Grumpy Editor

SAN FRANCISCO SANITIZES CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM WORDS SUCH AS 'CONVICT,' 'FELON'

Criminal justice system words, including "convict," "felon," "addict" and "offender" won't be heard or seen in print now in San Francisco after the Board of Supervisors locked them up, notes Grumpy Editor.

As Phil Matier writes in the San Francisco Chronicle:  "Going forward, what was once called a convicted felon or an offender released from jail will be a 'formerly incarcerated person,' or a 'justice-involved' person or simply a 'returning resident.' "

No more "juvenile delinquent" either.  The term now will be labeled a “young person with justice system involvement” or a “young person impacted by the juvenile justice system," points out Matier.  A drug addict or a substance abuser will become “a person with a history of substance use," while a parolee and a person on criminal probation will be referred to as a “person on parole” or “person under supervision."

Supervisor Matt Haney, one of 10 supervisors who voted for the new guidelines, says, "We don’t want people to be forever labeled for the worst things that they have done."

Matier reports that according to the recently-passed resolution,"one of five California residents has a criminal record, and words like 'prisoner,' 'convict,' 'inmate' or 'felon' 'only serve to obstruct and separate people from society and make the institutionalization of racism and supremacy appear normal.' "

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

RECESSION TALK BY MEDIA.  Julia Chatterly, an anchor and correspondent for CNN International says, “I think the biggest risk here is that we talk ourselves into a downturn and we talk about it so much that we end up with a self-fulfilling prophecy,” adding “I do think there is a tendency, perhaps, for aspects of the financial media to be very alarmist.”

OPENING TIME CAPSULE BRINGS SURPRISE.  Residents of Derry, N. H. speculated for years what might be inside a time capsule housed in the local library. Opened after 50 years, the capsule is found to be empty.

 

HOCKEY TEAM LOOMS FOR PALM SPRINGS.  So what type of sports team would go well in mostly hot Palm Springs?  Turns out it’s hockey.  The city is moving ahead with a proposed American Hockey League team in 2021, along with building a 10,000-seat stadium.

MESSAGE IN BOTTLE FOR 50 YEARS.  A message-in-a-bottle is found off the coast of Shishmaref, 600 miles northwest of Anchorage.  Turns out it was tossed June 20, 1969, by the captain aboard a Russian ship, Sulak.

PESTICIDES TAKE TOLL ON BEES IN BRAZIL.  Bloomberg reports more than half a billion bees fell dead in Brazil in only three months.  Main cause of death, say researchers:  pesticides. With bees as vital pollinators contributing to the reproduction of various plants, about 75% of the world's crops depend on pollination by bees.

 

COP IMPERSONATOR EYES WRONG VEHICLE.  A man impersonating a cop in Hicksville on Long Island, N.Y., tried to pull over a van.  But the van was filled with detectives.  When they identified themselves, the impersonator fled the scene but was nabbed by the highway patrol.

 

RECORDS SHOW HIROHITO EXPRESSED REGRET.  Newly released records indicate the late Japanese emperor Hirohito expressed regret about atrocities committed by Japanese troops in the Chinese city of Nanjing in 1937.  He also blamed World War II on military officers who drove Japan into a conflict it couldn’t win.

 

VA FACILITIES TO BAN SMOKING.  Smoking at Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities will be banned starting in October for veterans, visitors, volunteers, contractors and vendors, while employees will have until January to adjust to the change.

VETERAN NOVELIST RELISHES KNOCKING OFF SOMEONE --- IN PRINT

 

Print and broadcast media give heavy coverage to murders these days --- and so does novelist Morgan St. James, notes Grumpy Editor.

Author of 17 books, St. James beams one of the perks of being a writer of novels is that “you can kill someone in print and not worry about going to jail.”

It happens in SCAMMED, her latest book, inspired by “a power-hungry HOA president who caused me tons of frustration and money in real life and took years for me to find the right book to do him in,” she mentions.

The book, which details life in the upscale Los Angeles community of Venice Canals, takes an ominous turn when a retired doctor and his wife, vice president and treasurer of the local HOA, disappear after a meeting.

Police are on the case, she writes, but looking in the wrong places.   What appears to be a home invasion and a kidnapping turn out to be more, including murder.

Set for release on Sept. 2 --- start of National Literacy Month --- pre-orders for the book are via Kindle, bit.ly/Scammed-K, or EPub, bit.ly/Scammed-ePub.  It also will be available through Barnes & Noble, Apple and others.

St. James has written more than 600 articles on the business and craft of writing, frequently discusses writing at Clark County’s main library in Las Vegas, where she is based, and on radio plus at writer’s conferences.

 

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SURVEY FINDS AFGHANISTAN INTEREST SLIPS.  A Rasmussen Reports national survey finds only 31% of likely U.S. voters consider Afghanistan a vital national security interest for the United States, down from a high of 45% two years ago.

FIRST FEMALE MARINE TO FLY F-35 FIGHER JET.  Marine Capt. Anneliese Satz, a 29-year-old Boise native, is the first woman in the Marine Corps to fly an F-35 fighter jet, a supersonic stealth aircraft.  Satz’s training lasted four years, taking her to bases in Florida, Texas and Mississippi.

SLOWER SALES HIT BEVERLY HILLS.  Beverly Hills is suffering a shopping slump amid the Trump-China trade war, notes The Hollywood Reporter.  It cites a sales associate at the Coach store on Rodeo Drive who estimates purchases by Chinese clients are down "maybe 40 percent" this summer compared with last year,

MORE OINKS HEARD IN HOUSES.  More people around the nation are welcoming pet pigs.  While some cities are legalizing pigs as pets, others are upholding bans and calling for their ouster.

BEAR WRECKS SHERIFF’S PATROL CAR.  A Humboldt County, Calif., sheriff’s deputy patrol car, responding to a call, is struck near Hoopa by a bear falling or jumping onto his vehicle, smashing the hood and windshield. The patrol car hit an embankment, rolled onto its side and burst into flames. The deputy escapes without serious injury.

DRIVERS PAUSE AS DUCKS CROSS HIGHWAY.  Rush-hour traffic come to a standstill in Biddeford, about 20 miles southwest of Portland, Maine, when a parade of ducks --- almost four dozen --- make their way across a highway, Route 111.

TESLA CRASH IN MOSCOW DRAWS ATTENTION.  Overlooking the daily number of Fords, Chevrolets and other brands involved in crashes in the U.S. alone, media play up one Tesla Model 3 in far-off Moscow that smashes into a parked tow truck and catches fire.

 

MILLIONS OF TREES PLANTED IN INDIA.  In a government campaign to combat climate change and improve the environment, more than a million people in northern Uttar Pradesh, India,  plant 220 million trees.

NEW RULE BANS SITTING ON ROME'S FAMOUS SPANISH STEPS

 

Actors Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck on Rome's Spanish Steps

The classic 1953 movie, Roman Holiday, which shows stars Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck sitting on Rome’s famous Spanish Steps, would have brought fines to Paramount Pictures if shot today because of a new regulation, notes Grumpy Editor.

Rome now bans tourists from sitting on the Spanish Steps.  Violators can face a fine up to $280, and up to $450 if caught “making a mess” there. 

Police began patrolling the 136 steps last week and blowing whistles at anyone sitting, eating or drinking on them.

 

The new restriction is accompanied by other rules that prohibit jumping into fountains, rolling suitcases, walking around without a shirt on or engaging in "messy eating" at monuments.

The steps were built in the 18th century and underwent restoration three years ago.

In the movie, Peck portrays a reporter who meets Hepburn as a royal princess out to see Rome on her own.

 

Hepburn's performance won an Academy Award for best actress.  Screenplay and costume design also won Oscars.

 

 

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COWS STLL BLAMED.  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says agriculture, forestry and other land uses produce nearly half of the world's methane emissions, a greenhouse gas that also comes from cows. But many ranchers argue the cow-climate change connection is overblown. One study says going vegan for a year reduces the carbon footprint by half as much as avoiding a single flight to Europe. That footprint, according to the UN report, contributes to 44% of methane emissions that come from agriculture, forestry and human land use. 

WHAT?  SAY AGAIN.  Here is how a major company chief executive explains a drop in revenue:  “We continue to strive to optimize our business by leveraging our best assets for future growth while managing the segments of our business in secular decline by executing on cost efficiency programs and selective capital investment...we continue to be challenged by ongoing revenue declines, content cost escalations, higher labor costs, and other pressures across the business."

 

MERCURY LEVELS RISE IN FISH.  Mercury levels in popular fish, including tuna, salmon and swordfish, are rising, and climate change and overfishing may be to blame, a new study suggests.

 

SOME GEN Z FOLKS SNUB COLLEGE.  A study by TD Ameritrade finds about one in five Gen Z and young millennials say they may choose not to go to college. Others see a less conventional path through education as a good idea. Over 30% of Gen Z and 18% of young millennials mention they considered taking a gap year between high school and college.

 

ROBBERS GRAB GOLD COINS.  Two Mexico City robbers, in broad daylight, throw a mint's security guard to the ground, take his gun, then grab 1,567 gold coins worth an estimated $2.5 million from an open vault.

 

NATIONAL DOG DAY LOOMS.  Along with an upswing in adopting canines from local shelters, look for dogs to get special treatment --- ranging from new toys to spa treatments ---  on Aug. 26, National Dog Day.

 

BANK ROBBER IDENTIFIES SELF.  A Cleveland bank robber makes things easier for police.  His note demanding money is written on the back side of a document containing his name and address.

 

JAPAN PROMOTES FLYING CAR.  A flying car, from electronics maker NEC Corp., is tested in Japan and hovers steadily for about a minute about 10 feet off the ground.  The Japanese government is promoting flying cars, with the goal of having people zipping around in them by the 2030s.

 

HEADLINE OF THE WEEK.  Brazilian president suggests less pooping to help save environment

 

 

MORE ARABLE LAND BECOMES VULNERABLE TO DESERTIFICATION

While most media are focused on climate change in general, a key element is that the planet is becoming more vulnerable to desertification, the permanent degradation of land that was once arable and good for growing crops, Grumpy Editor observes in a National Geographic story.

As writer Christina Nunez explains it:  “While land degradation has occurred throughout history, the pace has accelerated, reaching 30 to 35 times the historical rate, according to the United Nations. This degradation tends to be driven by a number of factors, including urbanization, mining, farming, and ranching. In the course of these activities, trees and other vegetation are cleared away, animal hooves pound the dirt, and crops deplete nutrients in the soil.”

This contributes to soil erosion, she points out, “and an inability for the land to retain water or regrow plants,” adding “about 2 billion people live on the drylands that are vulnerable to desertification, which could displace an estimated 50 million people by 2030.”

More than 100 countries are affected, she mentions, “hitting some of the poorest and most vulnerable populations the hardest, since subsistence farming is common across many of the affected regions.”

 

IN CASE  YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

 

AIRCRAFT CARRIER FACES ELEVATOR PROBLEM.  Post-delivery shakedown cruise of the USS Gerald R. Ford is being delayed because only two of 11 elevators needed to lift munitions to the deck of the $13 billion aircraft carrier have been fully installed.  The ship was supposed to be delivered with the "advanced weapons elevators” — moved by magnets rather than cables — in May, 2017. 

 

MILITARY NEWSPAPER TO MARK 75th YEAR.  For veterans who served in the Pacific and beyond from the tail end of World War II (when the Pacific battle was being fought on Okinawa), Pacific Stars and Stripes, the daily military newspaper, marks its 75^th year next May.

 

AMERICAN EXPRESS IRKS SOME CARD HOLDERS.  Some long-time American Express card holders are grumbling with notification that their credit limits are being reduced despite on-time payments and excellent credit status.

 

SOME VEGAS HOTEL RESORT FEES RISE...AGAIN.  Bellagio, Aria and Vdara, Las Vegas Strip casinos operated by MGM Resorts International, are raising daily resort fees to $45, up $6, despite officials earlier this year promising no increase in those sneaky fees for 2019.

 

BASEBALLS FLY OUT OF PARKS.  In major league baseball games, Rawlings balls are flying out of parks this season. Through last week, an average of 2.76 home runs per game is on pace to beat the old record of 2.52 set in 2017.  "I believe the ball has changed, and I don't know why,” says Tony Clark, executive director of the MLB Players Association. 

 

NEWSPAPER LAYOFFS CONTINUE.  Roughly one fourth of newspapers with an average Sunday circulation of 50,000 or more experienced layoffs last year, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. The layoffs, with mainly mid-market newspapers most likely to be affected, come on top of about one-third of papers in the same circulation range that experienced layoffs in 2017. 

 

SOME ADULTS SEE CURB IN FREEDOM OF SPEECH.  A Rasmussen Reports survey finds 26% of adults believe Americans have true freedom of speech today while 68% disagree, mentioning people have to be careful not to say something politically incorrect to avoid getting into trouble. 

 

$100 BILLS GROW IN CIRCULATION.  For the first time in history, U.S. $100 bills surpassed $1 bills in circulation volume, according to an International Money Fund report. But data show most of the bills aren't being held by Americans. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago says nearly 80% of $100 bills -- and more than 60 percent of all U.S bills -- are held overseas.

 

U.S. SUPPLIES FUNDS TO REPAIR WALL --- IN ZIMBABWE.  The U.S. Ambassadors’ Fund for Cultural Preservation grants $475,000 to the Great Zimbabwe Museum to make repairs to the border wall of an 11th century stone fortress that surrounds ruins in its ancient city location. 

 

VETERAN ADOPTS DOG ALSO WITH MISSING LEG.  In Dickson, Tenn., Joshua Ferguson, a veteran who lost a leg in an attack, adopts a dog, with a missing leg, found by fishermen.  Ferguson hopes to train Scooter as a service or therapy dog and visit amputees at local hospitals through a volunteer program.