That s it for today!
By Nigel Gladstone
Thanks for joining us on the first day of the new year. We re winding things up now, but we ll be back in the morning to continue our live coverage.
Here s a wrap of the key events from today:
NSW reported three local cases on Friday â all mystery cases in Sydney s west â with a plea issued for Greystanes, Berala, Auburn and Lidcombe residents to get tested.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has rejected âvery dangerousâ calls to rush approvals for a coronavirus vaccine and called for consistency on border closures.
NSW household gatherings are now limited to five guests in Greater Sydney, Wollongong, the Central Coast and the Blue Mountains. Masks are mandatory indoors again in Victoria where they reported eight new COVID-19 cases.
Five-star culinary director joins Dusit Guam properties postguam.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from postguam.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Paymark spokesman Paul Brislen said Palmerston North was one of five, out of 17, Paymark regions where Boxing Day spending increased this year – although Auckand spending only increased by 0.7 per cent. Nationally, $62.2m was spent on Boxing Day over the Paymark network, 2.2 per cent less than last year. Brislen said the areas where Boxing Day spending rose in 2020 tended to be places without a big tourism sector, such as Palmerston North. The overall drop in spending could be partially explained by the lack of overseas visitors, after the pandemic ground international travel to a halt, he said. Paymark figures don t capture online spending.
Updated Moc Fire
The year 2020 had many terrible fires and COVID-19, for Mother Lode it was also a year for wildlife sightings, gardening, astronomy, and more.
The three most-read news stories on myMotherLode.com in 2020 were related to what became the 2,800-acre Moc Fire which ignited on August 20. It threatened Hetch Hetchy infrastructure and spurred widespread evacuation orders in Groveland and Pine Mountain Lake. President Donald Trump approved FEMA funding for Tuolumne County in October for the Moc Fire in a federal disaster declaration which also covered other large fires in the state. An overview of how close the fire came to becoming even more destructive and the work that went into preventing a catastrophe were detailed here.
Lehigh Valley Power Players December 21, 2020
7:30 am
Lehigh Valley Business is pleased to introduce 18 people who are leaders in their field. You may not know their names, but their colleagues do. They were selected by our reporters and editors based on our reporting and in consultation with knowledgeable people in their fields. We know there are many who, like them, do their best with no expectation of public recognition, but we believe it is important to highlight the bright lights in our community. We hope you will join us in congratulating all of our honorees.
Banking and Finance Power Players
Mark Jaindl, President and CEO, American Bank