Neil A. Carousso produces and co-hosts WCBS Newsradio 880’s Small Business Spotlight series with Joe Connolly. Click here to watch the weekly video segments featuring advice for business owners on survival, recovery and growth opportunities.
DES MOINES, Iowa (WCBS 880) — Problems with a mobile app appeared to force a delay in reporting the results of the Iowa caucuses Monday, as the campaigns, voters and the media pressed party officials for an explanation and got few answers.
An Iowa Democratic Party official pointed to “quality control” as the source of the delays — but noted that about a quarter of the state’s nearly 1,700 precincts have reported their data already. The party also said the delay was not caused by a “hack or an intrusion.”
But other officials blamed technology. Des Moines County Democratic Chair Tom Courtney said he heard that in precincts across his county, including his own, a mobile app created for caucus organizers to report results to the party was “a mess.”
The Iowa Democratic Party says they are doing “quality control,” resulting in a delay in results of the #IowaCaucuses. Producer @NeilACarousso asks Anchor @KevRincon what’s different this year.
The statement came as Iowa voters packed caucus sites across the state as Democrats balanced a strong preference for fundamental change with an overwhelming desire to defeat President Donald Trump in the opening contest of the 2020 presidential primary season.
Precinct leaders were instead calling in their results to the Democratic Party headquarters, and “they weren’t answering the phones in Des Moines” because, Courtney speculated, they were mobbed with calls.
The apps were barely working, forcing party aides to record results from the precincts via phone and enter them manually into a database, according to a person involved in processing the data who requested anonymity to discuss the party’s internal process.
The slowdown came as the party attempted to report more data about the caucus than in years past — promising to release both a headcount of each candidates’ supporters and the delegate winners from each site.
“The integrity of the results is paramount,” Iowa Democratic Party spokeswoman Mandy McClure said in a statement. “We have experienced a delay in the results due to quality checks and the fact that the IDP is reporting out three data sets for the first time. What we know right now is that around 25% of precincts have reported, and early data indicates turnout is on pace for 2016.”
The problems were an embarrassment for a state party that has long sought to protect its prized status as the first contest in the primary race. The delay was certain to become fodder for caucus critics who call the process antiquated and exclusionary.
President Donald Trump’s campaign quickly seized on the issue to sow doubt about the validity of the results.
“Quality control = rigged?” Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted Monday evening, adding a emoji with furrowed brows.
Linn County Auditor Joel Miller, who ran a precinct in the Cedar Rapids suburb of Robins, said some app users may not have gotten the instructions on how to log into the system.
“If people didn’t know where to look for the PIN numbers or the precinct numbers, that could slow them down,” said Miller, who said he had no problem using the system to report his precinct’s figures and it worked fine.
Helen Grunewald, a precinct caucus chairwoman in Benton County, said she had been on hold with the party trying to report her results for a significant amount of time.
Earlier in the night, however, Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said while there were some reports from precinct officials that they couldn’t log into the mobile app, a team of trouble-shooters was working to address any technical issues.
“We’ve had an app before but we’ve also had a hotline before, and folks have had the option to do that, and so we expect that we’ll be able to report the results in a timely manner this evening,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Neil A. Carousso is the WCBS Newsradio 880 2020 Elections Producer.
NEW YORK (WCBS 880/AP) – More than 50,000 runners made their 26.2-mile trek through the five boroughs on Sunday as part of the 49th annual TCS New York City Marathon.
They hailed from all over the city and from around the world, kicking off the race at the Verrazzano Bridge on Staten Island at 8:30 a.m.
The weather was perfect for the race, with temperatures rising from the 40s into the low 50s by afternoon under sunny skies.
The oldest runner in the #NYCMarathon is 86yr old Ginette Bedard of Howard Beach. She says people on the course say they want to be like her at her age. She wishes more people would do this. It helps her mentally and physically. This is her 17th race. @wcbs880@nycmarathonpic.twitter.com/VjuLGPmy4F
About a million spectators filled the streets surrounding the route, banging drums and cheering on the runners, from the brownstones of Fort Greene to the towering apartment buildings of Long Island City.
Thousands of NYPD officers joined the spectators. Security was tight, with hundreds of blocker trucks and other safety measures protecting attendees.
In the race, Joyciline Jepkosgei powered away from four-time winner Mary Keitany to win the women’s title at the New York City Marathon in her first race ever at 26.2 miles.
Jepkosgei crossed the finish line in Central Park in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 38 seconds Sunday, seven seconds off the course record.
The 25-year-old Jepkosgei holds the world record in the half-marathon but had never run this distance. The Kenyan pulled away from countrymate Keitany with about three miles to go. Keitany collapsed after finishing 53 seconds later.
Jepkosgei is the youngest winner in New York since 25-year-old Margaret Okayo in 2001. She also won the New York City Half-Marathon in March and is the first runner to win both events.
JOYCILINE JEPKOSGEI of Kenya wins the 2019 New York Marathon in her debut over the full distance. Mary Keitany second.
Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya won his second men’s title in three years at the New York City Marathon.
Kamworor crossed the finish in Central Park at 2 hours, 8 minutes and 13 seconds Sunday.
He pulled away from countryman Albert Korir in the 24th mile. Korir finished second, and Ethiopian non-elite runner Girma Bekele Gebre was third.
The 26-year-old Kamworor finished third last year after winning in 2017.
He was greeted at the finish line by training partner Eliud Kipchoge, who completed the first sub-2 hour marathon last month — a feat accomplished under conditions so tightly controlled it didn’t qualify for the record books.
Kamworor, also the world record holder in the half-marathon, is the 10th multi-time winner.
Defending men’s champion Lelisa Desisa dropped out after seven miles, perhaps hurting following a grueling victory at the sweltering world championships last month.
Desisa, who is from Ethiopia, was in 17th place at the seven-mile mark before leaving the course. It was 45 degrees F at the start of the men’s race, ideal for marathoning.
Manuela Schär of Switzerland has won her third straight women’s wheelchair title at the New York City Marathon, giving her eight consecutive marathon major victories.
After rolling ahead of the record pace for much of Sunday’s race, Schär crossed the finish about a minute off the mark at 1 hour, 44 minutes and 20 seconds.
Daniel Romanchuk of the United States repeated as men’s wheelchair champion in another tight finish over Switzerland’s Marcel Hug.
Romanchuk held off Hug with a final sprint through Central Park, crossing the finish line in 1 hour, 37 minutes and 24 seconds. Hug was one second behind for a second straight year, and Germany’s David Weir and American Aaron Pike were also within 10 seconds.
Last year, Romanchuk became the first American and youngest competitor to win the men’s division as a 20-year-old. He followed with victories this year at the Boston and London Marathons. Hug took the New York title in 2016 and 2017.
Among the runners was 86-year-old Ginette Bedard of Howard Beach. She’s the oldest person running in the race, and this is her 17th New York City Marathon. She said it helps her mentally and physically.
Douglas Bonmon of Michigan was sporting a pink bathrobe as he waited to start the race. This was his seventh marathon, but his first in New York.
“It’s like the United Nations of running,” said race director Jim Heim.
“It’s like the United Nations of running.” #NYCMarathon Race Director Jim Heim says roughly 40% of the 52,000 runners are foreign. The magic is many will hear their native language and see their home flags while out on the 26.2-mile course. @wcbs880pic.twitter.com/6EBMZOXCVs
NEW YORK, NY – Nancy Preston’s journey into entrepreneurship began while she was deployed in Iraq in 2007. She always wanted to be her own boss, but she was timid about taking the plunge until she faced fear head on while working 21-hour days in her Army operational unit with no breaks for nine months.
“I’m exhausted, but this fear that I used to have about running my own business kind of washed away after I realized what we’ve been doing and how hard we’ve been going for so long,” said Preston. “I always had this pull that I wanted to start my own business and I wanted it to be something I was really passionate about. So, that night, this epiphany came over me that if I can do this for God and Country, then I can do this for myself. I can really make something like this happen and it’s going to be in my passion – it’s going to be in food.”
Preston, 43, found Milk Money Kitchens in May 2018 and applied to the WeWork Veterans in Residence powered by Bunker Labs. She was selected for their second run of the program that began last August and ran for 6 months through the end of January.
“We want to reduce the fixed cost and the overhead cost for people who want to start or grow food businesses”, Preston said.
Photo Courtesy: Bunker Labs and WeWork
The 6-month VIR program is for military members and veterans with an idea for a business. It matches entrepreneurs with mentors and resources to aid in rapid growth.
The Veterans in Residence Program opened Preston’s eyes to “make the most of every opportunity” and advance past the start-up phase into steady growth.
Her VIR cohort, Steve Forti, a Green Beret, seized on his vision to develop a mobile app that encourages competition in fitness.
FitFight, was born while Forti was deployed to Romania on a training mission in 2013. He had a group email chain with military friends scattered throughout places such as Afghanistan, the United Kingdom and North Carolina in which they would compare their workouts. Once, a member questioned Forti so he took a video of his workout to prove his time.
Photo Courtesy: Steve Forti
“Literally, as I hit the enter key, I realized that I was going to someday build a business around this concept,” said Forti, now 47. “And, that was sort of the impetus of it.”
Forti’s mentors at the WeWork Veterans in Residence powered by Bunker Labs connected him with a development team and a designer who worked for Nike. Today, he employs 10 people in the WeWork network.
FitFight is growing conservatively at 68 percent a month with an average of 1,000 submissions from users who launch fitness competitions with users from around the world, including Yemen, Ireland and Venezuela.
He has even teamed-up with Navy Lt. Dave Hunt of CrossRope for sponsored challenges.
“Steve Forti already used his own funds to go and pay for legal aid and contracts and so forth, and we try to help our businesses meet other experts in that field at low to no cost,” said Bunker Labs Northeast Regional Executive Director Katherine Kostreva.
“The institutional experience and the guidance that was offered for some of the connections, either for the formal engagements or the informal engagements, can’t be quantified, but in a good way [it’s] immeasurable,” Forti said.
Kostreva is part of the selection committee for the Veterans in Residence Program. It’s a selective process, but the VIR program will help connect veterans with resources and a WeWork office space at a 25 percent discount for all veterans for their first year.
Photo Courtesy: Bunker Labs and WeWork
About 10 people are chosen for each program in each city from a pool of hundreds. Applicants go through several stages of interviews. Generally, they are looking for candidates who have a business plan in mind and need direction in specific areas for which mentorship will be a key asset in setting veteran entrepreneurs up for success.
The WeWork Veterans in Residence powered by Bunker Labs is operating in New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia, Nashville, Los Angeles, Houston, Minneapolis, Detroit, Denver, Chicago and Austin.
PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — It’s called the forgotten war, but a hero’s daughter will never forget the sacrifices of her father, Private First Class Walter E. Decker, during his time in the Army in World War I. A special golden crucifix passed on to her keeps him first place.
“I was close to my dad growing up, and I always remembered in the summer, he’d be wearing these long johns, and the tissue on his skin was so thin, that he’d bleed through,” said Carol Fazio, 77, of her father. “He suffered ‘til the day he died from mustard gas.”
Decker’s hand-written discharge papers notes he was gassed on October 15, 1918 while serving in France for just under 10 months.
He entered the service at 16, just before his 17th birthday, after his father died. He mailed each of his allotment checks to his mother.
“He was a communication expert. His company would go up to see the enemy and to send back [intelligence] to his troops,” said Fazio. “On the way back, that’s when the enemy got them and shot them.”
German troops attacked Unit Company B in the 303rd Field Signal Battalion of the 78th Infantry Division in the French forests with mustard gas.
“My father was left for dead. They thought he was dead,” Fazio said, adding several of his cohorts were killed.
Decker was 20 at the time of the gas attack. He died in 1980 at the age of 82. He is buried at Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island where local soldiers from all the wars are buried with their spouses.
Private First Class Decker received the Purple Heart in the first year the award was instituted, 1932, on the bicentennial of George Washington’s birth.
He also received the Distinguished Service Cross – the second highest decoration for valor.
But it is a different cross passing through the generations that’s revered by Decker’s daughter.
“At the time, the French monks used to go through the forest when they knew it was safe and call out to find out anybody who was alive. And, they heard my father, and what they did was they placed this cross on each of the bodies that were ready to go back, back to a hospital,” said Fazio while holding the golden crucifix.
Fazio just learned of the cross last year when she visited her niece and nephew in Wilmington, North Carolina. The cross made its way to Decker’s step-son Daniel who was a Marine, and then, Daniel’s brother Alfred when he died. The family wanted Carol to have it, as she is Decker’s biological daughter.
“I had no idea. It was really overwhelming, it really was, to think I was holding something that was 100 years and it stood on my father in the forest,” Fazio said.
When Carol was growing up, it was common for disabled veterans to be at her house. Decker was active in the Disabled American Veterans Charity (DAV) after leaving the Army and would visit wounded soldiers at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Veterans Affairs facilities.
“My father would walk them through it,” said Fazio who saw her father as a caregiver, serving throughout his lifetime.
Like many WWI veterans, Decker did not talk about his service, what he saw overseas or the gas attack in France that left him suffering until the day he died. The stories were passed on through family members who gleaned information over time.
“One thing I asked him about the war and about his involvement, everything with the VFW, I asked him, if he had to do it all over again,” said Fazio. “I said to him, ‘Dad, would you do that?’ I said, ‘Would you go into the service?’ And he said, ‘Without a doubt.'”
“There is nothing free about freedom and our men and women today sacrifice life and limb to protect those freedoms,” said Riggle to a room filled with veterans and service members from all branches.
Riggle retired as a lieutenant colonel after 23 years of service in the Marines Corps Reserve. He served in Afghanistan, earning two Meritorious Service Medals, National Defense Service Medals, the Humanitarian Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, among other decorations.
He is known for his comedic roles on The Daily Show and films such as 21 Jump Street and The Hangover. His former Daily Show colleague Stephen Colbert was a guest speaker at the gala.
Stephen Colbert, host of CBS’ “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” speaks at the IAVA Heroes Gala.
Riggle spoke of his priorities for veterans while praising the IAVA for their unrelenting support of our heroes through education and legislative pursuits. He also emphasized the need for a modernization of an “antiquated” Department of Veterans Affairs system, exclaiming that in this day and age, no veteran should be unaware of the benefits they earned.
Sporting a full beard for a role in an unspecified project, Riggle addressed the Thousand Oaks, California shooting in which the alleged gunman Ian David Long was a veteran of the Marine Corps.
Riggle said it’s imperative to emphasize that a veteran carrying out a mass shooting is the exception and that vets are more likely to harm themselves than anyone else. He called on more mental health awareness and resources to reduce the average of 22 veteran suicides a day.
“There’s a reason I get teary-eyed when I hear the National Anthem. It’s my home. I love my home,” said Riggle. He called for unity around core values at a time when partisans use events to fit their agendas.
“Our Constitutional rights – be it freedom of religion or speech or due process – we all still enjoy it today hundreds of years later because of what those brave Americans did in their time and what millions of brave Americans are doing right now in their time,” Riggle said.
