The Wall St.Journal 28Feb2020

THE WALL STREETJOURNAL. Friday, February28, 2020|A 5

U.S.NEWS

people,is reallyhard. Nerves, a

lack of practice,poorinstruc-

tionorsomecombinationof

those can mean a car winds up

two feet from the curb, wedged

in at a hopeless angle or smack

up against another parked car.

Las Vegas resident Diana

Barnfield still wants her 15½-

year-old son to learn how to

parallel parkandmadethat

clear totheownerofCantor’s

Driving School, which her son

will attend. “A lot of parents

are like, ‘Thank God mykid

doesn’t have to doit—they’re

scared ofit,’ ” she said. “I’m

thinking to myself,if your kidis

too scared to parallel park, they

shouldn’t be driving.”

The Department of Motor

Vehicles rejects claims it

dumbed down the test. “Our

missionistomake sure that

we’re putting safe drivers on

the road, and we definitely

think that we’re doing that

with what we still haveinour

testing criteria,” saidTonya

Laney, DMV field services ad-

ministrator. She emphasized

examiners still look for things

like shoulderchecks and mirror

checks,and assess overall vehi-

clecontrol.

Las Vegas native AprilSym-

monds, 37 ,said she hasn’t had

to parallel parkin a couple of

years, with so many lots and ga-

rages. Andifadriver can’t han-

dle a situation that requiresit?

“There’s usually regular parking

just a couple blocks down,”said

Ms. Symmonds, a teacher.

Downtown Las Vegas has

about a thousand on-street

spaces, said BrandyStanley,the

city’s parking services manager.

The 22-foot spots regularly de-

feat drivers, she says. “Itis

prettyfunny to watch some

people try to getinto a parallel

space and they’re nowhere

close,” she said.

Some who support dropping

the parallel-parking require-

ment saymore cars now can

self park, but that technology

remains uncommon. Just 14%

ofownersof2 0 19-modelcars

reported having the feature, re-

search firm J.D. Power says.

Achoir practiced this week at Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church in Fairfax, S.C. The state is holding its primary on Saturday.

VICT

ORJ.BLUEF

OR THE WALL STREET J

OURNAL

BYJOHNMCCORMICK

Biden’s Bet on

South Carolina

Looks Wobbly

In Nevada, poor parallel

parking didn’t necessarily

doom an applicant. The maneu-

ver counted for sixpoints out

of 100,with 80 the minimum

passing score. But hitting the

barrels used during the test as

stand-ins for parked cars or

hopping the curb meant auto-

maticfailure.

Thestate’spassratehad

been falling for years, from 68%

in 2011 to 59%in 2019,and

DMV examiners feltitwasa

disservicetoflunkotherwise

competent drivers for bad

parking, Ms. Laney said. She

said her daughters, 19 and 23,

just wish the change came be-

fore theytook theirowndriv-

ing tests. “They’re like, ‘Hey,

that’s not fair,’ ” she said.

Rick Mazzoni,owner of Dou-

bleRDriving School near Reno,

saidhestill teaches the skill

butisfine withitoff the test

becauseitis seldom neededin

Nevada. Students are happy.

When he toldarecentclassof

20, “they all stood up and gave

astanding ovation,”hesaid. “It

was likeChristmas for these

kids.” Students still findother

waystofail, he said, such as

rolling through a stop sign.

Last July, 16-year-old Matt

Anczelowitz failed the teston

hisbirthday,in part because he

flubbed parallel parking, he

said. After lots of practice,he

passed his second test.

But he doesn’t knowifhe

will attempt to parallel parkin

areal-world situation. “If there

was a lot of room, yeah, I

would probablytry,” he said.

“Multiple times.”

driving superpowers.”
Some states left parallel
parkingin the dust long ago.
Florida shiftedin199 0 tore-
quiring a straight-in parking
maneuver. Formore than 3 0
years, California has instead
made drivers back up three ve-
hicle lengths. Oregon never had
a parallel-parking mandate, but
applicants must pull up to the
curb and reverse one car length.
Parallel parking exited Mary-
land’s testin2 0 15 but remains
in the driver’s educationcurric-
ulum. A MotorVehicle Adminis-
tration spokeswoman said the
aimwasto focus more on
safety-related skills. She said the
reverse two-point turn,inwhich
applicants back up to turn
around, covers the same ground.
Jack Meakin,vice president
ofGreg’sDriving School, which
has locations around Maryland,
said agency officials told him
theimpetus was a huge testing
backlog caused by a high paral-
lel-parking failure rate. Mary-
land’s pass rate lurched higher
after the switch. It has topped
68% each fiscalyear since 2016,
compared with an average of
54% from 2011 to 2015,the
MVA says.
Parallel parking, for many

ContinuedfromPageOne

States Drop

Parking

Test

ALLENDALE,S.C.—If South
Carolinaisformer VicePresi-
dent JoeBiden’s firewall
against Sen. Bernie Sanders in
the Democratic presidential
primary race, interviews with
blackvoters here indicate
somecracks have formed.
Most of nearly two dozen
likely voters who discussed
their plans for Saturday’s pri-
mary said they were trying to
decide between Mr. Biden,
who has long benefited from
strong support from African-
Americans, and billionaire
Tom Steyer, who has cam-
paigned heavily in the state.
Allendale County, tucked
along the Georgia border away
from the cities candidates typ-
ically focus on, carries sym-
bolic weight in the first 202 0
primarywhere black voters
will play a significant role: It
has the state’s highest propor-
tion of nonwhite voters,a Wall
Street Journal analysis of
state data found.
“I feel very strongly about
Joe Biden, but he’s making me
nervous right now,” said Lottie
Lewis,a town council member
here.
Polling averages in the state
show Mr. Biden leading, fol-
lowed by Mr. Sanders and Mr.
Steyer.
SouthCarolina iscritical
for Mr. Biden. He has decades-

long ties to the state and

needs a win to brighten his

campaign narrative after poor

showings in nominating con-

tests in Iowa and New Hamp-

shire and a second-place finish

in Nevada. Hisonce-dominant

lead in South Carolina polls

has narrowed,and Mr. Sand-

ers,the self-described demo-

cratic socialist from Vermont,

hasintensified his campaignin

thestatethis week.

In Tuesday night’s debatein

Charleston,Mr. Biden showed

no hesitation when asked

whether he would winSatur-

day. “I will win South Caro-

lina,”hesaid. On Wednesday,

Mr. Biden secured the impor-

tant endorsement ofRep.

James Clyburn, the most influ-

ential Democrat in the state.

But Mr. Sanders has mo-

mentum after victories in Ne-

vada and New Hampshire and

asplit decision in Iowa with

Pete Buttigieg, the former

mayor of South Bend, Ind.

Only one voter interviewed

here mentioned Mr. Buttigieg

as someone they were think-

ing about backing on Saturday.

Mr. Buttigieg was among

the fewcandidates whovisited

Allendale County, which is an

hourormore from the state’s

major population centers.

In recent weeks, Mr. Steyer

has largely had South Carolina

tohimself. Mostof theother

candidates focused moreon

Nevada,New Hampshire and

someof the 14 states that host

contests March 3. Mr. Steyer

has spent more in the state on

advertising than any other

2020 candidate,at$22.4 mil-

lion, according to data from

advertising tracker Kantar/

CMAG.

Nate Hartley, a retired in-

formation technology manager

who remains undecided,said

he was intrigued. “Tom Steyer

has hit really hard here,” he

said. “Every week, I get some

kindofcontactfrom him.”

Mr. Hartley saidhedidn’t

see Mr. Biden “pulling back up

from where heis”in the race

and thought Mr. Sanders was

too progressive.

Patricia Johnson,a retired

elementary school teacher,

said she already had voted via

an absentee ballotforMr.

Steyer. She said she did so, in

part, because of Mr. Steyer’s

wealth and his potential abil-

ity to compete against Presi-

dent Trump in a general elec-

tion. “We all know money

talks,” she said. “He could

match Trump dollar for dollar

on advertising.”

Inaninterview, Mr. Steyer

said he thought he was in sec-

ond or thirdplace in South

Carolina and moving up. He

attributed his success with

blackvoters tohisfocusonra-

cial issues and spending more

time in SouthCarolina than

anyother candidate.

“I deal explicitly with race,”

he said. “I have a decadeslong

history of working with people

in the African-Americancom-

munityand Latino community,

and actually taking part when

it had nothing to do with me

running for president.”

Clifford Smith, a pig farmer,

said he was originally a sup-

porter of Sen. Elizabeth War-

renof Massachusetts before

switching to Mr. Biden. Heis

concerned,however,about the

former vicepresident’s lack-

luster performance on the

campaign trail. “I don’t know

what his problemis,”hesaid.

“It was his tolose and he’s

losing it.”

tributor who analyzes the race

for the network, including ap-

pearing on panels after de-

bates.

Mr. Bloomberg entered the

raceinNovember and didn’t

compete in any of the states

that hold nominating contests

in February. He has spent

roughly half a billion dollars

focusing on 14 states that will

vote March3.

When Mr. Bloomberg en-

tered the race,Mr. Yang ques-

tioned whether the billionaire

would be successful.

“It’s going to be very, very

difficult for him tojump in

right now and somehow re-

place the thousands of conver-

sations many of the candidates

have had with voters,”Mr.

Yang said.

“There are limits towhat

money can do,” he added.

While Mr. Yang was never

oneof the front-runners for

the nomination, he consis-

tently ranked in the top 10 of a

crowded field, polling ahead of

some electedofficials. Heis

eyeing his political future, he

has told associatesinrecent

weeks, and has been ap-

proached bysome New York

City political heavyweights

about running for mayor in

2021.

Mr. Yang campaigned on

Americans’ fears of growing

automationin the workplace,

promising a “Freedom Divi-

dend” of $12,000 ayear in an

effort tooffset the threat.

Michael Bloomberg’s presi-

dential campaign has made

overtures toDemocrat Andrew

Yang, courting the former can-

didate’s endorsement and

floating the possibility of Mr.

Yang becoming his running

mate, according to two people

familiar with the discussions.

Aides tothe former New

York City mayor reached out

to discuss ways the two entre-

preneurs-turned-politicians

could work together as Mr.

Bloomberg seeks the Demo-

cratic nomination,these peo-

ple said.

Mr. Yang, who dropped out

of the race earlier this month,

didn’t committojoinforces,

asheconsiders his own politi-

cal future,a third person fa-

miliar with the discussions

said.

Mr. Yang didn’t immedi-

ately respond to a request for

comment. A senior Bloomberg

aide saidMr.Yangwasn’tbe-

ing seriously considered to be

the former mayor’s running

mateifhesecured the nomi-

nation.

Mr. Yang had a passionate

base of support,known online

as the “Yang Gang,” but per-

formed poorlyin both the

Iowa caucuses andNew Hamp-

shire primary.

Mr. Yangis now a CNN con-

ByLiz Hoffman,

ElizaCollins

andTarini Parti

Candidate’s Campaign

Tuesday in Charleston, S.C., Mr. SoughtYang’s Backing

Bloomberg defended those de-

cisions on public-healthissues.

“I think what’s right for

New York Cityisn’t necessarily

right for all the other cities,

otherwise you would havea

Naked Cowboyineverycity,”

he said, referring to the Times

Squareperformer.

“So let’s get serious here: I

dothinkit’s the government’s

job to have good science and

to explain topeople what sci-

encesaysorhowtotakecare

of themselves and extend their

lives,” Mr. Bloomberg added.

“We are a country where there

are too many people that are

obese. We should dosome-

thing about that.”

Instead ofinstituting fed-

eral bans on unhealthy food

items and practices, Mr.

Bloomberg’s campaign said he

would work aspresident with

cities and states toprevent

obesity by providing better ac-

cess to healthy foods. He

would push for food-stamp re-

cipients to have access to fresh

produce and work on more

transparent nutrition labeling.

His campaign is airing a new

TV ad in all 50 states that high-

lights Mr. Bloomberg’s public-

health record, hitting President

Trump over his handling of the

coronavirus. “Managing a crisis

is what Mike Bloomberg does,”

the narrator saysin the ad. “In

the aftermath of 9/ 11 ,he stead-

ied and rebuilt America’s larg-

est city, oversaw emergency re-

sponse to natural disasters,

upgraded hospital prepared-

ness to manage health crises,

and he’s funding cutting-edge

research to contain epidemics.”

During the debate, he

pointed out that the ban on

smoking in bars and restau-

rants heinstitutedin2 00 2 has

been adopted all over the

world. “It has saved an enor-

mous number of lives,”hesaid.

Mr. Bloomberg advocated for

arequirement for chain restau-

rants topost calorieinforma-

tionon their menus. A similar

mandate was later included in

the AffordableCare Act.

Not all of Mr. Bloomberg’s

public-health efforts had last-

ing effects. The soda ban,

which he proposed in 2012,

prohibited the sale of large

sugary drinks from restau-

rants and movie theaters. In

2014, the state’s highest court

rejected the ban.

In defending his public-

health record,the billionaire

boasted during the debate that

over the course of his12years

in office, life expectancy in

New York City rose by three

years, ending up higher than

the national average—a statis-

tichebrings up at almost ev-

ery campaign stop.

“If you have friends that

you really care about and want

them to stay around, send

them to New York.Ican’t

guarantee that they’re all

gonna live three more years,

but if you send enough friends,

Ican guarantee you the aver-

age,” hejoked at a stop earlier

this month in Raleigh, N.C.

Inthe past three months,
Michael Bloomberg has apolo-
gizedforapolicing program
during his mayoral tenure that
was deemed unconstitutional
and forsexistcomments that
female employees of his com-
panyhavesaid he made.
But he isn’t backing down
onhis past decisions to regu-
late the healthchoicesofNew
Yorkers, though he acknowl-
edges he wouldn’t necessarily
push for thosepolicies ona
national levelifhewins the
White House.
The former New York City
mayor prohibited smoking in
restaurants and bars,blocked
the useof artificial trans fatin
restaurants and aggressively
pushed for a ban on large sug-
ary drinks, among other public-
health measures that wereseen
by hiscritics as too far-reach-
ing during his three terms. Mr.
Bloomberg, who declared a
“war on obesity” whileinof-
fice, was mocked by his oppo-
nents as a “nanny.”
Inhissecond Democratic
presidential primary debate

BYTARINIPARTI

BloombergDefends N.Y. Health Edicts

As the city’s mayor,

heprohibited

smoking in

restaurants andbars.

Parallel universe

Registered voters in South

Carolina who are nonwhite

Allendale Countyhasthelargest

shareofnonwhitevotersinthe

state(78%)

Note: Data as January.

Source: South Carolina Secretary of State

Columbia

Charleston

Greenville

29.

(S.C.average)

20% 40 60

RETRIBUTIO

N

Gene Richar

dMoss

FEVER

RETRIBUTION

FEVER

Availableatbooksellers everywhere andvia e-book.

Gene Richard Moss, M.D.

“The single biggest threat

on theplanet is the virus.”

to man's continued dominance

Economic Collapse.

Global Plague.

• Joshua Lederberg, PhD

THEN

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