GENEVA (5 March 2021) – UN expert Mary Lawlor* said today hundreds of human rights defenders are killed for their peaceful work every year, and States must find the political will to protect them and prevent the killings. “It is shocking that between 2015 and 2019, at least 1,323 defenders were killed in 64 countries,” […]
Posted inCalifornia
Ballparks, Stadiums, Theme Parks Can Open Outdoors Beginning April 1 with Capacity Restrictions and Other Safety Modifications
SACRAMENTO March 5, 2021 – Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released updates to the state’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening framework focused on activities that can be conducted outdoors with consistent masking, two factors that are scientifically shown to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread. The updates allow outdoor ballparks, stadiums […]
Posted inRegional
Precipitation chances return tonight, low snow levels possible next week
March 5, 2021 – Dry and mild weather continues most of today. Rain and mountain snow returns tonight and early Saturday with mountain travel delays. Unsettled weather is likely most of next week. Discussion Dry and mild weather continue for one last day with ridge departing into the Great Basin Region. GEFS then shows upper […]
Posted inRegional
PFLAG Nevada County closes, support programs continue
March 5, 2021 – The Nevada County Chapter of PFLAG is closing, according to an email sent yesterday. The chapter, founded locally in 2002, is transitioning their programs to two other local non-profits. We’re writing to inform you that in the coming weeks PFLAG Nevada County will be shutting down. This decision comes after years […]
Posted inCalifornia
State Updates Guidance for Youth and Adult Recreational Sports
SACRAMENTO March 4, 2021 – Today, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released an update to its outdoor and indoor youth and recreational adult sports guidance which specifies the conditions under which youth and adult recreational sports may resume practice with contact and competition under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The guidance has […]
Posted inUS
Over 11,000 applications for asylum based on LGBT status filed in the US between 2012 and 2017
March 4, 2021 – A new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law estimates that 11,400 applications for asylum on the basis of LGBT status were filed in the U.S. between 2012 and 2017. Three out of four LGBT asylum seekers were male, and more than half were from the Northern Triangle […]
Posted inWorld
Statement of ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, respecting an investigation of the Situation in Palestine
Today, I confirm the initiation by the Office of the Prosecutor (”Office”) of the International Criminal Court (”ICC” or the ”Court”) of an investigation respecting the Situation in Palestine. The investigation will cover crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court that are alleged to have been committed in the Situation since 13 June 2014, the […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Humans drive most of the ups and downs in freshwater storage at Earth’s surface, Stanford study finds
March 4, 2021 – Water levels in the world’s ponds, lakes and human-managed reservoirs rise and fall from season to season. But until now, it has been difficult to parse out exactly how much of that variation is caused by humans as opposed to natural cycles. Analysis of new satellite data published March 3 in Nature shows fully 57 […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Robert P. Alvarez and Uma Nagarajan-Swenson: Biden Needs to Keep His Promise on Immigration
March 4, 2021 – Joe Biden has done a lot on immigration in a short amount of time — much of it good. In January, Biden kicked off his presidency with splashy executive orders ending the Muslim ban, protecting young undocumented people from deportation, and making sure immigrants are counted in the Census. In February, he introduced […]
Posted inRegional
COVID-19 Vaccine Grass Valley appointments will be available in MyTurn at noon on Fridays
March 4, 2021 – Nevada County Public Health will post appointment availability for the upcoming week on Friday at noon on the state’s MyTurn website. Editor’s note: Eligibility does still not guarantee an appointment, but dosage allocations are going up. Eligibility: Appointments will be available for those eligible in Phases 1A and 1B, including people […]
Posted inLife
Study Reveals Extent of Privacy Vulnerabilities with Amazon’s Alexa
March 4, 2021 – A recent study outlines a range of privacy concerns related to the programs that users interact with when using Amazon’s voice-activated assistant, Alexa. Issues range from misleading privacy policies to the ability of third-parties to change the code of their programs after receiving Amazon approval. “When people use Alexa to play […]
Posted inWorld
UN: 17% of all food available at consumer levels is wasted
Nairobi/Paris, 4 March 2021 – An estimated 931 million tonnes of food, or 17% of total food available to consumers in 2019, went into the waste bins of households, retailers, restaurants and other food services, according to new UN research conducted to support global efforts to halve food waste by 2030. The weight roughly equals that […]
Posted inUS
‘New’ Dream Act Not Full Reform, Says Human Rights Watch
Washington, DC, March 4, 2021 – Congress should make significant changes to a version of the Dream Act introduced on March 3, 2021 in the United States House of Representatives, Human Rights Watch said today. The bill, the American Dream and Promise Act, or H.R. 6, was introduced by Representative Lucille Roybal-Allard and other lawmakers. […]
Posted inSci/Tech
SARS-CoV-2 mutations in competition
Prior to the emergence of new mutants of the coronavirus, such as the British variant B.1.1.7, the SARS-CoV-2 variant named D614G had already mutated from the original SARS-CoV-2 pathogen that triggered the pandemic. D614G has rapidly spread to become the most abundant variant worldwide and this D614G mutation remains in all the new emerging variants. […]
Posted inUS
209 US counties face a crisis in staffing ICUs that care for COVID-19 patients
WASHINGTON, March 4, 2021 – Over the next month, 209 U.S. counties in the United States will need to implement crisis workforce strategies to deal with potentially dangerous shortfalls of intensive care unit doctors, according to a new analysis published today. The analysis draws on data from a just launched county-level hospital workforce estimator, one that takes into […]
Posted inCalifornia
Senate Launches ‘Blueprint for a Fire Safe California’
SACRAMENTO, March 4, 2021 – With another hot and dry fire season on the horizon and potential drought settling in over California, preparedness efforts throughout the state are underway. In anticipation of this, Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego) and the Senate’s Wildfire Working Group have released a plan and introduced a budget […]
Posted inWorld
Myanmar: UN human rights expert issues report and urges decisive, unified action to put an end to brutality
GENEVA (4 March 2021) – The UN’s human rights expert on Myanmar said in a report published today the military junta in the country is illegal, illegitimate and responsible for widespread and systematic human rights violations against nonviolent, peaceful protesters, and should be held accountable. In the report to the Human Rights Council, the UN […]
Posted inRegional
Local Woman will Double Donations to Hospitality House for International Women’s Day
Grass Valley, Calif. (March 4, 2020) – Opportunity for impact! International Women’s Day (IWD) takes place each year on March 8 and to celebrate women who make a difference, donations to Hospitality House will be matched up to $5,000 by local businesswoman, Lauren Maddux, co-owner of The Event Helper in Grass Valley. For over 100 […]
Posted inRegional
Precipitation chances return this weekend, unsettled next week
March 4, 2021 – Dry and mild weather through Friday. Rain and mountain snow chances return over the weekend and early next week with possible mountain travel delays. Discussion GEFS shows upper low moving east over the southern Rockies today with ridge building briefly over northern California with dry weather and Valley high temperatures ranging […]
Posted inUS
House Passes H.R. 1280, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
Washington, D.C. March 3, 2021–Today, the House of Representatives passed the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, by a vote of 220 to 212. The legislation is a bold, comprehensive approach to hold police accountable, change the culture of law enforcement, empower our communities, and build trust between law enforcement and our communities by addressing […]