By Andrew Dalton   LOS ANGELES (AP)—The Michael Jackson estate is donating $300,000 to help entertainment industry workers on Broadway, the music business and in Las Vegas who have been hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. The estate announced Wednesday that it will give $100,000 apiece to Broadway Cares, the food bank Three Square in Nevada and MusiCares, because all three areas have been good to the estate and to Jackson. “This virus, this pandemic affects all of us obviously, so we wanted to start in our own communities,” John Branca, the estate's...

By Michael Tarm   CHICAGO (AP)—R&B singer R. Kelly cited the novel coronavirus in asking a federal judge Thursday to free him from a federal jail in Chicago as he awaits trial on child pornography and other charges, a court filing by his lawyers saying scant precautions to stem the spread of the virus behind bars put Kelly's life at risk. Sanitizer and even soap is hard to come by in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, with most of its 700 inmates held in small, two-man cells that make the kind of social distancing called for to thwart the transmission of...

By Robin McDowell and Margie Mason   NEW YORK, NY—Something was wrong. The chow hall line at New York's Rikers Island jail had halted. For three hours, the men stood and waited, without food, until a correctional officer quietly delivered the news: A civilian chef was among those who tested positive for the coronavirus. “We was like, ‘What? The cook?”' said Corey Young, who spoke to The Associated Press last week by phone from Rikers. He and others wondered if the chef had sneezed on trays or into the food. Some men later floated the idea of...

By Seema Verma Administrator, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services   Since older Americans are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus (COVID-19), I wanted to let you know the steps we’re taking to help our Medicare beneficiaries cope with the pandemic. We’re warning Medicare beneficiaries that scammers may try to use this emergency to steal their Medicare number, banking information, or other personal data. Unfortunately, scammers come out of the woodwork during times of uncertainty and change. So make sure you give your Medicare number...

Courtesy kp.org   PASADENA—With COVID-19 dominating the news, and schools shut down as part of efforts to slow down the spreading of the disease, it’s understandable that many children feel overwhelmed and in need of self-assurance to help them cope with the added stress. Parents have an important role to play to make sure their children’s mental health does not suffer during these trying times, according to Dr. Ashley Zucker, a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Kaiser Permanente Southern California. “In these challenging times, it’s...

Dr. James L. Snyder   During the past week, the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly have been spending quite a bit of time together. I cannot recall any time that we have spent this much time together. The exception would be when we first got married. Even then, both of us worked during the day and were going to a Bible Institute at night. Occasionally our schedule collided, but rarely. Because we both had energy, we did not realize how much we were doing. Every day had its own blessing. It was not long before the babies came knocking on our door, and we...

By Chris Frost chris@tricountysentry.com Oxnard-- The Public Works and Transportation Committee approved and awarded Trade Services Agreement A-8208 to Natural Green Landscape, Inc. for Landscape Maintenance Services at various city facilities on March 24.   The city had a contract with Groundskeeper Incorporated that expired in Nov. 2018, and the city currently uses City Corps for services at the locations.   The Purchasing Department got three bids in Dec., and Natural Green Landscape was the lowest responsible bid.   Assistant Public Works...

By Chris Frost chris@tricountysentry.com Milan-- The conversation with Chandra Alley, who moved with her family to Italy on Aug. 31, 2018, when her husband got transferred from the United States continues with how the Coronavirus has affected her shopping habits to feed her four children.   Chandra grocery shops for her family every five days, which she said is her regular schedule.    She heard a podcast that recommended that she clean items that many people touch in the store before you put them in the car, which Chandra doesn't do, but she does...

By Chris Frost' chris@tricountysentry.com   Oxnard-- The Tri County Sentry's Angels Among Us series continues in April with the story of child advocate Jean Hooper, who founded "Hattie Hooper’s Heroes” in Oxnard.   The group hula hoops at the  Boys and Girls Club of Oxnard and Port Hueneme and shares characters they created with Jean and Karen Kutcher while building esteem and self-confidence.   A Hooper Hero always lends a helping hand and helps others discover what they're good at with creative ideas and words...

By Chris Frost chris@tricountysentry.com Oxnard-- Ventura County residents heard valuable information about the Coronavirus, March 19, as the Covid-19 teleconference came off without a hitch.   The event provided boots on the ground updates about the virus in Ventura County that could not be accessed by network news shows.   The event, hosted by Assemblymember Monique Limón and Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, took used technology as its mode of communication. The event had no one attending in person but had people on the line providing updates and...