Hello CivMixers. I hope you are all well and settling into the holiday season routine. Due to fears of rising COVID numbers and the likelihood that restrictions will again be put in place, stores are busy as people rush to stock up in advance.
For the first year, the munchkin seems to get the Santa thing – really the whole Christmas thing. She has discovered Advent calendars. So yeah, it is fascinating. Also, we had so many things in November she wakes up asking what we are celebrating today.
Parenthood people. No one tells you that you will spend so much time disappointing your children by telling them that it is only Thursday – no holiday, just you know, Thursday. My child is also theatrical, so I am sure that plays into it.
Ah well, at least I get to use her to annoy my oldest sister about her irrational fear of squirrels. (Love you, Julie…)
Alright, let’s get to it.
- Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old who has been accused of multiple crimes during protests in Kenosha, Washington, including two counts of murder, was back in court today. His lawyer, Mark Richards, argued a motion for dismissal of two lesser charges in front of the Kenosha County judicial court commissioner, Loren Keating.
The two charges for which Richards sought dismissal were one count of endangering a person’s safety – that person in question is journalist Richard McGinnis – and one count of illegal possession of a weapon.
Richards argued that there was no reason any reasonable person could conclude that his client committed those crimes. Judge Keating denied the request, determining that the charges should be argued at trial.
Rittenhouse also faces charges of first-degree reckless homicide and five more criminal counts in connection with the incident at which Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum lost their lives.
The shooting occurred when Rittenhouse joined up with self-declared militia members who took to the streets to oppose the protests raging after a Black man, Jacob Blake, was shot in what many deemed an overly aggressive act by a white police officer.
Rittenhouse’s lawyers will be arguing that he was helping to protect property and acted in self-defense. - The good news in 2020 seems like it has been far and few between. There is a bright spot here, however, in the premiere Kid of the Year award by Time magazine – the result of a partnership between the Nickelodeon TV network and Time.
The inaugural award winner is Gitanjali Rao, 15, who won for her invention of a new mobile device that can be used to test drinking water for lead. Rao created her Tehys device in response to the Flint, MI water crisis.
This is not the first recognition received by Rao, a Lone Tree, CO, resident. Back in seventh grade, she was named America’s Top Young Scientist. Last year she made the Forbes Magazine “30 Under 30” list.
Rao’s winning device uses carbon nanotube sensors to help people detect lead in drinking water. She sought out scientists in the industry and worked with them to get the device made and sold. Rao has also invented Kindly – a phone and web tool that uses AI to help detect cyberbullying.
Rao said it is not to reprimand or shame anyone, but being a teen herself, she knows that sometimes you may not be aware of your words’ impact or real meaning. This new tool gives you the chance to think through things before you hit send.
There were five finalists for the Kid of the Year, and all five will receive a monetary prize provided by the parent company of Nickelodeon, Viacom. They will all also be appearing on television in an upcoming special hosted by Trevor Noah.
There were 5,000 candidates initially sent in for consideration, ranging between the ages of eight to 16. The finalists were narrowed down and the winner was chosen by a committee made up mostly of other kids – and also Noah.
All of the other finalists will be profiled in Time. The other four finalists are Ian McKenna, 16 – Austin, TX; Jordan Reeves, 14 – Colombia, MO; Tyler Gordon, 14 – San Jose, CA and Bellen Woodard, 10 – Leesburg, VA. - According to the US Attorney of the Southern District’s office, the village of Airmont in the county of Rockland has been using zoning provisions to keep the local Orthodox Jewish community from running religious-based schools or worshipping in their private homes.
The office filed a discrimination suit against the village of Airmont – the third such federal suit the locality has faced since 1991.
In 2015 the final court-ordered consent decree on the village of Airmont expired, and the US attorney’s office is alleging that since then, the village has returned to its old ways. They have allegedly made and imposed regulations that the federal government maintains violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000.
One of these is a new zoning code from 2018 that seeks to strike any location categorized as a “residential place of worship,” a recognized land use category. This new zoning code is in direct violation of the first judgment against the village in 1996. - Heads up, CivMixers, the state DOT has issued an alert regarding impending rolling lane closures on 87-North between exits 10 to 12.
These closures will be on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m. as crews work to repave the road. If the weather doesn’t allow them to proceed, a new date will be selected.
The DOT asks people to remember that they need to move over and slow way down in work zones and also that all fines are doubled in work zones. - There are quite a few people who are eager to say goodbye to this year and wave at it in their rearview mirror.
Unfortunately for those who want to send the year of COVID, murder hornets, civil unrest, and the most contentious election in modern history into the night with a big parade will have to settle for a virtual sendoff.
The Albany Capital Center and Transfinder have partnered to host a “Farewell to 2020” virtual parade. They ask for families to send in videos of them waving or sending holiday wishes (with the videos anywhere from five seconds to ten seconds). You can send these to the Albany Capital Center via direct message on Facebook.
Businesses are being asked to make either a float or to sponsor segments. Any company that has interested can email Doug McClaine. There will be online, live donations during the virtual parade live stream. Those donations will be split between non-profits that were directly affected by COVID-19 and the shutdowns.
Transfinder will create a virtual route for the parade that correlates with the submissions received.
Stay steady, stay healthy, stay safe.
Stay Woke.
