If momentum means anything, we don’t like what we’re seeing right now in this administration’s response to gun violence. President Biden’s withdrawal of David Chipman as the director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was a disappointment to us in our work to reduce gun violence. Don’t get us wrong — we are fans of the President’s stated intentions as expressed in his truly forward-thinking candidate’s platform, and we believe those goals and commitments to be sincere. But delay is not our friend.

Although our country will now go without leadership at the ATF, America can still look to the White House for leadership, innovation, and true courage.

President Biden knows the pain of losing a child, just as we do. Our beloved Jessi was slain in the Aurora theater shooting. And just as President Biden addressed his son’s death from cancer by championing the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot, we have worked to spare other families our tremendous pain through action, and believe a similar governmental full-court press, with unrelenting momentum, is needed to stop the escalating toll of lives guns cause.

Over the past nine years, we have learned what’s essential to stop the gun carnage that claims the lives of more than 100 people every day in the United States.

We urge President Biden to consider the following avenues of action:

Create the Office of Gun Violence Prevention to establish a long-term, sustained effort to reduce gun deaths in America by classifying gun violence as a national security crisis and a public health and safety priority, and make a commitment to cut all forms of gun lethality by 50% by 2026, including suicide, homicide, and unintentional shootings.

Create a National Firearm Injury Prevention Bureau. Thanks to the work of the National Transportation Safety Board, transportation-related death rates have plummeted over the years. Experts have successfully implemented the most effective ways for people to survive hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, and even tsunamis. Our country desperately needs to learn how to design buildings, create floor plans, and devise exit strategies so people can escape public shootings like the mass shooting that claimed our Jessi nine years ago.

Find ways to hold accountable gun manufacturers and sellers who sell guns and ammunition without completed background checks, or who use false advertising to sell firearms.

In 2019, we, along with other survivors, experts, researchers, and advocates, met at the GVPedia Conference in Denver to honor the 20th anniversary of the Columbine massacre. We collaborated with the attendees to draft the Denver Accord, an evidence-based guide to stem gun violence. We urge all leaders to read the Denver Accord to learn the most effective policies to reduce gun violence.

These actions alone are not enough to end violence but together they would be a good immediate deposit like the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot that will enable our country to address the numerous aspects of gun violence including domestic violence, stolen firearms, and suicide.

The pandemic has brought with it a suffocating blanket of fear — a fear that people, misguided by firearm lobby slogans, respond to by purchasing firearms. The increased number of firearms in our homes and communities is reflected in the staggering 32% increase in firearm-related deaths in Colorado between Jan. 1 and September 15, 2021, compared to the same periods in 2019 and 2018, according to the Gun Violence Archive. CBS News reported that 2021 will likely record the highest number of gun violence in 20 years nationwide.

President Biden and political leaders wherever you serve, let us not be victims of our times but, instead, visionaries of a safer, more peaceful future. A future where all violence is rare because our great nation has applied our considerable abilities, listened to our survivors, used the best research, and worked together, with shared humanity and compassion, to stem the gun bloodshed that has stained our nation.

Sandy and Lonnie Phillips are the founders of Survivors Empowered, which assists gun violence survivors and seeks to give them a voice. Their daughter, Jessica Ghawi, was murdered in the 2012 Aurora theater shooting.  

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick doesn’t sound too upset with Mac Jones for getting his uniform dirty during Sunday’s 25-6 win over the Jets.

During his weekly appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Monday, Belichick was asked if he was in the camp who enjoyed seeing his rookie quarterback throw his body around, or if he frowned at seeing Jones put himself in harm’s way.

The question was in reference to Jones third quarter exploits, first charging down the field to help push the pile to get Damien Harris in the end zone on the back’s 26-yard third-quarter touchdown run, then later helping spring Kendrick Bourne with his block on an end-around.

How does a quarterback balance protecting himself, with also trying to help out the team, Belichick was ultimately asked?

“Football is a game of decision making. We have a lot of competitive players, and they’re all trying to do things to help the team win. So, they just have to make good decisions on those situations,” said Belichick. “But, being out front of a reverse, that’s kind of part of the play.

“I don’t know how much help Damien needed on the run, but Mac’s a competitive guy, and you love to see his competitive spirit come out.”

Belichick pointed out that Jets rookie quarterback Zach Wilson also showed that competitiveness going after Patriots safety Devin McCourty following an interception.

“So, those are guys that like to play football,” said Belichick. “As long as a play’s going on, it seems like they’re a part of it. So it’s probably a good thing.”

FARGO — The Minnesota Vikings have won a $1.4 million judgment against a Fargo-based company, stemming from a claim made by the NFL team that the company stopped making payments on the rental of a suite at U.S. Bank Stadium.

According to North Dakota court documents, the Vikings are seeking payment of $1,435,857.62 from Stadium Entertainment Partners LLC.

The North Dakota Secretary of State’s Office says Stadium Entertainment Partners is a limited liability corporation incorporated in 2014 and dissolved in 2020. Its address is listed as 1201 Page Drive, Suite 100 in Fargo.

A source with knowledge of the situation who declined to be named said Stadium Entertainment Partners was a group of businesses that formed an LLC to lease a U.S. Bank Stadium suite. After doing so, the group learned it didn’t have access to the suite for certain events so it looked to negotiate a new agreement with the Vikings, who refused.

An article in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal from February 2020 said Stadium Entertainment Partners agreed in August 2016 to lease a suite at U.S. Bank Stadium from the 2016-17 football season through the 2022-23 season, according to records from the case.

The journal reported Stadium Entertainment Partners stopped making payments on its turf suite, which is a suite on the ground floor that has a field-level patio, citing sources who wished to not be named.

The article said the Vikings went to the American Arbitration Association in 2019, which ruled in favor of the team. The AAA is a not-for-profit entity that provides dispute-resolution services to individuals and organizations who wish to resolve conflicts out of court, according to its website.

The Vikings went to Hennepin County District Court in 2020 to effectively force the defendant to pay. The team moved the case to North Dakota courts this year for the same reason.

In September 2019, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, the AAA ruled in the Vikings’ favor for the amounts of:

• Legal damages: $1.3 million
• Prejudgement interest: $52,012
• Attorneys’ fees and costs: $25,061
• Admin fees and expenses of the arbitration association: $7,700
• Compensation and expenses of the arbitrators: $4,668

The business journal story says Stadium Entertainment Partners shared the same Fargo mailing address with Orange Property Management, saying that Michael Marcil is listed as the registered agent for both companies. Orange Property manages more than 800 units across North Dakota and Minnesota, according to its website.

When contacted about the judgment, Marcil said he has nothing to do with Stadium Entertainment Partners.

“Orange Property Management LLC. is a tenant in a south Fargo office building along with several other companies who share a same primary street address that have individual business suites. Orange has never had any ownership, affiliation or involvement with Stadium Entertainment Partners LLC whatsoever and is frustrated the company name was inappropriately used by the Vikings in this matter when legal notifications were sent to the Stadium Entertainment Partners LLC registered agent,” Marcil said in an email.

Marcil said he was mistakenly listed as the registered agent for Stadium Partners, without his knowledge, which is why his name is included on court documents.

“I personally have no involvement with this business and have never had any personal ownership in the company,” he said. “But one of the businesses I do have affiliation with did have limited past involvement (indirectly) as a minority investor but has not been involved since 2016.”

Mark Johnson of the Greene Espel Law Firm in Minneapolis, who represents the Vikings, declined comment other than to confirm the team is seeking payment in North Dakota.

Stadium Entertainment Partners’ attorney listed in North Dakota court documents, Beverley Adams of the Fredrikson & Byron law firm in Fargo, said she does not represent the company.

“I am involved in this matter, though, along with a number of other N.D. counsel,” Adams said in an email. “It is a pending legal matter so I am not able to have any conversations relating to the details of my involvement.”

Pfizer said Monday, September 20, that its COVID vaccine works for children ages 5 to 11 and that it will seek U.S. authorization for this age group soon — a key step toward beginning vaccinations for youngsters.

The vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech already is available for anyone 12 and older. But with kids now back in school and the extra-contagious delta variant causing a huge jump in pediatric infections, many parents are anxiously awaiting vaccinations for their younger children.

For elementary school-aged kids, Pfizer tested a much lower dose — a third of the amount that’s in each shot given now. Yet after their second dose, children ages 5 to 11 developed coronavirus-fighting antibody levels just as strong as teenagers and young adults, Dr. Bill Gruber, a Pfizer senior vice president, told The Associated Press.

The kid dosage also proved safe, with similar or fewer temporary side effects — such as sore arms, fever or achiness — that teens experience, he said.

“I think we really hit the sweet spot,” said Gruber, who’s also a pediatrician.

Gruber said the companies aim to apply to the Food and Drug Administration by the end of the month for emergency use in this age group, followed shortly afterward with applications to European and British regulators.

Earlier this month, FDA chief Dr. Peter Marks told the AP that once Pfizer turns over its study results, his agency would evaluate the data “hopefully in a matter of weeks” to decide if the shots are safe and effective enough for younger kids.

Many Western countries so far have vaccinated no younger than age 12, awaiting evidence of what’s the right dose and that it works safely in smaller tots. But Cuba last week began immunizing children as young as 2 with its homegrown vaccines and Chinese regulators have cleared two of its brands down to age 3.

While kids are at lower risk of severe illness or death than older people, more than 5 million children in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID since the pandemic began and at least 460 have died, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Cases in children have risen dramatically as the delta variant swept through the country.

“I feel a great sense of urgency” in making the vaccine available to children under 12, Gruber said. “There’s pent-up demand for parents to be able to have their children returned to a normal life.”

In New Jersey, 10-year-old Maya Huber asked why she couldn’t get vaccinated like her parents and both teen brothers have. Her mother, Dr. Nisha Gandhi, a critical care physician at Englewood Hospital, enrolled Maya in the Pfizer study at Rutgers University. But the family hasn’t eased up on their masking and other virus precautions until they learn if Maya received the real vaccine or a dummy shot.

Once she knows she’s protected, Maya’s first goal: “a huge sleepover with all my friends.”

Maya said it was exciting to be part of the study even though she was “super scared” about getting jabbed. But “after you get it, at least you feel like happy that you did it and relieved that it didn’t hurt,” she told the AP.

Pfizer said it studied the lower dose in 2,268 kindergartners and elementary school-aged kids. The FDA required what is called an immune “bridging” study: evidence that the younger children developed antibody levels already proven to be protective in teens and adults. That’s what Pfizer reported Monday in a press release, not a scientific publication. The study still is ongoing, and there haven’t yet been enough COVID-19 cases to compare rates between the vaccinated and those given a placebo — something that might offer additional evidence.

The study isn’t large enough to detect any extremely rare side effects, such as the heart inflammation that sometimes occurs after the second dose, mostly in young men. The FDA’s Marks said the pediatric studies should be large enough to rule out any higher risk to young children. Pfizer’s Gruber said once the vaccine is authorized for younger children, they’ll be carefully monitored for rare risks just like everyone else.

A second U.S. vaccine maker, Moderna, also is studying its shots in elementary school-aged children. Pfizer and Moderna are studying even younger tots as well, down to 6-month-olds. Results are expected later in the year.

OK, it definitely wasn’t the Pandemmys, or the Zoomemmys, or whatever you want to call last year’s virtual Emmy ceremony — with everyone at home, and visitors in hazmat suits showing up to bestow awards

This year was different — defiantly so. People were together, and not even in masks (except during commercial breaks.) There were plenty of hugs and kisses — in fact, quipped presenter Seth Rogen, he had just been sneezed in the face by Paul Bettany. (Guests had to present vaccine proof and negative COVID-19 tests.)

But of course, this wasn’t the PRE-COVID Emmys either. The crowd, in a tent in downtown Los Angeles, was much smaller than in normal years. And many overseas nominees couldn’t come due to travel restrictions — especially the cast and crew of “The Crown,” which accepted its six drama awards from a party in London, as “Schitt’s Creek” had done a year earlier in Canada.

And in a year where so much was different, there were some familiar problems. Awards were concentrated among a few shows. The hashtag #EmmysSoWhite emerged — a record number of nominees of color yielded only two Black winners, RuPaul for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and Michaela Coel for writing “I May Destroy You.” A slew of Black actors were passed over.

Cedric the Entertainer proved an infectiously joyful and hard-working host, but the comedy bits were spotty at best. It also didn’t help that some overlong speeches dragged down the proceedings, for example from the director of “The Queen’s Gambit,” who was criticized on Twitter for a speech that to some, seemed to feel as long as a chess game.

Still there were feel-good moments: Debbie Allen. Jean Smart! Kate Winslet. Ted Lasso himself — heck, all Ted’s friends, too. And perhaps best of all, the fiercely original Coel, giving a stunning (and concise!) speech about writing.

Some key moments of the evening:

A JEANAISSANCE…

Yes, the expected Jeanaissance happened, with veteran Smart receiving a standing ovation after winning best actress in a comedy — her fourth Emmy in a long career — for playing a Las Vegas stand-up comic in “Hacks.” She immediately paid tearful tribute to her husband, Richard Gilliland, who died in March: “I would not be here without him, and without his … putting his career on the back burner so I could take advantage of all the wonderful opportunities I have had.” It was a theme — personal loss — that was threaded through a number of speeches.

AND THE GREAT KATE

While “Mare of Easttown,” also featuring Smart, lost out to “The Queen’s Gambit” for best limited series, it won three key acting awards, including the Great Kate — Winslet, of course — who captivated audiences with her role as a “a middle-aged, imperfect, flawed mother,” in her words, in which she also nailed a very difficult Philadelphia accent. The show “is this cultural moment, and it brought people together and gave them something to talk about other than a global pandemic,” Winslet noted.

THE LASSO EFFECT

It was unquestionably the feel-good show of the year, and “Ted Lasso” — about the unrelentingly upbeat American coach of a British football team — started winning early, with ebullient stage actress Hannah Waddingham accepting the award for best supporting actress in a comedy, closely followed by Brett Goldstein for supporting actor. Then Jason Sudeikis, the titular coach, made it a happy trio, winning best actor. “This show’s about families, this show’s about mentors and teachers, this show’s about teammates, and I wouldn’t be here without those three things in my life,” said Sudeikis. He told castmates and crew: “I’m only as good as you guys make me look.” The Apple TV+ show capped off the night by winning best comedy.

CAN WE COME?

“We’re going to party,” said Peter Morgan, creator of “The Crown,” as the royal saga from Netflix won drama writing, directing and all four acting honors. At times it seemed like that party — held in London due to travel restrictions — might be more fun than the long party in Los Angeles. Olivia Colman, who became the second actor to win for playing Queen Elizabeth II on the same show, after Claire Foy, was delighted but tearful as she recalled the death of her father during COVID. “He would have loved all of this,” she said.

VACCINE HUMOR

There was not much politics in Emmy speeches, unless you counted Stephen Colbert riffing on the California governor recall attempt with a slightly labored joke about “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” being recalled. “Mrs. Maisel has survived the recall and will remain marvelous,” he concluded. But Cedric the Entertainer delivered some topical humor with a riff on vaccines. Likening the various jabs to stores, he called Pfizer the Neiman Marcus, Moderna the Macy’s, and Johnson & Johnson the TJ Maxx of vaccines. He also offered up a dig at Nicki Minaj for the story about her cousin’s friend in Trinidad.

DEBBIE ALLEN GETS TO STOP THE CLOCK…

“Turn that clock off,” Allen said as she launched into her speech accepting the Governors Award. “I’m not paying any attention to it.” She added she was “trembling with gratitude and grace and trying not to cry … it’s taken a lot of courage to be the only woman in the room most of the time.” She urged a younger generation to “Tell your stories … it’s your turn.” The crowd cheered — when you have her career as an actor, dancer, choreographer and activist, you’re allowed to ignore the playoff music.

BUT NOT EVERYONE IS DEBBIE ALLEN

Then there was Scott Frank, director of “The Queen’s Gambit.” When he won, he thanked some folks, then more, then more, reading from a prepared speech.. The playoff music swelled, several times, but he continued, saying at one point: “Really?” Frank was called out on Twitter. “This is why directors need editors,” wrote writer-producer Danny Zuker, calling the remarks “The Irishman” of speeches.

A WRITER, ON WRITING

Luckily, what followed was probably the night’s highlight — the remarks by Coel, of “I May Destroy You.” She said she had something to tell the writers out there. “Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn’t comfortable,” she said. “I dare you.” In a world, she added, where we all feel the need to be visible, equating it with success, “do not be afraid to disappear … See what comes to you in the silence.” Coel dedicated her show, in which she played a survivor of sexual assault, “to every single survivor of sexual assault.”

BOSTON, MA. SEPT. 19: Instructor Heidi Henderson, light green top, a professor in the dance department at Connecticut College, works with a class focusing on contemporary dance, Sunday Sept. 19, 2021 at the Boston Dance Alliance, in Brighton.This was the first open call the group has had since 2019 due to COVID. Choreographers from around Boston were on hand to see the dancers ages 18 and up perform for possible use in upcoming productions. (Herald Photo By Jim Michaud/ Boston Herald)

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – On Monday, September 20, GasBuddy reported a weekly update on Albany gas prices. All Albany-based data is from GasBuddy’s daily survey of 546 stations in Albany.

Albany gas prices have not changed in the past week, averaging $3.24/g Monday, September 20. Gas prices in Albany are 8.5 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 95.7 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

Dear Amy: My child came out to my husband and me as non-binary, using “they/them pronouns and a new name.

I am struggling to change the way I address them, but I am honestly trying.

My husband is not.

My husband flat-out told them that he doesn’t care if they identified differently; he will continue to use their birth name and pronouns.

My husband says he doesn’t care what other people call them, and that there is no negative connotation meant on his part, but I know it is and will be taken that way.

I told him that my child may refuse to interact with him if he refuses to address them in this new way, but he says he doesn’t care.

His partial acceptance confuses me on what to do.

Based on previous discussions, I believe my child will keep in touch with me, but not my husband, but I always said I would leave my husband if he showed hate to a child of mine.

This situation is confusing, because this isn’t rejection — it’s just not really acceptance.

Should I leave him?

— Torn

After 25 years of rolling out other company’s medical devices, St. Paul-based contract-manufacturer Minnetronix Medical has begun designing some of its own.

The MindsEye Port — a small but expandable insert used in deep-brain surgery — received clearance from the federal Food and Drug Administration last year for the treatment of stroke, cancer and other conditions. MindsEye is a few months away from hitting the market, and if regulatory reviews are favorable, could be followed next year by a spinal catheter that removes blood from cerebral spinal fluid after an aneurysm.

Those aren’t the only innovations that have chief executive officer Jeremy Maniak feeling bullish about company growth. Over the past year, Minnetronix has brought on 75 new workers — roughly half of them engineers — to its headquarters at 1635 Energy Park Drive, just off Snelling Avenue, bringing the total workforce there to more than 400 employees. Maniak, who joined Minnetronix in 2010, was named the company’s chief executive officer in early 2020, weeks before the pandemic officially hit Minnesota.

$6 MILLION EXPANSION

A year-long, $6 million physical expansion has remodeled the three-building campus, growing its footprint from 120,000 to 160,000 square feet, thanks in part to $1 million in grants and loans from the state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

“We are 100 percent in St. Paul,” said Maniak, in a recent interview. “Obviously, we have a global supply chain. We reach all over the world for parts, but all the high-end testing and assembly happens right here in St. Paul. (We’re) designing, developing and manufacturing a hundred different medical devices on any given day.”

Maniak said the company’s customer base has doubled in five years, and there are 85 contract projects in the pipeline.

It’s the kind of growth that has caught the attention of city and state leaders eager to boost the city’s business profile in the areas of technology and innovation.

Minnetronix is privately backed by Altaris Capital Partners, a New York-based investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare industry. Altaris, which had held minority ownership in the company since 2016, became the majority owner in February.

“MINNETRONIX DAY”

On Monday, St. Paul Mayor Carter and DEED Commissioner Steve Grove are scheduled to tour the expanded facility with Maniak and celebrate a ribbon-cutting for the renovated campus. The mayor plans to declare Monday “Minnetronix Day” in St. Paul.

Part factory, part research facility and part corporate headquarters, the Minnetronix campus is made up of some two dozen labs, a traditional factory floor, “clean rooms” for sterile manufacturing and corporate offices. From there, devices are shipped to medical clients around the world, from start-ups to global companies, including Plymouth, Minn.-based Smiths Medical and Boston-based ActivSurgical.

“There’s not many companies in the state that touch this many medical technologies,” Maniak said. “We’ve seen really strong investment in healthcare and in medical technology. When people finance new innovations and therapies, and better, faster, cheaper delivery of healthcare, that helps drive growth, and we’re positioned well to take advantage of that. We really brought on a lot of folks, from engineers to assemblers to key leadership positions across the whole company.”

Over the years, Minnetronix has concentrated its focus on four core segments of the med-tech industry: fluid and gas management, optical systems, RF/EM energy equipment and the stimulation and critical active wearables markets, such as glucose-monitoring machines.

“THRIVE” MODE

While demand for non-essential medical services all but dried up during the early days of the pandemic last year as hospitals deferred non-critical care, other clients relied on the company’s manufacturing and supply chain expertise as much as ever.

“All of those customers needed our help, they just needed our help in different ways,” Maniak said. “(We were) helping our customers slow down and pause if they were non-essential, and then in many cases accelerate delivery and accelerate supply chains. The two ends of the spectrum. We saw the extremes of both. … At first it was ‘survive,’ and then we moved to ‘thrive.’ We were able to get into ‘thrive’ mode pretty quickly.”

He added that “one of the staples of our workplace culture is ‘What can you do to help?’ and ‘What can you control?,’ rather than getting lost in what’s happening to you. The world is very volatile. We can’t control that. But we can control how we react and how we show up in that environment.”

For the campus expansion, Gardner Builders of Minneapolis worked with Pope Architects of St. Paul. Intereum of Plymouth. designed the interior spaces.