A concept that previously garnered attention with activists andselect government agencies, environmental justice (EJ) is nowregularly discussed in corporate boardrooms and among C-suiteexecutives.1 This is for good reasonEJ hasrisen to prominence in recent years and months, buoyed by currentsocial justice efforts, the recognition of health disparitiesunderscored by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a presidential campaignin which EJ has taken center stage.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines EJ as the"fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all peopleregardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respectto the development, implementation, and enforcement ofenvironmental laws, regulations, and policies." In the UnitedStates, EJ is arguably seeing the most significant progress sinceits outgrowth from the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. In addition toincreased EJ advocacy in 2020, newly proposed federal legislationseeks to reframe the way in which the law addresses andincorporates EJ into existing systems for environmental protection.At the state level, new legislation and guidance set the tone forsignificant reform, with states like New Jersey and Connecticutpassing historic measures to build EJ requirements into permittingand remediation procedurespotentially serving as models forother jurisdictions to follow.

These converging trends signal what will likely be a notableshift in the status quo, with potential for exponentialamplification by the presidential and congressional electionoutcomes. The Democratic Party presidential nominee, former VicePresident Joseph R. Biden, Jr., has released dedicated climate andEJ policy proposals, promising sweeping changes to federal EJpolicy and prioritization should he and his running mate, SenatorKamala Harris (D-CA), win the White House. In addition,congressional election results could shift party dynamics such thatthe recent increase in EJ-related bills could have a strong chanceof becoming law. Regardless of election outcomes, the Bidencampaign's forceful prioritization of EJ has spurred those onboth sides of the aisle to take a stand. As such, the federaldiscussion on advancing EJ is likely to continuealbeit indifferent wayseven under a second Trump term.

Although the most significant EJ activity has occurred at thestate level, federal-level changes may be on the horizon, with muchat stake in the 2020 presidential and congressional elections.Indeed, during the last presidential debate of this election cycle,the moderator asked a question about EJ and Biden responded byacknowledging the importance of protecting fenceline communities.Should he take office, all indicators suggest that EJ will be agovernment-wide priority. Not only has Biden released the mostcomprehensive EJ platform of any presidential candidate, but hisselection of Senator Harris, a longstanding EJ advocate, as hisrunning mate signals his commitment to follow-through on hiscampaign promises. In his July 2020 Plan to Secure Environmental Justice and EquitableEconomic Opportunity, Biden advocates for such far-reachinginitiatives as: establishing an Environmental and Climate JusticeDivision of the U.S. Department of Justice; instructing theAttorney General to implement Senator Cory Booker's Environmental Justice Act of 2019 throughexecutive action; and overhauling EPA's program responsible forenforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (Title VI).

A second term of the Trump Administration may also usher in anew wave of EJ prioritization. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler ina recent public address declared that"community-driven environmentalism" will be a focus of asecond Trump term and is "the best opportunity in at least ageneration to solve the environmental justice issues we facetoday." He retorted that community-driven environmentalism"will do more for environmental justice than all the rhetoricin political campaigns."

Beyond the White House, shifts in Congress's composition mayhave similarly significant impacts on EJ policy given a recentspike in EJ-specific legislative proposals. After co-sponsoring theGreen New Deal, Senator Harris introduced two EJ bills in August2020: the EJ for All Act (S.4401; H.R.5986) and the Climate Equity Act (S.4513; H.R.8019). Theformer is a sweeping overhaul of federal EJ policy, calling forexpanding National Environmental Policy Act requirements forcommunity engagement; amending the Clean Water Act and Clean AirAct to require consideration of cumulative impacts in permittingdecisions; and expanding the private cause of action under Title VIby explicitly prohibiting discrimination based on disparateimpacts. The latter requires Congress to consider the impacts oflegislation, regulation, or investments on EJ communities in itsdecision-making, in addition to creating a Climate andEnvironmental Equity Office within the Congressional Budget Office.After introducing the Environmental Justice Act in 2019, SenatorBooker released the Environmental Justice Legacy Pollution CleanupAct (S.4617; H.R.8271) in September 2020, which increasesfunding for cleanup of legacy pollution and amends the Clean AirAct to prohibit issuance of new major source air pollution permitsin overburdened communities. Additional recent EJ-related billsinclude the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act(H.R.4447), which the House passed in September and features asection on EJ that incorporates the Environmental Justice for AllAct's key provisions, and the Public Health Air Quality Act of 2020 (S.4369;H.R.7822), which would require facility-specific fencelinemonitoring of air pollution in certain communities. These billsforeshadow EJ legislation that may be passed by the nextCongress.

In recent years, several states have enacted or proposedlegislation that strengthens existing civil rights laws andestablishes new EJ-specific laws. As a result, the vast majority ofstates now address EJ in some fashionvia legislation, agencypolicy and guidance, or advisory groupswith fewer than fivefailing to mention the concept at all. While there has been recentEJ activity in states from coast to coast, the extent to which aparticular state addresses EJ varies widely. Some states, likeCalifornia, have robust EJ schemes, while others make only passingreference to the concept. Overall, since 2017, the TrumpAdministration's deregulatory environmental agenda has inspiredgreater state activity, including concerted efforts to promote EJon behalf of their most vulnerable residents.

Notably, New Jersey's landmark EJ law, signed into law in September,promises to have wide-reaching effects. Under the legislation,applicants seeking new or renewed permits for specific categoriesof facilities sited in "overburdened communities" mustsubmit an "Environmental Justice Impact Statement" thatevaluates the potential cumulative environmental and public healthstressors associated with the permitted activity. New JerseyDepartment of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), in accordance withthe law, has published a list of "overburdenedcommunities," defined as any census block group withsignificant low-income, minority or non-English speakingpopulations (approx. 310 municipalities). The legislation empowersNJDEP to impose conditions on or deny a permit in its entirety,based on the agency's review of the applicant'sEnvironmental Justice Impact Statement. The law also introducessignificant public engagement and public notification mandates onapplicants. These requirements apply to permits for a wide range offacilities, including but not limited to: anything defined as a"major source" of air pollution under the Clean Air Act;resource recovery facilities or incinerators; sludge processingfacilities, combustors, or incinerators; sewage treatment plantswith a capacity exceeding 50 million gallons per day; and certainkinds of landfills. The new legislation goes further than any otherstate EJ law and may serve as a model for other similarly inclinedjurisdictions in the future.

Beyond the Garden State, other states have developed a host ofstrategies in recent years to further their EJ objectives,including establishing EJ oversight and advisory committees,identifying EJ communities statewide, and expanding publicengagement requirements. Recent examples include:

With few laws directly addressing EJ, activists have foundlittle success attempting to vindicate EJ communities' rightsin the courts.3 After the Fourth Circuit's recentopinion in the Friends of Buckingham case, however, thattide may be changing.4 In that case, the Virginia State AirPollution Control Board (Air Board) granted a permit to construct acompressor station that would have been part of the now-abandonedAtlantic Coast Pipeline in Union Hill, a predominantly AfricanAmerican community established during the Civil War.

Plaintiffs' challenged the Air Board's decision arguingthat it failed to perform its duties under Va. Code (Ann. 10.11307(E)) to consider the potential for disproportionatehealth impacts from the compressor station and made an incompleteand misinformed site suitability determination. The Fourth Circuitagreed, concluding that the Air Board (1) failed to make findingsregarding Union Hill's demographics, (2) failed to consider thepotential air pollution impacts regardless of compliance withapplicable air emissions standards, and (3) relied on an incompletefactual record in assessing site suitability. As such, it vacatedthe issuance of the permit and remanded the matter back to the AirBoard.

The Friends of Buckingham case is particularlysignificant because, although the proposed compressor station wouldhave met applicable air quality standards, the Fourth Circuitdetermined that compliance with environmental thresholds alone wasinsufficient to account for EJ concerns. In fully embracing theimportance of EJ, the Fourth Circuit explained that "[t]heBoard's reliance on air quality standards led it to dismiss EJconcerns. . . . But environmental justice is not merely a box to bechecked, and the Board's failure to consider thedisproportionate impact on those closest to the Compressor Stationresulted in a flawed analysis."5

While Friends of Buckingham is persuasive precedent, EJlitigants generally do not prevail in traditional litigation andoften turn to administrative remedies, primarily Title VI of theCivil Rights Act, as well as creatively using other civil rightslaws. For example, in Illinois, a coalition of environmental groupsfiled a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment in August alleging that the City of Chicago violatedthe Fair Housing Act and the Housing and Community Development Actof 1974. The alleged violations stemmed, in part, from thecity's decision to approve the relocation of a recyclingfacility with high toxic air pollution from a wealthy neighborhoodto an EJ community.6 Undoubtedly, EJ activists will continueto find creative ways to assert EJ claims.

The breathless pace with which EJ developments continue toemerge leaves many stakeholdersincluding the regulatedcommunityanxiously wondering how they should mitigate risk,reform their practices, and proactively incorporate EJ bestpractices. This is particularly true given that despite its renewedmomentum, EJ remains difficult to define. Notably distinct fromother environment, health, and safety compliance areas, EJ lacks adedicated, overarching federal statute mandating specific actionsand remedies. That may not be the case for long. As these changescontinue to emerge, industry actors, in particular, will do well tofollow the current state of play in the EJ spacepayingparticular attention to state activity and creative litigation byEJ advocatesto understand how such developments can affectcontinuity of operations and compliance in the coming months. Caseslike Friends of Buckingham are reminders that it isintegral for industry stakeholders to assess the EJ implications inareas in which they operate, understand the impacts of theiroperations on vulnerable communities,andultimatelyshow themselves to be goodneighbors.

Stacey Sublett Halliday is an Independent Consultant forBeveridge & Diamond

This article was re-published as an "ExpertAnalysis" by Law360 (subscription required).

Footnotes

1. For example, Duke Energy Corp.'sCEO recently discussed the company's development of EJprinciples "to be sensitive to how a project might affectresidents closest to a facility and be more proactive onstakeholder engagement."

2. "Affecting facilities"include certain electric generating facilities, certain sewageplants, waste incinerators, certain processing or recyclingfacilities, medical waste, landfills, and any major source of airpollution.

3. See e.g., Town ofWeymouth v. Mass. Dep't of Envtl. Prot. (1st Cir. 2020)(rejected plaintiffs' claim that the Massachusetts Departmentof Environmental Protection failed to comply with the MassachusettsEnvironmental Justice Policy in review of air permit for compressorstation).

4. Friends of Buckingham v. State AirPollution Control Bd., 947 F.3d 68 (4th Cir. 2020).

5. Id. at 91-92.

6. https://aboutblaw.com/SzR

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

Continue reading here:
The Evolving Landscape Of Environmental Justice In 2020 And Beyond - Environment - United States - Mondaq News Alerts

Aman Kyoto sits within 3.2 hectares of secluded forest, softly illuminated by sunlight through overhead foliage and low-lying mist, silent except for birdsong, mountain streams and the occasional frog croak echoing in the stone wells and culverts. And, of course, your own footsteps on the stone paths, along which you encounter huge, moss-covered boulders embedded in the undulating ground, or flat clearings defined by geometric patterns of gravel and stone paving. Indeed, traditional Japanese stroll gardens are designed so as to balance natural serendipity and artificial precision. Every detail is considered, every sightline composed.

As you walk, the elements of the garden are revealed, concealed, then revealed again from different angles and in different relationships. Each step produces a new vista. Its impossible, if not meaningless, to separate the human interventions from their natural surroundings. The compression and variety of incident create illusions of scale and evocations of other places, whether real or mythical. This is nature enhanced, landscape intensified.

Located at the western edge of Kyoto, this hidden valley is nestled within a larger hidden valley the city itself is set in a basin ringed by mountains. Though it took almost a quarter of a century from architect Kerry Hills first, rapturous encounter with the site until the opening of the resort, the forest had been under development for many decades previously. It was once the property of a textile magnate from Kyotos garment district, who intended to build a private museum for his collection of fabrics from Japan and elsewhere. Working with local garden designers, he began subtly modifying the topography and waterways, creating clearings, laying out broad paths of enormous, irregular flagstones, and building high retaining walls of natural rocks in order to produce flat platforms in the foothills at the west edge of the site. He judiciously located trees, shrubs, ferns and moss, as well as picturesque compositions of huge boulders the Japanese term for garden design is literally the setting of stones.

The owner passed away with the museum still unbuilt, inspiring Hill to treat the place as a found object, or perhaps an imaginary ruin. Working closely with famed garden designer Akihiro Shimoda, Hill extended and complemented the existing landscaping with utmost care the moss was moved to a nursery then fastidiously replanted when construction was complete and located his new buildings in response to the implicit and explicit paths, ridges and planes of the site.

View gallery

On arrival, guests first enter the reception. Aman Kyoto is located within an established 3.2-hectare garden setting surrounded by mature forests on the outskirts of Kyoto.

Image: Nacasa & Partners

Hills first architectural gesture was the living pavilion (a restaurant, bar and outdoor seating area with a fire pit) set at the south edge of the main garden. The spaces are accented with commissioned ceramic artworks and paper light fittings designed by the architects, and the cuisine served here is, needless to say, as exquisite as the surroundings. Sadly, Hill did not live to see construction fully completed, but the garden has been named in his honour, and a small stone set in the ground is engraved with a poetic memorial. Guest rooms are contained in two-storey blocks along the east boundary, with larger suites placed on higher platforms to the west. The architectural language is the same throughout: rectangular pavilions faced with vertical slats of dark-stained wood, sheltered by zinc-clad, low-gabled roofs.

The public areas also have dark-stained wood interiors, producing a typically Japanese ambiguity between interior and exterior, but the guestrooms are lined with pale, lacquered tamo (Japanese ash) and have full-height windows facing the garden. Aside from a slightly raised wooden bed instead of a futon on the floor, every element you might expect in a traditional inn is present sliding screens and tatami mats, a tokonoma alcove for displaying an ikebana flower arrangement and a kakejiku hanging scroll but abstracted to an extraordinary level of refinement and elegance. Immaculate surfaces, concealed connections, soundless movements, recessed joints and delicate shadow lines make every element appear simultaneously integrated and independent, visually weightless. With almost the same floor area as the bedroom, the bathroom is finished in frosted glass and stone tiles, and contains a freestanding bathtub made of hinoki (Japanese cypress), a wood chosen for its beauty and durability, and the scent that suffuses the room when it is filled with water.

View gallery

The guest bathroom design is formal and centred around a hinoki (cypress) ofuro , or bathing tub.

Image: Nacasa & Partners

Bathing is central to Japanese culture and the resort experience. A spa elsewhere on the site contains communal (though gender-segregated) indoor and outdoor baths that use geothermal spring water, further heated as necessary. You sit in the outdoor rock pool, sedated by the rising steam and gentle sound of water pouring from a stone spout, looking across a narrow moss garden screened by a bamboo fence. Though the surroundings are designed to showcase the cycles of nature the gradually shifting sunlight and shadow, the changing colours of maple leaves and cherry blossoms here, you feel suspended in time and space. If only that were true.

Here is the original post:
Suspended in time and space: Aman Kyoto - Architecture AU

Someone had to spoil it. That could be the motto of the social media age when things that begin as wonders become mere memes. Now our inability to let well alone is turning the most mysterious art happening of 2020 into another tedious prank.

Strange metal monoliths are materialising everywhere, in California, Romania, the Isle of Wight and, according to the latest reports, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. Their rate of appearance is quickening: barely 24 hours separate photos of the lone sentinel on the Isle of Wights Compton Beach and the new European manifestations. As these silent messengers follow those seen at wider intervals in Utah, California and Romania it seems that their message is becoming more urgent, the time of their revelation imminent.

Except no one believes that. They are certainly a great global diversion at the end of a wretched year. But as with a brilliant stunt by Banksy, we are all in on the joke. Theres even speculation Banksy is behind them, naturellement. And he might as well be, for all the apocalyptic terror the monoliths arouse. The social media chat is about aliens, not aliens.

It would be ironic if these structures really are the work of highly intelligent extraterrestrials trying to make first contact but were so jaded by art pranks and sci-fi cliches that were taking it for an elaborate stunt. Earthlings, we wished to impart the secret of the universe, but you are too cynical, theyll lament as they obliterate us.

Everyone recognises the monuments similarity to the Sentinels in Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarkes 2001. If they really were like those slender black plinths that change the course of human history, they might be our much-needed salvation.

The similarity between the new sentinels and the ones from 2001 is sadly the most damning evidence that these are made by mere human artists. As they crop up all over the place, its also becoming clear their construction is all too earthly no unrecognised metals or inexplicable manufacture. The National Trust said the object on its land on the Isle of Wight seemed secure on a wooden plinth and that it was made from mirrored sections of plastic or Perspex material. Thats a bit ordinary. And to add another banal twist an organisation called The Most Famous Artist claims authorship of the columns in Utah and California, offering replicas for $45,000 (34,000) .

Its a shame to see a magic trick exposed, in a year when we could all do with believing in miracles. For the discovery of the first monolith on 18 November was truly uncanny. Biologists surveying sheep in the red rock country of Utah spotted a shiny object from their helicopter and went in for a closer look. The monolith was far from human habitation or hiking trails and is thought to have gone unnoticed in the wilderness since being erected in summer 2016. So a very patient artist must have been content to let this monument go unseen for years, until it finally happened to be found. That does create mystery and awe. It even makes you question common-sense explanations.

But the people who removed it by night on 27 November were perhaps art critics making an aesthetic judgment. For this and all the monoliths have a big weakness as art. They look good, with their smooth, reflective surfaces coolly mirroring nature: the red landscape caught in the glossy shine of the Utah pillar and the Isle of White sculptures reflections of beach and sea are alluring in photographs. Yet theres something tacky about placing a synthetic metal or plastic object in a wild location. Its not an alien mystery, just human pollution.

Since the 1960s, land artists have tried to make monuments that are ecologically sensitive and more truly poetic. In Utah itself, Robert Smithsons Spiral Jetty is a giant arrangement of stones that disappears and reappears depending on how much water is in the Great Salt Lake. If you are ever hiking and come across a small cairn or just an arrangement of sticks, it may mean the artist Richard Long has walked that way. Even Wiltshires crop circles, a hoax that has gone on since the 1970s, are sensitive to their location: they get ploughed again and wont leave a trace to confuse future archaeologists.

Compared with these modern masterpieces of land art, the shiny monoliths are unmysterious and becoming less so by the day. Their global proliferation is ingenious but as art they are derivative, even kitsch parodies of modernist sculpture. They echo, but in a cheap and shallow way, Barnett Newmans Broken Obelisk or the steel walls of Richard Serra.

Weve never needed mystery more. And for a moment there, for all their faults when you scrutinise them as art, the sentinels were sublime. Please, whoever is responsible, stop now while theres still a shred of the marvellous in this diversion from our mundane apocalypse.

View post:
Mystery of the monoliths: if only it were aliens - The Guardian

Former President Obama tookaim at the threat of online misinformation in a recent interview, but he stopped short of casting blame entirely on the heads of tech companies for the rising threats.

Obamasadministrationhad a much friendlier relationship with Silicon Valleythan President TrumpDonald John TrumpRomney on Trump election tactics: 'Difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action' by president New York expands Trump tax fraud investigations to include writeoffs: report Biden promises federal government will pay for National Guard coronavirus work: 'That should be paid for' MOREs. But the former presidentpointed to a shifting online landscape, telling The Atlantic in an interview published Monday that misinformation is the single biggest threat to our democracy.

I dont hold the tech companies entirely responsible, because this predates social media. It was already there. But social media has turbocharged it, Obama said.

He did voice support for some form of increased regulation and further accountability for tech companies, though he did not detail what that reform should look like.

The degree to which these companies are insisting that they are more like a phone company than they are like The Atlantic, I do not think is tenable. They are making editorial choices, whether theyve buried them in algorithms or not. The First Amendment doesnt require private companies to provide a platform for any view that is out there, Obama said.

At the end of the day, were going to have to find a combination of government regulations and corporate practices that address this, because its going to get worse, he added.

Obamas comments more broadly addressed the political media landscape, which he said has had a pretty drastic change since his 2008 election.

I think Donald Trump is a creature of this, but he did not create it. He may be an accelerant of it, but it preceded him and will outlast him, Obama said.

Part of the common narrative was a function of the three major networks and a handful of papers that were disproportionately influential,he added. You cant put the genie back in the bottle. Youre not going to eliminate the internet; youre not going to eliminate the thousand stations on the air with niche viewerships designed for every political preference. Without this it becomes very difficult for us to tackle big things.

Tech giants have faced increased scrutiny from both sidesof the aisle in recent years.

Republicans havemade allegations that tech companies have an anti-conservative bias andaccused companies ofcensorship, while Democrats' criticism has largely targeted companies for not doing enough to tackle misinformation or the spread of hate speech online.

Trump issued an executive order in May targeting Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which grants a legal liability shield for companies against third-party content posted on their platforms.

Democratic President-elect Joe BidenJoe BidenRomney on Trump election tactics: 'Difficult to imagine a worse, more undemocratic action' by president Biden promises federal government will pay for National Guard coronavirus work: 'That should be paid for' House committee chairs demand briefing from GSA head on presidential transition MORE earlier this year said Section 230 should be revoked immediately, though he has argued against the law for vastly different reasons than Trump. Biden, like other Democrats, has argued tech companies have not done enough to fight misinformation on their platforms.

Read the rest here:
Obama says social media 'turbocharged' threat of misinformation | TheHill - The Hill

With voters approval and the bond process set in motion, the Saginaw Public Schools athletic department is ready to plan for a new athletic landscape for the 2023-24 school year.

But Saginaw athletic director Mit Foley says the district does not want to wait until 2023 before making some changes.

If the Michigan High School Athletic Association grants a waiver, the Saginaw High and Arthur Hill varsity football teams will merge to form a co-op program for the 2021-22 season.

Weve already begun the process, Foley said. Were already co-oping baseball, bowling, cross country, golf, softball, tennis and wrestling. We did a co-op for the JV football team for the 2020 school year.

Were trying to ascend back to exceptional levels for our athletic programs. We want to make sure we have the numbers. Were trying to build our programs. We want our kids to be safe when theyre out there playing. A lot of the numbers were not where we wanted to them to be. We want to be competitive. We want to give our kids every conceivable opportunity to compete. Thats why were accelerating this.

There are some roadblocks to approval. The MHSAA allows co-ops with few restrictions for every sport but basketball and football. The association does not allow co-ops for varsity football and basketball if the combined enrollment of the schools eclipses 1,000 students.

In the current count, Arthur Hill has 757 students with Saginaw High adding 456 for a total of 1,213. The next count date is Feb. 10, 2021.

But the potential merger has some extenuating circumstances that could help its case. The Saginaw Valley League, which includes Saginaw High and Arthur Hill, unanimously approved the co-op and sent a letter to the MHSAA in support of the merger.

Also, the planned, eventual merger of the teams in 2023 could also help convince the MHSAA executive council to grant a waiver for 2021, as could the inability for either school to field competitive teams in their current situations.

In the past 10 years, Arthur Hill is 11-77, including three winless seasons. The Lumberjacks have not had a winning season since 2008. In the past 10 years, Saginaw High is 19-69, with two winless seasons. The Trojans last winning season came in 2003.

Our goal is to get the co-op approved for next year, even though when you get to football and basketball and you get to enrollment over 1,000, they generally dont approve, Foley said. Were hopeful that theyll look at it in the light that we werent competitive and that the SVL voted unanimously and wrote a letter of support for our co-op.

Saginaw Public Schools director of facilities Tim Furtaw said that little construction or physical work will begin for the next six to eight months.

At this point, with the bond just passing, were in the planning stages, Furtaw said. In the first six to eight months, we will be planning, finalizing the designs and things like that so blueprints can be drawn up. There will be six to eight months of planning before any shovel goes in the dirt.

We expect to be able to move kids within the buildings for the remodels that will take place at Saginaw High and Arthur Hill. As far as the new high school being built, we anticipate there will be room for the students at SASA.

Plans are to build a new high school for Arthur Hill and Saginaw High students at the current Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy campus at 1903 Niagara. The plans include a new football stadium and gymnasium.

The current Arthur Hill campus at 3115 Mackinaw will house a new school for SASA and for Handley Elementary, with Arthur Hill Memorial Stadium remodeled for soccer and lacrosse.

Memorial Stadium will be restored, Furtaw said. It will be converted for use for SASA, so it will more than likely be a soccer field and lacrosse field but it will be restored.

The plans call to convert Saginaw High, 3100 Webber, into a middle school.

The facilities will be converted over to middle-school usage, Furtaw said. The bleachers at the football field need to be replaced or torn down and set up for middle-school size. Plans are to refurbish a couple of the ballfields. Were still in the planning stages, but it will probably include demolishing some of the high school.

Foley said there have been no decisions made as far as colors, coaches and names for the new school and teams.

The basketball teams will remain separate until the 2023-24 school year, although this season will create some challenges for fans because of COVID-19 restrictions. Foley said the district installed Pixellot cameras in the Saginaw High and Arthur Hill gyms, giving fans the ability to stream the games live on the National Federation of High Schools network.

Plans are for the completion of the new buildings and fields when students report for the 2023-24 school year.

The goal will be that all students move at the same time, Furtaw said. It will be a day for every Saginaw supporter and resident to come out and cheer.

MORE

Saginaw Public School District takes next step toward issuing bonds for $100M millage

Voters approve $100 million bond plan to reshape Saginaw Public Schools

Bond proposal would give $100M to Saginaw schools for new buildings

Saginaw Public Schools approves plan to continue remote learning until January 2021

Read the original here:
Saginaw High, Arthur Hill hope to form varsity football co-op before 2023-24 merger - mlive.com

When an excited member of her faculty came to the president of St. Marys College with slave shackles donated to the school, Tuajuanda C. Jordan paused, her heart heavy.

You always know that theres that history here, said Jordan, the first Black woman to serve as president of St. Marys College of Maryland. But, in my heart of hearts or naivete I had hoped that St Marys did not have an association with slavery.

Then, in 2016, the college discovered the remains of slave quarters on campus during an archaeological dig ahead of constructing a new stadium.

It was a sad day, but it also occurred to us that it was an opportunity to do something special because St. Marys does have an involvement with slavery, she said. It became clear to me that there was a piece of the narrative missing.

READ MORE FROM CHANGING AMERICAWHAT THE 2020 BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTS HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR

MORE THAN HALF OF VOTERS THINK AMERICAN SOCIETY IS RACIST: POLL

UBER PLEDGES $10 MILLION TO BECOMING AN ANTI-RACIST COMPANY

SIRI, ALEXA TAKE A STAND ON BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT

PROTESTERS DEMANDS TO DEFUND THE POLICE TAKE HOLD

YOU MAY THINK YOU'RE NOT A RACIST. BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH

That piece will be revealed Nov. 21 during a virtual dedication of the new Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland. The memorial, titled "From Absence to Presence," features erasure poetry when a poet takes existing text and erases or obscures portions of the text, creating aentirely new work from what remains including historical documents related to the Mackall-Broome plantation, one of three known plantations near St. Mary's City on a structure inspired by "ghost frame" cabin architecture.

Its a deliberate invocation, a call to remember that there were those who walked this land before we did and that their lives should be memorialized, that their suffering should be understood, that their contributions should no longer be invisible, said Garrey Dennie, an associate professor of African and African Diaspora studies.

The findings didn't come as a complete surprise to Julia King, a professor in the anthropology department, considering the history of the area. Many residents of Southern Maryland supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, despite the state siding with the Union, and the region had a sizable population of enslaved people in addition to a free Black population. About20 miles north of St. Mary's is the historic Sotterley Plantation.

America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news.

But not much was known about the lives of enslaved people in St. Mary's, which is known for being the birthplace of religious freedom, and the recent findings revealed a deeper diversity in the lives of enslaved people than previously understood.

"Slavery and enslavement had been erased from this landscape and this archeology actually jumpstarted that conversation in a way that became really productive," King said. "Slavery was really what underpinned the development of this region and there is no real monument, no real public monument" to enslaved people, she added.

The site, which appeared to be abandoned by the 1820s, also correlates with an interesting chapter of the country's history, according to King. During the War of 1812, British Admiral George Cockburn sailed along the East Coast near the British-occupied Chesapeake Bay, encouraging enslaved people to defect in return for their freedom. About 19 enslaved people from the St. Marys area reportedly defected, raising the possibility that these abandoned quarters were once their home.

One way to think about it is that the archeology revealed with a kind of texture, things which we already knew but not in that level of detail, said Dennie. A crucial point is that to a significant degree the African American experience disappeared from the consciousness of following generations and the archeology revealed it.

The structure, designed by Shane Allbritton and Norman Lee, incorporates poetry by Quenton Baker that includes language from slave property advertisements, runaway slave advertisements, newspaper articles and slave depositions of the Mackall-Broome family. At night, the words, etched in glass, will be illuminated by light from within the structure and the poetry will be projected onto the ground in a star-like pattern found on some of the ceramic artifacts recovered from the site.

It is like nothing you have ever seen before, it's also like nothing you've ever seen in St. Marys County before, said Jordan.

This year, the Black Lives Matter movement and demonstrations against police violence have reignited conversations around the countrys history of slavery. Now, after statues of racist slave owners and Confederate leaders were taken down around Maryland and the country, a memorial will go up, representing the millions of Africans torn from their homes and enslaved in the United States and other parts of the world.

"I hope that it makes people think about what does that mean for our history and how is this perpetuated in what goes on today and how can we compel the country to be better," said Jordan, pointing out the power of the memorial's design. "It is made out of polished steel. It reflects. It reflects yourself and history and makes you look at yourself."

THE LATEST ON THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT

BLM ACTIVIST CORI BUSH WINS IN MISSOURI, BECOMES STATES FIRST BLACK CONGRESSWOMAN

POLICE ARREST LAWMAKER WHO WROTE BREONNAS LAW DURING LOUISVILLE PROTESTS

WOMAN CHARGED WITH HATE CRIME AFTER THROWING BOTTLE AT BLACK RUNNER

ALMOST HALF OF NFL FANS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MINDS ABOUT COLIN KAEPERNICK

CITY TO PAY $12 MILLION TO BREONNA TAYLORS MOM, REFORM POLICE

NEW POLL SAYS NBA RATINGS HAVE PLUNGED BECAUSE OF RACIAL JUSTICE PROTESTS

Read more:
See the first memorial to the enslaved peoples of Southern Maryland in St. Mary's | TheHill - The Hill

There is a shutdown scheduled for a portion of the Metro Silver Line this weekend. In Virginia, overnight roadwork will cause stops on Interstate 66 and lane closures on the Beltway. And in the District, there will be a closure this weekend on South Capitol Street and the Suitland Parkway.

There is a shutdown scheduled for a portion of Metros Silver Line this weekend. In Virginia, overnight roadwork will cause stops on Interstate 66 and lane closures on the Capital Beltway. And in the District, there will be a closure this weekend on South Capitol Street and the Suitland Parkway.

Heres what to know about transit in the D.C. region this weekend.

Virginia

At night on the Beltway between Route 7 and Route 29 (Lee Highway), there will be three lanes closed for bridge construction and lane shifts, which are scheduled through 5 a.m. Saturday, weather permitting.

In Fairfax through Prince William counties, motorists continue to weed through the ever-changing landscape of roadwork and ramp reconfigurations that make up the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Project.

This week is no different, but with help from the Virginia Department of Transportation, were going to simplify these changes as much as possible.

Starting out in Fairfax, there has been overnight work this week thats scheduled into Saturday morning and will reduce travel on I-66 before and after Route 123 to a single lane, with periodic stops of 10 minutes at a time.

The work, which is weather-dependent, is scheduled to continue nightly until about 4:30 a.m. Saturday.

Also, the new permanent ramp from Route 28 north to I-66 east will open on or about Friday morning. Drivers on Route 28 north will stay to the right to access I-66 east using the new ramp.

There will also be a temporary new ramp implemented on Saturday for drivers exiting I-66 east at Nutley Street northbound. This change will allow pavement rehabilitation to advance for the new I-66 east general-purpose lanes while crews prepare to reconstruct the Nutley Street interchange.

In Gainesville through 8 a.m. Saturday, I-66 east between Route 29 (Lee Highway) and Route 234 (Prince William Parkway) will have three right lanes closed overnight for barrier relocations.

The ramp from I-66 east to Route 234 will be closed, with traffic diverted farther east for a detour at Route 234 (Business Sudley Road). This ramp closure is scheduled to happen again overnight Saturday into Sunday as well.

Also, with this work into Saturday morning, the ramp from Route 29 north to I-66 east in Gainesville will be reduced to one lane as crews implement a traffic shift.

For travel on I-66 west overnight until 9 a.m. Saturday, there will be only a single lane getting by between Bull Run and Route 234 (Business Sudley Road) for pavement markings and lane shifts.

And the ramp from I-66 west to Route 234 (Sudley Road) will be closed, with a detour posted for traffic to head south for a U-turn. In both directions of I-66 between Cub Run and the Manassas Rest Area, two lanes will remain closed overnight through 6 a.m. Saturday for bridge work.

In Centreville, I-66 east near Compton Road, just west of Route 29, will have scheduled overnight lane closures through about 5 a.m. Sunday for bridge work. The ramp from I-66 east to Route 29 will be closed and detoured farther east to Route 286 (Fairfax County Parkway).

There is also overnight work scheduled for Route 28 through Saturday morning between I-66 and Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, with lane and ramp closures for bridge work.

Motorists can expect a single lane open through 6 a.m. near the Braddock-Walney Road overpass and northbound from Old Centreville Road to I-66. The northbound closure is scheduled overnights through 6 a.m. Sunday as crews implement a new ramp opening.

The ramp from Route 28 north to eastbound I-66 is closed nightly through 5 a.m. Sunday, with a detour that takes motorists farther north turn around at Westfields Boulevard.

The ramp from Route 29 (Lee Highway) to Route 28 north will also be closed overnight and detoured through Sunday morning, with motorists pushed farther south to the I-66/Route 29 interchange.

As always, not all work associated with these extensive projects will be listed here. Be sure to stay tuned to WTOP with traffic on the 8s. And if you see something thats not being reported, you can call us at 866-304-WTOP.

Maryland

The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration will be detouring travel off MD-355 Urbana Pike for a bridge replacement on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Crews will switch traffic from MD-355 between Campus Drive and Big Woods Road to a new temporary roadway for work over Bennett Creek in Frederick County. Motorists can expect single-lane closures during the switch, and there will be flaggers directing the alternating, single lane of traffic.

In Baltimore, theres a new configuration to the ongoing rehabilitation of the I-895 Harbor Tunnel Thruway.

This weekend will see yet another change to the project with a switch to having two-way traffic on the new southbound bridge at Holabird Avenue as the northbound bridge joints are finished before the four-lane reopening.

Weather permitting, of course, this switch is scheduled to happen Friday, Nov. 20. As part of the transition, the Holabird Avenue exit ramp from the northbound bridge will be temporarily closed.

The ongoing 24/7 two-way traffic pattern in the southbound tube of the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel will be lifted on the evening of Nov. 24 for Thanksgiving weekend.

In Anne Arundel County, the work on I-97 in both directions between MD-3 and MD-174 for pavement repairs will continue to see lane shifts and closures overnights between 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., Sunday through Thursday nights; and daily single lane closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at MD-410 Riverdale Road, inside of the Beltway, there is ongoing work scheduled, with possible lane closures and ramps affected daily between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. This is work connected to the construction of the Maryland Transit Administrations Purple Line.

Crews will also be resurfacing Riverdale Road (MD 410) between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway (MD 295) and Veterans Parkway (MD 410) daily from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with temporary lane closures possible.

In Frederick, there will continue to be work on southbound I-270 between CSX railroad bridge and MD-80 (Fingerboard Road) for patching. There is scheduled to be single lane closures overnights from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. from Sunday night through Friday mornings through the end of the month.

The off-peak weekend work is scheduled to continue on the Capital Beltways Outer Loop over the Northwest Branch Bridge between MD-650 New Hampshire Ave and MD-193 University Boulevard in Montgomery County.

The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) is scheduling this work, weather permitting, into the end of the year.

Motorists through this stretch of the Beltway could see intermittent closures of one, two and three lanes during off-peak hours, which will cause delays.

Monday through Thursday, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Weekends from 9 p.m. on Friday through 5 a.m. Monday.

D.C.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will close all lanes on northbound South Capitol Street, SE at Potomac Avenue, SE this weekend. Northbound traffic crossing the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge will be channeled into the right lane before Potomac Avenue, SE.

All traffic will turn right onto Potomac Avenue, SE, then follow First Street, SE and M Street, SE back to northbound South Capitol Street, SE.

This closure is a result of the reconstruction of the I-295/Suitland Parkway interchange associated with the South Capitol Street Corridor Project, which includes construction of the New Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge.

There will also be full closures of the Suitland Parkway SE this weekend between Firth Sterling Avenue and South Capitol Street in the overnight hours into the weekend and on Saturday from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. weather permitting.

There will be detours posted, and if unforeseen issues arise, the Saturday full closure could be pushed into Sunday.

Metro

There will continue to be regularly scheduled routine maintenance on Metrorail on the weekends. This weekend will see a shutdown on the Silver Line and single tracking after 10 p.m. for the Green and Yellow Lines.

The Silver Line will have track tie work closing the Wiehle Reston East Station, with buses replacing trains between Spring Hill and Wiehle Reston East.

The Green and Yellow Lines will continue to see fire systems upgrades and implement single tracking between Fort Totten and Prince Georges Plaza nightly after 10 p.m.

There continues to be minimal impact work at Reagan National Airport for a platform rehabilitation project, which is scheduled through December.

Metrorail operates during its normal weekend hours, from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Sunday with trains servicing 90 of 91 stations.

Weekend service summary:

Red Line trains operate every 12 to 15 minutes.

Blue Line and Orange Line trains operate every 15 to 20 minutes.

Silver Line trains expected every 12 to 20 minutes between Spring Hill and Largo Town Center.

Wiehle-Reston East Station closed, free shuttles between Wiehle Reston East and Spring Hill.

Yellow and Green Line trains operate every 15 to 20 minutes.

Trains will single track between Georgia Ave-Petworth and Fort Totten stations after 10 p.m.

With continued health concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic, customers are required to wear face coverings or masks when using mass transit.

Read the original here:
Weekend road and rail: Shutdown on Silver Line and stops on I-66 - WTOP

One quarter of the first batch of units in the new Capitol Hill Stationmixed-use development have been leased, as of early this month, according to the complexs general manager.

The major project above the light rail transit station has been seen as a key development for the neighborhood creating hundreds of new homes and thousands of square feet of new commercial space on Broadway. The COVID-19 crisis has delayed construction but the new, mostly market-rate apartments are finally hitting that market.

110 affordable units in the Station House development on the northeast area above the station opened earlier this year and faced high demand.

More than two years after the projects groundbreaking across the street from Cal Anderson Park, which included a ribbon cutting from Mayor Jenny Durkan, the leasing process on the first 94 units of 400-plus on Broadway started in mid-September amid the coronavirus pandemic, general manager Kristin Lipp told CHS.

$5/MONTH? SUBSCRIBE AND SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS: Support local journalism dedicated to your neighborhood. SUBSCRIBE HERE. Jointo become a subscriber at$1/$5/$10 a monthto help CHS provide community news withNO PAYWALL. You can also sign up fora one-time annual payment.

The remaining units in the developments other buildings will be open for leasing in February, according to Lipp. One-bedroom market-rate units under 600 square feet are currently listed online for $2,150 per month.

UPDATE: CHS reached out to developer Gerding Edlen to ask more about the development and the impacts of COVID-19 and the ongoing unrest around Cal Anderson and the East Precinct but the Portland-based company did not reply to multiple inquiries. Lipp also declined to provide more information and context about the situation.

The project has had to adapt some of its leasing process in recent months, with staggered tours to allow more time in between for cleaning and virtual options to get a lay of the land. Individuals involved with the project did not answer questions on how the coronavirus pandemic has affected their leasing.

Coronavirus has shaken the local housing market, with rents down 14% since March, according to data from ApartmentList. The median one-bedroom apartment rents for just under $1,500 and two-bedrooms for $1,849. Rents have been going down for months and they were down 4.2% between September and October.

Seattle is obviously not alone in seeing rents plummet, with New York City down over 15% and San Francisco down a staggering 21.7% since March, according to ApartmentList.

Meanwhile, local apartment buildings are also giving more concessions to renters, such as a month of free rent. Over 70% of large Seattle-area buildings constructed since 2017 are giving such deals to leasers, according to The Seattle Times. For example, the Capitol Hill Station developers are advertising two months of free rent on some units to prospective tenants.

14th Aves REO Flats, for example, is touting two rent-free months, a waived deposit and application fee, and $500 off move-in costs. The Capitol Hill Station development is offering a similar deal on select units.

Gov. Jay Inslee, meanwhile, announced in early October that the statewide moratorium on evictions would be extended to the end of the year as financial pressures continue stemming from the pandemic. This updated order added a freeze on residential rents, but allows evictions for property damage to continue.

The City of Seattle, specifically, has its own moratorium similar to the one at the state level that Durkan extended in August through the end of 2020.

There were still 38 eviction filings in King County courts in October, according to the King County Bar Associations Housing Justice Project. Thats up from eight in April and 10 in both May and June. The number has been steadily rising in the summer months and into the fall, with October seeing the most filings, per the projects data. These figures have been previously reported by PubliCola.

Of the 145 evictions since the Housing Justice Project tracked pandemic trends, the zip codes with the most have been in suburbs like Kent and Auburn, but 98122 which includes the Central District, Madrona, and much of Capitol Hill has seen seven evictions. To its south, 98144 has also had six.

Of the eviction reasons, 83 were for tenants violating their lease or misbehavior, 43 were because the owner wanted to either sell the property or occupy it, seven were for unauthorized occupants, and five were for nonpayment of rent. Inslee added an exemption to his moratorium in June that allowed landlords to give 60-days notice to tenants that they plan to sell the unit or live in it.

So far in November, there have been 13 eviction filings in King County, according to the Housing Justice Project.

Sound Transitopened the U-Link extension and the new station below Broadwayin March 2016. In August 2016, Sound Transit signeda 99-year leasewith Gerding Edlen to developthe properties it had acquiredsurrounding the station.The Portland-based developer is leading the project with designs fromHewittandSchemata Workshop.Berger Partnershipis landscape architect for the entire site and part of the design super team working on the Capitol Hill Station development project.Community Roots Housing developed and operates the affordable housing component of the projects. CHS reported here on the20 years of community engagement it took to make the development a reality.

At Capitol Hill Station now, the marketing is focused on living in proximity to a bustling transit station in the middle of a busy neighborhood.

The smaller, building off Broadway and looking out into Cal Anderson Park is considered the luxury option and is being marketed as Park:

Welcome to Parka new look at luxury apartments at Capitol Hill Station. Park connects you to the vibrancy of Seattle, while giving you a thoughtfully cultivated escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. Parks studio, 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom, pet friendly apartments reflect the sophistication, timeless beauty, and iconic landscape of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. Call Capitol Hill Station home with the communitys most sought after and refined features, finishes, and amenities.

The larger, two-building Ander rises above Broadway:

Ander is pet-friendly, and people-friendly, with plenty of amenities and spaces for entertaining, exercising and lounging. With two, on-site light rail station entrances, transportation is a breeze and puts the excitement of Seattle in the palm of your hand. Explore the arts hub of Seattle and see all that Capitol Hill is made of with dozens of restaurants, venues and shops within walking distance.

Retail planned for the project including grocer H-Mart and The Exploration Academy daycare could also be a big plus for new tenants.

Its everything from a quiet night in, with a great book and takeout, to a fun night out with live music and craft cocktails, the copy reads. Welcome to Capitol Hill Station.

$5/MONTH? SUBSCRIBE AND SUPPORT LOCAL NEWS: Support local journalism dedicated to your neighborhood. SUBSCRIBE HERE. Jointo become a subscriber at$1/$5/$10 a monthto help CHS provide community news withNO PAYWALL. You can also sign up fora one-time annual payment.

See more here:
A Broadway development more than 20 years in the making, the process to fill Capitol Hill Station's new apartments has begun UPDATE - CHS Capitol...

The Global Digital Publishing for Education Market report is designed to effectively guide as a singular point of reference to address all reader queries and manufacturer doubts that enable high revenue generation amidst neck-deep competition in the Digital Publishing for Education market. The report is also a unique guiding aid to encourage best industry practices and equivalent business decisions that leverage million-dollar growth opportunities.

According to research inputs, this global Digital Publishing for Education market is also likely to register a thumping growth of USD xx million in 2020 and is further anticipated to reach over xx million USD by the end of 2027, clocking at a steady CAGR of xx% through the forecast span, 2020-27.

Request a sample of Digital Publishing for Education Market report @ https://www.orbismarketreports.com/sample-request/145067?utm_source=Maia

Research analysts and industry experts through this report are also aiming to lend ample light on further essential determinants such as a meticulous review and analytical take of opportunity assessment, also encompassing threat and challenge analysis that constantly deter upward growth spurt in Digital Publishing for Education market.

Key Plyares Analyis: Global Digital Publishing for Education Market

Thomson ReutersPearsonMcGraw-Hill EducationCambridge University PressJohn Wiley & SonsCengage LearningOxford University PressGeorg von HoltzbrinckHachette Livre

COVID-19 Impact Analysis:

To enable mindful business discretion amidst catastrophic developments such as COVID-19 and its subsequent implications, this ready-to-refer research report on the global Digital Publishing for Education market is designed to answer the queries pertaining to the pandemic to emerge from catastrophic implications.

Thus, this thorough, meticulously crafted research report is in place to aid vital market specific decisions amongst relevant stakeholders who remain key influencers in directing favorable growth trajectory in the Digital Publishing for Education market.

Further in the course of the report, research experts and industry experts also unfurl considerable understanding on other important implication rendering features such as current, historical, as well as future prospects of the market that have substantial bearing on the growth spurt of the Digital Publishing for Education market.

This intensively compiled research report presentation is a versatile hub of innate knowledge factors such as sales volume and bulk production, pricing matrix and sales figures, overall growth review and margin, chances of growth in the future and their range amongst other additional growth determinants that influence growth in the Digital Publishing for Education market.

Browse the complete report @ https://www.orbismarketreports.com/global-digital-publishing-for-education-market-size-share-growth-analysis-and-forecast-outlook-by-2027?utm_source=Maia

Understanding Regional Segmentation:

Further in its succeeding sectors of the report, this detailed presentation of the Digital Publishing for Education market offers vigorous details on regional belts and expansion projects identifying potential growth possibilities.

Furthermore, the report helps as a expedient guide to design and instrument probable growth routing activities across select regional hubs in the Digital Publishing for Education market. Frontline companies and their result-based growth approaches are also recruited in the report to emulate growth.

Digital Publishing for Education Market Analysis by Types:

GeographyEnglishScienceMathOther Subjects

Digital Publishing for Education Market Analysis by Applications:

K-12Higher Education SegmentCorporate/Skill Based Segment

The Report in a Nutshell:

1. A holistic documentation of current Digital Publishing for Education market influencers such as COVID-19 pandemic and consequent implications.

2. A rigorous real-time analytical review of the industrial developments, across a multi-faceted perspective to encourage lucrative business discretion.

3. A point-by-point overview of all major segments as well as cross sectional analysis of the aforementioned Digital Publishing for Education market, inclusive also of core manufacturer activity.

4. A thorough evaluation of regional developments, encapsulating diverse developments from a country-wise perspective.

5. A systematic representation of major opportunity mapping, competition intensity as well as barrier analysis to encourage wise business ventures.

Make an enquiry of this report @ https://www.orbismarketreports.com/enquiry-before-buying/145067?utm_source=Maia

ABOUT US:

With unfailing market gauging skills, Orbis Market Reports has been excelling in curating tailored business intelligence data across industry verticals. Constantly thriving to expand our skill development, our strength lies in dedicated intellectuals with dynamic problem solving intent, ever willing to mold boundaries to scale heights in market interpretation. We are equally backed by an elongated list of success stories and case studies that vouch for our extraordinary market research skills and milestones. Orbis Market Reports is a one-stop-solution to all market queries.

CONTACT US:

Address :- 6200 Savoy Drive,Suite 630 Houston, TX 77036Phone :- +1 210-667-2421Mail us: [emailprotected]

Go here to read the rest:
Digital Publishing for Education Market In-depth Analysis, Competitive Landscape By 2027: Thomson Reuters, Pearson, McGraw-Hill Education, Cambridge...

President-elect Joe Biden said "more people may die" without cooperation from the Trump administration on COVID vaccine distribution. USA TODAY

WASHINGTON Joe Biden and John McCain were having it out on national television nearly thirty years ago, bitterly debating U.S. involvement in the conflict in Bosnia, when the dispute veered into the kind of personal exchange common in todays politics.

John, are you saying air strikes would not help the people in Srebrenica right now? Is that what you're telling me? Biden, then a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said as he pressed McCain, the Arizona Republican who died in 2018.

I have not the foggiest notion as to what McCain said before Biden cut him off.

I know you don't.

It was the kind of verbal brawl that, in 2020, might blow up on Twitter, feature in a fundraising email and leave a bruise. But a longtime confidant of McCain said the 1993 bout with Biden on CBS and others like it over the years werent as personal as they seemed, largelybecause of the relationship the two colleagues had forged.

More: In meeting with Biden, emergency workers plead for COVIDequipment

More: A spiraling COVID-19 crisis will confront Biden on day one. Whats his plan?

Now President-elect Biden hopes the relationships he built during a career in the Senate will help him transcend partisanship and push an ambitious agenda through Congress a coronavirus stimulus, an investment in infrastructure, a comprehensive immigration bill and changes to the U.S. health care system.

Skepticism runs high about whether the former vice president's history can translate to the post-Trump era.But even veteran political hands from both parties say they havent given up entirely on the idea that relationships still matter in Washington.

He gets the benefit of the doubt, said Mark Salter, thelongtime McCain aide.People will still go to their corners on ideological issues but when youre trying to get stuff done that has to get done I think thats still a real asset that Biden has.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Biden is beginning to build a wish list for Capitol Hill even as President Donald Trump is disputing the election results with a series of challenges legal experts describe as questionable. Trumps unfounded claims of victory as well as two Senate runoff electionsin Georgia in January have muddied Bidens chances of moving legislation.

Underscoring the current landscape, its not clear whether Biden and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have even spoken since the election. The two were able to broker deals together during the Obama administration, but McConnell has so far declined to publicly acknowledge Bidens win while Trump continues his fight.

More: Biden, McConnell have brokered deals in the Senate: Can they do so again?

Former Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Republican who endorsed Biden, said McConnell's silence is predictable given the pressure he's under from his own GOP caucus and constituencyback in Kentucky.

"There are political realities and currents that McConnell's got to deal with," Hagel said. "But I don't think any of this will affect what happens after Jan. 20 when Biden and McConnell and other leaders in Congress have the responsibility to govern.

McConnell aides declined to answer questions about Biden's agenda.

A Biden transition official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy acknowledged aides are developing two different visions for the incoming president's first 100 days in office, one in which Democrats claim control of the Senate after the runoffs in Georgia, and a less ambitious plan if they do not.

Biden himself acknowledged as much in a call this week.

President-elect Joe Biden speaks after a meeting with governors in Wilmington, Delaware, on November 19, 2020.(Photo: JIM WATSON, AFP via Getty Images)

Were going to run into some real brick walls initially in the Senate unless were able to turn around Georgia and pick up those two seats, but even then its going to be hard, Biden said during a private call, according to multiple reports. But I believe, I believe I know the place. I believe we can ultimately bring it together.

Some Democrats in Congress share the concern.

"I'm unfortunately pessimistic on seeing a lot of bills move because of Mitch McConnell, just based on past experience, said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis. co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Like other progressives, Pocan predicted Biden would have to rely on executive orders to accomplish at least some of his goals. Both Trump and President Barack Obama also leaned heavily on those orderswhen they couldnt get Congress to take up their priorities. That often meant judges not lawmakers had the final say on the policies.

But before Biden can even get to legislation, hell have to win Senate confirmation for his Cabinet a process that could serve as an early test of his ability to maneuver in Washington.

Vice President Joe Biden administers a ceremonial Senate oath during a mock swearing-in ceremony to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Jan. 5, 2011.(Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP)

Supporters say Biden has an advantage his recent predecessors did not. While neither Trump nor Obama relished wading into the personal politics of Capitol Hill, Biden made a career out of it. Its how he was able to cut deals with McConnell during the 2013 fiscal cliff crisis, the debt-ceiling crisis of 2011 and the battle over Bush tax cuts in 2010.

Ted Kaufman, a longtime Biden ally who is leading the president elects transition, said the former vice presidents fundamental approach to making deals hasnt changed, and predicted the recipe would be effective even if Republicans retain control of the Senate.

Bidens playbook, Kaufman told USA TODAY, rests on walking through legislation line by line, if needed and building trust, including with political adversaries.

More: Biden picks for top White House jobs draw contrast with Trump on style

More: Biden names top White House appointees, including Rep. Cedric Richmond

Youve got to have trust to get these things done, Kaufman said. Sometimes people will negotiate and then there will be implications in a bill that they did not understand and may be hard for them back home. You have to have kind of the inner ability to realize that once you make a deal, its a deal. Joe Biden thats the way hes always been.

As part of that trust building, Kaufman predicted that the incoming Biden administration wouldnt look to spring unexpected policy proposals on Capitol Hill. Instead, Kaufman said, transition officials are building out a policy agenda based on Bidens campaign promises, which included a focus on COVID, immigration and infrastructure.

Kaufman brushed aside a question on whether McConnell's reticence to acknowledge Bidens election victory this month could harm the atmosphere for bipartisan deal making.

He doesnt hold grudges, Kaufman said of Biden.

Ted Kaufman, a longtime, close adviser to President-elect Joe Biden.(Photo: Suchat Pederson, The (Wilmington) News Journal)

Its been a little over a decade since Biden played a pivotal role in helping Obama get a $787 billion economic stimulus through Congress in 2009, a deal that helped pull the nation out of the Great Recession. But much has changed in the Senate since then.

Biden, then vice president, managed to convince Sen. Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican who would switch to the Democratic Party months later, to vote for the bill along with GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine.Since then, many of the centrists from both parties have left, often complaining that the incentives and personal relations that made deals possible were beginning to ebb.

Hagel, who also served as defense secretary from 2013 to 2015under the Obama administration, said the president-elect'sdeal-making abilityis more relevantin the post-Trump era. Biden's leadership will improve on the partisan environment that hasmarked the Trump administration, Hagel said, and restore the relationship between a president and Congress.

"I think you're going to find Biden getting in his presidential limousine and going up to the Hill and meeting with members of Congress," he said. "I just don't know anybody who would be better equipped at a time like this to handle these kind of things.I am biased, yes, but I'm also a realist andI'm still Republican."

More: Facing fire from the right and left, Collins beckons voters to political center

Phil Schiliro, a former director of legislative affairs for Obama, said Biden has the skills and a real commitment to finding the kind of bipartisan compromise that used to be possible. But, he added, it takes two to negotiate.

Thats going to be the key question, he said. Will Republicans want to meet him halfway, or want to meet him at all?

Contributing: Christal Hayes,Phillip M. Bailey,Ledyard King, Maureen Groppe

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/11/20/biden-hopes-major-deals-congress-despite-post-trump-acrimony/6284346002/

Go here to see the original:
'Youve got to have trust.' The strategy Joe Biden hopes will lead to agreement in a post-Trump era - USA TODAY