samhexum

I've been a little more short of breath than usual, but they sent me home with no stent... minimal blockage. Lots of good-looking orderlies & male nurses. I knew things would turn out well when the wheelchair they used and the bed they put me in were named after my long-lost twin brother: STRYKER... he & I celebrated our 62nd Wednesday.

Dogs at new NYC shelter neglected inside cramped, filthy cages, council member and whistleblowers say A new, $75 million city-funded animal shelter in Queens is disturbingly overcrowded with rescue pets – which are crammed into too-small cages, provided with insufficient food and living in their own filth, The Post has learned. The shelter now houses more than 220% more pets than it has capacity for, with 161 dogs and 206 cats – plus 45 rabbits and seven guinea pigs.

Sexual assault lawsuit against Dwight Howard dropped

Cryptocurrency ‘pig butchering’ scam wrecks Kansas bank, sends ex-CEO to prison for 24 years The former CEO of a small Kansas bank was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison for looting the bank of $47 million — which he sent to cryptocurrency wallets controlled by scammers who had duped him in a “pig butchering” scheme that appealed to his greed, federal prosecutors said. The massive embezzlement by ex-CEO Shan Hanes in a series of wire transfers over just eight weeks last year led to the collapse and FDIC takeover of Heartland Tri-State Bank in Elkhart, one of only five U.S. banks that failed in 2023. Hanes, 53, also swindled funds from a local church and investment club — and a daughter’s college savings account — to transfer money, purportedly to buy cryptocurrency as the scammers insisted they needed more funds to unlock the supposed returns on his investments, according to records from U.S. District Court in Wichita, Kansas. But Hanes never realized any profit and lost all of the money he stole as a result of the scam. Judge John Broomes on Monday sentenced Hanes to 293 months in prison — 29 months more than what prosecutors requested after he pleaded guilty in May to a single count of embezzlement by a bank officer. During the sentencing hearing, “I called his actions ‘pure evil,’” said Brian Mitchell, who for years was Hanes’ next-door neighbor in Elkhart, a town of 2,000 or so people in southwestern Kansas, north of the Oklahoma panhandle. Mitchell, whose farm and movie theater chain businesses banked at Heartland Tri-State, said there were around 30 shareholders in the bank who attended Hanes’ sentencing, more than a year after their stock value was wiped out in the failure. “There were people who lost 70, 80% of their retirement” as a result of Hanes’ actions, Mitchell told CNBC on Wednesday in a phone interview. One local woman is “struggling to afford a nursing home” for her 93-year-old mother, while another woman “can’t retire” now because of the crime, Mitchell said. Mitchell, who was not a shareholder but who belonged to the investment club victimized by the CEO, said Hanes showed little, if any, remorse for his actions, despite hearing victims tell the judge about the effects of his crime. “Shan was facing the judge, and he just looked over his left shoulder for a second, and didn’t make eye contact, and said, ‘Sorry,’” Mitchell recalled, describing the scene in the courtroom. “And that was it.” But Hanes had a look of “absolute shock” on his face when Broomes imposed the stiff sentence and ordered the former bank chief taken into custody immediately, Mitchell said. Mitchell said that for years he considered Hanes a “good guy,” who like other people in Elkhart pitched in to help others in the small community when they needed help, and preached at his local church. Hanes also testified several times before Congress about community banking. But prosecutors and bank regulators said that Hanes, who has three daughters with his school teacher wife, began stealing after being targeted in a pig-butchering scheme in late 2022. That scheme was described in a court filing as “a scammer convincing a victim (a pig) to invest in supposedly legitimate virtual currency investment opportunities and then steals the victim’s money — butchering the pig.” Hanes, who had served on the board of the American Bankers Association, and been chairman of the Kansas Bankers Association, in December 2022 began making transactions to buy cryptocurrency, which “appeared to be precipitated by communication with an unidentified co-conspirator on the electronic messaging app ‘WhatsApp,’” prosecutors wrote in a court filing. “To date, the true identity of the co-conspirator, or conspirators, remain unknown,” the filing notes. Hanes initially used personal funds to buy crypto, but in early 2023 he stole $40,000 from Elkhart Church of Christ and $10,000 from the Santa Fe Investment Club, according to prosecutors and a defense filing. He also used $60,000 taken from a daughter’s college fund, and nearly $1 million in stock from the Elkhart Financial Corporation, his lawyer said in a filing. In May 2023, he began to make wire transfers from Heartland Tri-State Bank to accounts controlled by scammers, at first with a $5,000 transfer. Two weeks later, on May 30, Hanes wired $1.5 million and a day after that, he sent another transfer of the same amount the following day, filings show. Three days later he directed two wire transfers totaling $6.7 million to be sent by the bank to the crypto wallet, and a whopping $10 million less than two weeks later, and another $3.3 million days afterward. Hanes told bank employees to execute the wire transfers, and “made many misrepresentations to various people” to get access to the funds so they could be transferred, prosecutors wrote. Heartland Tri-State employees circumvented the bank’s own wire policy and daily limits to approve Hanes’ wire transfers, according to a report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “We believe that the CEO’s dominant role in the bank and prominent role in the community contributed to a reluctance on the part of Heartland employees to question or report the alleged fraudulent activities earlier,” that report said. Prosecutors wrote that the series of 11 wire transfers from Hanes to the scammer “illustrate a common pattern” in pig-butchering schemes. “First, there is an initial ‘investment’ followed by another transaction required to secure or guarantee those funds,” prosecutors wrote. “Further ‘investments’ may be made, but always require another need for funds, to guarantee or unfreeze the earlier transfers. This pattern is clearly represented in the defendant’s embezzlement.” Mitchell confirmed that to CNBC, saying that he got a call from Hanes at 7:40 a.m. on July 5, 2023. “He said, ‘Brian, I need your help, and you’re the only guy who can help me,’” Mitchell recounted. Mitchell, who had survived prostate cancer two decades ago, said he thought Hanes was calling him to say that he had the same type of cancer. But when Mitchell showed up at Heartland Tri-State to meet Hanes, before the bank had officially opened to customers that morning, the CEO told him something much different — and stranger. “The first thing he says is, ‘Brian, I need to borrow $12 million for ten days, and I’ll give you $1 million for loaning it to me,’” Mitchell recalled. “I’m sitting there and I said, am I in a bank in Elkhart, Kansas, or in an alley with a loan shark in Chicago.” When he asked Hanes what he wanted the money for, Hanes “pulls out his phone and acts like he’s logging in and he shows me this account that has $40 million, $42 million,” Mitchell said. “He said, ‘Brian, I’ve got this money and it’s in cryptocurrency, and I need $12 million to help verify the funds.’” Hanes then hold him he had been in touch with a banker in Denver named “Jim” and “another guy in Oklahoma” and they had invested in crypto held in Coinbase accounts, where they had made a lot of money, Mitchell said. “I told him, ‘You’re in a scam, dude. You’re in a scam,’” Mitchell said. “I stopped him and said, ‘Is this bank money you’re playing with?’ And he said, ‘No, Brian.’” Hanes kept telling him he needed the $12 million to “activate” the funds he had already transferred to the crypto account, which he said was in Hong Kong, Mitchell recalled. “I said, ‘Get on a plane, go to Hong Kong, hire an interpreter, and go get a bank check’” for the funds supposedly held there, Mitchell said. “Then I said, ‘I’m not going to loan you the money.’ I said, ‘You’re in a scam, walk away.’” But later that same day, after Mitchell rebuffed his entreaties, Hanes had bank employees wire $8 million to the scammers’ accounts, prosecutors said in a court filing. Two days after that, Hanes had employees wire the scammers another $4.4 million. In the meantime, Mitchell, who was unaware of those transfers during that period, said that after meeting with the CEO he was worried that Hanes would get access to customers’ deposits at the bank and transfer the $12 million that he had asked for. “We kept checking our lines of credit,” Mitchell said. “The next week, I was in the bank, and one of the employees caught me, she just looked so stressed,” Mitchell said. The woman told him that Hanes had wired money out of the bank. “I said, ‘Don’t say another word to me... I’ve got to talk to a board member,’” Mitchell said. “And I talked to a board member that night, and he went to talk to an attorney that night,” Mitchell recalled. Hanes was fired within days. About two weeks later, on July 28, 2023, Heartland Tri-State was closed by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Shareholders were wiped out, but depositors did not lose any money, as Dream First Bank, National Association, of Syracuse, Kansas, assumed all deposits. Heartland Tri-State, had nearly $140 million in total assets and $130 million in total deposits as of the prior March. Word quickly spread that a scam had led to the bank’s failure. But Hanes remained uncharged until last February, when he was charged by federal prosecutors with embezzlement. He was separately charged in Morton County, Kansas, state court by the county attorney in a 28-count complaint related to looting the bank. Hanes was under house arrest until his sentencing in federal court this week. “I talked to him last month when he was out mowing his yard,” Mitchell said. Hanes, who had traveled at one point to Perth, Australia while being scammed to try to recover the funds he transferred, told Mitchell that he believed there had been a way to recover the money up to the point he was arrested. “He said ... ‘If I just had another two months I could get the money back,’” Mitchell recalled. Mitchell said that at Hanes’ sentencing, Judge Broomes asked Hanes several questions about his actions, but, “He didn’t really have any good answers.” Broomes later looked at the victims in the courtroom’s gallery before announcing Hanes’ sentence. “He said ... ‘I want you to forgive Shan. I know that he’s hurt you, I know this, but I want you to move on, and I want you to find some joy in your life. Let me discipline him,’” Mitchell recalled. Broomes also told Hanes that although several people had noted how intelligent the former CEO was, “If you were that intelligent you would have stopped this,” Mitchell recounted. Hanes’ lawyer John Stang, who did not respond to a request for comment, in a sentencing submission wrote, “Mr. Hanes made some very bad choices after being caught up in an extremely well-run cryptocurrency scam.” “He was the pig that was butchered,” Stang wrote. “Mr. Hanes’s vulnerability to the Pig Butcher scheme caused him to make some very bad decisions, for which he is truly sorry for causing damage to the bank and loss to the Stockholders.” Kansas U.S. Attorney Kate Brubacher, in a statement, said, “Hanes’ greed knew no bounds. He trespassed his professional obligations, his personal relationships, and federal law.” “Not only did Shan Hanes betray Heartland Bank and its investors, but his illegal schemes also jeopardized confidence in financial institutions,” Brubacher said. https://www.aol.com/news/cryptocurrency-pig-butchering-scam-wrecks-202959513.html

Didn't he also write that autobiographical Cockney children's classic, Orton Ears A Oo?

DEAR ABBY: I’m a single man, and have been for 15 years. A year ago, I met a guy, “Josh,” and we fell in love. He lived 240 miles away. A month ago, he transferred his job to my city and moved in with me. (I supported this 100%.) I had sown my wild oats long before he moved in. Everything was going great until recently. Josh logged into my computer and saw all my emails and text messages, some of which were as recent as a week ago. I have been updating old flings that I’m no longer on the market, but in one particular text, I didn’t give such information. Instead, I simply didn’t respond. Later that day, Josh confronted me and began to cry. He said I hurt him, and he doesn’t know how to trust me again. Abby, I love Josh with all my heart, and I’m trying to weed out old “flings” as they come in, but as I mentioned, I’ve been single for 15 years and it will take time. Since this happened, I have deleted a lot of text messages and updated my social media to “in a relationship,” but I’m still unsure how Josh feels. Was he right to go through my emails and text messages? I have since changed my password, but I need advice. What should I do or say to him to make him feel confident in our relationship? I don’t want to lose him. — FORMER BACHELOR IN TEXAS DEAR FORMER BACHELOR AMORAL SLUT: The questions I have to ask you are: Why did Josh go into your computer, and why did he feel it was necessary to snoop through your texts and emails? DISSOLVE INTO A PUDDLE LIKE A LITTLE BITCH OVER ONE MESSAGE? How much do you know about his personal history, and did he have trust MENTAL HEALTH issues that started before you met? Tell Josh you would like the two of you to get couples counseling from a LGBTQ community center, if he will agree. If he does, AS FAR AWAY FROM EACH OTHER AS POSSIBLE; it may save your relationship LIFE. DEAR ABBY: My sister and I have been estranged for eight years. She had an “unusual” relationship with my ex-husband, meaning they moved in together three days after I left him. My entire family insists there’s nothing between them. She blames me, and even though I have reached out, she has never responded. She tells people all kinds of awful things about me and blames me for not knowing her girls. How can I know them if I can’t see them or meet them? I send gifts in the mail, but I’m somehow the “monster”? Help, please. — HURT IN MARYLAND DEAR HURT: You wouldn’t have left your husband if the marriage had been hunky-dory. That your sister took him in with no romantic involvement is suspicious. (Does your family also believe in the tooth fairy?) Surely your ex or your sister would have liked a romantic relationship with someone, if not each other. Of this, I am certain: You cannot control what someone says about you. But you CAN control how you react. Stop listening to gossip your sister spreads, and be suspicious of anyone who insists on telling you about it. Do not expect to have a relationship with her or her daughters, because it isn’t likely to happen. Just put one foot in front of the other, go on with your life and spend as little time as possible looking backward. BUY A GUN…

The garden on the grounds of the East Flatbush Safe Haven, a homeless shelter in Flatbush, was once an oasis of native plants. Now, it is being destroyed. Volunteers who nurtured the garden for years say it lowered temperatures in the area, which has little greenery, and provided shelter residents with the healing benefits of nature. However, staff at Breaking Ground, the nonprofit that operates the shelter, began leveling the garden on July 31, according to volunteers. The volunteers, who had a positive relationship with the nonprofit for years, say their relationship began to sour after a management shift at the shelter. Samuel Pressman, one of the main volunteers, shared his dismay: “My number one goal is to help people get in touch with nature and observe how it can benefit them, how it can help heal them, and help motivate them to be more positive,” said Samuel Pressman, one of the main volunteers who created the garden. “For me, gardening is very sacred [...] It was traumatizing to me when it was clear cut in a very sneaky, kind of evil way.” In 2021, volunteers initiated an eco-rehabilitation project on the seven-acre grounds of the former Kingsboro Psychiatric Center, where the shelter is located. Their aim was to beautify the grounds, connect residents with nature, and bring ecological benefits to the area. They planted about 150 species, over 90% of which were native, in five orchards and ten planters. The safe haven shelter has fewer restrictions than standard shelters, allowing vulnerable New Yorkers to access housing, medical care and case management without fearing eviction. Although the nonprofit initially welcomed the volunteers and their project, staff later claimed the garden was removed because it created unsafe, hidden spaces for residents. The eco-rehabilitation project was led by Marion Yuen, founder of The MYA Group, a sustainable infrastructure consulting firm, and Pressman, founder of Samuel’s Food Garden, an organization dedicated to expanding urban agriculture. “I’m about ecological restoration and bringing nature back to the city,” said Yuen. “Greenery has been proven to not only provide beauty, but plants have a beneficial effect on health. A lot of the clients put their faces by the bushes, touch them, and there’s a whole body of literature showing that has a beneficial effect.” Yuen and Pressman emphasize that their work is not just about sustainability or aesthetics, but also about promoting physical and mental health through a deep connection with nature. They were devastated by the loss of the garden, which they had hoped would continue to benefit shelter residents. Initially, Breaking Ground celebrated the garden's success, even promoting it on social media as "therapeutic and healing." The garden significantly reduced temperatures during heat waves, with a difference of 8 degrees Fahrenheit between the garden and a nearby parking lot. The garden was created from soil from the Clean Soil Bank and compost from the DSNY’s Composting Facility. The New York Restoration Project and other organizations donated plants, according to volunteers. The project was so successful that Breaking Ground asked the volunteers to replicate the model at other facilities. However, after a new director took over the shelter in January, the volunteers were informed they would no longer receive funding or be allowed to bring in outside help. Without these resources, the garden became overgrown, leading to its removal. On July 31, staff began cutting down plants, including grapevines and sunflowers. Yuen and Pressman say they have been barred from the facility, where some of their supplies remain. The volunteers have entered into mediation with Breaking Ground, facilitated by the New York Peace Institute, to address the situation and discuss how to move forward. Breaking Ground did not respond to requests for comment. “The punishment for the gardens developing so lushly, so well, and luring [residents] to want to spend time in them, led to them having a ‘management issue' with residents not being visible all the time,” said Pressman. “So it was kind of a recipe they didn’t know they were setting up, but they attacked the gardens instead of the real issue, which is that they really don’t know how to manage the residents properly.” Garden growers and volunteers Marion Yuen and Samuel Pressman. A Once-Therapeutic Garden at a Homeless Shelter in Brooklyn Faces Destruction, Sparks Outcry - BKReader WWW.BKREADER.COM Staff at the non-profit managing the garden claims it creates unsafe, hidden spaces for residents.

Perhaps the healthier spouse works or has other things that get him out of there regularly so for him it might just be like coming home to a studio apartment with maid and cooking services. I haven't been able to afford apartment insurance for years and am on the 'hope I die suddenly before my meager savings give out' long-term plan.

Phil was 88.

The enigmatic life and complex legacy of Pinky Deras, America’s greatest Little Leaguer At his funeral in 2022, the family made a display with photos from his Little League days, and mourners recounted his legendary statistics: 108 innings pitched and an astonishing 298 strikeouts, an 18-0 record with 16 shutouts and 10 no-hitters for a 1959 team that won the Little League World Series. On two occasions, he threw six-inning perfect games in which he struck out all 18 batters. They clocked him at 71 mph off the Little League mound, the equivalent of a 100 mph fastball from the major-league distance. At the plate, he hit .641 and smashed 33 home runs. He hit a grand slam in the Little League World Series semifinal, then threw a three-hitter in a 12-0 championship win against a team from West Auburn, Calif. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5703670/2024/08/16/little-league-world-series-pinky-deras/

Did they wind up closing your local store?

I am, too, but I don't live near any of them, so until they spark a nationwide price war, it doesn't affect me one way or the other.

I read an article the other day about a widow who got a $100,000 assessment from her condo not that long after buying who is now living with her son in Arizona (where she'd moved from). She has gone back to teaching young kids with autism full-time. She says she's constantly exhausted and figures it'll take 2 more years to pay off the assessment and move back. She can't sell, so she's stuck.

Wall Street skeptical as Kroger promises to slash grocery prices by $1B after Albertsons merger

I'll have a wing and a thigh, please. And some napkins, of course.

You could've just said Big Whoop! 😇😁😊

Socrates Sculpture Park has announced the Socrates Annual 2024, a new exhibition embracing invasive species and exploring the legacy of species migration. The new exhibition, which will be on display from Sept. 14 through April 6, 2024, features nine site-specific projects that consider the politics of settlement and the complex legacy of species migration. The “living” installations engage the park’s past, present, and future, making use of dozens of native and introduced plant species that allow the art pieces to evolve and change with each season. The art pieces explore diaspora, displacement, containment, and assimilation, linking human adaptability with that of other living species. The new exhibit’s opening celebration will take place between 3 and 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14. The event is free and open to the public. Katie Dixon, Executive Director of Socrates Sculpture Park, said the new exhibition challenges the negativity attached to invasive species and instead studies the vital role they can play in regenerating ecosystems. “Instead of automatically assuming certain plants and other naturally occurring species are invaders, we embrace the possibility and potential of integration, highlighting the vital role these species play in regenerating our ecosystems,” Dixon said in a statement. “This year’s Annual is a living testament to the power of adaptability and resilience, turning what is often disregarded into a cornerstone of our community’s ecological health.” The new exhibition is the culmination of the park’s fellowship program, awarded to nine up-and-coming artists through an open call. The park unveiled projects by fellowship recipients Kimberly Chou Tsun An, Landon Newton, Mamoun Nukumanu, and Vick Quezada in June, with each artist making use of the spring and summer growing seasons to create living installations. Jill Cohen-Nuñez, Utsa Hazarika, Juan Manuel-Pinzon, Petra Szilagyi, and Nala C. Turner – the other five fellowship recipients – have been working at the park throughout the summer, fabricating site-specific sculptures in the park’s open-air studio. TILT (what if these plants get out) by Langdon Newton. The five artists have used a wide range of materials for their respective projects, including mud, clamshells, metal, clay, stone, and found wood. The nine artists selected for the fellowship program were chosen from a list of more than 250 applicants following a lengthy review process. Each artist fellow received a $8,000 production grant and a $2,000 honorarium. Each artist was also granted three months of seven days-a-week access to the resources and fabrication facilities at the park’s outdoor artist studio to help complete their projects. The program, which has operated since 2001, supports early-career artists by offering financial and technical support that allows them to complete ambitious public artworks for inclusion in a park-wide exhibition. Socrates Sculpture Park is free and open to the public every day of the year, from 9 a.m. to sunset. Located at 32-01 Vernon Boulevard in Long Island City, the park is managed and programmed by Socrates Sculpture Park, a not-for-profit organization licensed by NYC Parks.

I just read this in an article on the stock market today… A combination Covid-flu vaccination developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE missed on one of its goals in a final-stage trial, a setback for the companies as they search for lucrative new uses of a technology that succeeded in the pandemic.

DEAR ABBY: My mother, who is 69, recently moved close to where my wife and I live to be near us as she ages. On the whole, this has been great for all of us. Mom is in good health and still very active. She walks every day and takes care of her house and garden. We see her often. The problem is, she is very resistant to meeting new people or going out without us. She says she will never find friends as good as the ones she left behind, so it’s not worth trying. We encouraged her to join the senior center, which she did, but she quit after a month, saying the people there are “too old.” I took her to church, but after the second Sunday, she announced she’s not going back. My wife tried to get her to join a club or volunteer at our kids’ school, but Mom said she doesn’t like to be on a schedule. Several neighbors invited her over, but she always makes excuses to decline. I think they have stopped asking. Because she’s independent, this isn’t a big deal now. But I’m worried that if she doesn’t get to know people while she’s still active, we’ll be her only source of support as she ages. You often ask if older parents are experiencing a change of personality caused by old age or dementia, and I don’t think this is the case here. Mom’s always been shy. Now she’s shy and stubborn. What are my options? — LOOKING OUT FOR MOM IN CHICAGO DEAR LOOKING OUT: Among my first thoughts is that your mother isn’t the independent person you described, and she’s setting herself up to be completely dependent upon you and your wife for social interaction. It isn’t healthy for ANY of you. Before she isolates herself further than she already has, sit her down and tell her directly that you do not want this to happen and that she MUST make more of an effort to interact with others. While relationships are not interchangeable, she once had a social life, and she will again IF she makes an effort. If her shyness prevents her from easily conversing with strangers, suggest that she volunteer at an animal shelter. That way she will be out of the house, interacting with others and not solely dependent on you. MAKE SURE YOU’RE IN THE WILL AND KILL HER. DEAR ABBY: My friend “Sally” has been dating this guy for 10 years. Their relationship has been rocky from the beginning, and he doesn’t seem to want to commit. He acts like he doesn’t want to even BE with her, spending time only when it’s convenient for him. He has put Sally through a lot. He was involved with this other woman. He said it was because she knew some things about him and was holding it against him and he couldn’t tell my friend. I think he’s a narcissist. What advice can you give her? — ASKING FOR A FRIEND DEAR ASKING: Knowing that the most unwanted advice is that which is unasked for, I would wait until the next time Sally complains about the treatment this man has given her for the last 10 years. Then I would suggest that she talk with a licensed mental health professional about how to rebuild her self-esteem. KILL THE BUTT-IN-SKI ‘FRIEND’ WHO WANTS TO RUIN A RELATIONSHIP SHE’S OBVIOUSLY SATISFIED WITH.

His younger son died of COVID complications in 2021.

A's catcher Shea Langeliers is 3-3 with a double and a walk today. Tuesday he was 4-4, 2 doubles, a HR, & a HBP. The game before he was also 4-4. He had a game in May where he was 3-5, single, triple, HR, then two games later was 3-4, double, triple, HR (it drives me nuts the couple of times a year they miss a cycle by a single). He had a 3HR game in April. How is he only batting .230/.296/.469?

He used to host a TV show called HOLLYWOOD SQUARES.

Boo Math!

Former major leaguer Pete LaCock's dad died. He used to host a TV show called HOLLYWOOD SQUARES.