Maybe please look for that. It should be coming out shortly. And then we can move to approve those on Monday. So today we're going to go through public comments received. I don't believe there are any this week. So as a reminder to everyone, you may submit your public comments via the CCB's website. There is the way to do that. Then also we'll be talking about personal equity candidate parameters and requirements and then of course upcoming priorities. And if any of the members of the public would like to comment, that will be at 10 till the hour. And we should conclude at 4 p.m. today. All right, Gina and Jeffrey, I'll let you both step in and take it away. Thank you everyone for joining us today. So excited to be here everyone. Again, thank you so much for spending your time and your expertise with us. Thank you for the people who have come from the public. Hello to you as well. We really appreciate you joining us today. I know last time we left off with this slide. So I'm going to hand this over to Jeffrey as he was concluding with that last. Thank you. So this is from a proposed bill in Vermont that's on the table right now. And this is a way to define what a disproportionately impacted area is. Going back to our earlier conversations, we're trying to measure what the impact of community, the impact on the community that cannabis prohibition has had. And so this is something that we've seen from other states. This is a geographical approach, like I said. So number one is a Vermont opportunity zone as a way to identify what an impacted area is. And the reason my guess is the reason why that's there is because the IRS has gone through the hard work of identifying these areas around the country that have been like a lower poverty rate and a lower income compared to the rest of the state. And so this can be a way to identify what part of the state fall into that category. And as it spurs it down on B, it says, you know, 20% poverty rate. And then a free lunch program, SNAP assistance, and then the high rates of arrest, conviction, and incarceration related to cannabis. And so this is information that we still need from Vermont. What is the law enforcement approach to cannabis prohibition in Vermont? So yeah, I see Ashley just raise your hand. Go ahead, Ashley. I just wanted to make a quick note about Section C. I don't 100% understand the algorithm, but as a mom with children who are in public school here in Vermont, 100% of the children in public school qualify for federal free lunch. And to my knowledge, based off of how extensive and we utilize a lot of the fresh network farms to service the schools for free lunch. I'm pretty sure that that 75% are more children. I think that if you pulled the state, you would see that number. And I don't think that that's necessarily indicative of poverty, necessarily in our state based off of what I'm seeing for qualifications now in the state of Vermont. I agree, Ashley. I have spoken to someone about this. And especially during COVID, everybody has been receiving free lunches. We bring this slide to you based on the proposal of what is on the table for Vermont. And the following slide that you will see is evidence that we have gone through to look at the exact criteria. And then we will have our recommendation based on the evidence that we have found. So we just wanted to make clear guidance to you throughout all of it. But thank you so much because that is a really great point that you've raised. I appreciate that. And I've seen them on the slide a couple of times and I was curious. Yeah, I just thought I would be remiss if I hadn't made that note. So thank you. That's a good point to raise because it's very, very true. And our recommendation will be something different, which we'll discuss once we go through the presentation because that's one of that very reason. So the next slide, Tanika, I just see your hand up. Was there anything you wanted to ask? Actually, the only question that I had was because there's free lunch here as well due to COVID with all of our districts. Is that year round actually or each regardless? Okay, so that does not matter. Everyone qualifies. So that's a good point that everybody's raised. It sounds like maybe the free lunch criteria is not going to help us identify the community. So maybe we should just like forget that part. Yes, Jeffrey. That was kind of my point without being that correct. No, that's a good point though. So just to make sure that it's not a reactionary free lunch and it's an all the time free lunch, we need to remove it from the criteria. That is not going to be our end recommendation. We're just continue with the presentation or so. What we believe the real criteria is based on the assessment that BTH 14 has made. So one of the major things is why low income candidates? Why do we feel or the state of Vermont feels that they have suffered from the war on drugs? And in the proposal, it goes directly, which I think is a really valid, beautifully stated, you know, individuals who have residencies in areas of high poverty suffer negative consequences, including barriers to entry in employment, business ownership, housing, long-term financial well-being, promotion of business ownership by individuals who have resided in areas of high poverty, and high enforcement of cannabis related laws for the equitable cannabis industry. And we definitely agree with that statement. How does everybody feel about that statement? Are we on board with this quote of why we should be including both income candidates into the cannabis industry and the barriers that they have faced? Nader? Yeah, I'm just rereading it right now and I think it's clear and to the point when I like it. Do you agree that they should be included as candidates low income and we can do so around that? Thank you. And Susanna, your thoughts? Can you hear me? Yes. Okay, yes, I agree. I also think that it's a concise statement and I think that they should be included as well. Thank you. I do see that there are more people who have joined us. TJ, are you on the call now? Ashley, what are your thoughts about low income candidates? I like how this is written, but one thing I'd like to see and maybe, Nader, you can kind of touch on this a little bit of the high enforcement of cannabis related laws. So are we going to be able to see by county, by town in the state of Vermont, what sort of percentages we have that are, what are we deeming as a higher enforcement? Is that per capita? Is that, you know, obviously that's going to be heavily skewed? Is Burlington obviously a hotspot? Is the southern Vermont, Rutland area, Windsor area, is that necessarily a hotspot? What are we calling it? What's the word? We will not low income areas, but what was the slide before it was like zone? Yes, yes, thank you. So we're talking about opportunity zones and areas that have been impacted based on what they believe to be low income. So we're doing it by taxes as well. You know, is this areas of high minorities or are we going to do based on opportunities? So we're just guessing that in about one minute. But are you happy to include low income candidates for the social equity program? 100%. Okay, thank you so much. So one of the questions is, as you're saying, where is this low income? Where are these disproportionately impacted areas that we need to focus on? Some of the criteria is, you know, do we focus on just, you know, higher communities of bypass rates? So that is one way that we can determine disproportionately impacted areas as most of these counties as we already know are very low income. Another way was to focus on the 2019 income taxes in or 2020. Now, after doing much research and being able to speak with the Vermont Department of Taxes, they have recommended to us that that might not be the best way because about 17% of Vermonters do not file taxes because they do not have to because their income is below $12,400, which are exactly the types of people that we want to be helping. So if we went just based on that data, which you see here on this chart, it really would not get us the demographic that we're really after. And then we have the opportunity zone. And the opportunity zones take into account low income areas. And it also takes into these communities also have high BIPOC communities as well. And, you know, this is for the poverty rates has to be at least 20%. It's about, it doesn't exceed 80% of the median family income. And our, so I'm going to, the next slide is going to show you where sort of the opportunity zones are. And it's done by the census tract. And some counties have multiple census tracts in them. And this was a really great way of zoning those lines because it created a smaller area instead of just saying the entire county. So we have really zoned in to where the most low income areas are and who would need the most help. Jeffy, is there anything that you're like to add about opportunity zones? I think just like in the absence of a disproportionate impacted area report from Vermont, this is a good way to target communities that could have been impacted by Canada's prohibition in absence of specific data. Actually, I know that you had a big question of sort of how do we identify where is this proportionally impacted area. And based on our research and, you know, reviewing what the proposed bill was, I really do feel and it is in our best opinion that concentrating on a disproportionate area as the opportunity zones in Vermont would probably be the best. You know, a lot of research has gone into determining what these opportunity zones are. How do you feel about that, Ashley? I mean, given the definition, I think these are good. I mean, none of these are surprising towns to me. But yeah, I mean, every single one of these towns is going to have some sort of retail sales. Maybe not for gens, but we'll see. But other than that, I mean, it makes sense. And given, you know, if we're looking specifically at the BIPOC community, I mean, I think these are all well within the limits without seeing the actual report. But, you know, like Randolph, I think it's going to be tricky. I grew up there. I'm pretty familiar with that demographic. So that's the only one that's standing up to me that I'm like, mmm, that's going to be a tricky definition. But hopefully, I mean, that's one out of how many do we have here. So I feel good about it. Thank you for that feedback and also what I want to really state is because this is done by a census check, it's not helping an entire county. It's helping certain parts, certain districts within that county, where the county may not be an entirety low income, but that one point in it may, just to give more clarification as to these census tracks. And on the next slide, if you go to this website, which everybody has access to, you can see exactly where in the county the census tracks are. And then it gives you other information to understand what their average income looks like. And it gives us all of that information to really base. Okay, you can really see what that low social economic looks like for that small community. Can I ask one more question, Gina? When it comes to this kind of me coming off of the compliance and right world brain, but are we assuming that all of those towns and counties in one way or two for another are going to opt in to having reached out there? Like, I was thinking about this the other day, I was kind of like up in the middle of it. Okay, let's say we create these opportunity zones, we create this applicant, this amazing qualifications for our social equity applicant, but if the town is going to allow sales, is it all kind of our weight? So do we know specifically that these towns are going to say yes? The town does not need to opt in. This is allowing anyone who resides in these areas the opportunity to apply for a license or be able to be considered a social equity candidate and whatever resources that we have, whether that be in getting an entry level position or getting a license, that they will be able to operate anywhere in the state of Vermont. So we're not, thank you for that clarification. Okay, perfect, thank you. The areas where they need to build, but that these communities need the most assistance, you know, how can we lower that bar of entry and make sure that they are supported through their journey within the cannabis industry for the first few years? Great, thank you. Thanks. Suzanna, how do you feel about Vermont opportunity zones being used as the disproportionately impacted areas? Thank you. And Nader? I support that as well. Wonderful. Is there anybody else who has joined us that is part of the subcommittee that I'm not seeing right now? Okay, great. So, great. I think we have a really good consensus of what that looks like. I think, you know, this information here really supports and gives us the information that we need. On last call, we discussed what it's impacted families would look like. As we were saying that that would be one of the criteria of being a social SED candidate, was if you or your family was impacted on the war on drugs via incarceration or arrest. So I'm going to hand this off to Jeffrey. We have gained this impacted family from Denver, but there are other states that use very similar criteria. Jeffrey? Thanks, Gina. So this is kind of in answering to the point that Suzanna raised on the last call of what is family. And so this is an example just from the Denver, marijuana code that the impacted individual be the person who had the interaction with law enforcement. And then that could be the parents of that individual, a legal guardian. So not just limited to a biological family, but also anybody that takes care of that person.  And then I know we have we have some similar stuff here in California. And this also we could also open it up to other things based on how Vermont extended family looks like. And that's information that maybe the advisory committee could supplement with this slide right here. So looking at these different, these different folks, I get to say a relationship to the person who was impacted. Are we missing anybody? I know Suzanna you raised this last time and you said you were going to look into it from the Vermont state level. What are your thoughts about this slide? Yeah, I like this one because I think that it's tight enough that there's a genuine nexus. Great. And I'm wondering if, I know that we have legal guardian which could include grandparents, but for multi-generational families who maybe don't have legal arrangements, I'm wondering if we can add them as well. If maybe there's some, maybe not legally binding, but some other evidence that there is like a guardianship relationship between a person and a grandchild. Great additions, Suzanna. We can add or proof our guardianship. How, or how would you define that? Is that just saying and or proof of guardianship? Like how would they need to prove that on the state level? Well, there might be documentation that they submit. For example, are they the ones who are always signing forms for school? Or are they the ones who are routinely paying for things? Maybe there's records of payments that cover certain necessities and other needs. Okay. Or address of rent to you or something like that. Right, yeah. To Nika, can we add to this slide and or or proof of guardianship? And then I'm Suzanna. I'll have a call with you offline where we can determine what that criteria will look like based on the state level. I've got it, Gina. No worries. Thank you so much. Yeah. And also providing proof. Does this take into account individuals who may have been in the foster care system where there's very little documentation about their connection to a particular parent that may like maybe the parent was impacted and they're in the foster care system, but they may not have any direct documentation. Well, I, the one thing I would say is maybe perfect certificate records that they may have or any other documentation that they may be able to prove that. But Julie, that is a really great question. And I think, you know, Suzanna, when we're discussing this, I think we should address Julie's question and how we can provide proof. Enforced care situation. Yeah, I agree. Thank you, Julie, for mentioning that. Ashley, how do you feel about the impacted family side with the reflection? Julie read my mind. I was thinking the exact same thing and knowing a lot of the folks that, you know, I have heard expressed interest in wanting to get into the industry are also foster parents. And so I think that's an excellent addition. And I do think that this is good. I think this is inclusive enough. But I think, yeah, I think there's a couple rabbit holes will go down once we do a little bit of research here for, you know, foster parents and so forth. I am going to hop off this call and I'll look for those minutes. And then certainly if there's anything else, Gina, we're all meeting tomorrow and we can pick up from then. Yes, I will fill you in on everything else we discussed on this meeting tomorrow. Wonderful. Thank you guys so much. Thank you so much. Ashley, appreciate you. And Nader, how do you feel about impacted family with what we have written here and the before mentioned items? I support the language as well as the additions that we've been talking about in the next step. Thank you. And it looks like we're ready to define what a social equity candidate looks like. So, based on Monday's call and our call today, it seems like that we would like to have a social equity applicant meet one of the following criteria, which lives in an opportunity zone. A member of BIPOC Minority Race Ethnicity and then three is impact of cannabis prohibition. So, if they have ever been arrested, convicted or incarcerated for a non-violent cannabis offense. One of the things that we will need to discuss, which might actually change this. And I might just have it right now as this cannabis offense is we will be discussing expungements of records and at that time we'll be going into non-violent and violent cannabis offenses. Or if you are a member of an impacted family and with the success that termination of family and based on Monday's call, it seems like where the residential requirements, you must have lived in Vermont for one year before submitting your application in order to qualify for as a social equity applicant. So, Nader, how do you feel about that? So, I like this definition that we have these three points and the one year residency requirements. Thank you, Susanna. I just do, I appreciate the way that we built the third one as well. I'm comfortable with this. Right, and I'm not sure if I know Ashley saying she was going to get off the phone. I just want to see if she has exited or not, actually. Okay, great. Julie, I know Susanna is on our board as, you know, help from the state of Vermont, which she qualify as a quorum or do we need to have this bite again on Monday? No, I don't think so. No. No, the attorneys in the room say no. Oh, I'm muted. And if we're uncertain, we can do it on Monday. No, she does not qualify as a part of the quorum. Okay, so we will discuss this on Monday, but thank you so much for the feedback and we will continue this meeting with presenting information but not making any decisions about what we determine now. And the next criteria that we are going to be discussing is supporting documentation that is needed for a social equity candidate. What I have in red, we will take out because we are determining low economic income, like low social income based on a opportunity zone, they do not need to provide us proof of income. So we will be able to take out that requirement. However, for the other points that we have made for a social equity candidate, we would need obviously the first one is proof of conviction, you know, do we have court documentation, probation, Department of Corrections documents. And one question that I would like to give to Nader is, I know that we, there have been a lot of expungements of records that have actually been erased off Vermont State government records. How do we, or how did a person, if we have wiped their conviction, be able to show proof? That's a great question because, you know, in theory, the theory behind expungement is, as if the arrest never happened, but we know that it did happen and they're dealing with the collateral consequences of it. I was just thinking of the second note that I was reading this, is that there are ways maybe to get to have the candidate sign a release and have their information from their attorney if they're willing to let it go in order to prove that they did go through a process. That's one thought. Obviously the candidate would have to be okay with releasing that information and that's if the attorney still is in possession of it. The candidate may also have their old paperwork, you know, old reports and old citation. Those are some of the first things that I'm thinking of that are coming to mind. Just on the technical side of this, the legislature did think about this issue a couple of years ago and did a provision in the statute such that somebody who has had their record expunged can go to the court and get a record from the court of that expungement for precisely reasons like this. So it is possible for people who have had records expunged to show proof of that with a court document. That sounds much easier than what I said. David, who just answered the question? I think that's the answer, yeah. I think it's the easiest. I'm sorry. What is your name? Are you David? Oh, yeah, sorry. This is David, sorry. Yes. Yeah. Okay, great. Thank you, David. So that's David this year. He is the general counsel for Vermont cannabis control board for those of you who are wondering listening to this recording. Thank you so much for that. So we will add that as the way to get proof of expungement records. Let's add that to the record. So that would be a supporting documentation that a social equity candidate will need to deliver. With that being said, if they were not the ones who were arrested or convicted, then we would also need proof of family relations. So that is part B of this, which we need to add to the slide. And then we need to, as we've said for any of the categories that they fall into, we need proof of residency and especially proof of residency if they are in an opportunity zone. Which I will hand this off to Jeffrey to go over proof of residency with everyone. Before I do so, Nader, you have a question. Yes. It has to do with the proof of residency specifically to get assigned lease agreement. And, you know, there are a lot of, I just wanted to keep in mind that there's a lot of living situations where people may not have assigned lease agreement. They may be roommates with somebody and that other person has the lease agreement. So just wanted to throw that out there as something to think of as we do this. That's a great point. Nader, what I would specify in C is that an assigned affidavit is of living situation if it is in a case of a roommate and or you're in an apartment that doesn't have it with whoever is leasing it or with a landlord. I think it's a good, another way to prove that you're living with that person. Yes, Zenika. Is there any reason why we couldn't follow, maybe what a school district would follow for proof of residency, especially because that's done in multi-generational. I don't know what that is in Vermont or what it might be by district, but I do know where I live. We have a lot of multi-generational family homes and so that's definitely something that is taken into consideration is the school district and how they do it. We can certainly look into that. This information of proof of residency is what I found within Vermont State's got-it legislation. So that is actually what I'm using. Is that on each 414? The way that they had to, okay, great. But that is something that we can look into as well.  Yes, thank you, Gina. I wanted to have a question back to the expungement question for David. Will these applications become a matter of public record once they go through the CCB and that's something to consider when somebody wants to disclose a past expungement. I'm just wondering, David, do you know if these are going to be public record applications? It certainly is something to consider. At least parts of them would become public record. There's parts that won't already under the statute and we'll have to think about how to, we'll have to define by rule something to deal with this issue because that's a good point. We wouldn't want those papers to come out in public record. So we'll think about that. Thanks, David. And then on to the approval residency. So we cover, I really like the unique idea about the school district criteria is using a way to say, okay, how does the school district figure it out? Looking at this, okay, you have the driver's license identification card, disability identification card, a voter registration card, the silence agreement of the voter registration card and the paycheck stuff. What are some other ways that Vermont has to establish somebody living somewhere? I know here in California, the library card system is pretty, is it how do you have to put your address in to get the library card or to have a PO box or some other way to documentation? Go ahead, Nader. Can you answer that question? You know, we could also use proof of utility bills. I know that as far as I can remember when I had to go get my license, I needed to bring two utility bills, one or two utility bills to prove that I lived in my address. That could be an additional thing to add on there. Utility bills that are in here. Yeah, that's a great addition. Thank you, Nader. And Susanna, what are your feelings about this? Yeah, I would agree. I just think it's important to allow enough pathways so we can think creatively about that and I think that would make it more inclusive. Gina, I would add a tax return to that as well, even though they may not all have tax returns. If it's a tax return in a year, that also can assist in that area or a recent one. And do we have a bank statement on here? And again, I know not everybody will have bank statements on from that world, but at the same time, a bank statement is often indicative of residency requirements as well. Yeah, in Vermont, when you have a bank account, do you need to show proof of your residency upon getting it or are you just able to put a bank account on there? Or bank and credit card statements now just allow you to put an address and if you don't update your address and you're no longer living there or haven't lived there for several years, you just get e-statements now? It still will physically have an address on it and if you ask for something recent, that would also be worth consideration. Okay, so Megan, are we jotting all these notes down that we've gotten utility bills, tax returns, bank statements? Correct. I just wanted to share that my school district also allows for a public aid card as proof of residency. I'm not exactly sure what that looks like in the state of Vermont, but that's one of the things on the list for at least my school district. Thank you, Julie. Okay, so we will update this slide and show that to you next week with these final additions and we will also be looking into some school district zones and what they require for residency. Which brings us to what we will be discussing next week and some other additions of what is some upcoming priority. So we will be discussing reducing or eliminating licensing fees, ways to use the cannabis development funds, how to make an inclusive industry and justice reform. Really talking about expungement of records and automatic expungement of records in this case from state of Vermont. One of the things that they were discussing earlier today in the marketing committee was about special licenses that we would like to make for social equity. One of them being a potential courier delivery license that may only or have priority for social equity or maybe only go to social equity candidates. Now we're seeing this in Massachusetts where they do a delivery business license that are only allowed for social equity within the first few years of the program. And then we're also seeing that with the city of Denver. I wanted to get people feel about that right now so we can. And I will be talking to Ashley tomorrow and DJ about this matter as well. Nader, what are your thoughts? So we're talking about creating special licenses for delivery is what you were saying, correct? Yeah, so for social equity candidates only or maybe getting their first year or for having, I see there are two ways to do delivery licenses. Now they could be delivery as a business, which is how they have structured it in Massachusetts where they have to have, you know, multiple automobiles and they have to have a dashboard can and to two body. They have to have a body cam and then they have to have two people at all times and this can become very extensive and very expensive. But then there is also a courier delivery license that we can have where you are delivering on behalf of dispensaries using cards that we can make exclusively for social equity licensee. So my recommendation would be doing the courier delivery license, which just allows for an easier ability to start because it's much more low cost for a social equity candidate. Yeah, I think having a courier license for social equity candidate is not a support that I'm just also thinking of how this would be received in the legislature with, you know, there is likely be contingency of legislators who would audibly gas at the idea of cannabis being delivered to people. But I think if you balance that by saying it could prevent people from, you know, going to dispensaries, smoking somewhere nearby and then driving that could mitigate the apprehension that might exist. But when it comes to your question, I support the courier license for social equity candidate. And that's a great point that you raised, Nader, about, you know, having delivery would use someone having to drive there who may already be using the substance. Yeah. Zizana, how do you feel about that? Yeah, I agree. It's going to be, I don't want to use the word controversial, but I think yet audible gas is expected. I like to disagree.  Another license that we were thinking about is having a co-op license so that a social equity can join other people in trying to build, you know, cultivation or maybe a dispensary with each other. How do you feel about that, Zizana? I think it's an interesting proposal. You know, we would have to do it right in the sense that, you know, making sure that the rest of the infrastructure to support a co-operative model is in place. So, yeah, I would like us to be able to envision really concretely what that would look like and make sure that we're setting it up for success. But, yeah, I don't see why you want to. Thank you. And, Nader, how do you feel? I also support that. And I think Zizana brings up some pretty good points about it as well. But the idea is going to support it. Thank you. And one of the things that we will be discussing next week, especially around the co-op model or, so to say, an incubator program is having co-op. Come together and possibly using some of the funding to have, you know, a subsidized state land and equipment. But we will be discussing that possibly at the end of Monday or on our Thursday call. So we will get into further special information about that. But I just wanted to make sure that you guys were receptive to those two special licenses for social equity so that I can allow the marketing subcommittee know about that. Tina, where, yes? You got it. Never mind. You hit it. We're at public comment. Do we have public comment? I've said a couple of words. No. Does anyone else have? I just want to make good. Okay.  You okay? You okay? No, I'm fine. Okay, excellent. Thank you, Mark. And keep me brief. I will be briefed myself. Thank you, everybody. Jeffrey Pizzatillo, Vermont Growers Association, Vermont Cannabis Equity Coalition as well. Just a couple quick points. I think that we would encourage not postponing or staggering the licenses of particularly the courier license. If you guys do move in that direction, it's incumbent on Mark or Rollout to provide as much access as possible and give our monitors control over price. A couple points within that. Regarding delivery, we deliver cannabis right now. Our medical dispensaries deliver cannabis. So we have precedent. We've been doing that for, I want to say almost a year now in this state. There's no reason to why we can't apply that hopefully to others. That being said, the courier license also in Massachusetts should not require brick and mortar location. And I would also add, give them the ability to run a website. Just more access points for customers. That being said, just put it on everyone's radar and it does dovetail into delivery licensing. And that is the importance of making sure that we're addressing consumption and consumption sites. Getting back to home ownership, getting back to equity, looking at recriminalizing this and we want to avoid that. As we know, arrest rates and disparages in race and in arrest rates regarding cannabis persist in commercial marketplaces. So please think of consumption when we're thinking about equity in this case. Thank you. Thank you. How are you doing? I'm doing okay. Mark Hughes, Racial Justice Alliance, also Cannabis Equity Coalition. Hi, you must know. I am. It's good to meet you. It's good to meet you. I appreciate it. I'm sorry. Can you repeat your name? I'm sorry. I missed it. Mark Hughes with the Racial Justice Alliance and the Cannabis Equity Coalition. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Great work, Hygiene. The disproportionately impacted areas was a term that we used in 414 to talk about disproportionately impacted areas. And so it was a combination of a discussion on opportunity zone. There was a 20% discussion. If you recall that, I'm going to try to be brief, as well as the 75% free lunch. I would encourage folks to take a closer look at the numbers across the state on free lunch and also correlate to Title I. Because, you know, we already have all this stuff in place. And also SNAP, what we were trying to do was in 414 to create a correlation or a confluence of something that identified areas. Why? Because people live in certain areas. And the reason why they live in certain areas is because it's where they can afford to live. And that's why they go to school and in places that they go to school. You know, gentrification notwithstanding. I would just say that it is really important to take a look at the combination or a confluence of all of these things when we're talking about areas. And it's also, it's very important to talk about areas because it's also, it's what we want to improve upon at the end of the day. We're not just rolling out a market. We're also revitalizing a community. So that was what we envisioned in the whole of 414. So there is in 989, section 989 of 414, there's a component called Community Social Equity Program. And it was created to directly address the impact of economic divestment, violence, and historical overuse of the criminal justice response to our communities. And individual needs by providing resources to support local design and control of community-based responses, community-based responses. So I can assure you that I would be much prefer than I anticipated because my computer just died. But I'll just tell you that with that approach, I think I just wanted to make sure that I was understood the context that we were defining Opportunity Zone. It was just one of four components that spoke to an overlapping or a intersecting area impact. I think it's important to understand that at the end of the day we're talking about, we're also from a community perspective, we're talking about poverty. And we know that systemic racism has generated not just generational wealth but also poverty, generational poverty. And that's what we're trying to get after, which translates to our applicants. So there was a full list of criteria in 414 as far as the identification verification, I think there was some discussion about proof of residency. They're all listed in section 986 of 414 as well. I think you did a fairly decent job of ultimately arriving at them, but they're all there as well in 414. The conversation on the marketing subcommittee, I want to thank the consultants and the subcommittees for the work that you all are doing in finding intersections with the other committees on social equity at this point. Our recommendations will traverse all of them as well. The social equity recommendations will traverse all of them. There will be one that's focused on social equity, but they will also traverse all of them. We are actively engaging in discussions on couriers and co-op licenses as well, and they will be largely supportive of the direction that you're going as a committee. So thank you for being out in front on that. As far as the courier is concerned, not to be the spoiler or anything like that, I hope that we would be just mindful that the arrest rate for cannabis for Black folks in Massachusetts went north after the taxation and regulation. And I think that cannabis courier pieces in the afterthought, I think they sought to address that. So that was one thing, and my only concern is that the police really want to get to know you if you're Black here in Vermont, and I know it's just like that perfect storm, it's just something to consider. Okay, so we want to tax and regulate marijuana, and the folks we want carrying it around is the Black people knowing that police will help. Do I need to say more? So, David, I think you're going to appreciate some of this being part of the racial disparities in the criminal juvenile justice system advisory panel and the attorney general's office up until now. That is all I have. I appreciate the time, and we'll continue to be a part of what's going on. We really wish we could just dial in, and it's like everybody else, because it's kind of a little bit of a trip down from Burlington, but we'll continue to do it if we need to. Thank you. Other public comments? I think that's it for public comments. Thank you so much for your public comments. Those were very helpful and insightful. We also want to let you know that you are also able to write written public comments, and we do a summary of those before every single meeting. So, if you are not able to attend in person, that there is another way for the committee to hear it. We do a summary on the committee call, but every single committee member gets your full comment that was submitted just to give further explanation about public comments. Susanna, Nader, Jeffrey, Danika, anything else you would like to add or have questions or comments about? Nothing for me. Thank you. I do actually just want to say I do appreciate both of the comments that were made by the members of the public, particularly about how do we not just focus on the narrow aspect of, you know, logistical issues like delivery without also incorporating the broader context of public safety and permissions on watching the intersection points. I think it's really important. So, I appreciate both of the speakers. Thank you. Do I have a motion to adjourn? I don't think you have a quorum anymore, so you don't have to formally adjourn. Okay. Well, Nader, Susanna, are you okay? I'm good. Yes. Okay. Great. Thank you so much for participating today. This meeting is no longer being reported or transcribed.


Acer is amongst the top brands on the market. However, they still stay behind the likes of Lenovo, HP, and Dell when it comes to market share, so they need to step their game up. Recently, they did well to improve their Predator gaming series to a new fresh look. Then, the Swift and Spin series followed, but as with the other manufacturers, there is one thing that sells best, budget laptops. As such, the Aspire Subrand is arguably the most important one in Acer's portfolio. But what if you want a budget notebook that has the power to perform more than just daily tasks? You might want to play a game or two, or you have some productivity tasks on the line. Well, the Aspire 7 is here and it has something interesting for you. One of the key selling points here is the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card, which is still viable in 2021 and gives you the opportunity to play every triple a title out there, albeit with reduced eye candy. But what about the processor? Well, instead of the power-hungry 45W solutions out there, Acer has chosen the energy efficient Ryzen 5 5500U, and Ryzen 7 5700U they are both Zen 2 chips disguised in the Ryzen 5000U series paint, but they offer quite a lot of performance. It will be pretty interesting to see how well will the dedicated GPU work with the low voltage CPUs, but we are pretty confident that the Zen 2 architecture has all it takes to provide great productivity, especially with proper cooling. Inside the package, you will see some paper manuals, as well as a 135W power brick. Well, this laptop's casual business looks provide a decent foreground for a lot of people. Honestly, we really like what Acer did visually, and the fact that the finish is pretty stain resistant. Now, in terms of measurements, we have pretty average values of 22.9 mm of thickness, and 2.15 kg of weight. Also, its body is surprisingly rigid, despite the plastic material being used here. On the other hand, the lid is pretty bendy, but it thankfully opens easily with a single hand. This is further aided by the hinges, which are placed on the far two ends of the chassis. In this case, the design looks a bit dated with a pronounced chin and forehead, but at least the side bezels are thin enough. Also, you get an HD camera above the matte display. Which is good for the age we live in. Next in line, we have the keyboard. It is backlit, which is great for nighttime users. Also, it has a number pad section, for quick calculations of the odds of the next El Classico game. Other than that, the unit itself is pretty average, with a somewhat short key travel, and good feedback. Unsurprisingly, we saw some deck flex, but it was nothing dramatic in our view. If you look further down, you will see the touchpad, which houses a fingerprint reader. Thankfully, the area around the sensor is actually usable, unlike many other notebooks out there. So, the touchpad itself has smooth gliding, thanks to the glass surface, but the tracking and latency are far from the best in the class. Now, turn the laptop upside down, and you will see the speaker cutouts, as well as the ventilation grills, which are so big, that you can see the entire cooling solution through them. Respectively, the hot air escapes unimpeded from the back and from the right side of the machine. On the left side of the notebook, there is a security lock, followed by an RJ45 connector, an HDMI connector, a USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, and two USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports. Then, on the right, you will see the power plug, a USB Type-A 2.0 port, predating the Roman Empire, and an audio jack. To get this notebook disassembled, you will need to remove the bottom panel. This happens by undoing 13 Phillips head screws and prying the panel with a plastic tool. The battery pack has a capacity of 50.3 watt hours, and it is the first thing you need to unplug before you proceed with the teardown. Thankfully, there are two RAM Sodom slots, which support up to 32 gigabytes of DDR4 memory in dual-channel mode. Storage-wise, there is one M.2 PCI-EX4 slot. Given the fact that this laptop has a low-voltage processor, we are happy to see that the cooling solution consists of three heat pipes. Two of them are common for the CPU and the GPU, with the third one dedicated to the graphics card. Also, you can see that the VRMs and the graphics memory are also actively cooled. Interestingly, we see a very long heat spreader, supported by a smaller one, which only has the GPU heat pipe connected to it. Acer Aspire 7 in our configuration is equipped with a full HD IPS panel. It's diagonal is 15.6 inches, and the resolution 1920 by 1080 pixels. The screen ratio is 16 to 9, and we are looking at a pixel density of 142 pixels per inch, and a pitch of 0.18 H0.18 millimeters. The screen turns into retina when viewed at distance equal to or greater than 60 centimeters, from this distance one's eye stops differentiating the separate pixels, and it is normal for looking at a laptop. Viewing angles are excellent. We offer images at 45 degrees to evaluate image quality. The measured maximum brightness of 253 nits in the middle of the screen and 252 nits as an average for the whole area, with a maximum deviation of 16 percent. The correlated color temperature on a white screen is 6,530 Kelvin, practically matching the sRGB standard of 6,500 Kelvin. In the illustration you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. In other words, the leakage of light from the light source. Values of De 2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color sensitive work. The contrast ratio is good 1,100 to 1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there's the C1976 uniform chromaticity diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut, sRGB, that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc. for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we've included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec 2020 standard. Rec 2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it's difficult for today's displays to cover that well. We've also included the so-called Michael pointer gamut or pointers gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows Acer Aspire 7's color gamut coverage. Its display covers 51% of the sRGB web, HDTV standard in CIE1976. Our design and gaming profile delivers optimal color temperature, 650K, at 140K per square meter luminance and sRGB gamma mode. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also with the design and gaming profile. Here you can compare the scores of Acer Aspire 7 with the default settings left and with the gaming and web design profile, right. The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings while the right one is with the gaming and web design profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the gray scale. And on the vertical axis, the luminance of the display on the two graphs, you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances. But keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle and the surrounding light conditions. We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual black to white and white to black method from 10 percent to 90 percent and vice versa. We recorded fall time plus rise time equals 26 miz. After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual gray to gray method from 50 percent white to 80 percent white and vice versa between 10 percent and 90 percent of the amplitude. Pulse width modulation PWM is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light no light time ratio varies while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. Acer Aspire 7's display doesn't use PWM to adjust its brightness levels at any point. This makes it comfortable for use during long work periods without harming your eyes in this aspect. Installing our health guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful blue light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you're not familiar with the blue light, the TLDR version is. Emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on blue light. Acer Aspire 7 speakers produce a sound with pretty low maximum volume and deviations across the entire frequency range. Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better Performance setting turned on. Screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This device's 50.3 watt hour battery pack lasts for 12 hours and a half of web browsing and 9 hours and 15 minutes of video playback. Currently, this notebook can be purchased with either the Ryzen 5 5500U or the Ryzen 7 5700U. Rebranded Zen 2 processors, part of the latest ULV lineup of AMD. As for the graphics, the Aspire 7 version comes equipped with a GTX 1650 with 4GB of GDDR6 memory. Here are some gaming tests. Post up on the ridge and let's get the lay of the lab. Contractors, security, good targets. No Russian military presence. Call it NCIA. Blue Viking 5, this is Echo 3-1. Troops in the open, south gate, you are cleared hot. Roger, 3-3 in 5 seconds. 5 seconds! Much obliged, Viking. We'll take it from here. Looks like someone was playing with fire. Serves him right. I'm in a surprise it's not on our side, boys. Stay frosty. Earth has been reduced by 36.8%.  In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer's reaction to a short load, 2-10 seconds. The second column simulates a serious task, between 15 and 30 seconds. And the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long load such as video rendering. The fact that this laptop has a proper cooling solution, designed for a lot more power-hungry processors, shows that the only limiting factor for the Ryzen 5 5 500U, in this case, is power. It is able to maintain a TDP of 25 watts, which is impressive for silicon of this size, and the clock speed is very close to 3 GHz. As far as the temperatures, well, 62 degrees Celsius after 15 minutes of stress testing is nothing short of spectacular. With a TGP of 50 watt, the GTX 1650 inside of this notebook was able to perform as expected, while the temperatures it was running it were pretty low. Interestingly, even during gaming, the fan noise levels were not too high. And although the 44 degrees Celsius plus temperature on the keyboard may seem a lot, it is within what can be considered as reasonable. Before we start, we have to consider the price tag of this notebook. We would like to give credit to Acer for giving their best to keep the costs down, while not really sacrificing the quality of their product. Yes, you won't find Thunderbolt connectivity here, and unfortunately, there is no SD card slot of any sort. Also, the materials of the build are predominantly plastic, but this doesn't mean that the laptop feels cheap. In fact, it is pretty solid, with the chassis being able to withstand a good amount of physical stress. But enough about the design, which you can see by yourself. The true hero here is the processor. Although Acer has gone for a low voltage solution, it handles perfectly, thanks to the potent cooling solution, borrowed from the older gamer-centric Nitro 5 series, and ultimately the Aspire 7 from last year. Actually, we have never been expecting anything but greatness from the Ryzen 5 5500U, but what we were more surprised of, was the fact that it manages to drag the GTX 1650 at the same pace, as the 45W Ryzen 5 4600H does. Moreover, the low TDP of the ULV CPUs, actually results in significantly lower noise levels, as the laptop is practically silent during day-to-day use. Acer Aspire 7's IPS panel has a full HD resolution, comfortable viewing angles, good contrast ratio, and a non-flickering backlight. On the other hand, the narrow color coverage reveals the budget nature of the display, which can't really be used for professional work. Additionally, the battery life is solid with 12 hours and a half of web browsing, and 9 hours and 15 minutes of video playback. This, combined with the dual Sodom slots for memory upgrades, makes it a comfortable performer, even for the near future. Well, yes, there is only one storage option here, but at least it supports fast M.2 PCI-EX4 drives. So, if you were troubled by the fact that the CPU might be inferior to the Intel iteration, due to its lower TDP, worry no more, as the Ryzen 5 5500U is now a more viable option than the Core i5-10300H. Thanks for being with us. If you'd like us to keep improving these reviews, please like the video or subscribe to our channel. Have a nice day.


What's up guys? Evil D here. Today I want to speak to you about a new app I've found just recently. I've seen the news of it floating around, but I actually thought it was something else, but I went and finally checked it out and it's actually pretty freaking awesome. Now this is called Utalk and Utalk is a language learning software slash package where you can basically download like a whole heap of different languages and it helps you learn words and certain phrases within those languages. It's kind of like an on-the-go phrase book type of thing. Like for instance if you're traveling internationally you can just quickly go in here and find out the thing you need to tap and learn. But they recently came out with Esperanto and I thought I've got to check this out because I love checking out all the newest Esperanto stuff. That's just me who I am. Anyway as you can see I've downloaded it already it's up in the top left hand corner but before I jump into that check out all the different crazy languages they've got. Well they've got Romanian, they've got Scots, Sicilian. Sorry I probably totally butchered that language. What else we got? Tocchi pissing? Wow okay. Wow they got so many. Zulu man I'm gonna check that one out later but before I go off topic let's get into Esperanto. Now what I like particularly about this particular language package is it doesn't teach you the language as in grammar and stuff like that. If you want to learn grammar check out Learnu, check out Duolingo, work on those packages they will help you with grammar. Learnu more than Duolingo, Duolingo more with like certain phrases and putting those phrases together and stuff like that but this here is great for learning words about certain everyday contexts which you just don't see in those other courses. Like it is quite unique in what it does. I actually really enjoyed it. Now as you can see straight away on the screen here nothing fancy it's just basically different groupings first words adjectives fruit stuff like that those ones are quite standard okay you find that type of stuff in any course but check this out I'm gonna scroll across and you've got things like where was it before doctors okay so this is basically words about people like different types of like doctors and well that was probably the worst explanation in the world okay but different situations where you would be at a doctor you've got shopping which my mrs should definitely check out technology that one's a good one I'm going to go into a few of these in a minute but I just wanted to give you a quick overview you've got illness business business is something you don't see very often taught in Esperanto probably because a lot of Esperanto say just don't do business in Esperanto but it is a growing field I've I actually did um translation work kind of like it wasn't paid or anything but I did translation between a Chinese Esperanto and an English speaker and I was kind of like go between translator so that was pretty cool I'll talk about that another time well let's just keep going onwards here um so you've got animals and that's a massive section but what I'm going to do is I'm just going to jump straight into one of these like for instance let's just go into illness because if you ever get sick while at an international meeting you're going to want to know how to talk about your illness so let's just jump in there now as you see you've got practice easy game speaking game hard game memory game and recall now obviously you're going to want to start with practice so you come in here and as you can see right here so it's got a picture I was just waiting for it to talk thing because normally it does you've got a picture and then you got these different words down the side and this one says me bizarreness could assist on as you can see the guys basically dying on the floor from a heart attack so he's just what he's trying to say there is I need a doctor and if you tap on it listen to this you've actually got an Esperanto speaker speaking the words to help you with your accent now watch this like hit it again so you got a male and a female so you can hear it both from a male voice and both a female voice which is pretty cool because there's something like for instance with Duolingo it's just all one voice it's a male voice and this one here isn't just one or two I think there's actually several different voices I remember hearing another voice in one of the words maybe that was just for particular words they have different recordings but that's cool I like the fact that you've got that so as you can see you got down the side all the different types of things you would say if you were sick um I have a cold for instance okay so that was a massive fail on my part just ignore that don't don't copy my voice copy the voice from the app um because I was just kind of swapped between the English and Esperanto then but I've actually checked out a lot of the translations in here and it's really well done I actually read a little bit before and it was this was designed with the help of educo.net which is a massive online well it's not just online but it's a massive website okay that's designed to help teachers teach Esperanto so you can be quite assured that everything in here is correct I haven't seen any errors so far so it's really good now I like this kind of thing here I have a high temperature okay that makes sense so or um for instance I have a sore throat that's good because if I was on the fly talking I might have to stop and think about it for a second but if I just run through and practice all of these before like maybe once every now and then I'd be pretty set in most situations I'm hoping I'd never have to use this one so that says I have food poisoning poisoning but what they've actually translated here is it says um some food has made me sick that's an interesting way of saying it um I'd probably use another combination but yeah that works you know I mean I have a toothache that's good me have a dento doloro I like that I've been stung by a wasp I've been bitten by a dog if you're ever at an international Esperanto congress and you get stung by a wasp bitten by a dog man that sucks to be you but you know we'll get over that I just want to hear this one I love the pictures too I saw one about blood early and there's like blood dripping from the hand I'm like dude that is really brutal but anyway let's go back a bit so you've got that then obviously you've got some games now I'm gonna check out this easy game okay so they show you the pictures with the words and then they say it works so he's he just said uh me have a scottage dolorum so I have a throat um like a throat ache or whatever or throat pain so I just click on the right one me have a scottage dolorum buia now as you see oh I got a green tick and then it just keeps going through the different words let me just go back though because we don't want to go for all the words um then you've got uh the speaking game so let's just quickly check this one out yeah you wash your hands little girl ah okay so I think you've got to say it now so let me check it out I can't I see what's happening here so basically what it does is you record your voice and then you can kind of just compare it which is pretty cool because that's uh you know sometimes you don't actually hear yourself that was actually a real issue for me when I was learning Espana I started because I I learned for the first like three months in solitude I actually practiced a lot of bad habits and it took me a while to get out of those later on I still got some of them now funnily enough let's go into hard game shall we let's check out what this is okay so now you've got to grab the picture that's associated with what you just heard into the square in the middle so I've got this one let's just drop that in there okay so basically I feel you know good so then obviously this guy looks like he's a happy champ so we just drop him in there awesome and I guess it's just going to keep doing the same thing now let's just quickly check out the memory game while we're at it okay so it shows you two pictures now you hear the words and you gotta remember where those pictures were I think it was this one okay next one what do we got recall I need a doctor so what you actually do there as you can see is it records you then you compare it to there in build recording which is pretty cool I love the interactiveness of this one with your actual voice something that no other Esperanto course has actually done so that is freaking awesome so yeah as you can see there was so many categories sports business I'll definitely be checking out the business one later after I've finished recording this you've got family which you'll find in most courses yeah most of them what's in this Esperanto one I've got to check this out because that seems pretty particular to Esperanto obviously okay so it's just going through your actually this could be pretty good because if you are new to Esperanto I see what they've done here is they've listed a lot of words of important either historical things or current things within the Esperanto community so you can basically just use this as a go-to list just check this out so for instance castello grazie grazie liono yeah sorry that's not a word I say very often but I know of that place that's in France and it's a castle owned by Esperanto I believe it's the French youth group that I don't know I almost went there once but I had to go do something else it was one of those things I definitely want to check out but yeah if you're in Esperanto and you go to France you can stay in a freaking castle how cool is that but yeah highly recommend you do that one day so let's just have a quick look what else they got in here Esperanto ah Esperanto mono see that's a historical thing because at one stage there was almost an actual Esperanto money system that was launched so this was pretty cool you can learn some words and also learn a little bit of history now this is obviously paid software you talk they sell all their software I believe it's like $13 us I'll actually put a link to this app down in the description obviously you'll need like an ipad or an iphone or something like that to use it but I definitely recommend you check it out if you're serious about learning Esperanto obviously you'll want to use this in conjunction with all the other big courses that have come out recently actually there's been a lot of courses that come out recently and each one of them seems to just bring something completely new to the table now this one as I said is really good with the whole microphone integration with your voice and you know be able to check your own voice and also the specialized words within certain categories which is something a lot of the other courses don't focus on they're very broad this one isn't about teaching grammar I wouldn't recommend trying to learn the actual language through this course this is just for learning words and certain little phrases it's like a guide book to Esperanto so highly recommend you check it out now if you've liked this video give it a like share it around with your friends and subscribe to my channel if you haven't already and I'll see you in the next video and if you're not there I'll find you and I'll hate you with my iPad


I've put out, like, this is the money I'm going to burn.  So, I put out a chunk of money and I say, okay, this is how much I'm going to use to start my business. And if that's over, then I'm fine. And the job again, I'm fine. It's easy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. For you to have that courage to do that, that's awesome. Because I know a lot of people actually, they want to, but the fear of jumping into the wild, jumping into the darkness is so real. Like, there's no safety net, no nothing, and, I guess, But the good thing about me is, like, I'm single, and I don't have the family to take care of, I don't have the mortgage, you know, so I have nothing to lose. You might be asking, like, the rough range of how much you, you're like, this is my amount, is it 30K, 50K? Yeah, I started with 30K. 30K, you're like, that's my budget. I'm gonna throw 30K in there and invest my time and see where it brings me. Yeah, that's awesome. But afterward, that 30K was, like, very limited. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I put in another 20K after, like, half a year, so. Yeah, because you see that there's response. I see that there's working, yeah, there's working, so. So, yeah, then I invested a bit more, and that's awesome. And then, like, that grew by wildfire, like, I think, once you started to do the pop-ups, and then as you grow that, and as you more and more people know about you, as people when we're tagging you, it just kind of caught, and it just tipped the scale, and you just became super busy from there onwards, right? Yeah. Right, and I guess, like, when you're pulling in that much traffic, like, and at one point, you were creating, like, what, 200 cakes all by yourself for Christmas. But tell me about that story. Like, it wasn't that fast to get to 200, like. Okay, so what was that duration? Was that a year? Yeah, that was, like, a good, yeah, like, 10 months. 10 months is very fast, my friend. For you to get that traction, like, to be able to have that kind of traction, that's really fast. There was a time where it was really slow as well, because after summer fall time was, like, super slow, and for sure. And also, there was a lot of, like, struggle finding a spot to sell, because why selling my kind of HP during pop-up is very dependent on the location where I am, so it's not like I can go anywhere and sell and still have a lot of food traffic. People all didn't really want to travel to Florida for something like that, so they want to stick around the city. If I went, for example, all the way to UBC, which is normally to the west, people are not going to, like, travel from all the way east to UBC just to buy my pastries, right? So the location of where I do my pop-up is very important. And at some point, I didn't have the best location, so my sales was down a lot, even though people, like, know about me, but I wasn't, like, that popular yet, until I stopped to one place, which is Sweet Girl, where I produce my stuff, so I said, like, I'm not gonna go anywhere in the other cafe, because traveling with all my pastries to one place or another is also very tiring, so I just... It's a delicate, super careful... Yeah, and then you have to, like, make sure everything is really cold before you put it in your form, because it's summer, it's been a month, so you have to, like, all that little, like, it's just so hectic, so it was very just easier to stay one place at one point because I already had a little bit of falling, so I just picked up Sweet Girl. Even though Sweet Girl, it's pretty far, like, all my customers are pretty much in the east side or the city side, like, the middle, like, city center, for them to go to Sweet Girl, it's a bit far, but since, like, I stayed there and I said, I'm gonna go nowhere else, well, they really have to go. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. They're gonna come there. Exactly, exactly, yeah. So, and also, like, grew the customer base in that area, too, where Sweet Girl is, even though it's not really time, like, it's not... You want to serve. It's not like who I want to serve, but it's not the geographic type of character. It took a little bit longer to grow my business there.  Like, why do you want to put yourself through the nightmare? And even for this place, like, I think, like, you do it decently well for yourself, I would say, right? And you've been busy. Why? Why are you going to hire help? I should have hired a way, like, before, to train them, so I can train them, right? But it comes Christmas, December, and I'm so busy with work.  So, I'd rather just do it by myself, and I don't have time for this to happen right now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I didn't know that I was going to be so busy because September to November, it was slow, it was dead.  Enough with this pop-up space thing. Like, I'm going to start building my own, and that's kind of when this whole thing conceptualized after the Christmas time. You're like, you know what, it's time. It's time for you to have your own space. Yeah, but at some point, I share in the kitchen, it's not really bad, but super old, they're very accommodating. But at some point, I feel like I'm kind of like in their way, because they also need the kitchen. And I'm growing, so I think I'm going to a point where I'm actually using his part of the fridge to when I'm using this part of, so I feel like I'm stepping over too much. So I had to have, so it wasn't able to contain my growth in this space. So I had to find a new space. So, and plus, I didn't want to just open, because I pop-up only once a week, because that's all I could afford with one person working myself. So I needed a space where I can open more like three hours and grow my business faster. So I needed to have my own space. So that's where I found this location. It's not huge, but this is where my money can take me for now. So, yeah. It's fun.  Now you put all the profits, all the money you made, you're going to roll it back into the space, build your own thing again. Yes. It really affects everything.


Farmers in Germany have staged nationwide protests against the government's plans to cut agricultural subsidies. The protests have blocked roads caused disruptions across the country on Monday, kicking off a week of protests against the government's subsidy cuts announced at the end of last year. Over 500 tractors and trucks have already parked up by Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. There are also reported blockages in Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Bavaria. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has warned protesters that stopping people from going to work, school or to see a doctor will cause anger and disagreement. Meanwhile, in some German regions, far-right groups manage to infiltrate farmers' protests. In Dresden, representatives of Free Saxons' right-wing extremist party spoke at a rally, sparking fears of radicalization of the ongoing protests.


Ranger! Warrior of the Woodland! Ranger Bill, Warrior of the Woodland, struggling against extreme odds, traveling dangerous trails, showing rare courage in the face of disaster, in the air, on horseback, or in a screaming squad car. Ranger Bill, his mind alert, already smile, unswerving, loyal to his mission, and all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done. Wake up, Pa. Shep's raising a roof out there. Yeah. Get the rifles, you know. Better take a look out there and see what's going on. It's that cougar again. Shep's running him off. It's hard to convince a man that his is only one side of the story when he's got a prowling cat stalking his sheep at night. But there is another side as you will find out later on. Now, a Ranger tries to be fair to all parties involved in an argument. That is, as long as the persons involved are within the law. Many times, I wish I were as wise as Solomon because these situations get sticky. Stumpy and I were passing through the lush grass of the shady mountains a while ago. It was a mild and windless day, and the two of us just kind of lazed our horses along, not caring how soon we got to our destination, as long as we could enjoy the blessings of the perfect day. Blacky, what's the big hurry? How can you build an up-stretch ahead of steam, Speedball? Oh, Speedball. While you're blacky, we're going in his glory, be standing still. And that'll be too fast for me this day, sunny. Feel that warm sun burning down in the mulled bones. While his warmth is going clean through the meadow. Yeah, I know what you mean.  That's right. Smart ideas, honey. Because if I don't get off and snooze, I'll fall off. I know. You've been weaving in the saddle every now and then. Don't you ever miss seeing anything? You know it all, always like me, likes to sun himself. Oh, Storm. Oh, there, Blacky. There's your good spot. Even this big old rock is heated up nice and cozy. Bill, I don't highly remember a day like this for a long time now. Yeah, winless days are hard to come by in the mountain country. Especially this early in the year. I feel like I could sleep here for two days. So don't bother me. It'll get pretty chilly at sunset. Yeah, maybe the sun will stand still like it did in the Old Testament. Maybe it will, old friend. Not even if it doesn't. Just relaxing here, enjoying the Lord's wonderful day gives a man warmth for his body and food for his soul. Stumpy. You barking in your sleep? What did you say? Forget it. You always bark like cougar hounds when asleep. Aw, you old faker. Say, what's old George doing around here with his hounds? He isn't hunting rabbits, that's for sure. No, he ain't. Maybe we ought to go have a talk with old George and see he's hunting on a reservation. Animals are protected in this area. I hope he missed. Yeah, so do I. Sounds like it's time to get concerned. Let's go. Stumpy. Did you miss? Yeah, I reckon. What makes you think you missed? The dogs are still gone. Sounds like the cougar is heading for the high country and the rocks. I reckon. You expect to continue the hunt? I reckon.  I reckon. Then you know you're breaking the law. I reckon. Don't you have anything else to say besides I reckon? George is a man of few words. Well, George?  Dogs don't know where reservation is. Who are you working for, George? Elmer and Ellis. She praises you, it must be having cat trouble. Yeah. You better have a talk with them. George, you're welcome here any time, but not to hunt cougar. Now call your hounds and leave the protected area. No more hunting cougar around here, you understand? I reckon. Ellis? Howdy, Bill. Stumpy? Howdy. You fellers are on social or business call? Business, Elmer. We haven't done anything wrong that we know of. You hired old George to hunt the cougar that's been bothering your sheep. Well, it's wrong with lion, isn't it? Nothing in itself, but we caught old George hunting where cougar are protected. Well, it's at our fault. No, it isn't.  It's troublesome cougar to us, and we'll take care of it. Well, George almost got himself in a jam because he forgot about the cougar reservation. Bill, we don't allow jar cougar reservations legal. Oh? How do you figure that? Well, Ellis here, he's got considerable schooling, you know. He's been studying up, and he figured you ain't got a legal foot standoff. That's right. That's very interesting. You're aware that I always have our attorney check these things out when they make a big change to make sure I am legally sound. I thought you had, but I sure would like to test this in court. Be my guest. Yeah, you can take that attitude because it ain't your sheep that's been attacked without their cougar. What do you care, anyway? That isn't true, and you know it, Elmer. And you also know that I'm concerned about the mounting deer population in my district.  The deer population has gotten normal and healthy. Well, that's all well and good for them hunters. But sure he is rough and not sheep, man. How many sheep have you lost this year to the cougar? Well, enough. Come on, Elmer.  How many? Well, we lost a... Go on, Pa, tell him. Well, none so far this year, but we lost three last year. That is because you had a sheepdog last year. Jeff Bear was too young to know much. Ain't that right, Elmer? Yeah, that's right. But this thing's always a worry in us. So are the mounting deer, and they worried us to the tune of $10,000 last year. $10,000? For what? For feed. We wouldn't have had to give them if the herd size had been normal. Wow. And that's taxpayers' money, too. You set them up full, Ellis. I'm all applied to the loss of every ranch in the Shady River Valley. That amount to something, too. Have you ever seen the herd of starving deer move in and eat everything they can bite off? No, don't believe I have. Well, the damage they do makes a cougar look like an innocent bystander. Hi, Storm, old boy. You're through work for another day. Eat up, and I'll let you out in the pasture to roll after a while. Bill, I've been thinking about that cougar. Okay, shoot. Here's to me that the cat, heckle, and helmer she must be an old one.  You're thinking about all three toes? Could be. As far as I know, he ain't dead. With his fame, we sure hear about it as somebody bagged him. Yeah, you may have a point there, old man. How would you get him? I don't rightly know, sonny. I'd have to give that one a good think. He won't fall for the baited cage trick again. How long ago was it that we dumped him out in the big six country? He left quite a spill back. Three, maybe four years. Four sounded more like it. Oh, three toes sure was mad while he was in that cage. He sure was.  You know, I think he was. I mean, man or dog, it can catch that rascal. He'd go fight a pack of dogs and whoop them to a pulp. If you try to shoot him well by the time the bullet gets to where he aimed, oh, three toes, some please else. And now he's getting old and tired and slow, just like me. This could turn out to be quite a match between two old timers, son stumpy. Just might be, young fella. We've both been around a long time. We had lots of experience. We'd run by our mistakes. I wonder who learned the most. You or the cougar? That's a good question. Of course, we don't know if it's old three toes. Let's go back out to Elmer's in the morning and look for trail sign, huh? Good idea. I'll tell you one thing, sonny. What's that? I ain't shooting the mouth all about catching old three toes. But not sure you can do it. To catch that rascal, you not only have to live like a cougar, I'll be glad to take you out on the range where we had to sheep the other night. How can you be sure this is an old cougar and three toes in particular? We can't. Till we find the trail sign. No, no, soon to see it. Well, he bothered us none since the other night. Well, George must have run him over. If it's all three toes, he'll be back. What do you say we get going and find out who this cat is before we expend a lot of energy to figure out how we're going to catch him? My horse is all saddled and ready to go. What are we waiting for? Let's go. Come on, son. Come on, buddy. Come on, girl. Easy, boy. Well, this here is a place where we bet it down the sheep. The cat must have been up there in them rocks. Don't write, they think so, young fella. You don't? Nope. Your dog wouldn't have sounded off if the critter were that far away. Even dog wind he wouldn't. I guess that's right. And I guess right over yonder by them scrub trees. There's long grass and even a couple of boaters. All right, let's have a look.  Say, how did old three toes get his name anyway? I don't know, sonny. Mr. dropped a rock on his foot when he was youngster. I suppose so. Long as three toes has been in this area, he's had three toes on his right front paw. That sure is mighty interesting. Oh. Whoa, girl. Wow, there's a cougar track big as life. But he's got four toes, not three. How much do you know about cougars, Ellis? Well, practically nothing, I guess. Don't be offended, but cougars have four toes and they're hind feet and five on the front. They do? Really? That's right, young fella. Boy, I sure don't know much about cougars. Wow, nothing at all, I guess. Don't fret about it. You learn. Now, here's the track we've been looking for right here in the damp ground. Front feet this time? Yep. What do you see? Well, five on this one. Only three on the other. It was old three toes all right. Absolutely and positively. For sure. Thanks for showing us that, Ellis. Tell your dad we'll get hot on three toes trail first thing in the morning. Now, wait a minute. You can't leave me behind now after getting this much of a taste of the hunt. Please let me go along. What do you say, old timer? This is your hunt? Sure, right to me. Back to mind, come in handy. Oh, that's great. Thanks, Stumpy. There's only one thing. Oh, I'm sorry I got nasty to you before. I really am. That isn't what I had in mind. You'll have to get your father's permission. Oh, he'll give it. I know he will. Now, Stumpy and I will go back to town from here so we can get our trail packs ready. You can call me at home this evening so I can fix your pack, too. That'll be fine. All I'll need to bring is my rifle, I guess. Right. Bet you ain't bringing it for killing three toes. Aren't you going to shoot him? Nope. We're going to capture him. The poor sportsmanship to shoot a tired old cat like three toes. If you bring your rifle for self-protection. You know, at first I was surprised you weren't going to shoot him. Now I'm glad. It isn't every day a fella gets to see a master hunter and a tracker capture a cougar. Don't forget, sonny. And Mr. Three Toes has had a lot of lessons on how to keep from getting captured. Some of them he learned from me. I just hope I ain't run out of lessons. Boy, that sure was a good supper. Was I ever hungry? Isn't your last hot meal for a while, Ellis? It is. Yep. We eat cold meals from here on. The cat is still travelling north so we can chance the fire, but when we find these circling, then the cat and mouse game is on. Wow. Sure I'm glad I'm not old three toes. Don't feel sorry for him, young fella. Nope. Not a little bit. How come? Let me educate you on the critter we call a cougar mountain lion. Now, my ears are wide open. You'll see a lot of cougar signs, but normally you won't see the cat. You can travel for days and not see him, but he'll see you. Boy, that gives me goosebumps. And duck bumps. Don't argue with him on that point, Ellis. Okay. Tell me some more, will you, Stompy? Now, this fella is called a mountain lion, cougar, painter, panther, and a few other local names.  Usually weigh about 220. The old three toes comes bigger. In the neighborhood, 280, 300. Unless he's been on a diet. And he grew about nine and a half feet from those tail. Unless he's shrunk. By the signs we saw in the past here, I don't think he's done either. Ellis, cover the fire. Okay. Is that him? Three toes? Keep your voice down. Got ears like a cat. Sorry. Where is he, anyway? Shhh.  Yes, sir. Keep the lad here, Bill. I'm going out to have a look-see. Bill? He didn't make a sound when he left. Not a single sound. How does he do that? Years of practice. Stompy is a veteran hunter and witchman. What's he gonna do out there, anyway? He's going out there to listen. To listen? You mean he can hear that there, Cougar? Yeah, Stumpy can. Ellis, your hair is standing on end.  That makes my blood turn to water. The old timer guessed right. What do you mean by that? Stumpy went out over there, and I believe the cat is on the opposite side. Is he upwind from three toes? Yeah. He's getting closer. Sit back to back with me. I don't want you shot or hurt if that fella decides to make things exciting. You mean he'll attack us? I thought they wouldn't attack a man. This one might. Stumpy's pushing him pretty hard. The wind's changed, and the three toes knows he's being stalked. You even remember Stumpy's scent. Keep a sharp eye and let me do the shooting. We don't want a wounded cat on our hands. Do something? Can't do something? Here comes Stumpy now. Looks like he's hurt. Get the lantern going, Alice. Okay. That cat's gone off into the rocking chair. He got what he came for, believe you me, did. I ain't backing off from the lights of him.  Ain't nothing of it, honey. Not that worse. This ain't nothing compared to when I was really hurt. Stop jumping around so I can bandage your arm, Stumpy. Man, he sure worked you over with his three-toed paw. Yeah, did a pretty good job with only three claws, even if I do say so myself. Stumpy, your knife's all bloody. Yep, I gave that fella something to lick while he's waiting for me. What happened out there? Well, we come face to face, stalking each other. Then we looked each other over, and I thought sure he backed off. When he got my scent, I guess he remembered that I'm the boy who caged him, and he decided no more of that. Wow, he... What he's telling you, Alice, is that old three-toes has gone insane. Isn't that right, old friend? I sure am sorry, Stumpy.  Yep. And it's about the size of a young filler. Three-toes is so old he can't catch his food.  I sure hate to have to shoot him. Almost like shooting old friend. Why's that?  The animals of our forests and mountains are part of the Lord's creation, Alice. He made them for a purpose, each and every one of them. A man tampers with the balance of nature, he gets into trouble. Forests and mountains are part of the animals' home, and we're the invaders. Nowadays, with tranquilizer guns and air transport, we can move the animals if they get dangerous and cumulus. It won't be long before all of the big game will be extinct, unless we protect them from thoughtless men with fast triggers. The Lord put the mirror for a purpose, and it's our job to keep them from being wiped out. Boy, that sure puts a different light on things. Stumpy, how did you plan to catch three-toes anyway? Easy there, boy. That arm's a wee bit tender. I'm sorry, old timer. You've got to get it clean. Alice, I planned to corner the old rascal and rope him. All the time, take him out by helicopter. Now we're taking some doing. Can't you still do it? Not a chance. Any wild animal going insane becomes twice as dangerous as it was. Besides, all three-toes is wounded. Now I'm beginning to feel bad about it, just like you do. There you are, Stumpy. All tied up good as new. How'd you feel? I ain't got time to worry about it. Let's catch 40 wings. We'll be off with the crack of daylight. Boy, he hasn't gone any further in his last scream. Maybe he's resting up for the second round. Yep. That cat has one thing on his mind now, and that shall kill us.  Your life may depend on it. Yes, sir. But I feel safe with you two experts. I wasn't going to tell you this, but I guess I have to. Huh? All three-toes is probably after you. Me? Yeah. That is, until he and Stumpy tangled. You see, you're the shortest of the three of us, Alice, and he considered you his target.  I never dreamed. Then, Stumpy, that's why you left the camp. You knew all about this. I guessed it. Now, you listen close and good. Yes, sir. I sure will. Stay between Bill and me, no matter what happens.  You better do it or you'll be dead. Keep your eyes peeled, boys. I figure we're getting close. How close? A mile. Maybe less. I see him. I see old three-toes. Where? Where? About a quarter mile straight away up on the ledge. I can see his head just at the edge up there. Alice, I believe you're letting your imagination play tricks on you. No, sir. Just follow my point. I see where your point is, honey. Let me take a look up there through my scope. Could he eat day in the morning? He's right. You sure are, Alice. You sure are.  There we'll fix his wagon. Come on. We'll circle and come in on the side of the ledge. We'll give Mr. Three-toes a little surprise party. There he is, just as big as life. Watching over that ledge, ready to pounce on us. Keep your position now, sonny. This is for real. He'll turn and charge like a thunderbolt in a second. How much closer are you going to get? Just a little week more. He'll hear us now for sure. Better shoot him now, old friend. He'll never know what hit him. Sorry, Bill, but I've got to give him a fighting chance. OK, but don't miss. Stop. Don't go any closer. He must be deaf. Nope, young fella. He's dead. What a way for the old warrior to go. Maybe it's better this way, old timer. Your knife must mortally wounded him. Looks like he laid down here to set his trap for us, and quietly slipped away. Stumpy, I sure am awful sorry. I knew you, young fella.   That's true. That ain't what I had in mind. Him and me used to have such good times together, trying to see who's the smartest. They don't raise cooters like him anymore. And that's the story of all free-toes, boys and girls. Well, see you next week for more adventure with...