Wednesday, March 28, 2018
April 2018 California Department of Fish and Wildlife Calendar
Weekends — Ecological Reserve Tours at Elkhorn Slough. Volunteers lead walks every Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Binoculars and bird books are available for the public to borrow at no cost. The visitor center and main overlook are fully accessible. The day use permit fee is $4.12 per person, ages 16 and older (permits may be purchased on-site). Groups of five or more should please notify staff that they are coming and groups of 10 or more can request a separate tour. For more information, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/lands/places-to-visit/elkhorn-slough-er. Various Days — Guided Wetland Tours, By Reservation, at Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, 3207 Rutherford Road, Gridley (95948). A wildlife naturalist will lead any group, school or organization on a half-mile route through the diverse wetlands of the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. General information includes wildlife identification, behavior patterns and conservation efforts. The experience can be customized to include requested information. The minimum group size is 18 people. For more information, please call (530) 846-7505 or email lori.dieter@wildlife.ca.gov. 1 — Recreational Groundfish Season Opens for All Boat-based Anglers in the Central Management Area (Pigeon Point, San Mateo County to Point Conception, Santa Barbara County). For more information, please visit the Groundfish Central webpage at www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/groundfish. 7 — Recreational Ocean Salmon Season Opens from Pigeon Point to U.S./Mexico Border. All other areas off the California coast will remain closed during the month of April. For more information, please visit the Ocean Salmon webpage at www.wildlife.ca.gov/oceansalmon or call the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Ocean Salmon Regulations Hotline at (707) 576-3429 or the National Marine Fisheries Service Ocean Salmon Regulations Hotline at (800) 662-9825. 7 — Elkhorn Slough Reserve Annual Snowy Plover Habitat Restoration Mud Stomp, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Moss Landing Wildlife Viewing Area, 2460 Highway 1, Moss Landing (95039). Carleton Eyster, a biologist with Point Blue Conservation Science, will discuss the snowy plover and how to help improve their habitat. Please wear rubber boots as participants will walk along drying ponds and the footprints they leave will provide camouflage for chicks and eggs. For more information, please contact Virginia Guhin at virginia.guhin@wildlife.ca.gov. 10 — Public Scoping Meeting for Marine Aquaculture Programmatic Environmental Impact Report. 6:30 to 8 p.m., Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa (95403). CDFW is holding scoping meetings to solicit public input regarding the Marine Aquaculture Programmatic Environmental Impact Report (PEIR). Scoping assists with identifying the range of actions contained in the PEIR, as well as alternatives, environmental impacts, methods of assessments and mitigation measures to be analyzed. The submission of written comments is encouraged, whether one attends the meeting or not, and comments may be sent to aquaculturepeir@wildlife.ca.gov prior to the deadline posted in the Notice of Preparation, which is available at www.wildlife.ca.gov/Aquaculture/PEIR. 11 — Public Meeting for Strategic Plan for Trout Management, Strategic Plan for Trout Hatcheries, and Inland Trout Regulation Simplification, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Talman Pavilion, 1234 Fair St., Bishop (93514). CDFW is holding a series of public meetings to discuss topics surrounding the management of trout resources statewide, an effort CDFW is calling the “Trout Renaissance.” The Strategic Plan for Trout Management will be used as a guiding document by CDFW trout managers statewide and will guide trout hatchery operations. Input from stakeholders regarding trout sportfishing regulations will help guide future steps in simplifying and streamlining the current format and content. CDFW is requesting public comments to help guide the planning processes. For more information, please contact Roger Bloom at roger.bloom@wildlife.ca.gov. 12 — California Fish and Game Commission Teleconference Meeting, 3 p.m., California Natural Resources Building, Jim Kellogg Conference Room, 1416 Ninth St., Room 1320, Sacramento (95814) or listen to the live webcast at www.cal-span.org. For more information, please visit www.fgc.ca.gov/meetings/2018/index.aspx. 12 — Public Scoping Meeting for Marine Aquaculture Programmatic Environmental Impact Report. 6:30 to. 8 p.m., Port of San Diego, 3165 Pacific Highway, San Diego (92101). CDFW is holding scoping meetings to solicit public input regarding the Marine Aquaculture PEIR. Scoping assists with identifying the range of actions contained in the PEIR, as well as alternatives, environmental impacts, methods of assessments and mitigation measures to be analyzed. The submission of written comments is encouraged, whether one attends the meeting or not, and comments may be sent to aquaculturepeir@wildlife.ca.gov prior to the deadline posted in the Notice of Preparation, which is available at www.wildlife.ca.gov/Aquaculture/PEIR. 12 — CDFW Conservation Lecture Series, “Areas of Conservation Emphasis (ACE) version 3: A CDFW conservation analysis tool,” 1 to 3 p.m., Natural Resources Building, First Floor Auditorium, 1416 Ninth St., Sacramento (94814). As part of the Conservation Lecture Series, Melanie Gogol-Prokurat will present ACE, a non-regulatory tool that brings together the best available map-based data in California to depict biodiversity, significant habitats, connectivity, climate change resilience and other datasets for use in conservation planning. Attendance is free. To register and for more information, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/lectures. 14 — Earth Day Festival at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, 3842 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach (92649). The free event, sponsored by CDFW, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy and Amigos de Bolsa Chica, will feature educational activities and displays. For more information, please call (714) 846-1114 or email abbey@bolsachica.org. 14-16 — Elkhorn Slough Reserve Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program Workshop, Elkhorn Slough Reserve, 1700 Elkhorn Road, Watsonville (95076). The two-day workshop, which is designed for middle and high school teachers, combines informative presentations with data collection in the field. Space is limited to the first 25 teachers who enroll. To register, please visit www.elkhornslough.org/education-program/teacher-development/ and for more information, please contact Virginia Guhin at virginia.guhin@wildlife.ca.gov. 15 — Recreational Groundfish Season Opens for All Boat-based Anglers in the San Francisco Management Area (Point Arena, Mendocino County to Pigeon Point, San Mateo County). For more information, please visit the Groundfish Central webpage at http://www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/groundfish. 15 — 2018 Hunting Items On Sale. Hunters can purchase 2018/2019 hunting licenses, tags, validations and apply for the annual Big Game Drawing. Items may be purchased at CDFW license sales offices, license agents, online at www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/internetsales or by phone at (800) 565-1458. Sales transactions for the Big Game Drawing applications must be completed before midnight on June 2. Please contact a local CDFW license sales office for more information. 15 — Port of San Diego’s Day at the Docks, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., San Diego Sportfishing Landings, Scott Street and Garrison St., San Diego (92109). Day at the Docks celebrates sport fishing and signals the official start of Southern California’s spring saltwater fishing season. Admission is free. For more information, please visit www.sandiego.org/explore/events/sports/day-at-the-docks.aspx. 18 — Public Meeting for Strategic Plan for Trout Management, Strategic Plan for Trout Hatcheries, and Inland Trout Regulation Simplification, 6 to 7:30 p.m., Tahoe-Truckee Airport Community Room, 10356 Truckee Airport Road, Truckee (96161). CDFW is holding a series of public meetings to discuss topics surrounding the management of trout resources statewide, an effort CDFW is calling the “Trout Renaissance.” The Strategic Plan for Trout Management will be used as a guiding document by CDFW trout managers statewide and will guide trout hatchery operations. Input from stakeholders regarding trout sportfishing regulations will help guide future steps in simplifying and streamlining the current format and content. CDFW is requesting public comments to help guide the planning processes For more information, please contact Roger Bloom at roger.bloom@wildlife.ca.gov. 18-19 — California Fish and Game Commission Meeting, 8:30 a.m., Four Points by Sheraton Ventura Harbor Resort, 1050 Schooner Drive, Ventura (93001). For more information, please visit www.fgc.ca.gov/meetings/2018/index.aspx. 26 — Public Meeting for Strategic Plan for Trout Management, Strategic Plan for Trout Hatcheries, and Inland Trout Regulation Simplification, 7 to 8:30 p.m., CDFW Los Alamitos Field Office, 4665 Lampson Ave. #C, Los Alamitos (90720). CDFW is holding a series of public meetings to discuss topics surrounding the management of trout resources statewide, an effort that CDFW is calling the “Trout Renaissance.” The Strategic Plan for Trout Management will be used as a guiding document by CDFW trout managers statewide and will guide trout hatchery operations. Input from stakeholders regarding trout sportfishing regulations will help guide future steps in simplifying and streamlining the current format and content. CDFW is requesting public comments to help guide the planning processes. For more information, please contact Roger Bloom at roger.bloom@wildlife.ca.gov. 28 — Gray Lodge Clean-up and Field Day Plus Annual Public Meeting, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., 3207 Rutherford Road, Gridley (95948). The morning clean-up and field event is conducted in partnership with California Waterfowl Association (CWA), and will include both habitat and maintenance projects, followed by a lunch sponsored by CWA. All family members are encouraged to participate. At 1:30 p.m., CDFW will hold its annual public outreach meeting regarding the Gray Lodge and Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Areas. The meeting at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area’s Main Office Building is held in accordance with state law (Fish and Game Code, section 1758). For more information, please call (530) 846-7500 or email GLWLA@wildlife.ca.gov. 28 — General Eastern Sierra Trout Opener. The general trout season will open one hour before sunrise April 28 in waters in Mono and Inyo counties. This is one of the most popular season openers in the state, with anglers coming from around California to try their luck in the high mountains of the Sierra Nevada. Because of the popularity of this annual event with the angling public, CDFW is striving to stock trout in all accessible waters approved for planting prior to the season opener. Most lakes, rivers and streams have a limit of five trout per day and 10 in possession. However, regulations differ on season opening and closing dates, bag limits, minimum and maximum size limits, and gear restrictions. Anglers are advised to check specific area regulations and opening dates in the 2017/18 California Freshwater Sport Fishing Regulations booklet at www.wildlife.ca.gov/regulations for regulations specific to each body of water. A helpful document, the Eastern Sierra Back Country Fishing Guide, is available at www.wildlife.ca.gov/regions/6. 30 — Deadline to Report Spiny Lobster Report Cards. Divers and hoop netters who were issued report cards for spiny lobster must report their harvest or effort by April 30, 2018. Report card holders who fail to return their Spiny Lobster Report Card or report their harvest online by the deadline will be assessed a $21.60 non-return fee when they purchase a spiny lobster report card for the following season. You may report online or mail your report card to the address printed on the report card. To report online, please visit www.ca.wildlifelicense.com/internetsales/customersearch/begin.
You both hide your real feelings under a veil of apparent disinterest.
Today's planetary alignment confuses signs and signals that under normal circumstances would be pretty self-evident. You know that a certain person is extremely fond of you, and that you, in turn, are equally fond of them; and yet when it comes to arranging a simple date, neither of you can seem to get it right. You both hide your real feelings under a veil of apparent disinterest.
Go for the gold, and enjoy yourself.
Money earned through involvement in the arts, perhaps those combining creativity with computer technology, could come your way, Virgo. Financially, you should be doing fairly well, so you might channel what you receive right back into this business. This is an excellent time to do this, as all signs indicate that this sort of activity could be very profitable over the next few years. Go for the gold, and enjoy yourself.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Blind date: ‘She was somewhat stunned to find out that I was an “old man” ’
DENISE DRISCOLL: 48 / server/bartender
Her exes say: She’s fun, passionate, loyal
Her hobbies: Travel, skiing, music
RANDY MARKES: 58 / energy network installer
Who plays him in the movie? Dennis Quaid
First thing people notice in his home: His pet fern
6 P.M. BARCELONA WINE BAR, SOUTH END
SEIZE THE DAY
Randy I thought this might be a cosmic way to meet my match.
Denise My mother told me about [the column] and it sounded fun.
Randy I got to the restaurant early to have a drink, but decided to wait. When I saw her enter, I thought “very nice.” She was pretty. I am always intrigued by dark hair.
Denise Randy was tall and had dark hair. He was wearing all black (perhaps his favorite color?). I noticed his peace sign pin.
TIME TRAVELING
Randy We started gabbing. I thought we would share a bottle of wine but she ended up getting a glass of sangria and I ordered a nice lager.
Denise I learned he is from L.A. but has lived in Connecticut for years. We both have children, and love music and travel.
Randy We had similar backgrounds in the restaurant business and talked about our married pasts. The conversation flowed. We hit it off talking about favorite places abroad.
Denise The food was delicious, especially the paella. The dessert stood out: Coconut chocolate chip ice cream.
Randy We were scraping the pan. With our backgrounds in the business, [we] know good service when we see it.
Denise I was ready to leave by the end because I had plans to meet a friend.
LIFE IS SHORT
Randy At one point, I volunteered that life was too short to stay unhappy at 58. She was somewhat stunned to find out that I was an “old man” and I was somewhat perplexed that she was 48. Of course, I did not make an issue of her youth and inexperience (just kidding) but she was taken aback.
Denise The age difference was a factor. He asked to walk me to my car. He kissed me on the cheek and said goodnight.
SECOND DATE?
Randy I did not get the feeling she wanted one. I wish Denise all the happiness out there.
Denise There was no talk of another date. Still, I enjoyed the evening.
POST-MORTEM
Randy / B+
Denise / B
Mueller Subpoenas Trump Organization, Demanding Documents About Russia
a man standing in front of a building: It was not clear why the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, issued the subpoena instead of simply asking for the documents from the company.© Doug Mills/The New York Times It was not clear why the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, issued the subpoena instead of simply asking for the documents from the company. WASHINGTON — The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization to turn over documents, including some related to Russia, according to two people briefed on the matter. It is the first known instance of the special counsel demanding documents directly related to President Trump’s businesses, bringing the investigation closer to the president. The breadth of the subpoena was not clear, nor was it clear why Mr. Mueller issued it instead of simply asking for the documents from the company, an umbrella organization that oversees Mr. Trump’s business ventures. In the subpoena, delivered in recent weeks, Mr. Mueller ordered the Trump Organization to hand over all documents related to Russia and other topics he is investigating, the people said. The subpoena is the latest indication that the investigation, which Mr. Trump’s lawyers once regularly assured him would be completed by now, will drag on for at least several more months. Word of the subpoena comes as Mr. Mueller appears to be broadening his investigation to examine the role foreign money may have played in funding Mr. Trump’s political activities. In recent weeks, Mr. Mueller’s investigators have questioned witnesses, including an adviser to the United Arab Emirates, about the flow of Emirati money into the United States. Neither White House officials nor Alan S. Futerfas, a lawyer representing the Trump Organization, immediately responded to requests for comment. The Trump Organization has typically complied with requests from congressional investigators for documents for their own inquiries into Russian election interference, and there was no indication the company planned to fight Mr. Mueller about it. Sign Up For the Morning Briefing Newsletter The Trump Organization has said that it never had real estate holdings in Russia, but witnesses recently interviewed by Mr. Mueller have been asked about a possible real estate deal in Moscow. In 2015, a longtime business associate of Mr. Trump’s emailed Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, at his Trump Organization account claiming he had ties to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and said that building a Trump Tower in Moscow would help Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign. Mr. Trump signed a nonbinding “letter of intent” for the project in 2015 and discussed it three times with Mr. Cohen. Mr. Mueller could run afoul of a line the president has warned him not to cross. Though it is not clear how much of the subpoena is related to Mr. Trump’s business beyond ties to Russia, Mr. Trump said in an interview with The New York Times in July that the special counsel would be crossing a “red line” if he looked into his family’s finances beyond any relationship with Russia. The president declined to say how he would respond if he concluded that the special counsel had crossed that line. A month before Mr. Trump spoke of his red line, the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, threatened to quit after Mr. Trump asked him to have Mr. Mueller fired because the president believed he had conflict-of-interest issues that precluded him from running the special counsel investigation. Mr. Mueller was appointed in May to investigate whether Mr. Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russians to influence the 2016 presidential election and any other matters that may arise from the inquiry. He is also examining whether the president has tried to obstruct the investigation. Mr. Trump’s lawyers are in negotiations with Mr. Mueller’s office about whether and how to allow his investigators to interview the president. Mr. Mueller’s office has shared topics it wants to discuss with the president, according to two people familiar with the talks. The lawyers have advised Mr. Trump to refuse an interview but the president wants to do it, as he believes he has done nothing wrong and can easily answer investigators’ questions. At the same time, Mr. Trump is considering whether to bring on a new lawyer to help represent him in the special counsel’s investigation. Last week, Mr. Trump spoke with Emmet Flood, a longtime Washington lawyer who represented former President Bill Clinton during the impeachment process, about coming into the White House to deal with the inquiry.
BREAKING BLOG ALERT! Florida International University pedestrian bridge collapses.
This is absolutely horrifying the Florida International Pedestrian Bridge has collapsed. Only there people who are driving under the collapsed bridge had died and several have been injured I mean... this is tragic. my heart goes out to the friends and families of the three victims.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
'A sea of people everywhere': Students walk out to demand change
In an unprecedented show of unity and political solidarity, waves of students marched out of class Wednesday to demand stricter gun laws and an end to school massacres.
The National School Walkout started at 10 a.m. ET and will continue across the country at 10 a.m. in each time zone. The protest was sparked by last month's school massacre in Parkland, Florida, and fueled by years of anger about what many say are inadequate gun laws.
Those participating have three main demands for Congress:
-- Ban assault weapons;
-- Require universal background checks before gun sales;
-- Pass a gun violence restraining order law that would allow courts to disarm people who display warning signs of violent behavior.
Students planned to stay outside for at least 17 minutes -- one minute for each of the 17 people killed at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School exactly one month ago
Students at Stoneman Douglas said they were overwhelmed by the nationwide support.
There's a "sea of people everywhere. You can barely see the ground," Stoneman Douglas student Sam Zeif said. "It really shows us we're not alone."
In Hoboken, New Jersey, students chanted, "I am a bullet-free zone," and some held signs that read, "Chalk not Glocks!"
Hours before the walkout officially began, students from Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland, escorted by slow-moving police cars, marched to a Metro station, where they boarded a train to the White House.
By 10 a.m., students covered the entire front of the White House, chanting, "We want change!"
"History has its EYES on you," one student's sign read, though President Donald Trump wasn't scheduled to be at the White House at that time.
In New York, students warned lawmakers that they are the future -- and will soon be old enough to vote officials out of office, unless they pass tougher laws.
"We are the change!" they chanted.
Walkout goes global
From Israel to Tanzania, students across the globe also left their classrooms Wednesday in solidarity with the American students' movement. In some places, students talked with teachers about "how lucky they are" that guns aren't a part of their everyday lives.
Eduard Štrébl, a senior at Walworth Barbour American International School in Israel, organized the walkout on his campus.
"I'm from Prague, Czech (Republic), and I'm not American," he said. "But to see an epidemic of school shootings in a developed country when it's so easy to limit such things, to see that there is nothing being done against that, that inspired me to organize the walkout here," he said.
Not just about school massacres
Organizers from the Women's March youth branch started calling for students across the US to walk out of class on March 14, to pressure lawmakers to act on gun control. In addition to walkouts, students across the country planned rallies, marches and sit-ins -- some in open defiance of their school districts.
Participants say they want to make sure that calls for change in the wake of Parkland take into account the broader context of gun violence in the United States.
For D'Angelo McDade, a senior at North Lawndale College Prep High School in Chicago, gun violence is personal -- but not because of a shooting at school.
He was shot in the thigh as he sat on his front porch last summer, leaving bullet fragments in his body, he said. As soon as he was released from the hospital, he started talking to his principal about ways to fight gun violence. On Wednesday, he planned to lead more than half of the school's 600 students on a walkout to converge with teens from other schools.
"Many of our community members and young adults have established a sense of hopelessness and normalized the suffering that comes with gun violence," he said. "But they're ready to see a change."
Penalties for walking out
Some school districts have said they will discipline students who participate in the walkouts.
Students who leave classes in New Richmond, Ohio, for instance, will receive an "unexcused tardy," the district said. For students in Montgomery County, Maryland, walking out will count as an unexcused absence.
In the Atlanta suburb of Cobb County, Georgia, the school district said it will take disciplinary action -- ranging from Saturday school to five days' suspension, per district guidelines -- against students who walk out, citing safety concerns.
The prospect has deterred some students, but not all of them, Pope High School senior Kara Litwin said.
"Change never happens without backlash," she said Tuesday. "This is a movement, this is not simply a moment, and this is only the first step in our long process."
Outside Walton High School in Cobb County, parents stood Wednesday morning with signs reading, "Children Over Guns" and "We Demand Action!"
Growing up in the shadow of gun violence
Students who planned to participate in the walkouts said they feel their generation has been profoundly shaped by the specter of gun violence. By raising their voices, they hope they will be the last kids to grow up with metal detectors and active shooter drills.
Sam Craig of Littleton, Colorado, was not alive during the 1999 Columbine High School shooting that put his hometown on the map. But the tragedy shaped his life.
He grew up with school lockdown drills performed in the name of Columbine. His internship at Denver Zoo includes live shooter drills that include references to Columbine. He knows a teacher who was at Columbine during the shooting, who shares his view that school staff should not be armed, he said.
They survived a school shooting. Now, activism feels more urgent than classes.
But the Chatfield High School junior said the community is stronger because of the shooting. People look out for each other because they don't want anyone to feel "pushed to the point of no return" like the Columbine shooters, he said.
Each year, the town comes together on the anniversary for a day of service, he said. "We try to find that balance to make our community more connected and loving," said Craig, who is organizing the walkout at his school. Abigail Orton, a junior at Columbine High School, said she was inspired to take action on Wednesday by the quick progress of the Parkland students. "I am absolutely amazed at the amount that they've already accomplished, getting their voices out there and being able to speak on this so recently after the event, and to be able to use their status to start bringing about change," she said.
"I'm honored to be able to call this my generation and to be part of this movement." Scenes too familiar
Jackson Mittleman was an 11-year-old sixth-grader when a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary, two miles from his school -- a tragedy that changed the course of his life.
Now 16, he's a gun control advocate who planned to join the Wednesday's school walkout.
"A message we're trying to send to Parkland is we stand behind them," said Jackson, co-chair of the Jr. Newtown Action Alliance, who is organizing the walkout at Newtown High School. "We are motivated and we are fired up to push as hard as they push and fight as long as they fight."
When Mittleman opened a news alert on his phone on Valentine's Day and saw the tragically familiar image of students with their hands raised, fleeing a shooting, his heart ached for the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High.
He saw yet another community joining what he calls a family "no one wants to be a part of."
He asked himself, "Is it ever going to stop?"
CNN's Bill Kirkos, Brad Parks, Chuck Johnston, Amanda Watts, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Leslie Holland contributed to this report.
R.I.P Craig Mack! You will be sadly miss by all of us. Thank so muck 4 tha Flava!
Craig Mack died of heart failure by he did not die in vain, He was one of the greatest Hip-Hop legends of the 90's that has ever lived and is known for his No. 1 hit song "Brand Nu Flava N ya Ear" from the 1990's, Craig Mack has given so much to himself, his family, friends and fans world wide and will be sadly miss by all of us. THANK YOU SO MUCK 4 THA FLAVA CRAIG MACK! MAY YOUR SOUL REST IN PARADISE!.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Mueller obtains personal letter from Trump to Putin: WaPo/
Rosalind Helderman, reporter for The Washington Post, talks with Rachel Maddow about Robert Mueller investigators obtaining a letter, including a handwritten note, from Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin, inviting Putin to the 2013 Miss Universe pageant.
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Serena Williams: ‘Doctors Aren’t Listening’ So Black Women Are Dying.
Serena Williams makes her return to professional tennis on Thursday, six months after suffering terrifying complications and nearly dying after giving birth to her daughter, Olympia.
The tennis superstar is also speaking up about the need for improved maternal health care, particularly for black women.
“Doctors aren’t listening to us, just to be quite frank,” she told the BBC after a tennis exhibition in New York City on Monday, noting that black women are three times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy or childbirth. “It may be time for women to be comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations.”
Williams experienced a pulmonary embolism (blockage that occurs in the lungs) after giving birth via C-section. Because she had had blood clots before, the athlete knew what symptoms to look out for and alerted her doctor as to what was going on. Williams also knew which tests to request.
“I was in a really fortunate situation where I know my body well, and I am who I am, and I told the doctor: ‘I don’t feel right, something’s wrong.’ She immediately listened,” Williams told BBC. “She was great. I had a wonderful, wonderful doctor. Unfortunately a lot of African-Americans and black people don’t have the same experience that I’ve had.”
There’s a lot of pre-judging, absolutely, that definitely goes on. And it needs to be addressed.
Had the tennis superstar not known her body as well as she did and advocated for doctors to listen to her, she might not be here today.
“Because of what I went through, it would be really difficult if I didn’t have the health care that I have ― and to imagine all the other women that do go through that without the same health care, without the same response, it’s upsetting,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of pre-judging, absolutely, that definitely goes on. And it needs to be addressed.”
Williams said she is thinking about having another child, despite the challenges she faced when giving birth to Olympia.
“I definitely want two [kids], God willing,” she told “Entertainment Tonight” earlier this week. “But right now, I want tennis as well. So, I’m going to wait and see what happens.”
Williams said it’s “definitely not easy” to balance her career and motherhood.
“I have this undying drive to be the best that I can be,” she said. “Whether it’s [being] a mom or playing tennis or doing my designing. I just want to do the best that I can.”
Williams sits on the board of advisers to Oath, HuffPost’s parent company.
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