2006 United States gubernatorial elections

Major parties.

The results of the 2006 elections gave Republicans 22 governors to the Democrats' 28, a reversal of the numbers held by the respective parties prior to the elections. There were 22 races in states that were previously held by Republicans, and 14 in states previously held by Democrats. Republicans held the majority of governorships from 1995 until 2007.

Election summaries.

In 2006, ten governorships were open due to retirement, term limits, or primary loss.

Retired Democratic governors.

Tom Vilsack (Iowa).

Congressman Jim Nussle was the Republican nominee, while the Democratic Party nominated Iowa Secretary of State Chet Culver, a progressive whose father was a U.S. Senator. An October 11 poll by Rasmussen Reports showed the candidates tied at 42% each. An October 19 Rasmussen Reports poll had Culver leading Nussle 47% to 44%.  The Democratic nominee, Chet Culver, was elected with 54% of the vote.

Retired Republican governors.

Frank Murkowski (Alaska).

Governor Frank Murkowski, suffering poor approval ratings, was not favored to win renomination. An August 8 poll by Rasmussen Reports showed that going into the primary election his approval rating was at 27%, while his disapproval rating stood at 72%. Former Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin and former state Railroad Commissioner John Binkley challenged Murkowski in the Republican primary. Former governor Tony Knowles was widely considered the favorite to win the Democratic nomination. In the primary held on August 22, Palin won the Republican nomination for governor with 51.1% of the vote, Binkley received 29.6%, and Murkowski received just 18.9% of the vote. Knowles won the Democratic nomination with 68.6% of the vote; state representative Eric Croft, who received 23.1% of the vote, was his nearest competitor.  Palin campaigned on a clean government platform in a state with a history of corruption. An October 15 CRG Research poll had the candidates tied at 43%. An October 28 Rasmussen Reports poll showed Palin leading Knowles by a single percentage point.  Republican nominee Sarah Palin was elected with about 48% of the vote, a plurality.

Mike Huckabee (Arkansas).

Governor Mike Huckabee was term-limited. The Republican Party nominated Asa Hutchinson, a former congressman, U.S. Attorney, DEA head, and Undersecretary of Homeland Security. The Democratic nominee was Arkansas Attorney General Mike Beebe. Beebe's campaign centered on what his campaign called his "Believe in Arkansas Plan", which outlined his plans for improving access to affordable healthcare, improving education, and stimulating economic development and job growth. Beebe led in most statewide polls, although his margin of victory in those polls varied wildly. Just days before the election, a Rasmussen Reports poll showed Beebe winning by just 8%, while a SurveyUSA poll showed him winning by 20%.  Democratic nominee Mike Beebe was elected with about 55% of the vote.

Bill Owens (Colorado).

The retirement of term-limited Governor Bill Owens revealed divisions among the state's Republicans. Republican Congressman Bob Beauprez, widely regarded as a conservative, was attacked by his primary opponent, former University of Denver President Marc Holtzman for compromising with Democrats in Congress. Beauprez became the nominee when Holtzman failed to submit enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot, but the negative attacks they exchanged damaged Beauprez's campaign. The Democratic nominee was former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter, a pro-life Catholic and a political centrist who could not easily be portrayed as a liberal. Ritter did, however, support Referendum I and oppose Amendment 43; conversely, the public defeated the former and passed the latter. Ritter's campaign was boosted when he was endorsed by a group of Larimer County Republicans. During the period of January through August, Ritter raised almost twice as much as Beauprez. According to an October 16 Zogby poll, Ritter led Beauprez 47% to 45%. An October 22 SurveyUSA poll showed Ritter leading Beauprez by a larger margin, 56% to 38%. Similarly, an October 22 Rasmussen Reports poll showed Ritter leading Beauprez, 51% to 39%.  Democratic nominee Bill Ritter was elected with 57% of the vote.

Jeb Bush (Florida).

Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited. Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, a moderate, won the Republican primary with 64%, defeating the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, Tom Gallagher, who received only 34%. Congressman Jim Davis of Tampa won the Democratic primary with 47% of the vote, defeating State Senator Rod Smith of Alachua, who received 41% of the vote. In addition to Crist and Davis, Reform Party nominee Max Linn also appeared on the ballot in the general election.  Crist came out of the September 12 primary with momentum, but as the election drew closer, polls began to show a more competitive race. An October 23 Quinnipiac poll October 23 showed Crist's lead down to 2%. However, an October 26 Rasmussen Reports poll had Crist leading Davis 52% to 41%.  Republican nominee Charlie Crist was elected with 52% of the vote.

Jim Risch (Idaho).

Governor Jim Risch was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2002; in May 2006, he succeeded to the governorship when his predecessor, Dirk Kempthorne, resigned to become United States Secretary of the Interior. Before Kempthorne's appointment, Risch, a former Ada County District Attorney and state Senator, had committed to a reelection campaign for Lieutenant Governor, which meant the campaign for the governorship remained open.  Republican Congressman C.L. "Butch" Otter, a former lieutenant governor himself, was heavily favored to succeed Risch. On May 23 he easily won a four-way Republican primary, receiving 70% of the vote. In the general election, he faced newspaper publisher Jerry Brady, who was the Democratic nominee for the second consecutive gubernatorial election. Although Brady won the state's most populous county (Ada County, the location of Boise) in 2002, he was decisively defeated by Kempthorne statewide. He was expected to fare similarly against Otter; however, the race became fairly competitive, possibly due to a national trend towards the Democratic party.  Republican nominee Butch Otter was elected with 53% of the vote. Brady received 44%, making this gubernatorial election the closest in Idaho since 1994.

Mitt Romney (Massachusetts).

With his approval ratings down, Governor Mitt Romney opted not to seek a second term. Romney endorsed his lieutenant governor, Kerry Healey, in her bid to succeed him. Healey was unopposed in the Republican primary. Deval Patrick, a former U.S. Assistant Attorney General who headed the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, won the Democratic primary with 50% of the vote against Thomas Reilly and Chris Gabrieli. Third party candidates included Grace Ross of the Green-Rainbow Party and independent Christy Mihos, a former Republican and Board member on the state Turnpike Authority. Over the course of the campaign, Patrick was the victim of several smears by the Healey campaign, including reports of his brother-in-law's criminal history that were leaked to the press.  On November 7, Deval Patrick was elected with 56% of the vote. He became the first African American governor ever elected in the history of the state, and just the second in the nation's history (the first was Douglas Wilder, a Democrat from Virginia, who served as Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994). Patrick was also the first Democratic governor of Massachusetts since Michael Dukakis left office in 1991.

Kenny Guinn (Nevada).

Governor Kenny Guinn, a moderate Republican, was term-limited. His retirement resulted in competitive primaries in both parties. The Democratic nominee was State Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, who won the primary with 54% of the vote over Henderson mayor Jim Gibson. The Republican nominee was Congressman Jim Gibbons, who won the primary with 48% of the vote, defeating state senator Bob Beers and Lieutenant Governor Lorraine Hunt. Gibbons, who then represented Nevada's 2nd congressional district, had a strong base in northern Nevada. Titus had a strong base in the Las Vegas Valley due to her legislative and education careers. An October 17 Rasmussen Reports poll put Gibbons ahead of Titus with a 51% to 43% lead. Polls in late October conducted by Mason-Dixon and Research 2000 indicated that Gibbons was on track to win the election.  Republican nominee Jim Gibbons was elected with 48% of the vote, a plurality. Titus received 44% of the vote and Christopher H. Hansen, the nominee of the Independent American Party of Nevada, received about 3%.

George Pataki (New York).

Governor George Pataki, a moderate Republican, opted not to seek a fourth term in office. Without an incumbent in the race, the Democratic nominee was heavily favored to win the election. New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer won the Democratic primary with 81% of the vote, defeating Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi. As attorney general, Spitzer became well known for prosecuting cases relating to corporate white collar crime, securities fraud, internet fraud and environmental protection. The Republican nominee was attorney John Faso, a former New York State Assembly minority leader. Throughout the race, polls showed Spitzer defeating Faso by a large margin.  Democratic nominee Eliot Spitzer was elected in a landslide, winning 58 out of the state's 62 counties and taking 65.3% of the vote.

Bob Taft (Ohio).

Term-limited incumbent Governor Bob Taft was viewed as one of the most unpopular Governors in the history of Ohio. Polls showed his approval rating in the vicinity of 10% to 25%. Congressman Ted Strickland won the Democratic primary with 79% of the vote, defeating state representative Bryan Flannery. The Republican primary, between Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell and Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro, was more competitive by far. Petro came under fire for switching positions on same-sex marriage and abortion, as well as allegedly taking business from lawyers who refused to give him campaign contributions. Blackwell and Petro also split over proposals to reduce state spending. Blackwell ultimately won the primary with 56% of the vote.  Blackwell was not a close ally of disgraced Governor Taft, but Taft's unpopularity still damaged his campaign. The negativity of the Republican primary also damaged Blackwell's general election campaign. In addition, in 2006 there was a nationwide trend towards the Democratic Party. An October 6 poll by Rasmussen Reports showed that Strickland led by 52% to 40%, a decline from September. By contrast, an October 12 SurveyUSA poll had Strickland leading Blackwell 60% to 32%.  Democratic nominee Ted Strickland was elected with 60% of the vote. He became the first Democratic Governor of Ohio since Dick Celeste.

Notable Democratic incumbents.

Rod Blagojevich (Illinois).

Incumbent Rod Blagojevich proven to be an incredible fundraiser, and governed a relatively strong blue state. But recent opinion polling showed that his approval rating at a rather dismal 44%. Blagojevich initially had the advantage in the general election, leading his Republican challenger, state Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka by eight percentage points in polls, although not reaching the fifty percent "safe zone" for incumbents. In March, Topinka won the GOP primary by 38% to 32% over dairy magnate Jim Oberweis. Meanwhile, a former Chicago Alderman named Edwin Eisendrath won a surprising 30% in the Democratic primary. During the election United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was looking into the hiring practices of Governor Blagojevich.  An October 15 Rasmussen Reports poll showed Blagojevich dropping 4 points, to end with 44% and Topinka staying at 36%. An October 22 SurveyUSA poll had Blagojevich leading Topinka 44% to 34% with 8% undecided. However, an October 31 Mason-Dixon poll showed Blagojevich leading Topinka only 44% to 40% with 9% undecided. Democratic incumbent Rod Blagojevich was re-elected. Green Party candidate Rich Whitney showed one of the best showings of a third party candidate in all the 2006 election and it place the Green Party on the ballot as one of the major parties he got 10% 361,336 votes.

John Baldacci (Maine).

In February 2006, Baldacci was given a mere 41% approval rating by the voters of Maine in one poll. But when the GOP unexpectedly choosing conservative state Senator Chandler Woodcock over the more moderate state Senator Peter Mills and former Congressman Dave Emery, Baldacci was handed a huge boost.  Polls consistently showed Baldacci with a small lead. An October 17 Rasmussen Reports poll had Baldacci with 44% and Woodcock at 34%. Meanwhile, a Voice of the Voter poll announced by WCSH on November 6, one day before the election, gave John Baldacci his smallest lead yet with only 36%, with Senator Chandler Woodcock 30% and the now leading independent Barbara Merrill 22%, more than doubling her share. Green Independent candidate Pat LaMarche polled at 11%.  Baldacci was reelected with 38% of the vote compared to Woodcock's 30%, with 21.55% going to independent Barbara Merrill.

Jennifer Granholm (Michigan).

Michigan, like many other Midwestern states, had been unable to take advantage of reported national economic and job growth. A string of plant and factory closings by big name companies such as General Motors in Granholm's state led to growing disapproval of her among voters. Opposing her was wealthy Republican businessman Dick DeVos. Throughout the race polls showed the election to be close, but in the last days Granholm pulled ahead. According to a November 1 EPIC-MRA poll, Granholm led DeVos 52% to 43% with 5% undecided. A November 4 SurveyUSA poll had Granholm leading DeVos 51% to 45%. Ultimately, Democratic incumbent Jennifer Granholm was re-elected with 56 percent of the vote.

Ted Kulongoski (Oregon).

Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski was elected in 2002 barely defeating former State Representative Kevin Mannix. Kulongoski leads his challenger, former Portland Public School Board member Ron Saxton 51% to 44%. Oregon has not elected a Republican as governor since 1982, when Kulongoski lost to then-Governor Victor Atiyeh. Democratic incumbent Ted Kulongoski was re-elected.

Jim Doyle (Wisconsin).

In 2002, Doyle was elected with only 45 percent of the vote because of an unusually strong challenge from the Libertarian party. Although his early 2006 approval rating was a mildly unfavorable 45 percent, he led both Republican challengers, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and Congressman Mark Green by six to nine points in polls; he has not been able to poll greater than fifty percent. Green got a big break when Walker dropped out of the race. And more recent polls show that Green has pulled even. Wisconsin is a swing state in the strongest sense, with George W. Bush losing the state by some 5,700 votes in 2000 and around 12,400 votes in 2004, although they hadn't voted for a Republican for president since 1984, and they hadn't had a Republican senator since 1993. An October 18 Rasmussen Reports poll has Doyle leading Green 48% to 44% and an October 31 Research 2000 poll has Doyle leading Green 50% to 44%. Democratic incumbent Jim Doyle was re-elected.

Notable Republican incumbents.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (California).

Arnold Schwarzenegger won the 2003 recall election and replaced Gray Davis. Despite his failed special election and budget cuts, Arnold Schwarzenegger seemed to be ahead in the polls against Phil Angelides. Schwarzenegger's aggressive push for environment-friendly legislation, his support for stem cell research, gay rights and opposition to sending the National Guard to the border has made him very popular among the voters. Republican incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger was re-elected.

Bob Ehrlich (Maryland).

Bob Ehrlich's approval rating was 48%, which suggested a close election. Martin O'Malley, Mayor of Baltimore City, who was expected to run for governor almost as soon as the 2002 election was over, was initially expected to be a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination, but he was challenged by Montgomery County Executive Doug Duncan, who then unexpectedly dropped out of the race, citing a recent diagnosis of clinical depression, saving Democrats from a costly and potentially divisive primary.  A November 2 SurveyUSA poll had O'Malley leading Ehrlich 48% to 47% with 2% undecided. A November 3 Mason-Dixon poll has O'Malley and Ehrlich tied at 45% with 9% undecided. Democratic nominee Martin O'Malley was elected.  When Ehrlich unexpectedly beat his Democratic challenger, Lt. Governor Kathleen Kennedy in 2002, and became first Republican Governor of Maryland since Spiro T. Agnew, he was regarded by many as potential presidential candidate for 2008.  O'Malley defeated Ehrlich in the general election, 53% to 46%.

Tim Pawlenty (Minnesota).

Pawlenty's approval rating was measured at 56% on September 21, 2006. In 2002, Pawlenty won the governor's mansion with only 44% of the vote, facing a strong challenge from DFL Party candidate Roger Moe and Independence Party candidate Tim Penny, a former DFLer himself. Pawlenty has been criticized by some Minnesotans for budget cuts to programs such as MinnesotaCare to balance the budget (and controversial moves such as deferring required payments to the state's education and health care funds to later budget biennia to make the budget appear balanced when it was actually not). Pawlenty faces another strong DFL challenge this year in state Attorney General Mike Hatch, who fended off a liberal primary challenge from State Senator Becky Lourey. Pawlenty and Hatch were virtually neck and neck, with between 40-45% support for both candidates as recently as September, until the Mark Foley scandal hit the papers late that month, and 5-6% for Independence Party candidate Peter Hutchinson.  An October 23 SurveyUSA poll has Hatch leading Pawlenty 45% to 44% and Hutchinson with 7%. A November 1 Saint Cloud Times poll has Hatch at 46% and Pawlenty at 36%. Republican incumbent Tim Pawlenty was re-elected.

Donald Carcieri (Rhode Island).

Recent polls have shown Carcieri running even with his Democratic challenger, Lieutenant Governor Charles J. Fogarty, and Carcieri is a Republican governor in one of the most liberal states in the country. Carcieri's approval rating is currently 52%. Judging from recent polling, many voters may be willing to punish Carcieri for their displeasure with President George W. Bush. A November 2 Mason-Dixon poll has Carcieri leading Fogarty 50% to 42% with 8% undecided. Republican incumbent Donald Carcieri was re-elected.

Rick Perry (Texas).

Challenges from two popular independents, coupled with Perry's mediocre approval ratings, made the race interesting. Populist state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn decided to defect from the GOP and run against Perry, her bitter political foe, as an independent. Six weeks after the announcement of her candidacy, she moved to within single digits of Perry in polls. In addition to Perry and Strayhorn, former Congressman Chris Bell ran as the Democratic candidate, with country singer and Texas icon Kinky Friedman as another independent. This resulted in a peculiar four-way race (technically, a six-way race including the Libertarian candidate and a write-in candidate) in which no run-off would take place. Perry was elected to a second full term with just 39% of the vote.

Felix Camacho (Guam).

In the U.S. territory of Guam, in the western Pacific Ocean, Republican Governor Felix P. Camacho was challenged by Democrat Robert Underwood. A former Guam Delegate-at-Large in the U.S. House of Representatives, Underwood had previously represented Guam from 1993 to 2003. The race was a rematch of the 2002 gubernatorial election in which Camacho handily defeated Underwood and won his first term in office by 10 points (see Politics of Guam). However, the race was significantly more close and competitive in 2006, with Camacho narrowly winning reelection by a 2-point margin over Underwood.

Election ratings.

Incumbents who were term-limited or chose not to run for reelection have parentheses around their name. Those who ran for reelection but lost in the primary have an asterisk next to their name.

List of elections.

This is a complete list of states with a gubernatorial election in 2006.  Key: "(D/DFL) Democratic/Democratic–Farmer–Labor, (R) Republican, (AIP) American Independent, (Con) Conservative (NY), (C) Constitution, (G) Green, (GRP) Green-Rainbow, (IPM) Independence Party of Minnesota, (L) Libertarian, (PF) Peace and Freedom, (Ne) Nebraska Party, (Pop) Populist Party of Maryland, (Ref) Reform, (S) Socialist, (V) Veterans, (I) Independent, (CC) Concerned Citizens Party, (AI) Alaskan Independence Party, (LU) Liberty Union Party, (SW) Socialist Workers Party"

Close races.

States where the margin of victory was under 5%:  States where the margin of victory was under 10%:

References.

CNN

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 7, 2006 in 36 states and two territories. The elections coincided with the midterm elections of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.


Materials.

Many materials make suitable shim stock (also often styled shimstock), or base material, depending on the context: wood, stone, plastic, metal, or even paper (e.g., when used under a table leg to level the table surface). High quality shim stock can be bought commercially, for example as laminated shims, but shims are often created ad hoc from whatever material is immediately available.  Laminated shim stock is stacked foil that can be peeled off one layer at a time to adjust the thickness of the shim.

Applications.

In automobiles, shims are commonly used to adjust the clearance or space between two parts. For example, shims are inserted into or under bucket tappets to control valve clearances. Clearance is adjusted by changing the thickness of the shim.  In assembly and weld fixtures precision metal shims are used between two parts so that the final production parts are created within the product drawing's specified tolerances.  In carpentry, small pieces of wood may be used to align gaps between larger timbers. In luthiery, shims made of various materials are often used to adjust neck alignment and can be used beneath a nut or saddle to raise the height of either.  In masonry, small stones may be used to align or fill gaps between larger bricks or slabs.  On printed circuit boards, special CPU shims are used to protect the central processing unit when installing a heat sink.  In nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, ""shimming" an NMR magnet" is a procedure to generate homogeneous magnetic field along the sample volume to obtain pure Lorentzian line shapes of various resonances in the spectrum. This is accomplished by manual shimming of individual shims, or automatic shimming procedure.

A shim is a thin and often tapered or wedged piece of material, used to fill small gaps or spaces between objects. Shims are typically used in order to support, adjust for better fit, or provide a level surface. Shims may also be used as spacers to fill gaps between parts subject to wear.


Location and history.

The shopping centre was located formerly the part of Tai Hom Village squatter areas, it began to develop into a residential and shopping centre after the demolition of squatter area in mid-1990s.  Plaza Hollywood and its associated residential development - Galaxia was opened officially in 1998, became a landmark shopping malls and regional indicators of housing.  Plaza Hollywood is located at Tai Hom, Kowloon. Surrounded by Fung Tak Road, Lung Poon Street, Tai Hom Road and Sheung Yuen Street. It near Diamond Hill MTR station, and next to Lung Cheung Road, which is one of the main trunk road in Hong Kong.

Architectural design.

Plaza Hollywood by the related product concept in United States, hope to bring the colorful shopping experience to customers. Its large atrium "Star Plaza" was located in the center of the shopping centre, construction area near 10,000 square feet, the large scale which is rare in other shopping centres among in Kowloon East.  The floor is follow the design of Avenue of Stars, laying 60 Hong Kong entertainment celebrities who received awards from Hong Kong Film Awards. The top of atrium was filled with polygon stained glass for the design, the bright colors as well as the design of three hollow atrium.

Facilities.

There is a public underground transport interchange, providing multiple bus and minibus routes were between the major housing estates in Hong Kong and Wong Tai Sin district.  There had the entrances and exits in Diamond Hill MTR station, facilitate the public to use the MTR system to getting around Hong Kong. In addition, there had travel agencies also has a branch in the ground floor.  The main attraction of this shopping centre is the Stars Atrium. It is often home to many promotional features, including the 1 vs. 100 feature during the month of August in 2006. It also features a large LED screen.  Each levels were connected by multiple sets of escalators and air-conditioning systems, providing a comfortable shopping environment to the customers. The fourth floor was the attic, which including the sales office of the shopping centre, cinemas and restaurants, all of which are independently connected via the elevator of third floor.

Stores.

Plaza Hollywood has boutiques everywhere, there has multiple brands under i.t.'s.  Level 1 are the large fashion apparels, jewelry and jewelry stores concentrated.  Level 2 are mainly for skin care, cosmetics, clothing, home appliances and telecoms shops.  Level 3 are restaurants, children's clothing, cinemas and household personal care stores.  There has over 30 restaurants, including Pizza Hut and Wing Wah. It also has over 100 clothing, electronics, and retail stores.

Transport.

Plaza Hollywood is served by:

Plaza Hollywood () is a large shopping centre in Tai Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is part of Galaxia, a residential estate of Wharf Holdingss.


Toponymy.

The city was named after General Manuel Fernández Oro, who participated in the Conquest of the Desert of 1879.

Population.

According to the census carried out in 2010, the city has a population of 8,629 inhabitants. This census includes the people living in rural areas on the outskirts of the city. The demographic growth rate increased by 2.63% since the 2001 census, one of the highest rates among the biggest cities of the province. In 2001, the area had 6,813 inhabitants.  The city currently has 6,772 inhabitants (INDEC, 2010), representing an increase of 33% compared to the previous census (INDEC, 2001) which registered a population of 5,067 inhabitants.

History.

On the 29th of May in the year 1942 the Governance of Río Negro decreed the establishment of the Township of General Fernández Oro.  However, the precise definition of its foundation date is still under discussion. According to Decree Order 161 as of the 16th of March in the year 1971, signed by the then governor Requeijo, the date in which Fernández Oro was founded is established as a local holiday: the 19th of May 1931. Henceforth, this date is celebrated annually as the city's anniversary. The question that remains is what historical fact is remembered on that date. If the inauguration of the railway station is taken into account, the year would be 1928. If it were the change of name of the station, then the date would be the 18th of May, because on that day the name changed from "Kilómetro 1181" to "General Fernández Oro.  As it has already been pointed out, the first Township was approved by a Decree Order issued by the Governance of the National Territory of Río Negro in May 1942 and passed by Presidential Decree on the 12th of December in the same year, thereby creting the Municipality of Fernández Oro. As can be seen, no historical fact relevant to the population is related to the 18th of May, the city's official foundation date.  Other significant facts had already taken place in the region, and might as well be resignified as a foundation date.  Estación Cultural Lucinda Larrosa Museum is an exhibition center in General Fernández Oro. First conceived as a museum of natural science and regional history, nowadays features periodical artistic exhibitions that revisites the history of the Patagonia.

Economy.

The city's main economic activity is fruticulture. Among the fruits produced are pip fruits, such as apples and pears, and stone fruits, such as peaches and plums. However, other harvests, such as hop, contribute to the city's economy.

Touristic attractions.

One of the main touristic attractions is Estación Cultural Lucinda Larrosa Museum. This museum is considered one of the most important museums in the province of Río Negro, mainly due to its important collection of agricultural machinery, which is part of the productive circuit of the region of Alto Valle. It is located at kilometre 1181 of provincial route N°65. This museum's name comes from the name of the wife of the city's founder, Lucinda Gómez Larrosa, who died in Buenos Aires in 1910, and from the fact that its building is the former General Fernández Oro Railway Station, of the General Roca Railway.  in the year 1999, the building was opened as a museum by means of an initiative carried out by some of the city's residents. After having been closed for the public for many years, this place was re-opened in 2016, with a discursive twist in its aesthetic, cultural, historical and social inception, with which it aspires to settle in the community and the region as an cultural space open to debate and reflection, far from something definitive and static. It offers an agenda of monthly activities that inspire people to participate in, travel along, think about and inhabit the territory.  The natural attractions are those having to do with the irrigation oasis that were triggered by the construction of irrigation canals stemming from Ingeniero Ballester Dam. The riverside environment is an excellent leisure time option within General Fernández Oro's city limits.

General Fernández Oro is a city in the west of Río Negro Province in Argentina, located on the side of Provincial Route 65, on the northern bank of the Río Negro river.


Background and release.

"Seasons"" was recorded in 2000 at Nowadays Studios and Prime Sound Studios in Tokyo, Japan. As part of the trilogy set with "Vogue" and "Far Away", "Seasons" highlights theme of hopelessness and predicts Hamasaki's future. With this, "Vogue" details Hamasaki's presence, whilst "Far Away" discusses her past. Based on her song writing, she described her feelings after the writing all the tracks from "Duty" as "unnatural" and was constantly "nervous" for the final result. A staff reviewer from Amazon Japan noticed that the trilogy set had a "healing effect" that was absent on Hamasaki's two previous studio albums.  "Seasons" was written by Hamasaki, while production was handled by Japanese businessman and musician Max Matsuura. The song was composed by long-term collaborators Dai Nagao, whilst arrangement was handled by Naoto Suzuki. For the track's instrumentation, Suzuki played the keyboards, Naoki Hayashibe played the guitar, Takahiro Iida programmed and mixed the final composition, and Junko Hirotani provided background vocals.  It was selected as the second single from "Duty", and was released on June 7, 2000 by Avex Trax. The maxi CD of the single contains the original composition and its instrumental version, plus nine remixes. As a single from the "Duty" trilogy, which included Hamasaki's singles "Vogue" and "Far Away", the singles were released as a DVD single and VHS. It included the three mini-music videos, alongside the making-of videos and a TV commercial. The CD and digital cover sleeve have an image of Hamasaki holding a polaroid of the cover artwork for "Far Away". The song's title, "Seasons", is present on cover. The standalone CD cover was used as the digital EP cover for the iTunes Store and Amazon.com.

Critical response.

"Seasons" received favourable reviews from music critics. Alexey Eremenko, who had written her extended biography at AllMusic, highlighted the song as an album and career stand out track. Morimosa from Nifty.com complimented Hamasaki's songwriting in the song. A staff reviewer from Yahoo! GeoCities was positive towards the song, and selected it as one of the best tracks from the album. Hamasaki hosted an online voting poll for fans to choose their favourite tracks to be featured on her Ayumi Hamasaki 15th Anniversary Tour Best Live Tour. As a result, "Seasons" was included on the list. In early 2014, in honor of Hamasaki's sixteenth-year career milestone, Japanese website Goo.ne.jp hosted a poll for fans to rank their favourite songs by Hamasaki out of thirty positions; the poll was held in only twenty-four hours, and thousands submitted their votes. As a result, "Seasons" was ranked at the top spot. According to their separate review, the website commented on its win; "'Seasons' was an instant classic... Fans cite the song's heartfelt and resonating lyrics as some of her best." In 2016, the song was covered by Gackt in a more rock-arranged version.

Commercial performance.

In Japan, "Seasons" was a success on the Oricon Singles Chart. It debuted at the top spot of the chart, lasted for 21 weeks on the chart, and sold 1.367 million units by the end of 2000. This is Hamasaki's best selling single; as of today, the song is Hamasaki's second best selling single according to Oricon Style. The DVD single, released under the title of "Vogue/Far Away/Seasons" reached number one on the Oricon DVD Chart, spending seventeen weeks in the top fifty. It is Hamasaki's second best selling DVD single, and her eighth best seller overall. "Seasons" was certified million by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for shipments of one million units. In August 2014, the song was certified gold by RIAJ for digital sales of 100,000 units. The single entered at number one on Japan's TBS Count Down TV Chart; it stayed there for two consecutive weeks, and lasted 21 weeks in the chart. It was placed at number seven on their Annual Count Down TV chart in 2000.

Music video.

The accompanying music video was directed by Wataru Takeishi. Because the music video was part of the trilogy set with "Vogue" and "Far Away", only a portion of the song was shot for the video. As a result, the video for "Seasons" lasts for two minutes and 27 seconds. Two outtake shots from the "Vogue" video were then used for the artworks of "Far Away" and "Seasons". The music video was included on the DVD and VHS formats of "Seasons". The music video also appeared on Hamasaki's DVD compilation box sets: "A Clips Vol.2" (2002), "Complete Clip Box" (2004), "A Clip Box 1998–2011" (2011), and the bonus DVD version with "A Complete: All Singles".

Synopsis.

The video opens with a cover of a photo album, superimposed with a scene of two children from the videos of "Vogue" and "Far Away". It then has a blurry image of Hamasaki in the post-apocalyptic city, which has now left behind a series of hills. As Hamasaki walks towards the camera, the photo album opens with the city before its destruction. Hamasaki stands in the middle of a grainy surface, with projectile flames coming from underneath the ground. As she sings, scenes from the "Vogue" and "Far Away" videos appear in the photo album. She walks through the hill surface, finding the photo album the two children left behind. She opens the book, and witnesses the "Vogue" video. The final scene has Hamasaki close the book, which its back cover is a title-less shot of the artwork to "Vogue".

Live performances and other appearances.

Hamasaki has performed "Seasons" on several concert tours throughout Asia. The song was performed on Hamasaki's 2000 concert in Japan, where it was included during the first segment. It was included on the live DVD, released on September 27, 2000. It was performed on her 2000-2001 New Years countdown concert tour, where it was included during the last segment. It was included on the live DVD, released on June 20, 2001. It was performed on her Dome Tour (2001), where it was included during the last segment. It was included on the live DVD, released on December 12, 2001. It was performed on her Stadium tour (2002), where it was included as an encore track. It was included on the live DVD, released on January 29, 2003.  It was performed on her A Museum tour (2004), where it was included as an encore track. It was included on the live DVD, released on February 25, 2004. It was performed on her Tours of Secret concert tour (2007), where it was included as an encore track. It was included on the live DVD, released on March 12, 2008. The song was performed on her Power of Music tour (2011) in Japan, where it was included in the trilogy segment with "Vogue" and "Far Away". It was included on the live DVD, released on March 21, 2012. The song was performed on her 15th Anniversary tour (2013) in Japan, where it was included in the trilogy segment with "Vogue" and "Far Away". It was included on the live DVD, released on October 30, 2013. The song has been included on three of her greatest hits compilations: "A Best" (2002), "" (2008), and "A Summer Best" (2012). The 2000 vol. 2 live performance was included on Hamasaki's live DVD compilation, "A 50 Singles: Live Selection" (2011), and the DVD edition of "A Summer Best".  "Seasons" has been remixed by several professional disc jockeys and producers, and has appeared on several remix albums by Hamasaki: the Hex Hector and Bump and Flex remix on "ayu-mi-x III Non-Stop Mega Mix Version" (2001) and "Ayu-mi-x 4 + Selection Non-Stop Mega Mix Version" (2002), the A Eurobeat remix on "Super Eurobeat Presents Ayu-ro Mix 2" (2001), and the John O'Callaghan (musician) remix on "Ayu-mi-x 7 Presents Ayu Trance 4" (2011). The orchestral acoustic remix, and its instrumental version, was included on her third orchestral remix album, "ayu-mi-x III Acoustic Orchestra Version" (2001).

Credits and personnel.

Credits adapted from the singles liner notes:

"Seasons" (capitalized as "SEASONS") is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki for her third studio album, "Duty" (2000). It was written by Hamasaki, while production was handled by Max Matsuura. It premiered on June 7, 2000 as the third single from the album. The song is the final part of a trilogy from "Duty"; the other two singles being "Vogue" and "Far Away".


History.

For most of its history, Sweden was a larger country than today. At its height in 1658, the Swedish Empire spread across what is today Finland and Estonia and into parts of Russia, Latvia, Germany, Denmark and Norway. Hence, Sweden's linguistic landscape has historically been very different from its current context. Swedish evolved from Old Norse around the 14th and 15th century, and historically, the Swedish dialects were generally much more diverse than today. Since the 20th century, Standard Swedish has prevailed throughout the country. The Scandinavian languages constitute a dialectal continuum and some of the traditional Swedish dialects could equally be described as Danish (Scanian) or Norwegian dialects (Jämtlandic).  Finnish was the majority language of Sweden's eastern parts, though it was almost exclusively a spoken language. Parts of Finland are also home to a significant Swedish-speaking minority, including the Åland Islands, many of whom speak the Finnland Swedish dialect. Finnish became a minority language in western Sweden as many Finnish speakers migrated there for economic reasons.  Estonian was the language of the majority in Swedish Estonia but the province, like Finland, hosted a Swedish-speaking minority and a more significant minority of Germans.  In medieval Sweden, the Low German language played an important role as a commercial language, serving as the lingua franca of the Hanseatic league. As such, Low German influenced Swedish and other languages in the region considerably. In medieval Stockholm, half the population were Low German speakers. Low German was also spoken in the 17th-century Swedish territories in northern Germany, i.e. Swedish Pomerania, Bremen-Verden, Wismar and Wildeshausen, (as well as the rest of northern Germany) and by the German minority in Estonia and Swedish Livonia. Livonia was also inhabited by Latvians, Estonians and Livonians.  In Swedish Ingria, Finnish, Ingrian and Votian were spoken along with Swedish.  Latin, as the language of the Catholic Church, was introduced to Sweden with the Christianization of Sweden, around AD 1000. As in most of Europe, Latin remained the lingua franca and scholarly language of the educated communities for centuries in Sweden. For instance, Carl Linnaeus's most famous work, "Systema Naturae"', published in 1735, was written in Latin.  During the 18th century, French was the second language of Europe's upper classes and Sweden was no exception. The Swedish aristocracy often spoke French among themselves and code-switching between French and Swedish was common. The Swedish King Gustav III was a true Francophile and French was the common language at his court. In 1786, Gustav III founded the Swedish Academy to promote and advance the Swedish language and literature.  Gradually Sweden lost its overseas possessions and obtained its current borders in 1809, when it lost its eastern part (Finland) to the Russian Empire. As a consequence, Sweden became a rather homogeneous country with the exceptions of the indigenous Sámi people and the Finnish-speaking Tornedalians in the northernmost parts of the country.  During the 19th century, Sweden became more industrialised, resulting in important demographic changes. The population doubled and people moved from the countryside to towns and cities. As a consequence of this and factors such as generalised education and mass media, traditional dialects began to make room for the standard language (Standard Swedish). During the same period and until the 1970s, Sweden applied a Swedification policy that limited schooling to Swedish-language instruction and actively discouraged the use of other languages.  As in the rest of Europe and much of the world, the English has grown as an important foreign language in Sweden, especially since the Allied victory in World War II. During the second half of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century, Sweden has received great numbers of immigrants who speak languages other than Swedish (see: "Immigrant languages" below). It is unclear to what degree these communities will hold on to their languages and to what degree they will assimilate.  In 2009, the Riksdag passed the Language Law ("Språklag" SFS 2009:600), which contains provisions concerning the Swedish language, the five national minority languages and Swedish Sign Language. Among its provisions is a general mandate to safeguard the Swedish language, linguistic diversity in Sweden, and individuals' access to language.

Swedish.

The Kingdom of Sweden is a nation-state for the Swedish people and as such the national language is held in high regard. Of Sweden's roughly 10 million people, almost all speak Swedish as at least a second language and the majority as a first language (7,825,000, according to SIL's Ethnologue). Swedish is also an official language in Finland where it is spoken by a large number of Swedish-speaking Finns. The language is also spoken to some degree by ethnic Swedes living outside Sweden, for example, just over half a million people of Swedish descent in the United States speak the language, according to Ethnologue.  The Language Law of 2009 recognizes Swedish as the "main" and "common" language of society, as well as being the official language in "international contexts".

Dialects.

A number of Swedish dialects exist and are generally classified into six groups, called "sockenmål" in Swedish: South Swedish, Götamål, Svealand Swedish, Norrland, Finland Swedish, and Gutnish. As North Germanic languages these dialects all grew out of Old Norse, but under differing influences as the language split along East and West Scandinavian branches. In western Sweden, many local dialects, such as Jämtlandic and Dalecarlian, show greater influence from the West Scandinavian branch of Old Norse and Norwegian. Some dialects are divergent enough from standard Swedish to be considered separate languages.

Dalecarlian.

The "Dalecarlian" dialect group of Dalarna County varies significantly, ranging from the variations in the northwest of the county similar to the neighboring East Norwegian dialect to versions more similar to Swedish. The Älvdalen Municipality has a population of about 1,500 speakers of the Elfdalian Dalecarlian dialect.

Gutnish.

Modern "Gutnish" or "Gotlandic" exists as a spoken language in Gotland and Fårö. While influenced by Swedish, Gutnish is descended from Old Gutnish, which evolved as a separate branch of Old Norse.

Jämtlandic.

Spoken mainly in Jämtland, but with a scattered speaker population throughout the rest of Sweden, "Jämtlandic" or "Jämska" is a West Scandinavian language and part of the Norrland "sockenmål" with 95% lexical similarity to Norwegian and Swedish, but is generally more archaic. It has a native speaker population of 30,000.

Scanian.

Spoken in the Swedish province of Scania, "Scanian" is considered by some a dialect of Danish, and the related Bornholmsk dialect spoken on the Baltic island of Bornholm, is considered an East Danish dialect. Historically, Bornholmsk and Scanian split after Denmark ceded Scania to Sweden in 1658.

Westrobothnian.

"Westrobothnian" or "Bondska" refers to a number of closely related Norrland "sockenmål" spoken in historical Westrobothnia (modern Västerbotten and Norrbotten). The Westrobothnian dialects grew out of the West Scandinavian divergence from Old Norse, but with significant East Scandinavian influence. Dialects differ greatly throughout the region and traditionally are oral languages without a standardized orthography. Varieties include Kalix, Luleå, Kiruna, North and South Westrobothnian, among others.

Recognised minority languages.

In 1999, the Minority Language Committee of Sweden formally declared five languages as official minority languages of Sweden: Finnish, Meänkieli (also known as Tornedal, Tornionlaaksonsuomi or Tornedalian), Romani, Sámi languages (in particular Lule, Northern, and Southern Sámi), and Yiddish. The Language Law of 2009 confirms the recognition of these five languages as "national minority languages". This status enshrines the right of speakers of these languages to receive schooling and other services in their language.

Finnish.

, there were about 470,000 Finnish-speakers in Sweden. Finnish, a Uralic language, has long been spoken in Sweden (the same holds true for Swedish in Finland, "see Finland-Swedes, Åland"), as Finland was part of the Swedish kingdom for centuries. Ethnic Finns (mainly first- and second-generation immigrants) constitute up to 5% of the population of Sweden. A high concentration of Finnish-speakers (some 16,000) resides in Norrbotten.

Meänkieli.

Meänkieli is a Finnic language related to Finnish and Kven. Spoken by the Tornedalian people, it is mutually intelligible with Finnish, but with number of Swedish loan words; it is sometimes considered a dialect of Finnish. Meänkieli is mainly used in the municipalities of Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala and Övertorneå, all of which lie in the Torne Valley. Between 40,000 and 70,000 people speak Meänkieli as their first language.

Sámi languages.

The Sámi people (formerly known as Lapps) are a people indigenous to Scandinavia and the Kola peninsula (see Sápmi) who speak a related group of languages, three of which — Lule, Northern, and Southern Sámi — are spoken in Sweden. Like Finnish and Meänkieli, Sámi langauges are Uralic languages; however, prolonged exposure to Germanic-language-speaking neighbors in Sweden and Norway causes them to have a large number of Germanic loanwords not found in other Uralic languages. Between 15,000 and 20,000 Sámi people live in Sweden of whom 9,000 speak a Sámi language. In Sweden, the largest concentrations of Sámi-language speakers are found in the municipalities of Arjeplog, Gällivare, Jokkmokk, Kiruna, and other parts of Norrbotten.

Romani.

Romani (also known as Rromani Ćhib) is a family of Indo-Aryan languages spoken by the Romani people, a nomadic ethnic group originating in northern India. Several dialects of Romani are spoken and Swedish, including the Scandoromani Para-Romani admixture of Scandinavian languages and Romani. Around 90% of Sweden's Romani people speak a form of Romani, meaning that there are approximately 9,500 ćhib speakers. In Sweden, there is no major geographic center for Romani, as there is for Finnish, Sámi, or Meänkieli, but it is considered to be of historical importance by the Swedish government and as such the government is seen as having an obligation to preserve them, a distinction also held by Yiddish. Because of this, the Swedish government has helped develop and publish a significant number of books and educational materials in Romani.

Yiddish.

Yiddish is a Germanic language with significant Hebrew and Slavic influence, written with a variant of the Hebrew alphabet (see Yiddish orthography) and, formerly, spoken by most Ashkenazic Jews (although most now speak the language of the country in which they live). Although the Jewish population of Sweden was traditionally Sephardic, after the 18th century, Ashkenazic immigration increased bringing with them the Yiddish language (See History of the Jews in Sweden). Like Romani, it is seen by the government as a language of historical importance. The organisation "Sällskapet för Jiddisch och Jiddischkultur i Sverige" (Society for Yiddish and Yiddish Culture in Sweden) has more than 200 members, many of whom are mother-tongue Yiddish speakers, and arranges regular activities for the speech community and in external advocacy for the Yiddish language. , the Jewish population in Sweden was estimated at around 20,000 about 2,000–6,000 of whom claim to have at least some knowledge of Yiddish. The number of native speakers among these has been estimated by linguist Mikael Parkvall to be 750–1,500. It is believed that virtually all native speakers of Yiddish in Sweden today are adults, and most of them elderly.

Swedish Sign Language.

Swedish Sign Language (SSL) is an officially recognized language and is used by the Deaf community in Sweden. SSL was developed in the early 1800s, possibly with some influence from British Sign Language. It had gone on to influence the development of sign languages in Finland, Portugal, and Eritrea ("see Swedish Sign Language family").

Foreign languages.

Since the Middle Ages until the end of World War II, Germany was usually the country outside Scandinavia with the closest cultural, commercial and political relations with Sweden. Thus, study of the German language had always been promoted by the Swedish state as the primary foreign language. Many of Sweden's administrative and social institutions, including the education system, were organised along the German and Prussian model, as many Swedish pioneering intellectuals of the 17th century were educated in German universities. This changed after the end of the Second World War, when it was no longer acceptable to emphasise a closer link with defeated Germany.  A majority of Swedes, especially those born after World War II, are able to understand and speak English thanks to trade links, the popularity of overseas travel, a strong American influence, especially in regards to arts and culture, and the tradition of subtitling rather than dubbing foreign television shows and films. English, whether in American, Commonwealth (Australian, Canadian, and Kiwi) or British dialects, is has been a compulsory subject for secondary school students studying natural sciences as early as 1849 and has been a compulsory subject for all Swedish students since 1952, when it replaced German.  Depending on local school authorities, English is currently a compulsory subject from third until ninth grade, and all students continue to study English in secondary school for at least another year. Most students also learn one and sometimes two additional languages; the most popular being German, French and Spanish. From the autumn semester 2014, Mandarin Chinese is proposed as a fourth additional language. Some Danish and Norwegian are also taught as part of Swedish language learning to emphasize differences and similarities between the languages.

English.

There is currently an ongoing debate among linguists whether English should be considered a foreign language, second language or transcultural language in Sweden (and other Scandinavian countries) due to its widespread use in education and society in general. This has also triggered opposition: in 2002 the Swedish government proposed an action plan to strengthen the status of Swedish and in 2009 Swedish was announced the official language of the country for the first time in its history. In 2013, for the second year in a row, Swedes were ranked as best in the world at speaking English by the language proficiency company EF English First.

Immigrant languages.

Like many developed European countries from the late 1940s to the 1970s, Sweden has received tens of thousands of guest workers from countries in Southern Europe and the Middle East. Second- and third-generation Swedes of Southern European or Middle Eastern descent have adopted Swedish as their main tongue or in addition to their immigrant languages, such as Arabic, Bulgarian, Greek, Italian, Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian, and Turkish.

Swedish is the official language of Sweden and is spoken by the vast majority of the 10 million inhabitants of the country. It is a North Germanic language and quite similar to its sister Scandinavian languages, Danish and Norwegian, with which it maintains partial mutual intelligibility and forms a dialect continuum. A number of regional Swedish dialects are spoken across the county. In total, more than 200 languages are estimated to be spoken across the county, including regional languages, indigenous Sámi languages, and immigrant languages.


Playing career.

After his first major junior season in the North American Ontario Hockey League, with the Guelph Storm in 2010–11, Pedan was drafted 63rd overall by the New York Islanders in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.  On 3 April 2013, Pedan was signed to a three-year entry-level contract with the Islanders. Unable to establish himself amongst the Islanders' prospects within the affiliates, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL and the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL, Pedan was traded in the 2014–15 season by the Islanders to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Alexandre Mallet and a third-round pick on 26 November 2014.  On 1 December 2015, Pedan made his NHL debut for the Canucks against the Los Angeles Kings. On 15 March 2016, Pedan was recalled by the Canucks along with Brendan Gaunce.  On 3 October 2017, on the eve of the 2017–18 season, Pedan was traded by the Canucks along with a fourth-round pick in 2018 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Derrick Pouliot. He was assigned to AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the duration of the campaign. He notched AHL personal highs of 9 goals and 26 points in 52 games.  On 4 July 2018, Pedan as a restricted free agent from the Penguins opted to sign a two-year contract to return to Russia with reigning champions, Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Personal life.

Pedan was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, but grew up in Moscow, Russia. Pedan is fluent in both Russian and English.

Andrey Pedan (born 3 July 1993) is a Lithuanian-born Russian professional ice hockey defenceman for Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).


Characters.

The series is based on Kurt Wallander (Branagh), a detective and police inspector in the small town of Ystad, Sweden. Branagh describes Wallander as "an existentialist who is questioning what life is about and why he does what he does every day, and for whom acts of violence never become normal. There is a level of empathy with the victims of crime that is almost impossible to contain, and one of the prices he pays for that sort of empathy is a personal life that is a kind of wasteland." In the novels, Wallander regularly listens to opera in his apartment and his car. This signature hobby has been dropped for this adaptation; producer Francis Hopkinson believes

Production.

In 2006, Yellow Bird managing director Morten Fisker opened discussions with British production companies about developing English-language adaptations of the Kurt Wallander novels, to which Yellow Bird holds the distribution rights. The BBC and Channel 4 were believed to be involved in discussions; the BBC had already announced plans to adapt Mankell's "The Return of the Dancing Master". Fisker wanted to bring a new detective to British screens to replace Inspector Morse, who had been killed off on-screen in 2000. Actors proposed to play Wallander were Trevor Eve, Neil Pearson, Jason Isaacs, David Morrissey, Clive Owen and Michael Gambon. Negotiations were still under way in 2007, when Kenneth Branagh met Henning Mankell at an Ingmar Bergman film festival and asked to play Wallander. Branagh had started reading the "Wallander" books "relatively late" but enjoyed them, and read all nine translated novels in a month. Mankell agreed to let Branagh play the role, and Branagh visited Ystad in December to scout for locations and meet Film i Skånes chief executive Ralf Ivarsson.  A series of three 90-minute adaptations was commissioned by BBC Scotland's Anne Mensah and BBC Controller of Fiction Jane Tranter in January 2008. Like Morten Fisker, the BBC wanted a returning series that would have the same audience appeal as "Inspector Morse", "Prime Suspect" and "Cracker". Yellow Bird was contracted as a co-producer, working with Left Bank Pictures, a production house formed in 2007 by former ITV Controller of Comedy, Drama and Film Andy Harries. Harries described "Wallander" as "more than just a detective series" and that it would be visually "very picture postcard". The first series consists of adaptations of "Sidetracked", "Firewall" and "One Step Behind". Philip Martin was hired as lead director of the series, and met with Branagh, Harries and Left Bank producer Francis Hopkinson in January. The four discussed how the adaptations would appear on screen, agreeing that the characterisations, atmosphere and ideas would be difficult to portray on screen. Richard Cottan was hired to adapt Mankell's novels, and delivered his first scripts in February. Cottan changed the plots of some of the books in order to fit them into a 90-minute adaptation, though made sure the scripts retained Wallander's "journey". The following month, Martin began discussions with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle about what visual style the films would have. They agreed to use the Red One digital camera to shoot on, which has a near-35 mm resolution and is not as expensive as 35 mm; Dod Mantle said that the BBC "has politics" about the cheaper 16 mm and Super 16. Casting of British actors, which was done in London, was completed by April, and the whole crew moved over to Ystad to begin rehearsals. Martin wanted the actors playing police officers to know how to fire a gun, so arranged for them to spend time at a firing range using live ammunition. Wallander’s distinctive mobile phone ringtone was specially composed by Lee Crichlow.

Broadcast.

A public screening of "Sidetracked" was given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 10 November 2008, and was followed by a question-and-answer session with Philip Martin and Kenneth Branagh. A gala premiere of "Sidetracked" was held in Ystad on 23 November, a week before it was broadcast in Britain. "Sidetracked"s first British broadcast came on BBC One on 30 November, followed by "Firewall" on 7 December, and "One Step Behind" on 14 December. Episodes were simulcast on BBC HD. BBC Four broadcast programmes and films to complement the series; the schedule included a documentary by John Harvey entitled "Who is Kurt Wallander", as well as the Swedish adaptation

Reception.

Critical response.

The series received a positive reception from critics, who praised both Branagh's performance and the character he played; in a preview of the BBC's Autumn season, Mark Wright of The Stage Online wrote that Branagh was "a good fit" for the character and had "high hopes for the success of [the] series". Previewing "Sidetracked", "The Times"s David Chater called Branagh "superb as Kurt Wallander", and the series "one of those superior cop shows in which the character of the detective matters more than the plot". In a feature in "The Knowledge", a supplement of "The Times", Paul Hoggart called Branagh's performance "understated, ruminative, warm, sensitive and depressed" and wrote positively of the design and cinematography and concluded by writing that ""Wallander" is that rare treasure: a popular form used for intelligent, thoughtful, classy drama and superbly shot". At the time the series was commissioned, Scottish author Ian Rankin expressed disappointment to "The Scotsman" that BBC Scotland was producing adaptations of Swedish literature; "My main caveat is that

Awards.

Branagh won the award for best actor at the 35th Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Awards (2009). It is his first major television award win in the UK. The series was nominated for Best Drama Series but lost to "The Devil's Whore". The series, represented by "Sidetracked", won the British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series. Richard Cottan, Branagh, Philip Martin and Francis Hopkinson are named as the nomination recipients. At the BAFTA Television Craft Awards, the series won four of five nominations: Martin Phipps for Original Television Music, Anthony Dod Mantle for Photograph & Lighting (Fiction/Entertainment), Jacqueline Abrahams for Production Design, and Bosse Persson, Lee Crichlow, Iain Eyre and Paul Hamblin for Sound (Fiction/Entertainment). Ray Leek was also nominated for his opening titles work.  In May 2009, PBS distributed promotional DVDs of "One Step Behind" to members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for

Impact on the Wallander franchise.

In a "Radio Times" interview, Henning Mankell announced that he has a new "Wallander" book in the works. Several Swedish media outlets have speculated that the renewed Wallander interest in the UK and the warm reception of the BBC adaptations

Impact on Ystad.

The series has resulted in a new interest among British tourists to visit Sweden, and especially Ystad and the Skåne province according to Itta Johnson, Marketing Strategist with Ystad County. Johnson reports that in the past British people were reluctant to visit Sweden since they saw the country as cold and expensive, but now questions are mostly about the light and the nature seen in the BBC series. Statistics Sweden reports that Skåne is the only Swedish region that has seen an increase in hotel visits during the first quarter of 2009. The largest increase in non-Scandinavian tourists is seen among Britons, who now count for 12% which is almost as large as the percentage of visitors from Germany, at 13%. In 2009, Ystad saw an increase of tourists from the UK with 18%, and local politicians credit the BBC "Wallander" series with attracting British tourists.

Merchandise.

Vintage Books published paperbacks of the first three adapted novels in Series One with tie-in covers featuring Branagh on 20 November 2008. The Series One DVD was published by 2 Entertain Video on 26 December 2008. It features all three films, the "Who is Kurt Wallander?" documentary, and a 55-minute documentary entitled "The Wallander Look". Half of "The Wallander Look" features Branagh and Mankell discussing Wallander. The

External links.

Videos  Interviews  Press releases

Wallander is a British television series adapted from the Swedish novelist Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander novels and starring Kenneth Branagh as the eponymous police inspector. It was the first time the "Wallander" novels have been adapted into an English-language production. Yellow Bird, a production company formed by Mankell, began negotiations with British companies to produce the adaptations in 2006. In 2007, Branagh met with Mankell to discuss playing the role. Contracts were signed and work began on the films, adapted from the novels "Sidetracked", "Firewall" and "One Step Behind", in January 2008. Emmy-award-winning director Philip Martin was hired as lead director. Martin worked with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle to establish a visual style for the series.


Early life, family background and education.

Rémy Pflimlin was born on 17 February 1954 in Mulhouse, France. His great-uncle, Pierre Pflimlin, was a politician. His father was a Protestant while his mother was a Catholic. One of his brothers, Bertrand-Louis Pflimlin, became a general in the French Army; his other brother, Thierry Pflimlin, went on to work for the oil company Total. His cousin, Étienne Pflimlin, later served as the CEO of Crédit Mutuel.  Pflimlin graduated from HEC Paris in 1978.

Career.

Pflimlin started his career by as the head of advertising for "Jours de France", a magazine published by the Dassault Group, from 1979 to 1985. He then worked for "Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace", a regional newspaper in Alsace. In 1991, he was appointed as the deputy-chairman of the Société alsacienne de publications, the publisher of "L’Alsace", its competitor. He served as its chairman from 1993 to 1999. He also served as the vice president of the Syndicat de la presse quotidienne régionale from 1997 to 1999.  Pflimlin served as the CEO of France 3 from 1999 to 2005. He established regional stations within France 3, including Corsica-based "Via Stella". In 1999, he launched "C'est mon choix", a talk show hosted by Évelyne Thomas. In 2003, he oversaw the creation of "Plus belle la vie", a French television series based in Marseille. Additionally, he decided to show "Shoah", a 613-minute film directed by Claude Lanzmann. Meanwhile, he hired Audrey Pulvar and Marc-Olivier Fogiel, two new television presenters. However, in 2002, the staff went on strike for 22 days over their salaries; it was the longest strike in the history of France 3.  Pflimlin was appointed to the advisory board of the Agence France-Presse in 2005. He served as the head of Nouvelles Messageries de la Presse Parisienne, the main newspaper distributor in France later known as Presstalis, from 2006 to 2010. He was responsible for rebranding the company.  Pflimlin served as the CEO of France Télévisions from 2010 to 2015. When he succeeded Patrick de Carolis, he was the first head of France Télévisions to be appointed by a president (Nicolas Sarkozy), leading some on the left to suggest he was compromised. During his tenure, he streamlined the staff, accountancy of France 2 and France 3. In 2012, with the help of Bruno Patino, he launched a new website, FranceTVInfo. However, he clashed with the new Minister of Culture, Aurélie Filippetti, over his decision to discontinue the programs "Taratata" and "C'est pas sorcier". By 2014, a report authored by the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel (CSA) was leaked to the press, the gist of which suggested he had failed to meet expectations. During his tenure, he served on the executive board of the European Broadcasting Union. He was succeeded in August 2015 by Delphine Ernotte.  Pflimlin was appointed as the chairman of the board of TV5Monde in January 2013. He served as a member of the Conseil d'État in 2015–2016.

Personal life and death.

Pfimlin was married to an heiress to the Peugeot fortune, and he had four children. He served as the chairman of the Conservatoire de Paris and Musica, a classical music festival in Strasbourg. He also served as the president of the Prix Italia from 2012 to 2014. He was a member of Le Siècle.  Pflimlin died of cancer at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris on 3 December 2016. He was 62 years old. Upon his death, Jean Rottner, the mayor of his hometown of Mulhouse, described him as "a lover of culture, a humanist, but most of all a friend". Meanwhile, François Hollande, the president of France, said he was "a man who gave his life to the press, to the media, and to informing the public. Beyond his foolproof discretion, he hid a deep commitment to culture, including music."

Rémy Pflimlin (; 17 February 1954 – 3 December 2016) was a French media executive. He served as the CEO of France 3 from 1999 to 2005, the Nouvelles Messageries de la Presse Parisienne (later known as Presstalis) from 2006 to 2010, and France Télévisions, France's public national television broadcaster, from 2010 to 2015.


Football.

Celtic.

McLean moved from Forfar to Glasgow to join Celtic as a 16-year-old; he quickly won a Glasgow Cup medal, being selected to make his debut in the replayed final against Rangers and scoring the decisive goal in a 2–1 victory. Though understudy to the established centre-forward Jimmy Quinn and out of favour for a spell after expressing anger at criticism from manager Willie Maley after a poor team performance, he was involved in Scottish Football League title wins in his first and second seasons, including a significant part in Celtic's 'famous fortnight' in April 1909, when they played eight games in twelve days to retain the championship. However, he was not able to displace Quinn and moved on to Preston North End while still a teenager.

The Wednesday, Rangers loan.

In England he was the top scorer twice in successive seasons in England's top flight when playing for The Wednesday, as the Sheffield club were then named. He shared the distinction with two others on the first occasion, all with 25 strikes, before he was outright winner in 1912–13 on 30. In 1915, World War I halted league football in England, but not in Scotland, and McLean was permitted to play for Third Lanark, where he scored 70 goals in less than three seasons, and for Celtic's cross-town rivals, Rangers. In his sole season with the Ibrox club he was top scorer in the Scottish League in 1918–19 (29 goals in 24 matches); he thus became the first player to be outright top scorer in the top divisions in both England and Scotland. The feat has since only been matched by McLean's future teammate at Dundee, Dave Halliday. He also won another Glasgow Cup, eleven years after his first, with a win his former employers Celtic; however, they claimed the league title over Rangers by a one-point margin. At the end of the war in 1919, McLean returned to Wednesday but was soon transferred to Bradford (Park Avenue) where he spent three years.

Dundee.

McLean joined Dundee in 1922 where in his first season he was a teammate of Alex Troup. Dave Halliday was top scorer in Dundee's run to the 1925 Scottish Cup Final, in which McLean's goal had Dundee leading at half time. Celtic's Patsy Gallacher equalised before Jimmy McGrory headed a last minute winner for the Glasgow club. After his Dundee spell, McLean closed out his career back home with five more years at Forfar Athletic.

International.

McLean received one cap for Scotland, in a 1912 British Home Championship match against England. While based in England, he took part in five Home Scots v Anglo-Scots trial matches between 1910 and 1920, scoring four times, with further international opportunities limited by the war.

IFFHS recognition.

In the International Federation of Football History & Statistics updated 2008 list of the world's most successful top division goal scorers (1888–2008), McLean was placed at 43rd equal with 316 top division strikes.

Cricket.

McLean also played cricket for Strathmore C.C. and played in the game in June 1930 at The Hill in Kirriemuir when J.M. Barrie opened the pavilion, and two members of the touring Australian side, one of them the great Macartney, played before a packed crowd.

Personal life.

He was the elder brother of footballer George McLean who was also a forward. They were teammates at Bradford for one season (1921–22, David's last of three campaigns at the club and George's first of nine) and both closed out their careers at Forfar, but David (eight years older) had retired by the time George came 'home'.  Apart from when his footballing career took him elsewhere, he lived in Forfar all his life. He frequently attended football matches and was often invited to be the guest of Celtic at games in which they were involved. He died in December 1967.

David Prophet McLean (13 December 1890 – 23 December 1967) was a Scottish footballer who played as a striker, scoring consistently throughout his career. At club level he represented Celtic, Preston North End, Sheffield Wednesday, Third Lanark, Rangers, Bradford (Park Avenue), Dundee and Forfar Athletic. He had one cap for Scotland.