NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – After a record breaking French Quarter Fest weekend, we’re back at it with Jazz Fest taking over the Fairgrounds starting Friday.
“They’re [hotels] telling us that April 2020 may be their best month since the beginning of COVID, which is a very welcome sign,” Kelly Schulz with New Orleans & Company said.
Hotels this past weekend were booked or close to it with all of the different events in the city, but it’s just getting started.
“We like to say the Jazz Fest is like hosting a Super Bowl every year,” Schulz said.
Schulz says it will easily bring in $400 million this year, probably more.
“We think this year will be one of the biggest of the best because we haven’t had it since 2019. There is so much pent up demand,” Schulz said.
Canseco’s Market by the Fairgrounds is already busy on Wednesday.
“It’s been very hectic we have a lot of business that’s coming around the store, especially at this time, we’re having an early start,” Assitant Manager Mary Strout said. “It normally starts on Thursday, but we’ve had a lot of influx of people coming in last night and today and as you can see a lot of people are already here.”
It’s only going to get busier for them. Not only serving up Cubans at the festival, but also in the store.
“We’re expecting about between 1,500 and 2,000 people a day,” Strout said. “We’re staffed up. We went to a food show, we got everything, back stock, anything that we knew we’re gonna really have ready to go, so, we’re pretty prepared.”
The oldest original Jazz Fest vendor, the Vaucresson’s are busy prepping their famous hot sausage po’boys for the masses.
“These two years without this institutional period of festivals, which for us in this city with our biggest industry of tourism, really, really let us know what we missed,” Vance Vaucresson said. “We didn’t realize how big of a part of our lives financially and also fundamentally these festivals were.”
At French Quarter Fest, they realized they needed to get back into festival shape with even bigger crowds than years past.
“I ran out of bread a lot,” Vaucresson said. “I ran out of things that I thought we had planned based on previous years, so we’re just gonna hope that we can get through. We’ve got some supply chain issues, like everyone else is, getting some things that we need. So, people can’t really give us what we would normally get, but we’re gonna work with it.”
They won’t miss another year and another opportunity to showcase the city’s culture and history.
“We’ve got the sausage, we’ve got the bread, you bring in the people and we’re gonna make sure that your face is in the place and we’re gonna feed it,” Vaucresson said.
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ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The offseason is valuable for more than just the Broncos’ players.
As Ejiro Evero begins his tenure as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator, each day and each practice is an opportunity to install his defense and prepare himself for his first year as an NFL play caller.
“Just like players, I think it’s important for coaches to practice what they’re going to be doing on game day,” Evero said Tuesday. “It’s important for me, and that’s what I’m taking these practices as, as examples to really get used to using the mic and communicating and not only just getting the call to the players on the huddle, but also giving them tips and [down and distance] reminders and things like that. I’m trying to hone my skills, as well.”
Evero, who said he will call plays from the sideline, is in the midst of installing a scheme similar to the one the Broncos ran under Vic Fangio during the previous three seasons. While the terminology has changed, many of the principles will remain in place. And as he helps with the install, he’s already left an impression on veteran safety Kareem Jackson.
“He’s very vocal,” Jackson said. “He’s very detailed as well. I think defensively, I think that’s huge for us and definitely for the younger guys, the detail in every aspect of the game. Just pointing out little things and getting guys to realize that. He’s been huge for us just in these couple days we’ve been on the field. I think him preaching that and us kind of preaching the same thing, I think it will definitely help us.”
Across the league, there’s little doubt Evero will succeed in his first stint as an NFL defensive coordinator.
“He’s got a great steadiness about him,” Rams head coach Sean McVay said in March. “He’s so smart, he’s so self-assured, but he’s a great collaborator. I think one of the things I really enjoyed watching with [Rams defensive coordinator] Raheem [Morris] and ‘E’ was their ability to work in coordination, figure out the best ways for our defense to be able to operate. He’s got such a clear vision of what he wants it to look like. He’s been around great coaches that he’s been able to learn from and I’m really fired up for ‘E’ and I know he’s going to do a great job. He’s been somebody that I’ve worked with for such a long period of time, and you just watch the growth that he’s had as a coach. He’ll do a great job connecting and really help make guys better players. He’ll be able to adjust and adapt accordingly — he’ll do a great job for the Broncos.”
One of the key elements of Evero’s system is the team’s pass rush, and he emphasized the importance of getting to the opposing quarterback.
“We’re excited about a lot of the guys — [both] exterior [and] interior pass rush,” Evero said. “At the end of the day, we’ve got to generate pressure. We’ve got to do it with individual efforts, but we’ve also got to do it with a team collective goal, the guys working together on the pass-rush games, being able to bring pressure and those types of things. We’ve got a lot of guys were counting on to get that done for us.”
Evero and Co. will get plenty of practice in facing an elite offense as they go up against Russell Wilson and the Broncos’ offense in practice.
“It’s tremendous, because this Shanahan [offensive] scheme, it’s going through the league, right?” Evero said. “… I think we’re going to have one of the best run offenses in the league, and so practicing against that weekly and daily is going to be awesome. And then going against the quarterback, with all the keepers and stuff off of it, it’s great work. And they’re going to challenge us a lot with the formations, with the tempo and all those different types of things. It’s going to be awesome in terms of getting us ready for the season.”
Evero, though, said his unit cannot rely on Wilson and the team’s offensive weapons to carry them to success.
“At the end of the day, winning football in the NFL’s about winning as a team and winning collectively,” Evero said. “And hey, maybe the offense is the strength of the team, but hey, the defense has got to be able to play off of that and the special teams has got to be able to play off of that. … So obviously when you get a quarterback like the guy we have, it’s going to open up opportunities, but at the end of the day, there’s going to be times that we’re going to have to come through, and that’s important.”
In the early days of the Broncos’ 2022 preparation, Evero is making sure he’s ready to meet that challenge.
04/25/22 Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski / Adam Counterman tills his uncle’s garden along N. Fourth Avenue in Juniata on Monday afternoon. His uncle will plant corn, cucumbers, tomatoes and a variety of other vegetables.
Bridges to Independence will host its annual “Bridges’ Bash” fund-raiser on Wednesday, May 4 from 7 to 10 p.m. at Army Navy Country Club.
With a theme of “Mardi Gras in May,” the event will feature live music, live and silent auctions, hors d’oeuvres, an open bar and more, with proceeds benefiting efforts to support families experiencing homelessness, housing instability or poverty move toward empowerment and stability.
For information and to purchase tickets, see the Website at https://bridges2.org.
[Sun Gazette Newspapers provides content to, but otherwise is unaffiliated with, InsideNoVa or Rappahannock Media LLC.]
Apr. 22—CANTON — The Canton Fire Department was in full training mode Wednesday as all were on hand to prepare for an upcoming state inspection that happens every five years.
Haywood County Fire Marshall Andrew Messer was helping put the department through its paces, said Canton Fire Chief Kevin Wheeler.
The N.C. Department of Insurance’s Office of the State Fire Marshall conducts fire inspections across the state, but ratings are determined by a separate company — the Insurance Service Office.
This forprofit agency provides standardized ratings based on inspection reports, and is used by all insurance companies in the nation to determine insurance rates based on the quality of the available fire protection.
Each level a fire department can improve its rating amounts to about an 8% decrease on property insurance for homeowners.
David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital was up 4.4% for the first quarter, outperforming the S&P 500’s -4.6% return. The fund’s management noted that a lot happened during the quarter, “culminating in an unexpected bout of violence.”
LAS VEGAS – AUGUST 07: David Einhorn of New York competes in the World Series of Poker no-limit … [+] Texas Hold ’em main event at the Rio Hotel & Casino August 7, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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Is the Fed doing what it takes?
In his first-quarter letter to investors, Einhorn says that he sees a “decent risk” that the 13-year bull market and the long-running period of relative peace and stability throughout the American sphere of influence since the end of World War II are over. He pointed to the oft-repeated sentiment that COVID accelerated trends and changes already underway, adding that he believes the same is true of the war.
Einhorn notes that the war has accelerated inflation, the ongoing supply chain issues, and energy, food, materials, and labor shortages and that stock prices had already started to fall as well. He sees evidence that inflation is destroying demand, slowing the economy in the process. Einhorn adds that if the Federal Reserve were serious about halting inflation, it “would be as aggressive and creative in tightening as it was when it was easing.”
He also questions whether the Fed is doing whatever it takes to deal with inflation or is merely talking tough, emphasizing that he thinks the central bank is doing the latter.
Greenlight’s long portfolio lost 7% during the first quarter, but gains in its short book and index hedges almost totally offset that loss. The fund reports that macro, led by inflation swaps and gold, generated a little more than all the return.
He segmented the fund’s long portfolio attribution into Green Brick Partners, which plunged sharply and contributed much more than all the loss, and “pretty much everything else, which did quite well.”
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Greenlight’s biggest winners were Rheinmetall, Teck Resources and CONSOL SOL Energy. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent Rheinmetall soaring during the first quarter. Teck and CONSOL both surged after sharp increases in metallurgical and thermal coal prices.
Green Brick Partners and homebuilding stocks
Einhorn believes that even though there wasn’t anything wrong with Green Brick’s corporate performance, its stock plunged from about $30 to around $20 during the first quarter. Analysts slashed their estimates for this year and next by about 2%, although Einhorn says that the problem was with the entire sector, as most homebuilders plunged by similar percentages.
He explained that homebuilding stocks de-rated amid a new consensus view of a collapsing housing market. Analysts circulated the narrative that house prices have risen and noted that mortgage rates are rising. They’re also saying that sales and housing starts are slowing, and inventories and cancellations are rising.
David explains that this narrative supposedly implies a collapse in house prices, leaving homebuilders in a precarious position. He noted that everyone remembers when the last housing bubble popped and that the market appears to be suggesting that it’s about to happen again, meaning the sector is now un-investable at any valuation.
However, the Greenlight team disagrees with the new consensus view, and Einhorn describes the comparisons between today’s housing market and that of 2006 as “strained.”
Why Greenlight thinks the market is wrong about homebuilding stocks
Overbuilding was widespread in 2006, with an average of 3.5 million existing homes for sale, and the 30-year mortgage rate averaged 6.4%. Homebuilders were also highly leveraged, and homes were financed with very loose underwriting standards.
Today’s market comes amid a nationwide underinvestment in housing, which has resulted in a shortage of about 2 million units. Only about 870,000 existing homes are for sale, and mortgage rates sit at around 5%. Underwriting standards are tight amid minimal speculation and low financial leverage among homebuilders.
In Green Brick’s largest market, existing homes for sale have declined 21% over the last year and are down 77% versus three years ago. Most of the indicators the bears are pointing to as evidence of a housing slowdown don’t actually reflect a traditional slowdown.
Instead, he said they reflect the industry’s inability to build houses due to factors like labor and material shortages, which have lengthened construction times. Mortgage rates might at some point impact demand, but for now, homebuilders are constrained more by supply than demand.
Further, any slight decrease in demand probably won’t pose a serious risk to earnings or balance sheets. House prices aren’t the only prices that are rising, as rents are up too. Additionally, homebuilding stocks and home prices did well during the inflationary period in the mid-to-late 1970s.
Changes to Greenlight’s portfolio
Greenlight’s short portfolio posted broad-based returns for the first quarter, led by plunging prices in its basket of bubble stocks and a significant decline in the price of a medical device company that posted disappointing earnings results.
In mid-January, Einhorn adjusted the fund’s positioning to reflect better his view of the weakening economy and the possibility of the end of the bull market. The Greenlight team added more index hedges and increased their macro positions in corporate credit default swaps and inflation swaps.
They focused their research efforts on short ideas, so they didn’t make any large additions to the fund’s long portfolio. However, they did add new small positions in International Seaways, Ryanair Holdings, TD SYNNEX Corporation, Southwestern Energy SWN and Weatherford International.
Greenlight also exited its long position in EchoStar during the first quarter after holding it for a year with a 22% investment rate of return. Fund management started to worry about the company’s ability to grow its subscribers. Greenlight also dumped Jack in the Box after nearly two years with a 55% investment rate of return.
At the end of the first quarter, the fund’s largest disclosed long positions were Brighthouse Financial, Change Healthcare, Global Payments GPN, Green Brick Partners and Tech Resources.
Details on new positions
International Seaways owns and operates oil tankers and product carriers. The Greenlight team noted that demand for oil tumbled during the pandemic, resulting in an extended period of low charter rates for tankers. The fund acquired its shares at less than 60% of the company’s liquidation value.
Greenlight expects a tighter market now that demand has recovered to pre-pandemic levels with no shipyard slots available for the construction of new tankers for several years. Amid the tighter market, they expect International Seaways’ discount to its net asset value to close.
Ryanair is the largest low-price airline in Europe. It expanded during the pandemic by upgrading and improving the fuel efficiency of its fleet and reducing its airport costs. Ryanair has secured a competitive advantage by hedging near-term fuel prices, so the hedge fund expects its earnings to beat expectations as demand for air travel continues to recover.
The Greenlight team reinitiated a position in TD SYNNEX as they believe its recent merger with Tech Data TECD has created the top global IT distributor with the potential for a sizable accretion to earnings per share through cost and revenue synergies. The firm held its first analyst day since the transaction closed, and management laid out a path Einhorn’s team expects to achieve $20 per share in earnings in the coming years.
Southwestern Energy is the second-largest natural gas producer in the U.S., and the Greenlight team feels it is well-situated to satisfy growing domestic and export demand. They explained that Europe now plans to cut back on its reliance on Russian energy and depend more on LN LNG from the U.S., with Southwestern being a key beneficiary.
Weatherford offers drilling tools and other products and services needed to produce oil and gas. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2019 due to poor execution and a high debt load, but the Greenlight team believes it has emerged as a “less levered, better managed and cashflow generating business.”
They expect Weatherford to benefit from the many years of underinvestment in exploration and production, which have resulted in severe oil shortages. Greenlight also expects the company to benefit from the significant increase in capital expenditures on exploration and production that’s underway.
CANTON — The Canton Fire Department was in full training mode on Wednesday as all in the department were on hand to prepare for the state inspection that happens every five years.
Haywood County Fire Marshall Andrew Messer was helping put the department through its paces, said Canton Fire Chief Kevin Wheeler.
The N.C. Department of Insurance’s Office of the State Fire Marshall conducts fire inspections across the state, but ratings are determined by a separate company — the Insurance Service Office.
This forprofit agency provides standardized ratings based on inspection reports, and is used by all insurance companies in the nation to determine insurance rates based on the quality of the available fire protection.
Each level a fire department can improve its rating amounts to about an 8% decrease on property insurance for homeowners.
Right now, two things are certain: the Checkers have two games remaining on their regular season schedule and then they are headed for the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The specifics beyond that – what position they will end up in, who they will play, when they will play, how many rounds they will have to play – are still up in the air, and their results largely hinge on a high-stakes weekend.
“These are probably the two biggest games of the year,” said defenseman Chase Priskie. “We’re still playing for a division title.”
The Checkers currently find themselves in a dogfight atop the Atlantic Division with the Providence Bruins and the Springfield Thunderbirds. The three squads have traded grasps of first place over the last few weeks, with the Bruins currently holding a slight edge over the Checkers – who have a razor-thin advantage on the Thunderbirds.
With the AHL using points percentage to determine the standings for this season and with the Checkers playing 72 games compared to the Bruins and Thunderbirds’ 76, forecasting the race is a bit convoluted.
But the basic takeaway is this: the Checkers have a fighting chance at capturing their second-straight division title and earning the Atlantic’s top seed.
“This is what we really play for,” said Priskie. “Everything is just a bit heightened, every detail matters that much more. We’re just taking our focus into Friday night and preparing as if these were playoff games.”
Along with a division title, earning that top seed would seal home-ice advantage for a Checkers squad that has thrived under the Bojangles Coliseum roof.
“It would be huge,” said Priskie. “We play extremely well at home and we play extremely well in front of our awesome fans. Anything that can give us an advantage rolling into the playoffs is greatly appreciated.”
“Playing in front of the fans here has been unbelievable,” said rookie forward Cole Schwindt. “They’ve been here every night, they’ve been up and they’ve been cheering. That gives us a bit of a spark and getting to play in front of them with home-ice advantage would be phenomenal.”
Finishing as one of the Atlantic’s top two seeds unlocks another significant wrinkle – having a bye past the best-of-three opening round and moving directly to the second round, which could present a double-edged sword of sorts.
“You can look at it a couple of different ways,” said Checkers Assistant Coach Dan Bylsma. “If we play the play-in round, it’s still potentially seven, eight, nine days before we play. If we don’t play that round it’s like three weeks. So there’s a benefit of getting that time off but there’s also concern of not playing hockey in three-plus weeks and going into a game. But we’ll approach that when we get the opportunity to approach that.”
The Checkers are facing down two big games of consequence, but the team has been ramping up their game to shine on this stage for some time now.
“Our approach for the last 10 games here has been getting our team to play playoff hockey,” said Bylsma. “We’ve got two big games coming this weekend and we’re approaching them as playoff games in that regard.”
The two squads on the schedule for Charlotte are Hartford and Providence – one team playing for their playoff lives and one team directly battling for the division crown.
Suffice to say there won’t be any rolling over by opponents this weekend.
“We’re still fighting for position and Hartford is desperately fighting for position,” said Bylsma.
“All the games coming up here are going to be the same,” said Schwindt. “Everybody is going to be playing to win.”
The Checkers’ path forward remains unclear – even with a perfect weekend, there will still be scoreboard watching for Providence and Springfield (who currently have six and five games left, respectively) – but the bottom line for the team is to take care of business and be prepared for what is hopefully a long playoff run.
“Our focus right now is Friday night in Hartford,” said Priskie. “Go out there and put our best foot forward for the first 10 and just see where we land and roll from there.” “I think it’s been our team’s mentality for the last 20 games or so,” said Bylsma. “We’re trying to get to championship hockey. Our guys have really bought into that and played playoff team hockey.”
The US is prepping another $800 million military assistance package for Ukraine, according to three senior administration officials and two sources familiar with the planning.
Details of the latest package are still being privately discussed and could change, but earlier Tuesday, President Joe Biden said the US plans to send more artillery to Ukraine.
Upon arrival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Biden was asked by reporters on the tarmac if he plans to send more artillery to Ukraine.
Biden told reporters, “Yes,” before boarding his motorcade.
The senior administration official said the newest package could be approved within the next 36 hours, though another administration official said the timing isn’t locked down and it could come within the coming days.
The size of the package could also change at the last minute, the second official said.
The latest package would come a week after the Biden administration authorized another $800 million security package, which included artillery and anti-artillery radars for the first time since the Russian invasion began.
The Biden administration is working to get the military assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible because they believe the war is in a critical stage and the continued US assistance could make a difference when Russia’s more aggressive assault on Eastern Ukraine ramps up, one of the administration officials said.
The more open terrain in that region favors the use of artillery and long-range systems, which is why the administration has placed a premium on getting those types of systems in quickly as the fighting moves away from Kyiv and into the Donbas region.
The region also borders Russia, allowing the Russian forces to maintain shorter supply lines needed to sustain an assault. Ukraine and Russia, through its own forces and proxies, have fought in the Donbas region for the last eight years, making it familiar territory for both forces.
This week Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with the Prime Minister of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal, in Washington, DC to discuss aid for Ukraine and holding Russia accountable. A Ukrainian delegation will be in the capital this week as part of the 2022 IMF-World Bank Spring meetings.
If approved, the latest package of $800 million would mean the US has committed approximately $3.4 billion dollars in assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on February 24.
This would be the last presidential drawdown until Congress approves more money for weapons to Ukraine. In a presidential drawdown, the Defense Department pulls weapons and equipment from US inventories to send to Ukraine instead of purchasing new weapons from manufacturers.
Graduating high schoolers take a trip to Chattanooga State
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – For students about to graduate high school, knowing what the possibilities are for what college can offer is extremely valuable.
See how students from Howard gained some of that understanding in tonight’s What’s Right With Our Schools.
DR. MITCHELL: Today’s program is great because we again we always say you can’t be what you can’t see in life right so, we’re getting our students on to the Chatt State campus. They’re learning about financial aid they’re learning about to be able to collaborate with students that are already here on campus.
“I’m here to talk to give you guys kind of a uh, a small taste of what a college class is going to be like.”
DR. MITCHELL: We’re painting that vision but then also too we will be going and collaborating with the STEM students as well doing the leadership exchange program there with some brainstorming activities.
REBECCA: Having these students on campus helps them first of all to connect with college and see what’s possible after high school.
“Some of you it’ll be getting done and going to work. For some of you it’ll be leaving here and going on to a university to get a bachelor’s degree. Whatever course of action you’re choosing we’ve got things set up that’s intended to support you.”
TAY’VIONA: Getting to have a relationship with my professor I know that I’ll be able to excel somewhere in life in college instead of like sitting back and being that student that’s like I can’t do this so I give up. I’m a dropout.
TRAE: It gives us as faculty an opportunity to create alongside of them solutions when life happens, when family issues come up, when car troubles exist. When all of those things come up (as they do for everyone) when we as faculty know, we partner with the student to still make them academically successful.
“The first topic of the breakout sessions is paying for college.”
DR. MITCHELL: They also learned about the financial aid piece. How I could take 10 minutes for you just to fill out a piece of paper, and get your college paid for.
“Every single year you want to submit that FASA. And you want to submit it as early as you can.”
REBECCA: When they’re here they are connecting with people who can help them later on, when they hope to become students here. But then they can also see themselves here. You know one of the things I’m most excited about is they will actually experience a college class. So they can see what that’s like.And say I can do this.
TAY’VIONA: I thank Howard for letting me come to Chatt State today to ask questions and get like experience like what type of experience I will have when I go off into the college life.
DR. MITCHELL: The main objective is to get our students on to a college campus so they can see themselves in that position and be successful.
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