The Community of the Gospel, an ecumenical non-residential monastic community with standing in The Episcopal Church, will offer an online coronavirus-themed Bible study of Psalm 77 on Saturday, November 14, from 2 PM 3:30 PM Eastern. Participants will explore Psalm 77 guided by the insights of Old Testament scholar, Walter Brueggemann. He is the author of Virus as a Summons to Faith: Biblical Reflections in a Time of Loss, Grief, and Anxiety(Cascade, 2020).

The Bible study will be facilitated by Susan Moore, Nov/CG, a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Covington, Kentucky. A retired community health nurse, Moore is involved in healing ministries, including labyrinth facilitation, Reiki and Jin Shin Jyutsu, and Tai chi.

The Community of the Gospel held a 24 prayer vigil for those impacted by COVID-19 on Ascension Day. Many of the communitys members provide services, such as mask making and meal preparation and delivery, to their communities during the pandemic. This Bible study is intended to ground prayer and action in Biblical narrative.

For additional information on how to sign up for the COVID-19 Bible Study contact: Br. Daniel-Chad Hoffman, CG BrDanChad@protonmail.com Zoom invitations and study materials will be sent to all persons who are registered during the week prior to the Bible study.

The Community of the Gospel was founded in 2007. Members hold day jobs while committing to live according to Gospel values through prayer, study, and service. The community is a member of the National Association of Episcopal Christian Communities (NAECC).

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The Community of the Bible COVID-19 Bible Study - Episcopal News Service

From staff reports Published 10:21 a.m. CT Aug. 10, 2020

The Florida Department of Health reported 148 new cases of the coronavirus Monday in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties to bring the cumulative total in both counties to 13,595.

Escambia County reported 124 more COVID-19 cases Monday for a cumulative total of 9,632 since the start of the pandemic. Santa Rosa County added 24 new COVID-19 cases to total 3,963.

The state reported one additional death in Santa Rosa County on Monday. The death of a 73-year-old man bring the county's cumulative deaths due to COVID-19 to 38.

To provide our community with important public safety information, our newsroom is making stories related to the coronavirus free to read. To support important local journalism like this, please consider becoming a digital subscriber.

Escambia County did not report any new deaths associated with the coronavirus on Monday. To date, 128 people, including eight non-Florida residents, have died in Escambia County due to COVID-19.

The median age of positive coronavirus cases was 39 in Santa Rosa County and 38 in Escambia County as of Monday.

To date, 13% of the 72,229 peopled tested in Escambia County and 14% of the 28,739people tested in Santa Rosa County have been positive for COVID-19.

The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Escambia County has continued to decrease slightly over the last week, falling to 187 on Sunday. To compare, hospitalizations one week ago on Aug. 2 were at 217.

Daily hospitalizations are reported from Ascension Sacred Heart,Baptist and West Florida hospitals directly to Escambia Countyand thecity of Pensacola.

Monday's hospitalization numbers have not yet been released.

The state reported Monday thatEscambia County's cumulative hospitalizations how many COVID-19 patients have been hospitalizedsince the start of the pandemic was 550, up by four from the previous day.

The number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Santa Rosa County is not being compiled.Data from the Florida Department of Healthshows that as of Monday, a cumulative 191 peoplewith COVID-19 have been hospitalized in Santa Rosa County since the pandemic began. That has not changed from the previous day.

Escambia County on Monday morning had468 available hospital beds, and Santa Rosa County had 221, according to theFlorida Agency for Health Care Administration.

Eleven of the 147 adult ICU beds in Escambia County were available, and 11 of Santa Rosa County's 21adult ICU beds were open.

The Florida Department of Health reported 4,155 new COVID-19 cases Monday and verified 91 additional deaths as the number of tests topped 4 million.

That brings the state's case total to 536,961. On Wednesday, Florida became the second U.S. state, joining California, to confirm more than 500,000 cases of COVID-19.

Monday marked the 15th straight day the state reported fewer than 10,000 new cases. It's also the second time this month the number of daily new cases dropped below 5,000.

The number of Florida residents hospitalized with COVID-19 increased to 30,785 since the pandemic began. The Department of Health notes the total figure is cumulative and does not reflect the number of COVID-19 patients currently in hospitals.

* The Florida Department of Health is releasing the locations where confirmed cases are located to provide a broader look at areas where the virus has spread. The locations are based on ZIP code.

Read or Share this story: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2020/08/10/148-new-covid-19-cases-escambia-santa-rosa-bring-total-13-595/3334473001/

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148 new COVID-19 cases in Escambia and Santa Rosa bring cumulative total to 13,595 - Pensacola News Journal

Did you have a preventative medical procedure postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic?

If you did, youre not alone however, many people are now starting to reschedule those important and possibly life-saving measures as medical professionals get a better handle on pandemic safety protocols.

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women, but there are more than 3.5 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

Thats bad news and good news all in one.

Experts say its essential to get your annual mammogram.

On Saturday, WTMJs Melissa Barclay will be receiving her first mammogram, leaving lots of questions on what to expect from the doctors visit.

Registered Nurse and Regional Survivorship Coordinator at Ascension Wisconsin, Laura Stratte says there are a few changes you need to know because of the pandemic.

Were having the patients right into the room where the mammogram machine is with the technologist. Youll change into a robe right in the room, and it will be just you and the technologist in the room, said Stratte.

Youll be standing up during the procedure and youll put your breast on a plate.

They can raise and lower it so its at the right level and then they bring another plate on top so theyre compressing your breast tissue.

The procedure takes about 20 minutes.

Stratte says at Ascension they recommend women start coming in for an annual mammogram at the age of 40 or earlier, depending on your familys history of breast cancer or a genetic mutations.

You can hear the full interview by clicking on the link above.

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Mammograms shouldnt be ignored because of COVID-19 - WTMJ

From staff reports Published 12:53 p.m. CT Aug. 7, 2020

Ascension Sacred Heart announced Friday that it wasexpanding eligibility for COVID-19 testing at its drive-thru sites in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties to include all people who want a nasal swab test, regardless of whether they have symptoms.

The testing sites previously limited testing only to people who reported having symptoms of COVID-19, including fever, cough and shortness of breath.

The expanded scope of testing will apply to the drive-thru sites at:

The Pensacola drive-thru sitehas tested more than 24,000 people since launching March 16.

The drive-thru clinics at Tiger Point and Milton started this week withfederal funds that Santa Rosa County allocated for additional testing locations in the county. The sites are open to any Santa Rosa County residents, regardless of symptoms or insurance status. Community Health Northwest Florida will partner Sacred Heart in staffing the testing locations.

Each of the three sites can provide up to 300 nasal swab tests per day with lab results back within 48 hours.

"As our community prepares to open schools and with residents trying to get back to work after an exposure to the virus or recovery from the virus, we saw the need to expand testing and get results quickly to individuals with and without symptoms," said Justin Labrato, chief operating officer of Ascension Medical Group Sacred Heart., in a the news release.

"The swab tests will be sent to our hospital laboratory which currently has the equipment and supplies to analyze a larger volume of tests and provide results within 48 hours. We're pleased to be able to expand testing and help to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our area."

All individuals who want to be tested must call the Ascension Sacred Heart Screening Call Center at 850-746-2684 in advance.

Read or Share this story: https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2020/08/07/ascension-sacred-heart-eligibility-covid-19-testing-escambia-santa-rosa/3320306001/

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Ascension Sacred Heart expands COVID-19 testing at three drive-thru sites - Pensacola News Journal

Industrial gothic rockers, Ascension Of The Watchers - thecreative, and innovative journey of pioneering Fear Factory vocalist Burton C. Bell -will release their new album, Apocrypha, on October 9th viaDissonance Productions. The recording will be available on CD, two limited vinyl formats and through all major digital outlets.

The official tracklisting is as follows:

Ghost Heart

The End Is Always The Beginning

Apocrypha

A Wolf Interlude

Honoree

Stormcrow

Cygnus Aeon

Key To The Cosmos

Bells Of Perdition

Wanderers

Sign Your Name

Born of life, love and spirituality, Bells unmistakable, harmonious inventory once renowned in one of metals finest pioneering acts has brought life to a new concept, a genre of its own. Ambient atmospheres, melodies and introspective lyrics that sheds light of Bells visions, as seen in their purest form. An intimate nature that Ascension Of The Watchers envisioned, to draw the minds, hearts and aspirations of a people to a higher level of thinking to a feeling with cohesive celebration and reflection in the beauty of existence.

In early 2002 Burton retreated to the quiet, simplicity of rural Pennsylvania for seven months with his friend and musical confidant John Bechdel, escaping the onslaught of Los Angeles, and industry alike. A mentor in music, philosophy and demeanour, Bechdel unwittingly guided Bell along the creative path of this new conceptual movement.

With Burtons unprecedented vocal sound and style, coupled with the brilliantly orchestrated musical compositions of both Bell and Bechdel (synonymous with pioneering tags to the industrial/metal genre) the pair began experimenting with textured melodies of melancholic tones, best attributed to the 80s and 90s underground scene. Ascension Of The Watchers echoes the sounds of a prophetic hallucination, fears and dreams with remorse of things lost and forgotten; but with a hope of redemption and light in the future.

In 2004, Ascension Of The Watchers independently released Iconoclast, printed only on CD and vinyl to a limited number. In 2008, with the help John Bechdel and Paul Raven (RIP), Burton brought Ascension Of The Watchers to Ministry legend Al Jourgensens label, 13th Planet. With the guidance and special collaborations with Jourgensen during the recording and mixing in El Paso, Texas, AOTW added the guitar talents of Eduardo Mussi. It also featured Paul Ravens last contribution as a bass player on the track Mars Becoming.

In 2008, Ascension Of The Watchers debut LP Numinosum was released through 13th Planet. Upon release, AOTW performed special, intimate shows, including the album release performance at Alex Greys Chapel of Sacred Mirrors in NYC. They also had the honour of supporting Killing Joke for their reunion tour in honour of their fallen friend, Paul Raven.

In 2017, the friendship between renowned UK solo artist Jayce Lewis and Burton brought in the essential camaraderie, talents and studio that perfectly suited the recording of Apocrypha. Northstone Studios, based in the countryside of South Wales, connected to the 250 year old Court Colman Manor, the studio built by Lewis own hands using the ancient stones of the monastery that once stood there, the rustic detail proved a perfect setting for AOTWs very own Jayce Lewis to record, produce and mix the Apocrypha album. A recording process that literally stirred the souls that remain within the stone walls of Lewis Northstone Studios. During the vocal recordings of the title track, a recording was inadvertently captured from the aether; an eerie, unrecognizable and untranslatable, syllabic phrase whispered within the vocal booth. The event is now the intro to the title track, Apocrypha.

In Truth, the making of Apocrypha has been a decade long journey of writing and recording, from California, Pennsylvania, New York and Wales. In 2018 the band decided to utilize the crowdfunding platform PledgeMusic to jumpstart the project. After a very successful campaign, raising 124% of their goal, PledgeMusic went into administration, eventually declaring bankruptcy, and in turn, would never release any of the funds dedicated to Ascension Of The Watchers. Nevertheless, the band persevered to complete the album.

After ten years of writing and recording, along with reflection on the very personal nature of this project, Ascension Of The Watchers will renew its journey in 2020, with the culmination of the long awaited release, Apocrypha. With plans of conceptualized touring, AOTW continues to grow as Bells main creative endeavour, well into the future.

Lineup:

Burton C. Bell - vocals and guitarJohn Bechdel - keyboardsJayce Lewis - drums, backing vocals and programming

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ASCENSION OF THE WATCHERS Feat. FEAR FACTORY's BURTON C. BELL - Apocrypha Album Tracklisting Revealed - bravewords.com

Several school districts around the Baton Rouge metro area will open its doors for students next week.

When public schools open Monday in Ascension Parish, the middle school and high school students will be learning both in the classroom and from home.

On any given day, some students will come to school, while others attend class online then the two groups will switch on the next day, in an alternating pattern throughout the school week.

Elementary school students will attend school daily starting Aug. 15, after a staggered attendance in school buildings the first week, when each student will attend one of four days.

About 27 percent of the district's total student population of about 23,400 has opted for online learning only.

You can read more here.

Secondary school students' first day of school will be either Monday or Tuesday to allow for a soft opening on each of those days. They will be half days for students.

When not on campus, middle and high school students will be learning online.

The first day all on campus students will attend together is Wednesday.

While some students returned to the classroom last week, many others will start the 2020-21 school year next week.

See the following list below:

You can read more here.

Baker City Public Schools

The City of Baker School System will be opening the school year in a complete virtual educational environment Monday. It will remain virtual until at least Labor Day.

You can read more here.

East Baton Rouge

Several charter schools in Baton Rouge started school virtual-only last Thursday. The East Baton Rouge Parish school system pushed back its first day, which was scheduled for last Thursday, until Monday, but it too is planning for virtual-only instruction until at least Labor Day.

You can read more here.

Central Community Public Schools

Last Thursdays first day in Central was a soft opening with about half of the students coming to their campuses and half learning from home. On Friday, they will switch places.

Starting Monday, Central's elementary-age children up through sixth grade will go to school every day, while those in grades 7-12 will come to school just two days a week in alternating groupings.

You can read more here.

Livingston

Livingston schools reopened Friday with new restrictions and screenings.

Some students had their temperatures checked at the carpool or bus line and washed their hands at a handmade wash station before going to class. Parents couldnt walk their kids into their classrooms and every child older than third grade had to wear a mask.

You can read more here.

Iberville and Zachary Community Public Schools

These school districts are returning Aug. 17.

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These are the Baton Rouge-area school districts starting in-person class this week - The Advocate

An Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office deputy died Saturday morning after a weeks-long battle with with the coronavirus.

Kyle Melancon served for more than seven years as a correctional officer and transportation officer at APSO.

"We send our condolences to his wife Rebecca, his children, his coworkers and all of those that loved him," said Sheriff Bobby Webre. "Please remember his family in your prayers."

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Melancon's career in law enforcement is part of a family legacy; his grandfather was the Chief of Police of Sorrento and his father was a retired dispatcher with APSO. His brother currently serves in the office's accreditation unit.

"We are in some very challenging times in our profession," Webre said. "The health and safety of our work-family and our community is paramount. I continue to ask all of our deputies to please take all necessary precautions and use all available resources to protect themselves at work and when out in the community."

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Ascension Parish Sheriff's deputy dies after weeks-long battle with coronavirus - The Advocate

The Ascension looks back at the time WWE revealed plans to rebrand them as Egyptians.

Big Kon and Vik, now going by The Awakening, recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard and discussed the character change they underwent in between their respective runs on NXT and WWE roster.

The Ascension ruled NXTs Tag Team division and had a clear fan-favorite gimmick, and they are still the longest reigning NXT Tag Team Champions to this day. For whatever reason, WWE went through a period where they would adjust NXT gimmicks before they would call up talent to the then-main roster, and most of the time it was met with immediate criticism. The Ascension was no different, as they ended up coming to RAW and cut promos about how they were better than other teams of the past. Big Kon and Vik explained how they first found out about the gimmick change, which included a confusing complaint from Dusty Rhodes and the pitch from WWE.

Big Kon: Ill just give you the quick story and Vik can attest to all of this. The day that wefirst off, prior to getting the call, Dream had been working with us and it was really awesome. He had a lot to do with anything that was done, Hunter as well, and I just remember one day Dream was vaguely complaining and being upset about some stuff that we really didnt understand. He said, You guys are going to be Egyptians! We didnt understand what he was talking about.

Vik: [Impersonating Dusty Rhodes] You boys are going to be Egyptians! You see all this stuff going on in People magazine with Egypt? You got to go be Egyptians, goddammit!

Big Kon: Were thinking that we dont understand, weve been around Dream for years at this point, Im sure he just wants to get rid of us. Thats just what we were thinking, but needless to say we had our big sitdown, our big meeting on a call, and Dream was legitimately sitting to the left of me. Weve got Stamford, Connecticut on a big TV and were sitting in this room, its all dark and quiet and they want to congratulate us on the big promotion, stuff like that. It was really cool and then they say creative has an idea for you two and were like OK cool. They go out and then bring in the pieces of paper that they faxed over, and they [placed it] face-down. They basically said if you flip it over, this is what creative is looking for. We flip it over and then bamthats what you saw when they basically debuted it on Monday Night RAW.

Now, the biggest thing Ive ever said in any other interview Ive done is the one thing you never do in this business is you never, ever insult the fans intelligence. The second you do that, theyre going to be pissed off and I think that was where there was no connection because they knew what they were getting but then when they saw [the final version] they were like I dont get it. I also think sometimesand this is just me, Im very grateful for everythingsometimes its just creative.

Related:The Ascension Call Their Run On The Fashion Files A Career Highlight

Vik went on to note that they didnt even really understand the reason for the change but felt that there was a definite disconnect somewhere. He pointed out that The Ascension definitely had a fan base but it seemed like there wasnt enough focus on how much people actually liked them and thats what caused the changes, and ultimately, the confusion.

Vik: I dont really know how it was from the office or somebody, but it was like they didnt understand. Even at first, I dont think we understood. I remember the first time we went to New York for a live event and it was after one of the TakeOvers we had done. It seemed like they didnt think that the fans would know who we were, more or less. I remember when we walked up at MSG and theres all of those fans out there. They were all going crazy as we walked up, we looked at each other like holy shit, this is nuts! It seemed like there was just a point where they didnt realize how much our fans were already connected through and through. It seemed like they felt like they had to change everybody at that time when they were coming up. Everything would get lost in the shuffle because the fans would be like what? We dont get this, why are you changing what we already know? You know what I mean? It wasnt a natural evolution for a lot of people.

One other prominent gimmick change that almost took place was Neville (aka PAC) was asked to portray a character that was allegedly inspired by Mighty Mouse. Neville denied that it was as literal as the rumor suggested, but was still pitched to him as playing a superhero-like character for his main roster call-up. He ultimately played a toned-down version, but Big Kon and Vik recalled seeing him try on the costume and his dejected reaction to it.

Vik: The time that we were there, were not the only ones that were victims. Nevilles always the first one in my mind.

Big Kon: They wanted to make him a superhero with a cape and all that stuff.

Vik: He had this awful mask. I remember when he walked in, he was just like, just the look on his face. We asked hey, whats wrong? and he didnt even want to show anybody.

Big Kon: Neville loves wrestling, loves it, so when you see somebody get defeated like that, its tough.

Vik:Theyre so far behind and it took them a long time to catch up.

WrestleZone features weekly audio and video content on Facebook, YouTube, and your favorite podcast apps like Apple Podcasts, Spotify and SoundCloud. Subscribe now for hours of exciting wrestling content including exclusive interviews, previews and reviews and much more!

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Originally posted here:

The Ascension Recall The Pitch And Reaction To Their Egyptian Gimmick, Nevilles Mighty Mouse Costume - Wrestlezone

(Night Time Stories) UK release date: 31 July 2020

The success of The Ascension Is Ours is ultimately down to its exquisitely rendered sound design the songs, with their ethereal haze and retro-futurist vibe, are a blend of Broadcast, The Shangri-Las, and, well, all of the bands on the Killing Eve soundtrack. All of these are tried and tested flavours, and while these are ultimately what make the album a triumph, theyre also what would make it a difficult listen for people not already familiar with this type of sound. See, most of the songs are constructed of the same basic formula, and all of the tracks seem to run a little long.

The highlights of the album are the fantastic TellingTales, with its superb chorus and hazy, woozy atmospherics, and Testimony Of Tears, with its muscular bass and gradually increasing tension, are genuinely thrilling pieces. The Minds Eye is another standout, and it sounds like a forgotten girl-group 7 playing in The Jesus & Mary Chains distorted wonderland (or, put simply, it sounds like The Raveonettes). The other songs on the album largely use the same palette, and draw from the same type of sounds but theres a lot to be said for consistency. Many of the bands that Song Sung draw from made similarly stylistically consistent debut albums (have you heard Psychocandy?), and ultimately it will be this level of one-notedness that means you love the album or are bored by it.

Many of the bands that have ploughed similar ground have had success (Vanishing Twin, Exploded View, Jane Weaver, Le Volume Courbe), because there feels like theres more variety in their songwriting. But this is a debut album, and there is a lot of potential here. If youre a fan of any of those bands, then this should be an immediate listen, but if not, this is a harder sell. Enter with an open mind (and a spare hour), and youll have a good time.

Related articles

Originally posted here:

Song Sung This Ascension is Ours - musicOMH.com

After starting the day in the 60s, the intense humidity will hold off for the afternoon. Check out that 6 am temperature!

THE FORECAST:

Today and Tonight:Sunny skies and mild humidity in August. Enjoy it while it lasts! Temperatures will be heating to near 94 degrees, but low dew points will prevent heat index values from entering the triple digits. A 10% chance of rain today is for areas near the coast. A few showers could creep up into parts of St. James, Assumption, and southern Ascension Parishes. Skies will clear overnight with lows near 73 degrees.

Up Next:Intense humidity will begin to move back in during the day tomorrow. Only a few showers are expected along the coast and south of Baton Rouge. Saturday high temperatures will be near 94 and lows near 75. Starting on Sunday, rain chances will go up to 20-30% and stay that way into next week. The weekend will still have plenty of sun. Many places will be able to dodge the rain altogether. If you need an hour-by-hour rain update, download our mobile weather app! (Links down below.) High temperatures will remain in the low 90s.

The Tropics:No active advisories.

THE EXPLANATION:

The trough over the central US continues to promote northerly flow in our area. Throughout the day today, this will completely weaken, and our flow will shift to southerly. Southerly flow will bring Gulf moisture with it and we can say goodbye to low humidity. A ridging pattern is developing over the southern US. This is crank up the heat and moisture over the weekend and bring in the chance of afternoon showers every day starting on Saturday. Moisture will build through the week and rain chances will climb to near 40% by Tuesday.

-Marisa

The WBRZ Weather Team is here for you, on every platform. Your weather updates can be found on News 2, wbrz.com, and the WBRZ WX App on yourAppleorAndroiddevice. Follow WBRZ Weather onFacebookandTwitterfor even more weather updates while you are on the go.

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Starting Friday in the 60s, ending in the 90s - WBRZ

GONZALESAfter an Ascension Parish Council member left an expletive-laden voice mail with a parish employee Thursday night, the council chairwoman says she will seek a public censure of him.

In the voicemail, Councilman Joel Robert voices his displeasure with the council secretary because his letter about a controversial neighborhood development that had been before the council Monday night was not read in his absence.

"No. 1, you need to f****** return my f****** phone calls. No. 2, I gave you a f****** letter to read and it did not get read," the message says. "I'm not happy about that."

Robert, a first-term councilman who represents the Pelican Point area and part of Donaldsonville, opposed the Antebellum project proposed off La. 73 in Prairieville. The council failed to overturn the Planning Commission's denial of the project, without Robert's vote.

Robert said he has already apologized to Cinnamon McKey and her husband by text and letter on Friday and said the comments were out of character for him.

"It was anger that was misplaced. Cinnamon is a phenomenal employee of this parish," Robert said.

Robert's short, tart voice message Thursday night also prompted a subsequent exchange between the councilman and the secretary's husband, in which Robert claims he was verbally threatened, the councilman and others said.

The parish sheriff said Friday he doesn't view the comments from the secretary's husband as a threat after hearing a recording that Robert has.

Councilwoman Teri Casso, the council chair, was incensed Thursday night after she got wind of the voicemail and soon afterward drafted the motion of censure. The motion doesn't affect Robert's legal status as a council member, but, if adopted, wouldconstitute a public rebuke for his behavior.

"I am just so disappointed that member of our team would be spoken to like Cinnamon was spoken to. It was just wholly inappropriate," Casso said.

The proposed motion accuses Robert of violating "the very rules which the Ascension Parish Council has mandated its employees to follow" and publicly censures him for "said action in treating parish employees in a unprofessional and discourteous manner."

Cinnamon McKey has been council secretary for more than eight years. She declined to comment Friday, but verified the message was Robert's and that it had come from his cell number.

WBRZ-TV first published the audio recording and Casso's censure plans on Friday afternoon. The Advocate has independently obtained a copy but made an editorial decision not to publish it online.

Casso added that the parish administration has also ended Robert's access to the council secretary's office inside the government complex in Gonzales. Access is controlled through electronic passes.

It's not clear when the council will consider Casso's motion. Casso's husband went to the hospital Friday with breathing difficulties due to COVID-19. He is improving, but the councilwoman said she believes she may have the virus also and have to quarantine for 14 days. She is awaiting results of her own test.

In any case, Casso doesn't believe she would be able to attend a meeting Thursday in Donaldsonville where the motion could be first considered. The full council meets later this month in Gonzales.

Robert's immediate and extended family are prominent figures in local Republican politics and the parish business community, and some family companies have had contracts with parish government for years.

Robert said he believes his letter should have been read out loud in the meeting in addition to being placed into the record so his constituents would know where he stood on the neighborhood project. Robert, who was on vacation at the time of the meeting, said similar letters have been read out loud in the past.

But he said he was wrong to take his frustration out on McKey and said he believes Casso improperly prevented the letter from being read.

"It was a mistake. I shouldn't have done it," he added.

Casso said she had the letter entered into the record but not read out loud because the council also wasn't reading emails from members the public unable to attend the meeting due the viral outbreak.

Robert added that he believed he was threatened in the conversation with McKey's husband but that he understood why and doesn't plan to pursue the issue any further.

Sheriff Bobby Webre said he has talked with Robert about the conversation and heard a recording of it but didn't believe the words constituted a threat.

Webre said McKey's husband could be heard saying that "'if you talk to my wife like that again, there could be trouble,' or something of that nature."

Webre said those comments were "absolutely not" a threat but rather some advice.

"OK, dont talk like that again," the sheriff said.

Robert said he won't let something like this happen again.

Im confident I can do so," he said.

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After F-bombs to parish employee, Ascension councilman apologizes but is expected to face censure - The Advocate

ASCENSION PARISH - The Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office announced on Saturday that deputy Kyle Melancon,33, passed away from COVID -19.

Below Sheriff Bobby Webre gave a message:

It is with complete sadness and a hurting heart I write to inform you that Kyle Melancon, a deputy in our transportation division, passed away this morning from COVID-19 and related complications. Kyle had been fighting this virus for several weeks, we all hoped and prayed for his return to good health.

We send our condolences to his wife Rebecca, his children, his coworkers and all of those that loved him. Please remember his family in your prayers.

Kyle served his community for over seven-years as a correctional officer and transportation officer at the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office. He comes from a legacy of law enforcement professionals, his grand-father (Roland) was the long time Chief of Police of Sorrento, LA. His father (Blaine) was a retired dispatcher with the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office and his brother (BJ) is currently serving in our accreditation unit.

We are in some very challenging times in our profession, there is still a lot of uncertainty with the virus Covid-19. The health and safety of our work-family and our community is paramount. I continue to ask all of our deputies to please take all necessary precautions and use all available resources to protect themselves at work and when out in the community.

I am very proud to lead the men and women of the Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office, your hard work and commitment during these challenging times speaks volumes to your dedication and determination to see this through.

Originally posted here:

33-year-old Ascension Parish deputy dies from COVID-19 - WBRZ

The Times-Union| Florida Times-Union

12:20 p.m. | 12 more COVID-19 deaths in Duval County, 180 across Florida

Duval County reported 12 additional deaths and Florida added 180 in a Friday report, raising the statewide death toll from the coronavirus pandemic above 8,000.

Those deaths, the Florida Department of Health reported, raise the statewide toll to 8,051 from COVID-19. The numbers include 7,927 residents and 124 from outside the state.| Read more

Statewide

Cases: 518,075

Current hospitalizations: 7,174

Total hospitalizations: 29,730

Resident deaths: 7,927

Cases in Northeast Florida

Duval:22,889

Clay: 3,186

St. Johns: 3,552

Nassau: 1,184

Baker:630

Putnam: 1,465| Read more

10:35 a.m. |Jacksonville police, community to honor officer who died of COVID-19-related illness

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office isasking the community and fellow first responders to join them in saluting a fallen officer Friday afternoon.

The body of Lt. Chris Cunningham, will be moved from the Medical Examiner's Office to a Hardage-Giddens Funeral Homeat 1 p.m. Friday with a Sheriffs Office escort. Cunningham's fellow officers will line the route with their police cars, with lights on, in tribute.| Read more

10 a.m. |Health directors told to keep quiet as Florida leaders pressed to reopen classrooms

As Gov. Ron DeSantispushed this summerfor schools to reopen, state leaders told school boards they would need Health Department approval if they wanted to keep classrooms closed.

Then they instructed health directors not to give it.

Following a directive from DeSantis administration, county health directors across Florida refused to give school boards advice about one of the most wrenching public health decisions in modern history: whether to reopen schools in a worsening pandemic, a Gannett USA TODAY NETWORK review found.| Read more

8:35 a.m. |1.8M jobs added in July, unemployment falls to 10.2% as some states halt reopening, others press ahead

The U.S. added 1.8 millionjobs in July as payroll growth slowed amid a split-screen economy that had employers stepping up hiring in parts of the country that continued to let businesses reopen, even as COVID-19 spikes forced Sunbelt firmsto pull back and lay off workers.

The unemployment rate fellto 10.2%from 11.1% in June, the Labor Department said Friday.| Read more

EARLIER

Coronavirus: Florida reports 7,650 new cases; 5 new deaths in Northeast Florida

Florida gained almost 7,700 newcoronavirus cases, but the number of newdeaths dropped statewide, according to Thursday'sstate COVID-19 report.

Northeast Florida reported a total of 32,348 cases, with 353 new cases since Wednesday. Baker County reported a staggering 99 new cases, compared to six the day before. | Read more

The deadly cost of COVID-19: Michael Hartsfield had 'sweet, compassionate personality'

Michael A. Hartsfield lived in the Lake Forest area, near the Ribault and Trout rivers. He graduated from Ribault High School in 1993, and worked as a janitor for Innovation Cleaning Services.

Mr. Hartsfield died April 24 at Ascension St. Vincents Southside Hospital. He was 44 years old. | Read more

Gov. Ron DeSantis and Mayor Curry host school athletics roundtable at UNF

For the second time this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis visited Jacksonville for a roundtable regarding the coronavirus. But this time, the discussion focused largely on football.

Joined by the Florida Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, Mayor Lenny Curry and a who's who of well known Florida former athletes and coaches, the roundtable hosted at the University of North Florida centered around Gov. DeSantis' desire to launch K-12school sports especially high school sports despite the COVID-19 pandemic, quickly and safely. | Read more

Jacksonville police Lieutenant Chris Cunningham dies of COVID-19-related illness

A Jacksonville Sheriff's Office lieutenant has died from a COVID-19-related illness, police said Wednesday night.

JSO announced Lt. Chris Cunningham the commanding officer of the Crime Scene Unit, Latent Prints and the Photo Lab died Wednesday after more than 20 years of serving the community. | Read more

How do Duval students feel about going back to school? We asked them.

Worry. Masks. Dont feel safe. Sick.

Those are some of the words Duval County Public Schools students used most frequently when asked about returning to school.

With less than a month until the 2020-21 school year is supposed to start, the district has heard from hundreds of parents, teachers, bus drivers and other education stakeholders when it comes to its recently approved back-to-school plan. But what about the students? | Read more

Jacksonville distributing $3 million in additional COVID-19 aid

Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry said Wednesday that city officials are working to distribute additional financial relief forsmall businesses, senior citizens and residents with disabilities.

The City Council recently added$2 million into its small business relief fund and $1 million into its relief program for senior residents and people with disabilities. The money comes from the federal CARES Act grant the city received earlier this summer. | Read more

Jaguars' Josh Allen gave serious consideration to sit out season but his wife encouraged him to play

Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen will be coming off the edge again this season, determined to surpass his team-high 10.5 sacks in 2019.

Yet, opting to play in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic did not come without reservations, which included serious consideration to opt-out from playing to protect his family, especially with the birth of his second son only four months ago. | Read more

Fact check: Dr Pepper shortage? No. But aluminum can shortage may be behind lack of supply

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on supply chains around the nation and manufacturersare struggling to keep up with the latest shifts in demand.

Earlier in the year cametoilet paperandhand sanitizer shortages, and more recently, anational coin shortage. Users on social media are claiming DrPepper is next.

Here's what we know. | Read more

NBA releases testing results, no players confirmed positive

The NBA's bubble is still working. The league released its latest results Wednesday for coronavirus tests performed on players participating in the restarted season at Walt Disney World, and the numbers are still perfect. | Read more

MORE

Duval Schools employees won't have to pay COVID-19 medical expenses under new proposal

Duval County Public Schools employees won't have to pay for medical expenses if they contract the coronavirus, under a new proposal announced Tuesday.

Duval Teachers United President Terrie Brady, Duval County School Board Chairman Warren Jones and Superintendent Diana Greenehosted a press conference in the Cline Auditorium ahead of a regular school board meeting to make the announcement.

"This is one of the most aggressive initiatives in the state for school district employees," Brady said at the conference. | Read more

Gov. DeSantis visits Jacksonville senior center to discuss lockdown's limitations

Family members who test positive for coronavirus antibodies may be allowed into senior care facilities soon if Gov. Ron DeSantis gets his way.

Tuesday afternoon, DeSantis visited Jacksonville's ElderSource senior center along with his wife Casey DeSantis to discuss protecting the elderly community at a roundtable meeting.

"We want to make sure what we're doing is really meaningful," Gov. DeSantissaid during the initial part of the roundtable that was open to the press. | Read more

COVID-19 pandemic closes downtown Jacksonville Alice in Wonderland-themed restaurant

10/Six Grille, the Alice in Wonderland-themed restaurant in downtown Jacksonville, has closed permanently less than a year after its opening a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owner Russ Disparti confirmed Tuesday he couldn't afford to reopen the restaurant in the historic Seminole Club building at 400 N. Hogan St. near Jacksonville City Hall.

"It was all the pandemic," Disparti said of the closure. "It takes so much money to open a restaurant. We'd put everything we had into it financially." | Read more

Amid COVID-19, FHSAA ponders multiple options to resume Florida high school sports

High school football in January? Shooting hoops in April?

One preliminary plan under consideration from the Florida High School Athletic Association brings severaloptions onto the table, as the governing bodycontemplates yet another route to return to sports amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Other options might wipe out state playoffs in high school team sports, while another could throw open the playoff gates for football to an even larger playoff field while adding a play-in round in the process. | Read more

Jaguars QB Gardner Minshew activated from reserve/COVID-19 list

The Jaguars starting quarterback Gardner Minshewreturned to the team's facility and resumed throwing passes to his receivers in training camp Tuesday after spending two days in quarantine.

Minshew was activated off the team's reserve/COVID-19 listafter going on the list Sunday withfive other players.

And it couldn't have come soon enough for Minshew, who said he didn't test positive for the virus but was in close contact with an infected teammate. | Read more

4 phases of COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials explained

Approving a vaccine in the U.S. usually takes years, but COVID-19 vaccines are moving through in record time. What does that mean?

Novavax becomes fifth COVID-19 vaccine developer to release promising early results

More good news in the pursuit of a COVID-19 vaccine: A fifth vaccine developer has released promising results from a small, early trial.

Novavax Inc., of Gaithersburg, Maryland,released the results via a press releaseand call with media late Tuesday, showing the vaccine appeared safe and elicited a similar immune response to an active infection with COVID-19. | Read more

Disney lost nearly $5 billion while theme parks were closed due to coronavirus

The Walt Disney Company lost nearly $5 billion April, May and June, while its theme parks were shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a presentation Disney executives made Tuesday.

It cost the company $3.5 billion just to close the parks during the third quarter, on top of the$1 billion it cost to shut them down the second half of March.

In all, the company posted a loss of nearly $5 billion for the third quarter, including a $2 billion loss in its parks, experiences and products segment. | Read more

President Trump gets heated about COVID-19 numbers during interview

President Trump told Axios' Jonathan Swan, 'It's under control as much as you can control it,' in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S.

'It is what it is,' Trump says of rising coronavirus death toll as he insists outbreak is 'under control'

President Donald Trump said his administration has done an "incredible" job handling the coronavirus pandemic, and despite rising deaths, the outbreak is "under control" in a wide-ranging and contentious interviewthataired on HBOMonday night.

Axios national political correspondent Jonathan Swan began the interview by asking Trump if his sometimes "wishful thinking" and "salesmanship" were suitable during a crisis that haskilled more than 155,000 people in the USA.

"I think you have to have a positive outlook; otherwise, you would have nothing," Trump said. | Read more

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Coronavirus in Jacksonville: What you need to know for Friday, August 7 - The Florida Times-Union

The ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate Latin: ascensio Iesu, lit.'ascent of Jesus') is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising into Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to the New Testament narrative, the ascension occurred 40 days after the resurrection. In the Christian tradition, reflected in the major Christian creeds and confessional statements, God exalted Jesus after his death, raising him from the dead and taking him to Heaven, where Jesus took his seat at the right hand of God.

In Christian art, the ascending Jesus is often shown blessing an earthly group below him, signifying the entire Church. The Feast of the Ascension is celebrated on the 40th day of Easter, always a Thursday; the Orthodox tradition has a different calendar up to a month later than in the Western tradition, and while the Anglican Communion continues to observe the feast, many Protestant churches have abandoned the observance.

In Islam, Jesus was neither crucified nor raised from the dead, and according to the Quran, he was rather saved by God and raised to Heaven.

LukeActs, a single work from the same anonymous author, provides the only narrative account of the ascension. Luke chapter 24 tells how Jesus leads the eleven disciples to Bethany, a village on the Mount of Olives, where he instructs them to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit: "And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy." (The corresponding scene in Matthew chapter 28 ends abruptly with the Great Commission, with no mention of an ascension.) The biblical narrative in Chapter 1 of the Acts of the Apostles takes place 40 days after the resurrection. Acts 1 describes a meal at which Jesus commands the disciples to await the coming of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is taken up from the disciples in their sight, a cloud hides him from view, and two men in white appear to tell them that he will return "in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." Luke and Acts appear to describe the same event, but present quite different chronologies, Luke placing it on the same day as the resurrection and Acts forty days afterwards; various proposals have been put forward to resolve the contradiction, but the question remains open.

The Gospel of John has three references to ascension in Jesus' own words: "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the son of man" (John 3:13); "What if you (the disciples) were to see the son of man ascending where he was before?" (John 6:62); and to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to my father..." (John 20:17). In the first and second Jesus is claiming to be the apocalyptic "one like a son of man" of Daniel 7; the last has mystified commentators why should Mary be prohibited from touching the risen but not yet ascended Christ, while Thomas is later invited to do so?

Various epistles (Romans 8:34, Ephesians 1:1920, Colossians 3:1, Philippians 2:911, 1 Timothy 3:16, and 1 Peter 3:2122) also refer to an ascension, seeming, like LukeActs and John, to equate it with the post-resurrection "exaltation" of Jesus to the right hand of God. There is a broad consensus among scholars that the brief ascension account in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 16:19) is a later addition to the original version of that gospel.

In Christian theology, the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus are the most important events, and a foundation of the Christian faith. The early followers of Jesus believed that God had vindicated Jesus after his death, as reflected in the stories about his resurrection, ascension, and exaltation. The early followers of Jesus soon believed that Jesus was raised as first of the dead, taken into Heaven, and exaltated, taking the seat at the right hand of God in Heaven, as stated in the Apostles' Creed: "He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty." Psalms 110:1 played an essential role in this interpretation of Jesus' death and the resurrection appearances: "The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool." It provided an interpretative frame for Jesus' followers to make sense of his death and the resurrection appearances.

Ascension stories were fairly common around the time of Jesus and the gospel-authors, signifying the deification of a noteworthy person (usually a Roman Emperor), and in Judaism as an indication of divine approval. Another function of heavenly ascent was as a mode of divine revelation reflected in Greco-Roman, early Jewish, and early Christian literary sources, in which particular individuals with prophetic or revelatory gifts are thought to have experienced a heavenly journey during which they learned cosmic and divine secrets.

Figures familiar to Jews would have included Enoch (from the Book of Genesis and a popular non-Biblical work called 1 Enoch); the 5th-century sage Ezra; Baruch the companion of the prophet Jeremiah (from a work called 2 Baruch, in which Baruch is promised he will ascend to heaven after 40 days); Levi the ancestor of priests; the Teacher of Righteousness from the Qumran community; the prophet Elijah (from 2 Kings); Moses, who was deified on entering heaven; and the children of Job, who according to the Testament of Job ascended heaven following their resurrection from the dead.

Non-Jewish readers would have been familiar with the case of the emperor Augustus, whose ascent was witnessed by Senators; Romulus the founder of Rome, who, like Jesus, was taken to heaven in a cloud; the Greek hero Heracles (Hercules); and others.

The cosmology of the author of Luke-Acts reflects the beliefs of his age, which envisioned a three-part cosmos with the heavens above, an Earth centered on Jerusalem in the middle, and the underworld below. Heaven was separated from the Earth by the firmament, the visible sky, a solid inverted bowl where God's palace sat on pillars in the celestial sea. Humans looking up from Earth saw the floor of Heaven, made of clear blue lapis-lazuli (Exodus 24:9-10), as was God's throne (Ezekiel 1:26). According to Dunn, "the typical mind-set and worldview of the time conditioned what was actually seen and how the recording of such seeings was conceptualized," and "departure into heaven could only be conceived in terms of 'being taken up ', a literal ascension."

In modern times, a literal reading of the ascension-stories has become problematic, due to the differences between the pre-scientific cosmology of the times of Jesus, and the scientific worldview that leaves no place for a Heaven above us. Theologian James Dunn describes the ascension as at best a puzzle and at worst an embarrassment for an age that no longer conceives of a physical Heaven located above the Earth. Similarly, in the words of McGill University's Douglas Farrow, in modern times the Ascension is seen less as the climax of the mystery of Christ than as "something of an embarrassment in the age of the telescope and the space probe," an "idea [that] conjures up an outdated cosmology."

Yet, according to Dunn, a sole focus on this disparity is beside the real importance of Jesus' ascension, namely the resurrection and subsequent exaltation of Jesus. Farrow notes that, already in the third century, the ascension-story was read by Origen in a mystical way, as an "ascension of the mind rather than of the body," representing one of two basic ascension theologies. The real problem is the fact that Jesus is both present and absent, an ambiguity which points to a "something more" to which the eucharist gives entry.[note 1]

The Feast of the Ascension is a major feast day of the Christian liturgical year, along with the Passion, Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas. Ascension Day is traditionally celebrated on the sixth Thursday after Easter Sunday, the fortieth day from Easter day, although some Roman Catholic provinces have moved the observance to the following Sunday to facilitate the obligation to attend Mass. Saint Jerome held that it was of apostolic origin, but in fact the ascension was originally part of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit), and developed as a separate celebration only slowly from the late 4th century onward. In the Catholic tradition it begins with a three-day "rogation" to ask for God's mercy, and the feast itself includes a procession of torches and banners symbolising Christ's journey to the Mount of Olives and entry into Heaven, the extinguishing of the Paschal candle, and an all-night vigil; white is the liturgical colour. The Eastern Orthodox tradition has a slightly different calendar up to a month later than in the Western tradition. The feast was retained at the Protestant Reformation. It continues to be observed in Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, and most Reformed churches. Most other Protestant churches do not celebrate it as they do not adhere to the traditional Christian calendar of feasts.

The ascension has been a frequent subject in Christian art. By the 6th century, the iconography of the ascension had been established and by the 9th century, ascension scenes were being depicted on domes of churches. The Rabbula Gospels (c. 586) include some of the earliest images of the ascension. Many ascension scenes have two parts, an upper (Heavenly) part and a lower (earthly) part. The ascending Christ may be carrying a resurrection banner or make a sign of benediction with his right hand. The blessing gesture by Christ with his right hand is directed towards the earthly group below him and signifies that he is blessing the entire Church. In the left hand, he may be holding a Gospel or a scroll, signifying teaching and preaching.

The Eastern Orthodox portrayal of the ascension is a major metaphor for the mystical nature of the Church. In many Eastern icons the Virgin Mary is placed at the center of the scene in the earthly part of the depiction, with her hands raised towards Heaven, often accompanied by various Apostles. The upwards-looking depiction of the earthly group matches the Eastern liturgy on the Feast of the Ascension: "Come, let us rise and turn our eyes and thoughts high..."

The traditional site of the ascension is Mount Olivet (the "Mount of Olives"), on which the village of Bethany sits. Before the conversion of Constantine in 312 AD, early Christians honored the ascension of Christ in a cave on the Mount, and by 384 the ascension was venerated on the present site, uphill from the cave.[citation needed]

Around the year 390 a wealthy Roman woman named Poimenia financed construction of the original church called "Eleona Basilica" (elaion in Greek means "olive garden", from elaia "olive tree", and has an oft-mentioned similarity to eleos meaning "mercy"). This church was destroyed by Sassanid Persians in 614. It was subsequently rebuilt, destroyed, and rebuilt again by the Crusaders. This final church was later destroyed by Muslims, leaving only a 1212 meter octagonal structure (called a martyrium"memorial"or "Edicule") that remains to this day.[citation needed][43] The site was ultimately acquired by two emissaries of Saladin in the year 1198 and has remained in the possession of the Islamic Waqf of Jerusalem ever since. The Russian Orthodox Church also maintains a convent of the ascension on the top of the Mount of Olives.

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Ascension of Jesus - Wikipedia

[ uh-sen-shuhn ]SHOW IPA

/ sn n /PHONETIC RESPELLING

the Ascension, the bodily ascending of Christ from earth to heaven.

It may seem like fun and games but this quiz that uses vocab from popular stories will determine how much you know.

Question 1 of 10

disgruntle

OTHER WORDS FROM ascensionascensional, adjective

Ascension

[ uh-sen-shuhn ]SHOW IPA

/ sn n /PHONETIC RESPELLING

a British island in the S Atlantic Ocean: constituent part of St. Helena. 34 sq. mi. (88 sq. km).

Dictionary.com UnabridgedBased on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Random House, Inc. 2020

ascension

the act of ascending

astronomy the rising of a star above the horizon

Derived forms of ascensionascensional, adjective

Ascension1

New Testament the passing of Jesus Christ from earth into heaven (Acts 1:9)

Ascension2

an island in the S Atlantic, northwest of St Helena: uninhabited until claimed by Britain in 1815. Pop: 884 (2010 est). Area: 88 sq km (34 sq miles)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Ascension | Definition of Ascension at Dictionary.com

Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Medical Transport is hosting a blood drive next week to help the Community Blood Center get badly needed blood supplies.

Ascension EMS Outreach Coordinator Matt Thompson tells us more..

"We wanted to help the Community Blood Center and the communities we serve once we learned that many of our local blood drives were canceled over the last few months due to the pandemic. So we wanted to host a blood drive and help them out, so we're doing so on Tuesday, August 4th from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at our Spirit 2 helicopter hanger on the campus of Howard Young Medical Center in Woodruff...."

Thompson says they're making an extra effort so donation can be done safely with personal protective equipment. He says one donation can save up to three lives. He says the donation also helps the Spirit aircraft and ambulances...

"We like to have as many tools as possible in our ambulances and aircraft available for patients losing large amounts of blood. That could be due to a trauma situation or a gastrointestinal situation, anywhere where you are losing large amounts of blood. Everyone of our ambulances and aircraft carry two units of "O"-negative blood..."

Thompson says to schedule an appointment, contact Community Blood Center or Spirit. You can also register online at communityblood.org. Walk-in donations are welcome based on availability.

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Ascension To Host Blood Drive Next Week At HYMC - WXPR

Amy Wilson serves as Senior Vice President of Clinical Operations for Ascension, a system with over 150 hospitals in 20 states. In this role, Wilson oversees Ascension's nursing enterprise and care delivery models. She recently connected with Steven Berkow, Advisory Board's VP of Provider Research, to discuss how her system mobilized nearly 10,000 nurses to deliver Covid-19 care in different care settingsand other lessons learned for transforming care delivery.

What nurse leaders can do today to prepare their frontline for Covid-19

Question: Thanks for speaking with me today, Amy. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, system executives have increasingly shared with me how Covid-19 has been driving or accelerating systemness. How has Ascension, which is such a large system, leveraged its size to address the pandemic?

Amy Wilson: As you know, we started coming together as One Ascension about six years ago. Before we were a holding company. But we've now been working together for years to standardize processes and protocols at the enterprise level whenever it makes good sense, while still making room for local flavor. This journey, combined with our adoption of Agile learning, put us in a far better position to respond quickly to Covid-19.

Question: Let's narrow our focus to nursing. You oversee more than 60,000 nurses. How did you leverage Ascension's expansive nursing resources and capabilities to respond to Covid-19?

Wilson: In the beginning, we were most concerned about staffing during a system-wide surge. We worried about all our markets being hit hard at roughly the same time. So, we leaned on the reach of our system to speed up learning and evolution of a team-based Covid-19 staffing model. For example, we already had some team-based model pilots running in our Jacksonville market. We also incorporated insights about tiered staffing models shared by nurse executives in the first Covid-19 hot spot, Seattle.

Question: So what did this model look like in practice?

Wilson: We ultimately took that tier-based approach and went a step further to develop two different RN roles within the team: Deputized RNs and Functional RNs. The deputized role is for RNs who already have needed specialized skills and can be quickly cross-trained for a more acute Covid-19 unit. For example, PACU nurses are strong candidates to serve as Deputized RNs in the ICU.

In contrast, Functional RNs don't have all the clinical competencies required to independently deliver care in the more acute setting but do have much needed universal nursing skillsfor example, med-surg nurses redeployed to that ICU. By delineating these two roles in the early days of the epidemic, we built confidence among our nurses that they wouldn't be asked to deliver care above their competency level.

It was so successful we quickly incorporated respiratory therapists and CNAs into the model as well. Within a week and a half, we had cross-trained almost 10,000 nurses, respiratory therapists, and CNAsall across the countryto flex in a surge.

Question: Let me slow down a bit here, because 10,000 employees trained in less than two weeks is quite an achievement. With such a limited amount of time, where did you focus your training efforts?

Wilson: We were most concerned about ICU staffing at first, so we focused on ventilator skills, proning, and other critical care skills. We also trained staff on team-based behaviors key to a high-performing ICU and weaved in self-care, such as trauma recovery, to prepare them mentally and spiritually for the journey ahead.

But very quickly we realized that med-surg was also going to see a surge. So we adopted a similar program for the med-surg area, identifying OR circulators, Ascension Medical Group nurses, and nurse practitioners who typically work in the outpatient setting for Deputized or Functional roles and training up as many as feasible.

Question: So it sounds like you created something of a conga line to leverage your workforce here, pulling in your PACU providers to help in the ICU, and then tapping some of your outpatient nurses to pitch-in on med-surg units. But given social distancing requirements, what training modality did you use?

Wilson: We shifted all classroom-based trainings to virtual. We used the Google Classrooms platform to create an interactive virtual experience. And then we would conduct very small simulation check-offswith just 10 people or fewer present.

And the nurses loved it! In fact, one of our lessons-learned going forward is that we should be doing more virtual trainings. Nurses love the flexibility. They don't have to drive into work to participate; they can do it from anywhere.

Question: Once they're trained, how do you deploy these staff? Do they flex within just their hospital, their region, or broader?

Wilson: Originally, we were thinking about it at a regional levela radius that people could drive to. Then Detroit, a big area for us, got hit significantly. Even with heightened RN flexibility and surge staffing plans in place, we didn't have enough nurses to cover the volumes. At the same time, we had facilities in northern Michigan that were not hit.

So that's when we stood up the Ascension travel program. We voluntarily mobilized nurses who lived two, three, four hours from Detroit, paid them a travel rate, and hoteled them nearby. That went so well we started doing it across state lines. We've been able to do some of that through the Nurse Licensure Compact, but I also have to thank our advocacy teams in Michigan and Illinois, which were two non-compact license states where we needed the most help initially. The advocacy teams worked with the governors to create reciprocity on an expedited basis.

We're continuing the Ascension travel program across state lines today. In fact, soon after Texas was hit hard, I got a call that Austin needed additional nurses. Michigan nurses were so thankful for how Texas, Kansas, and several other ministries came to help them when Michigan was surging that many welcomed the chance to help their sister hospitals in Texas.

To date, we've had over 400 nurses, respiratory therapists, and nursing assistants travel from low-volume areas to high-volume areasand we haven't had to hire any nurses. These are all Ascension staff members meeting patient demand where it's at.

Question: And with some non-surging areas struggling to get non-Covid patients to come back in for care, I'm guessing some of them probably need the hours?

Wilson: Correct. And there are other benefits. Going back to your question about systemness, it propels the idea of One Ascension. We get to share learnings across the organization at the grassroots level, very differently than we do through our affinity group process.

In fact, this has gone so well that we're standing up a permanent travel program within Ascension. We will have clinicians who will be dedicated to the travel program in the future. But we're still going to allow our full-time associates who don't travel to have some type of sabbatical or exchange program where they can exchange jobs with another associate.

Question: The training program, the internal travel agencyyou have led a ton of needed change in a very small amount of time. It makes me reflect on how many systems still don't have a system-level chief nurse executive. Do you think that hampers their ability to replicate some of the things you've done?

Wilson: Absolutely. The system-level nurse executive brings a critical perspective to the C-suite in several ways. Most obviously, more than 60% of a health system's workforce is nursing or nursing support. So just from a workforce planning perspective, there's ample work for a system-level CNO.

But perhaps more important, health care is now very much a team sport. We need our physicians and nurses working in lockstep to deliver high value care, but right or wrong, physicians and nurses have different motivations and start points for addressing challenges. If you're not set up to bake in the nursing perspective from the outset and how best to secure nurse buy-in, your organization is going to struggle to advance most strategic initiatives. Again, over 60% of your workforce is nursing or nursing support.

Question: I want to switch gears for a few minutes to talk about another challenge facing system executives: convincing patients that it's safe to come back to the system and get care. How have you been tackling this?

Wilson: It's important to remember all the channels and people you already have in place to help here. That's where we turned first. More specifically, we've been repurposing our patient surveys and focus groups to better understand what patients need to feel safe. We're now taking that data and working with our Marketing and Communication team along with a mix of clinical leaders to develop care and communication protocols to meet these needs. And we're tapping our national Patient Family Advisory Council to pressure test these plans and provide feedback.

Convincing all our patients it's safe to come back is going to require a multi-prong effort. But what we're finding is most important is those one-on-one conversations and phone calls with patients.

Question: For a system of Ascension's size, standardizing one-to-one conversations is a tall order. How do you ensure your frontline providers are on message?

Wilson: We do it by cascading information. Once protocols are developed, they go out to all executives in the organization. After that, it's communicated to the specific people whose work is impacted, all the way to the front line. We also provide standard flyers and messaging across the system, so no matter which facility you walk into across the country, you're going to hear and see the same message on social distancing. You're going to hear and see the same message about universal masking.

Question: I want to give you free reign over our last few moments. Is there anything else you want to share with your health system peers?

Wilson: I want to address staff burnout. Many have focused on the trauma and emotional exhaustion experienced by clinicians caught up in extreme surges. This is exceedingly well deserved. But I want to encourage my peers to remember that Covid-19 has impacted everyone. We have nurses who are feeling guilty because they happen to live in a market that didn't surge. Others are struggling to adjust to working virtually. And others are struggling with Covid-19 challenges outside of work.

I also want to remind my peers that safeguarding time for self-care and well-being has not been a strength of health care professionals. We're really good at telling others how to take care of themselves, and we're really bad at caring for ourselves. But ultimately, we will not have the capacity to provide care for others if we're not caring for ourselves, particularly amid a historic pandemic.

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Q&A: How Ascension mobilized nearly 10000 nurses for Covid-19in less than 2 weeks - The Daily Briefing

Album:This Ascension is Ours

Artist:Song Sung

Label:Night Time Stories

Genre:Alternative

Georgina and Una McGeough may have grown up in Monaghan with a father who played in showbands, but their debut album is as sonically and geographically far removed from those beginnings as you could imagine. The identical twins, now based in New York, were galvanised into action after crossing paths with David Holmes several years back, contributing a cover of 10ccs Im Not in Love to his Late Night Tales compilation in 2016.

Holmes produced and cowrote these songs, and his influence is audible on the sultry electronic strut of Come to the Water, the woozy off-kilter thud of Orbiting Slow and the general gauzy sheen of sound that crackles and shimmers throughout. At the same time, the McGeoughs gossamer voices weave a hypnotic spell and are integral to the record.

Telling Tales glistens and throbs like a mystical pop song, while The Minds Eye manages to embody both shades of Enya and a poppier version of Stereolab within five minutes. Elsewhere, the rhythmic patter, textured static and dreamy layers of vocals on the epic Testimony of Tears recalls Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil.

Some may find the repetitive nature of these songs a little frustrating, yet theres both a comfort in the familiarity of this album and a foreboding sense of disquiet throughout.

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Song Sung: This Ascension Is Ours review Winning twins - The Irish Times

GONZALESOne candidate for Donaldsonville City Council was disqualified Wednesday and another was allowed to stay in his race.

Interim Judge Emile St. Pierre ruled that Trevis Fernandez, 46, met state and city candidacy requirements while Donaldsonville businesswoman Shentelle "Lou" Daigle did not.

The ruling against Daigle means four-term incumbent Councilman Reginald Francis has won a fifth term to his District 3 seat. No one else was challenging him for reelection Nov. 3.

But a fellow incumbent councilman, the Rev. Charles Brown, faces two challengers this fall. David Joseph Jr., of Donaldsonville, is also running for Brown's District 4 seat in addition to Fernandez. All are Democrats.

Daigle is one of the organizers of the Donaldsonville Community Care Committee. The group had a march and rally last month in which committee members and other speakers called for change in the city's economic conditions and questioned the city leadership's past efforts to spur that kind of change.

DONALDSONVILLE Organizers, current and former state legislators, and others called for improved economic and housing opportunities and great

Donaldsonville, a majority African American city on the west bank of Ascension, hasn't benefited from the same kind of population and commercial growth as eastern Ascension over the past two and a half decades. The poverty rate in the city of nearly 8,500 is close to 40%, census estimates say.

The Community Care Committee has endorsed a slate of candidates challenging Mayor Leroy Sullivan and four of the five council incumbents including Fernandez in his race against Councilman Brown and Daigle in her race against Francis.

Councilmen Francis and Brown had filed separate challengesin 23rd Judicial District Court against their respective opponents over the same issue: residency.

Their opponents' voter registrations listed them as living outside the council districts in which they were running. And the challengers had continued to vote at Donaldsonville-area polling precincts that weren't in those districts, according to testimony Wednesday.

But, in separate hearings, the defendants' attorneys, Seth Dornier and Jonathan Holloway, introduced driver's licenses, utility bills, bills of property sales, homestead exemptions, motor vehicle titles and other documents showing the defendants' current home addresses for the past several years matched up with the addresses on their candidacy forms.

Both candidates had also sought to change their voter registrations to their newer addresses after qualifying last month, parish registrar officials testified.

Donaldsonville's home rule charter requires candidates live in their council district for at least six months prior to voting and be eligible to vote in the city.

Judge St. Pierre found that Fernandez and Daigle were living and domiciled in the council districts for which they were seeking office. But he ruled against Daigle because her current voter registration was for an old address outside the city limits.

Fernandez, even though he wasn't registered to vote in the correct council district, was registered to vote in the city limits. So he met the city rules, the judge found.

Saying the law leans toward keeping candidates on the ballot, St. Pierre opined that more should be done to encourage people to seek public office.

"We want people to run for office. In my opinion, not enough people run for office," he said.

The testimony leading up to St. Pierre's rulings revealed contradictions in the voter registration verification process.

Under questioning from City Attorney Chuck Long, Parish Registrar of Voters Robert Poche' testified that Fernandez has voted 18 times since 2008 in a precinct in Council District 1, most recently on Nov. 16, 2019.

Poche' said repeated state canvassing attempts designed to check if Fernandez's address had changed actually verified it had remained the same, inside District 1 and outside the district in which Fernandez now is running.

But Fernandez later testified that he has lived in District 4 on Evangeline Drive with his wife and two daughters since Hurricane Gustav hit the state in 2008 and destroyed his old mobile home on West 6th Street in District 1. The mobile home was demolished and the District 1 property on West 6th has been vacant for years, he said.

It wasn't clear from testimony where repeated voter canvassing forms that the state had mailed to Fernandez's old, demolished home wound up over the past 12 years.

In a later interview, Councilman Brown wished Fernandez luck in his run for office. He said he no hard feelings about the ruling but was advised to file a challenge, so a court could rule on the registration questions.

Fernandez said he was blessed for the court victory and ready to run.

Excerpt from:

Judge knocks one Donaldsonville council candidate out of fall election, keeps another on ballot - The Advocate

After a peculiar song-writing journey situated between New York and Monaghan, Ireland, Song Sung (comprised of Irish-born, America-based twins Georgina and Uni McGeough) have finally released their debut LP This Ascension is Ours.

With producer David Holmes producing and arranging tracks, then sending the audio files to the duo to write lyrics and record vocals over, its quite possible that these tracks have travelled more miles than many people. The resulting album is an atmospheric (which, whilst probably the most overused word in indie music reviews, truly does apply here), spooky, and eclectic collection of songs that do a better job of forming a whole than acting as individuals.

Opening with a Lovecraftian invitation to "Come to the water", slow, pounding drums, bass drops, and a menagerie of sound effects and samples range from occult to pop-esque. Its a memorable entrance to the album and effectively sets a tone for the horror-tinged, world-building record to come.

Most tracks stay within the same constructed soundscape but add variety through tone and structure. Telling Tales takes a more traditional song structure than its preceding opening track or following six-minute mini-epic Somewhere. With a weirdly anthemic chorus that's as catchy as it is ethereal, Telling Tales is perhaps one of the more accessible tracks on the record. Lead single Take Some Time and The Minds Eye also make good cases for this title also but arent executed quite as well.

Whilst the duo form typically structured, accessible songs with ease, they undoubtedly shine brightest when allowed to truly veer off into their art-inspired fantasies. Album standout Testimony of Tears combines all elements of the album well, with a post-rock-inspired structure lending itself incredibly well to reverb-laden, breathy vocals, a simple but prominent running bass line and slowly-uplifting instrumentation, all of which combust in a crescendo of atmosphere and sound before fading into nothing.

One caveat with this album is that despite its modest ten-track listing, it feels a little bloated - with running time reaching an hour, the average song length is between 5-6 minutes long. For a group that are still crafting a unique, unrefined sound, this feels like overexposure.

However, This Ascension Is Ours paints a distinctive atmosphere in a genre where many try but fail to craft a sound specific to themselves, accomplishing an interesting and astonishingly unusual composition. This must be applauded, but the goal now for the group is to build something more on the foundation this album has created for them.

This Ascension Is Ours is out this Friday (31st July) viaNight Time Stories Ltd.

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In Review: Song Sung This Ascension is Ours - GigList