Santini and friends: “Aruba to us is about friendship”

ORANJESTAD — You are back and we would like to give you a shout-out by inviting you to send us your favorite vacation picture while enjoying our Happy Island!

Complete the sentence: Aruba to me is ……. Send your picture with that text (including your name and where you are from) to: news@arubatoday.com and we will publish your vacation memory. Isn’t that a special way to keep your best moments alive? Please do note: By submitting photos, text or any other materials, you give permission to The Aruba Today Newspaper, Caribbean Speed Printers and any of its affiliated companies to use said materials, as well as names, likeness, etc. for promotional purposes without compensation.

Last but not least: check out our website, Instagram and Facebook page! Thank you for supporting our free newspaper, we strive to make you a happy reader every day again.

For today we received a lovely message from Bruno and Eileen Santini with daughter Danielle, granddaughter Kaia and friends Elisa and Jazmin from New York and California, USA.

They wrote to us saying: “Aruba to us is about friendship. It is building caring relationships between people we meet by mutual affection, trust and sharing experiences. Enjoying time together and having respect for our friends, giving support for their needs and desires. Coming to Aruba for 22 years we have been blessed to bring our children, family, and friends to share in our time on Aruba.

We have met people from all different walks of life. They are visiting Aruba for the same reasons as us. The sun, the beaches and all the wonderful attractions and all the great things to do. Through the years, our friendships have grown in depth, we know who they are and who their family is. We know their children and grandchildren. It’s a wonderful experience. Everyone looks forward to coming to Aruba. It’s the highlight of their year, greeting old friends warms our hearts. Everyone is filled with excitement for our new adventures to begin.

The first time we came to Aruba was in 1974. We found Aruba by going to the library and reading about the island. It sounded wonderful; little did we know what it held for us in the future.

All of Aruba is one happy island full of loving, caring, and friendly people. It is true. Whether you’re renting a car, shopping for souvenirs, going on a tour, shopping for food or if you need urgent care. All the people on this island are authentic, friendly, kind, and helpful. Aruba has become the gem of the Caribbean.”

Thank you for sending us this wonderful message sharing what Aruba means to you with us and our readers!

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced certification of the smallest version of the single-aisle MAX plane, a process that had been significantly prolonged by new requirements under federal legislation following two fatal MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.

Boeing shares added to earlier gains following the regulator’s announcement, which the company had telegraphed in recent weeks as a landmark in its comeback.

“This important certification validates the rigor of our airplane’s design and recognizes the determination and resilience of our 737 MAX development team,” said Stephanie Pope, president of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

“Our team stayed focused on completing all requirements and delivering a safe and more capable airplane to our customers.”

FAA approval follows “almost a decade of extensive review” following “years of sustained work to resolve complex technical issues,” the agency said.

Boeing had originally intended to commence deliveries in 2019 on the 737 MAX 7, which has a maximum of 172 seats.

But that timeframe fell by the wayside after the two fatal crashes, which were followed by a near-catastrophic January 2024 Alaska Airlines flight in which a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight.

To win certification, Boeing completed 441 flight tests over 686 test flight hours.

A contributing factor to the two fatal MAX crashes was the poor design of an anti-stall system known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) that activated improperly and prevented pilots from regaining control of the planes.

US prosecutors charged that Boeing misled FAA regulators about MCAS, resulting in no reference to the system in manuals and pilot training materials.

Monday’s announcement marks Boeing’s first new aircraft certified since the safety problems that have engulfed the company in recent years.

Boeing is also close to winning certification for the 737 MAX 10, the largest in the MAX family with a maximum of 230 seats.

The certification process has included FAA reviews of a revamped enhanced angle of attack (AOA) sensor after a defect contributed to the 2018 and 2019 crashes.

Capitol Hill hearings exposed weak government oversight of Boeing as a factor in the MAX crashes, leading to 2020 legislation requiring the company to install new AOA sensors on the entire fleet of over 2,300 MAX planes within two years.

– Ramping up –

With the certifications moving ahead, Boeing expects to ramp up MAX production in the coming period.

The company said Monday it is “readying the first airplanes” for delivery to launch customer Southwest Airlines.

Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg, who joined Boeing in August 2024 after the Alaska Airlines incident, has emphasized close adherence to quality control and key performance indicators.

The company has worked closely with the FAA, which greenlighted MAX production increases from 38 to 42 and then from 42 to 47.

Ortberg told analysts ;ast week he did not foresee problems with Boeing’s supply chain in lifting monthly MAX production to 52 jets.

“I think it’s going to get harder as we go from 52 to 57 and beyond that. We’ll just have to see how well we’re all collectively doing,” Ortberg said. “But look, we’re on our plan. Our plan’s working.”

Boeing in July unveiled a new MAX production line in Everett, Washington that is expected to enable the MAX program to meet 52 airplanes per month.

Increasing output is essential to Boeing’s medium-term financial targets, which includes the generation of $10 billion in annual free cash flow following a lengthy period of earnings underperformance.

Shares of Boeing were up 6.9 percent in afternoon trading.

Long sold as a mix-in powder or protein bar, whey can now be found across U.S. supermarket shelves in products ranging from breakfast cereals and bagels to pretzels and instant noodles.

Some of the biggest food brands have hopped on the trend, like chip giant Frito-Lay offering “Protein Nacho Cheese” Doritos and Starbucks debuting a line of “high protein” beverages.

“Seven years ago, a lot of people would take it for training, but now I feel like it’s very commonplace for everyone,” architectural design coordinator Carly Rowcotsky told AFP.

The 25-year-old said she lives an active lifestyle, and takes whey to help repair her muscles after working out.

“I don’t have a lot of time to prepare my own meals, so it’s just kind of like convenient to have some type of supplement,” Rowcotsky said, downing a neon-pink whey protein shake whose label promised 15 grams of protein per serving.

– ‘Protein-maxxing’ –

For Chuck Nicholson, a professor of supply chain management at Penn State University, the frenzy is fueled by several factors.

“Social media is really driving a lot of people to think that protein is a really healthy alternative,” Nicholson told AFP, pointing to diet trends like “protein-maxxing,” in which online users try to maximize their protein intake, often to excessive levels.

On top of that, US demand for whey and other protein supplements “is driven a lot by the GLP-related drugs and the dietary advice that people are getting,” he added, as users of weight loss drugs including Wegovy and Ozempic are advised to increase protein in their diets to preserve muscle mass.

Protein mania is even reflected in the U.S. government’s nutrition guidelines, which updated in March to raise the recommended levels of daily protein intake from 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight to 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram.

“Protein and healthy fats are essential and were wrongly discouraged in prior dietary guidelines,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said earlier this year.

– More whey, more cheese –

However, this upsurge in whey protein demand is facing a reality check from the dairy industry.

Since whey is a refined product resulting from cheese production, “there’s kind of a capacity constraint, both in terms of what the cows are making, the amount of cheese capacity that we have, and the amount of capacity that we have to actually make those products from the whey,” Nicholson explained.

Beyond that, the whey sold in consumer products requires specialized, expensive equipment to filter it into high-protein concentrates and isolates.

“For a long time we didn’t actually do much with the whey,” Nicholson said. “In some cases, it was fed to animals or was actually thrown away.”

The dairy industry foresaw this growing trend, with International Dairy Food Association CEO Michael Dykes saying “dairy companies have invested $13 billion in new capacity, technology and supply chain optimization” to meet demand.

– White gold –

Joshua White, an expert at dairy product marketer T.C. Jacoby & Co., said despite the increased capacity for whey production, “the market has still demanded more.”

Prices have skyrocketed as a result, with industry data showing cost jumps of around 40 percent in recent months, with the largest hike seen for high-concentrate whey protein, which has soared 150 percent in price.

As a domino effect, those higher prices have increased the product’s profitability for cheesemakers, incentivizing them to make more liquid whey.

“Sometimes people say, you know, I make the money on the whey and I…cover my costs based on making the cheese,” Nicholson said.

An oversimplification perhaps, he added, but “it’s definitely true that the return on whey right now relative to the return on cheese is larger.”

But dairy industry expert Kathleen Noble Wolfley cautioned that cheese production still outweighs whey production in the United States.

“Are we going to start making cheese for the whey? I always think about it as like…is the tail wagging the dog rather than the dog wagging the tail,” she said.

“But I say we’re probably closer to that commentary than we were five years ago.”

ORANJESTAD — You are back and we would like to give you a shout-out by inviting you to send us your favorite vacation picture while enjoying our Happy Island!

Complete the sentence: Aruba to me is ……. Send your picture with that text (including your name and where you are from) to: news@arubatoday.com and we will publish your vacation memory. Isn’t that a special way to keep your best moments alive? Please do note: By submitting photos, text or any other materials, you give permission to The Aruba Today Newspaper, Caribbean Speed Printers and any of its affiliated companies to use said materials, as well as names, likeness, etc. for promotional purposes without compensation.

Last but not least: check out our website, Instagram and Facebook page! Thank you for supporting our free newspaper, we strive to make you a happy reader every day again.

For today we received a lovely message from Daniel J. Rodriguez.

He wrote to us saying: “Aruba to me is serenity and delight.”

Thank you for sending us this wonderful message sharing what Aruba means to you with us and our readers!

The 33-year-old Grande had been slated to star opposite her “Wicked” castmate Jonathan Bailey in the Stephen Sondheim musical “Sunday in The Park with George” in the summer of 2027 at London’s Barbican theater.

But amid renewed public scrutiny of the singer’s health, especially on social media, her representative said she wanted a “much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances” when her “Eternal Sunshine” tour wraps in London on September 1.

“We can confirm that she has decided to step back from ‘Sunday in The Park with George’,” producers said in a statement carried on the show’s official X account, without providing a reason for Grande’s withdrawal.

“We know this cannot have been an easy decision, and she makes it with our complete understanding and support,” the statement said, adding that the show would go ahead as planned and casting would be announced “in due course.”

“We wish her nothing but the best.”

Grande’s representative told People magazine that while the Grammy-winning artist is eager to complete her tour, she wants to take a “step back from visibility,” as her many appearances have “led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny.”

Fans have expressed growing concern for her health, particularly after Friday’s release of a music video for “Petal” in which the pint-sized singer appears to have lost significant weight.

Grande has said before that body-shaming comments are “really dangerous.”

She began her career as a teen on Broadway before embarking on a hugely successful pop career

Her star turn as Glinda in the film adaptation of “Wicked” earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress.

But the massive success of the film and its sequel “Wicked: For Good” meant Grande was doing constant media appearances for the better part of two years.

She is set to appear in the comedy “Focker-in-Law” opposite Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, which hits theaters in November.