Icelandair helped alleviate the long days of darkness last night with the launch of their Aurora Borealis-themed plane, the Hekla Aurora. The launch, part of Icelandair’s #MyStopover campaign, culminated in Reykjavik as the plane flew over an illuminated Hallgrimskirkja church - a prelude to the city’s annual Winter Lights Festival which begins tomorrow.
The Hekla Aurora is part of Icelandair’s transatlantic fleet, providing passengers an experience of the Aurora Borealis while on board, both with its interior mood lighting, and the new Aurora Borealis livery on the exterior. As the Boeing 757 flew over Reykjavik city yesterday, passengers experienced the dancing lights of the on-board Aurora Borealis, with Icelandic music as the soundtrack, and, adding to the experience, a unique birds-eye view of Hallgrimskirkja church. The plane landed at Reykjavik’s domestic airport to a fanfare welcome as the locals came out in force to celebrate. They were also able to experience the plane for themselves as it was opened to the public.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7441451-icelandair-aurora-borealis-plane/
Lithium Technologies today announced the winners of the fifth annual Lithium Digital Customer Excellence Awards, affectionately known as the Lithys. This year’s awards set a new record for submissions with 66 entries from 17 countries across four continents and representing 47 brands. The 2015 Lithys also had a big impact on Lithium’s own community, generating more than 21,000 page views and 9,000 visits—and adding 4,000 community members during the voting period. Winners were determined by community votes, outside judges Nate Elliott from Forrester Research and Jim Storer of The Community Roundtable, and Lithium executives.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7522751-lithy-2015-winners/
Last year, Columbia Crest became the first winery to crowdsource a wine from vineyard to table through an interactive online community experience called Crowdsourced™ Cabernet. While the resulting wine of the 2014 vintage ages in barrel, the Crowdsourced Cabernet community will still have the chance to weigh-in on important winemaking decisions. First, Columbia Crest will be expanding the program by adding a 2015 vintage and allowing one lucky fan to play a larger role in the winemaking process. In addition, fans will be able to participate in critical weekly voting decisions for both the 2014 and 2015 vintages online at CrowdsourcedCabernet.com and, new for this year, choose the label design for the 2014 vintage.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7409452-columbia-crest-crowdsourced-cabernet/
In what may become the largest-ever food sampling event, on July 21 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar® will offer free sampler plates of its popular new Sriracha Shrimp and Churro S’Mores appetizers to guests.
Applebee’s anticipates serving about two million plates of Sriracha Shrimp and Churro S’Mores during “Taste The Change Day” at nearly 2,000 restaurants across the country. The offer is available to dine-in guests all day, with the option of adding other new appetizers at low sampler prices.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7428056-applebee-s-taste-the-change/
Call it a homecoming.
When Toyota introduced Lexus to the U.S. market in 1989, the Georgetown, Ky., plant – its first stand-alone vehicle manufacturing facility in America – was just in its second year of producing the Camry.
Fast forward 26 years and that same plant is celebrating the start of U.S. Lexus production. Today at a ceremony fit for a luxury brand king, the first-ever U.S.-produced ES 350 was unveiled before several thousand proud team members in Georgetown. And, just like a newborn foal at the nearby horse farms in Central Kentucky, the newcomer was brought into the world with plenty of TLC and hope for a bright future.
“This is really a proud moment for us and brings us full circle,” said Wil James, president, Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky, Inc. “To be the first wholly owned plant, building the number one best-selling car in America, the Camry, for 13 years in a row, and then to be selected to build the first Lexus is truly a tribute to our team members.”
For the past two and a half years, the Kentucky plant – Toyota’s largest in North America – has been gearing up to make the ES 350, Lexus’ best-selling sedan in the U.S. In all, $360 million was invested toward a new dedicated assembly line, adding 750 new jobs. Total capacity for the new line will be 50,000 vehicles.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7655351-lexus-kentucky-plant-es-350/
A new Obama administration regulation–the so-called Stream Protection Rule–is about to drive up energy costs and unemployment with no gain in environmental benefits, cautions the National Mining Association.
“The primary motive of this regulation is not to protect streams, as its title would suggest, but to protect federal regulators' jobs at the expense of coal miners' jobs as the nation's energy providers,” said Luke Popovich, vice president of communications for the National Mining Association.
In a classic example of needless regulation, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, or OSM, plans to change more than 475 regulations, as well as add more new rules – despite no demonstrated need. OSM has crafted the rule behind closed doors, Popovich said, shutting cooperating states out of discussions about the purpose and content of the regulation.
The new rule carries a heavy economic price tag, Popovich warned. He pointed to an analysis by an independent consultant that found that OSM’s rule would put more than 268,000 mining and dependent jobs at risk—adding to the 40,000 high-wage jobs already lost in the industry.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7221731-national-mining-association-americans-electricity-bill-increase-due-to-epa-regulations/
In recognition of their extraordinary accomplishments in furthering NASA’s mission of exploration and discovery, veteran astronauts Brian Duffy and Scott Parazynski have been selected for induction into the elite United States Astronaut Hall of Fame®. The announcement was made today at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex by Dan Brandenstein, Hall of Fame astronaut and board chairman of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which oversees the induction selection process.
Duffy and Parazynski will be officially inducted into the Hall of Fame at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex beginning with the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Gala on the evening of May 13 and culminating with a public ceremony on May 14 at 2 p.m. that will be attended by a roster of astronaut legends.
Both Duffy and Parazynski make up the 15th group of space shuttle astronauts to be inducted into the Hall of Fame and both flew aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which is now located at the visitor complex and will be the site of the induction ceremony in May. Adding the two veteran astronauts to the Hall of Fame will bring the total number of astronauts inducted to 93.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7748851-kennedy-space-center-astronaut-hall-of-fame/
Zoës Kitchen (NYSE: ZOES), a fast casual Mediterranean-inspired restaurant group, today introduced several unique ingredients to their menu, bringing the flavors and benefits of Mediterranean eating to guests via four new menu offerings.
Innovating within the restaurant space, Zoës Kitchen is the first restaurant group to introduce the lupini bean to the United States, adding this protein-packed, mild-flavored legume to their menu across 170 restaurants in 17 states. Farro will also be incorporated in the menu, an ancient, savory, fiber-rich grain that is commonly used in place of pasta and rice in the Mediterranean. Calabrian peppers, from Calabria, Italy, will add a slightly sweet and mildly spicy flavor to several dishes. Light and crispy piadina flatbread will offer guests an alternative to traditional breads used for sandwiches in the US.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7753651-zoes-kitchen-new-mediterranean-dishes/
Today, Atom Factory CEO Troy Carter announced plans to host a second season of Smashd Labs from September 6 to November 18. For the inaugural class, there were over 200 applicants in two weeks, six startups in the inaugural cohort, 30 mentors, founders as young as 19 years old, and over $2M raised from investments within six months of the lab’s concluding Demo Day.
“We’re proud of the success the participating startups have had to date, and look forward to growing the Smashd Labs family by adding an additional set of startups led by talented founders with platforms and tech that can disrupt entertainment and culture,” stated Atom Factory CEO Troy Carter, who most recently served as a guest shark on the latest season of ABC’s hit prime-time show Shark Tank.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7817451-atom-factory-smashd-labs-startups/
Clayton, one of America’s largest homebuilders, today announced it has acquired Gallatin, Tenn.-based Goodall Homes, a builder of new single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums since 1990. Goodall is the second site-built housing company to become part of Maryville-based Clayton, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Clayton acquired Atlanta-area builder Chafin Communities last fall.
Clayton, through its site-building group, Clayton Properties, entered the site-built housing market to expand its portfolio of housing options to homebuyers. The acquisition of Goodall Homes includes approximately 3,600 lots and 180 homes under construction in a five-county area in Middle Tennessee. Goodall Homes closed 436 homes last year.
“Adding great builders like Goodall to our team is exciting,” stated Clayton home building group President, Keith Holdbrooks. “As we continue to grow and expand into the site-built market, it is important to partner with teams that share our culture of providing an excellent customer experience.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7716454-clayton-acquires-goodall-homes/
Seventeen years ago saw the first blasting in the historic heartland of Switzerland of the longest train tunnel in the world. Wednesday 1 June 2016 will see the festive opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel – adding a further pioneering attraction to the world's densest public transport network. The tunnel will bring Switzerland's neighbouring countries, regions and cities north and south of the Alps closer together. Travel by train will be quicker, easier and more convenient.
Wednesday 1 June 2016 sees the festive opening in Switzerland of the longest and deepest train tunnel in the world. The tunnel extends for 57 kilometres to a depth of up to 2300 metres below the Gotthard massif. This flagship project for efficient and sustainable transportation on the north-south axis will permit high-speed travel through the Alps in only 17 minutes. The new flat-track route will not only cut travel time through the Gotthard, but also facilitate transit travel for longer and heavier trains. After 17 years of challenging building work, constructor AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd will hand over the completed tunnel to the Swiss Federal Railways on time and on budget. Switzerland's internationally acclaimed public transport system – already the densest in the world – has perfected another pioneering first.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7828351-swiss-alps-longest-deepest-train-tunnel/
In anticipation of record data usage by the tens of thousands of visitors to this year’s national political conventions, Verizon has made significant enhancements to its network in the host cities and convention facilities.
“We know sharing the convention experience is important for visitors to Cleveland and Philadelphia so we have invested millions of dollars and worked for several years on upgrading our networks and adding capacity for these events,” said Lynn Ramsey, Vice President Network Operations – Verizon.
Enhancing the network in Cleveland, Ohio
When the Republican National Convention (RNC) arrives in Cleveland July 18-21, Verizon will have completed improvements to the city’s #1 overall network as rated by RootMetrics* in a recent Metro Rootscore® report.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7814951-verizon-rnc-dnc-network/
