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Backyarding is Here to Stay

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Backyarding is Here to Stay & It Has a Purpose. What’s Yours?

By Kris Kiser, President & CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute

What once only happened indoors now happens outdoors. It’s called “backyarding,” and it’s a trend that’s here to stay. From office work to working out, from eating to entertaining, if these activities were once typically held inside a home or office, they are now being brought to the great outdoors.

Simply think back over the last year and recount the number of times your backyard has taken center stage in your everyday life. The family yard became the safe and purposeful space where we could gather and recharge. Spending time outdoors is great for your physical and mental health, and our backyards are the bridge between indoor and outdoor living.

The backyard is nearly limitless with possibilities, and you can get really creative in how you expand and enjoy your yard. But before you get to work in your yard, you must first identity what type of “backyarder” you are. Then, you can keep that idea in mind to create a more purposeful outdoor space that is customized to your family’s needs.

Here are just a few of the backyarding personality types. Which one(s) are you?

Entertainer Extraordinaire
Your backyard was the neighborhood hot spot long before the pandemic made that trend posh. Family milestones, birthdays, graduations, reunions, socially distanced BBQs – your yard is *the* place to gather. Your yard is set up for success with patio furniture, fire pit, yard games, plenty of outdoor seating, string lights, and maybe even an outdoor kitchen. The family yard and community park are five-star event spaces that are always easy to book!

Environmentalist
You know that nature starts in your own backyard and that taking small steps in your yard can make a big impact on climate change. As the proverbial Robin to your yard’s Batman, you embrace your role in supporting the superhero powers of your living landscape. Those include capturing and filtering rainwater, producing oxygen, and absorbing carbon, just to name a few.

Expert Landscaper
Your yard makes neighbors green with envy. You know how to maintain a healthy living landscape all year long, and you have the latest outdoor power equipment to make even big jobs easier. Your idea of a good time? Spending the weekend doing yardwork. You love the sense of accomplishment that comes from working in your yard, and friends can count on you for advice about their own living landscapes.

Horticulturist
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is bookmarked on your browser because putting the right plant in the right place is the living landscape Golden Rule you live by. You consider location, maintenance, sunlight and watering requirements, as well as your climate zone and lifestyle needs, before you even think about sticking your shovel in the dirt.

Kid Zone Creator
You know the safest place for your kids to be is in your own backyard, and you work hard to create an outdoor fun zone they will never want to leave. A flat area of sturdy turfgrass to play sports and pitch a tent? Check. Treehouse? Check. Zipline strung safely between backyard trees? Check. An elevated garden where kids can help grow the family’s meals? Check. Natural playscapes, like a patch of sand bordered by rocks and log stump seating? Check. “Fun” is your middle name, and you are winning at this game.

Nature Lover
No binging Netflix for you. You subscribe to “Nature TV” and prefer to spend your free time watching the birds, bats, butterflies and other wildlife that count on your yard for food and shelter. You cultivate a living landscape that supports a rich biodiversity with butterfly bushes, flowering plants, water sources, and trees and shrubs with nooks for nesting and food.

Pet Pamperer
Your focus is on Fido, and you take cues from your four-legged friends about how to purpose your backyard. You’ve planted sturdy turfgrass like Buffalo or Bermuda that can stand up to pet play, and you’ve used soft foliage to create a natural barricade between “off limits” areas and the rest of the lawn. Trees and shrubs are strategically planted for shade, and you’ve even set up a shallow water feature to help your pup cool off on hot days. For you, planting with purpose means keeping toxic plants out of the picture. (For a complete list, visit ASPCA’s list of non-toxic and toxic plants.

Work (and learn!) from Home Warrior
You don’t need to turn to technology to create a virtual backdrop for your video calls. The natural setting created by your yard’s trees, flowers, bushes and other plants is your go-to video call background. Your kids aren’t doing in-person school? No problem. Your backyard or neighborhood park is a living laboratory for learning that supports outdoor learning, even when school isn’t in session. Your kids take online classes under the shade of a tree. Do homework at a patio or picnic table. Brush up on STEM education by planting and studying flowers, bug hunting, and weather watching.

Zen Master
Enjoying your morning coffee on the balcony as songbirds serenade you. Meditating under the shade of a tree. De-stressing by swinging in a backyard hammock. Taking a break from your busy day to feel the sun on your face and the breeze in your hair. Your backyard is your sacred space for rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation. It’s the best “green spa” in town. You know that spending time outside is good for your health and well-being and that, thanks to your yard, these benefits are only steps away.

Setting the stage for backyarding. One final and important note to backyarders of all kinds. Creating a yard that supports all of the aspects of your family’s outdoor lifestyle means taking stock of what you might need to care for your lawn. Take an inventory of your outdoor power equipment to make sure you are prepared. Then, get out there and create your canvas for even more backyard memory-making.

To learn more about creating the yard of your dreams, visit TurfMutt.

Black Rob Has Passed Away

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Black Rob, Rapper and Former Bad Boy Artist, Has Passed Away at 52 Years Old

Best known for his 2000 single “Whoa!” the rapper was recently hospitalized in Atlanta

Robert Ross, the rap artist known as Black Rob, died April 17 at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta. Fellow Bad Boy rapper Mark Curry stated the cause of death was cardiac arrest, according to Pitchfork. He added that Black Rob was dealing with a number of health issues prior to his death, including lupus, kidney failure, diabetes, and multiple strokes. Black Rob was 52 years old.

“I don’t know where to begin this, but I thank everybody for the donations. Rob passed away about an hour ago,” a teary-eyed Curry said in a video. “I need for his daughter, Iona Ross, little Robert Ross, y’all get in touch with me, please.”

In a second video, Curry stated that he had spoken to Bad Boy founder Combs for the first time in 15 years following Rob’s passing.

“I just want to say thank you. We really did some amazing stuff. RIP to my brother. I was dead with him, I was dead with him,” Curry said. “I ain’t talk to Puff in 15 years. We talked today. This is the beginning of a new us. Rob made sure he knew what he had to do before he parted this world to make sure we all alright — and that’s what he did. Bad Boy for life, yo.”

Diddy posted a tribute on Instagram, stating: “Rest in power King @therealblackrob! As I listen to your records today there’s one thing that they all have in common! You have made millions of people all over the world feel good and dance! You are one of a kind! GOD BLESS! Love. You will be truly missed!!!!”

Born Robert Ross in Buffalo, N.Y., the Bad Boy rapper grew up in East Harlem where he began rapping as a preteen leading to the formation of his first group, the Schizophrenics. He released four studio albums, his most successful being his 2000 debut “Life Story.” Rob is best known for his hit single “Whoa!” which peaked at No. 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. Along with Curry, Rob was featured on Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ “Bad Boy 4 Life,” which charted at No. 33. Though he left Bad Boy Records in the mid-2000s, Rob reunited with the crew for select dates of the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour in 2016.

Ten Anti-LGBTQ Bills Sit on Governors’ Desks

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Ten Anti-LGBTQ Bills Sit on Governors’ Desks, Poised to Undermine Rights Across the Country

As a fast and furious effort led by national groups aiming to stymie LGBTQ progress made on the national level and in many states continues to intensify, ten anti-LGBTQ bills currently sit on the desks of governors across the country waiting to be signed into law. These bills are only the latest examples of a concerted effort in state legislatures to undermine LGBTQ rights that has already resulted in the passage of several anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation in recent months.

“State legislators across the country were elected to represent all of us, not just some of us and yet they continue to send hateful and discriminatory anti-LGBTQ bills to the desks of governors to sign into law, threatening the well-being, health, and fundamental rights of thousands of LGBTQ Americans in states from coast to coast,” said Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David. “From anti-transgender sports bans to erasing LGBTQ people from school curriculum, these bills are driven by fear and would have a significant negative impact on the lives of so many LGBTQ people. The governors of these states are responsible for protecting their citizens, and they must refuse to sign these baseless and unconscionable cruel bills into law. Otherwise, they should and will be held accountable for the consequences.”

These bills include blatant attacks on transgender youth, including prohibiting transgender kids from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity, allow student organizations to discriminate against LGBTQ students under the guise of free speech, erase LGBTQ people from history books, and add substantial hurdles for transgender people who want to change the gender on their birth certificate by first requiring gender-affirming surgery.

Below is a roundup of the ten anti-LGBTQ bills currently sitting on the desks of governors:

ALABAMA
- House Bill 391 – ANTI-TRANS SPORTS BILL
  - The Alabama Senate and House passed House Bill 391, an anti-transgender bill that would ban transgender youth from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity. The bill now heads to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk for signature or veto.
ARIZONA
- Senate Bill 1456 – SEX ED PARENTAL NOTIFICATION BILL
  - The Arizona State House passed Senate Bill 1456 – discriminatory legislation that affects not only sexual education material, but all learning materials in the classroom and makes it harder for LGBTQ kids to see themselves in school curriculum.
  - The bill, which would make Arizona’s sex education laws some of the strictest in the nation when it comes to teaching about LGBTQ issues, now heads to Governor Doug Ducey’s desk for consideration.
ARKANSAS
- Senate Bill 389 – SEX ED PARENTAL NOTIFICATON BILL
  - The Arkansas Senate passed Senate Bill 389, a bill which would require a school district to notify parents before “providing a sexual orientation curriculum or gender identity curriculum” in any kind of instruction, including but not limited to education on sexuality.
  - In addition to making it harder for students kids to access sex education, it could also preclude discussion about sexuality more broadly, including in literature and history classes, for example. A district could be forced to notify parents, provide curriculum materials, and allow parents to opt students out of learning about important modern and historical events, from the A.I.D.S. epidemic to the Stonewall riots to even Supreme Court jurisprudence. This bill disproportionately disadvantages LGBTQ youth who may not have supportive families and put children at greater risk of health consequences.
KANSAS
- Kansas Senate Bill 55 – ANTI-TRANS SPORTS BILL
  - The Kansas Senate passed Senate Bill 55, an anti-transgender bill that would ban transgender girls from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.
MONTANA
- Senate Bill 280 – BIRTH CERTIFICATE BILL
  - The Montana Senate passed SB 280, a bill that adds substantial hurdles for transgender people who want to change the gender on their birth certificate by first requiring gender-affirming surgery.
- Senate Bill 215 – RELIGIOUS REFUSAL BILL
  - The Montana House passed SB 215, an expansive religious refusal bill that could grant a license to discriminate against Montanans and visitors, including LGBTQ people, people of faith, and women, across a wide range of goods and services in the state.
NORTH DAKOTA
- House Bill 1503 – ANTI-ALL COMERS BILL
  - Many public colleges and universities have long had “all-comers” policies that require student organizations receiving financial and other support from the institution not to discriminate against students based on race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.
  - These policies allow all members of the student body to participate in student organizations and prevent such organizations from discriminating against students with state funding. The Supreme Court upheld these all-comers policies as constitutional in the Christian Legal Society v. Martinez decision in 2010.
  - North Dakota HB 1503, in part, undermines inclusive “all-comers” policies at North Dakota public colleges and universities, by allowing student organizations to discriminate against LGBTQ students under the guise of free speech.
- House Bill 1298 – ANTI-TRANS SPORTS BILL
  - The North Dakota Senate passed House Bill 1298, an anti-transgender bill that would ban transgender girls from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.
TENNESSEE
- Senate Bill 1229 – SEX ED PARENTAL NOTIFICATION
  - The Tennessee Senate passed Senate Bill 1229, a bill which would require a school district to notify parents before “providing a sexual orientation curriculum or gender identity curriculum” in any kind of instruction, including but not limited to education on sexuality.
  - In addition to making it harder for students kids to access sex education, it could also preclude discussion about sexuality more broadly, including in literature and history classes, for example. A district could be forced to notify parents, provide curriculum materials, and allow parents to opt students out of learning about important modern and historical events, from the A.I.D.S. epidemic to the Stonewall riots to even Supreme Court jurisprudence.
  - SB 389 also disproportionately disadvantages LGBTQ youth who may not have supportive families and puts children at greater risk of health consequences.
WEST VIRGINIA
- House Bill 3293 – ANTI-TRANS SPORTS BILL
  - The West Virginia Senate passed House Bill 3293, an anti-transgender bill that would ban transgender girls from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity.

Wide range of businesses and advocacy groups oppose anti-trans legislation

More than 65 major U.S. corporations have stood up and spoken out to oppose anti-transgender legislation being proposed in states across the country. New companies like Facebook, Pfizer, Altria, Peloton, and Dell join companies like Amazon, American Airlines, Apple, AT&T, AirBnB, Google, Hilton, IBM, IKEA, Microsoft, Nike, Paypal, Uber, and Verizon in objecting to these bills.
The nation’s leading child health and welfare groups representing more than 7 million youth-serving professionals and more than 1000 child welfare organizations released an open letter calling for lawmakers in states across the country to oppose dozens of bills that target LGBTQ people, and transgender children in particular.

The NCAA opposes efforts to limit participation of transgender students

The NCAA Board of Governors released a public letter making clear that it “firmly and unequivocally supports the opportunity for transgender student-athletes to compete in college sports.” Moreover, “When determining where championships are held, NCAA policy directs that only locations where hosts can commit to providing an environment that is safe, healthy and free of discrimination should be selected.” This puts the 30 states with discriminatory anti-transgender legislation under consideration on notice that their actions will have repercussions for their states.

A fight driven by national anti-LGBTQ groups, not local legislators or public concern

These bills come from the same forces that drove previous anti-equality fights by pushing copycat bills across state houses — dangerous anti-LGBTQ organizations like the Heritage Foundation, Alliance Defending Freedom (designated by Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group), and Eagle Forum among others.

For example, Montana’s HB 112, the first anti-transgender sports bill to be passed through a legislative chamber in any state, was worked on by the Alliance Defending Freedom.

Trans equality is popular: Anti-transgender legislation is a low priority, even among Trump voters

A new PBS/NPR/Marist poll states that 67% of Americans, including 66% of Republicans, oppose the anti-transgender sports ban legislation proliferating across 30 states.

In a 10-swing-state poll conducted by the Human Rights Campaign & Hart Research Group last fall:

At least 60% of Trump voters across each of the 10 swing states say transgender people should be able to live freely and openly.
At least 87% of respondents across each of the 10 swing states say transgender people should have equal access to medical care, with many states breaking 90% support
When respondents were asked about how they prioritized the importance of banning transgender people from participating in sports as compared to other policy issues, the issue came in dead last, with between 1% and 3% prioritizing the issue.

Another more recent poll conducted by the Human Rights Campaign & Hart Research Group revealed that, with respect to transgender youth participation in sports, the public’s strong inclination is on the side of fairness and equality for transgender student athletes. 73% of voters agree that “sports are important in young people’s lives. Young transgender people should be allowed opportunities to participate in a way that is safe and comfortable for them.”

States that pass anti-transgender legislation suffer economic, legal, reputational harm

Analyses conducted in the aftermath of previous divisive anti-transgender bills across the country, like the bathroom bills introduced in Texas and North Carolina and an anti-transgender sports ban in Idaho, show that there would be or has been devastating fallout.

The Idaho anti-transgender sports bill that passed was swiftly suspended by a federal district court. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) came out against the Idaho bill and others like it and subsequently moved planned tournament games out of Idaho.
The Associated Press projected that the North Carolina bathroom bill could have cost the state $3.76 billion over 10 years.
During a fight over an anti-transgender bathroom bill in 2017, the Texas Association of Business estimated $8.5 billion in economic losses, risking 185,000 jobs in the process due to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and professional sporting event cancellations, a ban on taxpayer funded travel to those states, cancellation of movie productions, and businesses moving projects out of state.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organizations working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Miss America Partners with Rowan University

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Miss America Partners with Rowan University for 100th Anniversary Archival Project

With an eye on history and ideals of beauty, students digitize Miss America archives

“There she is…”

One hundred years of artifacts from the Miss America Competition—from jeweled crowns and velvet capes to programs, photographs, judges’ books, oil paintings, films, and business records—tell more than the story of the competition.

They also provide a rich look at both American and New Jersey history and help illustrate how ideas surrounding beauty and women’s roles in society have changed over a century.

Now, through a unique partnership with the Miss America Organization, Rowan University students are sifting through the organization’s expansive archives and digitizing the artifacts. Their work, currently underway in the Digital Scholarship Center at Campbell Library, will be the cornerstone of the new Rowan Digital Collections.

Scholars worldwide eventually will have access to the artifacts through the archive, hosted by Rowan Libraries.

Currently, the massive Miss America collection is tucked away in storage in South Jersey. The storage contains a treasure trove of floor-to-ceiling artifacts from the competition.

The Miss America Organization will continue to retain the physical artifacts. But the digitization, which began with program books and some oil paintings of former winners, will ensure the artifacts are categorized and documented–and available widely to future scholars.

The preservation partnership was orchestrated by University administrators, who were approached by the Miss America Organization.

‘An enduring feature of American culture’

“We’re excited Rowan is doing this, and we’re thrilled the University sees value in this project,” says Shantel Krebs, chair of the board and interim president and CEO of the Miss America Organization.

“This is New Jersey history. The digitization project will help others learn more about the quintessential competition and its evolution from a ‘bather’s revue’ into a nationally recognized non-profit that offers scholarship assistance and helps thousands of young women from America to improve their communities through service.”

The project will be a crucial resource to scholars and students, notes College of Humanities & Social Sciences Dean Nawal Ammar.

“The Miss America competition has been an enduring feature of American culture, producing idealized images of female beauty and achievement,” says Ammar.

“However, the pageant also has been a space to challenge those images, both inside and outside the competition hall. This collection will be an invaluable source for the study of American history, culture, women’s history, business history, media studies, and many other topics.”

Project manager Katie Turner, a professor of history and American Studies, says Rowan students working on digitization are gaining first-hand experience of the archival process.

“This is a great opportunity for our students to get their hands on history and to really see what goes into making a collection,” adds Turner. “Everything today is digitized for students. They often don’t get to see and touch historical documents. When you sift through paper and do research in an archive, there’s a real commitment to the work.”

Founded as a bather’s revue by businessmen in 1921 as a gimmick to lengthen the summer tourist season in Atlantic City by capitalizing on popular American ideals of female beauty, the competition in its early years was often a steppingstone for women who wanted to pursue show business careers. More than 100,000 people swarmed onto the Atlantic City Boardwalk the first year to watch 16-year-old Margaret Gorman be crowned.

Candidates in the 1920s were rated by judges on everything from the construction of their heads to their “grace of bearing” to their eyes, hair, torso, and hands. Every measurement—from ankles to biceps to head—was recorded by judges and assessed on a points system.

By the 1950s, the competition, under the leadership of Lenora Slaughter, the program’s director for more than 25 years, had been transformed into a source of scholarships for contestants. In 1958, more than $200,000 in scholarships were awarded.

A crown jewel for Atlantic City.

But the competition, a crown jewel for Atlantic City, has not been devoid of controversy. In 1968, it was the site of the first major women’s liberation protest in the United States, when the New York Radical Women, some 400 strong, protested on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. They maintained that the competition objectified women and upheld female stereotypes.

Protestors through the years also objected to the program’s exclusion of women of color. The first Black Miss America, Vanessa Williams, was crowned in 1983—more than 60 years after the competition’s founding.

That isn’t lost on Rowan senior English and writing arts major Destiny Hall, who is working on digitization. She started with the 1984 Miss America magazine, where Williams is featured prominently. Hall, a women’s and gender studies minor, says work on the project has been eye-opening as she explores her own views of feminism.

“Part of being a feminist is allowing women to be whatever they want to be. I have a complicated history with Miss America. In the beginning, I saw it as sexist. Now, I see it as a celebration of womanhood. Many of these women compete to further their careers,” says Hall, 22, who will attend graduate school at Columbia University in the fall as she pursues a career writing fiction for women.

“Through this project, I feel like I’m preserving history and I really appreciate that. It’s important to have this information and to have access to it.”

Freshman English major Grace Fox, who is pursuing the Thomas N. Bantivoglio Honors Concentration in the Honors College, is digitizing program books.

“I’m hoping I’ll find one nugget…something nobody knows about,” says Fox. “I’m definitely looking at the advertisements, the kinds of products they marketed, the images of fashion. There’s so much value in this work. It’s so applicable to things we talk about in class, including how societal views on women’s bodies are enmeshed in the culture we see.”

Robert Hilliker, interim associate provost and director of research engagement and scholarship at Rowan Libraries, and Michael Benson, digital scholarship specialist, are overseeing the digitization work. Additionally, Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication Director Julie Haynes, whose research focuses on depictions of gender in popular culture, is involved in the project.

About the collection

While programs, photos, and other ephemera are being scanned, other artifacts, such as crowns, trophies, and a Waterford scepter carried by winners, will be photographed. Scores of oil paintings and sketches of winners, including some sketches by renowned portrait artist Everett Kintsler, whose work includes official White House portraits of Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, will be digitized under the guidance of Rowan art historians.

Rowan’s Department of Radio/Television/Film may assist in digitizing hundreds of films and slides, some of which were donated by shore-area residents who religiously attended the annual Miss America parade on the Boardwalk.

“Prioritization of the digitization will be quite a project,” Hilliker notes. “The collection is so special from an archivist’s standpoint because it contains varied materials. That will make for some interesting research projects, but it also presents a lot of technical challenges. For our students, this project certainly will be an excellent apprenticeship in digital preservation.”

The collection is an eclectic mix.

The same storage that currently houses the unwieldy Golden Mermaid trophy, presented in the early 1920s to the winner, also includes the crown of 1955 winner Lee Meriwether, who went on to a successful television career. Then Miss California, Meriwether was the first Miss America to be crowned on television, an event that drew 27 million viewers.

Stars flocked to the competition over the years. Grace Kelly was a judge. Marilyn Monroe was the grand marshal of the parade in 1952. Eddie Fischer was a host before Bert Parks, famed singer of the “There She Is” Miss America theme, emceed for 24 years.

The collection also includes Slaughter’s personal scrapbooks. Some of her other papers are housed at the Smithsonian Institution.

Some of the artifacts, such as the film of Meriwether being crowned, were lost during an Atlantic City Nor’easter some years ago. That makes the digitization project particularly valuable, Krebs notes.

BeBe Shopp, Miss America 1948, says she’s delighted Rowan students are preserving Miss America’s legacy.

“This will make it easier for anyone to view our history and learn how Miss America has grown and become even more vital to young women today,” says Shopp, who represented Minnesota in the competition. “This is important. What an experience the students must be having combing through hundreds of thousands of documents and learning about our past. At my age, I’m thrilled that they are going to preserve me for ages to come.”

Supporting the archival work

The Miss America Organization has established a campaign to help fund the digitization project and preserve the thousands of artifacts in the organization’s 100-year history. Visit the organization’s funding site to learn more about supporting the work.

Indianapolis FedEx Mass Shooting

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EIGHT KILLED IN INDIANAPOLIS FEDEX FACILITY SHOOTING

What we know so far

Brandon Hole, the shooting suspect, opened fire outside and inside of a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana on Thursday evening.
Eight people were shot and killed, while several others were wounded in addition to the gunman.
Police believe the gunman killed himself as officers encountered him.
The motive for the shooting known at this time.

Law enforcement were notified of a mass casualty situation at the Indianapolis FedEx location late Thursday evening. Timothy Boillat, a FedEx employee, was inside of the building when the gunshots began, according to CNN. He was on break when he heard “two loud metal clangs,” not realizing that it was gun shots. Boillat said his friend saw someone grabbing a gun out of the trunk of their car. It was at that moment that Boillat saw a body on the ground. Levi Miller was interviewed this morning by the Today Show and stated “I saw a man, a hooded figure. The man did have an AR in his hand, and he started shouting and then he started firing. I thought he saw me, so I immediately ducked for cover.”

Deputy Chief of Criminal Investigations for Indianapolis Police, Craig McCartt, stated that four of the victims were found inside of the FedEx facility and four were found outside. The suspect was found deceased, in addition to eight other people. The Indianapolis Police Department said they have an idea of who the suspect was, however, have not formally identified him. The Department believes that the shooter was using a rifle, but they do not yet have any specifics on the weapon. The police are being assisted by the FBI in searching the suspect’s house. Special agent Paul Keenan is in charge.

During a news conference McCartt stated, “This suspect came to the facility. He got out of his car and pretty quickly started some random shooting outside the facility. There was no confrontation with anyone. That began in the parking lot and then he did go into the building.”

Alfarena McGinty, the Chief Deputy Coroner at the Marion County Coroner’s Office, said that the Department is conducting an investigation, but cannot yet enter the crime scene to confirm the victims’ identity until all evidence has been collected. “We are still a number of hours out before we are able to go on to the scene to conduct our investigation, and then after that, we’ll work with the families. Following that process, what we have to do is we will perform our examinations,” she said, adding that extra staff will be called in to complete those examinations in the next 48 to 72 hours, reports CNN.

According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 147 mass shootings incidents in 2021 in the United States. The Gun Violence Archive is an online archive of gun violence incidents collected from various law enforcement, media, government and commercial sources daily in order to provide near-real time data about the results of gun violence. GVA is a non-profit corporation based out of Washington DC, as stated on their website.

UPDATE:

Indianapolis Police has released the names of the deceased victims from Thursday night’s shooting.

The victims are:

32-year-old Matthew R Alexander
19-year-old Samaria Blackwell
66-year-old Amarjeet Johal
64-year-old Jaswinder Kaur
68-year-old Jaswinder Singh
48-year-old Amarjit Sekhon
19-year-old Karlie Smith
74-year-old John Weisert

A statement by IMPD says the next of kin has been notified by the Marion County Coroner’s Office.

The cause of death will be determined after autopsies are complete, according to the statement.

IMPD said the names of those injured are not being released.

Bike4Tourism × Cycle the World

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Bike4Tourism Invites Would-Be Travelers to Cycle the World, Virtually

Seeking a Global Community to Bike Together While Apart and Share Images of Each Other’s Routes

Missing international travel? Wishing you could host some out-of-town friends to show them your most beautiful locations? Then Bike4Tourism has an inspiring global event tailor-made for you this Memorial Day weekend, on Sunday, May 30th.

Bike4Tourism aims to promote healthy living and sustainable tourism. The goal of the event is to have as many participants as possible, in every country, riding bikes and sharing photographs to the global community of the most beautiful places near their homes.

In sharing each other’s images, cyclists will virtually visit cities, countries and continents, without need for a passport — just a helmet and the will to discover or rediscover the places that surround us and show them to others.

Organizers are hoping for more than 115,000 participants around the world to break the current record. Proceeds will support environmental conservation charities and aid tourism businesses in financial need following Covid-19 travel restrictions.

It’s hoped that participants are left with even more desire to travel, sustainably, with a huge selection of photos of beautiful places from which to choose their next journey.

All are welcome to participate, and free tickets will be made available for children to encourage family bike rides. Early bird tickets are available from April 20th. For more information, visit Bike 4 Tourism, and Facebook.

Andine Announces Fred Segal Limited Time Popup

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ANDINE ANNOUNCES FRED SEGAL AS FIRST RETAIL PARTNER FOR LIMITED-TIME POPUP

The Loungewear and Sleepwear Brand Is Exclusively Launching Its Collection With The Retailer, Available In-Store and Online

Fred Segal, the iconic Los Angeles based multi-brand and multi-platform retailer, today announced a limited-time popup in partnership with loungewear and sleepwear label, Andine. The partnership includes the exclusive range of Andine’s soft, sexy, super-comfortable loungewear and sleepwear including the launch of Andine’s Stretch Lace collection and will serve as the brand’s first-ever retail home outside of their LA flagship and atelier. The collection is available today through July 16 exclusively at Fred Segal’s West Hollywood Flagship location.

Founded by Los Angeles-based designer Elisabeth Weinstock, Andine’s collection features a range of fabrics that you have to feel to believe. From feather weight cotton batiste, the softest brushed French terry and the finest two-way stretch lace in feminine silhouettes providing the perfect, sexy fit. Every Andine piece including the Colette (cropped tank), Delphine (short), Rosario (long sleeve fitted t-shirt) and the Olivetta (legging) are designed, hand-cut and sewn at the House of Andine in Los Angeles.

“Fred Segal is excited to announce our partnership with fellow Los Angeles brand, Andine, and serve as their first wholesale partner,” said Elisabeth Weinstock. “The brand’s effortless spirit and timeless sensibility is ideal for the Fred Segal customer.”

“Every woman is Andine. She’s a European ingenue who’s apartment smells like freshly brewed espresso and croissants in the morning, roses throughout the day and homemade exotic cuisine at night. Andine knows the backstreets of Lisbon, the six-seat sushi bar in New York and the best art galleries in London. She’s the coolest girl you know or have yet to meet. Go out. Stay home. Sleep over. Andine is a brand designed for every woman,” said Elisabeth Weinstock.

The collection, which ranges from $65-$295 is now available in-store Fred Segal.

2021 BREAKOUT ARTIST MORRAY

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2021 BREAKOUT ARTIST MORRAY SIGNS TO INTERSCOPE RECORDS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MOE SHALIZI’S PICK SIX RECORDS

Morray’s Hit Single “Quicksand” Surpasses 50 Million Views on YouTube “Big Decisions” And “Switched Up” Continue His Harmonic Rise

The wins continue in 2021 for North Carolina’s Morray. After achieving a stunning rise in notoriety thanks to his hit single “Quicksand,” the artist has officially signed to Interscope through music executive Moe Shalizi and his Pick Six label.

“Morray is an undeniable talent with an infectious energy,” says Interscope Geffen A&M CEO, John Janick. “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Moe & his incredible team at Pick Six for what’s to come.” Morray shares the same excitement noting, “It’s just so dope to be on a winning team with pic six and to add a powerhouse like interscope to the mix is just an amazing blessing.” Moe Shalizi adds, “There was so much synergy between our side and interscope that it just felt right, we are really excited to be working with John Janick and the rest of the team”

Since breaking through rap’s ceiling with the harmonious “Quicksand” in October 2020, Morray gained fans from all over hip-hop including Drake, fellow Fayetteville icon J. Cole and North Carolina native Da Baby. He also received a nod from Jay-Z when “Quicksand” was added to Jay’s “2020 Vision Under COVID-19” playlist. “We are very impressed with what Morray & Pick Six have been able to accomplish over the last year and are thrilled to be their partners on this journey,” expresses Nicole Wyskoarko, EVP/Co-Head of A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M.

Soon after “Quicksand,” he released a series of four songs that fleshed out his complex backstory. On “Switched Up” and “Low Key,” he reflects his hardened past. On “Dreamland,” he remembers an impoverished childhood defined by crashing at motels and friends’ houses (“some carpet ‘cause it’s better than the pavement”) and holidays and birthdays gone by with no gifts. On “Big Decisions,” his first release of 2021, he ruminates on his responsibilities as a breadwinner for his family and a role model for his community.

Morray has found a significant audience on YouTube in particular—each song was released alongside a music video that eclipsed one million views within a matter of days. Born Morae Ruffin, Morray made his public singing debut at age 4, when his mother and grandmother called on him in church to bless the congregation with a rendition of his favorite song, “I Believe I Can Fly.” He would later serve as the lead singer of his church choir. He’s worked nearly every job imaginable just to make ends meet—from fast food to construction, calling centers and even driving uber until he found his voice in music. Through his honest and vivid storytelling and emotional recordings he began the process of creating his songbook that included “Quicksand.” The first time I heard Quicksand I knew Morray was a global superstar in the making,” says Baroline, VP of A&R at Interscope. “I’m excited for the world to get to know him and hear what he’s been working on.”

His songs are as honest as they are catchy. And though he’s become a hometown hero in Fayetteville, the deep sense of struggle he evokes in his music gives it a universal appeal. “I’m speaking for every person that has real emotions,” he said. “I’m speaking to everyone that has a heart. Every song that you hear from me is a real feeling. I want people to cry with me. I want people to grow with me. I want people to understand where we’ve come from, and that we can always make it out of everything.”

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Jesse Royal Announces Sophomore Album

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JESSE ROYAL ANNOUNCES SOPHOMORE ALBUM ROYAL WITH THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW SINGLE

RICH FOREVER FEATURING VYBZ KARTEL

Pre-Order Royal out June 11 via Easy Star Records

Jamaican reggae star Jesse Royal unveils his latest single “Rich Forever” featuring dancehall’s self-proclaimed “World Boss” Vybz Kartel. The song is from his anticipated sophomore album Royal, slated for June 11th, 2021 via Easy Star Records. This cross-genre collaboration between both artists unifies people’s differences to support a common goal – to be “forever royal.” It serves as a reminder of the internal strength and mental fortitude human beings possess, which prepares them for success in a society designed for their failure.

“Rich Forever is a divergence from identifying with the degradation dispersed for generations by them and those who oppose reality and simply put, it is a conversation about restoration of our royalty and reclaiming dignity,” states Jesse Royal.

The beat, produced by Jamaican upstart iotosh (responsible for Protoje’s “Deliverance” and “Self Defense” and Jaz Elise’s “After 3” feat. Mortimer), starts off with eerie keyboards then introduces percussion drums and glides into a Trap-esque finish. It’s a classic representation of the current movement in Jamaican music, a melting pot of genres while still innately blending in the native sounds of the island.

Listen to single

Preceded by “LionOrder” feat. Protoje and “Natty Pablo,” the single is the third release from Jesse Royal’s upcoming album Royal. His sophomore LP is rich with collaboration. In addition to Vybz Kartel and Protoje, he taps reggae singer Kumar, Ghanaian afrobeats artist Stonebwoy, Jamaica’s rising singer Samory I and the island’s latest talent Runkus for guest features. Jesse delves into a more colorful palette of genres on the album, ranging from reggae, dancehall, afrobeats, soul, jazz and trap. As his sound evolves, so does his subject matter. Whether it is an open letter to his daughter on “Home,” empowerment on “Rich Forever” and “Black,” corrupted politics on “Dirty Money,” love dilemmas on “Like Dat” and “Differences” or Rasta social commentary on “Natty Pablo” and “LionOrder,” the singer explores a combination of varying themes. The LP will arrive four years after Jesse Royal’s debut album Lily Of Da Valley, which was also released via Easy Star Records, the label whose commitment to spotlighting reggae and dancehall music dates back to almost 25 years.

ABOUT JESSE ROYAL

Jesse Royal is an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, performer, and recording artist from Kingston, Jamaica. Through vivid storytelling rooted in the belief of a universal truth, his music carries a message of hope, strength, love, and consciousness. Not just a musician, Royal is a father, a community activist, a thought leader, and a global citizen guided by his spirituality and sense of righteousness.

Born in the spring of 1989, Jesse spent his early years in the hills of Maroon Town and the District of Orange in St. James before moving in the late 90’s with his mother and brother to join his father in Kingston. As fate would have it, Royal developed a special relationship with Daniel ‘Bambaata’ Marley (son of Ziggy Marley) at school. His friendship with Marley proved to be fuel to the fire as they shared a deep passion for music and football (soccer). As these cubs became lions, so grew their devotion to music. With the help of longtime friend Curt ‘Qban’ White, they began composing and creating their own music. Together they proceeded to fulfill what they knew was a predestined musical journey, designed to inspire, engage, and unite people beyond all geographic borders.

Over the course of his career, Jesse Royal has been blessed to collaborate and create with some of the world’s most respected artists, musicians, and producers including Sean Paul, Vybz Kartel, Protoje, Chronixx, Noise Cans, Steve Aoki, Damian Marley, Major Lazer, and many others.

In 2017, Jesse Royal began his relationship with the internationally known label Easy Star Records, releasing his debut album, Lily Of Da Valley, which he co-executive produced along with Lamar “Riff Raff” Brown. The record featured legendary musicians Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Donald Dennis, Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith, and Monty Savory. The album was received with critical acclaim and topped the Billboard Reggae Album charts.

In 2019, Jesse Royal released “LionOrder” featuring Protoje (produced by GRAMMY-nominated producer Sean Alaric), followed by the single “Natty Pablo” in 2020, as part of the roll-out for his highly anticipated full-length sophomore album, Royal, slated for June 2021.

NEEDTOBREATHE

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NEEDTOBREATHE RELEASE NEW LIVE ALBUM

LIVE FROM THE WOODS VOL. 2

LISTEN HERE

WATCH THE BAND PERFORM, ALIVE, ON

THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN HERE

GRAMMY Award-nominated rock band NEEDTOBREATHE has released their much-anticipated new live album Live from the Woods Vol. 2. The album is available to stream and download starting today HERE via Elektra Records. Limited edition merch bundles can be purchased exclusively through NEEDTOBREATHE’s online store HERE.

Live from the Woods Vol. 2 was recorded during three sold out, socially distanced outdoor concerts at Pelham, TN’s famed The Caverns last month. NEEDTOBREATHE decided to invite local audiences to experience these unforgettable shows, while simultaneously capturing them for listeners worldwide. The band previewed the album with an appearance on CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden last month. Watch their interview and performance of Alive HERE.

Live from the Woods Vol. 2 features electrifying performances of tracks from the platinum-selling group’s catalog, songs off their chart-topping new album Out of Body, and more. The album follows NEEDTOBREATHE’s 2015 live album Live from the Woods and was recorded during the band’s first concerts in front of a live crowd since January 2020.

NEEDTOBREATHE’s critically acclaimed 2020 studio album Out of Body is available physically and digitally via Elektra Records/Centricity Music nowHERE. The albumdebuted in the top 5 across three Billboard charts, and received critical acclaim from Billboard, People, Spin, Taste of Country, and more. American Songwriter commended the band’s phenomenal and dedicated songwriting and Southern Living crowned the group “our favorite Southern rock” band. All Music praised Out of Body as their tightest and most consistent set in years, adding this is an album designed to empower and motivate through life’s tough times.

Stay tuned for more news from NEEDTOBREATHE soon.

Live from the Woods Vol. 2 Tracklisting

1. Mercy’s Shore

2. Prisoner

3. Alive

4. Who Am I

5. Great Night

6. Feet, Don’t Fail Me Now

7. Banks

8. Garden

9. Bridges Burn / Forever On Your Side

10. Riding High / Honky Tonk Women

11. Hang On

12. Survival

13. With A Little Help From My Friends / Brother

14. Child Again

15. Encore Medley: Something Beautiful, White Fences & Washed By The Water

Learn more about NEEDTOBREATHE

NEEDTOBREATHE Website