President Biden has signed four executive actions meant to advance racial equity in the United States, including directing his administration to fully implement a law combating housing discrimination and another to mitigate xenophobia against Asian Americans.

Biden signed a memorandum directing the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to begin the process of rooting out systemic racism in the housing market by analyzing areas where the previous administration’s policies undermined fair housing laws, according to senior administration officials.

The order also implores the department to fully enforce the Fair Housing Act, senior administration officials said on a press call.

In July, the Trump administration rolled back Obama-era housing guidance known as the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule. Implemented in 2015, the provision required jurisdictions that receive federal funding to look for and analyze patterns of housing discrimination and then present a plan to address the practices if they existed.

Trump, however, didn’t view the rule — an add-on to the 1968 Fair Housing Act — as helpful, claiming that the guidance would “destroy” suburbs around the country.

Biden’s executive order fulfills one of the many campaign promises the Democrat made around advancing racial equity while running for president.

Biden also signed an executive order ending the Department of Justice’s use of private prisons, as part of the new administration’s broader criminal justice reform agenda.

Additionally, the president signed a memorandum directing federal agencies, including the departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice, to take steps to stop xenophobia and violence towards Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The memo also acknowledges what officials described as xenophobic behavior on the part of the previous administration.

Finally, Biden signed an executive order directing federal agencies to engage regularly with Tribal governments in order to strengthen the relationship between the federal government and American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes.

Biden signed the four executive actions Tuesday afternoon during a White House event focused on his racial equity agenda.

“Today’s actions are a continuation of the president’s commitment to embed equity across our entire agenda,” said a senior administration official. “We have more work to do, but these are important first steps.”

The actions follow multiple orders that Biden signed when he took office last Wednesday, including a directive that ordered the federal government to “pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all.”

Biden has faced pressure from civil rights groups and other advocates to make addressing racial inequities a key focus early on in his administration, particularly following nationwide protests last summer that decried the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

The directive aimed at preventing discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders comes in part as a response to the rhetoric of former President Trump, whose regular use of the phrase “China virus” to describe the coronavirus was widely criticized as xenophobic. Trump repeatedly defended his use of the phrase while criticizing China’s handling of the disease.

Officials said Biden’s memo would underscore that statements made by the previous administration were “offensive and dangerous” and direct HHS to outline best practices for rooting out bias in the federal government’s COVID-19 response. It is also expected to direct the DOJ to work to with communities to prevent hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — You just can’t keep a good city down, especially when Mardi Gras is coming.

All around New Orleans, thousands of houses are being decorated as floats because the coronavirus outbreak canceled the elaborate parades mobbed by crowds during the Carnival season leading to Fat Tuesday.

Some smaller groups announced no-parade plans before the city did. Pandemic replacements include scavenger hunts for signature trinkets that normally would be thrown from floats or handed out from a streetcar, as well as outdoor art and drive-thru or virtual parades. The prominent Krewe of Bacchus has an app where people can catch and trade virtual trinkets during Carnival and watch a virtual parade Feb. 14, when the parade had been scheduled.

But the “house float” movement started almost as soon as a New Orleans spokesman announced Nov. 17 that parades were off.

That morning, Megan Joy Boudreaux posted what she later called a silly Twitter joke: “We’re doing this. Turn your house into a float and throw all the beads from your attic at your neighbors walking by.”

But the more she thought about it, the more she liked it. She started a Facebook group, the Krewe of House Floats, expecting a few friends and neighbors to join. The numbers rose. Thirty-nine subgroups evolved to discuss neighborhood plans.

By Carnival season’s official start Jan. 6, the group had more than 9,000 members, including out-of-state “expats.” About 3,000, including a few as far afield as England and Australia, will have their houses on an official online map, said Charlotte “Charlie” Jallans-Daly, one of two mapmakers.

Houses are to be decorated at least two weeks before Fat Tuesday, which is Feb. 16 this year. With widespread addresses and two weeks to gawk, the hope is that people will spread out widely in time and space.

“I didn’t think I was starting a Mardi Gras krewe. Here I am,” Boudreaux said. “I’ve got myself a second full-time job.”

Discussions in the Facebook groups include how-tos, ads for props and neighborhood themes. Artists have given livestreamed outdoor lessons.

Katie Bankens posted that her block’s theme was Shark Week staycation paradise. When a resident worried that she was not “crafty” enough, administrator Carley Sercovich replied that if they could play music and throw trinkets to neighbors, “you are perfect for this Krewe!”

Boudreaux also suggested that people could hire or buy from out-of-work Carnival artists and suppliers hit by the parade cancellation. A spreadsheet of artists and vendors followed. One of them, artist Dominic “Dom” Graves, booked more than 20 five-person classes in professional papier mache techniques, at $100 a person.

Devin DeWulf, who already had started two pandemic charities as head of the Krewe of Red Beans walking club, kicked the house float idea up a few notches at the suggestion of Caroline Thomas, a professional float designer. Their “Hire a Mardi Gras Artist” crowdfunded lotteries collected enough money to put crews to work decorating 11 houses, plus commissioned work at two more houses and seven businesses.

“We’ve put about 40 people to work, which is nice,” DeWulf said. With Mardi Gras approaching, he said a 12th lottery would be the last.

One commissioned house is rented by a pair of nuns.

Sisters Mary Ann Specha and Julie Walsh, who run a shelter for homeless women with children, had to get permission for their own crowdfunding from the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Dubuque, Iowa. “They loved it,” Specha said.

The crowdfunded decorations may be auctioned after Mardi Gras to raise more money, DeWulf said.

Several mansions along a short stretch of St. Charles Avenue had elaborate displays with signs noting their creation by one of the city’s biggest float-making studios.

Tom Fox, whose wife, Madeline, painted a Spongebob Squarepants scene and made jellyfish from dollar store bowls, said he thinks a new tradition may have begun.

“Even when Mardi Gras comes back, I think people are going to keep doing this,” he said.

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AP PHOTO/KATHY WILLENS

US boosting vaccine deliveries in ‘wartime effort’ amid complaints of shortages; Who goes first? Vaccine rollout forces stark moral choices

President Joe Biden says the U.S. is ramping up vaccine deliveries to hard-pressed states over the next three weeks and expects to provide enough doses to vaccinate 300 million Americans by the end of the summer or early fall.

Biden has called the push a “wartime effort,” adding that his administration is working to buy an additional 100 million doses of each of the two approved coronavirus vaccines,

Jonathan Drew and Zeke Miller report.

He acknowledged that states in recent weeks have been left guessing how much vaccine they will have from one week to the next. Shortages have been so severe that some vaccination sites around the U.S. had to cancel tens of thousands of appointments.

Biden called that “unacceptable” and said “lives are at stake.”

In the meantime, the president is dispatching America’s top scientists and public health experts to regularly update the public about the pandemic. Beginning today, the experts will host briefings three times a week on the state of the outbreak and efforts to control it.

Americans can expect a sharp contrast from the Trump administration’s briefings, when public health officials were repeatedly undermined by a president who shared his unproven ideas without hesitation.

Moral Dilemma: Oregon teachers are eligible for COVID-19 shots before senior citizens after Democratic Gov. Kate Brown decided to prioritize reopening schools. The decision has outraged older people and underscores the moral dilemma that state and local officials across the U.S. are facing as they decide who’s first in line for the vaccine.

Ethicists say America hasn’t faced such a stark moral calculus in generations. Everyone from the elderly and those with chronic medical conditions to communities of color and front-line workers are clamoring for the scarce vaccine. And each group has a compelling argument for why they should get priority, Gillian Flaccus and Sara Cline report from Oregon.

Parade-less Mardi Gras: You can’t keep a good city down, especially when Mardi Gras is coming. All around New Orleans, thousands of houses are being decorated as floats because the pandemic canceled the elaborate parades usually mobbed by crowds during the Carnival season and on Fat Tuesday. The “house float” movement started almost as soon as a city spokesman announced in November that parades were cancelled, Janet McConnaughey reports.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The St. Kitts and Nevis Department of Culture will explore additional strategies to preserve and promote the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of the Federation when it meets with research and documentation teams on January 27.

ICH is described as the practice, representation, expression, knowledge, or skill considered to be a part of a country’s cultural heritage. Local examples of ICH include the story of the Mansion Bull, the dance and chants of the Masquerades, the method of making mauby, and more.

Marlene Phillips, Research and Documentation Specialist in the Department of Culture is spearheading the activities to safeguard ICH. She noted that an ICH project was launched in April 2019. Seven teams were trained in November 2019, and dispatched in July 2020 to various communities to research, identify, and digitally document aspects of ICH. The teams comprised a coordinator, researcher, interviewer, and videographer/photographer. Documentation was done via audio and video recordings as well as photography.

The team members will meet with Ms. Phillips and others involved with the project on Wednesday at the Players Dining Room at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium. They will share their experiences out in the field and recommendations on the way forward.

“We want suggestions on how to improve the process. We hope that the meeting will inform us where more training is necessary and we’ll also be discussing the future of the Secretariat,” said Ms. Phillip.

The participants who will attend the meeting will also discuss ideas to share their findings with the public during a seminar slated for February 2021.

Ms. Phillips said that the ICH project goes to the heart of what makes St. Kitts and Nevis and its people unique.

“The intangible part of our lives is our identity,” said Ms. Phillips. “It shapes the society, who the people are. If the elders or the people in the community, who are keeping it ICH alive decide to stop, then your culture is lost. So to safeguard, we need to identify what these beloved traditions are, see if they are in danger of becoming extinct, and discuss with the tradition bearers how we can pass it on to the next generation by involving them in the whole process.”

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed the public that owing to changes in Barbados’s general COVID-19 posture, the US Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, has cancelled all non-immigrant visa appointments effective Thursday, January 28.

If any persons have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, they are asked to please follow the guidance provided at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-bb or call (246) 623-9832 or (246) 623-9833 to request an emergency appointment. The Machine Readable Visa fee remains valid until September 30, 2022, and may be used for a visa application in the country where it was purchased.

The embassy will resume routine non-immigrant visa services as soon as possible, but is unable to provide a specific date at this time. The general public is asked to monitor the embassy’s website and social media for updates.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis continues to experience a gradual increase in the number of positive cases of COVID-19. As of Monday, January 25, the Federation confirmed two additional cases of coronavirus disease.

The international travellers landed in the Federation on January 10, 2021 from the United States. The patients have been in quarantine at one of the COVID-19 certified hotels since arrival. The patients were duly notified and are now in isolation.

These additional cases bring the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases to 37 with 25 cases for St. Kitts and 12 cases for Nevis. Thirty-five cases have fully recovered with zero deaths. There are now two active cases. These patients are stable and are being monitored.

The risk of further cases occurring in the Federation remains very high. We continue to adhere to the ‘St. Kitts & Nevis Health & Travel Protocols’ which can be found at https://www.knatravelform.kn.

All front-line workers continue to adhere to the COVID-19 protocols along the corridor of containment between the ports of entry and hotel/accommodation sites.

The Ministry of Health assures the public that the following measures are being taken to restrict the spread of coronavirus:
• In-depth contact tracing to effectively assess the front-line workers with whom the recently diagnosed cases would have interacted.
• Quarantine, monitoring and testing of contacts as indicated.

The Ministry of Health-in particular-and Federal Government wish to assure all citizens and residents that every effort is being made to prevent the spread of this virus locally.

With reports of the SARS – CoV-2 variant in the region and with increase in cases locally more and more persons are adhering to the COVID-19 prevention and control measures. These include:
* Wearing a face mask when in public places;
* Maintaining good hand hygiene,
* Maintaining a physical distance of at least 6-feet from others when in public places; and avoiding crowds and events.

These control measures work and we are encouraging you to continue. Let us work together to maintain and protect the health and well-being of the people of the Federation.

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — The Nevis Island Administration will join with the church community and members of the public on Nevis to observe the National Day of Prayer on January 28.

The National Day of Prayer, observed in St. Kitts and Nevis, encourages citizens and residents to participate in various activities to give thanks and pray for continued blessing and guidance for the nation.

“In light of COVID-19 protocols, instead of a mass prayer gathering as was held in previous years, the NIA is asking churches to open their doors throughout the day and evening to allow members of the public to offer up prayers throughout the course of the day,” said Nevis Premier, Hon. Mark Brantley. “On Thursday we call our beloved Nevis and our wider Federation to prayer. We have asked our spiritual leaders to open their churches throughout the towns and villages so that our people can enter into the sanctuary of their choice and offer a word of prayer.

“We ask employers to allow their workers time to go and pray during the day,” he said. “In this world now beset by the COVID-19 pandemic and the health and economic crises it has caused, we of this blessed land have much to be grateful for. God has never turned His back on us,” said Hon. Brantley. “Let us therefore pray for His continued grace and mercy and that His face will perpetually shine upon our people.”

Cabinet Ministers in the Nevis Island Administration will individually attend various church services across the island to join fellow citizens in prayer and thanksgiving.

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — The following is an announcement from the Nevis Water Department regarding disconnections.

The Nevis Water Department wishes to advise all of its valued customers that disconnections would be conducted throughout the island of Nevis beginning April 5, 2021.

Customers who are in arrears for more than 90 days are encouraged to settle their outstanding amounts on their water bills on or before the above-mentioned date.

If service is disconnected due to non-payment, customer must pay 75 percent of outstanding balance due plus a $100.00 reconnection fee to have water service restored.

We look forward to your kind cooperation and understanding during this time.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Sponsor of the longest running domino league in the country, Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, on January 24 congratulated sponsors and organisers of a national domino competition, which has brought together seasoned domino players from across the country.

Prime Minister Harris, sponsor of the highly successful Constituency Number Seven Domino League recently relaunched St. Kitts National Domino Association (SKNDA) national domino competition involving 12 teams. SKNDA celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

“I want to first congratulate the sponsors and the organisers for coming together and putting together what today has been a very exciting game of domino, which involves players from all across the country,” said Hon. Dr. Harris.

The competition will help select the St. Kitts team that will take part at future World Council of Domino Federation (WCDF) championships after an eighteen-year hiatus. The championships are sponsored by the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, a Platinum Sponsor; First Federal Credit Union; Best For Less Trading Ltd; The Craft House; and NAGICO Insurances.

“The games started after five o’clock and we are going late and there is still high energy, and high excitement,” remarked Dr. Harris. After the first results in which Terminal Boyz Domino Club beat Latecomers Domino Club 26-6, were announced at 8:20 p.m.

“It shows there is a strong passion, and what is good is we have a mix,” Dr Harris observed. “We have those from the Spanish community, we have our own local players, we have the most youthful players, and we have some who are advanced in age. There are many opportunities for each one to learn. In my view, this evening up to tonight so far has been the very best in terms of domino I have seen played in many years.”

As he commended all the teams taking part in the competition the Prime Minister noted: “Of course I am impressed that we have quite a number of the teams that have been playing in my own constituency league over many years. So all in all, this is a fantastic show of solidarity and support.”

In games played on Sunday, Terminal Boyz beat Latecomers 26-6; Eagle Claws beat Newcomers II 26-22; Spartans Fig Tree beat King Balang 26-17; Los Fuertes del Domino beat Lodge 26-6; Poor Man Pocket beat Masters 26-16; and Newcomers I beat Til Ah Morning 28-18.

Points standing after three rounds of play: Terminal Boyz and Poor Man Pocket are jointly holding the first position each having amassed 16 points. The second position is also jointly held as Til Ah Morning and Newcomers I have 11 points each. Others are Latecomers, 10 points; Masters, 10 points; Lodge, 5 points; Eagle Claws, 5 points; Los Fuertes del Domino, 5 points; Spartans Fig Tree, 5 points; Newcomers II, 0 points; and King Balang, 0 points.

Fourth round of play will be on Thursday January 28 at the same venue, starting at 5:00 pm.

“I just want to say kudos to the Honourable Prime Minister for showing the sort of interest he has been showing over the last twenty-five-plus years to keep domino alive,” said President of the St. Kitts National Domino Association, Romeo Parris. “There has been no national domino in any organised way that has been taking place, so domino would have been dead basically at a certain level had it not been for his involvement.”

The official opening ceremony of the tournament on January 24 at the New Town Community Centre was chaired by Vice Chairman of the St. Kitts National Domino Association Keithly Blanchette, main sponsor Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis was represented by Public Relations Officer Peter Ngunjiri, while Best For Less Trading Ltd was represent by Manager Anand Samtani, and The Craft House by General Manager Ms. Haley Cassius.

“This game would not have been possible had it not been for the large contribution from the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, and the cooperation of the institution’s CEO Lenworth Harris, so that must be underlined,” commented Parris. “We also thank our other sponsors, First Federal Credit Union, Best For Less Trading Ltd, The Craft House, and NAGICO Insurances for supporting the tournament.”

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — The Department of Education’s School Meals Programme on Nevis continues to find creative ways to broaden the culinary taste of young children while keeping meals healthy and tasty.

Mrs. Renell Daniel, School Meals Coordinator in the Department of Education of the Nevis Island Administration revealed a new initiative included in the programme dubbed “Tour Around the Caribbean.”

“Each Thursday, school cooks prepare dishes from other Caribbean countries,” explained Mrs. Daniel. “This is one way the programme is keeping pre-school and primary school children engaged and interested in different foods.

“We’re excited to showcase our Tour Around the Caribbean menu,” she said. “Wendy Tsai and I have worked on this, and the cooks, Education Officers and many other people have contributed to this term’s menu.

“We want to introduce our children to different cultures and different parts of our Caribbean,” said Mrs. Daniel. “The programme also endeavours to introduce the children to locally-grown fruits and vegetables by incorporating them into meals as much as possible.

“This is a great programme where our children can appreciate our culture and our local foods,” she said. “We also have different fruit that will be donated by the Department of Agriculture to serve with the meals if they are in season. Our cooks will cut up fruit donated by local farmers and serve it for the children to enjoy.

“We found that many of the children have not tried these fruits or vegetables at home, but when they see all of their classmates eating the fruit and vegetables, they will be much more willing to try them,” said Mrs. Daniel.

While the School Meals Programme sources fresh produce from local farmers and vendors, schools also grow some of their own food.

“We also depend on our gardens,” said Mrs. Daniel. “All schools have gardens that will supplement what we serve each day, but we hope to do more this term in terms of our school gardens.”

Weekly menus for the schools are posted on the Ministry’s Facebook page on Mondays so parents can have an idea of what the children will be eating. Menus are reviewed each term and tweaked as necessary during the course of the semester.

Ms. Wendy Tsai, a nutritionist from Taiwan working with the School Meals Programme, spoke said the School Meals Programme’s initiative is also to get young students to drink more water.

“Wednesdays are designated ‘Water Wednesdays,’ when children know to only bring water to school and are served water with their lunches,” said Ms. Tsai. “All pre-schools and primary schools, whether public or private, participate in the initiative.

“On Fridays, recipes are posted on the Ministry of Education’s Facebook page for parents and others to make healthy meals at home,” concluded Tsai.

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