A Frozen Strawberry Recall; a Party in DHS Will Continue Indefinitely–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: June 15, 2023

Indy Digest: June 15, 2023

So I went to my 30-year high school reunion last weekend.

Before I talk about how that went, I want to say that this just doesn’t seem possible. I insist that I am not old enough to be going to my high school reunion. It’s unfathomable that it’s been three decades since I accepted my diploma and walked across the Lawlor Events Center stage as part of the Wooster High School class of 1993 in Reno, Nev.

Yeah, yeah, I know the math checks out. I don’t want to hear it.

Anyway … when I first saw the reunion announcement on Facebook several months ago, I immediately decided to go. It seemed like it’d be fun to see a bunch of people I hadn’t seen in three decades, have a cocktail, and do some reminiscing. I needed to be in Reno around then anyway, and the reunion itself was simple enough—a no-cover evening event at a brewery. Sure, why not?

But as the reunion date approached, I began having second thoughts. First, I remembered that, in general, I loathe mingling. I can do it if I have to, but as a general rule, I’d rather hit myself in the head with a baseball bat than make small talk with a bunch of people I barely know. Second, I am Facebook friends with some of my former classmates, and a handful are decidedly among the “Let’s Go Brandon” type. I … well, let’s just say that I am not. Third, I discovered that the brewery where the reunion was going to be held doesn’t even have bourbon, just beer.

Unacceptable.

Of course, I went. When the hubby and I walked into Imbib Brewery several minutes after the 7 p.m. Saturday start time, I was apprehensive. I made a beeline for one of the few truly familiar faces, that being the face of Missy, a friend I’ve kept in touch with for most of the last 30 years, if not the last several. (Damned pandemic.) We chatted for a bit; I grabbed a beer (thanks, Nick, for buying!); and I began to mingle.

And much to my surprise, I started enjoying myself.

I had a lovely chat about the supply chain with Jin, who’s now something of a bigwig at Google. I had a great conversation with Trent, my former elementary school best friend (and distant cousin, several times removed). I learned about life in Antarctica via Amy, who has the distinction of being the first person to ever have COVID-19 at the South Pole. I made tentative plans to get together with Missy when I’m back in town later this summer.

We left well before the scheduled end time, because we had an early morning flight—and I was actually a little sad that we had to leave early.

Nicolette, the classmate who organized the gathering, later commented on social media that we’d definitely reconvene in five years for our 35th. The lord willing, I’ll be there—although I’ll request that we have it at a venue that serves bourbon.

—Jimmy Boegle

More News

• California is not the only state where some insurance companies are declining to underwrite new policies. Insider reports: “Insurance provider Farmers has confirmed that it will no longer offer new policies for property in Florida. ‘With catastrophe costs at historically high levels and reconstruction costs continuing to climb,’ Farmers spokesperson Luis Sahagun told News 6 Orlando, ‘we implemented a pause on writing new homeowners policies to more effectively manage our risk exposure.’ It’s unclear whether the company, which has operated in Florida since 2018, will discontinue policies in the state completely. Farmers follows other insurers in pulling back from new policies in a given state—both State Farm and Allstate have paused new home insurance in California.”

• Related: Our partners at Calmatters explain what, if anything, could potentially be done about the aforementioned “pause” by State Farm and Allstate. A taste: “When (an insurance) company tries to justify rate changes, it is required to rely on past losses to project future losses. It can’t use factors like the locations of new homes it is covering—whether they’re in downtown San Francisco or rural wine country—or the increased risk of wildfires due to climate change. ‘We do it in a very old-fashioned way, and it needs to be updated,’ said Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, an insurance industry group that counts State Farm as a member. He supports the use of forward-looking models, which are generally provided by other private companies. California already permits insurers to use models for earthquake insurance. If a company is trying to figure out how much it should charge for earthquake coverage, it would look at proximity to fault lines, Frazier said, but for wildfire insurance, California doesn’t do that.”

• Cyberattacks against businesses and organizations are becoming more and more of a problem—and a cyberattack is being cited as one of the main factors in an Illinois hospital’s closure. Yikes. NBC News says: “An Illinois hospital will shutter its doors this week in part because of a devastating cyberattack, which experts say makes it the first hospital to publicly link criminal hackers to its closure. St. Margaret’s Health in Spring Valley will close Friday, said Linda Burt, the hospital’s vice president of quality and community services. … Ransomware attacks—in which criminal hackers remotely cripple an organization’s computers and demand an extortion payment—have plagued U.S. health care since 2016, said Allan Liska, a ransomware analyst at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Data collected by Liska and his team showed at least 300 documented attacks a year on American health care facilities since 2020. This year is on pace to match that.”

• The union representing some Starbucks workers says the corporation is scuttling Pride decorations—an accusation the company denies. The Associated Press reports: “Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing U.S. Starbucks stores, says store managers around the country have been curtailing or removing displays during a monthlong celebration of LGBTQ+ people. In some cases, the union said, managers told workers that Pride displays were a safety concern, citing recent incidents at Target where some angry customers tipped over merchandise and confronted workers. ‘There has been no change to any policy on this matter and we continue to encourage our store leaders to celebrate with their communities, including for U.S. Pride month in June,’ the Seattle coffee giant said Tuesday in a statement. Starbucks has been outspoken in its support for LGBTQ+ employees for decades and said Tuesday that support is ‘unwavering.’ It extended full health benefits to same-sex partners in 1988 and added health coverage for gender reassignment surgery in 2013.”

• Have you purchased any frozen strawberries, or berry mixes that include strawberries, at Costco or Walmart in recent months? If so, take note of this CBS News piece: “The Food and Drug Administration has added more brands to a growing list of frozen strawberry products being recalled nationwide. Willamette Valley Fruit Co. on Sunday announced it is voluntarily recalling potentially contaminated frozen strawberry products sold under various brands at Walmart, Costco and HEB stores across 32 states. The recall comes in response to the federal agency’s ongoing investigation into hepatitis A infections linked to frozen organic strawberries imported from Baja California, Mexico.”

• The feds have made a decision on the next round of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. The Los Angeles Times says: “With an eye toward enhancing protection against the coronavirus, which is still evolving and circulating, federal health advisors said Thursday that the next round of COVID-19 vaccines should be updated to target one of the XBB strains currently dominating the viral landscape. The unanimous recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee follows that of agency staff, who in a memo acknowledged that while older vaccine formulas can still help stave off severe disease, ‘protection wanes with time and is reduced against subsequent waves of variant viruses.’ … This would mark the second wide reformulation of COVID-19 vaccines, following the release of a ‘bivalent’ shot last September. That version offered protection against both the then-dominant Omicron subvariants and the ancestral coronavirus strain, but the FDA panel recommended not including the latter this time.”

• And finally … Friday Nights on Pearson, an event developed to bring people to downtown Desert Hot Springs, has been so successful that it’s been extended indefinitely. From a news release: “Starting June 16, the festivities will take place every Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. in the Downtown Arts and Culture District. The culinary delights will be even more diverse, as we welcome pop-up food vendors to join the lineup. We invite local pop-up food, art, and merchandise vendors to be a part of this exciting experience.” The events take place in the area around 11940 Palm Drive. For more information, email Erick Becerril at Ebecerril@cityofdhs.org.

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