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junker-town · 5 years ago

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The Fukushima surf revival

Emma Athena

How surfing was revived alongside a community in the wake of a tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Shinji Murohara sits in the cluttered office of his surfboard factory at the edge of Odaka, a sleepy seaside town nine miles north of the now-decommissioned Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The 52-year-old local surfing legend leans back, dressed in his signature groutfit: head-to-toe heathered gray sweats and silvering fringe around his temples to match. His eyes are deep-black, his verbal cadence quick and choppy. He gestures to the room next door, telling a story he’s told a thousand times before.

”It felt like a movie,” Murohara says, shrugging. “No one can understand except for the people who experienced it.”

Next door is the shaping room, where giant foam blocks are shaved down to sleek ovals, and where Murohara was at 2:46 p.m. on March 11, 2011, when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake bloomed from the Pacific Ocean floor and triggered the most devastating tsunami in Japanese history, causing the Daiichi power plant to explode.

On the morning of the triple disaster, surfers bobbed in the water, nine miles from Murohara’s shop. They felt the water flatten and recede, a harbinger, and scrambled from the ocean up the nearby hill where a shrine and playground complex sit. From their perch they watched the waves return, bigger and bigger and bigger. They survived, but the world around them crumbled and broke.

If Fukushima was a book, the cover would be about radiation. But the contents would be totally different. Of course, people never read the contents.”

For five minutes, Japan shuddered in violent spurts as the Tōhoku fault gave way. Tremors ripped all the way to Beijing, and sent large ocean waves 5,200 miles to the California coast. When the earth settled, Japan had shifted 7.9 feet closer to the U.S., and a 250-mile stretch of the coast dropped two feet.

Murohara shook off the dust. Neither his two-story surfboard factory nor his childhood home, just a stone’s throw away, were badly damaged. At first, he figured business would go on as usual, earthquakes being relatively common in Japan and elsewhere along the Pacific Ring of Fire. Twenty-four hours after the disaster, Murohara heard for the first time that the power station had leaked radiation.

Murohara leans forward, placing his elbows on the table and palms together as though in prayer. He never could have known that what unfolded in the wake of March 11 — the government’s fumbles, the media’s hunger, the tens of thousands of lives lost and displaced — would turn his vibrant ocean community into an empty shell, haunted to this day by misinformation and fear.

“If Fukushima was a book,” he says, “the cover would be about radiation. But the contents would be totally different. Of course, people never read the contents. It’s our job to change this.”

The story of modern-day Fukushima arguably starts in the 1950s, after American soldiers dropped the atomic bombs but before they brought over their surfboards during reconstruction duty. Surfing was introduced to Japan in a sweet spot of its history, when new technologies and a flood of Western media ignited visions of never-ending progress and wealth.

Fukushima’s waters are coldest in March, when snowmelt from the Yamagata mountains flows into the rivers and creeks that wind through farms, towns, and factories as they journey to the sea. In Odaka, where freshwater combines with salt, life reflects the constant negotiation between the ocean’s meditative qualities and its deadly force.

In most places, the Fukushima coast is now, as elsewhere in Japan, buttressed by a concrete wall — 30 feet high, miles and miles and miles long. Giant concrete tetrapods are scattered across the beach floors, manipulating the surf. After the tsunami, defenses were not only rebuilt but enhanced. Just one strip of unadulterated sand remains, hugging the eastern point where surfers like to gather.

As Murohara was resettling in Odaka in 2016, he had seen dramatic international headlines that exaggerated or mischaracterized the water’s danger. Headlines like Wavelength Mag’s “The Fearless Surfers of Fukushima,” Al Jazeera’s “Fukushima’s surfers riding on radioactive waves,” and the Daily Mail’s “Japanese daredevils brave the contaminated water and sand.” Once people were allowed back in the region, sensational media flooded the internet — like photos of flowers, purportedly mutated by Fukushima Daiichi’s radiation, but actually photoshopped.

Emma Athena

Shinji Murohara in his surfboard factory located in Odaka, Fukushima. He has lived in the prefecture his entire life.

In Murohara’s telling, the book of Fukushima would begin not with the faulty nuclear plant, nor the aftermath of the accident, but in the early 2000s, back when Fukushima’s surf culture was deepening its roots and the local economy was flourishing from the surf-tourism campaigns he’d helped orchestrate. He would not linger on the ways in which Odaka, now polished clean of radioactive fallout and reopened to businesses, is still struggling to rebuild after the evacuation.

Murohara wouldn’t belabor the fact that Odaka’s population has dropped from 13,000 to 3,000, nor that the 15-minute drive from his home to Fukushima’s best waves, at Kitaizumi Beach, is filled with reminders of what once was: thigh-thick bamboo and a towering pine forest now littered with buried watermelons, lures for radioactive monkeys and wild boars; shiny solar panels occupying abandoned rice paddies and lots where homes used to stand; boarded buildings separating the one laundry service and two hardware stores on main street; how the only reopened guest house, once full of dripping wetsuits, is now empty some nights. At Kitaizumi Beach, there used to be a campsite where surfers and families hung out, and a restaurant that fed hungry bellies, and a public hot spring that welcomed tired bodies. Now, it’s a parking lot with bathroom facilities and some planted saplings.

Murohara would rather highlight the new grocery store and food hall/community center, where you can now buy Murohara Surfboard Productions (M.S.P.) longboards and shortboards after slurping down a steaming bowl of ramen.

He’d note that M.S.P. was one of the first local businesses to begin employing people in 2016 when residents were given the all-clear to return, and how he’s currently in the middle of doubling the space of his production facility to make room for new contract work manufacturing boards for Mayhem and Murasaki sports, North America and Japan’s biggest surfboard producers, respectively.

Though Odaka’s streets may pulse like a weak heart, he’d wax on about the upcoming international surf events that he and his partners at Happy Island Surf Tourism — Fukushima translates to “Happy Island” — have planned at Kitaizumi this summer, where extra-wide stairs extend across the length of the seawall that faces the beach like tiered amphitheater seating, perfect for watching the sunrise, or surfers ripping on waves.

He’d acknowledge that while the ocean caused incalculable damage — killing 2,000 people in Fukushima and 16,000 more elsewhere in Japan, destroying hundreds of thousands of buildings, and causing radiation to poison homes, farms, water supplies, and animals — the ocean has also helped people heal and finally feel at home again. To Murohara, the real story of Fukushima is a story of rebirth. It is a story about the weight of physical and mental trauma, of deception and unshakeable stigma, and how a destructive force can be channeled into regenerative power.

Prior to 2011, Fukushima was nationally famous for its rice, sake, farm-fresh vegetables, and horse sashimi, but, most of all, for its samurai history. Every summer since the 1300s, a military-training-exercise-cum-festival tournament has taken place in the giant grass field in south Minamisoma City, the ruling municipality for Odaka and Kitaizumi Beach. For three days, tens of thousands of spectators cheer on a reenactment of warriors from one of Japan’s most iconic eras. In one event, men wearing traditional samurai armour race horses around the dirt track; in another, men clad in all-white cloth capture wild horses with their bare hands.

In its recovery from World War II, Japan rapidly expanded its industrial base. Factories and manufacturing centers sprung up in Fukushima, which is located in convenient proximity to Tokyo and swaths of open land. The prefecture had already been supplying Tokyo’s metropolis with resources, namely energy, since the late-1800s, when coal mines were bored into the landscape. However, the island-nation’s finite natural resources dwindled as decades passed, and the need for alternative energy grew. Despite experiencing the devastation of nuclear weapons in 1945, Japan turned to nuclear energy.

Framing the effort as a means to peace and modernity, the Japanese government began investing in nuclear power in 1955, constructing its first nuclear power station in 1961. That same year, town councils near Odaka agreed to invite the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the new American light water reactor to their coastline. The system was hailed as simpler, safer, and cheaper than the alternatives, and citizens were assured that the 10-meter sea wall would protect them against worst-case natural disasters. Using Fukushima’s waves to help cool down the reactors, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station opened in 1971, and the plant was shipping energy to Tokyo in time for the last coal mine to shutter in 1976.

By early 2011, Japan was generating 30 percent of its energy via 54 nuclear plants, second in the world behind France in terms of percentage of electric power supply. Japan’s plan, according to a report from the World Nuclear Association, was to boost that number to 50 percent by 2050.

As Japan was implementing nuclear power infrastructure, surfing was gaining popularity around the globe. Starting in the 1950s, images of people surfing trickled into Japanese media. The 1959 surf movie Gidget — a Sandra Dee romance about a blonde, spunky teenage California girl — is widely credited with piquing mainstream interest in the sport all over the world. In the early 1960s, American troops deploying to Japan brought their surfboards with them, passing along surfing techniques by word of mouth. By the 1970s, surfing had sunk its teeth into Japanese culture, with more than 50,000 surfers riding waves along every available coastline.

However, surfing wasn’t afforded the same welcome to the shores of Japan as nuclear power. While the big, economic engines of nuclear power stations were received with relatively open arms, surfers were stereotyped in the same vein as hippies: lazy and unfit for serious societal demands. Left to themselves, surfers separated into tight-knit clans up and down the coasts, from the southern beaches of Miyazaki to the northern stretches of Hokkaido.

Among those who know surfing in Japan, the break at Kitaizumi Beach is considered the best within 100 miles, and the most consistent in the entire country. If it hadn’t been for the 2011 triple-disaster, one of Murohara’s colleagues, Hideki Okumoto, is positive that Kitaizumi Beach would have been chosen as the site for surfing’s inaugural Olympic competition in 2020.

Okumoto, a dynamic and fast-talking professor of economics at Fukushima University, has worked with Murohara on local surf-tourism campaigns since the early 2000s. Around that time, Okumoto was invited to advise Minamisoma City’s government on the region’s failing industrial economy. While everyone was trying to figure out how to resuscitate the electronics and auto factories that had been keeping them afloat, Okumoto, a longtime surfer, recalls telling the mayor, “‘You don’t know the real resource of this city. This area has a good wave and a good beach — it’s a good resource for this city.”

By 2004, Okumoto and Murohara had formed a nonprofit together, Happy Island Surf Tourism. Both men were assigned to a city-backed committee, alongside representatives from the chamber of commerce, tourism office, education department, and hotel association.

Local surfers were enlisted to help clean up the beach, and became de-facto brand ambassadors for the area. Seeing this, city officials began to reconsider their perception of surfers. The interdisciplinary committee was eventually given a $200,000 budget for work on Kitaizumi Beach, which they used to hire long-overdue lifeguards. “It was the first time in all of Japan that surfers got taxpayer money from a city,” Okumoto says.

Their initiatives worked. According to the tourism office, Kitaizumi’s summertime beach attendance swelled from 54,000 people in 2005 to more than 84,000 people in 2010. Murohara and Okumoto organized national and international surf competitions, attracting the all-holy World Surf League in 2007, which brought stars like John John Florence to town for a qualifying event. For the first time in Minamisoma City history, hotels reached full capacity.

As Kitaizumi Beach started to register internationally, so did local surfers. “In this area, there were many kid surfers, but they didn’t want to be pro surfers because they couldn’t imagine it. But when big contests came here, they thought for the first time, pro is so close to them,” Okumoto says. “They could imagine it.”

Throughout 2010, Okumoto planned to create a surf village in Odaka. The idea was to pair young surfers with older farmers to help with fieldwork in exchange for room and board, and also attract retired city folks who wanted to live a second life in a vibrant seaside community. Just as that plan was coming to fruition, however, Fukushima was struck by a horror they had been told was impossible.

On March 11, 2011, a 46-foot wave flooded the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. It cut electrical power and disabled its diesel backup generators. While the four seaside reactors were immediately and successfully shut down, the loss of all power obstructed necessary cooling procedures. Over the next five days, failure after failure occurred, until eventually, a hydrogen-air mixture built up and exploded in three of the four reactors. Then three of the four reactors experienced fuel-rod meltdowns. The final explosion happened March 15.

During this five-day window, chaos unfolded across the country, and public information was hard to come by. On the evening of March 12, Murohara received orders to evacuate via radio broadcast, but the town-wide announcement didn’t contain many details. He knew the orders were due to radiation concerns from the power plant, but he didn’t know how serious it was, how long he’d be gone, nor what the potential harms were. He packed a few days worth of clothes and drove himself and his cat, Lan, up to the western Yamagata mountains, where he could soothe his anxiety with snowboarding. Both TEPCO and the national government, which owns a majority share of TEPCO, issued press releases over the ensuing days, but each one was vague. Some people hid in their homes and refused to leave. Some people left the country immediately.

Slowly, it dawned on Murohara that he wasn’t going to be let back into his home anytime soon. Though all the roads to Odaka had been closed, he snuck into town anyway and gathered more of his things, including his surfboard.

Like everyone around the world, Murohara had questions no one would answer. Friends and family were missing, but no one was allowed to search for them. Unlike other coastal areas that had been hit hard by the tsunami, the firefighters and rescue crews in Fukushima had only the first few hours of March 12 to search for people who had been swept away by the ocean’s waves before they, too, were evacuated and barred from reentry. The towns on the periphery of the power plant — Namie, Okuma, Futaba, and Tomioka — were inaccessible for the next seven days while TEPCO sorted the situation. In some of the adjacent coastal towns, injured people who weren’t evacuated within the first day were left to die, friends and family abandoned in the wake of the waves.

In the aftermath, there was no central resource for radiation information. The few radiation sensors TEPCO had installed in the region all went offline after they were flooded in the wake of the explosion. So where, exactly, was the contamination? How much radiation was there? What were the cancer and other health concerns, and for what people—elderly, pregnant, children? What could they eat? Where could they go?

Though very different in many ways, Fukushima’s nuclear accident was the largest since Chernobyl in 1986. Nobody knew what to expect, or what would ensue. Everybody feared the worst.

In those first tumultuous days, tech guru Sean Bonner frantically assembled and moderated an international Skype chat room from his home in Los Angeles. It consisted of 25 technology professionals, nuclear scientists, and public health experts, all trying to connect the pieces of a very complicated puzzle.

Bonner regularly worked in Tokyo, and now lives there. He had been planning a technology conference in the city in April. After he heard about the earthquake, he called his Japanese colleague, Joi Ito, to make sure he was safe. Thankfully, Ito was in Miami at the time, but when they dove into the internet to search for updates on what was unfolding in Japan and came up dry, they grew frustrated. They’d heard rumors about the Fukushima nuclear plant, but they couldn’t confirm anything. It took five days for the national government to release an official report in which they stated that not only had a nuclear accident occurred, but that radioactive fallout may have been carried to areas far outside the initial 20-kilometer evacuation zone.

“[The national government was] publishing really, really sporadic data, if and when they published anything at all,” says Bonner. Though neither he nor Ito had ever worked with radiation measurement tools, nor been trained in any sort of nuclear science, they felt the need to do something. Their connections in other industries put them through to more connections, and soon the Skype chat room was buzzing nonstop with ideas from bright minds around the world.

Sean Bonner

Safecast conducted its own contamination monitoring in Fukushima after the tsunami and nuclear disaster, and posted its findings publicly.

The group decided they must first define the problem: they needed standardized radiation measurements pinpointed to GPS locations. But when they searched online to purchase radiation detection devices, they couldn’t find any. The niche market of Geiger counters had crashed. In the years prior to March 2011, maybe a few hundred were being sold a month. Suddenly, demand had exploded to thousands of orders a day. Without personal measurement devices and without reliable information from TEPCO or the government, “People literally had no way of knowing what was polluted with cancer-causing radiation, and what wasn’t,” Bonner says.

To make matters more complicated, right after the accident, the national government rolled their radiation standards back to 1990s-era numbers, but only in select areas. As Bonner recalls, “People were like, ‘How is this number safe there? But literally across the street, a different number is safe?’”

He and Ito mobilized the chat room of experts and created an apolitical, not-for-profit organization called Safecast to centralize and crowdsource their efforts. Bonner changed the original concept of his April technology conference to focus on the nuclear radiation problem at hand, and invited everyone to Tokyo.

Until that point, standard international nuclear accident operating procedures measured radiation in averages across many square miles. “That’s like taking the weather in San Francisco and declaring a forecast for the entire state of California,” Bonner says. “It’s not wrong, but it’s also not helpful in any way.”

Within a week of the budding Safecast gang putting their heads together in a tiny Tokyo conference room, they’d invented multiple iterations of mobile Geiger counters that could trace GPS locations and radiation data from a moving car. Starting five weeks after the triple-disaster, they drove all around Fukushima, collecting scientifically sound information that intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations would later use in establishing a new standard for nuclear radiation information. They also deployed Geiger counters around the world to create a contextual database on what radiation levels were considered “normal,” and where.

People literally had no way of knowing what was polluted with cancer-causing radiation, and what wasn’t.”

When Safecast conducted its own monitoring in Fukushima, they found contamination varied street by street, sometimes house by house. As data-collecting volunteers drove around the prefecture, people would rush them, begging to know “the truth.” What was safe? What wasn’t? If volunteers had extra Geiger counters on hand, they’d hand them out and teach people how to operate them. (It’s easy: you switch it on, make sure one side is facing away from you, then walk around. When you’re done, you plug it into your computer and upload the data to Safecast’s easy-to-navigate website, and a radiation map can be generated.) The volunteers also pasted stickers on lamp posts and fences with the radiation measurements they’d recently taken, along with information about Safecast’s website and live data center.

The process differed sharply with government procedure. Bonner heard from many people that when government-deployed teams would collect measurements, “Vans would pull up with people in Tyvek suits who would [go] into their front yards and walk around with [monitoring] stuff, and then get back in, and drive away. And they’d be like, ‘What the fuck just happened?’ You know? That’s horrifying.”

Safecast decided early that all their data would be open source and designated as public domain so that everyday people and scientists alike could freely and forever access it. They also decided not to analyze the data, and refrained from declaring anything “safe” or “not safe.” Their only mission was to equip people with unfiltered, unedited information. They wanted people to make informed decisions on their own.

“We were saying, ‘Don’t trust us,’” Bonner explains. “‘Look through [the data] yourself. You take the device, you take the measurement, you’ll understand how it works. Trust that, don’t listen to what I’m telling you.’”

As more measurements streamed in, Bonner says, “What became obvious to us right away was that the evacuation areas were completely wrong, because they’d evacuated a perfect radius around the plant — basically a blast radius. … It didn’t take into account the weather or typography or any of that.” Some areas outside the evacuation zone registered high doses of radioactive material on Safecast devices, while some areas inside the zone registered the same as Tokyo — in other words, normal.

Safecast wasn’t the only group collecting data that may have raised the possibility the government-enforced evacuation zone was wrong. Right after the nuclear explosions, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration deployed airplanes to measure the radioactive fallout around the area, flying in a grid pattern to precisely map out the contamination. The NNSA shared that information with the Japanese government, but did not release it publically.

“Whether they looked at that data, whether they didn’t look at that data — it’s debatable and will never be known,” Bonner says. “But what we do know is that they knew what the contamination zone was when they set up incorrect evacuation zones, and they sat on [the information] for four or five months.”

Sean Bonner

“We were saying, ‘Don’t trust us. Look through [the data] yourself. You take the device, you take the measurement, you’ll understand how it works.’” - Sean Bonner, co-founder of Safecast

Only after Safecast and other major organizations started publishing conclusive evidence that contradicted the national government’s actions did things change. “Then they started to readjust the evacuation zones based on what the actual data was,” Bonner says, which was weeks after March 11.

It took more than a year for an independent investigation to wrap up. The National Diet of Japan published a report in July 2012 admitting that all organizational bodies involved in Fukushima Daiichi — including TEPCO, the Nuclear Safety Commission, and the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry — “failed to correctly prepare and implement the most basic safety requirements, such as assessments of the probability of damage by earthquakes and tsunamis, countermeasures toward preparing for a severe accident caused by natural disasters, and safety measures for the public in the case of a larger release of radiation.” In other words, according to the report: “This accident was not a ‘natural disaster’ but clearly ‘man-made.’”

Regarding the botched recovery efforts, the report stated the prefecture lacked the necessary equipment to monitor radiation. Of the 24 monitoring posts in the area, 23 were either swept away or damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. Communications networks all over the prefecture were damaged to the extent that mobile monitoring posts wouldn’t work, either, and back-up monitoring cars sat idle due to the lack of fuel.

All this created “a very complicated social situation,” Bonner says, “because there was a mandatory evacuation zone, but then [also] an optional evacuation zone.” People didn’t know what to believe anymore. If they chose to evacuate, and their neighbor didn’t, did that look bad on them, or on their neighbor?

Kitaizumi Beach and most of Minamisoma City received voluntary evacuation orders four days following the triple-disaster. Many surfers continued to visit the beach while the area was nearly abandoned. Out of respect for those killed by the tsunami, they agreed amongst themselves to wait for the disaster’s third anniversary before they took their boards back into the waves, in observance of Sankaiki, the traditional mourning period for Buddhists. They watched from the sea wall as the water crested and curled, crashed and foamed, day in and day out as consistently as always, as if the tsunami and nuclear meltdown had never occurred.

In that time, the Japanese government continued to guard information and insist on control while activists tried to get their findings out in the world. Bonner says anti-nuclear activists, in particular, would approach areas with Geiger counters and measure a range of objects, “but only tell you about the one that was dangerous.” Unsurprisingly, depending on where you got your news, you likely got a different read on the situation. That still continues today.

“Trust is not a renewable resource,” Bonner says. “If you’re an authority on this and you blow the trust, you can’t just next week again say, ‘Trust us.’”

So when the mandatory evacuation orders lifted in 2016 with official “safe” approval from the government, with legitimately low radiation levels confirmed by Safecast and other third-parties, many people were skeptical. Now in 2020, most of the area’s residents still haven’t returned.

At 8 a.m. on a Friday morning in January, the ocean temperature off Kitazumi Beach is just 10 degrees Celsius, which equals 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Onlookers rub their palms together, exhaling foggy clouds that dissipate in the air. In the water, six surfers bob behind the rib cage-high waves. More are in the parking lot, pulling on thick neoprene suits. Okumoto stands atop the concrete seawall that separates the beach from the parking lot.

He lets the sea breeze soothe his light hangover as he surveys the scene: So much has changed since 2011, yet it’s quiet moments like these, watching the early-morning waves, that remind him that some slivers of life largely stay the same.

During the week, Okumoto splits his time between Fukushima University and meetings with local nonprofits, coalitions, and prefecture and municipal officials, with whom he consults on tourism campaigns, infrastructure decisions, and community-building projects as a financial advisor. After checking in with the surf scene at Kitaizumi, he’s due in the offices of Minamisoma City. He’s planning to introduce the city’s tourism manager to Adam Doering, a Canadian professor from southern Japan’s Wakayama University who researches ecotourism and surf culture.

As the sun lifts from the ocean, surfers alternately enter and return from the sea. Doering tucks his shoulder length hair into a neoprene hood and paddles into the waves. In the parking lot, Okumoto catches up with the rest of the surfers. Floppy wetsuits adorn car doors. Coffee steams. Smiles break into laughter. When one of the few local female surfers, Michi Iizuka, shows up, bundled in a knitted hat and coat and Ugg slippers, Okumoto rushes over to greet her. Iizuka’s eyes are sleepy, but perk up as they walk together to the top of the seawall and the ocean comes into view.

Emma Athena

Surfers preparing to go in the water at Kitaizumi Beach in January, 2020.

Okumoto points to her, says, “She is a great female surfer,” and then pauses, growing serious: “One of the only ones now.”

Iizuka nods. She lives 10 minutes down the street and visits Kitaizumi almost every day, if not to surf, then to watch the waves. “There used to be more women,” she says, heading back to her truck to change into her pink-accented wetsuit and get her surfboard. “Now most [women] live in Fukushima City. They only come here now on the weekends.”

Okumoto nods, aware that the evacuation orders have exacerbated the gender disparity at Kitaizumi’s beach. It’s mostly men who have chosen to return, partly due to the fact that there’s still no international standard for public dose-limits of radiation exposure. It’s generally understood that women (as well as children) have lower radiation thresholds than men, so they have been conservative when making decisions to return, especially after information was hidden and botched following the disaster.

“We want to bring the women and the children back,” Okumoto says. “There is so much here for everyone.”

Iizuka smiles, her eyes softening around the edges. “That would be so nice.”

Okumoto had picked up his hangover the previous night, when he and Doering met with Murohara and a few others in Fukushima’s surf community. Cramming themselves around the dinner table of a wood stove-heated house, they debated the future of Kitaizumi Beach until 2 a.m over homemade Korean hot pot, whiskey, and wine.

They discussed how best to build up Odaka and Minamisoma City’s tourism infrastructure. International ATMs are hard to find in the area, and with many accommodations yet to reopen, so are places to stay. Public information, like signs and bus schedules, is largely written only in Japanese kanji. Okumoto and Doering want to invest in improving this framework while simultaneously trying to lure more surfers and tourists. Murohara, on the other hand, believes that bringing in more visitors will motivate local businesses to become more accessible to foreigners in and of itself.

As a single man who’s lived his entire life in Odaka, Murohara always knew he wanted to return. Others needed financial encouragement. Every evacuee within the initial 20-kilometer evacuation zone received about $77,000 in compensation from TEPCO and the national government. In the 30-kilometer zone, evacuees received roughly $18,000, and businesses received more depending on their value. With this cash, people could buy new homes and set up new businesses outside of the evacuation zone, all while retaining ownership of their old properties in Fukushima. The national government offered to pay for renovations in buildings that had been damaged, or demolish them for free. TEPCO estimates total costs for accident repairs and reparations will add up to $202 billion.

There are still around 46,000 people who cannot return to their homes. Most of the streets in the towns of Namie and Okuma, which got the worst of the radioactive fallout, remain off-limits as decontamination efforts continue. Sections of Namie did reopen in April 2017, but as of December 2018 only 1,000 of the original 21,000 inhabitants have returned.

Odaka, which used to have 700 elementary school children across four different schools, now only has one school and 60 kids. In Minamisoma City, which never had mandatory evacuations, the population has dropped from 70,000 residents before the disaster to 50,000.

There are innumerable reasons why someone might choose not to return to a previously evacuated area. For the people who left Fukushima, that includes trauma, distrust, fear, and six years spent creating new lives elsewhere. Perhaps most tangible is the fact that, as people evacuated, businesses went with them, and there are now very few employment opportunities for people uninterested in working construction, nuclear decontamination, or decommissioning roles.

Despite the government subsidies available for new businesses, there’s a severe shortage of young workers in Fukushima. Likewise, young workers won’t move to Fukushima because there aren’t enough good jobs.

The prefecture has started building infrastructure for future industries in some of the larger abandoned rice patties and farms, namely robot and drone test fields. And renewable energy initiatives are underway: with the decline in nuclear energy, Japan now depends on foreign imports for more than 90 percent of its energy needs. The Fukushima prefecture has goals to reach 100 percent renewable energy by 2040.

Still, for most people, particularly women and young people, opportunities are slim. And that’s exactly where Murohara, Okumoto, and others like Doering think they can help. They believe ocean-based employment, staked in surf-tourism and creating positive connections to the ocean, can give the community a wealth of opportunities to regrow its roots.

It took three years to clear all the tsunami debris from the beach, and then another three to rebuild the bathrooms and parking lot after new construction and zoning policies were implemented in areas that had flooded during the 2011 tsunami. As surfers had done before the triple-disaster, so they did after: gathering for beach clean-up weekends to help prepare the space for the general public.

Emma Athena

“If I go to Tokyo and I ask people, ‘Do you know the name “Minamisoma,”’ they don’t really know the name. But they know ‘Kitaizumi,’ so that’s the real influence it has.” - Takeda Tomoyoshi, Minamisoma City tourism manager

Last July, Kitaizumi celebrated its official, government-sanctioned grand “reopening.” Lifeguards, all surfers, staffed the beach for the first time since 2010. Happy Island Surf Tourism, revived in full force, helped create a “surf experience,” where people could learn how to surf. Murohara, Okumoto, and Doering all reveled in the day. It was a hit. 37,732 people attended, says the tourism office, and around 30 percent were kids.

“It’s a fact of the disappearing trauma,” Okumoto says. Though the trauma isn’t gone, he believes that slowly reintroducing people to the ocean — whether that’s by spreading photos of people at Kitaizumi, or getting them to visit the beach themselves — will accelerate the healing process.

Doering spent Kitaizumi’s opening day interviewing the lifeguards, who felt pressure to make the day run perfectly. Doering himself had only started surfing at Kitaizumi after the disaster, so the grand opening was the first time he’d ever seen families interacting with the waves. When he went back to the beach for a surf a few weeks later, he saw a mom watching her three kids in the water. A lifeguard was giving the children surf lessons before his shift started. He cheered from the beach, wanting to happy-cry in order to diffuse his joy. Slowly but surely, the people were coming back.

After a quick costume change in the beach parking lot — Doering from his wetsuit and into a button-up shirt, Okumoto from his bomber jacket and into a velvet blazer — the two sit down with Minamisoma City’s tourism manager Takeda Tomoyoshi at his office in city hall.

This year, the prefecture declined to offer money to the surf-tourism committee, but some funding has been approved via the municipal government. They’ll use most of it to pay the lifeguards, a welcome contribution to local employment, and hope enough will be left over to entice in a food truck to set up shop at Kitaizumi.

From a municipal perspective, Tomoyoshi understands the PR value of the beach. “If I go to Tokyo and I ask people, ‘Do you know the name “Minamisoma,”’ they don’t really know the name,” he says. “But they know ‘Kitaizumi,’ so that’s the real influence it has.”

Thanks to Murohara and Okumoto, the Japanese national shortboard and longboard championships will take place at Kitaizumi in June, the first major competition held there since 2010. Murohara says more than 600 competitors have already registered. And though the Olympics won’t venture up there, Happy Island Surf Tourism plans to capitalize on the attention that Japan and surfing’s Olympic debut have received.

Over the last year, through his international business connections, Murohara has brought surf industry executives and professional surfers to his manufacturing factory and shown them the highlights of Fukushima and Kitaizumi. M.S.P. now sponsors 10 competitive surfers.

Even if surfing’s economic contributions to the region are small, they are something in a town that not long ago had nothing. Perhaps even more powerful is the surf-related imagery: kids playing on the beach, families experiencing the water, lifeguards keeping people safe, all of which will gradually replace the photoshopped flowers and sensational headlines. Fukushima is on a journey for spiritual healing as much as economic, and surfing happens to offer a little bit of both.

Shortly after the triple-disaster, Okumoto says he hiked up the craggy cliffs south of Kitaizumi Beach. People set up a village there, on top of the bluff, about 5,000 years ago. They called themselves “Kaidzuka,” which means “shell hill” — they ate shellfish, Okumoto explains.

“The ancient people were very smart,” he says, reminiscing, looking up that way while standing on Kitaizumi Beach. “They know the strength of nature.”

Like the shrine by the playground on the hill behind the beach, the vast majority of shrines along the coast were spared from the tsunami, all built on hills in locations chosen hundreds or thousands of years ago.

When he stood on top of the bluff in the wake of the disaster, Okumoto peered straight down at the ocean, still processing its capacity for both violence and peace. For the first time in his life, he had seen the sea, the cliffs, and the sand without the cement seawalls; the section had been destroyed by the force of the waves.

“I suppose ancient people saw this scene,” he says, trailing off.

The sunsets at Kitaizumi Beach are soft and subtle, facing east into the infinite Pacific sprawl. The darkness gradually crawls up the sky, like an ombre curtain rising, and when it’s done, it’s day again.

That’s the beauty, isn’t it? Okumoto says, “The waves will always come.”

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steadfastfacilityservices · 4 months ago

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simmyseo · 5 years ago

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epacer · 5 years ago

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Crawford Neighborhood

Red dot marks the point that 54th Street and Lea Street meet just south of University Avenue

Third homeless storage site planned in Oak Park

The city of San Diego has identified a vacant lot in Oak Park as the site for a third storage facility for homeless people to keep their belongings, and officials have been quietly meeting with community members over the past month to address concerns about the plan.

“I’m still doing outreach and community meetings,” said Eric Young, a community representative at San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office. “I’m more than happy to meet with anyone.”

In theory, the facilities give homeless people a place to safely leave behind their possessions while they go elsewhere — perhaps to job interviews, work, school, medical appointments or meetings with case workers — while also keeping sidewalks clear of shopping carts, makeshift structures and clutter.

The city’s approach to opening the new storage yard is notably different from how it handled a similar facility in Sherman Heights last year. After Faulconer announced a plan to open a 1,000-bin storage site in a vacant building, many residents in the neighborhood complained that they had not been notified in advance. After a packed community meeting where people aired more concerns, the city scaled back it plans and opened a 500-bin facility in June 2018.

This time, Young said he began meeting with stakeholders in the area more than a month ago, and no official media announcement has been made. The plan is to open a 50-bin storage yard, possibly at the end of August, and gradually expand it as needed with a cap at 500 bins, he said. The facility will be an outdoor fenced yard with restrooms for clients and with staff members from operator Mental Health Systems on site.

Meetings have been held with several area community groups, the largest attracting 77 people on July 11 at Teen Challenge, a residential addiction-recovery service on Lea Street, about a block north of the planned 7,500-square-foot storage yard.

Despite the earlier outreach, at least one person at the July 11 meeting said many people in attendance were hearing about the plan for the first time.

“Mr. Young said he went door to door, but nobody at the meeting remembered him knocking on their door,” said Maggie Hannegan.

In a letter to Faulconer, Hannegan wrote that she was frustrated and dismayed to learn about the plan for Oak Park, which she described as a working class/middle class community of 2,500 homes, with residents ranging from families with young children to aging World War II veterans.

“We are engaged citizens working to keep our community safe, clean, engaged and involved,” she wrote about the neighborhood, which is on the eastern edge of San Diego’s city limits.

Hannegan said the city already had graded the site by the time the meeting was held, leaving people to feel the plan was a done deal by the time they heard about it.

Young acknowledged the site already has been graded by July 11, but said other meetings pre-dated the work, beginning with a June 11 meeting with the Eastern Area Planning Committee. He said 21 community stakeholders were contacted June 12, and later meetings were held with the City Heights Mid-Month Area Planning Group, Mid-City Homelessness Coalition, Chollas Creek and Fox Canyon Association, City Heights Area Planning Committee and El Cerrito Planning Board.

Young said he has had several one-on-one meetings or phone calls with residents .

The storage yard is being built on a site that had been reserved for a community park in the area’s master plan.

Young said plans for the park are still alive, as are plans for an adjacent affordable housing project off of University Avenue, but the projects are still many years away. The storage yard is considered a temporary facility funded for one year with $900,000 from the city’s Homeless Emergency Aid Program grant from the state.

Hannegan said she and other people at the July 11 meeting also raised concerns that the storage yard would attract more homeless people and was in a poor location because it was between Horace Mann Middle School and Oak Park Elementary School.

Young said he believes the neighborhood actually may be cleaner, safer and have fewer unsheltered homeless people when the new storage yard opens. He said outreach workers will connect with homeless people in the neighborhood, police officers will increase patrols and the city will add lighting, do weed abatement and plant trees in the area. *Reposted article from the UT by Gary Warth

July 25, 2019. **See also the ePacer iNews blog article of June 28, 2019 at: https://epacer.tumblr.com/post/185902110862/crawford-high-is-in-district-9 titled “Crawford High is in District 9”

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lnkjunkremoval-blog · 5 years ago

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the-record-columns · 6 years ago

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Feb. 13, 2019: Columns

She gave much, but asked little

Editor’s note: This column originally appeared in a slightly different form on Feb. 17, 2009)

Willa Mae Lankford

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

Lifelong Millers Creek resident Willa Mae Lankford, widow of Sammie Lankford died Thursday, February 12 (2009).

Willa Mae died as she lived, peacefully, and surrounded by those who loved her.

Her son, Jerry Lankford, is the editor of The Record. What follows was adapted from remarks I made at Willa Mae’s funeral service on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009, at the Arbor Grove United Methodist Church in Purlear. The service was conducted by Rev. Ed McKinney, and special music was provided by David Johnson, Eric Ellis, and Keith Watts, longtime friends of the Lankford family.

***

David, Eric, and Keith make that music look easy, don’t they, but it sure isn’t. As they played, I couldn’t help but remember the little half-smile that would come over Willa Mae’s face, much like the one on this page, when she would listen to her son, Jerry, or one of her grandchildren play music. She enjoyed listening, then combined that enjoyment with the feeling of pride only a mother and grandmother can know.

I actually came to know Willa Mae Lankford because of her son, Jerry, and much of what I say today revolves around that.

A bit over 10 years ago (20 years now), a man stopped me and asked when I was going to turn Thursday Magazine into a newspaper—I replied that I was looking for the right person to do just that. He inquired further, and I told him I was looking for a man in his 30’s who had newspaper experience outside Wilkes County, and who might be in a situation with aging parents or something and looking to settle back down in Wilkes.

“I know that man,” he replied, “I know exactly that man.”

In my mind I said “Sure you do,” and told him just to have that fella call me.

Well folks, about four hours later, that very same day, I got a phone call from a man who identified himself as Jerry Lankford, and who began the conversation with, “I understand you might like to start a newspaper.”

The rest, as I like to say, is history. Very soon, after Jerry began working with us, The Record began publishing and thankfully, continues to do so. There is an aside I must tell on Jerry, however. We agreed that he was to give a two week notice to his employer the following Friday. That afternoon, he came by my office to tell me when he gave his notice that they sent him home on the spot. I told him not to worry, just come on in on Monday and we would just start work a little earlier than planned. So you see, his first day at work on his new job was a day off. Pretty good deal, huh.

Particularly in the earliest years of The Record, circumstances called for me to spend many, many late hours with Jerry Lankford. Anytime we were anywhere near Kite Road in Millers Creek, we would stop in for a visit with his mother. As long as I knew her, she was in fragile health. As the years went by, more and more things went wrong and she became noticeably weaker and weaker.

But her spirit remained strong. I never heard her complain, in fact, she was always asking how I was doing—most especially after I suffered a stroke some years ago.

And, she stayed busy.

Unable to get around very well, she was always making something with her hands. I guess it was from all those years at the City Florist, working and talking with that wonderful gaggle of ladies who we all knew by sight, if not by name. In fact, one of the gifts I enjoy most came from Willa Mae—not counting Jerry, of course. One day he brought me a package about the size of a bowling ball and said simply, “My mother made this for you.” Inside was a multi-sided quilted star. “It is to be used as a doorstop.” Jerry said.

It was amazing.

You can look and look and you can’t find a starting place, or a stopping place, and I still have no idea how she put that thing together, but it’s beautiful, and remains one of the most noticed items in my home, and a gift I’ll always treasure.

And that was Willa Mae.

She gave much of herself and asked for little.

She loved her husband, her children, and her grandchildren.

And she loved the people of Arbor Grove Methodist Church so much.

To Ellen, Mike (now also deceased), and to my good friend, Jerry, I must be honest and tell you that nothing will ever be quite the same for you again. But hold on to those wonderful memories of your mother, indeed, wrap yourselves in them, for they will carry you through a lot.

Willa Mae Lankford—a kind and caring soul if ever there was one.

Clearly, she rests in peace.

Willa Mae Lankford

Nov. 9, 1926 – Feb. 12, 2009

Gentlemen of the Jury…

By HEATHER DEAN

Record Reporter

Next week I will be performing with Alleghany Community Theatre as they present “12 Angry Jurors” in the historic courthouses of Sparta, N.C., and Independence, Va.

Readers may remember the original title of “12 Angry Men,” a stage play written by Reginald Rose, which was also adapted to a 1957 movie starring Henry Fonda.

Over the years the title has changed in production as women have been allowed to be seen as competent jurors. But that wasn’t always the case.

Even though women have served on juries for over 100 years, it was considered more of a novelty, which quickly turned to critique, with national newspapers lamenting that “men would be only too happy to cede the burden of jury service to women, if only female jurors could be trusted to endure the gruesome business.” And so the “woman of the jury experiment” began. The results? Good female jurors were conscientious and committed to justice, just like their male counterparts (gasp!).

For those not familiar with the show, the plot revolves around the murder trail of a Latino teenager accused of murdering his abusive father. His conviction would mean execution by electric chair. The case seems open and shut with a murder weapon and witnesses to place the boy at the scene of the crime. One lone juror, attempts to prevent a miscarriage of justice by forcing his colleagues to reconsider the evidence “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

As the case unfolds more is learned about each juror, in some cases, the paranoia and prejudices that expose the ugliness of white privilege and imagined American supremacy.

I play juror 11, an immigrant watchmaker and naturalized American citizen who demonstrates a strong patriotic pride. (George Voskovec had this part in the 1957 film).

Voskovec was a Czech actor, writer, dramatist, and director who became an American citizen in 1955.

I am the fourth to cast a not guilty vote, but not without repercussion. Prejudice runs amok among the jurors, and my character at one point is questioned because I am not a “real American.” One juror even throws up the fact that I ran for my life during the Second World War, taking advantage of the American Immigration system, doubtful that I was really a refugee, and that I had no right to come over here, or even serve on a jury, and I certainly did not get to tell them how the Constitution works. She follows this up with a threat to “knock my GD middle-eastern head off” if I don’t shut up. Needless to say, our characters have quite a row after that exchange. In fact, a lot of murder threats get thrown around to other jurors, making our task at hand seem like the background noise to the real issue of the intricate divisiveness of human nature when questioned with what it is to “be a good American.”

This play is both eye opening and disheartening to me. Even though human compassion wins in the end, kind of, the relentless diatribe of how of a kid literally from the wrong side of the tracks, because of his skin color, his nationality, and his lack of being able to speak English is ENOUGH for the many of this jury to dismiss him and actually be happy about sending him to his demise, to keep the country “clean.”

The absolute prejudice shown in the 50’s is still being shown today, most recently with a supposed crisis at the border. The vitriol spouted in this play is the same we still hear on national news 60 years later. I get chill bumps at some of the lines realizing that the more things change, the more they stay the same, and that we have a humanitarian duty to make sure the cruel side of history stops with us.

To quote Henry Fonda’s character’s closing line “Let them live.”

12 Angry Jurors is presented by Alleghany Community Theatre and Alleghany Arts Council and is directed by Danny Linehan. Tickets are $8 adults, $5 students. Friday Feb. 22, and Saturday Feb. 23, shows are at 7 p.m. at the Alleghany Courthouse, 12 N Main St Sparta, NC 28675. Sunday Feb. 24, show is at 2 p.m., at the Old Grayson courthouse in Independence, Virginia, 107 E Main St, Independence, VA 24348.

Cast includes: Foreman (An assistant football coach): Lori Hirschy; Juror Two (A shy bank clerk): Beka Perry; Juror Three (Small business owner): Kevin Bennett; Juror Four (Stock Broker): Brant Burgiss; Juror Five (EMT in a Harlem Hospital): Zach Weaver; Juror Six ( Housepainter): Charlie Scott; Juror Seven (Marmalade salesman): Laura Kennedy; Juror Eight (Architect): Danny Linehan; Juror Nine (Elderly Retiree): Marion Adams; Juror Ten (Mechanic): Donny McCall; Juror Eleven (Immigrant Watchmaker): Heather Dean; Juror Twelve (Marketing Agent): Michael Bridges.

Anti-Semitic Strategy at the UN

By EARL COX

Special to The Record

At first glance, the recent G-77 gathering seemed like a “Saturday Night Live” parody of the UN’ s largest bloc. The new chairman, with rehearsed political correctness, to smiles and applause, called on “all states” (except his) to end the “epidemic” of terrorism and “work with us to put an end to this scourge.”

The speaker was Palestinian Authority President and PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas— infamous inciter and propagator of violence and terror against the sovereign State of Israel, and bankroller of Palestinian terrorism to the tune of more than US $138 million to terrorist prisoners and ex-convicts in 2018 alone.

Abbas’s chairmanship, which violates G-77 principles and the UN Charter, is the latest blight on the UN’s eroded legitimacy and credibility. Created to safeguard world peace, security, human rights, and the sovereign equality of states by peaceful dispute resolution, the UN has been hijacked by an anti-Semitic, terror-tainted political agenda—discrediting itself by violating its own charter.

How did this sorry state of affairs develop? And what can be done by those states who are committed to the UN’s ethical, democratic founding principles?

Anti-Semitism at the UN began not randomly, but as a deliberate strategy. Some historians believe it started after Israel won the Six-Day War in June 1967, damaging Russian prestige at home and abroad. The Soviets, enraged by Israel’s defeat of its proxies Egypt and Syria, retaliated, aiming its Cold War weapons of propaganda and disinformation against the Jewish State—by a state-sponsored vilification campaign against Israel and Jews, and then at the UN, where it forged a political alliance with Arab and Third World states. Starting in 1969, the General Assembly produced multiple resolutions affirming the “inalienable rights of the Palestinian people.”

Russia uses language for totalitarian social control, said historian Joel Fishman. Following the Six-Day War, the selected vocabulary was published in the party newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda in October 1967: “Zionism is dedicated to genocide, racism, treachery, aggression, and annexation ...attributes of fascists.” In 1975, the Soviet- Arab bloc passed GA Resolution 3379, “Zionism is Racism."

But historian Joel Fishman said Resolution 3379 was brewing in 1964—before the Six-Day War. In March of that year, the U.S.proposed that the UN recognize anti-Semitism as a form of racism along with apartheid and Nazism. The Soviets stonewalled, because they were, after all, anti-Semites who persecuted Soviet Jews, Fishman said. They threatened the United States to drop the proposal or face a Russian amendment condemning Zionism and Nazism—thus equating the two.

In October 1965, the US pushed an amendment to the final draft condemning anti-Semitism, but the Soviets insisted on adding“Zionism” to the forms of racism to condemn. After a bitter debate, a compromise struck all references to racism except apartheid. Thus, the Soviets succeeded in excluding anti-Semitism as racist without leaving behind a voting record—which could augur future charges against its own state-sponsored anti-Semitism.

The 1965 debates critically impacted evolving world opinion and international law on Israel and Zionism. “From then on, it was almost impossible to raise anti-Semitism as a human rights issue,” Fishman said. Thus Soviet political propaganda became a bridge to today’s global outbreak.

For the Soviets, the Cold War never really ended. Recent revelations of their digital disinformation and propaganda are well-publicized.

But neither has the UN been a passive instrument of Soviet manipulation. Israeli Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror recalled how UN Secretary General U Thant endorsed President Nasser’s request to withdraw UN forces from the Sinai. Nasser replaced them with Egyptian military divisions, helping to spark the Six-Day War. And that’s just one example of UN complicity against Israel.

Israel’s concerted relationship-building with individual nations, and delegations of visiting UN ambassadors to see and experience the “real” Israel firsthand, are part of the solution to return to the UN Charter principle of friendly relations between nations. Likewise, while keeping an eye on Russia, Western democracies should continue to strengthen democratic blocs of nations to defend against the real “scourge.”

At all costs, the truth must be published. What does Israel or the US gain from “dialogue” in a tilted UN that could be better served by bilateral or Western-bloc diplomacy?

Heart to Heart

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas

The past few weeks have been exciting and entertaining.

The Carolinas are well known for seasonal abnormalities. It’s not odd to have near recording breaking cold weather for a few days and then Spring-like weather. Just enough to tease our spring flowering plant life and then in the twinkling of an eye it’s cold again.

So, it goes in the Carolinas, we are people with many layers, and those layers come in handy during our winter months. We also love metaphors, and a colorful story fills the need we have to be a good storyteller or a great listener. The need for both is never-ending.

While in the barber’s chair last week, Garry, my barber, had big news. It looks like he may have a brother he is just now learning about. I asked him if he was excited about having a new brother. He said he was; however, the idea is so new he is still processing the emotions that come along with such a discovery.

Josh, Garry’s son and the fellow barber said they have been invited to visit their new northern family member. Garry is not much for long-distance travel; his heart indeed is in the Carolinas, and he is not excited about venturing too far away from the land he calls home.

In the style of true Southern Hospitality, an invitation will soon be extended to the brother from afar. From what I understand hints have already been given by the new brother that suggest an invite and visit to the Carolinas would be welcomed.

Bill Barns ask for my thoughts on his new book that is in the final stages before publishing. The first sentence of Chapter One is “One beautiful, moonlit night, a young mother opossum known as Oden was out in the woods foraging for food.”

I plan to read every word.

I had the opportunity to take in a few live shows. One was an open mic night at The 1915 in Wilkesboro, and the other was at the Reeves Theater in Elkin NC. The Reeves Theater is the subject of one of our broadcast segments that we are calling The Carolina Theater Trail. The segment series will be part of our Life In The Carolinas syndicated show. Over the next few years, we will be producing segments on historically significant Theaters in the Carolinas. We have a good variety of theaters to choose, and each one plays a vital role in our charming towns in the Carolinas.

I enjoyed dinner with Ken Welborn, publisher, and friend who loves the Carolinas with a strong focus on Wilkes County. It’s never a dull visit with Ken. The food and service at Sixth and Main in North Wilkesboro is excellent. I enjoyed the crab cakes with asparagus and baby potatoes. Ken dined on and spoke well about the salmon and vegetables. I think digestion works better when you have dinner with a well-seasoned storyteller.

In celebration of February as the Heart Month, we had Dr. Julian Thomas as a guest on the Life In The Carolinas Podcast. We titled the episode Heart to Heart. The special show focused on the journey of dealing with matters of the heart. Dr. Thomas is brilliant, and his approach to healthcare is driven by promoting awareness and a passion for healing.

Wherever we find ourselves, it’s a good idea to stop for a moment and share our lives with those we are around. The love month can be demanding, but it can also be gentle, kind and full of passion.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Carl White is the Executive Producer and Host of the award-winning syndicated TV show Carl White’s Life In The Carolinas. The weekly show is now in its 10th year of syndication and can be seen in the Charlotte market on WJZY Fox 46 Saturday’s at noon and My40. The show also streams on Amazon Prime. For more information visit www.lifeinthecarolinas.com. You can email Carl at [email protected].

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phooll123 · 4 years ago

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(WINDSOR, N.C.) — At least four people were killed as Tropical Storm Isaias spawned tornadoes and dumped rain Tuesday along the U.S. East Coast after making landfall as a hurricane in North Carolina, where it caused floods and fires that displaced dozens of people.

Two people died when Isaias spun off a tornado that struck a North Carolina mobile home park. Authorities said two others were killed by falling trees toppled by the storm in Maryland and New York City.

Isaias sustained top winds of up to 65 mph (105 kph) more than 18 hours after coming ashore, but it was down to 50 mph max winds as of 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm’s center was passing through the middle of Vermont, moving north-northeast at about 40 mph (65 kph).

As Isaias sped northward, the hurricane center warned of flash flood threats in New York’s Hudson River Valley and the potential for severe river flooding elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic region.

National Hurricane CenterTropical Storm Isaias had sustained top winds of up to 65 mph more than 18 hours after coming ashore, but it was down to 50 mph max winds as of 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River was projected to crest early Wednesday at 15.4 feet (4.7 meters), its highest level in more than 150 years. By Tuesday night, the river had already overtopped its banks in low-lying Manayunk, turning bar-lined Main Street into a coffee-colored canal.

Two people died after a tornado demolished several mobile homes in Windsor, North Carolina. Emergency responders finished searching the wreckage Tuesday afternoon. They found no other casualties, and several people initially feared missing had all been accounted for, said Ron Wesson, chairman of the Bertie County Board of Commissioners. He said about 12 people were hospitalized.

Sharee and Jeffrey Stilwell took shelter in their living room about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday as the tornado tore through Windsor. Sharee Stillwell said their home shook “like a freight train.”

“I felt like the house was going to cave in,” said Jeffrey Stillwell, 65, though once the storm passed, the couple found only a few damaged shingles and fallen tree branches in the yard.

The mobile home park less than 2 miles (3 kilometers) away wasn’t so fortunate. Aerial video by WRAL-TV showed fields of debris where rescue workers in brightly colored shirts picked through splintered boards and other wreckage. Nearby, a vehicle was flipped onto its roof.

“It doesn’t look real; it looks like something on TV. Nothing is there,” Bertie County Sheriff John Holley told reporters, saying 10 mobile homes had been destroyed. “All my officers are down there at this time. Pretty much the entire trailer park is gone.”

In New York City, a massive tree fell and crushed a van in the Briarwood section of Queens, killing Mario Siles, a 60-year-old construction contractor who was inside the vehicle, police said. A woman in Mechanicsville, Maryland, died when a tree crashed onto her car during stormy conditions, said Cpl. Julie Yingling of the St. Mary’s County sheriff’s office.

Isaias toggled between hurricane and tropical storm strength as it churned toward the East Coast. Fueled by warm ocean waters, the storm got a late burst of strength as a rejuvenated hurricane with top sustained winds of 85 mph (136 km/h) before coming ashore late Monday near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. Its tropical storm status was sustained, but weakened, as it headed north toward Canada early Tuesday night.

Many homes flooded in Ocean Isle Beach, and at least five caught fire, Mayor Debbie Smith told WECT-TV.

Before making landfall late Monday, Isaias killed two people in the Caribbean and battered the Bahamas before brushing past Florida.

Tornadoes were confirmed by the National Weather Service in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Power outages also spread as trees fell, with more than 3.7 million customers losing electricity across multiple states as of 8:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.US, which tracks utility reports. New Jersey had the most outages of any state, with more than 1.3 million earlier in the day. New York City’s power utility said it saw more outages from Isaias than from any storm except Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

In Doylestown, Pennsylvania, officials said four children were treated for minor injuries after high winds partially tore the roof off a day care center. Also in the Philadelphia suburbs, rescue workers in Delaware County were searching for a young person who fell or jumped into the fast-moving water of a swollen creek, said Timothy Boyce, the county emergency services director.

In New York City, fierce wind and rain forced the Staten Island ferry and outdoor subway lines to shut down. The New Jersey Turnpike banned car-pulled trailers and motorcycles.

Some of the worst damage Tuesday seemed to be east and north of where the hurricane’s eye struck land in North Carolina.

“Fortunately, this storm was fast-moving and has already left our state,” Gov. Roy Cooper said Tuesday afternoon.

In North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the storm sent waves crashing over the Sea Cabin Pier late Monday, causing a big section to collapse into the water as startled bystanders taking photos from the pier scrambled back to land.

“I’m shocked it’s still standing,” said Dean Burris, who watched from the balcony of a vacation rental.

The Hurricane Center had warned oceanside dwellers near the North Carolina-South Carolina state line to brace for storm surge up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) and up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain.

Eileen and David Hubler were out early Tuesday cleaning up in North Myrtle Beach, where 4 feet (1.2 meters) of storm surge flooded cars, unhinged docks and etched a water line into the side of their home.

“When the water started coming, it did not stop,” Eileen Hubler said. They had moved most items of value to their second floor, but a mattress and washing machine were unexpected storm casualties.

“We keep thinking we’ve learned our lesson,” she said. “And each time there’s a hurricane, we learn a new lesson.”

___

Morgan reported from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Associated Press contributors include science writer Seth Borenstein in Kensington, Maryland; Gerry Broome in Southport, North Carolina; Jonathan Drew in Durham, North Carolina; Michelle Liu in Columbia, South Carolina; Michael Kunzelman in College Park, Maryland; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey; Shawn Marsh in Trenton, New Jersey; and Michael Sisak in New York.

___

Bryan Anderson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.”

#News Updates #New top story from Time: At Least 4 Killed as Tropical Storm Isaias Whips Up Eastern U

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phgq · 4 years ago

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BFAR exceeds tilapia production for 2020

#PHinfo: BFAR exceeds tilapia production for 2020

CORTES, Bohol, Oct. 28 (PIA) -- As early as the third quarter of 2020, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Bohol Provincial Fisheries Office reported a million more production of tilapia fingerlings over its target for the year.

Provincial Fisheries Officer Candido Samijon said this is despite the fact that most government agencies extending services to communities have reported reduced accomplishment due to the restrictions brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

"The pandemic did not stop us from implementing projects especially those that contribute to the fishery industry, considering that food security has to be assured while people are staying in their homes," Samijon said during the Kapihan sa PIA.

Samijon came to the Kapihan along with team members and aqua-technicians Mark Anthony Milana and Ana Liza Casquejo.

MAKING THINGS POSSIBLE FOR UPLAND TILAPIA. BFAR is also looking for places like dams and impounding systems including creeks with deep pools of water for upland tilapia dispersal, which can also be a good source of protein for the family. (PIABohol)

The stay-at-home order have kept people from going out, and spawned a trend for planting ornamentals, garden vegetables, and fruits.

In the farms, where people have regained access as long as they are involved in food production, people have gone to the extreme limits, creatively scouring out what can still be done.

Samijon said in their hatchery in Clarin, for example, their production target is six million tilapia fingerlings, but they are now producing over seven million.

"The other day, we noted that Clarin facility has pending requests of almost a million more fingerlings," Samijon revealed during the one-hour radio program aired live on DyTR and 92.7 Bee FM on delayed broadcast.

Asked where these requests come from, he said is from people who start their backyard fisheries with a dug plot as small as a meter by two meters and at least 80 centimeters deep which can get 500 tilapia fingerlings as well as thousands for tilapia raisers who raise the fish to sell.

"We were still affected by the pandemic as our procurement program suffered," he explained, adding that apart from fish dispersal, BFAR is also providing entire fish cage packages, drift nets, fish corral packages, deep sea fish aggregating devices and still a wide selection that community and fisheries organizations can opt to use to reduce the strain in illegal fisheries and over-exploitation of the sea resources.

A huge part of the BFAR Bohol response is heaping up support for upland tilapia which farmers grow in farm impounding systems, creeks with deeper pools, and farmers who choose to dig for their own fishponds to help support food production.

"Now, we have seen a rise in upland tilapia consumption that even our wet markets now have tilapia stocks, a thing that you could not find then," the fisheries officer noted.

In response to the need for more fingerlings especially in areas far from their facilities, BFAR said they have re-opened an abandoned tilapia hatchery in eastern Bohol.

"Last Tuesday, we were in Cadapdapan Candijay to revive a tilapia hatchery which a people’s organization have asked for," he said.

The people’s organization, composed of tilapia raisers and start-up farmers, partnered with BFAR and volunteered to clean up the facility’s breeding tanks to keep the tilapia seeding fingerlings in that part of Bohol.

For that, BFAR said they gave 400 breeders and for the 28 farmer beneficiaries, some 35,000 fingerlings.

While the older tilapia breeds were of inferior kind, the new tilapia crossbreeds feature thick and tastier meat, good palatability and fast growth, which is good for commercial production.

"In three months, our tilapia dispersals can grow three to a kilo," Samijon said.

As commercial feeds now discourage growers, BFAR has also pushed for organic feeding which constitute azolla and duckweed which can supplement the feeds cost for a month or two.

BFAR, during the Kapihan sa PIA, also called for daily fish conservation instead of the annual commemoration which the country’s fisheries bureau leads in commemorating every third week of September.

Samijon said fish conservation should be done every day, as populations tend get their protein requirements from the sea. (rahc/PIA-7/Bohol)

***

References:

* Philippine Information Agency. "BFAR exceeds tilapia production for 2020." Philippine Information Agency. https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1057211 (accessed October 28, 2020 at 09:14AM UTC+08).

* Philippine Infornation Agency. "BFAR exceeds tilapia production for 2020." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1057211 (archived).

#Philippines #News #Filipino #Pinoy #Tourism #Politics #Culture #Editorial #Environment #Society #History

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steadfastfacilityservices · 5 months ago

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What Is the Impact of Seasonal Changes on Office Cleaning in Eastern Creek?

Seasonal changes can significantly affect the needs and routines for office cleaning Eastern Creek. Each season brings its own set of challenges and requirements for maintaining a clean and healthy office environment. Understanding these impacts can help businesses adapt their cleaning strategies effectively, ensuring a spotless and welcoming workspace year-round.

Summer: Managing Dust and Allergens During the summer months, increased dust and allergens can become a major issue in offices. With windows often open to let in fresh air, dust and pollen can accumulate quickly, affecting air quality and causing allergies among employees.

Regular office cleaning in Eastern Creek during summer should focus on thorough dusting, vacuuming, and air filtration to maintain a clean environment. Our team at Steadfast Facility Services ensures that all surfaces, including hard-to-reach areas, are kept dust-free and clean, contributing to a healthier workspace.

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Regular industrial cleaning eastern creek during winter involves not only cleaning but also maintaining dry and safe flooring. Steadfast Facility Services uses advanced techniques to prevent mould and manage moisture, ensuring your office remains safe and clean despite the winter challenges.

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This prepares the office for the upcoming season and ensures a fresh start. Our team is skilled at tackling these deep cleaning projects, providing comprehensive solutions to keep your office pristine.

Conclusion: Adapting your cleaning routines to the changing seasons is crucial for maintaining a clean and healthy office environment. Whether it's managing dust in summer, dealing with moisture in winter, or handling transitional clean-ups in spring and autumn, understanding the seasonal impacts on office cleaning eastern creek is essential.

Steadfast Facility Services offers tailored cleaning solutions that address these seasonal challenges, ensuring your office stays clean, safe, and inviting all year long. Contact us today to learn more about our specialised services and how we can help you maintain a spotless office.

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kathydsalters31 · 4 years ago

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Check Out Pet Friendly Ghost Towns With Your Furry Travel Buddy

Visiting animal pleasant ghost communities isn’t

a journey to embark on alone! Simply the thought of these abandoned mining neighborhoods raises scary visions and chilling scenarios. With your faithful(and also furry)travel friend along for the trip, you’re in for an interesting experience. Right here are the most popular animal pleasant ghost towns throughout the country if you’ve constantly been interested about spooky areas. Pet Friendly Ghost Towns in America Animas Forks– Colorado Situated high in the San Juan Mountains at 11,200 feet, Animas Forks was a breaking mining area by 1876.

Every fall the residents relocated south to

the warmer town community Silverton for the winterWinter months By 1910, a lot of the mining had actually ended, as well as by the 1920s, Animas Forks was abandoned to the ghosts. You’ll find expository pamphlets and maps of the ghost community in the parking lot. And entrance to the structures is unlimited, however make sure since some are vulnerable. Bannack– Montana The Montana gold thrill began in Bannack in 1862 when John White located gold in Grasshopper Creek. For almost a years, the community’s populace fluctuated yet by the 1950s the gold as well as a lot of individuals were gone. Currently the site is a state park where you and your family pet can stroll amongst the 60 staying frameworks. There are likewise extracting artifacts as well as a cemetery. Batsto Village– New Jersey Found between

Philadelphia as well as Atlantic City in

New Jersey’s Pine Barrens, Batsto Village is a wonderfully maintained town with roots dating back to 1766. This former iron and glassmaking community has lots of intact structures and a number of nature tracks, consisting of a scenic walk along Batsto Lake. Bring a barbecue lunch and spend the day at this pet friendly ghost town! Bodie– California Bodie When silver and also gold were discovered in the Sierra Nevadas in 1875, ended up being a boomtown. Throughout its prime time, 10,000 people stayed below

, with the last couple of leaving in the 1940s. Today, the ghost town is a state park where more than 150 buildings are being protected in a state of”jailed degeneration.”The interiors remain as they were left, equipped and also stocked with items, with just ghosts roaming the halls. Cahawba– Alabama Carved out of the wild in 1819, Cahawba was Alabama’s initial capital. The state transformed the place of the funding in 1826, Cahawba continued to grow into a affluent and also flourishing river town. By 1870, nonetheless, the populace decreased to 300. By the millenium, the majority of Cahawba��s structures

were shed to fire, degeneration,

or dismantlement. Today at this pet dog friendly ghost community, you can take a self-guide tour of the landscape of damages, relics, columns, and gravestones, hike the nature route through Cahawba’s Town Commons, and also appreciate a picnic neglecting the Alabama River. Calico Ghost Town– California Calico sprung up in 1881 during the largest silver strike in California. With 500 mines, the community created over$20 million in silver ore during the following 12 years. However when silver shed its worth in the mid-1890s, Calico passed away. In the 1950s, Walter Knott acquired Calico and also restored all but 5 of the initial structures to look as they carried out in the 1880s. Today you and your family pet

are welcome to discover Calico Ghost Town’s history

as well as tourist attractions, as well as the stores and dining establishments. They additionally use a camping area, if you and also your animals do not mind oversleeping a ghost community! LEARNT MORE ⇒ Route 66– Pet Friendly Sights from Chicago to Santa Monica Garnet– Montana Hidden high in Montana’s Garnet Mountains, the community of Garnet was called for the semi-precious stone mined below. In 1912, a fire ruined several structures, as well as by the 1940s the town was a bust. Today you can see the 30 staying structures and discover more background of the area by taking a family pet pleasant walk on the Warren Park Trail, the Sierra Mine Loop Trail, and the Placer Trail. Goldfield Ghost Town– Arizona Goldfield, an hour eastern of Phoenix, is a family pet friendly ghost community that’s been resuscitated as a living background museum. You and your family pet can tour the gold mine, pan for gold, take a narrated flight on the slim gauge railway, and also see an Old West gunfight in the road. Keep in mind that family pets need to use their leashes and also can not go in the stores on major road or the basic store. Kennicott– Alaska With it’s red structures set in the rugged Alaskan hills, Kennicott is among the most picturesque pet dog friendly ghost communities you’ll discover. Established in 1903, this was a dynamic

mining camp filled with

miners and their households. But by 1938, the copper had actually run out and only

ghosts roamed the town. Today, it’s a prominent vacationer destination, and also the National Park Service is working to preserve most of the mill and town buildings. The only method to reach Kennicott is by foot or the animal friendly shuttle. McCarthy Road finishes at a footbridge that crosses the Kennicott River, approximately 5 miles from the community of Kennicott. Remember, services are restricted as soon as you begin your trip. Lodging, restaurants, as well as a bar are available at McCarthy and Kennicott, and appointments are suggested. Rhyolite– Nevada Rhyolite grown in 1904, when gold was uncovered near California’s Death Valley. Virtually over night the town grew to consist of hotels, shops, an institution for 250 children, an ice cream parlor, ice plant, two electrical plants, shops and factory, and a healthcare facility. Sadly, it was throughout by 1916. Today you can watch the residues of Rhyolite’s magnificence days. Some of the walls of the 3-story bank building are still standing, as is part of the old prison. The train depot and the Bottle House are two of the few total buildings left in the community. Saint Elmo– Colorado Saint Elmo was a gold and silver mining camp, as well as is one of the most effective maintained ghost towns in Colorado. There are dozens of

buildings still standing

, consisting of the court house, barroom, and also a couple of personal residences. It’s taken into consideration a ghost community, individuals still live in St. Elmo, and also tourism brings lots of people to community every year.

There are ATV trails, fishing, and the basic store is open all summer season long. READ MORE ⇒ Ride the Pet Friendly Gondola in Telluride, Colorado South Pass City– Wyoming Positioned in the Wind River Mountains, South Pass City got its start in the summer season of 1867 when gold was found by a team of Mormon miners. By 1868, the community hummed with enjoyment, and its half-mile long main street boasted various resorts, restaurants, general shops, 2 papers, doctors

, a bowling alley, and lots of hangouts

. Sadly, mining in the location struck a slump, and also by 1872, the community was occupied by just a couple of hundred people. Today, South Pass City is a state historic website with 23 original structures as well as 30,000 artefacts. The park is open from mid-May to late-September, and you as well as your pet can check out the town and enjoy nearly five miles of animal pleasant hiking tracks. Tahawus– New York Embeded the Adirondacks, Tahawus lies in between Lake George as well as Lake Placid. The town was established in 1826 to mine iron ore down payments, and also at its top the neighborhood included 2 ranches, mining and also smelting facilities, a saw mill, 16 residences, a school, as well as a bank. However troubles delivering the product to market caused the community’s ultimate desertion. Today, you’ll find several residences, barns, and the renovated blast furnace from the mining operation. Terlingua– Texas Terlingua is a previous mercury-mining community, located in the remote Big Bend location of western Texas. The ghost community began its new life as an off-beat traveler destination when mining finished in the 1940s. Deserted and also worn out buildings, mine shafts, and the old cemetery now stand along with the trading post, Starlight Diner, and old jail(now bathrooms). For a real reward, strategy to visit during the world-famous globally chili cook-off, which takes place each November. LEARNT MORE ⇒ Exploring Big Bend, Texas With Dogs Thurmond– West Virginia Thurmond was the heart of West Virginia’s New River Gorge, with the railway lugging coal and hardwood from the surrounding area. At its top, the community had 2 hotels, 2 banks, dining establishments, clothes shops, a fashion jewelry shop, movie theater, several dry-good shops, and also several office. With the onset of the Great Depression, the economy failed, and also two large fires cleaned out several major organizations. Today the National Park Service is functioning to stabilize the buildings in pet pleasant Thurmond ghost community till they can be fixed up or recovered. You as well as your pet can roam amid vacant buildings, and also delight in the nearby hiking tracks. FOUND OUT MORE ⇒ Visit West Virginia’s Monongahela National Forest With Pets

Virginia City– Montana Perched high in Montana’s Rocky Mountains, Virginia City got started when gold was uncovered in Alder Gulch in 1863. Within a year, 10,000 people were residing in a number of mining camps in the

location. However the community’s blossom discolored swiftly. By the early 1870s Virginia City’s population had actually been lowered to just a few hundred. Today, the pet dog friendly ghost town of

Virginia City has more than 200 historical

structures as well as supplies a number occasions for site visitors. You’ll likewise find museums, stores, dining establishments, and holiday accommodations. Throughout your browse through, do not miss the reconstructed ghost town of Nevada City, simply a mile away as well as connected by railroad. We hope these suggestions inspire you to embrace the spirit of the period! Appreciate checking out several pet friendly ghost towns with your hairy travel pal.

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