Every One’s A Winner, as Galaxy Hot Chocolate Run Series builds…
Sponsored by the Mars-owned chocolate brand Galaxy, the Galaxy Hot Chocolate Run sees entries, for this coming weekend’s third event in the series, close at 20:00 GMT today (Wednesday 18 March).The chocolate-y weekend takes place in the scenic grounds of Dorney Lake, Windsor, UK, on a flat course that leads runners around the 2012 London Olympic rowing venue. According to the Galaxy Hot Chocolate Run Series website, there are also a number of other events in the pipeline across the UK at key major cities from north to south.The running events in the series vary between 5K and 21.1K in distance, and competitors are invited to enjoy a delicious cup of hot chocolate at the finish line. All finishers will also be presented with a Hot Chocolate Run Series medal.This weekend, on Saturday 21 March there is the Galaxy Hot Chocolate Half Marathon event, in which runners follow 4.5 loops of the lake – along the flat, smooth tarmac roads and paths. And Sunday 22 March welcomes Race Three in the event series, in which runners can choose between one of four run distances – 5K, 10K, 15K or 20K.Martyn Edwards, Event Director of the Galaxy Hot Chocolate Run Series said, “We have been absolutely overwhelmed with the popularity of our Hot Chocolate events, and as a result we only have a limited number of places available for both events this weekend, so make sure you sign up soon to secure your spot.”Edwards continued, “We accommodate all ages, levels and abilities – from those embarking on their first ever event, to those taking part competitively. Most will simply enjoy their challenge in the great outdoors, in readiness for some much needed Hot Chocolate at the end. There are no cut off times either, so you can take part at your pace and relax and enjoy the surroundings!”www.hotchocolateseries.co.ukwww.galaxyhotchocolate.com Related
Reilly Moreland is the winner of this year’s Wally Foundation Community Builder Award at Indian Hills.Indian Hills Associate Principal Blake Revelle didn’t know he was spilling the beans when he caught 8th Grader Reilly Moreland in the hall the other day. Typically, the school keeps the recipient of its Wally Foundation Community Builder Award a secret until the day it’s officially delivered to the winner. But Revelle had just seen the results of the student votes, and he couldn’t help but share the good news.Register to continue
April 15, 2009 Regular News Measure dealing with expert testimony standards stalls Measure dealing with expert testimony standards stalls
Observers at the March 19 meeting of the House Civil Justice and Court Policy Committee could be forgiven for thinking they had wandered into a law school class by mistake.There were references to three-part tests and liberal comments on the Frye standards as opposed to the Daubert standards.What was actually going on was a workshop over HB 661 on expert testimony.Florida uses what is known as the Frye standard, based on Frye v. United States, 293 F. 1013 (D.C. Cir. 1923), which provides that expert testimony based on scientific evidence must “have gained general acceptance in the particular field in which it belongs.”Federal courts, however, use criteria spelled out by the U.S. Supreme Court, which rejected Frye in 1993 when it ruled in Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579. Daubert provides that such testimony must be based on sufficient facts of data, be the product of reliable principles and methods, and the witness has to reliably apply those principles and methods to the case facts.HB 661 would have imposed the Daubert standard on Florida, replacing the Frye criterion.The workshop resembled debates from past years on tort reform bills. Business interests tended to favor the bill, while trial lawyers opposed it.“Our section was concerned about the increased expenses that switching from Frye to Daubert might cause, but we had not taken an official position,” said Trial Lawyers Section Chair-elect Glenn Burton, who also chairs the section’s Legislative Committee.He said the business community supported HB 661 because, “They thought if certain types of expert opinions were not allowed, then certain types of cases might go away. Frye has not been very effective in doing that.”The trial bar tended to oppose the bill, Burton said, because, “They don’t want the increased expenses of defending a bunch of Daubert hearings that they run into in the federal courts, and they don’t want their experts challenged.”When the bill came back to the committee for action on March 24, the sponsor, Rep. Michael Weinstein, R-Orange Park, said it needed more work and asked that it be temporarily passed. Observers said that decision likely effectively killed the bill for this session. An identical bill, SB 1220, had been introduced in the Senate, but not heard in committee.
In January 2017, the Panama Canal set a new monthly tonnage record of 36.1 million Panama Canal tons (PC/UMS), with the transit of 1,260 ships through both the expanded and original locks, the canal authority announced.The previous record was set in December 2016, when 1,166 ships transited the waterway reaching a total of 35.4 million PC/UMS.“This increase reiterates the importance of the Expanded Canal, and it’s further proof of the maritime industry’s continued confidence in the Panama Canal and the impact it will have on the future of global trade,” said the Panama Canal Administrator Jorge L. Quijano.Before the inauguration of the expanded canal on June 26, 2016, the monthly tonnage record was 30.4 million PC/UMS, which was set in October 2014.The expansion program included the construction of a new set of locks on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the waterway and the excavation of more than 150 million cubic meters of material, creating a second lane of traffic and doubling the cargo capacity of the waterway.The expanded locks are 70 feet wider and 18 feet deeper than those in the original canal.Seven months after the beginning of operations, the expanded canal has transited more than 750 Neopanamax vessels – more than 50 percent of which were containerships. In addition, the expanded canal has accommodated liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels, as well as bulk carriers, tankers and vehicle carriers.What is more, in April 2017, the expanded canal is scheduled to welcome the passage of the first Neopanamax cruise ship. Neopanamax passenger vessels are capable of transporting up to 4,000 passengers, nearly twice as much as the Panamax vessels that are able to transit the original locks.The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in August started accepting booking requests from Neopanamax cruise ships for transit dates beginning April 1, 2017.
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Stay at the forefront of thought leadership with news and analysis from award-winning journalists. Enjoy company features, CEO interviews, architectural reviews, technical project know-how and the latest innovations.Limited access to building.co.ukBreaking industry news as it happensBreaking, daily and weekly e-newsletters Get your free guest access SIGN UP TODAY To continue enjoying Building.co.uk, sign up for free guest accessExisting subscriber? LOGIN Subscribe now for unlimited access Subscribe to Building today and you will benefit from:Unlimited access to all stories including expert analysis and comment from industry leadersOur league tables, cost models and economics dataOur online archive of over 10,000 articlesBuilding magazine digital editionsBuilding magazine print editionsPrinted/digital supplementsSubscribe now for unlimited access.View our subscription options and join our community
With an operating margin of 31 percent (compared to 32 percent in the first half year in 2011), Dockwise revealed a net profit of USD1 million for the fiscal period (against an adjusted net loss of USD 1 million in the first half period, one year earlier).The company noted that the strategic highlights of the second quarter of this year included the acquisition of 60.4 percent of the remaining shares in Fairstar Heavy Transport for USD90 million, giving Dockwise 99 percent control of the company as of July 2012.Commenting on the results, Dockwise ceo André Goedée said: “After a steady first half in line with expectations, Dockwise looks ahead with optimism on all fronts.”Noting that the Fairstar acquisition “accelerates several strategic objectives”, he added that the company is “rapidly assembling resources from across the combined group to develop our Logistics Management business; a key aim of the merger”.Goedée remarked: “In this division, a fresh combination of people, skills, client relationships and assets give us global leadership in an expanding sector.”As an illustration, he pointed out that Dockwise already has three vessels on project for the massive Gorgon development in Western Australia, one of the world’s largest natural gas projects, with a fourth due to join the fleet in October.www.dockwise.com
The purchase of TTS follows BNSF’s recent acquisition of Vectora Transportation’s wind energy assets, as well as the unveiling of its new Blade Runner service at the beginning of 2015.TTS currently manages a fleet of nearly 2,000 railcars, of which 1,200 are specially equipped with patented fixtures designed for the handling of wind turbine components, including blades, tower sections and nacelles.As part of the acquisition, TTS will become the US rail, project cargo and engineering services division for BNSF Logistics. TTS founder and president, Scott Landrum, as well as general manager, John Dalman, will continue working in senior leadership roles within the new division.Ray Greer, president of BNSF Logistics, explained that TTS’ engineering and design capabilities, extensive wind fixtures and rail transloading locations, will support the company’s multimodal capacity, as well as accelerate BNSF’s expansion into the industrial products sector. www.bnsflogistics.comwww.railengineer.com
UK: MetLife Inc, a US-based provider of insurance and pensions products, announced on April 4 that it had acquired a minority stake in Agility Trains West Ltd for an undisclosed sum. This consortium was formed by Hitachi Rail Europe and John Laing Investments to supply and maintain a fleet of 369 electric and bi-mode vehicles for inter-city services on the Great Western Main Line between London, Bristol and south Wales.Under a contract estimated to be worth £2⋅4bn, Agility Trains West will be delivering Phase 1 of the UK government’s privately-financed £4⋅5bn InterCity Express Programme, involving the supply of 200 km/h trainsets manufactured by Hitachi as well as new maintenance facilities. The UK government will guarantee use of the new trainsets over a period of 27½ years, and MetLife says that equity investments of this kind provide investment opportunities matching the long-term liabilities that it underwrites through its insurance products.‘This investment in Agility Trains West reflects MetLife Private Capital Investors’ growing interest in expanding our global portfolio of direct investment in global infrastructure equity and private debt placements in well-structured, long-term infrastructure assets and projects’, said Scott Inglis, global head of MetLife Private Capital Investors. ‘Our involvement in the Intercity Express Programme in the UK demonstrates MetLife’s ability to partner with strategic and diverse sponsors and investors in competitive transportation and infrastructure sectors’.
University of the West Indies (UWI) Vice Chancellor, Sir Hilary Beckles, is calling for greater economic equality in the island, particularly the continued marginality of the nation’s black population.“The Barbados society in its current structure is not sustainable,” noted the famed historian during his lecture on 1816 slavery rebellion by Barbados’ national hero, General Bussa. Beckles argued that the economic and social structure of Barbados still retains the plantation dynamics of white supremacy and black marginality. Sir Beckles has dedicated himself to this cause“There is, in Barbados, a division of labor which says thatthe black community will occupy and control the politics and the white elite will control the economy,” said Beckles. “All of us as citizens of Barbados have to examine this model and transform it. It can only be done if the economic democracy movement is revitalized and insisted upon because, in my judgment, the young people of this island deserve a more democratic society.”He assumed the office of Vice Chancellor of UWI on May 1, 2015. Beckles, who also served as chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission, also argued that reparatory justice is essential for redressing the historic equality.Earlier this year, he spoke at Oxford University in England about Britain’s debt to the Caribbean and reparations that should be made. He presented a 10-point plan to deal wit the issue. During his speech, he argued that “It is a renewed call for development co-operation between Britain and the Caribbean. It’s about Britain making a long-overdue contribution to the economic development of the Caribbean.” During Oxford’s 2014/15 year, Beckles was a part of the launch of their racial awareness and equality campaign. This came at time when the students of Oxford were campaigning for a more diverse student body and staff, on both administrative and academic levels.