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Farmworker housing advocates are facing some hard lessons from a pilot project that fell drastically short of its goal. Starting in 2012, a collaborative between the Marin Community Foundation and Marin County used a combination of public and private funds to build and renovate agricultural worker housing on ranches in West Marin. The group initially planned to fund 200 units within five years, but later sharply reduced the goal to 20 units.

In the end, only a dozen units were built, while the need for more affordable housing never went away.

There were a number of lessons learned, including that using public funding on private land is really challenging, said Leelee Thomas, the planning manager with the Marin County Community Development Agency who led the project.

Agricultural jobs are sometimes more desirable than other jobs in West Marin because they usually come with housing. On dairy farms in particular, its essential that workers live onsite or very nearby.

They need to work two shifts, said Socorro Romo, executive director of West Marin Community Services. What they do is basically eat, sleep and work. A commute simply does not fit into the schedule.

But having ones housing tied to ones work also presents a challenge. When they lose their job, they lose their house, Ms. Romo said.

By 2012, a number of ranches in West Marin had shuttered, including Drakes Bay Oyster Farm, which displaced 32 workers. At the same time, the Marin Community Foundation had been preparing to spur a project to remedy the ongoing need for farmworker housing.

A collaborative led by M.C.F. and the county involved a host of organizations, including West Marin Community Services, the Community Land Trust Association of West Marin, the Marin County Farm Bureau, the West Marin Fund and the Marin Agricultural Land Trust.

Through the pilot project, the group tried to secure long-term, low-interest loans from the United States Department of Agriculture for ranchers to build housing. M.C.F. contributed $1 million, and property owners had to match the funding for each unit with either cash, land or utilities costs. Current workers would be prioritized, and no worker would pay more than 30 percent of their income for rent.

But in most cases, restrictions on the federal funds proved prohibitive. With that model, it wasnt feasible, Ms. Thomas said.

Johnathan Logan, the vice president of community engagement at M.C.F., said a 2015 post-mortem report on the project found that a lack of funds available for private land was the biggest obstacle. Public financing was simply too restrictive.

The project did result in the construction or renovation of some units. One unit was replaced on the historic J Ranch, two were rehabilitated at Toluma Farms in Tomales, three were built at the Giacomini dairy, two at Bivalve Dairy, one at Stubbs Vineyard, and two at the Straus dairy. Theyre nearly all still occupied, and all but two are rent-free for the workers who live there.

Tim Kehoe, whose family has been ranching at the J Ranch for 100 years, said the project allowed him to replace an aging trailer with a new manufactured home built by Little House on the Trailer, a Petaluma-based business. He secured funding from the county and M.C.F., and provided $10,000 to $15,000 in kind. Although he leases public land, he wasnt eligible for a U.S.D.A. loan since his five-year lease was much shorter than the 30-year term of the loan.

Mr. Kehoe doesnt charge rent for the unit, and he pays all the utilities himself.

At Toluma Farms, dairy farmers Tamara Hicks and David Jablons didnt qualify for a U.S.D.A. loan because of their income, which is boosted by Mr. Jablonss job as chief of thoracic surgery at U.C.S.F. They began rehabilitating two housing units on their farm but, Ms. Hicks said, it has been too expensive to finish. In the meantime, theyve housed some workers rent-free in units they own in Tomales and Dillon Beach.

John Taylor, who runs Bivalve Dairy with his wife, Karen, replaced two older manufactured homes with a duplex manufactured by Karsten in 2015. The county put up the funding for the permit cycle, and initially told Mr. Taylor that the units would be funded by a U.S.D.A. loan. The Taylors paid for the unit themselves, but the restrictions of the loan turned out to be too burdensome, requiring them to work with the lands other owners, Ms. Taylors family, to put a lien on the property.

We were left holding the bag, going, Okay, we just built this house, he said.

Mr. Taylor charges rent on the two units, docking it from workers wages.

Straus Family Creamery founder Albert Straus was part of the farmworker housing collaborative and had two three-bedroom manufactured houses built on his dairy in Marshall as a result. A turnover in the projects management interrupted the process of getting a U.S.D.A. loan, and although the county waived certain fees and expedited the process, he had to take out a loan from his own bank. Mr. Straus doesnt charge rent.

He said the project was not a long-term solution for the needs of workers and farmers. It went through three managers while he was involved, and faced various obstacles to funding in the form of federal, county and state requirements.

The management wasnt ideal, and the execution wasnt ideal either, Mr. Straus said.

This spring, Mr. Straus moved the creamery operation to Petaluma, closer to where he said many employees already live. His attention is still trained on affordable housing projects in West Marin, and he is working with the county on a potential development in Tomales. Its not only ag worker housing, its affordable housing, he said of the problem. The whole communitys housing needs have become extreme.

One dairy did meet the conditions for a low-interest U.S.D.A. loan: Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company. Co-owner Lynn Giacomini Stray was able to replace three modular homes for workers on the property. We were happy that we qualified, and we really would like to see more of that, she said.

The dairy doesnt charge rent or utilities, and Ms. Stray said shed like to see more affordable housing options close to or on ranches and farms in West Marin. Our employees have to be close to work, because animals are a 24-hour operation, she said.

Ms. Thomas said there were some things we could learn from that project that would still be feasible, but the county and M.C.F. are now primarily focused on off-ranch affordable housing in West Marin. Of the units that CLAM will develop on the former Coast Guard property in Point Reyes Station, a certain number may be set aside specifically for agricultural workers.

Mr. Logan, who arrived at M.C.F. in 2016, said the foundations report acknowledged that the 2012 project had not come close to meeting the need for farmworker housing.

Before the pandemic hit, the collaborative had reopened the conversation and was planning a needs assessment study. Mr. Logan said the group will likely meet again within the next month. They plan to survey the number of farmworkers and housing units in Marin and to identify more opportunities for housing on private land. Funding is still an obstacle, however, with regulations on public monies often onerous for private farmers.

Ms. Thomas said she doesnt know of a source of public housing funding meant for private landowners.

One group may be able to exert particular influence on farmworker housing through financial incentives: the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, which has control over the development rights for 54,000 acres of Marin farmland.

MALT needs to play a role in this, Mr. Logan said.

Jennifer Carlin, MALTs director of advancement, wrote in an email that the trust believes that everyone engaged in the agricultural value chain deserves a dignified living, including a safe and healthy place to live. MALTs easements allow any agricultural infrastructure thats necessary to support the farming operation, including housing for workers.

Ms. Carlin said MALT is continuing to meet with M.C.F. and other groups as part of the collaborative, but the trust doesnt have its own committee to address housing needs.

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Farmworker housing initiative fell short of ambitious goal - Point Reyes Light

At least 63 people throughout Oregon died from health issues related to the hot weather over the past few days, with 45 of those deaths in Multnomah County, authorities say.

Portland broke heat records on three consecutive days, hitting a high temperature of 116 on Monday. Other parts of the state got even hotter, with many recording all-time high temperatures.

Salem hit 117 on Monday, for example, and The Dalles reached 118. Pendleton was 118 degrees on Tuesday. Other Oregon cities, including Redmond and Bend, hit 108 over the weekend.

Capt. Tim Fox, an Oregon State Police spokesperson, said the death toll as of Wednesday was based on reports from each countys medical examiner office, but that number could go up as agencies conduct more investigations and determine causes of death.

The 63 fatalities were reported by six counties. Marion County, home to the state capital, reported nine deaths. Washington County reported five.

The state medical examiner said Clackamas County had two heat-related deaths. Clackamas County, however, has only reported one death. Spokeswoman Kimberly Dinwiddie said an elderly woman died from probable heat-related causes and was found in a manufactured home without air-conditioning.

The state examiner in an email said their offices count reflects what is currently documented in our system and classified as such. As these are active death investigations, the number likely will change over the next few days as more information is being gathered in each case.

Columbia and Umatilla counties reported one fatality apiece.

The death in Columbia County, which happened Tuesday, was of an 83-year-old woman living by herself in the unincorporated part of Scappoose, said county Sheriff Brian Pixley.

MULTNOMAH COUNTY

The Multnomah County Medical Examiner said those who died in Oregons most populous county ranged in age from 44 to 97. Many of them had underlying health conditions.

The Multnomah County victims include 17 women and 27 men. Many of those who died were found alone with no air conditioning or fans, officials said.

The county medical examiner said the preliminary cause of death for the countys victims was hyperthermia, or an abnormally high body temperature caused by a failure of the body to deal with heat coming from the environment.

Julie Sullivan-Springhetti, a county spokesperson, said the number of urgent care and emergency department visits in the county over the weekend surpassed the usual number for an entire summer.

Sullivan-Springhetti said the county on Monday had an all-time high of 491 calls for emergency medical assistance a 63% increase from the normal rate.

She said the county health department is still analyzing data, but early estimates show hospitals were reporting between two and five times more cardiac arrests than usual.

Death information was shared as soon as the information was gathered, Sullivan-Springhetti said.

We were sounding the alarm every day and warning the community that this heat wave was deadly, she said.

County staff and officials worked as quickly as possible to tally numbers, Sullivan-Springhetti said. Very few calls came in to the Multnomah County Medical Examiners office until late Monday night when county investigators took 55 calls in 24 hours.

This is four times the level of calls ever experienced, Sullivan-Springhetti said.

More than half the calls required an in-person investigation.

There were three Multnomah County death investigators and there were so many calls, Sullivan-Springhetti said. The chief medical examiner herself was going out on calls until midnight (on Tuesday) and again (Wednesday) morning.

As the clock struck 10 a.m. Wednesday, Multnomah County Chief Medical Examiner Kimberly Dileo started the arduous process of reading through 100 reports of natural and other deaths to determine which deaths were from excessive heat, Sullivan-Springhetti said. Dileo finished the full investigation by 1:30 p.m.

While most individuals died in their homes, it is not yet known how many individuals were experiencing homelessness at their time of death, Sullivan-Springhetti said. Determining that statistic will take additional investigation.

ACROSS OREGON AND ELSEWHERE

A farmworker, who has not been identified, died in St. Paul on Saturday, when temperatures reached 104 degrees. He was found unresponsive in the field at the end of his shift at Ernst Nursery and Farms, according to the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health division. He had been working on a crew moving irrigation lines, the agency said.

Two people, who also have not been identified, died at a homeless camp in Bend over the weekend, and homeless outreach workers are attributing the deaths to heat-related causes, as reported by The Bulletin. Temperatures reached 104 degrees in Bend on Sunday, the day the deaths were reported.

The figures provided by the state listed no deaths in Deschutes County. It wasnt immediately clear whether the farmworker was included in the Marion County tally.

Meanwhile in Washington, the King County medical examiners office, which covers an area including Seattle, said a total of 13 people had died from heat-related causes. In neighboring Snohomish County, three men ages 51, 75 and 77 died after experiencing heatstroke in their homes, the medical examiners office told the Daily Herald in Everett on Tuesday. Four deaths have also been linked to heat in Kitsap County, west of Seattle.

Elsewhere in Washington, the Spokane Fire Department found two people who had been suffering symptoms of heat-related stress dead in an apartment building Wednesday, TV station KREM reported.

British Columbias chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, said her office received reports of at least 486 sudden and unexpected deaths between Friday and Wednesday. Normally, she said about 165 people would die in the Canadian province over a five-day period.

While it is too early to say with certainty how many of these deaths are heat related, it is believed likely that the significant increase in deaths reported is attributable to the extreme weather, LaPointe said in a statement.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND EXTREME HEAT

Extreme heat has been on the rise in Oregon over the last 80 years. In Portland and Pendleton, the number of days that reach 90 or higher per year has increased by eight since 1940, according to a statewide climate assessment released earlier this year. Medford has seen that number increase by 21 days, an extra three weeks per year.

No single type of weather event kills more Americans than extreme heat. It kills more than hurricanes and floods combined. Heat has twice the death toll of tornadoes and four times the death toll of extreme cold, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Climate scientists have long said that events like the one that hit the Pacific Northwest this weekend are likely to be more intense, last for longer and happen more frequently as the climate continues to warm because of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

Noelle Crombie, Jayati Ramakrishnan, Nicole Hayden, Maxine Bernstein, Savannah Eadens, Kale Williams and Rob Davis of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed.

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At least 63 people have died in Oregon heatwave - PennLive

Elon Musk is the second richest person in the world, with an estimated fortune of 151 thousand million dollars Forbes.

But unlike other emperors, Musk does not live in a large palace located in a very exclusive neighborhood. In fact, the founder of electric car company Tesla and space company SpaceX appears to reside, it has been revealed, in a tiny 20-by-20-foot (about 35-square-meter) home in a secluded location in the far south. Just a few steps from the border with Mexico.

Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpacerX and the second richest person in the world, according to Forbes magazine. (Reuters)

Newspaper Houston Chronicle He states that Musk lives in a manufactured home that costs only $50,000 and pays rent of $250 a month to his company, SpaceX.

This tiny house is located in Boca Chica, Texas, where the SpaceX rocket launch and test base is located.

Musk, who has listed at least seven mansions he owns in California, are valued at $100 million according to him. interested in tradeHe kept only one mansion in the San Francisco area, which he uses exclusively for juveniles.

Musk himself confirmed in a tweet on Twitter, My main residence is literally a house under $50,000 in Boca Chica/Starbus, which I rent from SpaceX. Its awesome. The only home I own is one for juveniles. In the Bay Area [de San Francisco].

the gate Teslarati He revealed that this house is the ready-made model approved by the companys Casita name boxableSpecializing in Design and installation of high-tech prefab homes. Made of steel plates and concrete, this tiny house is easy to transport and assemble and costs less than many Tesla models.

It looks comfortable for one person, or even a couple, and would obviously work well with Musk as a studio located next to his companys rocket launch and test center. In addition, it serves to accentuate the image of detachment towards matter and commitment to its ideal of colonizing Mars, which is the ultimate goal of SpaceX.

Keep reading the story

The Casita by Boxabl style includes a full kitchen with double sink, oven, microwave, refrigerator, dishwasher, and cabinets; Full bathroom spaces for living room, bedroom, washing machine, air conditioning, heating and LED lighting, among other details.

Boxabl certainly did not miss the opportunity to do marketing and play on the idea of simultaneously helping solve the problems of affordable housing on Earth and providing SpaceX with homes to colonize Mars.

However, singer Grimes, Musks girlfriend and mother of their son, is said to apparently not live in this house but in Austin, Texas, so, for now, the unit that Boxabl has installed for SpaceX and Musk will serve as the poles workspace remain. Boca Chica, even if his family resides elsewhere.

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Elon Musk lives in a prefab "house" next to the SpaceX base for which he pays $250 a month. - Amico Hoops

From a rough start as a child struggling with asthma and pneumonia to a career that included a blind-side layoff after securing a multi-billion-dollar contract for his employer, Canyon Lake resident Mike Duffy has emerged as a major player in the local commercial real estate market. Mike was honored at an industry luncheon last week as the City of Menifees Commercial Broker of the Year for 2021.

Mikes commercial real estate success at Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers is the culmination of 13 other careers. The 57-year-old successful businessperson fashioned a dynamic, growing business from those steps to success.

Mike Duffy speaks after accepting the City of Menifees Commercial Broker of the Year for 2021. Mike lives in Canyon Lake and works for Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers.

The recent award from Menifee is particularly noteworthy because Menifee is the fourth fastest-growing city in Riverside County and sixth fastest-growing city in all of Southern California. Menifee is growing at twice the rate as its neighboring Southwest Riverside County cities.

The events that led up to Mikes noteworthy contribution to the burgeoning citys vibrant economic development demonstrate that adversity and challenges are great steppingstones to a successful future for some people. Mikes life started with challenges.

As a child, I had asthma and pneumonia and wasnt doing well, he said. Our family doctor suggested swimming to build my body up. That changed my life from declining to thriving. In my first year as a 7-year-old swimmer, I qualified for Junior Olympics in Orange County and won a silver medal. That was my first life lesson if you put hard work in, have good coaches, and you listen to them and follow their guidance, you can achieve what you and others can be proud of.

Mike became Orange Countys second-best butterfly swimmer in his age class.

Swimming success wasnt his last life lesson at a young age. Mike wanted to go to a YMCA camp, but his parents told him they couldnt afford to send him. Faced with this obstacle, the 9-year-old entrepreneur talked his teacher into giving him two cases of toffee-covered peanuts and sold them door-to-door. He earned enough from those sales for YMCA camp two years in a row.

Selling door-to-door was a great lesson in determination and persistence, Mike said. With each door he knocked on, he dreamed of going to camp, and that exuberance spilled over into an enthusiastic, happy face that melted the resistance of those he encountered with his peanuts. It was a worthy cause, and he gained confidence with each transaction.

Mikes education continued into his teenage years. His business stints in lawn mowing and jobs at pizza parlors gave him invaluable experience. He learned to work with customers and develop a pleasing personality. He found that his integrity brought customers back.

From junior high through college, Mike played on football teams, generally as a defensive back. During high school, he lettered in not only football, but in three other sports his senior year. As a competitor, he thrived on learning and achieving.

Football also brought challenges hed endure the rest of his life. His first concussion happened during the homecoming game in his senior year of high school. It wasnt his last. Long before rules and protocols kept players out of the game when knocked out, he suffered 10 more concussions in college as a defensive back and punt returner.

As a result of all of the head injuries, Mike now wears a hearing aid to drown out the sound of tinnitus, a debilitating ringing in the ear condition. Despite otherwise normal hearing, to compensate for the ringing in his ears and the resultant drowning out of conversations, Mike developed the ability to read lips.

Mikes parents owned a mechanical parts business in Orange County during his high school and young adult years. He worked there while in high school and for six years after getting a bachelors degree in Business Administration from Cal Lutheran University.

Observing his self-employed parents was an up-close experience in the rewards and sacrifices of working for oneself. He learned that the ups and downs of the industry required a steady attitude as finances waxed and waned. During slow times, it was essential to work hard and look beyond the present to a more prosperous future. During good years he saw how vital it was to prepare for the inevitable lean times.

After working in the family business, Mike said he discovered his work ethic and integrity determined his income. A steady paycheck was undoubtedly valuable, but he said he dreamed of not having a limit to his income and of driving hard toward the future despite not knowing how much money he would make each year.

His dream in college was to eventually work in the stock market or the bond market. Mike ultimately pursued neither career path as he continued to work in the family business.

Yet another step toward his recent honor as Menifees Commercial Broker of the Year came during a brief stint in the mortgage business as a home loan officer. In 1992, mortgage interest rates continued their decline from the previous decades almost 20% rates and dropped below 10%.

Mike was surprised to see other loan officers with tears in their eyes after believing theyd never see mortgage rates under double digits again. The mortgage business gave Mike an understanding of the needs and perspectives of actuaries and underwriters.

In 1994, returning to his entrepreneurial instincts, Mike and a friend started a business helping owners of manufactured homes secure and use FEMA grants for necessary seismic upgrades after the devastating Northridge earthquake. While the company only lasted for a couple of years, Mikes lessons about financing and helping others were another stepping stone for his future.

In 1995, Mike went to work for insurance industry giant Aetna, becoming one of the top sales managers in the country before taking a break after five years to help once again in the family business.

In 2006, Mike got a brokers license while briefly self-employed and became the broker of record for three independent loan officers. This was his second stint into real estate finance, adding to his cumulative education.

He returned to Aetna in 2007, worked up to National Sales Manager for the Individual Health Insurance Line while dabbling in real estate on the side. In 2016, he had just secured a multi-billion-dollar contract for Aetna when the corporation decided to shut down that part of their business, and Mike and his entire division were out of work. The decision had blindsided them. It was a moment of reckoning and reflection for Mike, and he said it had him recounting the life lessons he had learned and looking for how they could help his future.

Mike transitioned from a corporate job to being self-employed in residential real estate. He and his wife, Kim, had just moved to Canyon Lake. Mike called his uncle, a wholesale lender, to get the name of the largest real estate company in their new community. His uncle mentioned Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers. Mike called and, in 2017, signed on with the firm.

Mike credits Chuck Whitehead and Margaret McCoy of Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers for his success.

I loved their teaching and I faithfully went to their mentor class, Mike said. I attended every training event and conference call. Their generosity and patient mentoring grounded us and gave us excellent role models to follow.

It wasnt easy, he said. Mike contacted everyone he knew and worked on social media. He quickly gained 20 prospects.

Man, I thought this was going to be easy, Mike said. I wrote 33 different offers. They were all turndowns except for the last one. After six months with no income, that 34th offer resulted in a $1200 commission.

His wife Kim got her license that same month, and over the next six months, the couple closed over $3 million in sales. In 2018, after their first full year in the business, Mike and Kim were honored as Rookies of the Year from the large Realty firm. Later that year, they were named to the Best of the Best Realtors by the readers of Inland Empire Magazine.

Mike said he ventured into commercial real estate through his work on the residential side. One of the buyers showed him a Canyon Lake property of a large ranch that he wanted to sell. That listing for the $6 million property was the beginning of his commercial work and led him to co-found the Unique Properties Division of Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers Realty.

His first commercial transaction was selling an industrial property to the City of Lake Elsinore. Mike soon worked on churches, shopping centers, and other commercial leases and sales from that launchpad.

The commercial real estate information, analytics, and marketing services industry giant CoStar Group honored Mike as the PowerBroker Quarterly Award Winner for Q4 2020.

In February 2021, after almost two years of work, Mike was part of the listing team that sold the iconic Cherry Hills Shopping Center in the heart of the citys northern shopping district for over $13 million. Later, Menifee asked CoStar to identify the top Menifee commercial agent, which turned out to be Mike, leading to him being honored as the City of Menifees Commercial Broker of the Year for 2021.

Mike expressed great satisfaction in fulfilling his dream, which came about through his unique series of career choices.

I have the embedded belief that God loves me and that God loves a comeback story, Mike said. Come what may, I could fail, but I know one thing for certain, no matter what, God, my parents, my wife, my children, and my grandchildren will always love me. Thats the bedrock foundation that my life and career are built on.

His advice to people who are searching for their way in life is straightforward.

Find someone who believes you can do it, then find a way to get in front of them and let them mentor you, he said. Without the support and leadership of Chuck Whitehead and Margaret McCoy at Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers Realty, none of this would have been possible.

Whats next for this grandfather of seven?

Im so happy that I can now be a mentor for another agent, Mike said. Were working hard to develop a formidable, powerhouse commercial division that handles all kinds of commercial business. My goal in 10 years is to help build the most influential commercial real estate group in Southwest Riverside County, making an even greater contribution to the success of Coldwell Banker Associated Brokers Realty.

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CL broker points to his history in winning award - The Friday Flyer

The knocking grew louder before she heard a "smash," as if a wall had collapsed in the unit above hers. She thought it was construction, she said. It didn't make sense, not at 1:10 in the morning.

Thinking the commotion was an earthquake, Nir told her children, "Run as fast as you can," and they took off, leaving the property and crossing Collins Avenue, the one-way thoroughfare hosting hotel and condo towers on the eastern edge of the barrier island that is home to Surfside.

"God was waiting for us to leave the building -- and then another big boom," Nir told CNN. "Then we didn't see anything. It was suddenly white after the big boom and with white clouds all over."

Did the pool area present signs of danger?

She was frantic and told him the building was shaking, Michael Stratton told the Herald. She reported that a sinkhole had opened up where the pool used to be, he said. Then, the line went dead.

Stratton's wife is among the 145 people still unaccounted for as rescuers comb through the rubble that once composed dozens of apartments. The death toll from Thursday's disaster stands at 18.

The contractor has not been named, but Herald reporter Sarah Blaskey spoke to him.

His initial thought was, "Wow, why haven't they maintained this building better?" and took a photo to send to his boss, Blaskey recounted. He was on-site for what he thought was "cosmetic stuff" to spruce up the pool area, but once he went below he felt, "This is going to be a bigger job," the reporter told CNN.

Forensic engineer Stephanie Walkup, a professor at Villanova University, said the deterioration seen in the photo "does look significant," but she emphasized the contractor's photo came from the pool maintenance area, which is not where the building appears to have begun caving in -- an observation echoed by the Herald reporter.

"But it is clear that water has been infiltrating the concrete deck in that area for some time to the point of extensive corrosion," Walkup said.

She would not have sounded any alarms based on the contractor's photo alone, she told CNN, but "if that distress was observed throughout the entire structure, that's the point where it becomes extensive. That's the point where it becomes concerning."

A 2018 photo,shared with CNN by Tom Henz, shows the earlier stages of the crack engineers and experts consulted by CNN say appears to be the same crack visible in 2021, although the more recent photo appears to show it has worsened. The cause of the apparent deterioration is not clear.

After inspecting the building in 2018, engineer Frank Morabito wrote in a report that "failed waterproofing" below the pool deck was "causing major structural damage to the concrete structural slab below these areas," and warned that failure to replace it in the near future would cause "concrete deterioration to expand exponentially."

A 2021 letter to the building residents from the condominium association's president confirmed that the exponential deterioration had indeed taken place in the interim years.

"The concrete deterioration is accelerating," wrote Jean Wodnicki, the association president. "The observable damage such as in the garage has gotten significantly worse since the initial (2018) inspection."

The experts CNN spoke to said that the progression seen in the crack between the two images could be an indication of the deterioration caused by the waterproofing problem described by Morabito. Or, some said, the concrete around the crack could have simply fallen off during the three-year gap to reveal the deeper fissure seen in the 2021 photograph.

A representative of the Champlain Towers South condo association declined to comment.

Report noted deteriorating concrete, rebar

Mehrdad Sasani, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northeastern University, and Joel Figueroa-Vallines, president of SEP Engineers, have said the available information about the building, along with video of the collapse, suggest something may have failed near the foundation of the building. They've also said that, rather than a single smoking gun, a combination of factors likely compromised the building's integrity.

Those factors could include vibrations from nearby construction work, heavy equipment placed on the concrete roof for repairs, water damage and exposure to corrosive salt in the seawater and air.

On Wednesday, Sasani shared another hypothesis. The building's floor system was made of 8-inch-thick concrete plates atop columns, he said.

"Given the sudden nature of collapse, one potential mode of failure is so-called 'punching' failure," in which the column punches through the slab and "potentially progress(es) from there," the professor said.

Investigators should be looking for any instability in the foundation, possibly including weak points within the 200 or so precast piles that help support the building, or perhaps corrosion in the steel rebar used to reinforce the concrete.

Morabito Consultants in 2018 conducted a survey of the building for its 40-year certification, a stringent process for updates and improvements enacted after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The firm found spalling, or deterioration, of the concrete, though engineers have differed on what that ultimately means.

"Abundant cracking and spalling of various degrees was observed in the concrete columns, beams and walls," the survey found. "Several sizeable spalls were noted in both the topside of the entrance drive ramp and underside of the pool/entrance drive/planter slabs, which included instances with exposed, deteriorating rebar. Though some of this damage is minor, most of the concrete deterioration needs to be repaired in a timely fashion."

The waterproofing below the pool deck and entrance drive was failing and causing "major structural damage," said the report, which did not indicate the structure was at risk of collapse.

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Condo residents saw pool deck and garage collapse before tower crumbled to the ground - CNN

Margrethe Fighter (DMAIB)

PublishedJun 30, 2021 6:37 PM by The Maritime Executive

The Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board (DMAIB) has completed its inquiry into the capsizing of the bucket dredger Margrethe Fighter, concluding that the vessel was vulnerable to flooding and loss of stability because she was sailing heavily laden with full ballast tanks. The crew was in the habit of loading and trimming the ship in such a manner that parts of the foredeck were under water at times, and the investigators found that they had become accustomed to this practice as a matter of routine, to the point that they were aware of a need to maneuver gently and carefully.

In August 2020, Margrethe Fighter started work on a long-term dredging project in the Port of Trelleborg, Sweden. On February 17, 2021 - the day of the casualty - she started work at about 0630. Her three-man crew's division of responsibilities had the excavator operator take command of loading the vessel, and the deckhand would unload at the dump site. The captain was responsible for navigating between work sites and maneuvering the vessel during operations.

By 1330, the ship had made two trips to the dump site, and the excavator master was filling the hold with wet mud for the third time of the day. The depth on the site was about 29 feet, nearly the maximum reach of the excavator but just shy of the target depth for the job. To keep working, the Margrethe Fighter's forward ballast tanks were filled in order to lower the bow and extend the depth that the excavator arm could access.

As the cargo hold filled up to the halfway point, the excavator operator let the captain know that it was time to drain the ballast tanks. He kept loading, and when the hold was laden so heavily that water could be seen on the foredeck, the excavator operator determined that the vessel was ready to transit and unload at the dump site. Based on a reconstruction, the DMAIB estimated that at this point the vessel was trimmed by the head by about 2.5 feet.

He placed the excavator bucket to port of the centerline because the ship had a slight starboard list, after which he went back to the deckhouse. The skipper raised the vessel's spuds and began the 15-minute voyage towards the dump site. At some point prior, he had gone to the engine room to open the discharge valves for the forward ballast tanks and started the fire pump (not the larger ballast pump) to deballast.

During the relocation voyage, the deckhand went out on deck to get ready to unload. He noticed that the ship was deeper in the water than usual, and he used an under-deck passage to get to the bow, as there was water on deck.

The excavator operator stayed in the deckhouse. Suddenly he noticed that the ship began to list to starboard in an unusual way, so he went up to the wheelhouse, where he saw that the skipper was in the process of turning to port. They had a brief conversation about what was wrong, since the ship did not usually move in this way.

From the wheelhouse, the excavator operator could see that water was coming onto the foredeck and that the bow was sinking farther and farther down. Recognizing the danger, the skipper tried to save the situation by turning the ship to starboard.

Out on deck, the deckhand noticed that the ship was listing heavily towards the starboard side. He heard the excavator operator shout to him to move the shovel of the excavator over to port side to counterbalance the list. The helmsman feared that the ship was about to capsize, so instead of entering the excavator cab, he crawled up on top of the machine in order to get away from the ship quickly when she went over.

The excavator operator also realized what was about to happen, and he hurried out of the door on the starboard side of the wheelhouse. He shouted to the master to get out too, but at that moment, the vessel capsized. She rolled through 180 degrees and stayed afloat, hull pointing up.

The deckhand and excavator operator managed to get away from the vessel after the capsizing and were rescued. The Margrethe Fighter was salvaged seven days later, and the master's body was recovered from the wheelhouse.

During the course of the accident investigation, the surviving crewmembers told DMAIB that they did not recall seeing any draft measurements or stability calculations performed on board. A logbook from a previous voyage did not contain exact information about the vessel's stability condition.

On previous voyages, the crew had debated the wisdom of navigating with the foredeck partially under water, but this operating method had been used before on other projects and there was no shoreside oversight to prohibitthe practice. According to DMAIB, there was no daily coordination between the project management team and the company's marine technical staff, and operational decisions were left up to the crew.

"The ship capsized in a normal operating situation for the crew, where parts of the deck were under water because the cargo box was full and at the same time there was water in the front ballast tanks to trim the ship forward during the dredging work. This resulted in the ship havingsignificantly impaired stability," concluded DMAIB. "It was the application of the ballast tanks as part of the ship's dredging practice that became crucial to the accident. . . . The investigation has shown that the crew did not find time to empty the ballast tanks before the relocation voyage."

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Report: Capsized Dredger Routinely Operated With Decks Awash - The Maritime Executive

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Sandy Yawns Captaining Style vs. Capt. Glenn Shephard

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Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck Mediterranean tells Andy Cohen how she would have handled the sticky situations that Captain Glenn Shephard faced on Below Deck Sailing Yacht.

In her five seasons on Below Deck Mediterranean, captain Sandy Yawn has witnessed meals and chefs of every kind. From an ill-fated taco night to some questionable nachos, and from an onion debacle to a meltdown over cucumbers, the yacht boss has seen it all. So, which chef would Sandy choose to work with again, and in a more intimate capacity?

When the captain appeared on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen on June 28, Andy asked her which galley guru from the past she'd hire as her own private chef. Even though Sandy admitted that she'd least trust Season 2 and 3'sAdam Glick to adhere to a guest's preference sheet, she also said that she wouldselect Adam as her own private chef.

"I actually really like Adam, because he's an awesome guy," she said. "So I think [my] personal chef would be Adam."

See more from Sandy in the videos above!

Want more Below Deck Mediterranean? Season 6 airs Mondays at 9/8c on Bravo with early access to new episodes on Peacock.

Bravos Style & Living is your window to the fabulous lifestyles of Bravolebrities. Be the first to know about all the best fashion and beauty looks, the breathtaking homes Bravo stars live in, everything theyre eating and drinking, and so much more. Sign up to become a Bravo Insider and get exclusive extras.

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Captain Sandy Reveals Who from Below Deck Med She Would Hire as Her Personal Chef - Bravo

Well keep going with additional articles about some of the most famous, popular, and powerful creature tribes in Magic. This time, well look at the greatest MTG Humans.

This tribe exemplifies the words iconic, popular, and powerful. In terms of specific qualities, it is one of the most uninteresting. However, because of the diversity of all Human species, it is highly diverse. It is one of the games oldest, most lore-important, and most powerful tribes.

Because this tribe is full of wonderful species, Ive chosen to alter the articles structure. Instead of the typical Honourable Mentions and Top 10 lists, Ill show you the top three creatures in each color, along with the best Commander in that color.

There will be monochrome cards, as well as three cards with dual, triple, and quadruple color combinations. A five-color Commander is also provided. Lets get started now, with that out of the way.

For its low cost, the 2/2 two-mana Dragonkin Berserker has excellent effects and stats. It can easily fit into any Boast/tribal deck and, because of its capacity to generate 5/5 tokens with Flying, it may be a terrific late-game finale. This card will be an excellent addition to most built decks and will be a solid choice in Limited.

Breya is the most commonly used of the three cards. In addition to the most well-known. Her whole concept is around artifacts. Shes one of the greatest artifact Commanders out there because she has four colors to work with.

She has the ability to create tokens, deal damage, remove creatures, and gain life. The only thing shes lacking is the ability to draw cards. Aside from that, she is an excellent Commander in general.

Maja, Bretagard Protector is a four-mana Human who adds +1/+1 to your creatures. While it may appear expensive due to its 2/3 stats, it compensates by allowing you to generate tokens every time you play a land quickly.

The token will be summoned as a 1/1, but Majas first ability will buff it to a 2/2. This card will be of interest to some EDH decks as a Commander. Due to its rarity as a two-color token generator, this card will be powerful in Limited.

Saskia the Unyieldings design is one of the most entertaining. She has a political bent on her personality. In a multiplayer game, you may directly target an opponent, providing this card an intriguing dynamic.

She also has strong numbers with vigilance and haste since she is a 3/4 for 4. She can attack and use her ability as soon as you play her because of her haste. As a result, shes a really exciting and unusual card to play with.

Tuskeri Firewalker appears to be one of the most powerful Limited cards. If you attacked with Tuskeri, it enables you to exile the top card in your library and play it for one mana. While the stats arent spectacular for the cost3/2 for a three-mana costthe card advantage it provides more than makes up for it.

The card Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis is quite intriguing. For starters, its two protagonists are shown as a single entity. Second, its one of the few cards out there that benefits both the person who controls it and his or her opponents.

Inga Rune-Eyes is a four-mana Human with three-thirds stats who provides excellent board protection. You can scry three cards and prepare your next round of plays when she emerges on the battlefield. Your opponent will have to be cautious with their actions on the battlefield. Your hand might be refilled, and youll have additional alternatives to play with if you make a mistake.

This is one of the most entertaining and effective Commanders available. Its ability to create decks in the form of a toolbox allows you to make a lot of unique and innovative ones. Kenriths color identity is white, but its multicolored ability enables you to construct a deck that includes all colors.

As a result, he is one of the most popular, talked about, constructed around, and versatile commanders in the game.

For three mana, Arni Brokenbrow is a strong 3/3 card. You can modify his base power to one plus the biggest power on your board for an extra cost of one per turn until the end of the game. Its a wonderful addition to red Limited or constructed decks since he can double your power on the board if you play him alongside a strong creature.

This card is excellent even as a three-mana 3/3 that can compete with other powerful three-drops in red decks, but the Haste and Boast effects take it to a new level. While you may want to save him for later in the game when you may use him with a strong monster, dropping him as a 3/3 early on isnt terrible either.

Jodah, Eternal Archmage is not a well-liked card. Its one of the most challenging cards to play. However, its a lot of fun to build around, and it may pay off handsomely.

Its capability takes into account all hues. As a result, its a five-color Commander. You can use this ability to cast any spell from your hand by paying these five colors. This means you can play massive monsters like Eldrazi for a fraction of their normal cost. You can even play spells for free using Combo components like Morophon, the Boundless.

Chulane, the Teller of Tales, is a formidable Commander. To begin with, it is not prohibitively costly for a Commander. Five CMC, one each of green, white, and blue. This grants you access to two of Commanders greatest colors: green (ramp) and blue (card draw, counterspells).

Its last ability is to spend 3 and tap to restore control of a creature you control to its owner. Its not awful. However, anytime you cast a creature, it has the ability to draw a card and play a land from your hand to the battlefield. CAST. It isnt even required to resolve. You may get experience and draw cards by doing something as simple as playing creatures. Crazy.

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Top Magic The Gathering Human Cards Every Deck Must Have - PVP Live

As President of Upper Deck, Jason Maserah champions the company's continued history of innovation in ... [+] trading cards

When Upper Deck was started in the late 1980s, they brought first-of-its-kind innovation to the sports trading card industry.Over thirty years later, the company continues to push the envelope as the industry experiences a new surge.I sat down with Jason Masherah, President of Upper Deck, to talk about the heritage of innovation at Upper Deck, their efforts in digital, and how they are investing in the growth of the industry through local hobby shops.

Dave Knox:I want to start with the heritage of Upper Deck. How did the brand start in the early days?

Jason Masherah:The founders of Upper Deck were trying to address a couple issues in the late 1980s. There was a lot of forgeries and fakes in trading cards as the market was starting to pick up. And then they looked at trading cards and said this can be better. The cards had basically looked the same way for the last 50 years. They felt that there had to be a better way to present this more premium feel. The founders came up with several innovations to address this.They had the anti- counterfeit hologram that's still on our cards today. They introduced the foil wrap, which was like a indestructible version of wrapping the cards so you could tell if somebody tampered with the packs. And then they went to a high gloss and premium stock that really showed the vibrancy of the colors of the games and just made it a more premium experience than anybody had used in the past. We maintain those same brand tenants today.

Knox:With an innovative mindset since day one, how is Upper Deck continuing to innovate in the industry?

Masherah:Well, I think the team does a great job of coming up with new and innovative concepts.We have done video embedded trading cards. We have done memorabilia pieces designed out of game used floor. There is always something new in the hopper.

The biggest thing that the team has launched over the last several years is UpperDeckEpack.com, which is an online platform that allows people to open up physical packs of cards but virtually. It gives everybody access to open a pack of cards no matter where they are 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You manage them online and we store them in a secure facility in Seattle Washington.But you can also have them shipped home. The fact that you can actually take ownership, if you want to send it home and put it in your closet or put into your safety deposit box, you can do it. If you want to bring it home and sell it on eBay or sell it to a friend, you can do that as well. If you want to take it home and set up at a card shop, you can do that. And it is that bridge between physical and digital, that is so much unlike any other thing that exists.The other big difference is it allows you to socialize and trade with other people across the globe and create a social community that really hasn't existed since the days of when we were all on the playground trading cards.This gamification is important.You are rewarded if you collect a complete set or you do certain things.And this free stuff is tangible and are real cards.

It's always a challenge when you do something that's so far removed from the norm. In the case of ePack, it has been difficult because it is an online platform. It lives in the digital world, but the cards are real, they are tangible items. And getting that across to people is really tough until they get in and experience it for themselves. The card you see is the card you get and you can actually ship that card home. So if Michael Jordan signed his autograph a particular way on that card, and it's number two of 23, that's the exact card you get when you ship it home. Those are kind of mind blowing, technological advances that nobody else has seen or done. And it is hard to educate the market. So we've done it kind of in a slow methodical kind of way.

And it's the same when you go into new markets, like e-sports, you have a traditional collector and you're trying to bring on new collectors and then expand the horizons of the traditional collector and say, hey e-sports is a big deal. There's millions of people that watch this on a yearly basis. And eventually we will know some of these e-sports athletes the way we know traditional sports athletes. But it is sometimes hard to comprehend because it's a foreign knowledge base for most people. It takes time. It really takes time to just educate people on doing something completely new and off the grid.

Knox:In addition to sports, Upper Deck has a long history in entertainment.How do you approach this side of trading cards?

Masherah:I think that's one of the interesting parts of Upper Deck. We are viewed as a sports company, but we are so much more. We have a gaming division where we make tabletop games and trading card games. We have an autograph memorabilia division. And we have done entertainment trading cards since 1991 with things like Looney Tunes and Space Jam. We regularly put out sets for Marvel, both the comic books and the movies. We do different movies from Fox with the Aliens franchise. We do James Bond. We have a partnership with Kevin Smith for his movies. Those card sets are not as visible as just traditional sports because we all grew up with doing traditional sports, but there is a great industry behind the entertainment cards and the fans of those properties are really rabid fans and collectors of those properties.

Knox:On the digital side of things, we have seen the rise of NFTs like Top Shot in the past year.Where do you see NFTs going in the years ahead?

Masherah:NFTs are going to have to really evolve from where they are at today. The NFTs are essentially just a newer version of the trading card apps that have existed for several years now. They reside in their own ecosystem, but they have some cool functions and things that you can do in the digital world. You can do highlights, you can do fancy graphics and stuff that the digital world has been doing for several years. But there are some limitations for sure that definitely have to evolve. For us, the definition of collectible is something that will live multiple generations that you can pass on to your kids or to a family member. And we're not there yet. There's no ability to take those things and put them on a jump drive and put them in my safety deposit box and pass them on to somebody later. And we really need to see the technology evolve over the next several years. And I think it will.

Knox:Over the last few years, we have seen a wave of entrepreneurship around trading cards, but entrepreneurship has always been at the center of the trading card industry with hobby shops in your local community. How has Upper Deck supported the new wave of entrepreneurship that's emerged?

Masherah: We saw this new wave coming in about 10 years ago, and we started a co-op program to support it. We're the only card manufacturer that has a co-op program, where we actually help these young entrepreneurs improve their shop, improve their website, or even start a second store. We will match dollar for dollar up to $25,000 to help these young entrepreneurs build their business and give them that extra push. We take a lot of pride in the fact that we have helped a lot of these guys accelerate their business and take it to another level.

The one thing that's a little bit different about how we approach the hobby is that we want to make sure that these entrepreneurs are invested in the industry long-term. We require our dealers to have a brick-and-mortar hobby store to be an authorized breaker and to get the investments that we offer to these shops. There is nothing like a brick-and-mortar hobby store for people to be able to go in and socialize and see the product. We see those shops as hubs of knowledge for new collectors, and families, and a safe space for people to go in and learn about the hobby. So it's very important for us to have that space, but we also realize we live in a digital age and a lot of these shops also need to embrace that technology. That's why we invest in the shops to make sure that they're successful in both the physical and the digital space.

Knox:When trading cards saw their initial peak in the early 90s, many brands did promotional retail partnerships. Over the last few years, Upper Deck has had a major partnership with Tim Hortons as well for hockey.How do you think brands can get involved in this emerging world of trading cards?

Masherah:It's one of the things that was a huge initiative for us. Over the last decade, we have focused on forming strong partnerships with key brands around the world, and getting trading cards into people's hands and utilizing them as a tool for these brands. We have not only done it with Tim Horton's, we've done it with Hanes, we've done it with Gatorade, we've done it with Kellogg's and Nabisco. They are a great marketing tools for all these brands and they are collectible. Unlike most forms of marketing collateral for these brands, people save them till the end of time. We see this with historical things, things from the 30s, the 40s, 50s. If you go all the way back to trading cards for better or for worse, they were advertising vehicles for candy, gum, and tobacco, and people have saved those for a 100 years. And in many cases, those trading cards have outlived the brand. I think it is important that brands continue to realize that trading cards can play a key role in their initiatives to build their brands.

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How Upper Deck Continues To Innovate In Trading Cards - Forbes

Cant come back from that! The Below Deck franchise has had its fair share of chaos over the years, but there were some moments that stood out more.

During season 7 of the Bravo show, chief stew Kate Chastain and bosun Ashton Pienaar had a scary confrontation when the latter was drunk after a night out. Ashton ended up punching a window in the van that was taking the crew members home.

I was scared but also just in shock, Kate explained to Decider in December 2019. I was in a place where I could not have escaped if I wanted to. I played possum, just froze and held still. Why is [Ashton] so mad right now? Why is he punching windows? Why is everybody screaming stop the van? Whats he gonna do? What is happening? It all kinda happened really fast.

Following an extremely tense season, Kate wasnt sure there was anything she could have done to change those chain of events.

I was working with illogical assholes. I dont know what I couldve done differently. I was outnumbered but also it was a very bizarre situation, she added at the time.

After major backlash from fans about the mens treatment of the women on board, Ashton apologized for his behavior during the Below Deck reunion.

I was completely drunk, I was out of my mind, Im sorry for that, Ashton emotionally told Kate in February 2020. I hate the fact that everything has been spun the way it is. But you know what, I have to take responsibility for that because Im the one that behaved the way I did.

For the bosun, that moment forced him to take a look at his behavior.

Im making serious changes in my life because Im not proud of the person I saw on camera that night. And I am extremely sorry. I have amazing relationships with all the women in my life, he continued during the reunion episode. The way everything has turned out and the way everything has turned out in the real world now and the labels Im being labeled with, Im extremely ashamed of.

Years later, the Below Deck Sailing Yacht crew was rocked with a shocking twist when Dani Soares claimed that Jean-Luc Cerza Lanaux was the father of her baby.

He hasnt supported me at all in any way. He thinks it is not his child and he doesnt want to have anything to do with it, Dani explained during the June 2021 reunion episode after finally confirming that she got pregnant after their time together.

Jean-Luc, who wasnt able to attend the reunion with the rest of his cast members, later spoke with Andy Cohen and even left an emotional message to his ex.

Dani, what we had on the show for me was real. I dont care what anybody says, even now that were going through what we are going through. What I felt for you, and the time that we had, was genuine. Everything that I ever said to you was true, the deckhand said to the camera.

Jean-Luc tried to offer a fresh start after continuously asking for a DNA test before he would acknowledge Danis pregnancy.

The fact that we are at where we are now, I am really sorry and I would assume to say that most of it is my fault, he admitted. Maybe its because I am the boy that you think that I am. With that being said, I want to be there for you.

He concluded his speech, saying, Though you may not want anything to do with me because of me asking you for a paternity test, thats something that I can get over. But what I cant get over if this is my child is not being there for her.

Scroll down for more of Below Decks shocking moments:

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Below Decks Biggest Drama Through the Years: Jean-Luc and Danis Baby Bombshell, Kates Confrontation with Ashton and More - Us Weekly