Press Release

News from

For more information contact

Dorothy Slocum

Mountain East Medical Center

(757) 555-5555

doroslo@yahoo.com

For release after 10 a.m.

Tuesday, May 7

NEW PURCHASING CHIEF STEPS INTO BIG SHOES

            Bob Wilkinson has sent in his resignation from his position as the head of the purchasing department. He is being replaced by assistant head of the department and employee of the hospital for 13 years, Johnny Toler.

            “Bob’s abilities will be greatly missed at this hospital,” said hospital administrator Harry Illscott. “But I know that Johnny Toler is a person we can all depend on to do whatever is necessary to keep this department going. I have great faith in him and the hospital.”

            Toler started as an assistant druggist in the hospital’s pharmacy 13 years ago and moved to the purchasing department in 1978. Toler’s wife is head of Gynecology at MEMC and they have 2 children.

             “This hospital means a great deal to me and my family, and I will give my best efforts to making our purchasing department the best,” said Toler. “I learned from a fine man – Bob Wilkinson – and I hope I can continue to build on the foundation he established.”

            More information about the hospital and its plans is available on the company website at www.memc.org.

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A new IKEA opens in Norfolk

Amazon employees eaves drop on your conversations with Alexa

Broadcast news story assignment 

Your private conversations at home may not be as private as you think.

Your commands are being recorded and transcribed.

According to an article by Matt Day of Bloomberg, an Amazon team listens to voice recordings of things users have said to their Echo speakers.

Day writes, “The recordings are transcribed, annotated and then fed back into the software as part of an effort to eliminate gaps in Alexa’s understanding of human speech and help it better respond to commands.”

Employees listen to roughly 1,000 audio clips per shift, most of which are mundane, according to past employees.

Day states that the employees vent to each other in an “internal chat room” (Bloomberg) and help each other to understand muffled words or listen to amusing recordings.

Other smart speakers are listening, too.

It is not just Alexa that sends your voice to employees, but most other smart speakers too. 78-million smart speakers were sold last year, and most of its owners are unaware that they are being recorded and listened to by employees.

According to Amazon’s website, no audio is recorded and transcribed unless woken up by a “wake word” or activated by pressing a button.

Some Echo users though have reported Alexa turning on by herself without any prompting.

According to CNBC, you can prevent any of your voice recordings from being listened to by following these seven steps:

• Open the Alexa app on your phone.
• Tap the menu button on the top left of the screen.
• Select “Alexa Account.”
• Choose “Alexa Privacy.”
• Select “Manage how your data improves Alexa.”
• Turn off the button next to “Help Develop New Features.”
• Turn off the button next to your name under “Use Messages to Improve Transcriptions.”

According to Aimee Picchi of CBS news, an Amazon spokesperson claims that they only use an "extremely small number" of customer recordings in order to improve the service. 

To avoid being in that “extremely small number” of users, just follow those steps before saying another word to your smart speaker.

El Paso: the standard for architecture, food, entertainment and nightlife

Travel story assignment 

Situated on the boarder of Mexico and New Mexico, the city of El Paso, Texas, has a landscape of cacti and desert wildlife, beautiful rocky mountains, unique architecture, and a city of renowned entertainment.

Hiking, museums and zoos

The contrast of the Franklin Mountains against the setting sky is in itself a good enough reason to visit the shining city of El Paso. Hiking on those mountains is a pass time that El Paso residents and tourists alike love to do. The view from the top of the mountains is picturesque as you look down at the city of El Paso.

Cincinnati Street in El Paso, Texas. Jan. 2019.

When too tired to hike and looking for fun day time activities, The El Paso Museum of Art, the new Red Room escape room, and the El Paso Zoo are two of the many things to do there. There are also great places within driving distance, like the Meow Wolf museum in New Mexico.

Concerts and night life

Night life is one of the highlights of El Paso between concerts at the El Paso County Coliseum and the bars and restaurants of Cincinnati street, known to locals as “Cinci.” Walking down the streets of Cinci, people buzz with excitement, hopping from bar to bar and enjoying the atmosphere of downtown El Paso. From there, it is just a short Uber ride away to get to the County Coliseum where concerts are frequently held.

Hotels and restaurants rich in Hispanic culture 

Hotels are phenomenally inexpensive in El Paso, some as low as $20 per night. Due to its proximity to Mexico, El Paso has adopted some aspects of the Hispanic culture, like their delicious food and stunning architecture. Local restaurants have inexpensive and delicious food.
Driving down the streets of El Paso, there is an authentic Mexican restaurant with food that is to die for and beautifully charming houses. These houses are stunning and inexpensive, so if one finds during their stay that El Paso is the place, the real estate there is phenomenally low.

A home away from home

Some people worry about the potential danger of El Paso’s proximity to the city of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, but the region's rate of violent crime is actually lower than the national average, and the rate of property crime is significantly lower. (Realestate.usnews.com).
El Paso was additionally rated in 2017's Best Places to Live, according to The El Paso Times.

Even rap singer Khalid said “I didn’t feel like I had a home until I moved to El Paso.”

Overall, El Paso is a vacation destination recommended to anyone with a sense of adventure who wants to have fun!

D-Now results in new Christians and nitrogen ice cream

Live event coverage assignment 

Ears ring as the loud worship music pierces the room, creating an atmosphere of both fun and worship for local middle school and high school teens.

“I love watching how God puts it all together,” said founder of D-Now Mary Flannery. “A few weeks ago, we didn’t know a lot of the key pieces, and yet He brought us people to be small group leaders, He put a band together.”

Discipleship Now, or D-Now, is a three-day weekend retreat where kids come to worship, potentially encounter Christ for the first time, help the community and make new friends.

Kids sixth through twelfth grade can attend, enjoying free food, a host home where they sleep for the weekend, and special surprises like nitrogen ice cream.

“I grew a lot spiritually,” said Lilly Herr, a middle school participant. “The worship was really good, but also my small group had lots of good conversations and tons of laughs that were majorly awesome.”

Keynote speaker Asa Lowe spoke to the group about needing Jesus and the importance of sharing Jesus with the world.

“It was really amazing last night to see the Spirit already moving, I could feel it,” said Rachel Wartian, small group leader and Regent University senior.

On Saturday, the youth and volunteers headed out into the community to help those in need.

“It’s been great; this is kind of like my second home away from home,” said small group leader Trayvon Brown. “I just enjoy spending time with you guys, community, you guys have just shown me what it looks like, interacting with each other, showing love, having fun with each other, that’s exactly what we need growing up. You guys are our future.”

Finding meaning in the mundane

Assignment: A brief devotional

Being a full-time student, part-time preschool teacher’s aide, avid weight lifter, news editor of The Daily Runner, social butterfly, and young journalist, I find myself with almost no time to do all of the things I need to get done. I commute to Regent, the drive taking up even more of my day that I can’t afford to lose!

When doing all of these things throughout my daily life, I try hard to remember that in doing so, I am to glorify God despite all of the stress that I may be feeling.

Colossians 3:23-24 says “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” 

This passage offers encouragement that we are not obsolete nor are any of our actions; we have a purpose, and no amount of stress can take away how important everything is, even driving to school or doing a seemingly pointless homework assignment.