title: San José, Costa Rica

text: Private bus companies connect different areas of the city with each other and the suburbs. Services to other parts of the country are provided by other private companies which have stations or stops spread all over the city center. There are also bus services between Juan Santamaría International Airport and downtown San José.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: The "Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles", or the state owned railway institute, is in charge of all of Costa Rica's railways. In 2004, this institution began work on the establishment of an inter-urban railway network. This network would connect Tibás, Heredia, San Antonio de Belén, Pavas, San Pedro de Montes de Oca, Sabanilla, and Curridabat, among other locations.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: There are plans to expand this inter-urban railway system into Cartago, Alajuela, and the Juan Santamaría International Airport.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: Trains run to Heredia from "Estación Atlantico and San Antonio de Belen" and from "Estación Pacifico".


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: San José public taxi services complement the urban transportation network. Taxis are characterized by their red color and belong to registered cooperatives. There are other taxi services which do not belong to the registered system, there are also taxis from the airport that are usually orange.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: The car-sharing company Uber is active in Costa Rica and, despite repeated clashes with and strikes by taxi drivers protesting unfair competition, continues to operate in the country.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: The city is serviced by Juan Santamaría International Airport , west of downtown, in the city of Alajuela, which is one of the busiest airports in Central America. In 2010, Juan Santamaría International Airport received 4.3 million passengers, most of them from international flights. In 2011, the airport was named the 3rd Best Airport in Latin America/Caribbean from the Airport Service Quality Awards by Airports Council International.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: The airport is undergoing a modernization plan, which is expected to be brief. The previous remodeling done to the airport cost around $7 million.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: Another important airport in San José is Tobías Bolaños International Airport . It is located north-west of the city proper and south-east of Juan Santamaría International Airport.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: Costa Rican cuisine ("comida típica") is generally not spicy. Throughout San José, the most popular food is the national dish of "gallo pinto", which is a mixture of fried rice and black beans. Gallo pinto is usually served for breakfast with tortillas and "natilla", a thin sour cream. Costa Rican restaurants serving traditional food at an affordable price are called "sodas" and usually offer "casados" for lunch and dinner. A "casado" (which means "married" in Spanish) consists of rice, beans, and meat, and normally comes with cabbage-and-tomato salad, fried plantains, and/or tortillas. San José Central Market, in downtown San José, has numerous stalls and sodas.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: The city's major football club is Deportivo Saprissa, which has won a record 36 league titles. The team plays its home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá, which is located in Tibas. Another top-level club, Universidad, plays at the Estadio Ecológico.


title: San José, Costa Rica

text: San José hosted the 2015 FIBA COCABA Championship, where the Costa Rica national basketball team finished 2nd. Playground was the "Gimnasio Nacional".


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the United States, and the largest city in the Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035. Three major interstate highways (Interstate 40, Interstate 85, and Interstate 73) in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina were built to intersect at this city.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In 1808, Greensborough (the spelling before 1895) was planned around a central courthouse square to succeed Guilford Court House as the county seat. The county courts were thus placed closer to the county's geographical center, a location more easily reached at the time by the majority of the county's citizens, who traveled by horse or on foot.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In 2003, the previous Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point metropolitan statistical area was redefined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The region was separated into the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan area and the Winston-Salem metropolitan area. The 2010 population of the Greensboro–High Point metropolis was 723,801. The combined statistical area (CSA) of Greensboro–Winston-Salem–High Point, commonly called the Piedmont Triad, had a population of 1,599,477.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Among Greensboro's many notable attractions, some of the most popular are the Greensboro Science Center, the International Civil Rights Museum, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, the Greensboro Symphony, the Greensboro Ballet, Triad Stage, the Wyndham Golf Championship, and the headquarters of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Greensboro Coliseum Complex, which hosts various sporting events, concerts, and other events. Sports teams in Greensboro include the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic Baseball League, the Carolina Dynamo of USL League Two, the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League, and the Greensboro Roller Derby. Annual events include the North Carolina Folk Festival, First Fridays in Downtown Greensboro, Fun Fourth of July Festival, North Carolina Comedy Festival and Winter Wonderlights. From 2015 to 2017 Greensboro hosted the National Folk Festival.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Greensboro were the Saura, a Siouan-speaking people. Other indigenous cultures had occupied this area for thousands of years, typically settling along the waterways, as did the early settlers.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Quaker migrants from Pennsylvania, by way of Maryland, arrived at Capefair (now Greensboro) in about 1750. The new settlers began organized religious services affiliated with the Cane Creek Friends Meeting in Snow Camp in 1751. Three years later, 40 Quaker families were granted approval to establish New Garden Monthly Meeting. The action is recorded in the minutes of the Perquimans and Little River Quarterly Meeting on May 25, 1754: "To Friends at New Garden in Capefair", signed by Joseph Ratliff. The settlement grew rapidly over the next three years, adding members from as far away as Nantucket, Massachusetts. It soon became North Carolina's most important Quaker community and the mother of several other Quaker meetings established in the state and west of the Appalachians.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: After the Revolutionary War, the city of Greensboro was named for Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the rebel American forces at the Battle of Guilford Court House on March 15, 1781. Although the Americans lost the battle, Greene's forces inflicted heavy casualties on the British Army of General Cornwallis. After the battle, Cornwallis withdrew his troops to a British coastal base in Wilmington.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro was established near the geographic center of Guilford County, on land that was "an unbroken forest with thick undergrowth of huckleberry bushes, that bore a finely flavored fruit." Property for the future village was purchased from the Saura for $98. Three north–south streets (Greene, Elm, Davie) were laid out intersecting with three east–west streets (Gaston, Market, Sycamore). The courthouse was built at the center of the intersection of Elm and Market streets. By 1821, the town was home to 369 residents.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In the early 1840s, the state government designated Greensboro as one of the stops on a new railroad line, at the request of Governor John Motley Morehead, whose house, Blandwood, was in Greensboro. Stimulated by rail traffic and improved access to markets, the city grew substantially, soon becoming known as the "Gate City" due to its role as a transportation hub for the Piedmont. The railroads transported goods to and from the cotton textile mills. Many of the manufacturers developed workers' housing in mill villages near their facilities.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Textile companies and related businesses continued into the 21st century, when most went bankrupt, reorganized, and/or merged with other companies as textile manufacturing jobs moved offshore. Greensboro is still a major center of the textile industry, with the main offices of Elevate Textiles (Cone, Burlington Industries), Galey & Lord, Unifi, and VF Corporation (Wrangler, Lee, The North Face, and Nautica). ITG Brands, maker of Kool, Winston and Salem brand cigarettes and the nation's third-largest tobacco company is headquartered in Greensboro. Rail traffic continues to be important for the city's economy, as Greensboro is a major regional freight hub. Four Amtrak passenger trains also stop in Greensboro daily on the main Norfolk Southern line between Washington and New Orleans by way of Atlanta.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Though the city developed slowly, early wealth generated in the 18th and 19th centuries from cotton trade and merchandising resulted in owners' constructing several notable buildings. The earliest, later named Blandwood Mansion and Gardens, was built by a farmer in 1795. Additions to this residence in 1846, designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, made the house influential as America's earliest Tuscan-style villa. It has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Other significant houses and estates were developed, including Dunleith, designed by Samuel Sloan; Bellemeade; and the Bumpass-Troy House. Since the late 20th century, the latter has been adapted and operates as a private inn.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In the mid-19th century, many of the residents of the Piedmont and western areas of the state were Unionist, and Guilford County did not vote for secession. But once North Carolina joined the Confederacy, some citizens joined the Confederate cause, forming infantry units such as the Guilford Grays to fight in the American Civil War. From 1861 to March 1865 the city was relatively untouched by the war, although residents had to deal with regional shortages of clothing, medicine, and other items caused by the US naval blockade of the South.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In the war's final weeks, Greensboro played a unique role in the last days of the Confederate government. In April 1865, the commanding officer of the Army of Tennessee, General Joseph E. Johnston, instructed General P. G. T. Beauregard to prepare to defend the city. During this time, Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the remaining members of the Confederate cabinet had evacuated the Confederate Capital in Richmond, Virginia, and moved south to Danville, Virginia.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: When Union cavalry threatened Danville, Davis and his cabinet managed to escape by train, and reassembled in Greensboro on April 11, 1865. While in the city, Davis and his cabinet decided to try to escape overseas in order to avoid capture by the victorious Union forces; they left Greensboro and separated. Greensboro is notable as the last place where the entire Confederate government met as a group; some consider it the Confederacy's final capital city.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: At nearly the same time, Governor Zebulon B. Vance fled Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, before the forces of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman swept the city. For a brief period beginning April 16, 1865, he and other officials maintained the state capital in Greensboro. Vance proclaimed the North Carolina Surrender Declaration on April 28, 1865. Later, he surrendered to Union officials in the parlor of Blandwood Mansion. Historian Blackwell Robinson wrote, "Greensboro witnessed not only the demise of the Confederacy but also that of the old civil government of the state."


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Once surrender negotiations were completed at Bennett Place (in present-day Durham) between General Johnston and General Sherman on April 26, 1865, Confederate soldiers in Greensboro stacked their arms, received their paroles, and headed home.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: After the war, investors worked to restore the textile mills and related industry. In the 1890s, the city continued to attract attention from northern industrialists, including Moses and Caesar Cone of Baltimore. The Cone brothers established large-scale textile plants, changing Greensboro from a village to a city within a decade. By 1900, Greensboro was considered a center of the Southern textile industry, with large-scale factories producing denim, flannel, and overalls. The resulting prosperity was expressed in the construction of notable 20th-century civic architecture, including the Guilford County Courthouse, West Market Street United Methodist Church by S. W. Faulk, several buildings designed by Frank A. Weston, and the Julius I. Foust Building of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, designed by Orlo Epps.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: During the 20th century, Greensboro continued to increase in population and wealth. Grand commercial and civic buildings, many of which still stand today, were designed by local architects Charles Hartmann and Harry Barton. Other notable industries became established in the city, including Vicks Chemical Co. (known for over-the-counter cold remedies such as VapoRub and NyQuil), Carolina Steel Corporation, and Pomona Terra Cotta Works. During the first three decades, Greensboro grew so rapidly that there was an acute worker housing shortage. Builders set a construction goal of 80 to 100 affordable housing units per year to provide homes for workers. Greensboro's real estate was considered "the wonder of the state" in the 1920s. Growth continued even through the Great Depression, as Greensboro attracted an estimated 200 new families per year. The city earned a reputation as a well-planned community with a strong emphasis on education, parks, and a profitable employment base.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro has two major public research universities, North Carolina A&T State University, a historically black college established in the late 19th century, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. During the height of the civil rights movement in the early 1960s, students from A&T were the major force in protests to achieve racial justice, desegregation of public facilities, and fair employment, beginning with the Greensboro Four, who sat in at the segregated lunch counter at Woolworth's in 1960 to gain service. The largest civil rights protests in North Carolina history took place in Greensboro in May and June 1963. In the 21st century, the universities are leaders in new areas of research in high tech and science, on which the city hopes to build a new economy.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Wartime and postwar prosperity brought development, and designs commissioned from nationally and internationally known architects. Walter Gropius, a leader of the German Bauhaus movement in the United States, designed a factory building in the city in 1944. Greensboro-based Ed Loewenstein designed projects throughout the region. Eduardo Catalano and George Matsumoto were hired for projects whose designs have challenged North Carolinians with modernist architectural concepts and forms.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In 1960, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Greensboro's population as 74.0% white and 25.8% black. As in the rest of the state, most blacks were still disenfranchised under state laws, Jim Crow laws and customs were in effect, and public facilities, including schools, were racially segregated by law. This was after the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 ruling in "Brown v. Board of Education" that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Facilities reserved for blacks were generally underfunded by the state and city governments, which were dominated by conservative white Democrats.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In the postwar period, blacks pushed in North Carolina and across the South to regain their constitutional rights. College students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College (A&T), a historically black college, made Greensboro a center of protests and change. On February 1, 1960, four black college students sat down at an "all-white" Woolworth's lunch counter, and refused to leave after they were denied service. They had already purchased items in other parts of the store and kept their receipts. After being denied lunch service, they brought out the receipts, asking why their money was good everywhere else in the store but not at the lunch counter. Hundreds of supporters soon joined in this sit-in, which lasted several months. Such protests quickly spread across the South, ultimately leading to the desegregation of lunch counters and other facilities at Woolworth's and other chains.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Woolworth's went out of business due to changes in 20th-century retail practices, but the original Woolworth's lunch counter and stools are still in their original location. The former Woolworth's building has been adapted as the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which opened on February 1, 2010, the 50th anniversary of the sit-ins. A section of the counter is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. to mark the protesters' courage.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The white business community acceded to the desegregation of Woolworth's and made other minor concessions, but the civil rights movement had additional goals, holding protests in 1962 and 1963. In May and June 1963, the largest civil rights protest in North Carolina history took place in Greensboro. Protesters sought desegregation of public accommodations, and economic and social justice, such as hiring policies based on merit rather than race. They also worked for the overdue integration of public schools.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Each night more than 2,000 protesters marched through Greensboro's segregated central business district. William Thomas and A. Knighton Stanley, coordinators of Greensboro's local CORE chapter, invited Jesse Jackson, then an activist student at A&T, to join the protests. Jackson quickly rose to prominence as a student leader, becoming the public spokesman of the non-violent protest movement. Seeking to overwhelm city jails, as was done in protests led by Martin Luther King Jr. in Birmingham, Alabama, the protesters invited arrest by violating segregation rules of local businesses; they were charged with trespassing and other nonviolent actions. College and high school students constituted most of the protesters, and at one point approximately 1,400 blacks were jailed in Greensboro. The scale of protests disrupted the business community and challenged the leadership of the mayor and Governor Terry Sanford.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Finally, the city and business community responded with further desegregation of public facilities, reformed hiring policies in city government, and commitments to progress by both Sanford and Greensboro's mayor. Sanford declared, "Anyone who hasn't received this message doesn't understand human nature." Significant changes in race relations still came at a painfully slow pace, and the verbal commitments from white leadership in 1963 were not implemented in substantial ways.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In May 1969, students of James B. Dudley High School were outraged when the administration refused to let a popular candidate, Claude Barnes, run for student union class president, allegedly due to his membership in Youth for the Unity of Black Society. After their appeals to the school were rejected, the students asked activists at North Carolina A&T State University for support in a protest. Protests escalated and after students at A&T had thrown rocks at police, they returned on May 21 armed with tear gas canisters, using them against the crowds. The uprising grew larger, and the governor ordered the National Guard to back up local police.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: After there were exchanges of gunfire, the governor ordered the North Carolina National Guard into the A&T campus, in what was described at the time as "the most massive armed assault ever made against an American university". The North Carolina National Guard swept the college dormitories, taking hundreds of students into "protective custody". The demonstrations were suppressed. The North Carolina State Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights investigated the disturbances; its 1970 report concluded that the National Guard invasion was a reckless action disproportionate to the danger posed by student protests. It criticized local community leaders for failing to respond adequately to the Dudley High School students when the issues first arose. They declared it "a sad commentary that the only group in the community who would take the Dudley students seriously were the students at A&T State University".


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: On November 3, 1979, members of what would become the Communist Workers Party (CWP) held an anti-Ku Klux Klan rally at the black Morningside Homes public housing project. Four local TV news stations covered it. During the protest, two cars containing Klansmen and neo-Nazis arrived. After a confrontation, the KKK and CWP groups exchanged gunfire. Five CWP members were killed. Eleven CWP members and one Klansman were injured. Television footage of the actions was shown worldwide, and the event became known as the Greensboro Massacre. In November 1980, six KKK defendants were acquitted in a state criminal trial by an all-white jury after a week of deliberation. Families of those killed and injured in the attack filed a civil suit against the city and police department for failure to protect the black citizens. In 1985, a jury in this case found five police officers and two other individuals liable for $350,000 in damages; the monies were to be paid to the Greensboro Justice Fund, established to advance civil rights.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 4.01%, is water.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The city of Greensboro lies among the rolling hills of North Carolina's Piedmont, midway between the state's Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains to the west and the Atlantic beaches and Outer Banks to the east. The view of the city from its highest building—the Lincoln Financial tower (commonly known as the Jefferson-Pilot Building after its previous owner)—shows an expanse of shade trees in the city. Interstates 40, 85, and 73 intersect at the city. Greensboro is 29 miles (46 km) east of Winston-Salem, 54 miles (86 km) west of Durham, 77 miles (177 km) northwest of Raleigh, and 90 miles (144 km) northeast of Charlotte.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Downtown Greensboro has attracted development investment in recent years with such new construction as First National Bank Field, residential construction, and offices. The Southside neighborhood downtown exemplifies central-city reinvestment. The formerly economically depressed neighborhood has been redeveloped as an award-winning neotraditional-style neighborhood featuring walkability, compact blocks and local amenities and services.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The redevelopment of the downtown was stimulated by the 2006 opening of the Elon University School of Law. The law school is credited with attracting student dollars to the downtown.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The Four Seasons Town Centre, at 410 Four Seasons Town Centre, is a three-story shopping mall with of shopping space developed by the Koury Corporation. It is adjacent to the Joseph S. Koury Convention Center and Sheraton Hotel. With over of flexible meeting space, the Koury Convention Center is the largest convention center in the Southeast between Atlanta and Washington, D.C. The hotel has more than 1,000 rooms.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The Greensboro Coliseum is at 1921 W. Gate City Boulevard. This multipurpose complex consists of the 22,000-seat Greensboro Coliseum, the 300-seat Odeon Theatre, and the Special Events Center, which includes three exhibition halls, a 4,500-seat mini-arena, and eight meeting rooms. The Pavilion is adjacent. The complex hosts "a broad range of activities, including athletic events, cultural arts, concerts, theater, educational activities, fairs, exhibits, and public and private events of all kinds including conventions, convocations and trade and consumer shows". The Greensboro Aquatic Center, which hosts national swimming and diving events, is also in this complex.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In 1998, FedEx built a $300 million mid-Atlantic air-cargo and sorting hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport, after an intensive competition for the hub among other regions of the state, as well as locations in South Carolina. The project was challenged in court based on the quality of planned noise and pollution abatements from neighborhoods near the site. The hub opened in 2009. Originally projected by FedEx to employ 750 people in its first two years of operation and eventually 1,500, local FedEx employment has been nearly the same as before the facility was constructed.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In March 2015, HondaJet, with a manufacturing facility in Greensboro, announced that it had received provisional type certification (PTC) from the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This achievement indicates the FAA's approval of the HondaJet design based on certification testing, design reviews, and analyses completed to date.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Like much of the southeastern United States, Greensboro has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen "Cfa"), with four distinct seasons. Winters are short and generally cool, with a January daily average of . On average, there are 75 nights per year that drop to or below freezing, and 4.3 days that fail to rise above freezing. Measurable snowfall occurs nearly every winter, and accumulates to on average, usually in January and February and occasionally December and March; the amount varies considerably from winter to winter. Cold-air damming (CAD) can facilitate freezing rain, often making it a more pressing concern than snow. Summers are hot and humid, with a daily average in July of . On average, 32 days per year have highs at or above , but, as in much of the Piedmont South, + readings are uncommon. Autumn is similar to spring in temperature but has fewer days of rainfall and less total rainfall. Extremes in temperature have ranged from on January 21, 1985, to , on June 12, 1911, June 12, 1914, and July 17, 1914.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Thunderstorms are common during the humid spring and summer months, some severe. On April 2, 1936, around 7:00 pm, a large, F-4 tornado cut a seven-mile (11-km) swath of destruction through southern Greensboro. 14 people were killed and 144 injured by the tornado, which moved through part of downtown. The storm was part of the 1936 Cordele-Greensboro tornado outbreak. Strong tornadoes have struck the Greensboro area since then, notably Stoneville on March 20, 1998; Clemmons and Winston-Salem on May 5, 1989; Clemmons and Greensboro on May 7, 2008; High Point on March 28, 2010; and Greensboro on April 15, 2018.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: "Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race."


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: As of the 2020 United States census, there were 299,035 people, 118,046 households, and 69,420 families residing in the city. At the 2019 U.S. census estimates, there were 296,710 people living in the city, up from the 2019 American Community Survey's 291,303.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: At the 2010 U.S. census, there were 269,666 people; 111,731 households; and 63,244 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,131.7 people per square mile (822.9/km). There were 124,074 housing units at an average density of 980.8 per square mile (378.6/km).


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Of the 124,074 households in the city in 2010, 30.1% included children under age 18, 35.5% were headed by married couples living together, 16.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were classified as non-family. Of the total households, 33.8% were composed of individuals, and 9.0% were someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.31, and the average family size was 3.00. In 2019, the average household size was 2.37.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The 2019 American Community Survey determined Greensboro had a median age of 35.1, up from 33.4 in 2010. Approximately 6.0% of the city's inhabitants were under 5; 78.2% of the population was 18 and older, and 13.7% 65 and older. The age distribution in 2010 was 22.7% under 18, 14.5% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who 65 or older. The median age was 33.4. For every 100 females, there were 88.7 males, and for every 100 females 18 and over, there were 84.6 males.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In 2011–15, the estimated median annual income for a household was $41,628, and the median income for a family was $53,150. Male full-time workers had a median income of $40,143 versus $34,761 for females. The per capita income was $25,929. About 14.6% of families and 19.3% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 25.9% of those under 18 and 10.5% of those 65 or older. From 2015 to 2019, the median household income increased to $48,964 with a per capita of $29,628. The median earned income for males was $44,974 and $37,937 for females. An estimated 18.5% of Greensboro residents lived at or below the poverty line in 2019.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The racial composition of the city was 48.4% white, 40.6% black or African American, 4.0% Asian American (1.6% Vietnamese, 0.7% Indian), 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 3.8% some other race, and 2.6% two or more races. Non-Hispanic whites were 45.6% of the population in 2010, compared to 70.9% in 1970. People of Hispanic or Latin American heritage, who may be of any race, in 2010 were 7.5% of the population (4.6% Mexican, 0.7% Puerto Rican).


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of Greensboro was 47.3% non-Hispanic white, 41.4% black or African American, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, 5% Asian alone, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 2.7% from some other race, and 3.0% multiracial. Hispanics and Latin Americans of any race made up 7.9% of the local population. At the 2020 census, 41.42% of the population was black or African American, 38.6% non-Hispanic white, 0.33% Native American, 5.04% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.4% mixed or some other race, and 10.17% Hispanic or Latin American of any race. This reflected the national demographic shift and growth of nonwhite-identifying Americans.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In Greensboro, Sperling's BestPlaces determined that 48.33% of the population was religiously affiliated as of 2017. The largest religion in Greensboro is Christianity, with the most affiliates being either Baptist (11.85%) or Methodist (10.25%). The remaining Christian populations are Presbyterian (3.97%), Roman Catholic (3.71%), Pentecostal (2.61%), Episcopal (1.17%), Latter-Day Saints (1.02%), Lutheran (0.96%), and members of other Christian denominations (11.03%) including Greek Orthodox, Quaker, Moravian, Church of Christ, and non-denominational churches. After Christianity, the largest religion in Greensboro is Islam (0.82%), followed by Judaism (0.60%). Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism were the least common in Greensboro (0.34%).


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: In 2010, the Association of Religious Data Archives reported Protestantism was the largest form of Christianity practiced in the city and metropolitan area. Evangelical Protestantism dominated religious society alongside conservative, primarily African American churches. Most of the Baptist community were and continue being dominated by the Southern Baptist Convention, National Baptist Convention (USA), American Baptist Churches USA, Progressive National Baptist Convention, and Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship. Methodists have been primarily divided among the United Methodist Church and African Methodist Episcopal Church. In the Presbyterian community, many affiliate with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Pentecostals have been divided among the Assemblies of God USA, Church of God in Christ, and Oneness Pentecostal denominations including the United Pentecostal Church International.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro's economy and the Piedmont Triad area's have traditionally centered around textiles, tobacco, and furniture. Greensboro's central location in the state has made it a popular place for families and businesses, as well as more of a logistics hub, with FedEx having regional operations based in the city. In December 2021, it was announced that Toyota Motor North America, a subsidiary of Japanese automaker Toyota, would operate a $1.3 billion battery plant in Greensboro.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Notable companies headquartered in Greensboro include the Honda Aircraft Company, HAECO Americas, ITG Brands, Kayser-Roth, VF, Mack Trucks, Volvo Trucks of North America, Qorvo, the International Textile Group, NewBridge Bank, The Fresh Market, Atlantic Coast Conference, Cook Out, Ham's, Biscuitville, Fusion3 3D Printers, Tripps, Wrangler, Kontoor Brands and Columbia Forest Products. Greensboro is a "center of operations" for the insurance company Lincoln Financial Group.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: City leaders have been working to attract new businesses in the nanotech, high-tech, aviation and transportation/logistics sectors. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and North Carolina A&T State University opened a joint research park, Gateway University Research Park.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: According to the city's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the largest employers in the city are:


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro is home to a variety of retail shopping, from well-known national chains to local boutiques and galleries. Four Seasons Town Centre, on the city's southwest side off I-40, is a three-level regional mall. Friendly Center, off Friendly Avenue, is an open-air shopping complex featuring the nation's largest Harris Teeter supermarket and a multiplex cinema. The Shoppes at Friendly Center, adjacent to Friendly Center, is home to many upscale retailers and restaurants, such as Brooks Brothers and The Cheesecake Factory. Around the corner on Market street is Fanta City International Mall, a mini-mall dedicated to foreign exchange, containing a Super G Market. This is a broad international supercenter combined with a flea market, offering European and East Asian specialties. Traditional shopping centers are primarily found on the West Wendover corridor near I-40 and on Battleground Avenue on the city's northwest side. Big-box retailers have clustered at the site of the former Carolina Circle Mall on the city's northeast side and far south along the newly completed urban loop (I-85, I-73). On New Garden Road, a large shopping area has popped up.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro is not home to any top-level professional sports teams. The National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes moved to Raleigh from Hartford, Connecticut in 1997, but the team played its first two seasons at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex while its home arena, Raleigh's Entertainment & Sports Arena, was under construction. During the late 1990s, the Minnesota Twins almost relocated to the city, even receiving league approval, but the deal collapsed after local voters refused to fund the proposed ballpark.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The Greensboro Grasshoppers (formerly the Greensboro Bats and the Greensboro Hornets) are a minor league baseball team in Greensboro. They are a Class High-A team in the High-A East and a farm team for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Grasshoppers play at First National Bank Field.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro's North Carolina Fusion U23 play in the USL League Two, the nation's top level men's amateur soccer competition. It has 63 teams competing in four conferences, split into ten regional divisions. It is considered the fourth tier of competition, behind the United Soccer League. The team plays its home games at Macpherson Stadium in nearby Browns Summit, where it has played since 2003. PDL seasons take place during the summer, with the player pool drawn mainly from elite NCAA college soccer players seeking to continue playing high level soccer during their summer break, which they can do while still maintaining their college eligibility.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: On October 27, 2015, the Charlotte Hornets officially announced that Greensboro would host an affiliate NBA Development League team, beating out other considered cities like Columbia, Asheville, Fayetteville, and Charleston. The Greensboro Swarm began playing in fall 2016 at the Greensboro Coliseum Fieldhouse.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro is home to the headquarters of the Atlantic Coast Conference, despite having no school in the league. The Greensboro Coliseum Complex has hosted the ACC men's basketball tournament 23 times since 1967 and the ACC women's basketball tournament 12 times since 2000. Greensboro has also hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Regionals three times, and the Final Four once.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The PGA Tour holds a tournament annually in Greensboro. The Wyndham Championship is held at Sedgefield Country Club and is the last PGA Tour event before the Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. The tournament was founded in 1938 as the Greater Greensboro Open and one of the oldest events on the PGA Tour.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro nicknames itself "Tournament Town" due to the many sports tournaments it hosts. In addition to the ACC basketball tournament and NCAA basketball games, the city has hosted the ACC baseball tournament, the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships and a number of national competitions at the new Greensboro Aquatic Center. In 1974 Greensboro hosted the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four championship game. It was the first time the Final Four was held in North Carolina.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro Roller Derby was founded in 2010 and has been a member of the WFTDA, Women's Flat Track Derby Association, since 2013. The league comprises three intraleague teams, named after prominent streets in the city, as well as interleague all-star and b-level teams, each featuring skaters from the three intraleague teams. The league is run by the skaters, who all have ties to the community, and is a not-for-profit organization. Roller derby bouts are held at the Greensboro Coliseum from March to November.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro has a council-manager government with nine members; all seats, including the mayor's, are up for election every four years. Five of the council seats are district representatives and three are citywide representatives elected at-large.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro is the first city in the South to run a participatory budgeting (PB) process, whereby the city's residents decide how a portion of the city budget is spent. The first cycle was for $500,000, ran through April 2016, and was incorporated into the 2016–17 budget, with projects like murals, bridge improvements, and a citywide bus tracking app voted on by residents.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro has many major institutions of higher education. Universities and colleges are Bennett College (liberal arts, four year, 650 students); Elon University School of Law; Greensboro College (private, liberal arts, four year, 1300 students); Guilford College (private, liberal arts, four year, 2100 students); North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (public, four year, 12,500 students); and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (public, four year, 20,000 students). Greensboro and Guilford County are served by the two year Guilford Technical Community College (15,000 students), which is between Greensboro and High Point.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The Greater Greensboro Consortium was established to allow college students enrolled in one Greensboro-area institution to cross-register at other institutions in the same area. Students are also allowed to join certain student organizations at other institutions in the consortium not present at their home institution.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro's public schools are operated by Guilford County Schools, the state's third-largest school system, with about 71,000 students. Greensboro has one of the oldest public high schools in the state, Grimsley High School, established in 1899 as Greensboro High School. It is also home to Weaver Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts & Advanced Technology, an arts high school. Greensboro has the state's first early college, The Early College at Guilford, ranked by "U.S. News & World Report" in 2021 as North Carolina's best public school and the #2 STEM school in the country.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro is home to many private day schools, including Greensboro Day School, Our Lady of Grace Catholic School, New Garden Friends School, Caldwell Academy, B'nai Shalom Day School, Canterbury School, Triad Math and Science Academy, Noble Academy, Vandalia Christian School, Shining Light Christian Academy, Saint Pius X Catholic School, and Covenant Christian Day School. The area has two boarding schools: the American Hebrew Academy and the Oak Ridge Military Academy, in nearby Oak Ridge.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The "Greensboro News & Record", part of the newspaper group owned by Lee Enterprises, is the daily newspaper. The "Triad Business Journal", part of the American City Business Journals chain of business weeklies owned by Advance Communications, is based in Greensboro and covers business across the Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. The "Carolina Peacemaker" is a newsweekly that covers the African-American community. "Yes! Weekly", "Triad City Beat", and Qué Pasa are free weekly alternative newspapers that cover local news and events.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro is a part of the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point television designated market area and includes the following commercial broadcast stations (listed by call letters, channel number, network and city of license):


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro is home to the Triad bureau of News 14 Carolina. BNT 20.2 is North Carolina's only black-owned TV station.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro is served by Piedmont Triad International Airport, which also serves the nearby cities of High Point and Winston-Salem as well as the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. Piedmont Triad International is North Carolina's third-busiest airport, averaging 280 takeoffs and landings a day. PTI was a hub for the now defunct Skybus Airlines.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Amtrak's daily "Crescent", "Carolinian" and "Piedmont" trains connect Greensboro with New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Birmingham and New Orleans.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Amtrak trains, taxis, local and long-distance buses arrive and depart from the J. Douglas Galyon Depot, also known as Greensboro station, at 236-C East Washington Street. Originally constructed in the early 1920s, the station and depot were renovated in 2004.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The Greensboro Transit Authority offers public bus service throughout the city, including Higher Education Area Transit, or HEAT, which links downtown attractions to area colleges and universities. Regional public transportation throughout the metropolitan area is coordinated by PART, Piedmont Area Regional Transportation.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: The Greensboro Greenway is a bike trail that is being constructed to encircle downtown Greensboro. It will connect to other trails and lead out to the Bur-Mil Park area and further.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Interstate 40 and Interstate 85 Business share the same freeway facility for several miles in south/southeastern Greensboro. The consolidated highway, which is now the Interstate 40/Business 85 junction, is just south of downtown and forms the western end of a stretch of freeway known throughout the region as "Death Valley", a congested and accident-prone stretch of roadway where six major federal and Interstate routes combine into a single freeway facility.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Construction is underway on the Greensboro Urban Loop, a freeway that, when complete, will encircle the city. Sections of this beltway may form the future alignment of Interstate 73. U.S. Highway 29—which travels through the southern, eastern and northern sections of the city before heading northeast toward suburban Reidsville—is a major route in Greensboro and offers freeway access to its more urban and central areas.


title: Greensboro, North Carolina

text: Greensboro has a sister city relationship with three cities to foster international friendship and cooperation:


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is a retired competitive figure skater and diplomat serving as United States Ambassador to Belize. In figure skating Kwan is a two-time Olympic medalist (silver in 1998, bronze in 2002), a five-time World champion (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003) and a nine-time U.S. champion (1996, 1998–2005). She is tied with Maribel Vinson for the all-time National Championship record.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: She competed at the senior level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history. Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is widely considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: For well over a decade, Kwan maintained her status not only as America's most popular figure skater but as one of America's most popular female athletes. Kwan landed numerous major endorsement deals, starred in multiple TV specials and was the subject of extensive media coverage. From 1997 to 2005, she was the U.S. Figure Skating Association's top-paid skater in appearance fees and prize money, as well as one of the highest paid Winter Olympic athletes in endorsements. Kwan was also the highest-paid skater on the Champions on Ice tours.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Following her figure skating career, Kwan became active in politics, particularly with the Democratic Party. In January 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Kwan to be U.S. Ambassador to Belize. She was confirmed by the Senate on September 29, 2022, took the oath of office on October 22, and presented her credentials on December 5.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Born in Torrance, California, Kwan was the third child of Danny Kwan and Estella Kwan, Chinese immigrants from Hong Kong. Her father was a native of Canton and emigrated from Hong Kong to California in 1971. Kwan grew up speaking both Cantonese and English at home.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan's interest in figure skating began at the age of five when she followed her two older siblings (ice hockey player Ron and figure skater Karen) onto the ice. Karen and Michelle began serious training when Michelle was about eight years old. They practiced three to four hours a day, waking up at 4:30am and arriving at the rink at 5:00am to skate before school, and then going back to the rink right after school to skate again. Paying for their increased skating-rink time led to financial hardship for Kwan's working-class family. When Kwan was ten years old, her family could no longer afford a coach, but they were offered financial assistance by a fellow member of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club that allowed them to train at the Ice Castle International Training Center in Lake Arrowhead, California.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan attended Soleado Elementary School in Palos Verdes, California, but left public school to be homeschooled in 1994, when she was in the 8th grade. After graduation from Rim of the World High School in 1998, Kwan attended UCLA for one year. In the fall of 2006, she transferred to the University of Denver. In June 2009, she graduated from Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies with a bachelor's degree in international studies and a minor in political science. In 2009, she began graduate studies in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and graduated in 2011. On May 8, 2010, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Southern Vermont College.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan won five World Championships (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003), tying her with Carol Heiss (1956–1960) for the most world titles by an American. Kwan's nine world medals overall is the all-time record for an American skater in any discipline. The only ladies' singles skater with more world titles or medals is Sonia Henie of Norway. Kwan won nine U.S. Championships (1996, 1998–2005), tying the record for most wins set by Maribel Vinson-Owen (1928–1933, 1935–1937). She holds the record for the most consecutive U.S. titles (eight) and most consecutive U.S. Championship medals (twelve). She also earned the silver medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and the bronze medal in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Kwan has received a combined total of 57 perfect marks (6.0s) at major competitions, the singles record under the former 6.0 judging system.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In 1991, Michelle Kwan and her sister Karen began training with Frank Carroll in Lake Arrowhead, California. After one year of coaching by Carroll, 11-year-old Michelle placed 9th at the junior level at the United States Figure Skating Championships. At the age of 12 in 1992, Michelle passed the gold test to become a senior-level figure skater despite the disapproval of her coach. In 1993, Kwan finished sixth at her first senior U.S. championships. The next season, she won the 1994 World Junior Championships.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In 1994, Kwan finished second to Tonya Harding at the U.S. Championships, which ordinarily would have placed her on the U.S. team to the 1994 Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. That place was instead given to 1993 national champion Nancy Kerrigan, who had been sidelined by an assault and battery (eventually connected to Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly) after a practice session at those championships. The 13-year-old Kwan went to Norway as an alternate but did not compete. Kerrigan and Harding both dropped out of eligible competition before the 1994 World Championships. Because of this (and teammate Nicole Bobek not making out of the qualifying round), Kwan had the sole responsibility to ensure two entries for the U.S. at the 1995 World Championships by placing in the top ten. Kwan had an unusual mistake in the short program and placed eleventh in that portion of the competition, but skated a strong freestyle program and finished eighth overall.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: At the 1995 U.S. Championships, Nicole Bobek won the gold medal, while Kwan again placed second after struggling with her lutz jump in both the short program and free skate. At the 1995 World Championships, she placed fifth in the short program portion of the competition with a clean performance. She landed seven triple jumps in her free skating performance and placed third in that portion of the competition. She finished fourth overall.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Michelle began to develop a more mature style in 1996. Her new, more artistically expressive programs were "Romanza" (short program) and "Salome" (free skate). She also improved her extension, speed and jump technique, and performed to more difficult choreography. She won both the U.S. Championships and the World Championships in 1996. In the later event, she edged out defending champion Chen Lu in a very close competition in which both competitors garnered two perfect 6.0s for Presentation in the free skate.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In the 1996–97 season, Kwan skated to "Dream of Desdemona" (short program) and "Taj Mahal" (free skate). During this season, Kwan struggled with her jumps because of a growth spurt and problems with new skating boots which she wore for an endorsement contract with the manufacturer. She fell twice and stumbled once in her free skate at 1997 U.S. Nationals, losing the title to Tara Lipinski. She lost the Champion Series Final to Lipinski a month later. At the World Championships, Kwan stepped out of her triple lutz combination and placed 4th in the Short Program portion of the competition behind Lipinski, France's Vanessa Gusmeroli, and Russia's Maria Butyrskaya. Kwan skated a six triple, mistake-free performance to win the freestyle portion of the competition, but placed second to Lipinski overall.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan started out the 1997–1998 Olympic season by winning Skate America (where she defeated Tara Lipinski) and then Skate Canada. However, she suffered a stress fracture on her foot and was forced to withdraw from her third Champions Series Final. Kwan regained her U.S. title from Lipinski at the 1998 National Championships, despite her fractured toe. Many people consider her performances of her Rachmaninoff short program and free skate set to William Alwyn's "Lyra Angelica" at the 1998 U.S. Championships to be the high point of her career from both a technical and artistic standpoint. The performances earned her fifteen perfect 6.0s and left two judges in tears.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan and Lipinski were co-favorites to win the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. Kwan placed first in the Short Program portion of the competition, winning eight first place votes out of nine judges. In the free skate, Kwan skated a clean 7-triple performance but placed behind Lipinski, who also did 7 triples including a triple loop/triple loop combination and a triple toe-loop/half-loop/Triple Salchow. Kwan ended up winning the silver medal, with the gold medal going to Tara Lipinski and the bronze medal to Chen Lu.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Lipinski and Chen both retired from competitive skating shortly after the Olympics, while Kwan went on to win the 1998 World Championships in Minneapolis.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan continued to compete as an eligible skater in the 1998–99 season, although she bypassed the fall Grand Prix season and instead chose to skate in a series of made-for-television pro-am events. Her "regular" competitive programs that season were "Fate of Carmen" (short program) and "Lamento D'Ariane" (free skate). Kwan won her third national title at the 1999 U.S. Championships, competing against a weak field. At the 1999 World Championships, Kwan did not skate her best, and placed second behind Russian competitor Maria Butyrskaya.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan's win at the 2000 U.S. Nationals was controversial to some. She was criticized for planning an easier solo jump in her short program than some of her competitors (a triple toe loop rather than a triple flip), and fell on this element in the competition. The judges nevertheless placed her third in that segment behind younger challengers Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes; however, the placement still kept her in contention for the title. Ultimately, she won the free skate with the best performance of the night, capturing 8 of the 9 first-place ordinals. At the 2000 World Championships, Kwan was again in third place after the short program, behind Maria Butyrskaya and Irina Slutskaya. In her free skate, Kwan landed seven triple jumps, including a triple toe loop/triple toe loop combination, and won that segment of the competition. Butyrskaya lost her commanding lead by finishing third behind Slutskaya in the free skate, allowing Kwan to win the overall title as well.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: During the 2000–2001 season, Kwan began working with the famed designer (and former figure skater) Vera Wang, who designed most of her competition and exhibition costumes for the next six years. Kwan was only the second figure skater Wang designed for, following Nancy Kerrigan. At that year's national championships, Kwan again won the title, receiving first-place ordinals from all 9 judges in both the short program and free skate. At the 2001 World Championships, Kwan was second behind Slutskaya in the short program. Kwan won the title with her "Song of the Black Swan" free skate, executing 7 triples, including a triple toe loop/triple toe loop combination.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan and Carroll decided to end their coaching relationship two days before the start of the 2001 Skate America competition. In interviews, Kwan said she needed to "take responsibility" for her skating. Coachless, Kwan arrived at the 2002 U.S. Championships in Los Angeles amid the media's scrutiny over her separation with Carroll and her season's inconsistencies. Kwan won the competition with a revived "Rachmaninoff" short program and a new "Scheherazade" program for her free skate, securing a place on the 2002 Olympic team. Joining her on the team were Sasha Cohen (second) and Sarah Hughes (third). The 21-year-old Kwan and Russia's Irina Slutskaya were favorites to win the gold. Kwan led after the short program, followed by Slutskaya, Cohen, and Hughes. In the free skate, Kwan two-footed her triple toe loop combination and fell on her triple flip, while Sarah Hughes skated a clean program. Kwan won the bronze medal behind Hughes and Slutskaya. Kwan's final event of the season was the 2002 Worlds, where she won the silver medal behind Slutskaya.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan began working with coach Scott Williams in the summer of 2002. She continued to compete on the Olympic-eligible circuit, although in a more limited way. During the fall seasons of 2002 to 2004, Kwan competed in only one Grand Prix event, Skate America in the fall of 2002, which she entered as a last-minute replacement. She won the event and qualified for the Grand Prix Final but chose not to compete in it. Kwan chose to not compete in Grand Prix events in the 2003 and 2004 seasons where the new judging system was being used. Kwan won all phases of every competition she entered in the 2002–2003 competitive season with her programs: Peter Gabriel's "The Feeling Begins" from "The Last Temptation of Christ" (short program) and "Concierto de Aranjuez" (free skate). She won the U.S. Championships again and regained her World title.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In autumn 2003, she hired the noted technician Rafael Arutyunyan as her coach, with whom she attempted to increase the technical difficulty of her programs and hone her jump technique. In the 2003–2004 competitive season, she skated again to "The Feeling Begins" for her short program, and Puccini's "Tosca" for her long program. Again, Kwan won the U.S. Championships, earning seven more 6.0s for presentation during the free skating. At the 2004 World Championships, after a difficult qualifying round, Kwan was penalized in her short program for going two seconds over the time limit. This caused her to place fourth going into the long program, behind American Sasha Cohen, Japan's Shizuka Arakawa, and Miki Ando. Kwan skated a clean performance with five triples and received the last 6.0 marks given at the World Championships. She placed second in the free skating portion (she was one judge short from winning the free skating) and placed third overall, behind Arakawa (who performed seven triples, including two triple-triple combinations) and Cohen.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: For the 2004–2005 competitive season, Kwan skated her long program to "Boléro", choreographed by British ice dancer Christopher Dean who had famously skated to the music with Jayne Torvill two decades before, and debuted a new short program, "Adagio" from Aram Khachaturian's ballet "Spartacus". At the U.S. Championships, she won her 9th title, tying the all-time record previously set by Maribel Vinson-Owen. Vinson-Owen had coached Frank Carroll, who in turn coached Kwan. At the 2005 World Championship, Kwan competed for the first time under the new judging system. She had a rough qualifying round and placed third in the short program. In the free skate, Kwan fell on her triple salchow and two-footed a triple lutz. Although she finished third in both the short and long program portion of the competition, Kwan was edged by Carolina Kostner for the bronze medal and finished fourth overall, missing third place by 0.37 points. It was the first time since 1995 that Kwan had failed to medal at any international competition, and would be her final competitive event.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan looked at the 2005 Worlds as a learning experience in the ISU Judging System. She continued to train and stated that she would attempt to qualify for the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. However, following a hip injury, she was forced to withdraw from her three planned competitions in the fall of 2005. Kwan skated her new short program ("Totentanz") at a made-for-TV event in December 2005, but her performance was well below her usual standard. On January 4, 2006, Kwan withdrew from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships with an abdominal injury incurred in December 2005. One week later, she filed a petition with the USFSA for a medical waiver to be placed on the 2006 Olympic figure skating team. On January 14, 2006, after the United States ladies' figure skating event, the USFSA's International Committee met and in a 20 to 3 vote approved Kwan's petition under the stipulation that she show her physical and competitive readiness to a five-member monitoring panel by January 27.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan performed her long and short programs for the panel on the stipulated day, and her spot on the Olympic team was established, as the panel felt she was fit to compete. However, on February 12, 2006, the United States Olympic Committee announced that Kwan had withdrawn from the Games after suffering a new groin injury in her first practice in Turin. Kwan remarked that she "respected the Olympics too much to compete". The Turin organizing committee accepted the USOC's application for Emily Hughes (who had finished third at the U.S. Championships) to compete as Kwan's replacement.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: After her withdrawal from the Olympic team, Kwan turned down an offer to stay in Turin as a figure skating commentator for NBC Sports. During an interview with Bob Costas and Scott Hamilton, Kwan said she was not retiring yet.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan underwent elective arthroscopic surgery in August 2006 to repair a torn labrum in her right hip, an old injury which she traces back to 2002. According to Kwan, the surgery allowed her to skate pain-free for the first time in four years.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan told the Associated Press in October 2007 that she would decide in 2009 if she planned to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics, but she ultimately decided not to do so, focusing instead on graduate school. She has said "Representing the United States as an American Public Diplomacy Envoy the past three years has been very rewarding, and I want to do more." After graduating from the University of Denver in 2009, Kwan said "Furthering my education will bring me closer to that goal, and I don't want to wait any longer to continue the journey."


title: Michelle Kwan

text: On February 17, 2010, Kwan told ABC News in an interview that she was continuing her studies as a graduate student at the Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, as well as continuing her work as a Public Diplomacy Envoy. Kwan also said she would be commentating for Good Morning America at the 2010 Winter Olympics.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In August 2009, Kwan made her first on-ice appearance in several years, performing at Ice All Stars, a show headlined by South Korean world champion Yuna Kim in Seoul, South Korea. Kim considered Kwan her idol growing up. Kwan also later appeared in Kim's shows in South Korea and Los Angeles.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: She was chosen as the guest of honor to help open a new synthetic skating rink at the Marina Bay Sands resort in Singapore in December 2010, where she performed a modified routine to "Winter Song", a program she self-choreographed with her sister. She returned to Singapore a month later as a Public Diplomacy Envoy to meet local students and to promote ice skating in the tropical country.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: As of 2008, Kwan is a member of the Chinese-American organization Committee of 100. In 2014, Kwan joined Fox Sports 1 for its Winter Olympics broadcast.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan was known for her unrivaled consistency in delivering clean programs, as well as her strong skating skills and deep, quiet edges that have been described as "silent blades" that "barely whispered". She was also known for her musicality and ability to combine grace and artistry with athleticism.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Although not of the greatest height nor explosive spring, Kwan, for most of her career, included all of the triples (except for the Axel) in her programs, including two lutzes (the most difficult jump after the Axel). She landed the triple toe-triple toe combination cleanly eleven times in competition, including at her 2000 and 2001 world championship victories. During the 2004–2005 season, she debuted a triple flip-double toe-double loop combination.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Beginning in the 1996–1997 season, Kwan debuted a change of edge spiral that soon became her signature move. Kwan's spiral was famed by commentators not only for its great extension and line, but also its speed, the strength and security of the edge, the deep lean and the easy smoothness of the change of edge. In the 1998–1999 season, Kwan revived a variation of the Charlotte spiral, a move innovated by German skater Charlotte Oelschlägel which had not been performed in decades.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan's split falling leaf was praised by fellow skaters Dick Button and Peggy Fleming during competitions, for its effortlessness and perfect split position in the air. Kwan has done multiple split falling leaves in immediate succession (without any turns or steps in between) while maintaining a split position on both.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Another of her trademark moves is a Y-spin done consecutively on both feet. Kwan is also one of the few skaters who can spin in both directions.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan is a recipient of the prestigious James E. Sullivan Award (2001), which is given to America's best amateur athlete; she was the first figure skater to win the award since Dick Button in 1949. In 2003, she was named the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) "Sportswoman of the Year", and is the 5th figure skater in history to receive this honor. She has also been named USOC "Athlete of the Month" fourteen times, which is more than any other athlete, male or female, as well as being named "Female Figure Skating Athlete of the Year" by the USOC multiple times. She is also the recipient of the USOC's "Citizenship Through Sports Alliance Award" (2004).


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan is one of only two multiple winners of the "Readers' Choice Figure Skater of the Year" award given by "Skating" magazine, winning it an unprecedented seven times (1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001–2003). In 2003, the United States Figure Skating Association, which publishes "Skating", announced that the award would be renamed the "Michelle Kwan Trophy." The USFSA stated that although Kwan may continue to skate competitively, she would no longer be eligible for the award. The only other skater to win the award multiple times, Johnny Weir, only won it twice in comparison.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: On November 9, 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named Michelle Kwan as a public diplomacy ambassador. In this non-salaried position, Kwan represented American values, especially to young people and sports enthusiasts, and traveled widely. Kwan made her first overseas trip in the capacity of public diplomacy ambassador with a visit to China from January 17–25, 2007.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Her diplomatic position as an envoy continued in the Barack Obama administration where she worked with Vice President Joe Biden and then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Following her first trip to China as a public diplomacy envoy, Kwan continued her role in subsequent trips to Russia in June 2007, Argentina in March 2008, Ukraine in February 2009, South Korea in January 2010, and Singapore in January 2011.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: On April 15, 2011, it was announced that Kwan would serve as an adviser to the U.S.-China Women's Leadership Exchange and Dialogue (Women-LEAD). In December 2012, Kwan was appointed as a State Department senior adviser for public diplomacy and public affairs.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In June 2015, Kwan announced that she would support Hillary Clinton's campaign efforts by working on outreach efforts from Clinton's headquarters in Brooklyn.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: On December 15, 2021, President Joe Biden announced that he intended to nominate Kwan to be United States Ambassador to Belize. She was formally nominated on January 7, 2022. Hearings on the nomination were held before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 18, 2022. Her nomination was reported favorably by the committee on June 9, 2022. She was confirmed by the Senate with a voice vote on September 29, 2022. She received her appointment on October 7 and was sworn in on October 10, 2022. She presented her credentials to Governor-General of Belize Dame Froyla Tzalam on December 5, 2022.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan has guest-starred as herself in "Homer and Ned's Hail Mary Pass", an episode of "The Simpsons", and in the "Family Guy" episode "A Hero Sits Next Door". She has also made guest star appearances in "Arthur", "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch", and various other television series. She provided the voice of a shopkeeper in Disney's direct-to-DVD sequel "Mulan II", She also did the voice of a fictionalized version of herself called Michelle Kwanzleberry in the series finale of Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! in 2010, and she and fellow figure skater Brian Boitano appeared as announcers in the film "Ice Princess".


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In 1998, Kwan struck a deal with Walt Disney Television that led to her starring in 3 prime-time skating specials on ABC: "Reflections on Ice" in 1998 (an ice skating adaptation of the Disney film Mulan, based on the Chinese legend), "Michelle Kwan skates to Disney's Greatest Hits" in 1999, and "Princess on Ice" in 2001, the last special featuring performances by pop bands O-Town and Shedaisy. She also appeared in various other televised skating specials throughout her career.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In 1999, she appeared in the "Michelle Kwan Figure Skating" computer game, released by Electronic Arts.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Scholastic published an autobiography by Kwan in 1998, titled "Heart of a Champion", which is now in its sixth printing.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In 1999, Kwan signed with Disney Publishing Worldwide for an 8-book deal which included an inspirational book for children titled, "The Winning Attitude: What it Takes to be a Champion", as well as a series of fictional skating books inspired by Kwan and written by Nola Thacker called "Michelle Kwan presents Skating Dreams".


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In 2005, Kwan's family opened the EastWest Ice Palace in Artesia, California. The ice rink houses many of her skating medals and memorabilia.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In January 2009, Kwan was appointed a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports by George W. Bush, a role which she had continued into the Obama administration.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan has been a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, taking part in "unified sports" events, which bring together athletes with intellectual disabilities and without. In 2011, she was added to the board of directors for the Special Olympics.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan has had many endorsement contracts throughout her career, including Aim Funds, Campbell's, Caress soap (Unilever), Chevrolet, Coca-Cola, Disney, East West Bank, Got milk?, Kraft, Mattel, Maxxis, McDonald's, Minute Maid, Riedell Skates, Royal Caribbean International, Starbucks, United Airlines, Visa, and Yoplait.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan's multi-year deal with Chevrolet (starting in 2000) was estimated to be worth over $1 million. The Chevrolet/Michelle Kwan R.E.W.A.R.D.S. Scholarship program was established by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors in cooperation with Kwan.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In 2002, Kwan was named a "celebrity representative" and spokeswoman for The Walt Disney Company in a three-year deal reported to be worth $1 million a year. This deal was renewed and expanded in 2006.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In September 2012, Kwan announced her engagement to Clay Pell, an American lawyer, military officer and former director for strategic planning on the National Security staff at the White House. In February 2014, he declared his candidacy for Governor of Rhode Island. He was unsuccessful in his bid. Pell is the grandson of the late Rhode Island Senator Claiborne Pell. The couple, who met in April 2011, were married on January 19, 2013, in Providence, Rhode Island. Vera Wang designed Kwan's wedding gown.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: After four years of marriage, Pell filed for divorce from Kwan in March 2017 in California. Kwan learned of Pell's filing without warning via a tweet that was soon followed by an online article in the "New York Daily News". A day later, Kwan filed for divorce from Pell in Rhode Island citing irreconcilable differences; Kwan attempted to serve Pell directly ten times in March and April 2017 but was unsuccessful. She eventually had to post the documents on the front door.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: The couple have no children together but did acquire multiple assets during the union. Complicating matters was that Pell filed in California, a community property state, but Rhode Island, where the couple was married and Kwan filed her petition, is not.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Kwan worked as a surrogate to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign as an outreach coordinator. When asked why she decided to join the campaign she explained, "There was no way that I could sit on the sidelines and watch it without getting involved. It was a very quick decision."


title: Michelle Kwan

text: She added that, for her, supporting Clinton was a no-brainer, given her family's own immigrant history. "Every day I'm reminded about my personal story, about what's at stake in these elections. I think of my parents, and as I look around the room, we probably share similar stories, of how our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents might have immigrated to the U.S. It's so the next generation of Americans have the ability to dream that dream."


title: Michelle Kwan

text: In May 2021, it was announced that Kwan would executive produce "Recipe for Change" for YouTube alongside LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Dennis Cheng, Jamal Henderson and Philip Byron. The special, set to air June 16, 2021 and produced by the SpringHill Company, brings together Asian American celebrities, chefs, activists, and creators to celebrate Asian and Pacific Islanders culture and discuss the recent and historic acts of hate and violence against the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders community. "Recipe for Change" was nominated for "Outstanding Daytime Special" at the 49th Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards.


title: Michelle Kwan

text: Major events for Olympic-eligible skaters include the World Figure Skating Championships, the Olympic Winter Games, the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, and for American skaters, the U.S. Championships. Kwan's record in these events is listed by season in the tables below. Competitive outings.


title: G.I.

text: G.I. are initials used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Air Force and general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of "Government Issue", "General Issue", or "Ground Infantry", and was used by the logistics services of the United States Armed Forces.


title: G.I.

text: During World War I, American soldiers sardonically referred to incoming German artillery shells as "G.I. cans". Also during that war, "G.I." started being interpreted as "Government Issue" or "General Issue" for the general items of equipment of soldiers and airmen. The term "G.I." came into widespread use in the United States with the start of the Selective Service System ("the draft") in 1940, extending into 1941. It gradually replaced the term "Doughboy" that was used in World War I and the use of "G.I." expanded from 1942 through 1945. American five-star General Dwight D. Eisenhower said in 1945 that "the truly heroic figure of this war [is] G.I. Joe and his counterpart in the air, the navy, and the Merchant Marine of every one of the United Nations".


title: G.I.

text: "G.I." was also used as an adjective for anything having to do with the U.S. Army or Army Air Forces.


title: G.I.

text: "They Call Me Joe" was a series of radio dramas aired in 1944. Each episode focused on a different fictional American soldier. A soldier of a different national or ethnic origin was selected for each episode, but he was always identified as a G.I. named Joe. The series was intended to encourage Americans of varying backgrounds to cooperate to win World War II. It was produced by the NBC University of the Air, which also produced a series The World's Great Novels. The series ran for twelve weeks and aired both on the NBC Radio Network and the Armed Forces Radio Network.


title: G.I.

text: "G.I. Joe", an action figure, was introduced by Hasbro in 1964. Its name comes from the term used to describe soldiers during the war.


title: G.I.

text: In British military parlance and in armed forces modelled on British military traditions, G.I. refers to a Gunnery Instructor (generally an NCO responsible for inducting and training recruits).


title: Before Midnight

text: Before Midnight is a 2013 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The sequel to "Before Sunrise" (1995) and "Before Sunset" (2004), it is the third installment in the "Before" trilogy. The film follows Jesse (Hawke) and Céline (Delpy), now a couple, as they spend a summer vacation in Greece with their children.


title: Before Midnight

text: Linklater, Hawke, and Delpy began developing a third film in 2011, wishing to replicate the nine-year gap between the first two installments. Principal photography began in August 2012, and took place entirely on the Peloponnese coast in Southern Greece, including the Kardamyli home once owned by author Patrick Leigh Fermor. Like its predecessors, "Before Midnight" has a minimal plot, with considerable screentime devoted to extended conversations between the characters.


title: Before Midnight

text: "Before Midnight" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2013. It began a domestic limited release on May 24, 2013, and went on general release on June 14, 2013. It grossed $23 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film in the trilogy. It received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its exploration of romance and age, its screenplay, Linklater's direction, and acting performances. The film garnered many accolades and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Delpy.


title: Before Midnight

text: Nine years since rekindling their relationship, Jesse and Céline have become parents to twin girls. Jesse reflects on his inability to maintain his relationship with his teenage son, Hank. Hank flies home to Chicago after vacationing with the couple and their children on the Greek Peloponnese peninsula, and lives with his mother, Jesse's ex-wife.


title: Before Midnight

text: Jesse is a successful novelist, while Céline is at a career crossroads, considering a job with the French government. The couple discuss their concerns over Hank, as well as Céline's career, and reflect on love and life over dinner with friends. Their friends pay for a hotel room for the couple; while walking to the hotel, Jesse and Céline reminisce about their initial meetings, and wonder if they would become a couple if they met in their present state.


title: Before Midnight

text: After reaching the hotel, they begin to get intimate but are interrupted by a phone call from Hank, who seems to have bonded with Céline more than Jesse. They eventually have a fierce argument, expressing fears about the strength of their relationship. Jesse wants them to consider moving to Chicago so he can be closer to Hank, which Céline thinks will cost her any chance of a career outside her family. During the argument, Céline leaves and returns twice. Then she tells Jesse she thinks she no longer loves him.


title: Before Midnight

text: Céline leaves their room the third time and sits alone in the hotel's outdoor restaurant. Jesse joins her and jokes that he is a time traveler (referencing their first meeting), bringing her a letter from her 82-year-old self, describing this night as one of the best of their lives. Unamused, Céline says their fantasies will never match the imperfect reality. Jesse says while their love may be imperfect, it is real. After a moment, Céline joins in Jesse's joke, and the two reconcile.


title: Before Midnight

text: Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy had all discussed doing a sequel to "Before Sunset" (or the third in a trilogy). In November 2011, Hawke said that he, Delpy and Linklater


title: Before Midnight

text: "have been talking a lot in the last six months. All three of us have been having similar feelings, that we're kind of ready to revisit those characters. There's nine years between the first two movies and, if we made the film next summer, it would be nine years again, so we started thinking that would be a good thing to do. So we're going to try and write it this year."


title: Before Midnight

text: In June 2012, Hawke confirmed that the sequel to "Before Sunset" would be filmed that summer. Soon after, Delpy denied filming would take place that year. By that August, numerous reports emerged from Messenia, Greece, that the film was being shot there. The completion of the sequel, "Before Midnight", was announced on September 5, 2012. Linklater said that, after ten weeks of writing and rehearsing, the film was made in 15 days for less than $3 million. He announced plans to premiere the film at a festival in early 2013.


title: Before Midnight

text: "Before Midnight" premiered on January 20, 2013, at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. It had its international premiere out of competition at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.


title: Before Midnight

text: The film opened to general audiences on May 24, 2013, at five theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin, Texas. It was released wide in 897 theaters on June 14, 2013.


title: Before Midnight

text: The film grossed $8,110,621 domestically and $15,141,309 internationally, for a worldwide gross of $23,251,930.


title: Before Midnight

text: Like the previous entry of the trilogy, "Before Midnight" received widespread critical acclaim. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 98% based on reviews from 203 critics, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The site's consensus is: "Building on the first two installments in Richard Linklater's well-crafted Before trilogy, "Before Midnight" offers intelligent, powerfully acted perspectives on love, marriage, and long-term commitment." Metacritic gives the film a score of 94 out of 100, based on reviews from 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It was listed as the third-best film of the year after "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity". It was the second-best reviewed film of 2013 according to Rotten Tomatoes, after Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity".


title: Before Midnight

text: According to "Total Film"s Philip Kemp, "As with its two predecessors — and with the films of French New Wave director Éric Rohmer, presiding deity of this kind of cinema—"Midnight"'s essentially a film about people talking. But when the talk's this good, this absorbing and revealing and witty and true, who's going to complain?... [It's a] more-than-worthy, expectation-exceeding chapter in one of modern cinema's finest love stories. As honest, convincing, funny, intimate and natural as its predecessors."


title: Before Midnight

text: Perry Seibert of AllMovie also praised the film, writing: "The screenwriting trio fill the movie with long, discursive conversations (there are only two scenes in the first 20 minutes) that feel utterly improvised when they are performed, but are far too deftly structured to be anything other than the work of consummate artists." Eric Kohn, from "Indiewire", gave the film a rave review, adding it to his list of Top 10 Films of 2013. He wrote that "With "Before Midnight", Richard Linklater has completed one of the finest movie trilogies of all time." Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" called the film "intimate and intelligent".


title: Opinion polling for the next Polish parliamentary election

text: In the run up to the next Polish parliamentary election, various organisations carry out opinion polling to gauge voting intention in Poland. Results of such polls are displayed in this article. The date range for these opinion polls are from the 2019 Polish parliamentary election, held on 13 October, to the present day. The next general election is scheduled to be held not later than November 2023.


text: Poll results are listed in the tables below in reverse chronological order, showing the most recent first, and using the date the survey's fieldwork was done, as opposed to the date of publication. If such date is unknown, the date of publication is given instead. The highest percentage figure in each polling survey is displayed in bold, and the background shaded in the leading party's colour. In the instance that there is a tie, then no figure is shaded. The lead column on the right shows the percentage-point difference between the two parties with the highest figures. When a specific poll does not show a data figure for a party, the party's cell corresponding to that poll is shown empty.


text: Following set of projections is the result of continuous simulations carried out by Election Research Team of University of Lodz. The simulations use models of the spatial distribution of votes for individual parties, based on historical data.


title: Micheal Ward

text: Micheal Ward (born 18 November 1997) is a Jamaican-British actor and former model. His films include "Blue Story" (2018) and "The Old Guard" (2020). On television, he appeared in "Top Boy" and "The A List". Ward was awarded the 2020 BAFTA Rising Star Award.


title: Micheal Ward

text: Micheal Ward was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica on 18 November 1997 to then 18-year-old mother Keisha. He has three sisters. His father was killed in a car crash when he was two years old.


title: Micheal Ward

text: Ward then moved to Hackney, East London with his mother and sister at the age of four, with the help of his aunt and uncle who ran a Caribbean restaurant in Chadwell Heath. The family later moved to Romford. He attended Chadwell Heath Academy and then studied performing arts at Epping Forest College after dropping out of sixth form. He worked delivering food for his aunt’s restaurant as a teenager and then later worked at a bookmakers shop.


title: Micheal Ward

text: Ward began his career while he was at college when he signed with the talent agency. Through the agency, he landed roles in music videos for artists such as Lily Allen and Tom Walker.


title: Micheal Ward

text: At the age of seventeen, Ward won the Face of JD Sports modelling competition. He has since modelled a number of brands and was handpicked by Virgil Abloh to model for Louis Vuitton's AW20 menswear campaign in August 2020.


title: Micheal Ward

text: Ward made his film debut in "Brotherhood" in 2016. He starred in the first series of the teen thriller "The A List" on BBC iPlayer in 2018 and reprised his role for its second series on Netflix. Ward's breakout year came in 2019, when he starred as Jamie in Netflix's revival and third series of "Top Boy". He also appeared in a leading role in the film "Blue Story" in the same year. The film received critical acclaim, and Ward won the BAFTA Rising Star Award for his performance.


title: Micheal Ward

text: Ward appeared in Steve McQueen’s "Small Axe: Lovers Rock" in 2020, for which he received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. He was cast alongside Bill Nighy in the upcoming film "The Beautiful Game".


title: Micheal Ward

text: Ward is to star alongside Olivia Colman, Colin Firth and Tanya Moodie in Sam Mendes' 2022 film "Empire Of Light". The film is due for release in the USA in December 2022, with the release in the UK slated for January 2023.


title: Micheal Ward

text: Ward is an Arsenal fan. He went to school with the English professional footballer Rhian Brewster. Ward was named in Forbes 30 under 30 list in 2020. Ward became a British citizen in 2015.


title: John Romero

text: Alfonso John Romero (born October 28, 1967) is an American director, designer, programmer, and developer in the video game industry. He is best known as a co-founder of id Software and designer for many of their games, including "Wolfenstein 3D", "Dangerous Dave", "", "Doom, Doom II" and "Quake". His game designs and development tools, along with new programming techniques created and implemented by id Software's lead programmer John D. Carmack, led to a mass popularization of the first-person shooter, or FPS, in the 1990s. He is credited with coining the FPS multiplayer term "deathmatch".


title: John Romero

text: Romero was born on October 28, 1967, six weeks premature in Colorado Springs, Colorado. When asked about his background, Romero claimed that "one grandparent was Yaqui, another Mexican, and another Cherokee". His mother Ginny met Alfonso Antonio Romero when they were teenagers in Tucson, Arizona. Alfonso, a first-generation Mexican American, was a maintenance man at an air force base, spending his days fixing air conditioners and heating systems. After Alfonso and Ginny got married, they headed in a 1948 Chrysler with three hundred dollars to Colorado, hoping their interracial relationship would thrive in more tolerant surroundings.


title: John Romero

text: Among Romero's early influences, the arcade game "Space Invaders" (1978), with its "shoot the alien" gameplay, introduced him to video games. Namco's maze chase arcade game "Pac-Man" (1980) had the biggest influence on his career, as it was the first game that got him "thinking about game design." Nasir Gebelli (Sirius Software, Squaresoft) was his favorite programmer and a major inspiration, with his fast 3D programming work for Apple II games, such as the shooters "Horizon V" (1981) and "Zenith" (1982), influencing his later work at id Software. Other influences include programmer Bill Budge, Shigeru Miyamoto's "Super Mario" games, and the fighting games "Street Fighter II", "Fatal Fury", "Art of Fighting" and "Virtua Fighter".


title: John Romero

text: John Romero started programming games on an Apple II he got in 1980. His first developed game was a "Crazy Climber" clone, but it was not published. His first published game, "Scout Search", appeared in the June 1984 issue of "inCider magazine", a popular Apple II magazine during the 1980s. Romero's first company, Capitol Ideas Software, was listed as the developer for at least 12 of his earliest published games. Romero captured the December cover of the Apple II magazine "Nibble" for three years in a row starting in 1987. He entered a programming contest in "A+" magazine during its first year of publishing with his game "Cavern Crusader". The first game Romero created that was eventually published was "Jumpster" in "UpTime". "Jumpster" was created in 1983 and published in 1987, making "Jumpster" his earliest created, then published, game.


title: John Romero

text: Romero's first industry job was at Origin Systems in 1987 after programming games for eight years. He worked on the Apple II to Commodore 64 port of "2400 A.D.", which was eventually scrapped due to slow sales of the Apple II version. Romero then moved onto "Space Rogue", a game by Paul Neurath. During this time, Romero was asked if he would be interested in joining Paul's soon-to-start company Blue Sky Productions, eventually renamed Looking Glass Technologies. Instead, Romero left Origin Systems to co-found a game company named Inside Out Software, where he ported "" from the Apple II to the Commodore 64. He had almost finished the Commodore 64 to Apple II port of "Tower Toppler", but Epyx unexpectedly cancelled all its ports industrywide due to their tremendous investment in the first round of games for the upcoming Atari Lynx. During this short time, Romero did the artwork for the Apple IIGS version of "Dark Castle", a port from the Macintosh. During this time, John and his friend Lane Roathe co-founded a company named Ideas from the Deep and wrote versions of a game called "Zappa Roidz" for the Apple II, PC and Apple IIGS. Their last collaboration was an Apple II disk operating system (InfoDOS) for Infocom's games "Zork Zero", "", "Shogun" and "Journey".


title: John Romero

text: Romero moved to Shreveport, Louisiana in March 1989 and joined Softdisk as a programmer in its Special Projects division. After several months of helping the PC monthly disk magazine "Big Blue Disk", he officially moved into the department until he started a PC games division in July 1990 named 'Gamer's Edge' (originally titled PCRcade). Romero hired John D. Carmack into the department from his freelancing in Kansas City, moved Adrian Carmack into the division from Softdisk's art department, and persuaded Tom Hall to come in at night and help with game design. Romero and the others then left Softdisk in February 1991 to form id Software.


title: John Romero

text: Romero worked at id Software from its inception in 1991 until 1996. He was involved in the creation of several milestone games, including "Commander Keen", "Wolfenstein 3D", "Doom", "" and "Quake". He served as executive producer (and game designer) on "Heretic" and "". He designed most of the first episode of "Doom", a quarter of the levels in "Quake", and half the levels in "Commander Keen" and "Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny". He wrote many of the tools used at id Software to create their games, including DoomEd (level editor), QuakeEd (level editor), DM (for deathmatch launching), DWANGO client (to connect the game to DWANGO's servers), TED5 (level editor for the "Commander Keen" series, "Wolfenstein 3D: Spear of Destiny"), IGRAB (for grabbing assets and putting them in WAD files), the installers for all the games up to and including "Quake", the SETUP program used to configure the games, and several others. In his keynote speech at WeAreDevelopers Conference 2017, Romero named this period Turbo Mode, in which he emphasizes having created 28 games, in 5.5 years with a team consisting of fewer than 10 developers.


title: John Romero

text: In level 30 of "Doom II", "Icon of Sin", the boss is supposed to be a giant demon head with a fragment missing from its forehead. When first viewing the demon, a distorted and demonic message is played, which is actually John Romero saying "To win the game, you must kill me, John Romero!", reversed and distorted to sound like a demonic chant. One can use the "noclip" cheat to enter the boss and see Romero's severed head which is skewered on a post. The player defeats the boss (without the noclip cheat) by shooting rockets into its exposed brain after activating a lift and riding it. Romero's head functions as its hit detection point; when he "dies", the boss is killed and the game is finished. In the 2013 IGN "Doom" playthrough to celebrate "Doom" 20th anniversary, Romero shared the backstory behind the inclusion of his head as the final boss and the reversed sound effect – they were both a result of in-joke pranking between development team members.