Don’t make social distancing any harder than it has to be—enjoy some fresh food.
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Sunday, March 15, 2020
Saturday, March 14, 2020
Disney Parks & Universal Studios shut down operations
Disney has closed all of its theme parks “in an abundance of caution and in the best interest of their guests and employees.”
On Friday, the city of Los Angeles halted city events and closed down City Hall. Governor Gavin Newsom would suggest groups of more than 250 not gather but did not specifically ask for theme parks to close, Deadline reports.
“While there have been no reported cases of COVID-19 at Disneyland Resort, after carefully reviewing the guidelines of the Governor of California’s executive order and in the best interest of our guests and employees, we are proceeding with the closure of Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure, beginning the morning of March 14 through the end of the month,” a Disney spokesperson said on Thursday.
READ MORE: How HBCUs are handling the coronavirus pandemic
During the closure, The Walt Disney Company will pay its cast members and hotels, retail and dining facilities at Walt Disney World and Disneyland while employees at domestic Disney companies, in addition to The Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Television, ESPN, Direct-to-Consumer, and Parks, Experiences and Products are being requested to work from home.
The event cancellations are expected to be a big blow to the Southern California economy. Disneyland attracts more than 18.6 million people a year, or roughly 1.5 million people a month, according to the Themed Entertainment Association, an organization that follows theme parks. Universal Studios Hollywood brings in 9.1 million visitors, or about 700,000 people a month.
READ MORE: California voters want Michelle Obama to join Dem ticket as running mate
Per the California Dept. of Public Health on Wednesday, the new guidance is as follows through the month of March:
The California Department of Public Health finds the following:
- Large gatherings that include 250 people or more should be postponed or canceled.
- This includes gatherings such as concerts, conferences, and professional, college, and school sporting events.
- Smaller gatherings held in venues that do not allow social distancing of six feet per person should be postponed or canceled.
- This includes gatherings in crowded auditoriums, rooms or other venues.
- Gatherings of individuals who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 should be limited to no more than 10 people.
- This includes gatherings such as those at retirement facilities, assisted living facilities, developmental homes, and support groups for people with health conditions.
- A “gathering” is any event or convening that brings together people in a single room or single space at the same time, such as an auditorium, stadium, arena, large conference room, meeting hall, cafeteria, or any other indoor or outdoor space.
This applies to all non-essential professional, social, and community gatherings regardless of their sponsor.
The post Disney Parks & Universal Studios shut down operations appeared first on TheGrio.
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Zion Williamson, other NBA players pledge to cover salaries of arena workers
With the outbreak of the coronavirus, the New Orleans Smoothie King Center is now closed to NBA games prompting Pelicans rookie Zion Williamson to make a profound offering to cover the salaries of the arena’s workers for the next 30 days.
The announcement was delivered in a post on his Instagram account where Williamson attributed his effort to the relationship built in New Orleans as he arrived for his rookie year.
READ MORE: Steph Curry tweets after flu symptoms, reacts to NBA’s coronavirus fallout
In response, the New Orleans Pelicans shared a response on Twitter:
“The Pelicans say thank you and applaud Zion and his family for his generous giving to the employees of ASM New Orleans and the Smoothie King Center during this very unfortunate and troubling time.”
Statement from the New Orleans Pelicans: pic.twitter.com/BIE9IdGX97
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) March 13, 2020
Stars and team owners across the league are also assisting arena workers. Current NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo is pledging $100,000 to the staff of Milwaukee Fiserv’s Forum, ESPN reports.
READ MORE: Mark Cuban will financially support Dallas arena workers during NBA season suspension
“It’s bigger than basketball! And during this tough time I want to help the people that make my life, my family’s lives and my teammate’s lives easier,” Antetokounmpo tweeted.
It’s bigger than basketball! And during this tough time I want to help the people that make my life, my family’s lives and my teammates lives easier. Me and my family pledge to donate $100,000 to the Fiserv Forum staff. We can get through this together! 🙏🏽
— Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) March 13, 2020
The first player’s pledge came from Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love who would donate $100,000 to support Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse staff in Cleveland. Blake Griffin of the Detroit Pistons also will pledge $100,000 toward workers of Little Caesars Arena.
As the NBA shut down on Wednesday, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban detailed during a live interview his efforts to support American Airlines Arena staff. The team would release a statement Friday confirming they will “ensure that scheduled event staff will receive payment for the six home games that were to take place during the 30-day NBA hiatus.”
The post Zion Williamson, other NBA players pledge to cover salaries of arena workers appeared first on TheGrio.
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Angela Bassett surprises girl, 4, who said she was ‘ugly’ on ‘Tamron’ show
Last week, an Instagram video of 4-year-old Ariyonna Cotton went viral as she declared “I’m so ugly” while getting her hair done by Shabria Redmond, known as rapper Lil Wave Daddy.
Redmond would encourage Ariyonna in a video that quickly turned out to be a powerful moment of #BlackGirlMagic.
On Friday’s episode of The Tamron Hall Show, Redmond, Ariyonna and her mother, Ashante Cotton, were special guests and received the surprise of a lifetime by actress Angela Bassett.
Before Bassett’s big surprise, Ariyonna told Tamron Hall that after the video of her crying went viral, she now looks in the mirror every day and says, “Black and beautiful.”
Once Bassett arrived on set, she delivered a message of appreciation to both women.
“Thank you for the inspiration that – you know, you’re helping a little one, but you’re giving such inspiration and knowledge and grace to the world,” Bassett shared.
“People say all kinds of things – sometimes people don’t know what to say and then they say the wrong thing. But the way that you’re speaking into her life, into her spirit with things – not only her outward beauty but the beauty that is her character.”
Bassett was not the only person to speak kind words to Ariyonna. Michelle Obama posted a message on her Instagram page as she shared the video.
“Ariyonna, you are gorgeous,” she wrote. “In a world that sometimes tries to say otherwise, I want to tell you — and every other beautiful, intelligent, brave black girl — just how precious you are.”
The episode featuring the ladies of the video and Bassett will be one of the last new editions of the Tamron Hall Show for the near future. Deadline reports production of the show has halted due to coronavirus.
READ MORE: Tamron Hall gets real about her ‘Today Show’ firing during opening of new talk show
“The Tamron Hall show has determined it is in the best interest of the staff and crew to suspend production on the show beginning Monday, March 16,” Walt Disney Television said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the situation and hope to be back on the air with new shows as soon as possible.”
Additional shows that have been suspended include The Wendy Williams Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The post Angela Bassett surprises girl, 4, who said she was ‘ugly’ on ‘Tamron’ show appeared first on TheGrio.
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U-Haul To Offer College Students Free Storage
With universities closing campuses and moving to online classes amid the coronavirus outbreak, students across the country are scrambling to find ways to get their stuff home. U-Haul is trying to help by offering free storage for up to 30 days.
According to a U-Haul press release, the moving and storage company will offer college students throughout the country 30 days of free storage space.
“We don’t know how every student is affected. But we know they are affected,” JU-Haul’s CEO John “JT” Taylor said in the release. “More and more universities are giving instructions to leave campus and go home. Students and their parents are in need of moving and storage solutions. We have the expertise and network to help, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
U-Haul currently gives regular customers 30 days of storage with the purchase of a trailer or a truck, but according to U-Haul spokesperson Jeff Lockridge, no purchase is necessary for college students. The 30-day free self-storage offer is typically extended to communities impacted by a natural disaster. This marks the first time U-Haul has extended the offer companywide.
“There is no purchase of any kind necessary for the current offer to college students,” Lockridge told the Insider. “It is merely a gesture of goodwill given the extraordinary circumstances taking place and our ability to help.”
Lockridge added that those who need storage for their belongings while they sort out where to go next, should visit the U-Haul website to find a U-Haul location near them.
Since the coronavirus outbreak has hit US shores, colleges have increasingly been canceling classes. Twelve colleges in Florida and six colleges in California including the University of California have canceled classes. At least one school in Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, Illinois, and all city and state universities in New York have been canceled.
With schools canceling classes across the country, U-Haul has said it’s prepared for an early spring moving rush. U-Haul has more than 22,000 truck- and trailer-sharing locations, across the country.
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Trump Administration To Kick Hundreds of Thousands of Americans Off the SNAP Program
The Trump administration is moving forward with its plan to tighten work requirements for people who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) despite the growing coronavirus threat, a move that could see hundreds of thousands of citizens kicked off the program.
According to BuzzFeed, the Department of Agriculture has confirmed that it will change work requirements beginning April 1. The rules will force those without a disability or children to work 20 hours per week to qualify for the SNAP program previously known as food stamps. The White House said 700,000 people would be ineligible for the SNAP program under these rules. However, Lauren Bauer, a fellow with the Brookings Institute, said that was the number before the coronavirus outbreak.
“That number is going to be much, much higher,” she told Buzzfeed. “It’s going to cause harm both to the people who are eligible for SNAP, but it’s also going to cause harm for the economy.”
The service industry and gig economy will be particularly affected by the virus. People across the country are being told to stay inside and avoid big social settings such as bars and gyms. Additionally, multiple sports leagues and concerts have been canceled.
People who work in these settings will see their hours cut considerably and may be laid off, making them ineligible for SNAP benefits. Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, said he will continue to pay employees, even after the NBA season was suspended Wednesday.
The Trump administration considered delaying the new requirements, but Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a House Appropriations Subcommittee earlier this week that the plan will go forward.
Adults between the ages of 18 and 49 without a disability or children have been required to work at least 80 hours a month to receive benefits since the mid-1990s. However, some states have waived that requirement due to a high unemployment rate. The new requirements would make it harder for states to do that.
Purdue added that states can lessen the impact of the coronavirus on SNAP enrollment through a good cause waiver. The waivers are used when someone has a good cause for missing work, such as falling ill or an office building being shut down due to infection. Good cause waivers can be administered at the state level and do not need to be approved federally.
“Whether you are sick or your job says you can’t come to work, the good cause will eliminate need for work requirements under this rule,” Perdue said in a statement to BuzzFeed.
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