Workers were in strike

Voters in Rancho Palos Verdes soundly defeated a ballot initiative that would have raised resort workers’ salaries and equipped employees with panic buttons to help prevent sexual assaults.The ballot measure, supported by a hotel workers union and opposed by the owner of the ritzy Terranea Resort, lost Tuesday. The vote was 1,712 in support of the initiative and 6,113 opposed. The union that collected signatures to put the measure on the ballot was heavily outspent in the campaign by the resort’s owner, Long Point Development.The defeat was a blow to the hotel workers union, Unite Here, which wants to organize the Terranea staff. The union had similar ballot measures approved by voters over the last three years in Long Beach, Seattle and Oakland.Unite Here attributed the loss to the more than $1 million spent by Long Point Development to pay for what the union called in a statement “misleading and negative mailers and ads.” Advertisement “The Terranea … [Read more...] about Rancho Palos Verdes voters spurn effort to equip resort workers with panic buttons

The winter holidays are right around the corner. Soon, many Americans will gather around the table with family and friends to give thanks for abundant blessings and freedoms as they indulge in a surfeit of delicious traditional foods. Leftovers will last for days. In December, people of different faiths and traditions will celebrate religious or cultural holidays – enjoying more festive and plentiful food and the added indulgence of gift-giving. This season can leave many of us feeling stuffed and uncomfortable – in more ways than one. As you plan for this “season of excess,” consider a few eye-opening facts: Over Halloween, Americans spent $490 million on costumes for pets, $3.2 billion on costumes for people, and $2.6 billion on candy treats. Billions more were spent on decorations. In November and December, Americans are expected to spend $730 billion on holiday buying of gifts (often unneeded or unwanted), food, greeting cards and wrapping paper. The 2.65 … [Read more...] about On Philanthropy: Suffering from seasonal gluttony syndrome? Here’s a cure.

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico — The gangsters trawling Nuevo Laredo know just what they’re looking for: men and women missing their shoelaces. Those are migrants who made it to the United States to ask for asylum, only to be taken into custody and stripped of their laces — to keep them from hurting themselves. And then they were thrust into danger, sent back to the lawless border state of Tamaulipas. In years past, migrants moved quickly through this violent territory on their way to the United States. Now, due to Trump administration policies, they remain there for weeks and sometimes months as they await their U.S. court dates, often in the hands of the gangsters who hold the area in a vise-like grip. Here, migrants in limbo are prey, and a boon to smugglers.This story is part of an occasional series, “Outsourcing Migrants,” produced with the support of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. They recount harrowing stories of robbery, extortion by criminals and … [Read more...] about Migrants stuck in lawless limbo within sight of America

By Chris Melore CBSNewYork.com Major League Baseball’s offseason is already in full swing as all 30 teams are diving into the annual spending spree, better known as free agency. One of the winter’s biggest wheeling-and-dealing events kicks off Sunday night in San Diego with the Winter Meetings. For the Mets, the history-making debut of Pete Alonso and a late season playoff run gave the team new hope after a dismal start to 2019. Despite 86 wins, another year outside the postseason ultimately costed manager Mickey Callaway his job. Now, as fans adjust to new manager Carlos Beltran, an even more shocking introduction is about to be made — new billionaire owner Steve Cohen! MORE: Wilpons Working To Sell Majority Stake Of New York Mets To Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager Steve Cohen The following is the Mets’ version of a Christmas wish list; what they need to shop for this offseason to return to the playoffs — and what we will assume New York can afford to … [Read more...] about Mets 2020 Shopping List: Here’s Who New York’s New Billionaire Owner Needs To Spend Big On

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, of Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images A telling exchange took place on Friday after the Ilhan Omar dustup in West Virginia. When asked to comment on a poster that was displayed in the Capitol rotunda on “WVGOP Day,” which depicted the Muslim congresswoman beneath a photograph of the World Trade Center on fire, captioned, “‘Never forget,’ you said … I am the proof — you have forgotten,” delegate Dianna Graves invoked the First Amendment. “My issue with what I saw outside has to do with another truly American foundational issue, and that’s freedom of speech,” the Republican said, according to the Washington Post. “So, while I may not agree with everything that is out there, I do agree that freedom of speech is something that we have to protect, even if we don’t agree with it.” This was a total non sequitur. No one had … [Read more...] about The Shield of Free Speech