Grumpy Editor

VIRUS TRIGGERS CLOSINGS OF THOUSANDS OF RESTAURANTS

Uncertainty on indoor dining is a key factor in the continued shuttering of restaurants around the country, notes Grumpy Editor.

Already, stemming from the coronavirus sweeping the nation, indoor dining stops at nearly 90,000 restaurants in the U.S., according to the National Restaurant Association.  An additional 10 percent of independent operators could close doors by year end.

Hardest hit are restaurants in downtown commercial districts that usually attract office workers --- who are now working from home or elsewhere.

In California alone, according to Yelp, more than 2,200 restaurants (out of a federally-tallied 81,500) have closed this year stemming from the pandemic.

Yelp notes a 23-percent increase in permanent restaurant closures from a month ago. Bars and clubs are also closing forever at high rates: 44 percent (as of July) of 5,454 temporarily shuttered bars and other nightlife establishments.

Cities experiencing the most temporary and permanent closures include San Francisco, Las Vegas and Honolulu, says Yelp.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

BASEBALL OPENER SETS VIEWER RECORD.  Baseball's opener, in the shortened season, between the Yankees and Nationals on ESPN draws 4 million viewers, the most watched regular season Major League Baseball game on any network since 2011.

SIBERIA WARMS UP.  The United Nations weather agency reports the average June temperatures in Siberia were 18 degrees Fahrenheit above average. 

KOREAN WAR VET FINALLY GETS MEDAL.  Korean War veteran Donald L. Roy, after 67 years, finally receives the Bronze Star medal awarded decades ago for service as an Army medic. The 90-year-old Roy, who was supposed to receive the Bronze Star in 1953, is presented the medal at his home in Standish, Maine.

MARINES SHELVE TANKS.  Deactivation of Marine Corps tank battalions begins following a directive to divest material which could not survive modern warfare.  Companies within the Marines' 1st Tank Battalion in Twentynine Palms, Calif., and the 4th Tank Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif., held deactivation ceremonies last week. 

CHICAGO KIDS GRAB CARS.  Chicago police say a group of children, ages 10 to 17, carjack at least 16 vehicles since late June in the generally peaceful South Side neighborhood.

ARCTIC SEA ICE AFFECTS POLAR BEARS.  Polar bears will be wiped out by the end of the century unless more is done to tackle climate change, a study predicts. Scientists say some populations have already reached their survival limits as the Arctic sea ice shrinks.

N.Y. TIMES SHIFTS HONG KONG STAFF.  The New York Times, in response to a darkening environment for media, relocates one third of its Hong Kong staff to South Korea. 

BAYER LOSES ROUNDUP APPEAL.  In a California court, Bayer lost an appeal in the initial case going to trial linking its Roundup weedkiller to cancer. Bayer maintains Roundup and glyphosate, the active ingredient, is safe.

MAYFLOWER REPLICA READY TO SAIL.  Replica of the Mayflower, which brought pilgrims to Plymouth, Mass. in 1620, is ready to embark next month from Mystic, Conn. to New London, Conn., after three years and $11.2 million in renovations.

HANG IN THERE.  It's just 99 days to Election Day.

COIN SHORTAGE BECOMES NEW PROBLEM DURING PANDEMIC

A new “crisis” stemming from the coronavirus pandemic is (ready for this?) a coin shortage, observes Grumpy Editor.

The problem stems from shuttered businesses with the economy going to a shutdown mode causing fewer in-person transactions and slowing recirculation of coins.

 

Social distancing and other safety measures slowed production of coins at the U.S. Mint.  Also, with people holed up at home, fewer coins are making their way from customers to banks, coin-sorting kiosks and stores' cash registers.

 

“With the partial closure of the economy, the flow of coins through the economy has kind of stopped,” said Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell before the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services last month.  “Stores have been closed, so the whole system of flow has come to a stop. We’re well aware of this and we’re working with the reserve banks, and as the economy reopens we’re seeing coins begin to move around again," he adds.

 

Some businesses are grappling with the shortfall of coins, asking customers to pay with exact change, if possible.  Smith’s, the grocery chain, said, “Like many retailers and businesses, we are adjusting to the temporary shortage in several ways while still accepting cash.”

 

On the banking side, Wells Fargo said it is “actively managing our coin inventory and working with customers to meet their coin needs to the extent possible after the Federal Reserve put limitations on coin deliveries to all financial institutions nationwide.”

The Fed said it would convene a U.S. Coin Task Force to address the matter.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

AIRLINE SHELVES FLIGHT ATTENDANTS.  Icelandair, the flag carrier airline of Iceland, is laying off all its flight attendants.  Starting today, Icelandair's pilots will assume flight attendants' roles.  Legality and practicality of  having pilots act as flight attendants are unclear. 

 

HEAT PROBLEMS AHEAD.  Scientists say climate change will heat some parts of the world so much that merely working outdoors could become life-threatening. New models suggest that unless greenhouse gases are reined in, millions of people — especially in developing nations — will be exposed to dangerous levels of heat that could cause serious heat problems.

 

INSURANCE FIRM TO REPLACE CORPORATE SYMBOL.  Insurance firm Mutual of Omaha plans to replace its longtime corporate symbol that depicts a Native American chief. 

 

DELAYS SEEN IN MAIL DELIVERIES.  Under a cost-cutting plan imposed by the new postmaster general, mail deliveries could be delayed by a day or more.  The plan would eliminate overtime for thousands of postal workers.

 

WYOMING NO LONGER HAS TRUE DAILY PAPER.  The Casper Star-Tribune in Wyoming no longer will be a true “daily” paper, eliminating its Monday and Tuesday print editions next month.  The state now has six “daily” newspapers, but now none actually prints seven days a week.

 

SHARK GRABS BOY OFF BOAT.  A 10-year-old boy in Tasmania, Australia, was dragged off a boat by a shark, first such attack there since 2012.  The boy’s father jumped into the water, at which point the shark swam off.  The boy is in stable condition. 

 

REVISED NEWS COVERAGE SOUGHT.  At The Wall Street Journal, a group identifying itself as "members of the WSJ newsroom" said the paper must do more muscular reporting about race and social inequities, and laid out detailed proposals for revising news coverage.

 

NAVY, MARINE MEMBERS ASKED TO GO FORMAL.  The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps order service members to wear more formal uniforms while at the Pentagon and other sites in the nation's Capitol area to project a more professional look.

 

KANGAROO HOPS AROUND DOWNTOWN AREA.  Fort Lauderdale, Florida, police find a kangaroo jumping around the city's downtown area, fit a leash over its head and lift the Australian expat into the back of a police cruiser...and book it. 

"WRONG" LOTTERY TICKET WINS.  In Eastpointe, Mich., a man is given the wrong lottery ticket —  a $20 scratch-off ticket instead of a $10 version.  But there was no mistake about the result: a $2 million winner.

 

MORTGAGE RATES FALL.  More homeowners are expected to refinance their home loans as the 30-year fixed mortgage rate falls to 2.98 percent.

 

DEATH VALLEY TEMPERATURE SOARS.  Temperature last week at the official weather observing station in Death Valley, California reached a sizzling 128 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the hottest temperature anywhere on the planet since 2017 and only one degree behind what experts say is likely the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth. 

WILL ‘MASTER BEDROOM’ TERM BE RETIRED?

 

Use of the word “master” is being frowned on by some, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

With racism forcing a more critical look at our language, “master” already is forcing a change --- in real estate.

 

The Houston Association of Realtors, for example, says it is replacing “master" with "primary" to describe bedrooms and bathrooms in its listings.

 

A master bedroom typically refers to the largest bedroom in the house, often accompanied by a private bathroom.

 

The phrase "master bedroom" first appeared in a 1926 Sears catalog.

 

As a CNN story points out, the term "master bedrooms" was widely implemented in American homes after World War II, intended to give parents a private space within their own homes.

 

“While it's unclear whether the term is rooted in American slavery on plantations, it evokes that history,” adds CNN.  “Now, because of its slavery-era connotations, some members of the real estate industry are now calling to retire the term "master."

 

Nationally, 42 percent of current property listings on Zillow use the term "master" in reference to a bedroom or a bath. 

 

Meanwhile, one wonders how long other terms with "master" will survive, including master of ceremonies, masterpiece, master key, mastermind, master mechanic and master sergeant.

 

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

CALIFORNIA RELEASES PRISONERS.  Another 2,100 inmates from California state prisons will be released as soon as next month in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  That will mean a total of more than 10,000 inmates released or nearly 10 percent of prisoners.

 

NORTH KOREA RESISTS RESUMING TALKS.  The U.S. is ready to resume nuclear talks with North Korea, but the Communist nation rejects plans to go back to the negotiating table.  It’s not suprising.  The U.S. and North Korea still have not signed off the Korean War of 1950-1953.

 

FEMALE SOLDIER FIRST TO JOIN FRONT-LINE COMBAT TEAM.  An unidentified female soldier is the first to graduate from the Army’s special forces course and will be joining one of the all-male Green Beret teams.

 

SHEPARD SMITH JOINS CNBC.  Shepard Smith, former Fox News anchor, joins CNBC this fall to anchor a primetime one-hour news program.

 

RETAILERS NIX MONKEY LABOR.  Retailers including Walgreens, Giant Food, Food Lion and Stop & Shop are among U.S. grocery brands vowing not to stock or sell coconut products from Thai suppliers — because they use monkeys as labor.  An investigation finds monkeys on Thai farms are abused, chained, confined to cramped cages and made to gather as many as 1,000 coconuts a day. 

 

PRIMARY CLINICS LINKED TO DRUG STORES.  Walgreens and VillageMD strike a deal to open doctor offices in 500 to 700 drugstores over the next five years.  Most of the primary-care clinics will be about 3,300 square feet, about one fourth the size of Walgreens’ average store.

 

USC REMOVING JOHN WAYNE EXHIBIT.  The School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California says it is removing its John Wayne exhibit which featured archival photos and movie costumes, props and memorabilia of the famous actor.  Wayne, who attended USC in the 1920s, told Playboy magazine in 1971, “I believe in white supremacy.”

DEAD CAT GETS VOTER REGISTRATION FORM.  An Atlanta family receives a voter registration application addressed to Cody Tims — a cat that died 12 years ago. 

BLACK RADIO NEWS NETWORK DEBUTS

 

A news network focused on the Black community made its debut last week on 15 stations around the country, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Black Information Network (BIN) was launched by iHeartMedia which promises to add more stations over the next two months.

 

The Wall Street Journal mentioned that BIN will “also provide news for all of the 91 hip-hop, R&B and gospel stations operated by the nation’s largest radio broadcaster,” adding “the company says the network aims to be an objective, accurate and trusted source of continual news coverage with a Black voice and perspective.”

 

In the launch, the network mostly tapped journalists from iHeartMedia’s existing news service” and plans on hiring outsiders to expand its talent pool.

 

BIN will provide a mix of local and national news, weather, traffic reports and sports in the markets it serves.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

 

Bulldog edition rolls off presses early.

 

BULLDOG EDITION.  Merriam-Webster points out the bulldog edition term has been in use since the early 20th century, used by newspaper editors to denote an early edition of a morning paper printed (and even sold) the day before its publication date.

 

HOUSE INCLUDES FUNDS FOR STARS AND STRIPES.  A House committee’s version of the annual defense spending bill includes $15.5 million in federal funding for Stars and Stripes after the Defense Department proposed cutting the military newspaper from its 2021 budget.  Stars and Stripes first appeared during the Civil War, and has been continuously published since World War II.  The daily newspapers are distributed to U.S. military troops around the world.  A web site is updated with news 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

 

CHINA SEEKS DETAILS ON U.S. NEWS ORGANIZATIONS.  China, hitting back at what it calls Washington's "suppression of Chinese media," is demanding four U.S. news organizations declare details of their finances and staffing in the country. The Associated Press, United Press International, CBS News and NPR News must submit relevant paperwork to the Chinese government by this week.

CARDBOARD "FANS" SET FOR OAKLAND ATHLETICS.  With a delayed baseball season starting soon, the Oakland Athletics is selling cardboard cutouts with fans' photos that will be put in Coliseum seats.

AIR LEVIATHAN PRODUCTION TO END.  Bloomberg reports Boeing "is pulling the plug on its 747 jumbo jet, ending a half-century run for the twin-aisle pioneer."  The last double-decker 747-8 will roll out of a Seattle-area factory in about two years, it adds.

DENNY'S IN HIRING MODE.  Denny's, in a "poised for growth" mode, plans to hire 10,000 restaurant employees by the end of this year. The restaurant chain operates over 1,700 restaurants in the U.S., Canada and other countries. 

NO WAY OUT.  A Tampa, Florida man who operates the Zaksee Parrot Sanctuary and takes care of hundreds of rescued parrots, macaws, cockatoos and other exotic birds, finds he can’t leave his property because the only path out winds through another tract whose owners recently placed locks on the gates.

WHALE OF A STORY.  Three family members on a recreational boat just outside Auke Bay, north of Juneau, Alaska, are injured after the craft collided with a humpback whale.  The boat immediately returned to shore, where some family members are transported to a Juneau hospital.