On Friday, a crowd of more than 100 people gathered in downtown Grand Junction. Some held handmade signs, others wore face paint; there was more than one reference to wire hangers. They had come to protest the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling.
Though Colorado allows abortion, the procedure is now illegal in many of the states surrounding it. And that is changing the landscape of abortion access inside the state.
Jeriel Clark was one of the event’s speakers. A mom to two teenage daughters, Clark worries that the new patchwork of laws across the country will restrict where her kids feel comfortable moving when they’re older. She attended the protest to hand out information about abortion care in Colorado.
“Today, we’re going to be sharing some information about where you can find the closest abortions near you,” she said. “But it is really going to take someone who has the means and technology available to access that information to be able to make it to those locations.”
Even before the Supreme Court decision, getting access to an abortion was difficult for many people, including for those who live on the Western Slope. Like many communities here, Grand Junction does not have an abortion clinic. The closest is 90 miles away in Glenwood Springs.
Stina Sieg/CPR NewsA large crowd gathered outside the federal courthouse in Grand Junction on Friday, June 24, 2022 to protest the overturning of Roe vs. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court made earlier in the day.
Clark worried that people coming from Utah won’t be able to find their way to the handful of clinics that perform abortions in western Colorado, including in Cortez and Durango.
Abortion became illegal in Utah with the reversal of Roe v. Wade on Friday, though a judge temporarily blocked the state’s “trigger ban” on Monday.
BATON ROUGE – From this time three years ago, Myles Brennan came to the Manning Passing Academy as Joe Burrow’s understudy not knowing that both he and Burrow would be involved in one of the most historic college football seasons of all time.
Fast forward three years to now, he’s still in a quarterback battle in Baton Rouge but he’s still better prepared and in a better state of mind to take over the reins as QB one for 2019.
“I and Joe were a counselor and I came into the little throwing sessions and stuff and just being able to come back and be a counselor. So I mean, it’s an honor, obviously,” Brennan said.
“Myles or anybody, you pick up one thing about how to study film or you know, a certain drill, like I was telling yesterday, that the drills you do out there on your own, you should create those drills based off the film from the season before,” Peyton Manning said.
“Last year, but you know, I took from 2020 and just tried to tweak you know, whether it’s like pocket presence or just knowing where to go to ball, our coverages, or blitzes or protections I mean, the whole nine yards footwork. So I just try and pick you know, some certain every day and just knock it out. And just a week later, I’ll go back to it and just keep going keep getting better. There’s always something you can get better. All ways,” Brennan said.
If we know anything about Myles Brennan is that any adversity that he faces any battle that he’s thrown in the middle of he’s going to come out on top whether he wins or he loses take his weight, for example,
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“I was to 225 the other day. So that’s, that’s good. I like to be I like to 220 So just be a little bit more mobile and things like that, but it’s better than 170 the last time you asked for that, I mean, when you’re at LSU for seven years it happens,” Brennan said.
Davey Martinez tried to set his lineup up for Texas Rangers’ right-hander Matt Bush, and he tried to also account for the fact that Bush, who’d made 30 appearances, but only three starts so far in 2022, wouldn’t be around for long, with the home team going with an opener for the second game of the three-game series with Washington’s Nationals in Globe Life Field this weekend.
“It’s kind of tough, because you try to figure out who’s in their bullpen and what they might try to do,” Martinez explained, “but they have a bunch of lefties and a bunch of righties, so the fortunate thing for us is that we have a bunch of switch-hitters, and I try to make out the lineup based on how we feel we can handle their rotation for today. So, that’s how I decided to bump César [Hernández] back to seventh just because I wanted to get Lane [Thomas] up there against Matt Bush, because Lane does hit fastballs well.
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
“So, maybe he can get a jumpstart for us, then you have all those switch hitters in a row, so we’ll see what happens. It’s always difficult to plan a day when you don’t know that a guy is going to pitch 5-6 innings.”
Of course, Bush didn’t end up opening up the second of three in Globe Life Field.
Lefty Brett Martin did, then 2015 Nats’ 5th Round pick Taylor Hearn tossed four scoreless out of the pen, giving up just two one-out walks in the top of the second.
As a poet once wrote, “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley, an’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain.”
Does He Get Mad?:
Towards the end of Davey Martinez’s pregame press conference on Saturday, a reporter asked the fifth-year skipper what they said was an admittedly silly question:
Does right-hander Paolo Espino, who’s seemingly imperturbable, ever, you know, get angry?
We’re paraphrasing the question, but Davey liked it.
“Good question,” Martinez said. “Not necessarily, but he does get frustrated. Yesterday, he was frustrated after he threw that pitch and [Rangers’ outfielder Adolis] García hit a home run, because he said, ‘I wasn’t convicted to throw that pitch and I threw it anyway, which is dumb.’ So I said, ‘Hey, just learn. Learn and don’t do it again, right?’”
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
“But he was upset with himself, and I said, ‘Hey, man, for what it’s worth, you did awesome, so put that one by you, and learn by your mistakes and move on.”
Espino, in his own post game press conference after he gave up just the one run on the HR, six hits, and one walk in an 89-pitch, 5 1/3-inning outing in the series opener in Texas, said it didn’t really matter to him that he lowed his ERA to 2.21 on the year in the outing, since it is way too early in the season to be thinking about stats.
Luis García joined the Nationals after he was called up from Triple-A on June 1st, and going into Saturday’s game, he had a .326/.337/.465 line, six doubles, two home runs, one walk, a hit by pitch, and nine runs scored, but perhaps even more impressive were his numbers with runners in scoring position since he came up.
García started the second of three with the Rangers 8 for 23 (.348/.333/.478) with runners in scoring position in 2022, and 6 for 12 with RISP and two outs (.500/.500/.667), with two of his six doubles two-out hits.
If clutch, you know, existed…
Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
“He’s worked really hard,” manager Davey Martinez said of García’s success in those spots in his first month up this season, after he played at Triple-A in April and May.
“We talked to him last year about what we felt like he needed to do,” Martinez continued, and for now, they want him hunting pitches he knows he’s having success on.
“He’s not going to be a guy that’s going to get tons of walks right now. He may in the future. He’s very aggressive. It was understanding the strike zone more for him, and knowing what balls he can hit, what balls he hits hard, locations, and once he did that, then we started seeing that he’s been hitting [a fair] amount of balls in the zone very well, and I know he notices that, so his whole approach is to get the ball in, get the ball up, doesn’t have to be in, doesn’t have to be away, it just has to be up in the zone and he’s putting a good swing on each of those pitches.”
In Minnesota, where abortion is still legal, is bordered by states where it is now banned. Planned Parenthood expects a jump in out-of-state patients seeking abortions in Minnesota. In preparation for that increase, clinics are recruiting healthcare professionals from other states.
Choosing to terminate a pregnancy. That’s no longer a right. In all 50 states, this map showing or performing an abortion is illegal effective immediately. That includes the Dakotas and Wisconsin. Republican led state governments in Nebraska and Iowa likely to move bill soon that will either restrict or ban the procedure. Our doors remain open. We intend to continue to be the good neighbor that we have always been to others in surrounding states planned parenthood today in full recruiting mode for its four clinics that provide abortions in Minnesota, all of them in the twin cities, there are three other independent providers, one in bloomington in one in Rochester and another in Duluth. We could take any support staff, any RN, any physicians willing to come to one of our states to help provide care the right to abortion in Minnesota codified by the state Supreme Court, which cited the state Constitution in its decision back in 1995 laws remaining on the books, generally requiring a 24 hour waiting period plus parental consent for minors. already data showing about 10% of patients getting abortions here Coming from out of state planned parenthood. Now projecting that will jump to 25% legal experts tonight warning that could provoke the next stage in this legal fight. It’s going to be in a bunch of different venues around nuanced questions. But the fundamental premise is you’re going to see a ton of lawsuits trying to make sure the women who are in those states without protections can’t get the care that they need in Minnesota
‘Queen of Halloween’ Heidi Klum announced Thursday that she has officially started prepping her costume four months ahead of the spooky holiday.
The German 49-year-old shared a time-lapse video of a Prosthetic Renaissance staffer holding some sort of body scanner as she sat in a chair with her hair in a stocking cap while clad in a bikini top.
Using the hashtag #heidihalloween2022, Heidi – who boasts 21.4M social media followers – captioned her Instagram post: ‘…and so it begins.’
‘Queen of Halloween’: Heidi Klum announced Thursday that she has officially started prepping her costume four months ahead of the spooky holiday
Last year, Klum – who canceled her last two parties due to COVID-19 – posted several spooky videos of herself recreating some of her favorite horror movie tropes including a shredded back.
In 2020, the Emmy-winning host – who relies on Oscar-nominated make-up artist Mike Marino – did two more subdued looks of herself blending into wall and a bedspread.
In 2019, Heidi debuted her most grisly costume – an alien with an exposed brain – for her 20th annual Halloween bash held at Cathédrale New York.
What could it be this year? The German 49-year-old shared a time-lapse video of a Prosthetic Renaissance staffer holding some sort of body scanner as she sat in a chair with her hair in a stocking cap while clad in a bikini top
Using the hashtag #heidihalloween2022, Heidi – who boasts 21.4M social media followers – captioned her Instagram post: ‘…and so it begins’
‘I start thinking about it on November 1. I usually have two or three ideas that I’m playing with and then I decide on one thing,’ Klum told DailyMail.com in 2019.
‘So the next morning, I start thinking, “Maybe next year, I’m going to do that one that I didn’t do this year.” And then, obviously, throughout the year new ideas pop up because maybe I’ve seen a new or old movie, or was inspired by my travels.’
The America’s Got Talent judge continued: ‘I put a lot of pressure on myself to come up with something better and better every year. I don’t want to let the costume lovers down.
‘I put a lot of pressure on myself to come up with something better and better every year’: Last year, Klum – who canceled her last two parties due to COVID-19 – posted several spooky videos of herself recreating some of her favorite horror movie tropes including a shredded back
Even in a pandemic! In 2020, the Emmy-winning host – who relies on Oscar-nominated make-up artist Mike Marino – did two more subdued looks of herself blending into wall and a bedspread
Gross: In 2019, Heidi debuted her most grisly costume – an alien with an exposed brain – for her 20th annual Halloween bash held at Cathédrale New York
Klum (pictured Tuesday) told DailyMail.com in 2019: ‘I start thinking about it on November 1. I usually have two or three ideas that I’m playing with and then I decide on one thing. So the next morning, I start thinking, “Maybe next year, I’m going to do that one that I didn’t do this year.” And then, obviously, throughout the year new ideas pop up because maybe I’ve seen a new or old movie, or was inspired by my travels’
‘I know there are so many creative people out there and fans that are excited to see what I do each year.’
In 2018, Heidi dressed up as Princess Fiona while her third husband Tom Kaulitz dressed as Shrek.
In 2017, Klum transformed into the werewolf from Michael Jackson’s iconic Thriller music video.
‘I don’t want to let the costume lovers down’: In 2018, Heidi dressed up as Princess Fiona while her third husband Tom Kaulitz dressed as Shrek
She even learned the choreography! In 2017, Klum transformed into the werewolf from Michael Jackson’s iconic Thriller music video
Clones: In 2016, the Making the Cut producer-host (3-L) had her team transform five women with similar 5ft9in figures into her clones by putting wigs and prosthetic faces on them
In 2016, the Making the Cut producer-host had her team transform five women with similar 5ft9in figures into her clones by putting wigs and prosthetic faces on them.
Heidi was sultry torch singer Jessica Rabbit in 2015, a butterfly in 2014, an old woman in 2013, Cleopatra in 2012, a chimpanzee and skinless Hellraiser character in 2011, and an alien transformer in 2010.
Klum currently judges the 17th season of America’s Got Talent – airing Tuesdays on NBC – alongside Howie Mandel, Sofía Vergara, Simon Cowell, and host Terry Crews.
Airing Tuesdays on NBC! Klum currently judges the 17th season of America’s Got Talent alongside Howie Mandel, Sofía Vergara, Simon Cowell, and host Terry Crews
Maryland Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis will pitch her state to Democratic National Committee officials as a good place to start the presidential nominating process in 2024. Screen shot.
Maryland Democrats are making their pitch later this week to have more say in the presidential nominating process with an earlier primary in 2024.
Party leaders are scheduled to address the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and By-laws Committee on Thursday afternoon, as the DNC looks to shake up the nominating process across the nation and allow different regions to be represented at the start of the primary season in 2024.
Maryland is one of 17 states looking to get in on the early action, with the anticipation that some of the traditional early states in the nominating process — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina — may be forced to hold their primaries or caucuses later in the cycle.
In a statement provided to Maryland Matters, Maryland Democratic Party Chair Yvette Lewis said the state would be an “asset” to the national party if it’s allowed to go early in the nominating process.
“We’re the big-tent party and Maryland is the most diverse state on the East Coast — it’s an ideal match,” she said. “Candidates would get a chance to campaign in the backyard of D.C., with a strong media market at their disposal and a chance to canvass a state that offers Marylanders from all walks of life. And our support from our leaders in the state legislature ensures that we could quickly and effectively move the election date to align with a new schedule.”
Lewis is scheduled to make the pitch to DNC leaders along with former Maryland Secretary of State John McDonough, Maryland Democratic Party Executive Director Eva Lewis (no relation to Yvette), and Brandon Stoneburg, the state party’s political director.
Other states will be touting their bids to go early at the DNC meeting later this week. State party representatives will be given 15 minutes to make their presentations, then will be expected to answer questions for up to 20 minutes.
Maryland has traditionally held its presidential primary in the spring, often after the nominating contests have been decided. One notable exception was in 2008, when Maryland, D.C. and Virginia held a “DMV primary” on Feb. 12, and it played a critical role in adding to Barack Obama’s momentum for the Democratic nomination.
Iowa officials are going to aggressively try to preserve the state’s status as the first-in-the-nation caucus, even though the 2020 caucus was plagued by technical difficulties that delayed the full count of results for three days.
But Iowa is 85% white, and that’s problematic in the eyes of many Democratic leaders. Scott Brennan, a former Iowa Democratic Party chair, said the state is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse, and that it already represents different variations in America’s population. Brennan pointed to economic diversity, and the variety of rural, urban and suburban voters who participate in caucuses.
With Democrats struggling to appeal to working-class rural voters nationally, Iowa is a good testing ground for candidates who hope to win in a general election, he said.
“We can’t just glom onto a pile of votes on the coasts and a couple big cities and hope that’s enough,” Brennan said. “It isn’t enough.”
The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee is expected to make a recommendation for the primary calendar in early August, then the full DNC will vote on that recommendation at a meeting in early September.
A big endorsement for a political tyro
Is it time to start taking Republican Matthew Foldi seriously as a possible challenger to U.S. Rep. David Trone (D) in Maryland’s 6th District?
Foldi, a 25-year-old former journalist and conservative provocateur with The Washington Free Beacon, won the endorsement Tuesday of U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), the man almost certain to become speaker of the House in January barring some unforeseen GOP train wreck.
“Matthew Foldi’s campaign for Congress is critical to taking back the Republican majority and stopping the disastrous Biden agenda,” McCarthy said in a statement. “His experience as an investigative reporter will be crucial in helping our new majority hold this White House accountable. Matthew’s strong campaign has expanded the map and I’m confident he can oust another do-nothing Democrat.”
In response, Foldi wrote on Twitter: “Leader McCarthy has spent his entire career getting Republicans across the country elected to stop the radical left. I look forward to working with him to take our country back.”
Foldi has yet to show any campaign finance information, so the size of his war chest won’t be clear until mid-July. But at the Free Beacon he was good at drawing attention to himself, and his first 30-second ad of the campaign, which began airing last week, was also provocative.
“Meet Matthew Foldi, conservative reporter and outsider,” a narrator says at the top of the ad. “When D.C. Democrats and Joe Biden tried to cover up their failures, he exposed them.”
“Like this,” Foldi says, with an open laptop showing an appearance he made on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the hit Fox News opinion show.
The ad also spotlights Foldi’s work spotlighting Trone’s decision to keep his district offices closed for extended periods of time during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’ll stop this madness and I’ll actually show up for work,” Foldi says.
The ad ends with several young people cheering Foldi on as he walks down a street.
Meanwhile, Del. Neil Parrott (R-Washington), the 2020 GOP nominee against Trone who is trying again this year, announced Tuesday that he has been endorsed by the Family Research Council PAC, the political arm of the evangelical activist group and think tank.
The PAC called Parrott “a staunch defender of life, family, and religious liberty.” It praised the lawmaker for pushing “for the right of chaplains and business owners alike to fulfill their duties according to their deeply held religious convictions without fear of government repercussion.”
Launched in 1967, Upward Bound is a federally funded program that is intended to provide students with the tools and support to get into college. The five-week residential program allows students to get the academic support they need and helps build skills with a variety of workshops.
Rod Wallace is the program director.
“We typically look for students who exhibit leadership acumen. Students who are willing to do the work when it comes to academics. As well as those that might need that extra kick and need that extra support that we can provide.”
The program works with 90 kids and provides academic support, career and college counseling, and helps break down barriers to achievement.
Wallace says 75-80% of his kids without a college graduate in their family enroll in college, which is nearly twice the statewide average.
Non-commercial, fact based reporting is made possible by your financial support. Make your donation to WEMU today to keep your community NPR station thriving.
Pam Young, a member of the Chorus of Westerly and Chorus Music Librarian, follows a schematic diagram as she sets up chairs onstage for the performers, in preparation for The Chorus of Westerly’s 41st annual Summer Pops in Wilcox Park, Friday, June 17, 2022. | Tim Martin, The Westerly Sun
WYOMING — As a food distributor serving a large swath of the country, Gordon Food Service Inc. is closely involved with the pain points facing restaurants and food service operations.
Labor availability is one persistent challenge that has led to GFS’s recent partnership with Dexai Robotics.
The Boston-based company has developed a robotic system for commercial kitchens called Alfred, which consists of a flexible robotic arm surrounded by several receptacles for food ingredients, all controlled by a tablet and app. Users are able to program their own recipes into the system ingredient by ingredient.
Once installed, pressing a few buttons prompts Alfred to assemble a wide variety of food and dishes, from burritos, pasta, ramen and salads to Mediterranean power bowls or even topping a pizza. The robot cuts down on the dull and repetitive task of simply combining ingredients to create a dish.
“It’s changing what it means to work in a kitchen,” Dexai founder and CEO David Johnson told MiBiz during a recent visit to GFS’s headquarters in Wyoming, where he demonstrated Alfred for the campus’ entire staff. “Fifty years ago, a dishwasher wasn’t that common and now you think of it as an appliance you have to have. We see Alfred the robot as exactly in that same vein. It’s a new appliance, a new type of thing that will become just as commonplace as a dishwasher or a microwave.”
Dexai has deployed three Alfred robots out in the field to date. The first was installed at Travis Air Force Base in California, where it works in the cafeteria to create grab-and-go salads.
Another Alfred robot was put to use at a corporate cafeteria, while the third helps with operations at a Mediterranean restaurant in Dexai’s home city of Boston.
BFFs with GFS
Now partnered through GFS’s corporate innovation arm Relish Works Inc., Dexai looks to grow by leveraging the food distributor’s mammoth network and resources.
“Knowing the clients and also understanding the client needs is a big part of why we like working with (GFS),” Johnson said. “And they’re also a very innovative company. They’re always looking to find the newest thing, the best in class, what’s out there and then reaching out and partnering so we can grow together. Gordon can then bring the product to their customers and show them that they’re innovating.”
Through the partnership, GFS representatives can point to Dexai’s robot as one of many solutions for restaurants and food services grappling with workforce shortages.
Right now, the Alfred robot works at roughly half the speed of a human, making it ideal for some environments, but not yet ready for the big leagues of fast food.
“One thing that we like, especially with our partnership with Gordon, is that we can work with different customers with different needs,” Johnson said. “We can roll it out, and have it start working in the back of the house, where it doesn’t have to be quite as fast. Then we put it in front of customers and it’s got to be faster, and then we go to fast food and that’s the fastest, most demanding environment.”
Down the road, Dexai looks to create comparable robots that take on other tasks, such as preparing beverages, frying and cooking in an oven.
Kitchen aids
Johnson said he expects — and welcomes — plenty of competition flooding into the market based on the workforce shortages in the food business.
“I think that’s great,” he said. “What that means is operators are able to have a lot of choices and it shows the mindset is shifting. We’re really seeing that this is the right way for operators to address the challenges they’re having during the pandemic and post pandemic. I think we’re going to see a lot more digitization of the entire restaurant and food service.”
Relish Works is tasked with scouting out innovations in both food and food technology to help GFS forge and leverage partnerships.
Relish Works also operates the Food Foundry, an accelerator program that welcomes startups specializing in both food and food technology innovation.
The accelerator, which wrapped up its fourth cohort this spring, has hosted startups like EZ-Chow, which developed a multi-channel digital ordering and marketing platform for restaurants. That cohort also featured Forever Ware, which has created a system of reusable takeout containers and cups that customers borrow and return in order to provide trash-free takeout.
The most recent eight-company cohort focused on health, sustainability and social impact, including tenants like Confetti Fine Foods, a maker of vegetable and mushroom chips using rescued produce.
“Our role is to be out in the world finding best-in-class companies so that GFS can continue to innovate and be a leading distributor in North America,” said Tyler Booth, investment lead for Relish Works.
“We found Dexai knowing that labor was an issue in restaurants even pre-pandemic. Labor was an issue two to five years before the pandemic. We really went out there and saw robotics are coming, so who is the best-in-class company that can really help our customers from independent food operators to regional chains? Dexai really rose to the top from that research and outreach.”
As part of growing together, Dexai will gain significant exposure through participating in GFS’s series of six food service shows this fall.
Through partnerships with companies like Dexai, GFS is able to effectively remain on the cutting-edge of food, even as a 125-year-old company, executives say.
“We’re seeing different points or hot zones in a restaurant’s four walls where innovation will happen but it will always happen in coordination with humans,” Booth said. “Humans will be the conductors of the robots, but all that creativity and emotional intelligence will still live in a human.”
A 12-day shutdown on the Green Line’s B branch begins Monday, kicking off a series of MBTA maintenance projects this summer and fall that will take each of the four Green Line branches offline for extended periods of time.
The T will halt above-ground trolley service from the B Line’s endpoint at Boston College all the way to Kenmore, where riders will still be able to access downtown-bound trains, from Monday, June 20, through Friday, July 1. Shuttle buses will replace trips along the route at all stops except Warren Street, Allston Street and Packard’s Corner.
During that time, crews plan to replace 3,000 feet of track, replace segments of special trackwork, and upgrade the Fordham Road pedestrian crossing and the Linden Street intersection. MBTA officials said the shutdown will accomplish work that would have taken six months of weekend-only closures.
Workers will also install equipment for the Green Line Train Protection System, an automated anti-collision technology. Federal officials first recommended more than a decade ago that the agency deploy that system on the Green Line, but the MBTA still has not completed the project. T leaders moved the timeline up by a year last summer after a crash on the B branch that injured more than two dozen people, and now expect the protection system to be online by 2023.
The MBTA, which faces new orders from the Federal Transit Administration to make immediate changes to address glaring safety issues, also plans to halt train service and run shuttle buses instead on the above-ground segments of the three other Green Line branches.
The C branch will go offline from July 11 to July 22; the E branch will close from Copley to Heath Street between Aug. 6 and Aug. 21; and the D Branch will shutter for three different nine-day bursts: Sept. 24 to Oct. 2, Oct. 8 to Oct. 16, and Oct. 22 to Oct. 30.
Stina Sieg/CPR News
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