Month: February 2021

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Business

The Week in Enterprise: Fb Filters Politics

The Week in Business: Facebook Filters Politics

Happy Valentines Day. Here’s your quick rundown of the top business and tech stories you should know for the week ahead, so you can spend the rest of your day eating (sorry, reading) the candies that you want for loved ones (or for yourself) bought. – Charlotte Cowles

The Biden government’s $ 1.9 trillion stimulus proposal winds its way through Congress. However, many leading economists have argued that the sweeping bailout plan is excessive and could lead to out-of-control inflation. In a speech on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome H. Powell disagreed, urging policymakers to reduce inflation fears and focus on restoring full employment. He also pointed out that the latest unemployment figures do not tell the full story of the volatile labor market. Employment for workers with higher wages is down 4 percent (still strong), but the lower quartile of the workforce has seen a devastating 17 percent decline.

The online chat platform Reddit has completed its lead role in buying GameStop stock and raising $ 250 million in new funds. The company is valued at $ 6 billion and plans to double its workforce and expand its user base. Reddit’s message boards are not just a popular forum for stock market tips these days. They have also become an important information and community resource for unemployed Americans trying to navigate the complex system of unemployment benefits during the pandemic.

The 131-year-old pancake and syrup brand officially has a new name: Pearl Milling Company. Quaker Oats pledged to revamp the line, which has long been criticized for its history of racist imagery, following widespread protests against racial injustice last June. The redesigned packaging will hit the shelves this summer. Some other food brands that use racist imagery in their marketing, including Ben’s Original Rice Products (formerly Uncle Ben’s), Wheat Cream Muesli, and Mrs. Butterworth’s Syrup, are currently undergoing a similar makeover.

If you are tired of your crazy uncle’s political abuse on Facebook, welcome this development: the social media platform is changing its algorithm to reduce the political content in people’s newsfeeds. The new algorithm, which makes political content less prominent but does not remove it, is being tested in several countries and will be rolled out to the US in the coming weeks. The change comes in response to popular requests: “One of the most important feedback we are currently hearing from our community is that people don’t want politics and struggles to take over their experience of our services,” said Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook. However, not all political offices are affected. Content from official government agencies is excluded from the change.

Facebook may tone down political content, but Twitter is struggling to keep it up – at least in India. The clash began when Indian farmers took to Twitter to protest new farming laws. The country’s government ordered Twitter to delete or mute more than 1,100 accounts alleged to have promoted violence or spread misinformation. Twitter complied with some of these requests, but refused to remove reports from journalists, activists, and others who are exercising their right to criticize the government and not violate company policies. Now the Indian government has accused Twitter of breaking its laws.

Regulators and policymakers are still trying to figure out how to react to the recent GameStop stock trading frenzy that hijacked the market in January and harmed investors large and small. Congress will hold a hearing on the matter this week, and key players – including Reddit executives, hedge fund Citadel and stock trading platform Robinhood – have been asked to testify.

A new analysis found that women’s participation in the US labor market fell to a 33-year low in January. Almost 80 percent of workers over the age of 19 who left the labor force in the past month were women. Bumble, a company that runs a dating app for women, went public on Thursday, making its 31-year-old founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, a billionaire and the youngest woman to go public. The sale of Chinese social media app TikTok to Oracle and Walmart, forced by the Trump administration, has been suspended indefinitely by the Biden administration while national security concerns are investigated.

Categories
Health

Spirit Airways hires pilots, flight attendants in hopes of Covid restoration

Spirit Airlines hires pilots, flight attendants in hopes of Covid recovery

A Spirit Airlines jet lands at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 25, 2020.

Ethan Miller | Getty Images

Spirit Airlines plans to train new pilots and flight attendants as early as next month as the low-cost airline positions itself for travel recovery after the onset of the pandemic.

“We will be a great tenant again,” said CEO Ted Christie on Thursday. “The growth in the aerospace industry will be recreational and we are this guest’s primary server.”

Christie said the airline plans to hire for other positions this year. Spirit last trained a class of new pilots in May and new flight attendants last February, a spokesman said.

The airline declined to say how many employees it plans to hire this year. It ended last year with 8,756 employees, including 2,497 pilots and 4,028 flight attendants.

The airline is also recalling some workers who have taken vacation. These programs have helped avoid involuntary vacation days for unionized workers, who make up the majority of their staff. Some of these employees, such as B. Pilots must also meet federally mandated training requirements before they can return to work.

“Our training needs can only handle so much that they have to be gradual,” said Christie of the company’s hiring plans.

According to FactSet data, Spirit lost $ 428.7 million in 2020, the first annual net loss since at least 2007. U.S. airlines combined lost more than $ 34 billion to the pandemic last year, executives than the the worst crisis in the industry.

Spirit now, like others, hopes that the introduction of vaccines will help revitalize air travel. The airline expects to reach the capacity level of 2019 by the middle of the year.

“Using vaccines to reduce the total number of Covid cases should lead to more confidence in the traveling public and easing restrictions,” Christie said.

The turnaround will take some time.

Spirit and other airlines saw weaker than expected demand as Covid cases increased late last year and early 2021, and vaccine spreading began slowly. New travel restrictions like the Covid test requirements for international flights to the US also affected bookings.

Helane Becker, airline analyst at Cowen & Co., predicted that Spirit’s first-quarter sales will decrease 46% from pre-pandemic levels, and estimated a lower loss per share in 2021 than previously expected, in part is due to higher costs associated with preparing for growth during recovery. “

Spirit’s shares fell more than 8% to $ 30.01 on Thursday, but the share price still rose nearly 23% that year, more than most U.S. airlines.

Late Thursday, the House Financial Services Committee made a proposal for additional $ 14 billion wage support for airlines that have already received $ 40 billion from the government to pay workers during the pandemic. The new round of relief would oblige airlines to keep their workforce through September 30 and would be part of the Biden government’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

Unions, American Airlines and United Airlines have backed another round of relief as the threat of new vacation days for up to 27,000 employees if the current package expires after March 31.

When asked if he is supporting additional aid even though the airline is hiring, Christie said, “Our industry has to be fair in all cases, so there cannot be selective aid. To the extent that the government decides to either accept the existing one expand program or modify, then I think it is to be expected that all airlines will benefit from there. “

Categories
Business

Trevor Bauer’s $102 million take care of the Dodgers is exclusive — Here is why

Trevor Bauer's $102 million deal with the Dodgers is unique — Here's why

Trevor Bauer # 27 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrates after the final of the sixth innings during the first game of the Wild Card Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia.

Adam Hagy | Major League Baseball | Getty Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers recently signed the 2020 National League Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer for one of the most unique contracts in Major League Baseball history.

Bauer agreed to a $ 102 million, three-year deal with the team on Thursday, making him one of the highest-paid players in theory in theory as the pact unfolds. There are opt-outs that trigger a peak salary, a deferral and a short-term model structure. Most importantly, it has flexibility, which a player of Bauer’s talent usually avoids.

“That’s what this player wanted,” said Jon Fetterolf, partner at litigation firm Zuckerman Spaeder, to CNBC on Thursday. Fetterolf is one of the two MLB co-agents who negotiated Bauer’s deal. The other is Rachel Luba from Luba Sports.

“We ended up on a three-year contract where he’ll make a lot more in the first few years than we’ve seen before,” he added, noting that Bauer will earn $ 85 million in the first two years of the contract could.

Again, it’s unique and that’s how it’s built.

Inside the deal

Bauer reportedly earns $ 38 million in his first year. If he goes out of business, that total will be $ 40 million as the Dodgers would pay him an additional $ 2 million on the way out.

The Dodgers can benefit from this. If Bauer leaves, they can defer $ 20 million of the salary for future payments – much like the Mets’ arrangement with Bobby Bonilla. There is also a $ 10 million signing bonus that will be paid out in the 2021 season.

This bonus helps as the money is only taxed at the player’s state residence, while MLB game checks are taxed based on the city the clubs play in during the year.

The second year of the contract is $ 47 million. It’s $ 32 million for the year, but if he signs out the Dodgers will pay him another $ 15 million.

These salaries make Bauer the highest paid player (per year) in the MLB for 2021 and 2022.

And if Bauer is still a dodger after two years, he’ll miss the $ 15 million buyout but make up for it with a $ 32 million payment for the last year of the deal. The sum: $ 102 million over three years.

“The structure gives him the opportunity to assess the situation from year to year,” said Fetterolf. “It’s a different kind of contract, and it also shows that he’s a different kind of person.”

Short term thinking

The 30-year-old farmer made his share of PR mistakes. But a player of his caliber usually takes the long-term path – money and security over several years.

For example, New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole signed a nine-year deal worth around $ 324 million in 2019. He was 28 years old at the time, but was bound by his contract until he was 37. Bauer and Cole were teammates at UCLA, and they were both selected above in the 2011 MLB draft.

Once drafted and at an MLB club, it takes players six years to become a free agent, and along the way they will earn the minimum wage under the collective agreement. Once the service time is reached, the players have the right to negotiate the salary with the team. If they do not agree, there is an arbitration tribunal to determine the compensation.

If the players in this window do not agree to long term deals, especially when they start pitchers, they will agree once they reach the free agency. Bauer emulated new teammate David Price, who had embarked on a path similar to his mega-deal.

Price continued his years of service with the Tampa Bay Rays, enduring pay arbitration along the way, and putting on a one-year contract with the Detroit Tigers for the 2015 season. At 30, he signed a seven-year $ 217 million deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Both Price and Bauer were four-year-old players in pay arbitration schemes that were traded by their clubs and signed one-year contracts before hitting mega-contracts. Price, now 35, was traded to the Dodgers last February and is set to raise $ 32 million for the 2021 season. He’ll be 37 once the post-2022 deal closes.

Fetterolf and Luba were hired to represent numerous players in the salary arbitration. Fetterolf explained why Bauer chose the short-term model instead of the long-term model.

“Theoretically, he would like to give himself the opportunity to control his life if you don’t leave for most of the years, most of the dollars,” said Fetterolf, using the example of short-term basketball contracts.

“He could have done the maximum,” said Fetterolf. “He didn’t do that. Why? Because he wants to make sure he’s in a situation he likes. I think that’s different. We see that in basketball. I think one of the reasons we do it in basketball see, these guys are able to make so much money off the field, far more than baseball players normally make, ”he continued. “But a lot of these guys want to make sure they are in a situation where they have a chance to win.”

Trevor Bauer # 27 of the Cincinnati Reds plays in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park on August 7, 2020 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Dylan Buell | Getty Images

Filet Mignon at half price

However, not all teams can afford contracts with expensive annual salaries.

After winning the 2020 World Series, the first since 1988, the Dodgers use a championship window. Landing Bauer at this salary costs the team.

According to Spotrac, the Dodgers have a payroll of $ 234 million, well above the Yankees’ $ 189 million (second highest), and are expected to be the only team to pay a competitive luxury tax bill. Clubs will be taxed dollar for dollar if they exceed $ 210 million in 2021.

But the Dodgers are familiar with taxes after paying a record $ 43.7 million in 2015. The bet is that Bauer’s deal will help the team get their money’s worth with another title, and this time with fans in the stands to make up for lost revenue in 2020 due to Covid.

“It has to be a club that sees itself in a (championship) window and takes over the salary,” said Fetterolf. “And if it takes them to a World Series and he goes, so be it. And it eliminates a lot of teams in baseball.”

When asked if more players should consider the short-term game, if available, Fetterolf said the circumstances were different but pointed to flexibility as bait.

“A player like Trevor looks at it and says, ‘I’d rather see if I can maximize my annual earnings upfront while maintaining flexibility.” He said he only charges a 1.5% fee on contracts (more notable MLB agents can charge up to 5%) and an hourly rate during negotiations. The fee structure helped Bauer save brokerage fees.

“The player is different,” added Fetterolf. “He got the deal he wanted and a record deal at a cheaper price than anyone else. You get filet mignon and pay half the price. It’s not a bad deal.”

Categories
Health

W.H.O. Researcher on His Journey to China In search of Virus Origins

W.H.O. Researcher on His Trip to China Seeking Virus Origins

What about the cases that occurred before the fish market erupted?

There were other spreads outside of the Huanan market. There are other patients unrelated to the market, some in December. There were other markets. And we know that some of the patients have had connections with other markets. We have to keep working and then our Chinese colleagues have to keep working.

When we sat down as a group, on the last full day of work, the China team and WHO team said, “Let’s go over the hypotheses.” The route that received the most enthusiastic support was this route – wildlife through a domesticated wildlife association to Wuhan .

What is the next step?

It’s straightforward for the animal chain. The suppliers are known. You know the farm name; You know the owner of the farm. You have to go to the farm and interview the farmer and family. You have to test them. You have to test the community. You need to see if there are any animals left on nearby farms, if there are any signs of infection, and if there is any cross-border movement. If the virus is in these southern border states, it is possible that there has been movement in neighboring countries like Vietnam, Laos or Myanmar. We are now finding more and more related viruses. There is one in Japan and one in Cambodia, one in Thailand.

For the human side, look for previous cases, for clusters. If possible, check the blood banks for serum. Something like this is going to be sensitive in China and it will take some persuasion, diplomacy and energy to do because, to be honest, finding the source of this virus in China is not a high priority for the Chinese government think you. Anywhere this virus appears it is a political problem. That is one of the problems and that is clear and obvious to anyone who has looked at it.

Do you have a particular animal that you currently suspect as an intermediate link stronger than others?

It’s too high in the air. We don’t know if civets were for sale. We know they get infected very easily. We don’t know what the situation is with the mink farms in China or the other fur farms like raccoon dogs, although they are usually bred in a different part of China. That too needs to be followed up.

But if you were to say which route you put the most weight on, the virus would emerge from bats in either Southeast Asia or South China and end up on a domesticated game farm. I’ve been to many of them and they often have mixed species – civets, ferret badgers, raccoon dogs. These animals could be infected by bats.

Categories
World News

Donald Trump acquitted by Senate in second impeachment trial

Donald Trump acquitted by Senate in second impeachment trial

US President Donald Trump gestures during a rally to contest the certification of the results of the 2020 US presidential election by the US Congress on January 6, 2021 in Washington, USA.

Jim Bourg | Reuters

The Senate on Saturday acquitted former President Donald Trump in a 57-43 vote on charges of instigating rioting for his role in the Jan. 6 riot in the U.S. Capitol, which killed 5 people, including a police officer.

Seven GOP senators voted guilty in the most bipartisan majority in support of an impeachment conviction in US history. It took Democrats 17 Republicans to join Trump and hold a separate vote to keep him from running for office in the future.

The decision came after the House impeachment managers reversed course and dropped a call for testimony that would have delayed the verdict. The acquittal marks the end of a five-day impeachment trial.

Republicans who voted guilty included Sens. Richard Burr from North Carolina, Bill Cassidy from Louisiana, Susan Collins from Maine, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Mitt Romney from Utah, Ben Sasse from Nebraska, and Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania. Toomey and Burr are not running for re-election in Congress.

Nine House Democrats acted as impeachment managers in the process, arguing that Trump had direct responsibility for the riots and was bringing new video and audio evidence to the US Capitol during the attack.

Trump’s defense team denied that the former president instigated the attack, arguing that Trump’s rhetoric was protected by the first change. His lawyers also argued that the process was unconstitutional as Trump was a private individual and no longer president.

No president before Trump has ever been tried and tried twice, and a former president has never been tried in the Senate.

In Trump’s first impeachment trial, the Senate acquitted Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress because Trump had pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son. Romney was the only GOP Senator found guilty in the trial.

Trump described the process in a statement following his acquittal on Saturday as “another phase in the greatest witch hunt” in US history.

“Our historic, patriotic and beautiful movement to make America great again has only just begun,” Trump said. “I have a lot to share with you in the months ahead and I look forward to continuing our incredible journey together to achieve American greatness for all of our people.”

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, in a speech in the Senate, classified the acquittal as “un-American” and said the January 6 riots would be Trump’s “last terrible legacy”.

“Let it live on in shame, a stain on Donald John Trump that can never, never be washed away,” said Schumer. “There was only one correct judgment in this process: guilty.”

Chief impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Said in his closing arguments that the house managers presented “overwhelming and irrefutable” evidence that Trump orchestrated and instigated the attack on the Capitol.

Raskin compared Trump’s actions to those of an arsonist who started a fire, kept pouring fuel on it, and stood ready to see it burn “happily”. In a separate argument, he got more personal, asking the senators if this was the kind of land they wanted future generations to give.

“This process is ultimately not about Donald Trump. The country and the world know who Donald Trump is,” said Raskin. “This process is about who we are.”

“And if we as a people cannot deal with it together, we all forget the boundaries of party, ideology and geography and all these things. If we cannot deal with it, how will we ever conquer the other?” Crises of our time? “Raskin continued.” Is that America? Do we want to leave this to our children and grandchildren?

Trump’s attorney Michael van der Veen said in his concluding argument that the Democrats had committed a tremendous violation of Trump’s constitutional rights by punishing him for a protected speech on the First Amendment. He described this as an attempt to “censor unfavorable political speeches and discriminate against those who were disapproved of” stance. “

“It is an unprecedented action with the potential to cause serious and lasting damage to both the presidency and the separation of powers and the future of democratic self-government,” said Van der Veen.

Democratic impeachment manager Rep. David Cicilline, DR.I., made his closing argument by going through the timeline of Trump’s actions on the day of the riot and rejecting the defense team’s claim that Trump did not know his Vice President Mike Pence. was in danger.

“It developed on live television in front of the whole world. Do you believe that no one, not a single person, informed the President that his Vice-President had been evacuated? Or that the President did not look at the television Has.” ? Or his Twitter account? “Said Cicilline.

“He cheated on us on purpose. He broke his oath,” added Cicilline.

Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., Rejected arguments from Trump’s defense team, saying that Trump had convinced his supporters to believe his “big lie” that the 2020 election was stolen and that they had to go out to fight it.

“It is not true that you did this of your own accord and for your own reasons,” said Dean. “The evidence shows the exact opposite, that for Donald Trump they did this at his invitation, at his direction, at his command.”

The Senate had voted to allow witnesses 55 to 45 ahead, with five Republicans joining all Democrats. The GOP Senators were Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Collins, Murkowski, Romney and Sasse.

However, the board agreed to terminate the trial shortly afterwards after including a statement from Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., As evidence on the record. Earlier in the day, Raskin called for Beutler’s removal after confirming the contents of an explosive phone conversation between the House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and Trump as the attack on the Capitol unfolded.

On the call, Trump appeared to be on the side of the rioters. Beutler’s testimony stated that Trump said to McCarthy, “Well, Kevin, I think these people are more upset about the election than you are.”

Van der Veen responded to Raskin by saying, “We should close this case today,” saying the call for witnesses showed that the House had not properly investigated the riot.

It is unclear whether calling witnesses could have changed the votes of GOP senators who have already made their decisions.

For example, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell told his Republican counterparts earlier in the day that he intended not to vote guilty, arguing the chamber had no power to convict a former president.

The House indicted Trump when he was still president and McConnell declined to start the process before Biden’s inauguration because there wasn’t enough time. After the acquittal, McConnell criticized Trump for a “shameful breach of duty”.

“There is no question that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,” McConnell said. “No question.”

Categories
Politics

A Yr of Hardship, Helped and Hindered by Washington

A Year of Hardship, Helped and Hindered by Washington

Even so, Mrs. Stewart worked happiest in solitude.

Ms. Stewart was a night nurse until 2019 and lived in Grand Rapids with her sister. Her sister fell behind with the rent and insisted that they move in with her mother, who is five hours away in rural Ossineke. Mrs. Stewart succumbed reluctantly. “We all depend on each other, which is good, except that we don’t get along,” she said.

With four children and conflicting parenting styles, the trailer turned out to be crowded and tense. When Mrs. Stewart found work as a gas station cashier – $ 10 an hour, 20 hours a week – she welcomed the escape as much as the payment.

The coronavirus hit a few weeks later.

When the virus spread in early March, President Donald J. Trump insisted it did not pose a threat. “Jobs are booming, incomes are rising,” he tweeted. For the next week, Disneyland and Broadway were padlocked, and the stock market posted its worst daily loss in decades.

While the need for action in Washington was clear, the risks of an impasse were great. Liberal Democrats controlled the House, Conservative Republicans held the Senate, and Mr Trump ridiculed the House Speaker as “Crazy Nancy” Pelosi. However, within a few weeks they agreed on a $ 2.2 trillion plan.

One surprise was how much it did for the poor, a class not known for its political clout. Even the poorest families fully qualified for stimulus payments – $ 1,200 for adults, $ 500 for children (some Republicans had suggested giving them less) – and at the urging of the Democrats, Congress significantly expanded unemployment benefits .

The existing program was filled with gaps: it only comprised around a quarter of the unemployed and replaced less than half of their lost wages. Congress expanded coverage, temporarily adding part-time workers, independent contractors, and other people who are normally excluded. And for four months everyone on unemployment benefits was given a big bonus: $ 600 a week.

Categories
Business

“Working Backwards” and the Secrets and techniques of Amazon’s Success

"Working Backwards" and the Secrets of Amazon's Success

Separating myth from reality in evaluating Amazon’s methods has taken on a new urgency both inside and outside the company as the future is viewed without Mr Bezos at the helm. He announced this month that he would step down as managing director this summer. So it’s time two former Amazon executives, Colin Bryar and Bill Carr, promised to pull back the curtain on their new book, Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets of Inside Amazon.

The authors say they interviewed “many Amazonians past and present” and, based on the glowing blurb, at least had the tacit approval of current management. The fact that “working backwards” is much closer to an authorized company profile than a tell-all does not necessarily affect its interest. Mr. Bryar and Mr. Carr each played an important role in the company during critical phases: One as Chief of Staff for Mr. Bezos when the Kindle and Amazon Web Services were put into operation, and the other started and ran Prime Video. Their portrait of Amazon’s culture and processes is fascinating and insightful, if not always in the way they intend.

First, the authors want to show the operating philosophies that are responsible for the monumental achievements of Amazon. Rather than offering a boring catalog of the company’s 14 governance principles and three implementation mechanisms, Mr. Bryar and Mr. Carr provide concrete and accessible examples of how these are put into practice across a range of roles, from attitudes and communication to organization and product Design. Mr Bezos was clearly not joking when he said in his first letter to shareholders that Amazon employees are not free to choose whether to work “long, hard or smart”. (It must be all three.)

“Working backwards” conveys the company’s exhaustive focus on customer satisfaction. However, many of the individual business practices described are not fundamentally original. Although they have often acquired catchy Amazon-specific labels, many are just variations of well-known Six Sigma processes and management theories or practices developed by other companies such as Toyota or Microsoft. For example, as the authors put it:

When Amazon teams encounter a surprise or confusing problem with data, they are adamant until they discover the root cause. Perhaps the most widespread technology at Amazon is the COE process (Correction of Errors Process), which is based on the “Five Whys” method developed by Toyota and used by many companies around the world. When you see an anomaly ask why it happened and repeat it with a different “why?” until you get to the underlying factor that was the real culprit.

There is nothing wrong with adapting a portfolio of existing best practices, adding a few of your own, and then stepping on the gas. However, the authors repeatedly claim that these practices, both individually and collectively, provide “a tremendous competitive advantage”. Your competitors cannot simply copy the definition of a competitive advantage. If, as the authors claim, Amazon’s secret sauce is just a collection of “teachable business practices,” then they cannot represent a competitive advantage.

Categories
Entertainment

Little Island Broadcasts Resident Artists

Little Island Announces Resident Artists

A long-term stay on Little Island offers theater makers Tina Landau, Michael McElroy and PigPen Theater Co. as well as tap dancer and choreographer Ayodele Casel the opportunity to build the performance arts program of the new public park from scratch.

The selected artists, announced on Wednesday, will tinker, curate and perform for three seasons in the outdoor area currently under construction in Hudson River Park near West 13th Street.

“They all share this feeling of joy and adventure and a real passion for embracing the things that could be possible in this public space,” said Trish Santini, the park’s general manager, in an interview.

The residences were planned before the coronavirus pandemic broke out, but the ongoing performing arts shutdown has made them more meaningful: Little Island plans to start performances in late spring – before actors, dancers and musicians are likely to hit the indoor stages City can return.

“There is a sense of urgency at the moment – artists need to be able to get their work done and help shape how that work manifests itself in a new public space,” said Santini.

The scale and extent of artistic involvement set the Little Island Residences apart from some of their counterparts elsewhere. In addition to directing and performing work, the artists will cultivate relationships with the park’s community partners and organize festivals and other events across multiple seasons.

It’s an opportunity that McElroy, actor, music director, and director of the Broadway Inspirational Voices Choir, is enjoying.

“There is an investment in artists and you can tell by the length of the residence,” he said. “It’s not a one-and-do. It allows me to dream big. “

His plans include creating new musical theater works, organizing a community-based initiative focused on the senior experience, and providing opportunities for other musicians and singer-songwriters.

The other three resident artists also tend to work across borders.

Landau, the Tony Award nominated director of “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical,” began her career with site-specific work at En Garde Arts, including “Orestes” at Penn Yards and “Stonewall: Night Variations” at Pier 25 on the Hudson River.

Casel has been combining tap dancing and storytelling since 2005 in order to shed more light on the art form with her series “Diary of a Tap Dancer”. And PigPen, whose musical “The Tale of Despereaux” debuted at the Old Globe Theater in 2019, is known for skillfully combining music, film and theater.

The resident artists have already started to design what the park has to offer. You recently helped review the submission of local artists looking to contribute to Little Island’s inaugural season. The selection will be announced in spring.

When completed, Little Island will contain three open-air venues: a 700-seat amphitheater, a garden area for small productions for 200 visitors, and an open space for educational activities.

This flexibility gives the seven members of Landau, McElroy, Casel and PigPen the opportunity to design and present their work. It should also make it easier to conduct appearances safely during the pandemic.

Little Island has overcome several obstacles since it was announced in 2014.

Legal challenges and rising costs caused Barry Diller, the park’s sponsor, to temporarily cancel the company in 2017. It was revived later that year after Governor Andrew M. Cuomo convinced his opponents to drop their lawsuits by agreeing to complete Hudson River Park and protect the local estuary.

Categories
Business

McDonald’s goals to win chicken-sandwich wars with worth

McDonald's aims to win chicken-sandwich wars with value

McDonald’s Chicken Sandwich

Source: McDonald’s

McDonald’s will gain an edge in the chicken sandwich wars with lower prices, while Restaurant Brands International’s Burger King is still evaluating its options, a Credit Suisse report said.

Burger King’s sister chain Popeyes started the Chicken Sandwich Wars in August 2019 with the introduction of the version of the menu item. Social media users pitted it against Chick-fil-A’s, and Popeyes’ sandwich quickly became a hit, generating double-digit sales growth in the same store and adding around $ 400,000 in annual sales for each location.

“We expect competition to intensify in 2021 as brands in various segments expand their offerings to get a bite out of the chicken category and improve their competitive position,” Credit Suisse analyst Lauren Silberman said in one Notice on Friday.

McDonald’s is poised to launch its own version of the chicken sandwich on Feb.24, and Yum Brands’ KFC is launching a nationwide version by the end of the month. Burger King is still in the test phase.

McDonald’s new Crispy Chicken Sandwich undercuts its main competitors, Silberman said. The burger chain’s sandwich costs $ 3.49 to $ 3.69 in test markets, compared to the $ 3.75 sandwich from Chick-fil-A or the $ 3.99 version from Popeyes.

McDonald’s may have learned a lesson from its recent foray into chicken sandwiches. Introduced in 2015, the Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Sandwich was offered at a premium price.

Silberman estimates that restaurants in McDonald’s’ test markets sell an average of 125 to 150 crispy chicken sandwiches a day. The analyst added that the sandwich could increase the company’s sales in the same store by 4% if restaurants hit the high end of that range when it launches nationwide.

Burger King, on the other hand, seems to be working on its pricing strategy. Silberman said one of its test markets priced the new sandwich at $ 5.29, well above its competitors. Two other test markets rate the sandwich at a discount of $ 3.49 and $ 3.89, respectively. In markets where the new sandwich isn’t being tested, the burger chain usually charges more for the current chicken sandwich.

Burger King restaurants sell an average of 60 to 75 chicken sandwiches a day, according to Credit Suisse. The new sandwich could increase sales in the same store by up to 4% if it sells 75 sandwiches per restaurant when it launches nationwide.

Categories
Health

CDC to analyze demise of Nebraska man who acquired Covid vaccine dose

CDC to investigate death of Nebraska man who received Covid vaccine dose

Vials and a medical syringe are displayed in front of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) US logo. The FDA finds the COVID-19 vaccine.

Pavlo Gonchar | LightRocket | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will investigate the death of a Nebraska man after local health officials listed the Covid-19 vaccine as one of several causes of death, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said in a press release on late Thursday with.

The man, a long-term care facility in his late forties with multiple concurrent diseases and conditions, died on January 17 between one and two weeks after receiving his first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

The CDC and FDA received 1,170 reports of deaths in people in the United States who received Covid vaccine between December 14 and February 7 – 0.003% of those vaccinated. During that time, over 41 million doses of Pfizer or Moderna’s Covid were administered 19 vaccines across the country, according to the CDC.

“Typically, deaths from COVID-19 vaccines can be attributed to anaphylaxis and occur relatively soon after the vaccine is administered, so monitoring is done,” said Dr. Gary Anthone, Nebraska Chief Medical Officer.

“While I can’t speculate about this case, if people die days or weeks after being given the vaccine, it is more likely to be due to other underlying factors,” Anthone said.

The death was recorded on the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a national vaccination safety monitoring program run by the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration. All adverse events or deaths must be reported to the system if they occur after vaccination.

“This process enables the CDC and FDA to closely monitor and assess adverse events for ongoing safety assessments,” said a statement from the state health department.

The CDC has not reported any patterns for cause of death that would suggest safety issues with the vaccines.

People with high-risk diseases should consult their medical providers about vaccination, Anthone said.