Jeremy T. Ringfield's Blog, page 339

Recipes: These apple-based desserts are perfect for autumn

I admit it. This isn’t the first time I’ve written about apple desserts in this column. I can’t help myself. I adore sweets that showcase this marvelous fall fruit.

Apple’s sweet-tart personality builds flavors that, in all fairness, are hard to beat this time of year. For the home cook, there is joy in the simplicity of apple-based desserts. Sure, there’s time spent coring and often peeling, but it can become a pleasing Zen-like motion.

When it comes to which apples to use, some varieties are best cooked while others are better eaten raw. Some are delicious eaten either way. Granny Smiths are often the first choice for baking. Their pucker-up tartness and crisp texture often makes them the first choice in tarts, pies or crisps. But don’t rule out the crunchy texture and sweeter flavor profiles of Fuji and Gala apples, Golden Delicious, Honeycrisp, and Pink Lady.

Spiced Apple Cake

The combination of spices in this rustic cake is beguiling. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice team with Granny Smiths and golden raisins to make a delicious dessert. The apples aren’t peeled, an attribute that cuts down on prep time. The original recipe was problematic. The ratio of apples to batter was off, and it needed an additional egg. It’s delicious served with ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

INGREDIENTS8- to 9-inch springform panSoft butter for greasing pan3 medium-sized Granny Smith apples, divided use1 cup granulated sugar1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter, cooled2 large eggs1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour1 teaspoon baking soda1 teaspoon ground cinnamon1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/2 teaspoon ground allspice1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 cup golden raisinsCinnamon Sugar: 2 tablespoons granulated sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamonOptional garnish: powdered sugarDIRECTIONS

1.  Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use some soft butter to grease an 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Core and thinly slice apples (do NOT peel them). Set them aside in two piles, one pile with slices from two apples and one pile with slices from one apple.

2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, melted butter, and eggs. Stir well to combine (I use a silicone spatula). In a separate large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and salt; stir to combine with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture; stir to thoroughly combine. Add the slices from 2 apples and raisins; stir to combine (yes, this takes some determination). Place mixture in prepared pan, scraping every bit of batter from the bowl with a silicone spatula. Use spatula to even out the surface, moving some batter to any empty spot next to the side of the pan. Arrange apples slices from the remaining apple on top of batter, arranging them slightly overlapping. Sprinkle top of cake with the sugar-cinnamon mixture.

3, Bake 20 minutes and press down the top apples gently with the back of a spoon or spatula so slices are anchored in the cake. Bake a total of 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Place on cooling rack for 10 minutes; run a thin knife around the edge of the cake; unlatch to release and remove the springform ring around the cake. Cool for 1 1/2 hours. Use a thin spatula under the cake just above the cakepan’s bottom to loosen it. Cut into wedges and use a spatula to transfer cake to plates and serve with ice cream or whipped cream. If you like, dust it with powdered sugar.

Cinnamon Bun Apple Pie

The folks at Food Network Magazine came up with this tasty apple pie adorned with a cinnamon-roll crust. To make it, they use a package of refrigerated pie dough. One round of dough is used to line the pie pan, the other is transformed into a special spiral-clad top crust. This round crust is buttered and covered with cinnamon sugar; it’s rolled into a tight log. Cut into 1/2-inch-thick crosswise slices, they are arranged in a circle and rolled out to form the top crust. Voila!

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTSOne 14-ounce package refrigerated pie dough (package with 2 rounds)All-purpose flour for dusting2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided use1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided use5 assorted apples, such as McIntosh, Granny Smith, and Pink Lady (about 2 pounds)Juice of 1 lemon1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 large egg, lightly beaten, for brushing edge of dough2/3 cup powdered sugar2 tablespoons milk, plus more if neededDIRECTIONS

1. Place a baking sheet in oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Line a 9-inch pie pan with 1 round of refrigerated dough; refrigerate until ready to assemble.

2. Make the cinnamon-roll crust. Unroll the remaining round of dough on a lightly floured surface and spread with butter evenly on top. Combine 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon in a small bowl; sprinkle evenly over butter and gently press with fingers to help mixture adhere. Roll the pie dough into a tight log. Trim and discard about 1 1/2 inches from both ends (I would probably Take these trimmed pieces off and bake them for the kids). Cut the log crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange the pieces cut-side down in a snug circle on floured parchment paper. Lightly dust more flour, then gently roll out into a 10-inch round. Slide the parchment onto a second baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to assemble pie.

3. Peel, core, and thinly slice the apples. Toss with the lemon juice, vanilla, and the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon in a large bowl. Spoon apple mixture into dough lined pie plate. Invert the cinnamon-roll crust on top and peel off the parchment paper (it’s OK if the individual rounds separate a bit in the process). Pinch the edges of the crust together and fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp. Brush with the beaten egg.

4. Set the pie on the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 50 minutes. (Tent loosely with foil if the top is browning too quickly. Transfer to a rack to cool slightly.

5. Whisk powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons milk in a medium bowl until smooth; add more milk if the glaze is too thick. Drizzle over top of the pie.

Source: “Baking is Fun: 75 Great Cookies, Cakes, Pies and More” by Maile Carpenter and Editors of Food Network Magazine

Apple Crumble

Making an apple crumble that tastes primarily of apples starts with plenty of fruit. This beauty tosses 4 pounds of apples with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice to enhance the bright flavor. Adding just 2 tablespoons of brown sugar to the filling keeps the apples from tasting too sweet. Golden Delicious apples generally have a consistent sweet-side flavor profile, but this recipe also works with Braeburn or Honeycrisp apples or a mix of all three. You should have 4 pounds of apples before peeling and coring.

Yield:  6 to 8 servings

INGREDIENTS4 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into ¾-inch pieces1/2 cup packed (3 1/2 ounces) plus 2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar, divided2 tablespoons lemon juice1 teaspoon table salt, divided3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour1/2 cup sliced almonds, chopped fine6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted2 teaspoons vanilla extract2 teaspoons waterFor serving: ice cream of whipped cream

Cook’s notes:  Mounding the baking pan with a pile of apples ensures that there will be a substantial layer of fruit filling.

DIRECTIONS

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lowest positions and heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss apples, 2 tablespoons sugar, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and cinnamon together in large bowl. Transfer to 8-inch square baking pan with at least 2-inch sides and press into even layer. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil and place on rimmed baking sheet. Transfer sheet to oven and bake on lower rack for 35 minutes.

2. While apples bake, whisk flour, almonds, remaining ½ cup sugar, and remaining ½ teaspoon salt in medium bowl until combined. Add melted butter, vanilla, and water and stir with spatula until clumps form and no dry flour remains.

3. Remove sheet from oven and smooth top of apples with spatula. If apples have not collapsed enough to leave at least ¼ inch of space below rim of pan, replace foil, return sheet to oven, and continue to bake 5 to 15 minutes longer.

4. Scatter topping evenly over apples, breaking up any clumps larger than a marble. Transfer sheet to upper rack and bake until topping is evenly browned and filling is just bubbling at edges, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool for at least 45 minutes before serving. If desired, serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Source: Cook’s Illustrated, October 2019

Award-winning food writer Cathy Thomas has written three cookbooks, including “50 Best Plants on the Planet.” Follow her at @CathyThomas Cooks.com.

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Child care burst into the national spotlight at the Vance-Walz debate. Here’s why

Jenny Gold and Kate Sequeira | Los Angeles Times (TNS)

The vice presidential candidates appeared to find some agreement during their Tuesday night debate over child care and paid family leave, in the longest and most in-depth campaign exchange about these issues to date.

In California and throughout the nation, these issues are key to improving quality of life for families that struggle to take time off to care for a newborn or ailing loved one, or to find affordable child care. Despite California’s significant investments in these areas, solutions still fall short of meeting the needs of many parents.

Republicans in Congress opposed President Biden’s ambitious 2021 plan to create an affordable child care system and a universal paid family leave benefit. Yet Sen. JD Vance — former President Donald Trump’s running mate — appeared to offer some support for both issues during the debate, voicing more moderate stances than he has in recent appearances.

“I think there is a bipartisan solution here because a lot of us care about this issue,” Vance said in response to a question from CBS News’ Margaret Brennan about a national paid leave program. As for the child care crisis, Vance agreed with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate — that the government needs to spend more money.

“We’re going to have to induce more people to want to provide child care options for American families because the reason it’s so expensive right now is because you’ve got way too few people providing this very essential service,” he said.

But this diagnosis of the child care market as a simple supply-side problem conflicts with how child care experts see it.

“It reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the child care problem because it’s a broken market,” said Kathryn Anne Edwards, a labor economist and policy consultant who studies the child care market.

Meanwhile, Vance’s solution — that the problem can be solved by offering families more choice of who can provide care for their children — is something the government already does. And under the current system, low-income families can use subsidies provided by the government to pay for the child care of their choice, including faith-based providers and care provided by a relative or friend.

Why is child care so expensive in the U.S.?

Child care is often described as a “broken market” for good reason: Child care employees are some of the lowest-paid workers in the economy, at an average of $13.22 an hour, yet despite these low wages, the price of care is astronomical for families.

In California, for example, placing an infant in a private child care center cost an average of $19,547 per year in 2021, according to the nonprofit Child Care Aware. That’s 15% of the median income for a married couple in the state, and 47.6% of the median income for a single parent.

There are shortages of care in many places, including Los Angeles. But while Vance’s suggestion to expand supply might help more families find care, it is unlikely to significantly bring down costs.

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That’s because the biggest problem is that child care costs more to provide than families can afford to pay. There aren’t many opportunities to trim costs, because the job of a child care worker can’t be automated and employers can’t pay them any less. Workers are already fleeing the profession in search of higher wages in retail or fast food.

Meanwhile, Edwards says, there isn’t a line of people waiting to open child care centers, because it’s not a profitable business.

Walz was not asked directly about child care, but addressed it in a question about paid family leave in somewhat vague terms, saying that child care workers needed higher wages, and families more support to pay for care.

“You can’t expect the most important people in our lives to take care of our children or our parents to get paid the least amount of money,” he said. “And we have to make it easier for folks to be able to get into that business and then to make sure that folks are able to pay for that.”

In the Democratic plan, this would mean the federal government subsidizing care for more families.

Moving the child care system from a “profit model” to a “reimbursement model,” in which the government pays child care workers what it costs for them to provide the care is “the only solution for child care,” Edwards said. “Workers are not going to get cheaper, care is not going to get cheaper, and more people aren’t going to enter the market.”

What can families spend their child care assistance on?

The government already provides subsidies to low-income families to help cover child care costs; families can also attend free government-funded programs including Head Start and state preschools. Seventeen percent of children younger than 5 in California are served by government-subsidized child care programs.

The federal government helps fund subsidies for families earning a maximum of 85% of their state’s median income — $104,544 for a family of four in California — through the Child Care and Development Block Grant, though many states cap it far lower.

During the debate, Vance said these subsidies fund only “one kind of child care model. Let’s say you’d like your church, maybe, to help you out with child care. Maybe you live in a rural area or an urban area, and you’d like to get together with families in your neighborhood to provide child care in the way that makes the most sense. You don’t get access to any of these federal monies.”

This is false.

The government allows subsidies from the block grant program — in the form of vouchers to families — to be used for a variety of options — including both churches and care provided by a family member, friend or neighbor.

The block grant was created as a “pro-choice federal program” by Republican President George H.W. Bush in 1990, said Bruce Fuller, a UC Berkeley professor of education and public policy. “The idea that the government disincentivizes using grandma is just incorrect.”

The problem is that the available vouchers are not nearly enough to meet the need. Of the nearly 6.3 million children ages 5 and younger in the U.S. whose families qualify for these subsidies, fewer than 840,000 receive it, or about 13%. There are often long lists of families waiting for a voucher to become available, including in California.

Meanwhile, families in the middle class are generally left paying sticker price.

What do Democrats propose as a child care solution?

In September during an interview with members of the National Association of Black Journalists, Harris announced a child care plan proposing that working families would not pay more than 7% of their income for child care.

The 7% cap idea isn’t new. It was proposed in 2021 in Biden’s Build Back Better bill, which Congress failed to pass.

The plan would have established a universal preschool program and capped a family’s child care spending at 7% of income for anyone earning up to 250% of state median income. In California, that’s more than $277,000 for a family of four. Families earning more would have continued to pay full price. The overhaul would have cost an estimated $380 billion over six years.

Meanwhile, a separate proposal mentioned in the 2024 Democratic Party platform would instead cap family costs at $10 a day.

What do Republicans propose as a solution for child care?

Trump has not yet offered details for improving the child care system, and the GOP campaign platform does not mention the issue.

“Child care is child care, it’s something you have to have in this country. You have to have it,” Trump told business leaders at the Economic Club of New York. His proposed tax on imports from foreign nations at higher levels, he said, would “take care” of such problems.

Vance supported this plan during the vice presidential debate. “I think what President Trump is saying is that when we bring in this additional revenue with higher economic growth, we’re going to be able to provide paid family leave, child care options that are viable and workable for a lot of American families.

Why doesn’t the U.S. have national paid family leave?

The U.S. is one of only a few countries that does not guarantee paid leave nationally. Only Washington, D.C., and 13 states — including California — have passed such legislation. But the issue has bipartisan support from voters, according to Laura Narefsky, senior counsel for education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center.

“This is not a polarizing issue for the American people, because at some point everyone has had to give or provide care,” Narefsky said.

Walz, who called paid family leave a “Day One” issue at the debate, touts a program he signed into law in Minnesota that will provide up to 20 weeks in a year for family and medical leave. The program, which will go into effect in 2026, will be funded by a payroll tax shared between workers and employers.

Vance did not say whether there should be a national law but agreed that paid family leave is a “bipartisan issue,” saying that his wife, an attorney, benefited from such a policy from her employer.

Currently, the federal government guarantees up to 12 weeks of unpaid but job-protected family and medical leave for eligible employees. In 2019, Trump also signed into law up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for qualifying federal employees.

A national paid leave law has been shot down multiple times over the last several decades. An iteration of it made it into the failed Build Back Better bill before getting slashed.

And though Trump was the first Republican president to call for paid family leave, proposed programs during his administration did not receive bipartisan support in part because of their approaches to funding, which required families to borrow against their future selves.

A bill to provide 12 weeks of paid leave was reintroduced to Congress in May 2023.

How does paid family leave work in California?

California is home to the oldest paid family leave program in the country, which it has continued to tweak since its passage in 2002. Starting in January, the state is increasing how much a worker can collect while on family or medical leave as part of an effort to ensure low-wage workers can afford to take it.

Those who earn up to $60,000 a year will be able to get 90% of their income replaced while on family or medical leave in California, up from 60%. Workers who earn more will be able to collect 70%.

To help make up for the increase, California is removing the ceiling on the payroll tax, requiring higher-income earners to contribute the same 1.1% of their earnings as everyone else rather than capping the tax when their wages reach $153,164.

Though most states with paid leave offer up to 12 weeks, California lags behind. The state expanded paid family leave from six to eight weeks in 2020. Despite that, California does have one of the lowest barriers to entry, according to Jenya Cassidy, director of the California Work & Family Coalition. Anyone who earns at least $300 in a year and contributes to state disability insurance is eligible for the benefits.

This article is part of The Times’ early childhood education initiative, focusing on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. For more information about the initiative and its philanthropic funders, go to latimes.com/earlyed.

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

Harris’ emphasis on maternal health care is paying dividends with Black women voters

By Stephanie Armour | KFF Health News

Vice President Kamala Harris is seeing a surge of support from Black women voters, galvanized in part by her work on health care issues such as maternal mortality, reproductive rights, and gun control.

The enthusiasm may be key for Democratic turnout at the polls in critical battleground states.

Black women have always been among the most reliable voters in the Democratic base and were central to former President Barack Obama’s victories in 2008 and 2012. Enthusiasm was also robust for President Joe Biden in 2020. But this year, before he bowed out of the race and Harris became the Democratic nominee, his support among this critical demographic had been fading, which could have dampened turnout in swing states.

Black voters’ support for the top of the Democratic ticket has since increased. In July, before he left the race, 64% of Black voters supported Biden, according to the Pew Research Center. Seventy-seven percent of Black voters supported Harris in August.

Black voter turnout, especially in rural areas of Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, could help propel Harris to victory. That support — especially among Black women — has swelled since Biden’s departure, polling shows.

“This is a renaissance,” said Holli Holliday, a lawyer in the Washington, D.C., area who is president of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, a group that works to advance Black women’s political leadership. “We’re partnering with a collective of Black women organizations to collaborate and collectively move like we never have before.”

Gun safety issues could especially resonate in Georgia, where both Harris and the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, are vying for the support of Black voters. A Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School near Winder, Georgia, killed four people and left nine hospitalized with injuries, with scores more facing mental and emotional scars.

Eighty-two percent of Black women had a favorable view of Harris in August, according to the Pew Research Center, up from 67% in May.

And more Black women than before say they will go to the polls. Almost 70% of Black women said in August they were extremely or very motivated to vote, according to Pew, up from 51% in July. Sixteen million Black women in the U.S. are eligible to vote and 67% of them are registered, according to Higher Heights, a political action committee focused on mobilizing and electing Black women.

Trump has also sought support from Black women voters. His campaign released a video in August showcasing Black women pledging to support him over Harris, pointing to his economic policies as a key reason.

Still, only 8% of Black women voters say the Republican Party does a better job of looking out for their interests, according to a poll done in May and June by KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

Harris’ attention to health issues particularly important to Black women is helping to draw their support, said Kimberly Peeler-Allen, a co-founder of Higher Heights. In 2021, the vice president called for a more robust government response to the nation’s high maternal mortality rates.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say Black women are three times as likely to die from pregnancy-related complications as white women. The disparity is driven in part by differing access to quality health care, underlying health conditions, bias, and racism.

“The vice president’s focus on Black maternal morbidity has gotten a lot of attention and gratitude,” Peeler-Allen said. “High-quality and affordable care, as well as the economy, are one of the top issues that drive Black women voters to get to the polls.”

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As a senator, Harris co-sponsored a package of legislation aimed at improving maternal health, with a focus on Black women. The Biden administration pushed to expand maternal health initiatives in rural communities and improve bias training for health care providers, including by awarding more than $103 million in grants in 2023 to support and expand access to maternal health care.

Trump in 2018 signed legislation intended to reduce the maternal mortality rate that provided $58 million a year for five years to help states investigate and prevent pregnancy-related deaths.

As vice president, Harris also pushed states to extend postpartum care in Medicaid, the state-federal health program for low-income and disabled people. Biden signed legislation that temporarily gave states the option to expand the coverage to a full year from the required 60 days, with federal matching funds, and later signed a law allowing states to make the extended benefits permanent.

Illinois, New Jersey, and Virginia were the only states providing 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage when Harris became vice president. Today, the yearlong benefit has been adopted by at least 46 states and Washington, D.C., according to KFF.

“I am so thrilled out of my mind. I didn’t think we’d get there that quick,” said Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), who has helped lead congressional efforts to reduce mortality and morbidity among mothers and pregnant women, especially Black women. “It helps having everybody at the Senate, House, and White House working together. I am optimistic we are going to have someone at the top who gets it. We still have a ways to go.”

Harris’ support for measures to stem gun violence also helps her appeal to Black women. Harris said during her debate with Trump last month that she’s a gun owner. But she has pressed for banning what are often known as assault weapons and to implement universal background checks ahead of gun purchases — issues that may resonate in Georgia, especially, after the Apalachee shooting.

Eighty-four percent of Black women favor Harris on gun reform over Trump, according to a 2024 poll conducted for The Highland Project, a women-led coalition focused on creating multigenerational wealth in Black communities.

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Trump’s campaign advisers have said he would protect access to guns by appointing federal judges who oppose restrictions. He has supported gun rights despite two apparent assassination attempts during the campaign, and as president in 2017 he reversed a controversial Obama administration regulation making it harder for people with mental health issues to purchase guns.

Win With Black Women, a network of Black women leaders, hosted a planning call with Black women the day Biden withdrew from the race. About 44,000 participants joined the meeting.

Waning enthusiasm for the Democratic ticket among Black women before Harris entered the race could have undermined turnout. And turnout matters: In the 2020 presidential race, seven states were won by less than three percentage points each.

“To have 44,000 black women on a phone call that Sunday night? That enthusiasm, that’s good for Democrats,” said Kelly Dittmar, research director at Rutgers’ Center for American Women and Politics. “If Democrats selected someone with less enthusiastic backing, a lot of women who supported Biden may have stayed home.”

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

A Donald Trump mass deportation of immigrants would cost hundreds of billions, report says

Andrew Sheeler | The Sacramento Bee (TNS)

Mass deportation of undocumented immigrants on the scale advocated by former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance would cost hundreds of billions of dollars to enact, and would only be possible with the creation of a massive detention camp system.

That’s the finding of a new study by the nonpartisan American Immigration Council.

The report comes as a majority (54%) of Americans have said they support mass deportation, according to a Scripps News/Ipsos poll taken in September.

The immigration council’s study uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey as well as publicly available data about the current costs of immigration enforcement to paint a grim picture of what mass deportation would look like.

Representatives from the Trump campaign did not respond to The Bee’s request for comment by deadline. The Bee also reached out to the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris for comment but received no response.

The total price tag for a one-time operation: $315 billion.

“We wish to emphasize that this figure is a highly conservative estimate. It does not take into account the long-term costs of a sustained mass deportation operation or the incalculable additional costs necessary to acquire the institutional capacity to remove over 13 million people in a short period of time — incalculable because there is simply no reality in which such a singular operation is possible,” according to the study.

The report said this operation would be impossible without mass detention camps to detain the 13 million undocumented immigrants.

“To put the scale of detaining over 13 million undocumented immigrants into context, the entire U.S. prison and jail population in 2022, comprising every person held in local, county, state, and federal prisons and jails, was 1.9 million people,” the report said.

It gets even more expensive if the project is carried out longer term.

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The report estimates that a long-term mass deportation campaign of 1 million immigrants a year would average $88 billion a year, for a total cost of $967.9 billion over the course of more than a decade.

“This would require the United States to build and maintain 24 times more ICE detention capacity than currently exists. The government would also be required to establish and maintain over 1,000 new immigration courtrooms to process people at such a rate,” the report said.

The report also looks at what such a campaign would do to the economy. Here, too, the picture is grim.

“Mass deportations would cause significant labor shocks across multiple key industries, with especially acute impacts on construction, agriculture, and the hospitality sector. We estimate that nearly 14% of people employed in the construction industry are undocumented. Removing that labor would disrupt all forms of construction across the nation, from homes to businesses to basic infrastructure. As industries suffer, hundreds of thousands of U.S.-born workers could lose their jobs,” the report said.

The American Immigration Council isn’t alone in offering a dire warning about economic impact of mass deportation.

The nonpartisan Brookings Institution cites multiple studies showing that such policies result in the decline not just of foreign-born workers, but also a drop in employment among American-born workers.

A report from the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics found that a mass deportation policy would result in “no economic growth over the second Trump administration from this policy alone.”

At the vice presidential debate Tuesday evening, Vance, a Republican, said that a Trump administration would start its mass deportation project by focusing on undocumented immigrants who have criminal records. He falsely put that number as 1 million people.

According to a fact check from Axios, roughly 430,000 undocumented immigrants not currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody have criminal convictions. That’s far less than the American population at large, where one in three Americans has a criminal record.

©2024 The Sacramento Bee. Visit at sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

These Americans naturalized just in time to vote. Many can’t wait to cast a ballot

Lilly Kersh | The Dallas Morning News (TNS)

DALLAS — In a plastic red top hat flashing “VOTE” with blue stars, voter registrar Benny de la Vega is hard to miss in a crowd of hundreds who will soon become the country’s newest citizens.

The volunteer voter registrar wears a bright orange shirt to stand out to the crowd waiting to enter their naturalization ceremony at the Plano Event Center. He remembers being nervous and all alone when he became a U.S. citizen and hopes these new Americans will feel some comfort in recognizing him in a sea of people.

“For them, it’s nice to have a familiar face, somebody they can relate to, so that when they do register [to vote], it’s not with some stranger,” de la Vega, 54, said.

De la Vega, originally from the Philippines, became a U.S. citizen in 1995. He now lives in Farmers Branch and volunteers with the League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan group of men and women who help people vote. On a brisk morning in September, he distributed and collected voter registration forms at naturalization ceremonies hosted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Benny de la Vega, 54, (right) originally from the Philippines, became a U.S. citizen in 1995. He stands in the hallway as a guide for voter registration during a naturalization ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at Plano Event Center in Plano, Texas. (Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

Of the 1,500 candidates and their friends and families who came through the three ceremonies that day, 1,040 voter registration forms were collected, according to Ellen Steger, president of the League of Women Voters of Richardson.

In a state with low voter turnout, the right to vote is often unexercised in Texas. The responsibility to vote has special meaning for these new Americans and newly registered voters, who made the cut less than two weeks before the Oct. 7 registration deadline. If they cast a ballot in November, they’ll help decide their new country’s next president.

Alexandra Denys, 31, filled out her voter registration card as she sat in the crowded event hall ahead of her September ceremony.

Like hundreds beside her, she ensured the form was ready to be signed following the oath of allegiance confirming her American nationality. Originally from Montreal, Canada, Denys has lived in the U.S. since 2016 and said she is definitely voting in November.

“I love this country, and I live here, and I want to make a difference here and do good,” Denys said. “[Voting] is a right. It’s a huge responsibility to have your say in which direction you want the country to go.”

Foreign-born Americans have power at the polls. Pew Research found that naturalized citizens make up a record number of eligible voters, accounting for about 10% of the U.S. electorate, according to the 2022 American Community Survey.

Santosh Kumar Mani (left), by his wife Arathi Santosh, holding his 6-month-old daughter, Mahira, raise their right hand as they take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America during a naturalization ceremony, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at Plano Event Center in Plano, Texas. (Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

Their ranks are growing. The government is processing citizenship applications faster than it has in years according to Boundless, a company that helps families navigate the immigration system.

By the end of May this year, the average processing time for an application had dropped to 5 months, a 15% drop from last year and a more than 50% decrease from 2022. USCIS is recovering from a backlog of applications worsened by the pandemic, according to Boundless.

Many new citizens say they’re eager to cast a ballot. A poll of more than 2,600 naturalized citizens who are registered to vote found that 97.3% said that they “definitely” or “probably” will vote in the November 2024 presidential election.

The new American voters polled came from eight states, including Texas. The National Partnership for New Americans and the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at UC San Diego conducted the survey in August.

New citizenship, new right

At the second ceremony of the day, the 500 new Americans came from 73 countries, Oscar Garcia, a supervisor with USCIS in Dallas, said to the crowd. The candidates came from as far as Finland, Egypt, the Dominican Republic, India, Sudan, Vietnam and dozens of other nations.

Many had their children, spouse and family in tow, watching proudly from the back of the hall. Small American flags waved in each row. Some wore suits, dresses or traditional clothing to look their best.

De la Vega and around 80 other volunteer deputy registrars passed out voter registration forms, answering questions and helping people fill out the paperwork as they waited for the ceremony to begin.

Albert Boyer Galindo, 45, waved a small American flag in his seat ahead of the ceremony. He lives in Keller and is originally from Mexico, but moved to the U.S. in 2008. He has many relatives who are U.S. citizens, including his daughter.

“It’s been over 16 years,” Boyer Galindo said. “It’s been a lot of sacrifices, a long journey to become a U.S. citizen.”

He said he wanted to gain citizenship in order to vote.

“Paying taxes, I just really want to raise my voice,” Boyer Galindo said. “It’s a civil right. That’s the only choice. If you’re gonna complain about the government and the benefits and you don’t vote, then you shouldn’t be talking at all.”

People wave the United States flag after their native country’s name was announced during a naturalization ceremony, on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, at Plano Event Center in Plano, Texas. (Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News/TNS)

The League of Women Voters wasted no time in helping the naturalized citizens exercise one of democracy’s most fundamental rights. Once they take their oath of allegiance and get their certificates, the new citizens can almost immediately get their forms signed by a deputized registrar, just minutes after becoming an American.

In a room near the event hall, voter registrars helped complete the process after the ceremony. It was a buzz of activity, with people trying to find their county’s desk, yelling out, “Does anyone speak Russian?” or finishing their paperwork on a clipboard.

Belita Dube wiped away tears after the ceremony. Originally from South Africa, she has been in the U.S. for more than two decades and now lives in Richardson. Her kids are citizens and Dube said she wanted to join them.

“This is all they know, America,” Dube said. “I got to grow up with them too and love America.”

Dube said she made sure to naturalize before the voter registration deadline, and said she’s looking forward to helping decide the country’s next president. She left her country before she could vote, so this will be her first time casting a ballot.

“The journey that I’ve traveled,” Dube said through tears, “It’s been a long journey.”

An ‘American Dream’ to vote

Texas has one of the worst voter participation rates in the country. In Collin County, where many of the new Americans naturalized at the September ceremony will vote, nearly half of registered voters didn’t cast a ballot in 2022. While 693,753 people registered to vote, 52.6% actually did, around 364,779 voters, according to Texas Secretary of State data.

For many new citizens not born with the right to vote in U.S. elections, voting is a newfound responsibility with heightened importance, and many expressed the duty they feel to participate in democracy. Only 2.7% of polled new Americans say that they are “unlikely to vote” in the presidential election, according to the survey by the National Partnership for New Americans.

Yang Liu, 37, is from China and has lived in the U.S. for 12 years. She now lives in Celina and became a citizen just in time to be eligible to vote in the next election. The November election will be her first time ever voting.

“If you have this right, you should just use it,” Liu said after her naturalization ceremony. “There are so many people, so many others outside this country that don’t have this right yet. They don’t have democracy in their country yet.”

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De la Vega wears his own voter registration card around his neck with pride as he jumps from person to person, helping them fill out their forms.

He said he moved to the U.S. when he was 16 years old, leaving the Philippines during the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship of the 1980s. Marcos’ government committed extensive human rights violations and suppressed activism and media, according to Amnesty International.

“I know what life is like under a dictatorship,” de la Vega said. “When I came here to the U.S., my family brought me here specifically for this, the ‘American Dream.’”

For de la Vega, that dream includes exercising the right to vote. He said his parents were part of the uprising known as the People Power Revolution that upended the dictatorship.

“I have been brought up to believe that if you do want something, you have to fight for it, and more importantly, you have to vote for it,” de la Vega said.

In Collin County, he’s doing just that, fighting to protect the right to vote for new Americans by helping them register. In just a few weeks, many will fulfill their responsibility at the ballot box, adding their voice to the country’s millions of voters who will help decide the next president.

©2024 The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Benefit trend: Employers opt to give workers an allowance for coverage

By Michelle Andrews | KFF Health News

Dave Lantz is no stranger to emergency department or doctor bills. With three kids in their teens and early 20s, “when someone gets sick or breaks an arm, all of a sudden you have thousand-dollar medical bills,” Lantz said.

The family’s health plan that he used to get as the assistant director of physical plant at Lycoming College, a small liberal arts school in central Pennsylvania, didn’t start to cover their costs until they had paid $5,600 in medical bills. The Lantzes were on the hook up to that annual threshold. The high-deductible plan wasn’t ideal for the family of five, but it was the only coverage option available to them.

Things are very different now. In mid-2022, the college ditched its group health plan and replaced it with a new type of plan — an individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement, or ICHRA.

Now Lantz gets a set amount from his employer every month that he puts toward a family plan on the individual insurance market. He opted for a zero-deductible plan with a richer level of coverage than the group plan. Though its $790 monthly premium is higher than the $411 he used to pay, he ends up saving money overall by not having to pay down that big deductible. Plus, he now has more control over his health spending.

“It’s nice to have the choice to balance the high deductible versus the higher premium,” Lantz said. Before, “it was tough to budget for that deductible.”

As health insurance costs continue to rise, employers are eyeing this type of health reimbursement arrangement to control their health care spending while still providing a benefit that workers value. Some consumer advocates are concerned the plans could result in skimpier, pricier coverage for certain consumers, especially sicker, older ones.

The plans allow employers to make tax-preferred contributions to employees to use to buy coverage on the individual market. Employers thus limit their financial exposure to rising health care costs. Everybody wins, say backers of the plans, which were established in 2019 as part of a group of proposals the Trump administration said would increase health insurance choice and competition.

“It’s a way to offer coverage to more diverse employee groups than ever before and set a budget that controls costs for the companies,” said Robin Paoli, executive director of the HRA Council, an advocacy group.

Some health insurance specialists say the plans aren’t necessarily a good option for consumers or the individual insurance market. Even though the rules prevent employers from offering this type of coverage to specific workers who may be sicker and more expensive to cover than others, employers with relatively unhealthy workforces may find the arrangements appealing. This, in turn, may drive up premiums in the individual market, according to an analysis by the University of Southern California-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy.

Plans sold on the individual market often have smaller provider networks and higher deductibles than employer-sponsored coverage. Premiums are often higher than for comparable group coverage. Workers, especially lower-wage ones, might be better off financially with premium tax credits and cost-sharing reductions to buy an Affordable Care Act marketplace plan, but using the work-based ICHRA benefit would disqualify them.

“From a worker perspective, the largest impact is that being offered affordable coverage by your employer makes you ineligible for marketplace subsidies,” said Matthew Fiedler, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who co-authored the analysis of the rule establishing the plans.

The plans are currently offered to only a tiny slice of workers: an estimated 500,000 of the roughly 165 million people with employer-sponsored coverage, according to the HRA Council. But interest is growing. The number of employers offering ICHRAs and an earlier type of plan, called qualified small-employer HRAs, increased 29% from 2023 to 2024, according to the council. And, although small employers have made up the bulk of adopters to date, larger employers with at least 50 workers are the fastest-growing cohort.

Individual market insurers like Oscar Health and Centene see opportunities to expand their footprint through the plans. Some venture capitalists are touting them as well.

“The [traditional group] health insurance cornerstone from 60 years ago has outlived its usefulness,” said Matt Miller, whose Headwater Ventures has invested in the ICHRA administrator Venteur. “The goal is to ensure people have coverage, detaching it from the employment construct and making it portable.”

Employers can offer this type of health reimbursement arrangement to some classes of employees and group plans to others based on characteristics such as geography, full-time vs. part-time status, or salaried vs. hourly pay.

Lycoming College wasn’t aiming to be on the cutting edge when it made this coverage switch. Faced with a 60% premium increase after some members had high claims, the school, which covers roughly 400 faculty and staff and their family members, needed to look at alternatives, said Kacy Hagan, its associate vice president for human resources and compliance.

In the end, they opted to offer ICHRA coverage to any employee who worked at least 30 hours a week.

In the first year of offering the new benefit, the college saved $1.4 million in health care costs over what they would have spent if they’d stayed with its group plan. Employees saved an average of $1,200 each in premiums.

“The finance folks really like it,” Hagan said. As for employees, “from a cost standpoint, people tend to be pretty happy with it, and people really like having a choice of plans,” she said. However, there have been issues with the plan’s administration. Some employees’ coverage was dropped and had to be reinstated, she said. Those problems have been largely resolved since they switched plan administrators this year.

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This coverage arrangement can be complicated to manage. Instead of a company paying one group health plan premium, dozens of individual health insurers may need to be paid. And employees who’ve never shopped for a plan before need help figuring out what coverage works for them and signing up.

The complexity can be off-putting. This year, a number of companies that have tried this type of health reimbursement arrangement decided they’d rather go back to a group plan, said Tim Hebert, managing partner of Sage Benefit Advisors, based in Fort Collins, Colorado.

“They say, ‘Employees are all over the place in different plans, and they don’t feel like they’re being taken care of,’” Hebert said.

Vendors continue to crop up to help employers like Lycoming College and their workers manage their plans.

“If you just say, ‘Here’s $1,000,’ it’s extremely discombobulating and confusing,” said Jack Hooper, CEO of Take Command Health, which now administers the Lycoming ICHRA.

It’s unclear whether the plans will take off or remain a niche product.

“It’s a big disrupter, like 401(k)s,” said Mark Mixer, board chair of the HRA Council and CEO of HealthOne Alliance in Dalton, Georgia. Still, it’s not for everyone. “It’s simply another tool that employers should consider. When it fits, do it.”

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

More restrooms have adult-size changing tables to help people with disabilities

By Tony Leys | KFF Health News

ADAIR, Iowa — The blue-and-white highway sign for the eastbound rest stop near here displays more than the standard icon of a person in a wheelchair, indicating facilities are accessible to people who can’t walk. The sign also shows a person standing behind a horizontal rectangle, preparing to perform a task.

The second icon signals that this rest area along Interstate 80 in western Iowa has a bathroom equipped with a full-size changing table, making it an oasis for adults and older children who use diapers because of disabilities.

“It’s a beacon of hope,” said Nancy Baker Curtis, whose 9-year-old son, Charlie, has a disability that can leave him incontinent. “I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re finally there.’”

The white changing table is 6 feet long and can be lowered and raised with a handheld controller wired to an electric motor. When not in use, the table folds up against the wall.

The table was recently installed as part of a national effort to make public bathrooms more accessible in places like airports, parks, arenas, and gas stations. Without such options, people with disabilities often wind up being changed on bathroom floors, in cars, or even on the ground outside.

Many families hesitate to go out because of the lack of accessible restrooms. “We all know somebody who’s tethered to their home by bathroom needs,” Baker Curtis said. She doesn’t want her son’s life to be limited that way. “Charlie deserves to be out in the community.”

She said the need can be particularly acute when people are traveling in rural areas, where bathroom options are sparse.

Baker Curtis, who lives near Des Moines, leads the Iowa chapter of a national group called “Changing Spaces,” which advocates for adult-size changing tables. The group offers an online map showing scores of locations where they’ve been installed.

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Advocates say such tables are not explicitly required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. But a new federal law will mandate them in many airports in coming years, and states can adopt building codes that call for them. California, for example, requires them in new or renovated auditoriums, arenas, amusement parks, and similar facilities with capacities of at least 2,500 people. Ohio requires them in some settings, including large public facilities and highway rest stops. Arizona, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and New Hampshire also have taken steps to require them in some public buildings.

Justin Boatner of Arlington, Virginia, advocates for more full-size changing tables in the Washington, D.C., area. Boatner, 26, uses a wheelchair because of a disability similar to muscular dystrophy. He uses diapers, which he often changes himself.

He can lower an adjustable changing table to the height of his wheelchair, then pull himself onto it. Doing that is much easier and more hygienic than getting down on the floor, changing himself, and then crawling back into the wheelchair, he said.

Boatner said it’s important to talk about incontinence, even though it can be embarrassing. “There’s so much stigma around it,” he said.

He said adult changing tables are still scarce, including in health care facilities, but he’s optimistic that more will be installed. Without them, he sometimes delays changing his diaper for hours until he can get home. That has led to serious rashes, he said. “It’s extremely uncomfortable.”

Iowa legislators in recent years have considered requiring adult changing tables in some public restrooms. They declined to pass such a bill, but the discussion made Iowa Department of Transportation leaders aware of the problem. “I’m sorry to say, it was one of those things we’d just never thought of,” said Michael Kennerly, director of the department’s design bureau.

Kennerly oversees planning for rest stops. He recalls an Iowan telling him about changing a family member outside in the rain, with only an umbrella for shelter. Others told him how they changed their loved ones on bathroom floors. “It was just appalling,” he said.

Iowa began installing adult changing tables in rest stops in 2022, and it has committed to including them in new or remodeled facilities. So far, nine have been installed or are in the process of being added. Nine others are planned, with more to come, Kennerly said. Iowa has 38 rest areas equipped with bathrooms.

Kennerly estimated it costs up to $14,000 to remodel an existing rest-stop bathroom to include a height-adjustable adult changing table. Incorporating adult changing tables into a new rest stop building should cost less than that, he said.

Several organizations offer portable changing tables, which can be set up at public events. Some are included in mobile, accessible bathrooms carried on trailers or trucks. Most permanent adult changing tables are set up in “family restrooms,” which have one toilet and are open to people of any gender. That’s good, because the act of changing an adult is “very intimate and private,” Baker Curtis said. It’s also important for the tables to be height-adjustable because it’s difficult to lift an adult onto a fixed-height table, she said.

Advocates hope adult changing tables will become nearly as common as infant changing tables, which once were rare in public bathrooms.

Jennifer Corcoran, who lives near Dayton, Ohio, has been advocating for adult changing tables for a decade and has seen interest rise in recent years.

Corcoran’s 24-year-old son, Matthew, was born with brain development issues. He uses a wheelchair and is unable to speak, but he accompanies her when she lobbies for improved services.

Corcoran said Ohio leaders this year designated $4.4 million in federal pandemic relief money to be distributed as grants for changing-table projects. The program has led to installations at Dayton’s airport and art museum, plus libraries and entertainment venues, she said.

Ohio also is adding adult changing tables to rest stops. Corcoran said those tables are priceless because they make it easier for people with disabilities to travel. “Matthew hasn’t been on a vacation outside of Ohio for more than five years,” she said.

Kaylan Dunlap serves on a committee that has worked to add changing-table requirements to the International Building Code, which state and local officials often use as a model for their rules.

Dunlap, who lives in Alabama, works for an architecture firm and reviews building projects to ensure they comply with access standards. She expects more public agencies and companies will voluntarily install changing tables. Maybe someday they will be a routine part of public bathrooms, she said. “But I think that’s a long way out in the future, unfortunately.”

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

Six offbeat winter trip ideas that should definitely be on your radar

By Lebawit Lily Girma, Bloomberg News

The most popular winter destinations this year, whether for Thanksgiving or the December holiday season, point to perennial crowd favorites, according to Google’s latest travel trends report issued on Sept. 5. Think Cancun, Las Vegas, Tokyo, Rome or Barcelona.

Going offbeat, then, has never sounded more enticing, even if you’re likely too late for booking the most affordable flights.

Perhaps a glass cabin in Oregon is an enticing proposition? Maybe a remote lodge in Madagascar? What about a private beachfront penthouse in Sharm El Sheikh? Whichever you choose, these new or upgraded hotels put a different spin on locations that aren’t just free of crowds but also offer a more intimate, memorable glimpse of their destinations.

Eleuthera, Bahamas

In the 1960s and 1970s, the original Potlach Club drew New York socialites and celebrities alike to its private estate and pineapple plantation on serene Eleuthera Island, 50 miles east of Nassau and set along seven miles of beachfront. Think Greta Garbo and Paul McCartney, who honeymooned here and famously wrote the Beatles hit “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window” on a Potlach Club notepad.

View from Princess Cays beach looking out on the Crown Princess ship, anchored at sea in Eleuthera, Bahamas. (Dreamstime/TNS)

The refurbished estate, opened in July after seven years of restoration, preserves four of its original buildings, including the original clubhouse, but it ushers in a properly chic aesthetic to Eleuthera. A variety of 11 oceanfront and garden-tucked suites, cottages and villas sit amid 12 acres of palm trees and jasmine and frangipani-dotted gardens. Upscale beach designs by Hans Febles and Nassau-based interior designer Amanda Lindroth include coral stone-finished floors and bathrooms, white and ocean blue-colored textiles and wooden floor decks or balconies flanked by towering palm fronds.

A farm- and sea-to-table restaurant, poolside, features images from the resort’s heyday. Activities include massages on site, water sports or day hops to neighboring, buzzy Harbour Island for more restaurants and shopping. Rooms from $475

Pacific Northwest, Oregon

For a wilderness escape on U.S. soil, the 40-room, scenic Tu Tu’ Tun Lodge, nestled along the Rogue River and minutes from southern Oregon’s rugged coastline, has welcomed guests in search of tranquility since the 1970s. But now a dozen new glass cabins for two are upping the ante, offering 360-degree views of the lodge’s lush surroundings from within the room, reflected through mirrored walls, plus a private patio with an outdoor soaking tub and a fire pit.

You’ll be able to choose the glass cabin view you’d prefer — mountain, creekside or riverfront — in privacy, as rooms are spaced out. Meals will range from hand-crafted pastas to surf-and-turf at the Oregon-inspired on-site restaurant, while outdoor activities include kayaking alongside canyons and forests, fly fishing for salmon or spotting bald eagles and sea otters on your coastline hike. You could also simply spend the day relaxing at the creekside spa. Glass cabins from $595

Rural Algarve, Portugal

The newest location of Viceroy Hotels & Resorts, opening on Oct. 1, points to the Algarve region of Portugal, already popular for its beaches and cobblestoned coastal towns. But the family-friendly Viceroy at Ombria Algarve resort takes you away from the crowds and into the countryside — it sits perched on a hill for 360-degree views of citrus groves and fig trees, just a 30-minute drive north from the coastline and Faro International Airport.

Designed to resemble a traditional Portuguese village, the resort features a central cobblestone plaza and tower anchoring a variety of red-roofed, white buildings sprawled across nearly 13 acres. Expect rooms with off-white and wooden accents, floor-to-ceiling windows and marble bathrooms. But we recommend the suites with a private jacuzzi on the balcony for a dip with views of the valley, or the one- and two- bedroom residences with private pools.

There’s a smorgasbord of amenities on site, from an indoor-outdoor kids’ club and four swimming pools, three of which are heated, to six on-site restaurants and bars. Portuguese pastries are at the bakery; traditional dishes like a seafood-centric plate of xarem—a cornmeal specialty from the Algarve region—can be sampled at the farm-to-table restaurant. You could skip the beach and hop on horseback in the surrounding Monte da Ribeira, go golfing on site or join a workshop with a local artisan, from breadmaking to pottery, honey production and tasting. A Viceroy spa with treatment rooms will open in March 2025. Rooms from £450 ($588)

Northwest Madagascar

Access to Madagascar was always more difficult than neighboring, touristy Seychelles, but as of Sept. 3, the rugged Indian Ocean island counts four weekly flights from Dubai to Antananarivo, in addition to those connecting through Europe and Africa. Add on a 70-minute flight from Antananarivo to Soalala airstrip, followed by a two-and-a-half-hour drive to reach the remote Namoroka Tsingy Camp in northwestern Madagascar.

Opened in August, it’s set on the edges of its namesake Tsingy de Namoroka National Park, an 85-square-mile nature area with scenery straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. Think giant caves, bamboo forests, wetlands, and “tsingy”—jagged limestone rock formations that are also in abundance around the camp. You’ll spent days spotting a variety of lemurs, bats and more than 30 bird species. Meals are served in an outdoor dining and bar area set up within the park.

If you’re lucky, local scientists from partner conservation group Wildlife Madagascar, who periodically conduct research in the area, will join you. Note that seasonal rains will close the camp on Nov. 10, but it will reopen on May 15 with four additional glamping tents. Three-night package from $1,880

Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

Fewer crowds and a warm but pleasant Red Sea are perfect reasons to visit the Red Sea resort town of Sharm El Sheikh. The seafront Four Seasons Sharm El Sheikh, just a 10-minute drive north from Sharm El Sheikh International Airport, underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation in 2022 that doubled its size to 108 acres.

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The transformation points to more than 80 additional rooms, including a variety of expansive one- and two-bedroom Premier Island or Imperial suites—the latter are more akin to fully equipped residences—outfitted with private pools and glorious views of the Red Sea. The new 6,000-square-foot, three-bedroom beachfront palace, completed in 2023, is an ultra-luxurious mansion within the grounds; designed in neutral and blue tones, it has its own private pool, a fitness room and a spa treatment room. But there are plenty of new amenities for all guests, from five additional restaurants—Mediterranean-inspired seafood dishes or Lebanese mezzes—and three new outdoor pools to a two-story fitness center and a kids’ club. Rooms from $500

High Atlas Mountains, Morocco

A year has passed since the tragic earthquake that struck Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, causing hundreds of deaths, as well as destroying villages and damaging hotels. After closing its doors temporarily, then opening up partially, Richard Branson’s Kasbah Tamadot, sitting atop a valley with views of Mount Toubkal, will fully reopen on Oct. 15.

A series of six luxurious three-bedroom riads will make their debut, each showcasing traditional Moroccan decor, including soft furnishings handmade by local Berber artisans. Guess can look forward to the riads’ private pools and terraces, including in-room bernous (Arabian hooded cloaks) and babouches (leather loafers). The rooftop-tented suites add a modern twist to the Moroccan traditional house design, with a rooftop lounge and hot tub for a warm soak surrounded by sweeping views of the Atlas Mountains. Riads from $1,062

©2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

‘The Outrun’ review: A moving tale of addiction, recovery and Saoirse Ronan’s exceptional skill

Blind drunk at closing time, Rona — a bright, late-20s graduate student majoring in biology — has again pushed her luck and, literally kicking and screaming, provoked the bartender into tossing her out of a London pub onto the sidewalk. Her purse’s contents scatter and roll. She has been here before, or thereabouts.

“The Outrun” tells her addiction and recovery story with clear-eyed and nicely unpredictable swerves. Saoirse Ronan does subtly spectacular work in every phase of this character’s odyssey. Rona is based on Amy Liptrot, whose memoir has been lightly fictionalized but not falsified in the script co-written by Liptrot and director Nora Fingscheidt. It’s a consistently absorbing movie, visually vibrant nearly to the point of self-consciousness, its blues and greens and hot neon dance-party memories colliding and coalescing throughout.

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The narrative intersperses Rona’s heady London years with later parts of her life on the starkly beautiful Orkney Islands off Scotland’s northeastern coast. Watching “The Outrun,” its title referring to outlying farmland pasture, I found myself asking the Saoirse Ronan question that has come up many times and many films previously. What’s the secret to her easy gravity, the calm and storm and back again so effortlessly managed? That precise emotional stillness suddenly giving way to pure, kinetic expressivity?

Maybe there is no secret. Maybe Ronan, piercing blue eyes aside, simply is one of those actors who learned on camera, a lot, as a preteen and then became an adult and a famously reliable and compelling performer in the bargain. British roles, American parts, comedies, dramas, contemporary work, period pictures, all of it. Ronan’s camera presence has a studious air to it, sometimes. At her best, though, it’s careful listening and watching. In “The Outrun” she’s giving one of her truest, cleanest portrayals, which is an interesting paradox, since Rona is both a mess and, later, a conduit for reflection, her own and the audience’s.

After a violent, half-remembered assault following the film’s opening pub sequence, Rona returns to the Orkney Islands where she grew up. Recovery will not be easy, she realizes. Her alcoholism has informed her early adult years, indelibly. At one point, later than we want to hear it, she says with terse clarity, like a death sentence: “I can’t be happy sober.” The film doesn’t end there, but “The Outrun” makes nothing easy, or pat.

Saoirse Ronan and Paapa Essiedu in “The Outrun,” based on the memoir by Amy Liptrot. (Sony Pictures Classics)

Rona’s sheep-farmer father (Stephen Dillane, excellent) lives in a mobile home at cliff’s edge; his mental-health challenges have led him, reluctantly, in and out of institutions. Separated, Rona’s mother (Saskia Reeves, exceptional at subtle indications of how the past feeds the present) has turned to God for solace and purpose. Rona finds herself at odds with both parents. She’s itching to return to London, and all too plainly itching to drink again.

Counting her days of sobriety, she finds a makeshift Orkney community among the nonprofit Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, aka the RSPB. She’s assigned to study the prospects and conditions for a locally rare species, the corncrake, and canvases the local residents for their assistance. “The Outrun,” blessedly, treats the wildlife preservation activities the way director Fingscheidt treats everything else in Rona’s uncertain life: vividly but matter-of-factly, without a lot of fuss. Rona gradually rediscovers the things she loved about the islands as a girl, while discovering new ones. Part of the movie takes her to another, smaller Orkney Island, Papa Westray, where she relishes the isolation, the crazy gales and the joys of a swim in incredibly cold water.

The flashback interweaves of “The Outrun” recall Cheryl Strayed’s memoir “Wild,” the film version of which starred Reese Witherspoon. “The Outrun” has the edge, I think, in its editing acumen; in an eyeblink, we’re thrown back into Rona’s earlier life, and self, in London, with a boyfriend (Paapa Essiedu) increasingly overmatched by Rona’s addiction. In her character’s jagged-edge extremes, Ronan’s performance bears down, fiercely, without extraneous flourishes — in a heartbreaking leap, or stumble, her Rona trades raging belligerence (“You’re trying to tame me! You’re trying to control me!” for worlds of hurt found in a single line (“Whatever I did, I’ll never do it again, I promise”).

It’s not always easy to witness. But recovery stories that go easier are usually the ones lying about what’s happening, and how someone got there.

“The Outrun” — 3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for language and brief sexuality)

Running time: 1:58

How to watch: Premieres in theaters Oct. 3

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

Preserving your summer harvest: Keeping tomatoes, peaches, berries and more all year long

One of my favorite childhood memories is the attention I got from my mom when I wasn’t feeling well. She’d keep me home from school and feed me comfort food. This included her chicken soup and buttered toast, followed by preserved peaches. That fruit went down so smoothly that any ache was immediately soothed, and all but guaranteed a speedy recovery.

Jars of Palisade peaches, fresh out of the canner. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

Memories of her canning efforts are etched on the front burner of my brain: her stern scooting of me and my older sister out of the kitchen so we weren’t harmed by hot jars and sticky stuff. She stored the canned goods on a long, rough-hewn shelf in the basement next to assorted garden tools and seed-starting containers. I still dream about the perfectly aligned, incandescent jars of canned peaches, tomatoes, pickles and, in some years, sweet cherries from the Flathead Valley in northwest Montana. — Betty Cahill

A preserving primer

Preserving home-grown food never goes out of style. There’s “renewed interest in preserving since so many people took up gardening in 2020,” according to Laura Griffin, county extension specialist for Colorado State University in Pueblo. Plus, with the closeness of grocery stores, farmers markets and seasonal farm stands, you don’t have to travel far to find home-grown produce to preserve without the effort of growing it yourself. The hardest decision to make is what vegetable and fruit you wish to preserve and the best method within your time and budget to preserve them.

Griffin’s advice is to “follow tested recipes explicitly for the highest quality and safe outcome.” (Check out CSU’s website Preserve Smart for methods to preserve many kinds of food.)

Another great resource is Ball Corp., a longtime go-to for food preservation information. Staffers there recommend using Ball’s canning books published in 2016 and beyond for the newest and latest safety and home-preservation methods and recipes, or go online for up-to-date information.

The best results in preserving come when fruits, herbs and vegetables are harvested at their peak. Toss or compost any that are damaged, bruised or over- or under-ripe. If the fruit or vegetable doesn’t taste good after harvest, the flavor won’t improve after the preservation process.

Home-grown tomatoes blanched and ready to freeze in bags. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)Preservation methods

Besides canning (water bath and pressure), common ways to preserve food include freezing, fermenting, drying, pickling and making them into jam or jelly.

Freezing vegetables is an easy preservation method. The general rule is to blanch them first, which means to immerse washed vegetables briefly in boiling water. Blanching helps prevent loss of color, texture and flavor. Times vary per vegetable. Once blanched, plunge them into cold water to immediately stop the blanching process, drain and place in labeled freezer bags.

Vegetables that can be blanched and frozen include beans (green, snap, wax, lima, butter, pinto), cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peas, carrots, kohlrabi, rhubarb, summer squash, sweet corn, tomatoes and peppers. Be sure to fully cook beets, pumpkins, winter squash and sweet potatoes before freezing.

When I don’t have time to use the water bath canning method for my home-grown tomatoes, I blanch and freeze them in heavy-duty, gallon-sized plastic bags.

For fresh fruits: Wash, stem, dry and freeze on cookie sheets first, then store in freezer bags. Try blueberries, blackberries, huckleberries, elderberries, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, currants and rhubarb.

Drying or dehydrating removes moisture from food so bacteria, yeast and mold won’t grow. Food dehydration equipment and ovens are most often used. The short list of foods that dry well include apples, peaches, pears, tomatoes, grapes, plums and herbs.

Fermentation is where fruits or vegetables are cured in salt or brine for a week or longer to help the food produce lactic acid, which preserves the food and serves as a probiotic.

Canning. Water bath canners are made of either aluminum or porcelain-covered steel and are used directly on stove-top burners. The newest canners on the market are free-standing, electric stainless steel with built-in heat sensors. Either works well, so choose which canner suits you.

An electric water bath for canning. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

The preserving process of water-bath canning is to force air out of the jar and create an environment to keep out microorganisms that cause food spoilage. It is recommended for high-acid foods including tomatoes, pickles, sauerkraut, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, lemons, gooseberries and blackberries.

New canning research indicates some foods are less acidic so additional acidic ingredients should be added (lemon juice or white vinegar; see individual recipes). Laura Griffin points out that “white-flesh peaches, because of their lower acid level compared to yellow-flesh peaches, should be frozen for safe preservation instead of water bath canned.”

Pressure canning uses a heavy metal kettle with a lockable lid. The canners are used to process low-acid foods to destroy harmful bacterial spores that are present. Low-acid foods include okra, carrots, beets, turnips, green beans, asparagus, lima beans, peas, corn, meat and fish. Weighted gauge and dial gauge pressure canners are the only pressure canning equipment recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dial gauge pressure canners need to be tested for accuracy every year.

Pickling. Home canning to make pickled foods has been a traditional way to preserve food for thousands of years. Pickling is a broad term for many types of fruits, vegetables and meat that are preserved by immersing them in a solution made of water, vinegar, salt and spices. This pickling brine solution creates an acidic environment that prevents the growth of bacteria, which makes the food stay fresh and tasty for a longer time. Commonly pickled foods include cucumbers, peppers, green beans, onions, eggs, okra and radish. Watermelon, peaches, nectarines, chutneys and relishes can also be pickled.

Pickling cucumbers using a hot-water canner is good to try when preserving for the first time. My nephew Joe, who lives in Montana, was interested in pickling his own cucumbers after trying his grandmother’s pickles. “Nothing compares to home-grown flavor, and it is not too complicated,” he said. Recipes for the brine can vary, but he always adds fresh dill, cloves, white onion and pepper corns. (See one recipe from Ball below.)

Supplies to pickle garden cucumbers. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

Grow your own pickling cucumbers, which have a thin skin so the brine is better absorbed. Or find a farm stand or farmer’s market with pickling cukes, which should be refrigerated when purchased to keep them fresh until processed. Popular pickler varieties are Excelsior, Bush, Calypso and H-19 Little Leaf.

———————————————————————-RECIPESSavory Corn PuddingEars of Colorado’s famed “Olathe Sweet” sweet corn. (Bill St. John, Special to The Denver Post)

In the past, as I planned my Thanksgiving menu, I’ve often lamented not freezing any of that Olathe sweet corn from the summer for my favorite corn pudding recipe.

But this year, I’m ready. Using the guidelines from “Keeping the Harvest,” by Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead (Storey Books), I shucked and blanched fresh Olathe corn ears for 11 minutes in boiling water, then cooled them immediately in cold water. After draining well, I cut the kernels from the ears, packed them into plastic bags, then labeled and froze them. Come on, November. — Barbara Ellis

Serves 12. Source: Southern Living magazine.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

6 large eggs

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup salted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons canola oil

6 cups fresh corn kernels (from 8 ears, see note)

1/2 cup chopped sweet onion

2 tablespoons (or less) fresh thyme, divided

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a small bowl until blended. Whisk together eggs, cream and melted butter in a medium bowl until blended.Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add corn and onion, and cook, stirring often, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon thyme.Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir flour mixture and corn mixture into egg mixture. Spoon into a 13-by-9 (3 quart) baking dish, and bake in preheated oven until set and golden brown, about 40 minutes or more.Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon (or less) thyme.Note: You can use kernels that you froze from fresh ears during the summer, frozen shoepeg corn from the freezer aisle, or petite white canned corn (but use higher quality if that’s the only option). This can be made ahead. Bake as directed, let cool, and then cover and chill up to two days. Reheat covered with foil.Hays House Peach PieAmy Brothers, The Denver PostHays House Peach Pie from Hays House restaurant in Council Grove, Kan., on August 18, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. Palisade peaches from Colorado’s Western Slope are typically in season from late July through September.

This is my go-to summer pie, one that my book club pals and friends clamor for each August, when peaches start to come in from Palisade. I’ve also made it in the winter, using peaches that I’ve canned. The color isn’t as vibrant, but it’s still amazing. (We’ve run this recipe before, but it’s worth telling you about it again. It’s that good.) Serve with fresh whipped cream or Cool Whip. — Barbara Ellis

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

For the filling:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dry peach gelatin

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 cup liquid (peach juice plus water)

1 or 2 drops almond flavoring, if desired

7 or 8 peaches

Directions

Mix dry ingredients together. Add melted butter.Press into 9-inch pie plate and up sides, but not onto rim.Bake crust 15-17 minutes at 350 until toasty brown. Remove and cool.Peel and slice the peaches.In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, gelatin and cornstarch. Add the liquid (peach juice and water). Boil 3-5 minutes.Mix the liquid with sliced peaches and put into pie shell. Chill.Top with whipped cream.Kosher Dill Pickle SpearsHome-grown pickles in brine, waiting to be sealed and canned. (Betty Cahill, Special to The Denver Post)

When canning pickles, the whole process of sterilizing the jars, cleaning the two-piece caps, cutting the cucumbers, heating the pickle mix and water bath canner took less than two hours. Loading the cucumbers and the liquid into the jars took a few minutes more. Be sure to use a clean, damp paper towel to wipe off any liquid from the jar rim and threads before capping. Check the lids the next day for a good seal (the center of the lid won’t flex at all). If they are not properly sealed, eat the pickles right away, and refrigerate spears not eaten and use within a few days. There are many brining spice mix recipes out there; my nephew Joe always uses fresh dill, cloves, white onion and peppercorns. — Betty Cahill

This recipe is for “a classic pickle with big flavor and plenty of crunch,” according to Ball. Source: Ball Mason Jars. Yield: about 4 pint jars.

Ingredients

2½ pounds 3- to 4-inch pickling cucumbers

2½ cups water

2 cups white vinegar (5% acidity)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup pickling salt

Ball Pickle Crisp (available at most supermarkets and WalMart)

4 cloves garlic

4 small bay leaves

12 dill sprigs

2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds

4 small hot peppers (optional)

Directions

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmering water until ready to use, but do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water and set aside with bands.Wash cucumbers and hot peppers in cold water. Slice 1/16 of an inch off the blossom end of each cucumber; trim stem ends so cucumbers measure about 3 inches. Cut cucumbers into quarters lengthwise.Combine water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a small stainless saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Lower heat to simmer.Place 1 garlic clove, 3 dill sprigs, ½ teaspoon mustard seed, 1 bay leaf, 1 red pepper, and Ball Pickle Crisp (if desired) into a hot jar. Pack cucumber spears into jar, leaving a ½ inch headspace. Trim any cucumbers that are too tall.Ladle hot brine into a hot jar leaving a ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rim. Center lid on jar and apply band, adjust to fingertip tight. Place jar in boiling-water canner. Repeat until all jars are filled.Water must cover jars by 1 inch. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner, and bring water to a rolling boil. Process pint jars 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12-24 hours. Check lids for seal, they should not flex when center is pressed.Tips: Pickling cucumbers are small, crisp, unwaxed, and needn’t be peeled. Wide-mouth jars aren’t essential for pickles, but they do make for easier packing.Home-grown blackberries can be frozen and used in pies or made into jam. (Getty Images)Blackberry Pie

I’ve been growing blackberries for years. Even though the yield isn’t what it used to be, I still manage to freeze a couple of quart bags of berries each summer to use in this pie (or for blackberry jam; see recipe at kraftheinz.com). I got this pie recipe from neighbor Joyce, who loved it so much that it became part of the cookbook compiled by her large Iowa family. You can use your own crust recipe, but this one from Betty Crocker is the bomb. — Barbara Ellis

Ingredients

For the crust:

2 2/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 stick butter-flavored Crisco shortening

7-8 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

4 cups blackberries (frozen OK)

3/4 cups sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons cornstarch (or more if thawed berries are too watery)

3 pats butter

Vanilla or berry ice cream for serving (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425.Defrost 4 cups frozen berries in the microwave, 50% power for 4-6 minutes (adjust for your microwave).In a medium bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon and cornstarch. Add berries, partially frozen. Set aside.Make the crust: Mix flour and salt, then cut in Crisco. Add cold water 2 tablespoons at a time. Roll out bottom crust into 9-inch pie plate. Add berries and top with pats of butter. Roll out top crust, cover and seal edges. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 30 minutes. Cover crust with foil to prevent burning and bake for 10 more minutes.Grape JellyConcord grapes hanging from vines. Juice them and make grape jelly that lasts all year long. (Getty Images)

Concord grape vines meander along the south side of my Congress Park home. LOTS of grape vines. Even after the squirrels have had their way with them, there are still enough berries left to make several batches of grape jelly.

I use a stovetop juice steamer to get the liquid out of those sweet little gems. Many grape jelly recipes call for adding water when using store-bought grape juice, but with fresh grapes it’s not necessary. We’re using the traditional water bath canning procedure here. (Be careful not to burn yourself with that scalding jelly.)

After it sets, store the jars in a cool place. Best if used within a year. Or fancy up a few of the little darlin’s and put ’em in a cute basket. Voila! Christmas gifts for the neighbors. — Barbara Ellis

Makes about 8 half-pint jars. Source: Sure-Jell and food.com. (Find lots of recipes for fruit jams and jellies using Sure-Jell at kraftheinz.com.)

Ingredients

5 cups grape juice (from about 3 1/2 pounds of ripe Concord grapes)

1 (1 3/4 ounce) box of Sure-Jell pectin

1/2 teaspoon butter or margarine

7 cups sugar, measured and set aside

Directions

Make the grape juice using clean washed grapes (pick out leaves and stems before juicing). If not using a juice steamer, slip skins from 3 1/2 pounds of grapes. Mix grape pulp and 1 cup cup water in saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 5 minutes. Press through sieve to remove seeds.In large pan, bring 5 cups of grape juice, fruit pectin and butter or margarine (to reduce foaming) to a full rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Stir in sugar all at once, and bring back to a full rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Remove from heat. Skim off foam with metal spoon.Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly. Place jars on elevated rack in canner. Lower rack into canner. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if necessary.) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 minuites or longer. Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool completely.After jars cool, check seals by pressing middles of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.)Label and store in a cool place for up to 18 months.