Gameplay.

The game takes place in the Zork calendar year 948 GUE (although the passage of time is not notable in gameplay). The player steps into the deliberately vague role of an "adventurer". The game begins near a white house in a small, self-contained area. Although the player is given little instruction, the house provides an obvious point of interest.  When the player enters the house, it yields a number of intriguing objects, including a brass, battery-powered lantern, an empty trophy case, and an Elvish sword of great antiquity. Beneath the rug a trap door leads down into a dark cellar, which is revealed to be one of several entrances to a vast subterranean land known as the Great Underground Empire. The player soon encounters a colorful host of dangerous enemies, including deadly grues who only prey on their victims in the dark, an axe-wielding troll, a giant cyclops who flees in terror at the mention of Odysseus, a vampire bat that can drop the player anywhere in the mine if encountered, evil spirits guarding the Entrance to Hades, and a nimble-fingered thief armed with a stiletto who makes mapping the maze difficult by removing or scattering any items that the player might drop to leave a trail.  The ultimate goal of "Zork I" is to collect the Twenty Treasures of Zork and install them in the trophy case. Finding the treasures requires solving a variety of puzzles such as the navigation of two complex mazes and some intricate manipulations at Flood Control Dam #3.  Placing all of the treasures into the trophy case scores the player 350 points and grants the rank of "Master Adventurer." An ancient map with further instructions then magically appears in the trophy case. These instructions provide access to a stone barrow. The entrance to the barrow is the end of "Zork I" and the beginning of "Zork II".  There are 28 ways for the player to die. It is possible to score all 350 points in 223 moves (and win the game completely in 228 moves) by exploiting a bug.

Feelies.

Infocom did not begin their tradition of including feelies, or extra items related to a game, until the 1982 release "Deadline". Later re-releases of the game, however, were packaged with:  Although the back of the "Zork I" "Grey box" depicted a zorkmid coin included with the other feelies, production difficulties led to the coins' omission from the packages. Zorkmid coins were not included as feelies until the release of the Zork Trilogy boxed set.

Release.

The original version of "Zork I" was published by Personal Software and simply called "Zork". It was distributed in clear plastic bags containing only the game disk and a 36-page booklet. Infocom's first "self-published" version of "Zork I" was in the so-called "Folio" format which included a single piece of paper describing how to run the game. The feelies noted above were only introduced when "Zork I" was re-released in the "Grey box" format.

Notes.

The opening text of "Zork I" is among the most notable descriptions in video games: This is quite simplistic when compared to Infocom's later games, many of which started with screens full of introductory text.  Several of the game's situations and descriptions have become iconic within the field of interactive fiction, such as the brass lantern and the "Elvish sword of great antiquity".  "Zork I" also introduced the notable grue, a "sinister, lurking presence" who kills adventurers who go exploring in the dark. Grues appeared (or, at least, were mentioned) in many subsequent Infocom adventures, right up to the 1997 graphic adventure "Zork Grand Inquisitor", published by Activision.

Reception.

Deirdre L. Maloy reviewed the game for "Computer Gaming World", and stated that ""Zork" is a program that is worth the money for anyone even mildly interested in adventure games. Those that like puzzles will have their fill, I'm sure. Master adventurers will even take a while on this one."  "Zork I"s sales surprised Infocom by rising, not falling, over time. Computer dealers demonstrated its parser to customers as example of what their products could do. They sold the game as an essential accessory to those purchasing new computers, including the DEC Rainbow, TI Professional, and others that most people did not see as game machines. It was the best-selling game of 1982, with 32,000 copies sold by the first half of that year; almost 100,000 copies in 1983,—"Inc." reported that the game had been a best seller for four years—more than 150,000 copies in 1984, comprising more than 20% of Infocom's sales that year; and a total of 378,987 copies by 1986. "InfoWorld" reported in April 1984 that "Zork I" "has returned to the top of the sales charts two years after its release". Based on sales and market-share data, "Video" listed it fifth on the magazine's list of best selling video games in both February and March 1985, and "II Computing" listed "Zork I" fourth on the magazine's overall list of top Apple II software as of October–November 1985, and first on the games list.  "BYTE" declared in 1981 that "No single advance in the science of Adventure has been as bold and exciting" as "Zork". The magazine praised the sophisticated parser and quality of writing, stating, "That the program is entertaining, eloquent, witty, and precisely written is almost beside the point... "Zork" can be felt and touched—"experienced", if you will—through the care and attention to detail the authors have rendered." It concluded, "Somebody, please, let me know when [the sequel is] done." Jerry Pournelle wrote in the magazine in 1983 that he played the game with his sons, stating that "If you liked Adventure and wanted more after you solved the Colossal Cave, I guarantee you'll love Zork". Jon Mishcon reviewed "Zork" in "The Space Gamer" No. 40. Mishcon commented that "Other than the absence of graphics, this game has no weak points I can find. Although [the price] is expensive I believe this is a first rate game and well worth every penny." "80 Micro" called "Zork" "complicated and sophisticated... a joy to play". It praised the documentation ("Take it from a rank amateur; these instructions are clear and easy to follow"), and wondered if the game could be solved because "the program lets you do pretty much what you want to do, even if the consequences are much less than desirable, it leaves open marvelous opportunities". The magazine concluded by hoping that "we can expect a second part sometime soon". "The Addison-Wesley Book of Atari Software 1984" gave the game an overall A+ rating, calling it "THE definitive adventure game".  In 1992, "Computer Gaming World" added "Zork I" to its Hall of Fame, waiving the normal criteria "in favor of honoring this venerable classic." In 1996, the magazine listed "Zork I" at #13 among the top 150 best games of all-time. The editors wrote, "This seminal Infocom text adventure combined challenging puzzles, wonderful descriptive prose, and a touch of humor to create a rich universe that existed not in SVGA graphics, but within your head." On March 12, 2007, "The New York Times" reported that it was named to a list of the ten most important video games of all time, the so-called game canon. The Library of Congress took up a video game preservation proposal and began with the games from this list, including "Zork".

Legacy.

"Zork I" was one of five Infocom games that were re-released in Solid Gold format with in-game hints.  Infocom allowed the distribution of the early Fortran version, therefore source code is available. Various Public domain software ports are available in various repositories.  There is also an abridged version, called Mini-Zork I, dated November 24, 1987. Mini-Zork was released free of charge as a promotion.  A German language version was developed, but never released. An unfinished version of this story file, dated January 13, 1988, has made its way into public circulation. The German is evidently non-native, containing many spelling and grammar errors. It is known that Jeff O'Neill worked on this version.  A remastered version of was first released by Japanese software development company SystemSoft for the NEC PC-9801 in March 1991. There are differences in this enhanced remake: the game recognizes verb commands typed in kana (Japanese syllable system) or Latin alphabet. For convenience, some of the most common verb commands (Look, Take, etc.) can be accessed by pressing a corresponding button, but the player still has to type the name of an object. This remake also helps the player to interact with the environment by displaying a list of objects after the player has typed a command. Also, unlike the original, the remake contains enhanced graphics, especially in the list of objects on which the text is super-imposed. Another remastered version was released by Activision and Shoeisha in Japan for the Sega Saturn and PlayStation in 1996. This version also includes graphics (with the interfaces of Lucasfilm's and Legend's early entries in particular), sound effects, auto-mapping, and music by Yuzo Koshiro. Neither version was ever released outside Japan.  The game is playable in "" with the code "ZORK". To do this, Mason (the main character) needs to get up from the chair. PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 users need to pull L2 and R2 (LT and RT on Xbox 360) rapidly. Windows players need to press the space bar rapidly and Wii players must shake the controls (Wiimote + nunchuck control scheme). After Mason gets up from his chair, he must walk to the left and use the old computer, which is behind the chair. To play Zork, type "zork" into the command prompt. An achievement/trophy is also awarded for putting in the code.

Zork: The Great Underground Empire - Part I, later known as Zork I, is an interactive fiction video game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels, and Tim Anderson and published by Infocom in 1980. It was the first game in the "Zork" trilogy and was released for a wide range of computer systems, followed by "Zork II" and "Zork III". It was Infocom's first game, and sold 378,000 copies by 1986.


History.

Establishment.

The idea of a Chinese university in Singapore to provide higher education to the Chinese community was first mooted by Tan Lark Sye in 1953, then chairman of the Singapore Hokkien Association. A fund was set up for this purpose, drawing donations from people of all walks of life and with Tan himself donating $5 million. The Singapore Hokkien Association donated 500 acres (2 km2) in the western Jurong area, which was then largely undeveloped rural land.  Nanyang University conducted a flag-raising on 15 March 1956 and started classes on the 30th of that month, offering courses in the arts, sciences and commerce. The first phase of the university building programme was completed two years later, and the university held its official opening ceremony 30 March 1958, with the Governor of Singapore William Goode as guest of honour.

Merger with the University of Singapore.

In 1970s, Nanyang University encountered problems in student enrolments as many students were attending English-language schools. Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew prompted the university to adopt English language within five years. Subsequently in the same year in March, a joint campus scheme was introduced to allow students from Nanyang University to jointly study with students from the University of Singapore.  In 1979, Lee invited British academic Frederick Dainton to present his views on the future of university education in Singapore. He suggested merging Nanyang University and the University of Singapore into the latter's campus at Kent Ridge. His proposal gained the support of the government and, in April 1980, the merger was confirmed.  Nanyang University's 21st and last convocation was held on the 16 August 1980. That same month, the National University of Singapore Act took effect, legally merging the University of Singapore and Nanyang University to form the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Logo.

The three circles in the logo represent values long held to be important in Chinese tradition. They represent a trinity of values: people, progress and productivity. The linking shows the interdependence between the need for people to work together productively and achieve progress. This symbol can now be seen in the National University of Singapore's crest. The circle with the yellow star represents people, signifying the importance placed on human capital in Singapore.

Relationship with Nanyang Technological University.

After Nanyang University was merged with the University of Singapore, the grounds formerly occupied by Nanyang University were occupied by a similarly-named technical institute, the Nanyang Technological Institute (NTI), in 1981. In 1991, the NTI was upgraded to the status of a university as Singapore's second English-medium university and became the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Chinese Heritage Centre.

In 1995, the former Nanyang University Library and Administration Building was reopened as the Chinese Heritage Centre, an autonomous research institute of Nanyang Technological University. It was the first and only university institute in the world that specializes in the study of the ethnic Chinese communities from different parts of the world. It currently served as a research centre, a library and a museum.

Proposed renaming of Nanyang Technological University as Nanyang University.

The NTU administration announced in 2003 a decision to rename Nanyang Technological University as Nanyang University by 2005, justifying the move based on the university's introduction of non-technology-related schools and its expansion into a full multidisciplinary university. In 2004, the administration announced that the renaming would be held off, citing a need to establish itself in other fields of study first.

Nanyang University (, abbreviated Nantah, 南大) was a university in Singapore from 1956 to 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the University of Singapore to form the National University of Singapore (NUS). It was only until 2005 that another private school in Singapore, SIM University was established.


History.

The town was founded by Sidney Ketchum (1797-1862), a land surveyor who had been born in Clinton County, New York, in conjunction with his brother, George Ketchum (1794-1853). The Ketchum brothers explored central lower Michigan in 1830, and in late 1830 Sidney Ketchum obtained government grants for the land on which most of Marshall now stands. The early settlers named the community in honor of Chief Justice of the United States John Marshall from Virginia—whom they greatly admired. This occurred five years before Marshall's death and thus was the first of dozens of communities and counties named for him.  Marshall was thought to be the frontrunner for state capital, so much so that a Governor's Mansion was built, but the town lost by one vote to Lansing. In the years thereafter, Marshall became known for its patent medicine industry until the Pure Drug Act of 1906. Marshall was involved in the Underground Railroad. When escaped slave Adam Crosswhite fled Kentucky and settled in Marshall with his wife and three children, the people of the town hid him from the posse sent to retrieve him. Those involved were tried in Federal Court and found guilty of denying a man his rightful property. This case and others like it caused the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 to be pushed through Congress.  Two Marshall citizens, Rev. John D. Pierce and lawyer Isaac E. Crary, innovated the Michigan school system and established it as part of the state constitution. Their method and format were later adopted by all the states in the old Northwest Territory and became the foundation for the U.S. Land Grant Act in 1861, which established schools like Michigan State University all over the country. Pierce became the country's first state superintendent of public instruction and Crary Michigan's first member of the U.S. House.  The first railroad labor union in the U.S., The Brotherhood of the Footboard (later renamed the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers), was formed in Marshall in 1863. Marshall was one of the only stops between Chicago and Detroit and became known as the Chicken Pie city because the only thing one could get to eat in the time it took to cool and switch engines was a chicken pie. A replica of the city's roundhouse can be seen at the Greenfield Village outdoor living history museum in Dearborn, Michigan.  In 2012 the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board stated the Enbridge oil spill in the Kalamazoo River near Marshall was the costliest onshore cleanup in U.S. history.

Stand against slavery.

In 1843, Adam Crosswhite and his family ran away from Francis Giltner's plantation near Carrollton, Kentucky because Crosswhite learned that his four children were to be sold. The Crosswhites made the tough journey north and finally settled in Marshall. In response, Giltner organized a group of men led by his son David Giltner to capture what they believed to be their property.  On the morning of January 26, 1847, the slave catchers and a local deputy sheriff were pounding on Adam's door. His neighbors heard the noise and came running. The cry of "slave catchers!" was yelled through the streets of Marshall. Soon over 100 people surrounded the Crosswhite home.  Threats were shouted back and forth. One of the slave catchers began to demand that people in the crowd give him their names. They were proud to tell him and even told him the correct spelling. Each name was written down in a little book. Finally, the deputy sheriff, swayed by the crowd's opinion, decided he should arrest the men from Kentucky instead. By the time the slave catchers could post bond and get out of jail, the Crosswhites were on their way to Canada.  Next the Giltners went to the federal court in Detroit. They sued the crowd from Marshall for damages. Since they had many of their names it was easy to decide whom to sue. After two trials in federal court in Detroit, the sole remaining defendant in the case, local banker Charles T. Gorham, was ordered to pay the value of the slaves plus court costs. To curry political favor, Detroit entrepreneur Zachariah Chandler supposedly stepped in to pay these costs on Gorham's behalf.  Because of the Crosswhite case and many others like it, Sen. Henry Clay from Kentucky pushed a new law through Congress in 1850 known as the Fugitive Slave Law, which made it very risky for anyone to help an escaped slave.

Geography.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Demographics.

2010 census.

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,088 people, 3,092 households, and 1,840 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 3,394 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 95.1% White, 1.1% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.8% of the population.  There were 3,092 households of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.2% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.5% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.90.  The median age in the city was 40.5 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.3% were from 45 to 64; and 18.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.

2000 census.

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,459 people, 3,111 households, and 1,935 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,260.7 per square mile (486.5/km2). There were 3,353 housing units at an average density of 566.7 per square mile (218.7/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.91% White, 0.32% African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.99% from other races, and 1.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.16% of the population.  There were 3,111 households out of which 30.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.98.  In the city, the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.  The median income for a household in the city was $41,171, and the median income for a family was $53,317. Males had a median income of $41,446 versus $30,398 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,101. About 2.6% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Museums and historical markers.

There are many recognized Michigan historical markers in Marshall, including

Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,088 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Calhoun County.


Plot.

Penny Hale is attending a private girls school when she is informed that her enrollment has ended and she will be heading home to live with her widowed father, Jeff Hale. She accepts this revelation as good news, unaware that her father, a prominent architect, is in dire financial straits and can no longer afford Penny's tuition. Furthermore, Jeff has lost his penthouse apartment and his car, but he has secured a menial job in the building as its custodian so he and Penny will still have a home: Jeff and Penny now reside in a small basement dwelling. Although Jeff is humbled by this downturn in his career, the always optimistic Penny looks upon this change of life as an adventure. Penny often runs afoul of Waters, an overly officious apartment employee, who tries to keep her out of places in the building she once frequented when her father was wealthy.  Jeff is romantically linked with Lola, the niece of the disagreeable woman who now occupies his old apartment. Lola's uncle, Samuel Henshaw, is a major financier who once employed Jeff to design a major building project, but discontinued it. Penny also befriends Lola's brother Milton, a somewhat pampered and effete boy. Penny assists him in shedding his prim and snobbish appearance, cutting off his prominent curls, in an attempt to make him look more like a "he-man."  A discouraged Jeff explains to Penny that the United States is mired in the Great Depression because Uncle Sam is being pestered by too many people who want his money. He shows her a newspaper cartoon that illustrates this idea. Penny discovers that Samuel Henshaw is referred to as "Uncle Sam" by his niece and nephew and does bear a strong resemblance to the symbolic Uncle Sam in the newspaper cartoon. Penny amusingly believes Samuel Henshaw is actually Uncle Sam. Henshaw considers re-hiring Jeff and assigning him to a project in far-off Borneo to keep him away from Lola.  Shortly thereafter Penny sees Henshaw being accosted by a group of pushy reporters. She helps drive them away with a few well-placed kicks to their shins. Penny tells Henshaw she sympathizes with him because of all the people who are trying to siphon money from "Uncle Sam." The irascible Henshaw takes a liking to Penny. She eventually decides to stage a benefit for Henshaw, charging a nickel apiece for a show that features a song-and-dance performance by her and Corporal Jones, the apartment building's doorman. This action impresses Samuel Henshaw so much that he announces the building project that he had earlier abandoned will be restarted with Jeff in charge. Jeff and Lola plan to be married.

Production.

It was during the making of this film that the relationship between the Temples and 20th Century Fox head Darryl Zanuck took an irreparable turn. Temple's mother Gertrude was not happy with the script or the cast of the movie and had a strained meeting with Zanuck to express her frustrations. Dissatisfied with Zanuck's response, she went straight to studio chairman Joseph Schenck, who supported Zanuck and refused to take the matter up with him. Direct communication eventually broke down between Zanuck and the Temples. It was the beginning of a chain of events that would eventually lead to Temple's parents opting out of her contract in 1940.  For the casting of the movie, Zanuck brought in Charles Farrell for what was hoped to be a comeback role for him. The director tracked down Farrell at a racquetball club, catching him completely by surprise with the movie offer. The comeback attempt never materialized, however, as his movie career would be over by the end of the decade. Temple's dog Ching-Ching II was brought in as an extra in the movie for $5. When the script called for her to bathe the dog in one of the scenes, she managed to negotiate an extra $2.50.

Just Around the Corner is a 1938 American musical comedy film directed by Irving Cummings. The screenplay by Ethel Hill, Darrell Ware, and J. P. McEvoy was based on the novel "Lucky Penny" by Paul Gerard Smith. The film focuses on the tribulations of little Penny Hale (Temple) and her architect father (Farrell) after he is forced by circumstances to accept a job as a janitor. The film was the fourth and last cinematic song and dance pairing of Shirley Temple and Bill Robinson. It is available on DVD and videocassette. The musical score includes the popular standard "I Love to Walk in the Rain" which can be viewed on YouTube.


History.

Big Rapids was settled in 1855 by George French and his brother Zera. It became the seat of Mecosta County in 1859. The village was platted in 1859. It was incorporated as a city in 1869.

Geography.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water. Like most of the central Michigan area, it lies on the ancient sea bed and has a sandy subsoil which lies above an iron ore base. The Muskegon River runs through Big Rapids, passing both Ferris State University and the local middle school on its way to Lake Michigan. Numerous small lakes are within a few miles of the city.

Government.

The city levies an income tax of 1 percent on residents and 0.5 percent on nonresidents.

Transportation.

Cycling, Hiking.

The Fred Meijer White Pine Trail, a 92-mile multi-use trail from Grand Rapids to Cadillac, MI, passes through Big Rapids.

Demographics.

2010 census.

As of the census of 2010, there were 10,601 people, 3,330 households, and 1,323 families living in the city. The population density was. There were 3,623 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 88.0% White, 6.8% African American, 0.7% Native American, 1.5% Asian, 0.6% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.4% of the population.  There were 3,330 households, of which 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 22.9% were married couples living together, 12.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 60.3% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.88.  The median age in the city was 21.8 years. 12.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 54% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.9% were from 25 to 44; 11.2% were from 45 to 64; and 6.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 51.0% male and 49.0% female.

2000 census.

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,849 people, 3,388 households, and 1,473 families living in the city. The population density was 2,555.5 per square mile (985.6/km). There were 3,654 housing units at an average density of 860.7 per square mile (332.0/km). The racial makeup of the city was 83.57% White, 10.63% Black, 0.73% Native American, 2.24% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.50% from other races, and 2.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.83% of the population.  There were 3,388 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.5% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 56.5% were non-families. 35.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.93.  In the city, the population was spread out, with 15.2% under the age of 18, 51.0% from 18 to 24, 17.3% from 25 to 44, 9.1% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.4 males. Ferris State University has a high number of male students, accounting for this anomaly.  The median income for a household in the city was $20,192, and the median income for a family was $28,629. Males had a median income of $30,341 versus $19,770 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,719. About 19.2% of families and 35.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

Climate.

This climatic region has large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Big Rapids has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Big Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,601 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Mecosta County. The city is located within Big Rapids Township, but is politically independent. Big Rapids is home of the main campus of Ferris State University, a four-year public university, well known for its College of Pharmacy and the Michigan College of Optometry, as well as its NCAA Division I hockey team, the Bulldogs.


History.

Under French Indochina.

Construction of the palace began in 1885 and completed in 1890, and was designed by French architect Alfred Foulhoux to house the Museum of Commercial Trade, exhibiting products and goods of Southern Vietnam. However, the building soon became the residence of the Governor of Cochinchina, starting with Henri Éloi Danel (1850 - 1898).

World War II era.

In 1945, control of the palace changed hands several times. After the Japanese Imperial Army toppled the colonial regime of French Indochina on March 9, French governor Ernest Thimothée Hoeffel was arrested, and the palace became the residence for Japanese Governor Yoshio Minoda.  On August 14, the Japanese handed over the palace to its puppet Empire of Vietnam government, to be used as the residence of Lieutenant General Nguyễn Văn Sâm.  On August 25, the Việt Minh seized, arresting Nguyễn Văn Sâm and Secretary of the Office of the Lieutenant General Hồ Văn Ngà. After, the building became the headquarters of the Provisional Administrative Committee of Southern Vietnam, later renamed the "People's Committee of Southern Vietnam".  On September 10, Lt. Col. B. W. Roe (from the British military mission) occupied the palace and made it the Allied Mission headquarters, evicting the "People's Committee".  On October 5, the building was used by General Leclerc as the temporary headquarters of the High Commission for the French Republic in Indochina. After Admiral Georges Thierry d'Argenlieu from the High Commission selected Norodom Palace to be the Commission's new location, the palace was used as Leclerc's office, this time as the official headquarters of the Commissioner of the French Republic in Southern Vietnam.

Under the State of Vietnam.

After the French reconquest of Indochina, on June 2, 1948 the French government handed over the building to the Provisional Government of the State of Vietnam, establishing its headquarters there. It was later transformed into the Palace of the Premier, serving as official residence of the Premier of the State of Vietnam, starting with Premier Trần Văn Hữu.  On January 9, 1950, a large protest of over 6000 students and educational instructors demanded the release of students arrested for advocating Vietnamese independence. At 13:00, Premier Trần Văn Hữu ordered the police to quash the protest, arresting 150 people, injuring 30, and 1 student, Trần Văn Ơn from Petrus Ký High School, died from his injuries. Trần Văn Ơn's funeral on January 12, 1950, had 25,000 attendees.

Under the Republic of Vietnam.

From June 26 to September 7, 1954, this palace was used as the temporary official residence of the Prime Minister (Ngô Đình Diệm), since Norodom Palace was still occupied by French High Commissioner Gen. Paul Ely. Bảo Đại renamed the palace to Gia Long Palace, and its street was renamed Gia Long Street (from La Grandìere). This was also the last residence of President of the Republic of Vietnam Ngô Đình Diệm, beginning 27 February 1962 after Norodom Palace was bombed and partially destroyed by mutinous Air Force pilots. Diệm had been Prime Minister since 1954, and president since 1955, but originally lived in the Independence Palace until it was bombed by two mutinous pilots of the Republic of Vietnam Air Force. As a result, Diệm had to relocate, and ordered a new palace to be built, moving to Gia Long Palace in the interim. It was the last place Diệm worked before his assassination on 2 November 1963 in a coup d'etat.  The Supreme Court of the Republic of Vietnam (Tối cao Pháp viện Việt Nam Cộng hòa) was housed in the Palace, from October 31, 1966 to April 30, 1975, the Fall of Saigon.

Under Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

After the North Vietnamese communist invasion of South Vietnam, on 12 August 1978 the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee ordered that the former Supreme Court be used as the Ho Chi Minh City Revolutionary Museum (Bảo tàng Cách mạng Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh), later renamed to its current name on 13 December 1999.

Architecture.

The 2-floored palace building covers an area over 1700 m2, using classical Baroque architecture with European and Oriental influences. The flooring, staircases and halls were European-styled, while the roof was Oriental-inspired. Surrounding the palace is a trapezoid-shaped flower garden, with 4 pathways.  The front face of the roof is decorated with grotesques. Other exterior structural designs include symbolic chickens representing daytime and owls for nighttime and ring-enclosed white flowers. Many other motifs embossed on the roof is a combination of Greek mythological symbols, iconic plants and tropical animals such as lizards and birds flying or expanding its wings.  Diệm commissioned the construction of three extremely deep tunnels leading from the palace to other parts of the city so that he and important government officials/military figures could escape in the event of a coup. During the 1963 coup d'etat, Diệm is widely believed to have used one of these escape routes to escape the siege on the palace, which caused considerable damage. He fled to a supporter's house in Cholon but was captured and executed a day later. The successor presidents still worked there until the completion of re-built Independence Palace, in 1966. The tunnels were 2.2 m high, with cast reinforced concrete (170 kg of iron / 1 m of concrete). Walls were 1 m thick, with 6 iron vault doors for entry and exit. The tunnels had 2 downward stairs, leading to a basement with 6 rooms totalling 1392.3 m2, which included conference rooms, offices, bathrooms, electrical rooms. The Presidential Office and Presidential Adviser's Offices were equipped with battery banks for uninterruptible power supply, portable radios, RCA transceivers. There are two exit tunnels that run towards Le Thanh Ton Street as well as six ventilation holes and numerous sewage drainages.

Gia Long Palace (), now officially the Hồ Chí Minh City Museum (Vietnamese language: "Bảo tàng Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh") is a historical site and museum in Hồ Chí Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. The museum is situated at the corner of Lý Tự Trọng and Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa streets, located on 2 hectares of land, near the Independence Palace.


Early career.

Léon Paul Gabriel Mougeot was born on 10 November 1857 in Montigny-le-Roy, Haute-Marne, son of a notary. He attended the lycées of Chaumont and Nancy for his secondary education, then studied law in Dijon and Paris. At the age of 24 he became an attorney in Langres. He gained attention in 1892 for successfully defending a notary accused of abuse of confidence. In 1893 he was the founding president of the Horticulture and Wine growing Society of Haute-Marne. He and Édouard Dessein (1875–1961) co-founded several agricultural mutual funds. Mougeot was an active Freemason and belonged to the Chaumont lodge "L'Étoile de la Haute-Marne".  Mougeot was elected to the Langres municipal council in 1884, and was mayor from 1888 to 1898. In 1898 he became a member of the general council of the department of Haute-Marne, and was president of the departmental assembly from 1907 to 1920. He was one of the leaders of the Radical Party in Haute-Marne and dominated local politics, particularly during the phylloxera crisis, when he defended the winemakers and distillers. He ran for election as a deputy in 1889 but was defeated. In 1893 Mougeot was elected deputy for Haute-Marne. At first he sat with the Progressive Left, of which he was secretary, then moved further left. He was secretary of the chamber from 1896 to 1898.

Posts and telephones.

Mougeot was under-secretary of state for Posts and Telegraphs from 5 July 1898 to 7 June 1902 in the cabinets of Henri Brisson, Charles Dupuy and Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau. On 18 May 1899 there was a strike of postmen in Paris due to the Senate having refused to agree with a decision by the deputies to pay Parisian postmen higher rates than their rural colleagues. Rather than agree to a general pay increase, the Senators refused any pay increase at all. Mougeot arranged to requisition several hundred soldiers and national guards to distribute the mail in Paris, which caused the strike to be cancelled immediately. When Mougeot took office most letter boxes were of wood reinforced with iron, and dated to 1830. On 31 July 1899 Mougeot signed a decree to place a new type of cast-iron letter box into general usage, made by Delachanal of Paris. Nicknamed ""mougeottes"", they had three small windows that let the users see the day, the planned number of pick-ups and the last pick-up that had been made. Two variants were made, one wall-mounted and the other on an iron column fixed to the sidewalk. The ""mougeottes"" were introduced experimentally at first, but proved very popular and were soon installed throughout France. At first bronze-green in color, from 1905 they were painted blue.  In October 1899 Mougeot experimented in the 12th arrondissement of Paris with couriers using automobiles, but this did not catch on. Mougeot installed the first stamp machines, and postcards delivered by compressed air in Paris. He also supported the use of bicycles by postmen, a long-planned but always delayed innovation. Mougeot gave postmen a monthly allowance of 15 francs if their route was more than, and the same allowance to town postmen whose routes were more than. In 1898 he decided to build a "telephone office" in Langres, which came into service on 27 March 1900.

Later career.

Mougeot was Minister of Agriculture in the cabinet of Émile Combes from 7 June 1902 to 24 January 1905, and was firmly protectionist. He did not make any notable improvements. He did contribute to the protectionist law on adulteration of wine of 1905, which survived until 1993. Although adulterated alcohol could be dangerous to health, Mougeot said the law was solely to prevent fraud, since this was the only concern of the Ministry of Agriculture. In March–November 1907 Mougeot was political director of "Le Petit Troyen", a regional journal. In August 1908 Mougeot was elected to the Senate and resigned his parliamentary seat. He sat with the Democratic Left in the Senate.  Mougeot acquired valuable landholdings in the colonies, and in Tunisia was called "le seigneur Mougeot". In 1913 he was chairman of the Compagnie Occidentale de Madagascar which he had violently opposed when he was a new deputy. He did not run for re-election in 1920. Léon Mougeot died on 25 October 1928 in Rochevilliers, Haute-Marne, at the age of 70.

Léon Paul Gabriel Mougeot (10 November 1857 – 25 October 1928) was a French politician who was under-secretary of state for Posts and Telegraphs from 1898 to 1902, and Minister of Agriculture from 1902 to 1905. He was responsible for introducing cast-iron ""mougeottes"", letter boxes that displayed the day and last pick-up made, and for subsidizing the use of bicycles by postmen.


Career.

Hoebee started her career as a professional singer in the early 1970s as a member of a folk & country band, Young Tradition, formed with her two sisters. This formation took part in talent shows, changed its name into "Elongi" and recorded a single produced by Piet Souer, who later suggested that Hoebee join Luv'.  In 1976, she became a member of girl group Luv' with Patty Brard and Marga Scheide. She chose José Andreoli as an artist name. From 1977 to 1981, Luv' scored a string of hit records in the Benelux countries, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, France, South Africa, New Zealand and Mexico. In March 1981, the group announced its first dissolution. The pop formation reunited later on several occasions.  After Luv' had split up, Hoebee went solo, gave up her artist name (José Andreoli) and married record producer Will Hoebee. The wedding reception took place in David Soul's villa in Los Angeles. Her new career was less international than the one she had as a Luv' member. Artistically, she chose a repertoire featuring a majority of cover versions of pop standards, including "I Will Follow Him", with the help of her husband. Her first album "The Good Times" was produced by Pim Koopman and released in 1982.  Twelve of her singles (among them a #1 hit and duets) entered the record charts; twelve in the Netherlands and five in Flanders. Hoebee was the first female singer who had #1 hits on the Dutch Top 40 as a member of a group (Luv') and as a solo artist. Then, Diana Ross (of the Supremes), Yvonne Keeley (of the Star Sisters), Melanie C (of the Spice Girls), Sita (of K-Otic) and Beyoncé (of Destiny's Child) established the same record in the hit parade.  After the birth of her son Tim (on 14 October 1985), Hoebee slowed down her career. She retired from show business in 1989 to devote herself to her family. Four years later, she made a brief comeback with Luv' and then escaped from entertainment again to live with her relatives in Best, a village near Eindhoven. For one year and a half, she was the owner of a video rental shop (The Movie Store) that she sold in the summer of 2003.  Then, with the help from Corry Konings (a popular singer in the Netherlands) and her management agency (CK Produkties), Hoebee decided to go back on stage. Her live shows attracted fans who had not seen her for years. In early 2004, she recorded under the pseudonym Stuff a dance-oriented cover version of a Four Tops hit ("Walk Away Renée"). Moreover, she sang two tracks as a guest artist on a tribute album to Doris Day ("Marjan Berger meets Doris Day"). She later left CK Produkties and signed a deal with WVS Management. This transfer was accompanied by Hoebee's move from the Netherlands to Lommel, Flanders, Belgium.  In the fall of 2004, Hoebee hosted a music talent contest show ("Tijd Voor Muziek") on a Dutch local channel (VSM TV). Her husband collaborated on the production of this programme.  In 2005, WVS Music released her first compilation "Alle Hits & Unieke Bonustracks". This anthology includes the singer's greatest hits, b-sides, album tracks and bonus tracks. In 2009, she has covered "Be My Baby", rendered as a duet with former BZN member Anny Schilder and produced by Will Hoebee and Piet Souer.  In March 2011, Hoebee re-recorded "I Will Follow Him" with Peggy March who originally had a #1 hit with the song in 1963. The two singers appeared on several Dutch television programmes. The release of the song, however, was delayed one year later and finally came out on the German edition of March's album "Always And Forever", together with an original track "My Christmas Wish".  On June 10, 2012, José's husband Will Hoebee died and it took her months to recover.  In January 2013, she took part in "Sterren Dansen Op Het Ijs" (SBS 6 celebrity figure skating show). She was rapidly eliminated from the competition but the artist considered it as a great learning experience.  In June 2014, Hoebee released "Noheyo", a cover version of a 2011 single by Polish band Blue Café. This single quickly became a #1 hit on SBS 6 download chart in the "Dutch-speaking" category.  September 2014 saw the re-issue of "Who's Sorry Now?" (a song she recorded 10 years earlier and made famous by Connie Francis in the late 1950s).

Bonnie & José: the ABBA project.

In 1984, she formed with her best friend in the show business, Bonnie St. Claire, an occasional duo, credited as Bonnie & José. The two vocalists recorded a Dutch cover version of ABBA's "Cassandra", which became a Top 40 hit in the Netherlands in the summer of 1984. A few months later, Bonnie & José were involved in the "ABBAcadabra" project (a TV musical for children based on songs of ABBA). Bonnie played the role of Sleeping Beauty and José had the role of Snow White. Other Dutch celebrities took part in this music show: Marga Scheide of Luv' (as "Carabosse/the Bad Fairy"), Ron Brandsteder (Patty Brard's first husband) and Benny Neyman.  In 1985, Bonnie & José recorded a whole LP (entitled "Herinnering") with ABBA's standards. This opus contained another Top 40 hit: "Zoals Vrienden Doen" ("The Way Old Friends Do"). In 1986, the duet recorded a TV special in Sweden: "Bonnie en José in Zweden" aired on the NCRV channel. The two singers were filmed in Stockholm (including a scene in the Polar Music Studios, ABBA's recording studios) performing ABBA's songs in Dutch. Björn Ulvaeus was interviewed for this special and acknowledged the duet's initiative. After the broadcast of this show, they performed from time to time on TV and on stage, even with a non-ABBA repertoire but no new records were released. In 1987, they broke up. Eight years later, they made a comeback by recording a single "'n Engel Als Jij" (a cover version of a German song: "Engel Wie Du" originally sung by Juliane Werding, Maggie Reilly and Viktor Lazlo). In December 2004, Hoebee acted as a witness at Bonnie's wedding (aired live on SBS 6, a Dutch TV channel).  In the summer of 2013, Bonnie & José relaunched their duo for several performances but ended their collaboration in early 2014.

Background vocals.

Hoebee worked as a backup singer for other artists including:

Discography.

Albums.

Guest appearances on other albums:

Josina van de Wijdeven (born 29 March 1954), known as José Hoebee, is a Dutch pop singer. She is a member of Luv', a famous Dutch girl group in the late 1970s and early 1980s that scored hits in more than 15 countries. In late 1981, she went solo and was successful in her homeland and in the Flanders region of Belgium between 1982 and 1985. She formed an occasional duo known as Bonnie & José with Bonnie St. Claire to record Dutch cover versions of ABBA's songs. She currently performs solo and with Luv'.


Organization.

Porter Airlines along with Porter FBO Limited, which operates the Porter facilities at Billy Bishop, and City Centre Terminal Corp., are owned by Porter Aviation Holdings (PAHL), formerly known as REGCO Holdings Inc. The company was founded in 1999.  Porter Aviation Holdings Inc. is controlled by :  "Source:" Bloomberg Business Week  At startup, million was put into the airline including money from:  In 2009, Porter's institutional investors include EdgeStone Capital Partners, Borealis Infrastructure, GE Asset Management Incorporated and Dancap Private Equity Inc. In 2013, Porter's investors are listed as EdgeStone Capital Partners, OMERS Strategic Investments, GE Asset Management Incorporated and Dancap Private Equity Inc.  The then REGCO Holdings purchased the Toronto island airport assets of City Centre Aviation Ltd in 2005. This included the terminal used by Air Canada's "Jazz" airline, which at the time operated daily flights to Ottawa from the airport. On February 15, 2006, Air Canada had announced that its contract to operate its Jazz airline service out of the REGCO terminal at the airport had been terminated. On February 27, 2006, REGCO was able to evict Air Canada Jazz from the publicly owned airport. Air Canada took the case to court, but lost an Ontario Superior Court ruling. REGCO's fully owned subsidiary 'City Centre Aviation' (now Porter FBO) then commenced renovations of the terminal building to serve Porter Airlines, which started flights in October 2006. Porter FBO operates the terminal along with fuel and other services.  A new subsidiary, City Centre Terminal Corp., was set up in 2009 to manage Porter's new terminal at the Toronto island airport. The new terminal's cost of construction is estimated at $50 million CAD. The first half of the new terminal opened on March 7, 2010. The terminal was completed in early 2011. The new terminal has ten gates, two lounges, check-in and security areas, and food outlets.  The airline's mascot is a stylised raccoon named "Mr. Porter". The raccoon appears in Porter newspaper ads. Porter also advertises on radio, using an announcer. The design of staff uniforms is based on 1960s standards of airline fashion. Porter has 933 employees as of March 31, 2010.  Porter was initially organized as a private company. On April 16, 2010, Porter Aviation Holdings announced they were going to be listed as a publicly traded company. The company filed a preliminary prospectus — a business plan — with securities commissions across the country, a requirement before it can offer shares. The company has $306 million of debt and leases and intended to raise $120 million of new shares in the company and order seven new Q400 planes. However, after twice delaying the final deadline for the offering, and lowering its share price from between $6 and $7 per share to $5.50, Porter cancelled the initial public offering. According to Robert Deluce "We came to the conclusion that it was really prudent to defer the offering at this time and to wait until better market conditions existed. We wanted to raise some capital. We thought the IPO was the way to go, but we weren't prepared in any way to sell our stock at just any price."  The media had openly speculated on the profitability of Porter as being a money-losing operation, as would be typical of a start-up. CEO Deluce had been asked by the media to provide information on the financial status of Porter, but declined. In its prospectus, the company outlined a loss of $4.6 million on revenues of $151 million for 2009. To be profitable, the airline needs to be filling 49.3% of its seats with paying customers. In 2009, the airline filled 41% of its seats, and in the first quarter of 2010, it filled 47%. Overall, the airline carried 900,000 passengers in 2009, 800,000 through Toronto island airport. In 2011, the airline filled 55.9% of its seats. As part of disclosure for its public offering, Porter disclosed that from its startup in 2006 until May 2010, Porter lost $44.5 million. In an interview with "Toronto Life" magazine in May 2013, Robert Deluce stated that Porter turned a profit in 2011 and 2012, and paid out profit sharing.  Porter sold the terminal at the island airport in Toronto to Nieuport Aviation Infrastructure Partners GP in January 2015. According to Deluce, this meant that the airline was debt-free, although it would now pay to lease the facility. The sale was estimated to be in the range of million. Being debt-free was considered a good position to be in, if it were to buy Bombardier CS100 jets to use at the island airport. However, in November 2015, the federal government announced it would not support the proposal to expand the island airport.

History.

Porter Airlines' launch was controversial, as it pitted Toronto residents seeking to close or stop the expansion of the airport against business interests and a government agency determined to make the airport self-sufficient. In 2002, the 'Toronto City Centre Airport', or 'Island Airport', operated by the Toronto Port Authority (TPA) (renamed in 2015 as "PortsToronto") was subsidized by per year. Only Air Canada flew flights from the airport as part of its Jazz" service, operating daily flights to Ottawa after the closure of the regional airline City Express in 1991. In October 2002, the TPA announced a $35 million plan of improvements to the airport to expand its usage. The TPA planned to build a $15 million bridge and a $20 million airport terminal. A new regional airline would be launched at the airport, to be run by Robert Deluce, the former CEO of Air Ontario. Since its opening, the airport, located on Toronto Island, was accessible by passenger ferry only and the ferry-only access was seen as an obstacle to expansion. In a deal with the City of Toronto government, the TPA's plans were approved by Toronto City Council in November 2002.  The TPA's plans were opposed by neighbouring residents and community associations who together formed the Community Air special interest group to fight the expansion. The expansion became a primary issue in the 2003 Toronto municipal election. Mayoral candidates Barbara Hall and John Tory supported the bridge and David Miller opposed it. Miller and a slate of like-minded candidates for council ran on a common platform, the centrepiece of which was to stop the bridge. After Miller was elected mayor in November 2003, the new council voted to cancel the previous Council's decision, stopping the bridge project.  After the bridge was cancelled, Deluce launched a $505 million lawsuit against the City of Toronto and later expanded it to the Government of Canada. After receiving an unspecified amount of compensation from the TPA to settle the suit, his company bought the airport building that Jazz was using at the airport and cancelled Jazz's lease on January 31, 2006. Two days later, on February 2, 2006, he announced that Porter Airlines, a regional airline operating locally built Bombardier turboprops would begin service in 2006, operating from the airport, initially on a Toronto-Ottawa route. In a show of political support, the Porter press conference was staged at the Bombardier plant in suburban Toronto, where the airplanes are built, with support from Canadian Auto Workers leader Buzz Hargrove, who said it would create new employment opportunities in the region. On the same day the TPA announced plans to improve ferry service to serve the new airline, buying a $4.5 million, 150-passenger ferry.  Immediately, political opponents of the TPA, including Miller, City Council members, local community associations and local Members of Parliament Olivia Chow and Jack Layton expressed concern that the operation of a major airline from the island will cause increased noise and air pollution in the downtown core.  Concerns raised include safety. The airport's main runway is long, shorter than Bombardier's specifications for a fully loaded Q400. Porter solved this problem by fitting the planes for 70 passengers, less than the maximum load of 78 passengers. There are several cautions to pilots flying into the airport, including boat masts, a nearby wind turbine, and no-fly areas. The flight path into the airport requires the airplanes to fly an approach offset from the runway centre-line to avoid nearby hazards such as tall chimneys and buildings.  Jazz filed a $11.5 million lawsuit against the TPA and later, Porter, in the Ontario Superior Court in February 2006, alleging that the TPA signed contracts forcing Jazz out of the airport, causing a monopoly at the airport, and were anti-competitive. Jazz later filed a suit in Federal Court. On October 20, 2009, Jazz formally dropped its suit in Ontario Court, but plans to continue its lawsuit against Porter and the TPA in Federal Court. According to the announcement, Jazz dropped the matter in provincial court as the TPA is a federal agency, and the Airport is a federal facility. Damages in the federal case are not specified. Porter filed a counter-claim to Jazz' lawsuit citing damages of $850 million, based on Jazz agreement with Air Canada, and Porter has not dropped its counter-claim.  The airline's maiden flight took place on October 23, 2006 to Ottawa. When flights began, airline passengers were at first blocked by protesters at the ferry dock, urging a boycott of the service. Although on-site protests eventually stopped, Community Air continues to monitor Porter's operations along with those of the TPA. The TPA confirmed at its annual meeting of September 12, 2008, that Porter was fined for breaking noise curfews in its operations following complaints from local residents. The TPA commissioned a study to reduce noise from Porter's takeoffs and landings.  The TPA and Porter remain partners in the expansion of the airport. In January 2009, the TPA announced plans to purchase a new, larger passenger ferry to support Porter's expansion plans. The ferry was financed out of an improvement fee to be charged to passengers. The ferry had been proposed by Porter's Deluce to the TPA's Board of Directors over the period of March – June 2008. The decision to approve the $5 million ferry precipitated a conflict-of-interest investigation of TPA director Colin Watson, who is a self-described friend of Deluce's, and who voted in a 5–4 decision to approve the ferry. Watson was cleared of the charge by the federal ethics commissioner Mary Dawson in June 2009.  In April 2009, Porter announced that it would build a $45 million terminal at the island airport, with Canadian Customs, restaurants, car rental kiosks, expanded lounge space and office space totalling. The terminal cost $50 million and its first phase opened on March 7, 2010. It was completed in 2011 and Porter hopes to add a US Customs section.  At the September 2009 annual meeting of the TPA, it was disclosed that Porter has broken its 11 p.m. curfew for landing at the airport three times in 2009, each time incurring a $5,000 fine. On one occasion, a Porter plane landed at the airport after-hours even after being advised by controllers to land at Pearson. According to Porter Airlines CEO Robert Deluce, "You know hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of flights come and go on a daily basis, so there are very, very few occasions where it happens. And there are also particular circumstances — and the circumstances are rare — to operate outside these normal times." According to the TPA, they are powerless to stop Porter other than imposing fines, and that planes landing at the airport when no controllers are present is not a safety risk. TPA director Mark McQueen has requested that the NAV Canada personnel stay on-site until the last flight has landed, but NAV Canada has refused to do so.  On February 9, 2012, Transport Canada advised Porter it had received an Access to Information request for what are called "Notices of Suspension issues to Porter." Such notices are departmental warnings with strict deadlines to deal with problems that could be safety related, but could also be demands to replace key personnel, like pilots, who have left the company. Transport Canada told Porter it was considering releasing some information and wanted a written response from the company detailing why any records should be withheld. Based on Porter's response, the department decided to release a censored version of the material in question. Porter went to court to prevent that from happening. On July 11, 2013 the federal court ruled in Porter's favour and the Confidentiality Order dated September 14, 2012 would remain in effect. A technical issue with Transport Canada's handling of the matter was cited as the reason for the ruling.  On January 10, 2013, 22 Porter ground crew members went on strike in Toronto. This was the airline's first labour dispute since it began business. In April 2013, Porter filed a libel lawsuit against the Canadian Office and Professional Employees union representing the 22 striking workers. Porter suit was for $4 million in damages for alleged defamatory statements made by the union using its Twitter account. The strike was settled in June 2013, and Porter's lawsuit was dropped.  In 2014, Montreal's Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport settled four civil lawsuits and announced it was trying to get service to Toronto Island Airport as part of its expansion plans. According to Porter, there would need to be a brand new terminal built in order for the airline to start serving the airport, which the airport hoped to build with grants from the Government of Canada.  In June 2017, it was announced on Twitter that Porter Airlines had "blacklisted" the conservative Canadian media website "The Rebel Media", and had directly tweeted to Ezra Levant notifying him in person that they had removed their advertisements from Rebel Media's advertising space. Levant reacted by calling for a boycott of the airline. Porter Airlines subsequently apologized for the use of the word "blacklist".

2013 Toronto Island Airport expansion proposal.

In April 2013, Porter announced expansion plans to serve new destinations in Western Canada, California and Florida. To support the expansion, Porter reached a provisional agreement to purchase 12 107-seat Bombardier CS100 jets, with a future option to purchase up to 18 more. Porter's plans required regulatory and facility changes to its Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport hub. Porter asked for modifications to the operating agreement of the airport to allow jets and extensions to the runway to support the new aircraft. Changes to the operating agreement require the unanimous agreement of the Toronto Port Authority (TPA), the City of Toronto and the Government of Canada. The TPA stated that it had no position on the expansion and would await a decision from Toronto City Council. Then-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford had indicated his support for the proposal while some councillors expressed their opposition with others urging further study.  Porter CEO Robert Deluce was already a supporter of Mayor Ford, having contributed the maximum $2,500 to Ford's mayoral campaign while other Deluce family members donated an additional $5,000 to Ford's campaign. Deluce privately sought Ford's support on the proposal before its public announcement but the meetings between Ford and Deluce raised controversy as Deluce had not registered with the City as a lobbyist.  When announcing the proposal, Porter Airlines claimed in advertisements that 2/3 of Torontonians polled supported the expansion. However, the result was disputed by pollster Warren Kinsella who considered the survey's trustworthiness tainted as it was done by Nick Kouvalis, Ford's 2010 campaign manager, and the questions were 'directing' the result. The No Jets TO group filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Council of Canada, calling the ads "patently false".  Toronto City Council held public consultations on the proposal during the fall of 2013, leading to a city staff report addressing the proposal. At the same time, Porter mounted a public relations campaign, based around the "porterplans.com" web site. Porter customers were telephoned and e-mailed and radio and newspaper advertisements were bought by Porter asking for the public to register their support with Toronto Council. After the consultation, and study of consultant reports, City staff recommended in a report to delay acting on the proposal until 2015. Concerns about the required infrastructure, public health concerns and the lack of an airport master plan were cited by staff. The TPA was also seeking an extension of the airport management agreement as a condition of the proposal. City Council's Executive Committee on December 5 voted to delay consideration of the proposal until 2014.  In January 2014, the Toronto Port Authority announced that it would seek $100 million from the federal government to expand infrastructure around the airport if the expansion plans and jets were approved for use at the airport. Another public hearing at Council was announced for January 27, 2014. At that time, Toronto City Council announced it could not support the proposal without further studies from Ports Toronto, leading the body to initiate a series of investigation and viability analyses. In November 2015, federal Minister of Transport Marc Garneau announced he would not support the proposal and in December 2015, the TPA (rebranded as PortsToronto 11 months before) announced that it had "halted work on an environmental assessment and two studies" it had commissioned concerning the expansion.

Destinations.

As of March 2020, Porter Airlines destinations are:  Terminated destinations are:  In 2016, Porter ran a small number of flights from Toronto and Ottawa to Winnipeg to test this potential market.

Interline agreements.

Porter Airlines operates "Worldwide Connections" from its home base at Toronto City Centre Airport to the world via the United States.

Fleet.

The Porter Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft as of March 2020:  Originally, Porter ordered ten 70-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprops, with ten more as options, at a value estimated by Porter of over $500 million. In June 2009, Porter exercised the option on the 19th and 20th Dash 8s. Porter chose the 70-seat configuration (less than the maximum of 78 seats) due to the short length of the runway at Toronto Island Airport; a fully loaded 78-seat configuration would need a longer runway than available at the airport. This means Porter aircraft have a slightly greater seat pitch than a 78-seat aircraft. The 70-seat configuration also allows Porter to use the shorter runway 11/29 at Newark. In May 2010, Porter announced that it intended to order seven more Dash 8 Q400. On August 6, 2010, it was announced that Porter had ordered four more Q400s with options for six more. In November 2011, Porter Airlines accepted two new Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft, bringing the company's fleet to 26. In late 2013, Porter added an additional 4 seats to all of their Q400s, giving them a total of 74 seats per aircraft.  In April 2013, Porter Airlines announced a conditional (if Bishop Airport is expanded) purchase agreement for up to thirty Bombardier CS100 (Airbus A220-100) aircraft, including purchase rights for six more Q400 NextGen aircraft. Porter had signed a letter of intent with Bombardier in December 2012. The total value of the deal was estimated at for all 30 CS100s and six Q400s. On November 13, 2015, Canada's transport minister Marc Garneau released a statement saying that the government would not reopen the Tripartite agreement, cancelling the expansion of the airport.  In July 2016, Porter announced the purchase of a further three Q400 planes. Deluce stated that it still had its deposit in place for the 2013 order of jets and six Q400s, as "something we are looking at carefully".

Services.

In Toronto, Porter provides a bus shuttle from the downtown Royal York Hotel to the airport ferry dock and tunnel entrance. The 4 buses (mix of Blue Bird Corporation Ultra LF and New Flyer Industries D40LF) are operated by Pacific Western Transportation. The shuttle service had moved to the Royal York from its original location at 20 York Street, next to Union Station, in March 2008, when city construction for the Simcoe Street Tunnel blocked access. Porter planned to return to the location, but in September 2009, Porter was evicted from the 20 York Street building due to non-payment of rent.  Porter used to provide complimentary snacks and beverages at their lounges at Toronto's Billy Bishop, Ottawa International and Newark Liberty Airport, but have since discontinued this, in favour of having small food shops with food and drinks for purchase at their Toronto hub, as seen at most traditional airports. They have since also closed their Newark lounge. Porter still does, however, continue to provide complimentary snacks and beverages, including alcohol, on board their aircraft. Porter Airlines offers a frequent flyer rewards program called 'VIPorter', whereby points can be redeemed for free flights. On August 3, 2018 the airline announced a deal to have VIPorter replaced by Aeroplan as the company's loyalty program. However, following Air Canada's requisition of Aeroplan, this deal was terminated.

Porter Airlines (stylized in all lowercase as porter) is a regional airline headquartered at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on the Toronto Islands in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Porter Aviation Holdings, formerly known as REGCO Holdings Inc., Porter operates regularly scheduled flights between Toronto and locations in Canada and the United States using Canadian-built Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft.


Fatty acid synthesis.

Fatty acid synthesis starts with acetyl-CoA and builds up by the addition of two-carbon units. Fatty acid synthesis occurs in the cytoplasm of cells while oxidative degradation occurs in the mitochondria. Many of the enzymes for the fatty acid synthesis are organized into a multienzyme complex called fatty acid synthase. The major sites of fatty acid synthesis are adipose tissue and the liver.

Triglyceride synthesis.

Triglycerides are synthesized by esterification of fatty acids to glycerol. Fatty acid esterification takes place in the endoplasmic reticulum of cells by metabolic pathways in which acyl groups in fatty acyl-CoAs are transferred to the hydroxyl groups of glycerol-3-phosphate and diacylglycerol. Three fatty acid chains are bonded to each glycerol molecule. Each of the three -OH groups of the glycerol reacts with the carboxyl end of a fatty acid chain (-COOH). Water is eliminated and the remaining carbon atoms are linked by an -O- bond through dehydration synthesis.  Both the adipose tissue and the liver can synthesize triglycerides. Those produced by the liver are secreted from it in the form of very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL). VLDL particles are secreted directly into blood, where they function to deliver the endogenously derived lipids to peripheral tissues.

Hormonal regulation.

Insulin is a peptide hormone that is critical for managing the body's metabolism. Insulin is released by the pancreas when blood sugar levels rise, and it has many effects that broadly promote the absorption and storage of sugars, including lipogenesis.  Insulin stimulates lipogenesis primarily by activating two enzymatic pathways. Pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), converts pyruvate into acetyl-CoA. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), converts acetyl-CoA produced by PDH into malonyl-CoA. Malonyl-CoA provides the two-carbon building blocks that are used to create larger fatty acids.  Insulin stimulation of lipogenesis also occurs through the promotion of glucose uptake by adipose tissue. The increase in the uptake of glucose can occur through the use of glucose transporters directed to the plasma membrane or through the activation of lipogenic and glycolytic enzymes via covalent modification. The hormone has also been found to have long term effects on lipogenic gene expression. It is hypothesized that this effect occurs through the transcription factor SREBP-1, where the association of insulin and SREBP-1 lead to the gene expression of glucokinase. The interaction of glucose and lipogenic gene expression is assumed to be managed by the increasing concentration of an unknown glucose metabolite through the activity of glucokinase.  Another hormone that may affects lipogenesis through the SREBP-1 pathway is leptin. It is involved in the process by limiting fat storage through inhibition of glucose intake and interfering with other adipose metabolic pathways. The inhibition of lipogenesis occurs through the down regulation of fatty acid and triglyceride gene expression. Through the promotion of fatty acid oxidation and lipogenesis inhibition, leptin was found to control the release of stored glucose from adipose tissues.  Other hormones that prevent the stimulation of lipogenesis in adipose cells are growth hormones (GH). Growth hormones result in loss of fat but stimulates muscle gain. One proposed mechanism for how the hormone works is that growth hormones affects insulin signaling thereby decreasing insulin sensitivity and in turn down regulating fatty acid synthase expression. Another proposed mechanism suggests that growth hormones may phosphorylate with STAT5A and STAT5B, transcription factors that are a part of the Signal Transducer And Activator Of Transcription (STAT) family.  There is also evidence suggesting that acylation stimulating protein (ASP) promotes the aggregation of triglycerides in adipose cells. This aggregation of triglycerides occurs through the increase in the synthesis of triglyceride production.

PDH dephosphorylation.

Insulin stimulates the activity of pyruvate dehydrogenase phosphatase. The phosphatase removes the phosphate from pyruvate dehydrogenase activating it and allowing for conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA. This mechanism leads to the increased rate of catalysis of this enzyme, so increases the levels of acetyl-CoA. Increased levels of acetyl-CoA will increase the flux through not only the fat synthesis pathway but also the citric acid cycle.

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase.

Insulin affects ACC in a similar way to PDH. It leads to its dephosphorylation via activation of PP2A phosphatase whose activity results in the activation of the enzyme. Glucagon has an antagonistic effect and increases phosphorylation, deactivation, thereby inhibiting ACC and slowing fat synthesis.  Affecting ACC affects the rate of acetyl-CoA conversion to malonyl-CoA. Increased malonyl-CoA level pushes the equilibrium over to increase production of fatty acids through biosynthesis. Long chain fatty acids are negative allosteric regulators of ACC and so when the cell has sufficient long chain fatty acids, they will eventually inhibit ACC activity and stop fatty acid synthesis.  AMP and ATP concentrations of the cell act as a measure of the ATP needs of a cell. When ATP is depleted, there is a rise in 5'AMP. This rise activates AMP-activated protein kinase, which phosphorylates ACC and thereby inhibits fat synthesis. This is a useful way to ensure that glucose is not diverted down a storage pathway in times when energy levels are low.  ACC is also activated by citrate. When there is abundant acetyl-CoA in the cell cytoplasm for fat synthesis, it proceeds at an appropriate rate.

Transcriptional regulation.

SREBPs have been found to play a role with the nutritional or hormonal effects on the lipogenic gene expression.  Overexpression of SREBP-1a or SREBP-1c in mouse liver cells results in the build-up of hepatic triglycerides and higher expression levels of lipogenic genes.  Lipogenic gene expression in the liver via glucose and insulin is moderated by SREBP-1. The effect of glucose and insulin on the transcriptional factor can occur through various pathways; there is evidence suggesting that insulin promotes SREBP-1 mRNA expression in adipocytes and hepatocytes. It has also been suggested that the hormone increases transcriptional activation by SREBP-1 through MAP-kinase-dependent phosphorylation regardless of changes in the mRNA levels. Along with insulin glucose also have been shown to promote SREBP-1 activity and mRNA expression.

Lipogenesis is the metabolic process through which acetyl-CoA is converted to triglyceride for storage in fat. The triglycerides in fat are packaged within cytoplasmic lipid droplets. The process begins with acetyl-CoA, which is an organic compound used to transfer energy from metabolism of carbohydrates, fatty acids, and ethanol. Through the citric acid cycle, acetyl-CoA is broken down to produce ATP, which is then an energy source for many metabolic processes, including protein synthesis and muscle contraction.


History.

The area where Hart Plaza stands today is believed to be where Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701. The waterfront area became the main source of communication and transportation to the outside world until the inventions of the railroad and telegraph. By the mid 19th century this area was covered by docks, warehouses, and other industry, as was most of Detroit's waterfront of the time.  It wasn't until 1890 that Hazen S. Pingree, Detroit's mayor at that time, suggested the location would be ideal for the creation of a waterfront center for city functions. However, the project was not carried through.  In 1924, the architect Eliel Saarinen was commissioned by the AIA of Michigan to compose a waterfront civic center design. However, World War II got in the way of its development, and it wasn't until the late 1940s that things got under way. The first parts to go up in the area were the buildings, including a veteran's hall, an auditorium, and the city-county building.  Finally, it came to the creation of what is now Hart Plaza. What was created was a departure from Saarinen's original design, which was originally to be a grassy lawn area. It was decided to build the current concrete plaza instead, with several built in amphitheaters for concerts, as well as Dodge Fountain. The final design was done by the firm of Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls, with the help of Isamu Noguchi.  The plaza opened in 1975 and in 1976 was dedicated to Philip Hart, a United States Senator from 1959 to 1976. However, the park was not completed until 1979.  On the city's 300th birthday — July 24, 2001 - a statue was unveiled depicting Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac arrival at what would become Detroit in 1701.  On October 20, 2001, the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad opened — commemorating Detroit's role in the Underground Railroad. It was sculpted by Edward Dwight, after winning a competition to design the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad.  Transcending, an arch sculpture and the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark, was dedicated on August 30, 2003. It is located west of the entrance to Hart Plaza near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Jefferson Avenue  In 2006 the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority added a cruise ship dock and passenger terminal to the site.

Events.

Thousands of people from the Midwest and Canada come together during the summer for celebrations, concerts held in one of the plaza's two open-air amphitheaters, and festivals generally held from May through September.  Some of the events held at Hart Plaza over the years include:

Surroundings.

Hart Plaza is surrounded by many important areas and buildings of the Downtown Detroit area. It is within a few blocks of the GM Renaissance Center (RenCen), Joe Louis Arena and TCF Center. In recent years, Hart Plaza has become a part of the Detroit International Riverfront.  Visitors to Hart Plaza can see across the river to Windsor, Ontario's riverfront and the Belle Isle State Park.

Layout.

The park is 8 acres in size and is bound by the Detroit River to the south, East Jefferson Avenue to north, Bates Avenue to the east, and Civic Center Drive to the west. It consists of the upper level at the level of Jefferson Avenue, which is a supported cement slab faced in carnelian granite and concrete, and suspended above the lower level at the level of Atwater Street. The plaza was designed by Detroit-based architects Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in consultation with Japanese American architect Isamu Noguchi.  The plaza's main entrance is located at the foot of Woodward Avenue, south of the Monument to Joe Louis. At the entrance is the Pylon, a stainless steel spire sculpture designed by Isamu Noguchi. Located west of the entrance is the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark, whose centerpiece is a 63-foot tall steel arch sculpture by David Barr and Sergio de Giusti titled Transcending. Near the center of the courtyard is the focal point of Hart Plaza, the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain, also designed by Isamu Noguchi. The lower level of Hart Plaza includes an open-air amphitheater near the center of the courtyard, dressing rooms, food preparation areas with kitchen service food court, three sets of public rest rooms, permanent beverage booths, temporary storage areas, offices, Detroit Police Department post at the southeast corner of the plaza, art gallery, and loading dock.

Memorials and sculptures.

Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac Statue.

Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac — the founder of Detroit — is shown in this sculpture depicting the moment he arrived at that spot in 1701. The sculpture was a gift to the City of Detroit from the French-American Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Chapter and was unveiled on the city's 300th birthday — July 24, 2001. The bronze statue was designed by William Kieffer and Ann Feeley in 2001.

Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad.

Located on the riverfront of Hart Plaza, the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad commemorates Detroit's role in the Underground Railroad. It was sculpted by Edward Dwight, after winning a competition to design the International Memorial to the Underground Railroad, and dedicated on October 20, 2001. The project was a collaboration between Detroit 300 and the International Underground Railroad Monument Collaborative. The companion monument by the same sculptor, Tower of Freedom, is located in Windsor, Ontario's Civic Esplanade, on Pitt Street East near Caesars Windsor, and features a former slave raising his arms to celebrate his emancipation while a Quaker woman offers assistance to a woman and her child as another child looks back toward Detroit. Several routes of the Underground Railroad went through Michigan. Detroit's terminal, whose code name was Midnight, was one of the largest terminals of the Underground Railroad. At first, Michigan was a destination for freedom seekers, and by the mid-1830s, there was a modest population of former slaves living there who aided other former slaves to escape to freedom. However, Canada became a safer sanctuary after slavery was abolished there in 1834. With passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, many runaways left their homes in Detroit and crossed the river to Canada to remain free. Some returned after Emancipation in 1863. This statue commemorates the route through Detroit. Another crossing point was south of Detroit near where Amherstburg, Ontario is located.  The memorial features two gateway pillars that bracket a by sculpture showing six fugitive slaves ready to board a boat to cross to Canada. The gentleman pointing from Detroit to Windsor is George DeBaptist, a Detroit resident who helped slaves to get across the river to freedom. The monument's plaque mentions several Detroit institutions that were active in the Underground Railroad and continue to serve the city's population in the Twenty-first century.  In October 2011, for the ten year anniversary of the dedication, the Downtown Development Authority spent $30,000 cleaning the monument and repairing several fixtures and the area around the monument. The Wayne County Commission and Detroit City Council passed resolutions testimonial resolutions commemorating the anniversary and recognizing the sculptor, Edward Dwight, who at 78 was on-hand to receive them. Additionally, Representative John Conyers, Jr. introduced a resolution to the United States Congress celebrating the 10-year commemoration of the sculpture, however it did not get past committee referrals. A three-day conference, "Celebrating the River at Midnight -The Fluid Frontier: Slavery, War, Freedom, and the Underground Railroad", was also held to commemorate the anniversary.

Located at the center of Hart Plaza, the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain was designed by Isamu Noguchi in 1978 and built in 1981. Anna Thompson Dodge gave the City of Detroit $1 million towards the construction of a fountain in memory of her late husband and son. The stainless steel fountain is composed of two legs topped by a ring to the height of 30 feet above a circular, black granite pool. The fountain contains 300 jets and 300 lights and has intricate and computerized lighting and nozzle functions, which can create different configurations, dependent on temperature.  The Dodge fountain was inoperable from January 2013 to late August 2013 after vandals did more than $1 million worth of damage to Hart Plaza, $400,000 of which was done to the fountain itself.

Pylon.

Pylon is a stainless steel spire sculpture designed by Isamu Noguchi positioned near the entrance to Hart Plaza. The sculpture, which stands tall with a base, is a double helix that appears to make a quarter turn between the bottom and the top. The design for the pylon was inspired by the double helix of DNA.  The name of the sculpture, Pylon, often refers to Egyptian gateway structures that resembled a truncated pyramid. These structures were commonly built in significant locations by Egyptian architects. The word came into the western European languages and was used to describe a tall tower, such as those used to support elevated wires.  The sculpture was commissioned via Smith, Hinchman and Grylls Associates, Inc. and built in 1981 as a companion piece to the Horace E. Dodge and Son Memorial Fountain. The $402,000 total cost of the sculpture was paid for by funds from the Detroit Capital Gifts Committee, which determines how financial gifts to the City of Detroit will be spent.

Transcending.

Transcending is an arch sculpture and the Michigan Labor Legacy Landmark. It is located west of the entrance to Hart Plaza near the intersection of Woodward Avenue and Jefferson Avenue and was dedicated on August 30, 2003.  In 2000, the Michigan Labor History Society established a project to create a monument that would celebrate Michigan's contributions to the labor movement. Funding was obtained from the United Automobile Workers, AFL–CIO, and other civic and labor organizations. Sculptors were invited to enter a competition and submit sketches of their designs; 120 artists entered the competition. The selection committee chose Transcending, by David Barr of Novi, Michigan and Sergio de Guisti, an Italian sculptor living in Redford Charter Township, Michigan at the time of the sculptor's selection. The two steel arcs, the work of David Barr, stretch into the sky and weigh. Barr saw them as an elegantly stylized gear emerging from the ground. They are not joined and many assume that it is to remind viewers of the unfinished mission of the American labor movement. However, at night, a light project from one of the arcs at its zenith to the other. The sculptors assumed that viewers would focus on that light. To them, this light symbolized the energy of workers.  At the base there are fourteen Vermont granite boulders, each in height. The bas reliefs on the boulders are the work of Sergio de Guisti. They are meant to symbolize the sacrifices and achievements of American workers. There are also more than a dozen plaques commemorating the accomplishments of the American labor movement such as the prohibition of child labor, free public school education and employer paid pensions and health care.  The monument stands close to where Martin Luther King, Jr. first gave his "I Have a Dream" speech on June 20, 1963, a speech that was repeated later that year at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. One of Dr. King's phrases - "The arc of history bends toward justice" - is included in the sculpture.  A few lines of Melba Boyd's poem, "We Want Our City Back" is also inscribed on the sculpture.

Philip A. Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit, is a city plaza along the Detroit River. It is located more or less on the site at which Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701 when he founded "Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit", the settlement that became Detroit. In 2011, the Detroit-Wayne County Port Authority opened its new cruise ship passenger terminal and dock at Hart Plaza, adjacent to the Renaissance Center, which receives major cruise ships such as the MS "Hamburg" and the "Yorktown".


Life and work.

Anatole Hulot worked at the prefecture of Paris. He helped the Banque de France to make a banknote because he mastered electroplating. This method permitted to quickly create printing plates from the first print of an engraving.  He attended meetings in the same Masonic Lodge as Jacques-Jean Barre, general engraver of the Paris Mint. Barre helped him enter this institution as adjoint to the general engraver, title he obtained in June 1848.  In 1848, he was chosen to make the first postage stamps of France, to be issued on 1 January 1849. From 1848 to 1851, the entrepreneur Hulot worked in a "régie": the French postal administration was responsible for the financial risks and paid for all necessary expenses which Hulot must prove (Barre's drawings and engravings, manufacturing of the printing material, the printer and his workers, paper, ink and gum). A decree transformed the "régie" into a firm on 7 April 1851. Hulot was then the owner responsible for all risks and benefits, but the galvanos and matrix remain State property. He was paid 1.50 franc for each thousand stamps ordered and delivered to the postal administration.  In 1861, he received the title of Director of the manufacturing of postage stamps. Between 1848 and 1876, inside a building of the paris Mint, he directed the production of Ceres stamps (except the 1870 Bordeaux issue), the different designs of the Napoleon III effigy on stamps and the colonial Eagle series. He was surveyed by the Commission of the Mint and Medals.  However, during his direction, Hulot's relations with the postal administration had wavered many times. Reluctant as soon as December 1855 to perforate stamps like the British Post Office began, Hulot was forced to adopt it at the end of 1861, with stamp issue in 1862. Worse, after Jacques-Jean Barre died in 1855, he didn't succeed to work with his son and new general engraver, Désiré-Albert and they end their association in August 1866. But their conflict continued next Autumn until the Commission of Mint and Medals decided that Barre son had to reengrave a laurel-crowned Napoleon III hallmark. Hulot created new stamps including the 5 franc stamp, the first large postage stamp of France, by putting together older material from Barre father and son until the 1870s.  During the Siege of Paris by German armies in 1870, Houlot printed again Ceres stamps on order of the new republican government. During the Commune in Spring 1871, he told he hid the Ceres series printing material, so that insurgents printed Napoleon III stamps, retrieved in May 1871.  During the civil peace, Hulot perfectionated the printing method: instead of a one-piece galvano of 150 stamps, he manufacturated individual stamp plates that could be easily and less costly replaced when broken.  Finally, the postal administration got impatient with the usual delays of Hulot (perforation, the laurelled effigy decided in 1861 and first stamp issued in December 1862) and questioned the cost even if Hulot's prices had been reduced over the years. In 1875, he was paid 0.60 franc for one thousand stamps for the first 500 first millions, then 50 centimes a thousand. The Banque de France's printing plant in Hauteville street won the contract beginning on 31 December 1875 with a price of 47 centimes for a thousand stamps. Yet, Hulot worked until 30 June 1876 thank to a delay in the first printings of the new Sage stamp design.  He was authorized to continue living in his apartment inside the Paris Mint hotel.

Anatole Auguste Hulot (born 1811 in Le Mans – 22 December 1891)was a French civil servant who directed the designing and printing of the first postage stamps of France between 1848 and 1876.