​Continental Features/Continental News Service

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This is not the whole newspaper, but a special complimentary, on-line edition of the general-interest, periodic newsmagazine, Continental Newstime.  The rest of the newspaper includes national and world news, newsmaker profiles, commentary/analysis, periodic interviews, travel and entertainment features, an intermittent science column, humor, sports, cartoons, comic strips, and puzzles, and averages 26 pages per month.  Continental Features/Continental News Service publishes, on a monthly rotational basis, special, complimentary on-line newspapers: Washington DC News Edition (familiarly knownasthe Malfunction Junction News Edition or Snooze Junction News Edition), Chicago News Edition, Honolulu News Edition, Atlanta News Edition, Anchorage News Edition, Boston News Edition, Seattle News Edition, Miami News Edition, San Diego News Edition, Rochester (N.Y.) News Edition, Minneapolis News Edition, and Houston News Edition. 

Washington, D.C. News Edition of Continental Newstime 
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* Congressional News Briefs ... Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton relates that, with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and President Joseph Biden sympathetic to D.C. statehood, Delaware Senator Tom Carper has introduced the counterpart of the Norton statehood bill in that chamber.  Noting that the District of Columbia's 712,000-plus taxpayers pay more in federal taxes per capita than citizens of any other state, the Congresswoman says that extending to them full voting representation in both the Senate and House of Representatives is not a Republican or Democrat issue, but a matter of consistency with the nation's Founding principle of "no taxation without representation."  The Norton bill has 202 co-sponsors, and Senator Carper says that correcting the current "historical injustice" is a matter of equity.  In addition, short of D.C. statehood, Congresswoman Norton has re-introduced a bill designed to restore to the District of Columbia authority that was transferred to the U.S. Parole Commission, under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act (1997), to make parole and supervised-release decisions for D.C. Code felons.  Pressing for more D.C. home rule, the Congresswoman underscores that the Commission's authority sunsets on October 31, 2022 and that her bill would restore D.C. authority over parole and supervised-release decisions effective November 1, 2022, giving a reinstated version of the D.C. Parole Board ample time to devise its own parole and supervised-release decisions for D.C. Code felons.  Next, concerning Capitol Hill disturbances on January 6, Norton has written U.S. Capitol Police Acting Chief Yogananda D. Pittman, urging the Capitol Police to improve communications with nearby residents, so they receive safety alerts from law enforcement, rather than have to depend on news channels.  If, in the judgment of the Capitol Police, sharing with local residents the safety alerts Congressional employees receive raises security or technological issues, the Congresswoman requested that an alternate arrangement be made for communicating with the surrounding neighborhoods.  Still, she has contacted the Capitol Police Board to recommend against the Acting Chief's plan to erect permanent fencing at the Capitol Complex.  Not wanting either the Capitol Hill Complex or the surrounding neighborhood to become a "military zone" and advising against "an over-reaction that fundamentally changes the people's house into a fortress against the people," Norton conveys that incorporating "state-of-the-art security measures" can actually prevent future attacks and avoids the "security theater" associated with permanent fencing.  On a lighter note, Congresswoman Norton reminds that each year she arranges for insertion in the Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill of a directive to the Capitol Police to permit sledding on the Capitol's west-side hill.  With a snowstorm forecast, perhaps the only one this winter suitable for D.C. sledding, she has asked the Capitol Police to allow sledding today and next week in expectation of adequate snowfall, adding that specific provision for such family outings is a safe activity that tempers the "militarization of their city, with the hostile symbols of fences and barbed wire."

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* Mayor's Office News Briefs ...  Mayor Muriel Bowser, noting that in 2015 she established the D.C. Housing Preservation Strike Force to extend District affordable-housing covenants due to expire in 2020, has appointed the Chair of that body, Department of Housing and Community Development Director Polly Donaldson, to preside over the Saving DC's Rental Housing Market Strike Force, to advise, through a report due by mid-March, on District preparations to meet changes in the city's affordable and market-rate rental housing market since the onset of the coronavirus public-health emergency.  Creation of the advisory group builds upon ongoing efforts to furnish rental assistance to tenants and housing providers, along with safeguards against evictions, and coordinates with the District's Economic Recovery Team.  Then, too, the Mayor has announced that the deadline for interested employers and District youth aged 14 to 24 to sign up for the 2021 Mayor Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program, a four-decade-plus program, is February 27.  Over the course of time, almost half a million District youth have participated, and last year about 9,000 youth engaged in a first, a virtual program, by which they completed professional-development sessions, practiced job interviews, and interacted with employers using their mobile devices, in six weeks of work experience.  This year, the Summer Youth Employment Program resumes its relationship with federal financial agencies, to offer almost 100 youth participants from 11 District high schools opportunity for valuable professional regulatory experience at such agencies as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Credit Union Administration, and, now, the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Today, the Mayor informs that vaccination appointments will open for child-care providers and independent school teachers and staff.  In the District's report of January 30, four deaths in the District were attributed to the coronavirus, the affected ranging in age from 58 to 78.  The report also reveals such data as a moderate community spread, moderate health and public-health capacity, and fair community engagement, with the latest three-week survey indicating that an estimated 72.6 percent are correctly wearing masks. The percent of hospital utilization was 88.1 percent, with coronavirus patients accounting for 11.5 percent of the 7-day-average, daily hospital census.  Further, in anticipation of snowfall of four to six inches possibly continuing into Tuesday, the Mayor activated the District Snow Team at midnight, January 31, with the result that brine-application crews began spraying the so-called hot mix of brine and beet juice to lower the temperature at which ice bonds to pavement.  Headed by the Department of Public Works, the District Snow Team is also backed by the Departments of Transportation and of General Services, and, among other agencies, the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, and the Team has at its disposal 147 heavy plows and, for clearing smaller streets, 81 pick-up trucks.  Those residents and commuters who sign up at alertdc.dc.gov receive weather alerts from the District, which also advises adherence to winter-weather checklists and household- and auto-maintenance tips, while offering transportation to shelters for individuals at risk of exposure to freezing temperatures.

* City Council News Briefs ... The City Council Committee on Health is scheduled to meet by Webex today at 9:30 AM to vote on rules of organization and procedure for the Committee and on a Health Staff Appointment Resolution.  Then, at 10 AM, the Health Public Oversight Roundtable will conduct a virtual meeting on the District's coronavirus vaccination process.  Tomorrow, at 1 PM, the Council is set to hold a virtual legislative meeting on a Consent Agenda including Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act or Emergency Declaration Resolutions on such matters as the CleanEnergy DC Omnibus Technical Amendment, Metropolitan Police Department Overtime Spending Accountability, and Children's Hospital Research and Innovation Campus Equitable Tax Relief.  Under other business, the Council is poised to consider emergency legislation relative to the Fair Meals Delivery Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2021 and, among other agenda items, the District Government Parental Bereavement Leave Emergency Declaration Resolution.

* School District News Briefs ... Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee, Chancellor of the DC Public Schools District, informs that the planned re-opening of every school today, based on "robust health and safety protocols for staff and students" is designed to address the "COVID-19 learning slide"  noticed in every grade for "students who learn best in the physical classroom."  On its part, the Board of Education is due to conduct a Working Session meeting, by Web conference, on February 3 between 5 PM and 7:30 PM, to review the Thrive by Five Annual Report on empowering the families of young children through the landscape of the city's health and early-learning resources; to discuss re-opening and learning loss; to consider the Executive Director's Report; and to hear from the Student Advisory Committee, to mention some agenda items.

* Weather ... The National Weather Service reports that current conditions at Washington-Reagan National Airport, as of 10:52 PM on January 31, are misty, with light freezing, a temperature of 31 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 92 percent, wind out of the north at 14 miles per hour, barometric pressure of 29.92 inches, a dewpoint of 29 degrees, visibility of 3 miles due to drizzle and fog, and a wind chill of 21 degrees.  The forecast for overnight calls for rain, a low temperature of about 32 degrees, northeast wind of about 11 miles per hour, with gusts up to 18 miles per hour, an 80-percent chance of precipitation, and new precipitation amounts between one-tenth and one-quarter inch possible.  On Monday, rain and freezing rain are likely, possibly mixed with snow before 1 PM, followed by rain and snow likely between 1 PM and 2 PM, then snow likely after 2 PM.  Cloudy skies, with a daily high temperature near 34, are anticipated, along with north wind of 10 to 17 miles per hour and gusts as high as 26 miles per hour.  There is a 70-percent chance of precipitation, with new accumulation of snow amounting to less than a half-inch possible, but little or no ice accumulation is expected.  Monday night, snow is likely before 8 PM, followed by a chance of snow and freezing rain between 8 PM and 11 PM, then a chance of snow after 11 PM.  Cloudy skies are forecast, with a low temperature of around 31 degrees, north wind of 11 to 15 miles per hour, gusts up to 23 miles per hour, a 70-percent chance of precipitation, little or no ice accumulation, and an accumulation of new snow amounting to less than one inch possible.

* Sports ...  In the NHL, the Capitals (6-0-3) host their Division rivals, the Boston Bruins (5-1-2) at 7 PM this evening, hoping to break the Division tie with Philadelphia at 15 total points apiece.  Meantime, over in the NBA, the Wizards, coming off their 149-146 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, have still played 3 fewer games than the Division-leading Atlanta Hawks.

Middle East Cable Flashback                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   by Mike Maggio

Palestinian Autonomy [Condensed and Edited]
 
    ...  Israeli settlers, who from the start have been against any settlement with the Palestinians, have taken a lesson from their enemies by burning tires in the streets and setting up roadblocks.  Their fear: that the Palestinian police force that is supposed to take over when the Israeli army withdraws will be hostile toward them.  Their concerns have been heightened by the recent killing of Israeli settlers, and public opinion within Israel has begun to shift in their favor.
    Palestinians, on the other hand, have been protesting the continued assassination of their activists, and some are going so far as to demand a denunciation of the autonomy agreement signed by Israel and the PLO on September 13 and a return to the intifada.
    Meanwhile, rumors abound that the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel have agreed to a delay in the withdrawal of Israeli troops, scheduled to begin December 13....
    The PLO publicly insists that the December 13th start date is "sacred" and refuses any compromise on the issue fearing that it would lead to an erosion of Palestinian public opinion, but some PLO factions are unwilling to rush into self-rule when the risks for failure are greater than those for success....
    With public opinion leaning against peace on both sides of the autonomy quagmire and with Secretary of State Warren Christopher publicly hinting his support for an extension of the deadline, actual implementation of the deal by the December 13th deadline seems like a long shot.

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* Proverbs (chapter 28/verse 22): “He that hastes to be rich has an evil eye, and considers not that poverty shall come upon him.”   hastes=hurries.
[A timely warning against get-rich-quick schemes]


















A free copy of the Etna, California News Edition of Continental Newstime [dated August 14, 2020] containing the newspaper feature of outdoor writer Lee Snyder is also available by

E-mail request ​to info@continentalnewsservice.com

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*Free


Tulelake, CA News Edition 

of Continental Newstime  newsmagazine

VOLUME I                                            NUMBER 1                                   OCTOBER 12, 2020
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                                                                                                                                                  What's new in Tulelake, California? Find out here:
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This is a Special Issue designed only to encourage a would-be editor-publisher in Tulelake, California to start a regular weekly or bi-weekly newspaper and to show that, using the structured format below, the proverbial wheel need not be re-invented—to eliminate the complexity in restoring newspaper coverage to Tulelake, California.  Just as our Website indicates, Continental Features/Continental News Service is available to give guidance, to offer some cartoons/comic strips and other feature material free of charge, and to help a new local editor-publisher expand by 26 pages one time monthly for readers interested in receiving a general-interest magazine insert. CF/CNS desires more exposure for our cartoons, comic strips and newspaper columns, but we do not exist to compete with a local editor-publisher in Tulelake, California.  We publish too many other newspapers and publications to regularly publish a Tulelake community newspaper, too.  It is our hope, besides, that a local editor-publisher in Tulelake will not neglect to publish ads, so local businesses receive wider publicity for their products and services.  Thank you.


Tulelake, CA News Edition of Continental Newstime 
Continental Features/Continental News Service 
501 W. Broadway, Plaza A, PMB# 265 
San Diego, CA 92101 
(858) 492-8696  
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* Congressional News Briefs …  The Paycheck Protection Program ended on August 8, with about $135 billion in Program reserves unspent, and Tulelake’s agent in the U.S. House of Representatives, Doug LaMalfa, considering the initiative a success, insofar as it reportedly preserved about 51 million jobs--12 million of which were located in rural areas--has signed a petition requiring 218 House Member signatures, to bring this matter up for consideration on the House floor.  The thrust of the associated bill, House bill 8265, is to qualify businesses for a second Program loan if they can show a reduction in revenue, to relax spending requirements, and to enable businesses--Congressman LaMalfa has small Northern California businesses in mind--to claim loan forgiveness.  LaMalfa expresses disappointment that, as more businesses close for good and could make use of the already-authorized aid, amid an active wildfire season, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has blocked Congress from addressing small-business needs.  Also, the California Representative informs that he helped draft legislation the House passed to revise the 2018 Water Resources Development Act to offer relief to Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers that suffered water shutoffs threatening to the Basin economy.  The bill permits the Bureau of Reclamation to earmark as much as $10 million annually for conservation and water-efficiency measures and authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to exercise greater flexibility in meeting the needs of water users and to protect duck populations in the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge from drought, as well.  Since the U.S. Senate has already passed the bill, LaMalfa trusts that, President Donald Trump, given his commitment to aiding Basin farmers and ranchers, will  sign the bill into law.  Commenting on House Bill 925, a $2.4-trillion, supposed coronavirus-spending package, which he characterizes as the Speaker's "partisan wish list" because it was written without opportunity for Republican participation and contains much irrelevant to the coronavirus, Congressman LaMalfa says his vote against the proposal owed, in part, to the Democrat leader's attempt "to prop up the vulnerable members of her party headed into Election Day."  The GOP Congressman's objections to the bill center on its tendency "to fund dangerous programs, like letting felons out of prison, providing stimulus checks to illegal immigrants, de-funding police, and federalizing the electoral process."  In particular, he mentions removal of $600 million for COPS Hiring and state and local law-enforcement aid, opening a loophole for Planned Parenthood to receive taxpayer money under the Paycheck Protection Program, dispensing with ID requirements for in-person voting, eliminating the limitations on State and Local Tax (SALT) deductibility, and, among other demerits, stripping the Food Stamp program of its work-incentive provisions.  California Senator Dianne Feinstein, together with Virginia Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, concede that, from the beginning of the Military Housing Privatization Initiative in 1996, Congress and the Defense Department expressed too much confidence in the private firms administering the program; namely, through such features as 50-year leases between the companies and the service branches.  The National Defense Authorization Act in the 2020 fiscal-year addressed health, safety and environmental hazards in the private military housing, and, in keeping with the Act, the Defense Department announced an 18-point Tenant Bill of Rights during February, 2020.  Still, the Senators note, four of the required rights have yet to be extended, since there is no standard lease, no tenant access to the housing unit's maintenance history, no mechanism for withholding the Basic Allowance for Housing when a dispute between company and tenant occurs, and no process for resolution of disputes.  Toward greater oversight by Congress and the Defense Department, the California Senator and her colleagues have introduced the Ensuring Safe Housing for Our Military Act (Senate Bill 703) and have requested a progress report on the Tenant Bill of Rights from Defense Secretary Mark Esper.  Then, too, the Senator, along with all Judiciary Committee Democrats, argue that a Senate hearing on Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett "would endanger health, safety."  They add, "Now is the time to provide much-needed COVID relief, not to rush through a Supreme Court nomination and further endanger health and safety."  In their letter to Chairman Lindsey Graham, they oppose a remote hearing on the nomination, too.

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* State Government News Briefs … Tulelake’s representative in the California Senate, Brian Dahle, has announced his opposition to a measure passed by the California Legislature that would extend and re-direct until 2051 the utility tax ratepayers now pay.  He is critical, besides, of Assembly Bill 1788, saying that the state has established many pesticide regulations, but fails to pursue those who use rodenticides and other pesticides illegally or negligently.  Moreover, remarking on Governor Gavin Newsom's long-range plan to ban gasoline-powered cars from the state's roads, he points out that the state cannot even ensure dependable electricity, much less power electric cars.  In an appraisal of the legislative session, the Governor has announced vetoing an additional 16 bills, including Assembly Bill 1835 because it would require the California Board of Education to undertake a lengthy rule-making process to amend the Local Control Funding Formula and delay use of unspent supplemental and concentration grant funds to benefit the most-vulnerable students for two school-years.  The Governor favors a January budget solution, instead.  He cited, as accomplishments, imposition of a ban on a number of toxic chemicals in cosmetic products, establishment of the state's own generic drug label (Cal Rx) as a means of lowering prescription-drug prices, creation of a task force to look into reparations for slavery, expansion of paid sick leave and family leave for front-line workers, and passage of new eviction and foreclosure-protection legislation for those confronted with a loss of housing due to the economic effects of the coronavirus.

* County Government News Briefs …  The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, at its meeting of October 6, was poised to take up a Consent Agenda consisting of approval of a letter to President Donald Trump asking for federal aid to counties affected by wildfire and the coronavirus public-health emergency; authorization to apply for and accept a California Library Literacy Services grant in the amount of $56,000; approval of a 2020-2021 fiscal-year contract with the First 5 Siskiyou Children & Families Commission, in an amount not greater than $30,000, to furnish mental-health services and outreach to youth aged 0 to 5; adoption of a Resolution authorizing acceptance of a CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act 2020 Emerging Issues Project allocation award of $166,978 for adjusting community-mitigation responses to the coronavirus in the County, through March 23, 2022; and, among other items, adoption of a Resolution okaying the submission of application(s) for Per Capita Grant Funds through the California Department of Parks and Recreation.  Under Departmental Requests, newly-appointed Sheriff-Coroner Jeremiah LaRue was to be sworn in, and consideration was to be given to an Urgency Ordinance amending the County Code on standards for wells, with a Public Hearing scheduled for the Second Reading of the Ordinance. With regard to appointments, County Supervisors were set to appoint one Delegate and an Alternate to serve on the California State Association of Counties Board of Directors for the 2020-2021 Association year.

* City Government News Briefs ... The City Council, at a conference-call Special Meeting on October 8, was set to take up an agenda providing for approval of the Minutes of its Special Meeting on September 15 and its Regular Meeting on that date, along with approval of bill payments,  and to receive public comments. [The Regular Meeting on September 15 dealt with the matter of authorization to apply for a LEAP (Local Early Action Planning) grant in the amount of $65,000 for re-zoning, updating planning documents, ordinances, and housing elements before the January 31, 2021 deadline; consideration of a possible change of ownership to the City of the Clyde Hotel and associated grant opportunities; possible acceptance of a construction bid on the Veterans Park Expansion Project; and, among other items of business, approval of a contract for on-call  Engineering Services. The Special Meeting took up the matter of Police Officer appointments in Closed Session and considered approval of a professional-services agreement with Jesse Small to perform artistic services in connection with the Veterans Park Expansion Project.]  In addition, time was scheduled for delivery of reports from community and/or school representatives; for authorization to pursue funding to cover the deficiency preventing initiation of the Veterans Park Expansion Project; for discussion, toward approval, of the proposed valued engineering contract suggested by the Director of Public Works;  and for permission for the City Hall Administrator to advertise for the Temporary City Staff/Library position.  The subsequent Closed Session of the Council, over which Mayor Henry Ebinger was to preside, was tasked to discuss a citizen complaint against the City Hall Administrator concerning payment of a utility bill and  cumulative fees, while a succeeding Closed Council Session was concerned with Performance Evaluations of all City Department Heads.  Thereafter, Department Heads were allotted time to furnish updates on matters relating to their areas of responsibility, and comments from such City officials as the City Engineer, the Chief of Police, the Director of Public Works, the City Clerk, the City Treasurer, and Council Members (Gary Fensler, Richard Marcillac, Penny Velador, and Henry Ebinger) were entertained.

* Weather ...  The National Weather Service reports that, as of 1:05 AM, current conditions at Klamath Falls International Airport are mostly cloudy, with a temperature of 48 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 70 percent, wind out of the south at 6 miles per hour, barometric pressure of 30.23 inches, a dewpoint of 39 degrees, and visibility of 10 miles.  The over-night forecast for Tulelake calls for partly-cloudy skies, with a light west wind and a low temperature of about 33 degrees.  Columbus Day is expected to be mostly sunny, with light and variable wind becoming westerly at 6 to 11 miles per hour in the afternoon and with a daily high temperature of about 64 degrees.  Monday night is expected to be mostly clear, with a low temperature of about 33 degrees and west-northwest wind of 5 to 10 miles per hour becoming light and variable in the evening, while the forecast for Tuesday calls for mostly-sunny skies, a daily high temperature near 70 degrees, and light and variable wind becoming westerly at 5 to 10 miles per hour in the afternoon.  

 

 

 

                                                                                   Please E-mail info@continentalnewsservice.com for a copy of Cliff Ulmer's cartoon feature, Brother Jones.

 

 

 

 


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VOLUME VIII        NUMBER 1          FEBRUARY 1, 2021