Park Archives - Mediarabe

Two potentially harmful chemicals found in groundwater at Maxie Park Community Center

October 13, 2020

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The closure of the Maxie Park Community Center in Southwest Fresno is raising major concerns among staff and community members.

“Thousands of our community members have been in and out of that building over the past couple of years,” said Yolanda Randles the Executive Director of the West Fresno Resource Center, housed inside the community center. “Certainly there is a concern. I am concerned.”

Monday afternoon, City Council member and President Miguel Arias announced the discovery of two harmful chemicals in the Community Center’s groundwater.

Benzene, a known carcinogen, and Tetrachloroethylene, also known as PERC, is a chemical that can cause dizziness, nausea and even death if exposed to high amounts.

Arias says the water quality board found low traces of these chemicals during a routine check at a neighboring gas station.

“The water board suspected that contaminates originated from the old dry cleaner business,” he

Disney Locks Horns With California Over Theme Park Reopenings

October 9, 2020

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Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) clashed today with California’s governor Gavin Newsom about the reopening schedule of the state’s theme parks and similar attractions.

Newsom stated that the California legislature feels “there’s no hurry to put out guidelines” for park reopenings

She went on to say Disney’s COVID-19 safety measures for its parks were worked out with epidemiologists and used guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other sources. Dr. Hymel added that Disney’s other theme parks “have been allowed to open on the strength of our proven ability to operate with responsible health and safety protocols” both domestically and abroad.

California Attractions and Parks Association Executive Director Erin Guerrero also issued a statement: “California’s amusement parks are ready to responsibly reopen.” Guerrero called Gavin’s statement “unreasonable,” and said that his “‘no big rush’ approach is ruining businesses and livelihoods for thousands who could responsibly be back at work.”

Northwell Scores Community-Driven Sponsorship Deal With the New York Islanders and State-of-the-Art-Venue UBS Arena at Belmont Park

October 6, 2020

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Northwell Health, New York’s largest healthcare provider and private employer, announced today a 10 year founding sponsorship deal with the Islanders and UBS Arena – the metropolitan area’s most anticipated, cutting-edge live entertainment and sports venue and the future home of the New York Islanders. The deal with UBS Arena – scheduled to open for the 2021-22 NHL season at Belmont Park – is the latest extension of a decades-long relationship between the New York Islanders Hockey Club and Northwell as the official healthcare sponsor for the team and title sponsor for the team’s East Meadow practice facility.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201006005700/en/

Islanders star Matthew Barzal carries the puck. Photo credit: Jim McIsaac

As part of the agreement, Northwell Health, UBS Arena and the New York Islanders will codevelop community-based wellness programming. These efforts will span across key pillars of health, nutrition and

Coronavirus Testing Now Offered At Patient First In Central Park

October 2, 2020

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FREDERICKSBURG, VA — Patient First is now providing coronavirus testing at its Fredericksburg location at 3031 Plank Road in Central Park.

The test that is offered is the RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase – polymerase chain reaction) molecular diagnostic test. The test sample is collected at Patient First and is sent to a reference lab for testing.

Virus testing is by appointment-only. Testing appointments can be made online on Patient First’s website.

Results are typically available in less than three days. Patients will receive the test result via text message or through a phone call from a nurse. The option for how the patient would prefer to receive test results is determined during registration. The test result will also be available on the Patient First portal.

For most insured patients, there is no out-of-pocket expense for COVID-19 testing. The visit will be submitted to patients’ insurance. Patient First accepts all major insurance

Fitness events happening in Houston include Core Focused Yoga and Run in The Park

October 1, 2020

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Way to Go! New Hyde Park students hold virtual blood drive

October 1, 2020

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Two students from New Hyde Park Memorial High School have been combating the shortage of blood because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Aarti Devjani and Preesha Mody, both seniors, coordinated a seven-week virtual blood drive through the New York Blood Center in which individuals could schedule appointments to give blood through the center’s website. The drive allowed participants to stay safe and socially distance while helping their community, the students said.

As of late September, about 35 people had donated blood to the students’ drive, which ends Oct. 15. The duo has also raised more than $3,600 for the center through a GoFundMe page.

“This idea started in the middle of quarantine when we realized no one’s going anywhere,” Mody said. “Then my dad actually sent me this article about how there’s a shortage of blood, so we though ‘let’s do something about it.'”

The students then spread the word through

Soil Cleanup At Bethpage Community Park Undergoing Next Phase

September 30, 2020

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BETHPAGE, NY — Northrop Grumman recently launched the next phase of soil cleanup at Bethpage Community Park.

On Aug. 26, the global aerospace and defense technology company turned on heating equipment to warm the soil beneath Bethpage Community Park — marking a major milestone toward returning the ball field to community use, the company announced in a news release.

The technology will warm the soil over a six-month period to vaporize the chemicals found deep in the soil. The company’s processing equipment will vacuum the vapor, scrub the chemicals from the vapor, and release the treated air to the atmosphere.

“This process is a proven, safe and widely-used method across the State of New York that does not present any risk to the community,” the company wrote.

Northrop Grumman’s work is being conducted with approval from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the New York State

Flags fly for pandemic victims in Spanish park

September 27, 2020

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Madrid has become the epicenter of the rebound of the virus in Spain, once again the worst hit country in Europe. Spain has 319 cases per 100,000 inhabitants over 14 days. France has 229 cases per 100,000, the United Kingdom 96.

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HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK

— Military suicides are up as much as 20% in COVID era

— Social media and COVID shaming: Fighting a toxic combination

— Israelis mark Yom Kippur under ‘painful’ virus lockdown.

— Masks are posing a problem for educators who teach students who are deaf, hard of hearing or learning English. Experts say other students need to see the teacher’s mouth in order to learn how to form words.

— More than 1,000 New Yorkers tested positive for COVID-19 in a single day, the first time since June 5 the state has seen a daily number that high.

The Latest: Flags Fly for Pandemic Victims in Spanish Park | World News

September 27, 2020

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MADRID — An association of families of coronavirus victims has planted what it says are 53,000 small Spanish flags in a Madrid park to honor the dead of the pandemic.

Volunteers placed the flags on a grassy slope overlooking a highway in the capital early on Sunday.

COVID-19 has claimed a confirmed 31,232 lives in Spain. But difficulties in testing at the start of the crisis mean many more victims likely have gone unrecorded.

“I think it is a beautiful homage to the victims, a lot better than the homage that was given by the prime minister,” 62-year-old retiree Honorio Hernandez said. “I have been in the Arlington National Cemetery and this reminds me of that. These people at the very least deserve this, if not much more.”

Elsewhere in Madrid, over 1,000 protesters rallied to demand a more vigorous response to the growing second wave of the coronavirus.

Madrid