a luxury lifestyle website that delivers a colorful and passionate telling of neighboring events KQED Live EventsPRX Podcast Garage EventsEvents Around the Bay AreaMember Benefits with KQED LiveVideos from KQED LiveWatch recordings of recent KQED Live events FeaturedThat's My WordAn ongoing exploration of Bay Area hip-hop history See Senior Director of TV Programming Meredith Speight’s recommendations from this month’s KQED 9 Watch recordings of recent KQED Live events Support KQED by using your donor-advised fund to make a charitable gift Bay Area native Joseph Latham holds his shirt up to show a new Fernet tattoo at Bender’s Bar & Grill in San Francisco on Dec. 14, 2024. “It’s definitely a San Francisco drink,” he said. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)View the full episode transcript. Can a place be defined by a beverage? If I mention champagne, you must think of France. If I say mint julep, you’re thinking of the South. If you hear Malört, and you know what that is what’s San Francisco’s defining drink The difference between Fernet and those other examples is this drink is not a product of San Francisco or even of California. But it’s certainly very beloved here. It’s estimated that more than 35% of the Fernet imported into the U.S. is consumed within San Francisco city limits. The only other place that drinks more Fernet-Branca is the whole country of Argentina, where Fernet and cola is a very popular drink how did it become so wildly popular in this particular place a neutral spirit mixed with a unique blend of herbs They’re typically used as a digestif — something meant to be sipped at the end of a large meal to help settle the stomach The spirit must be made in Italy to be called an amaro (which means “bitter” in Italian) but there are similar types of digestifs produced in countries throughout Europe Think Jägermeister from Germany or Bénédictine from France Fernet-Branca, the most popular brand in San Francisco, has been made in Italy since 1845. The company is headquartered in Milan, and Branca is the surname of the family who founded and still own and operate it The drink was originally marketed as a medicinal tonic allegedly treating everything from stomach problems to menstrual cramps This was a time when a lot of cure-all ‘health tonics’ contained a bunch of herbs and things like opium and alcohol — which were doing most of the heavy lifting to make ailing consumers feel better Fernet’s appearance in San Francisco can be traced back to prohibition it became popular among the city’s old-school bartenders for the light “It was something that they drank behind the bar because it was more of a high,” said Antoinette Cattani former sales and marketing rep for Fernet-Branca “You didn’t really get drunk on Fernet But Fernet kind of takes the edge off…You can still count your money And there was just something about it that the bartenders really liked.” The truth of how Fernet-Branca went from niche Italian sipper tattooed bar-goers take huge shots of in San Francisco dives has a lot to do with Antoinette Cattani and her particular marketing skills Cattani lived in Los Angeles and worked for Southern Wine and Spirits the distributor that sold Fernet-Branca in California The story goes that a former colleague of hers who originally hired her to market Jägermeister had gone to work for Fernet-Branca and he asked her to come meet him in a parking lot in Orange County to try something special “He opens his trunk … and he pulls out a little tiny bottle of Fernet ‘Take the whole thing!’ And I was like Cattani was excited about Fernet-Branca and went to work for them But her initial response to the spirit turns out to be a common one If there’s one thing people will tell you about Fernet-Branca it’s that it’s very much an acquired taste syrupy-looking liqueur with a strongly medicinal smell and taste Even though she was passionate about selling it Cattani was not getting the kind of enthusiasm she expected back from bartenders she was pitching it to She said she’ll never forget the time she was at the legendary Key Club in Los Angeles and when she gave someone a shot of Fernet-Branca “This guy literally wiped his tongue and said ‘Why would you do that to me?’” But she got the exact opposite reaction when she came to San Francisco The bartenders here seemed to share her delight She immediately received a warm welcome from some influential people in the bar and restaurant industry and signed some big accounts Then she got to work hitting bars around the city Cattani started hosting as many promotional events and parties as possible The focus wasn’t just on getting bar patrons to like it Cattani knew if she wanted people to sell it Bars that committed to ordering 20 cases of Fernet at a time would be part of a “Pouring ’20s” club and get a plaque to display She threw huge parties for the bars that sold the most Fernet and events specifically for bartenders in the city Fernet sponsored art showings and drink specials during rock shows at places like Thee Parkside I knew if I married it into that community that it would be endless.” Cattani said when she started working for Fernet the company sold 18,000 cases a year nationally with a good chunk of that in San Francisco It wasn’t long until Fernet-Branca became synonymous with San Francisco’s bar community You might even hear it referred to locally as the ‘bartender’s handshake.’ “We’d get a group of bartenders and we’d go to New York…or even in Louisiana,” Cattani said ‘Can we get a shot of Fernet?’ And they’re like bartenders from San Francisco!’” but the impact of her time at the company has lasted Fernet is now firmly rooted in the city as a spirit that’s cool because bartenders drink it ordering it as a bar patron makes you cool by association But the company hasn’t given up its marketing strategy “We actually had a Fernet raffle earlier this year where they gifted us a skateboard,” said Felix Connor a bartender at Bender’s Bar and Grill on South Van Ness “It was a beautiful Fernet skateboard so we raffled it off to people who bought a shot of Fernet.” and I want one.’ And so there’s like all this really great lore,” Connor said You all want to be a part of something secret.” they love pouring shots of Fernet-Branca for tourists visiting San Francisco who’ve never tried it Kelly O’Mara contributed to this story Olivia Allen-Price: The San Francisco Bay Area has a rich history with cocktails and spirits We claim to be the originators of the Martini and the Mai Tai I’d argue only one has become quintessentially San Franciscan: Fernet-Branca.  [waterfall of people saying they like it or hate it?]  herbal spirit become so popular in San Francisco Olivia Allen-Price: We decided to give this story to the person on the Bay Curious team who most likes Fernet-Branca… Producer Amanda Font Amanda Font: If you’ve never had Fernet syrupy-looking liqueur with an intense herbal and strongly alcoholic aroma It’s somewhat bitter and medicinal tasting with no sweetness and has sort of a cooling Fernet is a type of amaro or Italian digestif something meant to be sipped in small amounts at the end of a meal Amaros are basically alcohol infused with different blends of herbs The word amaro means ‘bitter’ in Italian Though Fernet is a designation given to a type of liqueur we’ll be talking about one specific brand… the most popular one in San Francisco: Fernet-Branca.  Felix Connor: It’s like a nice red wine where it’s not always soft and easy drinking Felix Connor: I have been a bartender for just about ten years And I’ve lived here for 12 of them.  Amanda Font: Felix tends bar at a couple places including Bender’s Bar and Grill on South Van Ness in San Francisco’s Mission District I met them there on a recent rainy afternoon because a lot of the lore around this spirit in San Francisco focuses on bartenders It’s become so popular with folks in the bar industry that people sometimes refer to a shot of Fernet as the “Bartender’s handshake.” It’s like a little wink and nod that you’re compatriots Felix Connor: It’s something that is an acquired taste And so there’s almost this like pride that comes with being like the person who’s pouring me a Fernet knows I’m probably a bartender or knows that I’ve been in the industry and this turns out to be a pretty common story they did NOT like it the first time they tried it.  Felix Connor: The first shot of Fernet I ever had was when I must have been 21 or 22 bar backing and it was given to me by the bartender I was bar backing for And so the first 4 or 5 times I had Fernet was definitely… I didn’t like it Amanda Font: But it eventually grew on them it’s definitely one of their go-to drinks.  Felix Connor: It’s very like herbaceous and it’s got just so many layers of flavor.  Amanda Font: And they say that Bender’s serves a ton of it.  Felix Connor: I know that definitely a lot of people who are transplants to San Francisco are getting into it and the bartenders have been like key holders to the city for a long time in San Francisco.  Amanda Font: People know SF bartenders like Fernet and then patrons drink it and feel like they’re in the loop And all this adds up to San Francisco consuming a boatload of the stuff The city is second in consumption only to the entire country of Argentina where they mostly drink it mixed with Coca-Cola But why do bartenders here like it so much in the first place?  Felix Connor: I don’t know why or how it spread But I do know it’s been like 25 years of this So did all the San Francisco bartenders simultaneously have a dream one night in the late 90s where an angel told them to start drinking Fernet-Branca Antoinette Cattani: I’m sorry that my Italian voice cuts through cement You got to tell me when I’m at a ten to just keep it to a five The real answer is brilliant marketing.  I was still in Los Angeles and I was working for the distributor that had it at the time The evangelist bearing the joy of Fernet to the fine people of San Francisco Antoinette had done sales and marketing for Jägermeister (you may have heard of it.) It’s a kind of German cousin to herbal Italian amaros like Fernet Antoinette Cattani: And the gentleman who hired me for Jägermeister in the early nineties had just left Jägermeister and went to Fernet-Branca you got to come in and talk to me about this brand and come meet me in this parking lot in Orange County.”  Antoinette Cattani: So I go to Orange County And he pulls out a little tiny bottle of Fernet and he says Amanda Font: Even though it meant taking a big pay cut she went to work for Fernet-Branca in sales and marketing But she wasn’t really getting the response she expected when she went out to sell it.  Antoinette Cattani: People hated me because I was so excited and so passionate about it that I would go into these restaurants and bars and talk to people about it So they were like waiting to taste this amazing like delicious… And I was at the Key Club and this guy literally wiped his tongue and said ‘Why would you do that to me?’  Amanda Font: Antoinette says that kind of reaction was not uncommon She got it over and over from bartenders in L.A.  Antoinette Cattani: And every time I came to San Francisco So my boss looked at me like we both had that moment ‘I would love to move to San Francisco.’  She was put in touch with some influential folks in the restaurant and bar industry She signed a few contracts with some high profile restaurant clients she started doing footwork at bars around the city.  Antoinette Cattani: My job was to know all the right bartenders work with those bartenders and then do whatever I needed to do to get it behind the bar.  this is not to say that none of the bartenders here drank Fernet-Branca before Antoinette showed up going back to prohibition when it was sold in pharmacies as a medicinal tonic for stomach issues A lot of quote-unquote tonics back in the day contained a bunch of herbs just something to help take the edge off your pain… like opium or alcohol it was already being enjoyed by the city’s old-school bartenders.  Antoinette Cattani: It was something that they drank behind the bar because it was more of a high You didn’t really get drunk like Fernet kind of takes the edge off and you get this high from it And there was just something about it that the bartenders really liked Amanda Font: But Antionette knew she had to make it popular among a younger started making the rounds and doing promotion events They handed out shots at the Bay to Breakers race Or they’d sponsor Fernet drink specials during rock shows at Thee Parkside.  I knew if I married it into that community that Amanda Font: And when most liquor companies were just sending 2 hot girls into bars to do promotions Antoinette Cattani: And our thing was like Isn’t there as many women in the bar as there are men So we were like sending in either two guys or one guy and a girl We didn’t just send in two girls and do it that way So we were very different in everything we did Amanda Font: She says they were approachable and when they went to a bar to host an event they’d get people really fired up about Fernet.  and it is really contagious because whatever we’d be doing at this side of the bar everybody at the other end of the bar is interested I’ve made my way down to every single barstool and I’ve talked to every single person in the bar and every single person in the bar had a shot of Fernet Amanda Font: It started to become more popular among bar patrons but the focus was still really on getting the bartenders and owners to love Fernet If a bar would commit to buying 20 cases of Fernet at a time they’d be part of the “Pouring ’20’s Club” and all the bartenders would get invited to this huge party once a year Antoinette Cattani: And so I had old school cars and everybody would dress up and really good deejays Amanda Font: Antoinette says when she started working for Fernet-Branca they were selling about 18,000 cases a year nationally A good chunk of that increase was sales in San Francisco Fernet-Branca and San Francisco were inextricably linked.  Antoinette Cattani: We’d get a group of bartenders and we’d go to New York or something like that Antoinette no longer works for Fernet-Branca but the impact of the marketing blitz she helped create has lasted strongly medicinal-tasting Italian spirit is a drink imbibed by cool people in the know And even though Fernet-Branca’s popularity seems like it might be self-sustaining now it doesn’t mean they’ve stopped marketing it to bartenders bartender Felix tells me about the kind of things Fernet is still doing.  Felix Connor: We actually had a Fernet raffle earlier this year where they gifted us a skateboard as merchandise So we raffled it off to people who bought a shot of Fernet Amanda Font: And Felix mentioned these very cool-sounding metal coins minted by Fernet-Branca that can only be given to bartenders by Fernet at special events or promotions and I want one.” And so there’s like all this really great lore You all want to be a part of something secret if you’re listening… I think Felix over at Bender’s deserves a coin Felix Connor: One of my favorite things to do with tourists is to make them drink Fernet talking to somebody and they’ve never been to San Francisco before as you’re out with friends this holiday season maybe toast with a shot of Fernet-Branca…and get that warm and fuzzy glow people refer to if you’re one of the haters… Felix and I will toast for you.  Olivia Allen-Price: That was Bay Curious producer Amanda Font Big thanks to Kelly O’Mara and Ana De Almeida Amaral for their help on this story Olivia Allen-Price: That’s a wrap for Bay Curious in 2024 why not listen back through the Bay Curious archive Did you know we’ve made more than 400 episodes scroll back — and see what goodies you can find Olivia Allen-Price: Bay Curious is made in San Francisco at member-supported KQED Olivia Allen-Price: We hope you have a joyful holiday season and do something special to ring in the New Year Might we suggest … a shot of Fernet To learn more about how we use your information, please read our privacy policy. staying at Binghamton University has offered the possibility to sustain her love of learning while creating life-changing connections along the way Branca grew up close to the open campus of Indiana State University where she worked and audited an assortment of lectures Branca received a scholarship to study English and theatre there she felt like it was a natural progression to someday pursue a career as an educator there was a lot of integration between the university and the surrounding community,” Branca said I was able to work on theater productions or attend lectures that you don’t have access to without a university committed to the community around it.” But when it came time to attend graduate school Branca — who had initially decided upon attending Florida State University — decided to switch gears and head to Binghamton after hearing a friend’s praise about promising funding and supportive faculty Branca’s continued pursuit of education has landed her at the head of Binghamton University’s Lyceum program at the College of Community and Public Affairs: an initiative dedicated to providing low-cost educational programming to local community members in the Southern Tier and beyond I had the choice of going back to my home state or staying here — with the community that I had forged and the friendships that I’d made which allowed for a seamless transition into her doctorate under the same advisors with whom she had already built a strong rapport — people equally as dedicated to the study of literature as she was including the more niche elements of the field “I do remember attending a few parties at [Professor Libby Tucker’s] house and being able to talk about my research,” said Branca who wrote her dissertation on the golden era of the Victorian ghost story a time when 19th century society was becoming more technologically advanced “I wasn’t worried about nerding out in front of them; they were all interested in similar topics It was a lot of fun to be able to experience that in such a warm and friendly atmosphere.” Branca taught English courses at SUNY Canton and Binghamton as well as darkroom photography for 10 years within the art department It was here where she also crossed paths with Jonathan Cohen the University photographer and Branca’s now husband who would often visit her class to speak with students and recruit interns After finishing both degrees at the height of the Great Recession Branca’s goal to teach English as a faculty member evolved Still interested in giving back to the mission that had guided her to Binghamton in the first place Branca came across the opening to direct Lyceum in 2013 Having settled down in Broome County in 2001 Branca described the role as “a good fit” — taking her existing background in non-profit administration to the next level With over 120 liberal arts-style and practical subjects to choose from Branca hopes the Lyceum program can encourage the intellectual curiosity of its participants as well as the educators who volunteer their time “It’s allowing people who didn’t have the opportunity during their working lives to come and learn things that they’ve always been curious about but never had the opportunity to study They can forge new friendships from doing that or take up a new interest that they were completely unaware of before,” said Branca has shown Branca the impact and importance of her work through Lyceum “She said that the program and the people that she met in it and getting out every day and that it gave her something to continue to live for after this devastating loss,” Branca said “I was so touched to hear that the program meant that much to someone the culmination of years of reading had also naturally ignited a passion for creative writing When she first started sending her own stories out for publication as a graduate student she received around 30 rejections from several different editors — left in the dark about what needed to be fixed submission and rejection prompted her to question her own competency as a writer and the frustrating lack of feedback in the process only compounded those doubts a distinguished professor of English at the University and a five-time published author herself who helped Branca come to a realization and craft a plan “[Colbert] pointed out that most journals have a huge volume of unsolicited submissions and some get as many as a thousand unsolicited manuscripts a month,” Branca said “If they only publish 20 pieces in an issue and they only do two or maybe four issues a year most of the pieces that are submitted to journals are not publishable — they need to be reworked That conversation with Colbert inspired Branca to co-develop her own journal — one that exclusively features pieces that have faced rejection with the optimism that they would eventually find their place elsewhere ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a journal out there that only worked with pieces that have already gone through this initial process If there was a journal that only worked with writers who have sat with their piece revised it in the face of rejection… and still had faith that the piece just needed to find the right home?’” she said Eleventh Hour Literary was born With the editorial board staffed primarily by University alumni as well as current faculty and staff the connections the new journal shares with Binghamton run deep Thanks to support from the University’s Professional Staff Senate and funding from the office of President Harvey Stenger the winner of the journal’s inaugural prose contest was able to be compensated for their work In addition to curbing out-of-pocket expenses securing the “Binghamton seal of approval” directly from the administration has allowed Branca and her team to collect submissions from across the world — while generating greater community engagement among both the Alumni Association and the University itself There really is something to it,” she added “It was on my bucket list to do something like this at some point in my life PhD ’10 cultivates curiosity and community at Binghamton The average person almost never leaves home without a set of keys wallet and – perhaps most importantly – a phone and in countless cases it remains there – even when someone gets behind the wheel With car insurance rates rising and more people experiencing the devastating impacts of distracted driving advocates say the time is now for Florida to go "hands free." says he will be caravanning to every county in the state to tell local leaders just that: "What I'm trying to do is save them from a fate they can't even imagine." Florida's 2025 legislative session is just around the corner Branca wants to rally support to urge legislators to pass a hands-free law that would ban any handheld use of a phone while driving and he won't stop until his message and story are heard poured all of their love and energy into their son Anthony "He turned into just a magnificent human that was destined to change the world," Branca said They found out McNeff was pregnant with Anthony in the wake of their first son's death they lost Anthony too: He was killed by a distracted driver Nov worked his shift at a bagel shop and then took off on his motorcycle to go to class at Tallahassee Community College Branca said the driver of a van behind him "Now I'm stuck with this nightmare," he said The National Highway Safety Administration defines distracted driving as “any activity that diverts attention from driving,” which includes talking or texting on the phone the hands-free law he's pushing for is a compromise nobody would use their phone at all while driving — not even for Bluetooth- or speaker phone-calls like the hands-free law he's asking lawmakers to consider would allow Branca said he decided to buy and deck out a truck and trailer advertising his cause as he makes his journey through the state The goal is to get every county to adopt a resolution urging lawmakers to pass statewide legislation making it illegal to use cellphones while driving Jennifer Smith, a co-founder of Stop Distractions said some states allow city ordinances to be stronger than state law which makes these resolutions extremely important "I'm sick of all the nonsense," Branca said I'm going to go talk to everyone I can talk to about this Branca started his adventure last week in Wakulla County but the fight against distracted driving started long before this and far beyond the Sunshine State Smith goes state-to-state working with lawmakers to get legislation passed that targets distracted driving which studies are showing is as dangerous — if not more — than drunk driving 31 states in the country have passed hands-free laws Smith is working alongside other advocates to craft a bill using the best language from every state with a similar law to create the most effective version for Florida That state made great strides when it passed a law prohibiting texting while driving in 2019 Florida law now permits law enforcement to stop and issue citations to drivers who are texting and driving According to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles "a person may not operate a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters numbers or symbols into a wireless communications device to text Using wireless communication devices in a "handheld manner" is entirely prohibited in school and work zones Branca and others pushed hard for a hands-free driving law to get passed during the 2024 legislative session The effort was backed by Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, who sponsored a bill (HB 1469) that Tant said garnered lots of support during hearings before it ultimately died on the House floor The Senate counterpart (SB 1664) There has been a history of hesitancy among legislators to make Florida completely hands free but Tant said she didn't have many opponents in the most recent session — people just had questions "They talked about how a lot of people don't have those fancy navigation (devices) and stuff but that's easily remedied with an inexpensive device that you can mount your phone on," she said Tant said the matter is beyond just being a public safety issue It's now also an economic issue as auto insurance rates are slated to increase Economic impacts could help raise the bill to the threshold of necessity potentially giving it the leg up it didn't have last session "We just can't continue to have the number of people that are impacted by distracted driving," Tant said It's no longer a matter of "if" distracted driving will impact a loved one "It's time to change the culture behind using our phones while driving — it's past time," Smith said frequently topping charts for the most pedestrian and cyclist fatalities another hands-free advocate and executive director of Naples Pathways Coalition states see significant drops in fatality rates she said: "We want to see that same thing happen here." 18,720 people died in crashes nationwide between January and June "It's really high time for Florida to get on board and get everybody to put their phones down," Avola-Brown said There are three types of distraction — manual visual and cognitive — and cellphones inflict all three Studies have shown removing the distraction can save three lives a day but a cellphone robbed Branca of the chance to watch his son grow up and maybe even get married and become a dad Branca said he's imagined his grandchildren that could've been racing into Anthony's arms with excitement about Christmas Every passing birthday and holiday brings a new wave of grief But one thing will never change: Ten years ago and he's left to wonder if it would've ended this way had there been a law to stop it Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa Sebenius discusses how to deal with tough negotiators effectively and ethically pop music superstar Michael Jackson instructed his attorney to bid for the Northern Songs music catalog Branca secured the rights to the collection first as Jackson’s attorney and later as the executor of his estate Branca undertook numerous complex negotiations to secure and expand Jackson’s music publishing empire until it became the largest music publishing company in the world Harvard Business School professor James K. Sebenius joins host Brian Kenny and a live audience of Harvard Business School alumni to discuss how to deal with tough negotiators effectively and ethically in his case, John Branca: “Negotiating the Beatles’ Northern Songs Catalog.” for those of you who are listening to our podcast as our usual listeners but we’re actually taping this in front of a live audience at Harvard Business School during Alumni Reunion weekend Folks make some noise so they can hear you Right now I’m going to start with Jim Jim Sebenius isn’t just a member of the negotiations unit at Harvard Business School He also directs the Harvard Negotiation project at Harvard Law School In addition to his research and teaching on the topic Jim has been directly involved in numerous complex negotiations and he brings that experience to his new podcast He’s a fellow podcaster and you can find that podcast on Apple Spotify And Jim is joining us fresh back from the Middle East where he was there last week talking to Israeli and Palestinian diplomats and business leaders but I guess that’s not a great marker of success But great that you’re there doing some important work and teaching some diplomacy in a part of the world that really gravely needs it And great to have you here today to talk about this particular case Many of us will remember that when this deal happened this was an enormous deal of Michael Jackson securing the catalog I don’t think anybody really gave a lot of thought to the negotiations that went on behind the scene I can tell you it brings up all kinds of really interesting topics Let me ask you to start by telling us what the central theme is in the case and what your cold call is when you start the discussion I appreciate it and thank you for showing up I think having taught it now a few times is really about one of the topics that students and senior executives in those find most vexing Because it’s one thing to say negotiation has all sorts of cooperative potential and win-win and create value and so forth But I think the question that it vexes many people is how do you deal with really hard bargainers both effectively and ethically And that’s really the broader theme that this case is about so I’m going to fill in just a tiny bit of background but the words and the music for use anywhere and maybe you’d be interested in that too?” And Jackson really was So he bought Sly and the Family Stone and some other things it became almost out of the blue that the Beatles catalog which was Northern Songs owned by something called ATV was available And we’ll go through some of the process John Branca on behalf of Michael Jackson have been told But don’t overnegotiate or pay too much.” he’s done a couple of handshake deals with Robert Holmes à Court who owned and controlled this Holmes à Court has reneged on those handshake deals Another pair has come up and bid much more than most people think it’s worth BRIAN KENNY: I’m always curious about not only what motivates faculty to write about a particular topic What do you think in this instance makes this a good case you always get interest when there’s a highly salient industry and people who are well-known people who also turn out to be really remarkable negotiators And it’s a case of something that people really care about is when you’re dealing with really hard bargainers who bargain in a way that you find quite unethical but they’re deals that you really want and you really need to have happen and I think this case really reflects that although we’ll focus on a subset of the negotiations in this case it involves the acquisition of the Beatles catalog for Michael Jackson but you’re then dealing with other people around the same issue as it evolves So the catalog becomes a very big part of a joint venture with Sony Branca’s involved all the way through It’s a deal over time with lots of players that influenced each other Branca was really young when this case starts Michael Jackson was such an enigmatic figure there’s a lot of mystique around him How does Branca come to know him and come to work for him and I got to know him through an odd coincidence He turns out to be a co-executor of the Jackson Estate when Jackson died in 2009 And a fifth of Jackson’s estate was supposed to go to charities involving children but I do head the Harvard negotiation project across the River at the Law School they were very interested in negotiation for young people And so Branca came to us and I began talking to him and I realized that he really was a fascinating guy He’s had over 30 of his clients in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame That starts with Dylan and the Rolling Stones and Fleetwood Mac and the Beach Boys all the way to Dr which he sometimes does… And he has kind of a checkered history in the sense that he dropped out of high school He just realized he probably wouldn’t make it in that world then ultimately law school and became a crack lawyer He was 29 years old when Michael Jackson became 21 and could get out from under the thumb of his really domineering father who had kind of managed the then Jackson Five and Michael was really keen to get out Branca was a junior guy in an entertainment law firm in Los Angeles “Haven’t I met you before?” And John said “I don’t think so.” But he raised his sunglasses and then in effect but are you as good as Mickey Rudin?” Mickey Rudin was Frank Sinatra’s legendary music lawyer “I’m better.” Confidence is not in short supply with Branca Branca fairly quickly proved himself by getting a lot more money for Jackson in certain contracts He raised money for a completely unusual and unorthodox at the time film he was solely responsible on the business side of this He went from the 80s to the 90s and then he was off the payroll and then he was on When you look at his first wedding picture I won’t say that that was his last marriage either BRIAN KENNY: You mentioned earlier Michael Jackson said “I don’t want to lose this deal.” Clearly he was passionate about it When anybody’s passionate about something you’re house hunting and you want to buy that house How does that affect Michael Jackson’s ability to be impartial in this thing And what does that mean for Branca as he’s thinking about negotiating it JIM SEBENIUS: Branca has on the wall in his office Branca had brought the possibility of buying the Beatles catalog and Jackson had a set of investment advisors And these were serious industry people like David Geffen who at that time was the richest African American started Jet and Ebony and a series of other people he had the record labels had all passed on this because they thought it was way too expensive “This is a gem.” You’ve got economic question marks “Don’t over-negotiate.” And then he told him privately but do not come back without it.” Okay “You don’t say no to Michael.” and I’ll just say for our listeners who are listening what we’re looking at right now is a handwritten note it looks like from Michael Jackson to Branca He passed that note to Branca in the meeting where they were evaluating whether or not to go ahead with the- I’ve lost deals that way before.” JIM SEBENIUS: “Lost a lot of deals that way BRIAN KENNY: Michael Jackson obviously moved in heady circles and Branca eventually had to check with some of the people in those circles including Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono before moving forward with the deal Why did he feel it was important to do that Michael Jackson was close friends with both Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney but I don’t want it if they don’t want me to have it.” In other words Jackson gave Branca Yoko Ono’s number called up “I’d much rather have another artist own this than some company.” And then he talked to John Eastman who was Paul McCartney’s brother-in-law and attorney and said “Would Paul have any problem with this?” Because why does he want to pay 40 or 50 million to ransom the songs that he himself owned And there’s a long story about how they lost control of it but it had to do with British tax laws and this and that Paul would never want to buy something that in effect he created.” And that actually turned out not to be true But he got the go-ahead directly from Yoko Ono and indirectly from McCartney’s brother-in-law and attorney and I guess it’s naive to think that’s an asset that you create Let’s talk about Robert Holmes à Court So he was the person who had control of this catalog He was the one that you’re negotiating with JIM SEBENIUS: In Branca’s experience one for an initial 37 and a half million dollars And each time he thought he had a handshake deal enough to do a lot of expensive due diligence And then Holmes à Court would use that to leverage another offer And so it was a frustrating and dicey piece Holmes à Court was also highly analytical and he was intimidating BRIAN KENNY: Talk a little bit about Branca’s strategy of due diligence well before he had a deal in place JIM SEBENIUS: So after he had a handshake deal in this case for the initial offer let’s be persuasive that we can close this and also make sure that the property in fact is… The title is right and the rights are in place and so on and so forth.” So he hired two dozen people to go through Northern Songs The most famous parts were 251 Beatles songs but there were also songs by Ray Charles and the Pointer Sisters and a whole bunch of other parties And he spent over a million dollars of Michael Jackson’s money kind of showing that he was earnest about it and also making sure that the deal could close And I remember asking John about that because I said “That does show that you’re serious but if you’re dealing with a guy like Holmes à Court and you’ve now sunk a million dollars and this is in 1984 a million dollars of your client’s money into this and now he knows that if you don’t come back he probably feels that you’re in an even worse position and is likely to exploit it.” So I think if you were doing that one again What you probably do when you figured out the kind of person you’re dealing with is you say you build a due diligence clause that’s very exacting as to what is going to be checked out as a contingency of the deal when the deal is firm Because doing it in advance essentially put him in a weaker position because if he didn’t get the deal it was not getting the deal and wasting a lot of money BRIAN KENNY: How was he able to stay competitive in these negotiations given the fact that Holmes à Court was so capricious in who he was inviting in and not really respecting the handshake deals that they had but the way that I teach usually is I get people to say Now it was 40.” And then it’s 47.5 and this is higher than the record companies were willing to go It was more than most of advisors thought this thing was worth but you still really want this thing And it’s fun to have a discussion and people are pretty inventive Some suggest things that maybe you would rather not have recorded what would you do in this circumstance?” And so for example “So how do you handle this?” Because he’s been dealing on the phone with Holmes à Court now what am I going to do so this doesn’t keep happening?’ he got to the point where he signed a deal “This man thinks he knows who I am.” I may be young with a needle on the bank and long hair just to say you might think you know who you’re dealing with but it’s not.” So then I find out he signs the deal for 50 million with Koppelman and Bandier JIM SEBENIUS: So there’s a point here where you can then have an interesting conversation about what you might do because Marty Bandier and Charles Koppelman were in the business and they had just started a new company and they had bid and Holmes à Court had accepted an offer for 47.5 So you could kind of imagine how there’s an interesting classroom discussion about “what do you do?” in this circumstance And I’m tempted to turn it to you guys JIM SEBENIUS: So we’ll imagine we can see lots of thought bubbles going up and what they would do so he does something that raises some interesting questions John Branca: What I did was I investigated their source of financing because I knew they weren’t writing a check for 50 million and I found out that our friends at MCA Universal of the same people that had put out ET he had been an advisor on the Victory tour and he was going to administer the rights and give them a big advance So I went to Irving and I asked him to pull his financing JIM SEBENIUS: You knew that they couldn’t close at that point because that was the keystone for their financing JIM SEBENIUS: And Irving was willing to do this John Branca: I think there were maybe two or three reasons we had hired him to be a consultant on the Victory Tour to help keep his eye on Chuck Sullivan and Don King and the whole cast of characters I think I was probably more valuable to him than Charles and Marty Nobody was sure at that time where Charles and Marty were really headed in the business because they were starting their own company JIM SEBENIUS: Did you have any qualms about doing that JIM SEBENIUS: And it may be also after Holmes à Court had reneged a few times JIM SEBENIUS: It wasn’t like you felt there was any moral obligation to him JIM SEBENIUS: This leads to an interesting conversation you’ve essentially disabled your competitor in a bidding situation What do you think about that?” It was certainly effective And you get a pretty rich discussion about whether it’s okay And one of the reasons I particularly like this case is it comes from the world We didn’t think it up in sort of an philosophical article on ethics “This is fine?” Are you an idealist “I’d never do anything of the sort I never mislead or never do anything to my competition.” Or are you a pragmatist It’s a rich discussion and one that I don’t like to preach John Branca: When your financing fell through Holmes à Court had his lieutenant called me and he said Holmes à Court would like you to come to London.” I said “I’m not going anywhere.” He said You can get some serious business.” I said you can tell him to call me.” So he calls me “I’ll buy your plane ticket to come to London.” I said “I don’t need you to buy my plane ticket and I’m not coming.” “Well why wouldn’t you come?” I said “Because we found another catalog we like more and we’re closing on that and we’re on a fast track.” So everything changed at that point You send me the signing documents and let me have my lawyers review them.” He doesn’t have another catalog that he’s going to buy He’s not going to walk away or he doesn’t want to walk away by credibly suggesting… And how did he credibly suggest he doesn’t show up like a young button-down lawyer on the make right He shows up as a crazy man back into his musician days in big leather jacket and long hair and sort of seemingly unpredictable Does that make it more credible that he will in fact walk away “We have an alternative that we like better We’re closing on that.” He has ascertained that his counterpart has no alternative at this point we’re going someplace else.” And all of a sudden that turns around Those of you who’ve been through closings have a sense of what this actually involves There just seems to be like this Columbo moment “just one more thing.” And this thing’s BRIAN KENNY: You just dated yourself significantly “I’d really like it if Michael would agree to come to Perth to play for my favorite charity” Which is there And Michael had never performed in Australia and he wanted this catalog enough that he was going to do it And Branca also knew that that was really important to Holmes à Court and nobody could match that because Michael wouldn’t So it was like a deal term that made the deal It wasn’t just you could match commodity money but you couldn’t match this other piece because Michael said “I won’t do it otherwise.” Second thing is they were talking and there was still this kind of hesitation And John had done a lot of background actually on Homes a Court His daughter was named Penny and his daughter Penny loved “Penny Lane.” And so they deeded “Penny Lane” to Holmes à Court’s daughter but she has the legal ownership of Penny Lane and that closed the deal So these things are not just purely financial at all There’s a human element here that’s really important There’s almost a throwaway line in the case too as he’s waiting to go to the meeting So he’s waiting in the airport lounge and his phone rings And Richard Branson is a man known for brilliant I understand that the ATV catalog is for sale Do you think I should bid on it?” And Branca is just about to get on the Concord to go to London to close the deal And he’s really trying to figure out what to say Because he thinks Branson could easily just say “I’ll bid two million more than whatever you bid and we’ll just keep going until whatever.” And so he says you’d have to deal with Yoko and you’d have to deal with Paul and the very difficult people and so forth and so on.” BRIAN KENNY: But he never says that he’s working the deal with Michael Jackson JIM SEBENIUS: He does not say that he’s doing that is just about to take a balloon flight across the Atlantic And so he’s going to be incommunicado for a week during which time Branca hopes to close BRIAN KENNY: Because who doesn’t do that he discovers that the deal has been gotten out from under him and is extremely unhappy And I have to censor John when he describes the words that Branson used about American lawyers Because the other piece is Branson had used John Branca’s entertainment firm for some other stuff “I don’t think I would do that now I’m sure I can help you on 100 other things If we don’t close in the next couple of days but will you respect that?’“ He said “I probably would’ve done that now.” But anyway BRIAN KENNY: Were there long-term implications for artists in terms of the way this deal was negotiated the fascinating thing is when Branca got to London to do all the signing and Charles and Marty actually called him at this Savoy where he was staying and said “How come you’re in London?” And he sort of said I’m working on a deal.” And anyway so they get the deal done and they’re on the plane on the Concord again which was still at that time flying back to New York And Charles and Marty are seated behind him we want to hire you.” And so it turned out that for them whose financing had been pulled by this guy’s machinations The second thing was Richard Branson was really annoyed managed to get the Steel Wheels thing from the Rolling Stones that really had a lot to do with launching Virgin Records The irony is the relationship that was ruptured in this whole thing was between Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney and he had tried to do exactly the right thing there and that’s the one that was just never repaired BRIAN KENNY: Has the industry or the legal system changed in such a way that you wouldn’t be able to do a deal this way today JIM SEBENIUS: I think in a situation like this One of the interesting things in the Negotiation course is we try to do two things Because a lot of people think it’s all personal ethics and it’s not There can be fraud involved in negotiations and not just things like fraudulent conveyance but things like if somebody reasonably relies on a statement that you made to do something that’s disadvantageous Those are extremely rare to prosecute because in bargaining you want to get into what some of the legal aspects are If there’s one thing you want people to remember about this case JIM SEBENIUS: I think it would be to know who you’re dealing with And that means to really do serious due diligence on your counterpart Because you don’t want to play into their hand You don’t want to assume that they’re a carbon copy of you And you can find out a lot these days about people in negotiations there’s a long tail to this case that goes on in the rest of it Sony decides they want to buy half the catalog for $75 million “Is that a good idea?” Branca says it’s a terrible idea.” In any case Which was just really an extraordinary thing And it was the keystone to all kinds of other stuff But when you look at these things and you sort of say How much are they going to be trying to find something that’s mutually beneficial if you like what you’ve heard today from Jim you’re going to have to listen to his podcast I want to give him a minute to show us or tell us a little bit about it there is a program on negotiation that some of you may be familiar with having gotten bombarded with emails or otherwise for negotiation programs the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts About 60 faculty who were interested in all kinds of negotiation as their primary thing whether it’s family deals or corporate deals or environmental deals or mediation or whatever And we honor a “great negotiator” every year or two and we write cases on them and we bring them to Harvard And this is in addition to the normal case writing And we’ve now just done this over a long period of time And I realized they have two or three days often a video of the best negotiators in the world talking about their most difficult deals and really probing on what they were in Dealcraft and it’s insights from great negotiators Anybody from a terrific trade negotiator like Charlene Barshefsky or the woman who saved the Paris Climate Talks or just a range of people who have accomplished remarkable deals What did you learn from it?” So forth And so that’s what this podcast is about and I hope some of you find it interesting thank you so much for joining me on Cold Call and thank all of you for being here to listen BRIAN KENNY: If you enjoy Cold Call, you might like our other podcasts: After Hours, Climate Rising, Deep Purpose, IdeaCast, Managing the Future of Work, Skydeck, Think Big, Buy Small, and Women at Work. Find them on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen. And if you could take a minute to rate and review us, we’d be grateful. If you have any suggestions or just want to say hello, we want to hear from you, email us at coldcall@hbs.edu and you’ve been listening to Cold Call an official podcast of Harvard Business School and part of the HBR Podcast Network Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors From the Italian Amaro Brand Known as Your Bartender's Favorite Drink The Record Label Limited Edition Bottle is a Beacon of Music NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fernet-Branca known as "The Bartender's Handshake," is excited to announce the release of its Limited Edition bottle: The Record Label this collector's bottle is an invitation for Fernet loyalists to unlock never-before-seen content inspired by the world of music and mischief Designed by the Brooklyn-based creative collective Madwell unlocks the surreal world of 'FernetworkTV'- a non-stop broadcast and hub featuring existing content along with new never-before-seen music-inspired additions starring the famous brand mascot This bottle houses the same Fernet fans know and love spices & roots meticulously selected from over 4 continents blending the brand's iconic taste and love for all things eccentric and unexpected "For our first-ever limited edition offering in the U.S we wanted to create something that goes beyond the traditional experience as we typically seek out the bold and unexpected at Fernet-Branca," said Edoardo Branca the sixth generation family member who is leading the charge in the U.S market "The Record Label celebrates the fusion of two passions—great taste and great music—while connecting our fans to the heart of the Fernet community in a fun Fernet-Branca concluded its five-month long Secret Handshake Tour an interactive bar crawl that brought music and fun to fan-favorite neighborhood bars across the U.S. This release of The Record Label marks the grand finale of the tour keeping the celebration alive and creating another avenue for front-row seats to the brand The Limited Edition Record Label can be purchased on Fernet-Branca's website or at select retailers nationwide for an SRP of $39.99 The brand also partnered with sought-after tattoo artists across the country for the Bottle & Tattoo bundle which includes a voucher for a bespoke Fernet tattoo that proudly and permanently declares their love for the liqueur Do not sell or share my personal information: Anthony Branca was riding his motorcycle to classes at Tallahassee State College 10 years ago this month when he was struck and killed by a distracted driver Florida's law against distracted driving only imposed a 6-month license suspension for the offender wants to see Florida pass a much tougher law "It's something that 31 other states have enacted in this country And we're the biggest one that hasn't done it yet You cannot touch your phone while you're driving A bill similar to the Georgia law got nearly unanimous bipartisan support in the Florida House last year But Senate leadership had no interest and wouldn't allow companion legislation to be heard in committee Branca hopes the 2025 session will be different In preparation for yet another attempt to convince lawmakers Branca is hosting a fundraiser this Saturday "Anthony's birthday party will be at my house and we'll have food and drinks and music." He hopes they'll help in urging state lawmakers to pass stronger measures against distracted driving during the upcoming session it still contains the same Fernet-Branca that fans know and love and roots sourced from over four continents the amaro’s signature bold and complex flavor remains unchanged “For our first-ever limited edition offering in the U.S we wanted to create something that goes beyond the traditional experience,” said Edoardo Branca the sixth-generation family member leading Fernet-Branca’s efforts in the U.S “The Record Label celebrates the fusion of two passions—great taste and great music—while connecting our fans to the heart of the Fernet community in a fun The Record Label bottle launch marks the grand finale of Fernet-Branca’s five-month-long Secret Handshake Tour a lively bar crawl that visited fan-favorite neighborhood bars across the U.S. the release of The Record Label keeps the celebration alive offering fans a new way to connect with the brand includes a voucher for a custom Fernet tattoo—an everlasting tribute to the amaro Whether you’re a longtime fan or a curious newcomer Fernet-Branca’s The Record Label bottle promises to deliver a bold engaging experience that transcends the ordinary Don’t miss out on your chance to own this limited edition piece of Fernet history Input your search keywords and press Enter We are advised by Branca USA that journalists and other readers should disregard the news release Branca USA Unveils Interactive Brand Activations Kicking Off a Year of Engaging Experiences for Fernet-Branca An updated press release will be sent at a later date We’d like to share more about how we work and what drives our day-to-day business How we use your information depends on the product and service that you use and your relationship with us To learn more about how we handle and protect your data, visit our privacy center Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process The Record Label is the first special release bottle from Italian amaro brand Fernet-Branca Fernet-Branca has announced a new collector’s bottle that will allow loyalists to engage even deeper with the brand the bottle is fitted with AR capabilities that give access to never-before-seen content inspired by music and mischief “For our first-ever limited edition offering in the US market as we typically seek out the bold and unexpected at Fernet-Branca,” said sixth-generation family member Edoardo Branca “The Record Label celebrates the fusion of two passions – great taste and great music – while connecting our fans to the heart of the Fernet community in a fun Designed by Brooklyn-based creative collective Madwell the bottle unlocks the world of FernetworkTV a non-stop broadcast featuring existing content along with new music-inspired additions starring brand mascot Earlier this month, Fernet-Branca concluded its five-month-long Secret Handshake Tour an interactive bar crawl that brought music to neighbourhood bars across the US The release of The Record Label serves as the grand finale for the tour The Record Label is priced at US$40 and will be available nationwide The brand is partnering with tattoo artists across the country for the Bottle & Tattoo bundle which includes a voucher for a bespoke Fernet tattoo We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again HEAR THE NAME Alessandra Branca and the first thing to come to mind might be the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago’s beloved Lake Forest Showhouse & Garden fundraiser If you’ve visited any of the biennial showcase homes over the last decade you’ve likely seen her unforgettable take on these designer spaces—often bursting with vibrant color and moved to the Chicago area more than 30 years ago to attend school at the former Barat College in Lake Forest built her international design brand on the concept that living well requires comfort Whether it was the inspired collaboration she did with Mariani Landscape and Lake Forest florist Molly Flavin on a decadent outdoor patio and gardens in 2017 or the lecture she presented on The New Living Room in 2015 (while also serving as honorary chair) Branca’s renowned contributions over the years have helped elevate the status of the fundraiser on a national level the next generation of that classical Alessandra Branca aesthetic is coming to a showroom on Chicago’s Gold Coast will bring an eclectic new collection of refined textiles and one-of-a-kind home accessories to the trade and ultimately “Casa Branca allows more people access to our designs Anyone can buy a piece of ‘la vita Branca’,” explains Branca who launched the first Casa Branca showrooms in Los Angeles and Palm Beach with a pop-up version in New York City “We are hoping to be in your primary residence and then your beach pad or your mountain cabin The whole point is to offer a range of lifestyles to many and then teach them how to mix them into their existing interiors Our wool tartans mix with florals and velvets as easily as our linen weaves mix with wool and outdoor textiles It is all in the fun you can have mixing it up!” Andrew Uihlein took over the helm of Casa Branca in Los Angeles three years ago to help grow the next chapter of his mother’s iconic brand “It’s been an interesting process to figure out how do we ‘distill Alessandra’ for a new generation,” says Andrew serves as Vice President and Head of Design “It’s also been interesting learning how we work together as a family.” who says that she and Andrew have known each other since they were 3 years old “I was in New York working for an auction house and Andrew was working for U-Line when Alessandra had me sourcing items for her brand she hired me full-time to do all the Casa Branca collaborations I was working closely with the people she hired in L.A to do her patterns and textiles,” says Georgia adding that it was her idea to bring in Andrew as President as he was finishing his MBA at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business in 2018 “And I pretended to be just that person,” laughs Andrew “I came on board and was just really compelled to take Alessandra’s massive volume of ideas and build them into a collection.” He says that while Casa Branca’s Chicago showroom is located on the Gold Coast the family’s ties to the North Shore remain enduring “Alessandra’s entry way to the United States was through Barat College and it was through Barat College that in 1978 she met my father who was born in Lake Bluff and went to Lake Forest Country Day School,” Andrew explains we could not be happier about this Chicago location Even if it doesn’t make sense on paper to someone who was raised in London or New York there’s no shortage of taste on the North Shore and Chicago and we’re going through another design renaissance in the city.” Alessandra Branca founded her legendary Branca line in Chicago Andrew says he considers himself to be the third generation to join the family business we talked about what things are going to be like in 10 years with these very clean modern spaces with lots of white and almost an aversion of color and pattern A big part of Casa Branca is championing color and making people feel more comfortable using pattern and color,” Andrew explains “We are going through a period right now where people want a modern apartment with a modern kitchen but that doesn’t translate into the warmest experience people are more familiar with having your home as a social center We’re almost a bridge between generations and a bridge between aesthetic styles.” This modern take on Branca empowers customers to fill their homes with designs and pieces that are more personalized people are infusing personal touches into their homes Design is a reflection of themselves but it’s also aspirational,” adds Andrew “That aspirational approach to living is richer when it’s paired with interiors and objects that are more personal and filled with color.” Georgia says it’s been an honor to help fulfill Alessandra’s vision she wanted to share the joy of interior design with everyone else—to show how much it can be and how easy it can be,” she says “Interior design can feel intimidating so that’s why we’re here to showcase pieces that can easily be mixed and matched for your own take on the classics.” Alessandra says she finds tremendous joy in working with the next generation through Casa Branca “My designs are a way of looking at life and living that is timeless I believe in great quality mixed with a bit of humor and modernism,” she says “I have been working with multigenerational families for years doing their homes and now I get to enjoy working with my own family day to day They have a wonderfully fresh point of view and it is fun to see the world through their young lenses.” Casa Branca is located at 5 E. Goethe Street in Chicago. For more information, call 312-787-6123 or visit branca.com By: Charlie Sternberg Use of this constitutes acceptance of our privacy policy The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Rodman Media Spot Guide: Rincon Queen, of the Coast 6 of the Heaviest Waves in the World Five Decades of Surfing, Travel and Narrative Collide in Sam George’s New Book NewsAll NewsEventsBig Wave NewsWorld Surf LeagueEnvironmentalIndustryWave PoolsPosts List Boat Get Totally Wrecked by Wave in Indonesia (Video) How To Surf Till You're 100, Brainwork: Mickey Munoz LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website Sixteen miles off the coast of Tasmania sits Pedra Branca, an ominous rock spire emerging from a violent seascape. The wave there is the stuff of nightmares: a giant, thick-lipped right-hander breaking into deep, dark water. A crew of Tasmanian chargers abandoned their sanity in pursuit of massive barrels. See the story and more in our March Issue Filmed and edited by Andrew Chisholm sank in Singapore’s territorial waters off Pedra Branca on Sunday The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) confirmed that all eight crew members were rescued safely The MPA received a distress call from the Silver Sincere around 3:40 p.m The master of the tanker without any delay evacuated the entire crew into life rafts as the situation worsened was directed by MPA to help in the rescue operation The freighter successfully recovered all crew members from the life rafts MPA said that the crew are in good health and will be disembarked at Batu Ampar supported by vessels from the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Singapore Police Coast Guard MPA has moved to the vessel recovery stage Salvage tugs have been deployed to handle the sunken tanker oil spill-response craft have been deployed as a precautionary measure to prevent any environmental damage MPA has also issued navigational safety advisories to ensure passing vessels avoid the incident site The authority confirmed that navigational traffic in the Singapore Strait has not been disrupted This incident occurred just a day after a similar operation where MPA coordinated the rescue of 18 crew members from a Vietnam-registered freighter which sank in Singapore’s search and rescue region With two similar incidents reported in a weekend MPA continues to ensure safety measures are in place and is closely monitoring the situation Disclaimer : The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only While we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct we make no representations or warranties of any kind suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of Do you have info to share with us ? Suggest a correction Marine Insight News Network is a premier source for up-to-date and insightful coverage of the maritime industry Marine Insight News Network prides itself on delivering accurate Signup today and get maritime ebooks submitted to your inbox directly.  © 2010 - 2025 Marine Insight — All Rights Reserved We respect your privacy and take protecting it very seriously 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ValOre Metals Corp (“ValOre”; TSX‐V: VO; OTCQB: KVLQF; Frankfurt: KEQ0 “the Company”) today provided assay results from Trado® auger and rock samples collected from the Boa Vista target (“Boa Vista”) at ValOre’s 100%-owned Pedra Branca Platinum Group Elements (“PGE” “2PGE+Au”) Project (“Pedra Branca”) in northeastern Brazil “The PGE mineralization reported today from the Boa Vista target includes numerous high grade rock samples and the best Trado® hole ever drilled on the Pedra Branca property,” stated ValOre’s VP of Exploration “Boa Vista is located along the same geological trend as the Synform target which also returned high-grade PGE mineralization in previous exploration programs Follow up mapping and Trado® drilling is planned as part of a broader exploration program to be focused on potential targets along the 20km-long Boa Vista-Synform trend.” 2024 Boa Vista Exploration Program Highlights Trado® auger drilling has intercepted ultramafic rocks in 4 of 8 Trado® auger drill holes completed to date (18 m of 26 m drilled in total) All 3 Trado® assays received to date returned PGE mineralization ValOre conducted geological reconnaissance prospecting and initial Trado® drilling around the historical rock sample 82701 with results reported herein extending known PGE mineralization to approximately 100 m in strike-length Detailed geological mapping and Trado® drilling are planned to further investigate these high-grade results Table 1: Trado® Auger Assay Highlights for Boa Vista (reported herein) and Synform (reported March 23 1Trado assay interval lengths are estimated to represent 90-100% of true width Trado® end of hole (“EOH”) depths typically represent that the auger has entered impenetrable unweathered bedrock so mineralization and ultramafic rocks (“UM”) present at EOH remain open at depth and require follow-up diamond or RC drilling Figure 1: Location map of the Boa Vista and Synform targets Figure 2: Chromitite Trado® “core” recovered from Trado® hole AD24BV05 Quality Assurance/Quality Control (“QA/QC”) CLICK HERE for a summary of ValOre’s policies and procedures related to QA/QC and grade interval reporting The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101 and reviewed and approved by Thiago Diniz ValOre’s QP and Vice President of Exploration (TSX‐V: VO) is a Canadian company with a team aiming to deploy capital and knowledge on projects which benefit from substantial prior investment by previous owners existence of high-value mineralization on a large scale and the possibility of adding tangible value through exploration and innovation *The 2022 Technical Report is entitled “Independent Technical Report –Mineral Resource Update on the Pedra Branca PGE Project Brazil” was prepared as a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on behalf of ValOre Metals Corp The 2022 Technical Report by Independent qualified persons Fábio Valério (P.Geo.) and Porfirio Cabaleiro (P.Eng.) commissioned to complete the mineral resource estimate while Chris Kaye of Mine and Quarry Engineering Services Inc was commissioned to review the metallurgical information The Mineral Resource estimates were prepared in accordance with the CIM Standards plus economic and mining parameters appropriate to the deposit do not have demonstrated economic viability and may be materially affected by environmental Mineral Resources are based upon a cut-off grade of 0.4 g/t PGE+Au and were limited by an economic pit built in Geovia Whittle 4.3 software and following the geometric and economic parameters as disclosed in the 2022 NI 43-101 Technical Report ValOre Metals Corp. is a proud member of Discovery Group. For more information please visit: http://www.discoverygroup.ca/ Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of applicable securities laws Although ValOre believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are reasonable such statements have been based on factors and assumptions concerning future events that may prove to be inaccurate These factors and assumptions are based upon currently available information to ValOre Such statements are subject to known and unknown risks uncertainties and other factors that could influence actual results or events and cause actual results or events to differ materially from those stated anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements A number of important factors including those set forth in other public filings could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the future operations of ValOre and economic factors Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release and ValOre does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements ValOre undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of ValOre or its financial or operating results or (as applicable) Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cf15145c-a008-4b66-b51e-734e4647b345 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6227a31c-2135-4cab-b670-253529e3aa93 Early Registration Open Early Registration Open It's famously bitter with intense tea-like notes and a minty quality — tasty and intriguing but potentially intimidating when you're first figuring out whether to drink it alone or mixed there aren't too many ingredients clouding Fernet's flavors but there's also something sweet and familiar to balance and round out its bitterness and boldness richer drinks that you have in small servings and amari are popular choices because of their herbs which prompted these liqueurs' main uses to be medicinal centuries ago Enjoy Fernet's mouth-coating texture and hints of menthol and more by drinking it chilled in a small digestif glass Finally, once completely familiar with Fernet's profile, you can start branching out with cocktails. There are ways to drink Fernet that will highlight its herbal quality like making a different highball riff with ginger beer whose spiciness will bring out the amaro's with some heat a Manhattan variation that mixes Fernet with rye whiskey or the hanky panky: Fernet with gin and sweet vermouth You can also make Fernet spritzes with soda water or sparkling wine To make their martini stand out from the crowd many bars and restaurants offer their own further twists on the classic adding vanilla and cinnamon for a sweet-spicy take or even stronger flavors like orange Brown's version differs enough that he doesn't even call it an espresso martini instead dubbing it "The Relic." A mix of espresso (or strong coffee) his martini draws on another unique liqueur you may never have even heard of: Fernet-Branca Fernet-Branca has a black licorice taste that complements the dark coffee flavors of other espresso martini essentials There's a reason you won't often see a bottle of Fernet-Branca on even the most well-stocked bar carts almost medicinal taste makes it a challenge for even the most practiced amateur mixologists to master Invented in Milan by Bernardino Branca in 1845 then manufactured and marketed by his sons the concoction is a mixture of 27 different herbs and spices (the exact combination of which is only ever known to the company's sitting chairman) it features strong earthy notes of herbaceous chamomile When combined with other flavorful ingredients new tasting notes will appear on the palate he brilliantly brings out the flavor of Fernet-Branca's warming spices by pairing the liqueur with orange bitters and Nonino Amaro which has a hint of Madagascar vanilla and helps bring out the sweetness of Fernet-Branca It should be noted that Brown only uses 4 teaspoons of the liqueur so tread lightly if you're trying "The Relic" at home Silvia Branca – Global Fleet & Mobility Manager (Tetra Pak) “This is exactly what we hoped to achieve” immediately after winning European Fleet Sustainability Manager of the Year at the 2024 Fleet Europe Awards which is why this portrait of an Inspiring Woman in Fleet is about Tetra Pak’s Global Fleet and Mobility Manager.  Silvia is the first recipient of this brand-new award, which replaces the European Green Fleet Manager of the Year award The jury selected her because of her achievements in electrification and sustainability more broadly.  Managing a fleet across 74 countries worldwide Silvia with her cross functional team managed to substitute 30% of the vehicles with green replacements reducing CO2 emissions of the new cars by 70% compared to the old ones She also implemented a global policy consolidating the number of OEMs and leasing companies further driving significant sustainability improvements.  Those who know a bit more about Silvia’s professional background will not be surprised that she won this award the fleet category is complex and challenging But that is precisely why and how Silvia went into this business As becomes apparent from her answer to our first question  “I discovered fleet by accident… and then I made it my choice At the company I was working for at the time “It so happened that Fleet was the category that fascinated me most Because it’s challenging and cross-functional “I feel my choice has been validated by the many interesting changes that are impacting fleet at the moment and the rapid progress of sustainability.” One is being a woman meeting suppliers or other customers at events that can make you feel really alone as a woman Although I must say this is quite different nowadays.” where you could get the sense from them that they thought that because I’m a woman And that’s not entirely a thing of the past Something like this happened to me just the other day actually: a colleague started to describe a particular car model to me as if it was a strange object that I had never seen before and the factory where the car was produced He couldn’t help looking astonished (laughs).” “We can definitely say that the change has been massive Fleet Europe’s ‘Inspiring Women in Fleet’ initiative is one of the best demonstrations of that fact If I think back to when I started as a fleet manager 20 years ago I was in meeting rooms with ‘Men Only’ – myself excepted of course as a woman you need to work even harder than your colleagues just to show that it’s possible being a fleet expert and a woman.” there are a lot more women in fleet and in automotive in general I have many colleagues who are fleet managers in other companies that I speak to for sharing best practices and doing benchmarking we don’t see that the gender imbalance plays a role anymore There are still more men than women in automotive; but not to the extent that it matters anymore.” I took the decision to move to another country for my career in order to become a fleet manager in the company I was working for at the time “Fleet is a topic where there is news and updates every day So I would say to my younger self: stay updated the fleet topic is so complex – touching as it does on electricity and so much more – that you’ll never get bored!” That is doubly true if you’re a woman in fleet!” of how far I’ve come since I started out as a procurement specialist all those years ago I’m proud of achievements in terms of cost savings and more recently also in terms of sustainability and climate action This has only added to the relevance of this role for me Working in fleet is more concrete than before These are the people that inspired me throughout my entire career both in my professional and my private life And my favourite quote is by Nelson Mandela: The greatest glory lies not in never falling Thank you – and congratulations on your award WIKIFLEET is a free collaborative encyclopaedia providing knowledge about car fleet management all over the world Wikifleet The Global Fleet MARKETPLACE is the ONE guide to find fleet & mobility providers worldwide Marketplace directories and magazines in our knowledge center Knowledge Center Want to capture the attention of the International Fleet and Mobility leaders Contact us and become our partner! Contact us longtime attorney for Michael Jackson and the late pop star’s estate is gifting $5 million to his alma mater to establish the John Branca Institute for Music about a decade ahead of the school’s most famous student Branca studied political science and went on to represent the Beach Boys Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and the Elvis Presley Estate among other clients as partner and head of the music department at the firm Ziffren Brittenham The John Branca Institute for Music aims to enhance the music business curriculum with the addition of new cutting-edge technology and production facilities associate professor of music at Occidental will serve as the Institute’s inaugural director and there are plans to align with community colleges like Los Angeles City College (LACC) to promote transfer opportunities for students with diverse backgrounds. Occidental’s music department is already a noted academic program.  “Occidental College has a diverse student body and provides the most personalized undergraduate education in Los Angeles,” said Branca in announcing the gift.  Added Occidental College President Harry Elam: “John is a giant in the music business and he is a true believer in the kind of personalized teaching and learning that can only happen at a small liberal arts college coupled with the state-of-the-art music production facilities we already have in place will make Occidental a truly exceptional place to study music We are so grateful to John for his generosity and vision in supporting the John Branca Institute for Music Education.” movie and philanthropic events make for a full —and fun— entertainment calendar this month Mojdeh Shayestehfar found something far more effective than oral sedation in calming patients: Parker and Softie the actress followed her doctor's advice to take a lifetime risk assessment test — which prompted further testing “this is a hostile and political act by Amazon.” Branca developed through the Novara youth system before playing several years in Serie C he has competed in Serie B with Cittadella Simone Branca will join the Milan Futuro squad AC Milan comunica di aver acquisito le prestazioni sportive a titolo definitivo del calciatore Simone Branca da AS Cittadella dal 2018 ha vestito la maglia del Cittadella in Serie B totalizzando con il Club veneto 233 presenze Simone Branca entra a far parte della rosa di Milan Futuro AC Milan is pleased to announce the signing of midfielder Simone Branca from AS Cittadella Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.\nVAT number: 01073200154\nLicenza SIAE 5330/I/5051 This site uses technical cookies essential for the correct functioning of the website and to provide the service offered and requested by a user; First party and Third party analytical and profiling cookies are used to measure site usage, and to tailor advertising to your interests. 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For more information please visit our Cookie Policy Non duplicare o ridistribuire in nessuna forma.\nPartita IVA: 01073200154\nLicenza SIAE 5330/I/5051 ©2020 ACMilan.com版权所有，不得以任何形式对本网站的任何组成部分或任何内容进行拷贝、复制、重新发布。\n增值税号：01073200154\n意大利版权执照 5330/I/5051 本网站使用技术性Cookie，这对于网站的正常运行以及提供用户请求的服务必不可少；第一方、第三方分析和性能分析Cookie用于衡量网站使用情况，并根据您的兴趣量身定制广告。要接受Cookie，请单击“接受”，要禁用Cookie，请单击“拒绝”或关闭此横幅。有关更多信息，请访问我们的Cookie政策。 Sign In Register It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts we announce the passing of Richard Branca playing his harmonica for family and friends He had the best hugs and they were given often He was a spiritual man and is now with his Lord There will be a celebration of life in May the island’s fertile volcanic soil allowing plants to flourish out of all expected proportion — everything here just seems to bloom bigger and brighter — and Quinta da Casa Branca has one of the best This private estate turned boutique hotel was built (and is still owned) by the Leacock family and invites guests — who tend to be elegant couples seeking an indulgent escape — to swan around its glorious gardens wandering from poolside lawn to manor house You’ll find most of the rooms in low-slung buildings at the estate’s fringes leaving much of the land to the plants — and they take full advantage bursting with huge bright flowers and towering over lush lawns In the grand central manor house you’ll find suites and the fine dining restaurant built with the proceeds of the family’s Madeira wine business (which Become a subscriber and along with unlimited digital access to The Times and The Sunday Times you can enjoy a collection of travel offers and competitions curated by our trusted travel partners with 43 bedrooms arranged among the greenery and featuring terraces with views across the lush botanical foliage The entry-level Garden Rooms on the ground floor are some of the best with their direct garden access from the terrace and spacious marble-tiled bathrooms For something grander book a Manor House Suite in the main house with its chandeliers and antiques close to the main pool and with a private garden area and lots of living space — the bathroom here is particularly spectacular with its centrepiece rolltop bathtub and huge double sink HENRIQUE SERUCAScore 9/10Again, it’s all about the gardens, with gloriously verdant views from both restaurants. It’s the Casa da Quinta for lunch, where you’ll sit beneath the trees to order the likes of Madeira’s favourite scabbard fish and Portuguese cured codfish while dinner is served on the terrace and in the Dining Room Restaurant in the manor house The menu changes regularly here but you can expect the likes of veal carpaccio with truffle ice cream and duck magret with sweet potato Service is formal (there are cloches involved) but friendly and ever-eager with recommendations Breakfast is served in the Garden Pavilion with a few lucky guests nabbing tables on the gardenside terrace and the rest sitting in the green marble interior You can also order a la carte eggs benedict • Best hotels in Madeira• Best things to do in Madeira Score 9/10Visiting Madeira for its gardens The Quinta essentially offers a private botanical garden to explore at your leisure following butterflies among the fruit trees (guava copious bananas) and spotting birds flitting between the juniper trees and frangipani — you might even spot a kestrel at close quarters There are two pools to flop beside — one large and open to all one far smaller but reserved for adults only — and spa treatments in the health club there are also endless nooks and crannies to relax in with a piano lounge and a library in the manor house and another library in the garden wing HENRIQUE SERUCAScore 9/10This is a superb location for exploring the island just outside Funchal within easy reach of the highway and a 35-minute walk from the city centre (less from the harbour) There are numerous restaurants and cafés within walking distance too Price B&B doubles from £258Restaurant mains from £19Family-friendly YAccessible N Helen Ochyra was a guest of Quinta da Casa Branca (quintacasabranca.com) • Best villas in Madeira• Best all-inclusive hotels in Madeira Sign up to the travel newsletter for weekly inspiration, advice and deals here the Global Fleet and Mobility Manager for Tetra Pak has won the Fleet Europe Award for European Fleet Sustainability Manager of the Year.  She was presented with a trophy by Carlos Lahoz, Vice President Sales and Ownership Experience at Kia Europe (pictured second from right) at a gala event closing the Fleet Europe Days (23-24 October) in Milan. The event was presented by Steven Schoefs Head of Strategic Communications at Nexus Communcation (pictured left) CEO Nexus at Communication (pictured right) Ms Branca is the first recipient of this brand-new award It replaces the European Green Fleet Manager of the Year award Managing a fleet across 73 countries worldwide Ms Branca has substituted 30% of the vehicles with electrified replacements Movies in theaters Movies at Home Florence Pugh Movies and Shows (Thunderbolts) What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming Weekend Box Office: Thunderbolts* Secures $76 Million Debut New Movies and Shows streaming in May: What to Watch on Netflix Snow White is hardly a grumpy time at the movies thanks to Rachel Zegler's luminous star turn but its bashful treatment of the source material along with some dopey stylistic choices won't make everyone happy Disney’s Snow White may not be the fairest incarnation of them all but its benign song and spirit may make you hum along all the same There wasn’t a spare seat anywhere to be found in Branca when we arrived the Jericho restaurant bursting at the seams when we ventured in for lunch rather than lounging over a three course meal that the tables free up remarkably quickly Branca’s bustling interior proves that diversifying to match the way people want to eat is the way forward Because Monday-Friday it’s diners are picking the incredible produce and dishes served in its deli next door and then sitting down in the beautiful restaurant interior to eat in style that owners Paul and Bernadette continued it once social distancing and lockdown rules were relaxed Those of who who reserve Branca for a sophisticated lunch or dinner are still being catered for at the weekends and evenings its bustling interior is proving that diversifying to match the way people want to eat is working It’s the quality of the food produced in the kitchens there that’s making the difference no ordinary pizzas here but enticingly authentic bases of charred dough filled with super fluffy mozzarella the choice and the diverse ingredients ensuring that regulars never have to eat the same thing twice choosing individual slices from the selection of six pizzas Pizza slices (£4.65 each) piled high with artichoke hearts and another scattered with nduja generous shavings of pecorino with a pert honey and mustard vinaigrette and having secured a table in the main restaurant we ate with huge appreciation And that’s the inspiring thing about Branca but it’s ahead of the game in terms of filling its restaurant mid week and during the day something that the hospitality business has always struggled with So next time we need a quick fix without sacrificing great quality food in a renowned setting Branca, 109 Walton Street, Oxford. OX2 6AJ. https://www.branca.co.uk Receive emails when new obituariesare published to our website Top hats were in fashion and people connected through telegrams rather than texts And the need for family and friends to come together Planning your funeral in advance means your family won’t have to when the time comes >>LEARN MORE Services that honor the individual and provide peace of mind for families >>SEE OUR SERVICES Unparalleled care at every step with unique and personalized memorial services >>SEE OUR SERVICES Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Bridgewater Chapman Funerals & Cremations - East Bridgewater Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Falmouth Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Harwich Funeral Home Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Harwich Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Marstons Mills Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Martha’s Vineyard Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Mashpee Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Wareham Chapman Funerals & Cremations - West Falmouth Funeral Home Chapman Funerals & Cremations - West Falmouth Chapman Funerals & Cremations - Yarmouth © Chapman Funerals & CremationsSupported by SRS Computing Your browser may not work with certain site. Upgrade now. The chef behind the legendary Malaysian restaurant will be back with a brand-new spot You save it for someone special — for when Tinder your matching Deadpool tattoos or shared fear of dying alone and being eaten by raccoons tells you this is the one That’s me, writing about the original Saté Kampar almost eight years ago. I loved that place when it opened Ange Branca’s Malaysian restaurant was one of my favorite places in the whole city And in a job where I eat everywhere and drink everywhere and forget a lot of restaurants before I’m even all the way out the door I never want to forget how I felt on the best nights I had there — drunk on BYO vodka splits laced with black currant Ribena and eating Hainanese pork sate and ayum kurma in a room so packed with bodies it was hard to move You feel warm and happy and cool just for being there — at one of the hottest addresses of the moment at one of the most sought-after tables — and 30 years from now when Fishtown is a floating neighborhood of artisanal water bars and everyone is you can look back and smile and remember the first meal you had at that cute little Malaysian place back when East Passyunk was the hottest neighborhood anywhere in Philly “No one has any idea what things are going to look like in three “We want to wait and see what makes sense.” Ange Branca of Saté Kampar / Photograph by Neal Santos there was no Saté Kampar in the way I remembered Saté Kampar A place that could pick up where Saté Kampar left off and bundle together all the other projects she had her hands in All Branca would say was that it was going to be big We know that the new restaurant — called simply Kampar — will be opening in the old Nomad pizza location at 611 South 7th Street We know that the new space is both large (about three times the size of the original) and has two floors “January,” Branca tells me when I get her on the phone — early in the morning while she’s still answering emails January if all else proceeds in a smooth and orderly fashion and everyone does what they need to do But do you know how often that happens in the restaurant industry but that’s the way everything is today,” she says laughing about it because what else are you going to do Toli Shad grilled whole on banana leaves with a side of Sambal belacan and Kuah asam at Saté Kampar before it closed By which she means the new place and thinking about the new place and designing the new place because even though she’s been plotting and scheming this kind of big return since the day she knew she was going to have to walk away from her first restaurant you can’t really make any plans until the keys are in your hand close the door behind you and start imagining what it might become “kinda dictates the food you’re going to serve.” There wasn’t any construction that needed to be done (thankfully) but the new Kampar required lots of cosmetic work she tells me how the original place — the East Passyunk place which used to be a shoe store before it became Saté Kampar — was built out specifically for making and serving saté “We won’t be able to have saté right off the bat,” she says they’re converting Nomad’s old pizza ovens into wood-fired ovens and will be cooking over live fire she experimented with cooking a lot of different Malaysian foods in a lot of different ways — over bamboo over an open fire-pit — and is excited about the ovens because she’ll be able to use them for making whole fish wrapped in banana leaves and cooking over charcoal sometimes circumstance dictates the food you’re going to serve Branca and her crew won’t be the only ones cooking there It’s always been about bringing people together About bringing attention to the things that are customarily overlooked in our scene So she’s planning on using the first floor — with its open kitchen and ovens and its small dining room — as a kind of incubator space She’ll have two different chefs who work with underrepresented cuisines knocking out tasting menus as part of long-term residencies at Kampar She doesn’t know exactly how it’s going to work yet (are the two chefs working together on one menu or separately on two Are they working with the Kampar crew or just beside them?) but she’s very clear about her intentions: Opening a full-on restaurant is hard She can introduce chefs to her customers in the hopes that her customers will become their customers “Because I need the restaurant scene to recognize these underrepresented chefs and cuisines,” she says “Food and diversity and imagination — I’ve always been in that space What we don’t need is another pizza place.” On the second floor, Kampar will have a more traditional space. There’s a big bar up there and Branca is working with Danny Childs of Slow Drinks to develop a bar program — a first for her there’s plenty of space so she’ll be doing a menu of fast and easy bar snacks some of the crowd favorites from Saté Kampar plus some new things she’s been working on over the past three and a half years On the phone we talk about roasting fish and chicken rice done like she remembers it from home (the town of Kampar north of Kuala Lumpur); about cooking in clay pots and inside bamboo when working over fire “When coconut and spice hits an open flame A post shared by Kampar (@kamparphilly) She tells me she’s been talking to a few people about those first two residency spots but she doesn’t want to say anything or name names just yet at this point it’s all on Branca and her team The new Kampar is going to be a big deal when it comes back Philly’s Ultimate Cheese Lover’s Guide Meet the Chefs Reimagining the Cheesesteak Where Philly’s James Beard Nominees Like to Eat (and Drink) If you're tired of the classic liquors like gin, vodka, and whiskey and want to try something new, you might want to take a leaf out of Guy Fieri's book. In an interview with Daily Beast he revealed that his favorite liquor is the amaro Fernet-Branca Amaro is an Italian digestif (or, as the Italians say, a digestivo) that's made using dozens of different herbs These herbs can vary depending on the brand you pick up but a few you might find in the mix include saffron it has a bitter and earthy flavor with a touch of sweetness It also has notes of black licorice and root beer you can get Fernet-Branca in a mint flavor if you want something with more of a menthol burn If those tasting notes don't tell you that Fernet-Branca isn't for the faint of heart, perhaps the alcohol content will; this drink clocks in at around 39% A.B.V. (although this can vary slightly depending on the brand). Pair that with its almost medicine-like flavor, and you've got a combination that explains why Fernet-Branca is a liquor that takes learning to love Fernet-Branca is traditionally served as a digestif (also called a digestive) That means that it's typically enjoyed after a meal The idea is that drinking the liquor can help boost your digestion thanks to the herbs in the drink You can enjoy the digestif plain as a shot or served over ice if you prefer Serving it over ice can be great for those who are just getting into the drink as the ice will melt into your beverage and water it down Another way for the uninitiated to get used to the taste can be to follow it with a chaser such as ginger ale or ginger beer Guy Fieri also notes that he'll play around with the temperature of his liquor. He notes that he keeps a bottle in the freezer and the fridge and that he finds it tastes great both warm and cold. Storing this amaro liquor in the freezer can make for a smoother drinking experience without watering the beverage down and muting its flavors You can experiment with the temperature yourself to figure out which serving method you like best If you've tried drinking Fernet-Branca straight and still aren't a fan, don't give up hope yet. There are plenty of cocktails you can make with this amaro that may make it a bit more palatable. One simple option to try is the Fernandito cocktail which consists only of mixing Coca-Cola and Fernet-Branca you can make an Italian mule by combining it with lime juice and ginger beer if you're ready to get a bit more complicated you might want to make the popular Hanky-Panky cocktail For those who love the herbal flavors of amaro and want to ramp them up an Apotheke cocktail might be the right pick This last cocktail consists of Creme de Menthe Whether you try one of these mixed drinks or enjoy Fernet-Branca on its own give Guy Fieri's favorite liquor a whirl and see if you can stomach it This website uses cookies By Marc Masters Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text 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 Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad holds a press conference in Putrajaya KUALA LUMPUR: Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad denied allegations that he betrayed the country on Tuesday after a royal inquiry called for a criminal probe against him over a 2018 government decision to drop claims on two disputed islets a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) recommended 99-year-old Mahathir face investigation for the decision to withdraw Malaysia's bid to overturn a World Court ruling over the sovereignty of the Pedra Branca islet between Malaysia and Singapore Malaysia had also requested clarification from the court on the status of another disputed islet were withdrawn after the election of a coalition led by Mahathir the following year Mahathir told reporters on Tuesday the decision to drop the claims had been made by the then Cabinet on the advice of legal experts He questioned why those government ministers had not been called as witnesses to the inquiry or to face similar probes "All these people were in the Cabinet meeting if they have anything to complain or object to the decision .. The inquiry began this year after current Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called for a review of the dropped claims Mahathir described the RCI as politically motivated and aimed at destroying his reputation He rejected accusations by Anwar that the inquiry's findings revealed treachery on the part of Mahathir's government then so was my deputy (at the time)," he said who was deputy premier during Mahathir's tenure have been locked in an on-off feud that has shaped Malaysian politics for decades The pair mended fences to oust the long-ruling Barisan Nasional government in 2018 but their coalition collapsed in less than two years amid infighting Anwar became prime minister in 2022 promising to tackle corruption but has faced accusations from some critics of targeting political foes saying he does not interfere in court cases Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast Upgraded but still having issues? Contact us A rendering of the Branca Family Field projectUCLA Athletics Introduces Plans for JRS Improvements February 10 UCLA Athletics today announced its plan to make improvements to the Gifford Sports Complex at Jackie Robinson Stadium including the construction of a state-of-the-art baseball practice infield The practice infield and improvements are designed both to serve as developmental tools for UCLA's nationally-renowned baseball program and to provide recreational space and opportunities for Veterans and their families on the Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles campus The practice infield is to be named after legendary Brooklyn Dodger pitcher and three-time All-Star Ralph Branca who had a successful 12-year major league career and was famously the first to embrace and welcome Jackie Robinson to Major League Baseball a standout UCLA student-athlete in four sports Army Veteran and namesake for the Jackie Robinson Athletics and Recreation Complex at UCLA -- whose number 42 is retired across all UCLA sports -- was the first to break the color barrier that segregated Major League Baseball for more than 50 years On Opening Day in 1947 – which was also Jackie Robinson's major league debut – Branca lined up on the field beside Robinson Branca became one of Robinson's best friends and biggest supporters The Branca Family Field project is being made possible thanks in part to a generous $1 million commitment from prominent entertainment attorney and philanthropist John Branca is partner at the entertainment law firm Ziffren Brittenham where his clients have included over 30 members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame John also serves on the board of directors of the Jackie Robinson Foundation "We are extremely grateful for John Branca's exceptional vision and philanthropic support. Branca Family Field being side-by-side with Jackie Robinson Stadium – that significance should not be lost on anyone who knows the story of Ralph's support and friendship with Jackie," said Martin Jarmond the Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of UCLA Athletics were Brooklyn Dodgers teammates and lifelong friends," said John Branca "Ralph was in awe of Jackie's courage and determination that historic day on April 15 1947 when Jackie shattered Major League Baseball's color barrier because he knew what was taking place was so much bigger than the game itself and would resonate for generations He was further inspired by Jackie's commitment to social change and economic equality and Ralph did his part in giving to others leading the Baseball Assistance Team to raise money for retired and indigent players a life is insignificant except for the impact it has on others I am honored to welcome the addition of Branca Family Field to UCLA's Jackie Robinson Stadium." the UCLA Athletic Department launched a comprehensive $3.8 million fundraising campaign to fully fund the new practice infield and facility improvements for UCLA Baseball and veteran recreation whose late husband Jack was a Bruin baseball player stepped up once again to make a $1 million commitment to the campaign Gifford's gift further enhances the Gifford Sports Complex at Jackie Robinson Stadium which also includes the Jack and Rhodine Gifford Hitting Facility "We are grateful for all who helped to make Branca Family Field within the Gifford Sports Complex a reality. It will certainly enhance the growth and development of Bruin Baseball student-athletes for years to come," said head baseball coach John Savage "We thank John Branca for his longstanding vision and commitment to this project The Gifford family has meant so much to our university and program and we are forever grateful to their commitment to Bruin Baseball." as well as an incredible response by UCLA Baseball alumni who helped to make this vision a reality stepped up to contribute nearly $1.5 million to the practice infield: Gerrit Cole (2009-11) At third is four-time All-Star and 2002 World Series MVP Troy Glaus (1995-97) Two-time All-Star and two-time World Series Champion Brandon Crawford (2006-08) is at shortstop with six-time All-Star and 2008 World Series Champion Chase Utley (1998-2000) at second at first base is 1992 National League Rookie of the Year and all-time Los Angeles Dodger home run leader Eric Karros (1986-88) "We are extremely proud that some of the biggest names that have come through UCLA and Major League Baseball have generously contributed to this project To have former players come back and financially contribute to the program that meant so much to their development and careers shows their love and gratitude towards this university and our baseball program," said Savage and finally Gerrit and Amy Cole for their continued support of UCLA Baseball." This project would not have happened without his strong relationships and effort to see the project through." a substantial donation towards the improvements was received in honor of Anne Marie and Dan Guerrero The donation was made in order to provide recognition at Jackie Robinson Stadium for Guerrero the UCLA Director of Athletics from 2002-20 UCLA alumnus and UCLA Baseball Hall of Famer The planned Jackie Robinson Stadium improvements will include construction of a new synthetic turf practice infield and bullpen and modifications to the existing parking lot and site utilities After meeting fundraising goals and receiving proper approvals from the VA and UCLA Capital Programs construction will begin during the summer of 2021 No state or government funds are being used for the project The planned improvements support the VA's work to transform the VA West Los Angeles Campus into a vibrant community where Veterans can receive healthcare The practice field may be used by Veterans for a variety of sports and recreational activities UCLA and VA have partnered to serve Veterans for more than 70 years starting with the formation of a medical affiliation between UCLA's School of Medicine and the VA healthcare center after World War II This growing partnership now includes the UCLA/VA Veteran Family Wellness Center the VA/UCLA Center of Excellence on Veteran Resilience and Recovery the UCLA School of Law Veterans Legal Clinic and numerous other programs and initiatives involving students faculty and staff associated with many UCLA professional schools and departments Jackie Robinson Stadium is located on a 10.1-acre site off-campus just west of Interstate 405 on the Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles campus and serves as the home venue for UCLA Baseball which has appeared in five College World Series and won the 2013 National Championship As the VA West LA campus is transformed into a place where more Veterans are housed it will be increasingly utilized as a space for Veterans and their family members to enjoy various recreational activities the upgrades will cement Jackie Robinson Stadium's standing as one of the premier facilities in all of college baseball while deepening its role as part of a unique partnership between a nationally-renowned university and VA Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker