Daily Archives: January 3, 2021

File image courtesy Taiwan National Airborne Service Corps

By The Maritime Executive 01-03-2021 09:06:00

A crewmember aboard a small product tanker was killed in an assault by one of his crewmates while the vessel was under way off the coast of Taiwan, according to Taiwanese authorities.

On January 1, the Cook Islands-flagged product tanker New Progress was under way about 30 nm to the northeast of Taiwan's northernmost tip. A Burmese crewmember - identified as Wai Phy Aung, 27 - was stabbed and badly injured by a crewmate in a fight.

The ship notified Taiwan's National Search and Rescue Command Center, which dispatched a helicopter to medevac the victim. According to state new agency CNA, he had sustained a severe abdominal injury and his blood pressure and heart rate dropped. The SAR helicopter delivered him to medical personnel at Songshan Airport, but he did not survive.

The tanker diverted to Keelung Port after the casualty, but the Keelung Marine Patrol Department says that it will not beconducting an investigation, as Taiwan lacks jurisdiction. The incident occurred aboard a foreign-flagged ship at a position well outside of Taiwanese territorial seas, and all on board are foreign nationals. The responsibility for investigating the crime falls to the Cook Islands, the vessel's flag state.

The New Progress is a 1995-built product tanker of about 8,000 dwt, and she is owned and operated by a firm headquartered in Taiwan. Her manager operates a fleet of 13 ships, the majority older than 25 years.

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Product Tanker Crewmember Stabbed and Killed by a Shipmate - The Maritime Executive

Years in the making, the NTT IndyCar Series introduced its aeroscreen safety device at the onset of the 2020 season. It wasnt perfect, but it appeared to serve its purpose by offering drivers a new and heightened level of cockpit protection.

The series took the lead on developing an aeroscreen of its own, which was tested on a few occasions in 2018, but lingering problems led to tabling the concept in favor of a blade-like deflection device, the Advanced Frontal Protection (AFP) piece. It was better than nothing, but felt like a token effort at the time.

Reflecting on the process of bringing the aeroscreen online and its performance, IndyCar president Jay Frye, who took control of the struggling project, expressed pride with how it eventually came together and built momentum leading into the most recent season.

It was a paddock-wide effort, he told RACER. And to me, the most amazing thing was we worked on this for a couple of years, and then at the COTA Open Test in 2019, we got the drivers together and basically told them we got to a certain point with our aeroscreen, but we were having trouble getting it over the finish line. So we had an idea, and the idea was, Hey, if we put an AFP on the car, we can do that quickly while we call our friends at Red Bull to see if they would be willing to work with us on this aeroscreen. We like their application. Its exactly kind of what we were thinking about doing anyway. And would this work? What do you think?

So everybody was enthused about that. We put the AFP device on the car. Red Bull immediately jumped on it, got PPG, Dallara, and Pankl involved. One year later, at the 2020 COTA Open Test, we had 26 cars equipped with aeroscreens. So it was a massive effort by so many people for something that really was turned around in 12 months. Thats unbelievable from an engineering perspective.

Drivers expressed few issues with adapting to racing behind a thick laminate screen, but the same cant be said about the corresponding lack of cool, onrushing air being delivered to the cockpit. With air now diverted over and around their helmets, ambient temperatures and heat soak from the side-mounted radiators could make sitting inside the Chevy- and Honda-powered cars feel like being stuck inside a cruel saunaall while trying to race and win.

Complicating matters, the arrival of COVID-19 led to a cancellation of all track testing, which meant the series and its drivers would be forced to learn about the cooling issues as they popped up from race to race. Solving problems in public, in the midst of an active championship, was never the intent, but Frye says his engineering team and aeroscreen partners did their best to adapt on the fly.

We did the COTA Open Test, and then we really did not turn another wheel until the Texas Motor Speedway race (in June) because of the pandemic, he said. So we get to Texas. Obviously its really hot, and cooling was put to an extreme test right off the bat. Obviously, we worked on lots of different cooling options throughout the course of the year.

We think weve got a lot at the teams disposals right now. We only mandated the helmet cooling hose, and the rest of the tools that the teams have are optional. At St. Pete, which was a really hot day, a really humid day, last race of the season, you saw a varying effect with different teams using different pieces, which is what we want. Its like, Guys, you have the tools. Use them. And some use more, some less. So well continue to work on it as we do everything, but we think the toolbox is pretty well equipped with cooling devices.

A few more improvements are in the works for 2021.

There was some dust and debris and things like that got in the cockpit, so filtration, and things like that that were working on, Frye said. Weve got anti-fogging heat elements in them. So were looking at all of the boxes we checked and asking how they performed, and if some things are or arent needed.

The aeroscreen was put through a couple of challenges at the Iowa race, where the flying car of Colton Herta was prevented from striking Rinus VeeKays helmet, and it also kept flying debris from the crash making its way into Marcus Ericssons cockpit. Of all the incidents where the aeroscreen served its purpose, Iowa as with Romain Grosjeans halo in the Bahrain Grand Prix offered clear answers as to why the safety device was commissioned.

Throughout the course of the year, there were a few incidents that certainly came into play that had the positive results that we will always want, which was the drivers walked away, Frye said. Overall, you dont get too loud when something does its job like the aeroscreen did; I mean, thats what its there for. But it was a real success that a lot of people were part of, and were really proud of it.

Frye says IndyCar will continue to share crash data and how the aeroscreen performs with the FIA and Formula 1, just as they share details on their findings with the halo with IndyCar. One area in the Grosjean crash that stood out for IndyCars review was the amount of time it took for the Frenchman to extract himself from the car.

With a tight head-surround device, a six-point racing harness, radio and drink bottle connections, and the aforementioned mandatory helmet cooling hose keeping IndyCar drivers tethered to the car in multiple ways, the series is looking into ways where unplugging all lines and hoses might be done in a shorter duration when faced with an emergency.

Thats something were looking at thats part of this off-season process, he confirmed. Weve had one off-season team manager meeting and another one coming up here shortly, and well go through this and standardize some things. We all saw what happened with [Grosjean], and whats the result? Well, the result was what you want, and the driver was okay.

And obviously it was a big incident, so we were already looking at some quick disconnect options on a few things, and when we get the report the findings on the F1 crash, well also see if theres anything in there we could do better, do differently with our frame and screen. Our system is different than theirs, but theres a lot of similar things that can carry over.

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INSIGHT: Progress made and changes to come with IndyCar's aeroscreen - RACER

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, James Graham is collaborating with music legend Elton John and Jake Shears of The Scissor Sisters on a musical take on the life of infamous TV evangelist, Tammy Faye Bakker.

Tammy Faye - The Musical held a workshop earlier this year, directed by Rupert Goold. The production is currently aiming for a 2021 bow at the West End's Almeida Theatre.

Graham revealed to The Guardian that the health crisis allowed for a lot of work to get done on the piece, accelerating the process.

"We've made real progress and we got a workshop together in November," said Graham. "We hope we might get it in to a theatre second half of next year."

Graham said that he was inspired to work on the piece by the intersection of evangelicalism and Reaganism and how that happened again with Trump.

"That sounds really boring and dry doesn't it," said Graham. "But it's with some kick-ass tunes by Elton John!"

Read more on The Guardian.

Tamara Faye was an American Christian singer, evangelist, author, talk show hostess, and television personality. She initially gained notice for her work with The PTL Club, a televangelist program that she co-founded with her husband Jim Bakker in 1974. They had hosted their own puppet show series for local programming in Minnesota in the early 1970s; Messner also had a career as a recording artist. In 1978, she and Bakker built Heritage USA, a Christian theme park.

Messner garnered significant publicity when Jim Bakker was indicted, convicted, and imprisoned on numerous counts of fraud and conspiracy in 1989, resulting in the dissolution of The PTL Club.

During her career Messner was noted for her eccentric and glamorous persona, as well as for her moral views that diverged from those of many mainstream Evangelists, particularly her acceptance of LGBT views and reaching out to HIV/AIDS patients at the height of the AIDS epidemic.

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James Graham Reveals Progress Has Been Made on Tammy Faye Bakker Musical, With Music From Elton John - Broadway World

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Getting COVID-19 vaccines distributed widely istaking much longer than many had hoped.Some metro health departments havent gotten any doses of the vaccine.

Truman Medical Center said its making remarkable strides. Nearly half of all its employees have now received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, but it appears across the country, and right here in the metro, its a patchwork of progress to get and give doses.

As more health care workers roll up their sleeves to get the COVID vaccine, its continued encouragement for those on the front lines, but theres a lot of work left to do.

We do see some light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel remains quite long, Dr. Mark Steele, Truman Medical Center Executive Chief Clinical Officer, said. Its going to take quite a while for us to get a significant proportion of the population vaccinated.

TMC continues to get regular vaccine shipments and work its way through all staff who want to get theshot, but the hospital knows there are challenges in getting these doses to all the places theyre needed.

The Jackson County Health Department tells FOX4 it has received zero vaccines to give its workers sofar.

Across the state line, the Johnson County, Kansas, Health Department has only received 1,200 total doses.

Almost90% of staff has beenvaccinated, and they are slowly giving shots to EMS and health care professionals.

I thought my problem would be convincing people to take it, said Dr. Sanmi Areola, director of Johnson County Department of Health and Environment.Right now, I have people willing to take it, and I dont have enough vaccines to do that.

Areola said the county has vaccine sites set and workers ready to go to inoculate thousands.

But if the current rate of 1,200 doses a week continues, it would take 500weeks to immunize the countys roughly 600,000 residents.The longer it takes, the longer people will continue to suffer.

Its frustrating when I see number of cases and see number of deaths, Areola said.

Its estimated only about a quarter of the more than 11 million vaccine doses have been distributed sofar.

President-elect Joe Biden said if that doesnt improve soon, itll take years, not months, toget past this pandemic.Hes hoping to enact big changes to get 100 million Americans vaccinated within his first 100 days in office.

If Congress provides funding, wed be able to meet this goal, Biden said.It would take ramping five to six times the current pace to one million shots a day.

Right now, about 2 million vaccines have been given. That is a far cry from the 20 million doses President Donald Trump was hoping would have been given by now.

Health experts in Missouri and Kansas are optimistic that when logistics of getting vaccine shipments are improved, most people will have access to the vaccine by summer.

Nearly half of vaccine doses received so far were strictly allocated for use by long-term care facility workers and residents.

The director of Missouris Department of Health and Senior Services said, long-term care facilities should be finished with the first dose of the vaccine by mid-January, which should help improve delivery, by freeing up more vaccinations for use in other priority population groups statewide.

Continued here:

Vaccine distribution lags in Kansas City and across the US, slowing progress health leaders hoped for - KOLR - OzarksFirst.com

December 31, 2020

WHERE WE ARE: HERMOSA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT

HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS IN 2020

HERMOSA BEACH, CA In the midst of a very challenging year, the Hermosa Beach Police Department continued to make progress under new leadership by increasing officer recruiting, expanding its transparency and accountability to the public and demonstrating continued professionalism by achieving its fourth national accreditation.

In January 2020, Interim Chief Mike McCrary was asked to lead the HBPD during a search for a fulltime chief of police. In April, the City welcomed Paul LeBaron as its new police chief. Under his leadership, the department has continued to provide critical public safety services during the COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously working with local, state and national leaders to stay in the forefront of police reform efforts with increased transparency and partnership with the community.

The department hired seven new officers in 2020. As part of its improvements in the onboarding process, the department added a new component to orientation week, creating a family day during which the employee's family members visited the police station, met department members and learned about the Counseling Team International program that is available for employees and their families.

In its ongoing recruitment efforts, the department plans to send five new recruits to the Police Academy in February 2021, and it is continuously accepting applications in its search for highly qualified personnel.

The department has created a new "Transparency" page on the City website to provide easy access to public information such as department policies, crime statistics and annual data regarding use of force incidents. Law enforcement's use of force was a heightened topic of discussion at the local and the national level this year. These conversations led to recommendations for police reform and close review of law enforcement policies and practices, something that HBPD has done for years as part of its accreditation program.

This year, the department earned its fourth accreditation award from the national Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), which is considered the "gold standard" in public safety. Law enforcement's major executive associations created CALEA in 1979 as a credentialing authority, and CALEA says that it accredits "public safety agencies that have demonstrated compliance with CALEA Standards and have been awarded CALEA Accreditation by the Commission."

"CALEA accreditation is the highest recognition of law enforcement excellence, and we are pleased the HBPD has received CALEA accreditation for the fourth time since 2010," said Chief LeBaron. "Reaccreditation is an ongoing process that requires our continued attention and reviews to ensure the department continues to meet the Commission's state-of-the-art standards for public safety."

To further provide residents and visitors first-class service, the department has prepared a document titled "Where We Are," which highlights this year's progress, including recruitment efforts. It also provides details on important policy updates such as those related to use of force and vehicle pursuits. The accomplishments highlighted in "Where We Are" supports the "My Brother's Keeper Mayor's Pledge" signed by former Mayor Mary Campbell in 2020. The pledge was signed by mayors across the country and commits to review and reform use of force policies, redefine public safety and combat systemic racism within law enforcement.

"We enter the new year with a strong commitment to continue serving the community while meeting the highest standards and ensuring accountability and transparency to the public," said Chief LeBaron. "We are very proud of these accomplishments, which are a credit to the men and women at all levels who continuously demonstrate their commitment to the community and the public that we serve."

This press release was produced by the City of Hermosa Beach. The views expressed are the author's own.

Excerpt from:

Where We Are - Hermosa Beach Police Department Highlight Progress In 2020 - Patch.com

Sometimes, you just have a game where you dont bring the proper level of effort and focus; other times, theres nights where nothing goes in not even wide-open looks.

For the Boston Celtics against the Detroit Pistons on New Years Day, they managed to get both of those games at the same time. Early on, it seemed like the team was asleep at the wheel or perhaps had a little too much fun the night before. But then when the team found its sea legs in the third and fourth quarter, mounting a furious comeback from down as many as 21 points in the first half, Boston couldnt hit the sea with a pebble.

And while sports momentum may be an illusion of perception, confidence most certainly is not the Celtics gave their opponents all they needed early, and could never find their own outside of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

With this in mind, lets review the highs, lows and inconclusives of the game.

The highs

The Jay Team was back in full effect, combining for 53 points, 15 boards, 4 steals and 3 blocks, Brown and Tatum the sole players on Boston's roster looking like they came to play for the majority of the game -- though both were guilty of some poor decisions as well. The poor-shooting stretch by Jeff Teague ending is another minor victory for the team, though his 12 points and 3 assists off the bench are what should be expected, and so not exactly something to celebrate, if pleased about. Leadership in losses from the likes of Brown and Tatum is also a good thing to hear, if the sort of good thing you want fewer examples to point to overall. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1345143026356793345?s=20

Story continues

The lows

Playing down to their opponent has long been a vice of the Celtics, and whether it was an error of judgment or some other cause that had Boston deploying a low-energy response to a team desperate for a win, the end result was an avoidable loss. This team also shot terribly, particularly late when it mattered most. And while the shots they took were all defensible, this team as a whole needs to do a better job of attacking the rim when the jumpers aren't connecting. The two-big lineup is not working, at least not with these two. Can Rob Williams III play the four, guarding the perimeter and hitting the midrange jumper he's flashed at moments? If not, some decisions may be in need of making sooner than the team might prefer. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1345434691353120770?s=20

The works in progress

The small gains we saw from the deep rotation never really got a chance to build on their small successes vs. the Grizzlies, but in this we're blaming the starters as much as anyone for that. The end-of-bench players simply cannot get the run they need to prove they belong if the team's best players don't do their job against teams it's conceivable they can afford to play. The rookie who did see the floor -- Payton Pritchard -- had his first bad game for the Celtics, but also managed to at least be helpful while his shot wasn't falling, getting a block, a pair of steals and assists and generally being a pest. There's plenty to build off of from this loss as a teaching moment and a chance at quick redemption with a rematch on Sunday, but this team needs to get its act together in a hurry if it wants to be taken seriously. [jwplayer ViSunks2-z6KDnl0B] [lawrence-related id=45078,45053,45050,45048] [listicle id=45073]

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Pistons Celtics highs, lows, works in progress: analyzing the game - Yahoo Sports

REDDING, Calif. The Downtown Circulation Project in Downtown Redding is almost complete. At the intersection of Tehama Street and Market Street, a new layer of asphalt was laid on top.

Street surfaces that have not had cars drive through in 50 years will soon be open.

The purpose was to reintroduce the streets through the core of downtown, said Mark Christ, a senior housing specialist with the City of Redding.

He said the main reason for the project is, "To help spur business activity downtown and make it more accessible to vehicles to pedestrians.

Plant Daddy, a new business that just opened back in November, is excited to see the new changes headed to the area.

Now that it's opening it's going to bring a lot of foot traffic in, said Megan Kelly, the shop manager. A lot of small businesses I think are going to thrive, especially with all the traffic.

The Downtown Circulation Project is expected to be fully finished in mid-January.

Not too far from the Downtown Circulation Project, a housing project years in the making -- is welcoming new residents to downtown.

People started moving into the Market Center building. Jessica Jaspers, moved in to her new place a few weeks ago and is happy to call it home.

I really like it, said Jaspers. There's a super cute community room and there's a nice little outdoor area. Everyone seems really friendly and Im really happy to be here.

Jaspers tells Action News Now the moving was a bit crazy, but is glad to be all settled in.

It was a little hectic just because I've never lived in anything like this, said Jaspers.

It was kind of a process as far as like getting our stuff up into the unit but now that it's over, it a walk in the park.

The old Dickers building now transformed into an 80,000 square foot structure. With affordable housing on top and retails shops still being finished. There are 82 housing units on-site, 81 are set aside for affordable housing. The other unit is set aside for management who will be living on site.

I think it's a huge catalyst for future development to see what can be done with the type of mixed-use building that's going on, said Christ.

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Downtown Redding Redevelopment making good progress - Action News Now