Aris gives voice to Russia
Contrary to popular belief in the West, when Russian officialdom decides something needs to be done it can and will pull it off with alacrity and precision. "The important factor is to analyse exactly what is required, identify the correct tools to achieve this then implement it." Alexander Fetisov talking about a complete refit of RIA Novosty, Russia's largest and most significant news agency. A comparison to the BBC World Service might give a fair insight, RIA Novosty broadcasts in Russian and five European languages, producing programmes focussed upon political, social, economic, scientific and financial information. As was said, a significant presence in communications media. The fact that the first enquiry came across Fetisov's desk in July 2010 and handover to the Government Committee responsible followed in June 2011, just eleven months later, indicates the speed with which this project was assessed, contracts awarded, and then completed.
"The tasks of the agency also include distribution of official messages of the Russian government, ministries, agencies and social organisations," continued Fetisov. "The offices of RIA Novosty are a complex of multistoried buildings including a large multipurpose hall, the Big Universal (BUH), several conference halls, apparatus rooms, operational halls, all located in the centre of Moscow." Fetisov, an electroacoustic expert, was engaged to produce a sound reinforcement solution for the BUH. "As is the nature of these large Government projects, the layers of administration were deep; the system integrator was Atlantis Communications; AVI Lab held the subcontract for sound, video and conference equipment, handing the 'sound' brief to audio specialists Aris."
Fetisov is head of Aris's installation department, "The BUH seats four hundred people and had always been used for live presentations, mainly discussion, meetings and conferencing, with the occasional concert. At Government level the brief was to provide 'nothing but the best'; I selected d&b audiotechnik equipment because their loudspeaker systems adhere precisely to what the technical specifications outline; the accuracy of the propagation patterns never ceases to amaze me, and of course they sound fantastic. The crucial factor for me was their ability to produce two things equally well; truly concert specification musical reproduction and superb speech intelligibility. The BUH isn't a difficult room acoustically; as such the d&b T-Series solution we have implemented really shines."
Fetisov is rightfully proud of his work at RIA Novosty, since June the plaudits from presenters, users and the occasional musical performer, have been steady and all in the positive. "In many ways RIA Novosty is the voice of Russia so I am extremely pleased with the result."
ARIS recently received the Prointegration Award for the RIA Novosty project at the Integrated Systems Russia Exhibition.
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Russia and The Writer
Philosophical Gas [No:27 Mar 1974]
(Cover Michael Leunig)
Philosophical Gas No: 27 - Mar 1974
As I write this. Alexander Solzhenitsyn is very much in the news. Like most people I was greatly relieved to learn that the penalty for his 'crimes' was merely exile and not a return to the forced-labour camps or a sojourn in a psychiatric hospital. I am sure that all of us hope that his many true Mends in the Soviet Union are not made to suffer for their loyalty; a rather hopeless sort of hope. I admit, although some of them, Dr Sakharov especially, seem to be of such standing that even the KGB handles them with kid gloves.
May it stay that way.
Not so long ago my wife and I were discussing Russia. It was shortly after one of our masters, whose ship had been loading grain in a South Australian port, had told me about a cocktail party thrown in that port by the master of a Russian vessel, the guests being the local business community and the captains of the other grain ships.
My friend had managed to get his host by himself in a corner, and over several glasses of vodka, had compared notes. He discovered that in Russian vessels the sacred margins are maintained. In pay and in conditions there is a great gulf between the master and his officers. Also the master's powers have not been steadily eroded over the years by industrial courts and the like, as they have been in this country and in other capitalist countries.
I said 'As a shipmaster I'd be far better off in Russia - and as a writer I'd probably finish up in the salt mines!'
Mind you, politics can work against one in the Western World as well as on the other side of the Iron Curtain, although the worst that can happen to you is not selling. I am still amused by what happened to a story I wrote many years ago, called 'Artifact', It was about the first American Mars landing - all very much according to von Braun - and the discovery by the astronauts of what they at first think is a fair-dinkum Martian. The Martian turns out to be the offspring of two Russian cosmonauts. survivors (briefly) of an unpublicized Russian expedition to the Red Planet. The present regime in Russia has crumbled shortly after this expedition failed to return, and the new rulers have more important matters on their plate than astronautics.
Well, the story sold at once on the British market. It was a long time selling in the USA. According to my agent, the American editors just refused to entertain the idea that the wicked Russians could possibly be first on Mars. Then the first Sputnik was launched, with the consequent shakeup of American thinking. 'Artifact' was promptly purchased by Amazing (who, for some obscure reason, retitled it 'The Last Citizen').
I don't know whether or not this story has ever been published In the USSR, but I have been surprised to learn how much of my work has been printed in that country - all of it, unluckily, before the recognition by Russia of the Bonn Convention. Before this recognition Western authors were paid for their work, of course, but the moneys earned had to be spent in the Soviet Union. There were, as a matter of fact, loopholes - as there are in all laws. One prominent British writer, whose works sold very well in Russia, discovered that, legally speaking. Indonesia was somehow part of the Russian currency empire. (It was in the days when Russia was playing Big Brother to our northern neighbours.) Once a year he and his wife would blow the accumulated royalties on a holiday in Bali.
It was fairly recently, however, when I learnt personally of the fear that is always at the back of the minds of everbody in Russia engaged in literary enterprises, no matter how minor. It was when my Russian Faithful Reader (I may have more than one, but he's the only one who writes to me) asked me if I would give him permission to translate one of the stories in THE HARD WAY UP for his university magazine. He also asked which one I would recommend.
My choice was 'The Tin Messiah' (also published in Galaxy as 'The Soul Machine'). You may recall the thing. In it the young Grimes, captain of the Survey Service's courier 'Adder', has as a passenger a humanoid robot, a Mr Adam, who (or which) has been manufactured by the Federation for the sole purpose of stirring up revolt among the robots on a planet that happens to be in the Federation's bad books. At one stage of the story Grimes wonders if the driver of the train which brought Lenin, in the famous sealed carriage, to the Finland station ever foresaw the consequences of merely taking a passenger from point A to point B. The question was raised very briefly, in just one short paragraph.
And it scared my penfriend. He said, frankly, that he didn't like to think of the consequences to him if he used that story, even though in it I had said nothing at all unkind about the Little Red Father. He translated instead 'With Good Intentions', the first story in the collection.
Funnily enough I had that same story, 'The Tin Messiah', knocked back in this country. It was when Angus & Robertson were collecting the material for their third anthology of Australian science fiction. They turned down 'The Tin Messiah' and took instead 'The Mountain Movers'.
Mention Lenin and you don't sell in Russia. Mention Ayers Rock, and you sell in Australia. I think I prefer our way of doing things.
© Used with kind permission of the estate of A Bertram Chandler and its agents, JABberwocky Literary Agency, PO Box 4558, Sunnyside, NY 11104-0558 USA. The "John Grimes" novels of A. Bertram Chandler are available in electronic form from BAEN Books and eReader.com. They are also available through the Science Fiction Book Club to readers in the US and Canada. There have also been recent publications from Wales Publishers in the Czech Republic and les moutons électriques in France.


When it comes to gossip and stories, the entertainment industry never fails to surprise its die-hard fans. From house hopping to new contracts, latest gadgets to stylish outfits, something is always ready to capture the world's imagination. And to ensure you stay updated with every spicy bit, here we are to dish out your daily dose of celeb news.
Today on the radar, we have the hunk who ruled every young heart with Jack's utterly realistic portrayal in the classic movie Titanic. Yep, we're talking about Leonardo Di Caprio, who is currently all over the news, that too, yet again for Titanic. Now, if you're thinking about a surprise sequel to the movie, sorry to disappoint you, but that's not why he's making headlines. This time he's in the spotlight for his Malibu Cottage!
LEWIGS | Leonardo DiCaprio's Malibu beach house has gained attention ever since reports of it being decorated with Titanic-themed stuff surfaced
Read – This is where Leo goes to have some fun
A sneak peek into Leo's house
You might've heard of teenagers adorning their bedrooms with huge posters of Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack, especially during the '90s. But what if we told you that Leo himself loves his character from the movie so much that he has a life-size poster of himself in a still from the movie hanging in his Malibu beach house!
There's actually a lot more worth checking out in the property. Spread over 1,765 square feet, Leonardo bought it in 1998 for $1.6 million soon after the release of Titanic. The entire expanse includes a four-bedroom main house, a two-bedroom guesthouse, and a third building dedicated to entertainment.
The third building holds a gym, an extra bedroom, and a home office. The outdoor area consists of a covered patio including a sun deck, a hot tub, and an easy access to Carbon Beach.
Bauer Griffin – Zimbio | Spread over 1,765 square feet, Leonardo bought it in 1998 for $1.6 million, soon after the release of Titanic
In 2016, the property was listed for $10.95 million, but later, Leo decided to convert it into a rental property, which currently fetches him a $25,000 monthly rent!
What's with Leonardo's Beach House?
On February 2, 2021, Megan Weaver appeared on the "Behind the Velvet Rope" podcast, where she described her experience of staying at Leonardo DiCaprio's Malibu house. While talking to the host, David Yontef, she said that the waterfront home was earlier jam-packed with Titanic collectibles. So much so that when DiCaprio's mother, Irmelin, allowed Megan to stay at the house for a weekend, all that she saw was Titanic towels and posters.
Read – Which movie among Inception & Shutter Island is better to watch?
Radio | According to Megan Weaver, during the 90s, Leonardo DiCaprio's house was filled with Titanic-themed things
She further joked that the only thing that the house lacked was Titanic-themed furniture! She revealed that the place where she stayed wasn't the main house and that Leo rarely visited that area. Further, during the podcast, Megan shared that she used to think Leo's mom gathered the collectibles because maybe she wanted to make him feel at home.
Well, whatever be the reason, the place was a delight to see for Megan. After all, who wouldn't want to experience living inside a luxury cruise ship!


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Deloitte in Scotland
Why staying with the same company isn't a career dead end...
Posted on 1/07/2019 | 0 Comments
Totting up almost 27 years across 12 different roles in the same company, operations director Claire Wood has built her career at Deloitte. She shares her advice for those wanting to buck the job-hopping trend.
How did you start your career at Deloitte?
I started out at Deloitte as an executive assistant in our Financial Advisory business working in the Glasgow office with a partner who specialised in mergers and acquisitions – I loved it! When our new marketing manager arrived, we quickly built a relationship and I volunteered to help her with the events and campaigns she was running which ignited my interest in marketing. She and I still keep in touch today.
How have you kept your career fresh staying in the same place?
Deloitte is a very dynamic organisation that changes on an almost daily basis. It is more than five times the size now than it was when I first started. With such change comes opportunity and the key to my satisfaction has been making the most of new projects as they appear. This is also advice that I give to my own team: it's important to keep an eye out for opportunities that interest you and volunteer to get involved, rather than waiting to be asked.
I've had approximately 12 roles (currently operations director, Clients & Industries) in the time I have been at Deloitte. I like to set myself a challenge every year to learn something new or do something different.
What has been the main driver for keeping you at Deloitte?
It is important for me that Deloitte is making an impact that matters for our clients, their businesses, but most importantly society as a whole. For instance, we recently developed a 3D-printed hand for a colleague's six-year-old niece who was born without her left hand. We're now working on taking this further, and developing the technology on a wider scale. With projects that make a difference like that, why on earth would I go anywhere else?
How has the company changed over the years?
Deloitte is a very different place to 25 years ago and that is a good thing. We have evolved in scale, complexity and in diversity. As a female leader, it is great to see Deloitte's pledge to have 25% of our leadership made up of women by 2020. I strongly believe a diverse leadership in every sense makes for a much more successful organisation. I'm very proud too of our agile working policy, our newly updated Return to Work programme, initiatives such as Time Out (where colleagues can take four weeks unpaid annual leave) and shared parental leave, to name but a few.
Many marketers move jobs every few years – what advice do you have for them?
You don't always need to 'jump ship' to learn new things, or further your career. Most organisations now recognise how difficult it is to retain talent, especially millennials, and are making changes to address that. It is about ensuring people feel supported as they develop, which is why we have such a flexible approach to working patterns and career ambitions.
What's your top tip for marketing leaders looking to retain their talent?
Figure out what is important to your people, and make that a core part of your strategy. An organisation is only as good as those who work in it, so retaining talent, as well as creating a modern, flexible working environment, can win the race to get the best people through the door. Great talent really is what makes a team, delivers a successful project and ultimately builds a business.
This interview first appeared on B2B Marketing on June 26 2019.
Claire Wood - Operations Director
Having spent 27 years at Deloitte, Claire is now Operations Director, and also interim leader for the Clients & Industries function in the UK. Claire has held a variety of roles across the business including within the service lines, regionally and project based work. Claire is a highly experienced marketing professional having worked across the UK, Switzerland and EMEA.
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Brandon Wuertz
#8 Attackman - North Dakota State
Hometown: Eagan, MN
High School: Eagan
Eligibility: Junior
2020 North Dakota State 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0
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2018 North Dakota State 33 13 11 9 0 0 0 - 0
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03/02/2019 Davenport W 17-16 0 3 0 0 0
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03/31/2019 @ Grand Valley State L 6-16 1 0 0 0 0
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04/26/2019 @ Dayton W 13-6 1 0 0 0 0
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03/11/2018 @ Montana W 9-6 1 0 0 0 0
03/12/2018 @ Sierra Nevada W 11-7 1 2 1 0 0
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05/08/2018 Montana State W 12-6 1 2 1 0 0


Toronto 2013: Paul Haggis on Being Miserable, Producing 'Third Person'
9:49 AM PDT 7/26/2013 by Etan Vlessing
"I just wanted to restore the challenge to me, because if I don't have a really good sense that I can fail and humiliate myself, then I'm not happy," says the Oscar-winning writer-director.
TORONTO -- Paul Haggis' latest movie, Third Person, rates pretty high on his misery index.
And that thrills the Hollywood writer-director, who apparently thrives when a pall of creative gloom really sets in.
"I found I was miserable enough that I was happy, and so I made the movie," Haggis tells The Hollywood Reporter about the creative process behind Third Person, which stars Mila Kunis and James Franco and will have its world premiere at the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Misery for Haggis after winning successive Oscars for writing Million Dollar Baby and then Crash?
Apparently so, as he opts out of soul-trading with the traditional Hollywood studio system to bring a Belgian-financed ensemble film to Toronto about three interlocking love stories in three cities: Rome, Paris and New York.
And, as with Crash, the stories touch on sexuality, loss and desperation.
PHOTOS: Toronto 2013: The Films
Haggis said he worked for two and a half years on the script for Third Person and then took another year to produce the picture, which also stars Liam Neeson, Olivia Wilde, Adrien Brody and Moran Atias.
In effect, Third Person marks a return from the wilderness for Haggis since his last movie, 2010's The Next Three Days.
"I just wanted to restore the challenge to [myself], because if I don't have a really good sense that I can fail and humiliate myself, then I'm not happy," he says of his sweat-equals-satisfaction approach to filmmaking.
The genesis of Third Person started immediately after he finished shooting The Next Three Days.
"As with Crash and In the Valley of Elah, there were questions in my head I couldn't answer myself, about the nature of love. It got in my head and I wouldn't let it go," Haggis explains.
Then the characters started emerging from the computer screen to talk back to Haggis as the screenplay evolved.
In Paris, a writer who recently left his wife has a visit from his lover, with whom he shares an on-off relationship owing to her inability to commit because of a dark secret.
Then in New York, a mother recently charged with attempting to kill her son loses custody to the father, prompting a tug-of-war over the child.
And in Rome, an American business man on a trip to Italy falls in love with an Italian woman and is drawn into a plot to try and free a daughter who has been kidnapped by an Italian gangster.
"I think I wrote something like 50 drafts and got it wrong 49 times," Haggis recalls.
The drama, from Corsan/Film Finance XII and Haggis' HWY61 Films, heads to Toronto without U.S. distribution.
Paradigm and CAA will shop the U.S. rights at TIFF, while Corsan World Sales is the international sales agent.
As for the upcoming world premiere itself, Haggis expects to be suitably verklempt in Toronto.
"I'll be paralyzed with fear -- which will make me very, very happy," he says with laughter.
That said, he's confident the Toronto audience will be moved and challenged by Third Person.
"At the end of the day, I'm pleased with my work. I think it's my best film," Haggis says.
Etan Vlessing
THRnews@thr.com etanvlessing


Union Avenue Opera's "The Mikado" is a sparkling gem in an odd setting
Union Avenue Opera is kicking off its season with a sparkling production of Gilbert and Sullivan's venerable comic operetta The Mikado featuring superb singing, solid comic acting, and eye-pleasing sets and costumes. As a bit of a G&S purist I have a few issues with Eric Gibson's direction, but they pale in comparison to the sheer entertainment value of the show as a whole.
The cast, to begin with, is consistently strong, all the way down to the smallest roles. As Nanki-Poo, the royal heir disguised as a Second Trombone, tenor Drake Dantzler could hardly be better, with a light, fluid voice that allows him to tune his supple song to perfection. His beloved Yum-Yum is soprano Karina Brazas, also gifted with a wonderfully flexible voice and a fine comic sense.
Baritone Andy Papas is a frenetically comic Ko-Ko, the "cheap tailor" raised to the exulted post of Lord High Executioner despite the fact that he literally wouldn't hurt a fly. He, too, has a rich, powerful voice—something you don't often hear in the "principal actor" roles in Gilbert and Sullivan. When he joins with Mr. Dantzler and Ms. Brazas in trios like "Here's a how-de-do" and "The flowers that bloom in the spring," the vocal blend is lovely.
Resplendent in a flowing red-and-black gown, mezzo Melissa Parks cuts a commanding figure as Katisha, the "most unattractive old thing / with a caricature of a face" whose unwelcome attentions drove Nanki-Poo to flee the Mikado's court. She makes the character's frankly unnecessary Act II aria "Alone, and yet alive" more interesting than it sometimes is and she's appropriately formidable in "There is beauty in the bellow of the blast," her duet with the hapless Ko-Ko, who has to woo her in order to save himself from a lingering death involving boiling oil. Or is it melted lead?
The title role of the Mikado isn't large. He has only two songs and the second one ("See how the fates") is often cut, as it is in this production. But bass Zachary James, who created the role of Lurch in The Addams Family on Broadway, turns his one number, "A more human Mikado," into a real show stopper, complete with minimal but effective choreography. And that's despite being hampered with a hat that partially obscured his face.
Bass-baritone E. Scott Levin gets what is, for my money, the plum role of the snobbish Poo-Bah, the Lord High Everything Else whose family pride is "something inconceivable." In his capable hands the character is hilariously stuffy and his solid voice handles the florid "long life to you" toast at the end of Act I with ease. Baritone Nicholas Ward, meanwhile, makes an impressive UAOT debut as Pish-Tush, providing a solid vocal anchor in "Brightly dawns the wedding day."
Sopranos Gina Malone and Elise LaBarge are Peep-Bo and Pitti-Sing, Yum-Yum's school chums. They're both appropriately winning and Ms. LaBarge does a particularly nice job with her part of "The criminal cried," the trio in which she, Pooh-Bah, and Ko-Ko each provide self-congratulatory and wholly fictional accounts of the execution of Nanki-Poo.
The chorus is small but sings with great clarity. I don't see a chorus master credited, so I have to assume conductor Scott Schoonover gets credit for that.
Stage Director Eric Gibson is, for my taste, a bit too fond of noisy slapstick that sometimes overwhelms Gilbert's verbal humor. And while it's customary to replace the more dated jokes in the "list" songs of Ko-Ko and the Mikado, I think replacing nearly every word is a bit hubristic.
That said, he gets the important stuff right. He moves the show along at a good clip and his blocking is clear, focused, and character-driven. That's not always the case on the operatic stage, so it deserves praise.
I'm less persuaded by his visual design choices. Inspired by Jonathan Miller's somewhat controversial 1986 production for the English National Opera, which moved the action from Gilbert's colorful cartoon Japan to an English seaside resort in the 1920s, he and his designers have placed this Mikado in a "1920s cocktail hour at an English gentleman's club."
That allows Jeff Behm to create a two-level set that's visually striking, with realistic wood paneling, warm sconce lights, and even a chandelier, and Teresa Doggett's period costumes are ideally suited to their characters. It even allowed Mr. Gibson to create a nice little moment by turning that disposable second act aria of Katisha's into a torch song delivered to a handsome young bartender, who hands her a sympathetic martini at the end.
None of this, however, has anything much to do with the music or text, so it ultimately amounts to an attractive distraction. For what it's worth, I don't think it worked all that well when Miller did it, either.
On the purely musical side, Mr. Schoonover conducts his 19-piece orchestra in an expertly played and well thought out account of Sullivan's irresistible score. He took a number of optional cuts, which is fine, but I do wish he had left the charming overture intact. He deleted the entire middle section of it, as he did with last November's Yeoman of the Guard at Winter Opera. In neither case could it be considered an improvement.
But these are ultimately minor complaints of the sort which, frankly, matter mostly to G&S devotees. They certainly aren't important enough to spoil this very polished and tremendously entertaining take on one of the classics of comic operetta. Union Avenue Opera's production of The Mikado continues through July 16 at the Union Avenue Christian Church at Union and Enright in the Central West End.
Chuck Lavazzi
opera review
Union Avenue Opera


"Midnight Cowboy" Featured By Directors Guild of America Theatre in New York City
I got an email from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that they are going to screen the classic "Midnight Cowboy" in New York City, March 16th. You can gain a "taste" for the film from this fan-made trailer:
The Academy reports: "The 1969 Best Picture winner "Midnight Cowboy" will screen for New York audience as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Monday Nights with Oscar®" series on Monday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. at the Directors Guild of America Theatre in New York City.
"Academy Award®-winning producer Jerome Hellman will join Academy Award-nominated actress Sylvia Miles in a post-screening discussion. David V. Picker, the executive-in-charge at United Artist during the film's development, will moderate the onstage conversation, which also will include actor Bob Balaban, cinematographer Adam Holender, composer John Barry and costumer designer Ann Roth.
"Midnight Cowboy" stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight as two mainstream society outcasts who forge an unlikely friendship on the lonely and unforgiving streets of New York City. The film endures as a powerful story of friendship, compassion and redemption.
The tickets are cheap: $5 and the DGA Theatre is located at 110 West 57th Street in New York City. The box office opens at 5:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. All seating is unreserved, which means get their early. For more information, call (212) 821-9251
Labels: academy, midnight cowboys, movies, new york, nyc, zennie abraham
Terrell Owens Released (Cut) By The Dallas Cowboys Today
After three years, 3857 yards and 38 touchdowns, the Dallas Cowboys released wide receiver Terrell Owens. Rhis was a mistake as Owens is an exceptionally talented athlete who has no off-field problems and years left in him.
Posted by Zennie at 12:42 PM 0 comments
"Midnight Cowboy" Featured By Directors Guild of A...
Terrell Owens Released (Cut) By The Dallas Cowboys...


AWI names Saunders CEO, will sell White Rose
Jon Springer | Jun 13, 2014
Associated Wholesalers Inc. on Friday said that its CEO, J. Christopher Michael, is retiring after 41 years of service to AWI and would be succeeded by Matthew Saunders, effective immediately.
The company also said its board of directors has decided to pursue a sale of its White Rose subsidiary in a move that would return the Robsonia, Pa.-based distributor to its roots as a cooperative.
Carteret, N.J.-based White Rose is the largest independent food distributor in the New York metropolitan area, serving independents and small chains between lower New England and northern Virginia including Met Food and Pioneer. AWI acquired the voluntary wholesaler in 2006 and operated it as a separate division. At the time of its sale to AWI, White Rose was doing approximately $1.25 billion in sales. However, customers including Foodtown and Gristedes have since left for other suppliers.
Matthew Saunders
The AWI board has formed a special committee to pursue a sale of the White Rose business and has retained Lazard Middle Market as its investment banker to assist in this process.
"After extensive analysis, our board has determined that this is the right time to identify a suitable buyer for White Rose. Through this sale process, we intend to position White Rose for a fresh beginning under a new owner," AWI said in a statement attributed to board chair Joyce Fasula and vice chairman Mike Rothwell. "A sale of White Rose will give AWI the opportunity to get back to our co-op roots, with a sharp focus on growing the core business."
Michael has served as AWI's CEO for 35 years. "On behalf of the entire AWI board, we want to thank Chris for his extraordinary contributions to AWI and wish him well on his retirement. In his 34 years as CEO, Chris has played an important role in building AWI into one of the nation's leading wholesale cooperatives," Fasula and Rothwell said. "We are also pleased to have an executive as talented as Matt ready to assume the CEO role. Matt is a proven leader with extensive experience in our industry, and we are confident that he is the right person to steer AWI into its next phase of growth and development."
Saunders joined AWI in 2012 as its chief operating officer. He is a former president of Merchants Distributors Inc., Hickory, N.C. and before that held several roles with Supervalu including VP of merchandising, VP of sales and marketing, and VP of category management.
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ADI Scheme
Driving Instructors and Coronavirus Impact
Approximately less than a minute reading time.
Driving instructors all around the country have been eagerly waiting for the Government to make an announcement with what the driving test suspension and lockdown means for them as self-employed workers. The Government has made the announcement today (26th March) that self-employed workers will receive 80% of pay based on their average income over the past 3 years, in form of a grant (£2,500 per month), that would be paid in a single lump sum, which could take up until June to arrive.
There's no doubt that the pandemic (COVID-19) has affected all of us in some way. The DVSA announced on Wednesday 18th, that driving tests on the 19th and 20th of March were cancelled. This meant that a lot of learners and their driving instructors were left in the dark in regards to any future test cancellations, as a decision for theory tests was made (cancelled for a month). On the evening of March 20th, the DVSA made a decision and announced that they will be suspending all driving tests (including ADI standards checks) for up to 3 months and rescheduling those who had their test cancelled, which now means a lot of tests are going to be taken in the summer if the rescheduled dates go ahead and are not further postponed.
Most driving instructors are self-employed and rely solely on driving lessons and tests to make a living. As the UK has entered lockdown from Monday 23rd March, all non-essential work has had to stop. NASP (National Associations Strategic Partnership) has requested all driving instructors to stop delivering driving lessons until the end of April, with exceptions of teaching key workers who meet the criteria to be able to take their driving test during the suspension.
To book an emergency test if you are a critical worker, you need to email the DVSA with your request.
Email for theory tests: [email protected]
Email for driving tests: [email protected]
With the Government constantly reviewing policies and making changes, this may not be all for the self-employed. We will keep updating our blog to give you the latest information on the topic.
The SpeedyTests team.
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Theory Test Changes (Covid-19)
Theory tests in England are restarting today (4th of July), 3 months after they were suspended in March due to coronavirus.
Driving Test Changes (Covid-19)
The DVSA has released information on how driving tests will be conducted to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Starting from 22nd of July.
7-month extension for expiring driving licences
The DVLA has extended the expiry dates on driving licences by 7 months.
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Picking Porto
City Guides - Go
With Portugal on everyone's radar as an affordable and enjoyable European country, Lisbon is getting most of the attention. You should be looking further north, though…
The Portuguese do love building a city on a hill. The nation's capital is famous for its cobbled inclines, and Porto, the smaller counterpart to the north, offers its visitors an equally aerobic experience. Like its capital cousin (and as its name would suggest), Porto is also a coastal city – and, like Lisbon, it's a relatively cheap vacation by European standards. There are, however, a few differences.
The City of Stone
For one thing, Porto is even cheaper, certainly prettier and, as the concierge at Le Monumental Palace – the beautiful Art Deco hotel that is my lodging – points out, its inhabitants are a lot friendlier.
But apparently that was not always the case. Porto was once known among the Portuguese as "the city of stone", both because of the large carved blocks of rock that make up many of its buildings and as a sideways-smile-dig at the demeanour of its inhabitants.
"That's not true any more, though," says concierge Sofia. "Before we became part of the European Union in the mid-1980s, Portugal (especially Porto) was very poor. Our people were not so much unfriendly, as resolute. That's all changed now. Tourism is our big industry, and Porto is very welcoming."
True enough, the people of Porto are an engaging lot. From those manning the cafés and restaurants to the folk on the street, its inhabitants confirmed this friendly city's growing reputation as one of Europe's hidden cosmopolitan gems. Nourished by the Douro River that empties into the Atlantic, Porto's old city rises up from the quayside to the downtown Baixa area.
Music band playing live on Rua das Flores street. (Photo by Raquel Maria Carbonell Pagola/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Spanning it and the Vila Nova de Gaia district on the opposite bank is the mighty Dom Luís I Bridge – a masterpiece of Victorian engineering that serves as a motor vehicle, tram and pedestrian link.
For an early-morning view of this beautiful city, this bridge should be the first stop on your itinerary. Grab a cup of coffee from one of the many small cafés on route – and of course a pastéis de nata. You may have sampled one of these famous custard tarts back home, but trust me: you've not tasted one until you've tried a freshly baked, warm pastéis in Porto or Lisbon.
At about 90m high, the bridge's top deck is going to leave the acrophobic a little dizzy, but the reward for a slightly sweaty-palmed amble across its 170m span is worth it. The bridge will take you across to Jardim do Morro park; from there you'll have the perfect high vantage point back across the Douro to the old city – and an idea of exactly where the next stop on your tour should be.
Make your way down the hill back to the base of the bridge and take the lower deck back across to the old city. From there you can either walk up the steep slope or take the little Funicular dos Guindais that, for €5, will take you up to the old city's plateau. Once there – and depending on the time of day – have more coffee or a glass of wine at the delightful Cal café before a walk up to the Torre dos Clérigos. It's Portugal's highest campanile (free-standing bell tower) and the city's landmark. Between 9am and 7pm, you can climb its 200 steps – but be prepared to queue. (There was a 45-minute wait on the Saturday I was there.)
The Harry Potter Connection
It is close to Clérigos that you'll also discover the little-known connection this city has to the <Harry Potter> series. Turns out, JK Rowling wrote much of the first book here while teaching English.
Not only are the Centro Histórico's narrow alleyways very Diagon Alley-esque, but the Livraria Lello – a neo-gothic bookshop built in 1906, with beautiful stairs and walkaways – inspired her descriptions of Hogwarts. It's still very much a functioning bookshop but its literary fame connection now means you have to pay a €5 entry fee … and still queue to get in.
The bookshop is also right next to the Universidade do Porto, where first-year students walk around in black jackets, pants, skirts and, most noticeably, a black cape or <capa e batina> (literally, a bat cape). It's part of <praxe> – an initiation rite – and was another Portuense institution the clever Ms Rowling incorporated into her book as the aspirant wizards' school uniform.
Lunch with Francesinha
By now, with all that walking and Pottering about– and especially if you ascended the Clérigos tower – you're probably ready for lunch. Well, you'd better be hungry because Porto has something special in store: the Francesinha, a dish with a personality so strong it'll probably shake your hand.
One could describe it as a baked meat sandwich, but that would be selling this epic meal spectacularly short. It does involve two slices of thick bread, but that's where the sarmie reference ends.
Between them are layers of steak, Iberian ham and cheese; the whole thing is covered in more cheese and baked … and topped with hearty, spicy tomato-based sauce. The place to try this – and I hesitate to use the phrase "local delicacy" – is Brasão Aliados. You will need to book though: this dark-timbered establishment is very popular with both local and visiting culinary bravehearts.
As much as you may now want to fall into a deep, contented sleep, exercise is the better option. A zigzag down the hill will take you along the Rua da Galeria de Paris, home to some great little shops, then past the legendary and aptly named Café Majestic. Going since 1921, this Art Nouveau gem is a great place to stop for some invigorating post-Francesinha caffeine.
Tourists at restaurants in the Ribeira riverside district of Porto with the old traditional bridge, the Dom Luis I bridge and a old buildings background, also queing up for traditional boat rides along the riverbanks. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Strolling Towards Dinner
Back down at the Douro, stroll along the historic and characterful riverside through Ribeira, one of Porto's oldest neighbourhoods and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are stalls selling knick-knacks – linen tea towels or tablecloths are really cheap and make great gifts – as well as a number of cafés and wine bars.
It's the perfect place to sample the region's famous wine. Enjoying a glass of chilled white port, local olives (and the weird big white beans my bowl of olives came with), watch the setting sun backlight the old Rabelo sailboats that used to transport big casks of port.
You'll find a number of traditional restaurants along the river too, if you're in the mood for a fishy super – try either petiscos (basically fish tapas) or bacalhau (dried and salted cod). Otherwise, walk back up the hill and pick a table at one of the eateries scattered throughout the old city.
I ended up at Impar Flores on Rua das Flores that served a rather delicious steak and a bottle of Casa Ferreirinha Papa Figos Douro red wine. That and Esteva Douro – also by the Casa Ferreirinha winery – were my go-tos in Portugal. I wouldn't describe them as complex but they were imminently quaffable.
Oporto, Portugal
Post-Dinner Nightlight
If you're looking for post-dinner nightlife, head back across to Rua da Galeria de Paris and Rua de Cândido dos Reis to one of the many small bars and clubs. The area feels deserted until 9pm, then it suddenly fills with patrons strolling in from all corners. On Saturday mornings, Rua de Cândido dos Reis also hosts a lovely antiques and crafts market.
This meander along the Douro's steeply rising banks is a visual feast, with architecture that sees narrow streets and alleyways separate imposing classical stone giants from delicate Art Deco and Art Nouveau slices, and, of course the traditional blue-tiled churches. Porto is a lovely, welcoming city – and it will completely charm you.
Words by Steve Smith
Cal café Dom Luís I Bridge Funicular dos Guindais Jardim do Morro park Lisbon Porto Portugal the city of stone Torre dos Clérigos Universidade do Porto


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Making Cocktails With Ingredients From The Irish Landscape
Irish Only
'Dublin and Ireland is amazing. I've lived in a few other countries and they fucking love us there! Then when you come back to Ireland and try to do what they do in other countries, like try new ideas… well sometimes I see people do the eye roll when I start talking about different ways of thinking and then they say oh here he goes again! But fuck it, we are here and doing it like Factory Records did,' says Mick Reddy.
'New Order was one of the biggest selling bands for them,' adds Pieter Reid as he leans in to listen more to what Reddy has to say.
'Yeah! They said fuck London, we're going to do it here in Manchester,' says Reddy as he smacks the couch with his open palm and lets out a thunderous laugh. Reid smiles and adds, 'but at the same time we found that there is a stranglehold on people trying to do innovative things here.' But more about that later.
Native Blenders is the name of the business that twenty-seven year old Reid and thirty-three year old Reddy are behind. They met five years ago whilst working in the same bar, 'we were always bouncing ideas of each other. We always had great ideas but the wrong people were at the table to bring them to life. Now it's our time to do it,' says Reddy. They have a dynamic chemistry, even during the interview they were riffing ideas off each other between contiguous laughter. What's clear to see is they both have the utmost respect for each other and the talents that they are bringing to Native Blenders.
The concept behind Native Blenders is very simple. Provide batch made cocktails so that there is a consistent taste. 'In any big commercial kitchen, food is prepared in batches so why can't cocktails be like that? That's were the logic for this idea came from,' says Reid. Their many years working in the bar and food trade has taught them that when bartenders are under pressure they can mis-pour meaning that the drink the customer gets can vary from drink one to drink two. Recently they helped run the bars at Body & Soul's event in the Irish Museum of Modern Art, 'we sold 1000 cocktails using the shrub. (Shrub is two different but related slightly acidic drinks. You can read more about shurb here). This was the precursor to bottle them. We just had four people working the bar but the wait time was reduced and the drinks were consistent.'
They see Native Blenders as a perfect solution for restaurants and bars that would not have a resident mixologist. As Reid explains, 'when you go to a pub or craft bar, to be fair, they have no interest in making you a cocktail. They don't have the time and if they make you one it's usually woeful. I'd like to be able to get a pint of Guinness and an Old Fashioned in one sitting!'
When asked if there is any meaning behind the name Reddy says, 'Pieter's Mum is Dutch and his grandparents moved to Ireland a long time ago from the Netherlands. They blended in to become Irish. Then she was officially native when Pieter's Dad married her!' He thinks the name reflects the many people from all over the world that now call Ireland home. 'Now imagine our cocktails perform the same role. International spirits moving around the globe using local ingredients, we blend them up and serve.' The depth and meaning of it's name makes WPP, the multinational advertising and PR company look shallow. WPP means wire and plastic products by the way.
Bottled Cocktails
Now for a little background on this idea. Bottled cocktails is not a new concept, it's already happened in New York and London. The White Lyan in Hoxton London being the most famous. From morning till opening time the bar is essentially a factory. The staff prepare and make the cocktails all day and then bottle them for the evening trade. It's also one of the most environmentally friendly bars due to it's low waste.
Having batch made cocktails allows Reid to take time to experiment with different flavours and recipes. He grows animated when he talks about acids, 'citric acid by itself is amazing, it tastes like sherbet!' He is a magician when it comes to cocktails but he would become embarrassed if you said that, as he's modest and softly spoken. Interestingly he says that, 'Manhattans, Martinis etc only get better the longer they are left to sit. They actually mature and soften. It's like eating a stew the next day, it tastes better because the flavours bind together.'
Reid collects rare historical cocktail recipe books so it seems fitting that the bottles that the cocktails come in are like old Victorian medicine bottles, an ode to his appreciation for what has come before. His degree in Fine Art & Design from NCAD has given him a patience that only an artist can have, something that is needed with the constant testing and refining of recipes. Session cocktails as in cocktails made of lower alcohol strength is one of the ideas that they are working on.
Local Driven
The real story behind this business is their philosophy. 'Originally we had spoken about exporting the product but on reflection we'd like to focus on deglobalization and just export the concept,' says Reddy, 'this is the start of a very big movement. The cocktails are the conversation point, as in getting people talking about the ingredient sources once they taste it. Those conversations will lead to influences and mindset changes. The fact that big companies are trying to repackage themselves as artisan gives us more confidence that we we don't have to sell anything, we just have to continue as we are!' Reddy studied Urban Planning but ditched the idea of a career in it as he found it too corrupt. He's a man of strong opinions and ideas, someone that values honesty highly.
'We want to focus on Irish craft distilleries like the fantastic Shortcross Gin. It's really integral to us that we are showcasing Irish craft distilleries,' adds Reid. Such as pairing raspberries from Wicklow with gin from Kerry and citing them on the bottle's label, or as Reddy sees it, 'creating a shared community.'
Lack Of Government Support
Which leads us back to the opening of this article, you get a real sense from Reddy and Reid that they are echoing the frustrations of many hospitality startups. 'We showed the Enterprise Board our proposal and they said that's really good, good luck with that… and that was it,' laughs Reid, 'so when I pressed them for advice they suggested micro-finance, which is basically a loan! If you don't have a connection in there or if you're not hi-tech, IT or pharma they don't want to know even though we are making something that is completely local. They don't seem to want to back new approaches.'
'It's a great little country to do business in if you're Google but with regards to contributing tax they are not as strong as this can be. Bord Bia and other state bodies are not actually doing anything they are just directing you to micro finance Ireland. There's a lot of lip service, there always was,' says Reddy with regards to indigenous food and drink businesses.
Their experience with Bord Bia has proved frustrating, 'in my opinion they aren't really representing whats really happening in Ireland and Dublin today. I've been to some of the conferences and its old Ireland that they talk about, it doesn't exist anymore. Now they are trying to jump on the movement towards craft.'
Making A Decent Living
Money is something that does not drive this pair, as in they just want to make enough to make a modest living, 'we did our business plan the other day and we thought it was amazing but other businesses would of laughed at it because we just want to make a decent living, that's all.'
You can't help but admire them for staying positive and steadfast to their beliefs even if they are at odds with the established way of doing things. Their business ties in a whole community of producers and gives them a very clever platform to reach new customers. Integrity and honesty are two words that they pepper the interview with and Native Blenders is just that. They are a very likeable duo that have a growing band of supporters. In a lot of ways it's like they are the focal point for many people to intersect and share ideas. It's a function that they are delighted to facilitate.
If you would like to sample Native Blenders, they have a popup every Saturday in The Headline Bar on 57 Clanbrassil Street Lower, Dublin 8. But be quick, it finishes October 24th.
You can get in touch with them @Native_Blenders
See Native Blenders' Gallery
Annie L.
October 2015 in Crafts, Food & Drink
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Pro Mazda 2016 season preview
By DizbizroundupMar 8, 2016, 2:00 PM EST
Nico Jamin steps up. Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography
The upshot of the increased Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires field is that the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires field loses a number of drivers this year. With fewer teams in the championship, there's no way to sugarcoat it: it's a sparse field.
Although there's just eight full-season primary class cars confirmed – albeit with more possible – there's still enough talent sprinkled in to where it doesn't figure to be a runaway by any one driver. The three confirmed series veterans – Garett Grist, Weiron Tan and Will Owen – do figure to have an early edge over the five rookies in the three teams.
For purposes of this preview, we'll be looking at the primary class entries. Jay Horak and Bobby Eberle also run in the National Class.
Team Pelfrey
Team Pelfrey has upgraded its presence in Pro Mazda, and has two confirmed new drivers for the year. Santiago Urrutia steps up to Indy Lights after winning last year's title; and Pato O'Ward also tested at Barber.
81-Weiron Tan: The Malaysian returns for his second season after winning four regular season races and two Winterfest rounds a year ago with Andretti Autosport. With greater consistency, should challenge for the title.
82-Aaron Telitz: Don't let Telitz's humor and easygoing personality fool you; he's intensely serious behind the wheel. Will be keen to emerge at the head of the "Nico-Aaron-Jake" logjam that dominated USF2000 last year.
80-Pato O'Ward: The young Mexican has tested both in Pro Mazda and IMSA Mazda Prototype Lites this winter. If he returns for a full season, he'll give Pelfrey another set of data and a bit of continuity.
Juncos Racing
The four-car Juncos effort features two returnees and two newcomers. Purely on strength of numbers, Juncos has the best shot to win the title.
5-Garett Grist: The 20-year-old Canadian is one of the preseason title favorites as he returns for his third year in Pro Mazda, with the sole purpose of securing the title. Came on strongly in second half last year and should be even better this season.
23-Will Owen: Also 20, the series sophomore should win his first race and potentially vie for the title. Juggles his studies at TCU with racing; also raced down under in New Zealand in the Toyota Racing Series this winter.
31-Nicolas Dapero: Argentine 17-year-old rookie graduates from F3 and karting into Pro Mazda. Should develop nicely as the year goes on.
00-Jake Parsons: No word yet if he'll garner the "Double 0" nickname to match his car number, but the 21-year-old Australian is an intriguing prospect, having raced primarily in Asia in Formula Masters and Formula BMW.
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing
Cape's been regarded as the team to beat in USF2000 but has come up short of Pro Mazda titles with Scott Hargrove and Neil Alberico the last two years. They'll have two USF2000 graduates look to break the drought this year.
2-Nico Jamin: Jamin, 20, dominated the USF2000 season and will win races in Pro Mazda. The question is how many and if he can get on enough of a roll to upend the few returning drivers in the series.
3-Jake Eidson: Another 20-year-old, the young American fought valiantly against the Cape juggernaut in USF2000 last year and now rejoins the team as he steps into Pro Mazda this year. Wins are likely, but he needs to find that next-level killer instinct if he wants to contend for a title.
JDC Motorsports
John Church's team continues with at least one full-season entrant and perhaps a National class car for Kevin Davis at selected rounds.
19-Jorge Cevallos: The 21-year-old Mexican was a late add to the Barber test, and has raced formula cars primarily in his home country.
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Cadillac, Acura battle for top speed as cars back on track for Rolex 24 at Daytona practice
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The new hybrid prototypes of Cadillac and Acura battled atop the speed chart as practice resumed Thursday for the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Richard Westbrook was fastest Thursday afternoon in the No. 02 Cadillac V-LMDh with a 1-minute, 35.185-second lap around the 12-turn, 3.56-mile road course at Daytona International Speedway.
That pace topped Ricky Taylor's 1:35.366 lap that topped the Thursday morning session that marked the first time the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship was back on track since qualifying Sunday afternoon that concluded the four-day Roar Before The Rolex 24 test.
In a final session Thursday night, Matt Campbell was fastest (1:35.802) in the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsports Porsche 963 but still was off the times set by Westbrook and Taylor.
Punctuated by Tom Blomqvist's pole position for defending race winner Meyer Shank Racing, the Acura ARX-06s had been fastest for much of the Roar and led four consecutive practice sessions.
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN GTP: Rolex 24 at Daytona kicks off new golden era for sports cars
But the times have been extremely tight in the new Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) category that has brought hybrid engines to IMSA's premier class. Only 0.9 seconds separated the nine LMDh cars in GTP in qualifying, and though the spread slightly widened to 1.378 seconds in Thursday's practices with teams on varying strategies and preparation, Westbrook still pooh-poohed the importance of speeds.
"It's always nice to be at the top, but I don't think it means too much or read too much into it" Westbrook said. "Big fuel tanks in the GTP class this year, so you have no idea what fuel levels people are running. We had a good run, and the car is really enjoyable to drive now. I definitely wasn't saying that a month ago.
"It really does feel good now. We are working on performance and definitely unlocking some potential, and it just gives us more confidence going into the race. It's going to be super tight. Everyone's got the same power, everyone has the same downforce, everyone has the same drag levels and let's just go race."
Practice Session 2.#IMSA | @DAYTONA | @Rolex24Hours | @MeyerShankRac pic.twitter.com/o1NtxTeYxx
— #IMSA (@IMSA) January 26, 2023
Because teams have put such a premium on reliability, handling mostly has suffered in the GTPs, but Westbrook said the tide had turned Thursday.
"These cars are so competitive, and you were just running it for the sake of running it in the beginning, and there's so much going on, you don't really have time to work on performance," he said. "A lot of emphasis was on durability in the beginning, and rightly so, but now finally we can work on performance, and that's the same for other manufacturers as well. But we're worrying about ourselves and improving every run, and I think everybody's pretty happy with their Cadillac right now."
Mike Shank, co-owner of Blomqvist's No. 60 on the pole, said his team still was facing reliability problems despite its speed.
"We address them literally every hour," Shank said. "We're addressing some little thing we're doing better to try to make it last. And also we're talking about how we race the race, which will be different from years past.
"Just think about every system in the car, I'm not going to say which ones we're working on, but there are systems in the car that ORECA and HPD are continually trying to improve. By the way, sometimes we put them on the car and take them off before it even goes out on the track because something didn't work with electronics. There's so much programming. So many departments have to talk to each other. That bridge gets broken from a code not being totally correct, and the car won't run. Or the power steering turns off."
Former Rolex 24 winner Renger van der Zande of Ganassi said it still is a waiting game until the 24-hour race begins Saturday shortly after 1:30 p.m.
"I think the performance of the car is good," van der Zande said. "No drama. We're chipping away on setup step by step and the team is in control. It's crazy out there what people do on the track at the moment. It's about staying cool and peak at the right moment, and it's not the right moment yet for that. We'll keep digging."
PRACTICE RESULTS:
Click here for Session I (by class)
Click here for Session II (by class)
Click here for Session III (by class)
Combined speeds


Salacious sexual harassment lawsuit against…
Salacious sexual harassment lawsuit against Warriors, Ellis settles
Milwaukee Bucks' Monta Ellis (Ray Chavez/Staff File)
Erika Smith is the plaintiff in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed and announced on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011 against the Golden State Warriors, Monta Ellis, Joe Lacob, Peter Gruber, and Larry Riley at the law offices of Burton F. Boltuch in Oakland, Calif. Smith is claiming sexual harassment Monta Ellis and related causes of action by the Warriors franchise. (Laura A. Oda/Staff File)
By Paul T. Rosynskystaff Writers |
PUBLISHED: June 7, 2012 at 4:33 pm | UPDATED: August 15, 2016 at 1:12 pm
OAKLAND — A salacious sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the Golden State Warriors and the team's former star player was settled out of court last month.
Erika Smith, a former community relations director for the team, agreed to a deal that ended litigation of a case in which she claimed, among other things, that Monta Ellis sent her a picture of his penis in a text message.
Smith was seeking monetary damages in the lawsuit in which she also claimed that team owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber fostered an improper sexual atmosphere within the organization and attempted to cover up Ellis' actions.
Details of the settlement agreement were not revealed Thursday as Smith's attorney said he was not allowed to discuss details. Neither team representatives nor Ellis' agent could be reached for comment.
"All I am allowed to say is the case is dismissed; you have to read into that what you want," said Burton Boltuch, Smith's attorney. "When you settle a case, you always dismiss it."
Boltuch said discussions with team attorneys about the lawsuit began soon after Ellis was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in March.
"He got traded, and discussions ensued," the attorney said.
In her lawsuit filed last December, Smith said she was fired from the team after she refused a financial settlement that was offered to her after it was revealed to team owners and executives that she had an ongoing relationship with Ellis. She has denied having a personal relationship with Ellis.
At the time, Boltuch accused the organization of attempting to cover up the incident and chastised team owner Lacob for creating an atmosphere within the organization that was offensive to women.
The team responded in December saying that the lawsuit was baseless and accused Smith of simply trying to win money from the team with false accusations.
"The Warriors have never taken any action against the plaintiff for any inappropriate reason, and we deny the allegations she is making," team president Rick Welts said at the time. "We live in a litigious society in which lawsuits too frequently are driven by money and not the pursuit of justice."
Smith was hired by the Warriors in 2007 after working for about a decade for two other NBA franchises, the Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns. As part of her duties, Smith worked closely with players, organizing their contacts with the community.
Smith claimed in her lawsuit that the Ellis harassment began in November 2010 when she began receiving sexually suggestive text messages from Ellis on her Warriors-issued cellphone. The messages were sent from a "secret cellphone" with a 601 area code that was kept by the team's equipment manager and registered to Ellis' grandmother, the lawsuit claimed.
According to the suit, the messages, about 61 spanning several months, where sent at odd hours and included Ellis, who is married, telling Smith, "i want to be with you" and several that began with "Hey Sexy." They also included questions asking Smith what she was wearing and what she was doing.
Smith, who is in her 30s and single, said that she always responded by texting, "what do you want" or "I am sleeping," her attorney said at the time the lawsuit was filed. Smith also told Ellis that she was not interested in having a relationship with him.
The text messages were finally discovered by team management in January after Ellis' wife, Juanika, saw them and accused Smith of stalking her husband and initiating the texts, Smith claimed in her lawsuit.
Juanika Ellis first called Smith and accused her of having an affair with her husband, the lawsuit states. A week later, Smith claimed, she was called into a meeting with the team's human resources director who accused her of texting Monta Ellis during off work hours.
The team ownership blamed Smith for initiating the texts and offered her a cash payment to resign, she claimed. Smith said in the lawsuit that she refused and was fired several months later after she notified team management that a reporter had called her asking questions about the text messages.
Boltuch said that Smith is not returning to the team.
Paul T. Rosynskystaff Writers
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