Taquan Air is the operating name for Venture Travel, LLC, an American regional airline headquartered in Ketchikan, a city in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska. It operates domestic scheduled passenger and charter services. Its base is Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base, which shares the same harbor and airspace as Ketchikan International Airport. As per the United States Department of Transportation in a report dated August 2, 2010, Taquan Air is a "U.S. Certificated Air Carrier", and is 1 of 125 such carriers in the US.

Taquan Air's heyday was in 1997 when they were the largest floatplane company in the world and the second largest air commuter service in Alaska, carrying 243,000 passengers that year. In a continuing effort to grow, they sought FAR part 121 certification, allowing them to carry more than nine passengers on a flight. They achieved certification and began flights in 1998, but the costs of the new venture and economic factors led to the sale of assets and layoffs in 1999. New ownership in 2000 kept the company name alive, and Taquan remains known for their floatplanes.

Taquan Air's flight schedule provides for the delivery of US Mail, and includes service to the fourth-largest island in the US, Prince of Wales Island; and the easternmost town in Alaska, Hyder. An accident in 2007 associated with a raincloud has led to the installation of weather cameras throughout Alaska. Taquan Air, along with other Ketchikan flight services, provides "flightseeing" tours over pristine Misty Fjords National Monument, and bear viewings within the Earth's largest remaining temperate rainforest, Tongass National Forest.

History
The name "Taquan" is from the Tlingit language for "village by the sea", and is also associated with the alternate name for Annette Island, Taak'w Aan.

Taquan Air Service Inc.
The airline was established as Taquan Air Service Incorporated in August 1977, and started out flying an air taxi service between Ketchikan International Airport and Metlakatla on Annette Island. By 1989 the company was flying seven airplanes with 45 employees, and by 1997 28 planes with 175 employees.

Kootznoowoo Inc. 50% owner
1997 was the year that Kootznoowoo Inc., an Alaska Native Village Corporation for Angoon, became 50% owner, and the same year that the company appeared on the cover of Alaska Business Monthly. At that point they were flying to 30 destinations, they had hubs in both Ketchikan and Sitka, and by flying to British Columbia, they had become an international air carrier. Taquan was now the largest floatplane company in the world, and the second largest commuter airline in Alaska, having boarded 243,000 people in 1997.

This was when Taquan decided to expand from FAR 135 air taxi operation to FAR 121 airline operation. After spending a year to become FAR 121 certified, and buying a couple of British Aerospace Jetstream 32's, the new service was branded as AirOne. The mayor of Juneau helped launch the new venture in March by dedicating one of the planes as The Spirit of Juneau. AirOne commenced operation on June 1, 1998, and began non-stop service from Ketchikan to Juneau. Another route connected Canadian Airlines' hub at Prince Rupert Airport in British Columbia with Alaska Airlines' flights at Ketchikan.

But Taquan Air experienced its first fatal crash with a passenger in August 1998. A new CEO was chosen for Kootznoowoo in July, who had to deal with a "precipitous decline" (Juneau Empire) in the company's outlook. The new CEO foreshadowed future events with the announcement at the shareholders meeting in October 1998, "there is less capital available for new investments." The costs of FAR 121 certification and a slump in the lumber industry led to the AirOne operation ceasing on February 14, 1999. Taquan Air liquidated assets and closed their Sitka hub.

Kootznoowoo Inc.
Kootznoowoo Inc., acquired full ownership of the company on November 1, 1999, and at the end of December 1999 laid off most or 80 of their workers along with stopping flights to 20 communities. The downsizing at Taquan Air dampened the regional economy. The Juneau Empire wrote about the economic effect on Prince of Wales Island (pop. 6000), which is the fourth-largest island in the US, The loss of Taquan flights comes at a bad time for Prince of Wales Island, said Tom Briggs, city administrator for Craig. State ferry service for the island was recently reduced to one day a week to save money. "Without a reasonable transportation base, the island's going to be damaged, the economy's going to be damaged and lifestyle's going to be damaged," Briggs said...Blood samples taken at the clinic must be thrown out if they can't get to the lab in Ketchikan on time...The Craig City Council is asking the governor for assistance in the form of increased ferry service. Flights continued only for government contracts while the ownership looked for a buyer, which occurred in April 2000 (see below). By 2001, Kootznoowoo had divested all of its operating companies, including both the aviation and the timber businesses, and had become a holding company.

Venture Travel LLC
The general manager for Taquan between 1997 and 2000 had come on board when Taquan acquired the assets of his family's business, Ketchikan Air. He now created a company Venture Travel, LLC. Venture Travel, LLC acquired assets from Taquan in April 2000, including five planes, the name, and the lease in Ketchikan. Taquan Air gained business with U.S. Postal Service contracts for mail routes serving Hyder, Hydaburg, and Behm Canal. Scheduled passenger flights resumed in 2001, also, the airline was awarded the U.S. Forest Service Air Service Contract in both 2000 and 2003 and continues to hold a U.S. Forest Service contract. In October 2007, Taquan moved into a new terminal and hangar building, close to the east terminus of the ferry to the Ketchikan International Airport. The company is now flying to 16 destinations.

Small Business Person of the Year for Alaska, 1990

Taquan Air first moved into the spotlight in 1990, when the company's growth and development led to the owner's selection as Alaska Small Business Person of the Year, a selection made by the Alaska office of the U.S. Small Business Administration. In May 1990, the owner was honored in Washington, D.C. at the White House.

Medallion Foundation awards and Sen. Ted Stevens
Taquan Air participated in a voluntary industry effort in Alaska to improve airline safety called the Medallion Foundation awards. Senator Ted Stevens (R, Alaska) was a decorated World War II pilot who later became floatplane qualified, and who was instrumental in establishing and providing congressional support for the Medallion Foundation. By 2009, Taquan was one of seven airlines out of 37 operating in Alaska to receive all five stars in the program. Senator Stevens presented awards to Taquan in 2005 and 2008.

Investigation of Misty Fjords National Monument air-tour-route accident

On July 24, 2007, a Taquan Air tour flight, operating a float-equipped de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver and carrying the pilot and four passengers from a cruise ship, impacted mountainous terrain with no survivors. An estimate is that in 2007, 900,000 cruise-ship tourists visited Ketchikan. At the time of this accident, Taquan had commitments regarding sightseeing with each of the cruise lines serving Ketchikan. According to the AP, the cruise line that had booked the tourists severed ties with Taquan after the accident for the remainder of 2007.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the accident and issued a report on July 31, 2008, finding that the primary cause of the crash was pilot misjudgment, but that inadequate supervision of the flight tour industry in southeast Alaska by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also contributed to the event. The Board issued four recommendations. The first of these four recommendations, A-08-59, was to install weather cameras on the air tour routes within the Misty Fjords National Monument. Recommendation A-08-60 was to establish monthly ground and en route inspections of air tour flights to observe and enforce safe flying practices. Recommendation A-08-61 was to develop cue-based training for commercial air tour pilots in responding to changing local weather conditions. A-08-62 first needed the completion of A-08-61, and recommended that pilots be required to take the training.

Initial plans were to install 139 weather cameras in Alaska by 2014.

Misty Fjords flightseeing

Taquan Air is one of several local services to provide air tours of the nearby Misty Fjords National Monument. These flights are associated with the cruise line industry that brings close to a million tourists each Summer to Ketchikan with its 7,000 residents. Adventure guide Inside Passage and Coastal Alaska states, "One of the amazing things about floatplanes is just how smooth <takeoffs> are...unless you're looking out the window and see that there isn't a wake from the floats anymore, it's hard to know you're even in the air." The air tour typically takes two to four hours. The tour goes from seashore up into the mountains and back, during which time the floatplane lands on water in a remote area, and tourists step out on the plane's pontoon.

May 2019 accidents

In May 2019, two Taquan flights were involved in fatality accidents one week apart. After the second crash on May 20, the NTSB initiated a separate overall investigation of Taquan Air in addition to the accident investigations; the airline declined to comment. Taquan Air suspended all flights on May 21.

Amid increased oversight by the FAA, Taquan resumed limited cargo service on May 23, scheduled passenger flights on May 31, and on-demand sightseeing tours on June 3, 2019.

Accidents and incidents

 July 24, 2007: A Taquan de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, registration number N995WA, was conducting an aerial tour of the Misty Fjords when it struck a mountain at an altitude of about  above mean sea level (MSL), killing the pilot and four passengers aboard. The pilot of another aircraft that had flown the same route shortly beforehand reported having to descend to  MSL to stay clear of low clouds, rain and fog, and the pilot of a following aircraft had turned back after encountering a "wall of weather" near the crash site. Investigators confirmed that the accident aircraft had flown into rapidly deteriorating weather, and uncovered accusations that Ketchikan aerial tour operators had been routinely flying in marginal weather with little oversight by the local FAA office, which FAA managers attributed to "downsizing". The accident was attributed to "The pilot's decision to continue under visual flight rules into an area of instrument metrological [sic] conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate weather evaluation, and the FAA's inadequate surveillance of the commercial air tour operator."
 May 13, 2019: A Taquan de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Turbine Otter and a DHC-2 Beaver operated by Mountain Air Service collided in mid-air, killing 1 passenger aboard the Taquan flight and all 5 on board the DHC-2. Both aircraft had been conducting local sightseeing flights of the Misty Fjords from the Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base for the benefit of cruise ship passengers. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the accident to the inherent limitations of the see-and-avoid concept" along with the absence of alerts from both airplanes' traffic display systems."
 May 20, 2019: Taquan Air Flight 20, a scheduled commuter flight from Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base to Metlakatla Seaplane Base, overturned during a water landing on arrival, killing the pilot and single passenger. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Fleet

The Taquan Air fleet consists of one Cessna Caravan, eleven de Havilland DHC-2 Beavers, and three de Havilland DHC-3T Turbo Otters certified under FAR part 135 (Air Taxi Operators and Commercial Operators of Small Aircraft).

Destinations
Taquan Air operates scheduled service to the following destinations in Alaska ():
 Ketchikan (WFB) – Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base (FAA: 5KE)
 Coffman Cove (KCC) – Coffman Cove Seaplane Base
 Craig / Klawock (CGA) – Craig Seaplane Base
 Deep Bay / Moser Bay (KMY) – Moser Bay Seaplane Base
 Dora / Cholmondely Sound (DOF) – Dora Bay Airport
 Edna Bay (EDA) – Edna Bay Seaplane Base
 Grace Harbor (GHR)
 Long Island (LIJ) [seasonal]
 Hydaburg (HYG) – Hydaburg Seaplane Base
 Hyder (WHD) – Hyder Seaplane Base (FAA: 4Z7)
 Metlakatla (MTM) – Metlakatla Seaplane Base
 Naukati (NKI) – Naukati Bay Seaplane Base (FAA: AK62)
 Point Baker (KPB) – Point Baker Seaplane Base
 Port Protection (PPV) – Port Protection Seaplane Base (FAA: 19P)
 Thorne Bay (KTB) – Thorne Bay Seaplane Base
 Whale Pass (WWP) – North Whale Seaplane Base (FAA: 96Z)

Other destinations in Alaska (not on schedule as of June 2009):
 Babe Island (BAI)
 Bell Island (KBE) – Bell Island Hot Springs Seaplane Base
 Devenney's (DIV)
 Bear Valley Lodge (BVL)
 Calder Bay (CLB)
 Hollis (HYL) – Hollis Seaplane Base
 Neets Bay [seasonal]
 Saltry Cove (SLY)
 Sunny Cove (SNC)
 Tenass Pass (TPY)
 Yes Bay (WYB) – Yes Bay Lodge Seaplane Base (FAA: 78K)

Aerial photos and maps

See also
Capstone Program
Essential Air Service
List of seaplane operators

References

External links

 Planespotters.net – photograph of Taquan Air De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver N1018A at Ketchikan Harbor Seaplane Base

1977 establishments in Alaska
Airlines established in 1977
Airlines based in Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska
Regional airlines of the United States
Seaplane operators
American companies established in 1977

Taquan Air


"I Love to Laugh", also called "We Love to Laugh", is a song from Walt Disney's 1964 film Mary Poppins which was composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman.  The song is sung in the film by "Uncle Albert" (Ed Wynn), and "Bert" (Dick Van Dyke) as they levitate uncontrollably toward the ceiling, eventually joined by Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) herself. The premise of the scene, that laughter and happiness cause Uncle Albert (and like-minded visitors) to float into the air, can be seen as a metaphor for the way laughter can "lighten" a mood. (Compare Peter Pan's flight power, which is also powered by happy thoughts.) Conversely, thinking of something sad literally brings Albert and his visitors "down to earth" again. The song states a case strongly in favor of laughter, even if Mary Poppins appears to disapprove of Uncle Albert's behavior, especially since it not only complicates the task of getting Albert down, but the infectious mood sends Bert and the Banks children into the air as well.

A snippet of the song plays again near the end of the film when Mr. Dawes Sr. (Dick Van Dyke) starts laughing from the "wooden leg named Smith" joke, and starts floating around the boardroom. It is later stated by his son (Arthur Malet) that he died while laughing.

The scene is based on the chapter "Laughing Gas" in the book Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. In the book, Mary's Uncle Albert, also called Mr. Wigg, is said to float because of an excess of "laughing gas", although it is clear that the term is not used in the chemical sense.

This musical number also appears in the Sing-Along Songs series of Disney videos. Neither this song or Uncle Albert are featured in the 2004 stage musical version.

A parody called "We Love To Smoke", sung by Julie Kavner as Patty and Selma Bouvier, was intended to be used in the episode "Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious" of The Simpsons, but was cut from the episode. It appears on the album Go Simpsonic with The Simpsons as track 49.

References

Literary sources

1964 songs
Songs from Mary Poppins
Songs written by the Sherman Brothers
Julie Andrews songs
Dick Van Dyke songs

I Love to Laugh


Ernst Werner Techow (12 October 1901 – 9 May 1945) was a German right-wing assassin. In 1922, he took part in the assassination of the Foreign Minister of Germany Walther Rathenau. After his release from prison Techow initially joined the Nazi Party, but soon fell out with the movement and dropped into obscurity. Late in World War II he joined the Volkssturm. He was killed after being captured by the Soviet Red Army near Dresden on 9 May 1945.

A story was circulated that Techow had changed his political beliefs after his release from prison, joined the French Foreign Legion in 1941 under the name of "Tessier" and later embarked on helping Jews escape from occupied France, but this was found to be false.

Early life
Techow came from a distinguished magistrate's family in Berlin; his grandfather had been one of the heroes of the liberal revolution of 1848. In 1918 Techow volunteered for the German navy. After the German revolution of November 1918 he came into contact with counter-revolutionary forces. He joined Marinebrigade Ehrhardt and participated in the Kapp Putsch. After the dissolution of the Free Corps he connected himself with the Organisation Consul, the secret follow organization of the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt. Like many of his comrades he was also a member of the violently antisemitic Deutschvölkischer Schutz und Trutzbund.

Assassination of Walther Rathenau
On 24 June 1922, two months after the signing of the Treaty of Rapallo, 1922, Rathenau was assassinated by two members of the secret, far-right Organisation Consul, Erwin Kern and Hermann Fischer. On that morning, he was driving from his house in Grunewald to the Foreign Office in the Wilhelmstraße, as he did nearly daily. During the trip his vehicle was passed by another in which three men were sitting. While passing, Kern shot Rathenau with an MP 18 submachine gun and Fischer threw a hand grenade into the car, before Techow quickly drove them away. A memorial stone in the Koenigsallee in Berlin-Grunewald marks the scene of the crime. Rathenau was fervently mourned in Germany. The news of his death lead to turmoil in the Reichstag and prompted millions of Germans to rally against terrorism.

Arrest and trial
Since a confidant bragged about the plot in public, the assassins were identified within days. Techow was turned in by relatives on 29 June. Kern and Fischer managed to escape their pursuers until they were cornered in the Thuringian castle Saaleck on July 17. After Kern was killed by a stray bullet, Fischer took his own life. So at the murder trial in October 1922 Techow was the only defendant indicted for murder. He narrowly escaped capital punishment, when in a last-minute confession he convinced the court that he had acted under duress, as Kern threatened to kill him when he tried to withdraw from the murder plot. Thus he got away with 15 years in prison for accessory to murder. He also may have benefitted by a letter which had been written by Mathilde Rathenau, the victim's mother, to Techow's mother: In grief unspeakable, I give you my hand. You, of all women, the most pitiable. Say to your son that in the name and spirit of him who was murdered, I forgive, even as God may forgive, if before an earthly judge he makes a full and frank confession of his guilt, and before a heavenly one repent. Had he known my son, the noblest man earth bore, he had rather turn the weapon on himself than on him. May these words give peace to your soul....

Techow's sentence was reduced by an amnesty in 1928. Upon his release from Roter Ochse prison in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt on 7 January 1930 he was welcomed by delegations of the local chapters of Der Stahlhelm, the German National People's Party and the NSDAP. Techow himself joined the Nazi Party, the SA and the editorial staff of the Berlin Nazi newspaper Der Angriff in early 1931. Alienated by Hitler's politics he took part in the Stennes Revolt and was expelled from the party in April 1931. His last noted public appearance was in October 1933, when a monument for his fellow assassins Fischer and Kern was unveiled in Saaleck. In 1934 he published an apologetic pamphlet about Rathenau's assassination.

During the following years Techow worked for the Deutsche Umsiedlungs-Treuhand-Gesellschaft. In May 1941 he enlisted in the German navy. He was a war correspondent, until he was severely injured while the ship he was on was sunk in October 1942. Shortly before the end of the war he joined the Volkssturm. He was taken prisoner of war at the military training ground of Königsbrück near Dresden and allegedly killed by a Soviet soldier due to a misunderstanding. The certified date of his death is 9 May 1945.

The legend of "Tessier"
In April 1943 the American journalist George W. Herald published the story "My favorite Assassin" in Harper's Magazine. Herald claimed to have met a captain of the French foreign legion with the name of Tessier in 1940. This captain, Herald claimed, turned out to be Ernst Werner Techow. He had been deeply moved by Mathilde Rathenau's letter, abstained from antisemitism and joined the French foreign legion. In 1941, Herald further reported, Techow-Tessier helped save hundreds of Jews in Marseilles.

Although this story was soon called into question because of some major inconsistences it still took on a life of its own. By reconstructing Techow's biography historian Martin Sabrow has proved the story to be completely unfounded.

In popular media
Conspiracy against the Republic: Der Mord an Walther Rathenau The assassination of Walther Rathenau directed by Heinrich Billstein
Jack Mayer's award-winning historical fiction, "Before the Court of Heaven" (2015) tells the story of Rathenau's assassination and Ernst Werner Techow's complex and harrowing redemption.

Bibliography
Notes

References

 - Total pages: 276

1901 births
1945 deaths
20th-century Freikorps personnel
Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I
Sturmabteilung personnel
People from Berlin
People from the Province of Brandenburg
Kapp Putsch participants
German nationalist assassins
German people who died in Soviet detention
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union
Organisation Consul members
Prisoners and detainees of Germany
Volkssturm personnel killed in action
Nazis who died in prison custody
Walther Rathenau

Ernst Werner Techow


KIIS-FM (102.7 FM) is a radio station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It broadcasts a top 40 radio format. KIIS-FM is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.

History
The station started broadcasting in 1948. At that time, the station was called KLAC-FM; it played pop music. In 1967, the station changed its call sign (name) to KRHM; it started to play soft music.

In 1971, KRHM changed its name to KKDJ. It changed to a top 40 music format, playing the most popular songs. For a short time, in 1975, KHRM tried an "adult contemporary" or soft rock format. However, it was not successful.

The station changed its name to KIIS-FM in 1975. It went back to broadcasting top 40 music. The name KIIS sounds like the word "kiss". However, the name of the station has nothing to do with kissing. It is spelled with two letter I's instead of two letter S's. This is because the station took its name from its former AM radio sister station — a station that is owned by the same company. The other KIIS station was located at 1150 AM; "115" looks like "IIS".

Throughout its history, KIIS-FM has had several well-known radio hosts. These include Rick Dees and Ryan Seacrest.

References

Other websites

Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States
Los Angeles

KIIS-FM


District of Alto Adige was a district in the "Department of Benaco" in the Napoleon's "Cisalpine Republic" (1797-1798).

History

Under the Cisalpine Republic a District of Alto Adige (called in Italian: Distretto dell'Alto Adige) was created as a part of the short-lived "Department of Benaco". The District of Alto Adige included some municipalities of today's province of Verona.

The "Department of Benaco", which was created in 1797 and included some territories of actual Province of Trento and Province of Verona, was disbanded in 1798 and with it the District of Alto Adige after a structural reorganization of the Napoleon's first Italian republic.

The Alto Adige name was used again by the French in 1810, a few kilometres to the north of the disappeared District of Alto Adige on the upper course of the river Adige, when was created the Department of Alto Adige.

Related pages
 Department of Alto Adige
 Alto Adige

Notes

Bibliography
 Reinhard Stauber. Der Zentralstaat an seinen Grenzen. Administrative Integration, Herrschaftswechsel und politische Kultur im südlichen Alpenraum 1750–1820 (Schriftenreihe der Historischen Kommission der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 64), Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2001.

18th century in Italy

District of Alto Adige


Tonwell is a small village in Bengeo Rural parish, Hertfordshire.

The village is situated just off the A602 (formerly B1001), having been bypassed in 1987 - making the A10 and therefore London and Cambridge easily accessible by road.

Tonwell has a population of about 300 persons, being included at the 2011 Census in the civil parish of Bengeo Rural.  The demographic is similar to that of Hertfordshire itself, with a number of family properties as well as those more suited to elderly people.  Near the village are Paynes Hall (south of the village by half a mile, where the A602 crosses the River Rib); Bengeo Temple farm; and the parkland at Sacombe (listed in the landscape character assessment as a rare and significant example of Victorian parkland.)

Tonwell has close ties to the neighbouring hamlet of Chapmore End; the only other settlement in the parish.  The two settlements have held combined events such as the village fete, and events in the village hall in Tonwell.

Village amenities include a school (built in 1858), village hall, and the Robin Hood and Little John (free house) pub.

The village shop and post office was closed by the owners in the 1980s and converted into a restaurant, now part of the pub. The nearest food stores or post office are situated in Hertford, Watton-at-Stone or Ware, some two to three miles away. There are footpaths from the village but in view of the distance, residents generally have to use their own cars, a taxi or the very infrequent bus service.

The Church of St Mary's in Tonwell [CoE] adjoins the village school, and contains a Norman era font (relocated from St Nicholas' church in Hertford in about 1700). The church also contains wood panelling from the Houses of Parliament, which was installed in the church after the Second World War following bomb damage. In the 1990s, the church fell into disrepair, and eventually in the 2000s services were suspended. In 2005 the church was officially closed and renovated with the village school being extended into the church to cope with rising pupil numbers.

Tonwell Water Tower

The skyline of the village is dominated by the futuristic 1960s concrete water tower. In 2007 it was listed at Grade II.  The water tower has a capacity of 50,000 gallons and was built in 1964.  It was designed by Edmund C. Percey of Scherrer and Hicks. It is now disused and may be converted for residential use.

References

External links

Villages in Hertfordshire
Water towers in the United Kingdom

Tonwell


Philip Arthur Fisher (September 8, 1907 – March 11, 2004) was an American stock investor best known as the author of Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, a guide to investing that has remained in print since it was first published in 1958. Along with Thomas Rowe Price, Jr., Fisher is one of the early proponents of the growth investing strategy.

Career
Philip Fisher's career began in 1928 when he dropped out of the newly created Stanford Graduate School of Business (later he would return to be one of only three people ever to teach the investment course) to work as a securities analyst with the Anglo-London Bank in San Francisco. He switched to a stock exchange firm for a short time before starting his own money management company, Fisher & Co., founded in 1931. He managed the company's affairs until his retirement in 1999 at the age of 91, and is reported to have made his clients extraordinary investment gains.

Although he began some fifty years before the name Silicon Valley became known, he specialized in innovative companies driven by research and development. He practiced long-term investing, and strove to buy great companies at reasonable prices. He was a very private person, giving few interviews, and was very selective about the clients he took on. He was not well known to the public until he published his first book in 1958. At this point Fisher's popularity rose dramatically and propelled him to his now legendary status as a pioneer in the field of growth investing. Morningstar has called him "one of the great investors of all time". In Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits, Fisher said that the best time to sell a stock was "almost never". His most famous investment was his purchase of Motorola, a company he bought in 1955 when it was a radio manufacturer, and held it until his death.  Fisher is remembered for using and proliferating the "scuttlebutt" or "grape vine" tool, in which he searched fastidiously for information about a company.   When you scuttlebutt, you make more informed decisions due a better basis for analysis and valuation.

In the 2018 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, Warren Buffett called Fisher's Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits a "very, very good book". He further described how using Fisher's "scuttlebutt" technique continues to be a good way to investing, which is still used by Ted Weschler and Todd Combs at Berkshire Hathaway. John Train described Warren Buffett as 85% influenced by Benjamin Graham and 15% by Philip Fisher.

Works
 Paths to Wealth through Common Stocks, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1960
 Conservative Investors Sleep Well,  Harper & Row, 1975
 Developing an Investment Philosophy (Monograph), The Financial Analysts Research Foundation, 1980
 Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits,  Harper & Brothers; Revised edition (December 1960)

See also
 Thomas Rowe Price, Jr.
 John Burr Williams
 Growth investing

References

External links

Fisher obituary by his son Kenneth L. Fisher at Forbes.com
Fisher obituary at Fool.com
Learning from the Long Men, National Review Online

1907 births
2004 deaths
American finance and investment writers
American stock traders
American money managers
American financial analysts
American investors
American financiers

Philip Arthur Fisher


Grand Theft Auto IV is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2004's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and the eleventh instalment overall. Set in the fictional Liberty City, based on New York City, the single-player story follows Eastern European war veteran Niko Bellic and his attempts to escape his past while under pressure from high-profile criminals. The open world design lets players freely roam Liberty City, consisting of three main islands, and the neighbouring state of Alderney, which is based on New Jersey.

The game is played from a third-person perspective and its world is navigated on foot and by vehicle. Throughout the single-player mode, players control Niko Bellic. An online multiplayer mode is also included with the game, allowing up to 32 players to engage in both cooperative and competitive gameplay in a recreation of the single-player setting. Two expansion packs were later released for the game, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, which both feature new plots that are interconnected with the main Grand Theft Auto IV storyline, and follow new protagonists.

Development of Grand Theft Auto IV began soon after the release of San Andreas and was shared between many of Rockstar's studios worldwide. The game introduced a shift to a more realistic and detailed style and tone for the series. Unlike previous entries, Grand Theft Auto IV lacked a strong cinematic influence, as the team attempted an original approach to the story. As part of their research for the open world, the development team conducted extensive field research in New York, capturing over 100,000 photographs and several hours of video. The developers considered the world to be the most important element of the game; though not the largest map in the series, they considered it comparable in scope due to its verticality and level of detail. The budget climbed to over , making it one of the most expensive video games to develop.

Grand Theft Auto IV was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles in April 2008, and for Windows in December. Upon release, the game received critical acclaim, with praise particularly directed at the narrative and open-world design. Grand Theft Auto IV broke industry sales records and became the fastest-selling entertainment product in history at the time, earning  in its first day and  in its first week. Considered one of the most significant titles of the seventh generation of video games, and by many critics as one of the greatest video games of all time, it won year-end accolades, including Game of the Year awards from several gaming publications. It is among the best-selling video games with over 25 million copies sold by 2013. The game generated controversy, with criticism directed at the game's depiction of violence and players' ability to drink-drive. Its successor, Grand Theft Auto V, was released in September 2013.

Gameplay
Grand Theft Auto IV is an action-adventure game played from a third-person perspective. Players complete missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress through the story. It is possible to have several active missions running at one time, as some require players to wait for further instructions or events. Outside of missions, players can freely roam the game's open world and complete optional side missions. Composed of the fictional city of Liberty City, the world is larger in area than most earlier Grand Theft Auto series entries. At the beginning of the game, players can only explore the first island—composed of Dukes and Broker—with all other islands unlocking as the story progresses.

Players use melee attacks, firearms and explosives to fight enemies, and may run, jump, swim or use vehicles to navigate the game's world. There is a first-person perspective option when using vehicles. In combat, auto-aim and a cover system can be used as assistance against enemies. Should players take damage, their health meter can be fully regenerated by consuming food or drinks, using medical kits, or calling for paramedics. If players commit crimes, the game's law enforcement agencies may respond as indicated by a "wanted" meter in the head-up display (HUD). On the meter, the displayed stars indicate the current wanted level (for example, at the maximum six-star level, efforts by law enforcement to incapacitate players become very aggressive). Law enforcement officers will search for players who leave the wanted vicinity. The wanted meter enters a cool-down mode and eventually recedes when players are hidden from the officers' line of sight.

The game's cover system allows players to move between cover, to fire blindly, aim freely, and target a specific enemy. Individual body parts can also be targeted. Melee attacks include additional moves, such as dodging, blocking, disarming an opponent and counter-attacking. Body armour can be used to absorb gunshots and explosive damage, but is used up in the process. When health is entirely depleted, gameplay stops, and players respawn at the nearest hospital.

The single-player mode lets players control an Eastern European war veteran, Niko Bellic. During the story, Niko meets and befriends various new characters. They can then perform favours for Niko whenever he asks; for example, his cousin Roman, who owns a taxi service, can send one of his cabs to take Niko to any destination around the city. Cabs are always available during gameplay for quick travel to a destination. Throughout the course of the game, players are also faced with morality choices, which alter the storyline appropriately depending on the player's choice. While free roaming the game world, players may engage in context-specific activities such as bowling or darts. Other available activities include a vigilante mini-game, and in-game television programming. Niko has a cell phone for contacting friends and starting activities. The cell phone is also used to access the game's online multiplayer mode, and to enter cheat codes. To access the in-game Internet, which allows Niko to send and receive emails and set up prospective dates with potential girlfriends, Niko can use Internet cafés located around the city. The game also features a subway system, allowing players to quickly traverse through the game's world.

The online multiplayer mode for Grand Theft Auto IV allows up to 32 players to freely roam across the map. Players decide which game mode they wish to play, including deathmatches and street races. Both cooperative and competitive game modes are available, split into ranked and unranked matches. For players to level up through ranks, in-game money has to be earned. The game also features a Free Mode, in which players have the entire map open to explore, with no end goal or mission to complete. Hosts of the game can control many variables, such as police presence, traffic, and weapons. The multiplayer mode was discontinued on Windows in 2020.

Synopsis

Setting
Grand Theft Auto IV takes place in 2008, within a redesigned version of Liberty City. The design of the city focuses on a recreation of four of the boroughs of New York City: Broker (based on Brooklyn), Dukes (Queens), Bohan (The Bronx), and Algonquin (Manhattan). The setting also includes the neighbouring state of Alderney (based on New Jersey). Initially, bridges are locked down due to a terrorist threat, and police constantly pursue players if the bridges are crossed. The blockades are lifted as the story progresses, allowing the player to traverse between islands safely.

Grand Theft Auto IV is set in the fictional "HD Universe", which mirrors and parodies the real world. The previous games formed fictional universes of their own, which despite having many similarities with the HD Universe, are considered to be different continuities. Hence, the Liberty City depicted in Grand Theft Auto IV is different from its previous renditions, and the game itself serves as a reboot for the series. The new timeline established by Grand Theft Auto IV would continue with two expansion packs, The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony, and a sequel, Grand Theft Auto V, as well as its online component, Grand Theft Auto Online. The handheld game Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars is also considered part of the HD Universe, because it features the same map as Grand Theft Auto IV, except for Alderney.

Plot
Niko Bellic, an Eastern European ex-soldier, arrives in Liberty City aboard a cargo ship, the Platypus, to escape his criminal past, pursue the American Dream, and search for the man who betrayed his unit to an ambush during a war ten years prior. Reuniting with his cousin Roman, he discovers that his tales of riches were lies concealing his small dirty apartment, unprofitable taxi company, gambling debts, and disputes with loan sharks. Niko begins assisting Roman with his problems, which leads him to make his first criminal contacts in the city. He befriends Yardies underboss Little Jacob and is forced to work for Vlad Glebov, Roman's Russian loan shark, whom Niko eventually kills upon learning he had slept with Roman's girlfriend, Mallorie.

In retaliation, Niko and Roman are kidnapped by Russian mobsters on orders of their boss Mikhail Faustin and his lieutenant, Dimitri Rascalov. Indifferent to Vlad's murder, Faustin releases them and employs Niko as a hitman, eventually ordering him to kill the son of Russian crime lord Kenny Petrović. When Petrović threatens retaliation, Dimitri convinces Niko to assassinate Faustin. However, he then betrays and brings Niko to his former employer, Ray Bulgarin, who accuses Niko of stealing from him during a botched human trafficking job years earlier. Niko denies the allegation and a firefight ensues, allowing Dimitri and Bulgarin to escape.

Dimitri's men burn down Niko and Roman's apartment and taxi company, forcing them to flee to Bohan. While Niko finds work for several local drug lords, Dimitri kidnaps Roman in a failed attempt to lure Niko into a trap. Later, Niko discovers that his romantic interest Michelle is a government agent, and she entraps him into working for her agency. In exchange for the murders of several known or suspected terrorists, the agency clears Niko's criminal record and assists him in searching for the traitor he seeks. Niko and Roman's fortunes improve when the latter receives a large amount of insurance money from his destroyed business, which he uses to rebuild it and buy an apartment in Algonquin. Roman also proposes to Mallorie, who accepts.

While working for the Irish Mob, Niko befriends gangster Patrick McReary and helps him and his brothers carry out a bank robbery. Niko is later hired by Ray Boccino, a caporegime in the Pegorino crime family, to oversee a diamond deal, which goes awry. Boccino repays Niko by helping him find ex-comrade Florian Cravic, now known as Bernie Crane, who claims that he did not betray their unit. Niko concludes that the traitor was Darko Brevic, the only other survivor. Niko continues working for the Mafia in Liberty City and eventually earns the trust of Don Jimmy Pegorino, who orders Niko to kill Boccino after suspecting him of being a police informant. Niko also helps Patrick kidnap Don Giovanni Ancelotti's daughter to ransom her for the diamonds, but Bulgarin intercepts the exchange, and the diamonds are lost.

Eventually, the government agents find Darko in Romania and bring him to Liberty City for Niko to decide his fate. Afterwards, Niko is summoned by Pegorino for one final favour: to help with a highly lucrative heroin deal in collusion with Dimitri. Niko must either agree to work with Dimitri or exact revenge on him. If Niko goes through with the deal, Dimitri betrays him again and keeps the heroin for himself. At Roman's wedding, an assassin sent by Dimitri to kill Niko accidentally kills Roman with a stray bullet. Aided by Little Jacob, Niko retaliates by murdering Dimitri, who had also killed Pegorino. Later, Mallorie informs Niko that she is pregnant with Roman's child, whom Niko vows to protect. If Niko chooses to exact revenge, he instead finds and kills Dimitri aboard the Platypus. At Roman's wedding, Pegorino, furious at Niko's betrayal, targets him in a drive-by shooting, but accidentally kills Patrick's sister Kate, whom Niko had been dating. Aided by Little Jacob and Roman, Niko tracks down and kills Pegorino. Later, Roman tells Niko that Mallorie is pregnant and that they decided to name the baby after Kate if it is a girl.

Development

Preliminary work on Grand Theft Auto IV began in November 2004, a month after the release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Rockstar president Sam Houser felt that following up San Andreas was "a nightmare". Rockstar North, the core 220-person team behind the game, co-opted studios owned by parent company Rockstar Games to facilitate development between a full team of over 1,000, including 50 employees at Rockstar NYC, 40 at Rockstar Lincoln, 10 at Rockstar San Diego, and around 600–700 working part-time internally and externally. Some key members of the development team worked 12-hour days during production, often without holidays. The team decided to continue the numbering scheme absent from the previous two main games to represent the same leap in production as Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999) to Grand Theft Auto III (2001). Development of Grand Theft Auto IV ceased by 21 April 2008 when the game was submitted for manufacturing. Producer Leslie Benzies estimated that the budget of the development efforts exceeded , making Grand Theft Auto IV one of the most expensive video games ever made.

Research and open world design
The game's setting, Liberty City, is based on New York City. The team did not look at the previous renditions of Liberty City as inspiration, wanting it to retain the "general feel" but nothing else. The map is roughly three times the size of Grand Theft Auto IIIs. The developers originally considered using the entire state of New York, before restricting it to Manhattan, and then expanding it out again. They considered including more suburbs with woods, and would regularly vote on which areas to include. Art director Aaron Garbut said that the team chose the setting because of the detail and variety it provided, describing New York as "an amazing, diverse, vibrant, cinematic city". Writer Dan Houser added that the team "wanted to be somewhere where we had a foothold" due to the amount of research required for the world; Rockstar Games's main headquarters are located in New York. The team consciously avoided a precise recreation of New York City to allow for more enjoyable game design, selecting the areas that they felt "characterised it the best". Garbut wanted to capture a caricature of the city as he felt that most people were familiar with "the highlights" from film or literature but did not need to know the areas precisely. The city was not built with specific missions in mind; the area was created first, and missions implemented later.

To achieve a realistic environment, 60–70 employees from Rockstar North travelled to New York for research: first at the beginning of the project in March or April 2005 for a week and a half, and a smaller trip in 2007. Police officers who previously worked the beat drove the team around Washington Heights. A full-time research team based in New York handled further requests for information, such as the ethnic minority of a neighbourhood or videos of traffic patterns. Videos shot in New York were played on televisions at the Rockstar North offices "so while they worked they could look up and there was New York". Benzies claimed that the team took over 100,000 photographs on location in New York, though Garbut estimates that they took around 250,000. They also studied architectural plans for apartments, used satellite images to determine city block layout, researched sales figures for models of cars, and read books that detailed the city's infrastructure, including its subways, sewers, and garbage disposal. Hove Beach is based on Brighton Beach, which Sam Houser found "pretty incredible" and unusual; the name is based on the English city Brighton and Hove, made up of the former neighbouring towns Brighton and Hove. Houser appreciated that Brighton Beach was home to several Eastern Europeans due to the nature of the game's characters.

Dan Houser described Liberty City as "the biggest character" of the game. The Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City is more detailed and larger in size than most earlier entries in the series; although smaller than San Andreas, the setting of the previous main game, the developers considered it comparable in scope due to city's verticality, number of buildings, and level of detail. The team wanted less dead spots and irrelevant spaces, such as the wide open deserts in San Andreas. They wanted the game to be "a more focused experience" than San Andreas, and Dan Houser felt that the limited activities of New York allowed this. The team felt that the addition of Niko's mobile phone added to the immersion of the world and represented society's shifted focus on phones. The in-game brands and products are designed over several years; the billboards were implemented in the game around six months prior to release.

Story and character development

The game's script, written by Dan Houser and Rupert Humphries, is about 1,000 pages. Approximately 660 actors provided voices for the game over 80,000 lines of dialogue. After conceiving the character and setting, Dan Houser spoke with his brother Sam Houser and Leslie Benzies to bounce story ideas before writing a rough synopsis, a six-paged, detailed document. Once the synopsis was reworked, the designers broke it into missions, represented by a large flow document demonstrating each section. The writers then work on the introductions to the missions; the gameplay dialogue comes much later. Unlike previous Grand Theft Auto games, Grand Theft Auto IV does not have cinematic influences. "We were consciously trying to go, well, if video games are going to develop into the next stage, then the thing isn't to try and do a loving tribute or reference other stuff," said Dan Houser. He said that the writers wanted something "fresh and new and not something that was obviously derived from [a] movie". Dan Houser felt that the quality of the writing had to improve alongside the advancements in graphics and technology. He noted that the improvements in facial animation allowed for slower-paced cutscenes. The unique dialogue that plays when a mission is retried was to ensure that the gameplay felt "less canned and less like Groundhog Day".

Dan Houser described Niko Bellic as "a more rounded character" than those in previous games. He felt that his dual personality—often saving innocent people, while also being a "cold-hearted killer"—made him more relatable. He also felt that Niko's unfamiliarity with Liberty City allowed for the player to relate to him more, only driven by his vague past and relationship with Roman. When deciding on Niko's background, the writers felt that being an immigrant could lead to more dangerous situations, and therefore more enjoyable missions; after discussions with criminal experts, Dan Houser found that "the real scary characters are not born in America anymore". He felt that Niko's outsider view of American culture was "fun". The team wanted Niko to be "more of an anti hero than a hero, capable of making positive actions within his criminal world". They wanted his demeanour to reflect the weight of his past and choices.

Niko's design underwent a few changes, but was finalised early in development. His outfit underwent several changes based on Eastern Europeans, particularly photographs of men fighting in winter wars in Yugoslavia and Chechnya. The primary motivation for the design was a face to convey the appropriate emotions and a body that could move nicely with the new animations. The in-game purchasable outfits were also designed to fit with the character. The team ensured that the gameplay choices presented to the player were not too extensive, as they still had to make sense to the character, who is driven by the people around him. Dan Houser felt that the missions in San Andreas had become too linear, and wanted to present choices to the player in Grand Theft Auto IV.

The writers found that Niko needed a motivation to come to America, so they created his cousin, Roman. Dan Houser felt that the two could not be brothers as there would be a deeper level of familiarity than necessary. He described the two as a double act, with Roman's fantasist charm playing off Niko's tough cynicism. The team gave other non-playable characters (NPCs) more definable behaviours and dialogue to make them feel more alive. The writers initially considered having a smaller group of characters, but found that the story became boring and that players were less likely to explore the world. The stranger characters found in the game world were based on the "crazy people" that populate New York, according to Dan Houser, which in previous games were only able to be captured through radio stations or mild pedestrian behaviours. The team based the ethnicities, clothing, and behaviours of the NPCs on the photographs and videos that they captured around New York, divided into different areas; they created mood boards for each location. The NPCs also converse in different languages.

Art design
Grand Theft Auto IV sees a shift in the series to a more realistic and detailed style and tone, partly a result of the transition to consoles which offered high-definition graphics and the new and improved capabilities of such consoles. The development team worked to represent the upgrade in quality across all design aspects while maintaining the coherence of the previous games. The team took the game's development as an opportunity to "strip things back and start again", refining the art style without losing the style of the series; they distanced the game from the "cartoon-like style" of its predecessors while creating a new style that was consistent across all aspects of the game. Garbut found the increased demand of detail brought on by the advanced technology daunting. A technique used to make the visuals look real was to avoid harsh edges, instead blending surfaces together to make the world look dirty and lived-in. The props department created multiple variations of different objects to make the world more interesting and unique. Grand Theft Auto IV was the first contemporary game in the series since 2001's Grand Theft Auto III; the team felt that enough time had passed to avoid feeling repetitive. The types of in-game vehicles were decided upon early in development, after which the vehicles department begin creating the designs. The vehicles are not based on specific real-life counterparts, but take elements from several, with some original ideas by the developers.

Technical and gameplay design

The proprietary Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) was used for the game. Garbut found Grand Theft Auto IVs technical design similar to Grand Theft Auto IIIs, with both games being the first in the series to be released on their respective platforms. He claimed that an operable game engine was not finalised until late in development, at which point "there's still plenty of guesswork" until optimisation near release. The character's physical performances were recorded using motion capture. Up to eight actors could perform on the motion capture stage at one time, each dressed in a full suit. The camera used to capture the performance included a teleprompter for the actors to read their scripts. Over a hundred moves would be captured in each day of production. The final product was taken from different performances by different actors to make them appear seamless and appropriate. The voice work by one actor could be composited over a different actor's physical performance for a specific outcome. The in-game animations were crafted similarly, using a combination of different motion capture performances.

For the gameplay and animations, the team redid a lot of the work from previous games, wanting Grand Theft Auto IV to "feel next-generation". The role-playing elements from San Andreas were removed fairly early in development, partly due to the animation work it would have required, and because consistently needing to visit the gym felt antithetical to Niko's motivations. The game's targeting system was one of the first focuses of development due to the advanced technology; the team wanted it to feel realistic without being too technical. The cover system was a "natural addition" to the targeting. Benzies described the multiplayer as the hardest part of the game's development. The team wanted the multiplayer to feel like an extension of the cinematic single-player experience. Dan Houser described it as "a section of a film rather than the whole narrative". The developers considered adding co-operative multiplayer to the main story campaign, but decided it worked better as a single-player experience.

When Sam Houser first showed interest in using the Euphoria software in the game, he was told that it would be impossible or only limited to cutscenes, but some members of the team were able to make it work. Engineers from NaturalMotion worked on-site at Rockstar North for several months at a time to incorporate Euphoria software into the game. Rockstar also worked with Image Metrics for the game's facial animations. The facial rigs had around 100 joints, with a total of 300 minutes of facial animation. The scale of the project caused some issues for the animators, forcing them to have rigs completed before animation began. They also faced difficulty in the direction of the actor's head—either straight on when looking at the teleprompter, or down when looking at a script. Image Metrics head of production David Barton noted that "having realistic eyes is 90 percent of the battle", as it allows the player to believe the character. A head camera was used when recording to capture facial movements. SpeedTree was used for in-game environment rendering.

Music production
When selecting music for the in-game radio stations, music supervisor Ivan Pavlovich said "[we had] to pick the songs that make New York today what it is, but make sure they won't feel dated by the time the game comes out." The developers contacted over 2,000 people in order to obtain recording and publishing rights; they hired a private investigator to locate the relatives of late Skatt Bros. member Sean Delaney to license the band's song, "Walk the Night". Billboard reported that Rockstar paid as much as $5,000 per composition and another $5,000 per master recording per track. Developers originally considered letting players purchase music in an in-game record shop and for Niko to have an MP3 player, but both ideas were cut. DJ Green Lantern produced tracks exclusively for the game's hip-hop radio station The Beat 102.7. Record label owner and record producer Bobby Konders, who hosts the in-game radio station Massive B Soundsystem 96.9, flew to Jamaica to get dancehall artists to re-record tracks to make references to the boroughs of Liberty City. The Housers's father, jazz musician Walter Houser, provided several classical music tracks for the game.

Release

At E3 2006, Peter Moore, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division, formally announced Grand Theft Auto IV by rolling up his sleeve to reveal a Grand Theft Auto IV temporary tattoo. The game became widely anticipated. Rockstar Games initially appeared to be committed to the original 16 October 2007 release date. However, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter suggested that Take-Two may choose to delay the release of the game in order to boost its financial results for 2008 and to avoid competing with the release of other highly anticipated titles, such as Halo 3; Rockstar responded by saying that Grand Theft Auto IV was still on track for release in "late October". However, Take-Two announced in August 2007 that Grand Theft Auto IV would miss its original release date, and would be delayed to their second fiscal quarter (February–April) of 2008, attributing this to technical challenges. In particular, the delay was caused by technical difficulties with the PlayStation 3 version and storage problems with the Xbox 360 version. IGN predicted that other publishers would benefit from Grand Theft Auto IVs delay, particularly Activision with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. On 24 January 2008, the company announced the game's release date of 29 April 2008. Some gameplay features were censored for the Australian and New Zealand versions of the game, though these censors were subsequently removed.

In August 2008, Rockstar announced that the game would be coming to Windows on 18 November 2008 in North America and 21 November in Europe, with additional development work by Rockstar Toronto. Microsoft partnered with Rockstar in a  deal to bring two episodic downloadable content packs to the Xbox 360: Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned on 17 February 2009, and Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony on 29 October 2009. Dan Houser wanted the episodes to show "a different side of Liberty City". In January 2010, Rockstar announced that the DLC would be bundled as Episodes from Liberty City, released for PlayStation 3 and Windows on 13 April 2010 in North America and 16 April in Europe. Episodes from Liberty City was also bundled with the main game in The Complete Edition, released on 26 October 2010 in North America and 29 October in Europe. The Xbox 360 version of the game and its DLC were made backwards compatible with the Xbox One on 9 February 2017.

Promotion

Industry analysts found Grand Theft Auto IVs marketing much more subtle than Microsoft's marketing of Halo 3 (2007), identifying Rockstar's interest in controlling the output at all times. The game was marketed through video trailers and press demonstrations. On 29 March 2007, the debut trailer was released. It was narrated by protagonist Niko, and depicts the open world accompanied by the song "Pruit-Igoe" by Philip Glass, originally composed for Godfrey Reggio's 1982 documentary film Koyaanisqatsi. The trailer is credited for starting the Rickrolling meme; after the higher viewership crashed Rockstar's website, several users re-posted the trailer, but some misleadingly played the music video for Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up". The second trailer was released on 28 June 2007, showcasing the game's physics engine and featuring the song "Arm in Arm (Shy Child Remix)" by The Boggs. Dan Houser noted that the game was "still rough" when the first trailer was released, but that cutscenes were "coming on board" by the second trailer's release.

To unveil the game's cover art, Rockstar contracted artists to paint a mural on a wall at a secluded warehouse location, showcasing the art in a video on 28 November 2007. A third trailer was released on 6 December 2007, introducing some of the game's characters, such as Roman and Michelle. The trailer features the song "King Ring" by Russian rap artist Seryoga, which Rockstar felt captured the "melting pot mentality" of Liberty City. Dan Houser wanted the third trailer to capture the "visceral qualities" of the game, but focus less on the story, as the first two trailers had done. On 8 February 2008, five teaser trailers for the game were released, each showcasing a particular character or service within the game. Similar teaser trailers were later released in pairs on 21 February, 7 March, and 11 April. Another trailer, released on 27 March 2008, showcases some scenes from the game, such as a bank robbery and police chase. A television commercial from GameStop debuted on 1 April, focusing on the activities in Liberty City.

Viral marketing strategies were used to promote the game. Wanted posters were placed around New York City promoting the game's characters and website; billboard versions were also posted throughout the city. Murals and posters advertising the game were placed on buildings and public transport. The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) removed advertisements promoting the game from their property in April 2008; Take-Two filed a lawsuit in response, claiming that the CTA had violated a contract. Visitors to the website of WKTT Talk Radio—a fictional radio station within the game—were offered a chance to leave a voice mail message stating their problems. Prior to leaving the message, callers were asked to read the terms and conditions, which revealed that some of the voice mail message would be selected for use in the game.

In the month prior to launch, Rockstar and GameStop held a competition offering up to  and a trip to New York City for the game's launch event. Microsoft held a similar sweepstakes competition, offering consoles, games, Microsoft Points, a baseball bat, and an invitation to the launch event as rewards. The official Grand Theft Auto IV website was redesigned on 8 February 2008 to show a preview of activities and locales within the game's world. To encourage pre-order sales, Rockstar collaborated with several retail outlets to provide a special edition version of the game. It includes a metal safe deposit box, an art book, and the soundtrack CD. The publisher also collaborated with Sony to release a 40 GB PlayStation 3 console with a copy of the game. GameStop hosted midnight launch events at over 3,500 of its American stores, with contests and giveaways.

Reception

Critical response

Grand Theft Auto IV received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic. It is the second-highest-rated game on the site, and the highest-rated PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game. Reviewers praised the narrative, open world design and combat system. Hilary Goldstein of IGN felt that the game "sets a new benchmark for open-world games", and Andrew Reiner of Game Informer wrote that the game "completely changes the landscape of gaming".

Reviewers lauded the open world design, some further complimenting the freedom that it allows the player. Seth Schiesel of The New York Times named the city the "real star" of the game. Official Xbox Magazines Hicks was impressed by the city, attributing this to the game's artificial intelligence. Robinson of Computer and Video Games considered the environment believable, and felt that the world was "utterly unmatched". Goldstein of IGN felt that, although Liberty City is inspired by New York, it is not beholden to it. He wrote that the city "exists in its own universe and rightfully so". Crispin Boyer of 1UP.com directed praise at the city's "breathtaking vistas, incredibly varied scenery, and lived-in look." Conversely, Jesse Costantino of GameRevolution felt that the game lacked important features common in other open world games.

Reviewers praised the narrative. IGNs Goldstein accepted that the darker tones to the story, a break from series tradition. Jon Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine felt surprised by the amount of depth to the story. Reiner of Game Informer wrote that the level of freedom in the game contributed to his enjoyment of the story. The morality choices faced by players throughout the narrative were also welcomed. 1UP.coms Boyer felt that they gave the game an element of "replayability". Eurogamers Tom Bramwell considered the morality choices a fair substitute over "bosses with large health bars".

The game's characters—particularly Niko—received positive reactions from critics. Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine and Andy Robinson of Computer and Video Games both called Niko "charismatic" and "likeable", stating that they prefer him over previous protagonists of the series. George Walter of GamesRadar praised the depth of the character, and IGNs Goldstein felt that the character of Niko feels relatable when faced with difficult decisions. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb felt that Niko was "the only thing that mattered to [him]" as he progressed through the story, with the character becoming one of his favourite features of the game. Schiesel of The New York Times named Niko one of the most realised video game characters attributing this to the game's script, while 1UP.coms Boyer commended the use of character bonding during missions.

Many reviewers found the combat system was more responsive than in previous games, particularly praising the addition of the cover system. Justin Calvert of GameSpot wrote that the cover system makes the game's combat a "huge improvement" over previous games. Reiner of Game Informer agreed, writing that the targeting system makes players feel responsible for all deaths. IGNs Goldstein praised the fluidity of the cover system, and felt that the auto aim mechanic is a "great help in larger battles". GamesRadars Walter wrote that the cover system has "paved the way to a new style of mission". David McComb of Empire called the combat "sharp and instinctive", and Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine felt that the cover system allows players to execute an attack plan. In addition to the combat system, most reviewers noted the vehicle handling was more realistic than in previous games. Robinson of Computer and Video Games felt that the vehicle handling echoed realism, while Hicks of Official Xbox Magazine called the vehicle selection "excellent". Costantino of GameRevolution praised the improvement of the game's mechanics, particularly the physics engine's advanced vehicle and character animations.

Reviewers praised the sound design. Goldstein of IGN praised the actors' performances and the use of licensed music. GameSpots Calvert and GamesRadars Walter also commended the licensed music, the latter admiring the humour of the radio's talk stations. Michael Pinson of The Pro Audio Files praised the separate features of the sound design—including the city's ambiance, licensed music, character dialogue, and vehicle and weapon sound effects—applauding the developer's use of uniting the features together. Carolyn Gudmundson of GamesRadar also retroactively praised the soundtrack, commending its suitability to the setting.

The online multiplayer mode received positive reactions from critics. Reiner of Game Informer praised the character customisation available in the multiplayer mode, and noted that it runs "just as smoothly" as the single-player game. 1UP.coms Boyer called the multiplayer modes "excellent", and IGNs Goldstein named it one of the best. Official Xbox Magazines Hicks dubbed the multiplayer as "hugely entertaining", while Walter of GamesRadar praised the "seamless" process of entering a multiplayer match. Giant Bombs Gerstmann and GameRevolutions Costantino felt divided about the multiplayer, the latter naming it a "fantastic idea", but feeling as though connectivity problems resulted in a "broken" experience.

Windows version

The Windows version received "universal acclaim", according to Metacritic. Reviewers liked the enhanced visuals and the additional features, but criticised the port for its inferiority over the console versions.

The in-game features added in the port were well received. The addition of the Video Editor was met with positive reactions; GameSpots Calvert called it "a great way to get creative", while Kieron Gillen of Eurogamer criticised the unpredictability in its timing. Critics also praised the addition of the customisable radio station, which allows players to listen to their own choice of music; Tom Chick of 1UP.com named it the best feature of the port, and Steven Hopper of GameZone called it a "great touch". The port's upgrade to 32 concurrent players in the online multiplayer mode, as opposed to the console version's 16 players, was also met with positive feedback; Eurogamers Gillen said that the "possibility for mayhem... increases", while Will Tuttle of GameSpy felt that the player increase "changes the action significantly".

The port's enhanced visuals were commended by many reviewers. GameZone Hopper considered the visuals an improvement over the original versions. Andy Robinson of Computer and Video Games called the visuals "impressive", while Tom Orry of VideoGamer.com called them "superb". Conversely, the port's system requirements, considered difficult to run with advanced settings, received criticism. Eurogamers Gillen said that, though the Windows version is "the most attractive version", it's "annoyingly fiddly to get there". GameSpys Tuttle was able to overlook the demanding system requirements in exchange for the game's other features.

Awards

Grand Theft Auto IV earned awards from several critics and publications. It received Game of the Year awards from Digital Spy, the Entertainment Merchants Association, GameTrailers, Giant Bomb, IGN Australia, Kotaku, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and Time. The game led the nominees at the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards with eight nominations; it led the winners (tying with Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots) with three awards: Game of the Year, Best Action Adventure Game, and Best Performance by a Human Male for Michael Hollick's role as Niko. The following year, The Ballad of Gay Tony won Best DLC.

Grand Theft Auto IV was nominated for three awards at the 9th Game Developers Choice Awards including Game of the Year, four at the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards including Overall Game of the Year, and seven at the 5th British Academy Games Awards, tying with Modern Warfare for the most nominations at the latter. At IGNs Best of 2008, it won eleven awards, including Best Voice Acting across all three platforms and overall, and Best Story for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was nominated for Choice Video Game at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards.

Sales
Within twenty-four hours of its release, Grand Theft Auto IV sold over 3.6 million copies, equating to approximately $310 million in revenue. Within a week, it generated more than $500 million in worldwide revenue, equating to approximately 6 million copies sold for Take Two. The numbers surpassed analysts' expectations for the title. After one month of availability, the game had sold over 8.5 million copies. It broke three Guinness World Records on 13 May 2008: highest grossing video game in 24 hours, highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours, and fastest-selling video game in 24 hours. On 11 March 2011, Take-Two announced that the game had sold over 20 million copies, with the Grand Theft Auto series surpassing a collective total of 100 million copies. As of July 2013, the game has sold over 25 million copies, making it one of the best-selling video games, and one of the best-selling games on both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. All sales records broken by Grand Theft Auto IV were beaten by its successor, Grand Theft Auto V.

In the United Kingdom, the game became the fastest-selling game of all time, selling over 631,000 copies in twenty-four hours. This broke the record set by Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas at 501,000 copies over the same period. During the first five days of availability, the game sold over 927,000 copies in the United Kingdom. In the United States, Grand Theft Auto IV sold 2.85 million units in its first five days. By the end of 2008, the game had sold over 5.18 million copies in the US. In its first four days of availability in Japan, it sold 133,000 copies on the PlayStation 3 and 34,000 on the Xbox 360, according to Media Create.

In the first week of availability, the Windows version of Grand Theft Auto IV debuted at seventh place on the weekly charts; by the second week, it had left the top-ten. Based on unique user counts, the game was the most played Games for Windows – Live game in 2009 and 2012, and the second-most played in 2011.

Controversies

Pre-release

In 2007, then-Florida lawyer Jack Thompson, known for his campaigns against the series, stated he would take measures to prevent the sale of Grand Theft Auto IV to minors. On 14 March, Take-Two filed a lawsuit against Thompson to preemptively restrict his attempts to ban the game from sale. Thompson responded by filing a countersuit accusing Take-Two of violating federal RICO statutes, committing perjury and obstruction of justice, and conspiring to deprive him of his civil rights. On 20 April, both parties reached a settlement agreeing to drop their lawsuits: Thompson was barred from suing to ban the sale or distribution of Take-Two's games but able to act as counsel in lawsuits by other parties, while Take-Two agreed to drop the contempt of court lawsuit against Thompson regarding alleged improper conduct during the court hearings for Rockstar's game Bully (2006).

On 18 September 2007, Thompson filed a document with a federal court in Florida, claiming the assassination target of a mission in Grand Theft Auto IV is a lawyer character based upon himself. He threatened to "take necessary and proper means to stop release of the game" if the similarities were not removed. In April 2008, Thompson wrote a letter directed to the mother of Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick, in which he labelled Grand Theft Auto a "murder simulator" and criticised Zelnick's upbringing, comparing his Boy Scouts experience to Hitler Youth. Thompson subsequently claimed he sent the letter to Zelnick's lawyer, formulating it as a parody to induce "shame" in Zelnick.

Following the release of the first trailer in March 2007, New York City officials criticised the choice of their city as inspiration for Liberty City; Peter Vallone Jr., chairman of the council's public safety committee, compared it to "setting Halo in Disneyland", and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called it "despicable to glamorize violence in games like these". A spokesman for mayor Michael Bloomberg said "the mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers". Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the International Game Developers Association, accused city officials of double standards for criticising video games but avoiding the argument for books, films, and television series set in the city.

Post-release

In April 2008, non-profit organisation Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) criticised the ability to drink-drive in the game. MADD requested the Entertainment Software Rating Board change the rating of the game to "Adults Only", effectively removing it from sale. They asked Take-Two and Rockstar to consider halting distribution out of a sense of social responsibility and respect for victims of driving under the influence. Rockstar said it respected MADD's work but felt the game's audience "is more than sophisticated enough to understand the game's content", adding "you can't judge Grand Theft Auto IV by a small aspect of the game".

On his program in May 2008, conservative American radio host Glenn Beck used the game as an example of violence in video games "training our kids to be killers", erroneously stating the player can attack police officers with a chainsaw; Kombos David Oxford rebutted that the game is not targeted at children. Beck said games like Grand Theft Auto IV were being used to make militaries more violent; Destructoids Jim Sterling countered that violent wars occurred prior to the creation of video games. Computer and Video Gamess Robinson compared Beck's "rant" to the game's satirical radio shows.

In June 2008, six teenagers who were arrested for robbery in New Hyde Park, New York, claimed they were inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV, according to the Nassau County Police Department. In August, an 18-year-old student was arrested in Bangkok for the murder of a taxi driver after attempting to hijack the vehicle; according to the police captain, the student "wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game". The game was subsequently banned in Thailand. In August 2013, 87-year-old Marie Smothers was killed in Slaughter, Louisiana, when her eight-year-old grandson shot her in the head with a handgun after playing Grand Theft Auto IV; under state law, the boy could not be charged for her death due to his age.

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

2008 video games
Action-adventure games
Censored video games
Cultural depictions of the Mafia
Episodic video games
Euphoria (software) games
Games for Windows
Multiplayer and single-player video games
Obscenity controversies in video games
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Grand Theft Auto IV


The sand catfish (Arius arenarius) is a species of sea catfish in the family Ariidae. It was described by Johannes Peter Müller and Franz Hermann Troschel in 1849, originally under the genus Bagrus. It is found in subtropical brackish and marine waters in the western Pacific, including China Taiwan, and possibly the Philippines. It reaches a maximum standard length of .

References

Arius (fish)
Fish described in 1849

Sand catfish


Chris Williams (born September 16, 1987) is an American professional free agent Canadian football wide receiver of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at New Mexico State. Williams was signed by the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He made his professional debut for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) in 2010. Williams has also been a member of the Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, Ottawa Redblacks, BC Lions and Montreal Alouettes.

High school
He was born in Fort Worth, Texas and attended Rio Rancho High School in Rio Rancho, New Mexico, where he was a letterman in football, basketball and track. In football, he was named to the first-team All-state team after rushing for nearly 2,100 yards and 33 touchdowns as a senior in 2004. He was also named to the first-team All-state basketball team.

Also an outstanding track & field athlete, Williams scored 26 points at the 2005 Class 5A State Championships, where he captured the state titles in the 200-meter dash (21.51 s), 400-meter dash, the high jump (6 ft, 11in) was a member of the state champion 4 × 100 m relay and the state champion 4 × 400 m relay squads. He won the state high jump and 200-meter dash title in 2004, and State High Jump in 2003. He won a total of 9 state titles in track in his high school career.

College
Williams played college football for New Mexico State.
Williams was the Aggies' top receiver in 2006, playing in all 12 games. He became the ninth player in school history to earn All-American honors as he was named to the SI.com All-America Honorable Mention team. Williams led the nation in receiving yards per game (117.9) and catches per game (7.66).  His 1,861 all-purpose yards also ranked fourth in the nation.
In 2007, Williams started the Aggies first eight games before suffering a season ending injury to his shoulder. In just eight games, Williams caught 56 passes for 772 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also returned five kicks for 116 yards and six punts for 100 yards. Despite missing five games, Williams was named a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, he also earned second all-WAC honors as voted on by the WAC coaches.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins
He signed with the Miami Dolphins as an undrafted college free agent on April 30, 2009. He was waived/injured on August 24 and subsequently reverted to injured reserve. He was released with an injury settlement on August 25.

Cleveland Browns
Williams was signed to the Cleveland Browns practice squad on November 9. He was released on November 18.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Williams originally signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on October 18, 2010 and spent two weeks on the team's practice roster. He was re-signed on May 18, 2011. On September 3, 2012, during the last Labour Day Classic played at Ivor Wynne Stadium, Willams recorded his sixth return touchdown of the year, setting a new CFL record for return touchdowns in a single season. It was also the third consecutive game in which Williams had returned a punt for a touchdown, which also established a new CFL record. Williams finished the season with 16 touchdowns, 1,298 receiving yards and 1,117 punt return yards.

After an outstanding season Willams did not want to return to the Tiger-Cats under his current contract of less than $50,000, and on March 15 he tweeted the following, ""Im beefin with my squad im not going back." On April 4 it was announced that Williams had contacted the Canadian Football League Players' Association to see if the Tiger-Cats violated a provision within the collective bargaining agreement that could lead to the final year of his contract with the Tiger-Cats being voided. Williams claims that the Ticats did not offer him the one year plus an option, but rather just the two-year plus an option contract. After failing to show up for mandatory training camp at the start of June 2013 the Tiger-Cats placed him under suspension. Neither Williams nor his agent has made any contact with the Tiger-Cats, despite the team trying to communicate with them. On June 4, 2013 an independent arbitrator ruled that Williams' contract with the Tiger-Cats was legal and binding. However, almost 3 months later on August 29, 2013, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice over-ruled the decision of the independent arbitrator, declaring Williams is not bound to any contractual obligations with the Tiger-Cats, making him a free agent in the view of the CFL Players Association. The CFL has announced that they would appeal the decision. On October 2, 2013 the Hamilton Tiger-Cats announced that Williams was free to sign with any NFL team, but they would reserve his CFL rights through the 2014 CFL season.

New Orleans Saints
On October 3, 2013, he was signed by the New Orleans Saints. The move came just one day after he was granted free agency.

Chicago Bears
On December 26, 2013, Williams was signed by the Chicago Bears.
On November 9, 2014, Williams took a kickoff back 101 yards for a touchdown and tied an NFL record with 10 kickoff return attempts. He was waived/injured on December 3, 2014 to make way for the signing of Jay Feely as injury cover for Robbie Gould when he was considered doubtful for the game against the Dallas Cowboys on December 4.

Ottawa Redblacks
On April 21, 2015, the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League announced that they had signed Williams to a one-year contract. Williams finished the season with the third most receiving yards in the league with 1,214 yards on 88 receptions with 5 touchdowns. In January 2016 Williams and the Redblacks agreed to a contract extension. Through the first 3 games of the 2016 season Williams broke the CFL record for most receiving yards to in the first three games of a season; a record set by Allen Pitts in 1994 who went on to finish the '94 season with more than 2,000 receiving yards. Williams was named the CFL Top Performer of the Month for the month of July after amassing 38 receptions for 625 yards with 6 touchdowns in the first 6 weeks of the season (there was no Top Performer for the two playable weeks in the month of June). Partway through their Week 16 match-up against the Roughriders Williams was forced to leave the game early with a knee injury. A few days later it was announced that he had sustained a torn ACL and would miss the remainder of the 2016 season. In 14 games played Williams finished the season with 1,246 receiving yards on 77 receptions with 10 of them going for touchdowns.

BC Lions
Upon entering free agency, Williams signed a two-year contract with the BC Lions on February 17, 2017. Williams had a down season in 2017, catching only 38 passes for 415 yards and only one touchdown.

Montreal Alouettes
Following a disappointing 2017 season in BC, Williams was traded to the Montreal Alouettes in exchange for Gabriel Knapton on December 12, 2017. Williams started out the 2018 season playing well for the Alouettes, catching 15 passes for 283 yards with one touchdown in four games.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats (II)
Following the sixth week of the 2018 season Williams was traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats along with defensive lineman Jamaal Westerman and two first round picks for quarterback Johnny Manziel and offensive linemen Tony Washington and Landon Rice. Williams played in four games for the Tiger-Cats in 2018, catching 10 passes for 114 yards. He suffered a non-contact knee injury in Week 11 and underwent surgery shortly thereafter.

Career statistics

NFL stats

CFL stats

See also
 List of NCAA major college football yearly receiving leaders

References

External links

 Canadian Football League profile
 BC Lions profile

 New Mexico State Aggies profile

1987 births
Living people
American football return specialists
American football wide receivers
American players of Canadian football
BC Lions players
Canadian Football League Rookie of the Year Award winners
Canadian football return specialists
Canadian football wide receivers
Chicago Bears players
Cleveland Browns players
Hamilton Tiger-Cats players
Hartford Colonials players
Miami Dolphins players
New Orleans Saints players
New Mexico State Aggies football players
Ottawa Redblacks players
People from Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Players of American football from Fort Worth, Texas
Montreal Alouettes players
Sportspeople from Bernalillo County, New Mexico

Chris Williams (wide receiver)


The Milwaukee Community Sailing Center is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) agency.  The Sailing Center provides educational and recreational sailing programs to those who wish to gain access to Lake Michigan and learn to sail; regardless of age, ability, or financial concerns.  In 2004, MCSC celebrated its 25th year of sailing.

Much like a co-operative, the Sailing Center owns and maintains over 80 boats and provides members no-charge access to the fleet after they successfully demonstrate basic sailing skills and earn a rating.  Membership is low cost, less than the cost of insurance on a privately owned sailboat, and works on a sliding scale based on age, experience and income.  The Sailing Center also offers private boat owners 24-hour access to the lake, year-round boat and dinghy storage, mast stepping boat launching and haul out services.

Each summer the Sailing Center partners with local organizations to provide sailing opportunities to thousands of at-risk and economically disadvantaged youth, the physically challenged and others.  The Sailing Center also provides social activities and volunteer opportunities to members.

Mission

The Milwaukee Community Sailing Center is a private, non-profit agency that works to strengthen the sport of sailing through an active educational program and on-the-water sailing in a professional and safe manner.  The Milwaukee Community Sailing Center strives to be the organization of choice for people who wish to sail, for both the enjoyment and thrill of competition.

Location/Sailing Area

The Milwaukee Community Sailing Center () is located north of downtown in the heart of Veterans Park at McKinley Marina.  The sailing area crosses the McKinley Mooring Basin as Light and Medium Air sailors remain inside the breakwater.  Heavy air sailors may sail outside the breakwater; however, before leaving the docks, sailors must develop a sailing plan based on the wind direction, keeping the safest and shortest route in mind.

Fleet/Facilities

The fleet () at the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center makes up one of the largest of any community sailing program in the country.  The fleet of 80 boats includes  Pearson Ensign, J-24s, and Solings.  For younger sailors, the Sailing Center's fleet includes Hunter 146s, DC Dinghys and 470s, a two-person Olympic racer.  The Sailing Center uses a JY Club Trainer for use in area park lagoons.

History

Founded in 1977, the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center was created by a group of local sailors who sought to form a community organization to make sailing accessible to all in the Milwaukee area and dispel the myth that sailing is an elitist sport.  With seed money from Ted Seaver, Doug Drake and Milwaukee County offices and a maintenance facility were built.  Completed in 1980, and the Sailing Center opened with lessons and boat rentals.  With an enthusiastic staff of 10 and a humble fleet of Tech Dinghies, Volants and a safety boat, Milwaukee had a unique way to take advantage of the lake.

After the Sailing Center's first year, twelve students graduated from the courses provided and the Sailing Center began to grow.  Today, hundreds of new members are learning to sail through Sailing Center programs. The nationally renowned "Prams in the Park" program began in 1985 and continues to bring sailing and water safety to Milwaukee County Park lagoons, offering scholarships to economically disadvantaged youth and giving individuals the opportunity to participate, learn and have fun.

The Sailing Center's education and recreational programs have seen success as well.  The Sailing Center offers adult and youth members a full range of basic, intermediate and advanced sailing courses, as well as regattas, volunteer instructor opportunities and open sailing seven days a week on a variety if sailboats.

The Sailing Center now owns and maintains over 80 boats, one of the largest such fleets of any non-profit sailing organization in the U.S., including specifically designed Access Dinghies for physically challenged sailors.  With four full-time, year-round staff, which expands to 40 during the sailing season, and a strong base of 700+ members, the Sailing Center provides great times and wonderful outings for all who want to enjoy the sport of sailing in the City of Milwaukee.

Timeline

1977 - Milwaukee Community Sailing Center officially launched.  A group of dedicated volunteers file documents forming a governing board to create and manage the Sailing Center.
1979 - The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors approves the plan for the Sailing Center office and maintenance facility and announces that it will be part of the overall McKinley Marina development.
1980 - Bill Mosher hired as the first executive director to oversee the development of brick and mortar construction, sailing instruction and programming.  10 Vanguard Volants were also purchased to form the nucleus of the fleet.  Vanguard Boatworks in Pewaukee built an  centerboard for the Sailing Center which is the ideal teaching boat of the Sailing Center's fleet.  This was the first season that the Sailing Center was opened.
1981 & 1983 - In 1981, the first 12 students graduated from the beginning sailing course offered by the Sailing Center and in 1983 the Sailing Center hosted the prestigious National Finn Gold Cup Regatta.
1984 - The Sailing Center received Federal funding for "Prams in the Park," an innovative program to teach children ages 8–12 in local neighborhood parks how to sail.  The program connected the Sailing Center with the central city.
1988 - Board President Bill Ihlenfeld solicits donations of Ensigns, a 22' keel boat, from owners across the country.  Today, the Sailing Center uses the Ensign boat as its primary teaching boat and boasts the largest fleet of this stable, roomy boat in the country.
1990 - "Sailing is Fun Day" is created to bring multiple organizations to the Sailing Center for a special day with volunteers offering physically challenged sailors boat rides followed by a picnic.
1995 - With more programs opening up through the Sailing Center, the first Sailor's Ball was introduced to raise funds to support the Sailing Center's programs.  Olympic and America's Cup Sailor Buddy Melges was honored.  Approximately $175,000 has been raised over the last 9 years.
2000 - The Sailing Center's board of directors recognizes a need to expand to provide for Sailing Center's programs.  Authorizes building committee to begin strategic planning for the next 25 years.
2002 - $50,000 donated from an anonymous foundation funds program for at-risk kids.  The Harley–Davidson Foundation funded an additional $10,000 for this important youth initiative allowing the Sailing Center to partner with key inner-city organizations.  A campaign is set to raise $3 million for a new facility. Peter and Olaf Harken announce their $100,000 donation to the building fund at the annual Sailor's Ball held March 2.  The Harkens also agreed to serve as co-chairs of the building campaign.  The board of directors and staff pledge $30,000 and the Sailing Center receives an additional pledge of $50,000 by an anonymous donor.
2010 - Fundraising and construction comes to a successful close, and the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center opens a new headquarters and training center, with a large community room, year-around classrooms, offices, bathrooms and an outdoor patio. The $2.25M  building is heated and cooled using a geothermal system to keep operating expenses low. The building is nominated for and receives the City of Milwaukee's Mayor's Design Award.

Membership

Members of the Milwaukee Community Sailing are able to participate in all programs the Sailing Center has to offer.  Upon completion of appropriate courses and after successfully demonstrating basic sailing skills, individuals have no-charge access to the fleet during Open Sailing.  Members are allowed to bring guests to sail and are able to participate in the Sailing Center's racing program.  Members participate in social events, take advantage of the Sailing Center's grounds, which provide volleyball courts and a picnic area, meet new people and have a great time, which is what being a member of the Sailing Center is all about.  For adults and youth, the Sailing Center offers three course levels; Basic, Intermediate and Advanced.

Outreach Programs

The Milwaukee Community Sailing Center has a variety of outreach programs that provide access to Lake Michigan through sailing and water safety training.  Through coordinated efforts with many community service organizations, the Sailing Center is able to provide experiences to many individuals. The following are programs that the Sailing Center has put together to provide services for the needs of those interested in the joys and benefits of sailing.

External links
Official website

References

The Business Journal of Milwaukee, Friday, October 1, 2004 "Sailing center needs financial wind for new building" by Mark Sabljak
The Business Journal of Milwaukee, Friday, March 22, 2002. "Sailing Center sets lakefront upgrade"  by Pete Millard
MKE, Aug. 3, 2006. "When I was 30 – Holly Davenport – Reaching a high-water mark." By Tim Cigelske
[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, August 3, 2004, by Laura Steele. "Sailing center commits to making water truly open"]
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sept. 8, 2006, by Vikki Ortiz. "Instructor was sailing before she could walk"

Buildings and structures in Milwaukee
Education in Milwaukee
Organizations established in 1979
Sailing centers in the United States
Sailing in Milwaukee
1979 establishments in Wisconsin

Milwaukee Community Sailing Center