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There’s been a constant buzz in the college sports world over name, image, and likeness (“NIL”) since July 1. The recent decision by the NCAA Division 1 Council has launched a new era in athlete endorsements. The long-simmering debate over college athlete NIL has de facto ended. College athletes may now engage in sponsorship activities related to their NIL.
Clients and colleagues have asked whether NIL will really change the game in sponsorship. My answer has been a consistent, “Sort of. But, Not Really.”
Probably several dozen (or less) college athletes truly have the brand power to attract a national endorsement deal at the dollar amounts garnered by pro athletes. There are simply too many athletes at too many schools. Few athletes have enough sustained national attention to help consumer brands on a national scale. For this reason, endorsements will cover regional and local markets, with most deals targeting college alumni audiences.
Based on our experience in personal branding, endorsements, and sponsorships, we see the new era of NIL playing out in three phases.
PHASE 1: Euphoria
We have already seen young college athletes create new personal logos and rush to hang up their “brands for sale” signs. There’s euphoria over the theoretical opportunities to cash in on personal brands.
If an athlete has a national brand presence, we’ll see a few noteworthy deals with consumer products brands. However, most of the endorsements will be regional and local. It will take the rest of 2021 and early 2022 to see if there’s any real return on investment for the companies that take the dive into this new market.
I sense that most (all?) deals will be sold on the back of impressive social media audiences. For instance, Fresno State basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder recently signed agreements with Boost Mobile and others. However, they bring their 3.4 million TikTok followers with them. Are endorsers buying the Cavinder brand or an impressive social media audience? It’s hard to tell at this point.
PHASE 2: Level Setting
When college sports kick off this Fall, brands and athletes will continue to sign deals that reflect the athlete’s regional notoriety. Without a championship-caliber Instagram following, athlete brands will attract four and five-figure endorsements.
Athletes will begin to understand what really powers a personal brand: an audience. Since athletes cannot use the logo and name of their university without permission, each athlete must resonate with an audience without the power of their school behind them. The fundamental question is this: Can an athlete, with only their name, image, and likeness, move consumers to buy goods and services for endorsing companies? Few college athletes can carry this off with so little time to build powerful personal brands. In my experience, I’ve found that few professional athletes can make this kind of magic happen.
At the same time, brands will develop good data about whether NIL can move the needle for them. Likely, less than one percent of the 400,000 NCAA athletes can muster product and service-selling brand power. As a result, the market will begin to level set on the low side.
PHASE 3: Stuff Gets Real
If athletes get frustrated with the lack of endorsement sales, they may be tempted to cross the legal and ethical lines regarding intellectual property use. Perhaps their Twitter feed shows them in full school team uniform. Maybe their new personal logo looks a little too much like the school’s intellectual property. When it comes to money, athletic departments and their athletes may not see eye to eye.
Unfortunately, Phase 3 of NIL will likely see disputes break out. While this happens in the professional athlete market, it would be a shame to see college athletes spending a portion of their four-year careers haggling over IP and cease-and-desist letters.
Final Thoughts for Future Phases
I hope that colleges and their athletes find a way for everyone to equitably participate in the mega-business that college sports have become. Many professional sports have been able to balance the economic interests of leagues, teams, and players. At this point, it would benefit everyone to start this process. The alternative will be a disappointing lesson in the difficultly of monetizing personal brands.
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If you would like CHARGE to help your organization understand the NIL market, schedule a call with one of our experts today.


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CINCINNATI -- Over the next few weeks, with March Madness upon us, college basketball fans will be buying a lot of ball caps featuring the logos of their favorite teams.
While fans will see a lot of competition on the basketball floor, off the floor, among stores that sell those caps, they won't see much competition at all.
But there is plenty of action in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, where a newly filed lawsuit highlights a hat contest that a basketball commentator might call a classic David-versus-Goliath struggle, only with two Goliaths.
At one end of the court is Cincy Shop, which does business as Hats N' More, selling Cincinnati-related memorabilia, college-logo sportswear, hats and other licensed outerwear. About 50 percent of the company's revenue comes from hat sales.
Locally owned by Mark Stapleton, the company has shops in Kenwood Towne Centre, Florence Mall, Northgate Mall, Tri-County Mall and Dayton Mall.
At the other end of the figurative court are two publicly traded companies:
1) Genesco Inc., of Nashville, Tenn., the parent company of Hat World Corp., which owns Lids and Locker Room by Lids. Lids sells hats with college logos and other head gear.
According to its most recent annual report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company had $2.8 billion in net sales in its fiscal year ended Jan. 28, 2017. As of that date, the company had 882 Lids stores, 207 Lids Locker Room stores and 151 Locker Room by Lids leased departments, including a Lids store at Kenwood Towne Centre and Florence Mall;
2) GGP Inc., of Chicago, which owns 125 retail properties in the United States, including Florence Mall and Kenwood Towne Centre. According to its most recent annual report, in calendar year 2017, the company had $2.3 billion in revenue.
In the lawsuit, Hats N' More alleges that Genesco and GGP acted together as part of an anti-competitive conspiracy to stop Hats N' More from selling its hats at its Kenwood Towne Centre shop.
It has asked the court to act as referee and grant an order that would restrain GGP from evicting Hats N' More from the shopping center, which is scheduled to happen March 23.
The court is expected to hold a hearing about the restraining order sometime within the next week-and-a-half, said Aryeh Younger, an attorney with Ritter & Randolph LLC, which is representing Hats N' More.
His client likes doing business at Kenwood Towne Centre, Younger said, and hopes to continue doing business there.
According to the lawsuit, Kenwood Towne Centre initially welcomed Hats N' More to the Kenwood team, granting it a two-year lease, with the right to terminate the lease for any reason.
Hats N' More opened its Kenwood store on Feb. 1, in space previously used by Locker Room by Lids.
According to the suit, the day before the opening, a GGP leasing agent told Stapleton that Lids was "throwing a fit" that Hats N' More was at Kenwood.
The same agent said the president of Lids had contacted the president of GGP to remind him that Lids "had 100 stores with GGP," and couldn't believe GGP would lease space to Hats N' More, especially space just vacated by Locker Room by Lids.
In the lawsuit, Hats N' More cries foul over what it says was Lids employees interfering with Hats N' More business, claiming:
- On Feb. 2, Lids employees entered the Kenwood shop and harassed employees there by telling them Lids would shut their store down. They also took pictures of store displays. Hats N' More called mall security to go to the Lids store and warn the employees not to return;
- On Feb. 8, Lids executives, including the president of the company, visited the Florence Mall Hats N' More store and interrogated an employee about the company's store in Kenwood Towne Centre.
According to the lawsuit, Hats N' More also cries foul over GGP's alleged efforts to get it to move its shop or change its marketing. Even before Hats N' More moved in, it says, it was asked to operate the store using the name Cincy Shops, rather than Hats N' More.
And on Feb. 5, in an email, Stapleton says the leasing agent chided him for not telling management about Hats N' More's contentious relationship with Lids at other malls where both had stores. If management had known, the email said, it would not have located Hats N' More so close to the existing Lids store.
After Hats N' More moved in, mall management asked the store to move to a larger, more expensive space, but Hats N' More declined. The move would have required Hats N' More to spend money on a complete renovation, plus change its name and stop selling hats.
Stapleton just wants to continue selling hats to support his family and pass his business down to his children and grandchildren, Younger said. Stapleton's parents created the business in 1979, and he took over in January 2013.
"He is intent on building a positive relationship with Kenwood Mall, and he finds this recent string of events to be unfortunate," Younger said.
Lindsay Kahn, public relations manager for GGP, declined to comment, noting that the company doesn't comment on pending litigation.
Genesco Director of Corporate Relations Claire S. McCall also declined to comment.

domain: news


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When Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, it explicitly legalized the sale of hemp and its derivatives such as CBD. Farmers across the nation relied on this government action, and invested considerable time and resources to plant, grow, and market commercial hemp crops, and particularly for the market for which there is immediate processing infrastructure and consumer demand: hemp-derived CBD and cannabinoids.
Unfortunately, federal regulatory uncertainty regarding hemp-derived CBD has severely impacted the hemp market, with reduced manufacturing demand resulting in a more than 90% commodity price decline, crushing opportunities for U.S. farmers. And while scientific research has demonstrated CBD’s strong safety profile – including a 2021 study that addresses concerns about liver toxicity in typical CBD products – FDA has indicated that it will not, on its own, establish a legal pathway for its sale, claiming that current law puts the agency “in a stalemate position.”
The pressing consumer health and safety problem, indeed, is a product of FDA’s inaction. Unregulated products being deceptively marketed as hemp or CBD continue to proliferate, some of which raise significant quality, safety and other consumer protection concerns. Worse, the commodity price collapse has led some to chemically convert surplus hemp CBD biomass into intoxicating products, such as Delta-8 THC, which are being sold at retail, sometimes to minors. The time for action is now.
H.R. 6134 would ensure that hemp-derived CBD, and other non-intoxicating hemp ingredients, could be lawfully marketed as food and beverage additives. This would also require CBD products and hemp extract product manufacturers to comply with the entire existing comprehensive regulatory framework, which ensures that the products are deemed safe, properly labeled and prepared utilizing Good Manufacturing Practices.
Failing to establish a regulatory pathway for legalizing hemp-derived CBD will continue to reduce economic opportunity for U.S. hemp farmers and deny consumers access to safe, quality products. H.R. 6134 would help stabilize the hemp markets, open up a promising economic opportunity for U.S. agriculture and honor the commitment made to growers in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Once FDA does legally recognize and regulate CBD products, the hemp industry can provide a needed financial jolt to a nation emerging through economic recovery. Regulatory relief for the hemp-derived CB□ industry constitutes an economic stimulus package for the nation’s farmers and small businesses without requiring one dime from the American taxpayer.
Independent surveys predict that with a regulatory pathway, sales of CBD products would grow from approximately $1.2 billion in 2019 to anywhere from $10.3 billion to $16.8 billion market by 2025.
Lead Congressional Sponsor
Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY)
Democrats = 4 | Total = 6 | Republicans = 2
REP. MORGAN GRIFFITH (R-VA)*
REP. ANGIE CRAIG (D-MN)*
REP. DAN CRENSHAW (R-TX)*
REP. TONY CARDENAS (D-CA)
REP. CHELLIE PINGREE (D-ME)
U.S. HEMP ROUNDTABLE’S REPORT TO CONGRESS:
F EDERAL REGULATION NE EDED URGENTLY TO
HONOR COMMITMENT TO U. S . HEMP FARMERS
In passing the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress made clear its intent to support the production and sale of hemp and hemp derivatives such as CBD.1 Thousands of U.S. growers planted hemp in response, with farming for CBD representing the overwhelming majority of all hemp acreage.2 However, public statements by FDA officials arguing that it is illegal to sell ingestible hemp-derived CBD products have taken their toll on the industry. While the agency has primarily taken action against companies that have made improper disease claims, and while FDA officials have announced that they are investigating a regulatory pathway for CBD products, CBD commerce and investment have been chilled due to the absence of federal
regulation, impairing economic opportunity for farmers and small businesses:
• The current regulatory gray area has stifled significant hemp market opportunities for farmers and businesses. State and local agencies have threatened and/or taken enforcement actions against the sale of CBD products, citing FDA guidance. Many big-box retailers are reluctant to carry CBD products due to FDA’s position, while Big Food companies have delayed efforts to introduce new CBD-infused products into the marketplace.3
• There is also a disturbing trend in hemp-related litigation across the country. More than a dozen class action lawsuits regarding CBD have
been filed, citing FDA’s public statements as grounds for injury.16 Even more cases have been brought by farmers against processors for nonpayment
and breaching hemp contracts.17 These lawsuits are tying up cash and disrupting business operations and supply chains.
• Federal and state political leaders of all stripes have repeatedly called on FDA to issue formal regulations for CBD in dietary supplements and
food. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Ron Wyden have each urged FDA to take expedited action,18 while Kentucky
Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles has insisted that FDA end its “bureaucratic paralysis.” Quarles witnesses FDA’s inaction as
“preventing growth in the hemp marketplace…Promising potential markets remain closed while crop production has increased. When there
is a surplus of crop and it begins to pile up, the result is obvious: crop prices will fall.”19
• FDA is acutely aware of the broad public support for CBD regulations, but has beem unwilling to act. Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb testified that “[FDA] heard Congress loud and clear…Congress wants there to be a pathway for CBD to be available.”20 Former FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn stated it would be a “fool’s game” to try to completely shut down the CBD marketplace.21 Current Acting Administrator Janet Woodcock has tried to combat the perception that FDA is opposed to CBD in dietary supplements as a matter of policy. However, she argues that the “law is very clear about this, and so it puts us in a stalemate position.”22
REGULATION MEANS SAFETY: FDA also argues it is hesitant to act because it has not yet accumulated sufficient safety data on CBD. However, public safety data is compelling, and regulation is the only approach to ensuring public health and safety:
• There’s a growing body of evidence, including data published by the industry, demonstrating that hemp-derived CBD, especially at the levels found in many dietary supplements and food, is generally safe.23 In fact, the preliminary findings of a March 2021 clinical study reported “no evidence” of liver toxicity in adults consuming hemp-derived CBD products at serving size ranges that are standard in the marketplace.24 Scientific experts have recognized that data already exists to determine that hemp extracts containing CBD can be Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS).25 And despite a notable increase in the use of these products, the number of reported adverse events continues to be remarkably low.26
• Other international regulatory bodies have reviewed the same publicly available evidence and determined that CBD products can be safely marketed. The World Health Organization determined that pure CBD is “generally well tolerated with a good safety profile” and presents little risk of abuse or dependency potential, recreational use, or public health-related problems.27 Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration concluded that CBD “presents a good safety and tolerability profile,”28 and in December, approved CBD products, up to a maximum of 150 mg/day, for use in adults, to be supplied over-the-counter by a pharmacist, without a prescription.29 United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency determined that CBD products can be regulated and marketed as novel foods, provided they meet standards for safety and content, recommending a 70mg daily limit for healthy adults.30
• Recognizing CBD’s safety as well as the need for consumer protection, a majority of U.S. states now provide explicit legal protection for the sale of ingestible hemp-derived CBD products, and new regulatory regimes have emerged in the nation’s largest wellness markets, such as California, New York, Florida and Texas.31 While this is good news for farmers and consumers in these states, the cloud of federal legal uncertainly looms over interstate commerce. Worse, according to a recent Consumer Brands Association study a contradictory state patchwork of laws and regulations have led to deep public confusion and impose significant compliance burdens on farmers and manufacturers.32
• The most pressing safety problem is, as independent studies demonstrate,33 and as FDA recently reported to Congress,34 without a clear regulatory framework, bad actors are selling products without appropriate safeguards and misleading consumers with false label claims.
Further, there’s been a rise of products, such as Delta-8 THC, which are being marketed under the guise of the hemp name for their intoxicating effect.35 Regulation is needed to crack down on these controversial products and ensure that the dietary supplement lane is
limited to non-intoxicating hemp ingredients.
REGULATION PORTENDS A BRIGHT FUTURE: Once FDA does legally recognize and regulate CBD products, the hemp industry can partner with the agency to provide a needed financial jolt to a nation emerging through economic recovery. Regulatory relief for the hemp-derived CBD industry constitutes an economic stimulus package for the nation’s farmers and small businesses without requiring one dime from the American taxpayer:
• One economic survey predicts that “widespread, easy access to CBD products at traditional retail outlets will drive a surge in CBD sales,” projecting sales to grow from approximately $1.2 billion in 2019 to $10.3 billion by 2024.36 Another study estimates a $16.8 billion market by
2025, should FDA create a regulatory pathway for ingestible CBD, lowering previous projections because “inaction by US FDA is constraining the growth of the US CBD market.”37 A third analysis projected a CBD sales range of $4 billion to $16.5 billion by 2025, the higher end dependent on favorable FDA regulations.38 A fourth study projects a $5.3 billion in retail sales in 2021, with expectations to grow at a 25 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years, assuming the FDA comes out with a regulatory framework for the industry.39 A fifth study projects CBD sales to reach $19.5 billion by 2025, with mainstream retail exceeding $15 billion annually, but that’s based on a prediction that FDA will regulate CBD as a food additive in 2022.40 Other hemp constituents, such as CBG and CBN, are also providing new economic opportunities for U.S. farmers and could flourish in a regulated system.41
• Wider availability through additional retail venues and product manufacturers would address consumer demand and help stabilize hemp prices, posing tremendous economic opportunity to U.S. farmers struggling through the pandemic. One economic study forecasted that hemp sown for CBD could potentially generate substantially more revenue per acre than corn.42 Clear laws and regulations would also empower farmers to get out of the court system and into the hemp fields, with more secure access to banking, merchant services, and
• Unlike many existing industries that will have to rebuild over the next few years to achieve their previous stature, the hemp industry needs no ramp-up period; sales would surge once regulations are in place. Unlike existing industries that will struggle to return workers to their
jobs, the hemp industry will offer brand new jobs immediately in agriculture, manufacturing, distribution, retail, testing and other fields that serve the hemp supply chain.
• Limiting CBD to a drug-only path remains a deeply anti-consumer approach. CBD is only FDA-approved for very rare medical conditions, and costs patients up to $35,000/year.43 A drug-only path would block access for the millions of Americans want to use non-prescription hemp derived CBD to help manage their everyday health and wellness. CBD can coexist as an ingredient in both drugs and supplements, but under different regulatory frameworks just like fish oil, niacin, caffeine, menthol, and many other natural ingredients do today. Dietary supplement regulations are intended to strike a balance between consumer safety and consumer access. If vitamins, minerals, and botanicals were regulated like drugs then they would be too expensive for the millions of people that use them for good health.44 CBD regulated as a dietary supplement provides appropriate consumer protections, quality control and transparency. Supplement regulations require manufacturers to conduct pre-market safety evaluations and to follow FDA’s guidelines for manufacturing and testing, as well as maintain post market surveillance for adverse events.
• A partnership in which FDA regulation is complemented by industry initiatives such as U.S. Hemp Authority self-regulation45 also helps ensure that consumers can purchase safe, transparent, quality-assured products.
Paid for by U.S. Hemp Roundtable, Inc., an independent, nonprofit organization exempt from federal taxation under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.
1 https://www.mcconnell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases?ID=0B71B14E-5F77-4283-9084-561F67EFBC70 (Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “Congress’ intent was clear with the passage of the Farm Bill that these products should be legal, and our farmers, producers and manufacturers need clarity as well as a workable pathway forward regarding the Agency’s enforcement and potential regulatory plans for certain CBD products”); https://www.wyden.senate.gov/download/062519-wyden-letter-to-fda-hhs-on-hemp-cbd-
(Senator Ron Wyden: “The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill is Congress’s clear intent to further advance and support the domestic production and sale of hemp and hemp derivatives like CBD.”)
2 https://www.reporterherald.com/2020/05/18/enthusiasm-leads-to-oversupply-of-hemp-in-colorado/ (Colorado: 79% of acreage in 2020 dedicated to hemp grown for CBD products.); https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/hemp-overview.html (Kentucky: 92% of hemp acreage grown for CBD in 2019.)
3 https://www.barrons.com/articles/hemp-cbd-demand-is-poor-prices-are-falling-in-a-blow-to-farmers-51580482811 (“Consumer packaged-goods giants like PepsiCo (PEP) and big retailers like Walmart (WMT) haven’t committed to CBD-laced products. A big reason is concerns voiced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which says it can’t permit the biologically-active ingredient in food and drink without tests of CBD’s safety.”)
4 https://hempsupporter.com/assets/uploads/USHRHempPricingData.pdf; https://wfpl.org/hemp-prices-crash-leaving-ohio-valley-farmers-feeling-burned/ (“The price of CBD-rich hemp has crashed, dropping more than 75% in 6 months.”); https://www.barrons.com/articles/hemp-cbd-demand-is-poor-prices-are-falling-in-a-blow-to-farmers-51580482811 (“Piles of hemp ‘biomass’ sit unsold, and the price of what did sell fell 30% from December to January.”); https://www.reporterherald.com/2020/05/18/enthusiasm-leads-to-oversupply-of-hemp-in-colorado/ (Prices on hemp in Colorado have dropped from $40/pound in Summer 2019 to $10/pound; “The current oversupply means that there is a ‘significant volume of biomass that’s still in storage,’ which could help keep prices down as older hemp is less valuable than a freshly harvested crop.”).
5 https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/02/trade-wars-climate-change-plunge-the-family-farm-into-crisis.html (“Farm bankruptcies through September surged 24% versus the prior year…the suicide rate for farmers is 1.5 times higher than the national average.”)
8 https://www.farmers.gov/cfap; See also https://hempindustrydaily.com/hemp-industry-daily-taking-stock-of-how-coronavirus-has-affected-farmers-businesses/ (54% of hemp companies have reported that applications for COVID-19 relief funds have gone unanswered, and another 29% report their applications being denied outright or relief loans going unfulfilled.)
9 https://hempindustrydaily.com/cbd-companies-see-online-sales-spike-as-coronavirus-shuts-down-retails-shops/ (While online sales spike, major CBD manufacturers experience significant losses from 2019 to 2020); https://www.hempbenchmarks.com/hemp-market-
insider/expectations-for-2020-hemp-growing-season-shift-covid-19-impacts/ (70% of survey respondents reported April sales were “below expectations due specifically to COVID-19.”)
13 https://www.thefencepost.com/news/gencanna-exec-blames-fda-for-hemp-industry-troubles/; (GenCanna: FDA’s “uncertainty over how to regulate hemp…has diminished the interest of big companies in hemp food products and ‘frozen’ processors access to capital.”);
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcarpenter/2020/03/18/hemp-company-files-for-bankruptcy-as-confounding-regulatory-guidelines-hamper-growth/#417b60955794 (Atalo: “The path to growth has been impeded by confounding guidance from regulatory agencies.”)
16 https://www.classaction.org/media/fausett-et-al-v-koi-cbd-llc.pdf; https://www.classaction.org/media/dasilva-v-infinite-product-company-llc.pdf
22 Acting FDA chief suggests no quick solution to CBD ‘stalemate’ (naturalproductsinsider.com)
23 See e.g., https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750019305207;
24 https://validcare.com/press/validcares-clinical-study-reports-preliminary-results-of-cbd-liver-safety/ (Clinical research showed “no evidence of liver disease in the 839 participants and no increase in the prevalence of elevated liver function tests when compared to a population with a similar incidence of medical conditions.”)
25 See e.g., self-GRAS affirmations from Charlotte’s Web (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/charlottes-web-achieves-self-affirmed-gras-status-301025721.html); CV Sciences (https://ir.cvsciences.com/press-releases/detail/85/cv-sciences-inc-achieves-industrys-first-hemp-extract); and Manitoba Harvest (https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/manitoba-harvest-announces-broad-spectrum-hemp-extract-self-affirmed-gras-status-300858631.html#:~:text=MINNEAPOLIS%2C%20May%2031%2C%202019%20%2F,Recognized%20as%20Safe%20(GRAS)
26 https://hempsupporter.com/assets/uploads/2019.07.16-US-Hemp-Roundtable-FDA-Comments.pdf (Industry study showed percentage of adverse effects reported between .01 and .1%)
31 See e.g., Bill Text – AB-45 Industrial hemp products. (ca.gov); https://regs.health.ny.gov/sites/default/files/proposed-regulations/20-21hemp.pdf; New Hemp Rules in Effect January 1 / 2020 Press Releases / Press Releases / News & Events / Home – Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (fdacs.gov); Texas Administrative Code (state.tx.us)
32 Unregulated and Exploding: How the CBD Market Is Growing Amid a Labyrinth of State Approaches and Rampant Consumer Confusion – Consumer Brands Association
33 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2661569; (Only 30% of tested CBD products accurately labeled.);
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/fda-notifies-public-about-recall-of-cbd-product-that-tested-high-for-lead/ (Florida regulators prompt national recall of CBD product that tested high for lead.)
34 https://hempsupporter.com/assets/uploads/CBD-Marketplace-Sampling_RTC_FY20_Final.pdf; See also, https://www.fda.gov/news-
events/speeches-fda-officials/remarks-lowell-schiller-jd-council-responsible-nutrition-conference-1172019-11072019 (FDA’s Lowell Schiller:
“Many of the manufacturers entering this space lack experience with FDA or DSHEA, and we have serious concerns about issues like harmful contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals, or other drugs like THC.”)
35 What Is Delta-8-THC?: The Hemp Derivative That’s a Hot Seller – The New York Times (nytimes.com);
38 https://hempsupporter.com/assets/uploads/cowen2020report.pdf; See also https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-
Reports/industrial-hemp-market-84188417.html (“The industrial hemp market is projected to grow from USD 4.6 billion in 2019 to USD 26.6 billion by 2025…The food segment is projected to account for the largest market share in the industrial hemp market during the forecast period.”); https://bdsa.com/u-s-cbd-market-anticipated-to-reach-20-billion-in-sales-by-2024/ (US sales of “CBD products to surge from $1.9 billion in 2018 to $20 billion by 2024…majority of CBD product sales will soon occur in general retail stores.”)
39 2021 US CBD Market Report (brightfieldgroup.com)
40 POLITICO Pro | Newsletter
43 How Much Does Epidiolex Cost? (The Cost May Shock You) – Nature by Science
44 History and overview of DSHEA – PubMed (nih.gov)


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A cryptocurrency is difficult to counterfeit because of this security feature.BankersOnline is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers and sponsors.Digital currency and technology dedicated website CoinDesk has announced that outgoing American Banker editor-in-chief Marc Hochstein has joined the company in a senior editorial role.Later this year, Thomas hopes start talking with banks that already use Ripple about testing the system.September 15, 2017 Your Forex Industry Source LeapRate is an independent research and advisory firm, specialized in covering the world of Forex trading.How to get started with Crypto currencies and Bitcoin Start here with your Education and Learning on Crypto Currencies and Bitcoin.
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A senior official for the central bank of The Netherlands recently. utilized an experimental digital currency.Artificial intelligence and robots are transforming how we work and live.Ripple, a Cryptocurrency Company, Wants to Rewire Bank Authentication.American Banker CoinDesk leading bitcoin new websites Marc Hochstein Pete Rizzo.Most banks turn to one of a handful of large data brokers, such as Experian or Acxiom, to power their ID checks.A cryptocurrency (or crypto currency) is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange using cryptography to secure the transactions and to control the.
Cryptocurrency exchanges shut down due to heavy trading on
Bitcoin seems to be setting record highs with every passing week.Companies built around Bitcoin and other digital currencies mostly focus on storing and transferring money.The systems banks use to confirm customer identity are slow and vulnerable to criminals.
Cryptocurrency and the Dark Web: Exploring the New
Bankera is currently in a fundraising phase and is preparing for a pre-ICO sale of its Banker. will be traded on cryptocurrency exchanges to provide liquidity.Russian bankers released a statement, saying that cryptocurrency should be legalized for circulation.
REcoin - the First Ever Cryptocurrency Backed by Real Estate
The mission of MIT Technology Review is to equip its audiences with the intelligence to understand a world shaped by technology.


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Over the past few months, artificial intelligence (AI) appears to have gone from being the preserve of researchers and major technology firms to something that’s accessible to everyone with an internet connection. Unsurprisingly, a growing number of businesses are looking for ways to integrate AI tools into their business systems and offerings.
A Gartner survey released earlier this year found that 79% of corporate strategists view AI as critical to their success in the next two years. But amidst all the hype, how helpful is AI really? And what parts of an organisation is it best incorporated into?
According to Euphoria Telecom chief technology officer Nic Laschinger, there is no doubt that AI-enabled tools can be incredibly powerful in a variety of business applications. But, he cautions, that’s only true if they’re used correctly.
“Small businesses especially often lack the resources to bring in the expertise they need to have full-scale marketing, sales, and research departments,” he says. “Tools such as Simplified, Quillbot, and Grammarly can help ensure their marketing copy is clean and compelling while Hubspot and Salesforce have AI analytics and machine learning baked in to give businesses a better understanding of customer behaviour and sales trends. Large language model (LLM) tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, meanwhile, are potentially transformative for research.”
“As helpful as AI tools can be, however, they need to be used carefully,” he adds. “Some AI tools occasionally have ‘hallucinations’, meaning that they generate false answers.”
Those hallucinations can be costly too. Security researchers, for example, have found that ChatGPT hallucinations can be exploited to distribute malicious code to software developers. That can then lead to data breaches, which now cost an average of R50 million.
“That’s just one of the reasons why companies shouldn’t use AI to replace any positions,” says Laschinger. “Instead, they should look at how AI tools can complement their existing resources and make their jobs easier.”
That’s the case for more specific business applications such as telephony too. AI can, for instance, help automate tasks such as call routing, appointment scheduling, and basic customer queries. That, in turn, reduces the workload on human operators and improves efficiency.
As Laschinger points out, AI can also improve the overall customer experience.
“AI tools, implemented correctly, can feed telephony providers personalised recommendations based on the individual data of a particular customer,” he says. “This personal touch, along with the ability to more quickly resolve customer queries, can enhance how customers experience the company, building loyalty and trust.”
If a business has a contact centre, AI tools can analyse call data and provide further insights into things like customer preferences, behaviour, and sentiment. These can then be used to further improve the customer experience.
“On the other side of the coin, if a business tries to use AI to replace contact centre operators entirely, it can cause rapid damage to the customer experience,” says Laschinger. “Think about how many times you’ve tried to resolve an issue with a company only to tear your hair out in frustration because you can’t get any human help.”
It’s clear that while AI can be incredibly helpful to businesses and is already being effectively deployed by many companies, it should primarily be seen as a tool rather than an all-encompassing solution.
“The recent advances in AI have been nothing short of extraordinary,” says Laschinger. “But for all those advances, AI still works best in tandem with skilled human workers rather than as a replacement for them.”
By Euphoria Telecom CTO Nic Laschinger
About Euphoria Telecom
Euphoria Telecom is a leading provider of an innovative, cloud-based, cost effective, business telephone service that offers unprecedented control and automated operational efficiency. The solution offers any business a truly simple approach to managing communications across an increasingly decentralised and mobile workforce. Seamless integration and automation make it simple for businesses to access insights, reports and efficacy of communications.
The company has earned a reputation as a customer-centric business, decreasing customer telephony costs by up to 50% and maintaining excellent customer service. Established in 2010, the company now proudly hosts over 4 000 business customers in South Africa and continues to grow rapidly. The company was founded by George Golding, Conrad de Wet and Rafal Janik, and is managed by John Woollam and Nic Laschinger.


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The Division of Communications and External Relations is pleased to share FIT in the News, which reports selected highlights of news stories about the college and/or that quote the college’s experts. These stories will be accessible for at least seven days by clicking on the links below.
Roman and Williams
Johannes Knoops, professor, Interior Design, on interior designers Roman and Williams: “Their rooms are like portals into another place and time.”
Jeffrey Ampratwum, instructor, Center for Continuing and Professional Studies, offered styling tips for long-sleeve shirts: “As a style tip for light fabrics that are too soft and will not give you a button to secure it: Roll up the sleeve and add a hair band similar in color at the arm to hold the roll in place. Adjust so that there isn’t any pressure on the arm.”
Natasha Degen, chair, Art Market Studies, on the speculation that the world’s largest art gallery, LVMH, is for sale: “Whether or not it’s true, the fact that so many people believe it’s true speaks to the fact that it makes perfect sense.”
Maria Grazia Chiuri
Valerie Steele, director and chief curator, The Museum at FIT (MFIT) on Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri: “You’re seeing the history of the brand, and I think she’s already made a very significant contribution to the reputation of what Dior is and can be.”
The Business of Virtual Merchandising
An exclusive online course, “The Business of Virtual Merchandising,” is now being offered at FIT in conjunction with ByondXR. The course teaches students to apply cloud-based virtual software to create virtual showrooms for wholesale and retail brands.
Shawn Grain Carter, associate professor, Fashion Business Management, on Lululemon and the Athleisure trend: “From the late ’90s to the early 2000s, athleisure became a phenomenon in the United States because it was a niche segment of the marketplace where you could target men and women, young and old, to wear this kind of casual, lifestyle, multipurpose fashionable attire.”
The Museum at FIT (MFIT)
Fresh, Fly and Fabulous: Fifty Years of Hip Hop Style
A press release for this upcoming exhibition was distributed via PRNewswire and received more than 260 pickups including dozens of affiliate TV station websites from CBS, NBC, ABS, and Fox as well as:
Shoes: Anatomy, Identity, Magic
Designing Women: Fashion Creators and Their Interiors
Click here for more FIT in the News.


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New diving shop’s opening plans scuppered by lockdown
PUBLISHED: 11:31 06 November 2020 | UPDATED: 13:53 06 November 2020
The owners of a new diving shop in Leiston have been left devastated after the store was forced to abandon its planned first day.
Beyond One Bar was supposed to open its doors on Thursday, the first official day of new coronavirus restrictions.
Owner David Swain and his family, who live in Leiston, had decided to open the specialist store after spending years working in the diving industry and having been inspired by their own experiences during the first lockdown.
“I have been teaching scuba diving for about 25 years,” said Mr Swain.
Mr Swain taught in the UK for about 10 years before moving to Honduras for seven years to teach there.
After moving back to the UK, Mr Swain became self-employed and found himself without any work when the first lockdown came into force in March, as did other members of his family.
“One of my sons worked at the Kitchen at Thorpeness, he lost work,” said Mr Swain.
“One son did marine biology at university.
“Everything has stopped for him.
“All the things he was looking to do have been put on hold.”
Mr Swain therefore decided that it was the right time to invest in his own business.
“We came up with setting up a diving centre in Leiston,” said Mr Swain.
You may also want to watch:
“It gives us something to do.”
The shop was just days away from opening when prime minister Boris Johnson made his announcement that England would go into a second lockdown.
The impetus for the creation of the business had now helped to put it on hold.
“We just about got everything ready,” said Mr Swain.
“And now we have to stop.
“We were really reliant on opening the doors on Thursday.”
Posts on the shop’s Facebook page that mentioned the shop’s proposed opening date have now been filled with mean spirited comments to the effect of ‘really?’ or ‘you think?’.
Fortunately others have been more supportive and Mr Swain hopes that, with their newly-opened website, the business will be able to survive during lockdown.
“With that we can carry on until we open up,” said Mr Swain.
“But we feel like we are a bit on the edge.”
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the East Anglian Daily Times. Click the link in the orange box above for details.


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- US OCC considering the probability of banks offering cryptocurrency services nationally in the US.
- Making cryptocurrencies an acceptable way of the transaction will ease settlements.
One of the biggest challenges for cryptocurrencies is its acceptability as a legal alternative to fiat money. However, there is a glimmer of hope for the cryptocurrencies. With the banks in the US looking ....
Tags : OCC, US banks, cryptocurrencies, crypto assets, digital assets ,


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Toontrack has announced the release of the Bass Toolbox EZmix Pack, a new expansion for EZmix 2 featuring a wide variety of presets custom-made solely for bass guitar.
You’ll find anything from amp and cab simulation settings to signal chains for amp and DI combos as well as inserts applicable on any type of source bass guitar audio.
“The idea was to compile something that would cater to a broad use, regardless of genre. A collection that covered the whole gamut of fundamental tools you’d need to get your bass right in a mix scenario”, says Toontrack sound designer Ulf Edlund.
A bass guitar in a mix situation is seldom just a plain and simple instrument signal. It often involves a long chain of effects such as compression, EQ, tape simulator and various types of distortion. Most mix engineers would even agree to bass being one of the hardest instruments to have sit well in a production. That’s why Toontrack put together an all-star team of engineers to design this collection of go-to settings for mixing and recording bass guitar: Randy Staub (Metallica, Avril Lavigne), Neil Dorfsman (Bruce Springsteen, Dire Straits), Pelle Henricsson (Refused, Meshuggah) as well as the Toontrack sound design team.
This pack will provide anything from warm and muffled to edgy, modern and distorted tones – all the way from upright and acoustic to vintage, classic and modern. It’s a toolbox for bass guitar. Easy.
The EZmix pack is available to purchase for $49 USD / 39 EUR.
More information: Toontrack / Bass Toolbox EZmix Pack
Toontrack has launched the Rock! EZX, a collection of 8 custom drum kits for the EZdrummer and Superior Drums virtual drum instruments. Take Neil Dorfsman, a Grammy Award-winning engineer with four decades worth of experience … read more
Toontrack Music has announced the immediate release of the New York Studios Collection for the award-winning drum production tool and sampler Superior Drummer 2.0. This collection combines the award-winning Superior Drummer software with the complete … read more
Toontrack has introduced the Drums Toolbox EZmix Pack, a new expansion for their widely popular multi-effect mix tool EZmix 2. The Drums Toolbox EZmix Pack features a wide variety of one-click settings specifically tailored to … read more
Toontrack has announced two new preset packs for the New York Studios Vol.3 SDX. Available today is a double-release of producer presets for Toontrack Music’s latest Superior Drummer sound expansion, the New York Studios Vol.3 … read more
Toontrack has announced the release of New York Studios Vol.3 SDX, the continuation of Toontrack’s New York Studios Legacy series, focusing on capturing the best studios in the New York area. We are proud to … read more
Outbound link: Toontrack
/ New York Studios Vol.3 SDX
– Related: Avatar Studios
, Neil Dorfsman
, Nir Z
, Pat Thrall
, samples and sound libraries
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on Dec 14, 2012 - 0 comments
Toontrack has announced the release of the Neil Dorfsman EZmix Pack, a collection of presets for the mixing effect plug-in for Windows and Mac. Neil Dorfsman has produced or recorded some of the biggest albums … read more
Toontrack has announced the release of N.Y. Vol.2 Presets – Neil Dorfsman, a collection of presets for the New York Studios Vol.2 SDX. Neil Dorfsman is not only one of the masterminds behind the sounds … read more
Toontrack Music has announced the official Superior Drummer 2.0 tutorial. The tutorial, presented by Mattias Eklund Toontrack Music Head of sound design and founding partner together with Pat Thrall, Neil Dorfsman and drummer NIR Z, … read more


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Turkey's most extensive döner restaurant chain, Baydöner is extending its branch network in Mediterranean Region.
Baydöner, which continues its growth with the restaurants opened all across Turkey, announced that a new branch has been opened in İskenderun. Starting to provide service at Park Forbes Shopping Center with 87 persons capacity, the branch was launched in June 17. Baydöner continues to invite all döner enthusiasts to taste special İftar menus throughout Ramadan.
Having been deemed worthy of "The Most Popular Restaurant" award as a result of the public survey organized by AYD (Shopping Centers and Investors Association) in 2015, Baydöner continues to seal its success with the awards that it has received from prestigious institutions since 2006.


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CDC confirms 2,051 cases of vaping-related lung injury
Nearly 40 people have died.
The FDA has opened a criminal investigation into vaping
It's looking into the supply chain following reports of hundreds of related illnesses.
CDC warns against vaping until it figures out what’s making people sick
'People should consider not using e-cigarette products,' the CDC wrote today.
DeepMind AI can predict kidney illness 48 hours before it occurs
It worked with the Department of Veterans Affairs to train AI to spot Acute Kidney Injury.
Amazon's Alexa will give medical advice from the NHS
'Alexa, how do I treat a migraine?'
Samsung reaches final settlement with cancer-stricken employees
Samsung agreed to compensate ill workers by 2028.
Google model identifies restaurants that could give you food poisoning
It cross references food poisoning search terms with location history.
Alphabet starts collecting health info to better predict disease
Verily's study will use its health-tracking watch to spot early signs of illness.
Scientists watch an immune system fight the flu in real time
It could lead to better treatments for many stubborn viruses.


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Are LEDs the way of the future?
Some believe the light-emitting diodes will replace incandescent and CFL bulbs.
The nation’s Big Three of lighting—General Electric, Osram Sylvania, and Royal Philips Electronics—are embracing a new era of more efficient technologies, like halogen, compact fluorescent, and solid-state devices. Encouraged by legislation and the rising cost of energy, as well as concerns about greenhouse gases, consumers are swapping out incandescent bulbs.
LED bulbs , with their brighter light and longer life, have already replaced standard bulbs in many of the nation’s traffic lights. Indeed, the red, green, and yellow signals are—aside from the tiny blinking red light on a DVD player, a cellphone, or another electronic device—probably the most familiar application of the technology.
On the other hand, energy efficiency and flexible lighting applications have long been the promise of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). The technology hasn't lived up to its promise, however, because in typical OLEDs, only 20% of the light generated is released from the device. That means that most light is trapped inside the bulb, making it highly inefficient.


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Prices on the Polish market for GC board have been pointing down since the middle of July.
Several virgin fibre board manufacturers submitted to a mounting price pressure in Poland in July and have made downward adjustments to GC board prices. EUWID respondents on both side of the market confirmed that prices were marked down by 2% as of the middle of July. The new prices will apply at least for the third quarter, reports indicated.
The drop in prices is said to be a logical consequence of good supply in the European virgin fibre board market as well as weaker demand in several countries. Delivery periods for GC board are said to be short at a maximum of two weeks. Furthermore, the situation reflected developments in the German market where prices are also crumbling, the supplier added.
Some folding cartons manufacturers claimed that the price cuts did not apply all across the market but that price reduction have been granted only to large buyers. Not all suppliers offered discounts, they said.
⇒ This article in an excerpt from EUWID's report on the Polish paper market. The EUWID Price Watch Poland for July will be published in EUWID Pulp and Paper no. 32 on 8 August.
Our weekly newsletter's print and e-paper versions keep busy professionals up-to-date on the latest news from European pulp and paper markets.
⇒ Test EUWID Pulp and Paper free of charge and without any obligation by clicking here.


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Marqeta, a card issuing platform, appoints Karna Crawford as CMO. Crawford was previously head of US marketing at Ford, and she has also served as head of consumer activation strategy & media at Verizon and SVP & managing director, head of marketing strategy at JPMorgan Chase & Co. As a member of Marqeta’s senior leadership team she will be responsible for driving the company’s global marketing efforts, including marketing and brand strategy, demand generation, product marketing, and communications. “Karna matches big picture brand vision with a keen eye for data and understanding how customers and prospects interact with a product,” said Marqeta chief revenue officer Todd Pollak.
Invariant adds former press secretary for the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Caroline Ponseti to its strategic communications and public affairs team as a communications strategist. Ponseti was most recently a senior director at The Herald Group. Before that, she was director of media relations at the American Gaming Association. In her new post, Ponsti will be responsible for building multi-faceted corporate communications and public affairs campaigns for clients. “Working at the nexus of corporate communications, advocacy, and reputation management, Caroline’s cutting-edge skills drive impact,” said Stephanie Smith, who leads Invariant’s strategic communications team. “Her experience shifting public perception for companies in highly regulated industries will add immediate value for our clients.”
Gannett hires Chris Cho as president of digital marketing solutions, effective July 10. Cho was most recently global chief product officer at Axiom, a recruiting technology platform for legal talent resources. He previously served in the same position at global job board Monster. At Gannett, Cho will be tasked with accelerating the growth and expansion of LocaliQ, Gannett’s digital marketing growth platform. “Chris Cho is a proven leader in the product field, and we are excited to welcome him to Gannett to drive the growth of our DMS business,” said Gannett chairman and chief executive officer Michael Reed.
TobinLeff, a mergers and acquisition advisory and exit planning consulting firm, brings on Janet Tyler as a partner. Tyler was a co-founder of Airfoil Group, which primarily work with clients the technology sector. She has also served as COO for Red Level, a technology consulting firm in Detroit, where she oversaw the company’s marketing, sales, and other strategic initiatives. “Her business experience, creativity, intellect, and drive will contribute to our mission to help clients maximize and monetize their life’s work,” said TobinLeff founder and managing partner David Tobin.


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Royal Australian Mint and Perth Mint are set to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II with special memorial obverses, whilst their King Charles III portrait awaits approval:
“In the coming months the Australian Government will announce details of… an effigy of King Charles III for all Australian coins” – Royal Australian Mint.
Royal Australian Mint’s Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Obverse Design
The first coinage featuring His Majesty’s effigy are expected to be issued in late 2023.
Until then, Royal Australian Mint have issued a final commemorative coin design featuring Queen Elizabeth II effigy.
Royal Australian Mint’s Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Obverse will be used on collectable and investment coins starting from 01.01.2023
Six effigies of Her Late Majesty have appeared on Australian coins but the new memorial design will feature the Queen’s years of reign as an inscription – “Elizabeth II 1952-2022”.
The Memorial Obverse will also feature on coins issued by The Perth Mint in Western Australia.
Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Coins by The Perth Mint
The Australian Kangaroo 2023 Gold, Silver and Platinum Bullion Coins will be The Perth Mint’s first releases featuring this memorial obverse.
Following the bullion kangaroos, the memorial obverse will be used on select Australian legal tender coins too.
Whilst we eagerly anticipate the reveal of Australia’s King Charles III effigy, we’ve seen His Majesty’s portrait revealed on our UK coins and banknotes.
UK King Charles III Coin Obverse Effigy
The first effigy of King Charles III first appeared on a UK 50p earlier in 2022, commemorating Queen Elizabeth II.
The coin has since entered circulation, with 4.9 million coins currently out there to find.
This obverse also featured on the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial £5 coin but we’re yet to see it on our lower denomination and £2 coins.
However, some of the first 2023-dated UK coins have been confirmed, featuring His Majesty’s portrait, so we can certainly start getting excited! Find out more here >>
King Charles III Portrait Revealed on UK Banknotes
His Majesty’s portrait will appear on the front of UK banknotes from mid-2024.
There will be no changes to the existing designs which means we’ve all got a fantastic opportunity to find a new re-issued version our favourite banknote!
Taking guidance from the Royal Household, the new banknotes will only be issued to replace worn Queen Elizabeth II notes. So, the two monarchs’ portraits will co-circulate for some time!
Are you a collector of Australian coinage? Let us know in the comments if you’re exciting for the new King Charles III portrait to be revealed!
Find and store your King Charles III 50p alongside the first King Charles III £5 coin
Get ready to start your hunt for the new 50p in your change. Secure your Change Checker King Charles III First Effigy Collecting Pack today!
Over 130,000 collectors queued online (with hundreds more queuing outside the Canberra shop) for the now sold out 2022 Royal Australian Mint’s Remembrance $2 coin.
The Royal Australian Mint issued this brand-new Remembrance Poppy coin to celebrate 10 years since their first ever coloured $2 was released into circulation.
The new coin features a re-issued design of their 2012 coin, which was the first circulation coin to include micro-text on the design.
Thousands queue for new Remembrance $2
This coin is so sought-after that on launch day, demand BROKE the Royal Australian Mint’s website.
Thousands queued for the new Remembrance $2 and soon after, secondary market sites had the coin listed for over 10 times the original retail price.
JUST 200 Available for International Market
As a result of demand, JUST 200 Remembrance $2 coins are available to the international market and we’ve managed to secure the entire allocation exclusively for Change Checkers!
With such limited stock available, and thousands set to miss out, you’ll therefore have to act fast to make sure you don’t miss out. Click here to get your sought-after Remembrance $2 coin for £29.99 (+p&p) >>
Your coin will come presented in specifically designed Remembrance Day packaging in uncirculated quality.
Significantly, remembrance coins have been some of the most sought-after issues out there.
So, will you be trying to get your hands on this coin?
Find, Collect, and Swap the coins in your change
If you like coin collecting, our Change Checker web app is completely free to use and allows users to:
– Find and identify the coins in their pocket
– Collect and track the coins they have
– Swap their spare coins with other Change Checkers
HRH Prince Harry launched the very first Invictus Games at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London in 2014, showcasing the incredible power of sport to inspire recovery and rehabilitation, and increase respect for those who have served their country.
The Games have installed a real sense of belonging for all, and as the international adaptive multi-sport event makes its way ‘down under’ to Sydney, Australia, something extra special will be happening this year for the Invictus Games to mark the fourth year running.
Because to commemorate this special event, The Royal Australian Mint have released a limited quantity of commemorative $2 AUD coins into circulation in Australia.
This $2 coin features a competitor in a wheelchair, with the words “Invictus Games” on the reverse. Taken from the Latin word for ‘unconquered’, ‘Invictus’ captures the spirit of the games and the competitors who won’t be defined by their injuries or disabilities.
2.3 million of these coins have been released over the past few months, meaning that they should be in the pockets of Australian change collectors by the time the games take place in October.
Invictus Games Sydney 2018 Chief Executive Officer Patrick Kidd OBE says:
“These coins are a fitting tribute to the men and women who serve and have served in our Defence forces and their families. The picture on the coin celebrates the unconquered spirit that this community displays each and every day and that you will all witness when these Games come to Sydney in October.”
Over 500 competitors from 18 nations will compete in 11 different sports during the Games, including:
- Indoor Rowing
- Jaguar Land Rover Driving Challenge
- Road Cycling
- Sitting Volleyball
- Wheelchair Basketball
- Wheelchair Rugby
Will any of you change checkers be heading ‘down under’ to watch the Games this October? Or if you have any Aussie friends, make sure they keep an eye out for the coin in their change!
Secure your Invictus Games $2!
We’ve managed to get hold of 125 coins for UK collectors so you can now own this fantastic $2 coin from Australia, representing triumph over adversity.


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GoCompare ad hit with 43 complaints in two days
The latest GoCompare ad that features sports presenter Sue Barker attempting to destroy the brand's well-known character Gio Compario with a bazooka, has been deluged with complaints just days after airing.
The ad by Dare has received 43 complaints since airing on Monday night, according to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which said consumers called the ad offensive and had the potential of causing harm to children.
The advertising watchdog is in the process of assessing the ad and has not yet made a decision if investigation is necessary.
The ASA has the power to ban or place a scheduling restriction on the ad if it finds it could be harmful to children.
The ad shows Barker dressed in a balaclava aiming at Gio Compario with a bazooka, as he serenades a young couple in his signature style.
When the gun is fired, a crater appears where Compario was standing, but the missile has missed the singer.
The ad ends with the new strapline, "GoCompare: Saving the nation."
The ad, created by Dare, was preceded by a week-long teaser campaign across Twitter and outdoor.
Toby Horry, managing director, Dare, told Campaign: "Clearly no offence was intended because Gio Compario is a fictional character in a fictional world, and if the ASA gets in touch then we will act accordingly."
Follow Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith on Twitter @loullamae_es
This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk
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- Bloomberg appoints Matt Teeman as commercial director EMEA
- BBC to end exclusive Red Bee Media production deal
- Samsung celebrates Prince George's birthday
- Virgin Holidays launches digital Caribbean push
- Captain Morgan Facebook ad banned for suggesting alcohol conquers boredom
- Happy birthday Mr Ad Server: the future of RTB


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The Entire VR Industry in One Little Email
The Daily Roundup is our comprehensive coverage of the VR industry wrapped up into one daily email, delivered directly to your inbox.
Announced back in September at the reveal of Quest 2, Jurassic World Aftermath is suddenly set to be released on the headset tomorrow, according to the game’s just-released launch trailer.
Developed by veteran VR studio Coatsink as a Quest exclusive, Jurassic World Aftermath is shaping up to look a bit like a made-for-VR version of Alien Isolation. And if they pull it off, that would probably be a very good thing as Alien Isolation has long been touted as a highly immersive game that would work great in VR—so much that a fan created a mod to imbue it with VR capabilities.
Instead of an otherworldly alien, however, the game focuses on the velociraptor as the entity that will stalk the player, harkening back to the memorable ‘raptors in the kitchen‘ scene from the original Jurassic Park (1993). Here’s the pitch from the game’s store page:
Jurassic World Aftermath is a suspenseful, survival VR adventure. Crash-landing on Isla Nublar after the fall of Jurassic World, you find yourself trapped in a research facility when your mission to recover valuable information goes disastrously wrong. Your only hope of escape is to retrieve the confidential information while trying to avoid three deadly Velociraptors. To survive, you’ll need to explore, solve puzzles, and find ways to distract and hide from the ferocious Velociraptors that stalk your every move.
While the game was announced back in September, we didn’t know the release date or price until today—Jurassic Park Aftermath launches tomorrow, December 17th, priced at $25, and exclusively available on Oculus Quest and Quest 2.
Writing on Mashable, Joseph Volpe today shared some impressions of the game and info from the developers, including plans for a ‘Part 2’ DLC sometime in 2021 which promises to ramp up “the danger and the intensity.”
Source: Read Full Article


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Creatz3D kicked off the year 2015 with one of the most talked about 3D printing tradeshow of all – Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo!
Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo is the leading B2B (Business to Business) trade show for the 3D printing industry. Attendees at the event were presented with an array of 3D printing technology present in the market today, from 3D printers to 3D scanners. Attendees also received valuable insights from keynote speakers in the various industries such as education, manufacturing and medical.
Creatz3D was proud to be able to continue its efforts in sharing with both prospects and potential prospects in the various industries of the new applications of 3D printing technology present in the market today.
Over the 2 days event, Creatz3D’s booth received an overwhelming response on the different applications of 3D printing technology. Many whom Creatz3D has engaged with expressed interest in knowing the potential and future behind all these amazing technologies such as Stratasys PolyJet and FDM (Fused Deposition Modelling) technology. In addition, there was a substantial interest in the future of ARCAM, the 3D metal printer under Creatz3D portfolio. The samples displayed at the exhibition showcased the capabilities of ARCAM EBM technology and its capability in incorporating lattice structure into its 3D printed models, a great benefit especially in the medical industry.
Present at the exhibition was also a “Micro Injection Molding” Machine from BabyPlast. A mold of a model racing car was printed on a Stratasys Connex 2 production system. The multi-material capability of the PolyJet technology enabled the printing of a short run injection mold which was being used at the exhibition to produce model racing car. The molds withstood over 100 shots and was still able to continue in the production of the model racing car.
Creatz3D was proud to have been able to exhibit and interact with all the attendees at Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo 2015. We would like to extend our appreciation to those whom have attended Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo 2015.


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They aren't exactly smartphones, tablets or even phablets, but Panasonic's new Toughpad line of "handheld tablets" redefine tough for mobile devices and include the ability to warm themselves in extreme cold with a built-in heater.
Nest, the Internet-connected thermostat and smoke detector maker owned by Google, is acquiring home security system developer Dropcam as part of a push to connect a wider range of devices in people's homes.
Promotional texts and other messages from Twitter are fine if you consent to them, but some are going out to old phone numbers that have been around the block, according to a new lawsuit.
A Chinese electronics vendor accused of selling signal jammers to U.S. consumers could end up leading the market in one dubious measure: the largest fine ever imposed by the Federal Communications Commission.
LinkedIn is offering a job search app for iOS devices, aimed at making it easier for users to find and be notified of jobs apart from LinkedIn's main site.
BlackBerry managed to turn the tide toward a small profit during its fiscal first quarter, but revenue and phone sales continued to drop.
Responding to more than a year of pressure, Google and Microsoft will follow Apple in adding an anti-theft "kill switch" to their smartphone operating systems, U.S. law enforcement officials will announce later Thursday.
You'd be forgiven for thinking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos wants to compete with other phone makers with his company's new Fire smartphone. But forget the multiple cameras and pretty 3-D-like effects, the device is really about selling more stuff.
Many of the most popular mobile apps look set to be available on Amazon's new Fire smartphone when it launches on July 25.
Amazon has unveiled its highly anticipated entry into the smartphone market, a handset called Fire.
The BlackBerry 10 OS will soon have Amazon's Android app store built-in, in a bid to increase the number of apps available on the smartphone and allow BlackBerry to focus on enterprise software as it tries to stay afloat.
Samsung Electronics has launched a new version of the Galaxy S5 with an upgraded screen and faster processor, but for now it is only available in South Korea.
Global gadget giant Samsung Electronics uses techniques from the so-called "maker" community of hobbyists to develop products at a Silicon Valley Internet of Things lab.
Self-driving cars could appear on Dutch public roads soon, as the government is preparing regulations that will make large-scale public road tests legal, the country's Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment said Monday.
Sales have not been uniformly strong for IT, but there have been enough upbeat reports pouring in from vendor and market research companies to buoy overall confidence in tech.
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would know the key smartphone buying trend these days; people want their money’s worth, it’s as simple as that. BlackBerry ran a winning streak at the beginning of the noughties, however it is currently struggling to keep up with a market dominated by companies selling affordable smartphones.
Today, BlackBerry announced the addition of another smartphone in its range of Indian offerings – the BlackBerry Porsche Design P’9983 Graphite, priced at Rs. 99,990.
If anyone ever decides to buy this phone it will surely be for its design. According to the company’s statement the device has been created by [...]


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Europe needs to build its own cloud services
Consumers turn a blind eye to American spying as they have no other option, says F-Secure's Mikko Hypponen
Europe needs to build its own cloud services if it wants to avoid being spied on by American secret services, one security expert has claimed.
Scandals such as the NSA's Prism programme aren't the fault of "misbehaving" spies, but should be blamed on Europe's lack of viable alternatives to US cloud services, and our dependency on American-controlled networks, according to F-Secure's Chief Research Officer Mikko Hypponen, speaking at InfoSec Europe in London.
He added that even though we're now aware of American spying activities, we still continue to use US consumer cloud services, as there's virtually no other option.
When we have the rare European success stories, we end up selling them to the Americans
Hypponen also criticised the lack of support for European tech entrepreneurs, saying the first thing they do when chasing success and funding is move to Silicon Valley.
"An amazingly large amount of the American web companies were founded by immigrants," Hypponen said.
"When we have the rare European success stories, we end up selling them to the Americans," he added, citing the sale of Nokia to Microsoft.
Hypponen said that advances in storage and digitisation make it easier to leak data, pointing out that Chelsea Manning fit 400,000 documents – which became known as the Iraq War Logs – onto a CD.
In pre-internet, pre-digitisation times, moving that amount of information on paper would have required a lorry, he said.
"A microSD card can hold 1TB of data – not 1GB, 1TB. You could easily put that in your mouth and walk out with it," he said.
"Governments use all this technology to watch over us. But that same technology also means we can watch over them," he concluded.


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November 11, 2021 – The Charlotte Hornets announced today that the team will continue minting commemorative NFT game tickets during the 2021-22 season, producing one for each of the eight “Hive 75 Nights.” The “Hive 75 Nights” are part of the celebration of the NBA’s 75th Anniversary and will see the team wear the City Edition uniform and play on a special City Edition court.
The design of this season’s commemorative NFT game ticket will be revealed at the first “Hive 75 Night” tomorrow, November 12, when the Hornets host the New York Knicks.
During each of the eight games, fans in attendance at Spectrum Center will have the ability to purchase from a limited release of 75 NFTs through the Hornets App at a cost of $19.88, joining the team’s City Edition uniform and court in acknowledging the team’s inaugural season of 1988-89. Like last season, cryptocurrency is not required.
Fans who hold all eight commemorative NFTs in their wallet on April 1 will receive two tickets in a suite with other NFT holders for the regular-season finale against the Washington Wizards on Sunday, April 10. The three NFT’s released last season – the final home game of the 2020-21 regular season, the road contest against the Indiana Pacers in the State Farm Play-In Tournament and the first Hornets Venom GT game of the 2021 NBA 2K League season – may be used as wild cards toward the total of eight, but only if held by the original purchaser.
The Hornets have also launched a secondary marketplace to buy, sell and trade the team’s commemorative NFTs that is accessible through the Hornets App or online at hornets.mint.store.
In May 2021, the Hornets became one of the first U.S. professional sports teams to mint an NFT when they released a commemorative NFT game ticket for the final home game of the 2020-21 regular season. The organization worked with Dapper Labs and Mint to create the NFT on the Flow Blockchain. The Hornets in-house creative department designed the digital artwork and collaborated with other departments across the organization to bring it to life and make it available to fans.
Additional “Hive 75 Nights” after November 12 include Monday, December 27, against the Houston Rockets; Saturday, January 8, against the Milwaukee Bucks; Sunday, January 23, against the Atlanta Hawks; Wednesday, February 9, against the Chicago Bulls; Saturday, February 12, against the Memphis Grizzlies; Saturday, March 19, against the Dallas Mavericks; and Friday, March 25, against the Utah Jazz. Tickets for these contests, and all Hornets home games, are available at hornets.com or ticketmaster.com, on the Hornets App or via phone at 1-800-4NBA-TIX.


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Fornite's latest update will be made available today (06.11.18).
Epic Games has confirmed the game will be going offline at around 9am, with gameplay disabled on PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch and Mobile, as they work on launching v6.22.
Patch notes are being released during the downtime, which is only expected to be in affect for a few hours.
Features include a brand new Weapon and Limited Time Mode will debut in 'Battle Royale' and NFL Outfits will debut in the Store starting November 9 at 7 PM ET, plus much more
A tweet on the official profile for the game reads: "Fall into the v6.22 update, available tomorrow!
Downtime begins Tuesday, November 6 at 4 am ET. (sic)"
The latest update was delayed by a day due to a "last minute issue".
They tweeted recently: "Due to a last minute issue discovered within the v6.21 build, we've delayed its release until Thursday, November 1. (sic)"
However, fans will benefit from the addition of balloons when the update is live.
The new feature will mean that gamers can float above the map and the more of them they collect the higher you'll be able to get.
The full advantages are yet to be revealed by developers Epic Games.
It's not the first time an update has affected gaming this month.
'Fortnite' was offline while the v6.10 update was rolled out.
However, the wait made way for an exciting array of new features and fixes.
One of the updates was an introduction of in-game tournaments that rewards players with pins and prizes.
Meanwhile, it was recently revealed that 'Fornite' has already made $300 million on iOS alone.
The battle royale title has proven highly lucrative for publisher Epic, and the game recently hit the eye-catching milestone on Apple's operating system.
'Fortnite' - which was first launched in 2017 - pulled in the massive sum from its micro-transactions since launching on iOS on March 15.
It's a figure that compares favourably will with the iOS edition of batttle royale title 'PlayerUnknown's Battleground', which had made around $47 million since it started selling extra content on April 15.


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For one thing, it means a once-in-a-decade event.
After Nintendo's last financial results release, the latest updates to Pokemon game sales indicated that the mega-franchise has shipped somewhere over 100 million copies on Switch, with “main” games - defined as anything that can move Pokemon into the Home subscription service - being more than 95 million copies. Although the record sales of a set of Pokemon games will never fall due to being set by a trio of Red/Green/Blue, both of the Switch generation starters (Sword and Shield, Scarlet and Violet) have taken second and third in franchise history ahead of Gold and Silver sales. Pokemon has handled the transition to hybrid consoles well, at least in terms of sales.
Technical performance… not so much.
But as we move into the endgame of the OG Switch, what can we expect from the fast growing franchise as we move to… whatever the Switch’s successor is?
To start with, there is no main Pokemon game on the schedule now - but Pokemon Day is a short time away. About four days, to be exact.
2024: One (Or Two) More For The Road
Regardless of whether or not the successor comes out this year, it will not launch with a Pokemon main series game. There might be a spinoff in the launch window - we saw that with the rescue of Pokken Tournament from the Wii U in 2017 - but past precedent suggests that The Pokemon Company and their development partners will go for the higher user base over trying to deal with a system in the midst of console shortages. Or apathy.
- Pokemon Crystal launched a month ahead of the Game Boy Advance in 2001 in Japan, and about a month and a half after the North American launch of the GBA.
- Pokemon Emerald launched in September of 2004 in Japan, with the DS launching in December there. For North America, the DS preceded Emerald’s launch by about six months.
- Pokemon Black and White 2 for the DS launched in Japan in June of 2012, more than a year after the 3DS’s launch. The West got it even later, in October. (And the online services lasted a year and a half.)
- Lastly, Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon were the pre-Black Friday Nintendo games in 2017, while the Switch launched in March.
So there is almost no chance that whatever Pokemon release this year is targeting the successor platform. I'm sure Game Freak got early access to dev kits as one of Nintendo's key partners, but based on Scarlet and Violet they need much, MUCH more prep time.
So what should we expect this year on the 27th of February? There's three possibilities:
- Pokemon Legends: (name here) - I don't want to say that Game Freak would try to crank out an Arceus follow-up while also trying to contain the Scarlet and Violet tire fire, but would it surprise anyone? A game in Unova - the Black and White region - is what I'm hoping for, and it's strictly for Pokedex reasons: there are nine non-legendary or mythical Pokemon that have never appeared in a Switch Pokemon game. Eight of them debuted in Black and White*, and it's very easy to see why a game set in a historical version of Pokemon Northeastern United States would get the 9th**.
- A straight remake of Black and White. This seems like the least likely proposition, given that remakes have routinely skipped generations after 2009 or so. The question becomes then how do we deal with the existence of Black and White 2? Is it DLC in a later remake, or its own game set? If it's the latter, and they want to maintain the features from BW2 that carried over story elements from the first game, it's probably an easier sell if there's a few years between Wicked Black/Blinding White 1 and 2 than coming out a year apart.
- A new Let's Go game, probably set in the Johto region. Pokemon Go is still an ongoing concern, and Pikachu/Eevee are probably the best-running Pokemon Switch games, but I don't think Togepi and Wooper have the same cachet as Pikachu and Eevee. (With apologies to several current and former Nintendo World Report contributors.)
Of course, if the successor is backwards compatible with the original Switch… hopefully the new system has enough power to brute force making the existing games run at something approaching modern standards.
2025: The Year Off
Yes, the Pokemon franchise is likely to take a year off from a boxed game release next year. The transition period will be well underway, and it gives GameFreak time to make sure that the debut game runs up to the standards of the hardware.
A lot is made of the fact that the games have to be rushed out in order to meet deadlines, but the pandemic has afforded opportunities for Pokemon to focus on existing games and Pokemon for a year. The Pokemon anime rebooted Ash into retirement and is focusing on a bespoke storyline that isn't necessarily married to a particular region. The other spinoff games still have a lot of room to add new Pokemon and trainers - or in the case of Pokemon Masters EX, new alts for existing trainers.
Perhaps the biggest opportunity for marketing existing Pokemon is in Pokemon Go. A rollout of Sword and Shield-debuting Pokemon which might have been expected in 2020 got stopped when developers Niantic had to reboot the fundamental operation of the game to accommodate the fact that people needed to “stay the blazes home”. By the time the currently announced events wrap at the end of the month, there will be 22 Pokemon introduced in the 8th generation in the game - and a third of them debuted in Legends: Arceus. You know that the Galar STARTERS aren't available in Pokemon Go as of now? Meanwhile, they did a full rollout of Scarlet and Violet Pokemon in September 2023, beginning with the starters and early route Normal-type Lechonk.
I have to think that sometime in one of the next two Pokemon Day announcements or the pre-Worlds Pokemon Presents we will see an announcement of a season of Galar, in a similar fashion to how the “Season of Alola” was announced in February of 2022. And maybe by the end of 2025 I'll have a good Gholdengo in that game.
2026: If It's Bad Do We Call It “Degeneration X”?
The last time Pokemon took a year off was 2015. And despite Nintendo's best effort to have a Pokemon-killer for the holidays in the form of Yo-Kai Watch, the absence was definitely noticeable. During that time, GameFreak was focused on their own projects, but also was working to prepare a major throwback for the 20th anniversary of Pokemon.
If you disregard the Yo-Kai Watch portion, this feels awfully familiar. They're working on… something… with the Private Division label of Take Two, that we have one piece of concept art for alongside a nebulous “fiscal 2025” release window that could land it in the first part of 2026. Which is where Tembo the Badass Elephant dropped in 2016. And after that, the march of time suggests that there will be a new generation of Pokemon for the 30th anniversary released on November 20, 2026.
The questions about the setting, the new Pokemon that will take the list of known Pokemon species into the 1100s, the new raid-based gimmick… all will be answered in due time. (Hey Game Freak, if you want to go back to North America, I know several places in Canada that could serve as a point of inspiration.) But it'll be in time for the second or third holiday of a new platform, as has been the case for every first main pair on a new system since Satoru Iwata became president of Nintendo.
And with four years between shipping Scarlet and Violet and whatever pair will be used, we hopefully don't need to hold a programming seance for Iwata to come in and fix things to the point that they can gratuitously cram Kanto in there. We are NOT going down that road again.
The other reason why they'd want to hold off on bringing out the new generation on the next generation is system cost. Switch but more powerful has a price floor of current Switch OLED pricing, and given that price drops have become a sign of weakness since the debut of the 3DS Ambassador Program it'll still probably be pushing $500 Canadian BEFORE taxes in 2026. The last two system debuts have coincided with new lower points of entry: the 2DS cut 35% off the price of entry of the 3DS in September 2013 and the Switch Lite in September 2019 was ⅔ the price of the regular Switch. If the successor is anywhere nearly as successful as the Switch, there will be a lower cost redesign to let the actual target market - the Juniors division at the annual World Championships or younger - have a shot at getting in.
If you want the Switch’s successor to launch with the franchise that has sold more than any other, fear not: you will be sick of Mario games six months after launch. Pokemon is going to march to its own beat, and yet we'll look at the sales charts in 2031 and think “wow, that is a lot of Pokemon”. And that's just the way The Pokemon Company likes it.
* Patrat, Watchog, Pansage, Simisage, Pansear, Simisear, Panpour, Simipour.
** Furfrou. The literal French poodle.


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Fires in California, a lack of dock workers in France and a problem at the Canadian border are having a trickle down effect felt by shop owners on the Avenue. Shelves are not bare. Yet. But some coveted holiday items may be in short supply.
“Back in September, all Pennsylvania Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores mandated a limit of two bottles, per customer, per day of certain items,” said Shawn M. Kelly, Press Secretary of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. Those items are holiday favorites: Veuve Clicquot, Hennessy Cognac, Don Julio Tequila, Patron Tequila Silver and over thirty-five other top shelf brands.
This will not come as a surprise to readers of Forbes July 26, 2021 article, Is There A Liquor Shortage Looming In Your State? which reported runs on Tito’s Vodka and Patron Tequila months ago due to shortages of glass, aluminum, packing materials and labor.
Some popular holiday items such as Chandon and Moet Champagne Brut are already out of stock and not expected anytime soon. That doesn’t mean you have to toast in the New Year with Boone Farm Wine. Fine French Champagnes, such as Perrier Jouet, Taittinger, Mumm’s and Piper Heidsieck are still available. For now.
Forget about picking up a case of any imported wine for the holidays. Instead, start stocking up now on that two bottle per day limit. And don’t even think about driving to Jersey. “Every state is experiencing the same shortages,” said Kelly.
Mikel Elam, manager of Artists and Craftsmen, has experienced delays across all product lines, however he has some good news. “Our children’s department is fully stocked with toys, games, puzzles and crafts,” he said. “We also have plenty of decorative papers for crafts and wrapping gifts.”
But many other art products are being held up in customs. “Our wooden panels come from Canada and we had three orders backed up for six months,” said Elam. Other items in short supply? Acrylic paints, watercolors and oils, along with wooden frames and stretchers. “There is a wood shortage due to the west coast fires,” he said. “We are experiencing longer than normal shipping times on many items.”
“It’s a perfect storm,” said Flip Ferry, President of Robertson’s Flowers and Events. “Weddings were canceled for a year due to the pandemic and the last four or five months have been crazy. There’s an incredible demand for white roses. We manage to get what we need, but there are certain varieties of roses we can’t get.”
Ferry, a fourth generation Robertson, explained that his family-owned business usually gets roses from Ecuador, but now fifty percent are imported from Holland. “We are paying a lot more for it,” he said. “The whole growing cycle was disrupted. For a while, planes were not flying and no products were being shipped. It takes time to get back on track.”
The shortage was not just with flowers but also with vases. However, Ferry does not anticipate any problems filling orders for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve. Just don’t wait until the last minute.
“Pre-pandemic, we could go to a local wholesaler. They don’t have anything at the last minute anymore,” said Ferry. His advice? The earlier you can get your order in, the better.
Another shop feeling the delivery pinch is Chestnut Hill Sports. “We have been limiting the sale of tennis balls to four cans per customer,” said co-owner Tom Amodie who is also experiencing delays with imported sneakers and cleats.
Whether shops on the Hill are experiencing some shortages or not, they are all ready for the holiday season.
Bohemian Pink’s pop-up location next to Kilian’s Hardware is well stocked with affordably priced fashion accessories, from leather goods to softly-draped cardigans with a cashmere feel. Serendipity, across from Starbucks, has a large selection of hoodies, sweatshirts and sweatpants printed with neighborhood logos: Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Wissahickon, Philadelphia, etc. They also have a wide selection of accessories for men and women of all ages. Villavillekila, in the Community Center, is filled with old-fashioned toys, books and gifts for children, as well as unique clothing you will not find elsewhere. Also in the Community Center is the new pop-up shop of Windfall, which still has its flagship store on Germantown Avenue near Willow Grove. While the original location features jewelry, the pop-up shop focuses on wintery wearables, such as ponchos, scarves, hats, and gloves.
Starting November 10th, Chestnut Hill shops will stay open on Wednesdays until 8pm, except for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Starting Thanksgiving weekend, stores will be open until 7pm Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In December, there will also be extended hours for the Hill’s annual Stag and Doe Nights.
Starting Wednesday, November 10th, free parking will be available all day on Wednesdays in Chestnut Hill parking lots, which are managed by the Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation. Not, however, in the streets - where parking is managed by the Philadelphia Parking Authority.


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We can’t wait for the holiday season to get here, and for one reason; beautifully decorated Christmas trees!
The BC Children’s Hospital Foundation is bringing the 30th annual Festival of Trees to the Bay Centre in Victoria again in November. This local tradition is the unofficial kick-off to the holiday season in the Capital Region.
This year, your company could be one of the proud businesses involved with this amazing tradition! If you own or work with a local business or organization, we have 9 good reasons why you should get involved with Festival of Trees.
2021 is about community spirit
As we continue to be in challenging times globally, consumers are looking more and more to spend their dollars with companies and organizations that care about the community. Show the community your spirit by participating in an event raising funds for the only hospital in BC dedicated exclusively to caring for sick and injured children.
Your business will gain valuable brand recognition by partnering with the most recognized brand in all of British Columbia*
*Based on a 2016 survey by Insights West
Engage with your customers and employees
Each sponsor will receive a complimentary engagement toolkit designed to help you utilize your participation in the Festival of Trees to engage with your customers and employees.
Exciting team-building activity
Your team will have the opportunity to come together, share in the holiday spirit, brainstorm a theme, and decorate a tree, all while collaborating to support sick kids in BC.
On average over 3,600 kids from Vancouver Island are admitted to BC Children’s Hospital every year. That’s nearly 10 kids every single day on Vancouver Island who are told they have a condition that can only be treated at BC Children’s Hospital.
Local media coverage
Each year the Festival of Trees partners with some of the top media outlets in Victoria, including; Victoria Buzz, Ocean 98.5, CHEK TV, Used.ca, and the Times Colonist. The sponsorship level you choose, and the amounts of funds you are able to raise, will determine how much recognition and coverage you receive.
COVID Safety Plan
Just like last year, Festival of Trees organizers will work with the Bay Centre to ensure all guidelines set out by the Provincial Health Order are met. Our goal is to ensure Festival of Trees is able to operate safely inside the Bay Centre providing our sponsors and guests with the best experience possible.
Support Mental Health
Evidence is emerging that practicing mindfulness helps youth increase resiliency and helps them better cope with chronic illness, pain, psychological distress, and other health challenges. New for 2021, all funds raised through Festival of Trees will support mental health programs offered through BC Children’s Hospital, and the Centre for Mindfulness.
Your business can get all this, including six weeks of specialized branding at the Bay Centre, for as little as $1,000 with all proceeds benefiting BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.
If you’re interested in being involved with this festive event, you can contact Shaun Cerisano through email at firstname.lastname@example.org or by phone at 250-380-1528. You can also see the sponsorship package and register online by visiting www.bcchf.ca/fotyyj
- When: November 18th – January 4th, regular shopping hours
- Where: The Bay Centre, 1150 Douglas Street
- Admission: Free – vote by donation!


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The top four paint manufacturers - Asian Paints, Berger Paints, Kansai Nerolac and Akzo Nobel - have seen a rise in raw material costs in the March quarter. The four companies together control over 50 per cent of the domestic paints industry.
Crude prices according to government data is on an upward trend with the average price at $56.43 per barrel in 2017-18 compared with $47.56 in the year-ago period. The exchange rate has also remained volatile. While Berger Paints and Kansai Nerolac has seen a 31.7 per cent and 29 per cent rise in standalone raw material cost during the fourth quarter of 2017-18, Asian Paints and Akzo Nobel have seen an increase of 8.79 per cent and 19.91 per cent, respectively.
To mitigate part of the impact and to protect the margins, paint firms have taken two rounds of price hike in 2018 - in March and May - with a combined rise close to 4 per cent already. The paints industry uses crude oil derivatives such as titanium dioxide and monomers as raw materials, part of which is imported into the country.
"Material prices continued to witness an upward trend, thereby exerting pressure on margins which were to an extent mitigated by the price increase taken," said KBS Anand, managing director and CEO of Asian Paints.
The hike is mostly on the decorative paints segment as industrial paint pricing is mostly on a negotiated basis. Decorative paints contribute to over 70 per cent of the industry turnover. The industry is not discounting another round of price hike from being considered depending upon the trend in material costs.
"The paints industry has already taken a couple of price hikes this year (2018) to mitigate some of adverse effect of the raw material costs. As of now, raw material prices are stable. We have to closely watch the volatility in crude prices and exchange rate and take further call on price," said Abhijit Roy, managing director of Berger Paints.
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