While the district had been working hard to plan for in-person learning for every student, the decision in August to follow a hybrid model may be providing the school with more space to spread out and socially distance. Under the hybrid model, students from seventh grade and up will attend classes virtually. Students in grades K-6 will attend school in person every day.

Virtual classes will see those older students following a regular class schedule and watching their teachers give lessons while livestreaming, so they'll be able to answer and ask questions much like in a real classroom. The difference is, while doing classroom work, students don't necessarily need to be planted in front of their computer.

The hybrid system will allow the school district to open up space on buses to allow for social distancing.

In-person classrooms for students in grades K-6 will also follow social distancing, which requires those students to be divided into smaller classrooms. To make this a reality, it was all hands on deck for teachers who usually would tackle classes of a different sort.

Because some physical education, music and STEAM classes are being put off this year, those teachers are being asked to help teach general education classes. The start of the school year will have its challenges, but Superintendent Jon Clark believes the district is in a good position to start the semester.

"We're so lucky we have the support we have here," Clark said. "Talking with other superintendents and listening to networks and stuff I know there's a lot of places that are really struggling. We have our struggles, but I think we have a pretty good vision of where we want to go."

Parents who do not feel comfortable with in-person classes have the option of having their children participate in distance learning. The district learned from its distance learning experience during spring semester and plans to offer a better, more consistent experience. Some parents have opted to start home schooling.

"We have seven students - five families - that have opted for the home schooling option," Clark said. "For distance learning, I don't know the exact number because it keeps changing. We had a lot of families that first decided to distance learn, but as they learned about the options and how we're doing things, they decided to come back to us for in-person learning."

During the Aug. 17 school board meeting, the number of students opting to distance learn was approximately 50. Since then Clark and the school district have worked hard to educate parents on the how the district will operate this fall. That has given some confidence for young students to return.

In addition to buses and classrooms, dining will also be a different experience. Students who are present in K-6 classrooms will eat at their desks rather than crowding into the cafeteria. In addition, the district will continue to offer lunch shipments for students who are taking classes from home.

Students in grades 7-12 who need to meet with their teachers for any reason will have the option of making an appointment to come to school on Fridays. There will not be enough time slots for all students to come to school every Friday, but the district is working on a system to make it work for students.

For those students, the district is working on bus routes that will allow them to come in in the morning and leave before the end of the school day, possibly in conjunction with lunch deliveries.

Some students identified by the school's leadership will also qualify for in-person high school classes.

Travis Grimler may be reached at 218-855-5853 or travis.grimler@pineandlakes.com. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Travis.

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It's all hands on deck for start of classes at PR-B - Pine and Lakes Echo Journal

The first place Chicago Cubs and Anthony Rizzo will visit the St. Louis Cardinals and Paul Goldschmidt back-to-back nights on ESPN. The teams will face of on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Taco Bell this Sunday, September 6, at 7 p.m. ET, and on Holiday Baseball Presented by Hankook Tire this Monday, Labor Day, at 4 p.m. The classic rivalry will also be the MLB game of the day on ESPN+ on Friday, September 4, at 8 p.m.

The Sunday Night Baseball team of Matt Vasgersian, World Series Champion and analyst Alex Rodriguez and reporter Buster Olney will provide commentary for both telecasts on ESPN. Sunday Night Baseball is ESPNs exclusive, full national game of the week. Mondays game is subject to local blackout restrictions in the Chicago market.

Jon Boog Sciambi and Chris Singleton will describe Sundays action on ESPN Radio. Ernesto Jerez, Luis Alfredo Alvarezand reporter Guillermo Celis callSunday Night BaseballonESPN Deportes.

Baseball Tonight: Sunday Night Countdown will precede Sunday Night Baseball beginning at 6 p.m. on ESPN. Karl Ravech will host the show from ESPNs Bristol, Conn. studios alongside World Series Champion and analyst Mark Teixeira as they break down the storylines of the week and preview the game ahead. They will be joined remotely by analyst Tim Kurkjian, Senior MLB Insider Jeff Passan and Olympic Gold Medalist and analyst Jessica Mendoza. During the show, Mendoza will catch up with Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty, who will discuss his involvement in the ongoing social justice movement.

BBTN Live, ESPNs digital pregame show, will stream on theESPN AppandESPNsTwitter from 6:30-7 p.m.Clinton Yates hosts with Joon Lee and Gary Striewski.

Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., the first place Cleveland Indians and Francisco Lindor host the Milwaukee Brewers and Christian Yelich on ESPN2. Ravech, Eduardo Perez and Rick Sutcliffe will call the game, which will be subject to local blackout restrictions in the Milwaukee and Cleveland markets.

AllESPNMLB games, shows and content are also available to stream via theESPN App.

Upcoming 2020 MLB Game Schedule:

ESPN Radio: Jon Boog Sciambi, Chris Singleton

ESPN Deportes: Ernesto Jerez, Luis Alfredo Alvarez, Guillermo Celis

*Blackout restrictions apply to local market

Upcoming MLB on ESPN+ Schedule:

-30-

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On Deck: First Place Chicago Cubs Host St. Louis Cardinals on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball Presented by Taco Bell and Labor Day Edition of Holiday...

Below Deck is unequivocally the best thing on Netflix right now, and if you dont agree with me you need to seriously reevaluate your life. But while youre watching the show have you ever caught yourself wondering how the shows filmed, and what the production secrets of Below Deck are?

The show may be packed to the brim with drama, but its literally all happening on a boat. The cast of Below Deck have given us loads of the shows production secrets in interviews and on their social media, answering all our burning questions: Are the crew even real stewards? How is Below Deck filmed if theyre all crammed in the boat? Is Captain Lee actually in charge???

The cast are obviously actual stewards who are working on the yacht, and have to work hard. Kate, who joined Below Deck in season two, tweeted saying the crew work on the boat for 16+ hours a day. She also said Below Deck is one of the most difficult shows out there for cast members.

Kate obviously likes giving us Below Deck production secrets: She tweeted saying every night after their shift, crew would get into our tiny bunk and have to wave to the camera so theyd turn our lights off. She included a video of her in her yacht bunk, waving to the camera to get it to turn off.

While filming, cast members arent allowed to interact with the production team and cameramen, or even acknowledge their presence.

The stewards arent hired by the charter company, but by the shows producers. Before being cast, crew members have to show they are all licensed and certified.

Captain Lee told Reality Blurred this involves a two-week course. He said: Each of the crew members has to have an STCW, which is a standard set by the maritime industry for watch-keeping and just being on boardits basic first aid, firefighting. Its a two-week course and a certification they have to have before theyre allowed to work on yachts.

Even though the production company hires the yacht crew, Captain Lees still in charge and can fire anyone at any time, as is shown in the series.

The captains also in charge in terms of the actual boat, where they dock and when they sail, depending on the weather. For example, the boat cant sail in high winds, and even though its annoying they cant leave the dock, production cant influence the captains decision about this at all.

The form to apply to work as a steward on Below Deck is online!! You have to give them your details, experience and upload a short video to show your personality. But there are some rules beyond just being licensed: You must be over the age of 21, have a passport and any necessary visas. You also have to sign a contract, a waiver and release form for being on TV, and go through a background check.

Crew are filmed 24/7 while theyre working on the boat. Theres a camera crew on board, as well as hidden cameras around the boat including in their cabins. The bathroom is the only place on board without cameras, so the only place cast can get privacy. However, if more than one crew member is in the bathroom at once, the cameramen are allowed to follow them in.

Each season is made up of six weeks worth of footage, obviously filmed constantly during that time. The cast have to make sure theres enough drama in these six weeks to fill a season, because the production cant be extended beyond the six weeks, due to the expense of chartering the yacht.

The cast get three days off in the six weeks of filming. On those days, theyre given their own hotel rooms and told not to communicate with each other, so storylines dont change while theyre not being filmed.

Below Deck season five cast member Malia posted the contract to her Instagram. It says stewards can be drug tested at the discretion of the Company, and also says they have to disclose their prescribed medications before filming begins.

As we see in Below Deck, one of the key rules for all crew members is to not drink while theyre on charter. Malia wrote on Instagram this is part of Maritime law. She said: We as crew have to be ready at ALL times to fight a fire, rescue a man overboard, deploy life rafts, launch rescue tenders, administer aid, etc. because we may be a long way from help and be each others only chance for survival. Meaning when we are at seaeveryone must be sober.

The charter company pays each cast member a base salary, that changes depending on their role and the size of the boat. Cast are also paid an appearance fee by production. On top of this, they obviously get tips from the guests.

According to Refinery29, yacht crew members who dont live in one country for more than six months at a time have a tax-free income.

One of the chefs main jobs is cooking food for the crew, not just the guests. All food is provided to crew by the boat.

As well as being paid by two different companies, getting tips and not paying tax, the crews cost of living is covered. While filming the season, cast dont have to pay any bills or expenses for living on the yacht.

A key part of the show is the cast interviews, where clips of whats happening on the yacht are played alongside members of the cast talking about whats happening in the show. These interviews are all filmed at once, right at the end of each charter.

According to Distractify, the yachts featured on the show are worth around $15 to $20 million. The most expensive Below Deck yacht was the one featured on Below Deck Mediterranean season six, which has a weekly rental cost starting at $300,000. The guests would then also pay a tip on top of this.

Guests spend their actual money to be on the boat, and whatever they tip is completely paid for by them. Below Deck producer Mark Cronin told BravoTV: They spend their real money to be on the show. And then the tip they leave, they decide what it is.

However, guests featured on the show are given a 50 per cent discount, and their airfare is covered by production, too.

Two seasons of Below Deck are available on Netflix now.For all the latest Netflix news, drops and memeslike The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.

Below Deck: We asked real luxury yacht stewardesses how accurate the show really is

Where are the crew of Below Deck Season 1 now?

I hate to break it to you, but theres a lot of evidence Selling Sunset is staged

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How is Below Deck filmed? Here are all the show's production secrets - The Tab

Doomed romances are a dime a dozen on reality T.V., and judging by the status of some of our couples on deck, the fifth season of Below Deck Mediterranean is no different. But this season, were also turning our attention to a romance that currently teeters on will they or wont they territory between chief stew Bugsy Drake and lead deckhand Alex Radcliffe.

From the minute Bugsy stepped aboard the Wellington as the original replacement second stew, Alex seemed especially into the South African (her eyes and teeth, apparently). And thanks to a recent preview for an upcoming episode, it appears there are, indeed, sparks between the two. While the status of other couples on the boat seems unclear, its leaving fans curious about the status of our two possible lovebirds.

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Since the season's still airing, we can't know for sure where their romance is headedbut we do have some ideas. For one, they're both actively posting on social media from opposite sides of the world, which leads us to believe that basic geographic distance made their relationship impossible. Still, on Instagram, they're both commenting on one another's photos (so at least we can say things didn't end all that badly).

Among the personal photos with friends and family, Alex's got quite a few flirty pics with the chief stew, the latest one from July 27. I think its time @bugsydrake and I start our own fashion line, he joked in his Instagram caption. But Im just hoping I can get Bugsy to start liking me already on tonights episode of #belowdeckmed on @bravotv.

While it doesnt necessarily mean anything other than a flirty quip, it could mean hes still holding a tiny flame for her post-Below Deck Med. And if theres any couple the fans would love to see make it through to the end of the season, its these two.

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Below Deck Med: Are Bugsy Drake and Alex Radcliffe Together? - menshealth.com

Written by Sandeep Singh, Sunny Verma | New Delhi | Updated: September 4, 2020 7:46:18 amThis activity is expected to move to Gift City with the Finance Ministry last week relaxing Rule 9 (2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that deals with Know Your Customer compliance and client due diligence. (File photo)

In a move that could catalyse a significant scale-up in financial services in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (Gift City), the government has eased regulatory norms to a proposed special purpose vehicle (SPV) that will bring onshore trading activity on SGX NIFTY, a derivative of the NSEs NIFTY index traded officially on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

The SPV is between Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX) and NSE IFSC the international exchange of NSE. Currently, several overseas investors trade in security contracts at the SGX with the underlying NSEs NIFTY 50 index.

This activity is expected to move to Gift City with the Finance Ministry last week relaxing Rule 9 (2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that deals with Know Your Customer compliance and client due diligence.

Under this, KYC and due diligence will be subject to applicable laws in Singapore and when such details are required by the Indian regulator or investigative agencies here, these will be provided by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This will help faster on-boarding of overseas clients who currently trade NIFTY contracts at SGX.

Since liquidity in a stock exchange is a key driver for the financial services ecosystem, once SGX starts routing the liquidity in SGX Nifty from Singapore to Gift City, it is expected to attract international banks, brokerages, investment firms, mutual funds and insurance companies among others to set up their operations and develop Gift into a vibrant international financial centre.

In August 2019, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and MAS approved the proposed structure for the SPV. The two exchanges, NSE IFSC and SGX, were waiting for this PMLA-related approval from the Department of Revenue.

While an NSE spokesperson declined to comment, sources said that with the final clearance through, NSE IFSC-SGX should be able to move Nifty liquidity in Singapore to Gift City by middle of next year.

SEBI and MAS are signatories to the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) multilateral memorandum of understanding by which both can share KYC-related information with each other.

Market participants say that once operations move, international banks, brokerages and investment firms will start setting up their operations in Gift City and develop it into a vibrant international financial centre. This initial liquidity kicker is a great move to get all international banking liquidity in one shot, said a market participant.

The benefit of the SPV structure is that orders of international markets would get routed to Gift City. For major global investors who tend to work with a set of international brokerages who take them to various markets this makes it easier to come through an existing set-up and trade in Gift City.

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Decks cleared for Niftys Singapore trades to move to Gift City in Gujarat - The Indian Express

With every drama-filled season of Below Deck Mediterranean, viewers can always expect a hot and steamy boatmance to come from it. This season, fans were not disappointed when third stew Jessica More and deckhand Robert Westergaard fell for each other early on, and since their initial kiss, their relationship has been going quite fast (even for Below Deck standards).

It was clear from the get-go how attracted the two were to each other, given how Jess outgoing personality was the yin to Robs quiet, soft-spoken yang. While the two flirted and had a few makeout sessions on-camera, viewers quickly found out that Rob was casually seeing someone at home, making Jess nervous for what would happen between them.

I really like him, Jess told then-chief stew Hannah about the predicament and where she stood with him while aboard The Wellington. I dont need another broken heart.

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After Rob confirmed (in front of the entire crew, no less) that he was indeed single, the two immediately coupled up, moved into the same cabin, and later made promises to travel to Bali together after the charter season concluded. Rob even professed his love to the third stew. Unfortunately, it looks like the relationship might not be all smooth sailing.

Sorry to tell you, folks, but Jess and Rob are no longer together. While fans of the series will see the demise of their relationship play out on TV, the twosome confirmed their boatmance fizzled out once they reached land.

The last time either of the two showed signs of a romance happening was from a photo Jess posted to her Instagram back in October 2019. Given the photos location, chances are she posted it while filming, back when they were an item.

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We dont really communicate, Jess told In Touch Weekly about the current status of their relationship. He has a really good heart, you know, down in there somewhere. I wish him the best of luck, but I dont think well really be communicating in the future.

In a July interview with People, when asked if he was on good terms with Jessica, Rob described it as a "grey area." Looks like we can safely put yet another Below Deck relationship to bed.

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Are Jessica More and Robert Westergaard Still Together From 'Below Deck Med'? - menshealth.com

CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) --Another holiday weekend is upon us and the Chicago Police Department saidit will be "all-hands-on-deck" as it prepares for whatever arises, whether it be violence, civil unrest or looting.

Last year over the Labor Day weekend, 41 people were shot,seven killed, and this year, police are also dealing with the potential threat of looting.

"Labor Day celebrates the hard work of individuals across this country and the city of Chicago was built on organized labor. Hard work is in our DNA. No one works harder than the brave men and women of the Chicago Police Department, who have taken over 7,000 guns off the streets of Chicago this year," Chicago Police Superintendent DavidBrown said.

The Chicago Police Department has cancelled regular days off for the holiday weekend and officers are working 12-hour shifts.

"At the same time...we are also coordinating with other city services, we are executing the Mayor's five-point protection plan in not only our retail corridors, but also in our downtown retail as well; so we have an all-hands-on-deck approach to protecting our city. And I encourage everyone to relax this weekend, and have a comfortable and safe Labor Day," Brown said. "Meanwhile, Chicago PD will be protecting you, while you enjoy the holiday weekend."

RELATED:Supt. Brown Asks Media To Share More Positive CPD Stories

Brown said retail corridors are getting special attention, which includes the use of barricades.

"...It makes some of our streets in our downtown area more pedestrian, less vehicular. If you recall, caravanning of cars to looting was a significant challenge a few weeks back. This helps us not only protect our downtown from a barrier feature standpoint, as a component - if you don't have to have an officer standing at a post, but we also not only patrolling in our neighborhoods and all of our retail corridors...we are using our departments, our water, streets and san, all their vehicles help us create the same kind of barricades for ingress and egress to those corridors, so we can protect it, if we get any kinds of looting," he said.

Also, Supt. Brown said they are monitoring social media for signs of organized looting.

"In addition to that, we are also monitoring open-source social media for any signs of anyone trying to encourage people to loot. It's like reading the paper. Social media is not an invasive thing. There is no expectation of privacy on open-source social media. It's no different than reading the paper or watching the news to see if there are any clues of anyone trying to organize any kind of looting throughout our city anywhere," he said.

For now, he said, the downtown bridges are not being lifted.

"That is a feature that we would like to keep in our hip pocket if we have to, if we get any type of intelligence, but right now we don't have any intelligence lead us to believe there is any planned looting or any type of civil unrest being planned. But again, we hope for the best, but we plan, obviously, for anything that might go awry," he said.

Bridges have been raised in the past to restrict the movement of people.

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'We Have An All-Hands-On Deck Approach': Supt. Brown Says CPD Is Prepared For Whatever The Labor Day Weekend Brings - WBBM NewsRadio

Despite the crowds jubilation in Bamako, the arrest of President Ibrahim B. Keita, Prime Minister Boubou Cisse, the minister of finance, the president of the National Assembly,and other government officials seems unlikely to result in fundamental change. An estimated half of Mali's population lives in severe poverty, ethnic divisions are chronically unaddressed, and Islamist jihadisroam much of the northern half of the country. Those realities are unlikely to change as a result of a coup. Subsequent to their success, the coup makers are justifying themselves by citing the corruption, nepotism, and all-around bad governance of the Keita regime.

Initial media accounts tied the coup to popular discontent spearheaded by civil society and a charismatic imam and linked it to fall-out from corrupt elections earlier in the year. But, rather than a popular revolution, this coup appears to have been carried out by five colonels, calling themselves the National Commission for the Peoples Salvation. This entity is led by Gen. Cheick Fanta Mady Dembele, whom some local commentators see as the real leader of the coup, though he remains in the background. The coup makers likely have the support of the broad political class, based in Bamako, dissatisfied by the Keita government's response to popular unrest. The military and the political class, based on past performance, is uninterested in the fundamental social and political change that would be necessary to address the country's dysfunction.

More on:

Mali

Elections and Voting

State and Local Governments

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Sub-Saharan Africa

Once falsely viewed by Western commentators and policy makers as the poster child of African democracy and good governance, Mali's current descent into unending crisis is usually dated from the 2012 military unrest and Tuareg efforts to establish a separate stateAzawad. (Tuareg separatism reflects unresolved ethnic differences dating from French colonial times.) Then, radical jihadiscaptured the Tuareg separatist movement and were soon seen as threatening the destruction of the Bamako government. French intervention forestalled that outcome. Since then, the Malian and French militaries, African regional forces, and a UN military presence has failed to defeat the Islamists, and security has continued to deteriorate. (The United States has provided significant financial support to the anti-jihadieffort and provides logistical and other support to French forces.) Insofar as this latest coup highlights the dysfunction of the Malian state, it will likely benefit the jihadisthat have been expanding their area of operation in the wider region.

Thus far, international reaction to this latest coup has been hand-wringing.The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has denounced it and called for sanctions. The French and American governments have issued statements condemning the coup. The UN Security Council is expected to discuss it and will likely denounce it.

France has the largest modern military force in West Africa, with some 5,000 personnel. Successive Paris governments have viewed the Sahel as the "near abroad" and of vital national interest. But, French military intervention in the past has been denounced as "neo-colonial;" some local commentators are suggesting that Gen. Dembele is staying in the background because of fear of the perception that he is backed by France. The Macron government is saying that France will remain engaged in Mali, but for how long and under what circumstances remains to be seen. The French public appears increasingly fatigued by the seemingly never-ending fighting in the Sahel, "our Afghanistan." It is also unclear what the restoration of the Keita regime or new and likely flawed elections could accomplish. Nevertheless, a possible, perhaps likely, outcome will be a dealamong the military and the political class that leads to new elections and another "rearrangement of the deck chairs on theTitanic."The coup makers have already announced that they will establish a "civilian" government to carry out new elections.

More on:

Mali

Elections and Voting

State and Local Governments

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Sub-Saharan Africa

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Mali Coup: "Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic" - Council on Foreign Relations

Magic: The Gathering has plenty of well-established decks and strategies, but there's fun to be had in creating something completely unexpected.

At any given time, Magic: The Gathering has a set of popular deck archetypes, metas and staples that show up game after game. On some level, they're comforting; you can never go wrong with Modern Burn, and your Commander deck will always have a slot for a Sol Ring. Seeing the same archetypes over and over can get a little old, though, and following trends is rarely a path to innovation. What brings so manyback toMagicagain and again is the vast, ever-growing number of possibilitiesfor any given format, so that even when the meta seems rigid, some clever upstart can always crack it open again.

One doesn't need to change the world when building aweirddeck, however, and what makes a deck weirdcan vary. Does the deck showcasean unlikely synergy? Does it use an old mechanic in a new way? Does it include obscure or underused cards? A weird deck isn't constrained by concepts of"good" or "optimal." It just needs to do something interesting. And if that interesting thing wins you a game or two, the victories will be all the sweeter for it. Like with any creative project, challenging yourself with unorthodox methods means you're bound to learn something new and improve your skills along the way.

Related: Magic: The Gathering - Double Masters' Artifact Cards Are Powerful in Any Deck

The first step to building a weirddeck is always research and exploration. Be curious about eachMagicset. Older sets can reveal cards that were ignored or overlooked at their release but may become relevant in the future.By the same logic,keeping up with the latest sets can reveal new possibilities in relation to your knowledge of Magic's "backlog." With all this information rattling around by taking careto notice which cards and mechanics pique your interest the most,it's only a matter of time before something clicks.

For example, the mechanic "Morph" wasn't well supported in Commander until the release of Kadena, Slinking Sorcerer. Previously unsupported tribes like Unicorns, Bears, Satyrs and Devils have all gottentheir own tribal Legendaries over the last year,and Morophon the Boundless can make just about any creature type a tribe. Zirda, the Dawnwaker has some infinite mana combos, but it also makes cards with otherwise far too costly activated abilities cross the threshold of viable into great value.

Related: Magic: The Gathering - Double Masters' Multicolored Cards Boost Various Archetypes

This all depends, of course, on your favored formats. Magic's "backlog" won't really apply to Standard, for instance. But for Commander and Modern, knowing some of the older, weirder cards is productive. Commander in particular has a great starting place for finding inspiration in the form of EDHRec, a database with statistics for every Commander released so far. Finding a Commander that's particularly strange is just a matter of browsing through each color combination and scrolling down to the lesser-used ones.Many arejust plain bad (like a five-cost 3/3 with no abilities), but others do something unique, and the cards often used in conjunction with unusualCommanders are often unusual in turn.

Above all, keep an eye on the spaces others ignore, and question the status quo. Reject the prevailing metas, and believe in whatever "brain bugs" you catch during your research. Be preparedfor your trails to go cold and to find yourself rushing back asa newreleaselights the way.If you do this, you may just happen upon something no one else has ever thought of.

KEEP READING:Magic: The Gathering - How to Build Your First Modern Jund Deck

Animal Farm: What to Expect From the Next Game From the Makers of Reigns

Daniel Lindsley is a writer, a Seattleite, and a UC: Santa Cruz graduate with a Bachelor's in Literature and Creative Writing. His degree taught him how to tell a story, and it turns out games have a lot of that sort of thing. Conveniently, so does news writing. The overlap makes for a guy who knows his way around TTRPG systems, keeps up with the latest, and can write about both. He spends his spare time working on personal projects, playing games, and drinking frozen-banana-and-chocolate-ice-cream protein shakes.

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Magic: The Gathering - How to Build the WEIRDEST Decks (And Why You Should) - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Feral chickens strut their stuff in front of the Tervis Store on Front Street in Key West. The chickens have become the citys unofficial mascots. COURTESY PHOTO

FOR ALMOST 200 YEARS, WANNABE comedians have been asking why the chicken crossed the road.

But in Key West, chickens dont just cross roads. They congregate on one-way streets in groups, mamas stopping traffic for their fuzzy little chicklets. They roost in the trees and perch on bike handles. They casually wander into bars and restaurants. And they crow at all hours of the day, no matter the suns position.

If youve been to Key West before or have only strolled around the island for a day, youve undoubtedly noticed our unofficial mascot. To some, Key Wests gypsy chickens are a novelty, another fixture that gives the island a funky and unique vibe. To others, theyre worse than a nuisance, unsanitary, loud and obnoxious. But opinions aside, Key Wests colorful roosters and hens are as iconic as Sloppy Joes and theyve been around a lot longer than Hemingways favorite bar has.

Key Wests first wave of chickens arrived in the 1800s, when Cuban and Caribbean settlers brought the large and aggressive Cubalaya breed to the island as both a food source and a sporting accessory. Hens provided eggs and their male counterparts provided endless hours of back alley cockfighting entertainment. A second wave flooded the island in the 1950s, when revolution in Cuba displaced both humans and their fowl.

Key West Wildlife Center rescues, heals and places feral chickens in safe places. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY KEY WEST WILDLIFE CENTER

Key West banned cockfighting in the 1970s, which sent many roosters to the streets. In addition, Key Wests evolution away from agrarian traditions resulted in fewer backyard chicken coops and more grocery meat counters.

Protected by local wildlife regulations and without homes or distractions (or a significant source of avian population control, however barbaric), the chicken population proliferated exponentially so much so that in 2003, Key West city officials declared war on the crowing creatures, rounding up roosters and installing holding pens where hens and chicks could be held while awaiting relocation.

In 2004, the city hired Armando Parra, a local barber and self-trained bird catcher, to serve as the official city chicken catcher. The intention was to move the birds to free-range facilities in Miami-Dade County, but when officials suspected the birds were secretly being killed, local chicken advocates were furious. The chicken controversy commotion resulted in ChickenFest, a one-time, four-day festival dreamed up by local chicken-loving event coordinators in 2005.

Fowl enthusiasts flocked to the festivities, dressing in feathered headdresses and chicken suits and donning plush chicken caps and rooster beaks to compete in the Fowl Follies talent and costume competition. There was a Fowl Ball, a rooster crowing challenge, a Funky Chicken dance contest and a Foghorn Leghorn lookalike contest. The event culminated in a Poultry in Motion parade that featured dancing chickens, a Colonel Sanders lookalike and Chicken Caesar, a 12-foot-tall, toga-wearing rooster. And even Mr. Parra, whose chicken catching antics were the impetus for the festival, got in on the action, selling T-shirts and judging the chicken beauty contest.

And so, despite city officials best efforts and assisted by the urging of zealous poultry lovers, the gypsy chickens remain. And when Key Wests winged residents get birdie boo-boos, the Key West Wildlife Center makes sure the injured, sick and orphaned chickens are well cared for.

The Wildlife Centers stated mission is to ensure the future of our diverse native wildlife by providing timely rescues and quality rehabilitation with the hope of release back to the wild. The Wildlife Center acts as a field hospital and trauma center for native wild birds and holds both state and federal rehabilitation permits from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Key West Wildlife Center sits on seven acres of land inside the Indigenous Park at 1801 White St. and is open to the public every day but Wednesday. The nature trail inside the facility includes a freshwater pond and two aviaries and is a great place from which to observe migratory birds during the fall and spring migrations. The Wildlife Center also operates an onsite clinic, which enables the staff to provide treatment to injured and sick wildlife 24/7, amounting to over 1,400 native wild birds annually, including hawks, pelicans, osprey, egrets and herons.

In 2009, the Wildlife Center entered into a concession agreement with the city of Key West to provide rescue, medical care and adoption services for the islands feral chickens. The Wildlife Centers other rescue and rehabilitation services are funded solely through donations, but the chicken services are funded through the concession agreement with the city of Key West. The center emphasizes cleanliness and nutrition and provides a high protein chicken feed enhanced with fresh produce donated by St. Marys Star of the Sea Food Pantry.

According to Tom Sweets, director of the Key West Wildlife Center, the center currently has about 30 local hens, roosters and younger chickens residing in its aviary. The chickens suffer from a variety of ailments, from avian pox and botulism to cock-fighting injuries and broken wings. We get a high number of rescue calls each year regarding Key West chickens struck by vehicles, abandoned by owners, fallen or trapped in storm drains, shot by darts and pellet guns, and many other sick, injured and orphaned birds, Mr. Sweets said. We have had interesting survival stories of roosters. One was shot through by a bow and arrow, and we treated several birds that survived dart gun attacks after being shot. We were able to successfully remove the various projectiles and the birds did survive.

A Key West chicken makes a new friend at Peat Marsh Ranch outside Lake Okeechobee. ALL PHOTOS COURTESY KEY WEST WILDLIFE CENTER

Though the Wildlife Center is happy to provide a temporary loving home to birds in need, it does not actively seek out the birds themselves. Residents can borrow a trap from the Wildlife Center for a refundable deposit, then bring the captured birds in for rehabilitation. We act as a rescue for sick and injured birds we do not trap birds ourselves, Mr. Sweets said. We will accept birds that are brought to our center from local Key West residents and businesses. We do not remove feral chickens from residential or business situations. There are private companies in Key West that provide removal services for those that want it.

Although the general goal of wildlife rehabilitation is to provide professional care to sick, injured and orphaned wildlife so that they can ultimately be returned to their natural habitat, the chickens rehabilitated at the Key West Wildlife Center typically do not get turned back out onto the streets. We provide rescue services, care and treatment with an emphasis on cleanliness and a quality diet, Mr. Sweets said. We then find the chickens great free-range adoptive homes in mainland Florida that adhere to strict criteria.

Since June 2011, the Key West Wildlife Center has worked to partner with a number of mainland properties who can provide care and good homes for the rehabilitated Key West chickens. The Wildlife Center moves more than 1,000 birds a year to participating properties. Peat Marsh Ranch, located just north of Lake Okeechobee, is a 1,200-acre facility where the birds can live free range. The Wildlife Center also partners with an eight-acre property outside of Fort Myers, where many chickens have found a loving home.

At organic farms on the mainland, Key Wests chickens provide natural pest control. To prevent hungry birds from eating the crops, the chickens are released into large net tubes that stretch between the crops. In the tubes, the chickens can eat invasive insects and naturally fertilize the soil.

Even though birds are exported by the thousands, it often seems like there are more chickens in Key West than people. But Mr. Sweets cant say for certain whether the birds are more populous lately than usual. Without doing a survey count, it would be impossible to say what the current trends are in the feral population numbers, he said. The feral chickens move around and exploit different areas for food and then move on, so it would be hard to say about overall numbers without a survey or count.

However, there is one chicken-related trend that Mr. Sweets finds disturbing.

There is a trend of more people feeding them, which will bring chickens into an area or neighborhood to stay, he said. Feeding these birds is never good it leads to disease being quickly spread through a population and usually leads to more birds being struck by vehicles when they are fed in streets or parking lots. Put simply, these feral birds do not need to be fed by humans it causes all types of problems for them.

In the KNOW

Key West Wildlife Center

Sonny McCoy Indigenous Park 1801 White St. Open daily, except Wednesdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 305-292-1008 http://www.keywestwildlifecenter.org

KEY WEST WILDLIFE CENTER CHICKEN TIPS:

NEVER feed them! If you do, they will stay in your area. Help educate neighbors around you not to feed them as well. If they are not fed, they usually will keep moving.

Dont interfere with Mother Nature. If a hawk attempts to catch a chicken, let it. This is difficult to watch, but the hawk needs to eat, too. This is natures way of naturally reducing the chicken population. Never take a bird away from a hawk. The prey often is so injured it will die anyway. The result will be the hawk losing its meal and the prey losing its life.

Secure the perimeter of your house, blocking areas that chickens can get under to lay eggs. If you do find eggs, they can be discarded. Chickens lay eggs over a period of a couple weeks before they start to incubate them, so it is unlikely that there are baby chicks inside the eggs. Eggs also can be brought to the Wildlife Center for disposal.

If all else fails and you are finding chickens to be a nuisance in your area, the Wildlife Center rents traps for a $100 refundable deposit.

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It's all hens on deck as nonprofit group tends to Key West fowl in need - Florida Weekly