#Baird legacy house

[thesongofthegreens]

just doing an updated posting for my muse list and interested fandoms list!

with the fandoms, i'll put my character in bold and then leave the characters i want to interact in parenthesis. i'm oc friendly and will interact with anyone outside of the most desired list, but i wanted to throw that out there.

i do ask that everyone be 20+ and expect to be asked when i message for those who interact with this post.

fandoms list:

la la land: sebastian wilder (mia dolan, laura wilder, keith)

house of the dragon: alicent high tower (criston cole, aemond targaryen, haelena targaryen, rhaenyra targaryen)

game of thrones: jaime lannister (brienne of tarth, elia martell, tyrion lannister), jon snow (any of the starks tbh, wildlings, daenerys targaryen)

avatar, the last airbender: zuko (katara, any of the gaang, uncle iroh), katara (zuko, sokka)

twilight: jacob black (bella swan, billy black, leah clearwater, charlie swan, any of the pack tbh)

the hunger games: katniss everdeen (peeta mellark, gale hawthorne, prim everdeen, haymitch abernathy, finnick odair)

ballads of the songbirds and snakes: coriolanus snow (lucy gray baird, tigris, livia cardew, clemensia), lucy gray baird (coriolanus snow, any of the covey)

top gun: jane elliot, an oc from the original top gun timeline (maverick, ice man), rooster (phoenix, maverick, hangman, bob), maverick (goose, rooster, ice man, any of the recruits in top gun: maverick)

mission impossible: ilsa faust (ethan hunt, any of the team, anyone with an mi6 oc), ethan hunt (ilsa faust, anyone from the team)

star wars: cal kestis (trilla, merrin, cere, greez, bode), trilla suduri (cal kestis, anyone from the empire), obi-wan kenobi (anakin skywalker, padme, satine kryze, luke skywalker)

harry potter: theseus scamander (leta lestrange, newt scamander), harry potter (hermione granger, any of the weasleys, sirius black, remus lupin), severus snape - preferrably in the marauders era to develop those years (lily potter, any of the marauders, any from the golden trio timeline), julian evander, a ravenclaw oc from hogwarts legacy (sebastian sallow, ominous gaunt, poppy sweeting, natsai onai, garreth weasley)

xmen: logan howlett/wolverine (literally any of the xmen but especially rogue and laura, deadpool), scott summers (hank summers, jean grey, logan, any of the xmen), charles xavier, probably first class and days of future past centric (raven/mystique, erik lehnsherr, hank/beast, any of the xmen)

lord of the rings: aragorn (any of the fellowship, eowyn, arwen)

bridgerton: anthony bridgerton (any in the bridgerton family, edwina sharma, kate sharma, sienna, simon the duke), penelope featherington (colin bridgerton, eloise bridgerton, any in the bridgerton family, any in the featherington family)

[alwcysanangel]

starter call for muses i have the most muse for !

please list down below which muse you'd like a starter from (from this list. i'll be posting another starter call later on where you can request any of my muses !) & say which muse of yours it's for !

alice chambers (don't worry darling; fc: florence pugh) amy march (little women; fc: florence pugh) annie cresta (the hunger games; fc: kristine froseth) barbie (barbie 2023; fc: margot robbie) belle french (once upon a time; fc: rachel zegler) beverly marsh (stephen king's it; fc: liana liberato) bree van de kamp (desperate housewives; fc: marcia cross) carly shay (icarly; fc: olivia rodrigo) cathy hiatt (the last five years; fc: anna kendrick) donna sheridan (mamma mia: here we go again; fc: lily james) emma swan (once upon a time; fc: jennifer morrison) georgia miller (ginny & georgia; fc: brianne howey) heather chandler (heathers; fc: jenny boyd) heather mcnamara (heathers; fc: coco jones) jo march (little women; fc: saoirse ronan) josie saltzman (legacies; fc: kaylee kaneshiro) joy mercer (house of anubis; fc: olivia rodrigo) katniss everdeen (the hunger games; fc: erana james) livia cardew (the ballad of songbirds and snakes; fc: emily alyn lind) lizzie saltzman (legacies; fc: jenny boyd) lucy gray baird (the ballad of songbirds and snakes; fc: rachel zegler) nina martin (house of anubis; fc: luna blaise) patricia williamson (house of anubis; fc: jenna ortega) quinn fabray (glee; fc: madison iseman) rachel berry (glee; fc: diana silvers) richie tozier (stephen king's it; fc: justice smith) steve harrington (stranger things; fc: joe keery) veronica sawyer (heathers; fc: rachel zegler)

[scotianostra]

On March 22nd 1875, Alexander “Greek” Thomson died in Glasgow.

Thomson was an architect and architectural theorist in Victorian Glasgow and Scotland.

Thomson was born on 9th April, 1817, to a bookkeeper, John Thomson, and his wife, Elizabeth Cooper Thomson. He was the ninth of twelve children, but his father died when he was just seven years old.

More tragedy followed, as Alexander’s mother, sister, and three of his brothers died between 1828 and 1830. Alexander’s older brother, William, took in the remaining children. They lived together at a house in Hangingshaw, south of Glasgow, with William’s wife and child.Thomson’s career properly began when he was apprenticed to Robert Foote, a Glasgow architect. Later, he was offered a post in the office of the draughtsman John Baird. Together, John Baird II and Thomson set up their own practice in 1848. As well as his business partner, Baird was Thomson’s brother-in-law, having married Thomson’s sister, Jessie, in 1847. Thomson was married on the same day to Jane Nicholson, in a double wedding ceremony with Baird and his bride.

The Egyptian Halls Building on Union Street, Glasgow. Built by Alexander "Greek" Thomson in 1871.

Between 1856 and 1857, Thomson designed and built the Caledonia Road Free Church. Sadly, the interior was destroyed in a fire in 1965, but the exterior still remains.It is a notable work due to its asymmetrical layout and its combination of styles. These styles include ancient Greek and provincial Italian.After nine years of working with Baird, Thomson set up a practice with his brother George, heralding the start of his most productive years as an architect. He built two more churches, Queen’s Park United Presbyterian Church and St Vincent Street Church.The latter is the only complete surviving church of Thomson’s, as Queen’s Park Church was destroyed in the Second World War.

Between 1856 and 1857, Thomson designed and built the Caledonia Road Free Church. Sadly, the interior was destroyed in a fire in 1965, but the exterior still remains.It is a notable work due to its asymmetrical layout and its combination of styles. These styles include ancient Greek and provincial Italian. After nine years of working with Baird, Thomson set up a practice with his brother George, heralding the start of his most productive years as an architect.He built two more churches, Queen’s Park United Presbyterian Church and St Vincent Street Church., the exterior and interior are among the pics. The church is the only complete surviving one of Thomson’s, as Queen’s Park Church was destroyed in the Second World War. Greek influence Thomson, at first, combined several different architectural styles, such as Greek, Italian, Egyptian and Levantine, but later, the Greek style won through.Perhaps the best example of his Greek influence is Holmwood House, as seen in the second pic, which is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.During renovations of the house, nineteen panels of classical frieze were discovered, which depict scenes from Homer’s Iliad. Thomson has also been credited with the introduction of some elements of sustainable housing.In 1868, he submitted designs to the Glasgow City Improvement Trust, which called for open-ended tenements and glazing, the former providing ventilation, and the latter providing warmth and protection.Alexander Thomson died on this day, 1875, in one of his own houses, on Moray Place in Glasgow.He was buried in Gorbals Necropolis four days later. His widow, Jane, joined him in 1889. One of his most important legacies was the Alexander Thomson Travelling Studentship, which allowed Charles Rennie Mackintosh to study architecture in Glasgow.In 1897, William Clunas, one of Thomson’s former assistants, wrote a glowing description of his employer: “His general appearance was indeed, very much in harmony with the strength and elegance which he imparted to the structures he designed, while the genial smile which so often overspread his face might be fittingly compared to the finished enrichment which was so marked and pleasing a feature of his compositions.”

[simdaisies]

Scenery of the legacy house.  Now with Reshade. (I’m using the LightBrigade preset by @harrie-cc)

[bountyofbeads]

🚨 BREAKING NEWS ALERT 🚨 🚨

John Conyers Jr., long-serving congressman who co-founded Congressional Black Caucus, dies at 90

By John Otis | Published October 27 at 4:36 PM ET | Washington Post | Posted October 27, 2019 |

John Conyers Jr., who became the longest-serving African American in Congress, co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus and helped create a national holiday in the name of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. but whose career rapidly crumbled at 88 when he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, died Oct. 27 at his home in Detroit. He was 90.

His spokeswoman Holly Baird confirmed the death. Additional details were not immediately available.

A liberal Democrat from what is now Detroit’s 13th Congressional District, Mr. Conyers was first elected in 1964, becoming one of five African Americans in the House. His overwhelmingly Democratic constituents reelected him 26 times over a period spanning 10 presidents, from Lyndon B. Johnson to Donald Trump.

As the longest-serving member at the time of his resignation, Mr. Conyers earned the title “dean of the House of Representatives,” and this job security allowed him to promote progressive, sometimes controversial causes that won him a national following.

He co-sponsored the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibited discrimination at the ballot box. His fierce criticism of the Vietnam War led to clashes with Johnson and landed him on Richard M. Nixon’s “enemies list” of political opponents.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Mr. Conyers voted against the USA Patriot Act because he feared it would roll back civil liberties. He later suggested that President George W. Bush should be impeached, saying he misled the country ahead of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Mr. Conyers’s twilight years were marred by allegations of sexual harassment. According to legal documents published by the online publication BuzzFeed in November 2017, several of his female staff members claimed that he had approached them to request sex and that he had engaged in unwanted touching and other impropriety.

One former staff member received a settlement of more than $27,000 from Mr. Conyers’s office after alleging in 2015 that he fired her for not accepting his sexual advances. The congressman denied any wrongdoing. But after the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation and numerous representatives called for him to step down in November 2017, Mr. Conyers step down from hs post as top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee. The next month, he announced his resignation, after 52 years in office.

“My legacy can’t be compromised or diminished in any way by what we are going through now,” Mr. Conyers declared defiantly. “This too shall pass.”

Before the scandal, Mr. Conyers had been an inspiration to African Americans from Detroit to the Deep South and became, in effect, a member of Congress at large.

“In many districts around the country, black voters did not feel represented by their leaders so they would reach out to African American congressmen, like Conyers,” said Michael Fauntroy, who interned for Mr. Conyers in the early 1980s and is now an assistant professor of political science at Howard University.

Mr. Conyers, in turn, urged skeptical African Americans to get involved in politics. One of his early mottos was: “Register, vote, run for office. It’s power that counts.” To better harness that power and secure passage of legislation on poverty, racism, human rights, unfair tax policies and health care, Mr. Conyers and 12 other African American House members founded the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971.

Mr. Conyers strongly backed the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s 1984 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination and was an early supporter of candidate Barack Obama, who was then a Democratic senator from Illinois. Yet Mr. Conyers also could be caustic of fellow Democrats to demonstrate that he was not blindly loyal to anyone.

In 1979, he described President Jimmy Carter as a “hopeless, demented, honest, well-intentioned nerd who will never get past his first administration.” Decades later, Mr. Conyers criticized Obama for making foreign policy too dependent on military muscle. His intention, Mr. Conyers said of Obama, was “to make him a better president.”

He presented himself as an emeritus member of the Washington establishment, and had participated in many high-profile political battles.

Mr. Conyers was the only member of the House Judiciary Committee to take part in impeachment proceedings against President Richard Nixon in 1974 for the Watergate bugging scandal and coverup, and against President Bill Clinton in 1998 for lying about his affair with White House intern Monica S. Lewinsky.

Mr. Conyers considered Nixon a criminal and helped draft articles of impeachment against the president before he resigned. However, he called the effort to impeach Clinton a Republican coup d’etat and “the most tragic event in my career.” He voted no when the House voted to impeach Clinton. Eight years later, Mr. Conyers became the first African American to chair the Judiciary Committee.

All along, Mr. Conyers was a master of the politics of symbolism. He hired civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who worked in his Detroit office for 20 years. He introduced numerous bills calling for reparations for the descendants of slaves, an issue that resonated among blacks but did not gain traction in Congress. More successful was his 15-year struggle to recognize King, the civil rights defender.

Four days after King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, and with the support of his widow, Coretta Scott King, Mr. Conyers proposed the first of many bills calling for a federal holiday in his honor.

The proposal met resistance from Republicans, notably Sen. Jesse Helms (N.C.), who accused King of Communist sympathies and complained that only one other holiday, Columbus Day, was named after a person.

Mr. Conyers kept pushing, millions of people signed petitions and entertainer Stevie Wonder pitched in with the hit single “Happy Birthday.” President Ronald Reagan in 1983 signed legislation setting aside the third Monday in January as Martin Luther King Jr. Day; the day was chosen because it was near King’s Jan. 15 birthday.

In a 2008 interview, Mr. Conyers called it “far and away the thing I am most proud of.”

But as the Detroit Free Press, his hometown paper, once described it, “For every brilliant move, there’s a dud.” Mr. Conyers was famous for missing votes on the House floor. Critics claimed that his effectiveness was dulled by growing arrogance and a refusal to compromise. He was prone to gaffes, prompting Time magazine political columnist Joe Klein to call him “foolishly incendiary.”

When Mr. Conyers ran for mayor of Detroit in 1989, challenging Democratic incumbent Coleman A. Young, he announced his bid by saying, “Move over, Big Daddy, I’m home.” Mr. Conyers finished third in the primary and then lost again in 1993.

Mr. Conyers could be a demanding boss. In addition to the allegations that he sexually harassed staff members, the House Ethics Committee investigated him for pressuring staff members to babysit for his children and to chauffeur him to private events in government vehicles.

After an investigation that lasted more than two years, the panel announced a deal in 2006 in which it dropped the inquiry in return for Mr. Conyers’s promise that he would not ask his staff members to do nonofficial work for him.

In 2009, Mr. Conyers’s wife, Monica Esters Conyers — a former campaign staff member 36 years his junior — was convicted of bribery while serving on the Detroit City Council and was sentenced to 37 months in prison.

John James Conyers Jr. was born in Detroit on May 16, 1929. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean War. With the help of the G.I. Bill for veterans, he graduated from Detroit’s Wayne State University in 1957 and its law school in 1958.

His interest in public affairs was partly because of his father’s position as an international representative for the United Auto Workers and, for a time, Mr. Conyers worked as a labor lawyer. He also was a legislative assistant to Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), one of the few House members to serve even longer than Mr. Conyers.

In the early 1960s, local Democratic Party elders considered Mr. Conyers too young to pursue federal office. Despite their opposition, Mr. Conyers ran in the 1964 Democratic primary for what was then Detroit’s 1st Congressional District and won by a mere 45 votes. He then scored a landslide victory in the general election.

Mr. Conyers had two sons, John III and Carl. Complete information on survivors was not immediately available.

In office, Mr. Conyers went on to fend off challenges from candidates who hadn’t yet been born when he was first elected.

[dustedmagazine]

Isaac Olson’s year in review

This was my first year writing for Dusted. As I tried to nail down what I was looking for in a record, I returned frequently to John Berger’s essay, “The Ideal Critic and the Fighting Critic”. Berger evaluated art by asking, “does this work help or encourage men [sic] to know and claim their social rights?” It’s not that artists “can or should be primarily concerned with the justice of a social cause,” but that “a valid work of art promises in some way or another the possibility of an increase, an improvement...it increases our awareness of our own potentiality”. It’s the identification with and negotiation between different ways of seeing (and hearing) that tears down the walls. Communion, singularity, freedom: states all the more precious for being in short supply as another bullshit year in Trumpistan ground inexorably on.  

The usual caveats apply:

1.)    I spent most of 2018 discovering older records.

2.)    I missed a ton of great records this year.

3.)     There are plenty of records I’ve heard recently that, given more time, would likely have made this list.

4.)    These aren’t the most important records of 2018, just the ones that meant the most to me.

Album of the Year

Marisa Anderson— Cloud Corner (Thrill Jockey)

Cloud Corner by Marisa Anderson

This was the most restorative, cathartic record I heard this year, and it’s a huge leap forward for my favorite living guitarist.

Think Locally, Dance Globally

The Fossil Lickers— S/T (Blue Hole)

The Fossil Lickers by The Fossil Lickers

This tape brought me more joy than pretty much anything else I heard this year, but I’m a fiddle tune fanatic. Non-fanatics need, at most, one album of old time fiddle tunes every few years. Make it this one.

I’m Not Here to Hunt Rabbits: Guitar and Folk Styles from Botswana—V/A (Pirahna)

I'm Not Here To Hunt Rabbits by Various Artists

Angelique Kidjo— Remain in Light (Kravenworks)

Follow Your Arrow

Kacey Musgraves— The Golden Hour (MCA Nashville)

I’m a poptimism skeptic because pop criticism frequently confuses the popular with the important and the important with the good. Plus, I don’t like when money and attention are directed towards people who have too much of both. That said, I regret to inform my fellow contrarians that The Golden Hour is as good as everyone says. Musgraves dosed mainstream country with a much needed hit of empathy, humility, and starry-eyed wonder.

Neko Case—Hell-On (Anti-)

Hell-On by Neko Case

Neko Case comes to terms with the fact that letting people in and ceding control doesn’t tame your artistic vision: it enhances it, and make it stronger, weirder, fuller. Quoth Kacey Musgraves, “Love is a wild thing.”

John Prine— The Tree of Forgiveness (Oh Boy)

The Tree of Forgiveness by John Prine

John Prine, on what is hopefully not his last album, has chilled out enough to fully embrace his role as America’s cornpone bodhisattva. Prine on heaven: “I'm gonna have a cocktail: vodka and ginger ale/Yeah I'm gonna smoke a cigarette that's nine miles long/I'm gonna kiss that pretty girl on the tilt-a-whirl/Yeah this old man is goin' to town.” Kacey Musgraves on heaven: “My idea of heaven is to burn one with John Prine.” Amen.

The Road Reversed

Daniel Bachman— The Morning Star (Three Lobed)

The Morning Star by Daniel Bachman

This was the sound of the gut-level anxiety and wounded hope I felt throughout 2018.

Nathan Bowles—Plainly Mistaken (Paradise of Bachelors)

Plainly Mistaken by Nathan Bowles

As a critic, my reaction to Plainly Mistaken is that it’s an intriguing trip through the American Primitive genre’s favorite touchstones: Appalachian picking, smeared drones, spiritual jazz, and modernist minimalism. As an amateur banjo player myself, my reaction is awe and envy.

The Newbies Lift Off

Tierra Whack— Whack World (Self Released)

I don’t listen to nearly as much hip-hop as I used to, but this late breaking favorite is weirder, braver, slyer, funnier, more frustrating and, by a damn sight, catchier than just about any other avant garde or experimental record I’ve heard this year.

Makaya McCraven—Universal Beings (International Anthem)

Universal Beings by Makaya McCraven

Makaya McCraven convened some of the best young-ish jazz musicians working today for sessions in four cities: New York, Chicago, London, and Los Angeles, the results of which he chopped, remixed, and looped. The utopian vibe is grounded a bit by McCraven’s heavy editorial hand, and his skittering, Dilla-indebted production is so dense that it’s a lot to take over the course of 90 minutes. Treat it like four city-centric EPs, and it’s one of the most rewarding listens of the year.

Sons of Kemet—Your Queen is a Reptile (Impulse)

Martial jazz/dub/free-funk soundtrack to the decolonized, matriarchal revolution by its token all-male house band.

Andrew Bernstein—An Exploded View of Time (Hausu Mountain)

An Exploded View of Time by Andrew Bernstein

Tashi Dorji and Tyler Damon—  Leave No Trace: Live in St. Louis (Family Vineyard)

Leave No Trace: Live In St. Louis by Tashi Dorji & Tyler Damon

2018 MVP: Mary Lattimore

Mary Lattimore—Hundreds of Days (Ghostly)

Hundreds of Days by Mary Lattimore

Meg Baird and Mary Lattimore—Ghost Forests (Third Lobed)      

Ghost Forests by Meg Baird and Mary Lattimore

Velvet Hammer in a Cowboy Band

I’m a sucker for pedal steel guitar, and I’m a sucker for weird music. It was a good year for weird pedal steel guitar music.

Barry Walker Jr.— Diaspora Urkontinent (Driftless)

Diaspora Urkontinent by Barry Walker

Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois—(Planet Mu)

Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois by Venetian Snares x Daniel Lanois

Peter Brötzmann and Heather Leigh— Sparrow Nights (Trost)

Sparrow Nights by Brötzmann / Leigh

Saariselka—Ceres (Longform Editions)

Ceres by Saariselka

Honorable Mentions

●       Amy Rigby—The Old Guys (Southern Domestic Recordings)

●       Bardo Pond—Vol. 8 (Fire Recordings)

●       Body/Head—The Switch (Matador)

●       Courtney Marie Andrews—May Your Kindness Remain (Fat Possum)

●       The Ex—27 Passports (Ex Records)

●       Ezra Feinberg—Pentimento and others (Related States)

●       HC McEntire—Lionheart (Merge)

●       Idris Ackamoor and the Pyramids—An Angel Fell (Strut)

●       Kurt Vile— Bottle It In (Matador)

●       Nathan Salsburg— Third (No Quarter)

●       The Necks—Unfold (Northern Spy)

●       Negro—Clase Media (La Castanya)

●       The Other Years—S/T (No Quarter)

●       Red River Dialect—Broken Stay Open Sky (Paradise of Bachelors)

●       Sarah Davachi— Let Night Come On Bells End The Day (Recital Program)

●       Sarah Louise— Deeper Woods (Thrill Jockey)

●       Superchunk—What a time to be Alive (Merge)

●       Tim Hecker—Konoyo (Kranky)

●       Träden – Träden (Subliminal Sounds)

●       Willie Nelson— Last Man Standing (Legacy)

●       Wussy—What Heaven is Like (Shake It)

●       Woven Skull—Woven Skull (Oaken Palace)

●       Yob— Our Raw Heart (Relapse)

●       Yuzo Iwata—Daylight Moon (Siltbreeze)

[blackkudos]

Buck O’Neil

John Jordan (Buck) O'Neil (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout, and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. In his later years he became a popular and renowned speaker and interview subject, helping to renew widespread interest in the Negro leagues, and played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

O'Neil's life was documented in Joe Posnanski's award-winning 2007 book The Soul of Baseball.

Playing career

Born in rural Carrabelle, Florida, O'Neil was initially denied the opportunity to attend high school due to racial segregation; at the time, Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans. However, after working a summer in a celery field with his father, O'Neil left home to live with relatives and attend Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, where he completed high school and two years of college courses. He left Florida in 1934 for several years of semi-professional "barnstorming" experiences (playing interracial exhibition games). The effort paid off, and in 1937, O'Neil signed with the Memphis Red Sox for their first year of play in the newly formed Negro American League. His contract was sold to the Monarchs the following year.

O'Neil had a career batting average of .288 between 1937 and 1950, including five .300-plus seasons at the plate, as well as five seasons in which he did not top .260. In 1946, the first baseman led the NAL with a .350 batting average and followed that in 1947 with a .305 mark in 16 games. He also posted averages of .344 in 1940 and .330 in 1949. He played in four East-West All-Star Games in three different seasons and two Negro World Series.

A World War II tour in the U.S. Navy from 1943–1945 briefly interrupted his playing career.

O'Neil was named manager of the Monarchs in 1948 after Frank Duncan's retirement, and continued to play first base as well as a regular through 1951, dropping to part-time status afterward. He managed the Monarchs for eight seasons from 1948 through 1955 during the declining years of the Negro leagues, winning two league titles and a shared title in which no playoff was held during that period. His two undisputed pennants were won in 1953 and 1955, when the league had shrunk to fewer than six teams.

Negro leagues career statistics

O'Neil was known to have played full-time in 1951 and as a reserve and pinch-hitter as late as 1955, but Negro leagues statistics for the period 1951 and after are considered extremely unreliable.

Source: Hall of Fame Committee on African-American Baseball, 2006

Off the field

When Tom Baird sold the Monarchs at the end of the 1955 season, O'Neil resigned as manager and became a scout for the Chicago Cubs. He was the first African American scout in Major League Baseball, and was named the first black coach in the major leagues by the Cubs in 1962 and is credited for signing Hall of Fame player Lou Brock to his first contract. O'Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of Famer Ernie Banks to his first contract; Banks was originally scouted and signed to the Monarchs by Cool Papa Bell, then manager of the Monarchs' barnstorming B team in 1949. Banks played briefly for the Monarchs in 1950 and 1953, his play interrupted by Army duty. O'Neil was Banks' manager during those stints, and Banks was signed to play for the Cubs more than two years before O'Neil joined them as a scout.

After many years with the Cubs, O'Neil became a Kansas City Royals scout in 1988, and was named "Midwest Scout of the Year" in 1998.

O'Neil gained national prominence with his compelling descriptions of the Negro leagues as part of Ken Burns' 1994 PBS documentary on baseball. Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder.

In 1990, O'Neil led the effort to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas City, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death.

In 1996, O'Neil became the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri.

In February 2002, at the end of the NLBM's Legacy Awards annual banquet, O'Neil received an induction ring from the baseball scouts Hall of Fame in St. Louis.

O'Neil and all-star Ichiro Suzuki developed a relationship, with Ichiro attending the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum with O'Neil and seeking O'Neil's knowledge of the game when the Seattle Mariners would have road games in Kansas City. "With Buck, I felt something big. The way he carried himself, you can see and tell and feel he loved this game."

A busy final year

On May 13, 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in education from Missouri Western State University where he also gave the commencement speech.

O'Neil was a member of the 18-member Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee from 1981 to 2000 and played an important role in the induction of six Negro league players from 1995 to 2001 during the time the Hall had a policy of inducting one Negro leaguer per year. O'Neil was nominated to a special Hall ballot for Negro league players, managers, and executives in 2006, but received fewer than the necessary nine votes (out of twelve) to gain admission; however, 17 other Negro league figures were selected.

God's been good to me. They didn't think Buck was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. That's the way they thought about it and that's the way it is, so we're going to live with that. Now, if I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don't weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful.

On July 29, 2006, O'Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the Negro league players at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Still playing after all these years

Just before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, O'Neil signed a contract with the Kansas City T-Bones on July 17 to allow him to play in the Northern League All-Star Game. Before the game, O'Neil was "traded" to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and was listed as the starting shortstop, although after drawing an intentional walk, he was replaced before actually playing in the field. At the end of the inning, another "trade" was announced that brought O'Neil back to the Kansas City team, allowing him to lead off the bottom of the inning as well (drawing another intentional walk).

The T-Bones originally claimed that O'Neil, at age 94 years, 8 months, and 5 days, would be by far the oldest person to appear in a professional baseball game (surpassing 83-year-old Jim Eriotes who had struck out in another Northern League game just a week earlier). However, that claim was in error, as the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League had signed Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe to a one-game contract and allowed him to face one batter on June 19, 1999 when he was 96 years old. While O'Neil was the second-oldest pro player, the claim was amended that he would be the oldest person to make a plate appearance in a professional baseball game.

The Kansas City T-Bones retired his number on May 26, 2006.

Death and legacy

On August 5, 2006, O'Neil was admitted to a Kansas City hospital after complaining that he didn't feel well. He was admitted for fatigue and was released three days later only to be re-admitted September 17. On September 28, Kansas City media reported that O'Neil's condition had worsened. On October 6, O'Neil died at the age of 94 of heart failure and bone marrow cancer.

During the ESPN opening day broadcast of the 2007 Kansas City Royals, on April 2, 2007, Joe Morgan announced that the Royals would honor O'Neil by placing a fan in the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat in Kauffman Stadium each game who best exemplifies O'Neil's spirit. The seat itself has been replaced by a red seat amidst the all-blue seats behind home plate in Section 101, Row C, Seat 1. Due to the renovations and section renumbering in 2009 the seat number is now Section 127, Row C, Seat 9, and the seat bottom is now padded. The first person to sit in "Buck's seat" was Buck O'Neil's brother, Warren.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

On December 7, 2006, O'Neil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush; the award was given to his brother, Warren, on his behalf on December 15. He was chosen due to his "excellence and determination both on and off the baseball field", according to the White House news release. He joins such sports notables as Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Jack Nicklaus in receiving the United States' highest civilian honor. On November 13, 2012 the family of Buck O'Neil donated his Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in honor of what would have been O'Neil's 101st birthday. The medal will be showcased in a special area of the NLBM dedicated to O'Neil.

Beacon of Life Award

On March 31, 2007—the day of Major League Baseball's first annual Civil Rights Game—O'Neil was posthumously awarded MLB's first annual Beacon of Life Award at the inaugural MLB Beacon Awards luncheon.

Lifetime Achievement Award

On October 24, 2007, O'Neil was posthumously given a Lifetime Achievement Award named after him. He had fallen short in the Hall of Fame vote in 2006; however, he was honored in 2007 with a new award given by the Hall of Fame, to be named after him. A statue of O'Neil is to be placed inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on 18th and Vine in Kansas City, and the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented no more than every three years.

At the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 27, 2008, Joe Morgan gave a dedication speech for the award and talked about O'Neil's life, repeatedly citing the title of O'Neil's autobiography, I Was Right on Time.

Other honors

Buck O'Neil Run/Walk

"John Jordan 'Buck' O'Neil" exhibit (in the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame)

Hall of Famous Missourians: In February 2012 O'Neil was inducted to the Hall, located in the Missouri state capitol building in Jefferson City. A bronze bust of O'Neil will be on permanent display by the sculptor E. Spencer Schubert.

Wikipedia

[architectnews]

Zaha Hadid Foundation Inaugural Director

Zaha Hadid Foundation Inaugural Director, Professor Paul Greenhalgh, Building Plans, Bursaries, ZHF Architecture

Zaha Hadid Foundation Inaugural Director News

28 February 2022

Inaugural Director Announced For Zaha Hadid Foundation

New Building Plans And Bursaries Announced

Professor Paul Greenhalgh

Professor Paul Greenhalgh – Zaha Hadid Foundation Inaugural Director

Monday 28th of February 2022 – The Zaha Hadid Foundation (ZHF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Paul Greenhalgh as its inaugural director. He is an art historian and museum director with considerable international experience, a curator and scholar of art, design, and architecture. His previous roles have included Director of the Sainsbury Centre (UK), Director and President of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art and Design (Washington DC), President of NSCAD University (Canada), and Head of Research at the V&A Museum (London). He has curated many major exhibitions internationally, and published widely on art, design and architecture in the Modern period.

Professor Greenhalgh said: “It is an enormous honour to be leading the Zaha Hadid Foundation in its inaugural phase. We intend to preserve the magnificent creative legacy of Zaha, by making publicly available our unrivalled collection of her works, and presenting these to the world through exhibitions at home and internationally. In the creative and intellectual spirit of Zaha, we will also address the condition of architecture and related arts of our times, through education and research programmes. Zaha loved to teach and to promote understanding of Modern architecture and art. She constantly sought to give access to the world of architecture and design to young people and a wider public. Through programmes of bursaries, grants, and awards, ZHF will operate in this same spirit.”

Professor Jane Pavitt has been appointed Head of Research and Learning at ZHF. She is a senior manager from the university sector, and a curator, writer and historian of architecture and design. Her previous roles include Head of Research Impact at Kingston University, Dean of Humanities at the Royal College of Art, and Principal Research Fellow at Brighton University and the Victoria and Albert Museum. She has curated and authored a wide range of exhibitions and publications on modern and contemporary architecture and design, in national institutions.

Leonora Baird-Smith has been appointed Head of Collections at ZHF, responsible for the collections, archive, and library of the Foundation. Her previous roles include Head of Collections Management at the British Museum, and Head of Museums at the Metropolitan Police Service. At the British Museum she was responsible for the management of over eight million objects and one of the largest UK and international object loans programmes.

Four further posts are currently being recruited to support the collections, exhibition, research, and learning programmes, and a suite of activities has been initiated to set the inaugural creative agenda for the institution.

In its first three months of full activity:

• Planning has begun to create major research and exhibition facilities in Zaha Hadid’s name in Central London. The new Foundation’s buildings will house a gallery, museum, learning centre, research facility and think tank, dedicated to promoting Zaha Hadid, modern and contemporary architecture, design, and related arts. • Museum-grade storage and collections management system are being created to manage the collection and make it available online. The Foundation holds over 10,000 works by or associated with Zaha Hadid’s life and work across a wide range of media, including paintings, models, plans, drawings, furniture, prints, jewellery, and fashion. • Three Zaha Hadid Low Income Bursaries will be presented to students at the London School of Architecture. These awards will cover all fees and living expenses for two years, for each student. • A collaboration is currently underway with the MA Curating the Art Museum programme at The Courtauld Institute. This will result in a student-led exhibition on an aspect of Zaha’s work.

About the Zaha Hadid Foundation

The Zaha Hadid Foundation (ZHF) is a charitable organisation founded in 2013 by the globally renowned architect, designer and artist Zaha Hadid. Fully launched in 2022, the founding purpose of ZHF is to preserve and make publicly available the full range of Zaha’s extraordinary output, and more broadly to advance research, learning, and the enjoyment of related areas of modern architecture, art and design. Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi woman, and an émigré who moved first to Lebanon before making London her permanent home. Her rise to global prominence was by no means an easy one. In this spirit, ZHF will actively support young people and students from diverse and complex backgrounds in their quest to become architects, designers and scholars.

The full development of ZHF was inevitably delayed by Zaha’s tragic early death in 2016, but work is now fully underway to carry out her intended vision. A director and senior team were appointed in 2021. ZHF is housed in two buildings in London and has a collection of c.10,000 works across a range of media as well as an archive and a research library. The Foundation is now in its first strategic planning phase and is in the process of developing its buildings, managing and cataloguing its collection, and organising its first public programmes and bursary awards.

At the end of this first phase, ZHF’s facilities and collections will be publicly accessible both physically and digitally through its website and online database. Its programmes of research and learning likewise will be fully active. ZHF aims to facilitate the work of practicing architects, designers, artists, scholars and the general public alike, in order to advance knowledge across the creative sector. Creative collaborations with other organisations are a core part of the ZHF mission.

Zaha Hadid

Zaha Hadid is globally recognised as one of the most important architects of the modern period, frequently credited with developing a whole new architectural language in her quest for what she described as ‘complex, dynamic and fluid spaces.’

Born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1950, Zaha was schooled in Iraq, Switzerland, and England, before studying mathematics at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. After moving to London from Beirut in 1972, Zaha soon enrolled to study architecture at the Architectural Association and was awarded the prestigious Diploma Prize upon graduation in 1977.

Zaha then went to work for her former professors Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Rotterdam. Shortly after, in 1979, she founded her eponymous practice Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) in London.

As a passionate educator, deeply committed to the support of young people, and new ideas, she continued to teach as her practice flourished, first at the Architectural Association (until 1987) and then at prestigious institutions around the world including Cambridge, Columbia, Harvard School of Design, University of Applied Arts, Vienna and Yale.

Zaha’s outstanding contribution to architecture and the arts was recognised during her life with numerous awards, including the Stirling Prize (2010 and 2011). She was the first female recipient of the Pritzker Prize (2004) and the first women (in her own right) to receive the Royal Gold Medal in recognition of her lifetime’s work (2015). She died, at the age of 65, in 2016.

Zaha Hadid Foundation images / information received 280222

Zaha Hadid Architects e-architect

Zaha Hadid Architects Designs in China

Chinese Architecture Designs by Zaha Hadid Architects – selection below:

Tower C at Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base, Shenzhen image courtesy of architectural office Tower C at Shenzhen Bay

Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum, Shenzhen, China rendering © Brick Shenzhen Science & Technology Museum

Xi’an International Football Centre, Xi’an render by Atchain Xi’an International Football Centre

Leeza SOHO, Lize Financial Business District, Beijing, China Design: Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) photograph : Hufton+Crow Leeza SOHO in Beijing

China Architectural Designs

Chinese Architecture Designs – architectural selection below:

Chinese Architecture Designs – chronological list

Changzhou Culture Center Architect: gmp · von Gerkan, Marg and Partners · Architects photography © Schran Images Changzhou Culture Center Building

Gallery at Hongqiao World Centre in Shanghai image from architects Gallery at Hongqiao World Centre in Shanghai

Chinese Architecture

Chinese Architects

Zaha Hadid Books

Zaha Hadid Architects – All Projects + Practice Information

Comments / photos for the Zaha Hadid Foundation Inaugural Director page welcome

The post Zaha Hadid Foundation Inaugural Director appeared first on e-architect.

[tomorrowedblog]

Friday Releases for September 3

Friday is the busiest day of the week for new releases, so we've decided to collect them all in one place. Friday Releases for September 3 include Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Mogul Mowgli, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, and more.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the new movie from Destin Daniel Cretton, is out today.

Marvel Studios' "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" stars Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, who must confront the past he thought he left behind when he is drawn into the web of the mysterious Ten Rings organization.

Cinderella

Cinderella, the new movie from Kay Cannon, is out today.

Cinderella is a musically-driven bold new take on the traditional story you grew up with. Our heroine (Cabello) is an ambitious young woman whose dreams are bigger than the world will allow, but with the help of her Fab G (Billy Porter), she is able to persevere and make her dreams come true.

Wild Indian

Wild Indian, the new movie from Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr., is out today.

Decades after covering up his classmate’s murder, Michael (Michael Greyeyes) has moved on from his reservation and fractured past. When a man who shares his violent secret seeks vengeance, Michael goes to great lengths to protect his new life with his wife (Kate Bosworth) and boss (Jesse Eisenberg) from the demons of his past.

The Gateway

The Gateway, the new movie from Michele Civetta, is out today.

Shea Whigham, Olivia Munn and Frank Grillo star in this edge of your seat, gritty crime thriller. Whigham is Parker, a down on his luck social worker who finds himself in over his head when he tries to protect his client from her recently paroled husband. Can Parker save the family from the violent threat of the maniacal drug dealer and his crew, desperate to reclaim their priceless stash at any cost?

Good

Good, the new movie from Justin Etheredge, is out today.

Payton is a young Black man with a chance to marry into the upper echelons of Black society. But first he must abandon a secret, an unborn child with an ex-girlfriend. He is in desperate need of money and time away from his fiancé, who knows nothing about the baby. He finds a solution in wealthy and stubborn Gregory Devereaux (Keith David), an elderly regular from his favorite late-night diner. Hired by Devereaux’s estranged daughter as his caretaker, Payton quickly becomes Gregory’s confidant, and Payton’s problems seem to disappear. But as Devereaux nears death - with the wedding and the baby’s birth fast approaching - Gregory’s past sins force Payton to reckon with his own decisions as a man. He must finally choose: marry rich, or do what’s right.

Zone 414

Zone 414, the new movie from Andrew Baird, is out today.

Guy Pearce, Matilda Lutz and Travis Fimmel star in the sci-fi thriller set in Zone 414, a dangerous, dark colony of humanoids known as “the city of robots.” The colony’s creator (Fimmel) hires private investigator David Carmichael (Pearce) to track down his missing daughter. David teams up with Jane (Lutz), a highly advanced A.I. equipped with the same technology of her fellow humanoids, but with all the emotions, feelings and dreams of a human being. They travel through the city uncovering clues and a crime that calls into question the origins and true purpose behind the city of artificial humans.

We Need To Do Something

We Need To Do Something, the new movie from Sean King O’Grady, is out today.

Seeking shelter from a storm, a family find themselves trapped for days with no sign of rescue and untold evils lurking just beyond the walls in this wildly fun house-of-horrors thrill ride.

Yakuza Princess

Yakuza Princess, the new movie from Vicente Amorim, is out today.

Set in the expansive Japanese community of Sao Paulo in Brazil — the largest Japanese diaspora in the world — YAKUZA PRINCESS follows Akemi (MASUMI), an orphan who discovers she is the heiress to half of the Yakuza crime syndicate. Forging an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger (Rhys Meyers) who believes an ancient sword binds their two fates, Akemi must unleash war against the other half of the syndicate who wants her dead.

Mogul Mowgli

Mogul Mowgli, the new movie from Bassam Tariq, is out today.

The debut narrative feature from award-winning documentary filmmaker Bassam Tariq, MOGUL MOWGLI follows the story of a rapper (RIZ AHMED) who, on the cusp of his first world tour, is struck down by an illness that forces him to face his past, his family, and the uncertainty of his legacy.

Worth

Worth, the new movie from Sara Colangelo, is out today.

An attorney learns a lesson in empathy when he is faced with the near-impossible task of determining how to compensate families who suffered incalculable losses as a result of the September 11th attacks in 2001. Based on true events.

Golf Club: Wasteland

Golf Club: Wasteland, the new game from Demagog Studio and Untold Tales, is out today.

The rich fled to Mars but venture back to a desolate Earth for a round of golf. Each hole in the wasteland offers its own little story and possible puzzle to sink the perfect shot. Play through destroyed brutalist monuments, crumbling shopping malls, and abandoned museums as neon signs and poignant graffiti take swings at current events, Silicon Valley culture and humanity.

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert

Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, the new album from Little Simz, is out today.

SG8*

SG8*, the new album from Duckwrth, is out today.

[orbemnews]

The GameStop saga is captivating Wall Street — for good reason What’s happening: Shares of GameStop (GME), a legacy company whose stores are often located in struggling malls, have soared dramatically over the past two sessions as day traders push the stock with growing fervor. The stock, which closed out 2020 at $18.84 per share, finished the day at $76.79 after trading was halted multiple times due to volatility. At one point, it climbed to nearly $160, a record high. You read that correctly. GameStop, which is expected to lose money this year and next, has more than quadrupled in value in under a month because it’s effectively become a meme stock. Since the beginning of 2020, it’s jumped more than 1,100%, outpacing even Tesla’s gains. Shares are up another 20% in premarket trading. Investors on social media had been arguing that GameStop was seriously undervalued and cheered earlier this month when the company added Chewy founder Ryan Cohen, who has been pushing a digital overhaul, to its board. Now, the focus is on momentum, as small investors hope the hype can help the stock keep rising. It’s evident, however, that the saga has grown into much more than an argument over the future of a video game retailer, or the merits of different trading approaches. As no-fee apps like Robinhood democratize access to financial markets, some are reading it as a generational fight between the old and new guard of the investing world. Users on Reddit cheered when veteran short seller Citron Research said it would stop commenting on the stock, citing harassment from GameStop’s backers. Melvin Capital Management, which bet against GameStop’s rise, has had to accept an infusion of cash after suffering steep losses, the Wall Street Journal reports. “As someone who started trading stocks in the late ’90s in college, I would always remember watching when the small retail trading groups would get crushed by hedge funds and savvy short-sellers,” Oanda analyst Edward Moya said in a note to clients this week. “What happened with GameStop’s stock is a reminder of how times are changing.” David certainly now has Goliath’s attention. “Starts opening r/WSB with my usual morning tabs,” market strategist Michael Antonelli of R.W. Baird tweeted Monday, referring to the Reddit message board where much of the GameStop action has been coordinated. Traders on such platforms have been plugging other stocks with major results, too. BlackBerry shares, another fan favorite, are up more than 170% in 2021. They jumped 28% on Monday alone. Big picture: The wisdom of such trading decisions is certainly debatable. After all, it’s near impossible to argue that GameStop’s value has actually increased exponentially in a matter of weeks. Some gains are also attributable to a so-called “short squeeze,” as those who bet against the stock rush to buy in so they can cover some of their losses. But once the GameStop dust settles, expect Wall Street’s asset managers to watch where the retail trading hive mind wanders next. Clearly, it can have an impact. Janet Yellen has been confirmed. Now she gets to work Lawmakers confirmed Janet Yellen as Treasury secretary on Monday, making her the first woman in American history to hold the position. Now, she’s tasked with shepherding President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package through Congress. And with former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial set to begin in the Senate in just two weeks, there’s pressure to act fast. That could be a problem, given opposition to parts of the package from Democrats and Republicans. The latest: Members of both parties expressed reservations about spending so much money on a Sunday call with Brian Deese, head of the National Economic Council, multiple aides told my CNN colleagues. “It seems premature to be considering a package of this size and scope,” Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate Republican from Maine, said in a statement. While lawmakers acknowledge more money for testing and vaccines is essential, billions in state and local funding, $1,400 stimulus checks and raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour are proving more controversial. Conversations in the coming days will test Biden’s commitment to promoting bipartisanship. Biden and Yellen are angling to get members of both parties on board. But Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the incoming chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said Sunday that Democrats would use a procedural tactic to pass major parts of the measure if Republicans don’t budge. Biden didn’t rule the method out on Monday. Investor insight: With Democrats in control of both houses of Congress and the White House, investors have been banking on the swift passage of additional stimulus measures. As the battle lines are drawn, some are getting nervous. Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s remarks that a bill could take four to six weeks to pass were a wake-up call. “[This] seemed to remind markets of the underlying risks to a market trading at the highs,” he said in a note to clients Tuesday. Pfizer and AstraZeneca take heat in Europe Delays over delivering vaccines from AstraZeneca (AZN) and Pfizer (PFE) in Europe are a harsh reminder that successful vaccination campaigns remain dependent on output from the private sector. The latest: AstraZeneca has informed EU leaders that it will not be able to deliver as many doses of its vaccine as promised, putting government rollout plans at risk. The news comes after Pfizer delivered fewer doses of its vaccine than expected last week. Government leaders in Europe are furious, claiming the holdups will have serious consequences. “The European Union wants the ordered and pre-financed doses to be delivered as soon as possible,” EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a statement. “And we want our contract to be fully fulfilled.” Big picture: The full consequences of the delays will become apparent in the coming weeks. Pfizer said it will resume deliveries as scheduled this week after upgrading its plant in Belgium so it can churn out more doses; problems at AstraZeneca, which pointed to lower-than-expected yield at a European site, are believed to be more severe. The situation highlights how fragile vaccine supply chains are as they get up to speed, and underscores the risks to estimates from economists and investors about when life will return to normal. “We will have more of these ups and downs until we get to a stable process,” Prashant Yadav, a medical supply chain expert and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, told me. Up next 3M (MMM), Alaska Air (ALK), American Express (AXP), GE (GE), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Lockheed Martin (LMT), UBS, Verizon (VZ) and Xerox (XRX) report earnings before US markets open. Capital One, Microsoft (MSFT), Starbucks (SBUX) and Texas Instruments (TXN) follow after the close. Also today: US consumer confidence data for January posts at 10 a.m. ET. Coming tomorrow: A massive earnings week continues with Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB) and Tesla (TSLA). Source link Orbem News #captivating #GameStop #Good #investing #Premarketstocks:TheGameStopsagaiscaptivatingWallStreet—forgoodreason-CNN #Reason #saga #Street #Wall

[wfbbairdme-blog]

                                OUR STORY

Established in the year 1912 at Union Street, Lurgan, Northern Ireland, the parent company is called WFB Baird & Company Ltd. named after the founder William Frederick Burgoyne Baird. His commitment to excellence and his vision of unparalleled craftsmanship started a legacy that has existed for more than a century and continues to grow even today.

WFB Baird & Co. Ltd. with manufacturing units in Ireland, India and Poland, is one of the world’s oldest and largest Linen manufacturing companies supplying Irish Linen to major high end designers, brands and retailers in USA, Europe and Asia including India.

Our Office In Kochi OUR HERITAGE If we had to sum up our heritage in three words, none would be more appropriate than ‘Excellence through Innovation’

To know more about our History and Heritage, visit  House Of Burgoyne

WILLIAM FREDERICK BURGOYNE BAIRD The founding father of W.F.B. Baird & Company, William Frederick Burgoyne Baird began his career in the booming in Linen trade in 1912. With his passion for excellence and visionary leadership, the company grew between the WWI and WWII. The art of producing world’s finest linen that he introduced has been now been retained by generations for over a century.

JAMES BURGOYNE BAIRD The eldest son, James Baird took over the leadership of the company after his father. For over 12 years, he followed his own path while keeping his father’s legacy alive. With his vision and guidance, the company saw a lot of success.

FREDERICK WILLIAM BURGOYNE BAIRD F.W.B Baird took charge of the ship at a time when the linen trade in Ireland began to decline. The handkerchief linen market was sinking with changing fashion trends. Being an innovator and dynamic leader, F.W.B steered the company through the challenge while unlocking new height. In conjunction with young Armani in Italy and Hamilton Adams in New York, he successfully took handkerchief linen into the fashion trade, as linen shirts and blouses.

WILLIAM JAMES BURGOYNE BAIRD James Baird took over the leadership of company with his brother Hugh Baird in 1988. He joined forces with the McNutt brothers to give linen a new language of design in this ever evolving industry. Today, with his visionary leadership and appreciation of true craftsmanship, the original linen has created a footprint in countries across the world.

[newstfionline]

As America debates Confederate monuments, Canada faces its own historical controversy

By Alan Freeman, Washington Post, August 28, 2017

OTTAWA--The name of Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister, is ubiquitous in the country’s capital. Ottawa’s airport, a major bridge, a parkway along the Ottawa River and several government buildings are all named for him. He’s also in most Canadian wallets: Macdonald’s portrait is on the $10 bill.

But in an echo of the American debate over memorials to Confederate leaders, there’s a movement afoot to strip Macdonald’s name from the structures that honor him, starting with schools in the province of Ontario. The reason? The long-dead leader is accused of harboring racist views toward Canada’s native people.

This month, the union representing primary-school teachers in Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, passed a resolution that supports renaming all Ontario schools honoring Macdonald, calling him “the architect of genocide against Indigenous peoples.”

The resolution, backed by the head of Canada’s largest indigenous group, the Assembly of First Nations, has provoked a massive backlash from historians, politicians and members of the public. John Baird, a former Canadian foreign minister, called the idea “political correctness on steroids.” The Globe and Mail newspaper called the renaming “an absurd idea--insulting to our history, and to the intelligence of Canadians.”

Sir John A., as he’s affectionately known, was the driving force behind Canadian Confederation, in which Britain’s North American possessions were banded together in the 1860s into the forerunner of modern Canada. The hard-drinking, Scottish-born lawyer is credited with bringing the fractious group of feuding colonies, divided by religion, language and ethnicity, together to form a united country. He was elected prime minister six times and served for almost 19 years until his death in 1891.

But Macdonald was also a proponent of the now-reviled system of residential schools for Canada’s indigenous people, which forced children from their homes and placed them in schools far away. Abuse was rife in the schools, some of which existed until the 1990s. The Canadian government has set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission over the past decade to document the schools’ unfortunate legacy and has paid out billions of dollars in restitution to survivors.

The anti-Macdonald movement follows a decision in June by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to rename the Langevin Block, the building in Ottawa that houses Trudeau’s own office. The building honored Hector-Louis Langevin, a minister in Macdonald’s cabinet who is credited with creating the schools. In making the announcement, Trudeau said he was acknowledging the “deep pain” the Langevin name caused.

While that decision got some public support, the idea of stripping Macdonald from school buildings has provoked widespread anger and derision.

“Words escape me,” Patrice Dutil, a political historian at Toronto’s Ryerson University, told The Washington Post. “It’s fundamentally unfair to the man’s historical contribution.” Dutil said that Macdonald’s belief in the need to “civilize” indigenous peoples and have them join the mainstream of Canadian life was perfectly in line with Victorian ideals.

“The intentions of Macdonald were not murderous, and to use the term ‘genocide’ is particularly inappropriate,” he said.

Critics have also noted that the reasoning behind removing Macdonald’s name would apply to other Canadian prime ministers, too. Wilfrid Laurier, the country’s first French Canadian prime minister, opposed Chinese immigration; William Lyon Mackenzie King, who led Canada during World War II, helped keep the nation’s borders closed to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

For now, as Toronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom wrote Monday, Macdonald’s name appears safe: Ontario’s premier has indicated that she doesn’t intend to change any school names. “But I’d be surprised if any new government buildings were named after the first prime minister,” Walkom noted, before offering a sardonic suggestion. “In fact, it might be less controversial to avoid naming anything after anybody. At least until we find someone who will remain flawless for all time.”

[simdaisies]

The Story So Far....

And so we decide to just skip ahead to season 3 of the Simdaisies legacy. 

The story so far....

Clive Baird, our gen 2 heir, started off from humble beginnings, growing up in the Foundry Cove neighbourhood of Willow Creek. 

Now an adult, the first thing he had to deal with was breaking up with his teenage sweetheart, Elf....

... who ended up finding the love of the life, having their twin sons, Rowan and Linden, and getting married. In that order.  

Focused on his career, Clive never found anyone else to settle down with.

Until he met Denise Markelly in a club.

They hit it off.

After dating a while, Clive asked her to marry him.

Clive met her father, Dr. Brandon Markelly, and her twin sister, Lydia. 

Before they could get married, Denise found out she was pregnant, so they held off the wedding.

Denise’s sister, Lydia, was also pregnant. She had her son, Gabriel, a few days before Denise gave birth.

(totally retconned to add the toddler years >_>)

Meanwhile, Talula and Garret, our first generation founders, are now elders and retired.

Which was helpful, since the Clive and Denise’s first daughter, Jasmine, was a handful.

Jasmine, grown up.

Clive and Denise were finally married.

Jasmine meets Elf’s youngest daughter, Willow. Despite being very different, they become fast friends.

Cecilia is soon born.

Jasmine might have been reluctant at first to have a little sister, but she got used to it. 

Cecilia grows up to be a smart and outgoing child. 

Tragedy happens to the family as Garret passes away.

Cecilia realizes shortly that she can commune with the dead while no one else can. 

The family deals with Garret’s death in their own ways. Clive’s youngest sister, Jodie, begins to date her teenage crush, Peregrine Marlen (Elf’s younger brother)...

They eventually elope and have twin boys of their own, Raven and Wren.

On a trip to granite falls, Jasmine realizes how much she loves the outdoors.

While Cecilia is able to talk to the ghost of her grandfather.

Soon after, Talula joins her husband in the afterlife.

In Windenburg, Elf’s family lives an idyllic life in the country.

Unfortunately, Rowan, Elf’s oldest, finds it boring. He runs away to the city where he meets up with Meadow Thayer.  She convinces him to return home. 

Rowan goes home, but doesn’t stay for long. As soon as he and his twin become teens, Rowan rebels again. 

He runs away, and this time Willow tries to stop him. She couldn’t get him to stay.

Rowan meets up with Meadow in San Myshuno, where she has been earning money busking on the streets.

Gabriel and Jasmine grow up to be teens.

So does Willow. 

Jasmine tries to match Willow and Gabriel up. No success. Both were too awkward to be able to socialize properly with one another.

Clive enjoys a string of successes and finally is able to buy a large house in the tony Sage Estates neighbourhood of Willow Creek.

[ the new house tour ]

After the housewarming party, Clive is abducted by aliens on his own back patio.

He is returned, but pollinated.

To everyone’s shock, Clive gives birth to a purple alien boy. They name him Julian.  They keep the child and raise him no differently than any of their other children.  

Cecilia becomes a teenager. 

Both of the Baird girls are headstrong in their own ways. Though they do love each other, they do not get along. 

At all. 

Julian as a child.

To fit in, Julian uses his alien telepathic powers to disguise himself to everyone.

During a trip to San Myshuno, Willow is reminded of her older brother, Rowan and misses him.

And true to destiny so far, Jasmine meets Adrian Duarte. 

>>On to Generation 3<< >> Read from the beginning <<

[cupofteajones]

And another year of reading passes on by…

2018 turned out to be a great year for books. Not only did I manage to start a book club but I also managed to read books outside my comfort zone, which turned out to be not a bad experience.  Most of the books read this year took me on exciting new adventures while others left me at a dead-end. Unfortunately, I was unable to complete my own reading challenge but that didn’t stop me from not only reaching my reading goal of 70 books, but also reading a diverse collection of books. Overall, my books of 2018 encouraged me to read more and get excited for what my choices will be in 2019.

The first three books were so good that I just could not choose which one was my favorite book of 2018. So, three of them share the number 1 spot:

Becoming by Michelle Obama

I was left breathless after reading this amazing memoir. I always admired Michelle Obama but after reading this memoir, I admired her in even more. Her experiences and her words were so insightful that her intellectual power will be an inspiration for future generations.

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

The best mystery from a contemporary author and one of the best mysteries I have read by far. This book will leave you puzzled by anxious to read the shocking conclusion. I could have never thought a creative, complex mystery can be this exciting.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

I wanted to cry and give this book a standing ovation. This book spoke volumes to me. This honest portrayal of loneliness and mental health issues really allowed me to take a closer examination of my life.

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

My first introduction to Daphne Du Maurier’s writing and certainly not the last. I could not put this book down! Although I would not call this a romantic book, this suspenseful novel with its twists and turns flipped my stomach and tingled my spine.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I fell in love with this book! It was so heartwarming and beautifully written. It was a book that you wished that real life was like this. It really displays all the forms of love and makes you appreciate your family more.

Victoria, The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire by Julia Baird

Another great biography that opened my eyes. I already had a keen interest in the life and legacy of Queen Victoria, however, after reading this, my interest continued to increase. This biography was also beautifully written, a flaw some nonfiction books have especially when they can read like an old history textbook. 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson, where have you been all my life? Her Gothic stories and cryptic messages within her stories definitely had me hooked. So far, this one is my favorite by her, just one spot higher than The Haunting of Hill House. 

Crooked House by Agatha Christie

No list can be complete without an Agatha Christie novel and this one is not exception. Christie is definitely the queen of mystery and her expertise and prowess really exemplifies in this shocking and twisty mystery.

  March Books 1-3 by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell

You think you know about all about the Civil Rights Movement but after reading this award-winning graphic novel, your eyes will open to one of the most important and critical time of our American history. 

Speak: The Graphic Novel by Laurie Halse Anderson

I loved the young adult novel when I was a teen and I loved this graphic novel adaptation. The artwork was breathtaking and stunning and the story just as provocative.

 Honorable mentions:

  Mary and The Wrongs of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

Memoirs of Emma Courtney by Mary Hays

A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

The Road Through The Wall by Shirley Jackson

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin

 Books I Reread

  Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

A Year in Books: 2018 And another year of reading passes on by... 2018 turned out to be a great year for books.

[landofskydiv]

Mid-America Apartment Communities’ (MAA) CEO Eric Bolton on Q1 2018 Results – Earnings Call Transcript

Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE:MAA) Q1 2018 Earnings Conference Call May 3, 2018 10:00 AM ET

Executives

Tim Argo – SVP & Director of Finance

Eric Bolton – Chairman, President & CEO

Thomas Grimes – EVP & COO

Albert Campbell – EVP & CFO

Analysts

Nicholas Joseph – Citigroup

Austin Wurschmidt – KeyBanc Capital Markets

Robert Stevenson – Janney Montgomery Scott

Dennis McGill – Zelman & Associates

Trent Trujillo – UBS Investment Bank

Andrew Babin – Robert W. Baird & Co.

Omotayo Okusanya – Jefferies

John Pawlowski – Green Street Advisors

Wesley Golladay – RBC Capital Markets

Operator

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the MAA First Quarter 2018 Earnings Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, May 3, 2018.

I will now turn the conference over to Tim Argo, Senior Vice President of Finance for MAA.

Tim Argo

Thank you, Savannah, and good morning. This is Tim Argo, Senior Vice President of Finance for MAA. With me are Eric Bolton, our CEO; Al Campbell, our CFO; and Tom Grimes, our COO. Before we begin with our prepared comments this morning, I would like to point out that as part of the discussion, company management will be making forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from our projections. We encourage you to refer to the forward-looking statements section in yesterday’s earnings release and our 34-Act filings with the SEC, which describe risk factors that may impact future results. These reports, along with the copy of today’s prepared comments and an audio copy of this morning’s call will be available on our website.

During this call, we will also discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations to comparable GAAP measures can be found in our earnings release and supplemental financial data.

I’ll now turn the call over to Eric.

Eric Bolton

Thanks, Tim, and good morning. First quarter results were slightly ahead of our expectation and reflect the continued solid demand for apartment housing across our markets. Occupancy is high, and rent growth on renewing leases is strong. However, elevated levels of new supply continue to weigh on our ability to drive rent growth on leases written for new residents. We expect the supply pressures will persist through most of this year, with trends moderating in 2019. But as we enter this busy summer leasing season, we are encouraged, with the number of trends that we are capturing, and continue to believe that revenue trends have bottomed out for the cycle. Our expectations, moving forward, are supported by favorable trends in several key variables. These include the continued strong job growth and demand for our apartment housing across our markets; our high occupancy levels; the strong performance being captured on renewal lease pricing; the improving pricing trends within the legacy Post portfolio; and finally, the continued strong performance on same-store operating expenses and continued improvement in operating margins. While supply pressures will remain evident in several of our markets for the next few quarters, continued favorable results in these key areas support belief, our belief, that we should see incremental improvement in NOI, moving forward, with better momentum in 2019 and supply pressures moderate.

Resident turnover remains very low at 49.6% on a running 12-month basis. This is despite continued healthy growth in renewal lease pricing of 5.5% during the first quarter. This level of strong pricing performance in the face of higher new supply is a testament to not only the continued healthy demand for apartment housing in our markets, but is also a very positive statement about the quality of service provided by our on-site associates, and I really appreciate their efforts.

The leasing pressures associated with higher levels of new development continue to mostly impact the higher rent properties in more urban-oriented submarkets within the portfolio. However, it’s worth noting that the overall blended rent growth on leases signed in the first quarter within the more urban-oriented legacy Post portfolio did improve by 190 basis points, as compared to the first quarter of last year. As new supply pressures moderate, we believe the opportunity within the legacy Post portfolio for accelerated rent growth, as a result of both the execution of our revenue management practices and a meaningful redevelopment opportunities in the portfolio, will support much improved performance trends.

As noted in the earnings release, our progress associated with managing operating expenses continue to drive strong results. Tom will cover more details in his comments, but we have been pleased with the early results within the legacy Post portfolio, as our various operating practices are fully implemented. And the efficiencies associated with our larger scale are making a positive impact on overall portfolio operating margins. Over the course of the summer, we expect to wrap up the work associated with the back-office and systems integration associated with our merger with Post. As we continue to refine and capture the benefits associated with having both portfolios on the same operating platform as well as accelerate the unit interior redevelopment effort, the value accretion that we’ve previously outlined within the Post — for the Post merger is something we continue to feel confident about.

As noted in our earnings release, during April, we closed on a property acquisition located in Denver. This off-market acquisition of this newly developed property was negotiated late last year, with the closing subject to the completion of the construction of Phase 1 of the project. The property is located adjacent to a recently approved new light rail station that will connect to downtown Denver, and located adjacent to high-end restaurant and retail shopping venues. This is a high-quality property in a terrific location that is a great addition to our Denver portfolio. We expect to get underway with the Phase 2 expansion of the property later this year.

We continue to see heavy deal flow with our underwriting and transaction volume, reaching a 5-year high for the typically slower first quarter of the year. I continue to believe that as we work further into the cycle of new property deliveries, the capacity and optionality surrounding our balance sheet, along with our proven execution capabilities will yield increasing opportunity for our earnings-accretive external growth.

In summary, we like to start to the year, and continue to believe 2018 will play out along the lines we expected. Demand remains high. Resident retention is strong, and rent trends looked to have stabilized. We’re excited to be nearing completion of the final steps in fully integrating all operating and reporting activities of the legacy MAA and Post portfolios, and we remain very enthused about the long-term value proposition surrounding the merger. I appreciate all the hard work that our team has done over the past year in stabilizing our platform, and we look forward to the opportunity in front of us with the important summer leasing season.

That’s all I have in the way of prepared comments, and I’ll now turn the call over to Tom.

Thomas Grimes

Thank you, Eric, and good morning, everyone. Our operating performance came in as expected. Revenues for the first quarter were 1.8% over prior year, with 96.3 average daily occupancy and 1.4% effective rent growth. Expenses increased just 1.6% over the prior year, and NOI increased by 1.9%.

Looking at revenue drivers by portfolio in the first quarter, as compared to the prior year, a legacy MAA portfolio generated revenue growth of 2.3% with 96.4 average daily occupancy and effective rent growth of 1.8%. The legacy Post portfolio had 0.4% revenue growth, with 95.8% average daily occupancy and 0.2% effective rent growth.

Supply has been elevated in our markets for several quarters. Despite the supply headwinds, we saw the blended lease-over-lease performance of the combined company grow by 1.6% in the first quarter, which is 40 basis points higher than the same time last year. This is primarily driven — this is primarily the result of new lease pricing on the Post portfolio, which improved by a significant 260 basis points in the first quarter from the same time last year. This is further supported by improving monthly trends during the quarter. Blended pricing growth for the overall same-store portfolio on January was 0.7%; February, 1.8%; and March, 2.2%.

Expense performance continues to be a bright spot for both portfolios. While improvements in revenue management practices are just now showing up in pricing, our programs to more aggressively manage operating expenses have shown more immediate results. Overall expenses within the same-store portfolio were up just 1.6%. This includes the $900,000 of winter storm related cost incurred during the quarter. Adjusting for storm cost, our expense increased less than 1%.

Total expenses on the Post portfolio during the quarter were down 2.2%. That was driven by reductions in personnel cost, repair and maintenance expenses as well as property and casualty insurance. As a result, the first quarter operating margin of the Post portfolio improved another 90 basis points. This is on top of the 130 basis point improvement we made in first quarter of last year. We still have room to run with our expense management programs on the legacy Post portfolio, and expect continued progress in 2018.

Our operating disciplines are now fully in place, and at current run rate, the savings will continue. April results show the benefit of our consolidated platform and momentum. Overall same-store average daily occupancy in April was 96.2%, which is 10 basis points higher than the prior year. This is driven by a 50 basis point year-over-year improvement in the legacy Post portfolio. Overall, the same-store April blended lease-over-lease rates were up 2.9%, which is 90 basis points better than blended rents in April last year. Our 60-day exposure, which represents all vacant units and notices for a 60-day period, is a low 8.3% and in line with prior year.

The supply picture is well documented. Dallas and Austin are facing the most pressure. In 2018, we expect 22,000 deliveries for Dallas, and in Austin, we expect 8,400 deliveries. We’re encouraged that job growth has remained strong in both markets. Dallas job growth was at 2.5% in 2017, and expected to increase to 2.6%. Austin job growth was 3.3% in 2017, and expected to remain robust again at 3.3% in 2018. These growth trends are strong, and well ahead of nationwide trends.

All elevated supply levels have pressured rent growth in several of our markets. We’re seeing good growth in a number of markets, Phoenix, Richmond, Orlando and Jacksonville stood out from the group. Our focus on customer service and retention is paying dividends. Move-outs by our current residents continue to remain low. Move-outs for our overall same-store portfolio were down 2.3% for the quarter. Move-outs to home-buying were down 3%, and move-outs to home-renting were essentially flat with last year. Home renting remains an insignificant cost for turnover and accounts for less than 6% of our move-outs.

On a rolling 12-month basis, turnover dropped to a historic low of 49.6%. The steady decrease in turnover was achieved while increasing renewal rents by 5.5%. Momentum is building on the redevelopment program across the legacy Post portfolio. In 2017, we completed renovation on 1,700 units. We’ve completed an additional 560 in the first quarter, and expect to complete 3,000 units this year. On average, we are spending $9,400 in getting the rent increase to this 11% more than a comparable non-redeveloped unit. As a reminder, we’ve identified a total of 13,000 Post units that have compelling redevelopment opportunity.

For the total portfolio, in 2018, we expect to complete over 8,000 interior unit upgrades. On the legacy MAA portfolio, we continue to have a robust redevelopment pipeline of 10,000 to 12,000 units. On a combined basis with the legacy Post portfolio, our total redevelopment pipeline now stands in the neighborhood of 25,000 units.

As you can tell from the release, our active lease-up communities are performing well in Houston, Post at Afton Oaks, stabilized in the first quarter, as expected. Our remaining pipeline of lease-up properties, the Denton II, Post South Lamar II, Post Midtown, Post River North and Acklen West End are all on track to stabilize on schedule. We have begun leasing Post Centennial Park in Atlanta.

2017 was a year of significant change for our organization. We started 2017 with 2 completely operating platforms and teams. We’re pleased with the bulk of the integration work. The Post portfolio is behind now us. We have started 2018 with a much more aligned and cohesive operating platform and team. Results are progressing as expected. We look forward to continuing to capture value-creation opportunities on both the revenue and expense sides of the equation, as we finalize full integration activities in 2018. Al?

Albert Campbell

Thank you, Tom, and good morning, everyone. I’ll provide some additional commentary on the company’s first quarter earnings performance, balance sheet activity, and then finally, on guidance for the remainder of 2018. Net income available for common shareholders was $0.42 per diluted common share for the quarter. FFO for the quarter was $1.44 per share, which was $0.01 per share above the midpoint of our guidance. First quarter performance included $0.02 per share of noncash expense from the valuation of the embedded derivative related to the deferred shares issued in the Post merger, and this was not included in our original guidance.

Same-store performance, G&A expense and interest expense were all slightly better than expected, and combined to produce the out-performance for the first quarter. During the first quarter, we did not acquire any communities. We did, however, close on the disposition of 2 land parcels acquired in the Colonial merger for $5.9 million in total proceeds. These sales produced net gains of about $200,000 recorded during the quarter.

As Eric mentioned, in April, we closed on the acquisition of Saint 36, a 374-unit, high-end community located in Denver. The acquisition included a land parcel to develop an additional 79 units as part of the Phase 2 expansion, which we expect to begin later in 2018. Including the Phase 2 expansion, the total investment is expected to be approximately $128 million.

Following quarter end, we also closed on a disposition of an additional land parcel located in Las Vegas for total proceeds of $9.5 million, which will produce a $2.8 million gain that will be recognized during the second quarter.

Also, during the first quarter, we completed construction of one of our development communities, Post River North, located in Denver. The community was complete on plan with a total investment of $88.2 million and is expected to be stabilized in early 2019 at a 6.4% NOI yield. We currently have 2 communities remaining under construction with a total projected cost of $125.8 million, of which all but $24.4 million was funded as of quarter end.

Including Post River North, our lease-up portfolio now contains 5 communities, totaling 1,509 units. Average occupancy for the group was 56.1% at quarter end. We expect 4 lease communities to stabilize in the second half of this year, and the remaining community to stabilize in the first half of 2019 at an overall average stabilized NOI yield of 6.4%, which will ultimately produce over $21 million of NOI.

Our balance sheet remains in great shape. During the first quarter, we paid off an additional $38 million of secured debt, pushing our unencumbered NOI to over 85%. We also executed $300 million of forward interest rate hedges to secure future bond financings projected for later this year.

At quarter end, our leverage is determined by our bond covenants, was only 33.1%, while our net debt-to-recurring-EBITDA was just over 5x. We also had almost $600 million of combined cash and borrowing capacity under our unsecured credit facility at quarter end.

Finally, we are maintaining and confirming our outstanding guidance for all major components of our forecast, including net income, FFO, AFFO, same-store performance and transaction volumes. In summary, net income per diluted common share is projected to be $1.78 to $2.08 for the full year 2018. FFO is projected to be $5.85 to $6.15 per share or $6 per share at the midpoint, which includes $0.08 per share of projected final merger and integration cost related to Post merger. AFFO is projected to be $5.24 to $5.54 per share or $5.39 midpoint. For the second quarter, FFO is projected to be $1.43 to $1.53 per share or $1.48 per share at the midpoint.

While we expect the continued volatility related to the valuation of the deferred shares acquired with the Post merger, our projections do not include any further valuation adjustments over the remainder of the year, as these adjustments are both noncash and impossible to predict. We remain on track to capture the full $20 million of overhead synergies related to the Post merger as well as other NOI and earnings opportunities outlined with the merger, which are reflected in our current guidance this year.

That’s all we have in the way of prepared comments. So Savannah, we’ll now turn the call back over to you for questions.

Question-and-Answer Session

Operator

[Operator Instructions]. We can take our first question from Nick Joseph with Citi.

Nicholas Joseph

You did 1.8% same-store revenue growth in the first quarter and full year guidance is for 2% at the midpoint. And I know you’ve talked about an acceleration throughout the year, so I just want to get a sense of the pace, how do you expect it to trend? And do you expect 4Q same-store revenue at the high end of full year guidance around 2.2%?

Albert Campbell

Nick, this is Al. I will say, in general, as we’ve talked about before, what — forecast is built on this year is really a few major components. Occupancy remaining strong at 96% through the year, certainly, through the back part of the year. Renewal pricing being consistent, 5%, 5.5%, and then new lease pricing being the key to that performance over the back half of the year. We have discussed that we do expect new lease pricing to be above prior year, and that will drive blended pricing — I think for the remainder of the year, what we would expect to see was some more in the 70, 80 basis points range to capture our guidance at the midpoint. I’ll tell you, though, in the first quarter of the year, we’ve captured 40% — 40 basis points improvement over the prior year, as Tom mentioned. And April, actually, was much better than that at 90 basis points. And so we feel very good about the trend and the prospects, and so far what we lined up and outlined for guidance, we’re right on track.

Nicholas Joseph

But then from a same-store year-over-year basis by the end of the year, you should be towards the top end of the guidance [indiscernible] acceleration.

Albert Campbell

That’s right. [indiscernible] The revenue — good point. The revenue based on that would build, as we went through second quarter, would still be on the lower end. It would grow in the third and fourth more significantly.

Nicholas Joseph

And then just wanted to get your view on the Houston market. We saw same-store revenue growth in the first quarter. Actually, a little lower year-over-year than what we saw in the fourth quarter, so just what you’re seeing there today?

Thomas Grimes

Yes, and Nick, it’s Tom. Last year, we ran with high occupancy and negative rent growth. As you know, the hurricane changed that a bit, and it takes time for the revised pricing to be replaced on each unit. So just to give you a flavor for what’s coming, April blended rents in Houston were up 7.5%, and we think revenues will continue to fall. We just need that repricing to get on through the system.

Operator

And we can go next to Austin Wurschmidt with KeyBanc Capital Markets.

Austin Wurschmidt

As it relates to supply, you guys have laid out a table in your investor deck that showed quarterly supply growth by market and indicated some fairly significant decreases by quarter. I was just curious, one, do you still think that that’s the case that we should see it ratchet down, I guess, each quarter throughout the year? Or have you seen some of that pushed, I guess, later into the year? And then second, do you think you’re already feeling the impact from some of that supply, as properties tend to lease prior to completion?

Eric Bolton

Yes, I mean, the answer to your question is yes. We do think that some of the supply based on the most recent and updated information we have appears to be slipping a little bit later into the year. And yes, you’re right, we do begin to see some of the pressure on, particularly, as I’ve mentioned, the new lease pricing prior to the actual deliveries of the unit, as pre-leasing activity starts up. But I will tell you that the slippage, if you will, of some of the supply until later in the year in some respects is not such a worrisome thing in the sense that it’s slipping into the more robust time of the year for leasing anyway. What was really a problem last year, is we saw slippage take place in the third quarter with deliveries that we thought would happen in the third quarter move into the fourth quarter, which of course is the worst leasing quarter of the year. So moving some of the Q1 deliveries into Q2, Q3 is not such a bad thing, given that leasing activity is more robust. Having said that, I also want to quickly mention, while the revision that we’re seeing on supply being pushed out a little bit is accompanied by also a higher job growth forecast than what we started the year with, we’ve seen job growth pick up on a blended basis about 40 basis points more than we expected starting this year. So while the supplies picture is moving around a little bit in terms of timing, we’re encouraged with continued healthy demand and job growth taking place, which I think is going to be helpful.

Austin Wurschmidt

Any particular markets where — that job growth? Or the big drivers of the improved job growth outlook?

Tim Argo

Yes, Austin. This is Tim. I mean, I’m really seeing Austin and Dallas push up which is — they’ve been drivers now for a few years, and they just continue to be job engines that will be helpful as our — obviously, 2 of our larger markets.

Austin Wurschmidt

All right. And then as far as expenses, clearly, another quarter of expense savings from Post, and really kept expense levels low. As revenue ratchet higher through the year, should we think about expenses also ratcheting a little bit higher? Or do you think that maybe the initial outlook is a little bit conservative and that you’re finding continued opportunity to keep that kind of towards the lower end of the range on the full year guide?

Albert Campbell

Austin, this is Al. I would say we feel good about the guidance that we have for full year for expenses, which is 1.5% to 2.5%. Now with the first quarter at 1.6%, that would tell you that what we’re expecting on the remaining 3 quarters is somewhere around 2%, maybe a little up north of 2%, blended for the back half of the year. I think that’s what would we expect overall.

Eric Bolton

If something else obviously, some of the early wins we were getting on the expense side began showing up early in the last half of last year. So the comps, the comparisons to prior year get a little tougher as we get towards the back half of the year. The absolute savings continues, but the comps just get a little bit hard, which will of course affect year-over-year results.

Austin Wurschmidt

I appreciate that. And then just last one for me, on the $128 million total investment on the Denver deal, can you give us the breakout between Phase 1 and Phase 2 as well as what the going in yield on that deal was, and then what you ultimately expect it will be on stabilization?

Eric Bolton

Well, the Phase 1 was something approaching $94 million.

Albert Campbell

It’s $104 million.

Eric Bolton

$104 million, and the balance is what we expect to spend…

Albert Campbell

$148 million overall.

Eric Bolton

Yes, what we expect to spend on Phase 2. The stabilized yield that we expect to get out of this project is upper-5 range, as it gets — Phase 2 gets fully built out and leased up. So we, as I mentioned in my comments, it’s an incredible location. And we think that as we continue to build out our Denver presence, we think this is going to be a great addition. But we expect to be in the upper-5 range on the stabilized NOI yield on this deal over the next couple of years or so.

Austin Wurschmidt

So does that put Phase 2 at north of a 6% yield on a stand-alone basis?

Albert Campbell

Yes. The Phase 2 is a smaller 79 unit, as you can — you can do the math on that, which will be a very efficient addition because it will use most of the amenities and things from Phase 1 obviously.

Eric Bolton

And the Phase 1 was about 68% occupied when we bought it, so that’ll give you an indication of sort of the initial yield.

Operator

And we can go next to Rob Stephenson with Janney.

Robert Stevenson

Other than this Phase 2 on the newly-acquired asset, what other land are you controlling these days for future development? And how much of that you’re thinking is going to start within the next 12-or-so months?

Eric Bolton

We have parcels already that we own in Fort Worth, in McKinney, North Dallas, satellite city in North Dallas, McKinney, Texas, and we have a site in Cherry Creek submarket in Denver. We would expect potentially to be underway with all of that very late this year, maybe a little bit. The Cherry Creek site may slip into early next year, but we’re still working to predevelopment on those 3 opportunities. We also control opportunities, another opportunity, and also, we have a phase 3 opportunity in Raleigh, North Carolina with an existing property that we will likely pull the trigger on later this year. In addition to that, we have another site in Denver that we are working that we have on the contract. And we also have a site in Orlando that we are working on.

Robert Stevenson

Okay. I mean, from a timing standpoint, I mean, it sounds like that most of this is going to wind up being either late ’18 or ’19 starts, which means that, basically, I would imagine then that there’s basically the expectation to little to no deliveries at all in ’19, is that correct?

Eric Bolton

That’s correct.

Robert Stevenson

Okay. And then, Tom, any markets that — you’re 1/3 of the way through the year now that you’re seeing might be a little bit stronger, a little bit weaker than you guys were initially expecting?

Thomas Grimes

Yes. Honestly, Rob, not out of the shoot. I mean, we expected headwinds in Dallas and Austin and those are there. But we’re pleased with the job growth there and then very pleased with places like Phoenix and Orlando right now.

Robert Stevenson

Okay. And then, Al, one last one for you. In terms of the hard cost on unit turnover, what are you guys spending these days?

Albert Campbell

I think it’s around $1,000 per unit with — $1,000, $1,200, all on things depending on whether you replace carpet or not. That’s a big factor in there. I think that pushes it at the high end if you replace carpet. You do that every 5 years or so, and so I think that’s roughly what we would say today.

Robert Stevenson

Okay. And given the reduced level of turnover, are you able to do that with the existing Mid-America staff? Or you’re having to bring in outside contractors to do that?

Eric Bolton

And that’s one of the key things that has helped us with the Post portfolio is we’re handling close to 80% of those turns in-house, meaning, sort of paint and carpet cleaning. The carpet installation and replacement, the capital item that Al mentioned, we contract that out. By comparison, Post really use contract labor for the overwhelming majority of their paint and carpet cleans.

Operator

And we can go next to Dennis McGill with Zelman & Associates.

Dennis McGill

First question, can you give a couple of steps around new leases? I think you had said the Post new leases were up 260 bps year-over-year. Can you just fill in the holes as far as what new lease was for the overall portfolio, and then maybe the pieces and then how that trended versus 1Q ’17?

Thomas Grimes

Yes, sure. New lease rates were, for the first quarter, combined same-store, new lease was negative 2.3, renewal, 5.5; blended, 1.6. And then for April, new lease rates are 10 basis points positive. Renewals are 5.6, and blended, 2.9. And then just on roughly on a blended basis, to save some math, but I’ll go into detail if you want it, first quarter was up 40 basis points versus last year on blended, and April is up 90 basis points.

Dennis McGill

Got it. And then I guess the only question within that, so Post new leases, I think you said were up 260 basis points year-over-year.

Thomas Grimes

That’s correct.

Dennis McGill

What did the legacy MAA do in the first quarter on new?

Thomas Grimes

Legacy MAA on blended — you said new lease rates?

Dennis McGill

Right.

Thomas Grimes

Bear with me just a second. MAA new lease rates were about flat for the quarter.

Dennis McGill

Perfect. Second question, you know that the operating platforms will be finalized on the synergy later this year. Where will we see the most obvious benefits once that’s done either expense-wise or revenue-wise?

Eric Bolton

Well, I will tell you, it gets a little hard to point to specific things. Generally, a lot of the expense savings that we hope to get as a result of just renegotiating a lot of contracts and services for various services and supplies and products that we use, and that really wasn’t so much a function of the systems conversion and consolidation effort, if you will. I will tell you, on the revenue side is where I think the opportunity comes from in terms of where the opportunity is as a result of putting both companies on the same platform. We, frankly, just get more efficient in how we manage the company. Right now, our regional leadership and — are working with two different systems and having to look at two different sets of reports, and our LRO or revenue management system is not as fully optimized because of having to, if you will, still interface with two versions of our property management software.

So there’s lot of inefficiencies, frankly, that we have in terms of just how we manage the business by having the portfolios on 2 different systems. And I think as a consequence, and we’re about halfway through the conversion process at this point. We’ll wrap up here in another 90 days or so. And I think it ultimately just gets to a point where we have more efficiency now. The other thing that comes from this is, frankly, with the new system, we’re introducing a little bit more robust activity as it relates to sort of web-based activities as a new consolidated web platform that is being finalized, and so it’s a lot of things. A lot of them are subtle. But in aggregate, we think it just creates a lot more ability to bring intensity to the things that we really want to focus on as opposed to a lot of focus on putting systems together. We sort of are able to, if you will, get back to work in a much more intense fashion as a consequence of the merger.

Albert Campbell

I might just add to that too if the question is what is remaining to capture from those opportunities. Then one of the things we’ve talked about is the redevelopment. Remember, we’re capping that over three years or so, and the plan this year to capture 1/3 of that. So it will take several years to roll that off to see that portfolio opportunity out at the pace we’re doing this. So there are several things that will keep providing opportunity for us in the future.

Dennis McGill

And when you flip the switch in 90 days or so, and you’re on the same platform, how long will it take you after that to get to a stabilized, fully efficient run rate on the revenue management?

Eric Bolton

I think it’s happening. I think it will be instant, frankly. I think it happens. What remaining little inefficiencies we have sort of dissipates as a consequence of finally being on the same system.

Thomas Grimes

And Dennis, Dennis, what I would tell you is, I think most of the benefit of the revenue management system on the Post portfolio, we’re really beginning to capture that now, and you’re seeing that in the new lease rates, and just be streamline reporting and quicker reacting.

Dennis McGill

Okay, great. And then just last question, Eric, you talked to turnover being at historic lows, and we’re seeing that not just across the multi-family space, but pretty much all of housing. Any thoughts from your perspective how much of that is changing consumer behavior versus not having anywhere to go because of inventory constraint?

Eric Bolton

I think that a lot of it is a change in behavior. I think that we certainly continue to see average age, average income continue to move up — within our resident portfolio over the last couple of years. We continue to see the percentage of female versus male continue to move up as a consequence of the last two or three years with the trend. Certainly, the ability to go out and buy a starter home is more challenging, and I’m sure that factors into it to some degree. But I think — I continue to believe that a lot of it is more social, and more about just our behavior patterns of our resident profile as much as it is anything.

Thomas Grimes

And Dennis, we’ve seen our single rate go up about 1 percentage point, which indicates supporting sort of Eric’s point, we’re not seeing people get married and sort of be backlogged in the unit in some way, shape or form, assuming that a married couple is more likely to buy a house than single.

Operator

And we can go next to Nick Yulico with UBS.

Trent Trujillo

This is Trent Trujillo, on with Nick. I just wanted to circle back. I appreciate all the comments that you had on supply. Just wanted to circle back on that topic both. So given peak supply across your market, you said in first quarter, plus some slippage that maybe you’re experiencing it right now, can you speak to the level of concessions you’re seeing across some of your larger urban market of, perhaps, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and D.C., and how that’s trended since the start of the year?

Eric Bolton

Sure, Trent. And I’ll just move well through it with Atlanta and going down at concessions. It’s really about submarket in Atlanta. We’ve got 1 to 2 months free in Buckhead and Midtown. There are pockets of 1-month free, depending on specific lease-up places, like Roswell Road in 285 or the perimeter, has a little bit of pressure with 1 month outside the perimeter. Concessions are really pretty rare there. In Austin, we’ve got — we see sort of 1 month in Cedar Park, which is north area and in South Austin. The tightest part is — or the most pressured is sort of that South Congress Lamar corridor, and we’re seeing 6 weeks to 2 months there. That’s pretty similar with what we saw earlier. And then in — and in Dallas, we’re seeing 1 to 2 months in Frisco, Plano and Richardson. Uptown is running close to 6 weeks, which is actually slightly better than what we saw previously. It was running closer to 2 months. And uptown supply is about 2,000 units, which is about — we expect that in ’18, which is about what it was in ’17.

Trent Trujillo

And perhaps, regarding acquisitions, how competitive is the transaction market, and can you speak to the amount of deals you’re currently considering? I think earlier, Rob had mentioned something about the land sites that you were looking at. But I think, last quarter, you mentioned you had quite a few acquisition deals under review, but just the 1 closed in the Denver market after quarter end, so any commentary on that would be helpful.

Eric Bolton

Yes. I mean, the transaction market is incredibly competitive. We, as I mentioned in my call comments, we — I mean, the number of deals that we underwrote in the first quarter is the highest we’ve had in over 5 years in the first quarter, which is typically a very slow quarter for deal activity. So we continue to see a lot of volume. But we’ve seen cap rates, if anything, over the last 6 months move down a little bit. I mean, routinely, you’re in 4.5 to 4.75 range in some of the bigger markets, and you’re low 5 — 5 to 5.25, and perhaps, some of the smaller markets has more capital, and continues to weigh into some of these more, if you will, non-coastal markets or more secondary markets. So it’s incredibly competitive. And we continue to remain active in the market, but believe that based on the hurdles and the disciplines that we’re holding ourselves accountable for in terms of any capital deployment that — where the pricing is right now, it’s just hard to really justify some of the pricing that we see happening. And so we’re going to remain patient, frankly, as we think that — as we get a little later into the cycle. I think later this year, supply trends being what they are, that the opportunities may get a little bit more favorable, but it’s pretty competitive right now.

Operator

And we can go next to Drew Babin with Baird.

Andrew Babin

Question on the improvement and new lease pricing year-over-year within the legacy Post portfolio. Would you say that this is directly attributable to the ROI CapEx on some of these units you’ve acquired? And I guess, can you speak to how you’re pricing those units relative to new supply in places like Uptown, Dallas, Atlanta and Austin?

Thomas Grimes

Drew, we haven’t done enough of that CapEx to really move the number. This is really a direct reflection of where pricing was last year when we were just getting started on the merger and supply was picking up. And our ability to get — last year, we were really on 2 different pricing systems completely. We were just beginning to push renewals up, and we were adapting to the portfolio. So I would tell you, the uptick is significant in terms of just us learning the portfolio and getting our practices and habits in systems in place. And then sorry, what was the second part of your question, Drew?

Andrew Babin

I guess just there’s more of these renovated units come to market maybe in the peak leasing season. I guess, what’s the pricing strategy relative to the new supply in these markets? Is there a certain kind of gap relative to where the new supply is delivering as far as the rent goal that you’re targeting to sort of your value proposition relative to the benefit from it?

Thomas Grimes

That’s what we’re so excited about the Post portfolio on is — Post did a really, really fine job of picking locations that stood the test of time. So essentially, what you’ve got is we have mid-rise product that was 8 to 10 years old, let’s say. And we’re being shaded out by high rises that are looking for $3 a foot. So we’re able to upgrade the unit, great bones, well-developed property, and we’re able to stay even with the upgrade in units $200 to $500 less than new lease pricing. It’s a real sweet spot for us.

Andrew Babin

That’s really helpful. And lastly, Al, just a question on the balance sheet, unsecured bond pricing right now for 10 years, if you could kind of give maybe the spread economics there, and then whether MAA would consider doing anything with a duration of over 10 years, given kind of a flat yield curve?

Albert Campbell

Yes, Drew, that’s a good point. I mean, both the underlying treasury rates, 10-year rates has gone up recently, and the spreads have gone up a little bit in the bond market. But 10-year bond, if we do once a day, it’d probably be around 4.3 to 4.5 range, something like at. But keep in mind, as I mentioned, we’ve done $300 million of hedges in preparation for some financing this year. So when and if we do a deal this year, we’ll be a little bit lower than that, I would say. And so that’s — and what was the second question, second part of that?

Andrew Babin

30-year.

Albert Campbell

Oh absolutely, no question. And one of the things we’ve talked about before is we’ve worked very hard our balance sheet over the last few years. Now we’re at a point we’ve got a lot of public bonds outstanding on liquidity. We think we’re ready to go to potentially a 30-year market at some point. And one of the things that we are looking to do to continue to strengthen our balance sheet is push our duration or maturities out. That’s a specific target for us over the next few years, Drew. So can’t tell you when we would do that. Obviously, we’re going to work tactically when the market gives us that opportunity, but we do expect to seek that kind of activity over the next year or two.

Operator

And we can go next to Tayo Okusanya with Jefferies.

Omotayo Okusanya

A couple of questions for me. First of all, you are quickly increasing your exposure to the overall Denver market. Just curious how big you expect to get in Denver over the next few years, and why you’re kind of exclusively focusing on that market?

Eric Bolton

Well, we’ve been looking at the Denver market for, frankly, the last several years. We continue to believe that the growth dynamics there are very compelling. I think that there’s just a lot of good things associated with — I think the next 10 years likely that occur in Denver from a job growth perspective and migration and household demand for that market. Some of the West Coast markets continue to become prohibitively expensive to live in. We think that the markets like Denver, Phoenix, continue to find favor with a lot of households and employers as well. As a result of the merger we did with Post, you may recall, they actually had a development project already underway there, and so that really gave us the toehold into the Denver market that we’ve been working to find for several years. And then as a consequence of now spending more time in the market, we are — we went out and created an off-market opportunity on the Sync36 acquisition that we looked at.

As I mentioned, we also have another site in the Cherry Creek submarket, very compelling and high-end submarket there, just a little bit southeast of downtown that Post had already on balance sheet that we’re working on. So we’re going to continue to — and then we’ve got another site that we’re working that we recently have been working for the past year or so sort of tie-up. So it’s just a very slow methodical process that we’re continuing to work through, both in terms of development as well as acquisition. And we’ll be patient as we look to build out our presence in the Denver market, but we very much like the growth dynamics in that market, and continue to feel that it’s a good fit for us.

Omotayo Okusanya

So that’s helpful. The second question is for Al. Just kind of going back to same-store effect, again, really good quarter holding those costs down. But kind of going forward, I guess, with where your guidance is, could you just talk a little bit kind of category-by-category where you still think you might be able to hold cost down? I know this quarter, in particular, was repairs and maintenance, and even property tax is only up 2.6%. But I’m curious for the rest of the year, how do you see that mix that will keep you within that low guidance range?

Albert Campbell

Yes. I think for the rest of the year, you’ll definitely continue to see repair and maintenance be a good performer for us, Tayo. You’ll probably see personnel be in line what it is now. Repair and maintenance continues to show favorability, as we’re capturing more of the Post opportunity. I think taxes, real estate taxes, will be pretty consistent. It was 2.6 for Q1, but there are some timing of the prior year appeal finalization. So 4% for the full year on that is about the right picture. And then I think we will say marketing expenses will be low, long term, in the lower end of, not negative, but low 0 to 1% kind of range. And so I think those are the key drivers of it, as you look at the back half of the year. The insurance renewal that we have last year is providing a lot of opportunity. In the first half of the year, we do renew in July, July 1 this year. We have an increase projected, so that’s a little bit of a wildcard. We feel like our increase that we’re having there is correct, but that’s yet to be determined.

Operator

And we can go next to John Pawlowski with Green Street Advisors.

John Pawlowski

Eric, on the capital plan for 2018, I guess what specifically would you need to see to begin ramping dispositions? I understand you’ve done a lot of capital recycling in the past, but what would we need to change on the ground to pivot this position strategy?

Eric Bolton

Well, I think that, as you alluded to, I mean, we’ve worked a lot over the last 5 years, both as a consequence of capital recycling and 2 fairly significant M&A events that have really gotten the position of the portfolio more or less where we want it. I think that we’ve got the balance and the diversification. We shrunk, reduced, if you will, the number of markets that we’re in pretty significantly as a consequence of — we think created a little bit more efficiency in terms of how we were able to operate the portfolio. So I think that it’s a long way of saying we sort of like where we are right now. I think the opportunity to then ramp-up recycling of capital by selling more assets really comes back to the opportunity to match or to fund or match — fund the capital we pull out of those dispositions and into something that is attractive and would offer an improvement, if you will, in our long-term earnings growth rate over what we’re selling. And we’re having a hard time finding new deployment opportunities right now that are particularly compelling in terms of pricing. And so as a consequence, we think the right thing to do at the moment is to continue to clip the earnings coupons that we have coming out of a lot of the investments that we have today, keep our earnings coverage strong, keep the balance sheet strong, keep the optionality in place.

And I think that we’re at a point where, obviously, there’s just a wall of capital out there that is continuing to chase multi-family real estate. I don’t think it will always be this way, but I think that we’re going to continue to be patient with the optionality that we have right now. And I think just selling a bunch of assets and using the proceeds in a compelling way right now is not a good environment for that right now. So we’re — and obviously, it’s a good time to be a seller, but finding an attractive use of the capital without really creating earnings pressure associated with that is difficult to pull off right now.

John Pawlowski

Yes. But in certain markets, your comments about how competitive the bid is, and you’re sitting in the bidding tent for acquisitions, not willing to underwrite the growth on certain deals that people are. So I guess, why not sell the dream to somebody else with comparable assets in your own portfolio? And balance sheet is in good shape, but build a war chest for another day, sell that dream today.

Eric Bolton

Well, we think we’ve got a pretty big war chest right now. And I think that giving up earnings right now doesn’t seem to be particularly compelling for us. We think that the right thing to do right now is continue to enjoy the earnings that we’re getting from the portfolio. We’ve put the organization through a significant amount of earnings dilution over the last 5 years, recycling over — well over $1 billion of capital from high-yielding to low-yielding assets. Longer-term earnings growth rate is better as a consequence of these new assets. But we put the organization to a significant dilutive event, both in terms of the recycling that we’ve done through the merger with Colonial, and more recently, through the merger with Post. We have deleveraged the balance sheet massively over the last 5 years. So we’ve done a lot of dilution, if you will, earnings dilution over the last 5 years in order to position the company, we think, for a better future earnings growth profile, and a lot of that has been accomplished right now. So we don’t see a big need to do more of it right now. We think, frankly, the thing for us to do over the next few years is to harvest the earnings out all the stuff that we’ve done for the last 5 years, and that’s really where our focus is.

John Pawlowski

Okay. Last one for me, in terms of submarket supply backdrop, on the margin, you look forward to 2019 and 2020, do you expect supply to start laying on the legacy MAA footprint more than the Post footprint?

Eric Bolton

No, not really. I think that we continue to see that, frankly, what development does get done today. And I think I’ve seen the reason why this is going to change anytime given the significant rise in construction cost and significant rise in land cost. The only thing it pencils right now is to build a pretty high-end, very high-rent kind of product. It’s the only way you can make it work. And so I don’t think there’s any reason to see that those conditions are going to change in such a fashion that all of a sudden, you’re going to see a wave of modest — more modest fleet price product starting to be built out. I just don’t see that happening.

Operator

And we can go next to Wes Golladay with RBC Capital Markets.

Wesley Golladay

I just want to go back to the questions on concession. On average, for the entire year, do you expect concessions to be less of an issue this year? I know you got hit last year, particularly in the fourth quarter, and that really hurt the guidance. But how should we look at the progression of concessions and new lease spread?

Thomas Grimes

Yes, I want to take concessions. Well, new lease rates, I would expect on a net effect base, to continue to build on the pattern that they have for the first 4 months of the year. And then concessions, I would not expect. It really ramped up in the fourth quarter of last year, and we just don’t see anything indicating that that’s going to happen again this year.

Wesley Golladay

Okay. And I don’t know if you have the data handy, but do you have the new lease spread last year in the fourth quarter?

Thomas Grimes

No, I do not have it at my fingertips. We can follow back up with you on that, Wes. But it is a number we’re looking forward to comparing to.

Operator

And it appears we have no further questions at this time. I can go ahead and turn it back over to you, Eric, and the team for any additional or closing remarks.

Eric Bolton

Okay. Well, thanks, everyone, for joining us this morning. And I guess we look forward to seeing everyone in NAREIT in a few weeks, so thank you.

Operator

And this does conclude today’s call. Thank you, everyone, for your participation. You may disconnect at any time, and have a great day.

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[blackkudos]

Buck O’Neil

John Jordan O’Neil (November 13, 1911 – October 6, 2006) was a first baseman and manager in the Negro American League, mostly with the Kansas City Monarchs. After his playing days, he worked as a scout, and became the first African American coach in Major League Baseball. In his later years he became a popular and renowned speaker and interview subject, helping to renew widespread interest in the Negro leagues, and played a major role in establishing the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri.

O'Neil's life was documented in Joe Posnanski's award-winning 2007 book The Soul of Baseball.

Playing career

Born in rural Carrabelle, Florida, O'Neil was initially denied the opportunity to attend high school due to racial segregation; at the time, Florida had only four high schools specifically for African Americans. However, after working a summer in a celery field with his father, O'Neil left home to live with relatives and attend Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, where he completed high school and two years of college courses. He left Florida in 1934 for several years of semi-professional "barnstorming" experiences (playing interracial exhibition games). The effort paid off, and in 1937, O'Neil signed with the Memphis Red Sox for their first year of play in the newly formed Negro American League. His contract was sold to the Monarchs the following year.

O'Neil had a career batting average of .288 between 1937 and 1950, including five .300-plus seasons at the plate, as well as five seasons in which he did not top .260. In 1946, the first baseman led the NAL with a .350 batting average and followed that in 1947 with a .305 mark in 16 games. He also posted averages of .344 in 1940 and .330 in 1949. He played in four East-West All-Star Games in three different seasons and two Negro World Series.

A World War II tour in the U.S. Navy from 1943–1945 briefly interrupted his playing career.

O'Neil was named manager of the Monarchs in 1948 after Frank Duncan's retirement, and continued to play first base as well as a regular through 1951, dropping to part-time status afterward. He managed the Monarchs for eight seasons from 1948 through 1955 during the declining years of the Negro leagues, winning two league titles and a shared title in which no playoff was held during that period. His two undisputed pennants were won in 1953 and 1955, when the league had shrunk to fewer than six teams.

Negro leagues career statistics

O'Neil was known to have played full-time in 1951 and as a reserve and pinch-hitter as late as 1955, but Negro leagues statistics for the period 1951 and after are considered extremely unreliable.

Source: Hall of Fame Committee on African-American Baseball, 2006

Off the field

When Tom Baird sold the Monarchs at the end of the 1955 season, O'Neil resigned as manager and became a scout for the Chicago Cubs. He was the first African American scout in Major League Baseball, and was named the first black coach in the major leagues by the Cubs in 1962 and is credited for signing Hall of Fame player Lou Brock to his first contract. O'Neil is sometimes incorrectly credited with also having signed Hall of Famer Ernie Banks to his first contract; Banks was originally scouted and signed to the Monarchs by Cool Papa Bell, then manager of the Monarchs' barnstorming B team in 1949. Banks played briefly for the Monarchs in 1950 and 1953, his play interrupted by Army duty. O'Neil was Banks' manager during those stints, and Banks was signed to play for the Cubs more than two years before O'Neil joined them as a scout.

After many years with the Cubs, O'Neil became a Kansas City Royals scout in 1988, and was named "Midwest Scout of the Year" in 1998.

O'Neil gained national prominence with his compelling descriptions of the Negro leagues as part of Ken Burns' 1994 PBS documentary on baseball. Afterwards, he became the subject of countless national interviews, including appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder.

In 1990, O'Neil led the effort to establish the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) in Kansas City, and served as its honorary board chairman until his death.

In 1996, O'Neil became the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri – Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri.

In February 2002, at the end of the NLBM's Legacy Awards annual banquet, O'Neil received an induction ring from the baseball scouts Hall of Fame in St. Louis.

O'Neil and all-star Ichiro Suzuki developed a relationship, with Ichiro attending the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum with O'Neil and seeking O'Neil's knowledge of the game when the Seattle Mariners would have road games in Kansas City. "With Buck, I felt something big. The way he carried himself, you can see and tell and feel he loved this game."

A busy final year

On May 13, 2006, he received an honorary doctorate in education from Missouri Western State University where he also gave the commencement speech.

O'Neil was a member of the 18-member Baseball Hall of Fame Veterans Committee from 1981 to 2000 and played an important role in the induction of six Negro league players from 1995 to 2001 during the time the Hall had a policy of inducting one Negro leaguer per year. O'Neil was nominated to a special Hall ballot for Negro league players, managers, and executives in 2006, but received fewer than the necessary nine votes (out of twelve) to gain admission; however, 17 other Negro league figures were selected.

God's been good to me. They didn't think Buck was good enough to be in the Hall of Fame. That's the way they thought about it and that's the way it is, so we're going to live with that. Now, if I'm a Hall of Famer for you, that's all right with me. Just keep loving old Buck. Don't weep for Buck. No, man, be happy, be thankful.

On July 29, 2006, O'Neil spoke at the induction ceremony for the Negro league players at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Still playing after all these years

Just before the Hall of Fame ceremonies, O'Neil signed a contract with the Kansas City T-Bones on July 17 to allow him to play in the Northern League All-Star Game. Before the game, O'Neil was "traded" to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and was listed as the starting shortstop, although after drawing an intentional walk, he was replaced before actually playing in the field. At the end of the inning, another "trade" was announced that brought O'Neil back to the Kansas City team, allowing him to lead off the bottom of the inning as well (drawing another intentional walk).

The T-Bones originally claimed that O'Neil, at age 94 years, 8 months, and 5 days, would be by far the oldest person to appear in a professional baseball game (surpassing 83-year-old Jim Eriotes who had struck out in another Northern League game just a week earlier). However, that claim was in error, as the Schaumburg Flyers of the Northern League had signed Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe to a one-game contract and allowed him to face one batter on June 19, 1999 when he was 96 years old. While O'Neil was the second-oldest pro player, the claim was amended that he would be the oldest person to make a plate appearance in a professional baseball game.

The Kansas City T-Bones retired his number on May 26, 2006.

Death and legacy

On August 5, 2006, O'Neil was admitted to a Kansas City hospital after complaining that he didn't feel well. He was admitted for fatigue and was released three days later only to be re-admitted September 17. On September 28, Kansas City media reported that O'Neil's condition had worsened. On October 6, O'Neil died at the age of 94 of heart failure and bone marrow cancer.

During the ESPN opening day broadcast of the 2007 Kansas City Royals, on April 2, 2007, Joe Morgan announced that the Royals would honor O'Neil by placing a fan in the Buck O'Neil Legacy Seat in Kauffman Stadium each game who best exemplifies O'Neil's spirit. The seat itself has been replaced by a red seat amidst the all-blue seats behind home plate in Section 101, Row C, Seat 1. Due to the renovations and section renumbering in 2009 the seat number is now Section 127, Row C, Seat 9, and the seat bottom is now padded. The first person to sit in "Buck's seat" was Buck O'Neil's brother, Warren.

Presidential Medal of Freedom

On December 7, 2006, O'Neil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush; the award was given to his brother, Warren, on his behalf on December 15. He was chosen due to his "excellence and determination both on and off the baseball field", according to the White House news release. He joins such sports notables as Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Jack Nicklaus in receiving the United States' highest civilian honor. On November 13, 2012 the family of Buck O'Neil donated his Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in honor of what would have been O'Neil's 101st birthday. The medal will be showcased in a special area of the NLBM dedicated to O'Neil.

Beacon of Life Award

On March 31, 2007—the day of Major League Baseball's first annual Civil Rights Game—O'Neil was posthumously awarded MLB's first annual Beacon of Life Award at the inaugural MLB Beacon Awards luncheon.

Lifetime Achievement Award

On October 24, 2007, O'Neil was posthumously given a Lifetime Achievement Award named after him. He had fallen short in the Hall of Fame vote in 2006; however, he was honored in 2007 with a new award given by the Hall of Fame, to be named after him. A statue of O'Neil is to be placed inside the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum on 18th and Vine in Kansas City, and the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented no more than every three years.

At the Hall of Fame induction ceremony on July 27, 2008, Joe Morgan gave a dedication speech for the award and talked about O'Neil's life, repeatedly citing the title of O'Neil's autobiography, I Was Right on Time.

Other honors

Buck O'Neil Run/Walk

"John Jordan 'Buck' O'Neil" exhibit (in the Ted Williams Museum and Hitters Hall of Fame)

Hall of Famous Missourians: In February 2012 O'Neil was inducted to the Hall, located in the Missouri state capitol building in Jefferson City. A bronze bust of O'Neil will be on permanent display by the sculptor E. Spencer Schubert.

Wikipedia