CDC Director Rochelle Walensky expects all schools will be fully open for in-person learning in September
By Caterina Andreano, April 7, 2021
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky anticipates that all schools will be fully in person and no longer remote in September 2021.
"We should anticipate, come September 2021, that schools should be full-fledged in person and all of our children back in the classroom," the CDC director told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton during an Instagram Live conversation on ABC News.
She said that parents and teachers should anticipate this regardless of whether children are vaccinated or not. "We can vaccinate teachers, we can test, there's so much we can do," she said.
Asked when she expects children will become eligible to get vaccinated, Walensky said by mid-May. Pfizer recently released promising data indicating its vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 12 to 15.
"Mid-May maybe we'll be able to have a vaccine from Pfizer that we'll be able to do down to 12," she said, pending Food and Drug Administration authorization for that age group.
She expects Moderna will soon follow Pfizer because those studies are currently underway. She said she is hopeful that by summertime there will be two vaccines available for children 12 and up. Johnson and Johnson Is expected to start their pediatric trials in the months ahead.
Walensky doesn't anticipate the vaccine will be authorized for children younger than 12 before the end of the year.
Walensky's comments came shortly after she said during a White House briefing that the more contagious variant of coronavirus that originated in the U.K., the B.1.1.7 variant, has become the dominant strain in the U.S.
All three vaccines authorized in the U.S. -- Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson -- are believed to work well even against the U.K. variant.
Walensky stressed that the multiple COVID variants are serving to reinforce her goal of wanting a large portion of the U.S. population to get vaccinated.
"My goal is to have people want to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated," she said.
Asked if she agrees that 85% is the percentage of the population that should be vaccinated, in agreement with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Walensky declined to put a number on it. She said estimates on the right percentage for herd immunity vary dramatically.
"[It] depends on how transmissible the virus is, and that we estimate that number based on the transmissibility. ... What we know is that transmissibility is actually a little bit of a moving target, because with more variants, some of these variants are more transmissible. So the more transmissible the variant, the more likely we're going to need a larger proportion of the population vaccinated," she said.
UK variant has become most dominant COVID strain in US, CDC saysOn Wednesday, the CDC reported a seven-day average of 62,000 cases a day.
During a White House briefing last week, Walensky urged caution amid fears of a fourth wave. Then days later, the CDC updated its guidance on travel for fully vaccinated people. The guidance said that fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without COVID-19 testing or quarantines as long as they continue to take precautions like wearing a mask, socially distancing and washing their hands.
Asked about the "confusing" messaging by Ashton, Walensky said "sometimes the messages are complex" and that people working in public health aren't treating individuals, they are treating the population.
"We need to be able to offer people who are vaccinated things that they are able to do if we want people to come forward and get vaccinated: visit with their loved ones, visit their grandchildren, perhaps travel on a plane at lower risk. That's an individual message," she said. "While we have fully vaccinated 19% of the population, 80% of the population remains unvaccinated and that is certainly enough to cause a surge. And so on a population level, we still very much need to practice good public health measures -- masking mitigation, distancing."
She still stood behind President Joe Biden's comments that the Fourth of July holiday will look a little more normal.
"I would say still practice the mitigation strategies, still mask, still distance, try and keep the crowds to a minimum," Walensky said. "Because I really do think that when we get most of this country vaccinated, we can get back to a healthier, more normal evening at the baseball field."
"We should anticipate, come September 2021, that schools should be full-fledged in person and all of our children back in the classroom," the CDC director told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton during an Instagram Live conversation on ABC News.
She said that parents and teachers should anticipate this regardless of whether children are vaccinated or not. "We can vaccinate teachers, we can test, there's so much we can do," she said.
Asked when she expects children will become eligible to get vaccinated, Walensky said by mid-May. Pfizer recently released promising data indicating its vaccine is safe and effective for children ages 12 to 15.
"Mid-May maybe we'll be able to have a vaccine from Pfizer that we'll be able to do down to 12," she said, pending Food and Drug Administration authorization for that age group.
She expects Moderna will soon follow Pfizer because those studies are currently underway. She said she is hopeful that by summertime there will be two vaccines available for children 12 and up. Johnson and Johnson Is expected to start their pediatric trials in the months ahead.
Walensky doesn't anticipate the vaccine will be authorized for children younger than 12 before the end of the year.
Walensky's comments came shortly after she said during a White House briefing that the more contagious variant of coronavirus that originated in the U.K., the B.1.1.7 variant, has become the dominant strain in the U.S.
All three vaccines authorized in the U.S. -- Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson -- are believed to work well even against the U.K. variant.
Walensky stressed that the multiple COVID variants are serving to reinforce her goal of wanting a large portion of the U.S. population to get vaccinated.
"My goal is to have people want to roll up their sleeves and get vaccinated," she said.
Asked if she agrees that 85% is the percentage of the population that should be vaccinated, in agreement with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Walensky declined to put a number on it. She said estimates on the right percentage for herd immunity vary dramatically.
"[It] depends on how transmissible the virus is, and that we estimate that number based on the transmissibility. ... What we know is that transmissibility is actually a little bit of a moving target, because with more variants, some of these variants are more transmissible. So the more transmissible the variant, the more likely we're going to need a larger proportion of the population vaccinated," she said.
UK variant has become most dominant COVID strain in US, CDC saysOn Wednesday, the CDC reported a seven-day average of 62,000 cases a day.
During a White House briefing last week, Walensky urged caution amid fears of a fourth wave. Then days later, the CDC updated its guidance on travel for fully vaccinated people. The guidance said that fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without COVID-19 testing or quarantines as long as they continue to take precautions like wearing a mask, socially distancing and washing their hands.
Asked about the "confusing" messaging by Ashton, Walensky said "sometimes the messages are complex" and that people working in public health aren't treating individuals, they are treating the population.
"We need to be able to offer people who are vaccinated things that they are able to do if we want people to come forward and get vaccinated: visit with their loved ones, visit their grandchildren, perhaps travel on a plane at lower risk. That's an individual message," she said. "While we have fully vaccinated 19% of the population, 80% of the population remains unvaccinated and that is certainly enough to cause a surge. And so on a population level, we still very much need to practice good public health measures -- masking mitigation, distancing."
She still stood behind President Joe Biden's comments that the Fourth of July holiday will look a little more normal.
"I would say still practice the mitigation strategies, still mask, still distance, try and keep the crowds to a minimum," Walensky said. "Because I really do think that when we get most of this country vaccinated, we can get back to a healthier, more normal evening at the baseball field."
FDA 'working day and night' on COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorization, commissioner tells ABC News
By Caterina Andreano, December 1, 2020
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn told Dr. Jennifer Ashton, ABC News' chief health and medical correspondent, that the agency has "all hands on deck" and is "working day and night, and on the weekends" to evaluate and clear multiple coronavirus vaccines for emergency use authorization before they are allowed to be distributed to the general public.
The interview, which took place Tuesday on ABC News' Instagram Live, comes after the FDA commissioner was summoned to the White House to provide an update to President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on the status of the emergency use authorization for the vaccines.
Asked by Ashton to explain "what takes so long" to get the COVID-19 vaccines through the emergency use authorization process, Hahn explained the rigorous process the FDA goes through for approval.
He said a typical approval timeline for a set of vaccine clinical trials of this size -- Pfizer and BioNTech had 44,000 people in the trials and Moderna had 30,000 -- "would typically take between three and four months, maybe even longer to review all the data."
The FDA is now trying to get the process completed in about three weeks. Hahn said the FDA is looking at the manufacturing data, specifically the quality around manufacturing, the clinical data that shows whether the vaccine is safe and effective and the data surrounding adverse effects.
Hahn said the FDA and its scientists will ensure "vigorous standards are being enforced when we look at safety and efficacy" of these vaccines. "We need to be able to make this assurance to the American people," he said when asked about vaccine safety.
Asked about the timeline of the emergency use authorization, Hahn said "in terms of setting the appropriate expectations, we are balancing the public health emergency we're facing and the fact that people are getting sick with COVID with the need to get this right."
The vaccines that are being vetted by the FDA for emergency use authorization will require safety follow-ups even after they are approved. Hahn said should either of the vaccines get approved for emergency authorization, the FDA will mandate safety and efficacy follow-ups for a minimum of two years.
"As with any medical product ... there could be long-term side effects that we need to account for, which is why we put in place a very, very vigorous surveillance program," Hahn said.
The FDA is looking at the raw data from Pfizer and Moderna's clinical trials to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. "We just don't trust a press release. We're going to look at that data and we're going to do our own analysis. And then we're going to look by specific patient groups, we're going to look by ethnic groups, we're going to look at both safety and efficacy from a number of different ways."
Hahn said if the COVID-19 vaccines are as effective as the companies have reported -- with Pfizer and BioNTech reporting a 95% efficacy and Moderna reporting a 94.1% efficacy -- then "thousands if not hundreds of thousands of lives across the globe could be saved." The FDA will work to confirm those efficacy numbers in its review.
The FDA has been reviewing Pfizer's clinical trial data since receiving their emergency authorization approval application on Nov. 20. Moderna announced Monday it will ask the FDA for emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA will hold public hearings about each of the vaccines on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, respectively. Before the public hearings, the FDA will release documents summarizing their assessment of the vaccine applications. The FDA will make its official authorization decision after these hearings are held.
Pfizer and BioNTech expect to produce up to 50 million vaccine doses worldwide by the end of the year and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021. Moderna is on track to produce 20 million distributable doses by the end of the year, which is enough doses to vaccinate 10 million people in the U.S. The company is also on track to manufacture 500 million to 1 billion doses worldwide in 2021.
Ashton asked Hahn if people like pregnant women, children, people with kidney failure and other subsets of people who were not represented in the phase three clinical vaccine trials will be advised to take the vaccine.
"It's one of the things we'll have to look at," Hahn said. He said it's unlikely they will initially advise pregnant women to take the vaccine at first, "but we need to look at the data to do that."
"If we don't have data to support the use of a vaccine, we're going to come out and say that, and then we're going to have to make some decisions about that emergency use authorization process," Hahn told Ashton. "But that's the point of our looking at the data."
Asked if it's possible the FDA will come to one conclusion on the vaccines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will come to another, Hahn said he and CDC Director Robert Redfield are "aligned." Once approved by the FDA, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet to vote on whether to recommend the vaccine's use. The ACIP voted on Tuesday that health care workers and nursing home residents should be first to receive the vaccine.
"We're hand in glove with respect to sharing information. I expect that, in fact, we'll be very aligned moving forward, because the data has to drive the decision that we make with respect to allocation and prioritization," he said.
Hahn said the FDA is "cooperating fully" with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team and that recently they've undergone a pandemic preparedness and response effort to reflect on the lessons learned from their response to COVID-19. He said one of the main lessons the FDA learned was the need for more transparency.
"We need a lot more transparency about the information that goes into our emergency use authorizations...This is all about our being a learning organization, and improving moving forward," he said.
"We made a promise to the American people that we're not going to do shortcuts here," Hahn reiterated.
The interview, which took place Tuesday on ABC News' Instagram Live, comes after the FDA commissioner was summoned to the White House to provide an update to President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, on the status of the emergency use authorization for the vaccines.
Asked by Ashton to explain "what takes so long" to get the COVID-19 vaccines through the emergency use authorization process, Hahn explained the rigorous process the FDA goes through for approval.
He said a typical approval timeline for a set of vaccine clinical trials of this size -- Pfizer and BioNTech had 44,000 people in the trials and Moderna had 30,000 -- "would typically take between three and four months, maybe even longer to review all the data."
The FDA is now trying to get the process completed in about three weeks. Hahn said the FDA is looking at the manufacturing data, specifically the quality around manufacturing, the clinical data that shows whether the vaccine is safe and effective and the data surrounding adverse effects.
Hahn said the FDA and its scientists will ensure "vigorous standards are being enforced when we look at safety and efficacy" of these vaccines. "We need to be able to make this assurance to the American people," he said when asked about vaccine safety.
Asked about the timeline of the emergency use authorization, Hahn said "in terms of setting the appropriate expectations, we are balancing the public health emergency we're facing and the fact that people are getting sick with COVID with the need to get this right."
The vaccines that are being vetted by the FDA for emergency use authorization will require safety follow-ups even after they are approved. Hahn said should either of the vaccines get approved for emergency authorization, the FDA will mandate safety and efficacy follow-ups for a minimum of two years.
"As with any medical product ... there could be long-term side effects that we need to account for, which is why we put in place a very, very vigorous surveillance program," Hahn said.
The FDA is looking at the raw data from Pfizer and Moderna's clinical trials to ensure the safety and efficacy of the vaccines. "We just don't trust a press release. We're going to look at that data and we're going to do our own analysis. And then we're going to look by specific patient groups, we're going to look by ethnic groups, we're going to look at both safety and efficacy from a number of different ways."
Hahn said if the COVID-19 vaccines are as effective as the companies have reported -- with Pfizer and BioNTech reporting a 95% efficacy and Moderna reporting a 94.1% efficacy -- then "thousands if not hundreds of thousands of lives across the globe could be saved." The FDA will work to confirm those efficacy numbers in its review.
The FDA has been reviewing Pfizer's clinical trial data since receiving their emergency authorization approval application on Nov. 20. Moderna announced Monday it will ask the FDA for emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine. The FDA will hold public hearings about each of the vaccines on Dec. 10 and Dec. 17, respectively. Before the public hearings, the FDA will release documents summarizing their assessment of the vaccine applications. The FDA will make its official authorization decision after these hearings are held.
Pfizer and BioNTech expect to produce up to 50 million vaccine doses worldwide by the end of the year and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021. Moderna is on track to produce 20 million distributable doses by the end of the year, which is enough doses to vaccinate 10 million people in the U.S. The company is also on track to manufacture 500 million to 1 billion doses worldwide in 2021.
Ashton asked Hahn if people like pregnant women, children, people with kidney failure and other subsets of people who were not represented in the phase three clinical vaccine trials will be advised to take the vaccine.
"It's one of the things we'll have to look at," Hahn said. He said it's unlikely they will initially advise pregnant women to take the vaccine at first, "but we need to look at the data to do that."
"If we don't have data to support the use of a vaccine, we're going to come out and say that, and then we're going to have to make some decisions about that emergency use authorization process," Hahn told Ashton. "But that's the point of our looking at the data."
Asked if it's possible the FDA will come to one conclusion on the vaccines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will come to another, Hahn said he and CDC Director Robert Redfield are "aligned." Once approved by the FDA, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet to vote on whether to recommend the vaccine's use. The ACIP voted on Tuesday that health care workers and nursing home residents should be first to receive the vaccine.
"We're hand in glove with respect to sharing information. I expect that, in fact, we'll be very aligned moving forward, because the data has to drive the decision that we make with respect to allocation and prioritization," he said.
Hahn said the FDA is "cooperating fully" with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team and that recently they've undergone a pandemic preparedness and response effort to reflect on the lessons learned from their response to COVID-19. He said one of the main lessons the FDA learned was the need for more transparency.
"We need a lot more transparency about the information that goes into our emergency use authorizations...This is all about our being a learning organization, and improving moving forward," he said.
"We made a promise to the American people that we're not going to do shortcuts here," Hahn reiterated.
Fauci says he has serious doubts Russia's COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective
By Caterina Andreano, August 11, 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci told ABC News' Deborah Roberts that he seriously doubts the Russian-made COVID-19 vaccine, dubbed Sputnik V and touted by President Vladimir Putin, has been proven safe and effective.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, shared the comments exclusively with National Geographic in a virtual panel discussion moderated by Roberts. The discussion is scheduled to air Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.
"I hope that the Russians have actually, definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective," Fauci said. "I seriously doubt that they've done that."
Russia's health ministry approved the vaccine after only two months of trials.
Over 20 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. COVID-19 has killed more than 737,000 people globally.
In the U.S., the worst-affected country, at least 5,094,565 people have been diagnosed and at least 163,465 have died.
Putin told officials at a televised meeting that the vaccine "forms strong immunity" and that the vaccine had already been administered to his adult daughter. The Russians plan to start administering dosages to front-line workers by the end of August.
"Having a vaccine, Deborah, and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things," Fauci discussed with Roberts. He added that the U.S. is pursuing at least a dozen vaccines of its own and "if we wanted to take the chance of hurting a lot of people, or giving them something that doesn't work, we could start doing this, you know, next week if we wanted to. But that's not the way it works."
Putin said the Russian drug has "passed all necessary tests," but with just two months of trials, experts are wary about it being safe for large-scale use.
Fauci said he hasn't heard any evidence to convince him it's truly ready, and that Americans need to understand that "announcements from the Chinese or from the Russians that [they] have a vaccine" differ from those made in the U.S. "because we have a way of doing things in this country that we care about safety."
Fauci also told Roberts that how his family has been receiving death threats, and that the federal government has had to provide them with security services.
"It seems inconceivable, if you just think about it," Fauci continued, "that when you're trying to promote public health principles to save people's lives and keep them healthy ... that that's interpreted to be so far from your own way of thinking that you actually want to threaten the person. That's just no way that our society can really function well and go along that way -- we've got to get past that."
This is part of an exclusive conversation National Geographic is hosting in with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, ABC News correspondents, and experts in this month's National Geographic cover story, "How Devastating Pandemics Change Us." You can watch the free "Stopping Pandemics" event at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday by signing up at StoppingPandemics.com. The conversation is moderated by ABC News' Deborah Roberts.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, shared the comments exclusively with National Geographic in a virtual panel discussion moderated by Roberts. The discussion is scheduled to air Thursday at 1 p.m. ET.
"I hope that the Russians have actually, definitively proven that the vaccine is safe and effective," Fauci said. "I seriously doubt that they've done that."
Russia's health ministry approved the vaccine after only two months of trials.
Over 20 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 worldwide, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. COVID-19 has killed more than 737,000 people globally.
In the U.S., the worst-affected country, at least 5,094,565 people have been diagnosed and at least 163,465 have died.
Putin told officials at a televised meeting that the vaccine "forms strong immunity" and that the vaccine had already been administered to his adult daughter. The Russians plan to start administering dosages to front-line workers by the end of August.
"Having a vaccine, Deborah, and proving that a vaccine is safe and effective are two different things," Fauci discussed with Roberts. He added that the U.S. is pursuing at least a dozen vaccines of its own and "if we wanted to take the chance of hurting a lot of people, or giving them something that doesn't work, we could start doing this, you know, next week if we wanted to. But that's not the way it works."
Putin said the Russian drug has "passed all necessary tests," but with just two months of trials, experts are wary about it being safe for large-scale use.
Fauci said he hasn't heard any evidence to convince him it's truly ready, and that Americans need to understand that "announcements from the Chinese or from the Russians that [they] have a vaccine" differ from those made in the U.S. "because we have a way of doing things in this country that we care about safety."
Fauci also told Roberts that how his family has been receiving death threats, and that the federal government has had to provide them with security services.
"It seems inconceivable, if you just think about it," Fauci continued, "that when you're trying to promote public health principles to save people's lives and keep them healthy ... that that's interpreted to be so far from your own way of thinking that you actually want to threaten the person. That's just no way that our society can really function well and go along that way -- we've got to get past that."
This is part of an exclusive conversation National Geographic is hosting in with Dr. Anthony Fauci, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, ABC News correspondents, and experts in this month's National Geographic cover story, "How Devastating Pandemics Change Us." You can watch the free "Stopping Pandemics" event at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday by signing up at StoppingPandemics.com. The conversation is moderated by ABC News' Deborah Roberts.
Dr. Fauci: Wear goggles or eye shields to prevent spread of COVID-19; flu vaccine a must
By Caterina Andreano, July 29, 2020
Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested Wednesday that Americans should consider wearing goggles or a face shield in order to prevent spreading or catching COVID-19.
"If you have goggles or an eye shield, you should use it," the nation's top infectious disease expert told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton during an Instagram Live conversation on ABC News.
When asked if we're going to get to a point where eye protection is recommended, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases responded, "It might, if you really want perfect protection of the mucosal surfaces."
"You have mucosa in the nose, mucosa in the mouth, but you also have mucosa in the eye," he continued. "Theoretically, you should protect all the mucosal surfaces. So if you have goggles or an eye shield you should use it."
He noted that goggles and eye or face shields are "not universally recommended" at this time, "but if you really want to be complete, you should probably use it if you can."
The novel coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 662,000 people worldwide so far and more than 16.8 million people across the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Currently, the United States is the worst-affected country, with more than 4.3 million diagnosed cases and over 150,000 deaths.
Fauci watching Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana
Fauci called out four states by name that are struggling to get the virus in check. He and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House's coronavirus task force coordinator, addressed these states in a call with governors Tuesday.
Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana are among those that "are starting to show that very subtle increase in percent positives among the total tested, which is a surefire hint that you may be getting into the same sort of trouble with those states that the southern states got into trouble with. So we're watching that really carefully."
Birx has toured those states in the past week, meeting with officials in each state.
Fauci on testing window after exposure
Fauci also discussed when people should get tested for COVID-19 if they believe they've been exposed to the virus, since there are no official guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the National Institutes of Health on when to get tested.
"That question came up at the task force meeting yesterday and we asked the same thing and we said there's no real recommendation," Fauci said. "I would think that five [days] is good. I might even go a day or so early because the incubation period of when you get symptoms is about five days."
The window Fauci recommended is "no earlier than three [days] or no later than five or six."
Fauci looks ahead to flu season
As the summer transitions into the fall, Fauci also discussed the oncoming flu season.
Fauci said he hopes wearing masks will help limit the spread of influenza as well.
"It is inevitable that we're going to have some degree of flu," he said. "I'm hoping that the wearing of masks and other coverings are going to not only protect us against COVID-19, but also help protect us against influenza."
He said two circulating respiratory viruses really "confuses the situation" since symptoms of the novel coronavirus and flu are so similar.
"Go out there and get your flu shot when the flu vaccine becomes available," he urged.
Fauci on his personal life
Fauci chalked up his own good health to genetics, which he said was probably inherited by his father, who lived to 97. The 79-year-old has joked about his own age, most recently when he struggled while throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals' home opener.
He gets up at 5 a.m. every morning, grabs juice or eggs and will drink two "very strong" double espressos as he tackles his email. He works late, tries to squeeze in a run -- he noted he used to run marathons in his younger days -- and then will work "well into the night."
"Sleep is the one thing that's really suffered in all this," he said.
He also joked about his baseball card, featuring his opening pitch last week, which is breaking sales records: "It's a combination of humbling and really embarrassing. ... Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle are looking down from heaven at me and saying, 'Are you kidding?'"
"If you have goggles or an eye shield, you should use it," the nation's top infectious disease expert told ABC News Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton during an Instagram Live conversation on ABC News.
When asked if we're going to get to a point where eye protection is recommended, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases responded, "It might, if you really want perfect protection of the mucosal surfaces."
"You have mucosa in the nose, mucosa in the mouth, but you also have mucosa in the eye," he continued. "Theoretically, you should protect all the mucosal surfaces. So if you have goggles or an eye shield you should use it."
He noted that goggles and eye or face shields are "not universally recommended" at this time, "but if you really want to be complete, you should probably use it if you can."
The novel coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 662,000 people worldwide so far and more than 16.8 million people across the world have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new respiratory virus, according to data from the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Currently, the United States is the worst-affected country, with more than 4.3 million diagnosed cases and over 150,000 deaths.
Fauci watching Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana
Fauci called out four states by name that are struggling to get the virus in check. He and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House's coronavirus task force coordinator, addressed these states in a call with governors Tuesday.
Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana are among those that "are starting to show that very subtle increase in percent positives among the total tested, which is a surefire hint that you may be getting into the same sort of trouble with those states that the southern states got into trouble with. So we're watching that really carefully."
Birx has toured those states in the past week, meeting with officials in each state.
Fauci on testing window after exposure
Fauci also discussed when people should get tested for COVID-19 if they believe they've been exposed to the virus, since there are no official guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the National Institutes of Health on when to get tested.
"That question came up at the task force meeting yesterday and we asked the same thing and we said there's no real recommendation," Fauci said. "I would think that five [days] is good. I might even go a day or so early because the incubation period of when you get symptoms is about five days."
The window Fauci recommended is "no earlier than three [days] or no later than five or six."
Fauci looks ahead to flu season
As the summer transitions into the fall, Fauci also discussed the oncoming flu season.
Fauci said he hopes wearing masks will help limit the spread of influenza as well.
"It is inevitable that we're going to have some degree of flu," he said. "I'm hoping that the wearing of masks and other coverings are going to not only protect us against COVID-19, but also help protect us against influenza."
He said two circulating respiratory viruses really "confuses the situation" since symptoms of the novel coronavirus and flu are so similar.
"Go out there and get your flu shot when the flu vaccine becomes available," he urged.
Fauci on his personal life
Fauci chalked up his own good health to genetics, which he said was probably inherited by his father, who lived to 97. The 79-year-old has joked about his own age, most recently when he struggled while throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals' home opener.
He gets up at 5 a.m. every morning, grabs juice or eggs and will drink two "very strong" double espressos as he tackles his email. He works late, tries to squeeze in a run -- he noted he used to run marathons in his younger days -- and then will work "well into the night."
"Sleep is the one thing that's really suffered in all this," he said.
He also joked about his baseball card, featuring his opening pitch last week, which is breaking sales records: "It's a combination of humbling and really embarrassing. ... Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle are looking down from heaven at me and saying, 'Are you kidding?'"
Military dad surprises daughter after months in Afghanistan dressed as mascot
By Caterina Andreano, April 17, 2019
By Caterina Andreano, April 17, 2019
A military father who returned home after 10 months in Afghanistan surprised his 10-year-old daughter in the sweetest way.
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Keith Cowell surprised his daughter Kindle Rose by showing up at lunch time at Legacy Elementary School in Louisiana dressed up as a bear, the school mascot.
Her reaction? Pure happiness.
"She loves surprises," Cowell told "Good Morning America." "She'd been looking forward to [me coming home] for weeks."
Cowell said the idea to surprise his daughter was his wife, Lisa's, and she started to hatch the plan with Lisa Smith, the school resource officer, and Kimmie Smith, the school's principal, a week before the event.
(MORE: Army veteran adopts bomb-sniffing military dog he worked with in Afghanistan 6 years ago)"The principal wanted the whole cafeteria to be involved," mom of three Lisa Cowell said. "Her school is so supportive."
Principal Smith kept everyone in the cafeteria longer than usual to make sure there was a crowd for the surprise, but didn't tell everyone what was going to happen.
Keith Cowell walked through the cafeteria dressed as the mascot, shaking hands with and high-fiving kids along the way and carrying a bouquet of balloons and a teddy bear.
When he stopped in front of Kindle and presented her with the teddy bear and balloons and revealed who he was, the entire cafeteria started cheering and clapping.
"My daughter and I start crying, the cafeteria workers were crying, the teachers were crying. It was a mess," mom Lisa Cowell said. "There were teachers lined up outside the wall to see it."
"I was excited to see her reaction," dad Keith Cowell said. "We just can't harp enough that the people were all excited and crying to see that Kindle was gonna get this happy moment and that was really cool to see."
Devin Gouthiere, Kindle's 27-year-old sister, was also there to witness the heartwarming surprise.
"I honestly did not expect to get emotional," she said. "But when he took off the mask, I lost it. So did everyone else."
Principal Smith posted the special moment to Legacy Elementary School's Facebook page and it immediately took off, with 38,000 views so far.
Kindle's mom said the next day, when Kindle went back to school, all her classmates kept telling her, "You're a star!"
About 150 of the students that attend Legacy Elementary School are from military families, Principal Smith told "GMA."
"This was a neat way to honor them and thank their parents for their service," the principal said.
April also happens to be the Month of the Military Child.
Reflecting on this, Keith Cowell said the only downsides of the moment was that "there were other kids there with parents deployed as well in Afghanistan. But this is a nice way to remind everyone that we're still there."
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Keith Cowell surprised his daughter Kindle Rose by showing up at lunch time at Legacy Elementary School in Louisiana dressed up as a bear, the school mascot.
Her reaction? Pure happiness.
"She loves surprises," Cowell told "Good Morning America." "She'd been looking forward to [me coming home] for weeks."
Cowell said the idea to surprise his daughter was his wife, Lisa's, and she started to hatch the plan with Lisa Smith, the school resource officer, and Kimmie Smith, the school's principal, a week before the event.
(MORE: Army veteran adopts bomb-sniffing military dog he worked with in Afghanistan 6 years ago)"The principal wanted the whole cafeteria to be involved," mom of three Lisa Cowell said. "Her school is so supportive."
Principal Smith kept everyone in the cafeteria longer than usual to make sure there was a crowd for the surprise, but didn't tell everyone what was going to happen.
Keith Cowell walked through the cafeteria dressed as the mascot, shaking hands with and high-fiving kids along the way and carrying a bouquet of balloons and a teddy bear.
When he stopped in front of Kindle and presented her with the teddy bear and balloons and revealed who he was, the entire cafeteria started cheering and clapping.
"My daughter and I start crying, the cafeteria workers were crying, the teachers were crying. It was a mess," mom Lisa Cowell said. "There were teachers lined up outside the wall to see it."
"I was excited to see her reaction," dad Keith Cowell said. "We just can't harp enough that the people were all excited and crying to see that Kindle was gonna get this happy moment and that was really cool to see."
Devin Gouthiere, Kindle's 27-year-old sister, was also there to witness the heartwarming surprise.
"I honestly did not expect to get emotional," she said. "But when he took off the mask, I lost it. So did everyone else."
Principal Smith posted the special moment to Legacy Elementary School's Facebook page and it immediately took off, with 38,000 views so far.
Kindle's mom said the next day, when Kindle went back to school, all her classmates kept telling her, "You're a star!"
About 150 of the students that attend Legacy Elementary School are from military families, Principal Smith told "GMA."
"This was a neat way to honor them and thank their parents for their service," the principal said.
April also happens to be the Month of the Military Child.
Reflecting on this, Keith Cowell said the only downsides of the moment was that "there were other kids there with parents deployed as well in Afghanistan. But this is a nice way to remind everyone that we're still there."
Starbucks opens store where all employees know American Sign Language
By Caterina Andreano, October 23, 2018
It’s official! #StarbucksSigns. Today @Starbucks opens its first signing/ASL store in Washington DC! pic.twitter.com/Q0GRAO28Go
— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) October 23, 2018
Starbucks just opened its first store in the U.S. that specifically caters to deaf customers in Washington, D.C.
The Starbucks "Signing Store" is located near Gallaudet University, a private school for deaf students and others with partial hearing loss.
The coffee shop is staffed only by people fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). Deaf baristas wear green aprons that say “Starbucks” in ASL while other baristas wear pins that say “I Sign.”
Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, visited the store on its opening day.
She hailed the move when it was first announced by Starbucks in July, tweeting “Bravo” and “I can’t wait to order my hot chair latte (non fat) in sign.”
Customers who don’t know ASL can use a tablet to order at the store.
Each week the store posts a “sign of the week” that teaches customers a new sign in ASL. This week’s board shows how to sign the word “coffee.”
The Signing Store also features a custom mug and artwork that was designed by Yiqiao Wang, a deaf artist and adjunct professor at Gallaudet University.
The store was designed to help foster easy communication and is equipped with low glare reflective surfaces, open spaces and visual displays for customers to check and pick up orders.
Although this Starbucks store is the first in the U.S., a Starbucks Signing Store opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2016.
Starbucks said the D.C. effort was spearheaded by a team of deaf Starbucks employees, who traveled to Malaysia to get insight into building a similar store in the U.S.
“As a deaf person, you can have a job and you can have money and you can have life skills. And you can engage with people in the signing and non-signing community,” Signing Store manager Matthew Gilsbach said. “I’m excited to start this journey and to see what the Deaf and hearing communities can do together.”
The move was also hailed by Howard A. Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf.
“We are making history. You are here. Remember where you were this date,” Rosenblum said at a launch party on Monday night. “I want to see many more of these. Please lead the way for other corporations and other businesses to open other signing stores and restaurants, starting this evening. Starting right here.”
The Starbucks "Signing Store" is located near Gallaudet University, a private school for deaf students and others with partial hearing loss.
The coffee shop is staffed only by people fluent in American Sign Language (ASL). Deaf baristas wear green aprons that say “Starbucks” in ASL while other baristas wear pins that say “I Sign.”
Oscar-winning actress Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, visited the store on its opening day.
She hailed the move when it was first announced by Starbucks in July, tweeting “Bravo” and “I can’t wait to order my hot chair latte (non fat) in sign.”
Customers who don’t know ASL can use a tablet to order at the store.
Each week the store posts a “sign of the week” that teaches customers a new sign in ASL. This week’s board shows how to sign the word “coffee.”
The Signing Store also features a custom mug and artwork that was designed by Yiqiao Wang, a deaf artist and adjunct professor at Gallaudet University.
The store was designed to help foster easy communication and is equipped with low glare reflective surfaces, open spaces and visual displays for customers to check and pick up orders.
Although this Starbucks store is the first in the U.S., a Starbucks Signing Store opened in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2016.
Starbucks said the D.C. effort was spearheaded by a team of deaf Starbucks employees, who traveled to Malaysia to get insight into building a similar store in the U.S.
“As a deaf person, you can have a job and you can have money and you can have life skills. And you can engage with people in the signing and non-signing community,” Signing Store manager Matthew Gilsbach said. “I’m excited to start this journey and to see what the Deaf and hearing communities can do together.”
The move was also hailed by Howard A. Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf.
“We are making history. You are here. Remember where you were this date,” Rosenblum said at a launch party on Monday night. “I want to see many more of these. Please lead the way for other corporations and other businesses to open other signing stores and restaurants, starting this evening. Starting right here.”
Michelle Obama 'concerned about us' as women, practices her 'mom face' on daughters
At this year's United States of Women summit, held over the weekend, Michelle Obama spoke candidly with "Black-ish" star Tracee Ellis Ross about teaching the next generation of women.
"I try to tell Sasha and Malia do not go to other 14 years olds for information because all you all are dumb. Come talk to me!" Obama said from the stage at the USOW summit in Los Angeles to a crowd roaring with laughter.
"That’s the age where it starts where you think you know everything," Ross responded.
Obama and Ross’ conversation was highly-anticipated, drawing thousands of women from all over the country to the conference. The speakers included many high-profile women like Jane Fonda, Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen and more, speak on everything having to do with gender inequality.
Ross asked Obama a question on behalf of her own mother, Diana Ross, on how her relationship with her own mom influenced her relationship with her two daughters, Malia and Sasha, who are now 19 and 16 years old.
"You’re going to make me cry," Obama responded.
"The mother that I am today is a direct result of Marian Robinson,” Obama said. “She told me and my brother, ‘I wasn’t raising children. I was raising adults.’”
"She would include you in big grown up conversations," Obama told the crowd at the Shrine auditorium. "There was never anything off limits."
"I emulate her in the relationship that I have with my girls," she continued. "I want them to talk to me about everything so that means I've got to be open and I can’t be judgmental."
"You have to get that mom face right. It’s like ‘Oh, did that happen? Okay, tell me more,'" Obama said as the crowd erupted with laughter. "You’re just trying not to react so you get the good information. You’re just sitting there just like, 'You did what!' Okay, fix the face. 'Okay, continue.'"
The "mom face" reference clearly hit home with the women in the audience, many nodding their heads.
"I try to be open with my girls and also help them practice their voice because if they’re not practicing with us, with me and with Barack at our dinner table, if they aren’t learning how to make arguments and express themselves ...” Obama trailed off.
The crowd erupted in cheers at the mention of former President Barack Obama’s name.
"Barack Obama," she repeated as the cheering and clapping continued. “I’m not going to tell him you all reacted this way. He doesn’t need to know this!” the former first lady joked. “I’ll be like, ‘No they didn’t even ask about you.'"
Ross went on to ask Obama, "Speaking about 14 year olds and not knowing much, do you think there’s a way that we can help everyone dream in a more limitless way that is not gender based?”
Obama answered that she’s "concerned about us" as women "in light of this last election."
"When the most qualified person running was a woman and look what we did instead? I mean that says something about where we are," Obama said. "If we as women are still suspicious of one another, if we still have this crazy, crazy bar for each other that we don’t have for men, if we’re still doing that today, if we’re not comfortable with the notion that a women could be our president ... that’s on us."
"I wish that girls could fail as bad as men do and be okay, because let me tell you, watching men fail up, it is frustrating," Obama said, "and we hold ourselves to these crazy, crazy standards."
Ross talked about the fact that she isn't married and how she's felt there was some judgment about it.
"Culture was egging me to dream of my wedding," she said, adding that it felt like people were saying, "Tracee Ellis Ross must not be happy because she’s not married with kids."
"Look where I’m sitting!?" Ross replied to a cheering crowd.
"I think if we want our daughters to dream bigger than we did then we have more work to do," Obama said. "So many of us have gotten ourselves to the table, but were still too grateful to be at the table to really shake it up."
When some voices in the crowd shouted for Obama to run for president, she said that women needed to learn to see it as a group effort.
"That's not the answer either," Obama responded to the shouts. "When I hear people say 'you run,' it's part of the problem. We still didn't get 'Yes, we can' right. It's not, 'Yes, you can,' it's 'Yes, we can.'"
"I try to tell Sasha and Malia do not go to other 14 years olds for information because all you all are dumb. Come talk to me!" Obama said from the stage at the USOW summit in Los Angeles to a crowd roaring with laughter.
"That’s the age where it starts where you think you know everything," Ross responded.
Obama and Ross’ conversation was highly-anticipated, drawing thousands of women from all over the country to the conference. The speakers included many high-profile women like Jane Fonda, Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen and more, speak on everything having to do with gender inequality.
Ross asked Obama a question on behalf of her own mother, Diana Ross, on how her relationship with her own mom influenced her relationship with her two daughters, Malia and Sasha, who are now 19 and 16 years old.
"You’re going to make me cry," Obama responded.
"The mother that I am today is a direct result of Marian Robinson,” Obama said. “She told me and my brother, ‘I wasn’t raising children. I was raising adults.’”
"She would include you in big grown up conversations," Obama told the crowd at the Shrine auditorium. "There was never anything off limits."
"I emulate her in the relationship that I have with my girls," she continued. "I want them to talk to me about everything so that means I've got to be open and I can’t be judgmental."
"You have to get that mom face right. It’s like ‘Oh, did that happen? Okay, tell me more,'" Obama said as the crowd erupted with laughter. "You’re just trying not to react so you get the good information. You’re just sitting there just like, 'You did what!' Okay, fix the face. 'Okay, continue.'"
The "mom face" reference clearly hit home with the women in the audience, many nodding their heads.
"I try to be open with my girls and also help them practice their voice because if they’re not practicing with us, with me and with Barack at our dinner table, if they aren’t learning how to make arguments and express themselves ...” Obama trailed off.
The crowd erupted in cheers at the mention of former President Barack Obama’s name.
"Barack Obama," she repeated as the cheering and clapping continued. “I’m not going to tell him you all reacted this way. He doesn’t need to know this!” the former first lady joked. “I’ll be like, ‘No they didn’t even ask about you.'"
Ross went on to ask Obama, "Speaking about 14 year olds and not knowing much, do you think there’s a way that we can help everyone dream in a more limitless way that is not gender based?”
Obama answered that she’s "concerned about us" as women "in light of this last election."
"When the most qualified person running was a woman and look what we did instead? I mean that says something about where we are," Obama said. "If we as women are still suspicious of one another, if we still have this crazy, crazy bar for each other that we don’t have for men, if we’re still doing that today, if we’re not comfortable with the notion that a women could be our president ... that’s on us."
"I wish that girls could fail as bad as men do and be okay, because let me tell you, watching men fail up, it is frustrating," Obama said, "and we hold ourselves to these crazy, crazy standards."
Ross talked about the fact that she isn't married and how she's felt there was some judgment about it.
"Culture was egging me to dream of my wedding," she said, adding that it felt like people were saying, "Tracee Ellis Ross must not be happy because she’s not married with kids."
"Look where I’m sitting!?" Ross replied to a cheering crowd.
"I think if we want our daughters to dream bigger than we did then we have more work to do," Obama said. "So many of us have gotten ourselves to the table, but were still too grateful to be at the table to really shake it up."
When some voices in the crowd shouted for Obama to run for president, she said that women needed to learn to see it as a group effort.
"That's not the answer either," Obama responded to the shouts. "When I hear people say 'you run,' it's part of the problem. We still didn't get 'Yes, we can' right. It's not, 'Yes, you can,' it's 'Yes, we can.'"
Powerful moments at the United State of Women summit
When former first lady Michelle Obama took the stage at this year’s United State of Women summit in Los Angeles, the crowd erupted in cheers so loud that Tracee Ellis Ross joked from the stage: “Are you gonna be able to hear us if you keep screaming?”
This was the start of a conversation between Obama and Ross, who are friends in real life. It was the start of the most highly anticipated speaking event at the USOW, following a day filled with high profile speakers including Jane Fonda, Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen, Aly Raisman and more.
The women spoke about everything from education to childhood memories to what the future holds for the next generation of women.
When Ross asked Obama, “Do you think there’s a way that we can help everyone dream in a more limitless way that is not gender based?”
Obama answered that she’s “concerned about us as women.”
“When the most qualified person running was a woman and look what we did instead. I mean, that says something about where we are,” Obama said to a full crowd at the Shrine Auditorium. “If we as women are still suspicious of one another, if we still have this crazy, crazy bar for each other that we don’t have for men, if we’re still doing that today, if we’re not comfortable with the notion that a women could be our president, compared to what?... That’s on us.”
They spoke about how culture “eggs” women on to get married, have the dream wedding and have kids. When Ross said she missed that stage, Obama responded, “Good for you.”
“Tracee Ellis Ross must not be happy because she’s not married with kids.”
“Look where I’m sitting!?” Ross replied to a cheering crowd.
“I think if we want our daughters to dream bigger than we did then we have more work to do,” Obama said. “So many of us have gotten ourselves to the table but were still too grateful to be at the table to shake it up.”
Another incredibly powerful moment at the summit was when four athletes who all confronted disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar in court earlier this year took the stage as “sister survivors.” Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Tiffany Lopez and Jeanette Antolin took the USOW stage side by side after being introduced by Sophia Bush, who said it was “an honor to bear witness to their experience.”
Raisman spoke first, telling the crowd that “speaking out is never easy. Each time I share my story I relive my trauma.”
She told the cheering crowd, “If we do not keep up the fight, sadly, history is likely to repeat itself. This problem is bigger than Nassar. The #MeToo movement is not just in gymnastics and Hollywood -- it is everywhere.”
Her powerful speech was followed by Tiffany Lopez, who first reported Nassar’s abuse in 1998.
“My voice is no longer silent and I’m taking back my power,” she said. “If I had been heard and believed 20 years ago, the women standing beside me -- all of the 265 young women who have now barely come forward as victims -- would have been spared from the horrors of sexual abuse.”
Antolin followed Lopez’s speech and delivered her message of empowering children: “We need to teach our kids that their voice matters. It will be heard and we will listen.”
Wieber was the last of the athletes to speak out and received rounds of applause when she said: “It ends with us ... you are not alone and your time is now. Speak your truth. Hold your abusers accountable and regain your power.”
The memorable moments continued at the summit when actress Jane Fonda and Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, took the stage at the USOW together to speak about mass criminalization. Fonda started her speech off by saying, “When Trump was elected and the toxic bedrock of white supremacy in this country was exposed, I realized something ... the lens through which I have been looking at race is too shallow -- so I’m studying.”
She went on to say that “it takes more than empathy. It takes intention, to even begin to comprehend what people of color, no matter their class, face every day.”
Cullors followed Fonda’s speech by praising her and telling the auditorium “every white woman in the audience, please take heed.”
They both spoke about disproportionally high incarceration rates in African American communities and racism in America and advocated ending the war on drugs and the construction of new prisons.
Many of the powerhouse women who spoke at the United State of Women conference told “GMA” that they wanted women to leave the summit feeling not just inspired, but motivated by all of the memorable moments and speeches.
“I hope that women leave with action items,” Sophia Bush said. “Not just inspiration. There’s big inspiration here, but one of the things I’m always so impressed by at this summit is that you walk away knowing what to do next, what the steps are that you can take to activate yourself, to activate your community to create the kind of change you want to create and I really hope that it’s the kind of day that inspires people to walk the walk even further when you walk out of this building.”
This was the start of a conversation between Obama and Ross, who are friends in real life. It was the start of the most highly anticipated speaking event at the USOW, following a day filled with high profile speakers including Jane Fonda, Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen, Aly Raisman and more.
The women spoke about everything from education to childhood memories to what the future holds for the next generation of women.
When Ross asked Obama, “Do you think there’s a way that we can help everyone dream in a more limitless way that is not gender based?”
Obama answered that she’s “concerned about us as women.”
“When the most qualified person running was a woman and look what we did instead. I mean, that says something about where we are,” Obama said to a full crowd at the Shrine Auditorium. “If we as women are still suspicious of one another, if we still have this crazy, crazy bar for each other that we don’t have for men, if we’re still doing that today, if we’re not comfortable with the notion that a women could be our president, compared to what?... That’s on us.”
They spoke about how culture “eggs” women on to get married, have the dream wedding and have kids. When Ross said she missed that stage, Obama responded, “Good for you.”
“Tracee Ellis Ross must not be happy because she’s not married with kids.”
“Look where I’m sitting!?” Ross replied to a cheering crowd.
“I think if we want our daughters to dream bigger than we did then we have more work to do,” Obama said. “So many of us have gotten ourselves to the table but were still too grateful to be at the table to shake it up.”
Another incredibly powerful moment at the summit was when four athletes who all confronted disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar in court earlier this year took the stage as “sister survivors.” Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber, Tiffany Lopez and Jeanette Antolin took the USOW stage side by side after being introduced by Sophia Bush, who said it was “an honor to bear witness to their experience.”
Raisman spoke first, telling the crowd that “speaking out is never easy. Each time I share my story I relive my trauma.”
She told the cheering crowd, “If we do not keep up the fight, sadly, history is likely to repeat itself. This problem is bigger than Nassar. The #MeToo movement is not just in gymnastics and Hollywood -- it is everywhere.”
Her powerful speech was followed by Tiffany Lopez, who first reported Nassar’s abuse in 1998.
“My voice is no longer silent and I’m taking back my power,” she said. “If I had been heard and believed 20 years ago, the women standing beside me -- all of the 265 young women who have now barely come forward as victims -- would have been spared from the horrors of sexual abuse.”
Antolin followed Lopez’s speech and delivered her message of empowering children: “We need to teach our kids that their voice matters. It will be heard and we will listen.”
Wieber was the last of the athletes to speak out and received rounds of applause when she said: “It ends with us ... you are not alone and your time is now. Speak your truth. Hold your abusers accountable and regain your power.”
The memorable moments continued at the summit when actress Jane Fonda and Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, took the stage at the USOW together to speak about mass criminalization. Fonda started her speech off by saying, “When Trump was elected and the toxic bedrock of white supremacy in this country was exposed, I realized something ... the lens through which I have been looking at race is too shallow -- so I’m studying.”
She went on to say that “it takes more than empathy. It takes intention, to even begin to comprehend what people of color, no matter their class, face every day.”
Cullors followed Fonda’s speech by praising her and telling the auditorium “every white woman in the audience, please take heed.”
They both spoke about disproportionally high incarceration rates in African American communities and racism in America and advocated ending the war on drugs and the construction of new prisons.
Many of the powerhouse women who spoke at the United State of Women conference told “GMA” that they wanted women to leave the summit feeling not just inspired, but motivated by all of the memorable moments and speeches.
“I hope that women leave with action items,” Sophia Bush said. “Not just inspiration. There’s big inspiration here, but one of the things I’m always so impressed by at this summit is that you walk away knowing what to do next, what the steps are that you can take to activate yourself, to activate your community to create the kind of change you want to create and I really hope that it’s the kind of day that inspires people to walk the walk even further when you walk out of this building.”
United State of Women speakers share their messages to young women everywhere
By Caterina Andreano and Lesley Hauler, May 6, 2018
Inspiration and motivation for change –- those were the resounding themes at this year’s United State of Women summit in Los Angeles.
Thousands of women descended upon the Shrine Auditorium to listen to powerhouse women speak on all manner of topics ranging from the gender pay gap to sexual violence against women to women in politics.
Michelle Obama, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jane Fonda, Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen and many other women spoke at the summit to crowds of viewers hanging on their every word. The atmosphere was one of hope –- hope for change and for a better future for young women everywhere.
“Good Morning America” spoke to some of the inspiring women at the summit and asked: “What’s your message to young women everywhere?”
Olympian Jordyn Wieber, who has been outspoken about sexual abuse since confronting disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar in court earlier this year, told “GMA” that women should feel empowered to “have a voice.”
“If you feel you were sexually abused or you were sexually abused you can speak out, tell people, tell people until they listen, hold your abusers accountable. And it’s okay. We believe you,” Wieber said.
Her words came after a powerful moment when Wieber joined Aly Raisman, Tiffany Lopez and Jeanette Antolin on stage as “sister survivors” of Larry Nassar, each speaking out against sexual abuse.
Sophia Bush spoke to “GMA” after introducing the brave athletes to the stage, saying it was “an honor to bear witness to their experience.” She called the summit “invaluable” and said she wanted young women everywhere to know that “they have communities at large of other women -- some who know them, some who don’t -- who are standing by to listen and support them.”
Model Iskra Lawrence was at the summit representing Aerie and their #AerieReal modeling campaign, which promotes photos -- not retouched at all -- of Lawrence, Yara Shahidi, Aly Raisman and others to inspire body positivity.
She said her message to young women is to “believe in themselves.”
“Their power is by being themselves and I feel like when we are free from the confines of insecurity, we show our true power and we’re enabled to be exactly who we are meant to be and we shine our brightest ... then we can work to give, to be better people, to work together to move forward and I think after the year that we’ve had we just want women to feel empowered and to feel like they are not alone and they have a sisterhood,” Lawrence told “GMA.”
Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, spoke to “GMA” after taking the stage at the USOW alongside Jane Fonda. They spoke about disproportionally high incarceration rates in African American communities and racism in America. Fonda told a cheering crowd that she’s “studying” racism in America after having realized “the lens through which I have been looking at race is too shallow.” She advocated ending the war on drugs and the construction of new prisons.
Cullors, who praised Fonda on stage and told the crowd “every white woman in the audience please take heed,” told “GMA” she wants young women to “show up for your truth. Be courageous, be effective and strategic and get the job done.”
She said she wants women across America “to see our strength, to show up for our lives and to remember that the work that women do saves the rest of the world.”
Valerie Jarrett, one of the co-chairs of USOW, said she wanted women to leave the summit “better informed.” She told “GMA” she wanted her message to young women to be to “get involved in your community.”
“Your voices matter. We hear them loud and clearly and you need to go back home and change your community," she said. "Take what you learn here today and make the world better.”
Tarana Burke echoed that same sentiment when speaking to “GMA.” She said she wanted women to leave the summit not just with inspiration but with motivation.
“You have power now. You don’t have to wait until you’re an adult, you don’t have to wait for someone to give it to you," she said. "Your voice, your strength means something regardless of your age.”
Tina Tchen, fellow USOW co-chair, brought her daughter, a rising college senior, to the summit along with her. She said it’s important to empower women that age and said, “They are not just the future leaders of our country. They are the leaders of our country right now.”
She told “GMA” it’s important to make sure that young women “are empowered and that they have the tools they need to succeed.”
“Use your voice," she added. "Get registered and vote.”
Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was at the summit representing her company Foodstirs, said that as a female business owner she wants young women to believe in themselves.
“Believe in yourself and you can make a difference. I think that we’re all striving for the same thing at the end of the day. We want to have inclusion we want to be credited for the work that we do,” she said.
Thousands of women descended upon the Shrine Auditorium to listen to powerhouse women speak on all manner of topics ranging from the gender pay gap to sexual violence against women to women in politics.
Michelle Obama, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jane Fonda, Valerie Jarrett, Tina Tchen and many other women spoke at the summit to crowds of viewers hanging on their every word. The atmosphere was one of hope –- hope for change and for a better future for young women everywhere.
“Good Morning America” spoke to some of the inspiring women at the summit and asked: “What’s your message to young women everywhere?”
Olympian Jordyn Wieber, who has been outspoken about sexual abuse since confronting disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar in court earlier this year, told “GMA” that women should feel empowered to “have a voice.”
“If you feel you were sexually abused or you were sexually abused you can speak out, tell people, tell people until they listen, hold your abusers accountable. And it’s okay. We believe you,” Wieber said.
Her words came after a powerful moment when Wieber joined Aly Raisman, Tiffany Lopez and Jeanette Antolin on stage as “sister survivors” of Larry Nassar, each speaking out against sexual abuse.
Sophia Bush spoke to “GMA” after introducing the brave athletes to the stage, saying it was “an honor to bear witness to their experience.” She called the summit “invaluable” and said she wanted young women everywhere to know that “they have communities at large of other women -- some who know them, some who don’t -- who are standing by to listen and support them.”
Model Iskra Lawrence was at the summit representing Aerie and their #AerieReal modeling campaign, which promotes photos -- not retouched at all -- of Lawrence, Yara Shahidi, Aly Raisman and others to inspire body positivity.
She said her message to young women is to “believe in themselves.”
“Their power is by being themselves and I feel like when we are free from the confines of insecurity, we show our true power and we’re enabled to be exactly who we are meant to be and we shine our brightest ... then we can work to give, to be better people, to work together to move forward and I think after the year that we’ve had we just want women to feel empowered and to feel like they are not alone and they have a sisterhood,” Lawrence told “GMA.”
Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, spoke to “GMA” after taking the stage at the USOW alongside Jane Fonda. They spoke about disproportionally high incarceration rates in African American communities and racism in America. Fonda told a cheering crowd that she’s “studying” racism in America after having realized “the lens through which I have been looking at race is too shallow.” She advocated ending the war on drugs and the construction of new prisons.
Cullors, who praised Fonda on stage and told the crowd “every white woman in the audience please take heed,” told “GMA” she wants young women to “show up for your truth. Be courageous, be effective and strategic and get the job done.”
She said she wants women across America “to see our strength, to show up for our lives and to remember that the work that women do saves the rest of the world.”
Valerie Jarrett, one of the co-chairs of USOW, said she wanted women to leave the summit “better informed.” She told “GMA” she wanted her message to young women to be to “get involved in your community.”
“Your voices matter. We hear them loud and clearly and you need to go back home and change your community," she said. "Take what you learn here today and make the world better.”
Tarana Burke echoed that same sentiment when speaking to “GMA.” She said she wanted women to leave the summit not just with inspiration but with motivation.
“You have power now. You don’t have to wait until you’re an adult, you don’t have to wait for someone to give it to you," she said. "Your voice, your strength means something regardless of your age.”
Tina Tchen, fellow USOW co-chair, brought her daughter, a rising college senior, to the summit along with her. She said it’s important to empower women that age and said, “They are not just the future leaders of our country. They are the leaders of our country right now.”
She told “GMA” it’s important to make sure that young women “are empowered and that they have the tools they need to succeed.”
“Use your voice," she added. "Get registered and vote.”
Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was at the summit representing her company Foodstirs, said that as a female business owner she wants young women to believe in themselves.
“Believe in yourself and you can make a difference. I think that we’re all striving for the same thing at the end of the day. We want to have inclusion we want to be credited for the work that we do,” she said.
No men allowed: Tiny 'SuperShe' island near Finland to open for women visitors only
By Caterina Andreano, February 15, 2018
If you need a vacation from men, SuperShe island may be the place for you.
SuperShe island is an exclusive getaway destination located off the coast of Finland that’s available only for women.
The goal of the island is to connect women of all ages through yoga, meditation, fitness classes, cooking and more.
It’s run by SuperShe - a networking group with the goal of “uniting female powerhouses" and connecting "women who innovate and inspire, and bring them together at one table." Kristina Roth, the founder and CEO of SuperShe, bought the 8.4 acre island in September 2017 after selling her management consulting company and starting SuperShe. “I was looking at real estate investments personally for myself,” she said.
But then she decided to turn it into a haven for women. “There’s so many women that just want to escape somewhere,” she said. “I just want to put on my yoga pants, go hiking and just maybe meet some like-minded amazing women.”
The island is currently undergoing renovations which she said are about 90 percent done. It has four cabins that can fit 10 people. In order to stay on the island, you have to apply to become a SuperShe member through the the organization's website and partake in a Skype interview with Roth. “Honestly, for me, the definition of SuperShe is you’re an independent woman and you know what you want,” Roth said.
Roth said she's already received thousands of applications from women across the globe. She plans to invite some VIP SuperShes to the island for a trial cycle in June and then the island will officially be open for business on July 1. Currently, SuperShe has a couple hundred members, and staying on the island will cost somewhere between $3,000 to $6,000 for a five-day stay in one of the shared rooms.
Roth has high hopes for the women-only island located near a country that she said is “super underrated” and “beautiful.” She already owns another property in Turks and Caicos that she wants to turn into another SuperShe getaway – but that won’t be ready until 2020.
SuperShe island is an exclusive getaway destination located off the coast of Finland that’s available only for women.
The goal of the island is to connect women of all ages through yoga, meditation, fitness classes, cooking and more.
It’s run by SuperShe - a networking group with the goal of “uniting female powerhouses" and connecting "women who innovate and inspire, and bring them together at one table." Kristina Roth, the founder and CEO of SuperShe, bought the 8.4 acre island in September 2017 after selling her management consulting company and starting SuperShe. “I was looking at real estate investments personally for myself,” she said.
But then she decided to turn it into a haven for women. “There’s so many women that just want to escape somewhere,” she said. “I just want to put on my yoga pants, go hiking and just maybe meet some like-minded amazing women.”
The island is currently undergoing renovations which she said are about 90 percent done. It has four cabins that can fit 10 people. In order to stay on the island, you have to apply to become a SuperShe member through the the organization's website and partake in a Skype interview with Roth. “Honestly, for me, the definition of SuperShe is you’re an independent woman and you know what you want,” Roth said.
Roth said she's already received thousands of applications from women across the globe. She plans to invite some VIP SuperShes to the island for a trial cycle in June and then the island will officially be open for business on July 1. Currently, SuperShe has a couple hundred members, and staying on the island will cost somewhere between $3,000 to $6,000 for a five-day stay in one of the shared rooms.
Roth has high hopes for the women-only island located near a country that she said is “super underrated” and “beautiful.” She already owns another property in Turks and Caicos that she wants to turn into another SuperShe getaway – but that won’t be ready until 2020.
Hospital dresses up newborns like Team USA athletes
By Caterina Andreano, February 12, 2018
What better way to celebrate the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang than dressing up babies like Team USA athletes?
The UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, dressed newborns in caps and blankets sporting stars and stripes. The caps were hand knit by a nurse.
They even held a competition of their own, with categories like “best napper,” “strongest lungs,” “longest eyelashes” and “most hair.”
“It was really fun to see the awards all being handed out and to hear all the different babies’ names and what characteristics that they might have won for,” one mother, Amanda Ciccone, said.
Her son Vincent won the award for “most hair,” but his father, Dan Ciccone, said he might have a future in sports.
“I think we definitely have a future athlete on our hands," Dan Ciccone said. "He kicks like he wants to play soccer!”
Jeff Hodges, the chief nursing officer at UPMC, said the staff love to participate in events like these. “It’s a fun time for them … it just adds a little excitement and a little buzz to the unit.”
He said it also helps make the moment special for parents. “It helps them remember this very special moment that they have … this is just something special that we can do for our patients.”
The hospital is known for dressing up infants to celebrate special occasions, having dressed up infants as gingerbread cookies this past Christmas.
“All of our babies are champions!” Hodges said.
The UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, dressed newborns in caps and blankets sporting stars and stripes. The caps were hand knit by a nurse.
They even held a competition of their own, with categories like “best napper,” “strongest lungs,” “longest eyelashes” and “most hair.”
“It was really fun to see the awards all being handed out and to hear all the different babies’ names and what characteristics that they might have won for,” one mother, Amanda Ciccone, said.
Her son Vincent won the award for “most hair,” but his father, Dan Ciccone, said he might have a future in sports.
“I think we definitely have a future athlete on our hands," Dan Ciccone said. "He kicks like he wants to play soccer!”
Jeff Hodges, the chief nursing officer at UPMC, said the staff love to participate in events like these. “It’s a fun time for them … it just adds a little excitement and a little buzz to the unit.”
He said it also helps make the moment special for parents. “It helps them remember this very special moment that they have … this is just something special that we can do for our patients.”
The hospital is known for dressing up infants to celebrate special occasions, having dressed up infants as gingerbread cookies this past Christmas.
“All of our babies are champions!” Hodges said.
Super Bowl by the numbers: $1.3B on beer and cider, $224M on chips, $86M on popcorn
By Caterina Andreano and Lesley Messer, February 2, 2018
Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. shares secrets about his life
By Caterina Andreano and Tony Morrison, September 8, 2018
Bachelor Nation is already familiar with Arie Luyendyk Jr. from his time on "The Bachelorette" in 2012. But soon, fans will get to know even more about him as he leads the next season of "The Bachelor."
The racecar driver broke the news of his return to reality TV on Thursday during a visit to "Good Morning America" and backstage, gave a few more personal details about his life.
From his likes to his dislikes to his secret talent, Luyendyk gave a rundown of what "Bachelor" fans can expect from him during his time on the show.
He also summed up how he's feeling about the experience in three words: "Nervousness, anticipation and hope."
Luyendyk, 35, was the runner-up in Emily Maynard's season of "The Bachelorette" and said he flirted with the idea of being on "The Bachelor" in the past. The timing of this particular opportunity, he said, seemed right.
"I’ll be 36 in a few weeks, so for me it’s time," he said on "GMA." "All my friends around me, you know, have kids and have grown up. So for me, I feel like I’m the last one of my friends to really take that step."
The racecar driver broke the news of his return to reality TV on Thursday during a visit to "Good Morning America" and backstage, gave a few more personal details about his life.
From his likes to his dislikes to his secret talent, Luyendyk gave a rundown of what "Bachelor" fans can expect from him during his time on the show.
He also summed up how he's feeling about the experience in three words: "Nervousness, anticipation and hope."
Luyendyk, 35, was the runner-up in Emily Maynard's season of "The Bachelorette" and said he flirted with the idea of being on "The Bachelor" in the past. The timing of this particular opportunity, he said, seemed right.
"I’ll be 36 in a few weeks, so for me it’s time," he said on "GMA." "All my friends around me, you know, have kids and have grown up. So for me, I feel like I’m the last one of my friends to really take that step."
Taylor Swift Was the Biggest Star of 2015,According to 'Good Morning America' Fans
By Caterina Andreano and Lesley Messer, December 29, 2015
By Caterina Andreano and Lesley Messer, December 29, 2015
2015 was a big year for celebrities.
However, some stars had bigger years than others.
When asked whether Taylor Swift, Adele, Tracy Morgan or Caitlyn Jenner ruled 2015, the "Good Morning America" fans agreed that the honor belonged to Taylor Swift.
"Adele's year is 2016, while @taylorswift13 had one of the biggest world tours in 2015," wrote in @brianolivia. "So the whole year needs to go to Taylor."
"Adele of December maybe, but not 2015! That has to be Taylor surely," added @alltoogeorgia.
Here's what made each celebrity a contender for the title.
Taylor Swift
Last year was huge for Taylor Swift, as she officially transitioned from country music to pop with the release of her multi-platinum album, "1989." Somehow, however, 2015 proved to be even more exciting. In May, the 26-year-old superstar kicked off her "1989" world tour in Tokyo before returning to the U.S., where, over the next few months, she brought the likes of Justin Timberlake, Julia Roberts and the U.S. Women's Word Cup soccer team on stage with her. Big, yes, but her busy summer was just beginning. In June, she penned an open letter to Apple and convinced the tech giant to change its policies toward musicians. In July, she threw a blow-out July 4th party, attended by Gigi Hadid, Joe Jonas, Ed Sheeran, and yes, her new boyfriend, deejay Calvin Harris. Then, in August, the singer won three MTV Video Music Awards, including the biggest award of the night, Video of the Year. (Viewers of the show are equally as likely to remember her much-discussed performance with Nicki Minaj as her armload of Moon Men.) Rounding out the year, Swift picked up six Grammy nominations and then treated her "1989" world tour crew to a relaxing Australian vacation. Not too shabby. It's no wonder 62 percent of you thought that 2015 was the year of Taylor Swift.
Adele
Expectations for Adele's third album, "25," were so huge that it seemed impossible for the singer to meet them. She did. Surpassed them, even. After the single "Hello" dropped in late October, the singer's album crushed records within days of its November release. "25" has sold more than seven million copies and is the first album ever to sell one million copies in two consecutive weeks. (It's done so for three.) "It’s a bit ridiculous,” the singer told Time Magazine of the album's success. "Maybe they think I’m related to the Queen. Americans are obsessed with the royal family.” And with Adele. When tickets to her 2016 world tour went on sale on Dec. 17, fans were outraged when they sold out in minutes. So, who knows? If this was the year of Taylor Swift, will Adele be her successor?
Caitlyn Jenner
In April, Olympic champ Bruce Jenner spoke to ABC's Diane Sawyer and made a statement that stunned the world: “For all intents and purposes, I’m a woman." Then, a few weeks later, she revealed her new look and her new name - Caitlyn - on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. "Bruce always had to tell a lie. He was always living that lie," she told the magazine. "Caitlyn doesn’t have any secrets. Soon as the Vanity Fair cover comes out, I’m free." She was. One month later, with her children and former stepchildren in attendance, she accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the ESPYs, where she thanked her fans for their support. “This transition has been harder on me than anything I could imagine. And that’s the case for so many others besides me," she said. "For that reason alone, trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect. And from that respect comes a more compassionate community, a more empathetic society and a better world for all of us.
Tracy Morgan
At the end of 2014, Tracy Morgan said that he was "fighting every day" to recover from injuries he sustained in the June 2014 car accident that claimed the life of his friend, comedian James McNair. This year, he proved just how determined he really was. This past June, Morgan said he was "at 75 percent," but by August, the formerly wheelchair-bound comedian was walking down the aisle to marry his longtime girlfriend, Megan Wollover. "Megan was by my side throughout all of the hard times of this past year," he told People Magazine at the time. "She is my rock." After that, he was back in the spotlight, taking the stage at the Emmy Awards and guest-hosting Saturday Night Live. "I survived that crash for a reason. I'm still here for a reason. I guess my room wasn't ready," Morgan told Barbara Walters recently. "Who knows? Maybe he kept me here to raise my daughter, to raise my family.
However, some stars had bigger years than others.
When asked whether Taylor Swift, Adele, Tracy Morgan or Caitlyn Jenner ruled 2015, the "Good Morning America" fans agreed that the honor belonged to Taylor Swift.
"Adele's year is 2016, while @taylorswift13 had one of the biggest world tours in 2015," wrote in @brianolivia. "So the whole year needs to go to Taylor."
"Adele of December maybe, but not 2015! That has to be Taylor surely," added @alltoogeorgia.
Here's what made each celebrity a contender for the title.
Taylor Swift
Last year was huge for Taylor Swift, as she officially transitioned from country music to pop with the release of her multi-platinum album, "1989." Somehow, however, 2015 proved to be even more exciting. In May, the 26-year-old superstar kicked off her "1989" world tour in Tokyo before returning to the U.S., where, over the next few months, she brought the likes of Justin Timberlake, Julia Roberts and the U.S. Women's Word Cup soccer team on stage with her. Big, yes, but her busy summer was just beginning. In June, she penned an open letter to Apple and convinced the tech giant to change its policies toward musicians. In July, she threw a blow-out July 4th party, attended by Gigi Hadid, Joe Jonas, Ed Sheeran, and yes, her new boyfriend, deejay Calvin Harris. Then, in August, the singer won three MTV Video Music Awards, including the biggest award of the night, Video of the Year. (Viewers of the show are equally as likely to remember her much-discussed performance with Nicki Minaj as her armload of Moon Men.) Rounding out the year, Swift picked up six Grammy nominations and then treated her "1989" world tour crew to a relaxing Australian vacation. Not too shabby. It's no wonder 62 percent of you thought that 2015 was the year of Taylor Swift.
Adele
Expectations for Adele's third album, "25," were so huge that it seemed impossible for the singer to meet them. She did. Surpassed them, even. After the single "Hello" dropped in late October, the singer's album crushed records within days of its November release. "25" has sold more than seven million copies and is the first album ever to sell one million copies in two consecutive weeks. (It's done so for three.) "It’s a bit ridiculous,” the singer told Time Magazine of the album's success. "Maybe they think I’m related to the Queen. Americans are obsessed with the royal family.” And with Adele. When tickets to her 2016 world tour went on sale on Dec. 17, fans were outraged when they sold out in minutes. So, who knows? If this was the year of Taylor Swift, will Adele be her successor?
Caitlyn Jenner
In April, Olympic champ Bruce Jenner spoke to ABC's Diane Sawyer and made a statement that stunned the world: “For all intents and purposes, I’m a woman." Then, a few weeks later, she revealed her new look and her new name - Caitlyn - on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. "Bruce always had to tell a lie. He was always living that lie," she told the magazine. "Caitlyn doesn’t have any secrets. Soon as the Vanity Fair cover comes out, I’m free." She was. One month later, with her children and former stepchildren in attendance, she accepted the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the ESPYs, where she thanked her fans for their support. “This transition has been harder on me than anything I could imagine. And that’s the case for so many others besides me," she said. "For that reason alone, trans people deserve something vital. They deserve your respect. And from that respect comes a more compassionate community, a more empathetic society and a better world for all of us.
Tracy Morgan
At the end of 2014, Tracy Morgan said that he was "fighting every day" to recover from injuries he sustained in the June 2014 car accident that claimed the life of his friend, comedian James McNair. This year, he proved just how determined he really was. This past June, Morgan said he was "at 75 percent," but by August, the formerly wheelchair-bound comedian was walking down the aisle to marry his longtime girlfriend, Megan Wollover. "Megan was by my side throughout all of the hard times of this past year," he told People Magazine at the time. "She is my rock." After that, he was back in the spotlight, taking the stage at the Emmy Awards and guest-hosting Saturday Night Live. "I survived that crash for a reason. I'm still here for a reason. I guess my room wasn't ready," Morgan told Barbara Walters recently. "Who knows? Maybe he kept me here to raise my daughter, to raise my family.
Veteran Runs 160 Miles in 160 Hours to Honor Fallen Servicewomen
By Caterina Andreano, October 21, 2014
It’s a bit of a crazy idea when you think about it — 160 miles in 160 hours.
That’s what Capt. Nancy Lacore, 46, of Virginia, did in little more than 6.5 days during the Valor Run.
The run honors the 160 women who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s one mile for each of the fallen servicewomen.
“It’s not about me running. It’s about the people coming together and recognizing all the women who have died,” Lacore said.
The decorated 24-year U.S. Navy vet, and the mother of 6, started the run in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Oct. 12 and completed the journey at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, on Oct. 18.
She was joined on the run by several people. Some ran the 160 miles; others were there for support along the way. Her husband, Patrick Lacore, drove alongside her the whole way, helping her with food, water, and most of all, encouragement.
The goal of the run was to raise $10,000 for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation and $25,000 for Wounded Wear. So far the run has raised $16,320 for Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation and $16,625 for Wounded Wear.
Although Lacore, who trained for the Valor Run for the better part of a year, was tired and nauseous toward the end, she ended the run strong.
“I feel good! I feel like I could keep running. It’s amazing to see all these people here, all for this reason,” she said.
“There’s no greater love than being a veteran,” said Air Force veteran Patricia Sherwood, who also ran. “This run, symbolizing 160 of our fallen sisters, there’s no way to explain it but it hits right here and I’m proud to be representing one of my Air Force sisters.”
At the beginning of each leg of run, she read the names of the women she was remembering on that particular day. During the last leg, she carried a picture of Major Megan McClung. McClung was the first female Marine killed during the Iraq War.
“She was a Marine, she was a runner, triathlete. Her mother reached to me before I started, and her mother said, ‘I’m sure Megan’s going to be running right along with you,’” Lacore said.
Lacore said in the end the run was all about bringing people together to honor the fallen servicemen and women.
“I really wanted to bring people together and that’s what we did…There were families who lost women, but there were families here who lost men too. And they’re equally supportive that we have to recognize all sacrifices,” she said.
That’s what Capt. Nancy Lacore, 46, of Virginia, did in little more than 6.5 days during the Valor Run.
The run honors the 160 women who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. There’s one mile for each of the fallen servicewomen.
“It’s not about me running. It’s about the people coming together and recognizing all the women who have died,” Lacore said.
The decorated 24-year U.S. Navy vet, and the mother of 6, started the run in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Oct. 12 and completed the journey at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial in Arlington, Virginia, on Oct. 18.
She was joined on the run by several people. Some ran the 160 miles; others were there for support along the way. Her husband, Patrick Lacore, drove alongside her the whole way, helping her with food, water, and most of all, encouragement.
The goal of the run was to raise $10,000 for the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation and $25,000 for Wounded Wear. So far the run has raised $16,320 for Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation and $16,625 for Wounded Wear.
Although Lacore, who trained for the Valor Run for the better part of a year, was tired and nauseous toward the end, she ended the run strong.
“I feel good! I feel like I could keep running. It’s amazing to see all these people here, all for this reason,” she said.
“There’s no greater love than being a veteran,” said Air Force veteran Patricia Sherwood, who also ran. “This run, symbolizing 160 of our fallen sisters, there’s no way to explain it but it hits right here and I’m proud to be representing one of my Air Force sisters.”
At the beginning of each leg of run, she read the names of the women she was remembering on that particular day. During the last leg, she carried a picture of Major Megan McClung. McClung was the first female Marine killed during the Iraq War.
“She was a Marine, she was a runner, triathlete. Her mother reached to me before I started, and her mother said, ‘I’m sure Megan’s going to be running right along with you,’” Lacore said.
Lacore said in the end the run was all about bringing people together to honor the fallen servicemen and women.
“I really wanted to bring people together and that’s what we did…There were families who lost women, but there were families here who lost men too. And they’re equally supportive that we have to recognize all sacrifices,” she said.
Hero Gets a New Home After Devastating Fire
By Caterina Andreano, August 22, 2014
When Captain Edward “Flip” Klein was severely injured in an IED explosion in Afghanistan two years ago - losing both his legs, his right arm, and three fingers on his left hand - he thought he had survived the worst. Then, last week, he and his wife Jessica cheated death again when fire broke out in their new home, consuming the entire house within minutes.
“We smelled smoke the lights started to flicker, the alarms started going off,” Flip told WJLA in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Alerted by the Klein’s two dogs, their neighbors rushed in to help carry Flip from the home.
“It was amazing people were coming in and stepping on the burning front porch of this house to pull me into the front yard,” Flip said.
Everything they owned was burned to the ground – including the van that was specially equipped so Flip could drive on his own. It was a devastating loss, especially since they had moved in just five months ago after living at Walter Reed Hospital for 15 months while Flip recovered from his wounds.
“This house was our first chance to be real people again,” said Jessica.
Building for America’s Bravest
Within days, the Kleins were inundated with offers of help. But the most significant gift of all came from the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The foundation’s CEO, Frank Siller, called Jessica with the news that she and Flip would be put at the top of the waiting list for a brand new home equipped with the latest technology.
“When she found out that were moving them to the top of the list she broke down…very emotional,” said Siller. “She said, ‘I can’t believe what you’re doing for us.’ I said, ‘America’s doing it for you.’"
Siller’s family created the Foundation’s “Building for America’s Bravest” program in honor of his brother Stephen, a hero firefighter who died trying to save lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
“To be building these houses for the most catastrophically injured, I don’t know that we could be doing anything more worthy for these guys who paid such a high price protecting our country,” he said.
The Unsung Heroes Behind the Wounded Warriors
So far the Foundation has built 36 smart homes, each costing about half-a-million dollars and designed to help meet each wounded warriors’ specific needs.
“Off an iPad he can control the heat, light, air conditioning… the doors opening closing, kitchen cabinets open at the bottom,” said Siller. “So if he wants a glass and he’s in his wheelchair he doesn’t have to say, ‘Can someone get me a glass of water please?’”
The Kleins’ new home will be paid for in part by the Home Depot Foundation, which just donated a million dollars to build 19 homes for the most seriously injured veterans.
“In Flip’s case, we’re going to build Flip‘s home,” said Gaven Gregory, director of the Home Depot Foundation. “We’re there to support Flip and our passion about getting his home built as fast as possible.”
And to fast-track it even more, all the online donations that come in over the next two weeks onwww.ourbravest.org will go to help build Flip and Jessica’s home.
“All the money coming in is going straight to Flip and Jessie’s house, so we can build it for them right away,” said Frank Siller. “Flip paid a big price for our contry. He needs our help right now.”
For the Kleins, it’s a dream come true.
“We are looking forward to our ‘forever’ home,” said Jessica. “When everything is uncertain – knowing this is actually going to be a reality is huge.”
“We smelled smoke the lights started to flicker, the alarms started going off,” Flip told WJLA in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Alerted by the Klein’s two dogs, their neighbors rushed in to help carry Flip from the home.
“It was amazing people were coming in and stepping on the burning front porch of this house to pull me into the front yard,” Flip said.
Everything they owned was burned to the ground – including the van that was specially equipped so Flip could drive on his own. It was a devastating loss, especially since they had moved in just five months ago after living at Walter Reed Hospital for 15 months while Flip recovered from his wounds.
“This house was our first chance to be real people again,” said Jessica.
Building for America’s Bravest
Within days, the Kleins were inundated with offers of help. But the most significant gift of all came from the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The foundation’s CEO, Frank Siller, called Jessica with the news that she and Flip would be put at the top of the waiting list for a brand new home equipped with the latest technology.
“When she found out that were moving them to the top of the list she broke down…very emotional,” said Siller. “She said, ‘I can’t believe what you’re doing for us.’ I said, ‘America’s doing it for you.’"
Siller’s family created the Foundation’s “Building for America’s Bravest” program in honor of his brother Stephen, a hero firefighter who died trying to save lives on Sept. 11, 2001.
“To be building these houses for the most catastrophically injured, I don’t know that we could be doing anything more worthy for these guys who paid such a high price protecting our country,” he said.
The Unsung Heroes Behind the Wounded Warriors
So far the Foundation has built 36 smart homes, each costing about half-a-million dollars and designed to help meet each wounded warriors’ specific needs.
“Off an iPad he can control the heat, light, air conditioning… the doors opening closing, kitchen cabinets open at the bottom,” said Siller. “So if he wants a glass and he’s in his wheelchair he doesn’t have to say, ‘Can someone get me a glass of water please?’”
The Kleins’ new home will be paid for in part by the Home Depot Foundation, which just donated a million dollars to build 19 homes for the most seriously injured veterans.
“In Flip’s case, we’re going to build Flip‘s home,” said Gaven Gregory, director of the Home Depot Foundation. “We’re there to support Flip and our passion about getting his home built as fast as possible.”
And to fast-track it even more, all the online donations that come in over the next two weeks onwww.ourbravest.org will go to help build Flip and Jessica’s home.
“All the money coming in is going straight to Flip and Jessie’s house, so we can build it for them right away,” said Frank Siller. “Flip paid a big price for our contry. He needs our help right now.”
For the Kleins, it’s a dream come true.
“We are looking forward to our ‘forever’ home,” said Jessica. “When everything is uncertain – knowing this is actually going to be a reality is huge.”
L-Z Grace Retreat: Helping Veterans Recover After Deployment
By Caterina Andreano, June 9, 2014
Since the 2010 death of her husband, a 32-year veteran Navy SEAL, Lynnette Bukowski has been working to fulfill a dream the pair shared: to create a space for returning military veterans to transition to civilian life.
“Over the years he [Steve] realized, after 9/11 and after we went to the war, that the need was greater to bring the men home and have them have a place to decompress,” said Bukowski, 55, of Virginia Beach, Virginia. “The pressure under which they work is so extreme.”
The Bukowskis’ dream is slowly becoming a reality. Landing Zone Grace Veterans Retreat just received its 501(c)(3) designated charity status and is expected to open in six months. The services will be entirely free for the veterans that attend.
L-Z Grace will be a haven for returning military to transition back into civilian life. It will initially be open for Special Forces personnel to recover from PTSD and any combat-related issues, before expanding to include any military veterans or those on active duty.
“I think that the thing that will set us apart at the end of the day is that this is a place they can rest and heal. They don’t have to go through hoops. There’s no graduation. There’s no necessary end result. They just have to find their own individual healing,” Bukowski said.
After investing thousands of her own money, starting a GoFundMe campaign that has so far raised $15,000 and receiving funding from an angel investor, Bukowski is now closing with the bank on a 4,000-square-foot house on a 35-acre property in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach that will serve as the retreat.
Twenty veterans will be able to participate at a time in seven- or 14-day retreats.
L-Z Grace will offer traditional and nontraditional methods of therapy. There will be equine therapy, a kennel for up to 10 service animals, chiropractors, yoga, guided medication, climbing, kayaking, and more. There will also be an assortment of mentors — up to six volunteer staff members at a time — to foster conversation and a therapeutic atmosphere.
Attending meals at the retreat will be mandatory. Bukowski hopes they will serve as a time for veterans to connect with each other and share their experiences. Many Special Ops veterans don’t talk about their time in combat because of their high security clearance. Bukowski hopes to work around this by only registering veterans with the same security clearance at one time.
“I want them to be able to talk about what they often can’t talk about,” she said.
There will be an application process within the military structure. Eventually veterans will be able to sign up to attend the retreat with their spouses, and their families.
“A huge problem among Special Ops is the high divorce rate, and it’s just not necessary,” Bukowski told ABC News.
According to a 2012 study by RAND Corporation, 14 percent of Army soldiers have reported symptoms of PTSD after deployments. The odds of divorce among deploying soldiers with PTSD symptoms are 50 percent to 90 percent higher than those without symptoms.
Bukowski experienced firsthand what combat missions did to her husband’s psyche.
“Steve practiced mediation when he came home from missions and deployment. It was something we unwillingly lived through for the 32 years we were married. He always needed a little time to isolate himself.”
Sean Evangelista, 40, of Ketchum, Idaho, a SEAL, has been in the Navy for the last 20 years. He has had more than 10 deployments in combat zones and suffers from a brain injury he received while in combat. His wife heard about L-Z Grace through Bukowski’s blog.
“I have some other war-related stressors that affected me after being exposed to war and conflict for extended periods of time,” Evangelista said. “There’s a dark cloud after a while…Everywhere you go memories come up, just little triggers.”
He and his wife, JoAnne, said they thought the retreat was not only a great idea but an entirely necessary one.
“[After combat] you’re almost extremely desensitized…So it’s [L-Z Grace] something that needs to be done to get people to bring it down a couple of notches before you go full steam ahead,” Evangelista said.
He hopes L-Z Grace will help his fellow veterans get the help they need before fully reintegrating themselves after deployments.
“What she’s doing, I think it’s right on target where you kind of want to go see your families and have a decompression time before you get fully integrated,” Evangelista said. “It can be a little bit of a shock coming from one extreme environment to another…you can be in combat and four days later you’re home in a restaurant and it’s just weird.”
Bukowski will continue to raise money for the retreat via the GoFundMe campaign until June 20.
“None of this is easy,” Bukowski said. “But there’s some understanding of what can be done to help these guys and then they can take those experiences back out to the world.”
To learn more about L-Z Grace: www.lz-grace.com
“Over the years he [Steve] realized, after 9/11 and after we went to the war, that the need was greater to bring the men home and have them have a place to decompress,” said Bukowski, 55, of Virginia Beach, Virginia. “The pressure under which they work is so extreme.”
The Bukowskis’ dream is slowly becoming a reality. Landing Zone Grace Veterans Retreat just received its 501(c)(3) designated charity status and is expected to open in six months. The services will be entirely free for the veterans that attend.
L-Z Grace will be a haven for returning military to transition back into civilian life. It will initially be open for Special Forces personnel to recover from PTSD and any combat-related issues, before expanding to include any military veterans or those on active duty.
“I think that the thing that will set us apart at the end of the day is that this is a place they can rest and heal. They don’t have to go through hoops. There’s no graduation. There’s no necessary end result. They just have to find their own individual healing,” Bukowski said.
After investing thousands of her own money, starting a GoFundMe campaign that has so far raised $15,000 and receiving funding from an angel investor, Bukowski is now closing with the bank on a 4,000-square-foot house on a 35-acre property in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach that will serve as the retreat.
Twenty veterans will be able to participate at a time in seven- or 14-day retreats.
L-Z Grace will offer traditional and nontraditional methods of therapy. There will be equine therapy, a kennel for up to 10 service animals, chiropractors, yoga, guided medication, climbing, kayaking, and more. There will also be an assortment of mentors — up to six volunteer staff members at a time — to foster conversation and a therapeutic atmosphere.
Attending meals at the retreat will be mandatory. Bukowski hopes they will serve as a time for veterans to connect with each other and share their experiences. Many Special Ops veterans don’t talk about their time in combat because of their high security clearance. Bukowski hopes to work around this by only registering veterans with the same security clearance at one time.
“I want them to be able to talk about what they often can’t talk about,” she said.
There will be an application process within the military structure. Eventually veterans will be able to sign up to attend the retreat with their spouses, and their families.
“A huge problem among Special Ops is the high divorce rate, and it’s just not necessary,” Bukowski told ABC News.
According to a 2012 study by RAND Corporation, 14 percent of Army soldiers have reported symptoms of PTSD after deployments. The odds of divorce among deploying soldiers with PTSD symptoms are 50 percent to 90 percent higher than those without symptoms.
Bukowski experienced firsthand what combat missions did to her husband’s psyche.
“Steve practiced mediation when he came home from missions and deployment. It was something we unwillingly lived through for the 32 years we were married. He always needed a little time to isolate himself.”
Sean Evangelista, 40, of Ketchum, Idaho, a SEAL, has been in the Navy for the last 20 years. He has had more than 10 deployments in combat zones and suffers from a brain injury he received while in combat. His wife heard about L-Z Grace through Bukowski’s blog.
“I have some other war-related stressors that affected me after being exposed to war and conflict for extended periods of time,” Evangelista said. “There’s a dark cloud after a while…Everywhere you go memories come up, just little triggers.”
He and his wife, JoAnne, said they thought the retreat was not only a great idea but an entirely necessary one.
“[After combat] you’re almost extremely desensitized…So it’s [L-Z Grace] something that needs to be done to get people to bring it down a couple of notches before you go full steam ahead,” Evangelista said.
He hopes L-Z Grace will help his fellow veterans get the help they need before fully reintegrating themselves after deployments.
“What she’s doing, I think it’s right on target where you kind of want to go see your families and have a decompression time before you get fully integrated,” Evangelista said. “It can be a little bit of a shock coming from one extreme environment to another…you can be in combat and four days later you’re home in a restaurant and it’s just weird.”
Bukowski will continue to raise money for the retreat via the GoFundMe campaign until June 20.
“None of this is easy,” Bukowski said. “But there’s some understanding of what can be done to help these guys and then they can take those experiences back out to the world.”
To learn more about L-Z Grace: www.lz-grace.com
Dream Mansion in 221 Square Feet Is Small Wonder
By Devin Dwyer, Caterina Andreano, And Tess Soctt, May 21, 2014
Andrew Morrison, 41, lives in what he dubs “the mansion of dreams” with wife Gabriella.
His Oregon house is complete with a grand staircase, a cozy master suite and a kitchen that’s worthy of a top chef.
“I mean I can do Donna Summer dance moves in here if I want to,” said Morrison, who teaches people how to build their own houses. “This place is huge.”
But the house may not appear mansionlike to everyone.
Morrison’s home is 221 square feet -that’s only slightly bigger than a Chevy Suburban and a lot smaller than your average 3,000-square-foot McMansion.
Images: Go inside Andrew Morrison’s 221-square-foot dream home
“It only took us four months to build,” Morrison told ABC News.
The cost to build: a mere $22,744.
The home might be small, but it’s not lacking in furnishings. Inside, there is a fireplace, home office, and even a guest bedroom. There’s plenty of custom storage and even a drawer just for potatoes.
“It’s very comfortable,” Morrison said.
Houses like Morrison’s are marvels of architecture with tiny price tags, enticing buyers stressed out by a full-size mortgage.
Jay Austin, a 24-year-old federal government staffer from Washington, D.C., also proudly owns a tiny house.
“I wanted just a very simple Thoreauvian sort of, you know, cabin in the woods,” said Austin.
Austin’s cabin is only 140 square feet and cost $40,000 to build. He dubbed his house “The Matchbox.”
His coffee table doubles as a bike rack; his bed is over the kitchen; and his ceiling doubles as a spice rack. The house even features a 42-inch TV and a skylight to watch the stars.
Tiny living has become a growing movement.
“I think that tiny houses have become so popular because we are looking for a way to escape the rat race, live a purposeful life and avoid debt. Tiny houses allow you to do all those things in one small package,” said Ryan Mitchell, a tiny living expert who runs a tiny living blog.
There are tiny hotels, tiny apartments, tiny granny flats and even tiny culture clubs. There’s a tiny houses conference held every year for tiny house enthusiasts to get together.
“Look at everything you own and determine whether it’s actually worth its value,” Austin said.
These tiny house dwellers said they discover more about who they really are with less.
ABC News’ Devin Dwyer, Tess Scott and Caterina Andreano contributed to this story.
His Oregon house is complete with a grand staircase, a cozy master suite and a kitchen that’s worthy of a top chef.
“I mean I can do Donna Summer dance moves in here if I want to,” said Morrison, who teaches people how to build their own houses. “This place is huge.”
But the house may not appear mansionlike to everyone.
Morrison’s home is 221 square feet -that’s only slightly bigger than a Chevy Suburban and a lot smaller than your average 3,000-square-foot McMansion.
Images: Go inside Andrew Morrison’s 221-square-foot dream home
“It only took us four months to build,” Morrison told ABC News.
The cost to build: a mere $22,744.
The home might be small, but it’s not lacking in furnishings. Inside, there is a fireplace, home office, and even a guest bedroom. There’s plenty of custom storage and even a drawer just for potatoes.
“It’s very comfortable,” Morrison said.
Houses like Morrison’s are marvels of architecture with tiny price tags, enticing buyers stressed out by a full-size mortgage.
Jay Austin, a 24-year-old federal government staffer from Washington, D.C., also proudly owns a tiny house.
“I wanted just a very simple Thoreauvian sort of, you know, cabin in the woods,” said Austin.
Austin’s cabin is only 140 square feet and cost $40,000 to build. He dubbed his house “The Matchbox.”
His coffee table doubles as a bike rack; his bed is over the kitchen; and his ceiling doubles as a spice rack. The house even features a 42-inch TV and a skylight to watch the stars.
Tiny living has become a growing movement.
“I think that tiny houses have become so popular because we are looking for a way to escape the rat race, live a purposeful life and avoid debt. Tiny houses allow you to do all those things in one small package,” said Ryan Mitchell, a tiny living expert who runs a tiny living blog.
There are tiny hotels, tiny apartments, tiny granny flats and even tiny culture clubs. There’s a tiny houses conference held every year for tiny house enthusiasts to get together.
“Look at everything you own and determine whether it’s actually worth its value,” Austin said.
These tiny house dwellers said they discover more about who they really are with less.
ABC News’ Devin Dwyer, Tess Scott and Caterina Andreano contributed to this story.
America Strong: Stranger Raises $35k for Exonerated Prisoner
By Dan harris, Caterina Andreano, and Emily Friedman, April 29, 2014
When Alex Sutaru heard the story of Jonathan Fleming, a Brooklyn man exonerated after doing nearly 25 years in a New York prison for a murder he didn’t commit, he knew he had to act.
“This is somebody that wasn’t guilty of a crime; he was wrongfully convicted,” Sutaru said. “After the hell he’s been through for the past 24 years he came out with a positive attitude and said he wants to live the rest of his life, go to school, be positive and today’s the first day of the rest of my life.”
Fleming had been freed three weeks ago by a key piece of evidence — a phone receipt in the case files all along that put him at Walt Disney World with his children when the murder was committed in New York.
Though his release was astounding and a long time coming, Fleming was returned with no home, no job and no money.
“I had about $93 in my account so that’s all I was given when I got out of prison, $93,” Fleming said. “I’m living from house to house with my cousins.”
Amazingly, even after all of the hardship he endured, he expressed not one ounce of resentment.
After being asked how he could not be angry after such an ordeal, Fleming said, “I just have to move forward. I’m just so happy to be out and I don’t want to live that way.”
So Sutaru, a 32-year-old Wall Street banker, moved by Fleming’s demeanor and his story, went online and created a fundraising campaign.
Click here for more information on the campaign.
Within days the campaign raised nearly $35,000 from more than 600 people in 14 countries. The money will help Fleming afford a place to live and food to eat as well as get him on his feet while he looks for a job.
“I think people recognize that donating a little they can help this person integrate back into society and build a life for himself that was wrongly taken away from him,” he said. “People are good. There is some bad out there but most people are good.”
On Monday, Fleming and Sutaru met for the first time.
“I want to thank you, man, I really do, I want you to know that, it really means a lot that you did this for me,” Fleming said. “You’re a wonderful man to do this for me. I appreciate it.”
“People, you know, I never thought they’d do this for me,” he told ABC News. “I look at things really different now, I really do, I look at things real different.”
“This is somebody that wasn’t guilty of a crime; he was wrongfully convicted,” Sutaru said. “After the hell he’s been through for the past 24 years he came out with a positive attitude and said he wants to live the rest of his life, go to school, be positive and today’s the first day of the rest of my life.”
Fleming had been freed three weeks ago by a key piece of evidence — a phone receipt in the case files all along that put him at Walt Disney World with his children when the murder was committed in New York.
Though his release was astounding and a long time coming, Fleming was returned with no home, no job and no money.
“I had about $93 in my account so that’s all I was given when I got out of prison, $93,” Fleming said. “I’m living from house to house with my cousins.”
Amazingly, even after all of the hardship he endured, he expressed not one ounce of resentment.
After being asked how he could not be angry after such an ordeal, Fleming said, “I just have to move forward. I’m just so happy to be out and I don’t want to live that way.”
So Sutaru, a 32-year-old Wall Street banker, moved by Fleming’s demeanor and his story, went online and created a fundraising campaign.
Click here for more information on the campaign.
Within days the campaign raised nearly $35,000 from more than 600 people in 14 countries. The money will help Fleming afford a place to live and food to eat as well as get him on his feet while he looks for a job.
“I think people recognize that donating a little they can help this person integrate back into society and build a life for himself that was wrongly taken away from him,” he said. “People are good. There is some bad out there but most people are good.”
On Monday, Fleming and Sutaru met for the first time.
“I want to thank you, man, I really do, I want you to know that, it really means a lot that you did this for me,” Fleming said. “You’re a wonderful man to do this for me. I appreciate it.”
“People, you know, I never thought they’d do this for me,” he told ABC News. “I look at things really different now, I really do, I look at things real different.”
Convicted Murderer Finds Redemption Training Dogs to Help Autistic Kids
By Steve Osunsami, Caterina Andreano and Michael Koenigs, March 19, 2014
Chris Vogt wept as he discussed his past.
Vogt is prisoner 100765, and he is doing hard time. In 1998, he was sentenced to 48 years in Colorado prison for second-degree murder. “I am in prison on a murder sentence that I’m guilty of,” Vogt emotionally told ABC News.
But for the families of nine autistic children, this convicted murderer is something of a savior. He has helped turn their lives around.
Since 2002, Colorado Correctional Industries has provided its inmates abandoned dogs to train, through a program called Colorado Cell Dogs, profiled in the documentary “Saving Castaways.”
Prisoners have learned to train service dogs for the blind and deaf, but Vogt took it further. With nothing but time on his hands, he read all he could about autism, and came up with unique training techniques for service dogs–aimed at helping autistic children overcome behavioral and emotional issues.
Related: Prison gardens grow new lives for inmates
The dogs come from local shelters and Vogt trains them inside his cell, acting out problem behaviors himself. He trains each dog to meet a specific child’s need.
He taught one dog to help nuzzle a child, so she would sleep at night. And he trained another to nudge and snap a child out of his fits and tantrums.
Arthur and Susy Tucker, the parents of Zachary, 9, were desperate for anything that would help their son with his Asperger’s syndrome. He was refusing to be touched and his emotional anxiety sometimes ran so high that he would curl up into a ball on the floor during class.
“I’m no autism expert, but I’m a teacher who works with kid with disabilities every day, and Zachary was bad,” said Erin Carroll, Tucker’s teacher. “He would crunch down in a fetal position at his desk, he wouldn't talk, he was inconsolable.”
On weekends the family started sending their son 200 miles to the high-security prison to work with Vogt, and eventually to take home one of his dogs.
Tucker’s new dog, Clyde, is trained to nudge and poke whenever he feels anxiety building and the process seems to be working.
“My anxiety has been brought down by at least 70 percent and I've been calm enough to socialize with kids, which I haven’t been able to do in a long time,” Zachary said.
Now Zachary and his dog Clyde are suddenly the cool kids at school. Before, he was a troubled student failing in class. Today he’s reading at grade level, and his math and science skills are off the charts.
“He’s really advanced in science, in math,” said one of Zachary’s classmates. “He knows more than I do!”
The boy and his family traveled back again to the prison with ABC News, to meet the convicted murderer who made such a difference. The boy, who never liked being touched, gave the prisoner a hug.
“Here’s a man that isn't allowed any physical contact,” said Susy Tucker. “And yet [Mr. Vogt has] given my son the ability to hug and to care about other people and he can now do this for you.”
“He made a mission out of helping our son,” said Arthur Tucker.
From his prison yard, Vogt spoke of redemption.
“This is thing I do to give back,” Vogt said. “When Zach and even the other kids get to work with me, they don’t get to see the murderer. This has given me a chance to do something better.”
Vogt is prisoner 100765, and he is doing hard time. In 1998, he was sentenced to 48 years in Colorado prison for second-degree murder. “I am in prison on a murder sentence that I’m guilty of,” Vogt emotionally told ABC News.
But for the families of nine autistic children, this convicted murderer is something of a savior. He has helped turn their lives around.
Since 2002, Colorado Correctional Industries has provided its inmates abandoned dogs to train, through a program called Colorado Cell Dogs, profiled in the documentary “Saving Castaways.”
Prisoners have learned to train service dogs for the blind and deaf, but Vogt took it further. With nothing but time on his hands, he read all he could about autism, and came up with unique training techniques for service dogs–aimed at helping autistic children overcome behavioral and emotional issues.
Related: Prison gardens grow new lives for inmates
The dogs come from local shelters and Vogt trains them inside his cell, acting out problem behaviors himself. He trains each dog to meet a specific child’s need.
He taught one dog to help nuzzle a child, so she would sleep at night. And he trained another to nudge and snap a child out of his fits and tantrums.
Arthur and Susy Tucker, the parents of Zachary, 9, were desperate for anything that would help their son with his Asperger’s syndrome. He was refusing to be touched and his emotional anxiety sometimes ran so high that he would curl up into a ball on the floor during class.
“I’m no autism expert, but I’m a teacher who works with kid with disabilities every day, and Zachary was bad,” said Erin Carroll, Tucker’s teacher. “He would crunch down in a fetal position at his desk, he wouldn't talk, he was inconsolable.”
On weekends the family started sending their son 200 miles to the high-security prison to work with Vogt, and eventually to take home one of his dogs.
Tucker’s new dog, Clyde, is trained to nudge and poke whenever he feels anxiety building and the process seems to be working.
“My anxiety has been brought down by at least 70 percent and I've been calm enough to socialize with kids, which I haven’t been able to do in a long time,” Zachary said.
Now Zachary and his dog Clyde are suddenly the cool kids at school. Before, he was a troubled student failing in class. Today he’s reading at grade level, and his math and science skills are off the charts.
“He’s really advanced in science, in math,” said one of Zachary’s classmates. “He knows more than I do!”
The boy and his family traveled back again to the prison with ABC News, to meet the convicted murderer who made such a difference. The boy, who never liked being touched, gave the prisoner a hug.
“Here’s a man that isn't allowed any physical contact,” said Susy Tucker. “And yet [Mr. Vogt has] given my son the ability to hug and to care about other people and he can now do this for you.”
“He made a mission out of helping our son,” said Arthur Tucker.
From his prison yard, Vogt spoke of redemption.
“This is thing I do to give back,” Vogt said. “When Zach and even the other kids get to work with me, they don’t get to see the murderer. This has given me a chance to do something better.”
Susie’s Senior Dogs: Putting Adoptable Aging Dogs in the Spotlight
By Dan Harris And Caterina Andreano, March 4, 2014
This is the face that launched a campaign to save some of America’s most vulnerable dogs.
“She looks like a punk rocker, but she acts like a nun,” said Brandon Stanton of his dog, Susie.
Stanton, with his girlfriend Erin O’Sullivan, is the man behind the wildly popular blog, “Humans of New York,” which features photos and stories of interesting New Yorkers.
He met Susie while on the job.
“I had never seen a dog that was that interesting,” Stanton said. “I called her the greatest dog in New York.”
Stanton posted a photo of Susie to HONY and Susie’s owner saw it. A week later, the owner came up to him and asked Stanton if he wanted the dog.
He ended up adopting her despite her age – she’s 13 – and they fell in love.
“She’s old, and she’s attached,” Stanton said of Susie. “She wants to be with me everywhere.”
“She loves him so much,” said O’Sullivan.
Susie is lucky. Most people prefer puppies when adopting dogs and older dogs have a hard time finding a home.
“The alternative is to either be in a shelter, or even worse,” Tiffany Lacey of Animal Haven, an animal shelter in New York.
Despite that fact, senior dogs actually have a lot going for them.
“If you’re just looking for…someone to completely love you, the senior pet is the way to go,” Lacey told ABC News.
So O’Sullivan decided to take up Susie’s cause. She started a Facebook page, “Susie’s Senior Dogs,” to find aging dogs new families.
Stanton posted it and it went viral. The first dog, 13-year-old Nina, was adopted in just two days.
“She brings a lot of happiness to the house,” said Jesse Simon, one of Nina’s owners.
“I think that’s because she’s a senior dog,” Moira Foehr, Nina’s other owner, said. “She’s been perfect.”
“It started informally without any kind of plan” O’Sullivan said of the Facebook page, which launched at the end of January. “I wasn’t expecting for dogs to get adopted right away.”
But “Susie’s Senior Dogs” has had more than 20 success stories so far.
Max, 10, adopted in Virginia Beach and Rosco, 6, adopted in Oregon are among the lucky ones.
“I don’t want it to be all talk but talk and action,” O’Sullivan said.
There are many dogs that are still waiting to be adopted, including Heartthrob, who is up for adoption at Animal Haven in NY.
One funny little dog’s face turned into one big viral movement – saving lives, in that classic “America Strong” tradition, by rooting for the underdog.
“She looks like a punk rocker, but she acts like a nun,” said Brandon Stanton of his dog, Susie.
Stanton, with his girlfriend Erin O’Sullivan, is the man behind the wildly popular blog, “Humans of New York,” which features photos and stories of interesting New Yorkers.
He met Susie while on the job.
“I had never seen a dog that was that interesting,” Stanton said. “I called her the greatest dog in New York.”
Stanton posted a photo of Susie to HONY and Susie’s owner saw it. A week later, the owner came up to him and asked Stanton if he wanted the dog.
He ended up adopting her despite her age – she’s 13 – and they fell in love.
“She’s old, and she’s attached,” Stanton said of Susie. “She wants to be with me everywhere.”
“She loves him so much,” said O’Sullivan.
Susie is lucky. Most people prefer puppies when adopting dogs and older dogs have a hard time finding a home.
“The alternative is to either be in a shelter, or even worse,” Tiffany Lacey of Animal Haven, an animal shelter in New York.
Despite that fact, senior dogs actually have a lot going for them.
“If you’re just looking for…someone to completely love you, the senior pet is the way to go,” Lacey told ABC News.
So O’Sullivan decided to take up Susie’s cause. She started a Facebook page, “Susie’s Senior Dogs,” to find aging dogs new families.
Stanton posted it and it went viral. The first dog, 13-year-old Nina, was adopted in just two days.
“She brings a lot of happiness to the house,” said Jesse Simon, one of Nina’s owners.
“I think that’s because she’s a senior dog,” Moira Foehr, Nina’s other owner, said. “She’s been perfect.”
“It started informally without any kind of plan” O’Sullivan said of the Facebook page, which launched at the end of January. “I wasn’t expecting for dogs to get adopted right away.”
But “Susie’s Senior Dogs” has had more than 20 success stories so far.
Max, 10, adopted in Virginia Beach and Rosco, 6, adopted in Oregon are among the lucky ones.
“I don’t want it to be all talk but talk and action,” O’Sullivan said.
There are many dogs that are still waiting to be adopted, including Heartthrob, who is up for adoption at Animal Haven in NY.
One funny little dog’s face turned into one big viral movement – saving lives, in that classic “America Strong” tradition, by rooting for the underdog.
Icy Winter Wallop Blamed for 18 Deaths
by Caterina Andreano and Dan Good, February 13, 2014
The storm that held the South and the Northeast in its icy grip has been blamed for 18 deaths and has left as many as 800,000 homes and businesses without power.
The combination of snow, ice and frigid temperatures was particularly deadly on roadways.
Among the fatalities was a pregnant woman who was struck and killed by a snowplow in New York City, which had been slammed with 11 inches of snow. Her baby was delivered in critical condition via cesarean section.
A truck driver in Ashburn, Va., was standing behind his snow plow truck when he was hit by a dump truck.
Dallas firefighter William Scott Tanksley, 40, was killed Monday night while helping the passengers of a car crash on a highway overpass when another driver slid out of control on the icy highway. The car knocked Tanksley from the overpass onto Interstate 20 below.
Another three people were killed in Texas on Tuesday when an ambulance lost control and hurtled off a slippery highway. The vehicle caught fire while transporting 45-year-old Jose Cruz Gurrola. Driver Joann Adamiak Moore, 45, died in the crash along with Gurrola and his brother, Anacleto Gonzalez Gurrola, 43, who was accompanying him.
The storm has knocked out power to nearly 800,000 homes and businesses across the South, leaving people shivering in their homes.
For many flying is out the question as thousands of flights were canceled because of the storm, according to FlightAware.com.
Over 11 inches of snow was reported around Washington, D.C. and snowfall totals in western Virginia topped 10 inches. Up to six inches fell in Delaware and southern New Jersey before switching over to light rain.
Winter storm watches, warnings or advisories remain in effect for 19 states, from Alabama to Maine.
The precipitation is expected to until tonight or early Friday.
ABC News' Samantha Wnek and Matt Hosford and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The combination of snow, ice and frigid temperatures was particularly deadly on roadways.
Among the fatalities was a pregnant woman who was struck and killed by a snowplow in New York City, which had been slammed with 11 inches of snow. Her baby was delivered in critical condition via cesarean section.
A truck driver in Ashburn, Va., was standing behind his snow plow truck when he was hit by a dump truck.
Dallas firefighter William Scott Tanksley, 40, was killed Monday night while helping the passengers of a car crash on a highway overpass when another driver slid out of control on the icy highway. The car knocked Tanksley from the overpass onto Interstate 20 below.
Another three people were killed in Texas on Tuesday when an ambulance lost control and hurtled off a slippery highway. The vehicle caught fire while transporting 45-year-old Jose Cruz Gurrola. Driver Joann Adamiak Moore, 45, died in the crash along with Gurrola and his brother, Anacleto Gonzalez Gurrola, 43, who was accompanying him.
The storm has knocked out power to nearly 800,000 homes and businesses across the South, leaving people shivering in their homes.
For many flying is out the question as thousands of flights were canceled because of the storm, according to FlightAware.com.
Over 11 inches of snow was reported around Washington, D.C. and snowfall totals in western Virginia topped 10 inches. Up to six inches fell in Delaware and southern New Jersey before switching over to light rain.
Winter storm watches, warnings or advisories remain in effect for 19 states, from Alabama to Maine.
The precipitation is expected to until tonight or early Friday.
ABC News' Samantha Wnek and Matt Hosford and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Into the World of Miniature Food Photography
By Caterina Andreano, January 6, 2014
Husband-wife duo Pierre Javelle, 43, and Akiko Ido, 41, are trying to take miniature food photography to the next level.
“At first we wanted to create the food photography out of ordinary,” Ido said. “The idea of using these small people in the food world to tell their stories came quite naturally.”
Based in Paris, the couple turns a pile of peanuts into an art gallery, eggs into a tennis court and donuts into a golf course.
The series name “Minimiam” is a mix of the words mini and “miam,” which means “yummy” in French.
With the naked eye, one can miss the intense detail that goes into making the intricate food photos.
But thanks to Ido and Javelle, the complex scenes come to life in the final shot. The couple met at the art school École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and work together as freelance photographers.
Ido said the elaborate miniature food photography invites viewers to look at things, “carefully, with respect and with attention.”
Click here to see more of the Minimiam series.
“At first we wanted to create the food photography out of ordinary,” Ido said. “The idea of using these small people in the food world to tell their stories came quite naturally.”
Based in Paris, the couple turns a pile of peanuts into an art gallery, eggs into a tennis court and donuts into a golf course.
The series name “Minimiam” is a mix of the words mini and “miam,” which means “yummy” in French.
With the naked eye, one can miss the intense detail that goes into making the intricate food photos.
But thanks to Ido and Javelle, the complex scenes come to life in the final shot. The couple met at the art school École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and work together as freelance photographers.
Ido said the elaborate miniature food photography invites viewers to look at things, “carefully, with respect and with attention.”
Click here to see more of the Minimiam series.
One Woman's Quest to Save Dogs' Lives With a Camera
By Steve Osunsami and Caterina Andreano, December 4, 2013
Photographer Shannon Johnstone saves the lives of unwanted dogs with her camera. She turns the sad photos of dogs waiting to be adopted into happy photos with families.
She specifically photographs dogs that have been waiting in the shelter the longest: large dogs, pit bull mixes and dogs with black fur. The shelters say that dogs with black coats are harder to place in homes.
The Wake County Animal Shelter outside Raleigh, N.C., calls Johnstone an angel. So far, her pictures have found homes for 67 of its dogs. Most of them were running out of time. The shelter can only hold so many.
"I wanted to specifically focus on the ones who had been there the longest, because they're not going to have much time left," Johnstone said.
Every week, Johnstone and her husband, Anthony, take dogs from the shelter to a landfill across town where the magic happens. For many of the dogs, it's the first time in months they've been able to escape their small pens at the shelter.
"They're here sometimes for 30 days or more, they get out and they're so joyous. They're showcasing this energy, this optimism that they're still waiting for that perfect person and, hopefully, that will come," said Jennifer Federico, the animal services director at the Wake County Animal Shelter.
On Johnstone's Facebook page that's dedicated to the dogs, the photos have become wildly popular. Thousands of families visit the page, and fall in love with the dogs that play and fly.
"I'll wake up in the middle of the night and be like, did they get their home yet?" Johnstone told ABC News.
Scott and Sherri Lynch were looking at that Facebook page when they saw Carlos' picture flash by.
"He's not boring like cats," the Lynch's son, Ryan, said.
They adopted Carlos the next day.
"If we had just gone to the shelter, I would never have looked at him because he's big," said Sherri Lynch of the pit bull mix. "Who would have known he's such a sweetheart. Thanks to Shannon, she helped us pick him out, which was so nice."
The shelter screens each dog for behavior and sociability, but some potential dog owners require convincing.
The pictures do the job.
"Some of their faces are so expressive in her photos that you really can almost feel for these dogs, and you want them. How can you not? You want some of that fun in your life!" Federico said.
Johnstone says the key is exactly that -- taking pictures that show the fun and joy of the dog instead of the frustration that frightens families when they visit the shelters.
"Everyone finds themselves having bad times. These dogs are just fallen on hard times," said Johnstone. "I feel like having good pictures helps them tremendously, because they've been there so long that whatever is being done right now isn't working."
To learn more, click here.
She specifically photographs dogs that have been waiting in the shelter the longest: large dogs, pit bull mixes and dogs with black fur. The shelters say that dogs with black coats are harder to place in homes.
The Wake County Animal Shelter outside Raleigh, N.C., calls Johnstone an angel. So far, her pictures have found homes for 67 of its dogs. Most of them were running out of time. The shelter can only hold so many.
"I wanted to specifically focus on the ones who had been there the longest, because they're not going to have much time left," Johnstone said.
Every week, Johnstone and her husband, Anthony, take dogs from the shelter to a landfill across town where the magic happens. For many of the dogs, it's the first time in months they've been able to escape their small pens at the shelter.
"They're here sometimes for 30 days or more, they get out and they're so joyous. They're showcasing this energy, this optimism that they're still waiting for that perfect person and, hopefully, that will come," said Jennifer Federico, the animal services director at the Wake County Animal Shelter.
On Johnstone's Facebook page that's dedicated to the dogs, the photos have become wildly popular. Thousands of families visit the page, and fall in love with the dogs that play and fly.
"I'll wake up in the middle of the night and be like, did they get their home yet?" Johnstone told ABC News.
Scott and Sherri Lynch were looking at that Facebook page when they saw Carlos' picture flash by.
"He's not boring like cats," the Lynch's son, Ryan, said.
They adopted Carlos the next day.
"If we had just gone to the shelter, I would never have looked at him because he's big," said Sherri Lynch of the pit bull mix. "Who would have known he's such a sweetheart. Thanks to Shannon, she helped us pick him out, which was so nice."
The shelter screens each dog for behavior and sociability, but some potential dog owners require convincing.
The pictures do the job.
"Some of their faces are so expressive in her photos that you really can almost feel for these dogs, and you want them. How can you not? You want some of that fun in your life!" Federico said.
Johnstone says the key is exactly that -- taking pictures that show the fun and joy of the dog instead of the frustration that frightens families when they visit the shelters.
"Everyone finds themselves having bad times. These dogs are just fallen on hard times," said Johnstone. "I feel like having good pictures helps them tremendously, because they've been there so long that whatever is being done right now isn't working."
To learn more, click here.
Trees for Troops: Free Christmas Trees Light Up Military Families
By Caterina Andreano, December 3, 2013
Trees for Troops is making the holidays a little bit better for thousands of military families with free Christmas trees delivered to bases throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Born from a partnership between the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and FedEx, the organization has provided more than 122,000 trees since 2005. The trees are donated from contributing tree farms in North America and from the public.
The deliveries are made possible by FedEx, the charity’s grand sponsor, which ships the trees for free.
“Our employees are very supportive of this endeavor as many have served and many are serving,” said FedEx spokesperson Paula Bosler. “The Christmas SPIRIT Foundation reached out to us as they needed a means to help get these trees delivered and so we thought it was a wonderful program and it’s turned out to be a wonderful network of teamwork.”
Rick Dungey, of Trees for Troops, said that the feedback they get from the service members and their families is the best part of the job.
“We get emails and pictures, letters and all kinds of communication back from those that get a tree,” said Dungey. “Some people who get a tree to tell us, ‘We weren’t even in the mood for Christmas until we got the tree and now we feel a little better and we’re going to celebrate.’ It just becomes a labor of love at that point.”
In 2012, Trees for Troops provided 18,694 Christmas trees donated by 750 growers and retailers in 28 states.
This year trees have already been sent to abroad to bases in Afghanistan and Southwest Asia and domestic tree deliveries begin today.
Trees for Troops weekend kicks off this Friday when consumers can buy and donate trees through participating retailers.
“We are impacting people’s lives in a positive way and that just makes it all worth it,” said Dungey.
To learn more, visit Trees for Troops.
Born from a partnership between the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation and FedEx, the organization has provided more than 122,000 trees since 2005. The trees are donated from contributing tree farms in North America and from the public.
The deliveries are made possible by FedEx, the charity’s grand sponsor, which ships the trees for free.
“Our employees are very supportive of this endeavor as many have served and many are serving,” said FedEx spokesperson Paula Bosler. “The Christmas SPIRIT Foundation reached out to us as they needed a means to help get these trees delivered and so we thought it was a wonderful program and it’s turned out to be a wonderful network of teamwork.”
Rick Dungey, of Trees for Troops, said that the feedback they get from the service members and their families is the best part of the job.
“We get emails and pictures, letters and all kinds of communication back from those that get a tree,” said Dungey. “Some people who get a tree to tell us, ‘We weren’t even in the mood for Christmas until we got the tree and now we feel a little better and we’re going to celebrate.’ It just becomes a labor of love at that point.”
In 2012, Trees for Troops provided 18,694 Christmas trees donated by 750 growers and retailers in 28 states.
This year trees have already been sent to abroad to bases in Afghanistan and Southwest Asia and domestic tree deliveries begin today.
Trees for Troops weekend kicks off this Friday when consumers can buy and donate trees through participating retailers.
“We are impacting people’s lives in a positive way and that just makes it all worth it,” said Dungey.
To learn more, visit Trees for Troops.
Lava Mae: Creating Showers on Wheels for the Homeless
By Caterina Andreano, November 14, 2013
San Francisco, unofficially dubbed one of the homeless capitals of the U.S., counts nearly 6,500 homeless people in 2013, according to recent city numbers, with 4,300 people living on the street.
Among the many problems the homeless face is little or no access to showers. San Francisco only has about 16 to 20 shower stalls to accommodate them.
But Doniece Sandoval has made it her mission to change that.
“Homelessness is something you can’t really miss in San Francisco,” the 51-year-old former marketing executive told ABC News.
She started Lava Mae, a sort of showers on wheels, a new project that aims to turn decommissioned city buses into shower stations for the homeless.
“One day I passed a woman in the street and she was very dirty and basically crying, and I heard her say that she would never be clean. There’s obviously a lot of layers to that but I was wondering what her opportunities were to actually get clean,” Sandoval said.
She also said the gentrification of her San Francisco neighborhood had pushed people, including her neighbor, onto the street.
“His name was Mr. Earl and he was a Vietnam vet – a lovely man. At the time I would walk my daughter and he’d stop and chat with us. About two years ago he was evicted and ended up on the street. The last time we saw him was about six months ago. He was just in really bad shape,” she said. “We just realized that this shouldn’t be happening. These are human beings.”
Sandoval was inspired to ditch her marketing career and start Lava Mae. The project has already been welcomed with open arms in the city.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has donated one bus for the cause and is willing to donate three more in the future if the project succeeds. Sandoval hopes the first bus will be able to hit the road in March.
The Public Utilities Commission has also agreed to let the buses plug into fire hydrants around the city if Lava Mae pays for the water.
One of Lava Mae’s biggest supporters is Bevan Dufty, the director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships & Engagement under the mayor of San Francisco.
“For people who are unhoused, access to showers is very difficult. Shower buses are something that could potentially be deployed in response to an emergency, so it is relevant to all San Franciscans,” Dufty said. “Doniece has done an incredible job as a citizen who cares about helping the poor. We are very excited to see Lava Mae become real next year.”
Each bus will have two shower stations and Sandoval expects that by 2015, they’ll be able to provide 2000 showers a week.
The project is currently $80,000 short of its first year’s budget of $365,000 and is run on donations. Lava Mae has a fiscal sponsorship through the nonprofit ZERO 1, The Art and Technology Network, but hopes to apply for its own nonprofit status next year.
To learn more about Lava Mae, visit the website at http://www.lavamae.org/.
Among the many problems the homeless face is little or no access to showers. San Francisco only has about 16 to 20 shower stalls to accommodate them.
But Doniece Sandoval has made it her mission to change that.
“Homelessness is something you can’t really miss in San Francisco,” the 51-year-old former marketing executive told ABC News.
She started Lava Mae, a sort of showers on wheels, a new project that aims to turn decommissioned city buses into shower stations for the homeless.
“One day I passed a woman in the street and she was very dirty and basically crying, and I heard her say that she would never be clean. There’s obviously a lot of layers to that but I was wondering what her opportunities were to actually get clean,” Sandoval said.
She also said the gentrification of her San Francisco neighborhood had pushed people, including her neighbor, onto the street.
“His name was Mr. Earl and he was a Vietnam vet – a lovely man. At the time I would walk my daughter and he’d stop and chat with us. About two years ago he was evicted and ended up on the street. The last time we saw him was about six months ago. He was just in really bad shape,” she said. “We just realized that this shouldn’t be happening. These are human beings.”
Sandoval was inspired to ditch her marketing career and start Lava Mae. The project has already been welcomed with open arms in the city.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has donated one bus for the cause and is willing to donate three more in the future if the project succeeds. Sandoval hopes the first bus will be able to hit the road in March.
The Public Utilities Commission has also agreed to let the buses plug into fire hydrants around the city if Lava Mae pays for the water.
One of Lava Mae’s biggest supporters is Bevan Dufty, the director of Housing Opportunity, Partnerships & Engagement under the mayor of San Francisco.
“For people who are unhoused, access to showers is very difficult. Shower buses are something that could potentially be deployed in response to an emergency, so it is relevant to all San Franciscans,” Dufty said. “Doniece has done an incredible job as a citizen who cares about helping the poor. We are very excited to see Lava Mae become real next year.”
Each bus will have two shower stations and Sandoval expects that by 2015, they’ll be able to provide 2000 showers a week.
The project is currently $80,000 short of its first year’s budget of $365,000 and is run on donations. Lava Mae has a fiscal sponsorship through the nonprofit ZERO 1, The Art and Technology Network, but hopes to apply for its own nonprofit status next year.
To learn more about Lava Mae, visit the website at http://www.lavamae.org/.
Vested Interest in K-9s Arms Police Dogs with Bulletproof Vests
By Caterina Andreano, October 3, 2013
Dogs are man’s best friend–at home and in the line of duty too.
Enlisting police dogs is a common practice in police departments across the U.S., but bullet- proof canine vests are not part of departments’ regular budgets. Police department’s often can’t find the money to vest their canine officers.
Vested Interest in K-9s is trying to change that.
In 2009, Sandy Marcal founded the organization, a non-profit dedicated to raising money to provide bullet- and stab-protective vests for law enforcement dogs throughout the U.S.
“I’ve always been an animal lover,” said Marcal. “When I found out that agencies didn’t have the opportunities to provide vests due to budget constraints, I started planning events here in Massachusetts and doing fundraising as an independent volunteer…then I decided to incorporate it as a non-profit in order to have opportunities to vest dogs nationwide.”
Her goal? To vest every K-9 in the U.S.
The canine vests retail around $2,800, but because Armor Express has granted Vested Interest in K-9s a government contract price, the organization can buy the vests for $950.
So far the organization has provided vests for 450 police dogs in 36 states.
Marcal said dedicated volunteers and donors make it possible.
Jodi Roos is one of those volunteers.
“My husband is a Vermont state trooper and he became a canine handler,” Roos said. “I had found out that his dog didn’t have a vest and wasn’t going to be issued a vest.”
One year later, Roos has helped raise money for 19 vests by working with Vested Interest in K-9s, including one for her husband’s K-9, Quincy.
Many of the K-9 fundraising stories are inspiring.
“Once there was a couple who was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Their grown children contacted me to say that they wanted K-9 vests for their present,” said Marcel. “So the children presented it to their parents at their anniversary party and the recipient canine and his handler were there too.”
That is just one of the many inspirational stories of Vested Interest in K-9s donors. In September, 10-year-old Allison Henry from Holyoke, Mass., asked for donations for her birthday instead of presents. She raised $1,000 for a local K-9 named Ryker to get a vest.
“If they are willing to standard issue the human officers safety vests I feel that they should also be standard issuing the canine officers bullet-proof vests,” said Roos.
But for now, Vested Interest in K-9s has fundraising events scheduled all across the country to raise awareness and money for the cause.
Enlisting police dogs is a common practice in police departments across the U.S., but bullet- proof canine vests are not part of departments’ regular budgets. Police department’s often can’t find the money to vest their canine officers.
Vested Interest in K-9s is trying to change that.
In 2009, Sandy Marcal founded the organization, a non-profit dedicated to raising money to provide bullet- and stab-protective vests for law enforcement dogs throughout the U.S.
“I’ve always been an animal lover,” said Marcal. “When I found out that agencies didn’t have the opportunities to provide vests due to budget constraints, I started planning events here in Massachusetts and doing fundraising as an independent volunteer…then I decided to incorporate it as a non-profit in order to have opportunities to vest dogs nationwide.”
Her goal? To vest every K-9 in the U.S.
The canine vests retail around $2,800, but because Armor Express has granted Vested Interest in K-9s a government contract price, the organization can buy the vests for $950.
So far the organization has provided vests for 450 police dogs in 36 states.
Marcal said dedicated volunteers and donors make it possible.
Jodi Roos is one of those volunteers.
“My husband is a Vermont state trooper and he became a canine handler,” Roos said. “I had found out that his dog didn’t have a vest and wasn’t going to be issued a vest.”
One year later, Roos has helped raise money for 19 vests by working with Vested Interest in K-9s, including one for her husband’s K-9, Quincy.
Many of the K-9 fundraising stories are inspiring.
“Once there was a couple who was celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. Their grown children contacted me to say that they wanted K-9 vests for their present,” said Marcel. “So the children presented it to their parents at their anniversary party and the recipient canine and his handler were there too.”
That is just one of the many inspirational stories of Vested Interest in K-9s donors. In September, 10-year-old Allison Henry from Holyoke, Mass., asked for donations for her birthday instead of presents. She raised $1,000 for a local K-9 named Ryker to get a vest.
“If they are willing to standard issue the human officers safety vests I feel that they should also be standard issuing the canine officers bullet-proof vests,” said Roos.
But for now, Vested Interest in K-9s has fundraising events scheduled all across the country to raise awareness and money for the cause.
Success of Famous Levittown Theater Troupe Now Rests With Former Pupil
By Caterina Andreano, August 28, 2013
Harry S. Truman High School in Levittown, Pa., is not the place one would expect to find a nationally acclaimed theater troupe. But the drama program is credited by so many students with changing their lives.
“I’m not a shy person anymore … and theater definitely, definitely did that for me,” Sharron Harran, a junior at the school, told ABC News.
Levittown is a blue-collar city that fell into disrepair after the coal industry began its decline. But the lackluster town is home to a high school theater program that Music Theater International works with to adapt major hit productions so that they are appropriate for high school stages across the country.
The success of the program was bolstered under the leadership of renowned director Lou Volpe, who spent four decades turning theater into an extracurricular activity for even the unlikeliest of high school students – such as Tim Hild, a varsity soccer player who now balances his time on the field with time on the stage.
“Without being judged about it, you can be one person one day and the next person the next day,” Hild said about acting.
Volpe retired in June and left his former student, Tracy Krause, in charge of the drama program.
“Lou is not just a former teacher and a co-worker. He’s my family. He embodies everything that a teacher would want to be,” Krause said.
Krause graduated from the high school in 1993 and was part of Volpe’s first theater troupe to have made it to the National Theater Fest.
“He’s one of the reasons that I became a teacher,” Krause said of her predecessor.
Now, Volpe’s legacy is left in her hands. In trying to maintain the sense of fearlessness with which Volpe ran his program, she has chosen “Catch Me if You Can,” as her first musical.
The unique productions have attracted students like Hild, Kraus said.
“Tim is not your typical theater student. … There’s just something about him,” Krause said. “He’s not afraid and that’s just a characteristic, whether it’s on the soccer field or in the classroom, that you want. And he encompasses that regardless of the stereotypes of theater.”
With earrings and a goatee, Hild looks every bit the soccer player he is. He admitted he is not the stereotypical theater geek but said he loves drama.
Asked why he even joined, Hild shrugged.
“I heard from a couple of people that it was fun,” he said.
But the program’s effect on Hild was clearly visible. He takes his acting seriously.
“It just has to come from within you,” Hild said. “When you’re being other people, you have to bring all that you have to be that person.”
Hild, the son of a landscaper, had no interest in theater before attending Harry S. Truman High School. His transformation into an actor is one of the many little miracles Volpe’s program made possible.
Krause hopes to follow in Volpe’s footsteps.
“He’s the reason I’m here,’ Krause said. “The teachers here brag, ‘I work at Truman. Have you seen one of our shows?’ It’s a great thing and everyone takes pride in it.”
“Drama High,” by Michael Sokolove, hits shelves Thursday and tells the story of Volpe and the theater program at Harry S. Truman High School. The book chronicles the program’s unexpected success and the uplifting story of Volpe’s efforts to turn the drama program into an outlet for teens in the struggling town.
“I’m not a shy person anymore … and theater definitely, definitely did that for me,” Sharron Harran, a junior at the school, told ABC News.
Levittown is a blue-collar city that fell into disrepair after the coal industry began its decline. But the lackluster town is home to a high school theater program that Music Theater International works with to adapt major hit productions so that they are appropriate for high school stages across the country.
The success of the program was bolstered under the leadership of renowned director Lou Volpe, who spent four decades turning theater into an extracurricular activity for even the unlikeliest of high school students – such as Tim Hild, a varsity soccer player who now balances his time on the field with time on the stage.
“Without being judged about it, you can be one person one day and the next person the next day,” Hild said about acting.
Volpe retired in June and left his former student, Tracy Krause, in charge of the drama program.
“Lou is not just a former teacher and a co-worker. He’s my family. He embodies everything that a teacher would want to be,” Krause said.
Krause graduated from the high school in 1993 and was part of Volpe’s first theater troupe to have made it to the National Theater Fest.
“He’s one of the reasons that I became a teacher,” Krause said of her predecessor.
Now, Volpe’s legacy is left in her hands. In trying to maintain the sense of fearlessness with which Volpe ran his program, she has chosen “Catch Me if You Can,” as her first musical.
The unique productions have attracted students like Hild, Kraus said.
“Tim is not your typical theater student. … There’s just something about him,” Krause said. “He’s not afraid and that’s just a characteristic, whether it’s on the soccer field or in the classroom, that you want. And he encompasses that regardless of the stereotypes of theater.”
With earrings and a goatee, Hild looks every bit the soccer player he is. He admitted he is not the stereotypical theater geek but said he loves drama.
Asked why he even joined, Hild shrugged.
“I heard from a couple of people that it was fun,” he said.
But the program’s effect on Hild was clearly visible. He takes his acting seriously.
“It just has to come from within you,” Hild said. “When you’re being other people, you have to bring all that you have to be that person.”
Hild, the son of a landscaper, had no interest in theater before attending Harry S. Truman High School. His transformation into an actor is one of the many little miracles Volpe’s program made possible.
Krause hopes to follow in Volpe’s footsteps.
“He’s the reason I’m here,’ Krause said. “The teachers here brag, ‘I work at Truman. Have you seen one of our shows?’ It’s a great thing and everyone takes pride in it.”
“Drama High,” by Michael Sokolove, hits shelves Thursday and tells the story of Volpe and the theater program at Harry S. Truman High School. The book chronicles the program’s unexpected success and the uplifting story of Volpe’s efforts to turn the drama program into an outlet for teens in the struggling town.
Documentary Pushes ‘Made In America’ Movement Further Into Spotlight
By Caterina Andreano, August 28, 2013
There’s a growing conversation in the U.S. on buying American-made as a new push forms to bring manufacturing jobs back.
After three decades of decline in the U.S. manufacturing industry, energy prices are falling and labor costs are rising in China, reigniting a made-in-America movement. Even Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is helping to spearhead the push.
Vincent Vittorio and Nathaniel Thomas McGill were inspired by this conversation.
As two filmmakers set on inciting change, they produced a documentary titled “American Made Movie,” a piece focused on the manufacturing that is taking place in the U.S.
Both men have family members who have worked in the manufacturing industry, helping to spark their interest in the dwindling sector that some Americans are fighting hard to keep.
“It’s always been a part of our lives just like it’s always been a part of a lot of Americans’ lives,” McGill said. “Everyone was interested in free-range eggs and the organic movement. This labeling and these products were around 15 years ago and that reminded us of the ‘Made in America’ label and the things we’d seen growing up and hadn’t seen in a while.”
The duo set out to visit 15 plants producing American-made products all over the country over two years.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to be depressed at the end of two years,” McGill said, laughing.
“But we picked the right moment. This has become part of the national conversation,” he added. “It’s pretty inspiring to see.”
From the Louisville Slugger factory in Louisville, Ky., to the New Balance shoe plant in Skowhegan, Me., Vittorio and McGill saw the highs and lows of what it takes to produce American-made merchandise.
They documented the unfortunate losses in American manufacturing such as Merrily Made, a polymer product business in Cromwell, Conn., that lost customers to Chinese manufacturers. But they also saw companies such as Annin Flagmakers, based in Roseland, N.J., succeed in keeping their products made in the U.S.
Out of all the sites he visited, Vittorio said he was particularly inspired by New Balance, the only athletic shoe company that is still manufacturing footwear in the U.S.
“Getting to understand the process of it gave us this new understanding,” Vittorio said.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, went to the premiere of the documentary in Washington, D.C., in July and passionately defended American manufacturing.
“You can’t build an economy on taking in each other’s laundry. You’ve got to make something,” King said in July.
He said he hoped to see government begin to promote a “preference for American-made footwear,” like New Balance shoes.
King’s comments were made during the “32 cities in 32 days” tour the filmmakers embarked on to promote “American Made Movie.”
“It was really a great chance to share the film with the people that are on the ground working in manufacturing every single day,” McGill said.
“We’ve gotten so many e-mails saying, ‘Thank you so much for opening my eyes,’” Vittorio said.
“People say manufacturing is dead … and we disagree with that. There are a lot of things being made in the country,” said Vittorio. “And there are a lot of companies that see the value in starting here and in staying here.”
Vittorio and McGill said they have walked away from the documentary feeling inspired, like they had a role in the larger story that’s part of the national conversation.
“American Made Movie” will be released in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and other select cities on Aug. 30.
After three decades of decline in the U.S. manufacturing industry, energy prices are falling and labor costs are rising in China, reigniting a made-in-America movement. Even Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is helping to spearhead the push.
Vincent Vittorio and Nathaniel Thomas McGill were inspired by this conversation.
As two filmmakers set on inciting change, they produced a documentary titled “American Made Movie,” a piece focused on the manufacturing that is taking place in the U.S.
Both men have family members who have worked in the manufacturing industry, helping to spark their interest in the dwindling sector that some Americans are fighting hard to keep.
“It’s always been a part of our lives just like it’s always been a part of a lot of Americans’ lives,” McGill said. “Everyone was interested in free-range eggs and the organic movement. This labeling and these products were around 15 years ago and that reminded us of the ‘Made in America’ label and the things we’d seen growing up and hadn’t seen in a while.”
The duo set out to visit 15 plants producing American-made products all over the country over two years.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to be depressed at the end of two years,” McGill said, laughing.
“But we picked the right moment. This has become part of the national conversation,” he added. “It’s pretty inspiring to see.”
From the Louisville Slugger factory in Louisville, Ky., to the New Balance shoe plant in Skowhegan, Me., Vittorio and McGill saw the highs and lows of what it takes to produce American-made merchandise.
They documented the unfortunate losses in American manufacturing such as Merrily Made, a polymer product business in Cromwell, Conn., that lost customers to Chinese manufacturers. But they also saw companies such as Annin Flagmakers, based in Roseland, N.J., succeed in keeping their products made in the U.S.
Out of all the sites he visited, Vittorio said he was particularly inspired by New Balance, the only athletic shoe company that is still manufacturing footwear in the U.S.
“Getting to understand the process of it gave us this new understanding,” Vittorio said.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, went to the premiere of the documentary in Washington, D.C., in July and passionately defended American manufacturing.
“You can’t build an economy on taking in each other’s laundry. You’ve got to make something,” King said in July.
He said he hoped to see government begin to promote a “preference for American-made footwear,” like New Balance shoes.
King’s comments were made during the “32 cities in 32 days” tour the filmmakers embarked on to promote “American Made Movie.”
“It was really a great chance to share the film with the people that are on the ground working in manufacturing every single day,” McGill said.
“We’ve gotten so many e-mails saying, ‘Thank you so much for opening my eyes,’” Vittorio said.
“People say manufacturing is dead … and we disagree with that. There are a lot of things being made in the country,” said Vittorio. “And there are a lot of companies that see the value in starting here and in staying here.”
Vittorio and McGill said they have walked away from the documentary feeling inspired, like they had a role in the larger story that’s part of the national conversation.
“American Made Movie” will be released in New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago and other select cities on Aug. 30.
Flash Floods Still a Threat in Tenn., Missouri
By Caterina Andreano, Darren Reynolds, and Hunter Kelly, August 8, 2013
Dozens of people had to be rescued from their homes today as heavy rainfall caused powerful flash flooding in the Nashville, Tenn., and Hollister, Mo., areas.
The National Weather Service extended its flash flood warning for Nashville until 3 p.m. today, according to ABC News affiliate WKRN-TV.
In Madison, north of downtown Nashville, Nikia Allen had to help rescue her elderly neighbor from the rising waters.
"We just had to get some friends to pull off a wall, because nobody stopped to help her. She was about 90 years old," Allen said.
She said the woman had been stuck on the wall for more than two hours.
Betty McBride, also a resident of Madison, had her backyard destroyed by the flooding, caused by an overflowing creek behind her house."The blacktop gravel's all washed away," McBride said. "The water came in my house through the front door, and a fence in the back is all washed down."
McBride said the water in her house was waist-deep. Despite her home's being damaged in a 2010 flood, she said she'd turned down flood insurance the previous week because she didn't expect the intense flooding.
"I just took out house insurance with another company Tuesday. I transferred from one to the other. 'You want flood insurance?' [the agent asked]. I said, 'Oh no, it's not supposed to flood again for another 100 years.' That was just this week."
Charles Shannon, Nashville's assistant fire chief, told ABC News that there had been more than 35 rescue efforts just this morning.
"Right now we're looking at over 35 rescues. But now, when I say over 35, that's not the number of people. There might have been five people in one removal," Shannon said. "We have rescued all those people that had called in earlier. We will continue that process throughout the morning as people are calling in."
Shannon said that the flooding in downtown Nashville was limited to sections of the interstate that had pooling water. He said that is where many of the rescues calls had come from.
"There were actually people that were driving on some of our other highways that just tried to drive through some high water area on the road and they were trapped," he said.
The real problem area, Shannon said, lies about four miles outside of Nashville, in Northeast Davidson County. There were no reported injuries.
In southwest Missouri, however, where about 10 inches of rain fell overnight in certain areas, a woman was killed after her car was swept away by waters from a nearby creek. Her name was not released.
Chris Bearnt, the fire chief of Western Taney County, said that two mobile homes had washed away in Hollister and that the water had risen up so fast, people were hanging onto trees and on top of mobile homes to be rescued.
Bearnt said Hollister residents were surprised at how fast the rain came down.
"The water was not too swift in there and they walked out, and they were, probably a normal-sized person, probably was up to their neck in the water," Bearnt said.
Bearnt has spearheaded rescue efforts in the area.
"We did have to rescue probably about, not quite 20 people, and we're actually still in the process for some of those," Bearnt said. "These little creeks that can be just so calm and normal for years and years and years, can turn very bad just very quickly."
The flash flooding continues to be a danger for people in both areas.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
The National Weather Service extended its flash flood warning for Nashville until 3 p.m. today, according to ABC News affiliate WKRN-TV.
In Madison, north of downtown Nashville, Nikia Allen had to help rescue her elderly neighbor from the rising waters.
"We just had to get some friends to pull off a wall, because nobody stopped to help her. She was about 90 years old," Allen said.
She said the woman had been stuck on the wall for more than two hours.
Betty McBride, also a resident of Madison, had her backyard destroyed by the flooding, caused by an overflowing creek behind her house."The blacktop gravel's all washed away," McBride said. "The water came in my house through the front door, and a fence in the back is all washed down."
McBride said the water in her house was waist-deep. Despite her home's being damaged in a 2010 flood, she said she'd turned down flood insurance the previous week because she didn't expect the intense flooding.
"I just took out house insurance with another company Tuesday. I transferred from one to the other. 'You want flood insurance?' [the agent asked]. I said, 'Oh no, it's not supposed to flood again for another 100 years.' That was just this week."
Charles Shannon, Nashville's assistant fire chief, told ABC News that there had been more than 35 rescue efforts just this morning.
"Right now we're looking at over 35 rescues. But now, when I say over 35, that's not the number of people. There might have been five people in one removal," Shannon said. "We have rescued all those people that had called in earlier. We will continue that process throughout the morning as people are calling in."
Shannon said that the flooding in downtown Nashville was limited to sections of the interstate that had pooling water. He said that is where many of the rescues calls had come from.
"There were actually people that were driving on some of our other highways that just tried to drive through some high water area on the road and they were trapped," he said.
The real problem area, Shannon said, lies about four miles outside of Nashville, in Northeast Davidson County. There were no reported injuries.
In southwest Missouri, however, where about 10 inches of rain fell overnight in certain areas, a woman was killed after her car was swept away by waters from a nearby creek. Her name was not released.
Chris Bearnt, the fire chief of Western Taney County, said that two mobile homes had washed away in Hollister and that the water had risen up so fast, people were hanging onto trees and on top of mobile homes to be rescued.
Bearnt said Hollister residents were surprised at how fast the rain came down.
"The water was not too swift in there and they walked out, and they were, probably a normal-sized person, probably was up to their neck in the water," Bearnt said.
Bearnt has spearheaded rescue efforts in the area.
"We did have to rescue probably about, not quite 20 people, and we're actually still in the process for some of those," Bearnt said. "These little creeks that can be just so calm and normal for years and years and years, can turn very bad just very quickly."
The flash flooding continues to be a danger for people in both areas.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Evaluating Cuomo's Education Cuts
by Caterina Andreano, May 8, 2011
In the highest taxed state in the country, reducing the budget deficit for the first time in 17 years by $10 billion without raising taxes might seem like a victory. Yet many New Yorkers are strongly opposed to Governor Cuomo’s budget, which was approved in late March. The budget cuts state education spending by $1.3 billion, leaving New York City with an allotted education budget of $6.1 billion for the upcoming fiscal year -- an overall cut of $840 million. The cuts are expected to severely affect the New York City public school system through teacher layoffs, an increased student-to-teacher ratio, and decreased funding for specialized and after-school programs.
Mayor Bloomberg estimates that he will be forced to lay off 6,000 public school teachers over the next year, worrying many about what real-time impacts these layoffs will have. “I have seen New York City lose some of the best teachers in the past,” says Sheri Meyers, Assistant Principal at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens. “First and second year teachers bring enthusiasm and warmth to their classrooms, which no training can give anyone. Their positions may be eliminated and they will not be teaching,” Meyers says about the expected layoffs.
Marina Marcou-O’Malley, a policy analyst at the Alliance for Quality Education, an organization that fights for high-quality public education in New York, agrees. “All across the state, school districts have been struggling to find ways to mitigate the impact of these cuts. However, teachers are being laid off or not replaced after they retire,” she says. “It hardly seems fair to balance the budget on our children’s backs and be jeopardizing the quality of their education.
CUNY students marching to protest Governor Cuomo’s cuts to education in NYC.The budget cuts are also expected to cause an increase in the student-to-teacher ratio in New York, which is already a problem for the public school system. The Independent Budget Office, a publicly funded agency that provides free information about New York City’s budget, found that about half of all New York City’s high school students attended overcrowded schools between 2008 and 2009. Though high schools are the most overcrowded part of the public school system, the budget cuts are projected to cause further overcrowding throughout the entire school system.
“In terms of impact right now we are looking at a 1.5 pupil increase per classroom,” says Michael Tragale, the Deputy Chief Financial Officer in the Division of Finance at the New York City Department of Education. “Schools have already suffered over the past few years as a result of multiyear reductions, that’s why this budget will be so painful. Last year we used collective bargaining reserves but they aren’t there anymore,” he says.
Afterschool and specialized programs in public schools are also expected to take a hit. “Schools are having to make cuts in programs that principals view as not important,” says Meryle Weinstein, Assistant Director at the Institute for Education and Social Policy at New York University. “Some principals are cutting or reducing their arts, music programs, technology programs, others are cutting their afterschool programs,” she says.
Many others share Weinstein’s prediction. Assistant Principal Meyers, Policy Analyst Marcou-O’Malley, and Deputy Chief Financial Officer Michael Tragale believe that programs such as these will be the first to go. The money allotted for the year will instead go to basic education first, often leaving meager funding for these programs. If these programs are to be kept, parents and teachers will need to raise funds themselves, which isn’t always possible, especially in low-income areas.
“Local school fund raising and wide spread partnerships between schools and non-profits will ameliorate some of the underfunding,” says Judy Baum from Insideschools.org, a non-profit website offering information about New York City’s public school system. “The bad news is that poorer school districts are less able to raise the money,” Baum says.
These low-income areas across the city are also likely to suffer in more ways than the inability to raise money to reinstate afterschool programs. “The reduction in aid is presented by the Governor as being structured to take the least from those who need the aid most. On a percentage reduction basis this is true. On a dollar reduction basis it is not,” says Rick Longhurst, the Executive Administrator for the New York State Parent Teacher Association. “A low wealth or high need school district would need to raise local property, or in the case of the city, income and property taxes, more to offset the reduction in State support than a more affluent or lower need district,” he says.
This means that regardless of Governor Cuomo eliminating the deficit in the budget without raising taxes, low-income areas throughout the city will need to raise local taxes to make up for the large budget cuts to education.
Low-income areas also receive aid from various non-profit and pro-education organizations throughout the city and count on these organizations to help fund afterschool programs for the students. Assistant Director Weinstein believes that recent budget shortages and cuts in social service fields will hamper organizations’ abilities to alleviate problems that the cuts will cause in these low-income areas.
Some believe that the education cuts will actually work to deny students their right to a proper education. The Campaign for Fiscal Equality, a non-profit organization working to reform New York State’s school finance system to ensure equal education, successfully won a lawsuit against the state in 2006, arguing that New York City schools were underfunded. The $5.5 billion that the lawsuit won for the city was supposed to be phased into the budget over four years, but has been stalled due to the recession. The stalled funding and budget cuts have made Michael Rebell, the co-counsel for the CFE in the lawsuit, speak out against the budget. Rebell recently wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Daily News, arguing that Cuomo’s recent budget cuts to education would violate the state constitution by making the public school system unable to provide children with the basic education they are constitutionally guaranteed.
“We should have received over a billion dollars more with the lawsuit from The Campaign for Fiscal Equality,” says Deputy Chief Financial Officer Michael Tragale. “We would have been looking at close to $8 billion with money from The Campaign for Fiscal Equality as opposed to the $6.1 billion that we received. We should have received our full share of funding,” he says.
Governor Cuomo, though, is defending the budget, and believes that the education cuts won’t actually hurt students if the schools allocate the money properly. Cuomo is accusing teachers unions, school districts and advocacy groups, of using children as “pawns” to cover-up the fact that they want to oppose the cuts politically.
“The average reduction to a school district is 2.7%. They say well we’re going to lay off teachers and we’re going to hurt children. If you cut the education budget, you’re going to hurt children, that’s their premise. No, I’m saying find a 2.7% efficiency in the education budget,” Cuomo said in a speech to schools in late March. “Manage the school system. Reduce the waste, reduce the fraud, reduce the abuse,” he said. “This is not about a teacher in a classroom. This is about less bureaucracy, less administrative overhead, less superintendent salaries…this is about recognizing the new economic reality that government is responsible for management just like everyone else.”
But Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters, founding member of Parents Across America, and editor of the NYC Public School Parents blog – all organizations that call for education reform – believes that school budgets have no more room to cut. “Our school budgets are already cut to the bone. These cuts, unless the city steps in, will be devastating to kids,” she says.
Assistant Director Weinstein also believes it may be difficult to cut from the school budget anymore without affecting students. “The current round of cuts are just going to exacerbate the cuts that have already happened in the past,” she says. “I think community groups and parents are going to protest and they should.”
Mayor Bloomberg estimates that he will be forced to lay off 6,000 public school teachers over the next year, worrying many about what real-time impacts these layoffs will have. “I have seen New York City lose some of the best teachers in the past,” says Sheri Meyers, Assistant Principal at Martin Van Buren High School in Queens. “First and second year teachers bring enthusiasm and warmth to their classrooms, which no training can give anyone. Their positions may be eliminated and they will not be teaching,” Meyers says about the expected layoffs.
Marina Marcou-O’Malley, a policy analyst at the Alliance for Quality Education, an organization that fights for high-quality public education in New York, agrees. “All across the state, school districts have been struggling to find ways to mitigate the impact of these cuts. However, teachers are being laid off or not replaced after they retire,” she says. “It hardly seems fair to balance the budget on our children’s backs and be jeopardizing the quality of their education.
CUNY students marching to protest Governor Cuomo’s cuts to education in NYC.The budget cuts are also expected to cause an increase in the student-to-teacher ratio in New York, which is already a problem for the public school system. The Independent Budget Office, a publicly funded agency that provides free information about New York City’s budget, found that about half of all New York City’s high school students attended overcrowded schools between 2008 and 2009. Though high schools are the most overcrowded part of the public school system, the budget cuts are projected to cause further overcrowding throughout the entire school system.
“In terms of impact right now we are looking at a 1.5 pupil increase per classroom,” says Michael Tragale, the Deputy Chief Financial Officer in the Division of Finance at the New York City Department of Education. “Schools have already suffered over the past few years as a result of multiyear reductions, that’s why this budget will be so painful. Last year we used collective bargaining reserves but they aren’t there anymore,” he says.
Afterschool and specialized programs in public schools are also expected to take a hit. “Schools are having to make cuts in programs that principals view as not important,” says Meryle Weinstein, Assistant Director at the Institute for Education and Social Policy at New York University. “Some principals are cutting or reducing their arts, music programs, technology programs, others are cutting their afterschool programs,” she says.
Many others share Weinstein’s prediction. Assistant Principal Meyers, Policy Analyst Marcou-O’Malley, and Deputy Chief Financial Officer Michael Tragale believe that programs such as these will be the first to go. The money allotted for the year will instead go to basic education first, often leaving meager funding for these programs. If these programs are to be kept, parents and teachers will need to raise funds themselves, which isn’t always possible, especially in low-income areas.
“Local school fund raising and wide spread partnerships between schools and non-profits will ameliorate some of the underfunding,” says Judy Baum from Insideschools.org, a non-profit website offering information about New York City’s public school system. “The bad news is that poorer school districts are less able to raise the money,” Baum says.
These low-income areas across the city are also likely to suffer in more ways than the inability to raise money to reinstate afterschool programs. “The reduction in aid is presented by the Governor as being structured to take the least from those who need the aid most. On a percentage reduction basis this is true. On a dollar reduction basis it is not,” says Rick Longhurst, the Executive Administrator for the New York State Parent Teacher Association. “A low wealth or high need school district would need to raise local property, or in the case of the city, income and property taxes, more to offset the reduction in State support than a more affluent or lower need district,” he says.
This means that regardless of Governor Cuomo eliminating the deficit in the budget without raising taxes, low-income areas throughout the city will need to raise local taxes to make up for the large budget cuts to education.
Low-income areas also receive aid from various non-profit and pro-education organizations throughout the city and count on these organizations to help fund afterschool programs for the students. Assistant Director Weinstein believes that recent budget shortages and cuts in social service fields will hamper organizations’ abilities to alleviate problems that the cuts will cause in these low-income areas.
Some believe that the education cuts will actually work to deny students their right to a proper education. The Campaign for Fiscal Equality, a non-profit organization working to reform New York State’s school finance system to ensure equal education, successfully won a lawsuit against the state in 2006, arguing that New York City schools were underfunded. The $5.5 billion that the lawsuit won for the city was supposed to be phased into the budget over four years, but has been stalled due to the recession. The stalled funding and budget cuts have made Michael Rebell, the co-counsel for the CFE in the lawsuit, speak out against the budget. Rebell recently wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Daily News, arguing that Cuomo’s recent budget cuts to education would violate the state constitution by making the public school system unable to provide children with the basic education they are constitutionally guaranteed.
“We should have received over a billion dollars more with the lawsuit from The Campaign for Fiscal Equality,” says Deputy Chief Financial Officer Michael Tragale. “We would have been looking at close to $8 billion with money from The Campaign for Fiscal Equality as opposed to the $6.1 billion that we received. We should have received our full share of funding,” he says.
Governor Cuomo, though, is defending the budget, and believes that the education cuts won’t actually hurt students if the schools allocate the money properly. Cuomo is accusing teachers unions, school districts and advocacy groups, of using children as “pawns” to cover-up the fact that they want to oppose the cuts politically.
“The average reduction to a school district is 2.7%. They say well we’re going to lay off teachers and we’re going to hurt children. If you cut the education budget, you’re going to hurt children, that’s their premise. No, I’m saying find a 2.7% efficiency in the education budget,” Cuomo said in a speech to schools in late March. “Manage the school system. Reduce the waste, reduce the fraud, reduce the abuse,” he said. “This is not about a teacher in a classroom. This is about less bureaucracy, less administrative overhead, less superintendent salaries…this is about recognizing the new economic reality that government is responsible for management just like everyone else.”
But Leonie Haimson, Executive Director of Class Size Matters, founding member of Parents Across America, and editor of the NYC Public School Parents blog – all organizations that call for education reform – believes that school budgets have no more room to cut. “Our school budgets are already cut to the bone. These cuts, unless the city steps in, will be devastating to kids,” she says.
Assistant Director Weinstein also believes it may be difficult to cut from the school budget anymore without affecting students. “The current round of cuts are just going to exacerbate the cuts that have already happened in the past,” she says. “I think community groups and parents are going to protest and they should.”
No Obvious Solution to Overcrowding in the Bronx
by Caterina Andreano, April 10, 2011
The overcrowding of the P.S. 71 Rose E. Scala School in the Bronx is a persisting problem without a clear solution. The school accepted only 105 out of the 150 kindergartners who wished to enroll for the coming school year, leaving several students waitlisted. If no space opens up before the end of the summer, these students will have go to a neighboring public school near to their district or be sent to private school. With median household income in the area averaging $45,000 and the average cost of private schools in New York City costing about $30,000 a year, private school may not be an option for many of these families.
Realistically, the school has no option but to waitlist the kindergartners. With an overcrowding score of 116%, given by Insideschools.org, they are already at their max capacity, and experts agree that overcrowding the school even more could prevent students from a proper elementary education. “Overcrowded schools do impact children’s education. We see a decrease in individualized attention and an increase in problem behavior,” says Joanne Buccellato of Advocates for Children of New York.
New York State Assemblyman Michael Benedetto agrees. “Education suffers in overcrowded conditions. When there are too many children in a class there are more distractions, more of a chance for acting out children to do what they do best, and it’s much more difficult for teachers to give personalized instruction,” he says about the school being unable to allow entry to these 45 students.
Like Assemblyman Benedetto, New York officials are aware of the overcrowding issue surrounding P.S. 71. “The same thing happened last year at P.S. 71,” says New York City Councilman James Vacca, who attended P.S. 71 as a child. “The school, like many schools in New York, has serious space issues. Last year P.S. 71 managed to open an additional class, while the rest of the students on the waitlist were sent to neighboring schools,” the official says.
The New York State Education Department is also aware of the issue, but would not comment on how the department is handling the problem. “This is not something we would comment on. It’s not really our purview,” says spokesperson Jane Briggs.
Many who are aware of the problem understand that the school’s space issue is not a new predicament. The school currently has the eleventh largest waiting list in the city, and last year the school was even higher on the list, at number seven.
P.S. 71 has been on this list ever since the school was converted from accommodating students up to fifth grade, to accommodating students up to eighth grade. Councilman Vacca discloses that the school was converted because the junior high wasn’t doing well. Now that the junior high students were made to go to P.S. 71, “the scores now are better, and it’s a better atmosphere for the students.”
Kenneth Kearns, District Manager of Community Board No. 10, believes that making the school provide education up to the eighth grade is what made the school so popular and therefore what has led to the waitlisting and overcrowding issue. “The fact that it has classes up to the eighth grade is very popular, because parents do not have to contend with a system that requires students to change to middle or intermediate schools,” he says. “Overcrowding is a reflection of the school’s popularity.”
Because of the school’s popularity, a solution to the overcrowding needs to be addressed, but the school is out of options. “The schoolyard already has portable classrooms. Short of building a new school and finding the space to build it, there are only a couple of possible solutions. First, maybe a nearby building can be bought and converted to make necessary classrooms. That, however, is not a very good possibility. Another answer would be to make P.S. 71 a K-5 school. Thus eliminating grades six, seven, and eight and freeing up classrooms,” says Assemblyman Benedetto.
But both of these options may not be feasible for the school. The school was only recently made to accommodate junior high students in order to boost scores and eliminating these higher grades after only a few years would disrupt the entire school system in the community. The portable classrooms that are already in the schoolyard were put in just last year, having been advocated by Councilman James Vacca, in order to alleviate some of the overcrowding, but adding more of these classrooms is impossible due to space issues. In response to being able to build more schools to accommodate the overflow, Councilman Vacca says, “We don’t have a site for a new school. Albany cut the funding this year for new spots for students and only recently restored it, but now there is still no site to build on.”
District Manager Kenneth Kearns, though, offers one possible solution. He believes that improving the surrounding schools will allow parents to choose from the neighboring schools that currently aren’t their top choice. “When parents have other educational choices for their children in surrounding schools, the overcrowding will end,” he says.
For these 45 kindergartners, though, there is no immediate solution to their problem. Improving the surrounding schools will take time, allocating a space for a new school would take years, not months, and there are no instant, portable classrooms coming their way this year. These 45 families will have to wait, in limbo, to hear if students withdraw from the school. If not, they will be forced to choose from the surrounding schools, having a longer daily commute, and having to give up the option of attending the school that has the highest standardized tests schools in the area, a very low level of faculty turnover, and an average class size of 25 students.
With over one-fifth of the Bronx population being school-age children, which is the largest percentage of school-age children in the city, this problem of crowded schools and waitlists will not be going away. “With a growing school-age population, the City needs to build and develop more schools,” says Buccellato, of Advocates for Children of New York. But without an immediate solution, these kindergartners families will be forced to find other for the upcoming year.
Realistically, the school has no option but to waitlist the kindergartners. With an overcrowding score of 116%, given by Insideschools.org, they are already at their max capacity, and experts agree that overcrowding the school even more could prevent students from a proper elementary education. “Overcrowded schools do impact children’s education. We see a decrease in individualized attention and an increase in problem behavior,” says Joanne Buccellato of Advocates for Children of New York.
New York State Assemblyman Michael Benedetto agrees. “Education suffers in overcrowded conditions. When there are too many children in a class there are more distractions, more of a chance for acting out children to do what they do best, and it’s much more difficult for teachers to give personalized instruction,” he says about the school being unable to allow entry to these 45 students.
Like Assemblyman Benedetto, New York officials are aware of the overcrowding issue surrounding P.S. 71. “The same thing happened last year at P.S. 71,” says New York City Councilman James Vacca, who attended P.S. 71 as a child. “The school, like many schools in New York, has serious space issues. Last year P.S. 71 managed to open an additional class, while the rest of the students on the waitlist were sent to neighboring schools,” the official says.
The New York State Education Department is also aware of the issue, but would not comment on how the department is handling the problem. “This is not something we would comment on. It’s not really our purview,” says spokesperson Jane Briggs.
Many who are aware of the problem understand that the school’s space issue is not a new predicament. The school currently has the eleventh largest waiting list in the city, and last year the school was even higher on the list, at number seven.
P.S. 71 has been on this list ever since the school was converted from accommodating students up to fifth grade, to accommodating students up to eighth grade. Councilman Vacca discloses that the school was converted because the junior high wasn’t doing well. Now that the junior high students were made to go to P.S. 71, “the scores now are better, and it’s a better atmosphere for the students.”
Kenneth Kearns, District Manager of Community Board No. 10, believes that making the school provide education up to the eighth grade is what made the school so popular and therefore what has led to the waitlisting and overcrowding issue. “The fact that it has classes up to the eighth grade is very popular, because parents do not have to contend with a system that requires students to change to middle or intermediate schools,” he says. “Overcrowding is a reflection of the school’s popularity.”
Because of the school’s popularity, a solution to the overcrowding needs to be addressed, but the school is out of options. “The schoolyard already has portable classrooms. Short of building a new school and finding the space to build it, there are only a couple of possible solutions. First, maybe a nearby building can be bought and converted to make necessary classrooms. That, however, is not a very good possibility. Another answer would be to make P.S. 71 a K-5 school. Thus eliminating grades six, seven, and eight and freeing up classrooms,” says Assemblyman Benedetto.
But both of these options may not be feasible for the school. The school was only recently made to accommodate junior high students in order to boost scores and eliminating these higher grades after only a few years would disrupt the entire school system in the community. The portable classrooms that are already in the schoolyard were put in just last year, having been advocated by Councilman James Vacca, in order to alleviate some of the overcrowding, but adding more of these classrooms is impossible due to space issues. In response to being able to build more schools to accommodate the overflow, Councilman Vacca says, “We don’t have a site for a new school. Albany cut the funding this year for new spots for students and only recently restored it, but now there is still no site to build on.”
District Manager Kenneth Kearns, though, offers one possible solution. He believes that improving the surrounding schools will allow parents to choose from the neighboring schools that currently aren’t their top choice. “When parents have other educational choices for their children in surrounding schools, the overcrowding will end,” he says.
For these 45 kindergartners, though, there is no immediate solution to their problem. Improving the surrounding schools will take time, allocating a space for a new school would take years, not months, and there are no instant, portable classrooms coming their way this year. These 45 families will have to wait, in limbo, to hear if students withdraw from the school. If not, they will be forced to choose from the surrounding schools, having a longer daily commute, and having to give up the option of attending the school that has the highest standardized tests schools in the area, a very low level of faculty turnover, and an average class size of 25 students.
With over one-fifth of the Bronx population being school-age children, which is the largest percentage of school-age children in the city, this problem of crowded schools and waitlists will not be going away. “With a growing school-age population, the City needs to build and develop more schools,” says Buccellato, of Advocates for Children of New York. But without an immediate solution, these kindergartners families will be forced to find other for the upcoming year.
Despite smoking cessation efforts, experts say rate of adult smokers remains constant
by Caterina Andreano, published on April 7, 2011 in the Washington Square News paper: http://nyunews.com/
The wave of smoking cessation programs that were introduced in the '90s anti-smoking push may have reached their peak.
The New York City Department of Health's 16-day-long Nicotine Patch and Gum Giveaway saw 1,000 fewer participants than last year. According to some experts, the rate of American adult smokers has remained constant over the last five years, at 21 percent.
Dr. Jonathan Whiteson, the director of the Cardiac and Pulmonary Wellness and Rehabilitation Program at NYU Langone, said that the program did not take the behavioral aspect of smoking into account.
"Many times what we do is provide nicotine in a supervised atmosphere and at a very small dosage so that people don't feel the very serious withdrawal symptoms," he said. "The idea is clearly to take them off it so we have someone who is completely off the nicotine and who changes their behavior, and understands their habits and their weak spots."
According to Audrey Silk, founder of NYC's Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, it is possible that the city's efforts to amend laws to decrease smoking rates may have lead to the decrease in participation in the program. The city's most recent effort bans New Yorkers from smoking in 1,700 parks, several beaches and even some public spaces, including Times Square.
"Adults who smoke are becoming increasingly defiant to exhortations to quit smoking or that Big Anti-Smoker has reached its saturation point," she said.
However, John Polito, editor of WhyQuit.com, a site that supports smoking cessation through cold turkey methods, disagrees. The reason for the decrease, he says, is due to the failure of weaning methods.
"Five years ago 21 percent of adult Americans smoked," he said. "Today, after massive price increases, tons of free nicotine, the arrival of Chantix and smoke-free ordinances moving outdoors into parks, 21 percent of Americans still smoke. Government-funded replacement nicotine giveaways nationwide are a total waste of taxpayer dollars."
Tisch sophomore Catarina Cowden, a social smoker, also said that the decrease is not due to lower smoking rates.
"I honestly do not see a decrease in smokers," she said. "Smoking cigarettes is also associated with a city lifestyle around the world. I don't think that New York City will ever be able to substantially decrease the number of smokers."
According to Whiteson, the city should consider re-evaluating the give-away.
"Just giving a patient a patch or gum is too isolated," he said. "It must come with a comprehensive program."
A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, April 7 print edition. Caterina Andreano is a staff writer. E-mail her at [email protected].
The New York City Department of Health's 16-day-long Nicotine Patch and Gum Giveaway saw 1,000 fewer participants than last year. According to some experts, the rate of American adult smokers has remained constant over the last five years, at 21 percent.
Dr. Jonathan Whiteson, the director of the Cardiac and Pulmonary Wellness and Rehabilitation Program at NYU Langone, said that the program did not take the behavioral aspect of smoking into account.
"Many times what we do is provide nicotine in a supervised atmosphere and at a very small dosage so that people don't feel the very serious withdrawal symptoms," he said. "The idea is clearly to take them off it so we have someone who is completely off the nicotine and who changes their behavior, and understands their habits and their weak spots."
According to Audrey Silk, founder of NYC's Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment, it is possible that the city's efforts to amend laws to decrease smoking rates may have lead to the decrease in participation in the program. The city's most recent effort bans New Yorkers from smoking in 1,700 parks, several beaches and even some public spaces, including Times Square.
"Adults who smoke are becoming increasingly defiant to exhortations to quit smoking or that Big Anti-Smoker has reached its saturation point," she said.
However, John Polito, editor of WhyQuit.com, a site that supports smoking cessation through cold turkey methods, disagrees. The reason for the decrease, he says, is due to the failure of weaning methods.
"Five years ago 21 percent of adult Americans smoked," he said. "Today, after massive price increases, tons of free nicotine, the arrival of Chantix and smoke-free ordinances moving outdoors into parks, 21 percent of Americans still smoke. Government-funded replacement nicotine giveaways nationwide are a total waste of taxpayer dollars."
Tisch sophomore Catarina Cowden, a social smoker, also said that the decrease is not due to lower smoking rates.
"I honestly do not see a decrease in smokers," she said. "Smoking cigarettes is also associated with a city lifestyle around the world. I don't think that New York City will ever be able to substantially decrease the number of smokers."
According to Whiteson, the city should consider re-evaluating the give-away.
"Just giving a patient a patch or gum is too isolated," he said. "It must come with a comprehensive program."
A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, April 7 print edition. Caterina Andreano is a staff writer. E-mail her at [email protected].
The Making of a Filmmaker
By Caterina Andreano, March 30, 2011
Jake Honig, a second year film student in NYU’s Tisch, will try to be modest when people tell him he’s special. He’ll laugh and say, “I like getting interviewed! It makes me feel important when I’m really not!” But, he’s mistaken. Honig, with his enthusiasm and determination, has already started to create a name for himself in the film industry by winning several awards and wowing insiders with his motivated attitude. He may very well be growing into ‘the next best thing.’
Honig has been interested in film ever since he found out that his grandmother, Ruth Gilbert, was a famous film and Broadway actor during the 50’s. “She died when I was two, but her legacy has always intrigued me. The best I can hope for myself is that I get a taste of what she had,” he says. Her successes inspired Honig to want to be an actor, but once he got his first camera, filmmaking became his passion. “My dad bought me my first video camera in sixth grade. From that moment on, it was with me every second of every day,” Honig says, smiling.
It is this passion of filmmaking that makes the student so determined to excel. “Jake knows who he is and what he wants and goes after it with a vengeance. He dedicates himself 100 percent to the projects he takes on,” says Robert Kennedy, Honig’s drama teacher from high school.
Others who have overseen Honig’s work agree. “He’s a guy with a tremendous amount of energy and desire to really excel. He’s got a lot to offer and he puts himself out there,” says Gary Shimokawa, a former professor of Honig’s at NYU.
Catarina Cowden, an NYU peer who was costume designer and creative support for Honig’s award winning film, Crossing Christopher Street thinks his motivation means that he has what it takes to make it in the industry. “I think he’s one of the most motivated people I’ve ever met, not just in the entertainment industry, but in life. He makes anything he wants to happen, happen,” Cowden says.
But motivation is not all that’s needed to make it in such a tough business; recognition and getting your name out there are essential to excelling in the entertainment industry, and Honig’s already got some lucky breaks. His real entry in the world of filmmaking started during 2009, when, at only eighteen-years-old, his film, Outside In, was screened at the Kent Film Festival in Connecticut. The five-minute work struck a note with the public, portraying a story of a bully and his victim, expressing to students how very detrimental bullying can be. His documentary, Invincible, inspired by the death of two peers in Amity Regional High School in Connecticut, also gained recognition in 2009 for portraying how and why teenagers speed regardless of the dangers, and was officially recognized by the Connecticut State Senate. “What made that documentary special was that it was Jake’s own journey,” says Kennedy about the film and of Honig’s process in creating it.
After entering NYU to study filmmaking, Honig continued to make a name for himself through his work. Crossing Christopher Street, a short film which he directed, co-wrote, and starred in, won first place in the freshman class at NYU’s Tisch 48 Film Festival in 2010. Tisch 48 is a competition open to all students in the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where the students have 48 hours to complete a short film using one pre-determined character and one line of dialogue. Crossing Christopher Street not only won first place in the freshman class, but also second in the entire festival, as well as winning the title for Best Soundtrack.
Honig co-produced Tisch 48 this year, as Senator on the Tisch Undergraduate Student Council, and also entered into the competition again with Lawyer, M.D., a short piece about a recent graduate from law school who impersonates the old resident of her apartment, a therapist, since she is unable to find work. The piece, which Honig directed and co-wrote, won an honorable mention at the festival.
When he’s not making films, Honig has the pleasure of having every Tisch film student’s dream job – a production internship at NBC’s 30 Rock. His drama teacher, Mr. Kennedy, recommended Honig for the internship through a connection with the script supervisor, because he “knew that Jake would be an asset to the production team.”
Honig laughs when he’s asked to recite his reaction to landing the internship. “I was home alone when I got a phone call from them and as soon as I hung up the phone I literally screamed out loud in my house. I’m not even going to reenact it since it’ll probably scare you,” Honig jokes.
Though Honig got a lucky break with the production internship, the burgeoning film student puts a lot of planning into his work. Tisch 48 doesn’t usually have a Hollywood star in attendance, yet Honig got Alec Baldwin to come to this year’s festival as a special guest and judge.
He first went to one of the Production Assistants at 30 Rock, who used to be Baldwin’s assistant, and asked what the best way to go about asking him to come would be. “I wanted to remain professional throughout. I didn’t want any of the producers to find out and freak out over some intern asking the star of the show to come to a festival,” Honig says.
The Production Assistant then sent him to Baldwin’s assistant, where Honig, though told that Baldwin was booked for that day, convinced the assistant to ask the actor to come anyway. The student then went directly to the Dean of Film and Television, Dean Sheril Antonio, to tell her assistant that Baldwin might be attending the event. “They told me I should get confirmation before telling the dean. I got an e-mail as soon as I was riding the elevator down. And as soon as the door’s closed, I rode it right back up,” he says.
Honig’s strong will to succeed is evident not only in his professional doings, but also in his personal life. He has big dreams and enjoys sharing them with others.
“Alex could probably tell you what my ultimate dream job is,” says Honig of his roommate, Alexander Morales, who has both starred in and edited his films.
“You have so many I lose track!” Morales says, laughing. “There’s writing for SNL, there’s being on SNL, I just can’t keep up!”
Although Honig does want a staff job at Saturday Night Live after graduation, his ultimate career goal is “Writing, producing and starring in my own single-camera sitcom on NBC.” His dream closely resembles someone who Honig cites as an inspiration – Tina Fey.
Though his dreams are big, those who know of his work believe that he has what it takes to achieve them. “Hopefully I’m still friends with him when he wins an Oscar, because I want a good seat!” says Cowden, joking: “Maybe he can give me a job!”
Shimokawa believes that Honig could truly succeed in the industry as well. “He really works to give everything he has into what he’s doing and could certainly have a successful career in directing or producing,” he says. “He’s a great collaborator, and has a really good business sense about himself which will help him in the production world.”
But most of all, Honig’s effervescent personality is what ultimately gives him an edge others don’t have “He’s just a great people person,” Shimokawa says. “It’s a gift.”
Honig has been interested in film ever since he found out that his grandmother, Ruth Gilbert, was a famous film and Broadway actor during the 50’s. “She died when I was two, but her legacy has always intrigued me. The best I can hope for myself is that I get a taste of what she had,” he says. Her successes inspired Honig to want to be an actor, but once he got his first camera, filmmaking became his passion. “My dad bought me my first video camera in sixth grade. From that moment on, it was with me every second of every day,” Honig says, smiling.
It is this passion of filmmaking that makes the student so determined to excel. “Jake knows who he is and what he wants and goes after it with a vengeance. He dedicates himself 100 percent to the projects he takes on,” says Robert Kennedy, Honig’s drama teacher from high school.
Others who have overseen Honig’s work agree. “He’s a guy with a tremendous amount of energy and desire to really excel. He’s got a lot to offer and he puts himself out there,” says Gary Shimokawa, a former professor of Honig’s at NYU.
Catarina Cowden, an NYU peer who was costume designer and creative support for Honig’s award winning film, Crossing Christopher Street thinks his motivation means that he has what it takes to make it in the industry. “I think he’s one of the most motivated people I’ve ever met, not just in the entertainment industry, but in life. He makes anything he wants to happen, happen,” Cowden says.
But motivation is not all that’s needed to make it in such a tough business; recognition and getting your name out there are essential to excelling in the entertainment industry, and Honig’s already got some lucky breaks. His real entry in the world of filmmaking started during 2009, when, at only eighteen-years-old, his film, Outside In, was screened at the Kent Film Festival in Connecticut. The five-minute work struck a note with the public, portraying a story of a bully and his victim, expressing to students how very detrimental bullying can be. His documentary, Invincible, inspired by the death of two peers in Amity Regional High School in Connecticut, also gained recognition in 2009 for portraying how and why teenagers speed regardless of the dangers, and was officially recognized by the Connecticut State Senate. “What made that documentary special was that it was Jake’s own journey,” says Kennedy about the film and of Honig’s process in creating it.
After entering NYU to study filmmaking, Honig continued to make a name for himself through his work. Crossing Christopher Street, a short film which he directed, co-wrote, and starred in, won first place in the freshman class at NYU’s Tisch 48 Film Festival in 2010. Tisch 48 is a competition open to all students in the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where the students have 48 hours to complete a short film using one pre-determined character and one line of dialogue. Crossing Christopher Street not only won first place in the freshman class, but also second in the entire festival, as well as winning the title for Best Soundtrack.
Honig co-produced Tisch 48 this year, as Senator on the Tisch Undergraduate Student Council, and also entered into the competition again with Lawyer, M.D., a short piece about a recent graduate from law school who impersonates the old resident of her apartment, a therapist, since she is unable to find work. The piece, which Honig directed and co-wrote, won an honorable mention at the festival.
When he’s not making films, Honig has the pleasure of having every Tisch film student’s dream job – a production internship at NBC’s 30 Rock. His drama teacher, Mr. Kennedy, recommended Honig for the internship through a connection with the script supervisor, because he “knew that Jake would be an asset to the production team.”
Honig laughs when he’s asked to recite his reaction to landing the internship. “I was home alone when I got a phone call from them and as soon as I hung up the phone I literally screamed out loud in my house. I’m not even going to reenact it since it’ll probably scare you,” Honig jokes.
Though Honig got a lucky break with the production internship, the burgeoning film student puts a lot of planning into his work. Tisch 48 doesn’t usually have a Hollywood star in attendance, yet Honig got Alec Baldwin to come to this year’s festival as a special guest and judge.
He first went to one of the Production Assistants at 30 Rock, who used to be Baldwin’s assistant, and asked what the best way to go about asking him to come would be. “I wanted to remain professional throughout. I didn’t want any of the producers to find out and freak out over some intern asking the star of the show to come to a festival,” Honig says.
The Production Assistant then sent him to Baldwin’s assistant, where Honig, though told that Baldwin was booked for that day, convinced the assistant to ask the actor to come anyway. The student then went directly to the Dean of Film and Television, Dean Sheril Antonio, to tell her assistant that Baldwin might be attending the event. “They told me I should get confirmation before telling the dean. I got an e-mail as soon as I was riding the elevator down. And as soon as the door’s closed, I rode it right back up,” he says.
Honig’s strong will to succeed is evident not only in his professional doings, but also in his personal life. He has big dreams and enjoys sharing them with others.
“Alex could probably tell you what my ultimate dream job is,” says Honig of his roommate, Alexander Morales, who has both starred in and edited his films.
“You have so many I lose track!” Morales says, laughing. “There’s writing for SNL, there’s being on SNL, I just can’t keep up!”
Although Honig does want a staff job at Saturday Night Live after graduation, his ultimate career goal is “Writing, producing and starring in my own single-camera sitcom on NBC.” His dream closely resembles someone who Honig cites as an inspiration – Tina Fey.
Though his dreams are big, those who know of his work believe that he has what it takes to achieve them. “Hopefully I’m still friends with him when he wins an Oscar, because I want a good seat!” says Cowden, joking: “Maybe he can give me a job!”
Shimokawa believes that Honig could truly succeed in the industry as well. “He really works to give everything he has into what he’s doing and could certainly have a successful career in directing or producing,” he says. “He’s a great collaborator, and has a really good business sense about himself which will help him in the production world.”
But most of all, Honig’s effervescent personality is what ultimately gives him an edge others don’t have “He’s just a great people person,” Shimokawa says. “It’s a gift.”
Big Spaceship – Small Company, Big Culture
By Caterina Andreano, February 24, 2011
Those who work at the Big Spaceship certainly seem alien to many of us – they can drink a beer at work, fiddle with computer games, and take a break playing foosball after lunch. This unique company culture is what Big Spaceship hails as their key to success as a digital creative agency. Though a small company, Big Spaceship works with huge names like Google, Microsoft, and Nike, helping them to brand their products, but claims that their company is anomalous in that they preserve a creative company culture, which allows them to be creative in their work.
The company, only eleven years old, gets equal, if not more, recognition in their field as do larger competitors, like BBO Creative, and they chalk it all up to culture. “Culture is the absolute most important thing to success in this economy,” said CEO Michael Lebowitz to a graduate class at New York University.“I won’t grow the company until I have a clear intuitive sense of how we’re going to preserve the quality of the culture at this size,” he added.
Why is culture so important to a company? “An organization’s culture sends signals to people about what’s important around here,” said Dolly Chugh, an Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at New York University. That means that creating a unique company culture will show employees that uniqueness is important in the work that will be produced.
But still, what is it that makes Big Spaceship’s culture so different and extraordinary? Well, for starters, the company organizes itself by cross-disciplinary teams. These teams work together, each with different projects, focuses, and ideas, in order to optimize and monetize on creativity. Lebowitz says that the team system not only helps the employees to feel like their part of something, but also helps them build distinctive relationships with each other, which leads to exclusive relationships developed when the team interacts with their clients.
In addition to the team system, the company only hires the nice guys when taking on new people. Averaging a size of about 50 employees, Big Spaceship has its perspective employees interview eight times with different members of the company before they get hired. Why is such a tedious process used?
“Because you don’t want to hire assholes no matter how talented,” Lebowitz explained. “So the asshole may be the most talented person in the world, but net-net, they will do less good to your company than the second best or whoever it is that’s a nice person.” He added, “And that lesson, as hard as it was to learn, was probably the most profound one. I want to work with nice people.”
Hiring only nice people who are split into teams is not what makes Big Spaceship so anomalous. These people are only hired if they are creative and forward thinking, or, in Lebowitz’s words “are going to help us make cool shit.” To maintain their creativity, there are key employee perks such as Foosball tables, kegs, and masseuses.
But maybe what’s more vital to permeating this sense of originality is Lebowitz himself. Lebowitz, who claims that he doesn't look at spreadsheets or even think about the bottom line of the company, has a lax attitude and is in constant need of stimulation. He claims to want to be the first human cyborg and therefore buys every new gadget that comes out on the market.
As focused on culture as they are and as blasé as the CEO is about the numbers of the company, there has to be some secret to how Big Spaceship remains so monetarily successful. Beginning to take on new employees who have big names in the industry is now requiring Big Spaceship to dish out some three-figure salaries. Lebowitz, who claims that “last year was awesome,” about the company’s bottom line, says that in reality, there is someone looking at the spreadsheets of the company and making sure that they don’t take projects on that aren't profitable, it’s just not him.
The company, only eleven years old, gets equal, if not more, recognition in their field as do larger competitors, like BBO Creative, and they chalk it all up to culture. “Culture is the absolute most important thing to success in this economy,” said CEO Michael Lebowitz to a graduate class at New York University.“I won’t grow the company until I have a clear intuitive sense of how we’re going to preserve the quality of the culture at this size,” he added.
Why is culture so important to a company? “An organization’s culture sends signals to people about what’s important around here,” said Dolly Chugh, an Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations at New York University. That means that creating a unique company culture will show employees that uniqueness is important in the work that will be produced.
But still, what is it that makes Big Spaceship’s culture so different and extraordinary? Well, for starters, the company organizes itself by cross-disciplinary teams. These teams work together, each with different projects, focuses, and ideas, in order to optimize and monetize on creativity. Lebowitz says that the team system not only helps the employees to feel like their part of something, but also helps them build distinctive relationships with each other, which leads to exclusive relationships developed when the team interacts with their clients.
In addition to the team system, the company only hires the nice guys when taking on new people. Averaging a size of about 50 employees, Big Spaceship has its perspective employees interview eight times with different members of the company before they get hired. Why is such a tedious process used?
“Because you don’t want to hire assholes no matter how talented,” Lebowitz explained. “So the asshole may be the most talented person in the world, but net-net, they will do less good to your company than the second best or whoever it is that’s a nice person.” He added, “And that lesson, as hard as it was to learn, was probably the most profound one. I want to work with nice people.”
Hiring only nice people who are split into teams is not what makes Big Spaceship so anomalous. These people are only hired if they are creative and forward thinking, or, in Lebowitz’s words “are going to help us make cool shit.” To maintain their creativity, there are key employee perks such as Foosball tables, kegs, and masseuses.
But maybe what’s more vital to permeating this sense of originality is Lebowitz himself. Lebowitz, who claims that he doesn't look at spreadsheets or even think about the bottom line of the company, has a lax attitude and is in constant need of stimulation. He claims to want to be the first human cyborg and therefore buys every new gadget that comes out on the market.
As focused on culture as they are and as blasé as the CEO is about the numbers of the company, there has to be some secret to how Big Spaceship remains so monetarily successful. Beginning to take on new employees who have big names in the industry is now requiring Big Spaceship to dish out some three-figure salaries. Lebowitz, who claims that “last year was awesome,” about the company’s bottom line, says that in reality, there is someone looking at the spreadsheets of the company and making sure that they don’t take projects on that aren't profitable, it’s just not him.
Revitalize with Vital Juice
By Caterina Andreano, October 26, 2010
Sustainability in health is something we all need, and Vital Juice is helping to make that a reality for women everywhere.
When you sign up, the site sends you free newsletters, reminding you of the importance of nutrition and fitness, while keeping it fun and light. It’s never preachy, merely suggestive and interesting. Lisa Blau, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the company, says about Vital Juice, “it’s about empowering and enabling women to make healthy choices. It’s the core of who we are.”
Vital Juice suggests that you sign up “for a better night's sleep, peace of mind and a feel–good attitude.” Yet the information highway isn’t restricted to the newsletter. The site provides free downloadable books that teach you everything from how to keep your skin smooth to how to eat ice cream and drink juice while keeping the pounds off.
In a world where fast dieting rituals are everywhere, one needs to be aware that health is a matter of sustainability and lifestyle, rather than binges. With catchy fitness routine articles like yoga on skates, recipes from famous chefs like Mayumi Nishimura, Madonna’s culinary guru, healthy beauty news such as lotion to tone your tummy, and hundreds of other nutrition articles, Vital Juice provides its readers with the groundwork for a better way of life. Blau says, “We’re about helping women quench their thirst for a healthy life.” The free newsletter is also customized to your area or needs, including a specific New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and even a Mom’s edition.
Unlike many nutrition sites, Vital Juice always remembers that its readers are real people with real cravings. With low-cal cocktail recipes, how-to articles on making your Starbucks runs healthier, and promoting low-calorie ice cream filled with digestive enzymes, this nutrition website is taking wellness beyond the idea phase and molding it into a foundation for a truly sustainable healthy lifestyle. The idea is learning to live a wholesome life where healthy eating, fitness, and the occasional indulgence are part of what being a woman is.
The newsletter embodies wellness in all aspects of life too–its deals on Seventh Generation eco-friendly cleaning products, and contests to win all natural Kiss My Face Peace Soap where proceeds go to Seeds of Peace, a charity empowering youth, make it a haven for all things well and good–a one-stop-shop for vitality.
Fun, funny, and free, Vital Juice is remolding the way women can live well. “If you subscribe to Vital Juice, you have a constant reminder on a daily basis about making healthy living a daily priority,” says Blau. So, if you crave some uplift in your health regime, why not revitalize with Vital Juice? “Ready to be healthy? Sign up now!”
When you sign up, the site sends you free newsletters, reminding you of the importance of nutrition and fitness, while keeping it fun and light. It’s never preachy, merely suggestive and interesting. Lisa Blau, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the company, says about Vital Juice, “it’s about empowering and enabling women to make healthy choices. It’s the core of who we are.”
Vital Juice suggests that you sign up “for a better night's sleep, peace of mind and a feel–good attitude.” Yet the information highway isn’t restricted to the newsletter. The site provides free downloadable books that teach you everything from how to keep your skin smooth to how to eat ice cream and drink juice while keeping the pounds off.
In a world where fast dieting rituals are everywhere, one needs to be aware that health is a matter of sustainability and lifestyle, rather than binges. With catchy fitness routine articles like yoga on skates, recipes from famous chefs like Mayumi Nishimura, Madonna’s culinary guru, healthy beauty news such as lotion to tone your tummy, and hundreds of other nutrition articles, Vital Juice provides its readers with the groundwork for a better way of life. Blau says, “We’re about helping women quench their thirst for a healthy life.” The free newsletter is also customized to your area or needs, including a specific New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and even a Mom’s edition.
Unlike many nutrition sites, Vital Juice always remembers that its readers are real people with real cravings. With low-cal cocktail recipes, how-to articles on making your Starbucks runs healthier, and promoting low-calorie ice cream filled with digestive enzymes, this nutrition website is taking wellness beyond the idea phase and molding it into a foundation for a truly sustainable healthy lifestyle. The idea is learning to live a wholesome life where healthy eating, fitness, and the occasional indulgence are part of what being a woman is.
The newsletter embodies wellness in all aspects of life too–its deals on Seventh Generation eco-friendly cleaning products, and contests to win all natural Kiss My Face Peace Soap where proceeds go to Seeds of Peace, a charity empowering youth, make it a haven for all things well and good–a one-stop-shop for vitality.
Fun, funny, and free, Vital Juice is remolding the way women can live well. “If you subscribe to Vital Juice, you have a constant reminder on a daily basis about making healthy living a daily priority,” says Blau. So, if you crave some uplift in your health regime, why not revitalize with Vital Juice? “Ready to be healthy? Sign up now!”
Defending a city from itself; The man responsible for preserving Greenwich Village
by Caterina Andreano and Eric Platt, published on October 21, 2010 in the Washington Square News paper: http://nyunews.com/
On April 14, 2010, as NYU readied to present its newest expansion plans, including the design of a controversial new tower, a group formed outside of the Kimmel Center.
To some, especially members of the NYU administration, the protesters' signs contained familiar rhetoric. To the students passing by on their way to class, it may have come as a shock.
"NYU destroys neighborhoods"
"Our Village, not an NYU campus!"
In the middle of the crowd, leading the protest and wearing a sign that read "NYU 2031 Expansion Plan: Overbuild, Oversaturate, Overwhelm," was Andrew Berman. As executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Berman has come into conflict with the university numerous times. In some ways — and especially on the ground — he is NYU's most vocal critic.
The Man in the Crowd
Before he was born, Berman's family apartment in the Bronx was demolished to make room for builder Robert Moses' vision: the Triborough Bridge. In wake of the demolition, Berman said his parents witnessed residents withdraw from the area. From the very beginning, urban planning has been a family concern.
"Not only in my parent's family's case did they lose their home, but the effects were just so tremendous for the community that they grew up in," he said. "I think I've learned a lot from [my parents] about how sorts of policies and things like that can really affects peoples' lives."
Though he doesn't consider his parents activists, their critical outlook on urban planning influenced him. Berman sees the urban planner as a type of comic-book villain, a perspective that he still maintains today through his vigilant protests against Village builders.
"I kind of inherited this sense that poor planning, bad policies gone awry and a mega-maniacal approach to urban planning can really have a devastating effect," he said.
Berman graduated from Wesleyan University in 1990 with a degree in art history and an emphasis on architecture. Shortly after college, he returned to New York and took a job as a liaison for the Greenwich Village community through then-council member Tom Duane's office.
Today, his role is not much different. At GVSHP, Berman has kept a close eye on development in the neighborhood.
"The work that [GVSHP does] overlaps with government and elected officials," Berman said. "Obviously, running a nonprofit, community-based organization is different in a lot of ways, but certainly there's a lot from [Duane's office] that lent itself to what I'm doing now."
Funded principally through grants, donations and membership fees, the GVSHP listed about $550,000 in gross revenue during its 2008 fiscal year. That same year, the society had $434,327 in total expenses. Duane, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer have all made contributions to further GVSHP's mission.
Most costs incurred by the organization are staff related — Berman's 2008 salary was listed at $92,500. The historic society's employees focus their time researching and then furthering neighborhood preservation.
But most community members recognize Berman's name for his ardent campaign to keep the Village untouched.
Rallying the Opposition
It's no surprise that Berman has had a strained relationship with NYU over the last decade. As the university has struggled to grow within the confines of an already overbuilt Greenwich Village, Berman has become its most vocal critic.
His anti-expansion rhetoric began in 2003 , when the university proposed building a 75,000- to 150,000-square-foot neural science and genomics science facility in the Village at a town hall meeting. Berman suggested that university build a second campus elsewhere.
Since NYU has released more comprehensive plans to add close to two million square feet to its Washington Square campus in the next 20 years, GVSHP and Berman have rallied a fierce opposition.
"They should be in a context or environment that would be much more sympathetic to growth," he said. "In the Financial District leaders are actually coming out and saying we would love you to be here and we welcome exactly what you are trying to do."
The university explored space in the Financial District , however the area has not gained popularity with students or faculty.
"We will have a conversation ... to see if there are any opportunities where the timelines work and where there would be a fit for our academic needs," university spokesman John Beckman said of building downtown in a June interview.
NYU's campus previously spread farther downtown then it does today. Leased residence halls housed close to 1,500 students in the Financial District until 2007, when the university began investing in new properties closer to its core. During that process, including the construction of Founder's residence hall on 12th Street and the newly finished Provincetown Playhouse, Berman and GVSHP felt their concern was falling on deaf ears.
"If nothing else [Founders] serves as a kind of constant reminder of a tragic loss," he said. "In New York, as in so many other places, when things are lost, often times the memory of it goes away pretty quickly. Unfortunately it was a real example of the bad planning on the university's part and bad relations with the community ... They just started moving ahead with their plans and it was a really tragic low point that I'm not sure the community relations have ever really recovered from."
The back and forth between university administrators and Berman has made for tenuous relations. Berman has gained a notorious reputation with top leaders at NYU, many of whom see him as a figurehead against university development.
"The problems emerge when advocacy on a particular issue becomes dogmatically themed vilification of institutions — St. Vincent's, NYU, etc. — rather than a voice in a broader, more constructive discussion," Alicia Hurley, vice president of government affairs and community engagement, wrote in an e-mail.
"Most people who care about our city value preserving its heritage, to be sure, but as part of a wise, broad view that also takes account of the importance to New York of growth and prosperity," Beckman said. "Preserving our city's history is important. Maybe too important to be used as a cloak to cover what seems, at heart, to be an anti-development agenda."
One Block at a Time
Berman's efforts to preserve the Village have not only focused on NYU. He worked this summer to contain the size of The New School's 16-story project on 14th Street. He has also pushed to turn the South Village into a historic neighborhood.
Elizabeth Finkelstein, director of preservation and research at the GVSHP and one of Berman's co-workers, stood by Berman's steadfast mission.
"We are all passionate about our neighborhood and therefore do share a collective enthusiasm for our projects," she said. "We work very hard to ensure that our goals are at once realistic as well as reflective of the current desires of our membership."
Since taking his post, he has successfully worked on gaining Webster Hall landmark status and protecting Annie Leibovitz's neglected houses from demolition in 2003.
"The longer you go without a landmarked designation, the more things you lose in the neighborhood," Berman said. "We try to prevent or change what we think is bad development. We try to encourage what we think is good development."
He lives by this maxim. In 2005, Berman worked with the Tunnel Garage on Spring and Broome streets during it's landmark recognition process. In the end, the parking garage was torn down and replaced with a rental property.
"[Tunnel Garage] was such a kind gesture of romance and faith in the future," he said. "It was such a shame and it surprised me how much people loved and cared about that building."
Berman, for his part, has always cared. Some might say too much, but he wouldn't.
"I always say that I'm incredibly lucky because this job is one of those things that I'd want to do in my spare time but I get to actually do it as my full time job," he said. "That's a great thing to have in your work, for it to be something that you would want to do anyway but that you get paid to do."
A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Oct. 21 print edition. Additional reporting by Ashley Mason. Caterina Andreano is a staff writer. Eric Platt is editor-in-chief. E-mail them at [email protected].
To some, especially members of the NYU administration, the protesters' signs contained familiar rhetoric. To the students passing by on their way to class, it may have come as a shock.
"NYU destroys neighborhoods"
"Our Village, not an NYU campus!"
In the middle of the crowd, leading the protest and wearing a sign that read "NYU 2031 Expansion Plan: Overbuild, Oversaturate, Overwhelm," was Andrew Berman. As executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Berman has come into conflict with the university numerous times. In some ways — and especially on the ground — he is NYU's most vocal critic.
The Man in the Crowd
Before he was born, Berman's family apartment in the Bronx was demolished to make room for builder Robert Moses' vision: the Triborough Bridge. In wake of the demolition, Berman said his parents witnessed residents withdraw from the area. From the very beginning, urban planning has been a family concern.
"Not only in my parent's family's case did they lose their home, but the effects were just so tremendous for the community that they grew up in," he said. "I think I've learned a lot from [my parents] about how sorts of policies and things like that can really affects peoples' lives."
Though he doesn't consider his parents activists, their critical outlook on urban planning influenced him. Berman sees the urban planner as a type of comic-book villain, a perspective that he still maintains today through his vigilant protests against Village builders.
"I kind of inherited this sense that poor planning, bad policies gone awry and a mega-maniacal approach to urban planning can really have a devastating effect," he said.
Berman graduated from Wesleyan University in 1990 with a degree in art history and an emphasis on architecture. Shortly after college, he returned to New York and took a job as a liaison for the Greenwich Village community through then-council member Tom Duane's office.
Today, his role is not much different. At GVSHP, Berman has kept a close eye on development in the neighborhood.
"The work that [GVSHP does] overlaps with government and elected officials," Berman said. "Obviously, running a nonprofit, community-based organization is different in a lot of ways, but certainly there's a lot from [Duane's office] that lent itself to what I'm doing now."
Funded principally through grants, donations and membership fees, the GVSHP listed about $550,000 in gross revenue during its 2008 fiscal year. That same year, the society had $434,327 in total expenses. Duane, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer have all made contributions to further GVSHP's mission.
Most costs incurred by the organization are staff related — Berman's 2008 salary was listed at $92,500. The historic society's employees focus their time researching and then furthering neighborhood preservation.
But most community members recognize Berman's name for his ardent campaign to keep the Village untouched.
Rallying the Opposition
It's no surprise that Berman has had a strained relationship with NYU over the last decade. As the university has struggled to grow within the confines of an already overbuilt Greenwich Village, Berman has become its most vocal critic.
His anti-expansion rhetoric began in 2003 , when the university proposed building a 75,000- to 150,000-square-foot neural science and genomics science facility in the Village at a town hall meeting. Berman suggested that university build a second campus elsewhere.
Since NYU has released more comprehensive plans to add close to two million square feet to its Washington Square campus in the next 20 years, GVSHP and Berman have rallied a fierce opposition.
"They should be in a context or environment that would be much more sympathetic to growth," he said. "In the Financial District leaders are actually coming out and saying we would love you to be here and we welcome exactly what you are trying to do."
The university explored space in the Financial District , however the area has not gained popularity with students or faculty.
"We will have a conversation ... to see if there are any opportunities where the timelines work and where there would be a fit for our academic needs," university spokesman John Beckman said of building downtown in a June interview.
NYU's campus previously spread farther downtown then it does today. Leased residence halls housed close to 1,500 students in the Financial District until 2007, when the university began investing in new properties closer to its core. During that process, including the construction of Founder's residence hall on 12th Street and the newly finished Provincetown Playhouse, Berman and GVSHP felt their concern was falling on deaf ears.
"If nothing else [Founders] serves as a kind of constant reminder of a tragic loss," he said. "In New York, as in so many other places, when things are lost, often times the memory of it goes away pretty quickly. Unfortunately it was a real example of the bad planning on the university's part and bad relations with the community ... They just started moving ahead with their plans and it was a really tragic low point that I'm not sure the community relations have ever really recovered from."
The back and forth between university administrators and Berman has made for tenuous relations. Berman has gained a notorious reputation with top leaders at NYU, many of whom see him as a figurehead against university development.
"The problems emerge when advocacy on a particular issue becomes dogmatically themed vilification of institutions — St. Vincent's, NYU, etc. — rather than a voice in a broader, more constructive discussion," Alicia Hurley, vice president of government affairs and community engagement, wrote in an e-mail.
"Most people who care about our city value preserving its heritage, to be sure, but as part of a wise, broad view that also takes account of the importance to New York of growth and prosperity," Beckman said. "Preserving our city's history is important. Maybe too important to be used as a cloak to cover what seems, at heart, to be an anti-development agenda."
One Block at a Time
Berman's efforts to preserve the Village have not only focused on NYU. He worked this summer to contain the size of The New School's 16-story project on 14th Street. He has also pushed to turn the South Village into a historic neighborhood.
Elizabeth Finkelstein, director of preservation and research at the GVSHP and one of Berman's co-workers, stood by Berman's steadfast mission.
"We are all passionate about our neighborhood and therefore do share a collective enthusiasm for our projects," she said. "We work very hard to ensure that our goals are at once realistic as well as reflective of the current desires of our membership."
Since taking his post, he has successfully worked on gaining Webster Hall landmark status and protecting Annie Leibovitz's neglected houses from demolition in 2003.
"The longer you go without a landmarked designation, the more things you lose in the neighborhood," Berman said. "We try to prevent or change what we think is bad development. We try to encourage what we think is good development."
He lives by this maxim. In 2005, Berman worked with the Tunnel Garage on Spring and Broome streets during it's landmark recognition process. In the end, the parking garage was torn down and replaced with a rental property.
"[Tunnel Garage] was such a kind gesture of romance and faith in the future," he said. "It was such a shame and it surprised me how much people loved and cared about that building."
Berman, for his part, has always cared. Some might say too much, but he wouldn't.
"I always say that I'm incredibly lucky because this job is one of those things that I'd want to do in my spare time but I get to actually do it as my full time job," he said. "That's a great thing to have in your work, for it to be something that you would want to do anyway but that you get paid to do."
A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Oct. 21 print edition. Additional reporting by Ashley Mason. Caterina Andreano is a staff writer. Eric Platt is editor-in-chief. E-mail them at [email protected].
Rules to Repair the Air
by Caterina Andreano, October 6, 2010
Air pollution causes thousands of American illnesses annually and damages the environment with acid rain, smog and soot. Two of the main culprits are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These air pollutants, emitted from the coal, gas, and oil-fired machinery of power plants, travel across the east of the United States, to cover about 31 states and the District of Columbia.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new regulations that will seek to reduce the emissions of sulfur dioxide by 71%, and nitrogen oxides by 52%, down from 2005 levels. This policy is an addition and improvement to the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule, since the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the EPA to revise the Rule in 2008. The new effort, named the Transport Rule, will implement regulations that should decrease these pollutants by hundreds of thousands of tons a year, providing environmental, health, and economic benefits in the process.
In direct AIMbitious correspondence with Tim Smith of the EPA, he stated, “This proposed regulation addresses interstate transport of ozone and fine particulates, our term for ‘soot.’ For that purpose, we looked at sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, because those are the pollutants associated with the formation of transported particulate and ozone.” He also stated that, “We used cost and air quality considerations to determine the amount to reduce.”
The Agency finds that this reduction standard is necessary for environmental reasons because the acid rain caused by these pollutants damages fish populations by altering their blood chemistry, clogging their gills, and disrupting their reproductive cycle. Sulfur and nitrogen emissions also adversely affect forest ecosystems by draining the soils of nutrients and stemming tree growth. This air pollution can travel for thousands or even hundreds of thousands of miles, making it difficult for states to achieve national clean air standards to protect their environment and people, even if their power plants comply with current EPA regulations. Ecosystems have already shown signs of damage from these pollutants. Affected areas include Appalachian streams, lakes in the Adirondack Mountains, coastal waters, and sugar maple forests. The heat wave of this summer has only worsened the negative effects of such emissions by providing a better vehicle for unhealthy smog.
This ozone and particle pollution that results in soot, acid rain, and reduced visibility due to smog over cities and in parks, can have a cumulative effect that can cause asthma, heart attacks, and acute bronchitis. The EPA has reported that the effects of these contaminants could cause illnesses that result in about 14,000 to 36,000 premature American deaths annually. These unseen culprits are also related to 21,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 23,000 non-fatal heart attacks and 240,000 diagnoses of aggravated asthma per year. Such illnesses take a toll not only on the health of the population, but also on the economy.
Estimates by the EPA calculate that negative health factors caused by the pollutants are behind 1.9 million missed school and workdays annually. If the proposal is passed, it could work significantly to reduce this number, and ideally have a positive effect on America’s economy. These regulations are also estimated by the EPA to provide between $120 billion to $290 billion in annual benefits by 2014 by reducing the diagnoses and treatment of these illnesses as well as mitigating the environmental effect of the pollution. That eclipses the $2.8 billion estimated project cost. Electricity costs should also only increase by 2% once the rules are put into place by the power plants.
Even with the positive estimates about the benefits and costs of the provisions, the power sector isn’t looking forward to the regulations. Dan Riedinger, of the Edison Electric Institute, said that the rules would require “dramatic reductions in power sector emissions, on top of major reductions to date, on a very short timeline.”
But the new proposal may be a step in the right direction for the people. After 60 days of open public commenting, the rules are expected to go into effect. The rules will not affect the amount of energy distributed, and the costs to the industry are minimal when compared to the estimated economic value of the benefits.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new regulations that will seek to reduce the emissions of sulfur dioxide by 71%, and nitrogen oxides by 52%, down from 2005 levels. This policy is an addition and improvement to the 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule, since the U.S. Court of Appeals ordered the EPA to revise the Rule in 2008. The new effort, named the Transport Rule, will implement regulations that should decrease these pollutants by hundreds of thousands of tons a year, providing environmental, health, and economic benefits in the process.
In direct AIMbitious correspondence with Tim Smith of the EPA, he stated, “This proposed regulation addresses interstate transport of ozone and fine particulates, our term for ‘soot.’ For that purpose, we looked at sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, because those are the pollutants associated with the formation of transported particulate and ozone.” He also stated that, “We used cost and air quality considerations to determine the amount to reduce.”
The Agency finds that this reduction standard is necessary for environmental reasons because the acid rain caused by these pollutants damages fish populations by altering their blood chemistry, clogging their gills, and disrupting their reproductive cycle. Sulfur and nitrogen emissions also adversely affect forest ecosystems by draining the soils of nutrients and stemming tree growth. This air pollution can travel for thousands or even hundreds of thousands of miles, making it difficult for states to achieve national clean air standards to protect their environment and people, even if their power plants comply with current EPA regulations. Ecosystems have already shown signs of damage from these pollutants. Affected areas include Appalachian streams, lakes in the Adirondack Mountains, coastal waters, and sugar maple forests. The heat wave of this summer has only worsened the negative effects of such emissions by providing a better vehicle for unhealthy smog.
This ozone and particle pollution that results in soot, acid rain, and reduced visibility due to smog over cities and in parks, can have a cumulative effect that can cause asthma, heart attacks, and acute bronchitis. The EPA has reported that the effects of these contaminants could cause illnesses that result in about 14,000 to 36,000 premature American deaths annually. These unseen culprits are also related to 21,000 cases of acute bronchitis, 23,000 non-fatal heart attacks and 240,000 diagnoses of aggravated asthma per year. Such illnesses take a toll not only on the health of the population, but also on the economy.
Estimates by the EPA calculate that negative health factors caused by the pollutants are behind 1.9 million missed school and workdays annually. If the proposal is passed, it could work significantly to reduce this number, and ideally have a positive effect on America’s economy. These regulations are also estimated by the EPA to provide between $120 billion to $290 billion in annual benefits by 2014 by reducing the diagnoses and treatment of these illnesses as well as mitigating the environmental effect of the pollution. That eclipses the $2.8 billion estimated project cost. Electricity costs should also only increase by 2% once the rules are put into place by the power plants.
Even with the positive estimates about the benefits and costs of the provisions, the power sector isn’t looking forward to the regulations. Dan Riedinger, of the Edison Electric Institute, said that the rules would require “dramatic reductions in power sector emissions, on top of major reductions to date, on a very short timeline.”
But the new proposal may be a step in the right direction for the people. After 60 days of open public commenting, the rules are expected to go into effect. The rules will not affect the amount of energy distributed, and the costs to the industry are minimal when compared to the estimated economic value of the benefits.
Extra Credit
by Caterina Andreano, August 6, 2010
In today’s economic climate, researching credit history is one of the most pivotal business practices for lenders of credit. Employers, insurers, lenders–even cell phone companies–all look into your credit score before making economic decisions about you. That’s why it’s more important now than ever to start establishing good credit early on.
If you’re a college student, the best way to start is probably first to piggy back off your parents’ credit accounts. This means that you’ll become an authorized user of their accounts, but will have your own card. Piggybacking allows you to begin getting in the habit of spending with a credit card, and paying the bill on time each month, while ensuring that your parents can monitor your spending, considering you’re new to the credit world. For most young people who have no credit history, this is one of the few ways to begin developing credit card responsibility and smart spending habits.
Once you’ve proven to be a responsible credit card holder, it’s time to take out a line of credit in your own name. It’s best to start with a retail credit card; you may not have established enough credit to qualify for a regular credit card yet. A retail card differs from a regular credit card in three ways: it has lower benefits, a lower spending limit, and it can only be used at the store where it was issued from–a Macy’s store card can only be used at Macy’s, for example. Although it has fewer privileges, a retail card is a great first step in creating a credit history. It can be secured at many retailers and is best to use to purchase items that you would need anyway. If you don’t qualify for a retail card, since you may not have a credit score, the next step could be a secured credit card. This card extends you credit up to the amount you have in your savings account ensuring that you have the amount of cash on hand to cover the purchases you are charging.
When it’s time for a regular credit card, do your research. Websites such as creditcards.com allow you to pick which card you’re interested in, whether it’s a student card, a low interest-rate card, a rewards card, and more, and then compare the rates, allowing you to make an informed decision. As a novice to the credit game, try to pick the lowest interest rate, or annual percentage rate (APR), you can find, so you won’t have to pay more money than absolutely necessary in the long run. Cash back and point rewards are some credit-line benefits, but aren’t absolutely necessary when choosing a card. Also, make sure that you’re taking out the line of credit with a company that you trust. With identity-theft threats, you can never be too careful when giving out your information.
Once you’ve found the right card for you, make sure to use it responsibly. Break yourself into the habit by first using it for emergencies–when you have no other money–and then use it for small purchases monthly that you know you will be able to pay off consistently. When first becoming a credit-card holder, it’s important to always remember your budget. You’re using credit as an alternative to using cash, not as an alternative to having cash. Maintaining credit by making timely payments is critical in ensuring your credit score remains unblemished. Getting into the routine of using the card, and paying the bill on time each month will help to strengthen your credit history.
The main rules when building credit are to pay your bills, and make sure to do it on time–without exception. Bills refer to all the invoices that you receive, and are not limited to your credit card bills. Credit bureaus are now looking into all your financial history when it comes to credit scores. Holding down a steady job, having bills in your own name–cell phone, gas, electric–and living in one place for a respectable amount of time are now all factored into your credit score, which is something to keep in mind while trying to build a good line of credit.
A credit score is fragile and is a complicated calculation. Though you can fix it over time by paying your bills, skipping a payment–or making a late payment–can negatively affect your score for about seven years. At 35% weighting, payment history makes up a large percentage of the calculation of your credit score by bureaus, emphasizing the importance of having a history of timely payments. The amount you owe on your credit card and have yet to pay off makes up 30% of the score, which is why it’s just about as important to pay off the full amount each month as it is to pay on time. The length of time you’ve had a credit history is also factored into the calculation by 15%, particularly important for novice credit users who have little history to fall back on. The remaining 20% of the score is affected by new credit lines–either outstanding or recently obtained–and the types of credit you use.
Establishing good credit is an absolute necessity in this economy, and it’s never too early to be AIMbitious and get a head start.
If you’re a college student, the best way to start is probably first to piggy back off your parents’ credit accounts. This means that you’ll become an authorized user of their accounts, but will have your own card. Piggybacking allows you to begin getting in the habit of spending with a credit card, and paying the bill on time each month, while ensuring that your parents can monitor your spending, considering you’re new to the credit world. For most young people who have no credit history, this is one of the few ways to begin developing credit card responsibility and smart spending habits.
Once you’ve proven to be a responsible credit card holder, it’s time to take out a line of credit in your own name. It’s best to start with a retail credit card; you may not have established enough credit to qualify for a regular credit card yet. A retail card differs from a regular credit card in three ways: it has lower benefits, a lower spending limit, and it can only be used at the store where it was issued from–a Macy’s store card can only be used at Macy’s, for example. Although it has fewer privileges, a retail card is a great first step in creating a credit history. It can be secured at many retailers and is best to use to purchase items that you would need anyway. If you don’t qualify for a retail card, since you may not have a credit score, the next step could be a secured credit card. This card extends you credit up to the amount you have in your savings account ensuring that you have the amount of cash on hand to cover the purchases you are charging.
When it’s time for a regular credit card, do your research. Websites such as creditcards.com allow you to pick which card you’re interested in, whether it’s a student card, a low interest-rate card, a rewards card, and more, and then compare the rates, allowing you to make an informed decision. As a novice to the credit game, try to pick the lowest interest rate, or annual percentage rate (APR), you can find, so you won’t have to pay more money than absolutely necessary in the long run. Cash back and point rewards are some credit-line benefits, but aren’t absolutely necessary when choosing a card. Also, make sure that you’re taking out the line of credit with a company that you trust. With identity-theft threats, you can never be too careful when giving out your information.
Once you’ve found the right card for you, make sure to use it responsibly. Break yourself into the habit by first using it for emergencies–when you have no other money–and then use it for small purchases monthly that you know you will be able to pay off consistently. When first becoming a credit-card holder, it’s important to always remember your budget. You’re using credit as an alternative to using cash, not as an alternative to having cash. Maintaining credit by making timely payments is critical in ensuring your credit score remains unblemished. Getting into the routine of using the card, and paying the bill on time each month will help to strengthen your credit history.
The main rules when building credit are to pay your bills, and make sure to do it on time–without exception. Bills refer to all the invoices that you receive, and are not limited to your credit card bills. Credit bureaus are now looking into all your financial history when it comes to credit scores. Holding down a steady job, having bills in your own name–cell phone, gas, electric–and living in one place for a respectable amount of time are now all factored into your credit score, which is something to keep in mind while trying to build a good line of credit.
A credit score is fragile and is a complicated calculation. Though you can fix it over time by paying your bills, skipping a payment–or making a late payment–can negatively affect your score for about seven years. At 35% weighting, payment history makes up a large percentage of the calculation of your credit score by bureaus, emphasizing the importance of having a history of timely payments. The amount you owe on your credit card and have yet to pay off makes up 30% of the score, which is why it’s just about as important to pay off the full amount each month as it is to pay on time. The length of time you’ve had a credit history is also factored into the calculation by 15%, particularly important for novice credit users who have little history to fall back on. The remaining 20% of the score is affected by new credit lines–either outstanding or recently obtained–and the types of credit you use.
Establishing good credit is an absolute necessity in this economy, and it’s never too early to be AIMbitious and get a head start.
Eco-Enthusiastic
by Caterina Andreano, July 18, 2010
The oil spill in the Gulf Coast is a testament to how our actions affect the environment we live in. Petroleum is a limited resource, but we use this fossil fuel to make everything from gasoline to chip bags. At the dawn of the age of understanding our environmental impact, companies like SunChips and Mercedes Benz, and projects such as Solar Impulse, are pioneering technologies that make it easier for us to be more environmentally responsible and ditch petroleum for plants and alternative power.
SunChips, owned by FritoLay, has created the world’s first 100% compostable chip bag, leaving petroleum by-products behind in favor of plants. It took the company four years to perfect, but the bag is now made of polyactic acid, a polymer made from plants, which is able to break down in as little as 13 weeks if you create the right environment in your backyard soil. The company even provides instructions on their website directing people as to how to use their chip bags to compost and nourish their soil. Using plants over petroleum is a small step in helping to stop the planet from degrading our environment’s resources.
As the world searches for ways to lessen its dependence on oil, hybrid cars and solar and electric powered engines are becoming more widely used. Now planes can run only on solar power too, broadening the future’s horizons for limiting oil usage. Co-founders Bertrand Piccard, and André Borschberg, of the project Solar Impulse, are the pioneers building and testing the technology needed to fly solar-powered planes. The project broke the record for the height and duration of a solar-powered flight by reaching an altitude of 8.700 meters for over 26 hours on July 7, 2010.
Their story can instill in everyone a newfound confidence in alternative power, increasing its popularity and potential. The technology is solid and as Solar Impulse continues to break records in the area of solar-powered aviation, they prove that the possibilities of alternative power are increasing, and soon more planes will be run on solar power, reaching new heights and new durations.
Even Mercedes Benz is planning to rid itself of its dependence on petroleum. They aim to make purely alternative energy-powered vehicles from 2015 on. The company is developing the technology that will allow its cars to run on electric power, fuel cells, and biofuels alone. Mercedez Benz would be the first luxury car dealer to cut ties with petroleum entirely and go completely green.
As SunChips, Solar Impulse, and Mercedes Benz reduce their dependence on petroleum and search for alternative ways to preserve the environment, it’s up to us to follow suit. Though the big guys can set the trend in motion, grassroots initiatives have the power to make the movement increasingly everlasting. We have influence in helping the cause for environmental awareness by supporting and advocating eco-inspired products. The choice is ours to leave petroleum power and go green, and it can be as simple as choosing fewer of those other, petroleum-made products in favor of more sustainable, cleaner alternatives. We have a lot more power than we think, and brainpower is one engine that doesn’t need to rely on petroleum for fuel.
SunChips, owned by FritoLay, has created the world’s first 100% compostable chip bag, leaving petroleum by-products behind in favor of plants. It took the company four years to perfect, but the bag is now made of polyactic acid, a polymer made from plants, which is able to break down in as little as 13 weeks if you create the right environment in your backyard soil. The company even provides instructions on their website directing people as to how to use their chip bags to compost and nourish their soil. Using plants over petroleum is a small step in helping to stop the planet from degrading our environment’s resources.
As the world searches for ways to lessen its dependence on oil, hybrid cars and solar and electric powered engines are becoming more widely used. Now planes can run only on solar power too, broadening the future’s horizons for limiting oil usage. Co-founders Bertrand Piccard, and André Borschberg, of the project Solar Impulse, are the pioneers building and testing the technology needed to fly solar-powered planes. The project broke the record for the height and duration of a solar-powered flight by reaching an altitude of 8.700 meters for over 26 hours on July 7, 2010.
Their story can instill in everyone a newfound confidence in alternative power, increasing its popularity and potential. The technology is solid and as Solar Impulse continues to break records in the area of solar-powered aviation, they prove that the possibilities of alternative power are increasing, and soon more planes will be run on solar power, reaching new heights and new durations.
Even Mercedes Benz is planning to rid itself of its dependence on petroleum. They aim to make purely alternative energy-powered vehicles from 2015 on. The company is developing the technology that will allow its cars to run on electric power, fuel cells, and biofuels alone. Mercedez Benz would be the first luxury car dealer to cut ties with petroleum entirely and go completely green.
As SunChips, Solar Impulse, and Mercedes Benz reduce their dependence on petroleum and search for alternative ways to preserve the environment, it’s up to us to follow suit. Though the big guys can set the trend in motion, grassroots initiatives have the power to make the movement increasingly everlasting. We have influence in helping the cause for environmental awareness by supporting and advocating eco-inspired products. The choice is ours to leave petroleum power and go green, and it can be as simple as choosing fewer of those other, petroleum-made products in favor of more sustainable, cleaner alternatives. We have a lot more power than we think, and brainpower is one engine that doesn’t need to rely on petroleum for fuel.
Student Debt Demystified
by Caterina Andreano, July 16, 2010
In case the worry that midterms, papers and social life bring weren’t enough, there’s another huge obstacle many students must overcome: student loan debt. More students are going to college than ever before, as witnessed by the 6% year-over-year increase in college enrollment from 2007-2008–the largest in over 40 years. As students tackle Shakespeare and the basics of economics, they may forget about the thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, they accumulate in debt, and give little thought to how they’ll pay it back. The numbers are disheartening.
It’s been estimated that as many as 206,000 people graduated from college in 2008 with more than $40,000 of debt. That’s one in every ten graduates. Interest rates for a Federal PLUS loans are as high as 8.5% for students who took out money for the 2009-2010 school year and the default rates for repaying loans are on the rise, as high as 11% for graduates from for-profit schools. Students might begin to blame the financial aid department at their school, the banks who gave them private loans, themselves, or even their parents, who may have encouraged them to pursue higher education without giving them a reality check. As the recession continues, students are beginning to realize just how much debt they’re really in, and though we can’t undo what’s already happened, we can look for solutions.
Consolidating your loans is a popular choice in handling debt. Students take out Stafford Loans, unsubsidized loans, PLUS loans, and more throughout their college career. Combining these separate loans can make the monthly payments easier and cheaper by making the monthly sum one large check instead of several smaller ones, which graduates might forget to pay. The interest on the loans will also be smaller: the monthly amount will add up to less than paying several small loans, potentially saving a significant amount of money per month. There are loan consolidators that can help to consolidate student loans, and popular banks like Chase can provide one large private loan to consolidate smaller ones, too.
You can pay off some student debt through loan forgiveness. Working for the military, volunteering, teaching, practicing medicine, holding legal positions and more can all significantly reduce loan payments. The federal government gives grants to graduates who work in these fields, and the extra money can help to pay loans and loan interest. FinAid provides more information about what exactly you can do to qualify for such grants and for loan forgiveness.
If you’re an unemployed graduate, you can request a loan deferment, whereby you can skip payments until you’re employed and able to pay back your loans. Your credit score won’t suffer, but the interest will continue to accumulate.
Advice for those of you who haven’t yet started the student loan cycle: do your research. You need to be informed before you start taking out loans, because a large part of your financial development depends on when you pay them back. SafeStart can help you to plan financially for your college career by providing easier payment plans and straightforward fees. Charging between $40 and $70 per every $1,000 lent, the company promises interest-free money loans in the future if you’re having trouble with student debt, which makes it easier when it comes time to repay your loans.
Student debt has become a big problem in America, and it may only be getting bigger. Beware when borrowing for college; education is important, but so is your financial safety. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life slaving away to pay for an education,” says Courtney Munna, in an interview with The New York Times. She’s an NYU graduate, currently employed as a photographer, and is struggling with almost $100,000 in debt. If you’re in a situation like Munna, look into some of these options for payment, because bankruptcy legally isn’t an option when it comes to student loans.
It’s been estimated that as many as 206,000 people graduated from college in 2008 with more than $40,000 of debt. That’s one in every ten graduates. Interest rates for a Federal PLUS loans are as high as 8.5% for students who took out money for the 2009-2010 school year and the default rates for repaying loans are on the rise, as high as 11% for graduates from for-profit schools. Students might begin to blame the financial aid department at their school, the banks who gave them private loans, themselves, or even their parents, who may have encouraged them to pursue higher education without giving them a reality check. As the recession continues, students are beginning to realize just how much debt they’re really in, and though we can’t undo what’s already happened, we can look for solutions.
Consolidating your loans is a popular choice in handling debt. Students take out Stafford Loans, unsubsidized loans, PLUS loans, and more throughout their college career. Combining these separate loans can make the monthly payments easier and cheaper by making the monthly sum one large check instead of several smaller ones, which graduates might forget to pay. The interest on the loans will also be smaller: the monthly amount will add up to less than paying several small loans, potentially saving a significant amount of money per month. There are loan consolidators that can help to consolidate student loans, and popular banks like Chase can provide one large private loan to consolidate smaller ones, too.
You can pay off some student debt through loan forgiveness. Working for the military, volunteering, teaching, practicing medicine, holding legal positions and more can all significantly reduce loan payments. The federal government gives grants to graduates who work in these fields, and the extra money can help to pay loans and loan interest. FinAid provides more information about what exactly you can do to qualify for such grants and for loan forgiveness.
If you’re an unemployed graduate, you can request a loan deferment, whereby you can skip payments until you’re employed and able to pay back your loans. Your credit score won’t suffer, but the interest will continue to accumulate.
Advice for those of you who haven’t yet started the student loan cycle: do your research. You need to be informed before you start taking out loans, because a large part of your financial development depends on when you pay them back. SafeStart can help you to plan financially for your college career by providing easier payment plans and straightforward fees. Charging between $40 and $70 per every $1,000 lent, the company promises interest-free money loans in the future if you’re having trouble with student debt, which makes it easier when it comes time to repay your loans.
Student debt has become a big problem in America, and it may only be getting bigger. Beware when borrowing for college; education is important, but so is your financial safety. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life slaving away to pay for an education,” says Courtney Munna, in an interview with The New York Times. She’s an NYU graduate, currently employed as a photographer, and is struggling with almost $100,000 in debt. If you’re in a situation like Munna, look into some of these options for payment, because bankruptcy legally isn’t an option when it comes to student loans.
The Green routine
by caterina andreano, july 2, 2010
As many as 60,000 barrels of oil gush into the Gulf every day. The earth’s surface temperature is expected to rise nine degrees Fahrenheit by the century’s end, and 64% of carbon in the atmosphere is due to the burning of fossil fuels. Striking facts like these are why we should be paying more attention to our environment. Simple acts like recycling, using clean energy, and composting are all easy ways to help reduce our carbon footprint, and to work together for a healthier atmosphere. Colleges are at the core of the environmentalist revolution, and the University of Vermont’s GreenHouse dorm serves as an example to us all that going green is easier than it seems.
The building may seem like a normal college dorm, but if you take a closer look, you’ll find the GreenHouse is unlike any college housing you’ve ever seen. The dormitory is made entirely of recycled materials and even has an oven made from locally recycled resources. Anything that can be recycled is, and the hall is equipped with a full composting facility, including a composting toilet. To help save energy, all lights throughout the building are motion censored, and in an effort to efficiently use the space, the roof was made into a grassy plain.
The near 300 students living in this LEED certified building (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) work together to form Guilds; some join MASH, the Mushroom and Spore Hunting Guild; others contribute to the Sewing Guild, where they create and transform recycled clothing. Organizations such as the Composting Guild, the Bread Guild, and the Organic Gardening Guild are all a part of what makes this residential living community both eco-friendly and merely friendly.
Emily Abernathy is a student living in the GreenHouse, and green living is something central in her life. “Being environmentally friendly and living a green lifestyle is something that’s really important to me and a lot of my peers…even though we’re young and we’re not out in the world making a difference, it’s important for us to try and do everything that we can now,” she says confidently. Her green routine might be drastic for some, but she recognizes this and trusts that even a small difference in someone’s lifestyle can help to change the degradation of our environment. “You don’t have to go drive out and try to help out with the oil spill to really make a difference. All you have to do is turn off the lights when you leave a room, take a shorter shower, or even just start composing in your backyard,” Abernathy says.
Her words stir something in all of us. If the forward-thinking students of the GreenHouse facility can grow their own food, compost their trash, and reduce their energy usage–all while cramming for midterms–we can do our part to make a small difference in our routines. Whether it’s turning off the air conditioning when you leave the house, further utilizing mass transportation, or even remembering to recycle water bottles, everything matters, and as Abernathy says, “Everything that you do makes a difference. It sounds cliché, but when it comes to the environment, it’s so true.”
The building may seem like a normal college dorm, but if you take a closer look, you’ll find the GreenHouse is unlike any college housing you’ve ever seen. The dormitory is made entirely of recycled materials and even has an oven made from locally recycled resources. Anything that can be recycled is, and the hall is equipped with a full composting facility, including a composting toilet. To help save energy, all lights throughout the building are motion censored, and in an effort to efficiently use the space, the roof was made into a grassy plain.
The near 300 students living in this LEED certified building (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) work together to form Guilds; some join MASH, the Mushroom and Spore Hunting Guild; others contribute to the Sewing Guild, where they create and transform recycled clothing. Organizations such as the Composting Guild, the Bread Guild, and the Organic Gardening Guild are all a part of what makes this residential living community both eco-friendly and merely friendly.
Emily Abernathy is a student living in the GreenHouse, and green living is something central in her life. “Being environmentally friendly and living a green lifestyle is something that’s really important to me and a lot of my peers…even though we’re young and we’re not out in the world making a difference, it’s important for us to try and do everything that we can now,” she says confidently. Her green routine might be drastic for some, but she recognizes this and trusts that even a small difference in someone’s lifestyle can help to change the degradation of our environment. “You don’t have to go drive out and try to help out with the oil spill to really make a difference. All you have to do is turn off the lights when you leave a room, take a shorter shower, or even just start composing in your backyard,” Abernathy says.
Her words stir something in all of us. If the forward-thinking students of the GreenHouse facility can grow their own food, compost their trash, and reduce their energy usage–all while cramming for midterms–we can do our part to make a small difference in our routines. Whether it’s turning off the air conditioning when you leave the house, further utilizing mass transportation, or even remembering to recycle water bottles, everything matters, and as Abernathy says, “Everything that you do makes a difference. It sounds cliché, but when it comes to the environment, it’s so true.”
Going Grad
by Caterina Andreano, June 25, 2010
Graduate school has become the new college. With the job market increasingly competitive and the direction of the economy unpredictable, more college graduates are applying to graduate school now than ever before. Graduate school has become a necessary path in many fields, and the increasing applicant rates, as well as the benefits of a higher salary, a lower unemployment rate, and increased specialization make higher education a popular choice.
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism alone had a 60% increase in applicants from 2009 to 2010. This significant change can be credited to the recession. Yet as more students choose to pursue graduate education rather than entering immediately the career force, the growing applicant pool makes the work force more competitive. What does this mean for college graduates?
For those students who attain a college degree, the advantage has shifted to the Master’s holders. Attending college has become a pre-requisite to starting many new careers, and full-time college enrollment has increased by 34% from 1997 to 2007. With more college graduates, the career force is getting more competitive, and there is considerable consolidation of qualified candidates for any particular job opening. Competition is even increasing among graduate-school students, since, as the U.S. Census Bureau estimated in 2008, one in every ten people possessed a graduate degree. In such a job market, you need to have a comparative advantage, and that advantage–at least on paper–has become a Master’s degree.
Further education–in many cases–requires more time and money, but data show it will improve your career prospects. In 2009, the unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders was 5.2% compared with 3.9% for those holding a Master’s degree, and a 2.3% rate for holders of a professional degree. The difference in the unemployment rates indicates that job applicants with further education are less likely to be unemployed. Graduate school can also help you specialize in your career, give you more hands-on experience, and help you to earn a higher salary than you would have with only an undergraduate degree.
Earnings disparity is also significant. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Congress calculated from the payroll earnings of 1999 that those who earned a Master’s degree made $2.5 million over their lifetime compared to the $2.1 million made by Bachelor’s degree earners. The numbers have changed since the study, and the results of the new 2010 census will reveal the increases, but the idea remains the same. The case can be made that the benefits of attending graduate school outweigh the costs and are helping to make graduate school an increasingly popular choice among college undergraduates.
Of course, graduate school isn’t for everyone. “I think that graduate and professional school has never been more important. But it depends on what your long-term career path is,” says Trudy Steinfeld, the executive director of the NYU Wasserman Career Center. “If you’re a journalist, after your Bachelor’s degree, you’re going to get work based off how you write. Getting a Master’s degree would not be necessary for every employer.”
If you want to attend graduate school, but price is the issue, there is a solution. Getting into a company right after college will help you on the road to pursuing further education, and therefore earn you more money and more specialization in the future. Some companies, UPS, for example, will pay a large portion of graduate-school tuition while others will pay a smaller fraction of the costs. Fellowships also help to pay for graduate studies. An online resource, www.gradschools.com, is a great one-stop-shop for all your graduate fellowship needs.
As the business world places a greater emphasis on education, and as college and graduate applicant rates increase, the job market has shifted to fit the demographics. Graduate school is a way to improve your career marketability and develop a skill set and network that will enrich your life. After all, the fulfillment of gaining expertise and developing deep relationships in your field is inestimable; there is value in the intangible, too.
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism alone had a 60% increase in applicants from 2009 to 2010. This significant change can be credited to the recession. Yet as more students choose to pursue graduate education rather than entering immediately the career force, the growing applicant pool makes the work force more competitive. What does this mean for college graduates?
For those students who attain a college degree, the advantage has shifted to the Master’s holders. Attending college has become a pre-requisite to starting many new careers, and full-time college enrollment has increased by 34% from 1997 to 2007. With more college graduates, the career force is getting more competitive, and there is considerable consolidation of qualified candidates for any particular job opening. Competition is even increasing among graduate-school students, since, as the U.S. Census Bureau estimated in 2008, one in every ten people possessed a graduate degree. In such a job market, you need to have a comparative advantage, and that advantage–at least on paper–has become a Master’s degree.
Further education–in many cases–requires more time and money, but data show it will improve your career prospects. In 2009, the unemployment rate for bachelor’s degree holders was 5.2% compared with 3.9% for those holding a Master’s degree, and a 2.3% rate for holders of a professional degree. The difference in the unemployment rates indicates that job applicants with further education are less likely to be unemployed. Graduate school can also help you specialize in your career, give you more hands-on experience, and help you to earn a higher salary than you would have with only an undergraduate degree.
Earnings disparity is also significant. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Congress calculated from the payroll earnings of 1999 that those who earned a Master’s degree made $2.5 million over their lifetime compared to the $2.1 million made by Bachelor’s degree earners. The numbers have changed since the study, and the results of the new 2010 census will reveal the increases, but the idea remains the same. The case can be made that the benefits of attending graduate school outweigh the costs and are helping to make graduate school an increasingly popular choice among college undergraduates.
Of course, graduate school isn’t for everyone. “I think that graduate and professional school has never been more important. But it depends on what your long-term career path is,” says Trudy Steinfeld, the executive director of the NYU Wasserman Career Center. “If you’re a journalist, after your Bachelor’s degree, you’re going to get work based off how you write. Getting a Master’s degree would not be necessary for every employer.”
If you want to attend graduate school, but price is the issue, there is a solution. Getting into a company right after college will help you on the road to pursuing further education, and therefore earn you more money and more specialization in the future. Some companies, UPS, for example, will pay a large portion of graduate-school tuition while others will pay a smaller fraction of the costs. Fellowships also help to pay for graduate studies. An online resource, www.gradschools.com, is a great one-stop-shop for all your graduate fellowship needs.
As the business world places a greater emphasis on education, and as college and graduate applicant rates increase, the job market has shifted to fit the demographics. Graduate school is a way to improve your career marketability and develop a skill set and network that will enrich your life. After all, the fulfillment of gaining expertise and developing deep relationships in your field is inestimable; there is value in the intangible, too.