Latest news with #Horvat
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
In a world without people, how fast would NYC fall apart? Here's the timeline.
Imagine the ceaseless cacophony of New York City suddenly stopped. No sirens wailed. No cars zoomed. No subways rumbled beneath sidewalks. All eight million New Yorkers disappeared overnight. Now, imagine what would happen next. If no one's around to sweep the sidewalks, weed Central Park, or turn the power grid on, nature would move in—and quick. Dandelions would spring up in asphalt cracks. Raccoons would move into abandoned apartments. Sidewalk trees would outgrow their planters. But just how swiftly would the city disappear beneath a curtain of green? We talked to architects and urban ecologists to map out a potential timeline. With no one to maintain the power grid, the Big Apple would go dark within a few days. The Milky Way would illuminate Midtown as light pollution disappears overnight. Without air conditioning and heat, 'you start getting weird temperatures inside the building. Mold starts to form on the walls,' says architect Jana Horvat of the University of Zagreb, who studies building decay. Some green energy projects in the city might stay lit for longer, such as the solar and wind-powered Ricoh Americas billboard in Times Square. Eventually, though, even the Ricoh billboard would go dark; not because the billboard would lose power, but because there would be no one to replace its LED lightbulbs. Without power, the pump rooms that clear out 13 million gallons of water daily from the subway would be useless, and the train tunnels would begin to flood. 'Probably this water would result in [the subway] being, you know, occupied by new species,' says Horvat. 'Some plants would start growing, some animals' would move in. Likely, species that already thrive in the subway—rats, cockroaches, pigeons, opossums—would be the first ones to take advantage of the human-free passages. Within the first month, the manicured lawns of Central and Prospect Park would grow wild and unkept. 'When you stop mowing a lawn, you get a meadow,' says botanist Peter Del Tredici, a senior research scientist emeritus at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, who wrote a book on urban plant life. Within a month, dandelions, ragweed, and yellow nutsedge would start popping up in the now knee-high grasses of New York's iconic parks. 'First, it's herbaceous plants, but then, you know, you get trees and shrubs and vines,' says Tredici. In a year without people, many of New York's buildings would start to deteriorate. 'The glass facades would be the first to go,' says Horvat. The single-pane glass on brownstones and family homes would be the most vulnerable, but in a decade, even the heat-strengthened glass on skyscrapers would start to wear down and crack. And once windows break, water gets in. 'Then you'll have plants start growing in there,' says Tredici. Apartments would transform into humid hothouses, the perfect habitat for mosquitoes, water snakes, fungus, and rushes. 'It's like a wetland on the second floor.' Without maintenance, the asphalt streets and parking lots in New York would quickly degrade. Freeze-thaw cycles would create cracks. 'Water settles in that crack, and then that's all the plants need,' says Tredici. First, mosses would grow. Within a decade, young trees may even sprout. The London planetree, the most common street tree in New York, is particularly known for its resilience and fast growth rate, and any of its offspring could quickly find a toehold in a deteriorating asphalt parking lot. Within a decade, the Statue of Liberty would also start to deteriorate. The statue's copper plating would start to split, allowing sea spray to break down its interior steel skeleton. Steel 'is a very durable material, but it is very prone to corroding if it comes in contact with damp conditions,' says Horvat: That's bad news for New York, a city made from steel. In the decades since humans abandoned New York, a 'novel ecosystem' would emerge, says Tredici. 'It's not going to look like anything that's ever existed anywhere in the world.' Tredici points to Detroit as a case study. Today, crabapple trees—tough ornamentals native to the Central Asian mountains—blanket Detroit. 'They actually will spread all over,' says Tredici, and after 50 years without humans, Central and Riverside Park's crabapple trees would grow among a young forest full of London planetrees, honeylocusts, pin oaks, and Norway maples (the last three being common New York street trees). Nightshade vines and poison ivy would creep up buildings, and mosses and resilient weeds would cover the higher reaches of exposed windy skyscrapers. Among the greenery, more and more animals would call Manhattan home. Deer, rabbits, groundhogs, and wild turkeys would move in. Larger predators—coyotes, bobcats, black bears, and copperhead snakes—would follow. Peregrine falcons, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and great horned owls would nest in hollowed-out buildings, while feral cats prowl the abandoned upper floors of apartment buildings, feasting on mice and birds. Despite their futuristic look, the city's newest spires, such as 10 Hudson Yards and 111 West 57th Street, would be the first to fall. These buildings rely on slender, reinforced steel skeletons encased in reinforced concrete. But when the power shuts off and water seeps in through these buildings' glass curtain walls, these high-rises would rot from the inside out. The Empire State Building and Chrysler Building would likely outlast their younger rivals. Built to support much more weight than necessary (a safety precaution in the early days of skyscrapers), these giants' steel frames are bolstered by thick masonry and interior walls. Ten Hudson Yards might last a century. The Empire State Building might last 50 years longer, but eventually even these historic titans would collapse. After a century, New York City would 'become a forest,' says Tredici. A canopy of mature trees over a 100-feet-tall would replace the city's skyscrapers. Soil would regenerate. Concrete, one of the world's 'strongest' construction materials, says Horvat, would dissolve. New York's carefully manicured river parks, such as the Hudson River and East River Park, would transform into wetlands teeming with eels, egrets, turtles, beavers, and muskrats. But even as skyscrapers fell and forests grew, parts of New York would 'survive for centuries in this ruinous state,' says Horvat. Cracked marble lions would stalk the forest floor. Soil and underbrush would obscure once-gleaming granite fountains. Rusted steel beams would jut out from dense root systems. Even without humans, pieces of New York would endure—a fragile legacy for the future to either uncover or forget. This story is part of Popular Science's Ask Us Anything series, where we answer your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall. Have something you've always wanted to know? Ask us.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Could The Canadiens' Second-Line Centre Be In New York?
Available quality centers are a rare breed, and Montreal Canadiens' GM Kent Hughes has quite the task on his hands this Summer. One of the names that has been floating around in town is the New York Islanders' Bo Horvat. Lou Lamoriello won't be back on Long Island, and Mathieu Darche now has his office. The new GM will have to take stock to decide what he wants to do, but one thing is clear: the Isles need to get younger. How will they go about it? That remains to be seen, but if Darche is willing to listen, it wouldn't hurt for the Habs to enquire. Advertisement Canadiens: Montreal Almost Made A Big Mistake In 2005 Canadiens: Could The Bruins Entertain A Big Trade With Their Age-Old Rivals? Canadiens: Potential First-Round Pick – Carter Bear Horvat just turned 30, and he has a large frame, standing at 6-foot-1 and weighing 215 pounds. Furthermore, he knows how to use it, as evidenced by the fact that he threw 100 hits throughout the last season. He's also a left shot, something the Canadiens cruelly lack down the middle, and looked good at the most recent World Championship with eight points in six games. He's not cheap, though; he's signed for six years at $8.5 M per. That also means Hughes wouldn't have to worry about negotiating a deal with him. He would be earning more than captain Nick Suzuki, but it wouldn't have been Hughes' doing, and while Horvat has never scored more than 68 points in a season, he does bring a lot of physicality, and he would fit in perfectly with Martin St-Louis' system. There would be no need to convince him he needs to move his feet and come at the opponents with speed to get the puck, he already does it. Having that kind of physical presence on a line, which right now would likely include Patrik Laine and Ivan Demidov, would be a great addition. Horvat could play the role St-Louis has been trying to sell to Juraj Slafkovsky on the first line, and that could give the Canadiens two wonderfully balanced lines and a true top six. Advertisement Would his contract hurt in the last couple of years? Perhaps, but there's no denying he would still be efficient when the Canadiens' window of opportunity opens. There's no denying he'd be a fit in Montreal, but will Horvat even be available under Darche? Time will tell… Photo Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images Canadiens stories, analysis, breaking news, and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News, never to miss a story. Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @ and Threads @karinehains. Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens' page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Cision Canada
22-05-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Murray Klippenstein announces campaign for leadership of Ontario Law Society following unprecedented scandal and cover-up
TORONTO, May 22, 2025 /CNW/ - Murray Klippenstein announced today his candidacy for the leadership of the Board of Governors of the Law Society of Ontario ("LSO") in elections to be held for Treasurer on June 18. The election comes amid an unprecedented scandal at the highest echelons of the institution, Canada's largest and oldest law society, which regulates more than 70,000 legal professionals and has operated independently since 1797. Klippenstein stated: "We at the Law Society and in the profession have been badly betrayed by our two top leaders. The fact that former Treasurer Horvat could unilaterally skyrocket the CEO's salary on her way out the door to a lifetime judicial appointment without the knowledge or approval of the board is very far removed from any notion of 'good governance'. How could anybody believe that that was proper? The incompetence, arrogance and hypocrisy are breathtaking. We expect and demand integrity from thousands of our members every day, and we hold them strictly accountable, but then this happens at the top without consequence or accountability." "The LSO board is from where many of our senior judges are appointed. Eight of the forty directors elected in May 2023 are now Superior Court judges. There is no regulatory body that deserves more scrutiny and accountability of its leadership than the LSO", said Klippenstein. Campaign Background In March of this year a report to the LSO by former Ontario Associate Chief Justice Dennis O'Connor found that the LSO's two top officials, its Treasurer and its Chief Executive Officer, had secretly signed a highly lucrative new CEO contract without knowledge or approval of the board, with the new contract being kept secret from the board for many months. The new contract jumped the CEO's compensation by 60% to almost $1 million annually, as well as awarding over $200,000 in a lump sum retroactive benefit. The O'Connor Report revealed that the secret contract was signed by then Treasurer and board chair Jacqueline Horvat just a week before her Treasurer term ended, and just a few weeks before she left the LSO to become a judge of Ontario's Superior Court. Several LSO board members and senior staff had learned about the new contract, including the Chair of the Finance Committee and the LSO's CFO, but kept it hidden from the board for many months. The Treasurer who replaced Horvat in June of 2024, Peter Wardle, also knew about the contract but did not inform the board until November 2024. When the LSO board received the O'Connor Report in March of 2025, it voted to terminate the CEO's employment on the same day, but the current LSO leadership sought to suppress public disclosure of the O'Connor Report. Board member Klippenstein and eight other members of the board issued a public press release calling for the Report to be made public to the profession and the public at large. "We felt it was contrary to our profession's values to have this kept secret, and that the O'Connor Report's release was a first step towards ending the culture of cover-up and secrecy," said Klippenstein. The O'Connor Report was finally released after unprecedented media scrutiny and outrage in the profession at large. Lawyer Carole Hansell, a leading corporate governance expert, recently released a study entitled "Governance Crisis at the Law Society of Ontario: A Cautionary Tale for Boards of Directors". In effect the current governance of the Law Society has become a case study in bad governance. The "what not to do" programme. Campaign Platform In this scandal-plagued environment Klippenstein says he will stand for "Clean-up, not cover-up. Integrity, not hypocrisy. Competence, not arrogance". He is calling for: Former CEO Diana Miles to repay the LSO at least $500,000 improperly received by the ex-CEO. The LSO to formally call for the removal of former Treasurer Horvat as a judge. Release of all the O'Connor Report documentation, including the still suppressed Book of Documents appended to the Report. A forensic audit of the LSO. "Justice O'Connor made it clear that his limited mandate prevented him from fully reviewing many irregularities. Many of the issues O'Connor noted remain unexamined," said Klippenstein. A sunshine list for LSO executives. "But for the scandal the public would not know of Miles' $1.2 million compensation package and they still know nothing about other salaries inside the LSO or how they're determined. For example, the confidential executive compensation report used by the then Treasurer to justify the CEO salary increase (the Gallagher Report) equated the LSO's CEO ( head of a not-for-profit regulator with a budget of $100 million) to the CEO of a $1 billion private sector corporate enterprise. Says Klippenstein: "That comparison was obviously nonsensical. And no one knows about other senior salaries or how they are determined, because LSO leadership refuses to allow salary disclosure under a sunshine list, as is expected of almost every other public interest entity." Current Treasurer Peter Wardle, who is running for re-election, has called for "governance reform". Klippenstein says "Sadly, abstract talk of going-forward 'governance reform' is a distraction from the obvious issue in front of us, which is that certain people behaved badly, and we need to honestly expose that. Reducing elected board members to a minority as some propose would just make things worse. This is not an issue about training, record-keeping, and more clarity in policies. This is about misconduct. We need to face it head on and be consistent with our professional values. Otherwise, we are being profoundly hypocritical when we enforce these values on our membership but try to wiggle out of them at our top levels." "I have spent my whole career fighting for disadvantaged individuals and communities both inside and outside Canada and they, like the rest of us, need an honest profession and judiciary." "I hope that more than a small group of current directors can be persuaded to act during this election campaign. I am the only candidate for Treasurer who believes that past accountability is required before we can have the future respect of the public." Candidate Klippenstein has had a long career as a litigation lawyer and rights advocate, and has won numerous awards for his work.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Murray Klippenstein announces campaign for leadership of Ontario Law Society following unprecedented scandal and cover-up
TORONTO, May 22, 2025 /CNW/ - Murray Klippenstein announced today his candidacy for the leadership of the Board of Governors of the Law Society of Ontario ("LSO") in elections to be held for Treasurer on June 18. The election comes amid an unprecedented scandal at the highest echelons of the institution, Canada's largest and oldest law society, which regulates more than 70,000 legal professionals and has operated independently since 1797. Klippenstein stated: "We at the Law Society and in the profession have been badly betrayed by our two top leaders. The fact that former Treasurer Horvat could unilaterally skyrocket the CEO's salary on her way out the door to a lifetime judicial appointment without the knowledge or approval of the board is very far removed from any notion of 'good governance'. How could anybody believe that that was proper? The incompetence, arrogance and hypocrisy are breathtaking. We expect and demand integrity from thousands of our members every day, and we hold them strictly accountable, but then this happens at the top without consequence or accountability." "The LSO board is from where many of our senior judges are appointed. Eight of the forty directors elected in May 2023 are now Superior Court judges. There is no regulatory body that deserves more scrutiny and accountability of its leadership than the LSO", said Klippenstein. Campaign Background In March of this year a report to the LSO by former Ontario Associate Chief Justice Dennis O'Connor found that the LSO's two top officials, its Treasurer and its Chief Executive Officer, had secretly signed a highly lucrative new CEO contract without knowledge or approval of the board, with the new contract being kept secret from the board for many months. The new contract jumped the CEO's compensation by 60% to almost $1 million annually, as well as awarding over $200,000 in a lump sum retroactive benefit. The O'Connor Report revealed that the secret contract was signed by then Treasurer and board chair Jacqueline Horvat just a week before her Treasurer term ended, and just a few weeks before she left the LSO to become a judge of Ontario's Superior Court. Several LSO board members and senior staff had learned about the new contract, including the Chair of the Finance Committee and the LSO's CFO, but kept it hidden from the board for many months. The Treasurer who replaced Horvat in June of 2024, Peter Wardle, also knew about the contract but did not inform the board until November 2024. When the LSO board received the O'Connor Report in March of 2025, it voted to terminate the CEO's employment on the same day, but the current LSO leadership sought to suppress public disclosure of the O'Connor Report. Board member Klippenstein and eight other members of the board issued a public press release calling for the Report to be made public to the profession and the public at large. "We felt it was contrary to our profession's values to have this kept secret, and that the O'Connor Report's release was a first step towards ending the culture of cover-up and secrecy," said Klippenstein. The O'Connor Report was finally released after unprecedented media scrutiny and outrage in the profession at large. Lawyer Carole Hansell, a leading corporate governance expert, recently released a study entitled "Governance Crisis at the Law Society of Ontario: A Cautionary Tale for Boards of Directors". In effect the current governance of the Law Society has become a case study in bad governance. The "what not to do" programme. Campaign Platform In this scandal-plagued environment Klippenstein says he will stand for "Clean-up, not cover-up. Integrity, not hypocrisy. Competence, not arrogance". He is calling for: Former CEO Diana Miles to repay the LSO at least $500,000 improperly received by the ex-CEO. The LSO to formally call for the removal of former Treasurer Horvat as a judge. Release of all the O'Connor Report documentation, including the still suppressed Book of Documents appended to the Report. A forensic audit of the LSO. "Justice O'Connor made it clear that his limited mandate prevented him from fully reviewing many irregularities. Many of the issues O'Connor noted remain unexamined," said Klippenstein. A sunshine list for LSO executives. "But for the scandal the public would not know of Miles' $1.2 million compensation package and they still know nothing about other salaries inside the LSO or how they're determined. For example, the confidential executive compensation report used by the then Treasurer to justify the CEO salary increase (the Gallagher Report) equated the LSO's CEO ( head of a not-for-profit regulator with a budget of $100 million) to the CEO of a $1 billion private sector corporate enterprise. Says Klippenstein: "That comparison was obviously nonsensical. And no one knows about other senior salaries or how they are determined, because LSO leadership refuses to allow salary disclosure under a sunshine list, as is expected of almost every other public interest entity." Current Treasurer Peter Wardle, who is running for re-election, has called for "governance reform". Klippenstein says "Sadly, abstract talk of going-forward 'governance reform' is a distraction from the obvious issue in front of us, which is that certain people behaved badly, and we need to honestly expose that. Reducing elected board members to a minority as some propose would just make things worse. This is not an issue about training, record-keeping, and more clarity in policies. This is about misconduct. We need to face it head on and be consistent with our professional values. Otherwise, we are being profoundly hypocritical when we enforce these values on our membership but try to wiggle out of them at our top levels." "I have spent my whole career fighting for disadvantaged individuals and communities both inside and outside Canada and they, like the rest of us, need an honest profession and judiciary." "I hope that more than a small group of current directors can be persuaded to act during this election campaign. I am the only candidate for Treasurer who believes that past accountability is required before we can have the future respect of the public." Candidate Klippenstein has had a long career as a litigation lawyer and rights advocate, and has won numerous awards for his work. SOURCE Klippensteins, Barrister & Solicitor View original content:
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Insider Suggests $68 Million Star as Canadiens' Top Trade Target
The Montreal Canadiens are coming off their first postseason appearance in three years, and team leadership has made it clear that upgrades are on the table heading into the offseason. Insider Vincent Duquette of TVA proposed the name of one player the Habs should make their main target, as he could help the team take another leap next season: New York Islanders center Bo Horvat. Advertisement With six years remaining on his eight-year, $68 million contract, Horvat could provide immediate help as a proven top-six forward. 'Horvat would be the ideal center to lead the second line,' Duquette wrote. 'He's capable of scoring 30 goals per season and is responsible in all three zones.' New York Islanders center Bo Horvat (14) reacts after missing a shootout attempt at Wells Fargo Ross-Imagn Images Horvat, 30, recorded 28 goals and 29 assists for 57 points in 81 games this season. The forward's age and $8.5 million cap hit, however, were highlighted as the main negative point by Duquette. 'He just turned 30 this year and his $8.5 million-per-season deal has six more years remaining,' Duquette said. 'The management, which doesn't want to lock down a youngster, could be put off by his profile.' General manager Kent Hughes, nonetheless, confirmed the team's intent to strengthen its lineup this summer during the end-of-season media availability. Advertisement 'There's no doubt we want to add more talent to our team,' Hughes said. 'We need to determine to what extent we want to add experience versus gain experience.' According to PuckPedia, the Canadiens will enter the offseason with around $9 million in cap space and a young, strong core founded on Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Lane Hutson. Related: Canadiens' Nick Suzuki Makes Final Decision on Hockey Canada's Call Related: Canadiens React to NHL's Major Lane Hutson Announcement
