rpbobcat

One thing is for sure, whatever he had to pay his lawyers was worth it.

Thanks. Would like to think he'd have no chance at returning to the activity until the 15 years is up.

Anyone know if he'll have to register as a sex offender ?

Just spoke to my balloon handler friend. No handlers. The balloons will be tethered to vehicles and towed a block or so for the T.V. cameras. Also sounds like all bands booked for 2020 will be invited back for 2021.

I have a friend who is a balloon handler in the parade every year. As of a week ago she hadn't gotten any information as to how they were going to do the balloons. If I find out anything,I'll post it.

The problem with what happened in NJ was that there were alternative facilities available (Javitz Center,USS Comfort) other then Nursing Homes or other Long Term Care Facilities to transfer Covid patients,that were never used. What's also upsetting people is the fact that Governor Murphy has refused to address why the sate didn't take advantage of these options.

The issue of deaths in Nursing Homes and other Long Term Care Facilities has been a hot topic out here in N.J. I haven't checked the breakdown lately,but over 40% of the state's Covid deaths were in these places. What has been getting a lot of attention in the press is Governor's Murphy's refusal to undertake an in depth investigation into how this happened,including failures on the part of him and/or his staff. This includes relying on obscure laws,including anti-terrorism,to refuse to release what are supposed to be public records.

Are you sure its an athletic scholarship ? I was always told that DIII schools can't offer athletic scholarships. The NCAA's web site (ncaa.org) says that DIII schools do not offer athletic scholarships. But that most athletes get some type of merit or "need based" financial aid.

Our Governor here in NJ has been using the "Rate of Transmission" (Rt) as his baseline for how the state is doing with Covid. An Rt of 1 or less is the goal. Thing is ,no one knew where the Rt came from. On August 3,NJ.com put out an article on how NJ determines the Rt. It talks about things a "Peer Review Estimation Method" that uses "estimates" and "assumptions". From reading the article,it seems the results are more of a "guess" then an actual,calculated transmission rate.

As far as I know,this is a state,not a federal trial. I've testified as an expert witness in a number of drug cases in New Jersey. In my experience,when a defendant takes a plea,it includes agreeing to a specified prison term. Again,in my experience,I haven't seen a Judge not accept the prison term, if both the prosecutor and defendant agree to it.

I agree. I think the prosecutor will be looking for jail time. Unless he feels he doesn't have a strong case. No question the criminal charges fall within the statute of limitations. The question is whether or not the statute of limitations has expired for civil cases. GH may be more likely to take a plea if he can't be sued by his victims.

I think the possibility of GH taking a plea deal comes down to a couple of things: 1.Will a guilty plea require jail time ? 2.Presuming the Statute of Limitations hasn't expired,what impact would a guilty plea have on future civil cases ?

This has been a hot topic of discussion on local talk radio. There doesn't seem to be any disagreement that, if a teacher has a legitimate reason to not teach in per person,they should be accommodated. There was also no disagreement that,with very rare exceptions,in this area at least,remote learning was a disaster for kids at all grade levels and especially for kids with disabilities. So the issue becomes, how to best have "in person" learning for the kids. One idea is if the teacher must teach remotely,have the kids in class with a "proctor". With toady's technology,including electronic white boards,it should address both safety and the needs of the students.

In late June my brother feel asleep smoking on his couch and it caught fire. He had third degree burns over 60% of his body and severe smoke inhalation,that was made worse by his Emphysema. He only lasted a few hours. No question what he died from. Since there was a fire,they had to do an arson investigation and autopsy. But,for the $$$$$ reason stated above,when the hospital did their autopsy,they also did a postmortem Covid test.

I can't speak for the rest of the State of New Jersey. But, in Bergen County,where I live,I don't know of any store,restaurant or construction site that had to close then reopen,since the State allowed "non-essential" facilities to open up after the lock down. Same thing with Covid hospitalizations. Both my wife and niece are nurses. My niece is a critical care nurse on what was a Covid floor. Neither of their hospitals have any Covid patients anymore. Same with several other hospitals in Bergen County. In fact,covid hospitalizations are dropping like a rock,throughout the state . There have been "bumps" in the number of positive covid tests. But they haven't translated to increases in hospitalizations or deaths. In fact,in a number of instances,like the Rutgers football team, the people testing positive are asymptomatic. That has spurred a number of parents, in several school districts,to push for schools to offer more "in person" learning.

When my wife and I were out at dinner last night,the man at the Socially Distanced Table behind us, was red from head to to toe. My wife is a Nurse. The first thing she thought of was "Red Man Syndrome". But she's never seen a case where it affected the lower torso. So she asked the man. He said it was an autoimmune disease. Don't ask me the name. He said its very uncomfortable,especially the dry skin. He has to use something similar to A&D ointment several times a day. He also has to follow a strict diet,and limit any exposure to the sun. He said his doctor told him it normally takes about a year to clear up.

First off,I've seen polls that show as many as 60% of the people polled won't take a vaccine when it first comes out. I'm not an antivaxxer,but there is no way I'm taking a a Covid vaccine for at least a year or two. Especially one they are rushing to get into the market. The clinical tests they're doing are intended to see if the vaccine is effective against Covid. 50% effective is considered acceptable. The concern I have is side effects. They take a while to show up. I'm old enough to remember the worst example of side effects showing up after the fact. The Thalidomide tragedies. How long a vaccine is effective especially with a virus like Covid, also shows up over time. Some reports estimate 6-8 months,tops.

I would take your suggestions a bit further. There's been a lot of talk over the years about having a true authoritative body govern Drum Corps. Unfortunately,that isn't the case now. Right now its,as I've seen posted before ,"the inmates running the asylum". DCI could be reorganized to have a board that, in addition to 1 or 2 rotating corps directors, also has people,with expertise in things like business,including marketing. The board would also need to have the authority to make binding decisions on the member corps. I realize each corps is an independent organization. But,to move forward they would have to agree to follow the requirements of the reformed DCI.

On Monday Teaneck High School "suspended" all Fall sports. Some may be "pushed",others canceled completely.

As of today the MAC,B1G and PAC12 have all announced they are moving their fall sports to next Spring. I'm sure more conferences will follow. There's also talk of some high school conferences in NJ doing the same. I would think that's going to make a lot of facilities unavailable for corps.

I don't know how reliable a source it is,but a friend of mine emailed an article from nature.com entitled "How The Pandemic Might Play Out In 2021 And Beyond". He sent me text of the article,so I can't link it. But,if you go to www.nature.com and go to "explore our content",then click on "news" its there. Its a very interesting article,just not very encouraging about either a 'long lasting" vaccine,or covid just going away.

But,why wouldn't you count Spring training ? Unless you foresee corps eliminating it completely. I would think every corps needs some type of Spring training,before they go on tour. Even 2 weeks,increases BDLDs to 70. I also don't know how easy it will be to find places willing to accommodate a corps for an extended period for Spring Training.

Obviously I can't speak for the entire country,but I can talk about the area in North Jersey where I live. Abuse isn't the only concern. The town I live in always let a corps stay in our Grammar School (We only have one). But because of Insurance and liability,including having to have a custodian in the building the whole time the corps was there,they stopped. As I've also posted previously,we let the Cadets stay there for a few days to practice. They were,to be polite,not the best guests. I've also been contacted a few times by people about trying to get housing for corps for the Easts. Unfortunately I didn't do very well.

The announcement says "traditional where possible". So it would seem that they will have both virtual and "in person" options.

My wife and I have been going to the East since the early 1990's. Met a lot of nice people over the years and really look forward too seeing them. Same thing with some of the people who have been working the souvie booths for years. As far as trying to recreate the experience. First,you need a 1/2 hour on a Stair Master to simulate the hill. Next you have to sit outside and have someone spray you with a garden hose . (That's been Friday night the past few years) Then you need to bring in some bugs. Last, but not least,if you need to go to the bathroom,you have to wait at the door for 15 minutes. When you finish,you have to have someone tell you the corps started,so you can't go back to your seat till they finish. Given all that,I really hope we're back in Allentown next year.