#Jim Irsay

[memenewsdotcom]

Jim Irsay overdose

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Lolita, the orca that was a star attraction in captivity at the Seaquarium, died Friday as plans to move her out of the Miami theme park were beginning to take shape.

She was believed to be 57 at the time of her death.

Now known as Toki, a name adopted by advocates urging her freedom, the killer whale had suffered health problems in her Seaquarium tank last fall before seeming to recover, according to recent interviews with her training staff.

In a social media post, the Seaquarium said Lolita developed a renal condition in recent days.

“Toki was an inspiration to all who had the fortune to hear her story, and especially to the Lummi nation that considered her family,” the statement said, referring to indigenous people in her natural waters off Washington state, where she was captured at age four.

A non-profit backed by Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, had been partnering with the Seaquarium to move Lolita to a sea pen off Washington state and was training her for the eventual move.

The non-profit, Friends of Toki, released the same statement as the Seaquarium, with some details about her failing health:

“Over the last two days, Toki started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort, which her full Miami Seaquarium and Friends of Toki medical team began treating immediately and aggressively.

Despite receiving the best possible medical care, she passed away Friday afternoon from what is believed to be a renal condition.”

Toki was a shortened version of Tokitae, the name given the orca by indigenous people in Washington state, who have for years advocated to return the mammal to her native waters.

Friends of Toki was in talks with tribes in Washington to assist with the plan to transfer Lolita to the pen, where she would continue being fed and given medical care but with far more room to swim amid natural waters with sea life traveling in and out of the netting.

Some of her handlers in Miami planned to move to Washington to remain working with Lolita after the relocation in an ongoing care operation funded by Friends of Toki, Charles Vinick, the group’s director, said in a recent interview.

“All who want to, we’d want to move with her,” he said. “They’re the people she trusts.”

Friends of Toki had paid to upgrade the chilling equipment in Lolita’s Seaquarium tank.

They hired a trainer, veterinarian and others to help supervise her care and training.

That included introducing the car-sized sling that was planned to hoist her out of the tank and onto a transport truck for a cross-country flight to Washington for a new life in a sea pen.

‘Heartbroken’

“I am heartbroken that Toki has left us,” Irsay said in a statement. “I was honored to be part of the team working to return her to her indigenous home, and I take solace in knowing we significantly improved her living conditions this past year.”

The relocation plan was mostly aspirational, since the Irsay group hadn’t secured the federal permits or water rights needed to create a sea pen for the 7,000-pound mammal.

But it was the most definitive effort yet to move Lolita from a tank that had been flagged by federal animal inspectors and local authorities as needing a major overhaul to continue housing Lolita.

While the Seaquarium continues holding dolphin performances, the Lolita shows ended in 2021 as the condition of the tank drew scrutiny from the United States Department of Agriculture and Miami-Dade’s Unsafe Structures Division.

When the Dolphin Company purchased the Seaquarium operations in 2022, including the site lease for the county-owned waterfront that houses the park, it announced Lolita would never return to public performing.

Animal-rights activists condemned the Seaquarium over the years for confining the orca in a tank small enough that it took just seconds to swim from end to end.

“Kind people begged the Miami Seaquarium to end Lolita’s hellish life in a concrete cell and release her to a seaside sanctuary, where she could dive deep, feel the ocean’s currents, and even be reunited with the orca believed to be her mother,” PETA, an anti-captivity group, said in a statement.

“But plans to move her to a seaside sanctuary came too late.”

The relocation plan had critics, too. Some former trainers of Lolita formed Truth4Toki and urged the Seaquarium to either keep the orca in place or move her to a more modernized tank at Sea World in Orlando.

After past battles with illness, the group said Lolita “is not a candidate for release.”

Tom Reidarson, a former SeaWorld veterinarian hired by Friends of Toki to work with her in Miami, said in a recent interview that he was concerned Lolita would die last fall after a serious bout with pneumonia.

“It became pretty dire,” he told the Miami Herald on July 8.

Though she remained on antibiotics, Reidarson said the orca’s lung problems appeared to have resolved well.

“She’s actually really healthy right now,” he said.

In its statement, the Seaquarium described liver issues with Lolita, who was believed to be four when captured in Puget Sound and roughly 57 in 2023.

“Over the last two days, Toki started exhibiting serious signs of discomfort,” the Seaquarium said on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

“Despite receiving the best possible medical care, she passed away Friday afternoon from what’s believed to be a renal condition.”

Miami-Dade’s mayor, Daniella Levine Cava, advocated for moving Lolita as part of the county’s talks with the Dolphin Company taking over the lease.

The company signed an agreement to move the orca once there was a safe and healthy option for her to leave the Seaquarium.

“Our collective wish was to see Toki in her native waters and we are heartbroken to learn of this sudden loss,” Levine Cava said in a statement.

“Alongside the many Miamians who grew up visiting her, the generations of activists around the world that were inspired by her story, and the caretakers who remained dedicated to her health until the very end — today we say our final goodbye to our beloved Toki.”

This story was originally published on August 18, 2023.

🖤🤍🖤

[porterdavis]

Yep, the rich are different.

Featuring a live performance by The Jim Irsay Band w/special guests Kevin Cronin, Billy Gibbons, Vince Gill and Stephen Stills.

[slrmagazine]

PHOTO GALLERY: Exhibit of The Jim Irsay Collection by Don Adkins

PHOTO GALLERY: Exhibit of The Jim Irsay Collection by Don Adkins, On January 11th, 2024 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. #thejimirsaycollection @IrsayCollection

On January 11th, 2024 at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA In addition to last week’s Jim Irsay in Los Angeles then evening included items from the traveling Jim Irsay collection for attendees to see. The Indianapolis Colts owner has ample resources to acquire significant music and cultural artifacts important in our American culture. Rather than do the rich-guy-thing and stash them at home…

[thatstormygeek]

Notwithstanding that Irsay repeatedly misspelled the name of his beloved negro pseudomatriarch, every Black person has met a version of “Black Mother Dorthy.” In most cases, the conveniently cherished proof of racial tolerance goes unnamed. Somehow, when a white person asserts: “One of my best friends is Black,” their Black buddy is somehow never around. But in some other cases, well-meaning white people will confirm their immunity to bigotry by trotting out the African-American adoptee, describing the minority neighborhood where they once lived or citing the Black person they dated in college.

[dubsism]

Change My Mind: Seven Serious Mid-Season NFL Observations

The introduction here is short and sweet. At the mid-point of the National Football League season, here’s seven “takes” you only can get at Dubsism. Just how many “elite” quarterbacks are there? This age-old discussion usually starts with making a list of guys who belong in the discussion. Right now in the NFL, there’s only seven quarterbacks worthy of mention here (in alphabetical order): Josh…

[kenttsterling]

Anthony Richardson looks good at Colts OTA! Shane Steichen not sharing about Isaiah Rodgers! Colts will want stadium reno soon!

[philanthropicpeople]

Indianapolis Colts Owner Donates $1M to Indianapolis Zoo

What a great gift for the zoo!

Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, is donating $1 million to the Indianapolis Zoo to build a new welcome center plaza at the zoo, named after the Colts. “The Indianapolis Zoo is a world leader in wildlife and natural conservation and oversees efforts and projects that are truly making a difference across the globe,” Irsay said. “Not only is the zoo making great strides to preserve nature…

[alpha-mag-media]

Colts owner Jim Irsay threatens to sue Stephen A. Smith and First Take after live TV comments about his 2014 arrest | In Trend Today

Colts owner Jim Irsay threatens to sue Stephen A. Smith and First Take after live TV comments about his 2014 arrest Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

[jumpintothewaves]

After spending more than 50 years at the Miami aquarium, Lolita the orca will be returning to Puget Sound where she was first taken from he pod. The relocation is expected to take anywhere from 18-24 months and is being provided around the clock veterinary care to make sure she’s ready. The move is partially being funded by the owner of NFL Indians Colts, Jim Irsay. A spokesperson from the Lummi nation said they feel this is a healing moment and has this to say

���We are happy to hear that our relative, Sk’aliCh’elh’tenaut (Toki’tae), will have the opportunity to return home. She represents the story of all Native peoples that have experienced genocide and the bad policies that have been put in place to ‘kill the Indian and save the man.’ But more importantly, she represents our resilience and strength and our need for healing,"”

[orcinus-veterinarius]

"Marine scientists have also raised concerns that Lolita, who has had multiple health scares in the decades in her tank, won’t be well enough to survive the diseases and pollution in the ocean, but [Pitram] Singh said he’s confident that she will survive." (x)

This is who's spearheading Tokitae's release: Pitram Singh, co-fouder of the animal rights group Friends of Lolita. He isn't a veterinarian, marine biologist, animal trainer, or even a custodian at the Seaquarium. He's a Florida Keys real estate tycoon. And he thinks he knows more about her health and wellbeing than the actual experts warning that this is a bad idea. The other so-called philanthropist funding this operation is Jim Irsay, CEO of the Indianapolis Colts. That's right, the NFL football team.

The icing on the cake is this statement from the CEO of the Dolphin Company, Eduardo Albor (a businessman, not an animal care professional):

"He [Albor] told media gathered for the announcement about his first visit to the Seaquarium before his company purchased the theme park. He and his daughter caught the Lolita show, and he described a cheering, happy crowd of families delighting in the orca’s performance, including himself. Then, he said, his daughter told him she couldn’t watch the show anymore and needed to leave. “I cannot be here because this place is too small for Lolita,” she told him. “Dad, I have to go or I will cry.” Albor said he vowed that if he took over the park, he would do what he could to free Lolita. “I promised,” he said."

Sir, you own a swim-with-the-dolphins company, and yet you're buying activist rhetoric hook, line, and sinker. You should have promised your daughter you would do what was best for Toki. You should have listened to the animal care experts who literally work for you instead of giving in to the same people who want to see you out of business

[pinkfloyd-musicartnaturelove]

David Gilmour's Black Strat. It was sold in 2019 for $3,975,000 to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. All proceeds went to charity.

[topolino1945]

This man, Jim Irsay, owner of the NFL team the Indianapolis Colts was WRONGLY arrested in 2014 for driving under the influence. The police clearly have an agenda against white billionaires:

“I am prejudiced against because I’m a rich, white billionaire,” Irsay told Andrea Kremer on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. “If I’m just the average guy down the block, they’re not pulling me in, of course not.”

This man needs YOUR help, spread the word that it should be okay to drive under the influence if you're rich and white!

[shefanispeculator]

Tom Bukovac (born December 20, 1968) is an American session musician and producer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in nearby Willowick, Ohio. He has been a Nashville-based musician since 1992.[1] He previously owned 2nd Gear, a used music consignment shop in South Nashville.[2]

Tom Bukovac

Tom Bukovac at Wacken Open Air with Ann Wilson 2022Background informationAlso known as

Uncle Larry

Session Man

Starship Trooper

Your Sagittarius Buddy from Cleveland

Little Tommy (6'3")

Larry

Mountain Larry

BornDecember 20, 1968 (age 55) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.Occupation(s)

Musician

producer

Instrument(s)

Guitar

Years active1980s–present

Tom Bukovac (born December 20, 1968) is an American session musician and producer. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in nearby Willowick, Ohio. He has been a Nashville-based musician since 1992.[1] He previously owned 2nd Gear, a used music consignment shop in South Nashville.[2]

Career[edit]

Bukovac began playing guitar at age eight, and performed his first shows at age thirteen at his widowed mother's bar, The Surfside Lounge, in Eastlake, Ohio. He moved to Nashville in 1992 to pursue a career as a guitarist.[1]

Bukovac has played on over 1200 albums,[1] including projects by Dan Auerbach and The Black Keys, Kid Rock, Morgan Wallen, Ann Wilson, The Struts, Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Bob Seger, John Oates, Joan Osborne, Vince Gill, Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, Hank Williams Jr., Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, Carrie Underwood, Richard Marx, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Willie Nelson, Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Kenny Loggins, Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, LeAnn Rimes, Florida Georgia Line, Lionel Richie, among many others.[3]

Bukovac has toured with Ann Wilson (2022 - Fierce Bliss Tour), Joe Walsh (2017) – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 40th Anniversary Tour[4]); Vince Gill (2016); John Fogerty; Faith Hill; Trigger Hippy; Wynonna Judd; Tanya Tucker, and others.[5] Bukovac is currently a member of The Jim Irsay band.

Bukovac has also won the Academy Of Country Music guitar player of the year award four times – 2008, 2010, 2016, and 2021.

Played on Blake's songs

[kenttsterling]

Anthony Richardson tops Colts optimism list! Peyton Manning MOST IMPORTANT NFL player! Cubs Morel raking!

[jeffcbliss]

Kevin Cronin (playing with The Jim Irsay Band) - Shrine Auditorium; Los Angeles, CA (1-11-24).

@kcreospeedwagon @IrsayCollection

Photo: Jeff Bliss