Resolve dorm-days rift to truly get past it

Postponed Tokyo Olympics could be downsized and simplified

TOKYO - The Japanese public is being prepared for the reality of next year’s postponed Olympics, where athletes are likely to face quarantines, spectators will be fewer, and the delay will cost taxpayers billions of dollars.

In the last several weeks, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has given selected interviews outside Japan and hinted at empty stadiums, quarantines and virus testing.

IOC member John Coates, who oversees Tokyo preparations, said a few weeks ago in Australia that the Tokyo Olympics face “real problems," partially because of the numbers involved: 15,400 Olympic and Paralympic athletes to start with, and then staff, officials, media and up to 80,000 volunteers.

The stark message about a very different, reduced Olympics is now being floated in Japan by politicians, and in unsourced news stories. The themes include the possibility of reduced seating at the Olympics — if any fans at all — tests for all athletes, fans and staff, and a quarantine-like situation at the Athletes Village.

Roundup of Olympic gold medals from Tuesday, Feb. 8

BEIJING (AP) — A roundup of gold medals from Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the Beijing Games:

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Kelly Taylor

Kelly Taylor is a Winnipeg Free Press copy editor and award-winning automotive journalist. He's been a member of the Automobile Journalists' Association of Canada since 2001.

Beausejour biz has a bit of everything and a lot of buzz

BEAUSEJOUR — Andrea Swain, co-owner of Pennyweight Market, a combination bulk food outlet, ice cream parlour and good, old-fashioned general store situated in Beausejour, laughingly opines that one of the challenges of launching a new venture in a small community such as theirs is that “everybody in town knows your business.”

Among the benefits? That’s easy, she says: everybody in town knows your business.

Not long after they acquired the space four summers ago, rumours abounded as to what it was going to be when it reopened, Swain continues, seated next to her associates Kimberley Friesen and Laurie McLean, inside their cute-as-a-button shop at 802 Park Ave. The previous owner had been around for more than 20 years, and ice cream and milk shakes were two of her main drawing cards, so there was some concern — OK, a lot — on the part of the high school students down the street that the three of them were going to turn it into a (here she lowers her voice to a whisper) health-food store.

Friesen, who, like Swain, grew up in Beausejour, located 45 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, was at a neighbourhood pool party in July 2017, a few weeks before Pennyweight’s grand opening. She recalls being peppered with questions, including one from a 10-year-old girl splashing about in the shallow end who was under the impression the former locale’s beloved “candy island” was about to become a thing of the past. The second Friesen told the youngster not to worry, that the colourful array of gummies, licorice and chocolates wasn’t going anywhere, she came bounding out of the pool to give her a big, albeit wet, hug.

US jobless claims drop; still at 847,000 as pandemic rages

WASHINGTON - The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell but remained at a historically high 847,000 last week, a sign that layoffs keep coming as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage.

Last week’s claims dropped by 67,000, from 914,000 the week before, the Labor Department said Thursday. Before the virus hit the United States hard last March, weekly applications for jobless aid had never topped 700,000.

Tempering last week's bigger-than-expected drop in claims: The four-week moving average — which smooths out week to week gyrations — rose by more than 16,000 last week to 868,000, highest since September.

Overall, nearly 4.8 million Americans received traditional state unemployment benefits the week of Jan. 16. That is down from nearly 5 million the week before and far below a staggering peak of nearly 25 million in May when the virus brought economic activity to a near halt. The drop suggests that some of the unemployed are finding new jobs and that others have exhausted state benefits.

Time for true count of COVID-related deaths

It has often been said the first step in solving a problem is to admit you have one. If that’s true, governments around the world are moving further and further away from finding a solution to the challenge of global pandemics.

How can we both assess the response to date and plan the response to future pandemics if we cannot agree on how many people have died from COVID-19?

The death toll has been one of the stickier points of contention between medical and scientific experts, political leaders and governments — and that segment of the population that disputes the idea COVID-19 poses any significant threat.

The expert group tends to believe deaths are under-reported; governments that seek to evade accountability for their shortcomings and the COVID-19 deniers say they are overstated.