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Company will trim along nearly 5,200 miles of power lines in West Virginia this year
FAIRMONT, W.Va., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Mon Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has begun its 2022 tree-trimming program and will clear vegetation around nearly 5,200 miles of power lines as part of its ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability for West Virginia customers.
Maintaining proper clearances and removing dead or diseased trees around electrical equipment can help reduce the frequency and duration of power outages, especially those associated with severe weather. Clearing incompatible vegetation under power lines also results in easier access for company personnel to inspect and maintain lines and make repairs faster if an outage occurs.
Since the launch of the tree-trimming program in April 2014, Mon Power has cleared vegetation along more than 31,000 miles of power lines and has trimmed more than 3.7 million trees across its 34-county service territory. As a result of these efforts, total customer outage minutes have dropped by more than 40% since the first full year of the program in 2015, including during major storm events.
"Vegetation management is crucial to our reliability efforts and one of the most effective ways we can reduce the impact of tree-related service interruptions for our customers," said Jim Myers, president of West Virginia operations for FirstEnergy.
As part of Mon Power's $58 million program, trees are inspected and pruned in a manner that helps preserve the health of the tree while maintaining safety near electric facilities. In some cases, trees that are diseased or pose a threat to power lines or equipment may be removed. Similar work will be conducted along 363 miles of the company's high-voltage transmission power lines as part of a $10.5 million program.
Mon Power's program also includes the removal of deteriorated ash trees damaged by the Emerald Ash Borer along larger distribution lines and lines near substations. Since the start of the program, Mon Power has removed more than 110,000 damaged ash trees identified as potential hazards.
Mon Power will be conducting tree-trimming work in the following counties and communities this year:
- Braxton: Heaters, Servia, Sutton
- Brooke: Beech Bottom, Bethany, Weirton, Wellsburg, Windsor Heights
- Calhoun: Grantsville
- Clay: Clay, Widen
- Greenbrier: Fairlea, Lewisburg, Ronceverte, White Sulphur Springs
- Hancock: Chester, New Cumberland
- Harrison: Bridgeport, Lost Creek
- Marion: Barrackville, Fairview, Farmington, Idamay, Mannington
- Monongalia: Brookhaven, Dellslow, Granville, Morgantown, Osage, Wadestown, Wana
- Monroe: Union
- Nicholas: Birch River, Fenwick, Leivasy, Lockwood, Nettie, Richwood
- Pendleton: Franklin, Sugar Grove, Upper Tract
- Pocahontas: Slaty Fork, Snowshoe
- Preston: Albright, Bruceton Mills, Fellowsville, Terra Alta
- Randolph: Elkins, Gilman, Huttonsville, Kerens, Montrose
- Ritchie: Smithville
- Summers: Hinton, Lowell, Pence Springs
- Taylor: Blueville, Grafton, Knottsville, Pruntytown
- Tucker: Davis, Parsons, St. George
- Upshur: Buckhannon
- Webster: Webster Springs
- Wetzel: Jacksonburg, New Martinsville, Pine Grove, Porters Falls, Reader
- Wood: Deerwalk, Larkmead, Lubeck, Parkersburg, Washington, Waverly, Williamstown
The vegetation management work is conducted by certified forestry experts under the company's direction, including Asplundh Tree Expert, GF Tree Service, Hazlett Tree Service, Penn Line, The Energy Group, Townsend and UAL.
Mon Power works with municipalities to inform them of tree-trimming schedules, and customers living in areas along company rights-of-way are notified prior to vegetation management work being done.
Mon Power serves about 395,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. Follow Mon Power at www.mon-power.com, on Twitter @MonPowerWV, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MonPowerWV.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of utility personnel trimming trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. A video explaining FirstEnergy's vegetation management techniques can also be found on YouTube.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/mon-powers-2022-tree-trimming-program-underway/ | 2022-05-03T18:21:25Z |
Neosec API Security Platform Recognized for Ability to Discover and Monitor Business APIs for Fraud and Misuse
PALO ALTO, Calif. , May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Neosec has been named one of 10 finalists for the RSA Conference 2022 Innovation Sandbox Contest for its work in pioneering a platform that continually discovers and protects an organization's APIs using behavioral analytics to uncover fraud or misuse. On Monday, June 6, Neosec will present its technology to a panel of renowned industry judges and a live in-person audience at RSA Conference 2022 in San Francisco.
Since 2005, the RSAC Innovation Sandbox has served as a platform for the most promising young cybersecurity companies to showcase their groundbreaking technologies and compete for the title of "Most Innovative Startup." The competition is widely recognized as a catapult for success and the top 10 finalists have collectively celebrated 69 acquisitions and received $9.8 billion in investments over the last 17 years. Neosec will have three minutes to pitch the panel of judges before a question-and-answer round.
"While the cybersecurity industry contends with constant changes and challenges, these bold thinkers are the changemakers we need to protect the world against new threats," said Linda Gray Martin, vice president, RSA Conference. "For the last 17 years, RSAC Innovation Sandbox Contest finalists have gone on to make a significant impact, and there's no doubt that this year is any different. We're cheering on this year's finalists to carry on the competition's legacy with their game-changing ideas and I look forward to seeing the influence they make on the future."
Neosec is reinventing application security by bringing XDR techniques to prevent API abuse with a powerful platform that unifies security and development teams to protect modern applications. The foundation of the SaaS platform is built on data and analytics to manage API security at scale. Neosec prevents attackers from abusing the complex network of APIs that connect today's businesses. These APIs have the potential for fraud and misuse if not properly monitored. The platform enables organizations to discover every API and audit them for risk. Neosec has pioneered the use of behavioral analytics to understand normal versus abnormal API usage. It also delivers powerful threat hunting capabilities. Neosec stops hidden abuse taking place within APIs, bringing new intelligence to application security.
"Being selected for the RSAC Innovation Sandbox is a great honor and underscores the uniqueness of our platform for discovering, monitoring and assessing business APIs for fraud and misuse," said Giora Engel, co-founder and chief executive officer, Neosec. "APIs connect every business to its partners and customers while opening up a new world of potential fraud, theft and abuse. Enterprises must put new safeguards in place to enable digital business while protecting against substantial levels of risk."
The RSAC Innovation Sandbox Contest kicks off at 12:00 p.m. PT on June 6 and winners will be announced at 3:00 p.m. the same day. The panel of renowned expert judges includes Dorit Dor, Chief Product Officer at Check Point Software Technologies; Niloofar Howe, Sr. Operating Partner at Energy Impact Partners; Paul Kocher, Independent Researcher; Shlomo Kramer, Co-founder and CEO, Cato Networks; and Christopher Young, Executive Vice President of Business Development Strategy and Ventures at Microsoft. Hugh Thompson, Program Committee Chair of RSA Conference, will return to host the contest.
For more information regarding RSA Conference 2022, taking place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from June 6-9, please visit https://www.rsaconference.com/usa.
About Neosec
Neosec is reinventing application security with a powerful platform that unifies security and development teams to protect modern applications from threats. The foundation of the SaaS platform is built on data and analytics to manage security at scale. Neosec prevents threats from abusing the complex network of APIs that connect today's businesses. The platform helps organizations discover every API and audit risk. Neosec has pioneered the use of behavioral analytics to understand normal versus abnormal API usage and delivers powerful threat hunting capabilities. Neosec prevents threats and stops abuse hiding within APIs and brings new intelligence to application security. Neosec is based in Palo Alto, California with R&D in Tel Aviv, Israel. To learn more, visit Neosec.com.
About RSA Conference
RSA Conference is the premier series of global events and year-round learning for the cybersecurity community. RSAC is where the security industry converges to discuss current and future concerns and have access to the experts, unbiased content and ideas that help enable individuals and companies advance their cybersecurity posture and build stronger and smarter teams. Both in-person and online, RSAC brings the cybersecurity industry together and empowers the collective "we" to stand against cyberthreats around the world. RSAC is the ultimate marketplace for the latest technologies and hands-on educational opportunities that help industry professionals discover how to make their companies more secure while showcasing the most enterprising, influential, and thought-provoking thinkers and leaders in cybersecurity today. For the most up-to-date news pertaining to the cybersecurity industry visit www.rsaconference.com. Where the world talks security.
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SOURCE Neosec | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/neosec-selected-finalist-rsa-conference-2022-innovation-sandbox-contest/ | 2022-05-03T18:21:32Z |
Detox for Body, Mind, and Spirit
PORTSMOUTH, N.H., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Doctor of Natural Health Victoria Sol released her new book, LIFTING THE LAYERS TO VIBRANT HEALTH: Detox for Body, Mind, and Spirit.
LIFTING THE LAYERS TO VIBRANT HEALTH is a much-needed guide to help people adopt a healthier diet and lifestyle to discover better health and wellbeing. In a world where 20 billion chemicals are released into our environment every year, that includes food, water, skincare and cleaning products, people need to protect and transform their health by adopting a detoxifying lifestyle.
Each year nearly 1.6 million people are diagnosed with cancer in the U.S. alone. It's evident that making detoxification a regular part of a healthy lifestyle is imperative for better health.
Whether it's weight gain, health issues, low energy, or belly bloat, LIFTING THE LAYERS TO VIBRANT HEALTH offers solid and transformational tools and techniques to help people transform what they eat and how they live.
Victoria coaches people on how to shed pounds, gain energy and transform their lives, without going hungry. "Lifting the layers to your radiant health is easier than you think," says Sol. "The most important thing you need to do to begin to detox is to stop the toxins. The most impactful way to do that is to consume primarily organic plants, mostly vegetables, some fruit, nuts, seeds, grains, and beans."
Victoria offers the top 3 things people can do today to start detoxing their bodies and transform their lives to achieve optimum health:
- Eat a variety of plant foods at every single meal.
- Clean up toxins in your environment, like skincare and cleaning products, and some you would never think about.
- Detox stress through meditation and mindfulness practices.
About Victoria Sol
Victoria Sol is a pioneer in the natural health industry. Since opening her first juice bar in 1997, she has helped thousands of people discover better health and wellbeing. With a doctorate in Natural Health, she inspires and coaches people into the healthiest version of themselves. She is a Chopra-Certified Meditation Teacher and a Certified Medical QiGong practitioner. With 25 years of study and experience in body, mind and spirit, she teaches simple, doable detox practices that afford easy weight loss and natural stress reduction as a springboard to live your best life. For more information, visit: https://victoriasol.com
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SOURCE Victoria Sol | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/new-book-release-lifting-layers-vibrant-health/ | 2022-05-03T18:21:38Z |
Dog Owners Have Spent as Much as $4,787 on Veterinary Bills to Treat Mental Health Issues
Mixed Breed, Medium-sized Dogs More Likely than Shih Tzus, Pugs, Maltese and Pomeranians to Suffer from Anxiety
NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- While their human counterparts suffered from increased anxiety during the pandemic, new data released today by Fetch by The Dodo pet insurance, a Company that provides the most comprehensive pet insurance coverage and health advice in the market, shows anxiety-related (emotional) claims for dogs decreased by 67% and have remained low since the onset of the pandemic. However, during that same time period, the average number of claims per pet related to other specific behavioral disorders (physical), such as aggression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, increased dramatically by 408% since the onset of the pandemic.
"This data could indicate that our companion dogs who experience anxiety greatly benefited from our increased presence in their lives during the pandemic," said Dr. Audrey Ruple, Chair of the Fetch by The Dodo Veterinary Advisory Board. "However, it might also mean that we became more aware of problematic behaviors our dogs were engaging in because we were able to observe them throughout the day."
The Company leveraged claims data from its internal Fetch Forward™ database, from the time period of October 1, 2019 - December 31, 2021, to determine its findings. Fetch Forward (patent pending) is an exclusive, ground-breaking artificial intelligence algorithm which uses 150 million data points related to clinical health findings from more than half a million dogs collected over 16 years to provide tailored insights and recommendations so pet parents can take action to improve the health and happiness of their pet.
Other findings in the data identified that dogs are more likely to experience mental health issues as they get older and certain breeds are more prone than others to different types of mental health issues such as anxiety and behavioral disorders.
While anxiety-related claims have decreased dramatically, pet parents still spent a significant amount to treat them. Those with mixed breed, medium-sized dogs, spent the most amount of money per year treating their pets for anxiety, an average of $458, with some paying as paying as much as $4,787 for anxiety related costs. Average claims per year increased as they got older, with the highest average claims occurring in this group for geriatric dogs (more than 12 years old).
Average anxiety claims per year for Boxers, Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Great Danes and Bernese Mountain Dogs (Mastiff-like dogs) also increase with age and these pet parents spend an average cost of $441 per year and as much as $3,615 on treatment. For Terriers, average cost of claims per year increase with age. The highest average claims per year occur in dogs between 3-12 years of age (mature adults) at a cost of $417. Shepherds generated claims with an average cost of $517, yet had higher average claims for geriatric dogs (more than 10.5 years) climbing to as much as $4,059.
Pet parents of Shih Tzus, Pugs, Maltese and Pomeranians (toy breeds) spend less money on anxiety claims than other breeds, an average of $340 per year. For this group, anxiety issues happen more frequently in puppies and older dogs, with less frequent claims occurring in mid-life.
For all breeds, the average cost of claims related to behavioral disorders is $448 per year, with some pet parents paying as much as $4,686 to treat them. Behavioral disorder claims include aggression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, coprophagia (stool eating) and pica (eating non-food items).
Mastiff-like dogs are most likely to have claims between ages 3 and 9.5. Behavioral claims for Terriers are more likely to happen earlier in life (between the ages of 1-3) and then highly unlikely as they get older. Owners of Labrador Retrievers, English Bulldogs and French Bulldogs were unlikely to submit claims on behavioral disorders at any age.
Dr. Ruple also cautioned that we may need to be mindful as we head back to the office. "Our dogs have gotten used to having us around all the time and they may struggle to adjust to our absence."
Fetch by the Dodo pet insurance is one of the few pet insurance companies to cover pet mental health (including behavioral therapy, anxiety, and depression) as part of its regular coverage and at no extra cost to its policy holders. For tips on how to notice and treat anxiety and behavioral disorders in dogs, go to https://www.fetchpet.com/the-dig/fetch-forward-insights-anxiety
Fetchpet.com provides the most comprehensive pet insurance coverage in the market with highly personalized content to help pet parents stay steps ahead of their pet's health and help them live happier, healthier and longer lives. It is the only pet insurance trusted by The Dodo, the #1 most-viewed and most-engaged animal brand in the world with a global audience of 100 million social followers.
Fetch by The Dodo insurance policies are administered by Fetch Insurance Services, LLC (Fetch Insurance Agency, LLC in Michigan), d/b/a Fetch (Fetch Insurance Agency, LLC in California) and underwritten by XL Specialty Insurance Company, a Delaware Corporation and AXIS Insurance Company, an Illinois Corporation, in the U.S. and AXIS Reinsurance Company (Canadian Branch) in Canada. Fetch is a Warburg Pincus portfolio company.
Media Contact:
Robin Shallow
Robin@robincomm.com
914.841-5572
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SOURCE Fetch by The Dodo | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/new-data-fetch-pet-insurance-shows-anxiety-dogs-has-decreased-during-pandemic-behavioral-issues-increased/ | 2022-05-03T18:21:45Z |
AMESBURY, Mass., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Munjoi, Inc. was recognized today as part of Fast Company's 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards. The 2022 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Australia. Munjoi was selected as an Honorable Mention in the Consumer Products category for their All-Dai Shoe. The recently launched shoe has the ability to transform and be worn 4 different ways: A sneaker, sandal, mule, and open-toe sneaker – all in one. The All-Dai is made using vegan, plant-based materials.
"Our closets and travel bags are full of too many shoes," says Patrick Hogan, CEO and founder of Munjoi, Inc. "Each type of single function footwear produces its own carbon footprint, while depleting natural resources, releasing toxins, and creating waste. Making footwear with better material choices is a good first step but making fewer shoes is the best solution. This is why we invented the All-Dai shoe: A singular pair of shoes that has the ability to transform and serve the purpose of 3 or 4 different types of footwear. This means more benefits for the consumer and less impact on our environment."
"We are consistently inspired by the novelty and creativity that people are applying to solve some of our society's most pressing problems, from shelter to the climate crisis. Fast Company relishes its role in amplifying important, innovative work to address big challenges," says David Lidsky, interim editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "Our journalists have identified some of the most ingenious initiatives to launch since the start of 2021, which we hope will both have a meaningful impact and lead others to join in being part of the solution."
About the Awards: World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company's major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. With the goals of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.
Fast Company's Summer 2022 issue (on newsstands May 10, 2022) will showcase some of the world's most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling global challenges.
To learn more about Munjoi and the All-Dai shoe visit: https://munjoi.com
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SOURCE Munjoi | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/new-footwear-brand-munjoi-recognized-fast-companys-2022-world-changing-ideas-awards/ | 2022-05-03T18:21:52Z |
SPR is a Key Component for Modernized Planning and Provisioning of Satellite Terminals for Mission Operations
TAMPA, Fla., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- NIC4, a subsidiary of Network Innovations, has been awarded a Service Provider Registry (SPR) prototype, a component of the Satellite Communications (SATCOM) Enterprise Management and Control (EM&C). This software development effort is for the U.S. Space Force (USSF), Space Systems Command (SSC) through the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) as an Other Transactional Authority (OTA) Agreement Award. The SPR prototype represents the company's fourth major award under the EM&C program.
The purpose of the SPR prototype is to provide a structured, authoritative catalog of commercial and military SATCOM services that can be allocated to fulfill Department of Defense (DOD) SATCOM mission requirements. It is an essential part of the EM&C planning element that will combine knowledge of missions, services, terminals and threats for optimal planning and provisioning of DOD terminals for mission operations. The SPR prototype will also capture descriptions and parameterization of space and ground segment infrastructure.
The implementation will be developed and delivered as a set of scalable microservices within a stackable, secure, cloud-built architecture. It will be hosted on a government provided platform-as-a-service that includes cyber security and automated testing as an integral part of the software development and deployment process. This will enable rapid delivery of incrementally expanded feature sets in an agile framework.
"The Service Provider Registry prototype is our next step towards reaching our first operational capability for EM&C. It is centered around an integrated SATCOM Common Operating Picture with alerts, health and status, and operational readiness of terminal, space and terrestrial ground components, delivering SATCOM when and where it is needed worldwide," said Lieutenant Colonel Gary Thompson, Chief of SATCOM Capability Integration at Space Systems Command.
"NIC4 is honored to continue to support the USSF in delivering highly flexible and resilient SATCOM services to the U.S. Military, to ensure our forces continue to enjoy information dominance on the battlefield in the face of new and increasingly challenging conflict domains," said Chad Gatlin, CEO of NIC4.
ABOUT NIC4
NIC4 (part of the Network Innovations Group) is a satellite communications integrator focused on the provision/support of systems, which enables the U.S. Government to stay connected anywhere. NIC4 drives communication/connection solutions capitalizing on a team of global industry professionals. www.NIC4.com
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SOURCE NIC4 | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/nic4-awarded-satellite-communications-service-provider-registry-prototype-contract-us-space-force/ | 2022-05-03T18:21:58Z |
Work includes trimming along nearly 4,800 miles of power lines in 2022
AKRON, Ohio, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ohio Edison, a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) electric company, is conducting tree trimming and other vegetation management work in communities across its 34-county service area as part of its ongoing efforts to help enhance electric service reliability. This year's $21.6 million tree-trimming program will help keep power flowing to customers by helping to prevent tree-related outages, such as those that can occur during the spring and summer storm season.
On the ground, contractors have trimmed trees along more than 300 miles of power lines across Ohio Edison's service area since the beginning of the year. The company's program remains on track to complete an additional 4,400 miles of tree-trimming work by the end of the year. Similar work is performed annually by FirstEnergy transmission companies along high-voltage power lines in the company's service territory.
"Trees are a leading cause of power outages, and we complete proactive tree-trimming work each year to prevent tree-related outages during severe weather," said Ed Shuttleworth, president of FirstEnergy's Ohio operations. "This work, paired with the vast upgrades we're making to our local power system, undoubtedly helps minimize the impact of weather-related outages to keep the power flowing safely and reliably to customers."
Tree trimming is done on a four-year cycle. The work includes inspecting vegetation near power lines to ensure trees are pruned to preserve the health of the tree while also maintaining safe clearances. Trees that present a danger or are diseased may be removed.
This year, the work is being conducted in the following counties and communities:
- Ashland: Ashland and Savannah
- Ashtabula: Andover and Williamsfield
- Crawford: Bucyrus
- Clark: New Carlisle and Springfield
- Columbiana: Guilford Lake, Lisbon and Salem
- Erie: Berlin Heights, Huron and Sandusky
- Delaware: Delaware and Millcreek
- Fayette: Mount Sterling
- Geauga: Hiram and Parkman
- Greene: Fairborne
- Huron: Huron, Milan, Monroeville and Norwalk
- Lorain: Avon, Elyria, Grafton, Lorain, North Ridgeville, Sheffield Lake and South Amherst
- Madison: London
- Mahoning: Austintown, Boardman, Campbell, Canfield, Ellsworth, Hubbard, Liberty, Mineral Ridge, New Middletown, North Jackson, North Lima, Poland, Sebring, Struthers and Youngstown
- Marion: Kirkpatrick, Marion, Prospect and Radner
- Medina: Brunswick and Medina
- Morrow: Chesterville and Mount Gilead
- Ottawa: Port Clinton
- Portage: Aurora, Kent, Ravenna, Ravenna Township, Rootstown Township, Streetsboro and Suffield Township
- Richland: Crestline, Galion, Johnsville, Mansfield, Olivesburg, Pavonia and Shenandoah
- Stark: Alliance, Lexington, Massillon, Minerva, Paris and Perry Township
- Summit: Bath Township, Greene, Copley, Coventry Township, Downtown Akron, East Akron, Ellet, Fairlawn, Fairlawn Heights, Highland Square, Hudson, Lakemore, Lane Wooster, Merriman Valley, Northwest Akron, South Akron, Stow, Twinsburg, University of Akron, Wallhaven and West Akron
- Trumbull: Brookfield, Fowler, Hartford, Kinsman, Leavittsburg, Southington, Vienna and Warren
- Union: Marysville
- Wayne: Dalton
As part of its notification process, Ohio Edison works with municipalities to inform them of tree-trimming schedules. In addition, customers living in areas along company rights-of-way are notified prior to vegetation management work being done.
The vegetation management work is conducted by certified forestry experts under the company's direction, including Asplundh Tree Expert Company, Davey Tree Expert Company, Nelson Tree Service Inc., Penn Line Service, Townsend Tree Service and Wright Tree Service.
In the air, helicopters equipped with aerial saws began trimming trees in April to maintain proper clearances along hard-to-access transmission and distribution corridors throughout Ohio Edison's service area. The aerial saw is typically deployed along transmission and distribution lines in areas that may be environmentally sensitive or inaccessible to bucket trucks and other vehicles. This method typically covers more area in a day than a ground crew might complete in a week. The saw also eliminates the risk of injury to workers using bucket trucks or climbing trees to cut limbs near high voltage equipment.
Ohio Edison serves more than 1 million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on Twitter @OhioEdison and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OhioEdison.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.
Editor's Note: Photos of workers trimming trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. A video explaining and demonstrating tree-trimming work can be found on FirstEnergy's YouTube channel.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/ohio-edison-invests-nearly-22-million-tree-trimming-efforts-reinforce-electric-system-during-severe-weather/ | 2022-05-03T18:22:04Z |
Passionflix provides millions of users with 24/7 access to premium romance content
ATLANTA, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Passionflix, the premium streaming service offering original movies and series adapted from bestselling romance books, announced today that its app is now available 24/7 on VIZIO Smart TVs (NYSE: VZIO).
"We are thrilled to work with VIZIO so that millions of users can now experience the high quality, original romance content that Passionflix fans crave," said Founder and CEO, Tosca Musk. "Our distribution with VIZIO allows us to give our fans on demand, instant access to the entertainment they love."
VIZIO users will have round-the-clock access to Passionflix's large offering of original movies adapted from bestselling romance books, plus an impressive library of all-time favorite romantic classics. Some of the streamer's biggest originals include adaptations of K. Bromberg's Driven Series, Sylvain Reynard's Gabriel's Inferno Series and Jennifer L. Armentrout's Wicked Trilogy. They have optioned more than 30 other titles like #1 NYT bestseller This Man by Jodi Ellen Malpas.
About PASSIONFLIX
PASSIONFLIX is a premium romance-on-demand streaming service offering original movies and series adapted from bestselling romance books, bringing an empowering focus to the female gaze. PASSIONFLIX is available worldwide online and through an app for mobile, digital entertainment systems, and Smart TVs as well as Amazon Prime (US), Roku and Comcast. Visit PASSIONFLIX.com for more information.
Follow PASSIONFLIX to stay up to date on the whirlwind world of romance: Facebook Twitter Instagram
About VIZIO
Founded and headquartered in Orange County, California, our mission at VIZIO Holding Corp. (NYSE: VZIO) is to deliver immersive entertainment and compelling lifestyle enhancements that make our products the center of the connected home. We are driving the future of televisions through our integrated platform of cutting-edge Smart TVs and powerful operating system. We also offer a portfolio of innovative sound bars that deliver consumers an elevated audio experience. Our platform gives content providers more ways to distribute their content and advertisers more tools to connect with the right audience.
For more information, visit VIZIO.com and follow VIZIO on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Press Contact for VIZIO:
Jodie McAfee
press@vizio.com
Press Contact for Passionflix
Crystal Susco PR
Kelly Susco
kelly@crystalsuscopr.com
Jackie Crystal
jackie@crystalsuscopr.com
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SOURCE Passionflix | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/passionflix-app-now-available-vizio-smart-tvs/ | 2022-05-03T18:22:11Z |
Work includes trimming along nearly 4,200 miles of power lines
ERIE, Pa., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Penelec, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), continues to conduct tree-trimming work in communities across its Pennsylvania service area as part of its ongoing efforts to help enhance electric service reliability. Maintaining proper clearances around electrical equipment can help reduce the frequency and duration of tree-related power outages, especially those associated with severe weather.
Since the beginning of the year, tree contractors have trimmed along about 700 miles of power lines in the Penelec service area as part of the company's $37.7 million vegetation management program for 2022. Penelec's program remains on track to complete an additional 3,500 miles of work by year end.
Conducted on a four-year cycle, the program includes inspecting vegetation near the lines to ensure trees are pruned in a manner that helps preserve the health of the tree while also maintaining safe clearances around electrical equipment. Trees that present a danger or are diseased may be removed.
"Penelec is committed to enhancing customer service reliability, and our vegetation management program is one of the most important things we do every year to help maintain our electric system and restore power more quickly after storms," said Scott Wyman, president of FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania operations.
This year, Penelec is scheduled to trim trees along power lines in the following counties and areas:
- Bedford – Everett
- Blair – Altoona, East Freedom, Hollidaysburg, Tyrone
- Bradford – Athens, East Smithfield, North Orwell, Sayre
- Cambria – Cresson, Ebensburg, Lilly, Westmont
- Clarion – Knox
- Clearfield – Dubois, Winburne
- Center-Osceola Mills, Philipsburg
- Crawford – Cambridge Springs, Conneautville, Geneva, Meadville, Union City
- Erie – Erie, Fairview, Harbor Creek, Waterford
- Forest – Crown, Marienville
- Huntingdon – Mount Union, Spruce Creek, Saxton, Three Springs
- Indiana – Clarksburg, Clymer, Indiana
- Jefferson – Big Run, Brookville, Punxsutawney
- McKean – Bradford, Eldred
- Mifflin – Bellville
- Perry – Blain
- Somerset – Somerset, Windber
- Susquehanna – Choconut Township, Montrose
- Tioga – Blossburg, Niles Valley, Osceola, Westfield
- Venango – Cherrytree Township, Cranberry, Franklin, Oil City, Rocky Grove
- Warren – Warren, Tidioute
- Wayne – Lake Como
- Wyoming – Meshoppen
As part of its notification process, Penelec works with municipalities to inform them of tree-trimming schedules. In addition, customers living in areas along company rights-of-way are notified prior to vegetation management work being done.
The vegetation management work is conducted by qualified line clearance arborists under the company's direction, including Asplundh Tree Expert Company, Davey Tree Expert Company, Penn Line Service, Hazlett Tree Service, Townsend Tree Service, Lewis Tree Service, and Treesmiths.
Penelec serves approximately 585,000 customers within 17,600 square miles of northern and central Pennsylvania. Follow Penelec on Twitter @Penelec and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PenelecElectric.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of workers using bucket trucks to trim trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. A video explaining FirstEnergy's vegetation management techniques can also be found on YouTube.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/penelecs-2022-tree-trimming-program-underway-enhance-reliability/ | 2022-05-03T18:22:19Z |
Work includes trimming trees along 1,120 miles of power lines in 2022
NEW CASTLE, Pa., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Penn Power, a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) electric company, is conducting tree trimming and other vegetation management work in communities across its western Pennsylvania service area to help enhance service reliability for customers. This year's $9 million tree-trimming program will help keep power flowing to customers by helping to prevent tree-related outages, such as those that can occur during the spring and summer storm season.
Since the beginning of the year, contractors have trimmed trees along more than 250 miles of power lines across Penn Power's service area. The program remains on track to complete an additional 800 miles of tree-trimming work by the end of the year. Similar work is performed annually by FirstEnergy transmission companies along high-voltage power lines in the company's service territory.
Tree trimming is done on a four-year cycle. The program includes inspecting vegetation near the lines to ensure the trees are pruned in a manner that helps preserve the health of the tree while also maintaining safety near electric facilities. Trees that present a danger or are diseased may be removed.
"Trees are a leading cause of power outages, and we complete proactive tree-trimming work each year to help prevent tree-related outages during severe weather," said Scott Wyman, president of FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania operations. "This work, paired with the vast upgrades we're making to our local power system, undoubtedly helps minimize the impact of weather-related outages to keep power flowing safely and reliably to customers."
As part of its notification process, Penn Power works with municipalities to inform them of tree-trimming schedules. In addition, customers living in areas along company rights-of-way are notified prior to vegetation management work being done.
The vegetation management work is conducted by certified forestry experts under the company's direction, including Asplundh Tree Expert Company, Davey Tree Expert Company, Nelson Tree Service Inc., Penn Line Service, Townsend Tree Service and Wright Tree Service.
In the air, helicopters equipped with aerial saws will trim trees beginning in April to maintain proper clearances along hard-to-access transmission and distribution corridors throughout Penn Power's service area. The aerial saw is typically deployed along transmission and distribution lines in areas that may be environmentally sensitive or inaccessible to bucket trucks and other vehicles. This method typically covers more area in a day than a ground crew might complete in a week. The saw also eliminates the risk of injury to workers using bucket trucks or climbing trees to cut limbs near high voltage equipment.
Penn Power is a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. and serves more than 160,000 customers in all or parts of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Crawford, Lawrence, and Mercer counties in western Pennsylvania. Follow Penn Power on Twitter @Penn_Power, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PennPower and online at www.pennpower.com.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.
Editor's Note: Photos of utility personnel trimming trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. A video explaining FirstEnergy's vegetation management techniques can also be found on YouTube.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/penn-power-invests-9-million-tree-trimming-work-help-minimize-impact-severe-weather/ | 2022-05-03T18:22:27Z |
Company to trim trees along 3,100 miles of power lines in Maryland and West Virginia
WILLIAMSPORT, Md., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Potomac Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has kicked off its 2022 tree-trimming program with plans to clear vegetation along approximately 3,100 miles of power lines in Maryland and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia to help enhance electric service reliability for customers.
Maintaining proper clearances and removing dead or diseased trees around electrical equipment can help reduce the frequency and duration of power outages, especially those associated with severe weather. In 2021, the amount of time Potomac Edison customers experienced service interruptions due to trees dropped by 20% compared to 2019. Clearing incompatible vegetation under power lines also gives company personnel easier access to inspect and maintain lines and make repairs quicker if an outage occurs.
"Vegetation management is crucial to our service reliability efforts and one of the most effective ways we can reduce the impact of tree-related outages for customers," said Linda Moss, president of FirstEnergy's Maryland operations.
As part of Potomac Edison's $33 million program, trees are inspected and pruned in a manner that helps preserve the health of the tree while maintaining safe clearances near electrical equipment. In some cases, trees that present a danger or are diseased may be removed. Similar work will be performed along 242 miles of the company's high-voltage transmission power lines in Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia as part of a $4.6 million program.
Potomac Edison will be conducting tree-trimming work in the following counties and communities this year:
Maryland
- Allegany: Barton, Corriganville, Cresaptown, Cumberland, Ellerslie, Flintstone, LaVale, Midland, Lonaconing, Oldtown, Westernport
- Carroll: Mount Airy, Union Bridge, Taneytown
- Frederick: Emmitsburg, Frederick, Middletown, Monrovia, Mount Airy, Myersville, New Market, Sabillasville, Thurmont, Urbana, Walkersville, Woodsboro
- Garrett: Bittinger, Bloomington, Friendsville, Gorman, Grantsville, Hancock, Jennings, Kitzmiller, McHenry, Oakland, Redhouse
- Montgomery: Damascus
- Washington: Beaver Creek, Big Pool, Big Spring, Boonsboro, Cascade, Fort Ritchie, Foxville, Hagerstown, Huyett, Leitersburg, Mount Lena, Pinesburg, Sharpsburg, Smithsburg, Williamsport, Wilson
West Virginia
- Berkeley: Bunker Hill, Falling Waters, Glengary, Hedgesville, Inwood, Martinsburg
- Grant: Maysville
- Hampshire: Augusta, Capon Bridge, Green Spring, High View, Purgittsville, Yellow Spring
- Hardy: Baker, Perry, Wardensville
- Jefferson: Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, Kearneysville, Millville, Ranson, Shenandoah Junction, Shepherdstown
- Mineral: Fort Ashby, Keyser, Piedmont, Short Gap
- Morgan: Berkeley Springs
The vegetation management work is conducted by certified tree experts under the company's direction, including Asplundh Tree Expert Company, Lewis Tree, N.G. Gilbert, Nelson Tree Service, Wright Tree Service and Xylem Tree Experts.
Potomac Edison works with municipalities to inform them of tree-trimming schedules. Additionally, customers living in areas along company rights-of-way are notified prior to vegetation management work being done.
Potomac Edison serves about 275,000 customers in all or parts of Allegany, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Howard, Montgomery, and Washington counties in Maryland and 151,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison at www.potomacedison.com, on Twitter @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PotomacEdison.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of utility personnel trimming trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. A video explaining FirstEnergy's vegetation management techniques can also be found on YouTube.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/potomac-edisons-2022-tree-trimming-program-underway/ | 2022-05-03T18:22:33Z |
Celebrating Trailblazers and Inspiring Support for the Next Generation of Diverse Leaders
ATLANTA, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- INROADS, Inc. — the world's largest nonprofit committed to preparing underrepresented talent for career success — is inviting the public to help raise funds at this year's Benefit Gala, presented by Procter & Gamble (P&G) and powered by BET. The virtual event will take place on Thursday, May 5, at 7 p.m. EST and will honor INROADS alumni, and corporate and community partners who have embodied the mission of INROADS by creating a positive impact within their communities. The evening will be hosted by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jonathan Capehart, Associate Editor of The Washington Post and anchor of MSNBC's The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart.
The Benefit Gala will present the various awards to INROADS alumni and trailblazers who exemplify the INROADS mission in their life and their work. The 2022 honorees include the Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Congressman James E. Clyburn, U.S. House of Representatives; Frank C. Carr Award Recipient: Southern Company, accepted by Tom Fanning, Chairman, President & CEO, Southern Company; Excellence in Leadership Award Recipient: Scott Mills, CEO of BET; Alumni of the Year Award Recipient: Martin Cabrera, Founder and CEO, Cabrera Capital Partners, LLC & Cabrera Capital Markets, LLC; and Entrepreneur of the Year Award Recipient: Dia Simms, CEO of Lobos 1707 Tequila & Mezcal, Co-Founder, Pronghorn, and INROADS Alumna.
"The idea of INROADS was created during the Civil Rights Movement, so social justice is in the fabric of our being. Since its founding, INROADS has increased access, equity, and opportunity in the workplace by elevating young people of color, positioning them for professional and economic mobility, and promoting diversity and inclusion in corporate America," said Forest Harper, President, and CEO of INROADS. "We are grateful to our INROADS alumni, sponsors, and community partners for their commitment to our organization's mission. We have made a tremendous impact thus far and look forward to a night of giving, celebrating our award recipients, and inspiring the next generation of leaders."
All proceeds from the Benefit Gala will directly support underrepresented, hardworking diverse high school and college students to receive leadership training, coaching, mentoring, and opportunities for paid corporate internships through INROADS programs.
INROADS is proud to have the support of Procter & Gamble, the presenting partner for this year's Benefit Gala, and BET, which is powering the event and making it more accessible to audiences through its platform. Other sponsors include Lockheed Martin, UnitedHealth Group, Dollar General, Assured Guaranty, CBRE, Zoetis, F5, Cetera, Daimler Truck, Pepsi, EY, Southern Company, L3Harris, Propel, Truist, Foley Hoag, Chevron, United Rentals, Block, Ironwood, Pronghorn, Lobos 1707 Tequila & Mezcal, Ten To One, BlackLeaf, Wifey, and Saint Liberty Whiskey.
To learn more about the Benefit Gala and to register, please visit https://inroads.org/benefitgala/.
Founded in 1970, INROADS delivers innovative programs and creative solutions that identify, accelerate and elevate the development of underrepresented talent throughout their careers. Through this development, students become equipped for corporate and community leadership that affects community renewal, social change and elevates economic status and quality of life. INROADS has more than 30,000 alumni, over 900 interns and serves 4,000+ students and 200 corporate clients. Learn more at INROADS.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn: @INROADSInc.
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SOURCE INROADS Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/pultizer-prize-winning-journalist-jonathan-capehart-host-2022-inroads-benefit-gala/ | 2022-05-03T18:22:41Z |
NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --
If you own shares in any of the companies listed above and
would like to discuss our investigations or have any questions concerning
this notice or your rights or interests, please contact:
Joshua Rubin, Esq.
Weiss Law
305 Broadway, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10007
(212) 682-3025
(888) 593-4771
stockinfo@weisslawllp.com
Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGI)
WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of Renewable Energy Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGI), in connection with the proposed acquisition of REGI by Chevron Corporation. Under the terms of the merger agreement, REGI shareholders will receive $61.50 in cash for each share of REGI common stock owned. If you own REGI shares and wish to discuss this investigation or your rights, please call us at one of the numbers listed above or visit our website: https://www.weisslaw.co/news-and-cases/regi
IntriCon Corporation NASDAQ: IIN)
WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of IntriCon Corporation NASDAQ: IIN), in connection with the proposed acquisition of IIN by an affiliate of Altaris Capital Partners, LLC. Under the terms of the merger agreement, IIN shareholders will receive $24.25 in cash for each share of IIN common stock owned. If you own IIN shares and wish to discuss this investigation or your rights, please call us at one of the numbers listed above or visit our website: https://www.weisslaw.co/news-and-cases/iin
Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: BKEP)
Weiss Law is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: BKEP), in connection with the proposed plan of merger pursuant to which an affiliate of Ergon, Inc. ("Ergon") would acquire all of the outstanding common and preferred units of BKEP not already owned by Ergon and its affiliates (the "Common Units" and "Preferred Units"). Under the terms of the merger agreement, each holder of the Common Units will receive $4.65 in cash per Common Unit, and each holder of the Preferred Units will receive $8.75 in cash per Preferred Unit. If you own BKEP units and wish to discuss this investigation or your rights, please call us at one of the numbers listed above or visit our website: https://www.weisslaw.co/news-and-cases/bkep
PS Business Parks, Inc. (NYSE: PSB)
Weiss Law is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of PS Business Parks, Inc. (NYSE: PSB), in connection with the proposed acquisition of PSB by Blackstone Real Estate. Under the terms of the merger agreement, PSB shareholders will receive $187.50 inBKEP cash for each share of PSB common stock owned. If you own PSB shares and wish to discuss this investigation or your rights, please call us at one of the numbers listed above or visit our website: https://www.weisslaw.co/news-and-cases/psb
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SOURCE Weiss Law | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/shareholder-alert-weiss-law-reminds-regi-iin-bkep-psb-shareholders-about-its-ongoing-investigations/ | 2022-05-03T18:22:47Z |
CHICAGO, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- After a two-year, COVID-induced hiatus, the 2022 Elks Hoop Shoot National Finals bounced back! In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the national program, the Elks hosted the National Finals of the youth free throw tournament at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. On April 30, 72 of the nation's best free-throw shooters dueled for national titles in boys and girls divisions in three age-groups.
After a total of 1,546 made free throws, six champions were crowned:
8- to 9-year-olds
Emersyn Hess of Indiana (24/25) and Croix Kendall of Florida (24/25, 33/35 in an epic shoot-off)
10- to 11-year-olds
Kyla Lea of California (22/25) and Madox Hodges of Washington (24/25)
12- to 13-year-olds
Bree Besonen of Michigan (24/25) and Brendan Smith of Georgia (25/25)
All six champions will have their names displayed in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., and will visit the Hall as guests of the Elks.
During the Hoop Shoot weekend, the finalists and their families enjoyed a night at a Chicago White Sox game and engaged in community service. They donated supplies and wrote thank-you cards to local veterans at V.A. centers in Chicago as a part of the Elks' pledge to help the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs eliminate homelessness among veterans.
Funded by the Elks National Foundation, the Hoop Shoot has been developing gritty kids for 50 years. The inaugural class of the Elks Hoop Shoot Hall of Fame presentation took place between contests. Members include Seimone Augustus, Steve Alford, Chris Mullin, Doris Zerrusen, Cam and Linda Cronk, Getty Powell, Frank Hise, Vern Larson and Larry Torres. The keynote speaker at the Awards Banquet was Keith Mills, National President of the Elks.
The Elks organization, which will be hosting the Hoop Shoot National Finals again next year, is headquartered in Chicago.
The complete results from this year's Hoop Shoot are available at elks.org/hoopshoot. Next year's tournament tips off in the fall in local communities everywhere. Video of the Finals is available at the Elks National Foundation's YouTube channel, enf.elks.org/HS22Playlist.
Contact: Christine Robinson | Communications, Elks National Foundation
2750 N. Lakeview Avenue, Chicago, IL 60614-2256
773/755-4856 | enf@elks.org
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SOURCE Elks National Foundation | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/six-kids-crowned-champions-elks-hoop-shoot-finals/ | 2022-05-03T18:22:53Z |
Startup builds momentum as it prepares for summer product launch
CHICAGO, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Speede Fitness, a Chicago-area strength training startup that is launching a revolutionary fitness machine in summer 2022, has announced that it has raised $2.5 million in funding in its seed round—oversubscribed from $2 million—and signed on new partners from the NFL, NBA, UFC and the business world.
"When I first trained with Speede, I knew right away it was something different," said UFC fighter Michael Chandler, who has joined the company as an equity holder and brand ambassador. "I started in-depth conversations with the engineers and founders because I've never been able to get that good of a pump in such a short period of time. I did five reps of bicep curls and felt like I'd been doing curls for hours."
The company's new machine, the Speede Challenger, is the first connected fitness machine to combine isotonic, isokinetic, and max eccentric training for an intense, efficient workout that leads to faster strength gains. Speede's hyper-efficient workouts have earned praise from athletes across major sports leagues, including Justin Fields, Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson from the Chicago Bears, Justin Simmons from the Denver Broncos, Marquez Valdes-Scantling from the Kansas City Chiefs, and Mason Plumlee from the Charlotte Hornets, all of whom have become equity holders in the company.
"Speede is intense, crazy and unbeatable," said Simmons, a two-time Pro Bowler who's entering his seventh season with the Broncos. "With this machine, it doesn't take long before you're putting in your maximum effort. I felt like I completed a 45 minute workout in just a few minutes. The Speede Challenger is going to change the game."
In addition to pro athletes, Speede has also partnered with major players in the business and social media spaces. Equity holders include David Meltzer—an entrepreneur, speaker and podcaster who previously served as CEO of the Leigh Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, the inspiration for Jerry McGuire—and entrepreneur and speaker Ed Mylett, the fastest-growing business personality in the history of social media.
"From high achievers to elite athletes, people are recognizing that Speede's effective and efficient workouts are going to completely reimagine strength training and health," said Greg Tepas, Speede's co-founder. "We're not just releasing a product, we're starting a movement. And we can't wait to share the Speede Challenger with the world this summer."
Learn more about Speede Fitness at http://speede.fit, or on Instagram at @speede.fit.
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SOURCE Speede | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/speede-fitness-oversubscribes-seed-round-signs-nfl-nba-ufc-stars-equity-holders/ | 2022-05-03T18:23:00Z |
- Best April ever for Outback
CAMDEN, N.J., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) today reported 45,748 vehicle sales for April 2022, a 25.5 percent decrease compared with April 2021 (61,389), the best April in the company's history. The automaker also reported year-to-date sales of 178,094, a 19.7 percent decrease compared with the same period in 2021. Subaru continues to face inventory challenges as the result of microchip and supply chain issues affecting automakers across the globe.
"Our retailers deserve our heartfelt gratitude for making April the best month of 2022 so far, despite the continued supply chain challenges," said Thomas J. Doll, President and CEO of Subaru of America, Inc. "Our retailer's attitude to delivering the Subaru Experience to our customers is what sets our brand apart from other automotive manufacturers."
In April, Outback was a top performer and had its best April ever with 16,510 sales. Ascent sales for April 2022 increased 18.9 percent, while BRZ sales increased 152.5 percent compared to March 2021.
"Subaru retailers remained exceptionally efficient in April, setting an all-time monthly record for Outback," said Jeff Walters, Senior Vice President of Sales. "Looking forward, we recently announced pricing for the all-new 2023 Solterra, our first-ever EV. Retailer deliveries are expected to begin next month, and we are excited to deliver these much-anticipated cars to our loyal customers."
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 630 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $270 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged nearly 78,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do. For additional information visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Dominick Infante
Director, Corporate Communications
(856) 488-8615
dinfante@subaru.com
Diane Anton
Corporate Communications Manager
(856) 488-5093
danton@subaru.com
Jessica Caufield
Corporate Communications Specialist
(856) 488-3173
jcaufi@subaru.com
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SOURCE Subaru of America, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/subaru-america-inc-reports-april-sales-results/ | 2022-05-03T18:23:07Z |
This Cinco de Mayo, Tequila Don Julio is offering authentic ways to celebrate the many achievements of the Mexican community that do what they do, for the love
NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eighty years ago, Don Julio González founded Tequila Don Julio out of passion, dedication, and commitment – the same characteristics that fuel the love behind anything worth doing. This Cinco de Mayo, Tequila Don Julio is marking its 80th year of devotion to tequila making by honoring 80 individuals who embody the same level of love for their craft as Don Julio González did for his. The inspiring list of 80 devoted Mexicans from around the world, soon to be published on TIME.com, has been collated not on the basis of fame, wealth or power, but rather to celebrate those who pursue their passions and cultivate their crafts all for one reason: Por Amor (for the love).
Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9043251-tequila-don-julio-cinco-de-mayo-por-amor/
The Tequila Don Julio 80 list is spotlighting the incredible Mexican community to demonstrate the immeasurable value that Mexico and Mexican individuals are making on modern culture, craft and creativity around the world. The Tequila Don Julio 80 will feature a range of notable figures including, fashion designer Victor Barragán, activist Saskia Niño de Rivera, journalist Lydia Maria Cacho, and singer-songwriter Sofia Reyes along with DJ Eric Dlux, artist Claudio Limón, bartender Julio Xoxocotla and more.
"I am incredibly proud of my Mexican roots and heritage – it's the core of who I am," says Sofia Reyes. "Tequila Don Julio has been the staple tequila in my family and my culture for generations so I couldn't be more honored to be partnering with a brand that is helping to drive our culture to bigger places. 'Por Amor' is my life's mantra and to be included alongside other Mexicans who also have so much love for what they do, is a remarkable recognition."
With a renewed outlook this year to celebrate more than ever before, Cinco de Mayo offers the perfect opportunity for the authentic celebration of Mexican culture, devotion and love. That's why Tequila Don Julio is providing various ways to spotlight Mexican individuals doing what they do por amor while encouraging genuine celebrations with those who make Cinco de Mayo so special.
- The Don Julio Cinco: With the full return of Cinco de Mayo celebrations, the Don Julio Cinco is also making a comeback this year to help consumers celebrate! As bartenders, restaurant workers, and especially the Mexican workers (who keep this hospitality industry going year after year) are all welcoming us through their doors again, we now have a special seat at their Cinco de Mayo celebrations to enjoy the crafted cocktails, culinary creations and connections to culture that they extend to us por amor.
- Por Amor Sweepstakes: Inspired by the love demonstrated by the Tequila Don Julio 80 list honorees, the brand wants to hear what you do por amor. Los Angeles and New York City residents ages 21+ can text 'AMOR' to 24272 and share what they do for the love, for the chance to win a $150 gift card and an at-home personalized cocktail experience delivered straight to their doors. People can enter through May 5, 2022 and up to five winners will be selected. Rules and restrictions apply, please visit Drizly.com for more information and to see official rules.
"Tequila Don Julio's 80th anniversary is an important milestone for the brand where we are able to honor our late founder Don Julio González and the incredible amount of love and passion he put into building Mexico's original luxury tequila brand," says Christina Choi, Senior Vice President of Tequila, Diageo North America. "We are also proud to be celebrating the incredible Mexican individuals who, like Don Julio González, are leading with the heart to achieve their true purpose while also using our Tequila Don Julio Fund to fuel the next generation of Dons and Doñas."
This year, the Tequila Don Julio Fund is matching the $125,000 worth of Don Julio Cincos with a donation to the Association of Latino Professionals For America, an organization that empowers Latino men and women as leaders of character in the nation, and provides resources that can help turn passions born out of love into professional opportunities. This is part of a 1-million-dollar pledge over four years to charities whose missions support the communities that have helped build our brand to what it is today. To mark its 80th year, the brand is now looking for ways to supercharge its positive impacts on society globally, and more information on this will be shared later this year. To learn more about this visit www.DonJulio.com.
This branded content list has been created in partnership with the award-winning content studio Red Border by TIME and will be published on May 5th at TIME.com/partners/DonJulio80.
ABOUT TEQUILA DON JULIO
Founded on the pioneering agricultural principles of Don Julio González and his personal pursuit of perfection, Tequila Don Julio revolutionized the tequila industry and set the standard for ultra-premium tequila. The original luxury tequila of choice in Mexico, Tequila Don Julio uses only the highest caliber, fully matured and ripened Blue Agave that has been hand-selected from the rich, clay soils of the Los Altos region of the state of Jalisco. The Tequila Don Julio portfolio includes Tequila Don Julio Blanco, Tequila Don Julio Reposado, Tequila Don Julio Añejo, Tequila Don Julio 70, Tequila Don Julio 1942, Tequila Don Julio Primavera and Tequila Don Julio Ultima Reserva. For more information on Tequila Don Julio, please visit www.DonJulio.com.
ABOUT ALPFA
ALPFA (Association of Latino Professionals For America) was the first national Latino professional association in the United States, established in Los Angeles in 1972. Throughout our 47-year history we have experienced steady growth and demonstrated consistent value. ALPFA continues to build upon its proud legacy with a mission: To empower and develop Latino men and women as leaders of character for the nation, in every sector of the global economy. Over the last two years ALPFA has increased its visibility and membership value through a digital transformation that is helping inspire ambition and elevate the impact the organization and its supporters make in the community. An impact that can be seen through the funding of scholarships, educational resources provided, and the visibility for its members.
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SOURCE Tequila Don Julio | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/tequila-don-julio-celebrates-80th-anniversary-by-honoring-80-mexicans-shaping-contemporary-culture-through-their-crafts-one-reason-por-amor/ | 2022-05-03T18:23:13Z |
Work includes trimming along nearly 1,300 miles of power lines in 2022
TOLEDO, Ohio, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Toledo Edison, a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) electric company, is conducting tree trimming and other vegetation management work in communities across its northwest Ohio service area to help enhance service reliability for customers. This year's $5.5 million tree-trimming program will help keep power flowing to customers by helping to prevent tree-related outages, such as those that can occur during the spring and summer storm season.
Since the beginning of the year, tree contractors have trimmed trees along more than 150 miles of electric lines across the greater Toledo area. The company's program remains on track to complete an additional 1,100 miles of tree-trimming work by the end of the year. Similar work is performed annually by FirstEnergy transmission companies along high-voltage power lines in the company's service territory.
Tree trimming is done on a four-year cycle. The program includes inspecting vegetation near the lines to ensure the trees are pruned in a manner that helps preserve the health of the tree while also maintaining safety near electric facilities. Trees that present a danger or are diseased may be removed.
"Trees are a leading cause of power outages, and we complete proactive tree-trimming work each year to prevent tree-related outages during severe weather," said Ed Shuttleworth, president of FirstEnergy's Ohio operations. "This work, paired with the vast upgrades we're making to our local power system, undoubtedly helps minimize the impact of weather-related outages to keep the power flowing safely and reliably to customers."
Tree trimming will be conducted in the following counties and communities this year:
- Defiance – Ayersville, Defiance and Ney
- Fulton – Archbold, Delta, Fayette, Lyons, Metamora, Pettsville and Wauseon
- Henry – Deshler, Holgate, Hamler, Liberty Center and McClure
- Lucas – Holland, Maumee, Oregon, Ottawa Hills, Swanton, Sylvania and Toledo
- Ottawa – Curtice, Genoa and Oak Harbor
- Sandusky – Lindsey
- Williams – Bryan, Edgerton, Edon, Stryker, West Unity and Williams Center
- Wood – Grand Rapids, Northwood, Perrysburg, Rossford and Weston
As part of its notification process, Toledo Edison works with municipalities to inform them of tree-trimming schedules. In addition, customers living in areas along company rights-of-way are notified prior to vegetation management work being done.
The vegetation management work is conducted by certified forestry experts under the company's direction, including Arbormetics Solutions, Jaflo Inc., Asplundh Tree Expert Company, Nelson Tree Service Inc. and Penn Line Service.
In the air, helicopters equipped with aerial saws began trimming trees in April to maintain proper clearances along hard-to-access transmission and distribution corridors throughout Toledo Edison's service area. The aerial saw is typically deployed along transmission and distribution lines in areas that may be environmentally sensitive or inaccessible to bucket trucks and other vehicles. This method typically covers more area in a day than a ground crew might complete in a week. The saw also eliminates the risk of injury to workers using bucket trucks or climbing trees to cut limbs near high voltage equipment.
Toledo Edison serves nearly 315,000 customers in northwest Ohio. Follow Toledo Edison on Twitter @ToledoEdison or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ToledoEdison.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com.
Editor's Note: Photos of utility personnel trimming trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. A video explaining FirstEnergy's vegetation management techniques can also be found on YouTube.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/toledo-edison-invests-55-million-tree-trimming-work-help-minimize-impact-severe-weather/ | 2022-05-03T18:23:21Z |
Fastest-Growing Engineering and Consulting Firm Sees Huge Growth in Revenue, Projects, and Size
ORLANDO, Fla., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Engineering Sciences® (UES), a privately-held national leading engineering and consulting company specializing in geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, building code compliance, threshold inspections and environmental consulting, is proud to announce its ranking as #42 on Engineering News-Record's just released 2022 Top 500 Design Firms. UES also ranked #15 in the General Building category and #31 on the Top 100 Pure Designers.
Each year, the list ranks the largest firms, both publicly and privately held, according to revenue for design-specific services performed in the previous year. UES has achieved consistent upward trajectory on the list: last year, the company shot up from #175 (2020) to #85 (2021).
Significant recent projects include the Miami Signature Bridge, Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts, the I-4 Ultimate Project, Howard Frankland Bridge, Brightline High-Speed Rail and SunRail, Seefried Industrial Properties & Hillwood Investment Properties, Lennar, DR Horton, MLS Stadium for St. Louis City Soccer Club, North Texas Municipal Water District – Bois D'Arc Lake, Billingsley Company – Cypress Waters and the Las Vegas Convention Center, as well as other important transportation, residential, commercial and industrial projects nationwide.
The announcement comes during a period of rapid growth at Universal Engineering Sciences, which plans to add more than 1,500 cross-functional positions over the next three years. Over the last 24 months, the company has deployed an aggressive M&A and organic growth strategy which doubled its employees and tripled its revenue, through more than a dozen significant acquisitions, allowing the company to dramatically expand in the Southeast, Midwest, and West. It also significantly strengthened the leadership team, with the addition of Michael Burke, UES Chairman and former AECOM Chairman and CEO, newly appointed CEO Dave Witsken, and recently named CFO Mike Dear and CHRO Sheila Norden.
"UES is perfectly positioned to capitalize on increased infrastructure spending and the population shift to the Sun Belt," said CEO Dave Witsken. "Our nearly six decades of deep industry experience and trusted client relationships are enabling us to build stronger communities, serve more clients and create exciting career paths for our people as we continue to grow nationwide."
About Universal Engineering Sciences
Universal Engineering Sciences, headquartered in Orlando, is a privately held, rapidly growing engineering and consulting firm with nearly six decades of experience in geotechnical engineering, construction materials testing, building code compliance, threshold inspections and environmental consulting. UES is considered a pioneer of the industry and stands at the forefront of emerging technology, best practices, and influential legislation. Projects include both public and private clients, ranging from transportation and healthcare to commercial and education. UES engineers, geologists, certified inspectors, and scientists offer an unwavering commitment to excellence, approaching each project as an opportunity to cultivate enduring relationships with clients. BDT Capital Partners is the primary investor in the company.
UES has made a commitment to growing through strategic acquisition and organic growth. UES' presence includes locations throughout the high growth markets in the South, Midwest and West, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, Metro DC, California, Utah, Nevada, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas.
UES was named number one on the Zweig Group Hot Firm List which honors the fastest-growing firms in the architecture, engineering, planning, environmental and construction (AEC) industry. With nearly 3,100 professionals across 67 branches in nearly 20 states nationwide, UES consults on projects of all sizes to help deliver needed infrastructure and build safe and successful communities. For more information, please visit universalengineering.com or follow UES on Social Media.
Media Contact: media@universalengineering.com
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SOURCE Universal Engineering Sciences | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/universal-engineering-sciences-jumps-42-enrs-ranking-top-500-design-firms/ | 2022-05-03T18:23:27Z |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- AMPEL BioSolutions today announces a breakthrough in precision and personalized medicine that could revolutionize the way doctors treat inflammatory skin diseases, such as Lupus, Psoriasis, Atopic Dermatitis and Scleroderma. Revealed in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, the paper details AMPEL's breakthrough machine learning approach to characterize disease activity from gene expression data obtained from patient skin biopsies. The lab test, only a concept for the last few years, is now ready for development for practical use. AMPEL's initial focus was Lupus, but the test can be used for many autoimmune or inflammatory skin diseases that affect more than 35 million Americans.
AMPEL's innovative machine learning approach, which is now ready to be developed as a decision support biomarker test, could greatly impact health care by allowing physicians to identify the cause of patient disease symptoms and select appropriate treatment more precisely. AMPEL's approach is sufficiently sensitive to detect changes in clinically uninvolved skin so that early intervention may prevent systemic flares and skin damage apparent in lesions. The application of AMPEL's machine learning approach could also assist pharmaceutical companies in drug development and clinical trials.
Patients with chronic skin diseases often suffer from unpredictable disease activity that impacts daily activities like work and family life. Since unpredictable symptoms often result in trips to the Emergency Room, the ability to predict worsening disease and systemic involvement with routine skin biopsies has important health care and health economics implications.
Paired with AMPEL's pipeline of tools to analyze very large and complex clinical datasets ("Big Data"), AMPEL's machine learning program is a significant step towards implementing a routine skin test for monitoring disease activity and providing decision support for treatment based on a patient's gene expression. This will transform the way doctors treat chronic skin diseases by using the information gathered by the lab test and analyzed by machine learning to diagnose, characterize the precise molecular abnormalities and treat skin diseases before damage begins, saving patients from pain and inconvenience of a disease that otherwise drastically affects their lives.
Pharmaceutical companies test drugs in clinical trials and face the challenge of enrolling patients that have the best potential to respond to the treatment being tested. Enrolling the "wrong" patients can result in trial failure, often leading to cancellation of a drug's development towards FDA approval that may have benefit in a sub-group of the overall patient population. AMPEL's skin test will help pharmaceutical companies identify the patients most likely to respond to specific treatments, thereby helping improve outcomes in clinical trials.
Dr. Peter Lipsky, Chief Medical Officer and Co-Founder, AMPEL BioSolutions: "There is currently no other application that can precisely predict disease activity and propose appropriate treatments, and we are very encouraged by this breakthrough reported in Science Advances. For those patients suffering with chronic skin diseases, meaningful innovation in treatments can't come soon enough. Following the development of our machine learning concept, we can now move forward in working with our partners to develop this skin test that could transform the way doctors can help patients with chronic skin disease manage their condition by offering better and more precise treatments based on individual patient data rather than a general approach."
Dr. Amrie Grammer, Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Founder, AMPEL BioSolutions: ""Our team has developed a tool that can conceivably transform the way patients with skin conditions are treated. As a precision medicine company, AMPEL is changing the paradigm of treatment in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. We are proud to be doing this work in Virginia and will continue to recruit talent and grow our business here."
Dr. Wright Caughman, Professor, Department of Dermatology, Emory School of Medicine, and Exec VP for Health Affairs (Emeritus), Emory University: "AMPEL's highly innovative skin biopsy test will provide an excellent new tool for the diagnosis and management of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases of the skin. AMPEL is presenting this work at the Society for Investigative Dermatology meeting later this month. Once AMPEL's clinical genomic test is CLIA certified, physicians will be able to quickly identify the best medications for each individual patient and obtain faster and safer control of their disease."
About AMPEL BioSolutions LLC (2013-present)
Harnessing Data to Improve Lives through Genomics
AMPEL BioSolutions is a technology company with CRO capabilities based in Charlottesville Virginia. AMPEL was founded to bring personalized precision medicine to patients with diseases involving the immune system and inflammation. AMPEL develops clinical genomic tests to predict flares and drug options for a patient based on machine learning of gene expression. Products expected to launch in 2022-2023 include LuGENE®, a blood test for Lupus, and DermaGENE® a skin biopsy test for Lupus, Psoriasis, Atopic Dermatitis and Scleroderma.
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SOURCE AMPEL BioSolutions | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/virginia-based-ampel-biosolutions-machine-learning-breakthrough-predicts-drug-options-inflammatory-skin-diseases/ | 2022-05-03T18:23:34Z |
The Inaugural Award Recognizes the WCCCD Chancellor for his Transformational Leadership in Higher Education
DETROIT, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Wayne County Community College District Chancellor Dr. Curtis L. Ivery has been named CEO of the Year by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) at a recent ceremony in New York City. The national, inaugural award from the AACC recognizes Ivery's achievements and transformational leadership at Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD).
Under Ivery's tenure, WCCCD grew from 7,000 students to a multi-campus cornerstone institution of higher education that serves more than 70,000 students annually over a six-campus district that covers more than 500 square miles. As the largest urban community college district in the state of Michigan, Ivery has transformed WCCCD into an institution that provides more than 120 career and academic programs to its students and is a regional leader in workforce development and healthcare fields.
Ivery has assembled academic, community, business, and government leaders across a series of roundtables and conferences to develop strategies to expand educational equity and economic mobility in our region, and throughout the nation. He was appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to serve on the Michigan Coronavirus Taskforce to address racial disparities and served on the committee to advise the governor on approaches and strategies towards immediate action to dissolve historical disparities that characterize systemic inequities.
The award from the AACC is in recognition of Chancellor Ivery's outstanding accomplishments and professional contributions to the community college field, and for modeling innovative and successful ways colleges can create meaningful impacts in individuals' lives.
"I am honored to be the first recipient of the CEO of the Year Award," said Chancellor Ivery. "The partnership with the AACC continues to play a major role in our successful transformation and having an impact on students' lives at WCCCD."
About the American Association of Community Colleges
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is the primary advocacy organization for the nation's community colleges. The association represents more than 1,000 2-year, associate degree-granting institutions and nearly 12 million students. www.aacc.nche.edu/
About Wayne County Community College District
WCCCD, one of the largest urban community colleges in Michigan, is a multi-campus district with six campus locations and specialty campuses, including the Mary Ellen Stempfle University Center, the Heinz C. Prechter Educational and Performing Arts Center, the Michigan Institute for Public Safety Education (MIPSE), the Curtis L. Ivery Health and Wellness Education Center, and the Outdoor Careers Training Center. The District serves nearly 70,000 students annually across 32 cities and townships, and more than 500 square miles. WCCCD is committed to the continued development of new programs, workforce transformation, hosting community-based training sessions, and improving student facilities and services. www.wcccd.edu.
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SOURCE WCCCD | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/wcccd-chancellor-dr-curtis-l-ivery-receives-aacc-ceo-year-award/ | 2022-05-03T18:23:41Z |
Work includes trimming along nearly 5,000 miles of power lines
GREENSBURG, Pa., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- West Penn Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), continues to conduct tree-trimming work in communities across its 24-county Pennsylvania service area as part of its ongoing efforts to help enhance service reliability. Maintaining proper clearances around electrical equipment can reduce the frequency and duration of tree-related power outages, especially those associated with severe weather.
Since the beginning of the year, tree contractors have trimmed along 1,000 miles of electric lines in the West Penn Power service area as part of the company's $47.3 million vegetation management program for 2022. West Penn Power's program remains on track to complete an additional 3,900 miles of work by year end.
The tree-trimming program includes inspecting vegetation near the lines to ensure trees are pruned in a manner that helps preserve the health of the tree while also maintaining safety near electric facilities. Trees that present a danger or are diseased also may be removed.
"Trimming trees along power lines helps keep the lights on for our customers and allows our line crews to more quickly restore service after storms," said Scott Wyman, president of FirstEnergy's Pennsylvania operations. "The work is making a difference. On days without severe weather, tree-related outages disrupted electric service to 17 percent fewer West Penn Power customers in 2021 than in 2020."
The company's tree program also includes about $2 million to remove approximately 10,000 dead and dying ash trees along distribution lines in western Pennsylvania. Crews have removed about 1,600 ash trees so far this year. In 2021, the company proactively removed more than 125,000 trees that could have come in contact with power lines, including deteriorated ash trees harmed or killed by the Emerald Ash Borer.
This year, West Penn Power is scheduled to trim trees along power lines in the following counties and communities:
- Allegheny – Cheswick, Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair, South Fayette Township, Harmar Township, Springdale Township, Springdale, Frazer Township, North Fayette Township, East Deer Township, McDonald, Oakdale, South Park Township
- Armstrong – Kiskiminetas Township, Parks Township, South Buffalo Township, North Buffalo Township, East Franklin Township, Madison Township, Mahoning Township, Redbank Township, Bethel Township, Kittanning, Manor Township, Rayburn Township, Parker City, Boggs Township, Wayne Township, Kittanning Township, Gilpin Township, Bradys Bend Township, Leechburg, Cadogan Township, Valley Township
- Bedford – Hyndman, Londonderry Township
- Butler – Butler Township, Center Township, Clay Township, Clearfield Township, Slippery Rock Township, Summit Township, Donegal Township, Fairview Township, Brady Township, Allegheny Township, Parker Township, Muddy Creek Township, Oakland Township
- Cameron – Gibson Township, Lumber Township, Portage Township, Shippen Township
- Centre – Benner Township, Huston Township, Liberty Township, Patton Township, Spring Township, Union Township, Boggs Township, Curtin Township, Howard Township, Unionville, College Township, Halfmoon Township and Worth Township
- Clarion – Brady Township, Madison Township, Perry Township, Porter Township, Richland Township
- Elk – St. Marys, Benezette Township, Jones Township
- Fayette – Connellsville, South Connellsville, Uniontown, Point Marion, Bullskin Township, Luzerne Township, Washington Township, Connellsville Township, Dunbar Township, Perry Township, Georges Township, German Township, Henry Clay Township, Redstone Township, Springhill Township, Stewart Township, Saltlick Township, Menallen Township, South Union Township, Wharton Township
- Franklin – Hamilton Township, Letterkenny Township, Mercersburg, Montgomery Township, St. Thomas Township, Peters Township, Greene Township, Washington Township, Warren Township
- Fulton – Bethel Township, Belfast Township, Thompson Township
- Greene – Center Township, Dunkard Township, Franklin Township, Freeport Township, Gilmore Township, Jackson Township, Jefferson Township, Morgan Township, Morris Township, Whiteley Township, Wayne Township, Clarksville
- Indiana – Saltsburg
- McKean – Kane, Wetmore Township, Sergeant Township, Norwich Township
- Potter – Eulalia Township, Portage Township, Homer Township, Summit Township, Sweden Township
- Somerset – Fairhope Township, Southampton Township
- Washington – Washington, Canonsburg, Cecil Township, Nottingham Township, Peters Township, Union Township, California, Centerville, Charleroi, Fallowfield Township, Amwell Township, Morris Township, North Bethlehem Township, West Bethlehem Township, Chartiers Township, Cross Creek Township, Jefferson Township, McDonald, North Charleroi Township, Green Hills, East Bethlehem Township, Robinson Township, Canton Township, Finleyville, Houston, Independence Township, North Franklin Township, North Strabane Township, Somerset Township, South Franklin Township, South Strabane Township, Bentleyville, Cokeburg, Ellsworth, West Pike Run Township
- Westmoreland – Greensburg, Hempfield Township, Irwin, Jeannette, Murrysville, Unity Township, Rostraver Township, Sewickley Township, Delmont, Scottdale, Bell Township, Upper Burrell, Washington Township, Derry, Derry Township, Penn Township, Allegheny Township, East Huntingdon Township, South Huntingdon Township, North Huntingdon Township, Salem Township, Manor, Vandergrift, West Leechburg, Ligonier Township, Monessen, Cook Township, Donegal Township, Mount Pleasant Township, Unity Township, Fairfield Township, St. Clair Township, Washington Township, Loyalhanna Township, Smithton
As part of its notification process, West Penn Power works with municipalities to inform them of tree-trimming schedules. In addition, customers living in areas along company rights-of-way also are notified prior to vegetation management work being done.
The vegetation management work is conducted by qualified line clearance arborists under the company's direction, including Asplundh Tree Expert Company, Jaflo Inc., Lewis Tree Service Inc., Penn Line Service Inc., Davey Tree Expert Company and Townsend Tree.
West Penn Power serves approximately 725,000 customers in 24 counties within central and southwestern Pennsylvania. Follow West Penn Power on Twitter @W_Penn_Power and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WestPennPower.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of workers using bucket trucks to trim trees near FirstEnergy power lines are available for download on Flickr. A video explaining FirstEnergy's vegetation management techniques can also be found on YouTube.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/west-penn-powers-2022-tree-trimming-program-underway-enhance-service-reliability/ | 2022-05-03T18:23:48Z |
WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers posted a record 11.5 million job openings in March, meaning the United States now has an unprecedented two job openings for every person who is unemployed.
The latest data released Tuesday by the the Bureau of Labor Statistics further reveals an extraordinarily tight labor market that has emboldened millions of Americans to seek better paying jobs, while also contributing to the biggest inflation surge in four decades.
A record 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs in March — a sign that they are confident they can find better pay or improved working conditions elsewhere.
Layoffs, which has been running around 1.8 million a month before the pandemic hit the economy in early 2020, ticked up to 1.4 million in March from 1.35 million in February.
The U.S. job market is on a hot streak. Employers have added an average of more than 540,000 jobs a month for the past year. The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that the economy generated another 400,000 new jobs in April, according to a survey by the data firm FactSet. That would mark an unprecedented 12th straight month that hiring has come in at 400,000 or more.
The U.S. economy and job market roared back with unexpected strength from 2020′s brief but devastating coronavirus recession, fueled by massive government spending and super-low interested rates engineered by the Federal Reserve.
Caught off guard by the sudden rebound in consumer demand, companies scrambled to hire workers and stock their shelves. They were forced to raise wages, and factories, ports and freight yards were overwhelmed with traffic. The result has been shipping delays and higher prices.
In March, consumer prices rose 8.5% from a year earlier — the hottest inflation since 1981.
Where things go from here is uncertain. The Fed is raising short-term interest rates to combat inflation. The COVID-19 stimulus from the federal government is gone. And the war in Ukraine has clouded the economic outlook.
Despite strong hiring, the United States is still 1.6 million short of the jobs it had in February 2020, just before the coronavirus hit the economy; and that shortfall does not take into account the additional jobs that should have been added by a growing population.
For now anyway, the job market looks strong.
“Employees have strong job security and confidence in their ability to find new work,″ said Nick Bunker, director of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab. “The labor market is still very much a job seeker’s market. Something dramatic will have to happen for this to change anytime soon.″ | https://www.kitv.com/news/business/employers-post-record-11-5-million-job-openings-in-march/article_6835c344-caf6-11ec-ac3b-f799a5f8c8c7.html | 2022-05-03T18:55:04Z |
...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS
THROUGH 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
.Several pulses of long-period south swell are expected to fill in over
the next couple of days.
...HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
* WHAT...Surf 7 to 10 feet, building to 8 to 12 feet.
* WHERE...South facing shores of all islands.
* WHEN...Until 6 PM HST Thursday.
* IMPACTS...Moderate. Expect strong breaking waves, shore break,
and strong longshore and rip currents making swimming
difficult and dangerous.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Beachgoers, swimmers, and surfers should heed all advice given by
ocean safety officials and exercise caution.
&&
Weather Alert
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...East to northeast winds 20 to 25 kt...up to 30 kt over
the Alenuihaha Channel. Seas 7 to 12 feet.
* WHERE...All Hawaiian Coastal Waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Wednesday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
FILE - A Wall Street sign is shown in the Financial District, Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks drifted between small gains and losses in morning trading on Wall Street Tuesday as investors await Wednesday’s decision by the Federal Reserve on interest rates.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% as of 10:18 a.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 39 points, or 0.1%, to 12,524 and the Nasdaq fell 0.1%.
The benchmark S&P 500 had more gainers than losers, but the broader market was held back by weakness from technology stocks. Many companies in the sector have pricey stock values and therefore have more force in pushing the major indexes up or down.
Energy stocks made solid gains following encouraging earnings reports from several oil and gas companies. BP jumped 6.9% after reporting its highest quarterly profit in more than a decade thanks to surging oil and gas prices. Devon Energy rose 5.3% and Diamondback Energy gained 3.2% after they reported strong financial results.
Wall Street’s key focus over the next several days is the Fed. The central bank is meeting on Tuesday and will release a statement on Wednesday. Investors expect it to raise its benchmark rate by twice the usual amount this week as it steps up its fight against inflation, which is at a four-decade high. It has already raised its key overnight rate once, the first such increase since 2018, and Wall Street is expecting several big increases over the coming months.
The Fed’s aggressive shift to raise interest rates comes as rising inflation puts more pressure on businesses and consumers. Higher costs for energy and other commodities have prompted many businesses to raise prices and issue cautious forecasts to their investors. Wall Street and economists are worried that higher prices on everything from food to gas and clothing will prompt a slowdown in consumer spending and crimp economic growth.
Bond yields eased. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.93% from 2.99% late Monday. Treasury yields have been generally rising all year as investors prepare for higher interest rates, which will make borrowing money more expensive.
Investors have been closely reviewing the latest round of company earnings to get more details on how inflation is impacting business and consumer activity.
Household goods giant Clorox rose 3.5% after reporting solid quarterly profits, but it also cut its profit forecast for the year because of higher costs. Starbucks will report its results later Tuesday. CVS Health will report its financial results on Wednesday. | https://www.kitv.com/news/business/stocks-drift-in-early-going-on-wall-street-ahead-of-the-fed/article_15412328-caf0-11ec-b054-9b67630770ab.html | 2022-05-03T18:55:11Z |
...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS
THROUGH 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
.Several pulses of long-period south swell are expected to fill in over
the next couple of days.
...HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
* WHAT...Surf 7 to 10 feet, building to 8 to 12 feet.
* WHERE...South facing shores of all islands.
* WHEN...Until 6 PM HST Thursday.
* IMPACTS...Moderate. Expect strong breaking waves, shore break,
and strong longshore and rip currents making swimming
difficult and dangerous.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Beachgoers, swimmers, and surfers should heed all advice given by
ocean safety officials and exercise caution.
&&
Weather Alert
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...East to northeast winds 20 to 25 kt...up to 30 kt over
the Alenuihaha Channel. Seas 7 to 12 feet.
* WHERE...All Hawaiian Coastal Waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Wednesday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
HONOLULU (KITV4) - Breezy and cloudy Tuesday with occasional showers. Some windward showers may be briefly heavy with a slight chance of thunderstorms. Highs 79 to 84. Locally breezy trade winds 10 to 25 mph.
A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect through today for Big Island Summits
Breezy trade winds will be rather wet for most of this week, with some locally heavy downpours, and possibly a thunderstorm, through Tuesday. Most of the showers will soak windward communities, but a few showers will occasionally drift to leeward areas. Lighter winds and fewer showers are anticipated by the weekend.
High Surf Advisory for south-facing shores 6 pm Thursday
A long-period northwest swell will continue to fill in across exposed north and west waters today, then get a reinforcement late tonight into Wednesday. With the reinforcement arrival, surf heights could reach low-end advisory levels, then lower gradually through the remainder of the week.
The current long- period south swell is expected to hold today. An even larger south swell will fill in later today, peak Thursday then slowly lower through rest of the week. A High Surf Advisory is in effect through Thursday 6 PM HST for all south facing shores as these south swells maintain elevated surf.
Trade winds over and upwind of the state will continue to produce above normal, short-period surf along east facing shores through this next week. Surf heights are expected lower during the second half of the week as the trade winds weaken some.
Do you have a story idea? Email news tips to news@kitv.com | https://www.kitv.com/news/local/tuesday-weather-breezy-and-cloudy-heavy-showers-and-thunderstorms-possible/article_983f3488-caee-11ec-a2aa-ef024a04e25d.html | 2022-05-03T18:55:17Z |
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday blasted what he called a “radical” leaked draft opinion suggesting the Supreme Court is poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, warning that a “whole range of rights” are in jeopardy if it holds.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Biden said he hoped the draft wouldn’t be finalized by justices, contending it reflects a “fundamental shift in American jurisprudence” that threatens “other basic rights” like privacy and marriage.
He added: “If this decision holds, it’s really quite a radical decision.”
Earlier Tuesday, Chief Justice John Roberts confirmed the authenticity of the leaked draft and said he had ordered an investigation into what he called an “egregious breach of trust.”
In the high court’s first public comment since the draft was published late Monday, Roberts said “Although the document described in yesterday’s reports is authentic, it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case.”
In a statement, he said, “To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report.
A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states and could have huge ramifications for this year’s elections. But it’s unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter — opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand” that the court not overturn Roe.
“If the court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Biden said. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
Though past efforts have failed, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he intended to hold a vote.
“This is as urgent and real as it gets,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Every American is going to see on which side every senator stands.”
Whatever the outcome, the Politico report late Monday represented an extremely rare breach of the court’s secretive deliberation process, and on a case of surpassing importance.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states. It was signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
The document was labeled a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The court is expected to rule on the case before its term ends in late June or early July.
The draft opinion in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services. It would allow individual states to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” it states, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed Roe’s finding of a constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
A Supreme Court spokeswoman said the court had no comment, and The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the draft Politico posted, which dates from February.
Politico said only that it received “a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document.”
The draft opinion strongly suggests that when the justices met in private shortly after arguments in the case on Dec. 1, at least five — all the conservatives except perhaps Chief Justice John Roberts — voted to overrule Roe and Casey, and Alito was assigned the task of writing the court’s majority opinion.
Votes and opinions in a case aren’t final until a decision is announced or, in a change wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, posted on the court’s website.
The report comes amid a legislative push to restrict abortion in several Republican-led states — Oklahoma being the most recent — even before the court issues its decision. Critics of those measures have said low-income and minority women will disproportionately bear the burden of the new restrictions.
The leak jumpstarted the intense political reverberations that the high court’s ultimate decision was expected to have in the midterm election year. Already, politicians on both sides of the aisle were seizing on the report to fundraise and energize their supporters on both sides of the issue.
Democrats contended that several conservative justices misled senators about their feelings.
And Maine Republican Susan Collins, who supports abortion rights but was a pivotal GOP vote for the confirmations of Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, said if the draft reflects the final opinion of the court, “it would be completely inconsistent with what Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh said in their hearings and in our meetings in my office.”
An AP-NORC poll in December found that Democrats increasingly see protecting abortion rights as a high priority for the government.
Other polling shows relatively few Americans want to see Roe overturned. In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should leave the Roe v. Wade decision as is; just 29% said the court should overturn the decision. In general, AP-NORC polling finds a majority of the public favors abortion being legal in most or all cases.
Still, when asked about abortion policy generally, Americans have nuanced attitudes on the issue, and many don’t think that abortion should be possible after the first trimester or that women should be able to obtain a legal abortion for any reason.
Alito, in the draft, said the court can’t predict how the public might react and shouldn’t try. “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion, according to Politico.
People on both sides of the issue gathered outside the Supreme Court waving signs and chanting on a balmy spring night, following the release of the Politico report, and again on Tuesday.
In a joint statement from Congress’ top two Democrats, Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years — not just on women but on all Americans.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, said people seeking abortions could head to New York. “For anyone who needs access to care, our state will welcome you with open arms. Abortion will always be safe & accessible in New York,” Hochul said in a tweet.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in a statement, “We will let the Supreme Court speak for itself and wait for the Court’s official opinion.” But local officials were praising the draft.
“This puts the decision making back into the hands of the states, which is where it should have always been,” said Mississippi state Rep. Becky Currie.
At Supreme Court arguments in December, all six conservative justices signaled that they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions that suggested that overruling Roe and Casey was a possibility.
Only Roberts seemed prepared to take the smaller step of upholding the 15-week ban, though that too would be a significant weakening of abortion rights.
Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of viability, around 24 weeks.
Twenty-six states are certain or likely to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, according to the pro-abortion rights think tank the Guttmacher Institute. Of those, 22 states already have total or near-total bans on the books that are currently blocked by Roe, aside from Texas. The Texas law banning it after six weeks has been allowed to go into effect by the Supreme Court due to its unusual civil enforcement structure. Four more states are considered likely to quickly pass bans if Roe is overturned.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia, meanwhile, have protected access to abortion in state law.
This year, anticipating a decision overturning or gutting Roe, eight conservative states have already moved to restrict abortion rights. Oklahoma, for example, passed several bills in recent weeks, including one that goes into effect this summer making it a felony to perform an abortion. Like many anti-abortion bills passed in GOP-led states this year, it does not have exceptions for rape or incest, only to save the life of the mother.
Eight Democratic-leaning states protected or expanded access to the procedure, including California, which has passed legislation making the procedure less expensive and is considering other bills to make itself an “abortion sanctuary” if Roe is overturned.
___
Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko in Washington and Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City contributed to this report. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/biden-blasts-radical-draft-warns-other-rights-threatened/article_3d5aa4c0-caf9-11ec-b07c-db9f2bbf3b96.html | 2022-05-03T18:55:23Z |
...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES OF ALL ISLANDS
THROUGH 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
.Several pulses of long-period south swell are expected to fill in over
the next couple of days.
...HIGH SURF ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
* WHAT...Surf 7 to 10 feet, building to 8 to 12 feet.
* WHERE...South facing shores of all islands.
* WHEN...Until 6 PM HST Thursday.
* IMPACTS...Moderate. Expect strong breaking waves, shore break,
and strong longshore and rip currents making swimming
difficult and dangerous.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Beachgoers, swimmers, and surfers should heed all advice given by
ocean safety officials and exercise caution.
&&
Weather Alert
...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM HST WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...East to northeast winds 20 to 25 kt...up to 30 kt over
the Alenuihaha Channel. Seas 7 to 12 feet.
* WHERE...All Hawaiian Coastal Waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 AM HST Wednesday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
&&
(CNN) - Chief Justice John Roberts says the Supreme Court will investigate the release of a draft opinion that would strike down Roe v. Wade and called the episode "a singular and egregious breach" of trust.
"This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here. I have directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak," Roberts said in a statement Tuesday.
"To the extent this betrayal of the confidences of the Court was intended to undermine the integrity of our operations, it will not succeed," Roberts said. "The work of the Court will not be affected in any way. We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce -- permanent employees and law clerks alike -- intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law. Court employees have an exemplary and important tradition of respecting the confidentiality of the judicial process and upholding the trust of the Court."
The court's public affairs office confirmed the document published by Politico is "authentic," but stressed that "it does not represent a decision by the Court or the final position of any member on the issues in the case."
According to the draft authored by Justice Samuel Alito, the court would overturn Roe v. Wade's holding of a federal constitutional right to an abortion.
It appears that five justices would be voting to overturn Roe. Roberts did not want to completely overturn Roe v. Wade, meaning he would have dissented from part of Alito's draft opinion, sources tell CNN, likely with the court's three liberals.
That would mean that the five conservative justices that would make up the majority overturning Roe are Alito and Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
The court did not comment on the potential breakdown of how justices would vote. Roberts did not respond to questions from CNN at his house Tuesday morning. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/john-roberts-calls-release-of-draft-roe-v-wade-reversal-a-singular-and-egregious-breach/article_b72ce6a6-cafd-11ec-a01e-b339926818c0.html | 2022-05-03T18:55:29Z |
WASHINGTON (AP) — A draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court could be poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide, according to a Politico report.
A decision to overrule Roe would lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states and could have huge ramifications for this year’s elections. But it’s unclear if the draft represents the court’s final word on the matter — opinions often change in ways big and small in the drafting process.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that the “basic fairness and the stability of our law demand” that the court not overturn Roe. While emphasizing that he couldn’t speak to the authenticity of the draft, Biden said his administration is preparing for all eventualities for when the court ultimate rules and that a decision overturning Roe would raise the stakes for voters in November’s heated midterm elections.
“If the court does overturn Roe, it will fall on our nation’s elected officials at all levels of government to protect a woman’s right to choose,” Biden said. “And it will fall on voters to elect pro-choice officials this November. At the federal level, we will need more pro-choice Senators and a pro-choice majority in the House to adopt legislation that codifies Roe, which I will work to pass and sign into law.”
Whatever the outcome, the Politico report late Monday represented an extremely rare breach of the court’s secretive deliberation process, and on a case of surpassing importance.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start,” the draft opinion states. It was signed by Justice Samuel Alito, a member of the court’s 6-3 conservative majority who was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
The document was labeled a “1st Draft” of the “Opinion of the Court” in a case challenging Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks, a case known as Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The court is expected to rule on the case before its term ends in late June or early July.
The draft opinion in effect states there is no constitutional right to abortion services and would allow individual states to more heavily regulate or outright ban the procedure.
“We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled,” it states, referencing the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey that affirmed Roe’s finding of a constitutional right to abortion services but allowed states to place some constraints on the practice. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
A Supreme Court spokeswoman said the court had no comment, and The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the draft Politico posted, which dates from February.
Politico said only that it received “a copy of the draft opinion from a person familiar with the court’s proceedings in the Mississippi case along with other details supporting the authenticity of the document.”
The draft opinion strongly suggests that when the justices met in private shortly after arguments in the case on Dec. 1, at least five voted to overrule Roe and Casey, and Alito was assigned the task of writing the court’s majority opinion.
Votes and opinions in a case aren’t final until a decision is announced or, in a change wrought by the coronavirus pandemic, posted on the court’s website.
The report comes amid a legislative push to restrict abortion in several Republican-led states — Oklahoma being the most recent — even before the court issues its decision. Critics of those measures have said low-income and minority women will disproportionately bear the burden of the new restrictions.
The leak jumpstarted the intense political reverberations that the high court’s ultimate decision was expected to have in the midterm election year. Already, politicians on both sides of the aisle were seizing on the report to fundraise and energize their supporters on either side of the hot-button issue.
An AP-NORC poll in December found that Democrats increasingly see protecting abortion rights as a high priority for the government.
Other polling shows relatively few Americans want to see Roe overturned. In 2020, AP VoteCast found that 69% of voters in the presidential election said the Supreme Court should leave the Roe v. Wade decision as is; just 29% said the court should overturn the decision. In general, AP-NORC polling finds a majority of the public favors abortion being legal in most or all cases.
Still, when asked about abortion policy generally, Americans have nuanced attitudes on the issue, and many don’t think that abortion should be possible after the first trimester or that women should be able to obtain a legal abortion for any reason.
Alito, in the draft, said the court can’t predict how the public might react and shouldn’t try. “We cannot allow our decisions to be affected by any extraneous influences such as concern about the public’s reaction to our work,” Alito wrote in the draft opinion, according to Politico.
People on both sides of the issue quickly gathered outside the Supreme Court waving signs and chanting on a balmy spring night, following the release of the Politico report.
Reaction was swift from elected officials in Congress and across the country.
In a joint statement from Congress’ top two Democrats, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “If the report is accurate, the Supreme Court is poised to inflict the greatest restriction of rights in the past fifty years — not just on women but on all Americans.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, said people seeking abortions could head to New York. “For anyone who needs access to care, our state will welcome you with open arms. Abortion will always be safe & accessible in New York,” Hochul said in a tweet.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said in a statement, “We will let the Supreme Court speak for itself and wait for the Court’s official opinion.” But local officials were praising the draft.
“This puts the decision making back into the hands of the states, which is where it should have always been,” said Mississippi state Rep. Becky Currie.
Congress could act, too, though a bill that would write Roe’s protections into federal law stalled in the Senate after passing the House last year with only Democratic votes.
At Supreme Court arguments in December, all six conservative justices signaled that they would uphold the Mississippi law, and five asked questions that suggested that overruling Roe and Casey was a possibility.
Only Chief Justice John Roberts seemed prepared to take the smaller step of upholding the 15-week ban, though that too would be a significant weakening of abortion rights.
Until now, the court has allowed states to regulate but not ban abortion before the point of viability, around 24 weeks.
The court’s three liberal justices seemed likely to be in dissent.
It’s impossible to know what efforts are taking place behind the scenes to influence any justice’s vote. If Roberts is inclined to allow Roe to survive, he need only pick off one other conservative vote to deprive the court of a majority to overrule the abortion landmark.
Twenty-six states are certain or likely to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, according to the pro-abortion rights think tank the Guttmacher Institute. Of those, 22 states already have total or near-total bans on the books that are currently blocked by Roe, aside from Texas. The state’s law banning it after six weeks has already been allowed to go into effect by the Supreme Court due to its unusual civil enforcement structure. Four more states are considered likely to quickly pass bans if Roe is overturned.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia, meanwhile, have protected access to abortion in state law.
This year, anticipating a decision overturning or gutting Roe, eight conservative states have already moved to restrict abortion rights. Oklahoma, for example, passed several bills in recent weeks, including one that goes into effect this summer making it a felony to perform an abortion. Like many anti-abortion bills passed in GOP-led states this year, it does not have exceptions for rape or incest, only to save the life of the mother.
Eight Democratic-leaning states protected or expanded access to the procedure, including California, which has passed legislation making the procedure less expensive and is considering other bills to make itself an “abortion sanctuary” if Roe is overturned.
The draft looked legitimate to some followers of the court. Veteran Supreme Court lawyer Neal Katyal, who worked as a clerk to Justice Stephen Breyer and therefore has been in a position to see drafts, wrote on Twitter: “There are lots of signals the opinion is legit. The length and depth of analysis, would be very hard to fake. It says it is written by Alito and definitely sounds like him.”
___
Associated Press writers Jessica Gresko in Washington and Lindsay Whitehurst in Salt Lake City contributed to this report. | https://www.kitv.com/news/national/report-supreme-court-draft-suggests-roe-could-be-overturned/article_04cc7626-caf2-11ec-9ef5-db44a3f1076b.html | 2022-05-03T18:55:35Z |
Memphis café gets new name, continues to be fixture of community
When Anna Gascoyne moved to Memphis, Doughnut Girls, a downtown café, gave her the friendships she needed to thrive in the community.
"I walked in and (the then-owner) was there. And she smiled and waved at me and waved me over to sit next to her. And I did," Gascoyne said. "And then our friendship just grew and grew from there and I spent a lot of mornings in there."
Now, Gascoyne is offering the same warm welcome and smiling faces to Memphis as the owner of Honey Bee Cafe, formerly Doughnut Girls.
“Sometimes it’s just nice when someone knows your name when you walk in," Gascoyne said.
Gascoyne bought the café, located at 80820 Main St., from the previous owners June 2021. The former owner of the café and Gascoyne's best friend, who had recently moved to South Carolina, called Gascoyne unexpectedly and asked if she would like to buy it after the then-manager put in her two weeks' notice.
"I said sure," Gascoyne said.
She said she kept all menu items and the original recipes, but added a few items, such as bubble tea, fresh-brewed iced tea and lemonade and cold-brew coffee.
She changed the name to Honey Bee Cafe in April because she wanted to make it her own.
"I want to be my own person," Gascoyne said. "I'm able to do things the way I want it."
She also wanted to draw attention to the fact that the café sells more than just doughnuts, as the previous name suggested. It also sells sandwiches, salads, home-made soups, sides and more.
"We had longtime residents live in that town their entire life...And they would say, oh you sell more than doughnuts? Yes, we sell more than just doughnuts," she said.
Gascoyne has been in the restaurant business for about 25 years, doing everything from bartending and waitressing to managing restaurants. This is her first time owning her own restaurant.
Gascoyne said she enjoys being a part of the community where she lives, works and sends her children to school. She knows most customers' names and it's rare for her to see someone walk in she doesn't know in.
"My favorite part is definitely just being in the community of Memphis. I love Memphis," Gascoyne said. "Just seeing my customers all the time and hearing their stories and just being a part of it."
The café is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays. To learn more, call (810) 392-2420 or visit their Facebook page at Honey Bee Cafe.
Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or lfitzgeral@gannett.com. | https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/05/03/memphis-cafe-continues-fixture-community/9618020002/ | 2022-05-03T19:01:44Z |
St. Clair County looking for input on waterfront park in Clay Twp.
St. Clair County Parks and Recreation is hosting a public input session later this month to get feedback on the waterfront property in Clay Township slated to be a new county park.
The county formally took ownership of the land at 2431 Pointe Tremble Road along the North Channel of the St. Clair River in December after a state grant helped secure the purchase through Six River Land Conservancy.
Currently, there is no beach access for residents and visitors on the southern end of the county, and local officials have said they’ve had their sights on developing a new park to accommodate that goal for several years.
But now, Nancy Winzer, director of parks and rec for the county, said they want to make sure they’re “hitting the needs of the people” while they work to finalize new park plans.
The input session itself is set for 6 p.m. on May 17 at Clay Township Hall, 4710 Pointe Tremble.
“We want to encourage people to come down there and (tell us) what they want to see in the park,” Winzer said. “It’s a great addition to that end of the county, and so we want to make sure we’re doing it right.”
The county received more than $1.4 million in funds through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources for the purchase of 300 feet of shoreline property in Clay.
Six Rivers picked up several acres that neighbors the existing MDNR boat launch in June 2020.
The property was purchased for $1.6 million. According to deed documents, the original agreement through the DNR’s Trust Fund details future project requirements that ensure the long-term conservation of the property and its use for public outdoor recreation.
Construction a ways away while county irons out details
Clay Township Supervisor Artie Bryson has said he’s among the officials whose bucket list has included a beachfront park in that area.
On Tuesday, he said he was excited to hear people’s input while the county braces for a lengthy approval process through the state.
“I, myself, would like to keep it simple to make it a nice beach destination and provide amenities to that,” Bryson said.
According to a release from the county, the input session will include a presentation of the new park property and the public facilities proposed for the site, as well as details from design consultants and a period for public comments and questions.
County officials have emphasized that they’re not presenting a final design for the project. In the past, concept drawings have shown long pathways from the roadway toward the water, picnic areas, bathrooms and concessions, a pond, kayak launch, fishing dock and beach.
“Right now, we’re collecting data. We’ve hired an engineering firm to start looking at what possibilities are there with the beach situation,” Winzer said. “We’ll be certainly looking for grants in the next year. But realistically, we’re probably not looking at any type of construction for another two years.”
For more information, contact the parks and rec office at (810) 989-6960.
Contact Jackie Smith at jssmith@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @Jackie20Smith. | https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/05/03/st-clair-county-looking-input-waterfront-park-clay-township/9618971002/ | 2022-05-03T19:01:50Z |
Trial begins for Brown City man accused of causing fatal drug-induced crash
The trial for a man accused of killing another in a drug-induced crash began Tuesday morning.
Jury selection for the trial for James Stanich, of Brown City, began shortly after 9 a.m.
Stanich is charged with second-degree murder, operating while intoxicated causing death and tampering with evidence.
Stanich allegedly drove his Chevrolet pickup the wrong way on I-69, crashing head-on into a Dodge Challenger east of M-19 in Emmett Township at about 10 p.m. March 7, 2021, the St. Clair County Sheriff Department has said.
The impact forced the Challenger into the path of an eastbound Honda Accord, causing a second collision, police have said.
Police witnesses testified at Stanich's examination hearing in May 2021 that Stanich told police he had huffed Dust-Off, a computer keyboard cleaner, in the hours before the crash.
Evidence collected at the scene also indicated that Stanich threw cans of Dust-Off from his vehicle at the crash scene in an effort to conceal them, a witness said.
The crash caused the death of 30-year-old Graham Wiltse and injured two others.
Contact Laura Fitzgerald at (810) 941-7072 or lfitzgeral@gannett.com. | https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/2022/05/03/trial-begins-man-accused-causing-fatal-drug-induced-crash/9618051002/ | 2022-05-03T19:01:56Z |
Port Huron, PH Northern softball teams rebuilding with youth-filled rosters
We're already less than a month away from the MHSAA softball district tournaments. Teams are well into their conference schedules as they prepare for the stretch run.
Port Huron and Port Huron Northern not only share the same town, but a similar roster makeup as well. They're both teeming with youth.
Port Huron is keeping it positive
The Big Reds are still figuring out their identity. But they've got one part of their brand already set.
"Our biggest strength is that we don't quit," Port Huron coach Chris Kozlowski said. "I've always been pretty happy with the effort we put forth. We're just always going to keep pushing. It doesn't matter if it's 1-0 or 15-0, we're going to push."
That's exactly what the Big Reds did in their 6-5 win over Northern on Monday, which lifted their record to 3-8 on the season.
After trailing 3-0 in the first inning, Port Huron gradually clawed its way back.
"I feel like we're starting to play more like a team and as a family," said Neelie Reed, who finished with two hits and 3 RBIs in the victory.
The sophomore credited her offensive success to her upbeat attitude.
"I find that when I get down, I play worse because I'm focusing more on the bad parts of the game," Reed said. "When I'm more positive, it helps lift me up and not think about the (negatives)."
It's a mindset that the whole team shares.
"We preach that all the time," Kozlowski said. "To be positive and support each other. It's just one pitch (at a time). It doesn't matter what count you're in or what's going on — it's that one pitch. Just relax, smile, take a breath and go for it."
Leadoff hitter Julia Gilbert has mastered that approach. The senior totaled three hits, a run and an RBI against the Huskies.
"I just think of it as me and the pitcher," Gilbert said. "I don't worry about anything (else) until I get two strikes."
She didn't see a single strike in her third at bat Monday, as Northern chose to intentionally walk the Port Huron captain. It's the third time that's happened to Gilbert this season.
"Never in my almost 30 years of doing this has anyone been walked intentionally three times," Kozlowski said. "Julia has three times this season in 11 games. That's pretty impressive."
"I wasn't really worried about it because Neelie was behind me," Gilbert said. "I was like, 'I know she's going to hit it.' Then she got a double and we scored two (runs)."
"We've got the right positive and mental attitude," Kozlowski said. "Now we've just got to put that out there on the field too."
Northern embraces its 'process'
While the Huskies' roster is peppered with veterans like senior Abby Landschoot and junior Becca Larson, a good chunk of it features players that are new to the high school level.
"We're so young," said Northern coach Ryan Shagena, whose team is at 1-12 so far. "We have five freshman starting and a sophomore. As they mature, they're going to learn how to overcome little obstacles within the game.
"They've all had their really good moments and then they've all had their freshman and sophomore moments too. That's part of the growth."
There have been flashes of potential from the underclassmen. Freshman Shannon Fealko went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, one run and a walk against Warren Cousino on April 12. Abriana Belanger, another freshman, went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and scored a run against Lakeville this past Sunday.
But Shagena wants to see more consistency from his team as a whole. Especially when it comes to playing a complete game from start to finish.
"It's just that right now, we're not putting seven innings together," Shagena said. "Once we start rolling and doing that ... let's get a couple of wins under our belts and just keep building."
Still, there isn't any quit in these Huskies. They stormed back to tie Monday's game against Port Huron in the top of the sixth inning. Anna Hall drove in a run with a double and eventually scored on an error to knot it up, 5-5.
"It's a process," Shagena said of Northern's development. "As long as our kids keep buying in and doing what we're asking them to do, they're going to see rewards for their effort. There's no doubt at it. They're talented enough to do that.
"They're working hard and I don't seem them hanging their heads or anything. I'm proud with them and their effort."
Contact Brenden Welper at bwelper@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendenWelper. | https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/sports/2022/05/03/softball-port-huron-keeps-positive-northern-builds-off-good-moments/9621872002/ | 2022-05-03T19:02:02Z |
ARH holds career fair to battle worker shortages
BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) - Appalachian Regional Healthcare (ARH) is hosting a three-day career fair to battle worker shortages. Since the start of the pandemic, the hospital has held monthly career fairs with the goal of hiring more nurses.
They say the event helps them expedite the hiring process. Potential employees can meet with employers, complete their applications and even have an on-site interview.
Michelle Williams, ARH’s Regional Humane Resources Director, says their hospital is no different from those across the nation. She says they are all in need of nurses.
“We like to have these various recruitment events so that we can show the community that we are here to support them and the healthcare needs of this community and walk them through the process in terms of what positions we have available and how they can apply for those positions and get them ready as soon as possible.”
The fair kicked off today, Tuesday, May 3, at Beckley ARH. Event moderators said they had several applicants.
The fair will be held again in Beckley on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. before heading to Summers County on Thursday.
Beckley ARH is currently looking to hire RNs, LPNs, Nursing Aides, Rad Techs and more. Those interested can apply online at arhcareers.org or text 606-438-2743.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/arh-holds-career-fair-battle-worker-shortages/ | 2022-05-03T19:10:06Z |
Attorney reacts to jail report, plans to seek federal civil rights class action
BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) - Another attorney is joining forces with attorneys Tim Lupardus and Zach Whitten to address a growing number of complaints regarding the inhumane treatment of inmates in Southern Regional Jail (SRJ).
Steve New of New, Taylor, & Associates, said he will be joining the attorneys to tackle some of the cases. New previously settled cases involving a Hepatitis outbreak at the Raleigh Heart Clinic in Beckley, and more recently, settled cases involving the sexual abuse of patients at the Beckley VA Medical Center.
He also offered his reaction to the release of the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation into the living conditions of inmates at SRJ on Thursday.
“It was clear upon reading the Department of Homeland Security report that it was an inside job to counter the negative publicity and good journalism that you and others have been doing. Instead of trying to arrive at the truth, it was done quickly and was clearly an outcome-driven investigation,” said New in an interview with WVVA News.
New plans to work with the attorneys to separate out some of the cases, handling the allegations regarding death and medical neglect on an individual bases. Meanwhile, when it comes to the living conditions within the regional jail system as a whole, he said he plans to seek a federal civil rights class action suit.
“We’re getting calls from all around the state, Zach Whitten, Tim Lupardus, and others, and what that tells me is this is systemic within the regional jail system authority. There truly needs to be an outside, independent investigation, not subject to political pressure or anything else to arrive at the truth wherever that may leave the state of West Virginia.
Through legal action, he hopes to address not only the overcrowding within the regional jail system, but its funding.
“It’s still someone’s child, someone’s daughter, someone’s nephew, someone’s grandchild. They matter to someone. They may not matter to someone who is a bureaucrat in West Virginia state government. But that matter to someone,” he said.
“The good thing is litigation is a truth finding function,” he added.
To read the Dept of Homeland Security’s report, visit SKM_C45822041216400 (wv.gov)
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/attorney-reacts-jail-report-plans-seek-federal-civil-rights-class-action/ | 2022-05-03T19:10:12Z |
CDC restates recommendation for masks on planes, trains
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Tuesday restated their recommendation that Americans wear masks on planes, trains and buses, despite a court ruling last month that struck down a national mask mandate on public transportation.
Americans age 2 and older should wear a well-fitting masks while on public transportation, including in airports and train stations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended, citing the current spread of coronavirus and projections of future COVID-19 trends.
For months, the Transportation Security Administration had been enforcing a requirement that passengers and workers wear masks.
The government had repeatedly extended the mandate, and the latest one had been set to expire May 3. But a federal judge in Florida struck down the rule on April 18. The same day, the TSA said it would no longer enforce the mandate.
The CDC asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision, which the department did. On Tuesday, CDC officials declined to comment on the status of the appeal. DOJ officials did not immediately respond to a request for information.
___
The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/cdc-restates-recommendation-masks-planes-trains/ | 2022-05-03T19:10:18Z |
Couple arrested after man abuses, tortures girlfriend’s children, deputies say
SALISBURY, N.C. (WBTV/Gray News) – A North Carolina couple has been arrested after the woman’s boyfriend abused and tortured her two children, ages 2 and 9, officials said.
According to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, 27-year-old William Joseph Elliot Jr. and 25-year-old Patricia Leigh Hall were arrested Friday. Officials said Elliot abused the children, and Hall allowed the abuse to happen.
The investigation started when deputies responded to a call on April 8 regarding the well-being of the 2-year-old boy. Deputies said the child was suffering from facial injuries, possibly caused by abuse.
According to Major John Sifford, the toddler had a bloody nose when deputies arrived at the home. The toddler was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Following the investigation, authorities said they determined that Elliot, the boyfriend of the children’s mother, abused and tortured both children on multiple occasions.
According to the report, Hall allowed Elliott to slap the 2-year-old child, leaving marks on the child’s head. Elliott is also accused of holding the 2-year-old down in the bathtub while spraying the child’s face with water. He also allegedly bruised the child’s mouth, jaws and face, which led to the bloody nose that deputies reported seeing when they visited the house.
Elliott also is accused of stuffing rags and clothing into the young child’s mouth as punishment.
Rowan County detectives along with the Department of Social Services launched an investigation into the situation, temporarily removing the toddler and his 9-year-old sibling from the home.
Elliot is charged with felony child abuse, misdemeanor child abuse and assault on a child under the age of 12. He is being held under a $500,000 secured bond.
Hall is being held under a $50,000 secured bond and is facing several counts of misdemeanor child abuse and failure to report a crime against a juvenile.
Copyright 2022 WBTV via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/couple-arrested-after-man-abuses-tortures-girlfriends-children-deputies-say/ | 2022-05-03T19:10:30Z |
‘The World of Barbie’ immersive experience to tour this summer
(CNN) - A new immersive experience will let you tour Barbie’s iconic Malibu Dreamhouse.
The attraction, called “The World of Barbie,” will let visitors explore a life-size version of her living room, kitchen and walk-in closet full of clothes.
Fans will also get the chance to sit in Barbie’s pink camper and walk around several playsets, including Barbie’s neighborhood.
The attraction also includes a museum that chronicles how Barbie has changed since her debut by Mattel in 1959.
Mattel is teaming up with entertainment company Kilburn Live to create the experience.
“The World of Barbie” will tour several cities this summer, including New York, Chicago, Dallas and Toronto, where it kicks off in July.
To sign up for presale tickets, visit the experience’s website.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/photos-world-barbie-immersive-experience-tour-this-summer/ | 2022-05-03T19:10:41Z |
The spicy chicken sandwich is back at Popeyes with a new twist
(CNN) – Get them while they last.
Popeyes is dropping a new saucy version of its popular chicken sandwich Tuesday.
The Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich features hand-battered crispy chicken and pickles on a brioche bun.
What’s new is the sauce: a blend of buttermilk ranch and spicy Buffalo flavoring.
Popeyes says the sandwich will only be available for a limited time, like in 2019, when the restaurant first launched its chicken sandwich.
The sandwich was so popular when it was first introduced, it sold out in a couple of weeks and sparked long lines and confrontations at several Popeyes locations.
Popeyes also kicked off “The Chicken Sandwich War” between fast-food franchises, including McDonald’s, Wendys and KFC. The other fast food restaurants introduced their own version of the chicken sandwich to compete with the Popeyes original.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/spicy-chicken-sandwich-is-back-popeyes-with-new-twist/ | 2022-05-03T19:10:49Z |
US Capitol officer fires gun in break room, gets suspended
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. Capitol Police officer fired a gun inside a break room in a House office building on Tuesday and was promptly suspended — the latest stain for a police department struggling to regain the public’s trust following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection and a recent communications failure that triggered an evacuation.
The agency said the officer discharged the firearm at around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Cannon House Office Building and its Office of Professional Responsibility launched an investigation. The officer was suspended as the investigation continues, police said.
The circumstances surrounding the gun discharge were unclear, but no injuries were immediately reported.
Tuesday’s episode comes as the Capitol Police try to restore the trust of the public more than a year after thousands of rioters loyal to then-President Donald Trump pushed their way past overwhelmed officers — leaving many bloodied and bruised — in an effort to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win.
Last month, the Capitol Police ordered the evacuation of the Capitol — sending congressional staffers fleeing from office buildings — over a plane that was flying near the complex. It turned out the plane was actually carrying members of the U.S. Army Golden Knights who later parachuted into Nationals Park, home of the Washington Nationals, for the team’s Military Appreciation Night.
The Federal Aviation Administration later said it failed to notify the Capitol Police in advance about the flight, leading to the evacuation. The episode represented a stunning communications breakdown, all the more remarkable because of Washington’s focus on improving security following the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
Capitol Police acknowledged failing to act on clear warnings that far-right groups and extremists loyal to Trump would rally at the Capitol as lawmakers inside certified his loss to Biden. Its officers were left unprepared to stop thousands of people who broke through police lines and stormed the building.
More than 100 police officers were injured on Jan. 6. One officer was beaten and shocked repeatedly with a stun gun until he had a heart attack. Rioters crushed another officer between two doors and bashed him in the head with his own weapon. The riot delayed for several hours the certification of Biden’s victory.
In December 2021, police initiated a brief lockdown after a congressional staffer walked into a legislative building with a handgun in his bag and was allowed to proceed through the security checkpoint with it. The staffer was located and apprehended minutes later.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/us-capitol-officer-fires-gun-break-room-gets-suspended/ | 2022-05-03T19:11:00Z |
CDC restates recommendation for masks on planes, trains
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials on Tuesday restated their recommendation that Americans wear masks on planes, trains and buses, despite a court ruling last month that struck down a national mask mandate on public transportation.
Americans age 2 and older should wear a well-fitting masks while on public transportation, including in airports and train stations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended, citing the current spread of coronavirus and projections of future COVID-19 trends.
For months, the Transportation Security Administration had been enforcing a requirement that passengers and workers wear masks.
The government had repeatedly extended the mandate, and the latest one had been set to expire May 3. But a federal judge in Florida struck down the rule on April 18. The same day, the TSA said it would no longer enforce the mandate.
The CDC asked the Justice Department to appeal the decision, which the department did. On Tuesday, CDC officials declined to comment on the status of the appeal. DOJ officials did not immediately respond to a request for information.
___
The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/05/03/cdc-restates-recommendation-masks-planes-trains/ | 2022-05-03T19:48:14Z |
Depp libel suit moves ahead against Heard after resting case
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A judge on Tuesday let Johnny Depp move forward with his libel suit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, after the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star rested his case.
Heard’s lawyers had asked the judge to dismiss the case, arguing that Depp had failed to make his case as a matter of law and that no reasonable jury could find in his favor.
But the judge, Penney Azcarate, said the standard for dismissing a case at this point in the trial is exceedingly high, and that the case should be allowed to move forward if Depp has provided even a “scintilla” of evidence backing up his claims.
The trial will move forward Tuesday afternoon with Heard’s team beginning to present its witnesses after more than three weeks of testimony from Depp’s witnesses, including four days on the stand from Depp himself.
Depp and his lead lawyer, Benjamin Chew, patted each other on the back after the judge ruled the case can proceed.
Chew argued that the jury has a wealth of evidence to conclude that Heard falsely accused Depp of abuse. In fact, he said, the evidence shows that “Ms. Heard physically abused him. She’s the abuser.”
Heard’s lawyer, J. Benjamin Rottenborn, said the evidence is clear over the last three weeks of testimony that Heard’s allegations of abuse are truthful.
“We haven’t gotten to put on our case yet,” he said. “This is all evidence that has come in while plaintiff controls the playing field.”
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in Fairfax County Circuit Court after Heard wrote a December 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” The article never mentions Depp by name, but Depp’s lawyers say he was defamed nevertheless because it’s a clear reference to abuse allegations Heard levied in 2016, in the midst of the couple’s divorce proceedings.
The judge on Tuesday did say she’s reserving judgment on whether the article’s headline in online editions should be part of the libel lawsuit because she said the evidence is unclear at this point whether Heard wrote the headline or is responsible for it. The online headline reads, “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
Among the final witnesses for Depp on Tuesday morning was Erin Falati, a private nurse for Heard. She testified on a recorded deposition that she received photos of Heard with red marks on her face the night of May 21, 2016. That’s the night of a final fight between Depp and Heard that precipitated Heard’s divorce filing a few days later and her May 27 appearance at a Los Angeles courthouse, with red marks on her face, seeking a restraining order.
Depp has said Heard faked the bruises, and presented testimony from police officers who didn’t see marks on Heard’s face when authorities were called the night of the fight. But the photos texted to Falati, which were seen by the jury, could contradict the officers’ perception.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/05/03/depp-libel-suit-moves-ahead-against-heard-after-resting-case/ | 2022-05-03T19:48:20Z |
More than 200 sailors moved off Navy aircraft carrier after multiple suicides
(CNN) – The U.S. Navy is relocating hundreds of sailors who had been living on an aircraft carrier as it investigates a jump in crew suicides.
The Navy is now looking into the deaths of seven crew members on the U.S.S. George Washington, including four by apparent suicide in the past year.
More than 200 sailors were allowed to move to a Navy facility Monday while the ship goes through a major refueling and overhaul in Newport News.
The idea is to give crew members more access to support programs.
The Navy also plans to provide additional morale and well-being measures for the 2,000 to 3,000 sailors still living on the carrier during the overhaul, which is expected to take a number of years.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. If you or someone you know needs help, you are asked to call 1-800-950-6264.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/05/03/more-than-200-sailors-moved-off-navy-aircraft-carrier-after-multiple-suicides/ | 2022-05-03T19:48:27Z |
The spicy chicken sandwich is back at Popeyes with a new twist
(CNN) – Get them while they last.
Popeyes is dropping a new saucy version of its popular chicken sandwich Tuesday.
The Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich features hand-battered crispy chicken and pickles on a brioche bun.
What’s new is the sauce: a blend of buttermilk ranch and spicy Buffalo flavoring.
Popeyes says the sandwich will only be available for a limited time, like in 2019, when the restaurant first launched its chicken sandwich.
The sandwich was so popular when it was first introduced, it sold out in a couple of weeks and sparked long lines and confrontations at several Popeyes locations.
Popeyes also kicked off “The Chicken Sandwich War” between fast-food franchises, including McDonald’s, Wendys and KFC. The other fast food restaurants introduced their own version of the chicken sandwich to compete with the Popeyes original.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/05/03/spicy-chicken-sandwich-is-back-popeyes-with-new-twist/ | 2022-05-03T19:48:33Z |
Alan Barge, MD, Oncology and Biopharmaceutical Drug Development Expert, Former Head of Oncology at AstraZeneca, Recently Joined All Blue as Oncology Drug Development Advisor
Barge's Expertise and Focused Leadership to Foster Turnaround of Zymeworks' Operating Performance
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- All Blue Capital ("AB"), a global investment firm, today announced that biopharmaceutical industry leader and expert, Alan Barge, MD, has agreed to advise the firm as Oncology Drug Development Advisor. In this capacity, Dr. Barge is prepared to provide the expertise, focused leadership and business acumen necessary to support AB's recent proposal to acquire Zymeworks, Inc. (NYSE: ZYME), a clinical-stage biotechnology company, with the goal of reversing the value-destructive measures that Zymeworks and its board of directors implemented over the past 12 months. Following a successful completion of the transaction, Dr. Barge would serve on Zymeworks' board, adding additional value to AB's current offer.
"Alan's exceptional breadth and depth of expertise in oncology, drug development and commercialization has greatly expanded All Blue's capabilities in the biopharmaceutical industry," said Matt Novak, Managing Partner, All Blue Capital. "Alan has already made invaluable contributions during the short time he has been in consultation with the All Blue team, and I have the utmost confidence that he can deliver value to Zymeworks."
"All Blue Capital is a dynamic team, and has put together a world class scientific team with expertise in oncology and drug manufacturing, who are committed to the growth and development of the biopharmaceutical industry, and I am appreciative of the opportunity to become part of the firm. I have worked closely with the team in developing a business plan for Zymeworks that can create superior value. I look forward to contributing my expertise to help put Zymeworks back on track," said Dr. Barge.
Dr. Barge has unmatched expertise in oncology and biopharmaceutical drug development and commercialization. He joined AB after founding Carrick Therapeutics in the UK, which focused on early-stage oncology assets, and co-founding ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, a Singapore-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on Asia-related cancers. Earlier in his career, Dr. Barge served as Vice President of Clinical and Head of Oncology and Infection at AstraZeneca, where he was responsible for building and managing a large development group and executing AstraZeneca's oncology portfolio globally. He also served as European Medical Director at Amgen. Dr. Barge trained in medicine at Oxford and London, and specialized in hematology and oncology, completing research and clinical fellowships in Seattle in 1990.
On April 28, AB submitted a proposal to acquire 100% of the outstanding common shares of Zymeworks for $10.50 per share in cash, representing approximately $773 million in total equity value. AB is confident that the all-cash proposal represents compelling and immediate value for Zymeworks stakeholders at a time of considerable macroeconomic uncertainty, especially given the company's significant and continued underperformance. All Blue looks forward to the opportunity to discuss its proposal with the Zymeworks board, which it hopes will engage in good faith and in a timely fashion.
About All Blue
AB is a global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, real estate, blockchain and hedge funds. Leveraging the strength of the team's global presence and through its strategic network of partners, AB is able to take advantage of differentiated investment opportunities across asset classes, industries and geographies. AB's focus on its core values of entrepreneurialism, innovation, and institutionalization has led to a history of delivering excellent risk-adjusted returns.
Media Contact
Jeremy Fielding / Richard Goldman
Kekst CNC
(646) 644-4825 / (646) 847-6102
ABMedia@kekstcnc.com
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SOURCE All Blue Capital | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/all-blue-capital-announces-leadership-support-proposed-acquisition-zymeworks-inc/ | 2022-05-03T19:48:39Z |
GREENSBURG, Pa., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Banyan Software, Inc. a company focused on acquiring, building, and growing great enterprise software businesses, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Loan Vision (Bestborn Business Solutions), the leading provider of loan level accounting software to the mortgage banking industry.
Since launching at the MBA Technology Solutions Conference and Expo in 2013, Loan Vision has helped reduce risk, streamline manual process, and lower operating expense for over 250 customers by creating the market-leading loan level accounting solution. Loan Vision strives to help transform accounting departments across the mortgage industry, aiding them in reaching maximum efficiency and offering unparalleled insight into financial performance and profitability.
"After months of diligence in the industry it was clear to us that Loan Vision has built out the market-leading accounting software for mortgage banks in the United States and are passionate about coupling best-in-class support and service," says David Berkal, CEO, Banyan Software. "We are excited to welcome Loan Vision into the Banyan family of companies and look forward to supporting the company's future growth."
"Partnering with such a sophisticated organization will help take Loan Vision to the next level," says Martin Kerr, founder and President of Loan Vision. "Since the beginning, we've strived to operate at the highest level when serving our customers," Kerr added. "Being part of the Banyan family will allow us to continue doing just that. We're excited to see what the future with Banyan looks like for our team and our customers."
About Banyan Software, Inc. Banyan Software provides the best permanent home for successful enterprise software companies, their employees, and customers. With a permanent capital base set up to preserve the legacy of founders, Banyan focuses on a buy and hold for life strategy for growing software companies. Founded in 2016, Banyan is backed by a world-class group of CEOs and investors with deep technology experience and currently operates across a growing number of verticals. For more information, visit: www.banyansoftware.com
About Loan Vision Founded in 2006, Greensburg, PA based Bestborn Business Solutions are the creators of Loan Vision, a mortgage industry specific financial management and accounting software. Combining the functionality of Microsoft Dynamics and Bestborn's industry toolset and expertise, Loan Vision has quickly established itself as a platform trusted by some of the largest, as well as the fastest growing, mortgage lenders in the country. Their ever-growing list of functionality includes the ability to interface with any Loan Origination Software, loan level accounting, commission calculations, a branch reporting portal, and many more robust features. For more information, visit: www.loanvision.com
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SOURCE Banyan Software, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/banyan-software-acquires-loan-vision/ | 2022-05-03T19:48:46Z |
Ashland, Wisconsin's Ashland Birth Center topped nine other finalists in a nationwide vote to secure the $60,000 grand prize
WILMINGTON, Del., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Barclays US Consumer Bank today announced Ashland Birth Center as the winner of its "Small Business Big Wins" promotion and the recipient of a $60,000 grand prize. The Ashland, Wisconsin-based business offers parental guidance and support along with a wide range of midwife services throughout the pregnancy, newborn and postpartum stages of childbirth. It edged out nine other finalists in a nationwide vote to determine which United States-based small business would receive a much-needed financial boost.
Through essays and photos, more than 4,750 small businesses from across the country shared their compelling stories of resilience in a landscape forever changed by COVID-19 and how they met the unique demands of 2021 through the "Small Business Big Wins" promotion presented by Barclays. The top 10 were selected and showcased online at BarclaysSmallBizBigWins.com for a public voting period that took place April 13-22.
With hospitals often overwhelmed, Ashland Birth Center has become a safe space for pregnant women during the pandemic offering a full scope of prenatal care, labor, delivery and postpartum services.
"Throughout this pandemic, the small business community has been forced to pivot and adapt during unprecedented times," said Nancy Parnella, Director of US Business Cards at Barclays. "At Barclays, we know that small businesses are the economic engine of their local communities, and we are honored to share their stories of perseverance and provide them with financial support to help them continue to thrive."
The contest was sponsored by Barclays' Business Card team, which has long supported business owners of all sizes with its broad range of cards that offer business owners rewards for dollars spent on their business needs.
In addition to the $60,000 grand prize, Barclays awarded $40,000 to Nordic-Knot of Reston, Virginia, for second place; $20,000 to Superfit Hero of Riverside, California, for third place; and $5,000 to each of the remaining finalists in the top 10. Barclays has also awarded 50 participants of the contest $2,000 each through a random drawing, totaling $255,000 in support of 60 small businesses across the country.
"I'm so happy and excited to share this with our staff and communities," said Savita Jones, owner of Ashland Birth Center. "Our communities did this. They got us here. Now they're going to keep us here. We're going to buy our current building and stay here."
The full list of finalists includes:
- Ashland Birth Center – Ashland, Wisconsin ($60,000): A parental guidance and support service provider that offers a wide range of midwife services throughout the pregnancy, newborn and postpartum stages of childbirth.
- Nordic-Knot – Reston, Virginia ($40,000): A traditional Scandinavian pretzel baker that uses a traditional "Nordic" dough to create pretzels that are all-natural, fresh-baked and handmade and works with breweries to create pretzels that match their signature beers with specialty grains.
- Superfit Hero – Riverside, California ($20,000): A size-inclusive athleticwear company that delivers quality plus-sized clothing for athletes that also offers complete coverage, moisture wicking technology and a range of compression options.
- Advanced & Innovative Multifunctional Materials LLC (AIMM) – Dayton, Ohio ($5,000): A materials science company and lab focused on water purification and self-disinfecting N95 masks that also works on developing unique materials with antimicrobial properties.
- BoCa Flavor – Baltimore, Maryland ($5,000): A manufacturer of Caribbean-infused seasoning that takes a modern approach to traditional Caribbean seasoning, fusing staple ingredients from the islands to bring an everyday blend to liven up the kitchen.
- Flagstaff Doulas – Flagstaff, Arizona ($5,000): A health care and social support provider that specializes in providing guidance and assistance to new parents, helping them through the questions and decisions that many face before, during and after birth with their new child.
- Nudi Wear – Kaneohe, Hawaii ($5,000): An activewear apparel maker developed with the sustainability of our oceans in mind that also shares a percentage of its profits with organizations who preserve our seas.
- Secret Blessings – Robbinsville, North Carolina ($5,000): A custom inspirational accessories shop that develops blankets, backpacks, pouches and more with inspirational words or encouraging phrases sewn into the fabric.
- Sock It to 'Em Sock Campaign – Highlands Ranch, Colorado ($5,000): A charitable organization that collects socks that they then donate to homeless shelters in need in the Denver metropolitan area.
- Stitchwitch Alterations – Santa Barbara, California ($5,000): A seamstress and designer that handles a wide range of sewing projects from alterations to suits and dress adjustments as well as interior décor items like pillows, duvets, dust covers and more.
For more information about the finalists, visit BarclaysSmallBizBigWins.com. For more information on Barclays' business card offerings, visit BarclaysUS.com/Business.
About Barclays US Consumer Bank
Barclays US Consumer Bank is a leading co-branded credit card issuer and financial services partner in the United States that creates highly customized programs to drive customer loyalty and engagement for some of the country's most successful travel, entertainment, retail and affinity institutions. The bank offers co-branded credit cards, small business credit cards, installment loans, POS Finance, online savings accounts, and CDs. For more information, please visit BarclaysUS.com.
Barclays is a British universal bank. We are diversified by business, by different types of customer and client, and geography. Our businesses include consumer banking and payments operations around the world, as well as a top-tier, full service, global corporate and investment bank, all of which are supported by our service company which provides technology, operations and functional services across the Group. For further information about Barclays, please visit barclays.com.
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SOURCE Barclays | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/barclays-awards-255000-small-businesses-through-small-business-big-wins-promotion/ | 2022-05-03T19:48:52Z |
DENVER, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bow River Capital ("Bow River"), a private equity firm based in Denver, Colorado, announced today that it completed the recapitalization of Amazing Care Home Health Services ("Amazing Care" or the "Company") from 3 Rivers Capital ("3RC") on December 31, 2021.
Headquartered in Aurora, Colorado, Amazing Care provides home health services for pediatric and adult patients. The Company's offerings include private duty nursing, skilled nursing, therapy, CNA and other related services. Amazing Care was founded in 2004 by Art Lowry with the goal of creating a home health agency that puts patient care first. Today, the Company provides home health services for families across Colorado, Texas and Utah.
Art Lowry, Amazing Care's Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Amazing Care's commitment to quality of care for families and patients has always been a defining factor of our success. Our strong culture is supported by the caregivers and staff who make our high quality of care a possibility. Since our founding 18 years ago, we have expanded from a single location in Colorado to a leading regional provider and we could not be more excited to partner with Bow River to continue our growth plans of making quality care accessible across the Rocky Mountain Region."
Bow River Capital seeks to invest in leading lower middle market companies that are led by growth-oriented management teams. "Amazing Care is a regional leader in the pediatric home health sector and was founded right in our backyard." commented Greg Hiatrides, Managing Director at Bow River Capital. He added, "We look forward to supporting Amazing Care and its talented professionals and caregivers through its next phase of growth and expanding their unique patient-first culture."
Art Lowry and the Amazing Care leadership team retained a meaningful ownership stake in the Company and will continue to lead the organizational going forward.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP served as legal counsel to Bow River. McGuireWoods LLP served as legal counsel to 3RC. Lincoln International was the exclusive financial advisor to 3RC and the Company.
About Amazing Care: Amazing Care and its subsidiaries provide home health services to pediatric and adult patients. The Company's suite of services spans private duty nursing, skilled nursing, therapy, CNA and other related home health services. Amazing Care operates across three states, including Colorado, Texas and Utah. The firm's regional market-leading position is supported by its high quality of care and patient-first culture. https://amazingcare.com/
About Bow River Capital: Bow River Capital is a private alternative asset manager based in Denver, Colorado, focused on investing in the lower middle market in three asset classes, including private equity, real estate, and software growth equity. In addition to its three private fund platforms, the firm launched the Bow River Capital Evergreen Fund (EVERX) in May 2020, which provides institutional-quality private market access to a broader set of investors. Collectively, the Bow River Capital team has deployed capital into diverse industries, asset classes and across the capital structure.
Bow River Capital Evergreen Fund is distributed by Foreside Financial Services, LLC, which is not affiliated with Bow River Capital or its affiliates.
About 3 Rivers Capital: 3 Rivers Capital is a Pittsburgh, PA-based private equity firm focused on control acquisitions of small enterprises. 3 Rivers Capital adds value through active ownership and supportive partnerships with highly motivated management teams. http://3riverscap.com/
Contact:
Jenna Schlageter
schlageter@bowrivercapital.com
847.691.4471
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SOURCE Bow River Capital | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/bow-river-capital-completes-strategic-investment-amazing-care-leading-provider-pediatric-home-health-services/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:00Z |
DFW's leading garden center and nursery expands to serve growing community
,
/PRNewswire/ -- Calloway's
, the
based Garden center and nursery, will celebrate the grand opening of its 22
nd
DFW location at 201 Richland Blvd. in
on
.
The new, 87,000-square-foot nursery, located in the Gates of Prosper shopping center, will offer a captivating selection of flora, including begonias, vinca, boxwoods, hydrangeas and abelias, to name a few, just in time for spring planting. In addition to other everyday gardening and landscaping essentials, Calloway's carries a wide variety of pottery, private label soils and plant foods specifically formulated for Texas gardening conditions.
The Prosper location will also offer access to expert advice from Texas Nursery & Landscape Association Certified Nursery Professionals on all plant and landscaping needs.
"The growing Prosper community is the perfect location for Calloway's Nursery. Many new homeowners move to the area and are looking for resources to beautify their landscaping and outdoor spaces," said Calloway's Nursery CEO Marce Ward. "Our team strives to make gardening fun, easy and successful for customers by offering the best plants and gardening products available, as well as expert advice from our knowledgeable staff."
At the grand opening celebration on May 5, customers who sign up for Calloway's Blooming Rewards will have a chance to win door prizes, including Calloway's gift cards, hanging baskets, wind chimes and indoor and outdoor plants.
For more information on Calloway's Nursery and the new Prosper location, visit https://www.calloways.com/.
About Calloway's Nursery
Founded in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1986, Calloway's Nursery is a leading destination for Dallas-Fort Worth homeowners seeking top-quality plants and unparalleled customer service. Calloway's operates 27 locations and employs more Texas Nursery & Landscape Association Certified Nursery Professionals than any other garden center in the state. In addition to offering a wide variety of plants, flowers, shrubs, trees, vines and gardening supplies, Calloway's Garden Services division offers planting services through Pick & Plant and Landscape Design and Installation to help customers beautify any exterior space. For more information and inspiration, follow Calloway's on Facebook and Instagram @callowaysnursery.
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SOURCE Calloway's Nursery, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/calloways-nursery-opens-new-location-prosper-texas-may-5/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:08Z |
As an Official Partner of the Festival de Cannes, Campari will Continue its Legacy Within the World of Cinema Through a Series of Unique Experiences that Celebrate the Pursuit of Great Stories
NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Campari®, the iconic Italian red aperitivo, is proud to announce its first year as an official partner of the world-renowned Festival de Cannes, and its presence at this year's 75th edition of the iconic event, running from May 17 - 28.
Campari will bring great stories to life across a series of immersive events throughout the year, beginning with Festival de Cannes. The partnership will be a continuation of Campari's existing legacy in the world of cinema and its never-ending pursuit to unlock the creativity, individuality and Red Passion of others.
Throughout the Festival, Campari will offer an immersive lounge space that brings people into the world of Campari. The Campari Lounge, housed inside the prestigious Palais des Festivals, will act as a central point throughout the Festival, hosting a series of events. It will also offer the perfect venue to discover and taste Campari, the unforgettable ingredient sitting at the heart of some of the world's most famous and best-selling cocktails, such as the iconic Negroni, which recently ranked as the No. 1 best-selling international classic cocktail in Drinks International's 2022 report. The unique nature of Campari's vibrant red color and its multi-layered, inimitable taste stimulate the senses through a captivating and timeless cocktail-tasting experience.
Guests of the lounge will enjoy cocktails masterfully prepared and served by the distinguished bartenders of the Camparino in Galleria - the legendary bar opened by Davide Campari in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in 1915, which today proudly holds the position of #27 in the World's 50 Best Bars list.
Over the course of the Festival itself, Campari will host an array of exclusive events to inspire attendees in the pursuit of their own stories, culminating with a special, private evening for Campari guests on May 21 in the heart of La Croisette.
Since its creation, Campari itself has pushed the boundaries of cinema to go beyond the norm. The brand's relationship with cinema started in the 1920s as a platform to express its Red Passion and creativity in an intriguing and mysterious way, starting with unique collaborations with artists as well as a notable partnership with Federico Fellini on a TV advertisement in 1984. This rich history has continued in recent times with Campari Red Diaries, a series of short films with iconic acting and directing legends such as Paolo Sorrentino, Clive Owen, Zoe Saldana, Ana De Armas and many others, with the legacy set to continue this year. In addition to Red Diaries, Campari has demonstrated the brand's dedication to championing cinema and Red Passion among industry creatives in recent years with partnerships at top film festivals and award shows. Campari has celebrated film industry pioneers through its exclusive spirits partnership for the 57th, 58th and 59th New York Film Festivals; sponsorship at the 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th Costume Designers Guild Awards; and sponsorship at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards®.
Campari Group's Head of Global Marketing, Julka Villa, comments, "Campari believes great stories are a timeless showcase of creativity and passion, coming together in a journey that goes beyond the expected. We are incredibly excited to take this journey with the Festival de Cannes, an iconic partner, in celebration of great storytelling. Given our heritage and long-standing appreciation for cinema, having a presence at Festival de Cannes is an exciting next step for us to continue our legacy in the world of film, and we look forward to welcoming our guests at the Campari Lounge beginning May 17."
Whether you'll be enjoying Campari at Festival de Cannes later this month or while watching a film from the comfort of your home, please remember to do so responsibly.
Please follow Campari's social media channels for further information @campariofficial @campariusa.
#Campari #FestivaldeCannes #Cannes2022 #RedPassion
www.campari.com
https://www.youtube.com/EnjoyCampari
https://www.facebook.com/CampariUS
https://www.instagram.com/campariusa/
http://twitter.com/campari
NOTES TO EDITORS
For more information, please contact Morgan Warner at Campari@mbooth.com.
ABOUT FESTIVAL DE CANNES
The Festival de Cannes is an event that brings together the world's film professionals around an official competition and an International Film Market, whose highly media-oriented aspect makes it one of the first annual international events, contributing to the world cinematic influence.
ABOUT CAMPARI
Campari, the iconic, unforgettable Italian red spirit sitting at the heart of some of the world's most famous cocktails. Campari was founded in Milan in 1860 by Gaspare Campari, and pioneered by his son, Davide, who created something so distinctive and revolutionary that its secret recipe has not been altered since. Vibrant red in color, Campari's unique and multi-layered taste is the result of the infusion of herbs, aromatic plants and fruit in alcohol and water. As well as being unique and distinctive, Campari is extremely versatile, offering boundless and unexpected possibilities. As a source of this passionate inspiration seen through its founders' creative genius, artists in different fields and the world's best bartenders, Campari stimulates your instincts to unlock your passions, inspiring limitless creations.
ABOUT CAMPARI GROUP
Campari Group is a major player in the global spirits industry, with a portfolio of over 50 premium and super premium brands, spreading across Global, Regional and Local priorities. Global Priorities, the Group's key focus, includes Aperol, Appleton Estate, Campari, SKYY, Wild Turkey and Grand Marnier. The Group was founded in 1860 and today is the sixth-largest player worldwide in the premium spirits industry. It has a global distribution reach, trading in over 190 nations around the world with leading positions in Europe and the Americas. Campari Group's growth strategy aims to combine organic growth through strong brand building and external growth via selective acquisitions of brands and businesses. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Campari Group owns 22 plants worldwide and has its own distribution network in 21 countries. Campari Group employs approximately 4,000 people. The shares of the parent company Davide Campari-Milano N.V. (Reuters CPRI.MI - Bloomberg CPR IM) have been listed on the Italian Stock Exchange since 2001. For more information: http://www.camparigroup.com/en Please enjoy our brands responsibly.
ABOUT CAMPARI AMERICA
Campari America is a wholly owned subsidiary of Davide Campari-Milano N.V. (Reuters CPRI.MI - Bloomberg CPR IM). At the heart of Campari America are two legends in the American spirits industry. The first, Skyy Spirits, was founded in San Francisco back in 1992. The second is the world-famous Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, where they have been making the world's finest whiskies since the 1800's. Both companies were purchased by Davide Campari-Milano and together they form Campari America, which has built a portfolio unrivaled in its quality, innovation and style, making it a top choice among distributors, retailers and consumers. Campari America manages Campari Group's portfolio in the US with such leading brands as SKYY® Vodka, SKYY Infusions®, Grand Marnier®, Campari®, Aperol®, Wild Turkey® Kentucky Straight Bourbon, American Honey®, Russell's Reserve®, Glen Grant® Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Forty Creek® Canadian Whisky, BULLDOG® Gin, Cabo Wabo® Tequila, Espolón® Tequila, Montelobos® Mezcal, Ancho Reyes® Chile Liqueur, Appleton® Estate Rum, Wray & Nephew® Rum, Coruba® Rum, Ouzo 12®, X-Rated® Fusion Liqueur®, Frangelico®, Cynar®, Averna®, Braulio®, Jean-Marc XO Vodka®, Lallier® and Bisquit & Dubouché®
Campari America is headquartered in New York, New York. More information on the company can be found at www.campariamerica.com, www.facebook.com/campariamerica, Twitter: @CampariAmerica, Instagram: @CampariAmerica, and www.camparigroup.com. Please enjoy Campari America brands responsibly and in moderation.
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SOURCE Campari | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/campari-poised-bring-great-stories-life-through-75th-festival-de-cannes/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:14Z |
NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Optimism among mid-market CEOs is on the rise, with nearly twice as many rating their outlook a "10" compared to two months ago, according to the latest CEO survey from Marcum LLP and Hofstra University's Frank G. Zarb School of Business.
The percentage of CEOs who rated their business outlook a "10" (on a scale of 1-10) rose from 8.9% in February to 16% in the latest survey, which was conducted in April. Those who rated their business outlook 8-10 also increased, from 36.5% to 42.1%.
While overall optimism went up, there were substantial differences among sectors. Optimism at the highest levels (8-10) was driven by large increases among CEOs in financial services and financial institutions, professional services, real estate, construction, and healthcare. For example, 40% of construction CEOs rated their outlook at the highest level in April, compared to just nine percent in February.
At the same time, optimism dipped slightly at the top range among CEOs in retail and consumer products, manufacturing and distribution, technology, and government/nonprofit/education, the survey found.
"The sharp increase in optimism among middle-market CEOs is obviously very welcome and, hopefully, is a positive indicator, at least in the short-term. But it is a mixed bag for different industries, with those in the tangible goods, tech and public sectors not yet recovered to the same degree as those in the professional services industries. The global situation in Europe and the return of inflation here further complicate things, but entrepreneurial companies generally rise to the top. Based on what we're seeing among our clients, I'm optimistic that forward-looking companies will continue to gain strength in the post-COVID economy," said Jeffrey M. Weiner, Marcum's chairman & chief executive officer.
This latest Marcum-Hofstra survey is the first since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and CEOs reported that the conflict is having significant impact on their businesses and decision-making.
More than three-quarters of CEOs (77.4%) indicated rising energy costs are impacting their businesses. Of those, a little more than a third (35.7%) said they are passing along some or all of the higher costs. Another 37.7 percent say they are absorbing the higher energy cost, despite significant impact on their bottom-line. The remainder (26.6%) say they've managed to absorb the costs with minimal impact.
Global events have also heightened CEOs' concerns about cybersecurity, with nine in 10 saying they are more concerned about such threats and 68.5% reporting they have been increasing their investment to defend against possible attacks.
"Managing the intense pace and volatility of world events - whether it is the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the global growth concerns as China's COVID-19 lockdown intensifies or Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter-- is the 'new normal' for mid-market CEOs," said K. G. Viswanathan, interim dean of the Zarb School.
The 'Great Resignation' continues to be a challenge for mid-market CEOs, with more than three-quarters (76.7%) reporting they have lost more employees in the past year than is typical. Nearly 20 percent say they've lost "significantly more" employees during the last 12 months.
Survey participants described what they are doing/offering to retain employees, with bonuses and work flexibility being the most popular responses. Some highlights include:
- "Allowing hybrid work."
- "Better sign-on bonuses, opportunities to work more from home."
- "Evolve culture fundamentally. Give more responsibility and opportunities, offer incentive-based pay … recognize each person's uniqueness."
- "Extra health benefits."
- "Free health benefits for family of every permanent employee."
- "Higher wages."
- "Increased our match in the 401K contribution."
- "More vacation."
- "More profit-sharing."
- "We are offering day-care stipends."
- "Cookies. Cupcakes. Extra pay. PTO (paid time off)."
About the Survey
The Marcum-Hofstra CEO Survey is a periodic gauge of mid-market CEOs' outlook and their priorities for the next 12 months. The survey polls the leaders of companies with revenues ranging from $5 million to $1 billion-plus.
It is conducted as part of the Zarb School of Business MBA curriculum, and developed and analyzed by Hofstra MBA students led by Dr. Andrew Forman, associate professor of international business and marketing, in partnership with Marcum.
"CEOs' optimism in the face of the disparate focal concerns of cybersecurity, rising energy costs, and employee retention speaks to the importance of adaptability and resilience. The Marcum-Hofstra survey provides students with valuable insight into the critical importance of these leadership traits," Dr. Forman said.
Business leaders from 257 companies participated in the latest survey of 2022.
For more information, visit www.marcumllp.com.
About Marcum
Marcum LLP is a top-ranked national accounting and advisory firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurial, middle-market companies and high net worth individuals achieve their goals. Marcum's industry-focused practices offer deep insight and specialized services to privately held and publicly registered companies, and nonprofit and social sector organizations. Through the Marcum Group, the Firm also provides a full complement of technology, wealth management, and executive search and staffing services. Headquartered in New York City, Marcum has offices in major business markets across the U.S. and select international locations. #AskMarcum. Visit www.marcumllp.com for more information about how Marcum can help.
About the Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University
Hofstra University's Frank G. Zarb School of Business prepares students to become tomorrow's global leaders. Located just 25 miles from New York City, Zarb students have access to internships and networking opportunities across every industry. The Zarb School combines entrepreneurial, hands-on learning and research with real-world experience and mentorship in state-of-the-art facilities, including a Behavioral Research in Business Lab, Center for Entrepreneurship, and academic trading room. Our undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting, management and entrepreneurship, marketing and international business, finance, and business analytics are ranked and recognized by US News & World Report.
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SOURCE Marcum LLP | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/ceo-optimism-rise-reports-marcum-hofstra-ceo-survey/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:21Z |
ROCKVILLE, Md., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Embarking on its next era of growth and success, Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), one of the world's largest lodging franchisors, is kicking off its 66th annual convention today in Las Vegas with more than 5,000 hotel owners, general managers and staff in attendance. Appropriately themed "GO," the three-day event will spotlight the countless stories of franchisee resilience and determination over the last few years, as well as the company's vision for the future of the business.
The convention will begin by reflecting on how the Choice Hotels community has been challenged like never before in the three years since the last annual meeting. Despite the unprecedented circumstances brought on by the pandemic, the company has successfully navigated these challenges, including:
- Driving new business, advocating for needed support from the government, and reducing operating costs for franchisees.
- Continuing to invest in its brands, technology, and value proposition.
- Surpassing 2019 system-wide performance levels – and outpacing the industry.
"Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of owners, their staff and our associates, we are collectively stronger today than the last time we convened in Las Vegas in 2019, and we are ready to GO," said Patrick Pacious, president and CEO, Choice Hotels. "We know that for our franchisees, investing in the Choice brand family – whether owning one hotel or several – is deeply personal. That's why we are especially proud of our ability to adapt and innovate in the face of uncertainty to help them manage and overcome all kinds of challenges."
In the opening session, Pacious and other leaders will focus on how the Choice Hotels family stood together over the last few years and outline the company's next chapter of growth, as well as update attendees on other key areas of the Choice business, such as:
- Strategic investments aimed to help Choice owners capitalize on shifting consumer preferences in favor of leisure travel, limited-service hotels, and longer-length of stays.
- The future of Choice brands, so franchisees can GO forth and achieve greater success at their hotels.
- Improvements to the company's marketing and distribution channels, including updates to the award-winning loyalty program Choice Privileges and Choice's newest advertising campaign.
- Enhancements to Choice's industry-leading revenue management systems and tools designed to help hotels streamline operations and capture market share.
- Exciting news on environmental, social and governance initiatives, including the next phase of sustainability efforts as well as Choice's trail-blazing emerging markets department dedicated to creating a diverse franchisee base.
"Our franchisees are at the center of everything we do at Choice – that is our guiding star. When the pandemic began, we took immediate action to not only help keep hotel doors open and the lights on for guests, but we continued to find ways to help drive revenue," said Pacious. "Because of the unparalleled determination of our franchisees and our associates, combined with our strategic decisions and targeted actions, Choice is leading the industry's recovery and we are ready to GO confidently into the next era of growth and success."
The annual convention is designed to give Choice franchisees resources and information to better leverage the company's strong value proposition. Throughout the event, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a full schedule of education and brand sessions and networking events. In addition, there will be a trade show with more than 325 of the industry's top suppliers. Designed to empower their success as business owners, the classroom topics will explore the state of the industry, emerging trends, and resources franchisees may use to help optimize their hotel performance, including best-in-class training program Choice University and Choice's latest social and environmental initiatives. Choice Hotels brand leaders will also host in-depth sessions on each of the company's brands throughout the week.
About Choice Hotels®
Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH) is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. With more than 7,000 hotels, representing nearly 600,000 rooms, in 35 countries and territories as of December 31, 2021, the Choice® family of hotel brands provides business and leisure travelers with a range of high-quality lodging options from limited service to full-service hotels in the upscale, midscale, extended-stay and economy segments. The award-winning Choice Privileges® loyalty program offers members benefits ranging from everyday rewards to exceptional experiences. For more information, visit www.choicehotels.com.
Forward-Looking Statement
This communication includes "forward-looking statements" about future events, including future growth and success. Such statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes to general domestic and foreign economic conditions and the other "Risk Factors" described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, any of which could cause actual results to be materially different from our expectations.
© 2022 Choice Hotels International, Inc. All rights reserved.
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SOURCE Choice Hotels International, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/choice-hotels-recognizes-franchisee-resilience-chart-how-go-into-next-era-growth-66th-annual-convention/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:27Z |
Representing a diverse portfolio of water and land-based experiences in top global cities including Barcelona, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City, Paris, Rome and San Francisco, among others, City Experiences delivers guests unmatched experiential journeys that can only be delivered through its renowned Crew and expert Tour Guides
Supported by a new campaign, website and rewards program, City Experiences further builds its brand connectivity and enhances the user journey
NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- City Experiences, a leading provider of world-class experiential travel offerings, is redefining how guests see the world with its expanded one-of-a-kind experiences across major global destinations. Part of Hornblower Group, a global leader in experiences and transportation, City Experiences delivers a vast array of water and land-based experiences in top cities around the world including Barcelona, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City, Paris, Rome and San Francisco, among others. Through its vibrant, exclusively curated offerings and personal connectivity, City Experiences delivers its guests with an amazing experience, all provided through its own unmatched Crew and expert Tour Guides. Supported by a refreshed website, a new brand campaign and introducing a rewards program, these initiatives will further build brand connectivity and enhance the user journey for its guests
In early 2021, City Experiences became the new brand name for Hornblower Group's growing portfolio of world-class water- and land-based offerings, seamlessly collecting multiple brands under one umbrella. Since then, new land-based companies joined City Experiences, including WALKS, Devour Tours and the launch of Venture Ashore. With these acquisitions, City Experiences further developed its portfolio outside its maritime roots, now providing a total experiential travel itinerary for its guests.
"City Experiences has built a collection of world-renowned land-based experiences, growing our portfolio outside of our maritime foundation and into a more holistic global experiential organization," said Kristina Heney, chief marketing and revenue officer, City Experiences. "To support our growth, we have dialed up the emotional engagement of our brands and are leaning heavily into digital technology to drive personalized communications. We are focused on what sets us apart, our own Tour Guides and Crew. It is through their passion and engagement that bridge that deeper connection with our guest and share the commitment we have in bringing people together through our unforgettable experiences."
City Experiences' refreshed portfolio features some of the most unique experiences in major travel destinations around the world, providing a personalized journey for guests who are either already at their destination and looking for a hidden local gem, or those booking ahead with wanderlust. Whether planning that long-overdue weekend sightseeing getaway with friends, organizing a family excursion through New York City with an exclusive first access visit to the Statue of Liberty, spending a dream honeymoon adventuring through Paris's most chic locales, or experiencing a bucket-list solo journey through Barcelona's best off-the-beaten-path food and wine spots, City Experiences helps people travel smarter and experience more. For a full list of the global city experiential offerings, visit www.CityExperiences.com.
To further support the guest digital journey, City Experiences launched a refreshed website, aimed to streamline the guest booking experience by offering a centralized booking location that features the company's full portfolio of unique water- and land-based offerings across its major travel destinations worldwide. It will also rollout with a new branding campaign, celebrating both its unique offerings as well as paying homage to its unmatched Crew and Expert Guides that make tours even more memorable.
Additionally, City Experiences launched a new rewards program for its guests. Designed to allow for more experiential travel opportunities within its portfolio, City Experiences Rewards is completely free and easily accessible through www.CityExperiences.com/rewards .Guests can collect travel points through their confirmed bookings that can be used to save on future purchases. Full details on the program's exclusive experience benefits will be announced soon.
Please click HERE for City Experiences press assets.
About City Experiences
City Experiences represents Hornblower Group's expansive portfolio of water- and land-based experience companies and includes two sub-brands: City Cruises and City Ferry. City Cruises companies operate dining, sightseeing and private events across 22 destinations in the U.S., Canada and the UK. City Cruises companies also operate cruises on behalf of the National Park Service and the Niagara Parks Commission and currently hold service contracts to provide ferry service to the Statue of Liberty National Monument and the Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, Alcatraz Island and Niagara Falls. City Ferry companies offer specialized knowledge and expertise required to transport passengers, vehicles and other cargo safely across inland and coastal waterways, serving as operator of NYC Ferry and Puerto Rico ferry system, among others. City Experiences' portfolio of companies also offers a range of water- and land-based experiences including shore excursions, partner-offered experiences, multi-port packages, with companies including Venture Ashore, Niagara Jet City Cruises, Walks and Devour Tours. For more information visit CityExperiences.com.
About Hornblower Group
Hornblower Group is a global leader in experiences and transportation. Hornblower Group's corporate entity is comprised of three premier experience divisions: American Queen Voyages®, its overnight cruising division; City Experiences, its land and water-based experiences as well as ferry and transportation services and Journey Beyond, Australia's leading experiential travel group. Spanning a 100-year history, Hornblower Group's portfolio of international offerings includes water-based experiences (dining and sightseeing cruises), land-based experiences (walking tours, food tours and excursions), overnight experiences (cruises and railways) and ferry and transportation services, including full-service vessel support via Hornblower Shipyard. Today, Hornblower Group's global portfolio covers 112 countries and territories, 125 U.S. cities and serves more than 22 million guests annually. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Hornblower Group's additional corporate offices reside in Adelaide, Australia; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Fort Lauderdale, Florida; London, United Kingdom; New Albany, Indiana; New York, New York; Dublin, Ireland; and across Ontario, Canada. For more information visit hornblowercorp.com.
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SOURCE City Experiences by Hornblower | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/city-experiences-redefines-how-guests-see-world-with-one-of-a-kind-experiential-offerings-across-major-global-destinations/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:33Z |
Converge claims Magellan's illegal actions are especially troubling as energy costs surge and American families experience pain at the pump
HOUSTON, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Converge Midstream, LLC ("Converge"), filed suit today against Magellan Midstream (Converge Midstream Partners, LLC v. Magellan Crude Oil Pipeline Company, L.P. and Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P.) ("Magellan") in State District Court in Harris County, Texas, challenging Magellan's alleged ongoing anticompetitive practices that are likely leading to higher energy costs for U.S. consumers.
"For years we have tried to work with Magellan and for years Magellan has continued to build a monopolistic enterprise, ignoring common carrier laws, protecting and serving their company owned export facility at the expense of others, and illegally devaluing crude oil that leaves their pipeline system. It's time for an end to those abusive practices," said Dana Grams, Converge's CEO. "Not only is Magellan's conduct illegal, but it also stifles competition, increases costs to crude oil shippers and markets, and raises the cost of gasoline and other refined products for hardworking people across the country at a time when American businesses and families are already struggling with higher energy prices and surging inflation."
Over time, Magellan has aggressively acquired existing pipelines to build the Houston Crude Oil Distribution System ("HDS"), giving it control of "the last mile" of distribution – where the crude oil barrels reach end users and export facilities. The suit alleges that the company leverages its dominant position to keep other companies out of the market through unfair practices ensuring that new competition cannot effectively enter the market to provide services benefiting American consumers.
Under Texas law, pipeline companies like Magellan are common carriers, a status which provides them the power of eminent domain to gain right-of-way on private property. Along with this privilege, Texas law requires common carriers like Magellan to make their pipelines broadly available to market participants for the public good.
The suit alleges that, despite this requirement, Magellan has systematically shut out or impeded Converge's operations, as well as the operations of other competitors and companies in the Houston area. This type of market manipulation is, as alleged in detail in the suit, prevalent in the Houston area as other common carrier pipelines use these same tactics to block Converge and other market participants and their customers from gaining access to these markets.
In fact, this is not the first time Converge has challenged Magellan's practices before the Texas courts and regulators. In 2017, Magellan settled Converge's Texas Railroad Commission complaint and antitrust lawsuit challenging Magellan's anticompetitive practices of denying Converge connections to the HDS. The settlement agreement allowed Converge to connect with Magellan's system at only a single junction. Converge spent nearly double the amount typically required for such projects to meet Magellan's elaborate and unreasonable demands. The current lawsuit alleges that Magellan has violated that settlement agreement.
"Converge is on the right side of the facts and the law," said Benjamin L. Bailey of Bailey & Glasser, LLP. "Nobody wanted this dispute to go this far, but Magellan's ongoing and continuing unwillingness to act in good faith and against the law left Converge with only one option – to challenge Magellan's actions in court."
Converge's lawsuit seeks to stop Magellan from restraining trade and the far-reaching harm it causes. In the suit, Converge also seeks damages that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
Converge is represented in the suit by Brian A. Glasser, Benjamin L. Bailey, John Turner and Robert R. Bell of Bailey & Glasser, LLP and Amy Baird and Richard A. Howell of Jackson Walker.
For more information about this case or to speak to a representative of Converge, please email media@MagellanLawsuit.com.
About Converge
Converge Midstream LLC ("Converge") is an independent crude oil storage and transportation company with its facilities and headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Converge operates salt dome storage caverns, as well as two common carrier pipelines to receive shippers' crude oil into its facilities and redeliver that crude oil to refiners, exporters, traders and other parties throughout the Houston market.
For more information about Converge Midstream LLC, please visit the company's web site at www.cvmidstream.com.
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SOURCE Converge Midstream LLC | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/converge-midstream-cites-anti-competitive-practices-new-suit-against-magellan-midstream/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:41Z |
WASHINGTON, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Fannie Mae (OTCQB: FNMA) priced Connecticut Avenue Securities® (CAS) Series 2022-R05, an approximately $952 million note offering that represents Fannie Mae's fifth CAS REMIC® transaction of the year. CAS is Fannie Mae's benchmark issuance program designed to share credit risk on its single-family conventional guaranty book of business.
The reference pool for CAS Series 2022-R05 consists of approximately 127,000 single-family mortgage loans with an outstanding unpaid principal balance of approximately $38.5 billion. The reference pool includes collateral with loan-to-value ratios of 80.01 percent to 97.00 percent, which were acquired between May 2021 and July 2021. The loans included in this transaction are fixed-rate, generally 30-year term, fully amortizing mortgages and were underwritten using rigorous credit standards and enhanced risk controls.
Fannie Mae will retain a portion of the 2M-1, 2M-2, 2B-1, and 2B-2 tranches and will retain the full 2B-3H first-loss tranche.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC ("Wells Fargo") is the lead structuring manager and joint bookrunner. BofA Securities, Inc. ("BofA) is the co-lead manager and joint bookrunner. Co-managers are Barclays Capital Inc. ("Barclays"), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. ("Citigroup"), Morgan Stanley & Co, LLC ("Morgan Stanley"), and StoneX Financial Inc. ("StoneX"). Selling group members are service-disabled veteran-owned Academy Securities Inc. and African-American owned Blaylock Van, LLC.
With the completion of this transaction, Fannie Mae will have brought 49 CAS deals to market, issued over $56 billion in notes, and transferred a portion of the credit risk to private investors on over $1.8 trillion in single-family mortgage loans, measured at the time of the transaction.
To promote transparency and to help credit investors evaluate our securities and the CAS program, Fannie Mae provides ongoing, robust disclosure data, as well as access to news, resources, and analytics through its credit risk transfer webpages. This includes our innovative Data Dynamics® tool that enables market participants to interact with and analyze CAS deals that are currently outstanding in the market and Fannie Mae's historical loan dataset. In addition, our EU Resources and UK Resources webpages help European Union and UK institutional investors, as well as those managing funds subject to EU/UK regulations comply with EU/UK securitization regulations.
In addition to our flagship CAS program, Fannie Mae continues to transfer mortgage credit risk through its Credit Insurance Risk Transfer™ (CIRT™) reinsurance program.
CAS REMIC notes are issued by a bankruptcy-remote trust. The amount of periodic principal and ultimate principal paid by Fannie Mae is determined by the performance of a large and diverse reference pool. For more information on individual CAS transactions, visit our credit risk transfer webpage.
Fannie Mae advances equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and quality, affordable rental housing for millions of people across America. We enable the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and drive responsible innovation to make homebuying and renting easier, fairer, and more accessible. To learn more, visit:
fanniemae.com | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram | YouTube | Blog
Fannie Mae Newsroom
https://www.fanniemae.com/newsroom
Photo of Fannie Mae
https://www.fanniemae.com/resources/img/about-fm/fm-building.tif
Fannie Mae Resource Center
1-800-2FANNIE
Statements in this release regarding the company's future CAS transactions are forward-looking. Actual results may be materially different as a result of market conditions or other factors listed in "Risk Factors" or "Forward-Looking Statements" in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. This release does not constitute an offer or sale of any security. Before investing in any Fannie Mae issued security, potential investors should review the disclosure for such security and consult their own investment advisors.
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SOURCE Fannie Mae | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/fannie-mae-prices-952-million-connecticut-avenue-securities-cas-remic-deal/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:48Z |
The new better-for-you brands app is on a mission to democratize access to healthier everyday products, quickly earning recognition and accolades from health & wellness-minded consumers and now Fast Company
BOSTON, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The winners of Fast Company's 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards were announced today, honoring clean technology, innovative corporate initiatives, brave new designs for cities and buildings, and other creative works that are supporting the growth of positive social innovation, tackling social inequality, climate change, and public health crises. Merryfield PBC was named a finalist in the corporate social responsibility category of the awards.
The Merryfield Everyday Rewards App is a trusted authority, insights solution and rewards program for a collective of better-for-you brands including Stonyfield Organic, Applegate Farms, Justin's, Califia Farms, Primal Kitchen and more. Merryfield has made it easier for people to save money and earn rewards every day on thousands of healthier products, available at thousands of stores, all together in one app.
"It's an honor for the Merryfield team and our growing collective of better-for-you member brands to have been named a finalist in the corporate responsibility category of Fast Company's 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards," says David Mayer, Founder and CEO of Merryfield.
Now in its sixth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 39 winners, 350 finalists, and more than 600 honorable mentions—with climate, social justice, and AI and data among the most popular categories. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 2,997 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, health, social justice, and more. In addition, several new categories have been added this year including climate, nature, water, and workplace. The 2022 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Australia.
"People want products made from ingredients that don't harm people or the planet," says Joe Dickson, Co-Founder and Head of Standards and Policy of Merryfield. "Many people worry about potentially harmful ingredients or unnecessary chemicals, and often they don't trust companies to be transparent or put consumer health and safety ahead of company needs. We truly appreciate Fast Company's recognition of Merryfield's ability to help give consumers this much needed peace of mind."
Merryfield is the only rewards app with rigorous quality standards that all brands and products must meet to be on the platform. Created by the company's Clean Council, Merryfield's Standards filter out unwanted ingredients such as artificial color, high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.
Even with this level of rigor, tens of thousands of products from both purpose-led brands like Partake, A Dozen Cousins, Earthbound Farm, Dave's Killer Bread and Harmless Harvest as well as new products and reformulations of familiar existing products from bigger companies like The Kraft Heinz Company, Hormel Foods, Barilla and others meet or exceed Merryfield Standards.
"We're on a mission to help erase access disparities to better-for-you products and healthier living for everyone," says Zooey Deschanel, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Merryfield. "Our team could not be more excited to be a finalist in the corporate responsibility category of this year's World Changing Ideas Awards. It acknowledges and recognizes Merryfield' potential to help democratize access to better-for-you options and improve information availability for people looking to make healthier choices all around."
While healthier products are now much more readily available at stores where many people shop, like Target and Kroger and Walmart, availability doesn't always translate to access. "I think the elephant in the room — that's rarely talked about — is the fact that most of the brands being discounted and most heavily promoted aren't necessarily the healthiest ones. And it's not a coincidence," says Mayer. "The big legacy brands that still use a lot of artificial stuff are very profitable products. Those high profit margins fund heavy couponing and deals that in effect subsidize the cost of those products, perpetuating the status quo of what you find in stores. And it's made harder by the fact that most existing rebate and rewards apps are largely supported by products with ingredients many people are trying to avoid."
By building collaboration among brands into its platform, Merryfield helps reduce marketing inefficiencies and duplicative expenses which helps both emerging and much bigger healthier brands pass more meaningful savings directly back to their customers. These rewards help people more regularly support brands that subscribe to a higher everyday quality standard, making better-for-you product options more accessible to everyone.
Merryfield is about saving but also rewarding choices that promote wellness. Merryfield's vision is to help make wellness less "aspirational" and more approachable and affordable. Watch soon for Merryfield rewards across many other dimensions of wellness including healthier eating out, home and club fitness, wellness-related apparel, mindfulness and more.
About the World Changing Ideas Awards: World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company's major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With the goals of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.
"We are consistently inspired by the novelty and creativity that people are applying to solve some of our society's most pressing problems, from shelter to the climate crisis. Fast Company relishes its role in amplifying important, innovative work to address big challenges," says David Lidsky, interim editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "Our journalists have identified some of the most ingenious initiatives to launch since the start of 2021, which we hope will both have a meaningful impact and lead others to join in being part of the solution."
To learn more, go to http://www.merryfield.com, and follow Merryfield @merryfieldxo.
Download the iOS app for free at the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
About Merryfield: Merryfield, a privately-held Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) based in Boston, is a trusted authority, insights solution and rewards program for a collective of better-for-you, purpose-led brands like Stonyfield Organic, ECOS, Califia Farms, Suja, Rao's Homemade, Orgain, Alaffia, Uncle Matt's Organic and more. Merryfield helps take the guesswork out of knowing which brands to trust and rewards consumers for supporting products and brands that don't use any artificial junk or unnecessary chemicals — and are better for your family and the planet. With Merryfield Everyday Rewards, any time you buy products from our growing list of participating member brands you get rewarded. It doesn't matter where you shop, just take a picture of your receipt and you'll get rewarded at least 5% back and often more on 60+ better-for-you brands. Users can also connect their Merryfield account with some of the stores they shop at regularly for digital purchases and get rewards automatically.
Contact:
Sandrine Mangia Park/ Merryfield
Sandrine@merryfield.com
Lauren Auslander/ LUNA
Lauren.Auslander@luna-ent.com
Related Links
https://www.merryfield.com/
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SOURCE Merryfield | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/fast-company-names-merryfield-pbc-finalist-corporate-social-responsibility-category-2022-world-changing-ideas-awards/ | 2022-05-03T19:49:56Z |
The annual conference will feature the best in employee perks and benefits and journey into the future with a virtual reality experience for attendees.
CHICAGO, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PERKS, the employee experience company, announced today the agenda and event highlights of PERKSCon in Chicago, which will be held on May 11, 2022, at Revel Motor Row.
"This year, we're pulling out all of the stops—from our signature champagne toast to a full metaverse experience. Every year, we help HR professionals discover the best, most innovative benefits and services for remote, hybrid, and in-person teams," said PERKS founder and CEO Alexa Baggio. "We just had two great events in Boston and New York with over 1100 attendees and now we're super excited for PERKSCon Chicago because Chi-town really knows how to take care of their people and we're bringing them the best solutions for remote, hybrid, and in-person teams. HR and people ops pros of all levels will be able to shop for benefits, connect with their peers, and check out fun experiences like the world's first HR metaverse game 'HR Nightmare.' Come discover what's possible for the future of your team!"
PERKSCon is also introducing its own NFT "golden tickets" this year, where 20 randomly selected attendees will have their digital event ticket transformed into a valuable NFT offering lifetime attendance to PERKSCon.
The event will host panels with experts in human resources sharing their strategies for the biggest current challenges in the field and PERKS founder Alexa Baggio will record a live episode of the industry-beloved "People Problems" podcast.
Learn more about attending the event or learn more about exhibiting at the event.
About PERKSCon
Started in 2014, PERKSCon is the world's largest employee experience event that gives HR professionals at all levels and from across industries an opportunity to discover the best, most innovative benefits and services for remote, hybrid, and in-person teams. They can grow their careers, earn education credits, and connect with peers in-person. The convention is held in six cities starting in March beginning in Boston and traveling to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Toronto. For more information about attendee and vendor opportunities, visit the PERKSCon site.
Media contact: Jonny Clinkenbeard, Jonny@poweredbyperks.com
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SOURCE PERKS Convention LLC | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/future-work-perks-perkscon-chicago-will-showcase-employee-amenities-new-way-working/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:04Z |
SAN DIEGO, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: HALO) will webcast its Quarterly Update Conference Call for the first quarter 2022 on May 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT. Dr. Helen Torley, president, and chief executive officer, will lead the call. On the same date, Halozyme will release financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, following the close of trading.
To register for this conference call, please use this link: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/321325561. After registering, you will receive an email confirmation that includes dial in details and unique conference call codes for entry. Registration is open through the live call. However, to ensure you are connected for the full call, we suggest registering a day in advance or at minimum 10 minutes before the start of the call.
The call will be webcast live through the "Investors" section of Halozyme's corporate website and a recording will be made available following the close of the call. To access the webcast and additional documents related to the call, please visit the Investors page of www.halozyme.com approximately 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A telephone replay will be available for two weeks after the call by dialing (800) 770-2030 (domestic callers) or (416) 621-4642 (international callers) using replay ID number 89853.
About Halozyme
Halozyme is a biopharmaceutical company bringing disruptive solutions to significantly improve patient experiences and outcomes for emerging and established therapies. Halozyme advises and supports its biopharmaceutical partners in key aspects of new drug development with the goal of improving patients' lives while helping its partners achieve global commercial success. As the innovators of the ENHANZE® technology, which can reduce hours-long treatments to a matter of minutes, Halozyme's commercially-validated solution has touched more than 600,000 patient lives in post-marketing use via five commercialized products across more than 100 global markets. Halozyme and its world-class partners are currently advancing multiple therapeutic programs intended to deliver innovative therapies, with the potential to improve the lives of patients around the globe. Halozyme's proprietary enzyme rHuPH20 forms the basis of the ENHANZE® technology and is used to facilitate the delivery of injected drugs and fluids, potentially reducing the treatment burden of other drugs to patients. Halozyme has licensed its ENHANZE® technology to leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies including Roche, Baxalta, Pfizer, AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Alexion, argenx, Horizon Therapeutics, ViiV Healthcare and Chugai Pharmaceutical. Halozyme derives revenues from these collaborations in the form of milestones and royalties as the Company's partners make progress developing and commercializing their products being developed using ENHANZE®. Halozyme is headquartered in San Diego. For more information visit Halozyme.com and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Contact:
Melinda Hutcheon
Director, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
858-704-8128
ir@halozyme.com
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SOURCE Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/halozyme-host-first-quarter-2022-financial-results-webcast-conference-call/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:10Z |
LOS ANGELES, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Rock-pop musician Hannah Cutt has released her first EP, Nightmares, alongside the music video for her single, "Gets Me Off."
Cutt's work is largely driven by her decision to get sober 5 years ago, at just 23–and by the demons that she dealt with once her addiction was under control, and she was left only with herself. Produced by Grammy Award winner Scott Storch, the songs range from bold, haunting explorations of addiction to the dark humor that Cutt found in recovery. Cutt describes her music as "pure catharsis," and the EP is an ode to finding new life through music.
Nightmares includes four tracks: "Messy," "Kind of a Bitch," "Gets Me Off," and "Fallen Fool."
"Dark, lyrically strong and shockingly raw but always maintains the catchy pocket necessary for a strong pop record." –Hype Magazine
The EP was released alongside the music video for "Gets Me Off." The video, directed by Drew Russ, portrays Cutt's experience of addiction through the intimate lens of the character's apartment, and scenes of her performing confidently in a bathtub contrast with images of her on the floor of the bathroom, asking herself, "Why do I keep doing this to myself?" Cutt wrote the song when she was first getting sober, she says, "when I realized my life had become a vicious cycle of partying, drinking and then stopping. What 'gets me off' in the song is the remorse and excessive self shame that I put myself through after picking up again." The song's bold presentation makes clear the universality of Hannah's struggle, and the insidious layers of addiction.
"This video checks all the boxes: superior sound, great song, sexy and bold… The raw, unashamed, brutally honest lyrics are what really got me. Hannah fearlessly tears her soul open exposing a darkness so many of us fight to hide." –Officially Rocks
Cutt has performed at iconic LA venues like the Viper Room, Whisky a Go Go, the Troubadour, the Mint, and more.
Website: www.hannahcuttmusic.com
Listen to Nightmares here.
Watch "Gets Me Off" here.
Follow Hannah on Instagram at @hannahcuttmusic.
For media requests, please contact:
Rachel Taube, Grey Horse
rachel@greyhorse.com
For bookings, please contact:
hannah@hannahcuttmusic.com
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SOURCE Hannah Cutt | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/hannah-cutt-releases-first-ep-nightmares/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:17Z |
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Harmony is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain with fast finality launched on Mainnet in June 2019 and is now surrounded by a vibrant and engaged community of over 500,000 active platform participants on familiar cross-chain DeFi ecosystems such as Sushi, Curve and Aave. Over the years, Harmony partnered up with hundreds of Web3 solutions and platforms. To top that, in Sep 2021, Harmony released its ecosystem treasury to a tune of $300M to distribute equity-free $50K grants to any teams that are willing to bring their best ideas to build on Harmony.
Harmony's community has been so engaging from the start that builders on Harmony enjoy growing organically from within the ecosystem. As one notices a vibrant and engaging community, teams such as DeFi Kingdoms and lending protocols like Tranquil Finance decided to build on Harmony and grew from zero to billion-dollar TVL dApps in a matter of months! With Harmony's low gas fees costing fractions of a penny and a 2-second transaction finality, users are very encouraged to interact with their yield farms, lendings, NFT trades and in-game purchases, for dApps built on Harmony. Harmony is perfect for these high interaction use cases. All these activities are generating a lot of interest for users to interact with Harmony's blockchain which demands a smooth and uninterrupted experience. Builders on Harmony benefit from solutions offered by Harmony's partners that will meet the needs of their audience.
Harmony integrates with Covalent, the leading provider of indexing and querying solutions for blockchains with their unified API. The initial integration includes complete indexing of Harmony and enables developers to access rich, granular data to build applications faster and easier for a variety of use cases.
"Harmony's traction is unparalleled and the energy in the community is incredible. With their sharding capabilities, it will be exciting to see what developers will build and scale without compromising decentralization and security. Our Unified API will further accelerate the speed at which developers can build."–Ganesh Swami, CEO at Covalent
Covalent's unified API brings full transparency and visibility to assets across over 26 blockchain networks. Developers who need high performance can conveniently enable multichain in minutes by simply changing the chain_ID parameter. Covalent's dataset supports 25B+ transactions, 30,000+ price feeds, and 200,000+ smart contracts for querying.
The blockchain data available includes:
- Get NFT transactions for contract
- Token balances per address
- Historical transactions per address
- Get all contract metadata
Developer Resources
- Harmony Docs
- Covalent API key
- Covalent Docs
- Create Your Own NFT Dashboard in 5 Minutes with Covalent's NFT API
- Anyone can create a customizable NFT dashboard using this template that pulls granular, historical NFT data
- YouTube demo
- Explore this extensive list of use cases and ready-to-ship Web3 templates
- If you have questions or feedback, go to our dedicated feedback-and-support channel in our Discord
Tutorial Videos
- Using NFT metadata pt 1
- Using NFT metadata pt 2
- For analysts (uses Excel and tableau)
- An example of DAO dashboard
- An example of DEX dashboard using the Covalent xy=k endpoints
About Harmony
Harmony is a Proof-of-Stake blockchain with a 2-second block time and finality. Launched on MainNet in June 2019, Harmony is Layer 1 Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatible, horizontally scalable multi-sharded blockchain with low gas fees. Developers can code in Solidity using tools and frameworks such as web3.js, ethers.js, Truffle, MetaMask, Chainlink, Graph Protocol and now with Covalent.
Developers building on Harmony can now apply for $50K launch grants from Harmony's $300M Ecosystem fund, with full support from the Harmony Venture Network within the Harmony ONE Accelerator Program. There has never been a better time to build on Harmony.
Developers will feel welcomed when building within Harmony in verticals in DeFi, games, metaverse experiences, social impact, bridges, toolings and many more, ready to deploy to a highly engaged audience of over 500,000 members of the community. These include DAO contributors, creatives, NFT collectors, investors, enthusiasts and other developers alike. Checkout Messari's report: At ONE with Harmony
Telegram | Twitter | Discord | YouTube | Medium | Facebook | LinkedIn
About Covalent
Covalent provides the industry-leading Unified API bringing visibility to billions of Web3 data points. Developers use Covalent to build exciting multi-chain applications like crypto wallets, NFT galleries, and investor dashboard tools utilizing data from 26+ blockchains. Covalent is trusted by a community of 15,000+ developers and powers data for 500+ applications including 0x, Zerion, Rainbow Wallet, Rotki, Bitski and many others.
Website | Discord | Telegram | Twitter | Youtube | 微信
CONTACT: creative@harmony.one
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SOURCE Harmony | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/harmony-integrates-with-covalent-bringing-data-accessibility-platform/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:24Z |
PASADENA, Calif., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- To more accurately reflect the broad scope of the health care services it provides to the community, and to represent its new affiliation with Cedars-Sinai, Huntington Hospital is introducing a new logo and name. The hospital, its physician group, and all of its outpatient programs and locations will now be under the umbrella of Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai.
"We are excited to share our new name and logo with our community," says Lori J. Morgan, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Huntington Health. "As our services have grown over the years, our care has expanded far beyond our hospital walls. From primary care to emergency care – all delivered with excellence and compassion – Huntington Health offers a full spectrum of care options to help keep our community healthy. And with our affiliation with Cedars-Sinai, Huntington Health is well-positioned to ensure world-class care for years to come."
The recent affiliation with Cedars-Sinai Health System further strengthens Huntington's ability to provide the San Gabriel Valley with accessible, coordinated, high-quality care, close to home. The affiliation enables many different types of collaborations between Cedars-Sinai and Huntington on clinical services, research, clinical trials and education.
For details on Huntington Health, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, visit their website's new url: www.huntingtonhealth.org
About Huntington Health
Huntington Health, www.huntingtonhealth.org, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, offers the full spectrum of care for every need: Whether at our hospital, urgent care, ambulatory surgery center, cancer center or doctor's office, we're here to care for the physical, mental and social well-being of every person. Huntington Health is home to the largest emergency department and only level-II trauma center in the San Gabriel Valley. And our Family Birth Center and level-III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) give babies the safest start to life. Learn more about us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
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SOURCE Huntington Health | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/huntington-hospital-launches-new-name-logo-huntington-health-an-affiliate-cedars-sinai/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:31Z |
TORONTO, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - Info-Tech Research Group has named global technology marketing executive Julianne Garry as Chief Marketing Officer. This appointment follows the rapid growth of the firm's workforce by 43% in 2021, with Info-Tech crossing the 1,000-employee milestone in March of this year. The addition of a new CMO marks another significant milestone for the IT research and advisory firm.
"While the world makes a more permanent shift to remote and hybrid work, the requirement for IT exceeds capacity in virtually every organization and the demand for our services continues to grow," says Joel McLean, Executive Chairman and Founder of Info-Tech Research Group. "Our next chapter requires an experienced and strategic marketing leader to manage and develop that success. Julianne brings invaluable expertise and a future-focused approach that will advance our ability to serve members effectively and empower them with the data they need to achieve their goals."
Julianne has spent over 25 years at the forefront of marketing transformative digital technologies to IT and business leaders for such organizations as IBM, Charter Communications, Virtusa, and IQVIA. As a strategic and award-winning marketer, she has built and transformed marketing organizations and reinvented commercial value from the clients' point of view across a variety of sectors. With a background in psychology, Julianne brings a unique sensibility to brand strategy and marketing that humanizes the interaction between people and technology.
"Today's CIOs face extraordinary expectations and pressure to drive business value in an increasingly complex IT environment. Their needs, mindset, and ways of working have changed," says Julianne Garry, newly appointed CMO at Info-Tech Research Group. "Info-Tech has constantly innovated to help CIOs foster change and transformation. I'm excited to be a part of the organization during this time of tremendous growth."
Info-Tech has offices in Canada, the United States, and Australia, and anticipates adding another 200 employees to its roster this year. More announcements are expected from the firm over the coming months.
To learn more about Info-Tech and to download all the latest research, visit www.infotech.com or connect via LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook for the latest updates.
Info-Tech Research Group is one of the leading information technology research and advisory firms in the world, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
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SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/info-tech-research-group-brings-cmo-board-firms-market-share-continues-grow/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:38Z |
Former FBI Special Agent & Senior Forensic uncovers evidence tampering leading to the filing of this motion
NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- A motion seeking a new trial for Keith Raniere presents evidence of tampering with a hard drive and CF card and the digital photographs found on them. Three experts reviewed the evidence and conclude that "the most reasonable explanation for the plethora of anomalies on the WD HDD and the CF card – which all support the government's narrative – is that the government, acting with malfeasance, tampered with the evidence – destroying, constructing, and altering it."
The motion states, "In its prosecution of Keith Raniere, the government manufactured child pornography and planted it on a computer hard drive to tie it to him. Additionally, the government falsified, fabricated, and manipulated all the key evidence it used to convict Mr. Raniere of the most heinous crimes he was charged with, that is, possession of child pornography and sexual exploitation of a child."
The plain evidence of tampering, in this case, is established by the findings of Dr. J. Richard Kiper, Ph.D., a retired FBI Special Agent of 20 years who served as a case agent, a supervisor, a computer forensic examiner, a Unit Chief of the FBI Academy in Quantico, a whistleblower who was lauded by the United States Senate and who was the "raison d'etre" of the FBI Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 2016. Dr. Kiper found that the evidence tampering at issue "definitely took place while the devices alleged to contain child pornography were in the custody of the FBI. Therefore, in the absence of any other plausible explanation, it is Dr. Kiper's expert opinion that the FBI must have been involved in such evidence tampering."
Keith Raniere's lawyer, Joseph M. Tully said of this motion, "This new evidence must be shown to a jury, as it provides extremely disturbing proof of FBI tampering. This conclusion was reached by multiple independent experts with decades of experience. The government should support this motion and a full airing of these issues."
Eduardo Asúnsolo, a supporter of Raniere and one of the co-founders of Make Justice Blind, a criminal justice reform organization, said, "Everyone in America is entitled to due process. When there is proven government corruption, it cannot be seen as a fair trial."
Some of the experts' key findings alleged in the motion include:
- Two FBI agents "broke protocol and checked the camera and CF card out of Evidence Control twice, for a total of 24 days."
- "The backup folder [on the WD HDD] containing the alleged contraband has all the hallmarks of fraud…" with dates and folder names being "manually altered to look autogenerated in a manner that comported with the government's narrative."
- "While in FBI custody, the CF card was accessed improperly, without authorization, and was altered. It was undoubtedly tampered with, as the thumbnails of a brunette impossibly became thumbnails of a blonde."
Raniere is currently serving a 120-year sentence in federal prison. The case is 20-3520 -3789 in the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Rule 33 motion is available at https://www.scribd.com/document/572676968/Keith-Raniere-Rule-33-Motion-for-New-Trial-Based-on-Government-Criminal-Tampering
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SOURCE Joseph Tully Law Firm | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/joseph-tully-law-firm-keith-raniere-files-motion-requesting-new-trial-after-discovery-alleged-illegal-evidence-tampering-critical-conviction/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:44Z |
XGT® releases in May include seven new gas-replacement solutions for commercial landscapers
LA MIRADA, Calif., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Makita®, the innovation leader in cordless technology, continues its expansion of the 40V | 80V max XGT® System with the announcement of 19 new products.
The 19 XGT® releases span across trades and applications including residential construction, metalworking and woodworking as well as dust extraction, outdoor power equipment, and more.
One Cordless System for Equipment and Tools
The XGT® System gives users one battery platform for a full range of eqXGTuipment and tools, from demolition hammers and high-capacity saws to core handheld tools like drills and impact drivers, and more. The new releases further extend the XGT® System, taking battery-powered products into spaces that have historically been dominated by products powered by cords, gas, and compressed air.
100 XGT® Solutions by the end of 2022
"The May launch further expands XGT® across trades and applications, and it includes seven new cutting and trimming solutions for pro landscapers," said Wayne Hart, senior communications manager, Makita U.S.A. "The new XGT® string trimmers, brush cutter and pole saws are true gas-replacement solutions, and there is more XGT® outdoor power equipment on the way to meet the strong demand for commercial-duty battery-powered OPE. It's all part of the continued growth of the XGT® System, which will reach 100 equipment and tools by the end of 2022."
The following product segments are adding new XGT® products as part of the May announcement. For more information including an online media kit, go here.
Outdoor Power Equipment
Seven new XGT® products include string trimmers, hedge trimmers, pole saws and a brush cutter. All deliver commercial-duty performance with lower noise, less maintenance, zero emissions, and no pull starts.
Metal Cutting Saws
Two new metal cutting solutions include a powerful portable band saw and a 7-1/4" circular saw with chip collector. Both deliver cutting performance that meets and exceeds corded saws.
Woodworking Tools
Makita has a deep legacy in woodworking, carpentry, and residential construction. Five new releases extend XGT® into more spaces for wood cutting, fastening, and finishing.
Vacuums and Dust Extractors
Makita is adding two powerful cordless cannister vacuums for use on construction job sites and in janitorial-sanitation applications. Additionally, a new compact stick vacuum takes cordless cleaning power into compact spaces.
XGT® Extension
Two additional XGT® releases include a professional 7" polisher, and a compact high-speed dust blower for precision cleaning.
40V | 80V max XGT® System
XGT® is Makita's 40V | 80V max system of cordless equipment and tools. XGT® outpowers, outsmarts, and outlasts the rest. Through Makita's innovative engineering, the technology within XGT® will lead to creating the equipment and tools of the future. The 40V | 80V max XGT® system is engineered for high-demand applications that use corded, gas, or air, the XGT® System delivers higher-powered solutions. With 40V max and 80V max XGT® Products, pros can fully experience a battery-powered job site.
About Makita
Makita is a worldwide manufacturer of industrial power tools, power equipment, pneumatics, and cleaning solutions that offer a wide range of industrial accessories. Makita U.S.A., Inc. is located in La Mirada, California, and operates an extensive distribution network throughout the U.S.A. With over 50 years in the United States and over 100 years worldwide, Makita utilizes experience and expertise to manufacture best-in-class solutions. For more information about Makita U.S.A. call (800) 4-MAKITA or visit makitatools.com. Find Makita on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter @makitatools
MEDIA CONTACT
Wayne Hart
(714) 522-8088 x4410
whart@makitausa.com
Consumer Inquiries
(800) 4-MAKITA
makitatools.com
@makitatools
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SOURCE Makita U.S.A., Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/makita-adds-19-new-xgt-cordless-equipment-tools-expanding-system/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:51Z |
KINGSTON, ON, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ - SnapCab is launching a new architectural office product at Chicago's NeoCon®: the Link, a pod that enhances video-conferencing from the home or the office.
In today's Zoom-centric world, the Link provides a quiet, private space with the ideal layout and lighting. The space is elongated for the best camera angle. Dimmable white LED lights are positioned vertically to light the user's face evenly. The acoustic felt lining the walls improves the audio quality for online meetings. The pod accommodates the customer's own video equipment, which they can easily switch out anytime.
The Link's single person occupancy offers a trim space that fits into an office layout or in the home. It provides a quiet space to focus on a project, take a call or hold a virtual meeting. An optional switch-glass front is available for privacy and to eliminate distractions.
Like other pods in SnapCab's Workspace selections, the Link utilizes a top-to-bottom air flow exchange, pulling fresh air in through ceiling fans and exiting through floor vents. This gives users a fresh environment with the cleanest air flow, exchanging fully every 90 seconds. Priced competitively, the Link is UL Listed, Seismic Certified, fire-rated, CARB Phase II compliant, and carries a 10 year warranty.
Carla Bostock, Art Director & Product Aesthetics Manager at SnapCab, says that her favorite thing about the Link is how customizable it is: "You can literally choose from thousands of color combinations. The desk can easily adjust to any height for sitting or standing. And technology is always changing. You are not locked into built-in equipment. The pod can work with your current and future tech."
For the past 50 years, NeoCon has been the standout event for the commercial design industry. Over 700 exhibitors will showcase new products and services relevant to the workplace, education, public spaces, healthcare and more.
About SnapCab
Since 1983, SnapCab has been a leader in developing workspace privacy solutions and elevator cab interiors that are flexible, high quality and safe to use in a variety of environments. SnapCab Workspace offers a flexible kit of parts that is designed with a customizable frame, panels, finishes, colors, furniture, accessories and more. These isolated pods for the open office are moveable, simple to clean and can be combined with the SnapCab Connects walls to transform any workplace.
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SOURCE SnapCab | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/office-pod-manufacturer-snapcab-launches-dedicated-video-conferencing-office-space-neocon-june-13-15/ | 2022-05-03T19:50:58Z |
HOUSTON, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexible energy provider, PearlX Infrastructure LLC (PearlX), today announced a partnership with Rice University's architecture department to complete the installation of a sustainable accessory dwelling unit. The unit, owned by leading Houston affordable housing non-profit Avenue CDC, is modelled after the traditional Texan "Dogtrot". It will source its power from rooftop solar PV modules, donated by Freedom Solar, and a contiguous SolarEdge Energy Hub inverter and Energy Bank battery donated by PearlX.
The innovative 640 square foot unit has two wings divided by a "breezeway": one housing the bedroom and bathroom, the other the kitchen and living room. The unit will only allow one wing to be energized at a time, and will substantially reduce the carbon footprint, energy costs, and provide the unit energy resiliency- courtesy of SolarEdge's award winning technology.
PearlX, who joined the project to build upon its mission of expanding access to the benefits of clean energy to the entire multifamily space, will be asset managing the project with its proprietary management software, "PearlX Flex", and will be integrating the installation with a virtual power plant currently being developed at the multifamily community 2410 Waugh in Montrose, Houston. This will allow the physically detached installations to operate as one synchronized solar and battery plant, delivering excess generated power not consumed by residents to the grid.
Commenting on the collaboration, Andrew Colopy, Associate Professor at Rice Architecture stated "the Auxiliary ADU was uniquely designed to use minimal energy, but only with the help of the PearlX team were we able to incorporate on-site generation and storage to meet our goal of building our first net-positive energy project."
The energy performance data will be made available to Professor Dan Cohan's class "Energy and the Environment" for students to learn from operating, smart distributed generation projects.
For more information, see Rice University's announcement here.
About PearlX
Founded in 2019, PearlX is a clean energy platform led by a world-class team of industry veterans. PearlX deliver the benefits of distributed generation to the multifamily sector and are driven by selling the most flexible and reliable electron with the highest energy margins. Learn more at: https://www.pearlx.com/.
About SolarEdge
SolarEdge is a global leader in smart energy, delivering innovative commercial and residential solutions that power our lives and drive future progress. SolarEdge addresses a broad range of smart energy market segments through its intelligent inverter solution, PV, storage, EV charging, UPS, and grid service solutions. Visit SolarEdge at www.solaredge.com.
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SOURCE Pearlx Infrastructure | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/pearlx-rice-university-unveil-innovative-sustainable-housing-unit-houston/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:04Z |
Providing solutions to make buildings healthier and keep people safer, R-Zero's industry-leading tech honored for innovation in wellness
SAN FRANCISCO, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Helping to drive forward a safer, more sustainable and effective approach to healthier buildings, biosafety tech company, R-Zero, was named among the list of honorees in Fast Company's 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards. The awards honor clean technology, innovative corporate initiatives, brave new designs for cities and buildings, and other creative works that support the growth of positive social innovation and tackle social inequality, climate change, and public health crises.
R-Zero's intelligent biosafety platform continuously collects data about how a space is being used, and uses that data to quantify risk with advanced risk modeling. Then a network of connected devices automatically works to mitigate risk in the air or on surfaces. Real-time data streaming provides advanced analytics and actionable insights based on how spaces are actually being used. The platform is being used across many industries, including education, hospitality, healthcare, senior care and in offices and workspaces, helping to provide safer shared spaces for hundreds of thousands of people.
"R-Zero is proud to be at the forefront of this new era; we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-engineer the built environment to promote and prioritize human health and productivity. The buildings where we spend 90% of our lives should not only be smart and sustainable, but they should actively work to keep us healthy too – that's exactly what our technology exists to do," said Grant Morgan, co-founder and CEO of R-Zero. "R-Zero is honored to receive this distinction from Fast Company for our innovation as we focus on making a difference today with an eye toward a healthier world tomorrow."
Now in its sixth year, the World Changing Ideas Awards showcase 39 winners, 350 finalists, and more than 600 honorable mentions—with climate, social justice, and AI and data among the most popular categories. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of nearly 3,000 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, health, social justice, and more. In addition, several new categories have been added this year including climate, nature, water, and workplace. The 2022 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Switzerland to Hong Kong.
"We are consistently inspired by the novelty and creativity that people are applying to solve some of our society's most pressing problems, from shelter to the climate crisis. Fast Company relishes its role in amplifying important, innovative work to address big challenges," says David Lidsky, interim editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "Our journalists have identified some of the most ingenious initiatives to launch since the start of 2021, which we hope will both have a meaningful impact and lead others to join in being part of the solution."
About R-Zero:
R-Zero is the first biosafety technology company dedicated to making our shared indoor spaces safer, healthier, and more productive. Backed by Mayo Clinic and the earliest investors in Google, Amazon, Tesla, and SpaceX, R-Zero is dedicated to developing the most effective and innovative disinfection technologies to reduce the spread of microorganisms in the built environment. Combining space utilization sensor technology, AI, ML, and IoT-connected hardware, R-Zero's intelligent biosafety platform enables organizations to create and maintain healthier indoor environments. Today, the company's sustainable, IoT-enabled disinfection technologies enable safer, healthier indoor spaces for hundreds of thousands of people across both public and private sector organizations without using chemicals. R-Zero's system of connected biosafety technologies provides greater visibility, automation, and even smarter risk reduction within the indoor spaces where people spend their time. R-Zero is backed by leading venture capital firms DBL Partners, World Innovation Lab, and SOSV/HAX; Mayo Clinic; and thought leaders from hospitality, sports, commercial real estate, impact, and other industries. For more information, visit www.rzero.com.
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SOURCE R-Zero | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/r-zero-named-fast-company-2022-world-changing-idea/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:11Z |
Did you lose money on investments in Riskified Ltd.? If so, please visit Riskified Ltd. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com to discuss your rights.
NEW YORK, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein Liebhard LLP announces that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the Class A ordinary shares of Riskified Ltd. ("Riskified" or the "Company") (NYSE: RSKD) in or traceable to the Company's July 2021 initial public offering (the "IPO") of 20.125 million Riskified shares at $21 per share. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933.
Riskified operates a risk management platform that utilizes machine learning to protect its merchant-clients from fraud. The Company's proprietary machine learning platform purportedly identifies the individual behind each online interaction, helping Riskified's online merchant customers eliminate risk from their business. Riskified charges merchants a percentage of every dollar of Gross Merchandise Value ("GMV") that it approves (i.e., is deemed non-fraudulent by Riskified's proprietary fraud-detection software). If an approved transaction results in a chargeback (a charge reversal that occurs when a cardholder disputes a transaction), Riskified reimburses the merchant for the amount of the lost sale as part of its "chargeback guarantee."
Leading up to the IPO, Riskified claimed that it was experiencing tremendous revenue growth, stating that its revenue grew 55% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020. Riskified also stated that its GMV grew 77%, gross profit grew 65%, and adjusted EBITDA went from a $3.1 million loss to a $296,000 loss, respectively, from the first quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021.
On July 1, 2021, the Company filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form F1 for the IPO, which, after several amendments, was declared effective on July 28, 2021 (the "Registration Statement").
Plaintiff alleges that the Registration Statement was materially false and misleading because it failed to disclose that: (a) as Riskified expanded its user base, the quality of the Company's machine learning platform had deteriorated (rather than improved as represented in the Registration Statement); (b) Riskified had expanded its customer base into industries with relatively high rates of fraud – including partnerships with cryptocurrency and remittance business – in which the Company had limited experience, and that this expansion had negatively impacted the effectiveness of the Company's machine learning platform; and (c) Riskified suffered from materially higher chargebacks and cost of revenue and depressed gross profits and gross profit margins during its third fiscal quarter of 2021.
On September 9, 2021, Riskified issued a press release announcing the Company's financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021 – i.e., the quarter prior to the IPO. On a conference calls, defendant Dotcheva, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, stated that Riskified tended "to experience higher chargebacks when we enter a new industry."
On November 16, 2021, Riskified issued a press release announcing the Company's financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2021 – i.e., the quarter during which the IPO was conducted. The release reported, among other things, that Riskified's revenue growth had declined to 26% year-over-year, compared to 55% and 47% revenue growth year-over-year for the first and second quarters of 2021 respectively. Riskified's GMV growth had also declined to 28% year-over-year compared to 77% and 55%, respectively, for the first two quarters of 2021.
On February 23, 2022, Riskified issued a press release announcing the Company's financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2021. The release reported that Riskified's revenue growth and GMV growth had continued to decelerate during the quarter to just 22% and 23%, respectively, year-over-year. Further, Riskified's gross profit growth remained muted, at just 10.7% year-over-year.
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 1, 2022. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired RSKD Class A ordinary shares in or traceable to the Company's IPO, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Riskiified Ltd. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@bernlieb.com.
Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. © 2022 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
Contact Information:
Peter Allocco
Bernstein Liebhard LLP
https://www.bernlieb.com
(212) 951-2030
pallocco@bernlieb.com
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SOURCE Bernstein Liebhard LLP | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/riskified-ltd-nyse-rskd-shareholder-class-action-alert-bernstein-liebhard-llp-announces-that-securities-class-action-lawsuit-has-been-filed-against-riskified-ltd-nyse-rskd/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:17Z |
-- Innovative Single-Family Rental (SFR) Investment Platform Brings in Trio of Industry Veterans --
TAMPA, Fla., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Second Avenue Group ('Second Avenue'), a full-service, institutional quality single-family rental platform ("SFR"), announced today that three visionary SFR industry executives have joined the company in various senior-level roles.
Ray Barrows, who boasts more than 25 years of experience in housing operations, acquisitions and development, joins Second Avenue as the firm's new COO. In addition, Bruce Strohm and Fred Tuomi - two iconic and longtime SFR and related housing industry executives - join as Strategic Advisors to Second Avenue.
"Second Avenue is experiencing extremely high growth in the SFR market today, which makes the hiring of these three gentlemen a truly transformative moment for our company," said Second Avenue CEO and Founder Mike Rothman. "Not only have they validated the strength of our existing platform by joining us, but their presence on the team positions us to expand on an even greater level going forward with their combined knowledge and proven industry leadership," said Second Avenue CEO and Founder Mike Rothman.
Ray Barrows previously served as EVP of National Operations and Chief Operating Officer at Progress Residential where he helped oversee the company's growth from 28,000 to 55,000+ single-family home rentals. Prior to working with Progress Residential, Mr. Barrows was a Senior Vice President with The Irvine Company in California. In that capacity, he oversaw the day-to-day property management operations for the company's 64,000 apartment units in Southern California. Mr. Barrows has also held senior positions with Waypoint Residential, Bell Partners, Archstone Communities and Security Capital Group.
"It's an honor to join a team as experienced and innovative as Second Avenue," said Barrows. "Second Avenue is one of the few SFR companies to create an end-to-end technology platform that effectively manages the required aspects of both maintenance and capital decisions at the home level, as well as providing the personalized customer service that residents now demand from quality SFR housing. The Board, Senior Management and Operations team are unparalleled in both experience and the understanding of how these tech-enabled systems will be utilized to provide superior returns for Second Avenue's investors."
Bruce Strohm previously served as the Executive Vice-President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Equity Residential, an S&P 500 public company, from 1995 until January 2018. Equity Residential is one of the largest apartment companies in the United States, owning over 300 properties, with 80,000 units, with a market capitalization in excess of $30 billion. From 2018 to 2019, Mr. Strohm was Chief Legal Officer of Equity International, a private equity company focusing on investing in real estate outside the United States. During his tenure at Equity Residential and Equity International, Mr. Strohm provided legal oversight of transactions, litigation and insurance, and worked closely with the chief executive officer and chief financial officer on capital markets activities and shareholder relations.
"Having worked for Sam Zell for over 30 years, I have a highly disciplined approach to investing, with a laser focus on the right supply-demand metrics. Second Avenue does that exceptionally well, which is why I invested with Mike Rothman and his company in 2019," said Strohm. "Second Avenue is one of the few SFR operators to have the ability to effectuate a high velocity of acquisitions because of their proprietary lead generation technology, investment valuation and underwriting expertise. I am pleased to be a strategic advisor to Second Avenue, helping them maximize performance for their institutional investors."
Fred Tuomi served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Invitation Homes Inc, the nation's largest single-family rental company, from 2017 until his retirement in 2019. Prior to its merger with Invitation Homes, Mr. Tuomi served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Starwood Waypoint Homes from 2016 until 2017. Prior to its merger with Starwood Waypoint Homes, he served as Co-President and Chief Operating Officer of Colony American Homes, Inc. from 2013 until 2016. Mr. Tuomi was Executive Vice President and President—Property Management for Equity Residential, the nation's largest multi-family REIT, from 1994 until his retirement in 2013. He led the development of Equity Residential's property management group through years of rapid growth and expansion, while helping to pioneer its leading operational platform.
Said Tuomi: "Along with the substantial level of investment capital continuing to flow to the SFR sector, there is a tremendous need for an institutional quality, full service and tech-enabled platform for acquisition, asset management and property management of SFR homes and BTR communities. Second Avenue recognized this need in 2017 and has developed a highly capable platform for large scale investors, empowered by robust technology and experienced SFR professionals. I am pleased to be an investor and to serve as an advisor to Second Avenue."
Second Avenue, which was founded in 2017, is currently active in 10 markets, primarily in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States. The firm has targeted an additional 10 markets for entry in the next year and expects to deploy as much as ~$1 billion annually.
The firm's growth outlook is consistent with the long-awaited and now widely recognized boom in the single-family rental sector, addressing the growing demand for high-quality suburban rental housing.
IMAGES OF MESSRS BARROWS, STROHM AND TUOMI AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
About Second Avenue
Discover the joy of renting with Second Avenue, the next-gen single-family rental investing platform. Second Avenue provides sought-after rental homes for today's families and compelling risk-adjusted returns in single family rental (SFR) property portfolios for institutional investors. Bringing exceptional discipline, tech simplicity, and professional property acquisition and management to the industry, Second Avenue makes SFR renting and investing easier and better than ever. Discover the simplicity and possibility of Second Avenue homes and investing. With ~$2 billion under management, Second Avenue is privately held and headquartered in Tampa, Florida with regional teams throughout the United States.
For more information about Second Avenue, visit: www.secondavenue.com
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SOURCE Second Avenue | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/second-avenue-names-new-coo-strategic-advisors/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:23Z |
ATLANTA, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) members will host a series of webinars for entities interested in participating in SEEM when operations begin in the fourth quarter of 2022.
SEEM is a simple but powerful structure designed to facilitate intra-hour transactions utilizing unused transmission capacity to achieve cost savings. SEEM follows all FERC-approved rules and requirements for existing bilateral markets today, but with additional data transparency and reporting to FERC. Participation in SEEM is voluntary and open to all entities that meet the appropriate requirements.
The webinars will take place on the following dates:
- Session I – SEEM: An Overview of the Exchange and How to Participate (Legal & Operational Considerations)
- Session II – Market Principles, Part 1: An Overview of the Network Infrastructure and a Walk-through of Platform Matching Examples
- Session III – Market Principles, Part 2: A Deeper Dive - Tagging processes, Settlement, and Publicly Available Information
Each session will have time for questions and answers. Interested parties must register prior to all events to be admitted. To register please visit the SEEM Introductory Webinar Series registration site.
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SOURCE Southeast Energy Exchange Market | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/seem-host-webinar-series-potential-participants/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:29Z |
Managing Partner Robert R. Simpson enhances Shook's trial practice, serving consumer product, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, among other areas.
HARTFORD, Conn., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Expanding its already strong bench of trial lawyers based in the Northeast, Shook, Hardy & Bacon announces the addition of a Hartford, Connecticut, office to complement its presence in Boston, Philadelphia, New York, and Washington, D.C. The firm welcomes Managing Partner Robert R. Simpson, a first-chair trial attorney who focuses on high-stakes litigation in the pharmaceutical and medical device, automotive and mobility, and consumer product industries, among other areas.
"Rob is a preeminent trial attorney who is well regarded by Shook's health, science and technology clients," said Shook Chair Madeleine McDonough. "Rob combines science-driven trial strategy with a commitment to serving the legal profession in a variety of leadership roles. He also brings aboard a talented team to help grow our next generation of litigators across the firm."
Simpson has served as first- or second-chair trial counsel in more than 30 cases that have gone to verdict, in addition to acting as lead counsel, national counsel and local counsel for many global manufacturers. His experience spans multiple areas of law, including product liability and commercial litigation, often in the context of multidistrict litigation, class actions and mass torts, and unfair competition and false advertising claims.
"I have collaborated with Shook's top-notch trial teams for many years," said Simpson. "It feels like I am coming home and teaming up with family I have known many years. Shook has built a unique culture that values innovation, collaboration and inclusivity. I am excited to continue my career as part of Shook's trial practice."
Simpson serves in leadership roles for the American Bar Association - Section of Litigation and the National Bar Association - Commercial Law Section. He is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and serves as a trial instructor for the National Institute for Trial Advocacy and the ABA. Simpson is also passionate about the effective use of technology in the courtroom and leveraging technology and innovative approaches to help streamline case management in large-scale proceedings. Simpson advocates for some of the best-known global brands in very difficult and complicated liability cases and business litigation matters.
"We are simply thrilled to have Rob join the firm," stated Shook Partner Bill Geraghty, who has previously worked with Simpson on trial matters. "He is an outstanding trial lawyer and leader who will make an immediate impact. We know his skills will be in high demand by current and future clients."
Shook's litigators face some of the most aggressive plaintiffs' lawyers in the country, and companies rely on Shook when they face unwieldy class action and novel claims.
Fast Facts about Shook's Trial Practice:
- Shook has tried 100+ trials in five years, including obtaining three defense verdicts in a one-month span in 2021;
- Shook represents 75% of the Fortune 100;
- Nearly 85% of Shook lawyers are litigators.
The expansion into Hartford follows the opening of Shook offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York and St. Louis since 2019, allowing the firm to serve its health, science and technology clients from 18 distinct markets. Shook's Product Liability Litigation Practice is co-led by Alicia Donahue and Hildy Sastre, and the firm historically tries more than 25 cases to verdict each year.
About Shook, Hardy & Bacon
Founded in 1889, Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. has 18 offices in the United States and London, with attorneys and professional staff serving clients in the health, science and technology sectors in areas ranging from product liability defense and business litigation to intellectual property prosecution and litigation, environmental and toxic tort, privacy and data security and regulatory counseling.
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SOURCE Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/shook-boosts-trial-strength-northeast/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:35Z |
The collaboration will leverage the latest drones technology, together with cutting edge AI-technology to drive more insightful data-driven decisions.
WESTFIELD, Ind., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Taranis, a leading AgTech, AI-powered crop intelligence company is pleased to announce its extended partnership with Drone Nerds and DJI, bringing together the latest drone technology, large-scale operational efficiencies and disruptive AI technologies to generate precise and actionable insights for ag retailers, co-ops and farmers.
Taranis' nation-wide network of Drone Service Providers (DSPs), utilize the world's largest DJI Matrice 300 (DJI M300) fleet of drones for Taranis' AI-powered precision scouting, producing millions of high-resolution, leaf-level images as well as wide-angle field images. The ability of the M300 drone to offer a richer picture of the fields, combined with its durability and simple-to-use interface, enables Taranis to deliver unparalleled operational scalability and quality of service for ag retailers in 15 US states in the upcoming and future ag seasons.
The unrivaled reliability of the drones supported by DroneNerds, combined with DroneNerds' expertise and support, ensures Taranis' network of DSPs continue to be successful in delivering the best service levels (SLAs) in the industry, and allowing them to operate an unmatched drone fleet across the US, with over 150 drone pilots.
"As Taranis continues to grow and serve millions of acres across the US, we had to ensure we have the right partners in place to deliver on our quality services at scale," says Opher Flohr, COO and CFO at Taranis, "the collaboration with DroneNerds and the ability to use the cutting edge DJI m300 drones has been a cornerstone of our success in delivering the most timely, and actionable insights on to our customers."
"We're happy to partner with Taranis and DJI on one of largest drone operations in the agriculture industry," comments Jeremy Schneiderman, CEO & Co-Founder at DroneNerds, "we are the largest provider of enterprise-class drones in North America, and our team has the experience and knowledge to support the needs in the coming season and beyond as Taranis continue to expand their customer base to hundreds of ag retailers and millions of acres".
CONTACT PERSON:
Ido Peled
ido.peled@taranis.ag
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SOURCE Taranis | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/taranis-dronenerds-dji-deploy-largest-scale-m300-drone-operations-increase-field-yield/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:42Z |
PURCHASE, N.Y., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Townsquare Media, Inc. (NYSE: TSQ) ("Townsquare," or the "Company") announced today that Bill Wilson, Chief Executive Officer, and Stuart Rosenstein, Chief Financial Officer, will participate in two upcoming investor conferences.
Sidoti's Virtual Investor Conference
Management will participate in the Sidoti Virtual Investor Conference on Wednesday, May 11, 2022 and Thursday, May 12, 2022. Management's presentation is scheduled to begin at approximately 3:15 PM Eastern Time on Wednesday, May 11, 2022. A live webcast and replay of the presentation will be available on the investor relations page of Townsquare's website at www.townsquaremedia.com and on Sidoti's presentation portal at:
https://sidoti.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_E5lA2UjSQBOHfgKdXJZgUQ.
Management will be available for one-on-one and small group meetings with investors. Investors interested in meeting with management should contact their Sidoti & Company representative at conference@sidoti.com or request to complete their registration at https://www.meetmax.com/sched/event_81401/investor_reg_new.html?attendee_role_id=SIDOTI_INVESTOR.
Barrington Research Virtual Spring Investment Conference
Management will participate in the Barrington Research Virtual Spring Investment Conference on Thursday, May 19, 2022. Management will be available for one-on-one and small group meetings.
About Townsquare Media, Inc.
Townsquare is a community-focused digital media and digital marketing solutions company with market leading local radio stations, principally focused outside the top 50 markets in the U.S. Our assets include a subscription digital marketing services business, Townsquare Interactive, providing website design, creation and hosting, search engine optimization, social media and online reputation management as well as other digital monthly services for approximately 26,800 SMBs; a robust digital advertising division, Townsquare Ignite, a powerful combination of a) an owned and operated portfolio of more than 330 local news and entertainment websites and mobile apps along with a network of leading national music and entertainment brands, collecting valuable first party data, and b) a proprietary digital programmatic advertising technology stack with an in-house demand and data management platform; and a portfolio of 321 local terrestrial radio stations in 67 U.S. markets strategically situated outside the Top 50 markets in the United States. Our portfolio includes local media brands such as WYRK.com, WJON.com and NJ101.5.com, and premier national music brands such as XXLmag.com, TasteofCountry.com, UltimateClassicRock.com, and Loudwire.com. For more information, please visit www.townsquaremedia.com, www.townsquareinteractive.com, and www.townsquareignite.com.
Investor Relations
Claire Yenicay
(203) 900-5555
investors@townsquaremedia.com
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SOURCE Townsquare Media, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/townsquare-participate-upcoming-investor-conferences/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:48Z |
Evidence management technology provider reports record-breaking performance with 40% increase in year-over-year revenue
ATLANTA, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Utility today shared its first-quarter 2022 results, providing insight into the technology company's continued growth. Benefitting from 17 new contract bookings with law enforcement agencies across the United States, Utility secured $35M in quarterly bookings, a record for the company. Complementing quarterly financial highlights include:
- 40% increase in year-over-year revenue
- 218% increase in year-over-year contract bookings
- 31% increase in recurring revenue year-over-year
In the first quarter, Utility executed new contract bookings with nine city police departments; six county agencies, including Harris County, TX, the third most populous county in the country; one school district, Northside Texas Independent School District, and one state corrections agency, South Carolina Department of Corrections. The technology provider also renewed 12 contracts in the first quarter, totaling nearly $1M. Overall, contracts this quarter committed more than 4,892 new devices to the dynamic Utility platform.
"Solution-seeking law enforcement agencies continue to affirm the need for the policy-based, high-speed data collection technology that only Utility provides," said Michael Nark, president and CEO of Utility. "Our first-quarter results demonstrate strong performance within the organization, and I'm confident in our ongoing growth as we look to introduce new technologies in 2022."
During the quarter, platform activity included:
- More than 1.2 petabytes of new media uploaded.
- Creation of 28,452 cases and more than 3.8 million incidents.
- Utility's ALPR technology detected 2.2 million license plates.
- More than 1.7 million user logins
- Users accessed / played more than 733,000 videos
Additional Q1 activities:
- Released a variety of software technology updates for all devices.
- Support for an external mount BodyWorn camera.
- Introduction of a SWAT BodyWorn helmet-mounted camera.
- Fixed mount gunshot detection.
Finally, during the quarter, the company also received notification from the United States Patent and Trademark Office of the issuance of patent 11,282,536 for Systems and Methods for Detecting a Gunshot. The patent covers the detection of a gunshot event through the use ultrasonic frequency distribution across a broad range of frequencies which enables higher accuracy than traditional energy-based sensors. The technology approach also dramatically improves location detection and gunshot type.
About Utility
Utility, the innovative technology-enabled service provider recognized for creating groundbreaking digital systems for frontline professions, provides a universe of intuitive products for effectively capturing, managing and releasing video evidence. Technologies include a variety of cameras, sensors and devices as well as situational awareness software solutions for law enforcement, first responders, transportation agencies and utility providers. To learn more about Utility and its technology solutions, please visit bodyworn.com.
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SOURCE Utility, Inc. | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/utility-shares-q1-2022-business-results/ | 2022-05-03T19:51:54Z |
Morgan Polymer Seals' vision inspection technology ensures the safety of high-volume OEM filter plates delivered to Europe and Asia
SAN DIEGO, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Morgan Polymer Seals announced today the innovation of its in-house vision inspection technology for a Volkswagen filter plate seal used in a vehicle's Transmission Electro-Hydraulic Control Module (TECHM).
Dubbed "MAGIC" (Morgan Automated Gasket Inspection Control), the machine utilizes 3-D scanning technology to check for aesthetic and dimensional defects in 5 million parts manufactured annually in Tijuana, Mexico, before shipping to the OEM in Germany and China.
Head of Automation Leonardo Meza explains, "We programmed this particular machine as a proactive measure to ensure the quality and safety of the product. Our MAGIC inspection machines are continuously improved to ensure the reliability of every part we manufacture because quality is the key to on-time delivery."
Morgan Polymer Seals is a 25-year-old, privately-owned automotive supplier that designs and manufactures custom gaskets and seals for powertrain, fuel system, and electrical applications.
To learn more, visit MorganPolymerSeals.com.
Sam Morgan
sam.morgan@morganpolymerseals.com
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SOURCE Morgan Polymer Seals | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/volkswagen-supplier-innovates-rubber-gasket-inspection-machines-mexico/ | 2022-05-03T19:52:01Z |
Polling shows that voters are unified on urgent need for action
DENVER, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States Department of Interior announced today it intends to reduce the previously scheduled amount of water released from Lake Powell to California, Arizona, and Nevada. This necessary reduction equates to the amount of water used in approximately 1 million U.S. households for a year. Without these and other actions, water levels in Lake Powell are at risk of falling below the minimum amount needed to maintain the hydropower electrical grid at Glen Canyon Dam, which provides power to millions. Shrinking water levels in Lake Powell also mean drinking water supplies for communities downstream, including Page, Arizona, and specific chapters of Navajo Nation, could be cut off.
These decisions come in response to historically low water levels in the reservoir. A recent national poll found 73% of Americans are worried about climate change and water scarcity, while one-quarter of voters believe their state will not have enough water during their grandchildren's lifetimes (the next 100 years).
The Walton Family Foundation issued the following statement from Ted Kowalski, who leads the foundation's Colorado River initiative:
"We appreciate the Bureau of Reclamation running an inclusive process with the states, tribal nations and the environmental community. This is an important step but there's still so much more to do."
"In the face of climate change, we know that people are unified around natural infrastructure projects that help ecosystems conserve water resources. We also need to empower local communities to reduce water usage and support the switch to sustainable and regenerative farming and ranching methods."
"As we tackle these issues, it is critical that we deliberately include those most impacted by water shortages, such as the tribes and rural communities, when developing strategies. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity through the bipartisan infrastructure law that was just passed to develop climate resilient water solutions. We need everyone at the table for this work."
About the Walton Family Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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SOURCE Walton Family Foundation | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/walton-family-foundation-statement-plan-limit-water-releases-lake-powell-underscores-urgency-colorado-river-water-shortages/ | 2022-05-03T19:52:07Z |
WESTERLY, R.I., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington Trust is offering free online financial literacy resources and tools to schools and students throughout Rhode Island through Banzai, an award-winning program and content library. Banzai allows users to practice real-world finance from the safety of their home or classroom using any internet-enabled device. Washington Trust is the first financial institution in Rhode Island to partner with Banzai, Inc.
"Financial literacy plays an important part in ensuring students become economically empowered as adults," says Edward O. "Ned" Handy III, Chairman and CEO at Washington Trust. "We're excited to provide the teachers with relevant, accessible and interactive resources that help them build a solid foundation of practical financial knowledge with their students."
Students will use the free software to learn how to manage a budget, save for a goal, understand credit, and deal with unexpected financial pitfalls. Teachers will be able to easily monitor and grade student progress remotely and can implement the curriculum using both digital and physical resources, provided free of charge, as a result of Washington Trust's sponsorship.
"Through our business and financial literacy classes at Tolman, our goal is to provide the students with a well-rounded financial education that will enable them to make sound decisions as they chart their paths forward into the future," says Robert D'Arezzo, Director of the Marketing and Management Academy program at William E. Tolman High School in Pawtucket. D'Arezzo, who was named "Rhode Island's Financial Educator of the Year in 2021" and was a former "Pawtucket Teacher of the Year Award" winner, added "We're excited to have access to these dynamic tools and resources thanks to Washington Trust's sponsorship of our school and look forward to continuing to integrate them into our curriculum."
Banzai's educational tools align with Rhode Island's state curriculum requirements, making the program a fun way for students to gain vital skills while also helping teachers and schools fulfill the newly mandated requirement to provide financial education in the classroom. To view the full list of sponsored schools, visit https://washtrust.teachbanzai.com/impact.
Teachers interested in using Banzai can visit washtrust.teachbanzai.com or call 888-8-BANZAI.
ABOUT WASHINGTON TRUST®
Founded in 1800, Washington Trust is the oldest community bank in the nation and one of the Northeast's premier financial services companies. Washington Trust offers a full range of financial services, including commercial banking, mortgage banking, personal banking and wealth management and trust services through its offices located in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Washington Trust Company is a subsidiary of Washington Trust Bancorp, Inc., (NASDAQ: WASH). Additional information on Washington Trust and its subsidiaries can be found at https://www.washtrust.com/.
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SOURCE The Washington Trust Company | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/washington-trust-offers-free-financial-literacy-program-rhode-island-schools-students/ | 2022-05-03T19:52:13Z |
Local, sustainable and with the authentic flavor of the Berkshires, Woodlife Farm Market is now open
NEW LEBANON, N.Y., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Woodlife Ranch announces the opening of Woodlife Farm Market, built on the tradition of local sustainable artisanal food production in the heart of the Berkshires.
Woodlife Farm Market, formerly known as Windswept Farm, is a beautiful property encompassing 150 acres of lush farmland located in New Lebanon, NY. The farm is known for its cut your own Christmas trees in December, and for its famous gladiolus that bloom in August.
Under new ownership, Woodlife Farm Market has done some renovations, adding a kitchen, new floors, with an overall rustic style including hand hewn beams and other rustic features. Two greenhouses have been added to the property as well, and are full of hanging flower baskets, herbs, veggies, perennials, and annuals available for purchase starting May 7.
Woodlife Farm Market will continue to grow and sell Christmas trees and gladiolus, offering pick your own flowers and fruit. Blueberries, apples, raspberries, and many flower varieties will be available.
The kitchen at the market will open mid-summer, with a menu thoughtfully put together by Chef Tony and Chef Jeremy. The farm market will also be home to Woodlife Roasting Company, a fire roasted catering company. There are also plans in place for a tent village, lodging, and event space down the road.
Woodlife Farm Market is opening for the season on May 7th and plans to be open daily from 9-6.
Learn more at https://woodlifefarmmarket.com/ or visit the new Woodlife Farm Market in-person at 36 Old Route 20, New Lebanon NY.
ABOUT WOODLIFE RANCH
Our main goal at Woodlife Ranch is to produce high quality food and forest products using the most environmentally responsible and sustainable practices. We approach all aspects of ranching and farming with a holistic approach that conserves natural resources, minimizes negative environmental impacts, and maximizes ecosystem services.
Media Contact: Heather Robison, market@woodlifefarmmarket.com
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SOURCE Woodlife Ranch | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/woodlife-ranch-announces-opening-woodlife-farm-market-offering-delicious-artisanal-food-amp-gifts/ | 2022-05-03T19:52:20Z |
Supporting the future of gaming with clean and bold ergonomics, Mavix named the official gaming chair partner for the organization
BOSTON, May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- XSET, the world's fastest-growing gaming and lifestyle organization, announced today an exclusive partnership with Mavix Gaming, the highly technical and expertly designed gaming chair and accessories company, created for gamers of all levels.
With this agreement, Mavix will be XSET's exclusive gaming chair partner and will outfit XSET's elite roster of athletes, streamers, and esports teams with next-level comfort and the Mavix chair of their choice. In addition, the Mavix logo will be featured across all XSET social headers, and featured on all competitive jerseys. Also included in this high-valued partnership is the development of co-branded merchandise as well as a limited edition co-branded chair collaboration to be released later this year.
"At XSET we are first and foremost dedicated to supporting our athletes and talent, and that starts with having the right equipment," said XSET COO and co-founder Marco Mereu. "We are proud to be partnering with the ergonomic experts at Mavix to help bring the very best to XSET and we are excited to see what we can build together for our fans around the world."
"At Mavix a core part of our culture is continued engagement and involvement within the gaming community, and we could not be more excited to take this a step further by partnering with XSET as their official gaming chair partner," said Tony Mazlish, Mavix President. "As both brands strive to empower all gamers, we look forward to bringing Mavix's ergonomics and gaming comforts to the forefront, through co-branded products, activations and more."
To kick off the partnership, the brands are hosting a giveaway, running now through May 6, 2022, where one lucky winner will receive an M9 Gaming Chair. Participants can enter here for a chance to win. For a limited time, Mavix is also offering $55.55 off gaming chairs at Mavix.com when using code "XSET."
About XSET
Founded in 2020 in Boston by gaming and pop culture veterans Greg Selkoe, Marco Mereu, Clinton Sparks and Wil Eddins, XSET is the fastest growing gaming organization and lifestyle brand in history. XSET fields some of the world's top competitive esports teams in titles including Valorant, Rocket League, Rainbow Six, Fortnite, Warzone, Apex Legends, eNASCAR and more. Built on a foundation of a diverse and inclusive gaming culture, XSET is building the preeminent brand for today's growing Gen Z audience of gamers. The organization continues to grow at a breakneck pace, partnering with high-profile brands such as Ghost Lifestyle, SCUF Gaming, Roots Canada, HyperX, Quality Control Music, Fanshark and Wahlburgers and is working with socially positive causes including Big Brother Big Sister of America. Since its launch, XSET has attracted top-tier, world famous talent across music, sports and entertainment to its shared vision, including Grammy-nominated hip-hop artists Swae Lee and Ozuna, BMX legend Nigel Sylvester, 14-year-old female Olympic skateboarding phenom Minna Stess, and professional athletes such as NFL stars Kyle Van Noy and Adrian Colbert of the New England Patriots. Sitting at the intersection of gaming and culture, XSET's robust merchandise offerings are some of the most sought-after in the industry, featuring high-profile collaborations and exclusive pieces fans can't find anywhere else. XSET is defining what it means to be cultural leaders in the space for future generations to come. For more information visit XSET.com #reptheset
About Mavix
The all-new gaming products company, providing an ergonomic solution for gamers at any level. Launched in November 2020 by a team of seasoned office chair developers and endemic marketing agency, Zoned Gaming, Mavix has quickly drawn a considerable following in an industry accustomed to race car seat gaming chairs. Mavix' debut collection features nine critical ergonomic functions to support gamers everywhere including Dynamic Variable Lumbar (DVL) Support, fine mesh and cooling gel seating surfaces, infinite-position deep reclining mechanisms and many more thoughtful touches.
XSET Contact:
press@xset.com
Mavix Contact:
xchair@zimmerman.com
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SOURCE Mavix | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/xset-levels-up-its-chair-game-with-mavix/ | 2022-05-03T19:52:26Z |
For its transformational work reimagining student transportation, Zum honored in the North America and Transportation categories and named finalist in the small business category
REDWOOD CITY,Calif., May 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Zūm, the leader in modern student transportation, today announced that it was recognized in Fast Company's 2022 World Changing Ideas Awards for the third time. The awards program recognizes clean technology, innovative corporate initiatives, brave new designs for cities and buildings, and other creative works that are supporting the growth of positive social innovation, tackling social inequality, climate change, and public health crises. Zum was honored in both the Best World Changing Idea North America and Transportation categories and named a finalist in the Small Business category.
Zum is transforming the archaic $28 billion U.S. student transportation ecosystem with modern technology and multi-size vehicle fleets to promote environmental sustainability and meet the needs of students, families, school districts and communities nationwide. Recently closing a $130M Series D funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, Zum has been using the capital to further its mission by strategically expanding its service across new markets and districts – including signing two of the largest school districts in California – while adding new electric vehicles to its platform as it delivers on its 100% EVs by 2025 commitment. It also recently announced important sustainability partnerships with 3Degrees, AutoGrid, and more, and continues to finetune its offerings through expanded safety features.
The World Changing Ideas Awards is now in its sixth year. A panel of eminent Fast Company editors and reporters selected winners and finalists from a pool of more than 2,997 entries across transportation, education, food, politics, technology, health, social justice, and more. The 2022 awards feature entries from across the globe, from Switzerland to Hong Kong to Australia.
"By modernizing student transportation, Zum aims to divert millions of dollars back to the classroom, enhance student safety and promote educational equity," said Ritu Narayan, founder and CEO of Zum. "Zum's technology and approach are designed to infuse student transportation with the flexibility, efficiency and transparency that have already transformed other industries. Being recognized by Fast Company is a testament to the daily commitment of every member of our team to ensure we drive the future forward."
"We are consistently inspired by the novelty and creativity that people are applying to solve some of our society's most pressing problems, from shelter to the climate crisis. Fast Company relishes its role in amplifying important, innovative work to address big challenges," says David Lidsky, interim editor-in-chief of Fast Company. "Our journalists have identified some of the most ingenious initiatives to launch since the start of 2021, which we hope will both have a meaningful impact and lead others to join in being part of the solution."
Fast Company's Summer 2022 issue (on newsstands May 10, 2022) will showcase some of the world's most inventive entrepreneurs and companies tackling global challenges. For the full list of Fast Company's World Changing Ideas, visit here.
For more information about Zum, visit www.ridezum.com.
About Zum
Zum has reimagined student transportation, the nation's largest mass transit system. Our integrated end-to-end cloud-based platform provides a modern service for school districts purpose-built around the needs of kids and the expectations of their families. Zum provides one seamless, real-time interface for parents, drivers, schools, districts, administrators, and operators, to transport children safely and with increased visibility and personalized care. Our multi-sized vehicle approach includes an electric vehicle-first commitment, reduces student commute times by up to 20%, and coupled with our marketplace, delivers added fleet efficiency and optimization. We have been driving the industry forward since 2015, and with more than 8 million miles completed to date, we are leading a new era of safe, reliable, efficient, and sustainable transportation. Learn more at www.ridezum.com.
About the World Changing Ideas Awards
World Changing Ideas is one of Fast Company's major annual awards programs and is focused on social good, seeking to elevate finished products and brave concepts that make the world better. A panel of judges from across sectors choose winners, finalists, and honorable mentions based on feasibility and the potential for impact. With the goals of awarding ingenuity and fostering innovation, Fast Company draws attention to ideas with great potential and helps them expand their reach to inspire more people to start working on solving the problems that affect us all.
Media Contact:
press@ridezum.com
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SOURCE Zūm | https://www.whsv.com/prnewswire/2022/05/03/zum-recognized-fast-companys-2022-world-changing-ideas-awards/ | 2022-05-03T19:52:32Z |
Birthdays: 4.29.22 - 5.1.22
Happy Birthday to all who celebrate on these days!
Updated: May. 2, 2022 at 3:50 PM EDT
Birthdays: 4.29.22 - 5.1.22
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
Birthdays: 4.29.22 - 5.1.22
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/02/birthdays-42922-5122/ | 2022-05-03T20:42:42Z |
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Birthdays: 5.2.22
Happy Birthday to all who celebrate on this day!
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Birthdays: 5.3.22
Birthdays: 4.29.22 - 5.1.22
Birthdays: 4.28.22 | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/02/birthdays-5222/ | 2022-05-03T20:42:49Z |
AAA: Gasoline prices back on the rise, select states with 20 cent increases
(Gray News) - After a short break from rising gasoline prices, the prices at the pump are once again increasing.
According to AAA, pump prices rose over the past week due to the high cost of crude oil. The cost of a barrel of crude continues to hover around $100.
With the oil price accounting for about 60% of pump prices, AAA reports the national average for a gallon of regular is currently $4.19, an increase of seven cents since April 25 and $1.29 more than a year ago.
“As long as the supply remains tight, it will be hard for crude oil prices to fall and consumers will face higher prices at the pump,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “It now costs drivers in the U.S. about $23 more to fill up than a year ago.”
Officials say the fear of a global energy supply disruption due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine outweighs the demand concerns prompted by the impact of COVID-19 on China’s economy.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration, total domestic gasoline demand has decreased slightly, and it would typically push pump prices lower. However, the fluctuating oil price and tight gasoline supply have pushed pump prices higher.
As AAA reports, pump prices will likely face upward pressure as oil prices remain above $100 per barrel.
Quick stats from AAA:
- The nation’s top 10 largest weekly increases: Delaware (+22 cents), Maryland (+21 cents), Ohio (+19 cents), Pennsylvania (+15 cents), Washington, D.C. (+14 cents), Connecticut (+13 cents), Vermont (+13 cents), Indiana (+12 cents), New Jersey (+12 cents) and North Carolina (+12 cents).
- The nation’s top 10 least expensive markets: Georgia ($3.72), Missouri ($3.77), Kansas ($3.78), Arkansas ($3.79), Mississippi ($3.80), Oklahoma ($3.80), Kentucky ($3.82), South Carolina ($3.85), Alabama ($3.85) and Texas ($3.86).
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/aaa-gasoline-prices-back-rise-select-states-with-20-cent-increases/ | 2022-05-03T20:42:55Z |
ARC announces $250,000 grant for New River Gorge Regional Development Authority
BECKLEY, W.Va. (WVVA) - Tuesday morning, following the second in a series of five virtual events titled the “Appalachia Envisioned Roadshow, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) announced that the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRGA) is the recipient of a $250,000 grant.
ARC’s Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin says the funds will be used for the Planning For Outdoor Recreation Industry, Vibrant Economies & Regional Strategy (RIVERS) Project. The RIVERS project will create a roadmap for bolstering the outdoor industry sector in Appalachian communities. These communities fall in several states, including Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
Manchin says the New River Gorge region was chosen as the hub of the project by the participating states.
“New River Gorge Regional Development Authority is honored to serve as the coordinator for a new, regional partnership focusing on cultivation and acceleration of the outdoor recreation industry cluster across six Appalachian states,” said Jina Belcher, NRGRDA Executive Director. “This planning award will allow us to develop a foundation to formalize our coalition and build on our commonalities to bolster outdoor manufacturing and recreational tourism in a collaborative way throughout Central Appalachia. We’re thrilled today’s culture and tourism event coincided with the announcement of our project and greatly appreciate Co-Chair Manchin’s commitment to the Outdoor RIVERS coalition’s vision.”
According to the ARC, the travel and tourism industry in Appalachia is among the region’s fastest-growing employment sectors. It generates more than $4.5 billion in tax revenue and employs more than half a million Appalachians. During the 2021 fiscal year, ARC invested more than $12 million in 23 tourism and culture projects in Appalachia. This resulted in 450 jobs being created or retained and more than 250 businesses being created or improved.
Manchin says the six states will work together to find the best practices for boosting an economy. They will then share this replicable information with others.
“So, it’s about not competing with one another, not competing with the beautiful sites and locations that we have, but rather how do we put them together to form a great vacation for a family,” she said.
The Appalachian Regional Commission is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 423 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/arc-announces-250000-grant-new-river-gorge-regional-development-authority/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:03Z |
Birthdays: 5.3.22
Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating on today!!
Published: May. 3, 2022 at 4:00 PM EDT|Updated: 42 minutes ago
Birthdays: 5.3.22
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved.
Birthdays: 5.3.22
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/birthdays-5322/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:09Z |
Depp libel suit moves ahead against Heard after resting case
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A judge on Tuesday let Johnny Depp move forward with his libel suit against his ex-wife, Amber Heard, after the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star rested his case.
Heard’s lawyers had asked the judge to dismiss the case, arguing that Depp had failed to make his case as a matter of law and that no reasonable jury could find in his favor.
But the judge, Penney Azcarate, said the standard for dismissing a case at this point in the trial is exceedingly high, and that the case should be allowed to move forward if Depp has provided even a “scintilla” of evidence backing up his claims.
The trial will move forward Tuesday afternoon with Heard’s team beginning to present its witnesses after more than three weeks of testimony from Depp’s witnesses, including four days on the stand from Depp himself.
Depp and his lead lawyer, Benjamin Chew, patted each other on the back after the judge ruled the case can proceed.
Chew argued that the jury has a wealth of evidence to conclude that Heard falsely accused Depp of abuse. In fact, he said, the evidence shows that “Ms. Heard physically abused him. She’s the abuser.”
Heard’s lawyer, J. Benjamin Rottenborn, said the evidence is clear over the last three weeks of testimony that Heard’s allegations of abuse are truthful.
“We haven’t gotten to put on our case yet,” he said. “This is all evidence that has come in while plaintiff controls the playing field.”
Depp is suing Heard for $50 million in Fairfax County Circuit Court after Heard wrote a December 2018 op-ed piece in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” The article never mentions Depp by name, but Depp’s lawyers say he was defamed nevertheless because it’s a clear reference to abuse allegations Heard levied in 2016, in the midst of the couple’s divorce proceedings.
The judge on Tuesday did say she’s reserving judgment on whether the article’s headline in online editions should be part of the libel lawsuit because she said the evidence is unclear at this point whether Heard wrote the headline or is responsible for it. The online headline reads, “I spoke up against sexual violence — and faced our culture’s wrath. That has to change.”
Among the final witnesses for Depp on Tuesday morning was Erin Falati, a private nurse for Heard. She testified on a recorded deposition that she received photos of Heard with red marks on her face the night of May 21, 2016. That’s the night of a final fight between Depp and Heard that precipitated Heard’s divorce filing a few days later and her May 27 appearance at a Los Angeles courthouse, with red marks on her face, seeking a restraining order.
Depp has said Heard faked the bruises, and presented testimony from police officers who didn’t see marks on Heard’s face when authorities were called the night of the fight. But the photos texted to Falati, which were seen by the jury, could contradict the officers’ perception.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/depp-libel-suit-moves-ahead-against-heard-after-resting-case/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:16Z |
More than 200 sailors moved off Navy aircraft carrier after multiple suicides
(CNN) – The U.S. Navy is relocating hundreds of sailors who had been living on an aircraft carrier as it investigates a jump in crew suicides.
The Navy is now looking into the deaths of seven crew members on the U.S.S. George Washington, including four by apparent suicide in the past year.
More than 200 sailors were allowed to move to a Navy facility Monday while the ship goes through a major refueling and overhaul in Newport News.
The idea is to give crew members more access to support programs.
The Navy also plans to provide additional morale and well-being measures for the 2,000 to 3,000 sailors still living on the carrier during the overhaul, which is expected to take a number of years.
May is Mental Health Awareness Month according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. If you or someone you know needs help, you are asked to call 1-800-950-6264.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/more-than-200-sailors-moved-off-navy-aircraft-carrier-after-multiple-suicides/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:24Z |
Norman Mineta, 1st Asian-American Cabinet secretary, dies
Published: May. 3, 2022 at 4:18 PM EDT|Updated: 23 minutes ago
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Norman Mineta, who as federal transportation secretary ordered commercial flights grounded after the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001, died Tuesday. He was 90.
John Flaherty, Mineta’s former chief of staff, said Mineta died “peacefully at his home surrounded by family” in Edgewater, Maryland.
“His cause of death was a heart ailment,” Flaherty added. “He was an extraordinary public servant and a very dear friend.”
Mineta broke racial barriers in becoming mayor of San Jose, California. He was also the first Asian-American to become a Cabinet secretary, serving under both Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/norman-mineta-1st-asian-american-cabinet-secretary-dies/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:30Z |
Princeton native & businessman releases book on near-death experience; holding discussions at local libraries
The next book discussion and signing will be the Craft Memorial Library on May 4, 2022 at 1:30 PM.
Published: May. 3, 2022 at 4:24 PM EDT|Updated: 18 minutes ago
PRINCETON, W.Va. (WVVA) - For some Jim Owen is a childhood friend and others a local businessman, realtor and auctioneer who spent many years acquiring and selling properties in his hometown of Princeton, West Virginia and surrounding communities. His newest titie is author of ‘In Search of A River’ a spiritual memoir chronicling Owen’s life leading up to and after the day he died--four times.
Owen is hosting discussions and signings in Mercer County this week and you can still catch a discussion at the Craft Memorial Library on May 4, 2022 at 1:30 PM.
Owen stopped by WVVA this morning to discuss part of his journey with our Joshua Bolden. Watch above.
Copyright 2022 WVVA. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/princeton-native-businessman-releases-book-near-death-experience-holding-discussions-local-libraries/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:37Z |
Tennessee governor won’t release records on execution error
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has refused to release records that could illuminate his decision to abruptly halt the execution of Oscar Smith last month, citing attorney-client privilege and the disputed “deliberative process privilege.”
In response to a records request by The Associated Press, the Republican governor’s office released emails containing Lee’s April 21 public statement granting Smith a reprieve. The office also released a series of emails from reporters asking for more details about the problems that led Lee to halt the execution. The reporters were referred to the public statement, which said only that there was an “oversight” in the preparation of the drugs.
On Monday, Lee finally elaborated in a new statement, saying the drugs to be used in Smith’s execution were tested for potency and sterility, but not endotoxins, as required by the state’s execution protocols. Lee placed a temporary moratorium on executions through the end of the year and appointed former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to review circumstances that led to the failure.
Lee has repeatedly cited deliberative process when declining to release documents. The exemption is not in state law but was described in a 2004 intermediate appeals court decision. In that ruling, the court determined certain documents could remain secret if officials deemed them part of their decision-making process.
Early in his administration, Lee’s office also cited “executive privilege” more than a dozen times as a reason for withholding records, though his team argued they were using the term interchangeably with deliberative process. Tennessee statutes, including the state’s open records laws, do not define executive privilege. The Tennessee Constitution does not mention it.
Lee initially promised to overhaul the state’s public records laws to provide more government transparency when he came into office, but he has yet to significantly change the statutes.
Smith, 72, was sentenced to death for fatally stabbing and shooting his estranged wife, Judith Smith, and her teenage sons, Jason and Chad Burnett, at their Nashville home on Oct. 1, 1989.
Smith’s execution was to be the first of five scheduled in 2022, the most of any state other than Texas, which also scheduled five executions, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. It was also to be Tennessee’s first execution since the pandemic halted executions in 2020.
___
Associated Press writer Kimberlee Kruesi contributed to this report.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/tennessee-governor-wont-release-records-execution-error/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:43Z |
US sends canine body armor to Ukrainian service dogs
Published: May. 3, 2022 at 4:31 PM EDT|Updated: 12 minutes ago
(CNN) - Service dogs in Ukraine are getting some much-needed protection from the United States.
In a statement Tuesday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior said that U.S. police dog trainers are providing canine body armor for some of the Ukrainian dogs who work with police officers, combat engineers and border guards.
The ministry said now the four-legged assistants will be more protected in dangerous areas.
The vests do not interfere with movement, and protect dogs from debris, weapons and bullets.
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/us-sends-canine-body-armor-ukrainian-service-dogs/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:50Z |
What is Roe v. Wade, the landmark abortion access case?
(AP) - A leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court decision suggests the country’s highest court could be poised to overturn the constitutional right to abortion, allowing individual states to more heavily regulate or even ban the procedure.
WHAT DOES ‘ROE V. WADE’ REFER TO?
Roe v. Wade is the name of the lawsuit that led to the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision establishing a constitutional right to abortion in the United States. The majority opinion found an absolute right to abortion during the first trimester of pregnancy.
WHO WERE ROE AND WADE?
Jane Roe was a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey, who was 22, unmarried, unemployed and pregnant for the third time in 1969 when she sought to have an abortion in Texas. By the time the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in her favor, McCorvey had given birth to a girl whom she placed for adoption.
Henry Wade was the district attorney of Dallas County, Texas. It was his job to enforce a state law prohibiting abortion except to save a woman’s life, so he was the person McCorvey sued when she sought the abortion.
After her death, biographer Joshua Prager said McCorvey made her living giving speeches and writing books on both sides of the abortion debate and was coached by both sides. She had conflicted feelings about each, he said, but was consistent on one point: supporting abortion through the first trimester.
WHAT DID THE COURT DECIDE IN 1973?
The plaintiff alleged that Texas law was unconstitutionally vague and violated her constitutionally protected right to personal privacy. The question before the U.S. Supreme Court was: Does the Constitution recognize a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy by abortion?
Justice Harry Blackmun delivered the opinion for the 7-2 majority, finding that it did indeed — although that protection had to be balanced against the government’s interests in protecting women’s health and “the potentiality of human life.” The conservative-leaning court said a woman’s decision to have an abortion during the first three months of her pregnancy must be left to her and her doctor.
WHAT WAS THE PRE-ROE LANDSCAPE IN THE U.S.?
At the time of Roe, abortion was broadly legal in just four states and allowed under limited circumstances in 16 others. Constitutional rights trump state laws, so the court’s decision nullified the bans in the remaining 30 states. But it did allow states to impose certain regulations during the second trimester to protect the woman’s health and take steps to protect fetal life in the third trimester.
HOW HAVE LATER DECISIONS ALTERED ABORTION RIGHTS IN AMERICA?
Blackmun was still on the court in 1992, when it heard Planned Parenthood v. Casey, a challenge to Pennsylvania abortion laws that included a 24-hour waiting period. The conservative-leaning court unexpectedly upheld the right to abortion —while also making it easier for states to impose regulations.
Three conservative justices — Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony M. Kennedy and David H. Souter — co-authored the court’s main opinion in the 5-4 decision, writing: “The woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy before viability is the most central principle of Roe vs. Wade. It is a rule of law and a component of liberty we cannot renounce.″
Neither side on the abortion issue was pleased with the ruling. Since then, conservative states have been chipping away at abortion rights with laws that have engendered many more court challenges, including a recent Texas law that bans most abortions after about six weeks.
WHAT IS THIS NEW CASE THAT’S POISED TO TOPPLE ROE?
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. It challenges Mississippi’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks.
Upholding that ban would undermine both Roe and Casey, which allow states to regulate — but not ban — abortion up until the point of fetal viability, at roughly 24 weeks. The decision, per the draft, would likely result in a patchwork of abortion laws, with some states protecting abortion and others prohibiting it outright.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.wvva.com/2022/05/03/what-is-roe-v-wade-landmark-abortion-access-case/ | 2022-05-03T20:43:56Z |
CHEYENNE – A Cheyenne resident has announced her candidacy for the House District 4 seat in the Wyoming Legislature, citing concern for neighbors who can’t afford groceries and workers in Wyoming’s energy sector who, she says, have lost work because of the Biden administration.
Lily Sharpe, a 32-year Cheyenne resident, retired attorney, mother and grandmother, said she will push back against “Washington bureaucrats” and President Joe Biden’s “forget-about-the-West policies that have devastated our Wyoming economy,” if she is elected to the state Legislature.
“I’m deeply concerned for our state’s working families and seniors on fixed incomes in the face of costs that seem to rise daily when it comes to food, fuel and property taxes. It’s too much, and we need solutions,” Sharpe said in a recent interview.
Sharpe said that in her newly created district, there are single parents struggling to put food on the table and seniors on a fixed income who will face record-high increases on property taxes because of inflation within the housing market.
“I’m really worried about our neighbors,” Sharpe said. “We have a lot of retired people on fixed income, and even before inflation, they couldn’t afford their medicine and their heating. Now, we’re going to have huge spikes in property taxes, and I just want to be a voice for these people.”
Sharpe said she remains concerned about decisions made by the Biden administration before the war in Ukraine.
“We had Biden buying Russian oil, and putting Russian oilfield workers to work, while sending our Wyoming oil field workers home without a paycheck,” Sharpe said. “I want to put our workers to work, so they can continue to live our wonderful Wyoming lifestyle.”
Sharpe most recently worked as a staff attorney in the Legislative Service Office. Before that, she worked at the Wyoming Supreme Court as the state court administrator, as well as a law clerk in U.S. District Court. She is a native of Wyoming and a graduate of the University of Wyoming and the University of Notre Dame.
“My experience with the Legislature has shown that when our economy is good, we can fund the programs that we need so desperately. We can fund education, we can fund our critical social problems,” Sharpe said. “But when our economy tanks, it becomes an incredible crisis mode. That is what it has become now, especially with Biden.”
Sharpe said she would listen to each of her constituents if elected. She said her “iconic 93-year-old mother” taught her to be fearless, as well as kind.
“That is how I intend to lead,” Sharpe said. “These economic issues we face as a region and as a state are serious, and we need to send a true fighter to the Capitol to maintain our Wyoming way of life.” | https://www.wyomingnews.com/news/local_news/house-district-4-candidate-sharpe-seeks-to-take-on-biden-bureaucracy-inflation/article_fce44605-be9a-520d-88b9-7c265388a79e.html | 2022-05-03T20:47:33Z |
ROCK SPRINGS – The preliminary budget for the city of Rock Springs for the period ending on June 30, 2023, is up for approval from the Rock Springs City Council.
In the supporting documents accompanying the meeting’s agenda, it states that the preliminary budget up for approval shows an anticipated shortfall of $4,064,543.
Rock Springs Mayor Tim Kaumo stated, “The shortfall we are faced with is similar to last year. Declining revenues topped with an increased need to provide city services and the inflated cost of labor and materials for ongoing projects create a perfect storm for a budget shortfall again this year.
“In order to complete much needed infrastructure projects, our community needs to realize the importance of supporting the Specific Purpose Tax to keep up with infrastructure improvements in our communities as we simply cannot fund these projects through the general fund, it just isn't possible. If we want to have reliable infrastructure, we need to be willing to help fund it.”
Additionally, the supporting documents state that sales and use tax is currently budgeted at a 10% increase from the prior fiscal year’s estimate.
The documents state, “This trends closely with inflation rates for the region. The sales and use tax payments received in May and June could have a large impact on the next version of the budget presented in June.”
Also included in the preliminary budget is an anticipated 7% increase in water rates as well as a 5% increase in sewer rates.
“The Water Fund increase of 7% includes 3% for the water purchase from the JPWB (they increased their rate to us by 4.25%), 2% for inflation of operational and maintenance costs (this has been 1% in normal years) and 2% for the Crossroads Project SRF Loan,” Kaumo stated.”
“The Sewer Fund increase of 5% includes inflation of operational and maintenance costs and a reserve that was started for a future building project at the WRF site.”
Kaumo added, “A 1% increase in water rates generates approximately $140,0000 - $150,000 in revenue annually and a 1% increase in sewer rates generates approximately $40,000 - $50,000 in revenue annually.”
Additional information pertaining to the preliminary budget and other items to be covered at the meeting can be found on the agenda.
The Rock Springs City Council meeting will be held at City Hall, located at 212 D St., on Tuesday, May 3, at 7 p.m. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/rocketminer/preliminary-budget-up-for-approval-from-rock-springs-city-council/article_70597b61-8d1c-5107-ba6a-aab77d2c8be6.html | 2022-05-03T20:47:39Z |
As the weather begins to turn to spring, concern in Wyoming and much of the West shifts to mitigating an ongoing drought and potential for wildfires.
“In some locations, fire season is coming early,” said Aaron Voos, spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service. “(There’s a) window between snowmelt and green-up where the vegetation is still fire-prone after the winter.”
In and around Albany County, this period of fire danger will mostly impact lower elevation areas of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest such as Pole Mountain, Laramie Peak, Thunder Basin National Grasslands and the foothills region.
So far this spring there have been about six wildfires in the Albany County area, but all were fewer than 10 acres in size and were put out quickly, said Albany County Fire Warden Chad Dinges.
Recent hazy skies around Laramie are from active wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico. Both states have been experiencing a dry spring and are in moderate to severe drought conditions, said National Weather Service spokesperson Michael Natoli. The air quality in Laramie is still at a normal level as the smoke remains in the upper atmosphere.
In Wyoming, the Laramie Valley is virtually the only place in the state that is not experiencing drought conditions. Drought is at moderate to severe levels in the southeastern portions of the state, and severe to extreme in the north and northwest.
Spring is usually the wettest season of the year in southeastern Wyoming, with May typically bringing in the most precipitation in the Laramie area, Natoli said.
There has been 0.25 inches of precipitation recorded at the Laramie Regional Airport, down from the normal 0.9 inches for this time of year, the National Weather Service reports. While precipitation hovered between average and above-average levels from January through March, the month of April was dry.
“We’ll have to keep watching over the next few weeks because we’ve been pretty dry over the last few months,” Natoli said. “Hopefully, we’ll get some more rains going into May, but it’s too early to say.”
Preparing for anything
Collaboration across firefighting agencies in the area is crucial to maintaining an effective emergency response system in case wildfires happen, said Laramie Fire Chief Dan Johnson.
The potential for wildfire danger is still fresh in the minds of locals less than 18 months removed from the devastating Mullen Fire, one of the state’s largest ever, which burned nearly 177,000 acres about 28 miles west of Laramie.
Albany County Fire District 1 manages responses in the southern section of the county, while the county fire warden coordinates operations to the north. While each group has its own jurisdiction, they work together to collaborate responses and make plans with other agencies such as the Laramie Fire Department, the Bureau of Land Management and state of Wyoming.
“There’s (great) collaboration between agencies, and we have a really healthy relationship with our partners,” Dinges said.
The cooperation even extends beyond the state. Some Albany County firefighters are now working in Nebraska. There aren’t enough firefighters in any given area to respond to large events such as the Mullen Fire, so departments send help where it’s needed in hopes they will receive it in return should the need arise.
One consistent challenge wildland firefighting agencies face is finding enough people to work as firefighters. About 70% of fire services are volunteer based. For professional firefighters, the training process can take years as they wait for availability of training and an opportunity to prove their skills on a real fire, said ACFD1 spokesperson Brett Wadsworth.
These factors leave agencies in a continuous state of recruiting. With summer predictions leaning toward a year of average precipitation with above-average temperatures, there is a chance fire activity could be higher than normal.
“The average anymore is much more severe than it was 20 years ago,” Dinges said.
Ahead of this year’s fire season, the agencies are working to review local versions of emergency notification systems that saved lives during the recent Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado.
The agencies also encourage residents to follow fire restrictions as they are put in place. The decision to start and end restrictions is based on an analysis of climate conditions and firefighting resources, and is not taken lightly, Dinges siad.
In addition to keeping up with general property maintenance like clearing away old sagebrush, residents with concerns about fire safety at their homes can reach out to local fire department for guidance.
As outdoor adventurers begin to return to areas that could be wet from rainfall or snowmelt, they should be careful not to damage roadways and vegetation, Voos said. It is especially important that people only drive on open roads and avoid getting stuck, which can cause ruts in the road. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/agribusiness/albany-county-other-agencies-prepare-for-unpredictable-fire-season/article_254a94d4-cb09-11ec-9336-c715dfe5c2dc.html | 2022-05-03T20:47:45Z |
ROCK SPRINGS — U.S. Senator John Barrasso, M.D., criticized President Joe Biden and his administration for inflation and the increase of gas prices.
“It’s not Putin’s fault. He isn’t in office. This has to do with our own administration,” Barrasso told the Rocket Miner during his most recent trip to Sweetwater County on Wednesday, April 20.
“We’re seeing inflation at a 40-year high. Gas prices are at an all-time high and Americans are paying the price.”
He said that in order for gas prices to lower, Biden needs to allow oil and gas leases for public lands. In 2019, Barrasso sponsored a bill called the “Opportunities for the Nation and States to Harness Onshore Resources for Energy Act” or the “ONSHORE Act.”
The bill’s purpose was to address onshore oil and gas resources on federal land and non-federal surface estates.
The bill was read twice and then referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
“Biden has restricted American energy. He ended the Keystone XL pipeline and stopped any new oil and gas leases that are on federal land,” Barrasso said.
The third-ranking member in the Senate Republican Leadership said policies don’t provide support for American energy production. He also said that Biden has led American energy being more expensive as well as harder to produce.
Barrasso said that oil production has decreased 1.3 million barrels a day when compared to where the number was before the pandemic.
He also said that American energy should be made a priority.
Earlier in 2022, Barrasso, along with Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND), introduced the Fueling Our Nuclear Future Act of 2022.
The legislation would ban the imports of uranium from Russia.
According to the bill, it would “amend the Energy Act of 2020 to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a program to accelerate the availability of commercially produced high-assay, low-enriched uranium in the United States and to make high-assay, low-enriched uranium produced from Department of Energy inventories available for use in advanced nuclear reactors, and for other purposes.”
Barrasso was sworn in to the United States Senate in 2007. He was then re-elected to the U.S. Senate in Nov. 2018.
He is also the third-ranking member in the Senate Republican leadership and serves as the Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. He is a ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
He is a member of the subcommittees on National Parks, Water and Power and is the Chairman of the subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests.
Barrasso is also a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations. In addition, he is a member of the Committee on Finance where he serves on the subcommittees on African Affairs; European Affairs; International Development and Foreign Assistance; Western Hemisphere and Global Narcotics Affairs.
In addition to serving as a senator, Barrasso spent 24 years as an orthopedic surgeon. He previously served as president of the Wyoming Medical Society. | https://www.wyomingnews.com/wyomingbusinessreport/industry_news/economy_and_labor/barrasso-blames-biden-administration-for-inflation/article_36af9dbe-cb09-11ec-9bff-974aca14778f.html | 2022-05-03T20:47:51Z |
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25 flamingos, 1 duck killed by wild fox at Smithsonian National Zoo
WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Smithsonian National Zoo is mourning the loss of 25 American flamingos and one northern pintail duck that were killed by a wild fox that broke into their outdoor habitat.
The zoo says staff discovered the massacre early Monday morning and saw the fox before it escaped the habitat.
The zoo says staff inspects the integrity of the enclosure multiple times a day and saw no areas of concern in the habitat Sunday afternoon.
It said there was a metal mesh breach where the fox entered, and staff have reinforced the metal mesh around the exhibit.
Live traps have been now been set around the area to catch predators.
The flock, which originally had 74 flamingos, has now been moved to an indoor barn and the ducks are in a covered, secure outdoor space.
Three more flamingos were injured in the attack but survived and are being treated by veterinarians.
The zoo is calling it a “heartbreaking loss.”
Copyright 2022 CNN Newsource. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/05/03/25-flamingos-1-duck-killed-by-wild-fox-smithsonian-national-zoo/ | 2022-05-03T21:19:34Z |
Emu on the loose: Officers wrangle bird that traveled over 30 miles from home
LENOIR, N.C. (Gray News) – North Carolina officers found themselves taking an unusual suspect into custody over the weekend.
Officers with the City of Lenoir Police Department responded to a call for an emu that showed up at a home Saturday.
The female emu, named Kevin, walked up and laid down next to a father and his three children, which came as a shock to the family.
The dad called the police to help with catching Kevin.
The officers managed to get a dog leash on Kevin, fed her by hand and put her into a neighbor’s fenced-in backyard.
The Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement Division then came out to pick up and care for Kevin until her owners could be located.
The authorities discovered that Kevin lives in Moravian Falls, which is over 30 miles northeast of Lenoir.
Emus are the second-largest living birds by height, following the ostrich.
Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/05/03/emu-loose-officers-wrangle-bird-that-traveled-over-30-miles-home/ | 2022-05-03T21:19:40Z |
Local healthcare provider highlights the Valley’s mental health resources
FISHERSVILLE, Va. (WHSV) - May is National Mental Health Awareness Month. Healthcare providers in the Valley said it’s a time to check in on loved ones and on yourself.
“You want to do three things. You want to talk to your friends, you want to take care of yourself, and you want to just talk about mental health issues,” said Clinical Leader for Augusta Behavioral Health, Amy Ghaemmaghami.
May is designated as Mental Health Awareness Month to start conversations and destigmatize mental health.
“We’re celebrating our humanity, our glory, and we’re talking about the issues that cause mental health diagnoses,” said Ghaemmaghami
Ghaemmaghami said the COVID-19 pandemic changed the approach to mental health and treatment, saying suicide rates since 2019 are alarming.
“The COVID pandemic has made the emergence of more mental health crises, but it has also at the same time raised awareness,” Ghaemmaghami said.
According to the Virginia Department of Health, self-harm emergency department visits increased from 6,520 visits in 2016 to 14,298 visits in 2021 for kids aged 9-18. Even though much of the world is getting a glimpse of life after COVID, that struggle still exists.
“We’re seeing quite a lot of people who are showing up with depression and anxiety due to COVID and the fallout from COVID,” Ghaemmaghami said. “Returning to work, returning to in-person work, students returning to school – even though they’ve been back at school for almost a year now, there’s still a lot going on with our teens.”
She said each demographic faces unique challenges. In the Valley, many 10-14 year-olds are struggling. Elders also struggle.
“They struggled during COVID with loneliness, and we’re seeing a lot of folks in the office in the geriatric age range,” she said.
There are many resources in the Valley for someone struggling with their mental health. Augusta Behavioral Health can be reached at (540) 213-2525. They take patients 12 and older.
There’s also an intense outpatient program that is three days a week, along with a two-day-a-week substance abuse group. Augusta Health also has the Crossroads Inpatient Treatment Facility which does intake through the emergency room for people 18 and older.
The Valley Community Services Board also has a hotline: 540-885-0866, 540-943-1590, or Toll Free 866-274-7475.
The Valley has many local practitioners that offer a range of mental health treatments. Sentara RMH also has a partial hospitalization program.
The national suicide hotline is 800-273-8255, and you can also text HELLO to 741-741. If you’re worried about a loved one, text that number.
The Veterans Crisis Line helps service members and veterans who may be in crisis. Dial 1-800-273-8255 and Press 1 to talk to someone or send a text message to 838255 to connect with a VA responder.
The Trevor Project is a hotline for young LGBTQ+ people, and they can be reached at 1-866-488-7386.
Anyone in an emergency or at risk of hurting themselves or someone else should call 911.
Copyright 2022 WHSV. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/05/03/local-healthcare-provider-highlights-valleys-mental-health-resources/ | 2022-05-03T21:19:46Z |
Norman Mineta, 1st Asian-American Cabinet secretary, dies
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Norman Mineta, who broke racial barriers for Asian Americans serving in high-profile government posts and ordered commercial flights grounded after the 9/11 terror attacks as the nation’s federal transportation secretary, died Tuesday. He was 90.
John Flaherty, Mineta’s former chief of staff, said Mineta died peacefully at his home surrounded by family in Edgewater, Maryland.
“His cause of death was a heart ailment,” Flaherty added. “He was an extraordinary public servant and a very dear friend.”
Mineta broke racial barriers for Asian Americans in becoming mayor of San Jose, California. He also was the first Asian American to become a federal Cabinet secretary, serving under both Democratic President Bill Clinton and Republican George W. Bush.
Bush went on to award Mineta the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a statement, the former president said Mineta was “a wonderful American story about someone who overcame hardship and prejudice to serve in the United States Army, Congress, and the Cabinet of two Presidents.”
“As my Secretary of Transportation, he showed great leadership in helping prevent further attacks on and after 9/11. As I said when presenting him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Norm has given his country a lifetime of service, and he’s given his fellow citizens an example of leadership, devotion to duty, and personal character,” the former president added.
The son of Japanese immigrants who spent two years of his childhood at a World War II internment camp, Mineta began his political career leading his hometown of San Jose before joining the Clinton administration as commerce secretary and then crossing party lines to serve in Bush’s Cabinet.
As Bush’s transportation secretary, Mineta led the department during the crisis of Sept. 11, 2001, as hijacked commercial airliners barreled toward U.S. landmarks. After a second plane crashed into the World Trade Center, Mineta ordered the Federal Aviation Administration to ground all civilian aircraft — more than 4,500 in flight at the time. It was the first such order given in the history of U .S. aviation.
It was Mineta who was subsequently charged with restoring confidence in air travel in the aftermath of the terror attacks. He oversaw the hasty creation of the Transportation Security Administration, which took over responsibility for aviation security from the airlines.
Within a year, the TSA had hired tens of thousands of airport screeners, put air marshals on commercial flights and installed high-tech equipment to screen air travelers and their luggage for bombs.
The effort was derided at the time for wasteful spending and causing long lines at airports. But Mineta, widely liked and respected in Washington for his deep knowledge of transportation issues, managed to escape the brunt of that criticism.
In 2006, he resigned at age 74 after 5 and 1/2 years in his post, making him the longest-serving transportation secretary since the agency was created in 1967.
Born on Nov. 12, 1931, Norman Yoshio Mineta was 10 and wearing his Cub Scouts uniform when he and his parents were sent to the Heart Mountain internment camp in Wyoming after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.
He went on to graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and serve as an Army intelligence officer in Korea and Japan. After three years with the military, he returned to San Jose to run his father’s Mineta Insurance Agency.
Mineta’s foray into politics came in 1967, when San Jose’s mayor tapped him to fill a vacant seat on the city council. He won re-election and served four more years on the council before winning the city’s top seat in 1971, making him the first Asian-American mayor of a major city, which now has an airport that bears his name.
Mineta was elected to Congress in 1974 and served 10 terms representing Silicon Valley. During his tenure, he pushed for more funding for the FAA and co-authored a landmark law that gave state and local governments control over highway and mass transit decisions.
The co-founder of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus also scored a personal victory when he helped win passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which required the U.S. government to apologize to the 120,000 Japanese Americans forced to live in wartime internment camps. Former internees also received reparations of $20,000 each.
In 1993, Mineta became chairman of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee — another first — but he quickly lost the job after Republicans won control of the House in 1994.
Mineta resigned from Congress in 1995 to join Lockheed Martin Corp. as senior vice president of its transportation division, which built and operated electronic toll collection systems.
But Washington came calling again five years later when Clinton, in the final months of his presidency, appointed him to replace William Daley as commerce secretary.
Mineta then became the first cabinet secretary to make the switch directly from a Democratic to Republican administration. He was the only Democrat in Bush’s cabinet.
As transportation secretary, Mineta successfully promoted private investment in roads and bridges such as the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road and helped secure passage of a $286 billion highway spending plan after almost two years of wrangling with Congress.
After overseeing the rapid launch of the TSA, Mineta had his department downsized by almost two-thirds when the TSA and Coast Guard were moved to the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 in the biggest government reorganization in nearly six decades.
After retiring from public service, he joined the public relations firm Hill & Knowlton as vice chairman and settled with his wife, Danealia, in Maryland near the Cheasapeake Bay.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. | https://www.whsv.com/2022/05/03/norman-mineta-1st-asian-american-cabinet-secretary-dies/ | 2022-05-03T21:19:52Z |
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