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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (May 21, 2021)
The BulleTin • Friday, May 21, 2021 A9 Mask rules DEAR ABBY Write to Dear Abby online at dearabby.com or by mail at P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069 Dear Abby: My grandma, who is in her 80s, had a stroke recently. She has trou- ble swallowing and speaking, so she’s in a rehab facility 20 miles from her home, where she is doing strengthening exercises. She tires out from just walking around her room, so it’s not yet clear if she will become a permanent resident or discharged with home health nurses. We are distraught over this. My husband and I were originally planning to visit her this summer — our an- nual vacation — for a few days. She lives 12 hours from us. I was going to ask her if we were welcome, but she had the stroke before I could. I’d like to ask her if she’d mind if we still visit and, if it’s OK with her, stay in her house, so I can visit her at the facility if she hasn’t been discharged. My mother thinks this is a bad idea. We have a 6-year- old and a 3-year-old, and Mom thinks they would be too much for Grandma. Abby, I don’t want my grandma to die before I get to see her again. We haven’t seen her in four years. But after talking with Mom, I’m now hesitant to ask. The thought of missing a chance to see her one last time hurts my heart. What should we do? — Miss Her in Mississippi Dear Miss: Listen to your mother because what she’s saying makes sense. If your grandmother is discharged with home nursing care, there won’t be enough room for your family. Two small, active children may, indeed, be more than she can deal with in her weakened condi- tion. Because it’s important for you to see your grand- mother, make other lodg- ing arrangements for your family when you’re in town, and keep your visits with her short and as stress-free as possible. Dear Abby: I have been married for 25 years, some good and some bad. The hardest thing for me is that when my husband is upset with me, he stops talking to me. If I ask if something’s wrong, he won’t answer or says “nothing” is wrong. I have explained repeatedly how upsetting this is because I never know what I did, and then, sure enough, I do it again. He says he doesn’t want to say anything hurtful, but can’t he tell me why he’s upset and not be hurtful? He also ac- cuses me of creating drama when I get upset because I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong. Then, when I do it again, he’s like, “We discussed this.” I have tried not talking un- til he’s ready, but, again, there is no resolution, and I’m get- ting very resentful that the ball is always in his court. How do I handle this? — Exhausted in New York Dear Exhausted: An ef- fective way to handle this would be for you to insist the two of you discuss with a li- censed marriage therapist how to more effectively com- municate. The ball is always in your husband’s court be- cause he has maneuvered it to be, and it isn’t playing fair. In fact, it is emotional abuse. Do not expect him to like the suggestion, and don’t be sur- prised if he refuses to go. If that happens, you should go anyway. His behavior is pas- sive-aggressive. YOUR HOROSCOPE By Georgia Nicols Stars show the kind of day you’ll have DYNAMIC | POSITIVE | AVERAGE | SO-SO | DIFFICULT MOON ALERT: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. EDT today (12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Virgo into Libra. HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR FRIDAY, MAY 21, 2021: You’re witty, playful and restless. You like to be stimulated with pleasant diversions as well as profound knowledge. You are confident and adaptable to changing situations. This year you are prepared to work hard to create or build some- thing new. This structure might be physical, or it might be building more framework in your life. ARIES (March 21-April 19) Today you’re filled with positive vibes and self-confidence. Never- theless, be aware of the restrictions of the Moon Alert (see above). Make no promises then. Tonight: Relations with those who are closest to you are excellent. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) This is a powerful day for finances and boosting your earnings. However, a big part of this day is a Moon Alert, which means restrict your spending to food and gas, and postpone important decisions. Tonight: You can work and get a lot done. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) mask mandates had already been dropped. They said that businesses that continue mandating masks risk losing customers, but few businesses feel comfortable with the alternative, either. They criticized the state for once again asking businesses to enforce public health policy by requiring them to review vaccine cards, without giving them any tools or training, or considering the burden that the new rules will put on front-line workers. Fred Meyer said Thursday that it will continue to require masks in response to Oregon’s new guidance, despite its parent company, Kroger, suspending mask requirements elsewhere in the country. Oregon’s Enchanted Forest amusement park announced Monday that it would delay its reopening plans after some people responded to its de- cision to continue to require masks with threats and angry comments. Dalton said she heard from a family grocer in Central Or- egon as well that said some of its employees had threatened to quit after the way they were treated by customers while try- ing to enforce the state’s new mask rules. “The revised OHA guidance doesn’t provide a choice for businesses,” Dalton said. The panelists said businesses remain worried that they could open themselves up to litigation by asking for customers’ health information and remain con- fused on how to effectively im- plement the state’s guidance. Some wondered how busi- nesses are supposed to stop customers from showing fake vaccines cards or simply tak- ing off their masks after enter- ing the stores. Others wanted to know whether the state expected businesses to store customers’ vaccination infor- mation or force customers to verify their vaccination status every time they shop. “We really need clear guid- ance for our folks,” said Jenny Dresler, legislative and grass- roots counsel for the Oregon State Chamber of Commerce. “They are so confused and so scared of the possibility of lawsuits in this space. The top thing I heard from our mem- bers was, ‘How do we get out of this mess?’” Workers groups were simi- larly concerned about the new guidance. Courtney Graham, political & electoral strategist at SEIU Local 503, said the guidance will not only put an undue bur- den on front-line workers, but could put the health of those workers at risk if customers who are not fully vaccinated skirt the rules and forgo masks. Most front-line workers in Or- egon didn’t become eligible to receive vaccines themselves un- til April 5. There was less agreement on how Oregon should change its guidance to address the con- cerns of businesses and work- ers. Some panelists raised the possibility of allowing custom- ers to self-attest to their vaccine status, while others said the state should consider rolling back its guidance to mandate masks indoors until a greater percentage of Oregon’s pop- ulation is vaccinated. Dalton pointed to other states that have set dates to remove mask man- dates rather than rushed to is- sue new guidance. What’s clear, Dalton said, is that Oregon’s current guidance isn’t working. “You have a real problem across the state right now,” Dal- ton said. “You have had a real problem since Thursday night.” while, more than a few firms have announced disinfecting drones to spray potentially con- taminated zones from above. Drones aren’t transporting COVID vaccines in the U.S. yet. But Coldchain wants to change that. The company will work with the Federal Aviation Adminis- tration this summer to obtain approval for delivery routes in Texas. This comes after the FAA issued new drone rules in December in a step toward en- abling widespread commercial deliveries. Phase two for Cold- chain will be to fly the drones further, out of their line of sight, to trained EMS workers. Coldchain has already de- veloped 12-inch, cube-shaped, thermal containers to be car- ried by Draganfly’s drones. The company’s tempera- ture-controlled boxes can hold roughly 600 to 1,500 vi- als of vaccines, depending on the provider. And it was con- structed to maintain the su- per-low temperatures required by Pfizer for 48 hours, and Moderna for at least 72 hours, Williams said. Johnson and Johnson’s one-dose vaccine can be kept at slightly higher temperatures, between 36 and 46 degrees Fahrenheit, which the container can maintain for roughly 96 hours, Williams added. The packages have data col- lection devices that will alert Coldchain to variations in vac- cine temperatures, the com- pany says. Once the drone makes it to a drop-off site, the recipients can use a smart- phone code outside the con- tainer to determine the pay- load’s internal temperature. Draganfly offers a range of drones customized for spe- cific jobs across education, law enforcement and agriculture. Coldchain says it plans to start vaccine deliveries in Texas with the firm’s medium-range drones capable of flying roughly 372 miles roundtrip on a charge. Draganfly is not the only startup transporting medical supplies in the U.S. amid the pandemic. In October, Con- cord, California-based Volansi began its commercial health care flights around Wilson, North Carolina, where the company distributes pneumo- nia and hepatitis vaccines in partnership with the pharma- ceutical giant Merck. Volansi hasn’t transported coronavirus vaccines, though “our payload boxes are de- signed specifically to carry COVID-vaccine types,” said Hannan Parvizian, the compa- ny’s CEO. Germany’s Wingcopter is also racing to distribute COVID-19 vaccines, while San Francisco’s Zipline started dropping off Oxford-Astra- Zeneca vaccines in Ghana earlier this year. Walmart part- nered with Zipline in Septem- ber for on-demand medical supply delivery. Draganfly says what makes its plan with Coldchain differ- ent is that it has COVID-19 vaccine customers ready to re- ceive deliveries if testing pans out this summer. sales as battery or hydrogen ve- hicles by 2030. The company unveiled a plan to partner with energy company Shell to set up a 745- mile hydrogen fueling corri- dor linking Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Hamburg and Cologne in Germany by 2025. Shell would build 150 hydro- gen stations along it by 2030. Rotterdam and Hamburg are major commercial ports. Putting more zero-local emission vehicles on the road is part of Europe’s plan to dras- tically reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas blamed for global warming and climate change. The European Union aims to sharply reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 to a level that can be absorbed through artificial or natural means, such as oceans, soil and forests. As a publicly owned com- pany, Daimler Truck will face scrutiny from investors and analysts as it strives both to im- prove profits from its current offerings and to invest in new technologies expected to domi- nate the future. While battery cars and trucks are already on the road, the application of hydrogen fuel cells to power large num- bers of vehicles remains far- ther off. In fuel cells, hydrogen reacts with oxygen to produce electricity and water. Yet the company is betting heavily on hydrogen despite the challenges. Daum, the Daimler Truck CEO, predicted that electrical grids won’t be able to support an all-battery fleet of trucks as zero-emission cars and trucks become more numerous. “Both technologies will be needed, and we intend to lead the industry in both,” he said. The company foresees the use of hydrogen for long-haul routes while arguing that bat- tery-powered trucks are more efficient for shorter range de- liveries. Daimler Truck is test- ing a hydrogen-powered long- haul truck, the GenH2, and has battery trucks operating in customer test programs, with mass production expected in 2022 for Freightliners’ eCas- cadia and 2021 for the Mer- cedes-Benz eActros. Continued from A8 States have taken varied ap- proaches to the new federal guidance. Some, like New York, are allowing fully vaccinated people to stop wearing masks immediately, while others, like California, are keeping mask requirements in place for now. Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen told law- makers that the state settled on its middle ground approach after consulting businesses, unions and worker groups within the state. But businesses and unions pushed back against those as- sertions. Jess Giannettino Villatoro, political director for Oregon AFL-CIO, and Paloma Sparks, general counsel at Oregon Busi- ness and Industry, said their or- ganizations were informed that the rules were coming but were not offered a chance to provide input before the state rolled out the new guidance. “I would not use the phrase ‘worked with,’” Sparks said. “He informed us of what they would be doing and seemed pretty immune to our feedback and our concerns about how this was going to be imple- mented.” Several of the business groups invited to testify said the state has put business owners in an “impossible situation” with the new requirements. They said Oregon’s failure to issue formal guidance for five days after the Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention’s announcement last week cre- ated confusion and led to many in the public thinking that Drones Continued from A8 “If I have to get a life-saving vaccine to somewhere that’s about (300 miles) from here, I have to find a courier, get them on the road, and it can take up to seven hours to get it deliv- ered. If I put the package on a drone, I’m still able to track it, and it gets there sooner for a lot less money,” Williams said. Last week, Coldchain an- nounced plans to spend $750,000 on Draganfly’s equip- ment to ship medical supplies and COVID vaccines on an experimental basis to nearby locations. Unmanned aerial vehicles are shaping up to assist during the pandemic in other ways, too. Draganfly developed a system that can measure peo- ple’s vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure from a drone. Drones from the Chi- nese manufacturer DJI have been used to monitor social distancing in Elizabeth, New Jersey, over the past year. Mean- Brooke Herbert/The Oregonian, file Blanca Rokstad, CNA at Rose Villa Senior Living in Oak Grove, holds up her COVID-19 vaccination card after receiving her first round on Dec. 21. It’s an upbeat, energetic day! You will do everything within your power to get what you want, and you’ll be disciplined about doing so. However, be aware of the Moon Alert this afternoon. (See above.) Tonight: Romance, sports and social times are promising. CANCER (June 21-July 22) You’re full of positive feelings today, which is why you feel generous to others, especially someone in need. If you can help this person, great. Check the Moon Alert for this afternoon. Tonight: Domestic discussions, es- pecially with females, are positive. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Because you are confident and very much in control today, you will convince others to do your bidding. You will run the meeting if you’re dealing with groups. However, this afternoon is a Moon Alert. Be aware of this. To- night: Your communications are skilled and smooth! VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) This morning is a strong time for you because the Moon is in your sign and the Sun is at the top of your chart, which means you radiate confi- dence and authority! You will be commanding and people will do what you want. However, once the Moon Alert begins, ease up. Tonight: It’s a good time for shopping or financial decisions. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) This is an upbeat, interesting day because you’re eager to do anything to expand your horizons. To a lesser degree, this continues during the Moon Alert. Then, after the Moon Alert is over, the Moon is in your sign! “Hello, world!” Tonight: You’re in the groove and happy. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Daimler Continued from A8 Chief Technology Officer Andreas Gorbach said the company would spend the “vast majority” of vehicle de- velopment money on battery and hydrogen vehicles by 2025. He predicted that the cost of such vehicles would fall to par- ity with diesels sometime after 2025 for battery vehicles and after 2027 for hydrogen fu- el-cell trucks. A key obstacle remains in- frastructure for fueling and charging, which is “in its in- fancy and developing at differ- ent speeds around the world,” he said. Nonetheless, the company’s roadmap foresees up to 60% of You’re in the driver’s seat for discussions about how to share some- thing this morning. Most likely, things will go the way you want. But once the Moon Alert begins (see above), just tread water. Wait until it’s over to contin- ue to negotiations. Tonight: Keep a low profile. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Discussions with others will be lively this morning because people are ready to put their cards on the table. However, once the Moon Alert begins, postpone important decisions or spending money (except for food). Tonight: Discuss your future goals with a friend. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Because you have robust energy and enthusiasm, you will accom- plish a lot this morning. Likewise, your health will feel great! However, be aware that once the Moon Alert begins this afternoon, everything changes. Lower your expectations. Don’t spend money (except for food). Tonight: Par- ents and bosses are impressed with you. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You’re looking at a fun-loving, lighthearted, playful day! Sports events, fun activities with kids, social diversions, the arts and romance are energized. Once the Moon Alert begins, this same energy continues. Bonus! (However, avoid important decisions and spending money during the Moon Alert.) Tonight: Travel, study — do something to expand your world. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You will be ambitious about tackling tasks at home or a discussion with a family member today. Note: Caution against being extravagant. During the Moon Alert (see above), restrict spending to food. Tonight: A sexy time. Also a good time to discuss shared finances. Hope Starts Here Donate Today Child Abuse Prevention mtstar.org | 541-322-6828 We hear you. We’re dedicated to helping you! Contact your local DISH Authorized Retailer today! Juniper Satellite 410 3474 410 3474 (541) 410-3474 410 3474 410 3474 635 SW Highland Ave., Redmond, OR junipersatellite.com
