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stang gallops into the 21st Century in Fords first purpose-built electric vehicle Detroit Free Press

Curt Magleby,top lobbyist for Ford Motor Co. in Washington, D.C., is retiring after 32 years with the company on Dec. 31 just as the industry prepares for a new administration amid unprecedented transformation to all-electric vehicles.

He went from Exxon petroleum engineer to financial analyst for the electronics division at the Ford Rawsonville plant in 1988.

I still remember I had my Audi 4000 I had bought in California, Magleby, 61, told The Hill news. As a new MBA, you get there early, you park in front and you try to do all the things right. I remember, it was about like day three, and one of my colleagues came up and said, Curt, you might want to park the car in the other parking lot.

Curt Magleby, top lobbyist for Ford Motor Co. in Washington, D.C., will retire at the end of 2020 after 32 years.(Photo: Ford Motor Co.)

His hard work and commitmentled to international assignments that included oversight ofdaily plant operations in Mexico and, eventually, the top lobbyist spot in 2011.

In the new year, Laura Dove, a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, will step in andmanage Ford's federalgovernment affairs team in Washington.She started at Ford in May as director of transportation policy after working as the Secretary for the Majority.

Every Republican senator has counted on Laura to listen to our goals and concerns and help translate them into action on the Senate floor,McConnell, R-Kentucky,told Politico in February. She is a keen strategist who always thinks several steps ahead. She has not just been one of my own closest advisers, but a key resource to our entire majority and a central part of its many accomplishments.

Laura Dove, who becomes top lobbyist for Ford in Washington, D.C. in January, walks with Robert Duncan earlier this year. He succeeded Dove as U.S. Senate Secretary for the Majority, working with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.(Photo: Laura Dove)

Dove, 51, was elected Secretary for the Minority in 2013 and Secretary for the Majority in 2015. Her duties includedmanaging the Senate floor schedule and providing advice on parliamentary procedures to senators.

When Ford hired Dove earlier this year,U.S. Sen.Tom Carper, D-Delaware, said shehad a reputation for working across party lines.

At a critical time in our nations history, Laura worked to help senators find common cause and agreement on important issues, including addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, Carpersaid.

Dove will report to Mitch Bainwol, 61, chief government relations officer at Ford, who managesgovernment relations globally for the company. He is also a corporate officer.

Meanwhile,Rachel McCleery, Fords government and public policy communications manager since 2019, has beenpromoted toa newly created role of director, government relations for manufacturing policy.She plans to emphasize Ford's U.S. manufacturing priorities.

McCleery, 32, whoiswidely respected among reporters for her rapid responses at all hours, also will managepressaffairs until her successor is named.

We are delighted that Rachel has agreed to join the Government Relations team and advocate directly with the new administration and Capitol Hill next year," Bainwol said Wednesday. "She combines deep relationships throughout Washington, sophisticated grasp of the policy process and a deep understanding of what makes Ford Motor Co. so unique in Americas corporate and manufacturing landscape.

Meanwhile,Rachel McCleery, Fords government and public policy communications manager since 2019, has been promoted toa newly created role of director, government relations for manufacturing policy. She is seen here in 2020.(Photo: Ford Motor Co.)

McCleery is a native of Ida andthe daughter oflongtime UAW memberRob McCleery, a master electrician who works in Ford research and engineering in Dearborn.

Prior to Ford, sheworkedin severalgovernmentroles.

McCleery served as spokesperson for the Treasury Department's Office of Economic Policy and Tax during the Obama administration. She spent two years as chief communications adviser and deputy policy director toSenate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon. McCleerymanaged the energy and environment policy portfolio for the late Congressman John D. Dingell, D-Dearborn, andalso served as the national communications director for U.S. Sen Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich..

Rachel was a valued member of my team, and I could always count on her to get our message out on the important work we were doing on behalf of Michigan families," Stabenow said in June 2019. "She was with me advocating for Flint families during the water crisis and fighting unfair trade practices that hurt our automakers and workers.

Mitch Bainwol, chief government relations officer at Ford since March 2019, oversees global strategy for the company. He began his career at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget as a budget analyst during the Reagan Administration. Later, he served as CEO of the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers.(Photo: Ford Motor Co.)

Regardless of who runs Congress or gets elected to the White House, Ford has consistently worked toward bipartisan outreach. Bill Ford Jr., executive director of Ford, is an outspoken supporter of sustainability andthe Paris Climate agreement, the international treaty signed in 2015 in Paris to slow global warming.

More: Top Ford labor negotiator Gary Johnson to retire after 34 years

More: Ford CFO replaced in management shake-up on Day 1 of new CEO

More: Ford hires global CMO from eBay amid shakeup in tech, vehicle launches

In July 2019, Ford sided with the State of California, which advocated for stronger air quality regulations, whileGeneral Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sided with the Trump Administration in its fight against tougherstandards. GM revised its position after Joe Biden wonin November, dropping its pre-emption lawsuit but stopping short of embracing the California agreement.

Ford CEO Jim Farley tweeted that GM had "reversed course" after it quitthe Trump alliance.

Matt Godlewski oversees state and local government affairs for Ford Motor Co. while based in Dearborn.(Photo: Ford Motor Co.)

President-elect Biden has pledged support for the automotive industry, which he helped rescue during the Great Recession. In recent weeks, Bidenearned praise for plans to reduce climate-warming vehicle emissions with support of "ambitious" electrification goals.

Michael Sheridan leads international government affairs for Ford.(Photo: Ford Motor Co.)

TheFord government affairs team run by Bainwol is rounded out by:

John Kwant manages technology and mobility policy for Ford as part of its government affairs team.(Photo: Ford Motor Co.)

More: Ford wants to cut 1,400 salaried jobs in U.S.: Who is targeted

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at 313-222-6512or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.

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Ford revamps Washington team as Biden heads to White House - Detroit Free Press

Here in South Florida and around the country, emergency departments see a notable increase in falls, back strains and other injuries during the holidays. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, injuries sustained while decorating account for some 15,000 trips a year to the ER.

Resource spoke recently with two experts from Miami Neuroscience Institute, a part of Baptist Health South Florida:

Jose Andres Restrepo, M.D., medical director for outpatient rehabilitation, specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, electrodiagnosis, regenerative medicine and musculoskeletal conditions including arthritis.

Raul A. Vasquez-Castellanos, M.D., neurosurgeon and director of complex spine surgery, specializing in the surgical treatment of complex spinal conditions including tumors, degenerative spine diseases, spinal deformities, scoliosis, kyphoscoliosis and neurotrauma.

We asked Drs. Restrepo and Vasquez for their thoughts on how you can prevent the most common holiday injuries and avoid the ER this holiday season.

Resource: In general, regardless of the season, what are the most common types of injuries you treat in your practice?

Dr. Vasquez: We see a lot of people who come in with nerve impingement, herniated disk, disk degeneration, chronic back pain, and simple spine fractures. Most of these result from falls or lifting heavy things. But I think it also has something to do with the fact that we live in an area with an aging population, at a time when people are living longer. As we age, our flexibility, balance and reaction times all start diminishing. We need to be mindful of our body and what its actually capable of doing.

Resource: What kind of injuries are you seeing now, as people decorate for the holidays?

Dr. Restrepo: So far this holiday season, weve seen a 10 to 15 percent increase in patients with back injuries. Most of these have been a result of decorating ones home for the holidays moving heavy furniture and boxes, falling off ladders and performing various other activities required for the job. Weve had patients complaining of everything from neck pain from looking up for long periods; back pain from bending over and lifting; hand and wrist pain from grappling with hammers, screwdrivers and other tools; ankle sprains from falling off ladders; knee sprains from awkward rotation of the knee, and bursitis of the knee from kneeling on hard surfaces for too long.

One patient came in with a back sprain and lacerations on his back. He was on a ladder stringing holiday lights along the eaves of his house, unspooling the lights he had wrapped around himself as he worked his way along the eaves. At some point he slipped and fell into the bushes below but, fortunately, his fall was broken somewhat by the lights he had wrapped around himself and the ones he had just strung around the chimney. Otherwise, his injuries might have been much worse.

Resource: Are you seeing anything different this year with holiday injuries because of the pandemic?

Dr. Vasquez: We are. What is common now, it seems especially with this second surge were seeing now is people are injuring themselves at home but reluctant to go to the ER because theyre concerned about exposure to the coronavirus. I can tell you that our facilities are perhaps the cleanest, safest spaces anywhere far more so than your local grocery store. Remember that delaying care is aggravating an existing injury. By not seeking treatment, you could possibly wind up with permanent weakness and long-term, chronic back pain. Is that a chance you want to take?

Resource: Dr. Vasquez, what recommendations do you have for avoiding injuries during the holidays?

Dr. Vasquez:

Resource: And Dr. Restrepo, what about youwhat advice can you offer that would help people avoid the ER during the holidays?

Dr. Restrepo:

Resource: If somebody is injured, should they go to Urgent Care or the ER?

Dr. Vasquez: If you suffer an acute injury from a fall, such as a broken back or broken arm, Baptist Health has Urgent Care and Urgent Care Express locations across South Florida, some of which are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We also have a couple of freestanding emergency departments in West Coral Way and West Kendall, and of course, there are on-campus ERs at all of our hospitals across the region. Serious back injuries requiring specialized care will be referred to our team here at Miami Neuroscience Institute. If you need us, were here 24/7 to help care for you.

Tags: ankle sprain, back pain, back sprain, Dr. Jose Andres Restrepo, Dr. Raul Vasquez-Castellanos, holiday decorating injuries, holiday decorating safety tips, Miami Neuroscience Institute

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Decorating for the Holidays? Doctors Share Tips on How to Avoid a Trip to the ER. - Baptist Health South Florida

Nick Ramos, currently owner of an electrical company in Kerrville and pastor of a local Spanish Baptist Church, took a long and winding road from the mountains of Mexico into the United States and to his current home in Kerrville.

He was a teenaged resident of a village in the mountains of Oaxaca, 300 miles south of Mexico City, when he decided he had to come to the U.S. to have a future, he said.

I left when I was 14 years old to come to the United States with a friend and a relative, in the late 1970s, and we crossed into California as illegals, he said.

Ramos said they traveled together for a while, seeking work in various places along the way, but Ramos eventually made his way through Oregon and into Washington state before moving to San Antonio and finally to Kerrville.

I was too old to go to school by then, but too young to work regularly, and still an illegal; and my life had no meaning or purpose, he said. I was working some, but I was basically a vagabond with no direction in life. But I was blessed to have heard about the Gospel from people I met.

He said one place was in Washington in the snow up to here, he said, gesturing hip-deep where he'd found an orchard operation that included small cabins the workers could stay in. And one day some men in front of the local post office invited him to a home for coffee with a kind Hispanic family.

They fed me, and gave me advice; and the husband told his own story about God changing his life. They invited me to church, but I said no.

But that contact led to a job offer on a ranch in eastern Washington, which he said he started to refuse, but finally said yes. It was while he was working on that ranch that he began to read the Bible, he said.

And God changed my life, he said. Looking back now, God was working in me all along. I got a hunger for learning more, and in the mid-1980s my pastor suggested I go to a theological school.

Ramos said yes, and worked for another year before traveling to school in San Antonio. He graduated from that training in 1987.

The connection to Kerrville happened when a Kerrville pastor visited his theological school to lecture the students. Ramos said he kept a note about that pastors name and home church, and when Ramos graduated, he called that pastor and asked him for work, to gain some experience in his new field of endeavor. That was at the Maranantha Christian Center open here in the 1980s.

I met my wife Margarita there, Ramos said. Shes the hero in my life.

Ramos said about the same time he approached John Miller, then-owner of National Car Sales, a person Ramos said God put alongside him on his path.

Miller hired Ramos, who at the time had no training or experience in repairing, maintaining or selling cars. He hired Ramos to detail and drive the cars Miller bought and sold.

But Miller also offered added training, he said; and Ramos said he started at a $5 per hour salary, already higher than previous jobs offered.

Then he taught me how to rent cars, buy them at auction and sell the vehicles. He was my mentor.

Miller was the one who asked Ramos to learn to speak and read English. And Miller requested Ramos listen to San Antonio radio station WOAI to help his "language" lessons.

Ministry

"Looking back now, over the years, God was working in me, and on me, the whole time. And I got a hunger for learning more," Ramos said. "And I also always have had a desire to do more. And after Margarita and I married in 1990, I got an opportunity to be the pastor of a church in Oklahoma. And when our first child was two years old, we moved up there. Oklahoma was a whole new world, but we stayed a couple years up there."

He said in the mid-1990s, they decided to move back to Texas; and Nick decided to learn another "more practical kind of work to do in addition to ministry."

"I went back to selling cars, before I was hired by a local tradesman doing electrical work. And I fell in love with the work," he said. "As a new electrician, it was low pay for a while and we lived with my in-laws. And in 2000, I started working on my masters' electrician license."

He said while he was getting that license, he continued "side jobs" as an electrician; and that all turned into Ramos Electric. Now his 29-year-old son Nicholas Jr. and 25-year-old daughter Genesis help run that business.

He also continued in ministry, he said, at Calvary Temple Church, and with Pastor Matias Rodriguez, and it was through that connection that he met now-retired Baptist Pastor Bill Blackburn.

In 2004-05, Ramos was invited by Blackburn and others to join the discussions about Christian Men's Job Corps, "again, a wonderful ministry, and I was an initial board member, and now I am again. I also was doing a jail ministry at the Kerr County Jail."

Since then he studied online with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, for a master's degree, graduating again in 2019.

Now he's a student again, enrolled in a doctoral program for another master's degree with Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

And about four and a half years ago, Nick and Margarita opened Mission Route 66 Church in Kerrville, starting in people's homes and rented spaces, now located at 425 McFarland St., Kerrville.

"We are targeting people who don't normally go to a church. Sometimes we have 55 or 60 but under COVID, we have rectangular tables each with two or three chairs. We meet at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, and have a coffee bar and a juice bar for a healthy option," he said.

"I had cancer a few years ago, and my doctor and my wife recommended those healthier options," he said. "We also offer Wednesday night Bible studies right now, online and health classes at the church sometimes. I'm just a beggar telling other beggars where to find bread."

He said there are 10 Spanish Baptist churches in this multi-county area; and every three months all the congregations gather in one place.

He said his wife is his hero, and got him into natural things, and 10 years later, his medical scans are clear.

Ramos can be contacted by email at mission.route66@gmail.com or through its website at http://www.missionroute66.org. Ramos holds services Sunday at 10:30 a.m.; and Wednesday at 7 p.m.; and has Instagram and Facebook, too.

Electrical trade

Ramos Electric has a home office at 1105 Ranchero Rd., and can do general maintenance work to custom homes, including lighting controls, heated flooring and specialty lighting.

He can be contacted at Ramoselectrickerrville@gmail.com.

Im home now, and along the way I became a permanent U.S. resident, and then a U.S. citizen five years ago.

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Ramos' journey serves as true inspiration | | hccommunityjournal.com - Community journal

Set 200 years in our future, The Expanse is as much a sci-fi series as it is a political drama. Everyone wants to colonize the solar system and its a race to the start line. Earth is run by the United Nations, Mars is an independent nation terraforming its way to a greener future, and factions along the asteroid belt known as Belters are looking to gain more power on the interstellar stage.

The show has drawn wide praise for its stunning visuals (most sets were built-out on the largest available stages of Pinewood Toronto Studios instead of heavily relying on green screens, and in Season 4, an active quarry helped create adesolate frontier-planet look). Its also famously scientifically accurate, a choice informed no doubt by showrunner Naren Shankar who has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and previously worked as a scientific consultant for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Perhaps most impressively, though, from the beginning, the show fought for purposefully inclusive casting that is revelatory for the genre. As pointed out by Tasha Robinson at The Verge, Theres no reason to assume, sight unseen, that any given referenced characters, regardless of their position in the world, will be white men.

Still, among all these technical and narrative achievements, none are as remarkable as the way the women on the show dominate and lead the storytelling. There are women of all ages, races, body types, and sexualities in the universe of The Expanse, in positions of authority, representing the working class, pilots, soldiers, scientists, refugees, community leaders.

Even more impressive than their numbers is the fact that none of them fall into the usual tropes women in genre shows are typically confined to, such as the Girl Boss, the Mary Sue, and the Born Sexy Yesterday (a term coined by YouTuber Jonathan McIntosh who uses it to describe the sci-fi trope found in movies like Tron, The Fifth Element, and the original Planet of the Apes, where women are sexy and helpless, externally Barbie-like but internally child-like).

The minds of the women of The Expanse are always whirring, and the show delights in showing us how they work. As season five unfurls, it becomes clearer and clearer that their stories are the beating heart of the show. So lets give them their due recognition.

Naomi, played by British-Dominican actress Dominique Tipper, is officially the Rocinantes executive officer. Shes also its chief engineer, conscience, and the love interest of its captain, Jim Holden. That order is significant. Her most important role is as the ship whisperer, making sure to repair it post-battle and generally help improve the quality of its flight and operations. Her skills are showcased daily as she attends to the problems, small and large, that spaceflight entails, and the respect she commands is evident in the way Holden regularly defers to her for major decisions concerning the crew.

Naomi is also the conscience of the Rocinante, but she is not an infallible angel immune from having crises of conscience of her own. She was formerly a member of the OPA (the Outer Planets Alliance), a Belter collective seen as either terrorists or freedom fighters depending on whom you ask, and fell in love with one of the groups most brutish members, Marco Inaros, a man who has kept her from her son for years. Inaros actions at the end of Season 4 set him up as the Big Bad of the fifth season, giving Naomi the greatest personal and political motives out of anyone for going after him.

I think sometimes when we talk about representation, we forget about the flawed-ness of humans, Tipper said in a conversation with TV Guide about the image her character provides. We dont just want to see a strong Black woman trope. We want to see a Black woman who is ripped from her family, and is navigating that, and has privilege, and that makes wrong decisions and does the right thing, and youre still in love with her at the end of it. Because I think too often when we try to diversify in Hollywood or on shows, we try and portray the most wholesome version of that or the most palatable version of it, and thats where you run into problems.

Naomi is a Black woman who is the brains of the operation, a friend, a mother, a lover, someone who has been wronged and done wrong but is striving to right it all. As Samantha Olthof writes in FSRs review of The Expanse Season 5, The strong all-around performances this season are crowned by Tippers heart-wrenching delivery of Naomi.

Drummer, played by Canadian actress Cara Gee, is a no-nonsense Belter captain. A lot of her fire comes from a personal connection to the material. Gee is Ojibwe and one of the few Native actors currently working in television let alone a science-fiction series. She explained to Entertainment Weekly at New York Comic-Con that Drummers passion for Belter justice reminds her of the struggles indigenous people are going through now.

In real life, Im an indigenous woman, she says, and so for me, in particular, the questions about access to clean air and water and who has access to that is one that is extremely relevant given that so many reserves dont have access to clean water even in Canada and in the United States, and that, to me, is just so mindblowing: that we can exist in such luxury, some of us, and others so oppressed.

Although she is both strong and smart, Drummer is not the strongest fighter or the smartest engineer on the show. She is, however, one of the most powerful people in any room she enters because of her innate ability to read people and ascertain their desires. She uses this gift to plot. Shes not too proud to work under someone she served as a prized lieutenant to two different OPA faction leaders proving her adaptability or to work with past enemies because she sees its utility.

Shes not too squeamish to take out people aboard her ship who attempt a mutiny because she isnt clouded by idealism about how the groups can someday all get along. And when her legs are injured in the middle of a massive crisis, she powers through the pain and builds a solution while in her hospital bed so that she can return to help her shipmates ASAP. She is the most present of all the characters. Her mind is goal-oriented and always-active: In this moment what do I need, whose resources can I leverage to achieve my goal?

Drummers friendship with Naomi is one of the highlights of the show. Both Belter women share a goal but have two very different perspectives on how to achieve it. In one exemplary scene the two talk about a drug dealer aboard their ship who is supplying incapacitating drugs to skiff drivers. Naomi is worried about handing over the guy to Drummer for fear of letting her down but also because she doesnt want him to be violently punished. This changes when his actions cause another shipmate to lose his life and damage much-needed equipment. I dont expect you to be perfect. Or anyone, Drummer tells Naomi. That skiff driver was free to put whatever he liked into his body we all are until that freedom puts others at risk. And then we act accordingly.

Its a very enlightened leadership approach that demonstrates Drummers nuanced understanding of human behavior while also displaying her pragmatism: things that get in the way of her goal must be dealt with quickly and unsentimentally. With every scene she appears in, Drummer continues to prove she is one of the most unique women to appear in any sci-fi series.

Bobbie, a Martian soldier played by Samoan actress Frankie Adams, is a trope-busting character in a genre prone to racist stereotypes where Asian characters are concerned. This September, a tweet went viral for dissecting the harmful trope of the nonverbal woman that many women of color are forced into on-screen. Within the thread, it was particularly evident that this trope is especially common for Asian female characters (Karen Fukuhara appears twice on the list for two different nonverbal roles). In addition to being nonverbal for largely unexplained reasons, Asian characters are also typically depicted as unfeeling and expendable (author Paula Young Lee wrote about this specific trope, The Expendable Asian Crewmember, for Salon).

In The Expanse, Bobbie is the antithesis of these harmful stereotypes. She has a lively personality, is purposeful but not mechanical, and is definitely not expendable to the show. Since her introduction in Season 2, Bobbie has been given the most prized arc on any genre show: a heros journey.

In a memorable sequence that could have easily been cut (or would never even be filmed on another show), Bobbie escapes from her room in the Mars embassy using her know-how in order to MacGyver an exit. Instead of nailing it on the first round, she noodles around until she finds a tool made of strong enough material to penetrate her window: fittingly, the purple heart Mars awarded her for parroting propaganda instead of standing in her truth. We watch her work through the problem. Methodical, logical, relentless. Her attributes arent just buzzwords to satisfy a demand for more feminist storytelling, they are provable because of the material the character is given.

The shows writers also avoid the infamous Mary Sue trope by showing us how she achieves her wins and also letting us see her lose. We know Bobbie is a force of nature not because of her cool Martian war suit but because weve seen her kick ass with or without it. An interrogation scene shows she has the moral fortitude to stand up to her military command when she smells something rotten even if it means breaking from the Good Little Martian she was groomed to be her entire life.

In another scene, she and two other characters get ambushed, and Bobbie has to figure a way out. She connects to the ships site plan and comes up with a daring escape. We watch as she makes her way through a shaft John McClane-style and takes out some gunmen. The sequence isnt all adrenaline, though, because while she can bluntly take out a series of men, she isnt a machine, so she knows she doesnt have to. When she encounters an electrician who stands between her and her goal, she uses her words to find a peaceable solution.

Bobbies humanity is textual and is always present even in fight scenes. Her journey from blunt instrument for Mars to free-thinking agent of change has been one of the most rewarding on the show.

Clarissa, played by Nadine Nicole, was introduced as the older sister of Julie Mao, the missing person who set off the events of the first season. The uber-privileged daughters of early-season antagonist Jules-Pierre Mao have very different trajectories on the show. While Julie turns her back on her father and his nefarious plans for weaponizing a lethal alien protomolecule, aligning herself with the Belter revolutionaries, Clarissa is at first glance a blindly loyal daughter.

In the third season, she begins a methodical attack against Team Rocinante in an effort to seek justice for her father, whose ill-doings the crew helped bring to light. Clarissa is so committed to this assignment that she adopts an alter ego, goes undercover, and gets non-reversible modifications to her body that turn her into a lethal machine when activated. Her plans set off one of the tensest sequences in the show thus far: a multi-spaceship chase through an unexplored alien ring. Her fate seems sealed until, in a crucial moment, she overhears Holden and Naomi discuss how they need to save everyone from a potentially extinction-level event, and Clarissas view of him and of herself shifts. Her change of heart helps Team Rocinante thwart a hasty call from a captain who is seconds from killing them all.

After a seasons worth of evidence pointing to her as the most cunning and unapologetic villain the team has yet faced, Clarissa ends up being a hero in their hour of need. Instead of killing her off after one redeeming heroic act (one of the tropiest tropes ever), the show decided it was more interesting to let us watch her change and grow, and it was right. Clarissa has plenty of time to stew on her bad life choices because she ends up receiving a life sentence for committing multiple homicides.

Nicole was bumped to series regular for Season 5, and her arc in this season and on the show overall is evidence of the way The Expanse tries to complicate our understanding of simple television tropes like good guys and villains. On this show, doing something bad doesnt make you a villain at least, not permanently. Similarly, doing one good thing doesnt mean youre a good person. Clarissas character arc is a microcosm of the moral struggle that everyone on the show is going through in their own way.

Avasarala, played by Iranian-American actress Shohreh Aghdashloo, is a shrewd and incredibly fashionable politician on the show who eventually becomes the UN Secretary-General, a.k.a the leader of Earth. She sees the world as a chessboard. In the third episode of the first season, theres a scene between Chrisjen and Frank, an old friend, in which he recounts a story about the time a young Chrisjen was tasked with coming up with a card game for some friends to play.

You said we each get five cards, you dealt them out, then you pointed to the far end of the yard, and you said, Now whoever gets to the tree first, wins. You dropped your cards and were halfway there before anyone else realized what was happening. Frank explains that that was the moment he became terrified for her because it was the moment he realized she would do anything to win. The story neatly summarizes Chrisjens character. Imagine the ruthless political maneuvering of Game of Thrones Cersei but used for good instead of evil.

In Season 4, Chrisjen faces a challenge to her seat as UN Secretary-General, and the election advisers she hires to help secure the win ask her to appear more maternal to voters, to exercise soft power rather than the blunt and sweary force shes used to wielding, and she all but laughs in their faces.

The Expanse liberates Chrisjen from one of the worst constraints to which a female character can be chained: the prison cell of likeability. She is canonically and iconically unconcerned with whether people like her or not as long as she gets the job done. She is noteworthy because she is a powerful female character who is not simply a carbon copy of male leaders who came before her. This is foregrounded in the very first episode of the series, in which she is depicted as equally at ease torturing a man for information at a UN black site as playing with her grandson.

Shes the most complex character in the series, capable of extreme warmth and coldness, both manipulative and caring, at times the most arrogant and at others the wisest. Though she begins the fifth season fresh off of losing the election, she is not diminished by the loss but fortified by it. If future genre writers are looking for a way to nimbly write about women and power, hers is the mold they should cut from.

Naomi, Camina, Bobbie, Clarissa, and Chrisjen are just five of the many complex female characters that populate The Expanse. There are a lot of shows set in space, but The Expanse has distinguished itself in a classic and oft-explored genre by making sure that women are given, at minimum, equal standing with men on the show. Women are heroes and rogues, they can save the world, and they have just as much power to end it.

In the mythology of The Expanse, society has already moved past the -isms that are still plaguing our world, like racism and sexism, but the series insistence that thats not just a line in the proverbial show bible but a real, critical, and undeniable part of its writing, will undoubtedly be its greatest legacy.

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The Women of The Expanse Will Be the Shows Greatest Legacy - Film School Rejects

The search for identity and recognition is a common theme among the 2020 North Carolina Book Award recipients who are being announced virtually. Video acceptance statements from recipients are available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0D3Ny2CaPzmpuuwyMiP8trn6iVTzB-9e.

The Ragan Old North State Award for Nonfiction goes to William Sandy Darity and A. Kirsten Mullen of Durham, for From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the 21st Century. The husband-wife team explores the economic and social impact of slavery, the mirage of equality during Reconstruction and the multiplier effect of ongoing institutional racism to imprison African Americans in poverty while building white wealth for generations. Darity is the Samuel DuBose Cook Distinguished Professor of Public Policy at Duke University. Mullen is an author, folklorist and museum consultant.

The Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction goes to Katey Schultz of Celo, for Still Come Home, a tale of war in Afghanistan involving a young wife, her older husband and the Taliban, an American soldier, and how their lives intersect as each seeks to live their truth in circumstances often beyond their control. Schultz, author of Flashes of War among other titles, is an instructor of creative writing at Interlochen College of Creative Arts in Michigan.

The Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry goes to Dannye Romine Powell of Charlotte, for In the Sunroom with Raymond Carver, which has been described as prayerful, shimmering with incandescence, and offering sometimes blinding moments of self-recognition. In addition to being an award-winning poet, Powell has been a leader in North Carolinas literary community, serving as book editor and columnist for the Charlotte Observer for decades.

The American Association of University Women Award for Young Peoples Literature goes toMeg Cannistra of Charlotte, for The Trouble with Shooting Stars, as 12-year-old Luna explores the heavens. It also is an examination of Italian American life and the experiences of food, fireworks, acceptance and love. This is Cannistras debut novel.

The C.C. Crittenden Memorial Award for lifetime contributions to history goes to Elizabeth Buford of Raleigh, former director of the N.C. Museum of History, former deputy secretary of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, who has worked to preserve and protect North Carolina history for decades through historic preservation, exhibitions and special events. She is most proud of the successful transfer of National History Day from the N.C. Department of Public Instruction to the Office of Archives and History, ensuring that students would learn and protect the states history by doing history, creating exhibits, writing papers and producing performances. Buford spread her good works across the state by also being a longtime leader of the Federation of North Carolina Historical Societies.

The Hardee-Rives Dramatic Arts Award goes to Triad Stage of Greensboro, for nearly 20 years of consistently high theater service reaching thousands of theatergoers in the Triad with high quality, regionally authentic productions in Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

The Hugh T. Lefler Award for best college student paper goes to Scott Stegall of Monroe and Davidson College, forFiddle and Bow and Jim Crow: North Carolina Fiddlers Conventions, Confederate Memorialization, and the Culture of White Supremacy. Graduating in 2020, Stegall, an old-time musician himself, used his time as a college student to explore the intersection between music and history in North Carolina.

The N.C. Literary and Historical Association and the Federation of N.C. Historical Societies continues in their commitment to stimulate the production of literature, to collect and preserve historical material in North Carolina, and to recognize excellence in both areas,even during this pandemic.

For additional information on the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association and the awards program, visit https://www.ncdcr.gov/about/history/lit-and-hist. The program is administered by the Office of Archives and History within the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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2020 North Carolina Book Award recipients announced - The Stanly News & Press - Stanly News & Press

ESSEX -- If youve never been down Towers Road, you might not know that theres a luxurious, 7,043-square foot contemporary house that comes with additional structures and an incredible view of the rolling countryside. And its currently for sale.

Listed by Hank Gintof Jr. of Signature Properties of Vermont, 100 Towers Road in Essex has over 10 acres of land, a single-family home, a pool house with a half bathroom, and so much more. The primary house includes a grand room with large windows, an upper loft that makes for a stellar home office, a custom bar, and even a theater room.

Outside, you can find a kidney-shaped pool and an 864-square foot barn. In addition to the attached three-car garage, theres an additional 1,200-square foot detached garage, allowing you to comfortably park nine vehicles indoors.

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms: 6

Acreage: 10.04

List Price: $1,495,000

Highlights: Sunroom with overhead-vented cooking area, cozy fireplace, soaring ceilings, private plot but conveniently located to local amenities, garden space, spacious walk-in closet, kitchen island, and soaking tub

See this propertys full listing here.

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Have your own movie theater with this Towers Road 7000-square foot contemporary home - St. Albans Messenger

The new five-story west Little Rock headquarters of Bank OZK is a magnificent addition of modern architecture for Arkansas. However, it houses more than deposits and loans its the repository for a number of world-renowned art pieces.

Bank OZK Chairman and CEO George Gleason provided Talk Business & Politics with a personal tour of the new campus and sat down for a Q&A on the state of banking as the nation heads into 2021 and a new presidential administration.

Gleason said the motivation to build a new headquarters the third one hes built in Little Rock was to have a building that would attract young talent as well as provide a campus with the potential for future growth. It is also a destination for the public to treat as a park.

The campus setting gives our employees and our customers and the community, for that matter, an opportunity to come outside and on a beautiful day work outside, he said. We think that fosters creativity and improves job satisfaction.

Designed by Little Rock-based Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, the Bank OZK headquarters serves as a staging place for a number of major art pieces. Gleason and his wife, Linda, have been dedicated art collectors for decades. The building is filled with paintings, sculptures, and blown glass from around the world.

Gleasons passion for art appreciation began in his teenage years from a Worlds Fair experience in San Antonio. In his professional career, he was afforded the opportunity to become a serious art collector. He never dreamed he would unknowingly be pitted against billionaire Alice Walton and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art through anonymous art bids.

We would go to sales and we had done our homework and we really liked this piece or really liked that piece. And we would bid on it, but we knew what it ought to sell for. And it would just go on up. There just seemed to be this escalating trend in prices in the market, Gleason recalled.

I was sitting in the sunroom one Sunday morning when the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published their article announcing Crystal Bridges. I think there were a dozen or 13 or 14 pictures in there that she had acquired and we were the underbidder on about half of them, Gleason said. I told my wife that morning, I said, Alice is going to buy everything great and most things good. And if we want to have a third-rate collection of American art, we just need to resolve to that or we can start collecting European art. So our personal collection went all European. By the time we were back collecting for the bank, the Alice Walton effect on prices had diminished. And once again, when good items came up, we were able to buy them at a fair price.

THE PANDEMIC, THE FUTUREGleason says the bank adapted internally to the COVID-19 pandemic and helped many clients with three- or six-month deferrals on loans. However, he said while some clients suffered during the pandemic, others have thrived.

The strange thing about COVID-19 is, economically, you have winners and you have losers. Some of our customers businesses have been boosted to unprecedented levels of business volume and activity and profitability because the services they provide or the projects theyre developing or the houses or buildings, or whatever are in higher demand than ever before, as a result of COVID-19. And then you have other people like people who are in the hotel and restaurant business who had been profoundly adversely affected by it, he said.

Bank OZK did about a half-billion dollars in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Gleason said without the quick action from the federal government, the devastation for businesses and individuals would have been worse.

I think it [PPP] is like any program of that scale that is put together quickly. It accomplished a lot of things that it was intended to do. Its been a very useful program to keeping the country going through the disaster. But when you put together a program that is going to do that much and interact with that many tens and hundreds of thousands of people all across the country, youre going to have instances of fraud and abuse and misdirection of funds that go to a place that probably wasnt intended when everybody in Washington was crafting the legislation, he said. But I will give the Fed and our lawmakers and the president great credit. The response to the pandemic was very quick and very robust.

While he worries about the rising national debt, Gleason contends that more stimulus is needed to make it through the current COVID-19 challenge.

I do think we need another round of stimulus. Im not of the camp that it needs to be outlandishly large nor does it need to be anorexically skinny. I think theres probably a good middle ground, he said. I dont think we need another PPP program. I think we do need an extension of unemployment benefits at a more moderate rate for the millions of people that are going to be on unemployment much longer than their current benefits are designed to last.

You can watch a full tour of the Bank OZK headquarters and a longer interview with Gleason in the video below.

Link:
Bank OZK CEO George Gleason gives guided tour of new HQ, talks art and banking climate - talkbusiness.net

SELBYVILLE, Del., Dec. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest report "Electric Water Heater Market by Product (Instant, Storage), By Capacity (< 30 Liters, 30-100 Liters, 100-250 Liters, 250-400 Liters, > 400 Liters), Application (Residential, Commercial), Regional Outlook, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast 2026", by Global Market Insights, Inc., the market valuation of electric water heaterwill cross $22 billion by 2026.

Increasing urban migration, rising middle-class income groups along with growing smart city construction projects coupled with ongoing building infrastructure development, is anticipated to boost the market value. Stringent government mandates and norms to replace the existing units with energy-efficient heating systems will further augment product penetration.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/680

Increasing deployment across the remote off-grid areas along with growing product adoption across various commercial establishments comprising hospitals, resorts and hotels, among others, will fuel the electric water heater market growth. Ongoing construction of green buildings coupled with robust expansion of the service sector will spur the industry value. Furthermore, the rising middle-class income group and increasing disposable incomes will further drive the market landscape.

The storage water heater market is projected to showcase significant growth during the forecast timeframe led by key features comprising higher mass flow, low operation cost and efficient heating capability. Growing consumer spending in the real estate sector coupled with ongoing refurbishment activities to develop the prevalent building infrastructure will strengthen the market revenue.

Flexible installation with the existing electrical circuit combined with easy repair & maintenance will accelerate the product deployment across residential applications. Ongoing government incentive programs to fund commercial infrastructure construction activities comprising airports, hospitals, and educational institutions is set to accelerate product acceptance. Additionally, growing demand for energy-efficient heating equipment coupled with increasing R&D activities and product advancements will positively enhance the market share.

Stringent mandates & norms concerning the growing carbon emissions coupled with the abundant availability of gas resources will influence the Europe electric water heatermarket size. According to the European Commission, the eco-Design and labelling directives regulate the water level standards along with the technological advancements with respect to smart control heaters. Increasing water heating requirements on account of extreme climatic conditions is set to further accelerate market expansion.

COVID-19 has led to a global pandemic that has affected the global economy, impacting numerous industries comprising construction and component manufacturing, among others. The industry manufacturers all around the world bear supply shortages owing to lockdowns imposed by countries.

Eminent players operating in the electric water heater market consist of A.O. Smith, Panasonic Corporation, Rheem Manufacturing, Havells India, Whirlpool Corporation and Bosch.

Request for customization of this research report @

https://www.gminsights.com/roc/680

Some major findings of the electric water heater market report include:

Table of Contents (ToC) of the report:

Chapter 3Electric Water Heater Market Insights

3.1 Industry segmentation

3.2 Industry ecosystem analysis

3.2.1 Vendor matrix

3.3 Innovation & sustainability

3.4 Regulatory landscape

3.5 COVID-19 impact on industry outlook, 2020 2026

3.5.1 Top 10 countries impacted by COVID-19

3.5.2 Optimistic view

3.5.3 Realistic view

3.5.4 Pessimistic view

3.6 Customer requirement

3.7 Entry barriers

3.8 Price trend analysis

3.8.1 Price trend analysis, by application

3.9 Industry impact forces

3.9.1 Growth drivers

3.9.2 Industry pitfalls & challenges

3.10 Growth potential analysis

3.11 Porter's analysis

3.12 Competitive landscape, 2019

3.13 PESTEL Analysis

Browse Complete Table of Contents (ToC) @

https://www.gminsights.com/toc/detail/electric-water-heater-market

About Global Market Insights, Inc.

Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.

Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone:1-302-846-7766Toll Free:1-888-689-0688Email:[emailprotected]

Related Imageselectric-water-heater-market.png Electric Water Heater Market Growth Predicted at 5% Through 2026: GMI Stringent mandates & norms concerning the growing carbon emissions coupled with abundant availability of gas resources will influence the European electric water heater market growth.

Related LinksSmart Water Metering Market Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) Market

SOURCE Global Market Insights, Inc.

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Electric Water Heater Market Revenue to Cross USD 22 Bn by 2026: Global Market Insights, Inc. - PRNewswire

Orchids to

Batman at All Saints Apartments, once again our hero!

the good folks at B&B Plumbing for their timely response, acumen, professionalism and exceptional customer service to repair a water heater.

those who installed the lights in the trees on Washington Street! Our downtown is a wonderland!

Dr. Wagner, Chelsea Spartz, their support staff and all the nurses in the cancer center treatment room at CRH, a heartfelt thank you for your skills, your kindness and everything you do for us, from Chris and Fred Hales.

the person in the white pickup truck at McDonalds on State Road 46 for paying our breakfast food order on Wednesday, we will pay it forward.

Audio Source for amazing customer service.

the gentleman who bought our breakfast at Jills on Tuesday.

Kaylee and Robin at the Columbus Dialysis for all your help the last few weeks, from Tom and Judy.

Wade Meyers and Nicol at the prosecutors office, from Marie.

the meeting leaders who fail to show any concern about putting teachers back into the classroom.

those considering it a plausible and sensible idea to bring children back into schools during the worst wave of COVID-19 cases.

those who insist children are asymptomatic: where is the discussion on how to keep the adults and other students informed, safe, and healthy while teaching and learning in a possible infected environment?

those contributing more than $200 million for election challenge legal expenditures but didnt read the fine print only to discover that less than 5% of that was actually used for that purpose.

the federal elected official for his art of the deal trade deficit of more than $100 billion dollars than when he took office in 2016.

opinionated, negative people.

the federal elected official who right before our eyes with the tacit approval of his political party is trying to steal the election.

the leadership of the political party who are not standing up to say the federal elected officials words are untrue.

city elected officials who keep spending money on flower pots and benches.

the federal elected official supporters who are still drinking his Kool-aid.

Tony Beach, from John, Leta, Joyce and Donna.

ANOTHER beautiful morning

Original post:
Around Town December 17 - The Republic

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Andrew J. Whelton, Purdue University; Amisha Shah, Purdue University, and Kristofer P. Isaacson, Purdue University

(THE CONVERSATION) When wildfires swept through the hills near Santa Cruz, California, in 2020, they released toxic chemicals into the water supplies of at least two communities. One sample found benzene, a carcinogen, at 40 times the states drinking water standard.

Our testing has now confirmed a source of these chemicals, and its clear that wildfires arent the only blazes that put drinking water systems at risk.

In a new study, we heated plastic water pipes commonly used in buildings and water systems to test how they would respond to nearby fires.

The results, released Dec. 14, show how easily wildfires could trigger widespread drinking water contamination. They also show the risks when only part of a building catches fire and the rest remains in use. In some of our tests, heat exposure caused more than 100 chemicals to leach from the damaged plastics.

As environmentalengineers, we advise communities on drinking water safety and disaster recovery. The western U.S.s extreme wildfire seasons are putting more communities at risk in ways they might not realize. Just this year, more than 52,000 fires destroyed more than 17,000 structures many of them homes connected to water systems. Heat-damaged plastic pipes can continue to leach chemicals into water over time, and ridding a water system of the contamination can take months and millions of dollars.

A baffling source of contamination

The cause of drinking water contamination after wildfires has baffled authorities since it was discovered in 2017.

After the 2017 Tubbs Fire and 2018 Camp Fire, chemicals were found in buried water distribution networks, some at levels comparable to hazardous waste. Contamination was not in the water treatment plants or drinking water sources. Some homeowners found drinking water contamination in their plumbing.

Tests revealed volatile organic compounds had reached levels that posed immediate health risks in some areas, including benzene levels that exceeded the EPA hazardous waste threshold of 500 parts per billion. Benzene was found at a level 8,000 times the federal drinking water limit and 200 times the level that causes immediate health effects. Those effects can include dizziness, headaches, skin and throat irritation and even unconsciousness, among other risks.

This year, wildfires triggered drinking water contamination in at least two moreCalifornia drinking water systems, and testing is still underway in other communities.

The problem with plastics

Plastics are ubiquitous in drinking water systems. They are often less expensive to install than metal alternatives, which hold up against high heat but are vulnerable to corrosion.

Today, water pipes under the street and those that deliver water to customers water meters are increasingly made of plastic. Pipes that transport the drinking water from the meter to the building are often plastic. Water meters also sometimes contain plastics. Private wells can have plastic well casings as well as buried plastic pipes that deliver well water to plastic storage tanks and buildings.

Pipes inside buildings that carry hot and cold water to faucets can also be plastic, as can faucet connectors, water heater dip tubes, refrigerator and ice maker tubing.

To determine if plastic pipes could be responsible for drinking water contamination after wildfires, we exposed commonly available plastic pipes to heat. The temperatures were similar to the heat from a wildfire that radiates toward buildings but isnt enough to cause the pipes to catch fire.

We tested several popular plastic drinking water pipes, including high-density polyethylene (HDPE), crosslinked polyethylene (PEX), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlorinated polyvinylchloride (CPVC).

Benzene and other chemicals were generated inside the plastic pipes just by heating. After the plastics cooled, these chemicals then leached into the water. It happened at temperatures as low as 392 degrees Fahrenheit. Fires can exceed 1,400 degrees.

While researchers previously discovered that plastics could release benzene and other chemicals into the air during heating, this new study shows heat-damaged plastics can directly leach dozens of toxic chemicals into water.

[Youre too busy to read everything. We get it. Thats why weve got a weekly newsletter. Sign up for good Sunday reading. ]

What to do about contamination

A community can stop water contamination from spreading if damaged pipes can be quickly isolated. Without isolation, the contaminated water may move to other parts of the water system, across town or within a building, causing further contamination.

During the CZU Lightning Complex Fire near Santa Cruz, one water utility had water distribution system valves that seemed to have contained the benzene-contaminated water.

Rinsing heat-damaged pipes wont always remove the contamination. While helping Paradise, California, recover from the 2018 Camp Fire disaster, we and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that some plastic pipes would have required more than 100 days of nonstop water rinsing to be safe for use. Instead, officials decided to replace the pipes.

Even if a home is undamaged, we recommend testing the water in private wells and service lines if fire was on the property. If contamination is found, we recommend finding and removing the heat-damaged plastic contamination sources. Some plastics can slowly leach chemicals like benzene over time, and this could go on for months to years, depending on the scale of contamination and water use. Boiling the water doesnt help and can release benzene into the air.

Avoiding widespread contamination

Communities can take steps to avoid contaminated drinking water in the event of a fire. Water companies can install network isolation valves and backflow prevention devices, to prevent contaminated water moving from a damaged building into the utility pipe network.

Insurance companies can use pricing to encourage property owners and cities to install fire-resistant metal pipes instead of plastic. Rules for keeping vegetation away from meter boxes and buildings can also lessen the chance heat reaches plastic water system components.

Homeowners and communities rebuilding after fires now have more information about the risks as they consider whether to use plastic pipes. Some, like the town of Paradise, have chosen to rebuild with plastic and accept the risks. In 2020, the city had another wildfire scare and residents were forced to evacuate again.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/plastic-pipes-are-polluting-drinking-water-systems-after-wildfires-its-a-risk-in-urban-fires-too-150923.

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Plastic pipes are polluting drinking water systems after wildfires it's a risk in urban fires, too - Alton Telegraph