TV

  • https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4V1PNEdUPw4 TheRoot.com, By Shanelle Genai, Posted September 8th 2023 The media mogul has been the biggest landowner in Maui and bought an additional 870 acres back in March. Oprah Winfrey is stepping up and using her platform, power and resources to help those in need in Hawaii who’ve been affected by the fatal wildfires in Maui. However, it looks like her attempts to help are getting the side eye from others. I’ll explain. You see, the veteran TV host and media icon spent her time visiting shelters and offering a helping hand, giving out supplies to those who have been displaced. However, things got a bit dicey when she tried to enter the War Memorial Complex in Wailuku with a CBS camera crew in accompaniment and was promptly turned away, per London’s Sky News. The County of Maui later clarified in a Facebook post that Winfrey’s visit was “truly heartwarming” and that they “appreciated her understanding of our policy of having no camera crews or reporters accompanying dignitaries and celebrities in our emergency shelters.” While that explanation seems understandable, some folks used it as an opportunity and took to Twitter to express their disdain over why she even thought to bring cameras during this vulnerable time and the fact that she owns a lot of land in the county. “I take back what I said about Oprah being trash. She’s the garbage juice at the bottom of the trash where the maggots are,” wrote one user. “Don’t be fooled by celebs and billionaires dispensing charity to survivors of #LahainaFires. From Bezos to Oprah, every one of them is also a colonialist in in Hawaii. They are all guilty of land-grabbing, beach-grabbing, labor exploitation, water theft, tax evasion…” said another. “Disaster zone culture vulture Oprah needs to stop walking into Maui recovery hubs with empty hands looking for a photo op. Why don’t you return the land you stole from Kanaka Maoli first? I hear Maui residents are looking for housing options… Write a check & stay at your house,” another user said. Yet and still, it didn’t look like the media mogul was phased one bit as a recent news story with her and CBS Mornings aired and showed her yet again out at shelters, handing out supplies and talking with evacuees. She also took to her personal Instagram on Sunday and posted a message of what all she’s learned and some of the people she’s met during her time helping out. “Hey everybody. You know what this week has taught me? Is that when you don’t know what to do, you do whatever you can,” she began. “I went to visit one of the big shelters here at the War Memorial [Stadium] and asked people what it is they needed and then went shopping for some things, some, you know, basic things like towels and sheets and shampoo and other necessities.” CLICK ON THE PICTURE AND CHECK OUT THE VIDEO “And at some point, I will make a major donation after all of the smoke and ashes have settled here and we figure out what the rebuilding is going to look like. This is going to be a long and difficult process. But, spending time at the shelters, I’ve met so many incredible people,” she continued. She went on to describe one resident who barely escaped the fire but told her that he was in need of nothing because “my life is now my greatest gift.” She also talked about families who were sharing cots and had nothing left to their names—but were still grateful to have each other. “There’s such an incredible spirit going on in this entire community, people helping other people. And I know that long after all the camera crews are gone and the rest of the world has moved on, the rebuilding will just begin. And Hawaiians are a strong cultural people and a family-loving people. And with the help and support, you’re gonna see a lot of phoenix stories rising from the ashes here,” she concluded. As of Monday, the death toll for the fire reached 96 people and it’s expected to rise as crew and volunteers continue to dig through the remains. The Root sends its prayers and thoughts to all those affected, for information on legitimate organizations to donate to, please visit Honolulu Civil Beat.

Movie Weekly Countdown

  • mxoentertainment.com. Posted September 25th  2023 Horror, mystery, thriller ‘The Nun 2’ has the #1spot on lock grossing $69 million this weekend!  The gang is back as ‘Expend4bles’ premiers in the #2 position with $8.3 million as ‘A Haunting in Venice’ creeps into the #3 position with total sales of $25 million at the box office this past weekend! THE NUN 2 EXPEND4BLES A HAUNTING IN VENICE THE EQUALIZER 3 BARBIE VIDEOS ON DEMAND NO HARD FEELINGS FAST X SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE MEG 2: THE TRENCH TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEIM THE BAKER GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 4 KANDAHAR ABOUT MY FATHER

MXO Lifestyle

  • FLEXJET CHAIRMAN AND NATIVE GREATER CLEVELANDER KENN RICCI FlexJet.com, Posted September 25th 2023 Building Features Private Aviation’s Most Advanced Operations Center and the Largest Seamless LED Display in the U.S. Campus Expansion Houses 670 of the Company’s 4,000 Employees Across the Globe Renovations at Other Flexjet Buildings on 243,000-Square-Foot Campus at Cuyahoga County Airport Underway Flexjet Inc., a global leader in private aviation, today opened its new global headquarters at Cuyahoga County Airport (ICAO: KCGF), east of downtown Cleveland. Inside, the company’s Global Operations Control Center features the largest seamless LED screen in the U.S. and is the most technologically advanced. “Flexjet has undergone tremendous growth during the past decade with operations expanding throughout North America, Europe and beyond,” said Flexjet Chairman Kenn Ricci. “Our new Global Operations Control Center enables us to manage flights all over the world, in a setting that is optimized to the nuances of our unique business, ensuring aircraft Owners the highest levels of service and responsiveness. This facility provides a world-class environment to do the work necessary to continue our ascent as the world’s preeminent private aviation provider.” The new Global Operations Control Center serves as the building’s core and has the private aviation industry’s most advanced technology, including the largest seamless LED screen in the U.S. and third largest in the world – a gigantic 176 feet wide by 19 feet high with 1,572 individual LED panels. The screen displays every Flexjet flight around the world in real-time, creating a visually immersive experience. Designed to accommodate planned growth, the center can handle the staff and technology required to manage twice the current fleet of nearly 270 aircraft. The center’s stadium-style seating, which is arranged by job type, maximizes the flow and speed of information, particularly during issues such as major weather systems. In addition, the bridge at the center of the room has a pop-up command station that is used during Peak Travel season (such as the winter holidays) when customer flying is at high volumes requiring heightened coordination. On the exterior, the glass-enclosed marquee structure is positioned to give all employees in the building a front-row seat to the aircraft comings and goings on the airport ramp. The building was designed with dramatic sharp angles and triple-paned, treated glass that minimizes the sound of the aircraft on the field, creates privacy and controls the temperature inside. The HVAC includes a charcoal filtration system that continuously recirculates and purifies the air inside. The facility also houses Flexjet’s primary data center that feeds over 30 locations worldwide. Great thought and effort went into the development of a network of power with multiple redundancies. In addition to a complex system that converts AC power to DC power to get exactly the 120V current needed, there is a backup generator and five sets of power inverters and batteries. If for any reason the building lost power, the battery backups would switch on to cover the seconds it takes for the generator to kick in. All of this is necessary to make sure there are no interruptions in electricity to the data center, ensuring Flexjet maintains operational control of its fleet. FLEXJET GLOBAL WORLDWIDE HEADQUARTERS AT CUYAHOGA COUNTY AIRPORT IN RICHMOND HEIGHTS Construction included an enclosed connector to Flexjet’s previous headquarters building, where renovations are underway. Combined, this campus-like setting frames the entire Northwest portion of the Cuyahoga County Airport grounds. The 51,453-square-foot Global Headquarters and Operations Control Center will increase the campus size to a total of 243,000 square feet with office space for 670 of the company’s 4,000 employees who work for Flexjet and its sister companies globally. An aviation theme continues indoors with conference rooms named after aircraft that Ricci flew during his career as a pilot. The largest room, named Gulfstream, sits in the center of the building with a view of the Global Operations Control Center. Inside the Gulfstream room is a custom-made conference table made from the fuselage of the first Gulfstream G4 to come off the factory line. That aircraft, serial number 1, was one that Ricci personally flew. The fuselage is positioned under a glass table so that the iconic oval windows of the Gulfstream are the center of attention. Flexjet employs approximately 4,000 aviation professionals throughout the world, and more than 1,100 of them are non-union dedicated crew pilots. Its U.S.-based pilots and cabin servers can choose from more than 100 domiciles in the U.S. to live. In addition to Flexjet’s executive leadership, other Cleveland-based Flexjet employees include those working in global operations, flight support, safety, aircraft Owner service, human resources, information technology, sales and marketing. “From the simplicity of where we started 25 years ago, to the advancements in technology and where we are today, this new Global Operations Center is truly a marvel and it defines a new future in aviation,” said Ricci. “None of this would be possible without the dedication of our employees. This new operations center is a demonstration of our relentless progress and vision.” JETFLEX WORLDWIDE GLOBAL FUTURISTIC HEADQUARTERS About Flexjet Flexjet, Inc., a global leader in private aviation, first entered the fractional jet ownership market in 1995. Flexjet offers fractional jet ownership and leasing and is the first in the world to be recognized as achieving the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard, is the first and only company to be honored with 24 FAA Diamond Awards for Excellence, upholds an ARG/US Platinum Safety Rating, a 4AIR Bronze Sustainable Rating and is IS-BAO compliant at Level 2. Red Label by Flexjet, a market differentiator, which features the most modern fleet in the industry, flight crews dedicated to a single aircraft and the LXi Cabin Collection of interiors. To date there are more than 40 different interior designs across its fleet. Flexjet is the first fractional provider of the Praetor 500. The full fleet is comprised of the Embraer Phenom 300 and Praetor 500 and 600, Bombardier Challenger 350 and 3500, the Gulfstream G450 and G650. Flexjet’s European fleet includes read more…

The Arts Unplugged

  • BARRY MANILOW AND AMIR JONES WINNER OF THE MANILOW MUSIC TEACHER AWARD ClevelandJewishNews.com, By Alexandra Golden, Posted September 22nd 2023 Before his Cleveland stage performance Aug. 24, Barry Manilow made a high school teacher $10,000 richer. Amir Jones from Harvey High School in Painesville was the winner of the Manilow Music Teacher Award for the Cleveland show of the “Barry Manilow: Hits 2023!” tour at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in downtown Cleveland. Jones is an instrumental music teacher who teaches concert band, jazz ensemble, music technology, wind ensemble and directs the marching band. Manilow, known for his hit songs such as “Mandy,” “I Write the Songs” and “Copacabana,” has sold over 85 million albums worldwide and is one of the world’s all-time bestselling recording artists. Before every show of this tour, Manilow presents a teacher with the Manilow Music Teacher Award where the teacher receives $10,000. Of that money, $5,000 is cash and $5,000 is Manilow Bucks, which can be used to purchase instruments, according to the Manilow Music Project website. “For these last 15 years, we’ve been getting instruments to schools all over the country,” Manilow said to the crowd during the show. AMIR JONES INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC TEACHER AT HARVEY HIGH SCHOOL IN PAINESVILLE OHIO But for this tour, Manilow decided to select a teacher in each city he had a show in and have a contest, he said during the show. The teachers were nominated and voting took place on The Manilow Music Project website to decide the winner. Voting ended July 21. “The heroes are the music teachers,” Manilow said. “These men and women, they are so committed to teaching music to these young people.” Jones got into teaching from the experiences he had in the band program as a student which got him through school, he told Manilow. “I’m still in a bit of a shock but we have plenty of instruments that we can definitely be getting,” Jones told Cleveland Jewish News Aug. 24. “We provide a lot of instruments to our students, so it’ll be really good to be able to get more in their hands. Especially high-quality ones too with that much money.” Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse participated in the contest by assisting the Manilow Music Project with securing nominations for local teachers for the award. Other eligible local teachers were Brian Dodd of West Holmes High School in Millersburg; Dustin Harris of Cuyahoga Falls High School; Dan Hamilton of St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland; Jason Clemens of Shaker Heights High School; Aeneas Alldredge of John Marshall High School in Cleveland; Dianna Richardson of Cleveland School of the Arts; and Daniel Kenworthy of Bard Early College in Cleveland. More information on THE MANILOW MUSIC PROJECT.

  • IngenuityCleveland.org, Posted September 15th 2023 Biologies & Geologies IngenuityFest 2023 Join us for IngenuityFest 2023: Biologies & Geologies taking place September 22-24! Dedicated to a rebirth, and celebration of our singular planet’s resources and wonders, this year’s Fest will explore how human innovation interacts with communities across earth, air and water. IngenuityFest 2023 is a journey through crystal caverns, aquatic landscapes and more, at once whimsical and wholly serious in its dedication to environmental stewardship, sustainability and innovation and human invention. More information on Igenuityfest 2023