Notes and Highlights of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear’s Live Update September 24, 2020
Notes by mr_tyler_durden and Daily Update Team
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Headlines

• 64,158 Cases (+745), 1,137 Deaths (+13)
• New cases by county: 124x Jefferson, 86x Fayette, 58x Christian, 39x Warren, 28x Barren, 23x Franklin, 23x Laurel, 18x Hardin, 16x Madison, 11x Bullitt, 11x Kenton, 10x Daviess, 10x Pulaski, 10x Woodford, 9x Estill, 9x Whitley, 8x Calloway, 8x Jackson, 8x Montgomery, 8x Muhlenberg, 7x Boyd, 7x Boyle, 7x Breckinridge, 7x Carter, 7x Letcher, 7x Marshall, 7x Meade, 7x Oldham, 6x Allen, 6x Harlan, 6x Knott, 6x Spencer, 5x Greenup, 5x Henderson, 5x Hopkins, 5x McCracken, 5x Pike, 5x Rowan, 5x Shelby, 5x Wayne, 4x Boone, 4x Caldwell, 4x Campbell, 4x Floyd, 4x Graves, 4x Logan, 4x McCreary, 4x Russell, 4x Union, 3x Clay, 3x Grayson, 3x Jessamine, 3x Lincoln, 3x Livingston, 3x Mercer, 3x Nelson, 3x Pendleton, 3x Simpson, 2x Anderson, 2x Bourbon, 2x Clark, 2x Elliott, 2x Hart, 2x Knox, 2x Lyon, 2x Metcalfe, 2x Morgan, 2x Scott, 2x Taylor, 2x Trimble, 1x Adair, 1x Ballard, 1x Cumberland, 1x Edmonson, 1x Fleming, 1x Fulton, 1x Garrard, 1x Grant, 1x Green, 1x Harrison, 1x Hickman, 1x Larue, 1x Lawrence, 1x Magoffin, 1x Marion, 1x Martin, 1x Owen, 1x Perry, 1x Powell, 1x Webster, 1x Wolfe
• New deaths by county: 97 F Jefferson, 69 M Warren, 96 F Fayette, 82 M Perry, 97 M Warren, 88 M Warren, 84 F Warren, 62 F Warren, 97 F Bell, 94 F Warren, 89 F Warren, 86 F Christian, 90 F Jefferson
• Alright, what do you think about including or not including University cases in considering community spread? -- You know I believe a university is a part of a community. Those kids go to restaurants, they go to bars, they go to different places in the community. Now, there is a challenge here, and it's one that we've got to discuss and it especially impacts where I went to school, Fayette County Public Schools. Right now, UK has so many cases that it may push Fayette County red, and if UK stays open and continues to have those amount of cases, they could potentially keep it red and then you've got Fayette County Public Schools saying “Wait. No, we need a, we need a community spread that our kids can go to school” that is a real issue. I talked to the superintendent about it the other day and we're continuing to have discussions. I talked to Mayor Gordon about it as well. And the answer, can't be “the university cases just don't count” because they are in the community. The question is how we can make sure we're taking the right steps so K-12 students don't miss out on opportunities because of other decisions. But this also makes us rise up, elevate our thinking, that it's more than just the institution or institutions we serve, it's the communities around us that can be impacted.
• You have recently loosen some restrictions on visitations for long term care homes, is there any discussion about loosening in-person visitations for state inmates?-- The question is, given that we have loosened restrictions on visitation for long term care facilities, is their discussion on loosening it for inmates? There is discussion, it hasn't moved beyond any of those stages yet, so we don't have any step to announce, nor should it suggest that we're going to have a step to announce but it is being discussed, understanding that people very much especially in that situation rely on those personal interactions.
• Governor, are you still looking at the release of your guidance on Trick or Treating by the end of the week? -- We are still working on releasing our guidance for Halloween. And, part of that's everything going on at the moment. But the other part is trying to find a safe way to do it, given the CDC said “don't do trick or treating at all.” And so we still want to give our kids an opportunity, and we're trying to figure out what that opportunity can be. You know, Halloween, I used to say my kids look forward to that 364 days a year, they're a little bit older now, I will again reiterate though- No adult parties, no block parties, that's something that we can't do and if you do that we can't try to create a trick or treating experience because then we brought even more people together in a close area.
• The churches and civic groups that do those trunk or treating in parking lots. That would be ok? -- So one one option that we're looking at is to have civic groups do things outside in a way to where kids can get individually wrapped, you know bags would be better, if you think about it like some people give out birthday parties, at the end. And having our civic groups step up to do that in a safe way that they have really thought through, is one of the best ways we believe that that there could be that experience, but again we don't want to bring a whole bunch of people inside for it, either. COVID makes everything, not difficult but can make everything dangerous and it seems to attack the things that we like and love the most.
• Slides from Update

Full Notes

• Alright, It is 4pm, that time we provide our update on our battle against COVID-19, each and every day. Today, I'm representing the Caywood Comets, this is a school in the Kenton County School District. I know they are working to get back safely to the classroom. Now we're going to jump right into the report today, go pretty quickly open it up for questions.
• Positive cases today: 745
• Probable cases: 7,550
• Total confirmed cases: 64,158
• Children Under 18: 107 - Again, it seems like we are seeing a larger and larger and larger portion of positive cases being our young people.
• New cases by county: 124x Jefferson, 86x Fayette, 58x Christian, 39x Warren, 28x Barren, 23x Franklin, 23x Laurel, 18x Hardin, 16x Madison, 11x Bullitt, 11x Kenton, 10x Daviess, 10x Pulaski, 10x Woodford, 9x Estill, 9x Whitley, 8x Calloway, 8x Jackson, 8x Montgomery, 8x Muhlenberg, 7x Boyd, 7x Boyle, 7x Breckinridge, 7x Carter, 7x Letcher, 7x Marshall, 7x Meade, 7x Oldham, 6x Allen, 6x Harlan, 6x Knott, 6x Spencer, 5x Greenup, 5x Henderson, 5x Hopkins, 5x McCracken, 5x Pike, 5x Rowan, 5x Shelby, 5x Wayne, 4x Boone, 4x Caldwell, 4x Campbell, 4x Floyd, 4x Graves, 4x Logan, 4x McCreary, 4x Russell, 4x Union, 3x Clay, 3x Grayson, 3x Jessamine, 3x Lincoln, 3x Livingston, 3x Mercer, 3x Nelson, 3x Pendleton, 3x Simpson, 2x Anderson, 2x Bourbon, 2x Clark, 2x Elliott, 2x Hart, 2x Knox, 2x Lyon, 2x Metcalfe, 2x Morgan, 2x Scott, 2x Taylor, 2x Trimble, 1x Adair, 1x Ballard, 1x Cumberland, 1x Edmonson, 1x Fleming, 1x Fulton, 1x Garrard, 1x Grant, 1x Green, 1x Harrison, 1x Hickman, 1x Larue, 1x Lawrence, 1x Magoffin, 1x Marion, 1x Martin, 1x Owen, 1x Perry, 1x Powell, 1x Webster, 1x Wolfe
• Total tests conducted: 1,301,407 (PCR: 1,226,385, Serology: 52,994)
• Positivity Rate: 4.57%
• Total hospitalized: 5,119
• Currently hospitalized: 543
• Total in ICU: 1,499
• Currently in ICU: 122
• On a ventilator: 71
• Total recovered: 11,570
• New deaths today: 13
• Total Deaths: 1,137
• New deaths by county: 97 F Jefferson, 69 M Warren, 96 F Fayette, 82 M Perry, 97 M Warren, 88 M Warren, 84 F Warren, 62 F Warren, 97 F Bell, 94 F Warren, 89 F Warren, 86 F Christian, 90 F Jefferson
• Toughest part of today's report: 13 new deaths. These are 13 individuals whose families will be mourning them. It's a hard number for any given day, 13 individuals, and note on here's a friend of mine from Northern Kentucky that I just learned about an hour and a half ago had passed away after a multi-month battle with COVID-19. Remember this virus is very real and it's still out there. So let's make sure that we light our homes up green. We ring those bells at 10am, and that we try to reach out to these families that may be needing help or other families that while they might not have had somebody passed away, may be suffering from food insecurity, you may be worried about a child in that household, there may be a domestic violence situation, let's make sure that we are thinking about what we can do for others who need our help at all times during this virus. This is a time that takes more compassion than any in my lifetime and that's with every challenge we face right now. So, let's remember that. We've got to listen to each other. We've got to help each other. And every day that we have a lot of cases, 745 today. We know that they're going to result in a lot of deaths. Thankfully, our mortality rate continues to creep down, but still higher the volume of the cases, the more Kentuckians we lose. So let's make sure we wear that mask, we socially distance, we cut our contacts down, we do what it takes.
• Racial breakdown of all cases: 80.10% Caucasian, 11.88% Black or African-American, 1.62% Asian, 5.90% Multiracial
• Ethnicity breakdown of all cases: 89.08% non-Hispanic and 10.92% Hispanic
• Racial breakdown of all deaths: 83.27% Caucasian, 12.98% Black or African-American, 1.15% Asian, 2.60% Multiracial
• Ethnicity breakdown of all deaths: 96.41% non-Hispanic and 3.59% Hispanic
• Long Term Care Facilities (PDF): 40 new residents and 37 new staff positive from yesterday, and 14 more deaths, 3 new facilities.
  • Total facilities: 332
  • Total deaths: 647
  • Active cases: 573 residents, 421 staff
  • Total cases: 4171 residents, 2754 staff
• K-12 Update (PDF): 166 new students and 59 new faculty/staff positive from yesterday, 177 new schools.
  • Total facilities: 527
  • Active cases: 577 students, 288 faculty/staff
  • Total cases: 956 students, 342 faculty/staff
• K-12 schools, a big jump here as you all know, I think we have close to seven high school football teams that are under quarantine multiple other sports, we are seeing a significant number of cases, some that we wouldn't have known about but for a different injury. You can get our full report online, remember it is behind the news that you would get. And coming up on Monday is when every school has to report to that dashboard that will go live on that Monday with a school having to update that every day so people should be able to get, not in real time, but every day, an update of what the situation is in their school, and in surrounding schools
• University Update (PDF): 33 new students and 0 new faculty/staff positive from yesterday, 8 new facilities
  • Total facilities: 58
  • Active cases: 1395 students, 45 faculty/staff
  • Total cases: 2919 students, 84 faculty/staff
• Before we open it up for questions. one I mentioned, the two LMPD officers last night that were shot. They are LMPD major Aubrey Gregory, he has been released from the hospital, I got a chance to talk to him personally last night. He was surrounded by family and friends, he's going to have a full recovery at least to my knowledge. The other is officer Robin, and I think it's this Desroches? and I apologize to him if I mispronounced his last name- he is stable and recovering, I talked to his mom last night- during a period where they were still working to ensure his stability. I want to condemn this act of violence in the most stark terms, it is absolutely wrong. And the answer to violence can never be violence. And we want to make sure that these individuals that were out there last night and will be out there again tonight are safe. And we need to ensure that any type of activity or demonstrations remain non-violent and remain peaceful. We have to understand just one person can mar something that otherwise is done the right way. And that means we need to make sure those around us are also doing things the right way.
• Alright. With that, we'll open it up to, to questions started over here yesterday I think Shelby we'll start with you.

QUESTIONS

• President Trump tweeted and said he spoke to you, can you give us some insight into the conversation with him? -- Right. So, last night after I learned of the injuries to our two law enforcement officers I returned to the Capital where I was here for several hours ensuring that they were okay, that we had the situation under control. Talked to the Mayor, talked to the Chief of Police, talked to one of the individuals that had been shot and then the family members of the other, also talked to the President of the United States, who initiated the call. His comments were that it appeared that we had things under control. He did make an offer, if at a later point we needed additional assistance, he would provide it. But, he stated and I agree that at this time we have appropriate levels of law enforcement or peacekeepers there, and that if necessary, we have the ability on the state level, to increase that level of support. It was a good call. I appreciate him, making it.
• For tonight, what is the level of National Guard troops that are available in Louisville? -- The question is, how are we preparing for tonight? What's the number of National Guard troops in Louisville? We're not going to disclose the number, that's part of the operational security of those individuals, we will again be conducting limited missions, that are there for public safety and to protect critical infrastructure, like our hospitals. We will adjust accordingly to ensure our people are safe and we can keep other people safe. I want to say again that presence is in no way intended to stifle people's first amendment rights to give voice to any anger, frustration; but it is there to both keep people safe and ensure things, like our hospitals, can continue to operate when last night they were absolutely needed for these two officers and for those that might be suffering from COVID, or other injuries. It's important that those that do want to give voice, and do want to do that outside and in Louisville, do so before the curfew. And I would ask everyone to respect that curfew, the curfew is being applied to anyone that is out, I know that it was applied last night to one of the militia groups that showed up as well. And remember that those and other groups are also in the city, and I'm not sure it's them but there are always individuals that might want to turn something that is peaceful into something that's not, that may just like everybody, including law enforcement and demonstrators, and we got to make sure that that that that we don't allow that to happen. And that does take a sufficient presence, which will be out tonight.
• You have recently loosen some restrictions on visitations for long term care homes, is there any discussion about loosening in-person visitations for state inmates?-- The question is, given that we have loosened restrictions on visitation for long term care facilities, is their discussion on loosening it for inmates? There is discussion, it hasn't moved beyond any of those stages yet, so we don't have any step to announce, nor should it suggest that we're going to have a step to announce but it is being discussed, understanding that people very much especially in that situation rely on those personal interactions.
• Governor, given the indictment yesterday, does this give you any more impetus to equip the KSP with the body cameras?-- Now the question is, given the indictments yesterday. Is it any more impetus for KSP and body cameras? I mean that's a question we absolutely have to address, as we see more and more law enforcement out there wearing them. We've got to talk with the Kentucky State Police about it, I believe that body cameras can protect an officer, or in this case it would be a trooper, as much as anything else. I can tell you, aside from some of these tragic situations where body camera footage is needed just to know what happened, in many instances there can be complaints against an officer or trooper that if you have the body camera footage, you can dismiss them pretty quickly. Remember these sometimes are heated exchanges and sometimes having the video with that officer being professional, which is almost always the case, can be very helpful. The other thing that it can be is a tool, whereby supervisors can ensure that people are following the training they've had. I remember being in Washington DC for a national Attorney General's Association meeting and the then chief of the DC police, she talked about how she would take that footage home and watch it and see that there were instances- She talked about one domestic violence situation where one of the officers turned their back. Now, that wasn't anything between the individuals, but could have compromised their safety. And so it was a check on different ways that she thought that she could use to improve the department. I am for body cameras where appropriate, there are some instances where I don't think that they would be, based on the particular mission of that individual unit.
• I want to ask about some comments you made on MSNBC earlier today in regards to your request for the Attorney General to publish more information about the Breonna Taylor investigation online. You said the release of those details wouldn't impact the federal civil rights investigation. How is that possible to not impact that investigation by making some of those details public? -- So today, the question is on one of the cable news shows, I talked about how I believe that the Attorney General can release the information from his criminal investigation, without impacting the federal civil rights investigation. I believe that there are very different investigations that set out to determine very different things, I don't think a ballistics report, for instance, is going to have an impact on a civil rights investigation. And if they believe that it does, I think that that the federal prosecutors can come forward and explain the specifics of that; but at this point with the Attorney General saying he is not pursuing certain things, then I believe it makes it appropriate to provide the facts, the information, the evidence, and It's about trusting the people of Kentucky. I trust them, that if they have all the facts, the evidence, and maybe some explanation, if needed, that they can process it. And I know the Attorney General talks about the truth, and I talk about the truth, I think we ought to let the people of Kentucky see all of that, evaluate, and come to the truth. I believe that it is fully appropriate to do at this point in time, I've been a prosecutor, I withheld judgment on that until we've reached the stage but at this point, put it all online. Put everything that would not impact, now there has been one indictment with three charges in it, put everything online that wouldn't impact that and that's really about apparently shooting into a different apartment building, and let people see it, and it's been done in other places. It was done several months later in Ferguson; it's been done by other prosecutors; it's an attempt to be transparent. And I've seen firsthand, that when you are willing to be transparent with the people of Kentucky, they will look at the information, they will try to understand the decisions you've made, they may disagree, but at least it's not a vacuum, where different emotions, or theories, or others can come into play. I'm sorry we made you wait, is it John? Okay, welcome.
• I had a question for you about coronavirus: cases are higher now than earlier in pandemic when we've had more severe restrictions. But over the past two months those restrictions have been rolled back a little bit. So, I'm just curious to know, you know what would it take for you to include new restrictions for the things like public gatherings and things that you had earlier? -- So the question is with us now being at a higher level of total cases than we were earlier, but obviously we've gotten better at treating when we look at it, we also follow our hospital data, and right now I would say we are at a place where we can handle more cases than previously. We're also testing more to find more people who have it and that's a good thing, but you are right and that with loosening restrictions, that means people have more contacts, and we will see the virus spread more. What it would take for me to implement new restrictions would be what we saw when we had to cut restaurants for a period of time, and bars, and that is a proof of, or indications of, a real escalation. And not something that might be, you know, kind of up and down- and remember, our plateaus aren't entirely flat, and not something just very gradual where it'll take a couple weeks to see, but if we started seeing what looked like an escalation especially one, that looks like it could turn into a severe escalation like we saw in Florida and Arizona, once you start seeing that curve, that's when we would take additional action, that's when the White House would ask us to take additional action. And they're keeping track like we are, we use somewhat different data but we're in about the same place right now in that, mainly what we need people to do is be a little bit better, more people wearing the mask [holds up mask] and the white house again says we not only should have a mask mandate but I should be encouraging it every day, engaging in that social distancing, and remember, moderation, and not moderation like we had before March, but moderation in, on the same day if you're going to work, and going to the gym, and going to dinner that's just too many contacts. We got to spread them out. And make sure that those gatherings, which we still have that 10 person limit, we keep at that level. We do see a lot of spread and those. It's not necessarily backyard barbecue but it's house parties and as it gets colder and people drive inside that's going to be more important than ever.
• So many parents are at home helping their children with virtual school but history is unfolding outside. How can they explain what is happening to their children? -- The question is with so many kids at home but history going on outside, how do they explain what's happening to their children? First, I was worried I was going to be a little late, because I was dealing with sixth grade geometry, with my son Will. Being governor doesn't stop your obligations, nor your duty as a parent. And boy, we certainly appreciate our teachers, when we're asked to step up and take a bigger role. I think that parents need to be able to have age-appropriate conversations with their children, and that they ought to be based in values, about the type of world that we think we should have, about true dignity for all people, about the fact that I believe that God calls on us to build a world that is free of inequities and oppression and racism. And then need to be able to talk to their kids about our country's history and the fact that we have had to make changes and take strides and many points in our history, and right now that we're being called on to do more. You know it's a conversation with what's going on there and also with what's going on in COVID-19 that's going to shape so much. But I'd like to think that every challenge gives us an opportunity to build a better day, and maybe to raise better people. Part of that calls on us to recognize what we're living through, both the pandemic and calls for a more equitable society, and then to make sure we're instilling the right values in our kids. And I just remind people, because I have to remind myself, that our kids are always listening, and my kids are always hiding behind the door listening to everything. And so, we got to really make sure in our heart and in our mind, we're not just saying the right things, but we believe them. And if we start feeling ways that we think “Wait a minute, I shouldn't” I mean that's the time that we're called on to be a little better. And so much of what we see, because we are inside, is on Facebook and Twitter which, I mean, it's turned into poison in so many ways, let's remember that if we're writing something down that contains hate or anger or making enemies out of one another, our kids are gonna read that one day too. And maybe if we write it, we ought to look at it, we outta realize that we need to change too, and be a little better, and maybe we just need to turn it off entirely.
• Alright, what do I think about including or not including University cases in considering community spread? -- You know I believe a university is a part of a community. Those kids go to restaurants, they go to bars, they go to different places in the community. Now, there is a challenge here, and it's one that we've got to discuss and it especially impacts where I went to school, Fayette County Public Schools. Right now, UK has so many cases that it may push Fayette County red, and if UK stays open and continues to have those amount of cases, they could potentially keep it red and then you've got Fayette County Public Schools saying “Wait. No, we need a, we need a community spread that our kids can go to school” that is a real issue. I talked to the superintendent about it the other day and we're continuing to have discussions. I talked to Mayor Gordon about it as well. And the answer, can't be “the university cases just don't count” because they are in the community. The question is how we can make sure we're taking the right steps so K-12 students don't miss out on opportunities because of other decisions. But this also makes us rise up, elevate our thinking, that it's more than just the institution or institutions we serve, it's the communities around us that can be impacted.
• What’s your reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling that historical corporations are gambling devices are essentially no different than slot machines and illegal. -- The Supreme Court today ruled that certain types of instant racing games are not parimutuel, and therefore, I believe that they believe that they were unlawful. I will tell you that I believe that decision, while not criticizing the legal aspects of it, not having analyzed it, is devastating for so many Kentucky jobs, for the horse industry, and for the budget, the state budget, which it adds about $21M to every year and that's growing. So, I've already begun discussions with various partners about finding a path forward. We've now had this in the Commonwealth for several years, we have not seen the ills that people claim would come from it, coming from it. There is widespread gaming, much more than this over just about every single one of our borders right now. If it's going to take a legislative change we need to make the legislative change to keep our horse industry competitive but to keep our Commonwealth competitive. Listen, we need a lot more types of gaming to compete with those around us. I mean, Indiana, using our money to build the roads, and other states around us, Missouri, they can pay for their health care costs. And in this period of COVID-19, revenue from those sources, for the most part, hasn't gone down or not nearly as much once things reopened. And so we're gonna find ourselves at not being competitive in what is otherwise a free market that's out there. And so I hope that we will get the necessary changes to move forward, and when we make them, I hope that maybe we can make a lot more.
• Jesse Jackson just called for athletes to boycott the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville, and other economic boycotts in Louisville over the grand jury not deciding How do you respond to that? -- I'm told that Jesse Jackson has asked athletes to boycott UK/UofL because of the grand jury decision. I respect Reverend Jackson, but they didn't have any control, UK or UofL, over what the grand jury did. I believe that they are trying, through programs and efforts, to build a better world. And so while I very much respect Reverend Jackson, I don't agree with a boycott of those that have had no control over this. Now, what I do think we ought to do is see all the information. I think the Attorney General can post it online, if he if there is some that needs to be held back because of the one indictment then that's a discussion and an explanation he can provide, but it's time to give the information. And I think that if he did this call for a boycott wouldn't have happened yet because I think everybody would be sitting down, and would be trying to process the true facts and evidence that's out there, and I think everybody benefits from the truth.
• Governor Holcomb in Indiana has issued an order that beginning Saturday, all restaurants and bars can fully open in Indiana. Do you have anything that's, you know, in the works for our bars and restaurants here in Kentucky? -- So I haven't seen, it's apparently an order from Holcomb further opening bars and restaurants, that's something I'll have to talk to him about. With us just about to start opening schools, we've got to get that done first concern, or any other capacities.
• Let's see this is wanting a response to this quote about AG releasing more info: “We appreciate governor Beshear’s team providing assistance to our office in the Commonwealth over the last few days in preparation for yesterday's announcement. However, releasing that information would compromise the federal investigation and violate a prosecutor, prosecutors ethical duties.” -- We did work well with the attorney general's office in communication leading up to it. I don't have an argument there. I've tried not to criticize the other parts, having not seen the file myself, but I've been a prosecutor, and I've been in that role and if you are no longer pursuing those charges there is not a duty, there is not a jury, that you could compromise. There is no criminal investigation there that you can compromise and so I do not think there can be a violation of those duties. I'm not the only one in my office, I have the former Deputy Attorney General and a former district judge, and he agrees too. I just, I don't agree with, with that view other prosecutors have done it. Let's just put it out there and let people see it.
• Do you feel like the nine o'clock curfew is actually effective at minimizing the tension in Louisville in regards to the protests that are happening out there. -- The question is on the 9pm curfew in Louisville, and I think it’s necessary. I know a lot of people may not like it but as we see that the nights go further along there is just more of an opportunity for, for those that would want to incite violence, or take advantage of an opportunity, and I believe that it's necessary. But remember, it applies to everybody. And so for instance, these groups that claim that they are keeping the peace that are heavily armored, walking around Louisville with, what I understand is, no tactical training at all, and no specific mission, it makes them go home too. And from somebody that has dealt with them firsthand I think then going home is a really good idea. I just don't think that they ought to show up in Louisville, in the first place.
• We mentioned schools just now and I wanted to ask, are we still on track to have the successful real thing that you're envisioning and are there any trends that could put that at risk that you guys have spotted? -- (Can we, if we do have the incident map for today, James if we don't, that's okay.) Every day we update our incident rate map on http://kyCOVID19.ky.gov/. What that shows is we have many counties that are in the yellow, or the green, that are we think in a good position to start some in-person class activities. We have others in the orange that need to be careful. And small groups would be best, a hybrid model after that. And then we have those in the red- that I do not think should be starting in person class and if they are in in-person class, they ought to move to virtual until they can move out of the red. I believe that in many places there can be a successful reopening but what a successful reopening is in COVID doesn't look like what it did before. It's our kids in masks all day long, because that's going to be required to lessen the spread, it's going to be fewer kids in a classroom, it may be them not being there as many hours of the day. But it is more direct interaction with their teachers, which we know is important. But the other thing is we got to be fluid, and we got to be flexible. We have seen, as we've been here, that there are counties that will have very few cases and then boom, you know 60, 90, 100 in just a couple days or over a week. And so we got to understand that you could even be in the green or in the yellow and by this time next week you could be in the red and you got to be prepared to move from that in-person back to NTI and then come back again. The two things we got to continue to defeat this virus is to be strong, to have the endurance to do this, as long as it takes. But number two, to be flexible, and knowing the conditions on the ground in your county, and your area can change really quickly so we've got to be able to change our approach.
• I'll do one more set if you all have them, let's see, Did I respond to the President's offer for federal assistance to respond to the protests? -- The president and I agreed that right now we had sufficient assets, didn't need that help, and again, it was a positive conversation about what was already in place.
• Last week, nursing homes were given federal guidelines saying they could resume indoor visits, and now if they're in a red zone, that county’s in a red cell, how does that affect them? Who do they follow the state or federal?-- On nursing home visits, The or long term care facilities, they have to follow the state guidelines that have been put out there. We think that they are very reasonable following the incident rate map as well. And I think it also allows our communities to know how safe or unsafe, it could be. You know, just because someone tells you you can do something, sometimes you shouldn't do something and this also gives more information to two family members. I know so many Kentuckians that will choose not to go see somebody in-person at different times because they love them. And that's a hard thing to grasp that you wouldn't see somebody in person because you love them, but you don't want to have even that potential of exposing them, depending on what you do. And you might want to think about it, depending on on your regular day and how many people you come into contact with. If you've got a job that has significant contact with other people, again you might want to be more careful.

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Figuring out how to divide the COVID-19 content from the “regular” news has been difficult because the pandemic is influencing all aspects of life. Some of the stories below involve the virus, but I chose to include them when it fits into one of the pre-established categories (like congress or immigration). The coronavirus-central post will be made again this Thursday-Friday; the sign up form now has an option to choose to receive an email when the coronavirus-focused roundup is posted.
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Let’s dig in!

MAIN COURSE

Congress passes stimulus

Last week started out with a Republican-crafted stimulus bill that was twice-blocked by Senate Democrats, who objected to the lax conditions of aid to corporations, too little funding for hospitals, and a $500 billion “slush fund” for big companies to be doled out by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin with no oversight.
Conservative-Democrat Joe Manchin (WV) even criticized the GOP bill:

“It fails our first responders, nurses, private physicians and all healthcare professionals. ... It fails our workers. It fails our small businesses… Instead, it is focused on providing billions of dollars to Wall Street and misses the mark on helping the West Virginians that have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.”

Through negotiations, Democrats shifted the bill in a more-worker friendly direction. The version that passed includes the following Democrat-added provisions: expanded unemployment benefits, $100 billion for hospitals, $150 billion for state and local governments, direct payments to Americans without a phase-in (ensuring low-income workers get the full amount), a ban on Trump and his children from receiving aid, and oversight on the “slush fund” (see next section for more info). Senate Democrats also managed to remove a provision that would have excluded nonprofits that receive Medicaid funding from the small-business grants.

• Further reading: After Senate Democrats blocked the Republican-crafted bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi led the House Democrats in releasing their own version, a best-case scenario of their dream coronavirus stimulus bill. It is interesting to contrast what the Democrats prioritized to what the Republicans focused on: “How the House Democrats' stimulus plan compares to the Senate's”

Echoing sentiments expressed during debate on the previous coronavirus bill (the second, for those keeping track), Republican senators derided the $600 a week increase in unemployment payments as “incentivizing” workers to quit their jobs. Sens. Ben Sasse (Neb.), Rick Scott (Fla.), Tim Scott (S.C.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) delayed passage of the bill in order to force a vote on an amendment removing the extra unemployment funding. "This bill pays you more not to work than if you were working," Graham said. Fortunately for American workers, the amendment failed and the improved bill passed the Senate and the House.

• Note: In 2009 only three Republicans helped Obama pass his stimulus bill in his first month in office.

The giveaways in the bill

While Senate Democrats were able to add worker-friendly provisions, the bill still required bipartisan support to pass the chamber and some corporate giveaways remained in the final version.

• NYT: “Senate Republicans inserted an easy-to-overlook provision on page 203 of the 880-page bill that would permit wealthy investors to use losses generated by real estate to minimize their taxes on profits from things like investments in the stock market. The estimated cost of the change over 10 years is $170 billion.”
  
• NYT: “...if a company owns multiple hotels, even if the overall hotel or restaurant chain has more than 500 employees — the limit to qualify for treatment as a small business — it will still be able to take advantage of the small-business benefits offered in the rescue package. ...The provision could benefit the Trump Organization, which operates a relatively small chain, with six hotels in the United States in cities including New York, Washington and Chicago.”
  

Politico:

• “A provision for the FDA to approve ‘innovative’ sunscreens—which would benefit L’Oreal, which has operations in Kentucky—appeared in the bill, which was steered in the Senate by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.”
  
• “The $25 billion allocated in loans and loan guarantees for the airlines will also benefit eligible businesses "approved to perform inspection, repair, replace, or overhaul services, and ticket agents.” The last two words — ‘ticket agents’ — mean that travel agents who book flights will also be able to apply for a piece of the $25 billion.”
  
• “The credit reporting industry got a win by defeating a total ban on negative credit reports during the crisis. Instead, a watered down version made it into the final bill: Consumers wouldn't get a negative credit report if they have an agreement with a lender to delay payments or make partial payments.”
  

Trump’s signing statement

While signing the latest coronavirus relief bill, the president also issued a signing statement undercutting the congressional oversight provision creating an inspector general to track how the administration distributes the $500 billion “slush fund” money.
The newly-created inspector general is legally required to audit loans and investments made through the fund and report to Congress his/her findings, including any refusal by the executive office to cooperate. In his signing statement, Trump wrote that his understanding of constitutional powers allows him to gag the special IG:

"I do not understand, and my Administration will not treat, this provision as permitting the [inspector general] to issue reports to the Congress without the presidential supervision required" by Article II of the Constitution.

The signing statement further suggests that Trump does not have to comply with a provision requiring that agencies consult with Congress before it spends or reallocates certain funds: "These provisions are impermissible forms of congressional aggrandizement with respect to the execution of the laws," the statement reads.
While some have said that Congress fell short in this instance, one Democratic Senate aide told Politico that Congress built in multiple layers of oversight, including “a review of other inspectors general and a congressional review committee charged with overseeing Treasury and the Federal Reserve's efforts to implement the law.”
Legal experts have pointed out that a signing statement is “without legal effect.” But that ignores the fact that oversight is not equal to enforcement. The problem, in my opinion, isn’t that Congress won’t be notified of any abuses of power by Trump. The problem is that congressional Republicans and the judiciary have largely failed to hold him accountable and enforce our laws even after learning of his abuses.

Concerns about the IG

Another potential weakness in the oversight structure is the inspector general position itself. The special inspector general for pandemic recovery, known by the acronym S.I.G.P.R., is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. As we’ve seen from Trump’s previous nominees, particularly judicial, many unqualified individuals have been confirmed. The Democrats will not have the power to stop the president and Mitch McConnell from jamming through a loyalist to fill the SIGPR role.

Former inspector general at the Justice Department Michael Bromwich: “The signing statement threatens to undermine the authority and independence of this new IG. The Senate should extract a commitment from the nominee that Congress will be promptly notified of any Presidential/Administration interference or obstruction.”

You may recall that Trump has already proven that he’s willing to interfere with the legally-mandated work of an inspector general. When the Ukraine whistleblower filed a complaint last year, the IG of the Intelligence Community, Michael Atkinson, investigated and determined the complaint to be “urgent” and “credible.” Atkinson wrote a report and gave it to Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire to hand over to Congress. However, the White House and DOJ interfered and instructed Maguire not to transmit the report to the Senate and House Intelligence Committees. Chairman Adam Schiff had to subpoena Maguire to turn over the report and testify before his committee.
Further, there are already five IG vacancies in agencies that have a critical role in responding to the pandemic. The Treasury itself has not had a permanent, Senate-confirmed IG for over eight months now, and Trump hasn’t nominated a replacement. The Treasury Dept. has taken a lead role in the coronavirus response, with Secretary Mnuchin handling most of the negotiating with Congress on Trump’s behalf. The fact that the lead agency doesn’t have IG oversight should be troublesome in itself; replicating the situation with a special IG doesn’t seem to be a promising solution.

• The other four coronavirus-related agencies without a permanent IG: Department of Health and Human Services’ IG has been vacant for nine months, Department of Defense’s IG has been vacant for four years, Department of Education’s IG has been vacant for one year, and Office of Personnel Management’s IG has been vacant for four years. Overall, there are twelve IG vacancies in the 37) presidentially-appointed offices.

UPDATE: The nation's inspectors general have appointed Glenn Fine, the Pentagon's acting IG, to lead the committee of IGs overseeing the coronavirus relief effort.

This is one of several oversight mechanisms built into the new law. They include:
A committee of IGs (now led by Fine), a new special IG (to be nominated by Trump), a congressional review panel (to be appointed by House/Senate leaders)

Direct payments

Included in the stimulus bill is a $1200 one-time direct payment for all Americans who made less than $75,000 in 2019 (less than $150,000 if couples filed jointly). More details can be found here. I have read that the Treasury will use 2018 information for those who have not filed yet this year, but I am not 100% sure that’ll happen.
Mnuchin has said that Americans can expect to receive the money within three weeks, but many experts expect that timetable to be pushed into late April. Additionally, that only applies to Americans who included direct deposit information on their 2019 tax returns. Those who did not include their bank’s information will have to be sent a physical check in the mail… which could take anywhere from two to four months.
Other options are being discussed, including partnering the Treasury Dept. with MasterCard and Visa to deliver prepaid debit cards. Venmo and Paypal are reportedly lobbying the government to be considered as a disbursement option.
Future payments?
House Speaker Pelosi is already planning another wave of direct payments to Americans, saying that the $1,200 is not enough to mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic: “I don’t think we’ve seen the end of direct payments.” Republicans, meanwhile, are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach, using the next couple of weeks to measure the impact of the $2 trillion bill passed last week.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy: “What concerns me is when I listen to Nancy Pelosi talk about a fourth package now, it’s because she did not get out of things that she really wanted...I’m not sure you need a fourth package...Let’s let this work ... We have now given the resources to make and solve this problem. We don’t need to be crafting another bill right now.”
For the fourth legislative package, Democrats have said they would like to see increased food stamp benefits; increased coverage for coronavirus testing, visits to the doctor and treatment; more money for state and local governments, including Washington, D.C.; expanded family and medical leave; pension fixes; and stronger workplace protections.

Trump’s signature
Normally, a civil servant signs federal checks, like the direct payments Americans are set to receive. According to a Wall Street Journal report, Trump has told people that he wants his signature to appear on the stimulus checks.

THE SIDES

War on the poor continues

Amid the coronavirus crisis, Trump has defended his continued support of a Republican-led lawsuit to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which would result in 20 million Americans losing health insurance if successful. The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in the case this fall. Contrasting with his position that the ACA is illegal, Trump is considering reopening enrollment on HealthCare.gov, allowing millions of uninsured individuals to get coverage before potentially incurring charges and fees related to COVID-19.
Joe Biden called on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading the charge against the ACA, and President Trump to drop the lawsuit:

“At a time of national emergency, which is laying bare the existing vulnerabilities in our public health infrastructure, it is unconscionable that you are continuing to pursue a lawsuit designed to strip millions of Americans of their health insurance and protections under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the ban on insurers denying coverage or raising premiums due to pre-existing conditions.”

The Trump administration is also pushing forward with its plan to kick 700,000 people off federal food stamp assistance, known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). The USDA announced two weeks ago that the department will appeal Judge Beryl Howell’s recent decision that the USDA’s work mandate rule is “arbitrary and capricious."
Additionally: The Social Security Administration has no plans to slow down a rule change set for June that will limit disability benefits, the Department of Health and Human Services still intends to reduce automatic enrollment in health coverage, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development will continue the process to enact a rule that would make it harder for renters to sue landlords for racial discrimination.

Lawmakers’ stock transactions

The Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission are beginning to investigate stock transactions made ahead of the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. CNN reports that the inquiry has already reached out to Senator Richard Burr for information. “Under insider trading laws, prosecutors would need to prove the lawmakers traded based on material non-public information they received in violation of a duty to keep it confidential,” a task that won’t be easy.
Sen. Burr is facing another consequence of his trades: Alan Jacobson, a shareholder in Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, sued Burr for allegedly using private information to instruct a mass liquidation of his assets. Among the shares he sold were an up to $150,000 stake in Wyndham, whose stock suffered a market-value cut of more than two-thirds since mid-February.

Environmental rollbacks

Using the pandemic as cover, the Trump administration has begun to more aggressively roll back regulations meant to protect the environment. These are examples of what Naomi Klein dubbed “the shock doctrine”: the phenomenon wherein polluters and their government allies push through unpopular policy changes under the smokescreen of a public emergency.
On Thursday, the EPA announced (non-paywalled) an expansive relaxation of environmental laws and fines, exempting companies from consequences for pollution. Under the new rules, there are basically no rules. Companies are asked to “act responsibly” but are not required to report when their facilities discharge pollution into the air or water. Just five days before abandoning any pollution oversight, the oil industry’s largest trade group implored the administration for assistance, stating that social distancing measures caused a steep drop in demand for gasoline.

• Monday morning update: In an interview with Fox News this morning, Trump said he was going to call Putin after the interview to discuss the Saudi-Russia oil fight. A consequence of this "battle" has been plummeting prices in the U.S. making it difficult for domestic companies (like shale extraction) to turn a profit. It's striking that the day after Dr. Fauci told Americans we can expect 100,000 to 200,000 deaths from COVID-19 (if we keep social distancing measures in place), Trump's first action is to talk to Fox News and his second action is to intervene in an international tiff on behalf of the oil and gas industry.

Gina McCarthy, who led the E.P.A. under the Obama administration, called the rollback “an open license to pollute.” Cynthia Giles, who headed the EPA enforcement division during the Obama administration, said “it is so far beyond any reasonable response I am just stunned.”
The EPA is also moving forward with a widely-opposed rule to limit the types of scientific studies used when crafting new regulations or revising current ones. Hidden behind claims of increased transparency, the rule would require disclosure of all raw data used in scientific studies. This would disqualify many fields of research that rely on personal health information from individuals that must be kept confidential. For example, studies that show air pollution causes premature deaths or a certain pesticide is linked to birth defects would be rejected under the proposed rule change.
Officials and scientists are calling upon the EPA to extend the time for comment on the regulatory changes, arguing that the public is unable to express their opinion while dealing with the pandemic.

“These rollbacks need and deserve the input of our public health community, but right now, they are rightfully focused on responding to the coronavirus,” said Representative Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Other controversial decisions being made:

• A former EPA official who worked on controversial policies returned as Administrator Andrew Wheeler’s chief of staff. Mandy Gunasekara helped write regulations to ease pollution controls for coal-fired power plants and vehicle emissions in her previous role as chief of the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. In a recent interview, Gunasekara, who played a role in the decision to exit the Paris Climate Accord, pushed back on the more dire predictions of climate change, saying, “I don't think it is catastrophic.”
  
• NYT: The plastic bag industry, battered by a wave of bans nationwide, is using the coronavirus crisis to try to block laws prohibiting single-use plastic. “We simply don’t want millions of Americans bringing germ-filled reusable bags into retail establishments putting the public and workers at risk,” an industry campaign that goes by the name Bag the Ban warned on Tuesday. (Also see The Guardian)
  
• Kentucky, South Dakota, and West Virginia passed laws putting new criminal penalties on protests against fossil fuel infrastructure in just the past two weeks.
  
• The Hill: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday that it will extend the amount of time that winter gasoline can be sold this year as producers have been facing lower demand due to the coronavirus. It will allow companies to sell the winter-grade gasoline through May 20, whereas companies would have previously been required to stop selling it by May 1 to protect air quality. “In responding to an international health crisis, the last thing the EPA should do is take steps that will worsen air quality and undermine the public’s health,” biofuels expert David DeGennaro said.
  
• NYT: At the Interior Department, employees at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have been under strict orders to complete the rule eliminating some protections for migratory birds within 30 days, according to two people with direct knowledge of the orders. The 45-day comment period on that rule ended on March 19.
  
• WaPo: The Interior Department has received over 230 nominations for oil and gas leases covering more than 150,000 acres across southern Utah, a push that would bring drilling as close as a half-mile from some of the nation’s most famous protected sites, including Arches and Canyonlands National Parks… if all the fossil fuels buried in those sites was extracted and burned, it would translate into between 1 billion and 5.95 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide being released into the air. That upward measure is equal to half the annual carbon output of China
  

Court updates

Press freedom case
Southern District of New York District Judge Lorna Schofield ruled that a literary advocacy group’s lawsuit against Trump for allegedly violating the First Amendment can move forward. The group, PEN America, is pursuing claims that Trump “has used government power to retaliate against media coverage and reporters he dislikes.”
Schofield determined that PEN’s allegation that Trump made threats to chill free speech was valid, providing as an example the White House’s revocation of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta’s press press corps credentials:

”The threats are lent credence by the fact that Defendant has acted on them before, by revoking Mr. Acosta’s credentials and barring reporters from particular press conferences. The Press Secretary indeed e-mailed the entire press corps to inform them of new rules of conduct and to warn of further consequences, citing the incident involving Mr. Acosta… These facts plausibly allege that a motivation for defendant’s actions is controlling and punishing speech he dislikes.”

Twitter case
The president suffered another First Amendment defeat last week when the full 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals declined to review a previous ruling that prevents Trump from blocking users on the Twitter account he uses to communicate with the public. Judge Barrington D. Parker, a Nixon-appointee, wrote: “Excluding people from an otherwise public forum such as this by blocking those who express views critical of a public official is, we concluded, unconstitutional.”
Trump-appointees Michael Parker and Richard Sullivan authored a dissent, arguing the free speech “does not include a right to post on other people’s personal social media accounts, even if those other people happen to be public officials.” Park warned that the ruling will allow the social media pages of public officials to be “overrun with harassment, trolling, and hate speech, which officials will be powerless to filter.”
Florida’s felon voting
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ripped into Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration for failing to come up with a process to determine which felons are genuinely unable to pay court-ordered fees and fines, which are otherwise required to be paid before having their voting rights restored.
“If the state is not going to fix it, I will,” Hinkle warned. He had given the state five months to come up with an administrative process for felons to prove they’re unable to pay financial obligations, but Florida officials did not do so. The case is set to be heard on April 28 (notwithstanding any coronavirus-related delays).

ICE, Jails, and COVID-19

ICE
One of the most overlooked populations with an increased risk of death from coronavirus are those in detention facilities, which keep people in close quarters with little sanitation or protective measures (including for staff).
Last week, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ordered the federal government to “make continuous efforts” to release migrant children from detention centers across the country. Numerous advocacy groups asked for the release after reports that four children being held in New York had tested positive for the virus:

“The threat of irreparable injury to their health and safety is palpable,” the plaintiffs’ lawyers said in their petition… both of the agencies operating migrant children detention facilities must by April 6 provide an accounting of their efforts to release those in custody… “Her order will undoubtedly speed up releases,” said Peter Schey, co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the court case.

On Tuesday, 13 immigrants held at ICE facilities in California filed a lawsuit demanding to be released because their health conditions make them particularly vulnerable to dying if infected by the coronavirus. An ACLU statement says the detainees are “confined in crowded and unsanitary conditions where social distancing is not possible.” The 13 individuals are all over the age of 50 and/or suffering from serious underlying medical issues like high blood pressure.

“From all the evidence we have seen, ICE is failing to fulfill its constitutional obligation to protect the health and safety of individuals in its custody. ICE should exercise its existing discretion to release people with serious medical conditions from detention for humanitarian reasons,” said William Freeman, senior counsel at the ACLU of Northern California.

Meanwhile, ICE is under fire for continuing to shuttle detainees across the country, with one even being forced to take nine different flights bouncing from Louisiana to Texas to New Jersey less than two weeks ago. That man is Dr. Sirous Asgari, a materials science and engineering professor from Iran, who was acquitted last year on federal charges of stealing trade secrets. The government lost its case against him, yet ICE has had him in indefinite detention since November.

Asgari, 59, told the Guardian that his Ice holding facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, had no basic cleaning practices in place and continued to bring in new detainees from across the country with no strategy to minimize the threat of Covid-19...Detainees have no hand sanitizer, and the facility is not regularly cleaning bathrooms or sleeping areas…Detainees lack access to masks… Detainees struggle to stay clean, and the facility has an awful stench.

Jails
State jails are making a better effort to release detained individuals, as both New York and New Jersey ordered a thousand people in each state be let out of jail. The order applied only to low-level offenders sentenced to less than a year in jail and those held on technical probation violations. In Los Angeles County, officials released over 1,700 people from its jails.
A judge in Alabama took similar steps last week, ordering roughly 500 people jailed for minor offenses to be released to lessen crowding in facilities. Unlike in New York and New Jersey, however, local officials reacted in an uproar, led in part by the state executive committee for the Alabama Republican Party and Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson. Using angry Facebook messages as the barometer of the community’s feelings, Robinson worked “frantically” to block inmates from being released.

• Reuters: As of Saturday, at least 132 inmates and 104 staff at jails across New York City had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus… Since March 22, jails have reported 226 inmates and 131 staff with confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to a Reuters survey of cities and counties that run America’s 20 largest jails. The numbers are almost certainly an undercount given the fast spread of the virus.

Tribe opposed by Trump loses land

On Wednesday, The Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs announced the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe’s reservation would be "disestablished" and its land trust status removed. Tribal Chairman Cedric Cromwell called the move "cruel" and "unnecessary,” particularly coming in the midst of a pandemic crisis. Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), who last year introduced legislation to protect the tribe's reservation as trust land in Massachusetts, said the order “is one of the most cruel and nonsensical acts I have seen since coming to Congress.”
The administration’s decision is especially suspicious as just last year Trump attacked the tribe’s plan to build a casino on its land, tweeting that allowing the construction would be “unfair” and treat Native Americans unequally. As a former casino owner, Trump has spent decades attacking Native American casinos as unfair competition. At a 1993 congressional hearing Trump said that tribal owners “don’t look like Indians to me” and claimed: “I might have more Indian blood than a lot of the so-called Indians that are trying to open up the reservations” to gambling.
More than his past history, however, Trump has current interests at play in the Mashpee Wampanoag’s planned casino: it would have competed for business with nearby Rhode Island casinos owned by Twin River Worldwide Holdings, whose president, George Papanier, was a finance executive at the Trump Plaza casino hotel in Atlantic City.

In the Mashpee case, Twin River, the operator of the two Rhode Island casinos, has hired Matthew Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union and a vocal Trump supporter, to lobby for it on the land issue. Schlapp’s wife, Mercedes, is director of strategic communications at the White House.

If you haven't had time to listen to seven hours of podcast interviews, or you didn't retain everything you heard, here are some key points. I didn't think to do this until just now, so I'll be posting it as a work in progress and updating it throughout the afternoon. That way more people will have a chance to read up before the premiere.
Karishma Patel, 37, Personal Injury Trial Lawyer, Houston, TX -First generation Indian-American Her mom was as a legal assistant, and got her a filing job at her law firm when she was 14. "I didn't have other options. I was basically told I was going to be a lawyer and I didn't disagree."She has watched every season and regularly listens to RHAP. She sits close to the TV to study the inflections on people's faces when something is said to them, so that she can think about what that means. But, her parents and husband don't share her enthusiasm for the show. Asked if it's her dark pleasure she says, "It is completely bright. It is a beautiful pleasure of mine, but it is mine and mine only. I haven't been able to find people to share it with." -Doing the show has caused her conflict. "Not only is it not expected, it's not allowed. It's kind of like being a disobedient Indian girl. You're not supposed to be doing this. What you're supposed to be doing is having babies. But I don't care. I'm a risk taker. I'm here to prove to myself that I don't need to listen to anybody else. I don't need permission from anybody else. This is my journey and I'm going to take it. I hope that people watching out there can see that an Indian woman's value does not come from doing what she's told." -She doesn't currently have children, and she says she has some decisions to make as she enters a crossroads and the next stage of her life. -Her law firm told her they'll replace her if they're able to find someone, and she can have her job back if they don't. "I didn't flinch." -Her strategy is to be non-threatening and play a social game. She doesn't look 37, and she wants to use that youthfulness to be disarming. She wants to build relationships other people believe in. She defines success by other people vouching for her loyalty when they go off and have private conversations with one another. "That means I got 'em, because it's actually the other way around." Asked if she wants to find someone she can trust, "I'm not going to be capable of it. I'm too skeptical for that. I overthink things, so I'm not going to be able to trust somebody the way I want to be trusted... If I do, that's the end of my game."
My take: Oh my God. Poor Karishma. Her story hurts my heart. She reminds me so much of myself in her isolation, her defiance and her deep feelings. I worry that her fear of trusting people could get in the way of her forming genuine bonds. But, there's nothing she can do. Society has made her the way she is. I hope she gets a lot of screen time so she can be a star of her favorite show.
Missy Byrd, 24, Military Veteran/App Developer, Tacoma, Washington -Originally from Georgia. Her family was 'decently poor.' She played basketball for the Air Force Academy because she thought it was her ticket out. -She had a brain tumor. She stopped menstruating for a year and two quarters. "I'm not dating anyone but I have breast milk. I'm a literal cow... I would look down and my shirt would be wet, and I thought, 'Dang you're clumsy. I knew you were clumsy, but you're clumsier today than you were yesterday. But it was - it was - uhh - milk." She had crying fits. She developed a stutter and couldn't look at people. Doctors told her she was just stressed. When her dad died she couldn't process emotions normally. She was about to go to the French version of the Air Force Academy, École de l'air, after graduation but because of her mental instability she was removed from school. The military shipped her to the same Air Force base as Sandra (Fort Lewis.) "I don't want to be there. Super sad. Check into the post office - fuck this. Check into the dorms - hate that." The doctor there found the tumor. She got an MRI and all weekend she believed she might have cancer. Over the next year and a half she eliminated the tumor and the symptoms using vitamins. She enlisted and worked logistics. -She made a list of the things she wanted to do now that she was going to live. "The first thing was go see Beyonce. Beyonce costs way too much money for a normal person to go see, but if you've just almost had a near death experience you go see Beyonce, bro!" She was feet away. She drove across the country. She tried weed. -She had an idea for an app, but didn't even have the computer literacy to use social media. She found a veteran's association and asked if she could intern. "They said, 'No, you should build this out yourself. We want to work for you.' I said, 'No, the fuck you don't. Okay, lemme call my grandma.'" She wrote a grant proposal and won a $1,500 office space in the center of Seattle. "Just to do whatever I want. It was like a laboratory for a child. I had Play-Dough up there. I had a white board... Just mind blowing shit when I could have been dead." -She'd seen every episode of Survivor at least three times. She started watching because her Air Force Academy basketball team was getting decimated, and she related to Foa Foa getting decimated in Survivor: Samoa. She added the show to her list. Josh suggests, "The bugs are eating you because they want some of that magic." -She isn't going to tell people her story until she's in the Final 3. "That's that Final 3 magic." She doesn't want to overly rely on strategy. She doesn't want to win individual challenges. She to build a social game and find ways to relate to everyone.
My take: She's so full of exuberance. There's not a negative bone in her body right now. She's too young and her life experience is too necessarily limited to talk around three years of her life. If she shares her story, the beauty of her perspective will cause everyone to fall in love with her and want her to do well. If she doesn't, people will sense that she's hiding a lot. I think she'll figure that out and course correct within the first day. Since she was at the same Air Force base as Sandra and she was a massive fan, does that suggest she knows her?
​
Ronnie Bardah, 35, Professional Poker Player, Henderson, Nevada-Born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts, 20 minutes south of Boston. They were the only Israeli family in town. 50% of the people in Brockton were from Cape Verde, and he considers himself an "honorary Cape Verdian." A couple of his friends were shot and killed at a young age. -He was a good kid and had a good heart, but he was always hustling. In Junior High he was flipping Oatmeal Cakes and Fudge Rounds for a profit. Slinging baseball cards. Both his parents gambled. They were always at the dog tracks or Mohegan Sun. He had his friend make him a fake ID and got stuck with the name Alaja Jones. He went by Al and started playing the casinos. Quit his job at Sears Automotive to play poker full time.-He played Atlantic City, Vegas, then internationally. He had his first big score in 2010 when he took 24th place in the main event for $320,000. Got to keep $150,000 after taxes. "Poker's a hard way to make an easy living. Lots of people try. We risk every day. You have to get to a point when you can manage your bankroll and I've never gone broke in the 16 years I've played." -In one of the most viewed poker hands of all time, he was bluffed out of a million dollar pot by a supermodel on a poker TV show filmed in Monaco. "She made a sick play. She had no idea what she was doing but all the stars were aligned."-He watched Borneo when it aired and got back into it when fellow poker player Anna Khait was on. He calls Jean-Robert, "kinda a lazy guy...He's really good at befriending multi-millionaires." "Anna Khait... is probably the least poker player out of all of us. She played for a couple years." "And then Garrett - He's a very, very smart, smart kid... Self-made millionaire. One of the very, very few." -He only drank water for 7.5 days and lost 25 pounds for his health and to get an idea of the conditions of the show. He thinks he'll thrive in the survival situation. "People like being around me. I like to fucking bust balls and joke." He thinks old school alliances are a good plan, but you have to adapt. He says that like in poker, Survivor players can have every advantage, but they have to really smell it. -He wants Vince out. "There's an Asian Zeke in there. What value does he bring besides ruining people and getting in people's heads? He's a liability in challenges. He looks like a little corn puff. We gotta get him outta here. Sorry to sound so mean but it's the truth."
My take: Ruuuuude. He has no way of knowing how other people on the cast are talking in their interviews, and may assume the trash talk is standard. If he were playing on some seasons it would be. But, in this particular season it sets him apart in an unflattering way, and it seems a part of the tough persona he's built up to escape a scary situation growing up and enter a fantasy career. We'll see whether his tribe thinks he's a straight talking character or a jerk.
​
Tom Laidlaw, Former NHL Player, Brampton, Ontario, Canada -He was with the New York Rangers for 7 years and the LA Kings for 4. Now he has his own podcast, True Grit Life (truegritlife.com). Does it with a friend, Kevin Allen, who writes for USA Today. Does motivational speaking. -Growing up on a dairy farm outside Toronto there was a pond to water the cows. It froze over in the winters and he'd play hockey because there wasn't much else to do. Went to Northern Michigan University - four year hockey captain, ranked #1 team in the country. Drafted as a 20 year old. "My buddy had a horse farm. We were cleaning horse shit out of the stalls. There were no cell phones back then. This is 1978. My father got a call at our farm house from the New York Rangers at the draft. Back then nobody went to the draft - it was just teams. They said I'd been drafted in the sixth round. He calls the farm house where I'm working. They bring me up. He says, 'Son, you've been drafted by the Rangers.' I said, 'Great. What do I do now?' He says, 'Finish cleaning the shit out of the stalls.'" -When he played intimidation and fighting was strategy. There were guys tougher than him, but he could fight and he could also play. Problem was, he fought a guy once, and from then on the guy wanted to fight him over and over. -Jerry Bruckheimer, big hockey fan, called the NHL and wanted to get some players on the Amazing Race. Tom had kept himself in shape, he had his passport. They ended up asking him about Survivor. He'd watched it before but not for a while. He wasn't so sure he wanted to play a game where you hurt other people, but friends helped him get his head around it. He was very impressed by Christian's toughness in the endurance challenge. To prepare for the show he studied how he reacted to different situations, how to control his heart heart, etc. He wants the mental challenge.
My take: Tom really ticked me off when he spoiled a couple of outcomes of this season. That's a betrayal of the producers, his cast and the viewers. But, if that hadn't happened I would like him. He's an easy-going, charming guy. His life experiences are a bit different than anyone else who's been on the show, which is what you want.
Vince Moua, 27, Admissions Counselor, Merced, CA -His family is Hmong. His parents lived in Vietnam in the destruction left by the war - dead bodies, guns, people who wanted to kill them. They went to refugee camps in Thailand. Then his dad became a Montana farm hand. He met Vince's mom in the US, but she came from the same place. -Vince is from small town Merced, California - the 209. Few people he knew went anywhere but the UC system and community college. He went to Stanford, one of only 7-10 Hmong. He realized the significance someone can bring to people from the same community. He tried to be pre-med but realized "no, not today." The issues of access he cared about came well before people got to the hospital. He ended up going with education. His mom was a teacher, "But when I was growing up she said, 'Yo, if you become a teacher Imma disown yo ass.' To all of us. But, that's always kinda been my jam." -He lived in South Korea for five years. He taught English in a town. Then in Seoul ahed worked with low and middle income students who wanted to study outside of Korea. -He's a Survivor superfan, who even mentions on his Tinder account that he plans to be on Survivor. His parents were worried about him doing TV because he's not out as gay to his extended family. He comes from a clan where his dad is the "top dog" and Vince is "the next top dog." In the Asian American/Pacific Islander community when you come out, it's your family who faces - in a sense - dishonor. For a long time he distanced himself from his family, hoping they'd all be less hurt if they found out and disowned him. He always tried to find friends who would be there for him should his parents not be. A year ago his mom asked him rhetorically if he was gay. "I was try'n to go around it. I was like, 'Gurl, you don't wanna know! Yo ass keeps asking!' But she kept asking, asking. So finally I told her 'Yeah, I am!' and she was crying. My dad was like, 'Oh, my son!'" But, Vince is fine with who he is and wants to show kids like him that "let's hope that it gets better." Now his parents just want him to win. -He'd like to play an old school strategy but "I'm not afraid to cut a bitch." With the tribe he's going to be Homeboy Vince from the 209, but when he talks to the camera he's going to tell people "Don't underestimate your narratives." This past year with Crazy Rich Asians, he wants people to know that there are some Crazy Hood Ass Asians.
My take: What a character. Vince has a clear point of view - Hmong, blue collar, gay - which is unique to him in Survivor lore. Even though double minorities have sometimes had trouble fitting in socially on Survivor I think somehow he's going to pull it off. As unlikely as this sounds I could even see him being a Cochran-esque winner.
Aaron Meredith, 36, Personal Trainer, Warwick, Rhode Island -He's very keyed up at Ponderosa. Rambling so fast it sounds like you're listening to 1.5x. He's read four books so far - Relentless by Tim Grover, Can't Hurt Me by Dave Goggins, Iron Cowboy by James Lawrence, Harry Potter. -He was an engineer at a building insulation plant. He was miserable, too antsy sitting at a desk. Couldn't focus. So, he drove up and down the East Coast popping kettle corn - from Maine to Florida - traveling with carnies. Bartended for a while. He'd played college football and baseball, lifted since high school, and he and his friends wanted to get "huge and jacked and ripped." The owner of the gym suggested he become a personal trainer. He ended up working mostly with middle aged women and it taught him empathy. Now he owns two women's-only fitness studios. He puts supportive women around one another and offers them the positivity to seek self-growth. -He's also a party boat emcee. Lights, DJ, bar, drinks. He's an extremely social person. -He'd first applied at 23 - 6 or 7 times over the years. He was in the mix for Cook Islands and David vs. Goliath. -He's been married 7 years and has a 5 year old son. His son is a huge fan of Survivor. Libby Vincek is his favorite player. Kara Kay was his next favorite. Aaron is already sure Molly will be his son's favorite. "He has a type. He He likes the attractive blondes. He says, 'I like them because they have a nice face.' I like mommy because she has a nice face too." The boy was very concerned about his dad going on the show. He said, "Dad, I don't want anyone to laugh at you and make fun of you." Aaron said he wanted to win. His son said, "But you might not win." When they watch the show he'll always ask, "Do they like him? Do they like her?" If Aaron is portrayed in a negative light he'll have to sit down with his son and talk. He doesn't want to play a deceitful game, but he will, because he doesn't care how he's portrayed.
My take: His story about his son is one of my favorites from all these interviews. I hope he gets to work with Molly. His adrenaline is too high. I hope he calms down a lot when the game starts. But, someone so social and sweet hearted who can win challenges and take themselves to the end has got to be a contender to win.
Chelsea Walker, 27, Digital Content Editor, Los Angeles, CA -Chelsea just took the cast photo and they put her in the third spot from the bottom, a good omen because a weird number of winners have been in that position. "Your girl's number three. I got this!" -She's a Jersey girl. She went to the University of Maryland. "I didn't do Survivor: Maryland or anything." She studied Broadcast Journalism. She knew the generic emails for NBC Universal and emailed random people until someone replied. Now she's been in LA a year. She did coverage of award shows. Now she works at IMDB, where she helps Kevin Smith with his show. She just interviewed people at SXSW. -She's been watching Survivor since she was 8. She's cried in every interview because this means so much to her. She's trying to explain that at the point she starts crying again. "It's been such a dream of mine and To be told no year after year after year - these past six years have been a total mindfuck. I've basically been called every single year. I've been to finals three times. Survivor is my one true love, but the one year they didn't call me I got really pissed off so I tried out for Big Brother. I ended up becoming the alternate and got my key being filmed and all of that crap. But I don't like that show anyway." -In September 2017 she was at a WeHo bar for her friend's birthday when, "Oh shit that's Jeff Probst." Her girlfriends all know she's obsessed, so she pulled the waiter over and asked what that guy was drinking. So, Chelsea sent another one over. "I told my friends, 'Take my credit card. Split the bill, because I can't come back after I do this. As soon as the waiter drops off the drink I'm like, 'Jeff, this one's on me. You can buy me the next one at finals.' And I just walked out of the restaurant... That was a big move!" They didn't call her again that year, but Jeff still remembered when they talked this year. -She's been working out at four different gyms - weights, pilates, yoga. Push ups. Memorized puzzles. Reading How to Win Friends and Influence People, which she keeps in.a Bible sleeve so people will think she's religious. She also carries Harry Potter because she would trust someone who read HP. She wants to keep it cool. Make one on one connections. Eventually find idols - and not tell anyone she has one - and make calculated moves. "I don't want to be a Jacob. No offense."
My take: Hearing this girl cry from joy because she's so happy to be on the show makes me emotional. She's a real go getter. I wish I were that damn fearless. Truly, I wish I were more like her. I hope her pure zest for life comes across on TV and she doesn't get stuck with a purple edit just because of her age and gender. I also hope no one decides to get threatened by her as a competitive girl and vote her off premerge. I think she'll go far. Hope so.
Dean Kowalski, 28, Account Executive, New York, New York -Referring to himself in the third person, "Dean is 28 years old. As we mentioned, he lives in New York and he prides himself on being a well rounded person when it comes to interests, abilities, personalities... If I'm listening to Drake and Lil Wayne, I gotta go home and cry to This Is Us.. I can play basketball but also think about our place in the universe." He likes to tag basketball courts with a peace symbol with a ball on it which he makes using a stencil. -He structures most of his interview with Josh around an Outwit, Outplay, Outlast format, explaining why he excels at each. -He grew up in an affluent suburb. His dream was to play in the NBA. He was 5"9 3/4, so he set his eyes on college basketball as a realistic alternative. In order to get looks from colleges he went to a school 30 minutes away - top five in the country, Nike would fly them around for games and give them free Jordan sneakers. He was one of only 4 white guys in the whole school and the only one on the team. He played with Kyrie Irving, the #1 overall draft pick. "My friend said you look like the Make a Wish Kid who just wants to be on the team for a day." He played at Colombia University, where he was co-captain his senior year despite averaging two minutes a game. He became a teacher, then did sales for a tech startup in New York. He now sells ads for Google. -He's a fan, but far from a superfan. He started watching Brenda's season. (He thinks it was Nicaragua, but it was actually Carmoan.) He works with a superfan who freaked out when they had a meeting at H&R Block with Carolyn Rivera and they went out to Bourbon Street with her. He kept watching for five years and thought he could do well. He hates when people are all talk, so he sent in a tape. For the video he interviewed random strangers on the street, who had never met him or seen the show, and asked them, "Why am I going to win it?" A barber, a construction worker. He's going to tell people he's in marketing, not sales - people have sales.
My take: I'm just not that into him.
Elaine Stott, 41, Factory Worker, Rockholds, NY -When Josh asks her not to touch the table she asks him, "You seen that Bart Simpson commercial, right? Don't touch my Butterfinger? I'm already hungry thinking about it." -"I had a pretty rough way to go growing up." Her single dad raised her and her three brothers. She was the youngest. "I was raised like one of the boys. Know what I mean? Daddy didn't know how to raise no little girl." He worked 16-17 hour days. The kids raised themselves. "When little children make their own decisions, they make poor ones." She was a hellion. -She's originally from Woodbine, Kentucky, Nick Wilson's hometown. Her god sister went to school with him and she knows him through the grapevine. "We rode on different sides of the track. 20 years ago he coulda been my lawyer, because I was on the other side of the law. I'm not bad. I've just done some things." Public intoxication several times. "I come from a dry county. It's like Footloose. We cross the state line to get a beer and when you come back you're in trouble." She stole a newspaper stand once and had to do community service. "I was a little bit mean." -She went to live with her grandpa and cleaned her act up, by which she means that she started smoking a little weed and playing sports - basketball, softball, track. She played softball and judo in college. "I couldn't do nothing real technical. We had Brazilians on the team who could do flying arm bars. But if I got these claws on you and got ya on the ground I'd waller you to death." In casting she put this guy Will in an armbar. She was gonna choke him but didn't know if she should. -When she graduated, her girlfriend was a college Freshman so she went to all the same parties and ballgames for four years. Then she realized she needed a job. Now she drives a Ford truck for a factory. She's been there 15 years. She works 12 hours, 7 days a week. -Growing up her mom "was always in my life in some sense. She'd never miss a birthday. She'd be homeless, but she'd still call." Elaine and her brothers bought her cars, and places to live, and got her jobs. "In a sense I've been mourning the loss of my mom my whole life." Once Elaine was homeless herself and there was snow on the ground. It was cold, and her teacher took her in. Gave her Christmas presents. Made her go to prom. Survivor was a thing they shared, and the teacher was gonna be Elaine's loved one. But within a one year period the woman lost her daughter, her husband, her dog and then had a stroke. Now "she walks like Frankenstein" and can't go. Elaine got Probst to talk to her, and she can't wait to watch. In October Elaine's biological mom went into a coma. She was on life support, but Elaine wouldn't unplug her. Her mom came out of it and seemed to be doing a lot better only to die very suddenly of a heart attack. -Her girlfriend and her girlfriend's two sons are gonna be watching. The 18 year old doesn't know because he can't keep a secret. The 13 year old helped her lose 20 pounds doing crossfit to come out here. She wants the money, but she really wants "some of that soul searching, that life adventure, that life changing - some of that. You know what I mean? Gimme some of that soup! Lemme eat some of that up! I want this show to build me up, because I feel like it can. I sure hope to hell it don't tear me down."
My take: About 12 sobbing emojis in a row. She's my favorite. If she gets voted out premerge I'm going to go into mourning. And how can you not sort of expect that? I am going to be so upset if they just dismiss her because she's older and looks out of shape and sounds country. If that happens, I want another Second Chance season next year.
Elizabeth Biesel, 26, Olympic swimmer, South Kingstown, Rhode Island -Josh says that Elizabeth was outright identified by one of the other contestants because they'd been watching YouTube videos about how to be a better swimmer. Others guessed she was an Olympian based on her rings tattoo. -She's from the Ocean State. They lived a block away from the beach, so they wanted her to take swimming lessons. She was a rambunctious child and swimming was the only way they could calm her energy. She started breaking records when she was 7 or 8. When she was 13 she made her first national team. At 15 she went to the Olympics. She got good early. Women peak around 22-23, and she ended her career at 24. You couldn't make much money doing it. She swam one of the longer, more grueling races, and her body said "no more." She listened to her body and retired. Some athletes lose their love for swimming because they're embittered by losing by 1/100th of a second, or they leave injured. She left on a good note. Still, if she could swim competitively for the rest of her life, she would. Now she doesn't know who she is or what she's going to do with the rest of her life. Every hour of the day used to have a purpose. Now her days are wide open. She can't keep eating 5,000 calories a day. "It's sort of like I'm mourning the death of Elizabeth Biesel the swimmer." -She was a Survivor fan as a kid because Richard Hatch was from Rhode Island. In her area "Every single household that had a television set was watching Survivor." When they asked her if she'd do the show, she felt pure joy. She said absolutely right away. She's excited about the competition of Survivor. No heated Olympic pools. You're stripped down to your core. She's amazed by the scope of the production apparatus. She's not a schemer. She wants to be a challenge beast - not the best woman but the best overall. She'd love to have a Wendell and Dom relationship with another woman. But, she wants to avoid the drama as long as she can.
My take: Could Chelsea be Wendell to her Dom? She's so wholesome. She's just so "Olympics." I love her and everything she represents. I'd love to see her rocket through the swimming competitions, lapping everyone else. Go Elizabeth.

^{Thanks to /charlottehornets, and a special thanks to imeanyoloright, from whom the bulk of this formatting was stolen}

CHARLOTTE HORNETS

TEAM OVERVIEW
Subreddit: /CharlotteHornets
Arena: Spectrum Center
Attendance: 17,732 (17th)
Division: Southeast (Eastern Conference)
All-Time Record: 952-1214 (44.0%)
Playoff Record: 23-40 (36.5%)
Head Coach: Steve Clifford, 5th year (160-168)
Associate Head Coach: Stephen Silas
Assistant Coaches: Pat Delany, Steve Hetzel, Bruce Kreutzer, Michael Batiste, Eddie Jordan
Noteable Departures: Patrick Ewing (Head Coach, Georgetown), Bob Weiss (Assistant Coach, Denver)
GM: Rich Cho
Owner: Michael Jordan
2016-2017 TEAM

	Player	Pos	PPG	RPG	APG	Team	State with Team
15	Kemba Walker	PG	23.2	3.9	5.5		Through 2018-19 (2yr / $24.0)
5	Nicolas Batum	SG	15.1	6.2	5.9		Through 2020-2021 (4yr / $99.1, PO)
2	Marvin Williams	PF	11.2	6.6	1.4		Through 2019-20 (3yr / $42.2, PO)
14	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	SF	9.2	7.0	1.4		Through 2019-20 (3yr / $39.0, PO)
40	Cody Zeller	C	10.3	6.5	1.6		Through 2020-21 (4yr / $56.0)
44	Frank Kaminsky	PF	11.7	4.5	2.2		Through 2018-19 (2yr / $6.5, TO) // Rookie Deal
21	Marco Belinelli	SG	10.5	2.4	2.0		Traded to Atlanta (1yr, $6.6)
3	Jeremy Lamb	SF	9.7	4.3	1.2		Through 2018-19 (2yr / $14.5)
7	Ramon Sessions	PG	6.2	1.5	2.6		Signed with New York (1yr / $2.3)
18	Miles Plumlee	C	2.4	3.2	.2		Traded to Atlanta (3yr, $37.5)
0	Briante Weber	PG	3.8	1.7	1.2		Signed with Los Angeles Lakers (1yr / $1.5, $.05 guaranteed)
22	Brian Roberts	PG	3.5	1.0	1.3		Contract expired (Free agent)
8	Johnny O'Bryant	C	4.5	2.0	1.0		Through 2017-18 (1yr / $1.5)
35	Christian Wood	PF	2.7	2.2	0.2		Contract expired (Free agent)
12	Treveon Graham	SF	2.1	.8	.2		Through 2017-18 (1yr / $1.3)

^{Click # for Twitter // Table ordered by MPG // Starters in bold // Players leaving struck-out// Salaries in millions of dollars}
TEAM STATS

ORtg	DRtg	Pace	PPG	PAPG	Diff
108.8	108.6	95.7	104.9	104.7	0.2
14th	14th	19th	16th	13th	15th

Team	PTS	FG%	3P%	FT%	eFG%	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO
CHA	104.9	.442	.351	.851	.501	43.6	23.1	7.0	4.8	11.5
Rank	16th	26th	18th	1st	23rd	16th	11th	27th	17th	1st
OPP	104.7	.456	.369	.776	.523	44.4	24.5	6.6	5.5	13.1
Rank	13th	15th	25th	23rd	22nd	21st	28th	2nd	28th	23rd

^{Stats gathered from BasketballReference.}
2016-2017 REGULAR SEASON RECAP
36-46, #11 seed in East
Entering '16-'17, the Hornets' expectations were seemingly all over the place. On one hand, you had the 48 win team of '15-'16 regaining a starter in Michael Kidd-Gilchrist while retaining all of their best players. On the other, the bench, which had been a strength for that 48 win team at times, had to be replaced when almost all of its pieces decided to go elsewhere. It seemed like, however, that Charlotte had found replacements for the most key pieces in Ramon Sessions, Marco Belinelli, and Roy Hibbert. Spoiler alert, none of those pieces worked in the slightest. They played something like a combined 20 games above replacement level.
The team began the year at a torrid pace, winning 6 of their first 7 games for the best start in franchise history, and for a glorious two hours, technically holding the top seed in the entire NBA. And then the wheels started to come off. At first, the Hornets blew a 4th quarter lead to the Raptors in the one game MKG would miss this year, which was in large part decided because our options at the small forward late in the game were Treveon Graham, who seemed too timid to shoot, and Marco Belinelli, who was Marco Belinelli on defense. And it didn't seem like a huge deal at the time, but it soon became a running theme. The Hornets would shortly thereafter blow 4th quarter leads against the Pelicans, Spurs, Knicks, and Timberwolves all before the first quarter of the season was done, including losing 3 of those games (Pelicans, Knicks, Wolves) in overtime.
And then there were the Cody Zeller injuries. He started the year injured with a bone bruise on his quad from Hassan Whiteside playing extremely, but still legally, physically with him during the '15-'16 Heat playoff series. And that one didn't cause him to miss a game -- he was just minute restricted, but again, it established a pattern. So then, after a little while, he goes up against Dwight and comes away with a sore shoulder that keeps him out of 3 games. 2 of those were the aforementioned losses against the Pelicans and Spurs where the Hornets were ahead in the 4th quarter and just a little bit more would've been enough to push us over the top. Then there was a concussion that knocked him out for 3 games. Then a random illness for another. Then the quad injury flared back up, and by the time you knew it, he had missed 20 games, over the course of which the Hornets went an absymal 3-17, only beating the Nets, the post-DeMarcus Cousins Kings, and the Thunder (On a night where Westbrook went 2-12 from 3 because we were more than willing to let him take that shot)
But through all that, Kemba Walker was an all-star, having missed in 2015-16 for reasons that are kind of unclear to Hornets fans. His numbers for the whole season speak for themselves: 23.2 PPG on 56.9% TS is phenomenal scoring efficiency, and as a result he gave Charlotte our second all-star since basketball returned to Charlotte. He developed a 3 point shot, going from 31.5% over the first 4 years of his career to 38.6% over the last 2 despite a massive increase in attempts, and in developing that shot, he completely changed the way that the Hornets run their offense because he creates so much pressure by pulling up from 3 -- in fact, he lead the league in tightly contested 3 point makes, and among high volume takers of such shots, trailed only the Portland backcourt in terms of percentage, hitting 41.3% of those attempts.
Between poor bench play and the extended absence of Cody Zeller, the Hornets stumbled into March at 26-34 with little chance of making the playoffs. To their credit, they did make every attempt they could -- for March and April they went 11-12, but that was mostly due to a 5 game losing streak at the end of the year with Kemba out. An 11-7 run in there gave the Hornets hope, and was largely fueled by some excellent finishing from role players. For the months of March and April, all 4 of Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller, and Jeremy Lamb finished at or above 58% True Shooting. But ultimately, they would fall short, finishing 11th in the conference.
2016-2017 PLAYOFFS RECAP
TEAM DID NOT PARTICIPATE
2017 OFFSEASON
Key Additions

	Player	Pos	PPG	RPG	APG	From	Acquisition Details
	- 2017 NBA Draft -
1	Malik Monk	SG	19.8	2.3	2.5		#11 Pick (From Kentucky)
4	Dwayne Bacon	SG	17.2	4.2	1.7		#40 Pick (From Florida State)
	- Free Agency -
12	Dwight Howard	C	13.5	12.7	1.4		Traded from Atlanta Hawks (2yr / $47.3)
10	Michael Carter-Williams	PG	6.6	3.4	2.5		From Chicago Bulls (1yr / $2.8)
32	Julyan Stone	PG	3.8	4.1	3.1		From Reyer Venezia (2yr / $3.1 // Second year unguaranteed)

^{Click # for Twitter ^}
Recap:
As the offseason approached, Charlotte seemed to be in a fairly stuck situation. While they had all of their core pieces locked up, they had a late lottery pick that looked very likely to be just on the outside of the top tier players in the draft, and they had no NBA caliber backup Center nor any money to replace him, since all the money they could spend in free agency as a team over the cap was going to have to go to solving the back-up point guard solution, since Ramon Sessions was, well, in the most polite way I can convince myself to state it, absolutely horrid.
And then, for one of the most snakebitten franchises in the league, things went seemingly right for once. The Hawks, who had basically decided they were done with the current core and needed to start over, traded Dwight Howard and his admittedly cumbersome contract for one of the few contracts in the league worse than the one they gave up, while also moving down in the draft and taking on Marco Belinelli's bad (albeit much smaller) contract. Then within the span of a week, the draft rolled up and rumors started to fly that teams might be souring on Malik Monk. The only teams that really made sense for Monk in the middle of the lottery were Orlando, New York, and Dallas, and they all had other guys that they wanted. None of the iffy fits took him either -- Minnesota traded back and Chicago, who took their pick, decided that Lauri Markkanen was the hill they want to start their rebuild on. Similarly, Sacramento traded back, and Portland, who got their pick, decided they wanted insurance in case Nurkic went down in the form of Zach Collins, and as a result, the Hornets got two of the most exciting pieces they've had in a while, even if they're not exactly perfect fits with some of the rest of the core.
Having filled a few other needs, then, the Hornets went into free agency with their only real hole at backup PG. They had no space, and as a very small market team that doesn't have that much money, they wanted to stay under the luxury tax so as to benefit from revenue sharing. This gave them 2.8 million in functional space, which they gave to Michael Carter-Williams fairly quickly, believing him to be a guy that will fit well next to Kemba and Malik Monk, who are both excellent off the ball but need a little bit of help with bigger guys on defense, something MCW excels at. This same thinking motivated the signing of Julyan Stone out of Italy. He's a facilitator and a defender and that's about it. Regardless, for what the Hornets had access to, they came out far ahead with this set of offseason moves.
2017-2018 Expectations
While the oveunder from Vegas is at 42.5 wins currently, this is generally believed to be low. The original line was set at 39.5, but that line was quickly forced up as too many people took the over. In a poll of /CharlotteHornets, across 46 responses, only one response believed the Hornets would fall below 42.5 wins, and it still had the Hornets winning 41 games, which tells you about where the fans believe we will fall. The average across that poll put us at 47 wins, which is about where I would place expectations as well.
The Hornets won't see explosive growth from any one thing, but a combination of a bunch of factors, ranging from bad luck to a better bench to better injury luck to a little bit of growth from our young players should be more than enough to guarantee a playoff berth. The average case for the Hornets ranges from the 5th to the 7th seed, but spots as high as 3rd are conceivable given that most things break right. Basically, the bare acceptable minimum is that playoff berth, and the goal is to win a playoff series, part of which means getting a high enough regular season seed to give ourselves a realistic shot at not facing Cleveland or Boston, who both tended to have our numbers in the past.
PROJECTED DEPTH CHART

Pos	1st	2nd	3rd
PG	Kemba Walker	Michael Carter-Williams	Julyan Stone
SG	Nicolas Batum	Malik Monk	Treveon Graham
SF	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist	Jeremy Lamb	Dwayne Bacon
PF	Marvin Williams	Frank Kaminsky	Johnny O'Bryant
C	Dwight Howard	Cody Zeller

HIGHLIGHTS
Cody: Dunks on Jokic
Kemba: 12 straight vs. the Raptors
Kemba: 4 point play vs. the Raptors (feat. Eric Collins as Eric Collins)
Marvin: Sit down, Biyombo
Batum: 31 vs. Clippers with 8 3s
Marvin: Half court buzzer beater
Kemba: Behind the back, then spin and finish
Kemba: Always make sure it goes in before you start dancing
Jeremy Lamb: No description could accurately reflect the .gif so just watch it
Roy Hibbert: I'm not really sure how to describe this one either
SPECIFIC ARTICLES
What Happened to Superman? How Dwight Howard Lost His Way and Is Trying to Get It Back
A Twitter Thread by Nick Sciria breaking down the Hornets use of shooters
How Kemba Walker and the Hornets Keep Getting Better: Adam Mares' NBA Wraparound
WRITERS, PODCASTS, & BLOGS:

• Charlotte Hornets' Official Twitter Account
  
• Charlotte Hornets' Public Relations Twitter Account
  
• Rick Bonnell, Charlotte Observer
  
• "At the Hive"
  
• "Queen City Hoops"
  
• "Swarm and Sting"
  
• "Locked on Hornets"
  

^{Caveat emptor in re of analysis from some of these sources. #dothemath.}

*ROSTER BREAKDOWN: *

Point Guards

#15 Kemba Walker
Kemba Walker has moved rapidly from merely the best offensive player on this a defense-first team to potentially staking a claim as the greatest Charlotte Hornet of all-time. He's frequently referred to as "The Captain", and ultimately the offense begins and ends with his ability to break down the defense. The majority of the other Hornets' roles on the team, in turn, stem heavily from how they relate to Kemba. He is among the best 3 point shooters in the league in volume, having drastically improved that over the last few years, and his stepback and crossover, though less seen in the last year as he somewhat minimized rapid changes in direction so as to protect his knees, are still forces to be reckoned with. And while his size does leave him with limitations on defense, he is still an excellent positional defender, placing 3rd in the league in charges drawn, which makes him a great leader on the defensive end as well.
#10 Michael Carter-Williams
It is borderline impossible to find a worse set of places for a point guard who can't shoot a jump shot than Philadelphia at the peak of their tank, Milwaukee, and last year's Chicago team. There is, then, some optimism that while Michael Carter-Williams might not recapture his magic from the Rookie of the Year season in Philadelphia, that he can at least be competent enough on the offensive end to allow him to use his length on the defensive end. It seems likely that he was primarily signed to do just that and facilitate Malik Monk's introduction as an off the ball scorer without exposing Monk to defensive matchups that he doesn't have the physical tools to handle.
#32 Julyan Stone
Julyan Stone was bought out of his contract with Reyer Venezia in Italy after a few years away from the NBA to come back to the Hornets and be a low usage offensive option who defends the bigger guards that Kemba and Monk will struggle with much like MCW. He's an extreme case of prioritizing fit over talent, and it has yet to be seen if he won't just get overrun against NBA caliber guards.

Shooting Guards

#5 Nicolas Batum
Nicolas Batum is the same Swiss army knife he's always been for the Hornets. He narrowly missed being one of four players in the entire league to record 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, and lead the Hornets in Assists and Steals. He struggled with a few things though. He wasn't efficient putting the ball in the basket, had his seemingly perpetual turnover problems, and struggled massively to properly close out on shooters at the 3 point line. As a result, he took the summer and opted to not play for the French National Team for the first time in many years. He looks likely to benefit more than anyone from the addition of Dwight Howard, since he should be able to play further out from the paint and close out earlier. Further, Dwight provides a big lob target for him. Ultimately though, the biggest thing that will make or break Batum's season is whether or not that shooting efficiency comes up, and that has yet to be seen.
#1 Malik Monk
Malik Monk is easily the most exciting prospect that Charlotte has had in a few years. Where Frank was kind of drafted as a sure thing perceived to have little top end ceiling, Monk seems to have a chance to be the kind of explosive scorer that makes a dent in this league. There are long term concerns about his ability to play next to Kemba Walker, though he's similar in frame to Jeremy Lin's pre-draft measurements, who saw good success next to Walker 2 years ago. Look for him to also play some minutes at the backup PG if Carter-Williams and Stone, two players that the Hornets are somewhat gambling on, struggle. As he's pointed out in interviews, he played the point in high school and is prepared to play it here.
#21 Treveon Graham
If Summer League meant anything, then Treveon Graham would almost be starting for the Hornets. He was consistently the best player on the court for either team when he played before pulling out with a sore hamstring. Unfortunately, on this roster, he may not have a clear path to minutes despite having consistently made a case for them. He's strong, finishes well through contact, and makes the three pointers that come to him. Basically, he's the improved version of what P.J. Hairston was for us 2 years ago, and that has a good bit of value if he finds the court.

Small Forwards

#14 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
MKG, unfortunately known for his since mostly corrected jump shot form, finally has the benefit of a full offseason, and the Hornets should be looking to reap the benefits. After a rocky start to last year, he closed on a hyper-efficient finishing tear, including 59% True shooting over the last 2 months of the season, and improving his defense and rebounding back to normal levels from before the double labrum tear of the '15-'16 season. He's still a weird offensive player because of his jump shot (Which is statistically average from midrange at this point, but average from midrange isn't good enough in the modern NBA -- you have to be outright good), but as long as he's elite in the other two facets of the game, he's going to continue to demand a starting role.
#3 Jeremy Lamb
Jeremy Lamb, more than any of the many players of whom its true, just had his numbers absolutely destroyed by Ramon Sessions last year. From the start of the season to when Sessions went down, Lamb shot 23.2% from 3 because the ball movement in bench units was stagnant with Sessions overdribbling. Ramon Sessions gets injured on the 1st of February, it takes us 1 game to figure out that Lamb should be running the bench with Roberts playing off ball, and over the next 29 games going up to when we more or less quit on the season (There were 2 games left, we were eliminated, and Kemba was out with a torn meniscus), Lamb shot 36.7% from 3. He should look forward to a few opportunities to conduct the bench similarly this year, with Malik Monk at the point, and he should have good space to operate in with Cody Zeller added to the bench. With the coaches all singing his praise and a better role, he could be primed for a breakout year.
#4 Dwayne Bacon
Dwayne Bacon was our second round pick for this year, and while he probably won't see any immediate significant play-time, he has shown a propensity for creating his own shot from midrange, and also indicated that he understands basic help defense principles at a level that he didn't demonstrate in college. Those two things may give him some minutes in event of an injury, but don't expect to see too much of him in spite of his 29 point outburst in summer league.

Power Forwards

#2 Marvin Williams
Marvin's last year was somewhat disappointing. After being one of the most proficient 3 and D power forwards in 2015-16, he struggled with his shot in 2016-17. The Hornets are somewhat counting on that slump as being somewhat random noise and hoping that 2015-16 was not the aberration, and in the very few interviews he did this summer that actually talked about himself, he basically talked about how he knows he struggled with his shot last year and thinks it was just the kind of slump that happens to shooters at times. Fortunately, he shot a respectable 59% TS in March and April, which indicates that he could certainly recover his shot at times. At the same time, though, Marvin just went through his age 30 season, one at which a majority of players begin a significant dropoff. Which Marvin we get out of this season will have as big an impact as any player on this roster.
#44 Frank Kaminsky
Frank's in an awkward place this year. On the one hand, this is the year that he has to show improvement in order to stick in the league. He's 24, and had a full offseason to work with. Further, if Marvin shows his age more rapidly, Frank is the only other "power forward" on the roster that the team really wants to give minutes to. But at the same time, with the acquisition of Dwight Howard, Frank is going to be forced to play the Power Forward nearly exclusively, when he's better off being able to move between the 4 and the 5 depending on which one is a better matchup for him on any given night. Instead, we're going to get to see him face off against all of his worst matchups. Our matchups with the Pistons, for example, were heavily impacted by how much Frank Kaminsky was matched up with Jon Leuer, his "good matchup"" in that game. So basically, we're kind of demanding growth out of Frank while putting him in position to struggle at times, which has the potential to, much like Frank, get a little bit weird.
#8 Johnny O'Bryant
Johnny O'Bryant, of /OneTrueJOB fame, is comfortable with the ball in his hands on offense, which is prerequisite number one for playing as a big for Steve Clifford. Past that, however, he struggles to make good rotations on defense and because he's only 6'9", can't quite make up for bad rotations on pure athleticism. He made a lot of attempts in summer league to stretch his game out to 3, which will be his best shot at seeing real play-time at the 4, which is his best path to minutes.

Centers

#12 Dwight Howard
Having been unceremoniously traded for actual negative value, Dwight is coming into his 5th team with a lot to prove. He and front court mate Cody Zeller are extremely different players from a scheme standpoint, meaning that the Hornets starters, who have played a fairly consistent style for the last two years, are going to be able to change significantly with the new addition. While there are valid concerns about the locker room, Charlotte has been renowned for the quality of their locker room due to guys like Marvin, Kemba, and MKG. Add in a coach that Dwight might as well have handpicked, and this is kind of Dwight's last chance to show that he's still a good player.
#40 Cody Zeller
Cody Zeller, having had the best season of his career last year, now moves tentatively to the bench with the acquisition of Dwight Howard and becomes comfortably the best backup Center in the league. Since that was a major position of weakness last year, leading to a 3-17 record without Cody and a +10.4 net rating relative to when he was off the court, we should be much better off for having both him and Dwight.