Q: Where is the U.S. men’s basketball team staying in Rio? The Ritz-Carlton or the athletes’ dorm?
—Al Cooper, Atlanta
A: The U.S. men's and women's Olympic basketball teams are staying on the Silver Cloud, a luxury cruise ship that is docked at the Maua Pier in Rio de Janeiro.
U.S. basketball teams haven’t stayed in the Olympic Village since 1988, and the 2004 teams lived on the Queen Mary 2 during the Olympics in Athens, Greece, according to media reports.
“We don’t stay in the village because we don’t feel it’s the best way to prepare for competition,” USA Basketball spokesman Craig Miller told the Associated Press.
Cisco Systems, a computer technology company that sponsors USA Basketball, chartered the Silver Cloud, NPR.com reported.
The 296-room ship features luxury cabins, restaurants, bars, a casino, spa, library and beauty salon, according to Silversea Cruises’ website (silversea.com).
Q: Kroger stopped doubling coupons less than 50 cents. Now they have stopped selling generic medications $4 for 30 or $10 for 90. I guess they don’t want senior citizens to come in their store. Why did Kroger decide to do these two things?
—H.E. Sanders, Chamblee
A: Kroger re-evaluated its “pricing structure” to provide “even greater savings” on a greater variety of generic drugs, a company spokesman told Q&A on the News in an email.
Senior citizens (60 and older) also receive a 5 percent discount on Kroger brands on certain days, commonly Wednesday, the spokesman wrote.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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