Daily Republic: Monday, November 14, 2022

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

PHNOM PENH, Cam

bodia — Last November, President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping emerged from a virtual meeting deter mined to chart a new path that would prevent the two superpowers from spiraling into an open conflict.

But a year later, as the two presidents prepare to meet in person for the first time since Biden took office, Washington and Beijing remain in a diplomatic and economic standoff. On Monday, Biden and Xi will meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit and again try to repair the world’s most important bilateral relationship.

The two leaders are likely to offer a familiar refrain about prioritizing stability as they hash out their differences, ana lysts say. China and the U.S. have clashed over trade, climate change, human rights and Bei jing’s tacit support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The two superpowers are also fundamentally at odds over the subject of Taiwan. Disputes over the status of the island’s democracy have driven much of the recent enmity between China and the U.S.

China views Taiwan as a renegade prov ince that it wants to reclaim, a prospect that has taken on urgency as Xi has moved into a more aggressive stance in military action and rhetoric toward eventual unification.

The U.S. acknowl edges China’s position without endorsing it. But

Biden has said on four occasions that the U.S. would defend Taiwan militarily if China attacked – a statement that conflicts with Wash ington’s long-standing policy of remaining silent about what it might do in the case of a Chinese attack. Relations between the U.S. and China worsened in August after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which Beijing viewed as an offense against its claims of sovereignty.

In response, China’s military launched missile tests, warships and planes around Taiwan for several days, imposed sanctions on Pelosi and cut off all communication with the U.S. on issues as diverse as military rela tions and climate change.

“It’s a very good development; they are at least talking,” said Minxin Pei, a professor of government at Clare mont McKenna College. “What’s most likely to happen is they agree to resume some discussions on things.”

Even on Taiwan, there is “at least some common ground” between the two countries, Pei added: “They have a lot of dif ferences, but one thing they don’t want to see is a direct conflict.”

White House offi cials stressed that there’s no expectation Biden’s meeting with Xi will yield any progress. The two presidents have no plans to issue a joint statement following the meeting, administration officials said, underscor ing just how little has

VACAVILLE — Nurses who work at both Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Solano County plan to hold a two-day strike later this month to continue voicing their concerns about chronic shortstaffing and workplace health and safety.

The strike is scheduled for Nov. 21 and 22, and includes Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center and Kaiser Per manente Vallejo Medical Center among the 21 facilities scheduled for strikes.

Strikes are also planned at

Sacra mento, south Sacramento and Roseville in the Sacramento area, and those in the San Joaquin Valley from Manteca and Modesto in the north valley to Fresno in the central valley.

The strike is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. Nov. 21 and ends at 6:59 p.m. Nov. 23 with picket ing from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at each location.

ciation/National

Permanente’s refusal to address their concerns “with little to no movement on key issues.”

“We always want to give our patients the best care, but Kaiser refuses to provide the resources we need to do our jobs safely,” CNA President Cathy Kennedy, a registered nurse in the neonatal ICU Unit at the Roseville medical

DAily r epubliC STAff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD — Thousands of Medi-Cal patients may soon lose their doctors if NorthBay Health and Partnership HealthPlan Cal ifornia fail to come terms on a contract by the end of the month.

NorthBay Health notified some 7,700 patients enrolled in Part nership HealthPlan of California that their ability to obtain care by NorthBay Health’s provid ers may change Dec. 1. NorthBay, after nearly 18 months of informal negotiations, sent a notification to Partnership HealthPlan of its intent to end its contract with Part

nership HealthPan on Nov. 30.

The dispute centers on reim bursement rates.

Unless the two health care entities reach an agreement, North Bay Health will no longer be part of Partnership HealthPlan’s network as of Dec. 1.

NorthBay Health currently cares for 7,700 Partnership Health Plan patients through its primary care services in Fairfield, Green Valley and Vacaville. Another 68,000 are assigned to NorthBay

Health hospitals in Fairfield and Vacaville, in the event they need hospital services.

“NorthBay values its rela tionship with Partnership and is grateful for the opportunity to serve its patients,” B. Konard Jones, CEO and Pres ident of NorthBay Health, said in a statement released Friday.

“Unfortunately, the terms of our contract have caused financial

STAff AnD wire reporTS

Kaiser Permanente medical centers in San Francisco, Oakland, Richmond, Fremont, San Jose and Walnut Creek and Antioch, among other facilities in the greater Bay Area, as well as those in

The California Nurses Asso

Nurses United, the labor union that represents 21,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners at the 21 medical centers, said the nurses’ strike is to protest Kaiser

back some old-school stuff

Ihave several old film reels from Armijo High School’s past and I recently posted on Facebook that I needed to borrow either an 8 mm or a Super 8 projector. Well, Judy Anderson Engell saw my post and con tacted her father-in-law, Art Engell, and after I talked to Art on the phone, his son (and Judy’s husband) Lory delivered it to my house.

Wade The last laugh

I was grateful for the response and even more so for the curb side service, but wasn’t clear on the tipping protocols because when I searched Google for “Uber Old School Tech Deliv ery,” it yielded nothing. I just thanked him profusely.

Now I actually received numerous offers from people to let me borrow their stillworking projectors and I am thankful for all.

I was excited to see what was on the film reels and went through the very detailed instructions of how to work Art’s Kodak Insta matic projector. These days with people’s attention spans usually no longer than a TikTok video, they would not fly. We are used to quick-start guides. But I got it all set up and then tried to place one of the film reels on the projector. It would not fit. I figured, like with most things, it was simply opera tor error so I kept trying and then I discovered my problem.

The film reels I have are not 8 mm or Super 8. They are 16 mm. Sigh.

Still, I think my oldest brother has some of the Super 8 movies my dad made of me and my brothers when we were kids and I hope to use the projector to digitize them.

Having something tangible from the past made me think of other things I would like to bring back. Here is a partial list:

Big G.I. Joes

When I was a kid, G.I. Joes were 12-inch tall plastic action figures. Then they were shrunk like Ant-Man to less than 4 inches, which was a travesty. Now, yes, the originals were fun to play with as action figures (not dolls), but they also served other purposes, too. The G.I. Joe was a military man and wore the uniform of the United States. Well, for some reason ours almost always ended up nekkid, but anyway, G.I. Joes were them selves weapons of war.

When my parents would leave me and my brothers alone on Sat urdays, inter-sibling tensions that bubbled near the surface throughout the week would erupt into full-blown in-house skir mishes. You don’t know pain until you have been cracked in the back with a 12-inch G.I. Joe wielded like a Hasbro club. They also made great projectiles.

So, just to be clear, this 58-year-old man doesn’t want one of the old military action figures to play with, it would be for home defense. I would even post a sign that says “Beware of G.I. Joe” outside.

Beaded curtains

Beaded curtains, usually at the end of a hallway leading into another room in the house, are something I want to see make a comeback. I mean, short of being

professionally introduced and having your own theme music play, there is nothing more dramatic for an in-house entry into another room than to emerge through a beaded curtain with your hands outstretched to part them like Moses.

Growing up, they also served as a sort of speed bump because if you were running down the hallway and got snagged on the beaded curtain and knocked it down, you might get a visit that evening from something I don’t want to see make a comeback: the Dreaded Belt.

Star Wars patience

So way back when the origi nal Holy Trinity (“Star Wars,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of The Jedi”) were created, we had to wait three long years between films. I know that seems like an eternity now, but what it did was give us time to miss the characters and the cinematic universe they inhab ited so when a new one finally was released, the response was near-orgasmic.

Now Disney just churns out “Star Wars” movies and series so often you can’t keep up. I feel like Lucy and Ethel working the conveyor belt with chocolates flying out.

Shag carpet

Today’s carpets are so boring. Back in the day, shag carpet made vacuuming an adventure. It was like trying to Hoover yourself through the Amazon underbrush. Plus, many of us had a real fear of being swallowed up by quick sand as people got caught in it all the time on TV shows. But it turned out the real threat was shag carpets. That’s why I want to bring them back. I still have friends from back then who just wanted to walk across the living room to change the channel on the TV and were never heard from again. I want to find them.

The spoon and fork on the wall

In the ’70s it became a thing to hang giant wooden spoons and forks on your wall. It was like we had no idea as to which room in the house should be used for meals unless oversized cutlery next to a painting of poker-play ing dogs clued us in. It was weird as nearly everyone had them like there was a constitutional amendment mandating them or something. Then, at some point, everyone decided enough was enough and we didn’t need The Jolly Green Giant’s eating uten sils on our walls anymore and they disappeared.

It made me think: Did houses in Asian countries have jumbo chopsticks hanging on their walls?

And what about sporks?

Fairfield freelance humor colum nist and accidental local histo rian Tony Wade writes two weekly columns: “The Last Laugh” on Mondays and “Back in the Day” on Fridays. Wade is also the author of The History Press books “Growing Up In Fairfield, Cali fornia” and “Lost Restaurants of Fairfield, California.”

Rush Ranch opens for Harvest Fest 2022

solanolandtrust.org.

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

SUISUN CITY — The Solano Land Trust invites the community Saturday to Rush Ranch for an annual celebra tion of fall.

Rush Ranch Harvest Festi val 2022 will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission is free. The event promises fun for the whole family. The festival will feature local entertain ment, food trucks and a beer garden featuring Hooby’s Brewing, and local vendors. There will also be docentled marsh hikes, arts and crafts, a drawing for various prizes and more.

The Rush Ranch Education Council co-hosts the festival.

Rush Ranch stretches across 2,070 acres of the Suisun Marsh and rolling grassland. Purchased in 1988 by Solano Land Trust, Rush Ranch provides rec reational and educational opportunities to thousands of visitors each year. The ranch, with its historical build ings and self-guided trails, is located approximately 2 miles south of Highway 12 at 3521 Grizzly Island Road Grizzly Island Road.

Solano Land Trust has completed a new Nature Center to showcase the many natural and historical fea tures of the property. The project was completed with funding provided by the San Francisco Bay National Estu arine Research Reserve and

week

The ahead

Coastal Conservancy.

Within the property’s boundaries is one of the best remaining examples of a brackish tidal marsh habitat in the United States. Once a con tinuous tidal marsh habitat, the greater Suisun Marsh is now a vast complex of wet lands owned privately by local duck clubs. Only about 10 square miles of the his toric tidal marsh remains, one-tenth of which occurs at Rush Ranch.

The brackish tidal marsh is an important habitat for fish, bird and plant species, includ ing many that are threatened and endangered such as the salt marsh harvest mouse, Suisun ornate shrew, Delta smelt, Sacramento splittail, giant garter snake, California clapper rail, California black rail, Suisun song sparrow and the American white pelican.

Approximately 230 dif ferent species of birds have been seen throughout the marsh and grassland habi tats. Plant communities range from spring wildflowers to native bunchgrass and marshadapted vegetation.

For more information, visit solanolandtrust.org or contact Laura Livadas at laura@

Garden Club talk about benefits of microgreens

The Fairfield Garden Club welcomes Lisa Pearson, owner of Morrison Lane Micro greens, at its next meeting.

Pearson will give a handson demonstration on the growing of microgreens. Members will plant and bring home a sample of these deli cious morsels.

Microgreens are the tender immature seedlings of edible vegetables and herbs. Mea suring 1 to 3 inches in height, they are small, but come in a variety of strong flavors, bright colors and crunchy tastes. Though these little greens are small in stature, they contain high levels of vitamins, min erals and health-supporting components.

Guests are invited. The meeting starts at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Adult Rec reation Center, 1200 Civic Center Drive.

For more informa tion, call Mary Colridge at 707-330-9920.

WinterWonderland Walk comes to Vaca downtown

The Downtown Vacaville Business Improvement Dis trict will host the second annual Winter WonderWalk this Thursday.

The magical tour of themed holiday trees up for auction by the Vacaville Festival of Trees will include the opportunity to purchase wine and cocoa. Par ticipants may pick up a cocoa mug or wine glass and sip while they stroll.

Organizers will also offer carriage rides, live music and a visit from Santa.

The event will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the downtown area.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite. com/e/2022-winter-wonderwalk-tickets-438793211307.

Tony

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic file

Visitors ride in a horse-drawn wagon at Rush Ranch, May 20.

Daily Republic file (2021)

Performers from School of Rock Vacaville serenade people at Rush Ranch with classic and contemporary tunes during the Harvest Festival sponsored by the Solano Land Trust and the Rush Ranch Educational Council, Sept. 11, 2021.

6 dead in Dallas air show disaster

tRibune content agency

DALLAS — The mid-air collision between two historic aircraft at a Dallas air show on Sat urday killed six people, including two deeply loved Keller-area men who had been pilots for decades, according to officials and friends of the victims.

While authorities have not publicly identi fied any of those killed, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins confirmed the death toll from the crash was six in a tweet early Sunday. The collision involved two World War II-era planes, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and a Bell P-63 Kingcobra.

Allied Pilots, a union representing American Airlines pilots, identified two of the B-17 crew as former union members.

The union identified them as Terry Barker, 67, and Len Root, 66.

Both Root and Barker were based around Keller, according to their friends and social media profiles.

Root had worked as a commercial pilot and manager for Commem orative Air Force’s Gulf Coast Wing since October

Obituaries

E.G. Doc Waslohn

E.G. Doc Waslohn passed away peace fully on Nov. 1, 2022, surrounded by family. He was 79 years young. Doc was born in Hilo, Hawaii, and raised in Fair field, California. He attended High School at Armijo until his father was deployed to Japan with the family. He graduated from Johnson High School near Tokyo, Japan.

Doc received scholarships to play football at Tyler Junior College and East Texas State, where he played football and studied business. After college, he worked in the chemical business. He traveled all over the country working for DuBois Chemicals for many years, until he moved back permanently to the Bay Area.

Doc and his wife, Lynne, built LLW Properties, a success ful property management company in Solano County and were active members of the community. Doc was a member of the Fairfield Rotary Club and a board member at Green Valley Country Club.

Doc was an avid golfer and storyteller, a singer of songs, a ukulele player and always the life of the party. Doc loved his family and was a devoted husband and wonderful brother, father and grandfather. He could always be counted on to help a friend or family member in need. Leading up to his passing, he enjoyed the freedom and independence of driving his car, eating Burger King and smoking his cigarettes.

He is survived by his daughter, Julia Tapia of Fairfield, California; brother and wife, Ron and Theresa Waslohn of Vacaville, California; stepdaughter and husband, Debi and David Douglas of The Woodlands, Texas; stepson, Randy Davis of Lewisville, Texas; and his grandchildren, Ricky and Hayden Tapia of Fairfield, California, and Clark and Tyler Douglas of The Woodlands, Texas.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Lynne Waslohn; parents, John and Benedicta Waslohn; brother, John Waslohn; and his sister, Debbie Waslohn.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, at Bryan-Braker Funeral Home, 1850 W. Texas St., Fairfield.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Lung Cancer Research Foundation or the American Cancer Society.

Arrangements are under the direction of Bryan-Braker, 707-425-4697. You may sign the guestbook at www.bryan braker.com.

2021, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he was a flight man agement system program controller and flight director for American Airlines for more than 35 years. He also studied aviation law and business at Embry-Riddle Aero nautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Barker was a former

Keller city councilman who was also an Army veteran, husband and father, the city’s mayor, Armin Mizani, posted on Facebook.

“Terry Barker was beloved by many,” Mizani wrote. “He was a friend and someone whose guidance I often sought. Even after retir ing from serving on the City Council and flying for American Airlines, his love for community was unmistakable.”

Mizani added a Vet erans Day display of 1,776 American flags in front of Keller Town Hall will remain an additional week in Barker’s honor.

John Baker, a former American Airlines col league of Barker’s, said the two met several years ago while both were based out of Dallas/ Fort Worth International

Airport. Both were tech airmen instructor pilots conducting training until Barker retired about two years ago after 36 years with the airline.

He told The Dallas Morning News Barker was a family man with a servant’s heart.

“He was really an enthusiast of aviation,” Baker said, adding that Barker had a hangar at the Northwest Regional Airport in Denton County where he spent a lot of time refurbishing a Beechcraft AT-6.

After his retirement, Barker got involved with the commemorative air force and flying the B-17, Baker said.

“He had great people skills and communication skills,” Baker said. “He also had a great sense of humor and was very professional.”

Istanbul bombing kills 6, wounds dozens in popular shopping area

tRibune content agency

ISTANBUL — Turkish

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the bombing of a busy Istan bul shopping street on Sunday that killed at least six people and wounded 53 others as a “vile attack.”

Erdogan said a bomb had been detonated on Istanbul’s popular pedestrian thoroughfare Istiklal Avenue but that it was too soon to say if the attack had a ter rorist motive.

Yet Erdogan said there was a “smell of terror” in the air, citing initial information shared by the governor of Istan bul, Ali Yerlikaya.

The president said authorities suspect a woman had taken part in the incident that occurred at around 4:20 p.m. (1320 GMT).

Unverified social media

Week

From Page A2

Very Merry Craft Fair comes to Vacaville

Other footage showed shattered windows and motionless people lying on the ground on the street, a popular shop ping destination for

tourists and locals alike in the European part of the Turkish capital.

Police officers and emergency services were deployed to the scene in large numbers, accord ing to state broadcaster TRT, while helicopters were flying over the Beyoglu district and neighboring areas.

75 local and Bay Area artists selling a variety of handmade items that include pottery, woodcraft, fabric and glass art, soaps, candles and more, according to a press release for the event.

Carole Lish Schneider

We are saddened to announce the passing of Carole Lish Schneider. She died from cancer on Oct. 1, 2022, age 64, and was surrounded by her family. A native of Fairfield, California, Carole was a devoted mother, a loving wife and a dedi cated educator.

Carole cherished her 34 years of teaching, imparting the values of lifelong learning to her students as well as her own children. She loved to travel with her family, but was just as happy to enjoy a good book with her husband, with her cat curled up on her lap.

She is survived by her husband, Michael Bailey; children, Aeden Lish Schneider, Timothy Lish Schneider and spouse, Travis Swink; siblings, Thomas Lish II and Laurie Nipper.

She was preceded in death by her sister, Martha Peggy Erck; and parents, Thomas C. Lish and Peggy H. Lish. No public service will be held, as the family wishes to pri vately celebrate Carole’s life.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to the local library or animal shelter in her memory would be appreciated.

Uptown Fox Events will host its inaugural Very Merry Craft and Gift Fair this Saturday and Sunday.

The event will feature more than 75 local vendors selling handmade gift items and serving treats with holiday themes. Visitors will find live entertainment and more to fit the season.

Times are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days at the Ulatis Cultural Center, 1000 Ulatis Drive. Admis sion is free.

For more information, visit uptownfox.com.

Rancho Solano Holiday Boutique returns

The Rancho Solano Holiday Bou tique returns Sunday for its 22nd installment.

The boutique will have

Vendor space has sold out. Doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 4 p.m. at The Clubhouse at Rancho Solano, 3250 Rancho Solano Parkway. Organizers ask those who attend to bring a canned food donation and unwrapped toys for a donation bin.

For more information, call 707646-9006 or visit http://www.brenda mossaevents.com/shows/ranchosolano-holiday-boutique.

Cities, sewer board, school board set meetings

Several cities, the local sewer district and an area school board have meetings scheduled this week. All are open to the public. Check each agency’s website for attendance options. The meet ings include:

n Fairfield Suisun Sewer District Executive Committee, 4:30 p.m. Monday, 1010 Chadbourne Road,

Rio Vista Bridge overnight 1-way traffic controls set to start

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

RIO VISTA — Caltrans plans nighttime traffic control on the Highway 12 Rio Vista Bridge sched uled for this week and urges motorists to plan accordingly.

One-way reversing traffic control is sched uled nightly from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. Monday through Friday to assist engi neers in the removal and replacement of the exist ing mechanical system, the state Department of Transportation reports. The bridge remains safe for travel.

Caltrans is also notify ing recreational boaters and commercial vessels of a waterway closure from 8 p.m. Monday through March 3. Under this tem porary deviation issued by the U.S. Coast Guard, the lift span of the bridge will open on signal if at least four hours notice is given to the drawtender.

Work is scheduled as listed but subject to change due to traffic incidents, weather, availability of equip ment and/or materials, and other constructionrelated issues.

For real-time traffic updates, click on the Caltrans’ QuickMap at quickmap.dot.ca.gov.

Motorists using the Highway 84 Real McCoy and Highway 220 Ryer Island ferries as a bridge detour may find addi tional ferry information at the Caltrans Delta Ferries website at https:// dot.ca.gov/caltrans-nearme/district-4/d4-projects/ d4-solano-delta-ferry.

executive conference room, Fair field. Info: fssd.com.

n Suisun City Council, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, City Council chamber, 701 Civic Center Blvd. Info: www. suisun.com/government/citycouncil.

n Vacaville City Council special meeting, 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, council chamber, 650 Merchant St. Info: ci. vacaville.ca.us.

n Fairfield City Council, 6 p.m. Tuesday, City Hall council chamber, 1000 Webster St. Info: https://www. fairfield.ca.gov/government/citycouncil/city-council-meetings/ current-city-council-agendas? locale=en.

n Rio Vista City Council, 6 p.m. Tuesday, City Council Chamber, City Hall, 1 Main St. Info: www.rio vistacity.com/citycouncil.

n Solano County Planning Com mission, 7 p.m. Thursday, 675 Texas St., Fairfield. Info: solanocounty. com/depts/rm/boardscommissions/ solano_county_planning_ commission/agendas.asp.

n Vacaville School District Board of Trustees, 6:30 p.m. Thurs day, Educational Services Center boardroom, 401 Nut Tree Road. Info: https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/ vusdca/Board.nsf/vpublic?open.

footage showed a woman leaving a bag near pedes trians, followed seconds later by a blast. Authorities cautioned, however, that the investigation was in its early phase.

Burak Kara/Getty Images/TNS

People look on from the scene after an explosion occurred on Istiklal Avenue, a busy pedestrian thoroughfare in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday.

Liesbeth Powers/The Dallas Morning News/TNS Damage from a mid-air collision between two planes sits within the fence line of the Dallas Executive Airport in Dallas, Saturday.

Everyone needs to find the road to recovery that works for them

Dear Annie: I was surprised at your response to the letter writer regarding the Rational Recovery book, offered as an alter native to Alcoholics Anonymous. I am not an alcoholic myself, but I have adjacent relation ships, including a dear departed uncle who met the love of his life at AA. I have no objection or ax to grind with AA. You are absolutely right that AA and its many offshoots have saved millions of lives.

Unfortunately, the belief system and frequent use of the word “God” that provide a basis for this effective approach to recovery contain within them an element that can be extremely upsetting to survi vors of religious-based abuse. Your letter writer shared a book title that helped them quit drinking, which includes the word “rational,” implying that a religious belief system is not included in the strategy for getting sober. How cool is that?!

I’m disappointed you didn’t just say: Oh, that’s great! Any route to sobriety and recovery is a good thing! — Blessings

Dear Blessings: I wish I had asked you for advice before giving my own. I remain a huge fan of Alcoholics Anonymous, but only when there is flexibil ity and tolerance at the meetings. Sometimes recovered alcoholics can become the most tyrannical, and I whole heartedly agree that “any route to sobriety and recovery is a good thing.” But AA can also be flexible and helpful in ways that might surprise you, as the next letter shows.

Dear Annie: Your response to Rational Recovery was the best advice possible because you pointed out that whatever works for that family to achieve sobriety should be applauded, but you also pointed out that AA has helped millions of people. I am a recovering alcoholic and was turned off by all the talk of a “higher power” until I discov ered an AA group of atheists with regular meetings. They said the acronym GOD could stand for Group of Drunks, and the people at those meetings were honest and friendly and kind. I have stayed clean and

Horoscopes

ARIES (March 21-April 19).

When you are doing it your way and completely unselfcon sciously and unapologetically yourself, you have no compe tition. Getting into this state of confidence is tricky, but when you arrive there, no one can be you better than you.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20).

You’ll absorb some enthusi asm as you find yourself with bright, curious and passion ate people. What you may not realize is how much you are rubbing off on them, too, in a very positive way.

GEMINI (May 21-June 21). You have a serene air about you today. You’ve already done all the thinking and planning to make this go as well as it pos sibly can. It’s as though you’re well rehearsed and now all that’s left to do is let the thing happen naturally.

CANCER (June 22-July 22). The surprising and silly things that happen are what make a good story. You can’t force such things, but when you’re open to them, they tend to land in your life.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). To skip the research phase of a project is to waste time, as there is no use in repeating what didn’t work before. Study what worked in the past and note what didn’t work as well. You’ll soon recreate a victory.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). The guitarist can’t play with gloves on. In music and in life, friction vibrates the strings. Don’t be afraid to dig

by Holiday Mathis

Today’s birthday

You are a charmer. If anyone can make these people smile, it’s you. You’ll make soul connections. Doing well on a test will help you leap forward in your purpose. Financial gain comes from communicating your ideas well. Parent/child relationships will be between unrelated people. Your relationship with a loved one reflects the bond you share with a parent. Taurus and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 7, 12, 20, 6 and 42.

in with your nails. This day is waiting for you to give it a rhythm and sound.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23).

You’ll find yourself mentally weaving an alternate version of things. Not all fantasy is escape; sometimes it’s a creative way of working through reality. Understanding comes because you are open to it.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21).

One problem solved will make your life easier in a million ways, as long as it’s the right problem. Since solving irrele vant problems is a waste, it’s worthwhile to step back and get a proper high-level view of the situation.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21). You’re in the mood to reveal. You’ll share your feel

sober for more than 30 years thanks to the support they gave me, as well as at other AA meet ings over the years. — AA Fan

Dear Annie: I read your column regularly and gener ally think your advice is fine. But I really have to take issue with your advice to the family that chose Rational Recov ery to deal with alcohol abuse. It was really condescend ing!

As someone who went to AA for help because every one recommended it, it was so awful, controlling, unforgiv ing (and I tried several groups) and unfriendly, especially to women. I didn’t need the opin ions of 1930s men telling me what to do. In the end, I found SMART at my local hospital, which works on principles of modern psychology. It is far less judgmental, kinder and more forgiving. And I wasn’t the only one in the group who had fled AA. One size does not fit all. It’s not the 1930s anymore! — Secret Oath Dear Secret Oath: If SMART works for you, then I am all for SMART.

Send your questions for Annie Lane to dearannie@ creators.com.

ings, say what’s on your mind, spill your inner secrets and tell everyone what you intend to add to your life, as well as note what you no longer want.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19). Human perception is based on the same sur vival mechanism as the other animals: We must filter out more than what we let into our awareness. Sometimes you notice more than you think is good for you, but you can handle it.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20Feb. 18). Everything is going well. It does not mean that all the lights are green, or that the journey is pleasant, cool and free of frustration. It just means that you are actually making progress.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Don’t worry if you don’t know how to get where you want to go. You’ll figure it out in the end. If you don’t know where to go, wait until you come up with an idea. It is better to sit and conserve your energy rather than wander aimlessly.

CELEBRITY PROFILES: King Charles III has new duties in upholding the formalities and constitutional principles of the United Kingdom and its realms. The king is a Scorpio born when Mercury was also in Scorpio and natal Mars and Jupiter in Sagittarius, the sign of the world. Venus in diplomatic Libra is an ideal placement for grace in political realms.

Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.

DO NOT OVERLOOK A CRITICAL SPOT

Do you know someone who keeps her – or his – abode absolutely spotless? As soon as you drop so much as a crumb on the carpet, they rush up with a Dust Buster. If so, suggest that she – or he – take up bridge. You have an expert in the making. It is so important to keep a careful track of the

Sudoku

DO NOT OVERLOOK A CRITICAL SPOT

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column and every 3x3 grid contains the digits 1 through 9, with no repeats. That means that no number is repeated in any row, column or box. Solution, tips and computer program at www.sudoku.com

Do you know someone who keeps her – or his – abode absolutely spotless? As soon as you drop so much as a crumb on the carpet, they rush up with a Dust Buster. If so, suggest that

by Phillip Alder

spot cards – as in today’s deal.

West led fourth highest from his longest and strongest spade suit against three no-trump.

East won with the queen and continued with his king. At trick three, he switched to the heart jack. South won in hand and played on clubs. West could do no better than cash the spade ace, holding declarer to his contract.

“Why didn’t you win the first trick with the spade king?” asked West. “Then, when you continue with the queen, I will know that you have a doubleton.”

“I thought about doing that,” replied East, “but I was afraid that if South won the first trick with the ace, you would think he had the queen as well. I wasn’t going to win an early trick to clarify the situation for you.

“I think,” East continued, “that you should have paid closer attention to the spade spots. If you overtake my king with your ace and drive out South’s jack, you set up five tricks for us: four spades and the club ace. The only time this is wrong is when I have three spades and South has eight red-suit winners, which is impossible here because declarer would need 3=4=5=1 distribution.”

“Yes, partner. I bustered (sic) the defense by not paying close enough attention to the spade spots.”

2022, UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

by Wayne Gould

Bridge

Annie Lane Dear Annie

(707) 427-1386

Swift adds 17 shows to her Eras tour

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

LOS ANGELES —

Taylor Swift has added 17 more shows to her already expanded Eras tour, including two more gigs in Los Angeles, “due to unprecedented demand for tickets.”

The “Anti-Hero” and “Lavender Haze” singer will play SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Aug. 8 and 9, in addition to her pre viously announced shows on Aug. 3, 4 and 5. Those previously announced shows were meant to close out the U.S. leg of the tour, which sup ports her 10th and record-breaking “Mid nights” album.

The five-night stint makes Swift the first artist to present that many shows at the 70,000-seat, $5 billion venue. (It’s also the joint home of the NFL’s L.A. Rams and

L.A. Chargers.)

L.A.-based sister act Haim will perform at all five of Swift’s SoFi shows. The Aug. 3 and Aug. 8 con certs will also feature “I Miss You, I’m Sorry” artist Gracie Abrams, with “Baby Girl” singer Owenn playing Aug. 4 and “ABCDEFU” singer Gayle featured Aug. 5 and Aug. 9.

The Grammy Award winner on Friday also announced addi tional stops in Glendale, Arizona, where the tour will now kick off a day earlier on March 17. The other additional stops include shows in Las Vegas; Arlington, Texas; Tampa, Florida; two in Houston; Atlanta; Nashville, Tennessee; Chicago; Detroit; Pitts burgh; Minneapolis; Cincinnati; Kansas City, Missouri; and Denver.

Zits Jerry

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Dilbert Scott Adams

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman

Baldo Hector Cantú

Could the ocean slake state’s thirst?

‘Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink.”

Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge penned those words in his 1798 poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” to describe the plight of becalmed sailors who could die of thirst while surrounded by limitless expanses of undrinkable seawater.

In a way, it also describes California’s plight. Despite its 3,427 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline, includ ing bays, inlets and tidal marshes, the state has an ever-widening gap between its demand for water and its supply.

Naturally, there has been a decades-long debate over whether the state should tap into that endless supply of seawater to bridge the gap, emulating other arid and semiarid societies, particularly in Australia and the Mideast.

From a technical standpoint, it’s a nobrainer. Desalination plants, including a few already operating in California, do exactly what they are supposed to do – strip the salt from seawater, converting it into freshwater suitable for drinking or any other purpose. The barriers to building dozens of desali nation plants along the coast are economic, environmental and political.

Such plants require oodles of electri cal power to pump in the seawater, push it through filters that remove the salt and then return the uber-salty brine waste either to the sea or into another process.

A massive desal program would place a new burden on a power grid that already struggles to keep up with demand on very hot days as it evolves from natural gas-fired power plants to renewable sources such as wind and solar. Desal’s power demand also contributes heavily to the bottom line costs of producing water, making it more expensive, at least so far, than water from other sources.

Finally, environmental groups have gen erally opposed desal projects on assertions that pumping seawater into the plants and returning brine to the sea runs the risk of damaging delicate marine ecosystems. But the groups have another, unspoken reason for opposition. Restricted water supplies have been used as a tool to oppose new res idential development and increasing water supply undercuts that political tool.

In combination, all of those points were cited in the California Coastal Commission’s rejection of a much-debated desal project at Huntington Beach in Orange County earlier this year. The plant would have been a nearclone of a desal facility in Carlsbad, farther south along the coast.

At the time, it appeared to be a death knell for the expansion of desalination in California – something Gov. Gavin New som’s administration envisions in its overall plan for closing the demand/supply gap as climate change and semi-perpetual drought diminish traditional supplies from winter rains and snowfall.

However, last month the Coastal Com mission approved another Orange County desal project, one that would use somewhat different technology to pump in seawater and dilute the leftover brine before return ing it to the sea.

Environmental groups gave their bless ing to the Dana Point project, which made a big difference in the Coastal Commission’s attitude, as is the fact that it’s only one-tenth the size of the Huntington Beach project and would serve purely local customers of the South Coast Water District.

The approval was an indication that desalination could, as the state’s water plan envisions, play a significant role in Cali fornia’s water future, which will be much different than its abundant past.

That said, desal probably wouldn’t be the silver bullet of limitless supply that some have hoped it would be. It would be more of a reliability factor, something Californians could depend on working when traditional supplies fall short.

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Cal ifornia’s state Capitol works and why it matters. For more columns by Dan Walters, go to calmatters.org/commentary.

Let me introduce Yevgeny Prigozhin

‘Gentlemen,” Yevgeny Prigozhin exclaimed, “we have inter fered, are inter fering and will interfere. Carefully, precisely, surgi cally and in our own way, as we know how to do.” So admit ted Vladimir Putin’s closest pal, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The White House press sec retary, Karine Jean-Pierre, retorted, saying that Prigozhin’s comments “do not tell us anything new or surprising.”

Well, maybe surprising to mil lions of conservative Americans. I’ve mentioned for the past six years Sean Hannity’s near-nightly recitation of denials of Prigozhin’s recent admis sion, calling it the “Russia hoax." Many of my own friends believe that today.

Now the Russian culprit has con fessed. No hoax. The Mueller Report was correct. No conspiracy, that is, no Trumpist sitting down in a secluded restaurant with a Russian plotting, “you do this and I’ll do that,” or “Look behind the fire hydrant under a brick.”

No, just unrequested help because Putin knew Hillary Clinton was a for midable opponent of Russian interests and Donald Trump was an idiot who could be easily manipulated.

It’s time we understand what a for midable opponent Russia is in the area of disinformation. Look at our country now and know that Russia is playing a part in its unraveling.

We should recognize that Russia has a history of understanding human weaknesses and foibles. Russian authors have written many of the world’s greatest novels on this subject

ON THE LEFT THE RIGHT STUFF

from Dostoevsky’s “Broth ers Karamazov” (1880), to Solzhenitsyn’s “Cancer Ward” (1966).

Read the classic “Grand Inquisitor” (in “Broth ers Karamazov”) and you’ll glimpse the foundation of disinformation, the inten tional planting of falsehood to advance a fraud. It’s a brilliant study based on a deep understanding of human nature and human weakness.

In 1881, the Russian czar created the Okhrana, the dreaded secret police, to squelch public resistance to his inept reign. The Okrana became expert at disinformation, sucking the life out of any resistance by sowing discord between Russian Christians and Russian Jews, for instance. It’s called “distraction” today, an effective propaganda method.

In 1903, European anti-Semites published an entirely fictional “Proto cols of the Elders of Zion” that claimed Jewish bankers, presumably the Roth childs, controlled the world’s banks and, through those, controlled the world for evil purposes.

It’s entirely a fraud, but it laid the groundwork for the pogroms (burning of Jewish towns and lynching of Jews) that drove Russian Jews to America where they would prosper and contrib ute so much to American society, free from persecution.

As Jewish columnist Dana Milbank writes, American Jews are now begin ning to whisper whether they will have to flee the growing anti-Semitism of the right wing in our country. How shameful! America, once a

land of refuge, is beginning to expe rience anti-Semitic violence – likely promulgated by Russian disinforma tion to sow internal division in the U.S.

We should remind ourselves how experienced Putin is at disinforma tion. Trained as a KGB officer and posted to East Germany late in the Cold War, Lt. Col. Putin had to account for his service in yearly evaluations. Fully one-fourth of his “work product” had to be planting disinformation and giving examples.

With all this in mind, I can’t shake off a dream reverie I have:

In mid-2020, when polls were turning against Trump, he pan icked and sought advice from his mentor, Vlad the Assassin (not yet The Invader) in four telephone calls. Let’s listen in.

“Vlad, I’m losing in the polls!”

“Don’t worry, Don, you’ll be fine.”

“No, no, you don’t understand. I might actually lose in November.”

“Collect yourself, Don. Just say Biden won by cheating. Declare victory, ‘by a lot.’ ”

“No one will believe it, Vlad.”

“Just do it, Don. You’ll be surprised. You’ll be very surprised.”

As the inheritor of the Okhrana and the KGB, Putin, the new czar, knew something naive Americans didn’t: If an authority figure says some thing – anything – huge numbers of people will believe it, no matter what, especially those of the conservative persuasion.

I didn’t know; did you? Putin knew.

Jack Batson is a former member of the Fairfield City Council. Reach him by email at jsbatson@prodigy.net.

Election integrity imperative to preserve liberty

The Constitution Lit eracy Advocates pre sented awards Thursday to Solano County 10ththrough 12th-grade students who competed in the 11th annual Constitution Essay Constitution. The assigned topic this year was to define election integrity and why it is imperative if “We the People” are to “secure the Bless ings of Liberty for ourselves and our Posterity”? Since 2012, this commit tee has received 1,700 student essays and awarded a total of $12,700 to competing Solano students.

Stephanie Choi, a senior from Rodriguez Early College High School and consecutive year winner, will receive the Best of School and the Grand Prize awards, totaling an $800 mini-grant. Her winning essay is below.

nnn

Election integrity is the right to confidently vote in a free and fair election, safeguarded from voter fraud or interference of any kind. The three words which head the Constitution, “We the People,” encapsulate and underscore the fact that the document derives its power from none other than the very people of the United States who are governed by it: a concept upon which the entire Constitution is built.

Elections empower “We the People” to control the government because they allow for “We the People” to

participate in determining who will represent and “exercise the powers of government” (Article IV Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution) upon us. As a constitutional federal republic, it is in the peoples’ interest to ensure their government is the outcome of an honest election concluded with their benefit and the national good in mind.

Voter fraud, which puts fair, honest, and transparent elections at risk today, takes many forms: bribing or intim idating people to vote for a certain candidate, impersonation and false registration, voting while ineligi ble, etc. A recent instance of voter fraud can be seen in the case of the June 2021 Compton City Council race whose results, decided by a mere one vote difference, were overturned suc ceeding criminal charges against its victor: Isaac Galvan. A judge ruled that four votes were casted by nonresidents of the district and Galvan was accused of attempting to bribe an elections official with concert tickets. Relatedly, Elizabeth Gale from San Diego was sentenced to two years of felony probation after pleading guilty to voting in place of her deceased mother in the 2021 gubernatorial recall election earlier this year. Gale claimed to have witnessed her mother signing the ballot, but in reality, she had forged her signature.

When elections are compromised, Americans are robbed of their voice in

government and constitutional right to vote. Evident in the case of Isaac Galvan mentioned prior, voter fraud can completely change the outcomes of elections and make way for intentional misrepresentation and deceit.

Election integrity flourishes under the active involvement of citizens devoted enough to watch over it. Given much of the electoral process depends on the states, legislators and election officials, they can implement measures which will make ensuring election integrity that much more possible. States can pass laws that make it man datory to provide an ID to vote; verify their voter registration lists through government records and databases; and forbid people like party represen tatives from collecting absentee ballots from voters.

When election integrity is aban doned, the peoples’ right to a free, fair election is no more: votes are tainted and people lose their faith in the process. Elec tions not only call attention to ensuring all eligible individuals are able to vote, but that each individual vote is accu rately accounted for. They empower us to secure our and our posterity’s ability to have a voice in government and society, protecting our rights from fraudsters. If we can offer our partici pation, we can keep our republic.

Colleen Britton is the Solano County coordinator for the Election Integrity Project California.

Dan Walters

Colleen Britton

Jack Batson

changed since Biden and Xi attempted to set the tone of their relationship a year ago.

The meeting is instead a chance for Biden to “build a floor for the relationship and ensure that there are rules of the road that bound our competition,” a senior administration official told reporters Thursday.

Biden said he wouldn’t make any fundamental concessions but wants to “lay out what each of our red lines are” and determine whether “they conflict with one another.”

“And if they do, how to resolve it and how to work it out,” he told reporters at the White House last week.

Asked whether he would tell Xi the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the face of Chinese aggression, Biden said: “I’m going to have that conversation with him.”

Even something as basic as an agreement that the current trajectory of the U.S.-China relation ship is untenable would be a sign of success, said Jude Blanchette, chair of China studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“Both sides likely see the other’s desire to ‘sta bilize’ the relationship as more tactical than sub stantive, given the deep levels of distrust that now exist,” Blanchette said. “Beijing thinks the U.S. wants to simply normal ize the level of hostility it thinks the U.S. is showing towards it, and for its part, the U.S. thinks Beijing’s talk of ‘stability’ is just a stall tactic.”

For Biden, who revels in face-to-face diplomacy, the meeting is a chance to lay out his views in a way that’s only been possi ble over videoconferences until now, said Andrew Small, a senior fellow with the German Marshall Fund’s Asia Program.

Biden has held five calls or videoconference meetings with Xi since taking office, but he often recalls his time spent with the Chinese leader when both men served as vice president and toured their respective coun tries together.

The face-to-face meeting is a chance to tap into that history “to really talk about strategic priorities, their differences, clarify posi tions and transact at least on a limited number of issues” such as food secu rity, Small said.

Senior administration officials said Biden would seek China’s help on North Korea over its latest round of ballistic missile launches. Biden will also try to coax China to join a global push to end Rus sia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials said.

China has refused to condemn Moscow’s assault, but Biden admin istration officials pointed to Xi’s comments oppos ing the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine in a joint statement with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a recent visit to Beijing.

“The G-20 is a good stage for both Washing ton and Beijing to be able to say that although the two sides’ rivalry is inten sifying, it will be managed responsibly and it will still be possible to deal with each other in a few

areas of global concern,” Small said.

During Thursday’s daily news briefing in Beijing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokes person Zhao Lijian said China takes the proposed meeting seriously and is committed to cooperat ing with the U.S. while also defending its own national interests.

“It is important that the U.S. work together with China to properly manage differences, advance mutually bene ficial cooperation, avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation, and bring China-U.S. relations back to the right track of sound and steady develop ment,” Zhao said.

He stressed the impor tance of Taiwan to China and what China sees as U.S. interference in its “internal affairs.”

At the same meeting, Zhao criticized the U.S. for new limits it has put on the export of American semi conductor technology to China. The new restric tions are likely to hamper Beijing’s pursuit of arti ficial intelligence and more advanced military technology.

The Chinese govern ment has invested heavily in its ability to produce more advanced semi conductors, an essential component in computers, smartphones, cars and other consumer goods. However, those efforts have been crimped by U.S. export controls on the tools that China needs to develop and manufacture its own chips.

China “is the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the eco nomic, diplomatic, military and technologi cal power to advance that objective,” Biden wrote in his national security strat egy released last month.

Xi and Biden proba bly both think they have the upper hand in the tetea-tete following political successes at home.

In Biden’s case, last week’s history-defying performance by Dem ocrats in the midterm election undercuts the “U.S. and Western democ racy is faltering” narrative that Beijing was likely to pitch at the G-20 summit, Small said.

“The Chinese gov ernment can’t really contemplate just trying to sit Biden out for the next two years,” he added.

For Xi, the sit-down comes on the back of a sweeping political victory at the 20th National Con gress, where he clinched his third term as the leader of China’s Commu nist Party and cemented his position as the coun try’s most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong. Having stacked China’s top gov erning body with his own loyalists could further embolden him to take more aggressive action on Taiwan or in other global affairs.

At the same time, China is facing a slew of domes tic challenges, including slowing economic growth and growing discontent with the country’s strin gent zero-Covid policy.

Urban youth unemploy ment hit record highs in China this summer, while consumers’ desire to save reached its highest level in two decades. Strict pandemic controls and rising geopolitical risks have also soured multi national businesses on investing in China.

center, said in a news release. “We are chron ically short-staffed, which means patients are waiting longer for care. This is unaccept able and unconscionable when Kaiser made more than $14 billion during the first two years of the pandemic.”

The union, which has been in negotiations for a new labor contract since June, notified Kaiser Per manente on Thursday of its plan for the two-day strike. The nurses union said it always gives at least 10 days of advance notice to the hospital to allow for alter native plans to be made for patient care.

Kaiser Permanente has contingency plans if strike happens

Kaiser Permanente officials said they have been making steady progress in labor negotia tions, reaching what they describe as important agreements in bargain ing on safety, diversity and other issues. They also said they have contingency plans in place to ensure patients receive the care they need if the union holds its planned strike.

“Our nurses’ dedica tion to providing expert, compassionate care, especially throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, has been nothing short of inspiring,” Kaiser Per manente officials said Thursday in a prepared statement. “We are com mitted to continuing to provide excellent com pensation and a work environment committed to well-being, safety, and professional opportuni ties for our nurses.”

Kaiser Permanente said it put an offer on the table during Thursday’s bargaining session, which includes higher annual raises for nurses than its been able to offer for decades – 21.25% in wage increases over the four years of the contract.

“It is disappointing to receive a strike notice from CNA for a two-day strike Nov. 21 and 22, as this tactic is counter productive and distracts everyone from reaching agreement,” Kaiser Per manente officials said in their statement. “Further, our nurses would prefer to be at the side of our patients as we once again manage through a time when flu and RSV illness are affecting so many patients and Covid-19 is still very real and sicken ing thousands every day.”

Nurses missing breaks and lunches

The nurses and nurse practitioners said they are urging management to invest in nursing staff and agree to a contract that provides minimum staffing guide lines to ensure safe patient care, increased hiring and training to end chronic short-staff ing and job protections against Kaiser Perman ente’s subcontracting and outsourcing plans.

“Nurses are missing their breaks and lunches every single day due to short staff ing,” Diane McClure, a registered nurse in the post-anesthesia care unit at the south Sacra mento medical center.

“We need our legally provided breaks so that we are rested and can provide the highest level of care.”

Kaiser Perman ente said every health care provider in the nation is “facing staff ing shortages and fighting burnout.” But Kaiser offi cials also said the union’s claims of unsafe staff ing levels are not correct, since Kaiser Perman ente meets or exceeds state-mandated staff ing ratios.

Despite the challenges it faces in Northern Cali fornia, the medical health provider said it has hired about 3,300 additional nurses since 2021 of which 650 were new grad uates hired through its nurse residency program.

“We are com mitted to reaching an agreement, and do not believe there is any reason for a strike, given the many agreements we have already reached in bargaining, and the gen erous economic proposal we are putting on the table,” Kaiser Perman ente management said. “We are committed to hiring hundreds more additional nurses, in addi tion to the hundreds we are already bringing on board through aggressive recruitment and hiring, to provide relief for our

nurses and address staff ing shortages.”

Kaiser Permanente’s mental health provid ers voted last month to ratify a new labor con tract that ended the longest strike – nearly 10 weeks – by mental health care workers in U.S. history.

The nurses’ strike later this month also includes picketing at Kaiser Per manente medical centers in Fremont, Vacaville, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Walnut Creek. The union also repre sents 1,200 nurses at a Kaiser Perman ente medical center in Los Angeles, where nurses also plan on holding a strike Nov. 21 and 22.

“Without enough nurses in both inpatient and outpatient settings, patients are left for hours in the emergency room or receive inadequate and untimely access to outpa tient care,” Michelle Vo, a registered nurse in the adult primary care unit at the Fremont medical center. “Our patients deserve better from a corporation that made more than $24 billion over the past five years.

Rosalio Ahumada of The Sacramento Bee pro vided the bulk of the reporting for this article, which was localized by the Daily Republic staff.

difficulty for NorthBay. The losses under this contract, combined with the changing health care market, put us at risk for not being able to provide health care services for the community at all.”

“We are continuing negotiations with Part nership and hope to reach an agreeable solution soon, to avoid affecting the health care of our patients,” Jones said in the statement.

NorthBay is in the midst of what it describes as a $100 million “budget recovery plan” to main tain services for the community. Reaching a fair agreement with Partnership HealthPlan California is one of North Bay’s “key initiatives.” company spokeswoman Diane Barney said in the statement.

That plan was announced in July and thus far has included layoffs and an attempt to access federal pandemic relief money awarded to the county.

The company in midSeptember requested $14.19 million from the county in pandemic relief funds, much of that the result of what the company described as additional costs absorbed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is a one-time ask, not a save North Bay ask,” Jones said at the time.

He told county offi cials NorthBay is working through its recovery plan. Part of that plan included the announcement in July that the company was in

the process of eliminat ing 7% of its workforce to help balance its budget. The move translates into nearly 190 full-timeequivalent positions based on a workforce of 2,700 as reported by the company formerly known as NorthBay Healthcare.

A full-time-equiva lent position may be a single person working full time or multiple people working part time whose combined hours represent one fulltime position.

Company officials at the time said more cuts may be ahead.

NorthBay Health had previously reduced posi tions through retirements and voluntary depar tures, according to the health care company.

Barney in the North Bay statement Friday indicated NorthBay Health and Partnership HealthPlan “seem to be making progress” in their talks. The Califor nia Department of Health Care Services requires that Partnership Health Plan notify patients at least 30 days in advance if their health care plan may change. NorthBay also chose to reach out to its patients to let them know about possi ble changes.

“Negotiations are ongoing and we hope to come to an agreement before Dec. 1, 2022,” Eliz abeth Gibboney, CEO of Partnership HealthPlan California, said in a state ment released Oct. 27 in response to NorthBay’s notice of intent. “North Bay was instrumental in the organization of Part nership in 1994 and has been a valuable partner in caring for our members, and we hope to main tain that relationship. We

have begun preparations, should the termination move forward on Dec. 1, to ensure all our members have access to the care they need.”

The number of people affected differs depending on which health care entity pro vides them. While NorthBay Health in its statement made reference to 68,000 Partnership HealthPlan members assigned to NorthBay hospitals in Fairfield and Vacaville, Partnership in its release reports more than 20,000 of its members utilize North Bay’s specialty or hospital care in Solano County.

Both sides hope to reach an agreement before Nov. 30. If they are successful, there will be no effect on patient care.

Partnership Health Plan members assigned to NorthBay providers started receiving notifi cation letters Nov. 1. The letters provide informa tion on accessing care, including selecting a new primary care doctor and how to continue receiv ing care for treatments already started.

This change does not affect Partnership HealthPlan members’ Medi-Cal eligibility or benefits, the company

reports. Partnership members are asked to call Member Services at 800-863-4155 with any questions or concerns.

The contract talks con tinue as NorthBay Health Chief Financial Officer

Michele Bouit is stepping down at the end of the week. NorthBay Health has created a webpage to keep the community apprised of negotiation progress. Visit it at North Bay.org/Partnership or call 707-646-3280.

Partnership Health Plan California, based in Fairfield, contracts with the state to administer Medi-Cal benefits. Part nership provides health care to approximately 660,000 Medi-Cal members. Beginning in Solano County in 1994, Partnership HealthPlan now provides services to 14 Northern Califor nia counties: Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Marin, Mendocino, Modoc, Napa, Shasta, Sis kiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Trinity, and Yolo.

NorthBay Health oper ates NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield and NorthBay Vaca Valley Hospital in Vacaville, in addition to a number of specialized and primary care clinics.

Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic fle Members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers picket in front of the Kaiser Permanente Outpatient Psychiatry building in Vallejo, Aug. 17.

Courtesy photo NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield.

Sharks erase late deficit, earn gutsy win

Tribune ConTenT agenCy

The San Jose Sharks scored twice in the final 6:04 of the third period to help earn a point against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.

Alexander Barabanov then scored in the fifth round of the shootout to clinch the second point, as the Sharks earned a comefrom-behind 3-2 win over the Wild, picking up backto-back victories for the first time this season.

Nick Bonino also

scored in the shootout after a frantic yet score less overtime and James Reimer finished with 28 saves as the Sharks improved to 2-1-3 in its last six games. Reimer made 25 saves in the Sharks’ 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars on Friday.

The Sharks, who were 0-3 in shootouts before Sunday, now close the road trip Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights.

With the Sharks down 2-0 in the third period, Steven Lorentz scored at

the 13:56 mark, and Nico Sturm followed that with his own goal with 4:11 left to tie the game.

The Sharks were on a power play and down 1-0 early in the third period when they caught an unlucky break.

Erik Karlsson had the puck inside the Wild blue line but tripped and fell backward, leaving the puck there for Mason Shaw. He entered the Sharks’ zone and passed on a 2-on-0 to Connor Dewar, who beat James

Reimer for a two-goal Minnesota lead.

The Sharks started slowly as they were outshot 9-1 through the opening 11-plus minutes of the first period.

One of those Wild shots was a goal by Freder ick Gaudreau.

As three Sharks players in their own zone were fixated on Kirill Kapr izov, Gaudreau was left all alone. After he took a pass from Kaprizov, Gaudreau had time to skate across the front of

the net, outwait an out stretched Reimer and score his second of the season at the 6:45 mark of the first period.

The Sharks’ second shot on goal came in a breakaway, but his shot was blocked away by Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson.

Defenseman Radim Simek was injured on his first shift of the game, as he was caught in the head by an elbow or forearm from Wild forward Mason Shaw. Simek’s shift lasted all of 24 seconds and he

missed the rest of the first period before the Sharks announced early in the second period that would not return for the rest of the game.

Sharks coach David Quinn didn’t have a health update on Simek, saying he would know more Monday about his availability for Tuesday’s game. It’s possible Shaw could face supplemen tal discipline from the NHL’s Department of

MLB’s integration struggle started with Robinson

IT DIDN’T END THERE

J. Frommer THE WASHINGTON POST

Curry draws admiration from Spurs’ shooters

Tribune ConTenT agenCy

SAN FRANCISCO —

Golden State Warriors games are must-see TV for Spurs forward Doug McDermott.

“It’s a shooter’s dream watching those guys play,” he said.

The primary attrac tion for McDermott and other league sharpshoot ers like him: Guard Stephen Curry, the War riors’ superstar and revolutionary force.

“As shooters, we are very appreciative of him because he’s changed the game,” McDermott said. “We are not throw ing it into the post as much. We are shooting 3s, getting up and down, pushing the tempo. It doesn’t matter if we go 3 for 10 or whatever, just keep shooting.

“He’s been a great role model for all of us

shooters. He’s the guy we all look up to.”

Although the defend ing NBA champion Warriors (5-7) have struggled so far this season – at least by their high standards – Curry has been terrific.

The eight-time AllStar, four-time NBA champion, two-time league MVP and twotime NBA scoring leader entered Sunday night’s game at Sacramento averaging 33.3 points after consecutive games of scoring 40 or more.

Only Dallas’ Luka Doncic (34.3s) has a higher average.

“You run out of adjec tives to describe Steph’s play,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said after Curry pumped in 40 to lead the Warriors to a 106-101 come-from-

MMA fighter Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson dies at 38

Major League Baseball recently wrapped up its sea son-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, beginning with “Hamilton” star Leslie Odom Jr. narrating a video tribute to Robinson and ending with a nationally tele vised World Series promotion.

But if the high-profile commemoration gave the impression baseball solved its integration problem 75 years ago, history provides a much more compli cated story. After Robinson’s debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947, progress was haltingly slow across the sport.

Two other ballclubs integrated that year – the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns. But over the next five years, just three more teams – the New York Giants, Boston Braves and Chicago White Sox – fol lowed suit. And Robinson was not shy about calling out the holdouts, beginning with the New York Yankees.

On Nov. 30, 1952, about two months after the Yankees beat the Dodgers in a seven-game World Series, Robinson appeared on the NBC News show, “Youth Wants to Know.” A boy asked Robinson whether he believed there was prejudice, and he

replied, “Yes,” according to the New York Times. Explaining he was referring to the club executives and not the players, Robinson said, “I think the members of the Yankees team are fine sportsmen and wonder ful gentleman, but there isn’t a single Negro on the team now, and there are very few in the entire Yankee farm system.”

“It seems to me,” he elaborated in a follow-up interview with the Times, “the Yankees front office has used racial prejudice in its dealings with Negro ball players.”

Yankees vice president George M. Weiss claimed in an interview with the Associated Press that wasn’t the case.

“Our attitude always has been that when a Negro comes along who can play good enough ball to win a place on the Yankees we will be glad to have him but not just for exploitation,” Weiss said.

Some sportswriters defended the Yankees. In a 1955 Times sports column, Arthur Daley wrote:

“The charge has been leveled against the New York Yankees that they have been prejudiced against Negroes. It has been made mostly by irresponsible persons who point to the fact that the Bombers have never had one on their squad. It also has been made by the sensitive and crusading Jackie Robinson.”

Daley said he “never believed a word of it. The men in the Yankee front office have stubbornly refused to be panicked into hiring a Negro just because he was a Negro.”

But Roger Kahn would recount in his 1972 base ball classic “The Boys of Summer” that the real reason was in fact prejudice, as Robinson had suspected. Kahn wrote that a high-ranking Yankees executive told him at the 1952 World Series that he would never allow a Black player to wear a Yankees uniform. “We don’t want that sort of crowd,” the executive said after three martinis, according to Kahn. “It would offend boxhold ers from Westchester to have to sit with” Black people, using the n-word.

By 1952, 10 of the sport’s 16 teams had yet to feature a Black player on their major league roster, but the track record was better in New York. The city was home to three teams at the time, and the Yankees were the only one that remained all White. The Giants had integrated in 1949 with two players – Hank Thomp son and future Hall of Famer Monte Irvin (although Thompson made his MLB debut two years earlier with the Browns). Willie Mays joined the team in 1951.

Publicly, some owners would use the same justifica tion Weiss did.

Writing in a 1952 Sporting News retrospective, Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith com plained that a few years earlier “subversive persons came to Washington from New York, and picketed our ballpark. I was accused of discrimination against Negro players.”

FrederiC

Jackie Robinson, 1950.

U.S. Information Agency/Public domain

Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group/TNS file

Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (30) brings the ball downcourt in the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Nov. 7.

JOHNSON

Lecso, a Hungarian pepper stew, a treasured taste of tradition

Luke Pyenson SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON POST

Erzsébet Etl was laughing on the phone as we discussed lecsó (leh-tcho), the beloved pepper stew of her native Hungary. A Hungar ian language teacher who lives in Reston, Va., Etl didn’t want me to print a compromise she makes if the right peppers aren’t available. “I don’t want to start a lecsó war,” she cau tioned, and neither do I. Packed with flavorful peak-season produce, lecsó is, at its core, a simple and delightful dish of lightly simmered peppers, tomatoes and onions. But its preparation and potential variations inspire strongly held beliefs.

My lecsó journey began over a decade ago, when my college housemate Jason returned from a semester abroad in Budapest with a recipe. Lecsó was one of his favorite Hungarian dishes, and it became part of our rota tion at school. We both still make it, and photos of peppers populate my texts with Jason each year as summer turns to fall. I learned to make lecsó with red bell peppers, tomatoes and onions, garnished with sour cream and served with bread. I assumed, incorrectly, that this was how everyone made it.

Zsófi Mautner, a Budapestbased food writer and cookbook author, set the record straight. “Lecsó is one of those dishes that everybody makes differ ently,” she told me. “It’s really a reason for family fights,” she added, “and I mean it literally.”

There are several things to fight over: How to slice the peppers (strips vs. rings); the proportion of peppers to tomatoes; whether to use paprika; and whether to treat it as a condiment or a meal in and of itself.

As a side or condiment, the dish usually remains vegetar ian (unless cooked in bacon fat). Otherwise, sausage, sliced hot dogs, bacon, sour cream, cabbage, potatoes, mushrooms, beaten eggs, rice, tarhonya (Hungarian egg barley) and nokedli (Hungarian spaetzle) are all popular mix-ins.

In the diaspora, there’s an even more important issue.

“The biggest challenge when you do lecsó abroad is the type of pepper,” said Mautner. I asked sheepishly if people in Hungary ever use bell peppers. “Never.” I posed the same question to Steve Szekeres, a Hungarian living in Wayne, Pa., and the father of Jason’s studyabroad friend, Peter. “Forget it,” he said. “It’s not your best choice. At all. Wrong choice.”

In Hungary, lecsó is made exclusively with the pale green ish-yellow peppers known here as Hungarian wax peppers. But in the United States, peppers sold under this name can be quite hot; the variety used in lecsó is always mild. Banana peppers – in their fresh, unpick led form – come close, as do cubanelle peppers. Mautner allowed that bell peppers are

an acceptable substitute, but they’re not ideal. “Bell peppers are very sweet, and the Hun garian wax peppers have this more earthy, savory flavor,” Mautner explained.

Szekeres echoed this view. “Lecsó is not supposed to be sweet at all,” he said, adding that bell peppers’ thicker skin is “way too rough on the stomach. No good.”

Peppers hold a special place in Hungarian culinary culture, both in their fresh form and as paprika. Introduced to Hungary by Ottoman occupiers, their use became widespread in the late 19th century thanks to the farming prowess of Bulgar ian immigrants. Lecsó emerged around this time, though “it was initially cooked under a totally different name,” said Hungarian cookbook author and food historian András Koerner. “Lecsó only showed up in Hungarian cookbooks in the 1930s,” he added. Today, it’s indispensable to the Hungar ian repertoire. “It’s among the top ten signature Hungarian dishes,” Mautner said, “but it’s not an ancient recipe.”

At his Hungarian-accented Brooklyn restaurant Agi’s Counter, chef Jeremy Salamon serves what he calls a “sec ond-generation take on lecsó.” Charred, mixed seasonal peppers are cooked down with shallots, onions and we pickled peppers; the mixture is served cascading off a bone-in pork rib chop. “The way that my family made it, it was always just used as a very versatile condiment,” he explained. Versions of lecsó like this are also frequently canned or jarred, and can be found around Europe under

alternate spellings like letscho in Germany and leczo in Poland.

Most Hungarians associate lecsó with summer, and while the dish is technically stewed, it’s not meant to simmer on the stove all day. The peppers should still have a little crunch, and freshness of ingredients is emphasized above all else. Pre served versions capture this summery essence, but the most common addition to freshly pre pared lecsó is sausage, which changes the vibe. I love to make lecsó in early fall, when peppers and tomatoes are still available in local markets, but the air has enough of a chill that a sausagey stew holds a comforting appeal.

I’ve now stopped using bell peppers, but my version of lecsó is not without its provocations. I like to add tomato paste, to thicken the sauce, and I do not peel the tomatoes, though many Hungarians do. Spaetzle is my favorite foil, but I prefer to serve it on the side rather than fully mixed-in, which would be more traditional. And in addition to sour cream, I like to garnish with a little dill for contrast.

These choices might not sit well with everyone, but I like Salamon’s inclusive approach to the dish. “You do you,” he told me, and I’d encourage any aspiring lecsó-maker to do the same.

LECSO (HUNGARIAN PEPPER STEW)

Active time: 50 minutes | Total time: 1 hour 10 minutes 6 servings (makes about 10 cups) In Hungary, mild, pale yellow peppers known locally as paprika form the basis of this beloved traditional dish. Diaspora cooks are used to making do with similar varieties such as cubanelle, banana peppers and

(mild) Hungarian wax peppers. Bell peppers are an acceptable if imper fect substitute; red peppers should be cut with at least some yellow or green peppers to keep the dish from becoming too sweet. Farmers markets should have options that more closely capture the spirit of lecsó; just be sure you know where they sit on the Scoville scale before committing. Beyond its elemental ingredients –peppers, tomatoes and onions –lecsó is a dish with seemingly infi nite variations. Meat, particularly smoked sausage or bacon, is a common addition; a dash of smoked paprika, while not traditional, can allude to this in a vegetarian version.

Sour cream and dill are lovely gar nishes (but may irk lecsó purists). Possible accompaniments and mix-ins are as numerous as variations to the dish itself. Crusty bread, rice, spaetzle (or their Hungarian cousins nokedli) and pearl couscous (as a stand-in for Hungarian tarhonya) are all popular. Some like to add beaten eggs toward the end of cooking.

Storage: Refrigerate left overs for up to 4 days.

¼ cup neutral oil (see VARIATION)

1 ¼ pounds yellow onions (2 medium), halved and sliced

1 heaping tablespoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional, if not using meat)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 ½ pounds ripe tomatoes (2 medium), diced large

3 pounds cubanelle or bell peppers (12 to 15 cubanelle or 8 to 10 bell), cut into 2 – to 3-inch strips

1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste

12 ounces smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, sliced into rounds or on the bias (optional)

Sour cream and/or fresh dill,

for serving (optional)

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, warm the oil until shimmering. Add the onions, stir to coat in the oil, cover and cook, stirring intermittently, until soft and lightly golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the paprika (both kinds, if not using meat) and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until fully incor porated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stirring to deglaze the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Cook until the tomatoes begin to release their juices, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the peppers and salt, and stir to incorporate. Decrease the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the peppers have reduced and softened, stirring every 5 minutes, about 20 minutes. Add the kielbasa, if using, and cook until the peppers are soft but retain a bit of bite, about 10 more minutes. Taste, and season with more salt, if desired, then remove from the heat. Ladle into bowls, top with a dollop of sour cream and/or a little dill, if desired, and serve.

VARIATION: For added flavor, you can cook the vegetables in ren dered bacon fat instead of oil. Cook 4 ounces of chopped bacon until the fat is rendered, 5 to 7 minutes. Then, proceed with the rest of the recipe, using the rendered bacon fat in place of oil.

Nutrition information per serving, with kielbasa (about 1 2/3 cups) | Calories: 365; Total Fat: 26 g; Saturated Fat: 6 g; Cholesterol: mg; Sodium: 39 mg; Carbohydrates: 27 g; Dietary Fiber: 7 g; Sugar: 14 g; Protein: 11 g

This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not sub stitute for a dietitian’s or nutrition ist’s advice.

How to make smooth, creamy soups without adding dairy

Becky k rystaL THE WASHINGTON POST

One of my family’s go-to meals in the winter is a smooth and creamy soup, served with crusty bread and a side of roasted vegetables. Often we’ll pour in a nice glug of heavy cream for richness and luscious flavor in the soup.

But heavy cream is not always the answer when it comes to silken soups. Maybe there’s none in the fridge. Perhaps the night’s menu needs to be plant-based or dairy free. And it’s just nice to have some thing a bit lighter. Whatever the reason, know that there are several great alterna tives for creamy soups without the cream. Here are a few particular ingredients to con sider instead.

Coconut milk

Canned coconut milk – not the refrigerated stuff intended for drinking – is an easy, pan try-friendly stand-in for heavy cream. Of course, depending on the recipe, the coconut flavor may come through, though it may not be noticeable when paired with such assertive ingredients as onions, garlic, ginger and cruciferous vege tables. Keeping a can or two around makes it simple to whip up an improvised pureed soup. As long as you have the coconut milk and some aromatics, you can cobble together a satisfying meal with whatever vegetables you have on hand.

Cashews

Like coconuts, cashews are a plant-based option for adding

creamy richness with plenty of fat for luxurious texture. You can maximize the potential with a high-speed blender such as a Vitamix.

If you don’t have a highspeed blender, you can set yourself up for success by soaking the nuts overnight in the fridge or in just-boiled water for 15 to 30 minutes. This will help soften them for a smoother texture, if not exactly as silken as those processed in a highend blender. Don’t fret if you haven’t thought too far ahead, as plenty of recipes make working the cashews in pretty seamless. In Creamy Potato Chowder, the cashews get a brief soak in cold water while you prep the soup base. In Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup, they’re tossed into the soup just before blending.

Beans

To add creaminess with more protein and fiber and less fat, it’s beans to the rescue. Use canned or home-cooked beans from dried, both of which are pantry staples. If you use dried, hang on to some of the cooking liquid to use in place of the broth or water called for in the recipe – it’s packed with flavor and can help with a thick, smooth texture, too. White beans are perfect when you want a mild flavor that will allow the other ingre dients to shine. Navy, cannellini and chickpeas are all acces sible go-tos.

Simmering the beans for a least a little while will make them easier to blend to a smooth consistency.

But don’t discount black beans. Sometimes their distinc

tive earthy flavor is just what a recipe calls for. Two cans of black beans cook for just about 10 minutes before half gets pureed. As with several other dishes here, canned coconut milk is part of the supporting cast for ultimate creaminess.

Squash and potatoes

Yes, you can have a creamy soup even if you add none of these enhancements. Some of the silkiest soups we’ve had at home have been primarily made with butternut squash, supple mented with varying amounts of potato. If the soup is on the thick side, you can always thin with additional broth or water, no need to turn to cream, which can dull the vibrancy of the veg etable’s flavor in addition to adding more fat.

From New York City-based food writer Luke Pyenson.

Scott Suchman/The Washington Post

Lecso is, at its core, a simple and delightful dish of lightly simmered peppers, tomatoes and onions.

Defense Department health plan cuts its pharmacy network

Patricia K ime KAISER HEALTH NEWS

Doris Spatz takes a once-aday pill, Kisqali, to keep her metastatic breast cancer in check. As a patient in the Defense Depart ment health system, she can fill routine prescriptions at a mili tary pharmacy without a copay but also has the option of using a regular pharmacy through Tricare, the Defense Depart ment’s private health care program.

Spatz found a local phar macy in her Alexandria, Virginia, neighborhood and was getting the life-preserving med icine there.

That is, until Oct. 24, when Express Scripts, the pharmacy benefit manager for Tricare, dropped nearly 15,000 pharma cies from its network. Many of them were small, independent pharmacies, like Neighborhood Pharmacy of Del Ray, where Spatz was a customer.

That decision created prob lems, according to Doris’ husband, Dr. Michael Spatz, because the breast cancer drug is not carried by every phar macy. And some larger chains require patients to use a branch of their busi ness known as a specialty pharmacy for pricey or scarce medications for complex diseases.

“Express Scripts told us, ‘You can just go to CVS,’ ” Michael Spatz said. “But that was kind of a mess because you can’t just go into CVS and get a $1,500 medicine. You have to be in their special phar macy system.”

About 27% of all pharma cies in the Tricare network are no longer covered, leaving more than 400,000 military ben eficiaries affected. The move has upset customers and many independent pharmacies and has raised concerns among some service member advo cates and lawmakers, especially those in rural states, who feel it disproportionally affects rural veterans.

In a September letter to the Defense Department, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., chair of the

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Com mittee, said: “No longer able to rely upon their local pharmacy to access needed medications and in-person pharmacist coun seling, they would be forced to drive long distances to find cor porate in-network pharmacies or be funneled into Express Scripts’ mail delivery program. That is unacceptable.”

Many of the affected phar macies knew they would be dropped from the network at the end of the year because they didn’t accept Express Scripts’ terms, which included reduced reimbursement rates. But they were surprised by the early ejection, said Ronna Hauser, senior vice president of policy and pharmacy affairs at the National Community Pharmacists Association. “This was a very botched rollout of this new network and unfor tunate, ultimately, for the patients,” she said.

The Military Officers Associ ation of America, an advocacy group for active-duty and retired personnel, said it was pressing for a reversal of the decision.

While acknowledging that the Defense Department is under pressure to control health care costs, Karen Ruedisueli, the association’s director of govern ment relations for health affairs, called the change “unprece dented and shortsighted.”

Peter Graves, a spokesperson for the Defense Health Agency, which oversees medical care and services for 9.6 million ben eficiaries, including service members, military retirees, and their families, said the Pentagon does not participate in contract negotiations between its phar macy benefit manager and retail pharmacies.

But, he said in an emailed statement, the changes will

not inconvenience many of the people in the program. Roughly 95% of beneficiaries will have access to at least two network pharmacies within a 15-minute drive, he said, and “99.8%” will have access within 30 minutes.

“The Tricare retail network will continue to meet or exceed Tricare’s standard for pharmacy access,” Graves said. “Beneficiaries will con tinue to have many convenient, local in-net work options for filling their medications, including those beneficiaries in rural locations.”

In a separate email, Express Scripts spokesperson Justine Sessions said the decision to leave the network was “up to the pharmacy and/or the wholesalers that negotiate on their behalf.” She added that roughly 80% of pharmacies being dropped from the network had fewer than 50 prescription claims in the past six months from Tricare and that 25% had none. Sessions said Express Scripts has a team dedicated to contacting the “small percent age of beneficiaries that may be impacted by these changes” and helping them move their prescriptions.

“Our charge is to ensure Tricare benefi ciaries can access their prescription medica tion safely, affordably, and conveniently, and at the best value for the Department of Defense and taxpayers,” Sessions said.

The transition is especially problematic for a small group of Tricare beneficiaries who are chronically ill, have a disability, and receive infusion medica tions in their homes, according to pharmacists.

Logan Davis, vice president of trade at Vital Care Infusion Services, which serves custom ers in 30 states, said that the company’s services are covered under Tricare’s medical benefit but that the medications used for the infusions are often purchased from independent pharmacies.

The move could delay care for patients with chronic con

ditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis, and Crohn’s disease, Davis said. Swapping out intravenous pre scriptions isn’t simple, he said.

“It may not be a huge number of patients, but these

are patients on complex drugs that are very ill who depend on getting these drugs to stay out of the hospital and to have a quality of life,” Davis said.

Some lawmakers and advo cacy groups have decried the move. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and 98 members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, sent a letter Sept. 29 to Seileen Mullen, acting assistant sec retary for health affairs at the Defense Department, protest ing the decision. They said the move could affect beneficiaries’ health and lead to higher admin istrative fees for the Defense Health Agency.

“What reasons has Express Scripts given DHA for terminat ing the 2022 contracts early?” they asked. “This will only further reduce the pharmacy network for Tricare patients and their families, and may force beneficiaries to change phar macies at a time when many receive annual vaccinations.”

Carter’s website now includes a form that asks affected patients, pharmacists, and health care providers for feedback so the lawmaker can catalog them and press the Biden administration for a reversal. “We’ve been told by the Biden Administration that they do not believe patients and pharmacists care about losing this access,” the website says. “We know you do, and we are bringing your stories to them.”

Sessions, with Express Scripts, did not give a reason for expediting the pharmacies’ departure from the network but said pharmacies may have been blindsided because “appar ently some wholesalers declined on behalf of their pharma

cies without communicating that to them.”

The National Home Infu sion Association reached out to Humana Military and Health Net Federal Services, the private companies that provide medical care and ser vices to the Tricare network, to obtain autho rization to provide services but was told that Express Scripts, as the pharmacy arm of the process, will be trying to transition patients to a network provider or send them to a physician’s office for their treatment.

“This is not an acceptable answer for a disabled veteran,” said Connie Sullivan, CEO of the National Home Infusion Associ ation. “They are usually getting our services because they don’t have a provider who can do an infusion without spending hours getting there. Transportation is very challenging.”

The National Community Pharmacists Association sent a letter Oct. 18 to Defense Sec retary Lloyd Austin urging him to allow the pharmacies to stay in the network through 2023 under the same terms as they had this year.

“With the vast majority of independent pharmacies out of the network, it is difficult to see how Cigna/Express Scripts is meeting even the reduced access standards in its new contract with DoD,” wrote the group’s CEO, B. Douglas Hoey, referring to Tricare’s standard that 90% of patients have at least one network pharmacy within a 15-minute drive.

“Without this action, access to needed medications for Tricare beneficiaries is in peril,” he said.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that pro duces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing infor mation on health issues to the nation.

Dreamstime/TNS

About 27% of all pharmacies in the Tricare network are no longer covered, leaving more than 400,000 military beneficiaries affected.

The transition is especially problematic for a small group of Tricare beneficiaries who are chronically ill, have a disability, and receive infusion medications in their homes, according to pharmacists.

Nicky (Anna Friel) is involved in blackmail in “Monarch.”

Comedy, tears, terror arrive this week at theaters

Daily Republic Staff DRNEWS@DAILYREPUBLIC.NET

FAIRFIELD —

Coming to local theaters this week is the story of the start of the #MeToo movement, a horror comedy about food and Guillermo del Toro’s take on “Pinoc chio,” a different telling of the classic tale of what it means to be human.

Opening nationwide are:

“She Said,” in which New York Times report ers Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor break one of the most important stories in a generation – a story that helped launch the #MeToo movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood. The film is rated R.

“The Menu,” in which a couple (Anya Tay lor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult) travels to a coastal island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef (Ralph Fiennes) has prepared a lavish menu, with some shock ing surprises. The film is rated R.

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” a gritty, stopmotion reimagining of the classic Carlo Collodi tale of the fabled wooden boy in which Pinocchio goes on an enchanted adventure as he searches for his place in the world. The film is rated PG.

Opening in limited release are:

“EO,” in which a gray donkey with mel ancholic eyes and a curious spirit begins his life as a circus performer before escaping on a

trek across the Polish and Italian countryside in a journey marked by absurdity and warmth in equal measure. The film is not rated.

“The Inspection,” in which Elegance Bratton tells his story of being a young, gay Black man who is rejected by his mother and, with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prej udice and the grueling routines of basic train ing, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life. The film is rated R.

“There, There,” a film shot with groundbreak ing cinematography that tells the story of multiple people through intimate details as it connects them all together. The film is not rated.

For information on Edwards Cinemas in Fairfield, visit www.reg movies.com/theatres/ regal-edwards-fairfieldimax. For Vacaville showtimes, visit www. brendentheatres.com.

For Vallejo showtimes, check www.cinemark. com/theatres/ca-vallejo. More information about upcoming films is avail able at www.movie insider.com.

Zits Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

Pearls Before Swine Stephan Pastis

Dilbert Scott Adams

Baby Blues Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott

Baldo Hector Cantú and Carlos Castellanos

Eric Zachanowich/Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult in the “The Menu.”

Season’s streamings

Your ultimate guide to this year’s streaming holiday movies

Tribune ConTenT AgenCy

Streamers like Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+ and more are getting into the holiday spirit early this season, with merry and bright new movies releas ing now through the end of the year.

If you’re looking to settle in for some feel-good holiday films, here’s your ultimate guide to what’s streaming:

Apple TV+

“Spirited”: This musical upending of “A Christmas Carol” finds the Ghost of Christ mas Present (Will Ferrell) finding the wrong Scrooge in Clint Briggs (Ryan Reynolds) who instead ends up reexam ining his own past, present and future. Streaming Friday

Discovery+

“A Christmas Open House”: Sparks fly when Atlanta prop erty stager Melissa Norwood (Katie Stevens) reconnects with her old high school crush, real estate agent David Phelps to sell her mom’s old home before the holidays. However, com plications arise and with the Christmas deadline looming, will these two find their happily ever after in time for the holi days? Now streaming

“Designing Christmas”: Interior designer Stella (Jessica Szohr) harbors complicated feelings for contractor Pablo (Marco Grazzini) who co-hosts a popular home renovation show with her. Although Stella is planning her wedding with fiance Jack (Mykee Selkin), Stella is having second thoughts, especially after pro duction delays create more time with Pablo. Now streaming

“A Gingerbread Christmas”: Hazel Stanley (Tiya Sircar) is hoping to save the family bakery by winning $100,000 in a gingerbread house competi tion led by food celebrity Mark Clemmons (Duff Goldman). However, will an unexpected romance with local contractor James Meadows (Marc Ben david) tear everything apart? Now streaming

“One Delicious Christmas”: Abby Richmond (Vanessa Marano) inherits a struggling restaurant and needs to secure an investment from restaurant mogul Alexandra Grandfield (Kathy Maloney) to keep it going in the wake of a bad review by Tom Kingsley (Bobby Flay). In response, Abby hires hotshot chef Preston Weaver (Alex Mallari Jr.) to shake up the menu, and finds love burning in the kitchen. But will it be enough to save the restaurant? Now streaming

Disney+

“The Santa Clauses”: The

fan favorite series starring Tim Allen as Scott Calvin returns, with Calvin realizing that he can’t be Santa forever, setting out to find a suitable replace ment while preparing his family for a new adventure in a life south of the pole. Stream ing Wednesday “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special”: The Guardians of the Galaxy get into holiday high jinks, which include getting Star-Lord the perfect gift. Streaming Nov. 25

HBO Max

“A Christmas Story Christ mas”: Peter Billingsley returns as Ralphie, who returns to the house on Cleveland Street to give his kids a magical Christ mas like the one he had growing up. Streaming Thursday

“A Christmas Mystery”: Magical Christmas bells, which have protected a small Oregon town for a century, are missing, and it’s up to a group of intrepid kids to solve the case, find the bells and restore the Christmas magic. Streaming Nov. 24

“Holiday Harmony”: Singersongwriter Gail is on her way to compete in an iHeartRadio Christmas competition but then her car gets stuck in Oklahoma. While there, she meets local jack-of-all-trades, Jeremy, and mentors a group of misfit kids hoping to perform in a Christ mas Eve gala of their own. Gail and Jeremy grow close, and Gail wonders if she can leave this new town behind to pursue her dream. Streaming Nov. 24

“A Hollywood Christmas”: Up-and-coming filmmaker Jessica has made a name for herself directing Christmas movies, but when network executive Christopher shows up threatening to halt production on her latest movie, Jessica’s assistant Reena points out the irony: Jessica isn’t just trying to save her Christmas movie, she’s actually living in one.

Streaming Dec. 1

Netflix

“Falling for Christmas”: Lindsay Lohan stars as a hotel heiress who suffers total amnesia after a skiing acci

dent and finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner (Chord Overstreet) and his young daughter in the days leading up to Christmas.

Now streaming

“Christmas with You”: Feeling career burnout, pop star Angelina (Aimee Garcia) escapes to grant a young fan’s wish in small town New York, where she not only finds the inspiration to revitalize her career but also a shot at true love with a local music teacher (Freddie Prinze Jr.). Stream ing Thursday

“The Noel Diary”: Bestsell ing author Jake Turner (Justin Hartley) discovers a diary in his mother’s old house at Christmas that may hold secrets to his own past and that of Rachel (Barrett Doss), an intriguing young woman on a mission of her own. Streaming Nov. 24

“Scrooge: A Christmas Carol”: An animated, musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ timeless tale starring Luke Evans, Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley and Jonathan Pryce. Streaming Dec. 2

Peacock

“Dolly Parton’s Magic Mountain Christmas”: A mod ern-day movie musical about the making of a network TV special, this special finds Dolly Parton taking a private journey into her past, guided by the mysterious appear ances of her personal Three Wise Men. Guest stars include Tom Everett Scott, Ana Gas teyer, Angel Parker, Jimmy Fallon, Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jimmie Allen, Zach Williams and Miley Cyrus. Streaming Dec. 2

Prime Video

“Something from Tiffany’s”: Rachel and Gary (Zoey Deutch, Ray Nicholson) are a happy New York couple not quite ready for that big commitment. However, when a gift mix-up with another couple causes all of their paths to cross, it sets off a series of twists and unex pected discoveries that lead them where they’re truly meant to be. Streaming Dec. 9

THE ASSUMPTION THAT HELPS DECLARER

Angela Ahrendts, a businesswoman who was, inter alia, the CEO of Burberry, said, “Ask questions; don’t make assumptions.”

We ask ourselves questions all the time at the bridge table, but in answering them, we must sometimes make assumptions about where particular cards lie. One form of that

Sudoku

Bridge

THE ASSUMPTION THAT HELPS DECLARER

Angela Ahrendts, a businesswoman who was, inter alia, the CEO of Burberry, said, “Ask questions; don’t make assumptions.” We ask ourselves questions all the time at the bridge table, but in

by Phillip Alder

occurs in today’s deal.

Against South’s four-heart contract, West leads the spade ace, cashes the spade king and plays a third spade. How should declarer continue after ruffing East’s spade queen?

Both North and South bid the spots off their cards. With such poor distribu tion, North was only just worth his limit raise, which showed at least four trumps and some 11 total points. South, who had a minimum opening, should have passed, but he wanted to try for the vulnerable game bonus.

At trick four, South led a heart to the king and ace. When the trumps broke 3-1, he had to lose another trump trick and finished down one.

“Sorry, partner,” he said. “I knew I should have passed over three hearts.”

“I agree with that,” North replied, “but I think you should have made your game.”

“Why should I play East for the heart ace rather than West?”

“Well, to stand any chance, you must assume that the club finesse is working. If it is, that gives West at least 10 points: the club king and the spade ace-king. This makes it more likely that East will have the heart ace. You should cross to dummy with a diamond and play a low heart through East.”

This type of reasoning is called a second-degree assumption.

UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE

2022,

COPYRIGHT:

by Wayne Gould

Bridge

Courtesy of Apple TV+/TNS “Spirited,” starring Ryan Reynolds, left, and Will Ferrell, will debut Friday on Apple TV+.

REAL ESTATE SERVICE/LOANS

WANTED

MISCELLA NEOUS SERVICES

NOTICEOFPETITIONTOADMINISTERESTATEOF

TERRYGRAYSONTRUSSELLAKATERRYTRUSSELLAKATERRYG.TRUSSELL

CASENO.P051772

Toallheirs,beneficiaries,creditors,contingentcreditors,andpersonswhomayotherwisebeinterestedinthewillorestate,orboth,of:TERRYGRAYSONTRUSSELLAKA

TERRYTRUSSELLAKATERRYG.TRUSSELL

APetitionforProbatehasbeenfiledbyLAURENMATRICARDI&LINDSAYCHEDAin theSuperiorCourtofCalifornia,CountyofSOLANO.

ThePetitionforProbaterequeststhatLAURENMATRICARDI &LINDSAYCHEDAbe appointedaspersonalrepresentativetoadministertheestateofthedecedent.

ThePetitionrequeststhedecedent'swillandcodicils,ifany,beadmittedtoprobate.The willandanycodicilsareavailableforexaminationinthefilekeptbythecourt.

ThePetitionrequestsauthoritytoadministertheestateundertheIndependentAdministrationofEstatesAct.(Thisauthoritywillallowthepersonalrepresentativetotakemany actionswithoutobtainingcourtapproval.Beforetakingcertainveryimportantactions, however,thepersonalrepresentativewillberequiredtogivenoticetointerestedpersons unlesstheyhavewaivednoticeorconsentedtotheproposedaction.)Theindependent administrationauthoritywillbegrantedunlessaninterestedpersonfilesanobjectionto thepetitionandshowsgoodcausewhythecourtshouldnotgranttheauthority. Ahearingonthepetitionwillbeheldinthiscourton12/16/2022at8:30A.M.inDept.4 RoomN/Alocatedat600UNIONAVE.,FAIRFIELD,CA94533.

Ifyouobjecttothegrantingofthepetition,youshouldappearatthehearingandstate yourobjectionsorfilewrittenobjectionswiththecourtbeforethehearing.Yourappearancemaybeinpersonorbyyourattorney.

Ifyouareacreditororacontingentcreditorofthedecedent,youmustfileyourclaimwith thecourtandmailacopytothepersonalrepresentativeappointedbythecourtwi thinthe laterofeither(1)fourmonthsfromthedateoffirstissuanceofletterstoageneralpersonalrepresentative,asdefinedinsection58(b)oftheCaliforniaProbateCode,or(2)60 daysfromthedateofmailingorpersonaldeliverytoyouofanoticeundersection9052of theCaliforniaProbateCode.

OtherCaliforniastatutesandlegalauthoritymayaffectyourrightsasacreditor.Youmay wanttoconsultwithanattorneyknowledgeableinCalifornialaw.

Youmayexaminethefilekeptbythecourt.Ifyouareapersoninterestedintheestate, youmayfilewiththecourtaRequestforSpecialNotice(formDE-154)ofthefilingofan inventoryandappraisalofestateassetsorofanypetitionoraccountasprovidedinProbateCodesection1250.ARequestforSpecialNoticeformisavailablefromthecourt clerk.

Nelson'sTowing LIENSALE:16-FORD License:8SGP146/CA Vin:1FA6P8AMXG5274234 tobesoldat10:00amon11/29/2022 @173CouchVallejo,CA DR#00059325 Published:November14,2022

FAIRFIELD-SUISUNUNIFIEDSCHOOLDISTRICT NOTICEINVITINGPROPOSALS

NOTICEISHEREBYGIVENthatFAIRFIELD-SUISUNUNIFIEDSCHOOLDISTRICT, actingbyandthroughitsBoardofEducation,hereinafterreferredtoastheDistrictwillreceivesealedproposalsfromqualifiedrespondersupto,butnolaterthanDecember6, 202211:00AMthatwillnotbeopenpublicly,fortheRequestforProposals(RFP)award ofcontractforthefollowing:

RFP#2163-23 SupplementalHometoSchoolTransportationServices Interested BiddersarereferredtotheFairfield-SuisunUnifiedSchoolDistrictPurchasing Departmentwebsite,https://www.fsusd.org/Page/15594,forallcommunication,instructions,andforms.TheRFPpacketwillbepostedby4:00pmNovember8,2022.QuestionsregardingthisRFPwillbeaccepteduntil4:00pmonNovember17,2022,andmust besubmittedinemailto:MelissaIriarteatmelissair@fsusd.org–usingthesubjectlineof “RFP#2163-23Questions”.ItistheresponsibilityoftheBiddertocheckthewebsitefor addendaand/orupdates.

ProposalsaredueatthePurchasingOfficefortimeanddatestampingonorbefore11:00 amPSTonDecember6,2022.Oneoriginalandoneelectronicversion(usbdrive)responsemustbesubmittedinasealed,clearlymarkedenvelope.Allproposalsmustbe receivedandtimeanddatestampedinthePurchasingofficebytheaboveduedateand time.Proposalsreceivedaftertheduedateandtimewillbereturnedunopenedtothe Bidder.Noexceptions.FaxedoremailedRFPswillnotbeaccepted.

AllproposalsmustconformandberesponsivetothisRFP,andallnecessarydocuments mustbeenclosed.Fairfield-SuisunUnifiedSchoolDistrictreservestherighttorejectany andallproposals,towaiveanyinformalitiesorirregularitiestherein,andtoacceptthe proposalinwhole,orportionsoftheproposalthat,intheopinionoftheDistrict,isinthe bestinterestoftheFairfield-SuisunUnifiedSchoolDistrict.

NoRespondermaywithdrawtheirRFPforaperiodofsixty(60)daysafterthedateset fortheopening.

Fairfield-SuisunUnifiedSchoolDistrictreservestheright,initssolediscretionandsubjecttoapplicablelaws,todeterminethecriteriaandprocesswherebyproposalsareevaluatedandawarded. DR#00059197 Published:November7,14,2022

“I stand ready, and eager, to place Negro players on our Washing ton club,” Griffith wrote. “But they must rate the jobs on the basis of ability, and not merely because they happen to be Negroes. I will not sign a Negro for the Washington club merely to satisfy sub versive persons. I would welcome a Negro on the Senators if he rated the distinction, if he belonged among majorleague players.”

The Yankees could at least claim they were fielding a great team despite their refusal to integrate the roster. The Senators could not. They hadn’t won a pennant since 1933 and often fin ished at or near the bottom of the American League standings.

Momentum to fully integrate baseball didn’t build until the mid-1950s. In 1954, the Senators finally put a Black player on the roster, outfielder Carlos Paula, making them one of four teams to integrate that year. In 1955, eight years after their crosstown rivals had done so in Brook lyn – and a year after the Supreme Court ruled that segregated schools were unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education –the Yankees debuted their first Black player, catcher Elston Howard. His first game came in the home opener of the Boston Red Sox, where Fenway fans, still waiting for their own team to have a Black player, gave him a rousing welcome.

“This is the first time I have ever been in Boston, and the people applauded me like that,” Howard said after the game. “It was real nice.”

The Yankees were the 13th team to integrate.

Robinson retired after the 1956 season – nine years after his debut – and strikingly, there were still three teams that had yet to employ a Black player:

CALENDAR

the Philadelphia Phil lies, Detroit Tigers and Red Sox. Again, Robinson challenged the status quo.

“I can’t understand why 13 major league clubs have Negro players and the other three clubs can’t come up with any. I don’t know if it’s their scout ing systems or what,” Robinson told Boston reporters in February 1957, following a break fast with Mayor John B. Hynes to launch Robin son’s local campaign for the NAACP’s freedom fund drive.

When told at the news conference the Red Sox had two players on their San Francisco farm club, Robinson replied: “That doesn’t mean a thing. They don’t have any on the Red Sox roster.”

Rick Swaine, author of “The Integration of Major League Baseball: A Team by Team History,” said there was a simple explanation for the slow progress by most teams.

“I don’t think they wanted to hire Black people. It was largely racism,” Swaine said in a telephone interview. “They actually thought Blacks were inferior players, even though they had proven to be as good if not better than the White players. And they were cheaper.”

Around this time, Phillies owner Robert Carpenter trotted out the same rationale for his all-White team that the Yankees and Senators had used. “I’m not opposed to Negro players. But I’m not going to hire a player of any color or nationality just to have him on the team,” he said, according to the “The Phillies Encyclope dia” by Rich Westcott and Frank Bilovsky.

The Phillies became the last National League team to integrate in 1957, when 30-year-old John Kennedy came into the game as a pinch runner. His career con sisted of two at-bats across five games.

The Tigers were next, bringing up infielder Ozzie Virgil from the minors in 1958. Virgil, who already

Monday’s TV sports

Basketball

• College Women, Indiana vs. Tennes see, ESPN2, 3 p.m.

• NBA, San Antonio vs. Golden State, NBCSBA (Fairfield and Suisun City), 7 p.m.

Football

• NFL, Washington vs. Philadelphia, ESPN, 5:15 p.m.

Tuesday’s TV sports

Basketball

• College Men, Kentucky vs. Michigan State, ESPN, 4 p.m.

• NBA, Memphis vs. New Orleans, TNT, 4:30 p.m.

• College Men, Duke vs. Kansas, ESPN, 6:30 p.m.

• NBA, Brooklyn vs. Sacramento, NBCSCA (Vacaville and Rio Vista), 7 p.m.

Hockey

• NHL, San Jose vs. Vegas, NBCSCA, 7 p.m.

had played two seasons for the Giants, was also the first Dominican player in the majors. His Detroit debut followed a local boycott campaign that pressured the Tigers to integrate. And it came six years after the death of team owner Walter O. Briggs, whom Black sportswriter Wendell Smith described as “Oh so very prejudiced. He’s the major league combi nation of Simon Legree and Adolf Hitler.” (Legree was the villain in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”)

Briggs’s great-grand son, Harvey Briggs, wrote a 2017 opinion piece in the Detroit Free Press con demning the late owner as a racist.

The Red Sox were the final holdouts. Back in 1945, under local political pressure, they had given a tryout to Robinson, along with two other Black players, but Robinson said years later he knew it was a sham and that he would never hear from the team.

The Red Sox finally integrated in July 1959 with infielder Pumpsie Green but not without attracting crit icism over how they treated him. Boston sent Green down to the minors

before the season even though he hit .327 in spring training.

“The Red Sox won no prizes this spring for the way they treated Pumpsie Green,” Boston Globe columnist Harold Kaese wrote.

Kaese noted that Green spent half of spring train ing living alone in a motel on the outskirts of Phoenix, 10 miles away from where the rest of the team lived in Scottsdale, Ariz., because the “exclu sive” Scottsdale hotels wouldn’t let him stay at their establishments. “The Red Sox should not have lived in Scottsdale themselves under such conditions,” he wrote.

Robinson, meanwhile, would continue to press baseball on its hiring prac tices. When MLB honored him at the 1972 World Series to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his debut, Robinson – just nine days before his death at 53 – used the occasion to urge a major league team to hire the sport’s first Black manager.

At the time, Dusty Baker had just finished his first full season as a player. A half-cen tury later, Baker this month became the third Black manager to win a World Series when his Houston Astros beat the Phillies. (The first two were Cito Gaston of the Toronto Blue Jays and Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers.)

Baker has talked about growing up in Southern California and idolizing Robinson, whose No. 42 is worn across baseball on April 15 to commemo rate his debut.

“I’ve kept every Jackie Robinson Day jersey that we’ve had,” Baker said in April. “It means a lot to me. I think of my dad a lot on this day.

“All the time I was growing up as a kid, my dad would always remind me when I would get in a scrap or scuffle or something, especially like a racial scuffle, my dad would also tell me to think about what Jackie would do.”

thing in my life,” he added, “but I’ve remained strong with the support of friends and family.”

NFL

Week 10 Thursday’s Game Carolina 25, Atlanta 15 Sunday’s Games L.A. Chargers at SAN FRAN, n Tampa Bay 16, Seattle 21 Minnesota 33, Buffalo 30 Detroit 31, Chicago 30 Kansas City 27, Jacksonville 17 Miami 39, Cleveland 17 N.Y. Giants 24, Houston 16 Pittsburgh 20, New Orleans 10 Tennessee 17, Denver 10 Indianapolis 25, Las Vegas 20 Green Bay 31, Dallas 28 Arizona 27, L.A. Rams 17 Monday’s Game Washington at Philadelphia, 5:15 p.m.

From Page B1

behind win over Cleveland on Friday.

The Spurs (6-7) will face Golden State on Monday night in the first of the three match ups between the teams this season. It kicks off a five-game West Coast trip for the wellrested Spurs – they’ve been off (no games or practices) since Friday’s win over Mil waukee – that includes a pair of back-to-backs.

Curry sizzled in crunch time against the Cavaliers, hitting a tying 3-pointer with 1:18 left, a go-ahead layup seconds later and then another 3 to clinch it.

The 14-year pro con nected on 6 of 11 from beyond the arc against Cleveland, raising his season percentage to 44.0 on 12.2 attempts per game and extend ing his NBA record to 200 straight regular season games with at least one 3.

To put that mark in perspective, Spurs forward Keldon Johnson hit 5 of 8 from deep on his way to 29 points in Friday’s win over Mil waukee, hiking his streak of consecutive games with at least one 3 to 29. He’s chasing Danny Green, who set the fran chise mark in 2012 with a 32-game streak.

Johnson ranks fourth and fifth in the league in 3-point makes (45) and attempts (105) for a 42.8 percentage.

Curry ranks first in makes (59) and attempts (134).

NHL

Sunday’s Games SAN JOSE 3, Minnesota 2 Dallas 5, Philadelphia 1 Boston 5, Vancouver 2 N.Y. Rangers 4, Arizona 1 Tampa Bay 6, Washington 3 Winnipeg 3, Seattle 2

NBA

Sunday’s Games GOLDEN STATE at SACRAMENTO, n Oklahoma City 145, N.Y. Knicks 135 Minnesota 129, Cleveland 124 Washington 102, Memphis 92 Philadelphia 105, Utah 98 Denver 126, Chicago, 103 Brooklyn at L.A. Lakers, n

Curryin now than when I first got here eight years ago, it’s his strength and conditioning.

“He’s much bigger and stronger, much more capable of defending at a really high level, sustain ing two-way basketball for an entire game and just knocking down shots from all over and fin ishing at the rim. He’s unbelievable.”

Spurs third-year point guard Tre Jones grew up watching Curry change the game.

“You see every body shooting all the threes now,” Jones said.

“You see all these kids running around, shoot ing from wherever, off the dribble even. It’s not just catch and shoot. He changed the game in that aspect – forever.”

McDermott, a career 41.0 percent 3-point shooter who has drained 41.3 percent of his shots from downtown this season, enjoys watching younger players try to emulate Curry.

“This younger gen eration is super comfortable shooting it from anywhere on the floor because of Steph,” McDermott said.

A ninth-year pro, McDermott has long studied how Curry and fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson con stantly work to get open looks.

“They play so unself ishly, and they move without the ball better than they shoot it, which is crazy to say,” McDer mott said. “But that’s the reason they get all their shots up.”

starting in the welterweight class.

Seventeen of Johnson’s wins came by knockout, a testament to his punching power.

“For a guy who struck fear in so many peoples heart Anthony Johnson was a caring person,” the now-retired Cormier wrote in a tweet. “From random text to check ins during loss. What a person he was, Rumble will be missed. Sometimes life doesn’t seem fair.”

Johnson last fought at Bel lator 258 in May 2021, scoring a knockout win over José Augusto Azevedo. That earned him a light heavyweight title shot against Vadim Nemkov the fol lowing month at Bellator 268, but Johnson was forced to withdraw with what was described as an undisclosed illness.

At that time, Johnson shared a post on Instagram in which he expressed regret that he couldn’t go into “detail about how ill I truly am.”

“Never been this afraid of any

In October 2021, Johnson wrote that doctors had “pumped all bacteria from my stomach” into a container “the size of a foot ball,” and he shared images of the procedure.

Johnson said in May he was starting to train again for a return to competition, promising a “dif ferent, more dangerous version of what you’ve already seen.” He posted a photo then that appeared to show he had lost a notable amount of body mass.

Late last month, Johnson’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, said that the fighter was “going through some health problems right now.”

“Very sad. I want everybody to pray for him,” Abdelaziz told ESPN. “Pray for Anthony; he’s not doing well. He’s very strong, spiri tually, but pray for him.”

“RIP Anthony ‘Rumble’ Johnson,” UFC fighter Michael Chiesa wrote Sunday on Twitter. “One of the most prolific KO artists our sport has ever seen. My prayers go out to his family and everyone affected by this tragedy.”

“I’ve got the green light, but I’m not Steph Curry,” Johnson said, laughing. “He is one of a kind when it comes to shooting. There are levels to it, and he’s on a level of his own.”

Curry also leads the Warriors in assists (6.7) and ranks among the league leaders in free throw percentage (91.0). He’s recorded at least 21 points in each of his appearances this season and has topped 30 or better nine times.

“He’s a genera tional player,” Johnson said. “He’s the best shooter to ever play the game of basketball. If you’ve got two eyes, you can see. And he’s an amazing player – not just a shooter.”

Along those lines, Kerr believes Curry has never been better defensively.

“He’s just amazing night after night. He’s in such great shape,” Kerr said. “If there’s one area he’s dramatically better

Sharks

From Page B1

Player Safety.

The Sharks’ extra defenseman on this trip is Scott Harrington.

“It was a tough play. I’ll let the league decide on that,” Quinn said.

The Sharks were looking to win back-toback games for the first time this season, as they had been 0-3-0 in those situations before Sunday.

Reimer came into Sunday with a

That unselfish style of play has been embraced wholeheartedly by the Spurs this season.

“We know when we go out there and look to the left, look to the right, we don’t have any quote unquote super stars,” Johnson said. “We need each other to win and be successful. We have totally bought into that. No egos is some thing we accept, and we move the ball and play with each other.”

For McDermott, every chance he gets to play against Curry rein forces how much the legendary shooter has helped his career.

“When you are young in the league, you get a little more time to observe the game because you are on the bench more,” he said. “I watched Steph and Klay and guys like (Kyle) Korver and J.J. Reddick just fly off screens by using their speed and their physicality. That’s stuff you pick up on as a shooter. It has really helped me throughout my career.”

3-5-2 record and a .906 save percentage. Among all goalies who had played at least five games, Reimer was 22nd in the NHL in goals saved above expected per 60 minutes at .299, per moneypuck.com.

If Reimer can remain consistent, he could start to get the bulk of the work going forward as the Sharks desper ately try to rejoin the playoff race. San Jose entered the game 15th in the Western Confer ence with a .344 points percentage.

Arnie Lee/Wikimedia Elston Howard during warmup at Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, in 1965.