Engineering firm Morabito Consultants' October letter to Champlain Towers board president detailed concrete issues

By  Eliott C. McLaughlin, Alta Spells and Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, CNN 

An engineering firm hired for Champlain Towers South's milestone recertification found "deep" concrete deterioration near the pool but couldn't perform repairs, in part, because of concerns about stability, according to an October letter.

This aerial view, shows search and rescue personnel working on site after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021. - The multi-story apartment block in Florida partially collapsed early June 24, sparking a major emergency response. Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett told NBCs Today show: My police chief has told me that we transported two people to the hospital this morning at least and one has died. We treated ten people on the site. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) 

Maryland-based Morabito Consultants also was hamstrung because it needed access to the inside of the pool, which "was to remain in service for the duration of this work," the firm said in its letter.

Because the pool couldn't be closed and Morabito had stability concerns, tower management was advised that work in the pool area "would be limited to removal of only loose concrete," the letter said.

Morabito also directed Concrete Protection & Restoration Inc. to perform "exploratory demolition" in five areas on the building's first floor, and CPR found "some curious results as it pertained to the structural slab's depth," the letter said, without elaborating.

Signs keep pointing to concrete

The nine-page letter summarizing the work, which was addressed to condominium association board president Jean Wodnicki and property manager Scott Stewart, is yet another indication of problems with the building's concrete. The concrete in the pool and underground garage area is increasingly becoming a focus as engineers and government officials work to learn what caused the June 24 partial collapse in Surfside, Florida, that killed at least 20 people and left another 128 unaccounted for.

Still, there's no indication thus far that concrete deterioration played a role in the collapse, but several engineers have told CNN that it's one of multiple factors to consider in investigating the disaster.

Morabito inspected Champlain Towers South in 2018 as part of the building's 40-year recertification -- a stringent process for upgrades and improvements enacted after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The firm found that failed waterproofing beneath the pool deck caused "major structural damage to the concrete structural slab" and warned of rapid deterioration if it wasn't promptly replaced, according to its report.

In April, Wodnicki warned residents that "the concrete deterioration is accelerating," with some areas having gotten worse since the 2018 inspection. Wodnicki's letter outlined millions in repairs that the condo association later approved.

The 2018 report did not indicate the structure was at risk of collapsing, nor did Wodnicki's letter to residents.

Video: Condo owners were facing $15M in assessments for building repairs (CNN)

In the October letter, Morabito said repair work could not be done because it would "affect the stability of the remaining adjacent concrete constructions." The firm did not specify which constructions might be destabilized, and it's unclear if the engineers meant nearby buildings or other structures within Champlain Towers South. But the firm noted concrete deterioration deep within the pool's wall and corbel, a type of support structure, requiring "aggressive excavation of concrete."

Morabito and CPR removed loose concrete from the perimeter of the pool pump room, which was showing signs of cracking and which presented "a fall hazard," the October letter said.

As for the unspecified "curious results" of the excavation work, Morabito requested "that additional core work be performed by CPR to confirm/clear-up said results," Morabito said in the letter.


Other damage around building highlighted

Among other work done, according to the letter: CPR replaced the bottom of a deteriorating stair column base with hollow steel structural sections; conducted exploratory demolition on the underside of an eave that required "removal and reconstruction"; and removed all loose "cracked, spalled, deteriorated, and delaminated concrete" and damaged stucco from the underside of balcony eaves on 114 of the building's 136 units, the letter said.

According to the letter, CPR also performed exploratory demolition on five 3-square-foot sections of the building and planned to demolish paver systems at the pool deck, concrete in the parking area and drive aisle, and the planters down to the existing waterproofing layer -- all of which were cited in the 2018 report and the April letter to condo owners.

Photos accompanying the report included the rusty stairwell column that was replaced, the pool corbel's "loose, cracked, spalled deteriorated concrete" and exposed rebar, water damage to balcony eaves, and other damage to eaves and stucco on the building.

Morabito Consultants did not respond to CNN's request for comment on the letter, but it has defended its work at the tower in previous statements.

CPR in a statement Friday said the company did not repair or restore concrete in 2020 on Champlain Towers South.

It said: "Our company was contacted by the Champlain Towers South Condominium Association in 2020 to assist Morabito Consultants in their investigations relative to the building's 40-year recertification project. Concrete Protection & Restoration, LLC did not undertake any actual concrete repair or restoration work on the Champlain Towers South building in 2020.

"Our services on this project were directed by Morabito Consultants so they could evaluate the building for its 40-year recertification. We removed loose, cracked, spalled, deteriorated and delaminated concrete from the balcony soffits of 114 units as well as pool corbels to prevent it from falling, and removed all deteriorated, debonded and falling stucco from balconies. We also did exploratory services that involved removing pavers on the patio deck to allow the engineers to see conditions underneath and removing the false ceiling in the front parking area to enable the engineers to see the underside of the slab. Additional exploratory services included taking core samples from locations identified by Morabito Consultants so their engineers could analyze the existing condition of the concrete."

Attempts to reach Wodnicki and Stewart, the property manager, were unsuccessful.

The condo association, which has been named in lawsuits accusing it of failing to maintain the building, released a Friday statement saying, "Answers will take time as part of a comprehensive investigation and we will continue to work with city, state, local, and federal officials in their rescue efforts, and to understand the causes of this tragedy."

The full scope of the concrete work needed at Champlain Towers South remains unclear, as does the specific work contracted to Morabito Consultants and CPR. Whether the work had been scheduled or was under way is also unknown.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M VATICAN INC.

EXPLAINER: Behind the Vatican’s London real estate scandal

By NICOLE WINFIELD

FILE - In this Tuesday, June 29, 2021 file photo, Pope Francis celebrates Mass during the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The Vatican's criminal tribunal on Saturday, July 3, 2021 indicted 10 people, including a cardinal, and four companies on charges including extortion, abuse of office and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of State's 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)


ROME (AP) — The Vatican has set a July 27 trial date for 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal and papal contender, on charges related to the Holy See’s 350 million-euro investment in a luxury London real estate venture.

The 487-page indictment request capped a two-year investigation that exposed how the Vatican had lost millions of euros — much of it donations from the faithful — in fees to brokers, bad investments and other questionable expenses. Beyond that, prosecutors allege a variety of charges against the defendants, including extortion, embezzlement, abuse of office and corruption.

Here is breakdown of the case, the accusations and some of the key players.

___

WHAT’S THE DEAL ABOUT?

The Vatican’s Secretariat of State in 2013 decided to invest an initial 200 million euros in a fund operated by Italian businessman Raffaele Mincione, with half the money put into the London building, half in other investments.

By 2018, Mincione’s fund, Athena Capital, had lost 18 million euros from the Vatican’s original investment, prosecutors say, prompting the Vatican to seek an exit strategy while still retaining its stake in the building in London’s swank Chelsea neighborhood.

Enter Gianluigi Torzi, another broker, who helped arrange a 40 million euro payout by the Vatican to Mincione for the shares in the building that the Holy See didn’t already have.

But prosecutors say Torzi then hoodwinked the Holy See: Rather than creating a company to manage the building that was controlled by the Vatican, Torzi inserted a clause into the contract giving him full voting rights in the deal, they allege. Prosecutors say Torzi then extorted the Vatican for 15 million euros to take control of the building.

Torzi has said the charges are a misunderstanding.

___

WHO IN THE VATICAN KNEW?

Prosecutors have acknowledged that Pope Francis was aware of the deal, and even attended a December 2018 meeting with Torzi. One witness has said Francis agreed to pay Torzi a “just” compensation to turn the building over.

Other high-ranking officials, including the secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin and his deputy, Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, were also aware and approved the deal with Torzi. Documents show Pena Parra had authorized one of his deputies to sign the contract with Torzi giving him full voting rights.

None of them was indicted. Prosecutors say they didn’t understand Torzi’s contract change, were kept in the dark about Torzi and Mincione’s dealings, their previous business relationship, as well as alleged commissions others involved in the deal had been earning on the side.

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WHO IS CARDINAL BECCIU AND HOW IS HE TIED TO THIS TRIAL?
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Cardinal Angelo Becciu is the lone cardinal indicted and will be the first cardinal prosecuted by the tribunal after Pope Francis changed Vatican law to allow laymen to judge cardinals. Becciu has denied any wrongdoing.

Becciu was once one of the most powerful prelates in the Vatican and would have been a contender to be a future pope before Francis fired him last year from his job leading the Holy See’s saint-making office.

Francis asked him to resign in September, and stripped him of his rights and privileges as a cardinal, citing a 100,000 euro donation that Becciu made using Vatican money to a diocesan charity run by his brother. At the time of the donation, Becciu was the No. 3 in the Secretariat of State and had decision-making authority over the office’s vast asset portfolio.

Becciu is tied to another defendant in the case, Cecilia Marogna. She is accused of allegedly embezzling Holy See funds that Becciu authorized for her intelligence work, purportedly to free Catholic priests and nuns held hostage in hostile parts of the world. Prosecutors say she spent the money on luxury goods instead.

Marogna has denied wrongdoing and says she can give a full accounting of how the money was spent.

___

WHAT DOES A VATICAN CRIMINAL TRIAL LOOK LIKE?

The criminal code of the Vatican City State is based on the 1889 Italian legal code as well as elements of the canon law of the universal Catholic Church. In recent years, the pope has updated the code with a host of financial crimes specifically to address the types of misconduct alleged in Saturday’s indictment.

The Vatican tribunal has been under pressure to prosecute financial crimes as part of the Holy See’s participation in the Council of Europe’s Moneyval process, which is aimed at helping countries fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The Vatican entered into the Moneyval evaluation program over a decade ago in a bid to shed its image as a shady, offshore tax haven.

The Vatican has outfitted a new courtroom for the upcoming trial in part of the Vatican Museums, given its usual criminal tribunal will be too small for the defendants and their lawyers. If convicted, the defendants could face jail time, fines or both.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M VATICAN INC.

Vatican indicts 10 people, including a cardinal, in UK deal

PRIMITIVE ACCUMULATION OF CAPITAL
By NICOLE WINFIELD

FILE - In this Friday, Sept. 25, 2020 file photo, Cardinal Angelo Becciu looks down as he meets the media during a press conference in Rome. The Vatican's criminal tribunal on Saturday, July 3, 2021 indicted 10 people, including a cardinal, and four companies on charges including extortion, abuse of office and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of State's 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture. Also indicted was another once-powerful Holy See official, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who helped engineer the initial London investment when he was the chief of staff in the Secretariat of State. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)


ROME (AP) — A Vatican judge on Saturday indicted 10 people, including a once-powerful cardinal, on charges including embezzlement, abuse of office, extortion and fraud in connection with the Secretariat of State’s 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate venture.

The president of the Vatican’s criminal tribunal, Giuseppe Pignatone, set July 27 as the trial date, but lawyers for the defendants immediately questioned how they could prepare for trial so soon given they hadn’t yet formally received the indictment or any of the documentation in the case.

The 487-page indictment was handed down following a sprawling, two-year investigation into how the Secretariat of State managed its vast asset portfolio, much of which is funded by the Peter’s Pence donations from the faithful. The scandal over multimillion-dollar losses has resulted in a sharp reduction in donations and prompted Pope Francis to strip the office of its ability to manage the money.

Five former Vatican officials, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu and two officials from the Secretariat of State, were indicted, as well as Italian businessmen who handled the London investment.

Also indicted on alleged embezzlement charges was an Italian intelligence expert accused of buying luxury goods with Holy See money intended to help free Catholic priests and nuns held hostage by rebels in Africa.

Vatican prosecutors accuse the main suspects of bilking millions of euros from the Holy See in fees and other losses related to financial investments that were funded in large part by donations to the pope for works of charity. The suspects have denied wrongdoing.

One of the main suspects in the case, Italian broker Gianluigi Torzi, is accused of having extorted the Vatican out of 15 million euros to turn over ownership of the London building in late 2018. Torzi had been retained by the Vatican to help it acquire full ownership of the building from another indicted money manager who had handled the initial investment in 2013, but lost millions on what the Vatican said were speculative, imprudent deals.

Vatican prosecutors allege Torzi inserted a last-minute clause into the contract giving him full voting rights in the deal.

The Vatican hierarchy, however, signed off on the contract, with both the pope’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and his deputy approving it. Neither was indicted. In addition, Francis himself was aware of the deal and Torzi’s involvement in it.

Vatican prosecutors say the Vatican hierarchs were hoodwinked by Torzi and aided in part by an Italian lawyer — who was also indicted Saturday — into agreeing to the deal. The Secretariat of State intends to declare itself an injured party in the case.

Torzi has denied the charges and said the accusations were the fruit of a misunderstanding. He is currently in London pending an extradition request by Italian authorities, who are seeking to prosecute him on other financial charges.

His representatives said they had no immediate comment Saturday since they hadn’t yet seen the indictment.

Also indicted was a onetime papal contender and Holy See official, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who helped engineer the initial London investment when he was the chief of staff in the Secretariat of State.

Francis fired him as the Vatican’s saint-making chief last year, apparently in connection with a separate issue: his 100,000-euro donation of Holy See funds to a diocesan charity run by Becciu’s brother.

Vatican News, the in-house media portal, said Becciu had originally not been part of the London investigation but was included after it appeared that he was behind the proposal to buy the building. Prosecutors also accuse him of interfering in the investigation.

In a statement Saturday issued by his lawyers, Becciu insisted on the “absolute falsity” of the accusations against him and denounced what he said was “unparalleled media pillory” against him in the Italian press.

“I am the victim of a plot hatched against me and I have been waiting for a long time to know any accusations against me, to allow myself to promptly deny them and prove to the world my absolute innocence,” he said.

Becciu has denied wrongdoing in the London investment; he has admitted he made the donation but insisted the money was for the charity, not his brother.

One of Becciu’s proteges, Cecilia Marogna, was indicted on embezzlement charges. Becciu had hired Marogna as an external consultant after she reached out to him in 2015 with concerns about security at Vatican embassies in global hotspots. Becciu authorized hundreds of thousands of euros of Holy See funds to her to free Catholic hostages, according to WhatsApp messages reprinted by Italian media.

Her Slovenian-based holding company, which received the funds, was among the four companies also ordered to stand trial.

Marogna has said the money was compensation for legitimate security and intelligence work and reimbursements for her expenses. Vatican News, citing the indictment, said she spent the money on purchases that were incompatible with the humanitarian scope of her company.

In a statement Saturday, her legal team said Marogna had been prepared for months to “provide a full accounting of her work and fears nothing about the accusations made against her.”

Also indicted were the former top two officials in the Vatican’s financial watchdog agency, for alleged abuse of office. Prosecutors say that by failing to stop the Torzi deal, they performed a “decisive function” in letting it play out, Vatican News said.

The lawyer for the former office director, Tommaso di Ruzza, said he had only seen the Vatican press statement about the allegations but insisted that his client “has always acted in the most scrupulous respect of the law and his office duties, in the exclusive interest of the Holy See.”

The former head of the office, Rene Bruelhart, defended his work and said his indictment was a “procedural blunder that will be immediately clarified by the organs of Vatican justice as soon as the defense will be able to exercise its rights.”

Capitol rioters’ footage powers NYT’s ‘Day of Rage’ project

By DAVID BAUDER


FILE - Rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Some of the best sources for "Day of Rage," a painstaking 40-minute video investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, were the rioters themselves — an irony given the hostility many had toward journalists. That's according to the executive in charge of the New York Times' project. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — While some professional journalists faced hostility and attack while covering the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the grand irony is that so many people involved in the insurrection were doing their jobs for them.

That’s evident with The New York Times’ release of “Day of Rage,” a 40-minute video investigation that painstakingly examines the events of the day. The Times’ team collected thousands of videos, starting the afternoon of Jan. 6, many of them posted on social media by the rioters themselves, said Malachy Browne, senior producer on the Times’ visual investigations team.

“As the realization set in among many of the participants about what they had done, and the implications of it, much of it was deleted,” Browne said.

Too late. The Times had already protected its own copies.

The day had been tough for some of the journalists who covered the attack. Photojournalists for The Associated Press and Times were roughed up, and some AP equipment used to document the event was damaged.

In “Day of Rage,” the newspaper used the collected footage, as well as other material like police bodycam film and archived audio from police communications, to recreate the event from many angles. Through the use of time stamps and knowledge of where people were located, for example, the Times tracked down footage from a freelance videographer who hadn’t realized he had captured the attack that led to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s death, Browne said. Sicknick collapsed and later died after engaging with the protesters. He was sprayed with chemical irritants, but a medical examiner determined he died of natural causes.

The Times was able to determine that rioters breached the Capitol at eight separate locations.

Elsewhere, the footage laid bare the intent of many rioters, like when former President Donald Trump’s speech at the pre-riot rally were juxtaposed with what was said in his audience as he spoke.

The Times’ probe concludes that the House’s delay in shutting off debate on election certification until rioters had appeared outside the chamber contributed to the shooting by police of Ashli Babbitt, a California woman who had joined the crowd that breached the building.

The project depicts law enforcement as overwhelmed, partly due to lack of preparation by their superiors. The footage, some of it seen in other venues over the past months, contains startling moments: a police officer goading a rioter to move in one direction while senators slip to safety in the background, a House employee barricaded in an office whispering to a colleague while a door is being pounded from the outside.

While the footage spots efforts by members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, showing their body armor, weapons, radio communication and organized movements, the Times concludes that the majority of rioters were Trump supporters caught up in the frenzy of the action.

“For many in the crowd, they felt they were carrying out some duty to defend democracy as they see it,” Browne said.

The Times’ story had nine bylines, but Browne estimated some 15 to 20 journalists participated in its preparation. Even before the documentary’s release late Wednesday, the findings contributed to the newspaper’s reporting about the incident over the past few months.

Browne, who also narrates the video, minces no words in telling viewers what was concluded.

“Our reconstruction show the Capitol riot for what it was — a violent assault, encouraged by the president, on a seat of democracy that he vowed to protect,” he says in the documentary.

The film also shows a congressman likening the rioters to tourists. “A tourist visit this was not,” Browne narrates, “and the proof is in the footage.”

The Times’ investigation could take on added importance given the stalled government effort to thoroughly investigate what happened that day.

“I think recent events have made a presentation like this more valuable,” he said. “Maybe it will create pressure for the investigation. I don’t know. Our intention is not to influence policy or politicians, but to really show the public what happened in the fullest way possible.”

Ukrainian 'parade in heels' plan sparks backlash

Plans for female soldiers to wear heels ahead of an August military parade in Ukraine has sparked anger among some Ukrainian lawmakers, the BBC reports.

© Getty Ukrainian 'parade in heels' plan sparks backlash

Photos that circulated online this week showed female soldiers wearing camouflage cargo pants and black heels as they rehearsed for a parade slated for Aug. 24, which would commemorate 30 years since the country gained its independence.

The photos drew swift pushback, with a group of lawmakers demanding that the country's defense minister, Andriy Taran, issue an apology. Some lawmakers called for Taran to also wear heels during the parade, bringing shoes into parliament in protest, Sky News reported.

Parliament deputy speaker Olena Kondratyuk said the photos of women wearing heels while rehearsing during the military parade was "humiliating" for women, and she called for the photos to be investigated, The Guardian reported.

Opposition member of parliament Iryna Gerashchenko said she initially thought the photos were fake and called the move sexist, according to the BBC.

The outlet noted that others on social media also blasted the move, with one commentator in Ukraine writing on Facebook, "The story of a parade in heels is a real disgrace."

The photos were apparently released by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, which regulates the ceremonial uniform, including shoes.

The ministry said in a news release that the defense minister had met with cadets leading up to the parade and had "listened to the opinions, remarks and wishes of the cadets on the ceremonial uniform, in particular, shoes."

The news release added that Taran "instructed the profile deputy to consider the possibility of purchasing the required number of samples of experimental models of shoes specifically for the anniversary parade."

In response to the backlash over the attire, the ministry said Taran felt the criticisms over the shoes was being "used by some political forces for banal politicking and self-publicity."

Ukraine's armed forces have around 31,000 women currently serving.

Brazil Supreme Court greenlights investigation of Bolsonaro

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice has authorized a criminal investigation into President Jair Bolsonaro’s response to allegations of potential corruption within his Health Ministry involving a vaccine deal.

In Friday's decision, Supreme Court Justice Rosa Weber said the investigation is supported by recent testimony in a Senate committee investigating the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prosecutors will investigate whether Bolsonaro committed the crime of “prevarication,” which entails delaying or refraining from action required as part of a public official’s duty for reasons of personal interest. Weber didn’t rule out the possibility other potential wrongdoing could be investigated.

The inquiry comes after Luis Ricardo Miranda, the chief of the Health Ministry’s import division, said he faced undue pressure to sign off on the import of 20 million vaccines from Indian pharmaceutical Bharat Biotech. He said there were irregularities in the invoices — particularly a $45 million upfront payment to a Singapore-based company.

Miranda testified before the Senate committee June 25 along with his brother, Luis Miranda, a lawmaker who until recently was allied with Bolsonaro. The Mirandas said they brought their concerns directly to Bolsonaro, who assured them he would report the irregularities to the Federal Police.

However, the Federal Police never received any request to investigate, a Federal Police source with knowledge of investigations told The Associated Press. He spoke anonymously for lack of authorization to speak publicly

The secretary-general of the presidency, Onyx Lorenzoni, confirmed Bolsonaro met with the Mirandas, but claimed they presented fraudulent documents. Bolsonaro ordered the brothers investigated, he said.

Bharat has denied any wrongdoing with respect to vaccine supply. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing or knowledge of corruption, and told reporters on June 28 he can’t know what transpires within his ministries.

The Supreme Court decision greenlighting an investigation came in response to a request filed by three senators. A majority of senators on the investigating committee previously told the AP that, once their inquest concludes, they would vote to recommend Bolsonaro be indicted for prevarication.

The crime carries with it a prison term of between three months and a year, plus payment of a fine.

Diane Jeantet, The Associated Press

California tests off-the-grid solutions to power outages

By DAISY NGUYEN

June 30, 2021


1 of 7
This aerial photo provided by the Blue Lake Rancheria shows a solar array that is paired with a microgrid in Blue Lake, Calif., in 2017. A Native American reservation on California's far northern coast kept the electricity flowing with the help of two microgrids that can disconnect from the larger electrical grid and switch to using solar energy generated and stored in battery banks near its hotel-casino. As most of rural Humboldt County sat in the dark during a planned shutoff in October 2019, the Blue Lake Rancheria became a lifeline for thousands of its neighbors. (Blue Lake Rancheria via AP)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When a wildfire tore through Briceburg nearly two years ago, the tiny community on the edge of Yosemite National Park lost the only power line connecting it to the electrical grid.

Rather than rebuilding poles and wires over increasingly dry hillsides, which could raise the risk of equipment igniting catastrophic fires, the nation’s largest utility decided to give Briceburg a self-reliant power system.

The stand-alone grid made of solar panels, batteries and a backup generator began operating this month. It’s the first of potentially hundreds of its kind as Pacific Gas & Electric works to prevent another deadly fire like the one that forced it to file for bankruptcy in 2019.

The ramping up of this technology is among a number of strategies to improve energy resilience in California as a cycle of extreme heat, drought and wildfires hammers the U.S. West, triggering massive blackouts and threatening the power supply in the country’s most populous state. Other tactics include raising the cost of electricity during high-demand hours — when it’s most expensive to provide it — and offering cash and prizes to conserve energy when the grid is strained.

“I don’t think anyone in the world anticipated how quickly the changes brought on by climate change would manifest. We’re all scrambling to deal with that,” said Peter Lehman, the founding director of the Schatz Energy Research Center, a clean energy institute in Arcata.

A house shown in the distance is powered by PG&E's new Remote Grid

 Initiative site near Yosemite National Park in Briceburg, Calif.

 (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

The response follows widespread blackouts in California in the past two years that exposed the power grid’s vulnerability to weather. Fierce windstorms led utilities to deliberately shut off power to large swaths of the state to keep high-voltage transmission lines from sparking fire. Then last summer, an oppressive heat wave triggered the first rolling outages in 20 years. More than 800,000 homes and businesses lost power over two days in August.

During both crises, a Native American reservation on California’s far northern coast kept the electricity flowing with the help of two microgrids that can disconnect from the larger electrical grid and switch to using solar energy generated and stored in battery banks near its hotel-casino.

As most of rural Humboldt County sat in the dark during a planned shutoff in October 2019, the Blue Lake Rancheria became a lifeline for thousands of its neighbors: The gas station and convenience store provided fuel and supplies, the hotel housed patients who needed a place to plug in medical devices, the local newspaper used the conference room to put out the next day’s edition, and a hatchery continued pumping water to keep its fish alive.

“We’ve had outages before, but they were not severe. This one lasted almost three days for us,” said Shad Overton, a manager at Mad River Hatchery. “The electricity from the microgrid pumped the diesel fuel we needed for our generator.”

During a few hours of rolling blackouts last August, the reservation’s microgrids went into “island mode” to help ease stress on the state’s maxed-out grid.

“We seemed to arrive just in time to handle these emergencies, but it’s about good governance over the last decades that paid attention to ... what tribal elders were saying about how the conditions were changing, and taking that information and planning for it,” said Jana Ganion, the tribe’s director of sustainability.

This 2019 photo shows a solar array on top of a fuel island canopy that is paired with a microgrid in Blue Lake, Calif. (Blue Lake Rancheria via AP)

Energy experts said the tribe’s $8 million microgrids highlight the technology’s potential in providing reliable power to hospitals, fire stations and other small-scale operations that can provide emergency services during a disaster, and to remote communities vulnerable to power loss.

“Anything that can give you a little bit of electricity, charge your phone or keep the fridge running when it’s dark is enormously valuable. Microgrids can play a huge part in that,” said Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley.

The state’s energy commission has funded dozens of projects, serving as test beds for policies that might lead to commercialization of microgrids. Regulators are trying to resolve a longstanding rule that prohibits private microgrids from selling their excess electricity “over the fence” because they are not regulated by the state.

In Briceburg, PG&E determined the cost of installing and maintaining the remote grid outweighed the long-term expense and risk of replacing power lines, utility spokesman Paul Doherty said. The five customers who draw power from it will pay the same rate as they did before.

PG&E's new Remote Grid Initiative site is shown near Yosemite National Park in Briceburg, Calif. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

Meanwhile, the state’s grid managers are grappling with the same challenge they faced last year. California routinely buys electricity from neighboring states when it is short on power, but imports are hard to come by when other states are hit by the same heat wave.

Bracing for another summer of heatwaves, utilities across the U.S. West have been signing contracts for more emergency power supplies and are trying to make sure they aren’t relying on the same suppliers as everyone else.

The grid needs to be balanced at all times between electricity supply and demand. On hot days, it is stressed in the late afternoon and early evening, when solar power generation tails off after dark.

The California Independent System Operator said there have been upgrades in power storage and transmission since last summer, including four times the amount of battery storage from the current 500 megawatts on its system to 2,000 megawatts by August. In all, there will be about 3,500 megawatts of capacity — enough to power some 2.6 million homes.

There are setbacks too: An intensifying drought is weakening the state’s hydroelectric facilities.

Officials warned power shortages could still happen this summer.

“We just don’t know how hot it’s going to get and we don’t know how much demand will be,” said Borenstein, who also sits on ISO’s board of governors.

To encourage utility customers to shift some energy use to times when renewable resources are most plentiful, utilities are moving customers to new rate plans where they pay less in the daytime and more during peak demand hours.

One company is offering incentives, in the form of cash and gift cards, to people who reduce their household consumption at key times. OhmConnect, a regulated participant on the electricity market, said during a four-day period last summer when ISO issued “FlexAlerts” urging conservation, customers who agreed to let the company manage their smart thermostats and appliances helped take off almost 1 gigawatt-hour of energy — the equivalent of San Francisco’s typical hourly use.

Cisco DeVries, CEO of the Oakland-based startup, joked that the opportunity to earn money by saving energy seems too good to be true so the company enlisted actress Kristen Bell to win over skeptics.

“Blackouts feel like a thing that happens that you have no control over, when the reality is that if we work together we actually can prevent it,” DeVries said.

#SHELTERISARIGHT #GIMMESHELTER 
Los Angeles passes measure limiting homeless encampments
By BRIAN MELLEY


FILE - In this June 8, 2021, file photo, a jogger walks past a homeless encampment in the Venice Beach section of Los Angeles. Los Angeles City Council is poised to clamp down on homeless encampments, making it illegal to pitch tents on some sidewalks, beneath overpasses and near parks. The measure being considered Thursday, July 1, 2021, is billed as a humane way to get people off streets and restore access to public spaces. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles City Council passed a sweeping anti-camping measure Thursday to remove widespread homeless encampments that have become an eyesore across the city.

The measure was billed as a compassionate approach to get people off streets and restore access to public spaces in the city with nation’s second-largest homeless population, though critics said it would criminalize the problem.

“I can’t think of any reason why we would not unite in support of what the people of Los Angeles want us to do,” said Councilman Paul Krekorian, coauthor of the measure. “Restore order to our streets, while also uplifting and providing services to those in need.”

  

FILE - In this March 26, 2021, file photo, a homeless encampment is seen around the west perimeter of Echo Park Lake. Los Angeles City Council is poised to clamp down on homeless encampments, making it illegal to pitch tents on some sidewalks, beneath overpasses and near parks. The measure being considered Thursday, July 1, 2021, is billed as a humane way to get people off streets and restore access to public spaces. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)


Among other limits, the ordinance that passed 13-2 would ban sitting, lying, sleeping or storing personal property that blocks sidewalks, streets and bike lanes or near driveways, fire hydrants, schools, day care centers, libraries, homeless shelters and parks.

It wouldn’t be enforced in some locations until someone has turned down an offer of shelter and the council has passed a resolution placing that space off-limits, posting signs and giving two weeks’ notice. It could be enforced immediately if a person or tent is blocking handicap access guaranteed under the Americans with Disabilities Act or placing themselves or others in danger such as blocking a loading dock.

The measure, which requires a second vote in late July, replaces a more punitive anti-camping proposal that stalled in a committee. Under the ordinance approved, police would only get involved if there’s a crime, and people who resist leaving would be fined rather than arrested.

The majority of callers during a limited public comment period spoke in support of the measure, describing homeless encounters that included assaults, break-ins and one explaining how children walking to school are forced into a busy street to avoid tents crowding sidewalks.

People who opposed the measure, including a couple who used profanity, said it lacked compassion and would criminalize a problem the city has failed to solve.

The meeting was closed to the public because of coronavirus restrictions, but a group of advocates for the homeless protested outside City Hall.

Pete White of the LA Community Action Network said the measure is loosely written to allow broad interpretation for enforcement and will make most of the city off-limits to people living on the street.

“Draconian is definitely the correct word,” he said. “It’s impossible to comply.”

White said that an ordinance that limited where people could park RVs and sleep in cars overnight left little more than 5% of streets available for parking.

California is home to more than a quarter of the nation’s homeless people, according to federal data, and it has reached a crisis point in many cities. There are deep disagreements in how to solve a problem that goes beyond economics and is often complicated by mental illness and addiction issues that require treatment and can make people resistant to accepting shelter.




The city of Los Angeles has an estimated homeless population of more than 40,000, which is second only to New York’s.

Encampments have steadily grown over several years and often sprawl entire blocks. They can include barbecues, sofas, recliner chairs and even a shower. Many are crammed with piles of belongings, scavenged junk and covered in tarps.

A federal judge directed the city of LA to offer housing to thousands of homeless people on Skid Row by this fall, though the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put that on hold.

The appeals court has separately held that cities can’t make it a crime for homeless people to sleep on the streets when alternative shelter is not available.

The leading Republican candidates seeking to replace Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a recall election came to LA County this week to announce their plans to address the statewide problem.

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer called for more shelters, while rival businessman John Cox said people insisting on sleeping on streets should be locked up or forced into treatment.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat, has proposed a “right to housing” that would require the city to provide shelter to all residents.

While the crisis is widespread across Los Angeles, a dispute about how to solve the problem has become a flashpoint on Venice Beach recently, where an encampment exploded in size during the coronavirus pandemic.

The situation has left residents weary and worried for their safety — and for the wellbeing of those in camps — after several violent incidents. A homeless man was arrested last week in the killing of another homeless man who was bludgeoned in his tent on the beach.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva, whose deputies patrol unincorporated parts of the county, entered city turf with a homeless outreach team to announce a plan to get people into housing by July 4.

His lofty overture, which has moved some people off the boardwalk but is unlikely to meet his goal this weekend, was met with resistance from much of LA’s political establishment, particularly Councilman Mike Bonin, whose district includes Venice.

Bonin, who criticized an approach that could lead to jail time if people don’t leave, launched his own plan days later. That effort, which has moved 64 people indoors, is being rolled out in several phases into August and promises to eventually provide permanent housing.

Bonin opposed the ordinance Thursday, saying the city doesn’t have tens of thousands of beds needed for the homeless and criticizing the plan for not showing where people can sleep.

Bonin, who is recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, disclosed that he lived without a home in his 20s and ended up sleeping on the beach when his car was in the shop or he couldn’t crash at a friend’s house.

“I can’t tell you how much turmoil, there is in your heart when the sun is setting and you don’t know where you can sleep,” Bonin said. “I cannot describe how demoralizing and dehumanizing and defeating that experience is when you don’t know where you’re gonna sleep.”

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that the measure requires a second vote later this month, not next month.

RELIGION KILLS
Report: Fatal assisted living fire linked to cleaning ritual


FILE - Firefighters work on extinguishing hotspots from a fire that burned down the Evergreen Court Home for Adults, Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Spring Valley, N.Y. A published report says a father and son charged in the deadly fire at the suburban New York assisted living facility had been performing a pre-Passover cleaning ritual that involves heating kitchen utensils to burn off traces of forbidden food. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)


SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. (AP) — A father and son charged in a deadly fire at a suburban New York assisted living facility had been performing a pre-Passover cleaning ritual that involves heating kitchen utensils to burn off traces of forbidden food, the Journal News reported.

It remains unclear what specific role Rabbi Nathaniel Sommer of Monsey and his son, Aaron Sommer, allegedly played in the March 23 fire at Evergreen Court Home for Adults in Spring Valley that killed a resident and a firefighter, the newspaper reported.

The Sommers were arraigned Tuesday on charges of manslaughter, assault and arson in connection with the fire and are due back in court Friday. Information on their attorneys wasn’t available.

Volunteer firefighter Jared Lloyd and a 79-year-old resident of the facility were killed in the fire, which caused a partial collapse of the building.

Records show that the Evergreen Court fire was reported about 90 minutes after the Nathaniel and Aaron Sommer had left the facility after preparing the kitchen for Passover, the Journal News reported.

Observant Jews refrain from eating anything with leavening during the eight-day Passover holiday. Preparing kitchens for Passover involves removing any trace of bread or other foods that contain a leavening agent, including subjecting utensils to high heat.

Evergreen officials said after the fire that Nathaniel Sommer had been performing the cleaning ritual at the facility for 15 years.

The Sommers were among six people charged in connection with the fire. Two other men who prosecutors said worked in the town’s buildings department were charged with filing false documents and falsifying business records, while a woman who worked at the facility was facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment and another man faced a misdemeanor criminal impersonation charge.

Under presssure, company cancels Tennessee pipeline

Clyde Robinson, 80, speaks with a reporter while standing on his acre-sized parcel of land on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021, in Memphis, Tenn. Robinson fought an effort by two companies seeking a piece of his land to build part of an oil pipeline that would run through the Memphis area into north Mississippi, and over an aquifer that provides clean drinking water to 1 million people. The pipeline builders said Friday, July 2, they will not continue to pursue the pipeline project.(AP Photo/Adrian Sainz)


MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Environmentalists and activists claimed victory Saturday after a company canceled plans to build an oil pipeline through southwest Tennessee and north Mississippi, and over an aquifer that provides drinking water to 1 million people.

Byhalia Connection said it will no longer pursue plans to build a 49-mile (79-kilometer) underground artery that would have linked two major U.S. oil pipelines while running through wetlands and under poor, predominantly Black neighborhoods in south Memphis.

A joint venture between Valero and Plains All American Pipeline, Byhalia Connection had said the pipeline would bring jobs and tax revenue to the region — and it had given to Memphis-area charities and tried to build goodwill in the community. But, in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday, Byhalia Connection said it was canceling the project “due to lower U.S. oil production resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“We value the relationships we’ve built through the development of this project, and appreciate those that supported the project,” Byhalia Connection’s statement said.

Byhalia Connection would have linked the east-west Diamond Pipeline through the Valero refinery in Memphis to the north-south Capline Pipeline near Byhalia, Mississippi. The Capline, which has transported crude oil from a Louisiana port on the Gulf of Mexico north to the Midwest, is being reversed to deliver oil south through Mississippi to refineries and export terminals on the Gulf.

Byhalia Connection also would have run through well fields above the Memphis Sand Aquifer, which provides slightly sweet drinking water to the Memphis area. Environmentalists, activist groups, lawyers, property owners, national and local elected officials, and even former Vice President Al Gore opposed the project. They feared an oil spill would have endangered waterways and possibly contaminated the water being pumped out of the ground through wells located along the planned route.

Opponents said the plans reminded them of environmental racism — the practice of placing toxic factories, landfills and other polluters in minority neighborhoods and indigenous areas, where voiceless residents only realize the danger after people get sick.

The pipeline would have run under Memphis neighborhoods such as White Chapel, Westwood and Boxtown, which began as a community of freed slaves in the 1860s and where homes had no running water or electricity as recently as the 1970s.

Justin J. Pearson, a leader of the Memphis Community Against the Pipeline activist group, called the decision “an extraordinary testament to what Memphis and Shelby County can do when citizens build power toward justice.”

Byhalia Connection had said the pipeline would be built a safe distance from the aquifer, which sits much deeper than the planned pipeline route.

Byhalia Connection also has said the pipeline route was not driven by factors such as race or class. The company denied accusations of environmental racism that emerged after a Byhalia Connection land agent said during a community meeting that the developers “took, basically, a point of least resistance” in choosing the pipeline’s path.

Project officials had reached deals with most landowners on the planned pipeline’s route to use their land for construction. A few holdouts were taken to court.

The pipeline’s lawyers sought eminent domain, long invoked by governments to claim private property for public-use projects. Lawyers for the holdouts argued that eminent domain could not be used in the case of a private company seeking to build an oil pipeline in Tennessee.

In April, Byhalia Connection said it was going to pause the legal action after the Memphis City Council began considering an ordinance that would have made it harder for the company to build the pipeline.

No vote has been held on the ordinance, which was one of several strategies meant to put public pressure on Plains and Valero.

Activists held community rallies, including one attended by Gore. Lawyers sued in federal court, challenging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of the pipeline under a nationwide permit. The Shelby County Commission refused to sell to the pipeline builder two parcels of land that sit on the planned route.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat, and about two dozen other members of Congress sent a letter asking the administration of President Joe Biden to reconsider the permit approval.

A Byhalia Connection spokesman did not respond to an emailed question asking whether the community’s resistance influenced the decision to end the project.

But Amanda Garcia, a Southern Environmental Law Center attorney who helped landowners in their legal battle against the pipeline, said the community’s fight was inspiring.

“The cancellation of the Byhalia Pipeline is a victory for the people of Southwest Memphis, for the city’s drinking water, and perhaps most monumentally, it a triumph for environmental justice,” Garcia said.

As Lebanon nears collapse, EU debates sanctions

The Lebanese want the EU to sanction political leaders they say are responsible for the country's crisis. Some EU nations are in favor, but experts warn sanctions could be dangerous.


Protests about deteriorating living conditions have erupted around the country


Lebanon continues to unravel as its economic and political crisis worsens. The country has not had a government for almost a year now and its economy is in the process of collapsing after decades of mismanagement and corruption.

Over the past month, there have been stories both absurd and horrifying coming out of the small Mediterranean nation.

For instance, at the same time that the Lebanese army announced it would be offering tourists $150 (€126) helicopter rides in order to make some money, reports came from the northern city of Tripoli that gunmen were roaming the streets and setting up roadblocks.

Sad record

It is estimated that almost half of all Lebanese now live below the poverty line thanks to the ongoing crisis. An assessment released by UNICEF yesterday found that around 77% of Lebanese households don't have enough food or enough money to buy food.

At the beginning of this month, the World Bank reported that, on a global scale, the Lebanese crisis might well be one of the three most severe since the mid-nineteenth century.


Children search rubbish bins in Beirut for anything they can sell on

Since 2018, Lebanon's gross domestic product (GDP) has plummeted, along with the informal exchange rate, World Bank researchers said. "Such a brutal and rapid contraction is usually associated with conflict or war," they noted.

The Lebanese lira, or pound, is pegged to the US dollar, but that fixed exchange rate is not widely available, which has led to an informal currency market with unfavorable rates.

Watch video 01:31 Lebanon's pound plumbs new depths as economic crisis deepens

Most Lebanese blame their leaders for the crisis. After the end of Lebanon's almost 15-year-long civil war in 1990, peace negotiations divided power between 18 religious sects there. The peace deal effectively set the stage for decades of corruption and the resulting near-collapse of the Lebanese banking system.
'Hold them responsible'

"I believe they should be held responsible as they are the ones who led this country down this path," one Beirut local, Gilbert Kfoury, told DW about Lebanese politicians. "We now have a bankrupt country with no electricity, infrastructure that is deteriorating by the day, widespread famine, no fuel and no security. Despite all this, they still sit in their chairs, with no accountability."

"I think the EU should impose sanctions on Lebanese politicians on the assumption that the majority are corrupt," agreed another Beirut man, Moustapha Mourad. "It is the only way they will start bargaining [to form a government]," he argued.

The lives of wealthy Lebanese are far removed from those of many compatriots

Some politicians in the European Union agree with the angry Lebanese locals. Since May, officials working for the 27-nation bloc have been preparing potential sanctions on Lebanese politicians.

Many of Lebanon's elite and the rich travel regularly to Europe and have homes and money there. In mid-June, news agency Reuters said journalists had seen a diplomatic note indicating that sanctions would be imposed on those Lebanese suspected of "corruption, obstructing efforts to form a government, financial mishandling and human rights abuses."

Desperation and frustration

Visiting Lebanon last month, the EU's foreign policy representative, Josep Borrell, confirmed this. "We stand ready to assist, if this what you want," he said after the visit. "But if there is further obstruction to solutions to the current multi-dimensional crisis in the country, we will have to consider other courses of action … including targeted sanctions."

There has been no further official word on when, or even if, sanctions could be used against Lebanese leaders. However both France and Germany appear to support the idea. During a conference calling for further investigation into Beirut's deadly port blast, the German Embassy in Lebanon confirmed that the EU was looking into sanctions against Lebanese leaders.

France had already taken some steps unilaterally and began blocking visas for some Lebanese officials in April this year.

Josep Borrell (left) met with Lebanese Prime Minister-Designate, Saad Hariri, in June to discuss progress

"I think European governments feel pretty desperate and there's a lot of frustration," Julien Barnes-Dacey, head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said. "But I don't think the question is really one of whether [imposing sanctions] is tough enough, it's a question of whether they will be effective."
Lebanese elite are 'laughing'

The entire Lebanese system needs fundamental change, Barnes-Dacey told DW. "But the Lebanese political elite would probably be willing to see the country deteriorate further [rather] than undertake steps that would threaten their own hold on political and economic power," he argued.

Joseph Bahout, the director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs based at the American University of Beirut, agreed.

There have been more power cuts in Lebanon as the price of fuel rises

"The Lebanese political class is very cynical," he said. "They have seen worse and they're laughing at this." As an example, he cited the French ban on visas. "They [the members of the Lebanese elite] usually have two or three passports and they just enter Europe through another country, like Italy," Bahout noted. "Then we see pictures of them shopping in Paris or Nice."
Potential danger

Imposing sanctions could also be dangerous, added Shahin Vallee, head of the geo-economics program at the German Council on Foreign Relations, who authored a September 2020 policy brief on Lebanon's crisis. "Because either you sanction all Lebanese politicians as a block or you do targeted sanctions," he said. "But then you could create an imbalance in the political system. Sanctions could backfire."

"In choosing politician X over politician Y, the EU would be setting some against others," Bahout agreed.

Both Bahout and Vallee believe there are better ways forward than sanctions. They recommend putting more pressure on the Lebanese financial system instead. Vallee argues for more transparency within it and Bahout believes that European financial agencies could do a lot more to facilitate this.

As fuel prices rose, so did queues at local petrol stations

Banking secrecy in EU, Switzerland

"Frankly, what would be more useful for Lebanese people than sanctions is better access to banking information from countries like France or Switzerland," Bahout explained, adding that that is where many of the allegedly corrupt Lebanese are suspected to have shifted their money.

"It's a little bit hypocritical. Those places have evidence of what has been 'stolen' from the Lebanese public. I think it would be better for the EU to say, 'look we know what you did and we will help the Lebanese expose you'."

At the same time though, the EU should also continue to provide support to the country's most vulnerable as well as local advocates for change, the experts said.

"I continue to believe that the best thing the EU can do is support domestic civil society and the youth organizations that are trying to change the political system from the bottom up," Vallee concluded.

Watch video 28:36 Lebanon in freefall: Crisis at Europe's gates

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THE CHRISTIAN FALANGE ARE FASCISTS
Pope: Lebanon must remain a ‘land of tolerance, pluralism’
By NICOLE WINFIELD

July 1, 2021

1 of 7
The Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, second from left, the head of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Aram I, third from left, Pope Francis, fourth from left, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, firfth from left, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East for the Syriac Catholic Church, Ignatius Youssef III Younan, right, arrive in St. Peter's Basilica to attend a prayer for Lebanon at the Vatican, Thursday, July 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis insisted Thursday that Lebanon must remain a “land of tolerance and pluralism” as he welcomed the country’s Christian patriarchs to the Vatican to pray for an end to the economic and political crisis that has thrown the country into chaos and threatened its Christian community.

Francis presided over an evening prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica with the leaders of Lebanon’s Christian churches, which featured prayers and hymns in Arabic, Syriac, Armenian and Chaldean. Members of the Lebanese community in Rome and the diplomatic corps filled the pews.

During the service, Francis insisted that Lebanon’s vocation was to be an “oasis of fraternity where different religions and confessions meet, where different communities live together, putting the common good before their individual interests.”

“Lebanon cannot be left prey to the course of events or (to) those who pursue their own unscrupulous interests,” he said. “It is a small yet great country, but even more, it is a universal message of peace and fraternity arising from the Middle East.”

The Mediterranean nation of 6 million, including an estimated 1 million refugees, has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East and is the only Arab country with a Christian head of state. Christians make up a third of the population, and the Vatican fears the country’s collapse is particularly dangerous for the continued presence of its Christian community, a bulwark for the church in the Mideast.

Lebanon is going through an unprecedented economic and financial collapse, coupled with an 11-month political deadlock over the formation of a new government. The developments pose the gravest threat to its stability since the end of its civil war three decades ago. It is also trying to recover from the devastating Beirut port explosion last summer — and the coronavirus pandemic.

Francis invited the religious leaders for a day of prayer that began with a silent meditation at the tomb of the Apostle Peter and was followed by closed-door talks about how to help Lebanon emerge from what the World Bank has described as likely to be one of the worst crises the world has witnessed over the past 150 years.

In his final remarks at the ecumenical prayer service, Francis urged political leaders to find solutions and appealed to the international community to help the country recover.

“Stop using Lebanon and the Middle East for outside interests and profits!” he said. “The Lebanese people must be given the opportunity to be the architects of a better future in their land, without undue interference.”

Embattled Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who met with Francis at the Vatican in April, said from Beirut that he hoped the meeting would call on all Lebanese to preserve their coexistence.

“It is no surprise that the pontiff keeps it in his heart through this invite to 10 spiritual leaders with the aim of getting Lebanon through its difficult reality,” he tweeted Thursday, repeating the words of St. John Paul II that “Lebanon is more than a country, it is a message.”

The Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, was blunt in explaining the Holy See’s “strong concern about the collapse of the country” during a briefing with journalists last week.

He said Francis had invited the religious leaders to Rome in an acknowledgment that the Christian community had been particularly hard-hit by the crisis, which has sent the well-educated middle classes fleeing power cuts, fuel shortages, soaring prices and now sporadic acts of violence.

The crisis, Gallagher said, “risks destroying the internal balance and Lebanon’s own reality, putting at risk the Christian presence in the Middle East.”

Noting the potential for Lebanon to fall into conflict, he said the country must be helped economically and to keep the peace, saying it “remains the final vanguard of an Arab democracy that welcomes, recognizes and coexists with a plurality of ethnic and religious communities that in other countries aren’t able to live in peace.”

“It must be helped to maintain this unique identity, to ensure a pluralist, tolerant and diversified Middle East,” he said.

Francis has said he hopes to visit Lebanon once a government is formed. Gallagher said if that happens soon, Francis could make a trip early next year.

___

AP correspondent Zeina Karam contributed from Beirut.

Gunmen take to streets in Lebanese city over economic crisis

By BASSEM MROUE

June 30, 2021

A man rides his scooter through the burning, that were set on fire by protesters to block a road, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, June 24, 2021. Dozens of angry protesters, angered by deteriorating living conditions and government inaction, partially blocked Beirut's main highway to the capital's only airport, turning trash bin over and setting tires on fire. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)


BEIRUT (AP) — Gunmen took to the streets in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Wednesday, firing in the air and at times throwing stones at soldiers amid rising anger at power cuts, fuel shortages and soaring prices.

The anger was fueled by rumors that a young girl died after electricity cuts stopped a machine that supplied her with oxygen. A Lebanese security official denied the rumors and reports on social media about the girl. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest and most impoverished city, has witnessed acts of violence in recent days linked to the country’s severe economic and financial crisis. The World Bank has described the crisis as one of the worst the world has witnessed over the past 150 years. It is coupled with a political deadlock that has left Lebanon without a government since August.

The economic crisis has been the most serious threat to Lebanon’s stability since the 15-year civil war ended in 1990. Tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs since October 2019 in the small nation of 6 million, including a million Syrian refugees.

Lebanon’s 20-month economic and financial crisis has led to severe shortages in fuel, medicine and medical products. Electricity cuts last for much of the day and lack of diesel has led the owners of some private generators to cease supplying power.

After the rumors spread in Tripoli on Wednesday, armed men deployed in the streets of some poor neighborhoods and opened fire in the air. Soldiers briefly pulled out from some areas, apparently to avoid a clash with the gunmen.

Later in the day, the army patrolled the areas that witnessed gunfire, state-run National News Agency reported.

A Tripoli resident told The Associated Press that he closed his shop and went home when the shooting started, adding that it lasted for about four hours. Later in the afternoon, shooting was heard again in the city.

Hundreds of people have tried to migrate to Europe from northern Lebanon due to harsh economic conditions over the past two years and some have died before reaching their destination.

In the capital Beirut, protesters closed several roads Wednesday to express their anger over harsh living conditions.

Riots in Tripoli over the weekend left at least 20 people injured, half of them soldiers.

The army on Sunday said rioters on motorcycles threw stun grenades at troops in Tripoli injuring nine soldiers, while another was injured when hit by a rock. Protesters attacked several state institutions in the city.

In recent years, Tripoli has witnessed rounds of fighting between supporters and opponents of Syria’s government.

US Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts suffer huge declines in membership

By DAVID CRARY

June 30, 2021

In this June 10, 2021 photo provided by Barry Bedlan, members of Troop 298 of Frisco, Texas are among the first to embark a 12-day trek across the Philmont Scout Ranch, outside Cimarron, N.M. Boy Scout and Girl Scouts’ leadership say their summer camps are full, special events are sold out, and they’re expecting many thousands of families – some new to scouting, some who left during the pandemic – to sign up now that activities are occurring in-person rather than virtually. (Barry Bedlan via AP)

America’s most iconic youth organizations – the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA – have been jolted by unprecedented one-year drops in membership, due partly to the pandemic, and partly to social trends that have been shrinking their ranks for decades.

While both organizations insist they’ll survive, the dramatic declines raise questions about how effectively they’ll be able to carry out their time-honored missions -- teaching skills and teamwork, providing outdoor adventure, encouraging community service.

Membership for the BSA’s flagship Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA programs dropped from 1.97 million in 2019 to 1.12 million in 2020, a 43% plunge, according to figures provided to The Associated Press. Court records show membership has fallen further since then, to about 762,000.

The Girl Scouts say their youth membership fell by nearly 30%, from about 1.4 million in 2019- 2020 to just over 1 million this year.

Both groups, like several other U.S. youth organizations, have experienced declining membership for many years. The Girl Scouts reported youth membership of about 2.8 million in 2003. The BSA had more than 4 million boys participating in the 1970s.

Reasons for the drop include competition from sports leagues, a perception by some families that they are old-fashioned, and busy family schedules. The pandemic brought a particular challenge.

In Lawrence, New Jersey, 8-year-old Joey Yaros stopped attending meetings while most in-person gatherings were shut down, and might not go back, even though his father and three brothers all earned the elite Eagle Scout rank. Joey was already struggling with virtual school classes, and the family didn’t pressure him to also participate in virtual Cub Scout activities.

“If there are den meetings in the fall, we’ll see if he gets back in the swing of it,” said his father, high school history teacher Jay Yaros. “There are a lot of interesting things for kids to do these days, and scouting doesn’t seem to be keeping up.”

The Boy Scouts’ problems are compounded by their decision to seek bankruptcy protection in February 2020 to cope with thousands of lawsuits filed by men who allege they were molested as youngsters by scout leaders. The case is proceeding slowly in federal bankruptcy court as lawyers negotiate creation of a trust fund for victims that will likely entail hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions from the BSA and its 252 local councils.

To provide those funds, some councils may have to sell cherished camp properties, the BSA’s president and CEO, Roger Mosby, told the AP.

“We understand that this is a difficult and often emotional decision, but in some instances may be a necessary step as we work toward our shared imperatives of equitably compensating survivors and continuing Scouting’s mission.” Mosby said in a written reply to AP’s queries.


The pandemic, the membership drop and rising costs of liability insurance have strained BSA finances. A disclosure statement in the bankruptcy case says its gross revenues dropped from $394 million in 2019 to $187 million last year.

In response, the Boy Scouts’ annual youth membership fee will rise from $66 to $72 on August 1. The BSA also says some councils may merge to consolidate resources.

The Girl Scouts have bureaucratic complications of their own. There is ongoing litigation pitting the national headquarters against two of the 111 local councils— based in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Nashville, Tennessee — which refuse to implement a nationwide technology platform.

Despite the varied challenges, Mosby and other Boy Scout officials, as well as the Girl Scouts’ leadership, say there’s reason for optimism. They say their summer camps are full, special events are sold out, and they’re expecting many thousands of families – some new to scouting, some who left during the pandemic – to sign up now that activities are occurring in-person rather than virtually.

“We knew some girls would take a pause,” said Girl Scouts spokeswoman Kelly Parisi. “But as the pandemic goes in the rear-view mirror, we’ve seen a substantial rebound... We feel really good going into the fall recruitment.”

Membership in the Boy Scouts’ Longhorn Council, which serves parts of Central and North Texas, dropped by 44% from 2019 to 2020, said its chief executive, Wendy Shaw. But she is buoyed by surging interest this year from families considering their first foray into scouting; the council has scheduled 12 special events for them.

Manny Ramos, chief executive of the BSA’s Seattle-area council, said pandemic-related restrictions on group activities were rigorous in his area -- a factor in recruiting only 500 scouts last fall instead of the normal 3,000 or more. To maintain interest, his staff held numerous outdoor activities, including winter camping, and now anticipates a large influx of families who skipped scouting last year.

Bryan Koch of Madison, Wisconsin, has been an adult leader for more than a decade as two sons went through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. He believes the programs have invaluable benefits: teaching leadership skills, offering adventures such as a 78-mile hike at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico that his eldest son completed as a 14-year-old.

“I’m a firm believer in what scouting can be,” Koch said. “It helps us develop more well-rounded and aware young men and women. That’s sorely needed in our country right now.”

Yet he says membership in his Boy Scout troop dropped by 30% in recent years as boys and parents turned to other activities.

“There’s not really a passive way to go through scouting and get the full experience,” Koch said. “It takes a lot of time for the scout, for the parents.”

Josh Garner has been scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 30 in Jackson, Mississippi, for six years; his oldest son will soon be an Eagle Scout. Troop membership has dropped by 25% during his tenure, and even more sharply in the Cub Scout pack that’s also sponsored by St. Richard Catholic Church.

Garner said the BSA’s national leadership “has a lot of baggage right now” and needs to devise better recruitment strategies. Yet he’d hate to see the organization fold.

“I’ve watched boys learn all kinds of skills, from welding to giving speeches,” he said. “It’s a fantastic program -- too important to a lot of people for it to just go away.”

FILE - This June 7, 2021 file photo shows the headquarters of Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails in Albuquerque, N.M. The Girl Scouts say their youth membership fell by nearly 30%, from about 1.4 million in 2019-2020 to just over 1 million in 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)

Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy plans anger some, welcomed by others.

FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2020, file photo, Boy Scouts of America uniforms are displayed in the retail store at the headquarters for the French Creek Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Summit Township, Pa. An $850 million agreement by the Boy Scouts of America to compensate sex-abuse victims prompted outrage Friday, July 2, 2021, from some abuse survivors and their advocates, while others were encouraged and saw it as the best outcome that could be achieved under the circumstances. (Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News via AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — An $850 million agreement by the Boy Scouts of America to compensate sex-abuse victims prompted outrage Friday from some survivors and their advocates, while others were encouraged and saw it as the best outcome that could be achieved under the circumstances.

The agreement, filed in court late Thursday as a step toward resolving a complex bankruptcy case, includes the BSA national leadership, abuse victims, local Boy Scout councils and lawyers appointed to represent victims who might file future claims.

Lawyer Tim Kosnoff, whose Abused in Scouting legal team says it’s representing thousands of clients, called it “a lousy deal — a sellout of tens of thousands of brave men” because it did not press local councils to contribute the bulk of their unrestricted assets.

Chris Anderson, an accountant from southern California who says he was abused by a Boy Scout troop leader for more than three years in the 1970s, complained about a lack of detail regarding council finances.

“It’s a farce,” he told The Associated Press. “There’s no certainty for the victims at all.”

However, some lawyers representing survivors welcomed the agreement as the best that could be gotten. They noted that negotiations remain to be resolved with the Boy Scouts’ insurers, who potentially could be required to contribute billions of dollars to the compensation fund.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,” said lawyer Ken Rothweiler, whose firm says it’s representing more than 16,000 survivors. “Now we go after the next step and see what happens with the insurers.”

The BSA sought bankruptcy protection in February 2020, moving to halt thousands of lawsuits by men who were molested as youngsters decades ago by scoutmasters or other leaders. The filing was intended to try to reach a global resolution of abuse claims and create a compensation fund.

Richard Mason, an attorney and chairman of an ad hoc committee representing local councils in the case, said this week’s restructuring agreement is the result of hard-fought negotiations and plaintiffs’ attorneys “pushed very hard.”

Mason, who is also president of the Greater New York Councils of the BSA, said the councils are contributing “the most that is achievable.”

Irwin Zalkin, whose law firm represents about 150 surviors, warned against reading too much into the agreement, given that many questions remain unanswered.

Those include what percentage of their worth local councils will contribute; what, if anything, local sponsoring organizations such as churches and civic groups might contribute; and how much will be set aside to cover future claims.

“I think it’s a disservice to the victims to put out a media release saying they’ve reached an agreement for $850 million, especially the way they’re taking a victory dance about it,” he said. “To me, I find it just reprehensible.”

Lawyer Paul Mones, who represents hundreds of abuse victims and supports the restructuring agreement, said plaintiffs’ attorneys pushed the BSA and local councils as far as they could.

“We believe this is the best that could have been done,” he said, while acknowledging that abuse survivors could still vote to reject the agreement.

Zalkin and other critics note that the councils have more than $1.8 billion in unrestricted assets but are contributing only $600 million to the victims’ fund. Mones pointed out, however, that many council properties have land-use or donor restrictions making them unavailable to compensate abuse victims.

Regardless of how much the BSA and the local councils contribute or how much insurance companies might be forced to pay, no amount can compensate the abuse victims for their suffering, Mones said.

“This is not a victory for anybody,” he said. “We are dealing in the aftermath of a disaster in these peoples’ lives, and we are trying to build things back with whatever raw materials we have left.”

The Associated Press contacted numerous local scout councils across the U.S. on Friday. Most of the leaders who responded said they did not yet know the amount they’d be asked to contribute and were hopeful they would not have to sell off cherished properties, such as camps.

Doug Stone of the Indian Waters Council in South Carolina said it would not have to sell its camp or any other assets.

“We own Camp Barstow outright,” he said. “We’re not going to put a mortgage on it. We’re not going to sell it. It’s going to stay.”

However, the BSA’s president and CEO, Roger Mosby, told the AP earlier this week that some councils would face “a difficult and often emotional decision” regarding camp sales.

Some councils have already taken steps in that direction.

The Greater Hudson Valley Council, which serves several counties near New York City, placed three of its camps up for sale earlier this year as part of its obligation to the fund. The largest is the Durland Scout Reservation, a 1,385-acre property in Putnam Valley that includes two lakes.

Another is Camp Bullowa in Stony Point, where a local official has inquired as to whether the town could purchase it and maintain it for scouting and other recreation.

In Maine, the Pine Tree Council has proposed selling two camps to raise money for the fund, according to the Kennebec Journal. The council did not immediately reply to emails and phone messages Friday seeking an update.

The BSA, in a statement Friday, praised the agreement and said it would help local councils contribute “without additional drain on their assets.”

“There is still much to be done to obtain approval from the Court to solicit survivors to vote for the BSA’s amended Plan of Reorganization,” it said. “Our intention is to seek confirmation of the Plan this summer and emerge from bankruptcy late this year.”

Membership in the BSA has declined sharply since 2019, from more than 1.9 million scouts in its two flagship programs to less than 770,000.