We're No. 1

          Good evening, 919 Gang. Many, many thinks to Hal Fuson, the only one who alerted me that the Union-Tribune is the big winner in this year’s CNPA contest. Here’s what they had to say:

          “The San Diego Union-Tribune is the General Excellence winner in the large dailies division in the 2019 California Journalism Awards Print Contest.

The judge praised The Union-Tribune’s emphasis on local content, including an ‘all local front page,’ ‘well done’ arts and culture pages and some ‘very lovely, enticing ads.’ The judge described the U-T’s coverage of the San Diego Padres Major League Baseball as ‘massive.’”

          Follow this link to learn the other winners in the contest:

https://cnpa.com/cnpa-names-winners-in-california-journalism-awards-contests/

          THE CNPA home page has stories about its efforts regarding AB5:

https://cnpa.com/

          REBER: I gotta complain. Hal wasn’t the only one who knew about this. People still at the paper had to know, but they did not share the news. Hey, folks, it’s the communication business, remember?

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KEN STONE writes:

       I really miss Bobbi Ignelzi. In her 33 years at the U-T, she became the Consumer Reports of San Diego. Nobody could beat her coverage of shopping and safety issues.

So when I see 919 Gangers still debating how and when to fetch food, I wish Bobbi would reappear and answer all our questions.

The closest I've gotten to a definitive statement was from Todd Walters, the local president of UFCW, the grocery workers union. Here's what I reported Saturday:

https://timesofsandiego.com/business/2020/03/28/escondido-albertsons-worker-among-12-in-socal-ufcw-unions-with-covid-19/

Walters wanted the public to know that the supply chain is back.

“There’s no reason to hoard,” he said. “We’ve got products coming in, getting them back on the shelves. So if you don’t need to shop, don’t shop.”

He also urged shoppers to respect store employees — letting them restock shelves and move along before swooping in to grab an item.

“They need to give these people some space,” he said. “Give them their six feet. If you’re down the aisle and need to get something, let them get out of your way.”

          The public also should realize that not every store restocks shelves overnight. Some, called curfew stores, are in neighborhoods where deliveries aren’t allowed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

“Some of the people are lining up in front of grocery stores” at 7 or 8 a.m. “They’re not necessarily getting any extra picking on anybody.” (They may have gotten deliveries the previous afternoon.)

Me again. My lede was about an Albertsons worker testing positive for COVID-19 (a fact I knew Friday but withheld because of an embargo agreement). But perhaps I should have headlined the story: QUIT HOARDING AND STANDING IN LINE AT 7 A.M.

          On Saturday afternoon, I went to the La Mesa Costco to test out Todd's contentions. He was right. I found every type of food I wanted. And I stood outside the entrance (first in line) only 5 minutes as 10-15 people had to exit first before my group was let in. I also appreciated the 6-foot distancing enforced at checkout, the lady whose lone job was wiping down the conveyor belts and the sneeze guard panels erected at every stand. Everyone on staff, it seemed, wore gloves. Aisles are wider at Costco than Vons/Albertsons/Target/WalmartTrader Joe's, etc. So it was easier to keep distance.

          I go shopping only when absolutely necessary, and I wear gloves — which I toss after I get out of the car. I use Clorox wipes on all touched surfaces of the car and get rid of some packaging before taking food from the garage into the kitchen. I do wipedowns of food packages and wash fruit in soapy water.

          I'm 65. So gotta be smart.

But we'd all be smarter if some enterprising media outlet sent someone to local food shops to inspect the premises, report on shopper /staff compliance and test various theories of when to go shopping. That would be a public service.

Jack J. Reber

P.O. Box 2239

Ramona, CA 92065-0938

United States

Home-grown groceries

          Good evening, 919 Gang. I saw my barber at the post office today. I told her if my hair gets much longer I’m going to have to start using the women’s restroom. Nothing she can do about it, of course. She said “I’m bored to death, but my house has never been so clean.”

MIRIAM RAFTERY writes:

       Here is my tip of the day.

Eager to plant our spring garden and have something to occupy my time at home, I went to Home Depot, which is open as a critical business due to selling hardware. There was a line the length of the building with no social distancing, so I went home. I called to see if they might do curbside pickup, but gave up after being transferred three times, then disconnected.

I then hunted online, but several gardening supply outlets I checked were already sold out of vegetable plants.

Finally I called Armstrong’s Nursery in El Cajon. Success! I chatted with a very nice clerk, Aaron, who patiently listened to my list and advised of what items they could fill, offered a few ideas on substitute tomato varietals, and seeds for a couple of items for which seedlings were sold out. I was able to pick everything up with curbside delivery service – meaning the plants were brought straight to my vehicle. I prepaid so no handling of my credit card. I was able to get 90% of the items on my list and all of the plants look very healthy. Success! I look forward to planting everything tomorrow and having our own veggies in a few weeks including tomatoes, several varieties of peppers, red onions, beets, eggplant, squash, lettuce, chard, herbs, strawberries and more. Since we also have a full orchard with 16 fruit trees plus blackberry vines and blueberry bushes, I shouldn’t have to battle the produce aisles come summer for anything except bananas and potatoes. Hurrah!

BILL CALLAHAN writes:

I live near the Fenton Plaza Costco in Mission Valley. I notice long lines every morning. Those lines are not there in the afternoon. It seems people are still in panic mode, hence the early rush. One dismaying casualty of the virus fallout is that the Food Court is no longer serving the $1.45 frozen yogurt that satisfies my sweet tooth. Wishing the best to all my former colleagues and others in the 919 gang and especially you, Jack.

BRIAN CLARK writes:

My neighbor from three houses down the street, a worker bee at Costco here in Madison, Wis/, says his store is now laying off people because demand has slacked. Meanwhile, the Kroger’s grocery chain is having a job fair to meet the online demand. As a scribe who pens stories mostly about travel - for which there is almost no demand these days - I’m grateful that the COVID-19 stimulus law passed by Congress last week includes gig workers and freelancers. That’s a change from past policies. I may visit the Kroger job fair, but I’d probably get more than a few side eyes while standing in line because of my occasional dry cough, which I’ve had for years.

          REBER: I’ve read that some Costcos added employees because of the crush of customers. If some are now laying off people, I wonder if those aren’t the temporary workers.

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TOM GABLE writes:

A tip for shortening URLs. On the link provided by Carl Larsen, everything after the “?” is for tracking purposes. Not needed. You can delete the extra coding before sending to others, or abbreviating with a URL shortener. Here are examples. Happy surfing!

The URL that was published:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/the-fate-of-the-news-in-the-age-of-the-coronavirus?utm_source=onsite-share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker

Only this part is needed:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/the-fate-of-the-news-in-the-age-of-the-coronavirus

A URL shortener cuts it down further:

https://bit.ly/39xod8C

          REBER: The URL shortener Tom shows can be found by going to bitly.com. Another one is tinyurl.com.

Jack J. Reber

P.O. Box 2239

Ramona, CA 92065-0938

United States

TP shortage is nothing new

          Good evening, 919 Gang. I have been on the computer almost nonstop since about 10 a.m. About 10 p.m., internet response slowed to a crawl. I’ve been reading that with people working from home or streaming videos at home the internet would be slowed. But at 10 p.m. Pacific time?

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BONNIE ROGERS writes:

With all the fuss about toilet paper in the current spotlight, I remembered another time in my life when it was a factor. When I was growing up in my family of mother and two sisters, we handled personal and privacy issues with color. We each had our own drinking glass, bath towel, face towel and wash cloth, toothbrush, comb, etc. Mother's were green, Lois's blue, Pat's were pink and mine yellow. (To this day I can't brush my teeth with a toothbrush of any other color. If it's not yellow, it's not mine!) The system was simple and avoided any cross contamination which might occur.

          But this is only the background for the memory that the current TP rage sparked. I was still working at Channel 10 but had already been given notice. I was a new divorcee and had not yet hooked my star to another. I was the sole support of three kids, had a mortgage to pay and a live-in nanny who took care of my kids while I worked. Money was tight.

One night when I got home from work the nanny said, "Bonnie, we're all out of toilet paper." "That's too bad," I said. "I don't get paid until Friday." "You don't understand," she said. "There is no tissue, paper towels or napkins either. And it is only Tuesday." "You don't understand," I said. "I don't get paid until Friday. I can see you have never been as poor as I have and don't know what to do."

          I told about the color coding system I had as a child. "Let's each pick a color," I explained. "Each of us can wash ourselves, rinse out our cloths and hang them over the bathtub until we need them again."

I can still see the look of horror on her face. She went out and bought toilet paper with her own money.

No, lack of TP holds no fears for me. Been there. Done that. And besides, now both of my toilets have bidets.

MICHELE DAVIS writes:

An enterprising food truck owner could make a lot of money during the early morning Costco hours. The Costco food court is not open at that time. I do not know the legalities of this, like could they do this on the property since it is privately owned? Now that Costco has gone to three days a week for senior hours, more opportunity to make money, as long as social distancing is practiced.

          From Costco email:

Special Operating Hours* for Members Ages 60 or Older

o    On Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, Costco warehouses will open from 8 to 9 a.m. for members ages 60 and older, and for those with physical impairments. During this early hour, the pharmacy will be open, but the Costco Food Court will not.

o    Special operating hours for members ages 60 and older: Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

o    *Special operating hours pertain to all U.S. warehouses, unless otherwise mandated by jurisdictional regulations.

o    Costco Business Centers: Costco Business Centers will continue to operate during normal hours.

CARL LARSEN writes:

A postscript. A few days ago in these quarters I wrote about a neighbor who is a music teacher. She was searching for ideas to keep her classes going in a virtual setting. On Sunday, The U-T’s James Hebert and George Varga picked up her story in a nice piece probing how those in the Arts community are staying connected and centered.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/story/2020-03-29/from-the-arts-front-lines-choral-teacher-cheryl-slavik-looking-for-ways-to-keep-them-singing

CARL LARSEN forwards:

Just in from The New Yorker: The Fate of the News in the Age of the Coronavirus.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/the-fate-of-the-news-in-the-age-of-the-coronavirus?utm_source=onsite-share&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=onsite-share&utm_brand=the-new-yorker

Jack J. Reber

P.O. Box 2239

Ramona, CA 92065-0938

United States