberate a couple hundred dollars in free capital to save for something else. If you’re living on a small income, one less monthly payment makes it a lot easier to sleep peacefully at night too.

18. Sell Unwanted Gift Cards

Sometimes, you don’t have to work to make money because you already have it in unwanted gift cards. Instead of letting your gift cards collect dust, sell them on Gift Card Granny.

You can sell your unused and partially used gift cards quickly with three different selling options:

Sell It Now

Name Your Price

Trade In

Gift Card Granny finds the best price on the top gift card marketplaces and you get paid almost instantly when a sale is made.

I have sold several gift cards online almost always within 24 hours of posting and payment is sent via PayPal within three business days. Selling gift cards is one of the quickest ways to get money fast because of the quick turnaround.

19. Sell Unused Clothing

As your fashion tastes change or your children grow older, you might find yourself with a closet full of clothes you’ll never wear again. While you can sell them at a yard sale or local consignment shop, you might also consider selling online at thredUP for men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing.

For designer clothing you wish to keep but don’t plan to wear in the near future, Rent the Runway lets you rent your high-end articles for up to one month at a time.

Finally, my wife has also had success selling on eBay and Poshmark. To increase the odds of selling your items, make sure to take plenty of pictures and consider wearing them or putting them on a mannequin so the buyer can visualize how the item fits.

20. Sell Your Old Books

You can also make a quick buck by selling your used books and textbooks that you’ll no longer read. Selling our old books is another way we boost our income each year and you can start with these three sites:

Amazon Marketplace

Cash4Books

Bookscouter (Textbooks only)

Selling is easy as you only have to enter the ISBN to receive an instant quote from Cash4Books and Bookscouter. If you like the price, you ship the books for free using their prepaid shipping label and you will be paid via PayPal once your shipment arrives and is processed.

I recommend using Bookscouter for selling your textbooks as they compare the prices of 42 buyback vendors in a single search; saving you time while finding the best buyer.

21. Sell Movies, Music, and Video Games

You can also make some extra cash by selling your old DVDs, CDs, and video games with Bonavendi. With their app, you can scan barcodes and compare the prices of 28 companies including Amazon and Best Buy.

22. Sell Old Electronics

Decluttr can be the most efficient app to sell your old electronics, smartphone, and tech gadgets. The Decluttr app scans item barcodes and you receive next-day payments via PayPal and direct deposit once Decluttr receives your shipment. College students can also receive a 10% bonus payment to earn a little extra cash.

23. Sell Used Furniture

Did you recently upgrade your living room or dining room set? If there’s still some life in your old furniture collection, get a few bucks for it. Craigslist or letgo can be your best friend to attract college students and young couples that only need something affordable, but Trove Market is another option for more valuable pieces.

24. Sell Your Car

Another way to raise cash quickly is to sell a car you no longer need. Even if you need to sell your fancy ride and drive a clunker instead, how else can you access $10,000+ instantly.

I sold my $20,000 sports car and now drive a very reliable $4,000 vehicle instead. Although I don’t turn as many heads as before, the $16,000 in cash proceeds was split between our savings and an extra house payment.

25. Have a Yard Sale

Decluttering helps you discover a small fortune sitting underneath your roof. The only problem is that you must sell your stuff to get cash. Having a yard sale is one of the quickest ways to sell most of your items in a weekend.

Coordinating your yard sale with your neighborhood sale is a good idea, but you should also post your sale on:

Craigslist

Facebook Marketplace

Your local newspaper

26. Sell Locally on Craigslist

Bulky items aren’t cost-effective to sell online because they cost too much to ship. When that’s the case, sell locally with Craigslist or another app to sell locally. We periodically sell our unwanted items during the year and pocket 100% profit because it’s free to sell on these apps.

Beyond Craigslist, there are also dozens of other similar websites where you can sell your stuff locally as well.

27. Donate Plasma

There’s a perpetual demand for plasma to treat rare, chronic diseases and you can make $400 each month by donating plasma. Maybe this is something you or your friends did in college for some extra “weekend money.” You must be at least 110 pounds, at least 18-years-old in most states to donate and free of certain illnesses.

28. Babysit

Parents sometimes need a break–date night— from their children and need to hire a babysitter. Besides asking for your family and friends for gigs, you can always advertise your services on Care.com.

29. Pet Sitting and Dog Walking

Animals need loving too and you can make just as much money pet sitting when their owners leave town or work long hours. Dog walking is another daily hustle opportunity as you take the dogs on their daily walk so their owner doesn’t have to.

Believe it or not, some professional dog walkers make $100,000 a year for doing something that millions of dog owners do every day for free.

Two places to begin advertising your pet sitting and dog walking services are Care and Rover.

30. Picking Up Dog Poop

You can also make money picking up dog poop when you don’t have the time to walk dogs or pet sit. Why? Because it only takes a few minutes to clean up a backyard compared to keeping a pet for several hours.

One man operates a full-time business picking up dog poop for a premium in the Phoenix area. You can scroll down to #70 on this side hustle list to see a video of how he turned dog poop into a full-time income.

31. Clean Houses

If you keep a clean house, put your skills to work by cleaning other people’s houses or office buildings in your spare time. Care.com can help you connect you with homeowners that don’t have the time to clean their house. Another great resource is Craigslist and looking in the “Part-Time Jobs” section.

32. Mow Lawns

When the grass is green, make money mowing lawns in your neighborhood and around town. Mowing lawns can be the perfect seasonal job if you need to make extra money in the summer when school is out or there’s more sunlight to work outside in the evenings.

33. Shovel Snow

You can also make money during the winter shoveling driveways and sidewalks. By owning a truck and plow, you can earn more keeping parking lots clean. Because snow removal is more labor-intensive than mowing a lawn, you can earn more per property than mowing (I did at least).

34. Clean Gutters and Rake Leaves

In the fall, you can also rake leaves and clean gutters before winter sets in. Once again, these are simple tasks that most homeowners simple don’t enjoy doing and offer a decent income if you enjoy working outside.

35. Pressure Wash Houses

Most houses need to be pressure washed every two or three years to maintain that “new” look. Many homeowners either don’t own a pressure washer or don’t have the time to keep their siding clean. You can advertise your services online or simply start knocking on doors to get your first clients.

36. Paint Houses

If you own a paint sprayer, can smoothly roll paint, or know how to seamlessly cut in wall edges, painting houses is another possibility. This is one task most homeowners won’t attempt on their own, especially if they aren’t a skilled painter or they are preparing to sell their house and want a professional-quality job.

37. Become a Handyman

Property management is a huge business beyond yard work, you can use your hands to help your neighbors with various home tasks with Takl or TaskRabbit including:

Home improvement

Mounting and installing new household devices

Furniture assembly

Moving and packing

38. Collect Scrap Metal

You or your family and friends might have a garage full of old household appliances. Maybe you have acquired a small scrap metal collection from your other side hustle opportunities. Regardless of how you (legally) collect your scrap, taking your ferrous and non-ferrous metal to a local scrap yard will yield an instant payment.

Some of the best ferrous and non-ferrous metals to collect are:

Aluminum

Brass

Copper

Steel

You will get the best price by bringing a single, large load compared to many small loads–even if they’re the same weight. Scrap yards have an easier time selling larger quantities to buyers and reward you with a volume bonus for making their job easier.

39. Deliver Newspapers

Newspaper routes are a steady part-time income stream if you can work in the early morning hours before your regular job or classes. If there are multiple newspaper in your town, you can also apply for a route that might deliver only a few days per week–instead of all seven– if you can’t commit to delivering papers every day of the week.

40. Deliver Phone Books

A one-time, seasonal hustle is delivering phone books five days a week. You need to be at least 18-years-old and have a driver’s license to participate. PDC is one of the largest delivery companies and they might be looking for delivery people like you.

41. Cut Firewood

Many people still heat their houses with wood in the winter or need wood for summer camping trips, but they don’t have access to their own firewood source. Or, they don’t have the time to cut their own wood. Cutting and delivering firewood is another in-demand income stream.

Summary

It doesn’t matter if you want to pursue a side hustle, sell some of your belongings, or cut spending, there are multiple ways to get money fast. We all have different skills and schedules so you pick the ideas that work best for you. No matter which ideas you pick, you can’t go wrong because you’re improving your financial situation.