Podcasts about Paradise Park

Seprod has launched a bid to acquire full ownership of the Trinidad-based AS Bryden and Sons. The Office of Utilities Regulation says providers paid customers 175 million dollars in 2024 for service breaches. Clean energy company, InterEnergy Group has bought Jamaica's largest solar farm, Paradise Park.Streaming giant Spotify says it had paid out more than 100 million US dollars to podcast creators in the first quarter of 2025.

Welcome to part two of my interview with Allegra Goodman, author of the recent Reese's Book Club selection, “Isola” as well as “Sam,” “The Chalk Artist,” “Intuition,” “The Cookbook Collector,” “Paradise Park,” and “Katterskill Falls.” Today, I'm talking with Allegra about what I call inner stuff, the thoughts, ideas, and beliefs that influence your work, even if you're not fully conscious of it. - How she thinks of being a writer like being a performer “in the theater of a reader's imagination” - Why starting a new project is the hardest part–and how she gets herself through it - How she trusts her inner critic to offer constructive criticism - The one part of the writing process that really makes her nervous - How she got past being pigeon-holed as a writer of a certain genre and built a career on writing many different types of stories - Making the shift from being intimidated by studying the great works of literature to being inspired by them - Why now is the best time of her career - How living to be older than her mother was when she died influences Allegra's work and her life - How it's OK to have multiple different voices as a writer Connect with Allegra on Instagram @allegragoodmanwriter. For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com. Thank you for listening! And thanks to this week's sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CTL Script/ Top Stories of February 7th Publish Date: February 7th   Pre-Roll: From the Ingles Studio Welcome to the Award-Winning Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast  Today is Friday, February 7th and Happy Birthday to Garth Brooks ***02.07.25 - BIRTHDAY – GARTH BROOKS*** I’m Peyton Spurlock and here are the stories Cherokee is talking about, presented by Credit Union of Georgia.  Cherokee County Fire Chief Eddie Robinson Receives Statewide Award Cherokee County Leaders to Talk About Attainable Housing CSO Investigating Car Break-Ins and Vehicle Theft in Towne Lake Plus, Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on budgeting We’ll have all this and more coming up on the Cherokee Tribune-Ledger Podcast, and if you’re looking for Community news, we encourage you to listen and subscribe!  Commercial: CU of GA (06.26.24 CU OF GA FREE CHECKING_REV_FINAL) STORY 1: Cherokee County Fire Chief Eddie Robinson Receives Statewide Award Cherokee County Fire Chief Eddie Robinson has been named Georgia Fire Chief of the Year by the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs. Honored on Feb. 4 during the 53rd Annual Firefighters Recognition Day, Robinson was recognized for his exceptional leadership, innovation, and dedication to public safety. With over 25 years of service, he has significantly improved operational efficiency and community safety in Cherokee County. Robinson credited the award to his team’s hard work, emphasizing their commitment to serving the community. The award highlights his impact on the fire service profession and the state of STORY 2: Cherokee County Leaders to Talk About Attainable Housing Cherokee County leaders and nonprofit representatives will discuss attainable housing challenges at the "Building Homes, Strengthening Communities" forum on March 4 at noon, hosted by the Rotary Club of Canton. The event, held at Timbers on Etowah in Canton, features panelists including local officials, housing advocates, and nonprofit leaders. Tickets are $35, including lunch, with proceeds benefiting local organizations. For tickets, visit the Rotary Club of Canton’s website, and for sponsorship inquiries, contact Whitney Spear at wspear@historycherokee.org. STORY 3: CSO Investigating Car Break-Ins and Vehicle Theft in Towne Lake Cherokee County authorities are investigating 12 car break-ins and a truck theft in the Towne Lake Hills South subdivision. All vehicles were left unlocked overnight, with items like a laptop, tools, credit cards, and cash stolen. The stolen Nissan Frontier was recovered in Austell by Cobb County Police, who arrested at least one suspect found with stolen credit cards. Cherokee County has not yet filed charges, and the investigation is ongoing. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info.    Back in a moment  Break: Drake (Drake Realty (Cherokee County) STORY 4: Georgia DNR Approves 2025 Round of Land Conservation Grants The Georgia Department of Natural Resources has awarded $24.6 million through the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program to fund 12 land conservation projects statewide. Funded by a sales tax on sporting goods, the program supports initiatives like the $5 million acquisition of Upatoi Ravines in Talbot County. Other major grants include $3 million each for additions to Phinizy Wildlife Management Area, Paradise Park restoration, and Amicalola Falls renovations. Additional projects include park expansions, trail improvements, and habitat restoration across the state, with funding amounts ranging from $808,500 to $1.9 million. STORY 5: Doug Collins Confirmed as VA Secretary The U.S. Senate confirmed former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins of Gainesville as secretary of veterans affairs in a bipartisan 77-23 vote. Both Georgia senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, supported the nomination. Collins, 58, previously served in the Georgia House and U.S. House, gaining national attention as a vocal Trump supporter during the 2019 impeachment inquiry. Despite being Trump’s preferred pick for a Senate seat in 2020, Collins lost to Kelly Loeffler, who was later defeated by Warnock. Collins now takes on the role of ensuring care and support for U.S. veterans. We’ll be right back Commercial: WILDLIFE EXPO_REV_FINAL And now here is Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on budgeting *** INGLES ASK LEAH 2 HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES*** We’ll have closing comments after this.   COMMERCIAL: Ingles Markets 2   SIGN OFF –   Thanks again for hanging out with us on today’s Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at www.tribuneledgernews.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network Show Sponsors: www.ingles-markets.com www.drakerealty.com cuofga.org #NewsPodcast #CurrentEvents #TopHeadlines #BreakingNews #PodcastDiscussion #PodcastNews #InDepthAnalysis #NewsAnalysis #PodcastTrending #WorldNews #LocalNews #GlobalNews #PodcastInsights #NewsBrief #PodcastUpdate #NewsRoundup #WeeklyNews #DailyNews #PodcastInterviews #HotTopics #PodcastOpinions #InvestigativeJournalism #BehindTheHeadlines #PodcastMedia #NewsStories #PodcastReports #JournalismMatters #PodcastPerspectives #NewsCommentary #PodcastListeners #NewsPodcastCommunity #NewsSource #PodcastCuration #WorldAffairs #PodcastUpdates #AudioNews #PodcastJournalism #EmergingStories #NewsFlash #PodcastConversations See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today I talked to Alegra Goodman about her novel Isola (The Dial Press, 2025) After Marguerite is orphaned as a young girl, her guardian leaves her alone in her family's enormous home, where servants see to her needs until he hires a mother and daughter to tutor her in the ways of wealthy 16th century lords and ladies. The guardian sells her home and spends her fortune, betting on an expedition to New France (now known as Canada). The guardian insists that she accompany him, only with her old maid. Afraid and lonely, Marguerite befriends her guardian's secretary and falls in love with him, but the guardian learns of it and abandons her, her maid, and his secretary on a deserted island. Marguerite is forced to learn survival skills in this tale based on a true story. Allegra Goodman's novels include Isola (2025), Sam (a Read With Jenna Book Club selection), The Chalk Artist (winner of the Massachusetts Book Award), Intuition, The Cookbook Collector, Paradise Park, and Kaaterskill Falls (a National Book Award finalist). Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She has written two collections of stories, The Family Markowitz and Total Immersion and a novel for younger readers, The Other Side of the Island. Her essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The American Scholar. Raised in Honolulu, Goodman studied English and philosophy at Harvard and received a PhD in English literature from Stanford. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writer's Award, the Salon Award for Fiction, and a fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced study. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Mass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Today I talked to Alegra Goodman about her novel Isola (The Dial Press, 2025) After Marguerite is orphaned as a young girl, her guardian leaves her alone in her family's enormous home, where servants see to her needs until he hires a mother and daughter to tutor her in the ways of wealthy 16th century lords and ladies. The guardian sells her home and spends her fortune, betting on an expedition to New France (now known as Canada). The guardian insists that she accompany him, only with her old maid. Afraid and lonely, Marguerite befriends her guardian's secretary and falls in love with him, but the guardian learns of it and abandons her, her maid, and his secretary on a deserted island. Marguerite is forced to learn survival skills in this tale based on a true story. Allegra Goodman's novels include Isola (2025), Sam (a Read With Jenna Book Club selection), The Chalk Artist (winner of the Massachusetts Book Award), Intuition, The Cookbook Collector, Paradise Park, and Kaaterskill Falls (a National Book Award finalist). Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She has written two collections of stories, The Family Markowitz and Total Immersion and a novel for younger readers, The Other Side of the Island. Her essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The American Scholar. Raised in Honolulu, Goodman studied English and philosophy at Harvard and received a PhD in English literature from Stanford. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writer's Award, the Salon Award for Fiction, and a fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced study. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Mass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature

Today I talked to Alegra Goodman about her novel Isola (The Dial Press, 2025) After Marguerite is orphaned as a young girl, her guardian leaves her alone in her family's enormous home, where servants see to her needs until he hires a mother and daughter to tutor her in the ways of wealthy 16th century lords and ladies. The guardian sells her home and spends her fortune, betting on an expedition to New France (now known as Canada). The guardian insists that she accompany him, only with her old maid. Afraid and lonely, Marguerite befriends her guardian's secretary and falls in love with him, but the guardian learns of it and abandons her, her maid, and his secretary on a deserted island. Marguerite is forced to learn survival skills in this tale based on a true story. Allegra Goodman's novels include Isola (2025), Sam (a Read With Jenna Book Club selection), The Chalk Artist (winner of the Massachusetts Book Award), Intuition, The Cookbook Collector, Paradise Park, and Kaaterskill Falls (a National Book Award finalist). Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and elsewhere and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She has written two collections of stories, The Family Markowitz and Total Immersion and a novel for younger readers, The Other Side of the Island. Her essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The American Scholar. Raised in Honolulu, Goodman studied English and philosophy at Harvard and received a PhD in English literature from Stanford. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writer's Award, the Salon Award for Fiction, and a fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced study. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Mass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/historical-fiction

On this episode,  Mike Owens, Manager of Parks/Recreation & Golf for the City of Thomasville, talks about Phase 1 of the Paradise Park renovation. Many great people and organizations outside the City have worked hard to make Paradise Park even more special. Thanks to all who have helped and thanks for tuning in! 

LSR7 Superintendent Dr. David Buck, along with local business owner Jon Ellis, drops by The Vault to talk about the growth at Great Beginnings at Paradise Park and where the district stands as we get set to start the 2024-25 academic year. Did you know Lee's Summit was home to the state's first FFA chapter? We didn't! Tune in for this, and other fun nuggets from Ellis and Dr. Buck.

During the era of segregation, Black tourists had to find other places to enjoy on vacation, separate from the white public. Paradise Park was different, a segregated version of Silver Springs, with a whole lot more to offer than a typical segregated theme park. Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our summer logo!   Check out Remembering Paradise Park here! Read more about Paradise Park here and more about Silver Springs being sold here!   All of the music was originally composed.

During the end of segregation, Black tourists had to find other places to enjoy on vacation, separate from the white public. Paradise Park was different, a segregated version of Silver Springs, with a whole lot more to offer than a typical segregated theme park. Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our summer logo!   Check out Remembering Paradise Park here! Read more about Paradise Park, and the selling of Silver Springs here!   All of the music was originally composed. 

Guest: Logan Kilpatrick, member of OpenAI's developer advocacy team, often described as OpenAI's first DevRel.Highlights:Challenges and Growth: Logan discusses the evolution of developer engagement from GPT 3.5 to the explosive growth following ChatGPT's success. Initially faced with the challenge of generating developer interest, the release of ChatGPT marked a significant shift, highlighting the shift from awareness to scaling and improving developer experience amidst high demand and compute-intensive operations.Developer Experience Focus: Logan emphasizes the focus on developer experience, detailing the balance between improving platform features and releasing new models and APIs. Despite past trade-offs, the goal remains to enhance core platform functionalities and developer-friendly features.Decision Making and Prioritization: Logan shares insights into the dynamic and fast-paced environment at OpenAI, which requires flexibility in planning and prioritization. Key focus areas include documentation, product improvements, direct developer interactions, internal coordination, and supporting launches, especially the GPT Store.Impact of Documentation: Underscoring the critical role of documentation, Logan points out that effective documentation is paramount for developer success, guiding the use of OpenAI's API and models. Efforts are underway to improve documentation quality and support various user personas beyond developers.Developer Community Engagement: Lessons from engaging with the developer community include the need for diverse content formats and accommodating various user personas. Logan acknowledges the challenge of keeping documentation and resources updated in a rapidly evolving API landscape.Building a Superior Developer Experience: Logan stresses the importance of OpenAI's mission to benefit everyone and the role of the API in achieving widespread impact. The commitment to providing the best tools for developers is seen as a differentiator in the competitive landscape of AI model providers.Managing Attention and Feedback: Despite the challenges of being a public figure within the developer community, Logan values direct feedback for continuous improvement. Balancing public engagement with deep work, especially on documentation and launch support, is highlighted.Community Questions and Answers: Logan addresses questions from the community, touching on the desire for innovative applications of OpenAI technology, plans for global events, prioritizing documentation, addressing developer concerns about scaling, and sharing personal preferences for deep dish pizza in Chicago.Rapid Fire Community Q&A:Innovative Applications: Logan hopes to see development of multiplayer, multimodal text-first AI assistants.Global Events: OpenAI is expanding its presence, including hiring in London and considering events in cities like Atlanta.DevRel Strategy for 2024: Focus on creating excellent documentation.Developer Concerns: Addressing challenges around freedom to scale and capacity constraints.Personal Time: Logan plans to take vacation during the end-of-year code freeze in 2024.Chicago Deep Dish Recommendation: Lou Malnati's and Paradise Park are Logan's picks for the best deep dish pizza.Links:Logan's Twitter - https://x.com/OfficialLoganKRomain's Twitter https://twitter.com/romainhuetOpenAI https://platform.openai.com/tlDraw https://www.tldraw.com/Bloop https://bloop.ai/ Joyfill https://joyfill.io/https://portkey.ai/Stripe docs https://stripe.com/docs This episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at OpenAI's efforts to enhance developer engagement, the challenges of balancing innovation with platform stability, and the importance of community feedback in shaping the future of AI development tools.Show notes generated with gpt4 (using a blog post I wrote) 

OP writerwithoutsoul shares two short scary stories. Original written versions: https://www.reddit.com/r/shortscarystories/comments/15owhon/the_princess_in_paradisepark/ https://www.reddit.com/r/shortscarystories/comments/1519t4k/an_invisible_insect_is_killing_my_family/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Allegra Goodman discusses the first pages of her latest novel, Sam, how she discovered the voice of her young protagonist through freewriting, how she complicated that voice as her protagonist aged, the limitations and gifts of writing in the present-tense, 3rd-person limited point of view, and how silence helps a writer stay true to her characters.Goodman's first pages can be found here.Help local bookstores and our authors by buying this book on Bookshop.Click here for the audio/video version of this interview.The above link will be available for 48 hours. Missed it? The podcast version is always available, both here and on your favorite podcast platform.Allegra Goodman's novels include Sam (a Read With Jenna Book Club selection), The Chalk Artist (winner of the Massachusetts Book Award), Intuition, The Cookbook Collector, Paradise Park, and Kaaterskill Falls (a National Book Award finalist). Her fiction has appeared in The New Yorker, Commentary, and Ploughshares and has been anthologized in The O. Henry Awards and Best American Short Stories. She has written two collections of short stories, The Family Markowitz and Total Immersion and a novel for younger readers, The Other Side of the Island. Her essays and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, and The American Scholar. Raised in Honolulu, Goodman studied English and philosophy at Harvard and received a PhD in English literature from Stanford. She is the recipient of a Whiting Writer's Award, the Salon Award for Fiction, and a fellowship from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced study. She lives with her family in Cambridge, Mass, where she is writing a new novel. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 7amnovelist.substack.com

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Paradise Park returns as being one of Austin's favorite beer to drink. #yourhandsempty #cheers

It was a beautiful day at Paradise Trail Lodge, a PLACE where countless people have come to be together with friends and family to enjoy and marvel at our incredible Creator and His workmanship. There is nothing quite like the view after a hike at Paradise Park, or the little waterfall at the end of Road 39. What PLACE holds special meeting and tethers you to your Creator?

As we continue our book-by-book through the Bible, we dive into the book of Kings this week. Before that, we review a couple of beers from Urban South Brewing and Oxbow Brewing. Listen and Enjoy!! Recources: How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth https://smile.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-All-Worth/dp/0310517826/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1654736050&sr=8-1 How To Read The Bible Book by Book https://smile.amazon.com/How-Read-Bible-Book-Guided/dp/0310518083/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=how+to+read+the+bible+book+by+book&qid=1654736101&sprefix=how+to+read+the+bible+boo%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1

Ducky Jenkins knows how to provide samples to a crowd, but when the wholesale retailer's foodcourt erupts in a massive foodfight he knows no one wants samples. Retreating to the break room, Ducky sees that the Paradise Park, his favorite park in the whole town, is set to be turned into a parking lot. Resolved to put a stop to that plan, Ducky goes to the mayor and learns there's something much more treacherous afoot. Listen now to find out how we get bouncing turtles involved! Thanks for listening! Come check out our Substack at whashpod.substack.com For those that listen all the way to the end, here's a link to the book with Shawn's story in it: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Misadventures-of-Jaron-and-Bren-Audiobook/B0B15PNMKM That'll take you straight to the audiobook. For a classic reading experience, here's the eBook. You know, the classic experience. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wehaveasituationhere/message

In this week's episode, I reflect on the life of Betty White. I'll tell you how she was a pioneer of television in a "man's industry." Happy New Year from DCA!! I counted down to the new year in Paradise Park. Hear which part of the park I avoided. Winnie the Pooh's copyright protection expires. What does this mean for Disney and who can use that hungry bear? Also, the Book of Baba, Spider-Man, Secrets of Sulphur Springs and more on this monovision episode of the MousePire Podcast!!! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mousepirepodcast/message

www.themidnighttrainpodcast.com  Hello, you crazy, beautiful bastards. And happy new year. We hope your Christmas or whatever holiday you chose to celebrate was a great one. As you probably know, we took the week off to be with our families, and this week we're back with another banger, as the cool kids say. We are hopping back into the dark, twisted world of UNSOLVED true crime—the best and only way to serve that horrible cold dish. We know you guys love that shit, and so do we. Of course, not in a weird "sitting alone in front of my computer masturbating to unsolved terrible crimes" sort of way, but in more of a "gee-whiz Mr. Wilson, that's interesting, I'd like to learn more" kind of way. And with that out of the way, let's get into today's episode on the Jennings 8!   The Jennings 8, sometimes also referred to as the Jeff Davis 8, is a series of unsolved murders in Jefferson Davis Parish in Louisiana between 2005- 2009. And for those of you wondering, no, Moody wasn't living there yet. So he's been cleared of this one. This one.  Two of the victims had their throats slit; the other six were in such a bad state of decay that a cause of death could not be determined, but asphyxiation is thought to be the cause. Law enforcement would have you believe a serial killer was on the loose but is that really what happened? Or was something crazier going down?  Let's take a look at the unfortunate victims first.    The first body found was that of Loretta Lynn Chaisson Lewis. She was 28 and last seen on 05/17/05 in Jennings, Louisiana. Her body was found in the Grand Marais Canal 05/20/05 and floating in Grand Marais Canal's east fork, a few miles southwest of Jennings. She was partially clothed and shoeless. The advanced decomposition caused difficulty identifying and collecting evidence, and an autopsy found Loretta had no physical injuries. A toxicology report showed "high levels of drugs and alcohol" in her system, but no cause of death was determined. Investigators believe she may have been in the canal for three to four days.    The second victim, Ernestine Patterson, was a mother of four and a lifelong Jennings resident. The 30-year-old was last seen on June 16, 2005. On June 18, her body was discovered in a drainage canal off LA Highway 102. She was partially clothed, and her throat had been slit. The death was ruled a homicide, and two people were arrested and charged with 2nd-degree murder but were later released due to "lack of evidence." She worked at Iota State University.   The third victim was Kristen Elizabeth Gary-Lopez. Kristen was last seen alive by friends and family on March 6, 2007. By all published accounts, Kristen was involved in a high-risk lifestyle of drugs and prostitution. Because it was not unusual to not hear from her for extended amounts of time, she was not reported missing until ten days later.   On March 18, a fisherman discovered Lopez's utterly nude body in the Petitjean Canal, a rural area near Cherokee Road right off LA 99, about 10 miles south of the town of Welsh. Investigators felt her body had been placed in that location but killed elsewhere. According to autopsy results, the cause of death for Kristen Gary Lopez is undetermined. However, toxicology results showed elevated levels of drugs and alcohol in Lopez's system. In May 2007, Frankie Richard and his niece, Hannah Conner, were arrested in connection with Lopez's death. Richard and Conner were also questioned about the other deaths before Lopez's body was found. Richard was reportedly seen with three of the victims in the last days of their lives. Charges were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence and conflicting witness statements.   Also arrested in May 2007 was Tracee L. Chaisson. The police booked her on Accessory After the Fact charges. Chaisson was the person who reported Kristen missing. Investigators believed she knew where the body was when she made the report. Like Richard and Conner, charges were dropped against Tracee Chaisson due to lack of evidence and conflicting statements.       Whitnei Charlene Dubois, 26, was last seen on 05/10/07. Her remains were found 05/12/07 at the intersection of Bobby and Earl Duhon Roads, approximately five miles outside of Jennings, Louisiana.   According to the family, "Whitnei enjoyed listening to music, absolutely adored her daughter, was tough on the outside despite her vulnerabilities within, and left a lasting impression on all those who knew and loved her."   The nude body of Whitnei Dubois was found 05/12/07 near the intersection of Bobby and Earl Duhon Roads, approximately five miles outside of Jennings. Investigators believe she had been dead "a couple of days." Officials never determined the cause of death, but high levels of alcohol and drugs were found in her body.    Her family has doubts about the investigation into her death. Whitnei's sister Brittney Jones wonders, "why haven't we been questioned? Why haven't we been asked when was the last time we saw our sister? Where her whereabouts was? Why haven't we been asked about the evidence? Why haven't we been contacted?"   Lolita Doucet, her aunt, believes Whitnei and the other victims were dismissed as women who lived high-risk lifestyles involving drugs and prostitution.   23-year-old LaConia Shontel "Muggy" Brown was last seen on May 27, 2008. Around 2 am on May 29, a Jennings police officer discovered her body lying on Racca Road, leading to the police firing range. Although in a rural area, Brown's body was the first found within the city limits of Jennings. She would become the 5th victim of the Jennings 8. LaConia was clothed but had no shoes on. Her throat had been slit, and someone had doused her body with bleach. Brown was wearing a white, tank-top style shirt stained from white to pink. Police believed the stain to be blood and that some type of liquid had diluted it from red to pink. They discovered more evidence and potential leads in this case than in any of the previous deaths since Brown's body was found about six hours after it was left on the road.   LaConia's family stated that she may have known something horrible was about to happen to her and that she was living in fear just days before her death. She was a lifelong resident of Jennings and attended Jennings High School.   Crystal 'Shay' Benoit Zeno, 23, was last seen 08/29/08. Her remains were found on 09/11/08 near a dry irrigation canal a few miles from Jennings, Louisiana.   Crystal was employed with Sonic in Lake Arthur until May 2008, when she moved to Jennings. She enjoyed spending time with her daughter, fishing, singing, and listening to music. She was a people-person, who also enjoyed spending time with friends.   According to her parents, Shay was diagnosed with bipolar at 12 and started using drugs early to cope with the illness.   On 09/11/08, hunters reported a foul smell in a wooded area to authorities. The remains of Crystal Shay were found around 3:00 pm on the LaCour Road levee, off LA Highway 1126, a few miles southeast of Jennings. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, she was not identified with DNA until nearly two months later, on 11/07/08. Her death was ruled a homicide, although the cause of death and toxicology reports have not been released to the public.   Crystal, who went by "Shay," was married and had a young daughter. She also knew many of the other victims, including Brittney Gary.   17-year-old Brittney Gary became the 7th and youngest victim. Brittney walked out of the Family Dollar Store in Jennings, never to be seen alive again; sometime after 5:30 pm that day, she was abducted. Thirteen days passed as her family, and a concerned public held out hope that Brittney was safe and would be located soon. Sadly, on November 15, 2008, her deceased body was found in a grassy area outside Jennings. According to her family, Brittney loved to swim, hang out with her friends, and listen to music. She enjoyed spending time with her friends and family and was a friendly and loving person. She was also trusted by the third victim Kristine Gary Lopez. She also knew several of the other victims. Necole Jean Guillory, 26, was last seen on 08/16/09. Her remains were discovered on 08/19/09 near the westbound I-10 exit in Egan, Louisiana.   She was a resident of Lake Arthur, and according to her family, enjoyed listening to music and loved being outdoors.   Necole's remains were discovered on 08/19/09 by a highway worker mowing grass. She was left between mile markers 72 & 73, near the westbound I-10 Egan exit (between Crowley and Jennings) in Acadia Parish. Mark Dawson, Acadia Parish Coroner, ruled the death of Necole murder by probable asphyxia.    According to Necole's mother, shortly before her daughter's disappearance, she'd asked her what kind of icing she wanted for her birthday cake. Necole replied it didn't matter because she wouldn't see her birthday. Unfortunately, her premonition was correct: her body was found just days before her birthday. She also confided in her Mom that police killed the other young women, and it would only be a matter of time before she ended up dead too. Holy shit! What the hell is going on down there?   Ok, so those are the unfortunate victims in the case. Did a serial killer kill them? In December 2008, Officials formed a multi-agency investigative team (MAIT) of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to solve the killings. At the time, there were seven dead women, and the reward for information leading to the guilty party's arrest was increased from $35,000 to $85,000. From the outset, the task force was searching for a serial killer. "It is the collective opinion of all agencies involved in this investigation," said then Jefferson Davis Parish Sheriff Ricky Edwards, who was flanked by FBI agents, Louisiana State Police, and sheriffs from neighboring parishes at a press conference announcing the task force's inception, "that these murders may have been committed by a common offender."    In 2012 the new Jefferson Davis sheriff claimed they still had no evidence that these deaths were all related or even homicides. Now, he may be technically correct, but most find this incredibly hard to believe, given the evidence and connections. At the time, most people chalked this up to the work of a serial killer preying on sex workers. If you're interested in serial killers, you'll know that this is not unusual. Many serial killers get started by killing sex workers as they are viewed as less important and less likely to be missed. Killers believe they can easily get away with murders of women who partake in this work line because nobody cares about them. As far as suspects go, some were arrested and released, as we've mentioned earlier.     However, one man believes that this was not the work of a serial killer. Writer Ethan Brown spent several years investigating this case and had discovered some interesting things in the process.    Buckle up bitches. This is about to be a crazy ride!   In one article he wrote for medium.com, Brown says, "Over the past two years, I have obtained and reviewed hundreds of pages of task force witness interviews, the homicide case files on several of the victims, the Jeff Davis Parish sheriff's office's and Jeff Davis Parish district attorney's files on all of the victims, federal and state court records, and the complete personnel files of the cops and sheriff's deputies at the center of the case. I have interviewed friends and family of all eight victims, as well as some of the possible suspects.   The details of the Jeff Davis 8 case can be murky; the connections between victims, suspects, and police tangled. My investigation, however, casts serious doubt on the theory that the Jeff Davis 8 is the work of a serial killer."   Brown goes on to say, "One fact is clear: local law enforcement is far too steeped in misconduct and corruption—and this extends to the task force, which is dominated by detectives and deputies from the sheriff's office—to run an investigation with the integrity that the murdered women and their families deserve after nearly a decade in which no one has been brought to justice."   One reason Brown doesn't believe this was the work of a serial killer is the connections between all of the victims. Generally, serial killers kill victims who have no relation to other victims. However, the women themselves all knew one another intimately. Some were related by blood (such as cousins Kristen Gary Lopez and Brittney Gary) or lived together (Gary bunked down with Crystal Benoit in South Jennings just before being killed in 2008). They solicited prostitution at the Boudreaux Inn, a now-shuttered motel in Jennings that, with its sloping blue metal roof and nondescript white façade, could be mistaken for a storage facility. The inn was ideally situated in Jennings's heady drugs and sex trade—just off a 400-mile stretch of Interstate 10 connecting Houston to New Orleans, favored by marijuana and cocaine traffickers and prescription-pill "doctor shoppers"—and cops were there on a near-nightly basis for busts. Loretta Lewis, the first victim, was the subject of several complaints to the police based on her activity at the inn.   Brown also says, "It wasn't simply that they traded their bodies at the same address. According to my reporting, all but one of the victims—Ernestine Patterson—were associated with the same fixture of the Jennings underworld: a 58-year-old oil-rig worker turned strip-club owner named Frankie Richard. "We shared something," he said of the murdered women, his voice so raspy it sounded as though he had been gargling rocks. "When we were at the lowest point of our life, and no one wanted to have anything to do with us, we had something to do with each other. And that means something to me. Them girls were my friends no matter how fucking low my life was. And I was their friend no matter how fuckin' low their life was."   Richard described the city of Jennings when the killings began: "It was wide open… The drugs, the prostitution, the bars, the crooked cops." Since the early 1990s, there have been nearly 20 unsolved homicides, including the slain eight women, in Jefferson Davis Parish, a statistic any competent sheriff's department would regard as both a shallow clearance rate and an astonishingly high murder rate for a small area.   As for suspects, Brown had found several while going through the reports from the task force and interviewing witnesses. In 2007, Frankie Richard himself was briefly charged in the Lopez killing, but those charges were dropped after witnesses provided conflicting statements and an essential piece of physical evidence was mishandled. Richard died in 2020.    Byron Chad Jones and Lawrence Nixon (a cousin of the fifth victim, Laconia Brown) were briefly charged with second-degree murder in the Ernestine Patterson case. But despite several witnesses implicating them, the sheriff's office did not test the alleged crime scene until 15 months after Patterson's murder and found it "failed to demonstrate the presence of blood." That messed-up crime scene work contributed, in part, to the collapse of the case against the two men. According to case files, Jennings street hustlers with connections to Richard were suspected in the deaths of some of the other women.    Brown claims no credible suspects outside the Jennings drug circle have been found, yet the official narrative is still that of a serial killer.    Another strange connection is that the murdered women of the Jeff Davis 8 (aka, the Jennings 8) provided information to law enforcement about other Jeff Davis 8 victims—and then turned up dead themselves. For example, Laconia Brown (the fifth victim) was interrogated about the 2005 killing of Ernestine Patterson (the second victim). Brown, the article author, obtained by a task force report in which one witness claims that Brown, the murder victim, spotted the body of Loretta Lewis (the first victim) floating in the Grand Marais Canal before Jerry Jackson discovered her there in May 2005. In 2006, detectives investigating Lewis's murder interrogated Kristen Gary Lopez (the third victim).   "She knew what was going on," Melissa Daigle, Lopez's mother, told Brown. She trailed off, tearing up at the memory. "They were scared, them girls. I think she knew about it and was too scared to say."   Brown also claims that he discovered that all of the women at one point had been informants for local law enforcement regarding the Jennings drug trade.    When Brown confronted Sheriff Edwards with the allegation that the Jeff Davis 8 were informants, the sheriff stammered a non-denial. "I wouldn't respond," he told me. "If they were informants, I would still continue to protect their anonymity. I don't know that's the truth. I won't comment on it."   Brown writes that at the end of 2008, a Jennings prostitute warned task force investigators that Necole Guillory "might be the next victim."   Guillory was known for her street savviness, and in 2006, when she was 24, she savagely attacked a sex customer with the handle of a sledgehammer.    Brown says of Guillory," I've reviewed the parish district attorney office's case files on Guillory, and in at least six cases, the charges against her ended in a nolle prosequi (a legal term meaning "be unwilling to pursue" on the district attorney's part). Though there is no record of Guillory's cooperation—excluding a theft case in which she agreed to testify against her codefendant—snitches routinely have charges nolle prossed in exchange for their off-the-record cooperation."   "Necole knew a whole lot," said Frankie Richard, "about a whole lot."   Necoles mother Barbara would tell Brown, "She was always paranoid," "It got to the point where she did not want to go anywhere by herself," she said. "I think she could feel that they were closing in on her." With her 27th birthday approaching, Guillory refused even to entertain the idea of celebrating. "I bought some icing and cake for her birthday," Barbara recalled. "She said, 'Momma, it doesn't matter—I'm not gonna be here.'" Guillory also had her four kids placed with relatives. A task force witness supports the claim that in her final days, she "was scared of someone," but she would not say who and that she "knew who killed the girls."   Barbara believes that her daughter was murdered because she witnessed local law enforcement corruption or misconduct or worse. "She used to tell us all the time it was the police killing the girls," Barbara said. "We'd say, 'Necole, a name. Something. Write a letter and leave it somewhere. Let us know. We can help you.' No, momma. It's too far gone. It's too big. I'd rather y'all not know nothing, that way nothing can happen to y'all… She knew, she knew, she knew, and that's why they killed her."   Brown writes that several other families of victims have similar stories.    He says, "Gail Brown, a sister of the fifth victim, Laconia "Muggy" Brown, told me that just before Muggy was killed, she worriedly informed her family that "she was investigating a murder with a cop; the cop wanted to give her $500 to tell what happened." Gail put it as bluntly as Barbara Guillory: "She knew what was going on," she told me, referring to her sister's work as a cooperator. "I think it was a cop that killed my sister."   Taskforce witness interviews corroborate the Brown family accounts; one was noted as saying that "Laconia Brown told her that…three police officers were going to kill her."   According to Brown, the Jennings police force and Jeff Davis sheriff's offices have been plagued by misconduct for years.    Veterans of Jennings' streets trace the unwinding of local law enforcement back to the '70s when they say cops began getting involved in drug trafficking. But this is not merely street gossip. In March 1990, two local men burglarized the sheriff's office, making off with a staggering 300 pounds of marijuana. According to court documents, investigators interviewed one of the burglars. He named a surprising pair of accomplices—Frankie Richard and a man named Ted Gary, who was then chief deputy sheriff. (Officials brought no charges against Richard and Gary.)   From sheriff's using parish funds to purchase personal items illegally, to unlawfully and purposefully stopping cars with out-of-state plates, to improper dealings with inmates, and even the murder of one officer and his wife by another officer, things were getting pretty nuts.    In October 2003, eight female Jennings cops filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against Jennings police chief Donald "Lucky" DeLouche, a gaggle of male cops, and the City of Jennings, alleging widespread acts of sexual violence and harassment. Among the allegations in the complaint: a captain who shook his penis at female officers, saying, "You know I like to lick pussy, I can numb it all night," and forced oral sex on a female officer, as well as a lieutenant who waved a knife at a female officer, warning, "Girl, I'll cut you." In January 2013, former Jennings police chief Johnny Lassiter was hit with a battery of charges after a Louisiana State Police audit found $4,500 in cash, 1,800 pills, more than 380 grams of cocaine, and several pounds of marijuana missing from the department's evidence room.   In December 2007, Sergeant Jesse Ewing received word that two female inmates at the city jail wanted to talk about the unsolved homicides (at the time totaling four). He was stunned by what he heard: Ewing said both women told him that "higher-ranking officers" had been directly involved in covering up the murders.   Brown claims Ewing had long been wary of his fellow cops, and he feared that the audiotapes would simply vanish, just as drugs and cash had a way of disappearing from evidence. So Ewing handed the interview tapes over to a local private investigator named Kirk Menard, who rushed copies to the FBI's office in nearby Lake Charles.   Brown goes on to write, "Ewing's gambit to grab the attention of the feds backfired. The tapes ended up right back with the sheriff's office–dominated task force, and Ewing's fears of retaliation turned out to be justified. As a result, the parish district attorney charged Ewing with malfeasance in office and sexual misconduct. (One of the female inmates claimed that Ewing touched her inappropriately during the interview. Ewing denies it, and that charge was dismissed.)   Brown says, "Ewing and I sat in his trailer in the Paradise Park development in Jennings in July 2011. He is a short, wide-shouldered man with a cleanly shaved head, a graying goatee, and the bulky frame of a rugby player. Ewing decorated the trailer with little more than a TV set and a couch—a no-frills lifestyle that he blamed on employment troubles since his termination after 20 years on the job. "I felt screwed for doing the right thing," he said."   Although the tapes were never made public, Brown says he had listened to them in their entirety. He claims they provide highly specific information about the murders of two of the prostitutes—Whitnei Dubois and Kristen Gary Lopez—as well as local law enforcement's alleged role in covering up Frankie Richard's role in at least one of the killings.   The first inmate says that a prostitute named Tracee Chaisson had told her that she was there when Richard and his niece Hannah Conner killed Dubois. They'd all been getting high, and when Dubois refused Richard's sexual advances, he "got aggressive, he started fighting with her, and when she started fighting back he got on top of her and started punching her." According to the inmate, Chaisson then said that Hannah held her head back and drowned her.    The two inmates told another story about a truck and a conspiracy between Richard and a top sheriff's office investigator to destroy evidence in the Lopez case.   The second inmate said Richard put Lopez's body "in a barrel," and used a truck to transport it. The truck, she said, was later purchased by "an officer named Mr. Warren, I don't know his exact name, he bought the truck to discard the evidence."   By "Warren," the inmate meant the sheriff's office chief criminal investigator, Warren Gary. The first inmate had also spoken of Lopez's body, a truck, and an officer named Warren.   Public records would seem to corroborate the second witness' account. On March 29, 2007, Warren Gary purchased a 2006 Chevy Silverado truck for $8,748.90 from Connie Siler, a Richard associate who had just been hauled into the sheriff's office for questioning in the case of a bad check. On April 20, Gary resold Siler's Silverado for $15,500, a nearly 50 percent profit in less than one month. (Siler, in turn, used profits from the sale, $3,207.13, to pay the parish district attorney's office for the bad checks she had issued.) Gary's truck purchase was possibly illegal and definitely unethical—the Louisiana Board of Ethics fined him $10,000 in the incident. "What [Gary] did with that was wrong," former sheriff Ricky Edwards told Brown. "Buying from an inmate, that's what was ethically wrong." He insisted, however, that his office "had no clue that [the truck] was even part of evidence [in the Lopez case]. That didn't come out until way after the fact."   Brown says there is some reason to doubt this claim. According to their reports, investigators knew that Siler was one of the last to see Lopez alive. In addition, Paula Guillory, a former detective in the sheriff's office who was later investigated for her ties to the Jennings drug scene, recently spoke to Brown and told him, "We knew that Connie Siler's vehicle was probably involved."   In a town where everyone was related and where the atmosphere had the feeling of a vicious family feud, it was Paula's then-husband Terrie Guillory, the warden at the jail, who brokered the Siler truck deal, according to the ethics board report on Gary. (Note: That he shares a last name with one of the victims is not a coincidence: Necole Guillory was his cousin.)   Because of Warren Gary and Terrie Guillory, two members of law enforcement, the Lopez case lost an essential piece of physical evidence. Because of Terrie Guillory, one suspect found herself with an alibi. And because Conner refused to flip on Richard, and Chaisson had changed her story repeatedly, the charges against all of them were dropped.   Brown writes, "Put simply: The statements from the two female inmates portrayed Richard and his associates working with the sheriff's office to dispose of evidence in the Lopez case. Yet the sergeant who took the statements was forced out of his job, and the allegations were ignored by law enforcement."    A review of hundreds of pages of task force investigative reports by Brown reveals a series of witness interviews where local law enforcement was implicated in the murders. However, these allegations have never been made public.   Danny Barry, a 12-year veteran of the sheriff's office when he died in 2010 at the age of 63, was named a suspect by at least three separate task force witnesses in a single day of interrogations in November 2008. "Deputy Danny Barry would ride around on the south side with his wife," one witness said. "And they would try to pick up girls….[Barry's vehicle was] a small blue sports car…Barry would drop off his wife, Natalie, and she would get the girls. The couple would 'spike' a drink and then take the girls back to the Barrys' house…."   One witness even told investigators that "Danny Barry had a room in his trailer that had chains hanging from the ceiling and that a person could not see in or out of the room." What the fuck?   There was only one task force interview with Barry on February 25, 2009. He wasn't questioned about the abundance of allegations against him, and there hasn't been any substantive follow-up investigation.   Brown goes on to write, "As the murders in the parish crescendoed in 2009, Guillory participated in a raid on Frankie Richard's family home. This was part of a sprawling investigation by the sheriff's office into a drugs and theft ring that Richard, his mother, and Teresa Gary (the mother of the seventh victim, Brittney Gary) were later charged with running, in which guns, jewelry, and rare coins had been pilfered from residences across Jennings. Yet when Guillory turned over evidence, nearly $4,000 was missing. So the theft case collapsed under the weight of serious law enforcement misconduct."   "Guillory denies that she stole or disposed of evidence in the case. She told me that she realized the money was missing when she was cataloguing the evidence from the raid and immediately contacted her superiors. (Warren Gary, the former chief investigator who had purchased the truck allegedly used to dispose of Lopez's body, helped catalogue the evidence, which is another troubling coincidence.) She was sent home from work and, even though she offered to take a polygraph test regarding the missing money, she was promptly fired by Sheriff Edwards. "I never even gave my own side of the story," she told Brown.   Yet again, the charges against Richard were dropped. It was a break that he relishes to this day. "I'm not mad at that," Richard told Brown when he asked him about the missing evidence in his case. "In fact I thank her for doing that. If she had handled her business right, my momma would still be in jail."   Most of the murdered women seemed to know about the other prostitute killings. But at least one victim from the Jeff Davis 8 witnessed a killing at the hands of state and local law enforcement during a drug bust in Jennings that went awry.   During a drug bust brought on by a tip from a snitch, Leonard Crochet, a pill dealer, was shot and killed by Probation and Parole agent John Briggs Becton. Briggs Becton told Crochet to show his hands, and, according to a statement he gave later to investigators, Crochet "then made a sudden movement with his hands toward his belt line." Believing that Crochet was reaching for a weapon, Briggs Becton fired his departmentally issued Remington 870 12-gauge shotgun, with a single shot striking Crochet in the chest.    According to a later statement by a fellow Probation and Parole agent at the raid, Briggs Becton approached Crochet's body, muttering, "Oh shit." Briggs Becton called an ambulance to the scene, and the inhabitants at 610 Gallup were taken into custody and transported to the Jennings Police Department for questioning. Police investigators concluded that they were "unable to locate any items near Crochet's location in the residence which could have been construed as a weapon. Further, no persons inside the residence at the time of the shooting, whether law enforcement or civilian, could provide any evidence that Crochet had brandished a weapon." That July, a parish grand jury heard prosecutors make their case that Briggs Becton committed the crime of negligent homicide. However, they came back with a decision of "no true bill"—no probable cause or evidence to show that Briggs Becton had committed a crime.   Could this be the reason the Jennings 8 we're killed? It is one theory suggested by some in the parish. "The victims were being killed because they were present when Leonard Crochet was killed by the police," one witness told task force investigators. "The girls were being killed because they had seen something they were not supposed to see." Even Richard connected the Crochet killing to the murdered women: "Most of them girls was at a raid…when that Crochet boy got killed. Most of the girls that are dead today were there that night."   Brown obtained a witness list from the Louisiana State Police on the incident. He says, "it reads like a who's who of players in the Jeff Davis 8 case, including the third victim Kristen Gary Lopez, Alvin "Bootsy" Lewis (the boyfriend of the fourth victim, Whitnei Duboisi, and the brother-in-law of the first victim, Loretta Lewis), and Harvey "Bird Dog" Burleigh, who later told Dubois' older brother Mike that "I'm close to finding out who killed your sister" and was then found stabbed to death in his Jennings apartment. His murder, too, remains unsolved."   The slaying of witnesses appears to be a pattern in Jefferson Davis Parish. Soon after Crystal Shay Benoit Zeno (the sixth victim) was found in a wooded area in South Jennings in September 2008, a tip was called into the parish district attorney's office from a 43-year-old Lafayette man named Russell Carrier. Carrier said that he had seen three African-American men exiting the woods. Richard associate Eugene "Dog" Ivory, Ervin "Tyson" Mouton (who is named as another possible suspect in the Lopez homicide in the task force documents), and Ricardo "Tiger" Williams. On October 10, 2010, Carrier was struck and killed by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Train in Jennings early in the morning. Police Chief Todd D'Albor said that "for whatever reason," Carrier laid on the tracks and was run over.   God damn, this shit is nuts!    Brown concludes his article with information about one of the leading players in the case, Frankie Richard, whom we've talked about a lot.    Brown writes of Frankie, "Though Richard was well aware that I was deeply investigating the Jeff Davis 8, he never turned me down for an interview and didn't flinch when I confronted him with my reporting—he has a knack for explaining away bad facts and constructing theories on alternative suspects." Deceased deputy Danny Barry is also a favorite. "All these girls or most of these girls was found within a three-mile radius of Danny Barry's house," Richard told Brown. "Since he been dead, nobody died. All these motherfuckers on the sheriff's department are some crooked sons of bitches."   Brown describes one interview with Frankie as follows "On an unusually warm and muggy late spring night in 2012, Richard sat shirtless, exposing his meaty upper body, on a pair of rockers on the front porch of his family home in Jennings. He has expressionless brown eyes, a thick head of black hair streaked with gray, and a salt-and-pepper goatee. He was trying very hard to project the image of a wrongly accused, down-on-his-luck, sobered-up former hustler. "I was a dope addict, a coke head, meth head, alcoholic, no-good sonofabitch," Richard told me. "But I'm determined to get my head on right. I'm one year clean from meth and 100 days clean from alcohol and cocaine after 42 years. That's a long fuckin' time for a motherfucker like me."    Brown continues, "Standing nearby, on the ground below, was an associate of Richard's, a towering African-American man in his 30s wearing baggy jeans and a white T-shirt. At one point, he interrupted the conversation to warn me that the story I'm working on will likely put me in the crosshairs of local law enforcement. "You a bold-ass little man, dog," he said. "Don't get caught in Jeff Davis Parish at night."   Brown continues about Frankie Richard:   "That Richard continues to sit atop what police files and my own reporting suggest is an empire of drugs and prostitution is no spectacular stroke of luck. He is a prized informant who, according to task force documents, has provided a steady stream of intel to investigators. (Richard was debriefed in 2008, which Brown says challenges another official narrative: that no one is talking to the multi-agency investigative team, and that all investigators have is a series of unhelpful dead ends.) He goes on to say, "Criminal activity sanctioned by high-level law enforcement is hardly uncommon; a 2011 FBI report concluded the agency gave its informants permission to break the law at least 5,658 times that year. Richard would push back against the snitch label vigorously. But, in May 2012, Kirk Menard, the private investigator, sent a pair of female witnesses who said they had tips in the killings related to Richard to the task force offices to be interrogated. "Do not worry about Frankie," one high-ranking task force investigator told the stunned women, "because he works for me." According to the witness account, the investigator added that Richard has a task force–issued cellphone. Menard forwarded me an e-mail he sent to the task force outlining his concerns about the interview. Nearly two years later, he has yet to receive a response."   Brown says that the possibility that Richard is just circumstantially connected to all of the eight murdered women has also been undermined again and again. Soon after charges against Richard in the 2007 Lopez slaying were dismissed, he and associate Eugene "Dog" Ivory—who is, according to task force witnesses, a suspect in the murder of Crystal Benoit—beat a rape case in which, according to case files, Richard allegedly told the victim, "If you tell anyone, bitch, you will end up like the others."   Brown also recounts another story relayed to him:    "One night, not long before Richard and I met, Beverly Crochet, the sister of slain drug dealer Leonard Crochet, was leaving Tina's Bar, a South Jennings haunt frequented by the Jeff Davis 8. Tracee Chaisson, the former prostitute who was once charged with being an accessory after the fact of second-degree murder in the slaying of Kristen Lopez, approached her in the parking lot. "When I was walking out with my ride," Crochet told me when we spoke several weeks later on the front porch of her home, which is just down the street from the Richard family home, "she was screaming out the car with some black people, 'You're gonna be number 9.'" Crochet said she reported the incident to the task force. She cleared her throat nervously. "I could tell you more," she said, "but I'm scared. I'm scared for my own life." The Jeff Davis 8 killings, she said, "started right after" her brother Leonard was killed. "Right after. All them girls were in there at one point. They were all in there for two days in and out."   Brown concludes his article by saying The Jeff Davis 8 case is begging for a takeover by the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. They had intervened in a now-notorious New Orleans Police Department case from 2005, where cops shot and killed innocent bystanders on the Danziger Bridge in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Brown claims his investigation raises several genuine questions about the prevailing serial-killer theory of these murders. It also indicates that local law enforcement is a hindrance, not a help, to a resolution being reached. Whatever the truth, these eight women, and their surviving families, deserve a fresh inquiry by an outside investigative body.   Holy shit! What seemed like a pretty clear-cut case on the outside; Serial killer preying on sex workers turned into THAT fucking crazy story. Wow. What do you all think? Fucking nuts, huh! The case remains unsolved, and if the things Brown uncovered are accurate, we will most likely never get to the bottom of this!    Movies:    Top ten drug horror movies, keeping with the drug theme    http://www.theblood-shed.com/top-10-drug-horror-movies/

Une American lager néor-orléanaise cette semaine qui nous vient de nos amis de chez Urban South. Plus toutes nos rubriques habituelles. Intro et outro: Big Patate par Ruff N Ready  Binouze USA fait partie du label Podcut. Retrouvez tous les podcasts du label sur www.podcut.studio. Vous pouvez aussi aider le label en allant sur www.patreon.com/podcut.   

Over the past week, Better Savannah held one-on-one Zoom interviews with all the candidates. Each interview ran about 90 minutes. We have compiled a general scorecard of their respective positions on how closely they aligned with our core issues.                                                                                                                  We are supporting Sabrina Kent for House District 165. She was the first candidate to respond to interview with us, gave us the longest and most in depth discussion, and aced most, if not all of our major policy issues.  District 165 runs along the eastern edge of Savannah from Presidents Street to the north to unincorporated Chatham County - Burnside Island/Windsor Forest to the south. It includes many neighborhoods including  Avondale, Victory Heights, parts of Downtown, Fernwood, Forest Hills, Magnolia Park, Terrace Heights, Bacon Park, Paradise Park, Windsor Forest, Sandfly, to name a few. We used a simple Pass/Fail grading score. Readers are urged to watch the candidates long form interviews on our Better Savannah Facebook page (links provided below). Some readers may draw different grading conclusions which is normal, however we are satisfied with our overall scoring.Edna Jackson:https://www.facebook.com/BetterSavannahForAll/videos/899435950709297/Antwan Lang:https://www.facebook.com/BetterSavannahForAll/videos/594096568435207Sabrina Kent:https://www.facebook.com/BetterSavannahForAll/videos/402358338138635Clinton Young:https://www.facebook.com/BetterSavannahForAll/videos/4429055000514378Clinton Cowart:https://www.facebook.com/BetterSavannahForAll/videos/4367178676700600

If you're like me, you're guilty of using screen time for a little alone time. You get me, parents? What I'm not guilty of is not knowing what my kid is watching. This week, Ilana Lowery joins me at the table to talk Common Sense Media. They do review everything from movies, shows, apps, game and more. A go-to recourse for you to feel safe with what your kids are watching.  Calendar of Events Brought to you by Notre Dame PrepNotre Dame Prep is the Catholic HS. Check them out at ndpsaints.org to learn more.   Common Sense Mediahttps://www.commonsensemedia.org/ Fall Concert Series in the Paradise Park https://www.eventbrite.com/e/concert-in-the-park-thaddeus-rose-band-sept-2021-tickets-159717975765 Thaddeus Rose Band Saturday, September 25, 2021 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. Community Center Great Lawn 10607 E. Paradise Lane Come prepared to enjoy a fun evening of dancing and entertainment with the Thaddeus Rose Band. Food can be purchased at the Wandering Donkey's Food Truck which will be on-site. Space is limited.   AZ Restaurant Weekhttps://arizonarestaurantweek.com/ Restaurant Week is going on now through Sept 26. No better reason to get out and try a new place this week!  Reptiles Up Close!  https://butterflywonderland.com/ Every Sunday in September 2 p.m. In this interactive experience, enjoy an educational talk with Butterfly Wonderland Reptile General Curator Lindsey Meder. Learn about the many reptiles and amphibians that share the rainforest with tropical butterflies. There will also be a Q&A session with Lindsey. FREE WITH ADMISSION.

The top headlines from The Kansas City Star on Friday, June 18th, 2021, including homes are selling faster in the Kansas City area than in nearly any other American market, the Lee's Summit school district plans to purchase Paradise Park to turn it into an early education center, a biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation said he believes heavy rains earlier this month led to a large fish kill in Brush Creek and Kansas City Chiefs' guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif has been nominated for ESPN's Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.

Hosts Nick Parker and Jason Norbury take some time to look in on the Lee's Summit School District as it announces its intent to purchase the Paradise Park campus from Jon Ellis, announces schedule changes to adjust for a bus driver shortage and continues to struggle with community members over its equity training program.

Anna Kiraly is a visual artist, set and video designer. Her collaborations include set design for CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN, ISABELLA, and PAY UP with the Pig Iron Theatre Company, set design for TIME'S JOURNEY THROUGH A ROOM with Dan Rothenberg/The Play Co., set and video for CITY OF NO ILLUSIONS, BURNISHED BY GRIEF, THE GOLDEN TOAD, MARCELLUS SHALE and FLIP SIDE with the Talking Band, set design for WALK ACROSS AMERICA (with Taylor Mac/The Talking Band) and MISALLIANCE, PARADISE PARK and THE CASTLE with Tina Brock/IRC. Other recent and past productions include set for THE SEAGULL at Colgate University, set/video for TRANSLATIONS and UBU (with S. Fogarty for Barnard College) and DOG AND WOLF (J. Randich at 59E59), installation design for 36 PEAKS (with S. Sunde at the Baryshnikov Arts Center), THE GARDEN (N. Canuso Dance Company), costumes for KAFKA FRAGMENTS (P. Sellars at Zankel Hall).She was awarded a NYSCA 2021 grant for set design for a Beckett collaboration with Sharon Fogarty (in progress). She is a recipient of the Arts Link Grant, the NEA/TCG Program for Designers and the TCG New Generations (with the Talking Band). Her "noir" multimedia pieces THE QUAKE (at Ideal Glass), SLOW ASCENT and UFO (St. Ann’s Warehouse) won the Jim Henson Foundation’s support. Anna has collaborated with universities and colleges such as Barnard/Columbia, Fordham, The New School, Smith, Montclair, Lehigh and Colgate and designed for opera productions (AOP, Hungarian Opera, Zankell Hall) and concerts (YPC/ New York Philharmonic). She is an adjunct lecturer teaching Scenic Design and Media at Barnard College/Columbia University.~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/Idiopathi...​ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...​And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Family is forever, and so, it appears, is our fascination with reading about them. Allegra Goodman--author of The Family Markowitz, Kaaterskill Falls (National Book Award finalist), Intuition, Paradise Park, The Chalk Artist, and short stories included in The New Yorker, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and Best American Short Stories--dishes with Eve and Julie about why families remain such a compelling subject for literature. They discuss how age and experience change our perspective on family-related matters, what impact COVID-19 has had on familial relationships both nuclear and extended, and how a child’s college application process can function as a Hitchcockian bomb under the table in a story. Allegra also recommends some favorite novels about families! Find us on Twitter (@bookdreamspod) and Instagram (@bookdreamspodcast), or email us at contact@bookdreamspodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Howie Schatzberg joins the Sherpas cave this week as we discuss his journey to becoming an award winning and nationally recognized photographer. Howie’s father took him out of high school early to start his photography career within the family business. We also discuss the importance of marketing, innovating and keeping customer relationships. Action Items: Access our FREE Resources Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Newsletter Follow The Biz Sherpa on LinkedIn Follow The Biz Sherpa on Instagram Follow the Biz Sherpa Facebook Page Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Youtube Channel Subscribe to The Biz Sherpa Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast or Stitcher. Connect with Craig on LinkedIn Key Takeaways: 1. Diversify and innovate your business: Focus on what is providing your customers the most value. Find areas that you can expand to and try new things! You never know where they will lead you. 2. Customer relationships are invaluable. Oftentimes it’s easy to overlook personal connections with your customers. The smallest of things can mean so much to customers and keep them coming back time and time again. 3. Marketing: Sometimes we think of marketing as a chore and major business expense and oftentimes it is. Find inexpensive and creative ways to market your products or skills. In this Episode with Howie Schatzberg, he talks about the #HowieShotMe hashtag customers use on social media when sharing a photograph he captured. This was a simple idea that turned into a great marketing tool. 4. Preparation: It is important to be prepared in business. Of course, we can’t plan for everything or anticipate every potential situation., But we should ask ourselves if we are taking the necessary steps to ensure we are prepared for mistakes we could encounter. In this Episode, Howie shares an experience where he had an accident as he was photographing the Olympic closing ceremonies when his camera lens cracked and he lost out on the perfect shot. TRANSCRIPTION: Speaker 1: From his first job flipping burgers at McDonald’s and delivering The Washington Post, Craig Willett counts only one and a half years of his adult life working for someone else. Welcome to The Biz Sherpa podcast with your host, Craig Willett. Founder of several multimillion-dollar businesses and trusted advisor to other business owners, he’s giving back to help business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs achieve fulfillment, enhance their lives, and create enduring wealth. The Biz Sherpa. Craig Willett: This is Craig Willett, The Biz Sherpa. Glad you could join me today at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show. I have with me a special guest, one of the greatest photographers in the United States for equestrian shows, Howie Schatzberg. He’s very accomplished. You’ll get to know him very well. He does about 25 shows a year, among which are the World’s Championship for the Saddlebreds, the National Championships for the Arabian horses, and the World Championship for the Morgan horses. He’ll tell you more about how he accomplished that. I’m grateful to welcome Howie Schatzberg. Welcome, Howie. Howie Schatzberg: Thank you. Thank you. Nice to be here. Craig Willett: I’m glad you took the time. I know you’re really busy. I think you’ve already shot 50 horses, and the horse show doesn’t even start for three more days. Howie Schatzberg: Yeah, it’s crazy. All these people coming in, and sale horses, and you got to take care of your clients. So yeah, it’s been busy already. And this is a huge horse show. Actually the biggest Arabian show in the world, they say now. Over 2,000 horses, so it’s quite a deal. Craig Willett: Well, that’s great. This is how, partly, we became part of showing horses too, in our family, because of the Scottsdale Arabian show. My wife always—she had an Arabian growing up, but then she, when we moved here, wanted to come to the show and really got back into it after we started a family. Howie Schatzberg: It’s quite a deal. It’s funny, this show goes back to when I was young, living here in Scottsdale, this was the big deal. My father did the show at Paradise Park back in the day. And it’s always been quite a deal here. In fact, they say that this show probably brings in more money than the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament because of how many people come here. So what it brings to the city of Scottsdale, economically, is incredible. Craig Willett: Yeah. When you consider the hotels, the restaurants and all the other— Howie Schatzberg: Right. Craig Willett: Plus all the people that come to the show. This year might be a little different. Howie Schatzberg: Little different, although they say, I think, each horse could bring four to six people. So you talk 2,000 horses. That’s a bunch of people, not even counting the public. So I think we’ll be okay this year. Craig Willett: That’s good. Well, you’ll probably be okay too because you’re here for the horses. Howie Schatzberg: Yes, I hate to say that. Craig Willett: And their owners. Howie Schatzberg: Yeah. It’s all about that. All about that. Craig Willett: Well, I’m curious, where did you develop a passion for photography? I mean, clearly you have it, to be recognized as—I think in the horse world, you’re recognized as People’s Choice photographer. So you’re fairly accomplished. How did you start this path of journey? Howie Schatzberg: I don’t know. There’s a saying, “Do you pick the sport, or does the sport pick you?” So I think the sport picked me. Obviously, I—well, not obviously, but I started with my father at a young age, about 12 or 13 years old, in the film days. He took photos, I’d go in the trailer. He was the first one in the United States to have a portable dark room. Craig Willett: Really? Howie Schatzberg: Yeah. So we’d go to the horse shows and I’d be in the trailer in the dark room doing black and white, doing color film. Craig Willett: So you developed the film. And then would you then print it too? Howie Schatzberg: Correct. We develop the film, we make tiny, little proof sheets. People would come to our booth with magnifying glasses and so on. My mother was selling the pictures. It was a family operation. So that’s where I started at a young age. I worked for them in the summer and doing shows predominantly in the West coast. So that’s where I started. Craig Willett: I’m just curious then. You start this out, but not every photograph is great, I would imagine. So for each photograph, how many make the really final cut? Howie Schatzberg: Well, I never miss a shot. It’s funny you say that. My father was a typical, tough, old school, greatest-generation guy, and no BS. You’re the first one to work and the last one to leave. And I learned at a young age, you succeed by a great work ethic. So people say, “Well, how did your dad influence you? How did he teach you?” I don’t know if he really taught me, but literally, when you say the percentage of photos we need to be good, he would hold that strip of film up and I’d be next to him. He’d point. He’d go, “Good, good, good.” But he would use an expletive. And then, “Bad, bad. Good.” He’d say, “This is not acceptable. You have to hit every shot or you’re not going to succeed in this business.” Craig Willett: Oh, wow. Howie Schatzberg: And I think, again, because of the man he was, I think I was a little bit scared. I think he knew what he was doing. It’s just how I was raised. Craig Willett: So he’s telling you, “Don’t let the proof sheet rule it out.” He’s telling you, “Go ahead, and every one has to be the best you can.” Howie Schatzberg: Exactly right. And whatever angle you need to do, you make it work. You work hard and you give these people what they want. Craig Willett: Wow. So what was the upbringing like? I mean, did he allow you time to try other things or school, or anything else? Howie Schatzberg: Not at all. Actually, I took a photography course in high school. I’m sorry. Yeah. My freshman year. I think I probably developed more film than the teacher had. So I said, “This is not going to work.” So yeah, again, the old school way, if you just go work, you work hard and you’ll learn the business through that. He was a very innovative guy, so I learned a lot about diversifying and trying different things. He was great at that. Craig Willett: Did you continue to work up till where he retired or did you branch off on your own at some point? Howie Schatzberg: At that time, there were so many horse shows and I would work with him. I’d be the second photographer. Say at a two-ring horse show, I’d shoot the second ring. And as I got older, he would maybe have me shoot the main ring. That’s how it got started. And then it got to be more horse shows, so he said, “Hey, Howie, why don’t you to go do this show and I’ll do this show?” I started branching out with that. Funny story, it was the toughest phone call I’d ever gotten. I worked for him, and it was Schatzberg Photo. And we had done the World Championship Morgan Horse Show, which was obviously a huge feather in my cap or my father’s. My dad was, again, a tough customer. I love my father, but I’m blessed I’m more like my mother. Very easy going. But a few years after him doing the show, I got a phone call. They said, “Hey, we’d like you to do the horse show.” I said, “Great. I’ll do the show with my dad.” Craig Willett: Bring my dad. Howie Schatzberg: That’s what I thought. No. I think my dad, in any business, probably said the wrong thing to the wrong person. And they wanted me to do the horse show. I said, “So you’re going to contact my father?” “No, we’d like you to.” Craig Willett: Whoa. Howie Schatzberg: I think they were scared to talk to my father. Craig Willett: Not only did they want to hire you, but you had to fire your dad. Howie Schatzberg: It was brutal. Anyways, I said, “Dad, I have something to tell you.” I told him the situation. He said, “Well, I knew this day was coming. I knew this would happen. I’m proud of you. I’m happy for you.” So a little emotional, I lost my dad a couple of years ago. He just passed, but he was 98. Great life. Craig Willett: Wow. Howie Schatzberg: But yeah, it was—that was a big deal. Craig Willett: So that started your independence. Howie Schatzberg: That started my deal. Yeah. And he was giving me a kick in the ass and said, “You’ll do great.” Craig Willett: That’s so nice. Howie Schatzberg: I still helped him here and there. My father and I were very close. He would call me at 9:45 at night, almost knowing I was leaving the arena. He just knew because he’d been doing it for so long. He knew the times and what was happening, and so forth. So we have a great relationship and I’m in this because of him, but I do love what I do. Craig Willett: Well, clearly. Somebody recognized your talents and so did your dad. I think one of the great things, and we’ll probably talk about this before the end, but it’s to see the next generation do and accomplish something. So there was probably a lot of pride too, in your dad, that you were the one that they asked. I mean, think about if the call went to someone else and missed the Schatzberg family altogether. Howie Schatzberg: I think so. I think he was very proud of me. Again, he was an old school guy. He didn’t say it a lot, but I knew he was very proud. My sister showed horses. I’m the youngest of five, and my sister showed horses. That’s how he got involved. He took photos of them. People saw the photographs and they said, “Hey, can you take one of my daughter?” And he said, “Sure. Hey, this is a heck of a deal.” Craig Willett: Sounds like Becky DeRegnaucourt. She did the same thing. She would get her clients’ outfits, and then her customers wanted— Howie Schatzberg: There you go. Craig Willett: Other people would see them, “Hey, can you get me that?” Howie Schatzberg: I think that’s how this type of thing starts. Craig Willett: Wow. Howie Schatzberg: It is a family operation. My nephew, Casey McBride, is a photographer, great photographer. Does the Mini Horse Nationals. Craig Willett: Oh, wow. Howie Schatzberg: So I’m hoping my daughter—I have two daughters and a son. The older kids don’t like it at all, but I have a feeling my younger daughter’s sort of into it. Craig Willett: Yeah. Well, she’s into showing and we’re going to talk about that too. She’s accomplished, very accomplished at a young age. Howie Schatzberg: Yeah. Sure, she is, at a very young age. It’s scary. Craig Willett: Yeah. Well, that’s going to lead to the passion continuing. I’m sure you’re excited for her. Now your dad probably had a lot of influence on your education and getting you into the business. Isn’t there some story where he took you out of school before you could graduate? Howie Schatzberg: Yeah. Basically, again, I worked with him quite a bit in the summers and I did miss some school helping him during school year. So again, being who he was, he beat to his own drummer. And he literally—I’ll never forget it, I got called to the principal’s office. I was a nice, Jewish boy. I mean, what would I do wrong? Craig Willett: Right. Howie Schatzberg: So my father’s in the principal’s office, and “Howie, come have a seat.” My dad’s there. I had no idea what was going on. My dad proceeds to talk to the principal and says, “This is what I do. I don’t know if my son’s ever told you.” And I’d never talked to the principal. He didn’t know. He said, “Well, I really feel that my son will have a chance at an incredible life in the business that we do. He’s a talented young man. He’s smart. He’s a real people person, and I’m going to take him out of school.” Craig Willett: So this was as much a shock to you as it was the principal? Howie Schatzberg: I was speechless. I was second semester as a junior. Craig Willett: Well, most kids dream to have their parents excuse them for school, for the rest of their high school career. Howie Schatzberg: I was dumbfounded. I didn’t know whether to be happy or—I didn’t know. He gave the spiel to the principal and principal said, “Mr. Schatzberg.” Again, my dad was a fairly intimidating guy. He said, “You’re his father and good luck.” And that was it. I left school at the end of that semester and took my GED. That’s as far as I went, as far as schooling, Craig Willett: Did you worry about your future? Howie Schatzberg: I don’t think at that age. I’m 62 now. I didn’t think about it. I didn’t think of it in those terms. I really didn’t know. I had confidence in my father because he was a very confident guy. So he gave me that feeling that everything was going to be fine. Craig Willett: Right. Howie Schatzberg: And it was. Craig Willett: That’s pretty cool though, that your dad would do that. So then you just continued to learn the trade of the business. How many years did it take till you got to Morgan Nationals? When was that in your career that you had to go tell your dad? Howie Schatzberg: My first year of the Morgan Grand National was 1985, on my own. It went from Schatzberg Photo on a photograph, to Howard Schatzberg. But I had done other shows in the Midwest before that, Saddlebred shows and things like that, and Morgan shows. But my big break was obviously at the Morgan World Championship, which is the highest level of that breed. Craig Willett: Right. Howie Schatzberg: So that was 1985. Craig Willett: A lot of people would say, you need to have a niche market. Some could say equestrian is a niche market and some people could say a certain breed because horses do different things, sometimes act a little differently and show differently in the different breeds. So you’ve done Morgans, Saddlebreds and Arabians, and you do them all at the same time. So you’re a photographer to all those breeds. How do you do it? And why do you stay with more than one breed? Howie Schatzberg: Well, I think, again, my father really told me to diversify, especially in business. And when I started, there were open horse shows, which meant a horse show would encompass five or six different breeds. So I had to learn how to shoot every different breed. And like people or landscape, you have to get to know that breed. Arabians are shorter-backed, so the angles are different. Saddlebreds are longer-necked, their angles are different. A Western horse, a driving horse, everything’s different. So it really made me open my eyes and just look at the whole picture, no pun intended. Craig Willett: Right. Howie Schatzberg: It helped me a lot just doing different breeds. And I don’t know, I, again, use the word passion. I love what I do, and it’s a crazy life. Craig Willett: Right. Howie Schatzberg: I’m sometimes gone for eight or nine weeks at a time. I love the horses, but I think I’m a people person. Craig Willett: Yeah. I was going to say, at some point, how do you balance that and how do you market yourself? Howie Schatzberg: Well, it’s funny. When I started, marketing, I don’t think, was necessary. Again, it’s a niche market. It’s a small group. As you know, being in the horse industry, they need to know you and be comfortable with you. And I think because I had done so many horse shows, they felt comfortable with me because this is their passion. Not only mine, but this is theirs. They love their animals as much as their children. So they need to know that it’s someone they can trust. Craig Willett: Yeah, I’ve seen that. Howie Schatzberg: Oh, yeah. So they need to trust that person and know that person’s in this with them. I feel like I am. I definitely am. I’ve been there and seen these kids from walk-trot kids to, now these people have grandchildren. It’s a family deal. You get to know them really well. Craig Willett: I was going to ask you that because I’ve seen you at some of the shows, and you’re walking down the lineup while they’re waiting to announce the winners. You seem to be able to have a conversation with most every rider. So how do you remember all these people and develop these relationships? Howie Schatzberg: Again, I think because you’ve seen them from the beginning to the end, as far as the trainers. I go to farms, I’ll see a trainer working, bring a yearling out and just handling them. And then that yearling is now a two-year-old. And all of a sudden, he’s a three-year-old and he’s showing in the ring. And I just go up to the trainer and say, “Hey, is this the mare that I saw three years ago, that you were working? I remember her.” “Yes, this is her.” And I go, “Boy, she looks incredible.” And then with people, I see a mother that I took pictures of as a ten-year-old walk-trot rider and now she has a child in the ring. I’ll go up to the kid and say, “Hey, I took pictures of your mother.” And she said, “Oh, yeah, she told me.” Craig Willett: Oh, wow. Howie Schatzberg: So I don’t know if I always remember their name, but I know the story behind it, which is really great to me. Craig Willett: Well, I think it means a lot to the people that you’d even recognize them and their horse, their children. And when you say you’re a people person, and I think that brings out the passion, right? A lot of people say, “Oh, I’m a people person,” but there’s a human aspect to all business. That interaction really has to bring some satisfaction to you. Howie Schatzberg: I agree. It really does. Craig Willett: Otherwise, why be on the road for nine weeks at a time? Howie Schatzberg: It’s a crazy life. People say, “What’s your greatest picture?” I don’t know if I have one. Again, I like the photos that tell a story. Craig Willett: Well, I have the greatest picture. It’s with me, with my horse. Howie Schatzberg: At the World Championship? Craig Willett: Yeah. Howie Schatzberg: I thought so. I know that you’d say that. To me, it’s more the experience. I take a photo that means something. Again, a story that’s been told. Not necessarily a great picture that I caught this incredible motion, it’s the story behind it. In this arena, actually, a great friend of mine’s daughter had cystic fibrosis and she helped her father in the ring. She was dying, and her father—they raised the horse, they trained the horse together. He showed the horse in this ring and they won the class. She hopped in the buggy and rode out of the ring. She waved her arms like this because everyone was screaming and yelling. Craig Willett: Oh, wow. Howie Schatzberg: That’s one of my favorite pictures of all time, just this person. The young girl passed away two months later. Craig Willett: Oh, no. Howie Schatzberg: Again, she was a gift from God. An amazing young girl. But those are the types of things I love and I like to catch. Obviously, when you catch a picture like this, you want to get the best picture of the horse. Obviously, that can sell a horse. And it means a lot to the rider and exhibitor, but—it sounds morbid, but my favorite—when people call me and they say, “Hey, my horse passed and your picture is my favorite,” that means a lot to me. Not the picture that’s going to sell this horse for $200,000, but to know I made someone—the photo they got is the vision they had of their animal that they loved. So that’s what hits me the hardest. Craig Willett: I love that. That’s one of the principles that I try to teach over and over again on this podcast and in business is, there’s an emotional currency to business. It doesn’t matter what someone paid for a photograph or how many you sold, but when someone calls you up and thanks you for capturing a moment or something they love, the reward—you probably go to bed at night going, “Hey, I’ve served my purpose. I’ve done well.” Howie Schatzberg: I completely agree with you. And in this day and age too, with young people, with business, it’s the digital age, even with photography. But getting a simple note in the mail means more than anything, or a phone call, or when you go to someone in the lineup and you say, “Hey, you did great. Look how far you’ve come.” Just like being a president of a company, and going up, putting your hand on someone’s shoulder and saying, “Great job. Really proud of you. Thank you.” It goes a long way. It’s giant. Craig Willett: I think that’s important because you do it, because you care about the people. You’re not sitting there saying, “I hope I sell them a photograph.” Howie Schatzberg: It doesn’t hurt, but no, no, it has nothing to do with it. Craig Willett: Right, because people sense the sincerity of that emotional connection. Howie Schatzberg: I hope so. Again, I love what I do and I— Craig Willett: No, I can tell you, because I’ve watched you for years and years. I’m more of an observer than a participant in this industry. It’s my wife’s passion, and I compete because she asked me to give it a shot. I’ve enjoyed it and it’s been great, but I’ve watched her and supported her for probably 12 years before I got in the ring behind the lines of a horse. Howie Schatzberg: You’re a competitor. I could see that in your eyes. Craig Willett: Well, I do like to compete. I understand that, and I do appreciate her passion. But I’ve watched you in the show ring, and I think it’s that connection. That’s part of why I invited you today, because I also think you know how to market. I love this “Howie Shot Me!” I see it everywhere. So it’s really a nice tagline, a nice promo. How did you come up with it? Howie Schatzberg: Again, I just wanted to get into something different. Again, I think that when social media came around—you hear the word branding—and, again, this is a small market, but I just wanted to branch out and do a little more. So I just came up with it, and just with the camera lens, and so on and so forth. Yeah, I just wanted to reach out and have a catchy phrase. So pretty much that was it. Craig Willett: That’s great. You’ve also had more innovation too. For instance, this kind of photograph, for those who aren’t in the horse industry, you don’t get that standing inside an arena. Howie Schatzberg: Correct. Correct. Craig Willett: There’s no way to get that kind of angle and that kind of shot. So I think you’re the innovator of having someone stand outside the ring and take photographs during competition. Howie Schatzberg: I think I was. This is the angle I would take, obviously ground level, which old-school people say, “That’s the shot.” Making a horse look bigger and stronger and all that. What happened was I had seen some amateurs or friends take some photos years ago, and they were just taking pictures of their kids and things like that. I saw that and I go, “Wow, I think this could work.” So actually— Craig Willett: Because you spent your whole time in the show ring, shooting out toward the audience, not necessarily from the audience toward the show ring. Howie Schatzberg: Correct. And again, these type of shots. A friend of mine, Shane Shiflet, an accomplished photographer. And I said, “Hey Shane, could you work for me this week?” He said, “Yeah, why do you need me? I’m two people in the ring.” I said, “No, I want to try something different.” So I got him in the stands and we said, “Let’s try this.” And it was fantastic. A whole different look. It’s a clean look. It’s a more intimate look. It’s almost like what the spectator sees. So the view was from the spectator, so that gave people multiple views. Again, diversifying your business, giving people several looks. At a show like this, I may have two or three photographers shooting. I’ll have a guy shooting a head on picture, another guy shooting this one coming in, and then I’ll be in the ring. So you cover every angle. And thanks to the digital age, you can shoot hundreds in a class. As you know, looking at our kiosk, I may have 400 photos in a class. So you’re going to sell a picture. Craig Willett: Yeah. Or two or three, especially getting the other angles. I like the one from the ground because it makes my horse look big and strong. Howie Schatzberg: Correct. Craig Willett: But I also like the intimate look where it’s maybe over my shoulder, what I see behind the ring, standing along the rail, outside. Howie Schatzberg: Right. Right. Craig Willett: Looking in, it gives a different—when I sold my World’s Champion horse and I really love him, but one of my favorite shots is—I’ll pull it up once in a while—just over my shoulder, I can see his head and I can see me. Howie Schatzberg: Wow. Craig Willett: And I can see the interaction that we have because I know it. It’s what I see. Howie Schatzberg: Right. It’s why wedding photographers use several different photographers at a wedding. You just want different looks and different feels. It’s worked out well for me, I’m pretty proud of it. Craig Willett: Well, that’s pretty cool because you do have a passion for it, even to invite potentially your competitor to do it. And not that you can trademark that angle, but it’s really neat to add to the perspective. Howie Schatzberg: Right. No, it’s great. My dad was big on sharing information with other people. I loved it. Anyone who comes up to me, I’m an open book. Whatever I need to do to help them out. It’s all good. Craig Willett: I remember the first time I got near a horse. My wife introduced me to her horse in her backyard when we were dating. And she said, “Get on him.” I think I had a pair of tennis shoes on. I jumped on him and he headed straight for the fence. Howie Schatzberg: And you married her. Craig Willett: I did. I did, and I probably should’ve thought twice about that. But actually, the interesting thing about that experience is it scared me a little bit. I think about you in the show ring, how do you handle the rush of 20 to 30 horses in the show ring moving around you, trying to watch, they’re reversing, they’re coming different directions sometimes. How do you keep your composure to still get the winning—like your dad said, the best photo every time? Howie Schatzberg: You’re in a zone like any work mode. You’re focusing on what you need to do. Again, no pun intended. So you’re just trying to do your job to the best ability. There’s a lot going on in the ring when you have 15 or 20 horses. So you really have to have your head on a swivel. You have to know what’s going on. You don’t want to be in the way of a judge or a ringmaster. And you’re wanting to be conscious of the angles you want to get and the horse you want to shoot. A lot of times the three or fours are coming at you, and you want to focus in on one of them. And then all of a sudden, you’ll look to your right, and there’s one coming out from this angle. So you’ll need to do that one, or a client may want you to get more pictures of that horse. So they request more. So you really have to— Craig Willett: Oh, really? Howie Schatzberg: Oh, yeah. Craig Willett: So you don’t pick your favorites in there? Howie Schatzberg: I don’t. It’s funny you say that. Again, my father just speaks to me all the time. If a great horse is coming at me and then another horse is coming at me that probably won’t win, I always focus on that horse because the great ones, you’re always going to get a picture of that horse. But try to get the other horse or the other person that may not necessarily have the World Champion or spent $100,000 on their horse. They may have more love for their horse. The other horse may be more of a marketing tool. I don’t know if that’s proper terminology to use, but—so get those other horses and the great ones will come to you. Anyone can get a great picture of a great horse. Craig Willett: Right. If they win, then you’re going to get the championship photo anyway. Howie Schatzberg: Correct. Correct. Craig Willett: But I like that. I like that you’re for the underdog. I think that that’s really cool. So your dad taught you to focus on that? Howie Schatzberg: He did. Again, he said, “Anyone can get a great picture of a great horse or anyone could take a great photo of a beautiful—whether it’s a model or a car, or a beautiful landscape. But concentrate on the horses that may not have that opportunity ever again, and they’re going to be a better market for you.” Craig Willett: I remember that. I was starting out in this competing, and it was my second year of competing. I had a good horse, but I borrowed it from my son who was gone on a mission for our church at the time. And he did really well. He ended up winning the National Open Championship for the Arabians. But I remember I showed him at Scottsdale and I didn’t win. It was in the Open class and I didn’t win. But during the week, your partner, who was shooting with you that week, posted on his personal Facebook page, a picture of me with that horse several times. Howie Schatzberg: That’s great. Craig Willett: And I said to my wife—she kept showing it to me, I didn’t follow it. She said, “I think he likes the look of your horse, and I think he’s trying to tell people, ‘Hey, you missed the really good one.’” Of course, I thought I’d done really well, but— Howie Schatzberg: Well, funny you say that. I agree with what you’re saying and I do. I mean, I love a good horse. I like—again, you show a lot of passion when you drive. You’re so focused and I love that about it. So I do try to do that. I don’t know about the underdog, but just show people and their horse connected, and show a lot of passion for that. And I like to get that out on social media. Craig Willett: I love that. I love your story of passion because I mean, who else lets their dad take them out of high school? Of course, everyone’s not going to fight their dad. Howie Schatzberg: “Please?” Yeah. Craig Willett: But then not even worry about it and just go into it. What a heart-stopping moment, an honor, on the one hand to be asked to do the Morgan Grand Nationals, and at the same time, you had to break the news to your dad that they asked you and not him. Howie Schatzberg: Yeah, it was tough. It was tough. But again, I think he knew. Craig Willett: Business can be hard, but I’m so glad your dad supported you in that. Howie Schatzberg: Oh, very much so. Just to the end. Craig Willett: I think you’ve shared with me what your greatest satisfaction is in business, but I really can’t let people on the podcast without asking what their greatest failure is. Howie Schatzberg: Wow. Well— Craig Willett: And what did they learn from it? Howie Schatzberg: I can tell you my greatest failure, but I’ll start by saying, I am so tough on myself. I’ll come outside the ring and talk to my wife. And I say, “Man, I just didn’t feel good today. I’m just not catching it.” I’ll look at this photo and say, “I could’ve taken this a hair later, it would’ve been better. If my angle would’ve been more from the front.” So I’m really hard on myself. Easily, my greatest failure. I was blessed enough, a young woman named Elizabeth Goth and Michelle McFarland, they did the closing ceremonies in 1996, in Nagano at the Olympics. And they asked me to go shoot it for them. In fact, it was during this horse show. Craig Willett: Oh, really? Howie Schatzberg: Yes. So I talked to the show committee, they were fantastic. And they said, “Yeah, it’s a once in a lifetime.” So went to Japan. It was incredible. I’m sorry, they were the closing ceremonies and they brought a six-horse hitch there, which is basically—the closing ceremony shows the transformation from the Olympics, from Japan to the West. So they used a coach of spotted Saddlebreds. It was a gorgeous picture. So I go there, I’m solid, take pictures of horses, no problem. I have my camera, and closing ceremonies, hundreds of people in a huge stadium. I have my camera and it’s dark, fireworks, lights. If you’ve ever seen, they use carts to push the cameramen around when they’re doing work. Well, basically I take lots of photos about a third of the way in, and this guy with NBC basically clips me. I fall down, my camera goes sprawling down and I’m looking at my camera on the ground, broken lens. Craig Willett: Oh, no. Howie Schatzberg: And that was it. So my failure was not being prepared. You see these guys at these events with four or five cameras on them. Craig Willett: Right. Howie Schatzberg: I’ve never done that. Craig Willett: I wonder why they do that. Howie Schatzberg: That’s why. When it’s an elephant, you’re going to get stomped on. I don’t know, but I wasn’t prepared. Luckily, I ran over to another guy I had met there, and about 20 minutes later, he gave me another lens. I put it on, but I missed “The Shot.” I had this shot planned. It was going to be “The Shot.” I got some shots and they were okay, but I wasn’t prepared. And I’m telling you what, from that day on, whether it’s getting ready to shoot a horse, getting ready for a set-up, drives my wife crazy. I won’t miss a thing. So preparation, whether it’s getting ready to start your business or running your business, or actually doing the job, just be prepared. Never enough time. You can’t prepare enough. Craig Willett: I think that’s a great lesson because you never know what you’re going to encounter. Howie Schatzberg: True. Craig Willett: So you have to start thinking about all the different possibilities. Howie Schatzberg: Right. Craig Willett: That’s pretty cool. Now I also wonder, if you’re gone for nine weeks on the road, how do you continue to market and sell your photographs? I mean, I know you show them at the show, but I think a lot of people are so busy at shows. They get home and then they start looking back, and decide what they want. How do you continue to stay in front of your customers? Howie Schatzberg: Well, I think it’s the old saying, “There’s no I in team.” You know what I mean? I have a great team. My wife’s incredible. I have— Craig Willett: Megan does do a good job. Howie Schatzberg: She’s amazing. Craig Willett: When I’ve asked her about which photograph, she’ll say, “Wait till Howie comes back, he’ll tell you which one’s the better.” So you have the eye, but she knows what to do. Howie Schatzberg: This is true. I just have a lot of good help. But again, I’ve been doing this so long. I like to have everything—I’m a predictable person, so I just know when you go from this town, we have to have these pictures out, contact this publication, know where you’re going to be set up. So I guess to answer that question, just have a plan that way. Craig Willett: Yeah, that’s great. Now the other thing that you have a passion—I’ve noticed that you have a daughter, Jacqueline, that has a passion. She’s getting recognized as 10 and under, she’s quite accomplished in several different breeds. What is the future for the Schatzberg family? Howie Schatzberg: That’s a great question. I want to get her to start taking photos and she actually does. Craig Willett: Really? Howie Schatzberg: She has a good eye already. I don’t know if it— Craig Willett: So this is innate? You can’t teach this, can you? Howie Schatzberg: Is it? Is it a God-given thing? Is it an innate thing? I don’t know what it is, but she has a ton of passion. She already knows breeding of horses, she knows so many, and she has a great eye for photography. But I think maybe because being raised in the industry, again, it’s almost like Take Your Kid to Work Day every day, for her. Craig Willett: Isn’t she lucky? Howie Schatzberg: I don’t know if it’s luck or not, but she’ll help me set up. She critiques my photos. Craig Willett: Wow. Howie Schatzberg: Oh, yeah. Big time. She got that from her mother, I think. She has a lot of passion for it, I think because when you live it and you see the passion these people have for showing their horses, and hopefully she sees it from me, that you have to love what you do and work hard at it. So I think she gets that from us, but my wife is an accomplished horsewoman. She managed a big farm in New England. She was a great rider in her own right. But yeah, our daughter’s done some amazing things this year. We never planned it. Again, because the horse community is such a giving community, she was able to ride. We leased a couple horses. I found out she’s the only walk-trot rider in history to ever win World Championships in three weeks. Craig Willett: That’s an accomplishment Howie Schatzberg: Very much. And that’s again work ethic for her. She works hard. She goes to the barn every day. She does it at home. She’ll wake up in the morning— Craig Willett: Right, but nobody wants to work that much unless they have a passion for it. We all know that. Howie Schatzberg: I think you’re right. She does love it. She’ll go out and clean the horses’ stalls, and she checks on them. Craig Willett: I think you asked the question at the beginning of our episode, “Do you pick the sport or does the sport pick you?” And we could change that to business, “Do you pick the business or does the business pick you?” Howie Schatzberg: Right. Craig Willett: I believe that we have God-given talents and I think it’s behooven to us as part of the human family to figure out what those are. Howie Schatzberg: I agree. Craig Willett: And then share those talents with others to make their lives better. It’s got to be fulfilling, I’m sure, to you, like your dad—maybe this changes your perspective a little bit. Your dad saw the passion in you and gave you the opportunity. You see the passion in your daughter and now you’re giving her the opportunity, so it’s going generation to generation. I think that’s pretty amazing. Howie Schatzberg: Thank you. Yeah. I’m really proud of it. And again, people say, “When are you going to retire?” I say, “I’m not.” When I can’t bend over in the ring anymore, but I love what I do. Craig Willett: But then you can sit on the side. Howie Schatzberg: I’ll sit in the stands. Yeah. I mean, I love seeing the stories of these people and how hard these people work. That’s why I think I want to get the best picture for them, and they can show their kids or show their relatives, whoever that may be. So it’s definitely a full circle deal with my family and these people. Again, it’s a family deal. Craig Willett: Right. And I think it’s interesting because your work lives on forever, right? I mean, a picture speaks a thousand words and if it captures a moment in someone’s life, that means something to them, that passion is going to portray to everyone they show that photograph to. Howie Schatzberg: You hope so. I mean, I— Craig Willett: No, I know so. I’ve experienced it because people ask, “What do you do?” When I tell them I compete with horses. You try to explain it, but if they’re not familiar with it, I just show them a photo or a video clip. But the photos I show, they’re looking at it, blowing it up to make sure I’m the one that’s driving. Howie Schatzberg: Yeah. That’s you? Craig Willett: That’s you? That’s really you. Howie Schatzberg: There’s no doubt. Craig Willett: But it really captures a moment in time, a moment of bonding with the horse, with the human, and the passion that’s there. Howie Schatzberg: Right. It’s history. It’s funny, I was reading a magazine the other day, and I feel like I’m young still, but I was looking at these photos in the archival photos of “back in the day.” And there’s my name on them, and it’s 40 years ago. I’m going, “Wow, how did this happen?” But you’re right. When you start using photos to document history, I’m super proud of that, that I was able to be a part of that. So I guess that’s the passion and you got to have some longevity to do anything. Craig Willett: Right. Right. Howie Schatzberg: And stick with it. Craig Willett: I think that’s where the passion comes in, because that produces the longevity. Howie Schatzberg: Right. Craig Willett: Otherwise, it’s just a job and everybody gets—we all get tired of a job. Howie Schatzberg: Oh, boy. Yeah. We do. We do. Craig Willett: Get up and do the same thing over and over again. Well, great. Howie, I appreciate you taking the time. Howie Schatzberg: Thank you. Craig Willett: This has been a great insight into somebody I have a lot of admiration for, who has a lot of talent, a lot of ability and I think relates well with a lot of different people. I think that shows and it brings you great success. Howie Schatzberg: Thank you. I appreciate you having me. Craig Willett: Great. Thanks for being here today. This is Craig Willett, The Biz Sherpa. Thanks for joining us today. I’m grateful that Howie Schatzberg would agree to spend some time out of his busy week—or two weeks—here at the Scottsdale Show, to share his insights. And I hope that you find him as inspirational as I do. Thanks for joining us. Speaker 1: Be sure to go to our website to access the resources related to this episode at www.BizSherpa.co. If you enjoyed this show, tell your friends about us and be sure to rate our podcast. Craig would like to hear from you, so share your thoughts in the Facebook community @BizSherpa.co. Follow us on Twitter @BizSherpa_co and on Instagram @BizSherpa.co.

How do you feel when you drink Paradise Park? Well these guys feel like they are on a beach. Thank you to #paradisepark for making a great beer. #yourhandsempty

We're in the Windy City freezing our butts off but we've got some incredible recs for where to eat, sleep, stay and what to do from @somethingwhitty! SHOW NOTES: Where to stay: Hotel Monaco Where to eat: Duck Duck Goat, The Moonlighter, Parlor Pizza Bar, Barrio, Big Star, Topo Gigio, Portillo’s Where to drink: The Blind Barbour, The Darling, The Violet Hour, Gilt Bar, Bavette’s, Lottie’s Pub, Happy Camper Pizzeria, Paradise Park, Homeslice What to do: Architectural Boat Tour, Cubs Baseball Game, Gallagher Way, Start at The Bean and walk the Magnificent Mile for shopping, Starbucks Reserve, North Avenue Beach, Oak Street Beach Rapid Fire: Instagram-able spot: The Aliss, Beatnik Pizza: Pequod’s Pizza Chicago event: Old Town Art Fair Coffee Shop: La Colombe Wine & Cheese: City Winery Best Season: Summer Favorite rooftop: Cindy’s, London House Rooftop Bar Local Business: Art Effect

Message from Bob Parks on January 26, 2020

Clay talks Myles Garrett, Paradise Park and Vols!

The one and only (Real!) Ale Sharpton joins us in the studio to drink a handful of beers (Paradise Park, and talk about who he is (2:30), his non-beer interests (6:05), beer culture in other cities and countries (11:15), butter.atl (20:00), sports (23:00), fantasy football (28:00), Asif's fantasy team that was drafted in Missouri over the weekend (40:00), plus his favorite beer bars in Atlanta, his Piano Keys collaboration with New Belgium Brewing, being the guest editor for Southern Craft Beer Magazine, and more! This is one of our best episodes ever—guaranteed. 

 In this episode, we watched the 1985 classic Re-Animator while enjoying Paradise Park from Urban South Brewery. As always, thanks for listening and subscribe, rate, and review!

Monday Munchies Episode 031: On these episodes you will be sitting shotgun on my adventures of exploring restaurants in the past few weeks. Albeit, I am not a certified food critic but I do love to eat and some would say that I do have a certain set of skills… I’m not sure what those are nor am I a “yelper” like the majority of residents in South Park, Colorado. But I do love trying new restaurants and food. So enjoy: Seafood on the table - https://www.facebook.com/seafoodonthetables/ Honeygrow - https://www.honeygrow.com/ Hob Sushi - http://hobsushi.com/ Point and Feather - https://www.pointandfeatherchicago.com/ Lonesome Rose - http://lonesomerose.com/ Irazu - http://irazuchicago.com/ Paradise Park - https://paradisepark.pizza/ Etta - https://ettarestaurant.com/ Tricycle - https://www.tricyclechicago.com/

Vanderbilt's handling of Beyonce show was a disaster. Gender Wars. The quality of Nashville murals is dropping. Paradise Park making a comeback? What are Taylor Swift tickets going for on the black market?

Happy Tuesday, August 21st Everyone! Weather in the parks today is partly cloudy with a High of 83 degrees. On this day in the year 1995, the People Mover closed at Disneyland. Disney Fans, Mark your calendars! Tickets for D23Expo 2019 go on sale, THIS Thursday, August 23, at 11am. This just in last night, Coming to the Disneyland Resort this week, you will be able to Mobile order Dole Whips & Beer! Disneyland will begin offering their Mobile order service at the Tiki Juice Bar in Adventureland as well as Bayside Brews in Paradise Park at DCA. Starting August 23rd, a whole New Mickey Line will hit Forever 21 in Celebration of his 90th Anniversary! Also, Starting August 25th, a new Disney Line hits VANS shoe stores. Reminder, for later this week, the New Splash Mountain Funko Pop Park Exclusive is making its way to the Disneyland Resort on August 25th. Also, AP Holders, don't forget, AP Corner is coming Back! You can go to the AP Corner by Paradise Gardens and pick up an Incredibles reusable decal! For More Minnie Mice Minute Updates, Subscribe on Itunes, SoundCloud or Google Play! Again, I'm Mama Mouse Cynthia, co-host of The Minnie Mice Show, Make sure you check us out at @TheMinniemice Thanks for listening…. This is the Minnie Mice sounding off! Until Next time, Be Kind & Spread Some Magic!

Jamie and Derek Wong tell their story of moving to McDowell Mountain Ranch from Madison, WI last year. They talk about their philosophy "You can talk about doing something or you can do it" and how they get out of their comfort zones.  Jamie and Derek are involved with the carnivals at the schools, coaching sports, the Daddy Daughter Dance, and more.   Future Events: Adult 80's Prom and Silent Auction for McDowell Mountain Ranch March 22, 2019 at Paradise Park    Andy Dupey Information Website: neatedupey.com Facebook: @NeateDupeyInsuranceGroup Email: andy@neatedupey.com Phone: (480) 391-3000   Shawn Shackelton's Information Website: The Shackelton Group Email: shawn@shawnshackelton.com Phone: (480) 734-7277   McDowell Mountain Ranch Podcast Information Facebook Page: @AZMMRpodcast If you have any questions for guests or know someone would be a great guest, please email mmr@shoopmedia.com.

http://www.attractionchecklist.com - Our next stop is Disney California Adventure to ride The Little Mermaid - Ariel's Undersea Adventure to see how it compares to Magic Kingdom's version.  Along for the ride is Suzie and we discuss our thoughts after you ride along with us  Recorded on November 24, 2016. The attraction audio recorded for this episode is available exclusively to the Saturday Morning Media Patron Patron.  Support the show and get fun Bonus content over at http://www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia INTRO TRANSCRIPT: Welcome to Attraction Checklist. As a companion piece to last episode, this episode we are headed to Disney California Adventure to ride The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.  The guide map's lackluster description of this ride says, “Be part of Ariel’s world aboard this attraction!”  There are no age or height requirements for this attraction and the Thrill Level describes the ride as bing a Loud, Dark Slow Ride. Before we set sail, here are five fast facts about The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure. 1.  Located in the Paradise Pier (soon to be Paradise Park) section of Disney California Adventure, The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventure officially opened on June 3, 2011.  It took over the spot in the park previously occupied by Golden Dreams, a film about the history of California narrated by Whoopi Goldberg. 2.  The statue of King Triton on the attraction’s exterior was related there from the, now defunct, Triton Gardens in Disneyland. 3.  The mural that can be seen in the ride’s load area where you board your clam-mobile is 86 feet long and was painted entirely by hand. 4.  The animatronic figure of Ursula in the attraction is the biggest on the ride measuring 7 1/2 feet tall and 12 feet wide.  5.  This attraction boasts a tribute to the movie The Incredible Mr. Limpet, a film where Don Knotts turns into a fish named Mr. Limpet.  In the Under the Sea sequence of the ride, Mr. Limpett can be spotted directly across from where Ariel is dancing. So now, let’s ride The Little Mermaid: Ariel’s’ Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure and see how it compares to Magic Kingdom’s Under The Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid.  Suzie is along for the ride today and after we ride we’ll discuss out thoughts on this attraction.  This is a binaural recording so if you have headphones put them on now as we experience, The Little Mermaid - Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Disney California Adventure.   FOLLOW US http://www.facebook.com/attractionchecklist  http://www.facebook.com/saturdaymorningmedia  http://www.twitter.com/SaturdayMMedia  https://plus.google.com/+Saturdaymorningmedia  https://www.linkedin.com/company/saturday-morning-media http://www.youtube.com/user/SaturdayMorningMedia?sub_confirmation=1 FOLLOW GRANT http://www.MrGrant.comhttp://www.twitter.com/toasterboy  https://instagram.com/throwingtoasters/ Sources: WIKIPEDIAhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Mermaid:_Ariel%27s_Undersea_Adventure DISNEYLAND WEBSITEhttps://disneyland.disney.go.com/attractions/disney-california-adventure/little-mermaid-ariels-undersea-adventure/ HIDDENMICKEYGUY.COMhttp://www.hiddenmickeyguy.com/news/little-mermaid-ariel’s-undersea-adventure-fun-facts   Show ©2017 Saturday Morning Media/Grant Baciocco

Today's podcast is about the Firelight Barn Dinner Thater in Henderson, Nevada. But first, Mark and Debbie get a few other things off the note pile * Bing watching Breaking Bad * Las Vegas is on track to pass last year's 42 million tourists * California woman's $5 bet wins $1.6M jackpot at McCarran (link) * Steve Wynn's Paradise Park update * Las Vegas Vistors and Convention Authority(LVCVA)  gives their CEO a bonus. $700K in pay * Death Valley Update (See Tours) * PBR World Finals Update (PBR Tickets) The little town of Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas on your way to Boulder City and Hoover Dam. Is going through a resurgence as they spruce up the downtown business district.  Attracting new and unique small businesses. One of those small businesses is The Firelight Barn Dinner Theater. Its owner is Las Vegas Territory member Toni Jackson. She and her 4 musically talented kids opened the place in 2016 after spending the last 16 years on the road as The Jackson Family Band and Cloggers! The family-friendly venue offers up a wild west show with the option of a barbeque Dinner and drinks beside the fun entertainment

All about the Wynn and upcoming Paradise Park at the Wynn

All about the Wynn and upcoming Paradise Park at the Wynn

Daniel Boyd is an acclaimed filmmaker with dozens of films, including Chillers, Strangest Dreams: Invasion of the Space Preachers, and Paradise Park to his credit. A recently retired media studies professor at West Virginia State University, Boyd also taught around the world including in Tanzania as a three-time Fulbright scholar. Producing nearly every genre of film, Boyd’s television work has earned 3 Telly awards and 2 regional Emmy nominations. His first graphic novel, Chillers 1, was the 2012 Shel Dorph nominee for Original Graphic Novel of the Year, and Ghastly nominee for Best Horror Anthology. Chillers 2 was released in 2013, and CARBON, 2014. CARBON was an Original Graphic Novel Ghastly nominee. SALT completes his CARBON epic eco-horror saga. Boyd continues to serve part-time as Artist in Residence at WV State University’s Economic Development Center on Charleston, West Virginia’s west side. Salt completes the tale begun with Carbon, which climaxed as Heat Hatfield rescued the few Eden Hollow citizens who survived the cataclysmic ignition of the eternal coal sea. In Salt, Heat reluctantly dons the mantle of messiah to lead his tattered band toward safety—or doom. But where can they find salvation? As the clock ticks toward Earth’s doomsday, the preservation of humankind depends on Heat Hatfield and the small, brave band of coal miners he leads in this conclusion of the CARBON series. Like CARBON, the sensational tale in SALT delivers excitement with a message: Entertainment with purpose. For more information, visit Daniel Boyd's website www.danielboyd.com. 

Daniel Boyd is an acclaimed filmmaker with dozens of films, including Chillers, Strangest Dreams: Invasion of the Space Preachers, and Paradise Park (aka, Heroes of the Heart) to his credit. A media studies professor at West Virginia State University since 1983, Boyd has also taught around the world including in Tanzania as a three-time Fulbright scholar.  Producing nearly every genre of film, Boyd’s television work has earned 3 national Telly awards and 2 regional Emmy nominations. He has recently expanded into graphic novel creation with Chillers – The Graphic Novel  (Transfuzion Publishing), which was the 2012 Shel Dorph nominee for Original Graphic Novel of the Year, and Ghastly nominee for Best Horror Anthology.   Chillers 2  was released in 2013, and CARBON,  August 2014. Boyd also serves as “Artist and Residence” at WV State University’s Economic Developments Center on Charleston’s west side.

Jackie and Ali are back with their much anticipated and long overdue guest, Jessica Snyder! Discussed this week were several topics regarding child development, autism, parenting styles, PDA, current events, and the most interesting topic thus far, the Paradise Park … Continue reading →

Summer Season at the Disneyland Resort has officially begun with the Soundsational Summer promotion.  Of course this means the opening of Star Tours: The Adventure Continues, The Little Mermaid: Arial's Undersea Adventure, Goofy's Sky School, and Mickey's Soundsational parade.  While Goofy's is not quite ready for prime time yet, everything else is and we have seen it all.  So keep on listening and hear what we think of these new attractions. News Disneyland's Wally Boag Dies at Age 90 Disneyland's Betty Taylor at Age 91 Special Discounts for Southerns California Residents at Disneyland this Summer New Updates Make Disneyland Hotel Better than Ever E3 Microsoft Press Conference they announced “Disneyland Adventures” for Kinect Mission Tortilla is Officially Closed.  Rumour has it that Ghirardelli's (The Chocolate Company) will replace it.  And of Course Star Tours, Little Mermaid, and Mickey Soundsational Parade now officially open. Star Tours On opening morning, the queue for the attraction stretched from the entrance of Tomorrowland, filled the central plaza and stretched down Main Street, U.S.A. Following the attraction's opening around noon, the line moved off Main Street, but still ranged between two to four hours throughout the day. Little Mermaid Also on Thursday, Disney officially opened the new Little Mermaid attraction in California Adventure. The event included a live performance by the voice of Ariel herself, Jodi Benson along with Sherie Rene Scott who portrays Ursula in Broadway's "The Little Mermaid" show. Also in attendance was the original voice of Ursula, actress Pat Carroll. Following Thursday's grand opening, the rush to experience the new attraction was felt Friday morning as eager guests filled a massive extended queue that wound its way throughout Paradise Park, along Grizzly Trail and into the park's entryway, Sunshine Plaza. Feature Soundsational Summer is officially underway with Star Tours, Little Mermaid, and Mickey's Soundsational parade now open.  We've seen it all and we will share our thoughts. Paul Rode Star Tours again and Daniel got to ride 4 times.  Does the whole Multiple Destinations hold up? Daniel and Paul's review of Little Mermaid - Arials Undersea Adventure. Daniel and Pail's review of Mickey Soundsational Parade. Tip of the week with TommyPix.  Places at the DL Resort to cool off Twitter Daniel - @disgeekpodcast Paul - @disgeekpaul Tommy - @tommypix "Like" us on Facebook! Listen to us on Stitcher!

The Labor Day Episode! The Vagabond Exchange celebrates their day off with an onslaught of cinematic disquisition. While The Kids Are Alright, Going the Distance, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Other Guys, and Scott Pilgrim left us half-mast, Get Low, The Switch, and Life During Wartime cramped our style. Plus, Emily and William play host to Maria and Luis and hit The Pancake Pantry, Flying Saucer, Mafiaoza's, Paradise Park, and The Belmont Mansion.

The Labor Day Episode! The Vagabond Exchange celebrates their day off with an onslaught of cinematic disquisition. While The Kids Are Alright, Going the Distance, The Girl Who Played With Fire, The Other Guys, and Scott Pilgrim left us half-mast, Get Low, The Switch, and Life During Wartime cramped our style. Plus, Emily and William play host to Maria and Luis and hit The Pancake Pantry, Flying Saucer, Mafiaoza's, Paradise Park, and The Belmont Mansion.