Test history.

On June 11, 1957, the Atlas made its maiden voyage. Engine start proceeded normally and the launcher release system also functioned properly. All went well until T+26 seconds when the B-2 engine lost thrust, followed two seconds later by the B-1 engine. The Atlas reached a peak altitude of 9800 feet (2900 meters) and tumbled end-over-end through its own exhaust trail until T+50 seconds when the range safety officer sent the destruct command.  During 4A's launch, thousands of spectators lined the beaches around Cape Canaveral to watch, although the Air Force did not confirm that the new missile was in fact an Atlas. The sensational press reports of the missile cartwheeling and exploding in mid-air belied the fact that program officials did not really consider the test a failure, and that all things considered, the Atlas had performed far better than expected.  Analysis of telemetry data confirmed that the Atlas had malfunctioned due to hot exhaust gases being recirculated into the thrust section, which apparently caused failure of propellant ducting and engine shutdown due to LOX starvation. The pneumatic system also malfunctioned as tank pressure never properly transitioned to in-flight levels and along with propellant flow and pressure steadily decreased during ascent. The flight was considered a partial success because the missile had otherwise performed well. In particular, the Atlas's inflated balloon structure, which engineers doubted would even fly at all, had held together as the missile tumbled. The flight control system also worked well as it tried in vain to correct the missile's flight path.  Convair engineers decided that the Atlas needed a heat shield in the thrust section more substantial than the thin fiberglass one included on the missile. They proposed a modified heat sink made from steel and fiberglass, but the Air Force rejected that idea as the shield would be extremely heavy and also complicate booster section staging on operational Atlases. As one small modification, the pneumatic system was modified to vent inert helium gas down into the thrust section to reduce the risk of fire.  On September 25, Missile 6A was launched. Aside from more instrumentation in the thrust section and the above-mentioned helium vent modification, it was identical to 4A and predictably met the same fate as once again, the thrust section overheated. Thrust levels in both engines dropped to only 35% at T+32 seconds and two seconds later, the propulsion system completely shut down. The Range Safety destruct command was sent at T+63 seconds. This time, overheating and high vibration levels had caused a LOX regulator to fail, resulting in gas generator flameout. After this debacle, the Air Force relented and accepted the need for an improved heat shield. Other modifications were made as well, including removal of the long skirt covering the boattail and engine nozzles. The gas generator vent pipe was changed to point outward and away from the missile instead of directly underneath it. The engine nozzles were covered with fiberglass insulation boots and aluminum plumbing in the Atlas changed to steel plumbing which had a greater heat tolerance. The autopilot received additional filters to dampen vibration levels.  The overheating problems had not shown up on the static firing tests of Missiles 1A-3A, but it was later revealed that the engineering crews at the Sycamore test stand had had the plumbing changed to steel because it reduced the risk of overheating compared with the aluminum plumbing on flight article missiles. The PFRF (Pre Flight Readiness Firing) tests conducted on 4A and 6A also would have caused exhaust gases to go up into the boattail, and thus they probably already had internal damage at launch.  On December 17, Missile 12A lifted from LC-14. The modified boattail worked; the Atlas performed well on its first successful launch, an event that raised morale after the devastating blow of two Soviet space launches and the failure of Vanguard a week earlier. This was the first Atlas with a functional guidance system (although open loop--the guidance system was included merely for evaluation purposes and not actually added to the flight program until the B-series tests), as Missiles 4A and 6A merely had a dummy guidance receiver that test patterns were transmitted to. At T+75 seconds, the guidance system tracking beacon shorted, which caused a momentary large drain on the batteries but did not otherwise affect missile performance. The missile's flight trajectory in the yaw axis by the time of Booster Engine Cutoff (BECO) deviated by about 10,000 feet (3050 meters) from the planned program, studies of trajectory data showed this anomaly to be nearly constant during powered flight. It was concluded that there had been an incorrect offset in the yaw axis, either from a misaligned engine, yaw gyro, or some combination of both. After the success of the launch, the Air Force acknowledged for the first time that the missile was in fact an Atlas.  The fourth Atlas test involved Missile 10A, which was erected on LC-12 in September and would have been the third Atlas launched, but there were considerable difficulties getting it ready for flight. After the postflight findings from 6A, it was taken down for modifications and a PFRF firing on December 10 resulted in the B-1 thrust chamber rupturing from rough combustion. The thrust chamber was replaced, and a launch attempt was made on December 16, but had to be aborted following a leak in the B-1 main fuel valve. A second launch attempt on January 7, 1958 failed due to another fuel valve leak, and finally on January 10, the missile was launched. 10A performed an almost perfect flight, with no abnormalities of note occurring. This was also the first Atlas with functioning vernier engines, although they were not attached to the autopilot loop.  On February 7, Missile 13A was launched from LC-14. The engines switched to an improved variant of the MA-1 system with bell-shaped thrust chambers and 150,000 pounds of thrust, also the verniers were added to the autopilot loop for the first time. The APS (Auxiliary Power System) ceased operating at liftoff due to improper disconnect of a pad umbilical. At T+108 seconds, the engines started oscillating in all three axes and the propulsion system quickly shut down due to propellant starvation caused by missile tumbling. The Atlas broke up at T+163 seconds. The failure was attributed to a short in the vernier engine feedback transducer which caused the unexpected engine oscillation. Flight data also confirmed that the B-2 turbopump had disintegrated due to loss of lubricant oil pressure. The lube oil manifold pressure had dropped rapidly at T+16 seconds and remained steady at 460 psi until a pressure surge and then dropoff at T+106 seconds. The turbopump broke apart at T+116 seconds due to a bearing failure, but the propulsion system already shut down due to missile tumbling so it ultimately had no effect on the outcome of the flight.  Missile 11A was launched from LC-12 on February 20. This was the first flight where a roll program was added to the autopilot. Once again, the vernier feedback transducer shorted, leading to complete loss of control at T+103 seconds. The booster engines shut down due to missile tumbling and breakup of the Atlas occurred at T+126 seconds. The V-2 vernier shut down at T+109 seconds due to an apparent LOX duct rupture, while the V-1 vernier operated until final missile destruction.  Missile 15A was launched on April 5, following two aborted launch attempts on March 28 and April 1, the latter being called off when the V-2 vernier exploded at ignition. Because aerodynamic heating was believed to have caused the electrical malfunctions on 13A and 11A, more insulation and resistors were added around the vernier wiring and the fairing around the engine nozzles extended. The flight was uneventful until T+96 seconds when a momentary drop in B-1 thrust occurred. Total engine shutdown occurred at T+105 seconds and the Atlas fell into the Atlantic Ocean, remaining structurally intact until impact. Postflight analysis concluded that a bearing in the LOX turbopump gearbox had come loose, resulting in shutdown of the pump and loss of thrust.  The Atlas A program concluded with the flight of 16A on June 3, which mostly completed its mission objectives, although several hardware malfunctions occurred. An improperly adjusted LOX regulator resulted in slightly below normal booster engine thrust. The pneumatic system experienced difficulties and helium bottle pressure was nearly down to zero at BECO. This was thought to be caused by a valve sticking open that allowed helium to enter the LOX tank uncontrollably, although the boil-off valve operated correctly and opened to vent the tank and prevent excessive pressure buildup. The V-1 vernier failed to start due to a leak resulting in loss of the start tank fuel supply. Telemetry data for the propellant utilization system was erratic or nonexistent for most of the flight, and the guidance tracking beacon failed at T+69 seconds; it was thought to have been torn off the missile. The pressure level in the turbopump gearbox was also modified slightly to prevent a recurrence of the malfunctions on 13A and 15A.  The Atlas A conducted eight test flights, of which four were successful. All launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, at either Launch Complex 12 or Launch Complex 14.

The Convair SM-65A Atlas, or Atlas A was the first full-scale prototype of the Atlas missile, which first flew on 11 June 1957. Unlike later versions of the Atlas missile, the Atlas A did not feature the stage and a half design. Instead, the booster engines were fixed in place, and the sustainer engine was omitted. The propulsion system used on the initial Atlas As was an early version of the Rocketdyne MA-1 engines with conical thrust chambers that produced a mere 135,000 pounds of thrust, compared with the 360,000 pounds of the fully operational Atlas D. Several pieces of hardware found on the operational Atlas were either missing on the A-series or only partially implemented. Powered flight on the A-series would last about two minutes and compared to later Atlases, long pad hold-down times, with up to 11 seconds between engine start and launcher release.

Le X-11, dont le projet initial est dénommé "projet XSM-16A", est le nom donné par l'USAF au SM-65A "Atlas A", prototype du missile balistique intercontinental SM-65 Atlas. Contrairement aux versions suivantes le X-11 est une fusée monoétage, il n'est donc équipé que de "boosters" fixes et dépourvu de moteur principal.


Formation.

In June 2009, it was announced that the rights to the Claxton Shield had been sold to a new Australian Baseball League, with ownership split between Major League Baseball's 75 percent share and the 25 percent share owned by the Australian Baseball Federation. The 2010 Claxton Shield tournament was considered preparation for the inaugural ABL season.  Although initial reports suggested that between eight and ten teams would contest the first season, including the possibility of a team based in New Zealand, six teams representing Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney were announced in November 2009 as the foundation clubs.  Compared to the previous season's Claxton Shield tournament, there were few structural changes to the competition. With the expansion from five to six teams, the need for teams to have a bye was eliminated, with all teams participating in games each round. The individual rounds were expanded from three to four games per round, resulting in an increase from 24 to 40 games per team for the season. The postseason was also expanded to include the top four teams, rather than only the top three.

Teams.

Rosters.

During the season each team made use of a 22-man active roster, drawn from 35-man squads announced on 28 October 2010.

Venues.

Four of the six teams used their existing venues from the Claxton Shield: the Adelaide Bite, Perth Heat and Sydney Blue Sox all used the same grounds used in the 2010 Claxton Shield by the respective state teams, and the Canberra Cavalry used the same venue used by Australia Provincial when they last contested the Claxton Shield in 2008: Narrabundah Ballpark.  The Melbourne Aces played at the Melbourne Showgrounds, after the Victorian state government announced a A$300,000 upgrade of the grounds. Similarly the Queensland state government announced a A$300,000 upgrade of the Brisbane Exhibition Ground for use by the Brisbane Bandits as their home field.

Regular season.

The season length was similar to the 2010 Claxton Shield by spreading ten rounds over twelve weeks, playing only the season's first game in the first week and taking a week off for Christmas and Boxing Day. Six teams were involved, playing a four-game series every week totaling two series against each team, one at home and one away. In total, the schedule allowed for 40 regular season games per team before a four-team finals series. During the regular season, games were played Thursday to Sunday, varying depending on the series and team, with 18 games scheduled as doubleheaders on a Saturday. Doubleheaders were scheduled to have the first of the two games shortened to seven innings, with the second game using the full nine innings.  One of the regular season games resulted in a tie, which is unusual in baseball given the provision in the rules of the game to play extra innings to determine a winner. The game between the Sydney Blue Sox and the Melbourne Aces at Blacktown Olympic Park was the second game of a makeup doubleheader as a result of rain earlier that weekend washing out two games, and so had been shortened to seven innings. A rain delay during the first game of the day forced the second game to a later start. Under a provision in the ABL rules that is modeled on the International Baseball Federation's tiebreaker rule, in any extra inning that starts within an hour of the curfew time for the game—a time set to allow the visiting team time to meet travel schedules to return home at the end of a series—each team starts with runners at first and second base with nobody out. In addition, no new inning may start within 15 minutes of the curfew time. The game was scoreless at the end of the regulation seven innings, and was tied at 1–1 at the end of the eighth inning, which ended at the curfew time. Though the game was an official game, the result did not count towards the season standings.  All but 4 of the scheduled 120 games were played. The four games that were not played were the series scheduled between the Brisbane Bandits and the Canberra Cavalry at the Brisbane Exhibition Ground for the ninth round. Flooding in Brisbane had resulted in the Exhibition Ground being used as an evacuation centre for affected residents. Initially the ABL postponed the series, leaving a decision as to whether the games would be rescheduled to a later time. Just prior to the final round of scheduled games, it was announced that the games would go ahead in the form of two doubleheaders, but that only games that would affect the playoffs would be played. When Brisbane lost the final game of their series against the Adelaide Bite, both they and Canberra were eliminated from contention for the playoffs; hence, the makeup games were not played.  The Perth Heat and Sydney Blue Sox were the first teams to clinch positions in the finals series when Perth defeated the Melbourne Aces in the final game of their series in round 9. The Adelaide Bite were the next team to secure a place in the top four, after winning the third of an expanded six-game series against Brisbane. It was only on the final day of the regular season that Melbourne was able to claim the fourth finals position, and that the makeup of the semi-final series was decided: Sydney hosting Perth in the major semi-final series, and Adelaide hosting Melbourne in the minor semi-final series.

Postseason.

At the completion of the regular season, the top four teams progressed to the postseason. It was contested over three weeks, following the Page playoff system. Each stage was decided by a best–of–three game series. Unlike regular season games, which made use of a variation of the International Baseball Federation's mercy rule after seven innings, no such rule was in place for postseason games; all games went the full nine innings, with the only exception being two games that were tied after nine innings, therefore requiring extra innings.  The Perth Heat and Adelaide Bite each swept their semi-final series against the Sydney Blue Sox and Melbourne Aces respectively, resulting in the Heat qualifying for and hosting the championship series, and the Aces being eliminated. The Bite won the preliminary final series against the Blue Sox two games to one, to advance to the championship series. Though Adelaide won the first championship series game, the Perth Heat won the remaining two games to claim the title of ABL Champions.

The 2010–11 Australian Baseball League season was the inaugural Australian Baseball League (ABL) season, and was held from 6 November 2010 to 13 February 2011. It came 12 years after the old Australian Baseball League ceased and is the successor of the mostly amateur Claxton Shield competition that has been played since 1934. The season consisted of six teams competing in a 40-game schedule, followed by a three-round finals series to determine the ABL champion.

La Ligue australienne de baseball 2010-2011 est la saison inaugurale de cette compétition rassemblant l'élite des clubs australiens de baseball.


First generation (2000–2005).

From 2000–2005 Optimas were a rebadged variant of the Hyundai Sonata, differing only from the Sonata in minor exterior styling details and equipment content.  In Australia, the Optima was introduced in May 2001, offered only with a 2.5 L V6 engine, and choice of manual or automatic transmission. The updated Optima was offered with a new 2.7 L engine, 4-speed automatic (the manual was dropped), and features such as full leather interior and alloy wheels were made standard. Thanks in part to better marketing, sales increased to 41,289 units in 2005, an all-time high. The Optima was sold until 2006, when it was replaced by the Magentis.

Safety.

The 2001 Optima received Poor to Average ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Update.

The 2002 Optima received a minor update. The car was a luxurious version of Kia Optima sold in South Korea. The grille was redesigned for the United States in 2003 (2004 model year) to feature the Kia badge, and the headlamps were restyled for 2004 (2005 model year).

Second generation (2005–2010).

The second generation Optima, known as the Kia Magentis globally except in United States and Malaysia, and as the Kia Lotze in South Korea, was launched in South Korea in November 2005. This generation differed further from the Hyundai Sonata donor vehicle than the previous model. Unlike the previous Optima though, this vehicle uses a global platform, unique to Kia, designated "MG". The car continues to be built in South Korea and shares its 2.4-liter inline-four engine, five-speed "Sportmatic" automatic or five-speed manual transmission with the Sonata.  The second generation Kia Optima was launched in Malaysia on 15 August 2007 powered by a 2.0 liter Theta DOHC CVVT engine with a 4-speed automatic transmission.

Safety.

The Optima received a crash test rating of five stars from the NHTSA, and four stars from EuroNCAP. The 2006 Optima received Marginal to Good ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Update.

The Optima was revised and updated in 2008, debuting at the New York International Auto Show (as a 2009 model year). This update features new front-end styling and tail lamps. In addition to the revised exterior, length is also slightly increased by roughly to approximately long. There is also a new engine and the interior has also been revised. Main changes in the interior are a redesigned instrument cluster and a Sirius Satellite Radio/AM/FM/MP3/CD with an auxiliary jack. In certain markets, the option of satellite navigation is offered.  The new "Theta II" 2.4-liter I4 employs dual continuously variable valve timing (CVVT) and a variable intake system (VIS) to increase power to, while returning improved fuel consumption over its predecessor. Torque is rated at. There is a 2.0L I4 for other markets with either a 5 speed manual or 4 speed automatic transmission. Power is rated at at 6200 RPM and of torque. Acceleration for the 2.0L is in 9.2 seconds for the 5 speed manual and 10.1 seconds for the 4 speed automatic. Top speed rated up to outside of the US. The 2.7-liter V6 offers few changes to the previous model, though power is increased to, and torque to. Acceleration for the 5-speed automatic takes it from in 8.9sec with a top speed up to. A five-speed manual transmission is standard in the base model, and a five-speed automatic is included with mid- and high-end levels (or as an option in the base model).  2010 models see the addition of a Proximity Key with Push-Button Start and paddle shifters on SX models.  In Australia, the Magentis was introduced in August 2006, and replaced the Optima. Initially available with a choice of 2.4 L 4-cylinder or 2.7 L V6 engines, the Magentis' sales never caught on, with sales peaking at only 741 units in 2007. In 2008, the V6 engine was dropped, as was the EX-L model, leaving only the entry-level 2.4 L EX on sale until its discontinuation in 2009. While the facelifted 2010 model was never officially launched, a very small number were imported for "evaluation" purposes, and eventually sold to the public as demos.

Third generation (2010–2015).

The completely redesigned Optima, sharing the same platform as its sibling Hyundai i40, named the Kia K5 in the South Korean and China market, made its world debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show. It features a much sleeker, sportier profile designed by new Kia design chief Peter Schreyer, following the new design language featured on the Kia Forte, Kia Sorento, and upcoming Kia Sportage and Kia Cadenza — and using Kia's new corporate grille, known as the Tiger Nose, also designed by Schreyer. Lead designer of the TF in the team of Peter Schreyer and Miklos Kovacs was the Italian Davide Limongelli. For the first time, this model will be using the Optima name worldwide, where the Magentis name had been used previously.  As with its Hyundai Sonata sibling, the Optima's lineup has been replaced with a universal GDI 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine, either mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission with Eco dash display, or to a 6-speed manual transmission that is only standard on the LX model. Sales began in fall 2010. The new K5 was released in the South Korean market on 29 April 2010.  The new Optima retains its trim lines of the base LX, upscale EX, and sporty SX models. Standard equipment includes safety features such as electronic stability control (ESC) and ABS brakes, as well as Sirius Satellite Radio, cooled glove box, iPod connectivity, and handsfree Bluetooth phone operation. Starting in October 2013, on LX models, Kia will offer the UVO infotainment system by Microsoft as part of the convenience package. EX model options include Kia's new UVO infotainment system by Microsoft, integrated backup camera, and Proximity Key with Push-Button Start. A panoramic moonroof, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats and a navigation system are also available. SX models add a rear spoiler, metal pedals, black hybrid metal and carbon insert trim, paddle shifters, and illuminated scuff plates.  A Hybrid model and a Turbo model were also released. In addition, a wagon version was planned for European markets, and two-door coupé version was mooted for the United States. The turbo model will have the same powertrain as the Hyundai Sonata 2.0T. The turbocharged model will have and of torque in the North American model. The car is estimated to obtain on the highway.  The third generation Kia Optima is built and manufactured in West Point, Georgia, which began in 2011 with the 2012 model.  In Australia, the new Optima went on sale in January 2011. Initially available in only one grade, the highly specified "Platinum", it was later joined by an entry-level "Si" model in the 2012 model year. Both models feature a 2.4L GDI engine with 6-speed automatic. A manual was not offered.  The facelifted 2014 model was unveiled at the 2013 New York International Auto Show in March.  The third generation Kia Optima was launched in Malaysia on 27 December 2011 powered by a 2.0 liter Theta II MPI engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission and in January 2014 the facelift version was launched in Malaysia.

Safety.

The 2011 Optima received a "Top Safety Pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Reception.

In a March 2012 comparison test by "Car and Driver", the Optima came in third place out of six cars behind the first place Volkswagen Passat and the second place Honda Accord.

Hybrid version.

The 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid was unveiled at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, and was launched in the U.S. market in November 2011. During its first month in the market sold 524 units. Considering cumulative sales in the U.S. market through December 2011, with 19,672 units sold, together the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and the Kia Optima Hybrid ranked second in hybrid sales for calendar year 2011, after the Toyota Prius.  The Optima Hybrid uses the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid powertrain, combining a 2.4-liter MPI engine with a six-speed automatic transmission, and a 30kW electric motor and lightweight lithium polymer batteries to produce a full gasoline-electric hybrid with an estimated fuel consumption of city and highway. The Optima Hybrid is able to travel up to in full electric mode, which helps it stand apart from many competitors. Korean and European markets will get the Optima Hybrid with a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine.  The only externally apparent features that differentiate it from the Kia Optima are the hybrid badging, application specific wheel design, a lowered ride height by approximately, and the availability of a special light platinum graphite paint color. It also utilizes an active shutter system behind the upper grille, allowing the car to redirect airflow when the gas engine's heat levels allow (such as when the car is operating in EV mode to improve aerodynamics, or to assist in more rapid warming up of the gas engine).  In September 2011, the Optima Hybrid set a Guinness World Record for "Lowest Fuel Consumption in a Hybrid Gasoline Vehicle" while driving across the continental United States for 14 days, starting from the Kia factory in West Point, Georgia. In its 7,899-mile drive across the 48 states, the car recorded an average of 64.55 miles per gallon while consuming a total of five and a half tanks of gasoline. In order to qualify for the record, the car had two people and luggage throughout the entire trip.

Fourth generation (2015–2020).

The 2016 Kia Optima went on-sale towards the end of 2015. It shares a platform with the 2015 Hyundai Sonata, and offers a new design, with new features and enhancements. As with the previous-generation Optima, the new model was designed by Kia's Chief of Design, Peter Schreyer, who was a previous designer for Volkswagen Group, AG, working mainly with their Audi division of luxury cars. The new K5 was released in the South Korean market on 15 July 2015.  For the Malaysian market, the fourth generation Kia Optima was launched in May 2017 powered by the Theta II 2.0 liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Safety.

The 2017 Optima received a "Top Safety Pick+" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Plug-in hybrid.

A plug-in hybrid variant was unveiled at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show. The Kia Optima PHEV shares the powertrain of the Hyundai Sonata PHEV, and like its sibling, it has a 9.8 kWh battery pack that delivers an all-electric range of, but the Optima plug-in hybrid has a lower drag coefficient, which at 0.24 Cd is on par with the all-electric Tesla Model S. The Optima PHEV has an active grille, which automatically opens and closes at high and low speeds, contributing to reduce the Cd. The plug-in hybrid features a 50 kW electric motor and 2.0-liter “Nu” four-cylinder GDI engine, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.  Retail deliveries began in the United States in January 2017 with 40 units sold.

Sportswagon.

At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, Kia revealed the Sportswagon variant of the Optima sedan. The introduction of the SW should broaden the appeal of the Optima. The SW variant is sold worldwide excluding the North American and South Korea market, as station wagons have been overtaken by Crossover Utility Vehicles as the standard family hauler.

Kia Optima Convertible Concept.

The Kia Optima Convertible Concept was shown in 2015; a 4-door concept car similar to the Kia Optima sedan without a roof and rear-hinged doors for the rear passengers in place of the front-hinged doors of the production car. The new Optima will continue to offer its familiar 2.4L and 2.0T Turbocharged Inline Four-Cylinder engines, though will also offer a new engine option for 2016: an all-new 1.6T Turbocharged Inline Four-Cylinder engine. As before, no V6 engine options will be available. While the 2.4L and 2.0T engines will be paired with an automatic transmission, the 1.6T engine will be paired with an all-new seven-speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT). All engines will offer improved fuel economy ratings.  A Hybrid version has not yet been announced, however, it is likely that Kia will release a hybrid Optima by 2017. Like its Hyundai Sonata Hybrid platform mate, the existing Optima Hybrid will most likely continue to be sold as a 2016 model, with the new model debuting by mid-2016.  An all-new, upscale interior will offer an optional UVO infotainment system, with support for both Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto technologies. Top-of-the-line Optimas will include a hand-stitched dashboard, quilted luxury leather seating surfaces, high-quality aluminum interior trim panels, Advanced Smart Cruise Control, a Surround-View Monitor, and Bi-Xenon LED Front Headlamps with Auto-Leveling. Blind-Spot Detection and Backup Warning Sensors will also be available, as will Automatic Emergency Braking.  Standard features for the new Optima are expected to include, as with the current Optima: keyless entry, an A/M-F/M stereo with SIRIUS-XM Satellite Radio, single-disc CD/MP3 player, iPod/USB and auxiliary audio input jacks, and Bluetooth with hands-free stereo streaming of audio, six speakers, alloy wheels, and premium cloth seating surfaces.

Facelift.

The facelifted Kia Optima was officially revealed at the 2018 Geneva motor show. In January, the Facelifted Kia K5 was introduced in South Korean market.

Awards.

The Optima is a two-time winner of the International Car of the Year award. it also won the 2016 Red Dot "Best of the Best" Award.

Fifth generation (2021–present).

The fifth generation Optima's overall design is similar to that of the Sonata, with a fastback-like profile, a trend that began in the 1940s. However, the styling is unique, featuring Z-shaped running lights, a textured grille and a chrome strip that runs along the window line and becomes more prominent at the C-pillar. The interior has been redesigned significantly as well, with an optional 12.3-inch digital cluster and 10.3-inch center screen, augmented by Apple Carplay & Android Auto and an optional 12-speaker Bose audio system.  Under the hood, engines mostly mirror that of the Sonata, but the Optima receives a high-performance 2.5L 4-cylinder turbocharged unit with 290 hp and 422 Nm of torque. All-wheel drive is newly available, further distinguishing it from the Sonata.  Depending on the market, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) include Forward Collision-avoidance Assist (FCA), Blind-spot View Monitor (BVM) with Surround View Monitor (SVM) and Blind-spot Collision-avoid Assist (BCA), Smart Cruise Control (SCC) or Navigation-based SCC (NSCC), Lane Following Assist (LFA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), and Highway Driving Assist (HDA).

Motorsport.

The third generation Kia Optima is an official entry in the Pirelli World Challenge. In June 2012, Michael Galati drove the Infinity Audio-sponsored Optima to Kia's first victory in round 8 of the 2012 season at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, while teammate Mark Wilkins finished in second place.  Kia Racing clinched the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge Grand Touring Sport (GTS) Class Manufacturer Championship in only its third season of competition. Kia defeated rivals Ford, Chevrolet, Porsche, Aston Martin and Nissan to become the first Korean auto manufacturer to win the championship. Kia Racing finished the season with 13 podium finishes, including 5 race wins. Meanwhile, the turbocharged Optima race cars led more on-track miles than any other manufacturer in the class this season.  The race car weighs and is powered by an inline 4-cylinder engine generating 368 horsepower and uses a 6-speed sequential transmission. It reaches in 4.7 seconds and has a top speed of.

The Kia Optima is a mid-size car manufactured by Kia Motors since 2000 and marketed globally through various nameplates. First generation cars were mostly marketed as the Optima, although the Kia Magentis name was used in Europe and Canada when sales began there in 2002. For the second generation models, Kia used the Kia Lotze and Kia K5 name for the South Korean market, and the Magentis name globally, except in the United States, Canada and Malaysia where the Optima name was retained. The Optima name is now going to be used for all markets except China, where they will also use the South Korean market name.

La Kia Optima est une voiture qui remplace la Kia Magentis en Amérique du Nord, c'est en Europe la berline haut de gamme de la marque.


The painting.

Along with gladiators, Vestals, and spectators, the picture shows the emperor in his box. Like many historical or ethnographic paintings of the era, "Pollice Verso" piqued the prurient interest and indulged the voyeurism of viewers while allowing them to feel a sense of moral superiority over another (previous, non-Christian) culture.  Alexander Turney Stewart purchased the painting from Gérôme at a price of 80,000 francs, setting a new record for the artist, and exhibited it in New York City. It is now in the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona.

Historical accuracy.

The painting almost immediately kicked off a controversy over the accuracy of Gerome's use of the thumbs-down gesture by spectators in the Colosseum. A 26-page pamphlet published in 1879, ""Pollice Verso": To the Lovers of Truth in Classic Art, This is Most Respectfully Addressed", reprinted evidence for and against the accuracy of the painting, including a letter dated 8 December, 1878 from Gérôme himself.  The controversy remains unsettled. The exact gesture described by the phrase "pollice verso" is not known. From historical, archaeological and literary records from ancient Rome, it remains uncertain whether the thumb was turned up, turned down, held horizontally, or concealed inside the hand to indicate positive or negative opinions. Gérôme's painting greatly popularized the idea that thumbs up signaled life, and thumbs down signaled death, for a defeated gladiator.  Gérôme's depiction of the Colosseum's architecture is based on accurate drawings, and the armor of the gladiators follows the design of those found in Pompeii, although the secutor's armor is not properly assembled. His depiction of blood-thirsty Vestal virgins demanding death may have been inspired by a passage by the ancient Christian author Prudentius, who disapproved of the carnage in the arena:Then on to the gathering in the amphitheatre passes this figure of life-giving purity and bloodless piety [the Vestal], to see bloody battles and deaths of human beings and look on with holy eyes at wounds men suffer for the price of their keep. There she sits conspicuous with the awe-inspiring trappings of her head-bands and enjoys what the trainers have produced. What a soft, gentle heart! She rises at the blows, and every time a victor stabs his victim’s throat she calls him her pet; the modest virgin with a turn of her thumb bids him pierce the breast of his fallen foe so that no remnant of life shall stay lurking deep in his vitals while under a deeper thrust of the sword the fighter lies in the agony of death.

Influence on cinema.

This painting and others by Gérôme (including his earlier "") had a strong influence on the visual portrayal of the ancient world by later filmmakers, beginning with silent movies. The painting was a catalyst for director Ridley Scott; when the producers of "Gladiator" showed him a reproduction of the painting before he read the script, Scott recalls, "That image spoke to me of the Roman Empire in all its glory and wickedness. I knew right then and there I was hooked."

The sculpture.

In his fifties, Gérôme took up sculpture. His first work was a large bronze statue of a gladiator holding his foot on his victim, based on "Pollice Verso" and first shown to the public at the Universal Exhibition of 1878 in Paris. After Gérôme's death, in 1909, his son-in-law Aimé Morot created "Gérôme Sculpting "The Gladiators": Monument to Gérôme", which comprised a new casting of Gérôme's statue along with Morot's portrait sculpture of Gérôme at work. Morot's sculpture resides in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.

Pollice Verso (from ) is an 1872 painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme, featuring the eponymous Roman gesture directed to the winning gladiator.

Pollice Verso (« Bas les pouces! ») est un tableau du peintre français Jean-Léon Gérôme réalisé en 1872. Cette huile sur toile est conservée par le Phoenix Art Museum, à Phoenix. Cette peinture a été réalisée dans le style pompier ou académique.


History of the building.

Since 1853 the church of St. Joseph served as a cathedral but it proved to be too small almost immediately, despite enlargements. Bishop Gaspard Bottemanne started the planning for building a new cathedral in 1893, which was to serve as a cathedral as well as a parish church. The original intention was to ask Pierre Cuypers to design the church, and it's possible he even made a first design, but due to his age his son, Joseph Cuypers, became the architect instead. Cuypers at first designed a church in a neo-gothic style that still clearly showed the influence of his father, but eventually, after numerous changes, Cuypers decided to focus on a neo-romanesque style instead, with influences from Byzantine and jugendstil architecture.  Construction started in 1895 with the choir and its radiating chapels, and on April 1, 1898 the cathedral was consecrated. In the years 1902 - 1906 construction continued with the transept and nave. Due to shortage of money the construction of the towers was postponed until 1927. In this period Cuypers was assisted by his son Pierre Cuypers Jr..  Despite the size of this cathedral, the former St. Josephs is still also a Catholic church, and there are several other catholic and former catholic churches in Haarlem. Today Haarlem has over 140 protected religious buildings, most of which have been converted for other uses.

History of the collection.

Haarlem has had a Christian parish church since the 9th century. This first church was a filial church of Velsen, which itself was founded in 695 by Willibrord. It was a wooden church at the site of the current Grote Kerk on the Grote Markt. That church became formally a cathedral in 1559 when the first bishop Nicolaas van Nieuwland was appointed. Only 19 years later, after the Siege of Haarlem, the church was confiscated and converted to Protestantism as part of the Protestant Reformation. At this time most of the art and silver artefacts were also seized and what has survived is now in the collection of the Frans Hals Museum. The Haarlem Catholics took what they could carry with them and went underground. Since the Netherlands was officially no longer a Catholic nation, the underground Catholic places of worship were no longer called churches or "kerken", but mission stations or "staties". It is unknown how many staties existed in Haarlem at the end of the seventeenth century, but since town records show that these underground churches were tolerated and taxed by the Haarlem council in the eighteenth century, we can be certain that at least seven had more than 300 attendees for mass.  The station known as the "St. Josephs statie" met in a converted private home on the Goudsmitsplein until a "Waterstaatskerk" was built in 1853 in the Jansstraat behind the Grote Kerk, called the St. Joseph kerk. This church, with its formal exterior on the street, became the most popular Haarlem Catholic church. Slowly the other staties were closed in favor of this one Catholic church.  The various artefacts that survived from the Reformation, as well as from other defunct Haarlem catholic collections, have thus found their way into the collection and are now in the "schatkamer", such as a 17th-century painting of the patron saint Bavo and silver from the chapel of Louis Napoleon, who resided for more than a decade at Villa Welgelegen. There are old chasubles, dalmatics, and surplices of the Haarlem clergy, richly embroidered, and showing popular Catholic themes. The French ones are probably also from the Louis Napoleon period, but the earliest are Flemish in origin and date back to the early 16th century.

The Cathedral of Saint Bavo is a cathedral in Haarlem, the Netherlands, built by Joseph Cuypers from 1895 to 1930 to replace the former "waterstaatskerk" in the Jansstraat called the St. Joseph. That church was itself a replacement for the Sint-Bavokerk, that had been converted to Protestantism from Catholicism in 1578. The Cathedral of Saint Bavo now serves as the main cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam. Within the Cathedral, the former sacristy has been converted into a small museum ("schatkamer") containing historical artefacts from Haarlem's Catholic past.

La basilique-cathédrale Saint-Bavon ("Kathedrale Basiliek Sint Bavo") est une cathédrale romano-byzantine et néogothique de la fin du située dans la ville de Haarlem aux Pays-Bas.


Structure.

The 3-D structures of a number of rubredoxins have been solved. The fold belongs to the α+β class, with 2 α-helices and 2-3 β-strands. Rubredoxin active site contains an iron ion which is coordinated by the sulfurs of four conserved cysteine residues forming an almost regular tetrahedron. This is sometimes denoted as a [1Fe-0S] or an FeS system, in analogy to the nomenclature for iron-sulfur proteins. While the vast majority of rubredoxins are soluble, there exists a membrane-bound rubredoxin, referred to as rubredoxin A, in oxygenic photoautotrophs.  Rubredoxins perform one-electron transfer processes. The central iron atom changes between the +2 and +3 oxidation states. In both oxidation states, the metal remains high spin, which helps to minimize structural changes. The reduction potential of a rubredoxin is typically in the range +50 mV to -50 mV.  This iron-sulphur protein is an electron carrier, and it is easy to distinguish its metallic centre changes: the oxidized state is reddish (due to a ligand metal charge transfer), while the reduced state is colourless (because the electron transition has an energy of the infrared level, which is imperceptible to the human eye).

Electron transfer rate.

The electron self-exchange rate is most accurately determined by nuclear magnetic resonance linewidths since the Fe ions give paramagnetic peak broadening while the Fe ion is diamagnetic and therefore causes no broadening.  The electron transfer rate has three parameters it depends on electronic coupling, reorganization energy and free energy of reaction (Δ"G"°)

Protein mechanism and effects.

The amide NH--S-Cys H-bonding lowers the inner sphere reorganization energy giving more rapid electron transfer and the Leu gate stabilizes the Fe reduced form shifts the redox potential to more positive E values. The protein mechanism for the electron transfer of rubredoxin occurs in two steps. The first protein effect, is through the expansion of iron-sulfur bond lengths upon reduction and the shortening of hydrogen bond lengths ensure a better electrostatic stabilization of the negative charge. The other protein effect, is gating mechanism which is created from the conformational changes of Leucine 41. The leucine 41 has a non-polar side chain that allows for transient penetration of the water molecules. This increases the polarity of the redox site environment. The Leucine 41 side chain has two different conformations; reduced and the oxidized form. The conformation in the reduced form is open and allows water molecules near the [Fe(S-Cys)4] active site and stabilizing the higher net positive charge of the reduced Fe oxidation state. This shifts the potential 50 mV more positive as indicated by Leucine 41 – Alanine site directed mutagenesis shift of the Fe redox potential 50 mV more positive. The conformation allows for the infiltration of water molecules which lets the formation of the strongly Hydrogen-bond to attach.

Rubredoxins are a class of low-molecular-weight iron-containing proteins found in sulfur-metabolizing bacteria and archaea. Sometimes rubredoxins are classified as iron-sulfur proteins; however, in contrast to iron-sulfur proteins, rubredoxins do not contain inorganic sulfide. Like cytochromes, ferredoxins and Rieske proteins, rubredoxins participate in electron transfer in biological systems.

Une rubrédoxine est une protéine de faible poids moléculaire intervenant dans le métabolisme des bactéries et des archées utilisant le soufre comme accepteur d'électrons. On les classe parfois parmi les protéines fer-soufre bien qu'elles ne contiennent pas à proprement parler de cluster fer-soufre avec des anions sulfure S, de sorte qu'on les note dans ce cas comme protéines [1Fe-0S] ou par extrapolation de la nomenclature des protéines Fe-S. Elles réalisent des transferts d'électrons dans les systèmes biologiques, tout comme les cytochromes, les ferrédoxines et les protéines de Rieske.


Name.

The French term "cordon bleu" is translated as "blue ribbon". According to Larousse Gastronomique cordon bleu "was originally a wide blue ribbon worn by members of the highest order of knighthood, L'Ordre des chevaliers du Saint-Esprit, instituted by Henri III of France in 1578. By extension, the term has since been applied to food prepared to a very high standard and by outstanding cooks. The analogy no doubt arose from the similarity between the sash worn by the knights and the ribbons (generally blue) of a cook's apron."

History.

The origins of cordon bleu as a schnitzel filled with cheese are in Brig, Switzerland, probably about the 1940s, first mentioned in a cookbook from 1949. The earliest reference to "chicken cordon bleu" in "The New York Times" is dated to 1967, while similar veal recipes are found from at least 1955.

Variants.

There are many variations of the recipe, all of which involve a cutlet, cheese, and meat. A popular way to prepare chicken cordon bleu is to butterfly cut a chicken breast, place a thin slice of ham inside, along with a thin slice of a soft, easily melted cheese such as Swiss. The chicken breast is then rolled into a roulade, coated in bread crumbs and then deep fried. Other variations exist with the chicken baked rather than fried.  Other common variations include omitting the bread crumbs, wrapping the ham around the chicken, or using bacon in place of ham.  A variant popular in the Asturias province of Spain is "cachopo", a deep-fried cutlet of veal, beef or chicken wrapped around a filling of Serrano ham and cheese. In Spain, the version made with chicken is often called "san jacobo".  In largely Muslim-populated countries, the halal versions of chicken cordon bleu are also popular, such that the chicken is rolled around beef or mutton instead of pork product.

A cordon bleu or schnitzel cordon bleu is a dish of meat wrapped around cheese (or with cheese filling), then breaded and pan-fried or deep-fried. "Veal" or "pork cordon bleu" is made of veal or pork pounded thin and wrapped around a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, breaded, and then pan fried or baked. For "chicken cordon bleu" chicken breast is used instead of veal. "Ham cordon bleu" is ham stuffed with mushrooms and cheese.

Le cordon bleu, ou parfois cordon-bleu, est un plat préparé avec une escalope (de veau, de porc, de poulet ou de dinde) roulée autour de jambon et de fromage, puis panée.


Amateur career.

Rzepczynski attended Servite High School in Anaheim, California and the University of California, Riverside, where he played college baseball for the Highlanders from 2004–2007. In his senior season, the Highlanders won the Big West Conference championship and appeared in the NCAA Tournament.  He also played for the Corvallis Knights and the Bellingham Bells (2004) in the West Coast League, an independent summer collegiate league.

Professional career.

Toronto Blue Jays.

In June 2007, Rzepczynski was drafted in the fifth round (175th overall) of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He made his professional debut that season for the short-season Jays' Class A affiliate Auburn Doubledays of the New York–Penn League. With Auburn, he posted a 5–0 record and a 2.76 ERA in 11 games (7 starts), with 49 strikeouts and 17 walks in innings pitched.  In 2008, Rzepczynski advanced to the Class A Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League, where he finished 7–6 with a 2.83 ERA in 22 starts, with 124 strikeouts and 42 walks over 121 innings pitched. In 2009, Rzepczynski through early July had split his season between the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Jays' Double-A team in the Eastern League, and the Las Vegas 51s, the Jays' Triple-A team in the Pacific Coast League. His 2009 statistics between Double-A and Triple-A combined for 16 games (all starts), with a 9–5 record, a 2.66 ERA, 104 strikeouts, and 40 walks, in 88 innings pitched.  A series of injuries to pitchers at the major league level had plagued the parent Blue Jays for the first three months of the 2009 season, leading to opportunities for several rookies to advance to the top level. Scott Richmond, himself a rookie starter who had pitched very well for Toronto, became the latest casualty, when he went on the disabled list on July 4, retroactive to July 1, due to biceps tendinitis. Richmond, before play on July 6, ranked 16th of 40 eligible American League pitchers in Earned Run Average (ERA). Brett Cecil, another rookie who is already in the Jays' starting rotation, started on July 5 on short notice in Richmond's stead, against the New York Yankees, but this still left Toronto with only four healthy starters, leading to Rzepczynski's promotion and opportunity. Rzepczynski pitched six innings in his debut, during which he gave up 2 hits and 1 earned run, walked 4, and struck out 7 in a no-decision; the Jays lost, 3–1, in 11 innings. In his second big-league start, Rzepczynski again pitched well, but took the loss against the Baltimore Orioles on July 12, lasting 6 innings and allowing 3 earned runs; Toronto lost the game, 4–2. Rzepczynski won his first major-league game on July 18, defeating the American League leading Boston Red Sox; he pitched 6 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 4 hits, walking 4 and striking out 4; Toronto won, 6–2. Jays manager Cito Gaston stated before the game that Rzepczynski would remain in the rotation for at least the next couple of weeks, pending Richmond's return from the disabled list.

St. Louis Cardinals.

He was traded on July 27, 2011, to the St. Louis Cardinals along with Octavio Dotel, Edwin Jackson and Corey Patterson for Colby Rasmus, P. J. Walters, Trever Miller and Brian Tallet. The Cardinals won the 2011 World Series; in the series, Rzepczynski faced a total of four batters in two games, striking out three and giving up a two-run double.  In 2012, Rzepczynski became a lefty specialist, pitching 46.2 innings despite appearing in 70 games for the Cardinals.  On April 29, 2013, Rzepczynski was optioned to the Memphis Redbirds. On July 25, 2013, Rzepczynski was recalled by the St. Louis Cardinals

Cleveland Indians.

On July 30, 2013, Rzepczynski was traded to the Cleveland Indians for minor league second baseman Juan Herrera.

San Diego Padres.

On July 31, 2015, Rzepczynski was traded to the San Diego Padres for Abraham Almonte.

Oakland Athletics.

On December 2, 2015, the Padres traded Rzepczynski and Yonder Alonso to the Oakland Athletics for Drew Pomeranz, José Torres, and a player to be named later or cash considerations.

Washington Nationals.

On August 25, 2016, the Athletics traded Rzepczynski to the Washington Nationals for Max Schrock. On October 13, 2016, in the decisive game in the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Rzepczynski was brought in to relieve Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer with the score tied 1-1. Rzepczynski walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, and became the losing pitcher in the 4-3 loss that eliminated the Nationals from the 2016 playoffs.

Seattle Mariners.

On December 3, 2016, the Seattle Mariners signed Rzepczynski to a two-year contract worth $11 million. In his first season as a Mariner, he appeared in 64 games despite pitching a career low 31.1 innings. He was designated for assignment on June 1, 2018 after posting an ERA of 9.39 in 18 games. He was later released on June 6.

Cleveland Indians (second stint).

Rzepczynski signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on June 18, 2018. On July 11, Rzepczynski was designated for assignment. After clearing waivers, Rzepczynski elected free agency.

Seattle Mariners (second stint).

On July 30, 2018, Rzepczynski signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

Arizona Diamondbacks.

On February 8, 2019, Rzepczynski signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks that included an invitation to spring training. He was released on May 31, but later re-signed to another minor league deal on June 24. He was released on August 25.

Toronto Blue Jays (second stint).

On February 24, 2020, Rzepczynski signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Personal life.

Rzepczynski is of Polish descent. Rzepczynski's nickname is "Scrabble".  Marc is married to Lindzey Lawler of Cleveland, Ohio. Their wedding was on January 21, 2017.

Marc Walter Rzepczynski ( ; born August 29, 1985), nicknamed Scrabble, is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, and Seattle Mariners.

Marc Walter Rzepczynski (né le à Yorba Linda, Californie, États-Unis) est un lanceur de relève gaucher des Mariners de Seattle de la Ligue majeure de baseball.


Personal life, education and private career.

Shumlin was born in Brattleboro, Vermont. He went to high school at Buxton School in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and graduated from Wesleyan University in 1979. Shumlin served on Selectboard for the town of Putney in the 1980s and helped found Landmark College, which was created to help people with learning disabilities gain a college education. Shumlin's father, George J. Shumlin, a third-generation American, was Jewish and descended from Russian immigrants; his mother, Kitty A. (Prins) Shumlin, was from The Hague in the Netherlands, and was Protestant.

Early political career.

Vermont Legislature.

Shumlin was appointed by Governor Madeleine M. Kunin to fill a vacancy in the Vermont House of Representatives. He served part of one term plus one full term, and represented Putney from 1990 through 1993. In 1992, he was elected to the Vermont Senate, and he soon became Minority Leader. In the 1996 elections, Shumlin led his Senate Democrats to win back control of the chamber after four years in the minority, and in 1997 he became Senate President Pro Tempore.

Campaign for lieutenant governor.

In 2002, Shumlin won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, and lost the general election to Republican Brian Dubie of Essex in a three-way race that included Progressive Anthony Pollina of Middlesex.

Political hiatus.

From 2003 to 2006, Shumlin returned to the Shumlin family business, Putney Student Travel, an educational firm that allows students in middle and high school to travel to foreign countries, learn about different cultures, and prepare for college.

Return to the Vermont Senate.

In 2006, Shumlin ran successfully for his old seat in the State Senate upon the retirement of Rod Gander, who served from 2003 to 2007. Upon his return, Shumlin was once again elected President Pro Tempore.

Governor of Vermont.

Vermont and New Hampshire are the only U.S. states whose governors do not serve four-year terms; rather, their governors are elected every two years, always in even-numbered years.

First term.

2010 election.

On November 16, 2009, Shumlin announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Vermont. Shumlin placed first in the five-way August 24, 2010 Democratic primary with 18,276 votes (24.48%). The close election saw three other candidates come within 3,000 votes of Shumlin. Former Lieutenant Governor Doug Racine came in second with 18,079 votes (24.22%), Secretary of State of Vermont Deborah Markowitz came in third with 17,579 votes (23.9%) and former State Senator Matt Dunne was fourth with 15,323 votes (20.8%). State Senator Susan Bartlett came in a distant fifth with 3,759 votes (5.1%). Racine requested a recount, which confirmed Shumlin as the winner.  Shumlin was not opposed by a Progressive candidate for governor. The Party had promised not to play a "spoiler" role in the election if he supported single-payer health care, which he did. Vermont Progressive Party Chair Martha Abbott won the primary election, then withdrew from the race, so the party did not have a candidate on the ballot.  In the general election on November 2, 2010, Shumlin received the most votes, 119,543 (49.44%) to Republican Brian Dubie's 115,212 (47.69%). Vermont requires candidates for Governor and some other statewide offices to obtain a majority of popular votes, otherwise the winner is chosen by the Vermont General Assembly. Dubie did not contest the vote in the General Assembly, which almost always chooses the candidate who obtained a plurality in the general election, and on January 6, 2011, the General Assembly elected Shumlin by 145 votes (80.6%) to 28 (15.6%).

Summary of term.

After Shumlin's election in 2010, all of his primary opponents except Dunne subsequently joined his administration. Racine became Secretary of Human Services, Markowitz became Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources and Bartlett became Shumlin's Special Assistant, with responsibility for oversight of education and other policy initiatives.  The defining event of Shumlin's first term was Tropical Storm Irene, which caused almost every river and stream in the state to flood, resulting in at least three deaths and one missing. The storm decimated multiple sections of U.S. Route 4 between Rutland and Quechee, making east/west travel through the southern part of state nearly impossible. Several towns were completely isolated from travel in and out for two weeks. Statewide, the cost of repairs for road and bridge damage alone was estimated to exceed $700 million. This required a substantial re-assessment of Vermont's budget.

Second term.

2012 election.

The 2012 election took place on November 6, 2012. Shumlin, who again was endorsed by organized labor and the major environmental organizations, was unopposed in the Democratic primary and easily won re-election, defeating Republican Randy Brock by 170,767 votes (58%) to 110,953 votes (37.7%).

Summary of term.

Shumlin has been an opponent of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. His administration advocated its closure. However, on January 19, 2012, Judge J. Garvan Murtha of United States District Court in Brattleboro ruled that the state of Vermont could not force Vermont Yankee to close down, as the legislation that attempted to do so was based on radiological safety arguments that are the exclusive concern of the NRC. The judge also held that the state cannot force the plant's owner, Entergy, to sell electricity from the reactor to in-state utilities at reduced rates as a condition of continued operation. However, on August 27, 2013, Entergy announced in a press release that it would close Vermont Yankee by the end of 2014.  Shumlin has also been an advocate of single-payer health care. In 2011, the Vermont Legislature created a single-payer plan, called Green Mountain Care, which caused Vermont to become the first state to explore this concept. While the bill also allows private insurers to operate in the state indefinitely As of January 2014, Shumlin remained committed to full implementation of single-payer health care, starting in 2017. In the interim, Vermont has been a willing participant in the Affordable Care Act. As was the case with the federal health-exchange website, Vermont's website, VermontHealthConnect.gov, also experienced difficulties as the deadline for implementation approached in late 2013; it was the product of the same software vendor.  In his January 2014 State of the State Address, Shumlin emphasized a single theme: the rise of opiate addiction in Vermont. He framed the challenge of opiate abuse as greater in scope than the recovery from Tropical Storm Irene. He offered a four-point plan to address opiate growth: Shumlin observed that, "It's when the blue lights are flashing and cold reality sets in that we have our best shot [at persuading opiate users to seek treatment]".

Third term.

2014 election.

Shumlin was the Democratic nominee for a third term. Republicans nominated businessman Scott Milne, whose mother Marion Carson Milne served in the Vermont House of Representatives, and father Donald was the longtime Assistant Clerk and Clerk of the Vermont House.  A major campaign promise of Shumlin was to establish a single-payer healthcare system for Vermont.  In the November 4 election, Shumlin took 46.4% to Milne's 45.1%, with Libertarian nominee Dan Feliciano taking 4.36%. The rest of the votes were scattered among other minor candidates. The Constitution of Vermont requires that the 180-member Vermont General Assembly choose the winner when no candidate receives over 50% of the popular vote. On January 8, 2015, the Assembly chose Shumlin over Milne by 110 votes to 69.

2015 events.

On June 8, 2015, Shumlin announced he would not seek a fourth term in 2016.  In contrast to other governors, who stated that they would attempt to turn away refugees fleeing the violence of the Syrian Civil War, Shumlin stated that Vermont would continue to welcome refugees. Shumlin said that the screening process weeded out people "who should not be accepted" and criticized governors who attempted to stop relocation, saying: "The governors who are taking those actions are stomping on the qualities that make America great, which is reaching out to folks when they're in trouble and offering them help, not hurting them."

2016 events.

In his final State of the State Address on January 7, 2016, Shumlin announced his support for the legalization of the consumption and sale of cannabis in the state of Vermont.

Pardons.

During his term in office, Shumlin issued a total of 208 pardons, the most of any Vermont governor. Most of these were issued in January 2017, when Shumlin (in one of his final official acts as governor) granted a pardon to 192 people convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession in Vermont. In the previous month, Shumlin had extended an offer for people with marijuana possession convictions to apply for a pardon, and about 450 had applied. The pardons were extended only "to people who had no violent criminal histories or felony convictions, and who had not been found guilty of driving under the influence or reckless driving."

Political positions.

Shumlin is adamantly pro-choice, and drew a contrast between himself and his 2010 Republican gubernatorial opponent Brian Dubie, who would not answer the question of whether or not he would cut funding for low-income abortions when pressed by Shumlin during the two candidates' televised debates. Shumlin held a pro-choice rally two days prior to the election, prompting his opponent to host a pro-jobs rally on the same day to draw a contrast between the two candidates' priorities.  In 2011, Shumlin expressed his support for "Team Kale" in its trademark dispute with fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A and said it sends the message "Don't mess with Vermont."  Shumlin supports same-sex marriage and presided over its legalization in the state of Vermont during his tenure as President Pro Tempore of the Vermont Senate.  On May 8, 2015, Shumlin signed a genetically modified food (GMO) labeling bill. The legislation would mean that some products that are sold within the state of Vermont must have labeling that says that the product "may be partially produced with genetic engineering."

Personal life.

Family.

Shumlin was married to Deborah Holway from 1989 to 2013; they have two daughters together.  In September 2015, Shumlin announced his engagement to girlfriend Kate Hunt. They married in December 2015 in a ceremony at their East Montpelier home.

Real estate controversy.

In May 2013, Shumlin was involved in a real estate transaction, which generated controversy. A neighbor, who owned a house and land adjacent to Shumlin's East Montpelier home, owed back taxes and risked losing the property in a tax sale, asked Shumlin to consider buying the property. Shumlin bought the property, had the assessed value reduced because the house was in disrepair, paid the back taxes, paid the neighbor's back child support, and allowed the neighbor to continue living in the house for several months. The neighbor then had second thoughts about the transaction. After some criticism in the press, Shumlin agreed to let the neighbor repurchase the property.

Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st Governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to a second term in 2012. In 2014 he received a narrow plurality in his race for reelection, but did not attain the 50% threshold mandated by the Constitution of Vermont. In such cases the Vermont General Assembly elects the winner. The legislature almost always selects the candidate who received a plurality; this held true, and the General Assembly re-elected Shumlin to a third term by a vote of 110–69 in January 2015. In June 2015, Shumlin announced that he would not seek re-election in 2016. He has signed laws on physician-assisted suicide as well as the United States' first genetically modified food labeling requirement during his tenure as governor. He was chair of the Democratic Governors Association during his first two terms.

Peter Elliott Shumlin, né le à Brattleboro (Vermont), est un homme politique américain, membre du Parti démocrate et gouverneur du Vermont de 2011 à 2017.


Plot.

The volumes, written in chronological order from volume one, "Le 6 octobre", through volume twenty-seven, "Le 7 octobre", between them cover 6 October 1908 through 7 October 1933 in French life—an average of one volume per year, book-ended by one volume each for two particular days. The plot is expansive and features a large cast of characters, rather than narrowly focusing on individuals, but the two principals are Pierre Jallez, a poet loosely based on Romains, and Jean Jerphanion, a teacher who later goes into politics. They meet in volume 2 starting at the École Normale Supérieure and become friends. Jerphanion marries a woman named Odette and lives happily with her, while Jallez tries several times to find love and is eventually married to Françoise Mailleul. In the course of their careers, meanwhile, Jerphanion spends ten years in the Chamber of Deputies and is briefly Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Jallez finds success as a novelist, each trying to secure peace in their own way, though the First World War takes place half way through the story, which ends with the first foreshadowings of World War II.

Structure and themes.

Structurally, "Men of Good Will" is a "roman-fleuve"—a long work across several volumes with continuation of plot and related characters that may mean it forms a single novel. It has been described as a novel cycle or novel sequence, and as a novel, by different writers. Its full extent, at 2,000,000 words, across 7,892 pages, 779 chapters and 27 volumes, means it has been described as one of the longest novels ever written—sometimes the single longest.  "Men of Good Will" and particularly certain portions of it—"Encyclopædia Britannica" picks out the victory parade at the end of World War I—are emblematic of Romain's philosophy of unanimism, characterised by an interest in the collective rather than individuals. In the preface, Romains says that the ideas behind it can be traced to his very first work, "La vie unanime", published in 1904. This emphasis on group spirit is, writes Harry Bergholz, partly why "Men of Good Will" jumps from character to character as much as it does, rather than following one thread. While characters do recur, their stories may be told discontinuously. Bergholz gives the example of Françoise Mailleul, whose birth is the subject of a chapter in volume 9 but who doesn't feature again, apart from brief reappearances in volumes 13 and 18, until her marriage to Jallez in volume 26. Rather than telling the story of a few people, Romains' aim is "to paint a complete picture of our twentieth century civilization, in all its aspects, human and inhuman, social as well as psychological". Plot threads, too, are begun, recursively interrupted, and returned to later, sometimes several volumes on. This cross-volume inter-cutting presses the reader to take the work as a whole, since plots are not always resolved within single volumes, which therefore cannot be fully understood without reference to the others.  In all, there are approximately 40 main characters but counts of the full cast vary widely, from 600 total through 1,000 to 1,600. The characters are listed at the beginning of volume 25 ("Le Tapis magique"). They cover all walks of life, both in terms of class and occupation, as part of attempting to depict society as a whole, though the poor are underrepresented and the bulk of the novel relates to the middle classes. Other themes of the book include marriage and friendship, the internal deviance of outwardly respectable families, Oedipal issues in father-son relationships (literal and metaphorical), Freemasonry, crime, sexual perversion, and the potential—or lack of it—for goodwill, suitably applied, to avoid collective failures such as wars. War and the struggle for peace are continuing themes throughout. The first and last volumes each feature a group of schoolchildren being lectured on the dangers of war. Jallez and Jerphanion are preoccupied with these considerations, and two volumes are dedicated to the Battle of Verdun, a key point in the narrative.

Publication.

Romains began writing "Men of Good Will" in 1931 and announced the project in 1932. The original French publishers were Flammarion and each of the 27 volumes sold, in its first printing, at least 40,000 copies. By 1946, around 85,000 copies had been sold of the first volume. Romains wrote two volumes each year at around 600 pages between them. There were 14 volumes in the first American editions, in which publishers Alfred A. Knopf combined each of the two annual volumes into one. The Knopf editions were translated into English by Warre B. Wells (volumes 1–3) and Gerard Hopkins (volumes 4–14).

Reception.

The project was widely acclaimed in France as it began but critical opinion turned against it part way through. In America, where Romains moved at the beginning of World War II, Romains and his work were spurned when it became clear how late he had continued to be in contact with Nazi figures including Joseph Goebbels.  "Men of Good Will" has been compared to "Jean-Christophe", Romain Rolland's ten-volume French novel published between 1904 and 1912. Reviews have particularly noted the strong and rapid characterisation that Romains achieved, giving distinct personalities to each of the huge number of characters involved. "Britannica" describes the two volumes on Verdun, (volume 15 "Prélude à Verdun" and volume 16, "Verdun", both published in 1938) as "remarkable visions of the soul of a world at war". Denis Saurat wrote in "Modern French Literature, 1870-1940" (1946) that they are "truly an epic presentation of war". The work as a whole has been variously judged to be a "sprawling masterpiece" and "what began as a magnificent fresco of an entire generation" but degenerated "into a daguerreotype of one embittered, splenetic man".

Volumes.

The French titles and their English counterparts in the Knopf editions are:

Les Hommes de bonne volonté () is an epic roman-fleuve by French writer Jules Romains, published in 27 volumes between 1932 and 1946. It has been classified both as a novel cycle and a novel and, at two million words and 7,892 pages, has been cited as one of the longest novels ever written.

Les Hommes de bonne volonté est une suite romanesque écrite par Jules Romains, constituée de 27 volumes, publiés régulièrement entre 1932 et 1946.


Popular culture.

In the book "Into the Wild", the Teklanika River is referred to as the Rubicon for American adventurer Christopher McCandless. Since then, the river has proven an obstacle to many hikers attempting to reach the bus where McCandless lived and died.  In August 2010, a Swiss hiker, Claire Ackermann, drowned in an attempt to cross the river while tied off to a rope that was strung by previous hikers between trees on both shores. While she drowned on state land, her body was pulled ashore by her French boyfriend a short distance downriver. That point was on Denali National Park land, triggering a dispute between Park Rangers and State Troopers as to jurisdiction.  In June 2020 the bus used by McCandless was removed because of public safety concerns. The 1940s bus was taken to the remote trail in 1960 and used as accomodations by a road crew, according to Denali Borough Mayor, Clay Walker. In 2019 a newlywed Belarusian woman drowned trying to cross the swollen river on her way to the site. A stranded Brazilian had to be rescued in April 2020 and five Italians were rescued in February 2020, with one suffering from severe frostbite. In total 15 bus-related search and rescue operations for visitors to the bus were carried out between 2009 and 2017. It was air-lifted by a US army Chinook helicopter. Alaskan authorities said the bus would be kept in a secure location until a decision is made about its future.

The Teklanika River is a tributary of the Nenana River in the U.S. state of Alaska. The Nenana is a tributary of the Tanana River, which is part of the Yukon River drainage in the central interior region of the state. Flowing northward from headwaters at the Cantwell Glacier in the Alaska Range, the Teklanika drains an area widely visited by tourists to Denali National Park and Preserve. The park's only road crosses the river at milepost 31 and a National Park campground is located on its eastern bank at milepost 29.

La rivière Teklanika est un cours d'eau de l'Alaska aux États-Unis, c'est un affluent de la rivière Nenana, elle-même affluent de la Tanana, qui se jette dans le fleuve Yukon.


History.

Oeiras is a satellite community and commuter town approximately west of Lisbon. SATUOeiras was created as a partnership between Oeiras City Council and Teixeira Duarte with a 51% / 49% ownership structure respectively. Teixaira Duarte, whose headquarters are in Oeiras, was interested in providing better transportation for its employees and connecting its offices in Lagoas Park with the heavily-used Cascais Line.  Construction for SATUOeiras began in 2002 and the line opened on June 7, 2004 at cost of approximately 23 million Euros. Originally intended to be the first phase of a longer system, low ridership and decreasing revenues led to the second phase never materializing. Due to Portuguese federal laws that prohibit municipal assets to operate at a loss for three consecutive years, SATUOeiras was expected to close as early as 2014. The service was officially terminated on May 31, 2015 after nearly eleven years of operation. As part of the public–private partnership agreement, Teixeira Duarte assumed the deficit.  Isaltino Morais, the former mayor of Oeiras who had originally been in power at the time of SATUOeiras's creation, was elected again as mayor in 2017 on a platform to reopen and expand the system. The municipality of Oeiras has since been in discussions for possible funding options. Currently the line's infrastructure remains but station entrances have been locked up to prevent public access.

Route.

SATU's route had its southern terminus at Navegantes Station in the historic parish of Paço de Arcos. This station acted as a transfer to the Lisbon commuter rail network and was just over from Paço de Arcos Station on the Cascais Line. The route's northern terminus was Forum Station connected to the Oeiras Parque Shopping Center and not far from the Parque dos Poetas. Tapadas Station was located between the two termini and served a residential community and school.  Phase two would have extended SATUOeiras an additional to Lagoas Park, a business park in Porto Salvo. Future phases would have extended the line even further to TagusPark and eventually Agualva-Cacém Station in Sintra, providing a link between the Cascais and Sintra Lines.

Operations.

SATUOeiras utilized a MiniMetro automated people mover system on an elevated track. The rolling stock were two non-motorized cars that each had a capacity of 106 passengers. Cars were propelled by a cable system powered by an electric motor based at Navegantes Station, not unlike a cable car on a guided track. The line consisted of a single track which split into two at stations. SATUOeiras operated at four-minute intervals during peak times, but would also operate as an on-demand system at times of lowest ridership. During these times, riders would summon a SATU car by pressing a button at the station.  Fares from SATUOeiras were not transferable to other public transport systems in the Lisbon region. A single fare was €1.15 for a one-way trip or €1.65 for a same-day return trip. SATU also offered an unlimited daypass for €2.85, a 10-trip pass for €6.15, and a 20-trip pass for €10.25.

SATUOeiras (Sistema Automático de Transporte Urbano de Oeiras), also known simply as SATU, was a elevated automated people mover that operated in Oeiras, Portugal from 2004 to 2015. The line connected Paço de Arcos with Oeiras Parque Shopping Center and consisted of 3 stations and 2 cars. Discussions to possibly reopen and expand the line have been ongoing since 2017.

Le mini-métro d'Oeiras (ou "Sistema Automático de Transporte Urbano", en abrégé "SATU") est un système de transport en commun desservant Oeiras près de Lisbonne au Portugal depuis le. La ligne est fermée le en raison de son important déficit.


History.

The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Lawrence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director. In its first season, Maria Callas performed in an inaugural recital conducted by Rescigno, at Music Hall at Fair Park. Critic John Ardoin described the role of Laurence Kelly in establishing the company as follows:  Many singers made their American debuts in Dallas, such as Montserrat Caballé, Plácido Domingo, Gwyneth Jones, Waltraud Meier, Magda Olivero, Joan Sutherland, and Jon Vickers. Designer/director Franco Zeffirelli also made his US debut there.  The company's first commission was for Robert Xavier Rodriguez's one-act children's opera "Monkey See, Monkey Do" in 1985. The Dallas Opera commissioned Dominick Argento’s "The Aspern Papers (opera)" and gave its world premiere, which was nationally broadcast on PBS's “Great Performances” series in 1988. Additional commissions were for Tobias Picker's "Thérèse Raquin" in 2001 and Jake Heggie's "Moby-Dick" in 2010. Recent commissions have included British composer Joby Talbot and Gene Scheer's "Everest", "Great Scott" by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally, and Mark Adamo's "Becoming Santa Claus".  The company moved to the Winspear Opera House as of the 2009-2010 season and moved its administrative offices into the building in the spring of 2010.

Administration.

Anthony Whitworth-Jones became General Director in 2001. However, his plans for expanding the company's repertory did not come to fruition in the wake of an economic downturn during his tenure, and he stood down from the post in 2003. His successor, Karen Stone, was appointed in mid-2003 as the company's fifth General Director. She had previously worked with Graeme Jenkins at the Cologne Opera in Germany, where he was principal guest conductor. Stone resigned from the post effective 30 September 2007.  Keith Cerny was general director and CEO from May 2010 until January 2018. During his tenure, he initiated the company's public simulcast series in locations ranging from AT&T Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys) to Klyde Warren Park. This included a nine-city simulcast of Tod Machover's "Death and the Powers". Cerny is credited with stabilizing company finances, which allowed both the commissioning of new operas and new initiatives such as the "Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors at The Dallas Opera" (2015) designed to address the challenge of gender imbalance at the top levels of the classical music industry. In November 2015, Cerny's existing contract as General Director and CEO was extended until 2022. In December 2017, the company announced Cerny's resignation from the Dallas Opera, effective January 2018.  French conductor Emmanuel Villaume became the company's music director on 30 April 2013. Graeme Jenkins, who was music director from 1994 to 2013, now has the title of Music Director Emeritus with the company. In November 2015, Villaume's contract was extended through June 2022.  In April 2018, the company announced the appointment of Ian Derrer as its next general director and CEO effective July 2018. He previously worked with Dallas Opera from 2014 to 2016 as an artistic administrator.

The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas, Texas. The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, one venue of the AT&T Performing Arts Center.

L’opéra de Dallas (en anglais "Dallas Opera") est une compagnie lyrique installée à Dallas (Texas), fondée en 1957 comme la "Dallas Civic Opera" par Laurence Kelly et Nicola Rescigno, les deux ayant été actifs au sein du Lyric Opera of Chicago, le premier comme administrateur, le second comme directeur artistique.