Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 312

Free bus fare on Election Day for Monterey-Salinas Transit

Transportation will be available on Election Day for voters to make their way to the polls in Monterey County.

The Monterey-Salinas Transit is offering free fares all day, system-wide on Nov. 5. All buses and rides will be free regardless of the destination.

“We understand that transportation can often be a barrier for many in our community, making it difficult to access polling locations,” said a news release about the occasion. “In an effort to ensure everyone has the opportunity to vote, MST is doing its part to remove as many obstacles as possible.”

All residents regardless of their transportation needs or circumstances are encouraged to take advantage of the free fares. The buses will stop by polling locations, making it easier to drop off ballots or walk in to vote.

For more information visit www.mst.org or call Monterey-Salinas Transit at 1-888-MST-BUS1 (1-888-678-2871).

MST to start SURF! Busway work as Marina Handcar Tours sub-lease ends

MARINA – An agreement involving the city of Marina, the Transportation Agency for Monterey County and the Museum of Handcar Technology brought guided handcar tours to the Monterey Bay three years ago, but that agreement has come to an end.

The Transportation Agency for Monterey County Board of Directors met last week in closed session to discuss the Monterey Branch Line and a lease agreement with Handcar Tours.

“The TAMC Board did not extend city of Marina’s lease. The Museum of Handcar Technology sub-leases the property from the city of Marina,” said Transportation Agency for Monterey County Executive Director Todd Muck. “The TAMC board is open to considering a lease to use the tracks near the Marina library, but that would be considered separately from the current lease.”

Handcar Tours, the company started by father and son Todd and Mason Clark, brought a new kind of recreational activity with old technology to the area using a 3.5-mile, long-dormant stretch of rail line, but it was always understood that it would likely be for a limited time.

TAMC leased the segment of track used by Handcar Tours to the city of Marina, which sublet it to the Museum of Handcar Technology.

The Monterey Branch Line is a 16-mile corridor of railway that extends from Monterey to Castroville. TAMC bought the alignment in 2003 for $9.3 million for future light rail transit service from Marina to Monterey to serve local commuter traffic needs, and a round-the-bay service to Santa Cruz, according to TAMC.

The light rail transit project currently lacks funding, and has been delayed until TAMC can secure the funds needed to complete the environmental review, design and construction.

In the meantime, the Monterey Branch Line will be used for Monterey-Salinas Transit’s SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project.

The California Coastal Commission cleared the path for construction of the SURF! Busway in September by approving permits that reversed an earlier staff recommendation, and now Monterey-Salinas Transit is poised to build the new bus road.

Muck said the terms of the lease clearly stated that the lease for the handcar operation was for temporary use.

“Lessee understand and agrees that the Lessor has future plans for the Property, such as the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project, and other transportation uses,” says the agreement in part. “Thus, Lessee agrees to vacate the Property during the term of the Agreement or any renewal or extension of the Lease, without Liability to the Lessor.”

TAMC has a use agreement with Monterey-Salinas Transit to construct and operate the SURF! Busway on a section of the Monterey Branch Line right-of-way that overlaps the Marina Handcar Tours lease area, said Muck. MST needs to conduct tree removal prior to winter weather and deadlines from permit requirements related to windows for bird migration.

“No action was taken by TAMC to extend the lease ending Oct. 30, so it expires at that time,” said Marina Mayor Bruce Delgado. “The city of Marina had to serve notice of lease expiration about one month ago.”

Handcar Tours had been seeking an extension of the lease agreement, but that did not materialize. MST is now ready to start pre-construction work in the corridor.

Caltrans is currently doing tree removal work and it is important for MST to get out ahead of the weather, said Monterey-Salinas Transit General Manager and CEO Carl Sedoryk. The plan is to initiate tree removal work in the area of the handcars and along the Branch Line starting in December so that MST can be done before Jan. 30.

Sedoryk added that MST would also like to get ahead of various biological concerns related to nesting birds and bats. If the tree removal goes beyond January, it will delay the project several months and increase costs.

TAMC will provide $15 million in funding in support of the SURF! Busway and Bus Rapid Transit Project through Transportation Safety & Investment Plan (Measure X) funds approved by voters in 2016. MST will seek additional local, state and federal funds for the SURF! line for the estimated $52M project, according to Monterey-Salinas Transit.

Delgado said he thinks the city of Marina and Handcar Tours would like to figure out a way for the business to stay in Marina, but north of its current location at Del Monte Boulevard and Palm Avenue.

Supreme Court rejects push to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from ballot in two swing states

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an emergency appeal to remove Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the presidential ballot in two battleground states.

Kennedy wanted to get off the ballot in Wisconsin and Michigan after dropping his independent bid and endorsing Republican Donald Trump in the tight contest. He argued that keeping him on violated his First Amendment rights.

Michigan and Wisconsin said removing his name now, with early voting underway days before the election, would be impossible.

The justices did not detail their reason in rejecting the emergency appeal. Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented in the Michigan case.

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The presence of independent and third-party candidates on the ballot in swing states could be a key factor in the close presidential race. The high court previously rejected Kennedy’s separate effort to stay on the ballot in New York, a state where his presence is unlikely to make a difference in the race between Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.

Kennedy has been working to get off the ballot in the seven key swing states since endorsing Trump. Wisconsin and Michigan are the last two where his name was expected to appear.

In Michigan, he notched an appeals court win but courts ultimately found he had missed the deadline to withdraw as the candidate of the Natural Law Party, which had wanted him to stay on.

In Wisconsin, courts found that qualified candidates who file nomination papers must remain on the ballot unless they die, and a plan to cover Kennedy’s name with stickers was unworkable.

The best places to go in Mexico to celebrate Day of the Dead

Not long ago, the Day of the Dead festival was a mystery to most Americans, and even some Mexicans, too.

People who did know about it tended to think it was the “Mexican Halloween,” which is not true. But in recent decades, this annual observance has spread from its origins mostly in southern Mexico to the rest of the country, and into parts of the United States as well.

At first glance, the celebration’s emphasis on skeletons and graves might seem ghoulish. But it’s actually a time when the devout believe their loved ones’ spirits return from beyond  to visit them, for one day only each year.

Originally a festival of ancient indigenous cultures such as the Mayans, the celebration’s dates were changed by invading Spanish conquistadors to match their existing Christian festivals of souls on Nov. 1 and 2, as part of their campaign to stamp out the ancient religions and replace them with Christianity.

Today, celebrations generally start on Oct. 31. Nov.  1 is usually the day to celebrate the souls of childern, and it finishes on Nov. 2 — All Souls Day. Some villages have their own dates and customs, but they all occur around the same time. Families would typically decorate the graves of their loved ones, and spend the night there with food, drink and even bring music to be with them.

The most solemn and unique festivals generally take place in areas with large indigenous populations. The southern Mexican state of Oaxaca and the island town of Patzcuaro are the most legendary for their ancient and colorful traditions.

But, nowadays, many other places have also joined the commemoration with parades, decorated altars and costumes. Even Guatemala has its own unique tradition.

Keep in mind that you should make your reservations months in advance if you want to go to the most popular locations, such as Oaxaca de Juarez, the capital city of the state of Oaxaca. Or Patzcuaro. Also note that these famous locales are the most crowded,  as more and more tourists descend.

The delightful 2017 animated Pixar movie “Coco,” about a boy who visits the underworld to find his deceased ancestors, only brought more attention to the celebration.

WHERE TO GO

Oaxaca (pronounced “wa-ha-ca”)Marla Jo Fisher, the author, has her face painted for Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2017. (Photo by Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The capital city of Oaxaca de Juarez is tourist central for the vibrant celebrations here, with constant parades, processions,  concerts, dances and more. Many visitors get their faces painted, and enjoy the party atmosphere. Several small towns nearby have solemn commemorations, with families camping out in the cemeteries on decorated graves, and a carnival atmosphere outside the graveyard. These can get very crowded, so be respectful. The city of Oaxaca’s municipal cemetery (panteon) also is decorated with candles and hosts special events. (Note that the state is also called Oaxaca.) Make sure to book your lodging far in advance.

PatzcuaroAn altar dedicated to the “little angels” is seen at the cemetery of Tzintzuntzan, central Mexic. The Patzcuaro’s lake region, on the western Mexican state of Michoacan, is home to some of the most colorful and traditional rituals of the Day of the Dead’s celebrations, held on Nov. 1 and 2. (Photo by /Guillermo Arias, The Associated Press)

This colonial city in Lake Patzcuaro, Michoacan, is famous for its local celebrations. People come from everywhere, leading to overcrowding in recent years. The main plaza in Patzcuaro is one of the best places in Mexico to buy Dia de Los Muertos crafts. The entire region around the lake erupts in celebrations, including the creation of floral arches at the entrance to churchyards, concerts, offerings to the departed and a major cultural festival including paintings and crafts. A ball game loosely modeled on Mesoamerican ones is also held. Each island and town has its own traditions. Michoacan is also known for its special nighttime celebrations called Noche de Muertos  on Nov. 1 and 2. The closest big city is Morelia.

GuadalajaraPeople take part in the Catrinas Parade, representing the character of La Catrina to commemorate the Day of the Dead, in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz, AFP via Getty Images)

Did you know that Mexico’s second-largest city has the world’s only Dia de Los Muertos theme park? Calaverandia only operates over the holiday period, and includes festive lighting, mazes, stage show, foods, decorations and more. It’s located in Parque Ávila Camacho. The city also has a major parade and decorations. The artsy town of Tlaquepaque, which has been swallowed up by the Guadalajara municipality, has its own unique traditions including a parade of “Catrina brides.”  About an hour’s drive away, the town of Zapolanejo is also known for its festivities, including building the world’s largest Catrina figurine four years in a row.

Puerto VallartaGiant Catrinas decorate the beachfront boardwalk in Puerto Vallarta for Dia de Los Muertos. (Photo by Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register/SCNG)

This beach city has its own traditions, which tend more toward the festive and fun variety, and less on solemnity, although there are cemeteries you can visit. There’s always a big parade, art displays and music, and locals erect giant Catrinas all along the malecon (ocean boardwalk.) Concerts abound and altars decorate the main plaza. For 2024,  Puerto Vallarta announced its intention of beating out another city in Jalisco to build the world’s tallest Catrina. The most active dates are Nov. 1 and 2.

Baja CaliforniaA woman dressed as “La Llorona” in a pantheon as part of the ‘Day of the Dead’ celebrationin Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo by Francisco Vega, Getty Images)

When I first started became interested in the holiday 30 years ago, Baja California didn’t have much to offer. With its rural population down south and its close ties to the U.S. up north, kids were more likely to trick-or-treat in costume,  celebrating Halloween, than anything else. Commemorations in cemeteries were sparse. Nowadays, there are more observances for those who don’t want to fly anywhere but still be in Mexico. With more people migrating to the border region for jobs, they have brought their traditions with them,  but they’re still relatively sparse.

In Rosarito Beach, the venerable Rosarito Beach Hotel is holding a “Noche de Catrinas” on Saturday, Nov. 2 starting at 6 p.m. that includes a Catrinas contest, a folkloric ballet, free Catrina makeup, buffet dinner and live music for dancing. Cost for adults is 550 pesos (around $32). Buy on EventBrite.

Los Cabos have a few festivals going in 2024, including a “Sea of Offerings” that seems to incorporate a tequila and mezcal festival with Day of the Dead ofrendas. Um, OK. The event culminates on Nov. 2.  Some restaurants also have special events.

GuatemalaA group of men raise a ‘barrilete’, a giant kite, during the All Saints day celebration in Sumpango, Guatemala, in 2012. (Photo by Saul Martinez, EFE/ZUMAPRESS.com)

Mexico isn’t the only country to celebrate its own version of Dia de Los Muertos. Guatemala’s is unique, consisting of a festival of enormous kites that attracts visitors from all over Central America. The festival on Nov. 1 takes over the normally sleepy Mayan towns of Santiago Sacatepéquez and Sumpango. The kites are built and decorated by organizations and villages, and put on display for the crowds that come to admire. They’re so large that they barely fly, but sometimes people can get them off the ground. The kite festival also extends to other villages, where children also make and fly kites this day, symbolizing the souls of the departed. People also decorate the graves and tombs of their loved ones nearby.

DAY OF THE DEAD LEXICON

Calaveras: Decorative skeletonsOfrenda: An altar specially made for Day of the Dead, usually by loving family members and including the loved one’s favorite things, to help them find their way back home. In some towns, local businesses and organizations also make public ofrendas. Often, home ofrendas might include a pack of cigarettes, favorite foods, a bottle of tequila or mezcal and framed photos. It’s usually decorated with marigolds, cockscomb and stalks of sugar cane.La Catrina: This is the stately female skeleton figure, elaborately dressed in long Victorian-era gown and hat with plumes, who has become a symbol of Mexico in general, and Dia de Los Muertos in particular. She created in 1912 by Jose Guadalupe Posada, a printmaker, political cartoonist and Mexican patriot. She was later immortalized in 1946, in one of muralist Diego Rivera’s most famous murals, “A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park.” In the last few decades, she has taken on even more importance as a unique symbol of Mexican pride. If you visit Mexico, you will see her image for sale everywhere in ceramics, paintings and more.Papel Picado: This is a unique Mexican art form involving folding and cutting paper into decorative banners. In the past, it was done with paper, however nowadays you’re more likely to see it in more durable plastic. You see these particularly at Dia de Los Muertos and also at Christmas.Pan de Muertos: This special “bread of the dead” is a round loaf only baked for the holiday. It will typically have small faces or skeletons embedded in it.Sugar skulls (Calavera de Azucar): These confections made by master craftspeople of boiled sugar paste are generally given as gifts and only made during this time of year. The molds to make them are passed down through the generations.Related linksFrumpy Middle-aged Mom: Yes, I went back to Mexico for Day of the DeadVisiting Day of the Dead spirits in fascinating MexicoDay of the Dead in OaxacaResorting in the Yucatan jungleFrumpy Middle-aged Mom: Remembering my Baja past

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Will teens save the movies? Here’s what a surprising new study says about youth and Hollywood

By Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

LOS ANGELES — Good news for theaters still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and other industry disruptions: A new UCLA study has found that teenagers’ favorite thing to do is going to the movies.

The latest installment of the university’s “Teens and Screens” report — which surveyed 1,500 young people across the U.S. aged 10 to 24 — identified going to see a film on opening weekend as adolescents’ No. 1 preferred pastime when cost, transportation and other barriers are removed from the equation.

Among that age group, moviegoing ranked above watching sports, playing video games, streaming movies or TV shows on personal devices and other forms of entertainment.

When factoring in cost and other obstacles, however, 39.2% of teens selected playing video games as their favorite activity over watching TV or movies (33.3%) or scrolling on social media (27.5%).

“The lore really is that all they care about is social media and YouTube and streaming and bingeing and that the movie business is dead,” said Yalda Uhls, executive director of the Center for Scholars and Storytellers at UCLA.

“I was buying into the narrative that kids don’t care about movies as much. But the reality is, when you ask them, they really do care.”

Movie theaters need all the youthful enthusiasm they can get. Box office ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada are down 11% from last year and remain significantly lower than pre-pandemic levels, according to Comscore.

Uhls, a former movie executive, said that studios tend to ignore the teen demographic and that in order to effectively tap into that market, they need to do a better job of reaching out to young people of various backgrounds and taking their habits and preferences into account.

“Do the research,” Uhls said. “If you’re making content for teens, think about the lived experience of all teens.”

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So what do teenagers want to see onscreen?

According to the UCLA report, 36.2% of adolescents prefer fantasy over other genres; 63.5% value stories about friendship and platonic relationships over romance; and 62.4% believe that sex scenes are not necessary to advance the plot of TV shows and movies. (Only survey participants 14 and older were asked for their opinions about onscreen sex.)

Each of those totals saw a huge jump (of at least 39%) compared to last year’s study.

On the other end of the spectrum, only 7.2% of young people enjoyed movies and TV shows about the rich and famous; while 13.9% said they wanted to watch films and series tackling real-life issues that impact society.

Amid all of the information about shootings, climate change, injustice, politics, war and other real-world issues dominating the news and social media, kids need an escape, Uhls said. And not just in the form of superhero movies.

“It feels like that’s all we give them,” Uhls said. “They want to see a broader array.”

On the exhibition side, theaters can attract more teens by offering event screenings — encouraging patrons wear costumes to the show, for example — and offering group discounts for young people, Uhls said.

“It’s just that typical moviegoing experience,” Uhls added. “They all love it the way I did growing up … and if you give it to them, they will come.”

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Not into gore and gloom? Here’s a guide to lighter Halloween viewing

By Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

I imagine that when you imagine a TV critic, you picture some hard-boiled, crusty, even heartless type. But I have always been a sensitive, delicate, please-leave-the-light-on sort of fellow.

So Halloween is a holiday I greet with mixed emotions. I am fine with its brighter expressions — candy, pumpkins, cute costumes on little children, “It’s Halloween” by the Shaggs, all that. But you can keep your haunted houses, the latest “It,” your “Scream” masks, your trouble-making teens using the cover of the holiday to terrorize a neighborhood. Even “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror” I can find genuinely disquieting.

You will therefore find the following personal guide to Halloween viewing — some things specific to the day, some germane to the season, some featuring paranormal characters, some parodying monster movies — to be short on blood and guts (the kind worn outside the body) and long on comedy and cartoons. There is more than enough actual horror about.

More than anything, Halloween is an opportunity for me to once again steer you to the 2014 web comedy “Ghost Ghirls,” currently living its best afterlife on Vimeo. Created by stars Amanda Lund and Maria Blasucci, it comprises a dozen 10-minute episodes, which by some magic have the substance of full-blown sitcom episodes. As self-involved, childish, competitive ghost hunters-whisperers-busters, Lund and Blasucci visit various locations (a baseball field, a tax office, a middle school, a brothel, a recording studio) to help conflicted spirits move on into the light; the impeccable guest cast includes Jason Ritter, Jake Johnson, Natasha Leggero, Kumail Nanjiani, Colin Hanks, Larisa Oleynik, Paul F. Tompkins, Jason Schwartzman, Brett Gelman, Kate Micucci, Molly Shannon and, as a dead ’70s Southern-rock band fighting too much to finish their final song, Jack Black, Val Kilmer and Dave Grohl.

Helping spirits move on into the light also was the theme of the 2014 Tyler Labine comedy “Deadbeat” (Tubi), with a similarly impressive roster of guest stars. Labine was previously a regular on “Reaper” (stream on CWTV.com), in which Brett Harrison plays a slacker who, after his parents sold his soul to the devil (Ray Wise), sets to work as a kind of bounty hunter, returning the escaped damned to hell. Both these series are funny and charming and worth your attention.

Filmed in suburban New Jersey, “The Adventures of Pete and Pete,” originally on Nickelodeon, was not only the most beautifully fashioned kids show of the 1990s but a series that argues well for the very existence of television. And yet you will have to go to the wilds of YouTube to find it. In the holiday episode “Halloweenie,” little Pete (Danny Tamberelli) is out to beat a 31-year-old record for trick-or-treating 374 houses in one Halloween night, dragging along Halloween-hating older brother Big Pete (Michael C. Maronna), while avoiding the vandalizing Pumpkin Eaters. Helpful neighbor Nona (Michelle Trachtenberg, who would go on to play little sister Dawn Summers on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) pitches in. (Iggy Pop, who plays her father in a cardigan and khakis, would go on to re-form the Stooges.)

As to “Buffy” itself, vamps and demons and the occasional tragic death of a beloved character aside, the series, which debuted in 1997 and changed the nature of television teenage storytelling, is at heart a comedy, an extended metaphor for the ordinary horrors of high school. It produced several Halloween episodes, beginning with the much-loved Season 2 “Halloween” (Hulu, Disney+, Tubi), which finds enchanted Sunnydale residents becoming the characters they’re costumed as. (An idea used by “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide,” now streaming on Paramount+, the greatest Nickelodeon kids show of the ’00s, for its own third-season Halloween episode.) The show’s legacy can be directly seen in such series as the recent, excellent “School Spirits” (Paramount+), in which a murdered teen, trapped in her high school among several generations of ghost students, attempts to find her killer, and Netflix’s “Dead Boy Detectives,” about a pair of teenage ghosts helping other specters to settle their unfinished business. (See “Ghost Ghirls,” above.)

George Rexstrew, left, and Jayden Revri in “Dead Boy Detectives.” (David Bukach/Netflix/TNS)

Most network sitcoms have fielded a Halloween episode, but none more appropriately than “The Addams Family.” Creepy, kooky, mysterious, spooky, altogether ooky, they’re a peerlessly happy, hospitable family, ever welcoming to the straight-world figures who stumble into their eccentric manse. In the redundantly titled “Halloween With the Addams Family” (Freevee, YouTube) from 1964, escaping bank robbers, played by Don Rickles and Skip Homeier, are invited in as adult trick-or-treaters and made to celebrate in ways they don’t understand.

The sitcom, more than the Charles Addams cartoons that inspired it, provides the architecture upon which are built all subsequent Addams revivals and reimaginings, including, of course, “Wednesday,” the ongoing Netflix series that made an instant star of Jenna Ortega. While I absolutely recommend it, my heart lies with “Adult Wednesday Addams,” Melissa Hunter’s witty 2015 web series about the Addams daughter as a young woman making her way in the world — finding roommates, learning to drive, internet dating. You can find it on YouTube and at Hunter’s own website.

Oddly, the sitcom episode that most frightened me as a child — and still does, for all that it’s very funny — comes from “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Not actually a Halloween episode, the 1963 “It May Look Like a Walnut” (streaming on Peacock, Prime, Filmrise and several other platforms) is a riff on “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” that finds Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie trapped in a science-fiction scenario in which walnut-loving aliens, led by a Danny Thomas look-alike, convert humans to their race, stealing their thumbs and sense of humor. Mary Tyler Moore emerging from the living room closet on an avalanche of nuts is the stuff of nightmares — and one of that series’ most replayed moments.

Given my predilections, it’s not surprising that there are a lot of cartoons on this list.

“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (Apple TV+) is the second-greatest Peanuts special, and the only other one I’d call required viewing. In its gorgeous, glorious evocation of autumn days and, especially, nights, its Vince Guaraldi score and Bill Melendez animation, it takes Schulz’s art somewhere new without betraying it; perhaps most important, Cathy Steinberg is back from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” as the voice of Sally Brown, the series’ secret star. (And you thought it was Snoopy.) Linus’ unique belief in the Great Pumpkin takes some heat off Charlie Brown, who nevertheless remains the victim of his friends, random neighbors and the universe. But that’s the “Peanuts” spirit, deep and troubling but endlessly relatable.

“Toy Story of Terror” from 2013, originally produced at the corporate nexus of Disney, Pixar and ABC, offers a delightful meta take on horror tropes — rainy night, roadside motel, characters imprudently wandering off. With the hedgehog Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) offering commentary the whole time, it’s “Scream” without the murders, but not without its own brand of tension. The supergroup big-screen cast (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Kristen Schaal) are abetted by Kate McKinnon, Ken Marino and Carl Weathers, with Stephen Tobolowsky as the villain (a desk clerk, like Norman Bates). As a bonus, and in the spirit of Jamie Lee Curtis, it’s cowgirl Jessie (Cusack) who takes the lead here.

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New this year is the special “SpongeBob SquarePants: Kreepaway Kamp” (Paramount+), in which practically the whole of Bikini Bottom is invited to a reunion at Kamp Koral, where a dark figure lurks and one by one the campers disappear — a moth-eaten premise immeasurably improved by its cast of cartoon sea creatures (and a squirrel). From 2019 comes “The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants: Hack-a-ween” (Netflix), a delicious mix of animation, puppetry and photograph, in which elementary-school pranksters George and Harold fight a movement to cancel the holiday, with the help of their personal superhero, a hypnotized version of their principal and nemesis.

Some classic Halloween shorts can be found on Disney+ at most any season, and are worth your attention by virtue of being drawn and animated by hand — still the best way to make cartoons. In “Lonesome Ghosts” (first released on Christmas Eve 1937, of all days), Mickey, Goofy and Donald are unemployed ghostbusters called to a creaky old house by the bored specters themselves — derby-wearing, cigar-smoking — for their own slapstick entertainment. In “Trick or Treat,” from 1952, Donald pranks his nephews with firecrackers in their candy bags and dumps water on their heads; friendly Witch Hazel, passing by, helps them get revenge. Not on Disney+ but easy to find online is the 1933 Mickey Mouse short “The Mad Doctor,” in which Pluto is abducted by a scientist planning on putting the pup’s head on a chicken’s body. The black-and-white light and shadow effects are quite beautiful. Although Disney has become synonymous with a certain gentleness, these cartoons are sort of violent. (Though, as I like to say, it’s cartoon violence.)

Through its corporate owner Warner Bros., Max has a trove of golden-age Looney Tunes cartoons gathered into nonchronological “seasons,” where you can find at least a couple of monster-themed classics. Directed by Friz Freleng, “Hyde and Hare” (Season 20, Episode 2), from 1955, drops Bugs Bunny into a Jekyll-and-Hyde situation that includes an addiction metaphor and a Liberace joke. In “Hair-Raising Hare”(Season 11, Episode 6), Bugs is lured to the castle of an evil scientist — a neon sign flashes “Evil Scientist,” so you know — as lunch for his pet monster, the giant orange hairball in tennis shoes later known as Gossamer. You get some excellent fourth-wall-breaking and a finish that prefigures “Some Like It Hot.” And in “Scaredy Cat,” (Season 13, Episode 16), from 1948, also directed by Jones, Porky and Sylvester move into a house populated by murderous mice. Sylvester is panicked, Porky oblivious.

Of all classic cartoon characters, the most involved with the supernatural and the surreal was Fleischer Studios’ Betty Boop, whose jazzy adventures with spooks and demons can be easily found on YouTube. “Snow White,” from 1933 (voted the 19th greatest cartoon of all time in a 1994 survey of a thousand animators), features skeletons, a wicked witch who becomes a dragon and Betty’s pup pal, Bimbo, transformed into a ghost, rotoscoped over Cab Calloway singing “St. James Infirmary Blues.” In “Betty Boop’s Halloween Party,” also from 1933, a nasty gorilla interrupts Betty’s happy soiree, attended by a variety of woodland and jungle animals, and in “Red Hot Mama,” from 1934, Betty dreams herself in hell, where she dances with devils and anthropomorphic flames. When Satan tries to get fresh, she gives him the cold shoulder (literally, metaphorically).

And finally, neither TV series nor cartoon, is humorist Jean Shepherd’s Oct. 31, 1972, broadcast of his nightly New York City radio show, preserved on YouTube. Shepherd, of course, is best known for a different holiday, as the author and voice of “A Christmas Story,” but he sinks his fangs deep into Halloween, with reminiscences, readings and meditations on the dark. Of everything listed here, this may be the most existentially disturbing, so listen with the lights on. Or don’t — but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Exclusive: Emails reveal how health departments struggle to track human cases of bird flu

Amy Maxmen | (TNS) KFF Health News

Bird flu cases have more than doubled in the country within a few weeks, but researchers can’t determine why the spike is happening because surveillance for human infections has been patchy for seven months.

Just this week, California reported its 15th infection in dairy workers and Washington state reported seven probable cases in poultry workers.

Hundreds of emails from state and local health departments, obtained in records requests from KFF Health News, help reveal why. Despite health officials’ arduous efforts to track human infections, surveillance is marred by delays, inconsistencies, and blind spots.

Several documents reflect a breakdown in communication with a subset of farm owners who don’t want themselves or their employees monitored for signs of bird flu.

For instance, a terse July 29 email from the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment in Colorado said, “Currently attempting to monitor 26 dairies. 9 have refused.”

The email tallied the people on farms in the state who were supposed to be monitored: “1250+ known workers plus an unknown amount exposed from dairies with whom we have not had contact or refused to provide information.”

A July 29 email reflects the absence of information when some farm owners don’t wish to correspond with public health departments about potential cases of bird flu, also called HPAI, for “highly pathogenic avian influenza.” This email was obtained through Freedom of Information Act records requests from KFF Health News to the Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment in Colorado. (Screenshot by KFF Health News/TNS)

Other emails hint that cases on dairy farms were missed. And an exchange between health officials in Michigan suggested that people connected to dairy farms had spread the bird flu virus to pet cats. But there hadn’t been enough testing to really know.

Researchers worldwide are increasingly concerned.

“I have been distressed and depressed by the lack of epidemiologic data and the lack of surveillance,” said Nicole Lurie, formerly the assistant secretary for preparedness and response in the Obama administration.

Bird flu viruses have long been on the short list of pathogens with pandemic potential. Although they have been around for nearly three decades in birds, the unprecedented spread among U.S. dairy cattle this year is alarming: The viruses have evolved to thrive within mammals. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the emerging diseases unit at the World Health Organization, said, “We need to see more systemic, strategic testing of humans.”

Refusals and Delays

A key reason for spotty surveillance is that public health decisions largely lie with farm owners who have reported outbreaks among their cattle or poultry, according to emails, slide decks, and videos obtained by KFF Health News, and interviews with health officials in five states with outbreaks.

In a video of a small meeting at Central District Health in Boise, Idaho, an official warned colleagues that some dairies don’t want their names or locations disclosed to health departments. “Our involvement becomes very sketchy in such places,” she said.

“I just finished speaking to the owner of the dairy farm,” wrote a public health nurse at the Mid-Michigan district health department in a May 10 email. “[REDACTED] feels that this may have started [REDACTED] weeks ago, that was the first time that they noticed a decrease in milk production,” she wrote. “[REDACTED] does not feel that they need MSU Extension to come out,” she added, referring to outreach to farmworkers provided by Michigan State University.

“We have had multiple dairies refuse a site visit,” wrote the communicable disease program manager in Weld, Colorado, in a July 2 email.

Many farmers cooperated with health officials, but delays between their visits and when outbreaks started meant cases might have been missed. “There were 4 people who discussed having symptoms,” a Weld health official wrote in another email describing her visit to a farm with a bird flu outbreak, “but unfortunately all of them had either already passed the testing window, or did not want to be tested.”

A July 22 email suggests that people might have infected their domestic cats with the bird flu, also called HPAI, for “highly pathogenic avian influenza,” but epidemiologists couldn’t determine how it happened because the animals’ owners had not been tested. This email was obtained through Freedom of Information Act records requests from KFF Health News to the Mid-Michigan District Health Department. (Screenshot by KFF Health News/TNS)

Jason Chessher, who leads Weld’s public health department, said farmers often tell them not to visit because of time constraints.

Dairy operations require labor throughout the day, especially when cows are sick. Pausing work so employees can learn about the bird flu virus or go get tested could cut milk production and potentially harm animals needing attention. And if a bird flu test is positive, the farm owner loses labor for additional days and a worker might not get paid. Such realities complicate public health efforts, several health officials said.

An email from Weld’s health department, about a dairy owner in Colorado, reflected this idea: “Producer refuses to send workers to Sunrise [clinic] to get tested since they’re too busy. He has pinkeye, too.” Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, is a symptom of various infections, including the bird flu.

Chessher and other health officials told KFF Health News that instead of visiting farms, they often ask owners or supervisors to let them know if anyone on-site is ill. Or they may ask farm owners for a list of employee phone numbers to prompt workers to text the health department about any symptoms.

Jennifer Morse, medical director at the Mid-Michigan District Health Department, conceded that relying on owners raises the risk cases will be missed, but that being too pushy could reignite a backlash against public health. Some of the fiercest resistance against covid-19 measures, such as masking and vaccines, were in rural areas.

“It’s better to understand where they’re coming from and figure out the best way to work with them,” she said. “Because if you try to work against them, it will not go well.”

Cat Clues

And then there were the pet cats. Unlike dozens of feral cats found dead on farms with outbreaks, these domestic cats didn’t roam around herds, lapping up milk that teemed with virus.

In emails, Mid-Michigan health officials hypothesized that the cats acquired the virus from droplets, known as fomites, on their owners’ hands or clothing. “If we only could have gotten testing on the [REDACTED] household members, their clothing if possible, and their workplaces, we may have been able to prove human->fomite->cat transmission,” said a July 22 email.

Her colleague suggested they publish a report on the cat cases “to inform others about the potential for indirect transmission to companion animals.”

Thijs Kuiken, a bird flu researcher in the Netherlands, at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, said person-to-cat infections wouldn’t be surprising since felines are so susceptible to the virus. Fomites may have been the cause or, he suggested, an infected — but untested — owner might have passed it on.

Hints of missed cases add to mounting evidence of undetected bird flu infections. Health officials said they’re aware of the problem but that it’s not due only to farm owners’ objections.

Local health departments are chronically understaffed. For every 6,000 people in rural areas, there’s one public health nurse — who often works part-time, one analysis found.

“State and local public health departments are decimated resource-wise,” said Lurie, who is now an executive director at an international organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. “You can’t expect them to do the job if you only resource them once there’s a crisis.”

Another explanation is a lack of urgency because the virus hasn’t severely harmed anyone in the country this year. “If hundreds of workers had died, we’d be more forceful about monitoring workers,” Chessher said. “But a handful of mild symptoms don’t warrant a heavy-handed response.”

All the bird flu cases among U.S. farmworkers have presented with conjunctivitis, a cough, a fever, and other flu-like symptoms that resolved without hospitalization. Yet infectious disease researchers note that numbers remain too low for conclusions — especially given the virus’s grim history.

About half of the 912 people diagnosed with the bird flu over three decades died. Viruses change over time, and many cases have probably gone undetected. But even if the true number of cases — the denominator — is five times as high, said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University, a mortality rate of 10% would be devastating if the bird flu virus evolved to spread swiftly between people. The case fatality rate for covid was around 1%.

By missing cases, the public health system may be slow to notice if the virus becomes more contagious. Already, delays resulted in missing a potential instance of human-to-human transmission in early September. After a hospitalized patient tested positive for the bird flu virus in Missouri, public health officials learned that a person in the patient’s house had been sick — and recovered. It was too late to test for the virus, but on Oct. 24, the CDC announced that an analysis of the person’s blood found antibodies against the bird flu, signs of a prior infection.

CDC Principal Deputy Director Nirav Shah suggested the two people in Missouri had been separately infected, rather than passing the virus from one to the other. But without testing, it’s impossible to know for certain.

The possibility of a more contagious variant grows as flu season sets in. If someone contracts bird flu and seasonal flu at the same time, the two viruses could swap genes to form a hybrid that can spread swiftly. “We need to take steps today to prevent the worst-case scenario,” Nuzzo said.

The CDC can monitor farmworkers directly only at the request of state health officials. The agency is, however, tasked with providing a picture of what’s happening nationwide.

As of Oct. 24, the CDC’s dashboard states that more than 5,100 people have been monitored nationally after exposure to sick animals; more than 260 tested; and 30 bird flu cases detected. (The dashboard hasn’t yet been updated to include the most recent cases and five of Washington’s reports pending CDC confirmation.)

Van Kerkhove and other pandemic experts said they were disturbed by the amount of detail the agency’s updates lack. Its dashboard doesn’t separate numbers by state, or break down how many people were monitored through visits with health officials, daily updates via text, or from a single call with a busy farm owner distracted as cows fall sick. It doesn’t say how many workers in each state were tested or the number of workers on farms that refused contact.

“They don’t provide enough information and enough transparency about where these numbers are coming from,” said Samuel Scarpino, an epidemiologist who specializes in disease surveillance. The number of detected bird flu cases doesn’t mean much without knowing the fraction it represents — the rate at which workers are being infected.

Related ArticlesAgriculture | County fair sees a rise in attendance, sales Agriculture | Monterey County Fair welcomes hundreds of youth to show off their animals Agriculture | With only gloves to protect them, farmworkers say they tend sick cows amid bird flu Agriculture | Upcoming panel will focus on the agriculture industry in Salinas Agriculture | The CDC’s test for bird flu works, but it has issues This is what renders California’s increase mysterious. Without a baseline, the state’s rapid uptick could signal it’s testing more aggressively than elsewhere. Alternatively, its upsurge might indicate that the virus has become more infectious — a very concerning, albeit less likely, development.

The CDC declined to comment on concerns about monitoring. On Oct. 4, Shah briefed journalists on California’s outbreak. The state identified cases because it was actively tracking farmworkers, he said. “This is public health in action,” he added.

Salvador Sandoval, a doctor and county health officer in Merced, California, did not exude such confidence. “Monitoring isn’t being done on a consistent basis,” he said, as cases mounted in the region. “It’s a really worrisome situation.”

KFF Health News regional editor Nathan Payne contributed to this report.

(KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.)

©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Horoscopes Oct. 29, 2024: Winona Ryder, opportunity comes to those willing to go the distance

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Ben Foster, 44; Gabrielle Union, 52; Winona Ryder, 53; Richard Dreyfuss, 77.

Happy Birthday: Tune in to what makes you happy and head in that direction. Take responsibility for your peace of mind and your ability to use your skills efficiently to meet your needs. Customize your spending and expectations, and you’ll gain confidence and willpower to make your dreams come true. Opportunity comes to those willing to go the distance and make things happen. Your numbers are 6, 14, 23, 27, 32, 39, 41.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Put your energy where it counts. Letting anger get the better of you will deter you from reaching your goals. Personal gain, self-improvement and expanding your awareness, interests and knowledge will lead to an interesting opportunity and promote new directions and better money management. Romance is favored. 3 stars

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Take the initiative. Use the skills and attributes you enjoy to help pay the bills or bring you peace of mind. Whether you are trying to take care of your mental, physical or financial well-being, taking a step in a direction that excites you is in your best interest. 3 stars

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Refuse to buy into someone else’s dream. Engage in conversations to expand your interests; you’ll discover what makes you happy. Don’t be fooled into appeasing others when the only one you need to please is yourself. Focus on what makes you smile and boosts your confidence. 5 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Rethink your current situation and connection with those you spend the most time with, and you’ll decipher what to do next. Putting time and energy into something that simultaneously makes you feel alive and encourages you to earn more will be a game-changer. Stop making excuses. 2 stars

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Look for opportunities and participate in events that introduce you to something or someone you find engaging and entertaining. Expanding possibilities and creating options will encourage you to rethink your plans and to distance yourself from those trying to make choices for you. You can’t buy love. 4 stars

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): A straightforward approach will speed up the transformation you require to find peace. Be ready to let go of anything and anyone standing in your way. Honesty will enlighten and encourage you to change what’s confusing or stifling your progress. Live, learn and do what’s best for you. 3 stars

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Follow your heart. Your emotions will lead to changes that will help you get your life together physically, financially and emotionally. Don’t waste time second-guessing yourself. Actions speak louder than words. Take the path that soothes your soul and offers greater opportunities to be yourself. 3 stars

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A change will spark your imagination and encourage you to venture down a path that ignites your mind and enables you to follow what makes you feel passionate about life, love and achieving happiness. Reach out, absorb, discover and integrate your findings into your routine. 3 stars

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Make updates that get you up to speed. Show off a new look, walk way from people and situations bringing you down or causing you grief, and redefine or put a new twist on your attributes and skills to fit what’s trending in the workforce. It’s time to get moving. 4 stars

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It’s all about money, integrity and taking care of business. Refuse to let emotions interfere or cost you. Size up situations and eliminate what stands between you and what you want. Look and play the part and strengthen your position. Skills mixed with common sense will suffice. 2 stars

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A pick-me-up will help you get back on track, but only spend what you can afford, or your euphoria will be short-lived. The idea is to reduce worry and frustration, not add to it with debt. Focus on self-improvement and honing the skills you enjoy using most. 5 stars

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Look for a sign that points you in a direction that’s good for you and promotes what you do best. Avoid being tempted by someone suggesting indulgent pastimes or joint ventures that put you in unnecessary debt. Discipline and acting on insight, not impulse, will pay off. 3 stars

Birthday Baby: You are curious, intense and resourceful. You are energetic and proactive.

1 star: Avoid conflicts; work behind the scenes. 2 stars: You can accomplish, but don’t rely on others. 3 stars: Focus and you’ll reach your goals. 4 stars: Aim high; start new projects. 5 stars: Nothing can stop you; go for gold.

Visit Eugenialast.com, or join Eugenia on Twitter/Facebook/LinkedIn.

Biden looks to maintain relevance in political conversation in final sprint to Election Day

By AAMER MADHANI

NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) — As President Joe Biden ’s 50 years in elected office near an end, he doesn’t appear content to quietly exit the political stage.

With a week to go before Election Day, Biden is intent on promoting his administration’s record and making the case for Americans to support Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats on the ballot — whether they want him or not.

He’s determined to keep up a busy schedule during the final sprint to Nov. 5 even as many in his party appear to be keeping their distance from him.

Biden, in an exchange with reporters Monday, played down the fact that he hasn’t campaigned side-by-side with Harris since their joint Labor Day campaign appearance in Pittsburgh and that he’s held few public campaign appearances with Democrats in competitive races.

“I’ve done a lot of surrogate stuff, and the fact of the matter is that I’ve also had to continue to be president at the same time,” Biden told reporters after casting his early vote on Monday in his home state of Delaware.

Biden said that he and Harris still “talk all the time.” He added that he has also made several visits to battleground states in his official capacity in recent months, and he plans to do more campaigning in the days ahead in Pennsylvania, including his childhood hometown of Scranton.

Officials say Biden also plans to attend a campaign-related event in Maryland on Tuesday with U.S. Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks, conduct a series of campaign calls on Thursday, and return to battleground Pennsylvania on Friday to spotlight Democratic support for unions.

Biden said the Harris campaign is asking him to go “where they think I should be to help them the most.”

He had pledged to campaign hard for Democrats after dropping out. Yet few Democrats have invited him to campaign by their side since he ended his reelection bid.

The dynamic has meant the outgoing president has had to pick his spots carefully as he tries to remain a relevant voice in a chaotic political season.

Trump on Monday took to his social media platform to mock Harris and Democrats for keeping Biden at arm’s length.

“The Democrats have not only greatly demeaned and embarrassed Crooked Joe Biden, but now they’re demanding that he be nowhere near Lyin’ Kamala’s Campaign,” Trump said on Truth Social. “It’s not good enough that they took the Presidency away from him, just like you take candy away from a baby, but now they have to further embarrass him by telling him to, “GET LOST.”

To be certain, not all Democrats are avoiding Biden.

Two Democratic Senate candidates, Pennsylvania incumbent Sen. Bob Casey and Delaware Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, campaigned with Biden this month. Both have deep ties to the president.

Biden on Monday stopped at a breakfast spot near his home outside Wilmington with Rochester, a longtime ally who is vying to become the first Black woman to represent Delaware in the U.S. Senate.

The night before their breakfast, he formally endorsed Blunt Rochester in a short video that her campaign released on social media. Biden, in his endorsement, praised Blunt Rochester for being “Delaware through and through.”

The four-term House lawmaker has known Biden for about 30 years and is heavily favored to win the seat in the Democratic-dominated Delaware.

At several moments over the last few weeks, Biden has used campaign trips in friendly settings to troll Trump.

At a Pittsburgh union hall on Saturday, Biden wound through a mostly standard campaign speech before veering into a sharp attack on Trump backer Elon Musk. He accused the billionaire tech mogul of working illegally when he first came to the United States to attend college.

The “wealthiest man in the world is now his ally, right?” Biden said, referring to a recent Washington Post report questioning Musk’s status when he was a student at Stanford University. “Well, that wealthiest man in the world turned out to be illegal worker here when he was here” as a student.

Musk, who was born in South Africa, denies the allegation.

Last week, during a stop at a New Hampshire campaign office to meet Democratic volunteers, Biden borrowed some of Trump’s sharp rhetoric.

“We’ve got to lock him up,” Biden told the volunteers, before quickly amending his comments to note he meant that Democrats need to “politically lock him up.”

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Biden thought he had one more election in him before deciding to end his campaign in July because of Democrats’ growing worries about his chances of defeating Trump.

He chatted with voters as he waited in line to cast his ballot, and helped push an older woman in a wheelchair who was ahead of him. He handed his identification to a election worker, who had him sign a form and announced: “Joseph Biden now voting.”

Outside the polling place, Biden told reporters that the moment was more “sweet” than bitter. He expressed confidence when asked if he thought Democrats — including Harris — would win.

“I think we will,” he said.

AP reporter Colleen Long in Washington contributed reporting.

As Democrats court Haley supporters, the former UN ambassador is still waiting to hear from Trump

By MEG KINNARD

CHAPIN, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley received more Republican primary votes than anyone who challenged Donald Trump for this year’s presidential nomination. She has said she’s voting for him, and she released her delegates so they could support him at the Republican National Convention.

But unlike some of Trump’s other GOP primary rivals, such as Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, she hasn’t been on the campaign trail supporting her party’s nominee. According to a person with knowledge of the situation, Haley has given Trump’s campaign a list of dates on which she would be available to help him, but no appearances have been scheduled.

Trump’s campaign did not respond to a message from The Associated Press asking why Haley, his former U.N. ambassador and a former South Carolina governor, had not campaigned with the nominee or how such conversations had gone. The person who confirmed that appearance dates had been offered spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss logistics.

There was no love lost between Trump and Haley during the GOP primary, during which Haley repeatedly questioned the fitness for office of both Trump and President Joe Biden and called for cognitive tests for older politicians. Haley repeatedly warned that nominating Trump would land Democrat Kamala Harris in the White House, implying that Biden — then still in the race — would be unable to serve another term.

“We are going to have a female president of the United States, and either it will be me or it will be Kamala Harris,” Haley said as part of nearly every stump speech or media appearance, saying that “chaos” follows Trump.

Trump’s irritation only grew after Haley stayed in the race, becoming his last remaining primary rival.

“Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp,” Trump wrote on Truth Social following a Haley event in South Carolina in late January, using the nickname he crafted for Haley and the abbreviation for his “Make America Great Again” slogan.

When Haley did end her 2024 presidential campaign after the Super Tuesday contests, she waited two months to endorse Trump. In June, she released her delegates so that they were free to support him at the Republican National Convention. At the July gathering, to which Haley was a last-minute invite, she told her supporters, “You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him.”

She has said for months that she’s “on standby” to stump for Trump. She’s launched her own Sirius XM radio show, on which she frequently makes the case against electing Harris, and she has recorded robocalls for the campaign and made low-dollar fundraising appeals, according to her advisers.

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“Kamala Harris and I are total opposites on every issue,” Haley said in a statement Monday to the AP. “Any attempt to use my name to support her or her agenda is deceptive and wrong. I support Donald Trump because he understands we need to make America strong, safe, and prosperous.”

Not campaigning with Trump — but having endorsed him — may ultimately benefit Haley in a future campaign of her own, according to veteran Republican strategist Terry Sullivan.

“She wants to run again and wants to be able to have it both ways,” Sullivan said. “Have the never-Trumpers still like her but have the pro-Trump voters like that she endorsed him.”

Associated Press writer Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP