Dead woman rotted in flat for six weeks 'after mental health team lost track.

A dead woman rotted in her east London home for six weeks after ‘appalling’ failures by her mental health team, her family say.
Sophia Yuferev, 37, who had paranoid schizophrenia, was found by police ‘significantly decomposed’ during a welfare visit on November 16, 2021.
Her family say she ‘fell through the gap’ as she missed health appointments and hadn’t seen her psychiatrist for two years.
They felt no closure from her inquest and say she ‘could have been saved’ if she had been seen ‘not just a number but a human’.
Officers braved the stench of Sophia’s flat in Hornchurch after her care coordinator told them she’d missed appointments for her anti-psychotic injections.
The artist’s mum, Maria Stockdale, of Harold Hill, also raised concerns before police stopped by the home.
Officers took out Sophia’s peephole and peeked through before entering the property.
They were met with a ‘potent and overwhelming smell’ and found the artist ‘laying on her back in a white night gown’.Sophia had gone without her fortnightly medicine for six weeks, a care coordinator for 10 weeks, and Personal Independence Payments since February 2021
She was also estranged from her mum and her financial support after their last meeting ended in shouting, the East London Coroner’s court heard.
Her care coordinator only realised her missed appointments on November 12 after picking up Sophia’s case – in a caseload of 25 – when she joined on October 25.
Due to the level of decomposition it is not clear if Sophia died within this period, though ‘there was post gathering outside the address’.
Sophia’s death remains a mystery to her family who are desperate to know if she could have been saved.
North East London Foundation Trust care coordinator Oyemike Ogunnusi told the court she first read Sophia’s case file on November 8.
That was nearly one month after Sophia’s last visit to a depot injection clinic in Upminster for schizophrenia drug Flupenthixol Decanoate.
Once alerted to the risk, she acted quickly and made two welfare checks in person – without an answer – before alerting police on November 16.
The coroner initially declined to hold an inquest, but a campaign by Havering councillor Bob Perry – backed by the Romford Recorder – forced a change of mind.
Sophie was killed by ketoacidosis – an excessive build up in the blood of a chemical called keytones – produced by the liver when it breaks down fat.
It is suffered mainly by diabetics, but it can also be caused by alcohol, medication, toxins or – in rare cases – starvation.
Dr Shirley Radcliffe admitted Sophia’s death would remain ‘extraordinarily puzzling’ due to how much the body decomposed, to her family’s heartbreak.
A toxicology report found alcohol levels consistent with decomposition and Sophia was known to be teetotal – so drink was ruled out.
A blood test carried out in June last year showed her blood levels were normal and there was nothing to suggest she was diabetic.
Decomposition also meant it was hard for pathologists to tell if she’d died of an infection.
Lawyer Andrew Perfect suggested sudden weight loss could not be ruled out, noting that Sophia had no known income after being cut off benefits.
Sophia’s family told MyLondon she ‘had not enough money, not enough energy to feed herself and look after herself, she was not responsible for herself to care for herself’.
Pathologists found her BMI to be within the normal range – but she could have stopped eating in the weeks before she died, the inquest heard.
Much to her family’s anger, consultant psychiatrist Dr Gupta admitted she had not seen Sophia since November 2019 – two years prior to her death.
But a report by integrated care director Irvine Muronzi said a bigger problem was the high use of locum and duty staff.
After her previous care coordinator left on sick leave on August 8, Sophia was on the unallocated list until October 25, when Ms Ogunnusi took over her file.
In reality, the court heard it was not until November 8 that Ms Ogunnusi read it, having been on induction and working through her caseload.
This left Sophia unallocated for 10 week, during which duty staff – mainly dealing with emergencies and high risk cases due to the pandemic – were in charge of her case.
They failed to notice when she did not turn up to an injection on October 26, the inquest heard.
This was because at her last contact with psychiatric support on October 12 her next appointment was not booked in
Mr Muronzi admitted the team had gone through a ‘difficult time’ and was ‘struggling’ to keep services running.
But he accepted that staff should have flagged missed appointments with police sooner.
Dr Radcliffe concluded that Sophia died of fatal ketoacidosis, but said: ‘We could not provide the answers the family were looking for.’
She added: ‘It’s not possible to say if an earlier follow up about her attendance would have altered the outcome.

This is what life is like in a Brazilian favela

What's a favela?
Favelas are populous neighbourhoods in the largest cities of Brazil. They are characterized by an irregurlar growth, because their humble inhabitants usually build their homes without a license.

From crime ridden to welcoming
Many favelas deal with rampant crime. Others are better controlled and even welcome tourists from various parts of the world.

How many people live in the Brazilian favelas?
In all of Brazil, up to 12 million people live in favelas. This is an approximate estimate; due to the characteristics of these slums, there is no reliable census about the number of inhabitants.

Rocinha, Rio's biggest favela ... until Fazendo Coqueiro surpassed it
Rio de Janeiro is the city with the largest number of favelas. An estimated two million people live in the mountains that surround the city. Rocinha used to be the biggest favela in Rio de Janeiro.

More than 70,000 live in Rocinha
In 1993 it was marked as a neighbourhood. Later it was surpassed in size by Fazenda Coqueiro. We are talking about a favela where the population exceeds 70,000.

Living in a favela
A high percentage of the people living in favelas is of a young age. The population growth of these neighbourhoods is higher than the country's average.

D.C. heat wave: It could hit 100 for first time in six years.

 

The District is in the midst of one of its longest 100-degree droughts.

For the first time this summer, the Washington region is in the grips of a heat wave, one that probably won’t break until late Monday. And for the first time since 2016, the District could hit 100 degrees.

Setting the stage for the heat to come, the temperature soared to around 95 degrees Thursday afternoon. It was the fourth day in a row above 90, amid stifling humidity levels. Heat index values, which take the mugginess into account, hovered near 100. The heat and humidity may modestly ease Friday before surging back over the weekend to the most extreme levels of the summer. Opening shelters and cooling centers.

Under such oppressively hot and humid conditions, people spending time outdoors are advised to hydrate and take frequent breaks. It’s also an important time to check on vulnerable groups. People most prone to heat-related illness include older adults — especially those socially isolated or sick — outdoor workers, the very young and anyone without access to air conditioning. Heat is the top weather-related killer in the United States.

Before this week’s four straight 90-degree days, the District had only strung together streaks of two consecutive 90-degree days this summer. Highs are predicted to reach at least the mid-90s through Sunday before edging downward.

Friday probably won’t be quite as steamy as Thursday. Still, high temperatures should near 95.

The sweltering conditions peak over the weekend, with highs in the upper 90s to possibly 100 degrees. Computer models generally simulate the highest temperatures and the highest chance to hit 100 on Sunday.

The National Weather Service is likely to issue heat advisories over the weekend. There’s an outside chance it posts an excessive heat warning Sunday, reserved for instances when the heat index is predicted to reach at least 110 degrees.

Low temperatures will also be abnormally warm — only dipping to near 80 in the city Saturday and Sunday nights, with 70s elsewhere.

Here are the predicted high temperatures and maximum heat index values Friday through Monday:

These temperatures — coinciding with some of the historically hottest days of the summer — will probably fall short of most records, but are still as much as 10 degrees above normal.

Washington Dulles International Airport’s record high of 99 on Sunday has a chance to fall, but Reagan National Airport’s and Baltimore-Washington International Marshall Airport’s records of 102 are probably safe.

The excessive heat is linked to a sprawling zone of high pressure, or heat dome, over the Southwestern U.S. which is flexing eastward. On Thursday, this heat dome prompted heat alerts for 100 million people from Phoenix to Boston. Washington hasn’t reached 100 degrees since Aug. 15, 2016. That year, there were four days at or above 100, including three in a row in August.

The District did hit 99 once this year — which is right around the city’s average yearly maximum temperature in the historical record.

Since 1872, Washington has posted 121 days at or above 100 — hitting the mark a little less than once per year on average. The hottest of those days reached 106 in July 1930 and August 1918.

Of these 121 recorded 100-degree days, 66 have occurred in July, 33 in August, 18 in June and four in September.

These 100-degree days tend to come in bunches. 2016 had four, 2012 eight, 2011 five and 2010 four. 1930 produced 11, the most in a single year.

Interestingly, the nearly six years (or 2,165 days) which have elapsed since the last 100-degree day in Washington ranks among the longest streaks on record:

While National has seen this prolonged 100-degree day drought, other locations in the area have not. Dulles last reached 100 on Aug. 12, 2021. BWI’s last 100-degree day came on July 20, 2020. It’s likely that National’s proximity to the relatively cooler water of the Potomac River have held temperatures back during recent heat waves.

The days when Washington hits 100 degrees share certain temperature markers over the course of the day. Typically, it reaches 95 degrees by noon and remains at least that hot until 6 p.m. — a dangerous interval of extreme temperatures.

Rich or Poor Mindset

For most people being rich or being poor starts with a mindset. Where you begin in life is based on luck, where you eventually end up is primarily based on your thoughts, beliefs, and mindset. How your circumstances, relationships, and finances trend are due to your actions and the root of most actions are based on how you think. Let’s explore the different mindsets of growing wealth and struggling with personal finances. Ramsey Solutions conducted a survey of over 10,000 millionaires, and it found that 79% of respondents didn’t receive any inheritance. The one in three Americans who do get an inheritance blow it. [1] Whether they win $500 million or $1 million, about 70% of lottery winners lose or spend all that money in five years or less. [2]
This shows the difference in mindset as there are many people born into humble situations that go on to build wealth and wealthy children that go on to squander their opportunities and end up broke. Where ever you are in life your mindset can redirect a new path.
The wealthy mindset thinks in terms or creating, building, and compounding their assets. Most millionaires own their own business, created a business with partners, or have a high income that they convert regularly to assets like a stock portfolio or real estate. Millionaires create more than they consume, they love their work more than they love vacations and buying things. Their business is their game. Sometimes their main hobby is building wealth by managing their personal finances, investment portfolio, real estate holdings, business, or cash flowing assets.
The wealthy think in terms of return on capital and risk versus reward. They are good at seeing the math in business and investing and the magic of compounded growth whether in a business or their portfolio. The typical rich mindset is one of creating products, services, investments, businesses, and jobs for others. They are the creators that make their ideas reality and create value for others. They get paid well for this process. A person can have opportunities all around them but have a poverty mindset. Negativity, victimhood, jealousy, and closed mindedness are the primary indicators of a poor mindset regardless of outer circumstances.
Here are ten bad habits to stop to replace a poor mindset with more positive one.
The poor mindset sees lack instead of abundance. They see money as a static fixed pie and everyone can only get a set amount, they think if someone is rich they stole it from someone else. They never consider that the money pie itself grows and opportunities multiply as technology advances. They have a scarcity mindset.
They can at times make themselves feel better by thinking that the situation they were born into is their lot in life. That since their circumstances are their destiny they don’t try to change for the better they go with the flow of their current life.
They believe money is bad and they don’t want it as it would make them bad. Money is neutral, you can earn it by creating value and you can use it for good like charities and gifts. Poverty is solved through money.
They believe making money is hard as they only associate it with selling their time and working for a paycheck. Working a job is only one of many ways to make money.
They have the instinct only to get money and then spend it, they don’t have the skills or foresight to save and invest their money.
They think having money is not spiritual. It is not money but the love of money that is the root of all evil. Love what money can do but not the money itself it is only a tool and for keeping score.
People with a poor mindset have never educated their self in personal finance, the financial markets, or investing.
A poor mindset is jealous of the rich instead of wanting to learn from them and be like them.
A poor mindset works only for money and not to learn or create a career or business.
Someone with a poor mindset has no budget, no investment portfolio, and no financial plans for the future. Here are a dozen things you can start to believe and do that will grow your mental wealth and change your mindset.
    Value your own time, money, and energy. Don’t waste any of these or let others waste them.
    Understand earned income should be converted to capital for investing and trading for assets.
    Spend the majority of your time creating value for others, not consuming products.
    Focus on buying assets with positive cash flow not buying consumer goods that are depreciating assets.
    Learn to create, buy, or sell cash flowing assets.
    Follow your passion and work energy. Do what you love, gamify your success.
    Focus on expanding and growing your strengths, grow your edge and manage your weaknesses.
    Write down your short and long term goals in every area of your life.
    Create systems to take you closer to those goals daily.
    Develop faith in yourself and your vision then do the research and the work.
    Believe if someone else did something you can do it to.
    Believe setbacks are only temporary as you look for another path.
Wealth creation starts with your thoughts and builds through working smart and hard for a long enough time to reach your vision.

NYC man tracks down his stolen $400K Rolls-Royce — and snatches it back

Burglars broke into an upscale Staten Island home, swiped car keys and motored off with a $400,000 Rolls-Royce convertible — till its owner beat them at their own game, cops and a report say.

The crooks with expensive taste had thrown a rock through the first-floor window of the high-end home in the Lighthouse Hill neighborhood around 4 a.m. June 12, then snatched keys to the whip, according to the NYPD.

The owner of the abode, identified only as John, 38, was awoken by an alarm and caught a glimpse of the bandits speeding off in his 2017 Rolls-Royce Dawn sedan convertible, he told the Staten Island Advance.

“I was downstairs within seconds while they were pulling out of the driveway,” said John, who lives near Saint George Road and Lighthouse Avenue. After making sure his family was safe, the home owner logged onto a computer and used the luxury ride’s built-in tracking device to locate the vehicle in real time as the crooks drove toward New Jersey.

He then activated a remote kill switch — used to  disabled the car’s ignition from any location — on the computer, stranding the thieves in Newark, NJ.

“They were attempting to turn [the car] back on, but they couldn’t because I disabled it,” John said.

He then pin-pointed the specific block where the thieves ditched the car and picked it up, he said — adding he’s still shaken by the incident.

“Obviously [my family] is a little unnerved after everything that’s gone on,” he said.

The thieves who struck his home are suspected in a string of recent break-ins and car thefts in well-heeled sections of Staten Island, including three June 12 and one Monday, according to police.

In all of the cases, the culprits swiped keys from inside upscale homes and stole — or attempted to steal — cars parked nearby, according to police.

In footage from the incident Monday, two thieves in hoodies are shown throwing a large stone through the rear sliding glass door of a home on Benedict Road and Callan Avenue before snatching car keys, according to cops. 

But a resident began yelling, and they fled empty-handed, police said.

John said he suspects the bandits targeted him after seeing the pricey car in his  driveway and the keys through the window of his house.“They had to have seen the key because of where it was sitting and that’s why they broke the window,” he said.

Car thefts are up 114% on Staten Island so far this year, and 61% citywide as of last month.

Law-enforcement officials have previously cited Newark-based crews of thieves known to use real-estate websites to locate the most expensive homes on Staten Island in order to steal luxury cars.

 

Rent for 2 Million New Yorkers Could Rise After Tuesday Vote

With landlords facing higher costs for property maintenance, a rent regulation panel is expected to approve some of the largest increases for rent-stabilized units in nearly a decade.

A New York City panel charged with regulating the rents for roughly one million rent-stabilized apartments is expected to approve on Tuesday the highest increases in almost a decade, after property owners said they were being pinched by taxes and rising expenses for fuel and labor.

The panel, known as the Rent Guidelines Board, is expected to approve increases on one-year leases by between 2 to 4 percent, and on two-year leases by 4 to 6 percent.

Many tenants argued for a rent freeze or rollback, while landlords were seeking even higher increases, but the panel had signaled its intent to support a middle-ground approach at a meeting last month. The expected vote will take place at a meeting in Manhattan on Tuesday evening.

New York City, already one of the most expensive places to live in the nation, has seen the cost of living rise amid a rebound from the worst of the pandemic. Soaring inflation has hit tenants and property owners, and the effect on the latter group’s ability to maintain their buildings was one of the major factors considered by the board. But the vote also intensified concerns about the dearth of affordable housing and the sustainability of the city’s recovery.

The annual vote is always fraught and draws intense protests and lobbying from advocates for both tenants and landlords. But this year’s vote comes after tens of thousands of renters lost their jobs and struggled to make payments during the pandemic.

It is also the first vote to take place during the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, with the board poised to approach it differently than it had under Mr. Adams’s predecessor, Bill de Blasio.

While Mr. Adams has said that he lobbied the board to adopt lower increases, he has also expressed sympathy for small property owners who need rental income to compensate for rising expenses needed to maintain buildings.

“We are hoping that the Rent Guidelines Board, an independent board, will make the right decision for those New Yorkers who are struggling, and then also look after the small property landlords, the small property landlords who are also really devastated from inflation,” Mr. Adams said during an interview on the radio station 1010 WINS on Monday. “And that is very important as we make this important decision for New Yorkers.”

Mr. de Blasio focused more on reducing costs for renters. During his tenure, the highest annual increases approved by the board were 1.5 percent on one-year leases and 2.75 percent on two-year leases. Inflation was also relatively low during his administration.

The last time there was a significant increase — 4 percent on one-year leases and 7.75 percent on two-year leases — was in 2013.

After the increases are approved on Tuesday, they will apply to leases that begin on or after Oct. 1.

New York City’s rent-stabilization system, a form of rent regulation first put in place in the late 1960s, remains a crucial source of affordable housing.

The median income for people living in rent-stabilized homes is about $47,000, compared with $62,960 in unregulated homes, according to a recent city survey. The median monthly rent for rent-stabilized apartments is $1,400, according to the survey, compared with $1,845 for unregulated homes.

And rent-stabilized rents stand in stark contrast to the exorbitant prices seen in recent months in some part of the city: The average rent on an apartment newly leased in May was $4,975 a month, a 22 percent increase from the year before, according to a new report by the real estate firm Douglas Elliman.

The expected outcome on Tuesday will be a blow for tenants, many of whom are among the lowest income New Yorkers and who were struggling to pay their rent even before the pandemic. Housing advocates had lobbied aggressively in the last several weeks for the board to reverse course and support a rent freeze or rollback.

At the panel’s public hearing last week in the Bronx, more than 60 out of roughly 70 speakers were tenants and tenant advocates who argued for a rent decrease or a rent freeze. Many of the speakers grew emotional during their testimony, expressing hopelessness in the face of any increases and frustration over the poor conditions in their homes.

Kim Statuto, 62, of the Bronx, said she has lived in her rent-stabilized home for almost 30 years, but struggles every month to allocate the money she receives from monthly disability payments to cover her $1,783 monthly rent, along with electricity, food and medical bills.

“A rent increase would further hurt my income,” she said.

The increases expected to be approved on Tuesday will also disappoint landlords, who said that buildings would deteriorate without additional rental income to make up for the increased expenses. Landlords have said they are being squeezed by tough new laws passed in 2019, which restricted their ability to raise rents when an apartment became vacant or was upgraded.

Bryan Liff, a landlord who testified at the meeting last week, pushed for rent increases of at least 8 percent, and said rental income was already too low to bring many units up to livable standards. But he said he was “demoralized” by what appeared to be a foregone conclusion on behalf of tenants, and that “decisions seem to be based on who screams the loudest.”

Both Mr. Adams and landlord groups have keyed in on the difficulties experienced by “mom and pop” landlords when arguing in favor of rent increases.

But because existing laws make it difficult to determine who actually owns any given building, it is not clear how many of the owners of rent-stabilized homes are actually smaller property owners versus landlords with much larger and more diversified portfolios.

One rough analysis conducted by the staff of the board in June 2020 suggested that more than 61 percent of rent-stabilized units were owned by landlords that owned 10 units or less.

But a separate analysis of property records released last week by the group JustFix.nyc, a technology company that tracks property ownership, suggested just the opposite: that more than 60 percent of rent-stabilized homes are owned by landlords with portfolios of more than 1,000 units overall. In contrast, about 1 percent of rent-stabilized units are owned by landlords that own less than 10 units overall.

“The data unequivocally shows that large landlords own the vast majority of rent-stabilized housing in New York City

Arrest Made in Fatal Stabbing of Woman Outside of DC Carryout Restaurant

 

A 25-year-old woman is charged with second-degree murder for the fatal stabbing of a woman outside of a D.C. restaurant, said authorities.

Police arrested a suspect in the death of Ebony Morgan, a woman who was stabbed last month while she stood outside a restaurant in Northeast D.C., the Metropolitan Police Department said Tuesday.

Police charged 25-year-old Cana Browne with second-degree murder Tuesday for Morgan’s death, police said. 

The 42-year-old victim was taking her lunch break in the unit block of P Street NE May 10 when she was suddenly stabbed in the back, her family said. After being rushed to a hospital, she died from her injuries a few days later.

The arrest was made by the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force after police obtained a warrant from D.C. Superior Court.

Information on a motive is unclear.

Police release image of suspect in 22 sexual assaults in London.

Detectives have released a computer-generated image of a suspect in 22 reported sexual assault in east London.
The man reportedly cycled up to women who were out walking or running in the Hackney Marshes area and grabbed their buttocks from behind, touched their genitals or harassed them.
The Metropolitan Police said: “In each incident the description of the suspect and his actions have been very similar.
“Lone women have been out either walking or jogging when they have been approached by a male on a bicycle who has grabbed their buttocks from behind, or touched their genitals, before making inappropriate comments and riding off.”
Detectives are looking for a light skinned male, possible mixed race, who is aged either 16 or 17, and who is usually wearing a grey tracksuit.
Detective constable Hannah Rodericks said: “I understand this news may cause considerable concern among the community. We in the Central East Command Unit share that concern and are doing everything we can to identify and bring to justice the person responsible.
“It is imperative that he is identified but we need the public’s help.”
Anyone who has information that could help police should call 101.

Out of the box fashion.

In this year’s SAIC fashion show, categories were completely out of style.
Models Omani Cross, Noxteli, Regina Rodriguez, El Wettig, Soi Sauce, Micah Sweezie, Francis Carter, Lex Wooley, and Casey Knepley wear Knepley’s designs on a set also designed by Knepley.
The long-awaited School of the Art Institute of Chicago fashion show was back in May after a two-year hiatus brought on by COVID-19. In the previous pandemic years students presented their work in beautiful highly-produced videos, but nothing substitutes the experience of seeing their garments IRL—especially so up close and personal. And this year’s show at the Chicago Athletic Association, with a particularly diverse slew of models, did not disappoint. Though each senior student presented their own collection—comprising eight head-to-toe looks—an overall theme of the show seemed to be “No Labels,” or better yet, “Labels? Who cares?” Many of the lines were blurred, which added to the impressive sophistication presented by the young designers.
According to SAIC associate professor Abigail Glaum-Lathbury, who co-taught this year’s fashion design seniors along with adjunct assistant professor Yoshiko Fredisdorf, most students “almost dispensed with categories altogether.” Glaum-Lathbury points out: “Historically, in some ways, fashion is simultaneously about rules and then breaking those rules and subverting them. You used to see collections of evening wear, and that had a certain definition to it. Evening wear was for women, and it was understood that women were cisgender, probably heterosexual. There were all of these different assumptions that I think were being made. Our students now are just not interested in these categories. It’s not even that they’re fighting against it, because to fight against something is to, in a way, accept the terms of the argument. All these other categories are like a dead language for a lot of students, which I think is beautiful.”
So instead of outdated classifications, seniors focused on themes they truly cared about. Casey Knepley, for example, based her “What We Have” collection on the 1970s novel The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions by Larry Mitchell and Ned Asta. Knepley says that “the book speaks on queer survival through collective resourcefulness, community, and love.” She adds that “the belief that beauty and glamour can be made simply using what I have to work with was core to this project, leading to every piece in this collection being created with affordable, secondhand materials sourced around Chicago. Every look was made specifically for and in collaboration with each model, all members of the local queer community and arts scene that I met during my time in this city. Providing tailored clothes for each individual was like making love letters for each of them.”
Knepley’s collection was festive yet gentle, featuring earthy and pastel tones on a wide array of body types. Other highlights of the show were the designs presented by Iyomi Ho Ken and Andrew Bohlin. Ho Ken’s collection explored the development of her own emotional world, showcasing garments that change color over time in progressively revealing silhouettes. Alluding to a broader kind of evolution, Bohlin’s creations—inspired by the Ediacaran and Paleogene periods—tell the story of life on Earth, with fascinatingly complex shapes and prints. The fact that Bohlin does every single step of their work all by themself makes it even more impressive.
“At SAIC a lot of the work that we make is really experimental,” says Glaum-Lathbury. “A lot of what we’re doing is teaching people how to think creatively, to have confidence in their own research and their own ideas. When you look at the collections and the runway show, each one couldn’t be more different than the next—there’s just not the accidental trend overlap. All of the collections really take radically different forms, which is not so much about distinguishing yourself amongst your peers, but about focusing on individual research and investment.
“The question is: how do you communicate ideas and what is it that you’re trying to communicate? It’s a very intense and complete process and I could not be more proud of this class,” she says. Not surprisingly, the pandemic made their arduous job even more challenging. “It was really hard for these students,” she adds. “This whole class spent the majority of their education in either online or some hybrid form of learning. And [fashion design] is a haptic skill—it is about touch and craft, which is hard to do online. So one more reason to give them credit.”

The Mix: Cool things to do in Chicago June 9-15

Andersonville Midsommarfest, Taste of Chicago kick-off and Chicago Blues Festival are among the highlights of things to do in Chicago in the week ahead.

Festival Fun

• Taste of Chicago returns with events in the Austin, Pullman and Little Village neighborhoods (June 11, 18, 25) and in Grant Park (July 8-10). Along with food from local restaurants there’s music, family activities and Chicago SummerDance lessons. Music acts in Grant Park include Nelly, Aterciopelados and Drive By Truckers. For a complete list of events, 
•  Hyde Park Summer Fest features performances by Busta Rhymes, Ashanti, Lupe Fiasco, Jhene Aiko, Lucky Daye, Marsha Ambrosius and DJs like DJ Jazzy Jeff, Dee Jay Alicia, Terry Hunter and Jay Illa. From noon-10 p.m. June 11-12 at Midway Plaisance at Dorchester Ave. Tickets: $109. Now in its 56th year, Andersonville Midsommarfest offers more than 50 music acts (Dos Santos, Chicago Soul Spectacular, Lil’ Ed & The Blues Imperials), dozens of vendors, food and children’s activities. From 5-10 p.m. June 10 and noon-10 p.m. June 11-12 on Clark from Catalpa to Foster. Admission: $10 donation.Puerto Rican People’s Parade and Festival is the Puerto Rican community’s celebration of its culture and features music, food, carnival rides and games, domino tournament, cultural performances and more. The parade kicks off at 2 p.m. June 11 at Division and Western heading west to Humboldt Park. The festival is from 4-10 p.m. June 10 and noon-10 p.m. June 11-12 in Humboldt Park, Division and Mozart. Admission: $8. Old Town Art Fair features more than 200 artists, a garden walk, music, food and children’s activities. From 10 a.m.-7 p.m. June 11 and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. June 12. Admission: $12 donation.Wells Street Art Fair returns with a diverse mix of more than 140 local and national artists presenting work ranging for photography to metalsmithing. From 10 a.m.-10 p.m. June 11 and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. June 12. Admission: $10 donation. Ravenswood on Tap features craft beer and spirits, food, music and vendors. From noon-10 p.m. June 11 and noon-6 p.m. June 12 on Ravenswood from Berteau to Belle Plaine. Admission: $5-$10 donation.

  Theater

• “Life After” is Toronto-based playwright Britta Johnson’s new musical about a young woman who uncovers a complicated truth about the fateful night that changed her family forever. Samantha Williams leads the cast as teenaged Alice; Annie Tippe directs at the Goodman Theatre. From June 11-July 17 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn. Tickets: $25-$80. Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s drama “cullud wattah,” directed by Lili-Anne Brown, looks at the effects of water lead poisoning on one family in Flint, Michigan. In 2016, an assembly line worker worries over impending layoffs while struggling to fight the poison invading her home. From June 11-July 17 at Victory Gardens Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $29-$62.Cruel Intentions: The ’90s Musical,” Jordan Ross, Lindsey Rosin and Roger Kumble’s new musical based on the film about havoc at an elite Manhattan prep school. Laced with hits from the ’90s, it features new takes on tunes by No Doubt, Garbage, Goo Goo Dolls and more. From June 9-Aug. 7 at Kokandy Productions at Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division. Tickets: $40. Eboni Booth’s offbeat workplace comedy “Paris” explores the impact of race and economics on the wage-earners of rural America. In a small, predominantly white Vermont town, a Black resident starts a new job in a big box store. Jonathan Berry directs. From June 11-July 23 at Steep Theatre, 1044 W. Berwyn. Ticket: Free. Godspell” is John-Michael Tebelak and Stephen Schwartz’s timeless musical, a tale of friendship, loyalty and love based on the Gospel of St. Matthew. From June 10-July 31 at Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, 721 Howard, Evanston. Tickets: $41-$75. Set in a Louisiana beauty parlor, Robert Harling’s comedy-drama “Steel Magnolias” follows six women as they face life’s challenges together. From June 10-Aug. 7 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Visit $54-$69. Set in a Louisiana beauty parlor, Robert Harling’s comedy-drama “Steel Magnolias” follows six women as they face life’s challenges together. From June 10-Aug. 7 at Drury Lane Theatre, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. Visit $54-$69. Pivot Arts Festival returns with another roster of adventurous, multidisciplinary performances. The array of dance, film, opera and other works features artists who have “demonstrated creativity and resiliency in creating artistic work” during the past two pandemic years, says artistic director Julieanne Ehre. From June 10-18 at The Edge Theater, 5451 N. Broadway. Tickets: Free-$35.Giordano Dance Chicago, the company that expands the boundaries of jazz and contemporary dance, presents a program of six works including Ray Mercer’s “Shirt Off My Back,” Christopher Huggins’ “Pyrokinesis” and Autumn Eckman’s “Retroverse.” At 7:30 p.m. June 11 at Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr. Tickets: $38+.
• Chicago Blues Festival (June 9-12) celebrates the city’s blues legacy with performances in Millennium Park and the Austin and Bronzeville neighborhoods. Artists include Shemekia Copeland, Toronzo Cannon, Billy Branch & the Sons of Blues, Ronnie Baker Brooks, Cedric Burnside, Eric Gales and many more. For a complete list of acts,
  
• Grant Park Music Festival gets underway June 15 with conductor Carlos Kalmar and the Grant Park Orchestra performing Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 and Florence Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement featuring guest artist Michelle Cann. The season continues through Aug. 19 at Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park, Michigan and Randolph. Most concerts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesdays and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays. Admission is free. For a complete concert list, There was a palpable sigh of sadness heard around the world when the multi-talented musician Prince passed away in 2016. Now six years later, “Prince: The Immersive Experience” takes fans on a journey to experience the artist’s life, creative evolution and music. Visit Paisley Park, take part in a audiovisual dance party, explore Prince’s catalog of hits and his eye-catching wardrobe as well as photography and instruments. Begins June 9 at The Shops at North Bridge, 540 N. Michigan. Tickets: $39.50+.Max Allard practically grew up in the halls of the Old Town School of Folk Music, where he developed his love for the banjo. Now a 20-year-old student at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio, he is releasing his debut album “Odes/Codes.” Banjo master Bela Fleck says Allard is “a new mature and poetic voice on the five-string banjo.” Allard celebrates the album’s release on a co-bill with Jonas Friddle and Andrew Wilkins at 8 p.m. June 11 at The Old Town School, 4545 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $20. Gerald Lovell explores themes of migration, memory and place in the exhibit “In the Eye of the Beholder.” He reflects on his past by examining his present through paintings that document life experiences, friendships and family events. To June 19 at Stony Island Arts Bank, 6760 S. Stony Island. Admission is free. “The Restored Films of Buster Keaton” explores the work of one of the world’s great comedians and filmmakers. Five recently restored films are screened: “College,” “Go West,” “One Week,” “Our Hospitality” and “Steamboat Bill Jr.” Organist Dennis Scott provides music for the films. From June 11-12 at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $12. African Diaspora Film Festival features 10 films celebrating the human experiences of people of color all over the world. Included are Wagner Moura’s action drama “Marighella,” Robert Guediguian’s love story “Dancing the Twist in Bamako,” Angus Gibson’s noir drama “Back of the Moon: Sophiatown 1958” and Joanne Burke’s historical drama “Fighting for Respect: African Americans During WWI.” From June 10-12 at Facets, 1517 W. Fullerton. Tickets: $12, festival pass $45. Chicago Film Society and The Numero Group present a screening of “Stony Island,” Andrew Davis’ 1978 love letter to Chicago soul music. The independent film captures the story of Richie Bloom (Richie Davis), the only white kid on the block, as he forms an R&B band with his best friend, Kevin (Edward Stoney Robinson). Davis will attend the screening. At 7 p.m. June 13 at Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Lincoln. Tickets: $10.
  

Monkeypox: 86 per cent of cases in England are in London

The number of cases of the virus is rising in the capital
More than 80 per cent of Monkeypox cases in England are in London, new figures have revealed.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published details about the outbreak in the UK with data up to 30th May.
The current outbreak is the first time that the virus has been passed from person to person in England where travel links to an count.

Jessica Tisch, Loews heiress and former tech czar, named NYC sanitation commissioner.

 

 City Hall’s tech czar Jessica Tisch has been named as the new head of the Department of Sanitation, Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday.
Tisch — whose family owns the Loews Corporation — most recently served as commissioner of the Office of Technology and Innovation after former Mayor Bill de Blasio
Before that, she served as the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for information technology.
“Jessica’s knowledge, experience, and unwavering commitment to New York City cannot be overstated,” Adams said in a press release.
 Put plainly, Jessica is a ‘Get Stuff Done’ leader, who has delivered continuous results on behalf of all New Yorkers throughout her career. From revolutionizing policing technology in the NYPD, to overseeing critical pandemic programs to support New Yorkers in need, Jessica’s work has touched millions,” he added.
“All New Yorkers deserve clean, safe, and welcoming streets, and I know Jessica will bring the same energy and deliver results leading the sanitation department as we continue building a just and prosperous recovery for all.”
“Delivering essential services is government’s number one job and I know Jessie is more than up to the task.”
Said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), “Jessica Tisch will do a great job as the city’s next commissioner of sanitation.”

During Tisch’s time in the police department, its high-tech fingerprint database was temporarily crippled by a virus, and the NYPD in 2017 was forced to scrap a $160 million smartphone program because the 36,000 Nokia devices given to cops became obsolete after just two years.
At the time, law enforcement sources blamed Tisch for the screw-up, with one saying, “She drove the whole process.”
Three years later, Tisch facilitated the rollout of a digital log app on cops’ phones to replace hand-written paper logs that officers previously used to track their daily activity.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tisch was a member of the City Hall team that managed the vaccination sign-up system.
Tisch — whose billionaire father, James Tisch, is the CEO of the Loews Corporation, founded by her grandfather, Laurence Tisch — first entered city government in 2008, when she began working in the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit.
After serving as Commissioner Ray Kelly’s director of planning for counterterrorism, she was named deputy commissioner for information technology in February 2014 amid a personnel shakeup under the new mayoral administration.
Adams’ appointment of Tisch as sanitation commissioner comes after the departure of Kathryn Garcia, who came in second in last year’s Democratic mayoral primary.
In September, Gov. Kathy Hochul chose Garcia — who is widely regarded as a competent manager — to serve as her director of state operations. Garcia quit the de Blasio administration in September 2020 in protest of budget cuts.
It also comes after the retirement earlier this month of the agency’s most recent commissioner, department veteran Edward Grayson, who worked for the department for 23 years.
“I also want to thank Commissioner Grayson for his decades of service — all New Yorkers owe him a debt of gratitude for his unwavering leadership throughout the pandemic,” Adams said.
Tisch grew up in New York City and is a graduate of both the Harvard College Law and Business school. In February, the Conflict of Interest Board slapped her with a $2,000 fine for loaning a friend $75,000 to help pay for law school, and subsequently supervising that friend and helping get him a promotion while at the NYPD.
In a press release, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg heaped praise on Tisch.
“New York City deserves public servants like Jessica Tisch, who work hard, solve problems creatively, and take public service seriously,” Bloomberg gushed. “She is a fantastic choice to lead DSNY and will throw herself into the mission of keeping our communities clean, fighting climate change, and bringing innovations and new ideas to this important agency.
“Delivering essential services is government’s number one job and I know Jessie is more than up to the task.”
Said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), “Jessica Tisch will do a great job as the city’s next commissioner of sanitation.”
“She has the managerial and governmental experience, the energy, and that New York can-do attitude that will keep DSNY humming,” Schumer added. “I wish her all the best.”

NYC woman hold online ‘date’ hostage for $100K.

 

Late one night last month, a 24-year-old man headed to a Bronx apartment — believing he was about to hook up with a pretty brunette he’d met on Instagram.

It turned out to be a honeytrap that nearly cost him his life.

The woman he’d been chatting to was actually part of a group of sadists — who spent hours torturing the kidnapped man, even stabbing him while demanding $100,000 in ransom on a FaceTime call to his horrified brother, Manhattan prosecutors allege.

When police found the victim some 24 hours later, he was tied up and gagged in the back of a van — barely clinging to life.

The beauty who allegedly lured him, Valerie Rosario, 22, is facing charges of kidnapping and attempted murder over the sick scheme, it was revealed in court last week.

Prosecutors say the Lower East Side con woman allegedly coaxed the “complete stranger” to an address on Marble Hill Avenue in the Bronx on Feb. 7 after they connected on Instagram.

He arrived around 1 a.m. — and that’s when the twisted torture session began, according to a criminal complaint.

Three men barged into the apartment, with one of them pistol-whipping the victim, the court document said.

Rosario and the accomplices then allegedly stripped the victim, “placed him in a bathtub, poured flammable substances on him, and burned him with a flame” all over his body, the charging document states.

They also tormented him with a knife, striking him “about the legs, back and body,” according to the court doc.

Sources said the sickos allegedly lured the victim to the apartment because they were driven by the money he flashed on his Instagram account.

“After multiple hours of torture,” the kidnappers moved their victim to a different location, Assistant District Attorney Andrew Kluger said at Rosario’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday.

Later that afternoon, the man’s brother got a grisly FaceTime call — and watched as his sibling was cut with a knife by one of the masked kidnappers as they demanded ransom, the complaint alleges.

“Give us one hundred thousand dollars or we will kill him,” they told his brother, according to the court doc.

Police officers were able to track down one of the alleged accomplices, Javier Vargas, outside an address in Queens, where he was sitting in a van with a knife, the court papers said.

The victim was found lying in the back of the van, “unconscious, wrapped in a blanket with tape covering his mouth,” the complaint stated.

He was “barely breathing,” Kluger said.

The victim was treated at a hospital for multiple burns and stab wounds to his face, body, back and legs, according to the complaint.

At her court appearance last week, Rosario wore a ratty “Tom and Jerry” top — a far cry from the tight dress and plunging gown she can be seen posing in on her Facebook page.

Kluger requested she be held without bail, noting that she stands accused of abducting a “complete stranger” and had allegedly “tortured him for 24 hours.”

Defense attorney Raymond Loving asked that his client be released on her own recognizance, pointing out that Rosario lives with her mom and brother and has a full-time job at a dentist’s office.

Judge Soma Syed cited the seriousness of the charges as she remanded Rosario into custody. The case is expected to be presented before a grand jury Tuesday.

“Ms. Rosario denies all the allegations that have been leveled against her,” Loving said in a statement Monday.

Vargas and another of the alleged kidnappers were also remanded after being arrested and charged last week.

A wicked Ghanaian man arrested for smearing poop on woman’s face in New York

 

The man accused of smearing human feces in a woman's face as she sat on a Bronx subway platform has been arrested and charged, police said Monday.

Cops said the suspect, a 37-year-old Bronx man, approached a 43-year-old woman sitting on a southbound platform bench at the East 241st Street station around 5:15 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 21, when he struck her in the face and back of her head with human feces. He then fled the scene on foot, but was arrested in connection to the incident on Monday and charged with forcible touching, menacing, disorderly conduct and harassment, the NYPD said in a statement.

It was not clear Tuesday if the man had an attorney who could be reached for comment.

The incident was caught on video and released via NYPD social media on Monday.

Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his administration's subway safety plans last month to prevent homeless people from living inside the train cars. He, along with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, promoted the plan at a Feb. 18 press conference to address crime, providing what he referred to as a direct mandate for officers to enforce rules against things like lying down, sleeping, or outstretching, spitting or littering, aggressive behavior towards riders, smoking or open drug use throughout the system.

Woman pretended to be dead to avoid punishment in london.

 

A Brit woman who claims to be a Grenfell survivor has been jailed after pretending to be dead in a bid to dodge punishment for driving offences.

Zoe Bernard, 38, gave a false name when caught driving carelessly while banned and without insurance - but when her real name was discovered she applied for a death certificate to try to convince police she had died.

She was eventually convicted for the driving matters in December last year, unsuccessfully arguing it was not her driving, but a male passenger.

Southwark Crown Court heard she has a catalogue of previous convictions, including drink-driving, driving while disqualified, battery and assaulting police officers.

Now she has been jailed for eight months for perverting the course of justice.

Sentencing judge Martin Beddoe said Bernard, of Notting Hill, West London, had a history of "deploying and exaggerating '' traumatic experiences in her past to avoid responsibility for offending.

It was said Bernard’s uncle died in the Grenfell Tower blaze on June 14, 2017 and she also claims to have been a resident at the time.

Her uncle is believed to be Raymond ‘Moses’ Bernard, who lived in the tower block for more than 30 years, and died alongside seven others in his flat.

Her mother, Bernadette, gave evidence at the Grenfell Inquiry about how her daughter “rushed” to the tower on the night of the fire and witnessed the blaze.

Lawyers for Bernard initially said her eldest daughter died in a car crash, but after a brief adjournment, they corrected to say Bernard claims she also died in the Grenfell fire.

Jailing Bernard, Judge Beddoe said: “I don’t doubt some of the traumatic experiences are genuine, but not necessarily all of them.

“I think you deploy them with convenience and then both misuse them and exaggerate them to avoid your responsibility.”

The court heard Bernard failed to stop when police tried to pull her over in her BMW Kilburn, west London, for careless driving in November 2020.

When arrested, she gave her name as ‘Kyesha Bernard’ but when taken to the police station it was established through address and vehicle registration searches she was Zoe Bernard.

Prosecutor Gregor McKinley said: “The investigating officer PC Hockton then wrote to Ms Bernard requesting her to attend the police station for a voluntary interview.

“He says he was contacted on a number of occasions between 15 December 2020 and 27 January 2021 by someone calling herself Shanice Bernard and claiming to be Zoe Bernard’s sister.

“She said Zoe had been ill and that she was dead.”

Margo Munro Kerr, defending, told the court she had two documents from a team that supports Grenfell victims and their families showing Bernard had first been referred in 2017 and again in October 2021.

A psychiatrist’s report on Bernard was also handed to the court but the doctor said he was unable to diagnose Bernard with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as he did not have access to all of her medical records.

Ms Munro Kerr said: “In the psychiatrist’s report it says Ms Bernard was feeling suicidal prior and planning her death so she applied for a death certificate.”

Judge Beddoe said: “I don’t accept that for a minute. It’s complete nonsense.”

George W. Bush dishes on Putin in Chicago

 

While President Joe Biden took a serious tone last night in attacking Vladimir Putin, former President George W. Bush was in Chicago, making his own jabs at the Russian leader.

Bush headlined a benefit fundraiser for the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center, which Gov. JB Pritzker helped build. The governor gave opening remarks before Bush took the stage for a Q&A with museum CEO Susan Abrams.

The Republican former president managed to mix serious comments about Ukraine with takes on Putin, and some humor too. He began by telling a story about once playing host to Putin.

“I introduced Vladimir Putin to Barney, our Scottish terrier, and [Putin] dissed him. A year later, Laura and I go visit Vladimir and his wife — this was before he decided to be with a gymnast 30 years younger — and he says, ‘I want you to meet my dog.’ I said, ‘Yeah, sure.’ And I’ll never forget, out runs a huge Russian hound," Bush said. "And Putin says ‘Bigger, stronger, and faster than Barney.’" (Big laugh from the audience here.)

Bush added: “By the way, I told that to the Canadian prime minister and he said, ‘At least he only showed you his dog.’”

It was a funny setup to a deeper discussion about Putin’s aggressive actions toward Ukraine. “In [Putin’s] view the demise of the Soviet Union is bad for the Russian people, so we’re watching him try to reinstate Soviet hegemony,” said Bush. “He picks weak people to do that. He thought Ukraine was weak, but it’s not. Ukraine is showing a backbone and a spine that this world sorely needs to see.”

The crowd of 1,300 guests ate it up. Here’s an abbreviated take on some of Bush’s other comments.

Regarding how Germany has responded to Russia invading Ukraine: “The Germans attitude has shifted completely from becoming guilt-ridden pacifists to people who understand that liberty is under attack and we have to do something about it.”

On China: “I don’t think they want to be too cozy with Putin at this moment. So this may be an opportunity to conduct some diplomacy that [creates] an alliance of convenience. The president’s foreign policy team has an opportunity to deal with China in a way that will surprise the country. … Putin loves the idea of isolating China against the United States. The idea of China needing Putin’s energy gives Putin a chance to say to the world: ‘The United States is no longer as significant as it used to be. It's now Russia and China.’ And that’s just not going to hold given his actions in Ukraine.”

What messages do we take from the events of 9/11? “The human condition matters to our security. We cannot be an isolationist nation and hope to protect ourselves. The idea that how other people live does not matter is foolhardy. The lesson of 9/11, there are people who can’t stand our way of life and are willing to do us harm. And therefore, the United States must be forward-leaning in protecting our people, not hoping for the best. The lesson of 9/11 is still relevant today.”

Switching gears…

What parental advice did he give his daughters? “Girls, I love you. There’s nothing you can do to make me stop loving you. So stop trying.”

What about his friendship with Michelle Obama? “I sit next to her at funerals. And political funerals tend to go way too long, so I’m bored. I gave her a mint. … And after I got in the car, Jenna [his daughter] called and said ‘Dad, you’re trending.’ It was an illuminating moment for me because the country is starved for the kind of relationship where a Republican and a Democrat don’t have to be warring.”

DUMP RUSSIA: Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot are taking steps to extricate Illinois and the city from Russia.
The governor has sent letters to the Illinois State Board of Investments, Teachers’ Retirement System Board, and State Universities Retirement System Board, calling for them to “explore the potential of divesting state pension assets from Russian-based companies and Russian assets and the feasibility of doing so.” The state has a $100 billion portfolio.
“The State of Illinois stands with the people of Ukraine and nations around the world supporting peace in the country,” Pritzker wrote in the letter sent late Monday.
Lightfoot has called for suspending Chicago’s sister city relationship with Moscow — a tactic that's trending across the country. “While this is not a decision I enter into lightly, we must send an unambiguous message: we strongly condemn all actions by the Putin regime,” she said in a statement, adding that on Monday, she directed World Business Chicago to suspend the relationship.
Thirty-two members of the Chicago City Council called for ending the relationship with Moscow outright. In a statement tweeted by Ald. Raymond Lopez, the council members said Moscow’s sister city status should be “revoked” and that the Russian capital city should not be allowed to get back in the program until “normal diplomatic relations are reinstated.”
The Illinois actions follow efforts across the country to put the squeeze on Russia for its aggression in Ukraine.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for divesting any Russian investments in state pension funds (California State Controller Betty Yee, however, issued a statement last night raising doubts about how quickly something like that could happen, particularly when the value of Russian assets have plummeted in the last week). New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order to ban state agencies from doing business with Russia. The Indiana House passed legislation calling for sanctions against Russia.
And Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, a Republican, received a bipartisan standing ovation when he told lawmakers he would push to divest state retirement funds from Russian assets too.

Looking for love? Here are six dating tips from a Chicago matchmaker

 

The Chicago cold and COVID-19 may be keeping you indoors, but that doesn’t mean you need to stop searching for your soulmate. In fact, a new romance may be just what you need to muddle through the isolation of another pandemic winter. “We’ve all experienced what it’s like to really be alone for an extended period of time, People have wanted connection more than ever.” With Valentine’s Day approaching, we asked the modern-day cupid for advice on how to find someone who keeps your heart warm. Here are a few of her tips and tricks.

1. Define your expectations

Before you dive into the local dating pool, Laricks recommends taking some time to figure out what you need in a partner. “Come up with your three must-haves, three core values that you can’t live without,” she said — traits like honesty, loyalty or a sense of humor. Then, draft up a similar list of deal breakers. Laricks’s clients often point to religion, politics, smoking and even cat allergies as serious complications to compatibility.

Once you’ve clarified those key qualities, feel free to add some “nice-to-haves” to your list. Attracted to a sharp jawline or drawn to a bright smile? Put them down as possible perks.

2. Expand your horizons

While it’s helpful to have your priorities in place before meeting a potential partner, Laricks said don’t immediately discount those who differ from the mold. Past experiences and societal pressures often influence what you think you should want from a relationship, but that’s not always what you need.

“Many of us cling so tightly to a list that we don’t allow ourselves to be surprised and delighted by what actually really feels good to us,” Laricks said. Case in point: More than 50% of her clients who end up dating one of their matches find the person has characteristics that fall outside their initial preferences.

3. Strengthen your dating muscle

In some ways, dating is a bit like exercise — it can wear you out, but it gets easier with practice.

“So many people have swiping fatigue and are so frustrated by the amount of time it takes to swipe and then message and then sometimes it goes somewhere, sometimes it doesn’t,” Laricks said. Matchmakers and other relationship experts can serve as personal trainers, coaching you to get back out there instead of calling it quits.

4. Avoid ghosting

If a date leaves something to be desired, resist the urge to disappear. Not only can ghosting leave the other person feeling hurt, it cuts off potential opportunities for growth.

“I always will check in with my client and their match and really get downloads … where we ask all kinds of questions and really figure out how everyone felt on the date,” Laricks said. Even if you’re not interested in round two, forcing yourself to reflect on the experience can help clarify what you are looking for in a partner. Plus, she adds, being honest about your feelings can prevent your date from making assumptions about what went wrong.

5. Give your dates some direction

Planning a meet-up with a match? Choose an activity that creates space for quality conversations — even if the Chicago cold keeps you cozied up indoors for a movie.

“Try to make what you watch [or] what you do have a discussion point so that you’re constantly learning something new about each other,” Laricks said. A documentary, for instance, could spark the other person’s sense of curiosity, prompting an interesting dialogue. Meanwhile, something more nostalgic could bring up memories from childhood, helping you better understand your partner’s past.

6. Don’t be afraid to ask for help

In a world of swiping and super likes, modern dating can feel pretty impersonal. However, Laricks said it doesn’t have to be an isolating process.

“People aren’t able to normalize their experience because quite often when you’re doing this on your own, or you don’t have that village around you or that community around you,” she said, “there’s that tendency to think, ‘Oh, I’m the only one who’s waiting by my phone for a text for 10 minutes’ or ‘I’m the only one who thinks that she’s not interested in me, because two days have gone by and I haven’t heard from her.’ ”

Instead of spiraling solo, seek support. Sharing your fears and frustrations with someone you trust can take some of the weight off your shoulders, giving you the strength you need to bounce back.

Who’s who in Eric Adams’ administration

 

Yes, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is thinking about “emotional intelligence” as he fills out his administration, but he’s also thinking about demographic representation. He said for months that he would appoint a woman to lead the New York City Police Department and he did, setting up Keechant Sewell to be the first female commissioner to lead the country’s largest police force. The man who narrowly defeated two women in the Democratic primary also announced that five of his deputy mayors will be women – four of them women of color. And the leader of the city Department of Correction will be a Latino man, Louis Molina, overseeing a majority Black and Latino workforce overseeing jails where the majority of people incarcerated are also people of color.

Appointing leaders at the top level may take Adams some time. Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio was appointing commissioners well into April when he took over in 2014 – though he was criticized at the time. Here’s who will be in the Adams administration so far. 

City Hall Insiders

First deputy mayor: Lorraine Grillo

Grillo has been in city government for nearly three decades, starting at the School Construction Authority in 1993, the agency where she was appointed president by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2010. For a while, she served as commissioner of the city Department of Design and Construction at the same time, before de Blasio named her pandemic recovery czar earlier this year.

Deputy mayor for economic and workforce development: Maria Torres-Springer

Most recently the vice president for U.S. programs at the Ford Foundation, Torres-Springer previously served in the de Blasio administration as commissioner of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, president and CEO of the Economic Development Corp. and commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services. Her husband, Jamie Torres-Springer, is president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s construction and development division.

Deputy mayor for health and human services: Anne Williams-Isom

While she is now the James R. Dumpson endowed chair in child welfare at Fordham’s Graduate School of Social Service, Williams-Isom is best known as the former CEO and COO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, an anti-poverty nonprofit organization. Before that, she was at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services for more than a decade, ending her tenure as a deputy commissioner.

Deputy mayor for operations: Meera Joshi

Joshi is coming from the federal government, where she’s deputy administrator in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. She was briefly New York general manager at Sam Schwartz consultants before that, but is best known as the former chair and CEO of New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. She also has experience at the city Department of Investigation and the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

Deputy mayor for public safety: Philip Banks

Banks resigned as chief of department for the NYPD in 2014 after a 28-year career. He said the cause was professional differences between himself and then-Commissioner Bill Bratton. But it was later revealed that Banks was under federal investigation for possible influence trading. He was never charged with a crime, but named in court papers as an unindicted co-conspirator. More recently, Banks has been consulting city governments and police departments with his firm CitySafe Partners.

Deputy mayor for strategic initiatives: Sheena Wright

Wright is leading Adams’ transition committee and is now getting a top job. She’s president and CEO of the nonprofit United Way of New York City, and before that, she led the Abyssinian Development Corp. Her reported partner is David Banks, who has been appointed city schools chancellor. 

Chief advisor to the mayor: Ingrid Lewis-Martin

Lewis-Martin has been one of Adams’ closest advisors since before he entered the state Senate in 2007. The “tough-as-nails gatekeeper” has worked with him throughout Adams’ political career, most recently as deputy borough president of Brooklyn.

Chief counsel to the mayor: Brendan McGuire

A partner at white shoe law firm WilmerHale, McGuire previously led the public corruption unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Back in March, McGuire wrote an op-ed in the Daily News calling on strict anti-corruption standards for the next mayor. McGuire is the son of Robert McGuire, who served as NYPD commissioner under former New York City Mayor Ed Koch. 

Chief of staff to the mayor: Frank Carone

Frank Carone, a giant in Brooklyn politics and close adviser to Adams through the campaign, is coming on as chief of staff to the new mayor. Carone, a lawyer, has developed a reputation as a political power broker and is expected to serve in a similar capacity as de Blasio’s longtime chief of staff Emma Wolfe, the Times reports.

First deputy chief of staff to the mayor: Dawn Miller

Previously chief of staff at the Taxi and Limousine Commission, Miller was more recently in the private sector as vice president for policy and partnerships at Coord , a street space management tech startup. 

Deputy chief of staff to the mayor: Madeline Labadie

Labadie is also coming from the TLC, where she worked for seven years, most recently as director of strategic initiatives. Before that, she was a political coordinator for the Hotel Trades Council. 

Deputy chief of staff to the mayor: Ryan Lynch

Previously a director with the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Lynch joined Adams at Brooklyn Borough Hall back in 2014, rising up to becoming the then-borough president’s chief of staff.

Deputy chief of staff to the mayor: Menashe Shapiro

A top staffer on Eric Adams’ mayoral campaign – known for defending the candidate on Twitter – Shapiro is an attorney and longtime political consultant who previously worked on Michael Bloomberg’s presidential and 2009 reelection campaign. 

Senior advisor to the mayor: Stefan Ringel

Ringel is one of Adams’ longest-tenured aides. He started at Brooklyn Borough Hall under the previous borough president, Marty Markowitz, and worked for Adams as communications director, then senior advisor, and worked on his mayoral campaign as well. Before that, Ringel worked comms for then-Council Member Jumaane Williams.

Senior advisor to the mayor: Eric Ulrich

A New York City Council member for more than 12 years representing parts of the Queens and the Rockaways, Ulrich was a public supporter of Adams’ mayoral campaign despite being a Republican who had said he planned to vote for Donald Trump in 2020. Ulrich ran for public advocate in 2019, and came in second.

Senior advisor for external affairs to the mayor: Tiffany Raspberry

A top advisor on Adams’ campaign and transition team, Raspberry has been a political consultant and lobbyist for nearly two decades, recently representing clients including Success Academy charter schools and tobacco company Reynolds American. 

Senior advisor and director of public service engagement to the mayor: Andrea Shapiro Davis

A longtime City University of New York leader who most recently served as interim vice chancellor for university advancement, she previously worked as a senior advisor to former Mayor Bloomberg, whose City Hall she worked in for all 12 years. 

Chief of staff to the first deputy mayor: Jeff Rodus

Rodus comes from CMW Strategies, where he was a lobbyist representing clients such as the Brooklyn Museum and the Building Trades Employers Association. Before that, he was a top City Council staffer under Speakers Christine Quinn and Melissa Mark-Viverito.

Chief of staff to the deputy mayor of operations: Jimmy Oddo

The borough president of Staten Island from 2014 to 2021, Oddo said that deputy mayor of operations was his “perfect job.” Now the Republican will be the deputy mayor’s right hand.

Communications director: Maxwell Young

Young is now chief public affairs officer and senior vice president at Everytown for Gun Safety. Before that, he worked in communications for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, The Rockefeller Foundation and U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Press secretary: Fabien Levy

Levy comes from Attorney General Letitia James’ office where he was press secretary and senior advisor. Levy did communications for a variety of political campaigns and government offices over the last 15 years including a stint working for now-Gov. Kathy Hochul when she was serving in Congress.

Special assistant to the mayor: Rachel Atcheson

Rachel Atcheson will serve as senior assistant – and unofficial food diarist – to Adams, as well as the at-large director of the SUNY Downstate Committee on Plant-Based Health and Nutrition. Atcheson previously worked on animal welfare issues in the mayor’s office. 

Senior adviser for mayoral security: Bernard Adams

The mayor received a waiver from the Conflicts of Interest Board to hire his brother. To get around the normal rules against benefiting close family members, Bernard Adams will receive a salary of just $1 a year. The NYPD will still oversee the mayor’s detail, but Bernard Adams will serve as a senior adviser, based in the mayor’s office. Bernard Adams is a retired NYPD sergeant who more recently worked at Legalshield, a multilevel marketing firm, and as an administrator at Virginia Commonwealth University’s office of parking and transportation. 

Agency Heads

Administration for Children’s Services commissioner: Jess Dannhauser 

New York City’s child welfare system will fall under the leadership of Dannhauser, the former president and CEO of Graham Windham, a social services nonprofit for children and families. Dannhauser previously worked at ACS in several positions, including associate commissioner for performance measurement, monitoring and improvement.

Department of Citywide Administrative Services commissioner: Dawn Pinnock

Already the acting commissioner since November, Pinnock will officially get the commissioner title in the Adams administration. She was previously the DCAS executive deputy commissioner, and before that, worked for New York City Transit and NYCHA.

City Planning Commission chair: Dan Garodnick

Most recently president and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, who brought lawn-mowing goats to the greenspace, Garodnick is best known for representing much of the east side of Manhattan in the New York City Council from 2006 until 2017. In that position, he helped negotiate the purchase of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village.