Latest news with #Pomeroy
The Age
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
Last lap at Dapto: A community gets ready to farewell a local icon
Every Thursday, 72-year-old Col Pomeroy follows a routine that hasn't changed for nearly half a century. In the morning and afternoon he studies the form guide back to front, then he arrives at Dapto Dogs long before the first race begins. Pomeroy is one of the last regular punters at the track, bound by tradition and community. He points to a large plastic table inside the canteen, where he once met 20 friends each week. Now, he often sits alone. Most of Pomeroy's friends have left the track, due to old age or the change in a place that was once the centrepiece of Australian greyhound racing. Next year, Pomeroy will join them. After 88 years of continuous use, Dapto Greyhounds will close because the site's owners have informed Greyhound Racing NSW that they will not extend their lease beyond June 2026. 'Just knowing that this track is not going to be around any more, it's pretty disappointing,' Pomeroy says. 'It mightn't be important to some people, but for me, and for our family, it's been a buzz for the last 50-odd years. 'It is important because even if you come here, it's not necessarily the race. It's about community, it's about people who you have known for decades. You might win a couple of bucks, but that's not what you come back for; it's a family sport. 'I know progress has got to happen, but it's just going to be bad when that final race happens here.' On a cold Thursday night, the grandstand has few spectators as greyhounds are paraded for the first race at 7pm. The dogs are competing in their maiden race and gaze around the track as they are led out by their owners, dressed in red bibs with their racing numbers. In its heyday, the track could hold almost 3000 spectators. They would come each week to place a bet on the row of local bookmakers. 'Dapto Dogs' gained national recognition with former NSW State of Origin player Terry Hill's comedic crosses from the track during Channel 9's The Footy Show, dressed in a gold jacket, ironically pointing out the best-dressed punters in the grandstand.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Last lap at Dapto: A community gets ready to farewell a local icon
Every Thursday, 72-year-old Col Pomeroy follows a routine that hasn't changed for nearly half a century. In the morning and afternoon he studies the form guide back to front, then he arrives at Dapto Dogs long before the first race begins. Pomeroy is one of the last regular punters at the track, bound by tradition and community. He points to a large plastic table inside the canteen, where he once met 20 friends each week. Now, he often sits alone. Most of Pomeroy's friends have left the track, due to old age or the change in a place that was once the centrepiece of Australian greyhound racing. Next year, Pomeroy will join them. After 88 years of continuous use, Dapto Greyhounds will close because the site's owners have informed Greyhound Racing NSW that they will not extend their lease beyond June 2026. 'Just knowing that this track is not going to be around any more, it's pretty disappointing,' Pomeroy says. 'It mightn't be important to some people, but for me, and for our family, it's been a buzz for the last 50-odd years. 'It is important because even if you come here, it's not necessarily the race. It's about community, it's about people who you have known for decades. You might win a couple of bucks, but that's not what you come back for; it's a family sport. 'I know progress has got to happen, but it's just going to be bad when that final race happens here.' On a cold Thursday night, the grandstand has few spectators as greyhounds are paraded for the first race at 7pm. The dogs are competing in their maiden race and gaze around the track as they are led out by their owners, dressed in red bibs with their racing numbers. In its heyday, the track could hold almost 3000 spectators. They would come each week to place a bet on the row of local bookmakers. 'Dapto Dogs' gained national recognition with former NSW State of Origin player Terry Hill's comedic crosses from the track during Channel 9's The Footy Show, dressed in a gold jacket, ironically pointing out the best-dressed punters in the grandstand.
Eater
6 days ago
- Business
- Eater
Naomi Pomeroy's Legacy Looms Large Over the Opening of L'Echelle on SE Division
The late Naomi Pomeroy was such a beloved fixture in the Northwest culinary scene that excitement for her latest restaurant venture L'Echelle would be sun-hot regardless of outside circumstances. But circumstances there are: Pomeroy's tragic death last summer, a location that's seen several high-profile turnovers, and an acrimonious history between the current and former owners of what was not once but twice the Woodsman Tavern (and Tasty N Daughters in between). L'Echelle occupies a picturesque brick storefront on a sleepy stretch of Division, but behind the tranquil facade, there's a lot of potential drama swirling around. Pomeroy and owner Luke Dirks were in the early stages of developing L'Échelle ('The Ladder' in French) at the time of Pomeroy's passing, leading to speculation regarding the ultimate fate of the venture. Pomeroy was a James Beard Award-winning chef, renowned cookbook author, a contestant on both Top Chef and Iron Chef , and one of the primary forces behind beloved Portland institutions Expatriate, Beast, and more recently Cornet Custard (the plucky gourmet custard shop that recently went toe to toe with the Trump administration over USDA grants). Dirks, meanwhile, was one of the co-founders of the Submarine Hospitality Group, overseeing Ava Gene's and launching Tusk during his time there. Dirks parted ways with the organization in 2020 under circumstances that can best be described as 'dramatic.' The building has plenty of lore to go with it, too: Stumptown Coffee founder Duane Sorenson launched the first Woodsman Tavern in 2011 and lavished upon it all the resources the founder of a ubiquitous coffee chain had at his disposal. Like many a passion project, the passion eventually faded, and in 2019 it became Tasty N Daughters, a 'reboot' of the Tasty n Sons brunch-focused micro empire. In 2021, it became the Woodsman Tavern again, in a Succession -esque development, operated by Submarine. Like Submarine's other post-lockdown acquisitions, the Woodsman 2.0 didn't lack house talent but never seemed to find its footing and closed 'for good' in August 2023. Dirks was long gone by then, but the significance of taking on a space that's seen so much turnover, including a tenure by former colleagues, isn't lost on him. 'The [original] Woodsman had a great run,' he says. 'My feeling is that the subsequent versions tried to 'run it back' a little bit.' He notes that, unlike previous incarnations, L'Echelle isn't one 'concept' in a portfolio of properties: 'This is a bunch of people showing up every day trying to make this place the best. [We're] undistracted by two or three or four other restaurants.' So what else is different? For starters, the color palette. The Woodsman of old was dark and clubby, with a lot of walnut paneling and mottled olive walls. The new space is all blonde wood and white plaster, giving the dining area a casual, breezy ambiance. Gone are the gallery walls of gilt-framed oil paintings, replaced with long mirrors and shelves piled with decorous amounts of artful clutter — think French seaside rather than Eaton library. The menu is also a whole new ballgame. Executive chef Mika Paredes, who co-founded neighboring Cornet Custard with Pomeroy last year, says her goal is to capture the casual elegance of the traditional French bistro — 'low brow meets high brow,' as she puts it — combined with 'all the farmers and producers and artisanal makers here in Portland.' Dirks notes that the goal for L'Echelle has always been accessibility above all: 'We feel really strongly that this needs to be a neighborhood spot. It has to be a neighborhood spot. Since day one.' 'I have always been a staunch believer that when the food is made from fear or ego, you can taste that' The menu will feature a handful of year-round mainstays, as well as a rotating selection of dishes determined by what's in season: 'Simple, but excellent,' as Dirks puts it. On the debut menu, Paredes recommends the classics: potato frites and steak au poivre, with grass-fed New York strip sourced from Carman Ranch in Wallowa, Oregon. 'We're not trying to reinvent the wheel,' she says, 'we're just trying to make it really delicious.' Dirks and Paredes say their goal is to run a neighborhood bistro, not a 'special occasion restaurant.' As such, there are no reservations at the moment: 'For us, it needs to be a place where you can just walk into any day, it can't be something that's booked out three months in advance.' They want the prices to reflect that too: The L'Échelle pop-up Dirks ran last summer featured an informal chalkboard menu with delicacies like duck confit and rabbit sausage for $30, with less-ornate offerings like marinated leeks and pork rillettes in the high teens and low twenties. Those certainly aren't fast-food prices, but they're competitive with chef-driven, farm-to-table establishments like Canard and Jacqueline that focus on agile European-inspired menus and premium ingredients. Dirks admits that the summer pop-up was more of a preview of coming attractions than a restaurant proper. 'A line drawing of what would be a full painting at some point,' as he puts it. In the wake of Pomeroy's passing, Dirks says his team wanted to do something to show her work would live on: 'We [wanted] to show people what we're up to, and [do] something for people to rally around,' he says. 'It was really meaningful and cathartic and emotional and intense,' he says, but '[the space] was really limited in terms of how much of a 'restaurant' we could actually pull off.' That won't be the case at L'Echelle proper, which will feature a full menu and dinner service five days a week, with plans to expand to a seven-day schedule and a lunch menu as they staff up. Their other commitment is to creating a non-toxic work environment, a cause that Pomeroy repeatedly championed. For Paredes, who worked closely with Pomeroy at Cornet, that's a core priority: 'I have always been a staunch believer that when the food is made from fear or ego, you can taste that,' she says. Dirks, whose time at Submarine ended alongside toxic workplace allegations directed at the organization, says he's committed to learning from past mistakes and wants to create a culture at L'Echelle that fosters transparency and respectful communication. 'I have my own experience… seeing where things can get off track,' he says. He and Paredes say they plan to foster an environment of 'fairness, transparency, and feedback,' and state they'll have regular 'low agenda' meetings to make sure the work-life balance is, well, balanced. 'We raise our hand when we need help,' Paredes says, 'we are not afraid to do that.' Will L'Echelle outlast the two Woodsmans that came before it? Hard to say, but this is a promising start. The space is open and inviting, the mission statement stresses equity and accessibility, and the menu has steak and potatoes on it. Good intentions and fancy ingredients don't make a neighborhood fixture, but comfort, consistency, and a happy staff can go a long way in that direction. It's encouraging that Dirks and Paredes are prioritizing those values from day one. Their new neighbors will decide the rest. L'Echelle (4537 SE Division Street) debuts Wednesday, May 28, and is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Sign up for our newsletter.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Horizon Technology Finance Names Michael P. Balkin as Chief Executive Officer
- Founders Robert D. Pomeroy, Jr. and Gerald A. Michaud to Retire; Mr. Pomeroy to Remain Chairman of the Board of Directors - FARMINGTON, Conn., May 15, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: HRZN) ("Horizon" or "HRZN") (the "Company"), an affiliate of Monroe Capital, and a leading specialty finance company that provides capital in the form of secured loans to venture capital and private equity backed and publicly traded companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and sustainability industries, announced today that, as part of the Company's succession planning, Robert D. Pomeroy, Jr. will retire as Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") of the Company and Gerald A. Michaud will retire as President of the Company, both effective June 5, 2025. Concurrently, the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") has appointed Michael P. Balkin to succeed Mr. Pomeroy as CEO of the Company. Mr. Pomeroy will remain Chairman and an interested member of the Board after his retirement. Mr. Michaud will remain involved with the company through the end of the year. Having previously served as an independent director of the Company since June 2023, Mr. Balkin will build on the heritage of Horizon by continuing to grow the venture debt portfolio with a renewed focus on high quality, small-cap growth companies. As CEO of Horizon, Mr. Balkin will leverage his three decades of experience and expertise as a Partner and Co-Manager of the Small-Cap Growth Fund at William Blair and Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Magnetar Investment Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Magnetar Capital, a multi-strategy hedge fund. "Mike's knowledge and experience in investment and portfolio management and construction, as well as his more than three decades of work growing small-cap and technology companies as a portfolio manager and board member makes him an excellent choice to lead Horizon during its next phase of growth," stated Mr. Pomeroy. "The Board and I believe Mike will lead the continued expansion of the Horizon platform and drive long-term value for HRZN's stockholders, and we are excited to work with him." "I want to congratulate Rob and Jerry on their well-deserved retirements. They will remain a vital and active voice for Horizon in their respective continued roles," said Theodore L. Koenig, Chairman and CEO of Monroe Capital. "This planned leadership succession reflects the vision of the Company's management team and Board of Directors, who have worked collaboratively to ensure a seamless and effective transition of responsibilities. Mike is the right leader to guide Horizon into its next chapter." "I am honored to be stepping into the role of CEO of Horizon and build upon the solid foundation laid by Rob and Jerry's team over the past 20+ years to further expand the Horizon platform," said Mr. Balkin. "We will continue to focus on diversification, mitigation of risk and portfolio growth while remaining true to Horizon's investment objective of maximizing return by generating current income from debt investments and capital appreciation from the warrants it receives when making debt investments." About Horizon Technology Finance Horizon Technology Finance Corporation (NASDAQ: HRZN), externally managed by Horizon Technology Finance Management LLC, an affiliate of Monroe Capital, is a leading specialty finance company that provides capital in the form of secured loans to venture capital and private equity backed companies and publicly traded companies in the technology, life science, healthcare information and services, and sustainability industries. The investment objective of Horizon is to maximize its investment portfolio's return by generating current income from the debt investments it makes and capital appreciation from the warrants it receives when making such debt investments. Horizon is headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, with a regional office in Pleasanton, California, and investment professionals located throughout the U.S. Monroe Capital is a premier asset management firm specializing in private credit markets across various strategies, including direct lending, technology finance, venture debt, opportunistic, structured credit, real estate and equity. To learn more, please visit Forward-Looking Statements Statements included herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in Horizon's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Horizon undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. View source version on Contacts Investor Relations:ICRGarrett Edsonir@ (646) 200-8885 Media Relations:ICRChris GillickHorizonPR@ (646) 677-1819 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Global News
15-05-2025
- Climate
- Global News
Below normal snowpack means low chance of flooding in Calgary this year
It's the start of flood season in southern Alberta, but it appears the City of Calgary doesn't face much of a threat from the rising waters of the Bow and Elbow rivers this year. Doctor John Pomeroy, chair of the Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan, told Global News that snowpack measurements in the Rocky Mountains 'are all well below normal and melting early,' which means 'there's much lower-than-normal water supply for local rivers.' If any flooding were to occur, it would need to be 'driven more by rainfall,' said Pomeroy, which could occur even in a drought year if a big enough storm comes through. View image in full screen The Springbank off-stream reservoir, being built west of Calgary, is designed to help protect the city from future flooding along the Elbow River. Global News Frank Frigo, manager of environmental management for the City of Calgary, claims flood mitigation efforts since the devastating flood of 2013 have led to greater protection against flooding in Calgary. Story continues below advertisement 'We have eliminated 70 per cent of the amount of damages we can expect from flooding going forward,' said Frigo. View image in full screen The devastating 2013 flooding in the City of Calgary is estimated to have done about $5 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest disasters in Canadian history. Global News Recent flood protection projects in the Calgary area — either completed or in the process of being built — include the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir, a new Sunnyside pump station and the Bonnybrook flood barrier. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The three projects will cost almost $1 billion with the city, province and federal government all paying a part.
