Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More A woman who owned a New York City day care center where a toddler died after ingesting fentanyl has been sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to federal drug charges dropped her head into her crossed arms in anguish as Judge Jed S Rakoff announced the sentence that triggered sobs among Mendez’s family and the mother whose 22-month-old child Rakoff had previously given the same sentence to Mendez’s husband after he pleaded guilty to drug charges and causing bodily harm related to the death The couple each faced a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life for their crimes Mendez had pleaded guilty to drug charges including conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death she apologized to the families of children who attended the Divino Niño day care that she operated out of a Bronx apartment where the couple stored and packaged narcotics “I do want all to know it was an accident,” she said through an interpreter When the poisoning occurred on Sept. 15, 2023, Feliz-Dominici was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died. Three other children exposed to the fentanyl at the day care survived after medics administered the overdose-reversing drug Narcan Police found a brick of fentanyl stored on top of playmats for the children, along with equipment often used to package drugs, as well as packages of fentanyl beneath a trap door in a play area Both of Feliz-Dominici's parents spoke at the sentencing with the child's mother saying it was not possible to forgive Mendez and the father describing the lasting pain Rakoff cited the emotions he once felt when his older brother “was murdered in cold blood,” but he added that the “glory of the law is not to ignore emotions but to put them in broader perspective.” He said Mendez had chosen to put the welfare of her own children and her husband above the welfare of the families and their children that became customers of her day care business a defense attorney submitted proof that Mendez had suffered trauma herself as a child saying she ignored “clear warning signs” that the babies were becoming seriously ill and took no action to call for lifesaving medical intervention she lied to law enforcement and destroyed evidence in an effort to protect herself and her co-conspirators from their culpability in the death of one baby and poisoning of three others,” they wrote Attorney Matthew Podolsky said Mendez put babies as young as 8 months old “in harm's way as they slept played and ate in a room where over 11 kilograms of fentanyl was hidden underneath their feet.” NOTE: First time signing on? Please register your purchase Here.** This registration is only required on your first login Clear skies this evening will become overcast overnight “A dark-phase red fox roaming the hills above Pearl Creek Elementary School.” Thanks Paul Greci of Fairbanks for sending along this shot. You can submit your photo at newsminer.com there are no recent results for popular collections Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: with statistics related to divorce and separation divorce rates have dropped in the past 35 years since many couples are choosing not to get married is the stress that couples – whether married or living common-law – endure when they choose to separate the split is that much more fraught with anxiety How and why uncoupling parents design that post-separation road map, in the best interest of their children, is explored in the latest episode of Wards Legal Matters “This is such big part of our work here,” explains Melissa Wemyss CEO of Wards Lawyers and executive producer of its monthly podcast typically each come to us with their own roller coaster of emotions.” So while the first part of the episode features a comprehensive interview with law clerk Sam Drebit on drawing up that post-separation parenting plan the second half offers counsel on what both parties should consider before sitting down with a legal team Wemyss and producer/host Denis Grignon found that expert in Lisa Greci who relocated to Kawartha Lakes about three years ago and specializes in counselling those going through difficult life transitions – like a separation when there are young children in the mix “Each situation is unique…each person’s process takes a different amount of time,” explains Greci in the episode titled ‘When Couples with Kids Uncouple.’ But there are commonalities for most any couple going through a separation “Be mindful of the grief process,” says Greci “And know that you’re not alone….that this happens to lots of people.” Wards Legal Matters is available wherever you find your favourites podcasts and via wardlegal.ca Lisa Greci can be contacted at grecicounselling.com and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" The only 100% local news source in Kawartha Lakes that also publishes in print Support Us Keep up-to-date with your local happenings in and around town “Our company is very fortunate to have a senior executive with experience not only with our company but already located in the Nashville market,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith Greci relocated to Nashville shortly after the company acquired the 1.33-mile speedway as part of its purchase of Dover Motorsports in 2021 Greci spent nearly 16 years at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Concord where he began his career as a sales department intern then joined the speedway full-time as the track rental and suite coordinator for corporate sales Greci moved to the events department in 2008 working his way from events manager to vice president of events Greci earned recognition as the CMS Employee of the Year in 2013 He also received the company’s highest honor in 2018 while managing event production at zMAX Dragway Greci earned a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management from Wingate University in 2006 For more information, visit speedwaymotorsports.com GetInTheStands.com is hosting a series of free 15-minute training sessions on social media an occasional series about authors and other literary figures with ties to the 49th state Paul Greci has worked with lots of struggling students many of them described as reluctant readers These are the kids he has in mind as a writer “Having worked with so many kids that have negative views on reading I want my writing to help some of them discover that they actually like reading and that it can enrich their lives,” Greci said “To get a kid to pick up a book as a non-reader,” he added “you really need something that has action early on I want that kid to want to want to turn the next page.” Greci is the author of four action-packed young adult novels set in Alaska that have garnered national attention Ranging from “Surviving Bear Island,” his debut novel about a teenage castaway on an island in Prince William Sound to “The Wild Lands,” a post-apocalyptic thriller that follows a quartet of young people making their way across a future Alaska ravaged by climate change his books tell stories of survival in the far north The books are fast-moving and filled with narrow escapes from danger Greci’s writing is an extension of his professional career The longtime Fairbanks resident has been a teacher since the 1990s much of that time spent first at an alternative school for troubled students and then as a special education instructor It was in the classroom that Greci said he was first inspired to take up writing He recalled reading novels to his students he would stop and assign them the task of creating and writing the next scene “I was doing those assignments with my students and that is how I discovered that I like fiction writing,” he said Greci got the idea for what would become his first novel he began composing the story of a young teen named Tom who becomes separated from his father while kayaking in Prince William Sound Tom washes up on an island where he has to learn to survive while hoping for rescue 500-mile trip in Prince William Sound with a friend,” Greci said explaining how that voyage provided the material he needed to paint an accurate picture of what Tom would encounter The way he cooks his fish with a little alder grill that’s a thing I developed out in Prince William Sound.” Greci grew up and attended college in Indiana That’s when his attention turned to the North I had an opportunity to come to Alaska to work in a salmon cannery,” he said After college returned for another summer in 1986 It was around 2002 that Greci began writing in earnest He wrote early drafts of “Surviving Bear Island” before setting it aside and working on other ideas that remain unpublished “I learned how to write fiction writing this book,” he said of Bear Island Greci toiled away on various ideas while reaching out to publishers In 2007 he quit his job for a few years to devote his full attention to his writing Meanwhile he began writing “The Wild Lands.” he was told that post-apocalyptic fiction was not selling well right then and asked for something else “Amy was in it to win it,” Greci said of her efforts He gave her “Bear Island,” which they revised further which specializes in publishing stories aimed at keeping young readers “I never thought this was going to be my first book published He assumed a couple of his other unpublished manuscripts would precede it which I worked on and worked on for 13 years also became the first book that I got published.” [With a lifetime of Alaska experiences under his belt, author Stan Jones tackles a new series] quickly attracted national attention and was a Junior Library Guild Selection that same year (more recently the Alaska Center For the Book named it the 2022-2023 Alaska Reads Book for the state of Alaska) Suddenly Greci’s name was known in the young adult market picking up “Wild Lands,” which came out in 2019 It was followed in 2021 by “Hostile Territory,” a contemporary survival story with political overtones that’s also set in Alaska “Follow the River,” the sequel to “Bear Island,” was released Greci said he developed his style from reading ”Scene & Structure,” Jack Bickham’s writing guidebook for fiction This is where he learned that ending chapters with cliffhangers or sudden revelations would help meet his goal of keeping young readers engaged “That structure has helped me keep stories moving and focused And I think that is a big thing for reluctant readers,” he said “Every time I have a setting detail in my writing it has to also advance the plot and/or develop the character This keeps the story moving while at the same time creating a rich setting.” Greci said that his own experiences teaching young readers with limited skills have shown him that they lose focus when assigned books with extensive subplots or tangents Keeping things moving smoothly is his first objective “So I tend to write kind of plot-heavy on my first drafts and develop characters more in successive drafts.” Greci added that the story can change his characters from what he originally envisioned In early drafts of “Bear Island,” for instance whose mother has died and whose father is missing He also uses a three-act structure for his stories And I think that is a big thing for reluctant readers.” Writing young adult fiction in an era of book bans expressed his regard for those caught in the middle of these battles “As an educator and author who has focused for years on reaching reluctant readers,” he said “I have tremendous respect for school librarians who work hard to ensure that all students have access to books that they can connect with.” To this, he added, “I am saddened and angered by Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor’s recent attempt to intimidate library personnel from doing their jobs and that there are already review and challenge processes in place to review materials that are put on library shelves These processes have been working successfully for years and threats from officials like the Attorney General are neither needed nor productive for our libraries to continue to operate.” Having worked with many reluctant readers throughout his teaching career Greci observed that “they’re already putting out a lot of energy to read.” For him writing books that will appeal to these kids and encourage them to keep turning pages is the paramount goal “I see reading as a way to enrich their lives,” he said James is a Fairbanks-based freelance writer and editor of the Alaska literary collection “Writing on the Edge.” He can be reached at nobugsinak@gmail.com Matt Greci was promoted Monday to senior vice president and general manager of the Nashville Superspeedway Greci, a motorsports industry veteran who leaves Friday to become executive director of the Fiesta Bowl Greci previously served as vice president of events and operations at Nashville Superspeedway “Our company is very fortunate to have a senior executive with experience not only with our company but already located in the Nashville market,” said Speedway Motorsports President and CEO Marcus Smith. “Matt started at Charlotte Motor Speedway as an intern and through hard work and dedication successfully moved through a variety of positions before becoming the vice president of events at Charlotte and then vice president of events and operations at Nashville Superspeedway.” relocated to Nashville shortly after the company acquired the 1.33-mile speedway as part of its purchase of Dover Motorsports in 2021 Greci spent nearly 16 years at Charlotte Motor Speedway “When I started with Speedway Motorsports as an intern I never could have imagined having the opportunity to lead a team as passionate dedicated and hard-working for the fans as our staff at Nashville Superspeedway,” Greci said “My family and I fell in love quickly with Nashville and already see this community as ‘home’." MOSES LEAVING SUPERSPEEDWAY: Nashville Superspeedway president Erik Moses named Fiesta Bowl executive director and CEO PRIME TIME: Ally 400 gets later start time, moves to prime time ELLIOTT WINS 2022 ALLY 400: Chase Elliott gets second 2022 NASCAR Cup Series win in the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway NASCAR Cup racing returned to the Middle Tennessee Area for the first time in 36 years in 2021 when Nashville Superspeedway hosted the Ally 400 which is part of a tripleheader weekend with an Xfinity and trucks race “I’ve been fortunate to have some tremendous mentors at Speedway Motorsports and in the entertainment business,” Greci said “They have helped me learn and grow both personally and professionally I’m humbled to have the chance to put those lessons to use and build on the remarkable events at Nashville Superspeedway.” During his tenure at Charlotte Greci received the company’s highest honor while managing event production at zMAX Dragway The Dirt Track and the legendary superspeedway Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter Podcasts and Analysis Serving People who Organize Speedway Motorsports announced Matt Greci has been promoted to senior vice president and general manager at Nashville Superspeedway, replacing Erik Moses, who leaves December 2 to become executive director of the Fiesta Bowl “Our company is very fortunate to have a senior executive with experience not only with our company but already located in the Nashville market,” said Speedway Motorsports President and Chief Executive Officer Marcus Smith “We look forward to supporting Matt and our Nashville Superspeedway team as we move toward the 2023 Ally 400 NASCAR race weekend continuing the commitment to fans and community that Erik established.” Greci started at Charlotte Motor Speedway as an intern and moved through a variety of positions before becoming the vice president of events at Charlotte and then vice president of events and operations at Nashville Superspeedway “My family and I fell in love quickly with Nashville and already see this community as ‘home.’” moving from sales intern to track rental and suite coordinator for corporate sales “I’ve been fortunate to have some tremendous mentors at Speedway Motorsports and in the entertainment business,” Greci added Don’t miss out on our featured stories of the week. 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All rights reserved Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Watching a new writer emerge and develop is one of the pleasures of being a reader An author comes along with a debut book that captures your attention and makes you want to see what he or she comes up with next And joining this person as they expand into new areas gives readers a chance to see if they can pull it off This brings us to young adult novelist Paul Greci of Fairbanks Greci drew national attention in 2015 with his first book “Surviving Bear Island.” Set in Prince William Sound it told of a teenaged boy who gets marooned in a sea kayaking accident and follows his efforts at keeping himself alive while awaiting rescue [Review: Genre-busting ‘Bear Island’ delivers fresh approach to an old theme] Greci demonstrated two skills that have characterized his writing ever since In the first-person perspective he’s used with each his novels he created an authentic young person’s voice drawing on his extensive experience with Alaska’s wilds Greci didn’t just bring the landscape to life exerting its own influence on the plot line He captures Alaska as well as he captures the teenaged mind “The Wild Lands,” Greci turned to the popular post-apocalyptic genre and sent four kids scurrying across a burned-out Alaska in search of safety and the hellscape Greci envisioned on the land he loves was both vivid and disturbing it did indicate that Greci risked falling into a rut which set the stage for a sequel and opened the possibility of the next volume heading in the direction of a political thriller offered hope that he would start exploring new avenues [Review: In new novel, teens fight for survival in a dystopian future Alaska] this book opens at a remote leadership camp for teenagers is one of four kids who survive a massive earthquake that sends a landslide down from a nearby mountain burying their fellow campers and all the adults a self-conscious and aloof girl he’s drawn to As the quartet traverses their way across Alaska All the standard Alaskan hazards await them but also in line with what Greci has offered readers previously The four kids repeatedly see airplanes and helicopters flying high above With binoculars they can tell the aircraft aren’t American but they presume they’re flown by Canadians assisting in recovery efforts and it would be giving away too much to say why what began as another survival story morphs into the sort of political thriller that “Wild Lands” left many readers hoping Greci had in him In the sort of thing that only happens in young adult fiction the four kids find themselves assigned the job of helping undo what has befallen Alaska in the days after the earthquake but thankfully Greci doesn’t concoct some impossible sci-fi scheme in what is in essence a realistic tale And the location where they carry out their mission will be familiar to many Alaskans Greci is primarily aiming his work at kids who are at that vulnerable age when they quit reading in favor of turning their attention to glowing screens This means that he gets the action moving on page one and most end on a cliffhanger designed to keep readers turning pages (it’s a trick that admittedly also worked on my cynical Greci is also improving in his ability to create clearly defined characters The four stars of this book are more distinct from each other than the lead actors in “Wild Lands,” and the way this drives the plot is also a step forward for Greci as an author Josh is a less angst-ridden teen than Greci’s previous narrators even if he is wanting to convey to kids that they are not alone in their personal struggles Greci uses the opportunity of a political thriller to throw in a couple of comments about the current state of America A less incisive writer would be tempted to club readers over the head with it but Greci’s subtle approach carries more weight which isn’t unreasonable for young adult novels so readers are left unclear on how larger events played out “Hostile Territory” is a bigger leap forward for Greci than “Wild Lands,” despite being a step back from the broad reach he made with that one but he’s showing how his characters take what they’ve learned and apply it forward He’s also expanding his plotting palette in ways his previous books didn’t And he’s showing how events beyond Alaska can potentially impact our sometimes insular state even as he brings the ground level realities of Alaska to young readers everywhere He’s come a long ways in just three novels The fun will be seeing where he travels next [Because of a high volume of comments requiring moderation, we are temporarily disabling comments on many of our articles so editors can focus on the coronavirus crisis and other coverage. We invite you to write a letter to the editor or reach out directly if you’d like to communicate with us about a particular article. Thanks.] David A. James is a Fairbanks-based freelance writer, and editor of the Alaska literary collection “Writing on the Edge.” He can be reached at nobugsinak@gmail.com. Volume 2 - 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.620225 and none of these have been developed specifically for use with healthcare professionals this paper will detail the design and evaluation protocol of MIND-VR a virtual reality-based psychoeducational experience on stress and anxiety developed following a user-centered design (UCD) approach This virtual experience will be tested on a sample of Italian hospital healthcare personnel involved in the COVID-19 pandemic emergency MIND-VR’s main goal is to develop an immersive experience offering psychoeducation on stress and anxiety was built following a UCD approach and will be tested on a sample of Italian hospital healthcare personnel involved in the COVID-19 pandemic emergency a team from the University of Milano-Bicocca in collaboration with the authors of this paper and an Italian start-up specializing in the development of immersive solutions (AnotheReality) Development funds (approximately $5,000) were raised thanks to a fundraising campaign that took place between April and June 2020 and was promoted by the University of Milano-Bicocca in collaboration with the platform Produzioni dal Basso Therefore, MIND-VR represents one of the first few published attempts to adopt the UCD approach for the development of a virtual reality-based psychoeducational experience. Specifically, in the development of this virtual experience, the recommendations ISO 13407 (ISO/IEC, 1999) for a UCD project were adopted and the main design phases were followed according to this approach which will be described in detail in the following paragraphs Psychologists with high expertise in creating virtual content for managing stress and anxiety follow developed the requirements selected the architectural paradigm for the design of the virtual reality experience and created content and evaluation protocol of MIND-VR in collaboration with psychotherapists who have assisted health professionals following the situation triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and co-authored this paper The transcripts were coded manually and were carried out by two scientists using the four-eyes-principle to ensure reliable coding Based on the funds available for development and taking into account the interviews with the psychotherapists MIND-VR had to satisfy four fundamental requirements: • Low cost: the funds for the development of this virtual experience were very limited (about 5,000 euros) the best virtual content development solution—in terms of interaction mode etc.—had to be functionally relevant various evaluation phases with the involvement of end-users were planned during development (see also Evaluation) Particular attention was paid to the choice of colors and the selection of the fonts of all text present in the experience MIND-VR was developed with extreme consideration of the sound aspect of the experience and its quality the psychoeducational content includes audio recorded by professional actors and high-quality ambient sounds • Easily accessible: MIND-VR had to run on some currently more widespread, user-friendly, and low-cost head-mounted display (HMD): Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 (see also Implementation: MIND-VR hardware and software). Furthermore, since November 2020 the virtual experience can be downloaded for free, both in Italian and English, on the project website (https://mind-vr.com/free-download/) the architecture and the content of the experience were written Screenshot of the virtual island developed for MIND-VR: a bridge on a small lake in the center of the island that users cross in the third path Map of the three areas into which the virtual island is divided (“An introduction on stress and anxiety disorders” “Causes and symptoms” “Main Treatments”) Content of a stage along one of the three paths where the user is provided with information on stress and anxiety disorders in both text and audio form Content of the three paths into which the virtual island is divided Based on the elements that emerged in the previous phases the psychologists who followed the MIND-VR design created a document for developers describing the basic requirements of the experience and its architecture They included a detailed description of all the visual elements (icons texts) and sound elements to be incorporated in the various parts of the content the audio scripts created for each virtual island path were delivered to professional actors and recorded in mp3 format This virtual experience was developed using Unity Engine with scenes composed with 3D graphics created with 3DSMax Substance Painter and thoroughly optimized to maintain high and stable framerate on the Oculus Quest Logic and interactivity were programmed with C# using Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 and based on the SPACS framework The virtual experience has been designed to run on the headset Oculus Quest Oculus Quest can be used wirelessly as a standalone device with its integrated hardware This HMD uses two diamond Pentile OLED displays each with an individual resolution of 1,440 × 1,600 and a refresh rate of 72 Hz which are tracked via an array of cameras embedded in the front of the headset the Oculus Quest 2 (released in October 2020) is a standalone headset with an internal It’s lighter than the first-generation Quest and uses a single fast-switch LCD panel with a 1832 × 1920 per eye resolution and it supports a 90 Hz refresh rate Safety and hygiene protocol to prevent COVID-19 infection during the experimental sessions The first step will involve testing MIND-VR in a pilot study with a small portion of subjects recruited from the target population to verify the usability of and satisfaction with the mock-up (Alpha version) of the virtual content The pilot study will be used to identify any problems during the interaction with users and to collect data that can be used in the development of the final version of the virtual experience (Beta version) • Study design and setting: This study will be using a small sample size and a mixed-methods design Psychometric outcomes will serve as quantitative variables while participant interviews will provide qualitative data In the room where the experiments will be conducted a second HMD will be available if the first one encounters technical problems to avoid problems with the experimental procedure and participants' disappointment Were there any features you did not like or found useless Have you learned anything after using MIND-VR Were there any features more useful than others Would you like to have more sessions with MIND-VR Do you have any questions or would like to add anything • Procedure: At the beginning of the experimental session participants will be asked to answer a questionnaire on their demographic level of knowledge of technology and virtual reality they will be able to use MIND-VR freely for about 15 min The participants will then fill out questionnaires on the content's usability (SUS a short interview of about 15 min will be conducted The session will last approximately 40 min in total • Data analysis strategy: A descriptive statistical analysis of the usability questionnaires will be performed to evaluate the participants’ acceptability of MIND-VR the differences between the final and initial STAI-Y1 and VAS scores will be calculated A Wilcoxon rank test will be conducted to determine whether the age or the level of knowledge of technology and virtual reality of the participants influences the usability questionnaires score or the change in the STAI-Y1 and VAS scores The ad hoc questionnaire on technological solutions and virtual reality will be adopted in Pilot Study one and 2 In the second step, MIND-VR (Beta version) will be tested on a small sample of target individuals to evaluate the learning experience of the basic information on stress and anxiety. Previous empirical studies suggest that virtual reality leads to better outcomes than slideshows or textbooks presented on desktop displays (Kozhevnikov and Gurlitt, 2013; Webster, 2016; Orman et al., 2017) since no study has yet specifically investigated learning psychoeducational content the goal of Pilot Study two is to compare MIND-VR and a non-immersive modality (i.e a slideshow on a computer screen) in the acquisition of information on stress and anxiety through MIND-VR and a non-immersive modality (i.e • Study design and setting: This pilot study will adopt within-subject repeated measures (2 × 4) design Participants will be randomly assigned to one of the two groups the “VR Group” that will try MIND-VR and the “Non-VR group” that will try a non-immersive (2D) slideshow and 6 months to assess the long-term learning and its generalization To avoid the disappointment of the participants who will try the slideshow individuals in the "Non-VR Group" will be offered the possibility to try MIND-VR for about 15 min • Participants: Thirty healthcare workers will be recruited as a convenience sample The recruitment methods and inclusion criteria will be the same as those adopted in Pilot Study 1 The participants in this experiment will be different from those in Pilot Study 1 participants will be asked to complete a posttest containing 10 questions eight factual questions in multiple-choice format and two conceptual questions in short-answer format assessing the learning outcome of participants based on their experience of the VR “Which is the first phase of the “General Adaptation Syndrome” (A) Resistance phase (B) Alarm phase (C) Exhaustion phase “What are the main symptoms of stress?” and the participants will sign the informed consent form the participants will complete the demographic questionnaires the ad hoc questionnaire on the use of technological solutions and virtual reality and the background knowledge of stress and anxiety the psychoeducational material on stress and anxiety will be presented the participants will use MIND-VR for about 15 min and complete the island's first path (i.e “Introduction on stress and anxiety”) which will present the same content as that included in the first path of MIND-VR The slideshow will be presented on a desktop computer with a 20-inch color screen participants will complete a post-questionnaire about their experiences and a posttest on the material they viewed participants will be thanked and dismissed The session will last approximately 1 h The same tests made at the end of the experimental session will be conducted also after 1 week and 6 months in the presence of the researcher • Data analysis strategy: The presence of spurious associations between demographic variables and learning scores will be evaluated using a chi-square test of independence and t-test analyses for independent samples An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) will be conducted on the posttest learning scores of the VR and non-VR groups with background stress and anxiety-knowledge scores as covariates The ad hoc questionnaire on the background knowledge of stress and anxiety will be adopted in Pilot Study 2 The ad hoc questionnaire on the learning level of psychoeducational contents will be adopted in Pilot Study 2 MIND-VR represents one of the first few published virtual reality content designed specifically to be used for psychological support for healthcare workers affected by the health crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic Once the ongoing pilot studies have been concluded the data collected will allow to verify the usability of the first version of this virtual experience and to collect important data for the development of its final version the collected data will permit to make more general reflections on the effect of virtual reality for psychoeducation in terms of short and long-term learning other elements make MIND-VR potentially very relevant this virtual psychoeducational content can be used not only with doctors and nurses but also with all other categories of people who need support in the management of stress and anxiety MIND-VR can be used within programs for the prevention and treatment of such conditions of mental suffering for all those people forced into isolation and/or quarantine due to COVID-19 infection this psychoeducational virtual content will be tested in collaboration with an Italian hospital as a tool for psychoeducation on stress and anxiety within psychological support programs for families of patients with dementia another typology of people greatly in need of new support tools for mental well-being as well as a shortage of creatives who are trained in UCD The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author FM supervised the work in its scientific aspect and GV as highly experienced psychotherapists and psychologists supervised the clinical features of MIND-VR All the 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Caragnano, Ranieri, Vuolato, Pepe, Veronese, Dakanalis, Rossini, Caltagirone, Clerici and Mantovani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Federica Pallavicini, ZmVkZXJpY2EucGFsbGF2aWNpbmlAdW5pbWliLml0 Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Just because scoring pylons have been taken down at a couple of NASCAR Cup Series tracks this season doesn't mean they're becoming a thing of the past. The three-sided, roughly 100-foot towers, which help fans and drivers monitor running order and laps left were noticeably missing in April at consecutive races at Texas Motor Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway Pylons also came down in recent years at Bristol and Watkins Glen But that doesn't necessarily mean the pylons are coming down at all tracks "NASCAR hasn't said anything about the scoring pylons," said Matt Greci general manager at Nashville Superspeedway where the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 will be run June 30 "As a venue it's an asset we at Nashville Superspeedway are hanging onto." Why some NASCAR scoring pylons were removedGreci understands why some tracks are choosing to take down the iconic towers and said advanced technology may play a role The scoring pylon at Texas was replaced with an extra video board The one at Talladega was taken down because it was so old needed replacement parts are no longer available NASCAR has encouraged fans to keep up with the action by downloading the NASCAR app and "I don't know the specifics about the other venues; I don't know whether they're replacing (scoring pylons) with a different video board of other assets," Greci said a scoring pylon is a visual marker and it's kind of synonymous with a lot of venues so when it's taken down But if there's other avenues where the information is portrayed on video boards and it's still delivering the same fan experience then I think that's the key." WHAT'S IT LIKE TO BE IN THE BIG ONE? What is it like being in the big crash at Talladega? We talked to NASCAR Cup drivers Some NASCAR drivers are upset with scoring pylons being removedIt may be a similar experience for fans but several drivers have expressed frustration with the removal of scoring pylons After being told the Talladega scoring pylon needed repairs like every other sporting facility in the world is doing was asked again about the subject last week heading into the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway Hamlin said the issue had remained on his mind so he got in touch with NASCAR senior vice president and chief track properties officer Chip Wile but they figured the scoring pylons only service those in the infield it doesn't service those that are in the stands," Hamlin said Certainly we know it's important to race fans because they put it on TV for the millions who watch at home You want to be able to see where your driver's at and that's why it's important." Ty Dillon is concerned that video boards are not an adequate replacement for the scoring pylon "I look at (the pylon) during the race; if I'm going down the backstretch and I'm trying to figure out where the hell I am," Dillon said "Unless they're putting ribbon boards or something up you cross the line and kind of look out of the corner of your eye to see where you stand." Chase Elliott wasn't as adamant about the scoring pylons not being at back-to-back races he wonders why they would be taken down if some drivers and fans what to keep them "I don't see where it was hurting nothing," Elliott said "Surely it wouldn't make the power bill that much higher Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MIkeOrganWriter “A flock of Snow Buntings survey the scene at Creamer’s Field.” Thanks to Paul Greci of Fairbanks for submitting this photo. To submit your best photo visit newsminer.com Essential digital access to quality FT journalism on any device Complete digital access to quality FT journalism with expert analysis from industry leaders Complete digital access to quality analysis and expert insights complemented with our award-winning Weekend Print edition Terms & Conditions apply Discover all the plans currently available in your country See why over a million readers pay to read the Financial Times Get quick access to your favorite articles Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers Make your voice heard with article commenting From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport In order to keep delivering our expert journalism we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker The Embassy of Greece in Rome and The Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies of Venice in collaboration with the Honorary Consulate of Greece in Venice and the Greek Orthodox Community of Venice with support from the Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy announce the presentation of “Hellenic Heads: George Petrides A Personal Exploration of Greek History and Culture Over 2,500 Years.” Six monumental busts will be exhibited in the courtyard of the Church of St George of the Greeks (San Giorgio dei Greci) adjacent to The Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies of Venice located a short distance from the Arsenale and St Born in Athens in 1964 and raised between Greece and New York George Petrides creates diverse sculptures including abstract pieces and monumental public works The exhibition will run daily from April 15 to April 28 and from May 8 to November 24 Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox An alarm was raised Thursday night at Athens International Airport when authorities were advised by US intelligence agencies that a terrorism suspect had boarded an Emirates flight in Athens The Emirates flight to Dubai had not departed yet The pilot informed the passengers that they would return to the gate due to a “technical problem,” according to media reports All passengers disembarked and were thoroughly checked Police found nothing suspicious and the flight left for Dubai at 10 p.m had already departed at the time Greek authorities were notified Flight radar software shows that the flight turned around just after it had crossed over the Italian island of Sardinia Media reports that France and Italy had refused requests for the plane to land on their soil have not been verified said that “this is normal when the code Renegade has been activated.” Code Renegade is a distress signal activated in case of hijacking It has not been confirmed that such a signal was actually sent Kathimerini understands that Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority ordered the plane to return to Athens for passengers and luggage to be checked It landed at the airport shortly before 10 p.m The plane reportedly landed in the airport area where cargo flights end up The inspection at the time of writing was still ongoing Police and the Greek armed forces were charged with the investigation The alleged suspect was said to have been involved in other terrorist cases but no one had yet been apprehended as of late Thursday A number of former Jaques Award winners show off their new pullovers after being announced to the crowd during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday 2024 (Staten Island Advance/Charlie De Biase Jr.)Staten Island Advance/Charlie De Biase Jr .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Charlie De Biase Jr. | debiase@siadvance.comFor one special night Li Greci’s Staaten turned into a Staten Island basketball extravaganza as the Warren Jaques Memorial Committee celebrated its 75th anniversary with approximately 250 in attendance Saturday evening Forty former Jaques Award winners — an accolade given annually to the Island’s most outstanding boys and girls’ basketball player — were in attendance and were announced to the vibrant crowd was the youngest honoree in attendance after winning the prestigious award earlier this year while Augustinian Academy’s Tom Walsh was the dean of all former Jaques recipients during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75 anniversary dinner on Dec (Staten Island Advance/Charlie De Biase Jr.)Staten Island Advance/Charlie De Biase Jr and Borough President Vito Fossella addressed the crowd before Gannon exemplified the extravaganza’s ‘friendship’ theme by reading a letter Jaques sent ex-teammate Buddy O’Grady while serving in the U.S and uncle John were not only Jaques’ teammates during the 1937-38 season but were also a part of the original Jaques Committee in 1948 took the mic next and reminisced about his dad and uncle’s involvement with the committee Gannon then announced the inaugural Joe Kiernan Memorial Award winners — given to those who have supported the committee through the years — and the list included Chuck and Bill Magnuski; St Peter’s Boys HS (represented by John Walsh); the Tighe and McGinley families (represented by Mickey Tighe and Jim McGinley); long-time Jaques selection committee members Lou Anarumo and Mike Reardon; Kathy Murphy (the first female Jaques Committee member); Jim Ford (longest serving Jaques Committee member); Tony Navarino and Bob Newman is joined by Jaques Committee chairman and his former coach during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner at LiGreci's Staaten on Saturday Former Jaques winners who were guest speakers included Tom Walsh (Augustinian Academy); Sue Harnett (Moore Catholic); Bob Mahala (Monsignor Farrell); Greg Pedro (St Peter’s) and Kenny White (Monsignor Farrell) The night concluded with a ‘reflections’ speech by legendary former Staten Island Advance/SILive.com sports columnist Jay Price who was named the 1954 boys' Jaques Award winner addresses the crowd during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner on Dec The Warren Jaques Memorial Committee’s officers include Gannon Zieris was also acknowledged for her dogged effort to make Saturday’s event run smoothly and a special time for all Several of the 40 former Jaques Award winners who attended Saturday's Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner were introduced to the crowd prior to the start of the event the 1978 boys' Jaques Award winner from Monsignor Farrell is joined by Moore Catholic athletic director Mike Ponsiglione and Jaques selection committee member Tony Petosa during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday the 1986 girls' Jaques Award winner out of Moore Catholic talks about her experience with the crowd at the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday is joined by Joe Nugent during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner at Li Greci's Staaten on Dec who won the Jaques Award following the 1983 season talks about his experience winning the CHSAA AA city championship during Saturday's Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner Staten Island Academy's Clare Mitchell Joseph Hill's Patricia Conroy and McKee/Staten Island Tech's Kristen Markoe wait to get called shortly before the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner at LiGreci's Staaten on Saturday who won the boys' Jaques Award in 1979 has a word with former Curtis star Bobby Fisher during Saturday's Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner at Li Greci's Staaten Former Staten Island Advance/SILive.com sports columnist Jay Price reflects on the meaning of the Jaques Award during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner on Dec signs an oak tag board commemorating the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary on Dec The winners of the inaugural Joe Kiernan Memorial Award gather for a picture during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday speaks to the crowd during Saturday's event at Li Greci's Staaten in West Brighton Former Staten Island Academy star Clare Mitchell Joseph Hill star Patricia Conroy — the 2017 co-girls' Jaques Award winners — are introduced to the crowd during Saturday's Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner at Li Greci's Staaten Former Monsignor Farrell hoops star Kenny White who won the boys' Jaques Award in 1988 had plenty of nice things to say about basketball in the 1980s during the Jaques Memorial Committee's 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday the Warren Jaques Memorial Committee's chaplain addresses the Jaques 75th anniversary dinner's crowd on Dec Peter's star who won the boys' Jaques Award following the 2019 campaign during Satruday's Jaques Memorial Committee 75th anniversary dinner who won the girls' Jaques Award following the 1986 season is joined by Moore assistant athletic director Sue Shepherd and athletic director Mike Ponsiglione during the Jaques Memorial Committee 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday Ex-Augustinian Academy Jaques Award winner Tom Walsh (1954) Peter's Jaques winner John Baiano (2002) and other former winners of the prestigious award during the 75th anniversary dinner on Dec Jaques Memorial Committee chairman Tim Gannon addresses the crowd during Saturday's event Members of the Tighe family were acknowledged during the Jaques Memorial Committee 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday who won the girls' Jaques Award out of St who captured the Jaques Award out of Monsignor Farrell a year later during the Jaques 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday who won the boys' Jaques Award in 1997 who was selected the Jaques winner in 1992 Ex-Curtis star Nigel Wyatte is introduced to the crowd during Saturday's Jaques Memorial Committee 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday speaks to the crowd about his experience as a winner of the prestigious award during the 75th anniversary dinner at Li Greci's Staaten on Saturday Jaques Memorial Committee 75th anniversary dinner committee members Anthony Passalacqua greeted everyone who attended Saturday's gala at Li Greci's Staaten Former Jaques Award winner Chris Clancy (St 2015) wait to be announced during the Jaques Memorial Committee 75th anniversary dinner on Saturday Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices It is over 50 years since the publication of Hannah Arendt’s Eichmann in Jerusalem that turned her into a renowned and in some cases reviled public intellectual Eichmann’s prescience about our contemporary condition explains why Arendt remains one of the most provocative interlocutors in discussions about political ideas and realities today Despite this striking contemporary relevance the ancient dimension of Arendt’s work has long been acknowledged by scholars It is difficult not to be struck by the pervasive reference to antiquity in her political-cum-philosophical treatise The Human Condition in The Origins of Totalitarianism where Arendt narrates the Dreyfus affair as the unfolding of a Greek tragedy – a trope which she returns to and develops more fully at the start of Eichmann in Jerusalem But the question of how one should understand this distinctive dimension of her works still requires some thought It would be tempting to see Arendt’s ancients as a continuation of the German love affair which began in the late eighteenth century and continued to exert its grasp on intellectuals in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Certainly it is possible to see Arendt’s election of the Greeks as a mark of her debt to Heidegger; and there also are similarities between Arendt’s and Nietzsche’s deployment of the Greeks But it is in her treatment of ancient texts and ancient ideas that Arendt also articulates her distance and rejection of Heidegger and other aspects of the German intellectual tradition do not act as an entry ticket into German culture but as a way for her to develop a distinct and resistant space within a tradition which she inhabits but fundamentally reshapes Plurality is a feature of Arendt’s work which has a particular attraction to her contemporary readers I think it is fair to say that Arendt’s ancients distinguish themselves in their plurality too this might be a surprising claim because the charge of flattening antiquity of turning the complex and difficult political practices of ancient societies into a nostalgic utopia has often been leveled against her recent work on Arendt has made us more attentive to the less manifest ancient references in her work This research has revealed an Arendt who is not just in dialogue with Plato and Aristotle but also with Augustine and Virgil with a perhaps still unconscious Jewish antiquity it could still be argued that her ancients are not plural enough and that her immersion in antiquity remains a limiting dimension of her thought Arendt’s provocative and complex writings about tradition and her defense of a Western canon is one dimension of her thought is which I think we have yet to grapple with fully Given Arendt’s profound immersion in antiquity it is easy to see why she might be of interest to scholars of the classical tradition But Arendt’s interest can and should go beyond that one of the most valuable aspects of Arendt’s work is that she models our interaction with the ancients in political rather than historical terms Thucydides and Pericles but also the namelss demos who inhabit her imagined polis Arendt’s Greeks are not historical and in this respect she shares something with other philosophical readers of ancient texts who conduct their conversations with classical authors across the chasm of historical and cultural difference Arendt does not treat antiquity as if it were timeless she structures the encounter between ancient and modern as a political encounter The ancient texts intervene into the present as actions rather than actors The reference to the Greeks functions for Arendt as a kind of performative While lacking the depth of historical figures they nevertheless have a powerful agency which refuses modern appropriation it is the singularity of the Greek experience which she wishes to reanimate in the present The appeal she makes to antiquity in her essay ‘What is Freedom?’ is exemplary: There are many things one might want to say about this passage and many aspects one might question or resist But Arendt acutely pinpoints how we too often think about the classical world in terms either of erudition or of continuity Arendt rejects both those models and in the process shows how in taking refuge in history we displace politics Being responsive to the historical alterity constitutes our responsibility only in a restrictive moral sense Taking responsibility for antiquity requires returning it to its agency and allowing it to act in the present A conference on ‘Hannah Arendt and the Ancients’ was organized by Miriam Leonard and Tim Beasley-Murray and took place at UCL in September The conference was co-sponsored by the UCL European Institute The EU's press publisher rights directive holds both transformative potential and challenges in terms of its implementation in Italy according to the legal director of that country's state-run news agency ANSA's Giulia Li Greci addressed pressing questions about the implementation of the directive in Italy and its broader implications across the EU Li Greci emphasized its role in ensuring fair compensation for publishers while navigating issues of freedom of expression and emerging technologies like AI She also stressed the directive's potential in strengthening publishers' roles in the digital age "The implementation will have a huge impact on publishers because the purpose is to guarantee the quality of information recognizing compensation to publishers," she explained When asked about concerns over freedom of expression "The problem would be the obligations that could have the service providers on one hand and probably on the other hand publishers," she noted reflecting Italy's careful navigation of this issue Regarding the need for updates to the directive she highlighted the importance of judicial insight "It would be interesting to know the point of view of the European Court of Justice before there is a judgment about this," she said hinting at the evolving digital and legal landscapes Li Greci also addressed the challenges posed by emerging technologies like AI-generated content "The most important would be the data mining and it would be interesting for publishers to understand how to protect by the using of instruments the content." Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias visit the San Giorgio dei Greci (Saint George of the Greeks) church in Venice during his trip to the Italian city according to a related post by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Twitter “I visited in Venice the San Giorgio dei Greci the oldest and most historic church of the Greek Diaspora,” wrote the foreign minister Επισκέφθηκα στη Βενετία τον Ιερό Ναό του Αγίου Γεωργίου των Ελλήνων, την παλαιότερη και πιο ιστορική εκκλησία της 🇬🇷 Διασποράς. pic.twitter.com/qqGffZjE4t — Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) January 16, 2023 Dendias visited the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine & Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice and the Museum of Icons Metropolitan of Italy & Exarch of Southern Europe Polykarpo Στο πλαίσιο επίσκεψης, κόπηκε η πρωτοχρονιάτικη πίτα από ΥΠΕΞ Ν.Δένδια, παρουσία Σεβ. Μητροπολίτη Ιταλίας & Έξαρχο Ν.Ευρώπης Πολύκαρπο (2/2) pic.twitter.com/QOyXBinn0n — Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών (@GreeceMFA) January 16, 2023 Construction of the San Giorgio dei Greci was started by Sante Lombardo The interior has a monument to Gabriele Seviros (1619) by Baldassarre Longhena The dome of the church was frescoed with the Last Judgement (1589–93) by Giovanni Kyprios Other artists who completed work for the church were Markos Bathas Tzanes frescoed the Saints Simeon and Alypios Other famous Greek artists associated with the church were: Konstantinos Tzanes Amongst the treasures in this church are three icons which Anna Notaras the last megas doux of the Byzantine Empire and she later gave to the Scuola de San Nicolò dei Greci in trust for when a church observing the Greek Orthodox faith could be constructed These icons comprise: one of Christ in His glory surrounded by symbols of the four Evangelists and figures of the 12 Apostles; another of Christ Pantokrator; and the third is an image of the Virgin Hodegetria Near the church lies the Flanginian School which today houses the Hellenic Institute of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies in Venice The Museum was established by Sophia Antoniadis the Greek Orthodox rite was not permitted in Venice the Greek community in Venice gained the right to found the Scuola de San Nicolò dei Greci a confraternity which aided members of that community the papacy allowed the construction of the church of San Giorgio financed by a tax on all ships from the Orthodox world READ MORE: Crete in top 10 destinations of 2023 for adventure and wellness tourism, says Spanish travel mag Watching a newly emerging writer develop can be an interesting experience The first book offers indications of what he or she is capable of but leaves readers wondering if the author can branch out the next time around Sometimes that second book can make the first seem like a mere warmup Other times it can be a severe disappointment Usually the results fall somewhere in between novel number two falls in the medium high end of that in-between scale but it doesn’t so much build on his first book as rework its core theme into a new story “Surviving Bear Island,” garnered much deserved national attention and did well It was the story of boy named Tom who finds himself washed ashore and alone on a remote island in Prince William Sound who has to survive off his own wits and limited knowledge It’s by far the best young adult novel to come out of Alaska in many years But this means Greci started out with a significant hurdle if he wanted to top it “The Wild Lands” reprises the theme of young people grappling for survival in the Alaskan wilds although this time it’s a very different Alaska this book tells the story of 17-year-old Travis and his 10-year-old sister Jess and opens in their family’s home runaway climate change has altered the landscape and this has been compounded by two years of wildfires that wiped away all signs of life which was destroying what it was leaving behind after revoking Alaska’s statehood and abandoning it The second fire might or might not have been set by the now absent government as well and has destroyed more or less everything in Interior Alaska supplies are no longer being shipped into the state and communication with the outside world and even other parts of Alaska has vaporized with the few remaining now fighting over the nearly depleted resources needed for simple survival Roving groups and individuals are reduced to killing each other for food and a far cry from the comparatively luxurious conditions Greci set Tom against in “Bear Island.” finds himself without parents and needing to both survive and escape It also parallels the first book in that Greci draws off of his considerable backcountry experience in Alaska to vividly set the stage although in this instance he’s burned that landscape to the ground who narrates the book in the present tense decides that he and Jess need to make a run for Alaska’s southern coast where settlements are rumored to exist where Anchorage and Valdez once stood and where the possibility of boat passage out of the former state is hoped for join forces with two girls Travis’ age named Tam and Max “Bear Island” was the age-old castaway theme popularized during Europe’s Age of Exploration while the post-apocalyptic category of “Wild Lands” is rooted in the subconscious fears of modern life Greci is able to breathe new life into an overly used idea where most of the landscape has never been covered with towns or cities creates a different kind of tension than found in similar books in which characters wander through metropolises gutted of human life “Wild Lands” is at heart the story of a young man coming into adulthood through the process of survival Travis’ narrative isn’t as inwardly focused as Tom’s in the first book Between the presence of other characters and the dangers at nearly every turn he doesn’t have the time to think about himself as much In “Bear Island,” Tom was the only person for nearly the entirety of the book Here Greci creates a quartet of heroes as well as one villain who is nasty in rather unexpected ways and he develops each of them nicely over the course of the saga The story itself is full of clever plot twists most chapters end in some sort of cliffhanger This one is aimed at a slightly older audience than “Bear Island.” The language is occasionally rough and it’s pretty violent at times (at one point the corpses pile up faster than they do in “The Walking Dead,” although at least here they stay dead) But when something as morbid as “The Hunger Games” dominates teenage reading diets The book ends with the stage clearly set for a sequel and the material on offer suggests it could have an entirely different plot Greci has twice proven he can write captivating stories of teenagers surviving by their wits in the wilderness It’s where he sends them next that will test his own already admirable skills as a writer 2021) – Spire Motorsports announced today that it will expand its NASCAR footprint and field a team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) in 2022 The team will be led by championship-winning industry veterans Mike Greci and Kevin “Bono” Manion Greci comes to Spire Motorsports from Hattori Racing Enterprises where he served as general manager for the last six seasons Manion has spent the last two years at GMS Racing and will handle the team’s crew chief responsibilities “After spending the last three seasons establishing our footing in the NASCAR Cup Series Spire Motorsports is eager to lean on Mike Greci’s leadership and build a competitive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team,” commented Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J He’s a proven winner and excels at developing young talent We’re fortunate to add someone as accomplished as Mike to our roster Being able to complement him with an experienced championship-winning crew chief in Bono Manion creates a foundation that we expect to be successful right out of the gate enthusiasm and opportunity in the Camping World Truck Series create new jobs and make our mark in the Truck Series garage the Spire Motorsports’ way.” native with over five decades of experience launched his NASCAR career in 1990 as Mike McLaughlin’s crew chief in the ARCA Menard’s Series East (formerly Busch North Series and NASCAR K&N Pro Series East) he has earned ARCA Menard’s Series East victories with McLaughlin Greci won consecutive championships with Truex in 2009 and 2010 he held the competition director’s role for Turner-Scott Motorsports and HSM with Justin Marks when the teams won four straight ARCA Menard’s Series East titles with drivers Dylan Kwasniewski He transitioned to Hattori Racing Enterprises as general manager at the end of 2016 where he won four races and earned NCWTS championship honors in 2018 with Moffitt Greci and Austin Hill combined to notch eight wins while clinching a spot in the NCWTS playoffs all three years “I’m proud to join Spire Motorsports and take full advantage of the opportunity in front of us,” said Greci Puchyr and Jeff Dickerson (Spire Motorsports co-owners) for many years and I’m really impressed with how they go about their business We’ll have an opportunity to develop some exciting young talent Being able to pair a young driver with a crew chief as experienced as Bono Manion positions us to be competitive as soon as we hit the track.” Manion has been a staple atop the pit box since 2002 and boasts wins in all three of NASCAR’s elite touring series Some of his most recognizable accomplishments include back-to-back NASCAR Xfinity Series Championships with Martin Truex Jr. (’04 – ‘05) and NASCAR Cup Series wins including the Daytona 500 Brickyard 400 and Bank of America 500 with Jamie McMurray He has collected seven NCWTS wins with four different drivers including Daniel Suarez “This is an exciting opportunity to help build a new team and establish Spire Motorsports as a top-flight organization in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” offered Manion “Building something from the ground up is the type of challenge that gets me out of bed in the morning we all envision this as a great opportunity to be competitive and give back to the sport that has given so much to all of us.” The team will name its driver and announce 2022 schedule plans once they are finalized About Spire Motorsports …Spire Motorsports was established in 2018 and is co-owned by longtime NASCAR industry executives Jeff Dickerson and Thaddeus “T.J.” Puchyr Spire Motorsports earned an upset victory for the ages in its first full season when Justin Haley took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on July 7 The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com Nearly half a million Greeks have left the country in search of better opportunities abroad since 2008 due to the financial crisis with educated professionals among those leading the exodus more than 427,000 Greeks have emigrated since 2008 a year before Greece’s debt crisis erupted exceeding 100,000 in 2013 and growing in 2014 and 2015 Greek emigres’ main motive is to find work as opportunities in crisis-hit Greece are few and far between with an unemployment rate that remains above 25 percent It is not the first time that Greeks have abandoned their country en masse one between 1903 and 1917 and the other between 1960 and 1972 The difference between the first two and the current one is that in the 20th century it was mostly unskilled workers and farmers that left while now educated professionals and young graduates are leading the exodus “It is no coincidence that both phases took place following an intense period of recessionary upheaval that widened the chasm between our country and developed nations and fueled the mass departure of people who were seeking new opportunities and prospects for progress,” Sofia Lazaretou a BoG economist and the author of the report which noted that seven in 10 were aged between 15 and 44 and fewer than two in 10 were women seven out of 10 were young people aged 20-34 with five in 10 declaring themselves as manual workers Six out of 10 traveled to Germany or Belgium to work in factories The current exodus is being led by young professionals seeking their fortune in Germany Greece ranks fourth among the 28 European Union member-states in terms of mass emigration in proportion to its work force in terms of the proportion of young people leaving the country The NASCAR Cup Series team behind Corey LaJoie has just made a major move for the 2022 season. Spire Motorsports has announced that it will field an entry in the Camping World Truck Series Spire Motorsports announced the news with a press release issued on Tuesday The team did not reveal the driver that will control the entry during the 2022 season or the planned schedule Spire announced that Mike Greci and Kevin “Bono” Manion will lead the team Spire Motorsports will be fielding a @NASCAR_Trucks team in 2022 “After spending the last three seasons establishing our footing in the NASCAR Cup Series Spire Motorsports is eager to lean on Mike Greci’s leadership and build a competitive NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team,” Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J “Mike’s resume speaks for itself He’s a proven winner and excels at developing young talent We’re fortunate to add someone as accomplished as Mike to our roster “There’s a tremendous amount of interest and opportunity in the Camping World Truck Series create new jobs and make our mark in the Truck Series garage the Spire Motorsports’ way.” GettyMike Greci (right) served as interim crew chief in 2008 Greci, who spent the past six seasons as the general manager of Hattori Racing Enterprises He led one organization to a Truck Series championship and another to back-to-back ARCA Menards Series East championships Greci served as the crew chief for several drivers in what was previously known as the Busch North Series and then the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He worked with Mike McLaughlin, Mike Stefanik, Ryan Truex, and Brett Moffitt while helping the drivers lock up a combined 19 victories The best seasons (2009 and 2010) took place with Truex behind the wheel of the No Truex won a combined five races and secured back-to-back championships before moving to the Xfinity Series on a part-time schedule in 2011 Greci joined Hattori Racing Enterprises prior to the 2016 season and took over as general manager of the team He reunited with Moffitt in 2018 for the best season in the organization’s history Moffitt won six races and posted 13 total top-five finishes before ending the season as a champion The veteran GM also worked with Austin Hill from 2019-2021 The Truck Series driver won eight races during his tenure and reached the playoffs all three seasons before moving to the Xfinity Series GettyManion has multiple championships on his resume Manion brings his own winning pedigree to this new Truck Series team which includes wins across the top three NASCAR series and consecutive championships He also has extensive experience in the Truck Series after working with multiple teams Manion most recently served as the crew chief for Zane Smith at GMS Racing in 2020 and 2021 as well as an appearance in the championship four in 2021 and Tyler Ankrum reach Victory Lane in Truck Series races The veteran crew chief’s list of achievements also includes five Cup Series wins four of which took place with Jamie McMurray The now-retired driver secured victories in the Daytona 500 Manion’s best seasons — statistically speaking — took place while working with Martin Truex Jr. in the Xfinity Series They won a combined 12 races over two seasons (2004 and 2005) and won back-to-back Xfinity Series championships READ NEXT: How Dodge’s Plans for 2024 Could Lead to NASCAR Return