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Apple will continue to sell 16GB Wi-Fi iPad 2 for $399, 3G model for $529In addition to the new third-generation iPad available starting at $499, Apple will continue to sell the iPad 2 in a 16-gigabyte Wi-Fi-only model for $100 less, at $399, while the 3G-capable model is now $529.
In introducing the newly priced iPad 2, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, Phil Schiller, noted that the lower entry cost would allow more schools, students and general users to buy the touchscreen tablet.
First released in 2011, the iPad 2 will continue to be known by that name. But the new third-generation iPad, featuring a Retina Display, faster processor and LTE 4G connectivity, is simply known as "the new iPad."
Leading up to Wednesday's event, rumors suggested Apple would continue to sell the iPad 2 at a discounted price, much like Apple has previously done with its iPhone lineup. But it was expected that the iPad 2 would have a smaller, 8-gigabyte capacity, so the 16-gigabyte size of the $399 iPad 2 is somewhat of a surprise.
Apple will also continue to sell the lowest-capacity 3G-capable iPad 2. It has also seen its price reduced by $100, making it $529.
The new, expanded iPad lineup will start with the iPad 2 at $399, with the 16-gigabyte third-generation iPad starting at $499. The third-generation iPad maxes out at 64 gigabytes for $699, while 4G LTE models carry a $130 premium over the Wi-Fi-only models.
On Topic: iPad
- Winners of the WaterField Designs MacBook bag giveaway announced [Carl J. and Tyler D.]
- Adonit ships new Pixel stylus to compete with Apple Pencil
- IDC: $200-350 Chromebooks shipped 37% more U.S. units in Q1 vs Apple's $1,200 MacBooks
- Deals: iMac 5K for $1,499, 38mm "Apple Watch" for $399 plus free stand, iPad Air for $270
- Apple, Maine Department of Education working to swap 'toy' iPads for MacBooks


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If you thought you started young you may be interested in the latest research showing the age a child starts using the internet unsupervised has slipped from 11 and a half to just four and a half years.
Parents whose youngest child is aged one to six years old said unsupervised internet use started at just four and a half years on average. By contrast, parents whose youngest child is 13 to 17 years old said unsupervised access was allowed from 11 and a half.
In spite of this, more than half (51%) of parents admit they are ‘extremely’ or ‘quite’ worried about what their children are getting up to online. Parents are almost as concerned about the impact internet use is having on their children’s mental health (31%) as on their children’s social skills (36%). Almost a quarter (23%) also fear it’ll impact their physical health as kids prioritise internet surfing over the real thing. Around one in seven (15%) worry their offspring’s digital footprints could one day affect their career prospects with future employers.
More than one in 10 (13%) parents of teenagers aged 13-17 believe their child has ‘overshared’ on social media, while 15% say their kids have used inappropriate language on the likes of Twitter and Facebook. More than one in 10 (13%) of parents of teenagers say their child’s internet use has damaged their social skills.
Although six in 10 (60%) parents claim to have installed controls on their child’s internet-enabled gadgets, there is a lack of confidence in these controls. Almost four in 10 (38%) parents are worried these controls give them a false sense of security and a fifth (20%) of parents with younger children claim their child, aged between one to six years old, has worked out how to get around them!
Of course all this is interesting from the point of view of target markets and potential new products and/or services – particularly from a security point of view by the sounds of it! However we’d like to know how old you were when you started playing with the internet and what you think your parents would say about the impact the internet has had on your lives. What do you think about internet security and has tech stunted your emotional growth at the same time as giving you the freedom to be more creative?!
Let me know your experiences at [email protected]

domain: news


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As a spa trainer and consultant I do a lot of information gathering. Two of my sources are LinkedIn’s Pulse magazine and articles on Twitter. Twitter’s information is in real time, fast moving and can be customized to appeal to specific demographics. It makes me wonder why more C-Suite executives from the hospitality industry aren’t using Twitter to reach a broader audience.
According to Leslie Gaines-Ross of Weber Shandwick, a recent analysis in Harvard Business Review, found that 80% of the chief executive officers of the world’s largest 50 companies are engaged online and on social media.
None of those companies include hotel groups. Indeed when trying to find CEO’s from that sector who tweet, I was able to locate only three; Greg Marcus of Marcus Hotels, Mark Hoplamazian of Hyatt Hotels and of course Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Hotels.
Want to read more? Click here>>>http://huff.to/1IlBUU9
Spa and beauty industry people. You know who you are. You’re always consumed with handling staff or customers or both. Rarely do you have time to peruse the articles on LinkedIn’s Pulse for news that might impact how you conduct business. But as an information junkie, I do. So here in a roundup are excerpts from five articles that I’ve read in the past week which gave me pause. They might do the same for you.Read More


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Careful planning, adequate startup capital and experience working on a traditional rural farm are just three of the elements that veteran urban farmer, and co-founder of Vancouver’s Sole Food Street Farms, Michael Ableman feels are necessary to be successful in the new urban agriculture movement. Founded in 2008, Sole Food Street Farms would be considered by many growers as established and successful, but for Ableman there is still much work to be done both at Street Farms and in the development of the city farm movement.
“The skill level required to be a farmer is not something you get just by wearing the right clothes, having the right tools and having started last year. It takes five to ten years to develop that skill level,” says Ableman. “What we’re trying to do is demonstrate that it is in fact possible to have a credible model of agriculture in the city, so the scale and production levels, the volume we produce, the number of people we employ is significant.”
When Holly and Terry Delaney poked their heads into the kitchen at the Salvation Army where a friend was undergoing a one-year program toward self-sufficiency they were disappointed to see mostly frozen and canned goods being served. When you’re in recovery and trying to get healthy, you should be eating healthy food, they thought.
With the budget constraints of a nonprofit organization in mind, the pair approached local farmers in their community, the Santa Ynez Valley in California’s Central Coast, who agreed to let them glean produce from their fields or pick up food that didn’t sell during farmer’s markets and distribute it to local charities. One by one, new farmers agreed to contribute, and within a year, the Delaneys realized they had a viable nonprofit organization themselves. They registered Veggie Rescue as a 501(c)(3) in 2011.
In cities across America, the female farmer is staking her claim. Whether she is an urban homesteader, farm manager, business founder, community garden leader or maker of a movement, the female city farmer is rising. Role models for what can be done, inspiration for what can be achieved and hope for what comes next, these female growers are planting seeds of change in the urban agriculture movement.
Bed in a bag, soup in a jar, cake in a cup and now ‘farm in a box’? As many urban-ag-ers jump on the shipping container farm bandwagon that’s made inroads across the pro-grow community, some are wondering if the farm in a shipping container idea is really as cost effective and sustainable as it may at first appear. Hydroponics has proven a sustainable and reliable method for growing food in the city. Where concrete fields abound, so do vertical towers. Yet some would argue that a successful hydroponics system needs more than an upcycled shipping container to sustain success.
In states with short growing seasons and tumultuous weather, the idea of an indoor, self-contained growing unit employed to produce consistent and plentiful yields and steady revenue streams seems like the ideal solution for spreading sustainability, growing local and decreasing the impact of long established food deserts.
Nefarious woodchips? Criminalized soil remediation? According to the supporters of urban grower Thomas Jackson of Toledo, OH, the level of police and city council harassment leveled against a local urban grower for having woodchips in his compost on his residential lots went far beyond outdated zoning laws and stepped things up to arrest warrants and legal pressure. All Jackson wanted to do was grow some organic produce in clean soil.
Master Gardener and multi-certified composter Thomas Jackson owns several empty urban lots in downtown Toledo. December of 2015 a complaint was filed against Jackson claiming his odorous compost was attracting vermin and in violation of residential zoning laws. A few years ago, Jackson began breaking down woodchips on the site to create a composted mulch. He wanted a contaminant free bed for his organic vegetable gardens, planning to sell his produce to area restaurants. Yet despite neighborhood support for a radius of five blocks around the site, officials insisted the neighbors were not happy with the state of the lots.


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Iconic actor Antonio Banderas opened Miami Fashion Week’s Master Class on June 1 by acknowledging the elephant in the room.
“This is the question that I have to answer the most: What is Zorro doing in the fashion world?” joked Banderas, who is the honorary president of Miami Fashion Week (MFW) and studied design at London’s prestigious Central Saint Martins.
The three-day class, developed in collaboration with Miami Dade College’s Miami Fashion Institute (MFI), was led by renowned industry experts including Glamour Mexico editor-in-chief Lucy Lara, former Central Saint Martins program director Willie Walters and Ecoalf president and founder Javier Goyeneche. The seminars all revolved around the same theme: how to minimize the human and environmental impact of the fashion industry.
“When I became involved with Miami Fashion Week, I wanted to respect the fashion element, but I also wanted to have a space to highlight what is behind the world of fashion,” Banderas said during his opening remarks at MDC’s Wolfson Campus.
The fashion industry is the planet’s second-largest industrial polluter, surpassed only by oil. Apparel production accounts for 10 percent of the globe’s total carbon emissions and is the second-largest polluter of fresh water. Enormous quantities of water are required for the extensive scouring, dyeing and rinsing that goes into large-scale production, which also utilizes toxic chemicals to make fabrics softer and stain-resistant.
And then there’s the shelf life. In this day and age of mass-produced “fast fashion,” more than 150 billion new garments are manufactured annually. Meanwhile, Americans throw away an estimated 13 million tons of textiles each year, accounting for 9 percent of the nation’s total non-recycled waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Fashion can’t just be about looking good. It has to be about doing what’s right and feeling good about it,” said Goyeneche. His brand Ecoalf, for example, uses recyclable materials such as fishing nets, plastic bottles and post-industrial cotton to create its innovative, high-quality designs.
MFI Chair Asanyah Davidson said the obvious need to reduce the fashion industry’s carbon footprint led to an easy partnership between MFI and MFW in the creation of this year’s master class.
“Sustainability is one of the key focus areas of MFI and also MFW. It was a natural opportunity for collaboration,” she said.
Interested in studying fashion? Check out your options at the Miami Fashion Institute.


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F-Secure SENSE took home the IoT Award at the inaugural Connected Britain Awards, organized by TotalTelecom in London. The secure router solution protects every device on a network and has been available to consumers for almost a year and is now available for gateways provided by Internet service providers through a software development kit (SDK).
“This category was hotly contested with a wide range of entries from a diverse group of companies,” Chris Kelly of TotalTelecom said. “By offering a solution that has made big strides in securing local networks for business and personal use, F-Secure pipped the competition to the post with its SENSE security solution.”
The Connected Britain Awards recognise companies that are helping to revolutionise Britain’s connectivity landscape. Other winners included The City of London, The City of Manchester and Cityverve and the Good Things Foundation.
“We’re proud that industry insiders see that SENSE is the future of IoT security,” said Tom Gaffney, Principal Security Consultant at F-Secure. “And that future is available now.”
While consumers are eager to connect more and more of their homes’ devices and appliances to the Internet, they sense the risks. 68% say they are increasingly worried about the security and privacy of their connected devices.
“There are strong solutions to protect mobile and desktop devices,” Gaffney said, “but the those solutions don’t scale to new connected devices, it needs a new solution to the problem like SENSE.”
Security is only an afterthought for most Internet of Things devices while privacy is almost completely ignored in favored of monetizing data. Despite the risks, the number of connected devices in customers’ homes will continue to explode, but consumers have no idea which devices are sufficiently secured or if they are secured at all.
“You can’t expect the average user to take proactive steps to protect their homes against the threats we all see coming if our solutions aren’t intuitive and simple,” Gaffney said. “Connected home security embedded either into the SENSE router or the Wifi routers provided to customers is solution everyone needs.”
SENSE protects personal devices, including phones, tablets, PCs and Macs that can run security software, as well as IoT devices like smart TVs, gaming consoles, smart locks and smart cameras that can’t.


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Flux, Barclays Team Up for Instant Digital Receipts
While mobile banking, and mobile shopping along with mobile payments, has really opened up a lot of new possibilities in shopping in general, one major issue has often accompanied such efforts: getting a receipt. That may be about to change, though, as Flux and Barclays recently got together for a roughly 10,000-user trial designed to offer instant digital receipts.
The trial will turn to current users of the Barclays Launchpad app, which is Barclays’ primary facility for testing out new potential features with an eye toward bringing these into wider release. Those who join in will be able to see receipts for all transactions in real time, including items like value-added taxes (VAT) delivered directly to the Barclays app.
This allows users to more readily keep track of their finances all from one platform, which improves the chances that more users actually will take the initiative to keep track. If the program works out well, then Barclays will roll out the new option to the roughly five million users of the Barclays Mobile Banking App.
Barclays’ group head of innovation Michael Harte commented “Through the Group Innovation Office and Rise, our open innovation community, we continue to partner with FinTechs to experiment and test new ideas. We are delighted to be trialing Flux technology as part of our ongoing efforts to improve the experience we offer our customers.”
Offering a receipt directly could be a sound idea. Not only would it be a great way to keep track of transactions, but it would also be a practically bulletproof way to spot fraud. Seeing that receipt come in for something you know you didn’t purchase immediately would be an excellent way to tell something is wrong, and could prompt a way to alert authorities in rapid fashion. It’s great for bookkeeping, and probably would be a godsend for small businesses that track expenses, but for fraud prevention it might be the best thing yet.
There’s a lot to like in Flux and Barclays’ new effort. We’ll have to wait to see how it all turns out, but this could be one great new step forward in both mobile banking convenience and security.


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E3 2020 has been cancelled due to health concerns caused by the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus.
“After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry—our fans, our employees, our exhibitors and our longtime E3 partners—we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles,” the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) said in a statement.
But all is not entirely lost. The ESA says it will “coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020.”
Meanwhile, Xbox says it will host “an Xbox digital event” in the wake of E3’s cancellation, with more details forthcoming.


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ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, has become a sensation in the world of AI-powered chatbots. This advanced text-generating AI is capable of writing essays, coding, and much more based on short text prompts, significantly boosting productivity. However, like any powerful tool, it has its share of challenges.
AI technology is here to stay, and its presence has expanded exponentially since ChatGPT’s initial launch a few months ago. Major brands are already experimenting with it, leveraging the AI to generate ad and marketing copy, among other applications.
OpenAI has also been actively investing in the development of ChatGPT. Recently, ChatGPT received a significant upgrade with the integration of GPT-4, OpenAI’s latest language-writing model. Paying ChatGPT users now have access to GPT-4, which is more adept at writing in a natural and fluent manner compared to its predecessor. Moreover, OpenAI has made strides in further enhancing ChatGPT’s capabilities by connecting it to the internet with alpha plugins accessible to users and developers on the waitlist.
Here’s a timeline of the most recent updates and releases related to ChatGPT:
July 20, 2023: OpenAI introduces customized instructions for ChatGPT. Users can now provide specific instructions to ChatGPT to tailor its responses accordingly. For example, a teacher can specify the grade they are teaching, a developer can mention the preferred code language when seeking suggestions, and a person can share their family size to receive relevant responses about meals, groceries, and vacation planning.
July 13, 2023: Reports emerge of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) investigating OpenAI over ChatGPT. The FTC is looking into potential violations, such as making false, misleading, disparaging, or harmful statements about individuals. Such investigations typically arise following a lawsuit or formal complaint that highlights potential regulatory non-compliance.
July 6, 2023: OpenAI announces the general availability of GPT-4. Existing OpenAI developers with a successful payment history gain access to GPT-4 starting July 6. OpenAI plans to expand access to new developers by the end of July. Furthermore, OpenAI intends to allow developers to fine-tune GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 Turbo, another original model powering ChatGPT, with their own data, just like with other text-generating models offered by OpenAI.
June 28, 2023: ChatGPT Plus subscribers gain access to a new feature called Browsing on the ChatGPT app. This feature allows ChatGPT to search the web specifically on Bing to find answers to user queries. Users can enable Browsing by selecting “GPT-4” in the model switcher and choosing “Browse with Bing” from the drop-down list in the app settings. The Browsing feature is available on both the iOS and Android versions of the ChatGPT app.
As ChatGPT continues to evolve, it is expected to shape the future of text generation and communication. However, it also poses challenges related to ethical use and potential misrepresentations, which OpenAI and regulatory bodies will need to address. Nevertheless, the potential for increased productivity and creativity offered by ChatGPT makes it an exciting advancement in the field of artificial intelligence.


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Starting December 1, 2023, Russia plans to ban durum wheat export. However, this embargo does not affect the wheat import to Georgia, as the country buys soft wheat from Russia, the Association of Flour Producers reported.
The association clarified that the ban applies to durum wheat, utilized in pasta production, and does not affect soft wheat used in the bread industry.
“The import and delivery of local wheat by mills in Georgia are proceeding smoothly, and there is a supply of wheat for consumption of over two months in the country. Therefore, food security in Georgia remains fully protected,” the association states.


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KUKA Presents Strong Result for 2022 and Starts Anniversary Year
Financial figures for the KUKA business year 2022
May 11, 2023
- Strong result, strong demand: Record order intake of €4.5 billion (+25%).
- Sales revenues increase significantly to €3.9 billion in 2022 (+19%).EBIT almost doubled to €118.4 million.
- Supply chain delays impact cash flow, geopolitical uncertainties complicate planning.
- Despite uncertain environment, profitable growth also in Q1/2023.
- CEO Peter Mohnen: “KUKA drives automation in new business fields such as SMEs and house building.”
A strong result for KUKA: The Augsburg-based automation group won more orders than ever before in the past financial year: at €4,459.5 million, KUKA achieved the highest order intake in the company’s history, an increase of 25.1% compared to the previous year (2021: €3,565.3 million).
All KUKA divisions contributed to this good result. Demand for KUKA products and solutions was particularly high in China. However, customers in the USA also invested in KUKA systems, especially for the production of e-vehicles. Sales were 18.6% higher than in the previous year (2021: €3,286.2 million). The book-to-bill ratio of 1.14 was above the previous year’s level (2021: 1.08).
It is impossible to imagine industry and business without automation – and it is more in demand than ever, across all industries and countries, – especially because of the COVID crisis and the increasing labor shortage. China in particular is an important growth market for KUKA; we generate about a quarter of the Group’s sales revenues there. This shows that our global orientation is an important success factor for KUKA.Peter Mohnen, CEO KUKA Group
Thanks to efficiency measures and high sales, KUKA improved EBIT significantly by 91.6% (2021: €61.8 million) despite a sharp rise in energy and logistics costs and higher procurement prices. This corresponds to an EBIT margin of 3.0% (2021: 1.9%). Constraints in the supply chain led to higher inventories with more stocks of components and raw materials, but also to delays in delivery and payment. This strongly impacted the free cash flow which amounted to € -188.3 million in 2022.
High prices and strained supply chains: Challenges in 2023
In the first three months of the current financial year, KUKA again exceeded the results of the same period last year in all divisions. “Even though high prices, a strained supply chain and fierce competition will continue to accompany us in 2023, we have started the new financial year with a very good first quarter. We owe this to the committed KUKA employees worldwide,” says Peter Mohnen.
The world is changing, and new technologies and automation solutions are providing answers to pressing questions in our society. How can affordable housing be created? How can small and medium-sized businesses remain competitive even with fewer skilled workers? And how can industry produce more resource-efficiently and sustainably?
“With KUKA and our innovations, we are part of the solution to many pressing issues. That brings with it a big responsibility,” says Group CEO Mohnen.KUKA CEO Peter Mohnen
This year, KUKA is celebrating its anniversary: in 1898, Johann Josef Keller and Jakob Knappich founded an acetylene gas plant in Augsburg, laying the foundation for an international technology group. Together with its employees worldwide, KUKA is celebrating its 125th birthday with various events. A ceremony with guests from politics and business will take place in July. On the occasion of the anniversary, a book about the KUKA history will also be published. All information on the anniversary can be found here.
The KUKA Annual Report 2022 with all figures can be found here.
Keep On Moving: KUKA Celebrates 125th Birthday
Keep on moving. In 1898, Johann Joseph Keller and Jakob Knappich founded an acetylene gas plant for street lighting, laying the foundation for an international technology group. 125 years later, KUKA is helping to shape the working world of the future worldwide – and is celebrating a special anniversary with customers, partners, and employees.


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Devil May Cry 5 is among the worst kept secrets of E3 2018. A couple of days ago, Austrian video game vendor Gamesware posted a pre-order listing of this title. And today, a new domain was discovered that was registered from the company that is responsible for Capcom’s titles.
The domain for Devil May Cry 5 was registered on May 18th by GMO Internet. GMO Internet is a legitimate internet provider company in Japan and was the one that registered both Monster Hunter World and Resident Evil 7.
In other words, this isn’t a domain that was registered by an individual (or someone to prank people). This appears to be the real deal.
E3 2018 is just around the corner and our guess is that Capcom will reveal this new Devil May Cry game during this event. Furthermore, we expect this new DmC game to hit the PC (especially since the HD Collection also came to our platform).
Stay tuned for more!


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What to Do If You Have Been Affected by an Optus Cyberattack
This Australian Federal Police have launched a “complex criminal investigation” after a massive hacking attack against Optus that compromised millions of customers. A statement said that today the AFP received a referral from Optus about an alleged mass data breach. To conduct this complex criminal investigation, the AFP will work with Optus to obtain critical information and evidence necessary. The AFP’s specialist cyber command will work closely with several agencies. This includes the Australian Signals Directorate as well. AFP urges all Australians to tighten their online security. This will help them to prevent falling victim to scams and malware. When the passport and driver’s license numbers were revealed to be among the data stolen in a massive hacking incident, then the news came.
Optus customers who may have had their data stolen were urged to do the following things:
- Beware of potential scam calls
- Consider password strengthening and other online security measures
- In the coming days, look out for more information from Optus
On Friday, in a conference call with reporters, Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer-Rosmarin apologized for the cyber intrusion and told: “it should not have happened”. She also said that she is very disappointed that they could not prevent it and it underpins all the great work they do to be pioneers in the industry, challengers, and create new and beautiful experiences for their customers. For all of this, she is so sorry.
Ms. Bayer-Rosmarin acknowledged that cyber breaches can have far-reaching consequences for both personal and small business customers. In an “absolute worst case scenario” 9.8 million customers were affected. But, Ms. Bayer-Rosmarin warned that the authorities were still investigating the breach and also the full impact was unknown.
The unconfirmed screen-grab from a dark web hacker forum indicates that the cybercriminals claim to have accessed 1 million Optus phone numbers. Ms. Baier-Rosmarin urged consumers to be on the lookout for suspicious communications in the near future. She thinks that the hackers can access stolen data and will be using it to make scam calls. She said that the passwords and financial details were not compromised. But, other sensitive information was stolen.
Brett Callow who is a threat analyst with the cyber security firm Emsisoft told that all companies should do what they can to minimize the collection of personal data. He also told that it is good practice for companies to collect only the information they absolutely need to collect and retain it for further use.
In the coming days, the customers who have been affected by this cyberattack will be contacted by Optus.


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The former home of Giant will soon welcome another grocer.
Permit documents suggest Whole Foods Market plans to open at 6426 Springfield Plaza, a county spokesperson told FFXnow in a statement, supporting rumors circulating among local residents and employees in the shopping center.
Extensive construction on the site — which was home to Giant before it was renovated and moved to a larger space in the plaza — is currently underway.
But it’s still unclear what’s in store for the Whole Foods Market in Old Keene Mill Shopping Center in Springfield.
Whole Foods declined multiple requests for comment from FFXnow on its plans for Springfield, including whether or not the current location plans to relocate.
A company spokesperson simply noted that a location in Springfield is “in development.”
Based on plaza leasing materials, the new location has a significantly larger footprint.
Representatives for Rappaport, a commercial real estate management company of the plaza, repeatedly declined comment.
Lee District Supervisor Rodney Lusk’s office, which represents the area, told FFXnow that it had not been “directly informed by the Springfield Plaza owners or managers as to what the new tenant located at 6426 Springfield Plaza will be.”
However, the office says it obtained publicly available documents related to a permit for renovations on the site. The permit is listed in the county’s FIDO database for a “future tenant.”
“Upon a request to Land Development Services (LDS) from the Supervisor’s office, we were able to discern from the application documents of permit # 220400083 that the name ‘Whole Foods’ would be the name placed upon the new frontage of the building,” Lusk’s office said by email.
Fatimah Waseem, Angela Woolsey and Brandi Bottalico contributed to this report.
The weekend is almost here. Before you try to process the end of the Roe v. Wade era or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit the past…
Neighbors are frustrated by a lack of safety improvements in recent years in Oakton’s Blake Lane corridor, where a driver struck three pedestrians, killing two, earlier this month. At a…
Fairfax County has a plan to fix the Balls Hill Road and Old Dominion Drive intersection, but it will likely take another half-decade for the changes to fall into place….
A new Chinese restaurant is opening soon at Lake Anne Plaza. Big Wonton, a Chinese restaurant that already has another delivery concept in Reston, will take up space at 14438…


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NEW YORK (November 6, 2012)--Superstorm Sandy knocked off nearly $4 billion of retail sales last week in the hard-hit Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region, nearly 20 percent of the usual total, MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse said Tuesday.
The service said the region, which accounts for about 24 percent of retail sales nationwide, typically generates $18.7 billion in sales for the week ended Saturday, but revenue came in at about $15 billion.
The figures exclude auto sales.
MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse tracks spending across all forms of payment including cash.
Superstorm Sandy slammed into the Northeast on Oct. 29, disrupting business activity up and down the Eastern Seaboard and causing stores to close due to power outages, flooding and other problems.
Meanwhile, many shoppers stayed close to home because of the weather and gas shortages.
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or email@example.com.


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6/18/2009 10:24:00 AM
Vodafone and Orange to allow customers to use mobiles on aeroplanes
Vodafone and Orange have agreed to open their networks to allow customers to use mobile phones on aeroplanes, according to reports.
The operators had previously refused permission to OnAir, the company that provides mobile services to carriers such as Ryanair, because of fears of the affect of high charges on consumers, according to The Times.
The newspaper reported that the operators will now join O2 and T-Mobile in allowing customers to use the OnAir system ‘within weeks’.
Calls from aeroplanes cost £2.50 per minute and networks feared that their customers could suffer from ‘bill shock’ from the high costs.
However, Vodafone has denied the move. A spokeswoman said: 'We are always interested to explore different ways of offering our customers the opportunity to use mobile services where ever they are', but added: 'There is currently no agreement between Vodafone and OnAir. '


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GoPro’s (GPRO) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James Financial Inc.
GoPro Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRO)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by analysts at Raymond James Financial Inc. in a research note issued on Friday.
A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on GPRO. Wedbush lifted their target price on GoPro from $14.50 to $17.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 20th. Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of GoPro in a report on Monday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of GoPro in a report on Thursday, September 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of GoPro in a report on Friday, June 17th. Finally, Piper Jaffray Cos. set a $9.00 target price on GoPro and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.89.
GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) opened at 13.60 on Friday. The company’s market cap is $1.90 billion. GoPro has a one year low of $8.62 and a one year high of $31.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $15.11 and a 200-day moving average of $12.63.
This story is the sole property of American Banking News and it was originally published by American Banking News. If you are reading this story on another website, that means this article was illegally copied and re-published to this website in violation of U.S. and International copyright law. The original version of this article is available at https://www.americanbankingnews.com/2016/10/17/gopros-gpro-outperform-rating-reiterated-at-raymond-james-financial-inc-2.html
GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 27th. The company reported ($0.52) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of ($0.58) by $0.06. GoPro had a negative return on equity of 27.52% and a negative net margin of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $220.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $194.37 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 47.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that GoPro will post ($1.07) EPS for the current fiscal year.
In related news, Director Edward A. Gilhuly sold 700,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.12, for a total transaction of $10,584,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Anthony John Bates sold 9,704 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $14.16, for a total value of $137,408.64. Following the transaction, the president now owns 398,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,637,619.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 28.69% of the company’s stock.
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GPRO. Allegis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in GoPro by 1.8% in the second quarter. Allegis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 23,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. National Planning Corp increased its position in GoPro by 3.8% in the second quarter. National Planning Corp now owns 12,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in GoPro by 4.6% in the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 11,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Suntrust Banks Inc. increased its position in GoPro by 4.4% in the second quarter. Suntrust Banks Inc. now owns 16,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in GoPro by 10.0% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.46% of the company’s stock.
GoPro Company Profile
GoPro, Inc produces mountable and wearable cameras (capture devices) and accessories. The Company’s products are sold globally through retailers, wholesale distributors and on its Website. It enables people to capture compelling, immersive photo and video content of themselves in their day to day life, as well as participating in their favorite activities.
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A few months ago Dara Khosrowshahi replaced Travis Kalanick as Uber CEO. In a chat with Publicis Groupe supervisory board chairman Maurice Lévy during VivaTech today Khosrowshahi said he is striving to grow the company “responsibly.” His mission, above all, he said is to achieve growth “in a way that benefits all constituents.”
For one, Uber is reinvigorating its talent and culture after last year's widely-reported turmoil. He also isn't going it alone, and is hiring a new management team to help him run the company.
Uber crowdsourced the ride-sharing platform's new set of values from its workforce, Khosrowshahi said, taking those ideas to help reframe the company culture going forward. In a nutshell, he added, "We do the right thing period."
In addition to its own team members, there are three million driver partners that are benefiting from Uber's newfound sense of “doing the right thing.”
Uber's new guiding principle of profits with purpose is something Khosrowshahi said he brought from his previous Expedia role. "Growth but responsible growth," he says, adding this is why Uber is bringing insurance benefits to its operations across Europe. He also promises that one day Uber will be profitable.
Uber has changed its governance to ensure the board becomes "united again" and "not thinking about who is in control," he says. Uber's corporate strategy also is no longer just about cars but "however you get around in a city" including electric bikes and "hopefully, one day, flying cars."
There are three pieces of advice Khosrowshahi likes to give new college graduates, he told Levy. First, he tells them to look to work with people they like and can learn from. Second, he recommends people go to a company where they can individually make a difference.
Suggestion number three: Think larger by going to a place where people can make a difference in the world. In other words, everything Uber was not about five months ago.


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Zothecula writes: Most people would probably agree that air travel still has plenty of room for improvement, particularly when it comes to actually checking in and getting on the plane. For its part, British Airways is now taking steps to speed up the whole process on its end and is even testing a digital alternative to the traditional paper luggage tag. The airline recently produced an electronic luggage tag that travelers can update themselves with a smartphone and re-use over and over. Link to Original Source
[Crash programs] fail because they are based on the theory that, with nine
women pregnant, you can get a baby a month.
-- Wernher von Braun


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The IKEA furniture store at Potomac Mills, whose original location was among the first to open in North America, marks its 35th anniversary on Nov. 15.
The original Potomac Mills IKEA, part of the Woodbridge, Virginia, mall itself, opened in 1986.
In 2001, that store closed and was replaced by a free-standing IKEA store nearby that is twice the size of the original Potomac Mills store.
The first U.S. IKEA store opened in 1985 outside of Philadelphia. There are now 52 IKEA stores in the U.S. and 389 stores total in 32 countries.
Its other stores in Maryland include College Park and White Marsh Mall.
To mark the 35th anniversary at Potomac Mills, IKEA will hold a weeklong birthday party with special offers, activities and giveaways.
IKEA, which stands for Ingvar Kamprad from Elmtaryd Agunnaryd (the founder’s name, the name of his family farm, and its local parish) was founded in 1943, though its first permanent showrooms didn’t open until the mid-1950s.
Its flagship IKEA store — a huge, round, multistory building outside of Stockholm inspired by the Guggenheim museum in New York — opened in 1965.
IKEA has long been known for its sleek furniture that often requires frustrating assembly, though there are independent assembly services that have emerged in recent years.
IKEA has also long been known for its Bible-sized catalog, but the 2021 catalog, released last October, was the last it will publish. At its peak in 2016, IKEA printed 200 million copies in 32 languages.
This year, IKEA also launched a furniture buyback program, purchasing gently used IKEA furniture in exchange for store credits. It is resold in an as-is section of stores.


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An anonymous reader quotes a post from The Register: US agricultural machinery giant John Deere has estimated that software fees will account for 10 percent of the company’s revenue by the end of the decade. Chief Executive John May offered the prediction in a Wall Street Journal report on how Deere has invested billions in developing self-driving tractors and sprayers that can distinguish weeds from crops. While farmers are already struggling with operating costs, including fertilizer and fuel, Deere wants to sell subscription software to drive its increasingly intelligent vehicles.
Bernstein analysts estimate that the average gross margin for agricultural software is 85 percent, compared with 25 percent for hardware sales. All Deere tractors and combines come with autopilot as standard after decades of farmers transitioning to more technological farming. However, the company now plans to have 1.5 million machines and half a billion acres of land connected to the John Deere operations center within a few years. This cloud-based service “will collect and store crop data, including millions of images of weeds that can be sprayed with herbicide.” Last year, Deere also acquired California startup Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million to turn old tractors into autonomous vehicles using software. For a company that has cornered the heavy equipment market, the move is unlikely to be popular with farmers. The report goes on to note that a number of farm advocacy and repair organizations have filed complaints with the FTC, “alleging that Deere unlawfully refused to provide software and technical data necessary to repair its machinery, in violation of the Sherman Act and laws covering unfair and deceptive practices.” trade practice”.


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Mr. Sean Morrison reports
DIVERSIFIED ROYALTY CORP. ANNOUNCES PRELIMINARY Q4 2021 RESULTS FOR ITS ROYALTY PARTNERS
Diversified Royalty Corp. has released the preliminary results for its royalty partners for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2021 (Q4 2021).
Mr. Lube fourth quarter results
Mr. Lube Canada LP generated same-store sales growth (SSSG) of 20.7 per cent for the Mr. Lube stores in the royalty pool for Q4 2021, compared with SSSG of 1.1 per cent for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020 (Q4 2020). Mr. Lube generated SSSG of 15.8 per cent for the Mr. Lube stores in the royalty pool for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2021, compared with SSSG of minus 4.4 per cent for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2020. Mr. Lube generated SSSG of 21.5 per cent and 10.4 per cent for the Mr. Lube stores in the royalty pool for the three months and year ended Dec. 31, 2021, respectively, compared with the same periods in 2019. As government restrictions put in place to fight the COVID-19 pandemic relaxed in 2021 compared with 2020 and Canadians drove more, Mr. Lube experienced favourable trends in its business.
Diversified Royalty expects to report that aggregate royalty income and management fees of $5.8-million were generated from Mr. Lube in Q4 2021, an increase of 38 per cent compared with Q4 2020. The increase in royalty income and management fees was primarily due to the increase in SSSG for Q4 2021, the addition of 13 new stores to the Mr. Lube royalty pool and the 0.5-per-cent increase to the Mr. Lube royalty rate on May 1, 2021.
SSSG is a non-IFRS (international financial reporting standards) measure.
Air Miles fourth quarter results
Loyalty Ventures Inc., the parent company of LoyaltyOne Co., issued a news release earlier today regarding the Q4 2021 and year ended Dec. 31, 2021, performance of the Air Miles reward program, announcing that: (i) Air Miles reward miles issued decreased by 6.7 per cent in Q4 2021 and 5.9 per cent for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, due to the non-renewal of two sponsors and their exit from the program in the first quarter of 2021; (ii) Air Miles reward miles redeemed increased by 27.8 per cent in Q4 2021 and 12.1 per cent for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, reflecting continued strength in the merchandise category and positive momentum early in the quarter for travel bookings, before the emergence of the Omicron variant in November, 2021.
Diversified Royalty expects to report that royalty income of $1.8-million was generated from the Air Miles licences in Q4 2021, a decrease of $200,000 (8.7 per cent) compared with Q4 2020. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, Diversified Royalty expects to report royalty income of $6.6-million, a decrease of $500,000 (6.5 per cent) compared with the year ended Dec. 31, 2020. Diversified Royalty's royalty payment is derived from several Air Miles metrics, with Air Miles reward miles issued being the primary metric, and other metrics including Air Miles reward miles redeemed, service revenue, commissions and promotional items, all of which affect quarterly variability.
Sutton fourth quarter results
Diversified Royalty expects to report royalty income and management fees of $1.1-million were generated from Sutton Group Realty Services Ltd. in Q4 2021, compared with $1.0-million in Q4 2020. Since June, 2020, Diversified Royalty has been collecting 100 per cent of the fixed royalty and management fee payments from Sutton. The fixed royalty payable by Sutton increases at a rate of 2.0 per cent per year, with the most recent increase effective July 1, 2021.
Oxford Learning Centres fourth quarter results
Diversified Royalty expects to report that royalty income and management fees of $1.0-million were generated from Oxford Learning Centres Inc. in Q4 2021, compared with $900,000 in Q4 2020.
Oxford locations in the Oxford royalty pool generated SSSG (on a constant-currency basis) of 14.0 per cent in Q4 2021, compared with SSSG of minus 23 per cent in Q4 2020. Oxford's SSSG for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, was 9.5 per cent, compared with minus 26 per cent for the period from Feb. 20, 2020, the acquisition date of the Oxford rights, to Dec. 31, 2020. Oxford locations in the Oxford royalty pool generated SSSG (on a constant-currency basis) of minus 11.7 per cent and minus 13.4 per cent for the three months and year ended Dec. 31, 2021, compared with the same periods in 2019 (on a pro forma basis, had the Oxford transaction closed on Jan. 1, 2019). In 2020, Oxford's SSSG was negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the temporary suspension of in-centre services at a majority of its locations predominantly in Ontario, its largest market. In 2021, government-mandated COVID-19 restrictions began to relax and Oxford saw a transition back to in-person tutoring for many locations. However continuing capacity constraints, predominantly in Ontario, continue to limit in-person services.
Mr. Mikes fourth quarter results
The majority of Mr. Mikes Restaurants Corp. restaurants have been open for in-restaurant dining at a reduced capacity since mid-June, 2021. Over all, SSSG in Q4 2021 for the Mr. Mikes restaurants in the royalty pool, including stores that were temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was 9.3 per cent, compared with Q4 2020, and minus 26.4 per cent, compared with Q4 2019. SSSG for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, for the Mr. Mikes restaurants in the royalty pool was 6.2 per cent, compared with the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, and minus 28.4 per cent, compared with the year ended Dec. 31, 2019.
Diversified Royalty expects to report that royalty income and management fees of $1.0-million were generated from Mr. Mikes in Q4 2021, compared with $800,000 in Q4 2020. Diversified Royalty granted royalty and management fee relief to Mr. Mikes in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, collecting 81 per cent of the contractual royalty amount for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, and 46 per cent for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020. The management team at Mr. Mikes continues to expect a protracted recovery.
Diversified Royalty is in discussions with Mr. Mikes and its lender regarding additional royalty and management fee relief for Mr. Mikes, which Diversified Royalty expects may be required until such time as all government restrictions impacting the operation of Mr. Mikes restaurants are lifted and the business stabilizes.
Nurse Next Door fourth quarter results
Diversified Royalty expects to report that the royalty entitlement to Diversified Royalty from Nurse Next Door Professional Homecare Services Inc. was $1.2-million in Q4 2021. The royalty entitlement from Nurse Next Door grows at a fixed rate of 2.0 per cent per annum during the term of the licence, with the most recent increase effective Oct. 1, 2021. During the year ended Dec. 31, 2021, Nurse Next Door signed 113 (2020 -- 28) new franchises primarily in major metropolitan markets (34 in Canada, 60 in the United States and 19 in Australia). Nurse Next Door continues to make its fixed royalty payment to Diversified Royalty in full, which Diversified Royalty expects will continue.
The royalty entitlement is a non-IFRS measure.
Fourth quarter commentary
Sean Morrison, president and chief executive officer of Diversified Royalty, stated: "Over all, we are happy with the performance of our royalty partners as they work their way through the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. As with any portfolio, there is variability of financial performance within the group. Fortunately for DIV, our largest royalty partner, Mr. Lube, is thriving, having reported 20.7-per-cent SSSG for the fourth quarter without customer traffic having recovered to pre-COVID levels. Our other variable royalty partners, Air Miles and Oxford Learning, continue to be challenged by the impacts of COVID-19, however, we believe Oxford is poised for a strong recovery when COVID-19 related restrictions, primarily in Ontario, are loosened. With respect to our fixed royalty partners, Sutton and Nurse Next Door's businesses continue to support their fixed growth royalties, while Mr. Mike's business, which had previously returned to virtually pre-COVID levels in the summer, has been negatively impacted by ongoing capacity and other COVID-19 restrictions, such as vaccine passport mandates, and therefore will continue to require royalty relief."
About Diversified Royalty Corp.
Diversified Royalty is a multiroyalty corporation, engaged in the business of acquiring top-line royalties from well-managed multilocation businesses and franchisors in North America. Diversified Royalty's objective is to acquire predictable, growing royalty streams from a diverse group of multilocation businesses and franchisors.
Diversified Royalty currently owns the Mr. Lube, Air Miles, Sutton, Mr. Mikes, Nurse Next Door and Oxford Learning Centres trademarks. Mr. Lube is the leading quick-lube service business in Canada, with locations across Canada. Air Miles is Canada's largest coalition loyalty program with approximately two-thirds of Canadian households actively participating in the Air Miles program. Sutton is among the leading residential real estate brokerage franchisor businesses in Canada. Mr. Mikes currently operates casual steakhouse restaurants, primarily in Western Canadian communities. Nurse Next Door is one of North America's fastest-growing home care providers with locations across Canada and the United States, as well as in Australia. Oxford Learning Centres is one of Canada's leading franchised supplemental education services in Canada and the U.S.
Diversified Royalty intends to increase cash flow per share by making accretive royalty purchases and through the growth of purchased royalties. Diversified Royalty expects to pay a predictable and stable dividend to shareholders and increase the dividend as cash-flow-per-share increases allow.
We seek Safe Harbor.
© 2023 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.


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Men's Wearhouse profit up in Q2; raises full-year guidance
Houston -- The Men's Wearhouse Inc. reported Wednesday that net income for the quarter ended July 28 rose to $59.4 million, from $57.1 million in the year-ago period.
Sales edged up 1% to $662.3 million, narrowly missing Wall Street’s expected $662.9 million in revenue. Same-store sales grew 4.4% at namesake stores, but fell 3.3% at K&G stores.
The company has raised its guidance for full-year 2012.


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A Detroit man is looking forward to a vacation and a “big bowl of fruit” after winning $300,000 playing the Michigan Lottery’s Bingo Blockbuster game.
Jamaar Fields, 45, bought his winning ticket at Fenkell Express, located at 19850 Fenkell Street in Detroit.
“I don’t usually play Bingo games, so when I scratched the ticket off and I just couldn’t understand what I was seeing,” said Fields. “I took the ticket up to the store and they scanned it and told me to call the Lottery. That’s when I knew I had won a good size prize.
“I called my niece, and she came over to look at the ticket. When she told me how much I had won, I couldn’t believe my ears. Having $300,000 all at once is a very surreal feeling. I’m a very humble person, so sitting here to claim this much money is unbelievable to me.”
The player recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. With his winnings, he plans to invest in his business and then take a vacation.
“Once everything settles down, I’m taking a vacation to sit on the beach and eat a big bowl of fruit,” Fields said.
Players have won more than $20.5 million playing Bingo Blockbuster which launched in June 2022. Each $5 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $5 up to $300,000. More than $5 million in prizes remain, including one $10,000 prize, six $2,000 prizes, and 16 $1,000 prizes.
Lottery instant games may be purchased at any of the 10,500 retailers across the state.


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Bitcoin changed among gains and misfortunes Thursday, as the world’s biggest digital currency attempted to recuperate from a significant auction during the past meeting.
The computerized cash at first climbed Thursday morning, exchanging as high as $40,700 at a certain point, prior to descending as low as $38,965, as indicated by information from Coin Metrics. It was last up 2.6% at a cost of $39,980.
A portion of bitcoin’s more youthful options additionally endeavored a rebound Thursday, with ether up 2.2% at $2,676 and litecoin rising 3% to $209.
It comes after a fierce dive for digital money markets. On Wednesday, bitcoin plunged 30% to almost $30,000 at a certain point, prior to paring a portion of those misfortunes later in the meeting. The whole crypto market lost many billions of dollars of significant worth in a solitary day.
The move lower was likely determined by inconsistent messages from Tesla CEO Elon Musk — who came out as an adherent to bitcoin recently — and an administrative clampdown available in China.
On May 12, Musk said his electric vehicle firm had suspended vehicle buys with bitcoin because of natural worries over the digital currency. Bitcoin utilizes more energy than whole nations like Argentina and Ukraine, as indicated by Cambridge University analysts. This is expected the energy-serious “mining” measure which delivers new bitcoins into flow.


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Bestpass, a company that provides single-source payment and streamlined toll management services to commercial fleets, recently hired William Decaire (pictured above right) as general counsel.
Prior to joining the Albany, N.Y.-based company, Decaire practiced law for more than 17 years as an attorney with Carter Conboy, for which he served as outside general counsel for several Capital Region companies, including Bestpass.
East Coast Warehouse & Distribution, a temperature-controlled logistics provider to the food and beverage industry, has named Joe Rosiek and Michael Colucci directors of business development and Michael Rosenweig senior director of warehouse operations.
Rosiek will be based in Philadelphia; Colucci and Rosenweig will be based at the company headquarters in Elizabeth, N.J.
Colucci joined East Coast Warehouse in October as manager of customer experience. Prior to joining the company, he worked for Heineken USA as a logistics manager.
Rosensweig joins East Coast Warehouse from Gill Apparel Group, for which he served as 3PL manager. Prior to that, he was the general manager of Port Logistics Group.
The Global Cold Chain Alliance (GCCA) has promoted Megan Costello to chief operating officer and Catharine Perry to vice president of member programs and services.
While both have been operating in their new roles since January, GCCA President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch made an official announcement during the recent IARW-WFLO Convention in Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.
Perry has worked for GCCA since 2012. She has worked for associations for the last 11 years, including the Animal Agriculture Alliance and the National FFA Organization.
The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) announced that Emir Pineda (pictured above left), trade and logistics manager for the marketing division of the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, has been elected to its board.
Pineda interned at Miami International Airport in 1988 before embarking on a career that has included senior business development roles for cargo trade at both Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Air France/KLM Martinair Cargo.
He also served as the commercial route development manager for Cargolux, responsible for sales and operations throughout Latin America.


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- 2020 vintage for Northwest tracks dry, warm but not hot
- 5 Idaho wineries to pour at drive-in theater
- VineLines Dispatch updates moves in Woodinville Wine Country
- VineLines Dispatch updates Walla Walla Valley openings
- Wild Goose Vineyards in British Columbia tops Cascadia wine judging again
- Southern Oregon starts June ahead of historically hot 2015 vintage
- Columbia Valley growers, winemaker look back on Mount St. Helens
- Salty fries and old Spätlese; the ’99 Bottles’ that made Andre Mack a somm
- Oregon wineries woo sports broadcaster Tony Kornheiser
- Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance moves Celebrate to 2021
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The State of Media & Entertainment Video 2015
Hedging their bets against such a future, major companies snapped up MCNs (multichannel networks) in 2014. AT&T and the Chernin Group bought a controlling interest in Fullscreen, Disney acquired Maker Studios, and AwesomenessTV (which had been acquired by DreamWorks) acquired Big Frame. That led to new ventures, with online personalities expanding into movie and merchandizing projects. It seems that YouTube is a talent pool for bigger studios to tap into. That probably won’t change in 2015.
Finally, 2014 ended with a bold streaming entertainment experiment, although not one that anyone had planned. Sony Pictures was forced to pull its Kim Jong-un assassination comedy The Interview from theaters in the face of terrorist threats, but then reversed itself and released the movie in 300 independent theaters and online. Debuting on Christmas Day, the movie took in more than $15 million online in its first 4 days. Standing up to a dictator was clearly good businesses, and viewing the movie became a patriotic gesture. But will The Interview’s success lead to more mainstream day-and-date online movie releases in 2015?
2014 ended with a bold streaming experiment, though not one that anyone had planned. Sony Pictures’ The Interview took in $15 million online in its first 4 days after it was released on the same day it hit theaters.
What to Expect in Media and Entertainment in 2015
Streaming Media needed a little help gazing into the crystal ball and predicting what will happen in media and entertainment in 2015, so we called on two of the industry’s best analysts: James McQuivey, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, and Greg Ireland, research manager at IDC.
The big topic as we move into 2015 is 4K video, so let’s start there.
Streaming has a lock on 4K video, for the time being, Ireland notes. While the high bandwidth requirements might look like a deterrent, he doesn’t see it that way. The power users who will want to be first in line for 4K already have strong bandwidth to the home. Still, don’t expect too much from 4K this year.
“I see 2015 as another transition year where more equipment will be purchased by consumers,” Ireland says. “More content will ramp up. Streaming services will lead the way in terms of distribution. The ecosystem as a whole I think will wrestle with transitioning all the way from production through distribution and monetization and carriage, trying to figure out is there a distinct business model associated with 4K or is this just something that consumers are eventually going to expect, and better to start this transition as soon as possible than be caught behind.”
The push to 4K was never driven by consumer demand, McQuivey points out. Viewers put a premium on access, he notes, and want to get the content of their choice on the screen of their choice. If the content isn’t 4K, or even HD, that’s not a problem. So whatever happens with 4K in 2015 won’t happen because viewers are clamoring for it.
Where we really need a crystal ball is for those over-the-top (OTT) streaming bundles that will soon crop up. In addition to Sling TV, Sony will offer an OTT-only bundle in 2015. Will they kill cable? Spur cord cutting? Or even be cheaper than existing pay TV options?
Content is crucial to viewers, McQuivey believes, and content is where he sees these services failing. “We won’t see it succeed in 2015,” McQuivey says. “The smattering of content is going to make it so that these online MVNOs or MVPDs—pick whichever slightly inappropriate term you want to use—every single one of them that will arise will be hampered by lack of access to really great content. People will look at it and say, ‘Well I get these 30 channels but not these.’”
On the other hand, Ireland sees price as being the sticking point. While the Sony bundle might have all the channels people want, it also has to be priced competitively to be an attractive option. If it’s missing key channels or costs too much, it won’t find many takers. Dish’s lower-priced option might have a better chance at success.
“I think the skinnier services—such as what we’ve heard about from Dish—have a much better opportunity in the near term in that they’ll be lower priced, targeting specifically folks who are already not pay TV subscribers that may be itching to get traditional programming that’s associated with pay TV distribution that typically wouldn’t be available over-the-top,” Ireland says.
The number of U.S. households that aren’t pay TV subscribers is growing by more than 1.5 million each year, Ireland adds. That’s an incentive to broadcasters to create their own OTT offerings, such as HBO and CBS are doing. While they have to be careful not to disrupt their traditional distribution channels—and the advertising revenues that come with them—they want to reach those cord-cutter or cord-never households.
“I think all programmers should be and will be considering this strategy,” Ireland says. “As we head into 2015, I wouldn’t call it a tipping point, but we’re at this interesting place in the market.”
Mobile viewing grew at a fast rate in 2014, and that will certainly continue. But as it does we’re all going to run into an issue that doesn’t yet have a solution: data caps. Solving that will be a prime challenge for 2015.
“I think many in this industry view mobile consumption as a big game changer,” McQuivey says. “It can increase the amount of time we’re engaged with video content. It can increase the number of places in which we can be engaged with video content, but there needs to be a solution then to that connectivity piece, perhaps increased deployment of Wi-Fi on the part of our broadband service providers.”
The biggest player in streaming entertainment is, of course, Netflix. It picked up several international markets in 2014, and McQuivey doesn’t see it getting any serious competition in 2015. While he praises Netflix’s rollout strategy, he thinks that the cost of creating premium original content will eventually bring Netflix down. While Netflix is currently able to cherry-pick the best-produced content for its originals, he says, eventually those costs will mount, Netflix will create lower-budget content, and quality will suffer.
“2015 is not the year that Netflix has to pay any of these pipers, but after 2015 these mounting costs will start to feel very, very heavy and I think create another opportunity for Netflix to be an acquisition target, which it hasn’t been for a while because of its high stock for the last several years,” McQuivey says. “Beyond 2015, the economics of being Netflix will bring the stock price down and start to make it the acquisition target that many people have expected all along it would become.”
Finally, what will happen with TV Everywhere in 2015? Due to complications in getting rights, and getting subscribers to authenticate their connections, TVE has been a slow starter. Will 2015 be its year?
McQuivey believes viewers will see a shift in TVE in the near future. At the moment, cable or satellite companies try to get subscribers to use their apps to access TVE content. Soon, the individual broadcasters will try to get people using their apps instead. That way, they can collect valuable viewing data.
“They need that data,” McQuivey says. “They need to start having a direct relationship with the customer. They’re going to start pushing viewers to their own apps, recognizing that that’s a kind of audience fragmentation and it will be hard to do for many of those brands. If they are able to get you to log into their apps so they can see your data, it will be tremendously valuable for them in making decisions going forward.”
Going forward is what this is all about. Check back next year to see if real life meets or—hopefully—exceeds our analysts’ expectations.
[This article appears in the 2015 Streaming Media Industry Sourcebook.]
Viewers opened their wallets to skinny bundles and SVOD services last year, and there's more where that came from.
Now that the skinny bundle is finally here, what's next? Look for more bundles, more niche OTT offerings, and lots more VR in the year ahead (but—sadly—no a la carte plans).
All eyes are on Netflix, but it's facing more competition than ever. The OTT space is booming as new niche offerings appear on a weekly basis.
Broadcast is moving to an IP-first, software-defined video infrastructure, and in the process reducing costs and creating new editorial opportunities.


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In an astounding display of innovation and determination, a descendant of the renowned inventor Nikola Tesla is nearing the completion of a groundbreaking project in Mauritius – the world’s first Tesla Cascading Power Plant. After nine years of meticulous research and development, Tomislav, the great-great nephew of Nikola Tesla, has harnessed his ancestor’s visionary ideas to revolutionize the field of renewable energy.
Tomislav’s Tesla Cascading Hydro Power Plant is based on a unique run-of-river design that does not require any land-based components. Instead, the facility harnesses the natural power of flowing water to generate clean and sustainable energy. This innovative turbine system can also be easily implemented in multiple locations on the same river, making it an ideal solution for energy-hungry communities along rivers.
Unraveling the Tesla Legacy:
Nikola Tesla, the unsung hero of electricity, has long inspired countless inventors and revolutionaries around the world. His ideas and experiments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries laid the groundwork for many of the technologies we rely on today. Now, Tomislav is unlocking the full potential of his ancestor’s legacy by creating an innovative turbine system that promises to transform the global energy landscape.
The Tesla Cascading Hydro Power Plant:
Tomislav’s Tesla Cascading Hydro Power Plant is a one-of-a-kind venture that combines the power of water and Nikola Tesla’s groundbreaking turbine technology. By ingeniously harnessing the force of falling water, the power plant aims to generate clean and sustainable energy on an unprecedented scale. This ambitious project strives to redefine the way we harness renewable energy while paying homage to Nikola Tesla’s groundbreaking contributions.
The Journey of Tomislav Tesla:
Tomislav’s dedication to fulfilling his great-great uncle’s vision is awe-inspiring. For nearly a decade, he has worked tirelessly to refine this innovative turbine development, overcoming challenges and setbacks along the way. His unwavering commitment showcases his deep-rooted belief in the transformative potential of renewable energy and his desire to create a better, more sustainable world.
Global Impact and Enthusiastic Response:
As news of the Tesla Cascading Run-of-River Hydro Power Plant spreads, Tesla enthusiasts and renewable energy enthusiasts around the world are eagerly waiting to witness this historic moment. The plant’s completion promises to herald a new era in renewable energy, with the potential to provide clean and sustainable power to countless communities. It will serve as a testament to Nikola Tesla’s astonishing foresight and Tomislav’s relentless pursuit of turning vision into reality.
The world anxiously awaits the completion and unveiling of the Tesla Cascading Run-of-River Hydro Power Plant. Tomislav’s determination to honor his legendary ancestor’s scientific contributions while pushing the boundaries of innovation is poised to reshape our energy landscape. This groundbreaking project not only breathes new life into Nikola Tesla’s remarkable legacy but also sets a shining example for future generations of inventors and renewable energy pioneers.
With the world’s first Tesla Cascading Hydro Power Plant nearing completion, Tomislav, a worthy torchbearer of Nikola Tesla’s legacy, is on the verge of transforming the renewable energy sector. By harnessing the force of water and incorporating Tesla’s visionary turbine technology into a run-of-river design, this project holds the promise of reshaping our energy future. The impact of this venture extends far beyond Mauritius, inspiring Tesla enthusiasts and renewable energy advocates across the globe. As we eagerly await the official unveiling, let us celebrate the fusion of past brilliance and present innovation that drives us towards a cleaner, more sustainable world.


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“Cota is unique in that it automatically sends wireless power over the air safely and reliably, even with people in the room or on the move,” says Ossia CEO Doug Stovall. “Ossia works with companies to license the Cota technology and complete rapid integrations, like this one, which helps expedite time to market. The Cota Universal Base is a springboard for organizations that wish to cut the cord on plug-in charging pads and surfaces and move to Real Wireless Power.”
The first commercially available product to utilize the set up will be the universal charging base for the ARCHOS Cota Wireless Power Security Camera. The home security camera can be used untethered, receiving power from the Home node, rather than relying on just battery power. As far as applications go, security cameras make sense. They’re always on and can be a bit tough to wire. Otherwise you have to change the thiing.
Per the company,
It comes with a Cota transmitter that plugs into a wall outlet and continuously charges up to five cameras within a 30-foot range of the Ossia transmitter. Homeowners can monitor power levels and camera footage from a mobile app. This is a seamless user experience that requires no management. An event captured on the security camera can trigger the camera app with nothing extra to download.
Pre-orders for the Cota Universal Base will open early this year. It will start shipping closer to the end of the year.
Ossia is taking its wireless power tech to consumers with a new charging base by Brian Heater originally published on TechCrunch


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Albany, NY – The international molasses market will grow in the coming years due in part to rising demand for convenience food and ready-to-eat snacks, a new market research report suggests.
Toronto – A North York industrial bakery facing prosecution by the Ministry of the Environment has received approval from a separate body, the Ontario Municipal Board, to retroactively legalize expansion done without city permits. The Toronto Star reports. | READ MORE
Hamilton, Ont. – A spectacular rainbow cake created by Cake & Loaf bakery in Hamilton, Ont., at the request of a gay couple marking their engagement has garnered worldwide attention following a controversy in the U.S. over a baker's refusal to fulfil a similar request. The Toronto Star reports. | READ MORE
Palo Alto, Calif., and London – Aromyx Corp. is working with Rewired on a digital platform for measuring taste and scent, and potential applications for what it calls "smart robots."
Denver, CO – Ardent Mills is joining forces with the U.S. National FFA Organization to support a program that empowers students to get involved in their communities.
Toronto – George Weston Ltd. and Loblaw Companies Ltd. revealed Tuesday they participated in an industry-wide bread price-fixing arrangement over several years but will receive immunity after alerting the Competition Bureau early in its investigation.
Madison, WI –Indulgence is still a factor in consumer purchases despite greater interest in healthier offerings, suggests new research from the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA).
Ottawa – An alliance of more than 50 food industry, civil society and farming groups is calling on the federal government to create a national food policy council to help implement its national food policy, now under development.
London, U.K. – A brewery in London, U.K., is combatting the problem of food waste by making an ale from fresh surplus bread that would otherwise be wasted.
Toronto – A study led by University of Toronto nutritional scientists is calling on the Canadian government to outlaw junk food marketing to children, impose stricter limits on unhealthy nutrients added to foods and impose a "sugary drink tax."
Montreal – An investment deal between FODY Food Co. and private equity firm Avrio will boost FODY's distribution and development of new products for those suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
Toronto – Packaging will play a role in reducing global food and product waste and brands that use clear and succinct package messaging will be rewarded, says a report outline the top five packaging trends by research firm Mintel.
Herzliya, Israel – Flavour company Frutarom Industries has acquired the patent for AB-Fortis micro-encapsulation technology for iron delivery from Spanish biotech firm AB-Biotics.
Auburn, WA – The safety of grains, seeds, beans, pulses and legumes can be determined in part by visual examination for the presence of gluten-containing grains, says a study by the Gluten Intolerance Group, a U.S.-based gluten-free certification organization.
Halifax – Canadians are eating out more and can expect to pay extra to do so in 2018, suggests a food prices forecast. Dairy, bakery products, meat and seafood prices are not expected to rise by more than two per cent.
Toronto – The 2018 Restaurants Canada Show, set for Feb. 25-27, 2018, at Toronto's Enercare Centre, will focus on what’s new in taste, trends and technology and what the future of food will look like.
London, Ont. – Handheld fusion dishes like the dessert bao bun, East African delicacies, Japanese Izakaya, wellness drinks and hot-pot cooking are big flavour trends to watch in 2018, and they represent a shift in the nature of eating, says research from McCormick & Company.
Windsor, Ont. – Dainty Foods has invested $3 million in equipment in its 50-year-old mill on Windsor’s west side in the last two years. The Windsor Star reports. | READ MORE
The best chocolate chip cookie in Toronto is…Toronto’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Off (CCCO2018) held Sunday, July 8…
Positive workplace culture, strong businessIn the wake of the Hardie sexual misconduct scandal and…
Toronto's charity chocolate chip cookie competitionSunday, July 8 2018, 36 chefs from Toronto will participate…
Study finds perception of cleanliness can boost salesResearchers at the University of Missouri (MU) have found that…
Bakery Showcase 2019 Trade Show & Conference
May 5-6, 2019


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When the first external recorders for DSLRs came out in 2011, there was a drawback: they didn't work with DSLRs! Now, slowly, that is changing, but the 5D mk III is the big one and now, with its newly released firmware, a clean HDMI output is available to record externally
Sigma surprised a few people when they announced their new 18-35mm zoom lens with a constant f/1.8 aperture back in April. Now they've surprised a few more by announcing the price - $799
Developments in the field of magic lantern raw video continue to grow with news that developers have managed to get raw video support up and running on the Canon 50D, a 5 year old camera that predates the Canon 5D Mark II and which shipped without any video capability at all!
Great news for Canon 7D users who feel left out of the Magic Lantern raw party, it would appear that the buffers for raw data on the 7D have now been found! This brings the 7D much closer to a working raw workflow
Most people assume that quad/hexacopters are built that way because they're easy to position in space. But wait till you see this
This has been a long time coming, and we never actually thought we'd see it: a clean HDMI output from the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. What does this mean and why is it important?
Canon is bringing out a wired remote controller for its Cinema EOS cameras, apparently as a result of user requests


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Sodexo has posted its first half fiscal 2019 results, with ‘encouraging growth’ across a number of segments.
For the year ended February 28, 2019, the company saw operating profit increase 4.2%, with growth from both the onsite services and benefits & rewards sectors.
Revenue totalled $12,446 (€11,045), and increase of 7.3% on the previous year.
KPIs for client retention, development and same site sales growth were all said to be ‘improving’.
In October 2018, Sodexo acquired Swiss high-end catering company, Novae Restauration, significantly enhancing the group presence in the country.
Sodexo CEO Denis Machuel said: “I am pleased with the progressive improvement in growth in North America, in Q1 and then in Q2. Steady progress is being made by the new Health Care North America team in reasserting discipline and accountability throughout the organization. We are also achieving strong growth in Brazil both in the Benefits & Rewards business as well as Onsite, helped by an improving economic environment.
“We maintain our guidance both in top line organic growth and underlying operating profit margin.”
Other operating income and expenses amounted to 69 million euro, down from 73 million euro last year.


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The latest from the world of Acer Predator – live, after a couple of minutes (Aug 30, 8:30 UTC)
It is after a couple of minutes that Acer’s event in Berlin will start. The Taiwanese company will announce and present its latest and greatest mainstream and gaming Predator products. [email protected] can be watched via the embedded video below. You may also wish to browse through all currently available Acer products here.


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Google has been releasing a series of beta versions for its upcoming Android 14 operating system, but it seems that the stable release is still far from ready. The latest update, Android 14 Beta 5.2, is the third bug-fixing release in a row, following Beta 5.1 and Beta 4.1. The update mainly addresses issues affecting the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet devices, which are expected to be the first to run Android 14 out of the box.
Android 14 Beta 5.2: What’s New?
According to Google’s official announcement on Reddit, Android 14 Beta 5.2 includes various fixes for devices that have stalled upon rebooting. It also fixes issues that could interrupt cellular connectivity for devices that utilize E-UTRAN New Radio – Dual Connectivity (ENDC) when those devices were connected through 5G NR low-band frequencies.
However, the bulk of the fixes are aimed at improving the user experience on the Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet devices, which have been plagued by screen flickering, UI crashes, animation stuttering, and fingerprint sensor unresponsiveness. Here is a list of some of the notable fixes for these devices:
- Fixed an issue on Pixel Fold and Pixel Tablet devices that caused the fingerprint sensor to be unresponsive in some cases.
- Fixed an issue on Pixel Fold devices with stuttering animations when viewing or tapping the notification for an ongoing call.
- Fixed an issue on Pixel Fold devices that sometimes caused the system UI to crash after using the fingerprint sensor.
- Fixed an issue on Pixel Fold devices that sometimes caused the screen to briefly flicker when unfolding the device.
- Fixed an issue on Pixel Tablet devices that sometimes caused a colored bar to display or flicker after unlocking the device.
- Fixed an issue on Pixel Tablet devices that caused the system to play incorrect sounds when docking or undocking the device.
The update is rolling out to all devices enrolled in the Android Beta Program, starting from the Pixel 4a 5G and newer models. Users can check for the update by going to Settings > System > Software update.
Android 14: When Will It Be Released?
Google has not announced a specific date for the stable release of Android 14, but it is expected to happen sometime in September or October, based on previous patterns. However, given the number of bugs and issues that Google is still working on, it is possible that the release could be delayed further.
Android 14 is supposed to be a major update that introduces new features and improvements such as Material You design language, privacy dashboard, one-handed mode, scrolling screenshots, app hibernation, and more. It is also expected to support new form factors such as foldable and tablet devices, which Google is reportedly working on.
However, some users and developers have expressed frustration and disappointment with the beta testing process, which has been plagued by bugs, crashes, and performance issues. Some have even opted out of the beta program due to these problems.
Google has acknowledged these issues and has provided a lengthy list of known problems that it is aware of going into Beta 5.2. The company has also asked for feedback and bug reports from users and developers to help improve the quality of Android 14 before its official launch.


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Norse Atlantic Airways launches London Gatwick to New York JFK service
Norse Atlantic Airways’ London Gatwick to New York JFK service
Norse Atlantic Airways has celebrated its inaugural service between London Gatwick and New York JFK. The route is operated daily with the 787 Dreamliner. On the same day, Norse Atlantic launched flights between London Gatwick and Oslo, enabling a continuous service between Oslo and New York via London.
“We are very pleased to now be able to welcome customers at London Gatwick on board our Boeing 787 Dreamliners to New York and Oslo,” said Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO Norse Atlantic Airways. “Thanks to Norse Atlantic Airways customers have an affordable option allowing them to book a last-minute trip or a holiday of a lifetime with an airline that offers choice, excellent value and a quality service.”
Stewart Wingate, CEO Gatwick Airport, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Norse Atlantic’s much-anticipated new service to Gatwick Airport. North America is a key market for us, with New York continually among our most popular destinations. We currently operate 40 long-haul routes across the USA, Canada, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East and Asia, so it’s great news for our passengers – as well as businesses across the region – that we are able to add another fantastic long-haul carrier to our operation, increasing choice and competition. We look forward to seeing Norse expand its transatlantic offer even further over coming months, alongside its connections to Oslo.”
Norse Atlantic Airways recently announced the launch of a connectivity partnership with easyJet, Norwegian and Spirit Airlines. The virtual interline agreement will provide over 600 weekly connections to Norse’s transatlantic services at key international hubs Oslo, London, Berlin, New York, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Los Angeles.


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Ready to see sunsets and starry skies from your floating oasis on the water?
Cruising vacations are back. British business mogul Richard Branson has launched his adults-only Virgin Voyages line with tattoo parlours, live bands, and drag shows, and film legend Sophia Loren is christening her 21st ship for MSC Cruises in New York this December.
But the past couple of years have not been kind to the cruise industry. Almost overnight, cruising went from being a juggernaut within the travel sector, taking in more than USD 27 billion yearly, to a situation that was nothing short of carnage. The industry suffered a nearly 50 percent reduction in income and a mind-blowing 80 percent reduction in passengers. And as the pandemic took hold worldwide, near-entire fleets were docked to wait out the global lockdowns.
But what is equally remarkable is the recent resurgence in cruising as countries and their ports of call have eased or removed restrictions.
A CNN article notes the comeback that cruising has made in 2022. After the near disappearance of cruise ships during the 15-month-long pandemic lockdown, 75 percent of all cruise ships are again sailing the oceans. Colleen McDaniel, Editor-in-Chief of the popular cruise review site, Cruise Critic, saw reasons to be optimistic about the industry again: “We’re seeing shoppers and cruise bookings increase week after week, which is fantastic news for the industry.”
There are all kinds of good vibes about the future coming from industry insiders as well. In an interview with Cruise and Ferry, Kelly Craighead of the Cruise Lines International Association had this to say about the outlook: “According to the latest World Tourism Barometer, tourism continues to recover at a stronger than expected pace. Worldwide, the first quarter of 2022 showed a 182 percent rebound with an estimated 117 million international arrivals.”
But along with all this exuberance about the triumphant return of cruising, questions about the industry have also returned. For years, concerns have been voiced about the impact of the industry on the environment, the ports of call the ships visit, and even the health impacts on passengers and crews of cruise lines. As commonly depicted, cruise ships are floating cities with up to thousands of people on board. When one of these ships pulls into a small port of call, there are many forms of large-scale consequences both good and bad.
CNN reports on the impact of these vessels as thousands of visitors descend at the same time, as opposed to the flow of other kinds of travellers whose impact is more spread out across a city. It’s also the cruisers who are less likely to inject meaningful capital into a port as they are only there for a few hours.
In one of the world’s most famous destinations, Venice, Jane da Mosto, co-founder and executive director of the not-for-profit organization, We Are Here Venice, explains to CNN the impact that cruise ships, in particular, have on the city:
“The residents suffer very much and it’s beginning to feel that we are deprived of our civil rights,” says da Mosto, adding that the concentrated flow of cruise ships is making the city uninhabitable for Venetians. “The cruise ship industry needs to take in the fragility of Venice, and that their business model has become unsustainable and very damaging.”
In fact, the residents of Venice have voted to ban the larger cruise ships from the city’s waters altogether.
This aspect of the industry is complicated, as while there can be a negative impact on the local fabric when these ships dock, they also inject money in the form of taxes and docking fees to the ports as well as the money that passengers spend ashore.
When you consider the environmental impact of the cruise industry, you also have to wonder about the size of the ships themselves. They are among the largest ships on the oceans. Many of these are over three football fields long and are loaded with all the bells and whistles of a brassy resort ashore—like ice rinks, pools and rollercoasters. Yes, rollercoasters. And moving these massive ships from port to port takes a great deal of fuel. Studies have shown that one cruise ship alone can produce emissions equal to 12,000 cars. So when a passenger boards a cruise ship, their carbon footprint actually triples.
Compounding the environmental impact is the type of fuel that is burned. Mark Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, talked to Popular Science about the impact of the fuel used by cruise ships. “They generally use bunker fuel which is the dirtiest type of fuel. Bunker fuel puts out a lot of black carbon, sulphates, and other chemicals. Black carbon is the second leading cause of global warming after carbon dioxide.”
Not only is the fuel used by these ships detrimental to the environment, but the cruise industry also has a bad track record when it comes to disposing of waste, with one large cruise ship producing a ton or more of waste per day.
Back in January, Princess Cruise Lines was fined $1 million by the U.S. Department of Justice for dumping waste for a second time. This was after pleading guilty to deliberately dumping oil-contaminated waste from one of its ships in 2017 when it was fined $40 million.
And remember the bunker fuel that powers these ships? The fumes from that can lead to very poor air quality for the passengers and crew. Researchers have found the composition of the air on a cruise ship to be similar to that of heavily polluted cities. People who work on these ships, as well as passengers and those living in the ports the ships visit, are also paying a price for these cruises with their health.
All of this doesn’t sound like a great trade-off for the planet or its inhabitants. Under pressure, like many other fuel-driven industries, the cruise line industry is beginning to look at what can be done to reduce emissions.
As with cars, the way to reduce these harmful emissions may be fuel cells. Some ferries are already using fuel cells for short distances and the current record for a cell powering one of these ships is about 50 nautical miles.
In 2019, the Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten launched MS Roald Amundsen, the world’s first battery hybrid-powered cruise ship, and in October 2021, the company’s MS Fridtjof Nansen was named the most sustainable cruise ship by Scope ESG Analysis.
Beyond these ships, the company is working with Norway research company Trondheim to develop zero-emission ships by 2030. The project builds on the current state of design, propulsion energy, and fuel use to come up with a sustainable option for cruising. Between upgrades and new additions to the fleet, Hurtigruten will cut emissions by 25 percent and nitric oxide by 80 percent.
In another case of improved environmental stewardship, Carnival Corp has installed about 600 food waste biodigesters across its global fleet to combat food waste. The technology uses a “natural” aerobic digestion process that uses a mixture of microorganisms inside each machine to break down food waste—all part of a corporate-wide initiative to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030.
Other goals include sending 100 percent of waste to waste-to-energy facilities and promoting almost 100 percent reuse of packaging materials by 2050.
At Celebrity Cruises, the sewage treatment plants onboard some ships have been upgraded to a new biological treatment technology called CleanSewage Membrane Reactor for the removal of 99 percent of solids and bacteria, including microplastics and viruses. The treated water is reportedly pure enough to be re-used in other ship functions like laundry.
Innovations like these aside, what is missing from the industry are standards that are held across the international cruising industry. Right now, you could sail a ship through the gaps in the rule books that currently exist. But, ironically, it is the lack of regulation that creates the biggest appeal for travellers—namely the lower prices that come with the low regulatory standards of these floating resorts.
Critics say these prices are achieved through a lack of regulation which allows for lower wages for the crew and lax observance of environmental protection acts. Others say pricing reflects the sheer number of passengers that can be accommodated, and many ships make most of their money from what people purchase on board.
Ultimately, the future of this industry will come down to the passengers. If people begin to question the environmental and social consequences that come with a cheap trip around the Caribbean, and opt not to cruise, changes may come quickly, and those changes could put cruising into smooth sailing for the long run.