Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

LAURENS. S.C. Regan Freeman had spent more than a year organizing a project to tell the story of a Black South Carolina pastor who reached out to Ku Klux Klan members who wanted him dead because of his race.

Freeman thought he knew the story well. Then came a tweet that led to two gray storage tubs of some of the most racist newspapers, flyers, posters, photographs and other material he had ever seen.

That brought Rev. David Kennedy's struggles as well as his patience, love and caring for all men even those with evil in their hearts into sharper focus for Freeman, who is working to turn what was once a store filled with racist merchandise into a diversity center and museum on racial reconciliation.

Courtesy The Echo Project

Freeman was born three months after the Redneck Shop and World's Only Klan Museum, adorned with Confederate flags and a swastika on a back wall, opened in 1996 in Laurens. He has raised more than $300,000 to renovate the historic Echo Theater, which was a segregated movie theater before housing the shop and a large meeting hall where dozens of hooded Klan members met in the back.

Freeman wants to collect the stories of Black people around Laurens whose ancestors struggled through slavery and segregation and maybe take on other projects like putting up historical markers at the site of each of the more than 150 known lynchings of Black people in the state.

There are so many stories out there that haven't been told or we haven't told completely," Freeman said.

And that led him to those gray plastic tubs.

In October, he replied to a tweet by a woman who now owns the land where Redneck Shop owner John Howard lived letting the Southern Poverty Law Center know she had a ton of his stuff.

The woman didn't respond, so Freeman drove up himself and after a unannounced visit, some negotiation and $500, he had decades of stuff marking Howard's racist life.

There are negatives of cross burnings. Posters of Adolph Hitler. A Klan Rally Instructions manual. A flyer called A Boat Ticket To Africa with horribly offensive Black caricatures and stereotypes. A business card Klan members would leave to intimidate Black families that said this was a social visit and don't make the next visit a business call."

This stuff isn't from 100 years ago. Some of it is maybe from the last decade or two," Freeman said. I think it is important to see it and see how deep this hate goes so you can see why we need to fight so hard to change."

Freeman plans to have historians at the University of South Carolina help him look through the items with an eye toward preservation and display the ones that best tell a story in exhibits at the theater.

A Klan member named Michael Burden, who was once considering killing Kennedy, sold the theater to the pastor in 1997 after Kennedy helped him out when he and Howard had a falling out. But Burden's deal let Howard keep leasing the theater for the Redneck Shop. Kennedy finally won a 15-year court fight and shut the shop down. The story became the movie Burden released earlier this year.

Now Freeman is leading the project to turn the old theater into Kennedy's dream of a community center where racial reconciliation and harmony is at the forefront.

We're hoping The Echo Project will become a place where every race could be respected a place where diversity is not only just talked about, but is celebrated through action," Kennedy said.

Freeman grew up in nearby Clinton, and while at the University of South Carolina, felt pulled to talk to Kennedy about his work. Kennedy asked him to lead the project and Freeman gave up a law firm job for his new calling.

This is a chance to tell a great story, Freeman said.

An architect and construction firm have been chosen, with work starting soon, and Freeman plans to relaunch the Echo Projects website to expand its reach.

To be a part of a project that can use architecture and inflict change at the same time is huge for me," MOA Architecture Founder Michael Allen said.

The first bit of work for the companies? Scraping off a Confederate flag sticker on the marquee for decades and replacing it with the project's name and website.

It needs to be the opposite of a dilapidated old building that stands as a shrine to hatred," said David Walker, manager for the project for Sodexos Construction and Infrastructure Services.

___

Follow Jeffrey Collins on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JSCollinsAP.

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Work Begins To Turn SC Racist Store Into Racial Harmony Site - WFAE

In his closing remarks during the October 2019 Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Russell M. Nelson invited members of the church to prepare for 2020.

Nelson said: General conference next April will be different from any previous conference... I hope that every member and every family will prepare for a unique conference that will commemorate the very foundation of the restored gospel.

He was referring to the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Joseph Smiths First Vision wherein he testifies he saw God, the Father and Jesus Christ, his Son.

While Nelson said he had no notion that a worldwide pandemic would add to the unique conference, but it most certainly did. And, for the LDS Church, it was a unique year.

While the world has become familiar with people and activities being quarantined, closed or postponed, 2020 was anything but paused for the LDS Church.

Rather than slowed or halted, many of the church activities were accelerated.

New branding

In order for us to get through the pandemic and other chaos is the world, Nelson said members needed to pause and understand how an individual, personally hears their maker.

A new initiative by the church to help members recognize how they receive personal revelation, how they #HearHim, was introduced during the April Conference. Members were invited to take time to listen and develop a closer relationship with deity in 2020.

The April General Conference, for the first time, was held remotely, via several media platforms, due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Conference Center was closed and leadership meetings postponed.

With the worldwide pandemic still rampant in October, the fall Semiannual General Conference was also held remotely.

After mid-March The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, Orchestra at Temple Square and other performing groups were put on hiatus and prerecorded music by the choir was used for meetings and celebrations including the First Presidencys 2020 Christmas Devotional in December and the weekly broadcasts of Music and the spoken word.

Nelson also introduced a new symbol or logo for the church. This new symbol, a drawing of the Christus statue in an enclosed archway, is a continuation of the effort Nelson felt inspired to initiate in August 2018 to focus on the Churchs divinely revealed name.

Since that time, he said, the churchs leaders, departments, related entities, main website, members and many others now use the correct name of the Church.

We have gone to these extraordinary efforts because when we remove the Lords name from the name of His Church, we inadvertently remove Him as the central focus of our worship and our lives, Nelson said.

In-home church

The focus of worship for the church started changing in January 2019 when the church instigated a new home centered, church supported study program titled Come Follow Me.

Weekly worship in chapels came to a temporary halt in March, but the faiths culture of home-centered gospel study helped Latter-day Saints more easily adapt to worship and scripture study from home.

By summer, LDS Wards and Stakes were able to meet on a limited basis with portions of the meetings being available to watch at home via Zoom and by other media support.

That still continues as of the end of 2020.

It was the sacred ordinance of the Sacrament that became a major focal point for members of the church as they were able to have priesthood holders, either in the family or church representatives, provide the service in their homes. The experiences shared show members have developed a great appreciation for the Sacrament and what it represents in their lives.

Humanitarian aid

In January, with a global pandemic at her doorstep, Sister Sharon Eubank, director of Latter-day Saint Charities, and first counselor of the General Relief Society Presidency and her team started planning on how they could respond to basically everyones needs.

This is the first time responding to a global event, Eubank said. Everybody in the whole world is being affected.

Typically, Latter-day Saint Charities responds to individual disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, typhoons and volcanoes.

Never have those charities had to respond to the entire world at once, and Eubank said they had to look at the issue with a whole new set of eyes.

Perhaps the biggest question for Eubank was: How do you respond to, organize and assign and direct a global event from your living room? She has been required to work from home for the most part.

Eubank said there are 20 members of her team at church headquarters in Salt Lake City and they meet daily.

We are looking at technology to see what we can do, Eubank said. Its forcing us to do things in different ways.

Throughout the world, the church is divided into areas with General Authority Seventies over each area. They also have teams representing Latter-day Saint Charities that work with those leaders in each area of the world and report to Eubank.

Were giving 147% or more, Eubank said. There is nothing more pressing.

Throughout 2020, the LDS Church has donated cash and commodities to support more than 1,000 COVID-19 relief efforts around the globe this includes partnerships with Convoy of Hope, Feeding America, Partnership with Native Americans, the Salvation Army, the United Way and the World Food Programme.

Food donations also increased and were distributed nationwide in the United States. The church also responded to many natural disasters around the world, including wildfires in the western United States, hurricanes in the southern United States and Central America, and typhoons in the Philippines.

Part of the miracle that made all of this happen was the volunteer service by members rendered in all the locations and in activities such as making five million face masks and the canning the bumper crop of vegetables and fruit that gave the church a surplus of products in their storehouses and the ability to share more.

Temples

Perhaps one of, if not the hardest thing Nelson said he had to do was shut down 162 temples. These are considered the most important buildings in the church, they are called The House of the Lord.

Temples closed for a few months before a cautious and careful phased reopening began in May around the world. Temples are still in a phased reopening and are still unable to completely open as of Dec. 30.

Even with temples closed, temple work continued, not only with members doing family history, but with 21 temple groundbreaking ceremonies including one in September for the new Orem temple.

Nelson also announced the future construction of 14 more temples including new houses of the Lord in the United Arab Emirates and in Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China.

Adjustments to the temple ceremonies and temple clothing were also announced.

On Jan. 1, the Salt Lake Temple began a 4-year renovation, restoration and seismic fitting. The St. George Temple was already in process. The church announced it would be upgrading all of its legacy temples including Manti and Logan Temples in the future.

It appears that new temples no longer have the iconic Angel Moroni on the temple main spire throughout the world. The focus is not Moroni but on the purpose of the building, to bring all to Christ through sacred covenants.

In October, Nelson announced that Lindon Utah would also get new temple. Its location was announced just before Christmas at 800 East and Center Street.

Missionaries

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most missionaries were called back to their home countries in April, or asked to spend more time in isolation, but missionaries continue to share messages of Jesus Christ online.

Many missionaries whove temporarily returned home from their service due to the COVID-19 pandemic, faced a unique decision this spring.

In a letter from church leadership sent to missionaries on March 31, they learned that they had until Thursday, April 30, to decide between two options for resuming their missions.

The first option was to resume their missions as soon as conditions allow, with their original assignment or a temporary one, the letter says. The second option was to resume their missions during a set time window, within 12 to 18 months.

Those who return as soon as possible would keep their original release-from-service date, while those who return to service within 12 to 18 months would receive a new one.

Similar options were offered to missionaries who had received mission calls or completed online missionary training, the letter read.

Mission assignments, whether original or temporary, would be determined by the churchs Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, according to the letter.

In the meantime, the Provo Missionary Training Centers and other were closed and newly called missionaries were to study and train online at home.

As of the end of 2020, missionaries are still in transition and the Provo MTC is still closed.

Of note

Many other things took place during the year.

Before COVID-19 put a pause on global travel, several Apostles made in-person visits with Latter-day Saints and civic leaders in several places.

Elder David A. Bednar became the first Apostle to visit the African nation of Sudan, Elder Quentin L. Cook visited the Philippines, Elder Ulisses Soares traveled to Costa Rica and Guatemala, and Elder Ronald A. Rasband made a stop in South Africa. Other leaders made visits closer to home. President Dallin H. Oaks spoke to youth around the world in a broadcast originating from Temple Square, President Henry B. Eyring ministered in Idaho, President M. Russell Ballard spoke to students at Brigham Young University, and Elder D. Todd Christofferson visited New York.

The ministry has continued apace during COVID-19. From President Nelsons video message at the beginning of the pandemic to the First Presidencys Christmas devotional, Apostles have shared many digital messages with Latter-day Saints and others around the world.

Elder Bednar spoke at a religious freedom conference and at the G20 Interfaith Forum, according to church information.

The LDS Church made several adjustments and additions to the General Handbook and the handbook itself is now online and available to the public. Recent additions included sections on transgender members, clarifications on the Word of Wisdom, and a variety of other topics.

It was announced that in 2021 the entire handbook would be updated.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2021 the church would have three updated church magazines for adults, teens and children. The Liahona will be a worldwide edition for adults, For the Strength of Youth will be the teen magazine, and the updated Friend will serve children of the Primary.

A surprised music committee continued going through the thousands of hymn and prose entries for a new Hymnbook and Childrens Song Book that was previously announced and was hoping to be completed by the end of the year. That has not been put off with no publication date announced.

Originally posted here:
LDS Church keeps fast pace through pandemic of 2020 - Daily Herald

From reports by EYN staff

In skeletal information reaching us from Garkida, three churches were set ablaze, five people killed, and five people are missing in a Boko Haram attack, reported Zakariya Musa, head of media for Ekklesiyar Yanuwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria). Garkida, a town in the Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State in northeast Nigeria, is the site of the founding of EYN and the place where the former Church of the Brethren mission in Nigeria began.

According to church officials the attackers invaded Garkida on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, Musa reported, burning several churches including EYN Ghung, EYN Sangere, and Living Faith Church Garkida. The Living faith Church was rebuilt after the Feb. 21 attack on Garkida when four churches were destroyed in similar attack, he wrote. The church said they spent Christmas Eve in the bush and that some houses were selectively burned. Also burned were road construction facilities on the Biu Road.

In another Christmas Eve attack, Pemi village was stormed by Boko Haram, Musa reported. According to church officials, seven people were killed, an EYN church and many houses were burnt, and one evangelist named Bulus Yakura was abducted. A church official who spoke on the phone from Mbalala in Chibok Local Government Area of Borno State, who was in the village the following morning on Dec. 25 for assessment, said people have fled Pemi village for their life. Many villagers in the areas of attack abandoned their villages on Christmas Eve after finishing all preparations for Christmas.

At least three more communities along the Biu Road were attacked the day after Christmas, Dec. 26. Musa reported: Three more churches and many houses are destroyed at Tashan Alade, Kirbitu, and Debiro towns. The destroyed churches include churches that were destroyed in 2014, which later were rebuilt by the Borno State Government. The renewed attacks are coming almost on a daily basis in different ways, resulting in killings, kidnapping, destruction of properties.

In a separate email Yuguda Z. Mdurvwa, who heads up EYNs Disaster Relief Ministry, reported that the EYN Dzur church on the outskirts of Garkida also was burned in the Christmas Eve attack. He added that drugs were looted from the Garkida General Hospital and other stores and food stuffs were looted. In addition to the five people who were killed, many sustained injuries, he wrote, and people slept in the mountains without celebrating Christmas.

Our hope is that Christ was born to save us from all these pains and give us peace, Mdurvwa wrote. Apart from the above insecurity, COVID-19 is surging in the second wave, Nigeria is recording above 1,000 per day. Despite our troubles, God is our comforter and our source of help.

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EYN churches are attacked, at least 12 people are killed, a pastor/evangelist is among those abducted in violence on the day before and the day after...

Genna Contino|Herald-Journal

Though COVID-19 changed a lot of our original 2020 plans, one thing that continued to shine through the year was development in Spartanburg.

"Spartanburg is exploding, particularly downtown," County Councilman David Britt told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "This is the first time in 25 years, you've had apartments being built downtown."

Downtown revitalization: Spartanburg prides itself on a thriving downtown. But how did it get to where it is today?

As we head into 2021, many downtown apartments, multi-use, and government buildings will continue construction or finish up in the new year. Here's the latest on those projects.

1. County courthouse and city/county municipal complex

If you've driven down Daniel Morgan Avenue lately, you've probably seen the bigcrane and progress on the SpartanburgCounty courthouse project. The parking deck and nearby central energy plant will be completed by June 30, 2021, Britt said.

After the courthouse is complete, a new joint city/county municipal building will be built as part of the same project funded by a penny sales tax.

Britt said the courthouse and new municipal complex will be a good"adrenaline spurt for downtown merchants. It'll make it so much more walkable for our associates at the county and in the city. And it will be a big complex."

"The courthouse, when it's complete, it will be as big as the Montgomery Building."

Impact study: Joint Spartanburg courthouse, municipal complex project to bring nearly 2k jobs

2. Liberty Street Apartments

Construction is underway at the Liberty Street Apartments at 215 E. Daniel Morgan Ave. behind the downtown Spartanburg Marriott.

Developer Peter Collins of Tampa, Florida-based Forge Capital Partners said they're about 30 days behind schedule due to COVID-19 related issues and needing to excavate some old city infrastructure they found underground at the site.

"When you get a site as old as that, you know, some of that stuff is bound to happen, but there was quite a bit that we had to deal with there," Collins told the Herald-Journal.

Initial report: 200-unit downtown Spartanburg apartment complex eyes spring 2021 opening

3. Kennedy Street Apartments

In early December, 132 downtown Spartanburg apartments planned for the corner of Kennedy, Union, and Advent streets received preliminary Design Review Board approval in early December.

We can probably expect to see the apartment plans return to the Design Review Board in early 2021 for final approval, as developers are hoping for a late April or early May groundbreaking for the project. The project received mostly positive feedback from the Design Review Board members.

Read more: 132 downtown Spartanburg apartment units receive preliminary Design Review Board approval

4. Northside projects

The Northside Development Group has several projects in the works to keep an eye out for in 2021.

Dive deeper: Here's the latest on Northside Development Group's projects

5. Highland Transformation Plan

The Highland Transformation Plan was approved unanimously by the Spartanburg City Council on Nov. 23. The first project that the Highland Neighborhood will see pre-development of in the first year is the Cammie Claggett project.

"This project is a mixed-use area that creates a transition from SouthDaniel Morgan Avenue into the neighborhood through Highland Avenue," the transformation plan reads. "It will create a welcoming gateway into the community while providing a diversity of housing options for new and existing residents."

Urban renewal: Several Black communities were bulldozed in the '70s. Some want the city to apologize

6. The Danmor

The Danmor is a residential building planned for South Daniel Morgan Avenue that received preliminary approval from the city's Design Review Board in August.

August report: The Danmor moves from mixed-use to all residential

7. Former Mary H. Wright Elementary

The former Mary H. Wright Elementary School received final approval from the city councilfor arezoning and development agreement with Montgomery Development Group to transform the school into 53 apartment units, 11 of the units being workforce housing.

Opponents of the project can point to what happened in the past on the south side as reasons to be wary. In the 1970s, many Black-owned businesses and homes here were razed and lost forever with federal money intended for urban renewal.

But others are excited about the change. The $11 million redevelopment plan would be the largest investment in Spartanburg's south side in more than a decade.

Dive deeper: Addressing fears of gentrification, City Council approves Mary H. Wright apartments

8. Bon Haven apartments

The Bon Haven apartments on Spartanburg's north side are in the framing process and are expected to be completed by late summer of 2021, according to Mark Stuermann,the executive vice president of development at Arlington Properties, the project's developer.

"Were very pleased with the construction schedule," Stuermann told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal in October.

October report: Bon Haven apartments in Spartanburg on track for summer 2021 opening

9. Robert Smalls apartments

Robert Smalls at Midtowne Heights, the townhomes in which Norris Ridge residents are expected to relocate, are set to break ground in 2021.

Site prep work is underway and a groundbreaking event is expected to be planned in March or April of 2021.

The future of Norris Ridge: Robert Smalls townhomes set to break ground soon ahead of Norris Ridge relocation

Have a question about a project?Contact Genna at gcontino@shj.com or on Twitter @GennaContino.

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'Spartanburg is exploding': 9 development projects to keep an eye on in 2021 - Spartanburg Herald Journal

Small-business survival rates are rather grim. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 20% of small businesses nationwide fail within the first year, while nearly 50% have failed by their fifth year and only one-third of these endeavors are able to survive by their 10th year.

Wallauer Paint & Design is something of an anomaly. In 2021, the family owned and operated business will celebrate its 100th anniversary. According to company President Edward Klein, the secret to this longevity is no secret at all.

It really comes down to having a knowledgeable group of people that know their craft, as well as providing great customer service and relying on the word of mouth that this has to be the go-to place for home improvement locally, he said.

The company was started by paint salesman Clarence Wallauer as a single-store operation in White Plains. Klein noted that Wallauer not only survived the Great Depression, but managed to open a second location in 1935. Wallauer passed the ownership reins to his son-in-law Robert Duncan, who later passed it on to his son, Robert Duncan Jr., who brought it into the fourth generation with his daughters Debbie and Donna co-owning the business.

Today, Wallauer maintains a flagship store in White Plains and has 14 retail operations across Westchester and the Hudson Valley region. Its newest location opened in October in Nanuet when the company acquired the locally owned retailer Paley Paints. Unlike many independent operations that have been forced out of business due to competition from the big box retailers, Wallauer has met the challenge of the XL-sized competition by teaming with a major name in the painting industry.

A big part of our foundation comes off of our relationship with Benjamin Moore, Klein said. Weve been selling Benjamin Moore for the 100 years that weve been in business. Its the most sought-after brand. Theyre a fantastic partner. I worked there for 17 years and the CEO and myself are very, very close.

Klein added that Wallauer was the seventh largest Benjamin Moore dealer in North America and the availability of the brand has given the company a local advantage.

The painting contractors, first and foremost, come to us versus going to Home Depot or Lowes, he said.

Klein also noted that the Wallauer customers have longstanding relationships with the retail store teams, who are more than familiar with the inventory.

We have the true experts, he stated. Id say the average tenure of our employees was probably close to 20 years. Youre not dealing with somebody at minimum wage who maybe doesnt really know about the colors theyre selling youre talking to professionals who could match colors with an eye.

As the company prepares for its 100th year, it is still reeling from an unexpectedly hectic 99th year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Klein noted that with many people moored at home during the pandemic, a new wave of do-it-yourself home improvement projects helped keep Wallauers very busy.

Our consumer side of the business has boomed this year, he said. We added Ace Hardware to many of our stores and they have significantly benefited. A lot of Benjamin Moore and other different dealers did either curbside pickup or delivered, but they werent open for weeks or for a couple of months, but we kept the doors opened in all stores. A lot of people chose to come to us that possibly were going to Home Depot or Lowes because they didnt want to wait on those lines, and so weve added a lot of new customers, coupled with our core base.

Klein also noted that contractors whose work went on hold when the pandemic took root returned to the store in June when businesses began to reopen and stalled projects were suddenly back in motion.

Our painting contractors are a big part of our business, he said. We had a very, very strong year, I would say we had a record year, and thats coming off of a record year last year.

However, Klein admitted that the companys centennial celebrations will not be an immediate priority due to the ongoing public health crisis.

When I look back a year ago, we had all of these great ideas with events and everything else, he said about the 100th anniversary.

Its hard right now to say what we have scheduled as it pertains to events because weve got to get clearly through Covid. When we can, we are going to want to have an event its just a matter of how were going to be able to turn it on.

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Wallauer Paint & Design readies for its 100th anniversary - Westfair Online

Renovation of homes built before 1978 frequently disturbs lead-based paint (LBP) and poses significant health risks, particularly for children. For this reason, companies that perform or subcontract renovation services are required to provide very specific, written LBP warnings and education materials to residents. Failure to comply with these obligations can result in significant penalties for non-compliance. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enforces these rules on all companies that perform renovations for compensation. This means that retail sellers of renovation products (e.g., windows or woodwork) can face EPA enforcement for noncompliance even where they subcontract installation to third parties.

On Dec. 17, U.S. EPA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a nationwide settlement with Home Depot related to home renovations that occurred between 2013 and 2019. The settlement resolves alleged violations of the EPAs Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) Rule involving renovations performed by Home Depots contractors across the country on homes built before 1978. EPA identified hundreds of instances in which Home Depot failed to contract renovations or repairs with certified contractors, as well as instances in which Home Depot failed to establish, retain, or provide the required documentation to demonstrate compliance with the RRP Rule.

EPAs proposed settlement with Home Depot includes a $20.75 million penaltythe largest such penalty to-date under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

Compliance Lessons

Companies in the construction industry and beyond can learn several significant lessons from the Home Depot violations, including the importance of:

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$20 Million TSCA/Lead-Based Paint Penalty: Expensive Reminder to Manage and Audit Contractors Joint Regulatory Liabilities - JD Supra

A 4,000 square feet building right opposite the Dr RN Cooper hospitals canteen in Mumbai was earlier supposed to be used as a hostel. In March, it was converted into an isolation facility for Covid-19 patients. On December 29, work to convert it into a model vaccination centre began.

Over 30 labourers are now working on war footing day and night to prepare the model centre in Cooper hospital. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has asked contractor Eckon to hand over the centre by Monday night.

Cooper hospital, along with seven BMC hospitals, has been selected for the first phase of immunisation of healthcare workers. Mumbai has registered 1.26 lakh heathcare workers for vaccination in the first phase.

On Sunday, the Drug Controller General of India approved emergency restricted use of Serum Institute of Indias Covishield and Bharat Biotechs Covaxin vaccines.

BMC officials said they expect the vaccine roll out to begin soon and have asked contractors to speed up work. On Sunday evening, labourers were busy painting chairs for waiting areas at Cooper hospital, with some setting up beds and some finishing off electrical work.

We began civil work last week and have only a day to finish work. We are not changing the basic infrastructure since it was already being used as an isolation ward, an on site Eckon contractor said. While the K West ward is handling drainage and installation of curtains or partitions, BMCs maintenance department is going to set up signages.

The centre will have a waiting area under a shed at the entrance. The registration will be done in a corridor, which leads into three vaccination rooms. In each room, around five persons can be vaccinated at a time.

An observation room further down the corridor will have several chairs to monitor each vaccinated beneficiary for half an hour. In case of anaphylactic reaction or severe adverse effects, the beneficiary will be transferred to two other rooms that house beds and emergency medical equipment.

Dr Pinakin Gujjar, Dean of Cooper hospital, said a team of specialists from anaesthesia, ENT, chest and general medicine will be available to handle severe adverse effects. We did not have to spend a lot on the centre, we just had to spruce up the existing facility. We are installing water cooler and repairing toilets, said Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani.

BMC currently has selected five storage centres in KEM, Nair, Sion and Cooper hospitals as well as the F South health office where the first batch of vaccine will be stocked. A nodal storage facility is, meanwhile, under construction in Kanjurmarg.

The Cooper hospital vaccination centre can vaccinate 2,000 people a day. Ten teams will be deputed to work in two shifts for the purpose.

With Cooper hospital being the main vaccination centre in western suburbs, BMC is mulling over creating a token system at the registration counter. It is possible that a huge crowd comes at the same time for vaccination. To prevent overcrowding at the verification counter, a token will be issued to beneficiaries to create a waiting list and house them in the waiting area, Kakani said.

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Mumbai: Cooper hospitals model vaccination centre to be ready today - The Indian Express

This Entrepreneur Made Two Million By Mastering The Art Of Membership Sites | Stephanie Burns

What started off as the worst thing to happen in Jennifer Allwoods career eventually turned into the best. Back in 2000, she was laid off from her software development job.

I broke down in tears, says Allwood. Until I realized that I was grieving a job that I actually hated. What she loved was her evening side hustle: using paint to turn the kitchen cabinets of her Kansas City, Missouri, neighbors from drab to fab. It was that December that Allwood decided to trade a pager and pantyhose for paint brushes and overallsfull time.

Allwood had kicked off her painting business making $90K a year from it as a part time venture. By 2014, she was running a thriving interior painting business that brought in multiple six-figure revenue every year. That was enough to support her, her family of five (now six!), and a team of painters. But it was a massive drain on her energy and her time. She was burning the candle at both ends offering in-home painting and design services to clients plus answering business questions by email, one at a time, to every entrepreneur who reached out to her wondering how she was seeing so much success. Something had to change. Thankfully she came upon two perfect solutions for her new problem.

Now, Jennifer Allwood is a business coach to creatives who runs a multi- seven figure a year company. Shes the author of the #1 best-selling book, Fear is Not the Boss of You.

Heres how this business coach to creatives went from being laid off to becoming a multi-millionaire with time to spare. Follow her advice to fast-track yourself to similar success.

This Entrepreneur Made Two Million By Mastering The Art Of Membership Sites | Stephanie Burns

Stephanie Burns: Some people take the leap into entrepreneurship while others get pushed. You were already running a successful business part time when you were laid off. Why not take the leap sooner?

Jennifer Allwood: I was always taught to do responsible adult things: get a good paying job with a matched 401k and paid time off, work hard for a raise every year and then have fun after you retire. I knew I wanted more out of life, but I was too scared to leave that security blanket on my own. Getting laid off was incredibly stressful for a period of time. I remember laying in bed at night with my stomach in knots. But it was the one thing that forced me to evaluate what it was that I really wanted out of my life and gave me the opportunity to go after it.

Burns: How were you able to get your business off the ground and running as a busy mom?

Allwood: When I started the painting company, I didnt have kids but I did get pregnant that very first year. Our budget was tight. But tight places often yield big opportunities. I was desperate to not have to go back to a 9 to 5 desk job, so I got scrappy. I visited every designer that I could in person and if I couldnt get them in person, Id call them. By 2014, I had three kids, my husband was working long days in his corporate sales job, and I was feeling like there just wasnt enough return in our bank account for the amount of hours I was working. After taxes, tithing and paying my contractors, there just didnt seem to be anything left. So once again, I got scrappy. I took what I was doing in client homes and started teaching online tutorials of the very same processes to my social media audience. The videos alone brought in six figures in just a years time. As an entrepreneur, if youre feeling like the wheels are about to come off the bus and youre not seeing results, think about what you do well offline or one-to-one and how you can bring it into the online space and make it one-to-many.

This Entrepreneur Made Two Million By Mastering The Art Of Membership Sites | Stephanie Burns

Burns: Its really easy as an entrepreneur to spread yourself thin trying to do all the things. How can we streamline and still be massively successful?

Allwood: Like a lot of women right now, particularly in the age of COVID-19, I realized in my second year of business that I simply did not have enough hours in the day to be a mom, be a wife, run a business and still have energy left for anything else. So I quickly learned how to outsource things that didnt need me. I hired other painters and trained them the way that I wanted the work done. Then, after a couple of years I hired somebody to help me with the emails and administrative tasks. Wanting to control every single thing in your business comes from a place of pride in thinking no one can do it as good as you. I traded my ego for my time back and thats a trade worth making!

Burns: What got you interested in even starting a membership site?

Allwood: After I began selling tutorials online, so many people reached out to me online. They were asking for advice because they watched my social media and saw my business blowing up. At first I didnt want a membership group because I didnt consider myself a teacher. But I knew I could reach more people inside of a paid group than I could through coaching one-on-one. The one-to-one business model works for some, but when you can transition your business to a one-to-many model, you are allowing yourself to scale in a considerable way and create more time for your personal life. Im able to work when I want and Im able to step away and be a mom when my family needs me.

Burns: How did you get your membership site to go from 500k to 2 million in just one year?

Allwood: For a couple of years I ran the membership on an open cart model, meaning people could join at any time for $47 a month. But I felt like we just couldnt make it over this $500k a year hump that I had been trying to surmount for a long time. So at the advice of business coach and membership guru, Stu McLaren, I decided to pivot to a closed cart model where we only accepted new members a few times a year. We told my audience that we would be closing enrollment and in that 10 day period, we added 1,100 new paying members which was the game changer for my business. Oftentimes youll have clients who stall at making a decision and so if you can force them into action, youd be surprised at how many will finally make a move and sign up!

This Entrepreneur Made Two Million By Mastering The Art Of Membership Sites | Stephanie Burns

Burns: How did you work on retaining members in the group?

Allwood: I refined the content that I shared. People will quit a membership when they feel like they cant keep up with the teachings and theyre overwhelmed. Instead of deluging my members with content, I reminded myself that less is more. I also created high touch offers. Sometimes people need a consultant more than group coaching. So for people who werent getting enough out of the membership, I gave them the ability to upgrade to a more intensive and expensive option.

Burns: Are membership sites for everyone? How did you figure out they were for you?

Allwood: In my coaching I teach seven different ways you can make money in the online space, and thats based on where your business currently is, what your skills are and what the business that you want to build looks like. For some people, a membership group doesnt work, and thats okay. I found out they were for me because I love showing up consistently for my clients, and it also provides a consistent income, which I also love. I did one-on-one coaching for quite some time, and it felt so heavy to me. I was drained by so many calls. And oftentimes if youre doing something that feels so heavy, or you literally dread doing it, that can often be a sign for you that its time to pivot.

Burns: Given how much weve all had to pivot this past year, what advice do you have for entrepreneurs on staying profitable and growing to seven figures now?

Allwood: The biggest key to staying profitable is watching what consumers are doing. Years ago when I saw everybody getting onto Facebookbut I realized that not a lot of people were using Facebook for business yetI put my foot on the gas there. Now when you watch peoples buying habits, theyre still using social media but theyre also buying from emails, they also like text marketing. Watch your ideal clients, figure out where they are and what they need, and then get creative to figure out how to meet them where theyre at and deliver what they need in a way that feels good for you.

The second key is to offer your customers a couple of different options. Some people are looking for a closer touch and those people will pay more for more access to you. Dont give your clients a one-size-fits-all solution, but instead think of multiple ways that you can help them while still making sure that its a wise business decision.

See more here:
This Entrepreneur Made Two Million By Mastering The Art Of Membership Sites - Forbes

As 2020 comes to an end, we note that it has been quite an active year for insurance law, in particular due to the long-awaited judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal in Deguise. It is now time for our traditional annual review of the key judgments from across Canada that marked the past year.

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1.Surespan Structures Ltd. v.Lloyds Underwriters, 2020 BCSC

This judgment of the British Columbia Supreme Court concerns the interpretation of a construction project insurance policy, in particular whether there was a limit on the amount payable under the policys mitigation of loss coverage.

The insurers in this case argued that the mitigation of loss coverage was constrained by a $10 million insurance limit and further reduced by amounts paid on behalf of insured professionals and claim expenses incurred during the investigation.

The Court found that as a matter of contractual interpretation, the absence of any reference to a limit of liability in the mitigation of loss coverage wording itself suggested that there were no such constraints for this specific coverage. This conclusion was also supported by the relative independence of this type of coverage in relation to the rest of the policy.

The Court concluded that no limit applied to the mitigation of loss coverage in the project specific professional liability insurance policy.

An appeal was filed on February 6, 2020.

2.Van Huizen v. Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company, 2020 ONCA 222

This case highlights the distinction between an insurance policy and an insurance contract, and more specifically the importance of this distinction in determining whether the insurer has a duty to defend the members of a group insurance plan.

Trisura Guarantee Insurance Company issued a professional liability insurance policy, i.e., the master policy, to the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC). The master policy concerned claims made against the AIC, AIC members, their personal corporations and their employers for the negligent provision of professional appraisal services. Coverage under the master policy was extended to individual members of the AIC by way of an individual application. An individual certificate of insurance was issued to each member.

The Courts judgment addresses the differences between insurance policies and insurance contracts, as recognized by the statutory definitions of contract and policy in the Insurance Act. The Court noted that insurance policies are instruments, which do not create legal obligations merely by their existence. Absent a further contractual relationship, a policy is simply a recitation of terms and conditions that do not attach to a particular person or object. In contrast, an insurance contract creates contractual obligations between the parties. Like any other contract, there must be offer and acceptance, and agreement on all material terms. The premium, the nature and duration of the risk to be covered, and the extent of liability are all essential terms of an insurance contract.

The Court explained that the master policy was not a binding agreement on its own, but merely set out the terms of the professional liability insurance being offered to the members of the AIC. Each AIC member who seeks coverage must apply for it. Provided the member and the insurer come to an agreement on the other essential terms (for example, the premium to be paid and the term of the insurance), a certificate of insurance will be issued to the member to confirm the existence of the insurance contract.

3.Markham (City) v. AIG Insurance Company of Canada, 2020 ONCA 239

The Ontario Court of Appeals recent decision in Markham (City) v. AIG Insurance Company of Canada has significant implications for situations where several policies are triggered and may lead towards the joint handling of loss from the outset in cases where two insurers are potentially liable.

This judgment is significant in that it highlights the importance of specific wording. When several policies cover the same risk, priority is often dependant upon other insurance clauses to determine which is the primary policy and which is considered excess. The primary policy controls the defence. It should be noted that the Court of Appeal placed less emphasis on the wording of the primary and excess policies. It departed from the application judges decision by concluding that Lloyd's policy was excess solely in regard to the allegations that overlapped and that fell under the coverage provided by AIG.

For insurers, this judgment reiterates the importance of implementing appropriate file management systems to minimise potential conflict issues.

The Supreme Court of Canada refused leave to appeal on December 3, 2020.

4.SNC-Lavalin inc. (Terratech inc. et SNC-Lavalin Environnement inc.)v.Deguise, 2020 QCCA 495

This highly anticipated judgment of the Quebec Court of Appeal is considered the main judgment in the pyrrhotite files. The matter has been divided into three waves of proceedings, and this judgment was rendered on the appeal of the decision in the first wave.

Recall that the owners of buildings in Trois-Rivires brought close to 880 actions for damages, grouped into 69 different files, due to the deterioration of their foundations caused by the swelling and cracking of concrete. The actions were instituted against several parties, including the individual sellers, the general contractors and formworkers involved in the construction of the foundations, the concrete producers that supplied the problematic concrete, the corporation operating the quarry that supplied the aggregate, the geologist who approved the use of the aggregate and his employer, SNC-Lavalin Inc., as well as all the insurers of those parties.

First, and subject to some exceptions, the trial judge found the contractors, the concrete producers, the quarry, the geologist, SNC, and their insurers liable. He found that the presence of pyrrhotite was both a latent defect and a construction defect resulting in the loss of the work.

The Court of Appeal found that the Superior Court did not err in its interpretation of the insurance policies of the concrete producers, the quarry, and certain contractors. The trial judge correctly rejected the insurers argument that the policies should be declared null and void because the insureds breached their obligation to declare the risks. The insurers also failed to demonstrate the existence of a pyrrhotite exclusion. Finally, the Court of Appeal found that the trial judge did not err in his interpretation of the clauses in SNC-Lavalins insurance policy, including those relating to the exclusions and the retroactive date invoked by the insurers. The Court also found that the contractors had a direct right of action against the insurer in relation to the amount of the liability insurance, which must be used exclusively to pay their claim. The insurers cannot invoke a reduction in the amount of insurance coverage based on erosion caused by claims expenses and legal costs, regardless of the origin of such amounts.

This decision may be analyzed from various perspectives. In the field of insurance alone, several issues are addressed, including the insurers underwriting process, defence costs outside of limits to the benefit of Quebec claimants and the complications of tower insurance. We refer you to our specific articles on those issues.

5.Condominium Corporation No. 9312374 v.Aviva Insurance Company of Canada, 2020 ABCA 166

A recent judgment of the Alberta Court of Appeal reminds insurers that clear policy wording is required in multi-peril or all-risk policies for a faulty workmanship clause to apply.

The Court of Appeal considered the judgment finding that the claim of Condominium Corporation 9312374 (Condominium) was not covered by its insurance policy issued by Aviva. The appeal was allowed.

The facts are as follows. Condominiums parkade sustained structural damage when the workers hired to perform repair and remediation work on the parkade membrane cut too deeply into the concrete slab. Aviva denied coverage for the claim on the basis of the exclusion for the cost of making good faulty workmanship in the multi-peril policy. However, the exclusion clause contained an exception for loss or damage caused directly by a resultant peril.

The Court found that the exclusion clause and the exception were ambiguous. It noted that the parties reasonably expected that the cost of making good faulty workmanship would be excluded, but not the consequences of that faulty workmanship. The Court concluded that the repair and remediation work to the parkade membrane was not covered by the insurance policy but that the damage to the structure of the parkade was a covered loss under the policy.

6. Constructions Reliance inc. (Constructions Reliance du Canada lte) v. Compagnie d'assurances Temple, 2020 QCCA 947

In this judgment, the Quebec Court of Appeal provided an interesting clarification on wrap-up insurance policies.

In the context of a construction project, a painting subcontractor struck a sprinkler head in a stairwell, causing water damage, after the date of receipt of the certificate of substantial completion of the work from the general contractor. Temple denied liability, arguing that the loss could not be covered by the wrap-up policy because the painting work underlying the water damage was not completed at the time of the occurrence.

Temples policy covered many types of claims for damage resulting from the performance of the construction work by the insureds. However, it contained an exclusion for property damage caused to the project itself.

The exclusion contained a completed operations hazard exception, which specified that property damage to the project would be covered if the occurrence was after the Insureds Work has been completed or abandoned. The policy also defined this expression.

In this case, the issuance of a certificate of substantial completion of the work could not be used as proof of completion of the work because the certificate was issued in the name of the general contractor rather than the owner.

The issue in dispute, however, was related to the application of the expression set out in the policy to define completed work, that is when the work has been put to its intended use.

The Superior Court accepted three meanings that could be attached to this expression:

The Court found that so long as the painting work had not been completed, the work could not be put into service or used for its intended purpose. The Court also noted that the fact the lofts were more than 80% occupied had no impact on the analysis. Because the painting work had not been completed in the common areas, that work could not be deemed completed within the meaning of the policy.

On appeal, the Court added to the Superior Courts analysis, noting that the possibility that incomplete work of another nature could be deemed completed within the meaning of the expression has been put to its intended use could not be set aside. That said, the painting work, in view of its nature and the extent of its progress could not be deemed completed within the meaning of that expression.

7.Le Treport Wedding & Convention Centre Ltd.v.Co-operators General Insurance Company, 2020 ONCA 487

In this judgment rendered in July, the Ontario Court of Appeal reversed the trial judgment finding that Treport Wedding & Convention Centre Ltd. was covered for sewer back up only and that there was no coverage available under the flood endorsement of its all-risks policy issued by Co-operators.

Treports commercial premises sustained severe flooding as a result of a rainstorm. Water entered the building through the doors, floor drains and ceilings, causing significant damage to the premises. Treport presented a claim for indemnity to Co-operators General Insurance under its all-risks insurance policy. The insurer paid out the policy limit pursuant to the sewer back up endorsement. The dispute centered on whether the policys flood endorsement applied to the claim. The trial judge found that the flood endorsement did not apply for two reasons: 1- the damage to the property was caused by surface water, defined in the policy as water or natural precipitation temporarily diffused over the surface of the ground and accordingly, the surface water exclusion in the policy applied to exclude coverage; 2- the event was not caused by a flood as defined in the flood endorsement. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice therefore found that the insured was not entitled to coverage under the flood endorsement.

The Court of Appeal examined the policy wording in detail to determine whether the event constituted a flood within the meaning of the policy. The Court reiterated that an endorsement is not independent from the policy as it has no independent existence from the rest of the policy. They must be read together. The Court also noted that giving effect to the definition of surface water when interpreting the flood endorsement would have the effect of nullifying the coverage provided. Flood coverage would effectively be nullified in almost all cases because most buildings stand a certain distance away from the water. Thus, the flood endorsement must be read without giving the surface water exclusion any weight.

Co-operators filed an application for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada on October 20, 2020.

8.Sky Clean Energy Ltd. (Sky Solar (Canada) Ltd.)v.Economical Mutual Insurance Company, 2020 ONCA 558

This is an update to the judgment cited in our 2019 annual review. This decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal addresses the interpretation of an expression commonly used in liability insurance policies, that is, the expression arising out of the operations.

Sky Clean Energy appealed from the judgment of the Superior Court of Justice dismissing its application against Economical Mutual Insurance Company. Recall that when Sky Clean contracted with Marnoch Electrical Services Inc. for the installation of two transformers in the context of two solar energy projects, Marnoch agreed to name Sky Clean as an additional insured under its CGL policy. However, coverage was limited to liability arising out of Marnochs operations. After installation, a fire broke out at one of the sites where the transformer was located. It was replaced, and Sky Clean eventually sold the projects to Firelight Solar Limited Partnership. A few months later, another fire broke out at the other site, also caused by the solar transformer. Firelight shut both projects down for investigation and repairs and sued Sky Clean for remediation costs and loss of revenue. In turn, Sky Clean filed a claim for indemnity from Economical under the insurance policy to cover its losses pursuant to its liability to Firelight. The insurer denied coverage on the basis of the limit set out in the policy, asserting that the loss did not arise from the operations of the contractor, Marnoch. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice agreed with the insurer, finding that the contractor had been told to install the transformers in accordance with Sky Cleans instructions. The appeal was dismissed.

The Court of Appeal considered the requisite connection between the contractors operations and the liability of the additional insured. It confirmed the usual limitations to the expression arising out of the operations, which requires more than a but for test to establish the connection between the liability of the additional insured and the operations of the insured. The Court explained that requiring an unbroken chain of causation and a connection that is more then merely incidental or fortuitous between the liability of the additional insured and the operations of the named insured provides certainty and predictability for all parties. The Court also found this approach consistent with the reasonable expectations of the parties to the construction contract and that of their liability insurers.

9.Future Electronics Inc. (Distribution) Pte Ltd. v.Chubb Insurance Company of Canada, 2020 QCCS 3042

With the soaring interest in cybersecurity issues, we found it important to highlight this recent judgment on the subject.

Future Electronics was the victim of a social engineering fraud, a practice of psychological manipulation for the purpose of perpetrating a swindle, in the amount of US$2.7 million. It therefore submitted a claim to its insurer, Chubb, under its crime insurance policy. The insurer refused to indemnify Future for the loss, asserting that it was a case of social engineering fraud covered under a crime policy endorsement with a coverage limit of $50,000. Future Electronics argued that its loss was covered under the computer fraud or funds transfer fraud provisions of the policy. The Court agreed with the insurer.

The insurance policy provided coverage for direct loss sustained by the insured, resulting from computer fraud by a third party. The policy used the expression unlawful taking. That requires a direct act of stealing perpetrated by a fraudster, through the use of a computer. However, it cannot be construed as being so broad that the simple operation of a computer in an incidental way would give rise to a situation covered by the policy. The use of a computer by the fraudsters as a means of communicating with the employees did not give rise to coverage under the computer fraud provision.

10.Nagy v.BCAA Insurance Corporation, 2020 BCCA 270

In this case, the British Columbia Court of Appeal distinguished between omissions and misrepresentations.

The obligation of good faith is a central element of insurance contracts in the sense that both insureds and insurers must conform to high standards regarding disclosure. For insureds, this means that they must disclose all material facts concerning the risk. Any omission or misrepresentation affecting that risk will be considered a relevant factor should the insurer attempt to cancel the contract. However, there may be differences between the two.

In Nagy, the Court of Appeal provides advice to practitioners for situations where the boundary between omissions and misrepresentations becomes blurred.

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Canada Year-end review: The top insurance cases of 2020 - Lexology

When our family arrived in the United States in 1989, we quickly discovered the magic of yard sales and alley finds. At yard sales, we bought housewares for a quarter a piece, a 1970s couch for $40, an armful of toys and stuffed animals for a buck. In back alleys, we found free mismatched dining chairs and mid-century modern telephone tables now very much back in vogue, I hear.

At the time, we were living in a roach-friendly apartment complex in Annandale, Virginia, a hub in the Washington, D.C. area for many lower-income immigrants during the 1990s. It was poorly-lit and cramped, but it was a place to make our own after a two-month stay at the home of a Korean woman who hosted new immigrants. One day, my father came home with a 10-by-15 piece of carpeting from an alley nearby. At that time, we thought it was a rug, but now I realize it was a scrap piece of leftover carpet the kind a stingy landlord might install in a slipshod rental-unit renovation.

My dad wanted to wash his new alley find, but he didnt know about carpet cleaning services nor could he afford it. So our entire family my parents, brother, grandmother and I headed down to a nearby creek with the rolled-up carpet. I cannot trace my fathers reasoning for washing the carpet in that creek; I imagine that very act probably contaminated the scrap even more. In any case, on that summer day in 1989, our family washed the carpet along the bank of the creek. I was 9 years old, and I still remember the feeling of the cool stream around my ankles.

This was a memory buried deep in my mind, likely suppressed by the same shame that kept me from inviting friends to our apartment or taking the food we ate at home to school for lunch: Poor is bad, different is bad both notions so egregiously false I wish I could travel back in time to tell my child self that these are lies, to tell her to hold her head high.

The memory of my family by the creek from our hardcore years, as my brother and I jokingly refer to them bubbled to the surface as the closing scene of Minari faded to black and the credits rolled after a virtual screening I attended in November. The new film based on the childhood memories of Korean American director Lee Isaac Chung and starring Korean American actor and Second City alum Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead, Okja, Burning) has been garnering praise and generating awards buzz. It was even the subject of some controversy recently, when the Hollywood Foreign Press Association rejected the film from entering the Golden Globes Best Picture race because it was predominantly in Korean.

Minari has been described as a story about a Korean American immigrant family a concept so specific and loaded for me that as soon as I hit play on the trailer a few months ago, I began to tear up. My instinct then was to claim the film right away: This one is about, and for, Korean-American immigrants and their children. This one is almost better than Parasite. That one was a South Korean film, and I was so proud when it swept awards season, but this one this one is about my parents and my brother and my grandmother and me in the United States of America. This one is ours.

Thats what a lack of representation does: It makes you rabidly proud and irrationally possessive of something that finally reflects you.

Chung, the filmmaker, has said his intent was to make a film for everyone. During a Q&A after the virtual screening, he said, We just didnt want this film to be something that people compartmentalize as being, this is an immigrant story about this directors parents. It felt like it needed to go to that register of creating more of a human story that could work on a universal level.

The film does that, I think. But the way it conjured up memories of my own familys early years in the U.S. painful, hilarious, harrowing, bizarre ones tells me there is a specific power, a particular magic, in seeing an authentic reflection of something approximating ones own experience, especially for people of color. As entertained and moved as I have been by countless films and TV shows throughout my life, none in recent memory has evoked so much stuff, for lack of a better word, as this film has.

The way Yeuns character, the patriarch, would raise his voice or sit alone, stewing in his white, sleeveless undershirt, reminded me of my own father and the fear he sometimes invoked in my brother and me. As children, we didnt understand his perpetual anger and anxiety. Now I recognize them as byproducts of what I call immigrant life stresses finding jobs only to lose them months later, not being able to understand the language of the world around him, scrambling to make rent each month, trying to maintain ties with relatives back in the motherland, daily losing his grip on the elusive American dream.

Of all the imagery in Minari, though, the most powerful, for me, was the way the character of Monica, the wife and mom played by South Korean actress Han Ye-ri, wiped her tears during her arguments with Yeuns character. She always wiped them swiftly, with dignity, as if they were a waste of time. Thats how my mother cried when she argued with my father over, well, immigrant life stresses. In South Korea, she was a brilliant, spunky social worker who helped orphans. Here in the States, she worked in a Kmart stockroom, a dry cleaners, a shoe-repair shop and a convenience store. This year, she was forced into retirement at age 70. The law firm where she worked as a conference-room aide setting up lunch and coffee for attorneys half her age, cleaning up after their meetings laid her off when work-from-home became a semi-permanent policy during the pandemic.

In the Minari Q&A, Chung said he started off his career thinking that I wanted to make films that arent about my life. But after making this film, he acknowledged that it felt precious to have something that I can show to my family both to my parents, in which they feel like they were seen and heard, and then also to my daughter, something I can leave behind to her, that she can see where we come from.

Beyond being a gift to Chungs loved ones, Minari, for me, is a reminder that we need more, not fewer, stories like this today more movies, more books, more poems. To help us understand one another beyond stereotypes and caricatures, to find common ground, to make many feel seen for the first time and embolden them to tell their stories.

Seeing ones own life, culture, and perhaps more importantly, their economic class, mirrored in a film is not a common experience for many immigrants and more broadly, for people of color. Recently, Hollywood has held up films like Crazy Rich Asians and Always Be My Maybe as examples of Asian-American representation. But they still portray a life that does not reflect mine beyond the color of our skin. Minari, which features a leaky mobile home and a cursed farm for much of its running time, is a truer reflection of the precarious struggle of my family and many others like us.

All my life, Ive watched characters like Kevin McAllister in Home Alone, Kelly Kapowski on Saved By the Bell (the original series, not the 2020 remix), the well-coiffed 20-somethings on Friends. They were entertaining enough, but difficult to relate to. Frankly, meaningful representation wasnt something I even knew to expect. But more than three decades since that summer day by the creek, I am thrilled to finally see a film that represents my family and me. It joins a growing canon of thoughtful films about the immigrant experience.

It allows me to say: This one is about us. This one is ours.

Esther Yoon-Ji Kang is a reporter for WBEZs Race, Class and Communities desk and WBEZs Education desk. Follow her on Twitter @estheryjkang.

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Watching Minari, I Saw My Immigrant Experience On The Screen For The First Time - WBEZ