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matchesarelit · 2 months

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Imagine If You Will... Just Us (Lars Pinfield X gn!Reader)

Prompts: “I thought it was going to be just us today” from @pookie-and-cereal's list (here) AND #17, #28 and #30 from @thelonelyempath's list (here).

W.C: ~3k

Warnings: Gary gets typical 3rd wheel treatment, science flirting (it's real bad),

Coming back from Ray's, your arms were killing, turns out hiking over an hour over public transport with more than ten kilos of, for a lack of a better word, junk, was not the brightest idea. Lars had texted you late last night, gushing over the newest adaptions he'd make to the extractor; how much time was saved on every use, how low the resistance rate was etc.

So naturally, when he invited you to come in on the weekend to try it out, your reply could have broken the sound barrier, if it weren't a text that is. You weren't exactly in his realm in regards to ghostbusting science, now don't get me wrong you did ghost bust on occasion, but your main focus was on the PR end of Ghost Corps. Yes, it is a very stressful job. That being so, you weren't sure why he'd chosen to invite you, surely another scientist would be able to understand it better.

Well, who truly cares... you were getting the rare chance to witness his dorky joy and that was not something you were going to turn down.

Finally trudging in through the main doors, you let out a grievous grunt as you dropped the box of trinkets onto a nearby trolley. Tugging it along behind you as you made your way to the main lab, you waved as you always did towards the enclosed ghosts in the hallway. Finally setting sights on the elaborate workspaces of the many scientists that work crammed into the space, you allowed your smile to overtake your features, eager as always to see Lars in his natural environment.

You'd first met when you stated on the G.C PR team, you'd been eager to set up a web page for the Ghostbusters with a page profile for all involved scientists. Winston had had you meet them all here in the lab, Lars was one of the first you'd met and you'd gotten along immediately.

"Heyo! I think you're gonna have to send Ray a gift basket with the amount of stuff he gave us-" Your rattled-out greeting was cut short as your eyes fell on the pair of men huddled by one of the desks. As they turned to greet you, you felt your steps slow, the air felt dense against your movements. Lars had forced out a smile that had no hopes of reaching his eyes, while the man by his side, Gary Grooberson, seemed to be dripping in ecstatic energy as he jogged over to meet you by the steps.

As he lifted the front end of the trolley and helped you carry it down, your eyes fell back on Lars, he was once again facing away from you and he'd retreated to the large mechanical focus of your visit. His hands were busy doing, what even you could tell from across the room, was absolutely nothing.

Cutting your study short, Gary captured you in a hug, it was as it always is; warm and comforting and definitely more for him than it was for you. You had time and time again succeeded in putting a good spin on whatever ruckus his family had created, so he was by no means a new acquaintance, neither was his proclivity for hugs a surprise.

Gary's greeting however flew right past your ears, tearing your focus away from the man on the other side of the space was proving much too difficult. To your luck however, you managed a gentle greeting and casual inquiry of how his family was doing before a notable amount of time had passed.

With a conscious effort you set your eyes on Gary, resolved to focus on the conversation at hand, the man before you was a friend after all. As the conversation continued, small updates about how the Spenglers and co were doing outside of the ghost busts filled the next half hour, before the dialogue began to stall.

Until, Gary, ever the extrovert, started to rifle through the box you'd brought in,

'So, are you as excited for today as I am? It sounds like Lars has been making absolute leaps and bounds with this stuff.'

Now, you wouldn't say you were projecting your voice when you spoke up, nonetheless, it definitely wasn't a normal speaking level. 'Yeah! I can't wait to see what he's been up to...' You trailed off as you glanced towards where Lars still stood, his back to the two of you but his hands had now stilled in place, a change you all but reveled in.

Lars wasn't a guy who enjoyed being alone all to much, you'd been able to gather as such within moments of meeting him. Luckily, that first time, you'd caught him on a good day; when talking about his work, rather than doing it, was pretty much exactly what he wanted to do. He'd tried to come across as a sort of stoic and while it was clear he did enjoy the solitude, the way he interacted with his peers made it crystal clear how much he also enjoyed such conversations.

That was part of why his actions today seemed so strange... You weren't exactly his peer as a scientist, but you knew enough about ghosts and he'd shared similar achievements with you in the past, not to mention the fact that he, himself, had invited you here only last night.

As for Gary, he was a scientific man himself, so why the Lars wasn't chatting happily with him about the newest changes to the mechanism was a mystery to say the least.

You'd hate to admit it, although it wasn't hard to notice by any means, you'd obliviously thought it was just going to be the two of you. So it took some quick metal re-wiring upon realizing you wouldn't just be able to fawn so freely over the unsuspecting scientist as you often did.

In that moment you'd felt bad, noting that both of you were acting strange and that that couldn't have been too fun for Gary.

Although... you considered perhaps Lars was simply overthinking his progress, now that his audience was present. Maybe he just needed a little push to start, like one of those old timey planes.

'Lars' Your call cracked through the silence of the facility, your voice finally tugging the man in question to turn on the spot. 'Come on Science-man, show us what you've got!'

He shook his head slightly in a sort of incredulity as he turned back around, your shoulders fell slightly, but only momentarily as his voice soon bounced around the room.

'Come on then'

Your eager smile reappeared on your face as you beelined towards the large prism like container in the middle of the workplace, where he stood hitting, what you could only assume, were the start up buttons. Your eyes on him, and his eyes on the machine -with you safely in his peripherals- Gary was left to wheel over the box of supplies. His mumblings of something about third wheeling and losing his phone, all but faded to oblivion in your focus.

Stepping back from the small panel and towards yourself and Gary, Lars seemed to pause for a moment, glancing once between you and his chair that sat empty by the control screen. You brushed off the look he'd given as he began to speak, as a mutual offer between him, yourself and Gary, You'd chosen consciously however, to not plop down in it yourself.

Strangely, claiming his seat whenever he stood from it, felt like something you could only do in private, although it usually occurred when ten or so other scientists also occupied the space. You suppose, sitting there; your head in your hand, as you gawk up at him was a lot more obvious when the only other person in the room would be standing mere feet away.

Whilst you turned your own thoughts over in your head, Gary had taken the chair for himself, muttering out a cheeky, 'ya snooze ya lose'. While you were still mulling things over, Gary caught what you didn't; a flash of a glare passing over Lars' features as he paused his explanation.

Choosing to remain comfy, Gary shot the younger scientist a simple smile, before tilting his head in your direction. With one look to you, your in-your-head state was obvious and Lars was talking a step towards you, your name a whisper on his lips.

Snapping out of your thoughts, and meeting his eyes, you immediately rushed out an apology running shaky hands down your face as you promised to listen closely.

From there it was somewhat business as usual, Lars went about explaining his changes, with yourself, and Gary, asking prompting questions every once and a while. You'd resolved to simply enjoy his company as you usually would, extra company be damned. Sorry Gary.

Gaping up at him in the way you always did, you were yet again in awe of Lars. The way his eyes shone a little brighter when the machine worked perfectly and how he would always look eagerly to you a soft smile on his face. Ghost by ghoul, the three of you went about testing for a while, with Lars occasionally ducking his head towards the wiring or control panel to make some small adjustment, only to return with a beaming smile when the following test went by even faster.

Watching him work was always enjoyable. He was always either grinning like a fool or he had that small frown and furrowed brow that graced his features in a moment, usually quite brief, of struggle. All the same, even that echo of a scowl wasn't enough to diminish the glow you swore he gave off. Today was slightly different, there was no lab coat in sight, his goggles hung loosely around his neck and the top half of his jumpsuit had been tied 'round his waist. He seemed relaxed, at least if you ignored the tension that seemed to be holding his body together.

'Amazing' your murmured comment, and the countless like it, were more about him than his machine and whenever you caught his eyes with your own, you hoped he could see that. Gary, on the other hand was completely enthralled by the testing, rattling off compliments of his own with much higher frequency, mentions of the 'stellar efficiency' and 'innovative programming' which, I'm sad to say, went in one ear and out the other. Except, for when he managed to interrupt you in the midst of his enthusiasm, at which point he was met with yet another brief glare from the man of the hour.

The setting sun that bathed the three of you in warm tones of orange and yellow took you by surprise, and a quick glace to the box by your side revealed you had powered through more than three quarters of your supplies. You felt your shoulders fall considerably at this thought, now achingly aware you'd be expected to leave somewhat soon. Shocking you from your melancholy was the loud ring of Lars' phone, some 8-bit version of the Ghostbusters theme you'd set up on his phone some time ago, echoing about the space.

He hurriedly excused himself, and unwitting as usual your eyes lingered on the doorway he'd left through. Until a clambering of legs swung into your own, following them with an eyebrow raised you met Gary's stare as his own eyebrows wiggled fancifully. 'Soooo... I'm gonna get going, Callie just texted-' Catching him in a squinted glare you doubted '-didn't you say you'd lost your phone?'

'um-uh, okay so I'm just a little aware that you guys want to be alone.' His tone was anything but unsure, nevertheless he seemed hesitant to voice his concern.

'No don't go, I'm sorry I-I know I get a bit absorbed seeing him work, but he wants you here!' You'd felt horrible, you weren't aware how obvious you'd been.

'Its okay, I know you didn't mean to... Also I highly doubt Lars is all that happy about me being here.' You opened your mouth to argue but he shook his head simply as he continued. 'Winston invited me after Lars let him know he'd be here today, He didn't know until I got here and that half an hour before you arrived was tense enough.'

You supposed he was right, Lars had seemed pretty off earlier, but surely it wasn't that deep that Gary should leave. 'That's silly though, you're a scientist, if anyone is annoying him by hanging around surely its me... I mean I was asking all those inane questions.'

Your concern was met with the most well meaning, yet still a bit of a brush-off, cackle you'd heard from him, 'Except every one was met with a soft explanation and a confirmation that you understood, which wasn't exactly the response I've been getting. I doubt today was meant to be about the science as anything more than as a justification for inviting you over.'

Your brow furrowed at that, yourself and Lars had hung out before, you supposed it wasn't too frequently and it was usually a work outing where the two of you peeled off for a bit. Even so, why would he feel like he had to justify inviting you over?

'But we're friends, he knows he doesn't have to-' you stopped yourself as his footsteps reverberated through the halls, growing closer by the second.

Mid-way through turning your head to catch the doorway, Gary darted out of his chair. Stealing back your attention as he addressed yourself and you supposed lars, who you could imagine had stopped, lingering at the end of the hall at the other man's outburst. 'I've gotta get going, great seeing you guys... Good luck with the rest of the testing...' He was backing away now, towards the entryway, maneuvering around stray chairs and tables as he went. With a final flourish of a finger gun in Lars' direction, he was crossing the threshold and calling back over his shoulder. '...Not that you need it!'

You found yourself scoffing in disbelief as you continued to watch as the doors swung closed with a slam. Slowly turning on the spot you set sights on Lars. He was making his way over to you, shoulders still higher than usual, tight due to, as far as you could ascertain, the dramatic exit of the older man. Reaching out, you placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. As the slight weight of your hand settled on him you noted the relaxed fall of his shoulders, a sigh falling from his lips. Content with the slight ease in his demeanor you gave a slight squeeze and a hum of your own.

'So, should we get back to it?' Lars nodded, but otherwise remained completely still until you elected to remove your hand, at which point he spun on the spot and traipsed back over to the machine with a vigor that'd been notably absent all day.

Narrowing your eyes at the man in front of you, you watched as he returned to his regular As Seen On TV type demonstration. Now, with a pep in his step that you always found almost too intoxicating he placed a new object inside the chamber, closed it and started towards the computer.

'Hey, Lars? Can you level with me on something?' you hated to see how his movements stuttered to a halt at your vague interruption, but the question fell from your lips before you could think, 'Do you not like Gary?' His gaze seemed to flutter about the space, until his eyes were screwed shut, a shaky hand messing through his locks as his jaw dropped open, dancing silently in the nonexistent wind until you fixed him with pointed look and he suddenly found some words.

'I don't dislike him he's just very- He's smart it's just- its just that...' he trailed off, seemingly deciding to communicate through a jumpscare like gesture of his hands.

'He's very eager?' he nodded, glad you gotten his meaning, but he stilled when your head tilted ever so slightly.

'So am I.' With that thought your eyes had drifted from his, not shyly to the ground but dazed, as if fixed on some invisible specter only you could see. Your mind grew harsh faster than you'd care to admit, retroactively scanning every interaction with him against some intangible measure of frustration. There were surely times your presence slowed his work, distracting him with conversation or absurd what if's, not to mention the plethora of what you now realized must have been idiotic questions.

Surely he'd been speaking while you re-considered your very existence, but it wasn't until you felt the warmth of his hands on your shoulders that an ounce of sound managed to reach your brain.

'Hey, you okay there? You-you went blank on me.'

'I-um yeah -I just...' You had no clue what to say, how could you? Yeah sorry I was just thinking about how insufferable I must be to you, that came with a little spiraling as a treat.

Gathering that you'd most likely missed his in depth explanation of the difference between yourself and Gary from his perspective, Lars stepped away from you, considering the best way to dissolve the tension evident on your features. 'You and I, Us, we're not just colleagues, you don't just come to me to get new gadgets or answer some question you have... even if you do have a few. We're... something else, but when he's here its like he's extracting facts and figures, all the while you're just trying to understand me, m-my work. Its not his fault I- just I-'

'-Thought it was going to be just us today?' Cutting off his rambling you finally met his eyes. He shrugged nodding slightly as he held your gaze. 'If it makes it better?.. it is now.'

He released a bemused hmmf. 'I'll admit I wasn't the biggest fan of having to fight for your attention today. I'm pretty glad it is just the two of us again. Splitting your focus between me and my work is as much as I can handle.' Shaking your head in amusement at his sudden bluntness, you stepped towards him, a gentle hand against his chest, the eye contact mere inches long as you stood in his orbit.

'You are so oblivious... Trust me Lars there was not a moment that you weren't the nucleus of my afternoon.' A light groan was his only response to your overy-cheesy claim. 'No? what about...' you thought for a moment, tapping a finger to your chin.

'I'm much too weak to resist the gravity of your presence.' he narrowed his eyes at you own, looking for something you couldn't distinguish.

'Is that why you're in so close? My pull is too strong?' He didn't bother to cover the roll of his eyes or the teasing tone in his voice, but the smile that was paired with them was comfort enough to keep you talking.

'Mhmm You're just too enthralling Pinfield, you're gonna have to work on that if you want other people to be able to stand being around us'

Amidst all his scoffing and modest smiling, the blush that spung up across his cheeks was a sight for sore eyes, as his head lowered and he whispered into the paper thin space between you his tone even and resolute;

'Who says I'd ever want that?'

#lars pinfield x reader #lars pinfield #ghostbusters frozen empire #gbfe #ghostbusters

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aroundfortwayne · 3 years

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Appointments now open for Gary vaccination clinic

New Post has been published on https://aroundfortwayne.com/news/2021/04/02/appointments-now-open-for-gary-vaccination-clinic/

Appointments now open for Gary vaccination clinic

Today, the ISDH announced that appointments are now open for the mass vaccination clinic being opened at Gary’s Roosevelt Park next week.

#FEMA COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic #FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency #Gary Indiana #Gary Public Transportation Corp.#Indianapolis Indiana #ISDH COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic #ISDH Indiana State Department of Health #IU Health #Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine #Merrillville Indiana #Merrillville Parks and Recreation Department #Michigan City Indiana #Pentecostal Temple Church #Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine #Roosevelt Park

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xtruss · 4 years

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RIP: Kobe Bryant, Daughter Gianna Die in Helicopter Crash in Calabasas

— By Richard Winton, Dan Woike, Sonali Kohli, Tania Ganguli

— January 26, 2020

Lakers star Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bryant, 41, the legendary basketball star who spent 20 years with the Los Angeles Lakers, was killed when the helicopter he was traveling in crashed and burst into flames Sunday morning amid foggy conditions in the hills above Calabasas, sources told the Los Angeles Times.

His daughter Gianna, 13, was also on board and died along with three others.

Bryant’s death stunned Los Angeles and the sports world, which mourned one of basketball’s greatest players. Sources said the helicopter took off from Orange County, where Bryant lived.

The crash occurred shortly before 10 a.m. near Las Virgenes Road, south of Agoura Road, according to a watch commander for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Jerry Kocharian was standing outside the Church in the Canyon drinking coffee when he heard a helicopter unusually low struggling overhead. “It [didn’t] sound right and it was real low. I saw it falling and spluttering. But it was hard to make out as it was so foggy,” Kocharian said. The helicopter vanished into a cloud of fog and then there was a boom.

“There was a big fireball,” he said. “No one could survive that.”

The helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76B built in 1991, departed John Wayne Airport at 9:06 a.m. Sunday, according to publicly available flight records. The helicopter passed over Boyle Heights, near Dodger Stadium, and circled over Glendale during the flight.

The National Transportation Safety Board database does not show any prior incidents or accidents for this aircraft. The helicopter is registered to the Fillmore-based Island Express Holding Corp., according to the California Secretary of State business database.

Kobe Bryant Helicopter Crash

After taking off in Orange County, the helicopter flew northwest and then crashed shortly before 10 a.m. near Las Virgenes Road, south of the 101 Freeway, in Calabasas.

“We extend our sincerest condolences to all those affected by today’s Sikorsky S-76B accident in Calabasas, California,” the helicopter’s manufacturer, Sikorsky, said in a tweet. “We have been in contact with the NTSB and stand ready to provide assistance and support to the investigative authorities and our customer.”

“Kobe Bryant was a giant who inspired, amazed, and thrilled people everywhere with his incomparable skill on the court — and awed us with his intellect and humility as a father, husband, creative genius, and ambassador for the game he loved,” L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a news statement Sunday afternoon. “He will live forever in the heart of Los Angeles, and will be remembered through the ages as one of our greatest heroes.”

Across the country Sunday , public figures, former teammates and fans alike mourned the basketball star .

“Particularly when he was young, to be a part of his life and to watch his career grow, watch him grow, this is one of the most tragic days of my life,” said fellow Lakers legend Jerry West, 81. West was the general manager for the Lakers in 1996 and maneuvered Bryant’s immediate trade to the Lakers when he was drafted. “I know somewhere along the way I guess I’ll come to grips with it. But now I have all these different emotions regarding him. The things I watched him do on the basketball court, but more importantly he was going to make a difference off the court, and he was making a difference off the court. It’s so unexplainable. This is going to take a long time for me.”

“Kobe was a legend on the court and just getting started in what would have been just as meaningful a second act,” former U.S. President Barack Obama tweeted. “To lose Gianna is even more heartbreaking to us as parents. Michelle and I send love and prayers to Vanessa and the entire Bryant family on an unthinkable day.”

It was a sad and surreal scene inside Staples Center around noon Sunday, where Grammy Awards dress rehearsal was taking place as word of Bryant’s death swept through the arena. Crews worked quickly to move Bryant’s rafter jerseys side by side, and masked the other retired jerseys with curtains. By 1 p.m. the switch had been made. No. 8 and No. 24 were side by side, illuminated by flood lights.

News of the crash dominated the rehearsal. Ariana Grande had just finished a lavish performance, and Billie Eilish was about to perform an acoustic song with her brother. But all eyes were on the jerseys at the other end of the floor, as staff and observers watched in disbelief.

Within half an hour of the news breaking, a Barnes & Noble in Orange had sold out of all photo books featuring the former NBA star.

“It’s kind of morose but people just came in 10 or 15 minutes after we found out about it, “ said Armando Romero, a bookseller at the cash register. He said his general manager announced Bryant’s death to the booksellers over their wireless headsets.“We knew right away people would be coming.”

Minutes later, Romero said he received phone calls from customers, asking to put Bryant-related books on hold.

At the Fullerton Mexican restaurant El Camino Real in Fullerton, the staff was “really sad,” said manager Rodolfo Garcia. Bryant patronized the restaurant for 20 years with his wife, a Fullerton native. If he couldn’t come in person, Bryant would have friends get big orders to take back to his Newport Coast mansion.

“He liked the carnitas and flan,” Garcia said, over the thud of a butcher breaking down carne asada for tacos. “He loved this place because people treated him like a normal person. Kobe would just stand in line, like anyone else. He’d tell us, ‘Don’t treat me like a star; I’m just a customer here.”

Bryant was born in Philadelphia. His father, Joe, played eight NBA seasons in the 1970s and ‘80s for the Philadelphia 76ers, San Diego Clippers and, in his last stop, the Houston Rockets under then-coach Del Harris. A lighthearted, 6-foot-10 string bean who went by his Philadelphia playground nickname, Jellybean, Joe Bryant played college ball at La Salle and married Pam Cox, the sister of a starting guard at Villanova. They named their first son Kobe, after the city in Japan.

Bryant excelled at Lower Merion High in Ardmore, Pa., near Philadelphia, winning numerous national awards as a senior before announcing his intention to skip college and enter the NBA draft. He was selected 13th overall by Charlotte in 1996, but the Lakers had already worked out a deal with the Hornets to acquire Bryant before his selection. Bryant impressed Lakers General Manager Jerry West during a pre-draft workout session in Los Angeles. Less than three weeks later, the Lakers traded starting center Vlade Divac to the Hornets in exchange for Bryant’s rights. Bryant, whose favorite team growing up was the Lakers, had to have his parents co-sign his NBA contract because he was 17 years old.

The 6-foot-6 guard made his pro debut in the 1996-97 season opener against Minnesota; at the time he was the youngest player ever to appear in an NBA game. He started in only a handful of games during his rookie season, coming off the bench in support of Nick Van Exel and Eddie Jones. However, coach Del Harris played him more as the season progressed, allowing Bryant to showcase the skills that made him a top candidate for rookie of the year. Those skills were also on display when Bryant won the 1997 NBA slam dunk competition.

Bryant continued to improve during his sophomore season in the league, averaging 15.4 points per game. However, his breakout came in the lockout-shortened 1998-99 season when he started in all 50 games after the Lakers traded away Van Exel and Jones.

The crash site in Calabasas where Kobe Bryant and four others were killed on Sunday.

Bryant and leading scorer Shaquille O’Neal quickly morphed into one of the most lethal scoring and defensive combinations in the league. Together, with coach Phil Jackson guiding them, they led the Lakers to three consecutive championships (2000-02) as Bryant began to cement his place as the game’s top player.

“There’s no words to express the pain I’m going through with this tragedy of loosing my neice [sic] Gigi & my brother,” O’Neal tweeted Sunday. “I love u and u will be missed. My condolences goes out to the Bryant family and the families of the other passengers on board. IM SICK RIGHT NOW.”

Despite coming together to win some of the most closely fought playoff series in Lakers history, friction started to develop between Bryant and O’Neal. Tension between the two stars continued to build during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons as the Lakers failed to capitalize on their status as top contenders for the NBA title. Making matters worse, Bryant was arrested in July 2003 on allegations of sexual assault.

The charges were eventually dropped, but Bryant’s reputation took a hit and he settled a civil lawsuit with the accuser. In exchange for not testifying in the criminal case, the accuser negotiated an apology letter from Bryant that read, in part, “Although I truly believe this encounter between us was consensual ... I now understand how she sincerely feels that she did not consent.”

After the Lakers lost to Detroit in the NBA Finals with a star-studded team that included Karl Malone and Gary Payton, O’Neal was traded to Miami and Jackson’s coaching contract was not renewed. As the team’s undisputed leader, Bryant signed a seven-year contract to remain with the team.

Bryant summed up the tensions between him and O’Neal after the Lakers won the NBA title in 2009: “We’re great as individuals, but ... it’s probably the first dynamic duo that had two alpha males on one team. We managed to make it work for three championships.”

Bryant posted some of the best offensive numbers of his career over the next three seasons, but the team struggled, failing to make the playoffs in 2005 before suffering consecutive first-round defeats to Phoenix in 2006 and 2007. Jackson returned to the team for the 2005-06 season, and Bryant went on to lead the league in scoring that season with a career-best 35.4 average. He scored 40 points or more in 27 games and became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1964 to finish with 45 points or more in four consecutive games.

His biggest single-game achievement came Jan. 22, 2006, against Toronto when he scored a career-high 81 points, the second most in NBA history. Earlier that season, on Dec. 20, 2005, he scored 62 points in 33 minutes through three quarters of a game against Dallas; he had outscored the entire Mavericks team, 62-61, entering the final quarter, in which Bryant did not play. Bryant continued to impress during the 2006-07 season, scoring 50 or more points in a team-record 10 games and averaging 31.6 points a game to capture his second NBA scoring title.

Laker legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was at that game, he said in a Twitter video Sunday. “It is something that I will always remember as one of the highlights of the things that I have learned and observed in sports.”

“He was an incredible athlete and a leader in a lot of ways. He inspired a whole generation of young athletes. He was one of the first ones to leave high school and come into the NBA and do so well, dominating the game and becoming one of the best scorers that the Los Angeles Lakers has ever seen,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

“He is the No. 1 player in the league, by far,” Washington guard Gilbert Arenas said in 2006. “With a player like him, he just wants that challenge. He’s just that fierce competitor. He doesn’t want to get out-showed. He’s the one who everybody’s afraid of.”

Bryant’s 2007-08 NBA MVP season got off to a tumultuous start after he reportedly demanded to be traded. He was reportedly unhappy with Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak and Jackson."I would like to be traded,” Bryant said during a radio interview. “Tough as it is to come to that conclusion, there’s no other alternative. It’s rough, man, but I don’t see how you can rebuild that trust. I just don’t know how you can move forward in that type of situation.”

Bryant eventually backtracked on his trade demands and posted perhaps his best all-around season, leading a team re-energized by Pau Gasol’s arrival from Memphis in February 2008 to a first-place finish in the Western Conference. The Lakers embarked on a memorable playoff run before losing to Boston in the Finals. Later that year Bryant went on to win a gold medal with the U.S. team at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

With Bryant pleased about the direction the team was heading, he guided the Lakers to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. He was named the NBA Finals MVP both years as the team once again ascended to the top of the NBA.

Ongoing soreness in Bryant’s knee and ankle coupled with the team’s heavy reliance in him played a role in the Lakers’ championship run coming to an end in 2011. Bryant posted his lowest points per game totals since the 2003-04 season as he dealt with the aftereffects of offseason arthroscopic knee surgery. He went on to win his fourth NBA All-Star Game most-valuable-player award but fell short of his ultimate goal of winning a sixth NBA title. Bryant also became the youngest player in NBA history to amass 27,000 career points.

Bryant finished third in league scoring in 2011-12 despite dealing with ongoing knee and ankle issues. In January 2012, he scored at least 40 points in four consecutive games, which included a 48-point effort against the Phoenix Suns.

Following the team’s acquisition of Dwight Howard in August 2012, the Lakers were regarded as a favorite for the NBA title. However, friction between Bryant and Howard started to develop as the team struggled. Despite this, Bryant led the NBA in scoring for much of the first half of the season and surpassed NBA great Wilt Chamberlain for fourth all-time in league scoring. But Bryant’s season came to a disappointing end when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon against the Golden State Warriors on April 10. The injury and subsequent surgery prevented Bryant from playing in the early portion of the 2013-14 season.

Bryant, who signed a two-year, $48.5-million contract extension with the Lakers before the start of the 2013-14 season, did not return from injury until December. He played in only six games before suffering a lateral tibial plateau fracture in his left knee. The injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season as the Lakers limped to a 27-55 record, missing the playoffs for only the second time since Bryant joined the franchise.

He retired from the NBA but began a new career in Hollywood.

In 2018, he won an Oscar along with director Glen Keane for the animated short film “Dear Basketball.”

Just Saturday night, Laker LeBron James passed Bryant for third on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Allen Kenitzer, an FAA spokesman, said his agency and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the helicopter crash.

Times staff writers Nathan Fenno, Chris Erskine, Alex Wigglesworth, Broderick Turner, Cindy Carcamo, Gustavo Arellano and Sonali Kohli contributed to this report.

— Los Angeles Times

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startupcanada · 5 years

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Saskatchewan Manufacturing and Processing Exporter Tax Incentives

Our Competitive Edge

Largest potash producer in the world, accounting for approximately one-third of total production in 2017 and hosting almost half of the globe’s potash reserves Saskatchewan is home to the world’s largest uranium mine and largest high-grade uranium deposits; it is the world’s second-largest primary uranium producer, accounting for 100% of Canada’s uranium and for more than 22% of global primary uranium production in 2016

Saskatchewan has a variety of other minerals including: gold, base metals, clays, coal, diamonds, platinum group metals, sodium sulphate, silica sand and rare earth elements High-quality, extensive and easily accessible geoscience information. Online mineral deposit models can be found on the Saskatchewan Mining and Petroleum GeoAtlas Mineral dispositions can be acquired online through the Mineral Administration Registry Saskatchewan (MARS) system

The new Mineral Development Strategy includes the release of new, publically available, airborne geophysical survey data and introduction of the Targeted Mineral Exploration Incentive, which provides a 25% rebate on eligible drilling costs in a region of high potential for base metals, precious metals, and diamonds.

Sales: The value of mineral sales was $6.7 billion in 2017. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) estimates that Saskatchewan accounted for 13% of national sales value, fourth highest in the country. In 2017, Saskatchewan’s leading mineral for the value of sales was potash, valued at $4.8 billion. All of Canada’s operating potash mines are located in Saskatchewan.

Exploration Expenditures: A survey conducted by the Ministry of the Economy showed that $170 million was spent on exploration and development programs in 2017 compared to: $199 million in 2016, $211 million in 2015, $216 million in 2014 and $236 million in 2013. Exploration spending continues to be well above historic averages, and it is estimated that $193 million will be spent in 2018.

Mining Capital Expenditures: NRCan reported that Saskatchewan continued to be a leader in 2017 with intended capital investments in the mineral extraction sector, representing about 23% of national expenditures, second only to Ontario.

Technology: Saskatchewan mines feature leading-edge technology, developed and manufactured in the province, such as: battery-powered mine vehicles, continuously running machinery and remote-controlled underground mining equipment, artificial ground freezing and state-of-the-art tailings management facilities

Mineral Wealth

Potash: Exceptionally large, high-quality deposits, low production costs and a favourable regulatory regime have resulted in the world’s largest potash industry. There is significant capacity expansion to existing mines underway, in addition to the commissioning of the province’s first new mine in nearly 50 years.

In 2017, Saskatchewan produced a record 12.4 million tonnes of K2O with a sales value of $4.8 billion. The Saskatchewan potash industry is nearing the completion of expansions valued at $13.5 billion, which have substantially increased productive capacity in preparation for continued growth in the market. Saskatchewan’s newest potash mine, operated by Germany’s K+S Potash Canada, has now been in production for over a year, while other companies, such as BHP Billiton, Yancoal, JSC Acron and Rio Tinto, are continuing to evaluate projects for new mine development.

By conservative estimates, Saskatchewan could supply world potash demand at current levels for several hundred years.

Uranium: In 2017, Saskatchewan produced 34.2 million pounds of U3O8, with a sales value of $1.4 billion. Since 2003, there has been a high level of exploration in the province resulting in more than $1.5 billion invested. This activity has led to significant new discoveries and has advanced numerous exploration and development projects. The Athabasca Basin, located in northern Saskatchewan, has the largest high-grade uranium deposits in the world. The province is the globe’s second-largest primary uranium producer and home to the world’s largest uranium mine.

Saskatchewan is recognized as a stable, long-term source of uranium, with strong potential for new discoveries and investment opportunities.

Diamonds: Extensive exploration and evaluation is underway in one of the world’s largest diamond-bearing kimberlite fields and new discoveries in other parts of the province. Saskatchewan’s Fort à la Corne area has one of the world’s largest kimberlite fields, with the surface area of some kimberlites exceeding 200 hectares. Star Diamond Corp., in partnership with Rio Tinto, is currently evaluating the Star-Orion South project, which is estimated to contain more than 66 million carats.

The discovery of diamond-bearing kimberlite in northcentral Saskatchewan has reinvigorated grassroots diamond exploration on the exposed Pre-Cambrian shield. Unlike many other jurisdictions, areas of diamond potential are close to infrastructure. Gold: The Seabee Operation produced 83,998 ounces of gold in 2017, the fourth consecutive year of record annual production. Exploration expenditures have focused on the La Ronge Greenstone Belt and north of Lake Athabasca. There are areas with high gold potential that remain underexplored.

Coal: Saskatchewan is the third-largest producer in Canada, with annual production of about 10 million tonnes of thermal coal or lignite, and resources in excess of 5 billion tonnes. Saskatchewan also produces industrial minerals, such as bentonite, clays, salt, silica sand, sodium and potassium sulphate, with strong potential for production of mineralized brines, kaolin and building stone.

Base Metals: Small amounts of copper and zinc are currently produced by Hudbay Mining from the Saskatchewan part of the Callinan ore body at Creighton/Flin Flon. There is currently one advanced stage project and potential exists in several other parts of the province.

The Investment Climate

According to the Fraser Institute’s 2018 Survey of Mining Companies, which evaluates 83 jurisdictions, Saskatchewan ranks 3 rd in the world for mining investment attractiveness

High standards for environment, sustainable development and safety

World-class research and development, led by the universities of Saskatchewan and Regina, the Saskatchewan Research Council, the International Minerals Innovation Institute and the Canadian Light Source synchrotron

One of the world’s largest exploration sample processing labs, with expertise in uranium and diamonds

Central location with excellent transportation services to North American and offshore markets

Firm commitment to enhance and sustain industry competitiveness

Lower Business Taxes

No corporate capital tax on new capital investment

No payroll tax

No health insurance premiums

6% provincial sales tax, the lowest of the nine provinces that have a sales tax

12% corporate income tax rate

14.75% top marginal personal income tax rate, third lowest in Canada Tax Credits

10% mineral exploration tax credit for Saskatchewan residents

10% provincial income tax credit for scientific research and development expenditures Fuel tax rebate for mineral exploration

Royalty Framework

Competitive royalty regimes, including 10-year royalty holidays for base and precious metals produced in the province

For more information, contact:

Kathryn Pollack

Assistant Deputy Minister

Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources

11th Floor, 1945 Hamilton Street

Regina SK S4P 2C8

Phone: (306) 787-3524

Email: [email protected]

Gary Delaney, PhD, P.Geo.

Chief Geologist

Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources

11th Floor, 1945 Hamilton Street

Regina SK S4P 2C8

Phone: (306) 787-1160

Email: [email protected]

The post Saskatchewan Manufacturing and Processing Exporter Tax Incentives appeared first on Company Formations Canada.

from Company Formations Canada http://bit.ly/2VKrRWN

#Start-Up Canada #Company Formations Canada

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writerkingdom · 6 years

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deniseyallen · 7 years

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Portman, Stabenow Lead Bipartisan Great Lakes Task Force Letter Raising Alarm over Delay in Finalizing Critical Asian Carp Study

Senators express serious concerns over the timeline for implementing permanent measures to combat Asian carp

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), co-Chairs of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, sent a letter to the Acting Secretary of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers raising alarm over the delay in finalizing the Brandon Road Study, a critical action-plan for keeping Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes. Great Lakes Task Force Vice Chair Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and members Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) also signed the letter.

“It is imperative that the USACE meet the original timeline for completing the Chief’s Report by January 2019,” wrote the Senators. “The USACE initiated the Brandon Road Study in April 2015 after the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin Study (GLMRIS) identified the Brandon Road Lock & Dam as a location to control the movement of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes.”

“USACE has indicated that implementing the recommended measures in the TSP is unlikely before 2025,” the Senators continued. “This timeline is particularly concerning given recent findings that demonstrated new ways for Asian carp to enter the Great Lakes…This past June, an eight pound Silver carp made its way up the Illinois River, beyond the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, and was found above the electric barrier – just nine miles from Lake Michigan.”

A PDF of the letter can be found here and the full text may be found below.

Dear Acting Secretary McCarthy,

As Senators representing Great Lakes states, we write to share our views on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) draft Tentatively Selected Plan (TSP) for the Brandon Road Study.

First, it is imperative that the USACE meet the original timeline for completing the Chief’s Report by January 2019. The USACE initiated the Brandon Road Study in April 2015 after the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin Study (GLMRIS) identified the Brandon Road Lock & Dam as a location to control the movement of Asian Carp into the Great Lakes. The USACE provided a 46-month timeline to complete Brandon Road Study, with an interim step of releasing the Tentatively Selected Plan by January 2017. This was already longer than the 3x3x3 rule enacted in the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 (P. L. 113-121), in which feasibility studies must result in a final report in three years or less. Despite the six-month delay in the release of the TSP, we fully expect the USACE to complete its Chief’s Report by January 2019. Secondly, we ask that you provide us an update on the timeline for completion of the Chief’s Report

Thirdly, USACE has indicated that implementing the recommended measures in the TSP is unlikely before 2025. This timeline is particularly concerning given recent findings that demonstrated new ways for Asian carp to enter the Great Lakes. Field studies conducted in recent years by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that small fish – including Asian Carp – can become entrained between barges and transported safely through the electric dispersal barriers near Romeoville, Illinois – located approximately 25 miles from Lake Michigan. Moreover, this past June, an eight pound Silver carp made its way up the Illinois River, beyond the Brandon Road Lock and Dam, and was found above the electric barrier – just nine miles from Lake Michigan.

While waterway shipping is important to the economies of the Great Lakes states, it is also essential that we prevent the devastating impacts that would occur if Asian Carp invade the Great Lakes. Studies have shown those impacts would include declines in native fish species and a one-third reduction of total fish weight in Lake Erie. This threatens the Great Lakes’ world-class $7 billion/year fishing industry, $16 billion/year recreational boating industry, and the hundreds of thousands of jobs these industries support.

We appreciate the USACE’s recognition that controlling the movement of aquatic invasive species such as Asian Carp is necessary, and we look forward to hearing from you on your commitment to complete the Chief’s Report by January 2019.

Thank you for your consideration of our request. We ask that this letter be included in the formal record of comments for the draft report.

###

from Rob Portman http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=3D1452F8-30FA-4117-9FBB-953A834D85D7

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aroundfortwayne · 3 years

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ISDH: Thousands vaccinated at Gary site

New Post has been published on https://aroundfortwayne.com/news/2021/06/02/isdh-thousands-vaccinated-at-gary-site/

ISDH: Thousands vaccinated at Gary site

Today, the ISDH announced that 63,749 individuals were vaccinated at its COVID-19 mass vaccination site held in partnership with FEMA in Gary, Indiana.

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wnmnblog · 7 years

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Chester McGuire Obituary Of U.C Berkeley Urban Economist, Berkeley Planning Associates Founder

Chester “Chet” McGuire Jr. lost his 14-year battle with cancer on October 13, 2017. Chet was a noted urban economist with a long and distinguished career in academia, public service and business. He was one of the founders of Berkeley Planning Associates in 1974, was on the BART Board seeing its fruition in the early 1970s. He served as the Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Carter Administration, and was an Associate Professor at U.C. Berkeley. He was one of the few African-Americans at U.C. Berkeley, where he lectured and taught classes in the College of Environmental Design in the Department of City and Regional Planning. He was an excellent public speaker gave very dynamic lectures that were well received by his students. In the late 1960 Chet was Vice President of Winston A. Burnett Construction Co. in San Francisco, where he was involved with the planning and construction of The Martin Luther King Marcus Garvey Square Coop Apartments in San Francisco. This was a revolutionary in the late 1960s, as it provided the opportunity for low-income individuals to build equity and an ownership stake in their community. This project reflected one of Chet’s core beliefs, which was that community development came from economic empowerment, and that if you could provide economics to impoverished communities, “you” could make a difference. This belief is what led Chet to pursue a degree in economics and a lifetime devoted to city and regional planning. Personally, he was the source of many good talks about society and race and social justice and economics. Chet taught classes on housing and redevelopment, housing market analysis. He also taught at Howard University on financial markets and quantitative and statistical methods. From his consulting company, McGuire Associates, he was call upon an expert witness on high profile real estate cases, and was called on to rendered an assessment of countless development proposals and policy concepts over many years. He was a giant in his field. Chet provided the necessary intellectual “muscle” that was needed to solve complex housing and transportation problems. In 1974, Chet was one if the founders if the Berkeley Planning Associates for the city of Berkeley that gave much direction to the growth of the city. In 1973, Chester McGuire also was elected AC Transit Director-at-Large where and ran on an impressive slate with three other African-Americans, one of whom was legendary Congressman Ron Dellums. This was ground-breaking in 1973, to have had African-Americans win a predominately white constituency Chet continued his work as a program and policy consultant to HUD on housing issues and a consultant to financial institutions, specializing in fair lending policies, particularly in regard to lending practices in older, inner city areas. This work was recognized and in 1977 Chet was nominated by then President Jimmy Carter and then served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Carter Administration where he continued his work in Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. He also served as a consultant to the city of San Francisco, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the Berkeley Neighborhood Traffic Study, the East Palo Alto 701 Planning Programs, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Association of Bay Area Governments. He has had numerous articles published on housing, transportation, and urban subjects. Chet was born on October 29, 1936 in Gary, Indiana to Martha and Chester McGuire, Sr. He attended Roosevelt High School where he was senior class president, and later attended Dartmouth College where he was a member of the Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity and recruited into The Sphinx. Chet was one of only seven African-American men who were admitted to Dartmouth College, Class of 1958 with such noteworthy classmates as H. Carl McCall, the late civil rights attorney, Mickey McGuire, and the late Arch Whitehead, father of author of Colson Whitehead. Chet enlisted in the US Navy as a Lieutenant on battleships where he served as a cryptographer—a “code cracker” during the Cold War.* He later graduated from the University of Chicago School of Business with an MBA and PhD in Economics.

FULL OBITUARY HERE: http://ift.tt/2h6gc2b via IFTTT https://youtu.be/RIdxDitMt6g

#IFTTT #WordPress

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touristguidebuzz · 7 years

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Trump’s $1 Trillion Transportation Infrastructure Plan Is Coming Unglued

Donald Trump’s infrastructure guru spent part of Sept. 26 at a conference in Washington promoting the president’s $1 trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges and airports relying in part on public-private partnerships. The same day, across town, Trump was telling lawmakers that those kinds of deals don’t work. Bloomberg

Skift Take: Is there anything this leader can't not do? This is basic stuff that improves commerce, movement, and travel, and gives a ton of people jobs in the process. It's not a hard win if you're competent and have a vision.

— Jason Clampet

The president’s apparent change of heart on what’s been an important pillar of his economic plan left key constituents of the infrastructure initiative reeling.

Trump’s remarks, relayed by three lawmakers after a closed meeting with Republicans and Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee, raised new questions about how the plan would be financed, and whether the president was instead considering increasing federal funding for building projects — a prospect made harder by the large tax cut the administration proposed Wednesday.

Democratic lawmakers welcomed the potential opening for more federal spending, while deficit hawks bristled. Both sides, though, are still struggling to interpret Trump’s apparent turnaround.

“It’s hard to say whether he’s doing this to try to open some doors for more bipartisan discussion, or whether it’s really a fundamental policy change,’’ said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, a free-market research group.

“If it’s fundamental policy change, I imagine there’ll be some people looking for new jobs in the White House because you hired them to do P3 infrastructure,” he said, referring to public-private partnerships.

Legitimate Questions

Following Trump’s comments to the lawmakers, the White House said there are legitimate questions about how public-private partnerships can be incorporated into the infrastructure plan, but that all viable options are still being considered.

Before this week private investment had been at the core of Trump’s ambitious infrastructure plan. It was a feature of his campaign material and promoted in the early months of the administration.

Trump built his infrastructure team around DJ Gribbin, an expert on public-private partnerships who’s worked on such deals for Macquarie Capital USA Inc. and Koch Industries. Trump also enlisted other private sector leaders to advise on the subject.

Gribbin, special assistant to the president for infrastructure policy, spoke at the P3 Hub Americas conference at the Mayflower Hotel on Sept. 26 — the same day that Trump, back at the White House, seemed to reverse course. Gribbin urged supporters of P3s to overcome the opposition to such deals, according to the P3 Bulletin, an infrastructure news publication, which hosted the event.

‘Knee-Jerk Reaction’

“There has been a knee jerk reaction to P3s from a liberal perspective in a negative way, and a knee jerk reaction from conservatives that think P3s are free money,” Gribbin said, according to a P3 Bulletin report. “Both of those are wrong, and it would be really helpful for this community to get out there and educate about the reality of P3s.”

In an initial framework released in May, the administration said it would commit at least $200 billion of federal funds over 10 years to generate $800 billion in spending by states, localities and the private sector. Trump’s latest remarks raised questions about whether that plan will change or be delayed. The administration had said it would deliver a proposal to Congress by the end of September, before saying the plan would come after the tax overhaul.

Gary Cohn, Trump’s top economic adviser, told reporters in August that an infrastructure bill could start in the House as soon as a tax measure moves from the House to the Senate.

Business groups and companies hoping for a boost in spending are getting impatient.

‘Partisan Divides’

“Unfortunately, competing agendas and partisan divides continue to distance us from a national infrastructure package, which should be at the top of the nation’s agenda,’’ Michael Burke, chairman and chief executive of AECOM, the world’s biggest engineering firm, said in a statement.

White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom said the administration is making progress. It’s already taken steps to streamline infrastructure permitting and “continues to work every day on solutions, whether they are as small as shifts in practice within agency offices, or as large as the upcoming legislative package,” she said in an email.

“All of these solutions will contribute to the trillion dollar infrastructure investment the president has promised the American people,” Strom said.

Infrastructure Stocks

After Trump’s election, the promise of a major initiative initially buoyed stocks of construction and materials firms such as AECOM, Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Fluor Corp., Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Martin Marietta Materials Inc., Vulcan Materials Co. and U.S. Steel Corp. The potential opportunity for more investment opportunities also helped unlisted infrastructure funds secure $20 billion this year in North America alone as of August, according to data provider Preqin.

But the infrastructure stocks fell off after Trump took office, relative to the overall Standard & Poor’s Index of 500 companies, and the economy could suffer if Trump sides with Democrats to shift the burden of infrastructure spending to the federal coffers using deficit spending, particularly in light of the tax cuts proposed Wednesday, said Patrick Newton, a spokesman for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

“Both lower tax rates and expanded infrastructure can help grow the economy, but if we borrow to finance either we’ll probably end up dragging the economy down instead,” Newton said.

Republican lawmakers and some business groups downplayed Trump’s comments, saying the private sector would still play a major role in any initiative. Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said Trump’s remarks showed that there are certain places — like rural areas — where public-private partnerships don’t work and the government needs to step up.

No Golden Egg

“I think he’s doing it to make sure that people know that that isn’t the golden egg, that isn’t going to solve the problem,’’ Inhofe said in a telephone interview.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which made infrastructure a 2017 policy priority, remains confident that the private sector will be part of the solution, said Ed Mortimer, executive director of transportation infrastructure.

“We can argue about how much part of the solution, but you don’t address a $2.5 trillion deficit in infrastructure with just traditional funding sources,” Mortimer said.

Representative John Delaney of Maryland and other Democratic lawmakers have advocated linking a tax bill with infrastructure, including using a proposed tax on overseas profits to pay for public works.

The White House has said the two efforts are separate for now, and not all Democrats are on board anyway. Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, rejected combining the two issues if it would be in exchange for tax cuts for the wealthy.

‘Hell No’

“The answer would be, ‘Hell no,”’ DeFazio said.

Ed Rendell, a former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic National Committee chairman and a co-founder of Building America’s Future, a bipartisan coalition that promotes infrastructure, said his party needs to work with Trump.

“You weren’t elected to serve the interest of the Democratic Party,’’ Rendell said in a telephone interview. “You were elected to serve the interests of the United States of America and folks, infrastructure revitalization cannot be put on hold until 2021.’’

Meanwhile, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is moving forward on its own. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the panel’s chairman, said the committee is preparing its own bill and is working to make it a priority this year. The 10 Democrats on the committee signed a letter in July that called for more than $500 billion in funding, including $100 billion to reconstruct and repair deteriorating roads and bridges on the federal highway system.

“They’ve had plenty of time and God bless them, they don’t seem to have rallied around a package that they’re ready to show us yet,’’ said Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, the committee’s top Democrat. “We ought to go ahead and start talking amongst ourselves and see what we can agree to.’’

Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said he thinks Congress will need to draft the actual bill and that Trump’s comments raise questions about the entire process: “I literally think we’re back to square one.”

This article was written by Mark Niquette from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

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rollinbrigittenv8 · 7 years

Text

Trump’s $1 Trillion Transportation Infrastructure Plan Is Coming Unglued

— Jason Clampet

The president’s apparent change of heart on what’s been an important pillar of his economic plan left key constituents of the infrastructure initiative reeling.

Democratic lawmakers welcomed the potential opening for more federal spending, while deficit hawks bristled. Both sides, though, are still struggling to interpret Trump’s apparent turnaround.

Legitimate Questions

Before this week private investment had been at the core of Trump’s ambitious infrastructure plan. It was a feature of his campaign material and promoted in the early months of the administration.

‘Knee-Jerk Reaction’

Gary Cohn, Trump’s top economic adviser, told reporters in August that an infrastructure bill could start in the House as soon as a tax measure moves from the House to the Senate.

Business groups and companies hoping for a boost in spending are getting impatient.

‘Partisan Divides’

“All of these solutions will contribute to the trillion dollar infrastructure investment the president has promised the American people,” Strom said.

Infrastructure Stocks

“Both lower tax rates and expanded infrastructure can help grow the economy, but if we borrow to finance either we’ll probably end up dragging the economy down instead,” Newton said.

No Golden Egg

“I think he’s doing it to make sure that people know that that isn’t the golden egg, that isn’t going to solve the problem,’’ Inhofe said in a telephone interview.

“We can argue about how much part of the solution, but you don’t address a $2.5 trillion deficit in infrastructure with just traditional funding sources,” Mortimer said.

‘Hell No’

“The answer would be, ‘Hell no,”’ DeFazio said.

This article was written by Mark Niquette from Bloomberg and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to [email protected].

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anchorarcade · 7 years

Text

Texas moves toward post-Harvey recovery; gas prices slip

http://ryanguillory.com/texas-moves-toward-post-harvey-recovery-gas-prices-slip/

Texas moves toward post-Harvey recovery; gas prices slip

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Texas on Monday edged toward recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey as shipping channels, oil pipelines and refineries restarted some operations and authorities lifted an evacuation order for the area around a once-burning chemical plant.

Port operations across the U.S. Gulf Coast oil and gas hub were resuming, although many still had restrictions on vessel draft, according to U.S. Coast Guard updates.

U.S. gasoline prices fell in expectation that the area can get back on its feet after Harvey cut a path of destruction across more than 300 miles (480 km). The storm’s record rains and flooding killed as many as 60 people, according to local officials, and displaced more than 1 million. Benchmark U.S. gasoline futures fell by more than 3 percent on Monday.

The Coast Guard allowed some barge traffic to enter Port Arthur, Texas, home of the country’s largest oil refinery, and is considering allowing ships to enter on Tuesday, a spokesman said.

Flooding from Harvey caused fires at the Arkema SA chemical plant in Crosby, some 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Houston.

But on Monday, the company said the Crosby Fire Department had lifted a 1.5-mile (2.4-km) evacuation zone around the plant, allowing people to return to their homes.

The lifting of the order may help residents like Paul Mincey, a 31-year-old tugboat engineer who has been kept out of the ranch home he shares with his girlfriend, return to normal.

“It could be full of snakes for all we know. We have no idea what’s in there,” Mincey said from aboard a tugboat in the Houston Ship Channel, which he said was polluted by floating railroad ties, trees and trash strewn by the storm.

Like others forced from the evacuation zone, Mincey said he was eager to assess water damage and begin repairs while hoping for financial aid to deal with property damage.

(To view a graphic on Harvey’s energy impact, click tmsnrt.rs/2xzso1S)

ANOTHER HURRICANE THREATENS

As the recovery from Harvey picked up speed, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard in preparation Irma, a dangerous Category 4 hurricane closing in on a string of Caribbean islands.

Irma could pummel the U.S. territory on Wednesday and it also poses a threat later in the week to the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Florida, which declared a state of emergency on Monday evening.

Vince Ware moves his sofas onto the sidewalk from his house which was left flooded from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, U.S. September 3, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

The U.S. National Hurricane Center cautioned that it was too early to forecast the storm’s exact path or what effect it might have on the U.S. mainland. But some weather models show Irma entering the Gulf of Mexico, where Harvey dealt a major blow to the most important energy hub in the United States, taking up to one-fourth of the country’s oil refining capacity offline and driving up fuel prices.

Colonial Pipeline Co on Monday said it restarted one of its fuel lines shut because of Hurricane Harvey, with another line scheduled to restart on Tuesday.

Colonial is the biggest U.S. fuel system, with pipelines that connect refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast to markets in the Northeast, transporting more than 3 million barrels a day of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. With more pipelines coming on line, concerns about supply should ease.

Most ports in Texas were open on Monday, some with restrictions on traffic and vessel size, said Colonel Lars Zetterstrom, head of the Army Corps of Engineers’ regional office in Galveston.

(To view a graphic on storms in the North Atlantic, click tmsnrt.rs/2gcckz5)

HOW TO PAY?

The question of how to pay for hurricane recovery was consuming Washington after Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday increased his damage estimate to between $150 billion and $180 billion.

Abbott on Monday requested seven additional Texas counties be added to the Federal Disaster Declaration previously granted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). That would bring the total number of counties receiving assistance to 43.

Some 190,000 homes were damaged and another 13,500 destroyed, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

At least 33,000 people sought refuge in Texas shelters overnight, with another 1,300 doing so in Louisiana, the American Red Cross said.

Republicans and Democrats returning to Washington after a month-long break will need to put differences aside in order to approve an aid package. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday challenged Congress to raise the government’s debt limit in order to free up relief spending.

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on $7.85 billion in emergency relief funds for the FEMA and the Small Business Administration and plans another vote later this month on a separate $6.7 billion sought by President Donald Trump.

In one indication of funding needs, the Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday estimated damage to public property at $382.3 million.

(To view a graphic on Hurricane costs, click tmsnrt.rs/2vGkbHS)

Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York, Gary McWilliams in Houston and David Shepardson in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Paul Simao and James Dalgleish

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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startupcanada · 5 years

Text

Saskatchewan Manufacturing and Processing Exporter Tax Incentives

Our Competitive Edge

Mineral Wealth

By conservative estimates, Saskatchewan could supply world potash demand at current levels for several hundred years.

Saskatchewan is recognized as a stable, long-term source of uranium, with strong potential for new discoveries and investment opportunities.

The Investment Climate

According to the Fraser Institute’s 2018 Survey of Mining Companies, which evaluates 83 jurisdictions, Saskatchewan ranks 3 rd in the world for mining investment attractiveness

High standards for environment, sustainable development and safety

One of the world’s largest exploration sample processing labs, with expertise in uranium and diamonds

Central location with excellent transportation services to North American and offshore markets

Firm commitment to enhance and sustain industry competitiveness

Lower Business Taxes

No corporate capital tax on new capital investment

No payroll tax

No health insurance premiums

6% provincial sales tax, the lowest of the nine provinces that have a sales tax

12% corporate income tax rate

14.75% top marginal personal income tax rate, third lowest in Canada Tax Credits

10% mineral exploration tax credit for Saskatchewan residents

10% provincial income tax credit for scientific research and development expenditures Fuel tax rebate for mineral exploration

Royalty Framework

Competitive royalty regimes, including 10-year royalty holidays for base and precious metals produced in the province

For more information, contact:

Kathryn Pollack

Assistant Deputy Minister

Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources

11th Floor, 1945 Hamilton Street

Regina SK S4P 2C8

Phone: (306) 787-3524

Email: [email protected]

Gary Delaney, PhD, P.Geo.

Chief Geologist

Saskatchewan Ministry of Energy and Resources

11th Floor, 1945 Hamilton Street

Regina SK S4P 2C8

Phone: (306) 787-1160

Email: [email protected]

The post Saskatchewan Manufacturing and Processing Exporter Tax Incentives appeared first on Company Formations Canada.

from Company Formations Canada http://bit.ly/2VKrRWN

#IFTTT #Company Formations Canada

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awesomefelicitylewis-blog · 7 years

Text

Texas moves toward post-Harvey recovery; gas prices slip

http://ryanguillory.com/texas-moves-toward-post-harvey-recovery-gas-prices-slip/

Texas moves toward post-Harvey recovery; gas prices slip

Port operations across the U.S. Gulf Coast oil and gas hub were resuming, although many still had restrictions on vessel draft, according to U.S. Coast Guard updates.

The Coast Guard allowed some barge traffic to enter Port Arthur, Texas, home of the country’s largest oil refinery, and is considering allowing ships to enter on Tuesday, a spokesman said.

Flooding from Harvey caused fires at the Arkema SA chemical plant in Crosby, some 25 miles (40 km) northeast of Houston.

But on Monday, the company said the Crosby Fire Department had lifted a 1.5-mile (2.4-km) evacuation zone around the plant, allowing people to return to their homes.

The lifting of the order may help residents like Paul Mincey, a 31-year-old tugboat engineer who has been kept out of the ranch home he shares with his girlfriend, return to normal.

Like others forced from the evacuation zone, Mincey said he was eager to assess water damage and begin repairs while hoping for financial aid to deal with property damage.

(To view a graphic on Harvey’s energy impact, click tmsnrt.rs/2xzso1S)

ANOTHER HURRICANE THREATENS

Irma could pummel the U.S. territory on Wednesday and it also poses a threat later in the week to the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Florida, which declared a state of emergency on Monday evening.

Vince Ware moves his sofas onto the sidewalk from his house which was left flooded from Tropical Storm Harvey in Houston, Texas, U.S. September 3, 2017. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Colonial Pipeline Co on Monday said it restarted one of its fuel lines shut because of Hurricane Harvey, with another line scheduled to restart on Tuesday.

Most ports in Texas were open on Monday, some with restrictions on traffic and vessel size, said Colonel Lars Zetterstrom, head of the Army Corps of Engineers’ regional office in Galveston.

(To view a graphic on storms in the North Atlantic, click tmsnrt.rs/2gcckz5)

HOW TO PAY?

The question of how to pay for hurricane recovery was consuming Washington after Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday increased his damage estimate to between $150 billion and $180 billion.

Some 190,000 homes were damaged and another 13,500 destroyed, the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

At least 33,000 people sought refuge in Texas shelters overnight, with another 1,300 doing so in Louisiana, the American Red Cross said.

In one indication of funding needs, the Texas Department of Public Safety on Monday estimated damage to public property at $382.3 million.

(To view a graphic on Hurricane costs, click tmsnrt.rs/2vGkbHS)

Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York, Gary McWilliams in Houston and David Shepardson in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Paul Simao and James Dalgleish

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source link

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wionews · 7 years

Text

Trump disbands business councils after CEOs quit in protest

President Donald Trump disbanded two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after several chief executives quit in protest over his remarks of blaming weekend violence in Virginia not only on white nationalists but also on anti-racism activists who opposed them.

A parade of prominent Republicans and US ally Britain also rebuked Trump, leaving him increasingly isolated after his comments on Tuesday about the bloodshed in the college town of Charlottesville further enveloped his seven-month-old presidency in controversy.

The mayor of Phoenix asked Trump to delay a rally planned for next Tuesday, an appeal the president appeared to reject.

A memorial service was held on Wednesday in Charlottesville for 32-year-old Heather Heyer, killed when a car plowed into anti-racism protesters. A 20-year-old Ohio man said to have harboured Nazi sympathies has been charged with murder.

Trump, a real estate magnate who had never before held public office, was elected president in November touting his experience in the business world and ability to strike deals. But some of the Republican president's actions and words have alienated many corporate leaders.

Trump said he would dissolve the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum after eight executives including Campbell Soup Co CEO Denise Morrison and 3M Co CEO Inge Thulin quit the panels.

Both of the councils were moving to disband on their own when Trump made his announcement on Twitter.

"Rather than putting pressure on the businesspeople of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both," he wrote.

The Strategic and Policy Forum was headed by Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, a close ally of Trump in the business world. Schwarzman organised a call on Wednesday for member executives to voice concerns after Trump's comments, and an overwhelming majority backed disbanding the council, two sources said.

Schwarzman then called Trump to tell him about the decision to disband.

"Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville," Morrison said.

JP Morgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon, a member of one of the panels, said in a statement that "fanning divisiveness is not the answer."

Dow Chemical Co Chief Executive Andrew Liveris, who headed the manufacturing council, said he told the White House on Wednesday that "in the current environment it was no longer possible to conduct productive discussions."

The Strategic and Policy Forum was intended to advise Trump on how government policy impacts economic growth, job creation, and productivity. The manufacturing Council was designed to promote US job growth.

Along with the snubs from business leaders, Trump was rebuked by a string of Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Senator Lindsey Graham and former US presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

The president needs the support of fellow Republicans as he tries to push his policy agenda, including tax cuts, through a Congress that is controlled by the Republicans.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, said Trump would "enflame emotions and further divide our nation" if he used next week's rally to pardon Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty last month of criminal contempt of court. Arpaio gained a national profile due to his harsh treatment of inmates and outspoken opposition to illegal immigration.

Shortly after Stanton's statement, Trump urged supporters on Twitter to attend the rally.

Few public figures have voiced support for Trump over his response to the violence. Vice President Mike Pence, who is cutting short a trip to Latin America, told reporters in Chile that "I stand with the president and I stand by those words." Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke praised Trump's "honesty and courage." Richard Spencer, head of a white nationalist group, lauded the president for "speaking the truth."

US stocks ended slightly firmer but off the day's highs as investors worried that the backlash to Trump's remarks could stunt his ability to deliver on pro-business promises.

A former senior Trump administration official raised the prospect that some White House officials could quit because of Trump's comments.

The demise of the councils raised Wall Street speculation that senior administration figures such as White House economic adviser Gary Cohn or US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin might step down to avoid the tarnish of being associated with Trump.

Cohn, Mnuchin, and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stood awkwardly by Trump during his remarks at Trump Tower on Tuesday.

"He's worried about his reputation being trashed, which is much more valuable to him than anything else," the former administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of Cohn.

McConnell, who last week drew Trump's ire over the Senate's failure to pass healthcare legislation, issued a statement saying "messages of hate and bigotry" from white supremacists, should not be welcome in the United States. McConnell's statement did not mention Trump by name.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, a group whose board includes big party donors including casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, called on Trump to "provide greater moral clarity in rejecting racism, bigotry, and antisemitism."

There is "simply no place" in American public discourse for "hate and violence" displayed in Charlottesville, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said before meeting with Canada's foreign minister.

Trump's remarks on Tuesday were a more vehement reprisal of his initial response to the bloodshed. At a heated news conference in New York, he said "there is blame on both sides" of the violence, and that there were "very fine people" on both sides.

In London, British Prime Minister Theresa May offered a rare rebuke of Trump from so close a US ally.

"I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them and I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them," May told reporters.

Politicians in Germany, which has tough laws against hate speech and any symbols linked to the Nazis who murdered six million Jews in the Holocaust, expressed shock at the images of people in Charlottesville carrying swastikas and chanting anti-Jewish slurs. The country's justice minister accused Trump of trivializing anti-Semitism and racism.

Senior American military officers usually stay clear of politics, but two more of the US military's top officers weighed in on Wednesday, without explicitly mentioning Trump.

US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley wrote on Twitter, "The Army doesn't tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It's against our Values and everything we've stood for since 1775."

Air Force Chief of Staff General Dave Goldfein‏ said on Twitter that "I stand with my fellow service chiefs in saying we're always stronger together."

Their comments followed similar ones from the top officers of the Navy and Marine Corps.

]]>

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limousinefinder · 7 years

Text

Political Climate Brightens For Limo Industry

LAS VEGAS — The Republican wave that swept the Presidential, Congressional, and state races points to an overall economic and political climate favorable to the U.S. chauffeured transportation industry, NLA members and attendees to the International LCT Show were told March 13.

The change in Washington, D.C. could bring a harder look and outright rollback of certain regulations and other rules hamstringing the predominantly small to medium sized businesses that make up the industry. [A Congressional failure March 24 to pass an alternative to the Affordable Care Act delays any relief for companies offering employer-based health care plans].

The overall industry political outlook was delivered by the National Limousine Association’s two lobbyists, Louie Perry and Todd Webster, executives at Cornerstone Government Affairs in Washington, D.C., during the NLA’s Annual Membership Meeting.

The 2016 shake-up election put outsider tycoon Donald Trump into the White House, with 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats, including two Democrat-leaning independents, in the U.S. Senate, and 238 Republicans and 193 Democrats in the House of Representatives, with four vacancies due to Cabinet appointments. The 2018 Senate election map favors Republicans, with 25 Democratic seats versus eight Republican ones up for re-election.

This year, Congress and President Trump could pursue comprehensive tax reform that includes lower rates for corporations, S Corps, and 100% expensing of capital purchases, and a $1 trillion infrastructure package. Both Trump’s plan and the House of Representative’s “Better Way” plan seek to decrease tax rates for “Main Street” businesses.

Webster and Perry presented a power point outlining top developments affecting the chauffeured transportation industry:

• Uber’s sexual harassment case exposes its culture of defiance and rule-breaking that seems to be finally catching up to the TNC. Uber has been beset with sexual misconduct and discrimination claims, the potential theft of 14,000 emails related to its autonomous vehicle code, a #DeleteUber social media protest campaign in the wake of its CEO Travis Kalanick serving on Trump’s business advisory council, and the use of a Greyball tool to deceive authorities worldwide.

• Uber has spent $1.36 million on federal lobbying activity in 2016, tripling its expenditure in 2015.

• New Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao is engaged with issues possibly favoring the industry: Reexamining the DOT 15-point “safety assessment” issued last September; wants to ensure DOT “is a catalyst for safe, efficient technologies, not an impediment”; and concerned about impact on employment.

• Automakers along with Google and Apple are seeking to lobby for and accelerate the adoption of driverless cars. “In the next decade, autonomous vehicles will be a threat to the industry,” Perry told the audience at the Annual Membership Meeting. “Obama rolled out rules for driverless cars, but Chao has come in and said [vehicles] would affect employment and she’s not sure about the safety of them. The OEMs, Google, and Apple are looking to lobby for autonomous vehicles.”

Among legislative issues the NLA will be focusing on this year:

• Address the labor misclassification of drivers on the federal, state, and local levels now that more problems and negative press have emerged about Uber.

• Rally industry supporters for the annual NLA Day on the Hill June 14 that targets key Congressional members to push NLA priorities, with driver labor misclassification as a major issue.

• Focus on regulatory battles and efforts, with New York, California, Florida, Texas, and Illinois, among the states with the most chauffeured transportation business, as key states for engagement. So far, 43 states have passed legislation related to TNCs.

• Counter Uber efforts through targeted public relations to complement lobbying actions.

• See how autonomous vehicles affect traffic safety, duty of care, and fleet-related employment. All safety laws that apply to cars with human drivers should apply to cars without human drivers. Further, the NLA believes before companies can test autonomous vehicles on public roadways, they should cooperate with state, local, and federal authorities, and receive operating authority to do so.

• Engage on federal bills HR 5625 & HR 5647 from the last Congress that favor TNCs for federal employees.

• Keep a dialogue with the Department of Labor and build on a March 6 meeting with the DOL’s wage and hour enforcement division.

[PAGEBREAK] NLA Public Relations, Safety Campaigns Net Big Media Results NLA members heard a report from public relations firm Evins (www.evins.com) that presented the highest media metrics so far in its public awareness and media campaign about ridehail dangers and regulatory problems. Efforts to help inform and educate major media outlets have resulted in more skeptical and critical coverage of services such as Uber.

Evins has leveraged its deep connections with and recommended story ideas to major media outlets whose reporters now regularly call the NLA for insights and comments on ride-hail/transportation network companies (TNCs). The two-year PR efforts and PSAs have weaned the mainstream media off its overwhelmingly positive, credulous coverage of Uber.

Evins executives replayed a PSA video featuring actress Pamela Anderson that illustrates the disadvantages and risks of using TNC drivers. The campaign messages center around limousine operators being on the right side of the law and fighting against the criminal behavior pervasive in media reports about TNCs.

NLA Elects Officers For New Term The NLA nominated and voted on the 2017-18 slate officers during its quarterly board meeting March 11 before the International LCT Show. New NLA officers are: President Gary Buffo (Pure Luxury, Petaluma, CA), who is now serving his fifth consecutive one-year term; 1st VP Laura Canady (CLT Express Livery, Charlotte, N.C.); 2nd VP Joe Ironi (Global Alliance, Toronto, Ontario); Treasurer Robert Alexander (RMA Worldwide, Rockville, MD); and Secretary Scott Solombrino (Dav El / BostonCoach).

Returning Wine Jug Raises More Money If you saw an NLA board director swinging and pretending to guzzle a three-liter bottle of wine, don’t be alarmed; it was for a good cause. Directors Robert Alexander and Ron Stein auctioned a 2012 Custom Cabernet Sauvignon Blend exclusive to donor Grech Motors during the NLA Annual Membership Meeting on March 13.

But the people bidding decided to make straight donations to the Harold Berkman Memorial Fund and kept giving the bottle back to be auctioned off in the Silent Auction at the LCT Awards Celebration the next night. The three first “winning” donors include: Eric Devlin, Premier Transportation — $1,500; Craig McCutcheon, Rosedale Livery Limited — $2,000; and Dawson Rutter, Commonwealth Worldwide Chauffeured Transportation — $2,000.

At the awards gala, the only silent bidder for the returned bottle, for $500, was Stein, who owns Exclusive Sedan Service in Los Angeles.

Fund Raiser Boosts Berkman Charity Donations The NLA raised about $28,000 March 12 at its annual fundraiser for its philanthropic arm, the Harold Berkman Memorial Fund. About 125 attendees who came to the event held at Lagasse’s Stadium where they could enjoy complimentary beverages and appetizers while mingling in the giant sports bar and outdoor terrace.

Contributors heard NLA board director and Atlanta operator Jeff Greene and Chicago operator George Jacobs give tributes to Berkman, considered a founding father of the NLA and the modern-day limousine industry, who died in 1997. Berkman founded Music Express in Los Angeles in 1973. The company now is one of the largest limousine services in the U.S. with operations in four major cities and run by Berkman’s daughter Cheryl Berkman who attended the event with family members.

Overall, the NLA has donated about $816,000 to charities since 1996.

Keywords

Cornerstone Government Affairs federal regulations industry politics legislation lobbying Louie Perry media National Limousine Association NLA board of directors public relations Robert Alexander Washington DC

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fultas01 · 7 years

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This post is part of Blogging Abroad’s 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story.

Hello reader,

Adichie shares ‘the danger of a single story’, warning that if we only hear a single story about a person, country or issue, we risk great misunderstanding. She says:

“The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

Today I’m responding to the blog prompt: the danger of a Single Story. If you are unaware of this idea, here is a link to the TedTalk video.This video will help you to understand The Danger of the Single Story and I hope it will help you to understand my response.

Okay, without further ado.

I have encountered quite a few single stories here in Moldova, and some of them I fight everyday. I’m going to share 5 single stories that I have encountered over this last year.

Moldova is a third-world country

When I began my research into the Peace Corps, the overall idea that I gleaned from these stories was that I would be living and working in one of the poorest countries in the world. The number one image that comes to mind when thinking of the Peace Corps is of a young woman (or young man) working in Africa. So I researched Moldova and found that it was the poorest nation in Europe, and the pictures showed little villages with people riding around with a horse and cart.

But when I came to Moldova, I was surprised to find a bustling Capital city in Chisinau. I was surprised to find out that there different public transportation systems, that while maybe not as accomplished as some American cities, was better than the public transportation system found in Ft. Wayne Indiana.

While the country remains poor, and not every house has an indoor toilet (a thought that still turns me into a squeamish little girl, determined to hold her bladder for the weekend) the country is industrialized. Moldova has faster internet than found in the US, and room for entrepreneurs. The people here are not starving, but they are hardworking. They are a multilingual community that acts more like a small village or family than we could ever imagine in the United States.

2. The rich American.

An example of this single story comes from a few weeks before Christmas, when I was asked for 35,000 lei. You aren’t reading that wrong, thirty-five thousand. When I tried to explain that I didn’t have that kind of money, the person just told me that it was less than 2,000 USD (which I still didn’t have). I finally got out of the situation by pointing out that I didn’t have that much money in country, and my American card did not work here in Moldova (both true). It has left me feeling awkward, and more like an ATM than a help to my community.

As many Americans (and probably all peace corps volunteers) can relate, many of my host community members see me as a rich, and likely weird, American. I joined the Peace Corps right after college (boarding an airplane less than a month after graduation), meaning that I didn’t have a career to give me lavish amounts of money (and the teacher’s salary I’ll go home to is no where near lavish), plus I’m using the Peace Corps as a way to pay down the amount of debt that a bachelor’s degree has left me in. All in all, even back in the states I was living below the poverty line.

Nevertheless, many host country nationalists don’t consider this. They show me how much a USD is worth here in Moldova (generally around 20 MLD to 1 USD), and talk about the difference in salaries in the US versus Moldova. I get it, but living and working in Moldova means I’m not making that money. Instead I’m living on a Peace Corps stipend, which has evaporated by the end of every month I’ve been here.

I wear dirty and rundown clothes, walk to school, I don’t buy things like coffee everyday, and I’m rarely out on vacation. Not exactly the story of the rich American these people were expecting.

3. The north is full of superstitions

I heard this idea secondhand from another volunteer, and I had heard similar murmurs while in the Capital. This is the single story that the people in the Northern part (especially the far north where I live) are much more superstitious, and religious, than those found in the center and south. This single story was brought to my attention when someone said they were sorry when they heard I was moving to the north of the country. Why? Because (according to them) the Moldovans in the north are more superstitious about and are far more religious.

So, I went north expecting to go to church every Sunday, all the windows to always be closed, no cold water, not being aloud to sit at the corners of tables, etc. What I found out is that my host family and community is no more (or less) religious and traditional than any other village in Moldova. I live in a village, and just like in any small town in America, this means that life comes at a slower pace, and it is more conservative than you would find in most cities, just from lack of diversity.

When I found a weird quirk about the soap disappearing out of the bathroom and winding up in odd places in the house, people told me it was more than likely a superstition. However, when I paid attention to some of my family members, I realized that they were just using that bar of soap to scrub some things clean, and leaving the soap where they left off. This story isn’t as interesting as some of the ideas thrown my way (one person suggested that it could be my host family trying to ward off evil spirits).

In fact, my host family and host community in large has seemed exactly on point, or even a little progressive, compared to some of the stories I hear from other volunteers. When I get sick, my host family asks if I need to go see the doctor, they give me my space, and (I’m sure to my mother’s dissatisfaction) they let me sleep in on Sundays, not caring that I’m not joining them for church. The north is the same as anywhere else I’ve visited.

4. America is an amazing land of wealth and opportunity

While this may be true to many, and something that Americans would love to point out as being true, it is a single story. Not everywhere in the US is prospering, and not everything the country does is ‘amazing.’

This last semester I told a couple stories to my students that they just couldn’t believe. The first being that there were Native Americans in the US, but few survive today due to the massive genocide of their people and culture by white American expansion. My students (and the teachers) all looked at me liked I had grown a second head when I shared this information. Their text books don’t talk about the native Americans, so I took it upon myself to tell them about some of them. I shared about the people that used to live in Indiana where I’m from, and the only thing that remains of them is the name of some parks.

The second thing I shared, was a book of poetry written by one of my professors. The poems are about growing up in Gary, Indiana. And if you don’t know Gary, it’s not exactly booming. No, the city looks like a ghost town, a falling apart, and incredibly impoverished city. After reading some of the poems, my students said they didn’t think these were about The United States. They seemed depressing, and too dark to be written about the US. When I first shared these stories, I didn’t think anything of them. These ideas were things that I learned in high school and college. So I’m hoping to share more of these stories with my students soon, so they can see more of the US than what is in the movies.

5. Peace Corps volunteers are young outgoing people who want to change the world.

While I am young and I do want to change the world. I know that this is a single story of a peace corps volunteer. I know volunteers in their 50s and 60s, who are just as hungry to make a difference as I am, and they are honest to god inspirations. They are role models of how I would love to see my life. Do amazing things throughout my prime, and volunteer abroad as my retirement. What could be better?

Along with us not all being a certain age demographic, we are also different genders, races, religions, orientations, political views, etc. We come from all over the world (there are a lot of American immigrants in the Peace Corps, which is super cool!). I think that the Peace Corps is as diverse as the US. I am not necessarily an extrovert, so I know that even the personalities of volunteers are different. Each and every person in my cohort is different from the next person. No fill-in the blank form for a volunteer.

End thoughts:

These are just some of the single stories that I have come across. I try to show myself and my country in a fuller light everyday to my community, and every blog post is my way of sharing new stories about Moldova with the world. I want to make all of these single stories into a more diverse understanding of the people around the world.

Until next time,

Angela

Expanding the View This post is part of Blogging Abroad's 2017 New Years Blog Challenge, week two: The Danger of a Single Story.

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