Santa Cruz County has the highest poverty level in southern Arizona. Since the pandemic, thousands of residents have turned to the food bank for help.

History makes a great story when it’s told well. And who can resist a good story? I certainly can’t. Having been a history major in undergrad, I may be particularly susceptible. So when I came across Matthew Kneale’s new book, “Rome: A History In Seven Sackings” in the leisure reading collection at Pattee Library, I had to check it out. There are many histories of long-lived cities. Paris, London, Jerusalem and Rome have all had more than a few treatments. But every so often a writer looks at a history like this in a different way, and that makes it all the more interesting. Kneale’s choice of looking at Rome through seven different times it was conquered over the millennia is a particularly intriguing choice. Beginning with an early, brief occupation in 387 B.C. and continuing up to the Second World War, it is an engrossing tale. Organizing the history of Rome around these seven “sackings” offers fascinating snapshots of the city at specific moments in time. Together, they weave a

As the director of the Pennsylvania Center for the Book, one of my favorite tasks is choosing a children’s or young adult title to represent Pennsylvania at the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C. It’s a responsibility I take very seriously. I consult with colleagues and search for information about children’s and young adult books by Pennsylvania authors or illustrators. I look for titles with topics that have some connection to the Commonwealth. I’m delighted to share that this year’s selection is a picture book biography—"A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin”written by Jen Bryant and illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Horace Pippin was the grandson of a slave, born in West Chester, Pennsylvania on February 22, 1888. He died in 1946 and is buried in the Chester Grove Annex Cemetery. He began and ended life in Pennsylvania. As a child, Horace was always drawing pictures. He won a drawing contest and the cherished prize—colored pencils, a pair of brushes, and a box of

Growing up in Western Pennsylvania, it was almost a given that young children watched at least a few episodes of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” And I’m pretty sure I watched more than just a few! I remember well the episode where we saw how crayons were made, as well as the episode where Mister Rogers visited a lighthouse. The Land of Make Believe was a familiar place – both on the show, and the ride at Idlewild Park, which my family and I visited several summers in a row. So it was with no small amount of nostalgia that I started the new book by Maxwell King – “The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers.” My nostalgia was only deepened by the fact that I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by none other than LeVar Burton of “Reading Rainbow,” another touchstone from my childhood. King, formerly the head of The Pittsburgh Foundation, brings us the first full-length biography of Rogers. In so doing, he draws on an abundance of sources, including the recollections of

“It was as black in the closet as old blood. They had shoved me in and locked the door. I breathed heavily through my nose, fighting desperately to remain calm.” So begins “Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,” the first book in the “Flavia de Luce” murder mystery series by Alan Bradley. What appears to be a rather violent kidnapping is actually just the latest episode in a running battle between 11-year-old Flavia and her two older sisters, 13-year-old Daphne and 17-year-old Ophelia. Fortunately, Flavia turns out to be quite capable of holding her own against her sisters by using her love of chemistry to inflict the odd rash or occasional bout of indigestion on them. Set in rural England in the early 1950s, the series follows Flavia as she travels the countryside seeking adventure on Gladys, her trusty two-wheeled steed and partner in all adventures. In many ways, Flavia is a youthful reincarnation of Don Quixote. Her ability to imagine all kinds of possibilities in ordinary situations

A few years ago, I read George Packer’s “The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.” It was a haunting portrayal of the slow unraveling of the United States through the life stories of many individuals. Like so many others, I found the book to be fascinating. So, it was with great interest that I saw Packer had published a new book, this time focused on the late diplomat Richard Holbrooke. I recalled the name Holbrooke, but couldn’t say I knew a lot about him. Given how much I had enjoyed “The Unwinding,” I thought this book too would surely be worth a read. “Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century” was an utterly engrossing portrait of not only the man, but also the decline of American power from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Through the person of Richard Holbrooke, we witness the follies and unforced errors that have haunted our foreign policy for the last forty years. We also witness the occasional triumphs – most notably Holbrooke’s masterful work in

“The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life” offers those who usually read novels a chance to enjoy ‘creative non-fiction.’ This book is a well-told narrative about the molecular building blocks of life and how they evolved. David Quammen accepts the challenge of documenting the advancement of evolutionary life science while revealing its significance to all of our lives. Quammen also gives us insight into the vibrant communities of scientists carrying out similar work. Quammen begins by introducing the image of the Tree of Life. He describes how it has evolved from the image of a ladder-to-heaven in ancient and medieval thinking into Darwin’s branching, upward-growing tree. Quammen closes his introduction with his own surprising proposition. He suggests Darwin’s tree image is no longer the precise metaphor for what life is. Quammen introduces each new evolutionary twist and turn until the new Tree of Life ends up looking more like a web than an upwardly-reaching tree with

"The Swerve: How the World Became Modern" by Stephen Greenblatt is the biography of a man named Poggio Bracciolini, and the history of a poem titled "On the Nature of Things." Bracciolini began adult life as a scribe, which is the 15th Century version of a notary public. It was a useful, but not unique, position in what is now Italy. Despite his humble beginnings, Bracciolini used his intelligence, charm, and exceptional penmanship to become the personal secretary to Pope John XXII. That was quite an achievement for a person of common birth. But, it was Bracciolini’s avocation as a book collector that gave him a place in history. Bracciolini spent much free time - and money - searching for rare manuscripts in the monastic libraries of Europe. In particular, he looked for manuscripts containing the works of ancient Greek philosophers. In January 1417, he found a manuscript of the poem, "On the Nature of Things.” Written by Titus Lucretius Carus around 50 B.C.E., "On the Nature of Things

There is a point in Colson Whitehead’s novel, “The Nickel Boys,” when you think—when you hope—that things will turn out for the better for his protagonist, Elwood Curtis. Elwood is living in New York, he has a job, an apartment, and a girlfriend. He has developed plans to start his own moving company. At that point, you begin to have hope that all the atrocities and injustices Elwood endured—including the years he spent being abused at the Nickel Academy, a reform school in Florida, were not his undoing, even as you know that probably isn’t the case. “The Nickel Boys” is Whitehead’s ninth novel and is based on the true story of a 1960s reform school for boys. Elwood should have never been at Nickel. Before arriving there, things were going well for him. He was a serious, hardworking, and cerebral young man. His grandmother had shielded him from most external forces. For example, she got him a job at a store to keep him busy, and kept him away from the speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King

We will be having two large size format flagship stores, one in Delhi and one in Bombay (price points between INR 100- 10,00,000) whereas THT gifting will have products ranging from INR.1000 – Rs.5000. Our endeavour is that THT Gifting reaches 50 in terms of the number of stores in the next five years--JJ Valaya

“We see this second round of investment from TCA as a token of faith. We have grown 500% over the previous financial year and on track for very aggressive growth next year as well.” said Jagadeesh Kumar of The Indus Valley.

From the production of raw materials and products through to customers' use and disposal, emissions shrank 4.3% in the fiscal year to the end of August 2019 to 24.9 million tonnes CO2 equivalents, it said.

Johan Andersson, the store's logistics boss whose team found them, had just read that hospitals were suffering from a shortage of masks amid the coronavirus outbreak so he rang up Sahlgrenska University Hospital - Sweden's biggest - in Gothenburg and asked if they were interested.

According to the company, the online presence will further strengthen the brand’s reach by covering 2,000+ pin codes. Basis the demand and sales, Godrej Interio also plans to introduce selected online-only models to cater to a larger section of customers who love purchasing online.

Veteran law enforcement officers Damon K. Jones and Cariol Horne are speaking out against police brutality and calling for reform. They talked with WPSU about the challenges they have faced as minorities in the police force, their thoughts about the Black Lives Matter movement and why change is necessary. Transcript: Cheraine Stanford: Welcome to take note on WPSU. I'm Cheraine Stanford. We're joined today by two activists advocating for law enforcement reform. Cariol Horne was a police officer in Buffalo, New York, for nearly two decades. When she was fired after she says she was assaulted by a fellow officer while attempting to stop him from choking a handcuffed man. Damon K. Jones has worked in the West Chester Department of Corrections for 28 years. He represents the state of New York in the organization, Blacks in Law Enforcement of America. The two came to Penn State as part of a panel called “Black lives inside of blue lives” to discuss the question: What happens when Black

Robert Crumb is best known as an underground cartoonist, whose work, including Fritz the Cat and Mr. Natural, remains controversial. But Crumb is also a collector and celebrator of old blues records. Jerry Zolten is a professor of communication arts and sciences and integrative arts at Penn State Altoona. His work includes the book “Great God A’Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music.” WPSU's Anne Danahy spoke with Crumb and Zolten about their love of old blues music and records.

Maxwell King is the best-selling author of "The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers." King talks about why he wrote the book and gives insight into the life of Mister Rogers, the unfailingly kind, compassionate namesake neighbor of the beloved "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood." To learn more about Rogers' legacy visit the Fred Rogers Center and Fred Rogers Productions . TRANSCRIPT: Carolyn Donaldson: Welcome to Take Note on WPSU, I'm Carolyn Donaldson. Today, we're joined by Maxwell King, recently retired president of the Pittsburgh Foundation, former president of the Heinz Endowment, and former editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. But now in today's context, a best selling author. In his book, "The Good Neighbor: The Life and Works of Fred Rogers," King's written a personal and professional biography of Fred Rogers, the unfailingly kind, compassionate namesake neighbor of the beloved Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Thanks for joining us today, Maxwell. Maxwell King: Good to be

A recent study published in the journal Science found the number of birds in North America is plummeting. The bird population dropped by more than a quarter over the past 50 years. Grassland birds, shore birds and songbirds are all affected. WPSU's Anne Danahy spoke with Greg Grove, editor of Pennsylvania Birds, and Doug Wentzel, president of the State College Bird Club, about bird watching and those trends

Among the things Pennsylvania is known for in politics is being home to some of the most gerrymandered legislative districts in the country. Carol Kuniholm is one of the people trying to change that. Kuniholm is chairwoman of Fair Districts Pennsylvania, and she’s leading an effort to permanently change how voting districts in Pennsylvania are drawn. She spoke with WPSU's Anne Danahy about the group's push for change in time for the state's upcoming redistricting.

Matthew Ferrari is an epidemiologist and associate professor of biology at Penn State who studies infectious diseases and how they spread across populations. He uses mathematical and statistical tools to understand patterns of disease incidence. He talked with WPSU's Cheraine Stanford about the new coronavirus, what we know, what we don’t and what it means for our community and our country.

Robert Bullard has spent four decades shining a light on issues of environmental racism and fighting for environmental justice. He talks with WPSU's Cheraine Stanford about how the coronavirus pandemic is highlighting existing social inequalities and why he thinks climate and environmental justice are essential issues for the upcoming election. TRANSCRIPT: Cheraine Stanford: Welcome to Take Note on WPSU. I'm Cheraine Stanford. Robert Bullard is an environmental advocate and sociologist who has spent his career shining a light on issues of environmental racism and fighting for environmental justice. He's the distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University. Among his many accolades, he was the first African-American to receive the Sierra Club's highest honor ,the John Muir award. He's been called the Father of Environmental Justice. Dr. Bullard and I are talking via Zoom today. Dr. Bullard, thank you so much for joining us today. Robert

K-12 schools in North Carolina will remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Roy Cooper announced Friday that remote learning will continue for the remainder of the year. "Classrooms might be closed, but the learning is not over," said Cooper. "We don't make this decision lightly, but it's important to protect the health and safety of our students and school staff." Cooper said the reopening of schools will depend on meeting health goals that will be developed. The governor also announced partnerships with AT&T and Duke Energy Foundation that will provide 180 hotspots to help students without home internet access. Cooper released a proposed budget Friday that directs $1.4 billion in federal funds to help with the state’s coronavirus response.

The disaster movie starts and when bad things start to happen, a scientist always warns the people to change course. But the people never listen. That’s the gist of a mordant Facebook post circulating among scientists as they, along with the rest of us, have watched this frightening scenario play out in real life. The pandemic moved so fast and was so vicious that it’s no mystery why people insisted it couldn’t happen here. After all, we’re not Italy, or China. Scientists knew better, and in January, warned that it was going to happen here. Trump called them alarmist. In February, health experts were sure the virus had been lurking in communities for a while and was spreading fast. Precious weeks passed and the federal government failed to take charge. Against scientists’ advice, Trump urged those with the virus to take an untested drug. What have you got to lose, he said. In the meantime, governors scrambled to prepare hospitals, issue stay-at-home orders, and figure out testing. This

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred efforts to control the spread of the virus through development of innovative digital contact tracing tools. In Singapore, Israel and India there is already an app for that. In Europe there’s debate between two competing frameworks, which have names that sound like Star Wars’ droids: PEPP-PT and DT-3T. And in the US, Apple and Google recently announced collaboration on a contact tracing feature that will eventually be integrated with updates to the mobile device operating system. Although providing promising solutions, these technologies are not without problems. First, the privacy protections for such systems need to be carefully scrutinized. The US currently does not have a general data protection law, like the EU's GDPR, that would permit government oversight and review of these contact tracing solutions. Second, contact tracing only works when a significant number of users opt-in and agree to use the technology. But there is no guarantee that

I clearly remember stories I heard as a kid from my older relatives about living through the Great Depression. The over-arching lesson I took from those accounts was this: unless you lived through it, you couldn’t truly understand what it was like. When I think of what life was like in the “Dirty 30s,” one image always comes to mind: Dorothea Lang’s “Migrant Mother,” taken in California in 1936 of Florence Thompson, a widow, with two of her seven kids huddled around her. Her look, complete with the 1,000-yard stare often associated with combat veterans, captures the quiet panic of a parent who cannot provide enough for her children. That look is also one of the fear and hopelessness of a victim of the economic system that betrayed her. She looked middle-aged 1936, but she was all of 32. As of April 24 th , close to 50,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, and 27 million have lost their jobs. On top of our catastrophe, we are sorely missing something Florence Thompson’s generation had:

If you have ever skimmed a self-help book, you will be familiar with the current trend to plan ahead, strategize and focus. In a world where so much seems beyond our control, they advise we channel our efforts into well-defined goals. Unfortunately, such advice never seems to take into account the Enrique Solares approach to life. Enrique Solares was my husband's uncle and a gifted musician. When, in 1936, he was awarded a scholarship to study music in Belgium, his father threated to disinherit him. As a founder of a successful pharmaceutical company in Guatemala, Enrique's father was adamant that he abandon music and dedicate himself to the family firm. On the boat to Europe, he met a young Czech actress. Two days later the captain married them, so when he arrived in Brussels, he was not only disinherited and almost penniless, but he had a young wife in tow when Europe was on the cusp of World War II. As Viera would confess later: "most people would think we were foolish". And

As you listen to or read this essay, you will be celebrating the beginning of a brand-new month. But it is being written and recorded on another milestone -- the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. I was present for the very first one, as a student at the University of Illinois. Seminars, programs, speeches and leaflets urged the protection of our environment and an appreciation of the outdoors. For me, that appreciation would continue for a lifetime. This was the era of the "back to the land" movement and Mother Earth News. REI and Backpacker Magazine. Community cleanups and widespread tree planting. I would be fortunate enough to acquire a small hobby farm in Northern Wisconsin, if only for a few years. I often think about that property and can imagine in my mind how the land has changed, and how it hasn't. I will celebrate today not only by getting outdoors, but also by revisiting some of my favorite outdoor writers: Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, and Sigurd Olson. Their thoughts are

The five southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala together consume as much as 45 per cent of all liquor sold in the country, the report by Crisil said. While Tamil Nadu and Kerala top the list in revenue percentage terms at 15 per cent each, for Kerala the tax on liquor is its single largest revenue source.

Pernod Ricard, estimated to have revenues of Rs 21,000 crore in India in 2019-20 on sale of around 55 million cases, sells imported brands such as Chivas Regal, ABSOLUT, Glenlivet and Jameson, apart from the locally-made large-selling ones such as Royal Stag, Blenders Pride, and 100 Pipers.

There is a lot of deal activity because businesses are looking for capital.

Russia has imported leather and footwear worth USD 3.9 billion in 2018, and India's exports to that country stood at only USD 52.6 million, said Panaruna Aqeel Ahmed, chairman of Council for Leather Exports (CLE).

“We have bagged a multi-million dollar order from the Ministry of Defence to make rucksacks for the Indian army. It is an unchartered territory but creating an ideal rucksack for an Indian jawaan who spends maximum time outdoors in challenging terrain will be good learning. The order will be executed next year,” said Siddharth Sood, cofounder of Wildcraft India.

“Sales in all divisions in the second half of December were also impacted to some extent due to forced store closures due to the protests in the North East and in many other parts of the country,” the company said in a stock exchange filing on Saturday.

The watchmaker will form a development centre in Hyderabad with HUG in hardware, firmware, software and cloud technology and has appointed the company's founder Raj Neravati to head technology for wearables at Titan Company.

The elderly Viv notices our presence and invites us to sit in her kitchen, right there in front of her, where she can see us. Thus began the interactive video experience “The Visit“, born from the collaboration of the artist →

Duke University Press, ISBN-13: 978-0822368687, English, 288 pages, 2019, USA

Eidsheim starts this book by introducing ‘the acousmatic question’ (“who’s this, who’s speaking?”) to discuss the dichotomy between a sound and its source before and →

INTRO – The typical view of the path to musical success sends the enterprising young musician into one of our country’s media centers… New York or L.A. For the members of Asheville’s The Broadcast, they’re taking a road less traveled in an effort to establish a musical career. George Olsen spoke with the band’s lead singer Caitlin Krisko and has this. I’ve long jokingly said that I’m still deciding what it is I want to be when I grow up. At 50+, the joke is getting old… as am I, for that matter. Still, there’s some truth behind the joke, which may be why I’ve always had a deep respect for anyone who determines what it is they want to be and pursue it doggedly with no doubt, no regrets. Among those now with my deep respect… Caitlin Krisko and her band mates in the band The Broadcast. “And being in NYC we realized financially speaking we couldn’t afford to do that. We couldn’t afford to pay our rent and be on the road 150 days a year without spraining our back trying to get people to

INTRO – The Triangle’s Red Clay Ramblers have been involved in a number of artistic collaborations … with Academy Award and Pulitzer Prize nominated playwright and actor Sam Shepard for two of his films and one off-Broadway play and with the late Doug Marlette on the musical based on his comic strip Kudzu, amongst others. Another collaboration took the band away from stage and screen into a different realm, and about nine years after its debut the music is now available on CD. George Olsen talked with Bland Simpson of the Red Clay Ramblers and has this. The latest CD from the Triangle’s Red Clay Ramblers “Carolina Jamboree” plays out as somewhat of a “greatest hits” CD … the bulk of the material spans the band’s 40+ career from the early 1970s to present day. And the band has performed the entirety of the “Carolina Jamboree” CD multiple times for multiple audiences. But the likelihood that the crowd was laser-focused on the band is doubtful … given all else that was going on. “And when

“While we are yet to feel the pressure in products sourced from third-party suppliers, there are shortages in Apple’s original accessories,” said one of the re-sellers of the American brand in an upmarket store at Gurgaon.

The decision was taken in the 39th GST Council meeting chaired by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The move was made to correct the inverted duty structure. ​

There's no better game to play with friends than "Super Smash Bros." And it's about to get even better.

Pokemon is the most successful and lucrative video game franchise in the world, second only to Mario.

King Digital Entertainment Plc, owner of Candy Crush, has signed an exclusive licensing deal with Mumbai-based Dream Theatre, to license and sell Candy Crush branded products across South Asia.

Rovio’s India head also said that the company wants to have its own retail store where it can sell Angry Birds merchandise such as shirts and stuffed toys.

Many people assume that the videogame seller will go the route of book, music, and video stores, reports Joshua Brustein at Bloomberg Businessweek.

Free download of Can't Trust the News from Enter the Haggis ' new CD "The Modest Revolution", currently featured on The Sound.

Free download of Superman Blues from the Kentucky Headhunters with Johnnie Johnson 's new CD "Meet Me in Bluesland", currently featured on The Sound. Find out more about the artist here .

Free download of You Ain't Got the Heart from the CD Roll With It by the Coffis Brothers & the Mountain Men , currently featured on The Sound. Find out more about the artist here .

Free download of This is True from the CD True by the Elders , currently featured on The Sound. Find out more about the artist here.