Vacant no more, a former Clinton Street cafe will soon birth more of the same.
The old Cocoa Bar, which shuttered and never recovered from the mandated COVID-19 lockdown, is poised to become another cafe-cum-wine bar. (The Brooklyn-based Cocoa served thirteen years on the block.)
Application materials submitted to Community Board 3 reveal that Ooh La La will serve breakfast/brunch options, sandwiches, soups, salads, and paninis. All rounded out by coffees, teas, and juices. The team hopes to secure state approval to sell beer and wine, too, but no taps.
Below is the tentative menu for Ooh La La. ownership will appear before the SLA subcommittee of CB3 later this month.
Can’t concentrate? Losing sleep? Binge-eating your feelings?
In a year of unprecedented stress, the nation collectively appears to be heading toward peak anxiety this week. People are sharing stories of stress eating, clearing their calendars (who could sit through a Zoom meeting during a time like this?) and threatening to stay in bed for a week.
The stress has consumed both sides of the political aisle. A poll released by the American Psychological Association showed that 76 percent of Democrats and 67 percent of Republicans are finding the 2020 election to be a significant source of stress.
“We’ve had this unending momentum of a steady stream of stuff just going wrong since the beginning of March,” said the Rev. angel Kyodo williams, a meditation teacher and author of the book “Radical Dharma.” “The groundlessness that people feel is not really something the human body was meant to sustain over long periods of time.”
While there’s nothing you can do to speed election results or a coronavirus vaccine, you do have the power to take care of yourself. Neuroscientists, psychologists and meditation experts offered advice about the big and small things you can do to calm down. Here are 10 things you can try to release anxiety, gain perspective and gird yourself for whatever comes next.
Interrupt yourself
As you feel your anxiety level rising, try to practice “self interruption.” Go for a walk. Call a friend. Run an errand. Just move your body and become aware of your breathing.
“Interrupt yourself so you can shift your state,” said Ms. Williams. “Get your attention on something else. Focus on something that is beautiful. Get up. Move your body and really shift your position. I think people really need to move away from wherever it is they are and break the momentum.”
Focus on your feet
When you feel your stress level rising, try this quick calming exercise from Dr. Judson A. Brewer, director of research and innovation at the Mindfulness Center at Brown University:
Take a moment to focus on your feet. You can do this standing or sitting, with your feet on the ground. How do they feel? Are they warm or cold? Are they tingly? Moist or dry? Wiggle your toes. Feel the soles of your feet. Feel your heels connecting with your shoes and the ground beneath you.
“It’s a different way to ground yourself,” said Dr. Brewer. “Anxiety tends to be in your chest and throat. Your feet are as peripheral as you get from your anxiety zones.”
Move for 3 minutes
It just takes a short burst of exercise — three minutes to be exact — to improve your mood, said Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University whose latest book is “The Joy of Movement.” Do jumping jacks. Stand and box. Do wall push-ups. Dance.
“If you give me three minutes, it works, as long as you’re moving your body in ways that feel good to you,” said Dr. McGonigal, who suggests picking an inspiring song to get you moving. “Anytime you move your muscles and get your heart rate up, you’ll get a boost in dopamine and sense yourself as alive and engaged. Movement for me is a way I sense my own strength and feel connected to hope and joy.”
Tackle a home project
Get rid of clutter, make a scrapbook, get a new comforter, hang artwork.
“It’s not frivolous to do something like declutter, organize or look around your space and think about how to make it a supportive place for you or anyone else you live with. It’s one of the ways we imagine a positive future,” said Dr. McGonigal, whose TedTalk on stress has been viewed nearly 24 million times. “Anything you do where you take an action that allows you to connect, whether consciously or not, with this idea that there’s a future you’re moving toward, that’s like a hope intervention. It’s something you’re doing now to look after your future self.”
Try five-finger breathing
This simple practice is easy to remember and is often taught to children to help them calm themselves in times of high stress. (I tried this the other day in the dentist chair, and it helped a lot!) Dr. Brewer has created a video explaining the technique, which works by engaging multiple senses at the same time and crowding out those worrying thoughts.
Step 1. Hold your hand in front of you, fingers spread.
Step 2. Using your index finger on the opposite hand, start tracing the outline of your extended hand, starting at the wrist, moving up the pinkie finger.
Step 3. As you trace up your pinkie, breathe in. As you trace down your pinkie, breathe out. Trace up your ring finger and breathe in. Trace down your ring finger and breathe out.
Step 4. Continue finger by finger until you’ve traced your entire hand. Now reverse the process and trace from your thumb back to your pinkie, making sure to inhale as you trace up, and exhale as you trace down.
Connect with nature
Spend time outside. Watch birds. Wander amid the trees. Take a fresh look at the vistas and objects around you during an “awe walk.” Recent research shows that consciously taking in the wonders of nature amplifies the mental health benefits of walking.
Numerous studies support the notion that spending time in nature and walking on quiet, tree-lined paths can result in meaningful improvements to mental health, and even physical changes to the brain. Nature walkers have “quieter” brains: scans show less blood flow to the part of the brain associated with rumination. Some research shows that even looking at pictures of nature can improve your mood. Our brains, it seems, prefer green spaces. One small study found that exercisers exposed to the color green found it easier to exercise and were in a better mood than exercisers exposed to gray or red.
Rediscover your diaphragm
Many of us are vertical breathers: When we breathe, our shoulders rise and fall, and we’re not engaging our diaphragm. To better relax, learn to be a horizontal breather. Inhale and push your belly out, which means you’re using your diaphragm. Exhale and your middle relaxes.
For a deep (and somewhat complicated) dive on belly breathing, grab a tape measure and take this “breathing IQ” self-exam from Belisa Vranich, a clinical psychologist and author of “Breathing for Warriors.”
“If you’re breathing with your shoulders, you’re using auxiliary muscles, and you’ll have a higher heart rate, higher blood pressure and higher cortisol,” Dr. Vranich said. “If you breathe diaphragmatically, you’re more apt to be calmer.”
Take a lavender foot bath, burn a scented candle or spritz the air with orange aromatherapy. It’s only a temporary reprieve, but it just might help get you through election night.
Why does aromatherapy, particularly lavender, appear to have a calming effect? Some research suggests that lavender reaches odor-sensitive neurons in the nose that send signals to the parts of the brain related to wakefulness and awareness.
Accept the present moment
Accepting the result of the election doesn’t mean giving up if things don’t go your way. In fact, you’ll be more effective at pursuing change if you accept the situation. “Our anxiety comes from the desire to have things be different,” said Ms. Williams. “There’s going to be the day after the election. And the day after that. We need to be present to what is, regardless of the outcome you want.”
Thinking about history and those who have faced seemingly insurmountable hardship in the past can help you gain perspective, accept current events and make plans to pursue change.
“My ancestors had to prepare themselves, over and over again, for moving toward a freedom that was nowhere in sight,” said Ms. Williams, referring to Black Americans. “We prepare for life as it unfolds, not our ideal image of it. That is, literally, the only path forward.”
This coverage is made possible by Votebeat, a nonpartisan reporting project covering local election integrity and voting access. The article is available for reprint under the terms of Votebeat’s republishing policy.
There are more votes than ever to count in Texas this year: A record-breaking 9.7 million people cast ballots during Texas’ early voting period — 8.7 million of those were cast in person, and nearly 1 million sent through the mail. By the time Election Day comes and goes, experts predict that the total Texas vote count could reach 12 million.
The state’s 254 counties are responsible for tabulating the ballots, but they must follow a certain set of rules. Here’s how the process works in Texas:
Processing and counting mail-in ballots
County officials have already started reviewing mail-in ballots. In counties with over 100,000 residents, early voting ballot boards were allowed to start convening and processing mail-in ballots 12 days before the election. In smaller ones, they could start after the polls closed on the last day of early voting — which this year was Oct. 30. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 3, and they must arrive by Nov. 4.
Once the early voting ballot board gets the ballot, officials check whether the voter is registered to vote and may entrust a signature verification committee to match the signature on the envelope to the voter’s absentee ballot application. (They may use other signatures the county has on file.) The signature verification committee must have at least one reviewer from each party, and the majority of its members has to agree that the signature matches. Because of a ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Oct. 19, Texas officials can reject a mail-in ballot without telling the voter, unlike in states such as California, where voters must be notified of a problem with their ballot and given the opportunity to fix it.
In the counties that use scanning devices to count votes, officials could start opening the envelopes and scanning the ballots in preparation of Election Day. But this process hasn’t gone smoothly everywhere — in Tarrant County, Texas’ third most-populous, the scanners were rejecting about one-third of the mail-in ballots because of illegible bar codes, forcing board members to manually replicate the ballots in order for those votes to be counted. Although the votes can be scanned, they cannot be tallied before Election Day.
The portion of absentee ballots in Texas is larger than usual but smaller than in many other states since Texas is one of the few states that didn’t expand mail-in ballot eligibility requirements during the coronavirus pandemic. Voters had to have an excuse, whether it was being over 65 years old, having a disability, or being out of the county. The risk of getting infected with the coronavirus was not a sufficient reason.
Counting in-person ballots
Because of the pandemic, however, Texans were able to vote early in person starting on Oct. 13, providing six more days than in previous years. Voters use three methods to cast their ballots in person, depending on their county. Unlike many other states, Texas does not require a paper record of a person’s vote when using an electronic system. Still, for in-person voting, paper ballots remain the main way many Texans cast ballots, according to the secretary of state’s office. In some locations, the process is analog from start to finish, and ballots are both filled in and counted by hand. In others, voters mark paper ballots, which they then insert into a scanner, which also acts as a tabulating device.
The third method is through direct record electronic systems, or DREs. The voter makes their choices on a touchscreen or using a dial, and presses a “Vote” or “Cast Ballot” button to register their decision. That’s the kind of machine used by Harris County, making it the largest jurisdiction in the country — with 4.7 million residents — whose votes can’t be verified by a paper trail.
The Texas voting system is very decentralized, which means each of its 254 counties might handle the way it processes and counts its votes differently. For example, in Harris County, votes cast on the DRE machine are registered on a memory card, which has to be taken out of the device and transported to a central counting location, uploaded onto a computer and then tallied, The Houston Chronicle reported.
In Kendall County, population 47,431, which will use new equipment this year, the scanning machine is also the tabulator, and the process happens at the precinct level.
Not even the secretary of state’s office, which oversees elections in Texas, was able to tell Votebeat whether most counties do their vote tabulating on the precinct or on the county level.
Reporting results
All counties must, however, notify the secretary of state’s office of their results.
“The counties manually enter the vote totals into our system (TEAM, the state’s election interface) on election night,” Stephen Chang, spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office, said. “They access a web based application and put the numbers in one digit at a time, one race at a time.”
Most Texas counties report their early vote tallies pretty soon after the polls close at 7 p.m. The in-person Election Day count across the state usually comes in later, especially since Texas voters can cast a ballot if they are in line when polling sites close at 7 p.m. The polling analysis website FiveThirtyEight estimates that Texas should get most of its tallying done on Tuesday, but the counting might go into Wednesday or Thursday.
That is not the end of the process. Texas has a post-election audit to ensure an accurate count. Districts that use electronic voting systems that do provide a paper record of the vote have to start conducting a partial manual count, also known as canvassing, by Friday, Nov. 6. It has to be done in three precincts or in 1% of the precincts, whichever is the larger number, and be completed by the 21st day after the election.
Disclosure: The Texas secretary of state has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
When Um Feras realized there were no leisure spaces for women in her city in Yemen, she founded her own cafe and hopes to change attitudes about women-led businesses.
"There were no places for women to gather comfortably, no places belonging to the female community: where the team from administration to the youngest employee is female," she said from the Morning Icon cafe she set up in April last year in Marib, central Yemen.
Traditional, conservative attitudes held by many locally against women working outside the home mean her project is new and strange for some people, Um Feras said.
"The word 'cafe' can be associated with negative ideas and convictions... Every new idea will have its supporters and opponents," she said, adding she wants to lead by example to show that women can run enterprises.
Wadad, a medical student and cafe customer, said she was drawn to the cafe's internet connection: "There is space for women in general, amid the the poor internet network in Marib and the limited available spaces for female students."
Marib boomed into a bustling city at the start of Yemen's almost six-year war as people fled fighting elsewhere. Running a business is not easy in a country battered by conflict, disease and an increasingly severe economic crisis.
Um Feras imports most of her coffee and drinks. Maintaining quality amid rising prices and fluctuating currency rates has been a real challenge, she said. But she aspires to expand into a larger leisure spot for women and children.
DETROIT – The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 178,180 as of Saturday, including 7,340 deaths, state officials report.
Saturday’s update represents 3,792 new cases -- Michigan’s highest single-day total. Saturday’s update also represents 31 additional deaths, 20 of those identified from a Vital Records review. On Friday, the state reported a total of 174,388 cases and 7,309 deaths.
On Saturday the state reported a total of 121,093 recoveries.
Michigan does not report COVID-19 data on Sundays, instead reporting a Sunday and Monday combined total on Monday.
New COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in Michigan. Testing has increased in recent weeks, with more than 40,000 diagnostic tests reported per day, but the positive rate has increased to above 5%. Hospitalizations have increased steadily for the last four weeks, including upticks in critical care and ventilator use.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 3.5 million have recovered in the U.S., with more than 9 million cases reported across the country. More than 229,000 have died in the U.S.
Worldwide, more than 45.7 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 1.19 million have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.
A research group is now labelling Michigan at “critical” risk for a coronavirus outbreak as COVID-19 cases once again rise rapidly in the state.
A screenshot of Covid Act Now's map of the United States and colored according to their "Covid Risk Level." Michigan is now labeled as experiencing an "active or imminent" COVID outbreak, according to data from Covid Act Now. Most of the country is at "high" risk for a COVID-19 outbreak (orange), or is currently experiencing or facing an imminent outbreak like Michigan (red). Photo courtesy of Covid Act Now's website. -- Oct. 30, 2020. (Covid Act Now)
The group of technologists, epidemiologists, health experts and public policy leaders at Covid Act Now are identifying each state’s risk level for the spread of COVID-19 -- which are worsening in most parts of the U.S.
On Thursday, Michigan’s risk level for a coronavirus outbreak increased from “high risk” to experiencing an “active or imminent outbreak." The state’s new risk level is largely due to an increased infection rate and rapid increase of daily new COVID-19 cases, according to the data.
Michigan health officials have issued a new COVID-19 emergency order that includes stricter regulations on restaurants and gathering limits.
Director Robert Gordon and Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, both with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, announced the new order Thursday. MDHHS’s previous COVID-19 order was set to expire Friday.
Under the new order, no more than 50 people can gather indoors unless there is fixed seating. Facilities with fixed seating -- such as sports arenas -- are not affected by the new order. Also, restaurants, bars and other indoor non-residential locations cannot allow more than six people at a table.
As the number of COVID-19 cases spikes dramatically, Michigan’s top medical official broke down the “incredibly disturbing” trends in each of the state’s eight regions.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said during a news briefing Thursday that the state’s number of positive COVID-19 cases per million people per day has been increasing for six weeks, with a seven-day average that’s twice as high as a month ago.
The state as a whole is reporting 172 positive cases per million people per day. Officials said 4,000 tests are being administered per million people each day.
The Upper Peninsula has the highest cases per million people, at 428, and positivity rate, at 7.9%. Michigan’s Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids regions are not far behind.
On Tuesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state treasurer Rachael Eubanks announced a new grant program for Michigan teachers and support staff.
Those who worked additional time and incurred additional costs during the 2019-2020 school year due to COVID-19 can receive grant money through two new grant programs.
Under both the Teacher COVID-19 Grant and the Support Staff COVID-19 Grant programs, eligible teachers can receive up to $500 and eligible support staff can receive up to $250. The state of Michigan’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget provides $53 million for eligible K-12 classroom teachers and $20 million for eligible support staff.
"I think that there are circumstances under which the governor could make the case that there is a new emergency because of an increased spike, " said Attorney General Dana Nessel.
That’s a possibility -- said Attorney General Dana Nessel -- when it comes to another state shutdown.
“But what concerns me is what I hear over and over and over from the Republicans that are in power at our state legislature is that they don’t believe in shutting things down,” Nessel said. “They are big proponents of keeping everything open and there’s no reason to shut anything down.”
A group of healthcare, public health, university, labor and business leaders called on Michigan’s political leadership to demonstrate a “complete unity of purpose” to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the state.
The group stated support for mandatory standards for mask usage, workplace practices and public gatherings. They said the recent orders by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Michigan Occupational Health and Safety Administration should be deployed across the state with “discipline.”
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Director Robert Gordon today issued an Emergency Order under MCL 333.2253 that updates and further expands requirements for residential care facilities, while also permitting indoor visitation in residential care facilities in certain circumstances.
The state had previously allowed outdoor visits and visits for terminally ill patients.
Under the order, visitation rules are linked to the risk level of the county. A list of county risk levels is available on the MI Safe Start Map.
Indoor visitation is now allowed in areas where the current risk level is A, B, C, or D, so long as the facilities have had no new cases, including those involving residents or staff, originating within the prior 14 days. Indoor visitation is not allowed when the county is at risk level E, which means there is an elevated incidence growth rate with average daily cases/million greater than 150 or a positivity rate greater than 20%.
Under the order, undergraduate students must stay in their residence unless they’re attending class, accessing dining services or carrying out approved work that can’t be done remotely.
Students who wish to return to their primary residence can do so only if they have completed the university’s procedures for leaving campus safely, health officials said.
As part of the league’s reinstatement, officials outlined two specific COVID-19 stats that would be monitored to make sure teams would be allowed to play: team positivity rate and population positivity rate.
On Tuesday, 12 mayors -- 11 from Big Ten cities, as well as the mayor of Lansing -- sent a letter to the league requesting a few additional precautions be put in place. Read the letter here.
Michigan health officials have issued several coronavirus (COVID-19) regulations that mirror those previously put in place by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer before they were shot down by the state’s Supreme Court.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon issued the new order to restrict gathering sizes, require face masks in public spaces and childcare facilities, limit capacity in businesses and create safer workplaces, officials announced.
Michigan schools are now required to notify the public about any probable or confirmed cases of COVID-19 within 24 hours under a new emergency order.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) director Robert Gordon issued an emergency order Tuesday that will requires K-12 schools to publicly disclose any probable or confirmed virus cases on their website within 24 hours of learning of the cases.
The order goes into effect on October 12, officials said.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has issued orders essentially reinstating restrictions on long term care facilities and other facilities due to coronavirus.
MDHHS Director Robert Gordon said this new order relies on authorities that were first enacted after the Spanish Flu of 1918, and that were not at issue in the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued a new order restricting gathering sizes, requiring face coverings and limiting some businesses across the state, citing authority that wasn’t covered by the Supreme Court’s recent decision.
This order reinstates three aspects of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s previous emergency orders:
Masks are required at indoor and outdoor gatherings that involve people from different households.
Specific gathering limitations.
Bars must close indoor common areas, and indoor gatherings are prohibited in most areas where alcohol is sold.
This order is effective immediately and remains in effect through Oct. 30, according to MDHHS officials.
Michigan COVID-19 daily reported deaths since Oct. 1:
Oct. 1 -- 19 new deaths (11 from vital records)
Oct. 2 -- 7 new deaths
Oct. 3 -- 13 new deaths (11 from vital records)
Oct. 4 -- 8 new deaths
Oct. 5 -- 7 new deaths
Oct. 6 -- 22 new deaths (7 from vital records)
Oct. 7 -- 9 new deaths
Oct. 8 -- 22 new deaths (20 from vital records)
Oct. 9 -- 7 new deaths
Oct. 10 -- 15 new deaths
Oct. 11 -- 4 new deaths
Oct. 12 -- 3 new deaths
Oct. 13 -- 30 new deaths (10 from vital records)
Oct. 14 -- 13 new deaths
Oct. 15 -- 32 new deaths (21 from vital records)
Oct. 16 -- 14 new deaths
Oct. 17 -- 23 new deaths (15 from vital records)
Oct. 18 -- 11 new deaths
Oct. 19 -- 10 new deaths
Oct. 20 -- 22 new deaths (1 from vital records)
Oct. 21 -- 33 new deaths
Oct. 22 -- 43 new deaths (31 from vital records)
Oct. 23 -- 18 new deaths
Oct. 24 -- 35 new deaths
Oct. 25 -- 14 new deaths
Oct. 26 -- 15 new deaths
Oct. 27 -- 28 new deaths (8 from vital records)
Oct. 28 -- 18 new deaths
Oct. 29 -- 41 new deaths (22 from vital records)
Oct. 30 -- 11 new deaths
Oct. 31 -- 31 new deaths (20 from vital records)
Coronavirus resources:
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It’s tempting to write this story in the form of narrative fiction: “On a frigid early December morning in Washington, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that disputed mail ballots in Pennsylvania—” You know, that kind of thing. But given the stakes in this election, I think it’s important to be prosaic and sober-minded instead.
More specifically, Joe Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania — the most likely tipping-point state, according to our forecast — is solid but not spectacular: about 5 points in our polling average.
Without Pennsylvania, Biden does have some paths to victory, but there’s no one alternative state he can feel especially secure about.
While a lot of theories about why Trump can win (e.g., those about “shy” Trump voters) are probably wrong, systematic polling errors do occur, and it’s hard to predict them ahead of time or to anticipate the reasons in advance.
There is some chance that Trump could “win” illegitimately. To a large extent, these scenarios are beyond the scope of our forecast.
There’s also some chance of a recount (about 4 percent) or an Electoral College tie (around 0.5 percent), according to our forecast.
Before we proceed further, a short philosophical note. I hate it when people use phrases — to be fair, we often use phrases like these ourselves! — such as “Nate Silver is giving Biden a 90 percent chance” or “FiveThirtyEight still gives Trump a 10 percent chance.” We aren’t giving anybody anything. Instead, as former FiveThirtyEight politics host Jody Avrigan puts it, what we’re doing is “mapping uncertainty.” In other words, if Biden leads by about 9 points in national polls, 8 points in Wisconsin, 5 points in Pennsylvania, 2 points in Florida, etc., how does that translate into a probability of victory? That’s what our model is trying to figure out.
What the deluge of final polls can tell us | FiveThirtyEight Politics Podcast
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