View Comments Renée Elise Goldsberry(Photo: Emilio Madrid-Kuser) Here’s a quick roundup of stories you might have missed today. Renée Elise Goldsberry & More to Appear in Documentary Now! Parody of Company Cast Album DocIFC’s hit series Documentary Now! is making theater fans’ dreams come true. The hit show has announced an upcoming episode parodying the 1970 documentary Original Cast Album: Company, which captured the night-long recording session of Company’s first cast recording, Vulture reports. The new version, titled Original Cast Album: Co-Op, will feature Oh, Hello alum John Mulaney as one of the album’s producers along with Tony winner Renée Elise Goldsberry, Tony nominee Alex Brightman and Tony nominee Richard Kind playing the show’s stars. An air date for what is sure to be a must-watch episode is to come.South Pacific Will Return to Cinemas in Time for Its 60th AnniversarySome enchanted evening, indeed. The breathtaking 1958 movie musical adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific is making its way back to movie theaters to toast its 60th anniversary. The flick will appear in nearly 700 movie theaters for two days only: August 26 and August 29 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm ET as part of Fathom Events’ TCM Big Screen Classics series. The South Pacific film features memorable performances by Mitzi Gaynor as Ensign Nellie Forbush, Rosanno Brazzi as Emile De Becque, John Kerr as Lt. Joseph Cable, France Nuyen as Liat, Ray Walston as Luther Billis and Juanita Hall as Bloody Mary. Mark down the dates and check out the movie’s original trailer below. Anderson Cooper, Samira Wiley & More Sign On for Laramie Project BenefitMore stars have been announced to take part in an upcoming benefit reading of The Laramie Project in memory of the life of Matthew Shepard. The event will take place on September 24 at 7:00pm at the Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College. Newly announced participants include Anderson Cooper, who will serve as host, with new cast members including Emmy nominee Samira Wiley, Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, comedian and YouTube star Randy Rainbow and Critics’ Choice Television Award nominee Asia Kate Dillon. They join the previously announced Tony winners Neil Patrick Harris, Mary Louise Parker and Billy Porter, along with original Laramie Project cast members Stephen Belber, Amanda Gronich, Mercedes Herrero, Andy Paris, Greg Pierotti, Barbara Pitts McAdams and Kelli Simpkins. Tectonic Theater Project founder and original Laramie Project director Moisés Kaufman will direct the performance.P.S. Get a peek at stage alums John Slattery, Diane Lane, Andrew Rannells & more in a new teaser of the Prime series The Romanoffs, kicking off on October 12. read more

Energtek Inc (OTC BB: EGTK), a hi-tech natural gas solutions and Adsorbed Natural Gas (ANG) company, has announced that it has finalized the land purchase in Vermont for the filling station. “We have completed paying for the 25 acre Swanton, Vermont site, which is in an ideal location for a filling station: i) right on a transport pipeline;  ii) elevated area on the pipeline (to minimize curtailments and pressure drops);  iii) right next to an inter-state on-ramp;  iv)  with identified customers who cannot be served by anyone else and who are eagerly awaiting our deliveries; v) right next to electricity sub-station for adequate secure power supply,” said Chairman of Energtek North Country Inc., Mr. Lev Zaidenberg.”We have obtained almost all the necessary permits – Local zoning, State Public Service Board, State Land Use permit, State storm-water permit, State fire-marshal, water and wastewater permit.  We have a signed gas supply agreement with Vermont Gas, which includes commitment by the latter to build the requisite Tap, meter, PRMS and associated facilities needed to actually hand over gas to the filling station.  We have arranged the basic infrastructure for moving on with the project,” he added.About Energtek   Energtek develops and applies innovative mobile transportation solutions for small, mid-size and large industrial, residential and agricultural consumers and fleets of small vehicles (NGV).  Energtek operates subsidiaries in North America, Europe and Asia. Source: NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Energtek www.energtek.com(link is external) read more

A traffic stop on Floyd Street led to the arrest of a long-time East Hampton resident who now lives in Florida on felony cocaine possession charges late Saturday afternoon, October 13.Aaron Petty, 27, was driving a 2007 BMW when he failed to yield for oncoming traffic near the intersection of Floyd and Spinner Lane. After making the stop, the officer reported smelling marijuana, and initiated a search of the vehicle, which turned up 23 small plastic packets of cocaine, hidden in the glove box, the police said, with a total weight of over one-eighth of an ounce. Police allegedly also found a small electronic scale.Petty was charged with two felonies, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, and possession of over an eighth of an ounce of the narcotic. He was also charged with one misdemeanor, with police saying they found a half tablet of Xanax. After transporting Petty to police headquarters, they added a violation charge of unlawful possession of marijuana. The packet of marijuana was allegedly found in the back of the patrol car Petty had been transported in.Petty denied the drugs were his. He claimed a friend had been using the car, which is registered to Petty at his North Miami address.Brian DeSesa, who represented Petty for his Sunday morning arraignment, entered a denial to the felony charges on Petty’s behalf. East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky said during the arraignment that Petty is facing similar charges out of Southampton Village, following an arrest there in March of this year. DeSesa said Petty grew up in East Hampton, and graduated from East Hampton High School. He pointed out that Petty’s aunt and uncle were in the courtroom. Petty told Justice Tekulsky that he had been working during the season in Montauk at the Royal Atlantic’s beach bar, but had been planning to return to Florida this week. Tekulsky set bail at $10,000. Petty, overwhelmed with emotion, turned and looked at his aunt, saying, “That’s a lot of money.” He was taken to county jail later Sunday, where he remained as of Tuesday morning. If Petty fails to post bail, the district attorney’s office will have until Friday to obtain an indictment from a grand jury on the felony charges, or they will be required to release him under the law governing such cases. t.e@indyeastend.com Share read more

The helium supplied by Messer will help to keep the parade’s balloons afloat, including those shaped as popular characters such as Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants.“Messer is pleased to elate attendees at this year’s parade in close collaboration with Macy’s,” said Chris Ebeling, Executive Vice-President for Sales & Marketing, US Bulk at Messer.“It’s a great feeling seeing the smiling families that attend this tremendous event and watching the balloons make their way through the city streets.”Approximately 3.5 million people are expected to attend the parade in New York, and more than 50 million expected are to watch the event on the television.“We are thrilled to continue our long-standing partnership with our helium supplier that keeps out balloons flying high each Thanksgiving,” said Susan Tercero, Executive Producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.“With Messer, we will continue to elevate our signature character balloons, as together we delight millions from coast-to-coast.” read more

NIWA scientists are this month launching some cutting-edge technology capable of finding out what’s going on at the bottom of the ocean.Two plastic-encased glass balls, measuring 35 cm in diameter, will be deployed from NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa east of the Kermadec Trench in a scientific first aimed at adding to our understanding of global climate change.Called Deep Argo floats, they contain sensors to measure temperature and salinity between the surface and about 6000m deep, along with devices to transmit the data to satellites.This is the first time these measuring instruments will be tested at such depths and represent the next stage in the international Argo programme.Current Argo floats take measurements in the top 2000m of our oceans and since the programme’s inception in 1999, NIWA has played a key role in deploying floats to maintain the more than 3000 that are now in place around the globe.Argo floats work by first sinking down to about 1km below sea level. Every nine days they sink to 2km before coming back up to the ocean surface. As the float rises, it measures temperature and salinity through the water column. On the surface the data and position of the float are transmitted via satellite before the float repeats the process.The data collected, which are freely available, are helping improve our understanding of the oceans’ role in climate as well as our weather and climate prediction systems.However, NIWA oceanographer Phil Sutton says the deep ocean could play a crucial role in shaping the earth’s climate and not enough is known about what happens below 2000m.Seattle company Sea-bird Electronics has now developed sensors for Deep Argo floats being developed at Scripps Institution of Oceanography for this purpose and the developers will join scientists on the voyage to test their prototypes.“This is really leading-edge emerging technology that will, for the first time, allow us to fill in the gap in data between 2000m and the sea floor,” Dr Sutton says.Press Release, June 17, 2014 read more

Shareholders in claims manager National Accident Helpline stand to make £32.7m when the company floats on the London Stock Exchange next week.The marketing collective, which has around 40 law firms on its panel, has announced the pricing of its initial public offering ahead of its floatation on the AIM market.The placing price has been set at £2 per ordinary share, with the total value of the issued shares estimated at £82.3mThe selling shareholders are Inflexion 2006 General Partner Limited and Inflexion Co-investment Limited, Lloyds Development Capital (Holdings) Limited, OBS 2009 and LDC Opportunity Club and certain individual shareholders comprising current and former members of the NAHL Group’s management.Following the placing, the directors will hold 12% of the ordinary shares, with Inflexion, Lloyds Development Capital and Alan Kennedy (founder) holding 15.01%, 15.01% and 9.15%, respectively.The trading of ordinary shares is expected to start at 8am on 29 May.The National Accident Helpline brand has become well-established since it was founded in the UK in 1993, largely down to advertising spend of more than £200m. In 2013 it generated more than 70,000 enquiries to pass onto its panel members.In the year ended 31 December 2013, the group generated revenues of £39.7m and operating profit of £9.8mRussell Atkinson, chief executive, said this is a ‘natural time’ for the company to go public. ‘We have a long track record of consistent and profitable growth with a highly cash generative business model which we expect will deliver an attractive yield for investors.‘The legislative changes that were introduced in April 2013 have been embedded and we believe an IPO will provide an excellent platform for the group to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities that this legislation has created.’ read more

New body would enforce the principles of ‘equity and mercy’ Lord Sales tells lawyersSource: Photoshot’We need to build a structure of legal obligations on those who design and build algorithms,’ he told an audience hosted by magic circle firm Freshfields. To impose a legal order on the digital world, Lord Sales proposed setting up an algorithms commission to enforce the principles of ‘equity and mercy’. Staffed by technical experts assisted by lawyers and ethicists, the commission would provide ‘a valuable social resource’ to restore agency to computer-based decisions.One model could be the independent regulator of utilities, he said. ‘You could also think of it as an arm of a constitutional court,’ policing principles of human rights. While such a body would not be cheap,  the likely cost would be ‘proportionate to the risks’ society faces. Lord Sales also acknowledged that the commission would be open to criticism as ‘one expert elite monitoring another expert elite’ – however this could be mitigated by making its proceedings as transparent as possible. Several national and international bodies have this year called for scrutiny of algorithm-based decision-making. In June the Law Society’s policy commission on algorithms in the criminal justice system warned of  ‘a worrying lack of oversight’. A Supreme Court justice has added his voice to calls for the regulation of computer algorithms handling crucial decisions about people’s lives. An ‘expert commission’ could help ensure that automated decision making processes have ‘a capacity for mercy’, Lord Sales (Philip Sales QC), said last night. Presenting the British and Irish Legal Information Institute’s Sir Henry Brooke Lecture, Lord Sales said the growing role of algorithms and artificial intelligence poses significant legal problems, in particular around the fundamental concept of agency. Existing prejudices could be embedded in hidden rules that are impossible to challenge, he said. ’AI may get to the stage where it will understand the rules of equity and how to recognise hard cases, but we are not there yet.’  read more

ITALY: In an exceptionally strongly-worded statement, private high speed operator Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori has urged the Italian government to intervene to resolve an increasingly bitter dispute with infrastructure manager RFI over paths.NTV convened an emergency board meeting on March 25 after receiving notification that RFI’s Network Statement had been ‘significantly changed’, only days after the operator had lodged its application for paths in 2012. NTV claimed that the amendments were designed ‘to cause serious and irreparable damage’ by delaying and possibly permanently preventing the launch of its services, which have already been put back by several months.The statement explained that RFI had ‘unilaterally decided to change the rules in force at the time of signing the Framework Agreement’ in January 2008. NTV’s entire business plan had been prepared on the basis of this agreement, and the company said it had already fostered ‘€1bn of private investment and the creation of 300 jobs, with a further 2 000 created indirectly’.Denouncing RFI’s changes to the Network Statement as ‘unacceptable in a country governed by the rule of law and illegal in any case under current legislation’, the board called for immediate government intervention to create ‘a truly independent third party to take responsibility for the proper conduct of market liberalisation in the rail sector’.It also demanded that the Finance Ministry should act to ensure state holding company FS Group, the ultimate owner of both RFI and Trenitalia, ‘ceases once and for all’ its ‘unfair behaviour that prevents both the industry and its customers from enjoying the benefits of competition’.The statement concluded with a declaration that the NTV board had authorised its senior management to ‘pursue all options’ to protect the company’s rights under Italian and European law. read more

EUROPE: Announcing the rebranding of its ‘rail motorway’ business as VIIA on June 7, SNCF Geodis said that its Perpignan – Luxembourg service is to extended to Helsingborg in Sweden later this year. A southern extension into Spain is also being planned, following the successful conclusion of initial cross-border tests to Llers on June 3.The Perpignan – Luxembourg service carried 50 000 semi-trailers and swap bodies in 2011, with the increase in maximum train lengths to 850 m providing a 33% increase in capacity on the four daily return trips. With the Mont Cenis tunnel between France and Italy cleared to the GB1 loading gauge, VIIA’s Aiton – Orbassano service is now able to accept standard semi-trailers and it is hoped to grow traffic by 40% or ‘around 10 000 extra transport units a year’. ‘Rail motorways are on their way to forming a real network’, said SNCF Geodis Finance Director Olivier Storch. ‘The recent introduction of the longest train in Europe reflects a renewal of rail and proves rail’s ability to adapt to customer expectations on service, costs, reliability and CO2 emissions.’ read more

MiamiBrowardCarnival.com Goes LiveMiami Broward Carnival (MBC) and MasLife365 hosted the #MBCGoesLive Soiree at the Betsy Hotel to officially unveil the new wwwMiamiBrowardCarnival.com website. MBC attracts up to 60,000 visitors yearly, held on Columbus Day weekend, Carnival has contributed the multicultural landscape of South Florida. With a recent spike in Caribbean influenced urban culture and music, Miami Carnival plays a pivotal role in the advancement of that culture.Attended by some of South Florida’s social media influencers and bloggers, the event was intended to share some of the new features and programing that will help connect the MBC brand with key influencers who attend MBC and are social media engaged. The event was hosted by blogger/influencer, Erica Knowles, Getting To Know the World and Collective Drift.The all new Miami Broward Carnival website has been completely rebuilt and redesigned for the mobile world with an emphasis on better engaging our already thousands of monthly visitors. The new website will feature MasLife365’s newly developed, fresh and exciting video series “Road to Miami Broward Carnival”, that explores Miami’s vibrant Caribbean culture, nightlife and the people and personalities that make MBC the event of a lifetime. The main stage of site covers all the major features of the main events of carnivalMBC also includes a data driven social media component that is aimed at better connecting visitors to what they love the most and the ability to share Miami Carnival across all social media platforms. In the world of mobility, the new MBC website is optimized for great viewing experiences on smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices.The platform was created to reach a core base of influencers, MasLife enthusiast, Tastemakers, Event goers and Travelers. MasLife365.com media platform covers Carnival cultures in major cities in the US, Canada, UK and the Caribbean with the ability to target an extended reach of millions of Caribbean and MasLife curious followers. read more