Frederick McKinley Jones (1893-1961) was born in Covington, Kentucky. This American inventor and engineer is best known for his innovative mobile refrigeration technology, revolutionizing the transportation of perishable goods, which played a major logistical role for the United States in World War II.

In his lifetime Jones received 61 patents, including 40 for refrigeration, and was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1991.

(Image credit Creative Commons.)

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Yusuf Ssali, well known Ugandan artist who is a long-time member of the Uganda Art Consortium, is new Executive Director of Kisa Foundation USA. The action was taken by the KFUSA Board in August 2024.

Tom Herriman, KFUSA founder and former Exec. Dir. will serve as Chair of the Board of Directors. Current Board members include Peter Kibanyi, Treasurer; Gretchen Donart, Secretary and Peter Meyer, member-at-large.

Founded in 2010, the Foundation supports Kisa School in Kampala, a coeducational school that prepares students for both careers and further academic work.

The Foundation's website is hosted by Clark Internet, which also hosts and publishes AABL.

Yusuf Ssali Biography

By Edward Muguluma via Tom Herriman*

Here's a Beautiful story from Edward Muguluma, School Director at Kisa Primary School in Nansana, Uganda:

In Nansana village, is where you find a resilient struggling mother named Sanyu nakasenge aged 53 years old who has been a resident for more than 18 years now. With three little ones Charles Luvumu (7), Divine Naluyombya (13) and Malcom Luzinda (10) all relying on her tender care, life's burdens have often weighed heavy upon her shoulders with no one to help her out as they divorced with the husband due to family mistreatment after the birth of their last born charles. So when hardship knocked relentlessly on her door, she turned to the beacon of hope in her community—Kisa Foundation Uganda.

Embraced by the warmth of the support by Richmond rotary club,Sanyu embarked on a journey of empowerment. Through the unwavering guidance at Kisa Foundation Uganda, she honed her skills in tailoring where she could stitch her dreams into reality with every thread she wove. Four months flew by and Sanyu had emerged not only a skilled seamstress but also a beacon of determination.

With a sewing machine gifted to her, Sanyu has transformed the humble veranda of her rented home into a sanctuary of craftsmanship where she has been living a quite long now.

Amidst the good and bad times with her beautiful children, she had stitched together a future brimming with promise.

Though the weight of school fees for her kids is very heavy on her, Sanyu can at least cater for her children's feeding on a daily through working on her veranda with her sewing machine.

With tearful gratitude, she has on and on whispered her thanks to Richmond rotary club through kisa foundation Uganda, for they had not only dressed her in skills but also adorned her life with a new found hope.
____________
* Edward Muguluma is school director at Kisa Primary School in Nansana, Uganda, a part of the Kampala metropolitan area. Tom Herriman is the former publisher of the Seattle Press and a community organizer.

The Dinka people, a resilient Nilotic ethnic group, have called South Sudan home for centuries. With settlements stretching along the Nile River from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, they inhabit regions of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile, and the Abyei Area, where the Ngok Dinka reside. According to the 2008 Sudan census, the Dinka population stands at approximately 4.5 million, accounting for 40% of the country's population, making them the largest ethnic tribe in South Sudan.

Known to themselves as Muonyjang (singular) and Jieng (plural), the Dinka trace their origins to the Gezira region, now part of Sudan. During medieval times, this area was governed by the Christian, multi-ethnic kingdom of Alodia, where the Dinka interacted with Nubians, adopting elements of their language. However, the collapse of Alodia in the 13th century forced the Dinka to migrate due to slave raids, conflicts, and droughts.

Historical conflicts with the Nuer over grazing lands and cattle raiding have led to ongoing disputes. Additionally, the Dinka have clashed with the Islamic Arab government in Khartoum due to differences in religion, beliefs, and lifestyle. Notably, Dr. John Garang De Mabior, a prominent Dinka leader, spearheaded the Sudan People's Liberation Army against the government from 1983, resulting in a 21-year civil war.

Following South Sudan's independence, Salva Kiir Mayardit has led the Dinka in a civil war against the Nuer and other groups, who accuse the Dinka of monopolizing power.

The Dinka are renowned for their exceptional height, with an average of 182 centimeters among men, making them one of the tallest populations globally and the leading across Africa. Their rich cultural heritage and deep-rooted pastoral traditions, where livestock play a vital role, are also celebrated. The Dinka's remarkable physical stature and cultural significance make them a notable and fascinating ethnic group!

Hermona Girmay of Edmonds, who was named Miss Seattle in February, was crowned Miss Washington 2024 on July 6 at Capital High School Performing Arts Center in Olympia.

Girmay, who was born and raised in Edmonds, attended Holy Rosary School and graduated from Edmonds-Woodway High School.

According to a news release, Girmay is a 2023 cum laude and departmental honors graduate of the University of Washington, where she earned a bachelor of arts in public health-global health and completed a minor in bioethics. Girmay’s plans for graduate school are to complete a master of public health to further her career in health policy.

“Her Community Service Initiative, “SHECAN: Support Her Education, Change A Nation,” encompasses her 10-plus years of girls’ education equality activism inspired by her family’s journey to the United States as refugees,” according to the news release.

Girmay will compete for the title of Miss America 2025 next January.

(After Facebook.)

As one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., kidney disease is a serious public health problem. The disease is particularly severe among Black Americans, who are three times more likely than white Americans to develop kidney failure.

While Black people constitute only 12% of the U.S. population, they account for 35% of those with kidney failure. The reason is due in part to the prevalence of diabetes and high blood pressure – the two largest contributors to kidney disease – in the Black community.

Almost 100,000 people in the U.S. are awaiting kidney transplantation. Though Black Americans are more likely to need transplants, they are also less likely to receive them.

Making matters worse, kidneys from Black donors in the U.S. are more likely to be thrown away as a result of a flawed system that erroneously considers all Black donor kidneys as more likely to stop working after a transplant than kidneys from donors of other races.

In the ensuing article a bioethicist examines possible reasons for the discreancy and possible solutions.

(After CNN from original article in The Conversation via Creative Commons.)

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A Chicago teenager named Dorothy Jean Tillman II has just become the youngest person in the world to obtain a PHD doctorate—at the age of 17—in She took her first university course at the age of 10. - At the age of 14, Dorothy Jean had obtained an associate diploma, a bachelor's degree and a master's degree.

Right now, you're probably asking yourself, what is "integrated behavioral health?" It is a recently defined specialization in the health sciences, as defined in the article at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency of the US government..

If you're an American and aren't claiming bragging rights, you've probably been asleep for the last 160 years. —RC

(Photo credit & apology after NY Times.)

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These observations by University of Washington Physicians are a good summary of how to respond to possible infection.

What are the most common symptoms of COVID-19?

Experts have identified three main symptoms of this disease: fever (100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher), a newly developed dry cough and shortness of breath. These symptoms may appear individually or together. To ensure you’re getting an accurate reading, take your temperature at least 30 minutes after eating, drinking or exercising and at least six hours after taking fever-reducing medications.

What are other COVID-19 symptoms you may feel?

Along with the classic trio of COVID-19 symptoms, you may also experience body aches, fatigue, a runny nose, a sore throat, a loss of your sense of smell or taste, headaches or gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea. These symptoms don’t always occur but, if they do, they’re easy to confuse with the symptoms of a cold, flu or seasonal allergies. The main way to tell the difference between COVID-19 and these other conditions is if your symptoms worsen or don’t improve after about a week.

What does a mild or moderate case of COVID-19 feel like?

In about 80% of known COVID-19 cases, the resulting illness is mild or moderate. This can range from feeling like you just have a bad cold to feeling like you have the flu and can’t get out of bed. Although you may feel unwell, people with a mild or moderate case usually don’t need to be hospitalized and can care for themselves at home. The typical recovery time is one to two weeks.

What does a severe case of COVID-19 feel like?

A severe case of COVID-19 means you require medical attention, either because you’re having trouble breathing or because you’ve developed a complication from the disease like heart failure, pneumonia or a life-threatening bacterial infection called sepsis. A mild or moderate case can develop into a severe one over the course of a few days or hours, and it can take up to six weeks for you to recover. If you’re older than 60, are pregnant or have an existing health condition or weakened immune system, you’re at greater risk of developing a severe illness from COVID-19 — but it can happen to anyone.

When should you go to the emergency room?

When you first start to feel sick, call your doctor for guidance and track your symptoms. You don’t need to go to the hospital unless you’re experiencing emergency warning signs. Things that are considered a medical emergency include having trouble breathing, feeling a persistent pain or pressure in your chest, becoming confused or disoriented, or having your face or lips turn blue. If you can, have someone call the hospital in advance so they can prepare for your visit.

Most primary care clinics remain open for in-person, medically necessary appointments. Most urgent-care are still operating. Please call in advance before traveling to any physician or clinic. To make receiving care easier, you can also choose to see your provider via a video-based telehealth appointment.

(Adapted from University of Washington Medicine.)

Executives of Johnson and Johnson and Merck Pharmaceuticals joined US President Joe Biden 10th March to announce their joint venture to produce 100 million additional doses of the single-dose J&J Covid-19 vaccine. Present were Biden, Alex Grotzky of J&J and Kenneth C. Frazier of Merck.

Frazier is the chairman and CEO of Merck & Co. (known as MSD outside of North America). After joining Merck & Co. as general counsel, he directed the company's defense against litigation over the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx. Frazier is the first African American man to lead a major pharmaceutical company (part of the Fortune 500 companies). He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2018. (After Wikipedia)

The JV is expected to help achieve the administration's newly revised goal of producing enough doses for all US adults by end of May and vaccinating all US adults by early summer.

As the US vaccination effort winds down, production will likely continue at plants around the world for further distribution, whose details are still being debated.

OLYMPIA – Washington’s economy lost 11,100 jobs in March and the state’s preliminary seasonally adjusted monthly unemployment rate for March increased from 3.8 percent to 5.1 percent according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).

“The impacts of COVID-19 may not be fully captured in the March report and are more likely to be evident in the April Report”, said Paul Turek, economist for the department. “Although we have seen widespread closings of schools, restaurants, and theaters, these actions largely took effect starting the week of March 16th, after most workers would have been counted. As a result, even if some firms started laying off workers as early as the second week of March, many still would have worked or received pay for at least part of the payroll period including the 12th, and thus their loss of employment is not yet fully reflected in the March report.”

The Employment Security Department released the preliminary job estimates from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics as part of its Monthly Employment Report.

The department also announced that February’s previously reported unemployment rate of 3.8 was confirmed. February’s preliminary estimated gain of 3,500 jobs was revised to a gain of 3,900 jobs.

The national unemployment rate (preliminary) rose from 3.5 percent in February 2020 to 4.4 percent in March 2020. In March 2019, the national unemployment rate (revised) was 3.8 percent.

Employment Security paid unemployment insurance benefits to 185,458 people in March.

Labor force decline is by far the largest month to month decline since 1990

The state’s labor force in March was 3,889,700 – a decrease of 72,800 people from the previous month. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the labor force decreased by 31,900 over the same period.

From March 2019 through March 2020, the state’s labor force grew by 27,700 and the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region decreased by 200.

The labor force is the total number of people, both employed and unemployed, over the age of 16.

From February 2020 to March 2020, the number of people who were unemployed statewide increased from 151,500 to 197,600. In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett region, the number of people who were unemployed increased from 44,700 to 93,400 over the same period.

Five industry sectors expanded and eight contracted

Private sector employment decreased by 11,700 while the public sector increased by 600 jobs in March. This month’s report shows the largest private job growth occurred in construction up 2,500 jobs and professional & business services up 1,500 jobs. Also posting increases were information and retail trade, both up 600 jobs. The industries that posted the highest losses were leisure and hospitality down 12,300 jobs, financial activities down 1,500 jobs and, manufacturing down 1,400 jobs. Also posting losses were other services down 700 jobs, wholesale trade down 500 jobs, transportation, warehousing & utilities down 300 jobs and mining & logging and education & health services both down 100 jobs.

Year-over-year growth in payroll employment still up for now

Washington gained an estimated 64,400 jobs from March 2019 through March 2020, not seasonally adjusted. The private sector grew by 2.0 percent, up an estimated 56,400 jobs, while public sector employment rose 1.4 percent with a net gain of 8,000 jobs.

From March 2019 through March 2020, eight out of the thirteen major industries added jobs while five sectors contracted.

The three industry sectors with the largest employment gains year-over-year, not seasonally adjusted, were:

Professional & business services with 18,000 new jobs
Construction with 12,900 new jobs
Retail trade with 12,600 new jobs
The three industry sectors with the largest employment losses year-over-year, not seasonally adjusted, were:

Manufacturing down 1,600 jobs
Leisure & hospitality down 1,200 jobs
Other services down with 1,100 jobs
COVID-19 impacts

Coronavirus (COVID-19) has had impact on the March 2020 survey data. The household survey measures labor force status, including unemployment. The establishment survey measures nonfarm employment by industry. The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and efforts to contain it. However, it should be noted that the March survey reference periods for both surveys predated many coronavirus-related business and school closures that occurred in the second half of the month.

March data from the establishment and household surveys broadly reflect some of the early effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the labor market. We cannot precisely quantify the effects of the pandemic on the job market in March at this time. However, it is clear the decrease in employment and the increase in unemployment can be ascribed to effects of the illness and efforts to contain the virus.

More from US Dept. of Labor Statistics

This is a placeholder regarding a regional prototype edition for Uganda.

The equator that crosses through Uganda approximately 72 kilometers south of Kampala, along the Kampala – Masaka road, which has become a famous visit destination for visitors and tourists visiting Uganda. It has also become a booming hub made up of several craft shops and art galleries that sell souvenirs and handmade products about the equator including T-Shirts with words “I crossed the Uganda Equator”. Besides, there are nice restaurants with delicious food and good coffee.

The equator traverses the land and territorial waters of 14 countries and seven of them are in Africa. Uganda is one of the few countries in the world that the equator intersects. It must be noted that equator is one of the five notable circles of latitude on earth, the others are– the two polar circles and the two tropical circles – the tropic of cancer and the tropic of Capricorn. Fascinatingly, the equator is the only line of latitude that is a great circle.

While at the Equator, tourists have a chance to see an experiment of how water drains straight down at the Equator. You can stand on the Equator with one foot in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere and be in both sides of the world. Because the Earth bulges at the Equator due to the effects of rotation, gravity is reduced. Thus one weighs about three percent less than normal, but of course upon leaving the Equator one's weight returns.

At the equator, the sun rises and falls quickly, with equal number of hours in day and nighttime. The weather and temperature around the equator is stable throughout the year making it a nice place to be at. Water runs down in sinks clockwise in the Northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern hemisphere and right on the line the water goes straight.

Scientists say that areas on the equator experience the quickest sunrises and sunsets. Since the sun rises and sets almost vertically throughout the year, the length of a day from `sunrise to sunset` at the equator is almost constant during the year. Each day is about 14 minutes longer than night because of atmospheric refraction.

March 21 and September 23 are equatorial equinox days where the sun rises and sets directly above the equator line at midday on these two days; you will not see your shadow because the line is straight up.

In one of the Ugandan villages called Karegyeya in Kikoni parish, Ntungamo district along the Ntungamo – Rukungiri highway, there is a very tall and giant stone that is commonly known as “eibaare rya Karegyeya meaning the stone of Karegyeya” which according to the local residents has been in existence for over 100 years.

It is believed that the bachwezi or demi-gods once lived inside this stone and still inhabit it up to date. The surrounding communities claim that they used to see flames of fire burning at night but nobody could find any ashes in the morning and that the people could find there the food and money in the morning when no one knows who puts those things there.

Continues...

Oregon Public Broadcasting has produced an easily understood explanation of the concept and how it could help return us all to a normal routine. Follow the link to view the video.

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[VIDEO] Amanda Gorman became the youngest poet to recite at a US presidential inauguration and brought much of America to its feet and to tears with her poem during the Inauguration January 20 of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as the nation's 46th president.