Happy Monday, CivMixers. Sorry for missing last Friday, (Editor’s note: It was A DAY), but we are here and ready to kick off Thanksgiving week of Five Things.
Hopefully, all of you are doing well and have a turkey day plan. Remember to follow guidelines, keep numbers down, and don’t go crazy with inviting people who you don’t know into your home.
If you still have to go and shop for your Thanksgiving celebration, wear your mask, use hand sanitizer, and observe social distancing. If your preferred market has aisles marked in a specific way, please do your best to follow them.
No matter how you may feel about mask regulations and requirements or the pandemic, please remember that the stores have to answer for their customers. Help them follow the rules and keep both their employees and your fellow customers safe.
In other news, somehow, my wife and child put up our Christmas Tree AND decorated the front of our house for Christmas over my objections. They apparently forgot that we have to be Thankful before we can be Merry, but so do most retail stores, so, cest la vie, right?
I live here, people; I have no clue what is happening.
Now, let’s kick off our week of five things.
1) Today, the State Board of Canvassers in Michigan voted to certify the local 2020 results in the presidential election. This delivers MI to President-elect Joe Biden, with a lead of over 150,000 votes over President Donald Trump.
This final vote brings to an end one of the most contentious certifications in the state’s history. If you want to review the whole mess, click here.
2) Some breaking news to report: The General Services Administration has informed President-elect Joe Biden that the Trump administration is ready to begin the formal transition process.
This is the first step that indicates the Trump White House may finally be willing to recognize that the current president has lost the Nov. 3 election, and Biden is going to be sworn into office next month.
In a tweet, Trump said he’s “recommending” that Emily Murphy, his handpicked GSA administrator, sign the appropriate papers that allow Biden’s transition team to access the government resources that the president has been holding up while waging an increasingly far-fetched battle to overturn the results of the election.
3) New York State Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against the Buffalo Roman Catholic Diocese, former Bishop Richard Malone, and former Auxiliary Bishop Edward Grosz, following a two-year investigation that found the diocese leaders had sheltered priests accused of sexual abuse.
These priests were not subject to procedures that could have resulted in the Vatican stripping them of their priesthood, but instead were protected and allowed to either go on leave or retire amid accusations.
Out of the 78 priests against whom the diocese substantiated charges, more than 24 of those were not sent to the Vatican for a trial. The complaint filed by the AG’s office demands that a judge force compliance to the mandatory procedures in the future, as well as assigning an independent compliance auditor to monitor all sexual abuse complaints and claims from now on.
The suit also demands restitution from Malone and Grosz, who were allowed to resign from the diocese instead of being held responsible for handling these cases. The AG is also seeking to have them barred from serving any organization in a fiduciary role.
There are still investigations taking place elsewhere in the state regarding the handling of similar cases.
4) Throughout the Amsterdam School District, and in partnership with the Montgomery County Public Health Department, all students will be remote learning tomorrow, going into the Thanksgiving break.
As of right now, the teachers and staff should report to work as usual. According to the Director of Public Health, this is a response to a wide array of COVID-related issues and not a single occurrence.
Similarly, Scotia-Glenville closed its high school today after a second case reported in the school community was being investigated by SCPHD. Since no faculty was allowed to respond, all facilities of the school were closed.
In the Bethlehem Central School District, there was an individual who tested positive in the middle school. That individual is in isolation, but the ACDOH said there is an exposure possible, and several classes will have to be quarantined. Due to many teachers having to go into quarantine, the Patroon House eighth-graders are remote tomorrow as they were today.
All middle school programs outside of the Patroon House will proceed with in-person classes as scheduled.
5) Both Troy and Saratoga are trying to ensure that some local holiday traditions continue in this year despite the pandemic. Take a cue from Troy, Saratoga announced it would changing the beloved Victorian Streetwalk to a more extended and socially distanced event known as Victorian Streetscapes.
Starting Dec. 3, the event will begin on Facebook live and Mayor Meg Kelly will light the 19-foot white spruce Christmas tree. There will be sixty other trees lit up throughout downtown.
Santa will not be there this year, but there will be a place for kids to drop letters for him. Santa will also be appearing six times throughout the year in different neighborhoods. More information is available on the Saratoga Springs DBA website or at (518) 587-8635.
The inspiration for this unusual approach came a week ago when the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce announced that to continue the 38-year tradition of the Troy Victorian Stroll, they were changing it to a longer event that will continue the business decorating competition and a “Stroll Season Bingo Card” that can be completed and entered to win prizes.
There will be street performers, holiday music, and surprise appearances by Santa Claus. More information is available here.
Stay steady, stay healthy, stay safe.
Stay woke.
