In his role as Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi oversees the management and coordination of all aspects of the Olympic and Youth Olympic Games from the start of the candidature phase to the dissolution of the organising committee Working in collaboration with partners across the Olympic Movement his mission is to ensure that the Games remain among the world’s premier sporting events and leave a lasting and meaningful legacy he served as IOC Sports Director from 2007 to 2014 he was responsible for all elements on the field of play and managing relations with the International Sports Federations He also held responsibility for four IOC commissions: Athletes’ He followed his passions for the Games and sports management to join the IOC as a trainee in 1996 – the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games He previously worked in finance and real estate Next week, a top International Olympic Committee executive will be in Utah to kick off planning for the 2034 Winter Games The organizers of Utah’s next Olympics are in “a very unusual situation,” IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi told the Deseret News Tuesday in a virtual interview from the organization’s Swiss headquarters “We have a 10 years' life span. We have very little to do on the fundamentals for the Games, that is, the venues,” since the facilities from the 2002 Winter Games are set to be used again “We have what you know is a perfect situation.” “What are the first programs we’re going to tackle and deliver so that we start involving the communities and kids in particular?” So what’s there to talk about during his two-day visit that follows a stop in Los Angeles, the host of the 2028 Summer Games “We’re having now regular conversations in every shape and form.” But he also wants to know how Utah will use the time it’s been given under the new, less formal bid process to organize another Winter Games organizers had just seven years to get ready for one of the world’s largest sporting events There needs to be a decision “on the priorities in what is the land of opportunity,” Dubi said. “What are the first programs we’re going to tackle and deliver, so that we start involving the communities and kids in particular?” “It’s urgent to wait with respect to Games organization,” Dubi said, the same advice he offered nearly a year ago during an inspection tour of Utah’s Olympic venues citing the advances to come in artificial intelligence and other technology He said preparation also need to get underway to ensure Utah’s Olympic organizers get the most out of the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina That includes figuring out who needs to go except that we are operating over a very large territory The plans have to be extremely well designed” for the Utah observers in Italy Unlike Utah’s compact Olympics, where every venue is within an hour of the athlete housing at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, the Milan-Cortina Games are spread across a wide swath of Italy That means the lessons there for Utah organizers won’t be about logistics like transporting athletes from Point A to Point B “The geographical distribution is so different that this is absolutely not what they’re going to be looking at,” he said Dubi suggested Utahns focus instead on what Italians are bringing to the Olympics “It’s the way the Italians will deliver in each and every venue,” he said, bringing the spirit of the Games to the streets just as Paris' 2024 Summer Games did “It’s the experience you can deliver if your are generous enough to have not only the venues hosting the best sport.” providing gathering places for the public and “offering the best possible hospitality outside of the best possible field of play “You have to be part of the best of what winter sports can offer.” But what you’re looking for as a participant is that warmth and that feeling of being part of something very special.” Fraser Bullock, president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games that was behind the bid said he’s looking forward to the visit by Dubi and his team calling the IOC executive “a great friend going back to our partnership together in 2002.” Bullock said they’ll “begin the early phase of outlining our integrated planning process They have deep knowledge in many areas that will help us ensure we put on the best Games possible.” He stopped short of saying the organizing committee will be announced during Dubi’s visit, set for Feb. 13 and 14. Bullock is expected to be named the leader of the OCOG while setting up a successor “I really like the way that is being approached,” Dubi said since “an organizing committee is always a public-private partnership” that needs the “consent of those backing and those that will support the Games.” The IOC would also expect to be “consulted describing Bullock as “someone I always very much admire and consider as a friend Dubi said Utah’s organizing committee will likely be similar to the one that oversaw the 2002 Winter Games the organization responsible for staging a Games in the United States is entirely privately financed The 2030 Winter Games in the French Alps already has funding committed from regional and national authorities but the “economic capacity” of the United States is much larger compared to the European market “It’s only in the U.S.” He said there’s “dynamism” that comes from a private organization that has the backing of public authorities Trump pledged his support for the Los Angeles Games during a meeting at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida with Casey Wasserman “These are America’s Olympics,” Trump told Wasserman, according to a report in Axios based on an unnamed source “These are more important than ever to L.A and I’m going to be supportive in every way possible and make them the greatest Games.” Dubi said that “shows the commitment of Washington to what for sure will be extraordinary Games” in a city that has seen more than 10,000 homes destroyed and at least 29 lives lost in the recent wildfires “Our hearts and minds go to all those that have been affected. But at the same time, with this very American spirit, which is in such adversity, fight back and demonstrate that we can come back stronger,” Dubi said “This is something cultural deep-rooted in the U.S.” The Olympics being held twice in the United States within a six-year span reflects the IOC’s level of trust and the quality of the relationship “What do we invent in Los Angeles in what is the most buzzing of the entertainment and sports market,” Dubi asked before returning to the site of the “extraordinary” 2002 Winter Games “What do we invent for these Games,” he said calling Utah a place “where the conditions are perfect.” 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd a global leader in satellite networking technology and services and Waveform Architecture for Virtualized Ecosystems (WAVE) Consortium are proud to announce the appointment of Dubi Lever Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Gilat Satellite Networks who brings over 27 years of experience at Gilat steps into this role with a clear vision for advancing the WAVE mission: transforming the satellite communications (SATCOM) industry through open and research institutions working together to establish standardized architectures and specifications for waveform virtualization WAVE’s foundational goal is to ensure that next-generation SATCOM networks can take advantage of commodity hardware and novel software approaches Lever will lead strategic initiatives to strengthen cross-industry collaboration and accelerate the consortium’s efforts to create innovative solutions that serve both commercial and defense markets “We are excited to have Dubi Lever’s passion and success help drive WAVE forward,” said Dr “Dubi’s proven leadership in SATCOM technologies and track record of innovation at Gilat will be instrumental We look forward to working together as WAVE moves into future success.”  “The hardware abstraction layer marks the next step in actualizing WAVE’s mission,” said Dubi Lever “By allowing multiple waveforms to be deployed seamlessly on common hardware we bring new flexibility and readiness to commercial and defense customers who demand greater efficiency and faster adaptability This project directly aligns with our longstanding vision at Gilat where open standards and reprogrammable solutions are key to driving better performance at lower costs.”  TASE: GILT) is a leading global provider of satellite-based broadband communications we develop and deliver deep technology solutions for satellite offering next-generation solutions and services for critical connectivity across commercial and defense applications We believe in the right of all people to be connected and are united in our resolution to provide communication solutions to all reaches of the world Together with our wholly-owned subsidiaries—Gilat Wavestream high-value solutions supporting multi-orbit constellations and Software-Defined Satellites (SDS) via our Commercial and Defense Divisions Our comprehensive portfolio is comprised of a cloud-based platform and modems; high-performance satellite terminals; advanced Satellite On-the-Move (SOTM) antennas and ESAs; highly efficient high-power Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPA) and Block Upconverters (BUC) and includes integrated ground systems for commercial and defense markets Certain statements made herein that are not historical are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 “believe” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties Many factors could cause the actual results performance or achievements of Gilat to be materially different from any future results performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements changes in general economic and business conditions inability to maintain market acceptance to Gilat’s products inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies rapid changes in the market for Gilat’s products loss of market share and pressure on prices resulting from competition introduction of competing products by other companies inability to attract and retain qualified personnel inability to protect Gilat’s proprietary technology and risks associated with Gilat’s international operations and its location in Israel including those related to the war and hostilities between Israel and Hamas Iran and Yemen and the instability in the middle east; and other factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Gilat’s most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions contained in the U.S Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof and Gilat undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements Contact:Gilat Satellite NetworksHagay Katz, Chief Products and Marketing Officerhagayk@gilat.com Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page International Olympic Committee Executive Director Christophe Dubi spoke with OlympicTalk about the Paris 2024 economic impact report published May 14 which estimated the Games will generate at least $7.2 billion in net economic benefits in the Paris region plus other matters regarding future Olympic Games This interview has been lightly edited for clarity what were the one or two highlights from the economic impact report Dubi: The highlight is that the Olympics is a great business But you also host the Games because it’s great business and by signing the host contract seven years before the Games you generate an extra 7 to 11 billion euro of additional economic activity because it means that you’ve been able to catalyze a number of projects You’ve been able to think about the social development in the tougher areas You’ve been able to envision the legacy and how the Games can transform But then you look at it from an economic standpoint Also put in parallel another number that came out about the same time as the economic report: the fiscal revenues generated from this extra economic impact and they estimate between 5 to 5.3 billion euro because if you take the investment of the French authorities once you have generated the 5.3 billion euro you look at your investment and the services OlympicTalk: You’ve mentioned this being the first Olympics aligned with Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms in organizing and putting on the Games Can you tell me specifically how Agenda 2020 is implemented into the findings of this economic report One was to simplify the host candidature and make it a partnership process between the IOC and the future organizing committees We said the Games have to adapt to the city and region It meant that Paris was able to make the best choice according to their conditions hosting shooting in Chateauroux and preliminaries of basketball and finals of handball in Lille You have much more flexibility in the implementation of the host contract because we (the IOC) impose far less You design the solutions the way you want to It means that you have far more flexibility designing something that makes sense from a long-term perspective but also makes sense from an economic standpoint Not building but using existing or temporary solutions means less investment OlympicTalk: I remember IOC President Thomas Bach said Tokyo was the best-ever prepared city to host an Olympics the last one in Tokyo was in a COVID context I would say we are in a comparable situation to London (in 2012) with the same volume of issues to be dealt with Nothing of significance at this point in time every day you would have your daily issues the fact that all the urban sports are in Paris center but also because of the political tensions So the level of everyone that wants to be in Paris from politicians But the organizing team can sustain that pressure because at the same time we don’t have big problems in the organization I prefer to be in that situation than having the pressure to resolve big problems Pressure of expectations is not the same as pressure to resolve problems This is really where we are similar to London but I’d say that the level all of us expecting these Games is probably even bigger than London I don’t know how much time you’re spending on Milano-Cortina 2026 at the moment This is why we have different teams looking at different editions of the Games but let me tell you that those focusing on Milano-Cortina less than two years away with the amount of work to be completed but also the bobsled and luge track that started very late they are huge building blocks that we have to follow very closely a great advantage of Milano-Cortina is they have great capabilities that they demonstrate every year They organize the best World Cups and World Championships So you have the pressure of the building on one side but you have this knowledge and expertise in delivering events They probably have the most time to prepare for an Olympics of any host given the double award of 2024 and 2028 that happened in 2017 How are the LA Games looking unique from the early organization Dubi: The organization is unique in the sense that you have it all to start with (existing venues) It’s not so much thinking venues or how to operate these venues It’s using the great capabilities that the U.S sport and entertainment market LA can offer and how to make it really special for the Games LA can offer you the most dynamic of the sports and entertainment market You can already envisage what it can look like at the time of the Games OlympicTalk: The French Alps and Salt Lake City are targeted to host the Winter Games in 2030 and 2034 Dubi: The IOC Future Host Commission will present two detailed reports to the IOC Executive Board in a matter of days and how refreshing it was that two of our former hosts — Albertville in 1992 and Salt Lake City in 2002 — are still You still find the Games energy rings everywhere A Division of NBCUniversal DISCLAIMER: This site and the products offered are for entertainment purposes only and there is no gambling offered on this site This service is intended for adult audiences No guarantees are made for any specific outcome If you or someone you know has a gambling problem The IOC says hosting the Games no longer has to be an expensive nightmare Illustration by Jakov Jakovljević for POLITICO This article is part of the Future of the Olympics special report The Olympics thinks it’s beaten the haters the world’s premier sporting event was mired in controversies about draining public finances leaving behind unused arenas and providing residents with few benefits — but lots of disruption and intrusive surveillance the International Olympic Committee reckons it’s hit on the solution.  “It’s not for a city or region to adapt to the Games It’s for the Games to adapt to a city and region,” said Christophe Dubi in an interview at IOC headquarters on the banks of Lake Geneva.  potential hosts have looked at the Olympics the IOC even doled out multiple editions in one go when it awarded Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 before Brisbane was given a free run at the 2032 edition Dubi says that’s all changed — thanks to the IOC imposing less stringent requirements on potential host cities looking to reuse existing venues for events rather than splurging billions on grandiose new arenas with its mostly pre-existing locales in the city center is a test case that could future-proof the Summer Olympics for decades “This market has now flipped over 180 [degrees],” Dubi said “We can award the Games up until 2042 — easy.” Grabbing his phone he pointed to a message: “I just received [this] from the mayor of Rio The mayor of Rio de Janeiro’s office did not provide a comment in time for this article the Olympics has been locked in a spiral of controversy — largely of its own making For every zenith like the spectacular cultural success at London 2012 there was a crushing scandal like Russia’s massive state-sponsored doping program at Sochi in 2014 The Games hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin fueled a narrative that the IOC was in the pocket of the world’s dictators.  “The IOC is full of princes and sheikhs and barons and people who do not have the best interests of humanity in mind who will follow their directives accordingly,” said Eric Sheehan an organizer with anti-Games group NOlympics LA during a video interview from his home in California Research this year by the University of Oxford suggests that Paris 2024 will cost around $8.7 billion compared to $13.7 billion for the pandemic Games at Tokyo 2021 and an astronomical $23.6 billion at Rio 2016 which forced Brazil’s federal government to provide the city with a $900 million bailout A spokesperson for Paris 2024 said the organizing committee “entirely refutes” the Oxford study’s calculations The spokesperson added that “the crudest possible comparison” of the projected and final budgets “would show a 27% increase which is in line with the rate of inflation over the same period.” “Rio hosting the Olympics the first time around brought way more cons than pros to the city,” said Theresa Williamson an urban planner and executive director of Catalytic Communities an advocacy organization that supports favela communities “The few checks and balances that we have were set aside The Olympics created a pressure cooker for speculation and displacement — with 80,000 low-income people evicted from their homes and pushed to the city’s outskirts — and poorly planned infrastructure that got implemented and has not fared well.” The Olympics top brass is bullish that it has addressed the critiques, and concedes that cost overruns at Athens 2004 (which contributed to pushing Greece into financial ruin) were “disastrous” and “shocking.”  discussed the big changes that have driven “If we wouldn’t have addressed those fundamental requirements that made it an unappealing property you wouldn’t have had anyone after 2015” willing to host As an example of the IOC’s willingness to adapt Dubi cited the awarding of the 2026 Winter Olympics to the city of Milan and the mountain resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo a five-hour drive away into the Italian Dolomites “They never expected that we would move from one city to two regions,” he said “It’s really up to us to adapt to the host to understand their own opportunities and challenges and what the Games can do for them instead of vice versa,” added Marie Sallois the IOC’s corporate and sustainable development director “So that has also changed completely the paradigm of the discussion.” But the IOC’s ambition to make the Olympics cheap again hasn’t convinced everyone.  and lots of big PR announcements about how they’re sustainable and community members about what they’re doing a passionate and eloquent speaker on the drawbacks of hosting the Olympics constructed mega venues like the SoFi Stadium with the aim of luring events like the Olympics and FIFA World Cup (which the city will host in 2026) rendering the ideal of staging a no-build Olympics “a lie.”  City authorities in LA stand accused of militarizing the police force and booting out homeless people to try to clean up the city ahead of the mega events. Paris has also been accused of ridding the city of “everything that doesn’t fit into the ‘Emily in Paris’ postcard” ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games “The problem is the point of the Olympics is not to celebrate sport but to allow powerful people to make big projects happen and powerful corporations to make big money,” Sheehan added Some academics who follow the economy of the Olympics closely are also skeptical.  Research has also shown that the Games have become less sustainable Whether the IOC’s reforms underway will achieve the goal of making the Olympics more attractive to potential hosts remains to be seen,” said Alexander Budzier from the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School who co-authored the recent study Even if reusing infrastructure does lead to a “slight reduction in cost,” it will mean limiting the Olympics — a symbol of international unity — to a handful of mostly wealthy countries “You are unlikely to consider hosting if you don’t have existing infrastructure,” Budzier said I doubt we will see an emerging economy anytime soon.” Asked if the IOC would like recent hosts — including London all of which have the infrastructure already in place — to be among the contenders for 2042 and 2046 “We’ve hosted it last time 100 years ago; we probably won’t wait that long for the next time,” Paris 2024 CEO Étienne Thobois told POLITICO on a hot afternoon at the Esplanade des Invalides a lawn in central Paris that will host archery events this summer we’re concentrated on the finish line on delivering these Games.” UPDATED: This article has been updated with comments from a Paris 2024 spokesperson US: Starwood Strategic Partners (SSP), an investment platform managed by Starwood Capital Group, has finalised an investment in VANA Partners, a real estate investment firm specialising in extended-stay hotels and infrastructure support to help VANA expand its presence in the US market The move strengthens Starwood Capital’s commitment to backing early and mid-stage real estate companies through SSP and highlights Starwood’s focus on growing hospitality platforms The financial details of the deal were not disclosed co-managing partner of VANA said: “We are thrilled to partner with Starwood Capital one of the world’s leading hospitality investors Their expertise and support will be invaluable as we continue to differentiate ourselves in the extended-stay sector.” said: “This investment marks a key milestone in our growth By combining our entrepreneurial approach with Starwood Capital’s resources we are positioned to scale rapidly and unlock new opportunities.” Bakari Adams, managing director at Starwood Capital said: “Our partnership with VANA underscores SSP’s commitment to supporting early to mid-stage sponsors with strong institutional potential Dubi and Chuchu’s track records and complementary skills have been pivotal to VANA’s success and we look forward to working alongside them as they continue to grow.” and operates extended-stay hotels across North America Urban Living Festival 2025 The Serviced Apartment Awards 2025 He’s about to find out if he’s guaranteed their future SaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy link Share via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this article Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe the decrepit QEII Stadium with multicoloured seats and rust on the outer steel beams sits ready for a makeover Having starred as the main venue for the 1982 Commonwealth Games it’s supposed to be the home of the athletics for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games but if the October state election brings in a new government there’s every possibility it will throw venue plans back up in the air Gift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe. Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you. When a top International Olympic Committee executive arrives in Utah Thursday, organizers of the state’s 2034 Winter Games will be ready to listen we’ve been through it before so we understand it pretty well But there’s always new learning and that’s what we’re looking forward to,” Bullock said adding he wants to hear about what’s been successful in planning more recent Games we’re wide open to new ideas of how do things even better.” The IOC has already signed off on the makeup of Utah’s organizing committee, Bullock said. The 69-year-old served as the chief operating officer of the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City before helping the launch the bid and he’s expected to play a key role in the organizing committee Dubi is coming from Los Angeles, where he’s been meeting with organizers of the 2028 Summer Games The California city is dealing with the impact of deadly wildfires that have killed at least 29 people More than 10,000 structures have been destroyed in the blazes but apparently none were critical to hosting the Olympics While it remains “urgent to wait with respect to Games organization,” now is the time to set “priorities in what is the land of opportunity,” Dubi said in a virtual interview from the IOC’s Swiss headquarters. “What are the first programs we’re going to tackle and deliver, so that we start involving the communities and kids in particular?” The IOC executive also said he’ll push Utah organizers to finalize plans for observing the next Olympics, the 2026 Winter Games in Milan-Cortina Those Games are spread across much of northern Italy so Dubi said it will take “extremely well designed” plans to take in all the behind-the-scenes effort that goes into organizing what spectators see Joining Dubi in Salt Lake City will be another IOC official, Pierre Ducrey, the Olympic Games operations director. Dubi and other IOC officials as well as members of the IOC Future Host Commission were in Utah last April to tour venues and outgoing IOC President Thomas Bach made a stop in the state last September A top International Olympic Committee executive continues to sound upbeat about Utah’s bid for the 2034 Winter Games “We just visited, and how refreshing it was that two of our former hosts — Albertville, (France) in 1992 and Salt Lake City in 2002 — are still You still find the Games energy rings everywhere,” Dubi said He noted during the interview that the IOC members and sports officials that make up the Switzerland-based organization’s Future Host Commission are set to present detailed reports on both bids to the IOC Executive Board “in a matter of days.” The commission traveled to Utah and France in April, along with Dubi and other IOC executives and staff, to tour proposed Games venues. Under the IOC’s new, less formal selection process, late last year Utah was named the preferred host for 2034 It will be up to the IOC leaders who sit on the Executive Board whether the bids advance to a final vote of the full membership already anticipated to be held on July 24, Utah’s Pioneer Day, at a meeting just before the start of the 2024 Summer Games in Paris That decision is likely to come during the Executive Board’s June 12-14 meeting During his time in Utah, Dubi had lots to say about another Olympics in the state, advising would-be organizers not to be in a rush to put together plans that should “be bold and ambitious,” assuring them, “You have all it takes. You have the venues and you have the people you have the ingredients to deliver the Games.” Dubi also described how much Salt Lake City has changed since the last Winter Games He referred to how “lonely” the capital city’s streets felt on Sundays back in 2002, noting that “everything we’ve heard from everyone” suggests Utahns are now even more confident about their ability to show the world a good time during another Olympics “It’s pretty impressive, you know,” Dubi said of 2002′s opening ceremonies at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles Stadium. “Generally, the speeches are very dignified. And here comes Mitt Romney and he says Amid the pageantry that opened the 2002 Winter Games at the University of Utah’s Rice-Eccles stadium a top International Olympic Committee official told an audience of Utah community leaders Thursday there was a moment that helped set the tone for what was to come “It’s pretty impressive, you know,” the IOC’s Olympic Games executive director, Christophe Dubi said of the Opening Ceremonies, watched by nearly 2 billion people worldwide. “Generally, the speeches are very dignified. And here comes Mitt Romney and he says Dubi, part of the IOC delegation in Utah through Saturday to visit the venues proposed for a 2034 Winter Games said a lot has changed in the decades since he witnessed now U.S Romney’s exuberance as the leader of the Utah Games Speaking at an invitation-only forum held in the lobby of the Eccles Theater that overlooks Main Street Dubi said Salt Lake City has experienced an “Olympic blossoming Thanks to more people living in the city center downtown streets are no longer “lonely,” as Dubi said they used to be on Sundays “everything we’ve heard from everyone” suggests there’s even more confidence among Utahns about being able to show the world a good time during an Olympics Austrian IOC member Karl Stoss, chairman of the Switzerland-based organization’s Future Host Commission evaluating Utah’s readiness to host again, said was “very impressed” with the new venues that would be located downtown Those include a massive temporary ski and snowboard jump for big air events recently added to the Winter Games “You could not bring the mountains to the city.” Four-time Olympian Catherine Raney Norman chair of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games that’s behind the bid said planning is underway for what she called “Project 29,” a way to bring Olympic sports opportunities to children in all of the state’s 29 counties “We have 10 years to impact these kids,” she said noting some could end up competing in another Utah Olympics Salt Lake City is the IOC’s preferred host for the 2034 Winter Games but the final decision is still months away IOC leaders are scheduled to review the findings of the Future Host Commission in June and decide then whether there should be a formal vote by the full membership on July 24 which includes the IOC members and others serving on the commission as well as executives and staff spent their second full day in the state viewing venues At the Utah Olympic Park’s sliding track near Park City the only project remaining is installing a new shading and lighting system Brittney Arndt who retired last year at age 25 from the USA luge team told the IOC officials that being introduced to the sport through an afterschool program at the park changed her life “I feel so lucky to have been in a place where the Olympics happened,” Arndt said At the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center near Midway, Emily Campbell, 17, labeled a “rising star of U.S. biathlon” by the IOC talked about competing at this year’s Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon in the sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting Campbell, a Park City High School senior, stepped aside from the shooting range to give an IOC member from Slovakia a chance to try the sport. Danka Barteková a skeet shooter who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Games in London was quickly hitting targets despite good-natured taunts of “no pressure” from the delegation Barteková thanked the center’s assistant coach before asking for a photo with Campbell and the other young athletes there to train Other stops for the delegation Thursday included Park City Mountain Resort where the resort’s vice president and CEO Deidra Walsh said she first heard of Park City while watching the 2002 Winter Games on TV “I kind of have to pinch myself,” she said standing in a room with a view of the snowboard half pipe used for competition in 2002 “We are thrilled to welcome back the Olympic spirit,” Walsh said both the Snowbasin ski resort in Huntsville and the Utah Olympic Oval speedskating track in Kearns are on the IOC delegation’s public agenda Their trip is set to wrap up Saturday with a news conference Only rarely do we get to know a music professional in the field of culture who had such a significant influence on expanding the cultural spectrum of an entire country The late Israeli radio DJ and music curator passed away this week at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer Dubi had sharp senses to recognize quality an infinite sensitivity to recognize beauty even within cultures that were foreign and new to him and alongside all this   – he had a host of great platforms to present and share these cultures with large audiences for over six decades Dubi began his career as a music editor and broadcaster at one of the leading radio stations in Israel as early as 1973 He quickly became the head of the station’s music department and did so more than once was responsible for the fact that music editors also began to narrate the programs they edited and were not only required to hand over the list of songs to another ‘professional’ announcer “No one can tell the story of the song better than the one who chose it” “Everything Flows” Dubi introduced to Israeli radio from the beginning of the 80s the possibility of editing music in sequence or as we know it nowadays: “sets” He proved that it is possible to edit music from any possible type mixing all these flavors together and make it sound logical and Peter Gabriel found themselves side by side in the very same program And moreover, Dubi brought to Israeli radio music from all over the globe: from Africa and South America to many other places, which may seem to be closer to us, like Ireland or France. Long before it was called “world music,” Dubi brought music from the wider world to local radio and the culture scene and continued to introduce us to cultures that most of us are not exposed to not only in the pre-internet era but also during it Even when everything is seemingly available Along with all the great things that Dubi collected and presented to the local audience in Israel (like an outstanding importer) he was also a senior exporter in everything related to the promotion of local music to the world took advantage of his many connections around the globe and made sure to cultivate the Israeli music scene overseas the thousands of festivals and conferences he took part in he was always proud of the creators of Israeli jazz and world music many of whom still owe him their success on the international scene Dubi also took the reins into his own hands and artistically curated a series of music festivals the most prominent of which were “Hearing the World” and the Red Sea Jazz Festival (both in its summer editions and in the winter version that he initiated and established from day one) He always emphasized the fact that he does not want to run a specific genre festival and always chose to come out of the ‘ghetto’: “I bring shows with the only criterion being – excellent music He received many honors and awards during his life including the honorable title of Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government and made accessible and long connections worldwide that after a series of endless showcases he attended refused to go to bed before celebrating the night away at a great dance party (especially if they played samba there) when we He will be greatly missed by all of us here We will miss the excitement of hearing him tell us about the new musical discovery he heard at some festival at the end of the world We will miss the genius musical editing on his radio shows (headline image: Dubi Lenz at Red Sea Jazz Festival – – Photo by Peter Vit_ Please enter an answer in digits:twenty − 6 = the IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director Following the successful staging of both the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in the midst of a global pandemic and within a time span of only six months we took the opportunity to catch up with Christophe Dubi the IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director We wanted to get his views on the way forward the role of IKL in Games optimisation and how the Olympic Movement must work together to keep the Games relevant What’s IKL’s role in supporting Games optimisation? What’s the power of data in the IKL context? Can you share with us your top tip for the OCOGs in the IKL space? Update from IKL OCOG IKL Workshop boosts knowledge-sharing and support OCOG and IPC voices Best practice: Paris 2024 leads the way on data analysis Meet Deloitte, supporting IKL to deliver insights and learning! Discover new venue virtual tours, guides, structured interviews and more Next Knowledge Value Network meeting Prof's Ian Biringer and Dubi Kelmer have been awarded 5-year NSF CAREER awards which the NSF describes as "the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization." five) years and then sit back and enjoy watching the globe's finest athletes battle it out in their respective fields.  and delivering the world's biggest sporting event His job begins with helping award the contract to a host city and ends only with the dissolution of the Games' organizing committees he is the "project manager" of the games – in charge of everything from maintaining relationships with governments and international federations to managing the enormous Olympic budget.  and youth Olympic Games as Executive Director he worked for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for almost two decades — seven of which were been spent as its Sports Director Dubi says organizing the Tokyo Olympics has been more difficult than any other games before for two reasons you have to reschedule the whole sporting year from qualification of the athletes to World Championships," he told Insider in an interview during the first week of the Tokyo Games "Everybody within the system have to agree to change "The operating budget before the pandemic was €5.9 billion ($7 billion) But if you move the whole system when you're five minutes from being ready to go Dubi says the decision to delay cost the organizing committee and the Japanese government an extra €800 million ($950 million) each "You have the rent for the Olympic Village that was due to be released to the market probably among the biggest in the world, that are ready to host many other events," he said "You cannot dismantle them and come back a year later It meant that we had to rent for the entire duration We had 75,000 hotel rooms that were meant for 2020 But we had to renegotiate each and every property "That's really complicated to do from an organizational standpoint." Dubi also had to work to ensure Tokyo was a safe place for athletes and staff to be amid the pandemic Japan has to date recorded over 970,000 COVID-19 cases with over 15,000 deaths resulting in the nation dipping in and out of a state of emergency over the past year Dubi helped coordinate and build a "mass testing" model with the help World Health Organization (WHO) and the Japanese government screening tests in the system since the start of the games," said Dubi "That's an operation that exists nowhere else.  "And it's not just about spitting or putting something in your nose It's the capacity to treat and produce the result quickly That's a very sophisticated machine – you have one positive case you have identified and you then have to take care of these people "So to get that in place was immensely complicated." The Tokyo Olympics has boasted a number of never-before seen technologies at the games This includes self-driving Field Support Robots (FSR) equipped with cameras and sensors that are designed to retrieve items like javelins; Human Support Robots (HSR) to guide athletes and bring snacks; and athlete tracking bots to record data during events All were designed to reduce the number of human volunteers required in the light of COVID-19 pandemic.  Athletes in Tokyo have also been using a number of new technologies to help enhance their performances all of which must be checked for fairness and safety China's boxers are using 3D printed anti-grab shoes for the Chinese boxing team; Speedo's new race swimsuits are modeled on sharkskin to minimize drag in the water; and cyclists are making use of Augmented Reality (AR) glasses that create simulations of the actual track in Tokyo.  "The whole tech and digital transformation is like living in exponential times," said Dubi "There has been an acceleration over the last we were only just thinking about cyber security but now we have a huge budget for cyber security and you have to be prepared for everything that can happen." the toughest games we had before comes nowhere close." To go back to the beginning: the Olympic Games is a simple experience for a spectator. And despite all the complexities that have been involved with Tokyo 2020 it could have been London 2012 or Rio 2016 "You turn on your TV in the morning at six "And you can you can feel that from the athletes as well but we have venues like I've never seen before "There is this feeling that there is nothing matching the games "And this comes across every single interview It is it is bigger than than any individual achievement you're part of something that is value based Asked where pulling off Tokyo 2020 ranks among his career achievements a modest Dubi said: "My career is irrelevant this is extremely big since it was the first ever postponed games to help the smaller National Olympic Committees "All these things we would never have imagined as an event organizer it's a huge sense of relief at this point in time Image: Courtesy Photo Sarasota Audubon Society president Jeanne Dubi has been awarded a Charles H Callison Award from the 2021 National Audubon Society These awards honor outstanding efforts by staff and volunteers to continue Audubon’s mission for birds and habitat conservation Dubi has held leadership positions at the Sarasota Audubon Society chapter for several decades and most notably helped turn the Celery Fields which included fundraising and overseeing the construction of a new LEED Gold-certified Audubon nature center along with the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast successfully persuaded Sarasota County to give Sarasota Audubon the right to manage 27 acres adjacent to the Celery Fields This acreage was granted a conservation easement (held by the Conservation Foundation) and will become a newly created wildlife habitat Her most recent initiative engages multigenerational families from the area's Hispanic/Latinx community for Spanish language field trips As the fourth Winter Youth Olympic Games continues in Gangwon IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi discussed the vision of the Youth Olympics (also known as YOG) time)/Saturday (South Korea time) has been edited for length and clarity OlympicTalk: How have these Youth Winter Games stood out from past Games Innsbruck (the last Winter Youth Games in 2020) and Lillehammer (in 2016) were using part of the infrastructures from decades ago it is almost back-to-back (with the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics) It really makes sense for a number of reasons especially when it comes to younger athlete development MORE: Youth Olympics Broadcast Schedule We’ve seen that with the results of the Korean athletes, but also with a legacy program that dates back to 2004 called the Dream Program It invites athletes from countries where they do not necessarily have the facilities Fourteen of these athletes are participating here we have created a virtual environment where you can experience the Games in the venues Third is the collaboration between brands that we see everywhere they have really closely attached the K-pop culture When we are looking at the (engagement) numbers surpassing anything before in the Youth Olympics OlympicTalk: I want your take on something that the late former IOC President Jacques Rogge said when they first announced the Youth Olympic Games in 2007 — “These Youth Olympic Games should not be seen as mini-Olympic Games It will be a preparation for the athletes for future Olympic Games but with an education part that is different.” would you change or add anything to that when you’re talking about the mission of the Youth Olympic Games now please be proud because those missions are exactly what the Youth Games have been delivering all the time Very important strategic elements were assigned to YOG at the time which is a pathway for athletes towards the next step of their career whether it is as champions or whether it is as sports administrators or simply an ambassador of the Olympic Movement This over time has proven to be exactly correct If you look at the numbers from the Beijing 2022 Winter Games 341 athletes had competed in the YOG before The international sports federations all view the Youth Games as one of the milestones towards the next stages in the development pathway of their athletes The education program that he mentioned, I witnessed firsthand the success of these programs here where all athletes have gone through Athlete365 tents There is a full booth dedicated to how you manage your own media accounts how you respond to the pressure of being constantly on social media because compared to 15 years ago when we started with the Youth Games but you are virtually a brand on your own and you have to constantly be out there We will bring some of this material to Paris because what works for the younger athletes works as well for the Olympians One last thing that remains extremely valid today is the values This is the most powerful legacy we can leave to these athletes OlympicTalk: Two new features that make their Olympic debuts in Paris — an Opening Ceremony outside of a stadium and the sport of breaking — have already been done at the Youth Olympics What was learned from the Youth Games that will be helpful to organizers in Paris come this summer Dubi: When it comes to the Opening Ceremony, it’s that it is doable. (Editor’s Note: In 2018, the Youth Olympic Opening Ceremony was held on the streets of Buenos Aires with more than 200,000 spectators.) including with respect to safety and security I still remember what was done in Buenos Aires for it to be a party that everybody could enjoy which always wanted to get an angle on a number of things Paris wanted confirmation that breaking would be successful because you only have a limited number of cards that you can play as an organizer to add into your own program (Editor’s Note: the Olympic Charter calls for a cap of about 10,500 athletes at one Games.) with the pick up we had for breaking (in Buenos Aires in 2018) OlympicTalk: Looking ahead to the next Youth Olympics in Dakar obviously they will be historic as the first Games to be held in Africa Dubi: When you are two and a half years to any event (the 2026 Games will be in November) there is a lot to do because this is when you move from the big ideas This is where you move to your next stage of detail They have sent a delegation from Dakar (to Gangwon) to learn what it takes to deliver Many of them are exposed for the first time to the YOG We have no specific challenges at this point in time that they also have to do because of the market we are in at Dakar is to identify what will have to be sourced from outside the country in the Olympic Movement we have a tremendous amount of solidarity We have already identified from different countries assistance that will come in the form of material and services OlympicTalk: Where do things stand on the host selection for the Youth Olympics in 2028 (winter) and 2030 (summer) Has the IOC entered into any targeted dialogue with anybody can you name any specific regions or cities in the running Dubi: We have the luxury of having many interested parties for the summer edition and a substantial number for winter as well especially after the success of Gangwon here I’ve had the question many times about the timing (of not yet choosing the next winter host) We’re going strategically with Winter Games and Winter YOGs in regions that have all the facilities and the expertise because they’ve done it before Only the Italians have declared publicly their interest but we have other parties that would like to join but if you bounce back on what I said before regarding Dakar there is a sense that you cannot wait until too close because a number of critical actions need to be taken which gives you a sense of where our head is at present OlympicTalk: With breaking debuting at the Youth Olympics and then being added to the Olympics do you see any possibilities for an event to debut at the Winter Youth Games and then be added to the Winter Olympics ski mountaineering made its debut in Lausanne (at the 2020 Youth Olympics) and will be in Milano-Cortina Three-on-three hockey is in the Youth Games for a second time is really pushing forward at the junior level with an ambition to make it a more established adult discipline as well but the investment in the YOG and the sign it has given that it matters for the ice hockey federation but also for the organizers because it is truly successful We have no others at present that sit out there outside of a decision by the International Ski Federation to integrate freeriding in ski and snowboard within FIS So let’s see the development of that discipline for the future because certainly it has a lot of appeal OlympicTalk: Is there anything else you’d like to add It not only works well from an operational standpoint but as well when you look at the crowds in the park It’s a good problem to have as an organizer when you start to have to assemble all possible resources because you know your venues will be full internationally on anything digital we’re seeing some much bigger numbers in the past by Dovid Margolin – chabad.org Air-raid sirens in Ukraine are not very loud for the same reason there are so few bomb shelters—no one ever expected to need them the most reliable way to stay abreast of deadly bombing raids is via Google alerts which is why Dubi Ehrentreu and Mendel Bleich didn’t notice Zaporizhzhia’s Red Alert go off late Purim morning Dubi was reading the Megillah—the Scroll of Esther telling the story of the Jewish people’s salvation from a decree of annihilation in ancient Persia—for 80 hardy Jews at Chabad-Lubavitch’s central Zaporizhzhia synagogue “When we finished the Megillah,I took out my phone and saw that there’d been a siren,” says Bleich spent in Zaporizhzhia—an important industrial city in Ukraine’s southeast that saw heavy fighting in the first week of war when Russia captured the city’s massive nuclear power plant—there were about six air-raid sirens “You stop everything and run into the basement of whatever building you’re in,” says Bleich The two young men are rabbinical students at the Central Lubavitch Yeshivah in Crown Heights Bleich is the son of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries in Wellesley established Chabad of Zaporizhzhia in 1997 the younger Ehrentreu made the decision that he could not allow the many Jews still in Zaporizhzhia to be alone on the joyous holiday and drafted his friend Bleich to join him for Purim in his hometown “The goal was to strengthen the people here,” says Bleich just to be able to bring some joy and Purim spirit was vital.” Ehrentreu’s parents had left Zaporizhzhia on March 3-4 during the dangerous battle at the nuclear plant—Europe’s largest with the fighting sparking global fears of nuclear disaster—taking along with them 100 members of the Jewish community Throughout the first week of the war and ever since, Chabad’s modern synagogue in Zaporizhzhia has served as a shelter for Jews and non-Jews its sturdy basement offering a measure of protection from bombs and the synagogue staff distributing food and medicine for everyone in need The city remains under attack by Russian forces a 38-hour curfew was declared after barrages from mortars helicopters and rocket systems killed at least nine we’ve been there 25 years,” Rabbi Ehrentreu says “We built a beautiful synagogue—all with local contributions but here I was spending all my time sitting in the dark and I realized that I’d be able to do far more to help my community from outside Ukraine than from a basement.” Ehrentreu arranges for buses to evacuate people from Zaporizhzhia bringing hundreds of refugees straight to the Polish border He also continues to be in touch with people every day by phone The younger Ehrentreu likewise spent the first weeks of the war volunteering for the cause. As a native Russian speaker, he’d helped man the emergency call center set up in Crown Heights working the phones for hours on end to help those within Ukraine get out of their cities to safety he couldn’t bear the thought of the Jews of Zaporizhzhia without a proper Purim He and Bleich packed up four suitcases with some kosher food and a lot of difficult-to-get-in-Ukraine medicine and on March 13 flew from New York to Warsaw Bleich and Ehrentreu arrived in Warsaw on Monday evening and took a car straight towards Ukraine everyone else was heading in the other direction They stayed overnight in Lviv before boarding a 23-hour train to Zaporizhzhia “About 30 people came to hear the Megillah on the night of Purim,” says the younger Ehrentreu “We usually have a few hundred community members gather on Purim Prayers—Zaporizhzhia’s synagogue otherwise also continues to hold regular prayer services every day—the reading of the Megillah followed by a big and joyous Purim celebration some of the staunchest Jewish community volunteers and activists are people who until recently would only drop by once or twice a year “You’re seeing the Jewish spark within each soul come out during these times of war,” he says The day-long farbrengen gathering was spirited with plenty of l’chaims to go around So we spoke about the fact that when you bring joy to others on the morning of which the pair found out that the city would soon descend into a 36-hour military lockdown They led the gathered Jews through a fast prayer service and Shabbat kiddush before heading back to the Ehrentreu’s family home to wait out the lockdown the young rabbis boarded the day’s Chabad evacuation bus leaving Zaporizhzhia and began the long trek back to safety Zaporizhzhia was less than four hours away from the port city of Mariupol about 100 Jewish families along with thousands of others have been able to escape the hell of Mariupol The closest Jewish community is in Zaporizhzhia has been helping his community members get there and then help them along out of the country What the two yeshivah students had seen and heard in Zaporizhzhia would pale in comparison to the stories they heard from the survivors of Mariupol sitting next to them on the bus they went through dangers none of us could dream of There was an elderly Jewish man sitting in the front of the bus just crying As the bus headed west, Bleich and Ehrentreu went up and down the aisle donning tefillin with the Jewish men, helping them recite the words of the Shema Ehrentreu approached an elderly man whom he recognized from the community “I’m Gregory Rivkin,” the man reminded Ehrentreu as they wrapped tefillin He was the last shochet [‘ritual slaughterer’] of Zaporizhzhia.” The greatest open secret of Chabad’s unparalleled success in all the countries that once made up the Soviet Union is the fact that the Chassidic movement is of the place “The leader of the religious resistance and the coordinator of much underground activity was [the Sixth Rebbe of righteous memory],” writes historian Zvi Gitelman “He was constantly hounded by the [Yevsektzia the Jewish sections of the Communist Party] and the secret police and was finally forced to leave the Soviet Union [in 1927] but not before he had trained many teachers whose influence was felt in the USSR long after his departure.” and work behind the scenes to help them leave the country Gregory Rivkin’s grandfather, Rabbi Meir Shlomo Malkin, was one such loyal Chabad foot-soldier in Zaporizhzhia. Malkin was born around 1888 elsewhere in Ukraine, and in his early teens set out for the yeshivah in Lubavitch and when his father-in-law passed away inherited his position as shochet of the city After surviving World War II in Central Asia he returned to his hometown and his position “He would wake up very early in the morning and pray,” another grandson of his told Kfar Chabad magazine in 2015 “and then head to the marketplace where he served as a shochet He didn’t stop until the end of his life.” Malkin passed away in 1976 at the age of 88 wearing tefillin and heading out of the city whose Jewish spiritual survival ran in his blood I saw the great love with which the Rebbe spoke about Soviet Jews the way he looked at them,” says the elder Rabbi Ehrentreu “That’s what made me want to move to serve the Jews of Ukraine and what reminds me of the awesome responsibility we have towards each and every one of them.” You can support the continued work of the Jewish Community of Zaporizhzhia, here. Click here for a prayer you can say and a list of good deeds you can do in the merit of the protection of all those in harm’s way The prize will be presented at a ceremony to be held next week Dubi was part of the US-Israel collaboration with Prof Bingqian Xu of the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia USA which made headlines last year for their creation and characterization of the world’s smallest diode – one molecule small six prizes of $10,000 each are awarded annually in life sciences Selection is made by the Wolf Foundation Scholarships Committee on the basis of an untenured candidate’s excellence and the importance of his or her research field The Wolf Foundation was established in Israel in 1975 by inventor “to promote science and art for the benefit of mankind.”  International Olympic Committee (IOC) Sports Director Christophe Dubi meets the press in Milan An International Olympic Committee executive sent a firm message to Salt Lake City officials Monday: Go ahead and build an NHL or MLB stadium but don’t use the Olympic Games as a scapegoat Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games executive director, told reporters in no uncertain terms that the IOC will consider using such venues, if they exist, if Salt Lake City is named host of the 2034 Winter Games construction of the facilities is not integral to Utah’s bid “At no point in time should [the construction of] these venues be conditional upon being part of the Games,” Dubi said the NHL or whatever purpose because they’re going to serve for the Games as well.’ That needs to be very clear.” Late last month, Utah’s legislature approved a bill that would commit at least $900 million in taxpayer money to the construction of an NHL arena and an MLB stadium in the event the state successfully woos one or both of those professional sports franchises Both venue projects have been loosely tied to the Olympics Downtown Salt Lake City is the heart of Utah. Our efforts are not about an arena, it’s about revitalizing a downtown that desperately needs investment. Imagine a downtown experience like this with the NBA / NHL at its core. pic.twitter.com/w2Qzxf17gs When a group led by Jazz owner Ryan Smith officially submitted a bid to bring an NHL expansion team to Salt Lake City in January Lawmakers also connected the need for a new hockey arena with the impending arrival of the Winter Games while debate of the bill on the Senate floor In addition, Fraser Bullock, the president and CEO of the local organizing committee, told The Tribune last fall that he believes the MLB stadium envisioned for the Power District near the Utah State Fairpark could serve as a medals plaza — if it is built the local committee has plenty of options that are already in place “We actually have, they’re probably 20 pages long, each venue under contract,” Bullock said, “with all the specific details that we could actually use to host the Games now.” “Right now, we’re going to be discussing a venue proposal that Salt Lake-Utah will put on the table,” Barrett said. “If in the forthcoming years — and maybe even after election — another, better possibility becomes available, why not look at it? We would be silly not to look at it.” The IOC has emphasized sustainability in recent years, including encouraging potential hosts to make use of existing structures. One reason Salt Lake City’s bid has been considered so strong is that it can employ all the same venues from 2002 and would not need to build any new permanent venues. Dubi made clear that aspect of the bid is still more attractive to the IOC than new, taxpayer-funded stadiums. “Let’s not create the link between investment in these venues and their necessity for the Olympic Games,” he said. For e-edition questions or comments, contact customer support 801-237-2900 or email subscribe@sltrib.com sltrib.com © 1996-2025 The Salt Lake Tribune Downtown Salt Lake City is the heart of Utah. Our efforts are not about an arena, it’s about revitalizing a downtown that desperately needs investment. Imagine a downtown experience like this with the NBA / NHL at its core. pic.twitter.com/w2Qzxf17gs You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed BC mathematicians Ian Biringer and Dubi Kelmer are recognized by the National Science Foundation Assistant professor of mathematics Dubi Kelmer Police Chief Broadway and staff presented awards and citations to several Police Officers and civilians for their exemplary efforts during the calendar year of 2022 Police Chief Broadway proudly described the reasons why the following people were recognized and are so valuable to the community Detective Uziel Dubi responded to the scene with other police personnel When Detective Dubi and another officer gave the subject verbal commands to drop the firearm causing him to stop shooting and ending the deadly threat By bravely confronting an armed subject at risk of his own serious injury or death Detective Uziel Dubi potentially saved the lives of several first responders and innocent bystanders Detective Dubi has undoubtedly earned the Clermont Police Department Medal of Valor Supervisor of the Year Award – Sergeant Mark Marshall Sergeant Marshall began 2022 looking for ways to improve the Training Division after he had just taken over the division at the end of 2021 Sergeant Marshall was able to bring in and host 23 different classes on various topics This was a massive improvement with nearly a 200% increase in the number of classes hosted by the agency during 2022 thus increasing the number of opportunities for officers to attend training classes Sergeant Marshall had already secured 25 training classes the CPD will be hosting throughout 2023.  He recommended that the Phase 0 training be increased to six weeks instead of four weeks which added a lot more time with scenario training Marshall assumed tactical command on a call for a suicidal subject who had a gun Marshall constantly reviewed the current status of the call and made adjustments as needed to make sure everyone was safe He simultaneously prepared a plan of action to bring the event to a safe end for everyone nobody was injured and everyone went home.  He serves as a team leader for the Mid-Florida Swat Team.  He has provided training at several churches and businesses on active threat He is an exceptional supervisor with a great attitude who is always willing to help He cares about those he supervises and works to help them be successful and to grow in their careers.  These are only a few reasons why Sergeant Mark Marshall was named Officer Burgos has been extremely proactive in looking for and locating dangerous narcotics Officer Burgos has made approximately thirty-five (35) drug arrests; five (5) DUI arrests and four (4) warrant arrests all stemming from his proactivity and enforcement efforts Officer Burgos has shown a propensity to locate dangerous drugs such as methamphetamine and heroin and is able to arrest those found in possession of these harmful substances Officer Burgos goes beyond his regular duties and has been consistently proactive in his patrol style clearing them on his own to include multiple feelings to elude suspects after the fact and aided narcotics detectives in the execution of search warrants 2022 Officer Burgos observed a suspect vehicle in traffic minutes after he fled from a narcotics unit Officer Burgos utilized heavy traffic to affect a traffic stop on the vehicle knowing it couldn’t flee anywhere The occupant fled on foot and Officer Burgos gave chase The occupant was later apprehended resulting in a plethora of charges including armed trafficking in multiple narcotics possession of a firearm and ammo by a convicted felon  RACHEL MAVES – CIVILIAN OF THE YEAR  CSI Supervisor Rachel Maves has been employed with the City of Clermont since February 2021 and she has made a significant impact in the overall operation and efficiency of our Property & Evidence section.  Rachel started in the unit after the position was vacant for a short time and was tasked with organizing and catching up on a backlog of issues thorough and immediately began implementing procedures to improve efficiency with property and evidence management Her efforts included researching and proposing the purchase of a new crime scene mapping device which has helped streamline scene photography.  Rachel has effectively dealt with numerous supervisory duties including screening interviewing and training additional CSI and created and implemented a new training program for the new CSI employees.  Although Rachel is not in an official on-call status she has always been willing to come in on short notice to assist with processing crime scenes She is often sought out for input by officers and detectives due to her knowledge and expertise on scenes Rachel is a tremendous asset to the Clermont Police Department and her contributions are worthy of much praise.  Citizen of the Year Award – Justin Nichols   “It is my great honor to stand here today and express my gratitude to an individual who has dedicated his time and energy to make South Lake County a better place for all and his contributions have been invaluable.  Justin has made significant strides in our community particularly in mentoring high school students supporting fundraising efforts in multiple organizations and launching various initiatives that have impacted the lives of many He has been a selfless individual who has worked tirelessly to bring about positive change and we are all grateful for his efforts.  He is a great partner to the Clermont Police Department and providing resources and food to many events and city functions.  Through his dedication to the Annual South Lake Chamber of Commerce Teacher Appreciation Breakfast and Taste of South Lake Justin has been instrumental in recognizing the hard work of our teachers and the efforts of the business community to support them His work has been a catalyst for inspiring many of us to give back to the community in our own way.  Justin has been a crucial partner in launching the Champion Circle Youth Empowerment Program and the South Lake non-profit Think Tank These organizations have had a tremendous impact on the lives of people in the community providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in life.  It is no exaggeration to say that our community would not be the same without Justin’s leadership and contributions and more inclusive community that we can all be proud of on behalf of the entire Clermont Police Department and South Lake County community I want to express our sincere gratitude to Justin Nichols for all he has done and unwavering commitment to making a difference May we all be inspired to follow in his footsteps and continue to make South Lake County a better place for all”.  07mar(mar 7)6:30 pm26dec(dec 26)9:30 pmVFW Bingo March 7 (Friday) 6:30 pm - December 26 (Friday) 9:30 pm 25apr(apr 25)6:30 pm13feb(feb 13)9:30 pmVFW Bingo April 25 (Friday) 6:30 pm - February 13 (Friday) 9:30 pm 05may7:00 pm9:00 pmGroveland City Council Meeting meets the 1st and 3rd Mondays' of the month meets the 1st and 3rd Mondays’ of the month 06may12:00 pm1:30 pmLunch With Clermont Mayor Murry Join Mayor Murry on the first Tuesday of each month for lunch and City updates at rotating Clermont restaurants (subject to change – check with the city of Clermont for updates) 06may12:00 pm1:30 pmLunch With Clermont Mayor Tim Murry Clermont residents are invited to join Mayor Tim Murry for his monthly open forum community lunch held on the first Tuesday of every month at noon The May luncheon will be held on May 6 at Amores Italian Restaurant These informal gatherings provide a valuable opportunity for residents to hear updates on city plans learn about the opportunities and challenges facing the Clermont City Council Mayor Murry will share key developments and initiatives happening throughout the city offering insight into ongoing and future projects that impact the community the mayor encourages attendees to bring their questions “This is a time for open conversation,” said Mayor Murry “I want to make sure residents feel heard and informed about what’s happening in their city.” The casual setting fosters meaningful dialogue and helps strengthen the connection between city leadership and the community contact the city’s official website or call 352-227-2003 08may10:00 am11:30 amBuild Your Bones! 10may7:00 am1:00 pmThe Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive - U.S. Postal Service The Letter Carriers' Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive will take place on Saturday simply leave a bag of non-perishable food next to your mailbox for The president of the Sarasota Audubon chapter has received the Charles H Callison Award from the National Audubon Society for her commitment to birds and habitat conservation Jeanne Dubi has been a leader at the Sarasota Audubon for decades and has played a key role in turning the Celery Fields That effort included fundraising and overseeing the construction of a new Audubon nature center.  Previously: Sarasota Audubon will retrofit nature center, resume naturalist programs at Celery Fields More: Sarasota Audubon awarded $3,700 grant from Community Foundation to retrofit Nature Center persuaded Sarasota County to give Sarasota Audubon the right to manage 27 acres adjacent to the Celery Fields which also will be a newly created wildlife habitat.  “Jeanne is a truly extraordinary individual,” said Jacqui Sulek chapters conservation manager for Audubon Florida it’s difficult to imagine Sarasota County without the ‘Celery Fields.’ What was once an actual celery field is now a refuge for both resident and migrating birds And while this would be enough 'legacy' for some Jeanne continues to take another and then another step forward to continue to build this space where birds and people thrive.” Dubi's most recent initiatives include multigenerational families from the area's Hispanic/Latinx community for Spanish language field trips These awards honor outstanding efforts by staff and volunteers to continue Audubon’s mission for birds and habitat conservation and one award is given to a volunteer.  Callison Award recipient out of the thousands of people who are dedicated to improving the future of birds and wildlife is a deep honor,” said Dubi “I humbly share this award with the many engaged Audubon members without whom this would not have been possible.” Like a lot of datamined content for Elden Ring it sounds sick but I'm still happy with what we got These zones seem to tie into a previous iteration of Elden Ring that involved more world map altering "cataclysms" similar to the meteor that strikes Limgrave in the final game Elden Ring's vast underground areas like Siofra and Ainsel are some of the coolest parts of the game presenting twisty side stories among a cross section of the previous civilizations of the Lands Between Sekiro Dubi's video begins with an alternate version of the Deeproot Depths under Leyndell where Fia's quest reaches its conclusion in the final game The data Sekiro Dubi worked with included a rough draft of how the area would have looked on the world map as well as a WIP mesh of the area that can still be activated in game and explored The alternate Deeproot looks like it roughly maps onto the final one but then has this long chasm stretching to the northeast and culminating in an elevator up to the endgame Consecrated Snowfield area this could have been how we originally accessed the Snowfield or things could have moved in the opposite direction with Deeproot Depths being discovered via an elevator from the surface⁠—cut dialogue does seem to suggest the former Similar to how that meteor opens up a path to Nokron these cataclysms would have opened up other areas The second WIP underground zone maps onto where Moghwyn Palace sits in the final game directly underneath Starscourge Radahn and across the chasm from Siofra River bowl-shaped structure with a twisting path along its sides leading to the bottom It could very well be an extension of a crater reaching up to the surface with unused cataclysm data indicating a crater would appear in Starscourge Radahn's expansive boss arena at one point The very bottom looks big enough to have supported structures and exploration or it could have served as another large boss arena Astel could have been the meteor that forms the cut Caelid crater with players then climbing down to fight it as a boss at the bottom of this alternate Moghwyn Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals really catches my interest: its potential function as a way into Deeproot or the Snowfield (depending on which way you were supposed to enter) would have been a cool way to introduce either area both Deeproot Depths and the Consecrated Snowfield have pretty nonsensical entry points in the final game: Coffin Flop Kayak and a secret elevator hiding a second Associate EditorTed has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent When he's not playing or writing about games you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch The L’Chaim of Dubi (Shalom Duber) Raitport and Chava Sebag, both of Crown Heights took place at Ulam Chana Hall in Crown Heights. Photos Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) Δdocument.getElementById("ak_js_2").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()) Advertise | Donate Submit a tip Submit an Op-ed Three Miami Business School sophomores will have the chance to win $1 million for their startup idea after winning a campus Hult Prize competition Nov Ryan Rebholz and Kevin Wheeler comprised one of 17 teams that competed Their winning idea: establish a chain of fitness and training centers where young unemployed veterans can put their physical training and leadership experience to use Not only will the Warrior Fitness plan give veterans jobs—it will give them a chance to gain valuable business management education “Everyone likes to say they support our veterans and our troops,” said Rebholz an international finance and marketing major “but veterans still have some of the highest rates of unemployment in the nation We wanted to find a way to change that.” who’s double majoring in finance and global business studies with a specialization in Latin America “It really isn’t fair how people who dedicate their lives to serving our country come back to limited opportunities,” she said teams were each given 10 minutes to present their idea for a startup that could create 10,000 jobs for young workers in 10 years The top three teams competed in a final round judged by business experts including University of Miami faculty and alumni but getting that confirmation from the judges felt really good,” Rebholz said “At this point it still seems unreal We understand we still have a lot of work to do before we take our idea and compete against other universities but we’re excited nonetheless.” the group will be able to compete in a regional competition in spring they will have the opportunity participate in a six-week accelerator program followed by the final competition held at the United Nations in September where the $1 million-winning team will be decided “We are all super excited and proud to have made it to the next round,” Dubi said “We plan to work on our project until it is the absolute best it can be in order to best represent UM.” Though the next legs of the competition will take place beyond Coral Gables hosting the event at UM was a success in and of itself for Hult’s Miami campus director a senior majoring in finance and economics worked to bring the contest to campus with the help of the Hyperion Council The organization creates solutions for local and international businesses and nonprofits After an interview and application process with the Hult Prize as well as work in branding the competition and preparing it for a UM debut Kingma and the Council were able to bring the event to campus “It was so great seeing it come together and getting the number of teams to be an official event,” Kingma said Fellow Hyperion Council member Andrew Mount a senior majoring in finance and legal studies contacting judges and coordinating logistics “Thousands of students from around the globe participate in the Hult Prize,” he said “It’s great to see UM students answer the Hult Prize’s call for social entrepreneurship.” The Hult Prize, which turns 10 next year, began at the Hult International Business School and places an emphasis on the social impact of business—an “intersection of purpose and profit,” according to HultPrize.org. This year’s anniversary challenge is named “For Us By Us,” placing a special focus on youth employment The Miami Hurricane is the student newspaper of the University of Miami in Coral Gables The newspaper is edited and produced by undergraduate students at UM and is published in print every Tuesday and online everyday during the academic year The advice from a member of the International Olympic Committee delegation in Utah this week to inspect venues for a 2034 Winter Games sounded contradictory at first: Don’t be in a rush to put plans in place but don’t wait to take advantage of the opportunity “Let’s not hurry on this. But then, be bold and ambitious,” the IOC’s Olympic Games executive director, Christophe Dubi, said during an invitation-only community forum held in the Eccles Theater lobby last week “it’s urgent not to start too early” to organize a Winter Games The 2034 Winter Games could be formally awarded to Utah on July 24, the state’s Pioneer Day, at an IOC meeting in Paris ahead of the 2024 Summer Games three years sooner than Games used to be awarded “You have all it takes. You have the venues and you have the people you have the ingredients to deliver the Games,” he said adding that waiting to focus on operations allows time for new developments to emerge The ability to “deliver a lot” should inspire Utahns to emulate organizers of this summer’s Olympics who “started very early with this ambition that the Games should be France’s Games,” he said suggesting Utah could extend efforts to involve more youth in sports across the United States Jacqueline Barrett, the IOC’s Future Olympic Games Hosts director, told reporters at a news conference held at a downtown social club Saturday, that the “great capability here, great confidence and level of readiness” in Utah could help elevate future Winter Games to think how could the Olympic Winter Games here in 2034 be transformative,” Barrett said In an interview Saturday with the Deseret News before the delegation left Utah Dubi drew the line at linking Olympic budgets with infrastructure and other projects that aren’t necessary to host even though that’s been the ambition of many past host cities “I think it’s finding the right balance between the positive energy that the Games can generate the acceleration for some of the projects that would be meaningful for a community over a long period of time while not counting all of these on a Games budget,” he said Looking at infrastructure development as an expense of hosting an Olympics is the issue “That has happened quite a lot in the past bridges or whatever infrastructure on the cost of the Games Sustainability is considered a key pillar of the IOC agenda that put in place the new And while “the two notions of development and sustainability are not mutually exclusive,” Dubi said “anything we do has to have Utah leaders are already looking at what can get done for the state if there’s another Olympics coming Natalie Gochnour, director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah told the Deseret News any efforts to organize an Olympics now “might be for naught because the world is changing so much,” in terms of technology But that doesn’t have to mean losing the momentum that would be generated by getting another Games to drive a shift to what Gochnour called “superstructure” projects “A perfect example would be Great Salt Lake elevation levels adding it’s one of the issues facing the state that “we want to make progress on before the eyes of the world are here.” “creates a lot of alignment and incentive for us to be our best selves So we’re going to focus on the Great Salt Lake The three extra years that Utah would have “to focus on that superstructure “It will help create alignment and give us extra fuel for the momentum that we already feel.” president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee that’s behind the bid said the staffing for organizing another Winter Games would be “very modest to begin with,” with much of the detailed work not getting underway for another five years “But there are two things that need to happen now,” Bullock said One would be the organizing committee’s community initiatives aimed at involving children in sport The other is getting going on “some big infrastructure projects that do take some time,” he said Those include the Kimball Junction exit off I-80 the gateway to the nearby Utah Olympic Park as well as the Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort ski areas set to host Winter Games events “Those things we need to start early in conjunction with all the authorities,” he said “to make sure that we get those on track in time for the Games Other projects are already being tied to another Olympics, just as the expansion of I-15 and other transportation projects were for the 2002 Winter Games. The Utah Transit Authority even held a news conference at a TRAX stop for a reserved train transporting the IOC delegation touting the agency’s extensive plans for bus light rail and train systems through 2030 and beyond University of Utah President Taylor Randall told the Deseret News the Olympics are “almost a perfect partnership” for the campus which once again would be the site of the opening and closing ceremonies in Rice-Eccles Stadium as well as the housing for athletes “The Olympics has been a catalyst for growth and reputation at the University of Utah. In 2002, we were able to build an Olympic Village (for athletes) which now houses many of our students Similar investments would be made that will be very complimentary to the growth of the university,” he said “One of the unique things that these Games organizers are trying to do is to create an Olympic legacy that exists afterwards,” Randall said the University of Utah and our mental health capabilities to be able to focus on the mental health of athletes and the performance requirements of athletes is part of a legacy we could leave.” Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, whose decade as governor ended in 2003, when he accepted a post with the George W. Bush administration, recently urged leaders to start taking advantage of the “huge amount of back pressure that will allow you to get a lot of things done that you could never get done in their absence.” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall made a point of telling the IOC that the city’s ambitions already align with what would benefit another Winter Games “It’s not that the Games are going to make something happen that we weren’t going to do anyway,” she said during the bid committee’s initial presentation to the IOC delegation pledging the city will remain committed to environmental goals even as the downtown population is set to double The mayor pitched projects aimed at attracting more families downtown including “a pedestrianization of this Main Street corridor” that would include a 100 South connection to the Salt Palace Convention Center “a green loop that encircles this downtown core” to give children a place to play and bringing technology companies closer to the University of Utah Mendenhall said during the community forum that “one of the greatest ways to feel like you’re a part of something is to know what direction that something is going in She also promised Utahns will continue to be asked what they want to see from another Olympics labeling youth as the top priority in a state that’s “good at raising families.” There wasn’t talk publicly about specific goals for the Games from state officials during the visit even though it’s Gov who would sign the host agreement with the IOC Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who stepped in for the governor at the initial presentation because of the first lady’s surgery, spoke about the personal impact hosting an Olympics can have on Utahns “The Olympics is as much a part of who we are as anything else in our state,” the lieutenant governor said director of the Utah Division of Multicultural Affairs emphasized the state’s growing minority population at the community forum promising a “welcoming community where people feel loved In joining the Columbus Blue Jackets this season “Dubi” — what the rookie has been called on and off the ice since he was a kid growing up in Quebec — was “Dubi told me I couldn’t be Dubi anymore,” the 19-year-old said with a laugh recalling an early meeting with veteran forward Brandon Dubinsky (aka: Dubi) “It was kind of an order: ‘You have to find a new nickname.’” A nickname is all but a requirement — and a rite of passage — for any Blue Jacket the team has many other nicknames that adhere to the pattern of shortened last name plus a “y” sound on the end “Bjorky” (forward Oliver Bjorkstrand) and “Korpi” (backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo) And “Bob” has become a brand all its own for Sergei Bobrovsky I don’t think he ever envisioned himself being that,” said forward Nick Foligno “I think a nickname can really define you.” Foligno can’t remember who coined his moniker “Fliggy,” but assumes it was fellow forward Matt Calvert: “He just can’t call anyone by their first name,” Foligno said coaches or anyone else within the organization Nicknames are common not only at Nationwide Arena but throughout hockey in general And they’re used not only on the ice by coaches and players but also on TV broadcasts and by other members of the media and it’s accepted — that informality,” said Karen Davis director of communications for the Blue Jackets who has worked in and around the National Hockey League since 1994 “I have to call their names out on the bench all night long for line changes — like “I have to say this in split-second intervals Tortorella is “Torts” and always has been (unless his wife or mother is addressing him) The coach calls him “Luc” or “Lukey,” whereas Dubois’ teammates call him “PL” or “PLD.” Boone Jenner is “Jenns” to Tortorella; to the rest of the locker room he’s “Bam Bam,” inspired by the Flintstones character “The trainer Mike Vogt gave it to me my first year (2013),” Jenner said might change throughout a player’s career on the ice sometimes you get the ones where you have to be on the team to understand,” he said “There are other ones where you can kind of figure out with last names It’s easier to remember than first names.” Blue Jackets left-winger and current TV color analyst which is an extension of his nickname and sweater number during his playing days in Columbus Several teammates gave him the moniker “Hawk” and still call him that “They made the observation that I was always circling the Arena District and knowing where to go,” Shelley said I had the hawk’s eye on the situation for the guys.” “You make your teammates your own,” he said “I think it makes you part of your own group.” Foligno said he never liked the nicknames he had while playing for the Ottawa Senators: “Nicky” (“My sisters call me that”) and “Gino.” “It’s definitely a rite of passage for a lot guys coming to new teams,” Foligno said to the Jackets from the Chicago Blackhawks during the off-season his new teammates kept the nickname his former team had bestowed upon him because it was so fitting So “Bread Man” (a reference to Panera Bread) might still be looking for a nickname to stick but most of his fellow players have settled on one Dubois asked defenseman Scott “Harry” Harrington what the others call him “PLD,” Harrington replied without hesitation Image: Daveangolo/Shutterstock.com Editor's note: This article was originally published in October 2022 So where do all the critters go when a hurricane strikes? They’re not watching the news and getting evacuation orders Birds are particularly exposed to the dangerous elements of a hurricane—Hurricane Maria wiped out half Puerto Rico’s endangered parrots in 2018 What happens to our Florida population during and after a hurricane They deal with hurricanes the best way they can Jeanne Dubi, president of the Sarasota Audubon Society says what birds do is highly complicated and depends on a lot of factors “We have a resident population of birds such as cardinals mockingbirds and so forth that live and breed here year round,” she explains This resident population had to hunker down and bear the brunt of the storm under brush and even in urban infrastructure The effects of hurricanes on resident birds range from being exposed to drenching rain and suffering hypothermia to being thrown about and slammed into objects in a gale of wind Dubi says that since the storm she's seen blue jays and mockingbirds around her neighborhood “I would expect there has been some mortality of those resident birds,” Dubi says What concerns her and other bird enthusiasts now is the lack of food sources “I have a fire bush in my backyard that this time of year creates berries that some birds eat," Dubi says “That particular bush has been denuded because of the fierce winds Many of our resident bird species rely on food sources supplied by our local flora “The food sources now are compromised or scant One would expect some possible starvation and death as a result of the lack of food.” This time of year is also when millions of birds migrate from their northern breeding grounds and head south through Florida to spend the winter in the Gulf Basin and Central and South America Dubi is concerned about how Hurricane Ian might have negatively impacted this year's migration “I don’t see any migrants at this past week,” she says an app that crowdsources migratory bird data she’s seen far fewer reports of birds than would be expected this time of year “I would expect to see lots of thrushes and warblers,” she said “but very few have been reported over these last three days they managed to avoid the storm or they perished in the storm.” birds have developed means of surviving these storms They can hear infrasound and sense barometric pressure from far away so they can avoid dangerous storms like hurricanes One strategy is to fly hundreds of miles away to avoid the storm Some researchers have also shown birds flying in the eye of the storm to avoid bad weather Other birds may have been blown hundreds or even thousands of miles off course and ended up on totally different continents “It’s interesting to note that in adverse conditions such as this birds will get caught up in the storm and be blown all the way across the Atlantic," Dubi says "Bird watchers in Britain absolutely love it because they get to see a bird they normally don't.” That sad part is that the birds that don’t survive fall out of the sky and die In the coming months, we'll see how our resident and migratory birds respond to the damage wrought by Hurricane Ian. The long-term concern is how the storm will affect the birds' food sources. The water quality of our bays is expected to suffer from pollution and sediment How will the birds that depends on fish fare “Sarasota Audubon runs the nature center at the Celery Fields and we start putting feeders out in October and keep them there until March or April,” she says Some people believe it’s wrong to feed wild birds because it will create a dependency on a human food source and the birds will stop foraging for themselves “I would say to put some seed or some fruit out there would help,” Dubi says