#national 311 day

[murderousink23]

03/11/2024 is Commonwealth Day 🌎, Ramadan ☪️🌎, World Plumbing Day 🚽🌎, Malsenitsa 🇷🇺, National Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day 🇺🇸, National Worship of Tools Day 🔧🇺🇸, National 311 Day 🇺🇸, National Promposal Day 🇺🇸, Key Deer Awareness Day 🇺🇸, National Napping Day 💤🇺🇸

[thorsenmark]

The Winter Outside (Joshua Tree National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: In Joshua Tree National Park at a roadside pullout with a view across an open plain with Joshua Trees and other plant-life. I liked how the snow helped to minimize colors, almost creating a green with black-and-white setting and also added textures and details with the plant-life and trees. While I felt there was negative space with the overcast and snowing skies, I was able to later pull out some details and shades present using the ClearView Plus tool in DxO PhotoLab 6.

[todaysdocument]

Washington, DC, November 11, 2004 -- The Capitol Building on a crisp fall day from the National Mall. Bill Koplitz/FEMA

Record Group 311: Records of the Federal Emergency Management AgencySeries: Photographs Relating to Disasters and Emergency Management Programs, Activities, and Officials

This color photograph shows the US Capitol building on a bright fall day.  The photograph was taken from the Mall, which is lined with trees and lamp posts and has many people strolling.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

This is why it's so important to follow your local or regional wastewater data if you can: The national news declares Covid over for everyone when New York and California so much as dip. In Ohio, even while rates are slowing, Covid is still on the rise.

By Jacob Clary

Covid-19 has seen small decreases lately across Highland County and statewide, but is still up significantly from a couple of months ago according to Ohio Department of Health (ODH) statistics.

According to ODH, Highland County’s case rate has increase significantly since the last time The Times-Gazette reported on Covid-19 on Aug. 5, 2024. On that date, the latest statistics were from Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, which showed that Highland County’s case rate was at 64.9 cases per a population of 100,000 for the two weeks before that date.

The newest statistics for Highland County have seen that case rate skyrocket to 150.6 cases per a population of 100,000 for the two weeks before Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, with 65 cases. Ohio’s overall case rate for this period was 110.4. This increase is even slightly muted compared to the increases from a few weeks prior, as the number released on Sept. 26 is down from the data seen earlier this month.

On Sept. 19, 2024, the data showed that Highland County had a case rate of 178.4 cases per a population of 100,000 for the two weeks before then, with Ohio’s rate being 145.6. Surprisingly, even this was a drop compared to the week prior, as on Sept. 12, 2024, ODH reported that Highland County’s case rate was 187.7 cases per a population of 100,000 for the two weeks before that date, as Ohio’s rate was at 161.8

However, the county’s most significant case rate of this period was reported on Sept. 5, 2024, when the county’s case rate was 243.3 cases per a population of 100,000 for the two weeks before then. Ohio’s rate was reported at 165.2.

ODH also reported multiple other statistics that show Covid-19’s slight falling off in Ohio as a whole following the highs of a couple of weeks ago, with all of these statistics having been last updated on Sept. 26, 2024.

In terms of overall Ohio cases, from the week of Sept. 6, 2024, through Sept. 12, 2024, there was a seven-day case increase of 10,315. For the week of Sept. 13, 2024, through Sept. 19, 2024, there was a seven-day increase of 8,391 cases and then a seven-day increase of 6,103 Covid-19 cases for the week of Sept. 20, 2024, through Sept. 26, 2024. These statistics show the fall-off between a couple of weeks ago in case rate, with that case rate down significantly since early September.

In terms of Ohio hospitalizations, those have also followed a similar path, having gone down, but also went up slightly a couple of weeks ago. For the week of Sept. 6, 2024, through Sept. 12, 2024, ODH reported that there was a seven-day hospitalizations increase of 281. That number then increased during the week of Sept. 13, 2024, through Sept. 19, 2024, when there was seven-day hospitalizations increase of 311. That number then went back down, with the seven-day hospitalizations increase at 245 for the week of Sept. 20, 2024, through Sept. 26, 2024.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Covid Data Center, Ohio’s test positivity went down for the week through Sept. 21, 2024, to 12.4 percent, a decrease of 2.2 percent from the previous data set.

[mariacallous]

The U.S. defense industrial base just got a $20 billion shot in the arm from the national security supplemental bills passed by Congress last week. But although officials and experts believe the funding will provide a much-needed jolt to military production and help open up new factory lines, some say it’s still not enough to respond to China, Russia, and terror threats at the same time.

“We have begun—begun—to rebuild the industrial base with the supplementals,” Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s acquisition chief, said at an event last week. “Calling it a wartime footing, no.”

The biggest need? Money. Officials and experts say that the United States needs more of it, lots more, to make the real investments. At the peak of World War II, the United States was spending nearly 40 percent of its GDP on defense. It’s down to less than a tenth of those spending levels now. And the need to spend more has gone up with the Chinese spending more—and with Russian factories working around the clock.

“It’s still shy by quite a bit [for] what you would need to get our stockpiles in the right shape, get our industrial base in the right shape, help the Taiwanese, and get the Ukrainians in a position that they can get some leverage in negotiations,” said Jeb Nadaner, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial policy. “If the benchmark is against the calendar and the clock, we’re still falling behind every month. And that can’t go unnoticed by China.”

But the jolt will allow the United States to surge artillery production and solve key bottlenecks.

One is the production of solid rocket motors used for everything from Javelin anti-tank weapons that can hit a tank from a little over a mile away to intercontinental ballistic missiles that can propel warheads across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans if a U.S. war with Russia or China ever went nuclear.

Aerojet Rocketdyne, which was recently bought out by L3Harris Technologies for nearly $5 billion, was one of only a few suppliers. But the supplemental gives several billions of dollars for companies, such as Orbital ATK, to expand their solid rocket motor facilities.

And it provides money from the Defense Production Act—the same law that Washington used to force U.S. manufacturers to produce more masks, gloves, and face shields during the coronavirus pandemic—to build out a second tier of rocket motor suppliers, including X-Bow Systems in Texas; Ursa Major in Colorado; and Adranos in Mississippi, which was recently bought out by defense technology company Anduril. The idea is to fast-track work that wasn’t going to be done until at least 2026, if not 2027 or 2028, according to a congressional aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about military contracts that hadn’t been made public.

There’s also about $100 million to help Williams, one of the only American makers of cruise missile motors, speed up production in Michigan. Those motors are used in the long-range anti-ship missile that might one day help Taiwan fend off Chinese landings; the armor-piercing joint air-to-surface standoff missile; the Tomahawk land attack missile that is the U.S. Navy’s weapon of choice; and the Harpoon missile that the Ukrainians have used in the Black Sea.

There’s also money to build factories for ball bearings, printed circuit boards, and other subcomponents for the $311 billion that the Pentagon wants to spend in the upcoming year to develop new weapons. Processor assemblies, castings, forgings, microelectronics, and seekers for munitions have been major bottlenecks. And there are recruitment and attrition problems almost across the board, from welders at shipyards to rocket engineers, a generational problem that might need vocational-training fixes at the high school level and up.

But with some Democrats pushing back on the Biden administration’s $850 billion Pentagon budget proposal as too costly, there’s also a focus on smaller attritable capabilities that don’t need a whole lot of start-up capital or defense industrial muscle to get moving.

There’s a ton of counter-drone money, about $600 million, that will go toward Coyotes, a small drone capable of intercepting other drones, and Roadrunners, an air defense munition that takes off vertically—just like the F-35 fighter jet variant flown by the U.S. Marines.

Some members, such as House Armed Services Committee ranking member Adam Smith, have advocated for ending production of ground-launched nuclear weapons. Congress is also trying to scrap old weapons, including F-15 fighter jets, the A-10 Warthog aircraft, and littoral combat ships used by the Marines. Smith is even curious about using microwaves as the next generation of air defense instead of directed energy.

The United States is also torn between near-term needs, like 155 mm artillery ammunition, and long-term needs—like a sixth-generation fighter jet that will follow the F-35. “There are going to have to be some trade-offs between preparing for a near-term fight and near-term deterrence and probably making some trade-offs on some next-generation weapons systems,” said Seth Jones, the senior vice president and director of the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is still going to be a major factor in setting requirements for the U.S. military. “We’re going to be selling 155 [mm] like a drunken sailor for a few years,” said Mark Montgomery, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “The Western alliance needs the U.S. to crank 155 [mm] for a decade.”

Other weapons used in the early days of Ukraine’s defense of Kyiv are likely to hit a plateau in production. Those include Javelin systems; the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS; and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which the Pentagon sent to Ukraine in large numbers early in the war and are also included in the supplemental, but which have taken on a secondary role as the fight has been bogged down in trench warfare for months and months.

Allies can help solve some of the bottleneck problems. The United States is co-developing new glide-phase interceptors with Japan as well as co-producing guided multiple-launch rockets with Australia and guidance-enhanced missiles for Patriot air defenses with the Germans. But after the political fights that took the supplemental more than six months to get through Congress, LaPlante and other officials acknowledged that the United States now has an image problem in showing itself to be a reliable torch-bearer for the global defense industrial base.

There’s another major production plateau that members of Congress are trying to stave off: attack submarines. The Biden administration’s proposed budget for the upcoming year slashed funding for one attack submarine. For years, producing two a year had been the standard, even though U.S. shipyards only produce between 1.2 and 1.4 Virginia-class submarines each year, and new variants are 24 to 36 months behind schedule.

And there are dependencies that are difficult—if not impossible—to cut. The United States still buys a significant amount of its titanium from Russia, which is used for everything from landing gears to tank armor, and is only slowly ramping up production of rare earth minerals, which are dominated by China. But the U.S. military’s weapons are ravenous for rare earths: The F-35 needs 900 pounds of rare earths to run, and the Virginia-class submarines need more than 10 times that amount. The military also needs lithium ions used in advanced battery production that China also dominates.

Where Congress and the Pentagon are having more trouble jolting the defense industrial base to life is for weapons that might be used in the Indo-Pacific. The U.S. Army’s precision strike missile that would be used to hit incoming Chinese ships from more than 600 miles out, for instance, is still being developed—the seeker that would find enemy vessels isn’t finished—so there’s no way to ramp up capacity, at least not yet.

But before the United States ramps up industrial capacity, some members of Congress want the Pentagon to take a good, hard look at what’s already on the books.

“Where can we look within the budget and say, wouldn’t we be better to spend more money on these things that we really do need?” Smith said. “So before I get into a discussion about, ‘Gosh, it’d be great if we had another $50 billion,’ where are we spending the money that we have? I think that’s the first question.”

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Signe Wilkinson

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 20, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 21, 2024

Cheering broke out in the gallery and among Democrats on the floor of the House of Representatives this afternoon when the House passed the $60.8 billion aid bill for Ukraine. The vote was 311–112, with all Democrats and 101 Republicans voting in favor and 112 Republicans voting against. One Republican voted present. 

The House also voted on the three other bills that will be packaged with the Ukraine bill as a single measure to go in front of the Senate. The House voted in favor of providing $8.1 billion in support for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific by a vote of 385–34. It approved more than $26 billion for Israel, including $9.2 billion in humanitarian aid not specifically for Gaza but for populations in crisis, by a vote of 366–58. And it voted 360–58 to place additional sanctions on Iran, seize Russian assets, and require the Chinese owners of TikTok to sell the company within nine months if they want it to continue to be available on U.S. app stores.  

The total price tag of the measures is about $95.3 billion. About $50 billion of it will be used here in the U.S. to replenish the supplies that will go abroad. 

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) says the Senate will take up the measure on Tuesday. Senators had gone home for recess but will come back to vote. The Department of Defense says it is ready to rush crucial supplies as soon as it gets the go-ahead. "We have a very robust logistics network that enables us to move material very quickly; as we've done in the past, we can move within days," Pentagon press secretary Air Force Major General Pat Ryder said Thursday.  

Aid to Ukraine has been stalled since Biden first asked for it in October 2023. First, MAGA Republicans said they would never pass such a national security supplemental bill until the U.S. addressed the need for better security at the country’s southern border. Senators, including Republican James Lankford (R-OK) took them at their word and hammered out a strong border security measure, only to have Republicans reject it when Trump demanded they preserve border security as a campaign issue. The Senate then passed the national security supplemental bill without a border measure, but that was back in February. Although it was clear the measure would pass the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has steadfastly refused to take it up. 

Meanwhile, countries around the globe have been stepping into the breach, providing funds and weapons for Ukraine as Ukraine’s war effort has faltered without U.S. war matériel.

Suddenly, the dam has broken. 

The MAGA extremists who oppose aid to Ukraine expressed anger over the measure’s passage, but outside of that group, there was bipartisan relief and mutual congratulations. The chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), who has been vocal in his belief that Republicans have fallen prey to Russian propaganda, compared today’s vote to the period before World War II, when British prime minister Neville Chamberlain tried to appease dictator Adolf Hitler in 1938 by agreeing to Germany’s annexation of the Sudetenland. To Chamberlain’s successor, Winston Churchill, fell the task of fighting World War II. 

“Our adversaries are watching us here today, and history will judge us on our actions here today,” McCaul said. “So as we deliberate on this vote, you have to ask yourself: Am I Chamberlain or am I Churchill?”

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said: “For months, the national security priorities of the American people have been obstructed by pro-Putin extremists determined to let Russia win. A bipartisan coalition of Democrats and Republicans has risen up to work together and ensure that we are getting the national security legislation important to the American people over the finish line.”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also released a statement welcoming the passage of the measure. “This bipartisan legislation will allow the Department to surge lifesaving security assistance to help Ukraine defend itself from Russia’s aggression, support Israel’s defense from Iran and its proxies, and increase the flow of urgently needed humanitarian aid to suffering Palestinians in Gaza.” It is also, he wrote, “an important investment in America's future.”  

President Joe Biden said that “members of both parties in the House voted to advance our national security interests and send a clear message about the power of American leadership on the world stage. At this critical inflection point, they came together to answer history’s call, passing urgently-needed national security legislation that I have fought for months to secure.” 

The reiteration of the bipartisan nature of the vote suggests support for the idea that the breaking dam refers not just to the national security supplemental bill but also to the power of MAGA Republicans more generally. Representative Tom Cole (R-OK) suggested this interpretation in an interview today with Ryan Lizza of Politico. 

MAGAs are Trump loyalists, counting on his return to power, and Trump is visibly diminished. For the last week, he has been sitting in a courtroom with no choice but to do as he is told by the judge while potential jurors have expressed their dislike of him to his face. This is novel for him, and it is clearly taking a toll. 

Trump’s financial troubles have not gone away, either. Yesterday, New York attorney general Letitia James asked a judge to void the $175 million appeals bond Trump posted to secure the $454 million judgment against him in the business fraud case. She says that the defendants have failed to show that there is enough collateral behind the bond to secure it. She has asked for a replacement bond within a week. Without a bond, James can begin to seize Trump’s property. 

Since Republicans took control of the House, Republican leaders have had to turn to Democrats to find the votes to pass crucial legislation like the national security supplemental bill, preventing a U.S. default, and funding the government. Republicans interested in governing and eager to protect the institutions of democracy appear to be getting fed up with the attention-seeking and bomb-throwing MAGA faction that refuses to do the work of governing. 

That frustration might have been on display when the House also voted on a fifth measure: a border bill the extremist Republicans demanded. Because it was considered under a suspension of the rules, it needed a two-thirds majority to pass. The measure failed with a vote of 215–211. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a lawyer with the American Immigration Council advocacy group, noted that the last time the House voted on a similar measure, it got 219 votes. This time it got fewer votes, even with an added $9.5 billion for Texas, Florida, and other states that are restricting immigrants’ rights. 

In The Atlantic today, David Frum noted the changing U.S. political dynamic and, referring  to the Ukraine vote, wrote: “On something that mattered intensely to [Trump]—that had become a badge of pro-Trump identity—Trump’s own party worked with Democrats in the House and Senate to hand him a stinging defeat. This example could become contagious.” In other words, he said: “Ukraine won. Trump lost.”

For his part, leading Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev had his own reaction to the House’s passage of the national security supplemental bill with aid for Ukraine. He vowed that Russia would win the war anyway and added: “[C]onsidering the russophobic decision that took place I can't help but wish the USA with all sincerity to dive into a new civil war themselves as quickly as possible. Which, I hope, will be very different from the war between North and South in the 19th century and will be waged using aircraft, tanks, artillery, MLRS, all types of missiles and other weapons. And which will finally lead to the inglorious collapse of the vile evil empire of the 21st century—the United States of America.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[bienvs3000w24]

Roles of a Nature Interpreter

This week's blog prompt got me thinking, specifically about my interests and how I can incorporate this into communicating information regarding the natural environment to the public. I touched upon it briefly in my last blog post, however, I have always really enjoyed photography, and in recent years nature photography has become a hobby of mine.

Some photos I took the other day while on a walk :)

In terms of my ideal role as an environmental interpreter, I envision a position in which I can combine my love for the environment and capture it through a lens. I also love to find new trails and hikes in which I can explore nature, so it would also be nice to incorporate this into my role.  Therefore, I envision myself working as some type of park guide in which I can share all my knowledge with others and demonstrate the beauty and importance of nature through real-world experiences as well as photographs. I would love to focus on birds, their importance, and their impact on our environment. I have always had an interest in birds and believe that they are beautiful animals! One specific location that I've always been interested in is Banff National Park. Banff is home to over 311 species of birds with the Grey Jay or Canada Jay being one of the most popular, which is one of my favourite birds. I have previously done projects on these birds so it would be cool to explore even more in-depth about them and hopefully teach other people everything I love about them as well! In this role, my responsibilities would include giving guided tours outlining the importance of different plant and animal species, with a focus on birds,  and creating a fun environment in which children and adults of all ages want to learn. I believe it would be fun to focus more on the visual aspect of nature interpretation, teaching people how to identify differences between certain plant species and so on. This would help to tie in my love for photography! I would also love to include as many hands-on activities and experiences for them as I believe this helps to immerse people in their environmental surroundings. I am a more hands-on learner however, as a nature interpreter, I must recognize the various learning styles and cater my teaching to address everyone's needs.

Another way in which I could envision myself taking on the nature interpreter role would be through an online blog or website which would act as a virtual gateway into the natural world. I would love to showcase my photographs alongside insights and personal stories to help educate and enlighten individuals about the amazing world around us! Each post will address various ecosystems, the intricacies of wildlife, and how/why environmental conservation is extremely important in today's day and age.  No matter what roles I would take on as an environmental interpreter, I just want to make a difference and show people that caring about nature is super important, just as people have taught me!

[freetheshit-outofyou]

USS Albacore (SS-218), a 311-foot, Gato-class submarine lost 7 November 1944 of the coast of Hokkaido Japan, she was presumed lost on 21 December 1944 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register on 30 March 1945, found 16 February 2023.

The USS Albacore earned 9 battle stars, received 4 Presidential Unit Citations and was responsible for sinking at least 10 ships.

Below is a listing of the ships compliment, their names are written in memorial at the National Memorial Cemetary of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii:

IN THESE GARDENS ARE RECORDED

THE NAMES OF AMERICANS

WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES

IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY

AND WHOSE EARTHLY RESTING PLACE

IS KNOWN ONLY TO GOD

Walter Henry Barber, Jr., Kenneth Ripley Baumer, Henry Forbes Bigelow, Jr., Edward Brown Blackmon, William Walter Bower, Allan Rose Brannam, Herbert Hodge Burch, Nicholas John Cado, John Joseph Carano, Charles Lee Carpenter, James Louis Carpenter, Pasquale Charles Carracino, Stanley Chapman, Douglas Childress, Jr., Frederick Herbert Childs, Jr., Perry Aubrey Collom, Audrey Cecil Crayton, Eugene Cugnin, John Wilber Culbertson, Philip Hugh Davis, Ray Ellis Davis, Fred Wallace Day, Julius Delfonso, James Leroy DeWitt, James Thomas Dunlap, Carl Hillis Eskew, John Francis Fortier, Jr., Gordon Harvey Fullilove, Jr., John Wilfred Gant, John Paul Gennett, William Henry Gibson, John Frederick Gilkeson, Charles Chester Hall, James Kenneth Harrell, Robert Daniel Hill, Allen Don Hudgins, Donald Patrick Hughes, Eugene Edsel Hutchinson, Burton Paul Johnson, Sheridan Patrick Jones, George Kaplafka, Nelson Kelley, Jr., Morris Keith Kincaid, Victor Edward Kinon, Joseph Mike Krizanek, Arthur Star Kruger,Walter Emery Lang, Jr., Jack Allen Little, Kenneth Walter Manful, Patrick Kennyless McKenna, Willie Alexander McNeill, Joseph Norfleet Mercer, Leonard David Moss, Richard Joseph Naudack, Encarnacion Nevarez, Joseph Hayes Northam, Frank Robert Nystrom, Robert James O'Brien, Elmer Harold Peterson, Charles Francis Pieringer, Jr., James Teel Porter, Jerrold Winfred Reed, Jr., Francis Albert Riley, Hugh Raynor Rimmer, A. B. Roberts, James Ernest Rowe, Philip Shoenthal, George Maurice Sisk, Joe Lewis Spratt, Harold William St. Clair, Arthur Lemmie Stanton, Robert Joseph Starace, John Henry Stephenson, Maurice Crooks Strattan, Earl Richard Tanner, William George Tesser, Paul Raymond Tomich, Charles Edward Traynor, Theodore Taylor Walker, Elmer Weisenfluh, James Donald Welch, Richard Albert West, Wesley Joseph Willans, Leslie Allan Wilmott, David Robert Wood

[new-universe-discovered]

Day 311 of 1:

Dear diary, new universe discovered. It's National Nut Day. Take that however you will.

[aestheticvoyage2023]

Day 311: Tuesday November 7, 2023 - "Pancakes"

Song: The National - Not In Kansas

Quote: Be hopeful. Be optimistic. Never lose that sense of hope.  ~John Lewis

[murderousink23]

03/11/2023 is World Plumbing Day 👩‍🔧👨‍🔧🌏, National Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day 🇺🇲, National Worship of Tools Day 🔨🗜🛠🔧⚒🇺🇲, National 311 Day 🇺🇲, National Promposal Day 🇺🇲, Key Deer Awareness Day 🦌🇺🇲

[thorsenmark]

The Winter Outside (Joshua Tree National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: In Joshua Tree National Park at a roadside pullout with a view across an open plain with Joshua Trees and other plant-life. I liked how the snow helped to minimize colors, almost creating a green with black-and-white setting and also added textures and details with the plant-life and trees. While I felt there was negative space with the overcast and snowing skies, I was able to later pull out some details and shades present using the ClearView Plus tool in DxO PhotoLab 6.

[tameblog]

The best hotels in Miami are your fast pass to a whole new world of nightlife and sun-drenched fun, from showy, celebrity-filled restaurants and clubs open until the early morning hours to beaches that double as fashion runways—not to mention home prices that break record after record. An understated destination this is not.“Miami’s hotels tend to be glamorous spots that are the ‘it’ places to hang out in town,” says Shelby Albo, a luxury consultant at travel advisory Embark Beyond, who adds that, “in fact, people visit Miami just for the hotels.” Our list of 14 standout properties in the Magic City spans from Surfside to South Beach, and we don’t exclude Mid-Beach in between—check them out below.The Best Hotels in Miami, According to UsPhoto: Ryan ForbesLaunched as one of the brand’s three inaugural hotels in 2015, the environmentally sustainable, beachfront 1 Hotel South Beach occupies a full city block on a prominent stretch of Collins Avenue on a site where Miami’s first large luxury hotel was built in 1920. Since that time, the structure went from hotel to residences, was demolished and rebuilt, and finally underwent a $1-million renovation and redesign by Miami architect Kobi Karp before reopening as the 425-room, LEED Silver certified 1 Hotel.The beachside setting informed the design of the hotel, and all materials are reclaimed or repurposed and locally sourced, including eco-friendly and economical driftwood that’s prominently employed throughout the property. The ground floor restaurant and lobby, featuring a garden with local foliage, open up to bustling South Beach, and a lavish rooftop pool offers views of the ocean and the city. This Michelin-key hotel also features three other resplendent pools decked out with cabanas, as well as a 40,000 wellness spa and fitness center that includes a SoulCycle studio. From $999 per night.Photo: Craig DenisAnother top hotel option on Collins Ave. for the eco-conscious traveler, The Palms Hotel & Spa melds environmentally sustainable design with a tropical aesthetic in a historic Art Deco building. An on-site “green team” ensures that the hotel maintains eco-conscious practices, which earned the property Green Globe certification and a 3 Palm rating from the Florida Green Lodging program. Hailed as a “tropical enclave” in one guest review, the 251-room hotel overlooks the ocean, pool, or lush tropical gardens from each spa-inspired guest room or suite. And the hotel’s actual spa is a true destination: Influenced by Ayurvedic holistic philosophy, The Palms AVEDA Spa offers beachside massages as well as other spa and salon services. Guests will enjoy pampering beyond the spa with an attentive staff that prioritizes service to ensure a sophisticated and satisfying experience. From $427 per night.Photo: Dylan RivesImpeccable service is a prime consideration at Hotel Greystone, which received one 2024 Michelin key. With a true Art Deco style depicted in the hotel’s ziggurat roofline, curved facade, and porthole windows, the Greystone was designed by well-known Miami architect Henry Hohauser in 1939, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and underwent a $65-million renovation led by Holly Muhl in 2019, reopening two years later.Muhl’s goal with the interior design was to “create something stylish and comfortable that evokes the dynamic layers of Miami Beach,” she says. Set on the corner of 19th Street and Collins Avenue across from the beach in the Art Deco district, this adults-only boutique hotel offers 91 posh guest rooms and suites, a main restaurant and bar, courtyard cafe, and rooftop pool and bar—a place to see and be seen any time of day or night. From $311 per night.Courtesy of The Goodtime HotelA collaboration between the famed Miami nightlife and restaurant entrepreneur David Grutman and the singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams, the Goodtime Hotel is hands-down the liveliest place to stay when you’re in Miami. As the name suggests, guests really are in for a good time: The trendy public spaces feature hand-painted murals and Deco plasterwork while rooms are pure fun, with leopard-print benches and pink rotary dial phones. This Miami Beach hotel also has a 30,000-square-foot pool club called Strawberry Moon, a spacious gym, and a library where guests can socialize over coffee or cocktails. From $165 per night.Courtesy of W South BeachAfter 10 years as an Art Basel social center, W South Beach reopened in 2020 following a $30 million renovation. Gone are the dark tones and shiny finishes: The 357 guest rooms now feature an airy aesthetic and emphasize warm oaks and natural light, making this a serene getaway on Collins Avenue. The property also has a new spa and an updated art collection, valued at $100 million and featuring 21 original Andy Warhols. Standout amenities include on-site tennis and basketball courts, new beach cabanas, and an outpost of the celebrity-favorite restaurant Mr. Chow. From $423 per night.Courtesy of The SetaiWith sleek, dark tones and a distinctly Asian-influenced design, the Setai, Miami Beach oozes elegance. You can spend your time at the property—a member of the Leading Hotels of the World—sipping fresh coconut juice from the fruit itself by the three guest-only swimming pools or splurging on a treatment at the Valmont spa. The signature restaurant, Jaya, serves up some of the best Asian food you’ll ever eat, including killer Indian curries, and you can expect a full-on show while you dine. Think fire dancers, aerial acrobats suspended from the roof, and live jazz. From $630 per night.Courtesy of The BetsyA European-inspired, family-owned luxury boutique hotel right on Ocean Drive in the heart of South Beach, the Betsy is a property where an art gallery (the fabulous collection is a highlight) meets a jazz club (there’s live music seven days a week) meets a coffee shop that hosts regular book talks and poetry readings. The hotel also has a beach-facing outdoor dining terrace that’s buzzy all day and a rooftop pool with panoramic views of the city. From $428 per night.Courtesy of Faena Hotel Miami BeachIn the heart of Mid-Beach and boasting some of the widest and most pristine beachfront Miami has to offer, Faena Hotel Miami Beach can best be described as maximalism and then some. With the help of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, Argentinian hotelier Alan Faena reimagined the historic Saxony Hotel, originally built in 1947 and the stomping ground of Hollywood icons such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe, into an Art Deco–inspired space that’s a throwback to its old glory days. Source link

[ramestoryworld]

The best hotels in Miami are your fast pass to a whole new world of nightlife and sun-drenched fun, from showy, celebrity-filled restaurants and clubs open until the early morning hours to beaches that double as fashion runways—not to mention home prices that break record after record. An understated destination this is not.“Miami’s hotels tend to be glamorous spots that are the ‘it’ places to hang out in town,” says Shelby Albo, a luxury consultant at travel advisory Embark Beyond, who adds that, “in fact, people visit Miami just for the hotels.” Our list of 14 standout properties in the Magic City spans from Surfside to South Beach, and we don’t exclude Mid-Beach in between—check them out below.The Best Hotels in Miami, According to UsPhoto: Ryan ForbesLaunched as one of the brand’s three inaugural hotels in 2015, the environmentally sustainable, beachfront 1 Hotel South Beach occupies a full city block on a prominent stretch of Collins Avenue on a site where Miami’s first large luxury hotel was built in 1920. Since that time, the structure went from hotel to residences, was demolished and rebuilt, and finally underwent a $1-million renovation and redesign by Miami architect Kobi Karp before reopening as the 425-room, LEED Silver certified 1 Hotel.The beachside setting informed the design of the hotel, and all materials are reclaimed or repurposed and locally sourced, including eco-friendly and economical driftwood that’s prominently employed throughout the property. The ground floor restaurant and lobby, featuring a garden with local foliage, open up to bustling South Beach, and a lavish rooftop pool offers views of the ocean and the city. This Michelin-key hotel also features three other resplendent pools decked out with cabanas, as well as a 40,000 wellness spa and fitness center that includes a SoulCycle studio. From $999 per night.Photo: Craig DenisAnother top hotel option on Collins Ave. for the eco-conscious traveler, The Palms Hotel & Spa melds environmentally sustainable design with a tropical aesthetic in a historic Art Deco building. An on-site “green team” ensures that the hotel maintains eco-conscious practices, which earned the property Green Globe certification and a 3 Palm rating from the Florida Green Lodging program. Hailed as a “tropical enclave” in one guest review, the 251-room hotel overlooks the ocean, pool, or lush tropical gardens from each spa-inspired guest room or suite. And the hotel’s actual spa is a true destination: Influenced by Ayurvedic holistic philosophy, The Palms AVEDA Spa offers beachside massages as well as other spa and salon services. Guests will enjoy pampering beyond the spa with an attentive staff that prioritizes service to ensure a sophisticated and satisfying experience. From $427 per night.Photo: Dylan RivesImpeccable service is a prime consideration at Hotel Greystone, which received one 2024 Michelin key. With a true Art Deco style depicted in the hotel’s ziggurat roofline, curved facade, and porthole windows, the Greystone was designed by well-known Miami architect Henry Hohauser in 1939, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and underwent a $65-million renovation led by Holly Muhl in 2019, reopening two years later.Muhl’s goal with the interior design was to “create something stylish and comfortable that evokes the dynamic layers of Miami Beach,” she says. Set on the corner of 19th Street and Collins Avenue across from the beach in the Art Deco district, this adults-only boutique hotel offers 91 posh guest rooms and suites, a main restaurant and bar, courtyard cafe, and rooftop pool and bar—a place to see and be seen any time of day or night. From $311 per night.Courtesy of The Goodtime HotelA collaboration between the famed Miami nightlife and restaurant entrepreneur David Grutman and the singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams, the Goodtime Hotel is hands-down the liveliest place to stay when you’re in Miami. As the name suggests, guests really are in for a good time: The trendy public spaces feature hand-painted murals and Deco plasterwork while rooms are pure fun, with leopard-print benches and pink rotary dial phones. This Miami Beach hotel also has a 30,000-square-foot pool club called Strawberry Moon, a spacious gym, and a library where guests can socialize over coffee or cocktails. From $165 per night.Courtesy of W South BeachAfter 10 years as an Art Basel social center, W South Beach reopened in 2020 following a $30 million renovation. Gone are the dark tones and shiny finishes: The 357 guest rooms now feature an airy aesthetic and emphasize warm oaks and natural light, making this a serene getaway on Collins Avenue. The property also has a new spa and an updated art collection, valued at $100 million and featuring 21 original Andy Warhols. Standout amenities include on-site tennis and basketball courts, new beach cabanas, and an outpost of the celebrity-favorite restaurant Mr. Chow. From $423 per night.Courtesy of The SetaiWith sleek, dark tones and a distinctly Asian-influenced design, the Setai, Miami Beach oozes elegance. You can spend your time at the property—a member of the Leading Hotels of the World—sipping fresh coconut juice from the fruit itself by the three guest-only swimming pools or splurging on a treatment at the Valmont spa. The signature restaurant, Jaya, serves up some of the best Asian food you’ll ever eat, including killer Indian curries, and you can expect a full-on show while you dine. Think fire dancers, aerial acrobats suspended from the roof, and live jazz. From $630 per night.Courtesy of The BetsyA European-inspired, family-owned luxury boutique hotel right on Ocean Drive in the heart of South Beach, the Betsy is a property where an art gallery (the fabulous collection is a highlight) meets a jazz club (there’s live music seven days a week) meets a coffee shop that hosts regular book talks and poetry readings. The hotel also has a beach-facing outdoor dining terrace that’s buzzy all day and a rooftop pool with panoramic views of the city. From $428 per night.Courtesy of Faena Hotel Miami BeachIn the heart of Mid-Beach and boasting some of the widest and most pristine beachfront Miami has to offer, Faena Hotel Miami Beach can best be described as maximalism and then some. With the help of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, Argentinian hotelier Alan Faena reimagined the historic Saxony Hotel, originally built in 1947 and the stomping ground of Hollywood icons such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe, into an Art Deco–inspired space that’s a throwback to its old glory days. Source link

[alexha2210]

The best hotels in Miami are your fast pass to a whole new world of nightlife and sun-drenched fun, from showy, celebrity-filled restaurants and clubs open until the early morning hours to beaches that double as fashion runways—not to mention home prices that break record after record. An understated destination this is not.“Miami’s hotels tend to be glamorous spots that are the ‘it’ places to hang out in town,” says Shelby Albo, a luxury consultant at travel advisory Embark Beyond, who adds that, “in fact, people visit Miami just for the hotels.” Our list of 14 standout properties in the Magic City spans from Surfside to South Beach, and we don’t exclude Mid-Beach in between—check them out below.The Best Hotels in Miami, According to UsPhoto: Ryan ForbesLaunched as one of the brand’s three inaugural hotels in 2015, the environmentally sustainable, beachfront 1 Hotel South Beach occupies a full city block on a prominent stretch of Collins Avenue on a site where Miami’s first large luxury hotel was built in 1920. Since that time, the structure went from hotel to residences, was demolished and rebuilt, and finally underwent a $1-million renovation and redesign by Miami architect Kobi Karp before reopening as the 425-room, LEED Silver certified 1 Hotel.The beachside setting informed the design of the hotel, and all materials are reclaimed or repurposed and locally sourced, including eco-friendly and economical driftwood that’s prominently employed throughout the property. The ground floor restaurant and lobby, featuring a garden with local foliage, open up to bustling South Beach, and a lavish rooftop pool offers views of the ocean and the city. This Michelin-key hotel also features three other resplendent pools decked out with cabanas, as well as a 40,000 wellness spa and fitness center that includes a SoulCycle studio. From $999 per night.Photo: Craig DenisAnother top hotel option on Collins Ave. for the eco-conscious traveler, The Palms Hotel & Spa melds environmentally sustainable design with a tropical aesthetic in a historic Art Deco building. An on-site “green team” ensures that the hotel maintains eco-conscious practices, which earned the property Green Globe certification and a 3 Palm rating from the Florida Green Lodging program. Hailed as a “tropical enclave” in one guest review, the 251-room hotel overlooks the ocean, pool, or lush tropical gardens from each spa-inspired guest room or suite. And the hotel’s actual spa is a true destination: Influenced by Ayurvedic holistic philosophy, The Palms AVEDA Spa offers beachside massages as well as other spa and salon services. Guests will enjoy pampering beyond the spa with an attentive staff that prioritizes service to ensure a sophisticated and satisfying experience. From $427 per night.Photo: Dylan RivesImpeccable service is a prime consideration at Hotel Greystone, which received one 2024 Michelin key. With a true Art Deco style depicted in the hotel’s ziggurat roofline, curved facade, and porthole windows, the Greystone was designed by well-known Miami architect Henry Hohauser in 1939, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and underwent a $65-million renovation led by Holly Muhl in 2019, reopening two years later.Muhl’s goal with the interior design was to “create something stylish and comfortable that evokes the dynamic layers of Miami Beach,” she says. Set on the corner of 19th Street and Collins Avenue across from the beach in the Art Deco district, this adults-only boutique hotel offers 91 posh guest rooms and suites, a main restaurant and bar, courtyard cafe, and rooftop pool and bar—a place to see and be seen any time of day or night. From $311 per night.Courtesy of The Goodtime HotelA collaboration between the famed Miami nightlife and restaurant entrepreneur David Grutman and the singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams, the Goodtime Hotel is hands-down the liveliest place to stay when you’re in Miami. As the name suggests, guests really are in for a good time: The trendy public spaces feature hand-painted murals and Deco plasterwork while rooms are pure fun, with leopard-print benches and pink rotary dial phones. This Miami Beach hotel also has a 30,000-square-foot pool club called Strawberry Moon, a spacious gym, and a library where guests can socialize over coffee or cocktails. From $165 per night.Courtesy of W South BeachAfter 10 years as an Art Basel social center, W South Beach reopened in 2020 following a $30 million renovation. Gone are the dark tones and shiny finishes: The 357 guest rooms now feature an airy aesthetic and emphasize warm oaks and natural light, making this a serene getaway on Collins Avenue. The property also has a new spa and an updated art collection, valued at $100 million and featuring 21 original Andy Warhols. Standout amenities include on-site tennis and basketball courts, new beach cabanas, and an outpost of the celebrity-favorite restaurant Mr. Chow. From $423 per night.Courtesy of The SetaiWith sleek, dark tones and a distinctly Asian-influenced design, the Setai, Miami Beach oozes elegance. You can spend your time at the property—a member of the Leading Hotels of the World—sipping fresh coconut juice from the fruit itself by the three guest-only swimming pools or splurging on a treatment at the Valmont spa. The signature restaurant, Jaya, serves up some of the best Asian food you’ll ever eat, including killer Indian curries, and you can expect a full-on show while you dine. Think fire dancers, aerial acrobats suspended from the roof, and live jazz. From $630 per night.Courtesy of The BetsyA European-inspired, family-owned luxury boutique hotel right on Ocean Drive in the heart of South Beach, the Betsy is a property where an art gallery (the fabulous collection is a highlight) meets a jazz club (there’s live music seven days a week) meets a coffee shop that hosts regular book talks and poetry readings. The hotel also has a beach-facing outdoor dining terrace that’s buzzy all day and a rooftop pool with panoramic views of the city. From $428 per night.Courtesy of Faena Hotel Miami BeachIn the heart of Mid-Beach and boasting some of the widest and most pristine beachfront Miami has to offer, Faena Hotel Miami Beach can best be described as maximalism and then some. With the help of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, Argentinian hotelier Alan Faena reimagined the historic Saxony Hotel, originally built in 1947 and the stomping ground of Hollywood icons such as Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe, into an Art Deco–inspired space that’s a throwback to its old glory days. Source link

[everlastingrandom]

I'm hoping to get a chance to fact-check this more later today, but if not, I would love it if more people could help add sources:

Queens Shbira Public Safety alert:

Transcript of report:

Queens Shmira Public Safety Update | Community Alert

We have been notified this coming Shabbat, Saturday February 25th, a group of violent extremists are planning to come out a protest against Jewish communities across the country. NYPD Counter-terrorism Bureau has released a statement notifying the Jewish Community in NYC of this group's plans. Shmira has been in direct contact with the NYPD 112th and 107th precints and were reassured that there will be an increased police presences at Synogogues this week. The precints will be utilizing all necessary means of man power such as, House of Worship AUto, counter-terrorism units, precinct sector cars, and auxiliary units who will all be rotating posts at different key locations throughout our neighborhoods.

We would like to remind everyone that in the event of any incidence taking place to please be swift in calling 911 and reporting them to the police. The community is asked not to call 311 or the precincts directly to file these kinds of reports, in order to avoid delays in response.

Queens Borough Safety Patrol, Shmira

New York Police Situational Awareness Alert

Transcript of Report:

Domestic Violence Extremists Trumpet Upcoming Nationtional "Day of Hate" by Encouraging Direct Action

The NYPD Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureau (IBC) recently observes online domestic violent extremist (DVE) messaging announcing a national "Day of Hate," scheduled to take place on Saturday, 25 February. Based on ICB observations of extremist postings online and at least one shared propaganda video on a social media platform, the anonymous online organizers of this overtly racist, anti-semitic event are instructing likeminded individuals to drop banners, place stickers and flyers, or scrawl graffiti as a form of biased so-called activism. According to at least one DVE shared message, organizers requested that participants in the "Day of Hate" photograph or record direct actions and submit them in order to create a compendium of exploits from around the country. Members of the service are advised to maintain elevated situation awareness and vigilance on Feb 25 for DVE activism in the form of biased, in-person acts around the city and at potential key locations that might garner higher interest from these types of actors based on the locations' affiliations with certain religious or social communities. Please see the accompanying infographic for awareness of DVE imagery.

Day of Hate Message:

Join [redacted] in a day of Mass Anti-Semitic Action

We are calling on all fighters of truth and justice to take a stand, and expose the international clique of parasitic vermin that infest our nation today. A national day of activism is set for February 25th. Make your voice heard loud and clear, that the one true enemy of the American people is the Jew. We refuse to capitulate to the wishes of the anti-white establishment, that our race be suberted and controlled by the devil's chosen few. The people demand White Power.

Shock the masses with banner drops, stickers, fliers, and graffiti. Inaction is unacceptable. The time to stand up for your people is today. Take pictures, and videos of your activism and send it to [redacted]

Groups that are interested in participating, please reach out to get featured in this post.

Hail Victory!

Police security agencies advise Jews to be on alert ahead of planned ‘National Day of Hate’ on Shabbat

Posting for everyone to be on high alert in the coming week. Please stay safe everyone. Do not live in fear, but be cautious.