Grumpy Editor

CORONAVIRUS HITS HALLOWEEN CANDY SALES --- AND HERSHEY

With Halloween a few days away, coronavirus is having an effect on candy maker Hershey, notes Grumpy Editor.

Normally, days leading to Halloween produce one tenth of Hershey’s $8 billion in annual sales.

 

But coronavirus this year is putting a damper on candy sales, smacking trick or treating activity.  Los Angeles health officials, for example, advise against trick or treating because of coronavirus  concerns. 

 

U.S. candy sales during last year’s Halloween season reached $4.6 billion, making it the biggest period for candy sales, notes the National Confectioners Association. 

 

Since the pandemic hit  in March, a Wall Street Journal story points out "Hershey’s sales have been tempered by social distancing restrictions that lead to fewer parties, vacations and shopping trips, especially to convenience stores where a lot of candy is purchased.”

 

Hershey says trick or treating normally makes up about half of its Halloween candy sales.

 

The National Confectioners Association sees two-thirds of Americans this year planning on trick-or-treating with appropriate safety measures.

 

 

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SANTA WON'T BE VISITING MACY'S.  Blaming coronavirus, Santa Claus won’t appear at Macy’s flagship in New York plus Chicago and San Francisco stores this year.  It interrupts a holiday tradition that debuted nearly 160 years ago.

TESLA ELIMINATES PR STAFF.  Tesla Motors, one of the nation’s largest companies, eliminates its media relations department.  It’s an unusual move and journalists will have a difficult time seeking the right Tesla person for answers to questions.

NORTH KOREA RATTLES AGAIN.  No matter who wins in the November election, the U.S. administration will face a growing nuclear threat from North Korea, which recently rolled out a huge new intercontinental ballistic missile that may be able to target the United States.  Observers figure the North’s next step will likely be to test-fire a long-range missile, but probably not until after the results are in from the Nov. 3 vote.

99-CENT SHRIMP COCKTAIL REAPPEARS IN VEGAS.  Good news for shrimp cocktail lovers:  The 99-cent classic returns to Las Vegas with the opening this week of the Circa hotel-casino in the city’s downtown area. Keep in mind, the special is offered from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.

STOLEN MING CHINESE VASE RECOVERED IN U.K.  British police recover a 15th century Ming Chinese vase valued at $3.3 million that was stolen in June, 2019 in Switzerland.  Police arrest two suspects and say the vase will be returned to Switzerland.

 

N.Y. DINERS SERVED EXPENSIVE WINE BY MISTAKE.  A young couple, dining in New York City, order an $18 bottle of wine at a popular restaurant but are served a $2,000 bottle meant for a table of businessmen, who didn’t even notice they ended up drinking the cheap stuff. Identical decanters are blamed.

 

WOMAN, 102, SKYDIVES.  A Maryland woman fulfills a longtime dream by skydiving for the first time at the age of 102. Vivian (Millie) Bailey, a World War II veteran, says President George H.W. Bush skydiving at 90 years old, provided the inspiration.  After the jump, Bailey calls it exhilarating.

 

SEWAGE PLANT NAMED AFTER COMEDIAN.  Quite an honor?  Comedian John Oliver cuts a ribbon in Danbury, Connecticut with the naming of a new sewage treatment plant in his honor.

CORONAVIRUS PUTS DAMPER ON HALLOWEEN EVENTS IN SOME CITIES, STATES

 

Some cities and states are discouraging Halloween activities this year due to the coronavirus and upscale Beverly Hills, Calif. is one of them, notes Grumpy Editor.

City officials opted to nix the Halloween tradition in the face of ongoing coronavirus concerns.

Thus, their decision prohibits house-to-house trick-or-treating  on the spooky night. 

 

Moreover, residents will be barred from giving out candy or other holiday treats outside of their immediate households.

Beverly Hills’ decision came the same day California health officials released new guidelines advising Californians to skip trick-or-treating for 2020, though they didn’t outright prohibit the tradition. 

Officials figure trick-or-treating doesn’t lend itself to social distancing and instead leads to numerous interactions between different households, possibly contributing to the spread of coronavirus.

California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly  explained, “We don’t want to turn certainly what is a celebration and a time of joy into something that is difficult or contentious, but we also recognize the need to provide a clear understanding of the risks and why we recommend strongly that we do Halloween differently than we have in the past.”

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Maki, the lemur, safely back at zoo

STOLEN LEMUR FOUND, RETURNS HOME.  A ring-tailed lemur named Maki, stolen from San Francisco’s zoo last week, is found a few days later near a church playground. The animal, in good health, is back at his home in the city’s zoo.  A lemur, native to the island of Madagascar, is small, with a pointed snout, large eyes and a long tail, living mainly in trees and active at night.

SERVICE WOMEN MONUMENT REOPENS.  Women in Military Service for America Memorial, at the gateway to Arlington National Cemetery, closed for about seven months during the coronavirus pandemic, reopened Saturday.  The bronze monument, titled The Pledge, depicts a service woman outfitted for combat, kneeling and staring face-to-face with a military working dog. The base of the monument mentions it honors “all women of the U.S. military, past, present and future.”

LATEST DAREDEVIL BUILDING CLIMBER.  A man who tried to scale the New York Times building made it five stories up before police officers brought him down.

2020 ON  TRACK TO BE EARTH'S HOTTEST.  NOAA researchers say there is a 64.7 percent, or nearly 2-to-1, chance that this year will end up as Earth's hottest year on record.

REPORTERS NIX TRAVELING WITH PRESIDENT.  The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post staffers, among others, are not traveling with the president out of concerns that Donald Trump and his aides are not following safety protocols to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

 

SAILORS’ BEARDS TO RETURN?  The Navy’s chief of naval operations indicates he’s open to rethinking the service’s mandatory clean shaven policy in relaxing grooming standards.

 

TOP DOG NAMES.  BarkBox rounded up the 100 most popular dog names of 2020 based on subscribers for Travel + Leisure. Top 10 names:

1. Bella
2. Luna
3. Charlie
4. Lucy
5. Cooper
6. Max
7. Bailey
8. Daisy
9. Sadie
10. Lola

ABUNDANT NEGATIVE HEADLINES CURB SMILES

Grumpy Editor has a handle on why so many people are glum these days:  they read/hear abundant negative headlines such as these over the past three days —
 

U.S. sees highest number of new coronavirus cases since August

 

North Korea displays massive ICBM at military parade

Hurricane Delta leaves hundreds of thousands without power

A diabetes drug is recalled because it contains high levels of a cancer-causing agent

Coronavirus could worsen in winter, remain major threat through 2021

California wildfires ravage dozens of family-run wineries

 

COVID-19 vaccine delivery pegged for start of new year

 

USDA mourns inspector, 24, shot in Mexico

 

French hospitals packed amid rise in COVID cases

 

The World Health Organization estimates roughly 1 in 10 people worldwide may have been infected by the coronavirus. 

 

 

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Ursula Andress in "Dr. No" Bond movie

 

AUCTION SET FOR BIKINI IN JAMES BOND 007 MOVIE.   Actress Ursula Andress’s iconic bikini that made waves when she emerged from the ocean in the 1962 first James Bond movie, “Dr. No,” is scheduled to be auctioned --- for an estimated $500,000 --- in Los Angeles Nov. 12-13. 

 

FLY BECOMES WORLD FAMOUS.  A fly that landed on Vice President Mike Pence’s forehead for two minutes during last week’s debate with Sen. Kamala Harris grabs worldwide fame in stories and photos, including coverage in the New York Times.  The fly also takes center stage on "Saturday Night Live."

 

BROADWAY TO REMAIN DARK THROUGH MAY 30. New York’s Broadway lights will remain dark until at least May 30 as social-distancing guidelines designed to curb mounting COVID-19 infections undermine businesses dependent on high customer volume. Producers previously said shows would resume after Jan. 3.

 

SINGAPORE OFFERS TO PAY NEW PARENTS.  To help reassure people who face financial pressure and are worried about their jobs, Singapore is offering a one-time payment to aspiring parents during the coronavirus pandemic.

CBC TRIMS STAFF.  Canadian Broadcasting Corp. plans to shed more than 60 jobs across multiple divisions, including its news division.

 

U.S. TROOPS TO BID FAREWELL TO AFGHANISTAN.  After 19 years in the country, all U.S. troops will be out of Afghanistan by year-end, says President Donald Trump.

 

CALIFORNIA'S IMPERIAL VALLEY SHAKES.  A swarm of nearly 600 earthquakes hits California’s Imperial Valley area since Wednesday.  The swarm, including one with a magnitude 4.9 tremor, is centered beneath agricultural fields south of the Salton Sea, about 2 1/2 miles northeast of the small town of Westmorland.

 

OVERSEAS VOTERS CAN USE MILITARY POST OFFICES.  Americans overseas who are registered as absentee voters for the Nov. 3 election can mail their ballots from military post offices, regardless of whether they have base access.

WHITE HOUSE ILLUSTRATES IMPORTANCE OF WEARING FACE MASKS

With President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump testing positive for COVID-19, will that inspire non-mask wearers to put on face coverings, asks Grumpy Editor.

Time will tell.

The president's condition sent him to the hospital.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for months declared wearing masks slows the spread of COVID-19 while others, including politicians,  were not firm on face coverings in public places.

"For the next seven to 10 days, I think there will be an uptick in all sorts of prevention and safety behaviors, so there will be more people buying masks, more people wearing masks, more people using hand sanitizer, more people respecting social distancing," said Kelly Goldsmith, an associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt University.

The growing coronavirus outbreak at the White House has left members of the media scrambling to find out if they, too, are infected after three journalists tested positive on Friday.

"Given these positive cases, the president's diagnosis and positive cases among members of the White House staff, a number of White House journalists are self-isolating pending diagnostic testing,” said the White House Correspondents Association.

 

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One of five cussing parrots in England 

NAUGHTY PARROTS CUSS.   Five parrots are removed from an English wildlife park for swearing at guests.  The parrots, adopted and brought to the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park, are together now in the same room.  They had apparently taught each other curse words.

GOVERNOR NIXES JOURNALISTS' PROTECTION.  California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes a bill that would have protected journalists covering demonstrations from physical or verbal obstruction by law enforcement officers.

AMERICANS ARE DRINKING MORE.  Americans are drinking alcohol more frequently and in higher quantities in the first half of this year compared to 2019, finds a study. The experts pin the higher drinking on the stress of the pandemic with the highest changes among women and people ages 30 to 59.

AIR FORCE ALLOWS LONGER HAIR. The Air Force approves a revision to its dress and personal appearance regulations, allowing men to have hair two inches long from the scalp, a “hair bulk” that is three quarters of an inch longer than previously allowed.  Meanwhile, maximum length of women’s hair increases from three and a half to four inches.

EASTWOOD STARS, DIRECTS FILM.  Oscar-winning filmmaker Clint Eastwood, 90, will star in and direct a big-screen adaptation of N. Richard Nash's 1970 novel, Cry Macho. He will play a former rodeo star who agrees to bring his old boss' young son back to Texas from rural Mexico.

ISLAND SUES AMERICAN WRITER.  An American is sued by an island resort in Thailand over a negative TripAdvisor review and could face up to two years in prison if found guilty.  A visit to Sea View Resort on Koh Chang island lands Wesley Barnes in trouble after he writes unflattering online reviews about his holiday.

FRANCE BANNING WILD ANIMALS.  France will be banning use of elephants, bears, lions, tigers and other wild animals in traveling circuses along with not allowing dolphins and killer whales to be kept in captivity.

SUBMERGED WWII STEAMER FOUND.  Polish divers find an almost intact sunken wreckage of German World War II steamer Karisruhe, bombed in the Baltic Sea by Soviet aircraft in April, 1945.

CARNIVAL CANCELS MOST SAILINGS.  Carnival Cruise Line is canceling sailings from all U.S. ports except Florida’s Miami and Port Canaveral through the end of tjis year.