Latest news with #Boldt
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Seven senior leadership positions eliminated at REAL in 'restructuring'
Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL) has eliminated several upper management roles as part of an ongoing effort to update how it operates as an arms-length municipal entity. The organization operates the REAL sports complex and exhibition grounds for the City of Regina. Seven senior-level positions were terminated on Monday as part of a 'reorganization and restructuring,' REAL board chair Jaime Boldt confirmed on Tuesday. The eliminated roles were not provided. 'We recognize that this impacted people's lives,' she told media. 'I really want to stress that was important to us, and it wasn't done without careful consideration and support of the board.' Boldt said the layoffs were the next step in REAL's ongoing internal work to review its governance model and become financially stability, as directed by city council last June. 'That's what we did. That, in turn, led us to a point where we needed to take a really hard look at the structure,' Boldt said. 'Yesterday (Monday) was not easy for many, many people and we appreciate that. But this is a business decision, and we believe it's the right thing for REAL.' She said the positions have been rolled into a new management structure that aims 'to create efficiencies and be more financially responsible in the operations of REAL.' City council's directive for internal changes was the culmination of months of critical attention on REAL. That followed a failed tourism campaign that drew international attention for its 'sexist' undertones. The organization later revealed it has been running deficits since 2021. REAL has also been granted $15.4 million in funding top-ups from the city to cover its deficits in the last two years. City administration is separately exploring its own report on the future of the corporation. That includes assessing the risks to the city as REAL's sole stakeholder if the organization were to dissolve. During a special city council meeting Tuesday, Boldt noted an announcement is coming next week about REAL's efforts to hire a new president and CEO. lkurz@ REAL to stay, new board and financial plan to come this fall REAL's new interim CEO pulls 'inappropriate' comment from consulting website The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Saskatchewan court orders SaskTel to relinquish info related to 'victimsvoicesregina' Instagram account
A court has ordered SaskTel to hand over information that a man was seeking in an effort to identify people he says are responsible for defaming him on a former Instagram account known as 'victimsvoicesregina.' The bottom-line decision from the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal was made on May 8, but the court's published reasons for that ruling were recently made available online. The decision is from a panel comprising Justice Georgina Jackson, Justice Meghan McCreary and Justice Keith Kilback. It lays out how Ryan Boldt filed a lawsuit in 2021 against Meta Platforms, Inc., as well as three unknown individuals listed within the court documents as Jane Doe, Betty Doe and Sally Doe (the Does). Meta owns and operates social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. The appeal decision indicates that Boldt alleges 'the defendant, Betty Doe, created a false and defamatory story that she was sexually harassed by Mr. Boldt in the course of her employment.' He further asserts, according to the decision, that this story was then given to Jane and Sally, who were the administrators of the victimsvoicesregina account, on which it was published 'without taking any steps to verify the accuracy of the Post or the associated comments made by others on the page.' In 2020, the victimsvoicesregina Instagram account posted many stories of alleged sexual assault and harassment that were said to have taken place within the city. 'Mr. Boldt claims that he suffered damages because of the defamatory Post, which he quantifies at $1,000,000,' the decision states, noting he also seeks punitive and aggravated damages. However, it goes on to say that Boldt doesn't know the true identities of the Does. For the lawsuit to proceed against them, they have to be formally notified of it, which would require Boldt to determine who they are. For that purpose, he's gone through the courts in an effort to gain information from SaskTel, Telus Communications Inc., and Access Communications Co-operative Limited. The decision notes a 'cyber security investigator' was hired on Boldt's behalf. The investigator wrote an affidavit stating that, through information provided by Facebook Inc., he learned that the Does accessed the victimsvoicesregina Instagram account through those internet service providers. Stories of the Year: Survivors' Stories shed light on Regina's problem with sexual violence Boldt sought a court order directing the companies to provide 'Identifying Documents' relating to specific activity from certain IP addresses (numeric addresses assigned to devices connected to the Internet). He was looking for documents containing: 'account holder name(s); account holder address(es); account holder billing information; account holder email addresses; physical addresses related to IP addresses; and any other identifying information.' The appeal decision states that while Telus and Access took 'no position' with respect to Boldt's application for such an order, SaskTel opposed it, arguing among other things that the documents were subject to solicitor-client privilege. Boldt narrowed his application to seek only those documents contained within a SaskTel legal file relating to another case. The decision notes this was presumably done because SaskTel stated it didn't 'possess, have custody of, or control of' any such documents other than those which might be on that file. A lower court judge had previously dismissed Boldt's application, finding that the documents were subject to solicitor-client privilege, but Telus and Access were ordered to disclose their documents. On appeal, the three judges of Saskatchewan's highest court decided the lower court judge's decision with regard to SaskTel contained multiple legal errors. SaskTel did not tender evidence to establish the documents would be covered by privilege, and the onus was on the telecommunications company to do so, according to the appeal decision. Further, even if the information was privileged, that would not have legally precluded its disclosure, so long as certain conditions could be met, the appeal decision states. The appeal judges ordered SaskTel to give Boldt the documents. However, the decision goes on to specify that the documents 'shall be held by him and his solicitors in the strictest confidence and shall be used by them only for this specific litigation in which they were obtained.' The Regina Leader-Post reached out to Boldt through his lawyer, Madlin Lucyk. She advised that Boldt was not interested in providing any comment. bharder@ The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
CNN
12-02-2025
- General
- CNN
Where do Valentine's Day roses come from?
More than chocolates in a heart-shaped box, more than dinner reservations and bright red teddy bears, it's roses that have really come to symbolize Valentine's Day. The most popular flower of the holiday — which is for some, the only day a year they resolve to purchase a flower bouquet — roses have maintained their status as a favorite among Americans. A whopping 83% of flowers purchased for Valentine's in 2022 were roses, according to the Society of American Florists — and about two-thirds were specifically of the red variety. While there was a time when the US grew the majority of these roses itself, largely in California, today the country is home to less than 20 commercial-level rose growers, thanks to federal investment in countries in South America, according to Certified American Grown CEO & Ambassador Camron King. But regardless of where they're grown, the demand for roses is high. Nearly one billion rose stems are now — and by the time you're reading this, have likely already been — imported into the US just in time for Valentine's Day, according to Christine Boldt, executive vice president of the Association of Floral Importers of America. And as soon as these flowers are cut, the race against time begins. Here's how your sweet, heady bouquet of roses made the incredible journey from South America to you and your loved ones at home. These days, most roses shipped to the US come from Colombia (a top exporter of all cut flowers to the US, not just roses) and Ecuador, according to the AFIA. For farmers in the region, planning for the big day starts months before the actual holiday, when they decide how much of their rose crop to 'pinch' — or cut back — so it blooms on time for February 14, said Boldt. Flowers are living things, she said, and pinching too early means the blooms might not last until the big day. The amount matters, too. How much of your crop should you bank for the holiday? Do you want to pinch 60%? Or just 40%? If your crop is primarily red roses, pinching a majority for Valentine's Day might be in your best interests, Boldt explained, since red roses may not pull as high of a price other times in the year. Once bloomed, harvesting 60% of a crop is serious business. Farms often hire extra staff to handle the massive volume, she said — way more than they would have otherwise been dealing with on a normal week. Once harvested, the roses are then organized into bouquets and bunches, and packed into boxes and coolers. Then, they're on a plane and off to Miami. At other times of the year, flowers are typically brought into the country by plane seven times a day, six days a week. But just before Valentine's Day, those numbers leap. In the two weeks leading up to February 14, there are more than 14 flights of flowers a day, seven days a week. Those one billion rose stems aren't going to ship themselves, after all, and importers still need to bring in their usual shipments, Boldt said. 'There's no way that we could ship, in one day, all of the flowers from all of the farms, to come in, to get processed, and then get on trucks and go to the supermarkets, all at the same time,' she said. 'The stuff has to come in waves, day by day.' Once the flowers land at Miami International Airport, usually just hours after being cut, their journey isn't over. Customs and border inspectors check the flowers, Boldt said. Once complete, flower importers and distributors pick up the precious cargo and take it to warehouses and distribution centers — where many flowers are then trimmed and kept hydrated, she said, so supermarkets can easily set them out for sale. USA Bouquet Company, a national flower manufacturer and distributor, moves its flowers right from the Miami airport to a processing center. The company distributes approximately 10 million rose stems just for Valentine's Day, said Scott Hill, vice president of sales and marketing — about five times its usual volume. At this point, your bouquet has traveled across at least two different continents, in multiple trucks and an airplane. Everyone along the supply chain process — from farms, to customs inspectors, to processing centers — has to hire extra people for the holiday, Boldt said. Flowers are perishable; they can't sit on a shelf for months like greeting cards or chocolate. Everything has to be kept refrigerated and moved as quickly as possible through the supply chain. And of course, just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean the world stops. There's still births, funerals and other reasons to buy bouquets, too. 'Every single day, you're moving your normal flowers, but then you have this extra volume that's there for that one day holiday,' Boldt said. 'It takes a lot of logistics, it takes a lot of planning, and it takes a lot of people and resources in order to get everything to where it needs to be.' Once the roses have left the airport and have been taken to distribution and processing centers, trucks then pick the roses up for delivery to retail locations across the US. Large supermarkets and retail centers might have their own trucks that come to the warehouses, get the flowers, and bring them back to their own supermarket distribution centers, Boldt said, before being sent to individual stores all over the country. All of this requires refrigeration to ensure the flowers stay fresh. There's refrigeration at the farms, the warehouses, the trucks. And sometimes, like with any supply chain, there can be problems: A February snowstorm might mean trucks can't get to supermarket distribution centers, or to individual stores, delaying or potentially halting the roses' journey. There are concerns about the journey. Some environmental advocates have noted that buying imported flowers, which almost all roses are, is a drain on the environment, particularly because of the refrigeration requirements and the long distances traveled. Some argue that customers should seek out locally grown bundles from local florists or farmers markets instead, eliminating the long supply chain and resulting in a fresher bouquet overall. The blooms may not be the classic roses you're used to, but the joy in receiving flowers is still there. Either way, the end result is the same: The customer walks into a store and is greeted with bursting displays of pink, red and white bouquets. You know the rest. You trim the stems, fill your favorite vase with water, and spend the next week ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the blooms — roses or not.
CNN
12-02-2025
- General
- CNN
About 1 billion roses will cross borders for Valentine's Day. Here's how they get to you
More than chocolates in a heart-shaped box, more than dinner reservations and bright red teddy bears, it's roses that have really come to symbolize Valentine's Day. The most popular flower of the holiday — which is for some, the only day a year they resolve to purchase a flower bouquet — roses have maintained their status as a favorite among Americans. A whopping 83% of flowers purchased for Valentine's in 2022 were roses, according to the Society of American Florists — and about two-thirds were specifically of the red variety. While there was a time when the US grew the majority of these roses itself, largely in California, today the country is home to less than 20 commercial-level rose growers, thanks to federal investment in countries in South America, according to Certified American Grown CEO & Ambassador Camron King. But regardless of where they're grown, the demand for roses is high. Nearly one billion rose stems are now — and by the time you're reading this, have likely already been — imported into the US just in time for Valentine's Day, according to Christine Boldt, executive vice president of the Association of Floral Importers of America. And as soon as these flowers are cut, the race against time begins. Here's how your sweet, heady bouquet of roses made the incredible journey from South America to you and your loved ones at home. These days, most roses shipped to the US come from Colombia (a top exporter of all cut flowers to the US, not just roses) and Ecuador, according to the AFIA. For farmers in the region, planning for the big day starts months before the actual holiday, when they decide how much of their rose crop to 'pinch' — or cut back — so it blooms on time for February 14, said Boldt. Flowers are living things, she said, and pinching too early means the blooms might not last until the big day. The amount matters, too. How much of your crop should you bank for the holiday? Do you want to pinch 60%? Or just 40%? If your crop is primarily red roses, pinching a majority for Valentine's Day might be in your best interests, Boldt explained, since red roses may not pull as high of a price other times in the year. Once bloomed, harvesting 60% of a crop is serious business. Farms often hire extra staff to handle the massive volume, she said — way more than they would have otherwise been dealing with on a normal week. Once harvested, the roses are then organized into bouquets and bunches, and packed into boxes and coolers. Then, they're on a plane and off to Miami. At other times of the year, flowers are typically brought into the country by plane seven times a day, six days a week. But just before Valentine's Day, those numbers leap. In the two weeks leading up to February 14, there are more than 14 flights of flowers a day, seven days a week. Those one billion rose stems aren't going to ship themselves, after all, and importers still need to bring in their usual shipments, Boldt said. 'There's no way that we could ship, in one day, all of the flowers from all of the farms, to come in, to get processed, and then get on trucks and go to the supermarkets, all at the same time,' she said. 'The stuff has to come in waves, day by day.' Once the flowers land at Miami International Airport, usually just hours after being cut, their journey isn't over. Customs and border inspectors check the flowers, Boldt said. Once complete, flower importers and distributors pick up the precious cargo and take it to warehouses and distribution centers — where many flowers are then trimmed and kept hydrated, she said, so supermarkets can easily set them out for sale. USA Bouquet Company, a national flower manufacturer and distributor, moves its flowers right from the Miami airport to a processing center. The company distributes approximately 10 million rose stems just for Valentine's Day, said Scott Hill, vice president of sales and marketing — about five times its usual volume. At this point, your bouquet has traveled across at least two different continents, in multiple trucks and an airplane. Everyone along the supply chain process — from farms, to customs inspectors, to processing centers — has to hire extra people for the holiday, Boldt said. Flowers are perishable; they can't sit on a shelf for months like greeting cards or chocolate. Everything has to be kept refrigerated and moved as quickly as possible through the supply chain. And of course, just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean the world stops. There's still births, funerals and other reasons to buy bouquets, too. 'Every single day, you're moving your normal flowers, but then you have this extra volume that's there for that one day holiday,' Boldt said. 'It takes a lot of logistics, it takes a lot of planning, and it takes a lot of people and resources in order to get everything to where it needs to be.' Once the roses have left the airport and have been taken to distribution and processing centers, trucks then pick the roses up for delivery to retail locations across the US. Large supermarkets and retail centers might have their own trucks that come to the warehouses, get the flowers, and bring them back to their own supermarket distribution centers, Boldt said, before being sent to individual stores all over the country. All of this requires refrigeration to ensure the flowers stay fresh. There's refrigeration at the farms, the warehouses, the trucks. And sometimes, like with any supply chain, there can be problems: A February snowstorm might mean trucks can't get to supermarket distribution centers, or to individual stores, delaying or potentially halting the roses' journey. There are concerns about the journey. Some environmental advocates have noted that buying imported flowers, which almost all roses are, is a drain on the environment, particularly because of the refrigeration requirements and the long distances traveled. Some argue that customers should seek out locally grown bundles from local florists or farmers markets instead, eliminating the long supply chain and resulting in a fresher bouquet overall. The blooms may not be the classic roses you're used to, but the joy in receiving flowers is still there. Either way, the end result is the same: The customer walks into a store and is greeted with bursting displays of pink, red and white bouquets. You know the rest. You trim the stems, fill your favorite vase with water, and spend the next week ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the blooms — roses or not.
CNN
12-02-2025
- General
- CNN
About 1 billion roses will cross borders for Valentine's Day. Here's how they get to you
More than chocolates in a heart-shaped box, more than dinner reservations and bright red teddy bears, it's roses that have really come to symbolize Valentine's Day. The most popular flower of the holiday — which is for some, the only day a year they resolve to purchase a flower bouquet — roses have maintained their status as a favorite among Americans. A whopping 83% of flowers purchased for Valentine's in 2022 were roses, according to the Society of American Florists — and about two-thirds were specifically of the red variety. While there was a time when the US grew the majority of these roses itself, largely in California, today the country is home to less than 20 commercial-level rose growers, thanks to federal investment in countries in South America, according to Certified American Grown CEO & Ambassador Camron King. But regardless of where they're grown, the demand for roses is high. Nearly one billion rose stems are now — and by the time you're reading this, have likely already been — imported into the US just in time for Valentine's Day, according to Christine Boldt, executive vice president of the Association of Floral Importers of America. And as soon as these flowers are cut, the race against time begins. Here's how your sweet, heady bouquet of roses made the incredible journey from South America to you and your loved ones at home. These days, most roses shipped to the US come from Colombia (a top exporter of all cut flowers to the US, not just roses) and Ecuador, according to the AFIA. For farmers in the region, planning for the big day starts months before the actual holiday, when they decide how much of their rose crop to 'pinch' — or cut back — so it blooms on time for February 14, said Boldt. Flowers are living things, she said, and pinching too early means the blooms might not last until the big day. The amount matters, too. How much of your crop should you bank for the holiday? Do you want to pinch 60%? Or just 40%? If your crop is primarily red roses, pinching a majority for Valentine's Day might be in your best interests, Boldt explained, since red roses may not pull as high of a price other times in the year. Once bloomed, harvesting 60% of a crop is serious business. Farms often hire extra staff to handle the massive volume, she said — way more than they would have otherwise been dealing with on a normal week. Once harvested, the roses are then organized into bouquets and bunches, and packed into boxes and coolers. Then, they're on a plane and off to Miami. At other times of the year, flowers are typically brought into the country by plane seven times a day, six days a week. But just before Valentine's Day, those numbers leap. In the two weeks leading up to February 14, there are more than 14 flights of flowers a day, seven days a week. Those one billion rose stems aren't going to ship themselves, after all, and importers still need to bring in their usual shipments, Boldt said. 'There's no way that we could ship, in one day, all of the flowers from all of the farms, to come in, to get processed, and then get on trucks and go to the supermarkets, all at the same time,' she said. 'The stuff has to come in waves, day by day.' Once the flowers land at Miami International Airport, usually just hours after being cut, their journey isn't over. Customs and border inspectors check the flowers, Boldt said. Once complete, flower importers and distributors pick up the precious cargo and take it to warehouses and distribution centers — where many flowers are then trimmed and kept hydrated, she said, so supermarkets can easily set them out for sale. USA Bouquet Company, a national flower manufacturer and distributor, moves its flowers right from the Miami airport to a processing center. The company distributes approximately 10 million rose stems just for Valentine's Day, said Scott Hill, vice president of sales and marketing — about five times its usual volume. At this point, your bouquet has traveled across at least two different continents, in multiple trucks and an airplane. Everyone along the supply chain process — from farms, to customs inspectors, to processing centers — has to hire extra people for the holiday, Boldt said. Flowers are perishable; they can't sit on a shelf for months like greeting cards or chocolate. Everything has to be kept refrigerated and moved as quickly as possible through the supply chain. And of course, just because it's Valentine's Day doesn't mean the world stops. There's still births, funerals and other reasons to buy bouquets, too. 'Every single day, you're moving your normal flowers, but then you have this extra volume that's there for that one day holiday,' Boldt said. 'It takes a lot of logistics, it takes a lot of planning, and it takes a lot of people and resources in order to get everything to where it needs to be.' Once the roses have left the airport and have been taken to distribution and processing centers, trucks then pick the roses up for delivery to retail locations across the US. Large supermarkets and retail centers might have their own trucks that come to the warehouses, get the flowers, and bring them back to their own supermarket distribution centers, Boldt said, before being sent to individual stores all over the country. All of this requires refrigeration to ensure the flowers stay fresh. There's refrigeration at the farms, the warehouses, the trucks. And sometimes, like with any supply chain, there can be problems: A February snowstorm might mean trucks can't get to supermarket distribution centers, or to individual stores, delaying or potentially halting the roses' journey. There are concerns about the journey. Some environmental advocates have noted that buying imported flowers, which almost all roses are, is a drain on the environment, particularly because of the refrigeration requirements and the long distances traveled. Some argue that customers should seek out locally grown bundles from local florists or farmers markets instead, eliminating the long supply chain and resulting in a fresher bouquet overall. The blooms may not be the classic roses you're used to, but the joy in receiving flowers is still there. Either way, the end result is the same: The customer walks into a store and is greeted with bursting displays of pink, red and white bouquets. You know the rest. You trim the stems, fill your favorite vase with water, and spend the next week ooh-ing and ahh-ing over the blooms — roses or not.
