[Governor3]

Secret 'Man Cave' Discovered in Room Beneath Grand Central Station



Dreams do come true—but sometimes, they also get you in deep shit.

A trio of almost-clever Metro-North employees are at risk of losing their jobs after bosses at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority uncovered their secret “man cave” deep in the bowels of New York City’s Grand Central station, according to a newly released report by the MTA’s Office of the Inspector General. Not only was the totally sweet man cave a secret, most people didn’t even know the room they set it up in existed.

Like any good man cave, the Metro-North workers equipped their “Unauthorized Breakroom” with a hideaway futon and cot, air mattress, refrigerator (containing a half-empty can of beer), microwave, and a flatscreen with an Amazon Fire TV, the OIG said in its report. It also featured—if you zoom in on the makeshift TV stand above—what appears to be a drawing of a stick figure with an erect penis next to a dog. Beyond the simple pleasures of beer and naps, these were clearly connoisseurs of life’s finer things.

The employees accused of setting up the man cave—identified only as a wireman, an electrical foreman, and a carpenter foreman—used the space to “hang out and get drunk and party,” according to a complaint received by the MTA, which is the only thing you’re allowed to do in a secret underground man cave, as decreed by the Brotherhood of Great Ideas That Definitely Won’t Get Us Fired.

All of this was tucked inside a locked storage room that was only accessible through the locksmith shop located at the end of Grand Central’s track 114, and nobody seemed to have the key when the bosses finally discovered the room. They eventually had to break in by completely replacing the lock.

The saga of the secret man cave dates back to February 2019 when an anonymous snitch ratted everybody out. (Notably, the anonymous complaint about the room came around the same time as a disciplinary hearing of a Grand Central electrician “who was accused of workplace violence against the Electrical Foreman,” according to the inspector general’s report. A transcript of the hearing shows that someone—we don’t know who—revealed the presence of the room, which the person described as “a little apartment. He has a big screen in there. It used to be an old locksmith storage area.”) Another complaint—the “get drunk and party” one—was filed in June 2019. Both complaints and the transcript were ignored until the OIG got involved.

What followed after the bosses discovered the man cave was a flurry of denials and ass-covering. But none of it worked ‘cause the bosses had the receipts—quite literally, in the case of the wireman, whose name was printed on the receipt for the air mattress, which was still in the box. The other two were just as careless, according to the OIG: “The television had a list of network setting connections, 1 of which was to the hot spot from the Carpenter Foreman’s smart phone. The OIG found 2 datebooks and a pull-up bar bearing the name of the Electrical Foreman and the streaming device was registered to the Electrical Foreman.” Oops.

The trio was eventually put on administrative leave without pay and are at risk of termination because the room was found to be a safety risk, and apparently it’s against MTA policy to set up a secret room and drink while you’re working. The MTA is also overhauling its complaint-tracking process, which allowed the complaints about the man cave to go ignored. And they’re now undergoing an effort to map the labyrinth that is Grand Central’s vast underbelly.

Secret areas are just a part of Grand Central. Deep below the train station is a bunker called M-42. Rumor has it that during World War II, “the bunker had guards with shoot-to-kill orders, for fear of sabotage while the station’s trains were being used to ferry troops into and out of New York,” Time wrote. Then there’s Track 61—an entirely secret train track that was used exclusively by rich people which led straight to the lavish Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The secret track was most famously used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was trying to hide the paraplegia that resulted from him contracting polio.

As with these other once-secret spaces at Grand Central, the worker’s man cave is now wide out in the open. What will happen to the man cave now is anyone’s guess, but knowing the MTA, it’ll probably become a rat-infested hellhole like everything else.

https://gizmodo.com/secret-man-cave-dis ... 1845165983

Somehow I'm having trouble getting worked up over three yahoos and their little rec room under Grand Central. Get back to me when someone wants to tell the real story about this...

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days. It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it, protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters, or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 25TH

What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only once a day
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them to under a minute, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[goldie0608]

How Transparent Solar Panels And ‘Quantum Dots’ Could Make Skyscrapers Power Themselves



In labs around the world, scientists and engineers are working to transform skyscrapers into giant solar energy-generating pylons.

This has been made possible by a seemingly fictional invention that has appeared over the last few years—organic, transparent solar cells that when inserted into panes of glass, absorb sun and turn it into electricity to power the building.

A team from the University of Michigan contributed massively to this research, which was supported by the U.S. Dep. of Energy, by recently breaking the established scientific record for conversion efficiency (8.1%) and transparency (43%) in their carbon-based solar cells inserted into window glass, turning it to a slightly greyish-green tint like sunglasses or car windows.

“The new material we developed, and the structure of the device we built, had to balance multiple trade-offs to provide good sunlight absorption, high voltage, high current, low resistance and color-neutral transparency all at the same time,” said Yongxi Li, an assistant research scientist in electrical engineering and computer science who participated in the record breaking.

In addition, the researchers developed optical coatings which when applied to the glass, as is often the case with treated windows on skyscrapers, boost both power generated from infrared light and transparency in the human-visible range—two qualities that are usually in competition with one another.

Both versions of their cells can be manufactured at large scale, using materials that are less toxic than other transparent solar cells, and they can be placed in between the panes of double-glazed windows.

The transparent organic solar cells can also be customized for local latitudes, taking advantage of the fact that they are most efficient when the sun’s rays are hitting them at a perpendicular angle.

While they haven’t yet brought any of their remarkable technology to market, another company looking to turn skyscraper windows into electricity-rich solar panels is already making profits.

UBiQD and their “Quantum Dots”

Another set of engineers and scientists looking to help change the way skyscrapers power themselves is UBiQD, a development-stage company manufacturing nano-crystals in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

Calling their technology “Quantum Dots” in reference to their size (it would take 100,000 of them to span the width of your fingernail) they are used to make solar-powered windows that operate in a truly mind-boggling fashion.

Like tiny nano-onions, their layers protecting the light-emitting core, they are laminated onto a window pane where their crystalline structure captures sunlight and emits it through internal reflection outward in a two-dimensional grid towards the edges of the window pane.

Once there, the frame in which the glass is fitted can absorb the photovoltaic energy and convert it into electricity without the need for wires or other components to appear on the glass, thereby disrupting the view out of the window.

“A minimal photovoltaic profile and efficiently designed electronics allow UbiQD solar windows to fit into existing manufacturing and installation practices, making for a truly ubiquitous solar window,” explains the company website.

The company is also using another configuration of Quantum Dots to power a warp-speed jump in greenhouse technology. Greenhouse windows treated with special Quantum Dots will actually convert part of the sunlight’s blue spectrum during absorption.

Upon exit, the blue light becomes red, thereby increasing the potency of the plants natural photosynthesis processes.

[Fatima99]

'There's an alpaca on the pitch' - animal stops football match in West Yorkshire for 20 minutes

Oscar the alpaca galloped onto the pitch from a nearby farm, interrupting a game between Carlton Athletic and Ilkley Town.



A football match in West Yorkshire was forced to stop for around 20 minutes after an alpaca invaded the pitch.

Oscar apparently galloped into the game between Carlton Athletic and Ilkley Town on Saturday from a nearby farm, and footage of what happened has gone viral.

Claire Armstrong, Ilkley's COVID-19 officer and wife of the first-team coach, filmed the invasion on her phone, according to club chairman Richard Giles.

He said: "Claire was on a call with someone and said 'I'm so sorry, I've got to put the phone down, there's an alpaca on the pitch'."

The animal appeared five minutes before half-time and brushed off attempts to usher it off the pitch for so long that players were left feeling cold by the time play resumed.

He said: "Claire was on a call with someone and said 'I'm so sorry, I've got to put the phone down, there's an alpaca on the pitch'."

The animal appeared five minutes before half-time and brushed off attempts to usher it off the pitch for so long that players were left feeling cold by the time play resumed.

"I've been watching football and playing football 40 years and never seen anything like this," added Mr Giles.

Despite the delay, Ilkley, who play in the seventh tier of English football, went on to win the game in Wakefield 2-0 with goals from Tom Fleming and Joe Chilaka.

[krazny9]

Grannys Keep Art of Pasta Alive on Film



Since moving to Italy’s Le Marche region, Vicky Bennison, a former international development worker, has filmed more than 200 nonnas (grandmothers) over the past four years making all sorts of pasta, from gnocchi in the Italian Alps to orecchiette in Puglia.
Her YouTube channel featuring the “Pasta Grannies” has become a runaway hit, racking up 455,000 subscribers.

“The grannies are the last generation that had to make pasta every day to feed their families,” Bennison says. “I wanted to celebrate older women and their experiences. These women are survivors.”



They include Tuscan nonna Giuseppina Spiganti, 93 (above), who shows YouTube viewers how to make spaghetti-like “pici” pasta. The videos are a kind of oral history, often recording unique recipes.
But it’s the grannies themselves who have won global appeal. “It’s not about pasta-making really,” says Bennison. “It’s more like a warm hug.

[PennySerenade]

Someone just made a $250 million donation to the University of Toronto



TORONTO -- The University of Toronto has received a $250-million donation it says will be used for health-care research and innovation.

The school says a philanthropic couple donated the money to the school's faculty of medicine and affiliated hospitals.

It says the money will be used on a new building for education and research, as well as on machine learning in medicine, biomedical research and entrepreneurship.

Ten-million will also be given to the school's COVID-19 fund to support front-line clinical work and work by faculty members to improve testing, vaccine research and treatment strategies.

The school says some will also be used on equity that includes scholarships for students of diverse backgrounds with a focus on Black and Indigenous students. U of T says it will rename the faculty of medicine after the donors, James and Louise Temerty.

[Governor3]

12-year-old begins sophomore year of college!



At just 12 years old, Caleb Anderson has just started his sophomore year at Chattahoochee Technical College, majoring in aerospace engineering.

MARIETTA, Ga. — Caleb Anderson learned sign language before he could verbally communicate.

At age two, he could read the United States Constitution.

He qualified for MENSA at age three, and while he learned English as his first language, he also learned Spanish, French and Mandarin, too.

While those milestones are impressive enough, Anderson is continuing to make history – as a 12-year-old Sophomore in college!

“By nine months old, he was able to sign over 250 words, and by 11 months old, he was speaking and reading,” his family described.

Claire and Kobi Anderson said it didn’t take long to realize their first child was special.

“As we started to interact with other parents, and had other children, then we started to realize how exceptional this experience was, because we had no other frame of reference,” Caleb’s dad Kobi explained.

Though Caleb qualified for MENSA at age three, he joined at age five. His family said they were told he was the youngest African-American boy to be accepted at the time.

The bright, young boy from Marietta whizzed through elementary, middle and high school.

“He said, ‘mom I’m bored. This is not challenging’,” Caleb’s mom Claire recalled her son saying. “‘It’s really not helping me grow in my learning, and I think I’m ready for college.’”

Now, at just 12 years old, he’s just started his sophomore year at Chattahoochee Technical College, majoring in aerospace engineering.

“What was it like being a freshman in college at your age,” 11Alive asked.

“It was exactly how I expected it to be like, if I were 18 or something,” he replied.
Because of his age, Caleb’s dad Kobi has to chaperon him on campus.

“So, you’ve had to go back to college with him?”

“Yes, going back to college,” Kobi replied, laughing.

But he's not Caleb's study-buddy.

“He has far surpassed me in math, so I can’t help him anymore,” Kobi added. Seriously! He’s in calculus two now!”

The Andersons have two other children, Aaron and Hannah, who are also gifted, and the family wanted others to know that there are more like Caleb than they might think.

“I think people have a negative perspective when it comes to African-American boys. There are many other Calebs out there. African-American boys like him,” Claire explained. “From being a teacher - I really believe that. But they don’t have the opportunity or the resources.”
The Andersons realize that every child is different and will perform at their own level, but Claire had this advice to offer when it comes to parenting:

Raise the child you have, not the child you want
Fully invest in the skills and talents your child has and remember there are free resources
Focus on creating a love for learning, not just the learning itself
The end goal to what you teach them should go back to building character
Teach them to appreciate the gifts other people have
As parents, it's important to remember you are always enough for your children
Meanwhile, Caleb is on track to graduate at 14. He hopes to go on to Georgia Tech, and, maybe, MIT.

By the time I was 12, I knew how to make french toast. But this is impressive too.

[FRKJ]

Taking Hot Baths Regularly May Lower Blood Pressure, Study Says

Taking a hot bath several times a week has been shown in a study to possibly reduce your risk for blood pressure and diabetes.



These findings came from a cohort study of 1,300 individuals in three different bathing groups—those who took a hot bath less than one, from one to four, and four or more, times a week.

Consistent with other findings based on the therapeutic benefits of extreme heat, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes collected measurements like blood pressure, body mass, and blood tests, and found that those with a higher frequency of bathing saw decreases in body weight, diastolic blood pressure, and glycated hemoglobin (a marker of blood sugar).

The highest average risk reductions were observed in those who bathed four or more times a week for a mean duration of 16 minutes, and the improvements in blood pressure and blood sugar were observed in adults regardless of weight, age, sex, or medications taken.

“Heat therapy, shown here with hot tub bathing, can be one effective therapeutic option for type 2 diabetes in daily life. An alternative form of heat exposure might be nutrition therapy and exercise,” noted Hisayuki Katsuyama, MD, in a report with Medscape news.


Heat shock therapy

One of the reasons heat therapy, as Katsuyama pointed out, can produce positive results with diabetes is that as blood moves from your core to your skin to facilitate sweating in the hot environment of a Jacuzzi or a hot bath, your heart starts to beat faster—up to 150 beats per minute, which is about the same as moderate intensity exercise.

Since exercise is an all-cause mortality mitigator, it’s no surprise the similar physiological effect would be beneficial for such significant morbidity factors like high-blood pressure, or diabetes.

These two conditions, along with a host of others, were improved with another form of therapeutic heat—saunas.

A Finnish sauna session was found to increase heart-rate variability, which is indicative of the heart’s capacity to react strongly under stressful conditions. Long-term sauna use was also found to improve left-ventricular function and blood pressure.

Finnish saunas when used a similar number of times per week were also found to decrease the risk of death for stroke, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease by around 46%.

Sauna and hot water bathing can reduce your risk for all manner of heart-related diseases, possibly because it mimics exercise. In any case, if you’re the person who likes a hot bath before bed, you’re likely benefiting in ways you could never have imagined.

[Fivetide]

Giant rat wins animal hero award for sniffing out landmines


In this undated photo issued by the PDSA, People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, Cambodian landmine
detection rat, Magawa is photographed wearing his PDSA Gold Medal, the animal equivalent of the
George Cross, in Siem, Cambodia. A British animal charity has on Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, for the first
time awarded its top civilian honor to a rat, recognizing the rodent for his "lifesaving bravery and devotion”
in searching out unexploded landmines in Cambodia.

A rat has for the first time won a British charity’s top civilian award for animal bravery, receiving the honor for searching out unexploded landmines in Cambodia.

Magawa, a giant African pouched rat, was awarded the PDSA’s Gold Medal for his “lifesaving bravery and devotion” after discovering 39 landmines and 28 items of unexploded ordinance in the past seven years, according to the charity.

First known as the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals, PDSA started as a free veterinary clinic in 1917 and has honored heroic animals since 1943.

Magawa was trained by a Belgian organization that has taught rats to find landmines for more than 20 years. The group, APOPO, works with programs in Cambodia, Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to clear millions of mines left behind from wars and conflicts.

Magawa is the group’s most successful rat, having cleared more than 141,000 square meters of land, the equivalent of some 20 soccer fields.

APOPO chief executive Christophe Cox described Magawa’s medal as a huge honor “for our animal trainers.”

“But also it is big for the people in Cambodia, and all the people around the world who are suffering from landmines,” Cox said. “The PDSA Gold Medal award brings the problem of landmines to global attention.”

More than 60 million people in 59 countries continue to be threatened by landmines and unexploded ordinance, according to APOPO. In 2018, landmines and other remnants of war killed or injured 6,897 people, the group says.

While many rodents can be trained to detect scents and will work at repetitive tasks for food rewards, APOPO decided that giant African pouched rats were best suited to landmine clearance because of their African origins and lifespan of up to eight years.



Their size allows the rats to walk across mine fields without triggering the explosives - and do it much more quickly than people.

The PDSA’s Gold Medal has been awarded since 2002 to recognize bravery and acts of exceptional devotion by animals in civilian service. It is considered the animal equivalent of the George Cross, a decoration for heroism.

Before Magawa, all the recipients were dogs.

PDSA also awards the Dickin Medal for military service. The medal has been awarded to 34 dogs, 32 pigeons, four horses and one cat since it was created in 1943.

Chinese drug dealer on death row in Indonesia who escaped via sewers yet to be found


Prisoner Cai Changpan tunnelled through the prison's sewage system last week.

A Chinese drug trafficker under death sentence who escaped from a jail near Indonesia's capital Jakarta by tunnelling through the sewage system last week was yet to be found, police said.
Key points:
The prisoner used tools from a construction project to make his escape, officials say
He was sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking 135 kilograms of crystal meth
Police say they have questioned four prison staff and one civilian
Cai Changpan, 37, who was convicted of methamphetamine smuggling, dug a hole from his cell at a prison in Java's Tangerang area into waste pipes and on to a road on 14 September, Indonesian police spokesman Yusri Yunus told reporters.
However, his disappearance was not discovered by authorities until four days later on 18 September, local media reported.
The Tangerang police said they questioned four prison staff and one civilian in regard to the ongoing investigation.
"This is an extreme case that cannot be generalised and is not representative of Indonesia's prison system," Adrianus Meliala, criminologist from Indonesia's ombudsman office, said.
"So it will be properly investigated, including if there are prison wardens involved, or anything else."


Cai had planned his sewage escape five to six months prior, officials said.

According to a cell mate, Cai had planned the escape for five to six months prior and used tools from a construction project in the prison kitchen, Mr Yusri said.
Mr Yusri told reporters that prison officials were not across Cai's activities in the six months it took for him to plan his escape.
"If we knew what he was up to earlier on, then he would have been apprehended by guards. We are still slowly investigating the matter," Mr Yusri was quoted to have said by local media Tribun.


Police said Cai had previously broken out of a Jakarta police detention centre in 2017.

Indonesia Directorate General of Prisons spokeswoman Rika Aprianti told media the convicted trafficker, who also goes by the name Cai Ji Fan, had timed his escape to coincide with the changing of the guards.
According to Indonesian news website Detik, Cai was sentenced to death in 2017 for trafficking 135 kilograms of crystal meth.
The investigation reportedly found drugs in his car, a garage and in chicken coop cleaner equipment.
Police also said Cai had previously broken out of a Jakarta police detention centre in 2017 by breaking a hole in a bathroom wall.
No lawyer or representative for Cai was immediately reachable for comment.
Police have put him on their most wanted list and applied for an international travel ban on his passport.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-23/ ... s/12692658

Jees, I'm gotta help the police fortunately I have some videotape of his jailbreak

[hija]

Official blessing for Sagrada



Some 136 years after construction began, Barcelona’s famous Sagrada Familia basilica is finally to get a building permit.

City officials say that legendary architect Antoni Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece lacked the proper paperwork. To settle the dispute, the Sagrada’s trustees have agreed to pay 36 million euros over 10 years: the money will go towards improving public transport and nearby streets.

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days. It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it, protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters, or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 26TH

What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You may post One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can enter only once a day
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them to under a minute, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[krazny9]

Netherlands Turns 316 Bus Stops Into Bee Havens



According to statistics, 358 bee species live in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, more than half of them are already endangered. The Netherlands’ officials recognized the problem with declining bee population and found an ingenious solution – to transform the city of Utrecht’s bus stops into bee-friendly havens to support pollinating populations.

Utrecht is the fourth-largest city in the Netherlands, located in the central part of the country. The Utrecht council saw an opportunity to expand the functions of a regular bus stop by giving them a new purpose: To tackle the growing endangerment of honey bees.



The new lush rooftops will encourage pollination by honeybees and bumblebees
Not only do newly revamped bus stops look cozier, but the flowering plants also support the city’s dwindling ecosystems, such as honeybees and bumblebees. The green rooftops filled with flowers for bees also help to capture fine dust and store rainwater.

The officials are planning to install solar panels atop the bus stops in the next few years as well

[goldie0608]

Woman Inspired By Dog’s Survival During Wildfire Rallies to Donate 7,500 Pet Oxygen Masks–Plus She Adopted the Pup



Back in 2017, Southern California firefighters rescued a 4-month-old puppy from a raging wildfire.

The Great Dane/Lab mix was placed in an Anaheim animal shelter, with hopes of being reunited with her owners. When no family came to claim her, she was put up for adoption.

The pup’s soulful brown eyes and engaging demeanor soon won the heart of Debra Jo Chiapuzio, a former medical tattoo artist who’d employed her skills to lend emotional support to burn victims and cancer survivors.

In addition to her “ink creds,” Chiapuzio was also a longtime teaching practitioner of animal first aid and CPR.

She named her new fur baby Emma Zen because “she’s as Zen as her name—super mellow, super sweet, easygoing, and very adventurous,” Chiapuzio said in an interview with TODAY.

Even before adopting Emma Zen, no one understood better than Chiapuzio the devastating toll California wildfires were taking companion animals. Along with that knowledge, Chiapuzio saw an untapped need she felt destined to fulfill.

Chiapuzio started out by donating 17 specially fitted pet oxygen masks to the Anaheim fire department. She trained the firefighters to use them—but in her heart, she knew there was more to be done.

So, in 2011, Chiapuzio launched the nonprofit Emma Zen Foundation with the goal of distributing pet oxygen masks and offering education in their proper use to as many first responders as possible.

The dynamic duo of Chiapuzio and Emma Zen has since been checking in with fire stations up and down the West Coast.

As a result of their efforts—along with some much-appreciated help from a variety of donors including Girl Scout troops, the Annenberg Foundation, and numerous individuals—so far, the Emma Zen Foundation has been able to distribute 7,500 pet oxygen masks nationwide.

With the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in the States, Chiapuzio eventually decided to dedicate herself to the Emma Zen foundation full-time.

At 13, in spite of a bit of age-related doggy arthritis, Emma Zen the canine still keeps her dog mom company as she makes the rounds.

“If I died tomorrow, we left behind—Emma and I—something that means more to me than anything, and that’s the animals on this planet,” Chiapuzio said. “This has been my biggest accomplishment, and I was led there by a dog.”

[Fatima99]

'Fires Do Not Have Borders': Mexican Firefighters Arrive In California

Firefighters from Mexico have arrived in California to help battle the wildfires ravaging the state.



The US Forest Service in California welcomed firefighters from Mexico's National Forestry Commission on Wednesday.

"Fires do not have borders, fires do not have different languages and cultures. In the end we all speak the same language when it comes to fighting fire," said Eduardo Cruz, the Mexican agency's national fire director.

The five crews from Mexico -- a total of 100 firefighters -- will help fight the Sequoia Complex Fire, which spans more than 144,000 acres.

"We're proud to have them here," said Tony Scardina, deputy regional forester of the Pacific Southwest region of the US Forest Service.