Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Study Finds Lockdown Weight Gain Is Real
Small study found participants gained an average 0.6 pounds every 10 days
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| (Getty Images) |
(NEWSER) – Good thing stretchy pants aren't visible on Zoom. For many Americans, buttoning one's jeans has gotten increasingly harder during the pandemic, and researchers have now estimated just how many pounds people under shelter-in-place orders tended to gain. The research letter, published Monday in JAMA Network Open, opens by explaining 45 US states put such orders in place from March 19, 2020 to April 6, 2020. To get a sense of the impact of that period, researchers used data from a heart study in which 269 participants weighed themselves using Bluetooth-connected smart scales between Feb. 1 and June 1 of that year. They found that during the shelter-in-place period, people gained an average 0.6 pounds every 10 days, "irrespective of geographic location or comorbidities."
Senior author Dr. Gregory M. Marcus tells the New York Times that Americans who have maintained the habits of lockdown over the past year could have packed on 20 pounds. And all these numbers may be low, he says, because the participants had actually been losing weight prior to lockdown. "It's reasonable to assume these individuals are more engaged with their health in general, and more disciplined and on top of things," says Marcus. "That suggests we could be underestimating—that this is the tip of the iceberg." UPI cites a recent survey from the American Psychological Association of more than 3,000 adults that somewhat jibes with these findings: 42% reported experiencing an undesired weight gain, with the average gain clocking in at 29 pounds. But 18% reported an undesired weight loss, with the average there being 26 pounds.
Read more: https://www.newser.com/story/303990/we-packed-on-2-pounds-a-month-during-lockdown.html
I've put on 25 pounds since the pandemic began. It's all that ice cream/comfort food I've been eating.
Racine leaders stress communities of color get COVID-19 vaccine
RACINE, Wis. - There is a big plea and push happening ahead of a community vaccination site opening in Racine Tuesday. The call to action from leaders of color urgent asking their community to sign-up to receive a dose.
"Please please please get your vaccines," Alderman John Tate II said.
One speaker after another:
"I would advise everyone to please get your shot," Alderwoman Mollie Jones said.
Pushing for people in communities of color to get vaccinated when their turn arrives:
"For communities of color, particularly those that are working class and have jobs that don’t allow you to work remotely and cannot socially distance, the best defense we have going forward and the best chance we have to return to some level of normalcy is vaccination," Ald. Tate said.
The call to action – coming from Racine County Black and Latinx leaders - one day before a new community vaccination site opens at the former Burlington Coat Factory at Regency Mall.
"It’s important that if you have concerns ask questions. It’s OK to ask questions," Ald. Tate said.
The City of Racine also loosening some of its COVID-19 restrictions Monday.
Places like bars, restaurants and places of worship can operate 75% capacity — as long as social distancing is maintained.
"Probably the biggest change for a lot of people would be the number of people within a public and private mass gathering, whether it’s an indoor or outdoor environment. That has gone from 50 to 200," Stephan Kurdan said.
Health officials updating restrictions as confirmed COVID-19 cases decline and vaccinations ramp up.
"We do feel like we’re headed in the right direction, we’re still obviously still maintaining some precautions," Kurdan said.
The community-based vaccination site opens Tuesday at 11 a.m.
The City of Racine is offering free bus rides to people going to a vaccination site or who just got vaccinated and need to return to their home or work.
From: https://www.fox6now.com/news/racine-leaders-stress-communities-of-color-getting-covid-19-vaccine
Biden regularly speaks and consults with Obama, White House says
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| President Joe Biden regularly consults with former President Barack Obama. Drew Angerer/Getty Images |
President Joe Biden regularly consults with former President Barack Obama, speaking with him on a range of issues, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.
Psaki, responding to a question from a reporter, said Biden and the former president “keep in regular touch” — but did not specify exactly how often the pair speak to one another, Fox News reported.
“They consult and talk about a range of issues and I would expect that continues through the course of President Biden’s presidency,” Psaki said.
“That can be done over the phone it turns out, and I think if President Obama had been here, you would all know,” she said.
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| Biden and the former president "keep in regular touch." DNCC via Getty Images |
One topic of discussion between Biden and Obama will be the Affordable Care Act, according to Psaki.
Biden has already signed two executive orders aimed at expanding access to Obamacare.
From: https://nypost.com/2021/03/22/biden-regularly-speaks-with-obama-white-house/
Paper Mill Workers in Pennsylvania “Shocked” Over Plant Closure Despite Union’s Endorsement of Joe Biden
presidentiAppvion Inc., a paper mill plant in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, is closing down on April 1 despite its union endorsing Joe Biden in 2020.
The New York Post called it the “first significant manufacturing loss in this state since President Biden took office.” 293 people will lose their jobs: 250 union, 43 management.
“When 300 people lose good-paying jobs, it’s not just 300 people that are adversely affected,” said Stephen McKnight of the Altoona-Blair County Development Corporation. “For every one job lost, an additional four to seven jobs outside the company are hurt, too. The long-term impact is even worse, costing a region millions of dollars that used to go directly into the community, schools and businesses.”
The president of the local United Steelworkers branch, Mitchell Becker, said that he’s had his job for 25 years and had no idea it was on the chopping block.
“We never thought we’d close, we just thought we would be sold,” he said.
Last month Becker assumed he’d be attending a routine meeting, but he and his team received a plant closure announcement instead.
“The mill leadership, including management from Wisconsin, just told us that we’re closing down on April 1st. And then they got up and left the room and let us sit there to vent to each other,” he recalled.
It came as a shock to local leadership as well. Pennsylvania state senator Judy Ward (R) said that she and other officials were “completely blindsided” by the closure.
Appvion claimed that COVID-19 restrictions are forcing the plant to shutter, but others say this is a half-truth.
“[Locals] speculate that inevitable climate change demands from the Biden administration would have forced Appvion to make costly upgrades, like when the plant underwent an expensive retrofit so it could meet new emissions standards set by the Obama administration,” writes the New York Post.
The plant first opened in 1866 and will have had a 155-year run.
Monday, March 22, 2021
'They're ready to put the boulder down': The weight of the past year is wearing people out, mental health experts say
Editor's note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 or text "Hopeline" to the National Crisis Text Line at 741-741.
Last April, Catherine Packard and her family were supposed to gather together at the Hobnob supper club in Racine to honor her grandfather at his favorite restaurant and consume plenty of Gorgonzola bread, French onion soup and steak.
Instead, they found themselves facing an uncertain world. Family members in Washington state were hesitant to travel after COVID-19 had torn through the Life Care Center of Kirkland, ultimately killing 35 people. They decided to cancel and hold the reunion over Zoom.
"For my whole family, I think that was sort of a tipping point into this becoming real," said Packard, 43, who lives in Butler. "Having an understanding that this was not going to be a quick event — that it was going to be like running a marathon."
Experts say the coronavirus's disruptions have led to what can also be described as a mental health pandemic. They've seen more people who need services to work through depression, anxiety and stress.
"(People) have been carrying a boulder across a running river, and they feel like they're ready to put the boulder down," said NAMI Wisconsin executive director Mary Kay Battaglia.
Things You'd Never Hear From Ratcine City Hall!
CFD Battalion Chief arrested, charged with DWI
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Charlotte Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Gerin has charged with driving while impaired.
Gerin was arrested Saturday night by the Pineville Police Department. He was given a $2,000 unsecured bond.
“Firefighters with the Charlotte Fire Department are expected to conduct themselves to the highest professional standards on and off duty and will be held accountable when they fail to do so,” Fire Chief Reginald Johnson wrote in a statement. “At no time will this department tolerate behavior that violates the law or our community’s trust.”
According to a release put out by CFD, the incident is under investigation and is considered a personnel matter.
“Professional accountability is a priority for our members, and they are always expected to maintain this standard,” the release stated.
This is a developing story.
See more: https://www.wbtv.com/2021/03/21/cfd-battalion-chief-arrested-charged-with-dwi/
Sunday, March 21, 2021
Protesters Across Europe Clash With Police Over COVID-19 Lockdowns
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| Alberto Pezzali/AP |
Anger at restrictions imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic swept into the streets of Europe on Saturday.
German police used water cannons, pepper spray and clubs on protesters rallying over the coronavirus lockdown in the town of Kassel in central Germany where demonstrators numbered some 20,000. Protests against government measures to rein in the pandemic were also reported in Austria, Britain, Finland, Romania and Switzerland.
Germany faces a surge of COVID-19 infections as a more contagious variant of the virus has spread. Experts say it highlights the need to accelerate vaccinations.
But a botched vaccine rollout appears to have deepened distrust against the German government. The suspension of AstraZeneca vaccine was the latest hurdle in Germany's efforts to vaccinate its population of 83 million.
After a three-day pause in using AstraZeneca, Germany is now trying to right the course.
"The motto is 'vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate'," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after a meeting with the leaders of the country's 16 states.
NPR's Rob Schmidt reported that "at the start of the pandemic Germany was a global model for how to manage it." But a year into it, the opposite appears to the case. Just 8.5% of Germans received their first shot, as of Friday, far behind other nations including the U.S. and the U.K.
Bice: Superintendent candidate Jill Underly accused of 'hypocrisy' for sending her children to private school
No one has been a bigger promoter of public schools during the race for state school superintendent than Jill Underly.
That was, no doubt, a large part of the reason that Underly, the Pecatonica school superintendent, has won the endorsement of state and local teachers unions.
But back when it was her decision to send her two children to school when she lived in Madison, Underly went private.
Her campaign has confirmed that she paid to send her kids to St. James Catholic School in downtown Madison during the 2013-'14 and 2014-'15 terms rather than Aldo Leopold Elementary, a low-performing neighborhood school on the city's southwest side.
Underly's son and daughter then switched to the Pecatonica School District when she became its superintendent in 2015.
This surprising disclosure prompted sharp criticism from her opponent, Deb Kerr, and other supporters of school choice. Underly opposes the use of tax dollars to pay for vouchers so parents can send their children to private schools.
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