Good morning,
Canada Heat Wave Burns Lytton
The village of Lytton, British Columbia, which recorded record breaking temperatures for 3 days, has largely been destroyed by fire say the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
More than a thousand people fled the area after the heat sparked flames which quickly spread through the town destroying most of the homes located there.
The province said Thursday the loss includes "most homes" and structures in the village, as well as the local ambulance station and RCMP detachment. The local member of parliament said 90 per cent of the village is gone.
The town recorded three searing days of hot temperatures in the Pacific heat wave, with 49.6 C or 121 F. B.C. also reports 486 sudden deaths in the heat wave, which is more than triple the usual number at this time of year.
Trump Organization
It’s been a long time coming, but now the Trump organization has been charged with running a 15 year scheme to hide from tax authorities, by funnelling benefits to its employees through hidden payments.
It may not sound like a big charge against Trumps empire, but it involves millions of dollars and the former President’s long-serving and trusted chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg is arrested on charges of grand larceny, tax fraud. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Tax charges have brought down many big names in America including Al Capone, an American business and crime figure, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison. They are not minor offenses under American law.
“To put it bluntly, this was a sweeping and audacious illegal payments scheme,” Carey Dunne, general counsel for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., said during an arraignment in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The question is does this pave the road for a larger investigation which may eventually focus on Trump himself? And many ex-associates of Trump, say he signed off on everything in the company. And Trump hoping to launch another bid for the White House, although not indicted, is no doubt bruised by the charges against an organization that bears his name.
Trump has labelled the case another “witch hunt” against him. The investigation is continues.
Miami Collapse
President Joe Biden toured the site of the collapse of the Champlain South Towers condo collapse in Miami, and visited with families who are slowly giving up hope their loved ones will be found alive.
Biden said the families “are realistic” about the chances that their loved ones are still alive a week after the collapse.
Rescuers have so far recovered the bodies of 18 people, and say another 145 remain missing.
“I spoke with one woman who just lost her husband and her little baby boy and she didn’t know what to do,” Biden said, “and to watch them, they’re praying and pleading, ‘God, let there be a miracle.’
A word on condominium boards in Florida, because they will no doubt become the focus of why action to repair the building wasn’t taken sooner in this disaster. The fact is most of the inspections are mandated by law but are the repairs also properly enforced by authorities?
Most condo boards represent a strange collection of owners, some of whom want to upgrade their buildings, but others on retirement budgets prefer to delay. The boards themselves are often as divided as dis-functional families with division and arguing not uncommon. It can take years to get decisions, and the management of buildings can be a full time hire, or is often contracted to third parties.
It seems to me the building knew it had a problem, but delayed taking firm steps because of conflicting reports, and advice, and differences over costs which were substantial.
Florida law has to be reviewed, so that not only mandatory inspections take place, but that repairs must be done in a timely fashion and be overseen and reported to local enforcement. There are many aging buildings across the State on the ocean front, that could find themselves in a similar tragic situation.
In Brief
-A statue of Queen Victoria has been toppled in Winnipeg, Canada amid growing outrage over the discovery of unmarked graves belonging to Indigenous children.
-In London Princes William and Harry were reunited for the unveiling of a statue honouring Princess Diana on what would have been her 60th birthday.
-Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan, the main base for U.S. forces there has been handed over to Afghan authorities and American troops have left after 20 years.
-And Haribos are an endangered species in the U.K. Haribos are those gummy bear like candies my kids love imported from Germany. Because of Brexit there is a shortage of trucking from Europe to England and Haribos are not being shipped on time. The problems affect all Haribo sweets, including Goldbears and Tangfastics.
Have a good weekend everyone! Please share this newsletter with one other person.
Dana
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/nyregion/allen-weisselberg-charged-trump-organization.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-wildfires-lytton-july-1-2021-1.6087311
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/miami-beach/article252490903.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/02/queen-victoria-statue-toppled-in-canada-amid-anger-at-deaths-of-indigenous-children
https://news.sky.com/story/after-a-very-public-rift-seeing-william-and-harry-together-again-felt-like-a-return-to-the-old-days-12346600
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/us/us-hands-bagram-airfield-to-afghans-after-nearly-20-years/ar-AALGqht