Julio Bécquer Villegas (December 20, 1931 – November 1, 2020) was a Cuban-born American professional baseball player, a first baseman who played in 488 games over seven seasons (1955; 1957–61; 1963) for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels  of Major League Baseball. A native of Havana, he batted and threw left-handed; Bécquer stood  tall and weighed  during his active career.

Bécquer attended the University of Havana. His pro baseball career began in the Washington organization in 1952 and he made his MLB debut with the Washington Senators in September , getting into ten games, with one start as a first baseman, and collecting three hits in 14 at bats.  He spent 1956 with the Triple-A Louisville Colonels, where he belted 15 home runs but posted only a .235 batting average. Bécquer then spent four full seasons with the Senators.  Although he appeared in 100 or more games three times (; –60) only in 1960 was he Washington's regular first baseman.  That season, the last of the "original" Senators' 60 years in Washington, he set personal bests in games played (110), hits (75) and runs batted in (35).  At the expansion draft that followed in December, he was left unprotected and was taken as the 49th player selected by the new Los Angeles Angels franchise.

For the  Angels, Bécquer appeared in nine games as a defensive replacement and pinch hitter and went hitless in eight at bats.  On May 10, with MLB teams cutting their rosters from 28 to 25 men, he was acquired by the Philadelphia Phillies' Buffalo Bisons Triple-A affiliate.  Bécquer never appeared for the Phils at the Major League level; instead, on June 2 he was sold to his original MLB team, renamed the Minnesota Twins, where he appeared in 57 games, 18 at first base, and batted .238 with five home runs, a career high.  On July 4, 1961, he hit a pinch hit, walk-off grand slam home run off Warren Hacker of the Chicago White Sox on a 1–1 count with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Bécquer spent all of 1962, and most of , in minor league baseball. But late in the 1963 campaign, Calvin Griffith, the president and majority owner of the Twins, purchased Bécquer's contract from the Mexican League and placed him on the Twins' roster so that he could qualify for his MLB pension. Bécquer's only big-league appearance in 1963, his last in the majors, came when he pinch-ran for catcher Earl Battey September 18, and scored his final MLB run.  Altogether, Bécquer notched 238 hits, including 37 doubles, 16 triples, 12 homers and 114 RBI, batting .244 lifetime. He finished his career with a .993 fielding percentage at first base.

Bécquer retired from the game after the 1964 minor-league season and lived in Minneapolis. He died from COVID-19 at an assisted living facility in Hopkins, on November 1, 2020, at the age of 88.

References

External links

1931 births
2020 deaths
Águilas de Mexicali players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Cuban expatriate baseball players in Mexico
Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States
Diablos Rojos del México players
Drummondville Cubs players
Havana Cubans players
Havana Sugar Kings players
Los Angeles Angels players
Louisville Colonels (minor league) players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball players from Cuba
Minnesota Twins players
San Diego Padres (minor league) players
Baseball players from Havana
Vancouver Mounties players
Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota

Julio Bécquer


Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute (SUUSI) is an intergenerational community of approximately 1,000 people who gather each July. They describe themselves as a Unitarian Universalist (UU) summer camp.  People attending SUUSI predominantly abide by the teachings of Unitarian Universalism, but many participants belong to other denominations or faiths. Attendees range in age from newborn to elderly.

Mission
The mission of SUUSI is to provide a one-week experience evoking the best within us, in concert with Unitarian Universalist principles. SUUSI offers the opportunity to share an intergenerational environment of love, personal freedom, ethics, and joy in an intentional, nonjudgmental community.

History
In early 1950, some thirty-five individuals gathered "to share in joyful community" at Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina. Since 1990 it took place on the campus of Virginia Tech, in Blacksburg, but in 2008 it returned to the college campus of Radford University in Radford, Virginia, where it had been held previously. In 2016 SUUSI returned to North Carolina moving to the campus of Western Carolina University in Cullowhee.

Activities

Spirituality
Many people attend SUUSI for its spiritual impact. Daily programming includes minister-led morning talks as well as evening worship services.

Workshops
Taught entirely by volunteers, SUUSI workshops cover a range of topics, including art, history, science, technology, politics, religion and culture.

Nature
Many participants take nature trips to experience the local environment in all its biodiversity. These trips may focus on local trails, caves, rivers or terrain; likewise, they may focus on specific wildflowers, trees, animals, insects, etc. SUUSI nature trips practice a Leave No Trace (LNT) outdoor ethics.

Nightlife
SUUSI's evening programming includes nightly performances and events. Typical offerings include cabarets, talent shows, dance venues (restricted by age), a coffeehouse lounge and movie nights. SUUSI frequently attracts professional-level entertainers for nightly performance.

Governance
SUUSI is an independent, incorporated, not-for-profit organization governed by its bylaws and policy manual. SUUSI has a 14-member Board of Trustees, of which 11 are voting members. The Board chooses the Director of the Institute and approves the operating budget. Board positions are both elected and appointed. Unitarian Universalist churches are organized into regional districts. Several SUUSI Board positions are appointed by the three southeastern UU district boards. At large and youth representatives are elected at SUUSI. SUUSI is a member of the Council of Unitarian Universalist Camps and Conferences.

Operations
The Core Staff is composed of the Director and staff leaders who coordinate the numerous departments and activities associated with this one-week Institute and camp. Departments include Communications, Denominational Affairs, Equipment, Locations, Nature, Nightlife, Registration/Housing, Teens, Treasurer, Workshops, Youth and Young Adults. In addition, approximately 150 SUUSI attendees complete the totally volunteer staff needed to manage all the camp activities. All SUUSI staff members report to a Core Staff member, ultimately reporting to the Director, who in turn reports to the above mentioned board.

See also

Unitarian Universalist Association

References

External links
SUUSI official site
Council of Unitarian Camps and Conferences (CU2C2)

Virginia Tech
Summer camps in Virginia
Unitarian Universalist organizations
Religious organizations based in the United States
Religious organizations established in 1950
1950 establishments in Virginia


The Adam's apple or laryngeal prominence is the protrusion in the human neck formed by the angle of the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx, typically visible in men, less frequently in women. The prominence of the Adam's apple increases as a secondary male sex characteristic in puberty.

Structure

The topographic structure which is externally visible and colloquially called the "Adam's apple" is caused by an anatomical structure of the thyroid cartilage called the laryngeal prominence or laryngeal protuberance protruding and forming a "bump" under the skin at the front of the throat. All human beings with a normal anatomy have a laryngeal protuberance of the thyroid cartilage. This prominence is typically larger and more externally noticeable in adult males. There are two reasons for this phenomenon. Firstly, the structural size of the thyroid cartilage in males tends to increase during puberty, and the laryngeal protuberance becomes more anteriorly focused. Secondly, the larynx, which the thyroid cartilage partially envelops, increases in size in male subjects during adolescence, moving the thyroid cartilage and its laryngeal protuberance towards the front of the neck. The adolescent development of both the larynx and the thyroid cartilage in males occur as a result of hormonal changes, especially the normal increase in testosterone production in adolescent males. In females, the laryngeal protuberance sits on the upper edge of the thyroid cartilage, and the larynx tends to be smaller in size, and so the "bump" caused by protrusion of the laryngeal protuberance is much less visible or not discernible. Even so, many women display an externally visible protrusion of the thyroid cartilage, an "Adam's apple", to varying degrees which are usually minor, and this should not normally be viewed as a medical disorder.

Function
The Adam's apple, in relation with the thyroid cartilage which forms it, helps protect the walls and the frontal part of the larynx, including the vocal cords (which are located directly behind it).

Another function of the Adam's apple is related to the deepening of the voice. During adolescence, the thyroid cartilage grows together with the larynx. Consequently, the laryngeal prominence grows in size mainly in men. Together, a larger soundboard is made up in phonation apparatus and, as a result, men get a deeper voice note.

Society and culture

While both men and women can possess an Adam's apple, the larger frequency of its appearance in men has led to the perception of the Adam's apple as an indicator of masculinity. As such, transgender women may choose to undergo cosmetic surgery to remove it from their necks, a process known as chondrolaryngoplasty, or colloquially as a "tracheal shave". Transgender men may choose to augment and thereby enlarge the Adam's apple, a process known as masculinization.

Chondrolaryngoplasty surgery is effective, and studies done by surgeons in Tel Aviv and Los Angeles have demonstrated complications to be few and, if present, transient.

There is also an additional surgery available, feminization laryngoplasty, also known as "FemLar", which can safely reduce the Adam's Apple to an extent greater than that which can be accomplished by a tracheal shave, given it explicitly operates on the vocal cords within the Adam's Apple as opposed to avoiding them.  However, feminization laryngoplasty is a reconstructive surgery that carries additional risks and has a very strong feminizing effect on the voice that may or may not be desirable to the patient.  There are also far fewer practitioners who are known to be currently performing FemLar as it is far newer than the tracheal shave procedure.

Etymology

The English term "Adam's apple" is a calque of Latin , which is found in European medical texts from as early as 1600.  "Adam's Apple" is found in a 1662 English translation of Thomas Bartholin's 1651 work Anatomia.

The 1662 citation includes an explanation for the origin of the phrase: a piece of forbidden fruit was supposedly embedded in the throat of Adam, who according to the Abrahamic religions was the first man:   This etymology is also proposed by Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable and the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary. The story is not found in the Bible or other Judeo-Christian or Islamic writings.

Linguist Alexander Gode proposed in 1968 that the Latin phrase  (literally: 'Adam's apple') was a mistranslation of the Hebrew " meaning 'male bump.  The confusion was supposedly due to the fact that in the Hebrew language the proper name "Adam" () literally means "man", and the word for "apple", "tapuach", is similar to the word "" which means "swollen", thus in combination: the swelling of a man.

The medical term "prominentia laryngea" (laryngeal prominence) was introduced by the Basle Nomina Anatomica in 1895.

In the American South, "goozle" is used colloquially to describe the Adam's apple, likely derived from guzzle.

Additional images

See also

Hyoid bone

References

External links

 Lesson 11 at The Anatomy Lesson by Wesley Norman (Georgetown University)

Adam and Eve
Eponyms in anatomy
Human head and neck
Secondary sexual characteristics

Adam's apple


Kilclooney More (, meaning church of the pasture) is a townland in the northwest of Ireland in coastal County Donegal. It is situated halfway between Narin and Ardara at the R261 on the Loughrea Peninsula.

Megalithic tombs
Kilclooney More belongs to the low-lying land in the west of County Donegal that is prominent for its concentration of court and portal tombs. In the Neolithic period this land was fertile due to a warmer and drier climate, supporting farming communities who crafted ceramics and built tombs which are still described as 'magnificent'.

Portal tomb Dg. 68

The smaller portal tomb of Kilclooney More is located west of the R261, in a shallow basin north of the Abberachrin River. The eastern portal stone is missing but otherwise the tomb is well preserved. The chamber is comparatively small, measuring 1.45m × 1.2m, pointed in SSE direction. It is referred to as  by Eamon Cody.

Court tomb Dg. 69

The court tomb  is located north of the portal tomb  and likewise west of the R261 on flat moorland above the basin on a small hill that provides a commanding outlook in all directions. The gallery of the monument has a length of c. 6m and a width of 2.0 to 2.5m with three orthostats on each side. There are no surviving traces of a segmentation into chambers but de Valera assumes that the tomb consisted of two chambers. A heavy lintel that still resides on the side stones appears to be displaced and reversed in consideration of an 18th-century drawing that shows the lintel above the front of the gallery. Another lintel appears to be fallen and rests in front.

Portal tomb Dg. 70
East of the R261 on rough moorland is the larger portal tomb  with two chambers, 9m apart, and a modern field wall in-between. The north-eastern chamber has a roof stone with a length of 4.2m which rests on two portal stones, both of 1.8m height, and a very small pad-stone which in turn rests on the backstone of 1.3m height. The smaller, south-western chamber has portal stones of 1m height. The roof stone with a length of 1.9m is partly dislodged. The sill stone between the portal stones has a rectangular piece missing, a feature that is shared with the portal tombs of Poulnabrone, Ballybrittas, and Tawnatruffaun. Most of the stones are from grey granite outcrops in close vicinity to the tomb. The backstone in red Ardara granite stands in a stark contrast to the overall grey, it originates possibly from a cliffy extrusion 200m south of the tomb.

The poorly-preserved cairn has a long shape with an NNE alignment that extends over 25m. The chambers are in the middle of the cairn with the north-eastern chamber 5m inside its northern end. The smaller chamber faces NNE, the larger chamber NE. Like almost all coastal portal tombs in Ireland it is oriented away from the sea with the backstone facing the coast. The combination of a long cairn with a minor chamber as in Kilclooney More and Ballyrennan in County Tyrone is seen by Ó Nualláin as an indication that portal tombs evolved from court tombs.

Multiple sherds of Neolithic pottery, all belonging to one quartz-tempered vessel with fine textures, were found in the larger chamber and are now in the possession of the National Museum of Ireland. Dating of Irish portal tombs is difficult as no radiocarbon dates are available. However, the sherds are assumed to belong to the Lyles Hill series of pottery which can be approximately dated as this kind of pottery has been found close to fireplaces at other sites. In consideration of this context, Arthur ApSimon estimates that portal tombs like those of Kilclooney More belong to a period from 5000 to 4800 BP, i.e. from ca. 3780 to ca. 3550 BC, which falls into the early Neolithic period.

References

External links
 entry at townlands.ie

Townlands of County Donegal
Archaeological sites in County Donegal

Kilclooney More


The Railways Act 1921 (11 & 12 Geo. 5. c. 55), also known as the Grouping Act, was an Act of Parliament enacted by the British government and intended to stem the losses being made by many of the country's 120 railway companies, by "grouping" them into four large companies dubbed the "Big Four". This was intended to move the railways away from internal competition, and retain some of the benefits which the country had derived from a government-controlled railway during and after the Great War of 1914–1918. The provisions of the Act took effect from the start of 1923.

History
The British railway system had been built up by more than a hundred railway companies, large and small, and often, particularly locally, in competition with each other. The parallel railways of the East Midlands and the rivalry between the South Eastern Railway and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway at Hastings were two examples of such local competition.

During the First World War the railways were under state control, which continued until 1921. Complete nationalisation had been considered, and the 1921 Act is sometimes considered as a precursor to that, but the concept was rejected; nationalisation was subsequently carried out after the Second World War, under the Transport Act 1947.

The form of the Act was developed by former North Eastern Railway executive, the Minister of Transport, Eric Geddes. Geddes favoured privately owned regional monopolies through amalgamations, and suggested increased worker participation from pre-war levels. Geddes viewed the pre-war competition as wasteful, but was opposed to nationalisation on the grounds that it led to poor management, as well as a mutually corrupting influence between railway and political interests. In his 9 March 1920 Cabinet paper "Future Transport Policy", he proposed five English groups (Southern, Western, North Western, Eastern and North Eastern), a London passenger group, and separate single groupings for Scotland and Ireland.

Geddes' proposals became the 1920 white paper "Outline of Proposals as to the Future Organisation of Transport Undertakings in Great Britain and their Relation to the State" (Cmd. 787). This suggested the formation of six or seven regional companies; additionally it suggested worker participation on the board of directors of the company. The white paper was opposed by the Railway Companies' Association (RCA) and MPs representing railway companies' interests. The move to greater worker participation was strongly opposed by the RCA, but supported by the Labour Party. Worker-directors were not included in the final act, being replaced by agreed negotiating mechanisms.

In 1921, the white paper "Memorandum on Railways Bill" (Cmd. 1292) suggested four English regional groups and two Scottish groups.

Scottish railway companies wished to be incorporated into British groupings, and the RCA proposed five British regional monopolies including the Scottish businesses.

After consideration of the Railways Bill, it was decided that the Scottish companies, originally destined to be a separate group, would be included with the Midland/North Western and Eastern groups respectively, in order that the three main Anglo-Scottish trunk routes should each be owned by one company for its full length: the West Coast Main Line and the Midland Main Line by the former group, and the East Coast Main Line by the latter.

The Act
The opening paragraph of the Railways Act of 1921 states:

With a view to the reorganisation and more efficient and economical working of the railway system of Great Britain railways shall be formed into groups in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the principal railway companies in each group shall be amalgamated, and other companies absorbed in manner provided by this Act.

Part 1 of the act dealt with the terms and procedure of the amalgamations of railway companies. The constituents and subsidiaries of the four groups were set out in the first schedule of the act. Companies that had not formed an amalgamation scheme by 1923 would be amalgamated under terms decided by a tribunal.

Part 2 dealt with powers and regulation of the railway companies by the Railway and Canal Commission, part 3 dealt with railway rates, charges and conditions of carriage with powers given to a Railway Rates Tribunal, and part 4 with employee wages and conditions.

Parts 5 and 6 dealt with light railways and general clauses respectively, with the general clauses of part 6 including the requirement of the railway companies to provide the Minister of Transport with statistic and financial reports.

The third reading of the Act in the House of Commons took place on 9 August 1921, and was passed with a majority of 237 to 62; the act passed through the House of Lords and the Lords' amendments were accepted by the Commons on 19 August and Royal Assent given. The state control of the railways which began under war conditions during World War I were to continue under the Ministry of Transport Act 1919 for a further two years.

The Act took effect on 1 January 1923. On that date most of the mergers took place; some had taken place during the previous year. The February 1923 issue of The Railway Magazine dubbed the new companies as "The Big Four of the New Railway Era".

Lines outside the Act
A number of joint railways remained outside the Big Four, continuing to be operated jointly by the successor companies. These included the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN), a London, Midland and Scottish Railway/London and North Eastern Railway joint line in eastern England, the largest of the joint railways in terms of route mileage; the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC), LMS/LNER joint line in Lancashire and Cheshire, largest in terms of both passenger and freight traffic; and the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR), a joint LMS/SR line in south-western England.

The London suburban railway companies, such as the Underground Electric Railways Company of London and the Metropolitan Railway, were also excluded. Later legislation under the London Passenger Transport Act 1933 amalgamated these and London area bus and tram operations into the London Passenger Transport Board (see List of transport undertakings transferred to the London Passenger Transport Board).

Other exempted railways were light railways authorised under the Light Railways Act 1896, and similar lines, although some such lines still chose to join the groups. Those lines staying independent were principally those under the influence of Colonel Stephens, who had been instrumental in securing the necessary exemption.

See also
UK enterprise law
List of railway companies involved in the 1923 Grouping
UK labour law
History of rail transport in Great Britain 1923–1947
The four groups listed in the act, later known as the "Big Four" companies:
 The Southern Group, see Southern Railway (SR)
 The Western Group, see Great Western Railway (GWR)
 The North Western, Midland, and West Scottish Group, see London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS)
 The North Eastern, Eastern, and East Scottish Group, see London and North Eastern Railway (LNER)

Notes

References

E McGaughey, 'Votes at Work in Britain: Shareholder Monopolisation and the 'Single Channel' (2018) 47(1) Industrial Law Journal 76

External links
, retrospective on Railway Gazette articles relating to the grouping

Railway Acts
1921 in British law
United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1921
1921 in rail transport
Transport policy in the United Kingdom
August 1921 events

Railways Act 1921


Arthur Wesley Carr KCVO (26 July 1941 – 15 July 2017) was an Anglican priest who was the Dean of Westminster from 1997 to 2006.

Early life
Carr was educated at Dulwich College and then at Jesus College, Oxford. After theological studies at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, he was ordained a deacon in 1967 and a priest in 1968.

Ministry
Carr's first appointment was as a curate at St Mary's Church, Luton (Diocese of St Albans) from 1967 to 1971. He was then a tutor (1970–1971) and a chaplain (1971–1972) at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. While at the University of Sheffield he was an honorary curate at Ranmoor (Diocese of Sheffield) from 1972 to 1974.

From 1974 to 1978, Carr was the chaplain of Chelmsford Cathedral (Diocese of Chelmsford). Until 1982 he was also deputy director of the Cathedral Centre for Research and Training. From 1978 to 1987 he was a canon residentiary of the cathedral. From 1976 to 1984 he was also Diocesan Director of Training. In 1987 Carr left Chelmsford to become Dean of Bristol.

In 1997, he moved to Westminster Abbey, where later that year he officiated at the funeral service of Diana, Princess of Wales. In 2002 he also officiated at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. In 1998, he was at the centre of a controversy over his abrupt dismissal of the abbey's Director of Music, Martin Neary, over accounting practices for professional concerts and recordings occurring outside the abbey. The matter was contested and referred to Lord Jauncey of Tullichettle for determination at the behest of Queen Elizabeth II. While Lord Jauncey's report upheld Neary's dismissal in finding him to be partially at fault, he was careful to note Neary's years of exceptional service and that his actions were not legally wrongful and did not amount to meaningful harm. The finding further criticised the dean and chapter for the manner in which Neary was dismissed, stating that their actions "must score gamma minus on the scale of natural justice" and concluding with the observation that, "had the parties been prepared to discuss openly and frankly the Abbey's concerns, to acknowledge that serious mistakes had been made and to consider the reasons therefor, it might perhaps have been possible to avoid the present unhappy situation with all its attendant publicity and to have reached a rather less dramatic resolution of their differences." The controversy led to the resignation of ex-Speaker of the Commons Bernard Weatherill as High Bailiff and Searcher of the Sanctuary of the Abbey, in protest at the manner in which Carr and the Chapter dealt with Neary's termination.

Carr was made an honorary DLitt of the University of the West of England in Bristol in 1997. On his retirement as Dean of Westminster in 2006 he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) on 17 February. As a priest he had the same precedence as a knight of the relevant order. Carr was the author of a number of books about aspects of the Christian faith.

References

1941 births
2017 deaths
Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford
Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge
Alumni of the University of Sheffield
British monarchy
Church of England deans
Deans of Westminster
Deans of Bristol
People educated at Dulwich College
Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order

Wesley Carr


The Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History () is a natural history museum, located in Bucharest, Romania. It was originally established as the National Museum of Natural History on 3 November 1834. It was renamed in 1933 after Grigore Antipa, who administered the museum for 51 years. He is the scientist who reorganized the museum in the new building, designed by the architect Grigore Cerchez and inaugurated by Carol I of Romania in 1908. It was reopened in 2011 after a $14 million renovation. The museum's collection consists of over 2 million specimens. It is regarded as one of the most prestigious and well organized natural history museums in the world.

Gallery

References

External links

Museums in Bucharest
1834 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Natural history museums in Romania


Arena da Amazônia (Amazon Arena) is a football stadium in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, located on the former site of the Vivaldão stadium.

The stadium has an all-seater capacity of 44,300 and was constructed from 2010 to 2014 as part of Brazil's hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

It hosted matches of the football tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics. During the World Cup, the arena had a limited maximum-capacity of 40,549.

References

Amazonas (Brazil)
Football stadiums in Brazil

Arena da Amazônia


The Don Johnson Memorial Cup, formerly Don Johnson Cup, is the Junior B ice hockey championship for Atlantic Canada, including Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island as of 2014.

From 1982 until 1990 and 1997 until 2013, the Don Johnson Cup was emblematic of the Junior B championship of the Atlantic Provinces of Canada -- Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island.

The cup is named in honour of Don Johnson, a sports enthusiast who dedicated his efforts to the growth of hockey in Atlantic Canada. Johnson, who died in 2012, awarded the first ever Don Johnson Cup in 1982 to his own son, a player for the St. John's Jr. Celtics.

There is no National Championship for Junior B hockey in Canada, similar championships are held in Southern Ontario (Sutherland Cup), Eastern Ontario (Barkley Cup), Quebec (Coupe Dodge), and Western Canada (Keystone Cup)—leaving five teams at the end of each year with a shared claim to being the best Junior B team in Canada.

History
In the 1980s, Newfoundland and Labrador teams dominated the early tournaments. NL teams won five of the first seven Don Johnson Cups. In 1990, the tournament was retired, only to be resurrected a few years later.

Since 2002, the Don Johnson Cup has been dominated by teams from Nova Scotia. From 2003 until 2008, the teams of the NSJHL have won six consecutive Atlantic titles. The streak was broken in 2009 as St. John's of Newfoundland and Labrador eliminated all hopes of a seventh straight Nova Scotia crown. Going into the semi-final round of the Don Johnson Cup, the three NL teams present were 0–6 against PEI's Sherwood Falcons and NS's Cumberland County Cool Blues. In the semi-final, the third seeded St. John's Caps of the St. John's Junior Hockey League upset the second seeded Cumberland County 6–5. The Caps advanced to the final to play the Falcons and upset them 3–2 in overtime to win Newfoundland and Labrador's first Atlantic Jr. B championship in 21 years.

With the passing of Don Johnson, starting with the 2013 tournament, the trophy was renamed the Don Johnson Memorial Cup.

On April 22, 2014, the Casselman Vikings of the Eastern Ontario Junior Hockey League played in Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia and became the first non-Atlantic Canada team to compete at the event. The Vikings would defeat the Fredericton Jr. Caps 6–1 in their debut. The 2014 tournament would also mark the tournament being rebranded from the Atlantic Junior B Championships to the Eastern Canadian Junior B Championships. The Vikings would sweep the event with six wins and no losses. The rebranding did not last long. The 2015 championship was originally slated to take place in Arnprior, Ontario, the first to take place outside of Atlantic Canada. It was instead moved to Tyne Valley, Prince Edward Island with no Eastern Ontario team taking part.

2023 Don Johnson Memorial Cup
2023 Roll of Champions
Regional Champions
Newfoundland - CBN Stars
Nova Scotia - Antigonish Jr B Bulldogs
Prince Edward Island - Kensington Vipers
New Brunswick - Kent Koyotes
Host - Nova Scotia - Liverpool Privateers

Don Johnson Memorial Cup


Pääkaupunki (Finnish for "capital city") is a Finnish political satire comic strip drawn by Tarmo Koivisto. It is published since 1997  on the back page of the Helsingin Sanomat monthly supplement.

Koivisto is more famous for Mämmilä, an ongoing tale about a fictional Finnish village, but during a multi-year hiatus in the series, he started drawing Pääkaupunki on the side.

The comic satirises current Finnish politics very sharply. Unlike traditional political satire comics, Pääkaupunki extrapolates possible future outcomes of today's politics, and takes them to the extreme, creating farcical visions. Most Finnish politicians, particularly Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, are recognisable straight from their face, but the strip sometimes mentions the names of less-known politicians to help readers recognise them. Most of the comic happens in Helsinki (hence the name), but some strips are set in other places.

References

Finnish comic strips
1997 comics debuts
Comics about politics
Satirical comics
Gag-a-day comics

Pääkaupunki


Evangelische Omroep or EO (English: Evangelical Broadcasting) is an Evangelical broadcast television network in Netherlands. It is one of the twelve member-based broadcasting associations contributing to the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system.

History
EO was founded in 1967 by members of Evangelical churches wanting to put more emphasis on evangelism.  The network also organizes conferences for young people and families.

Television programs

 De Kist
 Het Familiediner

Controversies
Documentaries are often edited to reflect EO's creationist convictions. While still being presented as a BBC documentary, The Life of Mammals series was edited to remove material incompatible with young earth creationism, and profanity is regularly edited out of bought-in drama series.

Creationism
The subject of creationism has sparked a number of EO-related controversies. In early 2009, a controversy arose over statements by a leading presenter and former director, Andries Knevel. He considered it possible for a religious person not to believe in the literal interpretation of the biblical creation story (Genesis 1-2). Shortly afterwards Knevel apologized for the highly charged way in which he had made his statements and for the fact that his personal viewpoint could have been interpreted as the official viewpoint of EO.

Arie Boomsma
In 2009 Arie Boomsma, an EO television presenter was suspended for three months after appearing partially undressed in a magazine called L'Homo. Later that year, EO planned to broadcast a new television show called Loopt een man over het water... ("A man walks over the water...") which Boomsma would present. In the show, non-Christian comedians were to be asked to create short sketches about Jesus of Nazareth. The planned show caused so much uproar among EO members that it was cancelled. Soon afterwards Boomsma left EO and joined the Catholic broadcasting association KRO.

Decline in membership
As a result of these and other controversies, the number of subscribing EO members has declined. In March 2010, this led to a member initiative entitled Ik bid en blijf lid (I pray and stay a member) which called upon members of EO to retain their membership and pray that the association will continue to spread God's word in a way that remains true to the Bible.

References

External links
 Official site

Dutch public broadcasting organisations
Netherlands Public Broadcasting
Christian organizations established in 1967
Evangelical organizations established in the 20th century
Dutch-language television networks
Evangelical television networks
Television channels and stations established in 1967

Evangelische Omroep


Widukind of Corvey (c. 925after 973; ) was a medieval Saxon chronicler. His three-volume Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres is an important chronicle of 10th-century Germany (Germania) during the rule of the Ottonian dynasty.

Life

In view of his name, he possibly was a descendant of the Saxon leader and national hero Widukind, mentioned in the Royal Frankish Annals, who had battled Charlemagne in the Saxon Wars from 777 to 785. Widukind the Chronicler entered the Benedictine abbey of Corvey in the Westphalian part of Saxony around 940/42, probably to become a tutor. It is widely assumed that he had reached the age of 15 upon his access, though it has been recently suggested that he may have joined the Order as a child. In 936 Henry the Fowler, the first East Frankish king of the Saxon ducal Ottonian dynasty had died and was succeeded by his son Otto the Great.

Otto's rise as undisputed ruler of a German kingdom against the reluctant dukes made great impression on the Benedictine monk. By his own admission, Widukind first wrote several Christian hagiographies before he began his Res gestae Saxonicae. He dedicated the chronicles to Abbess Matilda of Quedlinburg (c. 955999), daughter of Emperor Otto the Great, like himself a descendant of the Saxon leader Widukind. The annals were written after Otto's coronation by Pope John XII on 2 February 962; however, though both Otto and his father Henry the Fowler are named Imperatores, this incident is not mentioned. After the elevation of Matilda's brother Otto II as co-emperor in 967 and the death of her half-brother Archbishop William of Mainz one year later, the abbess remained the only important member of the Ottonian dynasty in the Saxon lands under regent Hermann Billung; therefore, Widukind may have begun the writing – or started all over again – to create a kind of mirror for princes.

The annals were continued until Otto's death on 7 May 973. Widukind probably died thereafter at Corvey Abbey.

Work

The Res gestae Saxonicae are significant historical accounts of the times of Otto the Great and Henry the Fowler, modelled on the works of the Roman historian Sallust and the deuterocanonical Books of the Maccabees. Widukind wrote as a Saxon, proud of his people and history, beginning his narration not with the Roman Empire but with a brief synopsis derived from the orally-transmitted history of the Saxons and their struggles with the Franks, with a terseness that makes his work difficult to interpret.

Widukind of Corvey starts with the wars between Theuderich I, King of Austrasia, and the Thuringii, in which the Saxons played a large part. An allusion to the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity under Charlemagne brings him to the early Saxon dukes and details of the reign of Henry the Fowler, whose campaigns are referred to in some detail. He omitted Italian events in tracing the career of Henry, nor does he ever mention a pope, but one of the three surviving manuscripts of his Gesta was transcribed in Benevento, the Lombard duchy south of Rome. The second book opens with the election of Otto the Great as German king, treats of the risings against his authority, again omitting events in Italy, and concludes with the death of his first wife Edith of England in 946. In the third book the historian deals with Otto's expedition into France, his troubles with his son Liudolf and his son-in-law, Conrad, Duke of Lorraine, and the various wars in Germany.

A manuscript of Res gestae Saxonicae sive annalium libri tres  was first published in Basel in 1532 and is today in the British Library. There are two other surviving manuscripts. The best edition was published in 1935 by Paul Hirsch and Hans-Eberhard Lohmann in the series Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum editi. A German translation appears in the Quellen zur Geschichte der sächsischen Kaiserzeit published by Albert Bauer and Reinhold Rau in 1971. An English translation is found in an unprinted doctoral dissertation: Raymond F. Wood, The three books of the deeds of the Saxons, by Widukind of Corvey, translated with introduction, notes, and bibliography (University of California, Los Angeles, 1949).

Widukind is also credited with vitae of St Paul and St Thecla doubtless based on the 2nd century Acts of Paul and Thecla, but no traces of them now remain.

References

External links

 An English translation with notes by Raymund F. Wood, The three books of the Deeds of the Saxons, unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, 1949, available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Old Saxony
920s births
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death unknown
10th-century German historians
German male writers
10th-century Saxon people
10th-century writers in Latin

Widukind of Corvey


This article lists and provides a summary of the content of some of those broadcast, print, and other media currently being produced in the Welsh language.

Television

Current channels
S4C broadcasts exclusively in Welsh and has an annual budget of approximately £100 million. BBC Wales and HTV carried some Welsh programmes prior to S4C's formation in 1982 and still produce programmes for the commissioning broadcaster, alongside independent production companies. The station has 3% of the audience share in Wales, which is similar to that of TG4 of Ireland. Up until the digital switchover in March 2010, a bilingual analogue service was broadcast consisting of S4C and Channel 4 programming.

Other television services
S4C's Clic service (the Welsh counterpart of the BBC iPlayer) allows viewers to watch its programmes again - programmes are also available to watch via iPlayer.

The BBC offers Welsh-language commentary on a number of sporting events on BBC One Wales and BBC Two Wales using the red button feature on digital TV. Sky Sports also previously offered a similar service for Wales international football matches.

ITV Local offered Welsh-medium programmes produced by ITV Wales including Y Ddau Ffranc featuring Rhys Ifans and the current affairs programmes Y Byd ar Bedwar and Hacio. Following the demise of ITV Local, the website was relaunched as Y Dydd, but closed shortly afterwards.

Radio

Radio stations entirely in Welsh
BBC Radio Cymru broadcasts a range of news, current affairs, cultural, music and sports programming through the medium of Welsh for 18.5 hours a day. It is similar in size and operation to RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta. The station simulcasts English-language output from BBC Radio 5 Live during overnight hours after closedown.
Cymru FM, an online community station broadcasting exclusively in Welsh.
Radio Beca produces occasional online Welsh programming – the station was initially due to broadcast on FM full-time in Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire but lost its community radio licence in June 2015.

Bilingual radio stations
Capital Cymru broadcasts across Gwynedd and Anglesey with Welsh language programming from 6am to 7pm on weekdays and from 9am to 4pm at weekends. Welsh language music features on the station's playlist 24 hours a day.
Môn FM, a community radio station serving Anglesey and north Gwynedd, broadcasts around 90 hours a week of Welsh, English and bilingual programming.

Radio stations with daily programmes in Welsh
Greatest Hits Radio South Wales airs a Welsh language late show on Sunday - Friday nights along with bilingual news bulletins on weeknights.
Capital North West and Wales operates an opt-out service for the North Wales Coast on 96.3 FM, carrying an hour-long Welsh language programme each weekday.
GTFM, a community radio station in Pontypridd, airs Welsh-medium programmes on Tuesday and Sunday evenings and Saturday mornings with a daily news bulletin in Welsh from BBC Radio Cymru.

Radio stations with weekly programmes in Welsh
BRfm, a community radio station in Brynmawr, broadcasts an hour-long Welsh programme on Monday afternoons.
Radio Carmarthenshire and Radio Pembrokeshire broadcast a joint hour-long Welsh programme on Sunday nights.
Radio Tircoed, a community radio station in the Swansea Valley, broadcasts a Welsh programme on Monday evenings.
Sound Radio, a community radio station in the Vale of Clwyd, broadcasts a Welsh language music show on Monday evenings.
Storm FM, the student radio station for Bangor University, broadcasts weekly news, music and entertainment programmes in Welsh.

Printed media

Newspapers and magazines
Y Cymro – a weekly newspaper (closed in 2017)
Golwg – a weekly news and current affairs magazine.
Barn – a monthly current affairs magazine
Y Faner Newydd – an independent magazine focusing on such topics as broadcasting, literature, history, art, science, and current affairs

Plans for a daily Welsh-language newspaper, Y Byd, were abandoned owing to insufficient funding.

Daily newspapers with Welsh-medium content
Western Mail, National newspaper with regular Welsh-medium columns
Daily Post, North Wales newspaper with regular Welsh-medium columns and weekly pull-out section.

Weekly newspapers with Welsh-medium content
Tivy Side in south Ceredigion
Cambrian News various editions along west coast
Carmarthen Journal covering most of Carmarthenshire
South Wales Guardian has a weekly two-page spread in Welsh covering the Amman, Gwendraeth and Tywi Valleys.
 The Pembrokeshire Herald has a weekly two-page spread of Welsh language news, mainly on Welsh current affairs.

Weekly Welsh-medium local newspapers

Y Cyfnod – covering the Bala area
Y Dydd – covering the Dolgellau area

Monthly Welsh-medium community newsletters
(Known as papurau bro in Welsh)

Yr Angor – Aberystwyth, Comins Coch, Llanbadarn Fawr, Penparcau and Waunfawr, Ceredigion
Yr Angor – Merseyside
Yr Arwydd – Mynydd Bodafon area, Anglesey
Y Barcud – Tregaron area, Ceredigion
Y Bedol – Ruthin area, Denbighshire
Y Bigwn – Denbigh
Y Blewyn Glas – Bro Ddyfi, Machynlleth, Powys
Y Cardi Bach – Whitland and St Clears, Carmarthenshire
Y Clawdd – Wrexham area
Clebran – Crymych, Pembrokeshire
Clecs Camwy - Trelew & Gaiman, Chubut, Argentina
Clecs y Cwm a'r Dref – Neath area
Clochdar – Cynon Valley, Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taff
Clonc – Lampeter area
Cwlwm – Carmarthen
Dail Dysynni – Dysynni Valley, Tywyn, Gwynedd
Dan y Landsker – South Pembrokeshire
Y Dinesydd – Cardiff area
Y Ddolen – Ystwyth to Wyre valleys, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
Eco'r Wyddfa – Llanrug, Llanberis and Deiniolen communities, Gwynedd
Y Fan a'r Lle – Brecon area
Y Ffynnon – Eifionydd, Garndolbenmaen, Gwynedd
Y Gadlas – The area between the Conwy River and River Clwyd
Y Gambo – South west Ceredigion
Y Garthen – Teifi Valley, Ceredigion
Y Glannau – Clwyd Coast and St Asaph area
Glo Man – Aman Valley, Carmarthenshire
Y Gloran – The head of the Rhondda, Ton Pentre, Rhondda
Y Glorian – Llangefni area, Anglesey
Y Goriad – Bangor and Felinheli
Yr Hogwr – Bridgend area
Llafar Bro – Blaenau Ffestiniog area, Gwynedd
Llais – Swansea Valley, Swansea
Llais Aeron – Aeron Valley, Ceredigion
Llais Ardudwy – Ardudwy, Gwynedd
Llais Ogwan – Ogwen Valley, Bethesda, Gwynedd
Llais yr Andes - Esquel & Trevelin, Chubut Province, Argentina
Llanw Llŷn – Llyn Peninsula, Pwllheli, Gwynedd
Lleu – Nantlle Valley, Caernarfon
Y Llien Gwyn – Fishguard area, Pembrokeshire
Y Lloffwr – Dinefwr area, Carmarthenshire
Nene – Ponciau, Penycae, Johnstown and Rhosllannerchrugog, Wrexham
Yr Odyn – Nant Conwy, Llanrwst, Conwy
Papur Dre – Caernarfon, Gwynedd
Papur Fama – Mold area, Flintshire
Papur Menai – The banks of the Menai from Penmon to Dwyran, Anglesey
Papur Pawb – Tal-y-bont, Taliesin and Tre'r Ddol, Ceredigion
Papur y Cwm – The Gwendraeth, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
Y Pentan – Conwy Valley and coastal area of Conwy
Pethe Penllyn – Bala area, Gwynedd
Plu'r Gweunydd – Y Foel, Llangadfan, Llanerfyl, Llanfair Caereinion, Adfa, Cefn Coch, Llwydiarth, Llangynyw, Dolanog, Rhiwhiraeth, Pontrobert, Meifod and Welshpool, Powys
Y Rhwyd – North west Anglesey
Seren Hafren – Newtown area, Powys
Sosbanelli – Llanelli
Tafod Elái – Taff Ely, Pontypridd Gwefan Tafod Elai
Tafod Tafwys – For Welsh learners in London
Y Tincer – Genau'r Glyn, Llangorwen, Tirymynach, Trefeurig and Borth, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
Tua'r Goleuni – Rhymni Valley, Caerphilly
Wilia – Swansea area
Yr Wylan – Penrhyndeudraeth, Porthmadog, Beddgelert areas, Gwynedd
Yr Ysgub – Ceiriog, Tanat and Cain valleys, Powys

Specialist publications
Addysgydd, a monthly Welsh children's periodical published during 1823
Barddas – bimonthly publication on poetry
Bore Da – Urdd Gobaith Cymru magazine for primary school Welsh learners
Cadwyn – magazine for Welsh learners
Y Casglwr – for bibliophiles.
Cip – for Welsh-speakers of primary school age
Cristion – publication on Christian faith
Cyfrwng – Media Wales Journal
Y Cylchgrawn Efengylaidd – evangelical magazine
Lol – satirical magazine published annually on Eisteddfod week
Yr Enfys – journal of Undeb Cymru a'r Byd (Wales International Union)
Fferm a Thyddyn – on agricultural history
Gair y Dydd – daily devotional reading published four times a year
Y Gwyliedydd -bimonthly magazine by the Welsh Wesleyan Methodists
Iaw! – bimonthly for Welsh learners by Urdd Gobaith Cymru
Lingo Newydd – bimonthly for Welsh learners
Llafar Gwlad – a magazine on country life, customs and folklore
Y Llan – Church in Wales journal
Llên Cymru academic journal by the University of Wales Press
Y Naturiaethwr – a magazine on the natural world
Y Papur Gwyrdd – ecological magazine
Y Selar, quarterly magazine on the Welsh language music scene
Y Tafod, bimonthly Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg magazine
Taliesin – literary magazine [link refers to article on the early poet with this name]
Y Traethodydd – Wales' oldest magazine (est. 1845)
Tu Chwith – art magazine aimed at a younger demographic
Y Wawr – publication of Merched y Wawr (Welsh equivalent of WI)
Wcw a'i Ffrindiau – aimed at children

Internet
A considerable number of websites are now available in Welsh or bilingually. Notable examples include:
Golwg360 (external link), Golwg's Welsh language news site
BBC Cymru's Welsh language news site
maes-e, a popular discussion forum (Welsh only)
Popular internet sites such as Google, Facebook and Wikipedia (known as Wicipedia in Welsh) are also available in Welsh. Most Welsh public bodies and a number of private sector companies in Wales have bilingual websites.

Computer games
There is a growing demand in Welsh medium computer games, here are a few listed;
Shooty fruity
Marvin
Anifaeliad
Alto's Adventure
Master reboot
Talesinger: Voice of the Dragon

On 21 Apr 2016, Pro Evolution Soccer released the first ever Welsh language video games cover, released for Euro 2016; PES 2016, although not sold in shops, they are available to download for free for you to replace the default English cover

Mobile phone technology
In August 2009, the mobile phone maker Samsung (with provider Orange) unveiled a new Welsh language mobile phone to be available from September 2009, which would include Welsh language predictive text and menus.

In June 2016 RWG Mobile launched the first Welsh based, bilingual (Welsh/English) mobile phone service for people who lives in Wales, in July 2016 the company promoted their service at the Royal Welsh Show.

Software
Microsoft software such as Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Microsoft Office are available with Welsh language interfaces. There is also a Welsh spell check facility available on most Microsoft Office programmes.

Free software available in Welsh include OpenOffice.org, Mozilla Firefox, To Bach and uTorrent.

Bangor University has developed Cysgliad, a software pack containing Cysill, a Welsh spelling and grammar checker, and Cysgair, a Welsh-English dictionary.

Publishers
A number of publishing companies exist that publish mainly through the medium of Welsh including:
Gomer Press based in Llandysul, Ceredigion.
Y Lolfa based in Talybont, Ceredigion.
Gwasg Carreg Gwalch based in Llanrwst, Conwy
 Gwasg Cyhoeddiadau Modern Cymreig} based in Allerton, Liverpool.
Gwasg Gwynedd based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd.
Gwasg y Dref Wen based in Cardiff.

Record labels
A number of record labels release Welsh language music including:
Anhrefn Records, based in Llanfair Caereinion, was active in releasing underground Welsh language music from 1983 to 1990.
Ankst, an underground label at its most productive in the late 1980s and 90s.
Copa, a sub-label – more youth orientated – of Sain.
Docrad, based in Cardiff.
Fflach, based in Cardigan, Ceredigion.
Gwynfryn Cymunedol, based in Caernarfon, Gwynedd.
Placid Casual, a Cardiff-based label owned by the Super Furry Animals.
Rasp, a sub-label of Fflach.
Sain, based in Llandwrog, Gwynedd – the largest Welsh-medium record company.
Slacyr based in Garndolbenmaen.
A number of bands also release material on their own labels such as Frizbee's Recordiau Cosh and Bryn Fôn's .

Films
Some Welsh-medium films have had success overseas, most notably Hedd Wyn and Solomon a Gaenor, both nominated for Oscars in the 1990s.

DVD and video releases
A limited number of Welsh-medium videos and DVDs are sold, especially children's TV programmes such as Sali Mali, Tecwyn y Tractor, and a Welsh version of Bob the Builder (Bob y Bildar). Other popular DVDs include the comedy C'mon Midffîld!, with a series of ten DVDs being released, and the 1980s children's TV programme Syr Wynff a Plwmsan, which achieved cult status.

References

Welsh language

List of Welsh-language media


Dakoa Newman (born 6 June 1985) is a Ghanaian politician who is a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP). She is the member of parliament for the Okaikwei South Constituency. She is the daughter of Victor Newman who was also a politician and founding member of the New Patriotic Party.

Early life and education
She was born on 6 June 1985 into a Christian family and hails from Akropong and Osu. She completed Wesley Girls Senior High School, Cape Coast. She is a chartered Project Management Professional (PMP)and a  chartered  Risk Management Professional (RMP) certified by the Project Management Institute, USA(2017. She also holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from the University of Ghana, Legon and a Master's Degree in Program and Project Management from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.

Politics
In June 2020, she stood for the New Patriotic Party primaries for Okaikwei South. Newman defeated incumbent member of parliament Arthur Ahmed and Nana Fredua by getting 440 votes, whilst the two others got 327 votes and 27 votes respectively.

She won the 2020 December parliamentary elections for the Okaikwei South Constituency. She was declared winner by getting 40,393 votes representing 60.82% against her closest contender Abraham Kotei Neequaye of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who had 26,019 votes representing 39.18%.

Personal life
She is the daughter of Ghanaian politician Victor Newman. Darkoa is married with a child.

References

Living people
New Patriotic Party politicians
People educated at Wesley Girls' Senior High School
University of Ghana alumni
Ghanaian MPs 2021–2025
1985 births
21st-century Ghanaian women politicians

Dakoa Newman


On September 7, 1997, hunters in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest found human bones, clothing, and some other items scattered in the woods near a campground. The remains, most of which were around a shallow grave, were identified as belonging to a woman between the ages of 40 and 55 with a seriously arthritic knee. Due to holes and cuts on her bra, and similar cutting marks on the bones, investigators ruled that the unidentified decedent had been stabbed to death.

Dental records and the arthritic knee soon led the body to be identified as that of Judy Smith (born Judith Eldredge; December 15, 1946, in Hyannis, Massachusetts), a 50-year-old nurse from Newton, Massachusetts, who had last been positively seen alive by her husband Jeffrey at a hotel in Philadelphia almost five months earlier. When she had not shown up after a day purportedly spent sightseeing in the city, he had reported her missing. Until the bones were found, the search for her had been concentrated in the Philadelphia area, where several sightings had been reported, although some of them may have been of a homeless woman who strongly resembled Smith.

The investigation into the killing has been complicated by the unresolved question of how Smith got to North Carolina from Philadelphia,  away, in the first place. She and her husband planned to stay in the Philadelphia area and visit friends after the conference he was attending ended; she had not expressed any desire to visit the Asheville area where her body was found. Yet when found she was wearing clothes more appropriate for hiking than those she had on when last seen in Philadelphia. It has been speculated that she might have been a victim of serial killer Gary Michael Hilton, who had left one of his victims in a similar condition near where Smith's body was discovered.

Philadelphia police initially considered Jeffrey Smith a suspect, casting doubt on the idea that his wife had even been to the city in the first place and suggesting his story was fabricated. Later, however, the unlikelihood that he could have disposed of her body where it was found ruled him out, due to severe health problems; he died in 2005. The Philadelphia police, the FBI, and the Buncombe County sheriff's office continue to investigate; the case has been the subject of a segment on Unsolved Mysteries.

Background
Judy Bradford (her name from her second marriage), a home care nurse in the Boston area, met Jeffrey Smith, a lawyer, when she cared for Smith's father for a week following the latter's throat surgery in the mid-1980s. Jeffrey later recalled Judy's devotion to his father's care, and how she used a window curtain rod in the absence of a proper holder for his father's IV bag. Jeffrey, a divorcé with a grown daughter, began dating Judy, who also had two adult children from a previous marriage, and in September 1996 the two wed.

Jeffrey's work as a lawyer was also related to health care; he represented the Northeast Pharmaceutical Conference, an organization of researchers and executives primarily from New England. Eight months after their marriage, the couple planned their first trip together, attending a conference in Philadelphia from April 9–11, 1997. Following that they planned to spend the rest of the week visiting friends in nearby New Jersey.

Disappearance
When the couple came to Logan International Airport on April 9, 1997, to check in for their flight to Philadelphia, Judy suddenly realized that she had forgotten to bring her driver's license. New FAA regulations at the time required that airlines verify passengers' identities before allowing them to fly. Judy told her husband she would return to their home to get it and then take a later flight; that evening she caught up to him in the lobby of the DoubleTree hotel in Center City Philadelphia where the conference was being held, apologizing for her mistake and bringing flowers.

The next morning Jeffrey awoke before his wife and went downstairs to get breakfast. He returned to the room afterwards and found her awake, in the shower. He told her the breakfast was exceptional and that she should have it for herself. She joked in response that she should just go down as she was at the time, naked.

Jeffrey left for the day's first session. The night before, the couple had agreed that Judy, who was making her first visit to Philadelphia, would go visit the city's tourist attractions such as Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, and they would then reunite at the hotel at the end of the day for the conference's cocktail party at 6 p.m.. When Jeffrey finished moderating the last of the day's sessions, he returned to their room. Judy was not there.

He assumed she had returned, changed, and gone down to the party ahead of him, perhaps having gotten confused about their plans. When he went downstairs to check on this, however, she was not there. After going back and forth between the party and the room several times, he grew concerned and informed a concierge, who began calling area hospitals.

There were many reasons why Judy might have been delayed, Jeffrey knew. She would not have thought twice to have helped a stranger in need, as she had helped a sick passenger suffering from AIDS on another flight the year before. But if she did something like that, she usually called or tried to let someone know.

Jeffrey left the cocktail party and paid a cab driver to slowly follow the route of the Philadelphia PHLASH tourist bus, which Judy had told him she was planning to use, for any sign of her. He called his stepchildren in Boston and asked one of them to go to their house and check their answering machines for any messages. None of those options yielded any useful information. Finally he went to the Philadelphia police around midnight to report Judy missing.

Investigation
The Philadelphia police told Jeffrey that he could not file a missing person report until 24 hours after he had last seen Judy. He recalls that a detective said that if he wanted to "push it", he could file his report in the morning. After spending the remainder of the night sleepless in his hotel room, he did.

Before Jeffrey did file a report, however, he spoke to Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell and John Perzel, a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the city, who were both attending the conference, about what he felt was the police's dismissive attitude to his complaint. He said later that he believed those conversations had made a difference, as when he returned to the police station to make his report, two detectives were waiting to take it and he was treated with courtesy and respect; he said he even overheard one saying on the telephone that Commissioner Richard Neal was to receive a copy of the report.

Nevertheless, Jeffrey said several months later that there was some resistance. One detective, he claimed, was still saying four days later that he thought Judy had just had a midlife crisis and had done this just for the attention; the detective later repeated that speculation, with some qualification, to The Boston Globe. Jeffrey also believed the police, while cooperative overall, seemed to be inordinately focused on him as a suspect. "When you look at the statistics, 85 to 90 percent of females [who are murdered] are killed by someone very close to them: a family member, spouse, boyfriend", police captain John McGinnis explained later. "Statistically, we have to look at Jeffrey Smith as a suspect, until it's proven that he is not a suspect".

While Jeffrey understood and cooperated when they asked to interview his stepdaughter without him present, since she told the police he "[didn't] cheat on his taxes", he was distressed that they expressed doubt that Judy had ever been in Philadelphia to begin with. If, they asked, Judy was the experienced traveler who had once gone to Thailand on her own to visit the family of a grateful patient, why had she forgotten her driver's license? Jeffrey later explained in response to the Philadelphia City Paper that the rule had only been in effect for 18 months and Judy had only flown once during that time, so it was entirely possible that she made an honest mistake.

According to police, only one other witness, a desk clerk, could corroborate him on having seen Judy at the hotel, which did not have a guest register, until another conference attendee recalled in August that he had seen her in the lobby when she arrived (even so, police were still cautious since he did not know Judy personally). A female detective who searched the Smiths' hotel room said it struck her as unusual that the clothes Judy left behind did not appear to have been worn at all, suggesting she had worn the same clothes both on her flight from Boston and the day she disappeared; nor did she appear to have brought any cosmetics. But her daughter said that was typical travel behavior for her mother.

The police also made much of what they asserted was Jeffrey's refusal to take a lie detector test. He says he never refused; he only insisted that any such test be administered by the FBI and that if he passed, the police formally request that the bureau assist with its investigation. But according to McGinnis, at the time he made that demand Jeffrey already knew the FBI would not join the investigation, and still declined to submit to the test even when the Philadelphia police arranged for it to be administered by the Massachusetts State Police. "Certain conditions were met, but as far as I'm concerned he refused", said deputy commissioner Richard Zappile.

Jeffrey hired two private investigators to aid in the search for his wife. He distributed copies of his wife's missing person flyer to hospitals all over the country and asked them to keep an eye out for her. His efforts contributed to the identification of her remains.

Possible sightings
In the days after Judy disappeared, Philadelphia newspapers and television ran stories about the case. Jeffrey and friends and family put up flyers with her picture seeking information. These led to reports of sightings, some of which Jeffrey found credible. Most were in the city, but later reports came from outside the city.

A number of reports described a woman who matched Judy's description but appeared to have psychological issues. She was described by staff at the Society Hill Hotel as their "weirdo of the week" when she stayed there between April 13 and 15, signing in as "H.K. Rich/Collins". While there she masturbated in front of an open window, spoke to herself in tongues, and then loudly claimed "the emperor" would wire her money when she needed it to extend her stay.

Another report mentioned a woman at the junction of Broad and Locust Streets around 3 p.m. on the day Judy was last seen, describing the woman as "disoriented". There were some other reports of a similar woman, also apparently disturbed, in the Penn's Landing neighborhood, a PHLASH stop and popular tourist attraction as well. But both the police and the family believe that those who saw her confused Judy with a homeless woman in the area who strongly resembled her, so much that even Judy's son thought the woman was his mother when he saw her from across the street.

However, one other homeless man in Penn's Landing, when shown Judy's picture, insisted he had seen her and not the other homeless woman, sleeping on a bench next to him the night before. On April 15, he told the family that they had just missed this woman, but they were unable to locate her in the vicinity. The family believed this was significant because it was the last time anyone had identified Judy based on seeing her picture.

Sightings that seemed a more positive identification were centered around the PHLASH bus and its route. A hotel employee said she had asked later on the morning of April 10 where she could catch the bus nearby; a driver said he had picked her up at Front and South Streets early in the afternoon and may have let her off near the hotel. She was also reportedly seen entering and leaving the city's Greyhound bus terminal, possibly to use the bathroom, her family believes. The terminal is near Philadelphia's Chinatown, and since Judy loved Chinese and Thai food she might have gone there to eat; however, no one at any of the many restaurants in the neighborhood recalled her.

Another report surfaced that Judy had been seen shopping for dresses at Macy's in the Deptford Mall in Deptford Township, New Jersey, across the Delaware River. She could have gotten there, they realized, via NJ Transit Bus Route 400, which makes hourly runs to the mall from Market Street in Center City and the intersection of Broad and Cherry Streets. A salesperson and customer at Macy's gave an account of the actions of a woman there who may have been Judy, saying she had said she was shopping for her daughter even though her daughter often disliked what she bought her—which rang true to her family—and giving a description that included the distinctive red backpack she carried almost everywhere, especially when traveling. As the woman left, they recalled, she had tried to get a younger woman, whom they assumed at the time was the woman's daughter, to leave with her.

There were also reports that she had been seen in Easton,  north of Philadelphia, a few days after going missing. Jeffrey Smith finds another report from Philadelphia "more credible." A private investigator he had hired told a reporter that later in the week a man told Smith he had been leaving a Wawa near Rittenhouse Square on his way to work just before 6 a.m. when he saw "a well-dressed white woman" sitting outside a nearby gourmet grocery store, a sight he found unusual for that time of day. Later he saw a newspaper article on the case and realized the woman looked a lot like Judy.

Discovery of body
On September 7, 1997, a father and son hunting for deer out of season on a hillside in an area of North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest found what appeared to be human bones near the Stoney Fork picnic area along Chestnut Creek, just  from Asheville. The bones had been scattered around an area  in diameter, likely by animals. At the center was a shallow grave where the majority of the skeleton remained, still partially buried and clothed. Some personal effects were found in the area as well.

The state medical examiner determined that the bones of the then unidentified decedent were those of a white woman between the ages of 40 and 55. She had had extensive dental work and suffered from severe arthritis in her left knee. There were cutting marks on her ribs, and among the clothing recovered from the scene was her bra, which also had cuts and punctures. The investigation concluded that she had been fatally stabbed, and her death was officially classified as a homicide.

The remains did not remain unidentified for long. An emergency room physician in Franklin, North Carolina,  west of Asheville, saw an article about the discovery in the newspaper. He connected it to one of the flyers Jeffrey had sent out, and faxed a copy of the article to the Philadelphia police. A detective there asked Jeffrey for his wife's dental records, which he provided; they were then sent to the medical examiner in Asheville. Using her dental records, the remains were positively identified as those of Judy Smith.

While the discovery of Judy's remains ended the missing person investigation, the homicide investigation it started posed new questions for detectives with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, which took the lead role. In order to identify her killer, they would probably need to figure out how she got to North Carolina in the first place. The evidence found with her bones suggested that she had been with someone else, possibly whoever killed her, and that she had been alive when she reached the Asheville area.

Most significantly, her leg bones were still clad in jeans, thermal underwear, and hiking boots. These were not the clothes she was wearing when Jeffrey or any of the other witnesses who might have seen her in Philadelphia saw her, but they were what she might have worn while hiking in the mountains around Asheville in mid-April. No wallet or other identification was found in her pockets.

A blue and black vinyl backpack was found with the body; in it were winter clothes and $80 in cash. A shirt buried nearby also had $87 in the pockets. The combined $167 is consistent with the $200 Jeffrey believed Judy to have had on her at the time of her disappearance; the presence of the money and her wedding ring have led investigators to conclude that robbery was not the motivation for her killing. However, her red backpack was not found, nor other clothes she was wearing when last seen. Judy's family also said that an expensive pair of sunglasses found near the bones were not hers as far as they knew.

Judy's family could not imagine why she might have gone to the Asheville area. According to them, she never expressed any desire to go there, and had only twice been to that general region of the country. Once she had visited Jeffrey for a week when he was at a weight loss clinic in Raleigh–Durham; on another occasion she had accompanied a patient on a drive south as he visited family that either lived closer in North Carolina to Asheville or in a neighboring area of Virginia or Tennessee (the family's memories differ).

Sightings in Asheville area
Several people in the Asheville area recalled having seen Judy, or a woman matching her description, in April. A clerk at a local retailer said: "She seemed very alert to me. She was very pleasant. I didn't see anything about her that would indicate that she wasn't right in any way." The woman she talked to said her husband was an attorney from Boston, attending a conference in Philadelphia, and during that time she had just decided to go to the Asheville area.

An employee at the Biltmore Estate also recalls seeing Judy. At a campground near where her body was found, the owner recalls that she drove up in a gray sedan filled with boxes and bags, asked if she could spend the night there in her car, and drove away after learning she could not. A deli owner in the same area told the Philadelphia City Paper that Judy came up to her store in a gray sedan and bought $30 worth of sandwiches and a toy truck. Local investigators consider these sightings credible.

Theories
Investigators with the Buncombe County sheriff's office have ruled out Jeffrey Smith, who died in 2005, as a suspect, since as he was morbidly obese they believe he would have been physically unable to have taken his wife's body up the slope to where it was found. His presence at the conference during the day Judy disappeared has also been corroborated. The Philadelphia police, however, never completely eliminated him as a suspect.

Sam Constance, the Buncombe detective who investigated the case, believes Judy was not abducted and came to the Asheville area voluntarily. Constance also did not believe Judy was killed elsewhere and dumped at the site, due to the distance anyone, even someone in the best physical condition, would have had to carry her body to dispose of it there.

While Jeffrey and her children did not say there had been any problems in the marriage, one of her friends said otherwise. "At the time this happened, Jeff and Judy's marriage was very tenuous", Carolyn Dickey told Unsolved Mysteries in 2001. "I believe that something did happen that triggered her to want to have some time away from Jeff".

Although some of Judy's jewelry was missing, the presence of most of it and the cash suggests that robbery was not a motive for the killing.

It has also been suggested that she might have encountered Gary Michael Hilton, a serial killer who was later arrested and convicted of several killings on hiking trails in national forests in the southern Appalachian Mountains in 2007-8. He has not been linked to Smith's killing. While he did leave the raped and murdered body of one of his victims tied to a tree not far away from the site where Smith's body was found, his known killings did not begin until October 2007, just over a decade after her murder.

The state of North Carolina and Jeffrey combined to offer $17,000 in reward money for any information leading to the resolution of the case.

See also

 Crime in North Carolina
 Crime in Philadelphia
 Deaths in 1997
 List of solved missing person cases
 List of unsolved murders
 Deaths of Arnold Archambeau and Ruby Bruguier, South Dakota couple who disappeared after 1992 car accident; bodies found near site three months later with evidence they might have been alive for some time afterwards
 Death of David Glenn Lewis, Texas man killed in 1993 road accident near Yakima, Washington, and not identified for 11 years
 Jonathan Luna, federal prosecutor who drove from Baltimore to rural Pennsylvania for unknown reasons where he was found dead, possibly murdered, one night in 2003

References

1990s in Philadelphia
1990s missing person cases
1997 deaths
1997 in North Carolina
1997 in Pennsylvania
1997 murders in the United States
April 1997 crimes in the United States
Buncombe County, North Carolina
Deaths by person in North Carolina
Deaths by stabbing in the United States
Female murder victims
Formerly missing people
Incidents of violence against women
Killings in North Carolina
Missing person cases in Pennsylvania
Pisgah National Forest
Women in North Carolina

Killing of Judy Smith


Sepideh Moafi (; born September 18, 1985) is an Iranian-American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in The Deuce (2017–2019), The L Word: Generation Q (2019–2023), and Black Bird (2022).

Early life
Moafi was born on September 18, 1985, in a refugee camp in Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. Prior to her birth, her parents fled Iran after the Islamic Revolution. After two years in Turkey and then Germany, where Moafi's parents sought political asylum and claimed refugee status, Moafi's family were granted visas to move to the United States.
Moafi is an American citizen.

During her childhood years, she studied opera and was later pulled into musical theatre and jazz. Moafi started singing at 15 years old and within a year had a full scholarship to the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she graduated in 2007. Moafi attended the University of California Irvine to study acting where she later graduated with an MFA in 2013.

Career
In 2013, Moafi had her first on-screen credit in a guest-starring role as Aaliya Zaki in the tenth episode of season four of CBS's Blue Bloods.

In 2015, Moafi landed what would be her breakout role, a recurring role as Loretta in HBO's The Deuce, an American drama television series created by David Simon and George Pelecanos set during the 1970s and 1980s and explored the stories of sex-workers in New York.  Before filming the pilot, Simon met Moafi for a coffee date and explained to Moafi what The Deuce was going to be about and what her character's arc, Loretta, on the show was going to be.  While her character on The Deuce had been planned early on, Moafi subsequently landed a lead role in Notorious (a show which was to be filmed in Los Angeles) after meeting with Simon and before the pilot of The Deuce was filmed.  Moafi wrote a letter to the executive producers of The Deuce, Simon, Pelecanos and Nina Kostroff Noble hoping that they would still let her be a part of The Deuce despite her regular gig on Notorious. The executive producers on The Deuce let Moafi continue to be a part of their show and worked around her schedule as The Deuce was mainly filmed in New York.  However, as a result, Loretta's arc could not be fulfilled as initially planned and had to go a different direction because of Moafi's scheduling conflicts and she was only in three episodes in the first season of The Deuce. The pilot of The Deuce was shot in 2015 and the first season was shot a year later.

In 2016, Moafi starred as Megan Byrd on ABC's Notorious. The show is based on real-life criminal defense attorney Mark Geragos and Larry King Live news producer Wendy Walker. Moafi's character is a junior producer and booker on the fictional number one cable news show Louise Herrick Live and her character is considered to be the number-two to Julia George, played by Piper Perabo. While the show originally landed a 13-episode first season, ABC cut the first season to 10 episodes and the show was cancelled by ABC after one season.

After Notorious was cancelled, Moafi continued to appear in her recurring role as Loretta on The Deuce, and her character was made a series regular in season 3, the final season. Moafi's character on The Deuce was initially a sex-worker working on the streets of New York and later became an anti-pornography activist, which was one of the main reasons Moafi wanted to continue to be a part of The Deuce despite her scheduling conflicts. To prepare for her role as Loretta, Moafi did research into the history of New York by reading books such as pimp and sex workers' memoirs and studied vintage porn to help her understanding of the historical context that the show was set in. Moafi has stated that The Deuce has changed and influenced her relationship and view of the porn industry after the stories portrayed in the show.

While shooting the second season of The Deuce, Moafi starred in the role of Dahna in a musical off-Broadway One Thousand Nights and One Day which opened on April 15, 2018. Moafi has stated that her career "started out in opera and then theater" and considers opera to "forever be a part of [her] artistic identity".

In 2018, Moafi was cast as a series regular on and starred as Alexis Simms in season 2 of Falling Water. Season 2 of Falling Water premiered in January 2018. Moafi's character was introduced as the new partner of NYPD detective Taka (played by Will Yun Lee) who later discovers the supernatural world in the show. In May 2018, USA Network announced the series' cancellation after its second season.

In 2019, Moafi was cast as Gigi Ghorbani on Showtime's The L Word: Generation Q, a reboot of the early 2000s lesbian classic The L Word. Generation Q premiered on December 8, 2019. At the beginning of season 1 of Generation Q, Moafi's character was introduced as the ex-wife of Natalie "Nat" Bailey (played by Stephanie Allynne) who is currently dating Alice Pieszecki (played by Leisha Hailey), a character that originated in The L Word. Her character was well received by fans and quickly became a fan-favorite among the new cast. In season 1, her character Gigi was involved in a "throuple"/polyamorous relationship with Alice and Nat. In season 2, her character further explored romantic relationships with Bette Porter (played by Jennifer Beals) and Dani Núñez (played by Arienne Mandi).

In 2020, Moafi starred alongside Clayne Crawford in The Killing of Two Lovers, an American drama film written, directed, produced and edited by Robert Machoian. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020, and the film was released on May 14, 2021. The film tells the separation between the parents of four children in which Moafi plays Niki, the wife of Clayne Crawford's David.

In April 2021, Moafi was cast in the Apple TV+ American crime drama limited series Black Bird.  Produced by Dennis Lehane, Moafi stars alongside Taron Egerton, Paul Walter Hauser and Greg Kinnear. Production for the series began in New Orleans in April 2021 and is based on the novel In With The Devil: A Fallen Hero, A Serial Killer, and A Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene.  Moafi plays FBI agent Lauren McCauley in the true crime drama, an FBI agent who approaches protagonist Jimmy Keene about the Larry Hall operation.  Moafi attended the premiere event on Wednesday June 29, 2022, at the Regency Bruin Theater in Los Angeles, California. The six-episode limited series premiered globally on July 8, 2022, on Apple TV+.

In November 2021, Moafi was cast as "Hour" in the FX limited series Class of '09 alongside Brian J. Smith, Jake McDorman, Brooke Smith, joining previously announced leads Brian Tyree Henry and Kate Mara. The eight-part series produced by FX Productions revolves around a group of FBI agents who graduated from Quantico in 2009 and are reunited following the death of a mutual friend. The series is executive produced by Tom Rob Smith, Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson.  Class of '09 is set to air some time in 2023 exclusively on FX on Hulu.

Personal life
Moafi adopted a puppy named Simone de Beauvoir in March 2019.

Moafi is an activist and works to support the International Rescue Committee.

In 2019, Moafi penned a first person essay sharing her experience as a refugee.

In 2021, Moafi was a special guest on Girls Write Now, a writing and mentoring organisation for girls and gender-expansive teens. Moafi hosted a program titled "Belonging: From Refugee to Hollywood" as part of the Summer Salon series in February 2021."''

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

1985 births
21st-century American women
21st-century Iranian actresses
Actresses of Iranian descent
American people of Iranian descent
American television actresses
Living people
Iranian television actresses
Iranian actresses
Iranian film actresses

Sepideh Moafi


Darius the Great (c. 549 BC– 486/485 BC) was the son of Hystaspes and Persian Shah of Iran from 522 BC to 485 BC. After Darius became Shah of Persia, he divided the Persian Empire into twenty provinces, and appointed a governor for each province. He introduced golden coins and developed commerce within the empire and trade without. He tried to conquer Greece and subjugate the Greeks in the first Greco–Persian war but lost at the Battle of Marathon.

Darius allowed the Jews to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem. He also built many temples in Egypt. He crowned himself as the Pharaoh of Egypt. The largest building that was built by Darius, is the new capital of Persepolis, near Pasargadae. Darius died in Persepolis. His tomb was cut into a rock face near Persepolis. After his death, Xerxes became the Shah of Iran.

Iranian people
Shahs of Iran

Darius the Great


A Darker Place is a 2009 novel by Jack Higgins. It is the 16th book in his Sean Dillon series.

Plot summary
The novel is about a famous Russian writer and ex-paratrooper named Alexander Kurbsky, who is fed up with the Putin government and decides he wants to "disappear" into the West. He is under no illusions, however, about how the news will be greeted at home. Having seen too many of his countrymen die mysteriously at the hands of the thuggish Russian security services, he makes elaborate plans for his escape and concealment with Charles Ferguson, Sean Dillon, and the rest of the group known informally as the Prime Minister's private army. However, Kurbsky is still working for the Russians and intends to infiltrate the highest levels of Western intelligence.

Notes

Novels by Jack Higgins
2009 British novels
British thriller novels

A Darker Place


{{Infobox television
| image                = JayJaytheJetPlanelogo.jpg
| alt_name             = Jay Jay
| genre                = Children's television series
Musical
| creator              =
| writer               =
| director             =
| creative_director    =
| starring             =
| voices               =
| narrated             =
| theme_music_composer = Stephen Michael SchwartzParachute Express
| opentheme            = "Gee, How I Love to Fly" (1994–1996); "Jay Jay the Jet Plane Theme Song" (1998–2005)
| endtheme             = "Gee, How I Love to Fly" (Reprise) (1994–2004);
"Jay Jay the Jet Plane Theme Song" (1998–2005)
| composer             =
| country              = United States
| language             = English and Spanish
| num_seasons          = 4
| num_episodes         = 62
| list_episodes        = List of Jay Jay the Jet Plane episodes
| executive_producer   =
| producer             = David Michel
| runtime              = 25 minutes
| company              =
| channel              =
| first_aired          =
| last_aired           =
| related              =
}}Jay Jay the Jet Plane is an American live-action/CGI-animated musical children's television series created by David and Deborah Michel and first aired on The Learning Channel and later moved to PBS Kids, with reruns on Qubo and TBN's Smile. The series aired for a total of 4 seasons and has 62 episodes.

Premise
The series is centered on a group of anthropomorphic aircraft that live in the city of Tarrytown and takes place at the Tarrytown Airport. The episodes were commonly distributed in 25-minute-long (without commercials) pairs, with one header sequence and one end credit for each pair. Each episode contains one or more songs.

The series was intended to be educational to teach moral and life lessons to young-aged children.

Music
The theme song and all of the other songs were written by the famous children's singer/songwriter Stephen Michael Schwartz and sung by his popular musical group, Parachute Express.

Production
Original Series
Early episodes using physical models (as "Pilot Series")

In late 1994, a short live-action series was produced at AMS Production Company in Dallas, Texas, with real model plane characters, and handcrafted human characters; they had the same personalities as in the later series. This original series was narrated similarly to the first twelve seasons of Thomas & Friends, or Theodore Tugboat. Three videos were released: Jay Jay's First Flight in December 1994, Old Oscar Leads the Parade in February 1995, and Tracy's Handy Hideout in October 1996. This original series was narrated by and features the voices of John William Galt. These three were known as the "pilot series".

CGI and live-action-based episodes
On November 2, 1998, the CGI-animated/live-action series premiered on The Learning Channel as part of the Ready Set Learn block. Voice actress Mary Kay Bergman provided the original voice of Jay Jay, Herky, Savannah, and Revvin' Evan. After her death, Debi Derryberry and Donna Cherry replaced her.

In 2005, new episodes were produced featuring additional characters, including the red Latina monoplane Lina. Each episode begins with a Jay Jay's Mysteries segment in which Jay Jay and Lina explore things that might be mysteries to the intended age group, such as how planes fly, and how the five senses are used. The "Mysteries" segment is followed by a story that comes from the third season episodes of the series, so in effect, the new season's repackages previously broadcast content on two subchannel networks Qubo and Smile.

Revival

A new revival of the series, titled The New Adventures of Jay Jay the Jet Plane (originally titled The New World of Jay Jay the Jet Plane) has been confirmed through Trilogy Animation Group's website. The first trailer for the show was released in July 2022. Until the day of launching, it is still currently in development and in production. The characters' were fully redesigned, and made to look more cartoony, newer, and like the original series, it will be CGI-animated. However, it has yet to be released as of 2023.

Characters

Young planes
 Jay Jay (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman in Seasons 1 & 2, then later by Debi Derryberry in Season 3 and the revival after Bergman's death and Donna Cherry in Jay Jay's Mysteries) is a small, titular brown, until he was caught in a hailstorm (originally in the pilot series)/blue jet plane who loves flying and having fun with his friends and acts as a twin brother figure, and is 6 years old.
 Tracy (voiced by Gina Ribisi in Seasons 1 & 2, and later by Sandy Fox in Season 3 and the revival) is a small violet (originally in the pilot series)/pink female jet plane who is Jay Jay's twin sister figure and best friend. She is 6 years old and has normal hearing but understands American Sign Language.
 Snuffy (voiced by Gina Ribisi in Seasons 1 & 2, and later by Sandy Fox in Season 3 and the revival) is a small green, later yellow propeller-driven monoplane who is a good friend of Jay Jay and Tracy, and is 4 years old. He is talented at skywriting.
 Herky (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman in Seasons 1 & 2, then later by Debi Derryberry in Season 3 after Bergman's death and Donna Cherry in Jay Jay's Mysteries) is a small (originally in some of the pilot series) Mexican yellow helicopter, Jay Jay's friend who is always goofy and humorous, and very acrobatic, and is 5 years old. He is fluent in Italian accent in the pilot series and German accent in the CGI/live-action series.
 Ricky Rescue (voiced by Josh Keaton) is a yellow and red helicopter who acts as a older brother figure, but as known for his rescue duties. He is Herky's twin brother. Like Herky, Ricky has skids and cannot taxi on the ground.

Adult planes
 Big Jake (voiced by Chuck Morgan in Seasons 1 & 2, then later by Michael Donovan in Season 3 in the CGI/live-action series and James C. Mathis III in the revival series) is a silver, later slate blue propeller-driven Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, Lockheed Model 10 Electra plane who acts as a father figure to the young planes.
 Savannah (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman in Seasons 1 & 2, then later by Debi Derryberry in Season 3 after Bergman's death in the CGI/live-action series and Ozioma Akagha in the revival series) is a silver, later purple supersonic jet who acts as a mother figure. She is from Georgia and speaks with a Southern accent.
 Old Oscar (voiced by Chuck Morgan in Seasons 1 & 2, and later by Michael Donovan in Season 3 and Jay Jay's Mysteries) is an old gray (originally in the pilot series)/green biplane who knows all sorts of flying tricks and acts as a grandfather figure and Lina's uncle.

Road vehicles
 Revvin' Evan (voiced by Mary Kay Bergman in Seasons 1 & 2, then later by Debi Derryberry in Season 3 after Bergman's death and Donna Cherry in Jay Jay's Mysteries episode "The Mystery of Flight") is the resident red fire engine in training.
 Tuffy (voiced by Sandy Fox) is the cousin of Revvin' Evan who is a confidential tow truck and doesn't give up no matter the problem.

Humans
 Brenda Blue (portrayed by Eve Whittle in the US version, Vanessa Stacey in the UK version of the CGI/live-action series, and later voiced by Stephanie Southerland in the revival series) is a woman in a blue jumpsuit and usually wears a red cap or a blue cap, as well as a pair of red high top Converse shoes. She is in charge of the airport and is the airplane mechanic and a mother figure to the planes.
 Miss Lee Jones is the librarian who works at the Tarrytown Public Library. She is deaf and can't speak, and uses sign language. Tracy and Brenda Blue are able to translate her.
 E.Z. O'Malley (portrayed by Brian Nahas) is the founder of E.Z. Airlines, with his cousins Grumpy O'Malley (who lives at Dewdrop Farm), Pierre O'Malley (lives in France), and Tex O'Malley (lives in Texas).
 Mrs. Blue is Brenda Blue's mother, who sometimes visits Tarrytown Airport.

Jay Jay's Mysteries
 Lina (voiced by Ashley Whittaker) is a red propeller-driven monoplane who is Jay Jay's friend and Old Oscar's niece from Mexico. Sometimes, she can speak Spanish.
 Montana (voiced by Donna Cherry) is an exciting purple propeller-driven adult safari plane who only appeared in two Jay Jay's Mysteries episodes alongside Lina.

Wooden Adventure System
 Captain Bob is a very energetic adult firefighting plane.
 Solar is a young yellow solar-powered monoplane. He is very interested in keeping the environment clean and he has special panels on his wings that capture the sun's enters to make him fly.
 Truckee is a friendly dark red boy dump truck.

Episodes

Broadcast and home mediaJay Jay the Jet Plane premiered on The Learning Channel as part of the Ready Set Learn block. Later, it aired on PBS Kids in 2001, with reruns until 2009.
In 2012 until 2014, it aired in Spanish on Telemundo as part of "MiTelemundo". In 2021, it also aired on Qubo for a short time until Scripps' closure and is currently airing on Smile. Outside of the series' home country, It aired on Channel 5, Tiny Pop and S4C's Cyw block in the UK, Canal+ and Piwi in France, Discovery Kids in Latin America, TV Cultura in Brazil and Nickelodeon in the Middle East.

In the early-mid 2000s, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the series on both VHS and DVD. Later, it released two of Jay Jay's Mysteries episodes by Paramount in 2007 as part of PBS Kids' DVDs.

Religious-based Tommy Nelson also released the series with a new dub on both VHS and DVD.

In 2019, Yippee TV became the exclusive streaming service of Jay Jay the Jet Plane''.

Reception
Common Sense Media gave the series a four out of five stars, saying, "Parents need to know that this series offers young fans life lessons such as valuing friends, overcoming shyness, and learning to like yourself. Kids will enjoy the often funny antics of 6-year-old Jay Jay and his friends. Don't be surprised if you catch your preschooler singing along with the show's simple songs."

References

External links

1990s American animated television series
1990s American children's television series
1994 American television series debuts
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated fantasy television series
American children's animated musical television series
American computer-animated television series
American preschool education television series
American television series with live action and animation
Animated television series about children
Animated preschool education television series
1990s preschool education television series
Aviation television series
English-language television shows
Fictional aircraft
PBS Kids shows
PBS original programming
Treehouse TV original programming
TLC (TV network) original programming
American television series revived after cancellation
Qubo
Anthropomorphic vehicles

Jay Jay the Jet Plane


In computer science, and combinatorial optimisation, the term scheduling usually refers to solutions of the problem that a plan needs to be made. It follows in what order and for how long a number of tasks run on a number of machines.

Combinatorial optimization

Scheduling (computing)