title: Glastonbury Tor

text: The National Trust took control of the Tor in 1933, but repairs were delayed until after the Second World War. During the 1960s, excavations identified cracks in the rock, suggesting the ground had moved in the past. This, combined with wind erosion, started to expose the footings of the tower, which were repaired with concrete. Erosion caused by the feet of the increasing number of visitors was also a problem and paths were laid to enable them to reach the summit without damaging the terraces. After 2000, enhancements to the access and repairs to the tower, including rebuilding of the parapet, were carried out. These included the replacement of some of the masonry damaged by earlier repairs with new stone from the Hadspen Quarry.


title: Glastonbury Tor

text: A model vaguely based on Glastonbury Tor (albeit with a tree instead of the tower) was incorporated into the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. As the athletes entered the stadium, their flags were displayed on the terraces of the model.


title: Glastonbury Tor

text: The Tor seems to have been called "Ynys yr Afalon" (meaning "The Isle of Avalon") by the Britons and is believed by some, including the 12th and 13th century writer Gerald of Wales, to be the Avalon of Arthurian legend. The Tor has been associated with the name Avalon, and identified with King Arthur, since the alleged discovery of his and Queen Guinevere's neatly labelled coffins in 1191, recounted by Gerald of Wales. Author Christopher L. Hodapp asserts in his book "The Templar Code for Dummies" that Glastonbury Tor is one of the possible locations of the Holy Grail, because it is close to the monastery that housed the Nanteos Cup.


title: Glastonbury Tor

text: With the 19th century resurgence of interest in Celtic mythology, the Tor became associated with Gwyn ap Nudd, the first Lord of the Otherworld (Annwn) and later King of the Fairies. The Tor came to be represented as an entrance to Annwn or to Avalon, the land of the fairies. The Tor is supposedly a gateway into "The Land of the Dead (Avalon)".


title: Glastonbury Tor

text: A persistent myth of more recent origin is that of the Glastonbury Zodiac, a purported astrological zodiac of gargantuan proportions said to have been carved into the land along ancient hedgerows and trackways, in which the Tor forms part of the figure representing Aquarius. The theory was first put forward in 1927 by Katherine Maltwood, an artist with interest in the occult, who thought the zodiac was constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. But the vast majority of the land said by Maltwood to be covered by the zodiac was under several feet of water at the proposed time of its construction, and many of the features such as field boundaries and roads are recent.


title: Glastonbury Tor

text: The Tor and other sites in Glastonbury have also been significant in the modern-day Goddess movement, with the flow from the Chalice Well seen as representing menstrual flow and the Tor being seen as either a breast or the whole figure of the Goddess. This has been celebrated with an effigy of the Goddess leading an annual procession up the Tor.


title: Glastonbury Tor

text: It is said that Brigid of Kildare is depicted milking a cow as a stone carving above one of the entrances to the tower.


title: Criminal Minds (season 3)

text: The third season of "Criminal Minds" premiered on CBS on September 26, 2007 and ended May 21, 2008. The third season was originally to have featured 25 episodes; however, only 13 were completed before the Writers Guild of America strike (2007–08). Seven more episodes were produced after the strike, bringing the total number of episodes to 20 for the third season. Mandy Patinkin wanted to leave the series, since he loathed the violent nature of it. He was replaced by Joe Mantegna several episodes later.


title: Criminal Minds (season 3)

text: In the season premiere "Doubt", Shelly Cole guest-starred as Anna Begley, a suicidal college student who copied the crimes of Nathan Tubbs, aka "The Campus Killer". Alexa Alemanni guest-starred as Amy Deckerman, Anna Begley's first murder victim. In the episode "In Name and Blood", Eddie Cibrian guest-starred as Joe Smith, a serial killer who uses his son to lure women and murder them. Gordon Clapp guest-starred as Detective Victor Wolynski, who leads the investigation of the murders. In the episode "Scared to Death", Michael O'Keefe guest-starred as Dr. Stanley Howard, a psychiatrist who uses his patients' worst fears to murder them.


title: Criminal Minds (season 3)

text: In the episode "Children of the Dark", Francis Capra guest-starred as Ervin Robles, a serial killer who was abused by a strict foster family. William Lee Scott guest-starred as Robles' foster brother and accomplice Gary, and Christine Healy guest-starred as Mrs. Manwaring, an abusive foster mother. In the episode "Seven Seconds", Ariel Winter guest-starred as Katie Jacobs, a young girl who is kidnapped at a shopping mall. Suzanne Cryer guest-starred as Susan Jacobs, Katie Jacobs' aunt who might be involved in her disappearance. Paula Malcomson guest-starred as Katie's mother, Beth, and Alexander Gould guest-starred as Susan's son, Jeremy.


title: Criminal Minds (season 3)

text: In the episode "About Face", Andrew Kavovit guest-starred as Max Poole, aka "The Have You Seen Me Murderer". Michael O'Neill guest-starred as Detective Frank Yarborough, who investigates the murder of his wife's friend. In the episode "Identity", Kaj-Erik Eriksen guest-starred as Henry Frost, a serial killer who assumed the identity of his partner in crime and idol, Francis Goehring, who committed suicide. Pat Skipper guest-starred as Harris Townsend, a retired U.S. Special Forces sniper who reluctantly assists the BAU during a standoff. In the episode "Lucky", Michael Beach guest-starred as Father Marks, and Nick Searcy guest-starred as Detective Jordan. In the episode "True Night", Frankie Muniz guest-starred as Johnny McHale, a famous comic book artist whose recent works have striking resemblances to murders he might have committed.


title: Criminal Minds (season 3)

text: In the episode "3rd Life", Riley Smith guest-starred as Ryan Phillips, a thrill killer who leads a trio of abductors. Gia Mantegna (daughter of series star Joe Mantegna) guest-starred as Lindsey Vaughan, a teenage girl who is kidnapped by Ryan's gang, Hayley McFarland guest-starred as Katie Owens, the first victim raped and murdered by Ryan's Gang, Fredric Lehne guest-starred as Jack Vaughan, a former hitman and Lindsey's father, and Michael Harney guest-starred as U.S. Marshal Pat Mannan.


title: Criminal Minds (season 3)

text: In the episode "Limelight", Andrea Roth guest-starred as Jill Morris, an FBI Agent whose lust for fame and less concern for eventual collateral damage becomes more apparent to the BAU. In the episode "Damaged", Dennis Christopher guest-starred as Abner Merriman, a prison warden who allows Hotch and Reid to interview Chester Hardwick, an inmate on death row.


title: Criminal Minds (season 3)

text: In the episode "A Higher Power", Jennifer Aspen guest-starred as Laurie Ann Morris, a depressed woman who was convinced by Peter Redding to kill herself. Renee O'Connor guest-starred as Pam Baleman, the wife of Paul Baleman, one of the apparent suicides, and sister-in-law of Detective Ronnie Baleman, who is investigating. In the episode "Elephant's Memory", Cody Kasch guest-starred as Owen Savage, a spree killer who is going after those who have wronged him during his childhood. Lindsey Haun guest-starred as Jordan Norris, Owen's girlfriend, and Alexandra Krosney guest-starred as Eileen Bechtold, Jordan's friend. In the episode "In Heat", Michael Graziadei guest-starred as Steven Fitzgerald, a serial killer confused about his sexual orientation. Tia Texada guest-starred as Detective Tina Lopez, who leads the investigation of the murders.


title: Criminal Minds (season 3)

text: In the episode "The Crossing", Scott Lowell guest-starred as Michael Hicks, a delusional stalker who obsesses over a woman named Keri Derzmond, played by Bonnie Root. Mary-Margaret Humes guest-starred as Audrey Sawyer-Henson, a battered housewife and mother who murdered her husband. In the episode "Tabula Rasa", Eric Lange guest-starred as Brian Matloff, aka "The Blue Ridge Strangler", a serial killer who suffers from amnesia after he attempted to evade the BAU by jumping off a building. In the season finale "Lo-Fi", Sienna Guillory guest-starred as Supervisory Special Agent Kate Joyner, an FBI Agent who aids the BAU in arresting members of the New York Terrorist Cell. Erik Palladino guest-starred as Detective Cooper, an NYPD officer who is shot in the line of duty by a member of the NYC terrorist cell.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Muhammed Lawal (born January 11, 1981), also known as "King Mo", is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist currently signed to Major League Wrestling. As a mixed martial artist, he is a former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and Rizin Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal was raised along with his siblings by a single Muslim mother. Growing up Lawal was a fan of professional wrestling and began competing in wrestling at Plano East Senior High School in Plano, Texas. As a junior Lawal won a state title in the Greco-Roman category and also finished as a state runner-up. During his senior season Lawal went undefeated and became a state champion after defeating 171 pound favorite Barrett Lidji. Lawal also competed in football, earning All-District honors as a linebacker during his junior season and as a wide receiver in his senior season. Lawal also lettered in track and field.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal went on to compete in NCAA Division II wrestling at the University of Central Oklahoma. He finished in 2nd place in the nation in 2001 and was a national champion in 2002. For his senior year Lawal moved on to Division I at Oklahoma State University. Lawal became a Big 12 Conference Champion and Division I All-American in 2003 for Oklahoma State, where he finished in third place for the 197 pound division. Lawal was also the university freestyle national champion at 185 pounds that year. After college Lawal continued his wrestling career at the senior level. He also


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: competed in the newly formed Real Pro Wrestling league and became the champion of the 184 pound weight class in 2004.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: He won the Senior U.S. national championship in freestyle wrestling three times - in 2005, 2006 and 2008. He also represented the U.S. at the 2005 World Wrestling Championships, where he finished in 7th place. He controversially lost his match to Sazhid Sazhidov of Russia when he was penalized a point for passivity with 1 second remaining in a match he was winning, giving Sazhidov the win. Revaz Mindorashvili would be the gold medalist at these games, a wrestler Lawal has defeated.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: For over three years, Lawal was the number one ranked wrestler in the United States in the 84 kilogram division. After narrowly missing entrance to the 2008 Olympics in a loss to Andy Hrovat, for which he was favored a spot, Lawal decided to enter the world of mixed martial arts.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: In his 2008 mixed martial arts debut at , Lawal fought Travis Wiuff, a veteran of 66 fights at the time, knocking him out in the first round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On March 20, 2009 at , Lawal defeated Ryo Kawamura by unanimous decision. His first time going the distance, Lawal attributed his performance to a knee injury sustained about a week before the fight, "I kinda tweaked it rolling around [with Dean Lister], and I tried to rehab it as much as I could before the fight."


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On August 28, 2009 Lawal fought for the first time on U.S. soil against Mark Kerr at M-1 Global Presents Breakthrough. Lawal defeated Kerr by technical knockout 25 seconds into the fight.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On October 13, 2009, it was announced that Lawal had signed a multi-fight contract with U.S. based promotion Strikeforce. The contract allowed him to continue fighting in the Japanese circuit where he has gained his notoriety.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On December 19 at Lawal fought Mike Whitehead, defeating him three minutes and eight seconds into round one via KO (punches). Lawal came in showing relaxed hands and strong counter punching and caught Whitehead with a strong right which dropped him. Lawal followed up with three punches causing the referee to stop the fight.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On April 17, 2010, Lawal defeated Gegard Mousasi by unanimous decision to win the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal lost the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship in Houston Texas, on August 21, against Rafael Cavalcante by TKO due to punches and elbows of 1:14 of round 3.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal was scheduled to fight Roger Gracie at on July 30, 2011. Gracie, however, withdrew from the bout in late June due to an injury. The fight was rescheduled for on Sept. 10, 2011, and Lawal won via KO in the first round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal garnered his second straight victory, defeating previously unbeaten Lorenz Larkin at via second-round KO. However, Lawal tested positive for anabolic steroids (Drostanolone) and as a result of the banned substance, the fight's result has been changed to a no contest while Lawal will have his license suspended for one year. After meeting with the Nevada State Athletic Commission on March 27, 2012 his suspension was reduced to nine months.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal was released from Strikeforce following comments he made on Twitter regarding Pat Lundvall after his hearing for his drug test. Lawal said, "She asked if I did research for my training. I didn't get what she meant by the question, and she rolled her eyes and asked, 'Do you speak English? Can you read?' I felt I was disrespected by the woman's comments. How are you going to ask a college educated, well traveled man if he can speak or read English? I'm speaking English right in front of you and I've been speaking English right in front of you for the past 15 minutes."


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: After the release, Lawal issued an apology to Lundvall, stating, "I was out of line for calling the woman the b-word and I was wrong for that. I was kind of mad about the comments, I was offended by the comments made towards me and I was out of line. I was too emotional. I apologize for that. With that being said, I still feel that I was offended, but I'm in the wrong for what I said."


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On May 10, 2012, it was reported that Lawal had signed a contract with the mixed martial arts promotion Bellator Fighting Championships.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On January 24, 2013, Lawal made his Bellator debut as a participant in the Season 8 . He defeated Przemyslaw Mysiala in the quarterfinal round via right hook. Lawal faced Emanuel Newton in the semifinals on February 21, 2013 at . Despite being a considerable favorite, Lawal lost via KO due to a spinning back fist in the first round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal faced Seth Petruzelli in the opening round of a 4-man tournament at on June 19, 2013, he won the fight by KO due to a punch in full guard at 1:35 of the first round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal next faced Jacob Noe at Bellator 97 in the light heavyweight tournament final. He won via TKO due to punches in round three to win the Bellator 2013 Summer Series light heavyweight tournament.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal faced Emanuel Newton in a rematch for the Interim Bellator Light Heavyweight Championship on November 2, 2013 at . Lawal lost via unanimous decision.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal entered into the Bellator season ten light heavyweight tournament on February 28, 2014. He faced Mikhail Zayats in the semifinals at Bellator 110 and won the fight via unanimous decision. He faced Quinton Jackson in the tournament final for a title shot. He lost the fight via controversial unanimous decision.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Muhammed Lawal was scheduled to fight Tom DeBlass on September 5, 2014 at Bellator 123; however, Tom DeBlass suffered a knee injury and was forced off the card. Lawal was expected to fight replacement Marcus Sursa at Bellator 123; however instead faced Dustin Jacoby. Lawal won the fight via TKO in the second round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal was again expected to face Tom DeBlass on November 15, 2014 at Bellator 131. However, on November 1, it was announced that Deblass had suffered a cut during training and had to withdraw from the bout. Lawal eventually faced Joe Vedepo. He won via TKO due to punches in the third round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal faced Cheick Kongo in a heavyweight bout on February 27, 2015 at Bellator 134. He won the fight by split decision.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal was next a participant in Bellator's one-night light heavyweight tournament at on September 19, 2015. He faced Linton Vassell in the opening round and won by unanimous decision. However, Lawal was unable to advance to the finals due to a rib injury.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal faced Phil Davis at Bellator 154 on May 14, 2016. The bout was to determine the next challenger for champion Liam McGeary. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal faced Satoshi Ishii at Bellator 169 on December 16, 2016. He won the fight via unanimous decision.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal faced Quinton Jackson in a rematch at Bellator 175 on March 31, 2017. He won the fight via unanimous decision, thus avenging his previous loss to Jackson. Post-fight, it was announced Lawal would face Ryan Bader at Bellator 180. However, Lawal pulled out of the bout in April and was replaced by Phil Davis.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal was expected to face Liam McGeary at Bellator 185 on October 20, 2017. However, he pulled out of the bout on October 2 due to an undisclosed injury.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal faced Ryan Bader in the Bellator Heavyweight Grand Prix for the Bellator Heavyweight championship at Bellator 199 on May 12, 2018. He lost the fight via TKO just 15 seconds into the first round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal faced former Bellator Light Heavyweight World Champion Liam McGeary at Bellator 213 on December 15, 2018. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On November 6, 2015, RIZIN Fighting Federation announced that Lawal would represent Bellator in 8-man tourney at New Year's Eve Rizin card in Japan. His first opponent was initially supposed to be BAMMA heavyweight champ Mark Godbeer, but he eventually faced Brett McDermott. Lawal won the fight via knockout in the first round. He faced Teodoras Aukstuolis in the semi-final round on December 31, 2015 and won via unanimous decision after two rounds. In the tournament finals, Lawal faced Jiří Procházka and won the fight via knockout in the first round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On December 29, 2016, Lawal returned to Rizin FF as a participant in the , replacing an injured Wanderlei Silva in a bout against Mirko Cro Cop. Lawal lost to Cro Cop via TKO in the second round.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal was a professional wrestling fan from an early age. Upon graduating from college, Lawal was offered a contract by the professional wrestling promotion World Wrestling Entertainment. Lawal spent a week at Ohio Valley Wrestling, WWE's developmental territory, before ultimately rejecting the contract offer, instead opting to pursue a career in mixed martial arts.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: In May 2012, upon signing with Bellator Fighting Championships, Lawal also signed a separate contract with the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), with the intention of simultaneously pursuing careers in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling. Lawal stated that he expected to appear with TNA "two or three times a month or whenever they can book me" and that "if I have a fight coming up, I won't be doing shows or taping". In September 2012, it was reported that Lawal would train as a professional wrestler at Ohio Valley Wrestling, now TNA's developmental territory in Louisville, Kentucky. Lawal made his first appearance in TNA on the October 4, 2012 episode of "Impact Wrestling". He went on to serve as a special guest enforcer for a street fight between Bobby Roode and James Storm at the "Bound for Glory" pay-per-view on October 14, 2012.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: King Mo returned to TNA on the July 24, 2014 episode of "Impact Wrestling" as a heel, attacking Tommy Dreamer, Bully Ray and Devon and aligning with Team Dixie and Dixie Carter. In late 2014, King Mo was removed from Team Dixie due to his absence from TNA.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: When asked in February 2015 if he will appear again for TNA, King Mo stated: "I've always been MMA 100%. If they call me I'll make an appearance. Right now, there is nothing going on in wrestling unless they book me to do something." On July 20, 2015, Mo announced his departure from TNA.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On June 14, 2014 at House of Hardcore 6, King Mo took part in a special Master Lock challenge from Chris Masters along with other wrestlers in the end, King Mo was able to avoid being to put in The Masterlock and he was able to put Masters in a leg lock submission making Masters tap out.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On June 27, 2017, it was announced that King Mo would make his return to Impact Wrestling and be in Lashley's corner for his Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship match at Slammiversary.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: On November 8, 2019, Mo wore an MLW shirt during his entrance to his final fight for Bellator. The following morning it was announced that he had signed an exclusive deal with the promotion and would be making his debut for the promotion at their next TV taping. He won his debut match for the promotion, which aired on their Thanksgiving episode of "MLW Fusion" via submission.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: Lawal's parents are immigrants from Nigeria. Lawal was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He has a younger brother named Abdullah and a younger sister named Aminat. The three were raised by a single mother, "My mom (Nike Rouseau) pretty much raised us all. My dad was never around." Muhammed's father committed suicide when Lawal was twenty years old.


title: Muhammed Lawal

text: After his fight with Larkin, Lawal was diagnosed with Staphylococcus obtained from knee surgery. Lawal had a fever of 103 degrees, and the infection ate away at parts of his hip and legs, "I had this moment where I was like, man, I can see my hip bone. I was ripped still. I had an eight-pack. But there's my hip bone. I looked at my leg, and it looked like those zombies from "The Walking Dead". I feel like I looked death in the face, and I survived."


title: Spelling bee

text: A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite them accordingly.


title: Spelling bee

text: The concept is thought to have originated in the United States, and spelling bee events, along with variants, are now also held in some other countries around the world.


title: Spelling bee

text: Historically the word "bee" has been used to describe a get-together for communal work, like a husking bee, a quilting bee, or an apple bee. According to etymological research recorded in dictionaries, the word "bee" probably comes from dialectal "been" or "bean" (meaning "help given by neighbors"), which came from Middle English "bene" (meaning "prayer", "boon" and "extra service by a tenant to his lord").


title: Spelling bee

text: The earliest known evidence of the phrase "spelling bee" in print dates back to 1850, although an earlier name, "spelling match", has been traced back to 1808. A key impetus for the contests was Noah Webster's spelling books. First published in 1786 and known colloquially as "The Blue-backed Speller," Webster's spelling books were an essential part of the curriculum of all elementary school children in the United States for five generations. Now the key reference for the contests is Webster's Third New International Dictionary.


title: Spelling bee

text: Spelling bees became widespread across the United States during the 1800s, as a way to motivate students to learn standardized spelling. These spelling bees were usually held within individual schools and towns, and were not nationally organized. In 1908, the NEA held what it called the "first national spelling bee" at its convention in Cleveland. Marie Bolden, a black girl from Cleveland, was named champion.


title: Spelling bee

text: The annual United States National Spelling Bee was started in 1925 by "The Courier-Journal", the newspaper of Louisville, Kentucky. The winner was Frank Neuhauser, who won the 1st National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in 1925 at the age of eleven.


title: Spelling bee

text: In 1941, the Scripps Howard News Service acquired sponsorship of the program, and the name changed to the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. Later, the name was shortened to the "Scripps National Spelling Bee". Besides competitors from the 50 U.S. states, several come from Canada, the Bahamas, New Zealand and European countries.


title: Spelling bee

text: In the United States, spelling bees are annually held from local levels up to the level of the Scripps National Spelling Bee which awards a cash prize to the winner. The National Spelling Bee is sponsored by English-language newspapers and educational foundations; it is also broadcast on ESPN. Since 2006, the National Spelling Bee's championship rounds have been broadcast on ABC live. In 2005, contestants came from the Bahamas, Jamaica, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Canada, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and a German military base, as well as the United States. This was the first year that spellers from Canada and New Zealand attended the competition. The final authority for words is the "Webster's Third New International Dictionary". The annual study list is available from Scripps, either online or in print.


title: Spelling bee

text: The National Senior Spelling Bee started in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1996. Sponsored by the Wyoming AARP, it is open to contestants 50 and older. Maria Dawson is the only contestant to ever win two back-to-back titles at the National Senior Spelling Bee.


title: Spelling bee

text: The South Asian Spelling Bee is another spelling bee platform in the US. This annual contest takes place across the US each summer in search of the next South Asian-American spelling champ between the ages of 8 and 14 years old. Launched in 2008, the South Asian Spelling Bee toured 10 US cities in 2011 and is broadcast globally via the satellite channel, Sony Entertainment Television Asia.


title: Spelling bee

text: Holding spelling bees in English, with its irregular spelling, makes more sense than in languages that have much more familiar spelling. Some languages, like Hindi, are based fully on phonetics and have regular spellings; and therefore, there are very few spelling bees in these languages.


title: Spelling bee

text: In Africa, a spelling bee is organized by the African Spelling Bee, which holds an Annual Spelling Bee contest for children between the age of 6 and 16 across the continent. The first competition took place in July 2016, bringing together nine different countries.


title: Spelling bee

text: There are several countries that run their own national spelling bees, including Uganda which holds the National Spelling Bee organized by enjuba in 10 different languages, including 8 local languages, sign language and English.


title: Spelling bee

text: In Ghana, The Spelling Bee Ghana is organized annually, with the winners being flown to US to represent Ghana at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.


title: Spelling bee

text: Nigeria's spelling bee is called the Nigeria Spelling Bee, and is organized by the Bee Spelling Competition Initiative in states across the federation of Nigeria.


title: Spelling bee

text: Botswana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Rwanda are also part of the African Spelling Bee, with the number of countries still growing.


title: Spelling bee

text: In Asia, a spelling bee is being conducted up to the international level by MaRRS Spelling Bee. The competition involves learning the correct spelling of words, their use in sentences and in multiple contexts. Currently, it is being held in India, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Bahrain, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm-Al-Quwain.


title: Spelling bee

text: In Bahrain, an annual spelling bee contest named "Spellbound Bahrain" is conducted for the school children by KEEN4, an association of Kerala Engineers.


title: Spelling bee

text: In Malaysia, the annual NST-RHB Spell-it-Right Challenge is open to primary and secondary school students under the Malaysian education syllabus. The competition is carried out in three rounds: the Preliminary Challenge, State Challenge and National Challenge. The preliminary challenge is a written spelling test, from which the top 100 spellers will be chosen to compete in the State Challenge, where the competition is carried out orally. The 1st prize winner from this stage will then represent their states to compete for the title of National Spell-it-Right Champion in the National Challenge.


title: Spelling bee

text: In Taiwan, the National Spelling Bee Championship is a contest held by Bugstation.tv for young English learners. Thousands of young applicants join this contest each year.


title: Spelling bee

text: The annual Asia Spelling Cup is held in different cities throughout Asia, and uses mobile pre-selection testing to identify finalists.


title: Spelling bee

text: In Western Australia, a spelling bee is held by the State Library Foundation of Western Australia, for children in school years 5, 6, 7 and 8. The early stages of the competition are held online, and the final spell-off in front of a live audience. Two major prizes are awarded: one for a Junior Winner (Years 5-6) and the other for a Senior Winner (Years 7-8). Further prizes are given to the teacher and school class of each major prize winner, and to the most improved speller each week.


title: Spelling bee

text: Starting in 2012, Bangladesh's English daily newspaper, "The Daily Star" and e-Learning portal Champs21.com have been organizing a televised spelling bee on Channel i for the students of class six to ten from Bengali and English medium backgrounds, who compete through their schools and the Champs21 website. The spelling bee team visits 7 divisional cities (Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur, Rajshahi, Khulna & Barisal) to test top 1% speller and top 96 speller of the season participate in the television show. The competition is the first such arrangement in Bangladesh. The champion is rewarded with a trip to Washington, DC. The winners of season 2 met the honorable president of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Advocate Abdul Hamid. The fourth season was held in 2016.


title: Spelling bee

text: The "Postmedia Canspell National Spelling Bee" is a Scripps affiliated Canadian spelling bee held annually nationwide in Canada since 2005. The bee is affiliated with the United States-based Scripps National Spelling Bee and uses similar rules and word lists, and competes in all 10 Canadian provinces to provide a Canadian National Champion for the penultimate Scripps competition.


title: Spelling bee

text: Another organization is the Spelling Bee of Canada, which started in 1987 in Toronto, Ontario, and celebrated its 25th anniversary by hosting a Canadian Invitational Bee in 2012, as well as organizing Provincial Bees across Canada, and the world.


title: Spelling bee

text: The India Spelling Bee is held for school students across the country, featuring school-level, state and region-level, and national-level competitions.


title: Spelling bee

text: Spelling bees in India have seen increasing interest and participation from schools across the country, including rural and suburban areas. This has been further fueled by the prevalence of Indian and Indian-American champions in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the United States.


title: Spelling bee

text: In the school year 2008–2009, Mrs. Wijdan Alawadhi (senior teacher) and Mrs. Mona Yehia (teacher of English) started the spelling bee contest in Mubarak al-Kabir Educational Area (one of the biggest Kuwaiti Governorates). They started the contest as an experiment in their school (Thabet Bin Zaid Primary School for Boys) with the fourth and fifth grades. It was a successful experiment which was faced with a lot of appreciation from Mrs. Aisha Al Awadhi, ELT Senior Supervisor of English Language supervision. Then they decided to hold the competition among the whole educational area (Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational area). In 2010–2011, the contest was held with 27 schools (12 schools for boys and 15 for girls – around 2700 pupils). Each school nominated a pupil from the fifth grade to participate.


title: Spelling bee

text: In 2012–2013, 30 schools participated. All the 30 pupils participated anxiously to win the competition with 200 words. It becomes officially an authorized contest in Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Area (Kuwaiti Spelling Bee) in Kuwait. In the school year 2013–2014 the competition was held in Al-Imam Al-Shafie primary school for boys with 31 schools and the words list contained 260 words.


title: Spelling bee

text: In 2014–2015 with the patronage of Mr. Talaq Al-Hiem the director of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Area the competition held with the participation of 33 schools (16 girls, 15 boys and 2 LD) in Sabah AL-Salem Primary school with the help of its principal Mrs. Amira Baqer. Mrs. Aisha Al-Awadhi and the success of the competition convinced the ELT General supervision to decide the competition as Kuwait National Spelling Bee for the coming year 2015–2016.


title: Spelling bee

text: The Nigeria Spelling Bee is organized in across states of the federation with national finalists drawn after qualifying from their respective states and either of the six geo-political zones of the country.


title: Spelling bee

text: The Nigeria Spelling Bee which is the widest spelling bee competition in the country has so far been conducted in more than 25 states across Nigeria by the organizers (Bee Spelling Competition Initiative) which has been endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and the state ministries of education.


title: Spelling bee

text: Winners of the Nigeria Spelling Bee competition win up to ₦1,000,000 in scholarship and participate in the annual African Spelling Bee which is a continental event organized by the African Spelling Bee Consortium as the official Nigerian delegates.


title: Spelling bee

text: The competition is for students in any registered school in Nigeria from the ages of 9 years to 16 years who have to register on the competition's website.


title: Spelling bee

text: Apart from the National spelling bee that has representatives across the states in the country, there is another spelling bee that commenced during while Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State.


title: Spelling bee

text: This is referring to the New Era Foundation spelling Bee, an annual event in Lagos State that had its first outing in 2001.The spelling bee competition is held among all public primary and secondary school in Lagos State with the winner and runner-ups of the secondary school category carting away prizes ranging from cash, a trip to Finland and the most outstanding one being the opportunity for the overall winner to serve as one-day governor of the state alongside runner-ups as cabinet members. The spelling bee competition has till date produced 20 one-day governors with the year 2020 winner being a female student from Angus Memorial Senior High School, Shomolu Lagos - Miss Jemimah Marcus.


title: Spelling bee

text: In 2010, a spelling bee was held for the first time in Nepal organized by Rotaract Club of Charumati. Benish Shrestha, Grade 10, Galaxy Public School came first; Bibek Rauniyar, Grade 10, Gillette International Boarding School came second; and Arnav Singh from Grade 9 Little Angels School secured third position.


title: Spelling bee

text: In Pakistan, the spelling bee competition is promoted by the daily newspaper "Dawn", and it takes place every year in October. There are three stages: district, regional and national. National is held in Islamabad. Dawn Spelling Bee is conducted in three stages. District and pool rounds are the first stage of the competition which are held across the districts and cities all across Pakistan. District champions compete in the Regional Championships which are held in 3 regions: Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad. Three regional winners from each group consisting of the regional champion, first runner up and second runner up compete in the national finals in Islamabad. Students from Karachi Grammar School, EMS High School, Beaconhouse School System, and Lahore Grammar School have won the competition several times.


title: Spelling bee

text: Sylvan Learning Center, a supplemental education organization from the United States, has organized an annual competition for Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah-area schools. The Sylvan Spelling Challenge is held annually in December and February for students in grades 3–8. The Sylvan competition expects to attract nearly 1,000 participants from 30 schools in its inaugural year.


title: Spelling bee

text: Abu Dhabi University sponsors the largest spelling bee in the United Arab Emirates, attracting students from both public and private institutions for the past three years. The Abu Dhabi University Spelling Bee is heralded as the most challenging and well-known spelling competition in the United Arab Emirates.council.


title: Spelling bee

text: The English Language Department in Jeddah conducted a spelling bee competition, Spell Saudia, in 2017 and 2018. The competition has three rounds:


title: Spelling bee

text: Round One: held at the educational offices level and the best 3 spellers from each group are nominated to round 2.


title: Spelling bee

text: Round Two:18 spellers from each stage compete against each other and the best six spellers are nominated for the final round which takes place at the ELDJ Closing Ceremony at the end of the academic year.


title: Spelling bee

text: Different companies/schools organize and participate in different, independent spelling bees, but the largest company in Latin America to organize annual international spelling bees since 2015 is Advanced Methods Corporation (Amco), a U.S. based company that promotes learning English as a second language. Schools from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador enrolled to the Amco system are eligible to participate in the annual Amco Spelling Bee, consisting of 3 stages: school (selection of students to participate in the regional, repeats with the next stages), regional, and international. The international one is always set in Guadalajara, Jalisco, in Expo Guadalajara, and is almost always held in the last days of May or beginnings of June.


title: Spelling bee

text: In 1876 there were newspaper reports of spelling bees in a number of towns in the United Kingdom. Since 2009, "The Times" newspaper has run a spelling bee for schools: The Times Spelling Bee.


title: Spelling bee

text: Serious spelling bee competitors in the United States will study affixes and etymologies, and often foreign languages from which English draws, in order to spell challenging words. Several preparatory materials have been published, including some in connection with the Scripps National Spelling Bee and those created by independent organizations not related to Scripps.


title: Spelling bee

text: For the first several decades of publication, the Scripps annual study booklet was named "Words of the Champions", which offered 3,000 words in a list separated into beginning, intermediate & expert groupings. In the mid-1990s the annual study list changed to "Paideia" (from the Greek word meaning education and culture), which ultimately contained more than 4,100 words, then again in 2006 to the shorter list, entitled "Spell It!", the 2009 edition having 1155 words (911 basic words and 244 challenge words).


title: Spelling bee

text: The "Consolidated Word List", also published by Scripps and available on the National Spelling Bee website, consists of all words used in the National Bee as far back as 1950. It is organized into three sections: Words Appearing Infrequently, Words Appearing with Moderate Frequency, and Word Appearing Frequently. Nearly 800 pages and 24,000 words long, the "Consolidated Word List" is intended for those who have mastered the basics and already gone through "Spell It!". Spelling bee participants in the United States also use other reference books and tutoring materials are becoming available on the web.


title: Spelling bee

text: One of the first spelling bee competitions in Vanuatu took place in August 2019. Six primary schools and 36 students on the main island of Vanuatu participated and competed for secondary school scholarships. The SHEFA education office and Peace Corps Volunteers collaborated to make the spelling bee possible.


title: Spelling bee

text: From 1990 to 2016, the Dutch and Flemish organized a Dutch spelling bee every year, which was televised from 1991 onwards.


title: Spelling bee

text: Spelling bee students usually start competition in elementary school (primary school) or middle school. Classes compete against other classes in the same grade, or level, and the winning class is determined by the score of each class. On an individual level, school spelling bees determine which child will represent his or her school at district, state and national competitions.


title: United States Attorney

text: United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal criminal prosecutor in their judicial district and represents the U.S. federal government in civil litigation in federal and state court within their geographic jurisdiction. U.S. attorneys must be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, after which they serve four-year terms.


title: United States Attorney

text: Currently, there are 93 U.S. attorneys in 94 district offices located throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. One U.S. attorney is assigned to each of the judicial districts, with the exception of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, where a single U.S. attorney serves both districts. Each U.S. attorney is the chief federal law enforcement officer within a specified jurisdiction, acting under the guidance of the "United States Attorneys' Manual". They supervise district offices with as many as 350 assistant U.S. attorneys (AUSAs) and as many as 350 support personnel.


title: United States Attorney

text: U.S. Attorney's Offices are staffed mainly by assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSA). Often colloquially called "federal prosecutors", assistant U.S. attorneys are government lawyers who act as prosecutors in federal criminal trials and as the United States federal government's lawyers in civil litigation in which the United States is a party. In carrying out their duties as prosecutors, AUSAs have the authority to investigate persons, issue subpoenas, file formal criminal charges, plea bargain with defendants, and grant immunity to witnesses and accused criminals.


title: United States Attorney

text: U.S. attorneys and their offices are part of the Department of Justice. U.S. attorneys receive oversight, supervision, and administrative support services through the Justice Department's Executive Office for United States Attorneys. Selected U.S. attorneys participate in the Attorney General's Advisory Committee of United States Attorneys.


title: United States Attorney

text: The Office of the United States Attorney was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789, along with the office of Attorney General and United States Marshal. The same act also specified the structure of the Supreme Court of the United States and established inferior courts making up the United States Federal Judiciary, including a district court system. Thus, the office of U.S. Attorney is older than the Department of Justice. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for the appointment in each judicial district of a "Person learned in the law to act as attorney for the United States...whose duty it shall be to prosecute in each district all delinquents for crimes and offenses cognizable under the authority of the United States, and all civil actions in which the United States shall be concerned..."


title: United States Attorney

text: Prior to the existence of the Department of Justice, the U.S. attorneys were independent of the Attorney General, and did not come under the AG's supervision and authority until 1870, with the creation of the Department of Justice.


title: United States Attorney

text: U.S. attorneys are appointed by the President of the United States for a term of four years, with appointments subject to confirmation by the Senate. A U.S. attorney continues in office, beyond the appointed term, until a successor is appointed and qualified. By law, each United States attorney is subject to removal by the President. The Attorney General has had the authority since 1986 to appoint interim U.S. attorneys to fill a vacancy.


title: United States Attorney

text: (d) If an appointment expires under subsection (c)(2), the district court for such district may appoint a United States attorney to serve until the vacancy is filled. The order of appointment by the court shall be filed with the clerk of the court.


title: United States Attorney

text: On March 9, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into law the USA PATRIOT and Terrorism Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2005 which amended Section 546 by striking subsections (c) and (d) and inserting the following new subsection:


title: United States Attorney

text: This, in effect, extinguished the 120-day limit on interim U.S. attorneys, and their appointment had an indefinite term. If the president failed to put forward any nominee to the Senate, then the Senate confirmation process was avoided, as the Attorney General-appointed interim U.S. attorney could continue in office without limit or further action. Related to the dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy, in March 2007 the Senate and the House voted to re-instated the 120-day term limit on interim attorneys. The bill was signed by President George W. Bush, and became law in June 2007.


title: United States Attorney

text: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D, California), summarized the history of interim United States Attorney appointments, on March 19, 2007 in the Senate.


title: United States Attorney

text: The U.S. attorney is both the primary representative and the administrative head of the "Office of the U.S. Attorney" for the district. The U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) is the chief prosecutor for the United States in criminal law cases, and represents the United States in civil law cases as either the defendant or plaintiff, as appropriate. However, they are not the only ones that may represent the United States in Court. In certain circumstances, using an action called a "qui tam", any U.S. citizen, provided they are represented by an attorney, can represent the interests of the United States, and share in penalties assessed against guilty parties.


title: United States Attorney

text: As chief federal law enforcement officers, U.S. attorneys have authority over all federal law enforcement personnel within their districts and may direct them to engage, cease or assist in investigations. In practice, this has involved command of Federal Bureau of Investigation assets but also includes other agencies under the Department of Justice, such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Drug Enforcement Administration. Additionally, U.S. attorneys cooperate with other non-DOJ law enforcement agencies – such as the United States Secret Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement – to prosecute cases relevant to their jurisdictional areas.


title: United States Attorney

text: The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia has the additional responsibility of prosecuting local criminal cases in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, the equivalent of a municipal court for the national capital. The Superior Court is a federal Article I court.


title: United States Attorney

text: The Executive Office for United States Attorneys (EOUSA) provides the administrative support for the 93 United States attorneys (encompassing 94 United States Attorney offices, as the Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands has a single U.S. attorney for both districts), including:


title: United States Attorney

text: These responsibilities include certain legal, budgetary, administrative, and personnel services, as well as legal education.


title: United States Attorney

text: The EOUSA was created on April 6, 1953, by Attorney General Order No. 8-53 to provide for close liaison between the Department of Justice in Washington, DC, and the 93 U.S. attorneys located throughout the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It was organized by Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals judge James R. Browning, who also served as its first chief.


title: United States Attorney

text: Note: Except as indicated parenthetically, the foregoing links are to the corresponding district court, rather than to the U.S. Attorney's Office.


title: Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

text: Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 25 August 1978) is the former heir apparent of Qatar. He is the third son of the former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and the first child of the Emir with his second wife, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned. He abdicated his position as Crown Prince in 2003, in favour of his younger brother Tamim, citing being uninterested in becoming Emir.


title: Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

text: Sheikh Jassim is the third son of the former emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. His mother is Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned, second wife of his father. He was educated at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.


title: Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

text: After graduation Sheikh Jassim was commissioned as 2nd-lieutenant in the Qatari armed forces on 9 August 1996. He was appointed heir apparent of Qatar on 23 October 1996. He replaced Mishaal bin Hamad Al Thani, his older half-brother, in the post. Jassim renounced his rights in favour of his younger brother Sheikh Tamim on 5 August 2003. According to Qatar News Agency, Jassim sent a letter to his father saying, “The time is appropriate to step down and prepare for a successor”. In the letter, Jassim stated, “I did not want, as I have told you from the start, to be appointed as crown prince”, and noted he had only accepted the position in October 1996 because of "sensitive circumstances".


title: Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

text: Jassim was the personal representative of the former emir. Sheikh Jassim is also honorary president of the Qatar National Cancer Society (QNCS) since 1997. Furthermore, he has been chair of the high committee for coordination and follow up since 1999, chair of the supreme council for the environment and natural resources since 2000. He is also patron of Aspire Academy since 2003. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at Qatar Foundation.


title: Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

text: Sheikh Jassim married his cousin, Sheikha Bothaina bint Hamad Al Thani, the daughter of Sheikh Hamad bin Ali Al Thani, at Al Wajbah Palace, Doha, on 30 March 2006. They have eight children, three sons and five daughters:


title: Sharman Macdonald

text: Macdonald was born in Glasgow, the daughter of Janet Rewat (née Williams) and Joseph Henry Hosgood MacDonald. She has Scottish and Welsh ancestry. Macdonald was educated at the University of Edinburgh, from which she graduated in 1972. She credits fellow Scot Ian Charleson with supporting and encouraging her to follow her theatrical aspirations, and she later contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, "For Ian Charleson: A Tribute". Macdonald moved to London after university, and worked as an actress with the and at the Royal Court Theatre. Although her acting career included 7 years of television work, she eventually left it, due in large part to stage fright.


title: Sharman Macdonald

text: While working as an actress, Macdonald wrote her first play, "When I Was a Girl, I Used to Scream and Shout"; it was first performed at the Bush Theatre in 1984, and won her the Evening Standard Award for most promising playwright. Some of the themes in "Scream and Shout" were inspired by games that her son Caleb played with his friends. Of this, Macdonald has said that "it's the result of a bet, this writing life. I was desperate for a second child. Desperate never to act again. Most of all desperate to stop eating lentils, French bread and tomatoes. We were broke, Will and me. We had one child. My hormones were screaming at me to have another. So. Will bet me a child for the sale of a script". Actor Alan Rickman, then a reader, found it in the unsolicited script pile and told the Bush they should put it on. I


title: Sharman Macdonald

text: Macdonald's other work includes "The Brave", commissioned by the Bush Theatre; "When We Were Women", first performed at the Cottesloe Theatre; "All Things Nice", commissioned by the English Stage Company and first performed at the Royal Court Theatre in 1991; "The Winter Guest", which was made into a film, in 1997, directed by Alan Rickman; "The Girl With Red Hair" (2005), which had its first reading in August 2003; and "Windfall" a film adaptation of Penny Vincenzi's best-selling novel "PiVotal Pictures".


title: Sharman Macdonald

text: She has written two plays for the National Theatre's Shell Connections programme; "After Juliet" (in which Macdonald's daughter Keira starred as a young girl), and 2006's "Broken Hallelujah".


title: Sharman Macdonald

text: Macdonald's resume also includes the novels "The Beast" (1986) and "Night Night" (1988), the radio plays (for the BBC) such as "Sea Urchins" and "Gladly My Cross Eyed Bear" (1999), the libretto to "Hey Persephone!", performed at Aldeburgh with music by Deirdre Gribbin, and "Lu Lah, Lu Lah" (2010) commissioned for a young all-female cast and performed at the Cheltenham Ladies' College in Cheltenham.


title: Sharman Macdonald

text: Macdonald is married to the actor Will Knightley. They have two children, composer Caleb Knightley and two-time Academy Award-nominated actress Keira Knightley.


title: Blair Brown

text: Bonnie Blair Brown (born April 23, 1946) is an American theater, film and television actress. She has had a number of high-profile roles, including in the play "Copenhagen" on Broadway, the leading actress in the films "Altered States" (1980), "Continental Divide" (1981) and "Strapless" (1989), as well as a run as the title character in the comedy-drama television series "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd", which ran from 1987 to 1991. Her later roles include Nina Sharp on the Fox television series "Fringe" and Judy King on the Netflix series "Orange Is the New Black".


title: Blair Brown

text: Brown was born in Washington, DC. Her mother was a teacher and her father worked for the Central Intelligence Agency. She graduated from The Madeira School in McLean, Virginia, and then pursued acting at the National Theatre School of Canada, graduating in 1969. She gained notice as a participating actor at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and spent several years working on the stage.


title: Blair Brown

text: Brown's first feature role was in the Oscar-winning 1973 film "The Paper Chase"; her first major starring role was in "The Choirboys" in 1977. Among her other film credits were "Altered States" (opposite William Hurt), "One Trick Pony" (with Paul Simon), the film "Stealing Home" (opposite Mark Harmon) and "A Flash of Green" (1984). Her arguably highest profile film role to date was the romantic lead opposite John Belushi in "Continental Divide" (1981) for which she received her first Golden Globe Award nomination, in the category of Best Motion Picture Actress in a Comedy/Musical.


title: Blair Brown

text: Other film roles include: "And I Alone Survived" (1978), "Strapless" (1989), "The Astronaut's Wife" (1999), Clint Eastwood's "Space Cowboys" (2000), Lars von Trier's "Dogville", the Kevin Bacon-directed "Loverboy" (2005) and "The Sentinel" (2006).


title: Blair Brown

text: Brown appeared in several television movies and miniseries, primarily during the 1980s. A high-profile role as Jacqueline Kennedy in the 1983 TV miniseries "Kennedy" earned her a second Golden Globe nomination, for Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, as well as a BAFTA nomination. She also appeared in several other programs about the Kennedys, including the 1996 miniseries "A Season in Purgatory", which was a thinly veiled portrait of the family, as well as an appearance as Anna Roosevelt in a telefilm about Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt.


title: Blair Brown

text: Brown's visibility rose during her five-year run (1987–1991) on the comedy-drama series "The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd". She played the title role, and she, and the show, earned a small but dedicated following. Brown received five consecutive Emmy Award nominations for each season, in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, but never won. The show spent two years on NBC, then moved to the Lifetime cable channel for the remainder of its run.


title: Blair Brown

text: Brown also appeared in other prime-time series including "The Rockford Files", "Kojak", "Frasier", "Smallville", "Touched by an Angel", "ER", and "Ed". In 1975 she appeared in one episode of the television mini-series "Wheels". Beginning in 2008, Brown starred as Nina Sharp in the Fox television series "Fringe". Brown also appeared in several seasons of the "Netflix" comedy-drama series "Orange is the New Black" as fictional television personality Judy King, an inmate loosely based on Martha Stewart.


title: Blair Brown

text: Brown has been involved with theater since the beginning of her career. She appeared in the 1975 New York Shakespeare Festival production of "The Comedy of Errors". Among her earlier roles was a run as Lucy Brown in the 1976 production of "The Threepenny Opera", produced by Joe Papp and directed by Richard Foreman. She left the production for film work, but after being away from the production for eight months, Ellen Greene, who was playing the part of Jenny, fell ill. Brown astounded the stage manager of the production by coming in and, with one hour of rehearsal, put on a "brilliant" performance as Jenny. Her first major appearance on Broadway came in 1989, in the play "Secret Rapture", written by David Hare.


title: Blair Brown

text: Once "Molly Dodd" concluded, Brown became a prolific Broadway actress, appearing in, among other productions, Tom Stoppard's 1995 Lincoln Center Theater production of "Arcadia" and two separate runs as Frau Schneider in the revival of "Cabaret" (1998 and 2003). She played Margrethe, the wife of physicist Niels Bohr, in the play "Copenhagen", a role for which she won a 2000 Tony Award in the category of Best Featured Actress in a Play. Brown played the lead role in Sarah Ruhl's 2006 play "The Clean House" at Lincoln Center.


title: Blair Brown

text: In the 1990s, Brown expanded her career into voiceover work, narrating both audiobooks and films and documentaries. Her audiobooks projects include John Grisham's "The Client", Lois Lowry's "Number the Stars", Stephen King's "Rose Madder", Kevin Henkes' "Olive's Ocean", Sue Miller's 2005 novel "Lost in the Forest", and Isabel Allende's "Inés of My Soul".


title: Blair Brown

text: Her voiceovers are heard on a number of documentaries, including PBS's "American Experience" series and the 2007 PBS series "The Mysterious Human Heart". Other documentary narrations include the scientific series "The Secret Life of the Brain", a documentary on Aimee Semple McPherson, which aired in April 2007, and a 2006 PBS documentary about Marie Antoinette. In April, 2010, she co-narrated the PBS special "The Buddha" with Richard Gere.


title: Blair Brown

text: Brown had a relationship with actor Richard Jordan, whom she met while filming the miniseries "Captains and the Kings" in 1976. The couple lived together from 1976 to 1985; their son Robert Anson Jordan III was born in 1983. She dated playwright David Hare from 1985 to 1990; he referred to her as his muse. She mentioned on "The Tonight Show" in 1989 that she is a Democrat.


title: Siddhanth Kapoor

text: Siddhanth Kapoor (born 6 July 1984) is an Indian actor and assistant director who works in Bollywood films. Son of actor Shakti Kapoor and brother of actress Shraddha Kapoor, he started his career by working as an assistant director in various films such as the 2007 comedy horror "Bhool Bhulaiya", the 2006 comedy murder mystery "Bhagam Bhag", the 2006 comedy drama "Chup Chup Ke" and the 2007 comedy "Dhol". He then started acting in Sanjay Gupta's crime film "Shootout at Wadala" (2013) and later featured in Anurag Kashyap's psychological thriller film "Ugly" (2014).


title: Siddhanth Kapoor

text: Kapoor was born in Mumbai on 6 July 1984 to actor Shakti Kapoor and Shivangi Kolhapure. His ancestry is Marathi and Punjabi and he is the elder brother of actress Shraddha Kapoor and the nephew of actresses Padmini Kolhapure and Tejaswini Kolhapure.


title: Siddhanth Kapoor

text: Kapoor studied film making and acting course at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He began his career as a disk jockey, and later went on to work as an assistant director for almost two years with director Priyadarshan in several films including "Bhool Bhulaiya", "Bhagam Bhag", "Chup Chup Ke" and "Dhol". He was initially supposed to make his debut in Soham Shah's 2012 film "Satte Pe Satta", which is a remake of the original Raj Sippy's action comedy ‘"Satte Pe Satta"’ (1982), but the film was shelved. He thus made his acting debut in 2013 with the film "Shootout at Wadala" alongside Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, and Kangana Ranaut. Then, he assisted Anurag Kashyap in his psychological thriller film "Ugly" (2014), in which he played a cameo role alongside Tejaswini Kolhapure and Ronit Roy.He is arrested by police for consumption of drugs and rave party in bangalore.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: The Thinker is the name of five supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: The first incarnation, Clifford DeVoe, is an enemy of Jay Garrick. The second, Clifford Carmichael, is an enemy of Firestorm. The third, Desmond Carter, is an enemy of Batman. The fourth, an A.I. version of the Thinker, is an enemy of the Justice Society of America. An unidentified version of Thinker, introduced in The New 52, is an enemy of the Suicide Squad.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: The character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including television series and feature films. The Clifford DeVoe incarnation of the Thinker made his live-action debut in the television series "The Flash", portrayed primarily by Neil Sandilands. In the DC Extended Universe, a variation of the unknown Thinker appears in "The Suicide Squad" (2021), portrayed by Peter Capaldi.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: The Clifford DeVoe version of Thinker first appeared in "All-Flash" #12 (Fall 1943) and was created by Gardner Fox and Everett E. Hibbard.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: In October 1947, the Thinker was one of the six original members of the Injustice Society, who began battling the Justice Society of America in "All Star Comics" #37 (Oct 1947).


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: The Cliff Carmichael version of Thinker first appeared in "Firestorm" #11 and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: Conway recounted, "My original notion on "Firestorm" was to do a book that would be DC's complement to Spider-Man, in a sense. We would have a young adolescent male who gets superpowers and doesn't know quite what to do with them. My flip on it was that rather than being the science geek who was being picked upon by the jock, my hero would actually be the jock who was picked on by the geek, and that was going to be Cliff Carmichael's role."


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: In "The Fury of Firestorm the Nuclear Man" #50, the strap on Ronnie Raymond's football helmet is cut, and in the following issues the cast members come to suspect Carmichael of the crime. Though Conway later said that he must have intended to ultimately reveal someone else as the culprit (commenting "Cliff was a jackass, but he wasn't a bloodthirsty maniac"), John Ostrander took over as the series' writer and had Carmichael confess to cutting the strap. In "Firestorm, the Nuclear Man" #99 Carmichael was transformed into the Thinker as part of the genre-wide trend in which civilian cast members were almost completely eliminated from superhero comics.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: Clifford DeVoe was a failed lawyer who bitterly ended his career in 1933. Realizing that many of the criminals he had encountered had the skills but not the brains to rule Gotham City's underworld, he started a new career as the brain behind small-time villains. As the Thinker, he was defeated by the original Flash/Jay Garrick, his most recurrent foe. He always sought out new scientific devices to use and his most important was the "Thinking Cap", a metal hat that could project mental force. The Thinker would use this device repeatedly over the years.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: The Thinker was a member of the Injustice Society, leading an army of prison escapees like the other members. In Plateau City, the police nab a shabbily dressed man who is trying to shoot the governor. They discover that this man is a dead ringer for the governor and also claims to be the real governor. The Flash arrives on the scene to overhear this, but moves on to confront the hoodlums attacking the city. The Thinker appears on the scene, firing a ray at the Crimson Comet, causing him to gain weight and crash through a roof. Recovering, the Flash speeds over to the governor's mansion, only to overhear the governor ordering all police forces to surrender. Flash enters his office and discovers the governor to be a dummy/machine, which flees through an open door. Flash attempts to warn the police that a phony governor put out the message, but the Thinker shows up and tells the Fastest Man Alive that he is speaking into a dead mic, then snares him with invisible wires.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: The Thinker appeared as a judge in the 'trial' of the JSA, but was revealed as the Green Lantern in disguise, having captured the real Thinker after escaping Brain Wave. This led to the Injustice Society's defeat. Together with the Fiddler and the Shade, the Thinker was the man behind the decades-long "abduction" of Keystone City and the original Flash, after which he was defeated by the Flashes of two eras. His "suspended animation-time" in Keystone kept the Thinker young over the years, and he continued his criminal career in modern times.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: In recent years, DeVoe accepted a mission with Task Force X in exchange for a full pardon. Although he was seemingly killed by the Weasel during this mission, he turned up alive soon after, only to be dying from cancer due to the cap. His former foe, the original Flash, attempted to save him with the Thinking Cap, but DeVoe refused and preferred to rest in peace.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: In "DC Rebirth", Thinker is depicted as a former district attorney of Keystone City back in the 1940s and fought Jay Garrick. After being briefly told by Eobard Thawne that everyone will forget him, Jay throws his helmet towards Thinker to knock him out and then takes down Thinker's henchmen.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: Clifford Carmichael was an intellectual bully and the rival of Ronnie Raymond (one half of Firestorm) at Bradley High and later at Vandemeer University. Cliff viewed Ronnie as a rival due to Ronnie's instant popularity. Cliff tormented Ronnie throughout his high school career and later at Vandemeer University. It was at Vandemeer that Cliff's pranks turned sinister, as he cut the helmet strap on Ronnie's football helmet, hoping to get him injured. Hugo Hammer, Cliff's cousin, accidentally took Ronnie's helmet and during a football game, his neck was broken.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: Wracked with guilt after accidentally paralyzing his cousin, he was admitted into a mental institution. For some reason, scientists started an experiment with the now-abandoned "Thinking Cap" of the original Thinker (who was believed dead at the time) and used Carmichael as a guinea pig. Cliff used the cap to analyze the device and improve on its design. Implanting microchip versions of the helmet into his own brain, Cliff became a "cyberpunk maniac" with metahuman powers. As the new Thinker, he was drafted into the Suicide Squad after he tried to kill Oracle and Amanda Waller. After several missions, he betrayed them for the villainous Cabal. He has since resurfaced as a foe of Jason Rusch, the new Firestorm. When Killer Frost discovered that the consciousness of Raymond, the previous Firestorm, existed within Rusch, Thinker exploited a new opportunity to antagonize an old foe. Technologically dominating the minds of Multiplex and Typhoon, he battled Firestorm, ultimately forcing the dissolution of the Raymond persona. Motivated by his predecessor's final words of encouragement, Rusch dissolved the enhancements in Carmichael's brain, leaving him in a comatose state.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: During the 2005–2006 "Infinite Crisis" storyline, Cliff appears as a member of Alexander Luthor, Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: With John Ostrander's revival of the Suicide Squad in a 2007-2008 miniseries, Cliff was once again associated with the Suicide Squad under Amanda Waller's direction. It was revealed that although Firestorm had removed the enhancements in Cliff's brain, he made a full recovery and continued to serve as a technical support staffer and lackey to Waller in her operations of the Squad. Eventually betraying the Squad under the direction of "the General", Wade Eiling, Cliff shot King Faraday and subdued Waller in the middle of an operation. Faraday recovered, shooting Cliff three times and presumably killing him before rousing Waller and regaining control of the Squad.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: Des Connor was a villain who also used the name "the Thinker" and faced Batman in Gotham City. Possessing telepathic abilities enabling him to amplify the fears of others, Connor began a partnership with hypnotist Marlon Dall. Their combined illusions caused the city's most prominent citizens to commit various criminal acts which they used as a distraction for their own heist. This Thinker was swiftly beaten by Batman, who was somehow immune to his powers.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: When the re-formed JSA moved into the New York City building formerly owned by Wesley Dodds, Mr. Terrific designed a computer system based on the original Thinker's "Thinking Cap" technology and modeled after his brain patterns. Not surprisingly, the system gained consciousness and took on a visual "hologram form." As the new Thinker, it joined Johnny Sorrow's modern Injustice Society, provided the villains with information about the JSA members and turned the heroes' own HQ against them. He was defeated by the second Star-Spangled Kid and disappeared into cyberspace. He resurfaced in Keystone City to battle Wally West, the then-current Flash, in an attempt to control every brain in Keystone in order to increase his power. Defeated by Cyborg, he retreated to cyberspace again. He has since appeared briefly in some other books, such as "JSA Classified" #5, joining the last incarnation of the Injustice Society alongside former teammates.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: During the "Infinite Crisis" storyline, the AI Thinker was among the villains in Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: Post-DC Rebirth, the AI Thinker appears as a member of the Legion of Zoom. He is seen when they confront the Flash family moments after Barry Allen expelled Eobard Thawne from him.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: During the 2013–2014 "Forever Evil" storyline, which took place during "The New 52" reboot era, an unidentified Thinker used his intellect to predict the arrival of the Crime Syndicate of America and got incarcerated in Belle Reve. Thinker's brain came at the price of draining energy from the rest of his body while also prematurely aging him. When the Crime Syndicate of America arrived, Thinker was among the villains who swore their allegiance to them, where his motives are to secure a new body for himself: the body of OMAC. Using a hologram of Amanda Waller, Thinker tricked Power Girl, Steel, and Warrant into helping him while also planning to use them to destroy the Suicide Squad. During the fight where both sides found out that they were being manipulated by an imposter Amanda Waller, Harley Quinn followed Thinker's orders by hooking OMAC up to a power source while whispering the activation code in him. While waiting for OMAC, Thinker manipulates King Shark into eating Amanda Waller. In a discussion with James Gordon Jr., Amanda Waller suspected that Thinker snapped the explosive collar around her neck the night the Crime Syndicate of America arrived where she will die either way if she either leaves Belle Reve or Thinker dies. Following a scuffle between Harley Quinn and James Gordon Jr., they found that Thinker had succeeded in his plan to upload his mind into OMAC. While in OMAC's body, Thinker causes an avalanche to bury Amanda Waller and both Suicide Squads. As both teams avoid the avalanche, Amanda Waller gets contacted by Kevin Kho to help free him from Thinker's control. While both teams fight OMAC, Amanda Waller accesses Thinker's computer. After manipulating OMAC into killing King Shark's father Camo, he demands to know where Amanda Waller is. Both teams continue their fight against the Thinker-controlled OMAC. Amanda Waller works with Kevin Kho to get Thinker out of his body or else he will die when OMAC is destroyed. The plan is to get OMAC to the portal that will flush them to The Toilet where the metas that can't be killed or imprisoned go. Thinker starts to feel that Kevin is starting to weaken him from the inside. As Captain Boomerang kicks OMAC into The Toilet, Kevin reclaims his body from Thinker. As Thinker's original body is nowhere to be found, Amanda Waller suspects that Thinker is still out there.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: In "", the Atom attempts to investigate the Thinker's base to determine if he is responsible for recent propaganda attacks on the superhuman community. Using a catapult, he shrinks down to the size of an air molecule and penetrates the force field surrounding the Thinker's base, only to find the Thinker dead of a broken neck. Subsequent evidence reveals that he was killed by a brainwashed Metamorpho on the orders of the mutated Jimmy Olsen to stop anyone from learning about Olsen's plans to isolate Earth from the galaxy until he had successfully recreated Krypton.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: In the "Flashpoint" universe, a version of the Thinker was an inmate at the Doom prison. During the prison break, he helped Heat Wave ram at Detroit city, but was defeated by Cyborg who had hacked into Doom prison to move them away.


title: Thinker (DC Comics)

text: A variation of the unidentified incarnation of the Thinker appears in the DC Extended Universe film "The Suicide Squad", portrayed by Peter Capaldi. This version is a sociopathic, Scottish metahuman geneticist named Gaius Grieves who is employed by Corto Maltese's dictatorship and the U.S. government to study and experiment on Starro in a Nazi-era base called Jötunheim for 30 years via Corto Maltese's citizens. After an anti-American dictatorship takes over the Corto Maltesean government, Grieves sides with them to save himself until he is captured by the Suicide Squad, who force him to work with them to destroy Jötunheim and Starro until he is killed by the alien in retaliation for all that he did to it.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around the junction of Texas State Highway 6 and Interstate 69/U.S. Route 59.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Beginning in the 19th century, the present-day Sugar Land area was home to a large sugar plantation situated in the fertile floodplain of the Brazos River. Following the consolidation of local plantations into Imperial Sugar Company in 1908, Sugar Land grew steadily as a company town and incorporated as a city in 1959. Since then, Sugar Land has grown rapidly alongside other edge cities around Houston, with large-scale development of master-planned communities contributing to population swells since the 1980s.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land is one of the most affluent and fastest-growing cities in Texas. Its population increased more than 158% between 1990 and 2000. Between 2000 and 2007, Sugar Land also had a 46% increase in jobs. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 78,817. Following the annexation of the Greatwood and New Territory communities in December 2017, the city's population was estimated at 118,488 as of 2019.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land is home to the headquarters of Imperial Sugar; the company's main sugar refinery and distribution center were once located in the city. The Imperial Sugar crown logo is featured in the city seal and logo.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land has roots in the original Mexican land grant made to Anglo-American Stephen F. Austin. One of the first settlers of the land, Samuel M. Williams, called this area "Oakland Plantation". Williams' brother, Nathaniel, purchased the land from Austin in 1838. They developed the plantation by growing cotton, corn, and sugarcane.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: During these early years, the plantation was the center of social life along the Brazos River. In 1853, Benjamin Terry and William J. Kyle purchased the Oakland Plantation from the Williams family. Terry is known for organizing a division of Texas Rangers during the Civil War and for naming the town.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Upon the deaths of Terry and Kyle, Colonel E. H. Cunningham bought the plantation soon after the Civil War. He had a sugar-refining plant built here, and developed the town around it in 1879, platting the land and attracting settlers during the post-Reconstruction era.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In 1906, the Kempner family of Galveston, under the leadership of Isaac H. Kempner, and in partnership with Logan J. Copenhaver, purchased the Ellis Plantation, one of the few plantations in Fort Bend County to survive the Civil War. The Ellis Plantation had originally been part of the Jesse Cartwright league; Will Ellis had operated it after the Civil War by a system of tenant farming, made up mostly of African-American families who were previously enslaved on the land.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In 1908, the partnership acquired the adjoining Cunningham Plantation, with its raw-sugar mill and cane-sugar refinery. The partnership changed the name to Imperial Sugar Company; Kempner associated the name "Imperial", which was also the name of a small raw-sugar mill on the Ellis Plantation, with the Imperial Hotel in New York City.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Around the turn of the 20th century, most of the sugarcane crops were destroyed by a harsh winter. As part of the Kempner-Copenhaver agreement, Copenhaver moved to the site to serve as general manager and build the company-owned town of Sugar Land.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: The trains running through Sugar Land are on the route of the oldest railroad in Texas. They run adjacent to the sugar refinery, west of the town, and through the center of what used to be known as the Imperial State Prison Farm. It operated with convict lease labor. Between the end of the Civil War and 1912, more than 3,500 prisoners died in Texas as a result of the racist convict leasing program. Archaeologists have uncovered unmarked graves of African Americans from this period in the region around Sugar Land's prison and sugar factory. Since the early 21st century, this area has been largely redeveloped as the suburban planned community of Telfair.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: As a company town from the 1910s until 1959, Sugar Land was virtually self-contained. Imperial Sugar Company provided housing for the workers, encouraged construction of schools, built a hospital to treat workers, and provided businesses to meet the workers' needs. Many of the original houses built by the Imperial Sugar Company remain today in The Hill and Mayfield Park areas of Sugar Land, and have been passed down through generations of family members.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: During the 1950s, Imperial Sugar wanted to expand the town by building more houses. It developed a new subdivision, Venetian Estates, which featured waterfront homesites on Oyster Creek and on man-made lakes.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: As the company town expanded, so did the interest of establishing a municipal government. Voters chose to make Sugar Land a general-law city in 1959, with T. E. Harman becoming the first mayor.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In the early 1960s, a new subdivision development called Covington Woods was constructed. Later that year, the Imperial Cattle Ranch sold about to a developer to create what became Sugar Creek in 1968. As a master-planned community, Sugar Creek introduced the concept of country club living to Sugar Land. Custom houses were built to surround two golf courses, and country clubs, swimming pools, and a private home security service were part of the amenities developed.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: The success of Sugar Creek, buoyed by the construction of U.S. Highway 59, quickly made Sugar Land's vast farmlands attractive to real-estate developers for residential housing. In 1977, development began on First Colony, a master-planned community encompassing . Developed by a Gerald Hines-led consortium that became known as Sugarland Properties Inc., development on First Colony would continue over the next 30 years. The master-planned community offered homebuyers formal landscaping, neighborhoods segmented by price range, extensive green belts, a golf course and country club, lakes and boulevards, neighborhood amenities, and shopping.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Around the same time as First Colony, another master-planned community development called Sugar Mill was started in the northern portion of Sugar Land, offering traditional, lakefront, and estate lots. The master-planned communities of Greatwood and New Territory, at the time situated west of the city in what was then its extraterritorial jurisdiction, also began to be developed by the end of the 1980s.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In addition to the development of master-planned communities targeted at commuters from Houston, Sugar Land began attracting the attention of major corporations throughout the 1980s. Many chose to base their operations in the city. Fluor Daniel, Schlumberger, Unocal, and others began to locate offices and facilities in the city. This resulted in a favorable 40/60 ratio of residential to commercial tax base within the city.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In 1981, a special city election was held for the purpose of establishing a home-rule municipal government. Voters approved the adoption of a home-rule charter, which established a mayor-council form of government, with all powers of the city vested in a council composed of a mayor and five councilmen, elected from single-member districts.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: A special city election was held August 9, 1986, to submit the proposed changes to the electorate for consideration. By a majority of the voters, amendments to the charter were approved that provided for a change in the city's form of government from that of "mayor-council" (strong mayor) to that of a "council-manager" form of government, which provides for a professional city manager to be the chief administrative officer of the city. Approval of this amendment authorized the mayor to be a voting member of council, in addition to performing duties as presiding officer of the council.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: That same year, the city organized the largest celebration in its history, the Texas Sesquicentennial Celebration, celebrating 150 years of Texan independence from Mexican rule.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: An amendment on May 5, 1990, changed the composition of the city council, adding a mayor and two council members, each to be elected at-large, to the five-member council. The at-large positions require election by a majority of voters, which reduces representation of any minority interests.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Throughout much of the 1990s, Sugar Land grew rapidly. The majority of residents are white-collar and college-educated, working in Houston's energy industry. An abundance of commercial development, with numerous low-rise office buildings, banks, and high-class restaurants, has taken place along both Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 and State Highway 6.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land added to its tax base with the opening of First Colony Mall in 1996. The more than one-million-square-foot (100,000 m) mall, the first in Fort Bend County, is located at the busiest intersection of the city: Interstate 69/U.S. 59 and State Highway 6. The mall was named after the master-planned community of First Colony.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In November 1997, Sugar Land annexed the remaining municipal utility districts of the First Colony master-planned community, bringing the city's population to almost 60,000. This was Sugar Land's largest annexation at the time.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land boasted the highest growth among Texas' largest cities, per the U.S. Census 2000, when it had a population of 63,328. In 2003, Sugar Land became a "principal" city, recognized in the metropolitan area's official title change to Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown, with Sugar Land replacing Galveston as the second-most important city in the metropolitan area after Houston. The metro area is now officially referred to as the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan area.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: With its population increase, the city needed to attract higher education facilities. In 2002, the University of Houston System at Fort Bend moved to a new campus located off the University Boulevard and Interstate 69/U.S. 59 intersection. The city helped fund the Albert and Mamie George Building, and as a result, the multi-institution teaching center was renamed as the University of Houston Sugar Land.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In 2003, the Imperial Sugar Company refinery plant and distribution center were closed, but the effect on the local economy was minimal. Sugar Land has become an affluent Houston suburb rather than the blue-collar, agriculture-dependent town it was a generation ago. Many of its lower-income residents, including African American workers who at one time made up the majority working sugarcane, have been displaced and have had to seek work and housing elsewhere. The company maintains its headquarters in Sugar Land.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: The Texas Department of Transportation sold of prison land in the western portion of Sugar Land to Newland Communities, a developer, by bid in 2003. The developer announced plans to build a new master-planned community called Telfair in this location. In July 2004, Sugar Land annexed all of this land into the city limits to control the quality of development, extending the city limits westward. This was unusual, since Sugar Land had earlier annexed only built-out areas, not lands prior to development.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In December 2005, Sugar Land annexed the recently built-out, master-planned community of Avalon and four sections of Brazos Landing subdivision, adding about 3,200 residents. The city eventually annexed the communities of River Park, Greatwood, and New Territory, with the latter two being annexed on December 12, 2017, bringing the city proper's population to 117,869.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In the 2010s, development began on the Imperial master-planned community, located in undeveloped territory east of Sugar Land Regional Airport and incorporating the former refinery property of Imperial Sugar Company. This development includes Constellation Field, home of the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, originally an independent baseball team but later a member of affiliated Minor League Baseball. Retail needs are to be served in the planned Imperial Market development. In 2017, the 6,400-seat Smart Financial Centre concert hall opened its doors.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land is located in northeast Fort Bend County, southwest of downtown Houston. It is bordered by Houston to the northeast, and by Stafford, Missouri City, and Meadows Place to the east. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city of Sugar Land has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.82%, are covered by water. The elevation of most of the city is between above sea level. The elevation of Sugar Land Regional Airport (SGR) is .


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land has two major waterways running through the city. The southwestern and southern portion of the city were developed along the Brazos River, which runs into Brazoria County. Oyster Creek runs from the northwest to the eastern portion of the city limits and into Missouri City. Sugar Land developers have built many artificial lakes connecting to Oyster Creek or the Brazos River, as part of new master-planned communities.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land and other surrounding areas are subsiding and the rate of subsidence is increasing. The area sunk about 1 foot between 1943 and 1964, while it sunk over 6 feet between 1988 and 2016 Currently, it is estimated that Sugar Land is subsiding at a rate of between 10 and 25 millimeters per year. The subsidence is exacerbated by Climate Change, increased suburban development, and inadequate replenishment. The subsidence has significant human cost. For example, the historic flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey was worse than it would have otherwise been due to the effect, and houses and buildings in the city are sinking and having their foundations damaged. To manage the rapidly increasing subsidence, the Texas State Legislature created the Fort Bend Subsidence District in 1989. The US Geologic Survey and the US Army Corps of Engineers have performed studies and monitoring of the subsidence.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land sits atop three aquifers: Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper. The Chicot and Evangeline Aquifers have been the primary source of municipal water for Sugar Land, Houston, Galveston and other surrounding areas. The Jasper Aquifer is the only one of the three that is not used to extract drinking water. Due to the rapid building of suburbs in the city and surrounding region, aquifer replenishment has significantly decreased. The city government has enacted a program to manage the aquifers.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Underpinning the area's land surface are unconsolidated clays, clay shales, and poorly cemented sands, extending to depths of several miles. The region's geology developed from stream deposits from the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. These sediments consist of a series of sands and clays deposited on decaying organic matter that, over time, were transformed into oil and natural gas. Beneath these tiers is a water-deposited layer of halite, a rock salt. The porous layers were compressed over time and forced upward. As it pushed upward, the salt dragged surrounding sediments into dome shapes, often trapping oil and gas that seeped from the surrounding porous sands.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: The region is earthquake-free. While the neighboring city of Houston contains 86 mapped and historically active surface faults with an aggregate length of , the clay below the surface in Sugar Land precludes the buildup of friction that produces ground shaking in earthquakes. These faults move only very gradually in what is termed "fault creep".


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Sugar Land's climate is classified as being humid subtropical, featuring two seasons, a wet season from April to October, and a dry season from November to March. The city is located in the Gulf coastal plains biome, and the vegetation is classified as a temperate grassland. The average yearly precipitation is 48 inches. Prevailing winds are from the south and southeast during most of the year, bringing heat and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In the summer, daily high temperatures are in the 95 °F (35 °C) range throughout much of July and August. The air tends to feel still and the abundant humidity, with dewpoints typically in the low to mid 70°Fs, creates a heat index around 100 °F each day. Summer thunderstorms are common with 30 to 50% of the days having thunder. The highest temperature recorded in the area was 109 °F in September 2000.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Winters in the area are cool and mild. The average winter high/low is 62/45 °F (16/7 °C). The coldest period is usually in January, when north winds bring winter rains. Snow is almost unheard of and typically does not accumulate. One such rare snowstorm hit Houston on Christmas Eve 2004. A few inches accumulated, but had melted by the next afternoon. The earliest snowfall to occur in any winter fell on December 4, 2009.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: As of the 2020 United States census, there were 111,026 people, 38,852 households, and 31,328 families residing in the city. At the publication of the census of 2010, 78,817 people, 26,709 households, and 21,882 families were residing in the city. The population density was 2,432.6 people per square mile (939.4/km). The 27,727 housing units averaged 855.8 per square mile (330.5/km).


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In 2010, the racial makeup of the city was 52.0% White, 7.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 35.3% Asian, 2.34% other race, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 10.6% of the population. Sugar Land has the highest concentration of Asian Americans in Texas. Altogether in 2010, 10.7% were Indian, 11.5% Chinese, 4.5% Vietnamese, and 2.0% Filipino. There is also a sizable Pakistani community in Sugar Land. As of 2013, about one-third of the Asian population was Indian American, according to Harish Jajoo, a former city council member of Indian origin. The Sugar Land area has Indian grocery stores, temples, several mosques and many Ismaili Jamatkhanas. Sugar Land is the national headquarters for the United States Ismaili Community. Jajoo stated that the quality of the jobs, schools, and parks attracts people of Indian origin to Sugar Land.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Of the 26,709 households, 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% were not families. About 15.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.90, and the average family size was 3.25.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: In the city, the age distribution was 24.6% under 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 34.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 or older. The median age was 41.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.6 males.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: According to the 2014 American Community Survey, the median income for a household in the city was $115,069, and for a family was $132,534. Male full-time workers had a median income of $98,892 versus $60,053 for females. The per capita income for the city was $48,653. About 6.4% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.5% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: Catholics account for over 30% of the city population with 11,998 households registered by St. Laurence, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Theresa parishes.


title: Sugar Land, Texas

text: The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Houston, a Swaminarayan sect Hindu temple, is along Brand Lane in unincorporated Fort Bend County, near Stafford and Sugar Land. The Sri Saumyakasi, a Sugar Land Chinmaya Hindu temple, opened in December 2007. It is the only Hindu temple in the city devoted to Shiva. The Chinmaya Mission Houston started in 1982. Originally classes were held in an apartment. In a ten year period the members raised $2.5 million for the permanent temple. Shri Krishna Vrundavana has a Sugar Land postal address, but is physically in the Alief super neighborhood in the Houston city limits. It occupies the 450-person, former La Festa Hall. It was established in 2011 with about 200 people in its congregation; originally the temple rented its property. In October 2015 the temple organizers bought the current site for $1.3 million. In December 2015 its congregation had numbered over 800.