September 3, 2023

Sunday, September 3, 2023. Annette’s News Roundup.

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Joe is always busy.

Millions more workers would be entitled to overtime pay under a proposed Biden administration rule.
Biden administration proposed a new rule Tuesday that would make 3.6 million more U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay.Julie Su, Acting Labor Secretary said,“I’ve heard from workers again and again about working long hours, for no extra pay, all while earning low salaries that don’t come anywhere close to compensating them for their sacrifices.”

The Biden administration proposed a new rule Wednesday that would make 3.6 million more U.S. workers eligible for overtime pay, the most generous such increase in decades.

The rule revives an Obama-era effort that faced pushback from business leaders and Republicans and was ultimately scuttled in court. Labor advocates and liberal lawmakers have pushed the Biden administration to take the fight back up, arguing that overtime protections have been sharply eroded over the decades by wage stagnation and inflation.

employers to pay overtime to salaried workers who are in executive, administrative and professional roles but make less than $1,059 a week, or $55,068 a year for full-time employees. That salary threshold is up from $35,568 level that has been in place since 2019 when the Trump administration raised it from $23,660, in a more modest increase than President Barack Obama's earlier proposal. (Daily Kos).

A Reporter raised the issue of DeSantis’ refusal to meet with him when the President tours the damage to Florida’s West Coast by Hurricane Idalia.

Biden: I don’t believe DeSantis is going to be there today.

Reporter: Do you have a message for him?

Biden: We’re going to take care of Florida.

—

While on the ground in Florida, Biden said he was not disappointed that DeSantis rejected a meeting with him.

"No, I'm not disappointed," Biden said Saturday afternoon. "He may have had other reasons because- but he did help us plan this. He sat with FEMA and decided where we should go, where it'd be the least disruption." (ABC News).

—

In Florida yesterday…

In a rare but meaningful moment of bipartisanship today, President Biden and Rick Scott made Ron DeSantis look even smaller than he really is.

“𝘐’𝘮 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 [𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵] 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 ." - President Biden on Rick Scott

"𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦? 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭. 𝘐𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴." - Rick Scott on President Biden's response to the hurricane

See, it's not really that hard, Ron. If you can't put politics aside in moments like this, you sure as hell aren't ready to be president.

(X. @ChrisDJackson)

Touch the image in the tweet below 👇 to see what the President said about guns following the University of North Carolina shooting.

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Kamala is always busy.

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If you want to count the Former Guy’s 91 Felonies, Times Square welcomes you.

Touch to see them all. 👇

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Watch #RedMeatRamaswamy threaten further violence in America.👇

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We win some. This is a good one to win.

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The Nobel Prize organizers made serious ethical mistakes. Was this correction enough?

Nobel Foundation pulls invitation to Russia, Belarus, Iran to attend ceremonies.

STOCKHOLM — The Nobel Foundation on Saturday withdrew its invitation for representatives of Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend this year's Nobel Prize award ceremonies after the decision announced a day earlier "provoked strong reactions."

Several Swedish lawmakers said Friday they would boycott this year's Nobel Prize award ceremonies in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, after the private foundation that administers the prestigious awards changed its position from a year earlier and invited representatives of the three countries to attend, saying it "promotes opportunities to convey the important messages of the Nobel Prize to everyone."

Some of the lawmakers cited Russia's war on Ukraine and the crackdown on human rights in Iran as reasons for their boycott. Belarusian opposition figure Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Friday called on the Swedish Nobel Foundation and the Norwegian Nobel Committee not to invite representatives of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's "illegitimate regime to any events."

Saturday's announcement was widely praised in Sweden by politicians. Even the Swedish Royal House reacted with spokeswoman Margareta Thorgren saying, as quoted by newspaper Aftonbladet, that "we see the change in the decision as positive". She added that King Carl XVI Gustaf was planning to hand out this year's Nobel awards at ceremonies in Stockholm "as before." [Previously, Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf stated his surprise over the invitation to the Russians & expressed doubt on whether he would attend himself.].

This year's Nobel prize winners will be announced in early October. The laureates are then invited to receive their awards at glittering prize ceremonies on Dec. 10, the anniversary of award founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.

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New York is taking action on Climate Change.

Mandatory Composting Is Coming to New York City: What You Need to Know.

The city has trucks that hold compost on one side and regular trash on the other.

Universal curbside composting came to Queens. Now it’s Brooklyn’s turn.

The program, which is expanding across the city over the next year, requires residents to separate food scraps and yard waste from their trash. Soon, it will be mandatory for all New Yorkers.

Composting is crucial for fighting climate change, explained Councilwoman Sandy Nurse, a sponsor of the Zero Waste Act, a legislative package that passed this summer and includes the curbside bill. When food waste goes into landfills, it produces methane, “which is the worst of the greenhouse gang,” she said.

Domingo Morales, the founder of the grass-roots organization Compost Power, added that composting makes soil healthier, which improves food growing capabilities and can also capture more carbon dioxide.

Here’s what New Yorkers should expect when it arrives in their areas.

When will curbside composting come to my neighborhood?

It will start in Brooklyn on Oct. 2. (Currently, officials are “knocking on every door” to alert residents, according to a Department of Sanitation spokesman.)

The Bronx and Staten Island will be next in March, followed by Manhattan in October 2024.

Do I need a brown bin from the city?

No. Any bin, with a capacity of 55 gallons or less and a tight lid, will work. But if you want something official looking (and free), you can order one (or even just a decal for your chosen receptacle) through the Department of Sanitation, depending on when your borough is starting the program.

Brooklyn residents may order them through Oct. 13. To be ready for the Oct. 2 start date, they should order by Sept. 1.

Those who live in the Bronx, Staten Island and Manhattan should check back with the department in early 2024.

What will curbside composting accept?

Basically, all food, anything that grows in the dirt and a few other items. These can include fruits and vegetables, eggshells, coffee grounds, bread, pasta, cereal, rice, meat, bones, dairy, prepared foods, greasy uncoated paper plates, pizza boxes, leaf and yard waste.

“New Yorkers should not overthink this,” Councilwoman Nurse said. “Is this something I can eat? Or Grow? Cool, it goes in the bin.”

Yard waste can be mixed in with food scraps (as long as all of it is placed in a receptacle with a tightfitting lid). But residents can also keep yard waste separate by placing it in a bag or in a different container.

What does not go in the compost bin?

Anything that should go into recycling, like metal, glass, plastic, cartons, clean paper and cardboard, and other trash items like wrappers, pet waste, medical waste, diapers, foam, or hygiene products.

How will pickup work?

Yard waste and food scraps will be picked up on recycling day. Check for the recycling schedule here.

The Sanitation Department now has dual-bin trucks with two chambers that can pick up different materials at the same time. On one side might be recycling, on the other side, compost.

Pickup times, as well as the design and number of trucks, will depend on the density of the district.

Yard waste and food scraps will be picked up on recycling day. Check for the recycling schedule here.

The Sanitation Department now has dual-bin trucks with two chambers that can pick up different materials at the same time. On one side might be recycling, on the other side, compost.

Pickup times, as well as the design and number of trucks, will depend on the density of the district.

How do I store food scraps at home?

“You don’t need a fancy $100 countertop bin from Amazon,” said Mr. Morales, who suggested empty jumbo mayonnaise or peanut butter jars, even a zip-lock bag, for storing waste. “Usually a zip-lock bag will last me a good four to five months,” he said. Once you empty the bag in the communal bin, he added, it’s easy to wash and reuse.

For lining a small bin or bucket, there are biodegradable bags (look for the ASTM D6400 specification), but they still take a while to break down. And they do not compost, Mr. Morales said. For transporting waste, he suggested using a brown paper bag, like one from Trader Joe’s. It can get tossed into the compost bin, and it’s carbon rich, he said.

For the large bin that Sanitation workers pick up, you can line it with a garbage bag, which can also be reused. But it’s not necessary. Basically, whoever controls putting the recycling and composting out should make this decision.

What happens if I don’t participate?

At first, nothing really. The law won’t go into effect until six months after the entire city has gotten curbside composting service. If the rollout stays on schedule, this should put us at Spring 2025.

In terms of fines, details are still being worked out, but they will be comparable to recycling fines and will depend on the size of the building — between $25 and $100 for a first offense.

Once the law is enacted, if sanitation workers are collecting the trash and they find food or yard waste mixed in with the garbage, they are supposed to call their supervisor, who will write a ticket.

What are the those orange bins on the streets?

Those are smart compost bins, and there are about 400 of them across the city, available for anyone to use at any time. They accept the same items as curbside service.

They are called “smart bins” for a reason: You’ll need to download an app to use them. You can do that here.

If I live where it’s not yet mandatory to separate food scraps, can I go ahead and start doing it?

Yes. There are community drop-off composting sites, run by various nonprofits, throughout the five boroughs. You can find the one closest to you here. Rules for what they accept tend to be more strict than curbside service or the orange smart bins. For example, most of them do not accept meat, bones and dairy.

What happens to the waste after it’s picked up?

Some of it goes to compost facilities in New Jersey or to a site in Staten Island. At the latter, the material is set into 10-foot-tall rows (called windrows), where it gets turned and aerated over time and broken down into soil. It is then either sold or given away.

New Yorkers interested in free compost can find a pickup point close to them here.

Some of the waste goes to anaerobic digesters, large sealed containers that store it while bacteria break it down. The largest hub for this process is in Newtown Creek in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where “eggs” convert the waste into biogas (a renewable fuel) that can go into the grid to power homes.

The city is looking to expand facilities to meet increasing demand and to diversify processing so as not to overburden any one neighborhood, according to the Department of Sanitation. (New York Times).

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