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brooklynite

brooklynite's Journal
brooklynite's Journal
March 23, 2021

Kim Janey is Boston's first Black mayor. A local historian broke down the significance

Boston Globe

Kim Janey’s time in the mayor’s seat marks a historic moment in a city whose history and progressive politics have influenced a nation for centuries, yet which has long eluded this particular milestone.

As of Monday, Janey, the former City Council president, is now Boston’s first Black mayor.

The 55-year-old District 7 councilor and Roxbury native — who is also the city’s first woman mayor — became acting mayor after Mayor Marty Walsh resigned Monday to serve as secretary of labor to President Joe Biden.

While her powers as acting mayor are somewhat limited, Janey has emphasized in she intends to carry out what needs to be done as Boston continues to face the staggering ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic and works through the phases of the vaccine rollout.


March 23, 2021

With respect to the Boulder shootings, have we moved on from "thoughts and prayers" to....

..."it's too early to politicize this"? I'm fairly sure we're not at "the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun".

March 23, 2021

Is it inevitable that a prominent Democrat will challenge Newsom in the recall?

Los Angeles Times

As the effort to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom from office intensifies, a critical question is whether another Democrat jumps into the race to replace him. No candidate has come forward yet, but many political experts believe it is inevitable.

...snip...

Democratic contenders could come from a handful of categories: an impatient progressive frustrated by the logjam for top statewide seats, a candidate with nothing to lose, a rich neophyte or a party pick if Democratic leaders ultimately decide it’s too risky not to have a backup plan.

Rumors are swirling about potential candidates quietly talking to donors and allies. They include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who ran against Newsom for governor in 2018 but quickly endorsed him after he lost in the primary. He pivoted to the COVID-19 crisis when asked whether he would enter the race.

“At a time when we’ve lost 50,000 Californians in the middle of a pandemic, politics is the last thing we should be talking about,” Villaraigosa said.

On Friday, after he tweeted about the detrimental effect of school closures — an implicit criticism of Newsom’s handling of the pandemic and one of the recall proponents’ top arguments against him — a longtime advisor to the governor lashed out at him.


March 23, 2021

Katty Kay: UK tells citizens they shouldn't expect to be allowed to travel abroad this summer...

Worry that they'll pick up COVID variants and bring them back.

March 23, 2021

Mayor Ends Remote Work for 80,000 in Signal to Rest of New York City

Source: New York Times

For the last year, New York City has been running in the shadow of a deadly pandemic, with many city and private sector employees forced to work from home, stripping New York of its lifeblood and devastating its economy.

But with virus cases seeming to stabilize and vaccinations becoming more widespread, city officials intend to send a message that New York is close to returning to normal: On May 3, the city will compel its municipal office employees to begin to report to work in person, according to internal planning documents shared with The New York Times. Workers will return in phases over several weeks.

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to bring the nation’s largest municipal work force back to the office signals a remarkable turnabout in the fortunes of a city that served as the national epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, coming to symbolize the perils of living in densely packed global capitals.

The move is meant to broadcast that New York City will soon be open for business, and to encourage private companies to follow suit — lifting the hopes of landlords whose skyscrapers have largely sat empty as office workers stayed home.


Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/23/nyregion/coronavirus-work-return-nyc.html
March 23, 2021

11 National Guard Soldiers transporting vaccines held at gunpoint in West Texas, suspect arrested

WAFB News

LUBBOCK COUNTY, Texas (KCBD) - An Arizona man has been arrested after he cut off and held at gunpoint a caravan of National Guardsmen transporting COVID-19 vaccines to Matador, Texas around 7 a.m. this morning, according to Idalou Police.

Larry Harris, of Willcox, Arizona, is accused of following three National Guardsmen vans from Love’s Travel Station on East Regis Street in Lubbock to about two miles east of Idalou. Police say Harris attempted multiple times to run the vans off of the roadway. He then turned his vehicle into oncoming traffic on Hwy. 62/82 and stopped the vans. He then pointed a gun at an unarmed National Guardsman, identified himself as a detective, and demanded to search the vehicles and ordered the rest of the unarmed guardsmen out of their vehicles at gunpoint.

Harris told police he thought the people in the vans had kidnapped a woman and child. All 11 of the guardsmen were in uniform.

When police arrived on the scene, Harris was in possession of a loaded Colt 1911 pistol .45 Caliber. He had an additional loaded magazine on his person and another loaded magazine in his truck, police say.



March 23, 2021

NIH questions AstraZeneca trial data, calls it 'incomplete'

Source: Washington Post

British-Swedish pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca may have only used partial data when it announced the results from a U.S. trial of its coronavirus vaccine, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said Tuesday in a highly unusual rebuke.

The agency, part of the National Institutes of Health, said in a statement that it was concerned AstraZeneca used outdated information from the large-scale trial when it reported the results Monday, “which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.”

It urged the company, which developed its vaccine with Oxford University, to work with the U.S. Data Safety and Monitoring Board to review the data and release the updated information “as quickly as possible.” AstraZeneca had said Monday that the vaccine was shown to be 79 percent effective against symptomatic covid-19 — and that it was 100 percent effective against severe illness.

Scientists are describing the reaction as unusual and unprecedented for the agency.




Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/03/23/coronavirus-covid-live-updates-us/
March 23, 2021

Beginning in May, I'm going to restart live gatherings for my dinner group for those vaccinated

The group has been getting together for bi-weekly dinners since 1999. Since last March, we've been getting together weekly on ZOOM.

March 23, 2021

Announcing an Exclusive Event With Barack Obama & Isabel Wilkerson

Barnes & Noble is thrilled to welcome Former President Barack Obama in conversation with Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson for a virtual event on Monday, March 29th at 7PM ET. The two authors will discuss A PROMISED LAND, the first of Obama's presidential memoirs.

Registration on Eventbrite is required to attend this event. Reserve your spot today!

Register Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/barnes-noble-welcomes-barack-obama-to-virtually-discuss-a-promised-land-tickets-145982851639

March 22, 2021

Police respond to active shooter at King Soopers in Boulder

Source: Denver Post

The Boulder Police Department is warning people to stay away from the King Soopers store at 3600 Table Mesa Drive because of an active shooter at the store.

Department officials tweeted the warning at 2:49 p.m. Monday. A public information officer was on their way to the scene. Further information was not immediately provided.

The King Soopers store anchors a large shopping center in the southern part of Boulder, a few blocks from Fairview High School. The Boulder Valley School District is on spring break this week. District spokeswoman Randy Barber said to his knowledge no students or staff were in any of the buildings near the King Soopers on Monday.

A YouTube user was livestreaming from the scene starting at roughly 2:30 p.m. His video showed what appear to be shooting victims, and police approaching the front of the badly damaged store in an armored vehicle. He claimed he was still hearing gunshots from within the store while taking cover in the parking lot.


Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2021/03/22/police-active-shooter-shooting-king-soopers-boulder/



Live coverage: https://www.9news.com/article/news/crime/shooting-boulder-king-soopers-table-mesa/73-f5825a61-8b9b-4b5a-a550-36edf1c44d50

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