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or thanks to Diana C. you may be able to watch here unless YouTube is forced to take it down
by Pamela Toler in History on the Margins – thanks to Mary M.
The word “maverick” has always had overtones of the American West in my head—or at least the American West of a childhood spent watching shows like Gun Smoke, Bonanza, and, of course, Maverick.[1] Imagine my surprise when I recently learned that the word in fact has its roots in nineteenth century Texas.
Samuel A Maverick (1803-70) was born to a wealthy family in South Carolina and earned a law degree from Yale. Instead of taking over one of his father’s businesses, he headed to the Texas region of Mexico in 1835, shortly before the Texas War of Independence began. He joined the Alamo militia—though he did not fight at the Alamo. He signed the Texas Declaration of Independence. He served as the major of San Antonio when the war was over.
Six years after independence, Maverick was captured and imprisoned when Santa Anna sent troops back into Texas, with the intention of re-taking the territory. The Mexicans offered Maverick his freedom if he signed a document saying Texas had been illegally seized and should be returned to Mexico. Maverick refused. When a family friend negotiated his freedom, he again refused to leave until the other prisoners from San Antonio were also released. They all returned home a few days later.
None of which explains how Maverick’s name became a noun, a metaphor, and a cultural construct.
When Maverick arrived in Texas, he bought up huge tracts of land around San Antonio and further east along the Brazos. In 1847, he bought a farm that included some 400 head of longhorn cattle. Maverick was interested in land, not ranching, and he was busy as a member of the new Texas legislature. He left the cattle in charge of a nineteen-year-old enslaved man named Jack, who was quickly overwhelmed by the task. The cattle began roaming unsupervised. Although the original herd carried the brand of the man who had owned them previously, few of the subsequent calves were branded. Neighboring cattlemen knew an opportunity when they saw one. After all, you couldn’t call it rustling if an unbranded steer or two found its way into your herd. Once you branded it, the cattle were yours, right?
In 1856, Maverick sold what remained of his herd to neighboring rancher Augustine Toutant-Beauregard. The terms of the sale specified on-range delivery, which meant the purchaser had to round up the cattle himself. Toutant-Beauregard took advantage of the fact that Maverick (and Jack ) had lost control of the herd. He sent his men into neighboring counties with instructions to round up any unbranded cattle they found, declaring them to be Maverick’s. The term rapidly entered the language to describe unbranded range animals.
By the end of the nineteenth century, the term maverick had come to refer to an individual who goes their own way without reference to the custom, but it didn’t really take off outside Texas until the late 1930s, when Samuel Maverick’s grandson, Maury Maverick, became the Democratic congressman from Texas. He was famously and stubbornly independent in his political positions.—a maverick as well as a Maverick.[2]
Maverick: An unorthodox or independent-minded person.
[1] In fact, I never actually saw Maverick, which went off the air when I was four.
[2] He also coined the term “gobbledygook” to describe “the overinvolved, pompous talk of officialdom.” He said he chose the sounds in the word to imitate the noises made by a turkey.
Carrie Dennett – Special to The Seattle Times (Thanks to MaryLou P.)
It’s no big secret that we live in a society that idealizes beauty, thinness and youth, and that these unrealistic ideals can make us feel pressured to look and act “forever young.”
In her new book, “Unapologetic Aging: How to Mend and Nourish Your Relationship With Your Body” (out now from Sheldon Press), registered dietitian nutritionist Deb Benfield explores how diet and wellness culture is deeply entangled with anti-aging culture, teasing out the toxic messages we receive about what kinds of bodies are “OK,” debunking the idea that we should all strive to be “super-agers,” and providing readers with a road map for letting go of rigid rules and caring for their bodies instead of fighting them — so they can age unapologetically.
As Benfield explains in her book, much of our fear of aging is about experiencing a decline in physical and cognitive ability.
That’s ableism, not ageism, because there are younger people who live with disabilities, and older people who live with bodies and minds that are able. When I talked with her recently, we discussed why it’s so important for people to see and understand the ageismableism link.
“I think identifying how systems of oppression have been internalized and therefore affect our relationship with our bodies is essential,” she said.
She writes that the media coverage of “super-agers” — people who maintain high levels of cognitive and physical function well into older ages — contributes to ageism by reinforcing that only those who defy the typical aging process are valuable.
“One constant thing I hear from my clients is ‘I’m doing all this so I can be independent.’ And I get it. I understand,” she said, noting that, after all, we live in a culture that values independence and individualism. (continued on page 2 or here)
Thanks to Jamie Q.
Ethan Rutherford’s book North Sun was among the select few in this prestigious list. Ethan is Debby Rutherford’s son.
Thanks to Kate B.
By Melissa Fleur Afshar in Newsweek (thanks to Bob P.)
Maria Shriver, a journalist, advocate and niece of the late President John F. Kennedy, condemned President Donald Trump’s effort to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, calling it “beyond comprehension” in a social media message that quickly went viral.
Shriver, whose mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, was JFK’s sister, posted a public rebuke on Threads after the board of trustees at the national performing arts center in Washington, D.C., voted to rename it the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”
The board’s decision, announced Thursday, immediately triggered backlash from the Kennedy family and beyond. Shriver responded forcefully to the decision, characterizing the move as an inappropriate political branding of a national and sentimental memorial.
“The Kennedy Center was named after my uncle, President John F Kennedy. It was named in his honor. He was a man who was interested in the arts, interested in culture, interested in education, language, history. He brought the arts into the White House, and he and my Aunt Jackie amplified the arts, celebrated the arts, stood up for the arts and artists,” Shriver wrote on Threads.
“It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” Shriver added. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not. Next thing perhaps he will want to rename JFK Airport, rename the Lincoln Memorial, the Trump Lincoln Memorial. The Trump Jefferson Memorial. The Trump Smithsonian. The list goes on.”
Maria Shriver is on stage at the Anaheim Convention Center on March 5, 2025 in Anaheim, California; Donald Trump addresses the nation from the Diploma…Read More | Getty Images
Her comments quickly gained traction online, with more than 50,000 likes on the first thread alone at the time of writing, as public opposition to the board’s decision grew.
In follow-up remarks, Shriver accused the president of self-obsession and ridiculed the idea that Trump’s name should be placed alongside those of other national landmarks.
From Montana Public Radio – thanks to Bob P.
Advent calendars have become big business in the U.S. these days.
Shoppers can easily spend upwards of $200 for calendars with samples of makeup and skincare products, or even gourmet cooking ingredients.
But if you are looking for a larger-than-life Advent calendar, you better head to Germany, where the Advent calendar, after all, originated.
Each December, the hamlet of Gengenbach turns its town hall into one giant Advent calendar. Every evening, they raise the shade of another window to reveal a new picture behind it, just as the owner of an Advent calendar unfolds a flap to procure a candy — or these days, a lipstick or a spice sachet.
“It’s quite spectacular because everything gets dark and then we have a spot on the window and then it’s like a little bit of a curtain that goes up,” said Michael Foell of Gengenbach’s tourism bureau. “Everyone is just watching with big eyes and mouths open.”
The art rotates each year. In the past the town has displayed reproductions of paintings by Marc Chagall and Andy Warhol. This year, Gengenbach is featuring the work of German illustrator Olaf Hajek.
The tradition began in the 1990s. Gengenbach was primarily a summer destination at that time, and local businesses wanted to find a way to attract more visitors during the cold months. According to local lore, a few of the business owners gathered outside the town hall one night to discuss what to do. After a few glasses of wine, one of them said, “Oh, what: 24 windows. What can we do with that?”
It just so happens that standard Advent calendars have 24 slots. (The Christian Advent season can however vary between 21 and 28 days depending on the year.)
Nowadays, between 100,000 and 220,000 people from around the world visit Gengenbach each winter to see the calendar — and patronize the Christmas market in the town center.
But even more important than buying a few tchotchkes, Foell says, is that visitors leave with the true spirit of the holidays.
“It’s a point where everyone comes together, where you meet friends, where you go with family. Everyone comes together. They celebrate together, and they have a good time together.”
Copyright 2024 NPR
Thanks to Bob P.
The instrument can be printed, assembled and fine-tuned in under 24 hours.
A young engineering student in the US has helped turn a high-school experiment into a new business by blending 3D printing and modern materials to reinvent one of classical music’s most iconic instruments, the cello.
Forte3D, co-founded by lead inventor and CEO Alfred Goodrich and Elijah Lee, a biomedical engineering senior at Yale, secured a massive offer on Shark Tank after 3D-printing cellos and now violins using carbon fiber and polymer composites.
Goodrich and Lee’s innovative cello, which replaces traditional wood with high-performance composites while preserving sound quality, earned Forte3D an offer of a USD 250,000 investment from entrepreneur Lori Greiner for 16 percent equity on the show.
“The number one skill from Yale Engineering that served me most was the ability to iterate rapidly… To take your best shot, use that information, improve, and try again,” Lee revealed.
Lee stated that the idea behind trying to 3D print a cello came from Goodrich, his orchestra director, who at the time urged him to merge his love of music with 3D printing by taking the lead in building Forte3D’s first 3D printer.
While working on the project, the pair figured out that traditional cellos are not only expensive and often cost more than USD 5,000, but their large size and fragility also make them difficult to own, travel with, or even practice consistently.
They then set out to create a cello that was tougher, cheaper, and easier for anyone to access. The pair completely redesigned the instrument and created a simple hybrid structure.
The cello’s top and back are made from flat carbon-fiber panels. Its ribs, neck, and scroll are produced through 3D printing. Meanwhile, traditional parts such as the sound post, fingerboard, and bridge preserve tonal authenticity.
Forte3D’s robust instrument can withstand travel, temperature changes, and daily use while still delivering a rich, resonant sound. This is made possible by rapid Computer-Aided Design (CAD).
Thanks to the software, the team can adjust the shape, thickness, and materials to refine the cello’s acoustic. Conventional carved wood cannot achieve that level of precision.
After six years, hundreds of prototypes, and custom-built 3D printers capable of producing cellos and now violins later, the company is now manufacturing hand-assembled string instruments that have caught the attention of major musicians.
US cellist Yo-Yo Ma and YouTube group The Piano Guys were among the first to play Forte3D’s innovative design. In addition, the firm offers custom-printed finishes, letting each cello and violin reflect its player’s personality and style.
In November, Forte3D appeared on the nationally syndicated show Shark Tank, seeking USD 250,000 for a 10 percent equity stake. They ultimately received an offer of the full amount, securing a tentative deal with Lori Greiner in exchange for 16 percent equity.
Lee recalled the moment the cello finally sounded the way he and Goodrich imagined. “That moment made it all worth it,” he explained in a press release. He noted that the company has already launched a violin and is working on 3D-printed viola as well as smaller instruments for students.
Forte3D hopes to bring high-quality string instruments to students and musicians who can’t afford or access traditional options.
“Music shouldn’t be confined by price or fragile wood,” Lee concluded. “If we can put instruments in the hands of more people, spark curiosity, and make music accessible to everyone, then we’ve really built something that can change the way the world hears music.”
Ed note: Although I dislike giving the President more notoriety, the piece by a conservative columnist highlights the depths of Trump’s pathologic personality disorder. The questions is this. How can others not question Trump’s sanity?
By Bret Stephens Opinion Columnist
Though I tend to think it’s usually a waste of space to devote a column to President Trump’s personality — what more is there to say about the character of this petty, hollow, squalid, overstuffed man? — sometimes the point bears stressing: We are led by the most loathsome human being ever to occupy the White House.
Markets will not be moved, or brigades redeployed, or history shifted, because Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found stabbed to death on Sunday in their home in Los Angeles, allegedly at the hands of their troubled son Nick.
But this is an appalling human tragedy and a terrible national loss. Reiner’s movies, including “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride” and “When Harry Met Sally…,” are landmarks in the inner lives of millions of people; I can still quote by heart dialogue and song lyrics from his 1984 classic, “This Is Spinal Tap.” Until last week, he and Michele remained creative forces as well as one of Hollywood’s great real-life love stories. Their liberal politics, though mostly not my own, were honorable and sincere.
To which our ogre in chief had this to say on social media:
“A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS. He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
I quote Trump’s post in full not only because it must be read to be believed, but also because it captures the combination of preposterous grandiosity, obsessive self-regard and gratuitous spite that “deranged” the Reiners and so many other Americans trying to hold on to a sense of national decency. Good people and good nations do not stomp on the grief of others. Politics is meant to end at the graveside. That’s not just some social nicety. It’s a foundational taboo that any civilized society must enforce to prevent transient personal differences from becoming generational blood feuds.
That is where history will record that the deepest damage by the Trump presidency was done. There is, as Adam Smith said, “a great deal of ruin in a nation,” by which he meant that there are things in almost any country that are going badly wrong but can still be mended. Foolishly imposed tariffs can be repealed. Hastily cut funding can be restored. Ill-thought-out national security strategies can be rewritten. Shaken trust can be rebuilt between Washington and our allies.
But the damage that cuts deepest is never financial, legal or institutional. As one of Smith’s greatest contemporaries, Edmund Burke, knew, it lies in something softer and less tangible but also more important: manners. “Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us,” Burke wrote. It is, he warned, through manners that laws are either made or unmade, upheld or corrupted.
Right now, in every grotesque social media post; in every cabinet meeting devoted, North Korea-like, to adulating him; in every executive-order-signing ceremony intended to make him appear like a Chinese emperor; in every fawning reference to all the peace he’s supposedly brought the world; in every Neronic enlargement of the White House’s East Wing; in every classless dig at his predecessor; in every shady deal his family is striking to enrich itself; in every White House gathering of tech billionaires paying him court (in the literal senses of both “pay” and “court”); in every visiting foreign leader who learns to abase himself to avoid some capricious tariff or other punishment — in all this and more, our standards as a nation are being debased, our manners barbarized.
I wonder if we are ever getting them back — and if so, what will it take. As Trump was unloading on Reiner, James Woods, probably the most outspoken Trump supporter in Hollywood, lovingly remembered Reiner as a “godsend in my life” who saved his acting career when it was at a low point 30 years ago.
What Happened to the American Dream? Will It Ever Come Back?A Fiery Coat and Socks to MatchWhat Can I Watch With My Kids?
“I think Rob Reiner is a great patriot,” Woods said Monday on Fox News. “Do I agree with some of, or many of, his ideas on how that patriotism should be enacted, to celebrate the America that we both love? No. But he doesn’t agree with me either, but he also respects my patriotism.” Woods is right, but how that spirit of mutual respect and good faith can be revived under a man like Trump is a question he and the rest of the president’s supporters might helpfully ask of themselves.
The Reiner murders took place on the same weekend that an assailant, still at large, murdered two students at Brown University, and when an antisemitic massacre at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, gave every Jew in America a pit-of-our-stomachs sense that something like it may soon happen here again, as it did in Pittsburgh seven years ago. It’s been only three months since Charlie Kirk was shot in cold blood in Utah, and barely a year since the health care executive Brian Thompson was murdered in Manhattan by an alleged assailant who is now a folk hero to the deranged reaches of the left.
This is not a country on the cusp of its “Golden Age,” to quote the president, except in the sense that gold futures are near a record high as a hedge against inflation. It’s a country that feels like a train coming off the rails, led by a driver whose own derangement was again laid bare in that contemptible assault on the Reiners, may their memories be for a blessing.
Happy Hanukkah, I guess.
From Feet First (thanks to Mary M.)
At Feet First we have watched with growing concern as “micromobility” scooters have proliferated on Seattle’s streets. And, more importantly from a pedestrian point of view, on our sidewalks. Shared scooters and bikes are in use in other parts of Washington, not just Seattle. We would love to hear from you about your experiences, concerns, and ideas – please see the end of this message for a link to contact us.
Anyone walking in Seattle can probably tell a story of a scooter blocking the sidewalk, curb ramp, public stairway, bus stop, etc. Too many of us have had close calls with people (illegally) riding scooters on sidewalks too close and too fast for comfort. Others have raised concerns that safety outcomes have not been reported or taken seriously.
Seattle’s response has been, in a word, inadequate. And while we’ll have more to say on this topic, we want to start with offering some useful resources on the many issues Seattle has with scooters:
Former WSDOT Secretary Doug McDonald has written two good pieces on the Post Alley blog. The first reports on scooter accident data from SDOT and Harborview and SDOT’s reluctance to make those data available, and the second follows up wondering what it will take to get SDOT to respond.
Seattle Times columnist Naomi Ishisaka has also penned two good ones. One reports that Seattle pedestrians are scared of scooters on the sidewalk, and the other reports that scooter accidents are on the rise.
The Seattle Times also published a guest editorial from Steve Olson detailing the commitments SDOT promised to place on its scooter rental program and finding none of those conditions have been met. He notes that “Seattle now has more than 15,000 scooters and e-bikes, including more than 12,000 stand-up and seated scooters — almost double the fleet size that was promised and far more than comparably sized cities like Denver, Portland or San Francisco.”
Feet First ’s priorities for scooter and bike rentals
Feet First has a long list of changes we’d like to see. The top three priorities for us to reduce scooter impacts on pedestrian safety, accessibility, and comfort on sidewalks are:
Geofencing scooters away from densely pedestrian environments (Pike Place Market, University Way, stadium areas on game/event days, etc.).
Utilizing vendor apps to fine riders who leave scooters where they should not be placed.
Lower speed limits for vendor-provided scooters (that is, actually limit the speed on the vehicle itself) unless they can be prevented from riding on sidewalks.
Tell us what YOU think
We are still developing our position on rideshare rental programs. We encourage you to check out the articles above, take a look at our priorities, and let us know what you think. Whether you work, visit, or live in Seattle, scooters are making walking more challenging. This issue needs the City’s attention.
Andy Borowitz (thanks to Mary Jane F. and Pam P.)
“Exciting day for old ladies, I was arrested in front of the ICE building in Portland Oregon. The charge was obstructing access to a federal facility. Great optics a 75 year old white woman, 5’2”, 120 lbs., being dragged off by armed DHS officers. I was handcuffed and held for almost an hour. Being a nasty woman, instead of cringing and crying, I made fun of them and bragged about my history as a serial murderer and how being arrested and handcuffed ticked off another bucket list item for me. We have it all on video, can’t wait to show it to the judge.”
If this is the first you’re hearing of this incident, there’s a good reason: the corporate media refused to cover it.
So I decided to share Patricia’s story.
I posted Patricia’s comment on Facebook and it immediately went viral, reaching over half a million people in a matter of hours. Patricia’s defiance of Kristi Noem’s lackeys drew overwhelming praise from Facebook commenters.
I contacted Patricia and she generously offered to answer a few questions—and shared this video of her arrest:
As you can see, it’s ludicrous to accuse this tiny woman of obstructing the entrance to ICE. If I were a potential ICE recruit eager to pursue a rewarding career as a masked goon, I think I could have maneuvered around her. If not, I’m probably not ICE material.
“This happened Friday about 11 am,” Patricia told me. “It was my own private protest. Every week or so, I walk back and forth in front of the building.”
Does she have a message for the three DHS hooligans who manhandled her?
“Show respect, for the rule of law and for others,” she said. “You are contributing to a culture of hate and violence in our country. I am just grateful I wasn’t thrown to the ground or suffered more than a bit of tenderness in my shoulders and neck. The thugs weren’t happy that I refused to cower or be intimidated.”
Finally, I asked her a question that many posed on Facebook: why has there been no media coverage of this incident? “I tried to contact a couple of the tv stations, but no one was interested,” she said.
I rarely ask readers to share posts, but I think Patricia’s story deserves the largest audience possible. When corporate media won’t report on the fascist regime destroying our country, it’s up to each of us.
By Danny Westneat – Seattle Times columnist
When the Trump administration plastered his name on signs in Seattle taking credit for an infrastructure project he had fought bitterly against, I called it a “sign of the shameless times” and “a new level of Orwellian.”
That was naive. He was of course just getting revved up.
Now comes the news that President Trump’s glaring visage will be featured on America the Beautiful access cards for, of all things, the national parks.
“Blotting out the majesty of America’s national parks with a closeup of his own face is Trump’s crassest, most ego-driven action yet,” says Kieran Suckling, director of the environmental group Center for Biological Diversity.
The 2026 America the Beautiful pass features George Washington and President Donald Trump. (screenshot via Department of Interior)
The 2026 America the Beautiful pass features George Washington and President Donald Trump. (screenshot via Department of Interior)
It was wise that he put a “yet” on the end of that quote. Because on the same day, the Trump administration opened for sale another card, the Trump Gold Card, in which for $1 million, wealthy foreigners can buy a card to gain priority immigration access to the U.S. This card features Trump’s photo along with the Statue of Liberty.
For $1 million, wealthy foreigners can get the Trump Gold Card, featuring President Donald Trump and the Statue of Liberty, and gain priority immigration access to the U.S. (screenshot via trumpcard.gov)
For $1 million, wealthy foreigners can get the Trump Gold Card, featuring President Donald Trump and the Statue of Liberty, and gain priority immigration… (screenshot via trumpcard.gov) – continued on page 2 or here.
Thanks to Pam P.
by Donna Ashworth
Perhaps, this world is broken
on fire, doomed to expire
but right this second, somewhere
someone has flowers in their hair
to bring the light, and someone
sits awake, all night
just to hold a hand, take a look
there are people running miles
in silly suits, to show their care
and yes this world is shattered
everywhere, but there is glue
and it is me and it is you
picking up pieces of each other
to get through.
–to all the people helping
Donna Ashworth is a Sunday Times best-selling Scottish poet. She came to prominence in 2020 when her poetry about the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown was read in a viral video to raise money for the NHS. She has subsequently been credited with helping poetry sales reach record levels in the UK. You can learn more about her work on her website. Source
Thanks to John R.
If the Colts win this game, I will get a tattoo of Phillip Rivers on my neck! I cannot believe this game hasn’t been flexed to Sunday Night Football. This is the MOST EXCITED I’ve been for a football game in years. Phillip Rivers is 44 years old, has 44 kids and 44 is also the over / under.
This game is the stuff movies will be made of, the old legend comes out of retirement, for ONE LAST JOB. Except this one is a horror movie with blood and guts. It would be less embarrassing to forfeit. Seahawks by 1 million points.
Phil has kids older than 8 Seahawks players.
A sack will be flagged as elder abuse.
Thanks to Mary Jane F.
When G. Elliott Morris of Strength in Numbers asked ChatGPT to fact-check an article for him yesterday, the chatbot couldn’t get its head around modern America. It told him there were “multiple factual impossibilities” in his article, including his statements that “[t]he current Secretary of Defense is a former talk show host for Fox News,” “[t]he Deputy Director of the FBI used to guest-host Sean Hannity’s show,” and “Jeanine Pirro is the U.S. District Attorney for DC.”
“Since none of these statements are true,” it told Morris, “they undermine credibility unless signposted as hyperbole, fiction, or satire.”
Kate Nagle-Caraluzzo, Executive Director, Town Hall Seattle (thanks to Mary M.)
It’s been two years since Wier Harman, our friend and former Executive Director of 17 years, passed away, and I’ve been thinking about the ways his presence still lives in this building and with me. Grief changes with time. Some memories stay close — like the things he said or the way he moved through a room — even as smaller details begin to fade. But what remains is the imprint he left on all of us, and on Town Hall.
I often picture him stepping onto the stage to introduce a speaker (too many times to count) or to moderate a conversation, always taking deep joy in being part of the exchange. And I remember how often he greeted people with a laugh, a smile, or a hug. Wier knew so many in the community, and people felt known by him in return.
His presence in the room was matched by his belief in what our historic building could become. During his 17 years of leadership, Wier shepherded the vision that ultimately became our 2017-2019 renovation — a transformation he knew would change Town Hall’s trajectory. That $35.5 million capital investment reshaped the building: greater accessibility, better sound, a structurally reinforced space to gather in, and so much more. To complete the work, we ultimately had to take a $2.5 million bridge loan we hadn’t planned on, a loan that allowed us to finish construction and reopen our doors but limited how boldly we could plan for the future.
The capital campaign was something Wier championed and carried forward for so many years. And in the last year, we’ve nearly retired the loan. We extend our deep gratitude to the donors whose generosity made the retirement of our renovation loan possible. Closing out this final piece of the campaign feels like a way to honor what Wier imagined for Town Hall’s next chapter. It strengthens our path to financial sustainability and closes a chapter so we can fully turn toward what comes next.
As part of retiring the loan, we chose a meaningful way to honor the leadership that shaped Town Hall. In the spring, we’ll name the Great Hall stage for Wier, and the iconic Oculus for our founder, David Brewster. It marks this milestone moment while paying tribute to the visionaries who shaped Town Hall and honors what comes next — new voices, new audiences, and the ideas that will define our future. If you’re interested in being part of the naming, you can learn more here.
I hope you see Wier’s legacy on stage and in our programming and feel the energy he instilled in Town Hall. I think Wier would be proud of where we are. And I hope you’re proud, too.
Thanks to John R. (will post answers in a few days)
Thanks to John R.
