Latest news with #GreatAmerican
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
EPA funds $1.5M for Rockford Armory cleanup for new artists' studio
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $1.5 million grant to clean up the contaminated former Rockford Armory so that it can be repurposed as a live-work space for local artists. The funding comes from $267 million in federal grants to clean up Brownfields, or abandoned and toxic sites. The Armory building is currently contaminated with metals and inorganic materials, the EPA said. 'The $267 million in Brownfield grants will transform contaminated properties into valuable spaces for businesses and housing, creating new opportunities that strengthen local economies and directly benefit American families,' said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. 'EPA's Brownfields program demonstrates how environmental stewardship and economic prosperity complement each other. Under President Trump's leadership, EPA is Powering the Great American Comeback, ensuring our nation has the cleanest air, land, and water while supporting sustainable growth and fiscal responsibility.' The Rockford Area Arts Council, which purchased the former Rockford Armory, at 605 N. Main Street, from the city , plans to partner with the Discovery Center Museum to have convert the building into a rehearsal, gallery, and living space for artists. Built-in 1934, The Armory, at 605 N. Main Street, served as the headquarters for the Illinois National Guard for 60 years, and became a music venue in the 1970s, hosting performances by acts such as KISS, ZZ Top, REO Speedwagon, Black Sabbath, Barry Manilow, Henry Mancini, Cheap Trick, Rush, Blue Oyster Cult, and Fleetwood Mac. In 1989, the stone art deco building received upgrades to house the 404th Chemical Brigade, which stayed housed there until 1993. In 2000, the building was placed under landmark status on the National Register of Historic Places. The building, which has sat vacant for decades, was donated to the City in 2006. In addition, the EPA awarded $500,000 to the City of Rockford to conduct environmental assessments of the Keith Creek Floodway Area and South Main Street Corridor, and another $650,000 for cleanup of the former Rockford Watch factory, Essex Wire site, and South Main Street Railyards. Boone County also received $500,000 to do environmental site assessments of the Village of Garden Prairie and the southeast portion of the City of Belvidere. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Shinola partners with rapper Big Sean to launch collection honoring hip-hop legend J Dilla
In the city of Detroit, it is now officially Dilla Time. Detroit-based luxury brand Shinola is releasing two limited-edition watches and a leather record bag designed in honor of Detroit-born producer, composer and rapper James Dewitt Yancey, best known as J Dilla. The late and legendary Dilla, whose musical legacy helped shape modern music, died in 2006 at age 32. To commemorate the launch, Shinola has partnered with Detroit native and multi-platinum superstar Big Sean to announce the release, bringing together the craftsmanship of an iconic Detroit brand with the true essence of Detroit culture. '(Dilla) was born with a gift, a natural rhythm about him,' Big Sean narrates in Shinola's promo video. 'They say he could match pitch-perfect harmony before he even learned how to speak. And for a kid from the East Side growing up in the '80s, music was like currency. It was a way to make sense of the world, to connect with people, and his craft connected us all. 'His greatness is clocked in the tiniest increments of time. That's why J Dilla is one of the greatest producers … of all time. He was a genius, hands down.' The release is the latest addition to Shinola's Great American series, honoring American icons who have shaped, influenced and changed American culture. In a thoughtful touch, each timepiece in this release also includes a journal entry penned by Dan Charnas, author of 2022 New York Times bestseller 'Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm.' Dilla's daughter Ja'Mya Yancey told the Free Press she's 'in awe' of the product line. 'Honestly, I really didn't know what to expect,' she said. 'This is the first time that we've really ventured into something like this, as far as our collaborations. (Shinola) did an awesome job. They really had a unique take on presenting him and his likeness. I feel like they didn't go the generic way to put out a product – they took their time, and I really think that my father would most definitely approve and be honored.' Dilla's daughter, TyMonae Whitlow, said the experience has been an honor. 'It means the world to us that after 19 years, brands like Shinola want to pay homage and show respect … not only for his work but for his impact on the city of Detroit,' said Whitlow. 'This collection is very well thought out and showcases the complexity of his work and his dedication.' More on Shinola: Detroit watchmaker, 'SNL' cast members team up to create custom 'SNL 50' watches Phil Pirkovic, Director of Brand & Partnerships at Shinola, said he's 'thrilled' about partnering with Big Sean and the support of the J Dilla Estate. 'This collaboration came together organically, fueled by our shared love for the city of Detroit and the vibrant culture,' Pirkovic said. 'Big Sean's creative energy perfectly aligns with our vision of bringing this collection to life, and we're excited to share this special moment with our customers and J Dilla fans alike.' To learn more, customers can sign up for the waitlist at to be first to know when the collection goes live and becomes available for purchase. Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Shinola, Big Sean partner to launch J Dilla product line
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Why Jose Trevino chose to sign extension with Cincinnati Reds instead of test free agency
If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission. Pricing and availability subject to change. Why Jose Trevino chose to sign extension with Cincinnati Reds instead of test free agency GOODYEAR, Arizona – It's not hard to understand why the Cincinnati Reds wanted Jose Trevino enough to trade strikeout-maker Fernando Cruz to the Yankees for him and then try to sign him to an extension. Defensively elite, game-savvy, clubhouse-positive catchers aren't exactly common. 'He's come as advertised,' manager Terry Francona said. Advertisement But fresh off a World Series run with the New York Yankees, what did the former All-Star catcher see in the Reds to make him want to sign for two more years, rather than test free agency after the season? Cincinnati Reds catcher Jose Trevino, wife Markie and Reds president Nick Krall during Friday's press conference. Trevino is now signed through 2027 with a club option for 2028. When Trevino was asked that question Friday morning during a media event for his $11.5 million contract extension, he looked at a sea of red-clad teammates assembled behind the media, right on cue. 'The talent,' he said. 'You look around this room right now. You have some electric guys. You have Elly (De La Cruz). You have (Matt) McLain. And then you go to the pitching staff. The pitching staff is young, including guys in the minor leagues. It's something to be excited about for the future. Advertisement Reds GABP ballpark food 4 new Great American Ball Park dishes, from a mozzarella stick sandwich to goetta sliders Reds closer Alexis Diaz Graham Ashcraft Why Cincinnati Reds' Graham Ashcraft wants closer role and why Reds believe he can do it Reds starting rotation Abbott Spiers Cincinnati Reds LHP Andrew Abbott to open on injured list; Carson Spiers 5th starter 'I also feel like we have a great team now. It's time to win,' he said. 'When I first came over here, all I heard in the city was, 'Hey, when the Reds are going, this city is fun.' So we're hoping to do that this year.' Trevino, whose crowd size for Friday's event was no coincidence, will get more to say about what the Reds do this year — at least early in the season — than a typical backup catcher. Advertisement He's the starter until further notice as Tyler Stephenson works his way back from an oblique injury. Jose Trevino will carry a bigger workload with Tyler Stephenson expected to begin the season on the injured list. 'We all know how this works,' team president Nick Krall said. 'You need two guys who can really handle a workload to catch and work with the staff." 'We all know how this works,' team president Nick Krall said. 'You need two guys who can really handle a workload to catch and work with the staff. And we've got two really good players here. And it was exciting to be able to do this deal.' Trevino, who avoided arbitration this past winter with a $3.425 million agreement, gets $5.25 million each of the next two seasons on the new deal, which includes a $6.5 million club option for 2028 ($1 million buyout). Krall said the idea of an extension was first raised with Trevino's agent after the trade and then again through the arbitration process. Advertisement 'He's a solid guy, man,' Francona said. 'There's a reason why we haven't even started the season yet and he signed an extension. People feel pretty strongly about him.' No? Teammate Brent Suter asked for the media microphone to ask the final question of Friday's presser. 'Any teammates you think you want to be neighbors with,' said Suter, the Moeller grad who makes his home in Cincinnati. Trevino: 'Thanks for sending me your address, Brent. I appreciate it.' This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Why Cincinnati Reds' Jose Trevino eschewed free agency for extension
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Great American teams up with TRNSACT to support equipment sales
Great American's Specialty Equipment Division has partnered with TRNSACT, a sales finance platform, to integrate its physical damage insurance programme. The programme, now available through TRNSACT, enables the provision of 'real-time' insurance quotes within the equipment sales process. It aims to streamline the experience for dealers and their customers, allowing visibility for coverage options and costs. The integration combines Great American's insurance expertise with TRNSACT's technology, offering a solution for dealers to assist customers in meeting insurance requirements. The real-time insurance quoting feature is now embedded directly into the TRNSACT platform. TRNSACT CEO and co-founder Beckham Thomas stated: 'Now, by embedding Great American's technology into our software, we can provide insurance quotes in real time, further delivering efficiency to the dealer experience. Our solution enhances the dealership experience by streamlining the sales process, enabling dealer management to implement best practices that could boost profitability and reduce workloads for dealership staff." Great American Specialty Equipment senior business development specialist Bryan Inman said: 'Insurance plays a critical role in equipment transactions. Collaborating with TRNSACT ensures dealers can focus on closing deals while providing their customers with quick and easy access to coverage from an AM Best 'A+' (Superior) rated carrier.' In January this year, Great American's property & inland marine division launched Equipment Pro, a contractor's equipment insurance product designed for industry professionals. The coverage safeguards against perils such as fire, water damage, earth movement, wind and theft. "Great American teams up with TRNSACT to support equipment sales " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Los Angeles Times
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The simple life beckons in ‘The Colony.' Enlightenment is not forthcoming
Burnout's nothing new. Just ask Henry David Thoreau, who was lamenting in 1854 that our lives are being 'frittered away by detail.' The smartphone may then have been unimaginable — Alexander Graham Bell was barely out of infancy —yet the impulse to reach for it was already there. 'Hardly a man takes a half hour's nap after dinner, but when he wakes he holds up his head and asks, 'What's the news?' as if the rest of mankind had stood his sentinels.' Thoreau's solution? 'Simplify, simplify.' For two years, as anyone who's read 'Walden' will know, he took himself off to the woods 'to live deliberately' and alone — notwithstanding that his personal wilderness was only a mile and a half from Concord, Mass., and he still sent his laundry out. When we meet Emelie, the sometime narrator of Annika Norlin's debut novel, 'The Colony,' she's already gone full Thoreau. Modern city life — 'the shops and the cars and the lights, and the screens, screens, screens' — has become too much. She'd once prided herself, in her temp jobs and social life, on her dependability: 'First I stayed late, then I went out. I went to football games, to plays, to parties, to the gym. I drank cocktails at bars, went running, joined book clubs.' But hyperactivity has taken its toll, and one day she finds herself unable to get out of bed. So off she trots to the northern Swedish countryside, where she tosses her iPhone in a lake and settles in to enjoy the din of silence. But Emelie is not alone. Shortly after her isolation begins, she spies the 'Colony' of the title, an intriguingly heterogeneous group of seven, eating and bathing and singing together. We will discover they've been there for some 15 years. But can their off-the-grid idyll survive the arrival of an 'Outsider'? 'The Colony' was a bestselling, prize-winning sensation in Sweden, where its author has enjoyed a long career as a pop star. On the face of it, the book's appeal to an American audience is obvious. The search for meaning, authenticity and adventure in the wilderness is a Great American trope. From the canon, not just Thoreau but also Melville's Ishmael sought a change of scene when life became too much; more recent examples might include Chris McCandless in 'Into the Wild' and memoirist Cheryl Strayed. These works typically offer sociopolitical commentary along with the fishing and sleeping bags — and 'The Colony' is no different. Norlin seeds the book with ideas from her own wide reading. We're told that Sara, the Colony's de facto leader, finds inspiration in both Thoreau and Arne Næss, the Norwegian philosopher whose ideas about 'deep ecology' gave rise to the notion that humans should be considered on a level with any other species. (Worth noting that Næss, too, was wont to retreat to the wilderness — albeit his Walden Pond was a mountainside cabin.) Sara also reads Pentti Linkola, a more extreme thinker sometimes linked to ecofascist ideas about radical depopulation, though Norlin doesn't provide much of a gloss if you're not up to date on your Finnish environmentalists. That the book fails to properly explore any of these ideas is a major shortcoming. Indeed, Norlin spends so long on backstories for the Colony's individual members and their practical motives for seeking isolation that there's not only less space but less narrative necessity for them to share a philosophy. Three of them have good cause to fear the law; all seven are complicit in benefits fraud. The youngest, the straggling teenaged Låke, was born off the grid and has no identity, legally speaking. It's ultimately less ideology than plot that binds the members of the Colony. Contra Thoreau, they all seem interested less in living life deliberately than deliberately avoiding life. What's left is a group of misfits blessed with the time and space to think without distraction yet weirdly content not to bother. The low intensity of dialogue and debate is baffling, especially given the early signs of discontent that Norlin carefully plants. When Sagne, who was an entomologist before retiring to the woods, compares the group to an ant colony, everyone appears to accept at face value the superficial aptitude of her analogy. 'Everyone has a task for the community, said Sagne,' Norlin writes. 'Everyone is needed. No one has to know everything.' Perhaps on these very narrow terms the comparison works, but it's hard to imagine it would bear the kind of productive scrutiny that more extensive dialogue might have provoked. What about ants' prodigious industry? Their enormous and growing populations? Without such dialogue, we must simply believe that the Colony is happy with its berry-picking and breathwork routines. Without dialogue, there's little to convince the reader — nothing that a Thoreau or a Næss might say to add rigor and ballast to the Colony's rather flimsy ethos. Yet over time, we're told, conversation simply fizzles out. Two characters are more finely drawn: Emelie, chummy and self-deprecating, irritating but believable, and Låke, whose unique style we encounter in the book's best and shortest chapters. His appealingly eccentric voice arrives fully formed on first introduction: 'We can feel it in our Bodies, when summer begins to weigh over. There are many little clues around us! Now it's high summer now everything is in bloom. & when it's time we shall feel the call to return to our nest.' Alice E. Olsson, in her English translation, locates a naive lyricism in the voice of this bright but unschooled boy, who learned the way of the world from the meager literature at hand: 'Wuthering Heights,' 'Flowers in the Attic,' old Jackie Collins novels. If only the whole story had been told from Låke's curious and blinkered perspective, 'The Colony' might have ended up more show than tell, and the more eloquent for it. As it stands, the characterization is thin, the motivations are overdetermined, and the Colony's endurance demands too steep a suspense of disbelief. Perhaps a different, better book might have been found had Norlin followed Thoreau's advice and simplified. Arrowsmith is based in New York and writes about books, films and music.
