Grumpy Editor

MANY ZOO ANIMALS LONELY WITHOUT HUMAN VISITORS

Where is everybody?

With most zoos closed around the nation, many animals miss the human visitors, finds Grumpy Editor.

As The Wall Street Journal puts it: “The animals appear to have noticed that they have the place to themselves.  Some of them seem to miss people, staff say, while others don’t exactly seem to mind that no one is tapping on the glass.”

A Los Angeles zoo worker, for example, observes a black bear and red river hogs “seeming to peer around in the sudden quiet.”  Many animals, with the absence of visitors, are less active and sleep more.

An Associated Press story notes lack of revenue from visitors hits animal food costs --- $55,000 a month at the Oakland Zoo, for example, putting the 100-year-old zoo in a dire financial situation.

That zoo and others around the country were ordered to close in March, start of the busiest season for most animal parks.

 

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FOX AIRS VINTAGE FOOTBALL GAME.  In efforts not to lose its sports viewers, FOX TV on prime time Friday, Aug. 28 airs vintage football — a Jan. 9, 1977 Super Bowl game between Oakland and Minnesota.

 

SKI RESORT PLANS NAME CHANGE.  Squaw Valley Ski Resort in California will be changing its name because “squaw” is considered a derogatory term for Native American women.

 

VIN SCULLY SELLING MEMORABILIA.  Vin Scully, the retired long-time Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster, is selling items from his personal collection of memorabilia for auction on Sept. 23.  Included are bats, balls, baseball cards, award plaques, trophies and World Series rings.

 

JOURNALISM SCHOOL RECEIVES $3 MILLION DONATION.  The University of Missouri School of Journalism receives a $3 million donation from an anonymous graduate to promote business-related journalism.  The money will create an endowment for scholarships, paid internships and mentoring for students at the Missouri Business Alert, which produces business news in emails, weekly podcasts and multimedia content.

 

EXCESSIVE DRINKING PROBLEM WITH TROOPS.  More than 101,000 active-duty U.S. troops end up in the hospital between 2009 and 2018 because of a problem related to excessive drinking, finds a new study.

 

SNAKES CURB FLUSHING.  An Australian woman who had difficulty flushing her toilet is shocked to find four snakes coiled up inside the tank.  

 

INCREASED STORM DAMAGE AHEAD?  A combination of increased coastal development, natural climate cycles, reductions in air pollution and man-made climate change could lead to higher damage from tropical storms around the globe, reports Associated Press. 

 

ISLANDS SEEK TO ATTRACT REMOTE WORKERS.  Barbados and Bermuda, in a bid to boost their tourism-reliant economies, are offering special programs to attract U.S. remote workers to relocate there.

 

YOUNG GOLFER SCORES.  Rocco Figaretti, a West Virginia four-year-old golfer at Oglebay Park's Par 3 course hits a ball that lands just short of the green and rolls directly into the hole.

FERRIES ENCOUNTER PROBLEM WITH BRIDGES.  Some of Sydney, Australia's 10 new ferries don't fit under some of its bridges, causing passengers sitting on the viewing deck  to lower heads or take cover.

TIME TO BREAK OPEN THOSE PIGGY BANKS

 

 

  

Another effect stemming from the coronavirus pandemic:  a shortage of nickels, dimes and quarters, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

The Federal Reserve says the supply system for coins is severely disrupted because many businesses are closed and consumers are not out spending as much.

 

Lack of coins poses problems for those who use parking meters, toll booths, vending machines and other coin-gulping sites such as coin-operated machines in laundromats.  

 

The U.S. Mint urges Americans to use coins in transactions or turn them in to their banks, while retailers suggest shoppers use credit cards or exact change whenever possible.

The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores sees the shutdown as a splendid opportunity to help offset lost revenue by clearing out the aquarium’s waterfall to gather coins tossed by visitors over the past 14 years.  The collected washed coins will go toward operating costs.

The coin supply is expected to normalize as the economy recovers and businesses reopen.

 

 

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FEMALE JOURNALIST BECOMES FINANCE MINISTER.  Chrystia Freeland, Canada's first female finance minister, is a former journalist.  She started her journalism career as a stringer for the Financial Times, the Washington Post and The Economist then worked later as a deputy editor for the Financial Times in London, later serving as Moscow bureau chief for the Financial Times.  Later she became deputy editor of The Globe and Mail, then managing director and consumer news editor at Thomson Reuters, moving on to U.S. managing editor at the Financial Times based in New York City.  A Harvard graduate, Freeland speaks five languages.

 

GANNETT AIMS FOR DIVERSITY.  Gannett, owner of USA TODAY and more than 260 local news operations, unveils a broad initiative to make its workforce as diverse as the country by 2025 and to expand the number of journalists focused on covering issues related to race and identity, social justice and equality. With that, the company says it is adding or reassigning journalists to 60 newly-created beats in a concerted effort to enhance coverage of topics such as criminal justice, educational inequity, roots of racism, environmental justice, fairness in housing and employment, and LGBTQ issues.

 

SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS.  A Pew Research Center analysis of surveys conducted between October, 2019 and June, 2020 finds those who rely most on social media for political news stand apart from other news consumers.   These U.S. adults, it adds, tend to be less likely than other news consumers to closely follow major news stories, such as the coronavirus outbreak and the presidential election.

 

ALCATRAZ REOPENS TO VISITORS.  Noted for containing hardened prisoners, Alcatraz island, off San Francisco, reopens to the public after months shut down by the pandemic.

 

ORDINANCE WOULD ALLOW CHICKENS IN CITY.  The Bakersfield (Calif.) City Council drafts an urban hen ordinance that would allow chickens in many parts of the city.  If passed, urban hens could be a common sight in local neighborhoods.

 

GERMAN S NOW WALK DOGS TWICE DAILY.   A new rule forces Germans to take their dogs for a walk twice a day.  It unleashes a debate on whether the state can decide what is best for the country’s 9.4 million pet canines.

 

MELTING GREENLAND ICE RAISES SEA LEVEL.  The melting Greenland ice sheet is already one of the largest contributors to the rise of sea level.  Scientists confirm the region saw a record amount of ice melt last year, shattering previous records, with 532 billion metric tons of ice lost. 

 

POSTMASTER SEEKS TO CURB CRITICISM.  Guided by a public relations firm, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and the U.S. Postal Service are now scrambling to clean up after weeks of criticism and allegations that the Trump administration is using the agency to meddle in November's election.

NOISY BALLPARKS --- WITH NO PEOPLE.  With the current unusual baseball season --- with no real people in the stands (just cutouts of smiling heads) --- hearing constant recorded fans' noise plus beating of drums during telecasts is very irritating, as with the Angels-Athletics games in Oakland over the weekend.  Solution:  press the mute button. 

 

HAWAII FLYOVER MARKS 75TH ANNIVERSARY SINCE END OF WWII

While coronavirus reports fill newspaper pages, overlooked by most is the 75^th anniversary marking the end of World War II, notes Grumpy Editor.

An interesting celebration will be in Hawaii where 14 vintage airplanes from that era are slated for flyovers Aug. 29 and 30.  They made the journey to Hawaii from San Diego aboard the USS Essex.

      Will your favorite newspaper run photos of this event?

Victory over Japan day or VJ Day, when Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, three months after Nazi Germany surrendered in Europe, generally receives less attention than Victory in Europe or VE Day on May 8.

More than 30 million soldiers and civilians were killed in the Pacific theater during the war, compared with 15 million to 20 million who died in Europe.

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Tucson the dog is "car consultant" at auto dealership.

CANINE IS CAR CONSULTANT.  A stray dog is given a job as "car consultant" at a Hyundai dealership in Brazil.  It all started when the manager of Prime Hyundai first began seeing the stray canine several months ago.  The manager starts leaving food and water for the dog, which is around a year old.  The pooch kept coming back, winning over the hearts of the dealership's staff in the process.  The manager finally gives in and decides to adopt him.

POSTAL SERVICE FACES PROBLEMS.  The United States Postal Service is dealing with crippling backlogs of letters and packages.  Despite a surge in package delivery during the pandemic, postal workers are no longer able to work overtime and fewer mail trucks are on the road.  The self-funded Postal Service has been seeking billions in aid from Congress, an effort stymied by President Donald Trump, who has long had a contentious relationship with the USPS and has pushed to privatize it.

PEORIA POLICE HELP LEMONADE PROVIDERS WHO WERE ROBBED.  Folks, including police, in Peoria, Illinois, rally behind two 13-year-old boys after their lemonade stand was robbed of $30 at gunpoint by two men.  Fifteen Peoria police vehicles arrive at the lemonade stand when it reopens after the robbery. The officers and police chief get out of their cars and talk to the boys and say how much they support them. They give them a donation and take turns buying lemonade. As news of the incident spreads through Peoria, neighbors, friends, and strangers begin donating money to the boys to encourage them not to give up.  So far, more than $3,500 has been raised.

BABY BORN ON AIRLINER IS NAMED SKY.  The mother of a baby born on an airplane that was taking her to a hospital in Anchorage names her son Sky --- stemming from where he is born less than an hour into the flight.  At an Anchorage hospital, mother and baby are expected to be discharged later this week.

STEIN MART SHUTTERS STORES.  Off-price retailer Stein Mart, offering designer and name brand apparel, home decor, accessories and shoes for both men and women, is hit by the pandemic and plans to close most of its nearly 300 stores in 30 states.  Stein Mart began in 1908 as a small department store in Mississippi.  

FLORIDA SHERIFF NIXES MASKS.  Florida’s Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods, despite being in a state struggling with record-breaking coronavirus numbers, insists there's no conclusive evidence wearing masks curbs the spread of the virus.  So he bars his deputies from wearing facial coverings in most work settings.

SEAL ENJOYS RIDE ON PADDLE BOARD.  Most seals are elusive. But in Weymouth, England, an unusual seal named Sammy approaches people on the beach and is seen catching rides on a paddle board.

 

250,000 MASK-LESS MOTORCYCLISTS FLOOD SOUTH DAKOTA TOWN

 

 

Despite the worldwide emphasis on masks, an estimated 250,000 mask-less motorcyclists this week are buzzing around a small South Dakota town for the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

Sturgis, with a population of 7,000, is the scene of the 10-day event.  Most residents fear the gathering of mostly Harley-Davidson motorcycles could lead to a massive coronavirus outbreak.

 

Officials are worried that social distancing will not be possible at the event.

 

An Associated Press reporter on scene says masks were almost nowhere to be seen, counting fewer than 10 among the rally’s thousands over a period of several hours.

 

South Dakota to date reports about 9,000 cases of the virus, among the lowest state tally in the country.  Meade County, home to Sturgis, tallies about 78 infections.

 

CNN reports Monument Health, the local hospital system, adds 172 "Covid beds" in preparation for the rally and is prepared to offer 1,300 Covid-19 tests to anyone who is asymptomatic but concerned about the disease after the rally ends.

 

The event stretches for miles beyond the city and also attracts tourists and vendors each year from across the country, points out CNN.

 

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FORTUNE MAGAZINE WITH COVER STORY ON STEVE JOBS BRINGS BIG BUCKS.  An Oct. 9, 1989 Fortune magazine featuring a Steve Jobs story with the cover autographed by him sells at auction for more than $16,000.  That's more than 4,500 times the original $3.50 cover price.

 

NETWORKS EXPAND LATINO COVERAGE.  NBC News and Noticias Telemundo are combining resources to expand coverage of the Latino community that will be presented in both Spanish and English.

 

PANDEMIC HITS THEATERS REVENUE.  AMC Theatres, the world's largest cinema operator, loses $561 million in its most recent quarter as revenue collapses because of the pandemic. 

 

STAFF INCREASES LOOM.  Look for staff increases coming at USA Today and Gannett's network of 260 regional dailies. Gannett employs about 5,000 journalists. 

 

BARTIROMO MARKS ANNIVERSARY.  Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo celebrates the 25th anniversary of being the first TV journalist to report from the New York Stock Exchange floor.

 

EXPENSIVE PENNY.  A nearly 230-year- old U.S. penny --- a 1793 Strawberry Leaf cent --- is sold for $660,000 at auction.  Since 1890, the coin has been auctioned four times.

 

GHOSTS WON'T LIKE THIS.   There is increasing talk about cancelling Halloween this year because of the coronavirus.  It would mark the first time Oct. 31 is not celebrated.

 

AIR FORCE WOMEN ALLOWED ADDED GARB.  Women in the Air Force now have the option of wearing pants with their semi-formal “mess dress” uniforms instead of a floor-length skirt.  Before the change in policy, women were required to wear a floor-length skirt with the mess dress uniform, which is the Air Force equivalent to the civilian world’s evening  gown. 

MAILED MYSTERY SEEDS FROM CHINA CONCERN U.S. OFFICIALS

 

Unordered seeds via mail, that appear coming from China, has thousands of people around the country guessing what is behind the mystery deliveries, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

U.S. state and federal officials are asking recipients not to handle or plant the seeds and to turn them over to local or federal agricultural agencies for analysis and investigation, adding planting the seeds could see the introduction of invasive species causing destruction of native crops, introduction of diseases to native plants and could be dangerous to livestock.

 

A seed expert in Iowa is concerned the seeds may have been coated with something, possibly insecticide or fungicide, that could damage crops.

 

Multiple U.S. agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are investigating the seeds, many arriving in packages labeled jewelry.

 

So far, the Department of Agriculture identifies 14 different kinds of seeds in the mysterious packages.

 

All 50 states issue warnings about the packages.

 

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Mountain rescue team carries Daisy, a Saint Bernard, down mountain in England. 

121-POUND SAINT BERNARD RESCUED.  Sixteen volunteers from a mountain rescue team carried Daisy, a 121-pound Saint Bernard, from England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike. The rescue team spends nearly five hours rescuing Daisy.  The dog collapsed while descending the mountain with her owners.  Daisy’s problem was with pain in her rear legs, causing her not to move.

RANSOMWARE THREAT.  Federal authorities say one of the gravest threats to the November election is a ransomware attack that could paralyze voting operations and kill confidence in tabulations, reports Associated Press.

CORONAVIRUS VACCINE ACTIVITY.  Work on a coronavirus vaccine is moving at an unprecedented pace: There are nearly 200 candidates in development, with 27 of them being tested in humans.  A handful already are in an advanced phase of clinical trials.

AIR CARGO FINDS CABIN SPACE.  Passenger airlines are making up some lost revenue by strapping cargo into passenger seats and placing in overhead bins in cabins that would otherwise be empty.

 

DR. FAUCI'S BASEBALL CARD BRINGS ACTION.  Dr. Anthony Fauci's limited edition baseball card, showing him throwing a wild pitch at the Major League Baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the New York Yankees, set an all-time high print run record with 51,512 cards selling for $9.99 each.

 

BLUE LOBSTER SAVED.  A rare blue lobster is saved from the dinner table by Red Lobster employees after it is delivered to their restaurant.  Employees at a Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Red Lobster restaurant spot the rare crustacean and decide to contact conservationists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California to inform them of their discovery. The blue lobster winds up in a special tank at the Akron Zoo.

 

ACTORS HANKS AND WILSON BECOME GREEK CITIZENS.  Actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson have become Greek citizens.  The couple and their children last year became honorary Greek citizens after officials highlighted Hanks' role in helping raise awareness about the 2018 fires that hit areas near Athens claiming lives of more than 100 people. Wilson, who is part Greek and Hanks,  a Greek Orthodox convert, often spend vacations in Greece where they own property on Antiparos island.

 NAVY GREETS FIRST BLACK FEMALE TACTICAL PILOT.  Lt. j.g. Madeline G. Swegle becomes the U.S. Navy’s first Black female tactical aircraft pilot, receiving her  "Wings of Gold" during a ceremony at Naval Air Station Kingsville in Texas.  The recognition marks an aviator's official completion of basic helicopter training in naval flight school.

 

OPRAH'S MAGAZINE ENDING PRINT EDITION.  O, The Oprah Magazine, launched in 2000 by Oprah Winfrey with Hearst, is ending its monthly print edition with the December 2020 issue.