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Last week, Techstars opened applications for the second year of the Stanley+Techstars Additive Manufacturing Accelerator in Hartford, CT and shared that we have expanded our focus to consider Additive Manufacturing companies OR Sustainable Packaging companies. With this expanded focus, I’m excited to identify companies that can positively impact the world, and continue to help move the manufacturing industry forward. Some people have been asking me what types of companies we’re looking for in regards to Sustainable Packaging. We’re looking at the vertical with a wide lens and are open to companies working on innovative solutions in a number of areas including material science, hardware, industrial design or software.
More specifically, we’re excited to discover startups working on innovative approaches to solve some of the following challenges associated with clamshell packaging:
- The Environment. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, about one-third of consumer garbage is packaging, and plastics comprise 12% of U.S. waste each year. A sustainable alternative would obviously create a positive impact on the environment. In 2018, Stanley Black & Decker committed to combat plastic pollution and joined with leading businesses and governments to sign The New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, an initiative of The Ellen MacArthur Foundation and United Nations Environment Programme. Their intention is to make all of their plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. While the organization is working internally to solve this challenge, they are also looking for innovative companies that can help.
- “Wrap rage” Did you know that there is an actual term for the increased levels of anger or frustration associated with the inability to open packaging? It’s called Wrap rage or Packaging Rage. Every year thousands of people end up in the emergency room because they’ve inadvertently harmed themselves trying to open a package. Companies thinking innovatively about sustainability should also consider the consumer impact their offering might have.
- Security and Protection. So we know clamshell packaging doesn’t create a great user experience. It’s hard to open. It’s not great for the environment. So why is it in use? Clamshell packaging is designed to allow customers to view a product, while making it difficult to steal. It also protects products from damage as they are shipped around the world. So as companies move to create sustainable solutions that positively impact the environment, and improve consumer experiences, they need to consider the full supply chain, and how their solutions can still help companies ensure products are not damaged during transport, and can be safely stored on shelves.
If your company is working on tackling any of these issues, you should consider applying to the STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator in Hartford.


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Riversimple Movement, a Welsh hydrogen vehicle manufacturer, has found a new partner in the world's 11th largest employer: DHL Supply Chain. The two companies, who have recently signed an MoU, pledge to bring sustainable zero-emission vehicles to the UK, and their targets don’t stop there. The duo looks to be busy, with their sights set on developing sustainability initiatives, securing the necessary finances required to achieve the volume production of hydrogen vehicles, and designing and subsequent trialling of zero-emission transport.
DHL has already begun assisting its new partner in preparing for its first full-scale manufacturing facility, which will house the production of hydrogen-electric vehicles.
“It’s exciting to be partnering with a highly innovative company like Riversimple, which has sustainability at the heart of its mission,” says Managing Director of DHL Manufacturing Logistics UKI, Mike Bristow. “As the world’s leading logistics company, it is our responsibility to guide the industry to a sustainable future.”
DHL has recently launched “The Sustainability Playbook”, designed to create a roadmap to implement the next generation of global supply chain.
“Excellence. Simply delivered. In a sustainable way.”
As one of the leading drivers in global trade, DHL claims to be aware of its immense responsibility to steer innovation. Conscious of the impact their global operations have on the environment, the company initiated “Strategy 2025” - delivering excellence in the digital world. The goal: to focus increasingly on harnessing the potential for sustainable long-term growth and expanding the already-underway digital transformations within the business.
“Strategy 2025” aims to cumulatively invest €2bn in digitalisation through to 2025, in the hope that this will enhance customer experiences. They also predict a €1.5bn yearly run rate by FY’25.
Currently, DHL boasts a large green logistics portfolio, including carbon offsetting, green optimisation, and clean fuel and energy products, all as available ways to make the supply chain industry more sustainable.
“We have repeatedly redefined logistics, from introducing the industry’s first green product to becoming the first logistics company to commit to a zero-emissions target,” says DHL.
“In the past 15 years, we have continuously improved our carbon efficiency while introducing innovative green logistics solutions to make supply chains more sustainable and help our customers achieve their environmental goals.”
DHL move to lead supply chain sustainability
As the world’s 11th largest employer, and with around 570,000 employees worldwide, DHL is in a position to lead the supply chain towards a greener future. Its recent partnership with Riversimple hopes to inspire other companies within the industry to follow.
Hugo Spowers, Founder and Managing Director of Riversimple, acknowledges DHL’s commitment to sustainability.
“We’re very pleased to be collaborating with DHL to help us achieve mass production in the UK in the near term, and hopefully partner with us on a global level as we deliver our goal of systematically eliminating the environmental impact of personal transport.

domain: news


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- Author: Staff writers
- Posted: April 6, 2022
DiviPay appoints CFO, accelerating its growth trajectory
Former Citi Director, Damon Hauenstein, tapped as CFO of DiviPay as the business unlocks its next stage of growth!
Australia’s leading digital expense platform, DiviPay, has today announced the appointment of experienced financial and strategic leader Damon Hauenstein, as its Chief Financial Officer. The move comes as the business continues to experience rapid growth following a highly successful funding round earlier this year. The business now has over 1,500 paying customers including industry leaders such Canva, Linktree and Eucalyptus.
In his role as Chief Financial Officer, Damon will be responsible for leading the continued growth in DiviPay’s expense platform targeting small-and-medium-sized businesses. DiviPay enables businesses to instantly issue Apple Pay / Google Pay corporate cards to their teams for business purchases. These cards are fully integrated with a software platform that allows finance teams to control spend, manage receipts and synchronise with their accounting platform.
Damon brings over 12 years of experience with Citi, most recently as a Director in its global investment banking team. During this time, he successfully led teams across a number of landmark M&A and capital market transactions with a combined value of over $20bn.
Damon Hauenstein, Chief Finance Officer at DiviPay said: “Businesses are increasingly seeking digitally-native products that meet (or exceed) their personal experiences with consumer products. DiviPay provides businesses with a compelling digital expense platform that is both powerful and easy to use.
I’m delighted to be joining such a passionate team that has achieved incredible momentum over the last few years. Daniel and Russell bring genuine customer focus and a clear product vision. There is enormous potential in front of us and I’m excited to partner with them to achieve DiviPay’s ambitious growth strategy.“
Daniel Kniaz, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at DiviPay, said: “Damon’s track-record as a senior financial leader will help us to scale up at this pivotal time. We’re thrilled to have such a high calibre executive join our leadership team and help shape our future. He’ll play a key role in our evaluation of funding options to capitalise on our recent momentum and unlock the next stage of our growth.”


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South Korean Regulator Fines Broadcom $14.3M Over Samsung Deal; Firm to Challenge Verdict in Seoul High Court
Microsoft Reportedly Removing Activision Blizzard From UK to Fight Acquisition Roadblock
Microsoft Corporation is reportedly planning to pull out Activision Blizzard from the United Kingdom, which has previously blocked its acquisition deal with the Santa Monica, California-headquartered video game holding company.
Moreover, Microsoft may take the step of withdrawing Activision Blizzard from the UK market to have an alternative route since the European region rejected their merger bid in April. Now, to resolve the matter and talk about other subjects, it was reported that the tech company’s president, Brad Smith, has arranged a meeting with the UK Chancellor this month.
Smith hopes to meet with UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt so they can directly discuss the issues with its merger with Activision Blizzard. In the meeting, he will bring up the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision to stop its $69 billion acquisition bid.
As per Eurogamer, the president of Microsoft will be in the U.K. for a talk related to regulating artificial intelligence (AI), and he is hoping to have a private talk with Hunt as well. With regards to the reported meeting, the company’s spokesperson commented, "the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard as we remain committed to finding creative and constructive ways to address remaining regulatory concerns."
It was noted that so far, the U.K. is the only country that has blocked the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger. The region explained it believes that there are concerns in the booming cloud gaming business and think that the buyout deal will suppress competition in this growing industry.
In response to that, Microsoft said it would file an appeal to overturn CMA's decision. The company said the UK competition watchdog made crucial errors in its review of the deal. The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal already held a case management meeting to clear up the preliminary details of the hearing between the local regulator and Microsoft.
“I think one of the reasons companies like Microsoft and Google want to invest in the UK is because we have independent regulators that are not controlled by politicians and therefore they can be confident that there will be a level playing field,” GamesHub quoted Chancellor Hunt as saying after the release of the decision. “I would not want to undermine that at all, but I do think it’s important all our regulators understand their wider responsibilities for economic growth.”


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Nearly a year after an international quota system on the textile trade ended, the business in Asia has adjusted to new competitive challenges. China's soaring exports have created tensions with Western countries, but the apparel industries of several small Asian countries continue to thrive despite expectations they would be hit hard by Chinese competition.
At the start of the year, there were wide expectations that cheap Chinese textiles and garments would squeeze products from smaller countries out of the world's markets. There were fears that hundreds of factories in South and Southeast Asia would be forced to shut down.
The end of a global quota system on textiles in January did indeed set off a flood of Chinese goods into Western markets. But fears that textile factories elsewhere in Asia would be out of business have not panned out.
That in large part is because the surge in Chinese exports to the West early in the year triggered protests by Western garment manufacturers. Both the European Union and the United States negotiated with Beijing to impose new restrictions on its exports, which last until 2008.
In China, the spat dented the optimism in an industry that had been gearing up to reap the benefits of a quota-free world.
Gordon Yen is executive director of the Fountain Set Group, a Hong Kong company that makes knit fabrics - almost all produced in mainland China. He says U.S. and EU restrictions have made manufacturers in China cautious.
"The attitude is very different overall at the moment," said Mr. Yen. "Most of the manufacturers do not believe we will actually see free trade in the next few years, so most of them, including ourselves, are making more realistic expansion plans or development plans for our business going forward."
The new quotas imposed on China are allowed under World Trade Organization rules, as long as they are temporary. Analysts say the restrictions can only slow China's march to the head of the textile trade - not halt it permanently. China already holds more than 20 percent of the global market.
Raghav Gupta, a partner with consulting firm K.S.A. Technopak in India, says in the long run, more textile business will move to developing Asian countries from developed Western nations.
"The U.S. in the first six months of the year has imported 11 percent more textile and apparel as compared to what it did in 2004, which means that domestic production has gone down and shifted into Asia, and the same applies to Europe," he said. "Of course China and South Asia are the largest gainers in terms of this shift happening from the Western markets into Asia."
Smaller Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Sri Lanka have welcomed the new restrictions on Chinese garments.
The textile trade in those countries had grown up under the 30-year-old quota system, which required Western buyers to limit purchases from any one country. The business is crucial to many Asian economies, providing millions of jobs and vital foreign exchange earnings.
Even before the new quotas, the smaller manufacturers were holding their own in the world market but for some business has increased this year.
In part, Mr. Gupta of K.S.A. Technopak says, that is because of early expectations new quotas would be imposed on China. He says another factor is that India - the other country expected to snatch business - has not geared up to take full advantage of a quota-free world.
"We have had international customers come to India with a long shopping list and found they can only fulfill 35 percent of that shopping list," added Mr. Gupta. "So they have had no other option but to continue working in Vietnam or Cambodia."
The smaller countries, however, realize that China will present a strong challenge once all restrictions are lifted, and are developing strategies to keep their industries alive.
For instance, factory owners and analysts say Bangladesh, where labor costs are very low, is maintaining its price advantage. On the other hand, the International Labor Organization says Cambodia is building a reputation for strict labor standards that might appeal to Western companies wanting to stay away from what some call "sweat-shop products."
In Sri Lanka - the tiny Indian Ocean country - the vital garment industry is doing all it can to stay in business. A. Sukumaran heads Sri Lanka's Apparel Export Association.
"Our strategy is different. I don't think we will be able to compete with China, because China is going to be a giant…. But we do believe any customer will not want to put all their eggs in one basket," he said. "So we are only positioning ourselves as an alternative to China."
Negotiators at the WTO conference in Hong Kong in December are expected to look at the textile industry as they discuss ways to expand trade in other manufactured goods.
In Asia, what they will find is that the end of quotas has not produced immediate winners and losers. Experts say that means the textile and garment factories in most of the countries in the region will be humming for a long time.


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Month of December Computer Sale
79.99 Dell internet ready systems. (monitors extra)
150..00 Wireless Laptops
Product is limited so stop in for great deals!!
September 16, 17th, 2011
City of Pekin Recycling event
Computers will be holding its 1st annual Electronic Recycling Event
for the City of Pekin and surrounding areas. This event will be sponsored by
the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce.
When: Friday, September 16, 8:00am – 12pm
for businesses, and also Saturday from 8am – 12pm for residents.
Where: Big R Parking Lot
will be accepted are: TV, Monitors, Computers, laptops, Keyboards, mice, printers,
DVD, VCR and other misc items.
will be accepted at the event.
questions, contact Going Green Computers at (309) 642-6600
February 16, 2011
2010 Recycling totals
Going Green Computers is pleased to report our 2010 recycling totals, we recycled 99,816 pounds of e-waste last year which was our first full year in business. Of that weight 86,314 was recycled here locally in Central Illinois area. We would like to thank all of the businesses that recycled their e-waste instead of throwing it in landfills. We saved almost 100,000 pounds from going into our landfills, that is 50 tons of e-waste that we recycled to help save our environment.This year we plan on doubling that amount. Thanks again for "Saving Our Environment One Computer at a time."
February 6, 2011
Going Green Computers is
hosting an open house at 716 Derby Street, Pekin, on February 8, 2011, from 4
pm to 6 pm. A ribbon cutting ceremony conducted by the Pekin Area Chamber of
Commerce will be held at 4:45 pm. The special event is free and open to the
public and members of the media.
Founded by Brad Frick in 2009, Going Green
Computers is Central Illinois' only registered e-waste recycler. The
organization offers businesses of all sizes an alternative to disposing of
e-waste by recycling. Frick and his staff also specialize in refurbishing
projects and cost-effective computer solutions.
For more information on Going Green Computers and
the February 8th open house, please call (309) 642-6600 or visit www.goinggreencomputers.com.
January 1, 2011
WE HAVE MOVED!
Please visit us at our new address:
716 Derby Street
Pekin, IL 61554
Phone: (309) 642-6600
Fax: (309) 642-6599
November 15, 2010
Man determined to recycle e-waste, starts small business
Here is a great article about our business and is being spread around the country.
What do you do with that old computer once your shiny new one arrives?
Bradley Frick, owner of Going Green Computers in Pekin, Ill., has the answer.Frick’s company takes personal computers, laptops and other electronics and recycles them to keep the waste out of the already crowded and growing landfills.According to the text of the Illinois Disposal Ban, “electronic products are the fastest growing portion of the solid waste stream. In 2005, 2,600,000 tons of electronic products became obsolete, yet only 13 percent of those products were recycled.”Beginning Jan. 1, it will be illegal to dump electronics into landfills. This waste does not break down in landfills.“I’m trying to take a proactive approach by getting the word out that we, as a community, need to recycle now, rather than wait until the last minute and then try and figure out what to do,” Frick said,It all began in March 2009 as a hobby. “Then I saw a need. The more I worked on (computers), the more I researched it online I realized there is a need for recycling in this area. There aren’t many companies in the area that actually do it,” Frick said.He remembered seeing the mess with another company and “it made me realize they’re destroying the environment with what they’re doing and, to me, as a father and citizen of this community, I wanted to make a difference.”With his desire to help the environment, Frick got to work. He earned a degree from Midstate College in computer science. Then, with a little encouragement from friends, he started Going Green Computer in his home.He contacted local businesses and school districts to “share his vision with them as far as keeping everything out of the landfill,” he said.The first contact he had that was interested in recycling was Midwest Central High School in Manito, Ill.Gina Oeft, who works for the information technology department at the school, said the district used to recycle old computers with the company they purchased them from because they had a lease program.“Going Green Computers are awesome. We call and they come to us. He takes anything. Last year we got all new computers at the high school and he helped with all 70 of them. It’s great! I would definitely recommend them. I like having our contract with them because he’s local and I know our waste isn’t ending up in the landfill,” Oeft said.“Rather than simply getting a contract with a company, a personal touch and educating people is a huge part of a successful business,” Frick said. As a result, he likes teaching people about electronic waste, or e-waste.The computer “monitors are taken down near the St. Louis area and I take those down about once a month, but the rest gets recycled somewhat locally. Everything else gets stripped down and goes to certain places,” said Frick.Last fall was the first time Going Green Computers participated in Spruce Up Pekin. Since then, his business has tripled.Tom Coogan, a support analyst at Pekin Hospital, said he’s very satisfied with the work Going Green Computers does for the hospital.“It was the perfect fit for both of us. We, at the hospital, try to support local businesses when we can. We were happy to work with him. As a result, I’ve referred him to Spoon River College and Graham Hospital in Canton (Ill.). We also like that Going Green Computers takes old computers and can fix them up and sell them for less than a brand new one, so those who can’t afford a new computer can still buy one,” Coogan said.Frick has been the one who has made all the contacts, driven to the sites to collect the materials, broken everything down, and taken it where it needs to go. He is certified through the state as a collector for the Environmental Protection Agency and last month (in October) recycled between 20,000-30,000 pounds of electronics. Those numbers, according to Frick, “are a lot for me.”When he ships something, he reuses packaging materials from Office Max, rather than purchase new materials.“Styrofoam never breaks down, so why not reuse it? There’s nothing wrong with it, so I reuse it when I ship our packages,” Frick said.In addition to recycling computers, Frick gives back to the community. He presented a seminar at the Pekin Public Library to teach people basic computer skills. He has also donated computers to the House of Hope, a local women’s shelter. What started as an idea to refurbish old computers turned into a local business that is counting on the community to recycle electronics, rather than simply throw them away.
October 15 and 16th, 2010
Wants to thank the Morton Chamber of Commerce for having a fall clean-up weekend. We collected over 30,000 pounds of computer equipment in 8 hours time.
Here are a few pictures from the event:
October 4, 2010
Wants to give a special thanks to Farmington School District #265. On this day we presented them a plaque for their huge recycling efforts in the school district. This is from their website www.dist265.com
Farmington Recycling Efforts
Farmington recently completed a recycling effort that everyone in the District can be proud of.
Technology Department removed quite a large amount of antiquated
equipment from the complex over the last couple of weeks. We partnered
with Going Green Computers of Pekin to responsibly dispose of our old
computer equipment. As of Friday, the District has recycled 10,500 pounds of equipment! The bulk of our recycled materials were old CRT monitors.
Going Green presented Matt Rolando, Technology Coordinator, with a
plaque on Monday, Oct. 4th to recognize this tremendous effort.
Here are a couple fast facts to remember before throwing away old computers or tube monitors:
- Each 17-inch tube monitor can contain as much as 8 pounds of lead and 6 to 8 ounces of mercury.
- An older computer motherboard can contain up to 25 grams of lead depending on the size.
Thank you to the Tech Dept for their hard work and efforts.
October 1, 2010
Fall cleanup event in Pekin was held, not as many turned out as we had hoped, could be much better with more advertising.
Here is a link from a reporter on the scene at Spruce Up Pekin, has a nice short tidbit about us being there: www.ourtimesinpekin.com
For the 3rd year, Going Green Computers owned by Brad Frick was at Spruce Up Pekin picking up Computer equipment. Brad told me that his company is a computer recycling business with a vision to provide service and sales at reasonable and affordable rates.
He said our company is based on the belief that in order to help save our environment, we need to keep computer electronics such as laptops, computers, cell phones and accessories out of our landfills.
If you wish to find out more about Going Green Computers, please call 309-241-2229 or go to their website at www.goinggreencomputers.com .
August 9th -13th, 2010
We are proud to serve Northwoods Community Church in their staff recycling event.
June 9, 2010
Going Green Computers is proud to announce cell phone recycling. Contact us for drop off sites.
May 21, 2010
Going Green Computers took a road trip down to Lincoln, IL on this date to present Lincoln Community
High School with a plaque thanking them for their recycling efforts. We
recycled 1,700 pounds of computer equipment just from this school alone, and were glad we had this opportunity to recognize LCHS for their efforts. This is what the plaque stated:
Community High School
recycling 1,700 pounds of e-Waste products
this day, Friday, May 21, 2010
you for helping us
save our environment one computer at a time”.
The following article regarding this event appeared in Lincoln's online newspaper, the Lincoln Daily News (www.lincolndailynews.com, Community section):
From left: Sally Aukamp, Brad Frick, and Robert Bagby
Sally Aukamp, Lincoln Community
High School LEAF
sponsor, and Robert Bagby, superintendent, flank Brad Frick, owner
of Going Green Computers.
Frick presented a plaque to the school for
recycling 1,700 pounds of e-waste. Frick wanted to recognize the
school for their efforts as well as raise awareness of the
importance of recycling.
Frick believes that in order to help save our
environment, we need to keep used laptops and personal computers out
of our landfills. For more information you can go to
Picture by Mike Fak


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Right at the end of Apple's Q1 2014 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook was brought onto that topic; innovation. It's a word often thrown around, sometimes incorrectly, and we all know at Phil Schiller thinks about Apple's ability to innovate. While Wall Street might believe Apple has lost its ability to innovate, Cook, and everyone at Apple looks on it a different way:
Innovation is deeply embedded in everyone here. So much of the world is filled with complex products. We have zero issue coming up with things we want to do, disrupt in a major way. The challenge is always to focus on the very few that deserves all of our energy. Always done that, and we'll continue to do that.
Focus is key. It's all too easy to look upon Apple to blow us away, to come out with a game changing product in the same way the iPod, iPhone and iPad all have. Is the word innovation thrown around too much? Probably, but it doesn't mean it isn't important to Apple, and something that each and every member of the team there is working their collective asses off on.
So what do you think? Wall Street never pleased, or have we been spoiled in the past by Apple to the point we're left expecting more?


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After many days of waiting, finally the biggest fashion event on the planet Met Gala has officially taken place today. This eye-catching fashion “party” gathers a series of cult stars of the fashion and entertainment world. Fans are also especially looking forward to the appearance of Rosé (BLACKPINK) , she is the first Kpop idol to attend this prestigious event.
The images of Rosé coming out of the hotel, preparing to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and posing at the event have made people crazy. In just 8 seconds, Rosé was enough to cause chaos in the New York neighborhood, making people crowded. Indeed, not ashamed of the beautiful “Australian rose”, the female idol appeared with a very fresh and sweet visual, despite even wearing a tight mask. Worth mentioning, Rosé’s body makes people feel hot because it looks like a willow leaf, so thin that it’s boneless, and her legs and arms are so small that it looks like she’s about to break. The female idol was also disappointing because her outfit was faded , not “cut and slashed” to make history at the biggest event on the planet as expected.
Coming to the biggest fashion “party”, Rosé paired with Anthony Vaccarello – the creative director of the luxury brand she is representing. Indeed, with her bright blonde hair and bright smile, Rosé’s beauty shines absolutely
However, when zooming to Rosé’s feet, people couldn’t help but feel fire
Rosé’s legs are long but thin as if they’re about to break, her bony knees are also visible
People couldn’t help but sigh when Rosé wore a dress that was too simple and faded at the launch of the biggest fashion event on the planet. This dress has even been worn by the female idol in a magazine before
Rosé’s 8 seconds of rioting with a show of beauty at the Met Gala
Rosé caused a commotion in the streets, people jostled to witness her appearance
Rosé stuns with the standard appearance and body of a “living doll”, blonde hair and bright white skin make her beauty even more unreal. But look at the arm…
… and the thin legs of the BLACKPINK member, people can’t help but get heartbroken
The female idol’s long legs make fans unable to take their eyes off her, but it’s shocking in the near corner because she’s so thin that she’s about to break
However, the appearance of “big sister” CL surprised people the most because she did not reveal any “hints”. Turns out Rosé is not the only female Kpop idol attending this year’s Met Gala


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Press release -
Morrow Batteries ASA announces IPCEI partnership, secures funding to advance next-generation battery technology
The Norwegian battery company has been awarded 345 million NOK from Innovation Norway under the IPCEI European business program. The funding will support the R&D development of a new battery technology that utilises less lithium and nickel than current batteries combined with manganese oxide (LNMO).
Morrow Batteries ASA (Morrow) has also qualified as an associated partner in the IPCEI European Battery Innovation program (EuBatIn).
“This is a day of celebration. We are proud that Morrow Batteries meets the stringent quality requirements to become an associated partner in IPCEI European Battery Innovation. Achieving this partnership status speaks volumes about our dedication and progress”, comments Morrow CEO, Lars Christian Bacher.
He adds, “Morrow has had a strong and close collaboration with Innovation Norway both at the local and central levels. They have provided valuable input and feedback throughout the process and played a crucial role in our successful application.”
According to Bacher, the IPCEI partnership and funding hold immense significance. The battery technology and production company inaugurated Scandinavia’s largest battery research centre last year and is eager to advance its development of the promising LNMO batteries. This technology is significantly more sustainable than existing technologies, enabling Morrow to produce environmentally friendly and cost-effective batteries.
In tandem, the company has initiated test production of LFP batteries. The first customer samples were dispatched in November 2023, and Morrow is currently in discussions with potential buyers. In Arendal, they plan to commence full-scale production of LFP batteries in the third quarter, marking a crucial milestone for the company.
Sveinung Hovstad, the Regional Director for Innovation Norway in Agder, highlights the strong collaboration with Morrow Batteries since the company’s inception:
"We are committed to supporting Morrow Batteries by equipping them with the necessary resources to bolster their prospects for success in their efforts to take a leading position in the European battery industry. With Morrow's strong foundation, exceptional expertise, and environmentally friendly production practices, coupled with the enthusiastic backing of the local community, we aim to empower them on their journey".
IPCEI is a transnational project that has made an important contribution to the growth, employment, and competitiveness of the European Union industry and economy, funded by state aid. IPCEIs bring together knowledge, expertise, financial resources, and economic actors throughout the EU to overcome important market or systemic failures and societal challenges that could not otherwise be addressed.
The IPCEI European Battery Innovation (EuBatIn) is coordinated by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) with the support of VDI/VDE-IT, encompassing more than 40 companies gathered under the European umbrella. Learn more at: IPCEI Batteries: About IPCEI (ipcei-batteries.eu)
Morrow Batteries ASA (Morrow) is a battery technology and production company gearing to be the first Gigascale manufacturer of prismatic LFP batteries in Europe later this year. Our LFP battery has top-tier safety features, extended cycle life and a low carbon footprint. In tandem, our world-class scientists at Scandinavia's largest battery R&D centre are advancing next-generation batteries primarily based on the cathode material LNMO. These innovative batteries eliminate cobalt and reduce nickel and lithium while maximizing the use of clean and plentiful manganese. Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Arendal, Norway, the company now has a team of 160 battery specialists based in Norway and Germany. To learn more, visit morrowbatteries.com and engage with us on LinkedIn @MorrowBatteries.


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Bangalore, India, January 29, 2018 –(PR.com)– IndianMoney.com has raised $3 Million from SRI Capital, a US-based early stage venture capital fund. Existing investors – Hyderabad Angels – and others also participated in this round.
IndianMoney.com has been a pioneer in serving hundreds of thousands of middle income people who are deprived of unbiased financial information and education. The company will use this new investment to augment its capacity to educate about 100,000 people every day. Currently, the company educates about 18,000 people every day. In the next 2-3 years, the company will ensure that its consumers get education, transactional guidance, ability to transact and custodian services in one place. The company plans to accomplish all these without watering down its core competency of being an unbiased support to the consumer.
C S Sudheer – CEO & Founder said, "Since inception the company has been a pioneer in empowering the common man with much needed financial education in easy to comprehend language. All you need to do is to just leave a missed call on our helpline no 022-6181-6111 and relax. We now employ people across length and breadth of the country and educate 18,000 people every day. We provide our consumers unbiased access to over 15,000 retail financial intermediaries."
There are estimated to be about 4 million retail financial intermediaries in India. IndianMoney.com, which runs Lead Market mobile application, empowers these financial intermediaries to distribute all financial products under one virtual roof. Lead Market is a mobile application which connects interested consumers and service providers. With this fund infusion, IndianMoney.com expects to be the largest financial services marketplace in India, connecting millions of consumers with over 100,000 financial intermediaries in the near future.
Sashi Reddi, Managing Partner of SRI Capital, states, "We are proud to back Sudheer who is a visionary in bringing millions of consumers, the financial literacy they need to survive and prosper in this new digital economy. Serving people who have never had the benefit of unbiased financial advice and education will finally enable over 200 million salaried employees and small businesses to participate in the new India."
Started in 2008 by Mr. C S Sudheer, the vision of the company is to create a financially literate India by providing free consultation to anyone looking for an expert opinion on matters related to personal finance. In the process, IndianMoney.com also provides this unique service of educating the consumers on how not to fall prey for unscrupulous practices in financial services industry. Further, it helps financial intermediaries get connected to educated and interested consumers of financial products on fingertips through 'Lead Market' mobile application.
It is backed by Vertexperts Consulting (Bangalore) and Hyderabad Angels (Hyderabad). It has accomplished investors like Mr. Ravindra Krishnappa (Founder of Erasmic Venture Fund) and Mr. Pradeep Mittal (Co-founder of Magna Infotech) on its board; and Mr. Shekhar Kirani (partner at Accel Partners), Mr. Ramanand Baliga (Ex-IBM India Director) and Srini Koppolu (Former MD at Microsoft Development Center, India) on its advisory panel. It also has banking industry veterans Mr. G Narayanan (Chairman of Vijaya Bank) and Mr. T V Rao (Former Director of EXIM Bank) on its advisory board.
For more information, contact:
E-mail: [email protected]
Read the full story here: https://www.pr.com/press-release/742831
Press Release Distributed by PR.com


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Retailer The Good Guys has closed several stores in the ACT because of a potentially destructive biosecurity hazard in the form of a beetle.
The Khapra beetle is not found in Australia and can be enormously destructive to grain crops.
The estimated damage to the agricultural crop industry is estimated at more than $15 billion.
Make huge savings at your favourite stores with 7NEWS Coupons >>
Traces of the beetle have been found in cargo shipments of refrigerators coming from Thailand.
On Tuesday, traces were detected at Good Guys Fyshwick in the ACT.
They have since been found in the same supplier shipment delivered to Belconnen and Tuggeranong stores in the ACT and the Home Delivery Centre in Sydney.
Although the beetle is not harmful to humans, the ACT venues have been ordered to close temporarily for assessment by the Department of Agriculture.
The Sydney facility remains open.
Customers of the stores in Fyshwick, Belconnen and Tuggeranong are advised to go online or place phone orders while the biosecurity hazard is assessed.
Deliveries will be arranged from other stores.
On Friday morning, Australian Border Security closed an Electrolux Home Products Distribution Centre in southwest Sydney after the Khapra beetle was discovered in a shipping container.
Stream Big on


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by Michael Percha
The Pure Michigan advertising campaign is helping drive tourism dollars to the Great Lakes Bay Region.
In 2015, more than $1.1 billion was spent in Bay, Midland and Saginaw counties in business and leisure travel. Speaking at the Great Lakes Bay Region Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB) annual meeting at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bay City Friday, March 10, Travel Michigan Advertising Specialist Ken Yarsevich says tourism is a strong economic driver for the region. He says the Pure Michigan campaign brings a lot of traffic to the CVB website, www.gogreat.com.
Read more at WSGW.com


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Nobody likes long lines at the grocery store. But for customers at Hannaford supermarket in West Lebanon, New Hampshire, a problem with the cash registers made checkout lines a living nightmare.
That is, until store manager Shawn Quelch and his team turned the financial fiasco into every shopper's dream.
The Northeast-based grocery chain, like most stores these days, uses an online system to facilitate transactions. At 11 a.m. on Jan. 21, however, Quelch told TODAY Food that his store experienced a problem with its routers connecting to the server.
Slowly but surely, each of the store's cash registers began to shut down.
"We had to funnel folks into to the few registers remaining," Quelch told TODAY. "I had my staff handing out cookies and coupons and smiling and trying to assure people we were doing what we could." Aside from the fiasco being an opportunity to eat grocery items before paying for them, this was an unfortunate situation for shoppers. And it only got worse as more people started to get in line.
Around 2 p.m., every register had shut down completely, with roughly 50 people still waiting to be rung up.
So, what better way to make a bad day better? After a quick call to corporate, Quelch was able to announce to his customers that he had a wonderful surprise: free food for all!
One shopper named Stevens Blanchard posted a photo of the single line that remained before Quelch offered about 50 customers the chance to bring home their groceries totally gratis.
"Wow! Props to the Hannaford staff! They took being in the wrong place at the right time and made it the right place at the right time," Blanchard wrote.
History has certainly proved that people get really excited when they get free stuff — especially cartfuls of groceries. Drake made that clear when he bought a store full of Florida shoppers $30,000 of food while filming a music video.
Since Hannaford's registers were on the fritz, Quelch can't be sure exactly how much of the bill the store footed, but he estimates it was between $3,000 to $5,000.
"I've been with Hannaford for 30 years and have never experienced that kind of unique situation. I always say, 'Our first chance is our best chance to make it right for customers.' And I wanted to do everything in my power to make it right for those customers in line that day," Quelch said.


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KPS Capital Partners has agreed to acquire AM General, a military vehicle and contract automotive manufacturer, from MacAndrews & Forbes, an investment firm controlled by Ronald Perelman.
AM General manufactures specialized vehicles for military and commercial customers including the iconic High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HUMVEE). The company’s military products include light tactical vehicles and troop carriers. AM General also operates two wholly-owned subsidiaries, General Engine Products, a diesel engine manufacturer, and General Transmission Products, an automatic transmission manufacturer.
AM General, led by CEO Andy Hove, is headquartered in South Bend, Indiana with manufacturing facilities located in Indiana and Ohio, and a technical engineering center in Michigan.
“KPS, with a decades-long track record of building world-class, industry-leading companies, is the ideal partner for AM General and the military and commercial customers we serve,” said Mr. Hove. “We look forward to working with KPS to continue to execute our strategy and invest in our ambitious growth plan. KPS’ demonstrated commitment to manufacturing excellence, continuous improvement and commitment to invest in technology and innovation will only enhance the company’s ability to compete in today’s military and commercial marketplace.”
AM General traces its roots to the Standard Wheel Company which was founded in 1903 in Terre Haute, Indiana. In 1908, John Willys purchased the business and renamed it Willys-Overland Motors. During the 1940’s, Willys-Overland developed a four-wheel drive tactical utility truck for the US Army – the “Jeep” of World War II fame.
In 1953, Kaiser Motors purchased Willys-Overland, changing its name to Kaiser-Jeep Corporation in 1963. American Motors purchased the company in 1970 and operated the business through its General Products Division and in 1971 spun out the division as AM General Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary that produced military trucks and non-commercial vehicles. LTV acquired AM General in 1983 and sold it to Renco Group (a holding company controlled by Ira Rennert) in 1992. In 2004, Ronald Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes acquired the company from Renco.
“We are excited to acquire AM General, a legendary American company and world leader in the design, engineering, manufacturing and support of light tactical and specialty vehicles,” said Jay Bernstein, a partner of KPS. “We look forward to working with CEO Andy Hove, the company’s management team, and all of AM General’s employees to build on this great platform, organically and through acquisition.”
Since its founding more than 100 years ago, AM General has built and maintained over one million vehicles and more than 300,000 automotive systems. Today, AM General builds more military light tactical vehicles than any other company in the world.
“We intend to leverage the company’s commitment to research, technology, innovation and new product development, as well as its heritage and iconic brand name,” added Mr. Bernstein. “KPS’ demonstrated track record and history of successfully investing in specialty vehicle businesses – as well as its global platform and significant financial resources – make us exceedingly confident that AM General will continue to thrive under KPS’ ownership for the benefit of its customers and all stakeholders.”
KPS Capital Partners makes control investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a range of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare, automotive parts, capital equipment, and general manufacturing. Many of KPS’s investments involve creating new companies to buy underperforming or distressed assets, companies operating in bankruptcy or in default of obligations to creditors, or with a history of recurring operating losses. KPS is headquartered in New York City with additional offices in Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
In October 2019, after just four weeks of fundraising, KPS held a first, final, hard cap and oversubscribed closing of KPS Special Situations Fund V LP and KPS Mid-Cap Fund LP. KPS Fund V had a $5 billion target and a $6 billion hard cap, and KPS Mid-Cap had a $750 million target and a $1 billion hard cap. In June 2020, KPS acquired the Lufkin rod lift business from publicly traded Baker Hughes. Lufkin’s rod lift products, technologies, and services are used in the energy sector to pump oil and gas to the surface using artificial pressure.
MacAndrews & Forbes, the seller of AM General, is a New York City-based holding company controlled by billionaire investor Ronald Perelman. The firm has a portfolio of companies across a range of industries from cosmetics and entertainment to biotechnology and military equipment.
Closing of the buy of AM General by KPS is expected in the third or fourth quarter of 2020.
Private Equity Professional | July 24, 2020


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Listen to this story
A lot has transpired within a span of just a few months – that’s the speed of AI for you. From tech that seemed gimmicky at first, generative AI tools have made AI infrastructure more accessible. What seemed far-flung from mainstream society is now cheap, fast and easy to build for developers across the spectrum. Several startups have either cropped up or pivoted to building platforms anchored around these open-source and closed-source models from companies like OpenAI.
Rise in APIs
Important LLMs like OpenAI’s GPT-3 and other foundational models like Stable Diffusion have been made commercially available via API across applications. As the need for connected software increases, APIs have become ubiquitous.
APIs first came about in the early 2000s when companies like Salesforce, Amazon and eBay developed their own APIs for their developers to access. Up until a few years ago the usage of APIs escalated as the world became more digital. What we are witnessing now is another wave of AI applications, which will result in SaaS companies being focused around generative software, pushing the application of APIs over the edge.
By the second half of the 2010s, MIT research fellow Marshall Van Alstyne published work around business platforms and how companies that used APIs showed 12.7% more growth in their market capitalisation within a four-year time period as compared to companies that did not adopt APIs.
But as the possibilities grew, so did the threats related to API abuse. In 2019, Gartner predicted in a report that API hacks would eventually become the most commonly found type of cyberattacks by 2022. The prediction has unfortunately come true. Salt Security conducted a survey among 200 enterprise security officials and concluded that 91% of companies reported API-related security issues last year. The study stated that around 56% of organisations experienced between 10 and 55 attacks each month while 22% faced between 51 to 200 API-related attacks each month.
The report titled ‘Salt’s State of API Security Q1’ also mentioned that malicious API calls increased on a monthly per-customer basis from 2.73 million in December 2020 to 21.32 million in December 2021. API protection platform Salt has Web Application Firewalls that almost every API gateway was able to cross.
Need for API security
A more recent survey, by Radware, noted that organisations are now grappling with sustaining security across platforms. According to the survey 40% reported that more than half of their company was vulnerable to attacks through third-party APIs.
But an API is only as good as its security. The danger of these increasing number of attacks indicate that companies that see the value behind APIs must also see the value behind adopting API management platforms. The recent history of API attacks on enterprises attest to this.
In April, the Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team revealed that they had discovered a ‘low volume’ of attempts to hack its cloud services via Spring4Shell, an application framework for Java.
Last year, LinkedIn suffered from a data breach that exposed over 92% of user profiles including their full names, email addresses and passwords. Investigation showed that the hacker had breached LinkedIn’s database through their open authentication-free developer API and scraped through the LinkedIn database, which eventually landed up for sale on the dark web. The data breach questioned how endangered social media platforms were owing to a failure to check security of third-party vendors.
Mobile payment service Venmo exposed details of over 200 million subscribers via its API. The PayPal-owned payment application had made their data accessible because they offered a public API that was set as its default. This allowed hackers to download the data containing the names of senders, descriptions of the transaction memos and the transaction values.
HubSpot, another prominent CRM tool, reported a data breach in mid-March that affected more than 1.6 million users, emails and associated contact numbers of accounts of the company’s internal customer support portal. HubSpot later revealed that its internal systems had been compromised and a portion of its internal systems accessed. Moreover, a few customer accounts in the cryptocurrency industry, including NYDIG, Swan, and BlockFi, were tampered with by an insider.


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May 19, 2022
Coca-Cola is launching a global music platform to support emerging musical with the "Coke Studio" initiative as part of its "Real Magic" campaign introduced last year.
May 18, 2022
Katy Perry is the latest A-List celebrity to sign up in a global TV ad for the delivery app Just Eat, and the star quality she brings ensures that it was certainly worth it.
May 17, 2022
Essity's first brand work for its new direct-to-consumer period underwear range, Intimawear, brings a sense of fun to the burgeoning category.
May 16, 2022
U.K. broadcaster ITV is continuing on its mission to highlight mental health with a campaign that placed voice notes for people to listen to across outdoor locations.
May 13, 2022
Corona is promoting its new brand Corona Tropical, a sparkling alcoholic beverage made with fruit juice, with a campaign that includes billboards featuring real "pickable" fruit.
May 05, 2022
Continuing our celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander creative excellence for AAPI Heritage Month, we highlight the work of Filipino-American filmmaker Jon Jon Augustavo.
May 05, 2022
Microsoft enabled injured and disabled veterans to create a musical anthem for the Invictus Games in the brand's latest effort to adapt its technology for social purpose.
April 29, 2022
After launching stores across the U.S., Coca-Cola is continuing to emphasize in-person experiences with its first retail shop in London.
April 27, 2022
A new global campaign from Burger King's makes a virtue out of an insight that could be seen as "disappointing"—that most people can only remember one of its burgers, the Whopper.
April 26, 2022
An Earth Day campaign from BackMarket, the French online marketplace for recycled and refurbished devices, targeted Apple Store customers right under the retailer's noses using its own technology.
April 25, 2022
Pringles is appealing to gamers once again, but this time it’s aiming further back, way beyond the metaverse or even the internet, to the original generation that discovered gaming.
April 21, 2022
It's Earth Day tomorrow (April 22) but given that every day now seems to be a celebration of something, is 24 hours enough to cut through the clutter and make people think about the planet?
April 05, 2022
Netflix aims straight at the heart of reality romance fans with this hilarious promo that turns the stars of its dating shows into a boy band straight out of the ‘90s.
April 01, 2022
Cookies have long been criticized as invasive tracking devices, collecting data on people’s internet behavior without their consent. So if you're asked to "accept cookies" online, as an adult you might think twice.
March 29, 2022
A new campaign from Microsoft Xbox shows how the brand is helping to connect young gamers in hospitals via "therapeutic play," in partnership with charity Gamers Outreach.


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By Conor White
Europe has a new unicorn.
The London-based fintech company Revolut announced last month it raised $250 million in Series C funding, bumping its valuation to $1.7 billion.
Revolut will use some of that money to jump across the pond to the United States.
"Given how aggravated people are with banking in general, we believe there's a huge market to go into the U.S. and cause serious disruption," said the Revolut chief marketing officer, Chad West. "So a huge amount of this capital will be expanding ourselves into the U.S., and building a real, innovative team out there."
In just 36 months, Revolut has raised $340 million, signed up more than 2 million customers in Europe, and has its sites set on conquering America and challenging companies like Robinhood.
"Right now Robinhood is purely on that road of wealth management and investments," West said Friday in an interview with Cheddar. "When Revolut comes to the U.S.A, there's nothing quite like us. We are the definition of a challenger bank."
For the full interview, click here.


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At the recently concluded CES 2020, Samsung introduced a number of products to selected journalists. One of the products is the upcoming second foldable phone with a clamshell design.
A leaked photo from the event shows that the phone, originally called Galaxy Fold 2, will be called Galaxy Bloom. Now, a new leak has revealed that it is not the official name of the phone but its codename.
Bloom is just a code name, the real name is Galaxy Z xxxx, guess it! pic.twitter.com/55mGBp4v0A
– Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 12, 2020
Special, the famous leaker Ice Universe posted on Twitter a few hours ago that "Bloom" is just the codename of the next folding Galaxy smartphone and its real name is Galaxy Z ****. A few hours later, perhaps unable to contain his excitement, he shared a photo showing the official name of the device.
According to the tweet, the device called Galaxy Bloom will debut as the Galaxy Z Flip. Based on this new information, it can be said that the Galaxy Z is a new line of Samsung smartphones.
It is expected that the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip will have a vertically folding screen design similar to the 2019 Motorola RAZR, rather than horizontally folded like a book like the current Galaxy Fold. In terms of configuration, this phone will use Snapdragon 855 chipset and the screen is covered with a new glass layer called Ultra Thin Glass instead of the polymer membrane used for Galaxy Fold.
Other features of the Galaxy Z Flip include support for 8K video recording, dual cameras and an Infinity-O screen with a hole in the middle for the selfie camera. It should also run Android 10 with the latest OneUI 2.0 user interface.
Samsung will announce the Galaxy Z Flip alongside the Galaxy S20 series at an event scheduled to take place on February 11.
According to: Gizmochina
. (tagsToTranslate) set (t) dialog (t) the (t) in (t) introduce (t) Samsung (t) develop (t) Gizmochina (t) set (t) encourage (t) smartphone (t) "Bloom" (T) previous (t) Twitter (t) Universe (t) hours (t) leaker (t) tweet (t) twsrc (t) comUniverseIcestatus1216252383379914755


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Global Indirect Tax News
Monthly newsletter covering VAT, goods and services tax, sales tax issues, and global trade issues around the globe.
The OECD's report on The Role of Digital Platforms in the Collection of VAT/GST on Online Sales includes measures intended to "level the playing field" between traditional and online businesses and increase the collection of VAT/GST revenue.
In a new report, Deloitte's Americas Global Trade Advisory team addresses the challenges importers and exporters face across the Americas region and explores the value of embracing automated solutions to help manage disruption in the trade compliance environment.
The Barbados prime minister delivered the 2019 national budget speech to parliament on 20 March 2019. The proposals included VAT and gambling tax measures. The speech referenced the introduction of VAT on certain online transactions. Additional guidance is expected.
A bill contains measures that would simplify the tax system and harmonize the VAT system with the systems of most other countries. The bill proposes to combine five taxes and contributions and replace them with a single value added tax.
The Italian tax authorities have issued guidance providing official clarifications on the VAT treatment applicable to certain transactions involving electronic funds ("electronic money"), in particular when VAT exemption applies.
The UK tax authorities have announced that US claimants will now have until 30 May 2019 to provide the certificates of status necessary to verify their UK VAT refund claims (under the "13th Directive") for the 2017 to 2018 period.


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As of 2015, no Sunbeam heating pad of any kind has ever been recalled, according to the Food and Drug Administration. However, there have been many complaints made by customers about Sunbeam heating pads not shutting off automatically or overheating, causing either users to suffer from burns or their possessions to be damaged.
Although customers have been filing complaints against Sunbeam for years, claiming injuries and damages to property due to the company's reportedly faulty and dangerous heating pads, none of these complaints have ever led to any of the products actually being recalled.
Although many claims about the dangers of Sunbeam heating pads were reported to and documented by the FDA at the time they occurred, often the conclusion reached was that the injury or accident had happened because the user was using the device in the wrong way. For instance, a woman filed a complaint in March 2015 about leaning back in her recliner against her Sunbeam heating pad, when the heating pad caught on fire and damaged her chair. According to this report, since the woman admitted to lying on the heating pad in full violation of the product's instructions, it was deemed that this incident was not due to an issue with the product itself.
Despite these heating pads not being recalled, some customers have received compensation from either Sunbeam or a company that sells Sunbeam products after a bad experience, as in the case of 65-year-old Evelyn Bowen from Nevada. After her Sunbeam heating pad set her on fire when she fell asleep on it in 2012, she received a $200,000 settlement from Walgreens, the store that had sold her the pad, as reported by the National Trial Lawyers.


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Speaking at the inauguration of the Arogya Expo organised alongside the 6th World Ayurveda Congress at Pragati Maidan, the Minister said under the newly created AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) Mission the Centre would provide funding support to states wanting to set up manufacturing facilities and create manpower for the traditional medicine industry.
“The chief objective of the mission is to encourage integration of Ayush with modern medicine and create a holistic healthcare system that can be emulated globally and which will achieve the universal goal of Health for All,” he said. “Ayurveda is not just a matter of sentiment for us. We work with scientific minds and this government is aggressively focused on research.”
The Arogya Expo which will continue until November 9 features 400 stalls set up by leading traditional medicine manufacturers from around the country. It also has 20 specialty clinics offering free consultation and medicines to visitors.
The sixth edition of the World Ayurveda Congress, which will be inaugurated tomorrow (Friday) by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, has ‘Ayurveda and Health Challenges’ as its focal theme. It is being organised by the Department of AYUSH, in collaboration with the World Ayurveda Foundation and the Delhi Government.
The inaugural function was attended by dignitaries including Nilanjan Sanyal, Secretary, Ayush; Dr Mrinalini, Special Secretary, Delhi Government; Vijay Bhatkar, President, Vijnana Bharati; Dr P V Appaji Rao, Director General, Pharmexcil and industry leaders including Anand Burman, Chairman, Dabur; Anurag Sharma, MD, Baidyanath; Dr P M Varier, Superintendent, AVS Kottakkal; Ranjit Puranik, MD Dhootapapeshar and Dr Sajikumar, MD, Dhatri. Dr Chandrakath Bhanushali, Chairman, Arogya Expo and Dr Tanuja Gokhale, Convenor, also spoke.
Dr Harsh Vardhan said the government, which has allocated Rs 5,000 crore to the Ayush Mission in 12th five-year plan, is keen to partner with states in creating state-of-the-art research and development facilities, drug testing laboratories and herbal gardens that will help meet growing industry and market demand for quality raw material and products.
There is growing acceptability for Ayurveda globally and several nations have shown interest in partnering India to popularise it locally, Dr Harsh Vardhan said, “The government has signed MoUs with several countries. We already have an all-expenses-paid seat reservation scheme for students from South East Asian countries wanting to study at our Ayurveda colleges.”
Nilanjan Sanyal, Secretary, AYUSH, noted that one-third of the world’s population lacks access to healthcare. Ayurveda and other traditional systems have great potential to address this lacuna since they already meet the healthcare requirements of 80 per cent of the rural population in India.
However, these traditional medicinal products have to be validated scientifically for the practitioners to have credibility and patients to have confidence. “The challenges for Ayush are manifold; the industry is very dispersed with around 9,000 industrial units across the country, there is lack of infrastructure, there are quality variations in products from batch to batch, there is minimal R&D which impedes safety and quality trials.”
“If we can address these, ensure that good manufacturing practices are followed industry-wide and encourage large-scale cultivation of medicinal plants we can achieve a quantum leap in product quality,” he said.
The Aroga Expo is envisaged as a ‘health mela’ on traditional systems of medicine, at Hall No 18 of Pragati Maidan exhibition complex. An added attraction of the Expo is the participation of small-scale and tiny sectors in Ayurveda and the traditional vaidyas (healers) from the north-east.
Also, Ayurveda plants, such as Amla (gooseberry), aloe Vera, curry leaf, lemon grass, tulsi, Ajwain, hibiscus, ashwagandha, arjuna and rudraksh will be sold to the visitors at low prices.
The sixth edition of the WAC is the largest such event, with nearly 4,000 participants, including 200 international delegates from 24 countries. Seven Ayurveda Universities and 270 Ayurveda colleges are participating in the Congress.
EP News Bureau – Mumbai


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Yet another Samsung mid-range smartphone is soon set to debut in the Indian smartphone market. We are talking about the much teased Galaxy M33 5G. While the company has launched multiple Galaxy A-series recently, Samsung is now looking to expand its Galaxy M-series in the Indian market.
According to an official Amazon teaser poster, the Galaxy M33 5G is all set to launch on April 2, 2022. It will be available for purchase from the Samsung India e-store and Amazon India. Meanwhile, a new tip from tipster Yogesh Brar reveals the price of the Samsung Galaxy M33 5G in India. As per the tip, the phone is set to arrive in two storage options.
The tipster claims that the Galaxy M33 5G 6GB RAM/128GB configuration will be sold for INR 21,999, while the 8GB RAM/128GB configuration will cost INR 23,999.
Samsung Galaxy M33 5G
6/128GB – ₹21,999 (Box ₹24,999)
8/128GB – ₹23,999 (Box ₹26,999)
3 colors, sales start next week.
Upto 2k discount max.
— Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh) March 30, 2022
Furthermore, the device will be available in 3 colors, and interested buyers can get up to a maximum discount of INR 2,000. There is no confirmation if this discount will be available as an early-bird offer or if it will be available on select debit/credit cards.
The specifications of the device are already available. It will be powered by an octa-core 5nm chipset, the Exynos 1280 that also powers the Galaxy A33 and Galaxy A53. The phone will sport a 120Hz 6.6-inch TFT LCD with an Infinity-V display.
The Galaxy M33 5G will be juiced by a 6,000 mAh battery and will support 25W fast charging. At the rear, the phone will come with a quad-camera setup with a 50MP primary shooter. On the software side, it will come with Android 12 One UI 4.1 out of the box.
Join SamMobile’s Telegram group and subscribe to our YouTube channel to get instant news updates and in-depth reviews of Samsung devices. You can also subscribe to get updates from us on Google News and follow us on Twitter.


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Holiday Ice Cream Recall
California grocery stories are being asked to pull another product for possible listeria contamination.
As reported yesterday, the Safeway grocery store chain pulled all its prepackaged caramel apples from its supermarkets’ shelves across the country due to a lawsuit filed by the family of an 81-year-old Santa Cruz County California woman who died from a listeria infection linked to the candy apples.
Today, a Washington manufacturer of Snoqualmie Gourmet Ice Cream has recalled some of its products in California and several other western states, due to possible listeria contamination. The flavors taken off the shelves are all flavors and sizes of ice cream, gelato, custard and sorbet. The recall also includes its Emerald & Spruce Ice Cream and Top Pot Hand Forged Ice Cream.


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High-tech children’s books, Miami’s art-commerce fusion, Hispanic smartphone stats.
– “A Very Murray Christmas” signals that Netflix “defines how TV works now,” says Wired.
–Pity the naked millennial: the New York Times looks at how gym design is adapting to younger men. “It’s funny, they’re more socially open with everything — Facebook, social media — yet more private in their personal space,” says a source.
–The 2016 feminist Pirelli calendar “showed how quickly a brand can modernize its image,” writes Adweek.
–Is The Incredible Intergalactic Journey Home “the most technologically advanced book ever published”? Fast Company investigates.
–“The death of print media has been greatly exaggerated,” writes Adweek, rounding up the hottest magazines of 2015.
–Digiday shows why Burberry is winning the digital luxury race.
–The Washington Post breaks down the key takeaways from Amazon’s just-released prototype design for a future delivery drone.
–Blouin Artinfo has the design highlights from this week’s Design Miami/ exhibition, “where art meets commerce.”
–Business of Fashion details key brand collaborations happening at Art Basel Miami Beach, which “reflect the value fashion puts on art and vice versa.”
–New stats from eMarketer show Hispanics spending an outsize portion of their digital day on smartphones.
–Using DNA to store data, all the information in the world would fit into “about the amount of liquid in a case of wine,” says the New York Times.
–San Francisco’s hottest new restaurant is “staffed mostly by ex-cons,” says San Francisco Magazine.
–A new initiative from the Google Cultural Institute is delivering 360-degree views of performances at Carnegie Hall, the Palais Garnier and more. Via Wall Street Journal.
–In London, The Crystal Maze, a kitsch 1990s gameshow, has been reborn as a “live immersive experience.” Via Mirror.
–Uber’s new fundraising drive would give the startup a valuation of $62bn, “higher than General Motors,” writes The Guardian.


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Nokia is likely one of the corporations that has landed on Android later, and even so, the agency has been launching since 2016 smartphones with this working system. Though he made his foray into the world of tablets shortly earlier than.
The agency owned by HMD has not launched a pill for years, and has simply introduced – or fairly, implied – that shortly will launch one among these gadgets, that may come accompanied by a cellular with which it might renew its catalogue.
The brand new Nokia pill could be official shortly
Nokia has revealed a tweet that reads “our household continues to develop”, and wherein it establishes the October 6 of this 12 months as a key day, wherein the presentation of this machine will happen. Nonetheless, a Nokia cellular could possibly be introduced as effectively.
In line with PhoneArenait might be the Nokia G50 5G, a mid-range machine with which the corporate would search to resume its catalog and of which, for the second, not a lot is thought past that it might have a 6.55-inch display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 with 5G connectivity.
Our household retains rising.
Coming 6.10.21 pic.twitter.com/B55fUMWAOs
— Nokia Cell (@NokiaMobile) September 20, 2021
A couple of months in the past it turned identified that the corporate was engaged on the manufacture of a brand new Android pill that may return the model to this market, and the Nokia T20 could possibly be this mannequin of which the corporate has introduced a presentation.
This, in accordance with rumors, would have a ten.4-inch display and varied variations of RAM and storage, one among them with 4GB and 64GB respectively. There would even be a mannequin with WiFi connectivity, and one other with WiFi and 4G to have the ability to insert a micro SIM.


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We break down everything you need to know about the significant updates in Wild Rift’s 2.2 patch.
League of Legends: Wild Rift has taken the world of MOBA gaming on mobile devices by storm. The game had a staggered release as an open beta in selective regions. Now with the introduction of patch 2.2, it is finally coming to the American areas. To celebrate the gracious occasion, Riot Games would be introducing a limited-time event named ‘Wild Welcome’.
Wild Welcome will be helping American players to get up to speed with the rest of the world. The special event will grant new champions and other free rewards. Players can also earn rewards just by playing more during the event.
New Champions and Tank items
The developers have constantly been pushing new champions with each update — and this patch is not going to be any different. Riot Games took note of the player’s concerns and deliberately introduced non-human champions to bring diversity to the game.
As showcased in the Dev Diary, champions like Rengar, Renekton, Galio, Rammus and Kha’ Zix will be making their way into the rift. Jungle might see the rise in assassins and with tanky picks like Galio and Renekton coming to the game, it should counter many current meta champions in the game. These new champions will have players re-think their existing strategies and build.
Moreover, there’s a new event on the way! Related to the old rivalry between Kha’ Zix and Rengar, ‘Masters of the Hunt’ will be released next month with more details available closer to the launch.
Riot’s also adjusted a ton of tank items. Including Thornmail, Winter’s Approach, Sunfire Cape, Force of Nature and Frozen Heart. These changes should allow players to find better options for the opponent’s team combination. You can check out Riot’s official Patch 2.2 Item Preview for more details.
New Skin Line
Stargazers will be the ‘First-to-Wild Rift’ skin line coming to the game, featuring Camille, Twisted Fate and Soraka. In addition to these cosmetics, other skins like God-King Darius, Draven Draven, Blood Moon Kennen, Corgi Corki and Scorched Earth Renekton will be making their Wild Rift debut with this patch.
ARAM is coming to Wild Rift
All Mid All Random. In short, ARAM is coming soon to Wild Rift with the developers be running a quick test on all servers ahead of its release.
For those unaware, ARAM is a smaller game mode than the Summoner’s Rift consisting of a single lane where players brawl till one of the sides takes out the Nexus. It is an enjoyable game mode existing in the PC version of League of Legends and a great place to try new champions. Players can grind experience points through this game mode as well.


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The frustration that Curbed Miami expressed about parking whilst liveblogging the opening day of Trader Joe's first Miami store, in Pinecrest, has only escalated into basically a city-wide crisis and a serious payday for tow truck companies. The Miami Herald talked to area businesses who weren't happy about Trader Joe's customers using their spots, saying they were trying to be neighborly, but you know, when somebody buys an ice cream cone and is "gone for three hours" they just couldn't handle it anymore. Nevermind that customers not even going to Trader Joe's, including a judge enjoying a leisurely lunch at the nearby Roasters 'N' Toasters (a judge!) may inadvertently have their cars nipped because some nitwit low-level manager thought the car looked like it belonged to a Trader Joe's customer.
Meanwhile Trader Joe's has been frantically trying to warn customers of impending tows and Pinecrest police really weren't prepared for this: "We were aware it was opening, but it was almost like a cult following," said the fuzz. "There's no way we could have anticipated this. It's the first time we've seen this amount of attention for this kind of store." Hmm... Curbed has been
warning you reporting about the store's 'cult following' for months.
· Liveblogging Opening Day Of Miami's First Trader Joe's [Curbed Miami]
· New Trader Joe's store creates traffic mess; 55 cars towed [Miami Herald]


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LAIKA, the Portland-based animation studio whose first feature film, CORALINE, was released by Focus Features on February 6, has announced that Travis Knight has been named President and CEO of the company. Knight, the son of LAIKA's owner Philip H. Knight, succeeds Dale Wahl, who has held the position since 2005. Travis Knight, who sits on the LAIKA Board and has been Head of Animation since 2007, was one of the lead animators on CORALINE, the first stop-motion animated feature film to be produced in 3-D.
Rob Segal and Kobi Ofir will join the WorldGaming as chief marketing officer and chief technology officer, respectively. Both Segal and Ofir will fill their positions immediately and join company co-founders Billy Levy, President, and Zack Zeldin, VP, as the company prepares for launch this spring.
WorldGaming will be an online destination for console gamers to network and challenge other players from around the world in tournaments for real money.
Robert Mitchell, SVP and managing director of The Walt Disney Company's U.K. operations, has left the company, effective immediately, according to VARIETY.
Daniel Frigo will replace Mitchell and will continue his former job as exec VP and GM of Disney's Europe, Middle East and Africa operations. Mitchell had been with Disney since 1991, and representatives declined comment on his departure.
Tweak Software, developers of RV, the image and sequence viewer for animation and visual effects, have hired visual effects industry veteran Alan Trombla. Trombla, who has worked at all levels of visual effects and digital animation production from writing software and managing large engineering teams to lighting shots and leading CG productions, joins Tweak Software as Director of Product Development.
DECODE Ent. President Steven DeNure will become president and chief operating officer of DHX Media. His duties will include overseeing operations across all of the company's divisions. In addition DeNure will oversee the three kid-focused production units as well as DECODE Enterprises, the company's distribution division. His mandate will include increasing the synergies across the three entities, including the development, financing, production and support functions.
Diego Lerner has been named president, The Walt Disney Company, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Activision Blizzard has appointed Thibaud de Saint-Quentin as SVP and managing director of European Publishing, where he will oversee the company's regional strategy and long-term growth initiatives.
Thibaud, who joins the company as of March 9, 2009, will be based out of its European headquarters in the U.K., Stockley Park office and will report to Brian Hodous, Activision Blizzard's chief customer officer.
Headlight, the New York-based VFX, design and animation studio, has hired Steve Holiner as its new exec producer. Holiner is an industry veteran with more than 10 years experience working on commercials for top clients, including McCann, BBDO, JWT, Ogilvy, and Saatchi Healthcare. His lengthy resume includes Super Bowl spots for GE, Pepsi, Lay's and FedEx.
Vancouver Film School graduate Yaniv Friedman has joined the busy design and branding firm, Trace Pictures, as full time designer/animator.
"Our first intro to Yaniv's work was a short film we saw on Motionographer called A BRIEF GUIDE ABOUT BRIDESMAIDS, explains Daniel Luna, Associate Creative Director at Trace. "His work was unique -- we saw some serious talent and we wanted to work with him."
Visual effects studio Radical 3D has hired of Richard "Dickie" Payne as its lead character modeler for a new series it's producing called ANIMAL ARMAGEDDON.
Payne will be in charge of modeling and texturing characters for the eight part series airing now on Animal Planet.
Randy Lake has been named executive VP and general manager of Sony Pictures Imageworks. Lake, who has worked with Sony Pictures Digital Productions since 2006 in a business strategy and development role, moves into Imageworks to manage overall operations, strategy and planning.
For Kunio Kato, the Oscars were a whirlwind experience. Here are some exclusive pics from his big night. Here he is with the likes of John Cleese, Sean Penn, Andrew Stanton and more.
One of the highlights of the tour is always the public screening at the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. This year the Academy not only hosted a night highlighting the shorts, but also the animated features. Check out the pics for both events.
ILM had a photographer follow the Oscar tour around their facilities and we'd like to share some of the great pics.
At the Dreamworks stop, Rick Farmiloe meets the filmmakers and hears about their thought process and methods of getting it on the screen. For him, this year the field was exceptionally strong, with every film being quite unique and different from the rest.
Peter Chernin, News Corporation's President and Chief Operating Officer and CEO of the Fox Group, will step down when his contract expires on June 30, 2009. The Los Angeles-based Fox businesses will report directly to Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch upon Chernin's departure.
Chernin will launch a Fox-based production company later this year, among other ventures.
Visual effects software developer The Foundry has appointment of new sales and product management staff to help boost global sales of the company's Nuke VFX compositing and image-processing plug-ins products, and maintain the focus on customer-driven product development.
Joining the company are: Michael Bailey in the role of director of sales, worldwide, who has responsibility for expanding global sales; Schel Kuehnert, who becomes the new director of sales for the Americas and Tom Cowland, who takes on a customer-facing role as plug-ins product manager.
Big Stage Ent., a media technology company that lets consumers project themselves photo-realistically into the digital realm, has named digital media industry veteran Patrick Barry to the role of vice president, content alliances. In this newly created role, Barry will focus on growing partnerships with media and entertainment companies interested in developing both new digital revenue opportunities and deep consumer engagement.
Bill Desowitz catches up with VES Lifetime Achievement Award winners Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall about producing VFX movies.
Ellen Wolff sat down with Phil Tippett to discuss creatures, the state of the industry and his desire to play down his title as "pioneer."


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Healthy Mums ask locals to become gift sponsors for women and children in refuges
The local charity want to provide gifts for those who may have none under the tree this Christmas.
Now in its third year, the charity hopes that the Christmas Support Project will supply 450 women and children with gifts this year. They are also looking for local businesses to help sponsor 200 £15 vouchers, so that families can have Christmas dinner at home. The vouchers cannot be used to buy alcohol.
“We just want these families to be able to have a happy Christmas in the comfort of their own homes, rather than having to go to a refuge on Christmas day,” said Erran Taylor, chair of Healthy Mums.
The charity asks that all gift sponsors donate something sweet, something snuggly and a main gift. For example, if you are matched with a child you could buy chocolate, a teddy and a toy or if you’re matched with a woman you might opt for hot chocolate, some gloves and a smellies set.
“We didn’t want it to be a financial burden, but we wanted to give the women and children a good gift, as we are aware that for a lot of people this will the only thing they’ll be opening on Christmas morning.”
The project began in 2017,after Mrs Taylor discovered that her local refuge was at full capacity.
“I always try to do something for others at Christmas. I was a little naive and didn’t think we’d have a refuge in our area. I posted a status on Facebook asking people to get involved and donate some gifts and it got shared around and just exploded.
“We actually had too many people wanting to get involved so instead of getting gifts for just one refuge, we ended up getting gifts for five refuges across Calderdale, Kirklees and Bradford. I’m always amazed at how generous people are,” said Mrs Taylor.
The deadline for return of items is December 7, you can register as a gift donor on the Healthy Mums website.


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When a mom does a search for a pediatrician in Mountain View, California, instead of seeing the best information from across the web, Google steers her to its low quality ‘house’ products. As the Wall Street Journal recently chronicled, this form of self-serving bias causes direct harm to consumers at an incredible scale. Local search is the most common type of query performed by consumers on Google, so this intentional mismatching happens billions of times per week in the United States alone. In partnership with consumer groups and other local search companies, Yelp has created focusontheuser.com to educate consumers and policy makers about how Google’s conduct directly harms consumers while offering a straightforward remedy.
It is heartening to see the news today that nearly every state attorney general in the country has joined a historic and bipartisan investigation into these illegal and anticompetitive practices. Yelp will continue to assist with this investigation in whatever way we can.


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Traders and locals from border areas in Thailand are calling for more border points to open to facilitate trade with Cambodia, the Bangkok Post reported.
In a three-day meeting with the Thai National Economic and Social Development board, merchants, farmers and members of the Local Development Institute said that because only two border crossings are legitimately open—those in Trat, Thailand, near Koh Kong, and Poipet, across the border from Aranyapratet—trade is being hurt by an increasing number of smugglers.
There are eight other possible crossings along Cambodia’s 800-km border with Thailand, the newspaper said.
Some of the border crossings are open one or two days a week, said Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith, but there are no plans to open any of them permanently.
“We don’t have any plans yet, but we have some requests from the provinces,” he said, adding that opening more borders would require more border officials.
He would not say whether opening more borders would increase or decrease smuggling.
Legitimate trade between the countries amounted to an estimated $342 million last year, according to the report. Smuggled goods were not included in the figure.
While some of the meeting participants said more border openings would improve cooperation, others said the countries should focus on “social, cultural and educational links.”
Both Koh Kong and Poipet have seen an investment boom from the open borders. But that has been in the form of casinos, with little money reaching border residents.
It is not clear if Cambodia would welcome such links. The infusion of Thai culture in Koh Kong province was criticized this year by officials who said Thai television programming, goods and language encroached on Khmer culture.
Both Koh Kong and Poipet have seen an investment boom from the open borders. But that development has been in the form of casinos, with little of the money earned trickling down to the impoverished Cambodian border residents.


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The Florida Panthers hope to bolster their home ice advantage this season with a new ad campaign designed to spur ticket sales.
“Panthers Hockey. It’ll do that to you” is the theme of the new multimedia and promotional campaign. Developed in house by the Panthers and BankAtlantic Center marketing team, the campaign debuts this week and profiles the dichotomy of actual fans’ lives.
One spot profiles an airline pilot – juxtaposed in his pilot’s uniform and hockey apparel. The pilot is known for having started an “underground movement” of bringing a cowbell to rally fans in his section, said Chad Johnson, senior VP of sales and marketing for the Panthers and BankAtlantic Center. Another shows a soccer mom who “becomes a different person” at home games, he said. One fan is wearing a Panthers Superman jersey. Another has a hardhat with a rat attached – reminiscent of the team’s 1996 Stanley Cup Finals run.
“We wanted to show the non-hockey fan why hockey is different.” Johnson said. “The game experience is an opening to be someone different, an excuse to let your alter ego come out. This sport allows you to be something you cannot be during the regular scope of the day.”
The concept came from national research and interviews with local fans. Polls have highlighted hockey as among the top fan-experience events in live sports, Johnson said. In discussions with Panthers fans, people spoke of the music, the action and the way fans feel close to the game.
From families to ‘maniacs’
The tagline is intended to speak to different audiences, from families to “maniacs,” he added.
The campaign will launch Sept. 10 and begin a “30 events in 30 days” countdown to opening night. The promotion will include a tailgate party with Panthers players and coaches at Dolphin Stadium, a media suite at a Florida Marlins game and a watch party at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood for the team’s Oct. 10 season opener versus the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tapping traditional and new media, the campaign will roll out with TV ads – four or five in all – plus radio spots, print ads in area newspapers and outdoor media throughout the market. The Panthers will post to the Internet outtakes and bloopers from the TV shoot. They’ll open message boards on the team’s Website.
“The general public can hear from someone who’s been a fan for two years, and why,” Johnson said.
The campaign pitches the team’s new six-game mini ticket plan and bundled concession, retail and fuel offers. The team usually offers 13-game plans. But, with the soft economy, executives thought smaller commitments with some added features might attract more first-time buyers, said Michael Yormark, the organization’s president and COO.
“We think this mini plan is right in the sweet spot,” he said. “We’re bundling the entire experience for that fan. It’s a manageable commitment when you have 41 home games. We can always up-sell from six. The purpose is to get the phones to ring.”
Sunrise Sports & Entertainment, the management team for the Panthers and BankAtlantic Center, produced the campaign in house. Marketing Magic in Hollywood had handled the Panthers work, but Panthers management felt they better understood their fans. In fact, Sunrise Sports is building its own marketing department to handle all its advertising and creative services and “better control the messaging,” Yormark said.
The department will handle marketing for the team, the center, the Sawgrass Live Theater, IncredibleIce facility in Coral Springs, its publications and other outreach, he said. The first significant program is the team’s new campaign.
“This campaign really captures what we’ve been trying to communicate,” Yormark said. “When you talk about Panthers hockey it’s all about the experience, on and off the ice.”
Submit advertising and marketing news to Jeff Zbar at email@example.com.


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I hadn’t seen Dick McCullough, who was my most-fun-to-work-with client of all time and the best leader I ever met in the corporate world, for at least a few years when I got a phone call from him at 7pm last New Year’s Eve. He was calling to tell me that he had just had […]
Full-service publishers are rethinking what they can offer
At lunch a few months ago, Brian Murray, the CEO of HarperCollins, expressed dissatisfaction with the term “legacy” to describe the publishers who had been successful since before the digital revolution began. For one thing, he felt that sounded too much like “the past”. “We need to come up with a different term,” was his […]
Should trade publishers start ditching their B2B imprints for a B2C world?
I spent last Friday at the On Copyright 2012 conference staged by my clients at Copyright Clearance Center. CCC is an organization dedicated to generating revenue for content creators from what is referred to as “secondary” licensing, or uses that are not core to the publisher’s revenue stream and which are often impossible to manage […]
The New York Times had a story on Tuesday morning about an advantage the Ford Motor Company had over its competitors at GM and Chrysler: it is still family-owned. As the Times explained, the family ownership was able to take a longer view than their competitors. In fact, we still don’t know whether the re-tooling […]


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Over the last eight years, Scott McGehee’s restaurants have become a fixture in Little Rock.
Under the unofficial umbrella of Yellow Rocket Concepts, nine restaurants have helped shape the dining scene in central and, more recently, northwest Arkansas, putting out everything from Southern-style Mexican to wood-fired pizza to gourmet burgers with an emphasis on local ingredients since 2009.
But the story actually begins in 1932.
McGehee says his great-grandmother’s sister, Mazie Collier, opened a restaurant in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood that year. Around the same time, his great-grandmother, Ruby Thomas Collier, ran the Red Apple Inn in Heber Springs.
“I was raised in a food family,”’ he said.
McGehee recalls his great-grandmother’s garden bursting with tomatoes, peas and blackberries as well as the sauces and cornbread she would make.
“I have these magical memories of being in the kitchen and in the garden with her,” he said.
Years later, his father, Frank McGehee, would pioneer the cheese dip recipe of Little Rock fame that was served at Juanita’s, the restaurant and concert venue that closed at the end of 2015.
The younger McGehee attended the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock but realized he preferred working in restaurants.
“I didn’t realize that I was destined to be a chef until I went to college and I hated it,” he said.
On a whim, he moved to California and “lucked into” an unpaid apprenticeship at Chez Panisse, a high-end Berkeley, Calif., establishment and a top training ground for up-and-coming chefs. He worked there for five years, learning from “a bunch of hippies” in the Bay Area and fine-tuning his skills while graduating with honors from culinary school in San Francisco.
In the late 1990s, McGehee went back to Little Rock to consult with his father about Juanita’s. He didn’t plan to stay long, he said. But then he and his then-wife decided Little Rock would be a great place to raise children.
At that time, it was hard to get high-quality bread and other ingredients in Arkansas, he said.
“Kroger didn’t have fancy cheese,” McGehee said. “There was no espresso in Arkansas.”
That’s what inspired McGehee to open Boulevard Bread Company, which now has locations in the Heights, in the South Main neighborhood and at the UAMS and Baptist Health medical centers in Little Rock.
In 2009, he sold the chain and started something new — Zaza, a casual eatery serving Italian-inspired pizza, salad and gelato in the Heights.
McGehee said the idea came from traveling as well as wanting to provide the city with a high-quality but inclusive dining experience while supporting farmers in the state.
“My goal was to give people a $100 experience for $10,” he said.
Another Zaza restaurant opened in Conway in 2010. In 2012 came Big Orange, a west Little Rock burger and milkshake spot. Local Lime, which serves tacos and margaritas, opened up nearby in 2013. Another Big Orange location opened on North University Avenue in 2014.
The next three years saw Lost Forty Brewing in East Village, Heights Taco and Tamale Co., and a new location of Big Orange in Rogers. A second Local Lime is planned to open in Rogers in June.
“A lot of it is what I want to eat, what is not a trend, what’s sustainable,” McGehee said of the array of eateries, which now collectively employ about 600 people. “I love creating something totally new and exciting and fresh, but I also love continually reinventing what I’ve done in the past.”
To make it easier to explain where he worked, McGehee said, he and his business partners decided to bundle all the restaurants under one name with a dose of Little Rock nostalgia — the Yellow Rocket arcade in the Heights was McGehee’s childhood stomping ground, he said.
McGehee spends his days popping around at different restaurants, hugging employees and reinventing his cheese dip recipe — 47 times so far, he says.
He said he’s also working on a brand-new concept for a restaurant, coming in 2019.
“It’s like a dream come true,” he said. “I’m in my happy place.”


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Mac software bundles come through with astonishing regularity — and often with many of the same discounted apps. The Productivity Bundle does what it says on the tin, essentially, with tools for stop-motion video, text expansion, iPhone access and Finder upgrades amongst the highlights; the claim is that it's a US$586 value for $49.99. [BundleHunt via Lifehacker]
Lunchtime Deal: Mac Productivity Bundle $US49.99
Trending Stories Right Now
There’s no shortage of data breaches these days, but this one should make you sit up and pay attention. The newly discovered “Collection #1" is the largest public data breach by volume, with 772,904,991 unique emails and 21,222,975 unique passwords exposed.
Google announced plans today to acquire a portion of Fossil’s smartwatch technology for $US40 million ($56 million). As part of the deal, Google will also get a portion of Fossil Group’s research and development team. It isn’t exactly clear at this moment what specific tech Google is shelling out for — but the acquisition paradoxically both makes a lot of sense and is a bit of a head scratcher.


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Plans for a £270m leisure scheme including ski slopes and the UK's largest Imax cinema have been approved.
Outline planning permission for the North Star site was unanimously approved by Swindon Borough council on Tuesday.
The £270m proposal also includes repair work on the nearby Oasis Leisure Centre and its swimming pool.
Garry Perkins, cabinet member for regeneration, described the plans as an "incredibly exciting time for Swindon".
Developers SevenCapital took over the project in July after it had stalled several times.
Director John Watkins said it was "a massive regeneration".
"It will have the best ski slopes in the country, the largest Imax in the country, the best bowling in the country and a whole heap of restaurants and retail units to go with it," he added.
Councillors raised concerns about traffic issues and the environmental impact of the development but the plans were given outline planning permission.
Work is expected to begin on the North Star development in 2018.