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RTC Transit

RTC Transit is the name of the public bus system in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of Clark County, Nevada. It is a subsidiary of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. While it services most of Clark County with regularly scheduled routes, most of the service is in the immediate Las Vegas Valley; outlying places such as Mesquite and Laughlin provide transit services to their residents via the Southern Nevada Transit Coalition, which uses several vehicles acquired from RTC Transit. In, the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of.

Las Vegas Transit
The privately owned Las Vegas Transit System, Inc. ("LVT") provided bus service on the streets of Las Vegas for more than 40 years. LVT service mainly consisted of loop routes that made many turns throughout the city, sometimes doubling back on its own routes and making several "subloops" within a loop. At one point, LVT was named America's worst transit system.

The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTCSNV or RTC) was formed in 1965 by state legislation to oversee federally-mandated transportation planning in Clark County. Under pressure by the county and state, and by order of the state court, the company was ordered to cease operations except on Route 6-The Strip and relinquish all its city-owned buses to the Regional Transportation Commission of Clark County as of November 15, 1992. LVT and its successors continued to operate service in competition with Citizens Area Transit until about 2005.

Citizens Area Transit era (1992–2008)
Citizens Area Transit ("CAT") was formed by the RTC to provide reliable bus service to the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, Las Vegas Township, Mesquite, and Laughlin. The system began on November 15, 1992 under the direction of Kurt Weinrich, its general manager. Initially the old LVT routes were operated unchanged except for route 6–The Strip, which LVT still retained. The system was totally reconfigured and Strip service begun December 5, 1992. The fleet consisted of mostly old vehicles such as Flxible Grummans, GMC RTSs, TMC RTSs and Gillig Phantoms. They had also purchased 90 new New Flyer D40HFs. The initial route structure was soon seen as deficient and second complete revision was made in June on 1993. Soon after, CAT began to catch on with the city and blossomed. In 1997, the American Public Transportation Association awarded CAT with their highest honor, Best Transit System in America (within its category). However, things began to change in the following years. In 2002, The Amalgamated Transit Union and the bus contractor, ATC, began contract renewal negotiations, but the two sides were unable to reach a compromise on operators' wages and in May of that year, CAT suffered its first strike. Several drivers walked off the job and onto the picket lines, and service had to be suspended on several routes. Coach operators from sister agencies were called in to drive the buses and serve the city before a settlement was reached.

In 2004, CAT received its first shipment of 10 Irisbus Civis bus rapid transit (BRT) vehicles from Irisbus. These buses served on the new Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) route, which serves Nellis Air Force Base via North Las Vegas Boulevard. RTC was a member of the BRT Consortium organized by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) in 1999. North Las Vegas Boulevard had been restriped in spring 2000, which converted what had been a breakdown lane into a dedicated transit lane; RTC subsequently applied for a federal grant in 2002 under the Bus Rapid Transit Initiative. The Civis featured an optical guidance system (OGS) to automate docking at level-boarding platforms, similar to a light-rail system; however, the OGS proved to be unreliable in service due to the difficulty of maintaining pavement markings. Revenue service on MAX started on June 30, 2004; ridership increased by 25% by the end of 2004, and end-to-end travel times were cut approximately in half, from 50 to 25 minutes.

A year later, CAT received its first shipment of 50 double decker buses from Alexander Dennis. As new vehicles arrived, the RTC started a vehicle replacement program and began to retire its older CAT fleet. In March 2007, CAT received its first shipment of 30 Diesel-Electric Hybrid vehicles from New Flyer. Later that year, an additional 40 double deck vehicles from Alexander Dennis arrived, and the RTC unveiled a new rapid transit system which uses the new Diesel-Hybrid RTV Streetcar from Wright Group. The first line was called the "Gold Line", which serviced the downtown and strip corridors.

RTC Transit era (present)
In late 2007, the RTC began to rebrand the Citizens Area Transit system as RTC Transit. The New Flyer 900 series coaches were the last to be purchased with the CAT logo, and the first to be purchased with the RTC logo. The CAT bus stop signs around the city were replaced by "Transit Stop" signs using the RTC logo. All rider alerts, bus announcements, bus books, and new NABI Hybrid, NABI Diesel and New Flyer CNG buses no longer use the CAT logo.

The RTC received 50 NABI vehicles and the final shipment of 40 42 ft "Deuce" double-deck buses in summer 2008. The RTC also began to receive 45 New Flyer CNG vehicles in late fall 2008. The rebranding was completed on January 1, 2009 when RTC vehicles started featuring "RTC TRANSIT" along with the normal route destination headers. All remaining CAT buses are in the process of retirement or being refurbished to the new RTC gold/blue livery.

In 2007, nine RTC executives received pay raises which averaged 22%. The raises were based on the findings of a consultant, Peter Ronza, who was once employed by Clark County.

The RTC faced serious legal issues in 2008 after several car accidents involving bus shelters occurred. The public demanded that the RTC improve the safety of its shelters, while the RTC stated that there was only so much they could do. The RTC created a Bus Shelter Advisory Committee, and made studies concerning bus stop safety. In 2009, the RTC raised bus fares despite public outcry. In 2009 and 2010, proposed bus fares increased from 62% for monthly passes to 100% for full day fare passes. The RTC argued that the fare hikes were due to higher fuel costs, however the largest increase in transit expenditures came from a tripling in capital outlays, rising from $54.5 million in 2007 to $162.9 million in 2009. The price for thirty-day bus passes increased 225% from 1999 to 2010. Ridership was at an all-time high in 2008 due to the very high gas prices, with many people deciding to try transit instead. Ridership numbers declined in 2009 when fuel prices dropped and riders either returned to their own vehicles or began carpooling with co-workers and family.

In January 2010, RTC introduced the ACE branding for its bus rapid transit offerings. The first ACE route was the ACE Gold Line, connecting downtown Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Strip, and the South Strip Transfer Terminal. In addition, ACExpress was introduced as branding for its express bus service, with an express bus line connecting the Centennial Hills neighborhood northwest of the city with downtown Las Vegas, the Center Strip, and UNLV. In May 2010, RTC rebranded its lines away from the "ACE" name due to a lawsuit from Ace Cab, a local Las Vegas taxi operator; ACE Gold became the Strip and Downtown Express (SDX); ACExpress became Centennial Express (CX), and ACE Green became the Boulder Highway Express (BHX)

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), under its BRT Standard, has classified the Strip and Downtown Express as a "Basic BRT" corridor.

Future
In 2018, RTC began examining the possibility of installing light rail or enhanced bus rapid transit service along high-ridership routes, particularly the Maryland Parkway corridor.

Operations
The RTC currently operates 36 routes with 12 routes operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including The Deuce on The Strip. Most routes run from early morning (04:00) until late night (01:00). On weekends & holidays, some routes either operate less frequently, operate with less hours, or not operate at all. Las Vegas has one of the most comprehensive night bus networks in the United States, owing to the 24-hour nature of the casinos and hospitality industry.

RTC Transit is the largest outsourced transit operation in the United States, having overtaken the title from the now-defunct Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Long Island Bus service in late 2011. As of 2011, the contract is worth approximately $600 million over seven years. The fixed route system had been operated by Veolia Transport and its predecessors, ATC-Vancom and National Express, since inception. Bus operators, mechanics, and most other contractor employees are represented by Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1637. Paratransit and dial-a-ride services are operated by First Transit.

The fixed route contract was scheduled to expire September 25, 2011, and was awarded to First Transit, the apparent low bidder and highest scorer on the comprehensive review, however, Veolia has complained to the RTC board of bidding irregularities in the First Transit bid as well as an unfair emphasis on price in comparison to other technical factors. The RTC board approved the First Transit bid on a 4-3 vote, but after the Nevada Attorney General reprimanded the RTC for approving the contract without a majority of the eight members on the RTC board (as opposed to merely those present), which was determined by a district court judge that all 8 members were not required and the award was legitimate. However, in the fallout of the court decision, the RTC returned for a re-vote in which the board then deadlocked at 4-4 for multiple months. The RTC board decided that it was best to cancel the award and bring forward a new fresh proposal for bid, and gave Veolia a 1-year extension while the board found a means to obtain a majority to make a decision. First Transit subsequently sued the RTC to force them to make a decision.

In November 2011 First Transit and the RTC settled their lawsuit. First Transit continued to operate the paratransit system and Veolia continued to operate the fixed route bus system until the end of 2012. The new fixed route transit contract will be split into two, to allow smaller vendors to bid. The two contract system is similar to that of Foothill Transit in the Los Angeles area, which is the third largest outsourced fixed route public transit system in the United States.

In December 2012, the contractors for both yards submitted their 1st round proposals with Veolia, Keolis (no relation to Veolia), and MV Transportation advancing to round 2 and First Transit failing to advance. In January 2013, the remaining contractors submitted their final proposals to the board, and on February 14, 2013, the RTC voted to award the Sunset Maintenance Facility to Keolis, and the Simmons Maintenance Facility to MV, beating out the original two contractors. Keolis and MV began operations of RTC Transit on July 7, 2013 at 12:00am.

MV operates routes 101, 102, 105, 106, 110, 111, 113, 115, 120, 121, 203, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 214, 215, 218, 219, 603, 604, 607, CX, & DVX. These routes are primarily in the northern portion of the service area. MV also operates the 700 series (Silver Star) routes. Keolis operates routes 103, 104, 108, 109, 117, 119, 122, 201, 202, 212, 217, 401, 402, 601, 602, 605, 606, 608, The Deuce on The Strip, BHX, & SX. These routes are primarily in the southern portion of the service area. MV also operates RTC Paratransit operations as of March 2020.

RTC once again consolidated the expiring individual fixed route contracts held by Keolis (Sunset) and MV (Simmons) respectively. The 4-year contract was awarded to First Transit, which was subsequently purchased by Transdev. Transdev took over operations on July 1, 2023.

Service area
RTC Transit operates a grid-type system within the Las Vegas Valley, which includes the four incorporated cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson, and Boulder City; in addition, the remaining service area is in unincorporated Clark County. The system's two busiest routes, The Deuce on The Strip and Route 109 Maryland Parkway, provide service to the Las Vegas Strip and Harry Reid International Airport, respectively. Approximately 40% of Clark County residents do not live within close proximity of a bus stop.

RTC Transit also operates special routes for occasions such as sporting events at Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena, and Las Vegas Ballpark.

Route numbers

 * 100s: Local North/South routes.
 * 200s: Local East/West routes.
 * 300s: "The Deuce" Strip Corridor routes.
 * 400s: Regular Shuttle routes.
 * 500s: Express routes.
 * 600s: Special Shuttle routes.
 * 700s: Silver STAR routes.
 * FDRs: Flexible Demand Response routes.

 * Notes

RTC Paratransit
Even though all buses in the system have wheelchair lifts, RTC operates RTC Paratransit for people who have difficulty in accessing the regular transit system. By-appointment-only paratransit is a door-to-door service. RTC also maintains an open charge account with a local taxicab company to service paratransit ridership when unforeseen delays occur, frequently caused by traffic congestion.

Fares
Fares effective as of May 1, 2021

Fixed routes
For all vehicles, children 5 & younger ride for free with fare-paying rider; 3-kid limit applies.

U-Pass: UNLV, NSC, & CSN Student, Faculty, & Staff
Purchased through campus bookstore; provides a 50% discount on monthly passes and a 68% discount on semester passes. Valid on all routes.

Paratransit
Door-to-door service for riders who are unable to use the fixed-route system.  Fares effective as of July 1, 2013:

 * Notes

Equipment
RTC currently operates mainly New Flyer, Alexander Dennis and Wright StreetCar RTV coaches for fixed routes, and mainly Ford Econoline vans for paratransit. On October 27, 2005, CAT added a fleet of double decker buses on The Strip Route. The route is now called The Deuce.

Active
All buses are fully ADA compliant and are 8.5 ft wide.

Color schemes
The first "mountains" livery used was a white base with a mix of broad teal and magenta stripes, black lining around the windows, and the CAT logo in the midsection body, front, and rear. This livery was used from 1992 to 2001.

In 2001, the second "stripes" livery came in three variants, with the second one being the primary livery. The RTC decided to abandon their teal and magenta color scheme and adopted a white, blue, and gold scheme with blue stripes with a cat running on a white base, white around the windows, moving the CAT logo to just above the first window on either side, under the windshield, and on the engine door (with the exception of the Neoplans which had the logo placed above the rear header). Prior to the arrival of the 2001 New Flyer CNGs and Neoplans, the RTC began repainting the fleet with the blue stripe livery. Once they arrived, the RTC approved a variant to the livery and instead of having just blue stripes, it became blue and gold alternating stripes with the logos in the same positions. The RTC then started repainting coaches with this new variant, leaving the already painted coaches with the 1st variant. This livery was used from 2001 to 2005 on the fixed-route fleet. It is the current livery for the RTC paratransit fleet, using the 2nd variant. Since 2008, a 3rd variant has been used by removing the running cat, having the stripes extend around the vehicle, and replacing the CAT logo with the RTC logo.

In 2004, 10 Irisbus Civis coaches arrived for service on the new BRT line, complete with a new MAX Line "bluenose" livery. It consisted of a blue base, with a white line that stretched the length of the coach, and with gold stars on the rear quarterpanels of each side.

In 2005, the RTC again changed the livery, returning to the first "mountains" livery design using the new color scheme, extending the shapes to the bottom of the vehicle. This livery was only used on the 800 series coaches and on coach 654, and it was only used in 2005. A variant of this livery has the CAT logos replaced with RTC fleet logos on the sides of the coach.

Later in 2005, the RTC received its shipment of 50 double deck Alexander Dennis Enviro500 vehicles, painted in a third "goldbug" livery. This one consisted of an all-gold base, with a blue trim around the bottom, and the transit logo between both decks, under the windshield, and under the engine door. Originally limited to the double deckers, the RTC decided to adopt the "goldbug" scheme for new fleet purchases starting in 2006. For non-double deck vehicles, the CAT logo remained above the windows, but the RTC logo was added to the position where the CAT logo was in 1992. To date, only 2 vehicles that were already part of the fleet have been repainted in this livery variant (buses 571 and 725). The New Flyer 900 series vehicles were the last vehicles with this livery. In 2008, the RTC made a variant of the "goldbug" livery which had the CAT logo removed and replaced by a special RTC logo only used on these buses. Coach 702 has been repainted with this livery variant. In 2009, RTC commissioned another variant of the livery by replacing the special RTC logo with an "RTC Transit" logo on the sides and front of the coach. "Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada" was placed near the bottom of the coach. New "No Right Turn On Red" and "This Bus Stops At All Railroad Crossings" stickers were placed on the rear. The numbers were moved to the right of the front and rear of each coach, and "www.rtcsnv.com" is placed on the rear either on the destination sign just under the screen or on one of the engine doors.

In 2010, a new "goldface" BRT livery was implemented with the Wright StreetCars, which consists of a gold base with a blue stripe and a white stripe; the one-piece windshield is outlined in white.

South Strip Transfer Terminal
The South Strip Transfer Terminal (or "SSTT"), owned by the RTC, is located just south of Harry Reid International Airport on Sunset Rd. and Gilespie St. The SSTT was opened in 2003 after the Vacation Village hotel and casino was closed, which was the southern terminus for many CAT routes. The SSTT has 18 transit bays that are serviced by seven RTC routes, Megabus, which began on December 12, 2012, providing service from the SSTT to Los Angeles via Riverside, and BoltBus to Los Angeles. Both have since ceased operation. In 2008 the park and ride lot was expanded, doubling the amount of spaces available, in response to the overwhelming use of the lot by commuters heading to the airport. The Amtrak Thruway #10 and Greyhound started using the station in 2021, with Greyhound abandoning its long held station at the Plaza Las Vegas.

• 18 transit bays
 * SSTT amenities

• payphones

• restrooms

• security offices

• transit vault

• customer service windows

• waiting room

• vending machines

• ticket vending machines

• "Park and Ride" lot

• "Kiss and Ride" passenger drop-off and pick-up area

• WiFi

• # 109 / Deuce on The Strip (unloading only)
 * SSTT Bays

• # 109 / Deuce on The Strip (unloading only)

• # 109 / Deuce on The Strip (unloading only)

• # 217 EB & WB

• # 212 & 217 Overflow

• # 212 EB & WB

• # Not Used

• # Not Used

• # Megabus to Riverside and Los Angeles

• # Not Used

• # Amtrak California to Bakersfield, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles

• # Not Used

• # 104 NB

• # Deuce on The Strip NB (loading only)

• # 117 SB

• # 109 Overflow / Silver Rider / Paratransit

• # 122 SB

• # 109 NB (loading only)

Downtown Transportation Center
The Downtown Transportation Center (or "DTC") was the main transit center for the RTC systems in downtown Las Vegas. The DTC had 30 numbered bays, and 4 unnumbered bays that serviced 14 RTC routes, and a private Primm employee shuttle route. The DTC was opened in the late 1980s to serve as the main terminal for the Las Vegas City Trolley, and for the private Las Vegas Transit System, Inc. In 1992, it became the terminal for Citizens Area Transit, once Las Vegas Transit ceased operations. Originally, the DTC only had 23 bays, with two of them unnumbered. In 1999, the city expanded the terminal by building a northern plaza which required closing down Mesquite Ave. in the area. The DTC remained under ownership of the City of Las Vegas until July 31, 2009 when the city discontinued their CityRide transit system and transferred control of the terminal to the RTC. The RTC closed the aging terminal on November 7, 2010, with the grand opening of the Bonneville Transit Center.

• 34 transit bays
 * DTC amenities

• restrooms

• security offices

• customer service windows

• waiting room

• ticket vending machines

• 1-hour visitor parking

Bonneville Transit Center
The Bonneville Transit Center (or "BTC") is a transit terminal that was built to replace the aging Downtown Transportation Center as the main downtown terminal for local fixed route service. It opened on November 7, 2010 and is located on the corner of Bonneville Ave. and Casino Center Blvd. It has 16 internal bays, 5 external bays, and an air-conditioned lobby for transit riders. The Bonneville Transit Center is served by Deuce On The Strip, Boulder Highway Express (BHX), Centennial Express (CX) and Downtown & Veterans Medical Center Express (DVX). BoltBus to Los Angeles Union Station is accessible on 1st St. @ Bonneville Ave. On December 2, 2018, a new external bay was added.

• 21 transit bays
 * BTC amenities

• restrooms

• security offices

• customer service windows

• waiting room

• ticket vending machines

• bicycle racks and lockers

• cyclist showers

• bike repair shop

• RTC Transit Administration offices

• WiFi

• 1 – Not Used
 * BTC Bays

• 2 – 105 NB

• 3 – DVX NB

• 4 – 214 EB/214 WB

• 5 – Not Used

• 6 – 206 WB

• 7 – 109 SB

• 8 – 109 SB

• 9 – 604 NB [Special Events]

• 10 – 215 EB

• 11 – 106 NB [106A/106B]

• 12 – 206 EB

• 13 – BHX SB

• 14 – BHX SB

• 15 – 113 NB

• 16 – 113 NB

• 17A – 208 EB & CX NB

• 17B – 207 EB

• 18 – 108 SB, 207 WB & CX SB

• 19 – 401

• 20 – 208 WB

• Transitway on Casino Center Blvd. (NB) – Deuce on The Strip NB

• Transitway on Casino Center Blvd. (SB) – Deuce on The Strip SB

• On Garces Ave. - Primm Employee Shuttle & Silver State Trailways

Centennial Hills Transit Center Park & Ride
The Centennial Hills Transit Center is a transit terminal operated by the RTC to serve the northwest valley and its residents. It includes 900 parking spaces, park & ride, indoor waiting facility, next arrival information and restrooms. Construction began in July 2009, and it opened March 28, 2010 in conjunction with the launch of the ACExpress C-Line (renamed to C-Line Express in May 2010 & Centennial Express in November 2010). The facility is located at Grand Montecito Pkwy. & Elkhorn Rd. Routes that currently serve the Centennial Hills Transit Center are: 106A, 106B, and the Centennial Express (CX).

• 4 transit stops
 * CHTC amenities

• restrooms

• security offices

• waiting room

• ticket vending machines

• 900 Park & Ride parking spots

• Park & Ride

• WiFi

• Lot 1 – 106B SB, CX SB
 * CHTC Bays

• Lot 2 – 607 SB [Special Events]

• Lot 3 – Not Used

• Ace Blvd. @ Grand Montecito Pkwy. - 106A SB

Westcliff Transit Center
The Westcliff Transit Center is a transit terminal built in the valley's west side community of Summerlin. This terminal is the park & ride for the residents of Summerlin and officially opened on December 12, 2010 in conjunction with the launch of the Westcliff Airport Express (WAX) connecting passengers to McCarran Airport & downtown Las Vegas from the valley's west side. Routes 207, 208 & 209 began service here on November 7, 2010. Route 120 began service here on March 2, 2014. Routes 120, 207, & 209 were removed from here while Route 121 began service here on November 8, 2015. On October 4, 2020 the Westcliff Airport Express was officially discontinued.

• 9 transit bays
 * WTC amenities

• restrooms

• waiting room

• ticket vending machines

• Park & Ride

• WiFi

• 1 – Not Used
 * WTC Bays

• 2 – Not Used

• 3 – Not Used

• 4 – Not Used

• 5 – Not Used

• 6 – Not Used

• 7 – 208 EB

• 8 – 121 NB

• Durango Dr. @ Westcliff Dr. - 121 SB

UNLV Transit Center
The UNLV Transit Center is a transit terminal built on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus in Central Las Vegas. It is located near Maryland Pkwy. & University Rd. & officially opened on September 4, 2013. Route 602 (special event service during UNLV football games only) & Centennial Express (CX) began service here on September 5, 2013. Route 109 is available along Maryland Pkwy.

• 6 transit bays
 * UTC amenities

• ticket vending machines

• UNLV

• In & Out Burger

• 1 – 602 WB (UNLV football games only)
 * UTC Bays

• 2 – CX SB

• 3 – Not Used

• 4 – 602 EB (UNLV football games only)

• 5 – CX NB

• 6 – Not Used

Downtown Summerlin Transit Facility
The Downtown Summerlin Transit Facility serves Downtown Summerlin as well as Las Vegas Ballpark and City National Arena. It is located at Pavilion Center Drive and Summerlin Centre Drive and opened on October 16, 2017. It serves the Sahara Express and route 206.

Henderson Intermodal Transfer Terminal
RTC planned to build a terminal in Henderson, which was to begin construction in mid-2005. The location was to be near the northeast corner of College Drive and Horizon Drive. According to the RTC, plans included "eight bus berths; covered outdoor waiting; and a small terminal building to include an information/security desk, public restrooms, a driver’s lounge, and mechanical spaces."

Opposition from residents of the nearby Black Mountain Condominiums caused the project to be cancelled following a vote by Henderson City Council on February 15, 2005.

Accidents and incidents
On the afternoon of 9 March, Lorraine Macdonald was cycling towards the Fashion Show Mall alongside a CAT Bus. The bus driver failed to look in her rear view mirror and side-swiped Lorraine Macdonald twice, which did not kill her but left her disable. March 2007, Miss Macdonald took the bus company to court and won the case, however the bus company appealed and the verdict was reversed in the Nevada Supreme Court and another trial ordered. In March 2010, Miss Macdonald went back to court and won the case again which the bus company has again appealed & won.
 * 9 March 2004 (continued to 2016)

On the night of 19 July, Alexander Dennis coach 224 on the "Deuce" service was deadheading north on Interstate 15. A tire failed and the bus went through an opening in the median barrier rail that had been removed for construction access. The coach continued through the median and over a barrier on the southbound side of the Interstate. The coach was spinning clockwise when it was hit by a tractor trailer, which caused the bus to spin the other way and collide again with the trailer before coming to a rest. Due to the size of the cleanup, and the need to investigate the accident, the road was not reopened until approximately 10:00 am the following morning. The driver of tractor trailer was killed in the accident. The passenger in the tractor trailer was unrestrained at the time of the accident, and was severely injured. The driver of the coach was severely injured, and partially disabled.
 * 19 July 2006

Following the accident, the coach was retained at the RTC Tompkins yard, covered by a giant tarp to preserve it for inspection during the ongoing investigation and litigation. Upon closure of the RTC Tompkins facility, the bus was taken from the facility and moved to an off-site storage location. In 2011, with the investigation over, the bus was moved to the RTC Simmons facility where the bus was finally dismantled for any usable parts & eventually scrapped.

Initial investigation revealed concerns about problems with the tire were reported a few times by drivers prior to the accident. Maintenance records show that each time a problem was reported it was inspected and evaluated by the mechanics. Additionally, the companies involved in the removal of the barrier were also investigated for contributing to the accident.

On the night of 3 January, a CAT bus collided through two brick walls before finally hitting a house. Around 9:30 pm, CAT bus 915 on route 207 was heading south on Christy Lane and turning left onto Mabel Road, when the bus hit a Ford Mustang car. This sent the bus out of control and into the brick walls and the house. There were three minor injuries on the bus, and unconfirmed injuries in the Mustang. The bus was not taken off the property until the next morning, because officials were concerned that the bus might have made the house structurally unsafe. Support columns were placed in the house and the bus was removed.
 * 3 January 2008

On the night of 17 March, CAT bus number 653 struck and killed a pedestrian at the intersection of Washington and Rancho.
 * 17 March 2008

On the morning of 7 July, a red truck hit the CAT bus stop on Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road, killing 1 woman and seriously injuring another woman. The driver was arrested and officers said he was under the influence of prescription painkillers.
 * 7 July 2008

The day following a deadly crash at a CAT bus stop, another incident occurred with a naked man stealing a bus. At around 07:30 hours, Charles Sell was near Washington Ave. and Lamb Blvd, when Metro police reported that, while naked, he stole beers from a 7-11, and then proceeded to steal CAT paratransit vehicle 1792. He punched the door glass, boarded, and took control while the bus driver jumped off for safety. A few hundred metres away, he jumped off while the bus continued in motion. A Metro officer boarded and stopped the vehicle where the suspect Charles Sell was arrested by Metro that landed him for booking into the Clark County Detention Centre on charges of Grand Larceny Auto and Robbery.
 * 8 July 2008

On the morning of 13 September, a man in a 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo, crashed into the bus stop at Spring Mountain and Dectaur, killing four, and injuring 8. The impact tore some of the victims to pieces, and hurled some dozens of yards from the point of impact. According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Laura Meltzer, it was difficult to determine their identities, but Metro believe all were waiting for the bus. They were identified Thursday night only as three women, ages 65, 49 and 47, plus a 24-year-old man, all of Metropolitan Las Vegas. The man was arrested on suspicion of DUI and was listed in critical condition.
 * 13 September 2012

On the afternoon of 28 January, a woman, driving a 2004 Ford Taurus, crashed into a double decker bus at Charleston and Rainbow, killing herself and injuring 5 people who were on the bus. The people of the bus only suffered minor injuries.
 * 28 January 2013

On the evening of 9 January, a 202 bus heading west hit a bus stop sign, near Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road. The bus was pulling in, and hit the bus stop sign off of the shelter, flinging it on the road. Nobody was injured. However, on the same day, around 5am, a 201B heading east, was pulling up to the curb on Tropicana and Dean Martin Drive. The bus took out the shelter, and doing that, a woman was knocked down and hit by the bus, killing her. (Credit to KTNV 13 for the second story)
 * 9 January 2016

title: RTC Transit


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Edith Nourse Rogers

Edith Rogers (née Nourse; March 19, 1881 – September 10, 1960) was an American social welfare volunteer and politician who served as a Republican in the United States Congress. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts. Until 2012, she was the longest serving Congresswoman and was the longest serving female Representative until 2018 (a record now held by Marcy Kaptur). In her 35 years in the House of Representatives she was a powerful voice for veterans and sponsored seminal legislation, including the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (commonly known as the G.I. Bill), which provided educational and financial benefits for veterans returning home from World War II, the 1942 bill that created the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), and the 1943 bill that created the Women's Army Corps (WAC). She was also instrumental in bringing federal appropriations to her constituency, Massachusetts's 5th congressional district. Her love and devotion to veterans and their complex needs upon returning to civilian life is represented by the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford Massachusetts that is named in her honor.

Early life
Edith Nourse was born on March 19, 1881, in Saco, Maine, to Franklin T. Nourse, the manager of a textile mill, and Edith France Riversmith, who volunteered with the Christian church and social causes. Both parents were from old New England families, and were able to have their daughter privately tutored until she was fourteen. Edith Nourse then attended and graduated from Rogers Hall School, a private boarding school for girls in Lowell, Massachusetts, and then Madame Julien's School, a finishing school at Neuilly near Paris, France.

Like her mother, she volunteered with the church and other charities. In 1907, she married John Jacob Rogers, newly graduated from Harvard Law School, who passed the bar and began practicing in Lowell in the same year. In 1911, he started his career in politics, becoming involved in the city government, and the next year he became the school commissioner. In 1912 he was elected as a Republican to the 63rd United States Congress as the Representative from the 5th District of Massachusetts, and began service in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 1913.

World War I soon broke out. In 1917, John Rogers, as a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, traveled to the United Kingdom and France to observe the conditions of the war firsthand. He remained a Congressman during his brief enlistment as a private in an artillery training battalion, the 29th Training Battery, 10th Training Battalion, Field Artillery, Fourth Central Officers' Training School from September 2, 1918, until his honorable discharge on November 29, 1918.

During this period, Edith Rogers volunteered with the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in London for a short time, then from 1917 to 1922 as a "Gray Lady" with the American Red Cross in France and with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. This was the start of what became a lifelong commitment to veterans. She also witnessed the conditions faced by women employees and volunteers working with the United States armed forces; with the exception of a few nurses, they were civilians, and received no benefits including no housing, no food, no insurance, no medical care, no legal protection, no pensions, and no compensation for their families in cases of death. In contrast, the women in the British Army loaned to the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in France were military, with the attendant benefits and responsibilities.

At the end of the war, her husband joined the American Legion veteran's organization, and she joined the auxiliary. Her experience with veteran's issues led President Warren G. Harding to appoint her as the inspector of new veterans' hospitals from 1922 to 1923, for $1 USD a year. She reported on conditions and her appointment was renewed by both the Coolidge and Hoover administrations. Her first experience in politics was serving as an elector in the U.S. Electoral College during Calvin Coolidge's 1924 presidential campaign.

Congresswoman
This experience served her well when her husband died on March 28, 1925, in the middle of his seventh term in Washington, D.C. Spurred by pressure from the Republican Party and the American Legion who approved of her stance on veteran's issues and wanted the sympathy vote, she was urged to run for her late husband's seat. She ran in a special election as the Republican candidate for Representative to the 69th United States Congress from the 5th District of Massachusetts, and beat Eugene Foss, the former Governor of Massachusetts, with a landslide 72 percent of the vote. Like Mae Ella Nolan and Florence Prag Kahn before her, she won her husband's seat.

Her term started on June 30, 1925, making her the sixth woman elected to Congress, after Jeannette Rankin, Alice Mary Robertson, Winnifred Sprague Mason Huck, Mae Nolan, Florence Kahn, and Mary Teresa Norton. Like all but Norton, Rogers was a Republican, and like them all she was a member of the House of Representatives; Hattie Wyatt Caraway would become the first woman elected to the Senate in 1932. Rogers was also the first woman elected to Congress from New England, and the second from an Eastern state after Norton, who was from New Jersey.

After her election to the 69th Congress, Rogers was reelected to the 70th, 71st, 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 85th, and 86th Congresses. She continued to win with strong majorities, serving a total of 35 years and 18 consecutive terms, until her death on September 10, 1960. She was considered a formidable candidate for U.S. Senate in 1958 against the much younger John F. Kennedy, but decided not to run. This was the longest tenure of any woman elected to the United States Congress, until surpassed by Barbara Mikulski in 2012. Like her husband, she served on the Foreign Affairs Committee, and also on the Civil Service Committee and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. She chaired the Committee on Veterans' Affairs from 1947 to 1948 and again from 1953 to 1954, during the 80th and 83rd Congresses. She was also the first woman to preside as Speaker pro tempore over the House of Representatives.

On the afternoon of December 13, 1932, Marlin Kemmerer perched on the gallery railing of the U.S. House of Representatives, waved a pistol, and demanded the right to speak. As other representatives fled in panic, Reps. Rogers and Melvin Maas (R-MN) approached the would-be gunman. Rogers had counseled shell-shocked veterans at Walter Reed Hospital; she looked up at Kemmerer and told the troubled young man, "You won't do anything." Maas, a Marine in WW I, stood next to Rogers and asked Kemmerer to throw down his pistol. When he did so, he was apprehended by Congressman (R – NY, and future mayor of New York City) Fiorello H. La Guardia and an off-duty D.C. police officer. Kemmerer was released a month later at the request of House members.

Legislator
Rogers was regarded as capable by her male peers and became a model for younger Congresswomen. Her trademark was an orchid or a gardenia on her shoulder. She was also an active legislator and sponsored more than 1,200 bills, over half on veteran or military issues. She voted for a permanent nurse corps in the Department of Veteran's Affairs, and benefits for disabled veterans and veterans of the Korean War.

In 1937 she sponsored a bill to fund the maintenance of the neglected Congressional Cemetery, even though her husband was placed at rest in their hometown. She opposed child labor, and fought for "equal pay for equal work" and a 48-hour workweek for women, though she believed a woman's first priority was home and family. She supported local economic autonomy; on April 19, 1934, she read a petition against the expanded business regulations of the New Deal, and all 1,200 signatures, into the Congressional Record. Rogers voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960.

Rogers was an advocate for the textile and leather industries in Massachusetts. She acquired funding for flood control measures in the Merrimack River basin, helped Camp Devens become Fort Devens, Massachusetts in 1931, and was responsible for many other jobs and grants in the state.

A confidential 1943 analysis of the House Foreign Affairs Committee by Isaiah Berlin for the British Foreign Office described Rogers as

"an Isolationist up to and including the Lend-Lease, after which, however, she swung in behind the President on all major foreign policy measures. Though she is likely to continue her support, she will only do so after she has convinced herself that America's own best interests are thoroughly protected and that the Administration is not trying to 'put something across.' She is regarded in Congress as a capable, hard-working and intelligent woman. A pleasant and kindly old battle-axe— but a battle-axe. An Episcopalian; age 62. Probably nationalist rather than internationalist in outlook."

German refugees
Rogers was one of the first members of Congress to speak out against Adolf Hitler's treatment of Jews. The expulsion of Jews from Germany without proper papers caused a refugee crisis in 1938, and after the Evian Conference failed to lift immigration quotas in the 38 participating nations, Edith Rogers co-sponsored the Wagner-Rogers Bill with Senator Robert F. Wagner. Introduced to the Senate on February 9, 1939, and to the House on February 14, it would have allowed 20,000 German Jewish refugees under the age of 14 to settle in the United States.

The bill was supported by religious and labor groups, and the news media, but was strongly opposed by patriotic groups who believed "charity begins at home". After rancorous 1938 elections in the House and Senate, Congress had turned conservative, and despite provisions requiring the children to be supported by private individuals and agencies, not public funds, organizations like the American Legion, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the American Coalition of Patriotic Societies lined up against it. With rising nativism and antisemitism, economic troubles, and Congress asserting its independence, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was unable to support the bill, and it failed.

WAAC
Women had served in the United States military before. In 1901, a female Nurse Corps was established in the Army Medical Department and in 1907 a Navy Nurse Corps was established. However, despite their uniforms the nurses were civilian employees with few benefits. They slowly gained additional privileges, including "relative ranks" and insignia in 1920, a retirement pension in 1926, and a disability pension if injured in the line of duty in 1926. Rogers voted to support the pensions.

The first American women enlisted into the regular armed forces were 13,000 women admitted into active duty in the Navy and Marines during World War I, and a much smaller number admitted into the Coast Guard. These "Yeomanettes" and "women Marines" primarily served in clerical positions. They received the same benefits and responsibilities as men, including identical pay, and were treated as veterans after the war. These women were quickly demobilized when hostilities ceased, and aside from the Nurse Corps, the soldiery became once again exclusively male. In contrast, the army clerks and "Hello Girls" who worked the telephones during World War I were civilian contractors with no benefits.

Rogers' volunteer work in World War I exposed her to the status of the women with the United States Army, and the much more egalitarian role of women in the British Army. With this inspiration and model, Edith Rogers introduced a bill to the 76th Congress in early 1941 to establish a Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) during World War II. The bill was intended to free men for combat duty by creating a cadre of 25,000 noncombatant clerical workers. The bill languished in the face of strong opposition to women in the army, and indifference in the face of higher priorities like the lend-lease bill, price controls, and ramping up war production.

After the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, manpower shortages threatened as productivity increased. Rogers approached the Army Chief of Staff George Marshall, and with his strong support she reintroduced the bill to the 77th Congress with a new upper limit of 150,000 women, and an amendment giving the women full military status. The amendment was resoundingly rejected but the unamended bill passed, and on May 14, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's signature turned "An Act to Establish the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps" into Public Law 77-554.

While "Auxiliaries", and thus not a part of the regular army, the WAACs were given food, clothing, housing, medical care, training, and pay. They did not receive death benefits, medical care as veterans, retirement or disability pensions, or overseas pay. They were given auxiliary ranks which granted no command authority over men, and also earned less than men with comparable regular army ranks, until November 1, 1942, when legislation equalized their remuneration. Since they were not regular army they were not governed by army regulations, and if captured, were not protected by international conventions regarding the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs).

On July 30, 1942, Public Law 77-554 created the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in the Navy. The law passed with no significant opposition, despite granting the WAVES full status as military reserves, under the same Naval regulations that applied to men. The WAVES were granted equal pay and benefits, but no retirement or disability pensions and were restricted to noncombat duties in the continental United States. The similarly empowered SPARS (from the motto Semper Paratus/"Always Ready") in the Coast Guard, and the Marine Corps Women's Reserve soon followed. The September 27, 1944, Public Law 78-441 allowed WAVES to also serve in Alaska and Hawaii.

The initial goal of 25,000 WAACs by June 30, 1943, was passed in November 1942. The goal was reset at 150,000, the maximum allowed by law, but competition from sister units like the WAVES and the private war industry, the retention of high educational and moral standards, underuse of skilled WAACs, and a spate of vicious gossip and bad publicity in 1943 prevented the goal from ever being reached. The rumors of immoral conduct were widely published by the press without verification, and harmed morale. Investigations by the War Department and Edith Rogers uncovered nothing; and the incidence of disorderly and criminal conduct among the WAACs was a tiny fraction of that among the male military population, venereal disease was almost non-existent, and the pregnancy rate was far below civilian women. Despite this, the June 30, 1943, enlistment reached 60,000.

Women's Army Corps

Edith Rogers introduced a bill in October 1942 to make the WAACs a formal part of the United States Army Reserve. Fearing it would hinder other war legislation, George Marshall declined to support it and it failed. He changed his mind in 1943, and asked Congress to give the WAAC full military status. Experience showed that the two separate systems were too difficult to manage. Rogers and Oveta Culp Hobby, the first Director of the WAACs, drafted a new bill which was debated in the House for six months before passing. On July 1, 1943, Roosevelt signed "An Act to Establish the Women's Army Corps in the Army of the United States", which became Public Law 78-110. The "auxiliary" portion of the name was officially dropped, and on July 5, 1943, Hobby was commissioned as a full colonel, the highest rank allowed in the new Women's Army Corps.

The WACs received the same pay, allowances, and benefits as regular army units, though time spent as a WAC did not count toward time served and the allowance for dependents was heavily restricted. The WACs were now disciplined, promoted, and given the same legal protections as regular Army units, and the 150,000 ceiling was lifted. While the legislators made it very clear they expected the WACs to be noncombatants, the bill contained no specific restrictions. Existing Army regulations still prohibited them from combat training with weapons, tactical exercises, duty assignments requiring weapons, supervising men, and jobs requiring great physical strength, unless waived by the United States Secretary of War; but of the 628 Army specialties, women now qualified for 406. Additional Army regulations were adopted to cover pregnancy, marriage, and maternity care.

As part of the regular Army, WACs could not be permanently assigned as cooks, waitresses, janitors, or to any other civilian jobs. While most became clerks, secretaries, and drivers, they also became mechanics, weather observers, radio operators, medical technicians, intelligence analysts, chaplains, postal workers, and heavy equipment operators. The restriction against combat training and carrying weapons was waived in several cases, allowing women to serve as pay officers, military police, in code rooms, or as drivers in some overseas areas. On January 10, 1943, a 200-WAC unit was even trained as an antiaircraft gun crew, though they were not allowed to fire the 90 mm weapon. Several were also assigned to the Manhattan Project.

WACs also served overseas, and close to the front lines. During the invasion of Italy by the U.S. Fifth Army under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, a 60-woman platoon served in the advance headquarters, sometimes only a few miles from the front lines; and in the south Pacific WACs moved into Manila, Philippines only three days after occupation. By V-J Day, one fifth had served overseas.

On V-E Day, May 8, 1945, WACs reached their peak of 99,388 women in active duty, and a total of more than 140,000 WACs served during World War II. The majority served in the Army Service Forces, but large numbers also served as "Air WACs" in the Army Air Force, largely because of the enthusiastic and early support of General Henry H. Arnold, and in the Army Medical Corps. Only 2,000 served in the combat-heavy Army Ground Force.

Despite the noncombatant status of her directorate, Oveta Hobby was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the third-highest U.S. Army decoration and the highest one which can be awarded for non-combat service. The WACs were awarded a total of 62 Legions of Merit, 565 Bronze Stars, 3 Air Medals, and 16 Purple Hearts.

The initial bill called for the WACs to be discontinued 6 months after the President declared the war was at an end, but despite the resistance in the House and the smear campaign, the WACs performed capably and well. According to Dwight D. Eisenhower, "During the time I have had WACs under my command they have met every test and task assigned to them.... Their contributions in efficiency, skill, spirit, and determination are immeasurable." Douglas MacArthur called them "my best soldiers". With the rush to send as many men home as quickly as possible after the cessation of hostilities, WACs were even more in demand.

Supported by Eisenhower, the "Act to Establish a Permanent Nurse Corps of the Army and Navy and to Establish a Women's Medical Specialists Corps in the Army", or the Army-Navy Nurses Act of 1947, passed and became Public Law 8036, granting regular, permanent status to female nurses. Then in early 1946, Chief of Staff Eisenhower ordered legislation drafted to make the WACs a permanent part of the armed forces. The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate but the House Armed Forces Committee amended the bill to restrict women to reserve status, with only Representative Margaret Chase Smith dissenting.

After vehement objection by Eisenhower, who wrote "the women of America must share the responsibility for the security of their country in a future emergency as the women of England did in World War II"; the personal testimony of Secretary of Defense James Forrestal; and support from every major military commander including the Chief of Naval Operations Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, and MacArthur, the Commander of United States Army Forces in the Far East, who wrote, "we cannot ask these women to remain on duty, nor can we ask qualified personnel to volunteer, if we cannot offer them permanent status"; supporting articles in The New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor, and the support of Senator and future President Lyndon B. Johnson and Representative Edith Rogers, the amended bill passed in the House but was rejected in the Senate. A compromise restored the original wording but limited the total number of women allowed to serve for the first few years, which then passed regular army, which was submitted to Congress in 1947 in the midst of a massive reorganization of the unanimously in the Senate, and 206 to 133 in the House. On June 12, 1948, President Harry Truman signed the "Women's Armed Services Integration Act", making it Public Law 80-625.

On December 3, 1948, the Director of the WACs, Colonel Mary A. Hallaren, became the first commissioned female officer in the U.S. Army. The WACs still were not equal. They were limited in numbers, had no command authority over men, were restricted from combat training and duties, had additional restrictions on claiming dependents, and aside from their director, no woman could be promoted above the rank of lieutenant colonel. WACs served in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.

On November 8, 1967, Congress lifted the restriction on promotions, allowing the first WAC generals, and then, on October 29, 1978, the Women's Army Corps was disestablished and women were integrated into the rest of the Army.

G.I. Bill
In 1944, Edith Rogers helped draft, and then co-sponsored the G. I. Bill, with Representative John E. Rankin, and Senators Ernest McFarland, and Bennett Champ Clark. The bill provided for education and vocational training, low-interest loans for homes, farms, and businesses, and limited unemployment benefits for returning servicemen. On June 22, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed "The Servicemen's Readjustment Act", which became Public Law 78-346 and handed her the first pen. As a result of the bill, roughly half of the returning veterans went on to higher education.

In August 2019, as part of the Forever GI Bill, the Edith Nourse Rogers Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) Scholarship will be available to veterans pursuing STEM careers. This scholarship will allow recipients to receive up to nine additional months Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits.

After World War II
During the Cold War Rogers supported the House Committee on Un-American Activities and Senator Joseph McCarthy during the "Red Scare". Although she supported the United Nations, in 1953 she said that UN headquarters should be expelled from the U.S. if communist China were admitted. In 1954, she opposed sending U.S. soldiers to Vietnam.

Death and legacy
Edith Rogers died on September 10, 1960, at Philips House, Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts in the midst of her 19th Congressional campaign. She was interred with her husband in Lowell Cemetery, in their hometown of Lowell.

She received many honors during her life, including the Distinguished Service Medal of the American Legion in 1950. In honor of her work with veterans, the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts bears her name.

The Women's Army Corps Museum (now the United States Army Women's Museum), established on May 14, 1955, in Fort McClellan, Alabama, was renamed the Edith Nourse Rogers Museum on August 18, 1961, but returned to its original name on May 14, 1977.

The E.N. Rogers Middle School in Lowell, Massachusetts is named after Edith Rogers. Among its famous graduates is former Congressman, and current chancellor of The University of Massachusetts Lowell, Marty Meehan, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 5, 1993, to July 1, 2007. E.N. Rogers Middle School serves approximately 500 students in grades 5 through 8.

In 1998, Rogers was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Governor Deval Patrick signed a Proclamation declaring June 30, 2012, as "Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers Day."

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Edith Nourse Rogers


text:
Franc (disambiguation)

The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the French franc.

Franc or francs may refer also to:

Given name

 * Franc Abulnar (1909–1995), Yugoslav cyclist
 * Franc Breckerfeld (1681–1744), Slovenian theologian, mathematician, astronomer and latinist
 * Franz Caucig (Slovene: Franc Kavčič) (1755–1828), neoclassical painter
 * Franc Červan (1936–1991), Yugoslav long-distance runner
 * Franc Cifer (born 1971), Slovenian retired footballer
 * Franc Cvenkelj (1925–1997), Slovenian alpine skier
 * Franc Fernandez, Argentine artist and fashion designer best known for creating Lady Gaga's meat dress
 * Franciszek Fiszer (1860–1937), better known as Franc Fiszer, Polish bon-vivant, gourmand and philosopher
 * Franc Flotron (born 1954), American former politician
 * Franc Fridl (born 1972), Slovenian retired footballer
 * Franc Grom (born c. 1940), Slovenian artist
 * Franc Hafner (born 1936), Yugoslav middle-distance runner
 * Franc Hočevar (1853–1919), Austrian–Slovenian mathematician
 * Franc Joubin (1911–1997), American-born Canadian prospector and geologist
 * Franc Kangler (born 1965), Slovenian politician
 * Feri Lainšček (born Franc Lainšček in 1959), Slovenian writer, poet and screenwriter
 * Franc Luz (born 1950), American actor
 * Franz Miklosich a.k.a. Franc Miklošič (1813–1891), Slovenian philologist
 * Franc Očko (born 1960), Slovenian judoka
 * Franc Palme (born 1914), Slovenian former ski jumper
 * Francis Xavier Pierz (Slovene: Franc Pirc or Franc Pirec) (1785–1880), Roman Catholic priest and missionary to the Ottawa and Ojibwe Indians
 * Franc Reyes (disambiguation)
 * Franc Roddam (born 1946), English film director, businessman, screenwriter, television producer and publisher
 * Franc Rode (born 1934), Slovenian Roman Catholic cardinal
 * Franc Rozman (1911–1944), Slovenian partisan commander in World War II
 * Franc Škerlj (born 1941), Yugoslav former cyclist
 * Franc Smolej (ice hockey) (born 1940), Slovenian ice hockey player
 * Franc Smolej (skier) (1908–?), Yugoslav cross-country skier
 * Franc Snoj (1902–1962), Slovenian politician and economist
 * Ferenc Talányi (Slovene: Franc Talanyi or Talanji) (1883–1959), Slovenian writer, journalist and painter
 * François Tétaz (born 1970), Australian film composer, music producer and mixer
 * Franc Treiber (1809–1878), Slovenian Roman Catholic priest, poet and composer
 * Franc Veliu (born 1988), Albanian footballer
 * Franc Weerwind (born 1964), Dutch politician
 * Franc Žitnik (born 1941), Yugoslav retired slalom canoeist

Surname

 * André Franc (1911–1990s), French biologist and malacologist
 * Caroline Franc (born 1971) French journalist, writer and screenwriter, also known as Caroline Desages
 * Guillaume Franc (c. 1505 – 1571), French musician and composer active in Geneva and Lausanne
 * Isabel Franc (born 1955), Spanish writer
 * Leo Frank (lynched 1915)
 * Livvi Franc, stage name of British Barbadian singer-songwriter Olivia Waithe (born 1988)
 * Michal Franc (born 1967), Czech fencer
 * Otto Franc ((1846–1903), German-born American cattle baron, sheriff and judge
 * Urban Franc (born 1975), Slovenian former ski jumper

Other uses

 * French name for the Franks
 * Francs, Gironde, a commune of the Gironde département, in France
 * Francs Peak, Wyoming, United States, named after Otto Franc

title: Franc (disambiguation)


text:
Mandarin (bureaucrat)

A mandarin was a bureaucrat scholar in the history of China, Korea and Vietnam.

The term is generally applied to the officials appointed through the imperial examination system.

History and use of the term
The English term comes from the Portuguese mandarim (spelled in Old Portuguese as mandarin, ). The Portuguese word was used in one of the earliest Portuguese reports about China: letters from the imprisoned survivors of the Tomé Pires embassy, most likely written in 1524, and in Castanheda's História do descobrimento e conquista da Índia pelos portugueses (c. 1559). Matteo Ricci, who entered mainland China from Portuguese Macau in 1583, also said the Portuguese used the word.

The Portuguese word was thought by many to be related to mandador ("one who commands") and mandar ("to command"), from Latin mandare. Modern dictionaries, however, agree that it was in fact borrowed by Portuguese from the Malay menteri (in Jawi: منتري, ) which ultimately came from the Sanskrit mantri (Devanagari: मंत्री, meaning counselor or minister – etymologically linked to mantra). According to Malaysian scholar Ungku Abdul Aziz, the term had its origin when the Portuguese living in Malacca during the Malacca Sultanate traveled to meet with higher officials in China and referred to them with the familiar term from Malay menteri (in Jawi: منتري, ), but pronounced by the Portuguese with Old Portuguese phonology,, where the vowel ending was nasalized and later misinterpreted to have ended with "n" and initially spelt in Old Portuguese as mandarin then in modern Portuguese as mandarim, due to the nasalized pronunciation of the Portuguese.

In the 16th century, before the term mandarin became widespread in European languages, the word Loutea (with various spelling variations) was often used in Europeans' travel reports to refer to Chinese scholar-officials. It is frequently used, for example, in Galeote Pereira's account of his experiences in China in 1548–1553, which was published in Europe in 1565, or (as Louthia) in Gaspar da Cruz' Treatise of China (1569). C. R. Boxer says the word comes from Hokkien ; IPA:, which was a common form of address for government officials in the Zhangzhou dialect of Hokkien Chinese. This is also the main term used to refer to the scholar-officials in Juan González de Mendoza's History of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof (1585), which heavily drew (directly or indirectly) on Pereira's report and Gaspar da Cruz' book, and which was the standard European reference on China in the late 16th century.

In the West, the term mandarin is associated with the concept of the scholar-official who immersed himself in poetry, literature, and Confucian learning in addition to performing civil service duties. In modern English, mandarin is also used to refer to any (though usually a senior) civil servant, often in a satirical context, particularly in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries.

The speech standard of the Ming and Qing empires was called "the Mandarin language" by European missionaries, translating the Mandarin, which was current already in the Ming dynasty. The term "Mandarin" is also used to refer to modern Standard Mandarin Chinese, which evolved out of the earlier standard, and to the broader group of Mandarin dialects spoken across northern and southwestern China.

History
In China, from 605 to 1905, mandarins were selected by merit through the extremely rigorous imperial examination. China had civil servants since at least the Zhou dynasty, but most high positions were filled by relatives of the sovereign and the nobility. It was not until the Tang dynasty that imperial examinations were used for placement in the nine-rank system and the final form of the mandarin emerged. Mandarins were the founders and core of the Chinese gentry. A governmental office (for example, a central government department or a provincial civil governorate) headed by a mandarin is called a yamen. The mandarins were replaced with a modern civil service after the fall of the Qing dynasty. During the Qing dynasty, the governor of a Chinese province was signified by wearing a mandarin hat-pin made of ruby. Lower ranks were signified by hat-pins of coral, sapphire, lapis lazuli, white jade, gold, and silver.

After becoming free of Chinese rule and setting up its own independent monarchy, Vietnam emulated the Chinese system of mandarins in its civil service. The last mandarins in history were in service of the State of Vietnam (1949–1955). The Confucian examination system in Vietnam was established in 1075 under the Lý dynasty Emperor Lý Nhân Tông and lasted until the Nguyễn dynasty Emperor Khải Định (1919). Elephants were used to guard the examination halls until 1843 when the emperor said it was no longer necessary.

Korea adopted the civil service examinations called Gwageo under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties. Based on the examinations of imperial China, the gwageo first arose in Unified Silla, gained importance in Goryeo, and were the centerpiece of most education in the Joseon dynasty. The tutelage provided at the hyanggyo, seowon, and Sungkyunkwan was aimed primarily at preparing students for the gwageo and their subsequent career in government service. Under Joseon law, high office was closed to those who were not children of officials of the second full rank or higher (Yangban), unless the candidate had passed the gwageo. Those who passed the higher literary examination came to monopolize all of the dynasty's high positions of state.

Ranks under the Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) divided the bureaucracy into civil and military positions, both having nine grades or ranks, each subdivided into primary and secondary categories. Civil appointments ranged from attendant to the emperor or a Grand Secretary in the Forbidden City (highest) to being a county magistrate, prefectural tax collector, deputy jail warden, deputy police commissioner or tax examiner. Military appointments ranged from being a field marshal or chamberlain of the imperial bodyguard to a third class sergeant, corporal or a first or second class private.

In the table below, "na" is shorthand for the "nth rank, primary" (正n品), which is a higher sub-rank than "nth rank, secondary" (從n品), denoted as "nb" in the table.

title: Mandarin (bureaucrat)


text:
Sangue Misto

Sangue Misto was an Italian band, one of the first groups of Italian hip hop. It was formed in Bologna in the early 1990s. Its members included Neffa and Deda (rappers, producers), and DJ Gruff (rapper, DJ, producer). Their only album, SXM (1994), "revolutionized the world of italian rap forever" and made the band "one of the most influential in the mid-1990s" in Italy.

Overview
Sangue Misto was one of the first groups of Italian hip hop; it was formed in Bologna in the early 1990s, "from the remains of the legendary Isola Posse All Stars", and its base point was the social center called the Isola nel Kantiere. In the beginning the group also included Papa Ricky, DJ Fabbri, and Gopher D, who left the group before its first release to dedicate themselves to raggamuffin and reggae music.

Their debut album SXM was released in 1994, obtaining great underground support and becoming a model of genuine hip hop music even today but, because of the distribution, the record had marketing problems, so the original SXM in its first issue is somewhat rare.

After this every member left the band to pursue a solo career.

In 2005, SXM was remastered and re-issued.

title: Sangue Misto


text:
Edith Rogers

Edith Rogers may refer to:

 * Edith Rogers (Alberta politician), Canadian member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, 1935–1940
 * Edith Rogers (Manitoba politician), Canadian member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, 1920–1932
 * Edith Nourse Rogers (1881–1960), American politician
 * Edie Rogers (born 1934), member of the South Carolina Senate

title: Edith Rogers


text:
Christian Heinrich Spiess

Christian Heinrich Spiess (4 April 1755 – 17 August 1799) was a German writer of romances and later pulp fiction, horror stories.

Life
He was born in Freiberg in Saxony. For a time an actor, he was appointed in 1788 controller on the estate of Count Caspar Hermann von Künigl at Besdiekau in Bohemia, where he died, almost insane, the result of his weird fancies, on 17 August 1799.

Spiess, in his Ritter-, Räuber- and Geister-Romane, as they are called—stories of knights, robbers and ghosts of the "dark" ages—the idea of which he borrowed from Goethe's Götz von Berlichingen and Schiller's Die Räuber and Der Geisterseher, was the founder of the German Schauerroman (shocker), a style of writing continued, though in a finer vein, by Carl Gottlob Cramer (1758–1817) and by Goethe's brother-in-law, Christian August Vulpius.

These stories, appealing largely to the vulgar taste, made Spiess one of the most widely read authors of his day. The most popular was a ghost story of the 13th century, Das Petermännchen (1793); this was an influence on the work of Ann Radcliffe and the novel The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis. The novel involves a knight who is encouraged by an evil ghost (in the form of a dwarf) to commit rape, incest and murder, before being torn to pieces by the Devil.

Among his other Schauerroman stories were Der alte Überall and Nirgends (1792); Die Löwenritter (1794), and Hans Heiling, vierter und letzter Regent der Erd- Luft- Feuer- und Wasser-Geister (1798).

Beside numerous comedies, Spiess wrote, anticipating Schiller, a tragedy Maria Stuart (1784), which was in the same year performed at the court theatre in Vienna.

title: Christian Heinrich Spiess


text:
Suzuki Ignis

The Suzuki Ignis (スズキ・イグニス) is an automobile nameplate that was first produced by Suzuki in 2000 as a subcompact car, replacing the Suzuki Cultus, and subsequently as a crossover-styled city car from 2016.

The Cultus retailed under various names globally, notably as the Suzuki Swift. While the Cultus-based Swift was replaced by the Ignis in Europe and Australasia, Japanese models were in fact badged Suzuki Swift—thus debuting the "Swift" name in that market. The word "ignis" is Latin for "fire".

As a result of a venture project between General Motors (GM) and Suzuki, the Ignis, from 2001 also formed the basis of the Chevrolet Cruze. The Cruze sold throughout Japan as a Chevrolet, with Australasian-market versions badged Holden Cruze. From 2003, Suzuki of Europe adopted a lengthened version of the Cruze as the Suzuki Ignis—representing a facelift of the original Ignis. In the same year, Subaru adopted the car as the Subaru G3X Justy, also exclusive to Europe.

First series (FH; 2000)
The first series of the Ignis (codenamed HT51S and HT81S) was manufactured as a three- and five-door hatchback, powered by a new generation of Suzuki inline-four petrol engines, the M family. This family featured DOHC, four valves per cylinder and variable valve timing. Engines were offered in two displacements: 1.3 litres (M13A) and 1.5 litres (M15A), with power outputs of 65 kW (JIS) and 81 kW (JIS), respectively. Suzuki assigned the HT51S model code to the 1.3-liter model, with the 1.5-liter versions allocated the HT81S code. With exception of the Ignis Sport, Suzuki did not offer the three-door model in Japan. Likewise, the 1.5-liter engine was unavailable outside of the Ignis Sport range in export markets, with the 1.3-litre version offered being detuned to 61 kW. The standard transmission was a five-speed manual, with a four-speed automatic transmission optional. Both the front- and all-wheel drive layouts were tendered, although the combination of four-wheel drive and automatic transmission combination was limited to Japan as it was incompatible with European emission standards. A minor facelift came in 2003, featuring new wheel trims, a revised grille insert and clear headlamp-mounted turn signal lenses, as opposed to the amber versions fitted to the original. Production ended in 2006.

Sport
Following its use in the 2002 World Rally Championship season, Suzuki introduced the Ignis Sport in 2003, a performance-oriented version based on the three-door body style. Badged the "Swift Sport" in Japan, the performance model utilised the same 1.5-litre engine as the regular car, but with power increased to 85 kW. The engine was slightly detuned for the European market, to 80 kW. The car featured a number of modifications, including a body kit, lowered and firmer suspension, close ratio gear box and tuned exhaust. The Sport has the roof bars removed which were standard on the normal Ignis. Recaro sport seats are included in the cabin, white instrument dials with blue illumination and carbon effect panels to increase its sporty appeal. The Ignis Sport can accelerate from 0 - 100 km/h in 8.9 seconds and has a top speed of 185 km/h. The Sport ceased production in 2005. It was only available in a limited selection of colours: red, blue, silver, black and yellow. Various optional extras were available including metallic pedals, driving lights in the bumper and front mesh grille.

Chevrolet Cruze
Revealed as the Chevrolet YGM1 concept car at the 33rd Tokyo Motor Show in 1999, the Chevrolet Cruze (codenamed HR51S and HR81S) derived from the Suzuki Ignis. The development of the Cruze departed from the original five-door hatchback Suzuki as a sport utility vehicle (SUV). Despite the Chevrolet branding, the YGM1, like the production car, was the work of GM's Australian arm, Holden. The YGM1 design team were given just 12 weeks to conceive the concept, styled by Peter Hughes under the direction of Holden's then chief designer, Michael Simcoe. The revamped interior was done under the direction of Jenny Morgan-Douralis, Holden's chief colour and trim designer at the time. Along with the styling, Holden also executed most of the engineering work and were responsible for devising the "Cruze" nameplate.

GM revealed the production Cruze on 22 October 2001 with a 1 November sales commencement date in Japan. Significantly, the Cruze marked GM's return to Japanese manufacturing for the first time since 1939, with production located at Suzuki's plant in Kosai, Shizuoka. In terms of design, the production version differs slightly from the YGM1: the flared fenders were toned down, and in lieu of the concept's 17-inch alloy wheels, 15-inch wheels were fitted. High-mounted wrap-around tail lights are featured at the rear, with dual circular brake lights set into the bumper—as carried over from the concept.

Powertrains are identical to those fitted to the Suzuki, with 1.3- and 1.5-litre inline-four engines offered and coupled to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The M13A-equipped models were given the model code HR51S, with the M15A versions designated HR81S. The 1.3-litre was rated at 65 kW and 118 Nm, while the 1.5-litre delivered 73 kW and 143 Nm. Both front- (FWD) and all-wheel drive (AWD) layouts were offered, the all-wheel system being an electronically-controlled setup. This system utilises an electromagnetic controlling device that receives signals from the anti-lock braking system. Both the 1.3 and 1.5 models could be specified with either FWD or AWD.

To maximise sales penetration, Japanese-market Cruzes were sold at both GM AutoWorld and Suzuki Arena sales channels. AutoWorld dealerships stocked the 1.5-litre car in LS and LT trims, with the 1.3 confined to Suzuki's Arena, available in E and X trims. The vehicle was also in compliance with Japanese government dimension regulations to capitalize on the associated tax benefits to further encourage sales.

After a delay triggered by unfavourable exchange rates from Japan, Holden introduced the Cruze to the Australian market on 1 July 2002. New door trims were fitted and the rear window wiper was made standard from January 2004 production. Holden discontinued the Cruze after January 2006. The Chevrolet version in Japan continued on until 2008.

Suzuki Ignis (2003 facelift)
Suzuki of Europe utilised the Cruze modifications as an update of the Ignis in 2003. Suzuki extended the Cruze's length by 145 mm, to improve interior room and luggage space. This version was manufactured specifically for the European market in Esztergom, Hungary by Magyar Suzuki. Suzuki in Japan did not utilise the Cruze modifications for its own Suzuki-badged model due to the presence of the Chevrolet version in that market.

The 1.3-litre version came as manual FWD, with the 1.5-litre manufactured in FWD form with both manual and automatic transmission, or as a manual transmission AWD via viscous coupling. Also, a diesel version was available, powered by Fiat's 1.3-litre Multijet engine.

An arrangement with Subaru resulted in the Hungarian-manufactured Ignis being sold alongside the Suzuki-badged model in Europe as the Subaru G3X Justy. Apart from the slightly larger fog lights, different front bumper and grille, plus badging—the Subaru was identical to the Suzuki. Subaru debuted the Justy at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2003, going on sale immediately after. Two AWD drive models were available—1.3- and 1.5-litre petrols; there was also a FWD, 1.3-litre turbocharged diesel model. The G3X Justy was not sold in United Kingdom or Ireland in right-hand-drive. The G3X Justy was transferred in 2007 to the Daihatsu Boon/Sirion (M300).

Second generation (MF; 2016)
On 3 March 2015, Suzuki released details of a small 4WD concept car, called the "Suzuki iM-4" at the 85th Geneva International Motor Show. On 30 October 2015, the production version, known as the Ignis was exhibited at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show.

On 21 January 2016, Suzuki officially announced the launch of the Ignis for the first time in the Japanese market. The car is powered with two versions of the 1.25-litre K12C inline-four engine: a standard petrol and a mild hybrid with 3Ah lithium-ion battery placed under the front passenger seat to store energy and incorporates an idle stop function operated via the Integrated Starter Generator (ISG). The hybrid components add only 6.2 kg to the overall weight of the car. The engine produces 91 PS and 118 Nm of torque. The mild hybrid motor produces 3.1 PS and 50 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to 5-speed manual and CVT, both available for FWD and AWD configuration.

The second generation Ignis features styling elements referencing the Suzuki Cervo SS20 from 1977, including embossed vent motifs referencing the rear cooling vents from the SS20.

Europe
The European-spec Ignis is almost similar as Japanese-spec. Powered with the same 1.25-litre petrol and mild hybrid engines. The European-spec produces 1 PS less and 2 Nm more than Japanese-spec. The mild hybrid system produces the same output as Japanese-spec. The transmission available is a 5-speed manual or automated-manual dubbed as "Auto Gear Shift (AGS)" (in recent years Suzuki have switched from AGS to CVT). The AWD option is only available with manual transmission. On 8 January 2018, a special edition with adventure-oriented accessories was launched in the UK.

India
The Indian-spec is known as Maruti Suzuki Ignis. It was launched as a replacement for the Maruti Suzuki Ritz, manufactured by Maruti Suzuki and sold through the company's NEXA chain of premium dealerships.

It was offered with a 1.25-litre D13A DDiS 190 turbo-diesel engine that produces 75 PS and 190 Nm of peak torque which also powered the Swift and the Baleno in India. The diesel option was discontinued in 2018. The other engine offered with the Indian-spec car is a 1.2-litre K12M unit that develops 82 PS and 113 Nm of torque. Both these engines are available with either a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed automated manual transmission.

In 2016, the Indian Ignis contains 95% local parts.

Indonesia
The Indonesian-spec Ignis was launched by Suzuki Indomobil Motor on 17 April 2017 as an import from India. It is available in two trim levels: GL and GX, powered by a 1.2-litre K12M engine that produces 82 PS (60 kW;81 hp) and 113 N⋅m (83 lb⋅ft) of torque with either 5-speed manual or automated manual transmission. On 27 January 2018, a special edition with sport-oriented accessories was launched for Indonesian market, based from GL trim known as Ignis Sport Edition. The Ignis was discontinued in Indonesia on 2 July 2024.

Facelift
The facelifted second generation Ignis was launched in Japan on 4 February 2020, in India on 7 February 2020 at the 15th Auto Expo, in Indonesia on 9 April 2020, in Australia in May 2020 and in the United Kingdom in August 2020. The car received new front and rear bumpers, gauge cluster colour and fabric seats design.

In mid-2020, the European-spec Ignis received a brand new 1.2-litre dual VVT mild hybrid engine called K12D Dualjet and become standard engine replacing the previous 1.25-litre engine, it is now produces 83 PS and 107 Nm. The battery capacity for mild hybrid system is also enlarged to 10Ah. The automated manual "AGS" transmission is also replaced with CVT.

Safety

 * Euro NCAP (2016, with safety pack) -
 * Euro NCAP (2016, standard) -
 * Global NCAP (2019, Indian built Ignis) - (H2 2022, based on Latin NCAP 2016) -
 * JNCAP (jp) -

title: Suzuki Ignis


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Jewel De'Nyle

Jewel De'Nyle is an American former pornographic actress and director. She is a member of the NightMoves, AVN, and XRCO Halls of Fame.

Career
In 2000, De'Nyle made her directorial debut with XXXtreme Fantasies of Jewel De'Nyle for New Sensations before parting ways with the studio. Later that year, she co-wrote and co-produced Bound by Blood for Extreme Associates and started a series for Jill Kelly Productions titled Sluts of the Nyle.

Her mother was also a pornographic actress going by the name De'Bella. By the start of the 2008 AVN Adult Entertainment Expo they had reconciled their differences, with De'Nyle saying that the biggest part of their reconciliation came when De'Bella left Platinum X Pictures.

In January 2003, she became a founding part-owner of the porn studio Platinum X Pictures, located in the San Fernando Valley of California. De'Nyle left Platinum X in June 2006.

Personal life
De'Nyle was born to Debbie Schwarz, who was 19 at the time of her birth. De'Nyle was later adopted by Larry Jack Schwarz, a former Republican Colorado state legislator. She was the co-owner of Platinum X Productions while her mother was the sales director.

In September 2005, she was reported to be "newly married" in New York.

Awards

• 1999 NightMoves Award – Best New Starlet (Editor's Choice)

• 2000 XRCO Award – Best New Starlet

• 2001 AVN Award – Female Performer of the Year

• 2001 AVN Award – Best All Girl Sex Scene, Video (Dark Angels) with Sydnee Steele

• 2001 XRCO Award – Female Performer of the Year

• 2001 XRCO Award – Best Male-Female Sex Scene (Xxxtreme Fantasies of Jewel De'Nyle) with Nacho Vidal

• 2002 XRCO Award – Female Performer of the Year

• 2002 XRCO Award – Orgasmic Analist

• 2002 XRCO Award – Best Girl/Girl Sex Scene (No Man's Land 33) with Inari Vachs

• 2002 NightMoves Award – Best Actress (Fan's Choice)

• 2003 AVN Award – Best Anal Sex Scene, Video (Babes in Pornland 5: Interracial Babes) with Lexington Steele

• 2004 XRCO Award – Best Sex Scene, Couple (Babes in Pornland 14: Bubble Butt Babes) with Manuel Ferrara

• 2004 Adam Film World Guide Award – Directrix of the Year

• 2005 Adam Film World Guide Award – Directrix of the Year

• 2007 NightMoves Hall of Fame inductee

• 2009 AVN Hall of Fame inductee

• 2009 XRCO Hall of Fame inductee

title: Jewel De'Nyle


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Sonar Kella

Sonar Kella (সোনার কেল্লা), also Shonar Kella, is a 1971 mystery novel written by Bengali writer and filmmaker Satyajit Ray. In 1974, Ray directed a film adaption of the book, also named Sonar Kella, starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Santosh Dutta, Siddartha Chatterjee and Kushal Chakraborty. The movie was released in the United States as The Golden Fortress. It is the first film adaptation of Ray's famous sleuth Feluda and was followed by Joi Baba Felunath.

Plot
The film begins with a school-boy Mukul Dhar (Kushal Chakraborty), who is said to be able to remember events of his previous life, and soon receives media attention. Dr. Hemanga Hajra (Sailen Mukherjee), a parapsychologist, offers his help, believing it might help him in his own research. Mukul always remains sombre and paints peacocks, forts, camels and battlescenes at midnight; he mentions that he lived in the Golden Fortress (Sonar Kella) and that their house had many gems. Dr. Hajra decides to take Mukul on a trip to Rajasthan, famous for forts, historical importance and desert landscape. Two seasoned fraudsters, Amiyanath Burman and Mandar Bose, plan to kidnap Mukul to capture the treasure. Their first attempt at the kidnapping fails when they pick up another boy, also named Mukul (Santanu Bagchi), from the same neighborhood. Alarmed by this, Mukul's father engages Pradosh Chandra Mitter a.k.a. Feluda (Soumitra Chatterjee), a private investigator, to protect his son. Feluda leaves for Rajasthan along with his cousin Tapesh a.k.a Topshe (Siddartha Chatterjee), following Dr. Hajra. On their way, they meet and befriend Lalmohan Ganguly, a.k.a. Jatayu (Santosh Dutta), a popular thriller writer.

Meanwhile, Burman and Bose kidnap Mukul and push Dr. Hajra off a cliff to his presumed death at the Nahargarh Fort in Jaipur. Burman impersonates as Dr. Hajra and Bose impersonates as a globe-trotter. Dr. Hajra actually survives the fall and begins to pursue them. Feluda along with Topshe arrives in Jodhpur Circuit House and meets Burman, assuming him to be Dr. Hajra. Feluda begins to suspect Bose based on his clothes and his accent. Feluda even suspects "Dr. Hajra's" conduct as he appears lackadaisical in his approach. Mukul keeps saying he is followed by a "bad man". After visiting a few fortresses, Burman successfully hypnotizes Mukul, who reveals that the Golden Fortress is in Jaisalmer. Dr. Hajra reaches to the same conclusion by learning about the history of the Fort of Jaisalmer from a police inspector. Feluda learns that the Jaisalmer Fort is made of yellow limestone, giving it a golden glow. Burman leaves for Jaisalmer with Mukul immediately instructing Bose to follow suit after misguiding Feluda and others.

Bose lies to Feluda by saying that Burman/Dr. Hajra has already left with Mukul for Barmer, in order to lead him on the wrong track. Feluda suspects foul play but cannot be sure. By chance, his eye falls upon the card of Dr. Hajra; an idea flashes in his mind and he rushes to check the register of the circuit house and finds that it is signed as 'Hazra' not 'Hajra'. He is now sure about the man impersonating as Dr Hajra, and leaves for Jaisalmer by car.

While on their way to railway station, Bose strands the trio (Feluda, Topshe, and Jatayu) on the highway by pucturing the tyre of their car. Undaunted, Feluda and his team takes a camel caravan to the nearest train station Ramdevra, from which he boards on the next train to Jaisalmer. At night, in the train, Bose attacks and attempts to stab Feluda to death, who anticipates the attack and nearly captures him. After a scuffle, Bose escapes to another compartment of the train. However, moments later, Bose falls out of the train after seeing the real Dr. Hajra in the other compartment and assuming him to be a ghost.

The trio arrive in Jaisalmer along with Dr. Hajra. They rush to the fort where they find Burman searching for the treasure where Mukul recalls his home of previous life. Feluda confronts and captures Burman, telling him that there never was any treasure. They find that Mukul is cured of his obsession of previous life, and they return to Kolkata. This is where the movie ends.

Characters

 * Pradosh Chandra Mitter a.k.a. Feluda
 * Tapesh Ranjan Mitter a.k.a. Topshe
 * Lalmohan Ganguly a.k.a. Jatayu
 * Sidhu Jyatha
 * Mukul Dhar
 * Mandar Bose
 * Amiyanath Burman
 * Dr. Hemanga Hajra
 * Dibbhojuthi Paul
 * Binay Mitra

Cast

 * Soumitra Chatterjee as Feluda
 * Siddartha Chatterjee as Topshe
 * Santosh Dutta as Jatayu
 * Kushal Chakraborty as Mukul Dhar
 * Kamu Mukherjee as Mandar Bose
 * Harindranath Chattopadhyay as Sidhu Jyatha
 * Haradhan Banerjee as Binay Mitra
 * Shailen Mukherjee as Dr. Hemanga Hajra
 * Ajoy Banerjee as Amiyanath Burman a.k.a Bhavananda a.k.a The Fake Dr Hemanga Hazra.
 * Bishnupada Rudrapaul as Dibbhojuthi Paul
 * Santanu Bagchi as Mukul, another boy
 * Bimal Chatterjee as the grandfather of the other Mukul
 * Ashok Mukherjee as the Journalist

Crew

 * Satyajit Ray - Director, Screenplay, Music Score (composer)
 * Soumendu Roy - Cinematography
 * Dulal Dutta - Editor
 * Mangesh Deshai - Sound Mixing Engineer (Re recording)
 * J.D Irani - Dubbing Sound Recordist
 * Anil Talukdar - Guide Track Sound recordist
 * Ashoke Bose - Production Designer
 * Debayan Roy - Production Basic

Awards

 * National Film Awards for Best Screenplay & Best Direction(1974)
 * Best Film, Direction and Screenplay, Government of West Bengal, 1974
 * Best Feature Film for Children and Young Adults, Tehran, 1975
 * National Film Award for Best Cinematography (1974)
 * National Film Award for Best Child Artist (1974)
 * National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali (1974)

title: Sonar Kella


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Kubota (disambiguation)

Kubota is a Japanese tractor and heavy equipment manufacturing company.

Kubota may also refer to:

 * Kubota (surname), a Japanese surname
 * Kubota Domain, a Japanese domain of the Edo period
 * Kubota, Saga, a former town of Saga Prefecture

title: Kubota (disambiguation)


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Christian August Vulpius

Christian August Vulpius (23 January 1762 – 25 June 1827) was a German novelist and dramatist. His sister married the noted German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Biography
He was born at Weimar, and was educated at Jena and Erlangen. In 1790, he returned to Weimar, where Goethe obtained employment for him. Here, since 1788, Goethe had been contentedly living quasi-maritally with Vulpius's sister Christiane.

In Weimar, Vulpius began, in imitation of Christian Heinrich Spiess, to write a series of romantic narratives: operas, dramas and tales. Of these (about sixty in number), his Rinaldo Rinaldini, the Robber Captain (1797), is the most notorious. A typical "penny dreadful" of the period, it was often translated and much imitated, but unrivaled in its bad eminence. Its scene was laid in Italy during the Middle Ages. Vulpius was also active as an editor.

In 1797, possibly through Goethe's influence, Vulpius obtained employment at the Weimar library, of which he became chief librarian in 1806. In the latter year, Goethe also formally married Christiane. Christian died at Weimar on 25 June 1827.

Legacy
There are two filmed works based on Vulpius' most renowned penny-dread:
 * Rinaldo Rinaldini (1927 film)
 * Rinaldo Rinaldini (TV series) (TV series with 13 episodes produced in 1968)

title: Christian August Vulpius


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Black Sturgeon River (Thunder Bay District)

The Black Sturgeon River is a river in Thunder Bay District, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located west of the Nipigon River, that flows to Lake Superior.

Most of the river is protected in the Black Sturgeon River Provincial Park, a waterway park stretching from Black Sturgeon Dam north to and including the lands around Black Sturgeon Lake.

History
In 1959, a dam was constructed on the Black Sturgeon River in order to control water levels. The dam also prevented access to the upper reaches of the river. Many speculated that this construction is what led to the collapse of the most common fish type in the area, the walleye.

Geography
The river begins at Black Sturgeon Lake, southwest of Lake Nipigon, and flows southeast over the Split Rapids to Nonwatin Lake where the right tributary Nonwatin River and left tributary Ferguson Creek join. It turns south, passes Mount Magee on the left, and continues southeast over the Gardener Rapids and Black Sturgeon Dam, and further downstream heads under Ontario Highway 11 / Ontario Highway 17, the Canadian National Railway line and the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline at the settlement of Everard. The Black Sturgeon turns abruptly southwest and reaches its mouth at Black Bay on Lake Superior, about 6 km southeast of the community of Hurkett.

Tributaries

 * Moseau Creek (left)
 * Shillabeer Creek (right)
 * Larson Creek (left)
 * Scooper Creek (right)
 * Mound Creek (left)
 * Nonwatin River (right)
 * Ferguson Creek (left)

Geology
The river valley and Black Sturgeon Lake follow a major fault line, the Black Sturgeon Fault, which runs north–south. The valley also contains sills with columnar jointing which are related to the Midcontinent Rift System.

Black Sturgeon River Provincial Park
The Black Sturgeon River Provincial Park protects most of the Black Sturgeon River and wide swaths of land along its banks. It also includes the shores of Black Sturgeon Lake, stretching to the southern point of Lake Nipigon's Black Sturgeon Bay. It was established in 2002 to protect an important recreational waterway for fishing, hunting and canoeing. Other permitted activities are mountain biking, swimming, boating, and rock climbing. Winter activities include snowmobiling, snowshoeing, and dogsledding.

The park is part of the Lake Nipigon Basin Signature Site, an area remarkable for its range of natural and recreational values and the potential for future recreation and tourism opportunities. This site also includes other provincial parks, conservation reserves, and management areas around Lake Nipigon, all sharing common geographic themes, recreation uses, and resource issues.

Significant features of the park include Nipigon Moraine remnant, unconsolidated transverse ridges, provincially rare smooth woodsia (Woodsia glabella), and diabase cliffs and talus slopes. The forests within the park are mostly boreal mixedwood that are generally more species-rich than areas to the east and west. The park also plays an important role as a natural wildlife corridor between the Lake Nipigon Basin and the shoreline of Lake Superior, in particular for woodland caribou.

It is a non-operating park, meaning that there are no facilities or services.


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File:Electric six - senor smoke.jpg

Summary
Electric Six Señor Smoke album cover.

Fair use rationale in Señor Smoke
This image meets Fair Use standards because:

 * It is in a low resolution that makes reproduction unfeasible;
 * It illustrates the album in question;
 * It is being used solely for educational purposes, to illustrate the album as aforementioned;
 * It doesn't infringe in any way on the rights of the band, record label, or others to profit from album sales
 * There is no way to illustrate this album in the same manner with a free image; this is easily the most demonstrative image for the album.

title: File:Electric six - senor smoke.jpg


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File:Marvel Trouble 1.jpg

Summary
Cover of Marvel Comics' Trouble #1. Photo by Philippe Bialobos; Art direction by Joe Quesada. © 2003 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Fair use for Trouble (comic)
The use of the image linked here (Marvel_Trouble_1.jpg) in the Wikipedia article Trouble (comic) is claimed to be under fair use as: Fritz 11:46, 21 April 2006 (UTC)
 * The image is only used for nonprofit educational purposes, for identification and/or critical commentary on the copyrighted work.
 * It is an image representing only the cover and not the actual content of the product in question.
 * The image is of a resolution far inferior to that of the original, and due to the resulting lack of detail it could not be used for media piracy (e.g. to manufacture illegal copies of the product).
 * Given that the image used only constitutes a small part of copyrighted work, and is of inferior quality, it is assumed that the use does not lessen the commercial value of the copyrighted work.

title: File:Marvel Trouble 1.jpg


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Sorbs (disambiguation)

Sorbs (also known as Lusatians or Wends), are a west Slavic people living in Lusatia.

Sorbs may also refer to:

 * Sorbs (tribe), a 7th- to 10th-century Early Slavic tribe in Lower Lusatia
 * Sorbs, Hérault, a commune in the Hérault département in France
 * SORBS, the Spam and Open Relay Blocking System, an open proxy and open mail relay Domain Name System Black List
 * SORBS1, a human gene
 * SORBS2, a human gene
 * SORBS3, a human gene

title: Sorbs (disambiguation)