History.

Background.

The Barrio Azteca gang was formed in the jails of El Paso in 1986 and gained an image of being a tough and loyal gang willing to commit murder of civilians in order to keep fear in the minds of its members and ensure their loyalty/obedience.  Some believe that the growth of Barrio Azteca in Mexico is due to the area's distinctive cross-border nature. The area of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez is in many ways one community, with families, friends, businesses – and even gangs – joined in the same urban sprawl. Some illegal Mexicans arrested in the United States are imprisoned in Texan prisons and consequently join Barrio Azteca. When they are absolved from their sentences, they are sent back across the border into Mexico, where they quickly join the gang's ranks and carry out a number of crimes. The Barrio Azteca has long sold drugs moved by the Juárez Cartel. As Barrio Azteca grew in power, it began to work directly with the Juarez Cartel and their alliance grew stronger. The gang began to directly buy large sums of cocaine from the cartel at cheaper rates, and in return the gang would buy weapons in so called straw purchases from Texan gun shops and then smuggle them across the border. Furthermore, if the cartel needed to intimidate or carry out an assassination in the United States, they would simply call on the Barrio Azteca. When the Sinaloa Cartel made its first incursion into Ciudad Juárez in 2008, Barrio Azteca was called to defend the plaza. They are alleged by the Mexican authorities to have committed numerous brutal assassinations in the city, although the exact numbers are unknown. In addition, Barrio Azteca controls most of the drug sales for the Juárez Cartel in Ciudad Juárez's streets and prisons, although other gangs and independent operators abound.  Barrio Azteca is also reported to have kidnapped people in El Paso and drive them south into Ciudad Juárez to kill them. A murder in Texas drives a huge investigation which often leads to an arrest. But in Ciudad Juárez, it is one of the more than ten corpses found dead on a daily basis. The gang also tortures and murders its victims in front of a large and cheering gang audience. According to the testimony of an alleged Barrio Azteca member, gang members torture and kill their victims by digging up holes in the ground, throwing a bunch of mesquite, and then pouring in some gasoline. The gang members then beat up their victims and throw them in the hole. Then they light the whole thing on fire.

Eduardo Ravelo's era.

Eduardo Ravelo, the current leader of the Barrio Azteca, began his criminal career in the year 2003, amassing a list of charges for racketeering and numerous conspiracy charges with the intent to distribute narcotics. In the year 2005, an informant and former lieutenant of the gang testified that Ravelo was looking for a man who had stolen goods from the Juárez cartel. The informant said that Ravelo was taken to a house in El Paso where a gang member was being held, his mouth, wrists, and ankles bound with duct tape. Ravelo then ordered the traitor to be sent to the Juárez cartel, and he was never heard from again. In El Paso Ravelo's gang is known as Barrio Azteca, a gang originally morphed from the so-called Mexican Mafia prison gang. During its initial years, the gang's aim was street robbery to collect funds to liberate prisoners in jail. Today, the gang has expanded into a large criminal gang with presence in both the United States and Mexico, besetting by drug trafficking and human smuggling. In Ciudad Juárez, however, the gang is known as Los Aztecas. Under the tutelage of Ravelo, the gang moves narcotics along the border with the aid of Vicente Carrillo Fuentes' cartel.  According to reports of U.S. authorities, Ravelo was born in Mexico but has permanent residence in the United States. He allegedly pays his "sicarios" (hitmen) less than 500 pesos (or about $40 U.S. dollars) a week to carry out assassinations. When drug loads go missing while being smuggled, suspects are kidnapped and taken to Ciudad Juárez. Some are shot dead, while others are tortured and then shot. Some, however, are beheaded. Not all the killings carried about by Ravelo's gang are a result of drug disputes. Some murders are carried out to intimidate and as retaliation attacks.  A fierce battle between rival drug trafficking organizations broke loose inside a prison on the outskirts of Ciudad Juárez on 5 March 2009. The violence resulted in the deaths of 20 inmates. It took the guards, police, and Mexican military more than three hours to put down the unrest inside the prison. From a distance, family members awaited news as black smoke drifted from the prison and helicopters patrolled overhead. At one point, inmates could be seen lighting mattresses and bodies being thrown from second-story windows. The brawl, which was between Barrio Azteca and Los Mexicles, erupted at around 6 a.m. after the conclusion of a series of conjugal visits. Alongside Los Mexicles were the Artistas Asesinos, a rival gang and an enforcer group of the Sinaloa cartel. All 20 of the dead were members of Los Mexicles and Artistas Asesinos, indicating that the prison fight was instigated by members of the Barrio Azteca group. One report issued by "Los Angeles Times" stated that members of Barrio Azteca stole the keys of a prison guard and were able to free their cohorts and begin a rampage in cells controlled by their rival groups.

Ciudad Juárez prison massacres.

In a relatively low-security area inside the prison, the gang members began to produce knives and force other guards to liberate 150 fellow members. Once they took the guards hostage, Barrio Azteca members went into high-security blocks where the rival members were in, forced the guards to open them, and went about killing the rival inmates. Some of the victims were stabbed with knives, while others were beaten to death; some were killed with home-made guns.  The Mexican authorities were able to militarize the area with more than 200 federal police officers, 50 soldiers, two helicopters, a plane, and an unknown number of state and municipal police forces. The exact reasons for the massacre are unknown, but the feud between Barrio Azteca and Artistas Asesinos runs deep, and they often fight for the control of drugs, guns, and other illicit contrabands inside prisons. This massacre had come after a rare experience of 24 hours without any drug-related assassinations in Ciudad Juárez and after a large military buildup during that weekend. Back in 2005, the Barrio Azteca gang had carried out a murderous attack against members of Los Mexicles inside the same prison, leaving six dead.  At around 9:00 p.m. on 26 July 2011, the Barrio Azteca carried out an attack on Los Mexicles, a street gang of the Sinaloa cartel, which left 17 dead and 20 injured inside a prison in Ciudad Juárez. Some of the violence was captured by a surveillance video that shows two gunmen clearing a hallway of guards before unlocking a door and allowing several triggermen to shoot inside a room where the inmates were killed. The violence continued elsewhere throughout the prison until around 2 a.m. the next day. Although there was no audio in the video, the footage shows how two gunmen order the guards to leave. Despite being armed, they seem to follow the orders of the gang members without any resistance. Following their exit, the two men open a different door and allowed four other accomplices into the hallway, some of them who were carrying assault rifles. At that point, the triggermen opened the doors of another room, and that is when the firing began. Officials of the state of Chihuahua said they were unable to locate the five weapons used in the massacre; nonetheless, an AR-15 assault rifle, one of the weapons thought to be used in the massacre, was confiscated.  Initial reports had stated that the massacre had started as a clash between prison gangs, but the surveillance video shows "cold-blood executions," and that the members of the Barrio Azteca gang carried out the shootout without any provocation from their enemies. According to "The Guardian", the video suggests that the guards may have allowed the assassins to kill the inmates, proving that the prison was plagued by "weak controls, disorganisation and possible corruption." Their reports state that the inmates had broken the rules of the jail and held large parties, possibly with the guards' permission. Moreover, the prison was highly overcrowded, with over 2,700 inmates in a facility with a capacity of only 850 prisoners.

Villas de Salvárcar massacre.

Gunmen burst into a party in a small working-class neighborhood known as Villas de Salvárcar in Ciudad Juárez, killing 16 teenagers on 31 January 2010. Witnesses said that the cartel members arrived at the crime scene in seven cars with tinted windows, closed down the street and blocked the exits. Then they stormed the party and opened fire at the victims as they were watching a soccer game. Some of the teenagers were shot as they tried to flee and their corpses were found in the neighboring houses. As neighbors hid in their houses, some dialed the emergency services but the Mexican military and the Federal police did not arrive until after the killers had left. When the Mexican authorities arrived, a large crowd gathered at the crime scene as the neighbors and family members of the victims, whose ages ranged from 15 to 20, cried and set down candles. They pleaded for their names not to be released for the fear of the hit men returning and taking revenge. The relatives and witnesses interviewed after the massacre insisted that the teenagers had nothing to do with the drug trade and were "good kids." What was troubling for the authorities was that the victims were not gathered inside a bar or at a rehab center, but rather at a private home. They gave no official statement for the motives behind the killing, but the massacre bore all the signs of the drug violence that Ciudad Juárez was living for the past three years. Videos from the crime scene depict a sparsely furnished home with large puddles of blood and taints smeared on the walls; in addition, more than 100 AK-47 bullet casings were found at the crime scene. The Mexican authorities issued a money reward of $1 million pesos for anyone who could provide information that led to the arrest of the killers.  One by one, the coffins of the victims were carried out from their homes on 4 February 2010, as their families demanded for justice. The governor of the state of Chihuahua, José Reyes Baeza Terrazas, showed up at the funeral unexpectedly to pay his respects to the families. Felipe Calderón, Mexico's president, also visited the family members and handed a memorial plaque to the parents of the victims. The mayor of Ciudad Juárez said that the massacre was a random act of violence by Mexico's drug gangs because the victims had no apparent ties with organize crime. But Calderón was widely criticized for his initial comments after the massacre, where he claimed that the investigations had showed that those killed were almost certainly targeted for being involved in organized crime. The parents of the victims hung huge placards outside their houses accusing Calderón of failing to solve the massacre and explicitly saying that "until those responsible are found, [he was] the murderer." The federal government of Mexico responded to the massacre by implementing the "Todos Somos Juárez" program, which aimed to improve education and social development, create jobs, and improve the health benefits in Ciudad Juárez. It has fed up $400 million to repair the city's social fabric. Calderón has met with young people and representatives of the federal program to discuss and analyze the city's achievements. He also unveiled a billboard facing traffic in El Paso, Texas heading into Mexico that reads "No More Weapons," and criticized the United States for not renewing a ban on the sales of assault weapons that expired in 2004.  Four days after the massacre, a suspect identified as José Dolores Arroyo Chavarría was arrested by the Mexican military. He confessed to the authorities that the Juárez Cartel had received reports from within the organization that members of a rival drug trafficking organization were at the party the night the teenagers were killed. The suspect said he acted as a lookout for the 24 gunmen that perpetrated the killing and had orders to "kill everyone inside." By mid-2011, four men linked to the massacre were found guilty of the killings and were sentenced to 240 years each by the state of Chihuahua. In 2012 it was later confirmed by the Mexican authorities that the massacre was ordered by José Antonio Acosta Hernández ("El Diego"), a former drug baron of La Línea that is now imprisoned. A gang leader of Barrio Azteca also admitted to have ordered the massacre because he thought rival gang members were there. Despite the arrests, many of the family members were unhappy with the efforts of the Mexican government and said that they were planning to abandon Mexico and seek safe haven in Texas to protect their children. "I never even gave the United States much thought," said one of the family members, "But Mexico has abandoned us, betrayed us." 2010 was the most violent year in the history of Ciudad Juárez, where more than 3,000 people were killed. Massacres, shootings, beheadings, torture videos on YouTube, and even car bombs were recorded in Ciudad Juárez that year. Numerous media outlets around the world considered Ciudad Juárez as one of the most dangerous – if not the most dangerous – city on the planet in 2010.

U.S. Consulate assassinations.

Initial reports stated that unknown gunmen of a drug trafficking organization shot and killed a pregnant U.S. consulate woman and her husband at broad daylight in Ciudad Juárez on 13 March 2010, leaving a baby wailing in the back seat of the car. Later on that same day, gunmen killed the husband of another consulate worker and wounded his two young children. The shootings took place in different locations, and it was the "first deadly attack" against U.S. officials and their families from the Mexican criminal organizations. The attack came during a violent weekend across Mexico, were nearly 50 people were killed across the country. The killings angered the White House, who had quietly allowed the families of the U.S. consulate workers to live across the border in Texas even before they were killed. The weapons used in the attack and the style the U.S. officials were killed pointed to drug traffickers as suspects; evidence provided from American intelligence and Mexican authorities then pointed to Barrio Azteca as the perpetrators. A day after the killings, the United States Department of State authorized the temporary departure of the workers in the U.S. consulate throughout northern Mexico, including the cities of Tijuana, Nogales, Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, and Ciudad Juárez. This was not solely a response for the incident in Ciudad Juárez, but because of the drug-related violence along the border.  The leader of Barrio Azteca, Arturo Gallegos Castrellón, better known for his nickname "El Farmero", ordered the execution of two American consulate workers and a Mexican with ties to the agency in Ciudad Juárez on 13 March 2010. Gallegos targeted the American officials because he believed they had given visas to members of a rival gang, although some say it was a case of mistaken identity. According to Reuters, the killings was an ongoing effort by Barrio Azteca to take control of the El Paso–Juárez drug trafficking corridor. After the arrest of a suspect in connection with the killings, the gang member said that Barrio Azteca was pursuing a guard from the El Paso County Jail and not the U.S. officials, but this information has not been confirmed. Reportedly, the gang leaders wanted the guard dead for mistreating members of the gang in jail. The speculation of this hypothesis was bolstered by the fact that the second victim was also in a white SUV, but U.S. authorities do not discard the possibility that the gunmen were searching for someone else in the second attack and coincidentally happened to be a white vehicle too, killing the consulate workers by mistake. Others had other speculations on the attack; it was unclear whether the consulate worker was targeted for being slow with the visas of some cartel members; whether the worker had angered some members inside a Texan prison; whether the attack intended to be a message to the American drug agents; or whether simply case of mistaken identity. Whatever the reasons, the attack sent shock waves and huge concern for the United States' role in Mexico, and how American street gangs are quickly adopting the violent tactics of Mexico's drug trafficking organizations and making alliances with them just across the border.  On April 5, 2012, the authorities concluded that the Barrio Azteca murdered the three U.S. consulate members as part of an agreement with José Antonio Acosta Hernández ("El Diego"), a former top lieutenant of the Juárez cartel who was imprisoned after being convicted and receiving a life sentence.  On March 9, 2020, Mexican police arrested Luis “El Tio” (‘The Uncle’) Gerrado Mendez, a former member of Barrio Azteca who later became the reputed founder of La Empresa (‘The Company’), for his connection to the consulate murders as well. Mendez, who was the El Paso FBI office's most wanted fugitive and the last person sought for the attacks, also made La Empresa a hybrid of Barrio Azteca. With his arrest, all 35 suspects named by the U.S. Justice Department in 2011 for involvement in the consulate killings had been captured.

Horizontes del Sur massacre.

During a boy's birthday party at the Horizontes del Sur neighborhood in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, several gunmen broke into a house and killed 14 people and wounded more than a twenty on 23 October 2010. After firing more than 70 bullets, the attackers fled the scene in three different cars at around 11:00 p.m. According to the witnesses' descriptions, the attackers were teenagers who had secured the area by blocking traffic. The Mexican police declined to comment if the killing was drug-related, but Felipe Calderón's response was remarkably different from the Villas de Salvárcar massacre, where he claimed that the massacre was most likely due to internal adjustments between the cartels. The killing in Horizontes del Sur bore striking similarities with the massacre in the Villas de Salvárcar neighborhood earlier that same year, which took place just a mile away and where 15 were gunned down at a party too. This attack came just a week before several gunmen stormed two houses, killing 7 at a party and 2 at a nearby house.  The Mexican authorities concluded that there were two possible explanations for the massacre: Either La Línea and Barrio Azteca were responsible for the killings; or "independent gunmen" paid to kill a person nicknamed "El Ratón", an alleged member of Artistas Asesinos.

Decline.

In June 2020, it was reported that La Línea was the Juárez Cartel's most powerful fraction in Ciudad Juárez. Los Salazar, a powerful cell of the Sinaloa Cartel, had by this point also managed to build a significant presence in Ciudad Juárez and was seen as on par with La Línea in the Ciudad Juárez drug trafficking market as well.

Modus operandi.

The gang has a militaristic structure, and includes captains, lieutenants, sergeants, and foot soldiers used with the sole purpose of maintaining territorial control and enriching its members and associates through drug trafficking, homicide, money laundering, extortion, and intimidation. In and outside of prison, from gang beatings to drive-by shootings, Barrio Azteca disciplines its own members and rivals. The "life-blood" of the gang is the drug sale, which they buy at a low cost due to their alliance with the Juárez cartel and profits from its own importation to the U.S. They also tax ("quota") independent drug dealers in El Paso, in other parts of West Texas, and in the Eastern part of New Mexico. Once the money is collected, the Barrio Azteca members deposit it into the bank accounts of imprisoned leaders of their own organization, often using fake names and female associates by wire transfer.  The gang also utilized a sophisticated communication network where they utilize coded letters, contraband cell phones that are smuggled into prison cells, and distribution of membership roster and hit-lists. To prevent officers from understanding their communication network, Barrio Azteca also created a secret language based on Nahuatl. The locus of power of Barrio Azteca is based inside prisons, prompting worries that the operational capacity of the gang is not hindered when its leaders are imprisoned. Members of Barrio Azteca tend to have both Mexican and U.S. citizenship, and authorities believe they carry out crimes in Ciudad Juárez and then return legally to the United States. In March 2010, the FBI and the police department in El Paso stated that Barrio Azteca was more powerful than Los Zetas in the Juárez plaza. They had a membership of 2,000 strong in Ciudad Juárez alone that year. There are around 500 small gangs working for the Barrio Azteca and looking to earn a position by "joining the big shots."  Gang members in the organizations refer to each other as "carnal," a slang term for brother. Outside of prison, members would contact imprisoned leaders to verify a status of a person using the name of Barrio Azteca to operate and see if they were in good standing with the organization. Those who were not in good standing were executed. Officials on both sides of the border have observed how Barrio Azteca locate their targets, stalk them and finally ambush them in multiple car chases, using coded radio communications, coordinated blocking maneuvers, and with well-trained shooters wearing ski masks and body armor. After fulfilling their mission, the gang members return to safe houses throughout the city or return across the international bridge to El Paso. Ciudad Juárez is filled with safe houses, armories and garages with stolen cars for the cartel members and assassins to use. They work day in and day out, often with a list of people to kill. Barrio Azteca has also authorized the killings of U.S. law enforcement officials for cracking down their criminal operations, offering up to $200,000 U.S. dollars. Drug-sniffing dogs were also under a bounty. None of the threats were materialized, however.

Arrests.

On June 26, 2018, Barrio Azteca Capo Eduardo "Tablas" Ravelo was arrested. Ravelo, who was also on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, is believed to have been in charge of the gang's operations in Juárez. Several other members of the Barrio Azteca were arrested with Ravelo as well. On November 7, 2018, Rene Gerardo Santana Garza, known as "El 300," was arrested in Chihuahua City. Santana is accused of being a major force in the recent bloodshed which occurred in Juárez. In November 2019, three members of La Empresa were arrested. On March 5, 2020, 9 suspected La Empresa members were arrested.  In January 2020, Juarez police arrested the leader of the group's "Old Guard" fraction, Jesus Alfredo Martinez Mendoza, alias "El Freddy or El Ferro." In addition to being the leader of this Barrio Azteca fraction, Mendoza was also target No. 6 on a list of border crime suspects sought by U.S. and Mexican authorities. On May 21, 2020, high ranking Barrio Azteca leader Jose Dolores Villegas Soto, who is known by his moniker "El Iraqui," and aliases "El Iraki" and "El Lolo," was arrested with 10 other suspected Barrio Azteca members. Soto was also revealed to be the leader of the La Empresa cartel at the time of his arrest, and that his successor was identified as "The Gnome." The Gnome retaliated to the arrests of not only Soto, but also two other high ranking La Empresa leaders "Uncle" and "Goofy" with attacks on police officers.

The Barrio Azteca (), or Los Aztecas (), is a Mexican-American gang originally based in El Paso, Texas. The gang was formed in the jails of El Paso in 1986 and expanded into a transnational criminal organization. Currently one of the most violent gangs in the United States, they are said to have over 3,000 members across the country in locations such as New Mexico, Texas, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania as well as at least 5,000 members in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.


Career.

Early years.

Hurriganes was founded in 1971 in Pohjois-Haaga, Helsinki, where a similar rock band Jig-Saw played. Influenced by the name of the North American band Johnny And The Hurricanes, Remu Aaltonen devised the name for his own band. Hurriganes practiced in a garage in Ohjaajantie.

"Rock and Roll All Night Long" (1972–73).

Hurriganes' first album "Rock and Roll All Night Long" was released in 1973. It included songs such as "Say Mama" and "Keep On Knocking". The album's A-side was recorded in a concert in Klaukkala, as was the first song of the B-side, but the rest was recorded in the studio. The album became the first gold record album for the record label Love Records.

"Roadrunner" (1974).

Hurriganes' commercial high point was with the release of "Roadrunner" in 1974. The album included the band's most famous song "Get On", which won the International European Pop Jury competition. The album also included the songs "Roadrunner," "It Ain't What You Do", "I Will Stay" and "The Phone Rang". "Roadrunner" was recorded in Stockholm at Marcus Music Studios, and the album was also mastered in Stockholm. "Roadrunner" is still considered one of Finnish rock music's most important albums, and it is Finland's seventh-best-selling album of all time. It was Finland's best-selling album by a Finnish band from 1974 until 1985, when Dingo's "Kerjäläisten valtakunta" exceeded the volume of sales. The album's cover art (by Risto Vuorimies) was the only Finnish album cover in a 1977 book "Album Cover Album" (Dragons, World Book) which was compiled by Hipgnosis and Roger Dean. The cover's stylish motif was chosen by Hurriganes' bassist Cisse Häkkinen, who owned a light blue 1954 Cadillac Series 62 sedan. The cover shows Remu Aaltonen, Cisse Häkkinen and Albert Järvinen sitting on the back seat of the Cadillac. In 2007, "Roadrunner" was re-released as a SACD mixed to a 5.1 format.

"Crazy Days": Kallio returns (1975).

Järvinen left the band in the summer of 1975, and Ile Kallio returned to the band after a break of three years. After "Roadrunner", the band's popularity was at its highest, and not until the late 1970s did new wave and rockabilly genres succeed in prying Hurriganes from their spot as number one on the Finnish band scene, although in Hurriganes' early career Hullujussi also momentarily stole some acclaim. In the neighboring country of Sweden, the band was a popular live performer well into the 1980s, and broke the concert venue Folkpark's record in audience numbers several times. The same in 1975, when Hurriganes released the album "Crazy Days", which reached diamond disc status quickly, but never did beat the "Roadrunner" album in terms of sales. "Crazy Days" contained one major hit, originally released by Jim & The Beatmakers in 1964: "My Only One", which had long been on Hurriganes's concert repertoire, a song sung by Cisse in a bravura performance until the end. The album also covered the Lennon-McCartney composition "Bad to Me".

"Hot Wheels" (1976).

After "Crazy Days", "Hot Wheels"s sound was rawer and heavier than its predecessor. This album differs from its predecessors in that it contains only Remu's and Cisse's names in the writing credits of the band's own songs. Ile also took part in the songwriting but Remu deliberately left his name out of the credits. The album was recorded in Lahti by Pekka Nurmi at Microvox studio, which was a cheap, seedy, and not very classy basement studio. In Sweden, "Hot Wheels" was a real breakthrough and is considered at least equal in importance to "Roadrunner". Familiar songs from the album, such as the title track, "Hot Wheels", was heard in 1976-produced, low-budget film "Hot Guys, Hot Wheels". The film does not have any particular plot, but it portrays a boy and a girl who end up on a date at a Hurriganes concert. It also shows Remu, Cisse and Ile jamming and spending their free time, including playing football. The movie was directed by Jussi Itkonen, and it aptly describes life in the 1970s. Hurriganes members played themselves in the movie.

"Tsugu Way" and "Hanger" (1977–78).

Hurriganes recorded the album "Tsugu Way" (1977) in Love Records' brand new studio, and there were some technical problems, but the content was familiar Hurriganes with some covers, like the Beatles' "Hold Me Tight". The album was released in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands with the name of "Use No Hooks". The album sold well enough to become a Gold Record easily, even though the record sales were generally down in Finland due to a recession.  In November 1977, Hurriganes' Swedish Sonet label arranged a small tour for the band in London. It was also agreed that next summer they would play 30 gigs in Europe as Status Quo's opening act. Hurriganes failed to conquer London, however, and also the Quo gigs were canceled when Remu and Cisse quit the tour and went back to Finland. The reason was apparently the fact that the band was unknown in England, and the tour arrangements and the reception reflected that. For example, they were not headlining their most important gigs. Remu states, "I fucked up to the whole system so we went away".  For the time being, Ile Kallio's last Hurriganes album was "Hanger", where the drummer Beaver Aittojärvi-Oja performed, and keyboardist Jim Pembroke. Remu's back problems prevented him from playing, and the short-lived five piece Hurriganes went on tour to Sweden, but the reception was a little contradictory. The drummer in the concerts was Tomi Parkkonen.

Kallio changed again to Järvinen (1979–1981).

After the band had failed to find success in Britain in 1977, Ile Kallio began to lose interest and eventually was replaced by Albert Järvinen in early 1979. Kallio's last recording with the band was the single "Shorai Shorai" which was not published until after Kallio's departure from the band.  Järvinen's second stint with the band lasted two albums – "Jailbird" (1979) and "10/80" (1980), the latter of which was a major critical and commercial success, and included the song "Bourbon Street". The album was recorded in Stockholm, ABBA's Polar studios, and it was produced by Pave Maijanen. The album's first track "Made in Sweden", which Järvinen and Aaltonen's earlier band Kalevala had already played, and the last song "Just For You" are unusual for Hurriganes instrumentals.

Louhivuori the new guitarist (1981–83).

Järvinen was dropped from the band in September 1981, due to alcohol-related unreliability. He was replaced by the renowned studio musician Janne Louhivuori. Louhivuori played on two Hurriganes albums – 1981's "Fortissimo", and the following year's "Rockin' Hurriganes". Both albums sold quite well, and Hurriganes continued to be a big concert draw.

Kallio's third stint (1983–84).

Louhivuori left the band in the summer of 1983, and his replacement was Ile Kallio, who played on the band's last studio recordings, the album "Seven Days, Seven Nights" (1983) and the mini-album "Hurrygames" (1984). The latter was accompanied by a video release with the same name. The band broke up soon after that.

The comeback in 1988.

Hurriganes reunited in 1988 with the lineup of Aaltonen, Häkkinen and Järvinen, and the band played a series of live shows in the summer. After only a few concerts, however, Järvinen was replaced once again by Janne Louhivuori, who played guitar on the remaining shows. The last concerts were recorded, and the live album "Live at Metropol" was released. The band broke up after the live album had been compiled.

Häkkinen, Järvinen in memoriam.

Bassist Cisse Häkkinen died of alcohol-related illnesses on Boxing Day in 1990. In March of the following year, guitarist Albert Järvinen died of heart failure in London. After their deaths, Remu Aaltonen has continued to play Hurriganes' music with many leading Finnish musicians.

Live In Stockholm (1996).

In 1996, the band released a live album "Live In Stockholm 1977". The concert had been recorded on a cassette tape which guitarist Ile Kallio found years later during a move. The album quickly became a gold album in Finland. It had been recorded in the band's Swedish breakthrough concert in theater Jarla. Two concerts were held that night, because the first one had sold out right away.

New Hurriganes since 1998.

Remu Aaltonen re-introduced the Hurriganes name in 1998 as Remu & Hurriganes. Old members (Ile Kallio, Janne Louhivuori) weren't part of the new line-up, and instead two new members joined the band. They were Harry Merilahti (bass and vocals), and his son, Rocka Merilahti (guitar). In 2001 the trio released an album called "30th Anniversary", which included new versions of old hits and one new song. The composition of the band changed many times, and its members included guitarist Jukka Orma, bassist Mikko Löytty, guitarist Nipa Niilola, guitarist Juho Pitkänen, and bassist Hike Kärppä, among others.  In 2007, the biopic "Ganes" was released. It was directed by JP Siili. Remu Aaltonen was involved in the making of the film.

Music and stage presence.

Hurriganes gained fame from the beginning of a wild and energetic stage presence, of a kind not previously experienced in Finland. The band's music was straightforward rock and roll. The band's repertoire included a number of versions of originality in 1950 – and the 1960s rock classics, including Little Richard's "Slippin' and Slidin'" and Bo Diddley's "Roadrunner". Stage presence, dress like a playing, everything came full force and enthusiasm. Remu Aaltonen, who replied Cisse Häkkinen style, and made him a 1950s rocker style, sitting in full. Hurriganes members of the popular clothing included: Beavers-brand jeans and denim jackets, leather jackets and boots.

Hurriganes impact on Finnish rock music.

Hurriganes is considered to be the first Finnish rock band who also gained commercial success overseas. Many of the later Finnish rock bands acknowledge Hurriganes as Finland's great pioneer in the genre. These include, for example, Hanoi Rocks. Hanoi Rocks guitarist Andy McCoy has said that the 1970s and 1980s had only two real Finnish rock bands: Hurriganes and Hanoi Rocks.

Hurriganes is a Finnish rock band that was formed in the early 1970s. They were very popular in Finland, Sweden and Estonia in the 1970s and early 1980s, as well as a popular live act in Sweden during this time. Their classic line-up consisted of Remu Aaltonen, Albert Järvinen, and Cisse Häkkinen. The misspelling of the name ("Hurriganes" with a "g") is intentional. Their style of music is very much of a nostalgic, pre-Beatles, roots rock'n'roll orientation. During their "classic" period, the band's output consisted largely of revved-up cover versions of well-known 1950s rock 'n' roll songs, in addition to their own original material. In this sense, Hurriganes can be viewed as Finland's answer to British pub rock performers of the 1970s like Dave Edmunds and Dr. Feelgood.


Career.

Boucher's first job was photo lab and engraving chief for the "Atlantic City Tribune" (1949–1951), then at Fred Hess & Son Photographers, Atlantic City, New Jersey (from February 1951 to September 1952), afterwards at NJ Garden State Parkway Chief of Photography (September 1952 to April 1958). Also wrote a weekly column on conservation and preservation for the Tribune and then the Atlantic City Press for two years. He produced and presented a one-hour radio program dealing with conservation and preservation from 1952 to 1953 on WFPG, Atlantic City, New Jersey. He then left the Parkway to work for the National Park Service.  He was first assigned to work jointly with the Washington Branch of Still and Motion Pictures under Ralph Anderson, chief of the branch, and with HABS, Historic Structures at the NPS Eastern Office of Design and Construction in Philadelphia. From 1958 to 1962, Boucher documented one of the most significant periods in National Park Service history: Mission 66, a design and construction program intended to revitalize the national parks through a massive, 10-year program of capital investment. In 1963, he became Chief Photographer of the Historic American Buildings Survey. From 1971 to 1978, Boucher also performed all photography work for the Historic American Engineering Record. He died on September 2, 2012, at age 80.  Boucher stated "My whole philosophy is, I regard the building I'm doing as the most important one in my life, even if it's a single-seat log outhouse."

Career highlights.

Boucher worked 18 hours non-stop photographing a hurricane that ravaged Atlantic City in November 1950, holding his 4x5 large format speed graphic and camera bag over his head in water up to his armpits. While reconnoitering camera vantage points to document Fortress El Morro in Old San Juan in 1967, Puerto Rico. Boucher and his wife Peggy were passengers aboard a sailing catamaran that was struck and cut in two by a submarine entering the San Juan harbor. During the 1990s he produced over 500 large format images of the White House for the Historic American Buildings Survey, some days producing only a single image. A proud possession is a book published by the White House centering on the family living quarters illustrated by his work. His copy was personally autographed to him by the President and the First Lady.  The assignment of which he was most proud was a three-week stint photographically documenting the leprosy settlement "Kalaupapa," on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, living among the 85 victims still in residence there at the time. "I vividly remember studying the story of the Belgian Priest Fr. Damien and his labors for 16 years among the lepers while in grade school. I never dreamed I would be able to go there."  Boucher completed the National Trust of England's "Attingham School" in 1969, an intensive summer study program dealing with the historic country houses of England, and architecture from Roman times to the Regency Period. About 1973 he was one of 36 selected to participate in the European Traveling Summer School for Historic Architecture and Preservation. It was a seven-week study tour through England, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.  American Preservation Magazine published a series of articles in which he wrote and showed photographs of historic cities in the Soviet Union, Belgium, Hungary and Italy. He conceived and oversaw the preservation of Atlantic City's 1857 Absecon Lighthouse in 1964; the ca 1820s Weymouth Furnace. Earlier, and at age 21 in 1952, Boucher was the instigator and one of two key people from the preservation/conservation field responsible for the preservation of New Jersey Wharton Forest, home to three major historic iron furnace villages that served the American Revolution, twenty four species of wild orchids, the habitat of the rare "Pine Barrens Tree Frog," and a canoeing and hunting retreat.  In 1952 he personally guided Mike Hudoba, noted outdoors writer on a several day canoe trip through the Wharton Forest rivers. He once spoke of a three-week canoe trip to fish for trout in Canadian wilderness a few hundred miles from the Arctic Circle. Navigating the Bersimus River, they were attempting to reach Lake Boucher but were unable to portage around rapids.

Legacy.

With more than five decades of public service, he was the creator of tens of thousands of public domain photographs. In 1986 he received the Department of the Interior's Meritorious Service Award. Other awards include The Medal for Architectural Photography by the American Institute of Architects, Awards of Merit and also Commendation from the American Association for State and Local History and a Resolution of Commendation from New Jersey State Senate, as well as others.  He lectured extensively, including appearances at Columbia University, The College of William & Mary, Cornell University, Ball State University, University of Florida, University of Texas at Austin, Franklin Pierce University, history and preservation organizations and other schools across the nation. For some 15 years he annually produced and taught architectural documentation photography of historic structures to the Preservation Institute of Nantucket, the nine-week summer preservation program of the University of Florida's School of Architecture.  Major exhibits of his work include two at the Library of Congress, one at the American Institute of Architects, the Atheneum of Philadelphia, Buffalo History Museum in New York, as well as in Puerto Rico, Columbia and SC. Well over an estimated 50,000 of his HABS/HAER photographs are in the collections of the Library of Congress, most of which are available at no cost online, or for nominal reproduction costs in hardcopy. He never accepted private commissions or sold copies of his work.

Jack E. Boucher (September 4, 1931 – September 2, 2012) was an American photographer for the National Park Service for more than 40 years beginning in 1958. He served as the Chief Photographer for the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS). In 1966 he left the Park Service for two years to supervise New Jersey's State Historic Preservation program, including the State's roadside marker program, 18 historic museum houses, several lighthouses, and two historic villages. Offered his old job back by the Park Service/HABS in 1970, he left New Jersey to return to NPS/HABS and the highly specialized job of large format photographic architectural documentation. His work took him to 49 States, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. April 2008 was the fiftieth anniversary of his employment with the National Park Service's "HABS" program. He traveled with 900 pounds of photographic equipment.


Australia.

In Australia, statutory corporations are a type of statutory authority created by Acts of state or federal parliaments.  A statutory corporation is defined in the government glossary as a "statutory body that is a body corporate, including an entity created under section 87 of the PGPA Act" (i.e. a statutory authority may also be a statutory corporation). An earlier definition describes a statutory corporation as "a statutory authority that is a body corporate", and the New South Wales Government's Land Registry Services defines a state-owned corporation as "a statutory authority that has corporate status".  Current statutory corporations include Australia Post, Airservices Australia, the Australian Rail Track Corporation and the Australian Egg Corporation. The purpose of their separation from normal government operations is to ensure profitability, and in theory, independence of decision making from the state or national government (to ensure that decisions are made on a commercial basis with less or no political interference.) As statutory corporations, their regulatory and business conditions may be significantly different from private-sector companies.  A significant number of the statutory corporations are private commercial operations, a number of which have been privatised, in part or in whole, since the 1980s: these have included the national airline Qantas, Telstra (also previously known as Telecom Australia), and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Germany.

A statutory corporation in Germany is called a "Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts" (KdöR). An example of a statutory corporation is a "", a body involved in the provision of out-patient medical services in a German state. Other examples include public broadcasters, Jewish communities and Christian churches established in Germany.

Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, some corporations are incorporated by legislation. An example is the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, which owns the railway network and was previously also an operator. The MTR Corporation Limited was also such a company, then named as Mass Transit Railway Corporation. Other examples include the former Land Development Corporation, and the Industrial Estates Corporation.

India.

Statutory corporations are public enterprises brought into existence by a Special Act of the Parliament. The Act defines its powers and functions, rules and regulations governing its employees and its relationship with government departments.  This is a body corporate created by the legislature with defined powers and functions and is financially independent with a clear control over a specified area or a particular type of commercial activity. It is a corporate person and has the capacity of acting in its own name. Statutory corporations therefore have the power of the government and the considerable amount of operating flexibility of private enterprises. A few are:  Features:

Republic of Ireland.

In the Republic of Ireland, a statutory corporation is a body corporate, which is created under a particular Act of the Oireachtas. Some statutory corporations are expected to operate as if they were a commercial company (with or without a subsidy from the Exchequer, depending on whether or not it would make a profit without one). Such bodies do not have shareholders, but are typically boards appointed by a sponsor minister. The provisions of the Companies' Acts do not typically directly apply to such bodies, although their founding legislation may specify similar requirements.  The statutory corporation format was usually the form most state-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland took until recent years; however, the usual policy today is that a private limited company by shares or public limited company incorporated under the Companies' Acts is set up instead, with the relevant minister holding 100% of the issued share capital. Nonetheless, several prominent statutory corporations continue to exist, such as Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), Bord Gáis Éireann, An Bord Pleanála, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, the term "public body" is the general denomination for administrative divisions within the Dutch state or certain other types of governmental organisations.

United Kingdom.

In the United Kingdom, a statutory corporation is a corporate body created by statute. It typically has no shareholders and its powers are defined by the Act of Parliament which creates it, and may be modified by later legislation. Such bodies were often created to provide public services, examples including British Railways, the Talyllyn Railway, the National Coal Board, Post Office Corporation and Transport for London. Other examples include the county councils, the National Assembly for Wales, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Channel Four Television Corporation, and the Olympic Delivery Authority. The phrase is not used to describe a company which operates as a conventional shareholder-owned company registered under the Companies Acts.  N.B. An entity described by the undefined term "public body" is not inevitably a "statutory corporation".

United States.

At the state level, municipal corporations and counties are often created by legislative acts. Some organizations such as a transit district or special purpose corporations such as a university, are also created by statute. In some states, a city or county can be created by petition of a certain number or percentage of voters or landholders of the affected area, which then causes a municipal corporation to be chartered as a result of compliance with the appropriate law. Corporations to be established for most other purposes are usually just incorporated as any other non-profit corporation, by filing the paperwork with the appropriate agency as part of the formation of the entity.  At the Federal level, a small number of corporations are created by Congress. Prior to the District of Columbia being granted the ability to issue corporate charters in the late 19th century, corporations operating in the District required a congressional charter. With limited exceptions, most corporations created by Congress are not federally chartered, but are simply created as District of Columbia corporations as a result of the enabling law.  There are a number of federally chartered corporations that still exist. Some relatively famous ones include the Boy Scouts of America, each of the Federal Reserve Banks, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The basic advantage for being federally chartered is that no other corporation anywhere in the United States is allowed to have the same name.

A statutory corporation is a corporation created by the state. Their precise nature varies by jurisdiction, thus, they might be ordinary companies/corporations owned by a government with or without other shareholders, or they might be a body without shareholders that is controlled by national or sub-national government to the (in some cases minimal) extent provided for in the creating legislation.


2008 Andersen Air Force Base B-2 accident

Crash.

On 23 February 2008, a B‐2 crashed on the runway shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. The crash of the "Spirit of Kansas", "89-0127", which had been operated by the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and which had logged 5,100 flight hours, was the first ever crash of a B‐2.  The two-officer crew attempted to save the bomber, but as one of its wingtips began to "hook" the ground, they ejected from the aircraft and survived the crash. The aircraft was destroyed, a total loss estimated at US$1.4 billion.  According to the "Air Force Times", which is a private-industry magazine, no munitions were on board. The Air Combat Command accident board report states that "classified material" had been loaded onto the bomber the morning the aircraft was returning to Whiteman Air Force Base "after a four-month deployment in support of Pacific Air Forces' continuous bomber presence."  At Guam Naval Hospital, one pilot was evaluated and released, and the second was hospitalized. A B‐2 already in the air was called back to Andersen following the crash, where it and the other B‐2s were grounded until an initial investigation into the crash was complete. Six Boeing B‐52s of the 96th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, were deployed to replace the B‐2s.  The commander of the 509th Bomb Wing, Brig. Gen. Garrett Harencak, followed up on the incident by temporarily suspending flying operations for all 20 remaining B‐2s to review procedures. Harencak termed the suspension a "safety pause" and stated that the B‐2s would resume flying if called upon for immediate operations. The B‐2 fleet returned to flight status on 15 April 2008.

Investigation.

The findings of the investigation stated that the B‐2 crashed after "heavy, lashing rains" caused moisture to enter skin-flush air-data sensors. The data from the sensors are used to calculate numerous factors including airspeed and altitude. Because three pressure transducers had been improperly calibrated by the maintenance crew due to condensation inside devices, the flight-control computers calculated inaccurate aircraft angle of attack and airspeed. Incorrect airspeed data on cockpit displays led to the aircraft rotating at 12 knots slower than indicated. After the wheels lifted from the runway, which caused the flight control system to switch to different control laws, the erroneously sensed negative angle of attack caused the computers to inject a sudden, 1.6‐g, uncommanded 30-degree pitch-up maneuver. The combination of slow lift-off speed and the extreme angle of attack, with attendant drag, resulted in an unrecoverable stall, yaw, and descent. Both crew members successfully ejected from the aircraft soon after the left wing tip started to gouge the ground alongside the runway. The aircraft hit the ground, tumbled, and burned after its fuel ignited.

The Andersen Air Force Base B‐2 accident was a February 2008 incident when the "Spirit of Kansas", a United States Air Force Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth strategic bomber, crashed on the runway shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. The incident marks the first operational loss of a B‐2 bomber. Both crew members successfully ejected, but the aircraft was destroyed. With an estimated loss of US$1.4 billion, it was the most expensive aircraft crash in history.


History.

The evolution of mobile communication began in three different geographic regions: North America, Europe and Japan. The standards used in these regions were quite independent of each other.  The earliest mobile or wireless technologies implemented were wholly analogue, and are collectively known as 1st Generation (1G) technologies. In Japan, the 1G standards were: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) and the high capacity version of it (Hicap). The early systems used throughout Europe were not compatible to each other, meaning the later idea of a common 'European Union' viewpoint/technological standard was absent at this time.  The various 1G standards in use in Europe included C-Netz (in Germany and Austria), Comviq (in Sweden), Nordic Mobile Telephones/450 (NMT450) and NMT900 (both in Nordic countries), NMT-F (French version of NMT900), Radiocom 2000 (RC2000) (in France), and TACS (Total Access Communication System) (in the United Kingdom, Italy and Ireland). North American standards were Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) and Narrow-band AMPS (N-AMPS).  Out of the 1G standards, the most successful was the AMPS system. Despite the Nordic countries' cooperation, European engineering efforts were divided among the various standards, and the Japanese standards did not get much attention. Developed by Bell Labs in the 1970s and first used commercially in the United States in 1983, AMPS operates in the 800 MHz band in the United States and is the most widely distributed analog cellular standard. (The 1900 MHz PCS band, established in 1994, is for digital operation only.) The success of AMPS kick-started the mobile age in the North America.  The market showed an increasing demand because it had higher capacity and mobility than the then-existing mobile communication standards were capable of handling. For example, the Bell Labs system in the 1970s could carry only 12 calls at a time throughout all of New York City. AMPS used Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) which enabled each cell site to transmit on different frequencies, allowing many cell sites to be built near each other.  AMPS also had many disadvantages, as well. Primarily, it did not have the ability to support the ever-increasing demand for mobile communication usage. Each cell site did not have much capacity for carrying higher numbers of calls. AMPS also had a poor security system which allowed people to steal a phone's serial code to use for making illegal calls. All of these triggered the search for a more capable system.  The quest resulted in IS-54, the first American 2G standard. In March 1990, the North American cellular network incorporated the IS-54B standard, the first North American dual mode digital cellular standard. This standard won over Motorola's Narrowband AMPS or N-AMPS, an analog scheme which increased capacity, by cutting down voice channels from 30 kHz to 10 kHz. IS-54, on the other hand, increased capacity by digital means using TDMA protocols. This method separates calls by time, placing parts of individual conversations on the same frequency, one after the next. TDMA tripled call capacity.  Using IS-54, a cellular carrier could convert any of its system's analog voice channels to digital. A dual mode phone uses digital channels where available, and defaults to regular AMPS where they are not. IS-54 was backward compatible with analogue cellular and indeed co-existed on the same radio channels as AMPS. No analogue customers were left behind; they simply could not access IS-54's new features. IS-54 also supported authentication, a help in preventing fraud.

Technology specifications.

IS-54 employs the same 30 kHz channel spacing and frequency bands (824-849 and 869-894 MHz) as AMPS. Capacity was increased over the preceding analog design by dividing each 30 kHz channel pair into three time slots and digitally compressing the voice data, yielding three times the call capacity in a single cell. A digital system also made calls more secure because analog scanners could not access digital signals.  The IS-54 standard specifies 84 control channels, 42 of which are shared with AMPS. To maintain compatibility with the existing AMPS cellular telephone system, the primary forward and reverse control channels in IS-54 cellular systems use the same signaling techniques and modulation scheme (binary FSK) as AMPS. An AMPS/IS-54 infrastructure can support use of either analog AMPS phones or D-AMPS phones.  The access method used for IS-54 is Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), which was the first U.S. digital standard to be developed. It was adopted by the TIA in 1992. TDMA subdivides each of the 30 kHz AMPS channels into three full-rate TDMA channels, each of which is capable of supporting a single voice call. Later, each of these full-rate channels was further sub-divided into two half-rate channels, each of which, with the necessary coding and compression, could also support a voice call. Thus, TDMA could provide three to six times the capacity of AMPS traffic channels. TDMA was initially defined by the IS-54 standard and is now specified in the IS-13x series of specifications of the EIA/TIA.  The channel transmission bit rate for digitally modulating the carrier is 48.6 kbit/s. Each frame has six time slots of 6.67-ms duration. Each time slot carries 324 bits of information, of which 260 bits are for the 13-kbit/s full-rate traffic data. The other 64 bits are overhead; 28 of these are for synchronization, and they contain a specific bit sequence known by all receivers to establish frame alignment. Also, as with GSM, the known sequence acts as a training pattern to initialize an adaptive equalizer.  The IS-54 system has different synchronization sequences for each of the six time slots making up the frame, thereby allowing each receiver to synchronize to its own preassigned time slots. An additional 12 bits in every time slot are for the SACCH (i.e. system control information). The digital verification color code (DVCC) is the equivalent of the supervisory audio tone used in the AMPS system. There are 256 different 8-bit color codes, which are protected by a (12, 8, 3) Hamming code. Each base station has its own preassigned color code, so any incoming interfering signals from distant cells can be ignored.  The modulation scheme for IS-54 is 7C/4 differential quaternary phase shift keying (DQPSK), otherwise known as differential 7t/4 4-PSK or π/4 DQPSK. This technique allows a bit rate of 48.6 kbit/s with 30 kHz channel spacing, to give a bandwidth efficiency of 1.62 bit/s/Hz. This value is 20% better than GSM. The major disadvantage with this type of linear modulation method is the power inefficiency, which translates into a heavier hand-held portable and, even more inconvenient, a shorter time between battery recharges.

Call processing.

A conversation's data bits makes up the DATA field. Six slots make up a complete IS-54 frame. DATA in slots 1 and 4, 2 and 5, and 3 and 6 make up a voice circuit. DVCC stands for digital verification color code, arcane terminology for a unique 8-bit code value assigned to each cell. G means guard time, the period between each time slot. RSVD stands for reserved. SYNC represents synchronization, a critical TDMA data field. Each slot in every frame must be synchronized against all others and a master clock for everything to work.  Time slots for the mobile-to-base direction are constructed differently from the base-to-mobile direction. They essentially carry the same information but are arranged differently. Notice that the mobile-to-base direction has a 6-bit ramp time to enable its transmitter time to get up to full power, and a 6-bit guard band during which nothing is transmitted. These 12 extra bits in the base-to-mobile direction are reserved for future use.  Once a call comes in the mobile switches to a different pair of frequencies; a voice radio channel which the system carrier has made analog or digital. This pair carries the call. If an IS-54 signal is detected it gets assigned a digital traffic channel if one is available. The fast associated channel or FACCH performs handoffs during the call, with no need for the mobile to go back to the control channel. In case of high noise FACCH, embedded within the digital traffic channel overrides the voice payload, degrading speech quality to convey control information. The purpose is to maintain connectivity. The slow associated control channel or SACCH does not perform handoffs but conveys things like signal strength information to the base station.  The IS-54 speech coder uses the technique called vector sum excited linear prediction (VSELP) coding. This is a special type of speech coder within a large class known as code-excited linear prediction (CELP) coders. The speech coding rate of 7.95 kbit/s achieves a reconstructed speech quality similar to that of the analog AMPS system using frequency modulation. The 7.95-kbit/s signal is then passed through a channel coder that loads the bit rate up to 13 kbit/s. The new half-rate coding standard reduces the overall bit rate for each call to 6.5 kbit/s, and should provide comparable quality to the 13-kbit/s rate. This half-rate gives a channel capacity six times that of analog AMPS.

System example.

The discussion of a communication system will not be complete without the explanation of a system example. A dual-mode cellular phone as specified by the IS-54 standard is explained. A dual-mode phone is capable of operating in an analog-only cell or a dual-mode cell. Both the transmitter and the receiver support both analog FM and digital time division multiple access (TDMA) schemes. Digital transmission is preferred, so when a cellular system has digital capability, the mobile unit is assigned a digital channel first. If no digital channels are available, the cellular system will assign an analog channel. The transmitter converts the audio signal to a radio frequency (RF), and the receiver converts an RF signal to an audio signal. The antenna focuses and converts RF energy for reception and transmission into free space. The control panel serves as an input/output mechanism for the end user; it supports a keypad, a display, a microphone, and a speaker. The coordinator synchronizes the transmission and receives functions of the mobile unit. A dual-mode cellular phone consists of the following:

Successor technologies.

By 1993 American cellular was again running out of capacity, despite a wide movement to IS-54. The American cellular business continued booming. Subscribers grew from one and a half million customers in 1988 to more than thirteen million subscribers in 1993. Room existed for other technologies to cater to the growing market. The technologies that followed IS-54 stuck to the digital backbone laid down by it.

IS-136.

A pragmatic effort was launched to improve IS-54 that eventually added an extra channel to the IS-54 hybrid design. Unlike IS-54, IS-136 utilizes time division multiplexing for both voice and control channel transmissions. Digital control channel allows residential and in-building coverage, dramatically increased battery standby time, several messaging applications, over the air activation and expanded data applications. IS-136 systems needed to support millions of AMPS phones, most of which were designed and manufactured before IS-54 and IS-136 were considered. IS-136 added a number of features to the original IS-54 specification, including text messaging, circuit switched data (CSD), and an improved compression protocol. IS-136 TDMA traffic channels use π/4-DQPSK modulation at a 24.3-kilobaud channel rate and gives an effective 48.6 kbit/s data rate across the six time slots comprising one frame in the 30 kHz channel.

Sunset for D-AMPS in the US and Canada.

AT&T Mobility, the largest US carrier to support D-AMPS (which it refers to as "TDMA"), had turned down its existing network in order to release the spectrum to its GSM and UMTS platforms in 19 wireless markets, which started on May 30, 2007, with other areas that followed in June and July. The TDMA network in these markets operated on the 1900 MHz frequency and did not coexist with an AMPS network. Service on the remaining 850 MHz TDMA markets was discontinued along with AMPS service on February 18, 2008, except for in areas where service was provided by Dobson Communications. The Dobson TDMA and AMPS network was shut down March 1, 2008.  On May 31, 2007 Rogers Wireless decommissioned its D-AMPS and AMPS networks and moved the remaining customers on these older networks onto its GSM network.  Alltel completed their shutdown of their D-AMPS and AMPS networks in September 2008. The last carrier in the United States to operate a D-AMPS network was U.S. Cellular, who shut down its D-AMPS network in February 2009.

IS-54 and IS-136 are second-generation (2G) mobile phone systems, known as Digital AMPS (D-AMPS), and a further development of the North American 1G mobile system Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS). It was once prevalent throughout the Americas, particularly in the United States and Canada since the first commercial network was deployed in 1993. D-AMPS is considered end-of-life, and existing networks have mostly been replaced by GSM/GPRS or CDMA2000 technologies.


Plot.

Part I.

While visiting an alien mining colony on Paraagan II, a shuttle accidentally sets fire to the large amounts of tetrazine in the atmosphere, instantly incinerating the 3,600 colonists on the surface. Despite Lieutenant Reed's precautions, Captain Archer personally puts full blame on himself for all the deaths caused. He doesn't argue with Starfleet's Admiral Forrest when "Enterprise"s mission is officially cancelled, and the ship is ordered to return home (on the advice of Vulcan Ambassador Soval).  Later, Archer is suddenly transported back 10 months in the past. He then encounters Crewman Daniels who warns him that the Suliban are trying to sabotage "Enterprise"s mission. He wants to help Archer discover the truth, because events must go on to preserve the timeline. Using information from Daniels, Reed finds a cloaked Suliban device on the shuttlepod's engine manifold, and Archer directs Commander Tucker to build advanced quantum beacon detectors. "Enterprise" then travels back to an asteroid field near Paraagan II where a Suliban ship is hiding. They quickly cripple and board the ship, finding computer memory chips with proof of the Suliban's plan.  As "Enterprise" makes its escape, they are able to prove that the explosion wasn't their fault. Sub-Commander T'Pol is, however, still sceptical about the time travel explanation, as Vulcan scientists have proved it is impossible. Later the ship starts experiencing warp field problems, and soon detects 20 or 30 Suliban cell ships in pursuit. The ships decloak, and Silik orders Archer to surrender himself. Archer puts T'Pol in command, but he never makes it to the Suliban shuttle, as he is time transported again, this time to a derelict 31st century building overlooking a devastated cityscape. Daniels appears behind him telling him that bringing him into the future to protect him caused this dramatic change in the timeline. Archer asks to be sent back to repair the damage, but since all the time travel equipment is gone, they are both trapped.

Part II.

With Archer gone, T'Pol chooses to surrender the ship to the Suliban to let them verify his disappearance. They do not find any trace of Archer, but they retrieve their data disks and detect a temporal signature in the turbolift. Meanwhile, in the 31st century, Daniels realizes that there is no available technology to send Archer back and, because of this, the timeline has been disrupted. Archer however gives Daniels his communicator and scanner, allowing Daniels to make a device able to contact "Enterprise".  The Suliban take "Enterprise" to a nearby helix, and Silik interrogates T'Pol to learn where Archer has gone, but she knows little. When T'Pol is returned to her quarters, Archer contacts her and gives her instructions on how to bring him back. Meanwhile, Tucker is able to set up a communication link between the senior staff, and they plan an escape. The plan begins when two Suliban find T'Pol acting strangely, and are knocked out by Reed and Ensign Mayweather. Reed then goes to Daniels's quarters to retrieve a futuristic device, but is caught by the Suliban. During interrogation, he tells Silik that Archer gave him orders to destroy the device, to prevent him from using it to get in touch with the Suliban's contact from the future.  Silik then tries to contact his master but he only succeeds in bringing Archer back, Daniels and Archer having managed to set up a device that allows them to return Archer to his time using the communication device as a 'target'. Meanwhile, on "Enterprise", a faked warp core breach is initiated, forcing the Suliban to evacuate the ship. As soon as they are freed, "Enterprise" goes to warp, pursued by Suliban ships. Archer destroys Daniels's device and, having taken Silik hostage, secures their escape. The reunited crew finally present their proof to Starfleet Command and the Vulcans. Soval still recommends cancellation of the mission, but Archer promises that humanity will learn from their mistakes. T'Pol supports him, adding that the Vulcans should learn from their mistakes as well. Soval exits, and it is decided that "Enterprise"s mission will continue for now.

Reception.

Jammer's Review's rated Shockwave, Part I with four out four stars, and Part II, two out of four stars. TV.com had Part I rated 9.1 out of 10 on 185 votes as of 2019, and for Part II, 8.7/10 on 176 votes at that time.

Connections.

This one of the "Enterprise" episodes that features the temporal agent Daniels, played by Matt Winston.

"Shockwave" is a two-part episode of the television series "". Part one is the first-season finale, the twenty-sixth episode (production #126), and part two is the second season opener, the twenty-seventh episode (production #128). Because of this, common to the "Star Trek" franchise in this period, part one aired on UPN on May 22, 2002 but it was nearly five months before the second part aired on September 18, 2002.


Early life.

Born in Horsens, Jutland, she was brought up in a bourgeois home together with her sister and five brothers. Her father died when she was only six after which her mother earned a living as a milliner. After her mother's death in 1874, she went to Hamburg to learn photography. Living with her uncle, Poul Friedrich Lewitz, and her aunt Juliane, she became an apprentice to her cousin Alfred Lewitz, also a photographer. In her diary she records how much she enjoyed her year in Hamburg with lots of excursions, evenings at the theatre and wonderful meals.

Working as a photographer.

After completing her apprenticeship in 1876, Frederikke Federspiel returned to Denmark where she was the first women to apply for a licence to trade in photography. She settled in Aalborg with her sister Sophie. While her sister exercised her trade in lingerie and embroidery in the living room, Frederikke set up a photographic studio on the top floor. There were already two photographers in Aalborg, one of whom was the well-established Heinrich Tønnies. She was aware of the competition but astutely publicized her business, always ensuring she kept up with evolving technology.  For extended periods, she managed to run the second most prosperous photographic business in the city. In 1878, she fell ill and spent eight months in hospital followed by a further three months at St. Oluf's sanitorium in Modum, Norway. She was to return to the spa several times in later years. With her sister, she spent her summer holidays at the new seaside resorts of Blokhus, Løkken and Fanø.  In 1883, Frederikke Federspiel and Nielsine Zehngraf from Randers were among the first women to become members of the Danish Photographers Association. Frederikke was an active member, contributing to the Association's membership album. In 1885, she won recognition for donating portraits. She also exhibited her work in Copenhagen, often participating in person as she did in 1888.  In 1899, she started to produce enamel jewelry and cufflinks embedded with photographs using direct positives produced with a four-lensed multiplicator camera. She had made special arrangements for the equipment to be imported from the United States to facilitate the work. The jewelry was shown at a Christmas exhibition at Copenhagen's Industry Association, attracting the attention of the royal family. As a result, she was able to count Princess Alexandra and Tsaritsa Dagmar among her clients.

Keeping abreast of technology.

Always interested in the latest technical developments, she was quick to start using dry plates which offered a safer and cheaper method of exposure and development. She was also one of the first to experiment with magnesium power for flash and she installed electric lamps in her studio when electricity came to Aalborg in 1901.  In the early 1900s, she began to sell cameras for amateur photographers. Among her students and assistants were Ernst Gøpel, Fritz Karner and Georg Bendtzen Holm who would later become leading photographers.

Overall assessment.

Frederikke Federspiel constantly adopted developments in photography although, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of her studio, she stated that her business had not evolved as she had hoped. Nevertheless, when she died in 1913, the Dansk Fotografisk Tidsskrift (Danish Photography Magazine) characterized her as "an unusually likable, honest and energetic lady whose work has been counted among the best."

Frederikke Jakobine Federspiel (1839–1913) was the first female photographer to practice in Denmark. For many years, she ran her own photographic studio in Aalborg, always keeping abreast of the latest developments. Among her clients were the Danish princesses Dagmar and Alexandra who were attracted by her photo enamel jewelry.


Sports career.

Jiří Kejval is a multiple national champion in rowing and for many years he also competed internationally for Czechoslovakia and then the Czech Republic. In the years 1992 and 1993 he won the Rössler-Ořovský Spring Sculls race, which is part of the Prague Primátorky regatta. In 1991 he finished 10 in the World Championships. In 1992 he was selected to compete at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, but because his partner in the two-man crew fell ill he did not compete in the end. He retired from competitive rowing in 1994. He continues to row regularly and a new challenge for him in recent years has been participation in cross country skiing races.

Public office.

In the years 1996–2014 Jiří Kejval held the position of President of the Czech Rowing Association. In the years 2009 to 2012 he was Vice-president of the Czech Olympic Committee for Economics and Marketing. In 2012 he succeeded Milan Jirásek as President of the Czech Olympic Committee. He was re-elected by the Czech Olympic Committee Plenary Session four years later, and his current term ends in 2020.  He devised the Olympic Festival (originally Olympic Park) concept, which since 2014 during the Olympic Games has promoted sport and brought sport closer to the general public, and children in particular. The project has been adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is being expanded to other countries.  In February 2018 at the IOC Session held during the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Jiří Kejval was elected a member of the International Olympic Committee.  He is also Chairman of the IOC Marketing Commission and Chairman of the Board of IOC Television and Marketing Services, and a member of the Medical Commission of the Association of National Olympic Committees. In 2017 he was appointed a member of the Executive Committee of WADA. All Kejval’s roles in sport administration are non-paid. He has also applied the same voluntary principle to all elected members of the Czech NOC leadership.

Business activities.

Jiří Kejval sees his activity in sport as a part of social responsibility. He is able to do this thanks to his successful business career, which he commenced in 1991. In that year he established, together with business partner Martin Kulík, the company TECHO a.s., which from a small producer of interior lighting grew into, over a period of five years, a leader in the area of office furnishings in the Czech Republic.  At the current time around 30 per cent of all offices in the Czech Republic have furnishings from Techo. In addition the company is also a leading creator of commercial interiors in Europe and beyond. It has even supplied furniture, for example, to Buckingham Palace.  His stake in the company, worth hundreds of millions of crowns, was sold in 2008 to the group Royal Ahrend, the number three office furniture producer in Europe. Even after selling the company Kejval has continued as Managing Director and in 2012 he was appointed one of the three board members of Royal Ahrend.

Relationship to art and education.

In 1998 Jiří Kejval co-founded the non-profit organisation Prostor – architektura, interiér, design, which aims to promote Czech architecture, interior design and design. He also supports the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art. At the Czech NOC he has championed a connection between sport and culture in the spirit of Olympic values and ideals. He was also active in the American Fund for Czech and Slovak Leadership Studies, which supports talented Czech and Slovak students.  In 2012 he initiated establishment of the Czech Olympic Foundation. This helps children from disadvantaged family backgrounds to take up sport. He has strived long-term to improve the situation in the area of corporate social responsibility and sport.

Jiří Kejval (born 30 November 1967 in Prague) is a Czech sports official, businessman and since 2012 President of the Czech Olympic Committee (Czech NOC). During his active sports career he competed at international level and for eighteen years was President of the Czech Rowing Association.


Building history.

Movie house.

The architectural firm Rapp and Rapp, famous for its theater buildings, designed the Italian Renaissance-style building. The building was variously described by the newspapers as being of the French Renaissance or Northern Italianate style. The Paramount was considered, at its opening, to be the largest and most lavish theater for a city the size of Portland. Originally opened as the Portland Publix Theatre, a vaudeville venue in March 1928, the name changed to the Paramount Theater in 1930, as the owners had a contract to run Paramount films locally. The building continued to show films until 1972, after which it hosted concerts.  Visitors were greeted by a high "Portland" sign above the Broadway Marquee, which contained approximately 6,000 theatrical lights. The sign read "Paramount" from 1930–1984. The theatre was designed with many foyers and lobbies. The main entrance to the auditorium boasted huge French-paned windows facing east and south, covered with velvet drapes. The walls were covered with mirrors and marble, and the floors were covered with expensive carpets. The furnishings had been purchased from a French museum and private collections. The concessions stand was made of marble and stretched nearly half the length of the main lobby. It was described as the "longest candy counter in the West."  The lobby was lit with huge crystal chandeliers. Nearly $35,000 had been spent on them. The largest had a span of nearly, weighing over and containing 181 lights. Currently, the largest chandelier has 137 candle bulbs, and the smaller ones each have 124 bulbs.  The top row of the balcony seats was six stories above the stage. Small staircases from the main lobby led to the balcony area which contained men's and ladies' lounges. The men's lounge was equipped with fireplaces, telephones, radios, phonographs and attendants. The women's lounge was furnished with dressing tables, mirrors, maids and hairdressers. There was also a self-playing Louis XV Ampico-Knabe grand piano in ivory and gold on the bridge over the lobby.  The walls of the auditorium were elaborately decorated with murals and near the front of the stage, small balconies were hung with drapes which hid the pipes from the $46,500 Wurlitzer organ. This four-manual organ console was mounted on an elevator and could be raised to the level of the stage at the touch of a button. The seating capacity of the theater was said to have been 4000 seats by the newspaper ads of the day. The ads promised "An acre of seats". Actually, the seating capacity was approximately 3000.  The ceilings were of a special design. The ceiling panels were suspended from the roof of the building and jutted out toward the sides of the auditorium, leaving a small cove next to the wall. A series of electric light bulbs were set in the hollow, not visible to the audience. Their glow fell on the patrons indirectly, giving the effect of space and freedom. The orchestra pit could hold a 30-piece orchestra. There was also a "flying" stage which could be raised or lowered or moved about above the main stage.  In July 1928, the theatre appeared on the front page of the newspaper, figuring in an unusual robbery. A young man, Robert Nolan, had lived in Southern California for a time. While living there, he appeared as an extra in the movie, "Wheel of Chance." He had moved back to Oregon and when he saw that the movie was showing at the Portland theatre, he decided to go see himself on the "silver screen." While he was in the lobby, he saw two people walking by carrying the day's receipts. As he was watching the movie, the idea formed that he should take a chance before he left Portland to acquire a little extra money. He went to the box office and held up the attendants for $1176. He was apprehended several days later, having spent all but $1.50 of the money on bootleggers and drinking parties.  During the Great Depression, the theatre hired roving musicians and a "psychic" to entertain in the lobby before movies, in an effort to attract patrons to the theatre. Admission was 50 cents at this point, down 10 cents from opening night.  By 1936, the theater had been sold to the Evergreen chain, in conjunction with John Hamrick, and between them, they owned eight movie theatres in Portland.  In 1965, the exterior and interior of the building were in a decline, and in September of that year, part of the cast iron balcony which faces Park Avenue (a piece of gingerbread), gave way and fell to the pavement below. The break was along an old fracture line caused by a previous earthquake. The iron had rusted over time without proper maintenance. In August 1970, chunks of the masonry on the corner of Main and Broadway gave way. Two huge blocks, each, fell from the facade, one of them crashing into the main marquee below. The masonry blocks were said to have fallen due to the age of the building. The owners did not seem to be putting any money into maintenance. The theatre was offered for sale in December 1970 and was purchased by John Haviland in 1971, who owned the Park-Haviland Hotel. The theatre was leased to Tom Moyer, owner of a chain of movie theaters.

Concert venue.

Haviland felt that it was uneconomical to operate a 3000-seat theater in the days of television. The last regular film showing was on August 15, 1972 ("Dr. Phibes Rises Again" with Vincent Price).  In 1972, a Seattle-based partnership was formed, Paramount Northwest. They leased the theatre for three years, with an option for six more, and promoted live concerts. Heart played there as part of the "Catch a Rising Star" series (which included Tom Petty and Elvis Costello, among others), for the admission price of 92 cents (promoted by local radio station KGON, 92.3 FM). John Haviland still owned it and claimed that the rent was "1/10 of what it should be for such a theatre": $4000 per month. In December 1972, Haviland proposed a state-run gambling casino on the property, claiming he was losing more than he could afford on the Paramount.  In March 1975, Haviland conducted an auction during which he sold off all the statuary, pipe organ, antique furniture, 16th century suit of armor, mirrors, China, Oriental rugs, original oil paintings, lighted gold-leaf music stands, and pianos (there were 3 grand pianos); basically everything that was not attached to the walls or floors. Haviland was trying to drive out the rock-concert promoting tenants and went into a legal dispute with Paramount Northwest over the lease. He felt that the young people targeted by the concerts were not spending enough money and were destroying the theatre. Haviland won a court case preventing Paramount Northwest from renewing their lease option. Haviland intended to renovate the theatre and offer a higher-class type of entertainment, including dinner theatre.  In August 1976, the Paramount Theatre was sold to Seattle-based West Coast Theatres company. The owner offered to sell the property to the city for $4 million in 1980, but the city council had to decide whether to renovate the Paramount Theatre or build a performing arts center from the ground up.  The City of Portland attempted to buy out the owner in 1982, but talks broke down. The city council finally voted to condemn the building. A condemnation hearing jury determined that the city would have to pay the owner $4.1 million as compensation for the building.  The theater cost $500,000 to build in 1928. As of October 2006, "The Schnitz" was assessed by Multnomah County at more than $32 million.

Restoration.

In 1972, the Portland City Council voted to give the building Landmark Status, over the objections of John Haviland, the owner. The landmark status applied only to the exterior of the building. Many people felt that the interior of the building was more valuable architecturally. The building (as the Paramount Theatre) was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.  A major renovation began in September 1983 to the designs of Boora Architects, restoring the building to much of its original opulence. The interior of the auditorium, however, was painted one neutral color, rather than restoring the murals that had decorated it. Portland residents Arlene and Harold Schnitzer contributed generously to the completion of the initial phase of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. The one-year, $10 million renovation involved repairing, recasting or replacing much of the theatre's ornate interior as well as making it comfortable and safe for today's audiences and performers.  The landmark 65-foot-tall "Paramount" sign was removed on March 18, 1984, to be used by Ballard Sign Company of Salem as a model for a new replica which would restore the wording used originally (1928–1930): "Portland", appropriate for the building's change in use as well as being historically fitting. The new replica sign, with neon letters five feet tall, was attached to the building on September 4, 1984. The theatre re-opened later the same month.  The concert hall now plays host to a variety of presentations including classical, jazz, pop, rock, folk and gospel music, dance, theatre, travel films, conferences, and weddings.  The concert hall features:  Design highlights: wool carpeting designed in Portland and loomed in New Zealand; original chandeliers renovated and fitted with new crystal in rococo-style lobby; original ornate interior re-paneled, recast and replaced; classic colors of warm neutrals and teal replaced the original dark and heavy gold, green and rose.  When the performing arts center was opened in 1984, it was decided to name the Portland Theatre building after Arlene Schnitzer.  The original theater organ and statuary were sold off in an auction on March 26, 1975. During the auction, there was a general outcry from the audience to keep a particular marble statue, called "Surprise" (a nude girl with her hands thrown across her face) in the theater. A hat was passed among the 1200 member audience to take up a collection, and $5,233.97 was raised to purchase the statue and keep it in the theater lobby. The statue has a finger missing from a bullet from a box-office robbery in the 1950s.

Notable stage appearances.

Partial list of notable personal appearances made on the stage of the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall:

The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (opened as the Portland Publix Theatre before becoming the Paramount Theatre after 1930) is a historic theater building and performing arts center in Portland, Oregon, United States. Part of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, it is home to the Oregon Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, White Bird Dance Company, and Portland Arts & Lectures. It is also a concert and film venue. Originally (and sometimes still referred to as) the Paramount Theatre, it is also locally nicknamed "The Schnitz".


Facility.

The Mount Baker Theatre occupies half a city block. It has three distinct facilities for concerts, live theater, films, receptions, and other events. All public facilities, except the balcony, are fully ADA accessible. Some non-public facilities, such as backstage and storage spaces, may not be accessible.

Main Theater.

The main theater contains large stage facing floor and balcony seating. Using the main floor and balcony, seating capacity is 1,517 people. An orchestra pit sits five feet below the stage and can hold 25 musicians. The theater has a professional lighting and sound system, a large movie screen and projection room, and a historic pipe organ.

Encore Room.

The Encore Room is a reception hall or meeting space in the southern portion of the theater. It can accommodate 120 people in standard seating and 60-80 seated at tables. A kitchen is adjacent to the room.

Walton Theater.

The Walton Theatre is named in honor of Harold and Irene Walton. It is a smaller performance space west of the main theater. There are attached restrooms and a kitchen.

Events.

The Mount Baker Theatre hosts a variety events including live theater, concerts, movies, arts festivals, and comedy shows.

History.

The Mount Baker Theater was built in 1927 to provide entertainment for a growing city. It was designed by architect Robert Reamer. Originally, it held live theater and concerts. A screen was added later to show silent movies.  The theater was in a historic part of downtown. Bellingham's Carnegie library was just south of the theater. The Bellingham Tower stands tall to the theater's west. The tower was built as a luxurious hotel; it is an office building with a café at street level. At 15 stories, it is the tallest building in Bellingham and Whatcom County. The original City Hall, built in 1891, stands two blocks west of the theater and is home to the Whatcom Museum. The Bellingham Bank Building, Federal Building, and Crown Plaza are within a few blocks to the southeast.

Ghost.

For decades, theater staff have reported unusual phenomena, which has led to an urban legend of a ghost. In August 2010, paranormal investigators, affiliated with the Syfy Channel's show Ghost Hunters, and psychics spent a night in the theater to find evidence of paranormal activity.

The Mount Baker Theatre (officially abbreviated MBT) is a 1,517-seat performing arts venue and national historic landmark in Bellingham, Washington. The theater hosts professional productions and concerts as well as community performances from the north of Puget Sound. The theater's main stage is the largest theatrical venue in Washington north of Seattle's Paramount and 5th Avenue.


Performers.

The majority of songs are performed by New Directions, which is composed of Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.), Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith), Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris), Noah "Puck" Puckerman (Mark Salling) and Matt Rutherford (Dijon Talton). Club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) also performs several songs. The season features some performances by rival glee clubs Vocal Adrenaline, which is sometimes led by Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff), Jane Addams Girls Choir, Haverbrook Deaf Choir and Aural Intensity, as well as McKinley High's cheerleaders, the Cheerios, and the football team.  Guest stars who gave vocal performances during the season were Ben Bledsoe as former glee club member Hank Saunders, Jerry Phillips as a younger Finn, and Aaron Hendry as Darren in the pilot episode, Kristin Chenoweth and Neil Patrick Harris as former glee club members April Rhodes and Bryan Ryan, Zack Weinstein as Sean Fretthold, Olivia Newton-John as herself, Wendy Worthington as an auditionee for "Les Misérables" in "Dream On", and Idina Menzel as Vocal Adrenaline director Shelby Corcoran.  Songs included on the three soundtrack albums accompanying the season feature additional vocals by non-cast members. Adam Anders, Kamari Copeland, Tim Davis, Emily Gomez, David Loucks, Chris Mann and Windy Wagner appear on all three albums, as does Nikki Anders, née Hassman, who is credited as Hassman on the first two and Anders on the third; Zac Poor sings on the second and third albums. Jasper Randall appears on "Glee: The Music, Volume 1", and David Baloche, Jenny Karr, Kerri Larson and Tiffany Palmer feature on "Glee: The Music, Volume 2". "Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers" features additional vocals by Kala Balch, David Baloche, Colin Benward, Ravaughn Brown, Storm Lee, Chaz Mason, Jeanette Olsen, Jimmy Andrew Richard, Drew Ryan Scott, Shelley Scarr and Onitsha Shaw. While recurring cast members Morris, Rivera, Shum, Jr., and Talton perform in the group numbers on screen, only Rivera is credited with performing vocally on any soundtrack albums or EPs, gaining her first solo part on "Like a Virgin" in the episode "The Power of Madonna", and appearing on "Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers" as well as the two EPs, "Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna" and "Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals".

"Glee" is an American musical comedy-drama television series that aired on the Fox network in the United States. It focuses on the William McKinley High School glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues. The show was created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, and features many cover versions of songs performed on-screen by the characters. Murphy is responsible for selecting all of the songs used, and strives to maintain a balance between show tunes and chart hits, as he wants there to be "something for everybody in every episode". Once Murphy selects a song, rights are cleared with its publishers by music supervisor P.J. Bloom, and music producer Adam Anders rearranges it for the "Glee" cast. Numbers are pre-recorded by the cast, while choreographer Zach Woodlee constructs the accompanying dance moves, which are then taught to the cast and filmed. Studio recordings of tracks are then made. The process begins six to eight weeks before each episode is filmed, and can end as late as the day before filming begins.