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President Biden Signs Into Law Senator Hassan’s Bipartisan Bill to Expand Veterans’ Access to Vaccines

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden signed into law bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and her colleagues that will expand COVID-19 vaccine access to all veterans, their spouses, and their caregivers through the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

While many VA Medical Centers offer vaccines to veterans who receive their health care through the VA, this new law changes the policy that restricted VA Medical Centers from providing no-cost vaccine options for veterans not enrolled in VA services. Now VA Medical Centers have the option to offer vaccines to veterans who are not enrolled in VA services – as well as their spouses and caregivers.

“Getting more vaccines into arms is critical to our efforts to save lives and get through this devastating pandemic. I am very pleased that President Biden signed into law our bipartisan bill that will allow VA Medical Centers to build on their current vaccination efforts. Because of this new law, more veterans – and their spouses and caregivers – will be able to get vaccinated more quickly,” said Senator Hassan. “I will continue to work to strengthen our country’s vaccine production and distribution, and help ensure that veterans receive the care that they deserve and have earned.”

The bipartisan Strengthening and Amplifying Vaccination Efforts to Locally Immunize all Veterans and Every Spouse (SAVE LIVES) Act would allow the VA to provide no-cost COVID vaccination services to all veterans, the spouses of veterans, caregivers, and Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) recipients to the extent that such vaccines are available. The legislation also urges the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to adjust the VA’s vaccine allocation based on this increased eligibility pool, as much as the supply chain allows.

The SAVE LIVES Act will expand VA’s authority to provide vaccines to: 

  • Veterans who are not eligible for enrollment in VA’s health care system, including veterans without compensable service-connected disabilities and veterans who have incomes above a certain threshold;
  • Caregivers of veterans who are enrolled in various VA home-based and long-term care programs;
  • Veterans living abroad who rely on the Foreign Medical Program;
  • Spouses of veterans; and
  • CHAMPVA recipients (spouses or children of permanently and totally disabled veterans or of veterans who have died from service-connected disabilities).

Senator Hassan is working to support veterans throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The Senator recently participated in a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing, where she pressed top officials at the VA about what the agency is doing to distribute COVID-19 vaccines quickly and efficiently to veterans in New Hampshire and across the country. Additionally, the American Rescue Plan that Senator Hassan helped pass into law will strengthen veterans’ health care services, including to support mental health and telehealth, and also includes significant funding for job training to help veterans get good-paying jobs. Senator Hassan also recently helped secure key priorities for Granite State veterans in the bipartisan veterans package that was signed into law earlier this year, including the Deborah Sampson Act, which Senator Hassan joined in introducing to eliminate barriers to care and services that many women veterans face. The bipartisan package also included a number of other measures cosponsored by Senator Hassan, including supporting veterans experiencing homelessness, helping veterans safely dispose of unwanted medication, and helping address the high rate of unemployment among veterans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, last year Senator Hassan cosponsored bipartisan legislation, which is now law, to improve veterans’ access to mental health care in New Hampshire and across the country.

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Magic Madness 2021 – Vote for Your Elite 8!

March Madness is BACK for the NCAA and in their honor, Magic 104 thought it’d be fun to once again make our own tournament!

Welcome to Magic Madness 2021 – Where we will find out, ONCE AND FOR ALL… Who is the Mount Washington Valley’s FAVORITE Magic 104 Artist…

64 Artists to choose from…and all YOU have to do is VOTE!

Here’s how it will play out…

The Sweet 16 have been named and now they square off in the Head to Head Matches below.
Vote for your favorite in each round via the poll below. The Elite 8 will be announced Friday, March 26th at 7:40am.

(Click the Bracket to Enlarge)

 THE POLL HAS CLOSED. 

TIMELINE:

Sweet 16 VOTING: March 24th – March 25th

(Elite 8 Will Be Announced March 26th)

Elite 8 VOTING: March 26th- March 28th

(Final Four Will Be Announced March 29th)

Final 4 VOTING: March 29th – March 31st

(Top 2 Will Be Announced April 1st)

Top 2 VOTING: April 1st – April 4th

(MWV’s Favorite Magic 104 Artist Will Be Announced April 5th)

The Winner will be announced during the Magic Morning Show on Monday, April 5th and that Artist will have a Showcase.

 

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Actress Justina Adorno from FX’s Mayans MC joins Gino on the Magic Morning Show – 03/23/2021

Actress and Vegan/Animal Rights Activist Justina Adorno joined Gino on The Magic Morning Show today to tell us all about her NEW “edgy” role in the third season of FX’s Mayans M.C. (Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT on FX and next day on HULU). For those who do not know, Mayans M.C. takes place in the same fictional universe as “Sons of Anarchy.” Click below to listen to the interview!

 

MORE ABOUT MAYANS M.C. –

Mayans M.C. follows the life of Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (JD Pardo), a newly patched member of the Mayans M.C. charter on the Cali/Mexi border. Once the golden boy with the American Dream in his grasp, EZ and his brother Angel (Clayton Cardenas) are closer than ever after uncovering the truth behind their mother’s murder while their father Felipe (Edward James Olmos) struggles to reconcile the choices he and his sons have made. Additionally, the Mayans seek vengeance on their rivals, the Tijuana M.C. Vatos Malditos, after a surprise attack on their club. When the smoke clears, they discover the body of a Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original – there will be hell to pay. Michael Irby, Raoul Max Trujillo, Richard Cabral, Emilio Rivera, Sarah Bolger and Sulem Calderon also star in the gritty motorcycle drama. Mayans M.C. was co-created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James. The series is executive produced by James, Michael Dinner and Sutter.

MORE ABOUT JUSTINA –

Born in the Bronx, NY to Puerto Rican, Adorno got her elementary education as a student in Catholic school where she developed the understanding that the world was based on storytelling, either in a religious or a non-religious way. As a pre-teen she moved with her mother to South Carolina and attended a magnet program for acting called PCA (Palmetto Center for the Arts) where she fell in love with theater and later auditioned and attended South Carolina Governor School for the Arts and Humanities to fully begin her pursuit in acting. She attended Coastal Carolina University, graduated with her BFA in Acting and moved back to NYC. While in NYC, Justina booked a couple of national commercials and appeared in NBC’s 2016 Diversity Showcase.

She landed a few roles, one of them being the crime drama Netflix series, based on the Russian film The Major, “Seven Seconds,” where she played ‘Jasmine,’ a reoccurring role. In 2019, she joined the Eva Longoria produced provocative drama, “Grand Hotel” which aired that summer on ABC. While being a short-lived show, Justina enjoyed playing the role of ‘Yoli,’ a character discovering her sexuality and coming into her own by being comfortable in her skin despite the constant comments about her weight. In early 2020, Justina played the part of ‘Steph’ in The CW’s sci-fi TV drama “Roswell: New Mexico.”

When she’s not working, she enjoys cooking vegan meals, volunteering at animal shelters, speaking up for animal rights and spending time with her pets Catsby and Penni. We would love to arrange an interview with Justina to discuss her new role on Mayans M.C. and her upcoming projects.

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Feel Good Story of the Week: Little Girl Escapes Fire by Throwing Mattress Out Window and Jumping to Safety

An eight-year-old Chicago girl managed to toss a mattress from her family’s third-story window during a fire and then jump onto it to safety. Firefighters who arrived at the burning apartment on the city’s South Side just before midnight found the girl safe outside. They were able to rescue two younger children who were inside, including the girl’s five-year-old brother, who was at the window poised to follow his sister, and a two-year old boy. The three children were taken to the hospital to be evaluated for smoke inhalation.

For the full story click here.

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Finland is the World’s Happiest Country!

Do you consider yourself a happy person? The World Happiness Report was recently released, and it says that Finland, Iceland, and Denmark are the happiest countries in the world, while Sweden came in sixth place and Norway came in eighth. Finland’s death rate from COVID-19 is the lowest in the European Union, and the country scored high in the categories of freedom, healthy lifestyle, and social solidarity. New Zealand also made it into the top ten happiest countries, after virtually stopping transmission of the virus. The United States came in 14th place, while the U.K. came in at 18th place. Zimbabwe came out at the bottom of the list in 95th place, while Tanzania took 94th place, Jordan took 93rd, and India took 92nd.

For the full list click here.

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2021 Mount Washington Valley Mr. Crowned

Clay Groves is Valley Mr. 2021 – Picture courtesy of Valley Promotions

 

NORTH CONWAY, NH – Over $29,000.00 was raised for local non-profits by the 11 men who competed in the 2021 Mount Washington Valley Mr. Pageant, aired on Sunday, March 21st.  Presented by Mount Washington Valley Promotions, the collaborative fund-raising event was hosted virtually by Valley Vision Channel 3.  Each man was scored in Interview, Runway and Prepared Speech by a panel of judges.  In addition, each was asked to collect funds for his chosen non-profit, those figures also factoring into the final score. 

At the end of the pageantry, Clay Groves, representing White Mountains Pride, was crowned 2021 Valley Mr. and received a check for $500.00 for the organization, in addition to the funds he raised in his Ca$h Can.  Eric Moran represented White Horse Recovery, claiming the Runner-up position. Top fund-raiser, for Conway Area Humane Society, was Jimmy Gardner.  The other contestants were Marshall Allan – representing Carroll County RSVP, Del Bean – representing Harvest Hills Animal Shelter, Brendan King – representing Linderhof Country Club, Joe McCusker – representing North Conway Community Center, Tee Rendleman – representing Project SUCCEED, Benjamin Russell – representing Visiting Nurses of Carroll County & Western Maine, Grayson Smith – representing M&D Playhouse and Robert Young – representing North Conway Rotary Club. 

Reigning Mount Washington Valley Ms., Laurie Ramsay, served as emcee of the event, with 2019 Mount Washington Valley Mr., Christopher Bellis, passing the crown to the new king.  Entertainment was provided by Kennett Drumline, Kennett Dance Team, Miss MWV Teen Ella Fecteau and Miss NH for America Hannah-Jo Weisberg.  Local businesses donated “swag” items for all of the participants so everyone who participated, and their causes, were winners in the end.

Event organizer and Valley Promotions Executive Director, Lisa DuFault, was thrilled with the collaboration.  “Not only did these men represent their chosen organizations well”, she stated, “they supported one another and raised a LOT of money for the local non-profits”.

To learn about future collaborative events,  visit www.ValleyPromotions.net.

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Magic Madness 2021 – Vote for Your Sweet 16!

March Madness is BACK for the NCAA and in their honor, Magic 104 thought it’d be fun to once again make our own tournament!

Welcome to Magic Madness 2021 – Where we will find out, ONCE AND FOR ALL… Who is the Mount Washington Valley’s FAVORITE Magic 104 Artist…

64 Artists have been chosen and NOW, all you have to do is VOTE!

Here’s how it will play out…

The BIG 32 has been named and now they squared off in the Head to Head Matches below. Vote for your favorite in each round via the poll below. The Sweet 16 will be announced Wednesday, March 24th at 8:10am.

 

(Click the Bracket to Enlarge)

 
 
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THE POLL HAS CLOSED.


TIMELINE:

The BIG 32 VOTING: March 22nd – March 23rd

(The Sweet 16 Will Be Announced March 24th)

Sweet 16 VOTING: March 24th – March 25th

(Elite 8 Will Be Announced March 26th)

Elite 8 VOTING: March 26th- March 28th

(Final Four Will Be Announced March 29th)

Final 4 VOTING: March 29th – March 31st

(Top 2 Will Be Announced April 1st)

Top 2 VOTING: April 1st – April 4th

(MWV’s Favorite Magic 104 Artist Will Be Announced April 5th)

The Winner will be announced during the Magic Morning Show on Monday, April 5th and that Artist will have a Showcase.