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Byline Times is an independent, reader-funded investigative newspaper, outside of the system of the established press, reporting on ‘what the papers don’t say’ – without fear or favour. To support its work, subscribe to the monthly Byline Times print edition, packed with exclusive investigations, news, and analysis. It’s hard to believe, but it’s happening. On…
By Tanya ConnorThe Catholic Free PressSHREWSBURY – Months of work and time spent after school came to fruition March 27 when St. Mary Elementary School held its first middle school science fair since the COVID-19 pandemic.Participants in grades 5-8 showed their family members and other supporters their projects. Thirty judges, including parents, teachers from St. Mary’s and other schools, and community members, chose the top three winners in each grade, school leaders said.Then students gathered excitedly around the stage as the principal, Liam Wintroath, announced the winners, and Katie Filmer, science teacher for grades 5-8, placed medals around their necks. (Winners were also promised an out-of-uniform day.) There was much cheering and applauding and some handshakes and embraces.All 62 middle school students were required to participate and Mr. Wintroath made it clear that he wanted to congratulate them all. For some of them it was a new, and at times a scary, endeavor, he said.Mrs. Filmer told The Catholic Free Press that the students worked on their projects over the course of five months – at school and on their own.“I stayed after school every day” Monday through Thursday since Nov. 14 to help any students who wanted it, she said. She helped them with such tasks as deciding what to research, figuring out what information was reliable and doing experiments. Each student and student group had to choose a different project.Before the COVID-19 pandemic and before she came to St. Mary’s three years ago, she coordinated science fairs on a school level for about 16 years, and on the diocesan level for five years, she said. But, she said, she’d never seen a project like Sebastian Pizzi’s “Turf War – Battle of the Fibers,” that explored which synthetic turf works best for lacrosse games. (He won second place among sixth-graders.)He plays lacrosse, coached by his father, Stephen Pizzi. So, she helped him consider what research related to the game.Mrs. Filmer said there has not been a Worcester diocesan science fair since COVID. But she told St. Mary’s winners in grades 6-8 that, if they are interested, she would register them for the Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair being held May 10 at Clark University in Worcester. (Fifth graders are not eligible.)Kim Riordan, assistant principal, said she had St. Mary’s fourth graders do projects about natural disasters last year when she was teaching them. But that was not of the magnitude of this year’s science fair, she said.“Our kids are superstars,” Mr. Wintroath told The Catholic Free Press. “And we have parents and families [who are] incredible partners. Not only do they support … their own children,” they also support the St. Mary’s community.St. Mary Elementary School science fair winnersGrade 5 1st Place-Phil Lahey 2nd Place-Elvin Kwarteng and Matthew Philip 3rd Place-Martha Florean Grade 6 1st Place-Jackson Horvath 2nd Place-Sebastian Pizzi 3rd Place-Lizzie Apicerno and Maddie Carlson Grade 7 1st Place-Sophia Buffone and Phoee Beltran 2nd Place-David Doherty 3rd Place-Stella Datilo and Ella Lewers Grade 8 1st Place-Mady Raposa 2nd Place-Ryan McIntosh 3rd Place-Thomas Diperro
By Tanya ConnorThe Catholic Free PressSHREWSBURY – Months of work and time spent after school came to fruition March 27 when St. Mary Elementary School held its first middle school science fair since the COVID-19 pandemic.Participants in grades 5-8 showed their family members and other supporters their projects. Thirty judges, including parents, teachers from St. Mary’s and other schools, and community members, chose the top three winners in each grade, school leaders said.Then students gathered excitedly around the stage as the principal, Liam Wintroath, announced the winners, and Katie Filmer, science teacher for grades 5-8, placed medals around their necks. (Winners were also promised an out-of-uniform day.) There was much cheering and applauding and some handshakes and embraces.All 62 middle school students were required to participate and Mr. Wintroath made it clear that he wanted to congratulate them all. For some of them it was a new, and at times a scary, endeavor, he said.Mrs. Filmer told The Catholic Free Press that the students worked on their projects over the course of five months – at school and on their own.“I stayed after school every day” Monday through Thursday since Nov. 14 to help any students who wanted it, she said. She helped them with such tasks as deciding what to research, figuring out what information was reliable and doing experiments. Each student and student group had to choose a different project.Before the COVID-19 pandemic and before she came to St. Mary’s three years ago, she coordinated science fairs on a school level for about 16 years, and on the diocesan level for five years, she said. But, she said, she’d never seen a project like Sebastian Pizzi’s “Turf War – Battle of the Fibers,” that explored which synthetic turf works best for lacrosse games. (He won second place among sixth-graders.)He plays lacrosse, coached by his father, Stephen Pizzi. So, she helped him consider what research related to the game.Mrs. Filmer said there has not been a Worcester diocesan science fair since COVID. But she told St. Mary’s winners in grades 6-8 that, if they are interested, she would register them for the Massachusetts Science & Engineering Fair being held May 10 at Clark University in Worcester. (Fifth graders are not eligible.)Kim Riordan, assistant principal, said she had St. Mary’s fourth graders do projects about natural disasters last year when she was teaching them. But that was not of the magnitude of this year’s science fair, she said.“Our kids are superstars,” Mr. Wintroath told The Catholic Free Press. “And we have parents and families [who are] incredible partners. Not only do they support … their own children,” they also support the St. Mary’s community.St. Mary Elementary School science fair winnersGrade 5 1st Place-Phil Lahey 2nd Place-Elvin Kwarteng and Matthew Philip 3rd Place-Martha Florean Grade 6 1st Place-Jackson Horvath 2nd Place-Sebastian Pizzi 3rd Place-Lizzie Apicerno and Maddie Carlson Grade 7 1st Place-Sophia Buffone and Phoee Beltran 2nd Place-David Doherty 3rd Place-Stella Datilo and Ella Lewers Grade 8 1st Place-Mady Raposa 2nd Place-Ryan McIntosh 3rd Place-Thomas Diperro
By: Buertey Francis BORYOR South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, has said, the number of Ghanaian tourists visiting her country has surged by 149 percent since the introduction of a visa waiver in November 2023. Speaking in Accra on March 27, 2025, as part of an outreach program to strengthen tourism ties between…
The space technology company SpinLaunch has signed a 100-year land lease with the Aleut Corp., the landowning Native corporation on Adak, where it plans to build a launchpad to send satellites into low Earth orbit.
The agreement was finalized in October 2024 and announced Thursday in a statement from the Aleut Corp.
Aleut Corp. spokesperson Kate Gilling said in an interview that the corporation has been in talks with the California-based space start-up for several years.
“Finally to be at the point where we can announce and share it is very exciting,” Gilling said.
SpinLaunch plans to use Adak as a site for its centrifugal launch technology, which the company calls a mass acceleration system. It spins payloads in a vacuum chamber at high speeds and hurls them into orbit without relying on fuel-powered rockets.
Aleut Corp. Vice President of Regional Affairs Julie Toomey describes it “like a high tech slingshot.”
“It’s cleaner, simpler and significantly more cost effective,” she said.
SpinLaunch first drew attention in 2018 for proposing the method as a lower-cost alternative to conventional rocket launches. The company has since completed about 10 test flights using a scaled-down version of the system at Spaceport America in New Mexico.
In recent years it explored locations for a permanent launch site, which included a 2020 visit to Unalaska. But that did not advance past early discussions.
Adak is the westernmost municipality in the United States and was once the home of a naval air base. SpinLaunch said in its Thursday statement that it chose Adak for the island’s combination of remoteness and existing infrastructure. The island has a deepwater port, regular commercial air service and existing military facilities from the naval base, which closed in 1997.
SpinLaunch also pointed to Adak’s potential for renewable energy development, including wind and geothermal resources.
The island’s population shrank rapidly when the base was decommissioned, falling from over 4,000 residents in the 1990s to fewer than 50 people today. The city closed its school last year due to shrinking enrollment.
Toomey said the existing infrastructure, much of it originating during the military’s buildup in the 1940s, attracted SpinLaunch to Adak.
“There’s operational airport and port infrastructure, former military buildings we can repurpose, and renewable energy potential to help power the site,” she said.
Gilling, with Aleut Corp., said she thinks the project will spur growth and attract families back to the island.
“That will certainly mean an increase in population,” she said. “We’ll need more restaurants. We’ll need more hoteling and housing space. We’ll need more infrastructure. So that influx of a larger population will only bring about benefits for the community.”
Adak does not have a village corporation and is instead under the umbrella of the regional corporation.
Aleut Corp. Board Chair Jenifer Nelson said the project will benefit the corporation’s more than 5,000 shareholders in addition to Adak’s community members.
“We are working to drive meaningful economic development that brings long-term benefits to our shareholders and the region as a whole,” Nelson said.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan has been outspoken in his support for Adak’s development, and Aleut Corp. representatives say he backs the project.
Environmental planning is ongoing, and the Aleut Corp. said it’s paying special attention to nesting bird habitats.
A timeline for launch operations has not been announced.
00:00 Speaker A It’s time for Yahoo! Finance’s Market Minute. US stocks continue to sell off sharply as trade war fears mount. The tech-heavy NASDAQ composite set to close in a bear market. Losses building among the big tech players. Tesla, Nvidia, and Apple leading the declines as China is set to impose a 34% retaliatory tariff on all goods imported from the US. On the flip side, Nike and Lululemon getting a lift after President Trump confirms speaking with Vietnam’s top leader on tariffs. Trump said that Vietnam wants to lower its tariffs to zero if it can reach an agreement with the United States. And DuPont sliding as China hits the company with a competition probe. Regulators starting an antitrust investigation into the Chinese subsidiary of the chemicals and materials manufacturer. This comes as DuPont already faces tariff hurdles. And that’s your Yahoo! Finance Market Minute.
Class Action Filed Against Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (SANA) – May 20, 2025 Deadline to Join – Contact Levi & Korsinsky – Technology Today – EIN Presswire
GUWAHATI, April 4: In a major boost to Assam’s science and education infrastructure, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday confirmed that the first phase of the Guwahati Science City project at Sonapur will be completed and inaugurated by December 2025. He also assured the Assam government that additional central funds will…
GUWAHATI, April 4: In a major boost to Assam’s science and education infrastructure, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday confirmed that the first phase of the Guwahati Science City project at Sonapur will be completed and inaugurated by December 2025. He also assured the Assam government that additional central funds will…
Love it or hate it, brutalism is an architecture style that changed design history forever. And while you may love Le Corbusier’s Unité d’habitation or dream of owning a flat in the Barbican Estate, lesser-known architects, buildings, and histories may escape you. Fortunately, there are hundreds of books on brutalist architecture that offer everything you need to know about the genre, whether you’re craving a general survey, looking to nerd out over a particular building, or simply searching for something that will look smart on your coffee table. Here, we have put together the best brutalist books which capture the raw power of buildings around the world and the pioneers behind them. Welcome to the brutalist book club.Shop our favourite brutalism books
Brutalist Plants
While brutalist buildings and their formidable exteriors can feel at odds with nature, Brutalist Plants, by Olivia Broome, shows otherwise. This beautifully-photographed tome captures the beauty of stark concrete architecture alongside lush environments—a tactic that many architects used to soften their buildings. Here you’ll take in inspiring images of modernist classics and contemporary structures alike engulfed in greenery—proof that calm can co-exist with a concrete jungle.
Brutalist Italy
Brutalist Italian architecture is the result of a five-year project by photographers Roberto Conte and Stefano Perego. Their work places a spotlight on some of Italy’s most interesting (and most neglected) concrete buildings. The book captures architectural heroes of the era, while also documenting forgotten ones, whether left unfinished or abandoned.
The Barbican Estate
London’s world-famous brutalist icon is celebrated in a book of images and commentary from its architects and residents both past and present. This book takes a deep dive into the functionality of the building and showcases the 140 different flat types via drawings, maps and intricate details – all proof that the Barbican is an icon for a reason.
Concrete Architecture
Concrete Architecture offers more than a century’s worth of the world’s most influential brutalist buildings, from soaring Soviet-era memorials to sculptural apartment blocks. This hefty tome, as its name suggests, is a celebration of concrete and offers a survey of its role in building design, from its earliest usage until the present day.
Brutalist Paris
Brutalist Paris, the first book from the design-focussed map-making company Blue Crow Media, a photographic study of the French capital’s surviving brutalist treasures. This book is not one to skim through, as it focuses on 50 of the French capital’s buildings, each with accompanying academic essays that explore French culture’s deep relationship with architecture, modernity and social change.
Brutal Wales
Brutal Wales dives deep into the surprising history of modern Welsh architecture. This hefty volume is part of a series of publications by Simon Phipps, who has been investigating brutalist architecture across the country for more than 20 years. The book is designed by Marc Jennings, and comes with both Welsh and English language text throughout.
Finding Brutalism: A Photographic Survey of Post-War British Architecture
Simon Phipps is back with another brutalism tome. Yet if you think this fine art photographer is just about aesthetics, think again. Instead, through his lens, he captured the rebuilding of Britain after World War II. Of course the imagery appeals to the eye, however this collection and extensive research also documents the political and social landscape following the aftermath of the war. Read the full review here
amazon
Redefining Brutalism
Simon Henley, an award-winning architect, knows a thing or two about a materials-led approach to designing buildings. But, rather than architecture, this book focuses on the social idealism that underpinned so many of brutalist buildings. For Henley the best examples were a response to society and free from hierarchies. The book goes deep into the critique of brutalism, both positive and negative, and frames this architectural movement as a living and evolving entity.
Frédéric Chaubin. CCCP. Cosmic Communist Constructions
For a view into Brutalism’s wilder side, add this tome about the architecture of the former USSR to your bookshelf. The other-worldly buildings and monuments on display here – constructed between 1970 and 1990 – reflect the ideology of the time with architecture that awes as much as it puzzles.
The Brutalists: Brutalism’s Best Architects
This book takes a look at the architects behind the monolithic, concrete facades. Flip through its pages and encounter 250 architects, both historic and contemporary, that have shaped brutalism as we know it today, through 200 renowned and forgotten works. With more than 350 photographs, The Brutalists is so much more than mere eye-candy.
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