Continental Features/Continental News Service
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VOLUME VII NUMBER 1 SEPTEMBER 1, 2020
Continental Features/Continental News Service
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* Congressional News Briefs ... Senator Rick Scott has recently followed-up his alert to the California Public Employees' Retirement System with a warning concerning investment in companies linked to Communist China. Now, in previously contacting the CEO of CalPERS, the Senator cited the findings of the President's Working Group on Financial Markets, which laid out the risks posed to CalPERS pension contributors of the pension system investing in Chinese companies that are supporting Beijing's agenda of religious intolerance, human-rights malpractice, and world military and industrial domination. Senator Scott pointed out that, far from being a safe investment of Californians' pension funds, investment in Chinese companies ignores the fact that Beijing is already violating U.S. laws and cheating American citizens. In addition, Scott has repeated a warning he issued earlier this year, that China "does not want to join the community of nations so much as it wants to rule it." Besides, he underscores that China's geopolitical aims match those of Iran: to back global terrorism, destabilize the Middle East and to annihilate Israel. As such, China is inevitably America's "adversary," in a "new Cold War." Consequently, the U.S., the Senator explains, must boycott Chinese-made products, remove Chinese companies from our stock exchanges, re-establish control over our supply chain, re-assess relations with Chinese researchers at our universities and hospitals, require place-of-origin information in on-line shopping Websites, end travel to China, and remove the 2022 Olympic Games from Beijing. On his part, Senator Marco Rubio, Acting Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, commenting on foreign threats to the 2020 General Election, said that Members of Congress have breached trust by leaking classified information to the news media and that Democratic leaders have unfairly accused the intelligence community, despite an extensive briefing, of withholding information damaging to the Trump Administration. He reminded those who have revealed classified information publicly that the attempt to gain political advantage actually jeopardizes national security and is punishable under federal law.
*State Government News Briefs ... Governor Ron DeSantis has announced that the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity is applying, on behalf of Floridians receiving $100 or more of weekly Reemployment Assistance--who are unemployed or partly unemployed due to the coronavirus--for the Lost Wages Assistance Program financed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Upon approval, those eligible will receive an extra $300 per week in temporary assistance. In all, beneficiaries of seven different assistance and allowance programs, including Trade Readjustment Allowance payments, may qualify, and the state is required to meet a matching requirement. In other developments, the Minority Office in the Florida Senate posted a Day 174 Florida Unemployment Benefits Watch on August 29 indicating that 1,714,678 Floridians continue to wait for payment.
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* County Government News Briefs ... Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, following consultation with public-health officials, issued Emergency Order 28-20, which took effect yesterday and allows for indoor dining at 50-percent capacity--no more than six people per table--provided the New Normal Guidelines of social distancing and use of facial coverings are observed when not eating or drinking. To ensure maximum circulation of fresh air, doors and windows must remain open and air-conditioning fans must be operating. Also, casinos are no longer classified as non-essential businesses, but they were permitted to re-open yesterday at limited capacity under the New Normal rules they previously observed, with the stipulation that food and beverages may be consumed only in the food court and away from gaming tables and slot machines. At its Regular Meeting yesterday, the Board of County Commissioners were due to hear presentations from a representative of Miami Waterkeeper on the state of Biscayne Bay and the recent fish kill and from the American Cancer Society on its Making Strides Against Breast Cancer 2020 Campaign. Departmental Consent Items included a Resolution ratifying an agreement through the County Fire Rescue Department and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration for payment of a not-to-exceed $1,261,180.22 for a Supplemental Payment Program for Medicaid Managed Care patients, along with an agreement with participating Medicaid Managed Care organizations. Meanwhile, among ordinances subject to First Reading was an Ordinance eliminating the repeal and sunset-review provisions of the County Code relating to wage theft.
* City Government News Briefs ... The City Procurement Department is scheduled today, between 1:30 PM and 5 PM, to take up the matter of the Design Criteria Package for the Brickell Bay Drive improvements in a remote meeting. Later today, the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board is due to meet in City Hall Commission Chambers (3500 Pan American Drive) starting at 3 PM. Tomorrow, the Downtown Development Authority is set to meet remotely at 9 AM and the Civilian Investigative Panel plans to hold a Virtual Zoom Meeting beginning at 2 PM. One hour later, the Firefighters' and Police Officers' Retirement Contribution Stabilization Fund Trust Board is slated to meet in City Hall Chambers. The City Commission is not set to meet again, and then in a video-conference, until September 10 at 9 AM.
* School District News Briefs ... The School Board of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools District, led by Chair Perla Tabares Hantman, is due to have their next Regular Meeting on September 9 (1 PM) live-streamed, with a Public Hearing following at 6 PM on adoption of the 2020-2021 fiscal-year budget. Members of the public desiring to comment must E-mail their comments--there is a 250-word limit--to publichearing@dadeschools.net by noon on September 8, so their comments can be entered into the record. While the grading period for the Adult/Vocational Education school-year began on August 24, that for elementary- and secondary-school students began yesterday. The District, headed by Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, reminds parents and guardians that all students, whether attending on-line or physically, must meet state immunization requirements to be in school, and the District can make referrals to free or low-cost immunization centers.
* Weather ... The National Weather Service reports that current conditions at Miami International Airport, as of 4:53 AM, are partly cloudy, with a temperature of 79 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 90 percent, wind out of the north at 3 miles per hour, barometric pressure of 29.99 inches, a dewpoint of 76 degrees, and visibility of 10 miles. The forecast for today calls for mostly-sunny skies, with a daily high temperature of about 91 degrees, a slight chance of showers before 11 AM, then a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 PM, southeast wind of about 10 miles per hour, and a 20-percent chance of precipitation. Tonight is expected to be partly cloudy, with a low temperature of around 81 degrees and east wind of about 9 miles per hour.
* Sports ... In Round 2 of the NBA playoffs, the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, the Heat don't "return home" (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando) until September 4 after playing two games in Milwaukee, but, starting the best-of-seven-games series yesterday, the Heat took Game 1 by a score of 115-104. Over in the NFL, the Dolphins start the 2020-2021 season in New England against their AFC East rivals on September 13. In Major League Baseball, the Marlins host the Blue Jays in an inter-league game today, after defeating the Mets 5-3 yesterday, with Trevor Rogers getting his first win and Brandon Kintzler his seventh save.
No Assignment Too Difficult: By J. Michael Krivyanski
MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS [Condensed]
When Clarissa was seven-years-old, she would always think to herself how silly her mother always behaved. This woman would make her eat vegetables all the time and even drink milk. Why couldn’t this simple woman understand that potato chips and cola tasted so much better? Why would she let Clarissa only have chocolate cake for dessert after dinner? Why did this mom of hers make Clarissa endure carrots and apples for snack? Clarissa didn’t know anything about this nutrition stuff her mother kept talking about, but it was this stuff that kept her from getting the good snacks. She figured moms are just plain silly.
When her pet goldfish died, it was her mother who held Clarissa as she cried and helped Clarissa to understand why such things happen....
When Clarissa was eleven, her mother was no good at playing video games and struggled to use the computer. Teachers and parents were always trying to say how much kids have to learn, but how could anyone who couldn’t play video games and struggled using the computer know much of anything? Her mother was getting really strange. She actually wanted Clarissa to clean things around the house and help make dinner....
When Clarissa got so sick she had to stay in the hospital, she was scared. Her mother was with her during the entire difficult time. When she got better Clarissa knew she wouldn’t have been able to get through such an experience without her mother. This mother of hers was certainly difficult at times, but Clarissa felt it was nice to know she had such a mother.
When she had reached her teenage years Clarissa’s mother had now come to be thought of as a demented crazy person. This woman had no idea how important it was to dress a certain way and have certain things, in order to fit in with all the cool kids.... What business was it of her mother who she wanted to have as friends?... Her mother just didn’t seem to understand that Clarissa was ready for far more independence....
When the love of her life was very bad to Clarissa, it was her mother who sat with her and spent time talking about many different things all evening and into the night. When Clarissa’s grades slipped, it was her mother who worked with her to get them back up to where they had been. When Clarissa got into trouble after a party, it was her mother who stood by her and Clarissa learned some hard lessons in life. Clarissa began to realize that if she’d just listened to her mother things probably would’ve been different. She began to see her mother in a different way.... Her mother was actually someone very special.
It was probably the time right after graduating High School with honors and probably the time before starting college on a scholarship that Clarissa experienced strong feelings of respect and admiration for her mother. With her diploma in hand, Clarissa’s mother held her and they both cried....
Clarissa’s mother was so quiet when Clarissa got married. She shed tears, but spent most of the time just looking at her daughter and smiling. Clarissa knew her mother was so emotional she probably couldn’t talk about it. After the wedding and the honeymoon, Clarissa and her mother talked a lot more. Clarissa came to appreciate her mother and father’s relationship in a way she never understood before. She had looked at her parents for years, but now Clarissa began to realize what special people she had been seeing.
It wasn’t too long after her first child, but shortly after her second child, that Clarissa experienced one of life’s many lessons. She put a plate of vegetables on the table for her daughter’s snack. Clarissa’s child looked up at her and said, “Mom, why are you so silly? Don’t you know that chips and cola taste better than this stuff?”
Question Time with Public Figures
The American public expects public officials to deal with, rather than dodge, difficult public-policy problems, to be transparent in their public-policy positions, and to state their views confidently, thoughtfully and boldly. One week was allowed to finalize the response, by E-mail, of each of the Presidential candidates listed below.
The Continental News Service had announced its intention to publish results of this multi-respondent poll in its on-line newspapers over the course of time, and these newspapers include its Washington D.C. 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.
Would you, Senator/Representative/Governor, support legislation, or even sponsor legislation, ending all federal government grants to Planned Parenthood if it was conducted in an even-handed and non-discriminatory manner; that is, likewise ending all federal and federally-subsidized state grants to faith-based and all other non-profit groups, whatever their specific tax-code classification?
__ Yes. Uncheck "No Comment." My reasoning is ________________________________________________________________________________.
__ No. Uncheck "No Comment." My reasoning is _________________________________________________________________________________.
X No Comment. Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Cory Booker, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Washington Governor Jay Inslee.
* 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]
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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
*Free
Fort Jones News Edition
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VOLUME I NUMBER 1 JUNE 18, 2020
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This is a Special Issue designed only to encourage a would-be editor-publisher in Fort Jones, 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
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* Congressional News Briefs ... Doug LaMalfa, Fort Jones' agent in the U.S. House of Representatives, has nominated five students, based upon recommendations of his Military Academy Selection Committee, to four of the five U.S. Service Academies. The three students from Chico were nominated to attend different Service Academics: the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The student from Cottonwood was also nominated to attend Annapolis, while the student from Shasta Lake was nominated to attend the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York. No students were nominated to attend the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. In other developments, Congressman LaMalfa, who had worked with Oregon Congressman Greg Walden on behalf of Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers on both sides of the state line, credits the Trump Administration with acknowledging the Convoy for Change rally in Midland and acting to restore the full 140,000-acre-feet water allotment promised in April. The rally was a reaction to plans in May to reduce the water allotment further to 80,000 acre feet, which would threaten with ruin crops that were planted based on assurances given in April. LaMalfa observes, "While Basin farmers are still only receiving 40% of their legal water right from Upper Klamath Lake, it will help to get them through the remainder of the growing season with the crops they currently have in the ground." He says the Bureau of Reclamation decision to reverse course operates to "prioritize agriculture and overrule the bureaucracies that created this crisis," adding, "The water in the Klamath Project needs to remain where it belongs: with the Basin farmers who hold the water right and rely on it for their economic survival." Also, the Congressman reports becoming an original co-sponsor of the Coronavirus County Relief and Stability Bill, to ensure that small and medium-size counties, operating on "tight budgets" and facing revenue deficits, receive the funds necessary to support senior-care agencies, first responders, and public-health departments. He argues that previous legislation furnished direct assistance to local governments having service populations of more than 500,000 people, overlooking 42 counties in California likewise in need of federal support during the pandemic, LaMalfa resumes, "Despite Congress' clear directive that the Coronavirus Relief Fund be used to assist local governments, several governors continue to withhold counties' allotment. In California, further cuts to rural counties' withheld share were reduced to half and then redistributed to urban areas." Although the bill would furnish more funding than the National Association of Counties requested, he says that the funding sought "will benefit all Americans." Senator Dianne Feinstein's focus, meanwhile, has partly been on U.S. foreign policy. Accompanied by Senators Mark Warner, Angus King and Jack Reed, she wrote Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to declare: "While we support the goal of bringing the war in Afghanistan to a responsible end, we are concerned that a repeat of our hastily-announced withdrawal from Syria could needlessly put more American lives at risk, increase the threat to allies and partners participating in the Resolute Support Mission, and squander important intelligence relationships and counter-terrorism operations." The Senators cited "reports"; that is, a statement in the New York Times that "President Trump has repeatedly voiced a desire to leave Afghanistan sooner than the timeline laid out in the Feb. 29 peace agreement. He may want to campaign on bringing home every soldier" before the November election. The Senators expressed concern that the withdrawal would not be "orderly, conditions-based, and planned in conjunction with military and diplomatic counterparts," but would instead be "much earlier than the timeline established in the Taliban peace agreement that was signed earlier this year." Other considerations Feinstein and her colleagues raised were the "stability and governance in Afghanistan, the threat posed by groups like the Haqqani Taliban Network, al-Qa'ida,and ISIS, and the risk posed by a precipitous U.S. withdrawal." Senator Feinstein has expressed alarm, as well, to General Tod D. Wolters, of the U.S. European Command, that President Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper have reportedly decided to reduce the number of U.S. troops in Germany by 9,500, to limit America's NATO deployment there to 25,000 troops, so our NATO ally bears a larger share of the burden for its
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defense. Besides, the Senator, joined by Senator Chuck Schumer and Senator Mark Warner, has contacted FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe to request release to the public of any information supporting the President's claims that, in the looting, violence and destruction of property, "our nation has been gripped by professional anarchists and Antifa," agents of "domestic terror." Terming the President's declarations "inflammatory claims," the Democratic Senators charged that the purpose is to discredit "legitimate peaceful protests" and to "justify unnecessary federal, even military, intervention and the excessive use of force."
* Governor's Office News Briefs . Governor Gavin Newsom has pledged to work with the California Legislative Black Caucus, the California Latino Legislative Caucus, other legislative leaders, national experts, community leaders, law enforcement and journalists in developing new policing and criminal-justice reform & following nation-wide demonstrations related to the killing of George Floyd. The Governor points out that in 2019 his Administration collaborated in passage of Assembly Bill 392, what he characterizes as the “nation's strongest standard for police use of deadly force," and that this year the thrust of his Administration is promotion of a "now conversation about broader criminal-justice reform" toward establishing "a cultural change.'' In particular, he has announced support for a general prohibition of the carotid hold and other techniques that will apply to all police departments in California. Already, he emphasizes that he has ordered removal of carotid-hold instruction from state training materials and state police-training programs; he suspended use of the death penalty due to racial and economic differentiation in its application; he proposed closing two state prisons and the Division of Juvenile Justice; his revised May Budget called for shortening prison time for offenders who take part in treatment or education programs and who demonstrate good behavior; and he has advocated access by incarcerated youth to higher education. In addition, the Governor acknowledges that BYD North America has finally received certification from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for its respiratory masks, thereby meeting a State deadline of June 12. Consequently, the company is now set to ship additional masks, some 150 million N95 masks, to health-care workers and first responders, in connection with California's public-safety and re-opening plans. Previously, an estimated 110 million surgical masks were delivered under the State contract with BYD, and Governor Newsom says that the new supply of personal protective equipment will ensure that the State can meet the future needs of doctors, nurses and yet other front-line workers. Meantime, the Califomia Senate's Budget and Fiscal Review Committee planned a hearing for June 12 on the Budget Act of 2019. Besides, the Committee scheduled a hearing on the same date relative to education-finance apportionments, as well as a hearing on statc taxes and charges. Then, on June 18, the Senate Appropriations Committee was due, at this writing, to conduct a hearing on flavored tobacco products.
* County Government News Briefs … The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors, meeting just two days ago, was scheduled to approve a Consent Agenda of routine and non-controversial items including approval of a 2020-2021 fiscal-year, contract addendum with Scott Valley Veterinary for provision of spay/neuter services, boosting the contract value by $2,000 to a total amount not greater than $12,500; authorization for the County Fish and Game Commission to purchase $4,336 (plus tax) in deer decoys, and to transfcr the articles to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; clarification of the January 7, 2020 appointments of Frank Hayden and Dan Drakc to the Scott Valley and Shasta Valley Watermaster District for terms closing December 15, 2023; approval of a 2020-2021 contract addendum for used-oil collection and recycling services with the Oil Re-Refining Company; and approval of a not-to-exceed-$365,818 contract with the California Department of Social Services for coordination of adoption services. Departmental Requests included support for the Chief Probation Officer's study of the feasibility of Siskiyou County becoming one of the proposed Regional Hub Centers to house juveniles in the aftermath of the State Division of Juvenile Justice no longer accepting juvenile intakes; consideration of an application for $150,000 in Local Government Planning Support Program funds from the California Department of Housing and Community Development; development of an administrative fine schedule for violations of Siskiyou County Code provisions on industrial hemp cultivation; and presentation of an update on the status of coronavirus cases in the County. Also, a Public Hearing initiated on May 19 resumed, concerning the second reading of an Ordinance amending County Code provisions relating to personal marijuana cultivation, to allow for increased fines for multi-day citations. Plus, County Supervisors anticipated that a Public Hearing on the 2020-2021 fiscal-year Recommended Budgets it was undertaking must he carried over to a Public Meeting on June 23. Further, the Board of Supervisors was poised to appoint one member to an unscheduled vacancy on the Scott Valley and Shasta Valley Watermaster District for a term closing December 15, 2023, the candidate, among other stipulations, not holding water rights.
* City Government News Briefs … The Fort Jones Town Council, conducting a special meeting by Zoom computer hook-up on June 17, was set to consider, toward approval, Resolution 1076, to consolidate local-election balloting with the November, 2020 General Election. Additionally, the Council was scheduled to take up, toward approval, Fort Jones’ final 2020-2021 fiscal-year budget. Thereafter, with adjournment, the Council planned to hold its next meeting on July 13 at 7 PM in City Hall. At the Council's previous meeting on June 8, also held through Zoom link-up, the Council was set to take up such non-action, discussion items as the monthly Police Department report, the monthly Fire Department report, Code Enforcement, the monthly Public Works report, City Administrator Karl Drexel's Report, the Planning Committee Meeting, and the Etna Ambulance. Among the Consent Calendar items the Council was due to approve, unless a Council Member or a member of the public requested removal, were the Minutes of the Council's Regular Meeting of May 11; ratification of disbursements during the period May l-May 31, 2020; June Accounts Payable, and Fort Jones' budget versus actua1 spending during the period July 1, 2019-May 31, 2020. Now, the action items included discussion of a permit and use permit in the Scott Valley Business Park; review and adoption of the Employee Handbook, appointment of a New Ordinance and Policy Committee; adoption of an Interim Policy on Bulk Water Sales Permits; and review and adoption of the 2020-2021 Preliminary Operational Budget. Next, leading to adjournment, the Council had set aside time on its agenda for a Public Hearing, spotlighting an associated Staff Report and Board Comments, on the Second Reading of an Ordinance regulating Mobile Home/RV Parks.
* Weather ... The National Weather Service reports that current conditions at Montague Siskiyou County Airport, as of 10:53 PM, are clear, with a temperature of 71 degrees Fahrenheit, relative humidity of 40 percent, winds out of the north at 14 miles per hour, barometric pressure of 30.01 inches, dewpoint of 46 degrees, and visibility of 10 miles. The forecast for tonight calls for mostly-clear skies, with a low temperature of about 56 degrees, and light and variable wind. Friday is expected to be sunny, with a daily high temperature of around 87 degrees and light and variable wind.
Please E-mail info@continentalnewsservice.com for a copy of David Illsley's cartoon feature.
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