Category Archives: Progress

Separate but parallel planning efforts focused on a wide region west of Reserve Street in Missoula will gain momentum in the coming months, city and county officials told the Urban Growth Commission this week.

Missoula County contracted Dover, Kohl and Partners this week to spearhead a land use plan for several thousand acres west of Reserve an area bounded by Mullan Road and West Broadway.

By the end of the month, the county also expects to have a contract in place with DJ&A, which will head up transportation planning for the same region.

We as staff who have been working on these two projects for the past six to nine months have always been talking about how those two projects will integrate together when the time is right, said county planner Andrew Hagemaier. That time is now.

The lack of a land use plan served as a point of controversy as the Missoula City Council debated the approval of a new subdivision off Mullan Road late last year.

While no one disputed the need for additional housing, those who opposed the project wanted it to wait until the land use plan was completed. Early stages of the project were given a green light regardless, though other projects are waiting in the wings.

Future projects would be guided by the land use plan, which will also be influenced by the transportation plan.

Part of the master plan will create typical road sections, which will then influence what the engineering of those roads will look like, said Hagemaier. What the engineers do in their design will effect elements of the master plan.

In partnership with the city, Missoula County applied for and received a $13 million federal BUILD grant to make road improvements to the area. Conceptual plans include connecting George Elmer Drive and Mary Jane Boulevard from Mullan to West Broadway, and extending England Boulevard further west.

The transportation grant will help fund nearly three miles of new roads and open access to nearly 1,500 acres of developable land west of Reserve. It could also lead to the placement of thousands of new homes and an estimated 7,000 jobs.

But where and how that growth occurs will be a combination of planning and public input. Several public charrettes will take place over the coming months, and new zoning codes will likely emerge along the way.

They would be new zoning districts, and our hope would be that wed not only be able to use them there, but in other situations inside the city, said city planner Tom Zavits.

Most of this area is in the county right now, but as it develops, a lot of the denser residential would be annexed over time. It depends what the plan looks like, and it depends what we end up with.

The transportation plan is expected to reach 30% design by May. The land use plan should run a parallel path, Hagemaier said. Both DJ&A and Dover-Kohl will be working side by side throughout the process, he added.

Theres a lot of opportunity for alignment with these two projects, he said. Both teams realize that this other project is going on, and theyre already thinking about this. Well put them virtually in a room together very soon.

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Mullan area transportation plan, land-use plan to progress together as process begins - Missoula Current

PORT ELIZABETH England spinner Dom Bess claimed his first five-wicket test haul on Saturday before persistent drizzle threatened to loosen England's stranglehold on South Africa on the third day of the third test on Saturday.

The rain reduced play in the morning session at St Georges Park to one hour and 45 minutes, and the match had yet to resume by midafternoon.

Bess rampaged through the home side's top order, leaving South Africa on 113 runs for five wickets, still 386 behind Englands mammoth first-innings total of 499 for nine declared.

The 22-year-old had snagged two overnight as South Africa lost wickets at the start of their innings in the gloom at the close of the second day, and he picked up where he left off on Saturday.

Dean Elgar was dismissed first, edging the ball off his pad to Ollie Pope at silly point, for 35 runs followed by captain Francois du Plessis, whose tenure as skipper of the South African side is now seriously in question.

He continued his poor form by belting two boundaries and then perishing to Bess in the same fashion as Elgar, making only eight runs.

Bess then saw captain Joe Root drop nightwatchman Anrich Nortje at first slip and Pope fail to snag a half-chance off Rassie van der Dussen.

But Bess fifth wicket came two balls later, to joyous celebration, as Van der Dussen played on and was bowled for 24.

Bess had not been selected for the tour at first, but he was flown out to South Africa just before Christmas as cover when a virus struck the England camp.

He had figures of 5-41 when lunch was called, with Nortje on 14 not out and Quinton de Kock yet to score.

It continued to drizzle throughout the scheduled afternoon session, with the covers tantalisingly coming off three times but then being quickly put back on again.

After receiving a pounding from the England batsmen on the first two days, South Africa now face the prospect of needing to bat out the test to avoid defeat, similar to the last test in Cape Town when England clinched victory in the last hour on the fifth day.

England now hold the upper hand with the series level at 1-1.

The fourth and final test is in Johannesburg next week.

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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Bess Takes Five Wickets Before Rain Halts England Progress - The New York Times

Larry KudlowLawrence (Larry) Alan KudlowMORE, the White Houses top economic adviser, says the impeachment trial against President TrumpDonald John TrumpNational Archives says it altered Trump signs, other messages in Women's March photo Dems plan marathon prep for Senate trial, wary of Trump trying to 'game' the process Democratic lawmaker dismisses GOP lawsuit threat: 'Take your letter and shove it' MOREbeginningin the Senate could be a Democratic-led effort to distract from recent economic gains.

The impeachment trial has had no impact at all on the economy and the stock market. None, zero. Thats a function of good policies and a free market country and brilliant entrepreneurs, Kudlow said at the White House Friday.

I sometimes get a little annoyed that impeachment and all the theater going with that could be an effort on the other side of the aisle to obstruct and obfuscate the economic progress were making.

House Democrats this week finally sent over their articles of impeachment against Trump to the Senate, which will commence its trial next week.

Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong in his dealings with Ukraine, though several officials have testified that he acted improperly, leveraging military aid and a White House meeting to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate his political rivals.

The Government Accountability Office also said Thursday that the administrations freezing of nearly $400 million in congressionally approved aid to Kyiv broke the law.

Trump administration officials have touted economic gains since he took office, viewing it as a top talking point heading into the presidents reelection effort later this year.

The economy added 145,000 jobs in December, meeting economists expectations, and the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5 percent, the lowest level in nearly 50 years. The unemployment rate fell from 3.9 percent in December 2018 to 3.5 percent in 2019.

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Kudlow: Impeachment 'could be an effort' by Democrats to 'obfuscate the economic progress' | TheHill - The Hill

Whenever Andre Reed is around Ed Oliver or Josh Allen or pretty much any current Buffalo Bills player, he knows it's a virtual certainty they'll ask him to reach into the team's past.

What were those Super Bowl seasons like? How did those teams get to that level? Why were you able to stay so good for so long?

"So I can bring a little bit of that to the team now," Reed said by phone from his home in San Diego. "It's all love, man. I'm not in Buffalo as much as I used to be, but that's what I get from their players now. 'How did you do it?' "

Before the Bills' Nov. 24 game against the Denver Broncos at New Era Field, the Hall of Fame receiver was on the field talking with players, coaches and club officials. When Reed and coach Sean McDermott saw each other, they hugged and exchanged pleasantries. Before going their separate ways, McDermott wanted Reed to know how much he appreciated the knowledge Reed and other former Bills willingly shared with McDermott a few weeks after he was hired in 2017.

The team had arranged for Reed, fellow Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Bruce Smith and Thurman Thomas, as well as Cornelius Bennett, Darryl Talley and Steve Tasker to have dinner with the coach at Sear. The idea was to create a casual setting where the members of those great teams would feel comfortable enough to share the ingredients of the secret sauce.

"I just want to thank you," McDermott told Reed during their chat. "I remember that first meeting that we all had and we talked about, not only how good of a team you guys were, but the camaraderie you guys had. That's what I want to get here becausethat is definitely going to breed success. As long as I'm here, that's what I want."

The Bills would beat the Broncos on the way to finishing with a 10-6 record and clinching their second postseason berth in McDermott's three seasons at the helm. Although the Bills lost their wild-card playoff game against the Houston Texans, there's optimism about their future, rooted in the leadership of McDermott and General Manager Brandon Beane and the roster's talented young core.

"If I had to say just one word, I would say, 'progress,' " Reed said of what he saw from the Bills in 2019. "Brandon Beane and Sean McDermott, from the time that I met both of those guys, said that they were going to change a lot about the whole situation in Buffalo from what it was before they were there."

In the latest edition of One-on-One Coverage, The Buffalo News spoke with Reed about the Bills' receivers, the team's dominance in the 1990s, the recent passing of fellow former Bills receiver and scout Elbert Dubenion, the Hall of Fame credentials of Steve Tasker and Reed's efforts to encourage youngsters to read.

Buffalo News: Some people see similarities between the current Bills and the team from the late '80s that was on the verge of becoming a serious Super Bowl contender. How do you feel about those comparisons?

Andre Reed: I think it's a fair assumption, but kind of unfair, too, because people in Buffalo and around the league, to a certain point, are going to always look at the team now and compare it to those teams. And that's kind of an unfair thing to do. We had a lot of veterans on the team and, basically, Buffalo is a pretty young football team now.

You've got to look at it from the standpoint that they're still growing to find each other, to play as a team, to embrace what's happening. The ups and downs of the season are all harder on young kids that have never been there before. And the job of the organization and the coaching staff is to make sure these guys are always, always on the same page, knowing that when it's good, it's good, but when it's bad, you need to kind of muster up something a little more. As a veteran team, I think it's a little easier to do that than as a young team.

Their biggest step this year, I think, was when they went to Dallas on Thanksgiving and beat the Cowboys. Dallas was not the team that people thought they were going to be; they had their own problems internally and all that kind of stuff. But it's hard to beat Dallas in Dallas, especially on Thanksgiving, and they went in there and pretty much dominated the game to a certain point. That kind of really showed me what kind of team they are and what the possibilities are of what they can do going forward. And then those two games against the Patriots, they should have beat them twice.

I think learning from your mistakes and some of the mistakes you make against good teams, that's going to take some time to do where they go, "OK, we didn't win the game because of this reason. It's not that we played bad. It's we just didn't make that play at that particular time that could turn the game around for us to win." That game against Dallas and then the two games against the Patriots, (had the Bills won), we'd be talking about them in the playoffs right now. No doubt about it.

BN: Wide receiver is a spot frequently mentioned as a key area of need this offseason. What's your perspective on that?

AR: I think getting a wide receiver, whether through free agency or in the draft, I guarantee you that's a priority for them, to give Josh more targets. I think they did a really good job (of addressing the position last offseason). Again, big kudos to Brandon and Sean for bringing in John Brown and signing Cole Beasley. Robert Foster didn't play that much this year, but he's an important part of that team. Whether he's going to be an important part next year or not, we don't know. But them all getting to know each other more, I think, it'll be a much better next year.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown celebrates a touchdown. (Mark Mulville/News file photo)

BN: Do you feel the Bills need to find a true No. 1 receiver or do they have one on the roster?

AR: That's a pretty good question. If you look at the league, you have to say every team has a No. 1 guy. In Cleveland, they have Odell (Beckham Jr.). Jarvis (Landry) is 1A. In Tampa, you've got two guys, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. So having a No. 1, obviously, is vital for every team. But I don't think it's really the most important thing. I think continuity is really important.

I mean, look at me. I had James Lofton, I had Don Beebe on the outside. Even though it was hard, it made my job easier in the middle when I had that kind of presence on the outside. A true No. 1? I guess you could say John Brown's it. But maybe in the sense of being a bona fide, that-guy's-going-to-change-the-game-every-single-play-he's-out-there, I don't think John Brown is that if we compare him to other No. 1. But he has definitely done the job as a No. 1 for the Bills this year.

Cole Beasley has done a pretty good inside the hashes and is always a chain-mover on third down. That only makes it better for the guys on the outside. I thought he did a great job this year. I think towards the end of the season, probably the last maybe five to six games, he got lost a little bit. I think they could have used him a little more coming down the stretch. I think that definitely will be a subject that they talk about next year because he's really been a factor against really good defensive teams in the box, linebackers and defensive backs covering him. That could open it up on the outside for John Brown and for the other guys a little bit more.

The tight ends, I think they could have used Dawson Knox a little bit more this year. That game against Cincinnati, he really kind of showed himself. He kind of disappeared a little bit after that. (Reducing drops) will come with repetitions. More reps and being comfortable out there, especially in the offensive scheme. He'll be a lot better next year.

BN: What did you see from Duke Johnson?

AR: He came in and did a pretty good job. I think, if they re-sign him, he'll even be more of a factor because of his big body. You need that kind of presence in the red area, inside the 20, that kind of guy. He has a lot of enthusiasm. The guy catches a 10-yard out and he's like it's a 50-55-yard touchdown. So you need that on the team.

They could have used him even a lot more during the season if he was on the (active) roster. He's like Mike Evans, he's like some of these other big-body receivers that are in the league now. I hope that they re-sign him and he's a part of the team next year, and he gets a lot more reps and he gets a lot more playing time.

BN: What did you see from Josh Allen in his second season?

AR: Josh Allen, I think, definitely took a major step forward in a lot of ways. Maturity-wise, the way he played the game. I think he did a pretty good job to put the team on his back a lot of times. And the whole team, the whole organization can look at him and say, "Yeah, this is the guy that we drafted in 2017 that we thought that would make this kind of progress in his second year." And he has.

I think confidence-wise, he needed that. He needed confidence from the organization, from Sean, from Brandon, from (offensive coordinator Brian) Daboll. He took that step and everybody fed off of that. Jim was that kind of guy, too. But we had Hall of Famers.

BN: How impressed were you with Devin Singletary?

AR: He was a big surprise. That kid is very elusive. He kind of reminds me of a young Thurman, no doubt about it. He's hard to tackle. He's very elusive inside the hole. He makes a five-yard gain look like a 30-yard gain. And I'm sure, having Frank Gore back there as a mentor for him, has really helped him. Next year should be better for him. I think he should be the feature back next year.

Bills wide receiver Andre Reed is upset during Super Bowl XXVI against the Washington Redskins at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 26, 1992. The Redskins won, 37-24. (Mike Powell/Allsport)

BN: When you think of your time with the Bills, what's the first thought that comes to mind?

AR: That Buffalo was kind of the perfect spot for me at that time. Not only team-wise, but just me as an individual. Because it really reminded me of where I came from (Allentown, Pa.): blue-collar, people working hard, 9-to-5ers. Work all week. And then they go to the football game. That's Buffalo right there. It's been like that since that team has been there, for 60-plus years now.

I'm blue-collar. Who knows, if I'd have gone to Miami or played out here in San Diego or played with the Raiders, who knows if it would have been like that? I think Buffalo was a perfect spot for me at the time. Twenty-five, 30 years later, it's documented what we did. It's documented that the players that we had, the organization, there's Hall of Famers all over the place. And 25-30 years later, people always come up to me and say, "Hey, I remember when you played. Those were great teams. It was a great organization. You guys went to four Super Bowls, you didn't win, but you guys were a team that had to be reckoned with. You had to beat Buffalo to get to the Super Bowl."

That's the good thing that I think about. It wouldn't have happened without those guys and it wouldn't happened without those fans and that organization the Marv Levys, the Bill Polians and all that. We're our own dynasty.

BN: Elbert Dubenion, the former Bills standout receiver and scout who put you on the team's radar before you were drafted in the fourth round in 1985, passed away on Dec. 26. What are your thoughts about him?

AR: Let me tell you, he was a great football player in Buffalo, but it doesn't really give him any credit for what kind of guy he was. And I remember he came to Kutztown and scouted me this little, small kid from Kutztown University, a little town in Western Pennsylvania and really told the Bills' organization about me and what kind of player I was and what kind of person I was, and gave me a chance. And every time I saw him, he said, "Yeah, you still remember when I came and saw you and worked you out?" And I said, "Let me tell you, Dubie, I'll never forget that because you saw something in me maybe 31 other teams didn't see."

He said a lot of things to me. One thing he said was, "It doesn't matter where you're from. If you're willing to work hard and put in the extra time when nobody's looking and tend to details, you can play in this league a long time." I was a very detail-oriented guy. I got that not only from my upbringing, but from a mentor like Dubie. I remember those words because, as a young kid, a guy talking to you in that manner, he saw something in you that maybe you didn't see in yourself. And he said, "Just keep working hard. And if it doesn't happen for you, you can never say to you didn't put 100% into it."

BN: He also could relate well to you because he wasn't a big-school guy, either, having played at Bluffton in Ohio.

AR: That's even smaller than Kutztown. There were five cows in Kutztown, there were two cows in Bluffton. And I think that small-school mentality that I had really resonated with him and vice versa. We both knew that. When they drafted me, he actually was one of the first guys I saw at training camp, too. He was like, "Welcome to your whole life right now." And I didn't want to let him down because he came and scouted me. When I got inducted to the Hall, I got a call from his wife and I told her, "With him giving me those words of wisdom, he's got a lot to do with my Hall of Fame career. There's no doubt about it."

BN: Did you ever get to watch any film of him playing?

AR: Over the years, I actually did. Old black and whites. They didn't call him "Golden Wheels" for no reason. He was running past people. He'd catch the ball, he was very elusive in the open field. And I think, really, we kind of resonated with each other because of that, too. He saw film of me as a quarterback and that I was elusive running with the ball. And that was really my signature. But I'm just so grateful that he even blessed me with his presence as a person, not as a football player.

BN: Once again, Steve Tasker couldn't get past the semifinal round for induction into the Hall of Fame. What's your view of his Hall worthiness?

AR: This guy was an important factor in every single game, because one out of every four plays was a special teams play. Steve Tasker not only is the best special teams player ever, but he a lot of times accounted for wins by himself. He changed the game just like Cliff Branch, who didn't make it who should also be there. He was a game-changer. Matthew Slater (a special teams standout for the New England Patriots) and all these guys playing the league now attribute their success to what Steve Tasker did.

Every time I talked to Steve about (being shut out of the Hall), he would be like, "I don't want to talk about that." I would go, "Well, they said that to me, too." I think there's no more deserving guy that would represent that position, a straight-up special-teamer, better than Steve Tasker. Steve impacted every single game that he played in, and I think he should get the same recognition and be looked at the same way as a receiver or running back or a defensive back. Anybody. And that would open the door for the Devin Hesters and the Matthew Slaters maybe down the road.

BN: What are you up to these days?

AR: I'm doing my "Read with Reed" reading program through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. We have impacted probably 4,000 to 5,000 kids a day with our reading program in the past two years. We're going into our third year of inspiring kids and telling them how important reading is for their futures.

We have an incentive-based program where you have to read a certain amount of books in a certain amount of time, and then the kids that read the most books get to go to an NFL game with me and (co-founder and brand manager) Theresa (Villano), and we get on the field. They see pregame, they meet the players that they want to meet. They just experience something they probably wouldn't have experienced before. And the last name's Reed, too, so there you go.

BN: What made you want to focus on reading?

AR: When Theresa and I talked about this a couple years ago, I said that I didn't remember my mom reading to me when I was at home as a kid. And that's really important in the structure of a family. You come home from school or whatever, you do your homework, and there's books around that your parents can read to you. I didn't have that.

And I wanted to tell these kids my story that I didn't have my mom reading books to me or my dad reading books to me because there was a lot of other (family) drama going on. So the kids read these books, they move their football (indicating how many books they've read in a given period), they score a touchdown, and then they get rewarded. We've done a supersized reading rally in every Super Bowl city for the past three years, so we'll be in Miami doing it.

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Andre Reed on 'progress,' the No. 1 receiver question, Elbert Dubenion - Buffalo News

SYRACUSE, N.Y. Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon promised today at his formal swearing-in ceremony to double down on efforts to work collaboratively with other local officials. The approach has already yielded positive results, he said.

McMahon, who was appointed county executive 14 months ago before winning election in November, said he has focused on strengthening relationships between his office and county legislators, the Syracuse mayor, and town and village officials.

As a result, he said, the community has shown more unity of purpose than it did in the past. Businesses and state and federal officials have noticed and are showing more interest in investing in Syracuse, he said.

McMahon said the recent decisions by two businesses JMA Wireless and Bankers Healthcare Group to expand in Syracuse were influenced by government collaboration. The same is true of Microsofts decision to locate a smart cities hub here, he said.

He promised that collaboration will continue to yield progress.

We have a moment in time as leaders of this community right now to double down on what we know has worked in 2019, he said. And if we can do that, if we can accomplish this, this community will look different.

McMahon said he plans to announce new initiatives at his State of the County Address, which will be Feb. 10 at Onondaga Community College.

Todays formal ceremony in the county legislature chamber followed a private swearing-in Dec. 30. McMahon received prolonged applause today from the audience, which he acknowledged was mainly composed of county workers.

Most of you are my employees, he said. I was looking to see who was clapping the loudest.

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At formal swearing-in, McMahon promises collaboration will bring progress - syracuse.com

I started writing this article about the trade opportunities now facing the U.S. beef industry. Stage One of the U.S. China trade agreement has been signed, the Senate ratified (finally) the USMCA, and the new U.S.-Japan trade agreement was implemented on January 1. There may be disagreement on some issues in the beef industry, but I think there is little disagreement, if any, regarding the positive impact of trade. The industry continues to build for the future addressing trade, quality improvement, animal welfare, and sustainable production (I would like to find another word for that).

But, having said all of that, I want to switch gears and jot down a few thoughts on TSLNs article about the Ligocki Ranch in Sheridan, Wyoming (The Cattle Journal, Beef & Business, 2020 Edition). First, this was a great article. But, also in light of my many connections, it truly caught my eye. In addition to being born and raised in Sheridan, a significant part of my family history (my mothers side of the family) was in Sheridan County coal mines. One of my great-grandfathers was the General Superintendent of Sheridan, Wyo. Coal Company, the owner of several of the mines operating in the era mentioned in the article. My other great-grandfather was a mine foreman. I have his and my great-grandmothers original Certificates of Naturalization dated June 19, 1925. When the mine at Monarch closed, my grandparents and my parents moved to Sheridan, the year I was born. My fathers side of the family were coal miners near Rock Springs, Wyo.

Another connection to the article the beef industry. I didnt become a miner. I started working on a ranch in the Powder River Basin when I was in high school (1968) and while my beef industry association now goes beyond the ranch, it was that first ranch job that became the catalyst to a life-long career in the beef industry.

Just as coal mining and the mines near Sheridan have seen significant change, so has the beef industry. TSLNs article illustrates well the changes that have occurred in two of Wyomings as well as the countrys major industries mining and agriculture. Across rural America, close-knit ties were established in both mining and agricultural communities. While change is inevitable, it is important to maintain those community ties built around agriculture and mining that have been the fabric of rural America. At the same time, as the beef industry continues to evolve in order to meet demand from both U.S. and global customers, it is imperative that cattlemen maintain forward progress.

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John Nalivka: A Few Thoughts on keeping up the forward progress - Tri-State Livestock News

ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP A woman returned home for a lunch break Thursday to find strangers in her house eating.

Mackenzie Green, 32, and Daniel Skee Ball Anderson, both of Ashtabula, were charged with burglary, court records state. Anderson, who was arrested on an outstanding warrant, was arraigned Thursday in Ashtabula Municipal Court and Green is due in court for arraignment Thursday.

The homeowner, 74, came to her home in the 3900 block of State Road from work for a lunch break when she found a bald-headed male and two girls, eating in her house, the report states. A window next to her door was busted out so that the door could be unlocked, the report states.

Anderson ran from the residence and the homeowner, fearful, drove around the block and called for help, the report states.

Green was found by the homeowner hiding in an upstairs closet crying and clutching some of Andersons clothing. A deputy found Anderson across the street at his friends home where he was arrested on a warrant, the report states. The third woman, known only as Erica, was not located.

The homeowner did not report finding anything missing from her residence.

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Lunch break reveals a burglary in progress | Local News - The Star Beacon

Earlier this week, Showtime announced the renewal of The L Word: Generation Q and Work in Progress, both of which will return to the network for their second seasons.

The L Word: Generation Q serves as the sequel series to The L Word, which aired on Showtime from 2004 to 2009. The original focused on the lives of a group of friends living in West Hollywood. Not only that, but the show introduced television to an all-lesbian ensemble cast for the first time.

The sequel series takes place a decade after The L Word and introduces a new, younger set of characters, along with some of the main cast from the original series. A large part of the series showcases how the two generations come together to share their experiences of love, work, success, loss and joy.

Work in Progress focuses on Abby, a middle-aged lesbian who originally planned on taking her life before getting into an unexpected relationship with Chris, a transgender man. Like Generation Q, the show focuses on different generations seen in the LGBTQ+ community and how they communicate with each other.

The renewal of Generation Q and Work in Progress is definitely a win for the LGBTQ+ community. Not only that, but there are more LGBTQ+ characters on television now more than ever.

According to GLAADs Where We Are on TV report, 10.2% of series regulars on television were LGBTQ+ identifying, jumping from 8.8% in the previous TV season. GLAAD reports these statistics as the most LGBTQ+ characterization found since they began tracking it 24 years ago. There has also been an increase of LGBTQ+ people of color shown on television, where they outnumber white LGBTQ+ people, 52% to 48%.

LGBTQ+ representation in the media is the most important it has ever been. Shows like Orange is the New Black, Pose, Killing Eve, One Day At a Time, and more can help represent those who may be struggling with their identity. By seeing characters portray what they may be going through, it gives those viewers a sense of comfort. Not only that, but these shows may also help the viewers become confident enough to be their true selves.

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Showtime Renews 'The L Word: Generation Q' and 'Work in Progress' - Grit Daily

January 16, 2020, 10:13 AM

5 min read

While the Affordable Care Act ushered in huge improvements in access to health care for black and Hispanic adults in the United States, that progress appears to have stalled, according to new research.

Between 2013 and 2016, the uninsured rate dropped from 24.4% to 13.7% among black adults, and from 40.2% to 25.5% among Hispanic adults, according to a report published Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit research foundation. Uninsured white Americans dropped from 14.5% to 8.2% during the same period.

Those gains narrowed the gap in insurance coverage between Americans of color and white Americans until 2016. Beginning that year, that progress came to a halt, with the gap increasing slightly for blacks and only decreasing slightly for Hispanics by 2018.

Uninsured rate among adults

The study examined federal survey data between 2013 and 2018 from adults ages 18 to 64, to determine how the ACA affected racial and ethnic disparities in health care.

"Historically, black and Hispanics in the U.S. have been far less likely to have health insurance," said Sara Collins, vice president of health care coverage and access at the Commonwealth Fund. She pointed to the changes in insurance rates since the ACA went into effect, which made it easier for people, especially low-income Americans, to get health care.

While disparities between black and white adults decreased, there's been "no improvement in this gap since 2016," she stressed.

That turning point can be linked to in part to congressional inaction, according to the researchers. Since 2010, there's been no federal legislation to enhance the health care law and myriad efforts to dismantle it. Weakening efforts include repealing the individual mandate penalty for having health care coverage and loosening restrictions on plans that don't comply with ACA guidelines.

In this June 26, 2018, file photo, demonstrators hold signs as Democratic leaders speak with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.

In addition to examining the rate of uninsured adults, a key measure of health care access, the researchers also looked at Americans who went without health care because of cost during the previous year, as well as whether or not survey respondents said they had a regular health care provider.

In both cases, the researchers found improvements in the years after the ACA was implemented. Fewer adults in every racial group reported avoiding health care because of high costs between 2013 and 2018, and more adults reported having a regular health care provider during the same time frame. Similar to insurance rates, however, adults reporting consistent provider care tapered off after 2016, and by 2018 had decreased slightly.

One key driver of what Collins called "historic improvements" in health care access was Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. But while all states had the option to expand the program, many have chosen not to do so.

In states that did expand, black and Hispanic Americans benefited the most of any racial group, the report found. In turn, in states that did not expand their Medicaid programs, those groups suffered more from the decision. Expanded Medicaid isn't available to "nearly half of black adults and more than a third of Hispanics," who disproportionately live in non-expansion states, according to the report.

"This means that the failure to expand Medicaid in the remaining 15 states has a larger impact on black and Hispanic populations," said Jesse Baumgartner, a research associate at the Commonwealth Fund.

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Progress stalled on closing health insurance gap between races - ABC News

If you can resist the urge to sleep in Saturday, you can look to the east.

To watch SpaceX blow stuff up.

SpaceX will test its Crew Dragons abort system, which must be proven to protect astronauts in case of launch failure before it can start transporting them to the International Space Station later this year.

During a four-hour launch window that opens at 8 a.m. Saturday, the anticipated launch time at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, NASA and SpaceX will intentionally cause a problem with the Crew Dragon within 90 seconds of the launch. Should it go as planned, it will trigger the craft to perform a launch escape, using thrusters to send the capsule away from the rocket and land in the Atlantic Ocean using parachutes. Its goal: to test the spacecrafts emergency escape system.

This test will likely destroy the previously-used launch rocket, breaking apart during descent, but like eggs must be broken to make an omelette, the test must be completed to receive the NASA go-ahead to eventually launch astronauts. Thus far, SpaceX has launched the Crew Dragon to the International Space Station without astronauts, and brought it back via splashdown.

Originally posted here:

SpaceX will cause a problem Saturday - in the name of progress - positivelyosceola.com