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Middle Ga. coronavirus spread shifts from long-term care to young people Georgia Recorder
Durham, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper was expected to provide more details Wednesday on reopening public schools across North Carolina during the pandemic, but if and when students do return to the classroom, masks will be widespread.
Late Tuesday evening, Cooper's press office said in a press release an announcement would not be coming Wednesday.
The state Department of Public Instruction wants all school staff to wear masks, as well as all middle and high school students, including on school buses and outside school buildings whenever social distancing is difficult. Masks are "strongly encouraged" for elementary school students.
The DPI guidelines were updated last week to conform with the state's new requirement that people age 11 and older cover their faces in public to limit the spread of coronavirus.
"We are going to follow that guidance at a minimum. We know that masks are important for our students and staff to help keep everybody safe," Chip Sudderth, spokesman for Durham Public Schools, said Tuesday. "We want to have masks on all of our elementary students as well. We recognize that the younger the student, the more challenging it can be to keep the mask on."
Jameya Green, who has worked with elementary, middle and high school students during her six years with the district, said she doesn't think requiring students to wear masks throughout the school day will work.
"I think it’s necessary, but I don’t think it’s possible," Green said. "The elementary and middle school students might have a difficult time keeping it over their face and keeping their hands away from their face and not pulling it down, or even with elementary students possibly playing around with each other, pulling down their mask [and] running away."
Hope Valley Elementary School teacher Tori Mazur agreed about the "developmental appropriateness" for masks.
"My second graders are very touchy-feely. ... If I were to require them to wear a mask, I don’t know how well that would go over," Mazur said. "But having taught middle schoolers and high schoolers, who can make decisions about their bodies and when it’s appropriate for breathing and emergencies, I think they can handle it. But it also just depends on what the adults around them do."
Still, she said, adults modeling the appropriate behavior will be key to how well students adapt to wearing masks at school.
"If the community comes together and sends the message that this is normalized, kids will get on board with it," she said.
DPS plans to issue each student three washable, reusable masks, Sudderth said.
"We are going to take masks as far as we can possibly go," he said, agreeing that teachers and other school staff need to become role models for wearing masks. "Our ideal is every student has a mask from the moment they get on the bus to the time they come back home."
Avis Dixon, who has a grandson in a Durham middle school, said she would like to see schools require masks at all ages.
"This COVID knows no age, it knows no color, it knows no race," Dixon said. "For protection for our young, so that they can get from [elementary] school to middle school to high school, they need to be protected."
DPS also plans to continue online classes for all high school students this fall, Sudderth said, to free up those classrooms as elementary and middle school students are shifted around for more social distancing.
"We know that, especially in our community, childcare is a huge concern, and having a safe place every day to have continuous instruction, it’s important for all of our students, but our youngest students are especially vulnerable," he said. "By freeing up spaces in our high schools, we can spread out our elementary and middle school students across the district."
There’s nothing like validation from your peers, especially in Hollywood, but seeing your name emblazoned in a front-end credit on TV is something music supervisors have found elusive — even when the show centers around, or is chock full of, music.
”I worked on a very music-intensive show and asked for a front-end credit because the show was based around music and dance,” says Jen Malone, who this year won a Guild of Music Supervisors (GMS) Award for her work on “Euphoria” (the HBO series shows a title card in lieu of main credits). “The studio said the Directors Guild of America will not allow it because they consider a music supervisor to be a technical credit. Even the TV Academy now recognizes our work with an Emmy category so I’d hope that the DGA reevaluates their stance.”
Guild president Joel C. High puts the big picture into perspective vis-à-vis the small screen. “There is a long standing precedent that a main title credit in a film can be granted in the right circumstances, but TV can be much trickier,” he says of the DGA’s vetting of waivers from music supervisors. “I have been told the DGA does not have a policy against it, but it is a negotiation.”
GMS members contend it should be non-negotiable. “We music supervisors have had to fight for years to get our creative contributions to storytelling recognized in this industry and not be labeled as just paper-pushers,” says Malone. “Calling our work ‘technical’ as opposed to ‘creative’ is antiquated and misinformed. And as far as I have found, the DGA does not have clear, transparent, reasonable rules and guidelines in place for us to even fight for a front-end credit in TV.”
She’s not alone in seeking clarity. “Credits are a very complex system that even I often feel like I don’t have any insight into,” Amanda Krieg Thomas says. A surprising admission considering the veteran music supervisor has worked on so many projects by Ryan Murphy, himself an advocate of the importance of music in visual media.
“The DGA will consider waivers of some, but not other, screen and advertising credit requirements on a case-by-case basis,” reads the DGA website in regards to protocols. A spokesperon for the guild further adds: “The process is the same across the board for all companies.”
While the vetting process may be the same for film and TV, success rates are dramatically different on the big versus small screen. “It’s definitely something I would love to see happen [on TV],” says Kier Lehman, music supervisor for HBO’s “Insecure” in addition to such films as “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and “Queen & Slim.” “I get main title credit on films so it makes sense that you should also get it on a TV show since the DGA controls [approval] on films as well. I’m supportive of those pushing for this now.”
Consider Ashley Neumeister’s experience: the music supervisor for BET’s “American Soul: The Untold Story of Soul Train” wanted to see her contribution reflected in the front-end credits. The show’s creators agreed. So did the head writer, the network and the composer, who offered to share his card via a split-screen. Only the DGA had the power to deny her request — and it did.
Presumably the decision was based on a few factors: Neumeister was asked to submit her bio, a list of the number of songs she cleared and information pertaining to her stature in the industry, such as awards nominations and wins. It’s worth noting that music supervisors have only been eligible for Emmys since 2017 and twice the winners were the showrunners of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” who claimed co-credit for the job along with the series’ official music supervisor, Robin Urdang.
“Ashley’s work was integral to the process and, don’t get me started about the complex intricacies involved in music clearances, especially when they fall through,” Judith McCreary, executive producer of Season 2 of “American Soul,” wrote in a letter to the DGA. “‘American Soul’ is a behind-the-scenes look at the 35-year television show, ‘Soul Train’ — it is wall-to-wall music, which includes re-mastered performances, original music created by Kenny ‘Babyface’ Edmonds, score by Kurt Farquhar and last, but not least, needle drops. I cannot tell you the sheer amount of creative work involved in making seamless musical transitions between scenes over disparate musical styles.”
The showrunner also challenged the DGA’s definition of music supervision as technical. “I’m only asking you to reconsider what music supervisors provide to the moving picture,” McCreary added. “Imagine if they weren’t there to provide suggestions, guidance and multiple choices to transition well to score, original songs and needle-drops.”
Neumeister herself pleads: “I worked hand in hand with the head writer of the show to create the world in which these characters live. There may have been a time that the music supervisor’s role was more technical than creative, but that was long before I was born.”
According to the production attorney who submitted Neumeister’s waiver, the DGA was willing to make a deal. But instead of responding to the lawyer, they went over his head — and straight to the network — with their demands for prominent placement in the end credits. Approval hinged on moving the unit production manager and the first and second assistant directors to the first card (ahead of the co-producers, staff writer, director of photography and guest stars). “They wanted a trade-off, which the network would never agree to, mainly not to squash the credits and play ads over them,” says Neumeister, who felt like a pawn in this power play.
Who has received a front-end credit for music supervision? Sue Jacobs — notably the very first Emmy winner of the category — did for HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” an accomplishment that seems to impress her peers more than her Emmy win.
“I was excited when I saw it because I thought, ‘That means it is possible and that we can fight for it,’ “ says Lehman.
But it wasn’t a singular achievement; the two music supervisors who took over for Jacobs on Season 2 also received front-end credit as did Randall Poster on “Vinyl,” another show with no composer.
“I don’t believe I even tried to get that credit and I don’t have an agent,” Jacobs says. “It must have been a fluke, but anyone can get a main title if they ask and the DGA feels the work is warranted.”
This may explain Questlove’s front-end credit as executive music producer of Hulu’s “High Fidelity” while the show’s trio of music supervisors — Manish Raval, Alison Rosenfeld and Tom Wolfe — were relegated to the end credits (the ones skipped by those bingeing).
As Dahvi Waller, the showrunner of “Mrs. America,” tweeted: “Hulu has decided to obscure the end credits of shows on their platform (very rude!) [so] I took screenshots of all the frames so our amazing cast and crew can be acknowledged for their unbelievable work.” Walter then shared a series of 24 screenshots highlighting, among others, music supervisor Mary Ramos — a veteran of Tarantino movies who made her TV debut on the series along with Cate Blanchett.
“I’ve gotten main title credit in films but in TV, I’m buried in the end crawl,” a slightly incredulous Ramos says.
She’s not alone: Nora Felder’s credit on Netflix’s “Stranger Things” follows the electricians, drivers, on-set medic, animal wrangler and caterer.
“I personally find all credit provisions ridiculous,” Jacobs says. “In my idealistic world, it would be a merit system, but I suppose that will never happen with all the unions dictating who gets what.”
The issue of credits does, however, connect to another problem that music supervisors face. “It’s similar to our goal of the Oscar category and raising awareness about the impact our work has on projects,” Lehman says.
And as music supervisors’ per project pay indicates, the sector’s skills look to be widely undervalued. “The people who get opening credits get them because of their level of creative input,” Neumeister says. “Their role is so important that the show would not be the same without them. Music and how it is used creatively does not happen by itself — it’s the end result of an astronomical amount of work.”
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New York Hall of Science (Photo: Queens Post)
June 30, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) has announced that it will not reopen until the middle of next year due to concerns surrounding COVID-19.
NYSCI will only reopen when it is safe to do so — and when additional preventative measures become available, Margaret Honey, President, and CEO of NYSCI, said in a June 24 statement.
The science museum, located in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, has been closed since March 14.
“As a high-touch, highly interactive museum, we will be cautious about when it will be safe to reopen our doors to the public,” Honey said.
“We will do so in phases when public health professionals and other officials say it is safe and when visitors tell us they are comfortable coming.”
Museum officials will also take into account the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine or new treatment regimens before reopening.
The museum delivers services and programming in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through social engagement and hands-on learning.
The museum is a high-touch environment because of the tools and materials shared among visitors and staff, Honey said.
Museum officials are concerned that if they open too early it could increase the spread of COVID-19.
“The safety of our staff and visitors is paramount,” Honey said. “We will also streamline entry and purchasing experiences to comprehensively address staff and visitors’ safety concerns,” she said.
NYSCI will improve its hands-on offerings when it reopens next year and new exhibitions will be created, she said.
In the meantime, the museum will continue to deliver STEM virtual experiences to the public. This will also ensure that many staff at the museum are retained.
“Closing the doors of NYSCI for even one day was a difficult but necessary decision,” said Melissa Vail and Francisco D’Souza, co-chairs of the NYSCI Board of Trustees.
“With as much uncertainty as there is about COVID-19 and its impact on our lives, the Board has chosen a path that enables us to continue to support the local communities of Corona and Elmhurst which have been among the hardest hit by the virus,” they said.
The museum’s ongoing research, curricular, digital and exhibit work will also cater to students and families across the city, they said.
The re-opening plan was approved by the NYSCI Board unanimously on June 18, 2020.
(Updated at 1:35 p.m.) Someone defaced a sign promoting racial justice, placed by a church near Clarendon.
The vandalism happened overnight in front of the Clarendon United Methodist Church (606 N. Irving Street).
A photo sent to ARLnow (above) shows the words “It’s OK to be white” scrawled in block letters on the second of a pair of banners. The banners are signed by parishioners and declare: “Clarendon United Methodist Church is committed to fighting against systemic racial injustice. I will be part of the solution.”
The church tells ARLnow that it was able to successfully remove the graffiti this morning.
“We lament that anyone would choose to deface our sign but we are glad that they have given us further opportunity to affirm our stand against systemic racial injustice and our commitment to be a part of the solution,” a church employee said via email. “We restored the sign to its original intended message this morning.”
The church’s pastor, Rev. Tracy McNeil Wines, also released the following statement.
The murders of George Floyd and countless other Black men, women, and children have further brought to light a long history that bears the unmistakable stains of exclusion, oppression, and violence. We are called by conscience and by God to rise up and stand with those whose pain is etched onto the heart of our nation. We recognize the significant disparities in opportunity for all people of color in education, housing, health, and employment, and in restricted access to security and justice. As people of faith in Jesus Christ, it is essential that we act to dismantle racism.
At Clarendon United Methodist Church, we are committed to the fight against systemic racial injustice. We acknowledge that racism is a sin that works in direct opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we join in the call to resist its powerful influence. Together we yearn for a world that reflects God’s will for just treatment and full inclusion of all persons. We resolve to resist evil, injustice and oppression, and so we cannot rest until the work of dismantling racism is done. Courage and conviction are required in the fight, and we pray that God’s Spirit may empower us with grace equal to the task.
We must take both communal and individual responsibility for justice. Change ultimately begins with transformed hearts. Therefore, we commit to opening our hearts to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. Deep repentance is required. We will seek to educate ourselves and others — to discern the breadth of racism’s impact, to see and acknowledge its effects, and to uncover its influence in our own lives and in our shared life together. We will follow equal employment practices, and intentionally increase opportunities for the voices of Black people and all people of color to be heard in the life and leadership of our church. We will work to tear down the entrenched racial and economic divide that is present in Arlington County and beyond, dedicating resources to aim at both the effects and the root causes of injustice. We affirm that this effort must be an ongoing commitment.
None of us can move forward if one of us is left behind.
This is the second such vandalism of a racial justice sign on church property in as many weeks in Arlington. The “Black” in “Black Lives Matter” was cut out of a sign in front of Rock Spring Congregational church last week. In D.C., meanwhile, a mural “lifting up the names and legacies of Dorothy Day and MLK Jr.” in front of a church was found ripped down this morning.
Photo (top) courtesy anonymous, (bottom) courtesy Clarendon United Methodist Church
The economic security of America’s families is a central concern for policymakers. Benchmarks for economic security include employment, homeownership, savings and retirement security, and financial literacy. These indicators broadly characterize middle-class status and, for many, attaining and sustaining a life in the middle-class is among the most important measures of economic success. Indeed, a robust middle class is both a hallmark of aggregate economic health and the manifestation of the American dream.
Access to the American middle class has been made possible by expanding educational attainment over the 20th Century. The role of higher education in economic mobility is well established. Presently, access to post-secondary educational opportunities—especially a 4-year college degree—is increasingly seen as requisite for success in an economy that requires advanced analytical ability, facility with computers, and stronger inter-cultural communication skills. More open to question is how equitable access to higher education is, particularly during a period of sharp increases in cost of attendance. Many policy interventions, including Pell grants and subsidized student loans, have sought to reduce socioeconomic gaps in college entrance and completion. Nonetheless, equity of access to college and the opportunities it provides is a central concern in policy discussions at the intersection of education and the economy. At the moment, colleges and universities are also being roiled by the COVID-19 pandemic, with worrying prospects for equity of access and educational outcomes.
In this report, we provide some recent historical context relevant for considering the value of post-secondary education in providing access to the middle class. We look back over the past 40 years to assess the role college education has played in shaping entry into and persistence in the middle class for American households. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) between 1980 and 2017, we study entry into and out of the middle class, and the role of education as determinant of a middle-class stability. We also examine how demographic factors interact with education to predict entry into and exit out of the middle class.
To assess how the role of college education as a bridge to middle-class status may have changed over this period, we form five cohorts from the PSID. First, we identify all households headed by an adult between the ages of 25 and 64 in 1980. We then assess the role of education and other attributes of the household as predictors of middle-class status in 1980. Next, we follow these households for 7 years to determine whether households with college-educated heads are more likely to maintain their status in the middle class over time. We then repeat this process with cohorts of households beginning in 1989, 1999, 2005 and 2011.
We find that overall middle-class stability falls over time, and that college education does not necessarily cushion against instability within the middle class. Shown in Figure 2, the proportion of middle-class families who remain in the middle class falls from roughly 62 percent to 49 percent (1980 – 1986) through the first 7-year interval of our analysis, and more recently (2011 – 2017) falls from roughly 60 percent to 50 percent. This stylized fact generally holds throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Importantly, some families leave the middle class because their incomes fall, and are subsequently below middle-class status, whereas others experience income growth, climbing up and out of the middle class.
Households with college-educated heads are more likely to have income at or above the middle-class, while heads with less than a college degree are increasingly within the bottom quintile of the income distribution. And, to the degree that college education secures a middle-class lifestyle, it appears to be at the expense of position in the top quintile of the income distribution. For example, by the 2010s, the share of families with a college-educated head who fall down and out of the middle-class rises from 18.6 percent to 24 percent. Concurrently, a similar share of middle-class, college educated families experience income growth, rising up and into the top quintile.
| The Impact of College on Attaining and Maintaining Middle Class Status By Race of Household Head | ||
| Household Head Race | ||
| Black | Non-Black | |
| Likelihood of Being Middle Class | 0.569 | 0.618 |
| Impact of College on Likelihood of Being Middle Class | ||
| In 1980 | 0.118* | -0.138* |
| In 2011 | 0.086* | -0.105* |
| Impact of College on Likelihood of Leaving Middle Class | ||
| By Falling Out | ||
| In 1980 | -0.033 | -0.033 |
| In 2011 | 0.023 | -0.018 |
| By Rising Out | ||
| In 1980 | 0.096* | -0.01 |
| In 2011 | -0.009 a | 0.03 |
| * Statistically significant at the 5% level | ||
| a. Statistically different from 1980, at 5% level | ||
Finally, we document important differences in the role of college attainment for middle-class stability across race. Namely, we find that college education positively predicts middle class status among Black households and top quintile status among non-Black households. Also, whereas college attainment operated as a channel for Black households to move up and out of the middle class in the 1980s, this upward channel appears to have weakened throughout the 2010s.
The authors did not receive financial support from any firm or person for this article or from any firm or person with a financial or political interest in this article. The authors are not currently officers, directors, or board members of any organization with a financial or political interest in this article.
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Prince William Co. School Board approves Stonewall Middle, Stonewall Jackson HS renaming WJLA
The Pittsburgh Steelers are still holding out hope that they will be able to play home games in front of their fans during the 2020 season.
Last week, The Athletic’s Daniel Kaplan wrote that the NFL is going to allow teams an opportunity to work out their own seating volume for home games. He says that the league will not mandate a one-size-fits-all policy for attendance.
“The NFL will let teams set different attendance capacity limits when the schedule starts in August with the preseason, meaning some clubs could play in front of full, or nearly full stadiums and some before no fans.
“The league communicated to clubs that they follow local health covid-19 guidelines on social distancing rules, which vary greatly state to state… In other words, as of now, the NFL will not dictate capacity thresholds…”
When I asked for a response to that post, Steelers director of communications Burt Lauten emailed me on Monday evening, “We will continue to work with health officials around the state while following the proper protocols and guidelines by the CDC when preparing Heinz Field for the 2020 season. At this time, we remain optimistic we will play our home games as scheduled in front of our fans with the understanding that we will follow the NFL and government regulations to maintain the safety of our fans, players and staff.”
The Steelers’ “optimistic” sense about having fans at home games dovetails with the Pirates’ return to PNC Park for workouts this week. And according to the Los Angeles Times on Saturday, Major League Baseball has the ability to allow fans at some point if the war against the virus starts to turn.
Now the question becomes will Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf allow that to happen in Pittsburgh?
An email Monday from Allegheny County communications director Amie Downs says that Allegheny County “feels comfortable with the plan for returning to play” for the Pirates. A reminder, that’s without fans to start. And she deferred the notion of potential for fans at Heinz Field to the state.
This discussion coincides with reinstated restrictions in Pittsburgh and across Allegheny County in the wake of a recent covid-19 spike. On Sunday, the county shut down dine-in alcohol service at bars and restaurants and issued quarantine recommendations for people returning from out of state.
The timing of those two divergent stories creates a difficult public relations situation for local officials when it comes to handling questions about how they would view mass gatherings of sports fans in what is quickly becoming “the near future.”
On frequent occasions since protests against police mistreatment of minorities began in our region at the end May, county officials have tamped down any connection between those events and the spread of the disease.
For months, the state government has told us to restrict public gatherings. Even in our shaky “green phase,” the stated limit is 250 people. Because the disease is so contagious, any gathering greater than that could be a recipe for huge spread.
Yet no such restrictions have been enforced regarding the protests even though we’ve witnessed large numbers of people gathering at numerous times over the last month.
Local civic leaders are blaming the recent rise in positive cases on the population at large for failing to wear masks in public, plus close contact in bars, restaurants, churches and children’s sporting events.
“Very few (positive cases) have indicated that they attended marches, rallies or protests in days before first experiencing symptoms or learning they had covid-19,” Downs said. “At this time, there does not appear to be any indication that covid-19 has spread among people attending protests, rallies or marches.”
I’m skeptical. For a disease as insidious as coronavirus, did it somehow mutate into a strand that has a social conscience? It leaves the protesters alone, but it gets the folks at Primanti Bros.?
Yes, I know the marches have been outside. Yes, I agree that most — but certainly not all — of the protesters have been masked. Indeed failure to “mask up” and overcrowded bars are likely a bigger deal.
Yet, to infer an incredibly contagious disease doesn’t zip between thousands of people linking arms, marching, chanting and lying in the street is completely counter to every social distancing guideline that helped Pittsburgh suppress covid-19 numbers at the outset of this public health crisis.
But, I’ll buy in. I’ll shelve my cynicism. The protests have had next to zero impact on our region’s recent case load.
Consider me on board.
Then — theoretically — that should be great news when it comes to allowing fans at stadiums, right?
Right … ????
I’m pausing here so our local leaders realize the pretzels they’ll become, twisting themselves in knots to make it sound like there’s a difference in how the disease spreads.
Granted, there is a huge difference in terms of racial importance. In terms of perception. In terms of improving relations with a community that is rightfully angry.
I get it. One topic is a major social movement. The other is a businessman’s special against the Milwaukee Brewers on a Tuesday afternoon.
However — to the earlier point — the county is maintaining those big picture things aren’t factors in its findings. The county insist it’s not about optics. It’s about science. It’s about data gathered through anecdotal contact tracing efforts.
That data leads these experts to believe a few thousand appropriately masked people who may have been strangers can march down Liberty Avenue locking arms and kneeling for a few hours, allegedly without spreading the virus. So why can’t four appropriately masked family members sit outside at PNC Park?
Seriously? What is the greater covid threat? Seven thousand ticket holders spread out within a 36,000-seat stadium or a few thousand crammed tightly together in Market Square?
How about 20,000 people in Heinz Field’s vast 67,000-seat expanse in September versus the crowds we saw engaged by police in East Liberty? What’s safer?
None of this is to draw into question the need or reason for the protests. It is, however, an effort to question a flaw in logic if local leaders push back on the Steelers or Pirates if they want to sell tickets to masked, outdoor patrons.
Of course that’s only if we get to the point where this recent bump in cases dwindles by late August.
If … if … our region’s leaders truly buy what they are selling about the minimal connection between marches and the spike, then consideration for crowds at games shouldn’t sound as crazy as it may have a week ago.
Or they can just tell everybody “Eh, it’s different ‘cuz we say it is. Now go back inside again.” I’m sure that’ll go over well. Let me know how that turns out.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz
Only rear license plates to be required on vehicles as of Wednesday. Photo / Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Vehicle owners in Ohio will no longer be required to have two license plates displayed beginning Wednesday.
Most vehicles will have to display only a rear license plate, while tractor trailers will be permitted to display only one plate on the front of their vehicles. Not having a front plate could result in a $100 fine before the change in law takes effect.
The passage of the 2019 state transportation bill ushered in the relaxation of the license plate law — favored by auto manufacturers, dealers and car enthusiasts.
However, numerous police departments and police advocacy groups opposed the bill.
Ohio becomes the 20th state to require only one plate on a vehicle and is surrounded by states that only require one plate.
Interim Liberty police Chief Toby Meloro said the elimination of the front plate requirement may make it harder to identify drivers who violate bus-safety laws because cameras and drivers often catch the front plate. The front plate comes in handy in any case that requires the identification of an unknown suspect, Meloro said, such as in store robberies, gasoline theft, hit-skips and DUIs.
“Since I am in law enforcement, anything that helps identify criminals and make our jobs easier, I am in favor of keeping,” Meloro said.
The law will not affect the speed camera traffic ticket systems, Meloro said, because the cameras have to be trained on the rear plate already.
Defense attorney David Rouzzo said the move will save taxpayers money — between $1 million and $2 million, according to reports.
And, Rouzzo said he doesn’t believe the change will hinder law enforcement.
“I’ve never had a case where my client wasn’t pulled over from behind,” Rouzzo said.
When the bill was being considered, the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association submitted testimony supporting the removal of the requirements for a front plate.
The association argued the front plates get in the way of new, bumper-placed technology aiding in the development of self-driving cars, meaning the plate could disrupt safety features.
The holes drilled for the plate holder makes it difficult to trade cars between states, the organization argued.
“Dealers often trade vehicles amongst themselves (in a wholesale fashion) to satisfy customer requests. This has become more and more difficult because none of our neighboring states require a front license plate. When a neighboring state dealer finds out that the car they are dealer trading for from Ohio has two holes in the front bumper, the deal often falls apart,” the association wrote. “It also causes problems on the retail side on both new and used cars. Customers in Kentucky or Indiana don’t want holes in the front bumper of the vehicle. Our Cincinnati area dealers, as an example, deal with this every day. When the customer realizes that there are holes in the front bumper, they often walk away.”
The holes or bracket disrupt the appearance of historical cars and expensive, luxury cars, and the design of vehicles is getting more complex and may not have a clear place to put the front plate, the association argued.
And, some people who move to Ohio from a state without the front plate requirement may have to have holes drilled into a vehicle to accommodate the nearly expired requirement.
Police advocacy groups such as the Ohio Association of Police, the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association and the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio all spoke out against the measure, as did the Youngstown Police Ranking Officers Organization.
“During my career as a police officer, I have witnessed firsthand how important a front license plate can be for not only solving crime, but preventing crime,” Detective Sgt. Michael Cox testified.
Cox described a Jan. 4, 2019, burglary in which $12,000 was stolen from a Youngstown business office.
” I was assigned the case and quickly found video from four different downtown businesses / locations, which showed the suspect driving his vehicle to and from a parking spot on a main downtown street. One of the locations was a restaurant located directly in front of where the suspect parked his vehicle. The security video had a close angle and provided clear footage of the front of the suspect’s vehicle, but this vehicle did not have a front license plate,” Cox stated.
Although video was found that showed the rear plate, it was not clear enough to read, according to Cox.
“A week of additional work was required until the suspect was identified and arrested in Cleveland. Unfortunately for the small-business owner victim, the money was gone,” Cox testified.
rfox@tribtoday.com
After beginning our deeper dive into all 30 farm systems by ranking the top organizations at catcher and corner infield, it’s now time to move to the middle infield positions. Below are our top 10 rankings of the systems with the best middle infielders, with the top such prospect for
After beginning our deeper dive into all 30 farm systems by ranking the top organizations at catcher and corner infield, it’s now time to move to the middle infield positions.
Below are our top 10 rankings of the systems with the best middle infielders, with the top such prospect for each organization in parentheses. We're operating under the assumption that all players selected in the 2020 Draft will sign pro contracts.
1. Rays (Wander Franco)
Franco, MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect, is one of three switch-hitting Rays middle infielders on the Top 100, along with Vidal Brujan (No. 45) and Xavier Edwards (No. 72). That Tampa Bay’s Top 30 list features three more switch hitters in Greg Jones (No. 10) -- the club’s first-round pick from the 2019 Draft -- Taylor Walls (15) and Lucius Fox (25) speaks to the type of athletic, versatile players the club likes to target and develop. Arizona State shortstop Alika Williams, whom the Rays selected with the 37th overall pick in this year’s Draft, certainly fits that bill.
2. Blue Jays (Austin Martin)
Martin ranked second only behind No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson on the Draft Top 200 but ultimately fell into the Blue Jays’ lap with the No. 5 pick. Revered by scouts as the best pure hitter in this year’s class, Martin gives the Blue Jays a dynamic up-the-middle talent to go along with 2018 first-round pick Jordan Groshans, No. 75 on the Top 100. Overall, the Blue Jays have nine middle infielders on their current Top 30 list. That group includes six international signees, two of whom (No. 6 Orelvis Martinez and No. 18 Rikelvin De Casto) received seven-figure bonuses.
3. Dodgers (Gavin Lux)
Dodgers fans got their first look at Lux, MLB Pipeline’s No. 2 overall prospect, last fall after the former first-round pick (2016) tore up the upper Minors. Michael Busch, the club’s first-rounder from ’19, was viewed by scouts as one of the better pure hitters in his class and currently ranks sixth on the Top 10 second basemen list. Lux and Busch help comprise a group of six middle infielders on the Dodgers' Top 30 list.
4. Indians (Tyler Freeman)
The Indians’ system boasts one of the deeper middle-infield crops in baseball, with eight such players appearing on the club’s Top 30 list. While Freeman (No. 96 on Top 100) and No. 7-ranked second baseman Aaron Bracho are the headliners, the Indians also have four middle infielders in their Top 10 (No. 6 Brayan Rocchio and No. 10 Gabriel Rodriguez) and two more with upper-level experience (Yu Chang, Ernie Clement). What’s more, Cleveland added another athletic infielder in the first round of this year’s Draft when it took prep shortstop Carson Tucker, the younger brother of Pirates shortstop Cole Tucker, with the No. 23 overall pick.
5. Padres (CJ Abrams)
Abrams, whom San Diego selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 Draft, was ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 25 overall prospect ahead of his first full season after the ultra-athletic shortstop garnered Rookie Arizona League MVP honors in his pro debut. He gives the organization another exciting middle-infield prospect to go along with Gabriel Arias (No. 10), a plus defender with a cannon arm and untapped offensive potential who signed for $1.9 million in July 2016. Fellow international signees Tucupita Marcano (No. 12) and Reginald Preciado (20) both show promise on both sides of the ball, and Owen Miller (11) and Jake Cronenworth (17) are high-probability big leaguers.
6. Pirates (Nick Gonzales)
The Pirates were thrilled to find New Mexico State’s Nick Gonzales, the 2019 Cape Cod League batting champion and one of the more revered all-around hitters in the 2020 Draft, still on the board for them with the No. 7 pick. His bat and profile provide the organization with a nice complement to current top prospect Oneil Cruz (No. 64 on Top 100), a high-risk, high-reward, 6-foot-7 shortstop with a truly explosive left-handed bat. Nineteen-year-old Liover Peguero (No. 5 on the Pirates Top 30 list) has a big up arrow next to his name after coming over from Arizona in the offseason Starling Marte trade, and the club has a Top 10 second baseman in speedster Ji-Hwan Bae (No. 11).
7. Twins (Royce Lewis)
Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 Draft, is No. 9 on the Top 100 and No. 3 on the Top 10 SS list. He reached Double-A as a 20-year-old in 2019, then took home MVP honors in the prestigious Arizona Fall League, where he played a host of positions, including third base and center field, for the first time. 2019 first-round pick Keoni Cavaco (No. 7) and seven-figure international signee Wander Javier (No. 8) join Lewis inside the Twins' Top 10 and help to former a larger group of seven middle-infield prospects on the club’s Top 30 list.
8. Red Sox (Jeter Downs)
Not only do the Red Sox have Downs, currently No. 44 on the Top 100 and No. 8 on the Top 10 SS list, they also have a pair of former second-round picks inside the top half of their Top 30 list in Matthew Lugo (No. 11) and C.J. Chatham (No. 13). Not far behind those two on Boston’s Top 30 are switch-hitter Brainer Bonaci (No. 15), a very promising teenage prospect whom the club signed during the 2018-19 international period, and 2019 second-rounder Cameron Canon (No. 17). It shouldn’t be long until 2020 first-round pick Nick Yorke, a second baseman from the California prep ranks, enters the mix.
9. Mets (Ronny Mauricio)
As the only team on this list with two Top 100 prospects in Mauricio (No. 62) and Andres Gimenez (No. 84), the Mets stand out more for their impact middle-infield talent than their overall depth. Outside of the duo, the club has just two other middle infielders in its Top 30 in Shervyen Newton (No. 15) and Carlos Cortes (No. 22), though the former, a switch-hitter, does show quite a bit of promise at the plate.
10. Rangers (Nick Solak)
The Rangers don’t have a Top 100 representative up the middle, though they do have the No. 6 prospect on the Top 10 2B list in Nick Solak, a 2019 mid-season trade acquisition from the Rays, who posted an .884 OPS with five homers and 17 RBIs in his first Major League audition. The Rangers’ No. 5 prospect also is one of eight middle infielders on the Rangers Top 30 list, headlining a group that includes international standouts Maximo Acosta (No. 6), Anderson Tejada (No. 8) and Osleivis Basabe (No. 19), as well as former top Draft picks such as Jonathan Ornelas (No. 27) and 2017 first-rounder Chris Seise (No. 28). The club also added one of the top middle infielders in the 2020 Draft in Justin Foscue, taking the Missouri State second baseman with the No. 14 pick after he ranked 32nd on the Draft Top 200.
Mike Rosenbaum is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter at @GoldenSombrero.
A former theater director at Anoka Middle School for the Arts is under investigation after sexual assault allegations were brought against him by a former student.
Allegations against Jefferson Fietek, the school’s theater director from 2005 to 2019, surfaced last week in a Facebook post by the former male student, who is now an adult living in Utah.
The Anoka County sheriff’s office confirmed Monday that it is investigating sexual assault allegations that two alleged victims made against a “former staff member” at the arts school, which is a magnet school in the Anoka-Hennepin School District.
Although the statement did not name the person under investigation, the school district has named the accused as Fietek, who left the middle school to teach arts at Emerson College in Boston.
According to the sheriff’s office, a report was made to them on June 25 alleging the sexual assault of a former student approximately nine years ago by a male staff member. The accuser said the assault did not occur on school grounds.
He is also accused of sexually assaulting a second student, the sheriff’s office said. The alleged assault was reported to have occurred last year.
The sheriff’s office said it has received additional information from social media regarding possible additional accusations and urged other possible victims to contact them.
“Much of that information regarding new victims has not been reported to law enforcement,” the sheriff’s office said in its statement.
In a statement emailed to parents Friday, the Anoka-Hennepin school district said it was alerted to a social media post on Thursday and “took immediate action working with law enforcement and the appropriate agencies regarding allegations brought against former theatre director, Jefferson Fietek.”
Fietek was an outspoken advocate for gay students in the Anoka-Hennepin school district. He was actively involved in the fierce debate over anti-gay bullying that rattled the school district in 2010 after a string of student suicides and the filing of two federal lawsuits by students who were bullied in district schools for their real or perceived sexual orientation.
In March 2012, the school board voted to accept a settlement agreement with former and current district students who had filed the lawsuits over a policy requiring staff to remain neutral when the topic of sexual orientation came up in the classroom.
The settlement required the district to hire staff to improve the climate for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students and more closely monitor and report bullying. The district also paid a lump sum of $270,000 to be divided among the student plaintiffs.
On Monday, school district spokesman Jim Skelly said that Fietek had three complaints in his personnel file while at the school, but that none of them led to discipline and that they did not involve alleged sexual misconduct. Because there was no discipline, the district is not allowed under state to reveal the nature of the complaints.
“If they were of sexual nature, the district would have had to report them immediately to law enforcement and to the mandated reporter,” he said.
In 2014, while living in Coon Rapids, Fietek unsuccessfully ran for the state House of Representatives District 36A seat after receiving the DFL endorsement.
Up until last week, Fietek was an assistant professor of performing arts at Emerson College.
In a statement Monday, Emerson College said that it was aware of allegations of “serious misconduct” by Fietek prior to being employed by the college and that he is no longer an active faculty member. A college spokeswoman said she could not disclose if Fietek was fired or if he quit.Attempts to reach Fietek Monday were unsuccessful.
Fietek’s theater consulting website and social media accounts have been deleted.
FIGURE Examples of schemes used at the international level 
Calls for regional harmonization
There have been calls to harmonize FoP nutrition labelling systems to address the complexities arising from having different systems and the impact that has on trade.
In Latin America, ministers of health in the Southern Common Market, MERCOSUR,11 have signed a formal agreement to develop a harmonized scheme for the four member states. Other Latin American trade blocs, such as the Pacific Alliance12 and the Central American Integration System,13 are also debating harmonization initiatives.
In the case of the EU, calls for harmonizing an FoP nutrition labeling system came from the European Parliament, EU member states, and representatives of the private sector and civil society. In that regard, the European Commission addressed the matter in its long-awaited report on use of additional forms of expression and presentation of the nutrition declaration,10 published 20 May 2020.
The report indicates that the evidence at this stage on the impact of FoP labeling on the healthfulness of diets and on health itself, and on the free circulation of products in the EU market, is limited and inconclusive. However, it highlights that the European Green Deal14 states that a “Farm-to-Fork” Strategy will put forward actions to help consumers choose healthy and sustainable diets. Given this political priority, the report concludes that it seems appropriate to introduce a harmonized mandatory FoP nutrition labeling at the EU level. The report further indicates that the European Commission will prepare a legislative proposal in line with the objectives of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy and with better regulation principles. At the same time, the Farm-to-Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly food system,15 also published on 20 May, notes that the European Commission will propose harmonized mandatory FoP nutrition labeling.
Conclusion
Current global policy on health and nutrition favors the expansion of FoP nutrition labeling systems. The policy has resulted in the proliferation of a variety of different systems while countries debate proposals for setting up additional systems. More may follow. However, the role of the Global Action Network on Nutrition Labeling,16 created in 2019 under the leadership of Australia and France, joined by Chile, has been to share experiences and good practices and provide mutual support to accelerate implementation of effective nutrition labeling policies. At the same time, international and regional initiatives are being discussed to harmonize principles and approaches on FoP nutrition labeling.
All these developments, together with the WHO recommendation to monitor and evaluate FoP labeling systems for applying improvements or adjustments as required, have contributed to changes in nutrition labeling requirements. Companies need to keep current with this evolving regulatory environment so that they can develop successful marketing strategies. They are doing this by adapting their products to present and future needs and requirements, navigating the current complexities and trends, and identifying the business opportunities in helping consumers by directing their choices while avoiding potential consumer confusing.
Abbreviations
CCFL, Codex Committee on Food Labeling; EU, European Union; FoP, front-of-pack; NCD, noncommunicable diseases; SDG, sustainable development goal; UN, United Nations; WHO, World Health Organization.
References
