Desert Star Weekly Oct. 23, 2020 issue! by The Desert Star Weekly

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An octocoral (Metallogorgia sp.) and a commensal brittle star (Ophiocreas sp.) photographed at about 6,000 feet deep during a 2017 NOAA research cruise along the northern West Florida Escarpment in the Gulf of Mexico see page 6. (noaa.gov)

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Friday, October 23, 2020 Vol. 24 No. 84

The American Farmworkers

North Carolina is one of the largest users of the H-2A guest worker program, employing between 14,000 and 17,000 H-2A migrant workers annually. (Adobe Stock)

Farm Workers’ Union Calls for Suspension of Labor Contractors’ License By Desert Star Staff A farmworkers’ union wants the U.S. Department of Labor to suspend its H-2A Labor Contractor program. Farm labor contractors

often act as middlemen for industrial agriculture, supplying large-scale farms with seasonal workers. Justin Flores, vice president of the Farm Labor

Organizing Committee, said employers can often avoid workplace violations by paying a labor contractor - and dozens of these contractors operate in North Carolina.

“The Department of Labor allows them to control visas,” said Flores. “So they can recruit workers from Mexico, oftentimes charging them thousands of dollars

Nervous Voters Hand-Deliver Ballots

NBC PS Kitty Alvarado President Donald Trump has been vocal about voting by mail, “… it’s a disaster.” And it seems here in Riverside County, people on the right and left are taking it to heart. Everyone we spoke with felt they had to personally turn in their ballots to the registrar of voters’ office to be counted. “I’m not taking a chance; it’s too vital this time you have to vote, and I had to make sure I put it in,” says Joanna Leger from Riverside. Mary Collins and her husband both drove to the Registrar of Voters Office in Riverside to drop off their ballots, “I believe it

would be better to come down here to the registrar of voters to drop it off, but I still am a little skeptical because of the things that have been happening with ballots,” adding they cast their votes for Trump. “I wasn’t sure it was going to arrive in time or arrive to the correct address, and it was really important that my vote be counted,” said Steven Thomas, who drove to the office to vote in person. “The reason I‘m voting here to bring me you can’t trust the postal system any more there’s so much crookedness plotting, Continues on Page 3

to get a job. And then, using their control over their visas and passports to make sure they don’t complain about rights on the job and human rights violations.” Organizers host a virtual Continues on Page 3

Irish regulator launches 2 probes into Facebook By Desert Star Staff Ireland is investigating Facebook following allegations that minors could have their phone numbers and email addresses easily exposed on the company’s subsidiary, Instagram. The country’s Data Protection Commission (DPC) said it will check whether Mark Zuckerberg’s company has “a legal basis for the ongoing processing of children’s personal data” and if it employs “adequate protections” of such data. Simultaneously, the regulator plans to inspect the “appropriateness” of Instagram’s account settings for children. The Telegraph newspaper reported on Sunday that the probes were launched to claim

that Instagram was putting children at risk of grooming or hacking by revealing their contact details. People have to be at least 13 years old to set up an account on Instagram if it is not run by a parent or manager. Last year, US-based data scientist David Stier analyzed around 200,000 Instagram accounts in multiple countries. He said that children could easily switch their personal profile to business accounts, which had settings that exposed their phone numbers and email addresses to the public. According to reports, this option could be chosen because it provided statistics such as how popular their photos and videos were, unlike personal profiles.

Facebook said that it has since updated its business accounts so “people can

now opt-out of including their contact information entirely.” The company told the

media that it is in “close contact” with the DPC and cooperates with the probes.

Kids’ Advocates: It’s Time to Prevent Childhood Cancer

Mortality rates are down, but cancer remains the leading cause of death by disease in U.S. children ages 1-19. (unitypoint.org) By Desert Star Staff Cancer is the leading cause of death among children, despite advances in treatment. David Levine, co-founder and president of the American

Sustainable Business Council, leads an effort to encourage policymakers to address childhood cancers’ environmental causes. He said elected officials need to step up essential

research, regulate toxic chemical pollution and incentivize the production and use of safer chemicals. Levine noted families living near environmental pollution areas, such as the

Houston Ship Channel, are more vulnerable to illness. “If one looks to the channel in Texas, that is a tremendous hot spot,” Levine described. “And the incidences of childhood cancer in those communities, communities of color, are much higher.” Research shows lowerincome Americans are much more likely to live in highly polluted areas. Levine said since 1975, new childhood cancer cases climbed 34%. Last year, more than 16,000 children and teens were diagnosed. Juan Parras, executive director for Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, lives in Houston, home to multiple refineries. He said it’s documented that more people are dying from COVID-19 in areas with heavy air pollution. “And it’s probably because their health is already compromised,” Parras asserted. “So they may be more susceptible to the COVID

crisis because of that.” Nse Witherspoon, executive director for the Children’s Environmental Health Network, said more significant investment in research is needed to understand the role of environmental exposure because childhood cancer is often preventable, not related to smoking or poor diet, as seen in adults. “It’s not surprising,” Witherspoon lamented. “Because a lot of environmental exposure trends tend to almost be at the last tier of understanding, sadly, and maybe some of that is that resistance.” The Childhood Cancer Prevention Initiative, a coalition of science, health and business leaders, released the report, “Childhood Cancer: Cross-Sector Strategies for Prevention.” Disclosure: American Sustainable Business Council contributes to our fund for reporting.

“Naked Ballot” Rule Could Void Thousands of PA Votes

By Desert Star Staff Thousands of Pennsylvania votes could be thrown out in November under a strict new rule for mail-in ballots. Last month, the state Supreme Court handed down rulings seen as mostly a win for Democrats. They extended the deadline for absentee ballots, allowed more ballot dropboxes and removed the Green Party candidate from the ballot for failing to follow proper procedures. But the court also ruled that “naked ballots,” mail-in ballots returned without the second secrecy envelope, must be thrown out.

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Scott Seeborg is state director of the group All Voting is Local. He said that could be as many as 40,000 ballots in Philadelphia alone, and 100,000 statewide. “Those numbers are based on 2019 absentee ballot returns,” said Seeborg. “And I’m hoping that all that voter education that the state and lots of other folks have done will drive that number down.” In 2016, Donald Trump won Pennsylvania by just 44,000 votes. Pennsylvania is one of 16 states that require a secrecy envelope for mail-in ballots. Seeborg said that in response to that ruling, the

Pennsylvania Department of State, county election officials and voting-advocacy groups are urging all voters to use mail-in ballots to make sure they use the secrecy envelope sign the outer envelope before mailing. “All Voting is Local is putting together a public service announcement campaign and some ads on Facebook,” said Seeborg. “I think that advocates and folks in voter education are really laser-focused on this and want to make sure that everybody’s vote is counted.” Advocates fear that with many people new to mail-in voting expected to vote by mail for the first time because of the October 23, 2020

COVID pandemic, the number of naked ballots is likely to rise. Seeborg said multiple bills in the General Assembly aim to improve the voting process in Pennsylvania, including a bipartisan measure to allow county officials to start processing mail-in ballots before Election Day. “Every county is asking

for this, and the Legislature is unable to unite around that, so I hope they can reach a decision on this and work together,” said Seeborg. “And let’s say I’m cautiously pessimistic for that one.” Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

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People with Disabilities Face Extra Obstacles in Voting

By Desert Star Staff People living with disabilities have often faced physical obstacles to casting their votes, but their advocates say voting by mail can present a different set of challenges. In every election, people with disabilities have encountered polling places that lack wheelchair ramps or other accommodations. But now, with the COVID pandemic making in-person voting riskier for those with underlying health conditions. Monica Bartley - community outreach organizer with the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York pointed out that people who are blind or have problems with dexterity can’t fill out

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a standard mail-in ballot. “We had a lawsuit just before the primary election,” said Bartley. “And that enabled us to get an accessible absentee ballot.” Applications for the online accessible ballots can be found at ‘elections. ny.gov.’ The application must be received at least seven days before the election. But using the accessible ballot can mean a whole new set of obstacles. Once filled out, the ballot must be printed out on legal-size paper. And Bartley pointed out that not everyone has access to a printer or one that can handle that size of paper. “So, we’re giving people options of saving the ballot on a thumb drive and going to the library,” said Bartley, “or some public place that offers that service, to print their ballot.” She added polling places are supposed to

Accessible ballots and ballot-marking devices allow people living with disabilities to cast their votes with privacy. (Dob’s Farm/Adobe Stock) have ballot-marking devices to allow people who can’t fill out a ballot manually to cast their vote in person. Bartley said for people with disabilities, issues like keeping the Affordable Care Act’s

guarantee of health insurance for anyone with pre-existing conditions could make this vote a matter of life or death. “We want to make sure that we are also involved in this process,” said Bartley,

The American Farmworkers contractor $463,000 for workplace abuses at OJ event tonight about the effort to Smith Farms, including wage place a nationwide moratorium theft and putting workers’ on farm labor contractors’ H-2A health at risk. He said the license approvals until reforms department also told workers are implemented. Information they would receive back pay. is online at ‘floc.com.’ “And to date, they haven’t The Labor Department gotten a dollar from this labor has said it’s committed contractor,” said Flores. “And to investigating they haven’t communicated with workplace violations. one worker about what’s going Flores said the DOL on. These are severe problems.” announced in March it had Flores acknowledged that fined a North Carolina labor growers are often in financial Continued from Page 1

straits. But rather than using labor contractors to cut costs, he said the large corporations that purchase food and tobacco should fairly compensate farms for implementing fair and safe work environments. “As a union,” said Flores, “our solution is that agricultural purchasers, like Reynolds American and supermarket chains, really need to be honest about what it takes to grow these crops in a fair way with good labor practices.”

“choosing what we think would be better for our lives.” Disclosure: Center for Independence of the Disabled New York contributes to our fund for reporting on Disabilities.

Tomorrow, a group of guest workers and members of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee will deliver a petition to the federal Wage and Hour office in Raleigh, calling for accountability and payment of stolen wages. Disclosure: Farm Labor Organizing Committee contributes to our fund for reporting on Livable Wages/ Working Families, Rural/ Farming, Social Justice.

Nervous Voters Hand-Deliver Ballots Continued from Page 1

planning, conniving so many ways that people’s votes are being suppressed,” said Carla Harris from Moreno Valley. All across the country, early voting is setting records; according to United States Election Project, so far, over 41 million people have cast their ballot. At this time in the 2016 election, only 5.6 million people had voted. “I don’t want my ballot to be discounted in case the administration decides by some fiat to stop the counting of the mail-in ballots,” said MaryPat Gates, who drove from Murrieta with her husband to vote in person. “The last 20 years I have mailed them, but this year because of the voter suppression going on all across the country, I felt the need to drop it off,” said Edward Young from Riverside. Several people also said they’re voting early because there might be intimidation and violence on election day.

“It’s the reality that we’re living in. I hope that my fears aren’t true and don’t come to fruition,” says Thomas. “I don’t want to get caught in the wrong place; I don’t want to have to defend my family and hurt someone else, so on that particular day, we’re going to stay in,” says Young.

“It’s going to be totally different this day you’re going to see all kinds of abnormal things we’ve never seen before,” says Harris. Leger is 72-years-young and has been voting since she was eligible; she says voting here was fast and easy, but she came prepared to wait for

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NW Far-Right Militia Network Wants to Become ‘Den of Rattlesnakes’

About 700 people reportedly are members of the militia group People’s Rights in Montana. (Mariusz Blach/Adobe Stock) By Desert Star Staff Membership in a farright militia network in the Northwest reportedly has exploded since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Montana Human Rights Network and Institute for Research and Education

on Human Rights find that Ammon Bundy, leader of armed standoffs in Oregon and Nevada, has exploited fears over the novel coronavirus to expand an anti-government group known as People’s Rights to 20,000 followers across 16 states.

Travis McAdam, Combating White Nationalism and Defending Democracy program director with the Montana Human Rights Network, said local groups in this network were not formed to have civil debates about policy.

“They view this world as the battle between the righteous and the wicked,” said McAdam. “And frankly, there’s a lot of discussion in People’s Rights circles about how we need to form these paramilitary militias or other similar groups to protect the righteous and to deal with the wicked.” According to the report, Bundy says he wants to turn People’s Rights into a “den of rattlesnakes” to protect Americans’ rights. There are about 700 members of this group in Montana, who mostly organize on Facebook. McAdam said the Montana leader of People’s Rights, Nick Ramlow, wants to turn the group into an “Uber-like” network of self-styled militias. In April, Ramlow said he was pursuing criminal charges against Gov. Steve Bullock for his shutdown order. McAdam noted that Ramlow encouraged businesses to open up, saying militia members would arrest state officials who tried to shut them down. “The Flathead County sheriff says, ‘Hey if he does

that, that’s going to be considered kidnapping,’” said McAdam. “Does that deter Ramlow? No. He’s quoted in the paper as saying, ‘The sheriff should really stay in line because I’ve got a bigger army than he does.’” Devin Burghart is president of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. He said history shows that it takes more than law enforcement to stop the threat of far-right groups such as People’s Rights. Communities also need to mobilize against the threat. “Coming together, uniting, facing the fear together and building effective barriers against bigotry,” said Burghart. “Those are the essential things that make the difference on the ground, and those are things that will turn the tide from these folks dominating and dividing communities.” Berghart noted that since the report was released, Facebook has taken down pages associated with People’s Rights.

PM Netanyahu and Transportation Minister Regev Tour Pier at Haifa Port

By Desert Star Staff Prime Minister Netanyahu following the visit: “We are on the deck of the ship that arrived from the United Arab Emirates, with very many containers. I asked what is in the containers and they explained to me – washing machines. This is now lowering the price of washing machines, electric devices and food. Everything that arrives here simply lowers the cost of living and every citizen of Israel will feel the impact of it. These are the fruits of peace that you, citizens of Israel, are now enjoying. Not later, not in the future – now, because this is a warm peace. This is peace for peace, economics for economics. We are joining the State of Israel to

the maritime artery that brings to it cheaper merchandise and products at excellent quality. This is good for every citizen. It is important to understand, once Israel was a cul-de-sac, meaning that you could come here from the west and leave; you could not fly or sail. In effect, you were constrained. Now, Israel is becoming a main hub, both maritime and in the air. It is possible to fly in all directions, over Saudi Arabia and Jordan. This is a land, sea, air, technological, commercial and human hub. This is a very big thing. This is a historic day, genuinely historic. This is the second visit to Israel of a ship from Dubai that has anchored in Haifa port.”

Attached photo credit: Koby Gideon (GPO)

Conservative Group Ranks DeWine 35th Among Nation’s Governors

By Desert Star Staff COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s bold steps in the early days of the pandemic to reduce the virus’s spread earned him low marks in a new conservative ranking of the nation’s governors. A new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council, a rightwing group of lawmakers and business people, rated DeWine 35th among states’ governors for economic policies. Report co-author Stephen Moore, who chairs

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the Task Force on Economic Revival for FreedomWorks, contended that DeWine’s response to the pandemic has been below average and insisted that lockdowns hurt the economy. “Not only does Ohio have not a great record in terms of dealing with the health aspects,” he said, “but Ohio has economic problems that continue to linger because so many small businesses were destroyed and so many Ohioans were thrown into unemployment lines.”

In September, Ohio’s unemployment rate was 8.4%, down from a high of 17% in April. In response to the findings, a spokesman told reporters that DeWine is prioritizing moving the state’s economy forward and new initiatives in workforce development. The spokesman noted that DeWine is “working daily to keep Ohioans safe, so they feel confident to patronize businesses.” Report co-author Donna Arduin said the findings can be used to determine where October 23, 2020

states can improve in terms of taxes and spending, economic competitiveness, and handling of federal CARES Act funding -- a category in which DeWine was ranked 36th. “Coming out of the crisis, these states can learn from each other,” she said, “not just on the handling of the crisis, but the handling of their economies, and their fiscal policies that drive their economies.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was ranked the “best”

governor in the report, despite Texas’ high coronavirus numbers, followed by the governors of Georgia and South Dakota. New Jersey, Alaska and Rhode Island governors got the bottom three rankings, respectively, although the latter two have had far lower rates of positive cases. The ALEC report is online at alec.org, and the COVID rankings are at covid.cdc.gov/.

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CA Leaders Issue Dire Warnings if ACA is Struck Down

California is leading a coalition of dozens of states defending the Affordable Care Act at the U.S. Supreme Court next month. (MachineHeadz/iStockphoto) By Desert Star Staff SACRAMENTO, Calif. -Almost four million Californians gained health coverage when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) expanded Medi-Cal, and that goes away if the Supreme

Court strikes down the law without a replacement. That’s just one jawdropping warning at a hearing held Wednesday by the state Senate Committee on Health. Deborah Reidy Kelch,

an independent health policy consultant, said the Golden State would pay dearly if the court kills the ACA. “The U.C. Berkeley Labor Center estimates that California could annually

lose 27 billion and potentially 299,000 jobs if the ACA was struck down,” Kelch outlined. President Donald Trump said he will protect people with pre-existing conditions, but his Justice Department argues the entire law must go, now that Congress has repealed the individual mandate. Melanie Fontes Rainer, special assistant attorney general, said in any case, the rest of the law should remain in force even without a mandate that everyone buys coverage or pay a fine. “This president, in his own words, wants to explode the ACA,” Rainer asserted. “We don’t think that health care should just be for those who are healthy or rich. And we’ve done everything in our power to fight his sabotage of the Affordable Care Act.” Without the ACA, insurance companies could once again kick young adults 18 to 26 off their parents’ health plans. They could reimpose annual and lifetime spending

limits on coverage and would no longer be required to cover mental health or addiction services. Before the ACA, people with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or even pregnancy could be denied coverage or charged sky-high premiums. State Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, said COVID would likely be considered a pre-existing condition going forward. “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said that 19% to 50% have a pre-existing condition when it came to health-care coverage,” Pan stated. “When we’re talking about overturning the ACA, we’re talking about something that could affect half of all Americans.” Trump Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has been critical of the ACA, is expected to be confirmed before opening statements begin on November 10.

Climate Scientists Resist ‘Crying Wolf’ on Extreme Weather Events By Desert Star Staff LINCOLN, Neb. -A new study suggests Nebraska farmers and the general population would be better served if climate scientists acted more like weather forecasters when linking extreme weather events to climate change. Dale Durran, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington and the report’s author, said. At the same time, it’s essential to get predictions right, to avoid “crying wolf” and losing credibility; Durran said scientists need to remember the second important job facing forecasters: sounding the alarm when trouble is on the way. “As a forecaster, you have two important considerations, and you want to do your best simultaneously on both of them,” Durran explained. “One thing is, you want to get a warning out; you don’t want to miss and fail to warn people when a tornado comes through.” Some skeptics have

argued that there is not enough hard data to link extreme weather events, such as last year’s massive flooding in the Midwest, to climate change with certainty. But Durran maintained warning people in time to make the changes necessary to avoid the worst potential impacts of climate change may be more important than reducing the likelihood of false alarms. Durran added most current approaches to attributing extreme weather events to human-caused climate change, such as conditions leading to ongoing wildfires in Colorado and California, focus on avoiding false alarms. Durran noted farmers and other stakeholders that would be impacted if the planet continues to warm - by prolonged drought, more frequent and powerful storms, wildfire and flooding - should ask themselves a central question. “The decision that you need to make as a farmer

January to May 2019 was the wettest on record for the United States, with multiple severeweather outbreaks in Nebraska and throughout the Midwest. (Nebraska National Guard) or just as an individual about whether or not you want to be warned about changes in the climate like you probably want to be warned about tornadoes: Do you want the warning or not?” Durran inquired. Durran stressed that if people want to be warned, they’ll need to accept some level of uncertainty about the link between specific

extreme weather events and climate change, just as they do when their local weather

forecaster predicts rain, snow or dry, hot days ahead.

A Difference-Making Disinfectant By Desert Star Staff With a need to protect your home and family like never before amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s exceedingly important to ensure your spaces are properly disinfected, which means bacteria and viruses are completely www.desertstarweekly.com

inactivated or destroyed. Consider these steps to disinfect surfaces with an option like Original Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner. The disinfectant received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency for kill claims against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that

causes COVID-19, after third-party laboratory testing proved the disinfectant’s efficacy against the virus when used as directed on hard, nonporous surfaces. To learn more, visit pinesol.com/covid-19resources. Family Features October 23, 2020

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‘Being a Trump supporter is being a bad person’ By Desert Star Staff Social pressure from Google employees makes it impossible for anyone who supports US President Donald Trump to work there for long. A manager told the conservative undercover journalists from Project Veritas. “If I say that tomorrow, that I’m a Trump supporter, I’d probably lose my job,” the man identified as Ashwin Agrawal, head of global competitive analysis at Google Cloud, says in the video Veritas released on Wednesday. “And then, uh, you know, being a Trump supporter is being a bad person.” The admission came after Agrawal told of how YouTube and Google algorithms help them serve a constant barrage of Joe Biden ads to Democrats, precisely tailored thanks to personalized profiles they have put together. A Democrat is never given a chance to change their mind, Agrawal said. He did not say whether Republicans

were being reinforced the same way or shown Democrat ads themselves. “I think, the thing that I feel worse about is that people don’t know that it’s happening to them,” he told the undercover journalist, adding that it was sad that “a deep platform is influencing you in a way that you didn’t sign up for.” The video, third in a series, comes two days after another Google Cloud employee, a program manager identified as Ritesh Lakhkar, was shown saying that the company favors Democrats. “The wind is blowing toward Democrats because GOP equals Trump and Trump equals GOP. Everybody hates it,” Lakhkar said. “So the wind is blowing toward Democrats, so let’s skew the results toward Democrats.” That employees of Silicon Valley media companies overwhelmingly favor Democrats is hardly a secret. Research from Open Secrets in June showed

that employees of Alphabet – Google’s parent company – Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft donated five times more to Democrats than to Republicans. Some Big Tech executives are also funding a massive last-minute advertising blitz to boost Biden, who seeks to replace Trump in the White House. The Veritas videos appear to offer anecdotal evidence that ideological bias among the employees leads to platforms putting their thumb on the digital scale as well. The impact is not limited to US politics, either. A video released on Tuesday featured a Google marketing account manager who brought up how he ignored a request from the Conservative Party in the UK to buy pro-Brexit ads. “You’re telling an Italian that lives in London that you want to advertise Brexit. It’s like, seriously?” Amaduzzi said. “I was like – I didn’t answer.” “Google’s core service – providing unbiased, accurate,

and free access to information – remains at the heart of the company,” the company’s founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page wrote in December 2019, as they handed over the

CEO duties to Sundar Pichai. Neither Alphabet nor any of its subsidiaries have offered official comment on any of the Project Veritas videos.

it doesn’t go far enough. The company will plead guilty to violating laws on kickbacks to doctors and to defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. Tong said the owners, the Sackler family, should be forced out of the industry and go to jail. “It’s unacceptable to let Purdue Pharma, its management executives and the Sackler Family stay in the pharmaceutical business, the opioid business, the addiction business,” Tong declared. Under the terms of the deal, the company will be allowed to keep selling OxyContin, and some overdose-reversing medications as part of a reorganized “public benefit corporation” whose profits will go toward opioid treatment addiction.

Statistics show the opioid epidemic claimed more than a thousand lives in Connecticut last year. Maria Coutant Skinner, executive director for the McCall Center for Behavioral Health in Torrington, said we need to invest in programs that combat child abuse, neglect, poverty and illiteracy, which can be precursors to addiction. “We’ve got a society that’s anxious and hurting and disconnected, lonely, traumatized and depressed,” Skinner explained. “Then, you put the prolific use of opioids onto that culture, and you get the situation that we’ve got today.” The state of Connecticut’s lawsuit against Purdue will still proceed, as will the thousands of other civil suits filed by victims of the opioid crisis and their families.

CT Attorney General Slams Purdue Opioid Settlement

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the opioid crisis has killed an estimated 450,000 Americans since 1999. (Psihedelisto/ Wikimedia Commons) By Desert Star Staff HARTFORD, Conn. -- The feds on Wednesday

announced an $8.3 billion settlement with Stamfordbased Purdue Pharma

over its role in the opioid crisis. Still, state Attorney General William Tong said

New Protections for Deep-Sea Coral Hotspots in Gulf

By Desert Star Staff The federal government has approved new protections for fragile coral hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a long-awaited victory for environmental groups. Now, damaging fishing gear - like trawls, traps, anchors and longlines - can’t be used in nearly 500 miles of scattered reef and canyon sites from Florida to Texas. Holly Binns, program director for Conserving Marine Life in the U.S. at The Pew Charitable Trusts, said the added protections will

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preserve ecosystems that provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds for sea life sought after by recreational and commercial fishers. “These areas that are really unique,” said Binns. “These rich and abundant coral communities on the deep ocean floor where there is no light, but they are an incredibly important habitat for a full variety of marine wildlife, and that’s important to support fishing communities as well.” The approval by the National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration includes 21 protected areas off the coasts of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi as well. The research and management of deepwater coral sites are being funded through a $20 billion settlement with BP, the oil company responsible for the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion in 2010 that dumped around 130 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The restoration plan includes the development of October 23, 2020

better maps to locate coral reefs and other ecosystems. Tom Frazer, chair of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, said that’s important because there’s a lot that’s unknown about the deepest parts of the ocean well beyond Florida’s coasts. “Again, it’s just the fact that there’s a spotlight that’s being shined on these particular habitats, bringing recognition to a bigger problem around the world regarding coral reef degradation,” said Frazer. Deep-sea corals live in

cold depths of up to 10,000 feet. Frazer said corals also are natural disease-fighters, with some being tested on treatments for medical conditions, like cancer. Environmental groups encourage the management council to consider expanding protections to other areas beyond to newly approved 484 miles of what are known as “Habitat Areas of Particular Concern.” Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts. www.desertstarweekly.com

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NOTICE OF HEARING CITATION PETITION FOR FREEDOM FROM PARENTAL CUSTODY AND CONTROL GUERRON CASE # ADRI 1905090 Upon reading and filing evidence consisting of a Declaration as provided in Section 415.50 CCP by JOSEPH FIORDILINO on behalf of ANGELA SOPHIE GUERRON, a MINOR, for FREEDOM FROM PARENTAL CUSTODY and CONTROL. PETITIONER JOSEPH FIORDILINO, is the husband of PAMELA FIORDILINO, mother of the minor and who has custody of the minor. The whereabouts of GUILLEROMO FLORES, the natural father of the minor, are unknown. And it satisfactorily appearing there from that the Respondent/Citee, GUILLEROMO FLORES, cannot be served with reasonable due diligence in any other manner specified in Article 3, Chapter 4, Title 5 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and it also appearing from the verified complaint or petition that a good cause of action in favor of the plaintiff, petitioner, or citee therein and against the defendant, respondent, or citee and that the said defendant, respondent, or citee is a necessary and proper party to the action or that the party to be served has or claims an interest in, real or personal property in this state that is subject to the jurisdiction

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October 9, 2020 PUBLIC NOTICE

of the Court or the relief demanded in the action consists wholly or in part in excluding such party from any interest in such property. In the matter of the Petition of: JOSEPH FIORDILINO on behalf of ANGELA SOPHIE GUERRON, a MINOR, for FREEDOM FROM PARENTAL CUSTODY and CONTROL. TO: GUILLERMO FLORES, the natural father, and to all persons claiming to be the Father of: ANGELA SOPHIE GUERRON. CITATION TO APPEAR: By Order of this Court you are hereby Cited and (required to) (may) appear before the Judge Presiding in: the SUPERIOR COURT of CALIFORNIA in the COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE FAMILY LAW, DEPARTMENT F502, located at: 4175 MAIN STREET, RIVERSIDE, CA 92501 on December 4, 2020, at: 10:30 A.M. of the day, then and there to show cause, if any you have, why said person should not be declared Free from the Control of his/her/their Father according to the Petition on file herein. For failure to attend, you may deemed guilty of a contempt of court. You are required to have said minor child present at this hearing (FC Section 7880(b)). The Petition filed herein is for the purpose of freeing the subject child for placement for adoption. You have 30 CALENDAR DAYS after this summons is served on you to file a

PUBLIC NOTICE

typewritten response at this court. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of said summons or citation and of said complaint or petition in this action be forthwith deposited in the United States Post Office, post-paid, directed to said defendant, respondent, or citee if his address is ascertained before expiration of the time prescribed for the publication of this summons or citation and a declaration of this mailing or of the fact that the address was not ascertained be filed at the expiration of the time prescribed for the publication. Date: F: 2 / 04 / 2020 /S/ 9 / 25 / 2020; By: Michelle, E. Valadez, Deputy, Petition In Pro Per: JOSEPH FIORDILINO; 25149 CORAL CANYON ROAD, CORONA, CA 92883; PH: (201) 658-4695 DESERT STAR WEEKLY, An adjudicated newspaper in the City of Desert Hot Springs, Riverside County, CA” . Published: October 16, 23, 30, November 6, 2020. DSW20-5173 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT THE FOLLOWING PERSON(S) IS (ARE) DOING BUSINESS AS PALM DESERT CHIROPRACTIC, 73345 CA 111 #202, PALM DESERT, CA 92260. Riverside County. Full name of registrant SAMUEL MICHAEL VELLA, 73165 HAYSTACK RD, PALM DESERT,

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PUBLIC NOTICE

CA 92260. Business is conducted by INDIVIDUAL. Registrant has yet to transact business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above. I declare that all the information in this statement is true and correct. (A registrant, who declares as true, information which he or she knows to be false, is guilty of a crime) Signed SAMUEL MICHAEL VELLA. This statement was filed with the County Clerk of Riverside County on 09/22/2020. Peter Aldana, Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder File No. R-202009739. NOTICE — THIS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT EXPIRES FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED BEFORE THAT TIME. THE FILING OF THIS STATEMENT DOES NOT ITSELF AUTHORIZE THE USE IN THIS STATE OF A FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME IN VIOLATION OF THE RIGHTS OF ANOTHER UNDER FEDERAL, STATE OR COMMON LAW (SEE SECTION 14411, ET. SEQ., BUSINES SAND PROFESSIONS CODE). Publish October 16, 23, 30, November 6, 2020 DSW20-5172

Colorado Voters to Decide Whether Gray Wolves Return By Desert Star Staff DENVER -- As part of this election, Colorado voters will decide whether to direct the state’s Parks and Wildlife Commission to bring gray wolves back to their historical habitat. John Murtaugh, Rockies and Plains representative for Defenders of Wildlife, said Proposition 114 would create space to craft a reintroduction plan based on the best available science, bringing ranchers, hunters, farmers and conservation groups to the table. “It’s very light on specifics,” he said, “and that’s because we recognize that those decisions need to be made through that communicative process, and that means bringing all the different stakeholders together.” Wolves were eradicated in Colorado by the 1940s through shooting, trapping and poisoning. Opponents of reintroduction have argued that wildlife-management decisions should be left to state experts, noting that the

commission has declined to bring wolves back four times. Ranching and hunting associations also believe the move would lead to the loss of livestock and big game. Loss of livestock to wolves is rare, but Murtaugh admitted that the impact on individual ranchers can be significant, and the measure would create a compensation program. Murtaugh said previous commission decisions were not made by biologists but by an 11-member, governorappointed board that tends to be skewed politically. “However, in the past 25 years, the people of Colorado have made it very clear their support for wolf reintroduction,” he said. ‘So what Proposition 114 really is doing is taking politics out of the picture and returning that power to your average voter to decide what we want our parksand-wildlife agency to do.” Between 66% and 84% of Coloradans surveyed over the past two decades support reintroducing wolves. Murtaugh said the primary reason

Supporters of reintroducing gray wolves to Colorado, a species humans had eradicated in the state by the 1940s, hope the move will restore balance to the region’s ecosystem. (Wildfaces/Pixabay) people want the apex predator back is to restore ecological balance. For example, wolves can keep the state’s rising elk population checked and moving, so grazing becomes more evenly distributed, and vegetation can rebound. “Wolves’ primary prey

are animals like elk,” he said. “But in the absence of predators, elk don’t have a lot of reason to stay moving. So, they’ll find a nice patch of grass, and they tend to strip that vegetation down.” The text of Prop 114 is online at leg.colorado.

Get Personal with Your Workplace Benefits By Desert Star Staff Choosing employee benefits during annual enrollment is often one of the most important financial decisions you make each year. If your company is like most, it offers benefits to protect you and your family physically, emotionally and financially. In fact, 9 out of 10 employers in a Dynata survey on behalf of Colonial Life and Unum said they have no plans to eliminate or reduce employer-paid insurance benefits. Some employers even plan to boost comprehensive coverage, increasing benefit options or adding telehealth coverage. Before you enroll, understand your needs and the different coverages available, especially supplemental benefits you can usually pay for through payroll deduction. Supplemental Benefits Add Coverage and Financial Protection

Supplemental benefits allow you to customize your benefits package with coverage most important to you and your family. Because you sign up through work, it’s usually more affordable than buying coverage on your own. It can also be easier to qualify for coverage as part of a workplace group, often without answering any health questions.

The major types of supplemental benefits include: • Life insurance provides financial protection for your family should anything happen to you. It can help loved ones pay for living expenses, debts, medical bills and funeral costs in addition to future needs such as college tuition or retirement. Even if your employer provides life insurance, it may not be enough for your family’s long-term needs. • Disability insurance is

designed to pay a portion of your income if you’re sick or injured and unable to work. It can be offered as short-term – typically 3-6 months – or longterm coverage that can last several years or until retirement. • Dental insurance helps reduce out-of-pocket costs for common dental procedures like cleanings, fillings, crowns, dentures, oral surgery, orthodontia and other treatments. • Vision insurance helps cover costs for exams, glasses and contact lenses, and may include access to discounted materials and services through a network of vision service providers. • Accident insurance offers a lump sum financial benefit if you have an accident or injury. It helps pay outof-pocket expenses such as doctor bills, co-pays or emergency room fees. • Hospital insurance helps pay for hospital

stays and, on some plans, outpatient surgery and diagnostic procedures. • Critical illness insurance provides a lump sum financial benefit if you’re diagnosed with conditions such as heart attack, stroke, cancer, organ failure, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and more. • Cancer insurance provides more specific coverage for the costs of treating cancer. It can also provide additional benefits for treatments and services such as ambulance transportation, hospital confinement, radiation, chemotherapy, medications and surgery. Why You Might Need Supplemental Benefits Even the best medical insurance likely won’t cover all your out-of-pocket costs for illnesses and injuries. The average health care deductible for single coverage was nearly $1,500 last year and almost

gov, and the surveys are at extension.colostate.edu. Disclosure: Defenders of Wildlife contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Endangered Species & Wildlife, Energy Policy, Environment, Public Lands/Wilderness

double for family coverage, according to a report from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Add in co-pays, coinsurance and other noncovered costs and an average family may have more than $4,700 in out-of-pocket medical costs each year not counting health insurance premiums. Supplemental benefits can help bridge the financial gap. You can use your benefits for uncovered medical costs such as deductibles and copayments or nonmedical expenses such as travel for treatment or child care during recovery. You also don’t have to be sick or injured to take advantage of some supplemental coverage. Many plans include a wellness benefit that can pay a set amount for preventive screenings or diagnostic tests. Visit unum.com/ enrollment to learn more about common insurance benefits. Family Features

Paid Leave Effective in Reducing Spread of COVID-19 By Desert Star Staff New research suggests access to emergency paid leave could help limit the spread of the coronavirus. Supporters of a broader paid-time-off proposal say it’s needed in states such as Iowa, where there is no such requirement. The study, led by Cornell University and the Swiss Economic Institute, said states with emergency access paid leave during the crisis had seen 400 fewer COVID cases per day. Dawn Huckelbridge, director of the Paid Leave for All campaign, demands the U.S. Senate vote on a relief bill from the House that would extend and make more significant temporary protections. They are set to expire in December, and Huckelbridge said the time to act is now.

“The United States is one of the only countries in the whole world that has no kind of national paid-leave policy,” Huckelbridge explained. “That’s been a crisis in the making for quite some time. But that meant that when the pandemic hit, over 33 million of us did not have access to a single guaranteed paid sick day.” There is no Iowa law requiring private employers to provide sick leave, paid or unpaid, although many do offer the benefit. Opponents of a paid leave policy, including some business groups, say it would create substantial employers’ costs. And Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated he isn’t willing to vote on a new relief bill until after the election. Sue Dinsdale, executive director of the Iowa Citizen Action Network, said having

a broader national policy is crucial for the state, especially since the current federal protections exempt businesses with 500 or more employees. And she noted it’s harder on women, who make up nearly half of the state’s workforce.

“I spoke with a mother the other day who was caring for her children and her father, and she used up the time that she could, and ended up having to leave her job to care for both generations of her family,” Dinsdale described.

And Dinsdale added more of those scenarios could play out during the crisis, given Iowa’s aging population. She and the group call out Republican U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst for voting against specific leave proposals by releasing ads in the state. Ernst did not respond to a request for comment. A poll by Paid Leave for All Action and Global Strategy Group found 85% of respondents in battleground states said they supported paid leave during COVID-19 and beyond.

Help Others During the Holidays G FAMILY FEATURES

iving during the holiday season can mean more than gifts. It’s the time of year when giving back to your community can make an even bigger impact – especially this year when so many need a helping hand. This holiday season, do your part to help deliver smiles to loved ones and people in need. Reap the feel-good rewards of helping others with these ideas on how to make a difference. Give time. One of the greatest donations an organization can receive is your time. Volunteer roles can vary significantly depending on the organization you choose but can leave you feeling like you’ve contributed in a real and meaningful way. From sorting donated items, preparing and distributing warm meals or wrapping gifts, organizations can almost always use an extra set of hands during the holidays.

Make your shopping count. To help make the season even brighter, Amazon is donating millions of items to more than 1,000 charities worldwide through product and monetary donations and is making it easy for you to give back as well. When shopping for holiday supplies or gifts for family and friends, you can give back and donate to your favorite charitable organizations. Simply activate AmazonSmile in the mobile app or on your web browser to get the same online shopping experience you’re accustomed to with the added benefit of donating a portion of eligible purchases to a charity of your choice. Spread information. People are more willing to contribute to a cause when they understand how they can help. Align with an organization or cause you care about and share details about how the community can help. That might include talking about the group’s mission and needs to your friends and family or simply sharing info about its cause on your social media feeds. Let the organization know you’re eager to generate awareness for its needs, and it can typically find a way to put your skills to use. Shop for a cause. One thing nonprofits often hear is people want to give, but they don’t know what items will be most useful. You can remove the guesswork with a resource like AmazonSmile Charity Lists, which offer a convenient way to donate to your favorite causes. Just search for your favorite organization and find its list of mostneeded items, purchase and have the donation delivered directly to the charity’s door. You can also make a donation to the organization of your choice through your Alexa-enabled device by saying, “Alexa, I want to make a donation.” Donate gently used items. This holiday season, you’ll probably add new clothes to your closet and new toys to the playroom, but others may not have presents to unwrap. As you receive gifts this holiday, see what gently used toys, clothes and household items could be donated to help others. Find more information and resources at smile.amazon.com, and share how you’re giving back by using #DeliveringSmiles on social media.

DesertSTAR

Photos courtesy of Getty Images

Delivering Smiles to Charitable Organizations in Need Charitable organizations often maintain a wish list of items necessary to deliver on their missions. This holiday season, you can help fulfill AmazonSmile Charity Lists of nonprofit organizations supporting causes including homelessness, hunger and disaster relief, among others. Donations including food and pantry items, blankets, sheets, toys, educational items for kids, socks, outerwear and other apparel items, as well as monetary donations to put toward the purchase of these items, can help provide organizations with essential items they need and products they want. Among the charities benefiting from this program are:

October 23, 2020

Heifer International – You can help small-scale farmers transform their communities by donating essential tools.

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital –Toys and game donations can help deliver countless smiles to children battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases this holiday season. St. Jude is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Best Friends Animal Society – Essential pet supplies can be donated to help provide nutrition and enrichment to dogs and cats while they await foster or adoptive homes.

Operation Nightwatch – Help protect homeless communities by giving necessary food and clothing.