Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage.

Jewel case

A jewel CD case is a compact disc case that has been used since the compact disc was first released in 1982. It is a three-piece plastic case, measuring , a volume of , which usually contains a compact disc along with the liner notes and a back card. Two opposing transparent halves are hinged together to form the casing, the back half holding a media tray that grips the disc by its hole. All three parts are made of injection-moulded polystyrene.

Around 1993 there was a general shift to the rear jewel case being made of clear plastic instead of black or coloured.

The front lid contains two, four, or six tabs to keep any liner notes in place. The liner notes typically will be a  booklet, or a single  leaf folded in half. In addition, there is usually a back card, , underneath the media tray and visible through the clear back, often listing the track names, studio, copyright data and other information. The back card is folded into a flattened "U" shape, with the sides being visible along the ends (often referred to as the spine) of the case. The ends usually have the name of the release and the artist, and often label or catalogue information printed on them, and are designed to be visible when the case is stored vertically, 'book-style', on shelves.

The rear media tray snaps into the back cover and is responsible for securing the CD. This is achieved by a central circular hub of spring-loaded teeth that grip and effectively suspend the disc above the tray surface, preventing the recording surface from being scratched.

The jewel case is the standard case used by the majority of manufacturers and it is the most common type of case found in record and movie stores. Jewel cases are occasionally used for DVDs, but generally not for those that contain major film releases. Blank Blu-ray Disc media is also most commonly sold in standard-width jewel cases.

Origin
According to Philips, the name "jewel case" reflects either the generally high quality of the case design compared to initial attempts, or its appearance.  According to one publication, initial attempts at packaging CDs were unsatisfactory.  When the new design, by Peter Doodson, was found to be "virtually perfect" it was dubbed the "jewel case". Another publication quotes Doodson describing that he "specified polished ribs as they pick up the light and shine" and states that the resulting appearance led to the name.

Strengths
Endurance: The CD jewel case has a tight and firm grip of the CD because of the tray's "teeth" or "lock". Because of this, even if the CD jewel case is turned upside-down, left, or right, the CD is held in place. Flimsier cases may cause the CD to become loose, or even fall out. Also, since the jewel case is made of plastic, it is sturdier compared to cardboard, paper, or foams. When pressure is applied to the CD jewel case, the case will break first before the CD. If the case is made of thin cardboard, there is a greater chance that the CD would break or get damaged because the weight is directed onto it.

Storage: The type of material of the CD jewel case allows storage of CDs for decades without ruining the CDs. The same is not as true with other cases, since paper can stick to the CDs due to air, humidity, and other factors. The CD jewel case may also be preferred because it offers orderliness on a shelf. Since the CD jewel case has existed for decades, there are many CD shelves, racks, and other products in the market that are made for CD jewel cases.

Room for accessories: The CD jewel case is designed to carry a booklet, as well as to have panel inserts. These may be used to display album artwork, lyrics, photos, thank-yous, messages, biography, etc.

Cost-effectiveness: Because the CD jewel case is the standard, most-commonly used CD case, it is much cheaper. The price of the CD jewel case usually ranges from $0.75 to $0.95. That is a few cents cheaper than digipaks and other CD wallets.  However, if large quantities of cases are needed, the price difference may be hundreds or thousands of US dollars.

Weaknesses
There are a number of shortcomings with the jewel case. The case is hinged on two brittle plastic arms, which often break if the case receives shock or stress due to being dropped. The teeth of the hub holding the disc are also prone to failure by snapping. There is a problem with the tabs ("half-moons") which hold the liner notes in place; sometimes, especially with larger booklets, the tabs grip the booklet too tightly, leading to tearing. When replacing the booklet, it can get snagged and crumple or rip. As noted above, some CD releases have only two tabs, which allows the booklet to be more easily removed and replaced (with the disadvantage of the booklet sometimes falling out if held the wrong way). Replacement jewel cases can be purchased, to replace those that have broken plastic arms or hub teeth.

Variations

Double disc albums can either be packaged in standard-thickness jewel cases with hinged media trays which can be lifted to reveal the second disc (trays hinged on the left are known as "Smart Tray" format; those hinged on the right are known as "Brilliant Box" format) or in a chubby jewel case, sometimes called a multi-CD jewel case, which is slightly thicker than two normal jewel cases stacked on top of each other and can hold from 2 and up to 6 CDs. Chubby jewel cases do not fit in some CD racks, however, some racks have a few extra wide slots specifically to accommodate them.

Jewel cases for CDs released early in the format's life featured frosted top and bottom spines as opposed to the ridged ones more commonly used. As a result of their rarity, these types of jewel cases are fairly coveted among collectors.

"Super Jewel Box" is a more advanced design which offers amongst other improvements a greatly strengthened hinge area. The depth of the disc tray is also greater, allowing for two discs to be placed on top of each other. The super jewel box cannot be used as a direct replacement for the older jewel case design as its card insert for the back is slightly different in size and shape. The super jewel box was developed by Philips and it was intended to be successor to the original jewel case. Some CD manufacturers (for example the high-end company Linn) are supplying them. The super jewel box is the conventional case for Super Audio CD (SACD) releases; a taller "Plus" size, midway between CD and DVD-Video size, is the conventional case for DVD-Audio, and as of mid-2006, the case format for all albums released by the Universal Music Group in Europe.

Many alternatives to the standard jewel case may also be found, including larger DVD-style cases with a more book-like shape. It is not uncommon to find CDs housed in custom cases, tins and boxes of varying shapes and sizes. Slipcases and other envelope-type designs are also occasionally used.

Some DualDiscs are packaged in jewel cases of a somewhat different design from the CD version; the inside edge is rounded instead of flat, and the physical position of the disc is moved slightly toward the spine to make room for a latch mechanism. The overall dimensions of a DualDisc case are roughly the same as a standard CD case. However, the hinge mechanism is smaller and cannot be dismantled as easily as on a standard jewel case.

Smaller jewel cases are used for 8 cm CD and DVD media; similar cases without the hub are used for MiniDisc and (magnetic) Zip disk media.

Additionally, larger jewel cases that were around the size of VHS keep cases were used for North American releases of games for the Sega CD, all North American releases of Sega Saturn games, and games released early in the original PlayStation's life cycle. Because the larger thickness of these cases put the CDs inside at greater risk of being accidentally knocked out of their hubs, large foam bricks were placed on top of the discs when packaged to hold them in place.

Slimline jewel case

Slimline jewel cases first gained popularity as cases for CD singles sold in Japan and Europe, and have become a common space-saving packaging for burned CDs. The cases used for CD singles sold in Japan and Europe are 7 mm thick, with a "J-card" type inlay, showing cover art through the front of the case, and also through both the spine and part of the back of the case. The CD itself is usually inserted "upside-down" in the case, so that the artwork on the disc itself shows through the transparent back of the case.

Most slim jewel cases sold for burned CDs use the measure , which is roughly half the thickness of a standard CD jewel case, allowing twice as many CDs to be stored in the same space, and will generally fit two to a slot in a standard CD rack. They generally do not have room for a full package insert booklet, only a slip of paper for a track listing or cover art, showing only through the front of the case. Unlike the standard jewel cases, slimline cases are made of two pieces rather than three and do not have a place for a back label. However, with this design the "spine" is narrower, making the discs more difficult to identify when stored on edge on a shelf.

External marketing packaging
In the U.S. and Canada, the jewel box of a music CD was originally packaged for retail sale in a large cardboard box called a longbox in order to fit in store fixtures designed for vinyl records, offer larger space for display of artwork and marketing blurbs, and deter shoplifting. This packaging was much-criticized as environmentally wasteful, and was eventually dropped by most retailers in the mid-1990s, though major record companies continued to ship CDs to wholesale clubs, such as Costco and Sam's Club, in longboxes into the 21st century.

Around 1994, the top wrap-around label sticker began to appear on most CDs, to make it easier to read what each CD was from the top without having to flip through them to see the front cover. These stickers were usually nothing more than informational labels and rarely would have any use in the marketing of the album. The wrap-around sticker also provided an extra seal, possibly as another theft deterrent.

A chiefly Japanese packaging addition is the inclusion of an obi strip, a J-card-esque paperboard slip wound around the left side of the case to show details such as the price, artist, etc. The obi strip is particularly useful in the case of Japanese releases of western artists' material, due to the fact that the cover artwork is unaltered from its original-language release.

Paper or Tyvek sleeve

The simplest, least expensive package is a paper envelope. More expensive versions add a transparent window to the envelope allowing the disc label to be seen. The envelope can also be made out of spunbonded polyethylene (trade-named Tyvek). This is both more durable and less abrasive than paper. However, such packaging is rare for commercial releases due to its relative lack of protection compared with other designs, and is primarily limited to promotional and demo discs.

It is also often used in software packages, where the box is labeled promotionally, but the disc comes in a paper sleeve (to cut costs).

Q Pack
The Q Pack was developed by the Queens Group Inc. in the mid-1990s as an alternative to regular CD jewel cases. (The Queens Group was purchased by Shorewood Packaging, who are part of International Paper). The Q Pack does not have a snap-in tray like a regular jewel case. It is characterized by the corrugated raised area where the top hinges to the back. Since Q Pack cases are not transparent, generally cover art is applied as a decal to the cover. Decals can also be applied to the inside front, on the tray underneath the hub and the back cover. A slot for an insert booklet is found inside the front cover as on typical jewel cases.

Digipak/digipack

A digipak or digipack (generic term) is a rectangular cardboard package with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a disc attached to the inside. There are variations where the disc(s) sit on a hub or spindle inside and come in various sizes. A digipak/digipack-style case is a common alternative to the somewhat brittle jewel case. Although they are less vulnerable to cracking than a jewel case, the disc tray inside the package is still made of the same brittle plastic so it is prone to cracking and the teeth of the tray hub breaking if the package is crushed or suddenly jolted.

Though actual digipak/digipack packaging has only ever been made for CDs, the term's popular usage has led to it becoming a generic term. Nowadays, it is commonly applied to similar non-brand packaging, used on all types of optical disc media.

The term "digipak" was once a trademarked name but is no longer active as of March 2020 according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

FLPpak

Similar in concept to Digipak, an FLPpak consists of a wrap-around outer shell made of cardboard, bonded to a plastic CD tray. However, FLPpak differs in two significant ways:

First, while Digipak cases extend their cardboard shells taller than their trays to keep the tray as hidden as possible when closed, FLPpak packages extend their trays beyond the cardboard and incorporate top and bottom edges, sacrificing aesthetic flexibility for increased protection from shelf wear. (These end-caps are extended far enough that, when laying on a flat surface, the plastic top and bottom edges will suspend the front or back above it.)

Second, by incorporating a latching closure into the right edge of the tray, avoiding the need for an extra component such as a slip cover to keep the package from coming open.

Though now expired, the design was originally covered by  and , held by the Ivy Hill Corporation. These numbers can be found moulded into the inner surface of the closure.

Packages of this type which were manufactured by Ivy Hill can also be identified by the FLP logo moulded into the bottom-left and top-right corners of the disc tray. This logo was covered by U.S. trademark number 74419766, cancelled as of August 13, 2005.

Digisleeve

A digisleeve consists of a rectangular cardboard package which differs from a digipak/digipack in that it does not have a tray, spindle or hub and the disc or discs slide into an outside pocket of the packaging. Like digipaks/digipacks and digibooks/mediabooks, they can also come in the size of a DVD case.

Digifile
A digifile consists of a rectangular cardboard package that is similar to a digisleeve except that the disc or discs slide vertically (and in some cases diagonally) into a horizontal or diagonal slot inside the packaging.

Wallet
A wallet consists of a rectangular cardboard package that is similar to a digisleeve except that the disc or discs slide horizontally into a vertical slot inside the packaging.

Digibook/mediabook
A digibook/mediabook is a type of packaging that has a hard cover (like a hardbound book) and comes in various sizes. The disc can either slide into the package or sit on a spindle, hub or tray inside.

Artbook/earbook
An artbook/earbook is a type of packaging that has a hard cover (like a hardbound book) and is normally around 11 1/4" to 11 1/2" square and contains a several-page booklet inside. Basically, it is an oversized deluxe digibook/mediabook.

Mini LP sleeve/paper sleeve
A mini LP sleeve/paper sleeve is a square cardboard package that looks like a miniaturized version of an LP jacket. The disc usually slides into an inner sleeve whose opening need not match the outer sleeve in the manner of actual LPs. Mini LP sleeves can either appear as single sleeves or gatefolds, identically to full-sized LP jackets, with both variants being used for a number of music releases.

While used in a somewhat limited capacity in the west, where the jewel case remains the most popular form of CD packaging, mini LP sleeves are common for reissues of older albums in Japan, with their typically high level of faithfulness to the original vinyl record packaging making them sought-after among collectors.

The downside to this format is that the disc can be easily scratched each time it is taken out for play; a more serious issue can also be that if the glue that keeps the sleeve that holds the CD closed on the side closest to the spine (on gatefold covers) weakens, it can get onto the CD, rendering it unplayable. For these reasons, mini LP releases— particularly Japanese ones— enclose the CD in a protective sleeve made from matted plastic or rice paper. Another disadvantage with mini LP sleeves is that, like digipaks, they are significantly more vulnerable to wear and other forms of damage compared to standard jewel cases and are more difficult to replace.

One advantage of mini LP sleeves is that album covers that were originally textured, such as Back in Black by AC/DC or Fear of Music by Talking Heads, can retain the texturing on the CD release, as well as being able to replicate other nuances of the vinyl packaging such as unusually shaped packaging or artwork intended to span the whole of a gatefold (e.g. Obscured by Clouds and The Dark Side of the Moon, respectively, by Pink Floyd). In addition, the packaging is more environmentally friendly due to the use of more easily recyclable and biodegradable cardboard (as opposed to the polystyrene used in jewel cases) and is significantly cheaper to produce than both jewel cases and digipaks, which has made them a more favorable option in  markets where CD sales are declining.

Minipack
A minipack is a square cardboard package in which the disc sits on a spindle, hub or tray. In essence, it's a combination of a digipak/digipack and mini LP sleeve. This type of packaging is usually hand-made and is not seen very often.

JakeBox
JakeBox is a paperboard packaging concept designed in Sweden, featuring a pop-up "claw". The claw releases the CD when the cover is opened and locks it again when the cover is closed. This design makes the disc easily accessible and protects the CD once the case is closed.

Discbox slider

The discbox slider (also called DBS) is a disc packaging concept in 100% carton board, found both in CD and DVD sized packaging formats. The DBS is comparable with plastic jewel or amaray cases when it comes to size but holds more of the features of the LP style cases in terms of light weight and printability. The DBS case opens up from the side by moving the slider part (on which the disc is resting) from the sleeve. The discbox slider is 100% recyclable. Many covermount CDs released in British magazine Mixmag used to be packaged in a discbox slider, after replacing a standard jewel box, although the discbox slider itself was replaced by a simple cardboard sleeve.

Compac Plus
The Compac Plus is a disc packaging which is similar in style to a digipak. However, it consists of two plastic CD trays which "clip" together like a normal slipcase. The packaging was introduced in the early 1990s. It was originally a brand which had their own logo, and was used by bands such as Blur, but as years progressed, many other artists started to use their own version of the packaging. The packaging is also known as Compact Plus.

Keep case

A keep case is the most common type of DVD packaging and was created by Amaray. It is taller and thicker than a Jewel case, and is made of much softer, less brittle plastic (polypropylene rather than polystyrene), so it does not break as easily. They usually hold one or two discs, but are capable of holding up to six discs. Slimmer keep cases, so called "Slim-paks" or "Thinpaks" typically used for DVD box sets consisting of the thin keep cases stored in a paperboard box. The thin cases are half as thick and can generally only hold one disc as a result, but there are newer slim cases that have central disc holding teeth on both sides.  The teeth are made in such a way that when the case is closed, they go between the gaps in between the teeth on the other side.

A standard DVD case is a single-piece plastic case with two creases, which folds around and snaps closed. It measures 135 mm × 190 mm × 14 mm (5.3 in × 7.48 in × 0.55 in). It is wrapped on the outside by a thin piece of transparent plastic which can hold a paper label. The label measures 284 mm × 184 mm (10.8 in × 7.25 in).

Some DVD releases have a paperboard outer sleeve around the shrinkwrap.

Beginning in 2007, prerecorded Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD titles ship in packages similar to but slightly smaller (18.5 mm shorter and 1 mm thinner: 135 mm × 171.5 mm × 13 mm.) than a standard DVD keep case, generally with the format logo prominently displayed in a horizontal stripe across the top of the case (red for HD DVD; and PlayStation 3 Greatest Hits Games, blue for Blu-ray, and clear for regular PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Switch cartridge games). Green cases of this variety were introduced to be used for titles released for the Xbox One gaming system, though with the space intended for placing the disc being on the left side of the inner case, while most other keep cases have it on the right.

Snap case

A snap case is a design for both CD and DVD packaging, and is made in the standard sizes for both. Each is made of a single-piece plastic tray and closure, which snaps over the right edge of the front flap. The printed flap is made of thin paperboard which wraps around the left edge and across the back of the tray, to which it is glued. It has largely been replaced with the DVD keep case and CD jewel case due to its flimsy design. Time Warner's two studios and their boutique labels (Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema) were the only major entities to utilize this case design for DVD packaging.

Soft case/green case
Soft cases, also known as earth cases or green cases, are soft-shell cases made from recycled optical discs. They are considerably more pliable than other style cases given that they are made from various mixes of plastics. They are sold by various companies as replacements for disc owners who are environmentally friendly and can be differentiated from other cases by their opaque appearance. The softness of the cases leads them to break less, though the safety of the enclosed disc may be somewhat sacrificed since the case can be bent end-to-end easily.

SteelBook
SteelBook is a trademarked name for a disc case constructed from durable metal to create a tin box-style package similar in size and shape to the keep case. It is used in memorabilia sets such as Collector's Editions, and commonly printed with full-color artwork, varnished, and embossed to provide additional visual dimensionality.

Eco pack
In 2006, Universal Music introduced the first completely paper-recyclable CD case, called the "eco pack". The sleeve is printed on recycled card, and the tray is made from International Paper's PaperFoam. Universal used this packaging for issues in its 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection series after 2006.

Lift-lock case

Many gold CDs, including those from Mobile Fidelity, are packaged in lift-lock cases, a special type of case where the CD is lifted out of the case automatically and a latch unlocked when opened. The advantage of this design is that only the edges of the disc are handled when removing it from the case, and the disc is never subjected to any bending force while being removed. From the outside, they appear almost identical to a standard jewel case. They have the same dimensions as a standard jewel case, and use standard booklets and back cards.

Spindles and other bulk packaging

Blank CD and DVD media are often sold in bulk packages called spindles or, less formally, cake boxes. This type of packaging consists of a round, clear plastic cup that mates bayonet-style to a base with a central post that holds a stack of discs (both made from polypropylene); dummy discs made of clear polycarbonate with no recording surface are often packed on the ends of the stack to avoid scratches from contact with the hard plastic of the packages. Such packages have been designed to hold anywhere from ten up to 100 discs, and offer the user multiple options for packaging the finalized disc.

TDK and Memorex have begun selling some of their blank media in what they refer to as "Snap n' Save" cases, essentially polyethylene cases designed to hold up to ten discs in a package.

Finally, some bulk packages of blank media forgo a permanent container completely, instead using a simple blister pack for small numbers of media, or bundling large numbers of discs in shrink wrap to reduce waste.

Multi-disc albums
Record stores and consumer electronics stores sell albums or books that contain numerous soft plastic sleeves, which can be used to store CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, video game discs, and other discs. Some of the small books or albums can hold 12 discs. Some of the large albums or books can hold over 90 discs. The owner can either keep the original packaging (cases, booklets, etc.) or discard them.

See also
 Caddy (hardware) — enclosure for discs when in use
 Video game packaging

References

External links

 FSK Ratings on Optical Media and their Packaging, 2010
 5.1.6 Individual Disc Storage / Fred R. Byers, Care and Handling of CDs and DVDs, A GUIDE FOR LIBRARIANS AND ARCHIVISTS, Council on Library and Information Resources, NIST 2003

Packaging
Retail packaging
Sound recording
Video game distribution

Optical disc packaging


Ickleford is a large village situated on the northern outskirts of Hitchin in North Hertfordshire in England.  It lies on the west bank of the River Hiz and to the east of the main A600 road. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 1,833.

Etymology
Its name is derived from it being a ford, that is a way to cross a river, along the Icknield Way. Thus Ick + Ford. Another village, Ickford, shares the same etymology.

Governance
The modern parish of Ickleford includes areas that were historically detached parts of Shillington and Holwell, both of which were in Bedfordshire. The Shillington exclave was transferred to Hertfordshire by the Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844. The Holwell exclave was transferred to Hertfordshire in 1897.

Ickleford Parish Council was established under the Local Government Act 1894.

Notable buildings
St Katharine's church, set amid cedar trees, has a 12th-century Norman nave and blocked north doorway with beautifully carved zigzag arches, and a south aisle and chapel added by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1859. The east window has some fine stained glass of 1860. It is the burial-place of Henry Boswell, "King of the Gypsies", who died in 1760, at the advanced age of 90; the remains of his wife and granddaughter are likewise interred here.

Transport
The Icknield Way Path passes through the village on its 110-mile journey from Ivinghoe Beacon in Buckinghamshire to Knettishall Heath in Suffolk. The Icknield Way Trail, a multi-user route for walkers, horse riders and off-road cyclists also passes through the village. The Bedford to Hitchin Line used to pass through the village, remnants of which can still be seen in places such as Gerry's Hole where parts of the old bridge and embankment are still present. The local Parish Council attempted to raise public awareness of the village through its Parish Plan in 2006–07.

Facilities
Ickleford has a primary school (Ickleford Primary School), village hall, general store and a unisex hairdresser

There are two public houses: The Old George and The Plume of Feathers.

The large Sports and Recreation ground also contains a playground and a licensed bar. The Sports and Recreation Ground caters for several sports, including cricket, football, squash and pétanque, and is home to the Ickleford Cricket Club, whose symbol represents two crossed farmers pitchforks. The club was founded in 1947 and in 2006 won promotion to Division 3 of the Saracens Herts League, and was promoted to Division 2 in 2010. Since 2006, the cricket club's first team has used the nickname "The Tigers". There is also an equestrian centre with a Pony Club . Outside the Recreation Ground towards the school there is a newly built cemetery.

Ickleford also has a Scout troop (the 1st Ickleford (9th Hitchin)) with active sections of Beavers, Cubs and Scouts for both boys and girls.

References

External links

Ickleford Cricket Club
Ickleford Parish Council
Ickleford Primary School

Villages in Hertfordshire
Areas of Hitchin
Civil parishes in Hertfordshire

Ickleford


Annals of Pediatric Cardiology is a peer-reviewed open-access medical journal published on behalf of the Pediatric Cardiology Society of India. The journal publishes articles on the subjects of pediatric cardiology, cardiac surgery, cardiac pathology, cardiac anesthesia, pediatric intensive care, and cardiac imaging. It is indexed with Caspur, CINAHL, DOAJ, EBSCO, Excerpta Medica/EMBASE, Expanded Academic ASAP, JournalSeek, Google Scholar, Health & Wellness Research Center, Health Reference Center Academic, Hinari, Index Copernicus, Indian Science Abstracts, OpenJGate, PubMed, SCOLOAR, SIIC databases, and Ulrich's Periodicals Directory.

External links

Open access journals
English-language journals
Biannual journals
Cardiology journals
Academic journals established in 2008
Medknow Publications academic journals
Pediatrics in India
Academic journals associated with learned and professional societies

Annals of Pediatric Cardiology


Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.

A San Francisco native, Feinstein graduated from Stanford University in 1955. She was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and immediately became the board's first female president upon her appointment in 1970. In 1978, during a third stint as the board's president, the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk drew national attention. Feinstein succeeded Moscone as mayor and became the first woman to serve in that position. During her tenure, she led the renovation of the city's cable car system and oversaw the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Despite a recall attempt in 1983, Feinstein was a popular mayor and was named the most effective mayor in the country by City & State in 1987.

After losing a race for governor in 1990, Feinstein was elected to the U.S. Senate in a 1992 special election. In November 1992, she became California's first female U.S. senator; shortly afterward, she became the state's senior senator when Alan Cranston retired in January 1993. Feinstein was reelected five times. In the 2012 election, she received 7.86 million votes, the most popular votes received by any U.S. Senate candidate in history. Feinstein authored the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban. She was the first woman to chair the Senate Rules Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first to preside over a U.S. presidential inauguration. Feinstein chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee from 2009 to 2015 and was the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2017 to 2021.

During her final years in office, there were concerns about her fitness to serve due to poor health. In February 2023, Feinstein announced she would not seek reelection in 2024. She died in office in September 2023, at the age of 90. By the time of her death, Feinstein was the oldest sitting U.S. senator and member of Congress. She was also the longest-serving U.S. senator from California and the longest-tenured female senator in history.

Early life and education
Feinstein was born Dianne Emiel Goldman on June 22, 1933, in San Francisco to Leon Goldman, a prominent surgeon, and his wife, Betty (née Rosenburg), a former model. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Her maternal grandparents, the Rosenburgs, were from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Although they were of German-Jewish ancestry, they practiced the Russian Orthodox (Christian) faith, as was required of Jews in Saint Petersburg. Christianity was passed down to Feinstein's mother, who insisted on her transfer from a Jewish day school to a prestigious local Catholic school, but Feinstein listed her religion as Judaism.

She graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in 1951 and from Stanford University in 1955 with a Bachelor of Arts in history. According to multiple sources, Feinstein's mother was abusive. Feinstein's sister, Yvonne Banks, said their mother had unpredictable moods. Later, Feinstein's mother received a brain scan that found that the part of her brain responsible for judgment had atrophied, "possibly because of complications from a severe illness as a child".

Early political career

From 1955 to 1956, Feinstein was a fellow at the Coro Foundation in San Francisco, an organization that provides young people with political experience. Governor Pat Brown appointed her to the California Women's Parole Board in 1960. She served on the board until 1966.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors and assassination attempt
Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969. She remained on the board for nine years, serving as its first female president from 1970 to 1971, with additional tenures from 1974 to 1975 and January to December 1978.

During her tenure on the Board of Supervisors, she unsuccessfully ran for mayor of San Francisco twice, in 1971 against Mayor Joseph Alioto, and in 1975, when she lost the contest for a runoff slot (against George Moscone) to Supervisor John Barbagelata.

Because of her position, Feinstein became a target of the New World Liberation Front, an anti-capitalist terrorist group that carried out bombings in California in the 1970s. In 1976, the NWLF placed a bomb on the windowsill of her home that failed to explode. The group later shot out the windows of a beach house she owned.

Mayor of San Francisco

Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated by former supervisor Dan White on November 27, 1978. Feinstein became acting mayor, as she was president of the Board of Supervisors. Supervisors John Molinari, Ella Hill Hutch, Ron Pelosi, Robert Gonzales, and Gordon Lau endorsed her for an appointment as mayor by the Board of Supervisors. Gonzales initially ran to be appointed by the Board of Supervisors as mayor, but dropped out. The Board of Supervisors voted six to two to appoint Feinstein as mayor. She was inaugurated by Chief Justice Rose Bird of the Supreme Court of California on December 4, 1978, becoming San Francisco's first female mayor. Molinari was selected to replace Feinstein as president of the Board of Supervisors by a vote of eight to two.

One of Feinstein's first challenges as mayor was the state of the San Francisco cable car system, which was shut down for emergency repairs in 1979; an engineering study concluded that it needed comprehensive rebuilding at a cost of $60 million. Feinstein helped win federal funding for the bulk of the work. The system closed for rebuilding in 1982 and was completed in time for the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Feinstein also oversaw policies to increase the number of San Francisco's high-rise buildings.

Feinstein was seen as a relatively moderate Democrat in one of the country's most liberal cities. As a supervisor, she was considered part of the centrist bloc that included White and generally opposed Moscone. As mayor, Feinstein angered the city's large gay community in 1982 by vetoing legislation which would have extended city-employee benefits to domestic partners. In the 1980 presidential election, while a majority of Bay Area Democrats continued to support Senator Ted Kennedy's primary challenge to President Jimmy Carter even after it was clear Kennedy could not win, Feinstein strongly supported the Carter–Mondale ticket. She was given a high-profile speaking role on the opening night of the August Democratic National Convention, urging delegates to reject the Kennedy delegates' proposal to "open" the convention, thereby allowing delegates to ignore their states' popular vote, a proposal that was soundly defeated.

In the run-up to the 1984 Democratic National Convention, there was considerable media and public speculation that Mondale might pick Feinstein as his running mate. He chose Geraldine Ferraro instead. In 1982, Feinstein proposed banning handguns in San Francisco, and became subject to a recall attempt organized by the White Panther Party. She won the recall election and finished her second term as mayor on January 8, 1988.

Feinstein revealed sensitive details about the hunt for serial killer Richard Ramirez at a 1985 press conference, antagonizing detectives by publicizing details of his crimes known only to law enforcement, and thus jeopardizing their investigation.

City & State magazine named Feinstein the nation's "Most Effective Mayor" in 1987. She was a member of the Trilateral Commission in 1988.

Gubernatorial election
Feinstein made an unsuccessful bid for governor of California in 1990. She won the Democratic nomination, but lost the general election to U.S. Senator Pete Wilson, who resigned from the Senate to assume the governorship. In 1992, Feinstein was fined $190,000 for failure to properly report campaign contributions and expenditures in that campaign.

U.S. Senate

Elections

In 1991, Wilson resigned from the Senate to take office as governor of California. Feinstein ran for U.S. Senate in a 1992 special election to complete Wilson's term. In the Democratic primary, she defeated Joseph Alioto and California State Controller Gray Davis. In November, she faced Republican John Seymour, whom Wilson had appointed to the Senate the previous year. Feinstein won the November 3 special election, 54.3%–38%.

Like Feinstein, Barbara Boxer was first elected to the Senate on November 3, 1992. Because Feinstein was elected to complete an unexpired term, she was sworn in as a senator in November 1992, while Boxer did not take office until January 1993; therefore, Feinstein became California's senior senator. She also became the first female Jewish U.S. senator. Feinstein and Boxer were the first female pair of U.S. senators to represent any state at the same time.

Feinstein was reelected in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, and 2018.

In October 2017, Feinstein declared her intention to run for reelection in 2018. She lost the endorsement of the California Democratic Party's executive board, which opted to support State Senator Kevin de León. Nevertheless, Feinstein finished first in the state's "jungle primary" and was reelected in the November 6 general election, defeating de Leon, 54.2–45.8%.

In February 2023, Feinstein announced that she would not seek reelection in 2024.

Tenure
Feinstein has been described as "a titan of US political history who notched countless legislative achievements" in her Senate career. She was known for her work on gun control issues. In 1994, she spearheaded the passage of a federal assault weapons ban. In the 2000s and 2010s, she investigated "the Central Intelligence Agency's program of detention and interrogation after the Sept. 11 attacks".

In 2009, Feinstein chaired the first inaugural ceremony of President Barack Obama. She was the first woman to chair the Senate Rules Committee (2007–2009) and the first to chair the Select Committee on Intelligence (2009–2015). Feinstein became the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017, and was the first woman to hold that position. On March 28, 2021, she became the longest-serving U.S. senator from California ever, surpassing Hiram Johnson. On November 5, 2022, Feinstein became the longest-serving female senator in U.S. history.

In the fall of 2020, media reports indicated that Feinstein was experiencing cognitive decline and short-term memory loss. She responded that there was no cause for concern and that she had no plans to leave the Senate. After her performance at Amy Coney Barrett's October 2020 Supreme Court nomination hearings was criticized, Feinstein did not seek to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee or serve as its ranking member in 2021. Articles in The New Yorker and The New York Times cited unnamed Democratic senators and aides expressing concern over her age and ability to lead the committee. In mid-2022, NPR and other outlets ran a series of stories questioning Feinstein's cognition. On October 22, 2022, Feinstein said that due to family matters, she was not interested in serving as president pro tempore in 2023; the position is traditionally held by the senior member of the Senate's majority party.

In February 2023, Feinstein said she would not seek reelection in 2024 and that she intended to retire upon the completion of her term.

Feinstein's two-month hospitalization for shingles in early 2023 effectively stalled many of the Biden administration's judicial and executive nominees. Feinstein served on the Judiciary Committee, which was evenly split between Democrats and Republicans without her. Representatives Ro Khanna, Dean Phillips, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a group of California progressive organizations, and the New York Times editorial board publicly urged Feinstein to resign. She resisted calls to resign, but requested temporary removal from the Judiciary Committee, which Senate Republicans rejected.

Feinstein returned to the Senate on May 10, 2023, amid continuing concern about her capacity to serve.

Committee assignments
Feinstein was the first woman to chair the Senate Rules Committee (2007–2009) and the first to chair the Select Committee on Intelligence (2009–2015). She became the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017, and was the first woman to hold that position. Her committee assignments for the 118th Congress were as follows:
 Committee on Appropriations
 Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
 Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
 Subcommittee on Defense
 Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Chair)
 Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
 Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
 Committee on the Judiciary
 Subcommittee on the Constitution (Chair)
 Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism
 Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights
 Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law
 Committee on Rules and Administration
 Select Committee on Intelligence
She previously sat on the Foreign Relations Committee (104th Congress) and Energy and Natural Resources Committee (107th–109th Congress)

Caucus memberships
 Afterschool Caucuses
 Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus
 Senate New Democrat Coalition (defunct)

Political positions

In 2018, the Los Angeles Times wrote that Feinstein had emphasized her centrism when she first ran for statewide offices in the 1990s (when California was more conservative than it became during Feinstein's later career). Over time, she moved leftward as California became one of the most Democratic states in the nation. In 2013, The New York Times called her a "liberal lioness". Feinstein was known for her advocacy of gun control, abortion access, environmental protection, and strong national defense.

Abortion
Feinstein supported abortion rights during her Senate career. In 2003, she voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, a proposal to ban intact dilation and extraction, although the proposal eventually became law. After the Supreme Court ruled against abortion rights in 2022, Feinstein called for congressional action to protect abortion rights and stated her support for lifting the Senate filibuster rule to allow such legislation to pass with a simple majority.

Capital punishment
When Feinstein first ran for statewide office in 1990, she supported capital punishment. In 2004, she called for the death penalty in the case of San Francisco police officer Isaac Espinoza, who was killed while on duty. By 2018, she opposed capital punishment.

Energy and environment

Climate change mitigation

In 2007, Feinstein led a bipartisan effort as part of the wider Energy Independence and Security Act to significantly reduce automotive greenhouse gas emissions, which accounted for 26 percent of total U.S. emissions at the time. Her legislation, the Ten-in-Ten Fuel Economy Act, raised corporate average fuel economy standards for America's fleet of vehicles by at least 10 miles per gallon between 2010 and 2020 - the largest increase in fuel efficiency in almost three decades. Thereafter, said CAFE standards became subject to periodic adjustments by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under the Administrative Procedure Act. As a result of Feinstein's legislation, average fleet fuel economy for new automobiles will climb to approximately 60 miles per gallon by 2032, cutting greenhouse gas emissions from passenger and commercial vehicles in half without impeding automotive performance or degrading traffic safety.

During the 110th Congress, Feinstein authored an amendment to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, mandating all major sources of greenhouse gasses to annually report their emissions to the Environmental Protection Agency. These emissions disclosures in turn inform EPA's nationwide, multi-sector inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and sinks, which is submitted to the United Nations in accordance with the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Feinstein co-sponsored (with Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn) an amendment through the Senate to the Economic Development Revitalization Act of 2011 that eliminated the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit. The Senate passed the amendment on June 16, 2011. Introduced in 2004, the subsidy provided a 45-cent-per-gallon credit on pure ethanol, and a 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on imported ethanol. These subsidies had resulted in an annual expenditure of $6 billion.

In February 2019, when youth associated with the Sunrise Movement confronted Feinstein about why she did not support the Green New Deal, she told them, "there's no way to pay for it", and that it could not pass a Republican-controlled Senate. In a tweet after the confrontation, she said that she remained committed "to enact real, meaningful climate change legislation". Conversely, the Sunrise Movement tweeted that Feinstein had reacted with "smugness and disrespect", and that "her reaction is why young people desperately want new leadership in Congress."

Later in the 116th and 117th Congresses, Feinstein authored the Addressing Climate Financial Risk Act, to prepare U.S. financial institutions for risks posed by climate change. While Feinstein's bill ultimately died in the Senate, President Biden issued an executive order containing several of its provisions, including directing the Treasury Department to study climate-related financial risks. In addition, Feinstein co-sponsored with Senator Coons the Climate Action Rebate Act of 2019 - legislation that would create a nationwide carbon fee and dividend program to decarbonize the American economy and transition it to net-zero. As with the Addressing Climate Financial Risk Act, the Climate Action Rebate Act also failed to make it out of committee. However, a separate battery storage tax credit bill co-sponsored by Feinstein was ultimately incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation she also supported.

Lake Tahoe
Feinstein, who spent her childhood visiting the lake, regarded Lake Tahoe as "a national treasure" and "the Jewel of the High Sierra". She founded the Lake Tahoe Summit in 1997 and successfully authored the landmark Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2000. This act of Congress formally created the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit within the National Forest System and authorized $900 million in federal spending over ten years for invasive species control, stormwater management, environmental protection, and fire risk mitigation projects throughout the Lake Tahoe watershed. Later in 2016, Feinstein co-sponsored with senators Barbara Boxer, Harry Reid, and Dean Heller a bipartisan seven-year extension of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, authorizing another $415 million to combat invasive species, improve water quality and forest health, restore habitat for fish and wildlife, and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfires. She co-sponsored a second bipartisan, bicameral reauthorization of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act's activities with senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, and Alex Padilla on March 1, 2023 – six months before her passing.

Public lands
Feinstein co-sponsored legislation in 2006 with Barbara Boxer that permanently protected approximately 300,000 acres of wilderness in Northern California, namely the King Range, Yolla-Bolly Middle Eel, and Trinity Alps wilderness areas, along with 21 miles of the Black Butte River in Mendocino County. The King Range Wilderness, part of the King Range National Conservation Area, has the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline anywhere in the lower 48 states; its Lost Coast is often considered the "crown jewel" in the National Landscape Conservation System. The Yolla-Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness, which surrounds the Middle Fork Eel River, hosts roughly half of California's summer-run steelhead population. The river is the largest remaining wild run of these fish in the lower 48 states. The Trinity Alps Wilderness encompasses rugged mountains, alpine meadows, myriad pristine lakes and streams, 550 miles of maintained hiking trails, and California's third-largest swath of previously unprotected old-growth, predominantly Douglas-fir forest.

Feinstein also helped secure $250 million in federal matching grants to purchase the 7,500-acre Headwaters Forest, the world's last unprotected, intact, old-growth redwood forest. Her 1999 legislation also guaranteed the continued conservation of 12 ancient redwood groves by bringing them under federal management. Several threatened species call the Headwaters Forest home, including coho salmon, the northern spotted owl, and the marbled murrelet. The resulting Headwaters Forest Reserve is managed by the Bureau of Land Management in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife as part of the National Landscape Conservation System.

Perhaps Feinstein's greatest contribution to public lands conservation came through her advocacy for California's Mojave and Sonoran deserts. She authored landmark legislation in 1994 that established Death Valley National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, and Mojave National Preserve, and designated another 7.6 million acres of California desert as federal wilderness. This California Desert Protection Act was followed in 2000 by Feinstein's Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Act, designating 272,000 acres in the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto mountain ranges as a national monument. Later in 2016, Feinstein requested President Obama create Mojave Trails, Sand to Snow, and Castle Mountains national monuments under the Antiquities Act. She also authored the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act as part of the bipartisan omnibus public lands package passed in 2019, furthering landscape conservation and outdoor recreation opportunities in the California desert. The combined acreage of the 1994, 2000, and 2019 acts of Congress, in concert with the presidentially authorized national monument designations, protect the largest tract of public lands anywhere in the lower 48 states.

Foreign policy

China
Feinstein supported a conciliatory approach between China and Taiwan and fostered increased dialogue between high-level Chinese representatives and U.S. senators during her first term as senator. When asked about her relation with Beijing, Feinstein said, "I sometimes say that in my last life maybe I was Chinese."

Feinstein criticized Beijing's missile tests near Taiwan and called for dismantlement of missiles pointed at the island. She promoted stronger business ties between China and Taiwan over confrontation, and suggested that the U.S. patiently "use two-way trade across Taiwan Strait as a platform for more political dialogue and closer ties".

She believed that deeper cross-strait economic integration "will one day lead to political integration and will ultimately provide the solution" to the Taiwan issue.

On July 27, 2018, reports surfaced that a Chinese staff member who worked for 20 years as Feinstein's personal driver, gofer and liaison to the Asian-American community was caught reporting to China's Ministry of State Security. According to the reports, the FBI had contacted Feinstein five years earlier warning her about the employee. The employee was later interviewed by authorities and forced to retire by Feinstein. No criminal charges were filed against him.

Iran
Feinstein supported the Iran nuclear deal framework in July 2015, saying that it would usher in "unprecedented & intrusive inspections to verify cooperation" by Iran.

On June 7, 2017, Feinstein and Senator Bernie Sanders issued dual statements urging the Senate to forgo a vote for sanctions on Iran in response to the Tehran attacks that occurred earlier in the day.

Iraq

Feinstein voted for the Iraq War and later said she regretted it.

Israel
In September 2016—in advance of UN Security Council resolution 2334 condemning Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories—Feinstein signed an AIPAC-sponsored letter urging Obama to veto "one-sided" resolutions against Israel.

Feinstein opposed President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying, "Recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital—or relocating our embassy to Jerusalem—will spark violence and embolden extremists on both sides of the debate."

North Korea
During a July 2017 appearance on Face the Nation after North Korea conducted a second test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, Feinstein said the country had proven itself a danger to the U.S. She also expressed her disappointment with China's lack of response.

Responding to reports that North Korea had achieved successful miniaturization of nuclear warheads, Feinstein issued an August 8, 2017, statement insisting that isolation of North Korea had proven ineffective and that Trump's rhetoric was not helping resolve potential conflict. She also called for the U.S. to "quickly engage North Korea in a high-level dialogue without any preconditions".

In September 2017, after Trump's first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he threatened North Korea, Feinstein released a statement disagreeing with his remarks: "Trump's bombastic threat to destroy North Korea and his refusal to present any positive pathways forward on the many global challenges we face are severe disappointments."

Gun control

Feinstein introduced the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which became law in 1994 and expired in 2004. In January 2013, about a month after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, she and Representative Carolyn McCarthy proposed a bill that would "ban the sale, transfer, manufacturing or importation of 150 specific firearms including semiautomatic rifles or pistols that can be used with a detachable or fixed ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds and have specific military-style features, including pistol grips, grenade launchers or rocket launchers". The bill would have exempted 900 models of guns used for sport and hunting. Feinstein said of the bill, "The common thread in each of these shootings is the gunman used a semi-automatic assault weapon or large-capacity ammunition magazines. Military assault weapons only have one purpose, and in my opinion, it's for the military." The bill failed on a Senate vote of 60 to 40.

Health care
Feinstein supported the Affordable Care Act, repeatedly voting to defeat initiatives aimed against it. She voted to regulate tobacco as a drug; expand the Children's Health Insurance Program; override the president's veto of adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility; increase Medicaid rebate for producing generic drugs; negotiate bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drugs; allow re-importation of prescription drugs from Canada; allow patients to sue HMOs and collect punitive damages; cover prescription drugs under Medicare, and means-test Medicare. She voted against the Paul Ryan Budget's Medicare choice, tax and spending cuts; and allowing tribal Indians to opt out of federal healthcare. Feinstein also favored the creation of a public option in order to achieve universal healthcare, co-sponsoring a bill with that aim. Feinstein's congressional voting record was rated as 88% by the American Public Health Association (APHA), the figure ostensibly reflecting the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.

At an April 2017 town hall meeting in San Francisco, Feinstein was booed when she stated that she did not support a proposal for single-payer health insurance. Feinstein said, "[i]f single-payer health care is going to mean the complete takeover by the government of all health care, I am not there." During a news conference at the University of California, San Diego in July 2017, she estimated that Democratic opposition would prove sufficient to defeat Republican attempts to repeal the ACA. Feinstein wrote in an August 2017 op-ed that Trump could secure health-care reform if he compromised with Democrats: "We now know that such a closed process on a major issue like health care doesn't work. The only path forward is a transparent process that allows every senator to bring their ideas to the table."

Immigration
In September 2017, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Feinstein admitted the legality of the program was questionable while citing this as a reason for why a law should be passed. In her opening remarks at a January 2018 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, she said she was concerned the Trump administration's decision to terminate temporary protected status might be racially motivated, based on comments Trump made denigrating African countries, Haiti, and El Salvador.

LGBTQ+ rights
In 1996, Feinstein was one of only 14 senators to vote against the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as an opposite-sex union for purposes of federal law. In 2011, she introduced a bill to repeal DOMA. In 2022, she was the lead Senate sponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which repealed DOMA and required the federal government and all state governments to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages.

Marijuana
Feinstein opposed a number of reforms to cannabis laws at the state and federal level. In 2016 she opposed Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, to legalize recreational cannabis in California. In 1996 she opposed Proposition 215 to legalize the medical use of cannabis in California. In 2015 she was the only Democrat at a Senate hearing to vote against the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment, legislation that limits the enforcement of federal law in states that have legalized medical cannabis. Feinstein cited her belief that cannabis is a gateway drug in voting against the amendment.

In 2018, Feinstein softened her views on marijuana and cosponsored the STATES Act, legislation that would protect states from federal interference regarding both medical and recreational use. She also supported legislation in 2015 to allow medical cannabis to be recommended to veterans in states where its use is legal.

National security

Defense policy
While delivering the commencement address at Stanford Stadium on June 13, 1994, Feinstein said:

Feinstein was described during her lifetime as taking a "hawkish" stance on matters of national security. She voted for the extension of the Patriot Act and the FISA provisions in 2012. Feinstein also voted for President Trump's $675-billion defense budget bill for FY 2019. Later in 2017, she criticized the banning of transgender enlistments in the military under the Trump administration.

Mass surveillance and citizens' privacy
Feinstein co-sponsored PIPA on May 12, 2011. She met with representatives of technology companies, including Google and Facebook, in January 2012. A Feinstein spokesperson said she "is doing all she can to ensure that the bill is balanced and protects the intellectual property concerns of the content community without unfairly burdening legitimate businesses such as Internet search engines".

Following her 2012 vote to extend the Patriot Act and the FISA provisions, and after the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures involving the National Security Agency (NSA), Feinstein promoted and supported measures to continue the information collection programs. Feinstein and Saxby Chambliss also defended the NSA's request to Verizon for all the metadata about phone calls made within the U.S. and from the U.S. to other countries. They said the information gathered by intelligence on the phone communications is used to connect phone lines to terrorists and that it did not contain the content of the phone calls or messages. Foreign Policy wrote that she had a "reputation as a staunch defender of NSA practices and [of] the White House's refusal to stand by collection activities targeting foreign leaders".

In October 2013, Feinstein criticized the NSA for monitoring telephone calls of foreign leaders friendly to the U.S. In November 2013, she promoted the FISA Improvements Act bill, which included a "backdoor search provision" that allows intelligence agencies to continue certain warrantless searches as long as they are logged and "available for review" to various agencies.

In June 2013, Feinstein called Edward Snowden a "traitor" after his leaks went public. In October 2013, she said she stood by that.

In 2014, Feinstein accused the CIA of snooping and removing files from Congressional computers, saying that the "CIA's search may well have violated the separation of powers principles embodied in the United States Constitution". Several months later the CIA admitted to having hacked Senate Intelligence Committee computers. Feinstein's displeasure at having been spied on was contrasted with her support for government surveillance of US citizens, with public figures and privacy advocates such as Jon Stewart and Edward Snowden noting the apparent incongruity.

After the 2016 FBI–Apple encryption dispute, Feinstein and Richard Burr sponsored a bill that would likely have criminalized all forms of strong encryption in electronic communication between citizens. The bill would have required technology companies to design their encryption so that they can provide law enforcement with user data in an "intelligible format" when required to do so by court order.

In 2020, Feinstein co sponsored the EARN IT Act, which seeks to create a 19-member committee to decide a list of best practices websites must follow to be protected by section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. The EARN IT Act effectively outlaws end-to-end encryption, depriving the world of secure, private communications tools.

Torture
Feinstein served on the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, her time on the committee coinciding with the Senate Report on Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq and the debates on the torture/"enhanced interrogation" of terrorists and alleged terrorists. On the Senate floor on December 9, 2014, the day parts of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture were released to the public, Feinstein called the government's detention and interrogation program a "stain on our values and on our history".

Presidential politics
During the 1980 presidential election, Feinstein served on President Jimmy Carter's steering committee in California and as a Carter delegate to the Democratic National Convention. She was selected to serve as one of the four chairs of the 1980 Democratic National Convention.

Feinstein endorsed former Vice President Walter Mondale during the 1984 presidential election. She and Democratic National Committee chairman Charles Manatt signed a contract in 1983, making San Francisco the host of the 1984 Democratic National Convention.

As a superdelegate in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, Feinstein said she would support Clinton for the nomination. But after Barack Obama became the presumptive nominee, she fully backed his candidacy. Days after Obama amassed enough delegates to win the nomination, Feinstein lent her Washington, D.C., home to Clinton and Obama for a private one-on-one meeting. She did not attend the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver because she had fallen and broken her ankle earlier in the month.

Feinstein chaired the United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and acted as mistress of ceremonies, introducing each participant at the 2009 presidential inauguration. She was the first woman to have presided over a U.S. presidential inauguration.

Ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Feinstein was one of 16 female Democratic senators to sign an October 20, 2013, letter endorsing Hillary Clinton for president.

At an August 29, 2017, event in San Francisco, Feinstein expressed hope that Trump could become a good president. "The question is whether he can learn and change", she said. "If so, I believe he can be a good president". The next day, Feinstein released a clarifying statement: "I've been strongly critical of President Trump when I disagree on policy and with his behavior... While I'm under no illusion that it's likely to happen and will continue to oppose his policies, I want President Trump to change for the good of the country".

On January 9, 2018, Feinstein caused a stir when, as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, she released a transcript of its August 2017 interview with Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson about the dossier regarding connections between Trump's campaign and the Russian government. She did this unilaterally after the committee's chairman, Chuck Grassley, refused to release the transcript.

As the 2020 presidential election approached, Feinstein indicated her support for former Vice President Joe Biden. This came as a surprise to many pundits, due to the potential candidacy of fellow U.S. Senator from California Kamala Harris, of whom Feinstein said "I'm a big fan of Sen. Harris, and I work with her. But she's brand-new here, so it takes a little bit of time to get to know somebody."

Supreme Court nominations

In September 2005, Feinstein was one of five Democratic senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote against Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, saying that Roberts had "failed to state his positions on such social controversies as abortion and the right to die".

In January 2006, Feinstein said she would vote against Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, but expressed disapproval of a filibuster: "When it comes to filibustering a Supreme Court appointment, you really have to have something out there, whether it's gross moral turpitude or something that comes to the surface. This is a man I might disagree with, [but] that doesn't mean he shouldn't be on the court."

On July 12, 2009, Feinstein said the Senate would confirm Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, praising her for her experience and for overcoming "adversity and disadvantage".

After President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court in March 2016, Feinstein met with Garland on April 6 and later called on Republicans to do "this institution the credit of sitting down and meeting with him".

In February 2017, Feinstein requested that Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch provide information on cases in which he had assisted with decision-making. In mid-March, she sent him a letter saying her request had not been met. Feinstein stated her opposition to Gorsuch's nomination on April 3.

After Brett Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court, Feinstein received a July 30, 2018, letter from Christine Blasey Ford in which Ford accused Kavanaugh of having sexually assaulted her in the 1980s. Ford requested that her allegation be kept confidential. Feinstein did not refer the allegation to the FBI until September 14, 2018, after the Senate Judiciary Committee had completed its hearings on Kavanaugh's nomination and "after leaks to the media about [the Ford allegation] had reached a 'fever pitch'". She faced "sharp scrutiny" for her decision to keep quiet about the Ford allegation for several weeks; she responded that she kept the letter and Ford's identity confidential because Ford had requested it. Feinstein opposed Kavanaugh's nomination. After an additional hearing and a supplemental FBI investigation, Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on October 6, 2018.

In the fall of 2020, in her capacity as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Feinstein participated in the confirmation hearings for President Trump's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Shortly before the 2020 presidential election, Barrett was nominated to the Court following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, and the nomination was intensely controversial. Feinstein opposed Barrett's nomination, but at the conclusion of the hearings, she hugged Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, saying, "this has been one of the best set of hearings that I've participated in". Outraged progressives responded by calling for Feinstein to step down from her leadership role on the committee. Barrett was confirmed to the Court. After the hearings, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he had had a "long and serious" talk with Feinstein. After the 2020 election, Feinstein announced that she would not seek to serve as chair or as ranking member of the Judiciary Committee in 2021.

Awards and honors
Feinstein was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Golden Gate University in San Francisco on June 4, 1977. She was awarded the Legion of Honour by France in 1984. Feinstein received with the Woodrow Wilson Award for public service from the Woodrow Wilson Center of the Smithsonian Institution on November 3, 2001, in Los Angeles. In 2002, Feinstein won the American Medical Association's Nathan Davis Award for "the Betterment of the Public Health". She was named as one of The Forward 50 in 2015.

Personal life

Feinstein was married three times. She married Jack Berman ( 2002), who was then working in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, in 1956. She and Berman divorced three years later. Their daughter, Katherine Feinstein Mariano ( 1957), was the presiding judge of the San Francisco Superior Court for 12 years, through 2012. In 1962, shortly after beginning her career in politics, Feinstein married her second husband, neurosurgeon Bertram Feinstein, who died of colon cancer in 1978. Feinstein was then married to investment banker Richard C. Blum from 1980 until his death from cancer in 2022.

In 2003, Feinstein was ranked the fifth-wealthiest senator, with an estimated net worth of $26 million. Her net worth increased to between $43 and $99 million by 2005. Her 347-page financial-disclosure statement, characterized by the San Francisco Chronicle as "nearly the size of a phone book", claimed to draw clear lines between her assets and her husband's, with many of her assets in blind trusts.

Feinstein took up pencil drawing as a hobby in the 1990s, primarily depicting scenes from nature and still lifes of flowers taken from her gardens. She later made prints from her original pieces for charity auctions and as gifts to Senate colleagues, ambassadors, and other dignitaries. Despite her works being seen as collector's items, Feinstein considered herself merely "a doodler".

Decline in health
Feinstein had an artificial cardiac pacemaker inserted at George Washington University Hospital in January 2017.

In 2020, investigative journalist Jane Mayer reported that it had been evident to some colleagues and staffers for several years that Feinstein was experiencing cognitive decline. Mayer reported that among various short-term memory issues, Feinstein could not remember Chuck Schumer's repeated attempts to convince her to relinquish her leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Stories of Feinstein's cognitive issues continued to circulate in the press for the last few years of her life: in 2022, The New York Times reported that she struggled to remember her colleagues' names, meetings she had attended, and phone calls she had received. When asked about her, some colleagues and staffers argued that Feinstein was following in the footsteps of Strom Thurmond, who remained in office with mental infirmity until age 100.

In March 2023, Feinstein was diagnosed with shingles and hospitalized. She then suffered complications, including encephalitis, which caused swelling in her brain, and Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which caused paralysis on the left side of her face and problems with her balance and eyesight. This delayed her return to the Senate. Feinstein, then 89, returned to the Senate floor in early May 2023, after a 10-week absence. At the time, she was described as noticeably thinner and frail, using a wheelchair. Soon after her return, when asked about her absence, Feinstein told reporters: "I've been here. I've been voting." This raised further questions about her memory loss.

On July 17, 2023, Feinstein ceded power of attorney to her daughter, Katherine. In August 2023, Feinstein was hospitalized after falling at her home in San Francisco. A spokesperson said it was "a minor fall" and Feinstein was subsequently cleared to return home.

Death and funeral

Feinstein died of natural causes at her home in Washington, D.C., on September 29, 2023, at the age of 90. Despite longstanding health problems that had caused her to miss Judiciary Committee meetings for several months, her death was sudden, with Feinstein having cast a vote on the Senate floor the previous day that was needed for Democrats' efforts to avert a government shutdown.

Feinstein received many tributes from politicians such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer; Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; President Joe Biden; Vice President Kamala Harris, who served with Feinstein during her time in the Senate; former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton; House Speaker Kevin McCarthy; former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; former Secretary of State, First Lady and Senate colleague Hillary Clinton; fellow Senators Alex Padilla, Bob Casey Jr., Marco Rubio, Susan Collins, Kirsten Gillibrand, Patty Murray, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Lindsey Graham, and Chuck Grassley; Representatives Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff, and Katie Porter, who are running for Feinstein's Senate seat in the 2024 election; and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

Feinstein's death marked the first time an active senator had died since John McCain died in 2018 of brain cancer, and the first time in U.S. history that a female senator died in office.

Feinstein lay in state at San Francisco City Hall on October 4, 2023. A memorial service was held the next day on the front steps of the Hall, and the public was discouraged from attending. At the service, President Biden eulogized Feinstein as "a great American hero", Vice President Harris said of Feinstein "You helped move the ball forward, and our nation salutes you", and a lone protester held a sign saying "If you want the People to feel sad when you die, retire before you go senile". The service was punctuated by flyovers of the Blue Angels, coinciding with San Francisco's Fleet Week.

On October 1, 2023, Governor Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to fill Feinstein's vacant Senate seat. He had previously promised to appoint a black woman. Butler is not running for Feinstein's Senate seat in the 2024 election.

In mass media
The 2019 film The Report, about the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into the CIA's use of torture, extensively features Feinstein, portrayed by Annette Bening.

Electoral history

See also
 2020 congressional insider trading scandal
 2024 United States Senate special election in California

 Rosalind Wiener Wyman, co-chair of Feinstein political campaigns
 Women in the United States Senate

References

Notes

Additional sources
 Roberts, Jerry (1994). Dianne Feinstein: Never Let Them See You Cry, Harpercollins.
 Talbot, David (2012). Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror and Deliverance in the City of Love, New York: Simon and Schuster. 480 p. .

Further reading

External links

 Senator Dianne Feinstein – Official U.S. Senate website

1933 births
2023 deaths
20th-century American Jews
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American women politicians
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
Activists from California
American gun control activists
American Jews from California
American people of German-Jewish descent
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American politicians of Polish descent
Candidates in the 1990 United States elections
Democratic Party United States senators from California
Female United States senators
Jewish American people in California politics
Jewish United States senators
Jewish American activists
Jewish mayors of places in the United States
Jewish women politicians
Mayors of San Francisco
San Francisco Board of Supervisors members
Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni
Stanford University alumni
Wheelchair users
Women city councillors in California
Women mayors of places in California

Dianne Feinstein


Todd Klinck is a Canadian writer, nightclub owner and pornography producer.

Early life and education
Klinck moved to Toronto at age 18 to study theatre at York University, but dropped out to focus on his career. In 1996, his novel Tacones (High Heels) was the winner of the Three-Day Novel Contest, and was published by Anvil Press to strong reviews in the Toronto Star and Quill and Quire. Klinck also collaborated with John Palmer and Jaie Laplante on the screenplay for the 2004 film Sugar, which garnered a nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 25th Genie Awards, and was a columnist for fab until 2005. He wrote an online only column for Xtra! called "Sex Play" in 2009, and a column called "Porndoggy" in the same publication for most of 2010. His writing has been published in the National Post, Saturday Night and Bil Bo K (Belgium).

Career

Klinck and his business partner Mandy Goodhandy have launched several sex businesses in the Toronto area, including a transgender strip club, "The Lounge", an adult DVD production company, "Mayhem North", and a porn site, "Amateur Canadian Guys". In 2006 they opened a pansexual nightclub, "Goodhandy's", located in downtown Toronto. Klinck has also worked as a professional BDSM dominant, and has appeared on the television series KinK.

With Goodhandy, Klinck was chosen to be the Grand Marshal of the Pride Toronto 2010 parade.

References

Canadian male novelists
Canadian LGBT screenwriters
Living people
Canadian pornographers
Canadian gay writers
Canadian LGBT novelists
Canadian male screenwriters
20th-century Canadian novelists
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian screenwriters
Year of birth missing (living people)
Gay screenwriters
Gay novelists
21st-century Canadian LGBT people
20th-century Canadian LGBT people

Todd Klinck


The Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge located in Ulster County, New York, United States.
Formerly the Galeville Military Airport, it was decommissioned in 1994 and turned over to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1999. It serves as a waypoint for grassland-dependent migratory birds.

History

The  refuge first became federal property in the early 1940s, when the Army bought what was then swampland and filled it in with soil from the nearby flood plains to build Galeville Army Air Field to train pilots as a result of World War II. It stopped using the field years after the war, in the early 1970s and in later years it would be used by the nearby United States Military Academy. FBI agents also trained there. as did the U.S. Marshals Service.

In 1994 the Department of Defense decided it no longer needed the property. Five years later, it was conveyed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), which had wanted to protect the land as one of the state's top ten areas for grassland-dependent migratory birds. It is today managed as a subunit of the Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge,  to the south.

Recently the FWS has begun to mow and deshrub the  that make up the refuge's core grasslands. This prevents the grasslands from returning to wooded swamp.

Geography

The Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge is situated in the central portion of the town of Shawangunk, closer to the hamlet of Wallkill than Walker Valley. It is a roughly rectangular parcel that sits slightly west of the Wallkill River, just north of the crest of the divide between it and its tributary Shawangunk Kill, itself a relatively unspoiled stream and important habitat the FWS has been working to protect. The site is roughly bounded by Hoagerburgh Road (Ulster County 18) on the west, Albany Post Road (Ulster County 9) on the east, Long Lane (Ulster County 18A) on the north and Bates Lane to the south. Public access is provided near the southwest corner, off Hoagerburgh.

The central area of the property, the former airport, is bounded on all sides by woodland and shrubland (except for a small corridor around the main public access road) which makes up 165 acres (66 ha) of the total. The 400 acres (160 ha) that account for the core grassland also boast the former airport's 3,500-foot–long (1,067 m) runways and equivalent taxiways, taking up about 30 acres (12 ha) along the southern and western bounds of the grasslands. From this open space, it is possible to see the Shawangunk Ridge to the west.

Geology

Like much of the Hudson Valley, the Shawangunk Grasslands show the signs of glaciation during the last Ice Age, even though they were created much more recently through human action. The topsoil in the grasslands contains a high level of clay, which forms a barrier to most water filtering downward. Throughout the entire refuge, the water table is at least 3 feet (1 m) below the surface. Frequent freezing and melting during the winter results in pit-and-hummock topography throughout much of the refuge.

Ecology and biology
The grasslands created by the airport's construction are one of only two such locations in the region that can support the 12 species of birds dependent on them. Some of them, according to the FWS, need at least , per nesting pair. 190 bird species, 58 of which breed there, have been documented in the refuge.

Fauna
The Shawangunk Grasslands are especially important to these grassland-dependent species:

 Bobolink
 Eastern meadowlark
 Grasshopper sparrow
 Horned lark
 Northern harrier
 Savannah sparrow
 Short-eared owl
 Upland sandpiper
 Henslow's sparrow

In addition several hawk and falcon species (not grassland-dependent) have been seen at the site, and black-billed cuckoo and wood thrush have been nesting in the woodland portions. Non-bird species that have settled into the habitat include several turtle species, small-mouthed bass and sunfish in the one small pond on the site and white-tailed deer in the woodlands.

The FWS has also been alerted to the possibility that Indiana bats, a federal endangered species, may be exploiting opportunities provided by the refuge. A hibernaculum of 30,000 bats has been reported  to the northeast, and there is evidence that some have roosted closer to the refuge. The agency has been monitoring the refuge to see if any Indiana bats have begun to use dead trees as roosting sites or begin to forage on the site.

Flora
While the refuge is protected primarily for the bird life, several rare or uncommon plant species have also been found in the grasslands, where Kentucky bluegrass is the dominant species Frank's sedge, small-flowered agrimony, purple milkweed, small white aster, Bush's sedge, coontail and watermeal. A few tree species, such as white ash, American elm, eastern red cedar, and pin oak, also flourish in those sections. The woodlands on the periphery are dominated by several oak species, red maple, sugar maple, shagbark hickory and tulip trees.

The grasslands have also been inviting for several invasive species, most notably purple loosestrife and gray dogwood. FWS's mowing and other grassland-preservation efforts are aimed at removing or controlling those species.

Management

In 2002, the Fish and Wildlife Service finished its first final Comprehensive Conservation Plan for the Shawangunk Grasslands. Its primary goal in managing the area is to preserve and, where possible, extend the existing grassland. By mowing, deshrubbing and continuing to work with local farmers who are allowed to graze animals on the land and hay it under special use permits, it hopes to maintain a diverse enough selection of grasses for all species. Similarly, one mature tree per 10 acres (4 ha) of grassland will be maintained for predatory bird species.

In the longer term, FWS plans to create up to 30 acres (12 ha) of additional grassland by removing the runway pavement and restoring the original cover. An 8-foot (2 m) wide strip of concrete would be left for use as a public trail. While grasses are already beginning to grow through cracks in the runways, the agency would prefer not to wait as aircraft continue to make illegal landings at the refuge, disturbing the birds, despite markings on the runways themselves and on aviation charts of the area indicating that the facility is closed. It has not yet determined how this will be done in the most environmentally sensitive fashion. Similarly, it hopes to restore the original stream pattern through the property by removing the culverts and other reroutings made during construction of the airfield.

Since the woodlands surrounding the grasslands cannot be converted into grasslands, FWS will maintain them as such. The 26 acres (10 ha) of grass and shrublands within the woods, which also have become important habitat, will be allowed to return to woodland.

FWS has also committed itself to exploring a number of ways to control the invasive plant species in the refuge, such as herbicides, releasing beetle and weevil species that feed on the invaders and annual prescribed burns in addition to the methods it already employs. Its goal is to reduce their presence to less than 10% of the refuge within 10 years.

Some of its employees have expressed concerns about whether any pollutants might be left over from previous military use of the site, particularly around a communications center demolished in 1973. While the agency does not presently believe there is any cause for concern, it will be monitoring the situation and plans an environmental assessment.

Partner organizations

The FWS has credited other organizations, public and private, with helping it to fulfill its goals for the refuge. The former is represented by its state-level counterpart, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), which has shared data with it, participated in the planning process and works with local communities to protect wildlife habitat. Among the latter, the local and state Audubon Society chapters advocated strongly for the area's protection, since the society had declared the airport site an Important Bird Area in 1998. Other organizations have played supporting roles by helping to perform management tasks and raising awareness. There is a Friends of Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, which was formed in 2017. This refuge is staffed by two FWS volunteers.

Recreation

While the refuge is easily accessible to the public, activities within it are strictly limited to those that are wildlife-dependent: walking, nature photography, birdwatching and, in winter, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Jogging is not allowed, nor is any activity that would bring other animals (such as dogs or horses) or motorized vehicles into the area, since that would likely disturb the nesting birds. All visitors must remain on the paved roads, parking areas, trails or the observation platform. The refuge is open sunrise to sunset year-round.

Among the motorized vehicles banned from the refuge as are radio-controlled aircraft and drones. Model airplane enthusiasts, who took to the site and its abandoned runways before it was transferred to FWS, had hoped to continue to be allowed to do so under its management. Many of them wrote in with public comments favoring their hobby, saying wild birds and model airplanes could indeed coexist as they had for 30 years of model aviation at the former airport. While eventually 90% of the comments that addressed it supported model airplaning, FWS did not believe that it was compatible with the goal of preserving a safe habitat for the birds, and officially banned it. Academy of Model Aeronautics president Carl Maroney charged that the agency had made up its mind before soliciting public input. Three years later, the controversy had still not faded as Eastern U.S. Free Flight Conference president Robert Langelius told Congress that the USFWS had been "completely intransigent" and that many enthusiasts had given up the sport for lack of available space.

FWS was also criticized by animal rights groups for its decision to allow bowhunting of deer on the refuge during the state season in the fall, the only hunting it decided was compatible with the refuge's mission. Most bowhunters, it responded, will be using tree stands on the perimeter and will only need to enter the site briefly to retrieve any kills. It will be administered under a special fee permit system. Catch-and-Release Fishing will also be permitted in the refuge's pond, but it will not be stocked although it may be expanded if it proves to be a popular enough activity.

Currently, the agency estimates the refuge receives about 20,000 visitors a year, contributing $257,840 to the local economy. The FWS also makes annual revenue sharing payments to the town at various amounts between $2–3,000 a year. Most visitors have been birdwatchers, many drawn by the chance to watch the short-eared owl, one of the few owls that hunt in daylight. Ultimately the agency hopes to provide a more complete trail system, possibly connecting to an adjacent  town park and allowing better wildlife viewing. It would like to expand the current parking area and provide an interior contact point for the public, with one employee at the refuge at all times.

See also

List of National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

References

External links

 Refuge website

National Wildlife Refuges in New York (state)
IUCN Category IV
Protected areas of Ulster County, New York
Closed installations of the United States Army
Defunct airports in New York (state)
Shawangunks
Shawangunk, New York
Protected areas established in 1999


The Bohemian War (1468–1478) began when the Kingdom of Bohemia was invaded by the king of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus. Matthias invaded with the pretext of returning Bohemia to Catholicism; at the time, it was ruled by the Hussite king, George of Poděbrady. Matthias' invasion was largely successful, leading to his acquisition of the southern and eastern parts of the country. Its core lands however, centered on Prague, were never taken. Ultimately both Matthias and George would proclaim themselves king, though neither ever acquired all the necessary subordinate titles. When George died in 1471, his successor Vladislaus II continued the fight against Matthias. In 1478, the war ended following the treaties of Brno and the Olomouc. Upon Matthias' death in 1490, Vladislaus would succeed him as king of both Hungary and Bohemia.

Background
At the beginning of his reign, Matthias continued the policy of his father John Hunyadi in defending Hungary, the "bulwark of Christendom," against the Turks. However, as Matthias led campaigns each year, he came to the realization that by the late 15th century it was no longer possible to oust the Ottoman Turks from Europe. Rankling under the heavy costs of bordering the Sultan, and resenting his Christian neighbors, like Frederick III, who often meddled in Hungary when Matthias was on campaign, Matthias made the radical decision to come to an entente with the Turks, enabling the Hungarian king to turn westward.

The war
In 1468, Matthias began a war in Bohemia on the pretext of restoring that land to the Papacy. George of Poděbrady, the Bohemian king who had once protected Matthias, had made himself too tempting a target when he made enemies out of two Popes and became alienated from most of his Catholic neighbors. Matthias seized Moravia and Silesia from George and proclaimed himself the Czech king; yet Matthias was never able to seize Prague from the Hussites. The war would continue with George's successor Vladislaus II, until the latter signed the Treaty of Brno with Matthias in 1478, recognizing the Hungarian king's conquests. The Peace of Olomouc would confirm the Treaty of Brno.

With Matthias' death in 1490, Vladislaus would succeed Matthias as king of both Hungary and Bohemia.

References

 Tanner, Marcus. The Raven King: Matthias Corvinus, and the Fate of his Library. Yale University Press, 2008.

See also
 Hussite Wars
 Austrian–Hungarian War (1477–1488)

1460s conflicts
1470s conflicts
Wars involving Hungary
1460s in the Holy Roman Empire
15th century in Bohemia
1470s in the Holy Roman Empire
15th century in Hungary
Wars involving Bohemia
George of Poděbrady
Wars between the Czech Republic and Hungary

Bohemian–Hungarian War (1468–1478)